Star Wars LCG Progression, Part 3

Alright, I've written up everything where I currently stand with the Dark Side part of things, so I figure it's a good time to write up everything Light Side.  I eventually do need to make a new Light Side deck, but I'll get there eventually.  As a reminder, I'm only working with Core Set, plus the first cycle, and the Edge of Darkness Deluxe Expansion.

So, let's look at a deck that, at one point, I am pretty sure was extremely strong in the meta (as in, during this point during the game's life, it was pretty strong).

RA Sleuth Scouts:
Total Cards: (50)

Affiliation:
Rebel Alliance

Objective: (10)
2x The Defense of Yavin 4 (Core 8-1)
2x Renegade Squadron Mobilization (The Search for Skywalker 44-1)
2x Prepare for Evacuation (A Dark Time 49-1)
2x Raise the Stakes (Edge of Darkness 70-1)
2x Across the Anoat Sector (Edge of Darkness 74-1)

Unit: (28)
2x Red Two (Core 8-2)
2x Y-Wing (Core 8-3)
2x Renegade Squadron (The Search for Skywalker 44-2)
2x Renegade Squadron Operative (The Search for Skywalker 44-3)
2x Munitions Expert (The Search for Skywalker 44-4)
2x Renegade Squadron Escort (A Dark Time 49-2)
2x Renegade Squadron Escort (A Dark Time 49-3)
2x Action-series Bulk Transport (A Dark Time 49-4)
2x Blockade Runner (Edge of Darkness 70-2)
2x Cloud City Operative (Edge of Darkness 70-3)
2x Bothan Spy (Edge of Darkness 70-4)
2x Sleuth Scout (Edge of Darkness 74-2)
2x Sleuth Scout (Edge of Darkness 74-3)
2x Undercover Operative (Edge of Darkness 74-4)

Enhancement: (8)
2x Astromech Droid Upgrade (Core 8-4)
2x Hidden Outpost (Core 8-5)
2x Echo Caverns (The Search for Skywalker 44-5)
2x Smuggling Compartment (Edge of Darkness 70-5)

Event: (10)
2x Rebel Assault (Core 8-6)
2x Ion Cannon Burst (A Dark Time 49-5)
2x Swindled (Edge of Darkness 70-6)
2x Smuggler's Run (Edge of Darkness 74-5)
2x Over My Dead Body (Edge of Darkness 74-6)

Fate: (4)
2x Target of Opportunity (The Search for Skywalker 44-6)
2x Battle of Hoth (A Dark Time 49-6)

The object of this deck is to buff up those Sleuth Scouts with Raise the Stakes and Across the Anoat Sector to really hammer your opponent's objectives, and use a variety of cards, like Echo Caverns, to control what's available to defend them.  It's a deck I know did well, once upon a time, and it's a deck I've personally done well with, playing against Eric, as well as before.

For my second deck, I wanted to use at least a few of the Jedi objectives, and ended up with the following:

Jedi/RA Hoth Speeders
Total Cards: (50)

Affiliation:
Jedi

Objective: (10)
2x Hoth Operations (The Desolation of Hoth 38-1)
1x Echo Base Defense (The Desolation of Hoth 39-1)
1x Preparation for Battle (The Search for Skywalker 45-1)
2x Attack Pattern Delta (The Battle of Hoth 59-1)
2x A Hero's Resolve (Escape from Hoth 64-1)
2x Evacuation Procedure (Escape from Hoth 65-1)

Unit: (31)
2x Wedge Antilles (The Desolation of Hoth 38-2)
2x Rogue Three (The Desolation of Hoth 38-3)
2x Snowspeeder (The Desolation of Hoth 38-4)
1x Wilderness Fighters (The Desolation of Hoth 39-2)
1x Wilderness Fighters (The Desolation of Hoth 39-3)
1x Wilderness Fighters (The Desolation of Hoth 39-4)
1x Hoth Scout (The Search for Skywalker 45-2)
1x AAC-1 Speeder Tank (The Search for Skywalker 45-3)
1x AAC-1 Speeder Tank (The Search for Skywalker 45-4)
1x Tauntaun (The Search for Skywalker 45-5)
2x Rogue Leader (The Battle of Hoth 59-2)
2x Rogue Two (The Battle of Hoth 59-3)
2x Snowspeeder (The Battle of Hoth 59-4)
2x Luke Skywalker (Escape from Hoth 64-2)
2x Snowspeeder (Escape from Hoth 64-3)
2x Tauntaun (Escape from Hoth 64-4)
2x Han Solo (Escape from Hoth 65-2)
2x Toryn Farr (Escape from Hoth 65-3)
2x Bright Hope (Escape from Hoth 65-4)

