Monday, June 27, 2016

Siege Warfare: Greco-Persian Wars on Kickstarter

Here's a link to the second set in the Siege Warfare series.

Normally, I have to go work to find new card games on Kickstarter, but because I backed the first game, they sent a notice.  I love it when things are easy.

This is a non-collectible card game, with fixed decks, deck building, and all that good stuff.  If you like LCGs, this definitely fits.

I can't speak to the game play, unfortunately.  I took the decks I had and played three games with them, having... kind of a mediocre time- BUT, in each game, I found that I was playing a MAJOR rule wrong, and each change has made the game more enjoyable.  Like, I still have yet to play this game correctly, but will likely give it another shot this year. 

Why all the mistakes?  Honestly, this isn't that complicated a game, rules-wise, but the rulebook is fairly vague in some places.  The designers have been very good about responding on BGG (which is how I found out mistakes).  I suspect there's a good game here..I just haven't played it yet :)

Back Issues: Inquest Gamer 48

This issue released April 1999.

Babylon 5

Killer Deck: Cheese Wizard
Starting Hand:
1 Catherine Sakai
1 Defense in Depth
1 Jeffrey Sinclair
1 ISN
Groups:
ISN
Characters:
1 Brother Theo
1 Catherine Sakai
2 Human Agents
1 Human Aide
1 Jeffrey Sinclair
1 Mary Ann Cramer
1 Susan Ivanova
1 Zathras'
Agendas:
2 Defense in Depth
1 Managed Growth
1 Peace in Our Time
Planets:
1 Earth
1 Mars Colony
3 Military Outpost
1 Proxima III
1 Sigma 957
1 Sleeping Z'ha'dum
1 Transfer Point Io
1 Z'ha'dum Awakened
Conflicts:
1 The Great Machine
3 Trade Pacts
Events:
2 For My People
2 Liberating Resources
3 Long Term Investment
3 Meditation
3 Short Term Goals
1 Subliminal Influence
3 Trade Windfall
2 Universe Today Feature
Fleets:
3 Picket Fleet
Enhancements:
1 Upgraded Defense

This is meant to be a non-interactive deck that just amasses power quickly with Defense in Depth, trying to minimize the amount of time it deals with the other players.  With Defense in Depth having different wording in Deluxe Edition, some of the locations would need to be changed.

Non-Killer Theme Deck: Zathras for Hire
Starting Hand:
1 Jeffrey Sinclair
1 Liberating Resources
1 Power Brokers
1 Zathras'
Characters:
1 Dan Randall
1 Jeffrey Sinclair
1 Mary Ann Cramer
1 N'Grath
1 Rogue Soul Hunter
1 Soul Hunter
1 Stephen Franklin
1 Susan Ivanova
3 Z'athras
3 Za'thras
3 Zat'hras
3 Zath'ras
3 Zathr'as
3 Zathras'
Conflicts:
2 Trade Pacts
Events:
1 For My People
2 Liberating Resources
2 Long Term Investment
2 Meditation
2 Short Term Goals
Groups:
1 ISN
1 Power Brokers
Agendas:
1 Managed Growth
Locations:
1 Earth
1 Mars Colony
1 Proxima III
1 Transfer Point Io
1 Sigma 957

Heh, that's pretty funny.  This one tries to get people to give you power using Power Broker.  This is designed to be more amusing than anything else.

Legend of the Burning Sands CCG

Basic Training for the game- including an introduction to the game, strategies, and a sample decklist.  Here is the decklist:

Dueling Bones:
Stronghold:
Jackal City of Bones
City Sections:
2 Thieves Quarter
2 Merchant's Quarter
1 The Maze
Holdings:
3 Doctor
3 Library
3 Belly Dancer
3 Harem
3 Dens of Inequity
3 Gold Merchant
Story Cards:
3 The Tale Of Selqet's Capture
Followers:
3 Bodyguards
Items:
3 Dhul Figar Knife
Actions:
2 Ambush
2 No Escape
2 Handful of Sand
3 Contest of Wills
3 Knife Fight
3 Allies in the Crowd
Heroes:
3 Bonepicker
3 Wardah the Urchin-Mistress
3 Seff Seven-Fingers
3 Afshan Jarr
3 Yaminah

Jackal Dueling... which I guess is uncommon?

Magic: The Gathering

Article on the Top 10 cards from Urza's Legacy.  Top Cards?  Ring of Gix (Defense of the Heart was 2nd).  Scrapheap was labeled as the worst card in the set.  As of me writing this, the most expensive card in the set is Grim Monolith (~30 dollars).  It didn't make the top 10 of Inquest's list.

Killer Deck: The New Sligh
4 Incinerate
4 Shock
3 Sonic Burst
4 Ball Lightning
2 Fireslinger
2 Goblin Patrol
4 Iron Claw Orcs
4 Jackal Pup
4 Mogg Fanatic
3 Mogg Flunkie
4 Cursed Scroll
18 Mountain
4 Wasteland
Sideboard:
2 Boil
4 Bottle Gnomes
3 Phyrexian Furnace
4 Pyroblast
2 Shattering Pulse

Not really anything earth shattering here, just a Sligh deck with the legal cards at the time.

Non-Killer Theme Deck, based on Planet of the Apes
3 Apes of Rath
3 Barbary Apes
1 Gargantuan Gorilla
2 Gorilla Berserkers
2 Gorilla Chieftain
1 Gorilla Pack
2 Gorilla Warrior
3 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Giant Growth
1 Seedling Charm
1 Overrrun
1 Simoon
4 Gorilla Shaman
4 Kird Ape
2 Raging Gorilla
1 Ravenous Baboon
1 Agility
1 Bestial Fury
1 Gorilla War Cry
3 Guerilla Tactics
9 Forest
3 Karplusan Forest
8 Mountain
3 Snow-covered Forest

Deck-Building 101: Discard Deck "Under Duress":
2 Nevinyrral's Disk
4 Abyssal Specter
4 Dauthi Horror
4 Mindstab Thrull
3 Skittering Skirge
4 Dark Ritual
3 Diabolic Edict
3 Drain Life
4 Duress
2 Expunge
2 Necropotence
2 Persecute
2 Stalking Stones
19 Swamp
2 Wasteland

Top 10 Magic Cards:
  1. Stroke of Genius
  2. Cursed Scroll
  3. Time Spiral
  4. Living Death
  5. Ball Lightning
  6. Recurring Nightmare
  7. Tradewind Riders
  8. Dual Lands
  9. Oath of Druids
  10. Armageddon

Middle-Earth Collectible Card Game

Kuhlmeyer's World Championship Middle-Earth Deck:
Starting Characters:
Bilbo
Firiel
Threlin
Ioreth
Halbarad
Surion
Odoacer
Belegorn
Gloin
Balin
Starting Minor Items:
1 Open To the Summons
1 Thrall-ring
Starting Stage Resources:
1 Hidden Haven
1 Wizard's Myrmidon
1 Thrall Of The Voice
Characters:
1 Ciryaher
1 Radagast
Resources:
1 Glove of Radagast
1 Noble Steeds
2 Noble Hound
2 Elf-song
1 Lordly Presence
2 Crooked Promptings
2 Weigh All Things to a Nicety
2 Smoke Rings
2 Voices of Malice
2 Marvels Told
1 Blackbole
2 Hall Of Fire
1 Misty Mountain Wargs
1 Palantir of Orthanc
1 Palantir of Elostirion
2 Dark Tryst
1 Guarded Haven
1 Radagast's Black Bird
2 Great Patron
1 An Untimely Brood
1 Legacy of Smiths
Hazards:
1 Hoarmurath of Dar
1 Assassin
1 Rain-drake
1 Whole Villages Roused
2 Awaken Defenders
2 FEAR! FIRE! FOES!
1 Foolish Words
1 Nature's Revenge
3 Sellswords Between Charters
1 The Moon Is Dead
1 Stirring Bones
1 Dwarven Travelers
1 Mouth of Sauron
1 Khamul The Easterling
1 Uvatha The Horseman
1 Adunaphel
2 Chill Douser
3 River
1 Revealed to All Watchers
1 Tidings Of Bold Spies
1 Smaug At Home

This era was apparently dominated by Fallen Wizards, and this deck is no different.  Apparently Fallen Pallando decks were also popular at this time.

Top 10 CCGs:
  1. Magic: The Gathering
  2. Star Wars
  3. Legend of the Five Rings
  4. Star Trek CCG
  5. Highlander
  6. Babylon 5
  7. Doomtown
  8. Battletech
  9. Legend of the Burning Sands
  10. Xena
Well, I have cards for all of these except Highlander and Legend of the Burning Sands.  Guess I know what I need to do.


Other Things
A mention is made of an 'upcoming' Chronicles of Amber CCG, designed by Eric Lang and published by Nebula Games.  It doesn't seem to have ever come out, which is a shame, as the news article describes it as being very story-heavy, and focused around actually having an on-going campaign with your friends.  Really a shame to not see this one get published.

Another mention- Shi: The Card Game, from Thunder Castle Games (publishers of the Highlander CCG).  This was supposed to be a game similar to Highlander, but from a comic universe.  Another one that doesn't seem to have actually seen the light of day :(.

