Scary new prices

By Icelom, in Star Wars: Legion

$24.95USD for Phase I clones

$34.95USD for phase II Clones (we are looking at $45 Canadian )

A very scary increase , i know a bunch of the local players here and feeling some real sticker shock on this new wave. Lots of discussion of limiting purchases and being much more selective. Some mumbling that its going to become as expensive as games workshop.

I am wondering if this is due to things outside of FFG's control and we should just accept this is what it is going forward? (i have heard trade wars are easy to win)

I know personally i was going to purchase 6x B2's and 2x droid tanks, i think i may be cutting that in half. (paying $30can for a core unit before now going up to $45can just puts the cost beyond what i can stomach a %50 increase is not trivial)

How are other groups feeling about the prices? do you think it will hurt legion overall?

While it certainly isn't great, the previous cost for the trooper models was a bargain compared to other games. I'm surprised the B1s weren't more expensive.

The people in my area aren't going to stop playing Legion or buying the minis, but I doubt there'll be bulk buys anymore.

This isn't news we've known this since basically gencon. It is due to increased material and designing costs.

12 minutes ago, Tirion said:

This isn't news we've known this since basically gencon. It is due to increased material and designing costs.

OK thanks, i will go tell everyone who is feeling like the cost is going to hurt what they can afford "that its not news and they have known since gencon"

Thanks for your input.

It's probably due in part to the switch to hard plastic. Producing more options on the sprue might cost a bit more in artist time, plus it is an "added feature" so companies like to charge more for those.

As far as I know, that was the listed price when they first available for pre-order, which for some reason I think was before any changes in import fees, but I could be wrong. That also wouldn't explain why the prices went up in Europe...

To me, it's still cheaper than GW for a couple of reasons: We don't have to buy rulebooks, AND each box is a complete unit with enough miniatures for all special weapons that are included.

Legion: I buy a box of Phase 2 clones and have 7 bodies, allowing me to make 5 clones with rifles, 1 Z-6, and 1 mortar. If I decide to try the other special weapon, I already have the model ready to add into the unit.

GW: I buy a box of Cadian infantry and want to build a standard IG squad. I can use one of the ten provided bodies to build either a flamer or grenade launcher, but not both without having to get more bodies to field the squad and have the ability to change loadout while still having the appropriate special weapon modeled. I also have to buy a seperate box if I want to include a heavy weapon in the squad (which could be considered akin to the upgrade boxes).

If I want to build a squad of tactical marines, then I have to decide which ONE of the special weapons provided I will use, and which ONE of the heavy weapons I will use. Unless I magnetize, I can't easily swap them out later without buying more space marine bodies.

On top of this, most "competitive lists" include multiple $50+ vehicles, and significantly more infantry than Legion does.

Quick back of the envelope calculations on the MSRP of a Space marine tournament winning list came out to $826, just in models.

If you want to build the same list that won the LVO this year though (an Empire list), it would cost $313, which includes the cost of a core set for the battle cards and the single Stormtrooper squad in the list. A similar army built using the new pricing would cost approximately $385-$405 (assuming the $10 increase of units holds across the board, and depending on the price difference of the new Specialist boxes).

That's less than HALF the price, even at the new pricing.

Edited by Caimheul1313

The problem is, we don't get "more options on the sprue".

17 minutes ago, costi said:

The problem is, we don't get "more options on the sprue".

Spare heads aren't more options? The ability to build the mortar either deployed or on the Clone's back isn't more options? Different arms for some of the B2s isn't more options? It's certainly more options than I expected, and more than the soft plastic unit kits provided. I was initially expecting the hard plastics to still be single pose.

Edited by Caimheul1313
19 minutes ago, costi said:

The problem is, we don't get "more options on the sprue".

The CW core set had more options with the clones. I don't have a squad with the same poses. The round sockets meant you could mix n match

2 hours ago, Icelom said:

How are other groups feeling about the prices? do you think it will hurt legion overall?

The prices are fine. The extra $10 per B2 squad was worth every penny. I already assembled both squads tonight and they went together so much faster than the B1 squads. The quality if plastic is far better and they made it quite easy to swap arms for the different leg types.

Legion is not suffering from this. If anything they are killing themselves by not getting things out fast enough. It sucks that the AAT is not coming out for 3 weeks. I'll be grabbing two of those when they drop.

