Breaking: Cubicle 7 Aqcuires Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay!

I'm jumping the gun a bit here, but it's all so exciting I simply can't help myself!

Yesterday Grim and Perilous (makers of Zweihänder) reported that a large European publisher had got world wide distribution rights to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. A few hours of frenzied speculation followed where names such as Modiphius, Mongoose and... Cubicle 7 came up but it was soon inadvertedly confirmed, through Drivethrurpg.com, that it was indeed Cubicle 7 who has landed the deal.

Later, when asked on Facebook, C7 cheekily responded with the following:

So yeah, Cubicle 7 + WFRP = True! And this makes me a very happy man!

Well unless they're forced by GW to do a Age of Sigmar version which would crush my newfound excitement. But I don't see that happening - GW has been really good about reviving old fan favourites lately so I'm actually hoping we might see something close to the first edition of the game! I would of course settle for a more modernized version, fitting with the end times, or whatever was going on in the Old World before bubbleworld, kind of like the 2nd and 3rd editions.

So why am I so excited about this? Well, as far as I'm concerned Cubicle 7 is a publisher that have consistently high quality across all their products, don't rush things and have a meticolous eye for the feel and details of the settings they portray in their games. They don't release a thousand splatbooks detailing every single class/ship/location/weapon like many other publishers do, but instead focus on making the best core game experience possible. Supplements are generally well thought through and don't feel redundant or uninspired.

In addition to that, TS Luikart joined Cubicle 7 in 2015 and he's contributed to a number of games that I really like, including WFRP 2nd edition, The One Ring, Dragon Age, Eclipse Phase and Dark Heresy. He has a good grasp of the setting and I would be very surprised if he's not involved quite heavily.

Now, it'll probably be a couple of years before we see a new release but if you'll allow me to dream for a bit...

I would like to see a setting that's very close to how it was presented in the first edition, which wasn't darker necessarily but certainly much more chaotic. No, not in the Chaos with a big C way, but in the way that it felt new, vibrant and quite unpredictable! The later editions were retconned to gel more with the current version of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, making everything a bit more... cookie-cutter. I would love a return to the more chaotic era of first edition. And seeing how OSR has been growing steadily the past few years I don't think it's impossible.

A new system designed from the ground up for WFRP would also be nice. While I have a certain fondness for the old system in the first two edition, and parts of WFRP3, I wouldn't mind a new more modern system, but hopefully with a slight OSR feel to it, to be used for a new edition. I have for a long time wanted to run Warhammer using Torchbearer as that seems like a pretty perfect fit, so a decent amount of grit would be welcome. And of course, Torchbearer will soon get its very own official setting, which looks awesome!

I could keep going on but I think I'll have to contain myself and wait for the official announcement from C7. Hopefully with a little bit of information attached. I had more or less written off WFRP as something that I would only play again if I went back to the first two editions (sold all my WFRP3 stuff a while back) but now my head is swimming with hopes and wishes!

Read More

21 comments

Which GW-based game to get from FFG before they're gone!

What has long been suspected by the community has now been confirmed by Fantasy Flight Games; they no longer has the license to produce games based on Games Workshop properties and will stop selling any of their current GW based games on February 28th 2017. So... panic and pandemonium among the (rather large) crowd who really like what FFG has managed to do with the different GW IPs. Still, we have about five months to stock up on what's missing and if we're lucky FFG will run some juicy sales before pulping their remaining stock next year.

There has been a lot of speculation as to why the split happened. Since FFG didn't show any sign of stopping the production of new GW-based games until earlier this year when they released the print on demand character expansions for Warhammer Quest. This seemed like a really odd move to me, as the game was a great success both commercially and critically. After that there were no new anouncements except for the current cycle of Warhammer 40k Conquest that was already set in motion. Then came Gencon and I thought "if there is no GW-based game announced at Gencon the relationship is over" and there wasn't and it is. So what happened?

It will probably be years (if ever) until what actually happens leak out, but my guess is that this was a decision made by GW, not FFG. Maybe because GW have been moving into board gaming themselves the last couple of years, and want to create their own market. Or maybe they took affront to the new Runewars miniatures game that is in direct competition with their own Age of Sigmar (neo-Warhammer). I actually read an interesting rumour that FFG had approached GW about making accessory pieces (markers? Terrain?) for both Age of Sigmar and 40k but got told to pretty much fuck right off, upon which FFG decided to make their own fantasy wargame. Just a rumour though. Or it could have been the other way around of FFG making Runewars and GW taking offence and yanking the license. Either way... no more great Warhammer games from FFT.

