La’theal Voidheart: Soul Survivor

All our Champions are tough, but few are as tough as La'theal Voidheart...

Existing Kings of War players may remember the outcome of the Shadowed Horizons campaign in 2023 - not so long ago! - where the narrative was steered by battles on land, battles on sea, and even the outcomes of 'General's Choice' votes we held along the way for the winners of each act. With fiction dropping (and often being rapidly edited or re-written!) alongside the tabletop action, the campaign finally settled on one of sixteen possible end-states for Pannithor as the forces of good claimed a narrow victory in the crucial third act.

The Twilight Kin plan for a full-blow invasion and occupation of the Winterlands was therefore frustrated, with only Lord Mikayel and a small vanguard force able to deploy into the region - without the support, reinforcements, and supplies needed to establish a permanent foothold in the north. As punishment, La'theal was banished to the Void with a strange task to fulfil...

Now, she's finally returned to Pannithor having somehow survived prolonged exposure to the Void. She's somewhat changed by her ordeal, and with a serious axe to grind. Let's check out her faction introduction, plus gameplay tips from rules writer Rob Burman!

The Void Hath No Fury Like An Elf Scorned

Since she first opened a door to the Void, La’theal has left a trail of destruction and death in her wake. After escaping her banishment to the never-ending seas of the Void, La’theal has returned to exact revenge on Mikayel, Lord of Nightmares. However, her flight from the Void has not been without cost, its arcane energies have transformed her into something half elf and half monster... perhaps reflecting her broken mind.

Want to know more about what happened in the Void? You'll need to pick up the Champions rulebook for that, which comes with extra backstory for all our Champions that goes beyond the introductions on their unit cards...

La'theal Voidheart is brought to life with brand-new MasterCraft™ resin - perfect for capturing all the amazing fine details of her new miniature in an easy-to-build set of parts. Just use a little dab of superglue - easy!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Fortunately, for her at least, La'theal Voidheart's far from alone in her quest for vengeance. She's joined by Captain Grimdance (Void Skiff), the Void Sisters (Impalers), and the Rejects (Voidtouched Mutants) - all who have their own unique connections to the Twilight Kin Champion.

On the reverse of all their unit cards is a snippet of unique backstory, so once again you'll be able to dive right into the narrative side of the game. All of this helps to bring Pannithor, your trusted companions, and your games roaring into life on the tabletop.

Now, let's hand over to Kings of War: Champions game designer Rob Burman, for the inside track on how to play (and hopefully win!) with the Twilight Kin and La'theal...

Game Designer's Notes - Tips From Rob

"Just like a Pokemon, La’theal has evolved from Silverheart to Bleakheart and has now reached her final(?) form: Voidheart. With each new version, La’theal has become stronger and more closely linked to the dark energies of the Void. In her latest form, she is half Twilight Kin and half Nightstalker… but those additional claws have given her a useful speed boost, taking her up to Speed 6. However, you probably want to avoid getting her too close to the combat early doors. Instead use the extra movement to stay out of trouble and blast away with the potentially deadly Void Bolt. With La’theal’s speed of six inches and a range of 18 inches, the Void Bolt has a threat zone of 24 inches. Nasty!

To represent this focus on ranged combat, La’theal has a number of tricks up her sleeve to help boost her attacks. First up she can re-roll any hits that score a natural 1, she has Piercing (1) to lower the opponent’s defence and she can even target enemies that are Engaged in combat… albeit with a slight -1 modifier. Even better, when she does cause damage with a ranged attack, she’ll regain a point of health previously lost. Keep La’theal out of combat until it’s absolutely necessary and then catch your opponent unaware with that nasty burst of speed.

Faction Orders

As a rule, the Twilight Kin are already pretty effective in combat (which we’ll come to in a moment), so their Faction Orders are focused on defensive buffs to try and keep them alive for as long as possible. Perhaps the most interesting is Void Mutations which will randomly give a unit an extra inch of speed or increase their Nerve by +1. Depending upon what you roll, you can either use that extra speed to reach an enemy that would otherwise be out of Charge range (or reach a key objective) or use the additional Nerve to help withstand an enemy attack.

Meanwhile Shadow Cloak and Whispers of the Void make a unit harder to hit with a ranged attack or melee attack, respectively. Now, dear reader, you may be thinking “woah, woah, woah… what’s the point of Shadow Cloak if my opponent has no ranged combat? I may as well immediately throw this token out of the window and into that burning dumpster.” Firstly, you need to calm down then put that fire out and, secondly, remember that any unused tokens can be used to re-roll a dice in a Nerve test - which can be incredibly helpful too. That’s a standard rule in Champions that all factions have access to - how useful!

Playstyle Summary

With two units that hit on 3+ in melee, the Twilight Kin are a company to be feared in close combat. The Rejects (Void Mutants) and Void Sisters (Impalers) both pack a punch with that 3+ statline but only have eight attacks, which means you’ll need to watch out for flanks and rear charges. The Void Sisters, in particular, are one of the Twilight Kin’s not so secret weapons, thanks to a nasty combo of Big Shield (which boosts Defence to 6+ against attacks in the front arc) and Elite (which allows them to re-roll 1s when rolling to hit in melee). They also have one of the largest footprints in Champions, which you can use to strategically block charge lanes or secure an objective while still cutting off a portion of the playing area.

While the Void Sisters are blocking off your enemy’s charge routes, Captain Grimdance can sail around the battlefield looking for a cheeky flank attack. With Speed 6 (which can potentially be boosted to 7 with the Void Mutations Faction Order) and the Fly special rule, Captain Grimdance has the capability to swoop in from nowhere and strike against a weakened foe. Failing that, you can use Grimdance for last minute objective grabs in the dying moments of the game.

The Twilight Kin have the capabilities to hit hard and fast in Champions, but you’ve got to choose your time to strike wisely. With average Defence and Nerve it’s worth weakening the enemy with some well-time Ranged attacks from La’theal before charging in with the Rejects or Void Sisters. No matter your tactical choices though - your opponent will still have trouble a-Voiding numerous casualties."

Thanks Rob! La'theal Voidheart and her company are shipping right now. It's time to burst out of the Void, and take over the tabletop...

So come and dive in - we're looking forward to welcoming you all to the fast-playing and exciting gameplay of Kings of War: Champions!

P.S. If you fancy this company box over the faction choices in the starter set, then we've got you covered there as well! Just check out the one-player bundle - which combines this company with the rulebook/tokens, and a deluxe mat and 3D terrain set. You'll find that one here.