Brass-mouthed cannons barked smoke and flame, rocking back on iron-bound carriages with each report. Goblins toiled quickly to reload them as Slavemasters walked up and down the line of earthworks, whipping and kicking those they deemed too slovenly.
Atop his mighty gore Arsewind, Gakamak the Unstoppable bared yellowing teeth in a hideous Orcish smile.
“East tower is almost down,” he grunted in the thick language of the Orcs, almost to himself. He turned his head and looked down to where his lieutenants waited nervously on foot around him. “Krossgar, get your troops to the foot of the banking. You will attack first after the wretches go in.” He fixed the Headcrusher captain before him with a glare. The Orc began to return it twofold and thought better of it, bowing low – he was not strong enough yet to best Gakamak in a challenge. “Yes, lord,” he growled, and marched away, armour plates clanking.
Gakamak gave orders to all his underlings, Orc and Goblin, as the cannons spoke once more. The weapons had been taken from the Abyssal Dwarfs last week, and now were being put to good use against their makers. Smoke puffed along the line of the walls, ornate metalwork denting, stonework disintegrating. He gave a snort of satisfaction as a tower slipped forward like a stab victim stumbling to its knees, blocks coming apart as it turned from a building to a pile of rubble in front of him. Moments later, the rumble of its collapse reached his ears. A roaring cheer went up from his army. Beasts bellowed, Trolls moaned, gores snorted and Vargen howled at the commotion made by their masters.
Gakamak smiled again at the destruction, felt his heart pound at the sight of something unmade. He’d rip it down, all of it, rip it to pieces, smash it, burn it and dance on the ashes. He chuckled in his barrel chest, deep and phlegmy.
“Told you. East tower,” he said, gesturing with a massive, clawed hand. “Now sound the attack. Goblins in, first wave. Tonight we dine on Dwarf flesh.”
He flipped back his visor, threw back his head and roared along with the bray of harsh trumpets. As one, his army joined him, and Gakamak’s blood sang with the joy of war.
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Gakamak’s Green Tide is now available to pre-order and will begin shipping in May.
52 Comments, Comment or Ping
Mantic Blog – The Green Tide approaches…. http://www.manticblog.com/?p=3123
March 17th, 2011
Very nice! Always good to see a bit of Mantic background. Can’t wait to see some more models now.
Especially good to see that the Orcs in Mantic World don’t speak some kind of ‘mockney’…
March 17th, 2011
I really like the look. I hope the rest are just as good. I can’t wait to see the war machines. Please be awesome.
March 17th, 2011
Normally I don’t like Orcs. Specially the comic looking type.
But this is an awesome looking Orc.
Maybe this could be my second army from Mantic.
March 17th, 2011
Just opened the email
Amazing model!
I hope they are all as good as this characterful model – the problem is that every time you bring out a new army I want to buy it and I can’t!
March 17th, 2011
I love them and will buythem whenever I can. Great sculpts andcant wait to see them painted. Love these alot, but I’ll be totally sincere with you. All Mantic is doing is copy pasting what Games Workshop does.
Undead, Elves, Dwarves, Chaos Dwarves(which they then changed the name to abyssal dwarves to be less suable) and Orcs.
I know they are generic Fantasy armies, but all the troops they do can be easily translated to WArhammer Fantasy, Not saying is a bad thing. I got 3 Mantic armies unassembled my self. But what about doing something unique? They are cutting Games Workshop share making the same troops for cheap so people buy the Mantic ones instead and I dont like that. I bout theyre armies to play KoW. Why not make the Orcs ride something else? NOOOOOOOOOO they ride boars, like GW ones. Why they have not made dwarves riding bears? Because GW dwarves dont ride anything.
Again I love Mantic models and I will continue to buy more from them. But I dont like this strategy to sell. Look at Privateer Press. They made Warmachine and Hordes and are VERY successful, and do not have to cut from the GW buyers. It a completely new thing and its a shame that Mantic cant be a little bit more original. The only original thing they have is the Undead catapult and that can be overlooked since Tomb Kings have a catapult.