Now, there are a few months left so which games are worth getting and how should you prioritize and try and squeeze them into that already too small gaming budget? Fear not... I've made a lists...

Board games

1. Chaos in the Old World
Yep, I put this at number one rather than Forbidden Stars. It's not that CitOW is actually the better game (I'd say they're both equally brilliant!) however, it is quite a bit cheaper, has a more unique theme (you get to play as the actual Chaos Gods!!) and it can be played in 90 minutes easily. Those are going to be some mighty tense 90 minutes as the knife fight in a phone booth-type gameplay really amps up the action from round one. Highly, highly recommended!
What about the expansion? Get it if you can, but it's not essential unless you often find yourself with a group of five players. It does add some cool stuff and it's nice to have a completely alternate way of playing all the gods.

2. Forbidden Stars
Had it been cheaper and more accessible (read, shorter) this might have made the top of the list but it is nonetheless a superb game of space warfare with beautiful sculpts of all my old 40k favourites. I don't think I need to talk much about its merits as Forbidden Stars has received praise from all corners of the community. Get this is you prefer 40k over Fantasy and especially if you have a hard time getting together a group of four players. While you can play less than four in Chaos in the Old World the game really suffers from it, whereas Forbidden Stars work great with two and even three players! Of all the games we're loosing because of this deal, not seeing an expansion (with Tyranids!) for Forbidden Stars might be what I'll miss the most.

3. Fury of Dracula
Another sign that points to GW cutting ties - Fury of Dracula was released around the time of Gencon 2015 to much praise from the community who had longed for a reprint of this classic game. This has nothing to do with Warhammer but is simply a fantastic deduction game of many against one as you race through Europe trying to corner the most elusive and dangerous of prey - Count Dracula. The theme is marvellous and the components and board (as always) beautiful. I've also heard that in this latest edition FFG has fixed the combat system that sometimes felt a little clunky. The only, potentially, negative point is that Fury of Dracula can often run for two, three or sometimes even four hours which might be an issue for some people. I just find it a great way to spend an evening though. Hehe!

4. Blood Bowl: Team Manager
This is a small card game that kind of snuck up on me. I was certainly interested in it but didn't expect it to be as fun as it is! It plays quickly at around 60-90 minutes and it works well with two, three or four players. While naturally abstracted quite a bit from the gritty matches of the original Blood Bowl it nevertheless manages to capture the feel of the game. It's usually quite a bit of back and forth during the tournaments as you use your different players, and often a clever way to use an ability can turn a certain defeat into a win! For this I'd recommend getting both of the expansions as they add not only new teams but new rules as well, which might be needed to keep the game fresh for as long as possible.

5. Space Hulk: Death Angel
I was going to put Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game in spot 5 as I think it is probably a more fun game, it might even be better than Blood Bowl: Team Manager. But, and this is a big but, it was obviously made to have lots and lots of expansions providing more than the measly three included in the base game, and that is the crux of the matter - with no new quests how long will the base game actually last? I've heard people getting kind of bored with it after playing the same quest just two or three times. So even though I think Warhammer Quest is a better game as such, I'm going with Death Angel as it simply has a lot more replay value (and it's cheap!). The game is tense and really difficult (hey, it's Space Hulk!) with difficult tactical choices getting thrown at you every turn.

You'll see your nice big squad of marines systematically and unceremoniously being torn into little bloody pieces by the hordes of genestealers who simply love to camp out in abandonded old spaceships. It can at times run a little long for what is essentially a filler, but that might be down to me agonizing about my (Sophie's) choices each turn! It's an excellent solo game and very good for two players although I'm not sure how well it holds up with more players than that (besides becoming increasingly difficult!). As for expansions, get them if you can but they're certainly not needed to have many hours of fun(?) with this game.

Joker: Warhammer: Diskwars
Yeah... I have no experience with Diskwars, at all, and kind of discounted it when I first read the announcement from FFG - "this looks silly, I bet it is silly". Except, it seems like a lot of people really like it and that it might actually capture a lot of the feel of Warhammer Fantasy Battles without any of the hassles of miniatures painting or headache-inducing rules. Just read this review by Geosphere over at BGG called A Metric Ton of Fun in a Box! It also sits at a comfortable rating o 7.4 which is more than both Death Angel and Team Manager. Since I have no personal experience with it I can't recommend it myself, but do some research and see if it's your kind of thing.

