Dwarf Kings Hold Adventurers - Orcs & Elves

With the recent release of Dwarf Kings Hold: Ancient Grudge and all the new troop types that can be feilded I dug out my Mantic Crazy Christmas bag and assembled a few pieces to represent some of the new troops.  I've done the same with the dwarves as well, but they're not painted yet, and I already have a load of zombies, ghouls and wraiths for the undead, so this post features my new additions for my orc and elf warbands.

Three bases of suprisingly useful little 'orclings', I just love these guys

An orc boss flanked by another two greatax

A couple of Orc Morax made from the standard orc sprue, by just swaping the sheilds for the spare axe provided.

My interpretation of scout captain Shulan and an extra couple of spearmen

And finally some elven scouts 

Dwarf Kings Hold: Ancient Grudge - A Look Inside

This is my look at the third set in the Dwarf Kings Hold series by Mantic games; Ancient Grudge.  I had a few issues with this, being sent two copies without rulebook (see here), but I then contacted Mantic directly and they sorted it out easily and quickly.  Putting that aside what do we have in this set?  The first thing to be aware of is that unlike the previous two sets this is not a stand alone game and you will need at least one of the sets to be able to use this.  Too get the full use out of this you'll need both sets really and I'd advise you too get both the origanal sets before looking at getting this.

The box is exactly the same shape and size as the box for green menace which is good as it stacks nicely on the shelf with the other games in the series.  Again the box art matches the previous sets and is another great throwback in style to the 1980's dungeon sets I remember so fondly.

Ok time to start looking at what you actually get in the box, forst off the box conatians a single sheet of card which contains two new large board sections and nine counters.  The board sections are both new big pieces with new 'icy' artwork, all very nice.  Most of the counters you will have seen before, with 5 more bloodied tokens and 2 more green rage tokens, which are nessacery for the bigger battles this set enables you to play.  The two new counters have a big 'R' on them and are for showing when dwarf ironwatch are reloading their guns.

The set conatains 12 miniatures in all, 11 plastic and 1 metal, all of which are from the standard mantic kings of war range.  You should have one of the other DKH sets if you're looking at getting this, but just in case, all the plastic models require assembling with glue, no issue here just something to be aware of.

The above 3 pictures show the plastic models you get in the set after I've assembled them.  You get 2 elf scouts, 2 dwarf ironwatch (can be assembled with either guns or crossbows), 4 ghouls and 3 zombies.  The quality varies quite significantly, I'm really not keen on the elves and the dwarves are only average, luckily the ghouls and zombies make up for this by being brilliant. 

The metal Dwarf Berserker Lord you get is shown above (in both painted and unpainted forms).  It's a really nice model, but I liked him enough that I'd bought him some time ago from the Kings of War range and you can't use two in the game, so having a second one is pretty pointless and I'll have to sell or trade it on.  This is the problem with recyling models from other ranges, whilst everyone can use a few more ghouls and zombies I really feel that Mantic should have offered a unique hero scuplt.  Of course if you haven't already bought him then don't worry he's a great fig.

As ususal with the DKH series you don't get any square bases which would enable you to use the miniatures for other wargames as well, as usual I find it a tad annoying, but hardly the end of the world.

The rulebook is the same small black and white format used in the other sets in the series, we get 20 pages of rules this time.  We start off with an introduction and then a reprint of the shooting rules just in case you haven't got green menace where they origanally appeared.  After that we get the new rules, which basically break down into 4 sections; The rules allowing you to use any race in any scenario and the points system, then rules for 20 new adventurers (5 for each race), rules for multiplayer games and finally 2 new scenarios (designed as 3-4 player games but that could be played with 2 players).

This all adds a huge amount of variabilty and replayability to the game.  The multiplayer rules are fine and no doubt useful, but certainly for me its the ability to add different troops and to switch races around in the scenarios are what's so great about this set.  As well as rules for the new troops included in the box there are rules for a number of other troops that you will have to buy (or proxy) to use the rules for.  The whole approach is pretty good as it allows players to add a few bits of pieces here and there to their collections and use them without having to invest in a whole army.  There are some really interesting choices as well, like a large werewolf (hopefully a model will soon be forthcoming), the dwarf driller (see my painted version here), wraiths (who can walk through walls) and even tiny little orclings (hope you didn't throw away the ones that came with green menace).  It also means its very easy for Mantic to add new pieces to the game now that everything has a points value and a new scenario isn't needed each time.  The only slight gripe I have is with the lack of any real background information on the new troop types, whilst experienced gamers will be familiar with most of the troops just by their names, I've always thought DKH would serve as the perfect introduction to miniature gaming and a little bit of background would really help people new to the hobby, but I'm just nit-picking really, it's not a big deal.

