I've always liked the metal minis. However, for gaming the prepainted minis are much easier. I can carry several hundred prepainteds because they are so light. I've got way to many hero types and have been concentrating getting more monster types.

I still paint the odd metal mini and have recently finished painting all of my Descent minis. Having the Descent pieces painted really makes a difference. I was motivated into painting them after the first game session using unpainted Descent minis on my newly cast and painted Descent board.