Lots of updates from Ministravaganza 2021!

It was a busy weekend full of streaming, and at the end of it all we have lots of updates for all of our favorite games!

Video Recap of Ministravaganza 2021

Legion

Star Wars Legion easily had the biggest showing – with lots of details on the new A-A5 Speeder Truck and the LAAT/le heavy vehicles getting ready to come out soon. But in addition to those reveal we also got tons of info on an entire new Kashyyk wave, including Grandmaster Yoda himself! Wookiees were confirmed to be dual faction, which not only bring the classic wookiee design that the rebels have seen, but also introduce a new ranged configuration to run wookiees! Lots of art was spoiled for almost everything in this new wave!

X-Wing

X-Wing was also not without surprises! In addition to spoiling the rest of the pilots from the upcoming squadron packs, we got a preview for a new Huge ship! The Trident Class Assault Ship, otherwise known as the Mechanical Squid of Doom, is coming as a dual faction huge ship for both the separatists and scum! It was also teased that the Razor Crest, from The Mandalorian, will eventually be making it’s way to X-Wing with a new piece of teaser art! It was also mentioned that the Razor Crest is pretty far out in terms of release date, so don’t hold your breath!

Armada

Unfortunately, Armada didn’t get any hints of future content past the Wave 10, it’s next big release slated for an April release. We did however, get some additional previews of 3 cards for each expansions pack. This will at least give the Armada community something to talk about in the mean time – but the lack of a dedicated Armada developer felt like a gaping hole in this entire weekend for me, as Armada is by far my favorite game and now it feels like it’s in a troublesome spot for new content.

Marvel Crisis Protocol

MCP got a nice slice of news, with a new Spider-Man focused wave coming soon, featuring classic villains like Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio, and an all new Amazing Spider-Man! Plus some teases for future X-Men releases in the way of Omega Red!

It was a weekend filled with lots of painting and hobby streams, and also a handful of spoilers – all in all pretty exciting! Let’s see what happens in September during Gen Con, when they are gonna try and do this again for MiniStravaganza 2!

Top 10 Miniatures of 2020

To close out 2020, I’ve ranked my top 10 Miniatures of 2020! As I’ve done previously, I’m only concentrating on miniatures that I cover, and it helps that I can post unboxings for each of them! Here’s my video breakdown!

Top 10 Miniatures of 2020 Video

And if you’re interested in direct links to any of the mentioned products and their individual unboxings – Here is that list!

Links to the products listed:

Monster Fight Club Trees – https://youtu.be/U1w8XzXnQ9A Legion Terrain – https://youtu.be/CkEU4H-etII He Man – https://youtu.be/nUp0ENebd60 Skeletor – https://youtu.be/XjHNfwxFU-M Clone Wars Squadrons – https://youtu.be/hgcSk8Y0b6I Munificent – https://youtu.be/-OW6XNx-6lY ETA-2 w/Docking Ring – https://youtu.be/wXdGUyUoXB0 Magneto – https://youtu.be/ek5iVvv41fM TIE Brute – https://youtu.be/umHhK8MfBPg Clan Wren Mandos – https://youtu.be/H-IN9QyHJ0g Thanos – https://youtu.be/K1Ho4kMdw24 Wolverine – https://youtu.be/CMO9sVL100g ARC Troopers – https://youtu.be/_q99QXNuHwo Darth Maul – https://youtu.be/G0acFmJ8Ec0 Starhawk – https://youtu.be/GNW_M0E2OUA

FFG Loses Star Wars Miniatures! Atomic Mass Games Taking Over!

In a shocking announcement on Nov 16th, 2020, Atomic Mass Games announced via social media that they would be taking over Production and Development of 3 Star Wars Miniatures games previously done by Fantasy Flight Games; X-Wing, Legion, and Armada.

This comes as a huge surprise to virtually all of us. Atomic Mass Games was only recently introduced to the world during 2019’s In Flight Report, a special event at Gen-Con in which FFG announces all of it’s big games and expansions for the year. Later that year, we got the release of Marvel Crisis Protocol, which has been hailed as a huge success, in the ease and quality of it’s gameplay, and in both it’s art and miniatures. Some had predicted that AMG would eventually be taking on more miniatures games at some point, but I doubt anyone predicted it would have happened this fast, with Marvel Crisis Protocol only being out for one year.

Making the transition from Minnesota (FFG) over to AMG’s Seattle based offices is Simone Elliott, who will take over as the Head of Studio for Atomic Mass Games. Simone has been heavily involved with licensing for all of the Star Wars games that FFG has made for several years. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her at a few convenstions over the years and I’ll say that I feel it’s a smart move and we’re in good hands. Will Shick will be assuming the role of Head of Product Development. While this might seem like a step down from previously being Head of Studio, it’s still very nearly at the top and it seems like with triple the games suddenly thrown on them, it’s probably also a smart move to divide up responsibilities among upper management.

So What does this all mean for us, the players?

In short – Hopefully not much. While it’s too early to tell exactly what impacts will be felt, there are a few bits of information we do have currently.

