APOTHEOSIS MKIV
Way back in the second year of WARMACHINE, during what we would later call the “MKI” days, we introduced our second expansion book, Apotheosis. At the time, it was the most ambitious project we had ever attempted—highly experimental and driven entirely by our passion for exploring the world of the Iron Kingdoms in story, artwork, and miniatures. We were excited to push the boundaries of what we had done before: to take our designs to new places in an effort to surprise and delight anyone who enjoyed WARMACHINE.
Eighteen years later, as we prepare to wrap up our twentieth year of making miniatures games, nothing has changed. Our passion for the setting, for the game, and for pushing the boundaries of what we can do with miniatures has not waned. And as we head into our second year of the “MKIV days,” we’re as excited as ever to roll out what we have dubbed our “Apotheosis” series, a nod to the original project that redefined how we looked at miniatures design.
Among the various goals we had for Apotheosis in MKI was the creation of a warcaster that would occupy a 50 mm base, one for each of the four Factions at the time. Up to this point, most warcasters were on 30 mm bases (with the exception of a few notable characters that were on 40s). The motivation to make larger warcasters came from a simple place: we wanted more space to work artistically. We had visions that could not be contained to a 30 mm base, of a warcaster escorted by an entourage of acolytes, of an undead-mechanika-pirate-demon, massive steam-powered armor, and a man literally encased in a machine. And bullishly, we captured these visions in hand-wrought putty, recast in metal, to create some of the most iconic and audacious characters of WARMACHINE’s original four Factions.
Today, we work very differently. The models are digitally sculpted and we use an additive manufacturing process (e.g., 3D printing), which allows us to continue to explore the boundaries of what we can do with miniatures. The first model we’re introducing in the new Apotheosis series, Scyrafael, Nis-Issyr of Desolation, is one of the most complex-looking designs we have ever attempted—a dynamically posed levitating warcaster telekinetically wielding a wave of swords around her. For any House Kallyss players looking forward to leading a force with her, you’ll be pleased to know that the time between unboxing Scyrafael and standing her up on your tabletop will be measured in seconds, not minutes or hours as some of our more complex models have taken in the past. Scyrafael, Nis-Issyr of Desolation, is two pieces (plus the base).
Producing larger, complex pieces like this while striving to keep them simple to assemble comes with a tradeoff. They have longer manufacturing times and require more meticulous oversight than general rank-and-file miniatures. As such, we’re producing them to order and will pace the Apotheosis series out at about one new release per month, available directly from Privateer. While they will not be offered through normal distribution channels, they are also available for retailers to order directly.
Scyrafael, Nis-Issyr of Desolation, is now available to preorder and will begin shipping the week of January 1st. She’ll be followed up by the shark-surfing Braghen Ragemonger and the most heavily armored warcaster we have conceived of to date, Captain Raef Huxley. Don’t despair if an Apotheosis leader for your chosen army hasn’t appeared yet—after all, we still have some exciting creations that we can’t wait to share with you next year!
Happy holidays!
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