Lords of Madness is the sole release for DDM in 2010, quite a decrease from the three sets a year pattern from the past. Half of the booster is dedicated to a Huge miniature, like a Dragon. It is also a reversal to the blind random package, when 2009 had three sets with one large/huge miniature revealed to the buyer. 2009 also had the miniatures line separate the "Heroes" miniatures from the "Monsters" miniatures in hopes to appeal to the different demographics. Lords of Madness has returned to the previous model of interspersing Heroes and Monster miniatures, albeit with Heroes miniatures at a higher rarity level.
One thing DDM has adopted from the now defunct Star Wars Miniatures line is the concept of "Very Rare" miniatures. More rare than Rare, these miniatures are all characters that are either unique or solo monsters. From the two boxes I purchased, here is the distribution I found for each miniature of each rarity:
1 of each Common in 4 boosters
1 of each Uncommon in 8 boosters
7 Rares in 8 boosters
3 Very Rares in 8 boosters
1 of each Uncommon Huge in 8 boosters
3 Rare/Very Rare Huges in 8 boosters
Given that "Lords of Madness" was a 3rd Edition sourcebook for aberrations, it was quite disappointing that the set had only a few aberrations in it. Two Mind Flayers, a Githyanki, and two Swordwings, all of which at Rare or Very Rare status. One theme the set does have is the Zhentarim: a group of bad guys in the Forgotten Realms campaign world headed by Manshoon. He is included in the set, as well as three other Zhentarim miniatures at Common and Uncommon status. Another theme is ordinary items, which has monsters that look like fantasy items. Example is the Will-o'-Wisp, which can function as an orb.
WHAT'S HERE FOR NEW COLLECTORS?
If you're new to collecting fantasy miniatures, Lords of Madness has some nice figures for beginners. Skeleton is your archetypical armored skeletal warrior, at Common to boot. The Rime Hound and Roc (both Huges) are versatile miniatures, filling in for hound creatures and bird miniatures, respectively. The Trapped Chest miniature is a piece of room decoration that will probably show up often enough. Finally, players will be happy to receive another Dragonborn miniature (the Rare Elementalist, arcane type).
WHAT'S HERE FOR VETERAN COLLECTORS?
As someone who literally has thousands of miniatures, it is important for new releases to have more than your average goblin. This set has a lot of miniatures that have been made once or never before by Wizards of the Coast. The Heroslayer Hydra is the first Huge Hydra released by WotC, a rare enough miniature at any size. Besides the Deathknell set, this set is the only one to have a Kenku miniature (two in fact, one at common, one at rare). Three completely new miniatures for the line (Water Archon, Spell Weaver, and Trebuchet) are very unique and help fill in collections where other miniatures would not be able to emulate them.
WHAT'S THE BEST PAINT JOBS?
Something me and my fellow D&D players at my Friendly Local Gaming Store noted was the high quality of the paint jobs for this set. Previous sets were hit and miss with the quality of the paint jobs. Ironically, the only miniatures I opened that had substandard painting were the "Heroes" miniatures. The Dwarf Beguiler and Deva Fanatic had some mispaints on their faces, which is frustrating for the miniatures which the game will use the most, in the spot where people will most likely look. Otherwises, the quality and consistency of the paint jobs were consistently good.
One of the better jobs is the Common Zhent Soldier. Shades of grey, black, and purple, with precise pink colouring of the face embedded deep within the helmet. Besides some black overlay on the shield, this miniature is far better painted than a Common miniature should. Cloak, overshirt, armor, and shield are all in great condition.
Other miniatures that have excellent consistency to their paint jobs, but with less complexity, are the Tri-Horn Behemoth and Elder Blue Dragon. Each has only three to four colours, but the colours are very distinctive from a distance. The blue in the Blue Dragon is very eye-grabbing without being kitschy. The Tri-Horn Behemoth (Triceratops) is a palette of dull colours that brings out the bright red eyes of the creature.
The Arcane Portal and Young Volcanic Dragon are awesome not so much for their paint jobs, but the translucent plastic included in them. The Portal has an ice frosting entrance in-between the pink crystal frame. The Volcanic Dragon's wings and chest are light yellow and see-through, and its black skin are partially opaque: not quite see-through, but definately unique from any other miniature I own.
WHAT'S THE BEST SCULPTURES?
What I was most impressed by in this set was the personality in many of the miniatures. The Thri-Kreen Mantis Warrior has his beady eyes looking skyward, his head craning upwards, in a semi-comical fashion. The Elder Copper Dragon is swooping down with his claws poised to scoop up something. Its face has that Copper Dragon look of mischievousness, with a slight tilt to its head.
The Efreet Fireblade's scowl is as epic as its level. Its hand extending to the height of a human's head, its scimitar ready to be thrust toward that height.
The Rot Grub Swarm is quite disgusting. It's a flat writhing pool of teethless worms with their mouths open. It is not very widely applicable to other monsters, but as a piece of art, it is incredibly unnerving.
Finally, the subtlety of the Feymire Crocodile's plant outgrowths is welcome. For people using the miniature for 4th Edition, it fits the miniature well. If you want it for a Huge Average Crocodile, the plant outgrowths are not that conspicuous.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
This set was not all peaches and creams for me. The Human Town Guard has a ridiculous helmet and an axe prone to bending. Of all the Common miniatures, this one has the most issues with discolouring. The Human Marauder, an Uncommon cloaked fighter with two swords, is okay, but feels like it should have been a Common. The same goes for the Bebilith: it's a Very Rare blue demon spider that should have been an Uncommon, in my opinion.
The Fettered Dracolich lacks any colour whatsoever. It looks like the Dracolich in the Castle Ravenloft Boardgame, no colour to it at all. Sadly, that Dracolich still had a more interesting sculpt than this one. That Dracolich, originally from War of the Dragon Queen, made spaces inside the ribs and the wings of the dragon, whereas the Fettered Dracolich is just one monotonous piece of vanilla plastic.
Likewise the Iron Golem Juggernaut is just an ugly piece of sculpting. The Huge construct had a shrunken head hidden within a giant collar. Its back is hunched over and its limbs are sticking out at direct parallels. It looks like it is supposed to be following through with a sword thrust, but it just looks ridiculous.
CONCLUSIONS
This is a worthwhile purchase for those looking for miniatures for their fantasy roleplaying game. There's a good variety at all levels. Common has kobolds and orcs, Uncommon has giants and minotaurs, Rare and Very Rares has Archdevils and Player miniatures like the Shardmind Dominator. The price is certainly a factor ($20+ per booster), but if you are buying singles, you should look into these miniatures.
