COMMANDER OF THE GUARDIAN KNIGHTS discussion

[FainFlynn]

The (slightly) good news is now that folks got theirs, scalpers have flooded ebay a little bit, and prices have come down. Still not ideal, but they seem to be selling at $100-120 instead of closer to $200. Again, not ideal, but they pulled a rookie move of all selling now LOL.

[Kurgan]

Yeah, $50 for a plastic miniature is NOT a good deal, I don't care what planet you're from! (and considering you can print your own high quality cards for 50 cents apiece, no, even six cards with that is not a bargain)

(and this is coming from a guy who once actually purchased a HeroForge "color plastic" 3d printed mini for $44, sight unseen, because of a single sponsored video review... never doing that again!)

Right now the Guardian Knight has become a "collectible" as opposed to a playable game piece, and that annoys me. The whole point of HeroQuest is a tabletop fantasy board game accessible to the masses. This is the exact kind of thing that can ruin the franchise.

Again, I acknowledge that Avalon Hill made a public apology which is great. They apologized numerous times on Twitter already (most people will never see what happens on Twitter who would have bought the game). They entered into an exclusive arrangement for this production which was a huge mistake since they greatly misjudged the interest. It still stings to anyone who did attempt to support it and actually was interested in the product.

So if they cancel my order and refund my money or if they finally send it... someday... it's over for me. As long as the NEXT releases are not treated this way, the franchise will be in good hands.

If you think it's bad now, just imagine if the "Frozen Horror" was a 'Gamestop/Pulse exclusive... ' yikes.

The lesson they should have learned from this is that the HeroQuest fan community won't accept this limited time exclusive nonesense and it will create a backlash of negativity. No matter how successful the pledge drive was, it still left a lot of potential buyers feeling cold because there was not enough time or supply to meet the demand and not even enough warning before it closed. So simply upping the numbers slightly and lengthening the time window to place your pre-order won't do the job. It needs to simply be opened up as a retail product as soon as possible so none of this "FOMO" strategy. They resolved to do better, but it still stings. Best to learn that lesson now before the whole thing tanks. Many more releases are planned, but if too many customers are alienated by events like this, that will diminish the potential it once had, and that means fewer releases, and possibly less quality as they see the brand isn't worth supporting if so few are actually buying amid the negative publicity generated by those that were shut out or disappointed.

Again, this whole experience is making me think the next thing that comes down the pipe with the HeroQuest logo on it, I will not pre-order. Let somebody else deal with that. When it comes to retail, then I'll buy it.

Maybe I'll "miss out" as a "games journalist" but the fact is I never got any kind of special treatment (and didn't ask for it). I won't be the first person to review something when it comes out, and when I do get to it, it will be the unfiltered views of a hardcore fan (but not fanboy) that also can understand the plight of the "normy noob" trying to get into this thing. And I don't care if people unsub or downvote because they don't like my opinion, I'm still going to share it!

Another day, another rant. There are those who maintain positivity, and I want to be with you guys, I just also want to acknowledge that they really did screw up (they admitted it) and we will have to see results to know it wasn't just an empty apology. Good luck, Avalon Hill! They say the right words, here's hoping Hasbro gives them the freedom to do what's right by their customers next time.

[Kurgan]

I don't frequent Twitter (and don't like to) but I see they did ask to be sent instances of their products being sold above MSRP...

I haven't called GameStop about this since the March 1st date passed, but it sounds like I should do that again. I also appreciate that another fan shared HispaZargon's Errata thread with them and they responded positively, so that's another good thing.

[Kurgan]

Just got a note in my email saying it had "shipped." Checked and it shows shipped, but the tracker says awaiting carrier. We'll see how it goes... but supposedly I'll have it in about 10 days. Wow

[gaeryth]

when mine shipped from GS the carrier was listed as fedex, and was always listed as awaiting carrier when checking the tracking number. then it showed up delivered by usps. I would try dropping the tracking number into the usps tracking system to see if that is the case for yours as well.

[Kurgan]

Wow that trick actually worked, thanks for the tip gaeryth! So this makes it sound like my delivery will arrive Tuesday...

And Gondor will answer?

[FainFlynn]

My Gamestop ones just shipped too, nice!! Congrats to all who go them.

[Eudoxio]

Like a child in xmas morning

Just got my tiny cute little box from BBTS.
The Knights are finally here to protect the Kingdom

[Kurgan]

And Gondor did answer. Ordered back in mid November... delivered this evening.

So I'm seeing some similar analogs are already in my collection... Trista the White Wolf and Human Fighter, Rheagar (both of the Reaper bones line... http://www.reapermini.com not an advert just saying).

Not worth the wait and you are not missing out by not having these. You can very easily homebrew the ideas from the cards into your own game of course. It really looks like they designed it to be a 'collector's item' more than anything though I don't doubt you can play it and have fun if you want.

Boiling water trick fixes the bent rubbery plastic of the swords. The glue job on the arms is so-so (paint would hide it well). And those Reaper figures will cost you $8 total. Those custom cards would cost you about 50 cents each (yes, the designs of the short sword and shield are different from the 2021 remake cards in artwork... and the two knights have those identically although their three skill cards and hero card show the design of the miniature as others have talked about). Mainly it seems you're paying for fancy packaging, as Amalgamash and others have revealed. The folded note from mentor is on smooth linen finish cardstock, there are two inner box frames and almost a kind of tryptic of smooth cardboard and the box is surprisingly thick (but smooth on the outside, surprised they didn't do that in linen finish too). The figures are wrapped in tissue paper with a big white stick "sealing" it closed that looks like the same design as the hero shield. The fur and scale armor still makes me think they look a little scrappier than knights. I guess they are supposed to be peasant knights, but they could really serve well in the role of mercenaries as well which is what my thought was when placing my order. And it looks like the guy geled his hair a little (as often happens the card illustration is more exaggerated and dynamic compared to the actual miniature but less of a contrast in this case with the game system). They went all out on the packaging... even the little loops of white paper that hold the cards together this time almost appear like some kind of parchment stock rather than just plain old copy paper. I would have been fine with a generic throwaway box and more content. There's a note on the inner lid talking up these characters and some text on the back as well... just like you saw all those months ago from the people who got theirs early. And those shields are thick!

[QorDaq]

Good to hear that folks are starting to receive the latest wave of Knights.

I was in the same boat, where GS said FedEx with an extended wait time, but the item arrived much sooner via UPS.