WizKids Icons of the Realms: Descent into Avernus Brings the Blood War to You

Nerdarchist Ted is back to talk about some miniatures again and I have to tell you, I dig the stuff  WizKids keeps coming up with. They have another 44 miniature set with alternative sculpts and those super cool promo items that are always amazing standouts for your Dungeons & Dragons game. Check it out and grab some of the awesomeness here.

Add an extra dimension to your adventure and allow your characters to travel across hell in style with the Infernal War Machine from WizKids.

Descent into Avernus in style

Usually I save the promo item for the end but it is just too cool to not talk about so I am going to do that first. It is the Infernal War Machine. Something rarely seen outside of an Eberron setting, the war engine measures 11 inches long. That is crazy to add into the game. I seriously hope there are rules for this in the new book.  But the size is not the only thing that makes this item incredible. There are 2 removable sections to allow minis to go inside. The back part comes off and easily fits 6 Medium-sized miniatures. I tested and crammed and was able to get 10 Medium minis in there and still able to get the top on. There is a spot perfect for a mini to stand on the top front to look like they are driving or controlling the vehicle. But I am still not done. The front section also comes off and you can put a few Small or Medium minis in there as well. I would go for Small or quadrupeds as they fit better. Overall this is a spectacular mini, although I use the term loosely on something this size.

“In this infernal collection of miniatures, players will find many of the enemies and allies featured in Descent into Avernus. Battle the most powerful of the legion of devils, the Pit Fiend. Come face to face with demons like the Glabrezu and Merregon. Join forces with fellow adventurers like Reya Dawn. You may even challenge the fallen angel Zariel herself! Collect all 45 figures from Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, the newest set of randomly sorted monsters and characters in our exciting line of D&D miniatures, Icons of the Realms.” — from WizKids product page for Icons of the Realms: Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Diving into the set and the blind purchase stuff

As a mini collector and user of minis for so many years, to me getting new adventurers winds up being a drag as you can only get so many people before you stop getting excited by humans and elves, unless they have a really cool sculpt. Well, in this set from what I can see there are less of the adventurers. While I did receive a handful of minis that could be used as adventurers I only have 3 out of the 32 that truly look and have the form of your typical hero in the Abyss.

I mentioned there were alternate sculpts for some minis and that winds up adding some extra spice into it. I received the Legion Barbed Devil in two forms. In one form he is holding two axes and in the other one axe is replaced by fire.  This minor change allows you to have two distinct minis on the board making it easier for the Dungeon Master to track health and abilities.

The other outstanding thing about this set I am very eager to see how it is represented in the book is that different demon and devil lords have their own versions of the typical fiends. The Legion Pit fiend stands out as a major change from other pit fiend minis I have. Yeenoghu’s Balgura looks far more hound like in appearance. Yeenoghu even has his own quasit in this set. Getting these changed minis really brings in the ambiance of how these fiend lords’ minions would change based on their service or creation.

Based on these changes the variety of new fiends has grown exponentially. It would take a massive set to give you everything, but what it can do is allow the DM to describe the monster as it hits the board or play mat and really play up the association with their fiendish lord and if the player or character is not all that knowledgeable, the secrets of what is being placed might not be known. This adds more excitement and discovery into the game. If you want to get the book or the minis you can help out the channel and get them here.

Loads of pics of this amazing set so that you can make up your mind how many to buy. But before I let you go I also wanted to share another cool WizKids product with you and that is the Creature Forge for Magic: the Gathering.

I used to play MTG so there is some nostalgia here. But Creature Forge offers another blind purchase mini set that is great for summons, beasts or just cool new mini sculpts to add to your collection or library. You can get either a full box or buy individually here.

Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay nerdy!