I'm also very glad I bought the Mantic crazy christmas bag a couple of months ago, as as well as providing more of many of the new troop types there are enough parts on the sprues to allow me to knock together a few more grander pieces to represent the unique characters in the game such as the dwarf prince and elven lord and captain..

Dwarf Kings Hold: Ancient Grudge... Nearly Arrives

I came home from work this evening to find an exciting parcel from Maelstrom Games waiting for me in the hallway.  I ripped it open quickly knowing full well it contained the new dwarf kings hold expansion from mantic games that I'd been waiting for........

All was well at this point.

Then I opened up the box and damnit theres no rulebook....

See no rulebook!

Which pretty much makes the set useless!  These things happen, I worked breifly on a packing line and I know how easy it is for mistakes to happen, the key now is how it's dealt with. I've e-mailed maelstrom games and eagerly await their response.  I hope this is just a one off and they didn't forget to include the rulebook in all the sets!  Such a disapointing evening :(


Update: maelstrom quickly responded and asked me to return the set, which I did and they quickly got a replacement out to me... but this one was also missing its rulebook!  I'm getting annoyed now and maelstrom have advised me to contact mantic directly to see if they can get the book out to me as everything else is there, we'll see how this goes.

Update: mantic replied the next day and immediatley sent out the rulebook that I have now finally recieved, so we got there eventually.

Mantic Crazy Christmas Bag

The Mystery Bag

After a bit of deliberation I've gone and ordered a crazy christmas bag from Mantic Games, the website doesn't specify what models you will get only that it will be a lot and comes in a mantic bag for £24.99, and you do definatly get a lot, heres what mine contained:

2 x skeleton troop sprue - 20 models
1 x revenant troop sprue - 10 models
1 x revenant cmd sprue - 10 models
2 x zombie srprue - 6 models
3 x ghoul sprue - 6 models

1 x elf archer sprue - 10 models
1 x elf archer cmd sprue - 10 models
1 x elf spearman sprue - 10 models
1 x elf spearman cmd sprue - 10 models
3 x elf scout sprue - 6 models

1 x dwarf warriors sprue - 5 models
1 x dwarf cmd sprue - 5 models
2 x dwarf ironwatch sprue - 4 models
1 x dwarf ironbreaker sprue - 2 models

2 x orc ax sprue - 6 models
1 x orc greatax sprue - 2 models
1 x orc cmd sprue - 0 models (well 2 cool little orclings)

For a grand total of 122 models (not including dogs/cats/rats/orclings), which works out at 20.5p a model and values the bag at zero.  If thats not a bargin I don't know what is!  If I was being picky I'd have rathered less elves and more orcs, and also note that no bases come in the bag, but I'm just nitpicking really, this is a fantastic deal.  I'm properly chuffed with this, well done Mantic.

The Contents

So what am I going to do with all this lot, well I happen to have a cunning plan, with the new Dwarf Kings Hold expansion Ancient Grudge coming out next year and the ability to tailor warbands a whole bunch of extra models from the dwarves, orcs and even a few elves will come in very useful.  The undead will be based and used for warhammer as well as used in DKH, with 20 man regiments of skeletons and revenants and a few ghouls and zombies to add to the regiments I already have.  The painting queue just got a lot bigger.

I mustn't forget you also get this bag to carry models in, I quite like the styling, but am not overly keen on the velcro that keeps the flap down, but hey it's basically a free bag!

As I post this you have a few days left to order one, so if I've tempted you you better act sharpish.

Mantic Journal 5 - The Last Journal

Iusse 5 of mantic's mini mag is very much the warpath issue, with almost all the space being dedicated to it. Mostly background information too, We get extensive background on the Marauders and the Forgefathers (and interestingly it looks like we have new squat Forgefather bikers on the way, I'm hoping these come out well), a couple of short stories, a scenario and some design notes.  All not bad actually, Kings of War players might feel a bit let down though only getting a single page about orc gore riders.  Of course companies have to promote their new products through their magazines, but it does grate on me when they basically ignore other major systems entirely.   As with the last issuse the highlight for me is the new scenario for Dwarf Kings Hold tucked away at the end, this is a multiplayer scenario based on one run by Jake at the mantic open day pitching dwarves vs undead, I've not had a chance to play it yet, but I like that fact that anywhere between 2 and 5 people can play.

