Friday 21 September 2012

Dreadball Kickstarter update

   
  


I know I said I wouldn't be doing these sorts of articles again... and I reneged on that promise with a brief reminder for Relic Knights... and an article about Dreadball and its Kickstarter. Well as you can see I'm doing it again aren't I? Trust me though it is for your own good. The Dreadball Kickstarter is coming to an end. It has only 9 days left to run. Here's the important bit for you guys though... they've had to limit the number of Jake and Striker pledges they've made available to ensure they can produce enough to supply everyone with what they have ordered. That means not only is the time frame limited, but the actual chance to get the best deals is now highly limited! Currently as I type this out there are only 126 Jack level pledges left and 210 of the Striker level pledges left. Now I'm not so sure they'll sell out of them all, but if you've been sitting on the fence waiting to see what happens it might just be the incentive you need. We all know that the last 72 to 48 hours in crowd funding campaigns is when it starts to get a bit metal don't we?

Any way here's what you currently get in the excellent value $150 Striker deal:


Yeah, that's a lot of extra stuff isn't it? !5 free MVP's from both Season 1 and 2, two of which are limited (Nightshade and Wyn Greth'zki). The Kickstarter has already ensured we get the cool looking ref bot miniature in all our games, the Dreadball Trophy, and that each team will have more variety in their poses. It has also meant that they've been able to up the amount of miniatures in each team we get as well, so at Striker level we'll get 14 players for each team. Bargain! There have also been some other pretty nifty add-ons as well, including a signed print, Decal sheets and some really cool acryllic counters... trust me if you've ever played board games like this repeatedly you'll know how valuable hard wearing durable tokens are. the best thing for me though is the 44 Hex Bases that will come with the Striker pledge. Seriously when I was at Mantic play testing the game, this was the number one requested and spoken about thing... given the game is based around the hexagon, it just made sense.

From the designer, Jake Thornton's point of view I guess the most exciting thing has been that the Kickstarter has already been so successful that they've been able to develop the season 2 teams and rules already! As someone who has played the game relatively extensively I can honestly say this was also the most exciting news for me! So we'll be getting the Female Corporation team, the Z'zor team, the Robot team and the Judwan teams. At Striker level you'll get two miniatures from all four season 2 teams included, so you'll get a chance to view them for yourselves. But, if you want them as a full team you'll have to stump up for them. Yep it's time to talk add-on sales:


Yes for $20's you can pick up a set of 8 plastic Robot players or I think the buy one get one free deal for $25's, which if I'm reading it right will net you 16 Robot players. If that's true, that's a brilliant deal.


Like the Robot team, you can get a team of 8 Z'zor for $20's or go for the buy one get one free deal for $25's, which will net you 16 miniatures. The Z'zor are currently my favourite looking team, including the first season teams.


Then there are the Judwan, my second favourite looking team after the Z'zor, that's if the concepts translate well into 3D sculpts! Again we have the $20's and $25's offerings that'll net you 8 and 16 miniatures respectively.


Then there's the team that a lot of people seem to be really excited by... although I'm not so sure why! I'd have just preferred some female options in terms of miniatures in my Corp team, rather than going for a gender split. Ho hum they're here to stay though, so if you want them you can get 8 for $20's and 16 for $25's like with the three other season two teams.


The Hex bases are something they'll I'll no doubt add more of... because in the Striker set you no longer get anywhere near enough. You can get 22 bases for $5's and 44 bases for $8's. I'm really excited about these, and yes I know that makes me a sad git!


The next most exciting thing for me though is the 13 acrylic tokens set. Many of my board games come with card 'chits' and they're great at first, but if your game gets an awful lot of lovin' they'll soon get battered to buggery. These are a must for those of you who will be playing an awful lot of Dreadball. Trust me!


Mantic are also offering us the chance to look really stylish... or exceedingly nerdy... yeah, OK you will look exceedingly nerdy. They're giving you five options though, which will set you back $25's each. So if your wardrobe is light on primary coloured geek-shirts then perhaps these will appeal.


Next up I'll talk about the Dreadball coach figures... truthfully... I think these look like all sorts of fun, but I'm not convinced they'll add much, if anything to my games of Dreadball, so they won't be at the top of my list to add onto my pledge. However, at $15's for all four I don't think that's bad at all and it certainly won't break the bank.


A few extra miniature options are to get another Ref bot for $5's, although for me personally one will be enough, but if you like the ref bot it's there as an option. Much more appealing those for me though is getting the four keeper options for the Season 1 teams for the brilliant price of $15's. That will be being added no doubt.


The trophies really appeal to me. Why? Because I really, really want to start running leagues round by me, and these would make for some nice temporary prizes to give out to those who win events. At $10's for a set of 3 why the hell not?


