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This is the first Mantic product that I'm thinking of backing, but I really don't know much about their quality. I have some idea regarding their miniatures since I can see pictures online so I know what to expect on that front. I was hoping to get some insight into the following:

1) How are their rules, especially in standalone games (ie Dreadball and Mars Attacks)?

2) Is their Kickstarter fulfillment usually satisfactory?

The rules are pretty good on the whole. On here, a lot of Fantasy players rave about Kings of War (and from my own look at it, it seems solid). Warpath is still in development so naturally has a few issues, but it is fun at least. Deadzone is just great, and I can't speak for the others.

As far as Kickstarter goes, I believe they have a better track record (timing wise) than most other wargaming KS .

For delivery - yes.

For some other things, not so much, but they aren't 'horrible', I suppose?

And they are getting better, I think?

I've heard very mixed reviews of their rules. It's hard to tell since their games are fairly new, so half the people I talk to are basing their opinion on just reading the rules, or playing a game once

I find the rules to be great. - There's a couple of things that can end up being a pain, but aside from that, rules are awesome.

And any major issues once identified are usually updated for free on the FAQs website and published in an Amendments section in whatever the next book release is.

I enjoy the heck out of Kings of War. It reminds me of the really old editions of Warhammer fantasy before it became herohammer, mathhammer, hordehammer or deathstarhammer. It flows smoothly and is quickly picked up. More of beer and pretzels games though so if your looking for something very detailed......keep looking

 Galen wrote:
I've heard very mixed reviews of their rules. It's hard to tell since their games are fairly new, so half the people I talk to are basing their opinion on just reading the rules, or playing a game once

I've played more games of Deadzone since it got Kickstarted than I have of 40k in the past 6 years.

It's a fantastic system with some balance issues. You need to outright ban 2 or 3 models, and a few aren't worth taking. Apart from that it's brilliant and by far the smoothest system released in the past 6 years that I've seen (and I'm the sort who even buys obscure no-name garage company pdfs off Wargames Vault)

The mage appears!

Danor White of the Order of the Ardent Light.

Nice character on the sculpts. I will keep an eye on this.

 Unix wrote:
This is the first Mantic product that I'm thinking of backing, but I really don't know much about their quality. I have some idea regarding their miniatures since I can see pictures online so I know what to expect on that front. I was hoping to get some insight into the following:

1) How are their rules, especially in standalone games (ie Dreadball and Mars Attacks)?

2) Is their Kickstarter fulfillment usually satisfactory?

Rules are great (Mars Attacks is looking even better than Deadzone IMO, and Dreaball is an extremely good set of rules).

Kickstarter fulfillment is on time and has been very well received. Their first KS (Kings of War) was a bit shaky, and Dreadball had a few issues but since then it has largely been fine, with any delays being a month or two, and even then they split the shipment off to ship what they have in the warehouse immediately rather than waiting around for the final bits. There is none of the 6-12 month delay commonly seen in other Kickstarters.

http://quirkworthy.com/2014/07/27/state-of-play/

My one question about “Dungeon Saga: Dwarf King’s Quest”. Is there a chance we will see stats/rules for classic monsters not currently in Mantic’s miniature line but that are staples of the dungeon crawling genre? i.e. manticores, griffins, dragons, hydras, Basilisk/cockatrice, Minotaurs, etc.


Jake Thornton says:
July 29, 2014 at 11:04 am
I’d like to see this sort of generic monster too. However, I think we’ll have to see where the Kickstarter goes on this one. The further it goes, the more we’ll add – it’s that simple.

 Unix wrote:
This is the first Mantic product that I'm thinking of backing, but I really don't know much about their quality. I have some idea regarding their miniatures since I can see pictures online so I know what to expect on that front. I was hoping to get some insight into the following:

1) How are their rules, especially in standalone games (ie Dreadball and Mars Attacks)?

2) Is their Kickstarter fulfillment usually satisfactory?

1) I haven't played any of their rules systems personally (lack of opponents and time) so I can't comment personally, but much of what I hear about the rules is very positive.

