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Those Cyphers look like a good substitute for generic humanoid aliens for various games like 5 Parsecs etc.

Looks like there will be a new firefight starter of nightstalkers vs. asterians, and some new resin Asterians too.

I'm interested in both armies and already have some nightstalkers, being able to dual-use them for KoW too is quite appealing.

New plastic ones are not a revolution but welcomed.

I am waiting to test in some ways new Nightstalkers for Firefight, this game is great.

 pancakeonions wrote:
Funny. So they'll be better to model with (everyone hates resin...) but are essentially very similar looking. Kind of a silly example to show off!

I'd say that models being redone in a better material without looking out of place with the models already in peoples' collection is a really good example to show off, honestly.

Werkrobotwerk wrote:
I was really hoping they'd redesign these things to fit more with the marionettes. The lens heads are a much better look.

On the other hand, if they are HIPS, swapping the weapons onto Marionettes shouldn't be too challenging.

or just using other heads for the Cypher, as most of the 3rd party alternative heads out there fit the Mantic models

also good chance this kit will have melee and ranged weapons so there should be enough left for conversion trades

New concepts and renders from the last 2 updates

GCPS troops


FF Brokkrs


FF Sigrunn Dropship



FF Hlokk Atmospheric Fighter



GCPS Maul Battleship

Didn't we use to make fun of GW for flying bricks

we still do
but I have to say if they go for a landing craft/spaceship design or antigrav land-ship there is some potential here

yet the infantry is not good, not sure if it is the combination of 2 people with hands up + tactical rock or something else but this is the worst one for now

The forgefather dropship has been depicted in artwork for years, great to see it getting a miniature.

The infantry sculpts remind me a lot of the classic epic miniatures, so I'm happy with them.

anyone else think they should just use the ships from their Warpath universe setting document art for aesthetic guides and ideas?

take this pic for example, some that i suspect was meant to be an enforcer set of ships. they could set up the smaller craft in this pic as the"Drakon" that is the smaller warship of a Enforcer Strike Force, while the bigger ship (the one used as an example of a Mckinley drive ship in fact) as the Wyvern Heavy Cruiser. the Drakon could be your Enforcer super-heavy, with superheavy transport of the flyers and vehicles being the main focus. (after all, most Enforcer stuff has anti-grav, allowing their stuff to be para-dropped.)




and you have this superheavy gunship looking thing for the GCPS army (from pg120 of the setting PDF)

which gives me vibes of the Assault ship from Avatar, a fire support craft with limited transport. (probably the sort of dropship that GCPS detachments would use for entering Deadzones) i suspect this would make more sense for the GCPS armed forces than a hover naval battleship.

Firefight Edge of Sanity 2 player starter set

ASTERIAN STARTER ARMY: 20 hard plastic Marionettes, 4 hard plastic Support Drones, 6 hard plastic Cyphers, 6 hard plastic Matsudan, 1 resin Cypher Prime, Bases

NIGHTSTALKER STARTER ARMY: 20 hard plastic Scarecrows/Spectres, 10 hard plastic Reapers, 6 hard plastic Butchers, 1 resin Shade, Bases

PLUS: 224-page Command Protocols book, Getting Started Guide, Card Counters, Command Dice Set, D8 Dice Set

https://www.manticgames.com/news/pre-orders-new-asterians-and-an-incredible-starter-set/

https://www.manticgames.com/firefight/edge-of-sanity-two-player-set/






3 Cyphers and 3 Matsudan per sprue - sprues are half sprues - looks like 1 tool then split after production

I had a look at those...none of the minis are interesting to me.

My wife was looking over my shoulder and said "If you can't sell miniatures to this man, you've really failed."

 Da Boss wrote:
I had a look at those...none of the minis are interesting to me.

My wife was looking over my shoulder and said "If you can't sell miniatures to this man, you've really failed."

Well, they get the same reaction from me as Eldar and Genestealers from GW: technically nice, but not my cup of tea.

I like some of those nightstalkers, but not enough to put up with the vast majority of other minis on offer in the box....!

I am in for the Matsudan, waited for them since the first teaser a year ago to expand the resin ones
Already have the Dreadball team to make use of the extra weapons in the kit

Now just need to find a samurai themed transport

Seems a great place to start, 700 playable force each.

Nice!

Some of the aliens look exactly like white Spikes if you painted them well... white

 kodos wrote:
I am in for the Matsudan, waited for them since the first teaser a year ago to expand the resin ones
Already have the Dreadball team to make use of the extra weapons in the kit

Now just need to find a samurai themed transport

6 Matsudan: https://www.waylandgames.co.uk/matsudan-squad-mgffa306 from 10th July

Deadzone from 24th July
https://www.waylandgames.co.uk/matsudan-house-conclave-starter-mgdzmn101
https://www.waylandgames.co.uk/matsudan-wanderers-booster-mgdzmn102
https://www.waylandgames.co.uk/matsudan-daidarabotchi-booster-mgdzmn103

The set pairing is interesting - I have to give Mantic credit for bringing the weird. On the other hand, it's still mostly models I already have.

Matsudan in hard plastic from Archon look good to me, I could definitely pick up some of those.

