Kings of War - a WFB successor

Double-post: Speaking of smart economic choices, Mantic revealed this week that Ambush is not only a style of play, but also a new type of bundle for sale. Currently they have six Ambush boxes for sale: Ogres, Goblins, Ratkin, Halflings, Forces of the Abyss, and Empire of Dust. That's a lot of content for 40€ per box, so I am tempted to buy most of these bundles. All of them have enough conversion-bits needed for my ongoing projects, but Ogres, Ratkin and Halflings are the ones I'm most interested in, especially as I get enough Goblins for my needs together with the Ogres.

Really neat. I need to get the new book.

Compared to GW, I really appreciate Mantic's release model, especially with regards to rules. Kinda wish Firefight was more popular.

I especially like how Mantic offers me a product that is both more affordable and closer to what GW used to sell. I have some gripes about GW's models from End Times onward, because so many models for AOS are overly detailed and have too many fiddly bits. I prefer less cluttered designs and more easily readable silhouettes, as well as more conversion-friendly kits, which is why I've gravitated more towards companies like Mantic. I have a lot of fun planning which kits to buy and what bits to use for my various conversion projects, such as using Ratkin as obvious proxies for Skaven.

Waiting on my Sands of Ahmun box as a late Christmas gift. Guess I'm putting Brothermark down to focus on Empire of Dust; which isn't a bad second place. Especially with all the new models. And there's some ogres for someone to borrow.

I was thinking about getting that box, mostly for the Ogre Warriors and the Ogre General, but also because I am on the lookout for skeletal horses. Though I do have enough skeletons for my needs at the moment, plus that the most interesting things from Empires of Dust are not in that particular box.

Yeah, Empire has some crazy beautiful new models. Got my box in, the big red book is a little crunched, barf.

I'll need to doublecheck the Wayback Machine—back before GWS's site was pure catalogue they had articles on modelling. One had a method to add chunky gore to weapons; I wanted to modify the method to make it mud if I got a Tomb Kings army. Basically have them killed in a Book of Exodus-style parting sea and rising from the seabed. Dunno if I want to attempt that since these skeletons have more cloth to keep them together, less bare ribs to clog with shit.

There are plenty of videos on Youtube for making muddy bases, at least. If I were to make minis look water-drenched, as if they have just risen up from the water, then I'd use a combination of five-minute epoxy glue, as well as lacquer applied with a brush. The epoxy glue will make it look like the minis are covered in partially transparent goop, which can be made more mudlike through a brown wash. The lacquer will make things look shiny, as if dripping wet.

Double-post: When making plans for what to buy of Mantic's minis, the blog Until Somebody Loses an Eye has been very useful. After some disappointments in the past, I always try to make sure that miniatures I want to buy are of the right size and proportions, as most of my minis are of the 28mm "heroic" variety. Mantic is getting better at showcasing their products from different angles and what bits will be on sprues, but the blog above continues to be one of the best ways to get a glimpse of what you can expect from Mantic's new releases.

-does some basic browsing-

I can't believe they have a halfling army for those nine wargamers that are interested in what a halfling army would look like.

Thinking of grabbing a Ratkin army just because. 200 CAD for more than 80 models is really good by wargaming standards. The "Army" looks more diverse than the "Mega Army" though... Same amount of alternate units really, just twice as many warriors.

I actually have some of Mantic's minis because I backed Star Saga on kickstarter ages ago, should probably put those together to see what they look like...

I was very excited when I found out about the new Halfling army, mainly as a tool for conversions. Besides the obvious use as Halflings in KOW and other games, such as more organized Hobbit-militia for LOTR, they also offer a chance to make gnomes with steampunk technology. Speaking of steampunk, I am looking forward to kitbashing Mantic's Halflings with their Goblins, to make more high-tech gadgets for them. The boxes for Ambush are a God-send for me, because of how much useful stuff I can get from them.

Sands of Ahmun ogres are based; now to paint Krog, son of Grog and his Bonegrinder Company.

Put together some brocks today and had to do the heat and chill method to make the two parts fit better together. Man are my fingers still cold, LOL!

Edited by whiskers1138 on Feb 4th 2023 at 12:53:55 PM

"I can use this for other stuff" is half the reason I'm interested in this. I have enough generic medieval soldiers (Thanks to CMON's ASOIAF wargame) and zombies (Thanks to CMON's Zombicide) and Pirates (Thanks to CMON's Rum and Bones) and modern thugs (That Vengeance Board game, not done by CMON for once) but feel like there are a few other scenarios I can prepare myself for as a TTRPG enthusiast.