This is also the last issue of the Journal, which I'm not that bothered about to be honest, I was undecided weather to renew my subscription anyway, and at least this has made my mind up for me, in the end all I'm really going to miss are the new dwarf kings hold scenarios.

Dwarf Kings Hold - Elf Archers

Todays post features my painted versions of the elf archers from Dwarf Kings Hold: Green Menace.  As I stated in my recent post featuring the elf spearmen I'm not overly keen on Mantic's elves, and I think I've figured out why.  It's the faces, they don't look haughty enough for me, I realised this as I much prefer the archers with visors on their helmets, covering the offending faces.  There are some nice elements here and I hope in a few years Mantic re-do the elf range with better faces.  I'm pleased to report that I've also now painted all the minis from Green Menace, which I was hoping to do before Dreadfleet arrives and that takes over my painting schedule for a few weeks.

Dwarf Kings Hold - Elf Spearmen

My latest finished models are the Elf Spearmen from Dwark Kings Hold: Green Menace.  I think the elves are definately the weakest of Mantics Kings of War races (in scuplting terms), and they wouldn't make it into my warhammer high elf army, and I didn't put my full effort into them.  They work fine as pieces for Dwarf Kings Hold though, and whilst I'm a bit down on them they're not completely awful, and on a positive note I really like the design of the spears.  Also note the 'saber-toothed pussy cat', it's a nice little extra that is also used in Dwarf Kings Hold, I have an issuse with this though, I've had a look and can't see any sabre-teeth anywhere!

From The Painting Table 7

A few more bits and pieces that I've finished recently today, first off another model from salute that I bought at the same time as the Zulu War piece.

 

This is the Salute '06 collectors model, I didn't go to the show but picked this up on ebay, it represents the death of King Arthur and Mordred at the battle of Camlann.

A couple more 1:3000 scale ships from Navwar, both for my Royal Navy fleet, although not strichly for WW2, as the carrier HMS Albion was launched after the war, and the battleship is an imgainary HMS Sternguard allowing me to feild a second Vanguard class battleship, these are both for a small campiagn we're planning assuming that the war with Japan went on past 1945. 

These are the dead elves you get in Dwarf Kings Hold: Green Menace, they have no use in the game (unlike the dead dwarf in Dead Rising), but I've half written a scenario that will use them which will hopefully appear on the blog at some point.

A few more bits of the sprues from DKH: Green Menace, this time some little 'orclings'  these are really cool little extras full of character, I'm trying to come up with a use for them in a scenario too.

And finally 2 human crossbowmen for Warhammer, these are to be added to my unit of crossbowmen for my Dogs of War army taking them upto 12.

The crossbowmen taking their place in the regiment

New Scenario For Dwarf Kings Hold

Today I present my first scenario that I'm putting online for dwarf kings hold (you can download the PDF from here) its nothing revolutionary a simple treasure hunting expedition with cave-ins, but it does pitch the elves against the dwarves and we've found the map quite interesting. 

I know the map's not brilliant and I'm currently looking for ways to improve that, if anyone has a suggestion I'd be grateful.

I do have a bunch of more adventurous scenarios half done and hopefully they will start to see the light of day soon.

If you do give it a go I'd really appreciate some feedback, so please drop me a comment below.

Dwarf Kings Hold - The Orcs

I've just finished painting the Orc models from Dwarf Kings Hold: Green Menace, the first thing to note is that these are the same models as the orcs in Mantics standard Kings of War range, you get 2 Greatax (bigger orcs with big double handed axes) and 6 Ax (normal orc warriors) as well as an assortment of little orclings (which I've not painted yet).  I Like them a lot, they give the impreesion of big mean vicous and brutal orcs, not the caricatures of orcs some companies put out, and for some reason I particulary like the shape of the sheilds.  The only issue is that they're a bit top heavy and tend to fall over a lot, I might end up having to base them after all (square bases are provided if bought as Kings of War models, but are not provided in DKH)   If I ever revamp my Orc and Goblin army several units of these will find their way into it.

The two Greatax

Some of the Ax

More Ax

The Orcs explore the Dwarf Kings Hold

Dwarf Kings Hold: Green Menace - A Review

Dwarf Kings Hold: Green Menace, the second dungeon skirmish game from Mantic Games, has finally arrived, not sure if it was Mantic or Maelstroms fault that its a couple of weeks late, but never mind, now its here what do I think.

