Skylanders SWAP Force Unboxing Rubble Rouser

What? Rubble Rouser, Earth Element, SWAP Force Skylander
Where Did You Get It? Target
What Did It Cost? $14.99 plus tax
What Was Stock Like? 2 in the back, in a locked case
What is Included? Rubble Rouser, Stat Card, and Sticker Sheet

Unboxing Rubble Rouser

Rubble Rouser
Earth Element, SF Skylander, Dig

Slogan: "Brace for Impact!"

Card Stats
Power: 170/200
Armor: 200/200
Agility: 65/200
Luck: 55/200
Totals: 490/800

After entering Target and beelining to the Skylanders section, I wasn't shocked to see empty pegs and the lowest SWAP Force stock I've seen to date at the store.  I went in Sunday (the day of the ad 12/29) and then twice during the week...Each time there were no Swappers, and decreasing stock.  I asked employees each time I was in (as I always do when trying to find something new) and the response was and remained that there had been no new shipments since before Christmas and that they had nothing in the back...everything available was on the floor.

Well, the store was desolate (my favorite setting for shopping) and as I was leaving I saw an employee in electronics.  She was super nice and upon scanning a tag offered to check the back even though it said there weren't any.  She came out a few minutes later with an arm full of 4 Skylanders: Hoot Loop, Stink Bomb, and 2 Rubble Rousers.  I was kind of surprised there were no Spy Rise figures, but it is hard to argue with getting 2 of the 3.  I checked out with Stink Bomb and Rubble Rouser (although I now realize that the sale didn't ring up).  What I learned, and what may help you, is that my store had these in the back in a locked case.  This isn't like the case for games and high end electronics, this is literally in the back where you'd never have access to look.  When I got up front I figured it was odd I had a bag with stuff in it and told the story to the checker.  She said they had been having a lot of theft and it was a precaution.  I don't know if this is just a local solution, or something nationwide etc, but it is a new revolution to me...

There were no notes to ask for any characters you don't see and if not for the overly diligent and helpful employee I would have once again walked out with nothing, while the figures apparently sat trapped in a locked case.  The funny thing is a Target Exclusive Nitro Magna Charge and Free Ranger Double Pack were on the pegs...as well as a few Giants and some stray Sprockets and 1-2 Scorp figures.

I have to wonder if all of the W3 Swappers were in this case when I went in Sunday, and the other two days prior?!  I know most stores had these well in advance of the 12/29 ad because folks were buying them last Thursday and Friday.  It could just be a case of employees legitimately not knowing the characters were locked up, or just simply not caring to check as I assume this case also houses things like iPod, iPads, and extra stock on cameras etc.

That said, you now know the story behind how I got Stink Bomb and Rubble Rouser and for those of you still willing to deal with Target (I've had a ton of people tell me they were blowing them off due to not having stock etc), you might ask an employee to check the locked cases in the back.  Will it work?  It comes in at 50/50 odds, so I'd say go for it...

I have to say, if the figures were really there when I went in last Sunday it is pretty ridiculous and I likely could have landed Spy Rise as well.  This could also be great timing and maybe they showed up earlier today and made their way to the case.  Once more though, no signs to ask an associate, check with management, etc...just empty pegs.  My advice is give it a shot and if you still get the runaround, check back when you can or just hold out for a broader release.

All of that aside, I am stoked to finally have one of the Earth Element Swappers!  I'm kind of leaning towards Doom Stone based solely on character art, but I think Rubble Rouser is well done, has a good back story, and should be a nice asset to the game.  Plus, his card stats are really high.

Good luck landing Rubble Rouser!

Grilla Drilla and Rubble Rouser...Can You Dig It?!

Skylanders SWAP Force Unboxing Stink Bomb

What? Stink Bomb, Life Element, SWAP Force Skylander
Where Did You Get It? Special Delivery and Target
What Did It Cost? $14.99 plus tax
What Was Stock Like? No Stock, In the Back, In a Locked Case
What is Included? Stink Bomb, Stat Card, and Sticker Sheet

Unboxing Stink Bomb

Stink Bomb
Life Element, SWAP Force, Sneak

Slogan: "Clear the Air!"

Card Stats
Power: 140/200
Armor: 85/200
Agility: 150/200
Luck: 15/200
Totals: 390/800

Thanks to a special delivery, Stink Bomb arrived!  I was ecstatic as I had pretty much decided the chances of getting lucky at Target were slim-to-none.  That said, I still tried and it paid off big time!  A super nice employee checked the back and found 1 Stink Bomb and 2 Rubble Rousers in a locked case, in the back.  I took the Stink Bomb and 1 Rubble Rouser...someone else can have the other.  Surprisingly she came out with Hoot Loop and not Spy Rise, who has been reported to be the easiest to come by...That said, I'm not complaining..2 of the 3 have been obtained!