I don't have many elves, mostly because I hate elves, but maybe I should get a small squad of them so I can have them get slaughtered by everything else. -checks- Why are the elven bowmen all wielding them in one hand how do elves work in this setting.

Orcs are kind of out, because while I love orcs I feel like an Orcish army I field should be fully integrated and there is a large lack of lady orc models.

... Maybe I should take a note out of 's book and make a dwarf army too. 🤔 They do look pretty cool.

While Mantic offers me lots of bits for conversion and proxies for more expensive minis by GW, the biggest appeal for me is the relatively cartoony design aesthetic of the miniatures. It reminds me of Warcraft II and III, as well as WOW, a game-series which I wish had spawned more miniatures, especially ones based on the RTS-games. That's why Mantic (along with Rune Wars) is my go-to source to convert Warcraft-y miniatures. Besides Warcraft, Mantic's designs also remind me of a few other 90's games that I love, like Heroes of Might & Magic III and Age of Wonders. So I can use the miniatures for that as well.

Please note that the dwarfs can be a bitch to put together. They're still awesome looking, though. I love my beardy bois.

If I took the plunge on Malifaux nothing can scare me when it comes to assembling minis. Dwarfs do look like fun little dudes (TM) but I also wish there where a few more shortstack lady dwarfs running around their armies.

Funny you should mention Rune Wars I thought that game didn't make much of an impact. Not that I'll ever forgive Fantasy Flight for abandoning Imperial Assault.

I do like the aesthetic of most of the armies. Has that stylized look. I immediately was drawn to the Abyss guys because I love the idea of a huge horde of The Legions of Hell openly tearing apart the landscape but when I took a closer look they felt more like just a bunch of dudes with horns. Nightstalkers look more unique, although I don't know about making half my army just Scary Scarecrows.

Choices, choices...

Edited by ShirowShirow on Feb 4th 2023 at 5:00:03 PM

Rune Wars started to be noticed more serilusly in the tabletop crafting community around the time it was already discontinued. Lots of suggestions to buy the boxes in bulk before they disappear forever.

I kinda like most of the Abyssals for their generic Big Red Devil look, which makes them very applicable to multiple other games, and also gives a good base form to work on when converting them further. Kitbashing Forces of the Abyss with both the Nightstalkers and the new Riftforged Orcs, with both of their monstrous units should make for a cool Legions of Hell army.

Edited by Mara999 on Feb 5th 2023 at 10:48:51 PM

Honestly the models are cheap enough that I might just do that.

One of the neat things about the Nightstalkers is that they're literally creatures of nightmare—whatever scary looking assholes you bring to the table are legit representations of them. I think Goonhammer showed off an evil clown circus army of Nightstalkers once.

The Nightstalkers are a nice blend of different aspects, which you can mix however you please. Do you want tentacled Lovecraftian horrors? Check. Do you want spectral weirdness? Check. Do you want hokey and fun horror-movie shenanigans? Check. They are sorta like undead, though not reanimated from anything that was ever actually alive, but more like zombies and ghosts of ideas and dreams. They also tick the boxes of what would be called "demons" in many horror movies. Overall a really fun mishmash of cool things, while the minis offer lots of conversion-bits for many different projects.

Double-post: I've ordered two boxes recently, the Abyssal warband set for Vanguard and the Ratkin Ambush set. The Ratkin will make excellent use for my growing Skaven project, while the Vanguard box offers tools for many other conversion-ideas I have. The box has some unique variations of models seen in the main Forces of the Abyss line for KOW, like a different Gargoyle and Flame Bearer. The Gargoyle makes me think of a vampire going One-Winged Angel Castlevania-style, except a Rare Female Example. There is plenty of stuff in that box for making demons, undead and even dark elves.

Triple-post: Mantic is releasing some more details on the upcoming Dungeon Saga: Origins. In that same post they are teasing the future expanded Twilight Kin, which will get its introduction through Dungeon Saga, the same way many units of Halflings and other factions were first seen through Kickstartered Gaiden Games. From what little has been seen so far, through art pieces and the one Twilight Kin warlock in League of Infamy, I quite like what I've seen. Besides Dark Elves, they seem to be partially like Tzeentchian Chaos Warriors, based on their cool armour and the connection to the Night Stalkers. Overall I'm getting vibes of a Lovecraft Lite Doomsday Cult, like the Twilight's Hammer in WOW.

Dungeon Saga is the precursor to Star Saga right? I love the minis on Star Saga. Can't really get any of then anymore.

Yeah, Dungeon Saga came first, but it has been more consistently updated over the years. Before the recent website update you could still buy most of the Star Saga minis that weren't also bundled with Warpath or Deadzone, but now you can only get the few special ones that can be purchased through Mantic Points.