by Ed Fortune
Dungeons & Dragons Onslaught is the miniatures skirmish game we didn’t know the hobby needed. Its models are pre-painted, the board is portable, and the whole thing plays quickly but with enough depth to make it very replayable. Unlike games such as Warcry, it’s less of an overall investment in time, money and effort to get into, especially as the scenery is all on the map. This means you can get straight into the fun.
The problem is that the Core Box only comes with enough models to play the game so things can get a little routine after a while. WizKids has solved this by launching three new expansion boxes; Zhentarim, The Harpers, and Sellswords. The first two boxes add to the factions you get in the core set, with the Sellswords adding to either group. Each box has four models, allowing you to build a Warband the way you want to when combined with the core set.
The boxes are solidly put together, with the cards and counters divided from the minis. The models are packed in a paper envelope, which is fine; these are WizKids’ pre-painted pieces, so they’re pretty tough. The bases are clear, with is useful for figuring out what sort of terrain they are on. The boxes are small enough that you’ll likely keep them to store the models and cards. Also, be aware that the new rules for these models are in the box, and there’s an advert for Frameworks on the other side of that sheet – we almost mistook it for a flyer.
Let’s take a look at each of these boxes. The Harpers 1 box for Onslaught has four heroes. Ayur is a drunken monk Aarakocra (the same sort of creature as Jarnathan from the Honour Among Thieves movie). He’s wielding a tankard, wings and his fists. In the play, he’s very mobile and does a lot of damage over time. Nurith is a Grung (frog person) with a spear. He’s slippery (as you’d expect), hard to hit, and designed to sneak around the board dealing damage before anyone else has a chance to act.
Every party needs a cleric, and the Harper’s expansion has Adnan Zareem, a human who mostly does burning damage to hit foes without taking damage themselves. They also have Moonbeam (for area effect damage) and some healing. They pair up nicely with the gnomish sorcerer Eileen Rumrunner, who throws out a lot of damage and buffs. It’s a good addition to the Harpers Faction and mixes up the game nicely, as it’s mostly a sneaky, tactical set of models.
The Zhentarim 1 box for Onslaught consists of four villains; Vonkar Zzod, the Hobgoblin Cleric, ‘Ruby Eye’ Doireann, the Dwarf Barbarian; Sha’Bel, Life-Sever, the Goliath Fighter; and Daiyu Tseng, the Human Bard. The Barbarian and the Fighter are both frontline fighters and are designed to pair up; they will take down pretty much anything you throw them at but are vulnerable.
The cleric is a nice mix of area damage and healing, with the bard keeping bigger opponents away with their magic until your heavy hitters are in position. This is a good team, and the sculpts are nice, though the Goliath is a little generic.
The Sellswords 1 box for Onslaught is mostly ‘tank-like characters. Rules-wise, you can’t run this box as its own team, but if your opponent doesn’t mind, we don’t see why not. The most striking is Dralm, a Tortle Fighter (that’s a turtle person). As you’d expect, they’re heavily armoured and designed to soak up all the attacks from your opponent. Alternately, you could use Kithra Coldforge, a fairly tough dwarven paladin who throws out ranged and close-combat hammer damage and can also control the board state by sending attacks away from your party and making enemies back away.
This set’s cleric is a gnome called Molly Farhill; no healing from this one but plenty of defensive and tactical skills. Also, the mini has an eyepatch, which looks very cool. Finally, we get Hangaku, a sword-wielding monk with ninja vibes.
This is your fast strike, high-damage unit that should soften up bigger opponents. Again, a good set, but rules as written, you can only run one of these models per faction, which limits them sadly, especially as they would make a great team.
