Here we are, it is November and as I’m sitting here writing this sentence, the Black Friday sale is happening in almost 3 weeks exactly!

As this largest of KD:M sales approaches ever so quickly, you know, the one with the pre-orders and all the actual discounts on the products, I wanted to take the time and have another look at what you should expect from this year’s update as well as speculate a little bit on its contents, before I add my voice to the deafening drone of repeated recommendations for what to get to expand your game.
I have done something similar to this last year already (you can read it here), and whilst I do think there are only so many things that can realistically change in priority on a year-to-year basis with a game moving as slowly as KD:M, I still felt it a good opportunity to update my recommendations a little bit for 2026. We did see the release of the Screaming God and the first two 1.7 updates for EoD1 expansions after all.
I will however also admit that I will be a little lazy going about the writing of this post as I am going to just copy the overall format of what I did for 2025.

Also note, that over the upcoming weeks I am sure you will find other creators, like Bra Mithra over on YouTube, put out their own recommendations, much like they did in prior years (for 2025 Bra and Deno talked through all expansions available at the time to give just one example).
Similarly, heading over to the Lantern’s Reign discord is also always a good move if you want to get more community input and/or recommendations for what to buy to expand your copy of the game both for veterans and newcomers alike.

But with the warm-up ramblings out of the way, lets head on to the first major point:

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What to expect:

The pillars of a successful KD:M Black Friday are typically threefold:
1) a huge update, giving us an overview of an “upcoming” major release
2) the re-opening of Backerkit to give another chance to pre-order upcoming expansions
3) and the sale featuring its fairly large store-wide discounts.

And in some ways, at least 2 of these 3 pillars have seen some slight changes compared to previous years.

First up: the update. Whilst we do have an idea what this Black Friday update’s center piece might be, it is a lot less clear than it was in 2024 or 2025 at this point in time. We did learn in the October/Halloween update that an overview of the the People of the Blighted Valley would be a part of the Black Friday celebrations, but compared to the long and mystifying Abyssal Woods overview from 2025 this does feel somewhat lackluster in comparison as it has already been likened to the Wise One overview we got in September.
Now, we have since heard of something more cooking in pots yet unseen and there is at least one huge thing still missing from the collective radar but it does strangely feel a little premature to point to the Ivory Dragon just yet as well.
In other previous years we had both an overview of the Silver City expansion (2024) as well as a Grand Overview for Campaigns of Death (2023) and I personally feel like we are still missing a ton of info on the Inverted Mountain as well.
What should be more of a certainty at any rate, is another splash of insights into the expansions and sets releasing in a more “immediate” future – whatever that may be in KD:M terms – like the First Hero, Dead Armor, the bee monsters or even Campaigns of Death at this point.
There is also a reasonable chance we find out which 1.6 expansions are next in line to get updated to 1.7. Manhunter has been out of stock for ages, whilst Dragon King, Sunstalker or Gorm would all provide essential building blocks for campaigns.

The other large part of Black Friday for most people, is, of course, the huge sale happening over the weekend. With a 50% price reduction on almost all items on the store this is the prime opportunity to get that monster or White Box you have been eyeing up over the last couple of weeks or months even!
Notable exceptions to these large discounts typically include both the Core set and GCE (each priced at $333 individually) as well as all releases of the current year – for 2026 this will include most notably the Screaming God as well as the 1.7 releases for both Slenderman and the Dung Beetle Knight.

On the side of the smaller box releases, we have heard from a Team Death member that we are due for one more “larger” White Box this year, which feels like it will drop for Black Friday, but that is purely my own speculation, seeing we have no real grasp on what this might even be. Of course, blind optimism might point to Dead Armor which was slotted to come out in 2026, but keeping in mind that we have not heard anything about it since GenCon, I am actually going to stay cautious on this for once.
Other than that, unless more stuff was sacrificed to the production of CoD on the altar of bleeding plastic, we should be getting Woe Grimmory in plastic for the PotSun line of white boxes as well as the next entry into the series in resin.
Of course there is always an outside chance to see a new Indom or Wanderer as well – the latter potentially as a pre-order like we saw for Preacher in 2025.