Love Mantic, but please make new races and new units that we havent seen before. Still I dont mind the generic stuff since its needed but trow some original things here and there(Like the DAM FISHMEN you hinted us a while back Mantic!!!!!).
March 17th, 2011
Lovely Orc- I’m assuming he’s from the upcoming “Orc Heros 4 pack?” I like him much better than the plastic 3up we’ve seen.
March 17th, 2011
Love the Orcs, very mean
Ramon that looks pretty much like a copy and paste frome the BoW website, same dude?
I love what mantic are doing, I used to play WHFB, but I shouldnt have to sell a kidney to buy an army. GW hasnt touched chaos dwarves for about 15 years, about time someone did, and its about time GW were reminded they need to think about the gamer, not just the wallet they are holding
March 17th, 2011
Yep, thats me
I totally agree with you, but still. Mantic its not being original at all. I got into Warmachine because it looked awesome and it was totally diferent. I’m interested in Malefaux because of the same. I bought Mantic for the simple rules since I want to teach my girlfriend to wargame. But I play Warhammer for the lore, fluff and complex rules and originality.
See, the problem with Mantic is that they want to get money by stealing from GW market. Its business.
But its a dirty way of getting money, same as GW buff their prices just cause they know that their customers will buy them no matter what. I still will buy from Mantic to play with my girl, but my point still stands. They are here to make money on behalf of Warhammer and not on their own ruleset.
March 17th, 2011
If GW wasnt a TOTAL rip-off- then I would agree with you. Its not like GW is very original either.
When was the last time GW put out some new Chaos Dwarves?!
I think its AWESOME that Mantic is under-cutting GW. Serves them right! Gw shows no loyalty to long-time players. Now $38 USA for a army book. $30+ for 10 small plastic figures.
MAKE MINE MANTIC!!!
March 17th, 2011
Fantastic – detailed – model! Classy.
Also the face is far superior to the goofy, demented looking painted ork warrior that has been shown before.
March 17th, 2011
Ramon,
I think you’re making a null point.
The Mantic stuff is a godsend to me as a gamer and as the father of a teenage boy.
I like GW stuff but as a working-class teenager in the 90′s it was too expensive for me to build armies and play.
Mantic models are excellent. What more do you want. GW have created a market by virtue of being first and biggest into that space. Mantic have taken advantage of a niche market – namely that of people who like cool models but don’t want to have to sell a kidney to buy them.
It’s not a dirty way of getting money – it’s business. I can only imagine that you are either a GW sock-puppet or incredibly naive. You use a lot of emotive language (“stealing” etc.) when in actual fact all they have done is create cool models at an affordable price. If I had the talent – I’d have made my own models …but I don’t …so here I am.
Orcs are a an old folklore concept, as are dwarves, elves etc. Tolkien used them as did other writers. Mantic have stolen nothing – no more than GW had stolen from anyone else. Lets face it as well – GW are one commercially savvy company, if Mantic had done anything even vaguely wrong then GW would have taken them to the cleaners.
If you want to play “original” games …then good luck with that. In a former career, I worked with quite a few chaps who tried to launch their own games and ranges – the majority of which had a nightmare and failed.
Mantic are a business – they’ve got employees who need to pay mortgages etc …and for that you need to make profit.
Business sense says that you de-risk any proposal. I believe that Mantic want you to use their rules but their security lies in the fact that people like me who play WFB will buy their figures because they’re ace and reasonably priced.
Ramon – If you like mantic stuff and you want them to continue to prosper and develop – then please stop making childish accusations and accept that they do a great job and need to operate as a business.
Rant over
March 17th, 2011
Hehe “Wahammer being original” that one made me laugh =)
March 17th, 2011
‘Arsewind’ the Warpig…………genius!
