I was thinking that Mantic would be wise to produce units that can be used as different units in different armies. That way they will be able to fill the holes in their armylists faster. Now, I’m not saying Mantic does not already do this (they do). The new clansmen for example would probably be used in both Varangur, Northern Alliance and Kingdom of Men, and personally I was thinking about using Lower Abyssals as Beastmen.
BUT what NEW multiunits™ would you like to see? And what would you advice Mantic as a company* to produce?
*Assuming company goal is to sell a buttload of models (I don’t have ANY connection with Mantic myself).
That’s actually a good question. On one hand, I like it when units are clearly identifiable as what they are, but there is definitely a case to be made for using units in different armies as different units. I would actually love to see Mantic make units that can be kitbashed with my existing bucketloads of bits and pieces, so that I could make a few new unique looking units (because I’m not busy enough as it is…). I know it’s not really what you asked, but if Mantic wanted to sell more units, I think this might be a better way of doing it.
Alternatively, they could encourage the use of allies, particularly amongst thematically similar armies, for example Nightstalkers and Forces of the Abyss or The Herd and The Forces of Nature. Again, not exactly what you asked, but I’m having a hard time imagining it to be a good thing that armies would lose their distinct look, as that is arguably one of the biggest differentiators between them.
I’m not 100% sold on the idea of Mantic making the same models usable for different units unless they were customizable, because that can create confusion.
But as for advice to Mantic in this regard: I do think that army lists should overlap a bit more. Maybe through a revamp of the allies system, or adding units to factions. I went from playing Salamanders to Forces of Nature because of their overlap, and am now moving on to the Trident Realm. It makes starting a new army a hell of a lot less intimidating when you have some units that you can bring over.
i don;t think that the idea is to make units meant to fill multiple armies, so much as encourage them to make kits for units that could be adapted across multiple armies, especially the ones in the “armies of pannithor” book that’ll be out soon, which are armies without current minis support.
many of the basilian conventional troops and cavalry for example can easily be used for Brotherhood or as Kingdoms of Men troops. possibly even Rhordia with a bit of conversion. the Northern Alliance figures look like they would easily serve well as Varangur, and some of them would make good kingdoms of Men troops. the Undead troops are easily turned into Empire of Dust (and vice versa) with just a thematic paint scheme.
I was thinking originally about some militia/villein/light infantry, or something like foot guards/heavy inf. The same could be said about mounted options. However the competition might be strong so maybe Mantic should focus on their unique armies? (The clansmen might be to differ)
Anyways here are some other suggestions for possible linking armies with units (Just from the top of my head):
-Ratkin/herd - headswap/optional tale
I would love some generic Warmachines, players could easily jazz them up to fit the theme of their force. If Mantic made some, I’d more than likely buy quite a bit!
Mantic currently do some resin add-on kits for various units (goblin spitters, the new ice naiads, some of the abyssal dwarf units) so this could be onevway if adding varient heads/weapons etc.
Wouldn’t want to see them go down the road of having a plastic kit capable of making completely separate units - you get so much wastage/leftovers (think some of the gw kits) - and likely that a plastic add-on sprue would be too pricey
Not Mantic, but Wizkids just released some Cannon, Large Cannon, and Catapults at very reasonable prices. Decent detail, and easily convertible. (Scroll to the bottom here)
As long as they are 28mm scale that works for me. I wonder how likely it is to get them here in Ireland. I’d be very interested in some artillery pieces to add to my Kingdom of Men.