Note that in this video ABNB cannot figure out why Avalon Hill included extra helmet and hand axe cards. It turns out these cards contain errata. The hand axe now specifies it cannot be used by the wizard; the helmet now states it is made of metal.
turns out the 2022 (slim box) version of the remake Game System also includes these same tweaks to those two equipment cards (didn't realize that until GenCon).
Oh no, my Wizard is using the axe in the main campaign. I’m going to pretend I didn’t know this. Also, does this mean my kid’s Rogue can’t use the helmet?
I was looking at this on Amazon. It's funny how they list items, but they don't seem to advertise this guy as being a new hero, which is a good selling point. Just looks like he's helping on the box art.
I love your HeroQuest content. Thank you for the thorough unboxing. I appreciate the amount of camera work and editing you do to provide clear, in-focus, professional-looking views of everything. Your thoughts and commentary are excellent and I truly respect that you're able to have the candor to admit that even though something might not be what you expected or wished for, that doesn't make it bad or wrong, etc.
Thank you. That's really kind of you. I think everybody gets a picture in their head of what the expansion might be, and what they hope it will be, and a product can never be all those things to all those people. Overall, I think Avalon Hill have made something that feels like HeroQuest but adds enough new elements to make it a bit more modern. My biggest gripe is that they teased some things as being a big deal and they just aren't.
I made a rule for rooms with bookcases/sorc's table, when searching the room for treasure a character rolls an attack die, on a white shield the Hero finds a Spell scroll, adding one spent spell back into the characters inventory. Replace spell scroll with a potion for the Cupboard/Alchemy table.
I've been going through alot of you're hero quest content, and I gotta say, you are THE hero quest CZcams guy as far as I'm concerned, I didint grow up with with this game, but I've grown to love it, me and my wife are currently on return of the witch lord expansion Thanks to the handy companion app, which is better then nothing and does falter at times, but Thanks for keeping us so informed while not spoiling to much, you have earned a subscription from me sir
I love your reviews of the Heroquest expansions. Not to be impolite and it might be Avalon's fault but I think it's pronounced Re-agent, at least here in the states. Keep up the great work!
I'm interested to see members of the community work to merge Mage of the Mirror & Rise of the Dread Moon campaigns together in terms of the story & swapping monsters / mechanics about. The "Civil War" idea works better if you are sneaking into the City controlled by Sinestra (who has seized the thrown & taken the Princess hostage) - with Sir Ragnar in place as her ally with his own agenda he's pursuing in the background. Not to mention the idea of werewolves / giant wolves feeling like they tie nicely into the idea of the Rise of the Dread Moon (as a lunar event of done significance) - and both campaigns seeming to (from what I've briefly seen in video's) include quests where the Heroes enter the Realm of Reflection (although as far as I can tell both packs have different item for entering). Then you have the option of swapping in extra Elves (and types of Elves) in place of some of the more obvious Chaos monsters found in most of the Mage of the Mirror quests to keep things a bit more thematic (until the quests where you're more after Sir Ragnar than Sinestra. You could even have Sir Ragnar be teamed up with a group of Ogre mercenaries (potentially doing some work to set up Against the Ogre Horde), rather than them just being there unexplained in the Mage of the Mirror quests. Lots of opportunities to smooth out some rough edges for both quest packs / stories if they are merged together, I feel (not to mention a chance to smooth out the difficulty in the Mage of the Mirror quests to be more in line with the Rise of the Dread Moon ones). Being able to sneak about in disguise and / or have Raven's Veil allies in some of the Mage of the Mirror quests would help make those more interesting / balanced than the straight forward fights most of those quests currently are too.
I don't really want to talk about quest specifics here (what has happened to the princess, the use of mirrors, etc.). I am going to do a separate video on that to try to keep the spoilers all in one place. I think wolves and werewolves were an obvious fit for this campaign and I'm surprised they aren't included at all. If I was trying to hunt down rebel fighters in the city, giant wolves would be a great way to sniff them out.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I used a miniature from a shop to represent Sir Ragnar and had him join the heros on the Master edition instead of letting him become a traitor :(
Brilliant video (as always.) I didn't think I was that bothered about getting this. Halfway through your vid, I pre-ordered it from one of my usual go-to shops! I look forward to receiving it now. Thanks again for the great vid, review and your knowledge on everything Hero Quest - Always a brilliant watch. Cheers.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Also, it's cool that "Knight Fall" the online quest is now online! Go check it out, it really could have benefited from a Sir Ragnar figure as Ragnar is seen fleeing all over the place!
I covered the Knight Fall mission being available for download in the community section of my channel at the weekend. It was very different to what I was expecting.
I'm so excited. Everything looks fantastic. The whole thing has a gothic feel to it. I plan on augmenting it quite a bit with pieces from my Castle Ravenloft board game.
When I reviewed the very Gothic Warhammer Quest Cursed City, one of the things I said I would have preferred was a narrative campaign with linked missions that told the story of the rebels overthrowing the oppressive tyrants and reclaiming the city. I finally got that narrative campaign, just in a different game.
Anyone else think what HeroQuest is really missing is Trolls? Maybe 4 attack 3 Defense 3 body, and the ability to remove a skull counter on Zargons turn?
I'm surprised they didn't go with trolls when they couldn't use fimir in the base game, but I reckon trolls would be a really good choice for enemies if they do make a dwarf quest pack.
😁@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring aaahh, just imagine how cool a HeroQuest Spider would look. I'm thinking 7 Move, 3 attack 1 defense, 2 Body and the ability to move past heroes (wall crawling)
The extra Handaxe and Helmet cards are updates to the original, specifying that the Wizard can not use the Handaxe and the Helmet is made of Metal so certain heroes can not use it either.
Well, possibly and hopefully Avalon watched your review and inspired them to create a knight solo expansion in the future. A solo that connects a continuous story from this expansion.
The quests and disguise feature are perfect for the rogue. He dont cast spells and his weapons dont remove the disguise. He fits in this expension so much better then the Knight. But i have the german version of the game and this is my first opportunity to get a official knight. The knight in my group used the Henchmen with the shield as proxy
Additionally, the rogue is actually a member of the Cadre of the Raven's Veil. As things are developed well in advance, it may even be possible the original plan was to use the rogue for this expansion, but then they decided to swap in the knight and release the rogue separately.
Thank you for this video. It showed good what is in there. I think it will take some time to introduce everything to my team. Somehow I feel the Knight is way too strong ... Seems the Barbarian can retire ;_; I am waiting for your new video, because as Morcar I wanna know as much beforehand to avoid a "bad" experience.
I definitely think the knight can replace the barbarian. It doesn't take much to get him a broadsword, and he can wear plate armour without slowing his movement, so he is very quickly going to be a superior combatant to the barbarian. At the moment, the only advantage the barbarian has is the extra body point and access to the barbarian exclusive artefacts from The Frozen Horror. My in-depth look at the campaign should go live on Wednesday this week. Thanks for checking out the videos.
Awesome review, thanks, ABNB! I'm still waiting to find this expansion. I heard that the Hand Axe card now says "May not be used by Wizatd" - this was omitted on the card from the Game System.
Yeah, it does. It was something I missed when I was making the video. Also the new helmet card clearly states the helmet is made of metal now. This is important for the rogue heir character.
@@cadarrvestire9490 That makes sense as the other language were made after the English language edition and they must have spotted the mistake in the meantime.
