It’s that time again. The U.S. Masters are back—this year heading to the high desert, where 64 of the best Kings of War players will throw down in Reno, Nevada. If you caught the CounterCharge Matchup Cast and want a peek under the hood, this is where we get into the numbers. From surging factions to shifting artefacts to list construction trends, here’s what the data says about how the 2025 meta is shaping up:
TL;DR
Three big shifts leap out of the 2025 U.S. Masters data:
- Blue-collar armies surge. Forces of the Abyss, Free Dwarfs and Kingdoms of Men triple their head-count while Northern Alliance’s “hot-for-a-minute” rework cools off fast.
- Artefact meta pivots. Cheap blades are out; premium hammers (and a freshly buffed Blood of the Old King) are in, aimed squarely at the expected wall of Def 6 Dwarfs.
- List construction slows down. More anvils, fewer flankers, and a small bump in average Unit Strength point to grind/counter-punch over YOLO alpha strikes.
If that’s all you needed, you’re all set. But if you want to dig deeper into what’s shaping the Reno meta, grab a coffee and let’s get into it.
1. Blue-Collar Armies Crash the Party
| Faction | 2024 Lists | 2025 Lists | Δ | Δ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forces of the Abyss | 2 | 5 | +3 | +150 % |
| Free Dwarfs | 1 | 4 | +3 | +300 % |
| Kingdoms of Men | 1 | 4 | +3 | +300 % |
| Northern Alliance | 7 | 2 | –5 | –71 % |
What changed?
- Abyssals got shiny new toys in the Clash of Kings 2024–25 cycle—cheaper Succubi and a more flexible monster line-up—making the “glass cannon” stereotype less fragile. (manticgames.com)
- Free Dwarfs picked up momentum as players realised Pathfinder + Scout turns the old Def 5 infantry into legitimate board-control pieces. (dash28.org)
- Kingdoms of Men finally have identity beyond “discount everything,” thanks to incremental buffs (more Rally sources, cheaper Knights). (dataanddice.com)
- Northern Alliance’s 2024 rework looked scary on paper—extra Def, better shooting—but table results lagged; the community seems to have moved on already. (companion.manticgames.com)
Dwarfs, Core + Free, now field 11 of 64 lists—the single largest racial footprint in the room.
That’s a lot of axes.
So what?
Expect tighter deployment zones. Blocky armies need space, and 11 Dwarf captains are about to argue over the same real estate. If you’re running an alpha list, make sure you can still land a clean charge once the table fills up.
2. The Artefact Arms Race
| Artefact | 2024 Uses | 2025 Uses | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blade of Slashing | 24 | 9 | ▼ –15 |
| Brew of Strength | 13 | 17 | ▲ +4 |
| Hammer of Measured Force | 7 | 12 | ▲ +5 |
| EJ Periscope | 4 | 10 | ▲ +6 |
| Blood of the Old King | 1 | 9 | ▲ +8 |
Why the shuffle?
- Blood of the Old King lost its self-damage downside in the CoK 2025 update. One turn of Elite + Vicious for 15/25 pts with zero risk? Yes, please. (goonhammer.com, goonhammer.com)
- Hammer of Measured Force auto-wounds on 4+, making it the perfect answer to the Def 6 Dwarf bricks everyone’s bracing for. (dash28.org)
- Blade of Slashing finally falls off. In a world where you can buy guaranteed 4+ wounds or flat +1 Crush, a single reroll feels quaint. (goonhammer.com)
So what?
Consider running the numbers on how often your favorite hammer actually needs the rerolls from Blood versus flat Crush +1. And if you’re leaning on Def 6, bring a contingency for Hammer spam—otherwise those 4+ wound rolls will add up fast.
3. From Alpha Strike to Grind / Counter-Punch
| Role | 2024 Avg / List | 2025 Avg / List | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anvil | 2.13 | 2.60 | ▲ +0.47 |
| Shock | 2.93 | 2.61 | ▼ –0.32 |
| Flanker | 3.77 | 3.64 | ▼ –0.13 |
| Avg Unit Strength | 24.5 | 25.0 | ▲ +0.5 |
Anvils are tar-pits built to hold ground; flankers are speed 8+ units that threaten the wings and force mistakes. (daedle.net)
Reading the tea-leaves:
- A third-of-a-unit rise in anvils doesn’t sound huge, but across 64 lists it’s an extra 30 wall-units on the table.
- Fewer flankers means fewer early turn hay-makers; players appear content to win on Turn 6 objectives rather than Turn 3 shock-kills.
- Average Unit Strength creeping up reinforces the narrative—people expect to sit on tokens, not table each other. (daedle.net)
So what?
If your plan hinged on a Turn 2 alpha to crack open paper-thin lines, adjust expectations. You’re likely staring down double-anvil cores that can shrug off the first hit and punch back in style.
Where We Go Next
I’m sketching a follow-up post—“Armies to Watch”—to spotlight a couple of lists that embody each trend. If that sounds useful, let me know and I’ll start pulling the data together.
Sources, for the data-hungry
- Masters 2025 Pre-Tournament Report (available above).
- Clash of Kings 2025 artefact round-up – Goonhammer. (goonhammer.com, goonhammer.com, goonhammer.com)
- KoW 3rd Ed changelog – Mantic Companion (Northern Alliance tweaks). (companion.manticgames.com)
- Forces of the Abyss 2024 army refresh – Mantic Games. (manticgames.com)
- Free Dwarf review – Dash28. (dash28.org)
- Kingdoms of Men overview – Data & Dice. (dataanddice.com)
- Unit-class taxonomy – Daedle KoW Tactics (Anvil / Flanker definitions). (daedle.net)
- Historical list-building piece on anvils – Dash28 (Battle Groups). (dash28.org)
- Hammer of Measured Force rules – KoW 3 PDF extract. (pdfcoffee.com)
- Hammer usage example – Dash28 Abyssal Master list. (dash28.org)
Stat blocks are my own crunch from the official spreadsheet, sample size = 64 lists. As always, salt to taste.