March 17th, 2011
very nice. will be buying my obligitory troop box to continue my poster wall. unfortunatly i may not be buying any more orcs as they are not one of my armies. although mabe mantic magic will swoop in and save the day. i will be buying more dwarves and undead, and of course elves as well.
March 17th, 2011
Now this is more like it, really nice, lots of little details everywhere, broken up armour, small skulls etc beats GWs orcs in my book. And for what it’s worth, I think it’s great you guys give GW some run for their money. If you ever get your plastics to this standard you’ll conquer the world, or I will with your orcs!
March 17th, 2011
I find my self kinda agreeing with Mr Ramon Ortiz . They are extremely nice prototypes and I will also look forward to seeing them with a nice professional paint job all over them.
It’s also painfully obvious that Mantic are following the GW template too. Okay so they don’t speak in quite the same “comedy” language but they do seem to have similar names for the characters which seems to lack a bit of imagination.
Although I think that the commedy factor that Warhammer and WH40K orcs have is what has made them such a popular choice for an army I think there’s also a strong demand for a more serious take on the orc race and mythology so the mantic version is quite a welcome alternative.
Perhaps it would have been better or at least a little more original to follow a more Tolkien-esque line with the character names and their speech; after all that’s what set the bench mark for so much of fantasy wargaming and roleplaying culture? Could it be that mantic are trying to cash in a little off the backs of GW’s success?
March 17th, 2011
Kudose must go to “POOSH” who makes another valid point.
March 17th, 2011
Dear Mantic, please do not move away from the basic generic nature of your miniatures. Do not feel obliged to be ‘original’ at this point in your lives. Let your originality shine in your Dwarf King’s Hold game and expansions. For now, I would suggest, stick to King of War bread and butter which is generic models that suit all fantasy games. Cheap plastic orcs and cheap plastic goblins is a win win. Armoured orcs are a win. If you make some ‘primitive orks’ that will also be a win.
As you cement your base and become more established – then you can move into more original ideas. But I don’t think it’s best to risk so much in your early days. I think there are a lot of Mantic fans out here willing to spend money on you above the call of duty because we believe in you and feel you are allowing the free market to truly apply to the miniature industry but only because your miniatures can be used for so many different games and systems.
Ork rock-launching devices please!
It is not a ‘dirty way’ of getting money. Mantic are providing us with a great set of miniatures at prices we can actually afford. If you honestly think GW are original you’re silly. The Egyptian style undead GW do are literally taken from the Mummy movies! (for example).
Any company that gets people into the hobby is a good thing. Mantic’s prices will get you into the hobby. GW’s prices will only allow some middle class and richer people to enter into. And if you aren’t of money and are 14 years old you’ll be scraping for months to get that £18 to buy that box of 10 pathetic orcs …
March 18th, 2011
I like the story, and I really like the standard bearer. But at the moment I’m most interested in finding out what Mantic’s trolls look like, and whether they are plastic.
March 18th, 2011
I’m really looking forward to these Orks! Any idea when they’ll be available?
March 18th, 2011
RT @manticgames: Mantic Blog – The Green Tide approaches…. http://www.manticblog.com/?p=3123
March 18th, 2011
That standard bearer totally rocks!!! My son has a 4,000 point GW Orc army and once these guys get going I am sure he will have a 4,000 point Mantic set. That’s OK, it gives me great ideas for birthday and Xmas gifts. Between myself and three boys we have 8 GW armies and 3 Mantic.
It seems we have a middle road with Mantic’s interpretation of Orcs. GW went cartoony to some extent and that is what drew my son to them – along with some of the comical traits, i.e. animosity, etc. However, on the other end of the spectrum are the Wargames Factory Orcs and a much more ‘realistic’ approach to Orcs, or how Tolkien described them. The WGF Orcs, IMHO, were ruined by the ridiculous helmet/armour designs and no other noteworthy details.