8:29 Arbalist picture purposely leaves out the tip of the weapon in the left hand, because they were ashamed about how round it came out of the mold? 🤔
I buy all the heroquest stuff in german. To me it is especially interesting because I will get the first skill cards for the german version of hero quest with this set. The character kits were not available in german so I'm looking forward to them and hope they will print the other skill cards in german too :)
the Companion App applies Knight's Challenge even though it's triggered by stepping on a square (Wandering Monster Trap) in a corridor. I agree with that decision
So the app completely ignores the fact the cards says the skill is for use in a room? Interesting. I definitely don't agree with a ruling directly contradicting the card text. Thanks for that. I haven't used the knight with the app so wasn't aware of that.
that background music at the start always makes me think my stove is trying to ignite the burner (tick, tick, tick). great to hear your thoughts.. I can only imagine your reaction to the news about Against the Ogre Horde remake...
Thanks for this! I am so looking forward to getting that alchemy deck... Postman, postman, where art thou? (Not that my copy is actually in the mail. I'll look out for your next video om Dread Moon instead.)
Thanks for this! I think what AH is doing with HeroQuest is great. As an owner (since ‘89) of the original HeroQuest (UK) with Return of the Witch Lord and Kellar’s Keep (I sold Ogre Horde :/ ), the urge to pick up the new stuff has been strong. The longer I put it off the more expensive it’s getting, haha.
Avalon Hill seem to be good custodians for the game, and this latest expansion is a great effort. I am always interested in what they are going to do next.
I’ve made myself a knight hero. He’s a bit overpowered attack wise he’s equally equipped with long sword shield and plate amour. Only downfall with him is mobility and movement he only rolls one red dice for movement. 👍👍 😊
One of the best things about the official knight class is that heavy armour doesn't restrict their movement. That, combined with the three special skills, is why I think the knight is a better option than the barbarian (although admittedly, the barbarian can get some good equipment in Frozen Horror).
Thanks for the video, it sounds like a great expansion. I agree on making all cards to work in an unambiguous way and to also use keywards to assist in this.
The axe and helmet cards in this expansion are new versions containing errata (the helmet is now metal, the axe can't be used by the wizard), so they are updating cards, but a full reformat would be good. As they add more characters and more rules like the disguises from this expansion, it just muddies the waters a bit too much.
I have my original set I got for Christmas 1990. I got the new releases just got dread moon today. Only problem...no one to play with. Great vid though
Just watched the video - love it! Can’t wait to see your spoiler video as I’m the Zargon for my kids! We are still on the base quests, so I’m holding off on getting this expansion until a later time. That being said, you mentioned that you can just stow away the potions from the treasure deck and they can add new potions easily in expansions. Unfortunately, with the whole premise of each expansion being 100% standalone, that can’t be what happens for future expansions - you ultimately hit the point with the elf warriors/archers. I would have liked to see them require the Mage of the Mirror along with the base game for this expansion. They could have used all the same enemies without giving us enemies we already have (and could have made that Sir Ragnar mini)! Plus, as mentioned if this is supposed to be a sequel quest, why would you not build upon the prequel?!?! And yes - how can they build up Sir Ragnar and do him wrong like they did?!? I may end up getting this sooner rather than later and allow potion crafting early on and just let it flow through all the quests! That and allowing mercenaries from Frozen Horror in everything past the base quests. Kind of implement all the new stuff back into the original stuff…change up the game with the more modern updates! Looking like a great expansion overall, but as you said we should curb our own expectations and enjoy it for what it is and not what we built up in our heads to be!
When Games Workshop were publishing Blackstone Fortress, they released two small expansions and then a large one. From the point they published the large one, all future expansions required that in addition to the core set. It allowed them to expand the game without retreading old ground, and it worked pretty well. I do understand why Avalon Hill chose not to, and went with completely standalone expansions, but it does making growing the system more challenging. It also made their efforts to hinge these two expansions together into a single story rather futile. The packs don't feel like they are related, and I agree there are a lot of cool things from Mage of the Mirror that should really have been in Rise of the Dread Moon too. I think the potion thing would work out fine, though. They just need to publish any new potions in future expansions with the alchemy card backing. This won't make a difference to people who are using the old equipment cards, as the potion just gets added in with the other items in the shop. However, it does feel a bit like Avalon Hill currently expect fans to buy everything. They even put corrected helmet and hand axe cards in this expansion, which is an odd place to put them. As for Ragnar... yeah, they did him dirty. The mistake they made was in promoting his inclusion. They underestimated the fan reaction. If they had kept quiet, and then Ragnar had just made a guest appearance in a single mission in the campaign it might have seemed like a cute little nod to the past for fans. As it is, it feels like wasted potential.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring: we all know that the young generation isn’t the target audience for HQ!! I definitely feel like you do where if they really wanted to make this a sequel quest, they should have made Mage of the Mirror a prerequisite. That would have allowed for a lot more cohesive storytelling! As you pointed out you could play this first and MotM second and you’d really not be lost in any way. They definitely missed a huge opportunity to really shake things up! That being said, I do get the reasoning for keeping each expansion standalone, so people don’t have to buy everything - but c’mon - we’re all going to buy it all anyways!! It’s just a shame they don’t require certain other expansions, because unless they reprint ogres for another expansion, you’ll never see ogres in another expansion! Same goes for Dread Cultists, Specters, mercenaries, giant wolves & ice creatures! Sure home brew is the way to go with that, but lots of lost potential to be able to have official expansions use already existing monsters! If they reprint the unique monsters for future quests, We’ll all end up with 20 ogres but only able to use 4 at any given time……
Since my copy now only appears to arrive here in the Netherlands in September, instead of putting in the effort to avoid all the content related videos, I saw this video and thought okay then. 😁
I've tried to avoid any spoilers in this video (I suppose it depends on what you class as a spoiler), so if you do decide to watch it hopefully doesn't impact on your enjoyment of the expansion when it arrives. It sucks that you are going to have to wait until September.
25:39 - I'm one of those people. Correct me if I'm missing something, but the only Barbarian exclusive item from The Frozen horror is the _Amulet of the North,_ giving a +2 Body Points and +1 Mind Point to the Barbarian's total, which is the same effect of the _Elven Bracers_ from the Mage of the Mirror. While I like the idea of giving other heroes access to those exclusive potions, it's not just a feeling that this decision takes away material that was designed to give the Barbarian and the Elf something special. That's a fact. At least the Elf got 8 new cool spells in The Mage of the Mirror expansion. On the other hand, the Barbarian... As you mentioned, he really needs something that makes him special. Poor Barbarian.
Yes, to the best of my recollection, the barbarian exclusive items were the Amulet of the North and then the Potion of Icy Strength, Potion of Frost Skin, and Potion of Battle Rage. With the potions changing so that anyone can use them, the barbarian loses some of the things that made him a unique choice. The fact Avalon Hill have done this does make me wonder if they might be planning on doing something else for the barbarian.
I've always wanted a town or something to do between quests a tavern to hire someone .. different shops for equipment or potions .. a scholar school to regain spells .. if you wanna drop off a hero let's say barbarian or elf wants to go do their quest you gotta meet up with other heros plus a royal room to get quests or even at tavern you can get bounty hunting quests
Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but I can't find any references to the "Cadre of the Raven Claw" in any of the published material, or Hasbro Pulse blog. Where did this name and expectations for them come from?
Cadre of the Raven’s Veil were first mentioned in the letter to the Rogue Heir of Elethorn (who is one of them). Their involvement was teased on Discord and during promotion for the expansion.
If I'm not mistaken, that new hand axe states that it may not be used by the wizard, where as the original from the core doesn't. Oh well, good job I didn't buy that one then. Great coverage as usual abnb. Can't wait to get my set now, hurry up Zavvi!
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring i haven't used a rogue in my games yet, or any new hero's for that matter. I might start the dreadmoon exp with the bard, guardian, rogue and druid perhaps. Could be a terrible combination, but there's only one way to find out!
