"Gotta catch 'em all!"
- Pokemon Catchphrase, but I think it can be applied to miniatures too
Despite being out for 2 months now, a lot of D&D players are still wondering whether or not Dungeon Command is a good investment. I myself was skeptical a first, but the lure of getting a batch of miniatures drew me in, and now I'm hooked on the game. My favorite part about Dungeon Command is that the strategy is a lot more complex than the game first appears to be. This, to me, is a huge selling point.
My fellow D&D players aren't so sure. They keep asking if the game is worth the money. The short answer (in my opinon), is a resounding yes! I've taken pictures of every miniature from every set, and will describe them below.
Heart of Cormyr
This set was released at the end of July with the Sting of Lolth set. The miniatures would be used best for PC's, with a couple of solid miniatures to use as monsters/NPC's. Let's take a look.
The copper dragon is an amazing piece. I'm a huge fan of dragons, being able to get a large sized one is a big plus. The sculpt is solid, and it makes for a great patron for your players.
The earth guardian makes for a great adversary with all the Elemental Chaos support that came out back in February. Getting two Heart of Cormyr packs gives you two of these guys, which I think makes for a great room to flank. Alternatively, these miniatures could be used as a statues of a fortress or dwarf stronghold.
A dwarf cleric. A standard hero miniature.
The War Wizard makes for another great hero miniature, but it could duplicate as an arcane enemy that the party must face as well.
The Dragon Knight is your standard knight in shining armor. I've also wanted to use him as a guard for whatever powerful NPC the heroes must negotiate with. He makes for a great addition to the new Dungeon Tile Set, Castle Grimstead.
The Half-orc Thug shows a versatility of weapons.
The Human Ranger is a great piece. I love the cloak.
The Halfling Sneak is your typical rogue, skulking in the dark.
The Dwarven Defenders are awesome. Solid guard miniatures, they make for great hero or NPC's. In my home campaign, my party is about to be escorted by some Dwarves through a dangerous locations. I've got the miniatures all set now!
Elf Archers are always cool, no matter what.
Sting of Lolth
This set was also released in July. In a nutshell, if you want a ton of drow miniatures to throw at your PC's (say, as an Underdark campaign), this set is it. If you need different looking drow PC miniatures (say, for a Menzoberranzan campaign), this is your set. The monsters in the set rock to.
An Umber Hulk with this sculpt from the original set is about $20 on ebay. That's half the price of Dungeon Command, and you get a GREAT game plus a bunch more minis. It's a steal! The Umber Hulk can also be used as a companion character, as a companion stat block was presented in The Dungeon Survival Handbook.
The Drow Wizard is a cool piece, both miniature wise and Dungeon Command game piece wise. If you don't like this paint job, you can get an alternate one as a promo for the release (see below).
The Giant Spider makes for a great threat, whether it be an underground environment, a jungle, or the abandoned ruins of some old keep.
The Shadow Mastiff is a great piece for the Dungeon Command game. D&D wise, I still haven't figured out what kind of encounters I want to use him in. He could always make for a good animal companion/beast form for a Druid.
A pair of Drow House Guards. Better watch out when exploring the Underdark!
The Drow Priestess is the epitome of fighting against the drow. I'm glad I finally have one in my miniature collection (two actually, as I've purchased two of every Dungeon Command set).
The Drow Blademaster is one of my favorite choices for a male drow character.
I've always wanted a Drider miniatures, but my FLGS sold all of the ones in Savage Encounters. I finally got my own and couldn't be happier. Thie Drider is a female drow, which, given the whole female superiority in drow society, I found pretty cool. She is definitely Lolth's Chosen!
Drow Assassin. Makes for another great PC miniature.
Love the pair of Demonweb Spiders. In my opinion, spiders just make for great monsters when Dungeon Crawling. You could also use these guys in the Gardmore Abbey encounter where the PC's have to sneak past their webs.
Tyranny of Goblins
The latest Dungeon Command set came out on Tuesday. I've been eagerly awaiting this set ever since it was announced, since I think goblins are awesome. I got to play the set at Gen Con in August, which only made me want it even more. Now that I finally have it, I'm very happy to be tinkering with my own goblin warband.
The Goblin Champion makes for a great Chieftain or otherwise powerful goblin enemy. Or, if you want to be a PC, this makes for a solid heroic miniature too.
Heroes never can have enough goblin fodder to cut through. The Goblin Cutters make sure you can provide enough miniatures as well.
The Goblin Wolfrider is my favorite goblin in the set, as well as my favorite Dungeon Command piece. I love the eyes and teeth on this guy, and the wolf looks awesome as well.
The Bugbear Berserker looks like one mean, threatening goblinoid.
The Hobgoblin Soldiers are new miniature sculpts (which means you can't get them anywhere else). These guys get an A+ in my book. Their weapons look amazing, their pose is threatening, and I really want to plop them down on a map for an encounter and see what my players think.
The Hobgoblin Sorcerer makes for a great goblinoid leader, or even a Priest of Bane.
I love the Wolf, mostly because it's a common monster in lower levels, yet can also be used by Pack Outcast and Werewolf PC's when they transform.
I'm a big fan of the Goblin Archer, mostly because I like the detail. I like how he's using two hands for his bow, and I also like the little shield he has on his back.
I have a theory that the bigger the miniature, the more impressive/scared your players will be when they encounter it in your game. The Feral Troll is a big miniature. Size-wise, it's considered a Large creature, but height-wise it towers over all everybody. Glad I finally have one of these classic Dungeons and Dragons monsters.
The Horned Devil is something that looks sinister, evil, and wickedly intelligent. The sculpt is pretty solid. For many people, this is considered the best miniature out of the entire Tyranny of Goblins set. I think there are lots of other cool pieces, but this one is definitely cool.
Hopefully this summary of all the miniatures will help encourage you to go out and pick up a set or two for yourself. Consider giving the game a try. It's a nice break from D&D, yet it still allows you to play with maps and miniatures.
As always, leave comments below and be sure to follow me on Twitter @artificeralf
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