Loot Crate - November, 2015 - Combat

Hey, peeps! Mike here, and I just couldn't resist going back to Loot Crate again after seeing the photos of the incredible boxes in September and October. I mean, wow, they upped their game! So, now I'm a Looter again and, after a painstaking wait, my Crate finally arrived!

For those of you who haven't heard of Loot Crate, it is a monthly subscription box that caters towards "nerds" and "geeks". Each month, subscribers get a themed box of 6 to 8 items. What's interesting is that Loot Crate has different subscription programs. Here's a breakdown with shipping to Canada included:

1 Month Plan - $29.95 USD / $37.00 CAD per month

3 Month Plan - $84.00 USD / $104.00 CAD per 3 months

6 Month Plan - $162.00 USD / $200.00 CAD per 6 months

1 Year Plan - $312.00 / $385.00 CAD per year (includes Bonus T-Shirt)

As some of you who have read my blog in the past have probably noticed, the cost for this program has gone up significantly for Canadians, probably due to our weak dollar at the moment. Regardless of the reason, though, this hurts. One can only hope the items are still worth the price tag.

NOVEMBER - COMBAT

As a fan of fighting games like "Street Fighter" and "Mortal Kombat", I was excited to learn this month's theme. Of course, "Combat" could mean so much more. So many different kinds of games and franchises have various types of fighting in them. There's just so much potential for amazing items! So, did what came in the Crate live up to my expectations? Let's start to look into that with a list of what I got:

- Loot Crate Mini Magazine ($2.50 CAD)

- Loot Crate Theme Pin ($0.75 CAD)

- Loot Crate Gift Tags ($0.50 CAD)

- Mockingjay Pin ($10.00 CAD)

- Blizzard Cute But Deadly Figure ($12.00 CAD)
- Blizzard Cute But Deadly Magnets ($5.00 CAD)

- TMNT Shredder Sunglasses ($10.00 CAD)

- Street Fighter Hyper Looting #1 ($4.50 CAD)

- Vault Boy Bobblehead ($25.00 CAD)

Loot Crate Custom Box

You already know I'm a fan of custom boxes and this one featuring a post-apocalyptic design is pretty cool. The sewer pipes with ooze coming out are a nice touch.

Loot Crate Mini Magazine

Ah, it's nice to finally get a mini magazine again. I didn't realize how much I missed these! This month, there is a great article about epic video game rivalries, an interesting interview with WWE's Kyle Edwards, and more. The cover is pretty cool, too.

Loot Crate Theme Pin

This pin's design comes from the cover of the mini magazine, but unlike most cases in the past where they just took a part of the cover and shrank it, whoever designed this pin actually made this different by taking the characters out and only leaving the bus. I think it's a cool pin and one I'm quite happy to put up on my cork board.

Loot Crate Gift Tags

With Christmas around the corner, Loot Crate wanted to help people with their gift giving by included these nifty tags. I really appreciate that.

Mockingjay Pin

Alright, alright! This is what I call an awesome item. I'm a huge fan of "The Hunger Games" and this pin doesn't just hit the mark with my fandom, but also fits the Crate theme extremely well. Nice!

Blizzard Cute But Deadly Figure

This item is going to get a mixed review from me. On the one hand, I love Blizzard games and I love blind box vinyls. In fact, when I took this out of the Crate, I was jumping up and down with excitement. However, on the other hand, I was stopped abruptly when I realized the box was rather damaged.

As you can see, it was squashed prior to being put into my Loot Crate. This made me worry about the figure inside, so I opened it immediately and found this.

That, friends, is Ghost Arthas (from "World of Warcraft"), which is one of the three mystery figures you could get and, in my opinion, the best of the three. His helmet is supposed to have a large spike decoration. What you see on the middle-bottom of the above photo is that very spike, which has broken off the figure. Here is a closer look at things after I put the figure together.

This is my favourite item in the Crate, yet I am left with a bitter sweet feeling because Loot Crate's lack of quality control resulted in a broken figure. And, not just any figure. No, it just had to be Ghost Arthas! If I write to Loot Crate and show them the damage, I'm quite certain that they'd send me a new figure. But, since this is a blind box set, I most likely won't get another Ghost Arthas. That really, really sucks. Now, I'm sure you're probably thinking I can just glue the spike back on. I will do that and I will be happy with the figure. However, the fact remains that I received an obviously damaged item. Whoever packed my Crate could not have missed the fact that the box had been crushed. That, to me, is unacceptable.

