Buying scenery one tree at a time is how clubs end up with three lonely pines and a half-painted ruin. Nottingham-based Mantic Games has a tidier answer in its new Fantasy Battlefield Pack, an £80 (about $115) bundle that drops enough kit on the table to fill a full 6'x4' battlefield in one go. Wargamer reckons it punches well above its weight for clubs and stores looking to outfit a table without three months of painting.
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Set up your group for freeThe box bundles printed neoprene templates for difficult terrain and forest footprints, a stack of PVC trees and drystone walls in browns and greys from Mantic's existing Terrain Crate range, and push-fit precoloured cardboard buildings in a medieval style. Plastic hills are an extra £18 a pair, but the rest is ready to use straight out of the wrapper. Mantic also offers a 20 percent bulk discount on orders of four packs, which is a sensible nudge for any club running more than one game on a Saturday.
Mantic has form here. The company was founded in 2008 by ex-Games Workshop managing director Ronnie Renton and sits squarely in Nottingham's so-called Lead Belt of miniatures makers. Its flagship game Kings of War, designed by ex-GW veteran Alessio Cavatore (Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game), has built a reputation for being friendlier to wallets than its big neighbour up the road, and the Terrain Crate range applies the same logic to scenery. Nothing in the box is going to win a Golden Demon, but it looks tidy with a quick wash and primer, and that is exactly the trade-off most clubs are happy to make.
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See how it worksIf you are kicking off a fantasy night for your group, this is the lazy-but-respectable route to a proper-looking table. New club starting up? List your venue on Backseat Gamer and get a few players through the door before the trees go on it.
Sources: Wargamer | Mantic Games | Wikipedia