A for-fun article about CCG expansions that we'd never see.  These were the expansions included:
  • Star Wars CCG: Spaceballs (funny enough, a fan expansion for the current Star Wars LCG is being made: https://teamsandcrawla.net/games/star-wars-the-card-game/team-sandcrawla-to-produce-custom-content/).
  • Magic: Mythology 
  • Doomtown: Hollywood (including John Wayne characters, Clint Eastwood, etc)
  • Legend of the Five Rings: Age of Machine (example card is Mirumoto Maru, the Dragon Clan Battleship).
  • Babylon 5: First Ones
  • Star Trek: The Motion Pictures (and then three years later, it actually came out.)
This was also Rick Swan's last issue.  Truly a sad day for Inquest :(.

    Saturday, June 25, 2016

    My Card Gaming, Week Ending 6/25/16

    Games played:
    • Game of Thrones, 2nd Edition - 3 Games, two against Dan, one against... I don't remember his name.  Used Baratheon Fealty.  Was about to get Stannis out early every game, and was able to hold on long enough in each game to get a lot of kneel going, and my opponent couldn't recover. Three wins! 
    • L5R - 2 games.  Oni vs Phoenix Dragon deck again.  I really need to build some new decks.  At this point, I'm fairly certain the Oni deck works great.  The Phoenix deck seems to hit a wall, but I need to try it against a few other things to see what the problem is.
    • Star Wars LCG - 2 games, both against Dan, using my Jedi control deck against his Scum and Villainy Capture Control deck.  Split the games.  First game, I came out swinging, second game I petered out a little early, then had a turn where I drew no characters.  Tough to recover from that.
    • Star Wars TCG - 1 game.  Finally got around to trying out my starter decks.  Game seems a bit fun.  I'll take a look at the IDC releases, see if this is something I want to invest in.
    • Warhammer 40K: Conquest - 1 game.  Played against Dan using my Anrakyr the Traveller deck against a Broderick Worr deck.  I took three of the first four planets, and that was enough to win.  Our final battle was a big one, where he tossed all his resources into winning... and then I started bring some Decaying Warrior Squads back, and he was out of tricks and bodies to handle them.
    • Xena CCG - 1 game.  Played a practice game.  I think this is something I could teach my fiance, so wanted to make sure I knew the rules (not that they are all that complicated).
    New acquisitions:
    • Adventure Time Card Wars - Got the Princess Bubblegum vs Lumpy Space Princess box.  I know nothing about this show, but the game itself was on clearance, so I figured I'd grab it.
    • City of Heroes - grabbed a bunch of cards off of ebay.
    • Epic - bought the Green pack for Tyrants.  Almost have two of each of the packs now.
    • Mythos CCG - Bought a starter, so now I can finally learn the rules. 
    • Star Trek CCG/Star Wars CCG - same as always, grabbed a few singles.

    Monday, June 20, 2016

    Back Issues: Inquest Gamer 46

    This issue released in February 1999.

    Babylon 5 CCG:
    Basic Training article was included covering basic strategies, ideas for deck building, and an example deck, "Intriguing Possibilities":
    Starting Hand:
    1 Londo Mollari
    1 Catherine Sakai
    1 Defense in Depth
    1 Picket Fleet
    Aftermath:
    1 Exploit Opportunities
    1 Personal Involvement
    1 Successful Manipulation
    Agendas:
    1 Infiltrate and Exploit
    1 Knowledge is Power
    Locations:
    1 Centauri Beta I
    1 Centauri Prime
    1 Immolan V
    1 Ragesh III
    1 Tolonius VII
    Characters:
    1 Adira Tyree
    1 Ambitious Captain
    3 Centauri Agent
    2 Centauri Telepath
    1 Drigo
    1 Emperor Turhan
    2 Human Agent
    1 Imperial Telepaths
    1 Lady Morella
    1 Lord Kiro
    1 Lord Refa
    1 Lyndisty
    1 Mary Ann Cramer
    2 Minbari Agent
    1 Minister Malachi
    2 Narn Agent
    1 Urza Jaddo
    1 Viz Cotto
    1 Zath'ras
    Group:
    1 ISN
    1 Ranger Operations
    Conflict:
    1 Attacking Pawns
    1 Forced Impairment
    1 Kidnapping
    1 Prey On the Weak
    Fleets:
    1 Picket Fleet
    2 Utility Fleet
    Enhancements:
    1 PPG Rifle
    1 The Eye
    Events:
    3 Accident
    3 Level the Playing Field
    1 Political Realignment
    1 Subliminal Influence

    Legend of the Burning Sands:
    "War By Attrition"
    Stronghold:
    The Hidden Keep Of The Assassins
    City Sections:
    1 Shadows Within the Walls
    1 The Lands of the Senpet
    1 The Merchant Quarter
    1 The River Quarter
    Holdings:
    3 Belly Dancer
    1 Blacksmith
    3 Den of Inquiry
    1 Doctor
    1 Library
    1 Spices
    3 Wheat Fields
    Followers:
    1 Bodyguard
    Story Card:
    1 The Tale of the Last Raid
    Actions:
    3 Contest of Wills
    3 Desert Spring
    2 Faith
    1 Jackal Ambush
    3 Knife Fight
    1 Let Him Bleed
    3 Lost To The Sands
    2 Poison
    1 Qolat Master
    2 Wisdom of the Stars
    Items:
    1 Black Steel Sword
    2 Dhul Fiqar Knife
    Heroes:
    2 Adnan
    3 Chandra
    1 Eyeslicer
    2 Faida
    2 Fatima
    2 Haroun
    2 Old Man of the Mountain
    2 Sabina
    1 The Eye of Night


    A theme deck was also included!  This is called "Ever-Ready Heroes", where you basically are as aggressive as possible, without worrying, as your heroes will be available.
    Stronghold:
    The Empire of the Senpet
    Heroes:
    2 Caliph
    2 Ghiyath
    2 Indira
    3 Nepherus
    2 San'a
    3 Tasir
    City Sections:
    1 Duqaq's School of Astronomy
    1 Jewel of the Desert
    1 Merchant Quarter
    1 River Quarter
    Holdings:
    3 Belly Dancer
    3 Copper Mine
    3 Den of Inquity
    3 Library
    3 Spices
    3 Wheat Fields
    Actions:
    3 Contest of Wills
    3 Desert Spring
    3 Knife Fight
    3 One Dinari
    3 Strange Bedfellows
    2 The Sahir And the Goddess
    3 Voice of the Ten Thousand Gods
    Items:
    2 Book of the Dead
    Spells:
    3 Curse of the Rot Within
    3 Jinn of Desire

    Magic the Gathering:

    Killer Deck: Counter Phoenix
    4 Bottle Gnomes
    4 Nevinyrral's Disk
    1 Capsize
    4 Counterspell
    4 Forbid
    1 Force Spike
    3 Intuition
    2 Mana Leak
    1 Recall
    4 Shard Phoenix
    2 Incinerate
    4 Shock
    13 Island
    11 Mountain
    3 Reflecting Pool
    Sideboard:
    2 Arcane Laboratory
    1 Earthquake
    2 Energy Field
    3 Fylamarid
    2 Hydroblast
    3 Pyroblast
    2 Shattering Pulse

    Might be kind of fun, but feels realllllly slow.  How's it going to handle surviving long enough to get those Shard Phoenixes dominating.

    Non-Killer Theme Deck: Greek Mythology
    Gods:
    1 Autumn Willow (Artemis)
    1 Errand of Duty (Hermes)
    1 Hyperion Blacksmith (Hephaestus)
    1 Ihsan's Shade (Hades)
    1 Keeper Of The Light (Apollo)
    1 Lady Caleria (Athena)
    1 Lady  Evangela (Aphrodite)
    1 Lade Of The Mountain (Hera)
    1 Lord of Atlantis (Poseidon)
    1 Lord Of Tresserhorn (Zeus)
    1 Renegade Warlord (Ares)
    Monsters:
    1 Beasts of Bogardan (Cerberus)
    1 Brass-Talon Chimera
    1 Centaur Archer
    1 Hulking Cyclops
    1 Hurloon Minotaur
    1 Infernal Medusa
    1 Mesa Pegasus
    1 Mountain Titan
    1 Petra Sphinx
    1 Polar Kraken
    1 Seasinger (Siren)
    1 Rock Hydra
    1 Screeching Harpy
    1 Shanodin Dryads (Nymphs)
    1 Thundering Giant
    1 Willow Satyr
    Events:
    1 Armageddon
    1 Coils of Medusa
    1 Flood
    1 Pegasus Stampede
    1 Prophecy
    1 Righteousness (Homer flavor text)
    1 Siren's Call
    1 Wrath of God (any one of them)
    Lands:
    3 Forest
    3 Island
    7 Mountain
    1 Mountain Stronghold (Mount Olympus)
    7 Plains
    1 Reflecting Pool (Oracle)
    3 Swamp

    I always liked these theme decks.  A fun change of pace from the standard 'win at all costs' style of deck.