Speaking of pre-orders, with the first appearance of the Black Friday storefront on the KD:M webstore in 2025 we were also treated to in-house pre-orders over the Dark Treasury for the first time and I do expect this feature to return for 2026 as well.
Whilst this does mainly represent an alternate means of getting a pre-oder in without needing to use Backerkit, it also gave us a more realistic timeline for upcoming releases other than Adam’s “everything by 2027”. Sadly, the bee monsters and CoD have still managed to shatter even this more cautious approach at release date estimates within a single year.

One of the things we are likely going to be missing out on this year will be new bundles though. Especially when looking at single-mini releases this year, as they have been quite lacking in the numbers department and I doubt we are going to get a “bundle” of solely the 3 indoms released in 2026 – and those are probably the most of a single type of survivor even.

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What to get:

Before we get to the interesting bits we still need to briefly touch on availability.

Whilst for 2025 KD:M Core game sets were pretty rare and expansions were still fairly plentiful, things have shifted for 2026 towards the opposite. As of writing this post, the Core box remains available in all regions whilst 8 of the 12 initial monster expansions have been completely sold out, with only Flower Knight, Dragon King, Sunstalker and older DBK boxes being still available from non-US warehouses.
Thankfully, between Slenderman and DBK reprints as well as the Inverted Mountain monsters and the Screaming God there are still a decent amount of options for you to add more variety to your game.

And whilst there is still a small chance that some remaining stock will be added to the store for any sold-out expansions, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Especially with the upcoming 1.7 reprints this should be overall less likely.

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Before we fully move on I do also quickly want to go on my usual spiel for a moment and highlight my overall mantra for expanding the game once again: get what looks and/or sounds coolest to you!
I have been repeating this phrase ever so often over the past 2 years of covering this game, especially when it comes to White Boxes and optional content, and I do still stand by it whole-heartedly.
Kingdom Death: Monster is not a competitive game (even though it does sometimes feel like some people approach it as such) and if you really like an idea or concept present in an expansion or if you REALLY like a model – just go for it!
Don’t worry too much about what people on the internet say, you might come to enjoy it even if its not considered “optimal” or “good” even.

On the other hand, KD:M is also an expensive game/hobby so, uh,.. purchase responsibly!

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Pre-Orders

If you are still new to the game and this is your first Black Friday, I would say you can pretty safely skip these.
Whilst pre-orders have typically had lower prices than the following retail releases, you aren’t going to save as much money on most of the single expansions anymore at this point in time. Still, notable exceptions to this are likely going to be the larger boxes featuring several monsters, like Abyssal Woods, Silver City, Ivory Dragon, Inverted Mountain and Campaigns of Death.

And should you feel the urge to pre-order anything anyhow, only do so if you do not mind waiting up to several years for your items. I have said it last year as well:
APG have been reliably delivering quality products but they are SLOW!

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Recommendations – Monster Expansions
by priority.

~ 1 ~

Gambler’s Chest Expansion (GCE)
One full year later, the GCE still remains the top entry in the list, standing head and shoulders above everything else, both in terms of price ($420 w/o discount, $333 with) as well as in overall value. If you are in the market to spend this much money on KD:M and do not already own it, the GCE will be the most possible bang for each individual buck by a mile and a half.
Adding not only a new campaign, 3 Quarries (QN1, QN2, QN4), 1 Nemesis (NN2), 1 new Core and 1 new Finale monster, it also features an entirely different breed of survivors and with their philosophies the game will get bigger, better and a lot more complicated, giving you stuff to play for months, if not years to come.

~ 2 ~

My “Big 4” – Frogdog (QN1), Dragon King (QN3), Sunstalker (QN3), Black Knight (NN3)
Because the GCE is by no means a cheap and easy acquisition, these 4 are my “next best” recommendations.