Ha. Not sure about that. I think the last thing they need is a big mouth from the Internet sticking his oar in. I appreciate the vote of confidence, though!
I don't see how you are getting that Knights can used their shields in disguises. To me its quite clear in the opposite direction. Shields are armor and its not one of the two exceptions. Now this is my first expansion so if in another expansion they reprint shields without the armor keyword, then that would be something different.
Nobody is claiming shields aren't armour. As I said in the video, people will argue it both ways because the rules say you can "wear" no armour. It's a bad word choice if it isn't intentionally chosen. So, it's one of those things people will decide for themselves how they want to play it. Overall, I think this wasn't the right expansion for the knight to show up in.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I agree that this expansion is not the best introduction for the knight (other than he is still so good, even with quests countering some of his abilities, he still a better option than the barbarian. However you say people will argue it both ways and I'm just not seeing the logic to allow shields and disguises to work together. Armor is practically a keyword in the game and I can't see how the rule "wear no armor" doesn't apply to something the game labels as armor. You discussing it like its the obvious way of interpeting that interaction is what confuses me most.
But you are discussing it like the other way of interpreting it is the obvious right way. You don't wear the shield, you hold it, hence why you can't use two-handed weapons with it. The wording of the rule seems intentional to me, but it seems intentional to you too for a different reason. Avalon Hill don't seem keen on clarifying rules and they like to tell people to figure out what works best for them, so unless that changes, if there is any debate at the game table I think the best solution is to let your Zargon player make the call. It's a minor thing anyway.
Great video. My expansion has been held up because the supplier increased the price after I ordered it. 🤬I have just agreed to pay the additional £5 and it is on its way. 48 hours to go until it arrives.
Was it Zatu by any chance? I preordered with them months ago, then the day before the release they contacted me asking for extra money. I immediately cancelled my order, put in an order with Amazon and received the expansion the next day.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring It was indeed Zatu, and like you I ordered months ago. To be fair they have been really good with all my other purchases from them so as long as it does turn up in 48 hours I will forgive and forget
Thanks. I agree. I think there's so much going on that the app will really struggle with being able to do it justice. In particular, I don't believe the app will do a good job running the monsters as they have so many abilities and spells. And once you start introducing NPCs and "roleplaying", I feel it does benefit having a real player take on the role of Zargon.
My suspicion is that this set was never meant to feature the guardian knight, which is why everything about it feels tacked on. Instead the sculpt and the figure (or a very similar sculpt) were supposed to be Sir Ragnar. At some stage, possibly due to the backlash about the original guardian knight limited release, it was decided to switch the set to containing a guardian knight instead. This was probably late in production, leading to some things not being able to be easily changed, and maybe Avalon Hill already had the box interior done so couldn't or were unwilling to add an extra figure. Hence no Ragnar and a tacked on guardian knight.
It does feel like something like that happened. Another credible theory is that this set was supposed to be for the rogue heir. He is a member of the cadre, he would be the perfect choice of hero to fight for Elethorn, and all of his special rules work well in conjunction with the enemies in this expansion and the new disguise mechanisms. But then there was the backlash about the knight, so they decided to put a knight in here, and turned the rogue into a character pack. Regardless of the reason, I think a lot of people agree that it's great to get a guardian knight - it's a cool character that a lot of people missed out on, and I am very happy to have him - but he does feel a bit tacked on here and might have been better in a quest pack that felt more like it was meant for him.
I have said the same thing since the first announcement. The Knight we got was almost certainly originally going to be Sir Ragnar, and after Hasbro screwed up the Knight Pack, they decided to include the Knight *instead* by sculpting a new head for him.
I'm still not a fan of the specters cannot phase into an unexplored room. Why would they care where you have been, but more where the adventures are going and to save their own ectoplasm. There are certainly some good ideas, and it seems that they are headed in a good direction, they just tripped up short of the a good finish line. Hopefully there's another quest to follow up on this that will fill in the holes. In the mean time, I'll look forward to your next episode.
I think it's a concession to gameplay and balance. You don't want every specter you meet to hit you with channel dread and then run off into the next room where it can team up with the next group of monsters you are going to face. If you start letting specters roam around unexplored parts of the board you also have to start asking why the other monsters can't reposition themselves before you meet them, and you have to introduce extra rules for how to handle specters that do move into unexplored parts of the map which adds to the overall complexity. I think restricted their movement is the best way to keep things ticking over without causing a lot of ripples and knock-on effects.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring That is a consideration. And an issue any Zargon will face at some point in their careers. But I also think this is where mindpoonts can come into play. O mind points, attack and advance pretty much without regard for their life (or undead existance), while 5 mind points will use whatever advantage it can to live and win, to include retreating.
I definitely wouldn't want to take away the agency of the specters in that way. They do need to be able to use their wall-phasing abilities and magic cunningly, despite being mind 0, but I do think it needs some limitations. Of course, good Zargon players should try to avoid doing anything too frustrating for their players anyway, so self-regulation is always important.
Awww... I still haven't gotten mine, they only just charged me this morning! 😢 Have you noticed the Plastic tray breaking down... Recently my "Mage in the Mirror" plastic has begun to disintegrate!
I remove the plastic inserts and make custom inserts with foamcore, so all my plastic trays are in storage in the attic. Maybe they have disintegrated up there...
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring oh that's right! You did a whole series of videos on it and everything! Well, all the better cause those plastic inserts break apart! 😰
The app has all the other retail expansions, so I expect it will be added eventually. I really wish they would add the three Mythic Tier exclusive quest books.
The app normally gets updated with the new expansion a little while after retail release. There is an advert for the app in the Rise of the Dread Moon box, so it will definitely happen.
Quick question. Does the knight have 3 defense dice before or after the shield is considered? If the shield is lost does he go down to 2 dice? Or is 3 the base? I don't think any other heroes start with armor so idk how that works.
I have the Lords of Waterdeep board game which has the crescent coin tokens in it. There are definitely some similarities, but I think it's mainly because they are both crescent shapes with swirly patterns on them.
Yes, unfortunately that's the case. I did a video showing the scale difference quite a while back. All the tokens, miniatures, and overlays assume the larger board. But if you could find a scaled up board somewhere, then you would be fine in terms of things fitting, it would just look a bit weird because of the difference in the artwork and miniatures.
That's tricky because they all have good elements. I think Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord are two of the best. They have exciting stories, and the campaigns include some really fun set pieces. Kellar's Keep in particular has a very dramatic story. The problem with those expansions is they didn't really push the envelope and you didn't get any new monsters, so they start to feel a bit samey after working through the core set. Frozen Horror has some really great components and the enemies are interesting, but the balance is off and the quests can be a bit of a slog. Mage of the Mirror is similarly very tough, but has great new miniatures and includes werewolves. Rise of the Dread Moon is packed with new ideas that make it very fresh and exciting, but I haven't played the campaign yet, so things might fall on their arse a bit once the dice start rolling. At the moment, only considering Avalon Hill's editions of the expansions, I would probably go (best to worst): Kellar's Keep, Return of the Witch Lord, Rise of the Dread Moon, Mage of the Mirror, and Frozen Horror. I haven't played any of the Mythic quests from the crowdfunding campaign, so don't know where I would place those yet.
I would be surprised if they don't do a dwarf expansion. There is a possibility that while updating Against the Ogre Horde they make it the dwarf quest pack, then Wizards of Morcar would be the wizard quest pack.
There are concepts for both expansions for the old MB version floating around the internet, most if it uncovered by Toco. Fan service would mean for Avalon Hill to contact Toco and use as much as they can from those tidbits.
