Greetings gamers,
Today we have an update for you that we know many have been asking for: the future of the Commander of the Guardian Knights figure for the HeroQuest Game System and how its launch has affected our release plans moving forward. Let’s jump right in.
First, let us apologize as we are aware that many of you who pre-ordered the Commander of the Guardian Knights still have yet to receive it. Due to a shipping delay a portion of the stock that was supposed to reach one of our vendors didn’t receive its full allocation of figures. Thankfully all of the figures have arrived and we are hopeful the vendor will be able to start delivery soon.
When this Commander of the Guardian Knights expansion was first conceived, we had no idea if fans would accept or reject the idea of an expansion that didn’t already exist. Fan-made heroes have popped up on BoardGameGeek and various fan sites for years, but we were publishing the original North American version of HeroQuest nearly as-is. Would fans be interested in something new? As it turns out, the answer was a resounding “YES!”
The Guardian Knight pre-order went live in November, and amazingly it sold out in about a day. We were excited, astonished, and proud of our fans for such a supportive response! However, we soon saw the demand was even greater than expected – and we had originally only intended to make the one print run before moving on to the next project. The Commander was developed in cooperation with retail partners as a limited expansion to support the launch of the HeroQuest Game System, and we didn’t foresee such an incredible appetite for the figure.
What this means is that we are not able to print another run of the Commander of the Guardian Knights figure as is. While the Guardian Knights still have a role to play in the larger story of HeroQuest, no more of the current figure can be produced. We underestimated its popularity, and for that we offer an apology to our fans. We know we let you down, and you may rightfully be feeling very frustrated with us.
To those of you still waiting for your figure, we expect you should see it soon. Your FLGS may also have some for sale, so please always consider shopping local. We’re also aware that scalpers are already selling the item online for well over our MSRP. The vendors we work with may have had protections in place to deter scalping, but please understand it is impossible to fully prevent such practices. The best way to eliminate scalping is to not purchase items from scalpers at exorbitant prices.
Looking forward, we believe HeroQuest has a bright future. We’ve hinted at the next release, and eagle-eyed viewers may have seen what we’re up to at last year’s PulseCon. We’ve also released two free downloadable quests, “Rogar’s Hall” and “The Forsaken Tunnels of Xor-Xel,” along with continued updates of the HeroQuest Companion App. But we’re already planning for much more after that, and knowing now just how excited our fans are we have a better grasp on how large to make our print runs, and to be prepared for multiple runs if needed.
Our goal is to improve our processes and products with every release, and listening to our fans is the best way for us to understand how to do so. We look forward to the exciting future of HeroQuest, and we hope you do too.
The Avalon Hill Team
