Beholder pack of minis this fall

[pawsplay]

Wizards has always said the randomized stuff was a way of keeping costs down because of the higher production costs of the Rare figures. I just don't see how selling a bunch of lowgrade stuff that no one wants will ever be a viable product model. Make cool miniatures, sell them at a reasonable price point, profit.

 

[megamania]

35 dollars is a lot for a creature that will only be used occationally.....

From there. being true to my pessimistic nature.... can anyone believe anything when it comes to WoTC and their miniatures this year? Everything has been cancelled so many times I can't get too cyked about it at this point.

WoTC miniatures seem dead to me.

 

[Zinovia]

I might be interested in the beholders, given that I don't have a mini for one, and had to use a rubber-band ball with an eye-bead stuck on it for the beholder gauth fight.

I really like the idea of an encounter-in-a-box! Include a variety of related minis to build an encounter out of, and maybe stat cards for the monsters. Also include some terrain items such as pillars, traps, trees, a mystic portal; cool stuff that can be reused in other encounters down the road. I would snap that up in a heartbeat. Please make this.

 

[El Mahdi]

deleted

 

[Dykstrav]

Many people in this thread seem interested in the "encounter in a box" idea. I've been thinking more about this over the past day or so, and there's another way you could make this even cooler, so cool I'd be excited to buy it. Thrilled even.

With the encounter-in-a-box, also include a sheet or two of unique dungeon tiles that are exclusive to the product.

For the drow-themed encounter-in-a-box, you could have one big tile of a shrine of Lolth, then another sheet of tiles for terrain features like spider-shaped braziers, idols, spiderwebs, bodies wrapped in webs, a cluster of spider egg sacs, et cetera.

There are many themed sets you could throw together with this idea. If you made these mostly with reissues of older sculpts (sorta like the way the Player's Handbook Heroes is set up), I'd still buy it because I never can have too many kobolds/spiders/whatever. Even if it only included two new sculpts (or even one really good one), I'd still be thrilled.

Here are some of the encounter-based packages I've been fantasizing about:

Kobold Encounter in a Box (Target levels 1-3)
• Six Kobold Soldiers (Angelfire 44/60)
• Kobold Wyrmpriest (Dangerous Delves)
• Two Kobold Champions (Aberrations 37/60)
• Two Kobold Trapmakers (Night Below 35/60)
• New mini: New or awesome rescupt of a medium chromatic dragon of some sort, statted out as an elite like in Draconomicon.
• New tiles: Kobold dragon shrine/lair, trapped treasure chest (closed on one side, opened with trap sprung on the other), portcullis trap with draconic look, dragon altar, braziers, pit trap, arrow trap, a few different trapped doors.

Undead Encounter in a Box (Target levels 4-7)
• Six Warrior Skeletons (Archfiends 43/60)
• Deathpriest of Orcus (Against the Giants 3/60)
• Two Shadows (Night Below 60/60)
• Two Ravenous Ghouls (Desert of Desolation 54/60)
• New mini: Some cool new undead that we've never seen a mini of before, such as a brain in a jar, a deathkiss beholder, or an undead angel.
• New tiles: Crypt, sarcophagi, caskets, pillars, funerary altars, open graves, gravedigging tools (shovels, lanterns), necromantic circle, gruesome necromantic work area (surgical tools, blood and guts, that sort of thing), enbalming table.

Infernal Temple Encounter in a Box (Target levels 8-10)
• Six Legion Devil Legionnaires (Savage Encounters #24)
• Tiefling Cleric of Asmodeus (Demonweb 8/60)
• Two Tiefling Warlocks (Dungeons of Dread 47/60)
• Two Succubi (Blood War 59/60)
• New mini: Aspect of Asmodeus, or another archdevil of some sort. If they made an Aspect of Bel, it could also double as a Pit Fiend for higher-level groups.
• New tiles: Infernal temple, sacrifical altar, devil statues, manacles, prison cells, candelabras with creepy shadows, cozy divans and seating, desk with infernal contracts, ritual circle, ritual work area with creepy infernal trappings, "gate to hell" teleportation circle, flames, burning objects of different types.

 

[AllisterH]

Encounters in a box don't really work that well.

Mainly because they suffer from the non-randomized aspect.

For example, a random assortment of miniatures usually means that there is at least something fro everyone. Even if you only buy a single on the secondary market, it still means that an entire pack had to be cracked/bought.

