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<\/a>While we\u2019re waiting on the fate of the subscription, I thought it\u2019d be interesting to take a look at the upcoming case assortments for DC Universe Classics Wave 20. Mattel mentioned that the new DC line would offer them some flexibility and DCUC20 might just be a window into their intentions. <\/p>\nWe don\u2019t talk a lot about case assortments here at IAT. The information isn\u2019t contained in our checklists and we don\u2019t really mention it in the reviews either. That\u2019s largely because it hasn\u2019t really been very important to the line. There are (usually) clear gaps in time between the waves and with the exception of a flirtation with \u201cBest of\u201d cases here and there, Mattel doesn’t tend to mix things up too much. At least not yet, Wave 20 is shaping up to be a little different from what we’re used to. <\/p>\n
The first two columns contain the assortment as it originally shipped and the first revision case. As you can see, you could build Kalibak with one successful<\/em> visit to your favorite retailer. The third column is something I’m currently calling \u201cCoE\u201d. It stands for \u201cCase of Each”, it’s a theoretical number that shows how many of each character a store would receive if they had one case of each assortment. Since each figure brings its own level of demand and because there’s no equality in case assortments (one case could be way overproduced while another is underproduced) it’s not always a reliable indicator for pegwarmers or rarity, but, as you’ll see, there is still some correlation between a figure’s CoE score and how difficult they were to find. <\/p>\n While Wave Seven’s split cases ended up giving DC pegs a cold chill well into 2010, Wave 8<\/a> didn’t do collectors any favors either. The chart below shows the breakdowns for Wave 8. I dropped the All-Stars to make it easier to read and added the Wave 8 figures that were included in \u201cBest of Wave 3\u201d and \u201cBest of Wave 4\u201d. Looking at those CoE numbers, you might guess some folks had trouble finding Gentlemen Ghost… <\/p>\n![](\"truetorial\/2011\/wavesix.jpg\")
Before I jump into that Wave 20 model, I wanted to do a quick rundown of how the case assortments have been handled over the last couple years. I think it will help if we all know where we’ve been. In 2008, cases for DCUC Waves 1-6 each contained all the figures in the wave (with the exception of the variants which were substituted in specific ratios). There were multiple case assortments, but the only changes involved switching which figure was doubled up. To the right is a graphic showing the two case assortments for Wave 6<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"truetorial\/2011\/waveseven.jpg\")
The second year, Mattel added All-Star figures to the cases and split the new figures up across two assortments. To the left is a chart for Wave 7<\/a>, which was most notable for giving us the eternal pegwarmer, Captain Cold. As you can see, both Flash & Captain Cold have a CoE of 3 making them the most plentiful figures from this wave. Flash is an A-list character and sold through with no difficulty, but Captain Cold (obviously) didn’t fare as well. In addition to him being a “3” in Wave 7 caes, Captain Cold was included in \u201cBest of Wave One\u201d which raised his \u201cCoE\u201d number to four in the first half of 2009. With that in mind, it’s little wonder he was a nationwide pegwarmer.<\/p>\n![](\"truetorial\/2011\/waveeight.jpg\")
Now, at this point you might be asking how does Captain Cold being a “4” makes him a pegwarmer while Gentlemen Ghost being a “2” makes him rare. The first thing to keep in mind is that the CoE number is difficult to use when comparing two separate waves. Cold was a pegwarmer because he ended up being a 3 when most of the figures from his wave were 2s. Similarly, Gentlemen Ghost was a 2 in a wave of 3s and 4s. The impact of the CoE score is also better illustrated with larger numbers – let’s say that each of the case assortments that contained Wave 8 figures was produced 10,000 times. For Wave 8, that would mean there were 40,000 Parademons and 40,000 Dr. Fates, but only 20,000 Gentlemen Ghosts. The CoE numbers may be small, but they have a large impact. And, as I mentioned above, a low CoE score can be overcome by other factors. Demand could be similarly low (when a low CoE would make sense) or the case containing the low CoE figure could be ordered in greater quantities than the other cases, balancing things out. Though, if Wave 8A had been produced in higher quantities Gentlemen Ghost’s wider availability would\u2019ve also resulted in a veritable glut of Parademons and Dr. Fates.<\/p>\n![](\"truetorial\/2011\/waveeighteen.jpg\")
Anyway, the split case model continued through the rest of 2009 and 2010 (with the exception of the two solid case Wal-Mart waves), but things changed again in 2011. This year saw the return of solid cases and the number of figures per case drop to eight. Wave 16<\/a> still shipped in two assortments, but only the All-Stars changed and either case could complete Bane. Wave 18<\/a> had no All-Stars, instead opting to double up on different figures in each assortment. I haven\u2019t seen a second case listing for Wave 19 yet, but I\u2019m guessing it will ship similarly. <\/p>\n
![](\"truetorial\/2011\/wavetwenty.jpg\")
According to