Mantic, please follow the standard you have set above with your standard bearer – he really is rock solid.
March 18th, 2011
Johnny P
First of, I’m not a GW sockpuppet. I just enjoy their dam ip as with Warmachine to, love the fluff and models. Thats why I like Mantic, for theyr models too. God why when someone defends GW they get the “you are a fanboy” CRAP. I know it’s business and I never said it was a bad move, but it’s one I dont like, I just give my opinion and thats it. I wil always stand that Mantics success will be thanks to Warhammer and they cant never deny it. They even hire the guy who mak the Warhammer rules to make their own. Even the rules are a very simplified version on WHFB rules. The troops choises, the heroes, the cavalry, etc. Its all the same, for what? To sell it to GW gamers. I enjoy the KoW rules and will play with my girl but for Gods sake stop copying Games Workshop. Whats next? Goblin spearmen? They allready made “armored orcs(GW Black Orcs) MAke something original for the love of God Mantic.
If you ever make Ratmen do not copy GW and make them sewer rats. Make them Nezumi Oriental Rats or something. When you make Humans, dont make them like the GW ones, use another culture for them.
My 2 cents.
March 18th, 2011
ace models will be placing my nxt order and will be this army deal. love the take on orcs. way different than GW, these look taller and meaner in bulk. all this moaning about mantic ripping of GW…….so were did Gw get all their fantasy army’s from SOME ONE ELSE! fantasy is set in stone what races their are. a race that no ones seen befor prob wount sell as much as if people already herd of them, great models all around keep it up mantic.
March 18th, 2011
POOSH
“because your miniatures can be used for so many different games and systems.”
Only Warhammer comes to mind, OH and Kings of War which aparently most of Mantic’s customers dont play.
March 18th, 2011
Orks look very nice, great job…so do the undead…got a lot of them already! Although I have to agree with RAMON ORTIZ…a bit of originality wouldn’t hurt (hint: cat people…would love to see an army of those) In the club I go to no one has even heard of Kings of War but ppl have heard of Mantic miniatures, since they use them as replacements for the GW miniatures…they don’t even see the minis as something meant to be used in Kings of War
But I guess any publicity is better than nothing, the important thing is that u guys keep doing what u’re doing and keep up the good work!
Cheers from Serbia
March 18th, 2011
ramon, i understand what youre saying, but lets face it. its not like you can think of a new race over night that wont be over the top or some kind of knock off. these orcs are sick. i think they look better than gw orcs. you said gw upped the price and people will still buy, so if they are dedicated enough to get raped for cheap plastic models, what makes you think a company with far less of a reputation will take business away? if anything, people will do what youre doing and play both. youre blasting them ik they are the first to copy gw when void has done it as well. plus im sure countless others. jut be happy someone i sputting out a quality miniature for decent prices and get over it.
March 18th, 2011
“Whats next? Goblin spearmen?”
Well, yeah. Goblins aren’t exactly going to use two-handed swords, are they?
Mantics Elves look nothing like the GW ones (with their dresses.) The Undead miniatures are vastly better than the lurching, bat wings on everything vampire counts. Dwarves and Orcs go straight back to Tolkein and are perfectly interchangeable with DnD, GURPS, or the dozens of generic skirmish systems out there.
When Mantic does do a human army, if they are Renaissance, you’ll complain “it’s an Empire rip off.” If they’re Medieval, you’ll cry “it’s a Bretonnian rip off.” If they’re Dark Ages, you’ll shout “it’s a Chaos rip off.”
The fantasy genre relies heavily on established tropes and the originality comes from subverting these. From the story above, Mantic’s orcs clearly aren’t jolly morons. “…Tonight we dine on Dwarf flesh.” Not only are they intelligent enough for sophisticated tactics, but they are cannibals. More like the original Tolkien-esque Orcs.
Most of GW’s “original” fantasy IP comes from ripping off Michael Moorcock or sticking animal heads on people.
