Echelon Software through Design Team Ember has created a world across multiple media wherein a failed middle eastern state sees a proxy war fought by small elite teams across its terrority. Already available as a video game and a graphic novel series they have created a tabletop miniatures game and now the Aayari Guard and Hongbin Mercenaries are available.

Black Powder Red Earth

Black Powder Red Earth 28mm is a brand-new skirmish tabletop miniatures wargame where players direct small unit kill teams in pitched close combat infantry battles. The game sees Crisis Team Scorch engage with the Aayari Network and their Chinese advisors across Awbari, conducting covert operations as kill teams fight for dominance in the region.

Hongbin Enabler

Hardened veterans of bloody proxy wars throughout Africa and the Middle East, Hongbin Enablers are experts at guerrilla warfare. North Korean operatives that have been leased to the Chinese Foreign Intelligence Service. These Enablers are calculating professionals whose mission is to reap profit and if that means sacrificing assets then so be it!

Hongbin Mercenaries

More Terrorist than Mercenary, these Operatives of the Hongbin Alloy Security Services are in the business of winning and business is good. Even if victory comes at the cost of someone else's life. Drawn from secret police, republican guards and other murderous organisations they prefer to engage from cover with little regard to friendly casualties.

Muhtasib

The Muhtasib are murderous zealots who seek to slaughter their enemies and whose own lives are secondary to this aim. They are not afraid to die for their cause and use suicide belts to ensure they do not sell their lives cheaply. They are capable of point fire and maneuver and can be formidable disciplined enemies, but the real danger lies in their unflinching devotion to their death cult.

Shurta

Crashing towards Scorch Crisis teams with overt bases of fire, the Shurta soak up death in frontal charges or diversionary fients. This creates openings for the Hongbin and Muhtasib to push their enemies. The Shurta are not picked for their tactical ability but to be mass-produced expendable cannon fodder.

These models are beautifully detailed and crisply made. They're made from a flexible resin in multi-parts but are unipose. The set contains 21 miniatures in total, a Hongbin Enabler, four unique sculpts for the Hongbin Mercenaries and Muhtasib, and 12 Shurta in three poses. It makes the elites more unique and on the tabletop, the repetition of sculpts for the weaker Shurta isn't going to be an issue.

For anyone thinking about playing out modern conflicts in an alternative near-future setting then Black Powder Red Earth has already developed a rich landscape for games with an interesting combat system that allows you to play out tight small unit actions at a very quick pace. Combine that with atmospheric conditions that can help or hinder your units it makes for an extremely interesting game with a ton of potential.

What do you make of Black Powder Red Earth?