Explain the availability of DND Minitatures to me

[dreaded_beast]

I purchased the Starter Pack of the DND Miniatures line, I think it is known as the Harbringer series. Anyway, I was speaking to the proprieter of the FLGS and he was explaining that certain lines of miniatures will be discontinued and no longer be produced after a certain period of time.

At least that is what I think he said. I didn't really understand what he was trying to tell me, so I think that is the gist of it, but I could be wrong.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? Can anyone tell me more about this?

I like the DND Miniatures line and plan to buy more, but I don't know if I will if the above is true.

 

[KenM]

Harbringer was the first set to start the line, its the only set that comes in starters. They have two expansions out right now, Dragoneye and Archfiends. Those are only in booster packs. Giants of Legend is the next set due in June I think. The set after that will have starters., I forget what its suposted to be called. Rumor is wthat they are no longer producing Harbringer and Dragoneye. But they have alot in the warehouse. When they put new starters out, they should take some minis out and put others in, like they do with the magic: The gathering core sets.

 

[MerricB]

Every release is only for a limited time.

However, popular D&D monsters and characters will be remade with new sculpts as the line progresses. Thus, there is both a skeleton in Harbinger and one in Archfiends. (The latter sculpt is better than the former).

The 5th set (probably not called Fell Menace) due out this October will have new Entry Packs.

Boosters of any particular expansion are likely to be available for about a year after their release; I guess - but if they're more popular than they expect, they won't last that long.

Harbinger contains 80 miniatures, and is out of production (except for Entry Packs), but you should still be able to find packs of it.

Dragoneye contains 60 miniatures, and another shipment is due in May. That should be the last of it, though packs are likely to be available for a while afterwards.

Archfiends contains 60 miniatures and has just been released (though it hasn't come to Ballarat yet. )

Giants of Legend will contain 72 miniatures (including 12 huge ones) and is due out in June.

We don't know much about the fifth set yet - it's due out in October, IIRC.

This shouldn't stop you from buying the miniatures, though. Why should it? No miniature producer can afford to keep all of their miniatures in stock indefinitely. Indeed, seeing Set 1 retired will be great from most people's points of view, because it has many dodgy figures (both for costing and the sculptures) that will be improved on in the future.

Cheers!

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Kitchen Invasion

I don't get it. If WotC had simply released these pre-painted miniatures in normal, non-randomized sets, I would have bought them. Instead, they came up with this frankly absurd wallet-draining scheme based on Magic: the Gathering, forcing me to buy tons of miniatures I have no use for, in order to get the miniatures I want.

What's next? Oh yes. I have an idea. It's called "Kitchen Invasion". In every starter pack, you have eight common kitchen tools and ustensils, and two rare ones. For example, you might end up with three forks, two knives and one spoon (common kitchen tools) and a garlic press and a nutcracker (rare, highly collectible stuff).

Then later, WotC would release new sets for Kitchen Invasion, such as Bakewar, with all new ustensils such as Muffin tins and Jelly-roll pans.

And after months and months of collecting, you might end up with just enough stuff to actually cook something.

 

[Zappo]

I haven't paid too much attention to the minis phenomenon, but I seem to recall a WotC guy saying that they are stopping production because they have lots of minis in the warehouses. I think - though I may be wrong - that he implied that when stocks run low, they may resume production. So the sets are going to be around for a while.

In any case, certainly they can't keep making all the sets forever. That's unfeasible. Much like Magic, popular minis will always be produced, sculpted differently. This is actually pretty good because it means more variety of poses for common minis, and increased collectability value for old-style models while still allowing non-collectors to find the same creature easily in a new style.

The reasoning behind the random distribution was of course as an attempt to replicate the Magic thing, but it does have some effects that are beneficial for the consumer. First of all, if they didn't randomize, lots of little-used creatures would simply never be done. I mean, how many yrthaks could they sell? Twenty? With randomization, they have another factor, collectability value, that they can tweak to make production of a certain mini worthwhile. If you need the yrthak, unless you get lucky with a pack you'll probably have to sweat blood wrestling it from a collector, but that's better than the mini not even existing to begin with.

Secondly, this system means that if I need 40 commons for use in a D&D module, I can probably trade them for the aforementioned yrthak very easily. I just have to find a collector, or someone who thinks he has devised the ultimate yrthak killer army (or whatever a game set of mini is called). Nonrandom minis would mean that I don't have the stupid yrthak (because it was never made in the first place), but if I need 40 commons, I have to shell out 80$ or more. Naturally, this hinges on the mini game becoming widespread enough that there is a big secondary market (like Magic).

Now, as I said, I haven't paid too much attention to the mini thing. I'm not interested in the game itself, and I've never played D&D with minis. I don't know if the above considerations actually work in the real world. But the randomization of packs, at least in theory, does have big benefits for players.

 

[thalmin]

I don't get it. If WotC had simply released these pre-painted miniatures in normal, non-randomized sets, I would have bought them. Instead, they came up with this frankly absurd wallet-draining scheme based on Magic: the Gathering, forcing me to buy tons of miniatures I have no use for, in order to get the miniatures I want.

The randomized packaging makes it easier to get the full product line into more stores. Right now, there are only 5 different Stock Keeping Units, but if packaged individually there would be 200. And indvidual packaging would greatly increase the price of each figure as well.
Don't get me wrong. I would prefer buying the indivdual figs, too. But I understand the rationale for what WotC did.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

I don't get it.

Actually, I think you did get it:

...wallet-draining...

WotC is a business, and this business plan is apparently working. Those of us who hate the "random / collectible" aspect of the minis (and also the absolutely wretched paint job on most of the items in the line) can either join the frenzy to get the minis we want, or try the secondary market.

I bought a starter kit and four booster packs. They sat on the shelf for months, so I gave them away to my players at the last Chicago Gameday. They were happy, I was happy, and my wife was extremely happy to get a little bit of clutter out of the house for good.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Don't get me wrong. I would prefer buying the indivdual figs, too. But I understand the rationale for what WotC did.

Alright. But why didn't they release one big non-randomized set with, for example, all the signature characters, as well as 4 Orcs, 2 Goblins, 2 Kobolds and 2 Gnolls? Don't tell me it has anything to do with intendance.

 

[Lalato]

There are several websites that sell individual minis. Beyond that, there is a fairly healthy trading system available at http://www.maxminis.com. I believe you can even buy a whole set if you look in the right place or on ebay.

The randomness of the booster packs does not stop you from finding the minis you want. Sure, you probably can't go to your local store and get a specific mini, but you should be able to find any particular mini at several outlets online.

--sam

 

[stevelabny]

What's next? Oh yes. I have an idea. It's called "Kitchen Invasion". In every starter pack, you have eight common kitchen tools and ustensils, and two rare ones. For example, you might end up with three forks, two knives and one spoon (common kitchen tools) and a garlic press and a nutcracker (rare, highly collectible stuff).

actually, this is done already.
ever see the big bags of plastic utensils? 50 forks, 50 spoons, 50 knives.
there is no way that people use as many knives as they do forks and spoons.
Also, you can tell me that youve never seen discounted kitchen pots/pans/ cookware SETS. you know, the set that has one of every kind of cookware for a discounted price? maybe you dont make cupcakes, maybe you dont need the huge pot, maybe you dont grate cheese, but you buy the set when you move in to a new house or get married cuz its the easiest way to cover all your bases.

i find it amusing that your sarcastic snipe at WOTC actually mentions REAL products that exist.