The recently released Campaign Cases from Wizards of the Coast feature high quality game components to bring your setting – and any related combat – to life. This is accomplished with a variety of components that allow you to customize your combat grid, tokens, and more, all in compact cases which allow you to pack things down to an ideal storage and travel size. Each case comes with illustrated clings which can be applied to the included map (Terrain Case) and token (Creature Case) components.
In this review, I’ll be aggregating feedback from players and DMs who tried out both products. If you want the TL;DR, just skip to the bottom of the page.
What’s in the Box(es)?
The Creatures Case includes:
- 4 Gargantuan creature tokens
- 20 Large creature tokens
- 40 Small/Medium creature tokens
- 1 Tray with ribbon to remove contents easily
- 1 D&D double-pocket folder
- 5 pages of clings including monsters, npcs, numbers, letters, and shapes.
The Terrain Case includes:
- 28 5×5 double-sided interlocking map plates
- 1 21×25 double-sided folding map
- 1 Tray with ribbon to remove contents easily
- 1 D&D double-pocket folder
- 5 sheets of clings including trees, sconces, ladders, furniture, books, fences and more.
The maps and tokens are all glossy, allowing the clings to adhere easily, or, in the case of the tokens, to allow marking with dry erase ink.
Are They Useful?
The Creature Case and the Terrain Case are pretty different, when it comes to what they do. Both come in a convenient case and have sheets of clings to attach, but each case has its own focus. The Creatures Case includes enough clings and tokens to populate an army, while the Terrain Case features several different ways to approach map-building that allow any DM to bring their environment to life. If you want hordes of monsters, you can put them out. If you need a 10×40 battlefield, complete with tents, corpses, fences, and trees, you can set that up.
The most useful part of all of the Terrain components has to be the modular map. You can build any kind of environment you like and add the interlocking tiles one at a time, so it’s easier to surprise your players with what’s coming next. This also allows you to build in advance and assemble in real time, speeding up the gameplay considerably.
The most useful part of the Creatures components is that you can apply your clings for monsters in advance, and they stack up even with clings on, keeping your workspace clear without revealing what you have prepared to your players. And, thanks to the numbers and letters, you can also put initiative order, conditions, or other markers directly on the token using the numbers, letters, and shapes clings.
Are They Durable?
Durability was my largest concern with these sets. Clings sometimes have a way of getting goobered and no longer sticking, and that honestly put me off a bit. But after using them, I am less worried. The clings themselves are thick quality plastic. There are enough clings to rotate through them to increase the life of your set. Most importantly, they are diverse enough that you won’t be using the exact same table or chair in every inn. This naturally extends the life of the cling elements. Bottom line: If you use these hard enough or often enough, some of the clings will still die. Alternatively, you can assign clings to specific tokens and always leave them on. This limits the set’s flexibility, but the clings, once on, will stick a good long time.
But if you are still worried about the clings, let’s dive into reasons that these sets are good even if some of the clings do die. The tokens in the Creatures Case are durable plastic, they have enough weight to not get shifted around if the table is bumped, and they are glossy. This means you can write on them with dry erase marker if needed, though the black tokens might make this a challenge. As for the Terrain case, having double sided modular map components is huge. Whether you’re building inside or outside scenes, you can make your map exactly the right dimensions (within 5 squares, anyhow), and spread out your whole dungeon.
Are They a Good Value?
Campaign Case: Creatures is $64.99, making this a relatively expensive D&D accessory. That said, I’ve never had tokens made of such durable materials. My entire collection of tokens (before the acquisition of this set) was paper or cardboard, and many are damaged from being handled by someone or something being spilled on the table. And honestly, I’ve paid almost as much for those or other options like miniatures, none of which are as versatile or, frankly, useful as the tokens and clings. If one were to try to replicate this product with generic parts, they’d pay as much for the tokens alone, and still be unable to replicate the case or clings.
Campaign Case: Terrain runs $56.33 on Amazon, ringing in at 13% off. That discount doesn’t really negate the cost of the maps if you’re only interested in a play surface. The value here, ultimately, isn’t the large map or the clings. Other facsimiles for those exist, often for less money. The dozens of modular map pieces, however, are much more useful and rare than the other components. The clings are unique, and the single-piece map is large, sturdy, and double-sided, but these are icing on the cake for the modular map components included in the Terrain Case.
Campaign Cases 2-Piece
As an alternative to buying the above two cases separately, you can purchase both Campaign Cases for $121.32 on Amazon. This product is 6% off, making it exactly the cost of both units bought together. This doesn’t add a financial benefit, but it offers fewer clicks in your purchase.
Does it Make a Good Gift?
Either Campaign Case makes an excellent gift for your D&D-loving geek. Our players who had the opportunity to test them said they’d enjoy them even if they weren’t playing as the Dungeon Master. This is especially true for the Creatures Case, because it would allow them to customize their own characters, mounts, pets, and companions at any table. If you do give them both cases, they can combine them into one case if space is a priority, or use each case to store other components they might already have, such as miniatures, dice, markers, character sheets, and more. Alternatively, if they ended up with more than one of either set, they could combine two Creatures or Terrain sets into a single box.
TL;DR
Ultimately, the Campaign Cases (Creatures and Terrain) are well-made, versatile, useful tools for any D&D player. Whether you’re purchasing them for yourself or as a gift, the Campaign Cases are an excellent value, even if you might need to be gentle when removing the clings. Both sets are durable, and highly customizable and reusable. The Creatures and Terrain Cases will cost $121.32 for both products, or $64.99 for the Creatures Case and $56.33 for the Terrain Case when bought separately.