This got me so excited i wanna do a Haka. It may scratch the itch until Against the Ogre Horde or Wizards of Morcar.......I will never call MORCAR zargon! EVEN IN A FIRE!!!!
I wasn't keen on the miniatures and concepts they came up with for those characters during the crowdfunding campaign, but I still think they should make new sculpts and drop them into future packs. Based on the leaks/rumours, it doesn't sound like it's something that's on the cards for a while though.
I feel the same as you; I want everyone to have the new heroes even though a) I already have them and b) didn't think they were very good. While I understand people want the same ones Mythic Backers got, I actually think resculpts might help in this case, as long as AH aren't still attached to Activewear Druid, Evil Halfling Warlock and Comedy Orc Bard as designs and can give us something that looks more HQ-like.@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring
@@carlosbarreto4695 They're a freaking WARLOCK who made a pact worth a demon! Hard;y the stuff "heroes" are made of. Sure, in a D&D tabletop campaign that's a fascinating character to play but in a simple family boardgame based on traditional fantasy archetypes... a "warlock" and/or "demon" is the baddie.
@@Banjo-Oz Spawn and Ghost Rider are also characters that made a pact with a demon. And yet, both are heroes (or anti-heroes, which is basically a hero that kills, just like HeroQuest heroes). Just because someone made a pact with the devil, it doesn't make him/her necessarily evil. So if anyone asks, just explain that and _voilà._
Hey buddy, now listen here. Magic statues springing to life is a commandment of Heroquest! I didn't paint this second Gargoyle figure as a stone statue for nothing dammit! I look forward to the spoiler review as a Heroquest collector who hasn't bought a single Avalon Hill version, I am intrigued by the progress of the game nonetheless, I am collecting these quest books either way to recreate the quests in old HQ with proxy models. Gonna be tricky to find something that works for those Specters; maybe one of those Wraiths from Darkworld: Village of Fear haha.
I wonder if Zargon's garden gnomes spring to life as well... There are some decent banshees in the D&D range (the ones that also appear in the Castle Ravenloft board game). Those would work well for the specters.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringthis is a very nice addition to my Heroquest collection if I can figure out some good ways to adapt it. I own the entire new collection of expansions except Commander of the Guaadian Knights as it costs as much as thr entire collection😂
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I'll fight the mailman if he doesn't have it tomorrow. Oh, while I've got you here- you do some homebrew board game stuff? Those D&D dungeon tile boxes are like $25 USD, with square spaces and all- probably great for any kind of board game dungeon crawl system.
I don't really homebrew, but I have stacks and stacks of different tiles, boards, and kits (from Dungeons and Lasers) for creating dungeons. Stuff like the D&D adventure game sets are fantastic for throwing together big dungeons without a lot of expense.
I ordered with Zatu when I covered their early preorders months ago. However, the day before the expansion launched Zatu emailed me and said the price had gone up and they needed more money. This not only jacked the price up above retail, it also would have delayed receipt, so I cancelled my order and placed an order with Amazon instead.
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I did see a fair few people who preordered with Zatu and received similar messages, although varying amounts each time. I ordered with gameslore but it was still at the preorder stage when I checked on Monday, although I've looked now and it's moved to out of stock so they must have officially released it. I think I have other pre orders on the same order so I better check 😂
I painted my classic minis and I have painted the new abominations. All that is on the channel. At some point I will try to make a dent on the new stuff.
Easily. I posted a video last week telling everyone about the Zavvi sale because I thought it was an amazing deal on everything (unfortunately they have sold out of most things now).
Avalon Hill's edition uses a larger scale, so furniture, miniatures, tokens, and floor overlays won't sit correctly over an old board. Additionally, if you have an only European edition of the game, then you are using a completely different rules set to the one that Avalon Hill's edition uses, so it would take a little work to covert everything.
Great video as always I do enjoy your analyses & take on the whole expansion as a whole.. lots of chat online today about isle of games store are starting pre-orders for the following.. Prophecy of Telor (2023) Spirit queen torment (2024) Against Ogre Horde (2024) Path of the Wandering Monk (2025) Check it out…
Happy to help! Alchemy was a nifty idea. I hope they continue to use it in all new expansions, as I do like having that separate deck of cards to work with.
There are a few poorer sculpts, but the miniatures are very good overall, especially for out of the box board game miniatures ready to use. If Games Workshop were involved - which they never would be because they aren't going to make miniatures that aren't for their own game systems - then the miniatures would be hard plastic kits, and this expansion would easily be twice the price. I can't see either of those things going down well with the HeroQuest crowd.
Note that in this video ABNB cannot figure out why Avalon Hill included extra helmet and hand axe cards. It turns out these cards contain errata. The hand axe now specifies it cannot be used by the wizard; the helmet now states it is made of metal.
turns out the 2022 (slim box) version of the remake Game System also includes these same tweaks to those two equipment cards (didn't realize that until GenCon).
Oh no, my Wizard is using the axe in the main campaign. I’m going to pretend I didn’t know this.
Also, does this mean my kid’s Rogue can’t use the helmet?
@@triple5tar Unfortunately so. These cards were updated to prevent the wizard and rogue from benefitting from them.
I was looking at this on Amazon. It's funny how they list items, but they don't seem to advertise this guy as being a new hero, which is a good selling point. Just looks like he's helping on the box art.
I love your HeroQuest content. Thank you for the thorough unboxing. I appreciate the amount of camera work and editing you do to provide clear, in-focus, professional-looking views of everything. Your thoughts and commentary are excellent and I truly respect that you're able to have the candor to admit that even though something might not be what you expected or wished for, that doesn't make it bad or wrong, etc.
Thank you. That's really kind of you. I think everybody gets a picture in their head of what the expansion might be, and what they hope it will be, and a product can never be all those things to all those people. Overall, I think Avalon Hill have made something that feels like HeroQuest but adds enough new elements to make it a bit more modern. My biggest gripe is that they teased some things as being a big deal and they just aren't.
I made a rule for rooms with bookcases/sorc's table, when searching the room for treasure a character rolls an attack die, on a white shield the Hero finds a Spell scroll, adding one spent spell back into the characters inventory. Replace spell scroll with a potion for the Cupboard/Alchemy table.
I've been going through alot of you're hero quest content, and I gotta say, you are THE hero quest CZcams guy as far as I'm concerned, I didint grow up with with this game, but I've grown to love it, me and my wife are currently on return of the witch lord expansion Thanks to the handy companion app, which is better then nothing and does falter at times, but Thanks for keeping us so informed while not spoiling to much, you have earned a subscription from me sir
Thanks for the kind words and for choosing to subscribe. I'm glad you are enjoying HeroQuest with your wife.
I love your reviews of the Heroquest expansions. Not to be impolite and it might be Avalon's fault but I think it's pronounced Re-agent, at least here in the states. Keep up the great work!
I'm interested to see members of the community work to merge Mage of the Mirror & Rise of the Dread Moon campaigns together in terms of the story & swapping monsters / mechanics about.
The "Civil War" idea works better if you are sneaking into the City controlled by Sinestra (who has seized the thrown & taken the Princess hostage) - with Sir Ragnar in place as her ally with his own agenda he's pursuing in the background.
Not to mention the idea of werewolves / giant wolves feeling like they tie nicely into the idea of the Rise of the Dread Moon (as a lunar event of done significance) - and both campaigns seeming to (from what I've briefly seen in video's) include quests where the Heroes enter the Realm of Reflection (although as far as I can tell both packs have different item for entering).
Then you have the option of swapping in extra Elves (and types of Elves) in place of some of the more obvious Chaos monsters found in most of the Mage of the Mirror quests to keep things a bit more thematic (until the quests where you're more after Sir Ragnar than Sinestra.
