Firelock Games were successful in funding some of their smaller projects and so now three sets of miniatures are available to pre-order for the world of Blood & Plunder. We start with two sets of Native Americans and the Braves.

I'll go through and drop some information on all of the different releases, giving you a peek into their history and background...

"In North America, a multitude of Native American tribes fight amongst themselves and against European encroachment of their lands. These warriors, known in various Native American languages as “Braves”, have adapted European firearms to their style of woodland warfare to devastating effect."

This is very interesting as we're seeing them move away from the traditional kind of crews we would have expected from a game all about piracy and brought in a few elements from the Northern section of the Americas. For example, I could see these Braves being used on boats which have a sheen of ice across their decks as they push through colder waters off the coast of Canada.

The same goes for the Indian Fighters who were assembled into being by Benjamin Church.

Much like a lot of the Native American population, they were drawn into the fighting between the European powers. With a knowledge of the land and tactics which were alien to most of their European allies and enemies, they were put to good use by the factions during this period.

"The formation of these early rangers is rightly credited to Benjamin Church. Church created a company of militia consisting of both European and “praying Indians” and trained them to fight using a mix of European and Native American tactics during King Phillip’s War and later during both King William’s War and Queen Anne’s war."

Finally, and giving you an insight into the kind of landscape we're going to be exploring with these sets we have the Milice Canadienne or Canadian Militia.

Travelling from the Old World to the New World and with years of experience set into their bones, these Frenchmen were not to be trifled with!

"The hardy Frenchmen of Canada are among the toughest militiamen to be found on the American continent. Though not quite as well-traveled as the Coureur de Bois, they are still rugged woodsmen who have adapted well to their new home."

So, if you're looking to try out a different kind of conflict on the tabletop for Blood & Plunder then these might nudge you in the right direction. As I said above, maybe it's time to move away from the sandy beaches and palm trees and instead consider the frozen docks and wintery forests of the North instead?

Will you be pre-order these miniatures ahead of their May release?