Empire of Dust: Clash of Pharoahs

The Pharaoh Sautekh was once a powerful leader of the Ahmunites. He was cruel and quick to anger, often causing more harm to his allies than his enemies. Any subjects to pay even the smallest slight to him would be put to the sword, then raised up into his Undead legions. When the Ophidians left the crumbling Ahmunite Empire, Lord Sautekh's Brother, the Pharaoh Amon, was among them. When he aided the Ophidians in their curse of the Ahmunites, Sautekh's rage was incandescent. After this betrayal, he swore revenge on on every living being, especially his own kin. Now Sautekh's host marches north to Ophidia, to end his brother's line once and for all.

If you are looking to start an Empire of Dust force, then the Starter Army and Mega Army are ideal places to go. However, if you're after something bigger, then look no further than Lord Sautekh's Glorious Host. This massive web deal contains everything in the new Empire of Dust range - and thensome - totaling over 140 miniatures!

In October, we'll be running our annual tournament - the Clash of Kings. This is always a fantastic event and in my mind is the exemplar of a Kings of War tournament - although I think I need to sample some others when I get the chance! I've been wondering which force I should be playing as I have managed to make it to every annual Clash of Kings for a few years. I'm always painting things at the last minute, so ideally, I want an army in a box, so I don't have to worry too much about planning purchases and armies around them. Enter the Glorious Host.

This morning I sat down with a pen and paper (and a copy of Uncharted Empires) and worked out an army list based on the models in the set. Using everything in the box, I can build a mighty host of 1,840 points - not bad for a 2,000 point tournament. I can fill out the extra 160 points with some magic items and spells, or even just grab an extra hero or swarm regiment. Not only this - it's a balanced army. Slow but resilient, as only Undead can be.

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="11349,11350"]

Two Regiments of Skeleton Archers and three Balefire Catapults give me a good amount of firepower. Based on experience, I know that at least one catapult will hit per turn, which will do a significant amount of damage, while the archers will continually weaken enemies through attrition with their shooting. All of this will be backed up by the powers of the Cursed High Priest and the Enslaved Guardians' Windblast.

The core of a my battleline will be a horde of Skeleton Spearmen with a Casket of the Damned. This one-use item is unique to the Ahmunites and allows me to add five extra dice to a Surge spell cast on this unit, once per game. With a horde, this can add a vital boost of speed to get them into position when I need them. The flanks of the horde will be protected by heavy hitters like the Enslaved Guardians and Revenants with two-handed weapons. Add two troops of super resilient Mummies and you have a slow moving, but strong line that can march endlessly forwards.

No army would be complete without its heroes and this set comes with enough to build one each of the new models - or two of any type! My weakness, as already stated, is speed. The Ahmunite Pharaoh and Cursed High Priest will be there to counteract this - both have really strong Surge spells of eight and ten dice, respectively. The key will be planning and using these at the right moment to get into the right positions for charges or capturing objectives. I'll have be more careful with movement than normal as it will be limited. The Revenant Champion and Army Standard Bearer will be used to bolster the main line with their Inspiring, or operate with units in small groups to range ahead of the main force. I'll give them some magic items to encourage their support role - such as a Healing Charm or the Boomstick.

So, all I need to do now is pre-order Lord Sautekh's Glorious Host (and a ticket, too!) and work out a paint scheme. I'm thinking something with gold....

Fancy starting an army for the Clash of Kings? Lord Sautekh's Glorious Host is available to pre-order now!