Anima Tactics Production By Cipher Studios Ends?

Well, last year's announcement by Cipher Studios was bad enough for Anima Tactics, and now it looks like Anima Tactics minis have suddenly become more scarce.

A fan asked Ninja Division about restocks of minis:

"Are the out-of-stock Anima Tactics minis on the webstore now gone for good?"

And this was the reply from Ninja Division:
(source link)

"that is correct."

So it looks like whatever supplies are available are currently the last remaining copies of the various minis. Taking a brief look around the internet suggests availability is very reduced for much of the range compared to this time last year.

It also means that the last few releases (Sharsha, September, Nimrod and Anaximenes) may be among the rarest minis for the game.

It could be that Cipher Studios plan to move ahead separately from Ninja Division, but that does not seem likely.

What seems the case is that the promised Legion and Limited Edition Celia are not going to appear. I have asked about those two minis specifically, and not received an explicit answer from Ninja Division.

I accept that this is speculation, taken from the information available, however it means I strongly believe the first era of Anima Tactics is pretty much done except for the arrival of The Bearer and The Nameless miniatures as part of the Gate of Memories Kickstarter.

I retain some hope for a future of some iteration of the game, and I hope that somehow the existing characters make their way into any hypothetical future edition, even if only in the form of game rules if the minis won't ever be produced again.

'Free' At Last....

By 'free', I mean the final releases for Anima Tactics have finally begun to surface. This news has been posted on the Soda Pop website about Ninja Division releases for Gencon. From their news story (link):

Four new Anima Tactics models, Nimrod, Sarsha [sic], Anaxamines, and September will be released at Gencon. All Anima models are metal cast.
All items will also be available at the Soda Pop Store while Gencon is running. If you want a chance to get these items early mark your calendar for July 30 – August 2!

I am very pleasantly surprised that Sharsha 'Friedgunde' is included in the releases; I had privately known the sculpt existed but did not expect it to see released by CS/ND - so well done to them for deciding to release it.

Unfortunately the news story does not answer what is happening with Legion and the Limited Edition Celia. I hope they both get released; for the time being I am assuming they will, and adding Sharsha to the list of expected AT minis (which numbers 160 including these 4 minis, Legion, L.E. Celia and the 2 Kickstarter minis: The Bearer and The Nameless).

Anima Tactics - The Beginning of the End?

Yesterday saw a huge announcement about the future of Anima Tactics, one that may be the nail in the game's coffin. Cipher Studios announced they are discontinuing the range.

Link to the announcement

Cipher Studios announces that the Anima Tactics™ Miniature Skirmish Game is being discontinued.

The Cipher Studios web store will close March 13th. Stock will then be transferred to the Ninja Division | Soda Pop Miniatures warehouse and resume sale on March 30.

The last new figures for Anima Tactics™ will be released through the web store, including a special edition Celia model.

So there are seemingly 5 releases or so to come, likely to be: September; Nimrod; Anaximenes; Legion; and special edition Celia. 

Aside from my obvious disappointment, the timing seems odd given that at the end of October 2014 an update was promised soon after about the game.

That aside, the announcement apparently won't impact the Gate of Memories Kickstarter campaign(s), so I still hope to get the Bearer and the Nameless.

the discontinuation of Anima Tactics the miniature game does not affect Gate of Memoriesr [sic]. Anima: Gate of Memories is being developed by Anima Studios. Kickstarter fulfillment [sic] will be delivered as promised when the game comes out. Hell Dorado development is being continued. We will actually be speeding up development on the releases for the Inferno book. We are simply moving to a direct sales model. -Kai Nesbit

Going forward, all is not necessarily finished, and the game may yet return in some new form. Carlos (the man behind Anima Studios) posted this via Kickstarter:

Link 

Hi everyone.
Regarding the announcement of Cipher Studios about Anima Tactics, I want to coment some points to make everything clear.
1°) Will it have an impact on the videogame?
Of course not! Gate of Memories development will go on in the same way as it was planed. The game is going to be finished and all the pledges will be given as promised, regardless if you are a backer of the first or extended campaign.
Anima Tactics was not directly related to Gate of Memories development.
2°) Will the minis of the Bearer and the Nameless be released?
Of course. Including AT rules for them. ^^
3°) Will another company takes over and continue AT instead of Cipher?
Right now, we are working with Edge Entertainment in a new branch of Anima Tactics sequel game. Give us time to prepare everything. ^^
4°) Will the Saga 3 rulebook be released one day?
Yes, but in a different way than the original plan. Right now, we are working in Anima Tactics Saga, which is equivalent to Anima Tactics sequel / 2nd edition.

