To Fantasy Flight and more specifically Konieczka, I have to say that you've created my favorite board game ever, and I did register on this site just to specifically create this thread.
I absolutely love Gears of War, and the board game does not disappoint.
I am writing this in the hopes that it will be read and at the very least, be considered. I wish for other community members who share my views or similar views to comment and support this thread as well. It might not work often, but it never hurts for a fan community to request what will happen next in something they love.
I will start by saying that the part of this game that drew me in the most was originally the miniatures. I love miniatures and I play many games that use them, perhaps the two most recognizable of which are Battletech and Warmhammer 40,000. It is no lie when I say that the quality of the minis provided in this game rival that of Citadel's miniature line.
This is the main focus of my request, but not the only part. To keep it as short and simple as possible, here is a small list of what I would like to see.
I request that:
1.) We receive miniatures for all of the enemy cards provided in the core game and the expansion that do not already have miniatures, with the exception of the Lambent Wretches and the Feral Berserker (seeing as those two look exactly the same as their counterparts and I doubt they would ever be used in unison with said counterparts).
2.) We also receive player characters to finish out the remaining six from the first two Gears of War video games. Those characters are Lieutenant Minh Young Kim, Anthony Carmine, Colonel Hoffman, Benjamin Carmine, Dizzy Wallins, and Tai Kaliso.
3.) We receive several more story focused missions and a wider range of tiles to use, both in size and aesthetic.
I believe that to include all of these things in one expansion would be a great step forward in catering to the fan base and expanding this board game, and I believe that the amount of content that would potentially be included would be a fair amount less than the core game, allowing for a less expensive box than the core game, which is the aim of most expansions.
If it were to mimic the core game in the way it supplies the contents, I believe there would be a total of six character miniatures with their corresponding cards and starting weapons (so eighteen cards), six Grenadiers, six Flame Grenadiers, three Grinders, three Palace Guard, three Butchers, Skorge, and RAAM. This is 29 miniatures in total, of which all but the new player characters already have cards. New area tiles along with perhaps a pamphlet styled mission booklet and cards to go with the tiles and missions would increase the card count to around 60, I would think.
That's roughly about two thirds the amount of content supplied in the core box. Perfect size for an expansion.
Since the design of the game is very similar to Descent, and Descent has grown very large over the course of its existence, I'm very optimistic that this board game will follow the same path.
I suppose this wasn't a short thread after all, but that tends to happen when I type about something that I care about a great deal. I know I am a single fan, and my words will likely go unnoticed, but it helps me remain hopeful for the future of this board game.