Mantic expands Kings of War Champions with campaigns and multiplayer battles

Campaigns give small forces a bigger life

Mantic’s new beta rules for campaigns and multiplayer battles give Kings of War Champions a bigger life than a straight two-player duel, and they do it inside the Mantic Companion. The update landed on April 16, 2026, with Rob Burman, whom Mantic jokingly calls the Goblin King, explaining how the game is being pushed toward more replayability and more ways to use the same small collections of models.

That matters because Champions is already built around a very specific hobby sweet spot: a compact, rank-and-flank fantasy game set in Pannithor, focused on legendary heroes and themed warbands rather than full armies. When a system like that gains campaign support, the painted force stops feeling like a one-off box project and starts looking like something you can carry through a sequence of linked games, with losses, victories, and story beats giving the models more identity on the table.

Why this is a painter’s update, not just a rules note

For miniature painters, the practical payoff is immediate. A smaller collection is easier to finish, easier to re-base, easier to expand, and easier to get onto the table with friends quickly. Champions now has a clearer path from the hobby desk to repeated play, which makes every painted unit feel more worthwhile once it is complete.

The three biggest hobby wins are easy to see:

• Linked force identities: when a warband is used in campaigns, the models start to feel like a named force with continuity instead of a loose pile of units.

• Evolving narrative armies: campaign play gives your heroes and troops a reason to grow over time, which is ideal if you like adding detail, markers, and visual distinctions as a force develops.

• Group-ready battlefield presentation: multiplayer battles reward tables that look finished from more than one angle, so terrain, tokens, and cohesive basing suddenly matter even more.

That is exactly the kind of structure that motivates painters to complete “just one more unit” because the finished army is not only playable, it is built to stay active.

What is in the box, and why that matters

Mantic’s Faith and Fury 2-Player Starter Set includes 41 miniatures, plus a gaming mat, tokens, terrain, dice, and the rules needed to play. That contents list tells you a lot about the game’s design target: this is not a sprawling commitment, it is a contained battlefield experience that can be assembled, painted, and fielded without the drag that often slows down bigger fantasy systems.

Mantic also says a game of Kings of War Champions can be played in around one hour. That short runtime is part of the appeal for painters, because it means the time you spend finishing the models translates into a game you can actually get onto the table on a school night, after work, or in a quick club session. When a starter set is built this cleanly, the models feel like part of a complete hobby loop instead of a shelf project waiting for a free weekend.

The Companion is becoming the bridge between box and campaign

The new beta rules were added to the Mantic Companion, and that digital support is the piece that makes the whole expansion work. It gives Champions a live platform for campaign and multiplayer play, which is exactly what a compact game needs if it wants to become a regular group fixture instead of a single introductory product.

Mantic’s messaging around the Companion has moved quickly. On April 10, the company said Champions was coming to the Mantic Companion very soon, and by April 16 it was live. That short gap shows how deliberately Mantic is building momentum around the game: the boxed set gets you started, the Companion keeps the system connected, and the new beta rules encourage you to keep using the same painted force in more than one format.

For hobbyists, that is more than convenience. It means the army you finish now is not just ready for one style of play. It is ready for campaign nights, multiplayer tables, and the kind of repeat use that justifies extra care in assembly, basing, and thematic painting.

A steady release rhythm is pushing Champions forward

The campaign and multiplayer update is part of a broader run of Champions news in March and April 2026. On April 1, Mantic said the latest wave of Champions releases was available to buy, including Xorxoi Prowlmaster and two more Company Boxes, along with individual miniatures. That earlier update matters because it shows the line is still expanding in visible, paintable chunks rather than waiting for a distant overhaul.

Taken together, the releases and the new beta rules point to a very deliberate strategy. Mantic is not treating Champions as a static starter box. It is shaping the game into a living small-army system, one that can absorb new miniatures, support campaign play, and give a small collection of models a longer shelf life on the tabletop.

Why painters should care right now

This is the kind of update that rewards finishing the forces already sitting in your project queue. A compact Champions warband does not need hundreds of models to feel complete, and the new campaign and multiplayer support gives that smaller collection more reasons to stay painted, based, and ready.

If you have been hesitating on a hero-led force because it seemed too limited for long-term use, this changes the equation. Champions now has the shape of a game that can grow with your collection, support narrative play, and look strong in a shared setting where every miniature contributes to the overall table. That makes the next finished warband easier to justify, and a lot more tempting to start.