Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Nerve Check

Ben, Ray, and Jon reflect on March of Death 2026. From Ray's experience TO'ing the event, Jon's use of his Ogre army and hunters, concluding with Ben's experience as a random Kingdom of Men faction. We discuss the hot-button topic of Ratkin and what should be done to that faction to lower their power creep, having come off two tournaments in a row of winning in the North-East. March of Death took place February 28 and March 1 in Brantford Ontario. Link to the lists: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WvoJl95Rb4MJK2OlheBBw893oX6HmoOi?usp=sharing

Ben, Ray, and Jon go through the matchup casts for March of Death 2026. The first two-day 4th Edition Tournament in the North East, taking place February 28 and March 1 in Brantford Ontario. Match ups are: Alex K. Paul Y. Ben T. Nathan C. Christian M. Joel Z. Corey R. Nick S. David R. Justin B. Eamon L. James-A F. Grace Nathaniel W. Harry G. Steve M. Jon M. Mike L. Mark R. Seth C. Matt L. Paul M. Ren M. Tim W. Warren G. Ringer Link to the lists: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WvoJl95Rb4MJK2OlheBBw893oX6HmoOi?usp=sharing

In this episode, we choose Ben's Army for March of Death 2026, talk about our slow-growth league, which you can join, and the Discord channel we would like you to post your pictures in! 0 to 8 mins 45 Seconds: March of Death events, slow-growth league discussion, and Discord. 8 mins 45 Seconds - We choose Ben's army (dice rolls start at 12 mins 30 Seconds) Now that you know Ben's list, remember lists are due by 22 February 2026 at midnight. Our Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/QHaaNxsTS

Ben, Jon, and Ray discuss the scenarios available in Kings of War 4th Edition, including the new deployment options available based on their recent Mood for Love Experience.

0:00 to 09:10 Mood for Love which used all three deployment options and Jon used an all Ogre Hunter force. 9:10 to 11:04 March of Death  11:05 to end Scenarios - table options - Scenarios (objectives, control, bluff, etc)

We didn't make it to Dead of Winter (snow). In this episode, we focus on the upcoming Mood for Love and March of Death. As a bonus to anyone who listens to this podcast and comments. Ben will play whichever army the viewers choose for him (reply in the comments) at the two-day March of Death event.

Ben, Ray, and Jon are joined by Mike to go through the matchup casts for Dead of Winter 2026. The first 4th Edition Tournament in the North East, taking place January 24-25 in Albany, New York.

First 9 mins 40 Seconds - 4th Ed Upcoming Tournaments

Starting 9 mins 41 Seconds - Match-ups :

1 Chris M vs Jordan B

2 Allen B vs Keith C

3 Harry G vs Jon M

4 Tim O vs Jeff H

5 Andrew C vs Kyler R

6 Chet D vs Nick S

7 Ken H vs Noah H

8 Corey R vs Jon V

9 Cyle P vs Josh R

10 Sam M vs Chris P

11 Owen S vs Jason W

12 Ren M vs Christo M

13 Eric S vs Cory W

14 Erik R vs Ben T

15 Ray S vs Adriel C

16 Eamon L vs Bart K

17 Marcelo R vs Brian R

18 Matt C vs Joe B

19 Stephen K vs Sam K

Sorry for the technical issues with this one; we had issues. Will fix going ahead.

Ben, Ray, and Jon discuss their practice games in advance of Dead of Winter 2026 and the lists they will be taking to the first 4th Edition Tournament in the North East, taking place January 24-25 in Albany, New York.

First 11 mins 45 seconds - 4th Ed practice games

Last 11 mins - our lists for Dead of Winter!

The match-up cast of this event will be published on Tuesday, 20 January 2026!

Armies can be found: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZKysKYG_p8b1g6LpdEaHGCSB-bS223Lj?usp=sharing

A quick episode, Ben, Ray, and Jon discuss the upcoming Northeast Kings of War tournaments, including:

A. Dead of Winter 24/25 January in Albany NY

B. Mood For Love 31 January in Hamilton, Ontario

C. March of Death 28 Feb/1 March in Brantford, Ontario

March of Death Lists construction: 2500 on the first day, 2000 on the second. The 2000-point army must be represented in the 2500-point list. In the 2000 point list, units can be decreased in size, removed, artifacts changed, and battalions reduced. The idea is that the army has fought a campaign and has been reduced in size.

For those wanting to skip right to the tournaments, skip the first minute and 55 seconds.

