Miniatures - The Magic: The Gathering Way - Good or Bad?

[MojoGM]

I don't see what all the fuss is about.

I'm certainly going to buy a couple of packs, and from what I've seen in the previews I'll likely buy a lot more.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to go hunting for minis and painting them. This is perfect. And cheap.

And who knows, I may get a mini for a creature I've never used and be inspired to use it.

And whether it succeeds or fails, they'll get a few bucks from me.

 

[DaveMage]

I guess we'll know in a year or two from now how well they have sold.

I hate the random packaging method, but since I don't collect minis, I may pick up a starter pack. I can't see me buying much more than that, though.

 

[trancejeremy]

As I say in every thread like this, D&D players really aren't the target audience, just like they weren't for Chainmail.

WOTC is going after the Mage Knight market. Will it work? Probably won't get much of it, but probably enough to be profitable. Profitable enough for WOTC/Hasbro? That remains to be seen.

Anyway, if you don't like it, don't buy it. WOTC won't break down your door and take your Reaper/Whatever minis. There's a ton of other options for people who like to put together and paint metal minis. For plastic minis, there's really only Wiz Kids stuff, so for those of use that like pre-painted minis, this is a really really good thing, having another source.

 

[Siridar]

I collect and paint miniatures.

I have a massive collection of painted and unpainted minis. I like to paint 'em but don't have the time to paint as many as I'd like to at any given time.

I hate using my minis for gaming. The table is small enough and my players clumsy enough that I cringe every time I see them get handled. To me the plastic painted MageKnight figures were awesome. Yeah, they're paint jobs and sculpts weren't even close to what I could achieve with metal and my own paints, but they worked just fine. They saved me the time of painting my minis and gave me piece of mind when playing.

I have no problem with random packaging. The figures are cheap enough that I can live with what I end up with. There are enough packaged figures in a box that I should end up with at least one mini that I like. And I like the feeling that I get when I open a box of MageKnight and go "ooh, I wonder what I'll get?"

So I'll definitely buy at least one entry pack and booster. If I like what I'll get, I'll buy more, if not, then I'll add the figs to my MageKnight grab-bag and move on with my game.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I've just got onto the WOTC website and had a look at what they're planning in terms of miniatures.

They're planning a brand new game called "D&D Miniatures". It's a collectable miniatures game, directly competing with Mage Knight.

Firstly, they are proposing to "magic" style the packs. That means randomly inserting 16 or 8 figures into a pack. In both cases 1 will be a "rare", 5 and 3 respectively will be uncommon with commons making up the rest. All in all, they are planning on 80 miniatures in the set: 27 Rares, 33 Uncommons and 20 commons.

The style of packaging could more accurately be called "Mage Knight" style. Which makes a lot of sense, since like MK the new D&D Miniatures game is a collectable miniatures game.

However, I thought about it a little bit more and have come to the conclusion that it could possibly attract more and more people to the D&D product from your traditional warhammers and Magic etc. - which obviously is a good thing in terms of the general well being of the hobby.

Yep. That's the idea, I think: introduce all those legions of rabid MK players to the D&D world, and the d20 core mechanic. I wonder if there are more MK players than D&D RPG players? It's got to be close. That's a lot--a LOT--of potential D&D customers. And, of course, a lot of potential D&D Miniatures customers.

In reality though for myself and our group, we are most likely to continue using our own painted metal miniatures.

Well of course you will. Why wouldn't you continue to use your own miniatures? They're beautiful. You spent a lot of time and money on them. They're great! WotC isn't like GW; it's not like you're playing "wrong" unless you use Official D&D RPG Miniatures. In fact, I don't think there *are* official D&D RPG miniatures anymore. WotC got out of the metal mini business last year, and even then, there was no rule saying that your minis had to be WotC minis. Or even a rule that you had to use minis ar all. Incidentally, in 3.5 there's still no rule that says that minis must be used.

Remember that the playing pieces for the D&D Miniatures game are, well, playing pieces for the D&D Miniatures game. They're not miniatures for the D&D RPG. Sure, they can be used in the D&D RPG--the stat cards even have D&D RPG stats on the back side. But the figures--the playing pieces--are components of an entirely seperate game called "D&D Miniatures".

The D&D product does look - and in fact is - a little cheap. Serviceable and very handy but not a patch on what people can paint themselves.

This is unsuprising. A person who spends 6 hours on his personal metal min is certainly going to wind up with a better result than someone mass-painting plastic minis on an assembly line in asia.

We'll most likely get a pack or two but as for trading them, I think it would require an expense beyond what we would be willing to spend.

I think most D&D RPG players will do exactly that.

Still, what are people's thoughts on the miniatures and do you think you would consider using them in your games? Do you still prefer metal miniatures or do you prefer to go without?

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

I think the minis are terrific, even for use in the D&D RPG. I've always wanted no-hassle minis that I could safely toss in my dice bag. I prefer metal, of course, but I've been painting minis since the early 80s. And, yeah, I'm glad that I can finally stop painting--I just don't have the time anymore.

I'm really looking forward to getting a bucketful of these plastic minis for use in my D&D RPG game. Think about it--you can toss 'em, drop 'em, shove 'em around, pick 'em up with cheeto-encrusted figures, spill Mountain Dew on 'em, whatever. Just run them under soapy water and they're good as new. Easy transport, low price, and you don't have to have a heart attack every time someone bumps the table and knocks over a min. Sign me up!

But I'm more excited about the new D&D Miniatures game itself. Chainmail was fun but too dissimilar from D&D RPG and it demanded a huge time and money investment before you could actually play (cleaning, assembling, painting). With D&D Miniatures, I drop 20 bucks and I can play the game as soon as I open the box. Sounds like a winner.

-z

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I bet D&D 4.0 being an actual RPG depends on how well this mini game does.

 

[Christian Walker]

I bet D&D 4.0 being an actual RPG depends on how well this mini game does.

I hadn't thought of that. As soon as characters start being referred to as "figures," it'll be time to pack it in.

Still, it would be neat to buy "modules" that came with the key combat areas printed on color cardstock battle maps. Maybe there'd be counters for unique items, etc?

 

[Tsyr]

I still say:

I'd buy them if they came in packs of adventure-minis... "Sunless Citadel" packs, etc... With enough of the right type of minis to run that adventure. Or maybe "Box O' Bones" and "Box O' Ork" type assortments. No interest whatsoever in random placement...

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

I bet D&D 4.0 being an actual RPG depends on how well this mini game does.

I bet the sky is falling, too. We'd better stick our heads in the ground just to be safe.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I bet the sky is falling, too. We'd better stick our heads in the ground just to be safe.

Hey now, the guy has a point. I strongly suspect that D&D 4.0 will closely integrate miniatures, packaged adventures, or some other recurring revenue model. It's the perfect solution to the old problem of "sell the customer the core books and then he's gone".

Right now the majority of D&D players own only the PHB. Some also own the DMG. Some more own all three core books. Relatively tiny numbers of gamers buy supplements and expansions.

TSR had the same big problem: a giant customer base that buys exactly once, then vanishes.

One way to solve that problem is to spam tons of questionable-quality product onto your customers. TSR tried that.

Another way to solve the problem is to release splat books at regular intervals, then an entire "new" version. WotC is trying that now.

Yet another way to solve the problem is to transfer your customers to a "collectable" game model. WotC is exploring this idea with D&D Miniatures.

And still another way is to take your game online and charge a monthly subscription fee. WotC and Atari will try this in 2004/2005 with D&D Online.

-z, who thinks that last way is the best way.