The Fire of Dyngonwy

A belated September release thanks to my holiday, but it's here nonetheless, and it's a cracker. With twenty-three humans and six dragons for the Brythoniaid kindred of Darklands, it has to be one of our most amazing productions!

Commanded by a resculpt of the host banner bearer, Hywel Hir, and Shieldwall Carys, the Fire of Dyngonwy battle host (sculpted by Rafael Callegari) features two units of infantry - the rherelwyr with spear, and rhyfelwyr with sword and bow - as well as a unit of dragon riders, the marchomawr draiglas, and their separate unridden dragons, Crafant's Brood. You can even purchase the ridden dragons separately as Toranc's Brood, if you want your own riders!

We've also got an incredible new monster to share with you - Carawn the draigllai, a huge and powerful dragon to destroy your enemies with, sculpted by Ivan Flaman!

Physical Miniatures In Stock

Like all of our releases now, the miniatures from The Fire of Dyngonwy battle host are in stock and ready to ship!

You can purchase the miniatures within each unit singly, as units or as the battle host itself - and while these physical hosts give you a great discount, typically around half the price of purchasing the miniatures within individually, they will be strictly limited edition each month to ten sets only. So get them now if you want them!

50/25% off until Monday the 14th of September

Head over to the New Releases page to grab this month's host as physical products, and remember - for the first week of so of a battle host release, the individual miniatures are set at 50% off (for resin miniatures like Carawn) and 25% off for Grey Wulf resin miniatures (all the battle host). That means if you just want a couple of these awesome new warriors or units, rather than all of them, you still get a nice little discount.

Subscribe Now for Digital Miniatures!

To get hold of the twelfth of our battle hosts in our new digital era, head on over to the Darklands Digital page, where you can purchase the Miercenary Digital Battle Host Subscription item and be assured of getting a new battle host each month as STL and LYS files to download, print and play!

The Fire of Dyngonwy

Within the fires of Dyngonwy lie the salvation of the Brythoniaid... and perhaps all of the kingdoms of men. Beset on all sides by the Érainn, the Fomoraic, the Seaxna, the Ysians and any and all who come over sea, the dragon-wielders of Gwynedd are powerful still: Cadwaladr the king, the red dragon, heir to Caledfwlch, crowned by Lludial himself, can lay claim to hosts of bright spears and hard mail alongside the fiery wrath of the draiglas and the draigllai and the draiggoch.

From the fortress of Dyngonwy the rherelwyr and rhyfelwyr stride through the valleys and over the mountains, and over their heads are the marchomawr, the great riders, who watch over all from their lofty heights among the clouds.

This month's battle host contains:

• Shieldwall Carys, Uchelwr of Arfon
• Shieldwall Carys, Uchelwr of Arfon [Pin Up]*
  
• Hywel Hir, Dragon Bearer of Gwynedd
• Warrior Hywel Hir, Cadben of Emrys
• Guard of Dyngonwy, Rherelwr Unit (7x warriors w cmd)
• Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwr Unit (7x warriors w cmd)
• Gareth's Brood, Marchomawr Draiglas Unit (5x warriors w cmd)
• Toranc's Brood, Gareth's Draiglas Unit (3x warriors w cmd)
• Crafant's Brood, Draiglas Unit (3x warriors)

*The pin up loyalty rewards are only available if you subscribe through our webstore

Commanding the Fire of Dyngonwy is Hywel Hir, the host banner bearer for Cadwaladr and always at the forefront of his human armies. He bears the dragon banner and wears plate mail, shield and helm.

Alongside the banner bearer version is the warrior version! With shield, sword and heavy armour, Warrior Hywel can join your units in battle without worrying about his banner! With both versions you get a helmed head and a bare head option.

The veteran infantry of the Brythoniaid are the rherelwyr, meaning ‘spearmen’. Funnily enough, they wield spears and wear shields and chainmail. These solid ranks provide the anvil upon which many enemies will break!

The rhyfelwyr - a Welsh word meaning simply ‘warriors’ - are the backbone of Cadwaladr's defences. Patrolling the valleys and hills of the borderlands, these men are just as capable with bow and arrow as they are with sword and shield.

The power in this host lies with Gareth's Brood, the marchomawr draiglas, of course. Riding young, red-tinged grey dragons, these warriors are a real force to be reckoned with on the battlefield - especially with their steeds' fiery breath!

