On Wednesday, Mantic Games released a new Fantasy Battlefield Pack, a set with enough terrain to fill a respectable six foot by four foot battlefield for an approachable $115 / £80. Containing woods, hills, buildings, walls, and area terrain, this looks like a decent one-shot solution for new players or stores hoping to fill a table for Kings of War or Warhammer: The Old World, and should only require minimal prep to get everything into a playable state.
I'm intrigued by the compromises that Mantic has made balancing aesthetics, convenience, and playability - and I mean that as a good thing. Warhammer terrain can be cheap, it can be easy to get onto the battlefield, it can be highly detailed and finished, but it can't master all three at the same time. The Fantasy Battlefield Pack uses a mix of materials to produce something that does pretty well on all three axes, without committing to any of them fully.
The set uses printed neoprene (mousemat material) templates for patches of difficult terrain, muddy ground, and the footprint of forests. The trees in the woods and drystone walls are existing designs from Mantic's Terrain Crate range, and are cast in slightly flexible PVC plastic.
They're dark brown and stone grey respectively, so they're usable right out of the box. In my experience Terrain Crate miniatures paint up quite nicely, though they sometimes require a wash with soapy water before they'll take primer well.
The buildings are made from push-fit precolored cardboard, and though I haven't tested specific models, Mantic uses the same kind of scenery in Halo: Flashpoint and it works well there.
Then there's the new hills, which will come as bare grey plastic. They're being sold separately for $25 / £18 for a pair, and my suspicion is that they're vacuum formed rather than injection molded plastic - which won't matter a jot provided they're good and sturdy. It won't be hard to tart them up with glue, flock, and a few stuck on grass tufts either.
All told, I don't think this will be the most gorgeous terrain set, or the absolute quickest to get on the table, or even the cheapest. But it should take very little effort to put together, will fill a gaming table for a competitive price, look solid right out of the box, and not need very much more effort to make it look pretty darn good. Mantic is also offering a 20% discount for a bundle of four sets, which it's marketing at stores and clubs looking to outfit a bunch of tables at once.
What do you think - is the price right? Or are the compromises the wrong ones? Do you know a better deal that will get terrain onto the battlefield quicker? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord community. Anyone who suggests "3D printing" as a cheaper, faster way to make terrain is welcome to trouble shoot my Neptune 4 pro, and I mean that as a threat.