What Set did you start collecting DDM?

A poll I seen on another site and brought it here. I did change it a bit.

I voted Harbinger, but I actually started with Chainmail.

I Started With Angelfire,But GoL Was Still Available Sometimes So I Voted Giants Of Legend.

Not sure what I should vote....I bought 3 boosters and a starter of Harb when it came out and was very disappointed in the figs. So much so that my next booster was GoL, but I know Aberrations was on the shelf when I got it and perhaps deathknell as well.

Well i was quite mad about the cancellation of the chainmail line so i hesitated in buying ddm...I think i started around GoL

I was there from the beginning. I'm glad I did not get the Magic boosters I was supposed to buy. Bought a Harbinger starter and a booster instead. Pulled a Wraith and an Elf Pyromancer.

I started with Harbinger - collecting solely for RPG purposes and collected thru GoL. Then monetary constraints stopped my purchasing until Underdark. I did trade away most of my Harbinger rares during that year to get the minis I wanted from the sets that came out - now I am back up to my 2 case a release habit.

skarnn

I started with Harbinger, but when Dragoneye was already out. My first DDM purchase was a Dragoneye booster and a Harbinger starter.

I opened the Dragoneye booster first, to find a Large Red Dragon inside, and I was instantly hooked! That figure remains one of my favorites to this day.

It was pretty funny, my first booster for any set that had a large dragon actually contained that large dragon up until Angelfire.

Archfiends. Too bad I didn't finish the first sets at the time, it will be harder now...

I suppose that technically I began with Archfiends. Luckily, DDM was a slow-starter around here so I was able to buy a whole bunch of Harbinger and Dragoneye and complete all the sets.

Thanks to wonky Harbinger distribution, I had more Displacer Beasts and Medusae (individually) than Gnolls and Sunsoul Initiates (together).

Wow Pinky...What Luck ! I Wish I Had Heard Of DDM Back Then.

Wardrums for me. But I have access to all of them.

You Bought War Drums First And Kept Collecting ?

Wow ! If I Had Started With That Dissapointing Set,I Would Have Probably Not Kept Collecting,LOL

I started when Harbringer was coming to an end, but the thing is that there was still a bit of stock of it on the shelves and I didn't know how far the DDM series had come along so I thought I could get Harbringer if I wanted to later. Oh, how I regret not getting at least SOMETHING from the large, dusty pile of about a half dozen Starter kits and full dozen boosters....

I started with Harbinger.

I was sitting down painting (as I always did) and my friend came over and emptied out his Harb booster infront of me and said "Check these out. They're new."

I grabbed an Orc Warrior and remember saying "What the?! This looks exactly like the Orc out of the Monster Manual for D&D!!!" Then he gave me his booster (one with the Umberhulk on the front). Within minutes we were in my car heading for the gaming store.

We joked and laughed about how awesome it would be if my first mini was an Umberhulk...

Got to the gaming store, I got 2x Boosters and a Starter. Opened the Starter first then the boosters...

Starter = Umber Hulk
Booster 1 = Vadania
Booster 2 = Displacer beast

I then purchased every starter and booster he had in the store (1 case of starters - what was left. & 2 cases of Boosters - 1 case + what was left) then came home and was overtaken by plasticrack fumes...

DF

That Was One Grand Stroke Of Luck DF!

Chosen of Mystra, nice to see somebody who started their collection around the same time I did. I say War Drums, but like many other people who started after harbinger, the older sets (back to aberrations) was still available.

Ouch ! You Started With The WORST Set And Are Still Collectinbg,You Have My Respect,ZERO.WD Was Horrible...

It was pretty bad, and it's horribly hard to get ahold of older pieces. But, they seem to be intent on re-releaseing harbinger piece by piece in newer sets, so WotC has my love right now. Hopefully I can get a complete collection eventually, but until that happens, at least I'll have figs that'll work until that point.

Even For Skirmishers This Must Be Awful.It Looks Like No Piece Before GOL Except Fodder Is Seeing Any Actual Play...

