Mantic Games

[eldargal]

Mantic Games (http://www.manticgames.com/) specialise in cheap fantasy miniatures with a simple, solid ruleset to go with them. Their current armies are:

Abyssal Dwarfs (think Chaos Dwarfs)
Dwarfs
Elves
Orcs
Twilight Kin (Dark Elves)
Undead.

I'll be honest, I'm including Mantic here only for completeness. I'm not a big fan, except for their core undead I find their figures to be mediocre at best and ugly at worst. But they are cheap. The Elves and Dwarves don't really match the GW aesthtics so compatability is an issue. The Abyssal Dwarfs are decent Chaos Dwarf stand ins given that GW doesn't produce them anymore. The Orcs and Undead seem to fit in with the GW stuff better.

Plenty of people like them though so if you are looking for cheap models, give them a try. Mantic is also producing a sci-fi game Warpath that currently has Orks 'n Dwarfs in Space.

[Archon]

I do not realy like the mantic stuff. The elves are not very well to look at and the dwarves lacked of detail - especialy compared to other companys. The fact that they are cheap is not enough for me. For me quality and visual are the main points of a miniature. The warmachines for the dwarves look like the very old gw ones - too tiny.

The sorceress of the "twilight kin" is not bad - but she is the only mini at this range.

[Lord Azaghul]

Actually I like mantics line quite a bit.
I think the Orcs really have a +1 on GW.
The elves are fantastic
And I really like the midevil undead look.
The line I really don't care for are the dwarves, I believe GW does a better dwarf models.

And you know what - their fantasy game really isn't have bad - and its more balanced!

I think mantic is a fantastic method for anyone who wants to start a new fantasy force at reasonable prices.

[eldargal]

I completely agree. I have hopes the Twilight Kin may turn out decent as the sorceress isn't bad but as they are probably going to be metal additions to the current Elves there is only so much they can do. Not to mention the metal Abyssal Dwarf extras have all sorts of problems fitting with the plastic Dwarfs apparently. In my opinion Avatars of War plastic kits are the ones to look out for, not Mantics, but I include them so people can make up their own mind.


Edit: I wish I could agree, but I just can't. I had high hopes of Mantic when I first heard about them but it has been one dissapointment after another. I find the elves to be terrible, poorly proportioned, sub-standard detail, crudely sculpted in some cases and a damned revolting aesthetic. The Orcs are better than some of GWs to be sure but I hate GWs Orcs too so it is a moot point.:) The undead core are nice, the cavalry and some of the special units not so much. Not too impressed with the current GW Dwarf plastics myself, but the Mantic ones really are worse. The Abysal Dwarfs are better but as I said above apparently the metal add ons don't fit too well sometimes. Which is a problem with any hybrid kit not just Mantics, but it is why GW moved away from hybrids years ago. As to the ruleset, I've played it, it is relatively simple, a bit dull and balanced because it has half the armies of WFB and they all work roughly the same way. It is solid but uninteresting, in my opinion.

The only thing Mantic do well are the prices, but for me I want what I consider the best and Mantic aren't it. Of all the companies on my list Mantic are the only ones I have no interest in buying from at present. I'm not trying to argue with you or anything Lord Azaghul, just trying to elaborate on my own opinion of Mantic.:) I recommend anyone who reads this to check out the models in person, if they can, and make a decision for themselves. That is what I did.

Actually I like mantics line quite a bit.
I think the Orcs really have a +1 on GW.
The elves are fantastic
And I really like the midevil undead look.
The line I really don't care for are the dwarves, I believe GW does a better dwarf models.

And you know what - their fantasy game really isn't have bad - and its more balanced!

I think mantic is a fantastic method for anyone who wants to start a new fantasy force at reasonable prices.

[Lord Azaghul]

I will second that avatars of war dwarves are indeed fantastic - especially there slayer models!

[wittdooley]

I feel like Mantic was trying to go with a more Rackham Cynwall Elves-inspired aesthetic for their elves. IMO they failed miserably, but thats where they seem to have copied....errr... drawn inspiriation from.

[Lord Azaghul]

Got My elves in the mail yesterday. Honestly they are alot more detailed then I expected, especially for the companies first line. I plan on picking up the army set next. Soon I have a whole elf army.

