Black Diamond Battle Box (product spotlight)

The Black Diamond Battle Box comes with 9 miniatures, unit profile cards and one Esper deck, providing everything you need to field your Black Diamond 35 point Cadre roster.

“You’re going to get more than your hands dirty. But if you’re willing, you’ll find that enough credits can clean up an awful lot of blood.”

-  Col. Sophia Drake

Black Diamond is the largest private military force in the galaxy. Professional soldiers, they will take any mission, as long as the client can pay. The company operates with a mercenary mind, putting credits above morals - they are, after all, most strongly connected to the purple Esper of Corruption. Black Diamond has the best training, the best equipment, and the best intelligence money can buy. If a person can be tempted with money and has skills that Black Diamond wants, chances are that person is already on the payroll. As the Darkspace Calamity advances, rumors have begun to spread about secret research projects and dark science being carried out at black sites scattered across the galaxy. But as the chaos caused by the calamity spreads to more corners of the galaxy, Black Diamond sees only opportunity. 

The Black Diamond Battle Box comes with Questing Knight Leopold Magnus and his cypher Static, one squad of five Diamond Corps, one Diamond Corps Medic and one M8-Blitz Auto-Tank. This comes out to 35 points worth of minis (perfect for Encounter sized games) along with an upgrade for the Diamond Corps, and an alternate main-gun profile for the M8-Blitz Auto-Tank.

Speaking of the M8-Blitz Auto-Tank, this is the second Relic Knights re-sculpt under Ignition Core Games. You can see below, not only have we re-sculpted a beloved and classic unit from the Relic Knights line. We have also included a second turret to reflect the "Anti-Air Array" option for the tank. Both turrets come in the Black Diamond Battle Box and will be fully interchangeable once you've assembled the model.

Within this box you will find a few potent synergies between units. One such combo involves the Questing Knight Leopold Magnus and Black Diamond's workhorse unit, the Diamond Corps.

There are several possibilities, but let's focus on one in particular. The Diamond Corps PR-12 RIFLE shooting ability. This might not seem like much at first, but Coordinated Attack 1 means that every model in the unit (beyond the one making the attack) adds one damage to the attack if they can see the target. Straight out of the box, this attack will do Damage 6. For just two yellow Esper, this attack gains Piercing 2. Combine this will Leopold Magnus' Field Experiments Cadre Ability, and this (seemingly humble) attack becomes Damage 6, Piercing 4. This is a great hard-counter to the high armor value of the Shattered Sword faction. Additionally if you use the "call in reinforcements" option when you purchase your box, you can add five more Diamond Corps models, and bump that attack up to Damage 11, Piercing 4, making this unit a lethal threat to just about anything your opponent can field. Next, lets take a look at the M8-Blitz Auto-Tank.

This chonky tank boasts some nasty firepower, but beyond that it can throw out a very powerful buff. CHEE NETWORKING gives free presses on attack actions to all Chee, Cyborgs, Mecha and Robotics units within 3". Even better, for just one green Esper, CHEE NETWORKING can affect ANY unit type in your cadre. Free presses on attack actions across the board only increase the effectiveness of Black Diamond's already lethal firepower.

With free presses available for all your friendly units, why not bring an Alabaster Automata, Infiltrator Candy and Cola, or the void units from the Radiant vs Void Two Player Starter Set? Each of those are compatible with your Black Diamond cadre.

Just like the Shattered Sword Battle Box, the Black Diamond Battle Box also comes with a faction specific Esper deck.

Subscribe here to be first to know when Black Diamond releases next month, and when we reveal each of the three individual unit boxes for Black Diamond available at launch.

Next update we will cover a Black Diamond mecha team with powerful attacks as well as several disruptive, and de-buffing abilities.