There are so many really fantastic miniatures released every year. I like to keep a wee track of some of my favourite, and I’m here today to share some of those highlights from 2022. As usual, I’ll load this section with caveats about all of this bing personal opinion. Also, if you’re interested in picking up any of these miniatures, please consider making your purchases via the affiliate links in the sidebar.

Now, without further ado…

Single Character Miniature

Honourable Mentions

Age of Sigmar Curseling

I was a big fan of the old Curseling model. It was one of the really great God-specific champions from Warhammer Fantasy Battles. The story behind Vilitch and his brother was also delightfully twisted. I wasn’t really looking for a new version, but I suppose that a plastic version was inevitable if Games Workshop wanted to keep the Curseling in the Disciples of Tzeentch army in the long term. Sure enough, the new plastic model is fantastic. It’s a refinement of what came before. An evolution, rather than a revolution. It’s just great.

Infinity Fiddler

There are some really fun, dynamic models among the Nomads faction in Corvus Belli’s Infinity miniatures game. I love some of the quirky characters from this faction and could well find myself tempted to have a look at a wee Corregidor force. This miniature is particularly fantastic. I love the idea of is, with the wee unicycle/Segway-like transport. The wheeled guns are also a nice touch, giving some drones for support. This is just a fun, characterful mini that really caught my eye.

Raging Heroes Captain Elantra

Raging Heroes continues to knock it out of the park. This model caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s very fitting to the theme of my Soulblight Gravelords army. Second, it’s beautiful. The miniature, particularly the banners, are so dynamic. I love the way they coil around the miniature. The hat, armour, and pantaloons are also very reminiscent of the Empire from Warhammer Fantasy, and therefore the Freeguild of Age of Sigmar. As always, a great effort from Raging Heroes.

Winner

Age of Sigmar Deathmaster

Another Age of Sigmar miniature, this Deathmaster was released alongside the new Skaven Battletome earlier in the year. The miniature is quite simple, but it’s also incredibly characterful. Although Eshin has never been my favourite clan, it’s always held a special place in my heart following their inclusion in Mordheim. Sneaky rats!

The pose, armaments, and basing terrain of this miniature all contribute to the gorgeous Eshin-themed aesthetic. I have one of these sitting in a box behind me. I should put it together in the new year, definitely.

Unit Set

Honourable Mentions

Malifaux Alt Justice Crew: La Noche de Duelo

The alternate Malifaux crews that Wyrd puts out from time to time are always fun. This one features two themes that I really love. First is the visual aesthetic of Día de los Muertos, and second is Malifaux’s Lady Justice and her crew of Death Marshalls. Plainly put, these are stunning.

Warcry Rotmire Creed

I’m not awarding these based on how these miniatures fit into the army building aspect of their respective games, but I was then these chaps would be the absolute winners, because the Maggotkin needed a cheap, mortal battleline unit.

The models, though… Gorgeous. These are suitably Nurgle-themed cultists with a ton of fantastic, often-creepy detail. The swampborne followers of Papa Nurgle look the part in a Nurgle army, hold their own as a Warcry force, and look stunning all the while. If this is what Warcry is going to bring the the table going forward, then I am excited!

The Winner

Dungeons & Lasers’ Townsfolk Miniature Pack

I had not been aware of Dungeons & Lasers before this set came out. I’m now paying very close attention to them as I really love what they’ve put out. What I expected from this kit was a load of generic parts that could be mashed together, a bit like the (really fantastic) Frostgrave or Stargrave kits. What you instead get is a ton of unique miniatures. The set includes:

1x Grave Digger
1x Merchant
1x Innkeeper
1x Tavern Maid
1x Blacksmith
1x Noble Man
1x Noble Lady
1x Scholar
1x Male Dwarf
1x Washerwoman
1x Child with a Cape
1x Elf Wizard
1x Knight Lady
1x Beggar
1x Peddler
1x Rat Folk
1x Construct
1x Tommy the Ghost
1x Snake Charmer
1x Dwarf Woman
1x Armand
2x Mounted Guard A
2x Female Mounted Guard B
2x Mounted Guard C
2x Swordsman A
2x Swordsman B
2x Swordsman C
2x Swordsman D
2x Female Swordsman E
2x Swordsman F
2x Pole Guard A
2x Pole Guard B
2x Pole Guard C
2x Pole Guard D
2x Pole Guard E
2x Female Pole Guard F
2x Ranged Guard A
2x Ranged Guard B
2x Female Ranged Guard C
2x Ranged Guard D
2x Ranged Guard E

The quality, variety, and utility of this set make it an absolute winner in my book. Fantastic! I’ve still not picked up my copy, but I’m really keen to.

Large Miniature

Honourable Mention

Dungeons & Lasers Dragon of Schmargonrog

I love the dragons from the Dungeons & Lasers line. They’ve got quite a few now, with some really cool ones in there. The Dragon of Schmargonrog is one of my favourites, and probably the best one that’s come out this year. The detailing on the wings, texture of the scales, and the bone ridges down the back of the neck, all combine with the fearsome pose to create a very cool miniature.

I do feel it could do with being on a slightly bigger base, but that’s a minor niggle, and easily fixed. Really impressive!

Warhammer 40,000 Avatar of Khaine

The Avatar of Khaine has long had background that the model just didn’t live up to. As larger and larger plastic miniatures made their way to the table, the old Avatar just didn’t look impressive at all; at least not any more. Now, Eldar players have a model that finally does justice to the concept of the Avatar.

Towering above his army, the Avatar is a living incarnation of Khaine’s wrath. the options that the mini has are also cool, allowing you to do a wee bit of tailoring, allowing players to use the Avatar they want to use. Fantastic, and long overdue.

Starter Set

Honourable Mentions

Conquest – Two Player Starter Set

Conquest is an interesting proposition for me. The game seems really good, but the miniatures are on the wrong side of expensive and can be a wee bit inconsistent in quality. Most look good, though. Actually, most look pretty great. This starter set includes one of my favourite factions, in the form of the Spire. My favourite models in this set are the Force-Grown Drone (shield dudes) and the big Abomination. I really love that blank, creepy faceplate…

Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness

If this were all about value for money, this would win. No question. Absolute victory. As it stands, this is an amazing starter set for Games Workshop’s Horus Heresy game, with a ton of cool Space Marine minis, as well as a Dreadnought and a tank. I think most people will not use this as the two-player starter set it purports to be, and will instead use it as the basis for a single Horus Heresy army. And that’s fine. That’s great. It’s just a wee bit heavy on the power armour for me, leading to a lot of quite samey miniatures.

The Winner

Warcry: The Heart of Ghur

Fantastic set. The Rotmire Creed, a contender for the best unit, features in this box, along with a second warband and some terrain. The Horns of Hashut look fine, but the Rotmire are the real stars here for me. I really love them. The terrain is also fantastic. The Gnarlwood comes to life in this very cool, yet very usable terrain set. It’s not cheap, but it feels a lot more reasonable than the Conquest set. Naturally, it doesn’t touch the Horus Heresy set on value.

It’s also very much a game in a box. You’ve got all you need here in terms of minis, terrain, and rules. I’m really enjoying this new edition of Warcry and this box was a fantastic launch product for it.