You could even have Sir Ragnar be teamed up with a group of Ogre mercenaries (potentially doing some work to set up Against the Ogre Horde), rather than them just being there unexplained in the Mage of the Mirror quests.
Lots of opportunities to smooth out some rough edges for both quest packs / stories if they are merged together, I feel (not to mention a chance to smooth out the difficulty in the Mage of the Mirror quests to be more in line with the Rise of the Dread Moon ones).
Being able to sneak about in disguise and / or have Raven's Veil allies in some of the Mage of the Mirror quests would help make those more interesting / balanced than the straight forward fights most of those quests currently are too.
I don't really want to talk about quest specifics here (what has happened to the princess, the use of mirrors, etc.). I am going to do a separate video on that to try to keep the spoilers all in one place.
I think wolves and werewolves were an obvious fit for this campaign and I'm surprised they aren't included at all. If I was trying to hunt down rebel fighters in the city, giant wolves would be a great way to sniff them out.
Perhaps Avalon Hill is planning a villian expansion with Sir Ragnar and Skulmar to offset the Roque Heir expansion. I would buy it.
I would hope for something more from Sir Ragnar.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I used a miniature from a shop to represent Sir Ragnar and had him join the heros on the Master edition instead of letting him become a traitor :(
Brilliant video (as always.) I didn't think I was that bothered about getting this.
Halfway through your vid, I pre-ordered it from one of my usual go-to shops!
I look forward to receiving it now. Thanks again for the great vid, review and your knowledge on everything Hero Quest - Always a brilliant watch. Cheers.
Thanks so much for watching. There is a lot to like with this expansion, so I hope you have a lot of fun with it.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Thank you 😊
OMG I have been waiting for THIS unboxing for a long long time!
An unboxing 30 years in the making. I think Avalon Hill have done the game justice with this one.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Also, it's cool that "Knight Fall" the online quest is now online! Go check it out, it really could have benefited from a Sir Ragnar figure as Ragnar is seen fleeing all over the place!
I covered the Knight Fall mission being available for download in the community section of my channel at the weekend. It was very different to what I was expecting.
I'm so excited. Everything looks fantastic. The whole thing has a gothic feel to it.
I plan on augmenting it quite a bit with pieces from my Castle Ravenloft board game.
When I reviewed the very Gothic Warhammer Quest Cursed City, one of the things I said I would have preferred was a narrative campaign with linked missions that told the story of the rebels overthrowing the oppressive tyrants and reclaiming the city. I finally got that narrative campaign, just in a different game.
it was my honor to give this video it's "404th" LIKE .
Anyone else think what HeroQuest is really missing is Trolls? Maybe 4 attack 3 Defense 3 body, and the ability to remove a skull counter on Zargons turn?
I'm surprised they didn't go with trolls when they couldn't use fimir in the base game, but I reckon trolls would be a really good choice for enemies if they do make a dwarf quest pack.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring agreed! Or maybe more subterranean beasts... Maybe a copyright safe Bullette or Giant Bats
HeroQuest is overdue rats, bats, and giant spiders. What kind of dungeon crawl is this?
😁@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring aaahh, just imagine how cool a HeroQuest Spider would look.
I'm thinking 7 Move, 3 attack 1 defense, 2 Body and the ability to move past heroes (wall crawling)
Trolls, definitely! I like your idea to incorporate regeneration into the Trolls' attributes. Surely a future monster in a future expansion ...
Thanks! Still awaiting my copy… really excited about the additional cards and the changes around them.
The alchemy deck is a really good idea, and I'm very happy to finally have a guardian knight.
The extra Handaxe and Helmet cards are updates to the original, specifying that the Wizard can not use the Handaxe and the Helmet is made of Metal so certain heroes can not use it either.
I know. I pinned a comment about this after the video was posted.
Well, possibly and hopefully Avalon watched your review and inspired them to create a knight solo expansion in the future. A solo that connects a continuous story from this expansion.
It would have been nice to have the knight feel more connected to the quest, but at least we got the knight, so I'm happy about that.
The quests and disguise feature are perfect for the rogue. He dont cast spells and his weapons dont remove the disguise. He fits in this expension so much better then the Knight.
But i have the german version of the game and this is my first opportunity to get a official knight. The knight in my group used the Henchmen with the shield as proxy
Additionally, the rogue is actually a member of the Cadre of the Raven's Veil. As things are developed well in advance, it may even be possible the original plan was to use the rogue for this expansion, but then they decided to swap in the knight and release the rogue separately.
Wow, figures you need to play an expansion *included* with the game! If only GW thought of that with Cursed City expansions... ;-p
It's an outrageous concept, isn't it? You get such a great range of miniatures with these HeroQuest expansions.
Great review - very excited to get my copy later this week.
I hope you really enjoy it. There's an incredible amount of stuff in the box.
Thank you for the update. Looking forward to get my copy of the game.
Thanks for watching. I hope you have a lot of fun with it when it arrives.
Thank you for this video. It showed good what is in there. I think it will take some time to introduce everything to my team.
Somehow I feel the Knight is way too strong ...
Seems the Barbarian can retire ;_;
I am waiting for your new video, because as Morcar I wanna know as much beforehand to avoid a "bad" experience.
I definitely think the knight can replace the barbarian. It doesn't take much to get him a broadsword, and he can wear plate armour without slowing his movement, so he is very quickly going to be a superior combatant to the barbarian. At the moment, the only advantage the barbarian has is the extra body point and access to the barbarian exclusive artefacts from The Frozen Horror.
My in-depth look at the campaign should go live on Wednesday this week. Thanks for checking out the videos.
Awesome review, thanks, ABNB! I'm still waiting to find this expansion. I heard that the Hand Axe card now says "May not be used by Wizatd" - this was omitted on the card from the Game System.
Yeah, it does. It was something I missed when I was making the video. Also the new helmet card clearly states the helmet is made of metal now. This is important for the rogue heir character.
I have the german 2021 version of the basegame and "Kann nicht von Zauberer benutzt werden/May not be used by the Wizard" is on the Handaxe.
@@cadarrvestire9490 That makes sense as the other language were made after the English language edition and they must have spotted the mistake in the meantime.
8:29 Arbalist picture purposely leaves out the tip of the weapon in the left hand, because they were ashamed about how round it came out of the mold? 🤔
Ha. The funniest thing is that character is supposed to be armed with a broadsword.
I buy all the heroquest stuff in german. To me it is especially interesting because I will get the first skill cards for the german version of hero quest with this set. The character kits were not available in german so I'm looking forward to them and hope they will print the other skill cards in german too :)
That's a nice bonus. I think, in general, they are better off putting heroes in quest packs rather than making the standalone character packs.
the Companion App applies Knight's Challenge even though it's triggered by stepping on a square (Wandering Monster Trap) in a corridor. I agree with that decision
So the app completely ignores the fact the cards says the skill is for use in a room? Interesting. I definitely don't agree with a ruling directly contradicting the card text. Thanks for that. I haven't used the knight with the app so wasn't aware of that.
that background music at the start always makes me think my stove is trying to ignite the burner (tick, tick, tick). great to hear your thoughts.. I can only imagine your reaction to the news about Against the Ogre Horde remake...
Ha. Yeah I saw that Isle of Games had dropped a clanger and then had to 404 their page. I'm waiting to see how that all pans out.
The only expansion to Hero quest is more Hero quest!
Thanks for this! I am so looking forward to getting that alchemy deck... Postman, postman, where art thou? (Not that my copy is actually in the mail. I'll look out for your next video om Dread Moon instead.)
Thanks for watching. I think it's a great idea to separate the potions out from the equipment deck.