The Frogdog is a beefy Node 1 Quarry with a special variant that brings a late-game armor set along as well. Node 1 quarries are the monsters you will likely fight the most, and having a replacement for the White Lion will keep you going for a long time.
It also features some great weapon options and support item variety, with a kinda-hard-to-build armor set. This effectively is doubled up by the Lvl3 alternate version of the monster, featuring its own crafting location, gear and a new hard-to-collect resource type: copper. You do need to contend with the theme of the monster though: farts and being disgusting.
You can read about it more in depth here.

The Dragon King will add a high damage Node 3 Quarry to replace the always volatile Phoenix from your Core set, but also comes with its own campaign – the People of the Stars, featuring not only its own Node 1 Nemesis (the Tyrant) but also new mechanics unique to this upbringing of your survivors. The Dragon King is also a huge, and amazing mini.
Whilst the weapons you can build from it aren’t the greatest, the included armor set definitely is.
Typically viewed as a new campaign with a QN3 included.

The Sunstalker is also a Node 3 Quarry with loads of tricks up its tentacles which also has its own campaign – the People of the Sun. Whilst this campaign has a few new mechanics to play with (including new survival actions) the main draw of it’s timeline is the boss-rush style Nemesis gauntlet at the end of 20 years of undisturbed hunting. Whilst this set up draws not nearly as many eyes as PotStars does, it is a refreshing change of pace as you explode monsters with your unga-bunga-prowess.
And should instead opt to hunt this large monster, Sunstalker gear go brrrrrrrr. It has probably one of the very best armor sets in the game.
Also – fishing! In the sky?!
Typically viewed as a new QN3 with a campaign included.

The Black Knight is a Node 3 Nemesis replacing the Hand. If you have fought the hand more then once, you probably have “fought” the hand as well. The Black Knight box features an incredibly interesting fight in a new arena cluttered with loads of terrain and a sheer drop off the side of a cliff. Should you manage to stay in the arena and win the fight you will get rewarded with patterns for several armor sets to build towards.
The tough-as-nails 5 year campaign included in the box is the slightly-bitter cherry on top that gives you an opportunity to try out a slight variation of this fight immediately as well.
You can read about it more in depth here.

~ 3 ~

Red Witches (NN2)
As the enforcers of the White Speaker Cult are looming over your settlement in search of the corrupting influence of the Pariah, you will find yourself forced into several uniquely different and difficult fights against Braal, Nico and Seer.
Whilst Braal initially arrives alone, her presence breaking the very framework of the game, for their Lvl2 and 3 encounters you will have to face off against several of the Red Witches all at once, with each of them having their own unique AI and Hit Location decks to play with.
The Red Witches expansion offers not only a highly sought after alternative to the King’s Man but also a slew of items and abilities to chase after via hunt events, crafting and the fights themselves.
You can read about them more in depth here.

Slenderman (NN2)
..
..
A very tough, high damage output nemesis monster with a bunch of mean but incredibly thematic cards around forgetting its existence. It does have not only a collection of cool gear but also a tendency to loop your survivors to death at higher levels.
Whilst it is probably considered to be the “best” individual replacement for the King’s Man, it definitely won’t make your campaigns any easier. Especially as you can trigger a special showdown with it from a settlement event.
Was recently upgraded to 1.7 and has since been readily available again.
..
It doesn’t like arc survivors.
..
..

Dung Beetle Knight (QN4)
If you have been playing solely Core you have not had a Node 4 Quarry in your game before – whilst it is not quite comparable to the King from the GCE or the Screaming God, the Dung Beetle Knight expansion adds this powerful monster fairly early into your hunting routine. Updated to 1.7 recently, this little powerhouse will test your abilities beyond a lot of other quarries. And if you manage to best it, congratulations, its time to settle down and till the soil – you are a farmer now Timmy! Those Vampiric Artichokes won’t harvest themselves!

Screaming God (QN4 + F)
The Screaming God is a Node 4 Quarry monster which you will have to fight in full sprint as you are not only chasing it down but also dodging and weaving through terrain, trying desperately not to get lost in a raging stampede following in the tracks of the monster.
Defeating it will in turn reward your survivors with the ability to make some of the most powerful gear in the game (outside of King gear). And you will definitely need it! The 2nd part of this fairly expensive box set – priced at $200, which makes it currently the 2nd most expensive expansion after the GCE – is a new Finale monster: the Parasite Queen.
And she is probably the hardest regular fight in the game right now requiring a whole settlement to come together to even have a chance at besting her.
You can read about it more in depth here.

