The Orders lead the charge in defense of the Hundred Kingdoms, and with the arrival of the Orders of the Sword and St. Lazarus, heralds First Blood’s first Warband of Legend.
Warbands of Legend…
- Have their own Warband organization; a curated selection of regiments, with many becoming Mainstay options to better reflect the narrative of the Warband of Legend.
- Warlords and Heroes are similarly reorganized; offering a mix up of options to reflect the theme. Note that Retinues are not available in Warbands of Legend, as these Warbands are already quite unique and diversified. Certain Legendary named Characters may be included depending on the Warband’s Theme.
- Utilize unique Army Rules that meaningfully change how your Warriors fight on the Battlefield to reflect the specialized nature of the Warband being reflected.
- Possess exclusive Upgrade lists to kit your Character’s from, with many new exciting and flavorful options available.
Now that you are acquainted with Warbands of Legend, let’s take a look at The Might of the Orders in its full silubaster glory.
Composition: The new Priory Commander of the Sword can serve as either your Warlord or a Hero in the Orders Warband along with the Errant of the Shield. Included in this Warband are all the Warriors of the Orders and levied soldiery of Militia and Militia Bowmen. In addition to the aforementioned Militia, your Mainstay options include both Order of the Sword and the Penitents of St Lazarus, so if an entirely elite force of the Orders is your calling- Kleon provides!
-Army Rules-
Kleon’s Dogma: Each Round, your first Orders Command Card that you activate each Round invokes one of the three edicts of Kleon. All Activating Warriors gain either the Flurry, Regeneration, or Bravery Special Rules for their Activation, depending on which edict you choose. Whether you’re striking the first blow or performing a counteroffensive, Kleon’s Dogma rewards bold generals worthy of Kleon’s Blessings.
Pursuit of Duty: During the Command Phase, all Orders Characters may perform a free Duel Command Ability in addition to another selected Command Ability. Always eager to lead from the front and never one to back down from a challenge, the Characters of the Orders can and will cast down the mightiest of the foe in a brutal one on one. Be wary, as is the proud nature of the Orders, your Characters can never decline a Duel from an Enemy either!
Honored Heraldry: Shared from their base army book, Warriors of the Orders fight to keep their colours flying high. Whenever a Standard Bearer is Slain, a Friendly Warrior of the same Regiment nearby will take up the responsibility and honor of bearing their Standard.
-Upgrades-
Each Order claims their own Unique Relic in the Orders Warband in addition to some more general options, ranging from great and powerful weapons to coordinated tactics- there is an option for all flavors of play. You can exalt the already god-like stature of an Ashen Dawn Leader to a Vindicator, invoking all 3 of Kleon’s edicts instead of only 1. If protecting the innocent is more your speed, you can Upgrade your Errant of the Shield to a Questing Knight, granting him both the Vanguard and Dauntless Special Rules- more than enough to enact righteous justice on the battlefield.
-Listbuilding and Tactics-
Although Kleon’s most dogmatic followers all tend to be superhumanly physique and impressively armed, do not underestimate the flexibility their Warband can provide. Depending on how you construct your Warband, you will find the Orders have more than a few tricks up their sleeve— or rather— silubaster imbued arm!
Let’s take a look at a few example Warband lists below:
The Masters [1000/1000]
- The Hundred Kingdoms [Might of the Orders]
Priory Commander of the Sword (1) [145]: Martial Exemplar
Servite (1) [55]: Levied Soldiery
Order of the Sword (8) [405]: Standard Bearer
Militia (12) [150]: Standard Bearer
Order of the Sealed Temple (2) [245]: Leader, Purebred Steed
“Ever since laying eyes on the glory of the Order of the Sword, I knew I wanted to build a Warband where they do the heavy lifting. My Warband features a bastion of 8 Order of the Sword, enough to make all the enemies of the Orders tremble. To help fill out my ranks, I included a maxed out Regiment of 12 Militia with a Servite to provide myself with some expendable troops. My Servite has also purchased the Levied Soldiery Upgrade, to throw themselves and die for my Orders Characters of questionable moral superiority. Next are 2 Order of the Sealed Temple, to serve as the precision instrument to my otherwise blunt gameplan. Finally to lead my Warband, whom other than the new Priory Commander of the Sword- a peerless Duelist, providing ample leadership and Relentless Blows to my Order of the Sword thanks to his Martial Exemplar Upgrade.
With a Warband such as this, positioning and knowing just how much resources to handle a specific threat is key. Each Order of the Sword is nearly a Hero in their own right and sending 2 instead of 3 after an Enemy can make all the difference. Managing Kleon’s Dogma will also be of utmost importance in this Warband, as Activating the Order of the Sword first will yield potentially huge benefits. The Militia also possess a unique use as well, as activating them first in the Round will delay my Kleon’s Dogma as they themselves are not of the Orders directly- buying me time to plan out where and how I will demonstrate the full glory of Kleon’s Blessing.”
-Jacob
The Afflicted [995/1000]
- The Hundred Kingdoms [Might of the Orders]
Priory Commander (1) [155]: Order of the Crimson Tower, Red Ruin
Orders Penitents of St. Lazarus (8) [285]: Leader, Standard Bearer, Obduration
Orders Martyrs of St. Lazarus (4) [125]:
Militia Bowmen (6) [115]: Leader
Order of the Ashen Dawn (1) [200]: Leader, Vindicator
Order of the Crimson Tower (1) [115]:
“The imbued might of the Orders is not all gallant and gleaming, the Lazarenes continued existence is a testament to their resilience and strength. Utilizing a formidable frontline of Orders Penitents of St. Lazarus backed up by the ferocity of the Orders Martyrs of St. Lazarus, this resilient main battleline will hold up to punishment and deal some as well, but lacks true damage potential. That is where the speed and devastation of the Priory Commander, Crimson Tower, and Ashen Dawn is made apparent. Lastly, the Militia Bowmen serve as a meager ranged threat and double as extra bodies when needed for objectives or to outnumber an enemy. While not individually impressive, a warrior being in the right place at the right time is often all it takes to swing the game into your favor!
While your Warband as a whole is durable, to achieve victory is to know exactly when and where to deliver your mounted Orders to deliver the crushing blow. You do not want to overcommit to one point of the battlefield, nor do you want to get bogged down and stuck into melee. Your Orders Penitents of St. Lazarus are toughest until they activate, meaning that you have to plan the turn before where you want them to move to maximize their defensive capabilities. The Ashen Dawn Leader is your strongest and most elite Warrior, surpassing even that of your Priory Commander of the Crimson Tower. With the Vindicator Upgrade, do not fear to send said Ashen Dawn Leader into the enemy’s mightiest threats. As a lower model count Warband, mitigating your losses in the early game to ultimately outlast your opponent in the later rounds is the key to victory.”
-Joel
Now that you are well versed in the combat doctrine of the Orders, where should you start? The new Orders One Player Starter serves as the perfect entrypoint to any Orders aspirant, complete with all the Mainstay options available to the Might of the Orders Warband. After that, any mounted Orders Regiment sets such as the Ashen Dawn, and/or Characters such as the Mounted Priory Commander or the Errant of the Order of the Shield will give you more leadership options.
If you already possess a formidable force of Orders Regiments, acquiring a box of either the Order of the Sword or either of the St. Lazarus Regiments will give you an elite frontline of infantry. As the St. Lazarus Regiments are dual build kits, one box will allow you to split the twelve included models into both a Regiment of Martyrs and Penitents.
Visit our official Discord to share lists and talk tactics with fellow First Blood players, and join us with our next First Blood article highlighting the individual Regiments and Characters of the Orders.