TLDR
What: A massive release of Nightstalkers models for Kings of War!
When: February 2019
Where: Visit the Mantic Blog for the official details.
The Scoop
2019 is already off to a great start for the Kings of War community. Mantic has officially announced a massive wave of Nightstalkers releases available this February. This is significant for several reasons.
For one, the Nightstalkers are an entirely unique army in the realm of Fantasy Wargames. The themes do harken back to some Malifaux miniatures, but never has an entire army of Cthulu-esque monstrosities been produced on this scale. Mantic has put out something innovative that could work to attract attention to the game.
Moreover, this wave of releases includes many of the models from Kings of War Vanguard, now repackaged into troop, regiment, and horde sized boxes. There are many other great sculpts from the Vanguard release for Basilea, Forces of the Abyss, Dwarfs, and the Northern Alliance. The Nightstalkers are hopefully setting a trend, and with any luck we’ll see other models being packaged and sold in a similar fashion.
Lastly, the Nightstalkers will become Mantic’s first army range that is entirely devoid of metal. The miniatures are comprised of hard plastic and resin. As someone who has just finished a Regiment of Forest Shamblers, is currently working on a Horde of Earth Elementals, and is planning a Regiment of Centaur Bray-Striders in the near future, I cannot stress how important this is! Metal is simply an out-dated material for miniature wargames. Some of us older hobbyists may feel nostalgia for our favorite metal minis, but they are more of a headache than anything else. Cheers to Mantic for transitioning away from metal.
So, what’s being included in the release? There will be an army box that includes 40 Scarecrows/Spectres, 5 Shadowhounds, 3 Butchers, a Horror, and a Shade. This set clocks in around 805 points before upgrades.
There will also be a mega army, which looks to include 30 Scarecrows/Spectres, 10 Shadowhounds, 6 Butchers, 10 Reapers, 10 Phantoms, a Horror Riftweaver, and a Terror. This set clocks in around 1305 points before upgrades.
Aside from the boxed sets, there will be individual units for sale. All of the units from the army deals will be up for grabs, along with Needlefang Swarms, Fiends, and a Shadowhulk . The Shadowhulk is a mutated version of the new Colossal Giant, and it looks simply incredible.
All of these new releases are in addition to the Kings of War Vanguard miniatures, which are already available. The Nightstalkers Faction Booster costs $39.99 (USD) and gets you a Mindscreech, a Banshee, and a Shade.
I should note that Mantic has yet to announce the price for any of the new miniatures, but I’m sure they will be up for pre-order in the coming weeks. February can’t arrive soon enough!