Stink Bomb looks really cool...I am a big fan of the LIFE Element logo on the backside of his vest.  He looks to have a bit of Stealth Elf in him with the martial arts background and Sneak ability...Plus, it looks like he has the chance to be very quick.  Daphney from Twitter has already expressed interest in getting a 2nd Stink Bomb because his paths are so good.

If you are still trying Target you might try for the "locked case" route...it is worth a shot.  The girl at the front said people had been stealing the Skylanders so who knows, it could have been a local "fix" or perhaps something from a top down directive.

I'm not sure how long of a window Target has for the timed exclusive, but it shouldn't be more than a few weeks and I am hopeful that they get stock to justify their timed window, or that we see a nice stock appear at other retailers when the window expires.

I can't stress enough not to rush out and pay 2-4x retail for these guys.  Give it a few weeks and they will likely be common place.  There are more SF Portal Masters out there now after Christmas, but keep in mind not everyone is informed and acts immediately.  If you are diligent and stay in-the-know, you will usually come out on top.  All I can say is good luck!  I am very excited to get this guy on the Portal and see how he performs.  At E3 I saw a clip with Stink Bomb and Night Shift...it looked like they made a very nice pairing (this was backroom stuff btw, no filming).

I will try to get the introduction video up BEFORE the backlog...perhaps this weekend.

Skylanders Giants Scorpion Striker Battle Pack: Unboxing

Unboxing Scorpion Striker Battle Pack with Zap and Hot Dog

What? Scorpion Striker Battle Pack

Where Did You Get It? GameStop

What Did It Cost?  $24.99 plus tax

What Is Included?  Series 2 Zap, Hot Dog, Scorpion Striker Catapult, Sticker Sheet, and Web Codes

What Lights Up?  The Ball end of the catapult...it has an amber glow that radiates from it

What Was Stock Like?  Very limited! If you did not pre-order, I would not bank on getting this right away.  Before you panic, I imagine the next shipment will come pretty soon and if you really want it, you shouldn't have much trouble landing it.  That said, it might pay off to try and order it from GameStop.com or check with your local store to hold one etc.

Quick Character Info

Zap, Series 2, Water Element

Slogan: "Ride the Lightning!"

Card Stats:

Power/Strength: 55/150
Defense/Armor: 80/150
Speed/Agility: 80/150
Luck: 70/150
Totals: 285/600

Zap's Introduction and Heroic Challenge

Hot Dog, Fire Element, New Skylander

Slogan: "See Spot Burn!"

Card Stats:

Power/Strength: 85/150
Defense/Armor: 50/150
Speed/Agility: 70/150
Luck: 80/150
Totals: 285/600

Hot Dog's Introduction and Heroic Challenge

Scorpion Striker Catapult, Magic Item

The catapult's ball-like projectile lights up from within and radiates an amber glow...much like the Golden Dragonfire Cannon.

The catapult will work as a magic item in the game and will also unlock new battle arenas.  After recording the Intro and Heroic Challenge of Zap, I checked out the Scorpion Striker.  It unlocks:

-Cliff Dive Crags Battle Arena
-Metal Hive Battle Arena

If I get a chance when someone is over I'll try to record some PvP at the new arenas.  As is, it is hard for 1 person to do much worth watching there...I still say Giants should have had Single Player options in Battle Mode.

Conclusion

Wow!  This feels like an accomplishment since with Hot Dog, we finally have all of the new Skylanders available in their standard pose.  I am excited to see him in action as his story was pretty good.  I was very excited for Zap, but the voice on Skylanders.com is far from what I would have expected him to sound like...I am hoping that won't sway me in the game.  Zap is someone I have really looked forward to as I will finally be able to try the other path as he was one of a small handful of Skylanders that had what looked like 2 great paths.

If you did not pre-order I would monitor GameStop.com and check with your local store on the next delivery.  For all we know it could come Monday of next week.  That said, based on what I saw tonight I would not bank on picking the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack up this weekend if you did not pre-order.

That said, this will only be a timed exclusive to GameStop so worse come to worse other outlets (Toys'R'Us, Walmart, and Target, etc) should have this Battle Pack in a few weeks.

Good luck fellow Portal Masters!