Runners-up (or, left-overs)
There are some more GW-based games that didn't make my top five, namely Talisman (and its endless expansions!), Relic and Chaos Marauders. I really don't like Talisman as I find it just an endless affair with no interesting decisions and even if Relic improved on this slightly, it's simply not my cup of tea. No recommendation from me. Chaos Marauders I haven't actually played but from reading quite a bit about it a few years ago it seems like an ok filler, but not anything unique enough to warrant emergency funds.

Living Card Games

I'll talk briefly about the LCGs as I'm not that well-versed in them. I've played Warhammer Invasion a few times and while I surely enjoyed it it didn't give me that wow-feeling like Netrunner, or even Star Wars the Card Game, did. I guess if you are really into Warhammer Fantasy and LCGs it might be a good fit, but then again if that was the case you probably already own it.
Warhammer 40,000 Conquest is another matter though. Again it's a game I haven't played myself, but I have watched it played and enough people, whose judgement I trust, recommend it that I think it might be worth considering getting before the plug is pulled. Have a look at how it plays (plenty of videos on youtube) and read some reviews to see if it is for you.

Now, there's something to be said about a "dead" living card game. There won't be officially organized events, no new cards released and a much smaller community than, say, Netrunner. But in the same way these issues can be drawbacks for some, they can be boons for others! If you mostly want to play casually with your friends it might be liberating, in a way, to know that there aren't new packs to pick up each month and that the game is, in a way, "complete".

Roleplaying Games

FFG took up the reins after Black Industries were shut down and I think generally they did some good work, even though all of their rpg products are unessecarily wordy and can be a real slog to get through simply because the sheer number of pages and the very meticulous language with lots of repetition. Still, the background material is overall good and it's hard not to get inspired when flipping through the books. All of the core books are meaty beasts, so if you are strapped for cash but want to keep yourself covered, just getting these (and maybe the first sourcebook released for each line) would go a long way! Now, here is my personal list of recommendations:

1. Dark Heresy
Unless you have a very specific interest in Rogue Traders, Space marines, Chaos or the Guard just get Dark Heresy. It gives you the most freedom on both how to run your campaign and how the players can create their characters. You can play trench warfare or courtroom intrigue or anything in between and you rarely feel stuck in a rut with Dark Heresy. The sourcebooks released for the game (1st edition) are overall good, although I think Ascension and Daemon Hunter ups the power level more than I'm comfortable with. Scenarios has also often been a problem area for FFG - as a rule of thumb the first adventure book released for one of their roleplaying games (usually just after the core book, and usually containing three linked scenarios) is quite good, but then the longer, three-part campaign is kind of bad. So go for Purge the Unclean, but hold off on the Haarlock Legacy if you don't want to put in the extra work to get it up to snuff.

I haven't read the new second edition, but from what I've heard it is more of a revised edition than a complete overhaul. I'm not sure I would bother with it if it would make it harder for me to use the material in the old books.

2. Rogue Trader
This is my personal 40k rpg favourite! I love the grand scope of things and the freedom you can give your players to explore and create their own adventures, in a sense. The tricky bit is that it can be hard to get this grand scale across. When you have a ship with a crew in the tens of thousands it just feels silly for the captain to have a shootout in a dingy bar. Don't have a shootout, have a war! This was also a problem that plagued the official scenarios released - while they at times get the scale right it just as often feels off. This is also why I'm not putting it at number one, Rogue Trader does require more work from the GM. Or perhaps not more work, but it requires a flexible GM that can run a kind of semi-sandbox campaign with only a general skeleton framework that the players themselves flesh out. Or that is at least my take on it. I guess you could play it in a way similar to Star Trek, where the captain and the most important officers keep beaming down everywhere personally to take care of stuff even though they have a huge crew! But that would defeat the purpose of the insane scale of Warhammer 40k!

I think the different sourcebooks for Rogue Trader are of high quality and worth getting if you like the setting. The adventures might seem a bit lacklustre if you run them straight from the book, but could make for a good framework for a more player driven campaign, so don't discount them.

