Orcs are one of the classic fantasy villains that gamers can’t seem to get enough of. The Dungeons and Dragons Orc has gone through many changes as the game has evolved during the years, but the core idea has remained the same; warlike creatures who tend to be all about using violence as a solution for everything.
In the D&D Icons of the Realms: Orc Warband set we get eight models in total; they’re all fairly beefy medium sized creatures and their stats can be found in various D&D Fifth Edition supplements; mostly the monster manual and Volo’s Guide. Orcs are playable characters as well, so this set is worth a look if you want a orc model for character inspiration.
The sculpts are of the style we’ve come to expect from Wizkids; they’ve been knocking it out of the park recently and mostly the pieces are more dynamic and strongly posed. They’re still made of the same soft-ish plastic and the paint jobs are both robust and clear; this is a set intended to be played with straight out of the box.
The most eye-catching model has to be the Nurtured One of Yurtrus, a hefty looking piece. The orc is covered in plague sores and looks like he’s about to burst pus all over the enemy at any time. It’s also the only ‘green’ orc in the range, the rest are blue or grey.
Of course, we get a standard looking orc piece. He’s a keen looking chap, swinging his flat looking axe and looking very grumpy. The Orog (which is a smarter orc) wears a cape and strikes a pose, but looks pretty much like an orc, just one with more style. We get two priestly orcs; a Claw of Luthic and an Eye of Grumush; they are well posed and look like they’re about to get stuck into a fight, so perfect for the gaming table.
The Red Fang of Shargass is meant to be a rogue/assassin style hero, but weirdly this model is posed more like a combat bad-ass. The model as sculpted looks like a great lieutenant for the War Chief, who’s posed like a megalomaniac wielding an axe.
This is a set of distinctive looking orcs that will make it very easy to manage any given encounter is D&D. If you’re the sort of person who wants very specific models, this box will most likely complete your collection of D&D orcs.
