Nerve Check
Nerve Check, is the best Kings of War podcast listened to by tens of people. Join Ben, Jon, and Ray as they talk Kings of War from the frozen wastes of Ontario, Canada. The meta, tournaments, lists, and players who make the scene.
Episodes
3 hours ago
3 hours ago
43 min
Ben, Jon, and Ray show off their 2300-point Xirkaali lists for Kings of War and explain why this is such a hard army to build.Timestamps: 0:00 – Intros 3:35 – Ben’s Combined Arms Force 8:30 – Jon’s All Beef, No Toy List 10:40 – Ray’s Run Fast and Hit People List 15:05 – Command Orders and List Building Considerations 31:20 – The March of Death Ringer List
6 days ago
6 days ago
38 min
Ben and Jon show off their 1200-point Halfling lists. Then, under the careful gaze of Tim, they roll for and create Ray’s next tournament-winning Halfling List for use at Mood for Love. The tournament isn’t until February, but Ray needs every bit of that time to overcome his disgust of the shorter race, build, and paint this army — which is currently sitting on his desk...Timestamps: 0:00 – Intros 4:45 – Jon’s Mid Shooting Spam List 6:20 – Ben’s Combined Arms Force 11:50 – Tim Oversees Ray’s Random Halfling Army 31:15 – What Has Tim Been Up To?
Oct 14, 2026
Oct 14, 2026
53 min
Ben, Ray, and Jon dive into tentacle lists — the Trident Realms. Starting with Ray’s experience at the Ohio GT, followed by Ben and Jon’s own takes on Trident Realms in 4th Edition. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intros 1:30 – Ohio GT Speed Tournament 4:15 – Ohio GT Review 12:10 – Game 1 vs. Rob's Kingdoms of Men 14:20 – Game 2 vs. Jeff Abyssal Dwarfs18:05 – Game 3 vs. Andy's Trident Realm24:24 – Game 4 vs. Nate's Forces of Abyss28:05 – Game 5 vs. Erich's Goblins34:30 – Ray Reviews His Army 38:15 – Ben’s Sucker List 41:30 – Jon’s Tentacle List (No Flyers... Crazy, I Know)
Oct 7, 2026
Oct 7, 2026
48 min
Ben, Ray, and Jon do their best to polish a turd and create a usable Empire of Dust list. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intros 2:34 – Let's Get Into This Army 3:45 – Ray's Godzilla-Themed EoD List 9:35 – Ben's "Let's Never Die" EoD List 15:10 – Jon's Flying Circus EoD List 19:40 – Unit Review 35:10 – Alex's EoD List (Because We Should Look at Someone Who Actually Uses the Army) 43:15 – Summary and Conclusion
Sep 30, 2026
Sep 30, 2026
53 min
Ben discusses his tournament run at Crossroads 2026, where he got to play the who's who in North American Kings of War with four epic matches. We then break down some of the top armies and discuss the one-battalion limitation used at the event. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intros, upcoming tournaments, and Forces of Abyss builds • October 3-4, 2026 – Ohio GT, Columbus, OH • October 25, 2026 – Spooky Murder Ghost, Hamilton, ON 6:00 – Ben's Crossroads Experience 23:00 – Results and list reviews 47:00 - Summary and look ahead.
Sep 11, 2026
Sep 11, 2026
45 min
Ben, Jon, and Ray break down the top armies at Clash of Kings UK, run through the upcoming tournament calendar, and spend the back half of the episode refining Ben's Twilight Kin list ahead of Crossroads GT. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intros and the Top Armies at Clash of Kings UK (and how closely they match the tier list) 9:30 – Upcoming Tournaments • September 18-20, 2026 – Crossroads GT, Elmira, NY • October 3-4, 2026 – Ohio GT, Columbus, OH • October 25, 2026 – Spooky Murder Ghost, Hamilton, ON 11:45 – Refining Ben's Twilight Kin List for Crossroads GT P.S. We've got a bet going on the over/under for Komodons at Clash of Kings UK — what's your line? P.P.S. If anyone finishes top 5 with Empire of Dust or Halflings at Clash of Kings UK, we'll ship them a beer anywhere in the world.
Sep 8, 2026
Sep 8, 2026
51 min
Ben, Jon, and Ray are joined by the Dino Lord himself, Cyle Pool, to talk about the upcoming Ohio GT! This 2300-point tournament takes place October 3rd and 4th in Columbus, Ohio, at a casino, and will be the biggest MW event of the year (well, other than the Masters... but does that count?). Ray's already signed up and paid for this one — seats are still remaining, so get in while you can! Timestamps: 0:00 – Intros and Hotel/Casino Awesomeness 5:35 – Honest 4's Scoring System 18:30 – Side Quest Creation and Map Testing (with Future Sharing) 21:10 – The Ohio GT Scene 32:10 – Cyle's Birthday GT and the Ohio Players Players Pack:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LhFxcQxtDR4bp_5OcKPXMb4Nfy_Ef9X-/view?usp=sharing Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/djeESBzy7
Aug 21, 2026
Aug 21, 2026
1 hr 1 min
Ben, Jon, and Ray are joined by Adam from Master Sight to rank all 20 Armies in Kings of War 4th Edition from a competitive perspective, taking into account the changes in Fracture, which was released in July 2026. We also use this opportunity to correct previous errors in rankings based upon newfound experience. We don't always agree, but this is our reasonably informed opinion from a tournament perspective and takes into account our new experiences and tournaments played.0:00 to 4:05 - Intros and shooting the shit. 4:05 to end - Ranking the 20 armies Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/djeESBzy7
Aug 14, 2026
Aug 14, 2026
1 hr 20 min
Ben, Jon, and Ray break down King Beyond the Wall 2026: Ragnarok, the latest Kings of War tournament, hosted in Alexandria Ontario. Huge shoutout to TJ for putting on a great event which will be hard to top. We dig into the armies each of us brought, providing a tournament recap, list breakdowns, and honest thoughts on what worked (and what didn't) under the new rules. Timestamps: 0:00 – General Tournament Recap 6:15 – Ben's Order of the Basilean Knights 29:15 – Jon's Horde of Orcs 33:30 – Ray's Forces of the Abyss
Jul 31, 2026
Jul 31, 2026
1 hr 7 min
Ben, Jon, and Ray interview Jason, the individual leading the organization and running the 2026 US Kings of War Masters. We discuss: How the MW volunteered as tribute Organization of the event (venue, location, etc) Week before issues Running the Event