The first thing to note is that this isn't an expansion, but a second starter game (apparently the third release will expand both this and Dead Rising).  But it doesn't just rehash the last game it has two new races and 6 new scenarios based on the same core mechanics.  I like this approach we've got two solid fun games with lots of opportunities for fiddling with.  I will also state here at the beginning that I liked DKH: Dead Rising a lot so I was expecting to like this.

The box is the same size as before, and made to the same standard, but is thinner, I was worried at first that this might mean I'd struggle to get all the pieces back in (something I hate with games), but I'm happy to report this isn't the case, it all fits snuggly back in even with the small Mantic case I've put in to hold the models (I still think a small case would be a nice inclusion to the game).  What I really like about the box though is the great old school cover art, really takes me back to when I was just starting in the hobby.

The contents where very much what I expected and follow the same principles as the first set (which is good as they match completely).

The contents snuggly returned to the box after assembly.

The dungeon is made up of 29 sections that are placed next to each other in a modular way.  There is no 'jigging' and you just place the sections next to each other, this trades stability for flexibility, which is fine in my view.  The artwork is good, although the artwork on the smaller pieces seems to have been reclyled from dead rising. 

The game contains numerous tokens made from the same card as the board sections, again the artwork is quite nice, I think the treasure tokens could do with being two sided really as they spend most of the game face down and you just see their backs, there should be a nice sealed chest on the back.

The box contains 9 dice with 4 blue and 5 green ones, its nice that this time we have different coloured dice for the two races.

The book is a small 21 page black and white rulebook, it contains the full core rules for dwarf kings hold and the special rules and scenarios for using the orcs and elves in Green Menace.

The box also contained 2 mantic points intro to mantic games leaflet.

You get 29 miniatures in the game, 10 elf spearmen, 10 elf archers, a sabre-toothed pussy cat, 6 orcs and 2 orc greatax (orcs with big double handed weapons).  The models are a mixed bunch.  the elves are a bit meh, they were mantic's first race and they've come a long way since then, they're not awful, and I think they're better in person than in the pictures, but they're not going to set your world alight.  The improvement in the range is something that is encapsulated with the orcs which are their latest range and are really good, the best plastic orcs I think I've seen in fact.  One thing to note is that these are the minis from mantics normal range so require assembly and are not aimed at board gamers, this isn't a criticism (I actually think its a positive and personally I like the flexibility) but is something to be aware of.  I would have different colours for the 2 races as well, but as I'm planning on painting my models it's not a big deal to me.  Like last time square bases aren't provided so if you plan on using these for either kings of war or warhammer as well you'll need to get seperate bases.  There is also a lot of spare bits on the sprues including 2 dead elves and a bunch of cool little orclings, useful little bits for modellers and poeple who try their hand at designing new scenarios (those orclings are beging to get used for something).

A few of the Orcs including the 2 greatax on the right

A few of the Elves

All the bits I had left over.

The core gameplay is the same as in dead rising, it uses a deck of tokens for each side which allow you to activate models, this introduces a limited deck management as well as you having to work out the order of actions.  The game is scenario based and the game includes 6 scenarios, but as playing with the different races is very different that's 12 ways to play.  The scenarios start off simply and get more complicated as you go along, adding speical rules along the way that each add a new twist and tactical challenge to the game.  The scenarios really are the heart of this game, without the thought that has gone into them the game would only be ok, but the different games and balanced challenges they introduce keep you wanting more.  One difference between this and Dead Rising is that most of the scenarios here are won by getting treasure off the board (giving the reason why the orcs and elves are in the dwarven hold in the first place) which adds a nice twist as you have to weaken your forces to take the treasure off.  The races play very differently, the orcs are tough and actually get tougher as you hurt them (something I really like, a wounded orc is a very dangerous beast), whilst the elves are fast and dodgy whilst still being capable in a fight, the elves get less follow on actions as well making them feel less indivivual and more like regimented soldiers rather than (anti) heroic personalities.

The extra races, shooting, treasure and cave ins are really adding to the 'tool-kit' whilst still keeping a good self contained game, its an appraoch that I really like.

So the conclusion: This is a great light-hearted game, with suprising tactical depth and great replay value.  There is a couple of production value issuses, but the extra stuff I would have liked would ineviably raise the cost, and as it stands this game is very reasonably priced.  Highly recomended.