Blizzard Cute But Deadly Magnets

I love magnets and my fridge is covered in them. So, getting Blizzard magnets is pretty awesome. My only complaint is that these kinds of magnet sheets are pretty much for decoration only. The strength of the magnets are extremely weak, so don't expect to be able to hold much with them. It's a shame because as a teenager, I remember using much stronger magnets with awesome nerdy designs to hold photos on my locker door. These Blizzard magnets would never have been able to do the same job because they would have just flown off if I closed the door too strongly. I would have honestly preferred getting less but stronger magnets.

TMNT Shredder Sunglasses

You know how Loot Crate gave its subscribers gift tags? I'm going to use one for this item since it's pretty much useless to me. I honestly don't see myself ever wearing them. Ever.

Ever again. I meant to have "again" in there to begin with. Yep. Honest to God...

I look ridiculous. Kids, however, would probably think these are super cool and run around the house with these on, so into my niece's Christmas stocking this goes.

Street Fighter Hyper Looting #1

This was not the kind of fighting game item I was hoping fore. I mean, I love comics, I love "Street Fighter" even more, and I really appreciate getting a "#1". However, a comic about characters from "Street Fighter" teaming up with Loot Crate employees to fight evil? I'm sorry, but this should have been a part of the mini magazine and not an actual item. To think, this is the only fighting game item! What a complete waste and an utter disappointment.

Vault Boy Bobblehead

As a fan of the "Fallout" series of games, I was blown away by what I think is the coolest item in this month's Crate. The quality is very high and the packaging even has some foam inside the box to protect the head. The most interesting thing about this bobblehead, however, is the supposed price. In my research I found that this bobblehead is a part of a series with Vault Boy in different poses. Various web sites sell them for anywhere from $25.00 CAD to as much as $70.00 CAD! That's insane. Even $25.00 CAD is too much for it, in my opinion. I guess that's what happens when you have a super hot franchise like "Fallout". Sigh.

OVERVIEW

I don't know what the heck happened this month, but Loot Crate really dropped the ball. Like I said before, I was blown away by the Crates from September and October. "Doctor Who" sporks? Pikachu winter hats? Doc Brown Pop! figures? Replica mini hoverboards? Those are ridiculously awesome. I envy those who stuck with Loot Crate and got them. This month, I rejoined and got a damaged item, an obvious gift item to make use of the included gift tags, a disappointing comic, and a bobblehead with an insanely high price tag that is clearly here for Loot Crate to say, "Hey, Looters, look at this super expensive item! See! That's value! Just ignore the fact that everything else is really cheap. *Cough*"

I've never been this let down by Loot Crate before. I get that no subscription box can be epic every single month, and I honestly don't expect that. Loot Crate, however, has always delivered boxes hovering between "fantastic" and "out of this world". This time around, they broke the trend and dropped to "just okay". I honestly hope this is a one-time thing because I'm staying with them for December due to their promised "Galaxy Quest" item. If they slap subscribers in the face again, however, I'm done with them for good.

If you want to learn more about Loot Crate, you can check out their web site HERE. Use the code SAVE10 to get 10% off a new subscription.

As always, thank you for checking out my blog. Stay tuned for more nerdy reviews!

~ Mike

Loot Crate - August, 2014 - Heroes

Heya, peeps! Mike here, and I'm a little late with this month's Loot Crate review. It's been a loooooong month for Jess and me at work, and since I received my box this past Monday, I've been extremely anxious to tell you all about it. In fact, the photos for this entry were taken in my company's board room before a meeting! Here, check out this "Unboxing" pic:

Don't you just love the wood pattern of my company's board room table? ^_~ Now, for those of you who haven't heard of Loot Crate, it is a monthly subscription box that caters towards "nerds" and "geeks". Each month, subscribers get a themed box of 6 to 8 items. What's interesting is that Loot Crate has different subscription programs. Here's a breakdown:

1 Month Plan - $19.37 USD / $29.95 CAD per month

3 Month Plan - $55.11 USD / $84.00 CAD per 3 months 

6 Month Plan - $105.99 USD / $162.00 CAD per 6 months

AUGUST - HEROES

Last month's Villains-themed box blew me away. It had awesome items and an incredibly imaginative custom box. When I heard about this month's theme, I was really excited and hoped for the same level of quality as the Villains box. Did Loot Crate deliver? Here's a list of what I got:

- Loot Crate Mini Magazine ($2.00 CAD)

- Loot Crate Theme Pin ($0.75 CAD)

- Mega Man Air Freshener ($5.00 CAD)