March 18th, 2011
sweet model. Actually some of their best work yet.
March 18th, 2011
Exactly, XAEROMANCER!
There is a history of ‘fantasy miniatures’ and GW has borrowed and expanded from that history to no end. Most of it all comes from Tolkien anyway.
I happen to the think that the Elves Mantic made are the worse of their armies. Why? Because they tried to make them too different to other established elf miniature models, leaving their bodies slightly odd looking.
RAMON ORTIZ: The other fantasy miniature games exist as Internet game systems, that can be found often for free on the internet, some are now out-of-print fantasy games of old. But Dwarf Wars is one game that has its own clever rule set and that has its own line of models, you could use mantic models and their game system if you like. You’ll note Mantic dwarfs are the same size as Dwarf Wars (Westwind) Dwarfs, both are bigger than GW dwarfs.
I would not expect many people to play the real Kings of War game as its a baby rule set, but it’s great that Mantic took the time to make a free set of rules that will be expanded upon in the next ten years.
March 18th, 2011
XAEROMANCER
You dont get it do you? What I mean is they ripoff the troop choices. Everything is the same as Warhammer. I would like unique troops on the already established armies they have, that I cant find a use on Warhammer.
March 18th, 2011
If they made these orcs any more Tolkienesque, it’d be a race between the Tolkien estate and and GW (who, you might remember, make LOTR minis too) as to who sends the first Cease and Desist.
I quite like these, they hit the sweet spot between the two popular variants.
As for originality: it doesn’t sell. Not enough for a high-volume, low profit margin business plan, which is clearly what Mantic are aiming for. Although their figures are original takes on archetypal figures, and are very well sculpted. I’m amazed that they’re getting the quality that they do, which is up there with GW’s but less caricatured.
March 18th, 2011
Ramon, fact of the matter is, if Mantic had released Elves riding giant chickens and dwarves with wings wearing bondage gear as plastic sprues they would already be bankrupt.
They’d be unique models that a small minority such as yourself would love and buy, and the other 95% of mantic’s current purchasers would hate and not buy.
I mean, oriental-styled ratmen? Yes, you would like them. A few hundred other people would also like them.
About a hundred thousand other people would, at the same, time also think “these are useless, they aren’t even close to fitting in with my skaven models”.
Then the company would go bust and you’d be back to “GW or nothing” as far as your options for fantasy plastics go.
There’s nothing wrong with what you’d like to see, but please have enough foresight to realise that you’re in a minority and that that is why what you personally want to see happen *right now* will not happen for a very long time. Getting angry over this subject only betrays a misplaced sense of entitlement.
March 18th, 2011
“I would like unique troops on the already established armies they have, that I cant find a use on Warhammer.”
I share your desire for unique troops, but being usable in Warhammer does not /have/ to detract from that. The example I’ve used before is if Mantic did not make Wood Elf cavalry at all, and instead made Centaurs or Cervitaurs. A plastic kit for these would provide something unique, but would still sell to Warhammer players for use as Glade Riders and Wild Riders. Camel riders could count as boar riders. Dwarf skeletons could replace human skeletons. An army could have female soldiers instead of just male soldiers. And so on.
To me, that should be considered the ideal: plastic kits that can still be used by Warhammer players with Warhammer rules, but represent something different.
March 19th, 2011
ALEX HOLKER
Totally agree.
March 19th, 2011
Mantic are a very new company. As others have said they would be stupid to bring out completely new units that cannot be used for anything else.
The only way they can produce more unique models is when they are strongly established. They are not strongly established at all right now but are gaining strength – but they can only do this with smart decisions.
March 19th, 2011
*shame on Mantic though if they are actually attempting to pass off Dwarf cannon models as the artillery for Orcs though.
How about a large (not like the tiny skeleton one) catapult ?
March 19th, 2011
POOSH
“Mantic are a very new company. As others have said they would be stupid to bring out completely new units that cannot be used for anything else.
