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Those are really good. All premium resin I assume?

 DaveC wrote:
Goblin Vanguard warband May release date

Now this is something else, from the sculpts to the paint job. Great job Mantic!

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Those are really good. All premium resin I assume?

All resin yes

Painted by Angel Giraldez

Wow, that Goblin warband is really nice. Does Mantic resin hold up well?

 DaveC wrote:

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Those are really good. All premium resin I assume?

All resin yes

Painted by Angel Giraldez

Giraldez, oh no wonder then...

 ingtaer wrote:
Wow, that Goblin warband is really nice. Does Mantic resin hold up well?

All of the Mantic resin I have worked with has been fantastic. The resin kickstarter exclusives in Dungeon Saga were pretty amazing imo.

Damn!

The Goblin Warband is awesome!

So...how's Vanguard as a game then?

I may have to give it a serious look and consideration!

Mantic made something I like to looks of? What a world we live in...

 DaveC wrote:


Painted by Angel Giraldez

Oh.

That somehow makes me more cautious about this. A good paintjob can hide a lot of warts.

Love Angel's work .. those goblins look great.

Nice work Mantic! Those look good and gobliny. I hope that at some point they recut the basic goblin sprue. I like their goblin nose aesthetic.

 His Master's Voice wrote:
Mantic made something I like to looks of? What a world we live in...

 DaveC wrote:


Painted by Angel Giraldez

Oh.

That somehow makes me more cautious about this. A good paintjob can hide a lot of warts.

There are closeups on the Mantic facebook page, so you can see how much of the detail is there for those of us who aren't 12th level paint wizards

 Alpharius wrote:
Damn!

The Goblin Warband is awesome!

So...how's Vanguard as a game then?

I may have to give it a serious look and consideration!

Good! It's a Mantic game so leaning well toward easy to learn, but difficult to master. More complex than KoW (smaller scale interactions have to be) and also designed to deliver a bit more of a narritive experience.

 Alpharius wrote:
Damn!

The Goblin Warband is awesome!

So...how's Vanguard as a game then?

I may have to give it a serious look and consideration!

I liken it to a very simplified version of Confrontation, which is no bad thing at all.

Agreed! Vanguard is one of the best minis games I've played in a while. Feels fresh and fun, not too clunky with too many tokens (there are some though!). Once you get the rules down, it's easy to get a 200 pt game (i.e., standard size) in 2 - 3 hours, or a bit less if you're fast. I *really* like it.

Given the rules are free, it's worth a try.

And wow, that goblin warband looks excellent!

Thanks to the huge success of Hellboy, it means our warehouse is due to get very full, very quickly in a few weeks as we prepare to deliver the Kickstarter. So that means we need to clear some space. In fact, we need to clear a LOT of space. The good news foryou, is that to help generate that space, we're holding a WAREHOUSE CLEARANCE SALE! Until 9am (GMT) on Monday, March 18th you can grab a host of frankly ridiculous bargains!

https://manticgames.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e62f0c35454fa3ba687404d69&id=e9775c0316&e=e5d16ae719

No only that but we're also halving the minimum spend for free shipping! So until March 18th you'll only need to spend £25, €35 or $40! Just remember to make sure you're paying in the correct currency for your country. See the delivery details section for more info. Anyway, let's take a look at some of those sweet, sweet clearance sale items!

Time to get 200 round Mantic bases!

Show exclusive Zombie Blaine for KoW Vanguard available at Adepticon

https://www.facebook.com/manticgames/videos/346747122714851/

(might want to turn down the volume before playing)

Some new undead coming for vanguard.

New Basilean Army Sets due for release in 2 weeks




Basilean Army £59.99

30 Hard Plastic Men-At-Arms/Crossbowmen
3 PVC Plastic Elohi,
10 PVC Plastic Paladin Foot Guard,
5 PVC Plastic Paladin Knights,
1 Resin Dictator

Basilean Mega Army £99.99

30 Hard Plastic Men-At-Arms/Crossbowmen,
10 PVC Plastic Sisterhood Scouts,
10 PVC Plastic Paladin Defenders,
10 PVC Plastic Gur Panthers,
20 PVC Plastic Sisterhood,
10 PVC Plastic Men-At-Arms Command,
1 Metal High Priest

The PVC minis look like repeats of the same minis the Gur Panthers are 10 of the same mini so not great in a bigger unit. They don't seem to have gone for alternate resin/metal parts for the Basileans to make the minis look a bit different.

