Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read through the guide below. SOVL is a fantastic game, brimming with potential and imagination.

This guide and possibly others to follow are based on the rogue-like elements of the game vs the AI. Guides specific to multiplayer may be forthcoming in the near future. This guide is for the .75 patch of SOVL.

I created a video to accompany this guide, which can be found below.

Melee infantry units are the backbone for many of the armies currently available in the game. With this in mind, these units are placed into their respective tiers based on the following weighted grading criteria.

How well a unit operates within its faction, raw unit stats (a break down of which can be found below), Special rules, the number on entities within the unit, replenishment rate, entity size (how big is each individual model), starting equipment, and what upgrades can be purchased through the shops in game.

S-tier: Units that either outperform for their relative cost or fill in a key component of a factions central strategy

A-tier: Units that often punch above their weight, have unique campaign effects or are very reliable within their roles.

B-tier: Units that perform slightly above average, have the possibility to operate well within an army with some care taking.

C-tier: Units that perform as well as they should. Very unlikely to become a central part of the army or unable to progress as far as other units.

D-tier- These units may not fit into the usual archetype of the army, may perform poorly on average, or suffer from unique circumstances.

For those who do not want to read the whole guide please find the full tier-list here.

The imperial forces rely on combined arms to dominate the battlefield. They do not hold the line very well and lack the discipline/defense needed to combat most cavalry and monsters. Special rules that stand out include the ability to re-roll all attacks each turn and increase combat score by one. Imperial infantry works best in large blocks of units with as many attacks as possible. Emphasis is placed on units that can hold for long periods of time and replenish quickly.

Imperial Halberd: This unit is the standard by which the other units are judged. Having the middle of the road stat line, 10 entities per unit, each unit is mid sized, and coming in with only one piece of equipment this unit is as standard as they come.
C-tier


Imperial Spear: A slight upgrade from the halberd-wielding variant, this unit shares all of the same features as their halberd kin but boosts extra attacks due to ranks as well as extra defense. Within the army, the unit holds the line quite well and can repulse overzealous calvary and monster charges. The unique rules available to them that grant a bonus to combat score can be crucial to winning combats
B-tier

Imperial sword: Very similar to the imperial spear unit the sword unit allows for more killing potential on the charge and may be more versatile in an aggressive army. The in game purchase of heavy armor and special banners significantly help the unit's performance.
C-tier


Imperial Foot Knight: A direct upgrade of the imperial swords, this unit has access to one of the best special rules in the game, Imperial veterans. Allowing them to reroll all missed attacks permanently. They have access to great weapons and a strong starting stat line; this is an excellent starting unit and a decent pickup later in the campaign.
B-tier

This faction sports many excellent melee opinions in the forms of infantry, cavalry, and monsters. Lack of ranged units as well as artillery force these units to close the distance quickly. The only special rule at this time is a random plus one to any stat of a unit, useful but unreliable. Emphasis is placed on units that can absorb ranged punishment and deal damage are weighed.

Northmen Axe: This unit has an identical stat line to the imperial sword and mongrel pack units; however, it currently serves a more crucial role than those units. Being one of the few units that can replenish at a decent pace, they can be used to absorb ranged damage for the rest of your army. Extra wounds through the special rule is a significant boost, as well as heavy armor.
B-tier

Devil Spawn: One of the few units in the game that have three starting keywords, the devil spawn has a lot going on. Being fearless can be a detriment to this unit as they will not retreat from a fight they are losing, and they do not replenish very quickly meaning a unit can be wiped out if caught out. With that aside, this is one of the best damage-dealing infantry units in the game; they can often win a fight decisively enough with a frenzy that non-fearless enemies will flee. Extra wounds through the special rule are a significant boost.
A-tier

Abyssal Warriors: This unit can be used as the linchpin of an Abyssal legion army. Sporting two attack base! High defense with a plus one to all defense saves this unit is what you want from an infantry blender. On the negative side, they only have one wound, move slowly, and replenish slowly. They will win most fights they are, in all things being equal, and still be able to put out damage in the following rounds. Extra wounds through the special rule is a ridiculous increase in power.
S-tier

Relying heavily on heavy cavalry, skirmishers, and monsters, the mediocre melee infantry units of the dead nations are often left behind to mop up routing units or used as sponges to absorb ranged attacks. The dead nations do have unique special rules that can benefit melee infantry units, such as crumbling less, having more models, and the hero's ability to increase movement.

