Chiming in on the D&D minis (merged with "anyone buying the new Mini's?")

[diaglo]

WotC have stated that - barring machine or human error - there will be no duplicates in a pack. A few people have encounted mispackaged boosters, but they're not very common.

Cheers!

so you are saying they are Uncommon and not Rare.

 

[qstor]

Hmmm, I never used miniatures before 3e. Never even crossed my mind. However, some combats tended to get a little clunky even though, as a DM, I knew the system back and forth and the players completely trusted me.

I do not believe miniatures are required to have fun or have an organized combat in 3e D&D. It helps to clear things up but I have run both 3e and 3.5e with and without miniatures in combat and I like having the option of using both. Not all battles are the same. Sometimes it is better to have a little confusion as combat is chaotic by nature.

I never used minis before 3e either but I've found it helps the game go better. As a player I like to know where the bad guys are as well to see if their in my reach. Its been my experience good or bad that DM's that don't use minis might not remember where they said that the bad guy was.

As far as minis being a crucial part of the 3.5 game, I don't think thats anymore true than in 3e. I'm getting the new mini's cause like John C. mentioned they're addicted little buggers...John I'll trade you a mind flayer for a baraghest Give my regards to Sparky

Mike

 

[knight_isa]

GameOutfitters.com has them for $6.75/expansion and $12.75/entry. S&H is $2.95/order. Has anyone had any experience with them?

 

[smetzger]

GameOutfitters.com has them for $6.75/expansion and $12.75/entry. S&H is $2.95/order. Has anyone had any experience with them?

What is their full URL? I tried both
http://gameoutfitters.com/
http://www.gameoutfitters.com/
to no avail.

 

[knight_isa]

What is their full URL? I tried both
http://gameoutfitters.com/
http://www.gameoutfitters.com/
to no avail.

Oops. Sorry. It's http://www.gameoutfitter.com/ (no 's').

Edit: To avoid hijacking this thread, I started a new thread asking about GameOutfitter.com here.

 

[John Crichton]

As far as minis being a crucial part of the 3.5 game, I don't think thats anymore true than in 3e. I'm getting the new mini's cause like John C. mentioned they're addicted little buggers...John I'll trade you a mind flayer for a baraghest

I'm in. How would we set up the trade?

Give my regards to Sparky

Guido says hi.

 

[Mystery Man]

Two packs today. Got a medusa and an elf pyromancer.

Been lucky so far, no repeat rares. We have 3 game/hobby store that I can think of, two of which have two locations on either side of town and 3 of those that I went to at lunch today were sold out. Luckily the one closest to me got in a case.

I think they're here for awhile.

 

[Wormwood]

I just cleaned out my FLGS today.

Sorry guys. Better luck on the re-order.

(as a DM, I'm addicted to the D&D stat cards).

 

[Glyfair]

The fact that the miniatures are so cheap combined with the large range allows me to excuse the random packaging.

Indeed, that's part of the reason WotC can make them so cheap. First, there aren't going to be any unpopular figures sitting on shelves & in warehouses. So, they don't have to account for that sort of profit loss. Secondly, because of the collectible nature, people will tend to buy more to get the figures they need, while still paying for the figures that wouldn't be as popular.

Whether you like the model, or hate it, you have understand that the model helps keep the figures price down.

As for the quality, I tend to compare them to something similiar (Mage Knight), rather than something dissimiliar (Reaper, Warhammer, etc.).

My Comparisons:

Figure Quality: Mage Knight wins hands down. The D&D figures are better than the early figures (the first few sets), but worse than anything after that. The current Mage Knight figures are much better in quality & more imaginative.

Price: D&D miniatures win. Mage Knight is about $7.00 for 4 miniatures ($1.75 each), whereas the D&D miniatures are $10.00 for 8 miniatures ($1.25) each. Much of the cost of Mage Knight probably goes into the large dial.

Gameplay: Not vote here. I really like Mage Knight & MK 2.0 looks like it will be very interesting. I haven't played the D&D game yet. Once I do, I'll wager MK wins, but it might be close & I'm keeping an open mind.

D&D use: D&D miniatures win. Obviously the D&D miniatures fit D&D monsters much better. They also can be used out of the box. Mage Knight figures really need to be removed from the dial and placed on a smaller base. Also, the MK figures often have technological or modern touches that don't appear in most D&D games (Guns, Cannons, Mohawks).

However, the Mage Knight figures give me many more ideas for characters & monsters in D&D. The last MK Dungeons set has an Orc riding a Cave Man or something. The heroes are often great. I've already had someone use the Half-Orc wizard Ember as an NPC in his game.

Overall, for me, I'd say it depends on what I'm looking to use it for. The D&D miniatures certainly are the best for building a collection of "mooks."

 

[Olive]

Check this

If that's the red dragon mini, then I'm looking forward to the Dragoneye expansion.