Best of the Best (Harbinger)

[Chordof3]

Set link: https://www.minisgallery.com/index.php? ... -harbinger

Ok, due to the pandemic and being stuck at home with no sets on the horizon I figured I would I pose this question....

What in your opinion your favorite miniature in each set.

Let’s begin with the original Hasbro/WoTC sets. Edit: Let’s start with Harbinger...

Base your criteria on whatever you choose; quality of sculpt, playability, paint job, or just because you like the mini.

Feel free to copy my list of sets and reuse.



Harbinger- #50 Mind Flayer- I just like this little dude. It is a great sculpt and a great mix between the goofy creepy mind flayer of AD&D and the darker, more menacing modern mind flayer.




Ok your turn. Which ones do you pick?

[berk the black]

How about we do them one set at a time, that way there can be debate over everyone’s choices that doesn’t get lost in a sea of posts and we can prolong the entertainment a little bit longer?

Harbinger Set

There are a couple of good minis, but many of them I like for nostalgic reason of being from this first set. The orcs in this set set the mold for all other orcs I added to my horde from them on. The mind flayer is endeared to me because of the hunt I had to go through to acquire him, but I think there are now better offerings. The Umber Hulk is great, but I think the Desert of Desolation version edges it out. So, I think my favorite of the set would be the Wraith. He is very Lord of the Ringish, and I have him as a leader of my other wraiths. Even when he is one of the few non-transparent Wraiths.


Wraith, Harbinger #53


Left to Right
Lurking Wraith, Against the Giants #51
Wraith, Legendary Adventures #21
Wraith, Harbinger #53
Dread Wraith, Night Below #29
Wraith, Undead Horde #7
Wraith, Rise of the Runelords #20
Wraith, Tyranny of Dragons #23

[Guyra]

Harbinger-#41 Displacer Beast.



I really like the look of the displacer beast here, as well as the pose! Very aggressive!

[Chordof3]

How about we do them one set at a time, that way there can be debate over everyone’s choices that doesn’t get lost in a sea of posts and we can prolong the entertainment a little bit longer?

great idea! Much easier to read through.

[FadeXIII]

Bearded devil. Hands down one of the best pre painted minis they’ve done and worthy of a rare slot. The detail on mine was excellent

[berk the black]

Displacer Beast, Harbinger #41


Left to Right
Displacer Beast Pack Lord, War of the Dragon Queen #29
Displacer Beast Manhunter, Unhallowed #37
Displacer Beast, Harbinger #41
Displacer Beast, Monster Menagerie #25
Displacer Beast Invisible, Monster Menagerie #25


Bearded Devil, Harbinger #40


Left to Right
Bearded Devil, Monster Menagerie III #33
Vicious Bearded Devil, Demonweb #9
Bearded Devil, Harbinger #40
Bearded Devil, Deadly Foes #22
Legion Bearded Devil (spear), Descent into Avernus #21A
Legion Bearded Devil (barbed spear), Descent into Avernus #21B

[Alec1015]

I’m gonna have to go with the #57 Wolf Skeleton. Mainly because I had a nice little encounter using them with my players. I bought like 5 of them at once for real cheap and used them as a local Necromancer’s “pets”. Made for a great low level fight that provided what would be an easy to kill spell caster with some protection that was more interesting than just basic skeletons or undead. Also the loose collar is a really nice touch.

[berk the black]

Welcome to minigallery Alec1015.

[Alec1015]

Thanks! This website is the literal best. I’m a newer DM so I have to find most on my minis on the secondary market. Being able to come here and find everything that’s been made and is possibly available out there has made life much easier.

[berk the black]

You should have some fun as we go through all the sets picking the best minis. It can even change your mind about some minis, when you here other’s reasons why they like something you hadn’t considered.

[Tilt]

Harbinger is sort off a hard set to judge. There is a ton of crap in the set and many of the best sculpts have been redone with an even better miniature (Displacer Beast and Mind Flayer).