Thanks for this! I think what AH is doing with HeroQuest is great. As an owner (since ‘89) of the original HeroQuest (UK) with Return of the Witch Lord and Kellar’s Keep (I sold Ogre Horde :/ ), the urge to pick up the new stuff has been strong. The longer I put it off the more expensive it’s getting, haha.
Avalon Hill seem to be good custodians for the game, and this latest expansion is a great effort. I am always interested in what they are going to do next.
AH recently announced the March 2024 release of Against the Ogre Hoard
That's a nice looking neoprene mat you're using there. ;)
It’s my favourite neoprene mat. People often ask me where they can get it.
How about transparant blue plastic cut to size to indicate the water?
Anything like that would work. It just needs some kind of visual aid to make the dungeon feel like an underground waterway.
I’ve made myself a knight hero. He’s a bit overpowered attack wise he’s equally equipped with long sword shield and plate amour. Only downfall with him is mobility and movement he only rolls one red dice for movement. 👍👍 😊
One of the best things about the official knight class is that heavy armour doesn't restrict their movement. That, combined with the three special skills, is why I think the knight is a better option than the barbarian (although admittedly, the barbarian can get some good equipment in Frozen Horror).
Awww, be nice! I like the new table :(
I think I'm very nice. I think that table looks bad, though.
Thanks for the video, it sounds like a great expansion. I agree on making all cards to work in an unambiguous way and to also use keywards to assist in this.
The axe and helmet cards in this expansion are new versions containing errata (the helmet is now metal, the axe can't be used by the wizard), so they are updating cards, but a full reformat would be good. As they add more characters and more rules like the disguises from this expansion, it just muddies the waters a bit too much.
Dammit Ragnar I thought we were friends 😢😢
Surely the central figure on the box art is NOT Sir Ragnar, but the Knight character?
Sir Ragnar is the white haired knight with the beard who is attacking a loyal guardian knight.
I have my original set I got for Christmas 1990. I got the new releases just got dread moon today. Only problem...no one to play with. Great vid though
Ðid you try the app? Not perfect but will let you solo without doing everythingm
My group played thru the Mage in the Mirror and this one and we found the former more challenging. We did enjoy this one but not as much as MITM.
Just watched the video - love it! Can’t wait to see your spoiler video as I’m the Zargon for my kids! We are still on the base quests, so I’m holding off on getting this expansion until a later time.
That being said, you mentioned that you can just stow away the potions from the treasure deck and they can add new potions easily in expansions. Unfortunately, with the whole premise of each expansion being 100% standalone, that can’t be what happens for future expansions - you ultimately hit the point with the elf warriors/archers. I would have liked to see them require the Mage of the Mirror along with the base game for this expansion. They could have used all the same enemies without giving us enemies we already have (and could have made that Sir Ragnar mini)! Plus, as mentioned if this is supposed to be a sequel quest, why would you not build upon the prequel?!?! And yes - how can they build up Sir Ragnar and do him wrong like they did?!?
I may end up getting this sooner rather than later and allow potion crafting early on and just let it flow through all the quests! That and allowing mercenaries from Frozen Horror in everything past the base quests. Kind of implement all the new stuff back into the original stuff…change up the game with the more modern updates!
Looking like a great expansion overall, but as you said we should curb our own expectations and enjoy it for what it is and not what we built up in our heads to be!
When Games Workshop were publishing Blackstone Fortress, they released two small expansions and then a large one. From the point they published the large one, all future expansions required that in addition to the core set. It allowed them to expand the game without retreading old ground, and it worked pretty well. I do understand why Avalon Hill chose not to, and went with completely standalone expansions, but it does making growing the system more challenging. It also made their efforts to hinge these two expansions together into a single story rather futile. The packs don't feel like they are related, and I agree there are a lot of cool things from Mage of the Mirror that should really have been in Rise of the Dread Moon too.
I think the potion thing would work out fine, though. They just need to publish any new potions in future expansions with the alchemy card backing. This won't make a difference to people who are using the old equipment cards, as the potion just gets added in with the other items in the shop.
However, it does feel a bit like Avalon Hill currently expect fans to buy everything. They even put corrected helmet and hand axe cards in this expansion, which is an odd place to put them.
As for Ragnar... yeah, they did him dirty. The mistake they made was in promoting his inclusion. They underestimated the fan reaction. If they had kept quiet, and then Ragnar had just made a guest appearance in a single mission in the campaign it might have seemed like a cute little nod to the past for fans. As it is, it feels like wasted potential.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring: we all know that the young generation isn’t the target audience for HQ!! I definitely feel like you do where if they really wanted to make this a sequel quest, they should have made Mage of the Mirror a prerequisite. That would have allowed for a lot more cohesive storytelling! As you pointed out you could play this first and MotM second and you’d really not be lost in any way. They definitely missed a huge opportunity to really shake things up!
That being said, I do get the reasoning for keeping each expansion standalone, so people don’t have to buy everything - but c’mon - we’re all going to buy it all anyways!!
It’s just a shame they don’t require certain other expansions, because unless they reprint ogres for another expansion, you’ll never see ogres in another expansion! Same goes for Dread Cultists, Specters, mercenaries, giant wolves & ice creatures! Sure home brew is the way to go with that, but lots of lost potential to be able to have official expansions use already existing monsters! If they reprint the unique monsters for future quests, We’ll all end up with 20 ogres but only able to use 4 at any given time……
Since my copy now only appears to arrive here in the Netherlands in September, instead of putting in the effort to avoid all the content related videos, I saw this video and thought okay then. 😁
I've tried to avoid any spoilers in this video (I suppose it depends on what you class as a spoiler), so if you do decide to watch it hopefully doesn't impact on your enjoyment of the expansion when it arrives. It sucks that you are going to have to wait until September.
The Guardian Knight looks like Goblin Slayer. Great vid.
Lots of people say that, but I don't really see it myself.
25:39 - I'm one of those people.
Correct me if I'm missing something, but the only Barbarian exclusive item from The Frozen horror is the _Amulet of the North,_ giving a +2 Body Points and +1 Mind Point to the Barbarian's total, which is the same effect of the _Elven Bracers_ from the Mage of the Mirror.
While I like the idea of giving other heroes access to those exclusive potions, it's not just a feeling that this decision takes away material that was designed to give the Barbarian and the Elf something special. That's a fact.
At least the Elf got 8 new cool spells in The Mage of the Mirror expansion. On the other hand, the Barbarian... As you mentioned, he really needs something that makes him special.
Poor Barbarian.
Yes, to the best of my recollection, the barbarian exclusive items were the Amulet of the North and then the Potion of Icy Strength, Potion of Frost Skin, and Potion of Battle Rage. With the potions changing so that anyone can use them, the barbarian loses some of the things that made him a unique choice. The fact Avalon Hill have done this does make me wonder if they might be planning on doing something else for the barbarian.
I've always wanted a town or something to do between quests a tavern to hire someone .. different shops for equipment or potions .. a scholar school to regain spells .. if you wanna drop off a hero let's say barbarian or elf wants to go do their quest you gotta meet up with other heros plus a royal room to get quests or even at tavern you can get bounty hunting quests
I wouldn't be surprised if they do something like that at some point.
Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but I can't find any references to the "Cadre of the Raven Claw" in any of the published material, or Hasbro Pulse blog. Where did this name and expectations for them come from?
Cadre of the Raven’s Veil were first mentioned in the letter to the Rogue Heir of Elethorn (who is one of them). Their involvement was teased on Discord and during promotion for the expansion.
If I'm not mistaken, that new hand axe states that it may not be used by the wizard, where as the original from the core doesn't. Oh well, good job I didn't buy that one then.
Great coverage as usual abnb.
Can't wait to get my set now, hurry up Zavvi!
