Forgotten Kiiiiiiiiiiiiing! </faint>

That’s right, the first completed sample of Forgotten King made it to us for approval. Because we wanted to show it off at PAX South we had it sent straight to the ninjas working the convention. Unfortunately, that means those of us here at the studio have not seen it yet or had a chance to take pictures of it to share with you. You can be sure we will do take lots of photos next week when it returns home!

Shipping Update

Official Update of Officialness: We are, 100%, going to be shipping in two Waves.

Fortunately, the first wave is the entire Always Super pledge, so you will be receiving the lion’s share of the product straight off. The second wave is almost done but is just going to miss beating Chinese New Year. Boo!

On our end everything has been approved so, like you, we are in “waiting with bated breath” mode. Well us designersare anyway. Our logistics ninjas who oversee production and shipping are now working in frenzy mode making sure a worldwide backer distribution goes off as smoothly as possible. They accept donations of coffee and spirits.

Pretty Colors!

When we received our first production samples of the models we whisked them off to our wonderful painting studio, Minx. They have been diligently applying a beautiful coat of paint on them ever since. Now we’re getting our first work-in-progress shots of the paint jobs. Take a look!

OGRE!

The loveable brute Rex returns to Super Dungeon Explore 2nd Edition with a mighty bellow and lots of cuddles. Two Rex models are included with the Super Dungeon Explore 1st Edition Box which is still available, for a little while, at the Soda Pop Store.

Like all mini-bosses, Rex is a Super monster, and can be activated either by spending his four Skull Points or as the Consul’s free Super monster activation.

For defense Rex has a solid, if not great, ARM of 2 red, mitigated a bit by his 6 hearts.

Rex is plods about with only 5 movement points. However, this lack of speed is made up for by a lengthy melee range of 3 squares. Which is nice because Rex is all about melee offensive actions.

Starting with a base STR of 2 red and 2 blue, Rex easily increases his offensive potential thanks to the ability Mob, which grants an additional +1 blue STR for every model with Mob in range with Rex’s target.

For unique offensive actions Rex has a whole lot of love to give to the Heroes. His 1 action pointThwomp has a melee range of 3 squares and pushes the target 5 squares. Using Thwomp to protect fragile monsters or to knock Heroes into dangerous tile effects is a wonderful thing to do!

Rex Cuddle requires Rex to get up close and personal with a melee range of 1 square. The extra affection is worth it with the target suffering the crippling status effects Bane and Hex.

When Rex encounters a truly tough Hero he can expend 3 action points for Rex Smash! This brutal offensive action has a melee range of 3 squares, grants Rex +1 green STR and inflictsMassive Damage, which causes 2 wounds instead of one. Fully mobbed up Rex Smash rolls 5 blue, 2 red, and 1 green dice. Love it!

In Arcade Mode, like most mini-bosses, Rex behaves very much like his Classic Mode version.

A STR of 4 stars and ARM of 2 stars are good stout offense and defense attributes. His hearts get a boost to 8, requiring a concerted effort to bring him down.

Rex Smash becomes a signature action, activating every time a Fight command is drawn.

Rex Cuddle changes slightly, losing Hex and gaining Immobile which prevents the target from moving during their next activation. This change was made due to his loss of Push. (Compel effects on monsters in Arcade Mode generally don’t work well without a Consul.) We wanted him to still have some board control potential, and a hug that lasts longer than the comfortable 3 seconds seemed to fit the bill!

Ogres Taste Better With Salt

Salt is the result of a Salt Pillar spawning point, which binds Faeries, being destroyed. The Faeries that remain imprisoned within the salt crystals animate the rubble and lash out with their primal magic. Salt is available as part of the Mistmourn Coast Warband.

Salt is a sturdy and reliable mini-boss. With 6 hearts, an ARM of 2 stars and 1 red, and the ability Immune: Status Effects. You need to grind Salt down the good old fashioned way—with a salt mill. Without a hobbit (kobold?) on hand, a sword, axe, or magical staff will do in a pinch.

Thanks to a respectable 6 movement points and the ability Fly, Salt can get where he needs to go. Preferably landing into the middle of a group of Heroes to unleash his two Wave attacks:Summer and Winter. These wave 2 area effects hit every model within 2 squares of Salt and inflict the status effects Fire and Ice respectively. Oh, they also only cost 1 action point. That’s right, Salt is a roaming faerie natural disaster that causes status effects! Heroes despair.

When Salt fears the Heroes might want to spread out, the support action Circle of Salt will keep Heroes in place.

Consul Tip: Use Kinoko to bounce Heroes into a little group. Then have Salt fly over and into the middle of the group. Unleash consecutive blasts of Summer and Winter. The most fun you’ve ever had!

Salt is relatively unchanged in Arcade Mode. An ARM of 4 stars is a standout and puts this golem into Dungeon Boss toughness territory. Summer and Winter get merged into a single signature action, Extreme Weather. While while Circle of Salt remains unchanged in its effect, only now it happens automatically with Heroes receiving no defense roll!

Okay, that brings us to the end of another update! We hope you have an excellent weekend, always roll stars and—

Sparkleburst!