The Good : AMG is a miniatures-focused studio. Hopefully this change will allow growth of these games to be more refined, and possibly even allow them to Embark on new ideas that were potentially too difficult for FFG. Additionally, both FFG and AMG are still under Asmodee, so most aspects shouldn’t change in terms of purchasing and distribution. There are also likely some new miniatures games in the pipe, indicated by another press release on the 17th. Games are also open to changes, (Which could be good or bad, I suppose we’ll have to wait and see on that front).

The Bad : Moving these games away from FFG could mean a potential loss in depth. Many of the teams for various games all were able to work together. One of the things that made these games great was the cross collaboration with individuals who were explicitly board-game developers, and NOT miniatures gamers. This gave some of the developers perspective and allowed these games to appeal to a MUCH wider audience than typical mini-wargamers. Plus change in itself inevitably inspired fear and doubt. In an already difficult year, this has alot of people worried.

The Ugly : Unfortunately alot of people, many of which I’m friends with, did not retain employment during this transition. This just outright sucks and while I’m not going to name names… they are in my thoughts.

The Hope: That’s right I added a 4th “Bold” section! The hope here is that this new studio will remain faithful to what we love about these games. We as a community have been reaching out to Atomic Mass Games in large numbers, and they have at least in the past, been very receptive to their community. That is a GOOD thing! Hopefully it continues! Simone is also a huge Star Wars fan and has been a part of these games forever! I feel like if these games had to go ANYWHERE, this was the best place possible. It’s ok to be worried, but don’t lose faith! This could quite possibly be the best thing to ever happen to these games!

There are plenty more questions to be asked and hopefully answered. What about Future Products already in production? What about things still in development? What about Playtesting? Will we see a change in production materials? Same Plastic? Who are the development teams going to be? Will they give us an introduction?

I’ll admit I was starting to worry about how I was going to divide my time between Atomic Mass Games and FFG at the next Gen Con, but for now it seems like all of my favorite miniatures games are now under the same studio and that makes things simpler for now at least!

Stay tuned for more info as soon as I get it!

The X-Men have Arrived!

Me smiling happily right after the X-Men preorder finally showis up!

This is a return to my childhood! The X-Men have arrived! They have clearly been the most anticipated and most request team to show up since Marvel Crisis Protocol was first announced!

I preordered the whole set from Asmodee directly just to make 100% sure I didn’t miss any of them and they just showed up! Here is the first of many unboxings!

Wolverine and Sabertooth!

The Future of Armada! An Interview with Michael Gernes!

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down with FFG’s Michael Gernes, Lead Developer for Star Wars Armada!

We talked about everything ranging from The Clone Wars, to Wave 2, to future support for Rebels and the Empire!

Some highlights from the interview include:

  • Pass Tokens – Pass Tokens will be assigned at the beginning of the game, are partially influenced by the composition of your fleet (Large Ships will likely give you more), and also are influenced by weather you are 1st Player or 2nd.
  • Faction Identities – We talked about the new faction, and Michael spoiled a new separatist card that upgrades a token’s effect to a full dial effect!
  • Konstantine! – Everyone’s least favorite commander, Konstantine, is getting refined to be more playable and to work with Huge Ship! Konstantine SSD here we go!
  • The Future! Armada will continue to support Empire and Rebel fleets – players just need to be patient!
  • So much more!

Here’s the full video!

40,000!

We did it! Thanks to all of you the channel has crossed over the 40,000 subscriber mark! Thank you all so much! To each of you who has been a part of the first 40 K, and to all of you who will be part of the next 40K – you have enriched my life and I am so grateful!

So what now?

I’ve got some new giveaways planned! In addition to announcing that I’m doing my ARC Trooper giveaway, (See the Giveaways section), I’m also going to be doing 12 Days of Life Day again this December – more giveaways for subscribers! Lots of them!

And more games! In addition to Blood and Plunder I’ll be covering Oak and Iron, and naturally, this was also a great time to begin my journey into Warhammer 40,000! I know very little about 40K but I figured this was a good time! Here’s my first Warhammer 40K video!

Exclusive Crabbok Token!

Luxury Playstyle has worked with me to create a new Exclusive “Crabbok” token!

Featuring Lightsaber Nunchucks, and a C on the front, with a 5 on the back, this new token can work in any of your games!

X-Wing – Mark a Critical Hit

Armada – Mark you Flagship or where you Commander is.

Legion – Mark you Commander.

Star Wars RPG – Help invite some random choices! Light Side vs Dark Side, or use as an alternate destiny point!

More! Any games that count Damage – Use the C’s as 1 Damage and the 5 side as a 5 Damage marker!

The 5 Side on the back changes things to the Dark Side – With Force Lightning coming out of the Lightsaber Nunchucks!

How do I get one?

Any order placed at www.luxuryplaystyle.com using my discount Code CRABBOKVIP that totals $35 or more will automatically grant you one free token while supplies last!

Additionally – Patrons at the X-Wing level or higher, who have been a patron for 3 months or longer will get one in December as a Holiday gift. I’ll also be offering some of these coins in occasionally giveaways, so stay alert!

Here’s a video showing them in more detail!