My one criticism is the bolt thrower model. I'm really not impressed with that - its just as bad as it looked online. That might just be a bit of a conversion project though, new wheels and a bow. :p

[eldargal]

Mantic just released some concept art for the Twilight Kin assassin:
http://www.warseer.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=125870&d=1326831004
Think it looks nice, hope they can get the proportions right in the sculpt so it doesn't end up like the god awful Elves.

[eldargal]

Mantic has the Twilight Kin aka Dark Elves up for sale on their Shop now, no picture of the Assassin model yet. Not too impressed with them myself, the add-ons look nice but the basic Elf model is still ghastly in my opinion.

[Wildeybeast]

Models are released on 23rd of this month and they don't even have pictures of them yet, but are willing to offer them for pre-order? That sounds like a well run, reliable company to me. Who thinks that offering for sale a product which relies entirely on how it looks, without letting customers see said product, is a good idea? What are we supposed to think? That the models are terrible? Or that they haven't actually got any actually made yet? Or simply that they haven't managed to organise taking pictures before putting the product on the website? Whatever, not exactly confidence inspiring.

[Lord Azaghul]

I've started building my Mantic Elf army, that first and major thing I noticed is how very FEW mould lines there are on there kits, far less then most any GW kit I have assembled. The models are also surprisingly active & detailed for their first kit.

I plan on picking up some of the corporation models as stormtroopers for my IG, it seems like mantic models are also improving with every new release.

Twilight kin - naah - never cared for the bad guys.

[Nightstalker]

in my opinions the hiighlights of the whole Mantic Line are their Zombies and Gouhls.ok, there are only a few different torsos but you can make million different positions, especially when you combine those 2 kits. Very dynamic poses. The Gouhls have the looks of those creatures from the movie 'i am legend' and the Zombies just look how Zombies have to look like.
and what i like about Mantic are their plastic boxes, which you can use as transport boxes too.

[eldargal]

Well, Mantic manages to shoot themselves in the foot with Elves again, in my opinion.

Twilight Assassin:
http://www.manticblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/assassin.jpg

-flat face
-receding hairline
-weird left arm
-silly girl is wearing her bra over her clothes
-legs too far apart

+nice, broad thighs.

[Wildeybeast]

Lol. Her face looks like she has run into a wall. And what is going on with that arm. It looks like they have just taken a model firing a bow and given it different weapons.

[Chronowraith]

That looks very.... uncomfortable... in pretty much every aspect.

She looks like she broke her nose and I can't tell if she is going to punch something with her fist or stab it. Why is she wearing a body suit with her undies on the outside?

[Nightstalker]

Mantics highlights so far are their gouhls and zombies, those really are excellent. Dont really like the rest.
and since i got the rulebook here (havent really read it yet), there are also Kingdoms of Men and Goblins as armies listed.

[Beerzerker]

Mantic Gouls and Zombies look better than GW versions.
Twilight Assassin look ok exept her face.

[Nightstalker]

they just announced plastic goblins, i like the look of them
http://www.brueckenkopf-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/KoW_GoblinSpitters.jpg

[eldargal]

Mantic recently had a Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/kings-of-war) which earned them 350k, I only found out about it late and forgot to post it here. The have a lot of concept art for the new human faction, some of which looks rather good. If they can translate it into nice models ('bout a one in five chance going by their previous efforts) I'll be very happy.

Werewolf
http://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/020/151/9094faa4ab49fe80f5f902a9a3c08401_large.jpg?1339077 995

Vampiress
http://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/040/593/0f8c882e52a3c5f477c1ccd26d1ed858_large.jpg?1340387 716

Celestian Battle Nun Zealotte
http://www.manticgames.com/SiteData/Root/Image/kickstarter/zealotte.jpg

Celestian Paladin
http://www.manticgames.com/SiteData/Root/Image/kickstarter/Paladin-2.jpg

[Wildeybeast]

I agree, some very interesting concept art there, could make some really good minis from that lot.

[redandrea]

Mantic Games prides itself as being the best way to buy a new army - or even make an existing army bigger - much, much bigger.

[Grovel]

I dropped $225 on the kickstarter when it was running and have a tonne of plastic crack on the way, bits and pieces of which are from pretty much every faction, so i'll have a good idea on the quality once that is all done but one thing I can comment on at this point - customer service.

