I haven’t really done ranked lists of minis, yet… but today’s set is probably going to land near the top of my list of favorite small sets of monsters.  The mimic colony by Wizkids gives us mimic versions of various pieces of common furniture that your adventuring party is inevitably going to come across in their travels, and many thanks to WizKids for sending this pack to us to review! There’s a whole section in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything about mimic colonies which, as the name suggests, are groups of mimics who work together to create entire towns, camps, and other structures to find strength in numbers. And the chapter includes perhaps one of my favorite pieces of D&D art ever as you can see here. It’s actually featured on the packaging, but it’s really hard to tell until you open it up. I mean, I’d hang this painting in my house.

Most of these mimics have a corresponding bit of scatter terrain in one of the various WarLock Tiles packs, so I’ll show you what they look like together. The idea would be to have a regular bit of furniture on your map, and then when someone gets too close, switch it out for the mimic. And the mimics here go together pretty well, so you could easily have all of them in the same room to really give your party a … sticky situation to handle. But it’s not super fun that all these minis are using a standard mimic stat block, so over on our website we’re giving you a few extra actions that you can give to these guys to make them feel unique. You can find them down below.

Also, the folks over at Minisgallery also clued me in to a little indie shop that sells their own great mimic packs. I don’t have any of them in person to share with you, but I’ll show you pics here at the end. You’re going to love them.  

So, watch where you sit, because we’re entering the mimic colony.  

Before we jump in, the good folks over at Dungeons & Lasers are sponsoring today’s video. They’re launching a new Kickstarter called the World of Deuslair. Dungeons and Lasers are known for providing really high quality unpainted minis and terrain for a fraction of the price that most other companies offer. You’re looking at a few here that I quickly put together this weekend, the Rashers Golem, Elder Kril, and Tu’ur. They’ll be featured in the new Kickstarter, which includes more than 400 models of different creatures, allies, enemies, NPCs, and new playable races. World of Deuslair will also feature a bestiary and an entire campaign that will be morally complex. If you know me, you know that I want a campaign that offers players meaningful choices, and World of Dueslair promises just that! We’ll talk more about it as we get closer to launch, but go right now to the preview page which we have linked in the i in the corner and in the doohickey down below and sign up to be notified when they launch! By backing in the first 48 hours, you can get a free mini, so don’t miss out! That’s the World of Deuslair from Dungeons and Lasers!

Treasure Chest Mimic – So, as I mentioned, there aren’t a lot of mimic stat blocks in 5e right now. That’s reflected here with the limited names these minis are given. Among the 7 minis included in the set, there are only three names on the bases, mimic, juvenile mimic, and giant mimic, mostly based on their base sizes. Number 1 is the classic treasure chest mimic here, on a medium sized base, and using the CR 2 mimic stat block from the basic rules. Here you can see it next to one of the many treasure chests we’ve gotten from the WarLock Tiles and 4D Settings line from WizKids over the years.    

Barrel Mimic – Next up we have another classic, the barrel mini. Mimics were first introduced into D&D in the original monster manual in 1977 by Gary Gygax, and fundamentally they haven’t changed that much.  Originally it was noted that they can perfectly mimic stone or wood, so they often took the shapes of things like chests, doors, stonework, barrels, or doors. And they excrete a powerful adhesive which traps anyone who touches them so the mimic can then bludgeon them to death with their pseudopods.  

Table Mimic – Next up is the medium sized table mimic. Just like all the D&D creatures, mimics have evolved through the editions. They introduced the metal mimic in Creature Catalog 3 in 1985 that was able to imitate metal.  In second edition, mimics weren’t natural creatures, but created by wizards to protect their treasures.  And a greater mimic featured in The Ruins of Undermountain II from 1994 which could imitate an entire room or small structure like a tomb.  

Planter Mimic – Next up we have our small sized juvenile mimic mini, which uses the stat block of the same name from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. And you can see the planter in that art piece from earlier which I’ve put in the sidebar for you here.  Now the juvenile mimic is technically tiny in size, but Wizkids doesn’t make tiny minis, so it’s upsized to small. It’s not exactly a threat with a CR of zero.  We don’t really have a regular planter mini, but a few smaller companies sell things that would work if you search through Etsy and similar marketplaces. 

Chair Mimic – Next up is another classic that I’ve used to good effect in my games, the chair mimic.  Heck, I’d take a warband of just different versions of a chair mimic, maybe like a whole dining set. Tasha’s mentions that mimic colonies are able to telepathically communicate with and negotiate with adventurers, and in some cases might even offer a juvenile mimic as a peace gesture that the adventurers could take as a companion, which… come on. Who doesn’t want a mimic pet.

Wardrobe Mimic– Next up we have our first giant mimic, the wardrobe. The stat block is in the Dragon Heist adventure of all places, but you can make it by altering the regular mimic stat block. Make the size large, the hit points 75, give it a multiattack with two pseudopods and one bite, and up its CR to 3.

We don’t have a perfectly matching mini for this one that I can find. There’s another type of wardrobe in the Halaster’s Lab set from Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and the aforementioned tavern set has one that’s probably the closest, but honestly, you don’t really need a separate mini for this guy since, when the door’s closed, it looks like any other wardrobe, though it is on a base which might be a giveaway to some of your more astute players. They have had minis in the past that could be removed from their base, which would have been great here to fool our players. Either way, it’s a trick that you’ll be able to pull on your gaming group at least once maybe. After that you’ll probably have to switch out the mini like with the others.  

