Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
Pros
Lots of tokens with small, regular, and huge sizes.
Could Go Either Way
There are 64 plastic discs that serve as a base. And there are many more flat pieces that cling to the bases, called clings. This means that as you need them, you can combine the two parts together to get as many tokens as you need. The plastic bases are also more durable than cardboard pieces. However, I’m not sure how well the clings themselves will hold up to long use. They’re not actually sticky like a sticker, and they don’t feel as bad as I expected.
It’s nice that there’s a case. I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up to repeated use. Especially the handle. Handles on these sorts of sets always make me nervous.
The art is the same as from the books. It looks nice, and it’s easy to recognize creatures if you’ve look at the books. On the other hand, the only new art is on the carrying case.
Cons
No gargantuan token or inserts. Even just one would be very nice. Potentially could even cut out the centre so we can put the huge token inside if we needed to save on plastic for the cost?
Figuring out how to open the main box is...not easy. Please put some kind of mark at least so we can easily open these things. I think many will give up and just use force.
No PDF*
* Denotes nitpicking. Ha. I’m just kidding. How would you even PDF this? Hmm, it would be pretty cool if we could just print the art perfectly sized for these disks directly from a special section of the official website. Well, I can dream at least.
Introduction
If you play D&D, sooner or later you’ll want to try tokens, miniatures, or some other physical representation. Theatre of Mind can be fun, but there are also advantages to being able to see distances and features of a map accurately. If you’re using a Virtual Table Top...well, this review isn’t for you. For those of us who can play in person, are options are plastic miniatures which are expensive, or tokens of different types. The set I’m reviewing today is one of those types.
What’s In The Set
There is also a special case to keep all the pieces safe, as well as a folder for the sheet. When done using the token, I’d recommend putting them back on the paper as it seems to stick. And in the folder which is in the box, even if it falls out, it won’t be lost.
What box? All of the pieces mentioned above fit together in a special travel box that has a handle. Though being a card box, I’d be worried about using the handle. The card used on the box feels good. But my previous experience with such handles makes me nervous.
The Art and Build Quality
The art is pretty good, but it’s not new art. This is nice, since Dungeon Masters and players will recognize the images from the books the read. On the other, there’s not any new art except for the boxes that are used to hold the components. The build quality for my copy turned out pretty good. No obvious problems. Which interestingly enough, is better than some of the experience I’ve had with the books so far.
The disks are made from plastic which feels sturdy. The case to hold everything feels good too. The clings feel better than I expected looking at the pictures too. They aren’t just paper coming out of your printer. That said, they are still a thin material. So I’m left wondering how well they’d last over long term use. I’ll update it in the future with my thoughts. Also, there isn’t a good way to keep them except the folder. And the folder expects paper. This mean that in the heat of a game, I could see people getting the clings they need, and then not remembering which sheets they came from. On that topic, I found myself having to look through all the sheets for the clings I wanted. Even some kind of small title to each sheet like “humanoids” would help with my organization. That way I could find the correct sheet quickly if an unexpected combat encounter broke out.
The main issues assuming you like the clings concept is that the box it comes in is difficult to remove without damage. There’s another box inside which is used to keep the components inside when not in use. That’s fine...but I wish the outbox could be removed in one piece too. It doesn’t even say which side to open from. Compared with the starter set boxes, or even board games, it’s not easy to figure out and like it’s almost intended. After all, who cares if it’s meant to be thrown away anyway.
So overall, the build quality is good for what it is. If you’ll have a problem with this set’s components, it’s more a design issue from the clings itself. I’m sure many will prefer Pathfinder tokens, or just old fashioned miniatures. There’s been many products over the years to help people keep track of monsters on their grids. And no matter the build quality, clings and bases like this will have certain disadvantages. I expect to see future sets that use the same bases in the future.
Price
The set is standard $64.99 USD which is pretty high. The old D&D Adventure System board games came for 40 unpainted minis for the same price. The Dungeon Command board games came with pre-painted miniatures for $40. Do I ever miss those sets. Is this inflation? I think the WizKids new D&D Adventure System games also are significantly more expensive than that.
Summary
There you have it. If you need tokens, it’s not a terrible set. The standard price is pretty expensive, but so are plastic miniatures these days. There are ways to make tokens yourself. And many people prefer miniatures due to their more impressive appearance at the table. But if you can get this set at a good price, it should work well. There are many discs, there are many clings that can customize their appearance. I find myself wondering if more clings will be available with future sets. The standard price has me in an odd state though. On one hand, this set is pretty expensive. On the other, miniatures are even more expensive these days. This one set, however, should provide enough tokens for whole campaigns without running into a situation where there’s not enough discs. So it will serve well. It’s just there’s also many other alternatives. If you can find a good deal on the set, it’s a workable solution for tokens and miniatures.
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