As for my project to paint the whole range? That will continue. It will be harder to maintain without the carrot of periodic new stuff, but being more clearly finite means I can have a countdown goal to aim for. Hopefully by the end of 2018 I will have a complete painted AT collection, which may be a unique feat. Watch the blog for progress. :)

Units In The Concept Queue?

This is definitely something to categorize under 'Upcoming'; it seems there are a number of units not yet revealed as models but which have had rules written.

From a design aspect, getting a sculpt completed is often quicker than designing a new unit for a game, something I can vouch for, trust me.

That is not to overlook the importance of sculpting, far from it - arguably sculpting is what ultimately sells the whole package (design/concept, rules, sculpt, studio paint-work) of a skirmish minis game model really. But the rules-design phase is especially and unpredictably time-consuming, so it is no surprise that Anima Tactics has a number of units that have been outlined in terms of rules for quite some time, although these do go back some distance in some instances. - as far as 2011!

Of these units that have yet to appear, a number have been discussed on the Cipher Studios Anima Tactics Forum.

Units that have been outlined but are unreleased:

• Fate (2011): German card; Light, Mystic, Level 40, Wissenschaft
• Crimson Death (2013): English card; Dark, Warrior, Level 50, Samael
• Alma (2014): English card; Neutral, Warrior, Mystic, Gear, Wissenschaft
• Zenobius (2014): Spanish card; Dark, Prowler, Mystic, Azur Alliance
• Alexias (2014): Spanish card; Dark, Prowler, Warrior, Level 60, Church
• May (2014): Spanish card; Dark, Prowler, Warrior, Level 40, Empire - forms a Team with October and September (no, I don't understand the choice of months either....)
• Sharsha 'Friedgunde' (2014): Spanish card; Dark, Warrior, Level 50, Wanderer who may not be used in a Black Sun Party - her art has a sort of female Frankenstein vibe.
• Kaori (2014): Spanish card; Dark, Mystic, Level 35, Samael, sort of Anima Tactics witch on broomstick!

Add in that September has not yet been given a release date, and the possible alternative Celia (shown in this post), then it is almost like a small stockpile of concepts is building up - 8 by my count that are 'known'. It is easy to speculate on the reasons for that, but if an Anima Tactics Kickstarter were a possibility, I for one would be backing it in a heartbeat. Now that is pure speculation, but I can only hope the game gets some renewed momentum. 

Some Upcoming Anima Tactics Minis

The Bearer

A little break from posting newly painted units after Alis Testarossa (but fear not, the painting queue is rightfully full!).

Anima Studios and Cipher Studios/Ninja Division have posted a number of preview images of Anima Tactics minis in the past couple of days.

Click on images to enlarge.


The Bearer
A special very limited backer reward mini from the Gate of Memories and Gate of Memories: Extended Campaign Kickstarter projects.

I really cannot wait for this one, especially after seeing the sculpt. I can only hope that the other planned KS minis that are linked with the campaign  are half as good.
Current KS fulfillment ETA is November 2014.


October
First seen a while ago (and I had a preview here).
A Dark, Empire unit.
The mini is reportedly due in July 2014.

Nimrod
Also seen recently in work in progress form (click for link), when the name he was being worked on under was apparently Shadowhunter (since changed).
A Dark, Church, Prowler, apparently able to Attack and Charge against Hidden units; I really, really could have done with him against Alessa Raincross equipped with Nue (Advantage Card) in a recent game! He will certainly move up the painting queue to counter situations of Stealth sniping from Alessa and others.
The mini is reportedly due in August 2014.

