Ninja All-Stars - Arashikage Clan

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Board Games - Storm Shadow was my favorite ninja as a kid. The white color scheme with that sweet red tattoo just fed my imagination. I know I already painted up the mini boss based on Storm Shadow but I really wanted a full clan of white ninjas.

In Super Dungeon Explore the Elemental Shrine Ninjas are just OK. They can get cool abilities and with forward thinking the Console can make some pretty nasty groups for the Heroes to battle. However their limited attacks make it hard to put a significant hurt on the Heroes once they’re powered up with a few loot cards. I need to try a few more combinations to see what works best, but so far they’re pretty easy for a solid party to take out.

These models look great on the swamp side of the Von Drake Manor boards. the white really pops on the dark backgrounds. I was also able to get some paint on the shrines with this batch. The glow effect I did isn’t the greatest but on the dark boards they look pretty cool.

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The three Ronin I squeezed in are the ghost from the Ring, Lone Wolf and Cub and a Birdman Sabotuer (I call him the Seahawk for obvious reason, haha).

Ninja All-Stars - Reptile Clan

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Ninja All-Stars - Reptile Clan

Board Games – Mortal Kombat has a pretty amazing history, one of the things I’ve enjoyed with some of the more recent games are the Krypts that let you unlock history of the game, alternate costumes and concept art. It’s cool when a game has backstory and hidden easter eggs. When it was in the arcade I remember watching people try to unlock Reptile and battle against the green color swapped ninja.

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Pet Parade - Arcadia Quest Gets Wild

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Board Games – When a game is as cute as Arcadia Quest it’s hard to push that envelope without feeling like more of the same. So how do you turn up the cuteness to 11? Well you add pets, super deformed looking little pets.

Other chibi games also have gone down the Pet Parade (and failed to deliver so far) but CMON has a huge box of cute little friends for you guild of heroes to adventure with. Also pictured here are a bunch of Orcs and goblins that I don’t think were part of the Pets box but they came in this batch.

Ninja All-Stars - Scorpion Clan

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Ninja All-Stars - Scorpion Clan

Board Games – I’ve written about Ninja All-Stars quite a bit, I love the miniatures and the look of the game. The dice mechanic still bugs me but the fact that I can use these in Super Dungeon Explore helps make up for that. I’ve been painting up all the minis in my collection of games from Sodapop Miniature/Ninja Division because my kids are finally old enough to enjoy the game and I have a reason to paint up these cute little miniatures.

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My Little Germans - Chibi Style Historical Games?

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Historical – This batch of miniatures is something different. Chibi style German Tank Commanders or as I like to call them “My Little Germans”

Is it like Yatzee?

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Board Games – Rome and Roll is a dice rolling game that has you build Rome. I’m still not sure why it has miniatures other than the fact they’re cool and represent characters in the game.

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Here’s a summary:

“Rome & Roll is a heavy roll-and-write board game by Dávid Turczi and Nick Shaw in which 1-4 players compete to craft an empire. Draft from a pool of custom dice to collect resources, construct the town, and organize armies. Political alliances, the colonies, and even the Gods all have a part to play. Imperii Gloria!

• Draft the dice to match your needs: roll, draw, and win!
• Play one of seven unique character classes, ranging from merchants to military leaders, with a wealth of different strategies to deploy.
• Take advantage of four possible scoring avenues: construct buildings, trade resources, conquer unruly colonies, and renovate the Roman road network.
• Make political alliances and call on the Gods.
• Raise armies and invade settlements as far afield as Egypt and Spain.
• Build roads and manage unruly provinces.”

Cyclades - Fear the Wrath of the Gods

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Cyclades - Fear the Wrath of the Gods

Board Games – With control/auction games you often get a mix of components. Many have meoples or wood blocks but more recently many have opted for molded plastic minis. Most of these games have tiny figures that look cool covering beautiful boards, but the solid color plastic takes you out of the immersive experience promised by the game.

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Masmora and Arcadia Quest - Another Batch Done

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Board Games – Arcadia Quest is a PvP game, Masmora is a dungeon crawl. So if you love Chibi style miniatures and find yourself needing to play alone Masmorra has a single player mode. This batch features the Kickstarter exclusive hero pack and a selection of random heroes.

Crisis Protocol - Make Mine Marvel

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Marvel Crisis Protocol – 2020 has been a sad year for the MCU, with Black Widow pushed back until next year and COVID messing up all the shooting schedules; fans have gone far to long without new content for the property they love. That is unless you’re a fan of Crisis Protocol, this game is consistently pumping out new characters to expand gameplay and bring the characters you love to life.

As I understand it’s a really fun game and even if you don’t plan on putting it on the tabletop the miniatures are really well done and easy to paint. Because they’re a bit larger scale than most tabletop games the models are more forgiving to paint and having established costumes make color choice a snap.

I’ve been combining traditional paint with Citadel’s contrast line to get those really bright colors that are such of staple of the printed material. I like the two packs that are being put out with a “hero” and villain that make sense together.

What Is Best In Life?

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What Is Best In Life?

Board Games – The sword and sorcery genre began with Conan the Barbarian and his exploits in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, Marvel Comics began publishing his exploits in 1970 and everyone’s favorite action hero took on the roll in 1982. In 2016 Monolith released a board game base on Robert Howard’s original works.

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Ghost Stories in a Golden Age - Tang Garden Expansions

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Board Games – Tang Garden has several expansions, in this batch I’ve painted up Ghost Stories and Golden Age. Both expansions introduce new characters and gameplay mechanics to make the garden building game even more interesting.

Devil Island: Clan Ika - Feeling a Bit Salty

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Devil Island: Clan Ika - Feeling a Bit Salty

Super Dungeon Explore – Chibi Ninjas are just amazing. Several years ago Sodapop/Ninja Division released Ninja All-Stars the game was beautifully designed with amazing miniatures and had a ton of potential. There was even a pretty decent campaign system that would allow you to run a league of ninjas competing for the top prize.

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Devestation Protocol - Space Marines

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Warhammer 40,000 – I’ve been painting Ultramarines for this force for quite some time. My client decided to clear out his collection and get everything he already owns painted up while in-store gaming isn’t available. It’s a good plan that I think everyone should try to practice.

This batch is a bit unique because he wants to paint the bolter marines himself and base them so I was asked to leave these bases blank. Just in case he wanted to swap in the heavy weapons into a tactical squad.

I imagine these guys are going to see significantly more play with their improved wounds and weapon stats,