The only way they can produce more unique models is when they are strongly established. They are not strongly established at all right now but are gaining strength – but they can only do this with smart decisions.”
Smart decisions? What? Durrrr lets make this so people buy it for Warhammer Durrrr? Come on. You know they can make new and never before seen stuff and still sell. So you are telling me their success will be based upon Warhammer? Its that what you are saying?
March 19th, 2011
> RAMON ORTIZ
Well I don’t know that it would sell. Mantic aren’t popular enough to sell of their own merits. It is expensive to make plastic miniatures and is only worth it if you can expect good sales. Their elves were an obvious attempt to move away from fantasy elves that are the norm and create a more thin version of the elf, that is more true to the old myths concerning elves. Mantic’s elves are probably considered their worse idea. This is the image I get from forums I come across. They can’t afford to try anything *too* original. It is too expensive to create the molds unless they are confident that the item will sell. They *know* troop types GW make sell well, generic troops (and GW do make generic armies), are their main concern for now.
Take Westwind, they make a great number of pretty nifty looking dwarfs, including Highlander Dwarfs and Dwarfs riding Pigs. Original and unique but I seriously doubt they’re raking in the money.
And of course their success will be based upon GW. GW have an almost absolute monopoly and most miniature-collectors will have found GW first, before they reach Mantic.
GW’s prices disgusting. No one can afford a REAL Orc army now apart from the somewhat wealthy. 80 orcs which will give you a decent sized core base will cost you over £144. Who has that money? So yes people will see Mantic’s products and yes, they may even like the Kings of War game system (which has just been made, so let’s give it 5 years) and move away from WFB > they may even start buying Mantic products and start playing some of the Fantasy game systems that exist out there, often for free.
In order for Mantic to flourish and start making truly original models they have to be a firmly established force that can afford to take the risk of non-generic models. Mantic are not in a position to make risks as far as I know. This is what I call ‘smart decisions’.
March 19th, 2011
POOSH
Then you agree with my point. Mantic is playing follow me with GW and are gaining money of them. Thats the whole point I am saying. My points is they advertise this Kings of War game and what they really do is just look at the Warhammer armies and troops and say “Hmm, lets do this one next!” Its a smart choice, oh I do agree but its one I would not feel prod of. If I want to be successful I want to be it by my own merits. In order for Mantic to flourish they need to market them self a little more other than Beasts of War. They need to stock they products on local stores more, and they need to not be another coockie cutter fantasy game like “Warhammer”.
“Mantic aren’t popular enough to sell of their own merits.”
Tell that to Wyrd Games, tell that to Privateer Press, tell that to Battlefront, tell that to Reaper and tell that to Cipher-studios. All of whom have success without copying Games Workshop. You just keep arguing but wont address my first comment, They are gaining mony out of Games Workshop franchise “Warhammer”.
“In order for Mantic to flourish and start making truly original models they have to be a firmly established force that can afford to take the risk of non-generic models.”
And when is that? I think its now. I dont want units wich can be used for something else in Warhammer I want units unique to Kings of War.
“GW’s prices disgusting. No one can afford a REAL Orc army now apart from the somewhat wealthy. 80 orcs which will give you a decent sized core base will cost you over £144.”
Well I could afford a Orcs and Goblins army with a little thing called a “job” and with something called “ebay” and “online stores” and with a little thing called “patience and time”. I know GWs prices suck balls, but you cant deny they make superb miniatures and they have a good lore behind it all. Same with Warmachine and so on. Mantic needs to man up and take risks.
“Fortune favors the bold”
March 19th, 2011
“Their elves were an obvious attempt to move away from fantasy elves that are the norm and create a more thin version of the elf, that is more true to the old myths concerning elves. Mantic’s elves are probably considered their worse idea. This is the image I get from forums I come across. They can’t afford to try anything *too* original.”
