KvK Target Screening: Don't Trust Might Alone

The easiest mistake when building a pre-KvK target list is spotting a low-might castle and calling it a free hit. Might does not tell you which troops are inside, whether reinforcements have arrived, or how quickly the defender will respond. An unshielded castle may be an opportunity—or a defender waiting for your guild to rush into a rally.

A good list isn't the one with the most castles. It's the one that lets an R4 or R5 answer why this target, and why now? when the attack call comes. The process below helps you screen candidates first, then verify the survivors before committing to a fight. To assess movement across the opposing kingdom, read our pre-KvK migration tracking guide. For other game plans, browse the blog.

Separate the target list from the attack list

Once the opposing kingdom is confirmed, don't dump every unshielded castle into one attack list. Start with three labels: candidate, recheck, and rule out. A candidate is not a castle you have ordered the guild to hit; it's one worth investigating. That distinction stops an old observation from circulating as current intel when KvK begins.

Consider two castles. The first has lower might and no shield, but nearby castles belong to an active guild. The second has higher might but has shown little movement for a while. If you rank them by might alone, the first goes on top. Add nearby guild activity and target activity, and neither deserves an immediate rally call; both need another look for different reasons.

Four fields are enough for each entry:

• Last observation: When did you check its shield and activity?
• Reason: Why is this castle a candidate? Is low might the only reason?
• Unknowns: What don't you know about its troop composition or reinforcements?
• Decision: If no new information arrives, will you attack or pass?

Having 20 castles on the list isn't an achievement by itself. Clearly recording the uncertainties around five castles is more useful than marking 20 for attack without a reason.

Look for what might cannot tell you

Might is an indicator of a castle's overall power, not a substitute for a battle report. Two castles with the same might can have different troop compositions, defensive preparations, and reinforcements. A sudden change in might can also have more than one explanation. Don't jump from might dropped to the castle is empty.

For example, don't automatically treat a 190M-might castle as easier than a 260M-might castle. Ask first: Has it recently raised or dropped its shield? Has its gear changed? Are guildmates nearby? Which troops actually appear in the scout report? Each answer reduces a different uncertainty; none guarantees a safe attack on its own.

Gear isn't conclusive either. A player you see in gathering gear can switch to war gear. Likewise, a quiet-looking castle does not necessarily have an inactive defender. On a day like KvK, when players are alert, don't turn one screenshot into a permanent target profile.

If scouting is possible, include a current in-game scout report in the rally decision. If you can't get a report, don't assume unseen troops aren't there; mark the target insufficient intel. If the first attack changes your decision, use the separate framework in our second-hit battle report guide to assess the new report.

Read activity as a sequence, not a snapshot

Checking a castle at three different points can reveal more than one long observation: when you add it to the list, during the final pre-KvK review, and immediately before the attack call. The goal isn't to determine with certainty whether someone is secretly online. It's to see whether your earlier assumption still holds.

Suppose a candidate is unshielded and quiet on the first check. Its gear changes before the second check; by the last check, its shield is up. If the original note remains unchanged, your guild may assemble on bad information. The reverse matters too: a shield drop opens a window, but it tells you nothing about the troops inside or the player's response. Keep an opportunity signal separate from attack approval.

A guild checking manually can follow this process: one person records the observation, and another verifies the latest status. If you use LordsRally, a shield-drop notification can be your cue to investigate. Check shield activity with !info, gear history with !equip, and recent shield drops with !shield_drops. None replaces a scout report. The available tools are explained on the commands and features pages.

Pass three gates before calling a rally

Put three decision gates between a candidate on your list and a rally. They aren't there to slow you down; they make the risk your guild is accepting explicit.

1. Target gate: Is the shield status current? Is the scouting data sufficient? Have you considered possible reinforcements? If the report is incomplete, say so in the rally call.
2. Guild gate: Are the rally leader, participating players, and required troops ready? Three ready players do not mean everyone else will make it. Judge the call by confirmed participation.
3. Abort gate: What change will cancel the attack? Decide in advance what to do if the target raises a shield, new reinforcement intel arrives, or a report contradicts your defensive assessment.

For example, one candidate has a current report but too few guildmates ready; another has enough participants but unclear defensive intel. Neither is an automatic attack. For the first, confirm participation. For the second, gather information. Don't mix rally filling and troop-type decisions into target screening: decide whether the castle is a reasonable target first, then plan the attack setup.

Rehearse one decision before KvK

Before KvK starts, run through one sample target. Have an R4 state the latest observation, another player list the missing intel, and the rally leader explain when they would abort. Even a 10-minute discussion can prevent three conflicting calls in the middle of a fight.

You don't need to put a real player's name or coordinates in public notes for this drill. Match the target to your guild's internal record; remove identity and location details from any example shared outside the guild. Then answer three questions: How current is the latest intel? Who accepts the loss if the assessment is wrong? Who makes the call after the first report?

Post-attack resources are part of preparation, too. Don't open one target after another without reserving resources for healing wounded troops and subsequent marches. If you need to plan your supply, RSS resource packs are available on our site. Buying a pack is not a tactic that makes up for a badly chosen target, though. Get the reasoning behind the attack right first.

Want to review what's missing from your KvK target list? Get in touch.