Beastlords faction for Bot War

The Beastlords are one of the latest factions for the Bot War game from Traders Galaxy and form part of their new resin range.  There’s a few words in this entry, but feel free to just look at the pictures and check out the Traders Galaxy site for more information about them and the game.

These miniatures are gorgeous!

Ok, with that out of the way let me quickly summarise these bots.

Each bot is cast is high quality resin and comes in 4 or 5 pieces with a 50mm base. These are great sculpts with lovely little details and very few mould lines or casting issues on the packs I received. This is always something I would be worried about as mould slip or air bubbles would really show up on the flat panels.  The artwork you can see above has been perfectly captured during the sculpting process and I saw very little change from the initial 3D renders which were presented early on in their product development.

This 7 bot faction comprises of 3 different sets, 2 containing 3 miniatures and the other containing the most powerful of the Beastlords:

• Tyrannus, Arkynor, Dactylous
• Stegarous, Parasolar, Tricerous
• Brontous

This project is going to follow my progress in building and painting these bots, I hope you will enjoy it

“Unlike all previous Bots, the Beastlords have been present on earth since the Dark Ages. They were originally sent by the One to protect humanity against rogue entities under the command of Galaxy. It was this act by Galaxy that started the series of events that led to his elevation to Tyrant status and his open rebellion against the One.  

The Beastlords themselves however are unlike Valiants or Deceivers in that they were created specifically for purpose, having no life prior to the physical bodies they currently have. As a result Beastlords are mortal in theory however as no one has ever destroyed a Beastlord it is hard to say for sure. It is speculated amongst the Valiants as to whether the One had foresight enough to know the Beastlords would be present during the Bot War.  

No one knows how many Beastlords really exist as they are hermits, mostly living in solitary locations across the Earth. In times of great need perhaps a few will gather to swat a bothersome pest but once the threat is over they each go their separate ways again.

What is known is that Beastlords are extremely strong and powerful. Even more powerful than other non Beastlord Bots larger than themselves. In addition, their bodies are made of an unknown metal much stronger than steel. This allows the Beastlords to easily crush any enemy without taking much damage in return. For example Tyrannous, one of the more powerful Beastlords barely has a single dint in his body even after thousands of years.

These traits all make Beastlords unique. Their creation by the One gives them an affinity with the Valiants and their purpose gives them an affinity with humans, however this also hasn’t stopped the Beastlords having run ins with both of these factions

Their presence on Earth harks back to the dark ages. Emissaries of the One, the Beastlords are the only mortal Bots. Beastlords were never on Earth in huge numbers however they were once more numerous than they are now.  

Now only 7 Beastlords are known and rarely do they come together. They are solitary hermets for the most part.

The Beastlords code is a mystery, indeed no Beastlord has been destroyed in modern times so it is very hard to tell what happens when a Beastlord falls. All that is known is that their code is totally incompatible with any other Bot code in existence. “

Please note that the above background information has been copied from the Bot War Miniatures Game Facebook group as it is the original post detailing the background of the Beastlords faction before their general release. What follows is an enriched background as part of the new approach being taken by Traders Galaxy to create a unique universe and story that these epic battles are being fought in and is available in the free-to-print faction cards that support their release…

“During the early years of the Earth, supernatural entities rose to challenge and rule humanity. Five primordial gods set themselves against the order of creation itself. Beings that embodied the very elements themselves. Rather than war against each other and risk destruction, these gods made a pact to divide the planet and its human population into 5 parts.  Soon into this hellish reign, the fifth god’s heart was softened, and he left humanity and disappeared. The greedy remaining gods then started to argue over who would inherit the departed gods portion. Cataclysmic battles between the gods raged and much of the Earth and humanity was destroyed.

One of the four gods was destroyed utterly in these battles. A third chose to flee, leaving the remaining two. The remaining two gods were evenly matched. They eventually decided on a truce and the Earth was split into two territories. The names of these two gods are still well known. Destroyer, god of earth and Leviathan, god of water.

These two gods inflicted much pain and suffering upon early humanity. So much so that the cries of the enslaved reached into other realms. These cries were
answered by the One, who sent 100 powerful new creations called Beastlords to defend humanity and destroy the two remaining gods.

The Beastlords were successful in part, managing to destroy the gargantuan physical bodies of the gods and banish them to the ether. The cost was high, however, as all but 7 of the Beastlords were destroyed or considered missing in action.

Unlike other Bots, the Beastlords are mortal creatures. Due to the robust construction of their bodies using unknown materials, they are extremely strong and long lived. It is estimated that the Beastlords are over 5000 years old. Each of them that remain have chosen to live a solitary existence, emerging from hiding only when man’s plight seems most dire. It is these rare sightings by humanity that have given rise to the stories and legends of dragons.”

Very cool!

I have not yet had a chance to field these on the table, but their start cards show them to be extremely powerful.  The following information has been copied from the Bot War Miniatures Game Facebook group as it is the most detailed post about the current playstyke of the Beastlords faction.

“Beastlords are the strongest of all factions and their faction is represented by the Bot War beast mask logo. They field the smallest numbers of Bots in any game with only 3 fitting into an 80point game as standard.  Toe to toe not even Megatyrant (Deceivers) or Duke (Valiants) could survive a Beastlord attack however Beastlords can really suffer when surrounded by many low point attackers and the combat bonuses start to stack up.  Its almost impossible to to play low risk against Beastlords because Ranged attack also has a low success rate.  Their shield/armour is some of the best in the game making their play style very different to Trashers.  Of all the factions, Beastlords crush everything that gets within 10” and their close range game is very hard to beat requiring good coordination of your activations.

Beastlords also can really struggle in certain scenarios because of their low numbers so in a tournament situation they can really lose big on certain games and win big on others. “