(commercial) Mantic Kings of War Vanguard Rulebook on pre-order sale

[zemjw]

The new rulebook is on sale for £12.49 (half price) until October 27th - http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war-vanguard/product/kings-of-war-vanguard-rulebook.html

Vanguard is fantasy skirmish game set in the world of Mantica. It is a magical place, full of wonder, but also one of conflict and war, as almighty armies clash and empires crumble. Gods and demons roam the world and the skies light up with the crackle of magic. The mortal races strive for dominance across the vastness of the world; from the depths of the oceans, across to the deserts and plains, to the soaring mountain ranges and ice-covered peaks – there is adventure, glory and peril to be had in equal measure.

Vanguard gives you the chance to explore the world through the eyes of an elite Warband. As neighbours and kingdoms wage war, it’s often the deeds of a hand-picked few - specialists in their trade - that ultimately win wars for their masters. Whether they are tasked with plundering an enemy camp, burning their stores, stealing information or assassination of an enemy commander, the scouting parties of the vanguard are always in the thick of the action, operating alone and in the greatest of danger.

This book includes all of the core rules for playing Vanguard, including unit entries, scenarios,campaign system, advanced spells and abilities, and rules for tying your games into Kings of War!

Not sure how it will play as a skirmish ruleset and how generic it is, but I am tempted to take a chance for that price.

They're also doing a very large giant (190mm tall) at the moment - link.

[Sir_Theo]

A large plastic giant at a very reasonable price has to be good!

[Tungdil]

I'm interested in the rules and the giant is really cool.

[Paboook]

There is lot of info about the game at Mantic blog: https://manticblog.com

Power dice seem to be the most interesting part of the rules to me - they bring many tactical option into play and break the predictability that hits many gaming systems.

Also this review of campaign system is pretty exciting!

[Munindk]

£13 to ship a book to Denmark...

It will be cheaper to wait and pay full price at a retailer with free shipping.

[robh]

They are also scamming on the £GBP exchange rates. They are surcharging close to 25% over the actual price.  The same trick that Wargames Foundry and GW use.

On the £12.99 they are charging €17.49 instead of the actual €14.07 and the £24.99 boxes should be €28.16  but they are charging €34.99

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

£13 to ship a book to Denmark...

It will be cheaper to wait and pay full price at a retailer with free shipping.

In New Zealand I can pre-order Vanguard through Mighty Ape , an online book and games store, for $24.99 (which is bang on 12 quid). 
I have seen some of the Youtube games of this.  I think it looks good, but for a solo game I don't like the mechanism of alternate movement of figures.

[zemjw]

They've just put the PDF of the rules up for free on the website link

There are three files for you to download:

• Kings of War: Vanguard Core Rules - rules, two scenarios, basic spellbook and basic equipment list
• Core Warband Lists - Basileans, Dwarfs, Elves, Northern Alliance, Forces of Nature, Ogres, The Trident Realm, Abyssal Dwarfs, Forces of the Abyss, Empire of Dust, Goblins, Nightstalkers, Orcs and Undead
• Summary Sheet

[Munindk]

Very nice!

I've only just skimmed the rules but they seem interesting, at the very least worth a read through. The only thing offputting is the use of special dice. At first glance it looks like a mix of warhammer and warmaching, but with less chrunch.
The range of warbands looks decent and they seem generic enough that I think its easy to do a "counts as force".

The campaign rules and scenarios arent available free, but thats fair enough.

[Daeothar]

£13 to ship a book to Denmark...

It will be cheaper to wait and pay full price at a retailer with free shipping.

If you change the currency/country at the top of the product page to EU instead of UK, the book clocks in at €17,49 and postage within the EU is a flat €10,- so the total comes to €27,49.

Not too bad I suppose. I am completely ignorant regarding this game though; the short text on the product page is pretty generic fare, but skirmish games are always interesting to me, so I'll dive in a bit deeper before deciding...

+++EDIT+++ For those (like me), who would like to dry fit before building, here are the abbreviated rules, free to download from Mantic's own website...

[Hobby Services]

There are quite a few playthrough and teaser videos for Vanguard on youtube already.  The rules sound okay, and you can certainly get a feel for them through watching a vid or two.

[Munindk]

If you change the currency/country at the top of the product page to EU instead of UK, the book clocks in at €17,49 and postage within the EU is a flat €10,- so the total comes to €27,49.

Thank you thats very useful and a little odd of Mantic to set it up that way.
The discounted book and shipping is still about €2 more expensive than paying full prize from a dealer with free shipping.

[Malebolgia]

So glad I bought this book during the Kickstarter, the game sounds like tons of fun. We currently play a lot of Deadzone (one of my favorite games ever) and this seems similar in design and scope. The game seems to be fast, fun and with lots of tactical options. And exploding D8s! All doable in 1-1.5 hours. This combination is perfect for the young working dads . We can play two relaxed games in the evening, still have time to chat and go to bed in time.
I can't wait to receive this, I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun with this

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

I watched the Youtube videos fro this and it looks like a fun game.  The only problem for me is that I don't think it will solo game well.  I find the game mechanic of moving only one figure per side alternately just doesn't work solo.  For the same reason I don't see Blood Eagle working for me. 
But if you are playing with real, live opponents I think this will provide a great game.

[Malebolgia]

No, I think it's not a great solo game. But there are lots of great alternatives, right? Have you seen the upcoming 'Rangers of Shadow Deep' by Joseph McCullough? Seems like a fantastic solo game!