1 hour ago, Icelom said:

OK thanks, i will go tell everyone who is feeling like the cost is going to hurt what they can afford "that its not news and they have known since gencon"

Thanks for your input.

my point was that it shouldn't be sticker shock. this news has been out there basically since they were announced.

*Laughs in Australian*

Seriously though this game is so cheap in comparison to other games on the market that a small price increase won't affect us Down Under much at all. Especially when you consider the bloated GW prices we pay.

The fact that you get a whole unit, plus all their options and all the paraphernalia associated with it for $37au (or less depending on discounts) is amazing. Consider Caimheul1313's example, in Aus that IG unit costs $48au and the tanks are $80+au.

It’s really bad for the strike teams, where you might only want 2 models, but you’re still paying the $35. Definitely making me reconsider buying into the clone wars factions. Especially if new rebels and empire stuff will also get an increase.

Edited by NeverTellMeTheOdds
4 hours ago, Mokoshkana said:

The prices are fine. The extra $10 per B2 squad was worth every penny. I already assembled both squads tonight and they went together so much faster than the B1 squads. The quality if plastic is far better and they made it quite easy to swap arms for the different leg types.

Legion is not suffering from this. If anything they are killing themselves by not getting things out fast enough. It sucks that the AAT is not coming out for 3 weeks. I'll be grabbing two of those when they drop.

We don't have b2's in Canada yet (or at least where I am). So I don't have that insight.

Alot of people here really found the price point attractive and are concerned about a %50 increase in price.

Edited by Icelom
1 hour ago, Icelom said:

We don't have b2's in Canada yet (or at least where I am). So I don't have that insight.

Alot of people here really found the price point attractive and are concerned about a %50 increase in price.

Yeah, I’m failing to see the whole “worth every penny” thing. Maybe the OP is just a fan. But $6 a dude is pretty steep compared to previous legion releases. It’s going to be a harder sell to new players and vets alike. I hope the civil war era armies don’t get any hard plastic units. I’m fine with the current materials and the cheaper price.

14 minutes ago, NeverTellMeTheOdds said:

Yeah, I’m failing to see the whole “worth every penny” thing. Maybe the OP is just a fan. But $6 a dude is pretty steep compared to previous legion releases. It’s going to be a harder sell to new players and vets alike. I hope the civil war era armies don’t get any hard plastic units. I’m fine with the current materials and the cheaper price.

I prefer the old stuff as well, but they've said again and again that the whole line is eventually going to hard plastic on sprues and from here on out that's what we are getting as new releases.

The price is of course something that can deter new players, but the price is both for the improved plastic and quality as well as the boxes will have to be bigger to fit all the sprues.

I mean, ofc as a customer I want to have low prices, but the quality increase of operative Vader/Luke compared to core set ones are pretty big.

I am sure the shift to sprues makes the initial cost more expensive, and the current tariffs are not helping. That being said, the prices for Legion are still on par if not slightly cheaper than most other miniature games, so I don't see it as a major issue. One major benefit of Legion is the limited number of character models to play the game. The per model of individual heroes tends to be proportionately the highest ratio, so it is not too difficult to stomach.

1 hour ago, NeverTellMeTheOdds said:

But $6 a dude is pretty steep compared to previous legion releases.

Let's compare the price per model to other copyright protected IP miniature games (historicals are a separate matter, and tend to be significantly cheaper per model since anyone can produce a viking). This isn't a great comparison in my opinion since the cost per ARMY is what really matters.

All at rounded USD MSRP, and only looking at a single box of infantry and named hero prices:

Old Legion soft plastic 7 models in a box: $3.57. Heroes $13

New Legion hard plastic 7 models in a box: $5. Heroes $15

A Song of Ice and Fire: the infantry boxes have between 12 and 13 preconstructed pvc plastic models in 3-4 poses $2.92. Heroes are also in multi-model boxes $4.28

Games Workshop: depends on the army and material basing off a quick browse of online store $3.50-12 Heroes $15-140

Warmachine/hordes: similar to 40k on variance, using same method as 40K $6-16 Heroes: $8-65

Infinity: quick look shows me anywhere from $4-10 I think? I'm not as familiar so harder for me to tell. All metal monopose miniatures.

Fallout: resin monopose $7+ Heroes: $11+

Marvel: Heroes: $17.50-35 monopose, multipart hard plastic.

So, does the new price stink after getting used to the old? Sure, no argument there.