Links:

Dead of Winter

https://zombieplanetstore.square.site/product/event-kings-of-war-dead-of-winter-grand-tournament-2026/18546?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=102&fbclid=IwY2xjawPOE99leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFZdGJBQUJ1VmxVSjFPcWZLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsi1BMY5q6YQfWppiE-vhKYVdE-7uh3yuXOkUJSIwyzzukZ-IJ-7JIY755Gr_aem_1Dg3M6rU7-LNoJ0v2sULtA

March of Death

https://www.facebook.com/share/1C1yovqH2o/

Ben, Ray, and Jon discuss their thoughts on Kings of War 4th Edition, having now had a chance to read the rules and play their first games.

Ben, Ray, and Jon are joined by Mike S. and Ray C. to discuss Clash of Claus 2025. This tournament was held in Washington on 13 December and was the 1st 4th Edition Kings of War Tournament.

Watch Mike highlight some interesting quirks of the rules that emerged during the tournament, and Ray reflect on the armies amassed to date.

Congratulations to Ed, who won the first tournament of the 4th Edition!

Ben, Ray, and Jon, are joined by Mike to discuss Dead of Winter 2026. The first 4th Edition Tournament in the North East. This will take place January 24-25 in Albany, New York. Link to sign up below: https://zombieplanetstore.square.site/product/event-kings-of-war-dead-of-winter-grand-tournament-2026/18546?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=102&fbclid=IwY2xjawOumcZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeUa2FTN0sLpekA_YYFJPSBjVk3iQGjiQ_ENSLr5Ptvo2zb4TgoXp0rf55-z0_aem_TUS-d62UN0zYhaI1yN3FDQ

We are looking forward to testing the armies and seeing what 4th has to offer.

Part 2 of Ben, Jon, and Ray are joined by Special Guest Harry, to discuss the armies released by the various podcasts to date. This includes: Nightstalkers (Goonhammer) Orcs (Goonhammer) Trident Realm (Mantic Universe Podcast) Forces of Abyss (Counter Charge) Twighlight Kin (Counter Charge) Harry is the author of the website https://blood-fire.com/, which summarizes all the armies discussed to date. Check out his site for all the latest information, in particular: https://blood-fire.com/2025/11/07/kow-4e-army-previews-part-1/ https://blood-fire.com/2025/11/19/kow-4e-army-previews-part-2/

Ben, Jon, and Ray are joined by Special Guest Harry, to discuss the armies released by the various podcasts to date. This includes beginning at 27 minutes:

Northern Alliance (Nerve Check)

Halflings (Nerve Check)

Goblins (Direct Misfire)

Undead (Direct Misfire)

Ogres (Tales from the Warriors Hall)

Salamanders (Tales from the Warriors Hall)

Harry is the author of the website: https://blood-fire.com/ which has summarized all the armies discussed to date. Check out his site at for all the latest information in particular:

https://blood-fire.com/2025/11/07/kow-4e-army-previews-part-1/

https://blood-fire.com/2025/11/19/kow-4e-army-previews-part-2/

Ben, Jon, and Ray discuss Halflings in 4th Edition.

- Halfling Commands,

- What became core, specialist, and support

- The high costs of the commanders and warlords and Halflings in general

- See if you can create a Halfling Army in 4th with Halflings?

Bottom Line: Ray will likely not create a Halfling Army in this edition as he feels the army's core is overvalued.

Dear tens of listeners, in this episode, Ray and Page talk about: 1. Clash Asia 2. Forces of Abyss in 3rd Edition 3. Our planned 4th Edition Armies Halflings 4th Edition Review drops on 10 November

Ben, Jon, and Ray discuss Northern Alliance in 4th Edition.

- How to build an army,

- What became core, specialist, and support

- The high costs of the commanders and warlords

- Test whether Jon's current competitive armies can be ported over from 3rd to 4th.

Mantic provided Nerve Check with the Northern Alliance and Halflings to preview... this is the better of the two armies by far...

Dear tens of listeners, in this episode, Ray and Page talk about: 1. Clash UK 2025 2. Travel Planning or lack thereof 3. How we transport our armies across the world 4. Thoughts on Clash UK 2025 and why you should go. Part 2 to follow...

Dear tens of listeners, in this episode, find out about: 1. Ray's chat with Page Neo from Newbie Dice 2. What Army Ray will be using at Spooky Murder Ghost 3. What army Jon will use at Spooky Murder Ghost Ray accepts full responsibility for any consequences that may befall you.

