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And, Importantly, Why Do I Care?

In an upcoming article I will be reviewing the game, but today I wanted to discuss what scale is Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings? And, more importantly, why do I care?

For starters, let me explain how I got into Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings. The answer is fairly simple, but it’s really important. I have tremors in my hands and they’ve been getting worse lately, and I’ve been struggling to paint small things. I heard that Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings was a bigger scale, and I figured I’d try it out. I liked the look of the miniatures, and I had just gotten a $100 Amazon gift card from work, so I decided to dive into the game.

So what scale is Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings? According to Para Bellum, it’s 38mm. For reference, Warhammer 40k is supposedly 32mm and Marvel Crisis Protocol is supposedly 40mm. If those numbers are to be believed, then I kinda sorta doubt the 38mm scale.

As Exhibit A, I present a crossbowman from The Hundred Kingdoms standing next to one of the Kill Team Aeldari Corsairs. Looking just at these two side by side I think you could reasonably say that the scale of Conquest is about 38mm. Aeldari are shorter than a Primaris Marine, and Warhammer is Heroic Scale anyway, so this is all incredibly muddy water. But the crossbowman is a good head taller than the Corsair.

But for Exhibit B, let’s look at a Hundred Kingdoms Household Knight (supposedly 38mm) next to Théoden from Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game (supposedly 28mm), and the difference is stark. This is more than one head higher. The Household Knight is nearly twice the height of Théoden.

Is The Scale of Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings A Problem?

Now, is any of this a bad thing? Am I complaining about the different scale?

Not at all. Of course, there is one major scale-related reason why you wouldn’t want to play Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings: your terrain probably won’t match the size of the miniatures. If you’ve been playing other historical or fantasy games similar (like Age of Sigmar, Warhammer Fantasy, Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, A Song of Ice and Fire, Pike and Shotte, and so on) then the medieval buildings you’re using won’t match the size of the figures. Of course, trees generally scale up very well, and Conquest is a game where buildings don’t matter much (it’s rank-and-flank) so you can get along with trees and rocks for the most part.

But why is the scale of Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings a good thing? Because I’m struggling to paint, and these miniatures are easy.

I’ve been having tremors in my hands lately, and I am in need of a new pair of glasses, and it’s been hard to paint regular 28mm or 32mm miniatures. That’s honestly the reason why I have been diving so hard into Marvel Crisis Protocol these days, and it’s also the reason why I’ve been painting up the miniatures for A Song of Ice and Fire. What scale is Marvel Crisis Protocol? 40mm. And for Marvel Crisis Protocol, the miniatures are big, and for A Song of Ice and Fire the miniatures are, well, not the best–and I don’t mind painting them badly. It’s been nice to have these three games (Marvel, ASOIF, and Conquest) as a back up until my nerves get under control.

I think there’s a bigger issue here, however, where we miniature painters are afraid to admit we’re not amazing. We tend to only see really good miniatures, especially if we’re online all the time. People only post their best stuff to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and we seldom see the rough drafts. Even though we’re all aware of the difference between Battle Ready and Parade Ready, no one wants to admit that they only paint to a Battle Ready standard. (And this is hindered even more by the fact that companies like Games Workshop put out “Battle Ready” tutorials that are as advanced as the average painter’s Parade Ready.)

It’s okay to not be good at painting, and it’s okay to rely on a crutch, and I don’t mean any offense to Para Bellum when I say that painting these Household Knights was like painting on Easy Mode. 

Of course it’s an illusion, because I’m basically comparing a photo of my painted Conquest Knight against a photo of a 32mm model and being surprised at how much better the larger model is–in a photo they look the same size. So it’s all fake. But it feels really good to be able to paint this way. Yes, you still use two thin coats of paint, and you still do edge highlighting but it looks better because the model is bigger and it fools your brain into thinking you’re a better painter than you are. 

All of this is just to say that you don’t have to be an amazing painter to be a legitimate wargamer, and you don’t have to have steady hands to paint models. There’s honestly nothing wrong with me painting 28mm badly. I’m still proud of my work. And I’m still better than I used to be.

I just find that painting Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings at 38mm scale is fun.