3. Deathwatch
For me, Deathwatch was really when the kind of giant-on-clay-feet that is the 40krp system started to show both its age and its cracks. With so many different mechanics layered on top of eachother it made the game... cumbersome to run. And keep in mind, this is coming from a person who likes crunch in his games! If I were to run Deathwatch again I think I would use a different system that fits the heroic, almost superhero, style better. Perhaps FATE. However, I still think it is worth getting the books simply for the lore and the many ideas you can get from them for your own campaigns, if you want to run a space marine game that is.


4. Only War
I was kind of excited for Only War as the Imperial Guard has long been a favourite faction of mine, when it comes to 40k. And although the game is certainly not bad by any means it doesn't really stand out as anything all that special either. Yes, there are tons of info on the imperial guard and the military machine of the Imperium. But so much of it is simply WWI/WWII/Vietnam in space it's rarely anything that actually feels new. If Deathwatch is a superhero game then Only War should be the gritty, down in the mud game about the stories of individual soldiers and how they fought and died. Sure, you can use the 40krp engine for that, but I immediately want to run it with the awesome USCM (Aliens colonial marines) hack for Torchbearer instead! It is also crunchy, but in a completely different way - instead of trying to be a bad simulator it instead goes full on gut punch and gravel in your eye while still having a laser focus on the personal stories. Again though, the FFG books can be good for the lore.


Jokers: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 3rd edition and Black Crusade

WFRP3 is a bit of an odd duck, both brilliant and flawed, and certainly intriguing. You might remember that we played through The Gathering Storm campaign back when the third edition was released in 2010, and while we had a lot of fun with it, toward the end we (or at least I) felt quite a bit of token/card fatigue as it kept growing with each expansion introduced. The system is really quite good, but a little rough around the edges - which FFG now have polished with the Star Wars rpgs. The cards are brilliant in the sense that you have all the rules right in front of you, however the drawback is that the players often sit and stare at their cards to try and figure out their next, most optimal action, rather than just going with the flow and simply describing what they do and asking what to roll. So, at times, it felt more like playing World of Warcraft than a pen and paper rpg. Part of me really like it and want to play it again, but another part of me just want to cut out the core bits and get rid of the cruft (like with Star Wars!). Or... I'll just use the first or second edition, or even Torchbearer for my Warhammer games in the future. Again, if you want to go for it, consider skipping the adventures as they are so-so. Certainly not bad as such, and they can absolutely be salvaged, but I think getting the source boxes (the different chaos god boxes, Hero's Call and Signs of Faith) would bring you more in the long run. Besides, there are so many really good adventures for the first and second editions to use!

Black Crusade gets put as Joker simply because I haven't read any of it and I don't really know if it's good or not. It didn't really interest me when announced, but I could see playing as a band of chaos marauders if you go with the much weirder, old-school chaos from the Rogue Trader era instead of the current spiky skull demon style. Still, check out some reviews and see if it's something for you.


I think that about covers it! Now get going as there is sure to be a rush...

Read More

No comments

Infinity Release Highlights

"Whats this now?! I thought you'd stopped reporting Infinity releases!" I hear you say. And yes, I've retired those particular posts at this point in time, but that doesn't mean I get all excited at the end of the month or whenever we get a new sneak peak. It has now been 9 months since I wrote about the last releases and there's been some spectacular stuff added to the range since then. I thought it would be fun to have a look back and just pick a few of my favourites.

August (there were no July releases) was all about USAriadna, which I didn't feel were all that interesting. We got the Tiger Soldier with Spitfire which I'll definitely get, but from a minis perspective I think this Alguaciles hacker wins out! An odd release, seeing as there's a different version in the Corregidor Starter (that I also like) but a welcome one. I quite like the pose and the intense focus he seems to have. Nice model! Would have to consider replacing the starter set hacker with this one and use the other as HVT if I ever start that Corregidor force I've been thinking about.

What's that you say? Corregidor? Yes... I'm in love with almost all Corregidor models and the Mobile Brigada is in the top two (guess top one!) so I was happy to see this nice box of four more deadly looking beetles! I still find it silly that the female minis are so thin compared to the very bulky males - you'd think they'd look pretty much the same after putting on power armour - but at least it's not as bad as the female Hsien or Hac Tao! They look good though I wouldn't mind some less static poses. Hmm... aren't heavy infantry releases generally fairly static? Anyway, love the reloading of ths shotgun and the dainty looking gun in the hand of the hacker!