    Instructions on how to build a deck, in five steps.  Theme, Colors, Creatures, Spells, Lands.  They demonstrate by building a Life Gain deck (called "Alive and Kicking"):
    1 Bottle Gnomes
    1 Phyrexian Processor
    1 Wall of Junk
    1 Souldrinker
    2 Hatred
    2 Necropotence
    1 Keeper Of the Light
    1 Knight of Dawn
    1 Order of the White Shield
    1 Paladin en-Vec
    1 Pegasus Charger
    1 Sanctum Custodian
    1 Sanctum Guardian
    1 Serra Avatar
    2 Soltari Priest
    4 Soul Warden
    2 Staunch Defenders
    1 Wall of Essence
    1 Angelic Chorus
    2 Congregate
    2 Disenchant
    1 Healing Salve
    2 Peace of Mind
    1 Worthy Cause
    2 Wrath of God
    4 City of Brass
    4 Drifting Meadow
    11 Plains
    5 Swamp

    Top 10 Magic cards at the time:
    1. Stroke of Genius
    2. Cursed Scroll
    3. Time Spiral
    4. Dual Lands
    5. Armageddon
    6. Wrath of God
    7. Mox Diamond
    8. Serra Avatar
    9. Living Death
    10. Oath of Druids

    Star Trek 1E:
    Bill Chien's World Champion Star Trek Deck:
    Seed Deck:
    Facilities:
    1 Chamber of Minister
    Doorways:
    1 Q's Tent
    2 Space-Time Portal
    1 HQ: Defensive Measures
    Dilemmas:
    2 Armus - Sticky Situation
    1 Borg Ship Dilemma
    2 Cardassian Trap
    3 Common Thief
    2 Dead End
    6 Hippocratic Oath
    1 Hologram Ruse
    3 Make Us Go
    1 Ooby Dooby
    3 Q
    1 Strict Dress Code
    Q's Tent:
    1 Assault Vessel
    1 Dr. Soong
    1 Genetronic Replicator
    1 HQ: Secure Homeworld
    1 Hugh
    1 Intermix Ratio
    1 Oof!
    1 Regenerate
    1 Revolving Door
    1 Scorched Hand
    1 The Devil
    1 The Traveler: Transcendance
    1 Treaty: Federation/Bajorn
    Draw Deck:
    1 Altovar
    2 Amanda Rogers
    1 Bareil Antos
    1 Bajoran Interceptor
    1 Dr. Soong
    1 Kai Opaka
    2 Kevin Uxbridge
    5 Kivas Fajo
    1 Mora Pol
    4 Q's Tent
    2 Q2
    1 Regenerate
    2 Revolving Door
    5 Soong-Type Android
    1 Shakaar Edon
    1 Surmak Ren
    1 The Emissary
    1 The Traveler
    5 Wormhole
    2 Wrong Door
    Missions:
    1 Aid Fugitives
    1 Alter Records
    1 Orb Negotiations
    1 Paxan Wormhole
    1 Relocate Settlers
    1 Wormhole Negotiations

    My Thoughts: Well, this deck definitely wouldn't be legal anymore (the Dilemma amounts aren't allowed).

    Star Wars CCG:
    Matt Potter's World Champion Dark Side Deck:
    Locations:
    1 Eriadu
    1 Desert
    1 Forest
    1 Jungle
    1 Spaceport Docking Bay
    1 Spaceport Prefect's Office
    1 Spaceport City
    1 Spaceport Street
    1 Swamp
    Objectives:
    Imperial Occupation
    Characters:
    4 2X-7KPK
    20 Eriadu Operatives
    1 Ree-Yees
    Creatures:
    2 Bubo
    Interrupts:
    6 Abyssin Ornament
    1 Control
    3 Ghhhk
    1 Lone Warrior
    1 Moment Of Triumph
    2 Monnok
    1 Twi'lek Advistor
    Effects:
    1 3,720 to 1
    1 Den of Thieves
    4 Sunsdown
    1 Well Guarded

    My Thoughts: Using Eriadu Operatives seems like a pretty effective way to go about things- but I'm not sure how this would work in the current environment.

    A series of articles outlining four basic strategies to make good decks for Star Wars was included.  I'll include these decks:
    "Land-Locked"
    Locations:
    1 Cloud City: Lower Corridor
    1 Jabba's Palace: Entrance Cavern
    2 Tatooine: Cantina
    1 Tatooine: Jundland Wastes
    1 Tatooine: Lars' Moisture Farm
    2 Tatooine: Mos Eisley
    1 Tatooine: Obi-Wan's Hutt (starting)
    1 Tatooine: Tosche Station
    Characters:
    1 Chewbacca
    1 Han Persona
    1 Leia Persona
    1 Luke Persona
    1 Obi-Wan Persona
    1 Tawss Khaa
    Weapons/Devices:
    1 Anakin's Lightsaber
    1 Bionic Hand
    1 Obi-Wan's Lightsaber
    Interrupts:
    3 Alter
    4 Control
    1 Don't Tread on Me
    1 Gift of the Mentor
    1 Han's Back
    1 Leia's Back
    1 Life Debt
    2 Luke's Back
    3 Nabrun Leids
    2 Return of A Jedi
    1 Rug Hug
    3 Sense
    1 Skywalkers
    1 Smoke Screen
    2 Sorry About The Mess
    1 The Force Is Strong With This One
    3 The Signal
    3 Tunnel Vision
    1 Warrior's Courage
    2 Weapon Levitation
    Effects:
    1 Disarmed
    1 Lightsaber Proficiency
    1 Mantellian Savrip
    1 Traffic Control

    "Spaced-Out"
    Locations:
    3 Clouds
    1 Corulag
    1 Hoth
    1 Kashyyyk
    1 Kessel
    1 Kiffex
    1 Tatooine
    1 Yavin IV (starting)
    Characters:
    1 Admiral Ozzel
    1 Danz Borin
    1 Darth Vader
    1 DS-61-2
    1 DS-61-3
    1 DS-61-4
    1 Grand Moff Tarkin
    1 Lieutenant Cabbel
    1 Officer Evax
    1 OS-72-10
    Startships:
    1 Avenger
    1 Bossk in Hound's Tooth
    1 Devastator
    2 Dreadnaught-Class Heavy Cruiser
    1 Obsidian 7
    1 Obsidian 8
    2 Obsidian Squadron TIE
    1 OS-72-1 in Obsidian 1
    1 OS-72-2 in Obsidian 2
    2 TIE Avenger
    Interrupts:
    4 Control
    4 Dark Maneuvers
    2 Gravity Shadow
    4 Tallon Roll
    3 Twi'lek Advisor
    Effects:
    1 Imperial Decree
    2 Lateral Damage
    2 Presence Of The Force
    1 Reactor Terminal
    1 There is No Try (starting)
    2 There'll Be Hell To Pay

    "Swamp Drain"
    Locations:
    4 Clouds
    1 Dagobah (starting)
    1 Dagobah: Bog Clearing
    1 Dagobah: Jungle
    1 Dagobah: Swamp
    1 Dagobah: Training Area
    1 Dagobah: Yoda's Hutt
    Characters:
    1 Figrin D'an
    3 Ithorians
    1 Obi-Wan Kenobi
    1 Princess Leia
    1 Son Of Skywalker
    2 Tibana Gas Miners
    1 Yoda
    Starships:
    2 Rebel Leaders
    5 Z-95 Headhunter
    Weapons/Devices:
    1 Anakin's Lightsaber
    2 Landing Claw
    1 Obi-Wan's Lightsaber
    Interrupts:
    5 Control
    2 Corellian Slip
    3 It Could Be Worse
    1 Luke's Back
    3 The Signal
    4 Tunnel Vision
    1 Yoda, You Seek Yoda
    Effects:
    1 Do, Or Do Not (starting)
    3 Encampment
    1 Lightsaber Proficiency
    1 Reflection
    2 Revolution
    Jedi Test:
    1 A Jedi's Strength
    1 Great Warrior

    "Force of Nature"
    Locations:
    1 Dagobah: Cave
    1 Death Star
    1 Jabba's Palace: Audience Chamber
    1 Jabba's Palace: Droid Workshop
    1 Jabba's Palace: Dungeon
    1 Jabba's Palace: Entrance Cavern
    1 Jabba's Palace: Rancor Pit
    1 Tatooine: Jabba's Palace (starting)
    Characters:
    1 Bane Malar
    1 Boba Fett
    1 Djas Phur
    5 Eg-6
    2 EV-9D9
    2 Gailid
    3 Gamorrean Guard
    1 Jabba the Hutt
    2 M'iiyoom Onith
    1 Prophetess
    1 Zuckuss
    Interrupts:
    5 A Dangerous Time
    3 Monnok
    6 Scanning Crew
    2 Surprise
    4 Twi'lek Advisor
    5 Voyeur
    Effects:
    1 Broken Concentration
    1 Expand the Empire (starting)
    2 Presence Of The Force
    1 Reactor Terminal
    1 Resistance
    1 Scum and Villainy

    Ten Best CCGs of All Time:
    I love top ten lists!  This one is is about the top ten by quality
    1. Magic: The Gathering
    2. Deadlands: Doomtown
    3. Legend of the Five Rings
    4. Star Wars CCG
    5. Middle-Earth
    6. Mythos
    7. Babylon 5
    8. Netrunner
    9. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle
    10. Kult
    My Thoughts: I've never played Kult or Mythos, but some day I will. Many of these are still around in some form.  MTG is doing quite well.  Doomtown, L5R, and Netrunner are (or will be) around as LCGs/ECGs.  Star Wars and Vampire have active player committees.