Skeleton Spears: Low skill often means that the skeleton warriors are hitting only half of the time even with upgrades. This unit is best in deep blocks to help leverage the extra attacks given by spears. A decent anvil if your opponent chooses to charge them; however, their lack of movement often means they cannot position advantageously.
C-tier

Skeleton Sword: Having slightly more killing potential on the charge than their spear-wielding kin, the Skeleton Sword has a more fighting role in their aggressive army. They operate to standard within the army.
C-tier


Zombie: Perhaps the worst melee infantry unit in the game from a stat line perspective. In the context of the campaign, this unit should almost always be avoided. They can be used as speed bumps and roadblocks. However, any money spent on purchasing a unit of zombies is better spent on other units or upgrades. (perhaps multiplayer is useful)
D-tier

Wight Guard: The Wight Guard has an impressive stat line for a melee infantry unit and can be uniquely found (traded out) by any faction within the game through events. The Wight guard can often win combats and can be healed in battle through upgraded Dead Nations abilities. They perform well for a melee infantry unit in a fast-attack army.
B-tier

This faction lacks defense but makes up for this lowered stat by being faster on average as well as high skill. The range capabilities of this faction are the primary focus therefore the ability to hold the line and deal damage quickly will be weighted more heavily. The swift special rule for elves is moderately useful.

Deepwood Guard: These units perform very well given their role within the faction. They are able to repel fast attack units and calvary and will often hold long enough against more dangerous infantry units for your other units to flank and break them.
B-tier


Deepwood Dancers: A surprising hit within the army. These units lack power but more than makeup for it by rerolling their numerous attacks. Paired with the Deepwood guard, this unit can take advantage of its swift key-word and make an excellent flanker. Low defense means that they will need to be careful with the units they engage with.
B-tier

Dryads: What should be a slam dunk in a shooting army this defensive large unit underperforms in most cases. Dryads can be difficult to position properly to allow for the rest of your army to work to its fullest potential. They have good all-round stats and benefit from the druid hero ability. They also lack the equipment to allow for different variations. Performs to standard.
C-tier

With an infantry and warmachine-centric army, the dwarfs boast the most melee infantry units in the game. Lacking speed and devastating ranged capabilities; this army relies on its melee infantry units to hold the line so that its guns can deal damage. The dwarf special rule of sturdy and runes plays a key factor in play.

Dwarf Miners: An attractive speed bump and pseudo damage-dealing hybrid unit, the dwarf miner has quite a bit going on. Unfortunately being a jack of all trades means that it is a master of none. Other units within the dwarf roster outperform it in ways that matter more to the army and the ambushers' special rule is not very useful for such a slow army.
C-tier (almost b)

Dwarf Warriors: The dwarf warriors are an extremely good choice for the dwarf faction. Having high defense, access to ranged damage, and strong upgrades, this unit will hold the line and dish out damage. Importantly, dwarf warriors also replenish fairly quickly, meaning they can take damage battle to battle without losing much combat potential, which is exactly what you want in this army.
S-tier

Dwarf Berserkers: An interesting damage-dealing unit that comes with above-average defense. The Berserkers are one of the, if not the only, flanking units within the dwarf rooster that can make a considerable difference and act as a fantastic countercharge unit once enemies have engaged your front line, providing some much-needed versatility.
A-tier

Deep Guard: This is the abyssal warrior light for the dwarf faction. Having nearly Identical stats, but less attacks and are considerably slower the deep guard packs a decent punch. They do not replenish very quickly and suffer against ranged fire due to not being able to close the distance.
A-tier

Dwarf Veterans: a slight stat upgrade over the dwarf warriors. Dwarf veterans come with the keyword fearless. Fearless can be a great rule to allow monsters and damage-dealing units to stay in a fight if they encounter a bad role. This, on paper, sounds like a great thing for the veterans, but ranged units cannot shoot into combat, and other dwarf units move too slowly to support the veterans if they are losing combat.
B-tier

Similarly to the Greenskins and imperials the elf conclaves rely on combined arms to operate at maximum efficiency. Units in this army have higher than average skill and tend to have higher discipline. Melee infantry are versatile and dependable.

Elf Spears: A dependable unit that punches slightly above its weight class. The extra skill and access to heavy armor mean that the elf spear unit takes fewer wounds than similar units and lands hit fairly often. They lack power and are eclipsed by other units within the rooster
B-tier

Elf City Guard: This is perhaps the best or second-best melee (hybrid) infantry unit in the rogue-like setting of the game. Being able to deal damage and reduce or remove threats from the board before they make contact in melee allows this unit to pick and choose its engagements as well as support the rest of the army in almost all scenarios regardless of positioning.
S-tier

Weapon Masters: A good damage-dealing unit that performs as well as it should. They struggle with a defined role within the army as most threats are dealt with by other units more efficiently. It is a decent unit that can make an impact if positioned well but suffers greatly against ranged combatants.
B-tier

This is a heavily melee focused faction with emphasis on moving up the board and flanking enemy units. The faction also has access to decent Calvary, excellent monsters (minotaurs). Melee units within the army must be able to keep up with the rest of these great units. Abyssal legions random +1 to stat special rules apply to the whole army.

