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I split a copy of the starter set with a friend. Assuming he likes it, he wants to get Empire of Dust. I’ll probably build out the Orc faction while waiting to see what’s on the horizons. (Fingers crossed for Trident Realms, Ratkin, Salamanders, or Goblin Pirates with flying contraptions).

I also traded someone for a copy of Dreadfleet - there’s some really nice terrain in there.

I just hope they don't make the mistake of thinking all fleets should have the same number of ships.

Games benefit from some asymmetry, having hordes and elites and big whale armies makes for a spicer game. And I have trouble suspending disbelief when one side gets cannons and ironclads and another gets wind and wood. It gets better if there's like 5 wood ships against one ironclad leviathan.

from what we know dwarfs are already different as they don't have tiny ships (and 1 small + 2 medium ships from Dwarfs are equal in points to 1 small, 1 medium and 1 large ship from Basilea)

so I don't think Mantic was running into the mistake the factions to similar or tried to equal out the number of ships

 pancakeonions wrote:
I fumbled my willpower check with a natural 1!

I'm all in. Those look fantastic. And Black Seas is fun, so I have high hopes for this one.

Haha yup me too.

I'm hoping just for something quick and easy, minimum prep time, that I can play with the better half over some of the cold, winter lockdown evenings. And hopefully even with my glacial painting speed a dozen ships shouldn't be too much to ask..

 Deathwolf wrote:

...

I also traded someone for a copy of Dreadfleet - there’s some really nice terrain in there.

And the ships should be similar size/ scale. I bet the 'named' XL ships could be represented by some of the stuff that's in Dreadfleet. The named dwarf ship isn't XL, for example, and might be similar in size to the dwarf ship from Dreadfleet.

If any of the ships from Dreadfleet do work with the Armada scale then that will just be a bonus!

I also picked up the Terrors of the Deep set from Warlord games.

this is the only picture I found, comparing the BS ships with Dreadfleet
https://www.chaosbunker.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Dreadfleet_Scale.jpg

yet if all DF ships have the same base and are the same size, those would be similar to Medium sized ships in Armada

Thanks for the comparison picture. Definitely looks like the ships will be comparable.

I’ll have to paint up my ghost ship like the Relentless - of D&D’s Ravenloft setting.

I think the bases are going to be a little different (they look very different too)

The biggest bases in the game are for the massive Bloody Reaver (and the Heldenhammer too? I can't recall). I think those are 1.5" by 4.5" or about 115mm. The XL bases in Armada are 125mm, the L are 100mm.

So it should blend in fine, but not *exactly*

There are some great, short (~5 minutes each) how-to videos on YouTube. They cover Movement, Shooting, Boarding, and Initiative.

Initiative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCrMLYMTpvc&list=UU1kZj3a75YlHhiHR7pLykFg&index=4

Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvqAg6UueUQ&list=UU1kZj3a75YlHhiHR7pLykFg

Shooting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPz5MX0-S8&list=UU1kZj3a75YlHhiHR7pLykFg&index=2

Boarding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN2PTVUCSa8&list=UU1kZj3a75YlHhiHR7pLykFg&index=1

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some Orcs (at least until Trident Realms are released ).

The Goblins I ordered have arrived. They scale well with Shieldwolf Forest Goblins. They are bigger than the Night Goblins but that was always going to be the case. The Goblin wolf rider conversion I'd planned also worked out as the arms fit well on the Oathmark Goblins. I carved out the Oathmark Goblins neck and the Mantic head fits well too.

Cheers, for those, they do look good

They really look good mixed with the other ranges. Also, cool conversion!

Thank you Dave C those are very useful.

Hello, it’s Ronnie here!
As you may or may not know, the UK is back in lockdown from today. Just like the previous lockdown, we are following government guidelines to ensure the safety of customers and staff. We hope you all stay safe in these difficult times and hopefully take the opportunity to get a few hobby projects finished… or even start a new one!