~ 4 ~

Gorm (QN1)
Has fallen off a little in wake of the Frogdog’s release. It features a unique take on Monster Levels and Alchemy. The presence of a Gorm herd will also affect the weather. Gear-wise I would call it: Axe heaven.

Manhunter (NN1)
Basically MIA at this point and has a decent chance to see one of the next reprints because of this.
Will try to abduct your survivors into indentured servitude for the machinations of the Holy Lands. Kill it and you might find yourself in possession of a gun.., or a hat.
Likes to explode terrain and shoot survivors.

Pariah (NN1)
A severely punishing addition to your campaign but it brings along a load of tools and toys to play with if you can deal with its antics.
Once you have had the +1 departing understanding, you will be missing it sorely when its gone.
You can read about it more in depth here.

Flower Knight (QN2)
Does not offer the full Quarry Node experience sadly as it has no armor set and hardly any gear, but has one of the best minis and a fun fight. One of my personal favorite monsters in the game.
Has the reputation to make campaigns easier and will seem like a push-over until it decides to just randomly kill off a survivor in one attack without any recourse.

Spidicules (QN2)
A vengeful species of monster that will kidnap survivors to puppet them around and torment their loved ones. Many interesting weapons for the early/mid game as well as jewelry to farm for in the late-game. The full armor set requires you to kill a Lvl3 version (currently) which can be achieved decently early.
The model is a little unwieldy and prey to the Feline Entity.

~ 5 ~

Lonely Tree (??), Lion Knight (NN2) and Lion God (QN4) all have some degree of awkwardness to them and their gameplay. Whilst none of them are as “unusable” as some parts of the community will make them out to be, they do fall noticeably short in comparison to more “modern” expansions.

But as I’ve said last time as well, if you see the sculpt and read the text blurb on the shop and it speaks to you – go for it! These monsters need a loving home as well!

~ 6 ~

The final outlier is the Green Knight Armor kit – which is currently also entirely unavailable. Meant to tie all(? most?) of the old expansions together via making a super-powered set of armor, this small box will work best if you have close to all the other older expansions, but you could also only make parts of it if you have a decent spread.
This is honestly more a White Box than a fully grown expansion at the moment, but will see a revival with CoD as one of the campaigns will focus on building this armor specifically.

Vignettes

Vignettes offer both a curated showdown against an altered version of a well-known monster fought with 4 characters and their prebuilt gear grids to tell a short one-session story as well as the option to face these aberration during your regular campaign play.
So far 3 Vignettes have been released: the White Gigalion (QN1 Lvl2+), Killennium Butcher (NN1 Lvl2+) and the Screaming Nukealope (QN2 Lvl2+).

Judging them both from the included story as well as the new gear brought into regular settlements, the Killennium Butcher feels like the most rounded Vignette, followed by the Screaming Nukelope as the Gigalion trails behind a little.

Recommendations – White Boxes

This is the prime “just get what looks coolest to you” category.
Considering most White Boxes are a form of pay-2-win (I say this half-jokingly) most of these will help you navigate the darkness slightly more efficiently, whilst being a little stronger or with less dependency on RNG.
I will only mention what I consider standout boxes and/or categories.

Small White Boxes ($25~40)
These are typically single mini/character boxes with a small amount of game content like a single Seed Pattern or a Character Card.

The Ringtail Vixen
Highly sought after, partially because this box hasn’t been available again for a while.
The Vixen comes with a bookmark that alleviates the first roll of a 1 on the intimacy table per campaign, with a 50/50 chance to be available in any given campaign.

Skrelle
She comes with a singular Settlement Event and Innovation. Her stuff is fairly unobtrusive and can be left in as a part of any campaign.

Willow
Adds her own take on Sword Proficiency AND a new version of the Lantern Sword!

