With Fracture now confirmed for launch in the coming months and the Basileans confirmed alongside Ogres, the Forces of the Abyss and Nature, new models were expected. The cover photograph for this blog came from Mantic’s website and is frankly brilliant, showing the Basileans in a vibrant light with a real sense of drama.
The new models are now live and up for pre order, so let’s have a look. Basilea has a pretty full range of models currently and Nature is the big launch for the new book, so I wasn’t expecting a massive overhaul. That being said, a handful of the kits currently available are pretty old and not great to work with, so I was hoping at least one of the regimental kits would be refreshed.
The biggest thing I wanted from new models were Elohi, the angels of the army. These are a solid in most Basilean forces, the current kit is not fab, and the extent to which Mantic have improved their sculpts over the past few years means I think they could do a great job of reimaging them. The other unit I’d like to have seen with a new kit for are the Foot Paladins. With the new direction fourth edition is taking by putting infantry at the heart of the army building process, and the great job Mantic did with their mounted cousins, I think this could have been a real treat. Whilst they aren’t at the top of my list I know there are people out there that would love to see a Halfling style sisterhood kit (which I wouldn’t object to) and then there is the new cannon in the list.
This release though focuses on characters, and in particular warlords. We see the return of Gnaeus Sallustis (dude on the lion), an absolute beast of a unit in third edition and regular in many tournament lists, the Ur-Elohi finally gets a model and then the High Paladins (on foot and on dragon) get a glow up.
I was surprised to see Gnaeus appear. He wasn’t in the starter army list, which wasn’t the greatest surprise given the Pannithor timeline has moved on about fifty years, and I’m sure someone mentioned somewhere he was dead (I might be very wrong on this, so apologies if so). That being said, it’s great to see him revived and a bit beefier, whatever he’s been up to its clearly working for him!
The Ur-Elohi is an interesting model, and I think it might not be everyone’s cup of tea due to the cloud around the feet. It’s an interesting design element which I don’t think is replicated anywhere else in the army. Personally, I find it a bit Monty Pythonesque, in a good way, and I’m a fan. It would be great if he had some like-clouded Elohi to hang out with, but I’m more than happy with leading my forces.
The high paladins are both improvements on their current models and I’m looking forward to adding them to my collection. The dragon in particular is both imposing and dynamic and the £42.50 price point makes it a justifiable addition to any number of fantasy human armies. This release does raise an interesting question about the new army list structures. All these models (except Gneaus who currently isn’t in the lists) are warlord choices, which makes it difficult to fit more than a couple into an army. I’d love to be able to put the dragon, Ur-Elohi and Gneaus (which I think is reasonable to expect he will be a warlord) on the table, currently though the starting point for doing this means ten sword regiments!
Regardless of the rule stuff, I think this is a great release, and I’m looking forward to them arriving in July.
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