The 2024 UK Masters tournament for Kings of War has provided us with substantial data on how player skill and list building contribute to victory. The event stood out with its 2345 point lists, deviating from the standard 2300 points, offering a fresh strategic landscape for competitors.
Pre-tournament predictions often fall to the wayside as the actual matches unfold, emphasizing the importance of the player's ability to leverage their list's strengths. The top performers, Chris Lynch with Dwarfs and Tom Robinson with the Northern Alliance, demonstrated exceptional list utilization, translating to a 4-1 win-loss record for both. Their lists, while not appearing extraordinary on paper, were piloted with such finesse that they outmatched their opponents.
For an overview of lists, download this file:
Results
As I have before, I ran a quick parser to generate an Elo report of the results. High-level standings here:
| Player | Faction | Wins | Losses | Draws | Elo |
| Chris Lynch | Dwarfs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1824 |
| Tom Robinson | Northern Alliance | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1782 |
| James Mitchell | Elves | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1752 |
| Michael Smith | Abyssal Dwarfs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1712 |
| Justin Gisby-Clark | Twilight Kin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1693 |
| Steve Tonneau | Salamanders | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1673 |
| Richard Luke | Basileans | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1658 |
| Jonathon Quayle | Basileans | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1634 |
| Chris Christopherson | Dwarfs | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1588 |
| Andy Ransome | Abyssal Dwarfs | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1578 |
| Ian Sturgess | Trident Realm Of Neritica | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1567 |
| Simon Cooper | Ratkin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1549 |
| Ed Herzig | Forces Of Nature | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1508 |
| Simon Tanner | Riftforged Orcs | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1497 |
| Matt Goody | Empire Of Dust | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1493 |
| Brendan Heath | Undead | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1483 |
| Peter Wrench | Forces Of The Abyss | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1462 |
| Mark Cunningham | Ratkin Slaves | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1410 |
| Paul Burke | Ogres | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1374 |
| Jon Gunns | Goblins | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1372 |
| Aaron Rankin | Goblins | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1308 |
| Andy Marshall | Halflings | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1305 |
| Alistair Vowles | Twilight Kin | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1291 |
| Michael Yeung | Kingdoms Of Men | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1237 |
| Ian Rodger | League Of Rhordia | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1214 |
| Robert Hutson | Riftforged Orcs | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1038 |
Faction Report
Similarly, though this is a small sample set, I pulled the faction report as well:
| Faction | Wins | Losses | Draws | WinPct | Elo |
| Northern Alliance | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.800 | 1782 |
| Elves | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.800 | 1752 |
| Dwarfs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.700 | 1706 |
| Salamanders | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.800 | 1673 |
| Basileans | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.600 | 1646 |
| Abyssal Dwarfs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.700 | 1645 |
| Trident Realm Of Neritica | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | 1567 |
| Ratkin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | 1549 |
| Forces Of Nature | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 1508 |
| Empire Of Dust | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 1493 |
| Twilight Kin | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.550 | 1492 |
| Undead | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | 1483 |
| Forces Of The Abyss | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | 1462 |
| Ratkin Slaves | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 1410 |
| Ogres | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 1374 |
| Goblins | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0.350 | 1340 |
| Halflings | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.200 | 1305 |
| Riftforged Orcs | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.200 | 1268 |
| Kingdoms Of Men | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.200 | 1237 |
| League Of Rhordia | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.200 | 1214 |
For full results from the tournament, please check out the entire file here:
Kings of War List Building
List building is an art in Kings of War, and this tournament's results have shed light on that. That said, similar to what we saw with https://ohz.wyv.mybluehost.me/backup/strategic-play-over-list-building-lessons-from-the-australian-cok-2024/ success is not merely about the units you select; it's about how you deploy them, the items you assign, and the objectives you prioritize. The data model I am refining is centered around this aspect of Kings of War, aiming to align army list attributes with game outcomes more accurately.
While we don't have enough data for definitive conclusions, the trends are telling. High-performing lists from the tournament, such as those of the Elves and Abyssal Dwarfs, balanced offensive capabilities with strategic defense and movement stats. On the other hand, lists with potential like the Ratkin Slaves and Riftforged Orcs fell short, suggesting that even a good list on paper requires adept handling to succeed.
Continuing to collect and analyze game data will refine our understanding of list building in Kings of War. This tournament has been another step in that ongoing process, and I look forward to adding more data points to our model to provide Kings of War enthusiasts with the insights they need to build winning lists. Stay tuned for further analysis and data-driven discussions on the art of list building in Kings of War.
Other Resources for UK Masters
If you're interested in following one player's journey through the 2024 UK Masters, check out this great Youtube video!
Similarly, the fantastic channel Death by Dragons has great coverage here:
