I think we’re talking main line units - similar to the Halfling sprues. Other units would probably be in resin or metal.
I’d like to see a fawn/satyr/centaur sprue for FoN (also with an eye to Manticizing the Herd in the future). I reckon they’d shift a lot to non Kings players too.
The other one, would be an all purpose general human kit - city guard/soldier/militia. I think it would stand Mantic in good stead to produce such a key kit - even with the competition out there. Would give them more options for list/army design down the road.
They have clearly stated they aren’t going to do a KoM range, so we aren’t going to see a generic human kit - they have covered the basilea range and Clansmen and upgrade kits deal with the NA models.
They have the metal centaurs, so doubt a plastic version would come out. RDG do a decent faun & centaur kit - more ungor sized than GW beastman though.
@kodos some great suggestions that I’d not considered there. There’s plenty of scope to revisit some of the existing ranges that need a refresh or are core components/figures but not plastic.
@Sceleris some of what I chose is down to it being different if Mantic makes it (I wouldn’t want to start collecting a large Herd infantry army if I began now). They make a lot of generic fantasy minis - zombies, goblins etc, I think that a lot of people would pick up a human kit for other things. Also, imo, at the moment Pannithor feels a bit empty of ‘normal’ humans - regular cities, small towns, caravan guards, all of that.
To clarify, I’m not asking people to predict the next sprue, or even pick a likely one (though it’d be good if people stuck to the sort of thing that would get made by sprue).
@Sceleris Perhaps an option would be a Basilean men-at-arms/multipurpose kit that is more flexible (Edit: flexible in use/appearance rather than weapon options). I think part of the issue is that I’m not that taken with the minis for what is currently the standard Pannithor human.
The basilea m@a kit does swords, spears and crossbow - isn’t going to get more varied that that. It is perfectly compatible with fireforge historical stuff for head or arm swaps.
Updating the elf kit, as they have done with the goblin sprue, so that us more in keeping with the Vanguard and LoI elves would be good though
Top of the list, IMO, would be an Elf Infantry Sprue. Those things are pretty dated, but having something that lets you build all or most of the elf infantry units would be invaluable. Especially since it’d work for multiple army lists.
Beyond that, I’d be all on board with @kodos for Centaurs and Hunters of the Wild-type units. It’d be a great start to a proper, Mantic-supported Herd army too.
Top of my list would be Twilight Kin, though an update to the Elf kits would also be welcome. I also think an Empire of Dust line separate from your classic undead could be quite popular.
The Herd/Forces of Nature idea sounds like a lot of fun and would maybe allow Mantic to explore a wealth of European mythology such as Satyr, Gnolls, Pan Faun, Kobolds, Harpies, Kelpies. They could even delve into some of the old Dungeon Crawler games with Mandrakes, Alraune, Barometz, even carnivorous plants like Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors.
Metal upgrade kits are terrible and replacing those would be great.
Empire of Dust, orc skulks or morax.
Could be done with resin though.
After that, replace the metal. Zombie trolls, necromancers, wights, dwarf beserkers, ironguard, centaurs, earth elementals, forest shamblers, etc. I might actually buy those if they were not metal price.
Elves could use and update, my main issue is that they have shields modeled onto the bodies. Holding a bow and a shield doesn’t look right to me.
For something new, hunters of the wild would probably be the most useful.
A herd release would potentially be great though.
Satyrs/fauns with options for the “tribal” units and a separate or upgrade sprue for spirit walkers/longhorns.
Guardian brutes that can go on the ogre/orc chariots (what are those made from, btw)
Two or three sprues and herd is as covered as most armies.
Considering the 3rd edition herd list, that very well might be Mantic’s plan.
Ogres would be top of the list for me, good opportunity to resculpt the core units in line with the newer sculpts with bulkier legs, and lots of weapon/ head options on the sprue.
Every army that has a list needs at least one HIPs kit, after that it would be great to see things like cavalry units and monsters get sprues.
I think picking a flagship army or two to almost entirely convert entirely to hard plastic might also be a good idea, looking ahead for 4th edition in the future, to launch it with a brilliant starter that punches above GW in terms of quality/value.
Something like Basileans vs. Undead, adding a dual infantry/cavalry kit for the sisterhood, dual paladin/knights kit and Elohi.
Undead are the easier pick for the other army since they’re the army with the most HIPs kits and the quality is excellent. Could easily add revenant knights and/or werewolves to finish it, or even a dual soul/reaver knights kit to equalise the points values a bit.
Would be possible to have a mega launch box, probably similar in price to AoS : Dominion, but blowing it out of the water in terms of mini count, something to grab people’s attention.
At the moment, Mantic’s sci-fi range has been the one to get fully fleshed out with multiple factions having huge vehicle kits and multiple infantry kits.
Command groups for the latest plastic kits, really miss having banners and musicians in units.
I know the first Mantic kits were done as cheap alternative to GW kits, so had full command options, and with the increase in multibase the need for command groups shrank. That being said, I think the lack of them subtracts from the overall look of a Mantic force.
An interesting idea. To play around with it a bit - if the kits were simple enough, you could use them to create a stand alone box game (something like Battle Masters MB) - a game that a 10-12 year old can play. (Edit: perhaps this it what you meant with Dominion - idk enough about it).
Taking Basilea and Undead as a starting point makes sense from a cost/existing minis perspective (that could well be the way to go). Though a starter set is also an opportunity to launch new ranges (as in NA & N-S). Basilea & Undead might sell less to existing customers. Ophidians vs something else new, or even new plastic Ogres vs new plastic Elves might fly off the warehouse shelves quicker.
This a tricky question actually. There are quite a few older lines that could be updated like Elves, and plenty of restic ranges like Ogres that would benefit.
Perhaps a Gekkotah kit would be good though, it would fill out the army list nicely? The Gekkotah characters are excellent.
From a personal and perhaps slightly oblique angle, I’d love to see a Basilean Sisterhood spruce, with the options the men at arms have so an all female army would be possible. My daughter would be over the moon about the option to field a female army (it’s fantasy after all, why not?) It would also allow for mixed units that would be good for variety and so on.
I would love to see an updated elf infantry kit, but I think the market is a little crowded with those. Mantic would have to pull off goblin levels of greatness for that one!
I think I’m with @CommanderPanda in that I’d like to see a sisterhood kit. I think it’s very Mantic, not too many nuns with swords out there, and it would boost one of their flagship armies.
Because 90% of the Elves models out there are just Humans with pointy ears and voluminous hair, modelled after the Legolas archetype
The thing of slender and taller than humans has not been a thing because it was difficult to make, in models as well as movies, hence it was never done and no one cared about it
A reason why I don’t really like the Oathmark Elves, just humans with celtic themed armour as soon as you use heads with helmets/hoods instead of those were you can see the pointy ears
Those are more like Hollywood High Middle Age Warriors than Elves
With Twilight Kin oder Dark Elves, this is much easier as the “exotic” or “evil” themed armour takes away the human aspect
Also having larger weapons for a more slender design makes a non-human feel as it indicates a much more strength than the model itself shows
The Raging Heroes Dark Elves would be an example of how Mantic Elves should could look like, with different shields and/or helmets being the only difference between the Kins