A "singular type" of encounter pack has the disadvantage that if you DON'T want that type of encounter, you can safely ignore it meaning less packs sold and a higher price point.

People discount the randomized nature but I don't think people understand just how much it lowers the cost on BOTH the manufacturer and the shop owner's part.

(From the vault are a list of "classic" broken cards from M:TG heyday (and relative recent past--looking at you CLAMP--- they are only legal in Vintage and even there, they still have to follow the rules meaning that potentially you could only use 1 for your deck. From the vault was seen mostly as a boon to VINTAGE players--not really the target audience

BTW: What drives sales of M:TG packs is NOT the chase rares but the LIMITED players. Look at MTGOnline to understand how many more packs are cracked by the Limited fans than by people simply buying packs.

Indeed, people buying packs for the chase rares hasn't been the main reason why packs are sold for at least a decade IMO)

 

[Zinovia]

With the encounter-in-a-box, also include a sheet or two of unique dungeon tiles that are exclusive to the product.

I don't use tiles, hence that idea doesn't interest me. I use a hex grid. Tiles aren't hex. The few times I've used poster maps for encounter areas, the players are unhappy using the square grid. We've used hexes for years and years.

With an encounter in a box, I would prefer non-randomized, but I understand that doing random packs cuts the costs all around. Perhaps they could create some randomized encounters? Forest Ambush! (levels 1-4) - include some appropriate baddies and a couple plastic trees, bushes, rocks, mushrooms, or what have you. With multiple sets, you could get more fun terrain, and duplicate monsters, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Make sets with various themes and level ranges, or skip the levels, and just have themes. Include some recommended stats for the minis for various levels in order to encourage wider use.

The problem I had with random minis is that there were too many character figs in there, when what I really wanted were monsters. I also love terrain elements, but hardly anyone makes them, and Dwarven Forge is pricey! A themed encounter, even if random, should give you some things you can use together, rather than "Bobolink the Cleric, Deadlysue the Drow Priestess, Blue Dragon Wyrmling, Fire Elemental, Human Peasant, Mostly Nekkid Sorceress, and Troll Muckslinger.

It's far more fun to get 3 or 4 types of kobolds, a guard drake, and a young dragon, along with a (plastic) stone outcropping or something. Not that I expect to see it, but I can hope. Guess I'll work on making my own props some more - I already created some little bed pallets out of sculpey.

 

[rgard]

The problem I had with random minis is that there were too many character figs in there, when what I really wanted were monsters. I also love terrain elements, but hardly anyone makes them, and Dwarven Forge is pricey! A themed encounter, even if random, should give you some things you can use together, rather than "Bobolink the Cleric, Deadlysue the Drow Priestess, Blue Dragon Wyrmling, Fire Elemental, Human Peasant, Mostly Nekkid Sorceress, and Troll Muckslinger.

My experience as well, though I do still have and use the Elf Pyromancer from Harbinger as one of my PCs' figs though I'm not currently playing in a campaign as a player. Otherwise the WotC PC type characters don't see a whole lot of use.

The players I DM for all use painted (well, mostly painted) metal miniatures; usually Reaper ones. The newbie players usually start out with one of the WotC pre-painted minis, but if they play long term they end up going to the LGS and pick a metal figure that best fits the character concept.

For terrain pieces, you can find some of the Mageknight dungeon decor fairly cheap on Ebay and those are pre-painted too.

Mega Minis also does dungeon terrain minis that are inexpensive, but those aren't painted.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[EnochSeven]

Encounters in a box don't really work that well.

Mainly because they suffer from the non-randomized aspect.

For example, a random assortment of miniatures usually means that there is at least something fro everyone. Even if you only buy a single on the secondary market, it still means that an entire pack had to be cracked/bought.

Yeah. I hate this, but I think you are right. The whole business side of things, they want to maximize their sales, and the encounter in the box isn't it.

Although I love it.

 

[Dykstrav]

For what it's worth, I agree that the encounter-in-a-box format would probably never work from a business standpoint. I'm sure that someone involved in the miniatures line has already explored the idea, probably several years ago, and they decided to go a different direction. I'm not asserting that the format will resurrect the miniatures line and usher in a new golden age or anything.

It's just what I'd personally be interested in buying.

If it ever came to pass, I'm sure that it'd turn out like the gargantuan dragons and the new beholders. A few people will buy them either for the sake of collecting or because they actually want them, but most gamers just wouldn't be interested.