by Gray Fox
Welcome to the second installment of Free Standing Figure! I'm your purveyor of fine collectibles. That's nary a figure under the sun I haven't laid eye or hand upon, so if a review is what you're looking for, you're in good hands. Continuing on our run (sprint? dash?) of Magic: The Gathering figures from the Funko Legacy Series line and here we have Ajani Goldmane. Going to go on record right now and say this cat is my favorite figure in the whole line.
This is Funko's second foray into the realm of collectible action figures and it seems they've learned much from the grievous errors they made in the previous Game of Thrones figure series. As is the standard across the MTG (and GoT) line, Ajani is packaged in a nice looking collector friendly (resealable) package with a large window in the front displaying the figure and box art unique to the character in particular.
When my collecting brother-in-arms opened up the GoT Jon Snow his leg snapped off as he pulled him from the bubble plastic. This is not a risk for Ajani. He is HEFTY. He feels very solid and comes in at around 7.5" tall. I wouldn't want to encounter this Khajit on three battlefield, would you? He's very well articulated, though somewhat limited in the poses he can take due to his outfit (far less silly than Jace's) and he comes with 2 accessories-a scimitar with a cat emblem on the blade and a dual bladed...thingy...that looks to be unique to whatever cat-people are in MTG.
The dual blade fits well enough for display purposes, but the scimitar is made of a softer material. I had some issue placing it in his hand and when the handle started bending, I gave it up entirely. It fits in a sheath on his hip made of a softer rubber (I suppose for that leather feel) and a split up the back to put the sword in.
MTG is divided across 5 different forms of mana: White, Black, Red, Blue, and Green. Light, Darkness, Fire, Water, and Land respectively. Jace is the player analog, so he can effectively be of any alignment. Ajani is strictly white magic.
Ajani is wearing a waist length travelers cloak that drapes over his right shoulder attached to a golden pauldron on his left. His legs and forearms are covered in leather armor as well as leather straps and bangles made of sharp teeth around his biceps and legs. His mane goes down into several braids on either side off his face and he has a scar over his left eye; a clear indicator he lost out in battle. His remaining eye is a piercing blue and red and he has gray symbols (perhaps tattoos or face paint of some sort?) Around his eyes. His fur is white and with his golden armor, one can just picture him charging into battle to vanquish the forces of darkness. He's clearly seen his fair share of combat.
Side by side with Jace, one sees they have a similar color scheme to their cloaks. Perhaps they were allies at one point. The most drastic difference is how short Jace looks by comparison! Ajani towers over Jace, even without his legs fully extended. The weird dual blade is the same height as Jace, which conjures to mind images of Ajani grabbing Jace and using him to beat people to death. (Previous review of Jace figure)
Overall, he's a great figure to add to your fantasy/swords-and-sorcery collections out just your collection in general. Pit him against the most recent Diablo figure from NECA and have the forces of light struggle to overcome the forces of darkness. With a good size, good heft, cool design, and good articulation, you won't be disappointed. Plus, with almost no backstory, he can be whoever you'd like him to be. For our next review though, we go from a realm of mysticism and magic to a galaxy far, far away. Make the jump to lightspeed and get your gear on, troopers. Star Wars: The Black Series-Prototype Armor Boba Fett is hunting for you!