The Twelve Days of Mantic Christmas #11: Mantic Madness

Following up on yesterday’s blog, today we’ll be taking a look at what’s happened with Kings of War over the last year.

Earlier in the year, we were gearing up for the free rules release – we were updating the online pdfs to match the 2nd Edition rules. We were going to send links to these to everyone on the newsletter. That’s when the madness started. Chris came over in the afternoon of the release, looking shaken.

“Can you double check the newsletter numbers for me, please?”

So, we did, then went straight over to Ronnie, who was speechless – a rare thing. Over the last week our newsletter subscriptions had grown by 600% – more growth than the whole year preceding it. We suddenly had the largest viewership we’d ever seen and it was still growing. Our website traffic was off the charts and Customer Service was inundated with questions about rules and armies and the game itself. To put this technical piece into context, the world had gone utterly bonkers. Normally activity spikes die off quite quickly, but this one hasn’t.

The traffic and player base has continued to grow exponentially and we’re now working in ways which we previously never thought possible. Everything is a whirlwind of activity, from the warehouse shipping out orders faster than we could resupply the stock, to the studio working on all manner of new models and books. We’ve been hiring new staff and changing working methods to keep up with demand and we’re now settled for the work ahead.

With Dungeon Saga, Uncharted Empires, Destiny of Kings and the Kings of War 2nd Edition rulebooks, we’ve expanded Mantica in a short time and really got behind the game. We’re releasing new models and armies as quickly as we can produce them and the year ahead looks very exciting indeed. The increased activity is being put back into the game, to create more models to fill in the gaps in the army lists.

The Undead Wights are a Large Infantry unit who pack a real punch with Crushing Strength(3) and Brutal. We’re looking at creating a three model metal set to let players field these alongside their shambling hordes. Am I the only one loving the burning Skull?

The Elven Silverbreeze Cavalry are lightly armoured bowmen mounted on horseback. Ideal for ranging ahead and taking out enemy warmachines, or threatening an opponents flank, they are some of the most maneuverable cavalry in the game. We’re looking to produce a five strong cavalry set to reinforce elven armies.

These are just a taster of what we have in mind for Kings of War in the months going forward. There is a lot more in the works (the Studio keeps telling me off for rooting around in folders) and we’ll never stop supporting this amazing game. From all of us at Mantic, thank you.

Okay, one more!

The Undead Wights and Elven Silverbreeze Cavalry will hit retail shelves in March, alongside a raft of other new models for Kings of War!