- TMNT Bandana Glasses ($7.00 CAD)

- TMNT Vinyl Figure ($10.00 CAD)

- Deadpool Magnet ($3.00 CAD)

- Exclusive Groot Pop! Figure ($15.00 CAD)

- Shwings Shoe Wings ($8.00 CAD)

- Bonus Digital Loot ($10.00 CAD)

Custom Loot Crate Box

I was pleasantly surprised by last month's custom Villains box. This month, I had a huge bout of nostalgia with the custom Heroes box I received. Do you see what that is in the photo? Yep, it's the Ninja Turtles lair! When I was a kid, I had the lair playset. It was donated when I reached adulthood, but now I have something just as cool and in a more compact form factor. Yay! ^_^

Loot Crate Mini Magazine

The design of this month's mini magazine cover is pretty cool and there is some great content inside. What slightly confuses me is the inclusion of Batman on the cover. I get that he's a hero, but DC Comics doesn't really make an appearance in this month's Loot Crate except for the Alex Ross painting in the magazine's table of contents and Batman's face in one of the magazine games. Oh, well. It's Batman, so I guess it's okay. :p

Loot Crate Theme Pin

I love this month's theme pin and I'm also happy to inform you that the print is not dark! I appreciate that the pin's design is not just a copy of the mini magazine cover art. Here, Groot has been replaced with Captain America and Leonardo has been replaced with Thor's arm, hammer, cape, and leg. I wish I could see the full art piece, though.

Mega Man Air Freshener

Jess has a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar air freshener in her car. Well, now I have Mega Man in mine! This is a cool item I couldn't even imagine existing prior to getting it. Awesome!

TMNT Bandana Glasses

By far the most useless item in this month's Loot Crate for me is the TMNT Bandana Glasses. I mean, they're kind of cool, but I would never use them. My niece would probably love them, though, so into the Christmas stocking stuffer box it goes!

TMNT Vinyl Figure

Now, this Donatello vinyl by Kidrobot is definitely not going to my niece. I love the look of the figure. Plus, it apparently glows in the dark! I can't wait to get Donatello onto my shelf. :D

Deadpool Magnet

Wait, wasn't Deadpool in the Villains box? Why, yes. Yes, he was. See, Deadpool is both a villain and a hero! Thank you, Loot Crate, for recognizing that. More Deadpool equals more awesome, and this magnet is just fantastic.

Exclusive Groot Pop! Figure

I am Groot.

Translation:

"If you haven't watched "Guardians of the Galaxy", do it NOW. It's one of the best movies of 2014, and possibly the best Marvel movie to date. When I saw this exclusive Groot Pop! vinyl with glow in the dark hand in my Loot Crate, I screeched like a little girl in the 90's at a Hanson concert. I can't describe just how much I love this item. It's easily my favourite this month."

Shwings Shoe Wings

A set of shoe wings really isn't a "heroic" item, but I admit that they are super cool and I've wanted to buy a set for a long time. Well, now I have lightning bolts on my shoes. Sweet!

Bonus Digital Loot

This card has codes that get you 3 games. I'm really excited about the Doctor Who one and "Gauntlet". I've never heard of "Defense Grid" before, but I am definitely interested since I love tower defense games. The added value in this card is much appreciated.

OVERVIEW

August was an incredible month for Loot Crate. I didn't know if the Heroes box could possibly match the Villains one, but in my opinion, it did. I am absolutely torn over whether the Groot Pop! Figure or the Deadpool socks from last month is my favourite Loot Crate item so far. The fact that I like any item this much is a comforting thought for me since it means the people at Loot Crate are doing their job of not only giving me value, but a positive and memorable nerdy experience as well.

In September, the Loot Crate theme will be "Galactic". Their Facebook group has silhouettes of the Millennium Falcon, an X-Wing, the Serenity, and the Enterprise, which has got me bristling with excitement. If you're interested in learning more about Loot Crate, please check out their Web Site. If you would like to subscribe, you can get 10% off using the code GALACTIC

As a final note, I would like to once again mentioned that my sister-in-law Felicia has a fantastic food blog that I highly recommend you check out. Go to Food Hackerette. You won't be disappointed!

Thank you for visiting. See you again soon!

