Many players and Dungeon Masters love using minis in Dungeons & Dragons games, and the Icons of the Realms pre-painted miniatures have provided a variety of wonderful figures to include in almost any game. While miniatures are by no means required, they definitely can enrich the gaming experience -- but they can also be quite pricey.
Icons are usually sold in booster packs containing four random miniatures or larger booster bricks comprised of eight booster packs. There are also numerous different sets with their own themes, prices, and levels of artistic detail. Specific individual figures can be purchased from eBay and certain gaming shops, but some of these are even more expensive than a box of four. Given the price, it is important that people know what they are getting will meet their needs.
There are many different Icons of the Realms sets, each of which has its own theme. While some might want to use a specific figure for their game, others may just want to build up a miniature collection to use as needed. This is especially helpful for those who are just starting out or anyone who wants to improve combat encounters without worrying about specific details. After all, miniatures representing a human wizard, drow gunslinger, dwarf skeleton and kenku archer are all medium-sized roughly humanoid-shaped characters that can stand in for one another so long as the players all know what each figure is supposed to represent.
Several sets stand out for those looking to build up a flexible army of minis. The 2020 set Fangs & Talons has some of the coolest monsters in the game, including lizardfolk, giant wolf spiders, kobolds, various elementals and a mimic. Players are guaranteed to get a huge-sized figure in every F&T booster pack, so there is a chance of finding a tyrannosaurus rex or a dragon in every box.
Volo & Mordenkainen's Foes is wonderful for assembling an army of enemies with gnolls, orcs and various monstrosities among its monsters. However, it offers few options for player characters, unless one wants to play a tortle or eladrin. Some older sets to consider include the three different Monster Menagerie sets (released in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively) with classic monsters ranging from aasimar to zombies. These sets are filled with figures for both player characters and enemies, but these can be hard to find and are lower quality than newer options.
Not everyone wants to worry about the enemies they will fight -- after all, that's the DM's job. Players frequently just want to have their character represented on the board. Thankfully, there are several options which do not require buying boxes of randomized figures. Icons of the Realms sells pre-made individual figures that represent classic races and classes. These premium minis are sold for roughly $7.99 each.
For players using a beloved character in a longer ongoing campaign, this is worth the investment, especially considering how gorgeously detailed such figures are. For example, the Male Tiefling Sorcerer and Female Aasimar Wizard have beautifully rendered spell effects swirling from their staves. The Male Dwarf Fighter has gold rings in his braided beard and ornately wrought armor, and the Female Half-Elf Bard holds a lute with tiny details worked into the neck.
Another option for players to consider are the premium Starter Set and Epic Level Starter Set, each of which contains six miniatures for classic character builds like a Halfling Rogue and an Elven Druid. The Ravnica campaign setting also has two Starter Sets with characters designed specifically for that world.
Many of the pre-made campaign books have accompanying miniatures sets. In fact, three of the four Icons sets released in 2020 were for specific campaigns or worlds, providing minis for Rime of the Frostmaiden, Eberron, and Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Classic adventures like Tomb of Annihilation and both Waterdeep campaigns also have their own Icons sets. When running a pre-made campaign, it's worth researching if there are minis for it. The only way to guarantee getting every miniature in a set to purchase a booster case, containing 32 booster packs and a massive premium figure -- which costs a few hundred dollars.
While that's obviously not financially feasible for everyone, using certain ones to amplify major dramatic scenes may be worth it. In that case, consider picking up a few booster packs from whatever module your group is using. There are also premium sets of pre-determined minis for many of the characters in Curse of Strahd and the Yawning Portal tavern. Just be aware that Icons' figures have become more detailed with time, so older sets may not be as nice as new ones.
While many D&D games take place in high fantasy settings, others can take on different themes and genres. As such, it can help to have the right types of monsters to fit a specific setting. The most recent set, Boneyard, is specifically designed for undead campaigns with ghosts, ghouls, mummies and all manner of zombies and skeletons -- including a tyrannosaurus zombie.
This June, a new set called Snowbound will release, which (along with Rime of the Frostmaiden) is the second Icons set for wintry adventures with yetis, gnolls and arctic monsters. Descent into Avernus unsurprisingly has a glut of devils and demons. Other sets tend to be a hodgepodge of fantasy archetypes, but Rage of Demons has an abundance of Underdark monsters, while Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is ideal for urban adventures featuring city guards and wererats. For other settings, look at some examples of each set online and see what might apply.
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