See my thoughts on Dwarf Kings Hold: Dead Rising - contents - gameplay
                                                            

A Great Afternoon's Gaming

It's been a lovely sunny day and It's been my day off (two things that don't normally coincide), but instead of spending the day strolling over the countryside a couple of friends came over for a few games.  We started off playing the new Dwarf Kings Hold scenario from Mantic Journal 4.  I like Dwarf Kings Hold a lot and am eagerly awaiting delivery of the second installment, and this extra scenario didn't disappoint.  It's a big scenario and took us around an hour to play, and what really got me was how close it was, the dwarfs started well, but then got bogged down, started to break out and then got cut down due to a couple of mistakes right near the end.  This balancing is the true strength of DKH, and just because the undead won this time, there is nothing to say that they will again.  It introduces a couple of new ideas as well in linked secret passageways and the recovery of a dwarf 'playing dead'.  I've got a few ideas for a scenario of my own, which I might even get around to writting and testing one day.

After that we moved on and played three games of Victory at Sea.  We started off with a fantasy battle between of the Yamato facing off the Bismarck and the Tirpitz, the Yamato kicked but and sank both ships with ease, we plan to do this again adding more ships until the Yamato finally sinks.  We then moved on to the historical scenario for the Battle of the River Plate, we've played this 3 times before but had a new player and have found its a good introduction to the game, but as ususal the British won.  Finally we moved on to a convoy scenario between the Germans and the Free French, the Germans lost horredously again, which seems to be a common theme from all our games, I'm wondering if the list is really that weak or if we need to develop different tactics.

Mantic Journal 4

A bit of a suprise yesterday when Mantic Journal 4 landed on my doormat.  Obviously I knew I'd taken out a one year sub (to get the dwarf driller model, see my painted version here), but to be honest I'd kind of forgotten about it, especially as the first 3 hadn't been very exciting.  I am glad to report however that issuse 4 is a giant leap forward and actually has a bunch of real content.

Most of the journal is taken up with (a suprisingly interesting) background and army lists for both Orcs and Abyssal Dwarfs in Kings of War.  The army lists are avaliable online anyway, but it makes sense to include them after the background section.  It also includes rules and a brief backgroud to the new Wraiths boxed set (see my thoughts on them here) and a Kings of War scenario pitting the Orcs against the Abyssal Dwarfs.

Hidden in amongst all this are the two best bits; firstly part 2 of alessio cavatore's designers notes for KoW, and I always like designers notes articles in wargaming magazines, and finally tucked away at the end is a new sceanrio for Dwarf Kings Hold: Dead Rising which is a game I like an awful lot (see my thoughts on the contents and gameplay), I've not had a chance to try it yet but am looking forward to it.

Overall the Mantic Journal is finally starting to show some promise.

More Mantic Goodness

Well this almost seems to be becoming a mantic games blog (at least until the next new shinny thing crosses my path) and today I'm showing off some mantic figures I've painted over the last couple of days.

First off we have the dwarf warriors from Dwarf Kings Hold

I think the top 3 are better models, the other 2 with the moulded on sheilds aren't quite as good, I've left them unbased for now as I only have 7 mantic dwarves and that doesn't make a regiment, this might change as if I get any more.  The skeletons and revenants form DKH(dwarf kings hold) have already been stuck on square bases to add to my vampire counts army.

Next we have the sheildbreakers from DKH

I found this sprue a mixed bag, I think the guy on the left looks great, but I don't really like the beard on the guy on the right.

and now a couple of bits of 'mantic fun'

2 cool little pieces, really like how they've actually been incorporated into the game as well.

Next up the Dwarf Driller Mantic Journal Subscription Model

This is such a niffty little model, shame it currently has no use in either Kings of War of DKH, hopefully that will change in the future, I think it would fit escpically well into DKH, maybe allowing it to dig connecting tunnels?

And Finally....

I got these ghouls ages ago when mantic were giving them out free, not sure why its taken me so long to paint them, some of the best models in mantics range in my opinion, and I really enjoyed painting them.

Dwarf Kings Hold - Gameplay

So I had yesterday off work and spent a good chunk of the afternoon playing Dwarf Kings Hold by mantic games, if you read my last post you'll know I was generally happy with the quality of the game, but had a couple of small niggles.  So how do I feel now I've played it?

This game is brilliant, the niggles no longer matter, go buy this now!!

