Mini Manufacturer

“It is a great honor to pilot such a deadly piece of our history.” –Terry Bandwidt, Ajax Pilot Recruit

Saint Joan’s search to fulfil Isaac’s final words evolved from a strange and vengeful vision quest to a segmented journey from one hidden cache of technology to another. Following outcast rumors, translated texts, and the gasped confessions of the viciously interrogated, her travelling warband uncovered thousand-year-old samples of what the United Worlds had to offer when it was still in control of Attr. Most of these items are broken, decrepit, and little more than potential research for technicians to pore over in the future, but every so often, something is unearthed that is a truly wonderful echo of the planet’s past.

Deep in the dusty bowels of an ancient NorTec facility, half-buried by time and swallowed by the eastern salt and sand, Joan revealed an entire long-storage subfloor devoted to the powerful mechanical suit that Isaac himself rebuilt to serve him – the Ajax’s Might battle armor. While it took Isaac months to track down all the parts and components to build up his unique powersuit, this facility had dozens of them lined up in protective shells and in various states of construction or repair! Saint Joan knew while this would be a major breakthrough for Saint Isaac’s weaponsmiths, somehow this was not what Isaac’s dying statement meant. She was heartbroken, adding to her maelstrom of dark emotions, and continued in her search while leaving behind the engineers to make the most of the find.

It took only a few weeks to figure out how many of the Ajax exo-frames could be made operational. Without Isaac’s genius or familiarity of the chassis to help them, the new Ajax platoon would only number a dozen, maybe two. The new exo-suits would not be quite the “miracle of science” that Isaac’s own Might of Ajax was, but they would still be powerful, new additions to the forces of the Forsaken. All that was needed was a cadre of willing recruits to learn how to pilot the Ajaxes. With stories of Isaac’s bravery during his last stand over the Grand Templar’s remains, they were in no short supply. Training the pilots took longer than anticipated, but in just two months after discovering the secret cache, the forces of Saint Isaac had their first deployable Ajax Exo-Frames.

The newly launched Ajax Exo-Frames possess thick armor plating to protect the pilot inside, allowing them to bring two deadly weapon systems to bear. Armed with a rapid-firing blister gun in one hand and a vent-cooled flamethrower mounted to the other, the Ajax Exo-Frame is a mobile weapons platform capable of inflicting heavy casualties at several effective ranges. Enemies cannot hope to withstand an Ajax’s firepower for long.

Like Saint Isaac’s personal unit, the new Ajax Exo-Frames are powered by a refurbished NorTec fusion core. The technology behind such a powerful energy source is still one superstition away from being considered magical by the common Samarian, and Isaac’s technicians have done their best to recreate what he did with the original Ajax’s Might. Power conduits, wire harnesses, and routing nodes help them get additional power to the exo-frame’s systems, even to weapons that Isaac always thought were too volatile to pump raw fusion into. It is a dangerous gamble to wield such erratic power flow, but now that there is more than just one of these fantastic relics from the past – the engineers believe it is worth the risk.

Since his fall at the blade of Mother Blazon and the talons of her lifeless minions, the followers of Saint Isaac have felt lost without his presence on the battlefield. Seeing the Ajax pilots stomping toward the enemy and unleashing hell is inspiring and invigorating, reminding them that their patron is with them in spirit, if not the flesh. While the original Ajax’s Might sits dormant in New Ashkelon, a single previously unlit “upload successful” light blinking on its HUD, a new corps of Ajax Exo-Frame pilots remind the present about the power of the past.

The earth’s shakin’, the Saints are walking among us, and it’s really starting to heat up in here with the latest set of releases, available now at your gaming store. The Dragyri Earth Caste has a new box set, the Forsaken have an alternate version of Saint Isaac, and the Fire Caste has some new packaging for many of their favorite units. Let’s take a look.

Starting out, the Earth Caste expands its options with the Earth Caste Box Set. Inside, you’ll find one Quake, one Pillar, and one Fissure. Quake is here to shake the ground and protect the other members of his caste from harm. Meanwhile, Pillar is ready to get up-close and personal, letting his fists do the talking with the enemy. And Fissure’s meteor hammer can keep back anyone she doesn’t want around. They’re a stalwart trio and a welcome addition to the subfaction.

Not to be outdone, the Forsaken clanks onto the battlefield with their Saint Isaac, Ajax of Might box set. This set is actually two in one, as the suit of powered armor inside can either be used as an alternate version of the Saint, or as a non-unique set of power armor. Able to lay down a hail of fire, the Ajax of Might box lets the saint cull the enemy herds from afar.

Finally, you wouldn’t think putting fire models inside card boxes would be easy, but we’ve done it, with the newly-repackaged Fire Caste sets. Starting at the top, there’s the Fire Caste Leadership Box. It contains both Rath’zhi, the Arbiter of Rage and a Spirit Lord of Fire. Keep the rest of your troops in line using these two. After the leaders, we have a couple special models in their own box. They’re the Enforcer of Judgment and Artificer of the Alteghran in the Fire Caste Specialist Unit Box. Continuing down the line we come to the Fire Caste Pyre Box, which contains one male and one female Pyre model. Next, tapping into the primal forces of nature, itself, there’s the Greater Fire Elemental box. This was the toughest to keep from burning up the packaging directly. Finally, you don’t want to go without the Fire Caste Ember Box. It has four of the little hotheads in there that you can add to your force. These kits will be available next week. They were just too hot to handle!

So there you have it. Head on down to your local gaming store and pick up these latest releases!