ranzware
When I was just a boy, my father dutifully collected a set of Natwest pigs, hopeful that one day they may be worth enough for my first rent payment. Spoiler: They were not. Anyway, according to reports (via HKEPC), MSI has launched a promotion whereby Taiwanese residents who collect nine Lucky Dragon figurines can exchange them for an RTX 5080 at retailer Taiwan Original Price House, which is much better than the first month’s payment on a soggy British flat.
The catch? The primary way of obtaining them is by, err, buying a particular launch edition of MSI’s RTX 50-series GPU range, which is no easy feat at this point given the MSRP markups and shortage of stock faced by would-be RTX 50-series buyers. The figures are included with MSI’s Vanguard range of RTX 50-series GPUs, one per unit, and amount to ten in total—nine cute dragons and one slightly ominous Moai-statue-headed special edition model.
I told you it was ominous. Regardless, this has apparently created something of a second-hand market for the dragons-do-dress-up figures, as a Taiwanese buyer who alerted others to the deal has reportedly offered NT$4,000 for a particular model. That’s around $121 at the current exchange rate—although should this particular GPU-seeking hopeful use it to complete their set, it represents a mere fraction of the cost of an RTX 5080, even at its $999 MSRP.
According to Videocardz, a large number of these Vanguard RTX 50-series GPUs were sent out to reviewers, although apparently we missed out by reviewing an MSI RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio instead of the Vanguard edition. Had we known there was a potentially valuable figurine included, we would have… reviewed the same card, to be honest. Journalistic integrity and all that, but who doesn’t love some extra tat?
Especially when there’s a very expensive and hard-to-obtain GPU on the line. This whole endeavour has caused me to root around on my figurine-strewn shelves, certain in the knowledge that I had an MSI dragon figurine somewhere from various launch events I’ve attended over the past few years. And lo and behold I do:
It’s this little fella, and he’s worth precisely nothing. Well, that seems unfair—he’s certainly worth a place on my heart, and indeed my shelves. He’s not part of the promotion though, so back he goes, next to my well-thumbed sci-fi novel collection and various dubiously-titled books from my partner’s political science course.
Sigh. Better luck next time, ey? Still, if you’re reading and you do happen to own a Dragon Lucky figurine, it might be time to list it on the second-hand market. You could be sitting on a goldmine, or perhaps, the hopes and dreams of a Taiwanese gamer looking for a substantial upgrade.
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Kurt Indovina
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