There are two spiffing laser cut pitch options, the cheaper of the two is a more wallet pleasing $25's, which isn't too bad. However, the really sexy version is the acrylic Co-Prosperity Park Arena pitch, which is a swanky acrylic pitch and is $80's worth of cool. If I had the money I would so be getting my paws on this.


Mantic have also teamed up with Battlefoam to offer a Dreadball specific loadout for the Mantic Battlefoam bag. So if you're flush with cash you can pick up the Mantic Bag with special trays for $65's or get some trays that are designed to fit into the Dreadball box for $35's. This is a nice option, I think I have more than enough foam as it is, but even I'm tempted.

There is of course more on offer. Wrapping up you can get extra season 1 teams, for $20's for 8 miniatures, which isn't bad, but I don't think is necessary IF you go for the Striker deal. There are also a series of 6 dice sets that will set you back $10's each, which is cool if you like that sort of thing. It's also worth pointing out that all the MVP's are actually available for $8's each, now you might ask why you'd need them if you go for the Striker set... and I'd probably be in agreement with you... but two of them are limited edition miniatures, and then there are those of us who will want to have multiple of each MVP so we can paint them up in the various team colours for all those teams we'll be getting. Yes I really am that OCD! You can also pick up another set of the Dreadball game cards for $8's and some further Decal Sheets for $2's. So that's it my one and only wrap up of where the Dreadball Kickstarter is at. I'll definitely be getting extra Hex Bases for sure, and I'm tempted by 3 of the Season 2 teams... the Female Corp Team isn't interesting me right now. I'll be grabbing the the keeper models and see if I can stretch to one of those acrylic pitches and maybe those trophies. Peace out!

23 comments:

  1. I really like the look of Dreadball, but I'm afraid I'll have to give it a miss. I can't keep buying up every new game, it's just not sustainable! Although I'll admit it pains me not to press that pledge button.

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    1. Hell no!!! I can totally understand that. I too have hit the 'miss' button on a fair few crowd funding projects lately, and I'm going to be honest, Dreadball and Relic Knights are the last ones for me for quite some time buddeh! Nope I'm all crowd funded out. I'm still waiting on:

      Tentacle Bento
      Sedition Wars
      Bushido Ito stuff
      Relic Knights
      DreadBall
      Gruntz

      and I'm sure a few others as well. I'm not going to be funding anymore crowd funding projects for some time I think. Unless Cool Mini or Not get a Confrontation Kickstarter going... in which case, all bets are off and I'll be getting my Elves!!!

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    2. That's quite a list of gaming goodness! I'm expecting:
      Dark Potential
      Bushido
      Sedition Wars
      Relic Knights
      Dreamforge Games

      And you hit the nail right on the head. Considering CMON's history I'd be surprised if they didn't do a Confrontation one. And those models look way to good to pass up!

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    3. Well you say that the Confrontation miniatures look way too good to pass up... but let me assure you that first time round, scandalously far too many gamers did pass up on Rackhams Confrontation. Its a travesty I tell you! Hopefully Legacy Miniatures and CMoN will have far better luck with it this time around. I'm certainly keeping my fingers crossed.

      As to my list, I know I'm missing some things I've backed off of that list... I just can't remember what! But hey, looks like you've got a pretty good bunch of stuff to look forward too as well.

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    4. I hope they pull it off too! The original Confrontation is from before my time, but I've read good things about (well, about the game anyway :p)

      Look at it as a surprise present to yourself when one of those unaccounted for packages arrives at your door ;)

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    5. Yeah it'll be like having lots of mini Christmases... AWESOME!!!

      Or not, you know, depending on how you view the holiday seasons.

      As to Confrontation... well it was for quite a long time a really fabulous product range, with a pretty decent set of rules. None of the rule sets were perfect, even 3.5, which many claim to be wargaming nirvana had its issues... but then Rackham went all mental on us and decided they wanted to commit commercial suicide in the most spectacular way imaginable. I'm still impressed with how they managed to do it so quickly, and in such spectacular fashion. Apparently you could see the implosion from space it was that big!!! :P

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    6. Never known the game, but I've read alot of gushing over 3.5, but I imagine nostalgia might play a role in that.

      I've read some bits and pieces about prepainted minis. Was that the only reason things went so apocalyptically wrong for Rackham or where there others things happening as well?

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    7. Most people put it down to the pre-painted mini's. I'm not so sure. True they weren't the best quality product, but a lot of people actually liked the pre-painted route. I actually knew people who started wargaming with Confrontation when it went pre-painted. However, the question remains was that influx, of mainly card and board gamers enough to offset the exodus of wargamers? Honestly I haven't a clue. So I wouldn't say one way or the other. But a good swathe of stalwart Confrontation fans were unhappy with the shift.

      The second, and for me biggest balls up was the move to Age of Rag'Narok. It was a confused and strange business decision for me. Confrontation was a largish skirmish game, sort of similar in size and scale to say a 50 point HoMachine game, possibly as much as a 75 point game if you were feeling frisky! With Age of Rag'Narok that all changed.

