Mantic Dreadball Xtreme Kickstarter - $600k stretch goal: M’zei Kein MVP, free in Rampage+

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**Joyboozer**

Kryphos is awesome, please Mantic, stick to the concept art!

**AlexHolker**

Koris and Hobgoblin teams are unlocked now. Still waiting for the next update.

**timetowaste85**

I'm still sitting on a rampage early bird, but I'm up in the air about keeping it. On one hand, I love a bunch of the models and want them. But I've also only gotten a couple games of regular dreadball in, and I don't know if I want to add anything beyond Deadzone fodder. It may be more valuable to pick up a couple teams I want and just go with them, for now.

**AlexHolker**

No new stretch goal, so that was a bit of a damp squib.

The concepts for the other two Season Six teams have been posted and neither should be in the game. Even for a sport which is advertised as having no rules, aliens who can phase through solid matter and aliens that "seem to bend the very laws that govern the universe" should not be invited, any more than you should be allowed to drive a truck onto the pitch and just start running people over.

**highlord tamburlaine**

AlexHolker wrote:
you should be allowed to drive a truck onto the pitch and just start running people over.

Sure! That sounds like a wonderful idea!

Dreadball Zamboni joyrides of death! Teach those Koris a thing or two about cheating with the laws of physics.

**DaveC**

Have to say none of the Season 6 teams really appeal to me so far only the Hobgoblin team has the gritty vibe the Xtreme should be about not sure the others fit any form of Dreadball and yeah the rules sound worrying. Well it makes my choice easier Rampage plus add on, 8 teams of 8 players (well 16 for 2 of them) may be the way to go brings me to about $260 see what happens over the weekend though.

**scarletsquig**

The Koris seem nice and psychopathic/ fun to play, so I'm happy with them as my s6 pick I think.. I do like the concept of the ada-lorana, but since I'm getting crystallans anyway, two teams of clear blue plastic is probably one too many.

Frenzy is now worth over $900.. with the next two teams it'll be worth over $1000. It's a big spend, but you do get your money's worth.

**CptJake**

I think they are going to have trouble fitting the Koris onto bases, and having them not overhang adjacent hexes.

**Earth Dragon**

Maybe. They may be smaller then you are thinking. There was nothing to indicate that the Koris were 2nd gen size or anything. They could be a bit smaller.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
If you guys are looking for EB1s, today is a good day to snag one. It appears the "grab EBs if everything" hold outs are making their decision based on those reveals.

Might be able to save a few bucks

**CptJake**

Earth Dragon wrote:
Maybe. They may be smaller then you are thinking. There was nothing to indicate that the Koris were 2nd gen size or anything. They could be a bit smaller.

They'll have to be very tiny to get four feet on the integral circle base, or use those horrendous platforms. I guess they could just put two of the feet on the base, but then it is going to be interesting to see how the other two fit on the hex.

**highlord tamburlaine**

Platform shoes and bases.

Platform shoes and bases for everyone!

**Earth Dragon**

CptJake wrote:
Earth Dragon wrote:
Maybe. They may be smaller then you are thinking. There was nothing to indicate that the Koris were 2nd gen size or anything. They could be a bit smaller.

They'll have to be very tiny to get four feet on the integral circle base, or use those horrendous platforms. I guess they could just put two of the feet on the base, but then it is going to be interesting to see how the other two fit on the hex.

Have you seen the Zzor Guard? Good looking model and it fits with each leg just outside the circle on each side(I know circles don't have sides. Effectively draw an x on the mini base and there is a leg at each point) I imagine some will be positioned like that. No clue what kind of variety you'll find. I have mixed feelings on Season 6 all in all.

Hobgoblin team is really the only one I'm excited about. The other 3 are kinda getting a bit whacky and over the top. I'll reserve final judgement until I learn more. If all these abilities are limited like the Teraton teleport, it will be easier to swallow.

**CptJake**

The hobgoblins worry me because the face masks as drawn are not going to work well on preassembled figures. They'll make painting the faces really difficult and/or the mask will be cast onto/into the face itself. Had the mask been a separate piece you could glue on after painting the face that type of mask would be workable.

**DaveC**

The Ada-Lorena actually look pretty good not sure about clear blue plastic though - they have to be the same colour as the Crystallans as they are on the same tool maybe clear would be better afterall. Still not sure why they would play Dreadball

todays update with new sponsor - the cheerleader is unlocked

We're moving into extra time!
7 comments
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The DreadBall Xtreme Kickstarter is preparing itself for one last weekend of massive uncontrollable frenzy action - before heading off into the sunset forever. And it would not be a Mantic Kickstarter if we didn’t plan to make it the most extreme Xtreme ever!

