After the recent Battle Report with No Quarter Editor-in-Chief Lyle Lowery in No Quarter #62, we were infused with holiday cheer and looking forward to the rest of the season.

Thus, with our overwhelming seasonal euphoria, it was the natural time to work on this year’s winter bundles. We had a great time putting these together last year, so we couldn’t wait to get started on this year’s exciting offerings!

We want to take a moment to talk about the thought process behind some of the different bundles this year. There will be three broad categories of bundles:

So, what’s in the various bundles?

Board, Card, and Roleplaying Game Bundles

These bundles are meant to offer something for everyone, whether it’s the full experience of a line (as in our LEVEL 7 bundles) or the perfect launching point to dive into the world of High Command. Our favorite of these bundles has to be the RPG bundles because it has been an absolutely incredible year for the Iron Kingdoms Roleplaying Game. It started out with the release of the Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Core Rules, followed quickly with the Unleashed Adventure Kit. Then the unique Iron Kingdoms Unleashed: Skorne Empire supplement came out just in time for Gen Con. With so many awesome products debuting this year, we wanted to make sure new players had a great place to dive in, so we created the Unleashed Experience Bundle. It comes with everything an aspiring group of players needs to jump right into the wild side of the Iron Kingdoms Roleplaying Game.

Intro Army Bundles

These bundles are a response to an idea that’s been floating around the office for a while: How do we give new players a complete introduction to all aspects of WARMACHINE and HORDES? Geared toward new players who may be unfamiliar with miniature war games, these bundles come with the core materials players need to get started—a battle box, rulebook, paint brush, paints, tokens, templates, and a partridge in a pear tree (Note: partridge nor tree actually included). If you or someone you know has ever been curious about miniature war gaming but didn’t quite know where to start, this is the deal for you!

25-Point Army Bundles

Finally, we come to this year’s 25-Point Army Bundles. At their core, WARMACHINE and HORDES are games where heroes take to the field to battle one another, surrounded by massive warjacks and ferocious warbeasts. The stories behind the relationships between the warcasters or warlocks and their battlegroups was what we were looking to highlight in these bundles. It was essential that each bundle include a warcaster or warlock and their character ’jack or beast because they are the core elements of each team, with a bond forged over countless battles. They have grown to know and trust one another, to rely upon each other. These groups are supported in the field by elements of their nation’s army. This provided another great chance to highlight this support through the use of the Theme Forces. Theme Forces offer a great opportunity to build upon the personality of the battlegroup as it influences the army around it. So, while each bundle may not immediately satisfy all of the requirements of the chosen warcaster or warlock’s Theme Force, they provide key elements for the player to be able to build into as the army grows.

So, there you have it: a quick look into the winter bundles on sale now through December 28th! We hope this has been helpful and that you’ve enjoyed this little sneak peak into the development process. We wish you and your family all the best this holiday season—until next time, remember to get out there and have fun!