Kings of War Armada Basilean Guide

Kings of War Armada is a ship wargame by Mantic Games, set in their fantasy Kings of War setting in the world of Pannithor. In our Kings of War Armada Basilean Guide, we'll look at the faction as a whole, and break down each ship.

If you want to know more about Kings of War Armada, you can read our guide here, or if you want to know more about Kings of War, you can read our guide here.

Basilean Fleets

The Basilean's are a group of pious men and women and one of the strongest powers in Pannithor. Their ships sail fearlessly around the seas, bringing the light of the gods, or destructions for the undeserving.

The Basilean fleets have noticeably huge sails, which means when using the full rules for wind, they need to consider wind direction for positioning, especially as a majority of their firepower is broadside mounted. Their Iron Resolve ability means that it's very difficult for enemies to break them after winning boarding actions and they have access to a damage reducing upgrade and repair boost.

Basilean Ships

Dictator / Hegemon's Fury

The Dictator is a monster of a ship and with ten broadside guns. It only has a move of three, so can be slow to get into combat and maneuver into position, but once there, can end combat quickly with sheer firepower. Taking out a Dictator is a challenge for anything other than another XL ship.

Hegemon's Fury is almost identical to the standard Dictator class, with a slightly higher nerve and fewer structure points. The extra fifteen points it costs gain you the Well Drilled special rules which make them better than Veteran Crews with their skill test bonus.

Abbess

The Abbess is the main battle ship of the Sisterhood. It's an investment at 62 points, but in return, you get a durable ship with a lot of guns. A move of 4 means the Abbess isn't slow but will need some consideration in order to get the most out of its weapons. 3 heavy, 2 light, and 2 close on each side, and 1 heavy front and 1 light rear mean that there's always a target to be found. Driving the Abbess into the heart of the enemy means, with the right support, it can bring some incredible firepower to bear and can deal devastating damage if brought into close range.

Elohi

The Elohi is a light and maneuverable main battle ship. At 30 points they're much cheaper than the Abbess, but they have less guns and durability. Taking 2 over 1 Abbess, with their extra inch of movement, means they can threaten a much wider area. They also come equipped with a Halo of Light, reducing damage from all incoming attacks. Upgrading them with an Aegis Shield as well, means they're protected from both large-scale damage and swarm whittling shots, making them very durable for a small ship.

Gunbrig

Gunbrig's are cheap, small support ships armed with a front-facing indirect fire mortar. The mortars, while very inaccurate, have a long-range, random damage that can be devastating, and can scatter onto other targets if they miss. They aren't very durable, so keeping them at range and dropping fire on your opponent's fleet is essential for their survival.

Gur Panther

The Gur Panthers are the sisterhood's support ship and come in at a very cheap 12 points. They're fast, but light on armaments and durability. Their purpose is to protect the main battle ships of the fleet and distract the enemy from the larger threats, harassing and positioning in the way to protect the larger vessels.

Sloop Squadron

Sloop Squadrons are groups of two tiny ships which are incredibly fast and maneuverable. They're extremely cheap but offer very little in the way of threat to any large ships. They come with the helping hand special rules, which lets them boost the repair action for nearby ships.

Basilean Products

There are several products for Basilean fleets, which are listed below with the ships they contain.

Basilean Starter Fleet

• 1x Abbess
• 1x Elohi
• 1x Gunbrig

The Basilean Fleet comes with both main battle ships, and a support ship, coming in at 108 points for the ships alone. It's a solid foundation to build up from, but I would have preferred a pack with an Abbess and 2 Gur Panthers, with the Elohi in the other pack, as you can find yourself swamped with Elohi's from multiple purchases. If you're looking to run a pure Sisterhood fleet, then you can get the Abbess separately, and pick up the Gur Panthers through the Booster Fleet.

Basilean Booster Fleet

• 1x Elohi
• 1x Gur Panther
• 2x Sloop Squadron

The Booster Fleet fleshes out from the Starter Fleet, or 2-Player Starter Set Basilean side, adding in another Elohi and 3 support ships. There's 54 points in ships here, and when added to the Starter Fleet, or building out from the 2-Player Starter Set, it gives a great foundation to build up from.

Basilean Abbess

• 1x Abbess

The Abbess is available separately, so it can be added to your Basilean's from the 2-Player Starter Set or used to build up a larger fleet if you're going for a smaller fleet with superior firepower.

Kings of War Armada 2-Player Starter Set

• 2x Elohi
• 1x Gur Panther
• 1x Gunbrig

The Kings of War Armada Starter Set contains several Basilean ships, along with the full rules, components, and an Orc fleet.

Basilean Dictator

• 1 Dictator (optional part to build the named ship Hegemon’s Fury)

The largest ship of the Basilean fleet comes in its own box and can build the standard Dictator, or the unique, named ship Hegemon's Fury.

Basilean List Building

The variations between the Basilean products means that you're going to have a lot of Elohi (as they come in every set) and unless you're buying lots of duplicate sets, you won't have as many support ships as you may want. Mantic have made individual ships available to purchase separately, so if you're looking for a specific fleet build, you can aim for a dedicated list.

We're still exploring list-building options and will update this guide when we've played more games (post-UK lockdown).

All of the Kings of War Armada products used to produce this guide were provided by Mantic Games.