First off, sorry this is late. Being at Gencon makes it a bit difficult to keep things on schedule.
However being at Gencon also means I was able to snag the brand new releases for Vanguard - two weeks before they are scheduled to start shipping on August 19th.
For this release, Mantic went back to the original release lineup - with a starter, booster and then a couple of blisters.
The starter set includes a skeleton sprue (that makes 10 skeletons), a zombie sprue (older, but still one of their best) that makes 3 zombies, and a ghoul sprue that makes 2 ghoul. In additon, there is a new resin arkosaur necromancer and a new wraith sculpt. You can actually see the sprues on the mantic web store.
The interesting thing about the new necromancer sculpt is you can now put a necromancer on a 20 OR 25 mm base (and while I put the new model on a 20, he would fit better on a 25). This is in case you want to use an older model.
He is very easy to assemble (though I wasn't 100% sure if the tail is suppose to curve up or down)
The new Wraith model is very nice.
It has the typical issue of most models with 2 handed weapons - where you have to glue multiple pieces simultaneously to get it assembled. Plus it need a bit of hot water to straighten out his flaming scythe.
The warband booster is four brand new resin sculpts.
The first, and my favorite, is the hafling vampire, a new command option. Yes, he has a special rule called "Anklebiter"
Some say he detracts from the more serious nature of the undead, but I don't care, I want him in my demo warband anyway!
A third command option is now available with the Crypt Gouger - who is a large ghoul carrying a shovel and with an unearthed coffin (is that his lunch box?) on his back.
Yes, I did realize later that I forgot to trim a bit of flash off the shovel. Oops.
Then there is the vampire bat swarm - a grunt.
This was NOT obvious how to assemble, and the card was no help at all. Writing this I finally realized there is a better picture on the cover of the box, so I may put the super-glue remover to work on this after I get home from Gencon.
Finally is a new sculpt for the Barrow Wight. A nice sculpture, but it unfortunately confirms one of my fears. In 2nd edition Kings of War, Barrow Wights were changed to Large Infantry (which matches their stats) and new models were released for them.
Unfortunately while in that style, it is smaller, and only goes on a 25mm base. So this is one model that will not transition between game systems very well.
Next is the undead reinforcement pack - three metal models.
The first is the skeleton archer, with a choice of bow, or crossbow.
I figured for a demo I want to be able to show off the model, so I bought two packs and made one of each. I'll still run him as using a bow however.
There are also two additional new sculpts for armored zombie orcs (or zorcs?). These are actually warriors (something the initial list was lacking).
Finally, the newest and most 'interesting' model - the Goreblight. A monstrosity created by a failed necromatic experiment.
This is by far the most complicated model to assemble, and there are a couple of tricky points to it.
You want to attach the upper arm/shoulder piece to the body first. This is because when it is attached, it forms part of the joint for the other upper body piece.
Then you attach the other shoulder piece.
There are also three small, thin pieces that took me a while to figure out as well. First is a chain ending in a spiked flail - this attached to a socket in the models right arm.
Next up is a knife with a wrapped handle. This took me a while to find, but it is basically a cropped tail with the knife tied to it.
The third thin pieces is a foot, again with a chain and morningstar dangling down (and which I apparently forgot to take a separate picture of). It attaches onto the end of an 'arm' - up can see the small hole for the piece to attempt to fit in, which is small enough that it doesn't fit well.
It is on a 50mm base, which seems a bit big, bit will leave plenty of room for decoration.
What really surprised me however, was the number of units available to the faction. I've noticed the card count slowly creeping up, so there are 18 DIFFERENT unit cards now for Undead (not including warband 2 obligitary warband special ability and spell cards).
So the current cards for the Undead are
Vampire Halfling - command
Necromancer - command / spellcaster
Crypt Gouger - command
Goreblight - large
Werewolf - large
Zombie Troll - large (yes, I was hoping for this!)
Barrow Wight - support
Soul Reaver - support
Wraith - support
Ghost - support
Armored Zombie Orc - warrior
Revenant - Warrior
Vampire Bat Swarm - grunt
Skeletal Dog Pack - grunt
Ghoul - grunt
Skeleton Archer - grunt
Skeleton - grunt
Zombie - grunt
In addition to the new warband, I also picked up the expansion book - Ice & Iron.
But details on that will have to wait for next time (after I have a chance to actually read it :-) ).
