Doctor Who has a bit of a record when it comes to silly looking monsters. Even the utterly terrifying Daleks are essentially pepper-pots with an egg whisk attached and the show’s long history has an entire parade of amazing monster ideas that somehow failed in the execution stage. With over fifty years of ideas to page through, there are bound to be some howlers.
Warlord Games has the unenviable task of slowly but surely releasing miniature versions of these various terrors for their range of Into the Time Vortex Doctor Who games. Given that their plan seems to be ‘do everything eventually’, you can’t blame them for wanting to do some of the sillier monsters earlier on. Such as the Vervoids.
For those who missed them, The Vervoids were plant monsters who appeared 1986’s Terror of The Vervoids. They’re tall, humanoid plant creatures with plant/vine growths over a distinctly humanoid body. Their heads are inspired by orchids and have large, bulbous ‘heads’, surrounded by paler ‘petals’. Quite frankly, they look extremely phallic and rather silly.
The Warlord Games models are, thankfully, supplied unpainted. We suggest you go for autumn colours if you have a maiden aunt who’s prone to fainting in shock at the sight of anything suggestive, or more accurately, perhaps prone to falling into fits of giggles. They are really well sculpted with just enough detail to come out rather lovely with good paints and a good brush, even if you’re of fairly average skill. They have a fixed pose and aren’t really made with heavy conversion in mind; these lovely set pieces to either look pretty on your shelf unpainted or to be used in a game with a splash of paint on.
These are pieces for a game, so let’s look at how they play in Warlord’s Doctor Who Miniatures game; specifically in Exterminate, their skirmish game. Rules-wise, they’re quite a vicious unit. Sneak and Entangle traits make them ideal for slowing down even the agilest of opponents (which includes most companions) and though they aren’t likely to beat up a lot of Daleks, they’re decent enough in a fight. Their most interesting trait is ‘transform’, which lets you spawn new units. A sticky fate for any companion who decides to take them on it a fight.
DOCTOR WHO EXTERMINATE: VERVOIDS EXPANSION / PUBLISHER: WARLORD GAMES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