I use human blackguard all the time (for skirmish and RP) and I had to pay $30 for mine and it took me a *long* time to get. Valuable skirmish pieces (and mostly RP, too) for me:

Graycloak Ranger (for sure, extra activations for cheap? Yeah!) (about $3 a pop, cheapest I could find)
Cleric of Corellon Larethian ($15, got it for cheap, at that!)
Wolf, gotta have a minion for GC (about $5 each)
Treants, invisible trampling is harsh ($10+)
Gnoll and Man-At-Arms both reprinted, but I'd use B&W if I had a chance
Mordenkainen is still fun for me to use, but finds less RP value ($35 cheapest)
Snig the Axe (only a couple bucks)
Goblin Skirmishers, for snig's minions ($4 each, need 3. Only minions for him)

I probably forgot a bunch, but I try to get ahold of older minis for RP purposes more than anything. I picked up a red wizard and use him occasionally, though he's not horribly good in skirmish anymore (though he still cost me $30, cheapest I could find). But black and white carded minis are a kick in the pants for me....

Are You Talking To Me ? I Am Anti-Skirmnish And Everyone Here Knows It,LOL

P.S:I Have 5 Bagged Goblin Skirmishers I Saved Up...

Heh, nice. I know you're anti-skirmish, that's why I decided to post why they were still used. But I guess that point was moot

I Still Know Quite a Lot About Skirmish Just By Reading Up Here And There,I Have 2 Or More Of All Those Pieces...

( Yes,I Have Too Many DDM's,I Am Running Out Of Room,LOL )

ZER0 wrote:

I probably forgot a bunch, but I try to get ahold of older minis for RP purposes more than anything. I picked up a red wizard and use him occasionally, though he's not horribly good in skirmish anymore (though he still cost me $30, cheapest I could find). But black and white carded minis are a kick in the pants for me....

Don't forget the Orc Warrior and Tiefling Captain. Those are still in fair demand as skirmish pieces.

Every couple sets someone goes and compares the Gnoll to the OW and rates which one is better in which circumstances.

And the Cleric of Order is never stuffed too far back into the drawer. He's got a decent Commander Rating and his spells are useful. Devis is a great source of countersong and will remain in demand for that feature if for no other reason. Nebin has some useful spells and gets an "honorable mention" here or there. Azer Raiders were in pretty high demand until the Azer Fighter came out. And, with all the revisions to the "difficult" ability and being out-of-command, some folks have renewed their looks at the Umber Hulk. But I think that the new UH will probably keep the original from gaining any real popularity.

Hence the "I probably forgot a bunch" . Thanks for updating the list. I don't know how i forgot all those...

That's why I'm here. I'm your friendly reminder!

But it's usually worth the effort of pointing out that some of the pieces from older sets are still effective in the modern environment. They're usually not 100% necessary, but they are some very good tools to have and anyone taking their Skirmishing "Seriously" should have at least one of most of those figures in their collection.

If you're Skirmishing mostly for fun they're not so necessary (although that doesn't change their utility), and should probably be acquired when a reasonable opportunity presents itself.

Started with GoL and have all but the latest sets, most are complete from harbinger to Blood Wars

I just made my 3rd complete set last night, when I bought a skeletal courser Underdark, Unhallowed, Night Below are all complete here now. The 3 goth sets are mine! Bwa ha ha. I'm only missing an ice devil from BW, and like 3 from WD.

Kilsek wrote:

I voted Harbinger, but I actually started with Chainmail.

Ditto

I started when Unhallowed was released, but my first minis were common sets of UD, WD, and AF. Then I bought a case of DK. A few minor purchases, lots of great trades and a case of NB later - suddenly I find myself with almost 700 minis, hundreds of trade fodder and a fairly decent RPG collection...

my first starter set set was a war drums, but basically all of the sets that i currently have were still easily available then so i don't have anything too old

I have
Angelfire
underdark
war drums
war of the dragon queen
bloodwar
unhallowed

Harb baby!!!!!! Started collecting from there on in but not totally hardcore till GOL.

I started with Harbinger, but only bought about 6 boosters from each of the first 3 sets, then stopped when GoL came out; I thought the huges were too big (they looked 'out of scale' to me) & the booster cost was too steep.

I returned to the fold when Underdark came out.

My first rares were Drow Cleric of Lolth, Displacer Beast (x2), Large Earth Elemental, Dire Boar, and Mummy. I was quite disappointed that I got 2 DB's, so I traded one away for a Minotaur right at the store. It was a fair trade at the time....

I started with a few Harbinger.

My first starter the rare was Umber Hulk

My first booster rare was the Centaur.

My favorite sets are Archfiends, Giants of Legend, and Underdark.

My favorite mini is Mounted Paladin.