Crossroads 2025 is a team-based Kings of War tournament. Ben, Jon, and Ray discuss the event and their teams' performance. Hint... we didn't perform as well as we had hoped. It was a fun weekend and a great series of games.

We highly recommend that you make it out for Crossroads 2026, which will be using 4th Edition!

Crossroads 2025 is a team-based Kings of War tournament. Special guest Adam joins Ben and Jon to discuss the first-round matchups, offering their informed predictions on who will win.

In reality, we are likely to be exceptionally wrong. Time will tell. Most importantly, everyone is looking forward to the tournament and a fun weekend.

Ben, Jon, and Ray, discuss: 1. Upcoming Tournaments (first 11 minutes); and 2. Infantry in Kings of War 3rd Edition (minutes 10-35).

Nathan and Ray discuss their plans to visit the UK and participate in Clash UK! We will be bringing two all-mantic armies, Nathan, his Ratkin and Ray, his Forces of Abyss!

Alex joins Ben, Ray, and Jon to discuss King Beyond the Wall 666, which took place on August 9th and 10th in Brantford, Ontario. Ray and Jon recap their game in which Abyssal Berserkers went head-to-head with a shooting Northern Alliance list. Our recommendation to the rules committee is to make the sacrificial imps either worth more (10 points for the regiment/15 for the horde) or remove them altogether as an option for the berserkers. Also, who was right most often on the match-up cast? Listen to find out!

Alex joins Ben, Ray, and Jon to discuss the first-round Matchups at King Beyond the Wall 666, which will take place on August 9th and 10th in Brantford, Ontario. Disclaimer - Please note that this is all for entertainment purposes and is subject to change. Round One match ups: Justin B - Mike L Nathan C - TJ W Ren M - Ben T Ryan K - Ray S Mark R - Paul Y Nicholas S - Eamon L James Alexandre F - Warren G Matt L - Nathaniel W Bryan L - Jon M

Adam Ballard joins Ben, Jon, and Ray to talk about playing Nightstalker's in 2025.  Adam won the US Masters twice with this army so he probably knows what he is talking about. If you are one of our tens of listeners and are not part of Adam's hundreds, check out his channel for tactical insights and game reviews. www.youtube.com/ ⁨@KoWmastersight⁩ 

Adam Ballard joins Ben, Jon, and Ray to talk about the US Masters 2025.  Which Adam was lucky enough to win, and Ray took home the top Canadian at the event!   If you are one of our tens of listeners and are not part of Adam's hundreds, check out his channel for tactical insights and game reviews. www.youtube.com/ ⁨@KoWmastersight⁩ 

Ben and Ray are joined by Greg to review the 2025 US Kings of War Masters first-round opponents and to predict who we think will be the top player in each region.

We were right picking the top three armies at the masters, so we will see if we are better than Adam in choosing the best player from each region.

Ben, Jon, and Ray go through the 2025 Kings of War Masters Tournament Pack. What they think the most popular armies will be: Jon - Imperial Dwarfs, Ray - NS, and Ben - Abyss), The scenarios, along with the timeline to submit army lists (30 June), and other event details. 

Ben, Jon, and Ray discuss Summer Smash 2025, which took place on June 14, 2025, in Oshawa, Ontario. During this tournament, we found out that Bigger is luckier, and luckier is better! Upcoming events:

July - King of the Thames

9-10 August - King Beyond the Wall VI: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AaPfVaZf6/

20-21 September - Crossroads: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1FyW9qV7bq/

Ben, Jon, and Ray talk about the first round match-ups for Summer Smash 2025! Taking place on 14 June 2025 in the Bond St. Event Centre, located at 44 Bond St. E., Oshawa, Ontario.

Yes, we are a bit silly in this one, but that is only because of the oversized army list creations we did for this tournament!

Army Lists Can Be Found: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZWKdON2Ip6yjAKbNG-85QgF4k6iksv1B?usp=sharing

4 Spots remain if you can make it out to this one-day event!

https://www.facebook.com/events/9361721897268081

Ben, Jon, and Ray talk with Paul, James, and Max about their experience at March of Death! Their first two-day event. How was their experience? What did they learn, and what would they recommend to anyone attending their first two-day Kings of War event? Sign up for King Beyond the Wall VI Facebook Site: https://www.facebook.com/share/15TSkq2iGz/ Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9b-TDYtS8fT3lmuLC0GqTtNujQzI8F3lbvAnuPM52lXx5gg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=117726213316268878925 Admin pack: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tGW2MSwmk59yRfi14fv7uXqVUoeTGAAa/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117726213316268878925&rtpof=true&sd=true

Ben, Jon, and Ray discuss Auras in Kings of War, notably Cloak of Death, Rally, Radiance of Life, Rally, Dread, and Ordered March.

