Lots of good news and a quick shipping update
over 6 years ago – Tue, Jul 31, 2018 at 01:02:19 AM

Ho! Vanguardians,

We've got a few exciting tidbits for today's update, showing you what's been going on behind the scenes.

1. The rulebook is almost complete and is being tested by a team of dedicated playtesters. The rules have come a long way since the alpha rules on the Kickstarter and we can't wait to get them in your hands. There are 12 scenarios in the book and some fantastic campaign rules, which will make creating your warband great fun

2. Warband cards for the Basileans, Nightstalkers, Forces of the Abyss and Northern Alliance are finished and ready for printing

 3. We've been getting regular updates from the factory producing the plastic miniatures. Above you can see the latest Men at Arms sample. The little red marks are areas that we've noticed small problems with and have asked the factory to sort them out

4. Resin production - which is being handled by our own in-house team - will be complete at the end of August and the results so far have been absolutely stunning. These are definitely some of the best resin miniatures we've ever produced

5. The plastic giant is complete. Above you can see the sample we were sent to approve. We're delighted with the finish and can't wait to see this stomping around tabletops... it's absolutely MASSIVE

So, as you can see, things are progressing very nicely. In fact, things are going so well that we're planning to bring shipping forward. That's right! We initially had a November shipping date planned for the Kickstarter but thanks to the hard work of the Vanguard team, we're hoping to bring the shipping date forward to late September... excluding any last minute hiccups.

We're really excited about Vanguard here at HQ and are hoping to host a special Vanguard launch weekend in early October - so stay tuned for more details on that.

Progress update and renders of the resin Dwarfs
over 6 years ago – Thu, Jun 07, 2018 at 12:03:46 AM

Ho! Vanguardians,

Today we wanted to give you a quick progress update on how things are going with Vanguard. Short story: very well! Firstly, Matt Gilbert and the newly established rules committee have been working hard on the rules and the rulebook is currently being laid out by our design team.

Secondly, the PVC miniatures are almost ready to go into tooling and we've received an update from the factory to show how all the various bits and pieces will be put together on the tool. These are actually resin, rather than PVC, but it should give you an idea of what you'll be receiving. You can see the various sets below:

DWARF RENDERS

Also, we realised there are a few renders of the Dwarf Warband that we haven't previously shared. So let's take a closer look at those. 

Vanguard Production Resins Preview
over 6 years ago – Mon, Apr 09, 2018 at 10:29:37 PM

Ho! Vanguardians,

Things are progressing nicely here at Mantic HQ and we've already begun work on the resin miniatures you'll be receiving in your pledges! As such, we thought we'd give you a quick preview of these beautiful minis.

 Also, we've produced an example of the Frost Giant Upgrade Kit. This may have turned out slightly bigger than we expected... so the $10 kit is certainly great value. The weapon alone is bigger than some of our existing resins! Basically the slightly lighter grey parts are the pieces you'll be receiving if you opted for the Frost Giant kit in the pledge manager. What a beast!

 PLAYTEST DAYS

Finally, we've also got a number of playtest days here at Mantic HQ to sample the campaign rules and make sure the core warbands are as balanced as possible. If you would like to take part, check the events below:

• APRIL 28TH
• MAY 12TH
• MAY 19TH

There are also opportunities to play at our regular Mantic Monday gaming club and the opening gaming days on the first Sunday of each month. Just check our Facebook page for more details.

Become a member of the Vanguard Rules Committee
over 6 years ago – Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 09:00:09 PM

Ho! Vanguardians,

We would like to set up one of our Rules Committees for Kings of War Vanguard. Being an RC member means you get to work with us on the testing and development of the game, plus help write new content and see some cool, top secret stuff before anyone else :) You also help out within the community, being on hand to answer questions on forums and other social media.

We are looking for people with the time, passion and gaming experience to help out and join us for the ride! Being on an RC means you earn credit to spend on new toys, plus you get the material for the game you are supporting and we like to drop some extra surprises in now and again.

If you would like to join the Vanguard RC, please submit an application in the form of a short letter detailing your experience and a supporting piece of work as follows:

• A new vanguard scenario
• An idea for a new hero (whatever faction you like) with a cool special ability or two   
• Extra homework for the brave… a small piece of Vanguard fiction of no more than 500 words

Ideally you will have experience of Kings of War, skirmish games, campaign play (like in games such as Deadzone) and warband development. Obviously already having played a lot of Vanguard is a must!

The deadline for submissions is the 30th March so not long to go. We are looking for up to 5 people to be part of the Vanguard RC and we need to get started asap! Please send your submission to [email protected]

Updated Beta Rules and Warbands
over 6 years ago – Fri, Mar 09, 2018 at 10:27:59 PM

Ho! Vanguardians,

Thank you to everyone that has played the beta rules and provided feedback so far. It's great to hear about so many of you enjoying the game. Based on the responses we've had already, we've gone back and made some changes to the current beta rules/warbands.

One of the big changes is that we've doubled all the points values and standard game size, which gives us more wiggle room and scope for balancing the models based on your excellent feedback.

You can find all the new playtest documents here. Please note that any major rules changes are highlighted in red. Remember, you can post your feedback on the beta rules over on the Mantic forum or talk about the game in the Kings of War: Vanguard Fanatics Facebook Group.

PLAYTEST DAY AT MANTIC HQ

We're opening the doors at Mantic HQ on 18th March so that we can play test the FULL faction lists for the 5 VANGUARD Kickstarter Factions (Nightstalkers, Basileans, Northern Alliance, Forces of the Abyss and Dwarfs).

We only have 20 places for this first open Beta test and some spaces have been snapped up already. Please email [email protected] if you can make it along. The Subject Line should read "Ho! Vanguardians".

You'll need to bring some proxy models; we'll supply the dice, terrain, rules, tea & coffee, etc. We hope to see some of you there! You will also have the opportunity to see the studio painted miniatures and some of the production resins. That's right folks, we've already started making the miniatures.