Was anyone actually asking for this version of the elf, whose look is defined not by being graceful or perfect, but being spindly and wearing a pointy helmet? While I am obviously biased, it just seems like something that could have been caught during development.
The problem with the Elves is not making something different, it’s making something /worse/.
March 19th, 2011
Seems that the odd “you copy this and that” disccussion has reached this blog. All I can say/wrote about this is “BORING”. Mantic makes absolutly great fantasy miniatures. Thats the point.
And what about the game systems? I prever Kings of War over Warhammer. WHF is in my oppinion a rule-juggernaut, with hundrets of pointless rules, where the fun is, well … there is no fun. I for myself need no stupid Stats for a close combat weapon, a pointless magic system and tons of special rules for each and every unit.
And what about the models? Well, I prever even the mantic stuff ver the other companys stuff. And the reason is easy: Mantic has handmade models, not the vanilla generic computer stuff (which is nice but boring).
About the prices: If I like the models, I’ll buy the models.
To Mantic: Follow your way, it’s the right way. And by the way: I love all you rminiatures (even the Elves
.
March 20th, 2011
I think GW make superb models actually. Gamezone also make great models. And Avatars of War. Mantic are more for the massed Fantasy, the elves and dwarfs are hardly works of art, however the Undead, and Evil Dwarfs were a massive step up and these new Orcs look very impressive but that leads to my point to:
RAMON ORTIZ > that Mantic are about massed infantry. As far as I know the game systems you named were not massed ranks of infantry games. I suppose I do agree with you but its kinda of obvious but also I do not feel happy simply saying Mantic are making money off GW. Firstly there are some odd (bad) decisions that Mantic made. Their Dwarfs and Elves CANNOT be used with GW. Look at the sizes. GW Dwarfs are tiny compared to the Mantic Dwarfs standing much higher, while the Mantic elves look ill compared to the strong GW elves. Also why have the mantic archer elves with shields? GW elves cannot field shields. Why have a whole unit of normal dwarfs with double handed weapons but no heavy armour? The elf palace guard do not fit into anything GW related, they are generic two-handed weapon elites. They also have a fire-thrower which does not match to WFB.
Anyhow, there is a demand for generic models that can in theory fit in with GW WFB. And also GW have created an alienation through their pricing. You say “it’s called a job” – that’s great that you can afford it, others cannot, certainly not the young, certainly not adults brining up children on a bog standard pay packet. I am perfectly happy for companies to come along and take that alienation and turn it into something great, which is what Mantic do. I would prefer to rephrase your comment (so I am really agreeing with it, though I am insisting it is not that simple as if you were 100% correct then Mantic dwarfs and elves would be the same size as GW, which they are NOT) as “mantic are making money off GW’s greed” which seems more accurate.
March 20th, 2011
POOSH
For the love of God you find anything to argue, now its sizes. You know what? People use them allot for Warhammer size correct or not. About archers with shields? Then why did they remade the archers without shields? Because people asked them, people who wanted them for Warhammer. I clearly made my point and I am stepping out, Mantic is making money out of Games Workshop.
March 20th, 2011
To Poosh: You are right – GW makes excellent models, but you can see that 90% of the new stuff is not “handmade”. It’s just a computer thing and I prever (sometimes) the good old miniatures, which are not as perfect as the GW ones.
All in all, it’s our hobby and each and everey one prever other things.
March 20th, 2011
good morning
I read all these comment with much interest as is the first time I join a blog. I don’t think Mantic is making money out of GW… rather GW is making a lot of money out of its funs! Those people that buy GW and are proud of paying 20€ for a Warboss or even more just to use them in their tournment will never buy a single Mantic piece. How to field non original GW miniatures? they do not only play with GW miniatures only but also at the latert release! Some famuos pieces from GW where put out of law by GW itself… hence Mantic is just providing to pepole who like huge armies a solution to have them; as a metter of fact these piecese will be played with WFB rueles with few adaptations.
