Kings of War/Tactics/Trident Realms of Neritica

Why Play Trident Realms of Neritica

You always wanted to play a fishman army, but never could before because there were no rules. You thought Aquaman was an under rated super hero.

Army Special Rules

• Bait and Switch: All units in this list have the Ensnare special rule, unless otherwise noted. Bizarrely this is actually more than half the army, so very few units actually have Ensnare. Giving -1 to hit to enemies facing you from the front is not something to be upset about though, when you can get it.

Rules update clash of kings supplement has given Placoderms, Placoderm Defender, Riverguard, Riverguard captian and Nokken. Get ready to drink your oponents tears.

Unit Analysis

Hero

• Depth Horror Eternal: The hero version of the large infantry unit. Just like that unit, this watery beast is a glass hammer. It his on a 3+ with Crushing Strength (2), but has a poor defence of 3+ as well. It also gets Ensnare, Nimble, and Inspiring for other Depth Horrors only. This does make it decent for hero and monster hunting, but you should only really consider one if you are bringing Depth Horrors as well.

• Naiad Centurion: The upgraded version of the Naiad Envoy. For almost twice the points you get a slightly upgraded stat line and add Crushing Strength (1). You can also buy a harpoon gun with Piercing (1) for 20 points.

• Naiad Envoy: Your basic Army Standard hero. He comes with Ensnare, Individual, Inspiring, Pathfinder, and Regeneration (4+). One of the better versions of an Inspiring hero in the game. Not terrible and the upgrades are worth the points, you just often will be better served by taking Naiad Envoys for the extra source of Inspiring.

• Naiad Wyrmrider Centurion: The hero version of your large cavalry. Like the large cavalry unit version, they have Crushing Strength (1), Inspiring, Pathfinder, Regeneration (4+), and Thunderous Charge (1). These heroes are really hard to kill and they are very mobile with Pathfinder. They also double attacks on the flank and triple on the rear since they lack Individual. They are only 5 points short of a unit of three, so if you take one make sure you have it sneaking into tight spaces to harass flanks.

• Placoderm Defender: The hero version of a Placoderm. Individual, Inspiring for Placoderms, and Phalanx come base, but like his bros he can switch out his hand weapon and shield for a two-handed weapon for that Crushing Strength (1) and dropping defence by 1 point. He's cheap and has a high defence, but in a lot of ways is worse than a Naiad Envoy and less versatile. You're probably better served just taking one of those instead.

Alternative take with Clasjh of Kings: With ensnare and defence 6 the placoderm defender is one of the hardest heroes of the game. Give him wing of Honeymaze and you have a 150 points of tarpitting goodness that can either stall ranged unit hordes in melee for a really long time or hunt warmachines with pleasure or both. Don't count on him killing stuff on his own, but he can be an excellent anchor for slowing enemy advance.

• Riverguard Captain: The hero version of a Riverguard. He does not come with Ensnare(now he does thanks to Clash of Kings) or Individual, but He does have Crushing Strength (1), Fly, Inspiring for Riverguard, Pathfinder, and Vicious base. You're probably better served with a Naiad Envoy, but this hero does have some advantages in certain situations. Fly and Pathfinder allow her to get places your Naiad Envoy just can't get to, so there are definitely situations where this is a better choice, but that is largely going to depend on how much terrain your play group likes to use.

• Siren: Possibly the best living legend in the game. For 140 points you get a pretty garbage stat line with a melee of 4+ and a defence of 3+ and only 1 attack, but She comes with an unique spell: Siren's Call. This spell is a Wind Blast (8) spell, except instead of pushing an unit away with each hit, it pulls them an inch closer. This also causes the enemy unit to be disordered and remain so through their next turn. This spell cannot target units with Shambling, but for anything else you can really disrupt your opponent's unit setup with minimal effort. She also comes with Ensnare, Individual, and Stealthy, making her very difficult to hurt with ranged attacks. Highly recommended.

