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Hi.

I can't seem to find a skirmish game which has the following:
- Deep melee combat, with a real difference between weapon types etc.
- Either low fantasy or historical (open to most periods before the 1900s)
- Rules where terrain matters
- Preferably suitable for 4*4 or smaller tables
- Bonus if the ruleset has dedicated models from the same producer

As of today I'm playing Warhammer Fantasy (for a while longer at least), Malifaux and By Fire and Sword.

I've looked at among others Saga (seems fun, but some have mentioned the combat is rather shallow?) and Ronin (not my favorite setting and few models to choose from).

Would really appreciate any suggestions

Very good question, I'm also interested in such a game, but couldn't find any that require more tactic than lucky die.

Brink of Battle. On my phone or I'd supply a link. Should be able to find it via Google.

I'll try to remember to get a link for you once I get back to a pc.

~Eric

Looks really interesting and I like, that it can be played in different eras and settings. Thanks a lot.

How about the Osprey set, Ronin?

NorthStar has figures for it (though clearly you could use any you wanted from other manufacturers):

http://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=152&page=1

https://ospreypublishing.com/ronin-skirmish-wargames-in-the-age-of-the-samurai

First I'd suggest loosening your desire to have minis and rules from the same company. There's too many good figs and good rulesets out there to limit yourself that way.

For Example: If you do decide to go with Ronin, there's absolutely no reason to limit yourself to Northstar minis. There's many fine makers of ancient asian miniatures to choose from.

I think Brink of Battle is exactly what you are looking for. Very good melee mechanics system with good differentiation between models. The base ruleset is historical and the "Epic Heroes" expansion is fantasy based with a TON of options for customization.
http://brinkofbattle.blogspot.com
Other rulesets to look at include:

The various fantasy rules from THW.
http://www.twohourwargames.com
Very involved reaction mechanics. To find out if the THW reaction engine is your style of play, try out the free "swordplay" rules here:
http://www.twohourwargames.com/free.html

GW LoTR Strategy Battle game.
A bit on the expensive side, but a game that despite some abstractions offers some differentiation between weapons and really rewards good use of maneuver and terrain. Has alot of beautiful minis too.

Warengine.
A free ruleset that was the basis of the 90's game "shockforce". Just this year the author released a 3rd edition. You can get the rules free here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1zfeq27gmeh6cc4/AACFl9_uLIw_GRNsHMwf9ti7a?dl=0
Support and feedback comes from the yahoo group here:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/WarEngine/info
A fast playing game, but one that gives a separate attack profile for each kind of melee and ranged attack. A nice way of pairing a fast playing game with highly differentiated types of combat attacks.

I'd love to suggest Darklands by Mierce Miniatures, but the full ruleset isn't out yet. the Beta+ rules are very good and are online, however.

It checks every one of your boxes, and offers one of the finest lines of miniatures being produced today.

Ronin is pretty good.

Northstar makes dedicated figures but Osprey makes the rules.

Cpt. Jake beat me to the punch.

I couldnt find the darklands beta rules after a google search Cincy, any pointers?

I can't seem to find a skirmish game which has the following:
- Deep melee combat, with a real difference between weapon types etc.
- Either low fantasy or historical (open to most periods before the 1900s)
- Rules where terrain matters
- Preferably suitable for 4*4 or smaller tables

Game with deep melee suitable for low fantasy or historicals? Give HAVOC a look. There's a great review that gives you a nice overview of the games mechanics here and an entertaining full blown battle report here.

I'm also going to tell you to look at Mayhem. Even though it's packaged as a mass battle game, the mechanics work really well for skirmish as you can see here. The melee system is completely different than that of HAVOC and gives players some interesting decisions to make. Actually, I think that the different types of weapons in Mayhem might appeal to you more [especially if you like RTS style counters!]. It can do anything from ancients/medievals to steam punk/high fantasy.

Both systems keep both players engaged and active during melee combat. I'll also add that I may be a bit biased!

 Ratius wrote:
I couldnt find the darklands beta rules after a google search Cincy, any pointers?

Boom:

http://mierce-miniatures.com/index.php?act=drm

I've rarely encountered a game with more significance to the weapon than warmachine and hordes. I see a lot of potential in using their RPG rules, or augmenting their skirmish rules to simply include a point value for the warcaster, making them optional, rather than making the assassination end the game.

I also enjoy Dystopian Legions (based in an alternate history in the 1870's). I find it to be a mix between platton structure gaming, and skirmish, due to the significance of what a soldier is wearing and carrying individually. The depth of tactics pertain to command structure and maneuverability, but require a higher model count. (rules are free from: http://www.spartangames.co.uk/resources/downloads ) Easy enough to proxy models to try it out.