Mantic has revealed their Basilean Ambush set. I was really hyped for the Basilean re-release (is that even a word? Anyhows, you know what I mean!) This is because my human army is still mainly GW and I’d love to mantic-ize it.
That said, I’m not going to use this ambush set for this purpose. Sadly, the box only includes 40 of the older men-at-arms kits. The kit is okay, I think, but not the same quality as the goblin rable and recent empire of Dust kits. Moreover, I have enough spearmen/swordsmen. If the set would have had 40 (or even 20) plastic sisters, I’d be very happy, as these would have made a very welcome addition to my army.
Finally, I don’t think this ambush set captures the “Basilean” feel very well. They remain an army of humans supported by religious fanatics and angelic creatures. An ambush set of 20 men-at-arms supported by a regiment of elohi or 2 troops of sisterhood (Scouts/melee) capture this feel a lot better I’d say.
Mantic have said that Ambush sets are only being done with the newer plastic sprues and aren’t putting in resin/metal/pvc models in them.
The AD one is in a similar position in that it is just 40 Blacksouls/decimators. They commented in relation to that set that they didn’t include orcs (for example) as those were the old renedra sprues.
These are a good saving (£15 off the two separate boxes), but aren’t particularly exciting - but until both armies get more hard plastic kits it isn’t going to change
This does feel like a bit of a misstep to me. The twilight Kin Ambush set, that i got for my son, is great, with top quality models and not too expensive. It has two different “types” of unit (in terms of size). The northern alliance and even the ogre ones are similar in this respect.
I feel they would be better off waiting a little before putting out a Basilean set, as it is solely infantry and not the best models. I can only assume Basileans are on the back burner for a while…
This could’ve been amazing with some gur panthers or some Sisterhood, or elohi!
I think the thing to bear in mind here is that this isn’t going to prevent future Basilean releases from coming out. The men at arms sprues are great I think, making spear units with shield walls and correctly angled spears is so satisfying. This box fills that Ambush slot for having a few units to play with, and it’s a great discount. I’m sure the Basilean range will get a refresh at some point down the line and a new Ambush box will come out. Until then, if you need some extra men at arms, it’s a fantastic way to buy a horde.
If I remember correctly, Ronnie said that Basilea would get some releases in 2024. It’s not the first army next year (I think that is TR), but it’s somewhere down the line.
I can certainly see how its a good deal, and the old models arent bad per se, it just lacks the wow of most of the other ambush sets in my opinion, which is a shame. Seems more suited to people already playing as bailea rather than newcomers
It’s not rubbish, it just feels like it could’ve been better and is a missed opportunity. Which is very unlike mantic!
I think the options were to put out something whelming for the time being or only have ambush boxes for armies/model lines that are new (post CoK 2022) or have been refreshed/given the NA&NS treatment.
By the sound of it every army is due a new release/refresh; starting in 2022 at a speed of 3 per year.
I appreciate this reframe, especially as these are kits that make two units and can easily convert into heroes. In that spirit, here’s a surprisingly ok 500 point list for the AD set:
Maybe an unfun amount of shooting? But I was trying to get around the Sp 4 by giving the dwarfs some reach extenders (Also I discovered the Infernal Wardens upgrade while doing this, very appreciated buff to the IG without really any downside.)
It’s totally fine, the men-at-arms are a newer kit, re-released at the time Vanguard came out, they are absolutely not to be confused with the terrible kit that came before it.
£35 for 40 minis is a pretty great deal however you look at it, factor in inflation and it’s identical in price to the horde boxes (£25 for 40 minis) Mantic sold over 10 years ago.
(Also I discovered the Infernal Wardens upgrade while doing this, very appreciated buff to the IG without really any downside.)