Accessories and Tokens and Cards, oh my!

After much fanfare and an untold number of podcasts with sneak peeks on rules and army lists, Mantic released Kings of War 4th Edition in December of 2025.  I received the new Xirkaali battalion box fairly quickly.

I ordered the 4th Edition Grand Master Bundle - which included exclusive signed books, the  Kings of War messenger bag, the new map of Pannithor, and all the new accessories (which are all available on the 4th edition Mantic web store), and it arrived on Christmas Eve.  However I was out of town spending Christmas with the grandchildren (5 and 8) so I wasn't able to get to my big boxes of toys.   While everyone has talked about the books, I thought I'd review the new accessories, tokens and cards.

The game accessories set includes acrylic measuring sticks (3" to 12" lengths), two unit markers, and an arc of site marker.

I really like acrylic accessories (so shiny, especially after you peel off the protective layer).  The measuring sticks all have inches marked on them, which is is convenient.  

Unfortunately, my measuring sticks are slightly warped - which is a disappointment.  They curve up on the side with inch measurements (or down on the side that says Kings of War), but that does not make them unusable by any means.  

The thin paper box, while good for shipping (and lightweight) is NOT going to hold up at all - so I ordered tubes (from amazon) to store mine (which the ones that Mantic did for 3rd edition came with).  

The corner pieces are actually very useful - everyone should have something to mark the location of a unit before moving it (even when you are sure where it is going).

The graphics are really nice, though a bit meaningless.  The dags aren't at any useful placing.  The middle line is very close to 1", but that is no longer used (and being in the middle, isn't useful).

I actually already have a bunch of corner pieces for this - I'm not even sure where I got some (the smallest ones are from MI GT).  The wavering/disordered status is easy enough to ignore (or just turning them over).  They are thinner so simply take up less space to carry.

I'll still take the new pair, but I like the smaller ones.

Last is the arc of site / charge marker.  This is an essential tool for the game, to determine both the arc of site from a unit, but also the arc of the target unit that the front facing center point the charging unit is in.

Mantic has produced these for a while.  The original was green plastic (I don't remember if this came out with the first kickstarter, or with 2nd edition).  Then they went to slightly better graphics on MDF for 3rd edition. 

2nd Ed - green plastic.  3rd Ed - MDF.  4th Ed Acrylic.

I even used my laser engraver to put our club logo on the back of some of the 3rd ed MDF arc.

I have been using this type of arc marker since back on my WFB days (close to 25 years ago when 6th ed came out and I started not long after that).  

I think it was at the first Kings of War US Masters 2017 down in Nashville (the only one I have played in as a mercenary) that the Pacific Northwest region gave out these tiny acrylic arc of site markers.  I had never seen any like this before - they weren't a large arc, they were a 1" x 2" rectangle with a 45 degree angle at one end.

I have tried to duplicate this since then, but never gotten as high quality (I don't have access to acrylics).  I have 3d printed several versions however.  One the the key points of this is it is multi-use - not only can you use it to determine the arc or site, but it was also designed to measure the required 1" between between units.  Of course with 4th edition, this rule is now gone.

However, 4th edition does still have two significant 'short' measurements that are needed often.  The first is the 6" range for auras and aura 'like' abilities (i.e. those that they don't want to be able to take advantage of the Sacred Horn artefact (which increases the range of auras to 9") - these include Dread, Cloak of Death, Inspiring, Radiance of Life and Rallying).  The second is used for scenarios that use objective counters - where you can control the counter if you are within 3" of it.

So to me at least, it would have made sense for the arc (especially now that all sides are flat, unlike previous versions) top to be 6", and then have the middle marked for a simple way to also check 3".  Alternately, have the top be 6", and the bottom 3".

So I designed a corner template that is 6" long, and has small divot to mark the middle (at 3")

I also combined this idea with the small corner template - extending the long side to 3".  I kept the short side at 1", leaving the mid side at 2".  

A redesign of the mantic version, with the nice graphics, but 6" wide at the top, and dags like the measuring sticks (i.e. each is 1" exactly, not just some 'meaningless' length (and they aren't even equal length - the black portions are smaller than the 'natural' ones (I say natural because the graphic is intended to make it look like wood).

One more advantage is that since these are 3D printed easily, I can change the graphics / text on them (maybe make unique versions for tournaments).  The corner pieces will go with my game stuff - we'll see if I end up using them or not.