Legion
This one has been known about for some time, even if the mini has only just been shown. It had been suggested that Legion would be released in 2013, but now it looks like a release date is forthcoming.
I am mindful this is clearly a CAD render and not a cast mini, so I have some reservations. I will get it, but how much I like Legion is really going to depend on 3 things: How many parts he gets cut into? Will the textures like scales etc. be rendered and cast well-enough? Will Cipher Studios relent from previous practice and release a big model in resin as the best medium for it?
Rules-wise, the cards for Legion were spoiled last year, and if there are no changes he is a real  beast at 100 Levels (currently the highest in the game); 50 Life Points; 5 Armor; Attack 7 and Damage 8. The main caution for me is the wording on some of his abilities - it is unknown if that has been rectified or not.
Legion is a Dark (again!), Warrior/Leader, Samael unit
The mini is reportedly due in September 2014.

Anaximenes
I don't know anything about this one, but I am guessing maybe a Wanderer of some kind. A fun looking mini to me!
The mini is also reportedly due in September 2014.


If the release dates hold true, I can see me assembling an order for later in the year from the USA (since distribution is still limited at best in the UK).

Some Information From Anima Studios

Special Celia model

Not a mini this time (but after finishing Lilian Virgil, I have made some progress on a unit that has been part-done for quite some time, as well as a couple of other units), instead time for a quick summary of some information revealed when Carlos B. Garcia (Anima Studios aka AS below) recently conducted a question and answer session on reddit.

The session was focused on the whole gamut of Anima Studios projects (the Gate of Memories video game, the rpg, card games and minis game), but I thought I would pull together some of the questions and answers relating to Anima Tactics in particular.


Stuff Revealed:
In response to perceived game imbalance between Organizations, AS does not feel this is the case, but does state there will be another addendum ‘very soon’, which will affect Abilities as well as Levels.

Besides The Bearer, Ergo Mundus and Nameless, there will be another unnamed character translated from the video game (Gate of Memories) into the minis game.

AS hopes that the next Anima Tactics book will be out in 2015.

Iosara (Empire - I have not yet painted this unit) is a deliberately androgynous character; his / her current body is genderless.

The leaked ‘Celia’ miniature is a ‘secret’ for now. (see picture).

Note that a former Cipher Free Agent has suggested elsewhere that the Celia model in the picture was planned for a special project that did not happen. There has been speculation for a while that Cipher are planning an Anima Tactics Kickstarter; could that be the case and could this mini be involved?

There are no plans for more Organizations at present, but Tol Rauko will be added at a later time, after the next book.

Aeons (very powerful Summons) will be covered in the next Anima Tactics book, and Void Summons will be in the next book also.

News WiP - Shadowhunter

Until regular blogging resumes, I thought I would post this: Shadowhunter work in progress. The WiP image is from the Anima Tactics Ruitori site (click for link).

Looks like another great sculpt to me, and one I look forward to painting when released.

Some Upcoming Releases

Gear Mk. Trithemius

These images have been seen on the Cipher Studios FB page, as well as on the FRP Games retail site. Some info has been speculated on on the Cipher Studios Forum.

Gear Mk. Trithemius: Basically a sort-of Agent Gear; this unit does not count as an Agent, but counts against your Party limit of Agents. Currently known rules suggest up to 1 Gear Mk. Trithemius per 150 Levels in a Party. Neutral Faction, Wissenschaft (of course) and unlike most of the larger Gears does not have named Pilots.

FRP Games lists February 2014 as estimated release.

October/Death Glacial

October: Possibly also known as Death Glacier or Death Glacial; Dark Empire. No rules leaked yet as far as I know, but Empire suggests decent Armor, and of course the weapon suggests Ranged Attack. October is believed to be one of a trio of Empire assassins (see below for another), therefore could be a new Team.

FRP Games lists February 2014 as estimated release.

September/Mukui

September: Also known as Mukui; presumably Empire, but other details are unknown. May possibly form a Team with October and a red-headed woman tentatively though to be November (kudos to SageofLodoss from the Forum for linking that information together).

No speculative release date yet, but this was first shown by Cipher Studios around 5-6 months ago, so hopefully not too long.