    Top Ten CCGs:
    1. Magic: The Gathering
    2. Star Wars CCG
    3. Legend of the Five Rings
    4. Star Trek CCG
    5. Battletech
    6. Babylon 5 CCG
    7. Doomtown
    8. Aliens/Predator
    9. Rage
    10. Highlander

    Final Thoughts:
    Lots of good stuff in this issue.  A great mix of CCGs, decks for a variety of games.  Just a good all-around read

    Saturday, June 18, 2016

    My Card Gaming, Week Ending 6/18/16

    Games played:
    • Star Wars LCG - 1 game.  Played against Dan, using my Sith defensive control deck against his Jedi/Neutral Ewok deck.  Ended up winning- I easily took command of the Force Struggle, and most of his best attacks I didn't bother defending, instead using events to keep his units limited.
    New acquisitions:
    • Android: Netrunner - Fear the Masses Data Pack
    • Star Trek CCG 2E - A few random singles still.
    • Warhammer 40K: Conquest - Jungles of Nectavus War Pack
    Very limited this week.  Too much going on, and next week won't be much better, since my birthday is coming up... along with like all of my friends being out of town :(.

    Tuesday, June 14, 2016

    Small revision to Back Issues articles

    So, just as a notice, I'm going to go back and correct some of these back issues posts I made, and add a bit more information from the magazines, including some of the Magic decks posted.  True, there's more than enough Magic articles available... but some of these decks had fun, unique ideas, and I'd hate to see them not be available to people nowadays.

    Also, it looks like I will be including Duelist magazines at some point.

    Monday, June 13, 2016

    Back Issues: Scrye 80

    This issue came out February 2005.

    Inuyasha TCG:
    Two deck lists included.  First, "Seventh-Grade Win":
    4 Kagome, the Student
    4 Yuki, Kagome's Friend
    4 Eri, Kagome's Friend
    4 Ayumi, Kagome's Friend
    4 Hojo
    3 Buyo
    3 Inuyasha, Demonic Half Breed
    3 Kaede, Village Priestess
    2 Kagome's Mom
    2 You Think He Likes You?
    2 Caretakers of the Shrine
    2 New Age Technology
    2 Kagome's Birthday Present
    2 Be As One
    1 Going To The Other Side
    1 I'll Never Let You Go
    1 Change
    1 Thank You For Showing Me Mercy
    1 You Tried To Kill Me!
    1 I Didn't Say Get Naked!
    1 Returning Home
    3 School Girl Outfit
    2 Pieces of the Puzzle
    2 Tetsusaiga
    2 Kagome's Backpack
    1 Kagome's Bicycle
    1 The First Shard
    1 Medic Kit
    3 Tokyo
    2 Kagome's Junior High

    This uses only cards from the first set, and focuses on the school kids, apparently.  Use Kagome as the focal point of the offense, and combine with Kagome's Junior High to get the pieces you need.

    "I Leave Them To You":
    3 Jaken, Sesshomaru's Pawn
    3 Jaken
    2 Sesshomaru, Aristocratic Assassin
    3 Sesshormaru, Transformed
    3 Un-Mother
    4 Hiten, Enraged Demon
    4 Manten, Bald Demon
    3 Staff of Two Heads
    1 Medic Kit
    2 Hiten's and Manten's Thunder Cloud
    2 Tetsusaiga, Transformed
    3 I Leave Them to You
    3 Give Me My Clothes!
    3 Halt!
    1 I Didn't Say Get Naked
    1 Thank You For Showing Me Mercy
    1 Enraged
    1 Burst of Power
    1 Here He Comes To Save the Day
    1 Returning Home
    1 Charge
    2 Take That!
    2 What?  Broken?
    2 Defeated
    2 Falling
    2 See You  in Hell!
    1 Inuyasha's Destructive Path
    3 Sacred Tree

    This one focuses on different characters, and what seems like disruption and control.

    My Thoughts: This is yet another game that I've never played (although after reading this, I ordered some cards off of eBay to learn the game).  One thing I found worthy of note is that although the Inuyasha card game doesn't apparently have limits for the amount of any particular card in your deck, both decks chose to limit themselves to 4 of any particular card. I remember watching the cartoon on Adult Swim when I was in college, and it was alright, I'm glad to see the game seems to have had enough complexity to be worth looking into (although only a 5.5 rating on BGG doesn't speak great for it).  We'll see!

    Legend of the Five Rings:
    "Moving On Up":
    Stronghold: The Meeting Place
    Sensei: Tomorrow Sensei
    Wind: Black Heart of the Empire

    Dynasty:
    1 Doom of the Dark Lord
    1 Regions of Rokugan
    1 A Favor Returned
    3 Barley Farm
    3 Gifts and Favors
    1 Shrine to Daikoku
    3 Treasure Hoard
    1 A'tck
    2 Ch'krit
    2 Chithith
    3 D'gr'n-ki
    3 D'nir'ch
    1 Ik'krt (Experienced)
    1 Ikm'atch-tek
    1 Kan'check
    3 Ratling Conjurer
    2 Ratling Raider
    3 Set'tchr'foo
    1 Te'tik'kir (Experienced)
    1 Te'tik'kir (Exp. 2)
    1 Musume Mura
    1 Plains of Otosan Uchi
    Fate:
    2 Ambush
    1 Armed and Ready
    3 Feign Death
    3 Heart of a Hero
    2 Into the Darkness
    3 Outer Walls
    2 Overwhelmed
    3 Refugees
    3 Return for Training
    3 Ten Thousand Swords
    3 The Path of Wisdom
    3 The Tribes Gather
    3 Tireless Assault
    3 Crippled Bone Runner
    3 Suitengu's Uncertainty

    My Thoughts: I think I own most of the cards for this deck!  This is a combo deck of sorts.  Send everything to a big battle, bump everything up, use Suitengu's Uncertainty to move them to other provinces, and depend on send home to win the battles and take out all the provinces.  This would have been tough to do back in the day... in the current eternal format... man, I have no idea.  But heck, I do have the cards. If I can get my opponents up for it, I'll give it a shot.

    Lord of the Rings TCG:
    "The Age of Man"
    Ring-Bearer:
    Boromir, Bearer of Council
    The One Ring, Answer to All Riddles
    Adventure Deck:
    Anduin Banks
    Crags of Emyn Muil
    Fangorn Glade
    Cavern Entrance
    Pelennor Fields
    Caras Galadhon
    Helm's Gate
    Osgiliath Reclaimed
    The Prancing Pony
    Free Peoples:
    1 Arwen, Elven Rider (starting)
    1 Faramir, Ithilien Ranger (starting)
    1 Aragorn, Strider
    1 Aragorn, Guide and Protector
    2 Madril, Ranger of Ithilien
    4 Ranger of Westernesse
    1 Anduril, Flame of the West
    2 Sapling of the White Tree
    1 Scroll of Isildur
    1 Gwemegil
    3 Gondorian Blade
    2 Armor of the Citadel
    3 Gondor Bowmen
    2 Noble Leaders
    2 A Ranger's Versatility
    4 Battle Cry
    3 Elf-Song
    2 The Highest Quality
    Shadow:
    2 Archer of Harad
    2 Armored Easterlings
    4 Column of Easterlings
    2 Ferocious Haradrim
    2 Fletcher of Harad
    4 Patroller of Haradrim
    4 Rampaging Easterling
    2 Strange-Looking Man
    2 Throng of Harad
    4 Long Battle Bow
    2 Pavise
    2 Lathspell
    2 Wielding the Ring
    2 Elevated Fire

    My Thoughts: Believe I've mentioned before, I really need to play this more.  This is using cards from the Shadows expansion, to showcase on all the Men tricks.  I don't know how well it does, because my experience at present is literally a single game.

    Won a 12 person tournament, Oct 23, 2004 (piloted by Tim Long):
    Isildur, Bearer of Heirlooms
    The One Ring, Answer to All Riddles
    Steps of Edoras
    Rohirrim Camp
    Hall of Kings
    Pelennor Plains
    Stewards Tomb
    Minas Tirith First Circle
    Ruined Capital
    Northern Ithilien
    Dagorland
    1 Faramir, Ithilien Ranger
    1 Legloas, Greenleaf
    3 Aragorn, Elessar Telcontar
    1 Garrison of Gondor
    1 Aegnor, Elven Escort
    1 Cirdan, the Shipwright
    1 Arwen, Queen of Elves and Men
    2 Aragorn's Bow
    2 Faramir's Bow
    1 Phial Galadriel
    1 Asfaloth
    1 Ranger's Sword
    4 Elven Bow
    1 Nenya, Ring of Adamant
    1 Citadel of Minas Tirith
    1 The Last Alliance of Elves and Men
    1 Shadow Between
    2 Feathered
    2 Company of Archers
    3 Reckless We Ride
    1 Orthanc Champion
    3 Uruk Crossbowmen
    1 Elite Crossbowmen
    4 Uruk Crossbow Troop
    3 Ranged Commander
    2 Orthanc Assassin
    3 Lurtz, Servant of Isengard
    1 Desert Lord
    1 Ulaire Enquea
    4 Cloud of Arrows
    1 One of You Must Do This
    4 Weapons of Isengard
    1 Siege Engine
    1 Greed
    1 Tower of Orthanc

