A lot of thought goes into which Privateer Pins to do next—in fact, we had a month-long discussion about how to balance the pins for release in 2015. Which pins would best be released at conventions? Which pins should be limited editions? Which pins should be unique to an event? Faction vs. character vs. insignia vs. variants, chibi vs. zombie vs. gobber. What gets translucence, which pins should be pin-on-pin, what special features can any given pin have?

It’s an exciting discussion. And to kick off the pins for this year, I’m especially excited about the six new badge pins we’re releasing this month.

Of these new pins, the Northguard Gravediggers is easily my favorite, though every one of them has its own individual merit in its details. The fine cuts in the extended flames of the Northern Crusade badge, for instance, are a nice addition, and the eye slits on the Cryxian Black Fleet badge’s skull give it the right amount of menace.

Of course, that’s not all that’s coming: I really dig the new chibis (the Shae and Hawk combo is especially cool—like Kaya and Laris, it’s a pin-on-pin set), a couple of exclusive releases for Europe, and three new characters (Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince, being an inevitable favorite), but the badges in particular seem right to me. On an army bag, they declare faction allegiance. They’re militaristic. They’re like medals on an officer’s uniform. Hell, they’re badges of honor.

And of course, for those of us actively pursuing a full collection of all Privateer Pins, the badges add another solid half-pound of metal to our lanyards. There ought to be a medal pin for that.

Maybe I’ll see if we can get one on the schedule for 2016.