Call to Arms will be a skirmish-scale battle game that focuses on engagements between “gangs” of survivors competing against each other in the zombie-infested world. It was created by Mark Latham, the designer of Mantic’s The Walking Dead: All Out War (see “More Details on ‘Walking Dead: All Out War’ Minis Game”).
Call to Arms uses the same core dice mechanic as the earlier All Out War, but introduces a number of new gameplay elements to reflect the shift in focus. In Call to Arms, the survivors are assumed to have learned ways to deal with the walking dead, so they play a reduced role in the game unless the survivors attract a “herd” of undead. The new mechanics include “Strategy Points” that players gain each round to spend on special abilities, new character abilities and combos, and more ways for players to customize their gangs. It is intended for less narrative but more balanced battles than All Out War that allow players to customize their gangs for head-to-head matches.
The Walking Dead: Call to Arms Skirmish Battles rulebook is the core of the new system. This book describes all of the rules needed to play the game and includes complete army lists for Rick’s Gang and the Governor’s Woodbury Army plus an equipment list and seven scenarios. MSRP is $19.99.
To play the game, players will also need a deck of Character Cards for their chosen faction. Two decks will be available: Lawful Factions and Ruthless Factions. Each deck is MSRP $19.99. A deck of Equipment Cards will also be released, MSRP $14.99. Mantic is also offering two Faction Pack miniatures kits designed for use with the game: Rick’s Group and Woodbury Army. Each kit comes with seven unpainted plastic miniatures and game cards. MSRP $39.99 each.A smaller Prisoner Booster Pack contains four neutral characters that can be added to any faction. This kit has four plastic miniatures and seven cards. MSRP is $19.99.
To represent the potential danger, a Walker Herd Pack provides 10 of the undead with two plastic movement trays measuring 60mm by 90mm. MSRP is $39.99.
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All of Mantic’s The Walking Dead miniatures are fully compatible with both games. Both games use the same custom dice and accessories.