Because it is all fun and games . . .
However being at Gencon also means I was able to snag the brand new releases for Vanguard - two weeks before they are scheduled to start shipping on August 19th.
For this release, Mantic went back to the original release lineup - with a starter, booster and then a couple of blisters.
The starter set includes a skeleton sprue (that makes 10 skeletons), a zombie sprue (older, but still one of their best) that makes 3 zombies, and a ghoul sprue that makes 2 ghoul. In additon, there is a new resin arkosaur necromancer and a new wraith sculpt. You can actually see the sprues on the mantic web store.
The interesting thing about the new necromancer sculpt is you can now put a necromancer on a 20 OR 25 mm base (and while I put the new model on a 20, he would fit better on a 25). This is in case you want to use an older model.
He is very easy to assemble (though I wasn't 100% sure if the tail is suppose to curve up or down)
The new Wraith model is very nice.
It has the typical issue of most models with 2 handed weapons - where you have to glue multiple pieces simultaneously to get it assembled. Plus it need a bit of hot water to straighten out his flaming scythe.
The warband booster is four brand new resin sculpts.
The first, and my favorite, is the hafling vampire, a new command option. Yes, he has a special rule called "Anklebiter"
Some say he detracts from the more serious nature of the undead, but I don't care, I want him in my demo warband anyway!
A third command option is now available with the Crypt Gouger - who is a large ghoul carrying a shovel and with an unearthed coffin (is that his lunch box?) on his back.
Yes, I did realize later that I forgot to trim a bit of flash off the shovel. Oops.
Then there is the vampire bat swarm - a grunt.
This was NOT obvious how to assemble, and the card was no help at all. Writing this I finally realized there is a better picture on the cover of the box, so I may put the super-glue remover to work on this after I get home from Gencon.
Finally is a new sculpt for the Barrow Wight. A nice sculpture, but it unfortunately confirms one of my fears. In 2nd edition Kings of War, Barrow Wights were changed to Large Infantry (which matches their stats) and new models were released for them.
Unfortunately while in that style, it is smaller, and only goes on a 25mm base. So this is one model that will not transition between game systems very well.
Next is the undead reinforcement pack - three metal models.
The first is the skeleton archer, with a choice of bow, or crossbow.
I figured for a demo I want to be able to show off the model, so I bought two packs and made one of each. I'll still run him as using a bow however.
There are also two additional new sculpts for armored zombie orcs (or zorcs?). These are actually warriors (something the initial list was lacking).
Finally, the newest and most 'interesting' model - the Goreblight. A monstrosity created by a failed necromatic experiment.
This is by far the most complicated model to assemble, and there are a couple of tricky points to it.
You want to attach the upper arm/shoulder piece to the body first. This is because when it is attached, it forms part of the joint for the other upper body piece.
Then you attach the other shoulder piece.
There are also three small, thin pieces that took me a while to figure out as well. First is a chain ending in a spiked flail - this attached to a socket in the models right arm.
Next up is a knife with a wrapped handle. This took me a while to find, but it is basically a cropped tail with the knife tied to it.
The third thin pieces is a foot, again with a chain and morningstar dangling down (and which I apparently forgot to take a separate picture of). It attaches onto the end of an 'arm' - up can see the small hole for the piece to attempt to fit in, which is small enough that it doesn't fit well.
It is on a 50mm base, which seems a bit big, bit will leave plenty of room for decoration.
What really surprised me however, was the number of units available to the faction. I've noticed the card count slowly creeping up, so there are 18 DIFFERENT unit cards now for Undead (not including warband 2 obligitary warband special ability and spell cards).
So the current cards for the Undead are
Vampire Halfling - command
Necromancer - command / spellcaster
Crypt Gouger - command
Goreblight - large
Werewolf - large
Zombie Troll - large (yes, I was hoping for this!)
Barrow Wight - support
Soul Reaver - support
Wraith - support
Ghost - support
Armored Zombie Orc - warrior
Revenant - Warrior
Vampire Bat Swarm - grunt
Skeletal Dog Pack - grunt
Ghoul - grunt
Skeleton Archer - grunt
Skeleton - grunt
Zombie - grunt
In addition to the new warband, I also picked up the expansion book - Ice & Iron.
But details on that will have to wait for next time (after I have a chance to actually read it :-) ).
Because it is all fun and games . . .
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