As always the funds we raise go directly into making the games bigger and better than they otherwise would be. The support we receive from backers – be they seasoned veterans of all our campaigns, or new pledgers who have never before tried a miniatures game – makes a huge difference to the final range, and every bit really does help. Thank you for backing us so far - and anyother converts will be extremely welcome

So far in this Kickstarter backers you funded the Xtreme core game and 10 new teams (all of which are fully compatible with both DreadBall and DreadBall Xtreme). There are also 2 complete Expansions, a fantastic range of MVPs, several new giant models and a heap of exclusive extras.

To keep things really interesting right down to the wire, in addition to all our usual stretch goals we have a few special new ones – and a few major unlocks for the weekend too.

On Saturday we will unlock team 11 – the Tsudochans!

We’ll delve into their background in earnest tomorrow, but these aliens have cybernetically-amplified telekinetic abilities that allow them to throw the scenery around – and other players! For anyone at Rampage they will be available as your choice of bonus Season 6 team – and Frenzy, of course, gets a full maxed team of 16!

On Sunday we unlock the Ada-Lorena. In my opinion these guys are just brilliant – and to find out more you’ll have to pop on over to Mantic Blog tomorrow where they get a full write up! Exactly the same conditions as above apply – they are available to add on for everybody, they can be the free Season 6 team in Rampage and added and maxed in Frenzy.
But that is by no means all – oh no!

We are also coming perilously close to the DreadBall backer number – and if we exceed 2540 backers then EVERYONE from Rampage and above will get 'Bad Call' – an Alternative Robot referee MVP thrown into their pledge! This MVP is a ref gone crazy - who is no longer sitting on the sidelines but actually in the midst of the action. AND One lucky person who backs before we go through that milestone will get their version painted by our own in-house painter Dave!!!

And if (surely when, right?) we pass the DreadBall total of $728,986 we will produce a unique Kickstarter momento – an 8-page match day program from the infamous game between the Trontek 29ers and the Greemoon Smackers. The commemorative book will contain advanced rules for recreating this titanic historic game, have all facts about the teams and their star players, fascinating insights to the game’s best ever plays and some advertising for the galaxy's best ever products - this is Corporation controlled event, after all

This booklet will be an in-game keepsake and will fold out into a full size poster. It will only be ever available to backers from this campaign and will be a one print item - only on the first survey. It will be free in all pledges of Rampage and over. This commemorative programme will be made available separately as an add-on too but with a limit total of 3 per pledge. 1 copy per core game will also be included in the retailer pledge level to support our fantastic retail partners.

Not only that but we will include an decorative Event Ticket that can be used to come and see us at a backer only show at Adepticon, or a backer only hook up online or free entry to a Mantic Open Day (p.s. the next one is May 17th so come on down!). Perhaps you’ll get to recreate the game played between these two titanic, experienced teams against a member of the Mantic Team – and revel in the glory as you beat the snot out of them! (Or get trodden into the ground – either way!)

And we wouldn't leave you without an exciting stretch goal to aim for:
NEW! $550,000 Eclipse, Sponsor and All-star Teams!

We know Sponsors allow you to build your team from players of any race. Kraato Gon specializes in Robots, Dr Kain in mutants, Blaine in Free Agents but what about a Sponsor that can to do it with MVPs? No one is more specialized in building All-stars Teams from MVPs than Eclipse, our brand new Sponsor!

It takes a lot of influence to be able to keep all of these egos in check, and no-one is quite as good at it as Eclipse.

If we hit this goal, we’ll produce Eclipse – a brand new Sponsor for DreadBall Xtreme. We’ll include her sponsor rules in the Xpanasion too, allowing you to play with balanced teams of All-Star MVPs, and digitally too.

Eclipse will be available to add-on to your pledge for $5, and will be included free in pledges of Frenzy and up.
And finally…

Two free teams are being unlocked over the last two days and we’ve got some great exclusives coming up when we break through the major milestones ahead of us.

There will be plenty of new and exciting stretch goals over the weekend too as we get closer to the midnight (GMT) finish on Sunday.

Thank you for the support, and please keep spreading the word and please come along for the ride!

**AlexHolker**

$265,565 is locked up in Frenzy pledges. This is a full 50% of their total. These pledges were made based on the promise of twelve teams.