~ Mike

Nerd Block - January, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Mike here! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and had a great time ringing in 2014. I think you'd be happy to hear that my family, friends, and I survived Icepocalypse 2013. If any of you were affected by the ice storm, I hope you weren't without power for too long and that you were able to stay warm. Now it's January and that means I have a brand new Nerd Block to review! In case you didn't know, Nerd Block is a monthly subscription box and each month, people receive all sorts of products from "nerdy" franchises. Here is some information:

NERD BLOCK

- $19.99 USD plus shipping per month

- $30 CAD total per month in Canada

- arrives around mid-month in Canada

January, 2014

Being the first Nerd Block of the new year, I was extremely excited and had high expectations. As a business, although every single Block should be mind-blowingly awesome, I think it makes sense to open a year with a bang. Well, let's see if that happened. The following is a list of what I received in my Nerd Block with approximate Canadian retail prices in brackets next to each item:

- Batman T-Shirt ($15.00)

- Star Wars Luke Skywalker Pop! Figure ($10.00)

- My Little Pony Mystery Mini ($8.00)

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Splat Flyer ($6.00)

- Hunger Games Catching Fire Figurine ($2.00)

T-Shirt

I love most things Batman, so this month's T-shirt was right up my alley. The design is also really, really cool. For those of you who are wondering, the Japanese text says "Ninja of Justice", or at least that's what my friends who know Japanese tell me. My biggest concern, however, lies in the fact that Nerd Block has been around for 5 months and this is the third black shirt I've received. The other two shirts are two different shades of blue. So, as of right now, I can rightly say that there is very little variety in the shirt colours. However, I will give Nerd Block points for having different franchises. None have been repeated in the shirts yet. Now, if they can give me a red, green, white, orange, yellow, or anything-but-black-or-blue, I'll be truly happy.

Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) Pop! Figure

Speaking of a lack of variety, subscribers have received yet another Pop! figure. Now, I myself am a huge fan of these cute "Chibi" style toys, but not everyone is. I wouldn't be surprised if some people are getting frustrated with receiving more and more of these things. Nerd Block really needs to branch out a bit more in the non-blind-box figure department. As for this month's figure, it is from the Star Wars collection. I got Luke Skywalker, which is awesome. My buddy Ryan, however, got Jabba the Hutt and is quite disappointed. Which figure did you get?

My Little Pony Mystery Mini

Bronies rejoice! Yes, a My Little Pony product finally made it into Nerd Block. I am not a Brony, but I don't dislike My Little Pony either, which is why I opened my Mystery Mini. I honestly think that the figure I got looks really cool. Some of you may notice, however, that this is the third Mystery Mini Nerd Block has included in their boxes. Thankfully, unlike the shirt colours or the Pop! figures, at least with Mystery Minis, different brands have distinctly different figure types. There is variety! So, I'm good with this.

TMNT Splat Flyer

Right off the bat, I'm going to say that I personally find this product to be stupid. It's Raphael's head made of a material resembling that used on Schticky products. You throw the thing onto the floor or at a wall and it flattens and sticks to the surface. This thing gets dirty really quickly and can be washed clean in warm water. But, seriously, who would pay $6 for it? I certainly wouldn't. And, judging from the lack of sales of this product at stores I frequent, not very many other people will either. I understand that Nerd Block is meant to introduce people to new products, but this is one toy that will be... tossed aside.

Hunger Games Figurine

The most disappointing item I have ever received from Nerd Block is this month's Hunger Games figurine. I've seen this product at the local dollar store being sold for $2 and have been mildly curious. The packaging is quite large, leading one to believe the figure inside is also on the larger side. $2 for a blind box figure sounds pretty good, right? Well, not for this. The figure, as it turns out, is TINY! Just look at the picture! What an absolute waste of packaging! And, what a horrible bit of trickery! I wouldn't pay $2 for this. It's worth $0.25 tops! WTF, Nerd Block?

Overview

Wow. Just... wow... And, not a good wow. This is a really bad wow. If you add things up, the products included in this month's Nerd Block are worth more than the cost of the subscription, but not by a lot. Also, there were only 5 products, 2 of which were ridiculous, 2 of which makes me worry about variety, and 1 of which was pretty cool, but was not for everyone. Overall, I was quite disappointed. Nerd Block should have opened 2014 with a bang, but it just ended up being a splat.