2)I consider Mantic to have the best track record so far in terms of fulfillment. They sent out some downright terrible models from their KoW kickstarter, but they were largely on time, and every kickstarter since then has been largely on time. You won't get any unexpected six month plus delays pledging to a Mantic Kickstarter.

Now that looks like a mage who casts magic missile to attack the darkness! My boys are going to love this game.

I've only played a couple of games of Deadzone but really enjoyed it. It suffers a little bit for me as I already play Infinity, and both games fall into roughly the same 'genre' of small sci-fi skirmish games, even though they are very different realisations of that concept. Hope to play more though when the Forgefather set arrives!

Dreadball on the other hand is bloody fantastic. Really fast game, very quick to pick up and play, and just generally a great deal of fun. My only criticism is the crappy league system, which places as much importance on damage dealing to the other team as scoring. Gives away Jake not being a being a big (real) team sports fan I think, but otherwise a great game.

As for their Kickstarters I struggle to think of another wargames company that is so organised with them, has them so professionally laid out, and seems so adept at delivering the goods on time.

There were a few 'niggles' with Mantic when they first appeared, and as these have been solved new ones have appeared. But, that being said, you get the feeling of a genuine enthusiasm behind their releases, and a desire to improve. I'm pretty confident about this KS and think it will be well worth the money even as a standard-type pledge.

From the Mantic Podcast: http://manticblog.com/2014/07/30/the-all-new-all-returned-mantic-podcast/

Host Chris with Kai, Chris (CJ) and Jake Thornton.

1. Dungeon Saga: Dwarf King's Quest KS campaign launches August 4th 1:30pm BST to August 31st (28 days).

2. The KS Initial funding goal is $50,000

3. "One pledge level to chose from to start with. It's gonna be $100 bucks."

4. The spotty service last Friday (July 25) at the Mantic webpage/Forums when the KS date/time was announced was due to a high volume of site traffic.

5. There has been much discussion at the Mantic studio about the title. A working title was "Legend of Alandor" (which I may have spelled wrong).

6. "Even playing the scenario over and over it was different every time."

7. Uses D6 for "to hit" rolls.

8. What sets Dungeon Saga apart from other dungeon crawlers is the cinematic quality to the action.

9. Initially there will be 2 training scenarios and 8-10 scenarios. As the KS progresses there will probably be even more.

10. The advanced rules working title: Book of Depravity will NOT be called that as "it will offend people". Note it was called the "Adventurer's Companison" here: http://manticblog.com/2014/07/29/venture-into-darkness-part-1/

11. Baddies mentioned: Skeleton, Skeleton Archer, Zombies, Armoured Zombies, Revenants (armored warrior skeletons), Ghosts (that can pass through walls), Zombie trolls

Bosses "monster heroes if you will": Banshee, Zombie Troll Shaman, Undead Dwarf King, Mortibus the Necromancer.

12. The core rules are the Dwarf King's Hold rules which are being refined and balanced. Core game play will be for everyone "children" and families. Advanced rules will be in blocks so you can choose which to add to the core basic game for added complexity.


The interview with Jake Thornton starts at: 15:30 ends at 34:12

I mainly want to buy this game for DnD purposes. Hopefully all the sculpts turn out well, because they're gonna be used a lot on my table.

Looking at the greens, I find them better looking than the painted one. Is that weird? I just feel like it lost some sharpness to it.

The problem is these days, every time you read this..

 tgmoore wrote:

8. What sets Dungeon Saga apart from other dungeon crawlers is the cinematic quality to the action.

..the term has been damaged, and provokes this facial expression from most people reading it:

I dunno. At least as far as Deadzone is concerned, it is pretty darn cinematic. - Dudes dashing from cover to cover. Peeking out to try to get that clear shot.

And then the grenades and blast weapons.... Oh the grenades....

 Pacific wrote:
The problem is these days, every time you read this..

 tgmoore wrote:

8. What sets Dungeon Saga apart from other dungeon crawlers is the cinematic quality to the action.

..the term has been damaged, and provokes this facial expression from most people reading it:

^So much this. That was my exact reaction when I read that quote ~40 minutes ago and I nearly made a similar comment

 Pacific wrote:
The problem is these days, every time you read this..

 tgmoore wrote:

8. What sets Dungeon Saga apart from other dungeon crawlers is the cinematic quality to the action.

..the term has been damaged, and provokes this facial expression from most people reading it:

I am merely the messenger.