Forge Priest
A dangerous minion that can enter play through the terrain deck. Will also spawn 2 Ore Veins and go after anybody trying to prevent it from gathering the iron within!
Defeat it for some rare gear!

Any Indomitable Survivor
Indomitable Survivors add 1 new resource reward to a Lvl3+ fight and usually come with high-end gear worth chasing after. This will make the endgame more interesting and gives you an actual reason to hunt the most dangerous of monsters by choice.
Pick up one for a monster you particularly like! Sadly not all monsters have an Indomitable resource/survivor just yet, but I’d wager it will only be a matter of time.

Sun-“something” survivors
If you enjoy the PotSun campaign, give these a look. They generally help spice up the base-game armor sets to function a little more in line with the fiction of the campaign and add a weapon to go along with it.

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Medium White Boxes ($50~60)
Like Wanderers and Philosophies, these chunkier boxes have a lot more game content, whilst typically being more light on the plastic.

Any Wanderer
One of the newest additions to Kingdom Death: Monster, Wanderers are characters who visit your settlement during your campaign and typically move on at some point. They are power-houses that will color your campaign during their presence and leave traces behind after they are gone. Some are more easy to live with then others, but all have a story to tell that is worth experiencing!

Large White Boxes ($70+)
Like the Echoes of Death or Survivors of Death boxes, these typically feature several figures or a Painter’s Scale alongside a decent amount of game content.
These boxes are fairly expensive compared to the full-on expansions and will gain or lose relevance in accordance to how much you like any given mini included in the respective box.

15th Anniversary Survivors
This stand-out rendition of the “Starting 4” in Lantern Year 15+ armor and weaponry features an extension to the Blacksmith Settlement Location with not only endgame level gear but also a monster-agnostic Bow and Katana.
There are a few hoops to jump through to get to the good stuff, and that is surely for the better given the power-level some of these items have.

Legendary Characters
These characters feel like a “home-bred Wanderer” in a sense. Whilst this is a somewhat tall claim admittedly, they offer new gameplay components to similarly boost your settlement “from the ground up”.
Lantern Armor Aya especially will have the ability to bend the campaign around her if given a chance.
Personally I favor the more mild addition of Glow or Hollow.

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All of these recommendations are my own opinion and come from a non-arc gameplay centric stand-point.
Should you be absolutely smitten by a miniature that is perfectly fine and my commentary matters probably very little at that point.
And at that point, if you can afford it: just buy it!

Purchase responsibly, and such. You know the line.

The Sim

The KD:Sim remains to be the somewhat awkward but approachable digital cousin of the physical game.
If you want to try out KD:M for a fraction of the price but at the loss of the hobby aspects of it (for now), the sim is an ideal starting point for you.
It does have its decent share of bugs, but it is still very much in active development after all. And whilst it probably won’t want to automate the things you would want for it to automate, I’m sorry to say, but such is the way of the sim.
But, eventually you will learn to cope with its slight strangeness and from then on out its smooth sailing. You might even get drawn in by the digital expansions.

For this year’s GenCon we got a first look at the hobby rooms in which you will be able to paint your own survivor minis in the dwelling, which should be a hint as to what larger feature the sim might be getting next, though I wouldn’t expect it for Black Friday necessarily.
Although I also don’t have any other predictions as to what larger update it could be getting at the end of the month myself.

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And with this, I think, I should have covered all of the most important things you need to know for Black Friday 2026?

As for myself, unless something is dropped upon us completely unexpectedly, I am looking at either the GCE or a couple more pre-orders this year, possibly for CoD or Inverted Mountain monsters. I’m honestly not too sure myself just yet.
If Woe Grimmory is released in plastic I will be picking up a copy for sure though. Legendary Character Aya is also still pretty high up on my list.

The things presented here today are just my personal more or less informed opinions and should be used to formulate your own.And if you think that I missed anything substantial – please let me know!
Purchase responsibly, but what do I know, I am not your dad.

If you have made it all the way down here, thank you very much for your time, just the same as last year, I wish good luck to anybody hunting for deals on Black Friday and that stock is available for the items you’ll want to get in the region you live in!
Amathul