Review of Mutant Chronicles RPG Models: Corporate Agents

Blurb from the publisher: 'The Corporate Agents Set for the Mutant Chronicles RPG has arrived, with three corporate agents and two iron mastiffs. These five 32 mm resin models can be used for both the Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition RPG as well as the Mutant Chronicles Warzone Resurrection miniatures game.'

What you get: Your EUR 18,89 or USD 22,38 or GBP 13,99 will buy you the Corporate Agents Set of RPG models, for use with both the Mutant Chronicles Warzone Resurrection miniatures game as well as the Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition Roleplaying Game. The box contains five 32 mm resin models, five plastic bases and two cards (one for the Agents and one for the dogs). The models come assembled in a single sprue. For WZR intents and purposes, these guys are unaffiliated, and may join any faction except from the Brotherhood.

Three of the models are humans: two men and one woman. They are dressed inconspicuously, in suits, a way you would expect an FBI agent to be dressed. All three of them hold hand guns. Two are aiming towards something (the man and the woman), while the second man appears to have just shot. They all share the same capabilities, which mostly involves acting as bodyguards and protecting other models in the battlefield.

The two Iron Mastiffs are normal-looking dogs which are mechanical in-game.

The strong points: This is the first set relating to Mutant Chronicles that has all the models fully assembled. You still need to clear the flash, as well as clean and prime everything before landscaping and painting, yet the assembly step will not bother you.

Making combo products for the franchise’s miniature and RPG game at the same time is a patently good idea. As much as this set appears rather blunt in relation to the most exaggerated minis of the WZR and Mutant Chronicles universes, it brings forth their background in a way that other minis do not: namely, by providing normally-dressed people. By default that makes the figures appropriate for any mystery, conspiracy, terror or other contemporary setting where you need people in suits. That is even more valid for the dogs; these can be used in literally every campaign, irrespective of whether they are mechanical or biological in nature. No matter how I see it this is the set with the best cost-return ration, even though it is the least thematic of the lot. Having five miniatures for only a marginal increase in price is definitely a good deal.

As usual, the figures are flawless. They depict normal people in suits holding guns after all. I would characterize the poses as something between active and inactive. They are taking aim, yet with the exception of the lady that appears to be moving they are not in the heat of battle. Talk about corporate composure. The details on every single model clearly go below the milimetre scale, and is of the quality usually associated with Prodos, even though in this particular set this might not mean much to those engrossed with fancy shoulder pads: this is the better dressed part of the WZR universe.

Both Warzone Resurrection and Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition are very well supported. It is highly unlikely that these minis will be purposeless anywhere in the foreseeable future.

The weak points: Just like in the Starter Boxes of WZR, the unit cards are a pain to read. To add insult to injury, they have tons of text. Just put them side by side for comparison and bring out your glasses. Even with this font size however, and with quite some margins remaining, a rather disappointing choice was made: instead of having every single skill on the card to facilitate play, the skills that are contained in the rulebook are not repeated; only the unit-specific skills are. It seems that the bad design choices continue. Warzone Resurrection is enjoyable because it is one of the heavier miniature games out there. Omitting information from unit cards in this way simply increases page-flipping for no reason.

Following the example of the other cards in the RPG Models line, and in contrast to the cards in the faction Starter Boxes of WZR, these ones do not have the pictures of the actual units on them. A thunder within a jewel adorns the empty field. There is no way you will confuse the dog card with the human card, yet it feels kind of lazy. Meh.

Conclusion: Corporate Agents is up to now by far the most versatile set of the series, exactly because visually the set is not heavily entrenched in the WZR universe. Good for this game and for many others, use it as your (thematically neutral) entry point to WZR. These miniatures do not need assembly after all.

To find out more about the Corporate Agents Set of RPG Models, visit the Prodos Games website at prodosgames.com/.

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