October brought us the updated Guija TAG for Yu Jing and what an update it proved to be! While I still really like the original version this does look better. The only things I would have changed from a design perspective is to make the thighs bigger again (to keep the landmate feel) and make the head... weirder. I much prefer the Briareos look of the original to this very humanoid head. Finally, the pose with the sword is what makes me really sad. Yes, it's kind of cool, but I much prefer my TAGs to look like they're do ingwhat they do best - shooting people! When I get this I'm seriously going to consider converting it to actually holding and firing that Multi-HMG it's got stuck on it's back. Still, it's a lovely looking TAG!

Not satisfied with a huge TAG CB also gave us a new Azra'il in October. This is quite an update! We had of course seen the Feuerbach variant earlier but I like this one even better. The new Haqq HMG looks great and the box magazines on the back are big and chunky which i like. Tht final touch is the shield on the right arm, reminiscent of Kerberos Panzer Cops. Hmm... can you tell I like big burly robot-y stuff yet?

Oh, you couldn't tell? Alright, let me spell it out for you with even more power armour goodness!! The Domaru Butai box was delayed a couple of months until November, but well worth waiting for! This is an excellent update of the old design that incorporates parts from Neko Oyama (the haidate - thigh armour) and also retains the dynamic poses that very much fit the Domaru. Getting a Spitfire also unlocks a bunch of new options for army building. I've always been a great fan of the Domaru and if I ever expand my Yu Jing enough to run JSA I think I'll have to try a Domaru link.

Ok, so it's not only about the power armour... I like this guy more than Achilles v2! Spektrs are generally just cool and this guy has the coolest looking gun and is about to put down a mine which is something I love to do with my skirmishers! The pose is a little bit odd when you think about it, but at first glance it looks good enough so no reason to dwell I suppose.

Back to the power armour again! January brought us another new Hac Tao. This time we finally got the hacker that had been mentioned earlier and it's weird and great looking at the same time. Weird because... why does he have his sword out? Great because (among other things) he has his Multi-rifle actually slung! This is something you rarely see on Infinity minis which makes me appreciate this Hac Tao all the more for it. Also, the general update to the Hac Tao is superb and it brings much needed detail to the earlier fairly plain armour. Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the next Hac Tao will be female! January also contained the Desperados and Govads which almost made the cut into this highlight list.

 '
February brought us another lovely Nomads release - the new and exciting Bandit! Boarding shotgun for the win again, and a neat hood/mask combo that I really like. The running pose works great as well, the only thing that looks a bit odd is the silly way he holds the sword. I understand what the sculptor had in mind but fighting like that simply doesn't make much sense. I'll most likely adjust it by cutting the sword off and turning it around so the blade goes up under his left arm. Whenever I get this guy that is!

Yes, more power armour! Hector came as a bit of a surprise to me and I think I've found the leader that I want to try and build my Steel Phalanx around. Achilles is cool and all but he's a bit headstrong. Hector seems like a much more tactical thinker. The model is nice and big with a very character tinbot and huge revolver! While the gun looks cool I at the same time feel it's a missed opportunity not to model an ALEPH plasma rifle. We've never seen anything like that before! Still, this way it's easy to use the model for whichever profile. If you're wondering why the Su Jian didn't make it it's simply because I prefer the old model - more weird and robotic looking.

Which brings us to the current releases this March. This felt a bit like one of those months where CB goes thin on releases to get the schedule back on track. Sure the HVTs are pretty cool and I'll pick up the Dragon Lady for sure, but it feels like secondary releases in a way. Still, we got the cool looking Kanren for Yu Jing! This guy is some kind of counter-insurgent, working hard to root out threats against the StateEmpire. Seemingly a very interesting toolbox model that I'm looking forward to try out.


And here's where we are now! I got to say it's been a nice past few months for us Yu Jing players with releases in six of the nine months! I have kind of reached a point now where I hesitate to paint any of my older Yu Jing models as I suspect we'll see updated versions of most of them soon enough. The quality keeps on rising steadily and although I picked mostly the big impressive power armour guys in this highlight there are so many spectacular looking lighters troops as well.

Really looking forward to seeing what else 2016 has in store. I certainly wouldn't mind resculpts of the Zhanshi line troops (and maybe Keisotsu butai) as well as the Shang Ji and Hsien. The latter two have awesome looking sculpts already but they are very much on the small side, so just a lighter update to get them into the same size as the rest of the power armour infantry might be enough.

Anyway, those are some Inifnity thoughts! See you later!

Read More

No comments

June Releases and USAriadna for Infinity!

