One of the most interesting aspects of the Fantasy genre is the plethora of non-human races that populate its various settings. From the Centaurs and Cyclops of Ancient Greece to the Orcs and Trolls of Tolkien, the addition of new species and cultures makes each world feel deeper and more complex. Perhaps the most common type of Fantasy race is the simple anthropomorphic animal. This type of creature benefits from having a real-world species as its basis, allowing readers/viewers to instantly recognize the basic traits and personality dispositions they can expect from these characters. A perfect example of this trope is the Tigeraan warrior Tzu-Xiao, the final Champion from the Super Fantasy Brawl Core Box.
As one would expect from his appearance, Tzu Xiao is a fierce and extremely mobile attacker. Although the basic movement stats of his attacks appear limited at first glance, the Dash and Jump modifiers of his other abilities give this lethal feline enough range to quickly close the distance to his targets. Similarly, while the damage stats of his attacks are not particularly impressive, this is belied by their special abilities. Double Strike, for instance only deals two damage, but thanks to the Double keyword, any wounds that bypass the opponent’s armor are dealt a second time. Even more deadly, however, is the Flash of Jade card, which automatically wounds up to three targets until they are Bloodied (having three or more damage), dealing a possible nine total damage! On top of that, Tzu-Xiao’s Reaction ability, Revenge, allows a defender to deal equal damage back to the attacker, making it risky for a wounded opponent to target your fellow Champions. These qualities make Tzu-Xiao a very deadly and reliable member of any team.
As with all of the Super Fantasy Brawl miniatures, this figure was pleasantly large and well sculpted. While the pose did make some areas impossible to reach, it was not very difficult to remove him from the base in order to have better access. The only issues that I encountered was some lack of detail on on the right shoulder pads (the scales and cords were very poorly defined) and the bulkiness of the cape. Similar to the issue with Gwaien’s robe, the metallic trim seen on the reference art was not molded on the bottom of his cape. Unfortunately, due to the manner in which the edge of his cape thickens as it curls, any attempt to incorporate this detail would have resulted in the trim being wider in some areas than others. I decided it would be better to have no trim than wonky trim (a guiding principle which I believe to be the foundation of a moral and prosperous life).
Despite these drawbacks, the miniature was still a joy to paint. As always, I can not imagine improving upon the palette of the reference art, so I attempted to duplicate those colors as well as I could. Although time consuming, I feel that the addition of fur texturing really helped to make the character appear more noble and grandiose. While not entirely satisfied with the look of his blades, which ended up more metallic than jade, they contrast extremely well against the flat finish of his armor. I was also very pleased with the greenish-gold I achieved for the other metallics, which really complemented the other tones of the miniature.
And with that, the Core Box is complete. That leaves nine Champions from the original Kickstarter to paint… and then nine more from the Round Two Kickstarter… which I will definitely not finish by the time the next Kickstarter rolls around. Which, unfortunately will be run by CMON Games rather than Mythic Games. While I am a fan of many of CMON’s properties, I fear that change in ownership may result in a change to the overall aesthetic of the character design. As the style of Edouard Guiton is inseparable from Zombicide and Massive Darkness, the art of Johannes Helgeson really defined the feel of this wonderful game.
Or even worse for me, rather than nine Champions as before, the new CMON release model may have an additional seventy-two exclusive characters… There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Red Cloth:
The pants and cape were base coated with a 2:1 mix of VGC Heavy Red (72.141) and VMC Black (70.950). This was kept in the deepest recesses, and folds were picked out with a 1:1 mix of the same colors. VMC Sunny Skintone (70.845) was added in order to lighten the most prominent areas, followed by highlights with additional Sunny Skintone, and very limited point highlights with nearly pure Sunny Skintone.
Brown Armor:
The scales and plates were base coated with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822), which was left in the recesses as shading and darklining. Each of the scales were picked out with VMC USA Olive Drab (70.889), then lightened with progressive mixes of USA Olive Drab and VPA Light Mud (70.315), with the brightest highlights being about a 1:3 ratio.
The ropes and dark trim were painted with German Camo Black Brown and Light Mud, omitting the USA Olive Drab, and aiming for higher contrast to suggest a different material than the scales.
Green Gold Trim:
The gold trim for his armor and swords was painted with a standard non-metallic metal approach using the following colors: VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822), VMC Khaki (70.988), VGC Dead Flesh (72.035), and VMC Ivory (70.918).
Green Sash:
The entire sash was base coated with VMC Black Green (70.980). The individual folds were then lightened with a 1:1 mix of Black Green and VMC Pastel Green (70.885), then highlighted with VMC Green Sky (70.974).
Fur:
The orange areas of fur were base coated with a 1:1 mix of German Camo Black Brown (70.822) and VMC Orange Brown (70.981). This was used as a shade tone as well as darklining. Major forms were then covered with pure Orange Brown, which was thinned and applied in short linear strokes around areas bordering other colors in order to soften edge transitions. A fur texture was then applied with short strokes of a 1:1 mix of Orange Brown and VMC Ice Yellow (70.858), followed by a 1:2 mix of the same colors as a highlight.
The barbed pattern was blocked in with VGC Charred Brown (72.045). The edges of the individual stripes were softened by slightly overlapping the lighter fur texture (1:2 mix).
Areas of white fur were base coated with VMC Desert Yellow (70.977). Major forms were then lightened with VGC Bonewhite (72.034). Fur texture was applied with short strokes of VMC Ivory (70.918) followed by sparing application of Schmincke Titanium White for the brightest highlights.
Sword Blades:
The green blades were base coated with VMC Light Green (70.942). A gradient was applied in a fashion similar to non-metallic metal, but meant to appear more translucent than reflective. Darker areas were blended into VMC Park Green (70.969) followed by the addition of VGC Night Blue (72.019). Light areas were blended into VGC Verdigris (72.096), followed by point highlights with VMC Ivory (70.918).