    Star Trek 1st Edition:
    Won an 11 person tournament, October 15, 2004 (piloted by Jeremy Commandeur)
    1 Expose Covert Supply
    1 Secret Salvage
    1 Espionage Mission
    1 Unseat Dictator
    1 Inversion Mystery
    1 Salvage Operation
    1 Space Time Portal
    1 Transwarp Network Gateway
    2 Q The Referee
    1 Mission Debriefing
    1 Defend Homeworld
    1 Delta Quadrant Spatial Scission
    1 Chula: The Lights
    1 Chula: The Chandra
    1 Friendly Fire
    1 The Nexus
    1 The Whale Probe
    1 Magic Carpet OCD
    1 Volcanic Eruption
    1 DNA Clues
    1 Hippocratic Oath
    1 Dead End
    1 Hanonian Land Eel
    1 The Weak Will Perish
    1 Lethean Telepathic Attack
    1 Ferengi Infestation
    1 Kelvan Show of Force
    1 Ankari "Spirits"
    1 Unscientific Method
    1 Ferengi Bug
    1 Female's Love Interest & Garbage Scow
    1 Spacedoor
    1 Transwarp Hub
    1 Blugill Infestation
    1 Three of Nine
    1 Two of Nine
    1 First
    1 Fifth
    1 Seven of Nine
    1 Third and Fourth
    1 Q's Tent
    1 Adapt: Negate Obstruction
    1 Salvage Starship
    1 Divert Power
    1 Shape-Shift Inhibitor
    1 Borg Tactical Cube
    1 Four of Nine
    1 Borg Data Node
    1 Borg Vinculum
    1 Maturation Chamber
    1 The Big Picture
    1 Strategema
    1 Temporal Vortex
    1 Fair Play
    1 Add Distinctiveness
    10 Awaken
    1 Borg Nanoprobes
    1 Cranial Transceiver Implant
    1 Nanoprobe Resuscitation
    1 Ready Room Door
    1 We Are The Borg
    1 Lower Decks
    1 Regenerate
    1 A Change of Plans
    1 Assimilate Counterpart
    1 Assimilate Species
    1 Assimilate Table
    1 Assimilate Planet
    1 Eliminate Starship
    1 Assimilate Homeworld
    1 Borg Scout Vessel
    1 Third and Fourth
    2 First
    2 Three of Nine
    2 Fifth
    2 Two ofNine
    2 Seven of Nine
    2 Borg Queen
    1 Four of Nine
    1 One of Eleven
    1 Ten of Nineteen
    1 Eight of Fifteen
    1 Eight of Eighteen
    1 Eleven of Twelve
    1 Second
    1 Calibration Drone
    1 Gowron of Borg
    1 Eleven of Nineteen

    My Thoughts: I basically wrote it out as it was in the magazine.  Kind of tough to read as is, haha.  I'll clean it up some day.

    Star Trek 2nd Edition:
    "All Borg"
    Missions:
    1 Fissure Research
    1 Intercept Maquis
    1 Plot Invasion
    1 Restock Ketracel-White
    1 Unicomplex, Root of the Hive Mind
    Dilemma Deck:
    2 A Royal Hunt
    1 Assassination Attempt
    1 Casualties of War
    1 Center of Attention
    2 Chula: Pick One to Save Two
    2 Exposed Power Relay
    2 Gomtuu Shock Wave
    2 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
    1 Kelvan Show of Force
    1 Maglock
    1 Personal Duty
    1 Picking Up the Pieces
    1 Plasma Shock
    1 Rogue Borg Ambush
    1 Secret Identity
    2 Talosian Trial
    2 Training Accident
    1 Traitor Exposed
    1 Tragic Turn
    2 Tsiolkovsky Infection
    2 Whisper in the Dark
    Draw Deck:
    2 Adapt
    2 Borg Cube
    2 Borg Queen, Guardian of the Hive
    2 Computation Drone
    2 Endangered
    3 Expand the Collective
    2 Five of Twelve, Secondary Adjunct of Trimatrix 942
    1 Guidance Drone
    1 Heightened Perception
    2 How Would You Like a Trip to Romulus?
    2 I Don't Like to Lose
    3 Information Drone
    2 Invasive Drone
    2 Locutus, Voice of the Borg
    1 Locutus' Borg Cube
    2 Machinations
    1 Queen's Borg Cube
    3 Reconnaissance Drone
    2 Seven of Nine, Part of the Greater Whole
    1 Stir Crazy
    2 Storage Compartment
    1 Tempted by Flesh
    1 The First of Many
    3 Transwarp Drone
    3 Unexpected Difficulties
    2 Unyielding
    2 You've Always Been My Favorite

    My Thoughts: To start with, I really have no idea what's going on with the dilemma deck.  I almost never see any decks with two copies of dilemmas, it's always one or three.  There's a mix of stuff in here, but that's just about how every dilemma deck I ever build looks, myself.

    The draw deck is a bit easier to understand.  Basically, do Plot Invasion, then use Expand the Collective on either Restock Ketracel-White or Intercept Maquis (or both) for the points to win.  Use Borg tricks to get through dilemmas.  This deck came out just after Fractured Time was released, so there are a lot of toys that would help make this even better, now.

    Warlord: Saga of the Storm:
    "Yedraw's Counter Attack"
    Starting:
    1 Yedraw
    1 Kayle Rowan
    2 Tyren Ruskin
    2 Brine Fiend
    Characters:
    2 Devourer
    2 Halo of Fire
    3 Kabal Spire
    2 Kayle Rowan
    3 Mothusi Rahsaan
    2 Ivaas
    3 Sarakian Ooze
    2 Titan
    Items:
    2 Mind Gate
    3 Yedraw's Tooth
    2 Footman's Pike
    3 Altar of the Mind
    Actions:
    3 Tzin's Attention
    3 Retaliation
    3 Knife After Dark
    3 Perfect Focus
    3 Mental Assault

    My Thoughts: No idea, yet.  I did go out and buy some Warlord starters though :)

    Wars TCG:
    "Space Shi"
    Locations:
    1 Seyal/Light Side (starting)
    3 Ganymede/Harvesting Camp
    1 Ganymede/Pilgrims' Camp
    1 Ganymede/Traginium Source
    2 Mercury/Untapped Planet
    1 Seyal/Dark Side
    1 Vesta/Covered Rock
    Ships:
    4 Damir Quarrel
    4 Reliable Quarrel
    4 Tilak Quarrel
    3 Jikoku
    2 Zocho
    Characters:
    4 Ranarti-Anant
    1 Devanar-Damir
    4 Kizen Sentinel
    4 Sumadar-Damir
    2 Tavang-Damir
    Weapons:
    2 Assailing Vatarma
    2 Daunting Vatarma
    Interrupts:
    4 Easy Prey
    3 Expansion
    Assets:
    2 Cerebral Incursion
    2 Premeditated Reaction
    1 Vestiges
    2 Aggressive Stance

    My Thoughts: Focusing in one arena, but putting enough out to help mitigate drains in the other (space/ground) seems to be the way to go in WARS, and this focuses on using the great Shi fighters, along with help from Gongen capital ships (giving the Shi some reaction abilities when combat starts), with Tavang Damir in a ship keep the ground drains to a minimum.  Seems like it would make a pretty good start, and there was help in the first expansion for this, I believe.

    Won a 6 person tournament, October 15, 2004 (piloted Rich Parrott)
    2 Ganymede/Triangium Source
    1 Ganymede/Occupied Tunnels
    1 Ganymede/Core Shaft
    2 Ganymede/Vantage Point
    3 Ganymede/Frontier Camp
    5 Ganymede/Hunter's Camp
    1 Luhustika
    2 Takha Quarrel
    3 Katal Life Ship
    2 Volt Scourge
    2 Quay Navigator
    1 Sitka
    1 Luhus Mauler
    2 UV - IR 739
    1 Talkan
    4 "Two-Way" Berson
    2 Tanka Chuluk Squad
    4 Alnak
    2 Kulak
    4 Certel Legate
    4 Revenge
    3 Capture
    4 Fuel Theft
    3 Reaping

    Won a 9 person tournament on October 16th, 2004 (piloted by Jason Luminella)
    1 Alnak Station/Launch Bay
    1 Ganymede/Occupied Tunnels
    1 Ganymede/Vantage Point
    1 Ganymede/Triaginim Source
    1 Ganymede/Mining Platform
    5 Ganymede/Hunter's Camp
    1 Frozen By Fear
    2 Luhus Dalaka
    2 Natural Talent
    2 Arhnaknak
    2 Reaping
    3 Makal Shrieker
    3 Talkan
    3 Rising Dread
    1 Makaltika
    2 Tahka Chuluk Squad
    1 Portent
    2 Kulak
    3 Alnak
    4 Sitkatika Hekaton
    2 Volt Scourge
    2 Kucha
    1 Frenzied Luhus
    1 Luhustika
    3 Tahka Life Ship
    3 Makal Claw Beast
    2 Tunnels
    3 Luhus Mauler
    2 Revenge

    Won an 11 person tournament on October 16th, 2004 (piloted by Will Raiman):
    1 Alnak Station/Captured Base
    1 Alnak Station/Launch Bay
    1 Alnak Station/Hallway
    2 Pallas/Asteroid Stronghold
    1 Ganymede/Traginium Source
    1 Ganymede/Vantage Point
    3 Ganymede/Pilgrim's Camp
    2 Expansion
    1 Tamon
    4 Tamon Fighter
    1 Zocho
    2 Zocho Fighter
    4 Jigoku Fighter
    3 Komoky Fighter
    2 Taihu
    2 Amorian Ship Yard
    2 Ikazuchi
    2 Ikazuchi T.S.V.
    2 Shikami
    3 Shikami Follower
    2 Higen Orochito
    2 Plasma Cannon
    2 No Bot Battle Sword
    2 Junshi
    3 Kulak
    2 Sitka
    3 Waylaid
    1 Cloak of Fear
    1 Chuluktika
    2 Tunnels