So why are they waiting for the very last day before they show people what the last of those teams actually looks like? How can anyone believe that the best way to monetise a design is to offer it for only a few hours on a Sunday?

**DaveC**

I think the most telling thing today is that Arcadia Quest with about the same amount of time left has passed DBX and has $42k today compared to DBXs $2.5k with 2 days left to go it's just not moving and I think there's still money to come out of this I know I still have a decision to make and that will mean adrop of $150 to $250.

**highlord tamburlaine**

Yeah, AQ is starting to really rocket while this seems to barely be putting around on fumes.

Why wait? Unlock it all now! I don't get the point when we're so close to the end.

I'm getting more and more tempted to up my pledge even though I doubt I'll get to play this much. Keep throwing stuff at the campaign Mantic!

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

if they unlock it all now things will stabilise briefly

(whooo hooo new stuff)

but as soon as they see that's it, that there it no more to come pledgers will start moaning then start leaving as mantic can't throw more stuff at them

at least this way most will hang on to see what's still to come (and most won't get round to backing out)

**CptJake**

DaveC wrote:
The Ada-Lorena actually look pretty good not sure about clear blue plastic though - they have to be the same colour as the Crystallans as they are on the same tool maybe clear would be better afterall. Still not sure why they would play Dreadball

Both coming in blue, coupled with my perception of a lot of theses teams as 'meh' is probably gonna get someone a chance at a EB1 Frenzy Sunday evening. I can get a normal Rampage and add the things I'm interested in and spend less.

I'm also a bit annoyed with line art instead of digital sculpts (though I partially understand why). Using the goblins as examples, (and I know I've mentioned it before), there is no way they can pull off those face masks and make them look decent in 1 piece minis. When I asked Mantic about it I got the 'well the drawings are just a guide for the sculptor', which means we really don't know what any of these damned things are actually going to look like.

**Talking Banana**

The truth is in the numbers. The day's tally will tell whether Mantic played their cards right today, or completely blew it and received the worst last Friday funding they've ever had. Mars Attacks, previously Mantic's lowest funded KS campaign, rallied and took in $29,292 on its last Friday. The day is far from over, so take this with a generous grain of salt, but so far the take after DBX's Friday update is a whopping $3,913. $29,292 looks well out of reach at the moment (4:11 pm EST).

I think unlocking the final two teams was necessary, but it's not really spectacular at this point. I doubt there are very many pledgers holding a Frenzy right now that wouldn't drop out at the end if the last two teams weren't funded, and I doubt many fence-sitters would be tempted to pledge Frenzy without all twelve teams being guaranteed. So while I think they had to get the last two teams in and not let uncertainty about it weigh on backers and potential backers, all it really does is fulfill Frenzy's most basic initial promise: 12 teams. It's not new, it's not a bonus, it's clean-up for dragging stretch goals out way too long at the beginning and suffering the consequences for the rest of the campaign. And I suspect that there actually are a number of people holding Frenzy pledges right now who aren't satisfied, and will drop them if it isn't boosted by the end. Mantic need to think about keeping them from jumping ship as much as they need to think about attracting new backers. Otherwise the in and outflow could effectively cancel each other out and cause stagnation, or worse, result in a first-ever meltdown.

I think Mantic should have done one of their famous, generous turns, unlocked the two last teams immediately (it's also more psychologically reassuring to potential backers to say "you're already getting 12" than "you will get 12 by the end, guaranteed, but as of today you're only getting 10", thrown some flashy extra loot into both Frenzy and Rampage, and then listed the new stretch goals.

Mantic's update today was conservative where it needed to be bold. I think they needed to take a risk, put more on the table immediately, and let their confidence in the campaign show and inspire backers new and old. What today signifies to me instead is that Mantic want the last two teams to "count" as Saturday and Sunday's "big events," which in turn signals to me that they don't have the resources to add much that is genuinely new to Frenzy and Rampage beyond that. In other words, it signifies weakness and hedging bets, a terrible thing to communicate on the opening Friday of your campaign's big rush.

**scarletsquig**

Rampage is already bigger than Striker was in the original KS, even if nothing more gets added, I'm happy.

Would very much like alt sculpts and prones at this point more than anything else.

**lord_blackfang**

highlord tamburlaine wrote:
AlexHolker wrote:
you should be allowed to drive a truck onto the pitch and just start running people over.

Sure! That sounds like a wonderful idea!

Dreadball Zamboni joyrides of death! Teach those Koris a thing or two about cheating with the laws of physics.

Conveniently, Mantic does make a pickup truck model...