But if you want to buy Star Wars infantry miniatures, it's the only option. If you want to play a cheap miniatures game, there are lots of good historical rule sets, and if you don't like one American War of Independence/WW2/viking ruleset, your miniatures work equally well in another ruleset.

Luckily, toy soldiers are a luxury item, not a necessity. It's part of the perils of any hobby that prices fluctuate. At least this price change came with a change in material. I remember when GW switched Imperial Guard from 20 models a box to 10 models a box, at 2/3rds the original price. And the current prices seem higher than when I was buying 40k minis regularly 5+ years ago.

Edited by Caimheul1313

I’m not a fan of the new prices, but that’s not my decision. My only decision is what will I buy and what will I pass on.

There are some new options, so I see them making the product more hobbyist friendly: the future packs look even more hobbyist friendly.

Currently, I’m thinking of skipping this wave and waiting for the ARC troopers. I have my double-core worth of republic forces, plus Rex and a P1 upgrade box. I can do what I like for now.

Maybe I’ll change my mind, but between costs and the change in policy regarding missing elements, my enthusiasm is a bit damaged.

I'm just moderately baffled you plan on investing in 6 B2 squads...

3 hours ago, NeverTellMeTheOdds said:

Yeah, I’m failing to see the whole “worth every penny” thing. Maybe the OP is just a fan. But $6 a dude is pretty steep compared to previous legion releases. It’s going to be a harder sell to new players and vets alike. I hope the civil war era armies don’t get any hard plastic units. I’m fine with the current materials and the cheaper price.

Having assembled 4x B-1 squads and 2x B-2 squads, I can say the ease of assembly for the B-2's is vastly improved over the B-1's. If folks want to deal with substandard soft plastic for a cheaper price, have at it, but that's not my prerogative. Give me better quality and I will pay for it.

Legion's expensive compared to my favorite hard plastic historicals, but even after the price increase it's cheaper than GW. GW would charge $50 for that box and it would have a couple fewer models.

I will not pay for higher quality personally. The soft plastic is acceptable and I want models so cheap I can take modelling risks with them. Plus I don't buy one of everything, I tend to buy 3 or 6 of that, and none of this. Any price increase times 6 is gonna hurt.

These are game pieces. They get handled, dropped, transported regularly, and are typically viewed at a distance. The endless upward spiral of "more detail for more money" is why I am no longer much of a GW customer. They've surpassed the point of diminishing returns on detail. Since those details harm my experience, I'd be crazy to agree to pay more for a worse experience.

Plus it gets to a point where, these little plastic guys cost so much I'd rather spend the fun money on real swords and guns. For me it's about value, not price. When a squad of minis gets too expensive, it becomes a poor value by comparison to the other hobbies that compete for my expendable income. At the end of the day, it's still just a plastic toy, no matter how detailed.

I liked Legion's cheap soft plastic minis just because they were something different than the current industry trends. Perry Bros. hard plastics are annoyingly detailed too (do I really need to paint those buckles and buttons?), but not as bad as GW because they're reigned in by the reality of historical costume and can't just add moar skullz for no reason. And they're cheap at 42 guys for $35. They're more detialed and stuff than my wildest dreams when I started in the hobby. If there's no upward limit at which you'll accept something, (in terms of minis quality, or anything else) you are committed to unhappiness.

Honestly there's still a ton of Legion stuff that I was SUPER excited about when it dropped, but, with these Brave New Prices, I just haven't bothered to buy.

Edited by TauntaunScout
1 hour ago, RStan said:

I'm just moderately baffled you plan on investing in 6 B2 squads...

I bought 6 squads of snowtroopers, 3 e-webs, 3 squads of veterans, 3 squads of tauntauns, 3 atgar towers, 2 AT-ST's, 2 snowspeeders...

Edited by TauntaunScout
Just now, TauntaunScout said:

I bought 6 squads of snowtroopers, 3 e-webs, 3 squads of veterans, 3 squads of tauntaun, 3 atgar towers, 2 AT-ST's, 2 snowspeeders...

Thats totally fine with those factions the problem with the CIS is ai and the fact that u want all if not most of your units to have a face up order, and u cant do that running 6 b2s since they dont have coordinate

Just now, lunitic501 said:

Thats totally fine with those factions the problem with the CIS is ai and the fact that u want all if not most of your units to have a face up order, and u cant do that running 6 b2s since they dont have coordinate

Not everyone cares about absolute points efficiency, nor is everyone who buys Legion minis necessarily using them to play Legion.