New York Toy Faire previews the WoW mini game
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Apr 3rd 2008 at 6:45PM
The WoW Minis Game has a bit to go before it sees release in Fall 2008, but wowminifan.com has some news fresh from the New York Toy Fair to whet your appetite, including a few pictures. The miniatures themselves especially look pretty awesome, and I can see a lot of non-players buying sets just for display purposes, especially if they haven't managed to get their hands on a Figureprint.
According to the report, it looks like the system is "tick based." Each round will take 10 ticks, and each figure has a set of abilities that it will be able to use which cost a certain number of ticks. The game is apparently based around accumulating "Victory points" in order to win. The amount of victory points is based upon the amount of Honor points you have, which is based upon the size of your army.
By way of example, the folks at wowminifan.com were able to grab a shot of the card for Vindicator Hodoon. The card, much like WoW TCG cards, lists a class, spec, an attack and defense rating and a set of abilities. In a somewhat amusing twist, Vindicator Hodoon is Holy spec, but insists on weilding a Might of Menethil. We can only hope he's using the updated level 70 80 version that will no doubt drop from the revamped Naxxramas, but still, you'd think he'd go for a +healing weapon! But seriously, this guy doesn't look half bad. He has a version of Devotion Aura that grants an extra 1 armor to all allies within 1 hex of him in addition to his normal attack, so that looks cool. It should be fun to see if other classes have similar "buff" abilities.
While it's worth noting that all these mechanics could change before the game is finally released, but it's great to see the game taking shape, and I know I'm already lusting after it. Even if I can't get my friends to play with me, I figure the figures should make great display pieces. How about you? Does this news get you drooling for the game?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, WoW TCG
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lenina Apr 3rd 2008 7:05PM
The revamped Naxx will drop level 80 weapons, not level 70...
mattarin Apr 3rd 2008 11:11PM
i think i will buy a bunch and recreate some of the wars
TheTreasoner Apr 4th 2008 12:28AM
At (the cheapest, starters are even more expensive) $5/mini, this game is a giant pass, and its even more apparent that that choice is the correct one with each bit of information that I learn about this game. The minis are just that, mini-sized figures that have absolutely no articulation or any features that warrant the $5/mini price tag in the slightest. Even if you figure in the fact the card costs money, why would anyone play this game over Star Wars ($15 for 7) or Heroclix ($11 for 5), completely ignoring the fact that both of these games use cards as well. WoW Minis aren't made out of metal (as far as I know) and aren't a larger size than SWM or Heroclix, so what is the $3/mini extra, for? Paint?
A Man In Black Apr 4th 2008 2:14AM
I'd say licensing, but DC and Marvel and Lucas are the biggest hardasses about licensing fees around, so I dunno.
Itzaal Apr 4th 2008 4:42AM
As an avid miniature painter (Warhammer 40,000 and the like), I'd be interested in buying these and redoing the crap paint job they have on them - but the fact that they're not metal is a bit of a turn-off, and it's also difficult to tell whether or not they have an acceptable level of physical detail.
kiaus Apr 4th 2008 6:42AM
They look ok to me, and seem to have a better paint job than anything I managed with Warhammer.
The price aside, they seem nicely tooled, although these are just prototypes. 3 minis in a box for $15 is a rip-off, I bet it will be at least £9.99 per box here in the UK.
What I find amusing with this is that the Warcraft franchise has kind of gone full circle. The original Warcraft: Orcs vs Humans was obviously derived from Warhammer, and IIRC was originally intended as a Warhammer product, until Games Workshop got their heads in a mess about the idea of people playing their games on computers.
Now the two franchises will be competing in every sphere, with a Warhammer MMORPG and a Warcraft minatures tabletop game. Irony, or the inevitability of expanding markets ?
McKree Apr 4th 2008 8:02AM
I've been playing Warhammer for years, and I'm used to paying 10€ for a single metal mini, because that's what you have to pay for a certain kind of quality (in metal) and I've always sneered at pre-painted figures of all kinds because, frankly, they were usually far less detailed, though much cheaper, I'll give them that.
Now these however, well, they look good actually, by far not the best I've ever seen, but they look better than many other CMG-Minis out there. As Itzaal said, they've got potential if you simply go the extra mile or ten that you cannot achieve on a mass-produced miniature without inflating the price beyond practicability.
Doc Winter Apr 4th 2008 6:08PM
something of note I just picked up on, these are NOT 28mm figures, (like star wars, hero clicks, warhammer, etc) these are 40mm figures.
seankreynolds Apr 8th 2008 2:50PM
Right, you're paying for size and the added detail you can have with a larger mini.