Relic Knights Arrive!

Close to two years after the project was funded on Kickstarter, I finally got my shipment of Relic Knights miniatures. It’s been a longer than expected wait, but I’m very excited to finally have the minis. Relic Knights is an anime-inspired tabletop miniatures game from Soda Pop Miniatures that features a good number of mechanics to set it apart from other miniature games. It uses a deck of cards for randomization rather than dice, has an initiative system unlike anything I’ve seen before, and encourages a lot of movement around the tabletop. If that sounds interesting to you, you can read a more in-depth post from last year or download the Relic Knights rulebook.

The Kickstarter project ran into a lot of issues. Cool Mini or Not originally had May 2013 as the estimated delivery time for the game, but that ended up being pushed back first to November 2013 then to early 2014 and finally started shipping in June 2014. Even though shipping began in June, Cool Mini or Not misplaced a large number of orders and forgot to pack & ship them until the end of July (after announcing US shipping was complete), and European and Asian backers are still waiting on their shipments. On top of those delays, Cool Mini or Not mishandled communication with backers in a lot of ways during the project and Soda Pop Miniatures eventually took over communication but wasn’t able to post Kickstarter updates without Cool Mini or Not’s help. That string of delays and communication problems seemed to sour a lot of backers on the game, but I hope to see a new surge of enthusiasm now that people have received their minis and Cool Mini or Not is no longer involved. For me, the wait was annoying and I’m unlikely to back another Cool Mini or Not Kickstarter, but I’m not going to let the experience turn me off from an otherwise fun game.

Due to a combination of preparing the house for some family to visit and getting ready for Gen Con, I don’t have time to start work on any of the miniatures yet, but I’m eager to dig in once I’m back home and have a break from family visitors. I’ll post pictures as I get the minis unpacked and assembled, but for now here is a quick shot of the Relic Knights Super Dungeon Explore crossover minis.