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I wanted something to use for Pink Horrors that was cheaper and better looking and they managed that in the first couple of hours


Looks like the stretch goals are heading towards bulking up the army deals. Kind of like Dreadball, the initial pledge levels are kind of meh, but will probably have a ton of models by the end.

I like the renders. They look like a medieval depiction of a devil put into a computer game, and for me it works.

 RobertsMinis wrote:
a medieval depiction of a devil put into a computer game

I don't know about the medieval part (more like Halloween costume, I'd say), but the computer game part is spot on. Nearly all of Mantic's stuff seems heavily influenced by the cartoonish computer game style (e.g., WoW).

 Manchu wrote:

 RobertsMinis wrote:
a medieval depiction of a devil put into a computer game

I don't know about the medieval part (more like Halloween costume, I'd say), but the computer game part is spot on. Nearly all of Mantic's stuff seems heavily influenced by the cartoonish computer game style (e.g., WoW).

Look at Devils in Medieval art. Very much the style Mantic has used.

 Alex C wrote:
Look at Devils in Medieval art. Very much the style Mantic has used.

Do you just mean the idea of a red humanoid with hooves and horns?

Kickstarter is looking great so far, nothing but metal characters and hard plastic units, and we know the hard plastic will be good quality.

I do have 3 huge unassembled KoW armies to sort out already though, so will either be skipping this, getting the $50 pledge or just buying any KS exclusives.

 Manchu wrote:

 Alex C wrote:
Look at Devils in Medieval art. Very much the style Mantic has used.

Do you just mean the idea of a red humanoid with hooves and horns?

Yes. I'd say this was more likely the inspiration than "Goblins with an ovipositor", as someone put it...

 scarletsquig wrote:
Kickstarter is looking great so far, nothing but metal characters and hard plastic units, and we know the hard plastic will be good quality.

I do have 3 huge unassembled KoW armies to sort out already though, so will either be skipping this, getting the $50 pledge or just buying any KS exclusives.

*ahem* you may wish to check out the KoW rules committee forum...

In for the $50 books for the time being, very reasonable price with the current exchange rate to the UK and I like to help bump up the total pledge amounts rather than wait. Not sure whether I'll go in for an army yet as I already have so much unmade stuff - come on Mantic, sell it to me!

 scarletsquig wrote:
Kickstarter is looking great so far, nothing but metal characters and hard plastic units, and we know the hard plastic will be good quality.

I do have 3 huge unassembled KoW armies to sort out already though, so will either be skipping this, getting the $50 pledge or just buying any KS exclusives.

Ah I didn't realise they were going to be plastics, that's definitely a bonus!

 Alex C wrote:

 Manchu wrote:

 Alex C wrote:
Look at Devils in Medieval art. Very much the style Mantic has used.

Do you just mean the idea of a red humanoid with hooves and horns?

Yes. I'd say this was more likely the inspiration than "Goblins with an ovipositor", as someone put it...

Oh, calm down, that was just a joke. The Medieval devil reference is obvious. And highly inspired, too. So much less generic and more imaginative than Games Workshop's four ruinous powers.

 Vermonter wrote:
The Medieval devil reference is obvious. And highly inspired, too. So much less generic and more imaginative than Games Workshop's four ruinous powers.

I really hope this is sarcasm. I don't want to go too far afield here (especially with the unfortunate if inevitable GW comparisons) but Mantic's demon design is about as lazy and obvious as possible.

Great deal on the books, however.

 Vermonter wrote:

 Alex C wrote:

 Manchu wrote:

 Alex C wrote:
Look at Devils in Medieval art. Very much the style Mantic has used.

Do you just mean the idea of a red humanoid with hooves and horns?

Yes. I'd say this was more likely the inspiration than "Goblins with an ovipositor", as someone put it...

Oh, calm down, that was just a joke. The Medieval devil reference is obvious. And highly inspired, too. So much less generic and more imaginative than Games Workshop's four ruinous powers.

I like it and am glad they didn't just clone GW stuff like they have done with most of their other products.

 Daedleh wrote:
Mega Armies

Starter Armies

 GrimDork wrote:
If nobody beats me to it, I'm gonna have to do a current edition breakdown of the arm(y/ies) that I'd be inclined to get. For points, I mean.

