So I said last post that Zombicide had a threshold of sorts.
You can either play it “frantic”, with normal survivors (relative to their environment, which is a little more “heroic medieval” than most) or you can escalate it to a more zombie-smash game, adding in uber-heroes from either the guest boxes or ultimate hero pack.
The guest packs were tempting once I got a handle on all of the different ones and then cross referenced that knowledge with their very limited availability.
I immediately fell for the two Paul Bonner boxes, especially #2. I quickly gave up on that after a fruitless search for #2 and the first without the second felt a little pointless. The Scandi style Ogre/Orc sculpts were great and the dwarf on a giant mount really appealed. These also added super strong characters, that looked super strong.
The two Kopinski boxes (different people) have a nice vibe, fitting in well with the look and feel of the base game/Huntsman pack, offering an optional Necromancer in each set. They are scarce to near mythical. I am not obsessed enough to go chasing $100+ packs. If it gets that bad, I will proxy figures.
The Simoletti box popped up on the radar next. This added four characters that were lower octane types. One had Marksman and one +1 melee damage at blue level, which made them on the whole more powerful than most, but not over the top. I bought it, cancelled it, bought it again, cancelled it again. It seemed poor value after the Huntsman pack and by comparison to the “No Rest” set below.
The Adrian Smith #2 would be awesome, but again, realms of fantasy.
There are sooo many to chase (Thrud the Barbarian anyone?!), but the reality is, they are mostly OTT and inconsistent to the base theme overall, as well as rare as, so decision mostly made for me.
I bought the No Rest for the Wicked pack (first to arrive and very nice it is to), which for only $25 au more than the 4 fig box and gave me 35 new enemies in three types and one heavy weapon, all of which need some house rules to work, but add several different “shapes” to the game.
Nice minis, needing a little cleanup and a metho wash, but otherwise good.
This was an escalation of sorts. The baddies are varied, the big weapon very powerful, but all with house ruled limits or even re-works. I can now make a spawn deck that is both varied and near bottomless and my intention is to have 1 deck that works always.
The hunt resumed for the Bonner #2 and one magically turned up, in Oz and at a reasonable price.
This gives me an over the top monstrous barbarian Orc, Dwarf on a giant…..thing, a driven zombie hunter and a really nasty Necromancer. Xuxa from the Huntsman pack is also a little over powered, so these “heroes” can be the other, more heroic way of playing, each counting as 2 standard survivors in a mixed group (another common house rule) or a party of 4 playing as six.
I then found the #1 Bonner on Amazon for a full set and went for the Simonetti again and…………did not cancel it this time! I really like the character mix.
The Simonetti box adds 4 more normal survivors. These are strong, but can be added into a normal group without breaking it. They also take the normal weapon options available in BP. The Bonner box is more fanciful.
The reality is, the big boxes are the best value, but they have the potential to overwhelm. Specific cards hidden away in these are a problem (the Bonner set needs a couple from Green Horde to be at its best), but I can house rule if needed (Hammer instead of Dwarven Hammer) or mock them up.
Wulfzburg is calling, mainly for the characters and cards, but I have a cooling off tool. I have to paint 150+ figures already and coming from a fairly lack lustre period for me creatively. With a Wulf-bomination and three Wulvz, I can play them as slightly up-powered options, which appeals more than having 20+ of them (maybe a Necromancer with the ability to substitute these and resurrect them when lost?).
I did however pick up a reasonably priced box of Deadeyes, which are considered the best additional enemy. I was not sure how I felt about their ranged ability, but the crowd response is almost unanimously positive. I will house rule these guys to needing a role to hit, which seems fair and makes them less brutal (they would be mechanically efficient and cool-empty headed, but slow and un-intuitive also).
This means my potential enemies for my 30 heroes are;
A Dragon, who will be looked at, most likely as a better Abomination (maybe with some of the Bosses pack abilities mixed with its own).
1 Wulf-bomination and 2 regular Aboms.
21 Deadeye, 40 walker, 18 runner and 20 fatty zombies with 3 wulvz as relentless killers.
18 spirits (ghosts-rules to come), 15 rat swarms and a variety of Necromancers. Necromancers are an area worth exploring, adding another element to the game, but are frustratingly hard to come by. I may give necromancers random abilities (based on some un-obtainable ones) or random selection and press a couple of evil looking survivors into the role along with Evil Troy (Mizar, Falstaff etc).
Well out of control already for a single game.