Sammael
Adventurer
Why? Most previous beholder minis sold for at least $20 on the secondary market, so $35 is a very reasonable price point.Yikes!
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Beholder pack of minis this fall
- Thread starter _NewbieDM_
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Dice4Hire
First Post
*searches memory for how many times beholders have been used in his campaigns.*
Well, I think I have used them maybe once or twice, and that ws online, so I see no real need for those minis.
Beholders are not really my favorites, I'd be a lot happier with encounter groups that could see high use.
Well, I think I have used them maybe once or twice, and that ws online, so I see no real need for those minis.
Beholders are not really my favorites, I'd be a lot happier with encounter groups that could see high use.
Nifft
Penguin Herder
Agreed.
I don't really like the image on display in that link, and I don't like the idea of a swanky display case -- the whole point of plastic minis is that I can chuck them in a box and not feel bad about abusing them -- but $35 for 4 "rares" is within my range of reasonable, and I do like beholders.
Cheers, -- N
Jools
First Post
Compared to the secondary market these beholders are really rather cheap, and lets face it, unless they are awful they are bound to go up in value (at least in the short term). What's really interesting about this release is what it tells us about WOTC's plans for DnD minis. The normal model for randomly distributed figures is that the premiums (beholders, mind flayers, dragons etc) are deliberately supplied in numbers much lower than their demand, keeping them rare and upping their secondary market value considerably. What this does for WOTC is up sales of boosters as people try to get these premiums, buying a whole heap of figures that they would't ordinarily have purchased. THIS is the true value of a beholder to WOTC.
Now what's really odd is the fact that they are now just giving them away in one easy to get hold of package for a (comparatively speaking) very reasonable price. Its interesting to speculate about the reasons for this deviation from normal business practice. The obvious gut reaction is that this is possibly the end of DnD minis. If I were winding down the line the one thing I would suggest would be to cash in on the (deliberately and artificially created) demand for premium figures by releasing some box sets that give them exactly what they want. Sure, it would harm sales of future boosters (people aren't gonna burn through those boosters to get figure X if they can just get it in a non-random box set) but if things are coming to an end anyway, this doesn't really matter. Just cash in before the whole line is canned.
To my mind, that is the most obvious scenario - but there are others of course. Perhaps (as some speculate), the line is in difficulty, and Wizards are uncertain whether it has a future or not. Perhaps they hope that sets like this could re-ignite a demand in DnD minis, coupled with a (hopefully) improved economy in the near future, regular service could be resumed. Its hard to say really, I'd certainly be interested to hear what you guys think.
Now what's really odd is the fact that they are now just giving them away in one easy to get hold of package for a (comparatively speaking) very reasonable price. Its interesting to speculate about the reasons for this deviation from normal business practice. The obvious gut reaction is that this is possibly the end of DnD minis. If I were winding down the line the one thing I would suggest would be to cash in on the (deliberately and artificially created) demand for premium figures by releasing some box sets that give them exactly what they want. Sure, it would harm sales of future boosters (people aren't gonna burn through those boosters to get figure X if they can just get it in a non-random box set) but if things are coming to an end anyway, this doesn't really matter. Just cash in before the whole line is canned.
To my mind, that is the most obvious scenario - but there are others of course. Perhaps (as some speculate), the line is in difficulty, and Wizards are uncertain whether it has a future or not. Perhaps they hope that sets like this could re-ignite a demand in DnD minis, coupled with a (hopefully) improved economy in the near future, regular service could be resumed. Its hard to say really, I'd certainly be interested to hear what you guys think.
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DaveMage
Slumbering in Tsar
I don't think there's any question that the product line as it was is no longer as viable, otherwise there would not have been the cancellations/changes.
However, I think it's a good thing that they are exploring other options.
Now if the "chase rares" are really happening in the next full set, it's pretty clear that some of those options they are exploring will be something I do not like.
Of course, my case-buying days are long over since all I buy now are singles on the secondary market, so "chase rares" won't affect me from a case-buying standpoint, but it will annoyingly raise the price of that single chase rare.
However, I think it's a good thing that they are exploring other options.
Now if the "chase rares" are really happening in the next full set, it's pretty clear that some of those options they are exploring will be something I do not like.
Of course, my case-buying days are long over since all I buy now are singles on the secondary market, so "chase rares" won't affect me from a case-buying standpoint, but it will annoyingly raise the price of that single chase rare.
I can't really see buying this. I already have two beholder minis, one Large and one Huge, and given how many times I've actually used beholders (hint: less than 1, more than -1), I think that's plenty.
While I'm sure there have been exceptions, as a rule beholders aren't one of those monsters that get campaign themes built around them. They're more of an "oh-crap" monster, something you throw in when you want to scare the bejeezus out of your players.
It's instructive to look at "Magic: The Gathering," which I think we can all agree is in fine shape. M:tG follows the same randomized approach as D&D minis, complete with chase rares to drive sales. The beholder pack would seem to be the equivalent of a "From The Vault" release, albeit with a couple of new additions to spice it up a bit.
While I'm sure there have been exceptions, as a rule beholders aren't one of those monsters that get campaign themes built around them. They're more of an "oh-crap" monster, something you throw in when you want to scare the bejeezus out of your players.
It's instructive to look at "Magic: The Gathering," which I think we can all agree is in fine shape. M:tG follows the same randomized approach as D&D minis, complete with chase rares to drive sales. The beholder pack would seem to be the equivalent of a "From The Vault" release, albeit with a couple of new additions to spice it up a bit.
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Add me to the list of people interested in the "encounter-in-a-box" concept.
Jools
First Post
Now I'm not an expert on CCGs but it seems to me that their model is slightly different. Premium DnD mini's desirability are based on their "coolness" whereas CCG's premium card's desirability are based on their in game utility. This gives the advantage to CCGs as they are usually in a cycle of constantly creating cards slightly more powerful than the last. DnD mini's don't really have a similar route as its difficult to create creatures cooler than beholders, dragons etc. As mentioned by people above, once you own a lot of beholders you don't really need any more. I know nothing about this "From The Vault" product though, would anyone care to explain how its similar?
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