In the months to come we’ll be releasing the Ice & Iron supplement, featuring new campaign play and updated unit stats, alongside the new Undead faction. We’ve also got the Trident Realm release

It's damn time we got those new basilean deals for KoW.

 DaveC wrote:

The PVC minis look like repeats of the same minis the Gur Panthers are 10 of the same mini so not great in a bigger unit. They don't seem to have gone for alternate resin/metal parts for the Basileans to make the minis look a bit different.

Of course they wouldn't. They need to keep it cheap, after all. It's just a bundle like for Nightmares.


New campaign for Vanguard, heh ? Good. They need more of that stuff to keep the game out of the water (pun intended with Trident Realms, of course). Time to go for it before Brexit and gates of hell being opened for non UK customers.

 Sarouan wrote:
It's damn time we got those new basilean deals for KoW.

 DaveC wrote:

The PVC minis look like repeats of the same minis the Gur Panthers are 10 of the same mini so not great in a bigger unit. They don't seem to have gone for alternate resin/metal parts for the Basileans to make the minis look a bit different.

Of course they wouldn't. They need to keep it cheap, after all. It's just a bundle like for Nightmares.

The Nightstalkers army comes with alternate resin parts to make PVC minis look different

http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/nightstalkers/product/nightstalker-mega-army.html

 DaveC wrote:


The Nightstalkers army comes with alternate resin parts to make PVC minis look different

http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/nightstalkers/product/nightstalker-mega-army.html

Not really, they're pretty much the same. They added units for KoW, however.

http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war-vanguard/nightstalkers/product/nightstalker-faction-starter.html

Kings of War 3rd Edition is coming in October, direct to retail rather than via KS

https://manticblog.com/2019/07/01/kings-of-war-third-edition-coming-october-2019/?fbclid=IwAR3vtyppLhqMiHtj2esOPP6dpo0u_P4lV1UZY0ufUFh70Pldnr0PnFL2GcU

It’s Ronnie here and I have something very important to talk about. The planets have aligned, the Celestians have spoken… it is time for Kings of War Third Edition.

Since the Clash of Kings book 2019 we have been evaluating whether to maintain what was there for one more year, or go ahead with the Third Edition. Every conversation with the Rules Committee pointed in the direction of a full new version of the game being the preferred route.

What’s more, when we realised that September was the 10-year anniversary of the first Kings of War release, the urge became stronger.

Then we noticed that both the hard back and soft back books were running out of stock (they’re now both completely sold out), and we only had one space left on the UK Clash of Kings trophy. Plus we discussed all the cool armies and miniatures we wanted to make – well, that was it – Third Edition was coming!

There is a press release below that we’re sending out to the masses, and rest assured from what I have seen coming from the RC and Matt Gilbert’s office – you are going to be blown away by what they have planned.

The release does say that this will be the first time KoW hasn’t gone to Kickstarter, instead it’ll be released the old-fashioned way – on the Mantic web store and from your friendly local gaming store. This is possible thanks to the fantastic support we have received from the community over the years, and the growth in popularity of the game.

So, stay tuned for more info as we have it, and make sure you are signed up to the newsletter to keep getting the hot stories directly into your inbox – especially the limited edition… oh, wait what – am I not allowed to mention that yet???

Sad that some factions (betting that all those without any Mantic models) are being put on hiatus.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Sad that some factions (betting that all those without any Mantic models) are being put on hiatus.

No they aren't. You'll just have to wait about 6 or 7 weeks. There will be 26 armies by the end of the year.

Here is the other part from the blog :

"KINGS OF WAR THIRD EDITION DUE FOR RELEASE THIS OCTOBER

Mantic Games releasing a new 380-page rulebook for the world’s best mass battle fantasy wargame straight to retail in 2019.

Mantic Games is pleased to announce that this October it will be releasing a brand-new edition for its best-selling mass battle fantasy wargame, Kings of War. Inside the 380-page tome, you’ll find expanded lore for the world of Pannithor, army lists for 14 factions and, of course, revamped and refreshed rules.

The new edition will be available directly via Mantic Games webstore and through all regular gaming and hobby stores around the world. This is the first time Kings of War has not been released via Kickstarter, highlighting the growth and popularity of the game.

