Greetings Gamers! I did it.
I broke down and bought the Silver Tower. After a couple weeks of absolutely consuming
the contents of the box I thought that I would write a quick post on my initial
impressions of the models and game play.
To start off, if you’re
like me and the new edition of Warhammer Quest brings out some feelings of
nostalgia, go get the damn thing! The
price tag is high but you absolutely get what you pay for.
The Miniatures
I won’t list all of
the miniatures in the box as you can see that on the GW site but it goes
without saying that they are gorgeous.
You get 6 Heroes to choose from that fill all of the niche characters in
a classic dungeon crawl setting. They
are all extremely detailed and surprisingly constructed of a shit load of
pieces.
Mistweaver Saih –
Caster
Tenebrael Shard –
Assassin
Darkoath Cheiftain –
Barbarian
Fyreslayer Doomseeker –
Dwarf Fighter
Excelsior Warpriest –
Cleric
Knight-Questor – Tank
Along with the heroes
you get 45 additional miniatures. 2 of
the enemy minis are the Gaunt Summoner himself and the Ogroid Thaumaturge (one
of the main reasons I bought this game). All of the other enemy models have 2 of the
same pose but GW has addressed this in the placement and choosing of miniatures
when generating them for the dungeon.
The only one I was curious about was the Skaven Assassin as there are
only two of them. Why are they in a
Tzeench dungeon? This conundrum is also
addressed in the story and rules behind the Skaven character.
There are also additional
rules for the use of Tzeench Flamers, Screamers, and a Herald if you happen to
have the miniatures already in your collection.
The Game
Play through is
similar to the original Warhammer Quest.
You build your dungeon as you move through and explore rooms. Characters gain renown through the defeat of
enemies and each has their own special way to earn additional renown. As you gain renown you gain skills. After each dungeon there is a quick run through
of how to finalize your quest. This is one of the biggest differences between
the new and old game. The end game
portion in the new edition is quick and simple.
You check to see if you are able to retain the skills and treasures your
hero attained throughout the run and once complete you move on to the next
test. That’s it that’s all.
The new game seems to
be a simpler version of the original but it has all kinds of replay value and
huge room for growth. Each dungeon
layout is dependent on how the cards are shuffled and the enemies you fight are
randomly generated. On top of the
different enemies in each of the rooms there is also the possibility that a
Random Encounter will occur. If this is
the case you could end up fighting a couple crappy little minions, get a boost
for you next turn or the Ogroid Thaumaturge could walk out of a portal next to
your character.
With all of that said
I feel like we should look at some of the problems with the set. I say problems (plural) but I really only
have one, although to me it’s kind of a big one. The packaging! Come on GW what the hell! I realize that there are a lot of pieces and
sprue to place into one box without getting to crazy but the box isn’t split up
at all. It’s a free-for-all in
there. The sprue is tossed on top of the
tiles and cards which doesn’t seem like a big deal but there are a lot of sharp
pointy bits all over these minis. The
cards, books and tile pieces that were against the sprue ended up getting
damaged. Some more than others mind you
but for the price of the set it would have been nice to see a little more
thought put into the layout of the box.
Who knows, maybe there was, but it doesn’t look like it. At least GW’s customer service is fantastic
and they are all for replacing anything that gets damaged.
So to wrap up I am definitely a fan of this game. The collector in me sees all of the possibilities for expansion and the chance to build and paint minis I wouldn't normally purchase. This also gives me a chance to hopefully use some of the other fantasy miniatures that have recently been collecting dust in my nerd cave. It's a large investment but I'll say it again, you get what you pay for.