• Thuul Mythican: Your aquatic wizard. Strangely enough it doesn't have any spells by default, so you're going to have to spend more points to take what you need. It can buy Bane Chant (2), Lightning Bolt (3), Surge (7), or Wind Blast (5). If you're taking Water Elementals, then you definitely want one or two with Surge. If you're not taking Water Elementals, they're still your caster choice for the army if you're looking for some spell support. Give him bane chant to help your pillowfisted placoderms.

• Trident King: Chariot riding sea kings. They're expansive and count as a living legend, but come with Breath Attack (12), Crushing Strength (1), Piercing (1), Thunderous Charge (1), and Very Inspiring. Their stat line is decent with a melee 4+, defence 5+, and 12 attacks with 8 speed, so they will do some damage. They also present a lot of modeling opportunities, if you're just going for rule of cool.

Infantry

• Naiad Ensnarers: A somewhat weak stat line, but they come with Ensnare, Pathfinder, and Regeneration (4+). They don't hit particularly hard, but they are very survivable and can tar pit most units at bigger sizes with their 50% chance to heal every wound, every movement phase. Solid infantry choice.

• Naiad Heartpiercers: More range oriented Naiads. They trade out Ensnare for harpoon guns with Piercing (1). They hit on a 4+ at ranged, which is better than most ranged units in the game, and still have that Regeneration (4+). Just like their melee cousins, they are a solid infantry choice.

• Nokken: Said to be surf demons, which probably means water sprite creatures, but could mean bloodletters on surf boards if you so desire. This is your cheap chaff unit as they probably aren't going to kill much of anything in melee. They do get Regeneration (5+) and Vanguard, plus a Breath Attack equal to their attack value. Move them straight up to your opponent's line and spew some watery death at them. Your opponent will have to deal with these nuisances or just keep getting sprayed. Update: with ensnare this guys are good anchoring chaff.

• Placoderms: Heavily armored, elite spear men. This is your Phalanx unit, which does not have Ensnare(now it does) . Good for stopping a unit of charging cavalry. They can also reduce their defence by 1 to take two handed weapons for Crushing Strength (1), if you want them swinging back a bit harder.

Rules update:With ensnare this guys are the best anvil in the game defense 6, phalanx and ensnare is simply bonkes as far as defensive stats go. A regiment will take some serious resources to take down, a horde is unkillable unless your oponent is willing to charge with at least 3 units and one of them in the flank. Also their offensive stats are quite good, though the lack of natural crushing strenght does hurt a little, but is is fixable without having to take great weapons luckily. Take two hordes, and watch has your oponent cries because he simply cant kill them(or do significant damage for the matter) while you sit on objectives. (IS THIS CORRECT? I CANNOT FIND ANY RULES THAT GIVE THESE GUYS ENSNARE?) Further update: They definitely don't have ensnare, and they now don't come in hordes. Still bloody impressive

• Riverguard: Flying infantry (well, technically it's leaping rather than flying, Riverguard are frogmen). They lack Ensnare, but they have Fly, Pathfinder, and Vicious. They also have ranged throwing weapons, unlike most of the infantry in the army, making them your quick and mobile attack unit. Use them to fly over or into terrain and strike at more elite enemy units.

• Thuul: Not to be confused with the Thule Society. A balance between offense and defense. They hit pretty well at 3+ and come with 15 attacks at the troop level and 20 attacks at the regiment level. Has ensnare and a slightly higher nerve than Naiad Ensnarers at the cost of regen. Best to use with a Thuul hero with bane chant.

Large Infantry

• Depth Horrors: Your glass cannon large infantry. Comes with Crushing Strength (1) and Ensnare and hits on a 3+ in melee. They only have a defence of 3+ though, so they die just as quick as they deal damage. Although they do have higher than average nerve for Large Infantry. They are cheaper than both Gigas and Water Elementals however, so they make a cheap choice for your large infantry or horde slots. They are best going up against other melee hammers as their ensnare will shorten their damage and the enemy's high crush is wasted on their low defense.