Best thing to do is listen to what Jake actually said as his portion of the podcast is only 15 mins.

But he did say cinematic.

Cinematic is the new hard plastic?

If they make those ghost minis out of the same translucent material as the Crystallan team in DBX....

I only meant it in reference to its use by a certain games company, something which has been generally understood to be a by-word for shoddy rule writing and a lack of concern for game balance.

(For those that missed that!)

 Pacific wrote:
I only meant it in reference to its use by a certain games company, something which has been generally understood to be a by-word for shoddy rule writing and a lack of concern for game balance.

(For those that missed that!)

It's past cinematic, and into "forging the narrative" now

I honestly do think Cinematic is a good word as far as Mantic is concerned though.

Especially when you lob a grenade and blow 3 people off of a roof in deadzone!

Yeah, Deadzone is effortlessly cinematic in the true sense of the word.

When there's a huge mutated alien one square from clearing the board and scoring a couple of points, and a lowly human steps up at point-blank range, opens up with laser fire and somehow downs the monstrosity, that's cinematic. (even moreso when he did it again next turn!)

When a sniper needs to move but also has a perfect shot, so he pulls out a pistol and puts a bullet between the eyes of a rebel while darting across a rooftop, that's cinematic.

When a giant turtle-dinosaur goes mental and takes out half a squad in one round, that is cinematic!

So I'm really unfamiliar with PVC as a medium. What are pros and cons of it? Does it hold more or less detail than resin/metal and if so, how much? How about flash/mold lines? I have heard that it's pretty hard to remove it on PVC models.

I want to like this so much but the material is giving me second thoughts. Please try to convince me either way, yay or nay?

PVC is a versatile plastic, and it comes in a few different forms. The hardest form you'll find is used on the plumbing in an average house; the hardest form you'll find used in gaming is the material Warmahordes is made out of.

These minis are going to be a softer version of PVC - the detail is pretty good, but not quite as good as the best ABS plastic or resin. In contrast, they're bendy and able to take more punishment, which suits a boardgame. The flash and mould lines aren't difficult to clean up, there just tends to be more of it to clean up usually - however the Mars Attacks minis, which are due to reach backers soon and are identical in material and production to what DKQ is going to be, appeared to have little to no mould lines to clean.

NTRabbit wrote:


These minis are going to be a softer version of PVC - the detail is pretty good, but not quite as good as the best ABS plastic or resin. In contrast, they're bendy and able to take more punishment, which suits a boardgame. The flash and mould lines aren't difficult to clean up, there just tends to be more of it to clean up usually - however the Mars Attacks minis, which are due to reach backers soon and are identical in material and production to what DKQ is going to be, appeared to have little to no mould lines to clean.

Are these 'restic' or are people trying to tell us why 'this time, it will be different' and we will see the same garbage figures with the same terrible material and casting process.

And I have seen some pretty terrible mold lines on Mars Attacks!

With mantic, it is Hard Plastic or go home. Every KS they claim to fix restic and it seems to not only not get fixed but get worse. So can you be clear? Renaming the material every KS to confuse people doesn't help.

 heartserenade wrote:
So I'm really unfamiliar with PVC as a medium. What are pros and cons of it? Does it hold more or less detail than resin/metal and if so, how much? How about flash/mold lines? I have heard that it's pretty hard to remove it on PVC models.

It's not impossible, but "you get what you pay for". I spend a *lot* of time trimming off mold lines from the soft boardgame plastic, because I own mini's through boardgames. I saw your best paint jobs, and, if you don't intend to play DS, I think you're better off paying for more expensive metal and resin. You could always just pledge and cancel towards the end it if you're not happy with what you're getting. I do hope they'll offer sprues of existing models as, say, cheap add-ons during the KS. I mean, DKH was originally made to use their existing miniatures, and DS was made to be compatible with KoW miniatures.