Nerd Block - October, 2013

Welcome back for another entry. Mike here and today I'm going to be talking about Nerd Block's October, 2013 box. In case you didn't know, Nerd Block is a monthly subscription box and each month, people receive all sorts of products from "nerdy" franchises. Here is some information:

NERD BLOCK

- $19.99 USD plus shipping per month

- $30 CAD total per month in Canada

- arrives around mid-month in Canada

October, 2013

In September, we were told that the October Nerd Block would be "killer". My buddy (and fellow subscriber) Ryan and I both thought they meant something along the lines of giving us horror movie products. However, when the box arrived, we were wrong. "Killer" just meant the products would be pretty good. Well, let's see if the claim turned out to be true. Here is a list of the Nerd Block contents with approximate retail prices in brackets next to each item:

- Star Wars Darth Vader T-Shirt ($15)

- Portal 2 Sentry Turret Figure ($7)

- DC Universe Mystery Minis Vinyl Figure ($7.50)

- Spawn Mini Trading Figure ($7.50)

- Adventure Time Finn-Ominoes Game ($7)

- Marvel Erasers Series 1 Spider-Man ($1.50)

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pad ($1.50)

I absolutely LOVE the T-Shirt. The Darth Vader design is fantastic. I wore it the day I received my Nerd Block, and when I visited Ryan, he very nearly had his on, too. But, the man was smart. He knew I'd be wearing it and decided against a "Who Wore It Better" situation. :p I didn't mention this regarding last month's box, but the T-Shirts have both been very good fits for me and of good quality. I would like to emphasize the second point since I occasionally buy shirts from "Design a Day" web sites and some of them print onto shirts I can find for a buck or less in Toronto's Chinatown. So, to have a nice quality T-Shirt sent to me by Nerd Block is a huge plus.

My wife bought me a Portal Sentry Turret blind box figure last Christmas as a stocking stuffer and I found myself taking photos of it in funny situations for weeks afterwards. So, when one showed up in my Nerd Block, I was thrilled. These figures are based on the Sentry robots from the sci-fi puzzle-solving video game "Portal", which I highly recommend. Each figure has a fun design and comes in "open" or "closed" position. The figure I got has a neat orange-red design that I think will look great on the dining table this Christmas... if

Jess will let me put it there. You will, right, honey? Please?

The DC Universe mystery figure was a bit of a surprise since I never knew this series of toys existed. I was really hoping to get one of the various Batman figures, but I got the Penguin instead. I really like the figure, which is quite solid and has a good paint job. My only complaint about the Penguin is that he looks... kind of Asian. I know it's a strange thing to get hung up on, but every time I look at my figure, all I can see is Ken Jeong from "Community" in a Penguin costume... Well, he'd make an interesting Penguin. He'd certainly pull off the nasally voice. Yeah... MOVING ON!

I didn't take a photo of the Spawn figure, but I really, really didn't like the figure I got. The series has quite a few designs and the only ones I would have wanted are all of Spawn himself. But, even if I did get a Spawn, I seriously would not have been happy since I just don't like this series of figures in general. I can't give my figure to my niece since she wouldn't know what to do with it. I can't trade with Ryan since he got a figure he likes. And,

I doubt I can sell the thing since it's so darned ugly. So, I'm stuck with a... demon... knight... thing? Just look up a picture of the back of the box, look at Row B, and it's the furthest one on the right. Anyone want to give me a quick synopsis of Spawn? I've only seen the movie.

Finn-Ominoes looks like a fun little game, but I'm going to give it away as a gift to my niece or a friend who likes Adventure Time. I have only watched a couple of episodes, and although I liked them, I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of the show. I do know that there are a lot of hardcore Adventure Time fans out there, especially after seeing the number of people in Finn or Jake costumes this Halloween, so I think the inclusion of Finn-Ominoes was a good idea.

The Spider-Man eraser is cheap. Very, very cheap. But, I'm both a Marvel fan and a Spidey fan, so I was all smiles when I saw the eraser. My Friendly Neighbourhood Mini Spidey is now sitting on my desk ready to take on the endless hordes of the Pencil Mistakes army. :D

Finally, we have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... What on Earth is that? A coaster? One of those sticky pads you put on your dashboard to hold your phone in place? A decoration? A wrist rest for when you're using a mouse? Who in the bloody heck thought it was a good idea to include a flat piece of rubber that says "NYC Sewer" on it? Technically, there's no indication that it's even a TMNT product. But, judging from the ooze-like design and the somewhat turtle-shell-

looking design of the sewer lid, it must be from TMNT. I've been using the pad as a coaster, so I guess in the end, it was a good idea after all, right?

I felt that the October Nerd Block was definitely a weaker showing than the September box. Although I like what was included overall, I would never have bought most of the products had I seen them in stores. Actually, I wouldn't have bought any of them except the Sentry, and even then, I already had one, so I would have bought none of these items. Having received them in my Nerd Block, however, means I "did" buy them, and to be honest, I don't regret it. That is why I didn't cancel my subscription. I did, however, tell myself that if things don't improve in November, I'm done.