Alright, fashionably late to the party, as usual, but here are my thoughts on this months releases. I'll go through the regular ones first and then take a look at the new USAriadna starter set. I'll try to keep it brief. ;)

Oh, and I just realized that I forgot to post the March/April post that I started on. Hmm... should I finish it and post it just for posterity, or simply cut my losses and move on? Does anyone actually care?! Haha!

Speak of the devil! The Hardcases is the first mini for USAriadna released into the wild! It's not quite a cowboy (we'll get those later!) but still unmistakably American in its style. I'm not one of those who's been on the edge of my seat waiting for this sectorial, but it's a nice figure for sure. Good pose and some cool detailing. In game he's a cheap with ambush camo and infiltration, carrying a Tactical Bow and either a light shotgun or a rifle. Irregular to, if the title didn't give it away. Hehe!

Be still, my heart! The new Yan Huo with Hyper-Rapid Magnetic Cannon for Yu Jing is... very nice! I liked the first one with dual missile launchers that was released back in January, but this is a notch above. The pose is similar, although mirrored, and CB has managed to actually make it balanced looking, even with that single huge gun! Gone are also the manual triggers which I think is great as targeting should be handled internally anyway. The power pack is nice and solid looking and the gun itself looks scary - love the tri-barrel! Argh... I really need to get a second job to afford all the great new Yu Jing releases.

This came as a bit of a welcome surprise to me - a new Janissaries box for Haqqislam. We got an updated look of the Janissaries last year which I liked but felt was a bit on the thin side (there's supposed to be a guy underneath the armour after all), so I'm really glad to see that these newer sculpts have regained some of their bulk. I've always liked the design of the Janissaries and I think CB has managed to make power armour that bridge the gap between the modern/near-future stuff of Ariadna and the really futuristic armours of Pano and Yu Jing. What we get in the box is a boarding shotgun+tinbot (great to have a mini for that instead of just a marker!), a doctor and a missile launcher. The latter is also my favourite of the three (four) as she has a great pose of reaching for her next missile. Good stuff!

Alright, after all that excitement lets calm down with a repack; Combined Army Support Pack. We've all seen the Medchanoid and drones before but I think it's well worth pointing out how well they hold up to recent releases. They're some of my favourite CA minis and I think there's a distinct lack of alien in the Combined Army these days. Sure the new starter box is awesome with beautiful minis, but they're all much too human! I want more weirdness for the CA!

Finally we have another Igao for Tohaa. We got to see the first one back in February and it looked great without the symbiont armour. Very different from what we're used to from Tohaa. This one doesn't have the wild hair or the energetic pose but instead we get this really cool and dynamic shotgun/sword combo! With the boarding shotgun pressed under his right arm and then the sword helt pommel down in his left this guy looks ready for any kind of cqb. Very cool! I think I've mentioned it before, but this is pretty much a Tohaa ninja. I guess they got stabbed in the back once too many...


So that's it for the "proper" June releases. Now let's take a quick look at USAriadna! These will be quick comments.

It's worth mentioning that this is not simply a six figure starter box but entire army pack!

Alright, another antipode! I like the new antipodes alhtough I would like them even better if they were just a liiitle bit more alien. ;)

USAriadna dog warrior posing with his toys. I'm actually not that fond of this particular mini. The head looks a strange somehow and there's something a little off with how he's holding his arms. Love the great big heavy pistol though. Also, kneepads for werewolves!

What is it with N3 and motorbikes?! It used to be a Japanese thing and now they're all over the place! Not that I'm complaining, it's just an... observation. Anyway, my first reaction was that it felt weird that they'd send cruisers like this to a jungle planet but what the hell, it's such an iconic design that I can forgive them for it. It looks really nice but I'm actually more looking forward to seeing what the Desperados' bikes will look like! Also, great pose with the rider resting the shotgun on her forearm.

The Maverick dismounted. Nice model except, where did the shotty go?

Now we're getting into historical gaming I think! Nice boonie hat and walkie.

Alright, back to the sci-fi! Marauders are new medium infantry that bring heavy flamethrowers. Something slighly cadian about this guy, but I like him. Nice solid armour and a cool looking gun.

The Minutemen certainly got an upgrade! While I do think the double light flamethrowers look a little silly it's a great mini overall. I especially like the neck guard and the night vision goggles.

