Master Set Size: What's a Good Amount?

[CelticWarGod]

I liked the RotV Set it had a nice blend of terrain and lots of minis.

The number of figures included was large enough and varied enough to enjoy a whole host of scenarios and battles.

From reading some of the previews of the BftU and then RoB they admitted that the scenario designers had a hard time designing a campaign that worked well with what was included in the master set.

For the game to attract new players I think a better master set is needed as a foundation to build from, for old players I think the new Master set is more of a nice large expansion, much like SotM was seen as.

In the end I'm just glad to see the game continue to be produced.

CWG

[DBC]

Originally Posted by CelticWarGod

From reading some of the previews of the BftU and then RoB they admitted that the scenario designers had a hard time designing a campaign that worked well with what was included in the master set.

But they succeeded. Thats the only thing that matters in the end.
Also, River of Blood is designed to be played with wave D-1 added to the Master Set.

[pixlepix]

Heres what I would do. Make Bftu siszed set as starter sets and rotv size as master sets. the new masterset doesnt really deserve to be called a masterset.

[DrAwsm]

Originally Posted by DaddyScaper

It's enough to get started, which is why it's a Master Set. If you want to play competitively or on larger maps there are plenty of options available for you to expand.

But it's enough to get started; we had fun playing through the BftU scenarios alone and I doubt we were the only ones who did.

It may be enough to get started, but that's all you can do. I paid $30 at a Wally World in a different town for my BftU, but for about $3 less I could have bought SotM online at coolstuffinc.com. SotM is a much larger set than BftU, and having to pay the same amount for either of them is outrageous. I think that SotM is currently well-priced, so BftU should be considerably less. I could justify paying $20, maybe even $25, for what you get. Even after getting a Soulborg expansion at a seperate Wally World, the battles are bland. I'm getting two expansions ordered online tomorrow (for $11 total ), but I shouldn't have to buy three expansions to even get close to an amount of figures that I could have had when I bought the MS (I hope that made sense to people; I got confused when I reread it.)

[Kaiser Cat]

Originally Posted by DrAwsm

Blah blah blah cutoff to save space.

(I hope that made sense to people; I got confused when I reread it.)

It makes sense to me.

[Dad_Scaper]

Made sense to me, too. If I were starting a collection now I'd order a SotM from CSI along with multiples of a few commons. Why CSI? Because (a) can't beat the price and (b) they give store credit for old Magic cards.

But that was my experience. Your mileage may vary.

Enjoy your new figs, DrAwsm, I may not have agreed, but I understand and feel your pain.

[DrAwsm]

Originally Posted by DaddyScaper

Made sense to me, too. If I were starting a collection now I'd order a SotM from CSI along with multiples of a few commons. Why CSI? Because (a) can't beat the price and (b) they give store credit for old Magic cards.

But that was my experience. Your mileage may vary.

Enjoy your new figs, DrAwsm, I may not have agreed, but I understand and feel your pain.

Thanks, DaddyScape, I will! It's the Heroes of Khorvaire and Heroes of Faerun expansions if anybody was wondering. Really excited to use Shurrak, hopefully he and the other unique heroes will bring some good times to the table. Hopefully by Thanksgiving I'll also have quite a few squads so my brothers and I will have a variety. But at the time I didn't really have the option of an online purchase, kind of a "do-or-die" situation. Overall I think things worked out for better or worse, I just wish I'd had the option of getting SotM instead.

On a side note, I didn't know that CSI gave credit for old MTG cards. I don't play anymore, but my sister bought mine for me, so I would dream of getting rid of them. But it's still good to know in case I come across any in the street....

[DBC]

Originally Posted by DrAwsm

I paid $30 at a Wally World in a different town for my BftU, but for about $3 less I could have bought SotM online at coolstuffinc.com. SotM is a much larger set than BftU, and having to pay the same amount for either of them is outrageous. I think that SotM is currently well-priced, so BftU should be considerably less. I could justify paying $20, maybe even $25, for what you get.

It's not fair co compare online prices with brick and mortar retailers.
MSRP for SotM is 40$
MSRP for BftU is 30$
Those are the prices you have to look at if you want to make comparisons.

[flameslayer93]

Well if you want more terrain, just go to Auggies. Or you can grab Wave 1 while it's out. Snipers+Vipers has 6 total spaces while Orcs Pack has 4 total spaces. Both come with a glyph too. I don't know about the other 2 packs however they do have glyphs. If you grab Wave 6/7(should you come across them) you could grab 4 hexes worth of snow per pack. Easy terrain and generally good figures.

[1Mmirg]

I agree with those that feel the new set is more of a starter set than a master set (though, hey, it's really marketing more than accuracy that they're playing at). To me, a master set plays 4, while the starters (like BftU) play 2.

I wish they could either create a new master set or have multiple starter sets available. If I could buy two different BftU (even if the terrain was exactly the same, but there were different factions/figures inside), I'd be a lot happier.

As for a true master, I'm okay with seeing them pull back to 20 units, especially if that allows them to have some decent LOS blockers in the box. I'm also fine with SotM amounts of terrain (though, hey, we all wish we could go back to RotV amounts). To me the key is that there has to be enough in the box to at least play--and replay--a 2v2 (even if a 4 way FFA might be more than the set can handle).

IMO, anything smaller than SotM is no longer a true master set.

(I do keep hoping that BftU will be joined by another similar master/starter set, so that two people could, theoretically, each buy one and put them together and have a true (and diverse) master set, but, yeah, I know I may just be dreaming.)

My nephew is just getting into the game and I had no hesitation in telling him to start with the SotM from CoolStuff and then go from there. (I think that unless another large set comes out, Scape will (sadly) take a huge hit when NIB RotVs and SotMs are all finally gone...)

[Chilling Touch]

Adding to my earlier statment, I beleive that the design team knows exactly what they are doing, so I would elect to leave the decision making to them.

[DrAwsm]

Originally Posted by Chilling Touch

Adding to my earlier statment, I beleive that the design team knows exactly what they are doing, so I would elect to leave the decision making to them.

I'm not sure how I feel about this statement. I know the design team has an amazing amount of experiance. BUT! It's not them who decide how large the MSs are (right?). I would think it's the higher-ups in WotC who decide how many figures and tiles are going to be in the MS, and that's what the design team has to work with. The figures themselves are pretty good IMO, but they aren't at full power right out of the box. Pelloth has only 3 Drow to use Lolth's Wrath with, but then that's it, no more Drow. Pelloth works better with multiple squads of Deepwyrm Drow, but he isn't much himself. What I'm saying is, is that when WotC gives a smaller amount to work with than usual, then the design team can't work to their fullest on that set. And the expansions are good, too, but it would've been nice to see some of those figures in the set. Even if it meant smaller expansions or only 2 or 3, I would gladly make that sacrifice for a bigger MS.