"What's next with Warlord Games Epic Scale?" Topic

So we've had ACW and Napoleonic's, and it seems both are being expanded with further plastic ranges, as they have both done well for Warlord. So what's next?

At the Warlord Open Day a few months back the Punic Wars were hinted at fairly broadly, but no dates. Personally I think the next release will be Ancients, but themed around Britons and Gauls and EIR…

Wishful thinking though would see the American War of Independence, which surely would be a big seller? (And, in this scale, allow for SYW conversions!)

Ideally something a little different – Franco-Prussian, Crimean, or even Pony Wars which needs lots of mounted Indians so Epic plastics would be a great option

It will be interesting to see the direction. I'm personally not going to buy into another scale such as these 10mm figures, but I might at the rules for use with my previously collected 6mm.

Hastings.

They also hinted at English Cvil War, which would not require too many sprues to be created.

Seven Years War would be ideal as infantry operated shoulder to shoulder so perfect for the sprues. Also some generic sprues would be suitable for a number of nationalities. Cavalry not so much.

I thought Zulu wars would be the way to go. It's part of Black Powder and very British.

I would think an expansion of the Napoleonic lines to include Austrians and Russians would be good

From last year:

TMP link

I seem to recall in the last few weeks on one of the Hail Caesar Facebook groups there was a mention that it might be Ancients to coincide with the release of the 2nd edition of the rules in 2023.

Thanks for your thoughts gents. In summary, they have already committed to more Nap Austrians and Russians. ECW was also mentioned so thats a good call. The key thing is that the period has to have the majority of troops 'shoulder to shoulder' to suit the strip loading, so FPW, Zulu Wars etc are less likely – that said, they are about to release a ACW skirmisher/cavalry sprue, so who knows!

I agree with Aegis thought, I have a feeling it will be ancients…

Why would you do it?
The miniatures are not great, the basing is ridiculous for 'epic' battles and the price was high if you did not go heavy on the big box sets.

If you want to do epic battles in Black Powder of hail Caesar there are plenty of fantastic options in 10mm and 6mm.. You can choose your own basing scheme and it will be cheaper with much nicer and more varied figures!

As you may tell I'm not a fan!

Well personally I love the figures so far, like the way they are presented in strips, and consider them great value for money. They are also very popular, and are driving interest into historical wargaming because of Warlord's reach and communications power.

Lepanto, Actium, Mylae or Salamis. Say 8 large, 2 small galleys, a flagship and a wreck per sprue would be cool. Maybe 1/900 or 1/1300.

I hope they are doing some colonials next to go with Black Powder. Zulu War probably easiest but I'd like to see Sudan with gunboats and all!

Its got to be a "blockbuster" period to justify a venture like this. Napoleonics and ACW definitely come into that league.After that Id say WW2 but that doesnt tie in with "figures on strips"
Hard to say what would otherwise generate sufficient interest to bring in the big bucks . Ancients maybe but which ones?

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest it won't be historical— it will be fantasy… more or less, the return of Warmaster. They could go with a licensed setting (Game of Thrones), or create their own quasi-generic fantasy setting.
I'm betting it won't be anything post the ACW, as the core system doesn't really favor the changes occurring in military tactics from the late 19th century on. As others have noted, it really is about "shoulder to shoulder," which in the age of rapid-fire rates and machine guns and greatly improved artillery ceased to be anything but a recipe for self-slaughter.
Medieval-style fantasy suits the structure, and has a broader appeal. And it fits the heritage of the designers, too.

I think the fantasy part might still be a bit off. Rick Priestley, at the Warlord Games Day event was obviously thinking about it as he mentioned he wanted to add a section into the new version of the Hail Caesar rules, but they ran out of room. However, it sounded like there would be a fantasy version at some point. My guess is that it will be Republic Romans and Carthaginians to coincide with the release of the revised Hail Caesar rules in 2023.

Given the "shoulder to shoulder" requirement and the need for limited variation in troop types Marlburian and/or Great Northern War would be good candidates.

Pharsalus box set would be pretty easy to produce and kick off Ancients.

Or Successors.

Weird scale. I am staying with 10mm.

Lepanto, Mediterranean warfare in XVI century.

May be easier using process of elimination. Being that almost all of the stands will be multiple units and generally large battles, I think it limits the options to the following:
Punic wars
Alexander/Successors
Thirty Years War
War of Spanish Succession
… there are also possibilities throughout China's history as well as Japan… some Biblical Era massed troops with chariots but I think these are less likely from a sales standpoint.
… I will assume they will cover Naps through Russians and Austrians and select something close to one of the above for the next range.

I reckon Hoplites will be next. Simple sprue to produce similar to ACW.

I would think a generic 18th century set of miniatures that could be used for European Wars 1700-1763 and also the American Revolution would make commercial sense. Additional packs could cover troop types specific to a particular war.

Rather than an entire new conflict I'd expect to see the Napoleonic Armies expanded to include Russians & Austrians.