Just read your pinned comment 😂
Yeah. They are cards with corrections. The rogue heir is denied access to a helmet now as well, making them the squishiest of heroes.
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring i haven't used a rogue in my games yet, or any new hero's for that matter. I might start the dreadmoon exp with the bard, guardian, rogue and druid perhaps. Could be a terrible combination, but there's only one way to find out!
That's quite a squishy team. The knight will have their work cut out!
Avalon should hire you to help them plan out and design their expansions.
Ha. Not sure about that. I think the last thing they need is a big mouth from the Internet sticking his oar in. I appreciate the vote of confidence, though!
I don't see how you are getting that Knights can used their shields in disguises. To me its quite clear in the opposite direction. Shields are armor and its not one of the two exceptions. Now this is my first expansion so if in another expansion they reprint shields without the armor keyword, then that would be something different.
Nobody is claiming shields aren't armour. As I said in the video, people will argue it both ways because the rules say you can "wear" no armour. It's a bad word choice if it isn't intentionally chosen. So, it's one of those things people will decide for themselves how they want to play it. Overall, I think this wasn't the right expansion for the knight to show up in.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I agree that this expansion is not the best introduction for the knight (other than he is still so good, even with quests countering some of his abilities, he still a better option than the barbarian.
However you say people will argue it both ways and I'm just not seeing the logic to allow shields and disguises to work together. Armor is practically a keyword in the game and I can't see how the rule "wear no armor" doesn't apply to something the game labels as armor. You discussing it like its the obvious way of interpeting that interaction is what confuses me most.
But you are discussing it like the other way of interpreting it is the obvious right way. You don't wear the shield, you hold it, hence why you can't use two-handed weapons with it. The wording of the rule seems intentional to me, but it seems intentional to you too for a different reason. Avalon Hill don't seem keen on clarifying rules and they like to tell people to figure out what works best for them, so unless that changes, if there is any debate at the game table I think the best solution is to let your Zargon player make the call. It's a minor thing anyway.
Great video. My expansion has been held up because the supplier increased the price after I ordered it. 🤬I have just agreed to pay the additional £5 and it is on its way. 48 hours to go until it arrives.
Was it Zatu by any chance? I preordered with them months ago, then the day before the release they contacted me asking for extra money. I immediately cancelled my order, put in an order with Amazon and received the expansion the next day.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring It was indeed Zatu, and like you I ordered months ago. To be fair they have been really good with all my other purchases from them so as long as it does turn up in 48 hours I will forgive and forget
Wow , looks fun !
Malibu holy crap I didn't know that lol but makes sense
He was great in the Dragon Strike video. He got the memo and knew exactly how cheesy he was supposed to be.
Is the rise of the dread moon on the companion app because I can't find it
Not yet. They normally get the expansions on the app a little while after the release date of the physical edition.
Good overview. This might be a tough one for them to convert into the solo app.
Thanks. I agree. I think there's so much going on that the app will really struggle with being able to do it justice. In particular, I don't believe the app will do a good job running the monsters as they have so many abilities and spells. And once you start introducing NPCs and "roleplaying", I feel it does benefit having a real player take on the role of Zargon.
My suspicion is that this set was never meant to feature the guardian knight, which is why everything about it feels tacked on. Instead the sculpt and the figure (or a very similar sculpt) were supposed to be Sir Ragnar. At some stage, possibly due to the backlash about the original guardian knight limited release, it was decided to switch the set to containing a guardian knight instead. This was probably late in production, leading to some things not being able to be easily changed, and maybe Avalon Hill already had the box interior done so couldn't or were unwilling to add an extra figure. Hence no Ragnar and a tacked on guardian knight.
It does feel like something like that happened. Another credible theory is that this set was supposed to be for the rogue heir. He is a member of the cadre, he would be the perfect choice of hero to fight for Elethorn, and all of his special rules work well in conjunction with the enemies in this expansion and the new disguise mechanisms. But then there was the backlash about the knight, so they decided to put a knight in here, and turned the rogue into a character pack. Regardless of the reason, I think a lot of people agree that it's great to get a guardian knight - it's a cool character that a lot of people missed out on, and I am very happy to have him - but he does feel a bit tacked on here and might have been better in a quest pack that felt more like it was meant for him.
I have said the same thing since the first announcement. The Knight we got was almost certainly originally going to be Sir Ragnar, and after Hasbro screwed up the Knight Pack, they decided to include the Knight *instead* by sculpting a new head for him.
I'm still not a fan of the specters cannot phase into an unexplored room. Why would they care where you have been, but more where the adventures are going and to save their own ectoplasm. There are certainly some good ideas, and it seems that they are headed in a good direction, they just tripped up short of the a good finish line. Hopefully there's another quest to follow up on this that will fill in the holes. In the mean time, I'll look forward to your next episode.
I think it's a concession to gameplay and balance. You don't want every specter you meet to hit you with channel dread and then run off into the next room where it can team up with the next group of monsters you are going to face. If you start letting specters roam around unexplored parts of the board you also have to start asking why the other monsters can't reposition themselves before you meet them, and you have to introduce extra rules for how to handle specters that do move into unexplored parts of the map which adds to the overall complexity. I think restricted their movement is the best way to keep things ticking over without causing a lot of ripples and knock-on effects.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring That is a consideration. And an issue any Zargon will face at some point in their careers. But I also think this is where mindpoonts can come into play. O mind points, attack and advance pretty much without regard for their life (or undead existance), while 5 mind points will use whatever advantage it can to live and win, to include retreating.
I definitely wouldn't want to take away the agency of the specters in that way. They do need to be able to use their wall-phasing abilities and magic cunningly, despite being mind 0, but I do think it needs some limitations. Of course, good Zargon players should try to avoid doing anything too frustrating for their players anyway, so self-regulation is always important.
Awww... I still haven't gotten mine, they only just charged me this morning! 😢 Have you noticed the Plastic tray breaking down... Recently my "Mage in the Mirror" plastic has begun to disintegrate!
I remove the plastic inserts and make custom inserts with foamcore, so all my plastic trays are in storage in the attic. Maybe they have disintegrated up there...
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring oh that's right! You did a whole series of videos on it and everything! Well, all the better cause those plastic inserts break apart! 😰
Good to know. I might be storing a box of plastic shrapnel by now!
I still have my dragon strike boards
Dragon Strike is a really fun game. I keep meaning to run one of the solo missions on the channel.
Will they be updating the App to include this expansion for solo play?
The app has all the other retail expansions, so I expect it will be added eventually. I really wish they would add the three Mythic Tier exclusive quest books.
The app normally gets updated with the new expansion a little while after retail release. There is an advert for the app in the Rise of the Dread Moon box, so it will definitely happen.
@Rocket1377 The Mythic Tier expansions are going to retail. They will be added to the app at that time, I would imagine.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring thanks for letting me know that.
Yodel is delivering mine in the morning. Hopefully it's to me this time 🤨
I hope it arrives safely and you have a lot of fun with it.
Quick question. Does the knight have 3 defense dice before or after the shield is considered? If the shield is lost does he go down to 2 dice? Or is 3 the base? I don't think any other heroes start with armor so idk how that works.
Hero stat lines always incorporate their starting gear. An unarmed hero with no armour is attack 1, defence 2.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringthank you
Anyone else notice that the tokens look like the money from Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms?
I have the Lords of Waterdeep board game which has the crescent coin tokens in it. There are definitely some similarities, but I think it's mainly because they are both crescent shapes with swirly patterns on them.
Thank you
Thanks for watching.
Unfortunately it won’t fit my original version of HeroQuest, because they changed the dimensions.