Scorpion Striker Battle Pack with Zap and Hot Dog

A few days ago GameStop announced that they would be getting the highly anticipated Scorpion Striker Battle Pack as a timed exclusive...

Basically what that means to you is that GameStop will be your only option for picking up the Battle Pack for the first 30 days or so.

The Battle Pack, as with the previous, will retail for $24.99...don't pay more than that!

I know the screen grab below is small, but if you click on it you can see the release date of New Years Day and their bragging rights of having it a full month before anyone else.

Check it out:

This shouldn't be too big of a surprise given that they had (and still have) the "Golden" Dragonfire Cannon Battle Pack (other stores have the standard issue, or non-"golden" Dragonfire Cannon Battle Pack).

Several people across the net picked this combo of Zap and Hot Dog out as the previous battle pack featured contrasting elements (ie Undead and Life by way of Chop Chop and Shroomboom).

Why were so many able to predict this combo?  Simple.

We already have the other 7 new Skylanders out, so only Hot Dog remained.  Similarly, we already have Slam Bam and Gill Grunt from the reposed Water Element so that left Zap (Wham-Shell is not getting a repose).

That said, still cool to predict it.

And just fyi, the way we knew of the "catapult" ahead of time was a few pictures from a tour of the Toys for Bob studio where it was sitting next to both the standard issue Dragonfire Cannon and GameStop Exclusive Golden Dragonfire Cannon!

The Scorpion Striker should unlock a new arena and possibly some re-skins AND serve as a magic item for gameplay.

The big draw is of course going to be Hot Dog as this will be our first chance to play the new Fire Element Skylander!

I have to be honest and say that I am very excited to obtain the S2 Zap.  If you recall from my SSA Upgrade vids, Zap is one of the Skylanders I was very torn on picking an upgrade path.  This time around I can take the other path first and then decide which I truly like better.  The coolest thing about S2 Zap will of course be his Wow Pow Power AND the ability to switch upgrade paths...

I nearly ordered this when the link went live, BUT that would mean I had to pay freight and wait on it.  That is probably not a horrible set up given the unknown of winter weather (ie will it be 60 and clear 1-1-13, or will it be 25 and icy).

That said, I will probably run by my favorite GameStop later tonight and pre-order there.  I don't think it will be hard to come by...I've yet to see the Golden Dragonfire Cannon Battle Pack out-of-stock at any GameStop or their website.

I guess if bad weather prevents me from getting it on release day, it will be paid for and awaiting my arrival to join the Skylander force!

If you want to pre-order the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack from GameStop, you can click here.

I hope to do the Weekly Update and I'll let you know if I get the pre-order tonight!

UPDATE 12/6/2012

I went in to GameStop tonight and locked up the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack.  The big news is I got a 100% Confirmation on the 1/1/13 Street Date!

Sadly, I also got 100% confirmation that they know nothing on when Wave 3 might hit.

UPDATE 1/9/2013

As many have said/reported across the net, GameStop.com changed the release date on their place holder for the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack to 1/10/2013.

You can see a screen grab here:

Perhaps the bigger story than the one-day push back is that you can't pre-order the item anymore!  What this means for those who did not pre-order remains to be seen...That said, if you want it and planned to pick it up without a pre-order I would advise you to act fast.  With this one getting pushed back 3 times now, it could very easily be an item we see stocked and then exhausted.  That said, it could also be sold out Day 1 and then GameStops everywhere could get a full stock within a week...the bottom line is we just don't know at this point.

The BIGGER NEWS, however, came to me at 12:25 PM via text message.

It says:

"GameStop: Your Skylanders Giants order avail Fri PM.  Bring your trades to reduce price.  Info# xxx-xxx-xxxx. End txt msgs reply STOP"

That is the exact transmission, minus me omitting the number with x's.  And that is straight from the source, to someone who pre-ordered.  I now have no reason to believe the Battle Pack will be there today (as expected), tomorrow (as the website indicates), but rather FRIDAY, JANUARY, 11TH, 2013 as their text message and direct communication indicates.

That is a bit of a bummer, but I will try to get up there Friday.  I usually make my rounds in the evening the night before, so it is kind of throwing me for a loop...Sad thing is, with the stock possibly being very limited I don't want to wait and find that my pre-order was accidentally sold...crazier things happen.

Anyway, my best guess right now is straight from GameStop...we can all expect to get our hands on the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack this Friday.

If more dealys or bad news arise I will post it here...if Friday holds true I will have an unboxing up to end the vicious cycle!  Stay tuned!