    Won a 6 person tournament on October 17, 2014 (piloted by Carlos Fernandez):
    1 Themis/Mobile Asteroid (starting)
    1 Titan/Raving Red's Refuge
    1 Europa, The Gambler's Hideaway
    1 Mercury/Untapped Planet
    1 Ceres/Belt Hideaway
    1 Earth/Humanity's Home
    1 Ganymede/Traginium Source
    3 The Gambler
    2 Ace McCallister
    2 Misty Miller
    4 Racing Sloop
    4 Nimble Jockey
    2 Maverick Bot
    4 Razorjack
    4 Vulture
    4 Plundering Bandit
    3 Modded Type IV
    1 Hawk's Wing
    4 Fifth Ace
    4 Traginium Heist
    2 Simple Wager
    2 Chicken
    2 Mechanic's Grip
    1 Reload
    1 Price Of The Game
    1 Clanton Grau Grenade
    1 Over Burdened
    1 Aggressive Stance
    1 Chained

    Won a 14 person tournament, October 17th 2004 (piloted by Jed Hamphries):
    2 NoBot Battle Sword
    1 Plasma Cannon
    2 Shikami
    2 Junshi
    1 Zocho
    4 Tamon Fighter
    3 Higen Orochito
    3 Zocho Fighter
    4 Jikoku Fighter
    1 Ikazuchi
    3 Shikami Follower
    1 Jikoku
    1 Komoku
    1 Amorian Shipyard
    1 Rising Morale
    1 Loremaster
    2 Cloud
    2 Jet Pack Attack
    1 Ganymede/Vantage Point
    2 Ganymede/Underground Bunker
    1 Alnak Station/Hallway
    1 Alnak Station/Launch Bay
    1 Pallas/Asteroid Stronghold
    3 Ganymede/Pilgrim's Camp
    1 Alnak/Captured Base
    3 Talkan
    2 Kulank
    1 Tunnels
    2 Sitka
    1 Cloak of Fear
    1 Waylaid
    1 Chained

    Won a 6 person tournament on October 17th, 2014 (piloted by Andy McClure):
    2 Expansion
    3 Anant Aeronaut
    3 Nimble Jockey
    1 Sultry Opportunist
    3 Kizen Sentinel
    3 Stinger
    3 Well-Concealed Charge
    2 Ore Hound
    2 Irgma-Vishul
    4 Sudeva Quarrel
    4 Seyalshi Veholder
    2 Ranarti-Anant
    3 Assailing Vatarma
    3 Jilak Quarrel
    1 Davanar-Damir
    1 Traginium Heist
    1 Squadron Land
    1 Easy Prey
    1 Mechanic's Grip
    1 Panneen Provider
    1 Squadron Wad
    1 Hellcat Aviatrix
    1 Selfless Protector
    1 Price Of The Game
    1 Ganymede/Forward Base
    1 Ganymede/Vantage Point
    1 Ganymede/Traginium Source
    1 Tremis/Mobile Asteroid
    1 Seyal/Light Side
    3 Ganymede/Frontier Camp
    3 Ganymede/Harvesting Camp

    Won a 11 person tournament, October 17, 2004 (piloted by Ben Robinson):
    2 Jack Wilgress
    2 The Gambler
    2 Starhawk
    1 Misty Miller
    1 Ace McCallister
    3 Boxer
    2 "Two-Way" Berson
    1 Tamon
    1 Zocho
    1 Jikoku
    2 Guardian-Class Carrier
    2 Tamon Fighter
    1 Zocho Fighter
    1 Jikoku Fighter
    1 Hawk's Wing
    1 Vulture
    2 Racing Sloop
    1 Chijo Katana
    2 Aggressive Stance
    2 Amorian Shipyard
    1 Ensnared
    1 Simple Wager
    1 Overburdened
    2 Fifth Ace
    2 Rising Morale
    3 Trumped
    3 Junshi
    2 Themis/Mobile Asteroid
    2 Expansion
    1 Europa/The Gambler's Hideaway
    1 Titan/Raving Red's Refuge
    1 Ganymede/Frontier Camp
    1 Gongen/Pilgrim's Haven
    1 Pallas/Asteroid Stronghold
    1 Vesta/Coveted Rock
    1 Mercury/Untapped Planet
    2 Ganymede/Pilgrim's Camp
    1 Ganymede/Underground Bunker

    Seems like there might be a bunch of typos here, but that might be from copying from the magazine.  Will correct as I look closer at these some day.

    The 10 Most Important Collectible Games:
    Who doesn't love top 10 lists?
    1. Magic: The Gathering
    2. Pokemon
    3. Star Trek CCGs (1st and 2nd Editions)
    4. Mage Knight
    5. Legend of the Five Rings
    6. Yu-Gi-Oh!
    7. Heroclix
    8. Star Wars CCG
    9. Jyhad/Vampire
    10. Vs. System
    My Thoughts: This is 'Most Important' and not 'Best' or any other metric.  These are the games that did the most to make the collectible game hobby what it was in 2005 (and what it is today, really).  It's actually kind of nice to see that all of these are still around in some form or another (Star Wars, Star Trek and Jyhad all are actively supported by Player Committees, and L5R will return in 2017 as an LCG). 

    Top 10 Selling CCGs:
    1. Magic: The Gathering
    2. Yu-Gi-Oh!
    3. Vs. System
    4. Lord of the Rings TCG
    5. Pokemon
    6. Dragon Ball Z/GT
    7. Inuyasha
    8. Warlord
    9. Game of Thrones
    10. Legend of the Five Rings
    My Thoughts: Because of this issue, I went out and bought Inuyasha and Warlord starters, to get some exposure to those games.  The other ones I've played and have cards for, other than Yu-Gi-Oh, which I can't seem to scrounge up interest for.

    Final Thoughts:
    One of the things I find... maybe not enjoyable, but certainly interesting about reading these magazines is what they discuss as the future for some of these CCGs, knowing as I do now their final fates.  For instance, the Wars TCG talked about the release of the upcoming Edge of a Sword expansion, which was never released (although you can find the cards online, without art).  They also mention an upcoming 330 card Motion in Mind set that was to come out after that.  Just a shame that they never came out.  Speaking of which, a lot of Wars decks were mentioned, giving anyone a good starting point.

    VS System gets a couple of decks, which I don't include because they aren't compatible with the current VS 2PCG.  One thing I do find interesting is how different these cards are.  Plot Twists with costs, Locations that are more interesting than just providing resources, Equipment.  It'd be nice to see some of this make its way into the current VS game.

    Saturday, June 11, 2016

    My Card Gaming, Week Ending 6/11/16

    Games played:
    • Warhammer 40K: Conquest - 1 game against Ben, running my Anrakyr the Traveller against his Old One Eye deck.  Did not do well, kept losing command struggles, and eventually the game.
    • Lord of the Rings LCG - 3 games.  Bobby, Ben and I attempted to tackle Watcher in The Water, losing the first time, but prevailing the second time.  I ran Aragorn/Glorfindel Secrecy, and once we got to the second part of the quest, we had no issues.  Our third game was trying The Long Dark quest, but we ran out of cards to do the tests, and eventually ran out of characters, killing us.
    New acquisitions:
    • Lord of the Rings LCG, The Thing in the Deeps Adventure Pack.  Even though I'm quite a ways away from playing and using these cards, I wanted to make sure I didn't fall behind on getting stuff for the game.
    • Raxxa's Revenge pack for Epic.  I only bought one of each when the game first came out, so I'm slowly working to get the full playset of each.
    • Random Magic Booster, Random Force of Will Booster, Random My Little Pony Booster.  Just felt like opening boosters, I guess.  Also, grabbed a box of Eternal Masters)
    • Star Wars CCG singles.  Just cards for random projects (got a C-3P0 and a Princess Leia, for instance).
    • Star Wars TCG starters.  This is a generally well liked game with fan expansions being released. Wanted to make sure I could learn the rules, see if I wanted to get in on it.
    • Star Trek CCG singles, both 1st and 2nd Editions.  Random stuff, again for various deck ideas. 
    • WarCry cards.  I bought two starters, a few boosters, and some random promos.  This is a generally well liked game, so I wanted to check out the rules.
    • Xena Starters.  This is something I think my fiancee would play, so I bought these with that in mind.  One can hope!

    My Eternal Masters Pulls

    Seems I did okay!

