Resurgent miniature wargame Warmachine has just opened pre-orders for a new plastic two-player starter set, Frozen and Forgotten. It's the third such set since new owner Steamforged Games took the helm on the game, and the first appearance of two new subfactions to the game - the Orgoth Graveborn and Dusk Final Hunt.
Warmachine fans may already be familiar with these models, which were on display in Steamforged's cabinets during GenCon, followed by two teaser trailers that dropped last weekend. The set is now available to pre-order from the Steamforged webstore for $99.99 (£79.99) until November 14.
The Orgoth Graveborn are the undead remnants of ancient Orgoth invaders who conquered the lands of Immoren thousands of years ago. Their tomb complexes have been part of Warmachine lore since it was a DnD campaign supplement and not a miniature wargame - it's very cool to see these old designs for ancient war constructs realised as modern sculpts.
The force is led by Anathia, who "shields her cohort from harm, turning their ranks into an unyielding wall of steel and bone", as well as firing off spells to "strip the strength from her enemies". That gnarly whip can also drag enemies into melee range for her allies to bash, such as the three hulking Orgoth Execrators. Though I initially assumed this was a slow moving force, Steamforged's description says they "move with unnatural speed".
There are two Orgoth Warbeasts in the box, a Barrow Ghoul with great big blazing soul braziers on its shoulders, and a Charnel Hound, the undead remains of a two headed Argus wolf.
The massive Revenant Champion might look a lot like another tomb construct, but it's a solo (independent warrior), equipped with hellforged fellblades, who "cuts through enemy elites with contemptuous ease".
The Dusk Final Hunt are Nyss elves. Warmachine goes very hard on the "dwindling race" trope for elves - all their gods are dead. The Nyss elves had a particularly hard time of it, with most of their people corrupted by the dragon Everblight even before their gods died. The Final Hunt are pretty much all that remains.
This set sees the return of three characters from earlier editions of the game. The force is led by the Warlock Lanyssa Rysyll, who was a mercenary solo that could be included in many other forces during earlier editions of the game.
She's joined by Cylena Raefyll, last seen leading a unit of Nyss mercenaries - but apparently they're all long dead. The character unit known as the Last Watch - the final remnants of the Nyss' army - is led by Aelyth Vyr, also another former solo.
The set contains two character Nyss Warbeasts, both of them sabertooth ice lions from the Burningfrost Plain. According to Steamforged, Benkei is a bruiser who can crash through enemy lines, while Sasha "strikes from the flanks, pinning prey for the kill or darting deep into enemy lines" - I wouldn't be surprised if she's got the "leap" ability.
My one criticism is that these two minis look extremely similar, and it's going to be a little tough to tell them apart when you face them across the table.
Both of these forces contain Warlocks and Warbeasts, but their two parent factions Dusk and Orgoth are led by Warcasters and Warjacks. This suggests that these are the first models for two new subfactions that will sit under the Dusk and Orgoth banners, joining the existing House Kalyss and Sea Raiders subfactions.
Steamforged says that all of the cadre models can be used in the existing subfactions. The character unit and solo can be taken normally, while the leader is available as a Lesser Warlock solo who brings the Warbeasts from the box as their fixed cohort.
I received review samples of both of the previous plastic Warmachine starter sets. The models are well divided up into components and go together very easily just by following the sprue numbering. The resulting figures are packed with character, and I found them a genuine pleasure to paint - though you've got to be on board with Warmachine's signature exaggerated style to enjoy them as much as I do. Both sets contain really interesting forces that are right at home in their respective factions.
If Warmachine's starters have had a weakness so far, it's that they're not great entry points to the game for new players. Individual models in Warmachine can have quite a lot of abilities, which means there's lots of interesting choices to make even in the smallest game size, but this does mean it can be complex.
Both forces in the first two player starter set contained a 'character unit' in which all three models were unique, contributing unique abilities to the whole squad which the unit would lose if that model was killed. It's a pain to track.
Steamforged simplified character units for the follow-up set Shadows and Scum and single-army starter sets since - at most, models in a character unit will have different weapons. The equivalent units in Frozen and Forgotten should be similarly statted.
Shadows and Scum had its own pitfalls that arose from the way the different units interacted. For example, all the units in the Khymaera Sharde Nocturnes force benefit from 'Flying High', making them count as further away from their enemies than they actually are when targeted by ranged attacks. The ability comes from the force's leader, and as such is only written down in her unit rules - so new players are likely to miss it when they check the stats of any other unit that is being shot at.
Still, Warmachine's big selling point - aside from the tasty minis - is the depth of the rules and the rich decisions it offers during play as well as in list building. In that regard, both existing starter sets are a very good introduction to the game, if perhaps a rocky one. Perhaps Frozen and Forgotten can deliver similar depth, but give new players some pool floats to hang onto.
If you're new or returning to Warmachine, hop into the Wargamer Discord community. We've got some enviably talented painters in the chat who keep dropping stunning figures from the game's latest edition.
Inspired to pick these up? Make sure you check out our guide to painting miniatures for some top tips - or hop into our live Discord AMA with Warhammer painting legend Duncan Rhodes, coming on August 28!