March 21st, 2011
Firstly and most importantly well done to mantic for some very good looking orc figures. I look forward with interest to seeing what the rest of the range will be like.
Ramon
I can’t believe that you are being so Naive. Games Workshop charge ridiculous prices for plastic models which if the new skaven range are anything to go on are deteriorating in quality. As a VERY long time gamer I would balk at paying current games workshop prices for metal miniatures never mind plastics. Because of this pricing policy and also because the new warhammer rulebook now puts the emphasis on large units of infantry (to sell more models) over small elite units, they have created a market for people who don’t want play and not be ripped off.
Mantic are simply filling this niche market (and doing so very well thank you very much) by producing high quality generic fantasy miniatures at a fraction of the Games workshop prices. This in case you weren’t aware is called competition. If you don’t like it go elsewhere. Games workshops marketting strategy as published by them is “that they sell to a niche market for whom price is not the first consideration when they decide to buy”. In other words they can charge what they want cos people will buy their stuff whatever. Long may Mantic and other companies thrive on the GW indifference to their customers cos as long as they do i will continue to buy the cheaper and in my opinion better quality products offered by them
March 21st, 2011
I tell you where you guys could break from this GW mould and be original and profitable. I would love to see a Human Barbarian army. Something right out of Howards books and Frazettas paintings. Forget the ren-fair decline of the mythic races stuff and set this at the dawn of man, when humankind has to carve their nitch into a world already populated by advanced races. These Orcs have the look and you could be as original as hell with a young race of man fighting fro their place in your world. And watch the models fly off your shelves! -Mike
March 21st, 2011
ANDY HAWLEY
So you too agree that Mantic sell to the GW player and not the Kings of War player. Pffft I cant believe people when they defend Mantic this way. I cant tell enough how much I love MAntics minis and game. I just wish they would differentiate from the bunch and from GW. They make the same troops as WArhammer armies and if that its what they will keep doing then I would prefer to buy the GW ones. I dont like copy paste models. If you cant afford GW models TOO BAD for you. Mantic should sell for their own dam game and not others. Why bother making rules if they sell for other games? I know the answer, to gain more money, which is a very good business decision, but its one I dont fully endorse. I love companies who’s success come from their own ideas. MAntic, make a good story and fluff and make some interesting units and heroes that do not reflect whatsoever to Warhammer in any way. Oh and now that Ronnie turns 40 I will buy that Thinking Elf I allways wanted but dont have the necessary Mantic Points to get it ^____^
March 21st, 2011
Certainly Mantic is smartly choosing a careful balance of both uniqueness and careful copying. Why? because they know where the money lies for now – and that is to slightly appease the GW gamers that will buy the cheap minis while preparing the gaming community for the alternate Mantic system. This simply does not happen overnight.
Do I like GW figures? Absolutely – take nothing away from them they have developed some stunning sets, especially over the last few years. Can I afford them? Sure… Do I buy them? Yes, when something takes my fancy.
What do I feel about Mantic? Extreme excitement over new takes and I already have three of their armies. I do prefer thr rules over WHFB simply due to the quick ease of playing – especially when you want to teach and get someone new into the hobby/game.
Should Mantic go totally the route of unique and to heck with conventional GW troops? Certainly not at this stage of their development – they need to stay slightly within crossover possibilities. Take a look at Wargames Factory that for the last couple years were putting out some popular and some strangely niche army types with their unique Liberty Union voting. What happened? It is just as was mentioned before – the few hundred pushed them down some paths and the thousands stayed away in droves. They lost the company and now it has been bought out by their Chinese supplier. They still exist and put out cheap minis, but mainly for reality wargame people. In my opinion, they choose not to copy or appeal to the HUGE GW crowd – and will probably always be a small, obscure company.
If Mantic stays the course and once they are more established begin to stretch the realm, they will do fine. Stretch too soon, they will fail.
March 23rd, 2011
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