Alongside the book will be the brand-new Northern Alliance army, titanic monsters for some existing factions and a commemorative diorama. Plus, Mantic Games has a comprehensive selection of Kings of War releases planned throughout the rest of 2019, into 2020 and beyond, including a supplement with additional army lists – taking the total number to 26.

“2019 marks 10 years since we started Mantic Games and first released the Kings of War elves,” said Mantic Games CEO, Ronnie Renton. “As such, it seemed fitting to celebrate this important milestone with a new edition of the world’s best fantasy wargame.

“Kings of War is the jewel in our crown and we’ve been working tirelessly to make sure this new edition exceeds expectations. For fans it will make their favourite fantasy game even better, with improved rules for army creation, tighter, more competitive gameplay and lots more!”

Over the coming weeks and month Mantic Games will be releasing more information about Kings of War Third Edition so make sure you subscribe to the Mantic Games newsletter or keep checking the blog www.manticgames.com "


So first thing first : name of Kings of War's world is now Pannithor. No more joke about Mantica !

And indeed, they seem to "just" put a part of the armies in the core rulebook, others will be included in a future extension. Gotta sell these new books to the players, after all.

I'll be waiting to see what the new releases will look like, and their prices. Again they're talking about competitive gameplay, so you know what it will be about (balance, points, symetric scenarios, yadda yadda).

Come on, Kings of War players, get ready to get milked ! Good thing I didn't bother with Clash of Kings 2019, by the way.

The biggest thing they could do is make it less vanilla. I played the game for a while until I realized that all armies were the same. The special rules attached to units did not feel fluffy. The magic did not have the variance and flavor of WHFB, neither the spells nor the magic items. Basically it came down to getting your Monstrous cav stuck in, and all of them had the same magic item (caterpillar potion). It doesn't help that Mantic models are god-awful (except for maybe some of the new vanguard sculpts). All of the people that I know that play this game use GW models, or models from other companies. In fact, I am often told that the reason that they like this game is that they can use models from any company, I'm sure Mantic loves to hear that! Honestly, you could play this game with appropriately sized movement trays, no models needed. You can also play this game one person at a time, no interaction during a turn required. When I played, we called the other guys turn the "Beer Phase", because you could literally walk off and go have a beer while your opponent took his turn. Let's hope they change the game substantially, otherwise I'll be looking to Conquest to save rank and flank fantasy gaming.

Smellingsalts wrote:
The biggest thing they could do is make it less vanilla. I played the game for a while until I realized that all armies were the same. The special rules attached to units did not feel fluffy. The magic did not have the variance and flavor of WHFB, neither the spells nor the magic items. Basically it came down to getting your Monstrous cav stuck in, and all of them had the same magic item (caterpillar potion). It doesn't help that Mantic models are god-awful (except for maybe some of the new vanguard sculpts). All of the people that I know that play this game use GW models, or models from other companies. In fact, I am often told that the reason that they like this game is that they can use models from any company, I'm sure Mantic loves to hear that! Honestly, you could play this game with appropriately sized movement trays, no models needed. You can also play this game one person at a time, no interaction during a turn required. When I played, we called the other guys turn the "Beer Phase", because you could literally walk off and go have a beer while your opponent took his turn. Let's hope they change the game substantially, otherwise I'll be looking to Conquest to save rank and flank fantasy gaming.

Might as well look to Conquest then. All the points you made were Mantics selling features. Use any model, the beer phase (I like that term), and all armies having some overlap in what can be done.

Actually, Kings of War being vanilla is its very core. Having very similar units is why it makes it so easy to balance even though there are so many army lists. That's the truth behind the Balance Holy Grail : the closer they are, the more bland they feel but the more balanced they become.

That's also why Mantica felt very bland as well ; it has barely any personnality because of it being on purpose generic.

I also believe Mantic Games is trying to make it more "colorful" - and also more tied to their miniatures. If 3rd edition is too different, though, there is a risk to lose your faithful fanbase. Since Mantic Games doesn't have GW's shops to recruit new blood easily, I don't think it is a risk they're willing to take. I think it will just be a new edition, with new features of course, but the core rules shouldn't change too much IMHO.

I just hope they turn Fireball into a useable spell.

The blandness is a tough one though, maybe it is time for Mantic to phase it out a bit?

As above, the blandness allows for balance and speed of play so it is not an easy question.