It isn't completed yet. I was just working on layout. I wanted to make it so it would be easy to update and could be used to create a quick calculation of points with options for an army list. Simply listing the current point values is a bit misleading because depending on what options you take, you can change the point value. Now granted this is only using current costs (when we get new points, I will update it). I also will update when something is updated to the pledge level. For example I started listing with Elves, added in the Elf Mage-Queen.

Let me know if anyone thinks this will be useful, suggestions for enhancements or changes. Glancing back over I should probably add additional troop quantities. I think I will make a separate sheet for an Army Builder, keep the Army Points as the master list, the Pledge List to show current options and then design a new sheet to be used for Army Building that will let people select from a drop down or something. I wish this was in a CSV somewhere (probably is, but didn't look) it would make the data mining easier.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/119xpuoyyRgchUBZYHQftuXLBkUCwqZAETBvWKw5-oJE/edit?usp=sharing

Edit: Currently the 'KS Pledge Options' tab points is off, as I was testing adding in additional options to points. As I add in more it will become a locked static, then require point changes to be done on Army Builder tab.

 Daedleh wrote:

 scarletsquig wrote:
Kickstarter is looking great so far, nothing but metal characters and hard plastic units, and we know the hard plastic will be good quality.

I do have 3 huge unassembled KoW armies to sort out already though, so will either be skipping this, getting the $50 pledge or just buying any KS exclusives.

*ahem* you may wish to check out the KoW rules committee forum...

Ooooh. Perfect timing considering how broke I am currently!

Not sure if I'm allowed to share the details, but the short of it is Mantic = awesome.

 judgedoug wrote:

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Mantic's web-store. They had until literally yesterday been selling bundles they call "Mega Army Bundles" that advertised as being a 2000pt army for around $175.

It depends. The named armies all vary in points cost. I don't believe the Mega Armies have a points cost listed.

For example

1700 points - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/elves/product/the-guardians-of-ithris-135-figures.html
2700 points - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/elves/product/lord-athuens-retribution-186-figures.html
1800 points - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/orcs/product/graks-skull-taker-horde-ultimate-orc-army-deal-155-figures.html
1500 points - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/dwarfs/product/thorgersons-storm-of-steel-135-figures.html
2000 points - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/dwarfs/product/stelanskars-guard-166-figures.html
2000 points - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/undead/product/the-bloodmire-legion-179-figures.html

Thanks for the clarification Doug. Still... isn't it slightly concerning that the KS "Mega Armies" are apparently roughly half the size, for slightly more than half the price... essentially making the KS in its current state a bad deal versus just ordering from Mantic directly, today?

KS has "mega starters".

And if you order from their website, the more you order, the bigger the discount. Seems entirely logical to me.

Besides that, it's a mantic KS; it's safe to say most deals will get sweetened at least a little before this is over

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:

 judgedoug wrote:
2700 points - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/elves/product/lord-athuens-retribution-186-figures.html

Thanks for the clarification Doug. Still... isn't it slightly concerning that the KS "Mega Armies" are apparently roughly half the size, for slightly more than half the price... essentially making the KS in its current state a bad deal versus just ordering from Mantic directly, today?

Looking at for example the Elves (Lord Athuen's Retribution 2700pts) you are comparing a $233 army to a $100 army. Not to mention the KS just started, as more things get unlocked more units will get added to pledge levels (like the Elf Mage-Queen 130-150pts). A good chunk of points come from the heroes.

I can understand it being a bit worrisome because someone can purchase a 2700 point army ($233) vs 1180 point army ($100). If they wanted to get the missing pieces, it would be $161 to make up the rest of that army. If the option you were looking for was to get a 2700 point army. So right now there is some value in buying direct (granted we are also throwing out the costs of the hardback rulebook). Some of the armies do better than others deal-wise currently though. It is one of the reasons I'm working on a spreadsheet to better track army points, value as well as to help with army building (granted that is also assuming all army point values stay the same with the next version).

Again though the KS has just started so there will be quite a few additions coming still. It is way too soon to start worrying yet.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:

Thanks for the clarification Doug. Still... isn't it slightly concerning that the KS "Mega Armies" are apparently roughly half the size, for slightly more than half the price... essentially making the KS in its current state a bad deal versus just ordering from Mantic directly, today?