ARMADA
Once the lockdown was announced, we’ve had a few messages about the Armada launch and whether the new restrictions will affect the releases. As you can imagine delivering a huge project like Armada, while in a global pandemic, and keeping everyone safe has kept us very busy.

We have taken on extra space, separate from the main building, to give us a secure and safe space to make all the resin we need for this first wave. We have also added a cool and clever new resin machine (which was really easy to set up and we definitely didn’t have the engineers back six times!).

With new safe workflows and by keeping the machines running over a longer part of the day we have increased output by over 600% for the last 2 weeks – and we need it to stay that way for the next 2 as well to get everything manufactured!



Zak standing next to one of the recent deliveries!

Delivery of the boxes are arriving each day, and small teams are getting the other components prepared for the final packaging process, which should take up all of the Mantic team for all of next week – all done in social distanced, and safe environment.

On the week of 16th November we will be shipping out to stores and web pre-orders ready for launch on the 21st. Exciting times – and please keep checking in on the blog for updates and you can keep up with everything Armada-related here.


THE WEBSITE
Even while getting Armada ready, we will continue to ship web orders – they just might take a little longer to leave the warehouse than normal. We’ve recently had a restock on paints and general hobby supplies, so if you’re planning on starting a new project, make sure you get an order in quick. We’ve also got plenty (mostly) of armies in stock and ready to ship too! So what better time to start working on a new Kings of War army?

Check out the Mantic store here. And remember that all* orders over £60/€80/$100 qualify for free courier shipping, so should arrive quickly and safely without you need to leave the comfort of your own home.


KEEPING YOU SAFE
Of course, keeping our staff safe is just part of our anti-COVID measures and we’re working hard to keep customers safe too.

We’re going above and beyond guidelines for maintaining safety when picking and packing orders. There’s handwash absolutely everywhere and all the team have masks and gloves that are required to be worn at all time

Orders are collected at structured set times, so there’s no contact between the various courier companies either


SOLO AND CO-OP PLAY
With gaming clubs closed, we realise that a lot of you will be looking at some way to get you fixed. Well, make sure you check out our Guide to Solo Gaming, which covers all the Mantic products that be played solo and even some FREE downloads!

To all customers, partners and staff, thanks for you support during an exceptionally difficult year. Please stay safe and, mostly importantly, keep hobbying!

*T&CS apply

That's great - I was worried when I started reading that Armada was going to be delayed, but it sounds like they are on top of the situation.

I like the idea for the solo rules as well. For a lot of people in Europe and US there is no other option to get together at clubs and events at the moment, so it's good that they are thinking of that population.

My pathfinder demo kit arrived today. I've not had a chance to get properly stuck in but it looks like a very good quality product so far!

@Matt Gilbert - I see boardgamegeek doesn't yet have KoW:Armada yet, and I'm going to add it

Who should the credited designer(s) be? Who should the credited artist(s) be?

I think we might be able to add this later, but if you get this in the next few hours and don't mind (or if others know), that would be helpful!

Cool thanks, the video of the rulebook shows Matt gets game design credits (nice job, Matt!) and there's a buncha artists listed too.

Cheers!

... And unfortunately there are a half dozen Jeff Browns in the BGG artist database. lol.

Thanks for the great ship overviews! That’s really helpful.

Shipping has begun to the US and Australia, UK and Europe next week.  We are a little bit behind schedule right now.

Today's podcast has Ronnie talking about this issue.  We expected to cast about 60,000 resin components, and we now need 190,000 due to demand (we typically cast something like 4,000 resin units a month, and this month we're making 30,000)

I ordered my stuff from a US based shop, and a buddy of mine ordered his directly from Mantic. It's a race to see who gets their order first!

Customer hold at MM. I’ll let it marinate a while.

Exciting stuff - they have obviously hit a good vein of interest if it's that far above their expectations.

Being UK-based I expect preferential treatment, so I can comment on here and gloat about receiving it before other people