The draiglas of Crafant's Brood are simply the unridden versions of the above - still fiery, still mighty, but perhaps not quite so disciplined as when ridden by Gareth and his mates.

Last but not least, you can of course use the draiglas of Toranc's Brood with any rider you'd like - we always ensure you have these as options rather than forcing you to purchase the riders as well.

Who Are the Brythoniaid?

The Brythoniaid are the original Britons, pushed back by the invading Anglo-Saxons to the north and west of Britain and called the Welsh by them (which ironically means ‘foreigner’ in Old English). Yet there is hope for the Brythoniaid, for in 650 AD they still control Cymru itself and much of the Old North - Gododdin, Ystrad Clud and Rheged - and they are now allied with the mighty dragon-men of Gwaelod and the high dragons of the Cambrian Mountains, among other creatures.

Even so, the enemies of the Brythoniaid are many. The Érainn constantly attempt to settle their coasts to escape the Fomoraic and the Norse, who themselves pose a greater threat than most. To the east the Northumbras are implacable enemies, so much so that the aid of the Miercna Angles was needed to defeat previous invasions: and the piratical Cernyw - the once-Britons of what was once Dumnonia - and the plundering ships of the Atalantes ensure the warriors of the Brythoniaid are spread thin.

Because of that, and because the peaceful Christian ways have not served to defend their lands effectively, the Brythoniaid have turned to the ancient pacts between men and dragons and other creatures lost from memory and shunned by the followers of the One God. In the lands of Gwaelod to the west lie the dyndraig, the dragon-men of old, and the mountains of Cymru hold the high dragons of slumbering legend. To the south, in Powys and Ceredigion, are the wocorau and the gwyfernau, among others; and in the mountains of the Old North lie the snake-beasts and the bull-drakes.

Whilst the Christians amongst the Brythoniaid believe only those in His image should defend the lands of God, they are also pragmatic: for these ancient creatures, these links to prehistory, are powerful allies in the fight to survive.

Gwynedd

Before he was murdered by the Northumbras, King Cadwallon of Gwynedd was driven into exile by them, deep into the mountains of Cymru, where the future of his kingdom and his people dominated his thoughts. Reminded of the ancient pacts between man and dragon by the dragons themselves, and realising he had to use their power to give a future to his people, he invoked the alliance that his son Cadwaladr took forward into law after his death, despite the Christians who denied it.

Thus, as Cadwaladr turned more to the dragons than the cross for help to keep his people alive, he began to seek the alliance of the other, ancient creatures of Cymru and the Old North as the dragons, and even their kin within Gwaelod, were much fewer in number than he had believed. So it is that the kingdom of Powys now brings the wocorau in support of Gwynedd, and the gwyfernau of Ceredigion fly forth to bolster its ranks: and why Cadwaladr is considered by many to be the King of the Brythoniaid.

You can learn more about the Brythoniaid on the Mierce Miniatures webstore and in the Lands of Darkness kindred guide!

• More Brythoniaid STL files
• Brythoniaid Kindred Muster
• The Lands of Darkness kindred guide

How Does the Digital Subscription Work?

All you have to do is visit the Miercenary Digital Battle Host Subscription page and purchase the item there. Regardless of what day of the month you purchase this item, you'll be charged again on the 1st of the following month - and a couple of days later there'll be another battle host to download!

When you purchase the item you will receive an e-mail with a download link; make sure you follow the e-mail instructions and off you go!

Pin Up Loyalty Rewards

You will ONLY receive the Pin Up loyalty reward by subscribing to the Miercenary Digital Battle Host Subscription on our webstore; you will NOT get the loyalty reward if you subscribe on MyMiniFactory.

Bear in mind, too, that NONE of the Pin Ups will be available digitally separately from the monthly subscription. You'll have to subscribe to get them - or purchase them as physical products, of course.

This month's Pin Up is Shieldwall Carys!

More in September!

We do of course have the mighty Carawn to release physically, and we'll do that next week so there's a blog post just for him. You can purchase him now of course!

As always with the monthly monsters, he has a scenic base that is only available in September. So grab a hold of him now!

We're sure many of you love our dragons, but perhaps you're not quite sure of how big they are. Well - here's a handy scale for you to see...

October Looms

This year is going soooooo quickly! It will soon be time for October's battle host, for the Norse kindred of Darklands, featuring all sorts of troll goodness. Watch out for those soon!

What are you Waiting For?

Grab those New Releases now!