      The game became more of a mass combat game, more akin in size to something like Warhammer Fantasy. This huge up-shift in the number of miniatures required to play really threw a lot of people. We weren't expecting it tbh. Confrontation miniatures were as a 1 to 1 comparison significantly more expensive at the time than GW's rank and file. True they were all beautiful sculpts, but the shear amount required was... well astronomically expensive.

      Secondly the game while still being Confrontation in many of its mechanics, and ostensibly the same game... it really wasn't in practice. The profiles and the terminology was the same, but there were simplifications to make the thing 'supposedly' run smoother, but it didn't work entirely well.

      The miniatures range wasn't designed for mass combat, the mechanics were originally designed for mass combat. So over night Rackham asked people to buy into a totally new concept that many had left behind because they were sick of large-scale battles with identikit plastic rank and file. It was amess, and I don't think those at the top of the company really thought about what they had and what they were doing.

      Honestly though there were other strange and bizarre business decisions taken with Dust Studios and other partners, like distributors. If Rackham had been competently run, and not managed by so many huge ego's I think it might still be around today and thriving. I mean what they had at the time was way more compelling than Privateer Presses offering... and look where they are now!

      I've wanted to do an article on the demise of Rackham and interview many of those who were involved at the time. Because it seemed that all their partners, all their fans and even their competitors could see what they were doing wrong, but their convictions and belief were unshakable. Such a shame, but perhaps finally with Legacy Miniatures and CMoN we'll all get the version of Confrontation we all want and deserve. Only time will tell.

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    8. Wow, thanks for the reply! Very interesting stuff!

      That article and those interviews sound great, although you'd be giving yourself a whole load of work with them. I'm starting to notice a patern here ;)

      I for one hope they will pull it off with the new version. But like you say, we'll see.

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    9. Ahh yes Confronation... I have a LOT of Confrontation stuff... including armies for Dirz, Griffins, Lions, and Elves, plus lots of misc stuff. I'd love to see Confrontation come back again.

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    10. So there's another guy waiting for the game to come back! Sadly I sold all my stuff just before legacy miniatures announced they were starting to reproduce, or hell, even hoping to re-produce Confrontation miniatures. Slightly gutted about it all I guess... but not totally. Means I get to start all over again and do a faction properly this time.

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    11. Yeah I was about to eBay everything when Legacy appeared, so stayed my hand for the moment. Likely will still rationalise what I have. Elves will go... Dirz will likely stay, not sure about the others.

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    12. Well you're lucky... or very wise you didn't get shot of you Confrontation mini's. I'm looking forward to seeing the stuff re-released again and seeing what sort of impact it makes second time around.

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  2. I to would like to get into Dreadball, if I had the spare cash. Who knows my be some rich relative will die and leave me a fortune I never knew about...

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    1. You ever seen the program on TV called Fortune Hunters? I was watching it the other day and some brothers got a share of an £845k estate from an uncle they didn't even know existed. They were a right pair of chavs as well. Life isn't fair sometimes, it's really not. Just imagine how many toy soldiers we could have brought with that between us!

      Mate I know what being skint is like, I really honestly do. I totally get that the Dreadball Kickstarter landed at a really tough time for most hobby budgets as well. Just a shame so many seem like they're going to miss out when they really don't want to.

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    2. I can save my pennys and buy the game when it appears. That is really the only option for me.

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    3. Unless some handsome, dashing, debonair, articulate and supremely intelligent Blogger out there manages to get a copy of the game to give away free to one of his lucky readers. all you have to do now is find a handsome, dashing, debonair, articulate and supremely intelligent blogger... good luck with that!!!

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  3. All that and not even a link? You could have saved yourself all the cross posting and only posted the link.
    But I degress, I'm kinda tired of the flood of kickstarter projects out there. At the very least your highlighting some of the better ones out there.

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    1. Erm there actually should have been two links in there... BUT... it appears I did them wrong.

      As to all the crowd funding projects? Yeah. I too am getting tired of them. I've highlighted ones I think might have been worth backing, or have backed myself. Truth is I'm not going to recommend something I'm not willing to spend my own cash on. Doesn't seem right somehow.

      Any way I'm off to fix those chuffing links now.

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    2. Well that was weird!!! Just loads of redundant code everywhere. Got to love Blogger.

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  4. That coach in the wheelchair doesn't look at all like Patches O'Hoolahan, Rip Torn's character from Dodgeball. Not at all.

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    1. Whatever could you mean? A kickstarter doing a homage to a movie / TV character? Yeah... well a lot of these limited edition or special miniatures in these Kickstarters take there cues from such sources... I will however be totally honest and say I hadn't spotted the patches look-a-like. So you get Internet points for that!

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