Bear Skin Rug Mimic – Finally we have our large sized giant mimic bear skin rug.  It also uses the giant mimic stat block. If there was ever a mini that called for a special action, it’s a bear skin rug mimic. Now, I do want to hear if you ever introduced any interesting and unique mimics in your adventures. Please let me know down below.  If you want the regular bear skin rug mini, you can find it in the WarLock Tiles Tavern set, which is a great one that goes for about 40 bucks.

I’m going to show you those other amazing mimic minis in a moment, but first, our other sponsor today is Hit Point Press and their upcoming Kickstarter for their Big Bads. This is going to be a great set of books to have on your game room shelf.  The Big Book of Big Bads has 25 of the very best big bads from their collection, including 6 brand new ones, all ready to use for one shots or to expand your existing campaigns. They’re some of the best 5e supplements out there with great art, fantastic writing, and really fun encounters. And getting hard copies of them has been tough, so this is your moment. They also have a Creatures & Curios book with over a 100 monster and magic items. Use our link below to sign up to be notified when they launch on March 21st!  Remember, using our link helps us stay on the air! 

Man, this is just a fun set. We could definitely have more too. There was a dungeon door mimic in the Fangs and Talons set, but how about a regular tavern door.  Or just take other items from the WarLock Tiles Tavern set and turn them into mimics, the bed, the fireplace, the keg, the long table, even the little things like the cups, bottles, bread, and food. We know they can make tiny items, so why not tiny monsters too. Other ones I’d love to see would be a rug, a weapon rack, a bar stool, I mean, honestly the list is endless. What would you like to see? 

If you are looking to get the counterparts to these mimics, check out that Tavern Set and the Dungeon Dressing WarLock Tiles expansion, which has the treasure chest, chair, barrel, round table, and a bunch of other really useful scatter terrain.  You can pick it up for about 45 to 50 bucks. \And don’t forget to check out our website for those bonus mimic actions to make this Mimic Colony set a little more fun to play.  

And that brings me to the excellent looking minis from Galladoria games. They have full sets called Mimic Invasion Kits that feature loads of mundane objects and their mimic counterparts. Kit one has a treasure chest, barrel, trap door, magic hat, grave, book, grandfather clock, and more. You can get them unpainted for 48 bucks, hand painted for 125, or as digital STL files you can print yourself for just 10 bucks, and they even have a custom storage box you can add on, though it’s sold out at the moment.  Kit 2, which is also sold out at the time of filming here, has a throne, well, anvil, carpet, mine cart, wardrobe and more for the same prices. You can get a lot of the pairs individually if you don’t want everything, or in little sets like 4 regular barrels and a mimic barrel for $5.50. Now I haven’t seen these in person, but we did back their last Kickstarter, so we’ll endeavor to show you those minis when they come in. We’ll have a link to their mimic minis in the doohickey below. If you have some Galladoria minis, let us know how you like them in the comments section.

The Mimic Colony appears to be launching this summer, June or July, for between 50 and 60 bucks.  Let me know what you think about it in the comments section down below.  Don’t forget to sign up for the World of Deuslair Kickstarter from Dungeons and Lasers launching in April.  And for the Big Bads Kickstarter from Hit Point Press launching this month!  Who knows, maybe we’ll have a Kickstarter or two this year as well. We still have full stock on all of our kobold plushies and accessory packs, though we did a pretty small manufacturing run for our first pass at this, so if there’s something you want, I would jump in soon before we start taking our existing stock to conventions this summer.  Just visit kobold plush dot com to order.

If you enjoyed the video, liking and subscribing helps us grow. My dream is to one day be able to hire an assistant to help us make more content, but we’ll definitely need to grow to get that to happen. If you want to follow all our shenanigans, you can follow us on Friend-Space, Linked-Book, Snap-Ster, and Limewire.  For now, stay safe, have fun, love each other, and I’ll see you next time at the Gallant Goblin! And find your bonus mimic actions right here:

Barrel Mimic

Spew Acid (3/Day). The barrel mimic spews a 15- foot cone of acid. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 4 (1d6) acid damage and be blinded for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Table Mimic

Launch Cutlery (1/Day) The table mimic launches the cutlery on its surface in a 15 ft cone, provided that it has no creature grappled. Each creature in that cone must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Planter Mimic

Spores (1/Day). The planter mimic releases spores it has collected from nearby plants. A 5-foot radius of spores extends from the planter mimic. These spores can go around corners, and they have no effect on Constructs, Elementals, Plants, or Undead. Each other creature in the area must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins sneezing uncontrollably and is incapacitated and its speed is halved, both for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Chair Mimic

Adhesive (Object Form Only). The chair mimic adheres to anything that touches it. A Huge or smaller creature adhered to the mimic is also grappled by it (escape DC 10). Ability checks made to escape this grapple have disadvantage. If a creature sat on the chair, it is also considered prone until it successfully escapes.

Wardrobe Mimic

Entrapment. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one Medium or smaller creature grappled by the wardrobe mimic. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) acid damage, and the target is pulled into the mimic’s space and enveloped by it, and the grapple ends. The doors on the wardrobe mimic close and its AC increases by 2. While enveloped, the target is restrained and blinded, and it has total cover against attacks and effects originating outside the wardrobe.

The swallowed target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the lizard, and it takes 10 (3d6) acid damage at the start of each of the wardrobe turns. The wardrobe can have only one target entrapped at a time and cannot attack other targets while a target is entrapped.

If the wardrobe mimic dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 10 feet of movement, exiting prone.

Bear Skin Rug Mimic

Surprise Attack. If the bear skin rug mimic surprises a creature and hits it with an attack during the first round of combat, the target takes an extra 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage from the attack.