The first 5 minutes are fluff/intro;

Minutes 5-25 are a discussion on Auras; and Minutes

25-30 are about possible giant heavy lists for Summer Smash!

Editor's Note: For Summer Smash, I am debating between 3 armies:

Forces of Abyss;

Trident Realms; or

Orcs.

Each list will have at least 3 titan/giant models at 2150 points. Which army should I take?

Ben and Ray discuss the games played at Vanguard GT, recap the lists, and discuss what they say about the meta at the Mid-Atlantic event. Ray also discusses his Forces of the Abyss list, how it performed, going 3-1-1. Ray's round 3 game is on video here - skip the first 30 mins...we were slow starting: https://www.youtube.com/live/yU4yiO1ctoc?si=ENvMizDBAo3LQvpm

Ben and Ray discuss Vanguard GT and recap the lists and Meta at the Mid-Atlantic event. Ray also discusses his Forces of the Abyss list, how he plans to use it, and the record he would like to achieve at the best tournament of the year, Vanguard GT. The post-tournament video will be up tomorrow. Editor's note: This is posted after the fact because I was busy that night painting my gargoyles and figuring out how to pack my army for the airplane—things I should have done before the last minute.

Ben and Jon talk with Eamon about an army that fits on the other side of the spectrum when compared with Halflings, Ogres! They have Mantic Models that may have missed legs day, but don't say that in earshot of them - they are excellent sprinters. They discuss the models, rules, changes, and how to build a helpful list from a competitive play perspective. Editor's Note: My first Kings of War army was ogres, and I didn't do well with them.  So they are dead to me. Listen to these gentlemen for actual advice and strategies.

Mood for Love is a 3 was a doubles tournament run in Hamilton, Ontario, on 22 March 2025, where participants arrived with their force and were randomly assigned a partner (hence blind date). Ben is joined by Nathan (tournament organizer) along with Jon and Eamon (first place team), who talk about how this unique tournament style went.

Ben and Jon talk with Nathaniel about the other small army in Kings of War... Halflings! They do have new models from Mantic and even a book of fluff. They discuss the models, rules, changes, and how to build a helpful list from a competitive play perspective. Participants range from reasonably informed amateurs to hosts who may have read the rules and are happy to make things up! :-) It is an awesome army with a neat Mantic range and is something I, as an editor, may try in the future.

Ben, Ray, and Jon discuss Invade, Control, and Hold the Line scenarios. How we play these scenarios with our respective armies, Trident Realms - Fish give up, Kingdoms of Men Flyer Spam - easy mode, and Ratkin - playing on hard. You can also tell Ben doesn't do these write-ups... Listen to this shorter episode and give your thoughts on the next three scenarios we should discuss. Also, if you want to contribute your thoughts and plans please reach out to us... we really could use the help!

Ray, Jordan, and Chet will discuss the first-round Matchups at Fully Loaded, which will take place on March 29 and 30 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. We will not be keeping track of the predictions. If a listener would like to send us a spreadsheet, we can discuss who was right most often – but that would take away from the fun of this activity. Please remember this is all for fun, and while I cannot attend this year, I will coordinate better with Chet to ensure I can play in his tournament next year!

Ben, Ray, and Jon discuss March of Death 3 and how the tournament ran, which was pretty smooth. First and foremost, thanks to Adkins for the use of his software—I wouldn't have run a tournament without it. It was awesome! Also, thanks to Rossi for the tips and support during prep. After discussing the tournament's organization and running, we discuss the games, and well, let's just say Ben had a fun ride to being top Canadian, and Jon may well be traumatized by the chant of "Double Ones." Thank you to everyone who attended and made the event a blast!

Ben talks with Joe and Greg about Ronnie Renton's favourite Kings of War Army - the Dwarfs. The models, rules, changes, and how to actually build a useful list from a competitive play perspective. All participants are reasonably informed amateurs with this army :-) One of them even took dwarfs to Masters in 2024 and won Best Painted! Dwarfs really can do it all! Side note from the editor - Faber Ironheart is overpowered despite anything anyone says.

Please submit your March of Death list to Ray on the 24th if you haven't already done so, so we can have a match-up cast!

