When Blizzard isn't booting its pro players for supporting democracy, its making some badass stuff, like the World of Warcraft 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition, released shortly after the launch of WoW Classic.
I did a little unboxing of everything in the WoW 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition to see what's worth it and what's not. Here's what you get for $99:
WoW Ragnaros Statue
Without a doubt the coolest item you get out of the Collector's Edition is the 10-inch statue of Ragnaros, the Firelord himself.
Instead of sporting his fiery red and orange colors, the statue is themed similarly to the box, with black and gold colors. When I first opened it up I had to put on his arm and hammer myself, as well as the two wings of fire on his back. The statue doesn't look or feel cheap. Between the sharp rocks coming out of the base and the finely cut detail around his armor, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the statue.
WoW Onyxia Pin
The WoW 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition comes with a pin of the head of Onyxia, Broodmother of the Black Dragonflight.
It's a two-prong pin. Onyxia's face is outlined with a glossy-dark design, but the rest is matte, highlighting the color around her horns and fins. This pin will definitely make you want to "take in a deep breath."
WoW Map of Azeroth Mouse Pad
The Map of Azeroth Mouse Pad covers 15 years of World of Warcraft history all in one mouse swipe.
At the center you have Azeroth, and surrounding it is Outland (it's Outlands, fight me) and Draenor. The quality of the print is great, but the mousepad isn't all that soft. The material feels like plastic, so if you're looking for comfort over form, then you're not going to be happy about this one.
WoW Fine Art Prints
If you're into art, you're going to love the eight art prints that Blizzard has included in the WoW 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition.
These eight pieces of artwork covers each expansion, including the base game. Jumping from Ragnaros in WoW Classic all the way to Anduin fighting Sylvanas in the Battle for Azeroth. The prints are absolutely gorgeous and printed on relatively thick paper, although I would rush to frame these as fast as possible.
The artists credited for the prints are Dmitry Prozorov, Wei Wang (four prints), Raymond Swanland, Glenn Rane and a tagteam from Glenn Rane and Cole Eastburn.
WoW Alabaster Mounts
The WoW 15th Anniversary Alabaster Mounts became available for purchase a few months ago, and are valued at $25.
The Alabaster Stormtalon (Alliance) and Alabaster Thunderwing (Horde) scale to whatever your riding skill is per character. And the best part is that if your character isn't high enough level to use a flying mount, you can still use it as a ground mount. You also get to use this mount across all characters.
Oh, and they look pretty awesome in-game.
Outlook
On top of all of that, you also get a free 30 Days of Game Time, which is valued at $15. So with the mounts and Game Time alone, you've already got $40 worth out of this purchase. The statue alone is definitely worth at least $60, but you're also getting those slick prints, a cool pin and a sweet-looking mouse pad.
However, given Blizzard's recent actions, you should know at least one of the items in the WoW 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition (the statue) was made in China.
But overall, this is definitely worth the $99 you'll be spending, and although it's currently sold out, keep an eye out on Amazon, GameStop and the Blizzard Store for restocks.