For the naysayers, don't overlook the hard plastic Reapers. Casting quality / crisp detail is on par with GW - really! - and if you want to kitbash aliens, mutants, or demons, they're a really useful kit. They're my favorite Mantic release in many years.

I've never liked the Chinese cast Scarecrows / Doppelgangers, unfortunately. Design and casting quality aren't on the same level as the newer Archon releases.

The new Cyphers have just 3 different body types? And two of those poses are mirrored?

Ha! Doubly glad I put all that effort into cleaning and assembling my PVC ones, then. There were about 10 or so unique poses for those.

I like the big mutants, but the guys with talons for feet would just be better with normal feet imo, and the scarecrows don't really fit Sci Fi for me at all, they needed more alteration to make them a proper sci fi version.

The big fat boys on the other side are also okay, but I really hate the design on the elf robots and always have.

So my problem isn't the material but the design choices - for every hit there's a big ol' miss.

I love the Marionette models (and have a tonne of them half assembled that I really need to finish off, one of these days...) and the new cyphers are nice. Without knowing anything about the background, the Matsudan look more than a little out of place in there, though...

Nightstalkers are a mixed bag. I like the genestealers and the big, troll-looking creatures, though.

 Da Boss wrote:
I like the big mutants, but the guys with talons for feet would just be better with normal feet imo, and the scarecrows don't really fit Sci Fi for me at all, they needed more alteration to make them a proper sci fi version.

The big fat boys on the other side are also okay, but I really hate the design on the elf robots and always have.

So my problem isn't the material but the design choices - for every hit there's a big ol' miss.

Whoever it is at Mantic that is making these design choices really needs to just let go of the reigns and let someone who knows what they are doing take over. I get it, there is a style of silly sci-fi that you adore, but it clearly is not everyone's cup of tea and aiming for it is probably driving away more customers than it's pulling in.

 Zethnar wrote:
... and aiming for it is probably driving away more customers than it's pulling in.

I'm curious as to how you would arrive at that conclusion, honestly.

Keep in mind that complaints tend to be louder than praise, particularly online. And it's really, really easy to assume that complaints that we agree with are the majority opinion.

Mantic's overall style has remained fairly consistent since they started. I would expect that if it wasn't selling, they would have changed it by now. The fact that they haven't, and are still in business, suggests that there must be a market out there for their style. And no, it's not going to be to everyone's tastes... you'll never achieve that, regardless of how good your designs are.

I am a big fan of their Asterians. I have lots of marionettes, as well as some resin Matsudan and restic Cyphers. If I had the funds, I would buy these new plastics on top of them.

I enjoy Mantic’s “New Space Opera” aesthetic.

What is best in my opinion is ruleset. They aim to offer easy, fast but at the same time tactically deep games with few erratas. And they avoid tons of supplements that makes the whole rule corpus a mess - unlike someone else do.

I've got loads of Mantic stuff - all the stuff I have and think is good:
- Fantasy Undead
- Fantasy Orcs (Krudger on Winged Slasher is top notch)
- Fantasy Dwarves
- Forgefathers
- Marauder vehicles
- Corporation Mules
- Veer-myn Tunnellers (and Veer-myn infantry are nice but I don't have any)
- Basilean Pheonix
- Dungeon Saga (original, I think it's great)
- Nightstalkers for Fantasy - I think they fit in fantasy pretty well, I have a Vanguard set.
- Ogres for Fantasy (tiny legs and all)

So I'm not a mantic hater at all. I just do not like some of the design choices, especially in the Sci Fi range, and I don't like some of the more computer gamey designs in the Fantasy line.

I hate being a Mantic hater... But they have yet to make a lot of model kits I really want to buy. I recently got their Wolverine tanks, and those were loads of fun to build and paint.

The quality of their models is getting better, but it's still the asthetic I'm not in love with.

It's OK, I still have fun playing (mostly) Mantic rules with (mostly) Games Workshop models, lol

Every game is model agnostic if you try hard enough

Hah, the Wolverine tanks are Archon designs which Mantic licensed!

I think it comes down to a lack of consistent art direction. You can end up with individual models or units which are great due to strong concepts or a gifted sculptor, but still doesn't all feel like a single army with a single vision behind it. But then you either do the Dropzone Commander route of having a single auteur's vision (risky), or make art direction a distinct job from production (expensive). And I really do think the quality on balance really has improved over time.

Anyone know anything about upcoming Deadzone releases?

I am seeing retailers taking pre-orders for:

- Clade Warriors Starter (Cypher Prime, 6x Cyphers, 5x Marionettes, Support Drone)

- Clade Veterans Booster (Shuuvatar, 3x Black Talons)

- Matsudan House Conclave Starter (Gyoji, 6x Matsudan, 5x Hainawa Marionettes, Support Drone)

- Matsudan Wanderers Booster (Ronin, Gravbike, 2x Crocodogs)

- Matsudan Daidarabotchi Booster (some kind of mech?)

- Kalyshi Booster (Deathstrike, 3x Kalyshi)

- Nightstalkers Starter (Banshee, 3x Butchers, 5x Scarecrows)

- Nightmare Incursion Booster (Horror, 3x Luctus Void Rays, 5x Reapers)

- Interdimensional Horrors Booster (Dread Ravager, Mind Screech, Fleshripper Butcher)