Scenario and objective tokens have also been around for quite a while - again first in plastic, then acrylic with 3rd edition.

There are 26 tokens in the box - all the new 40mm size.  There are 10 bluff tokens - 4 0s, 4 1s and 2 2s.  They all have identical backs.

There are 8 look tokens and 8 objective tokens.  My guess is the loot tokens are the ones that say Kings of War on one side, and then have a coin on the other.  The objective tokens look more like targets on both sides.  

Size Comparison v 3rd edition tokens

These are very high quality, and look great.  However there is no I don't think any but the 10 bluff tokens are needed.  Bluff tokens are the only ones that require two sides.  With the numbers down, they can be used for either loot tokens OR objective tokens.   Plunder has loot counters worth variable points (so 2 primary counters are worth 2 points, the other 3 are worth 1 point), so using the loot tokens also work for these.

So I'll keep the 10 bluff tokens in my game bag, and the others will go with the objective/loot counters from 3rd.

Also, for tournaments I believe it is important to supply the counters for all the tables - so I'm simply 3 printing these out (using the exact same stl I made for 3rd, just embiggened to 40mm from 25mm).

The game token set are tokens that can be used to mark information for units in the game.  The issue here is that some of the symbols seem arbitrary, and without definition.

Four of the tokens have four copies.  But what they are intended for, I'm not sure.  The one on the left would be hindered, and the snowflake is obviously frozen.  The helmet - I have no idea.  The broken shield - not sure either.

There are seven more tokens which there are only two of.  6 are spell tokens - of different colors.  These could be used for any spells.  There are also a pair of broken swords - in Vanguard they meant exhausted - so here I would assume they would mean wavered.

Lastly are a bunch of square, double sided wound tokens.  These are just too small for my liking.  My big sausage fingers simply aren't going to be able to pick these up easily.

Methods for tracking wounds is a largely debated issue.  A common practice is dice - but you have to make sure they don't get knocked over or rolled.  I know Blake Shrode uses pairs of D10's in small holders, so it is harder to knock over.  My son ordered custom wound cards, and Kara uses full size playing cards.  Unfortunately these can take up a large amount of room.  I found some cool Cthulhu coins (1, 3, 5 and 10) that I used with my Trident Realm army.   I used to use knitting counters that are meant to slide on a knitting needle.  

My latest ones are 3d printed double dials.  Easy to read and track, do not get knocked over, and don't take up much space.

There are no ideal solutions however.

Unfortunately I don't see anything in this pack to recommend unless you really like them.

The last box are spell and artifact cards.  If you have a subscription to the companion, then you can print you lists with all the information you need.  The free version does not print these details.

However these are useful to put by units to indicate which unit has which artifact, as well as which spell.  However there is a limitation on the spell cards - as they are only the main spells from the rulebook - they do not include any of the new unique spells from the supplements.  However that is not a deal breaker.

There are 23 spell cards and 44 artifact cards

Like the other accessories, these have come out in multiple versions.

3rd ed Boomstick v 4th ed Boomstick.

Really nice artwork on the cards, both the full color backs, and the line drawings on the front.

There is one misprint I found however.  Three spells have text too long to fit on one side of a card.  Barkskin, Host Shadowbeast and Surge.  Each of these has the phrase "continued overleaf" - i.e. on the other side.  For Host Shadowbeast and Surge, the back of the card has the rest of the text.  For Barkskin however, it is the normal colored back instead of the rest of the spell.

Ignoring that, the only issue I've ever had with these is storing them - I simply can't find a box made for them.  These are "mini usa" size cards  - needing 41mm x 63mm sleeves.  (I guess this is the size that Mantic has always used - but I would have expected them to be the slightly larger "mini euro" size (needing a 45mm x 68mm sleeve).

Unfortunately my FLGS does not carry either of these card sleeves, so back to Amazon.  I also, on a whim, picked up some card boxes.  I couldn't get any detail sizes, so I picked these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTVX7JHS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

These are apparently sized to hold full size sleeved playing cards.  They better than any other playing card boxes I have, in two stacks.

Nice way to carry them in my gaming bag (though the ones in my list will be in with my models).  

I hope this helps you decide which of these accessories you want for your games.

Because it is all fun and games . . .