Mongrel Pack: An Imperial sword unit with a few keywords and lower disciple the mongrel pack is less than desirable within the campaign setting. The ambusher rule often leaves them too far out from the rest of the army to have support and they cannot close the distance to an enemy quickly enough to not be shot to pieces. They perform to standard
C-tier

Goatmen Warriors: A direct upgrade to the stats of the Mongrel pack, the Goatmen Warriors, is what this faction wants from its infantry. They are not fast but can move up the board more quickly with hero support, and benefit greatly from campaign upgrades.
B-tier

Ibex Warriors: In an army that sports great monsters, cavalry, and an above-average power stat across the board, having a monster killing or heavy infantry killer is not the most useful. These threats can often be dealt with more efficiently by other components of the army and this unit does not replenish or move very quickly in a very aggressive army.
D-tier

An extremely versatile faction with a focus on melee infantry, the Greenskins have a good mixture of units with above-average power and defense but lack skill and discipline. The special rules for greekskins allow them to be very aggressive and suffer losses that heal more quickly.

Goblin spear mob: A surprisingly good utility unit that can be used as chaff or to defend war machines/ranged units. The spears allow for more attacks in what should be a fairly numerous unit, with special rules that allow for more income in between battles or more utility as a flanking unit.
A-tier

Goblin Mod: Identical to the spear mob in all respects except their equipment. May be more useful in a very aggressive army. See above for more details.
A-tier

Orc Warriors: This unit has an impressive stat line, replenishment rate, access to special rules and equipment. They are a good unit to build your army around but need to be supported.The lack of discipline can mean that a round of poor dice rolls can see it routing with a decent chance of returning.
B-tier

Orc Brutes: A very strong stat line that suffers heavily from a lack of skill and large individual model size. It is difficult to create an effective fighting force of this unit as they have difficulty landing attacks and are too slow to close the distance with ranged and hybrid threats. Decent in combat but are not as efficient as other elite infantry units.
C-tier

A faction that relies heavily on its ranged units and decent monsters, melee infantry tends to be used to hold the line. Interestingly, the faction lacks true artillery pieces, relying on mobile units and overwhelming numbers to outmaneuver and overrun the enemy force. All melee units contain the keyword swift (+1 movement) and have access to random mutations.

Ratkin Conscripts: The baseline infantry unit for the faction this unit fits in very well with the main archetype of the army. They lack punch but make up for it in numbers and replenishment rates. They are able to drag down elite units and monsters through the sheer weight of attacks. The Spear and shield offer less value than other spear units as the low defense base of the conscripts does not bring the unit up to defense 4, which is common among other units.
A-tier

Ratkin Skulkers: A damage-dealing unit that can perform very well due to the unique mutations available to the faction. At their base, the unit lacks defense and should be used as a flanking and support unit. The throwing stars upgrade is very powerful in softening enemies.
B-tier

Ratkin Legionaries: The unit boasts extra skill, defense, and halberds, which can be used to repel cavalry and monsters. They do not hold up well against other infantry units and do not replenish as quickly as other units. The mutation that allows for extra attacks is particularly useful in this unit.
C-tier

Dinosaurs riding Dinosaurs! This faction lacks ranged and artillery units but make up for it in having high power stats and very strong monsters. Particularly, the current aspect of the Salamander offering regeneration to monsters is powerful. With this in mind, melee units are often used in the early game to set up a strong cavalry and monster-focused late game.

Newt Braves: One of the few units that can become a hybrid ranged and melee unit, the braves act as a good support unit to the army. Because they replenish very quickly and have large numbers the ranged attack can be surprisingly effective at clearing away chaff and elite units. A unit that punches well above its weight class.
A-tier

Saurian Spear: A defensive unit in an aggressive army that has good stats overall. The unit does not replenish very quickly and moves somewhat slowly due to the large size of each individual model. A good anvil unit.
B-tier

Saurian Warriors: Identical to the spears but with a bonus on the charge. It may fit the army’s aggressive nature better than the spear-wielding counterpart. Skill is a useful skill for this unit to land more of its powerful attacks.
B-tier

Thanks again to everyone who has read the guide or viewed the video.


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Joe
The Bree and Joe Show.