Randomized Mini's or Not?

[frankthedm]

I put up with the "collectable" side of DDM. I buy singles on line for cheap commons as i did with mage knight & heroclix.

I also use action figures for giants... see my sig!

 

[Varianor Abroad]

I love random, collectible minis even though I can't afford them all the time! I also love and paint individual metal miniatures for my games.

 

[DragonLancer]

I stopped buying D&D minis after abour 2 sets because I was sick and tired of getting random figures. I want to buy specific figures not a pack of random ones.

I can't say with any degree of accuracy but I think D&DM would sell better if they were not random packs.

 

[crazy_cat]

I also make colossal dragons out of balloons.

Mark, you may be the DM within our group at this particular time, but I have just three five words to say whilst I sharpen my pointy things and prepare to face your incredibly bursty balloon dragons...

bring your exploding selves on.

 

[jenesyss]

I'm not a rabid collector of the DDMs, but I enjoy the collectible nature of the packs and pick up 2-4 of each set as they come along. Getting miniatures of creatures I wouldn't normally buy on their own has made me come up with some entertaining encounters (I never used Giant Toads until I pulled out 3 of them), and has given me some quick encounters for those games on the fly (hmmmm... need something quick... hey here's five skeletons and a spellstitched zombie... lets throw that in as they travel to the Vampires Crypt).
Of course I always hope to get some of the rarer minis, and my players cringe in fear everytime I pull out the Balor mini . He likes to sit next to my dice...

On the other side I would like to be able to buy a pack of just Orcs, goblins, Commoners etc. for those larger encounters and set ups. I don't see how it would kill off the DDM sales if WotC released something like this in addition to the collectible sets. Maybe make them of non-combatants so they'd be useless in skirmish games?

Jenesyss

 

[Uder]

Had to vote "Like, doesn't hurt WotC," but it's a bitter pill. I'd much rather be able to pick and choose from a huge selection of prepainted minis at low prices, but that's a pipe dream.

 

[crazy_cat]

...compared to the masses of dollars they are getting from those who do buy them en masse collectors (and out of the 6 gamers in my group, 2 are rabid, addicted nutters who by them by the caseload).

Now that really hurts! I'm not rabid, honest. I just have a disposable income and I like to spend it on stuff I like.

(OK, and I throth at the mouth a bit, but hey....)

I buy alot of DDM's because they are cheap and fit for purpose.

I believe they are cheap because WOTC have made them collectable for the DDM game and mass produce them therefore, and the random nature of the distribution gives them discounts on the volume of the little buggers that they produce allowing them to keep the price per mini down.

I see that as a good thing - if I have too many of a mini I can sell it on eBay, and accordingly once I've bought my two cases per series I can top up on the minis I'm missing from eBay as necessary.

DDM are a good thing IMHO - more income for WOTC that is linked to the D&D brand - Keeps our hobby alive.

 

[Kunimatyu]

(Note to self: Must. Not. Rant. Like. Babbling. Loon.)

I absolutely loathe the collectible nature of D&D minis. But I don't think that it hurts WotC one bit. It costs them exactly the same to make a Rare mini as it does a Common, afaik.

Not true. Rares have many more paint steps, multipart sculpts, and are often bigger as well.

 

[X-Marks!]

Frustrated As Well!

I don't mind the randomization, but I do mind the rarity scheme. I'd prefer all minis were equally available in a booster.

I'd prefer that there was no randomization, even if we paid a bit more, but they didn't ask me.

I'm pretty much in agreement. I could probably live with the randomization if there was a reasonable chance of getting an almost complete set without 14+ same commons! As is I'm paying far, far, far more money out to secondary market stores that buy/sell/open packs to get specifics, instead of multi-packing it and hoping for the best.

I've tried just buying them (entirely) separately from these places for some sets, and recently I've experimented with just buying packs themselves hoping to succeed. And I'm quite convinced the best way is to buy a few odd packs and buy the rest singularly from other sellers.

So I think WotC _is_ hurting itself by not making a better distribution ratio. Why do they need to release 24 rares and only 12 commons? That just feeds the frustration. It should be the other way around to make things come out reasonably to encourage pack-buying.

As well, I know of a lot of people are in the situation where trading isn't possible because no one else near them is collecting (because they're frightened off by the pricey-ness and poor distribution ratio, and/or living nowhere near secondary sellers).

Lastly, I know WotC says in the recent Design columns that they have to even out the pricey-to-make rares versus the cheaper commons, but really there has to be a point where everything evens out -- an average costing over the per-piece cost.

 

[Mark Hope]

Not true. Rares have many more paint steps, multipart sculpts, and are often bigger as well.

OK, fair enough. It's probably still only a difference of a small amount per item, though, given the mass produced nature of the minis. Although admittedly I'm just guessing here.

Now that really hurts! I'm not rabid, honest. I just have a disposable income and I like to spend it on stuff I like.

(OK, and I throth at the mouth a bit, but hey....)

I buy alot of DDM's because they are cheap and fit for purpose.

I believe they are cheap because WOTC have made them collectable for the DDM game and mass produce them therefore, and the random nature of the distribution gives them discounts on the volume of the little buggers that they produce allowing them to keep the price per mini down.

I see that as a good thing - if I have too many of a mini I can sell it on eBay, and accordingly once I've bought my two cases per series I can top up on the minis I'm missing from eBay as necessary.

DDM are a good thing IMHO - more income for WOTC that is linked to the D&D brand - Keeps our hobby alive.

Also good points (especially the bit about the frothing... ). It's definitely good for the hobby as a whole. And your point about the larger cost effectiveness of being able to shift your unwanted minis in order to afford the ones that you do want is very astute. I guess I am spending my money on other important things - like McFarlane dragons, Ptolus vinyl maps and d20s that are bigger than my head...