Mantic Games has announced the release of a new fantasy naval miniature game; Armada. Armada tasks you with commanding 6 to 9 warships for control of the seas. Games take an expected 90 to 120 minutes and are played on a standard 4×4 or 4×6 foot mat.
Game mechanics are based on the Black Seas rules set by Warlord Games, a renowned designer of historical miniatures and rules sets. Armada’s mechanics have been streamlined and given a fantasy spin. Spells, magical devices, and horrible sea monsters are all available as well as traditional gunnery and boarding actions.
While Mantic Games and other retailers are taking preorders now, Armada ships November 21st, 2020. Factions at launch include Orcs and Basilean (humans) in a two-player starter set as wells as individual ships, faction starters, and faction boosters. Additional factions release in January, 2021 with a Dwarven fleet and the Empire of Dust (Tomb King / Egyptian style undead). Mantic plans for more factions to release throughout 2021.
Kings of War: Armada’s ships use resin for their multi-part kits. At the moment, the parts include a solid, molded hull with separate sails and weapons. BlackJack Legacy has a preview of the Basilean ships with extreme close-ups of detail and supporting structure. The example models show crisp details and solid design.
BlackJack Legacy has an additional video for the Dwarf ships. As you’d expect, they employ an fantasy ironclad aesthetic. Model components, again, use a solid, molded hull with turreted weapons and side-mounted weapon arrays. Again, crisp details and solid, simple design are a win in my book.
To date, Orc ship previews have been limited. We have a picture of a painted warship from the Mantic site and renders from the two-player Starter. Given what we know from the Badsilean videos, Orc kits should have a uni-hull with separate sails and weapons. While the orcs have the expected ramshackle feel Mantic takes it in their own direction. Check out those insane rams! I’m not sure what’s more metal, the drill or and revolving fists.
We’ll share more as we get details. I expect to see Orcs soon, but I am really looking forward to the Empire of Dust.