**DaveC**

Yeah they need to do one stretch goal to unlock Prones for 10 teams no messing about with multiple stretch goals just get them in and done. Prones seem more useful for DBX. Alt. poses should be the next consideration 16 man teams of only 3 different sculpts aren't so appealing. 7 teams will need 3 alt sculpts each and the Rebs need 2 (they already have 4). Then there's the fourth giant and the remaining MVPs.

I can't see this topping the first now and I don't think the money is there to do the remaining unlocks properly. People are expecting this to go crazy at the 48 hour mark - I don't think it will and I have seen other KS have similar issues - the Frenzy cut off moved "the rush" forward a week I'm not sure how many are waiting for the email and then there's the whole matter of pledge adjustments which might kill any forward momentum.

This might top out at $600k - $650k at a stretch which is not too shabby at all and most would consider that a very successful KS. The original KS had 2539 backers this will probably end up similar it does raise a question about the whole 4 times more sets were sold retail okay a lot of people still aren't aware of KS but you'd have expected some uplift.

**highlord tamburlaine**

The Novas Virae might need to "liberate" the dreadball pitch in the name of Freedom with their pickup trucks of justice!

Afterwards maybe they can have a pickup two hand touch game and down a few cases of Pabst.

'MURICA.

**Talking Banana**

scarletsquig wrote:
Rampage is already bigger than Striker was in the original KS, even if nothing more gets added, I'm happy.

Would very much like alt sculpts and prones at this point more than anything else.

Squig, you're right, thank you. I'm adjusting my pledge back down to Rampage, because from that pledging perspective, things look pretty good. I think I was getting overly frustrated with Frenzy and let it get to me.

I'll still be watching to see where Frenzy ends up, though, as I'm actually starting to like the Tsudochans (who initially got only a "???" reaction from me). What it comes down to for me is how easy it will be to sell the bits I don't like or need to bring my original investment back to a reasonable level. I know I wouldn't want doubles of every team, so that's a good start, nor do I need Weiss, Ardia, the dice, or the acrylic markers.

You're right about alt sculpts being the main stretch goal to push for now, too. I'll add my voice to yours on the KS comments to pester them for that.

**scarletsquig**

Of course, Frenzy is now worth over $1000, easy.

**Talking Banana**

Squig - I think we just simultaneously posted, so I doubt you were responding to my concern about reselling.

But if I may ask, what do you think? I don't think anyone could get $1,000 for the Frenzy pledge on the aftermarket, but I know you're talking full price RRP there.

(Again, I'm talking about selling the parts I wouldn't want - see above -, not the game itself and certainly not the whole pledge's worth.)

**AlexHolker**

scarletsquig wrote:
Of course, Frenzy is now worth over $1000, easy.

For questionable values of "worth".

It's worth less because nobody pays RRP.
It's worth less because nobody likes every team and every MVP.
It's worth less because of the very real danger that Mantic will botch the execution of some of the sculpts.
It's worth less because you're paying eight months in advance.

**Talking Banana**

AlexHolker wrote:
scarletsquig wrote:
Of course, Frenzy is now worth over $1000, easy.

For questionable values of "worth".

It's worth less because nobody pays RRP.
It's worth less because nobody likes every team and every MVP.
It's worth less because of the very real danger that Mantic will botch the execution of some of the sculpts.
It's worth less because you're paying eight months in advance.

I like your blunt honesty. Basically what it's worth to me is what I could recoup by selling bits of it, either on forums like this one or ebay. My expectations as to value and demand are modest, as is my ultimate goal. Basically I'm wondering if getting Frenzy and selling some would be a better way to go and cost about the same (depending obviously on how much you sell) as getting Rampage and adding on several items. I'm probably framing this in too nebulous terms, but I'm wondering as a general approach what luck people may have had with that approach on other Mantic campaigns? Go for the high bid, sell what you don't like, end up getting more than the "sweet spot" + add-ons for about the same price? Far-fetched? Commonplace?

**scarletsquig**

Well, I successfully managed to trade away all of my non-Basilean KoW freebies for more Basileans... only took 3 trades to do it, too.

End result is over 5000 points of them and over 300 minis for my $225 spend, lots of everything in the army list that has a model. Still have more to add including ballista, GW phoenix, some other third-party stuff.

I hope to have it painted before the stuff from the KoW 2.0 KS arrives.

Mars attacks was the wildcard with its credit system... if you had any interest in deadzone terrain, that was the place to get it while getting a ton of MA stuff for almost nothing as a side order (68 minis + terrain/mat/rules etc. for $15).