I realize that some people believe in the "mini market theory" (can't recall the specific name) but I think WotC has disproven that concept when it clustered CotF (which at GenCon 06 was declared the best-selling set of SWM to that point).

With that in mind, I have been thinking about a Blister Pack concept that puts more of the allegedly hard-to-find minis in newer players hands without overloading new sets with reprints of them, especially since the ones that have been redone to this point are typically the more lackluster elements.

Here are a few I came up with:

Imperial Assault - Darth Vader, Imperial Commander; Stormtrooper Officer; Elite Stormtrooper; Stormtrooper x4
Attack on Hoth - General Veers; Imperial Officer; Elite Snowtrooper; Snowtrooper x6; AT-AT Driver
Rebel Defenders - Admiral Ackbar; Rebel Heavy Trooper; Rebel Captain; Elite Rebel Trooper x3; Rebel Trooper x5
Hoth Defenders - Princess Leia, Hoth Commander; Rebel Captain; Rebel Officer; Hoth Trooper x5; Elite Hoth Trooper (A&E)
Jedi Strike Force - Shaak Ti, Jedi Master; Jedi Weapon Master; Jedi Knight; Camaasi Noble; Ugnaught Demolitionist x3
Droid Brigade - Destroyer Droid; Battle Droid Officer; Bodyguard Droid; Battle Droid x5; Super Battle Droid x2 (RotS)
Black Sun Syndicate - Prince Xizor; Bith Black Sun Vigo; Chagrian Mercenary Commander; Aqualish Assassin x2; Human Blaster-For-Hire x2; Ugnaught Demolitionist

What do you think?

Definitely an interesting idea Boris. Personally, I wouldn't buy any of the ones that you listed below, since I have all of those pieces. But I can definitely see where they would be useful for beginning players. On the other hand, Vader Imperial Commander, Shaak Ti JM, and Ackbar are really the only pieces are that are both playable and hard to find. The other pieces are either not that hard to track down on the secondary market, or they really aren't that playable anyways.

I am 100% convinced that the key to health in this game is strong play groups at local gaming stores. And when you have a strong play group, it's easy to do trading, and various people are able to track things down via online or other options as well. No one in our area has ever been really looking hard for a particular piece, and not been able to find it within a month or two at most.

And personally, I think WOTC would have to put a pretty low price tag on sets like this in order to be worth while, since any of the ones you listed, all of the C/UC could be bought for about $10 on ebay, if not less. If you buy the R and the Cs from the same seller on ebay, you could probably nab that whole set of pieces for $15-$20 including shipping. I can't imagine WOTC selling them for much less than that in order to meet their profit margins. They'll be selling a lot less of these individually, then they would for random boosters, and with 7-8 figs in them, I would guess the price point would need to be around $15 anyways.

So, like I said, I think it's an interesting idea, and I definitely think if they continue to do things like the Hoth Pack where it has a new map, and at least some exclusive pieces, then yes, it would be great for the game, and I would buy it.

I like the idea since I am familiar with it. It is basically the same concept around a Magic Preconstructed Deck. I know I get excited to look at the Precon list when a set is released to see what rares are in it. Magic doesn't suffer from the unique problem like SWM does, but I like the idea of a lowcost non-random set. I would like to see a ready 100pt or 150pt team right out of the box for new players. Hell, I would just be happy if they just came out with a starter every couple sets at $20 bucks and a map. like they did in the beginning.

I voted yes for a different reason because I want them low cost, but don't think they have to have hard to find figs in them.

I love the idea, espeically for guys like me that don't buy in bulk, this really gives everyone a chance to get the peices they want.

From a collectors standpoint, reprints are the devil.

Changing the way the items are sold is a risky marketing strategy.

Originally I was dead set against the randomised packs, but it's blatantly obvious that's how CMG companies make the most money. The target consumers for CMG are geeky fanboys, myself included, who will go to the shop and buy "just one more booster" before looking on eBay or online sellers. Giving the consumer eveything they want in a single pack loses them the "one more booster" sale. Therefore the blister packs will have to have a higher price.

If you include already available figures you also risk alienating some of the market who is loath to buy the pack for figures they aleady have.

The risk then, to us gamers & collectors, is that should sales drop the line be discontinued. I'm glad WOTC are releasing Map Packs, they are overdue. But personally I would prefer they carry on in the proven way so to eliminate the risk of our game being pulled.

I really like the idea of blister packs, like Dean already said, they make good army builders and if they have a good Rare or Very Rare fig from a previous set, it could help get some new players into the game. I'd buy a bunch of the droid blister packs just becausse they destroyer droids in them. If the blister pack was around 15 dollars or cheaper I'd defintely buy some blister packs if WOTC decides to make them.

Good idea if you drop the uniques. Those belong on the secondary market and if included in the non random packs they do nothing more than drive up the price. Army building packs would be great. Lot of stormies/SBD/hoth troopers should sell quite well since they can be backbones for huge theme battles (or in case of stormies actually be competitive)

I said yes. I think they should be in the form of some sort of starter or map pack though. And not nearly as costly as the target one. These are just some general guidelines.

I feel that they do this to some extent with the starter sets that they've released. You get enough figs to at least play with and start it off. Clearly, a game like this needs a way for new players to start. I thought the battle of hoth was excellent in that regard (though a little pricey). It gave a really good start to two factions, good figs, unique figs, and the extra booster could start the addiction.

I'd be all for multiple "starter sets" instead of just one. Say, a rebublic vs sep, NR vs Sith and Rebs vs imps.

I agree greatly with Solodan. Mutliple starters each containing different factions, would be a great idea. The option to start out with more than just Imperials of Rebels, would attract more player. These starter sets would attract players that started watching The Prequel Trilogy first, or read the KotOR or Legacy comic books, or played the video games. These sets would allow these people to start with the miniatures they have been: watching, reading about, or playing in video games. This would save the people the time, and money of buying and trading miniature until they got a good collection of characters from their desired factions. These sets, would also help by getting more experienced players army builders and other uniques they want.