• Gigas: Crab people; taste like crab, talk like people. These are your can openers. They have an additional point of defense and Big Shield, plus they have Crushing Strength (3) meaning anything they fight will take wounds. They do have less attacks than Depth Horrors, but they hit much harder. Sadly they don't have Ensnare either, so you're not looking at one unit being definitively better than the other. If you take them, use them to eat high defense monsters and heroes or to just hold up units with no crush. Only 6/12 attacks in a regiment/horde hurts, they shouldn't be going in unsupported though.

• Tidal Swarm: Height 0 fish swarms... that walk on land. They're cheap and have a lot of attacks, they just hit on a 5+ in melee and have a pitiful defence of 2+. They cannot be wavered however, making them a good screening or flak unit when combined with their ensnare. Best used placing across from your opponents highest crush combat unit.

• Water Elementals: Water elemental infantry to support your fish people. They have Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinder, Regeneration (5+), and Shambling. They cannot be wavered and are decently tough. They also move faster than most large infantry and can be boosted with Surge by your Thuul Mythican. A solid beater unit that ignores most terrain and regains wounds every time it moves. Use with wind blast or the Siren for surgenanigans.

Alternate take: with speed 7 and heigh 2 this guys work wonders sitting behind placoderms and pulling up a two unit countercharge against whoever was foolish enough to change the placoderms. Even without surge, their threat range while charging is cavalry levels of speed.

Cavalry

None.

Large Cavalry

• Naiad Wyrmriders: Naiads on large sea serpents. They have a better stat line, hitting in melee on a 3+ and an extra point in defense above their foot slogging sisters. They keep Regeneration (4+), but trade out Ensnare or harpoon guns for Crushing Strength (1) and Thunderous Charge (1). Don't forget they also get Pathfinder, so they can easily slither through terrain and not take any penalities on the charge. Very effective at getting to the enemy and destroying them, while still reaping the benefits of their Regeneration. Has higher movement than most large cav at speed 8. Built in pathfinder allow you to run them as is or with a tasty magic item such as brew of strength or wine of elvenkind.

Monsters

• Coral Giant: Probably one of the toughest units in the game. Defense 5 with Ensnare and Iron Resolve is a tough nut to crack. Like other giants he has crushing strength 3, brutal, strider though his random attacks and nerve are one point lower than normal.

• Greater Water Elemental: The bigger cousin to your large infantry Water Elementals. This mass of water has Crushing Strength (2), Regeneration (5+), and Shambling. It is a good balance between the Giant and the Kraken with defense 5 and Regen 5+ but won't do as much damage as either. It does have Shambling though, so if you should only take one if you can take a Thuul Mythican with surge (bonus if you also have the Siren and Wind Blast). A 50mm shambling units can get into some tight spots for surging. does not have ensnare.

• Knucker: An interesting monster. He's cheap, not particularly tough (although ensnare helps) but has speed 9, nimble, pathfinder and Thunderous Charge (3). He's best used killing other flankers, shutting down shooters, and getting into the flanks of the enemy as he won't do much damage to the front with 6 attacks hitting on 4's.

• Kraken: More hitty than the coral giant with a guaranteed 12 attacks, but with crushing strength 2 instead of 3. Most of the time that would be enough however. Also has ensnare and strider, the biggest difference is regen 4+ instead of iron resolve and a lower defense and nerve. He is a better rounded monster than the giant, balancing offense and defense decently well but is more expensive.

War Engines

• Leviathan's Bane: Your only war engine, a giant harpoon cannon. Has all the standard pros and cons of war engines with its one notable exception being 2 attacks. The blast is lower (D3+1) but it has Piercing (4). Like all war machines it does a lot of damage if it hits but can be prone to bad luck. Most war machines you take in 3's to play the odds. With this warmachine you can take in 2's due it's 2 attacks. Odds are you will hit once a phase.

Tactics

Gigas and Depth horrors are perfectly suited for each other in regiments. Place the gigas in front and the depth horrors can see to dual charge with them. The gigas provide cover for small arms fire while being resistant to it with big shields. If you see a big hammer coming, jump the depth horrors over to receive the charge first. Otherwise let the gigas soak up first charges.