The three Grunts in the box. Good looking minis for sure, but I'm still tired of the "two guys looking like soldiers and one girl posing" that seem to have become the standard for line infantry these days. Nothing wrong with posing, but mix it up a little!

Finally we have the Gencon exclusive Van Zant who looks as hard as ever. Nothing amazing (except for Angel's painting!) but definitely a solid figure.


For me this months favourite release has to be the Yan Huo, closely followed by the Janissaries and the Igao. Nice to see CB picking up the slack from last month.

Read More

2 comments

May Releases for Infinity!

Hello there! It's been a while and some of you might have noticed that I missed posting the new Infinity releases for the last couple of months. The simple reason is life and baby getting in the way of hobby and blogging (although I have managed more hobbying than I thought I would!). The reason I put off posting the new minis was that I didn't feel I had time to jot down my own thoughts on the models as I liked. Still, I want to continue posting the news, but I've decided to simply keep my comments short so I can churn out one of these posts quickly. For now at least.

So let's have a look at what May brought us, shall we?

First up a Panoceania Croc Man with MULTI sniper rifle. Updated design looks good (the old one wasn't very popular) but I feel the bulking out of the model makes him look a bit like an action figure. Maybe it's the pose though. Still, I like the realistic design of Infinity minis so I'm not that keen on the big stompy boots.

Wow! The new Haqqislam Naffatun are simply awesome! While I think the old ones were fine from a model standpoint their design were a bit generic. These guys with their new visored helmet and distinctive chest armour really stand out and I think they look awesome! And while the chest is a little bulky it follows from the way the armour is constructed and their legs are normal sized. Really great box! I just want to get them for painting!

The new Nomad Intruder with HGM also suffers from the bulking out syndrome! I think the two new Intruders we already have (sniper and combi rifle) are among the best in the entire Infinity range so was a little sad to see this guy looking big and clumsy next to them. He has the same design except it's like he's made out of Duplo while the others are made out of Lego. Sure, cool. I just wish they'd kept the subtlety of the earlier sculpts.

I was really looking forward to the second Combined Army Umbra Legate as I really like the one in the CA starter. This guy though... I don't really know what to make of him. It's obviously a dynamic pose but I'm not really sure what's being conveyed. The twist of the torso and the flow of the robe suggest different things to me. Hmmm.. might very well be a mini that needs to be seen in the flesh. Undecided on this guy.

Finally we have Scylla & Drakios for ALEPH. I dearly dearly hope that this is all about bad photography and that Scylla (and Drakios to a lesser degree) looks a lot better in person! Please let it be so! The concept art was really good and Steel Phalanx could certainly do with another hacker (although, enough with the characters for a while. Yeah, CB?) but as I look at the photos of the model it simply looks weird to me. An uncomfortable looking pose, horn rimmed glasses like Dame Edna and that sword that seems to have been stuck into her hand for no other reason than "it was there". She just... don't work for me at all. As I'm set on building Steel Phalanx I'm sure I'll get her anyway and if the pics aren't lying and she looks weird then to I'll probably try and modify her enough to at least not have that strange pose. Perhaps make the glasses into sunglasses. Hmm...


So to summarize this month. Might be the first time since I've started playing Infinity that I'm actually mostly disappointed with a batch of releases. Yeah, I'm as shocked as you are! The Naffatun are truly awesome and really saves this month, but I think the crocman and intruder are average while the Legate is the ugly of the good, bad and ugly. Scylla though... I'm trying to keep hope alive in my heart...

I'm sure this was just a temporary dip though as March and April had some great releases like the 45th Highlanders, the Tiger Soldier, the Azrail and the Jaguars. Also, next month there's probably some Yu Jing goodness to look forward to! :D

Read More

2 comments

February Releases for Infinity!

Let's have a look at the latest releases for Infinity. While there are some basic stuff in there to fill out your link teams there are also a couple of new additions that will be fully introduced in Acheron Falls.

I'll get started with the Nazarova Twins, Kum Enforcers for Haqqislam. The resculpted Kum bikes really are very cool looking and although I'm a little sad the cool sci-fi vibes of the monobikes were replaced with space harleys I do like them. However, I hope we're done with them for a bit now as there's been quite a few space harley releases lately. Now, with that out of my system, let's talk about the actual models! Bikes=cool but sad. Check. The twins... great sculpts (as always these days) and cheesy but in a kind grindhouse way that I actually quite like! I like Zamira the best thanks to that stone cold pose with the shades and the cool looking shotgun (new Haqq light shotgun, right?). Zuleyka is great as well - looking like she just skidded to a stop and is now opening up with her twin breaker pistols! I personally wouldn't paint her top as see-through, but I guess Angel needed some practice. Hehe! Their stats aren't all that impressive as they're basically ever so slightly souped up regular Kum. The only really special thing about them are Zuleykas twin breakers, twin light flamethrowers and her DA close combat weapon. No idea why she got all the cool toys while Zamira is pretty much just a regular Kum. So, you get these guys for the models, not for the stats.

