With the release of the brand new City States vs. Nords starter set, Para Bellum has made getting into the game of Conquest extremely affordable (well, as far as miniature wargames go anyway). There has been a lot of focus on the City States as the new faction in the game, but the other half of the starter set comes with some absolutely amazing Nord models. Just because the Nords aren’t the shiny new army doesn’t mean this starter set isn’t a great release for anyone looking to put these genetically engineered Vikings onto the tabletop. By spitting the cost of the new 2 player starter set with someone who is interested in the City States faction, you can build a fully playable 1500pts Nords army with just the purchase of their 1 Player Stater Set. If you are thinking of starting a Nords army for Conquest these are all of the Regiments you will have just by making two purchases.
Konungyr: The beautiful character miniature that comes in the 2 player starter set is the Konungyr. This unit can be built into an absolute melee powerhouse, but he also comes along with one of the best Supremacy Abilities in the Nords army. By selecting the Konungyr as your Warlord, all regiments in your army who make a charge action gain the Terrifying 1 Special Rule. Nords are already known for their extremely high damage output with their faction specific special rule of receiving more attacks and Flurry as their regiments take casualties, and this Supremacy ability allows you to put out an insane amount of damage while charging. Keep in mind a lot of Nord units have the Impact Attacks Special Rule, so you will be getting the benefit of Terrifying 1 TWICE for each successful charge!
The Konungyr isn’t just an awesome support piece for a Nords army. With his special rule that allows him to take three Trove-Finds, this character can become a melee powerhouse that other characters in the game will fear. If you check out the sample army list below you can see our Konungyr has 8 Attacks hitting at Clash 5! That’s even with Cleave 1 included! Anything hit by that is going to have a terrible time.
Huskarls: With the Nords side of the 2 player starter set, and the purchase of the Nords 1 Player starter set you will find yourself with 6 stands of Huskarls. At first these guys may not seem too exciting when compared to other units in the Nords army roster, but every army needs a solid anvil that your opponent will have a tough time cracking. With a built in Clash of 3 the Huskarls are already hitting better than most other Medium regiments in the game, and with the addition of an Officer upgrade or two they can become extremely defensible. The Thegn Officer gives them the Bastion 1 Draw Event, bringing them up to Defense 4, while the Skald gives them +1 Resolve and the Bravery special rule! With a Defense of 4 and a Resolve of 5 (assuming you have 4 stands left of these guys) this regiment makes the perfect delivery system for a tooled up Konungyr.
Bow-Chosen: 220pts may seem like a lot for a regiment, but once you put this terrifying shooting unit on the table you will understand their high points cost. With a Barrage of 5 per stand, plus one extra shot for the leader, this regiment puts out 16 Volley 3 shots that ignore your opponent’s Defense on hit rolls of 1. Place this regiment opposite an Objective your opponent wants to take and watch their regiment melt.
Mountain Jotnar: Rounding out the Konungyrs warband we have my favorite Jotnar from the mountains. This guy doesn’t have any cute tricks like the Frost or Sea Jotnar, but he is way less points than his fancier brothers. For only 170pts you are getting a 12 Attacks, Cleave 2, Terrifying 2 while charging (remember the Konoungyrs Supremacy Ability!) melee blender. This guy is what your opponent will be worried about while the squishier Nord units close the gap to them.
Jarl: Starting our second Warband, the Jarl is a competent melee character who will fit nicely with the 6 stands of Raiders you will have. Since we are not using the Jarl’s Supremacy ability his usefulness really depends on how you build out his upgrades. The good news is the Jarl is an extremely cheap option starting at 80pts that can be buffed into a great support piece for the unit he is in or built as a competent melee fighter. The Jarl in our list is a little more expensive than I would usually recommend, but he is a good example of how customizable this character can be. With Tactical Tier 3 he is giving the regiment of Raiders he is in Indomitable, Flank, and Dauntless making them much more survivable. He is also sporting 5 Impact Attacks at Brutal Impact 2 which will pair nicely with the Konungyr giving him Terrifying 1 on the charge.
Raiders: The most basic infantry in the Nords army roster come with some awesome special rules and Officer upgrades that make them worth taking in all Nord armies. With the Flurry rule already giving them the ability to re-roll all of their missed hit rolls, when this unit gets below half strength they will be gaining +2 Attacks per stand from the army special rule! For their Officer upgrade I have chosen to spend 10pts on a Captain to make this unit a Medium regiment allowing them to hold Objectives, but the Shield Biter is an equally effective choice.
Ugr: Last in our 2 purchase 1500pts Nord army we have the Ugr. Much like the Moutain Jotnar these brutes are here to make your opponent think twice before throwing all of their attention onto your more vulnerable units like the Raiders. While these guys pack an absolute punch with Cleave 2, they are a little disappointing in the defense department. With just a Defense of 2, concentrated shooting can be a real problem for these guys, but once they get stuck in their Fearless and Oblivious special rules will make them stick around a lot longer than expected.
Jumping into Nords with their half of the 2 player starter set combined with their own 1 player starter set box is an amazing way to quickly have a playable 1500pts for Para Bellum’s Conquest. I have included a sample army list below in the comments, but it is by no means the only way to build out the Regiments or characters that you will own. I fully admit the characters in this army list are a little too costly when it comes to their points than I might otherwise take, but the army is fully functional at 1500pts by only grabbing 2 boxes!
If you are looking to make the jump into Nords with their 1 player starter set, or looking to start any Conquest faction, FLG has a ton of Conquest product over on their webstore!
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
Nords Starter Army [1495/2000]
Nords
[object Object]
== (Warlord) Konungyr [240]: Wolf, Massive Frame, The Broken Blade, Golden Torc, Overkill, Combat 1, Combat 2, Combat 3
* Bow-Chosen (3) [220]:
* Mountain Jotnar (1) [170]:
* Huskarls (6) [320]: Standard Bearer, Thegn
== Jarl [155]: Dragon, Wolf, Reyngeir, the God Spear, Wealth of a Hundred Raids, Tactical 1, Tactical 2, Tactical 3
* Raiders (6) [240]: Standard Bearer, Captain
* Ugr (3) [150]:
Do you have any thoughts on expanding this current list to 2000 points?
I would say this army is just missing a couple more Jotnars in the Sea and Ice versions to be a perfectly playable full Conquest army. By moving the Moutain Jotnar to the Jarl’s warband both other Jotnars fit with the Konungyr’s warband. Especially with the recent changes to Bow Chosen, I think triple Jotnar is the best way to play Nords.