Yes, unfortunately that's the case. I did a video showing the scale difference quite a while back. All the tokens, miniatures, and overlays assume the larger board. But if you could find a scaled up board somewhere, then you would be fine in terms of things fitting, it would just look a bit weird because of the difference in the artwork and miniatures.
How would you rank the five expansions released so far, with 1 being your favorite?
That's tricky because they all have good elements. I think Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord are two of the best. They have exciting stories, and the campaigns include some really fun set pieces. Kellar's Keep in particular has a very dramatic story. The problem with those expansions is they didn't really push the envelope and you didn't get any new monsters, so they start to feel a bit samey after working through the core set. Frozen Horror has some really great components and the enemies are interesting, but the balance is off and the quests can be a bit of a slog. Mage of the Mirror is similarly very tough, but has great new miniatures and includes werewolves. Rise of the Dread Moon is packed with new ideas that make it very fresh and exciting, but I haven't played the campaign yet, so things might fall on their arse a bit once the dice start rolling.
At the moment, only considering Avalon Hill's editions of the expansions, I would probably go (best to worst): Kellar's Keep, Return of the Witch Lord, Rise of the Dread Moon, Mage of the Mirror, and Frozen Horror. I haven't played any of the Mythic quests from the crowdfunding campaign, so don't know where I would place those yet.
This expansion look promising.
Play the DM here look more fun
I think this is an expansion that will really benefit from having a Zargon player. I don't think the app will do it justice.
I just want an expansion for the dwarf.
I would be surprised if they don't do a dwarf expansion. There is a possibility that while updating Against the Ogre Horde they make it the dwarf quest pack, then Wizards of Morcar would be the wizard quest pack.
There are concepts for both expansions for the old MB version floating around the internet, most if it uncovered by Toco.
Fan service would mean for Avalon Hill to contact Toco and use as much as they can from those tidbits.
This got me so excited i wanna do a Haka. It may scratch the itch until Against the Ogre Horde or Wizards of Morcar.......I will never call MORCAR zargon! EVEN IN A FIRE!!!!
Ha. He will always be Morcar to me, too. But I feel have to use Zargon when I am talking about Avalon Hill's edition.
I can only hope that Hasbro/Avalon Hill will create new Expansions to allow non backers to have the Bard, the Warlock and the Druid as well.
I wasn't keen on the miniatures and concepts they came up with for those characters during the crowdfunding campaign, but I still think they should make new sculpts and drop them into future packs. Based on the leaks/rumours, it doesn't sound like it's something that's on the cards for a while though.
I feel the same as you; I want everyone to have the new heroes even though a) I already have them and b) didn't think they were very good. While I understand people want the same ones Mythic Backers got, I actually think resculpts might help in this case, as long as AH aren't still attached to Activewear Druid, Evil Halfling Warlock and Comedy Orc Bard as designs and can give us something that looks more HQ-like.@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring
@@Banjo-OzWhat makes the halfling Warlock evil?
@@carlosbarreto4695 They're a freaking WARLOCK who made a pact worth a demon! Hard;y the stuff "heroes" are made of. Sure, in a D&D tabletop campaign that's a fascinating character to play but in a simple family boardgame based on traditional fantasy archetypes... a "warlock" and/or "demon" is the baddie.
@@Banjo-Oz Spawn and Ghost Rider are also characters that made a pact with a demon. And yet, both are heroes (or anti-heroes, which is basically a hero that kills, just like HeroQuest heroes). Just because someone made a pact with the devil, it doesn't make him/her necessarily evil.
So if anyone asks, just explain that and _voilà._
Hey buddy, now listen here. Magic statues springing to life is a commandment of Heroquest! I didn't paint this second Gargoyle figure as a stone statue for nothing dammit! I look forward to the spoiler review as a Heroquest collector who hasn't bought a single Avalon Hill version, I am intrigued by the progress of the game nonetheless, I am collecting these quest books either way to recreate the quests in old HQ with proxy models. Gonna be tricky to find something that works for those Specters; maybe one of those Wraiths from Darkworld: Village of Fear haha.
I wonder if Zargon's garden gnomes spring to life as well...
There are some decent banshees in the D&D range (the ones that also appear in the Castle Ravenloft board game). Those would work well for the specters.
What play board is the one at 23:46 ???
It's one of the boards from the game Dragon Strike, which I am talking about at that part of the video.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringthis is a very nice addition to my Heroquest collection if I can figure out some good ways to adapt it. I own the entire new collection of expansions except Commander of the Guaadian Knights as it costs as much as thr entire collection😂
...I'm in the US and haven't gotten mine yet. I'm jealous!
I'm surprised. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I'll fight the mailman if he doesn't have it tomorrow.
Oh, while I've got you here- you do some homebrew board game stuff? Those D&D dungeon tile boxes are like $25 USD, with square spaces and all- probably great for any kind of board game dungeon crawl system.
I don't really homebrew, but I have stacks and stacks of different tiles, boards, and kits (from Dungeons and Lasers) for creating dungeons. Stuff like the D&D adventure game sets are fantastic for throwing together big dungeons without a lot of expense.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring yep. And for any kind of skirmish game, especially if you're limited on cargo space in your vehicle? That's perfect.
Opinion noted…..disregarded!!!
Out of interest, where did you get your copy from? Im still waiting on my preorder
I ordered with Zatu when I covered their early preorders months ago. However, the day before the expansion launched Zatu emailed me and said the price had gone up and they needed more money. This not only jacked the price up above retail, it also would have delayed receipt, so I cancelled my order and placed an order with Amazon instead.
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I did see a fair few people who preordered with Zatu and received similar messages, although varying amounts each time. I ordered with gameslore but it was still at the preorder stage when I checked on Monday, although I've looked now and it's moved to out of stock so they must have officially released it. I think I have other pre orders on the same order so I better check 😂
I hope it all gets sorted quickly and you get your expansion soon!
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring me too, but as always I have your video to tide me other, thanks!
Who has painted their HQ minis?
I painted my classic minis and I have painted the new abominations. All that is on the channel. At some point I will try to make a dent on the new stuff.
£25 on Zavvi right now. Worth that?
Easily. I posted a video last week telling everyone about the Zavvi sale because I thought it was an amazing deal on everything (unfortunately they have sold out of most things now).
Will it work with original HQ?
Avalon Hill's edition uses a larger scale, so furniture, miniatures, tokens, and floor overlays won't sit correctly over an old board. Additionally, if you have an only European edition of the game, then you are using a completely different rules set to the one that Avalon Hill's edition uses, so it would take a little work to covert everything.
Yes, you just have to be ok at being a GM
Great video as always I do enjoy your analyses & take on the whole expansion as a whole.. lots of chat online today about isle of games store are starting pre-orders for the following..
Prophecy of Telor (2023)
Spirit queen torment (2024)
Against Ogre Horde (2024)
Path of the Wandering Monk (2025)
Check it out…
I'm very dubious about all that. Not sure why any store would be taking preorders for something with a supposed street date of 2025.
⚔️ 😍 🔝 🌒 👻 🌘 🆒 🥰 ⚔️
Just ordered this expansion thanks to your Jungles response. Thanks again, especially looking forward to the alchemy cards! ✨🧪✨
Happy to help! Alchemy was a nifty idea. I hope they continue to use it in all new expansions, as I do like having that separate deck of cards to work with.
The minis look awful. Bring back Games Workshop!
There are a few poorer sculpts, but the miniatures are very good overall, especially for out of the box board game miniatures ready to use. If Games Workshop were involved - which they never would be because they aren't going to make miniatures that aren't for their own game systems - then the miniatures would be hard plastic kits, and this expansion would easily be twice the price. I can't see either of those things going down well with the HeroQuest crowd.