Half the size points or dollar wise? I'd be very surprised if the KS army bundles (that have the rulebook and such, which the site bundles do not have) are a worse value for the money than the bundle deals Mantic has on the site

@ NewTruthNeomaxim -

Not really sure how you're doing the math.

The army deals on the website haven't altered - they're mot even products, they're just bundles.

The deals on the Kickstarter are different. They are mega starter armies. The armies linked in the posts above aren't mega armies either, they're just bundles.

The deals on the KS compare favourably with the website, with stretch goal rewards still to add in.

Finally, points are changing in the next edition, so it's not really a fair comparison.

 judgedoug wrote:

 Vermis wrote:

Hmm. Fitty quid minimum pledge. I might just wait to peruse the free download, if they put one up.

Wrong currency!

Hmm. Thurdy quid minimum pledge. I might just wait to peruse the free download, if they put one up.

These look like better day 1 deals than both DS and DBX offered

 RobertsMinis wrote:
I like the renders. They look like a medieval depiction of a devil put into a computer game, and for me it works.

...as drawn, from those toothy grins, by Phil Folglio...

I see Devels in most of those pictures, and I'm half expecting to see Aahz show up as an Abyssal wizard...

Valete,

JohnS

 NTRabbit wrote:
These look like better day 1 deals than both DS and DBX offered

Hmmm given the huge discounts we've seen on these products I'm not so sure. Also $40 Aussie shipping hurts!

Yeah for us the shipping hurts, but for those with free shipping I think these deals look better on day 1 than the last few projects

 Vermis wrote:

 judgedoug wrote:

 Vermis wrote:

Hmm. Fitty quid minimum pledge. I might just wait to peruse the free download, if they put one up.

Wrong currency!

Hmm. Thurdy quid minimum pledge. I might just wait to peruse the free download, if they put one up.

Touche! Haha they also are now coming with a pile of templates and tokens and whatnot. Disrupted/Disordered Counters, wavering Counters, Spell Effect counters, Objective markers, Turn Counter, 1 Arc of sight template, Ruler

 Vermonter wrote:

That was a bit cruel.

Yes, I know. But I'm not disposed to be kindly about professional artists seemingly completely hemmed in by a handful of pop-culture tropes, styles and designs that were already quite dubious when they first turned up over twenty years ago.
It's maybe not as excruciating as the lizardmen cold ones, as someone said, but 'better than saurus cav' isn't a high bar to aim for, or saying much. 'Jes Goodwin's cold ones' might be a better one. I still have the WD with his design notes, although they're a couple of paragraphs on one page. Dinos aren't his specialty, and he states he wasn't trying to design a hyperaccurate one, but he looked and thought a bit further than screenshots of the Jurassic Park 'raptors'.

Here's more: Looking at the abyssal concepts and renders posted up in the meantime, I'm glad the sculptor gets digitigrade legs, at least. Even if you don't understand or much care about the biological reasons, imagine walking about on a pair of legs that are almost completely folded up...

Judgedoug: Fair enough! I was still looking forward to a pledge for the mini rulebook rather than a relative splurge, tho.

 scarletsquig wrote:
Kickstarter is looking great so far, nothing but metal characters and hard plastic units, and we know the hard plastic will be good quality.

Wait - what?

Everything in this KS is hard plastic aside from metal characters?

Really?

 Alpharius wrote:

 scarletsquig wrote:
Kickstarter is looking great so far, nothing but metal characters and hard plastic units, and we know the hard plastic will be good quality.

Wait - what?

Everything in this KS is hard plastic aside from metal characters?

Really?

He's totally fibbing.
The books are paper

 Alpharius wrote:

 scarletsquig wrote:
Kickstarter is looking great so far, nothing but metal characters and hard plastic units, and we know the hard plastic will be good quality.

Wait - what?

Everything in this KS is hard plastic aside from metal characters?

Really?

I think he means new units funded. Previously existing PVC stuff (trolls in the orc and goblin army sets etc) will remain PVC.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Vermis wrote:

Judgedoug: Fair enough! I was still looking forward to a pledge for the mini rulebook rather than a relative splurge, tho.

I wouldn't be surprised if the mini rulebook was an add-on for a few dollars. Pledge $1 so you get updates! Honestly they pretty much give away the mini rulebooks, I have had in my possession like 8 or more mini rulebooks and give them away to people interested in the system. Same with the Warpath rulebooks.