    Friday, June 10, 2016

    Card List for Eternal Masters (text only)

    For some reason, I couldn't find this list out there in a text-only format.  I like having a checklist available, so I made one up, and I'm putting it here in case someone else finds value.
    1 Aven Riftwatcher (C)
    2 Balance (M)
    3 Ballynock Cohort (C)
    4 Benevolent Bodyguard (C)
    5 Calciderm (U)
    6 Coalition Honor Guard (C)
    7 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails (R)
    8 Elite Vanguard (C)
    9 Enlightened Tutor (R)
    10 Faith's Fetters (U)
    11 Field of Souls (U)
    12 Glimmerpoint Stag (U)
    13 Honden of Cleansing Fire (U)
    14 Humble (C)
    15 Intangible Virtue (U)
    16 Jareth, Leonine Titan (R)
    17 Karmic Guid (R)
    18 Kor Hookmaster (C)
    19 Mesa Enchantress (U)
    20 Mistral Charger (C)
    21 Monk Idealist (C)
    22 Mother of Runes (R)
    23 Pacifism (C)
    24 Raise the Alarm (C)
    25 Rally the Peasants (C)
    26 Seal of Cleansing (C)
    27 Second Thoughts (C)
    28 Serra Angel (U)
    29 Shelter (C)
    30 Soulcatcher (U)
    31 Squadron Hawk (C)
    32 Swords to Plowshares (U)
    33 Unexpectedly Absent (R)
    34 Wall of Omens (U)
    35 War Priest of Thune (U)
    36 Welkin Guide (C)
    37 Whitemane Lion (C)
    38 Wrath of God (R)
    39 Arcanis the Omnipotent (R)
    40 Brainstorm (U)
    41 Cephalid Sage (C)
    42 Control Magic (R)
    43 Counterspell (C)
    44 Daze (U)
    45 Deep Analysis (C)
    46 Diminishing Returns (R)
    47 Dream Twist (C)
    48 Fact of Fiction (U)
    49 Force of Will (M)
    50 Future Sight (R)
    51 Gaseous Form (C)
    52 Giant Tortoise (C)
    53 Glacial Wall (C)
    54 Honden of Seeing Winds (U)
    55 Hydroblast (U)
    56 Inkwell Leviathan (R)
    57 Jace, the Mind Sculptor (M)
    58 Jetting Glasskite (U)
    59 Man-o'-War (C)
    60 Memory Lapse (C)
    61 Merfolk Looter (U)
    62 Mystical Tutor (R)
    63 Oona's Grace (C)
    64 Peregrine Drake (C)
    65 Phantom Monster (C)
    66 Phyrexian Ingester (U)
    67 Prodigal Sorcerer (U)
    68 Quiet Speculation (U)
    69 Screeching Skaab (C)
    70 Serendib Efreet (R)
    71 Shoreline Ranger (C)
    72 Silent Departure (C)
    73 Sprite Noble (U)
    74 Stupefying Touch (C)
    75 Tidal Wave (C)
    76 Warden of Evos Isle (C)
    77 Wonder (U)
    78 Animate Dead (U)
    79 Annihilate (U)
    80 Blightsoil Druid (C)
    81 Blood Artist (U)
    82 Braids, Cabal Minion (R)
    83 Cabal Therapy (U)
    84 Carrion Feeder (C)
    85 Deadbridge Shaman (C)
    86 Duress (C)
    87 Entomb (R)
    88 Eyeblight's Ending (C)
    89 Gravedigger (C)
    90 Havoc Demon (U)
    91 Honden of Night's Reach (U)
    92 Hymn to Tourach (U)
    93 Ichorid (R)
    94 Innocent Blood (C)
    95 Lys Alana Scarblade (U)
    96 Malicious Affliction (R)
    97 Nausea (C)
    98 Necropotence (M)
    99 Nekrataal (U)
    100 Night's Whisper (C)
    101 Phyrexian Gargantua (U)
    102 Phyrexian Rager (C)
    103 Plague Witch (C)
    104 Prowling Pangolin (C)
    105 Sengir Autocrat (U)
    106 Sinkhole (R)
    107 Skulking Ghost (C)
    108 Toxic Deluge (R)
    109 Tragic Slip (C)
    110 Twisted Abomination (C)
    111 Urborg Uprising (C)
    112 Vampiric Tutor (M)
    113 Victimize (U)
    114 Visara the Dreadful (R)
    115 Wake of Vultures (C)
    116 Wakedancer (C)
    117 Avarax (C)
    118 Battle Squadron (U)
    119 Beetleback Chief (U)
    120 Borderland Marauder (C)
    121 Burning Vengeance (U)
    122 Carbonize (C)
    123 Chain Lightning (U)
    124 Crater Hellion (R)
    125 Desperate Ravings (C)
    126 Dragon Egg (C)
    127 Dualcaster Mage (R)
    128 Faithless Looting (C)
    129 Fervent Cathar (C)
    130 Firebolt (C)
    131 Flame Jab (U)
    132 Gamble (R)
    133 Ghitu Slinger (U)
    134 Honden of Infinite Rage (U)
    135 Keldon Champion (U)
    136 Keldon Marauders (C)
    137 Kird Ape (C)
    138 Mogg Fanatic (C)
    139 Mogg War Marshal (C)
    140 Orcish Oriflamme (C)
    141 Price of Progress (U)
    142 Pyroblast (U)
    143 Pyrokinesis (R)
    144 Reckless Charge (C)
    145 Rorix Bladewing (R)
    146 Seismic Stomp (C)
    147 Siege-Gang-Commander (R)
    148 Sneak Attack (M)
    149 Stingscourger (C)
    150 Sulfuric Vortex (R)
    151 Tooth and Claw (U)
    152 Undying Rage (C)
    153 Wildfire Emissary (C)
    154 Woldgorger Dragon (M)
    155 Young Pyromancer (U)
    156 Abundant Growth (C)
    157 Ancestral Mask (U)
    158 Argothian Enchantress (M)
    159 Brawn (U)
    160 Centaur Chieftain (U)
    161 Civic Wayfinder (C)
    162 Commune with the Gods (C)
    163 Elephant Guide (C)
    164 Elvish Vanguard (C)
    165 Emperor Crocodile (C)
    166 Flinthoof Boar (U)
    167 Fog (C)
    168 Gaea's Blessing (U)
    169 Green Sun's Zenith (R)
    170 Harmonize (U)
    171 Heritage Druid (R)
    172 Honden of Life's Web (U)
    173 Imperious Perfect (R)
    174 Invigorate (U)
    175 Llanowar Elves (C)
    176 Lys Alana Huntmaster (C)
    177 Natural Order (M)
    178 Nature's Claim (C)
    179 Nimble Mongoose (C)
    180 Rancor (U)
    181 Regal Force (R)
    182 Roar of the Wurm (U)
    183 Roots (C)
    184 Seal of Strength (C)
    185 Sentinel Spider (C)
    186 Silvos, Rogue Elemental (R)
    187 Sylvan Library (R)
    188 Sylvan Might (C)
    189 Thornweald Archer (C)
    190 Timberwatch Elf (U)
    191 Werebear (C)
    192 Wirewood Symbiote (U)
    193 Xanthid Swarm (R)
    194 Yavimaya Enchantress (C)
    195 Armadillo Cloak (U)
    196 Baleful Strix (R)
    197 Bloodbraid Elf (U)
    198 Brago, King Eternal (R)
    199 Dack Fayden (M)
    200 Extract from Darkness (U)
    201 Flame-Kin Zealot (U)
    202 Glare of Subdual (R)
    203 Goblin Trenches (R)
    204 Maelstrom Wanderer (M)
    205 Shaman of the Pack (U)
    206 Shardless Agent (R)
    207 Sphinx of the Steel Wind (M)
    208 Thunderclap Wyvern (U)
    209 Trygon Predator (U)
    210 Vindicate (R)
    211 Void (R)
    212 Wee Dragonauts (U)
    213 Zealous Persecution (U)
    214 Call the Skybreaker (R)
    215 Deathrite Shaman (R)
    216 Giant Solifuge (R)
    217 Torrent of Souls (U)
    218 Ashnod's Altar (U)
    219 Chrome Mox (M)
    220 Duplicant (R)
    221 Emmessi Tome (U)
    222 Goblin Charbelcher (R)
    223 Isochron Scepter (R)
    224 Juggernaut (U)
    225 Mana Crypt (M)
    226 Millikin (U)
    227 Mindless Automaton (U)
    228 Nevinyrral's Disk (R)
    229 Pilgrim's Eye (C)
    230 Prismatic Lens (U)
    231 Relic of Progenitus (U)
    232 Sensei's Divining Top (R)
    233 Ticking Gnomes (U)
    234 Winter Orb (R)
    235 Worn Powerstone (U)
    236 Bloodfell Caves (C)
    237 Blossoming Sands (C)
    238 Dismal Backwater (C)
    239 Jungle Hollow (C)
    240 Karakas (M)
    241 Maze of Ith (R)
    242 Mishra's Factory (U)
    243 Rugged Highlands (C)
    244 Scoured Barrens (C)
    245 Swiftwater Cliffs (C)
    246 Thornwood Falls (C)
    247 Tranquil Cove (C)
    248 Wasteland (R)
    249 Wind-Scarred Crag (C)

    Wednesday, June 8, 2016

    Current Card Games on Kickstarter, 6/8/2016

    Quite a few interesting card games available on Kickstarter at the moment:

    DIMENSION: The First Truly Free TCG - this one caught my attention immediately, for obvious reasons.  Free?  TCG?  That bears some looking into.  And indeed, if you check out the project, this is a free game, but one they would like to publish as well.  I can't fault them there (and indeed, I backed this).  I haven't had a chance to print out any of the cards to try it myself, but it's definitely on the radar.

    The Bible Trading Card Game - This one neither has an interesting theme for me, nor interesting gameplay, as far as I can tell.  I include it on the chance this is to someone's interest.

