Since the chances of us getting a new DDAS game any time soon are pretty slim, and the Deluxe games (if you can find 'em) are really expensive I decided to see if I could build my own set of pre-painted minis on a budget AND stay under what I paid for Dungeon of the Mad Mage (the only pre-painted set I have). That cost me $145.00 so if I discount the cost of one of the current board games (say Legend of Drizzt @ $65.00 on Amazon today) that gives me a budget of $80.00 to spend on minis. The list below comes in under $40.00 which leaves me enough to get the Heros too as singles. Happily I got the Drizzt anniversary set last Xmas so I still have $40.00 to spend on some really excellent Villains. Or, if you really felt like home brewing your new game you could spend the left over cash on the Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Case: Terrain which comes with a huge stack of double sided jigsaw puzzle tiles that have dungeon on one side and grass on the other. Those are going for a song on eBay right now.
Since I'm using LoD the monsters need to be Underdark denizens, which works out great because my favorite reseller on eBay sells pre-painted minis in groups of 3 for a small discount over the singles price, and has a lot of cheap Underdark monsters. Here's what I came up with during a pleasant evening shopping online.
NOTES: the Dragon Chosen is a female Duergar with axe. The Darkling isn't unarmed it just has ONLY a short sword vs. the slightly more expensive one that has a sword and a dagger. It might be fun to mix them up so you have a Darking with multi-attack so I put him in as a Villian. When he triggers you get him and any remaining Darklings that you haven't already dealt with...
$1.29 Thorbardin Dwarf x3 - Dragonlance #4
$1.99 Dragon Chosen x3 - Fizban's Treasury of Dragons #3
$2.49 Darkling (unarmed) x3 - Waterdeep Dragon Heist #02
$2.79 Korred (Satyr Gnome) x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #11
$2.99 Deep Gnome Scout x3 - Darklands Rising #1
$2.99 Meazel x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #17
$2.99 Dybbuk x3 - Mordenkainen Monsters of the Multiverse #25
$3.49 Iron Cobra x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #07
$3.79 Derro (hook) x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #02
$3.79 Chitine x3 - Mordenkainen Monsters of the Multiverse #6
$4.99 Grimlock x3 - Phandelver & Below Shattered Obelisk #12
Villians:
$4.99 Minotaur Fighter - Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica Companion Starter 1 #46
$0.99 Darkling (dagger) - Waterdeep Dragon Heist #15
Since I'm using LoD the monsters need to be Underdark denizens, which works out great because my favorite reseller on eBay sells pre-painted minis in groups of 3 for a small discount over the singles price, and has a lot of cheap Underdark monsters. Here's what I came up with during a pleasant evening shopping online.
NOTES: the Dragon Chosen is a female Duergar with axe. The Darkling isn't unarmed it just has ONLY a short sword vs. the slightly more expensive one that has a sword and a dagger. It might be fun to mix them up so you have a Darking with multi-attack so I put him in as a Villian. When he triggers you get him and any remaining Darklings that you haven't already dealt with...
$1.29 Thorbardin Dwarf x3 - Dragonlance #4
$1.99 Dragon Chosen x3 - Fizban's Treasury of Dragons #3
$2.49 Darkling (unarmed) x3 - Waterdeep Dragon Heist #02
$2.79 Korred (Satyr Gnome) x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #11
$2.99 Deep Gnome Scout x3 - Darklands Rising #1
$2.99 Meazel x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #17
$2.99 Dybbuk x3 - Mordenkainen Monsters of the Multiverse #25
$3.49 Iron Cobra x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #07
$3.79 Derro (hook) x3 - Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes #02
$3.79 Chitine x3 - Mordenkainen Monsters of the Multiverse #6
$4.99 Grimlock x3 - Phandelver & Below Shattered Obelisk #12
Villians:
$4.99 Minotaur Fighter - Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica Companion Starter 1 #46
$0.99 Darkling (dagger) - Waterdeep Dragon Heist #15
