WizKids has just released the next box in their Warband miniatures series, in the form of the Dungeons & Dragons Icons of the Realms Orc Warband. This series takes a specific race of monsters or a scenario and focuses on it, bringing a selection of pre-painted miniatures to 3D life. As the name might suggest this set is all about an Orc Warband, featuring 8 orcs each in unique poses. However, should this be added to your DM kit? Let’s find out!
Unlike the blind booster boxes, which some of the Icons of the Realms sets come in, the Orc Warband comes in a clear plastic fronted box. This means you know exactly what you’re getting with this set, no randomness and no variations from one box to the next. You can see the included 8 unique orc miniatures, with the only way to get multiple of any specific miniature being to buy a second set.
The orcs come pre-painted, so they can hit the table straight away. They aren’t just generically green skinned, some are tastefully blue or brown skinned orcs. This visual variety allows dungeon masters to deploy the orcs into a fight and easily distinguish between them. Being able to refer to an orcs as the blue orc or the cape equipped one is something that makes initiative order much easier to track – with no issues of muddling up orc 1 and 2 again.
Compounding the visual variety are the epic sculpted stances the orcs are in. One is wielding a huge battleaxe above its head, another is ready to receive a blow with a shield and a third is in what can best be described as a power stance. Catching the eye instantly is the luminous green Nurtured One of Yurtrus Orc. This is as the miniature shouts a plague ridden Orc, whom has been kept alive but with no attempt to rid it from the plague. As a result the skin of the orc is bubbled and boiled, and players should watch out as they will explode in a shower of poison when killed.
Volo’s Guide introduced a number of orc variants, and this set has brought some of those to life, such as the Orc Red Fang and the Nurtured One. Putting aside the Left 4 Dead like Boomer orc, these miniatures aren’t locked in to portray these special orcs. For example, the Orc Eye of Gruumsh has an entire backstory. The lore explains how he offered a slayed Elf to Gruumsh, then for one of his eyes he gained cleric spells. As epic as this is, the miniature could be used as just another orc coming the way of the adventuring party.
When it comes to the Orc Claw of Luthic from this set, with it’s longer grown out claws, I did a bit of a double take. The miniature isn’t the same but is remarkably similar to the miniature of the same name from the Volo’s and Mordenkainen’s Foes Icons of the Realms set from WizKids. With a minutely different stance, a simple armour alteration on the new mini would have made them much more distinguishable from one another – though it isn’t like the others in the Orc Warband set.
Like the previous Warband sets this orc set isn’t designed to be stored in the packaging. The clear plastic front lets dungeon masters see exactly what they are getting their hands on. It does a relatively good job at protecting the minis. However, a huge chunk of the packaging is just empty space for air. This is done so it stands out on the shelf but combine this with the way you need to rip open the packaging to get into it and the plastic packaging goes straight into the recycling after unboxing – so you’ll have to store the minis a different way.
Each of these sets are useful for dungeon masters to have, and the Orc Warband is no different. It allows the DM to have pre-painted minis to throw at adventuring parties at their fingertips. Orcs are common monsters to find lurking around dungeons, so the variety of minis is very welcome. These aren’t always just standard orcs though, each with some lore and logic behind them – making them tougher or more dangerous for adventurers. Regardless of how you choose to use them, the Orc Warband miniatures will bring future combats more to life!
(Editor’s Note: The Icons of the Realms Orc Warband was provided to us by Asmodee for the review. The set is currently available from local board game stores! Find your local store here.)