Final Four: Displacer Beast, Mind Flayer, Barghest and Wraith.

Honerable Mention: Wolf Skeleton (ambitious sculpt that was done very well, but not great)

Best of Harbinger - Displacer Beast

[kodiakbear]

Looking at the gallery because I do not store my minis by set and I am not going to pull all of them out, my finalists are.









The Lizardfolk is a pretty basic mini but it's sculpt just really works for me.

While I initially did not really love the the Displacer Beast it grew on me and they messed up so many of the newer ones, so it really holds up well.

For all the undead minis we have gotten most of the non human ones suck but the Wolf Skelton is great and comes with a removable chain so it can be used in different ways such as a necromancer's pet or as a a wild roaming undead.

Back when 3E minis were metal I was not fond of the Ogre's new beast look but by the time it was made in PPM I had grown to really like the wild look, since it makes ogres and hill giants have a different flavor. Now with the move back to both being low IQ giant human types I even more appreciate the wild beast Ogres.

So of these four, which after all these years wins as Best of HARBINGER. Drum Roll the winner is the Wolf Skelton, it still stands out as a great mini that is still needed in my collection.

[shamurai7]

I'll bite.
Harbinger is easily one of the best sets and sees more use even today than any other set I own.
Are the sculpts the best? Lolno.
Paint? Lolno.
It shines with its sheer versatility.
My choices are based on use in my dnd games. Lots of plastic sits and rots. What is best for me is something I get to use.
In set # order:

Crested felldrake-this guy saw a lot of play in 4e. The starter module called for this guy and he is a fun low level monster to pit against a party in small groups. We wouldnt see another drake until Demonweb set.

Dire Boar-ugly sculpt but saw a lot of use because this guy had the market cornered. The other option wouldnt appear for another decade in pathfinder line.

Lizardfolk-great looking figure still sees plenty of action.

Shambling Mound-see dire boar. This guy had to sub in for a multitude of plant monsters for over a decade.

Wolf-good looking figure. Seen my tabletop dozens of times.

Goblin Sneak, Kobold Warrior, and gnoll-used so much they might even have signs of wear. How many times have these figures been killed?

Orcs-same as above. Harbinger gave us so many great orcs. These are still my go-to orcs when I need a quick squad.

Hellhound-we have better now, but i have pulled this guy from the bin many many times.

Drow-see orcs. We got a great collection of drow all in 1 set. Sculpts that still look great by todays standards.

Wolf Skeleton-amazing choice to include in the set. This guy spices up undead encounters in ways that are hard to explain. If you dont own this one, do yourself a favor and get a few.

Worg-same as wolf skeleton but for orcs and goblins. Even if an encounter doesnt call for these, its a sure bet to add a few. These guys are the perfect seasoning for bland encounters.

Honorable mentions-mummy, troll, mind flayer, medusa, wraith, umberhulk, displacer beast and werewolf. These figures have aged well and still pull their weight.

Blooper reel-wight. Oh man! This guy looks so stupid. I have never used him because he just looks like an undead superhero with his colors and cape. I have 1 for completion's sake, but man..he is bad.

[azurecobalt]

There are so many Harbinger minis that see heavy use at my table, but special shout-outs to Cleric of Order (generic wizard), Human Wanderer (so many two-weapon rangers/fighters), Wolf (obviously), Human Thug (so many foes!), plus the orcs in general.

We're using the Dwarf Axefighter and Sword of Heironeous as PC minis right now!

But if I had to pick one favorite, I'd go with the Drow Cleric of Lolth.

[berk the black]

Blooper reel-wight. Oh man! This guy looks so stupid. I have never used him because he just looks like an undead superhero with his colors and cape. I have 1 for completion's sake, but man..he is bad.

I have to agree. I was torn about having to keep him in my collection as a completionist, because it meant I had to acknowledge he existed.

So, Shamurai7, you couldn’t come up with one mini in the set tat is your favorite?