Catalog image | Amazon image
It's a shame this doesn't come out until February next year.
If all the panels are similar to the ones shown, I'd prefer it to the current DM screen. Not that the art on the current one is bad, but it's all caves and monsters and very red and dark; that might work for some people (in fact, it would probably be less distracting for the players, too) but sometimes my purchasing decisions are based on whether or not I want the book (or product) on my shelf looking pretty.I'm also not sure how the two scenes would blend together over the panels, and I prefer the one on the left. My aesthetic preferences don't seem to agree with the majority here, though, and Amazon tends to get the final cover.
Anyways, not a product that many people would be excited about, but I like pretty things.
I think it's good to have as the old one is not as nice as those pictures and some of the information on it has been errata'd.
I'm about 90% certain the Amazon image is just placeholder art (it's Ralph Horsley's piece from the back cover of MM2) and the Wayne Reynolds art on the Catalogue image (with the iconics from the new novels) is the actual art for the screen.
Actually neither is likely the artwork on the actual screen. I own three WotC screens (Eberron 3.5, D&D 4e, and Star Wars Saga), and all of them came in folder-like cover sleeves that were mostly unrelated to the actual artwork on the screen itself.
It may be part of one panel, but it's definitely representative of the actual art. This would be difficult if the panels are by different artists, though.
My bad, It's been a while since I got that screen, and I didn't save the sleeve. Also as the "cover" image is relegated to the far corner of the screen it's easy to overlook.
Although I did save the shrinkwrap for Bloodsand Arena, since it was baggy enough that I can slip the cards and booklets back in.
It's not a big deal. In retrospect, the fact that I save everything except the shrinkwrap should probably be embarrassing.
Actually I'm something of a packrat myself. I still have the packaging for most of my Transformers toys. I also used to save the packs my D&D and SW minis came in, though I would collapse them, until WotC changed their design to make it next to impossible to open them without destroying them. I even have a few Amazon shipping boxes laying around, some of them filled with plastic twisty ties and other useless pieces of trash. The cover sleeves for my DM screens just happen to be one of the few things I was able trash without a second thought.
Does anyone know whether the info on the DM's side will be substantially different from that of the current 4E screen? Or will it just be updated to match the errata?
It's longer than the current DM's screen and will apparently have more stuff on the back, including info on running skill challenges.
Also, I was right about the art.
