AGAINST THE OGRE HORDE discussion

[Kurgan]

GeekGoneGiddy has been keeping us updated that his order from Zatu claims to be arriving in the next 24 hours. If we interpret "A couple" as "two" then two weeks from Jan 27th would be Feb 10th, two days from now...

So who knows, we might have our first fan unboxing by then! Fingers crossed. Normally I'd say no way, too good to be true, nearly a month early? (it's Feb 8th, this is a leap year, etc) but judging by the past, this isn't that unexpected, if kept quiet.

Good luck! I'm mainly interested in any changes from the original version (we already know the minis from the back of the box, so let's see the cards, tiles, quest book changes, any possible changes to the Druid card text). There were no bomb throwing or boomerang goblins in the original... they had shortbows (and no special mini, just 2 dice ranged attack in addition to their normal abilities). The original had Orcs with crossbows (3 attack dice ranged plus their regular abilities) and Staves (diagonal ability added to their normal attack powers) with no special minis in these cases. No skeletal archers. It will be interesting to see if there are any modifications or special uses for those in the new version...

Like CraigLeslie, he's willing to do an unboxing/info dump for questions. So we'll see hopefully soon what happens!

[Kurgan]

Despite assurances from the company he ordered from that it's ATOH, the weight of the package makes him think they made a mistake and are actually sending him a second copy of the Wandering Monk. Oh well... (hope they give a prompt refund!)

[LucaRocks]

That would be beyond terrible if true! I feel so bad for the guy! He should never shop at that place again if that's what happened!

[Kurgan]

That was Zatu. He's got a backup order at Firestormgames (the first site I recall being documented with pre-orders), but the status of that one is no stock yet, so maybe no early unboxing from GeekGoneGiddy. Sorry folks...

[LucaRocks]

Well, there's STILL a chance. I mean, the cat isn't alive or dead until you open the box as they say lol.

I guess we'll just wait for preorders at the end of this month. Just as well... It won't be too long after preorders that they will ship.

[Markus Darwath]

And no sign of even pre-orders yet on Amazon or Pulse. Maybe they're waiting for the end of Feb "big announcement," but a March release would make for a rather short official pre-order window. Heck, I put in for my Dread Veil dice set like just after Thanksgiving or so.

I also noticed that Amazon basically had a clearance sale on the game system, which is now only available there through 3rd party sellers. Granted, some of those sellers still ship from Amazon, but even in those cases the sale is not Prime eligible. This would suggest they're either scaling back production on the base game, or getting ready to replace it with another revision. Maybe HQ Advanced with the Dark Company? I think I'd rather see Dark Company as a small box expansion, but if the quest book is set up for two boards then maybe having a second game system box makes some kind of sense.

[LucaRocks]

Dread Moon had a 1 month preorder window (June 15 to July 15) so it has happened this way before. Ogre will release March 31st it seems like so I'm sure the big announcement will come on Feb 28 or 29 and preorders will open up then as well.

I do not think they will close out HQ for Advanced HQ yet. They still have Wizards of Zargon to release which was tied to the original base game. And also the unreleased Wizard and Dwarf quest packs. I can't say for sure about the unreleased stuff but I'm almost certain that if they are doing Ogre, they are def doing Wizards of Zargon.

[Kurgan]

Yeah GeekGoneGiddy got his box, it was just a second copy of the Wandering Monk. He couldn't get an email through to their complaints dept so he's addressing them on social media.

[emlit]

And no sign of even pre-orders yet on Amazon or Pulse. Maybe they're waiting for the end of Feb "big announcement," but a March release would make for a rather short official pre-order window. Heck, I put in for my Dread Veil dice set like just after Thanksgiving or so.

I also noticed that Amazon basically had a clearance sale on the game system, which is now only available there through 3rd party sellers. Granted, some of those sellers still ship from Amazon, but even in those cases the sale is not Prime eligible. This would suggest they're either scaling back production on the base game, or getting ready to replace it with another revision. Maybe HQ Advanced with the Dark Company? I think I'd rather see Dark Company as a small box expansion, but if the quest book is set up for two boards then maybe having a second game system box makes some kind of sense.

I picked up two copies of the base game (one to keep as a backup and another for a friend) for $50 each via GameStop’s website. With all of the content out, I’m hesitant to cast aspersions about HQ’s long-term viability, but the fire sales have me concerned.

[Kurgan]

Those are some good deals! I see it for $67 as the lowest for any new GS, most are selling it for about $110. The "big box" versions go for the lower price or is the only thing advertised for sale at US websites I've seen.

HasbroPulse is still selling for full price.