To find out about the November Nerd Block, please stay tuned. It's coming soon!

~ Mike Chan

Nerd Block - September, 2013 (Here we goooooo!)

Hi, everybody! Welcome to "In Box with Mike & Jess". Mike here, and I'm happy to start off our blog by sharing with you the September, 2013 Nerd Block.

I am admittedly quite the nerd. My brain is filled with useless facts about fictional characters who wear their underpants over their spandex bodysuits and attach blankets to their backs. If you're anything like me, then you'll really appreciate Nerd Block. It is a monthly subscription box of nerd goodies that began back in September of this year. Now, as much as I'd love to show you what my November box has, I'm going to save it for an entry in the near future because I really want to start at the beginning. So, here we goooooo!

NERD BLOCK

- $19.99 USD plus shipping per month

- $30 CAD total per month in Canada

- arrives around mid-month in Canada

September, 2013

I was extremely excited to receive the first ever Nerd Block back in September. The box you see in the picture arrived packed in a brown shipping box that felt sturdy and survived the trip to my house with very little damage. The Nerd Block's box was surprisingly nice as well. I really liked the design when I first saw it. I also appreciated that it was the slide-out type of box since it is easier to open.

On to the good stuff! When I opened the box, I got the following items, with rough prices next to them in brackets:

- Gremlins T-Shirt ($15)

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo Pop! Figure ($12)

- The Big Bang Theory Funko Mystery Minis Figure ($8)

- Galactic Guardians HeroClix Single Figure ($6)

- Topps Wacky Packages Sticker Pack ($3.50)

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Stickers by GelaSkins ($5)

The T-Shirt was just "okay". I'm a fan of Gremlins, but for a "First Shirt Ever", I felt Nerd Block somewhat dropped the ball. I have worn the shirt since getting it, though, so I guess that's a good thing. But, it's not a shirt I would have bought if I saw it in a store. Honestly, I think the shirt will eventually become a shirt I wear at home while doing various chores, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. This means I don't have to buy another shirt to replace my beaten-up "Slap Bet Commissioner" shirt.

I LOVE the Leonardo Pop! figure. I'm a huge fan of the Pop! series and to get a Turtles figure in the box really made my day. I wish I had gotten Michelangelo, though, since he is my favourite. But, Leo will do. I just have to wait for a sale at my local store to get Mikey to add to my collection.

My other favourite item in the Nerd Block was the Big Bang Theory figure. I didn't know they had vinyls for that show, so I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up getting Amy, who is one of my favourite characters. SWEET!

I collect HeroClix, but was still surprised to see one included. In case you didn't know, HeroClix is a collectible miniature figure game by WizKids. You and your friends build armies with little figures and then battle it out on a game board. Unless you already play HeroClix or are a collector, including a single HeroClix figure in a NerdBlock is almost useless. From a marketing standpoint, I guess it makes sense since I'm sure WizKids thinks that by including a single figure, some Nerd Block subscribers will think it's cool enough to look into and maybe even purchase the game. But, I feel a single figure is not enough, especially since it's a blind box and people might get a figure they don't like. I think a better idea for including HeroClix is to either go with a starter set or one of the packages that includes multiple figures. This way, people start out with an army and can play with people who own the game or friends who also subscribe to Nerd Block. This is a better way to generate interest than giving people a single figure.

The final two items ended up being quite useless to me. I have no interest in collecting Wacky Packages stickers and the Ninja Turtles stickers claim to be for mobile devices, but I have no use for hexagons that fit nowhere. The only thing I can think to do with the Wacky Packages stickers is give them to my niece. As for the Ninja Turtles, I may also give them to my niece. However, I can see them being put onto the backs of laptops or tablets by Nerd Block subscribers who do that to their devices. (The receptionist at my office has Snow White on her Macbook.)

All in all, the stuff in my very first Nerd Block were worth the price of admission. The shirt, Pop! figure, and Big Bang Theory vinyl on their own already cost more than the whole package with shipping. Although I was personally disappointed with some other items, I can see the logic behind having them. I'm sure others probably liked them more than me. Did I continue to be a Nerd Block subscriber after the first delivery? You bet! More entries are to come!

Aaaaaaand, that's the first entry to "In Box with Mike & Jess". We both hope you enjoyed the read and found the information helpful. Stay tuned for Nerd Block October, 2013 and a review of Disney's new Marvel Comics Vinylmations.

~ Mike Chan