You know what you’re getting with WizKids miniatures: some bendy swords here and there, but overall good sculpts for the most cost-effective prepainted miniatures you’ll find. WizKids is likely a staple part of your collection if you’re not into painting minis (or just have no skill like me). Their big dragons are awesome set pieces for a boss fight while their blind box sets will fill your ranks with all the goblins, demons, and tentacle monsters you need for regular DnD combat.
That latter statement really applies to D&D Icons of the Realms: Underdark Expeditions, one of the current sets on the market. It’s still in stock online, and you’ll probably find several boxes on sale at your friendly local game store next to the headline-making Baldur’s Gate 3 minis and latest Pathfinder boxes. Whereas BG3 offers beloved named characters and Pathfinder creatures pull from various folklore, Underdark Expeditions is all about well-known DnD monsters. But that doesn’t necessarily make it a set to skip – these are some of the best sculpts we’ve seen of these familiar faces.
If you’ve bought WizKids blind boxes before, you probably already have some version of Underdark Expeditions’ roster. There’s drow, a gelatinous cube, quaggoths, trolls, two beholder variants, hook horrors (which showed up in last year’s Phandelver and Below set), and several giant animals. But there are three tricks Wizkids pulled to make these repeats the definitive versions of their respective monsters.
Check out this video where I put them under some photo lights:
First, of course, there’s the advertised DungeonGlo effect. It does add a layer of mystique to the figures that have it – that Gas Spore’s cloud does look all-consuming. I do wonder when I’ll actually use it since you can’t really run a DnD session in the dark, but it does look cool and brings back memories of my 90’s toys.
Secondly, these are just fantastic poses/renderings. The flock of bats is unironically one of my favorites. Look how they take off in unison as if just alerted by a Stealth check gone wrong. Other highlights include a Venom Troll standing in its own gross drippings and the Beholder based on its 2025 Monster Manual art. The wiry tentacles and pointy teeth give it a more feral, unhinged look than before.
Speaking of the Beholder, it’s part of the final cool concept of Underdark Expeditions. There’s alt color schemes of a few large monsters. It reminds me of shiny Pokemon and likewise makes me consider buying more boxes to hunt for the cooler variants. At the very least, the black-and-white alt justifies putting hook horrors in another set so soon.
So yes, you’ve seen these monsters before. And you’ll find the fact that some now glow in the dark to be the raddest thing ever or a silly gimmick. But don’t write Underdark Expeditions off, especially not if you’re in the market for more creepy crawlies. This is the best these DnD monsters have looked in a long time.
Several boxes of Underdark Expeditions were provided by WizKids for this review.
Sergio Solórzano is the best Dungeon Master in the USA (according to a Wizards of the Coast competition, anyway). He loves minis and terrain but also goes all-in on improv!