Seriously it was one of the most fun afternoons I've spent gaming in a long while.  The basic gameplay is similar to Space Hulk, although it is not simply Space Hulk in a dungeon as I've heard some people say, I actually think there's a surprising tactical depth to this simple little game. The rules are incredibly easy to pick up and we were thinking tactically from about turn 3 on game 1. The major difference between this and Space Hulk is that actions are generated by the action tokens, which you can hold a certain number of at once, this adds a sort of basic deck management as another tactical layer to the game.  It also makes the two sides feel very different to play, the dwarves normally get a lot more action tokens per turn than the undead, this means the dwarves feel alive and you can normally activate each dwarf each turn, with the undead it actually feels like your a necromancer bending your focus to a small section of your shambling horde and when the dwarves beat them or die switching your focus to another minion to try and get your objective.  It's a neat trick pulled off by a simple mechanic.

The other main thing that makes this game so good is the quality of the scenarios, the game contains 6 scenarios and each is a corker.  They each add a simple special rule that really changes the way the game plays and really makes you think.  So far we've found them very balanced as well, which is rare for this kind of game.

What really gets me excited though is the potential I can see in this, I can't wait for the expansions and hope mantic post some extra sceanrios using other models from their range on their website.

All in all I can't recommend this enough, we played all afternoon and only stopped because my mate had to go to work and loved every minute of it.

If anyone has started devising their own scenarios or disagrees with what I've said drop me a comment below.

Dwarf Kings Hold

I've been excited waiting for this game to arrive, and theres a simple reason why, its the same reason I have thousands of painted toy soilders, it was a game I was bought for xmas at some point in the early 90's, that game was Heroquest.  Heroquest was what started me (and many others of my generation) in the wargaming / roleplaying world, since that board game my interest has spread far and wide over the hobby.  Hoping for a new Heroquest was a bit much, but still I've been aticipating this game alot and it arrived this morning, so I am happy with it? In a word yes, but I do have some niggles.  First off there is a major difference between this and the Heroquest/Warhammer Quest style of dungeon crawler, there isn't a party of warriors all radically different who 'level up' this is more akin to Space Hulk in a dungeon, but thats cool as i love Space Hulk to. so component review:

Board Sections: Yeah the artwork is pretty seem to be of high quality, no issues here for me, I like the added flexibility that not 'jigging' the board sections brings, although i would have liked to have seen some plastic connectors similar to those in Warhammer Quest, but still its not a big issuse.

Tokens: made out of the same card as the baord sections, they're card tokens, and seem fine.

Dice: erm you get 7 D6's, they roll ok...

Rulebook: a 21 page black and white small rulebook containing 6 scenarios.  Some nice simple rules, hopefully providing interesting tactical challenges, although as I've not played it yet can't be sure on this.  Would have liked a few more sceanarios, but apparently we will be getting more online and in the mantic journal.

Models: the models themselves are fantastic, the skeletons in particular.  They are the standard mantic sprues: 10-man skeleton sprue, 2-man skeleton warmachine sprue, 10-man revenant sprue, 5-man dwarf sprue and the 2-man sheildbreaker sprue.  The sprues also contain another 2 skeletons bursting out of the ground, 2 undead hounds, a dwarf dog and a dead dwarf. I'm actually a lot more impressed with the dwarves in person than I have been looking at them on the web and now plan to add more to my dwarf army.

These are the 7 dwarves you get, the 2 on the right are the sheildbreakers.
As i said above I'm really impressed with the quailty of the skeleton models, not exagerated the way GW ones sometimes are, and I already have 30 of the Revenants so knew exactly what to expect.  There was one problem with my undead sprues though;

I have 10 grey skeletons, 2 bone coloured skeletons and 10 grey revenants.  If I wasn't planning on painting them having 2 skeletons in a differnt colour to the others would be very annoying, if I was primarily a Board gammer i'd be miffed.  That brings me on to another point, the models are squarely aimed at poeple used to wargaming not board gaming as extensive assembley is required, its fine with me and I prefer the added flexibility, but it's something to bear in mind.  I have one more niggle with this set, where's my square bases? come on mantic I can't be the only one planning to use these models for Dwarf Kings Hold and Warhammer (and potentially Kings of War), the simple inclusion of square bases would have made this a much better product for me.

Mantic Points/Discount Card: you also get 2 mantic points and a £5 discount at mantic games website, which is a nice bonus, i spent mine on square bases......

So overall I'm happy and impressed, a few small niggles that won't bother me once the gorgeous models are painted.  An impressive first attempt on the quality side i think and I can't wait to play it.  I'll post my thoughts on gameplay once I've actually played it.