Ben, Ray, and Jon discuss March of Death 3. We discuss the event, location, plans, and list. This event should be a blast. The list review should be on Wednesday night!

Ben, Ray, and Jon, joined by Alex, discuss the first Kings of War Tournament Dead of Winter, which took place Feb 1st and 2nd in Albany New York.

We review our performance which ranged from excellent (Alex with Nightstalkers), to good (Ben with Trident Realms), and well some not so good (Ray with Forces of Abyss - but I would argue I had the best opponents and as I am writing this Ben and Alex can't disagree).

Upcoming Events: 4 spots remain for March of Death - March 1st and 2nd in Brantford if you care to join us. It will be a blast. https://www.facebook.com/share/1B7VxHniqx/ Registration - https://forms.gle/qFHLyqJc9rHmNh3a8

Ben, Ray and Jon talk about the recently released Errata for Clash of Kings 2025 (beginning at minute 4). Minor screw-ups were had - namely by Ray at the beginning. Overall we think this is a positive change to Command dice and the rules as written. A remaining concern over the adjustment to the Loot Scenarios for scoring that we hope will be clarified - specifically for Push.

Mike and Cory join Ben and Ray to discuss the first-round Matchups at Dead of Winter, which will take place February 1st and 2nd in Albany, New York. Thanks to Cory and Mike for giving us a broader perspective on the players and armies.

We will not be keeping track of the predictions. If a listener would like to send us a spreadsheet, we can discuss who was right most often – but that would take away from the fun of this activity.

We will follow up with a review after the event on how the games went and more details on March of Death, which will take place from 1 to 2 March 2025.

Please remember this is all for fun, and we are thankful for Mike who runs this event.

Ben, Ray, and Jon discuss the first two Kings of War Tournaments we will be attending in 2025.

Dead of Winter (Feb 1-2) and March of Death (1-2 Mar). We review our lists (Trident Realms, Forces of Abyss, and Kingdoms of Men) and explain how we expect them to work at Dead of Winter. We also explain why you should attend March of Death! Reminder lists are due for Dead of Winter 20 Jan, so yes, you can tailor your list to beat us... but we are confident and full of ourselves, so good luck! Upcoming Events: Dead of Winter 1/2 Feb March of Death 1/2 March - https://www.facebook.com/share/1B7VxHniqx/ Registration - https://forms.gle/qFHLyqJc9rHmNh3a8

Ben and Ray are joined by Eamon (owner of Red Goblin Printing) to discuss our Kings of War Experiences in 2024 and expectations in 2025. Red Goblin Printing https://redgoblinprinting.com/ Upcoming Events: March of Death 1/2 March - https://www.facebook.com/share/1B7VxHniqx/ Registration - https://forms.gle/qFHLyqJc9rHmNh3a8 Tournament Pack - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rNlejwMMcQycNUwfbmv8ChJzPDTurOk_RZk7YQmF4wQ/edit?usp=sharing Dead of Winter 1/2 Febuary - https://zombieplanetstore.square.site/product/event-kings-of-war-dead-of-winter-grand-tournament-2025/18546?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=102&fbclid=IwY2xjawH2BsFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRwsH_J2qcdoDWGRLYwEm8o-835QUPAZkBzhR8TccT6d5R96J4_e5xmO9g_aem_9h9uag37qC0LGRIb1jYU9g

Ben, Ray, and Jon talk about Ray's experiences at Nerdhammer using the vile Forces of Abyss. Are Abyssal Berserkers broken? What does Command Dice add to the game? What list is Ray taking to Dead of Winter? Looking ahead, we discussed Christmas Carnage on 14 December and March of Death on the 1st and 2nd of March 2025.

Christmas Carnage https://blackknightgames.ca/pages/events

March of Death https://www.facebook.com/share/1B7VxHniqx/

Registration: https://forms.gle/qFHLyqJc9rHmNh3a8

Tournament Pack: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rNlejwMMcQycNUwfbmv8ChJzPDTurOk_RZk7YQmF4wQ/edit?usp=sharing

Ben, Nathan and Justin talk about Command Dice - sometimes changing from balanced discussion to rant. Command Dice was part of the recently released details from Clash of Kings 2025. Ray avoided this video on purpose. He would not have added to the balance of this discussion.

Ben and Ray discuss the recent Forces of Abyss update from Clash of Kings 2025. This is a fairly in-depth discussion of the changes to Forces of Abyss, the units available, army builds, and the multitude of options. Command dice, Trident Realms, and rules changes to follow.