The Mantic guys have been top notch in that regard, questions I've asked have been answered promptly and they've been posting regular updates on where they're at ever since ending the kickstarter campaign.

I'm not a fan of a lot of the existing stuff truth be told. That being said however, there has been a teaser of some of the models funded by kickstarter and I must say they look a lot better quality than things like their elves & dwarfs (which I think are horrible).

As previously said their Ghouls & Zombies are fantastic and there are a couple of other gems in there too. The Werewolf concept art is what convinced me to use their kickstarter campaign to start a Vampire Count army, and the Celestian Cat Cavalry is what convinced me to up my pledge to $225.

[Vermis]

Nice rules - shame about the minis. Some of 'em, anyway. I think the undead are good and the orcs and goblins serviceable, but the elves and dwarfs are just odd. The elves are painfully skinny with armour on, and the dwarfs might have knees but they have heads like pumpkins sitting on no necks. And just thinking about their dragon models makes my throat close over and the world turn blac\f6jbm;zxkwt8p6gh77777777777








Which is fine by me because I'm looking at the KoW rules with a mind to play some of the armies from A Song of Ice and Fire - all human, except maybe the odd blue-eyed zombie horde. The free downloads so far look like they're in the Warmaster/Warlord Games vein, which I like. What EG calls 'dull and balanced', I see as an opportunity for tactics and manoeuvre, rather than list-building and memorising finicky abilities of individual models. 'Playing the game not the rules', so to speak. Fans of the game seem to think the same way.

The Warpath minis seem to be altogether better, except maybe the recycling of fantasy dwarfs. Apart from that I have a little sigh that their powered armour humans are more Iron Man than Starship (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/lofi_thriller/Minatures/sstcougar.jpg) Troopers (http://whatarmy.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/starship-troopers/), but anyway.

[Grovel]

The rules are specifically designed with balance and speed of play in mind, which appeals to me.

Regarding your comments on the Elves & Dwarfs, they're the original sculpts the company produced. If you look at the Abyssal Dwarfs or other newer ranges like the Undead you'll get a better idea of overall quality of models that can be expected.

[eldargal]

Well, yes and no. Some of their original undead was great and some of the more recent undead was shockingly bad. The new sculptor, Remy, who is working on Dreadball and some (or all) of the Kickstarter stuff seems to be doing a much better job.

The abyssal dwarfs are quite nice, but what they have shown of the Twilight Kin have been very poor. The Twilight Assassin is a disgrace.

[eldargal]

http://www.manticblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/basilea-sisters.jpg
No, Mantic. Just no. How were this given the go ahead to go into production? These would have disgraced miniatures production in the early 80s let alone today. Get your ******* proportions right. People might be able to brush it off when it comes to your terrible dwarfs and elves but these are humans. So make them look sodding human.:rolleyes:

[Brakkart]

Good grief they look like they've all been stretched on the rack!

[Bigred]

For what it's worth - At Adepticon this year, almost all of the WFB undead armies were using Mantic standins. They were cheaper and look better than GW's skeletons and zombies.

I hear they area really focusing on Dreadball as it was such a clear success on Kickstarter. The minis for that are noticeably superior to several of their other ranges.

[Wildeybeast]

Their heads look like they have the 'nodding dog' necks. Such a shame as they could have been great.

[eldargal]

For what it's worth - At Adepticon this year, almost all of the WFB undead armies were using Mantic standins. They were cheaper and look better than GW's skeletons and zombies.

I hear they area really focusing on Dreadball as it was such a clear success on Kickstarter. The minis for that are noticeably superior to several of their other ranges.
Mantics undead are nice. I prefer GW skellingtons but that is down to taste, the Mantic zombies are plain superior. Their scifi stuff is top notch. But their Kow stuff is just terrible bar aforementioned undead. I don't even like the characters and elite undead personally.

[eldargal]

http://www.manticblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/basilea-paladins.jpg
These aren't too bad. Paladins.

[Kirsten]

I don't like most of the mantic stuff, a lot of it at the moment is like GW in the early 90s, they still need to go through a lot of development yet before they are anywhere near GW standard.