Here comes a completely new unit; Teucer, Agéma's Warrant Officer for ALEPH and what a gorgeous sculpt it is! Someone mentioned that we finally have Adam Jensen in Infinity and I'm inclined to agree. The only thing that's really missing are the cybernetic shades (and a black paintjob), the rest matches up pretty well, even the cybernetic looking arms! I wonder if they do that nifty killy thing that Jensen's does. Nice pose that feels unique and a little odd without being over the top weird or unrealistic. And then there's that gun! The Yu Jing Spitfire have long been my favourite gun in the game, but this ALEPH Feuerbach might have it beat. We got a sneak at his stats as well and Marksmansip X, NWI and either an X-Visor or a MSV2 he certainly knows how to hit his target. Quite pricey at 44+ points, and a bit slow, but this is not a model you'd move around a lot on the other hand. Either way, I'll get him for my Steel Phalanx just for the awesome model! Of course, mine will be be dressed in black.

We can't all be super cool AI sleeves with huge guns, we need grunts as well. Like the new Corregidor Alguaciles support weapon box for Nomads. You probably already know that I quite like these guys and I'm happy we can now field a whole gang of space adventure Cobras not only with combirifles but special weapons as well! Speaking of weapons, the redesigned Nomad guns look great as usual. I like how the sniper is in the middle of a reload and the fairly mundane yet hi-tech looking missile launcher. I think the underslung grenade launcher with a revolver magazine might be my favourite though! I also like how they've managed to make them look like four distinct models rather than two versions of the same bodies (which it actually is). It's probably a tricky feat to pull of, and sometimes it doesn't really work out, but these guys look good I think. The very individual heads help a lot (compared to the Ghulam SWC box for example).

Yet another unit from Acheron Falls! The Igao Unit for Tohaa looks interesting as it is something as rare as a Tohaa without Symbiont armour. It certainly looks a lot different to the regular Tohaa design, somewhat more feral I'd say. And I really dig it! While I like most Tohaa models just fine I feel that many of them suffer from an overabundance of greeblies - that is to say lots of little details on their suit/armour that doesn't seem to have any other function than simply to provide texture. Nothing wrong with that as such, it's the way they're designed, it just doesn't appeal to me personally. That's why this guy with his smoother armour pieces looks interesting to me. And that big helmet is great as well! Nice dynamic pose with the Igao just about to slash some poor sucker in two! So what kind of unit is it? Well, it seems like the Tohaa has kept a close eye on Yu Jing as this guy is pretty much a Tohaa Ninja. TO camo, Martial Arts L3, Infiltration, Kinematica L1 and Multiterrain. Armed with flash grenades and either a Boarding Shotgun/AP CCW or Combi/DA CCW for 25 and 26 points respectively is a steal in my book! What keeps it grounded is Frenzy which will make the Igao a lot less reliable after his first kill. Still... that's cheap!

Last but not least we have a new Tank Hunter with AP HMG for Ariadna. You can tell that the Ariadna Kazaks are getting a more unified look as their models are updated as this is guy looks very similar to the Spetsnazs we've seen released recently. Which is not a bad thing as the miniatures look great! What we have here is a guy seemingly listening to some advice from his CO or perhaps a crude joke from a brother in arms - machine gun slung over his shoulder - ready to head out into battle. While I like the pose I think it'll look a little odd on the battlefield. While we have plenty of "posing" poses they at least usually have their weapons at the ready. Just a slight immersion breaker when we have a guy taking a rest on the field instead of covering his sector. Bit of a nitpick though. I'm sure he'll find his way into my inevitable Kazak force... ;)


So that was February! My top pick this month is Teucer as that gun is just so damn sexy! If I wasn't a bit tired of Kum bikers the sisters might have taken the top spot. See you soon for the March releases.

Fire Broadside is also present on Facebook. Give it a like!

Read More

No comments