    Oligarchy: A dystopian card game - This is a straight up TCG with a starter containing 4 decks for about 29 USD, and boosters as well.  There are 8 factions in the game split over 310 cards.  The cards themselves feel a little crowded, but I can't at present comment on the quality of the game.  It's likely I'll back it for at least some amount, and I'll make sure to discuss it once I get some (hey, I should do that for the other card game Kickstarters I've backed...).

    Anyone know of any other ones on Kickstarter?  If so, please let me know!

    Monday, June 6, 2016

    Back Issues: Inquest Gamer 95

    This issue was released in March 2003

    Magic: The Gathering:

    A few Onslaught Block Decks were included, copied here for posterity.

    Alarming Development:
    2 Dermoplasm
    4 Quicksilver Dragon
    4 Willbender
    4 Chain of Vapor
    4 Read the Runes
    4 Imperial Hellkite
    1 Rorix Bladewing
    4 Skirk Alarmist
    4 Shock
    4 Starstorm
    1 Words of War
    11 Island
    13 Mountain

    Dragons!  Dragons everywhere!

    Pitchers' Duel:
    4 Festering Goblin
    4 Graveborn Muse
    4 Hollow Specter
    4 Blackmail
    4 Cabal Therapy
    4 Duress
    4 Smother
    2 Lavaborn Muse
    3 Chain of Plasma
    4 Shock
    4 Bloodstained Mire
    4 Mountain
    15 Swamp

    Discard control.  This is one of my favorite styles of deck, but I wasn't playing during this time, sadly :(.

    Crank Callers:
    4 Caller of the Claw
    4 Catapult Squad
    4 Deftblade Elite
    4 Exalted Angel
    4 Gustcloak Runner
    4 Longbow Archer
    4 Whipcorder
    4 Shared Triumph
    4 Wrath of God
    4 Forest
    16 Plains
    4 Windswept Heath

    Ooooh, interesting.  So White Weenie... then board wipe into Caller of the Claw for MORE Swarm.  I like it!

    How about an Extended (at the time) deck?

    Rock On:
    4 Cabal Therapy
    1 Chainer's Edict
    4 Diabolic Edict
    4 Duress
    4 Vampiric Tutor
    2 Spiritmonger
    4 Pernicious Deed
    4 Birds of Paradise
    4 Llanowar Elves
    4 Yavimaya Elder
    1 Living Wish
    1 Naturalize
    1 Dust Bowl
    7 Forest
    4 Llanowar Wastes
    7 Swamp
    4 Treetop Village

    Green/Black Control?  Weird.

    Cheap Extended Deck: Sligh-t of Hand:
    4 Goblin Cadets
    2 Goblin Grappler
    2 Goblin Lackey
    4 Jackal Pup
    4 Mogg Fanatic
    4 Mogg Flunkies
    4 Raging Goblin
    4 Lava Dart
    4 Reckless Charge
    4 Shock
    4 Fire/Ice
    20 Mountain

    Straight up Sligh for very little cost.  Even a few moderate cost rares would add some improvement.

    Legacy's Aluren:
    1 Maggot Carrier
    3 Cabal Therapy
    4 Vampiric Tutor
    3 Raven Familiar
    4 Brainstorm
    3 Intuition
    3 Cavern Harpy
    4 Birds of Paradise
    3 Wirewood Savage
    4 Aluren
    4 Living Wish
    1 Soul Warden
    3 City of Brass
    3 Forest
    1 Grand Coliseum
    4 Hickory Woodlot
    3 Island
    4 Polluted Delta
    1 Swamp
    4 Yavimaya Coast

    Use Cavern Harpy + Aluren + Wirewood Savage to ensure you have card draw, then Soul Warden + Maggot Carrier to kill the opponent and keep you alive.  Pretty nifty.

    Cheap Extended Deck #2: Draco Explosion
    3 Draco
    4 Accumulated Knowledge
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Careful Study
    4 Frantic Search
    4 Mystical Tutor
    4 Erratic Explosion
    4 Sonic Burst
    4 Fire/Ice
    13 Island
    12 Mountain

    Use Draco + Brainstorm + Erratic Explosion to kill your opponent.  Nasty

    Blessed Aurators:
    4 Frantic Search
    2 Stroke of Genius
    3 Argothian Enchantress
    1 Ancestral Mask
    3 Eladamri's Vineyard
    4 Enchantress's Presence
    4 Exploration
    4 Fertile Ground
    1 Krosan Reclamation
    4 Living Wish
    1 Rancor
    4 Wild Growth
    1 Auratog
    1 Seal of Cleansing
    1 Solitary Confinement
    1 Adarkar Wastes
    1 Brushland
    11 Forest
    3 Island
    2 Serra's Sanctum
    4 Yavimaya Coast

    Either kill with a big trampling Auratog, or deck them with a Stroke of Genius.

    Cheap Extended Deck #3: Madness Revisited
    2 Aquamoeba
    2 Wonder
    4 Careful Study
    4 Circular Logic
    3 Daze
    2 Foil
    2 Gush
    2 Thwart
    4 Arrogant Wurm
    4 Basking Rootwalla
    4 Wild Mongrel
    3 Roar of the Wurm
    10 Forest
    13 Island

    Get some big things out, get Wonder in the graveyard, win.

    Bug Zapper:
    4 Nantuko Husk
    4 Phyrexian Ghoul
    1 Phyrexian Plaguelord
    3 Vampiric Tutor
    1 Confiscate
    4 Birds of Paradise
    4 Llanowar Elves
    1 Symbiotic Wurm
    4 Wall of Blossoms
    4 Pattern of Rebirth
    1 Saproling Burst
    1 Pandemonium
    4 Academy Rector
    1 Seal of Cleansing
    4 Brushland
    3 Caves of Koilos
    4 City of Brass
    6 Forest
    4 Llanowar Wastes
    1 Phyrexian Tower
    1 Swamp

    Ghoul/Husk eats something with Pattern of Rebirth on it, grabs Symbiotic Wurm, eats it, eats the insects, attacks and kills.  Easy as can be.

    Top 10 Magic Cards at the time:
    1. Grinning Demon
    2. Onslaught Fetch Lands
    3. Blistering Firecat
    4. Birds of Paradise
    5. Shadowmage Infiltrator
    6. Nantuko Shade
    7. Force of Will
    8. Mobilization
    9. Call of the Herd
    10. Exalted Angel

    Top Ten CCGs:
    1. Yu-Gi-Oh!
    2. Magic: The Gathering
    3. Pokemon
    4. Lord of the Rings CCG
    5. Legend of the Five Rings
    6. Star Trek CCG: Second Edition
    7. Dragon Ball Z CCG
    8. WWE Raw Deal
    9. Warlord CCG
    10. MLB Showdown
    My own thoughts: I really need to buy some starters for WWE Raw Deal, Warlord, and MLB Showdown.  I've not played any of them, and they seem pretty well liked.  Yu-Gi-Oh! is another one I've never played, but I don't see myself getting into it, I admit.

    Yu-Gi-Oh!:
    "The Metal Raiders" Deck

    Monsters:
    3 Barrel Dragon
    2 Cannon Soldier
    1 Cyber Jar
    1 Jinzo
    2 Jinzo #7
    1 Magician of Faith
    3 Mechanical Chaser
    2 Overdrive
    2 Witch of Black Forest

    Magic:
    3 Axe of Despair
    1 Card Destruction
    1 Change of Heart
    1 Dark Hole
    2 Heavy Storm
    1 Limiter Removal
    1 Monster Reborn
    2 Mystic Plasma Zone
    1 Mystical Space Typhoon
    1 Painful Choice
    1 Pot of Greed
    1 Premature Burial
    1 Raigeki
    1 Swords of Revealing Light

    Traps:
    1 Call of The Haunted
    1 Imperial Order
    1 Magic Jammer
    1 Mirror Force
    1 Solemn Judgment

    My own thoughts: Normally, I wouldn't include Yu-Gi-Oh decks, because the game is still pretty active, and I think it has rotation and plenty of fan sites to cover it.  Also, I know next to nothing about the game.  However, this issue doesn't have a lot of non-Magic going on, so I figured I'd put whatever I could in this article.

    Final Thoughts:
    Yes, pretty light on the CCG stuff in this issue.  This issue had a lot of coverage of Extended (Type 1.5, I believe) tournaments, what decks to bring, what the best cards were in the format, things like that.  Since I really feel like this is knowledge no one needs, I didn't bother putting it up here.  They also have a lot of coverage of the Legions expansion for Magic.  There's also a lot of coverage of Collectible Miniatures Games, which is outside the scope of my little blog.  Funny enough, many of the cards they are excited about using are about to see a reprint in Eternal Masters.  I feel old :(.

    Finally, the magazine ends with some cards from a 'What If?' Buffy the Vampire Slayer expansion for Magic. 

    Saturday, June 4, 2016

    My Card Gaming, Week Ending 6/4/2016

    Games played:
    • Warhammer 40K: Conquest - 2 games.  Played using Chaplain Mavros in a small tournament (5 player).  Went 0-2, losing to Justin using Necrons, and BK running Eldar.
    New acquisitions:
    • Inuyasha starter deck 2-pack.
    Really limited week of card gaming related activities!  Didn't have the time to do much else, I'm afraid.