So what is this all a-boat?

Well the cat is out of the proverbial bag at last.  Mantic just announced they are releasing a new game in November - Kings of War Armada.  This is a fantasy naval battle game set in the world of Pannithor.  So it will use the familiar factions we already know in a new and exciting game on the high seas.


So what is this Boaty McBoat game?  It is based on the Black Seas game by Warlord Games, but with a fantasy twist supplied by Mantic's own Matt Gilbert (the man who wrote Kings of War Vanguard).


The 2 player starter set is scheduled to come out in November, and includes everything you need to get started with Basileans vs Orcs.


  • Rulebook (96 pgs)
  • 4 Token Sheets
  • 8 Ships w/ship cards and mdf bases
    • Basilea
      • 2 Elohi
      • 1 Gur Panther
      • 1 Gunbrig
    • Orcs
      • 2 Hammerfist
      • 1 Bombboat
      • 1 BloodRunner
  • 5 fleet reference cards.
  • 14 Basilean and Orc upgrade tokens (mdf)
  • Dice 10 D10 and 2 D6
  • game mat (paper)


In addition to the base game, there are several accessory sets coming out as well.

First is the rulebook by itself.  Well, almost by itself, it also comes with the 4 token sheets.


If you don't care for the punchcard templates and range ruler, then there is a set of deluxe acrylic templates
  • firing arc
  • dual sided turn arc
  • wind rose
  • measuring stick



There is a set of additional dice.  The game uses D10's for most things, but you do need an occasional D6 as well  The set comes with
  • 3 Blue D10s
  • 3 Red D10s
  • 3 Black D10s
  • 1 Green D10s
  • 2 D6s

Another upgrade is for you ship basing.  Instead of the MDF bases that come with the ships, you can buy a set of acrylic bases
  • 2 x Tiny 30mm x 30mm
  • 3 x Small 50mm x 30mm
  • 3 x Medium 70mm x 30mm
  • 2 x Large 100mm x 30mm
  • 1 x Extra Large 125mm x 30mm

Much like Vanguard, each Fleet will come with a Starter set and a Booster set.  In addition, there will also be some individual larger ships available as well.  The first two are the Basileans and Orcs (since they come in the starter).  The Basilean Abbess and Orc Smasher are also available separately for those who want to fill out their fleet from the 2 player starter box but don't want to buy a full starter box.  Then in wave 2 the Fleets for the Dwarfs and Empire of Dust will ship.

You can see all the products and prices below (as well as the shipping wave).


Some stores are also listing a deluxe neoprene ocean mat (with wind rose compass locations), but I have not seen a US price for this yet.

So what are in the fleet boxes?  Each box has ships, bases and the corresponding ship cards.  The starters also come with a set of 7 fleet upgrade tokens and 3 Fleet reference cards (I believe these are fleet specific rules).  A starter set is exactly that - enough to get started (and is a legal, if small, fleet).  The Boosters then add to the fleet, but are not legal fleets unto themselves.

Basilean Starter
  • 1 Abbess
  • 1 Elohi
  • 1 Gur Panther
Basilean Elohi and Abbess

Basilean Booster

  • 1 Elohi
  • 1 Gur Panther
  • 2 Sloop Squadron
Orc Starter
  • 1 Smasher
  • 1 Hammerfist
  • 1 Bombboat
Orc Smasher and Hammerfist
Orc Booster
  • 1 Hammerfist
  • 1 Bloodrunner
  • 2 Rabble Squadron
Dwarf Starter
  • 1 Grimmstone
  • 1 RuneAxe
  • 1 Thunderer
Dwarf Booster
  • 1 RuneAxe (with optional parts)
  • 1 Fury
  • 2 Hunter
Empire of Dust Starter
  • 1 War Galley
  • 1 Khopeshii
  • 1 Soul Hunter
Empire of Dust Booster
  • 1 Khopeshii
  • 1 Dust Chaser
  • 2 Slave Squadrons

As you can tell from the acrylic base set, there are five sizes of ships in the game (same as in Black Seas).  
  • Extra Large - 125 x 30mm - these are extremely powerful but rare
  • Large - 100 x 30mm - strong main ships of the line
  • Medium - 75 x 30mm - less powerful but generally more maneuverable
  • Small - 50 x 30mm - support ships that 
  • Tiny - multiple ships on 30x30mm base
The extra Large ships will be available later.  Also, each fleet will have a unique [1] ship, which is an upgrade to one of the existing ships (generally the XL ship (except for Dwarfs).

You can see a sketch of all the ships in the initial release below


Your FLGS should be taking pre-orders for everything now, and Mantic has said they will have them up on their website Friday.

Mantic is planning on going all out to support this new game - including a new book by fan favorite author Mark Barber (who wrote the excellent Steps to Deliverance novel), published by Winged Hussar's Zmok Books imprint.  This is available for pre-order on their site.  I know I'm looking forward to reading it.


Mantic Pathfinders are going to be braving the stormy seas and doing demos as well to support the release - contact your FLGS or your local Pathfinder to find out when these are being held near you.  The local game stores in Ohio are not yet open for gaming, but I will be holding demos on November 11th and December 5th from 1 to 6 pm at Three Brothers Games in Hebron KY.  So come on by and check it out for yourself.

Because it is all fun and games . . .

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