Enhancement: (8)
2x Hoth Survival Gear (The Desolation of Hoth 38-5)
1x Subzero Defenses (The Desolation of Hoth 39-5)
1x Subzero Defenses (The Desolation of Hoth 39-6)
2x Snowspeeder Launch Bay (The Battle of Hoth 59-5)
2x Buried Outpost (Escape from Hoth 65-5)

Event: (1)
1x Shelter from the Storm (The Search for Skywalker 45-6)

Fate: (10)
2x Target of Opportunity (The Desolation of Hoth 38-6)
2x Battle of Hoth (The Battle of Hoth 59-6)
2x Battle of Hoth (Escape from Hoth 64-5)
2x Heat of Battle (Escape from Hoth 64-6)
2x Battle of Hoth (Escape from Hoth 65-6)


The goal of this deck is to put out a bunch of Hoth objectives, gain advantages from that, and use the speeders and synergies between everything to push through the damage needed to win.  I've only managed one game with these guys, and I did win, after wearing my opponent down enough to get some opportunities, but I'd need to play it a few more times to see how I can improve this.

So that's where I'm currently at.  One deck I want to play a bit more, to tweak, and one deck that seems to be exactly where I want it.  So let's look at where I am with the Light Side objective sets.

Jedi:
A Message From Beyond
Embers of Hope
Knowledge and Defense
Self Preservation

Rebel Alliance:
Alderaan's Promise
Sensors are Placed

Smugglers and Spies:
Asteroid Sanctuary

Escape from Ord Mantell
Last Defense of Hoth
The Defense of Cloud City
Trust Me
Undercover Dealings
Wookiee Life Debt

Light Side Neutral:
Frozen Refuge
Hold the Line!
Opening Moves
To Arms!

So still, quite a few objective sets to use.  I'm going to play a game or two more with my speeder deck before I delve into these and make some new decks, however.  Hopefully I'll play soon, and start getting some new decks built!

Star Wars LCG Progression, Part 2

Well, it's been a bit since my last post on this, but I'm hoping to start playing this again with Eric, so I figured I'd finally sit down and get the next post up, and figure out a deck or two to build.  I focused on what I was playing with the Dark Side in my last post, so for this one, I'll look at the objectives I've not used yet, and build a deck using some.

As I've mentioned, I consider all of the Core Set objective sets 'played', as I played a decent number of games solely with them.  So I'm just considering the first deluxe and first cycle- so Edge of Darkness, and the Hoth Cycle.

Looking at the decks I put up in my last post, these are the objectives I've not used so far:
Imperial Navy:
A Dark Time for the Rebellion
Lord Vader's Command
The General's Imperative
Unstoppable Advance

Scum & Villainy:
Carbonite Transport
Hunt Them Down
Jabba's Orders
The Hunt for Han Solo
The Shadow of Nar Shaddaa

Sith:
Serve the Emperor
The Ghosts of the Dark Side
The Killing Cold
Vader's Fist

DS Neutral:
Across the Jundland Wastes
Asteroid Pursuit
Endless Reserves
Sabotage in the Snow
Shadows on the Ice

So still quite a few.

I am replacing my Imperial Navy/Sith capital ship deck with an Imperial Navy deck, and I see a bunch of walker cards, so I'm going to go with a Walker deck.

In the Core and first cycle, the following objectives seem to have Walkers and cards that work with Walkers:
The Endor Gambit- Two Walkers, and some cards that improve your Vehicles (shielding and focus removal).
Unstoppable Advance- Three big Walkers (with Shielding) and a cost reducer for them... and this one is Imperial Navy only.  Given that I am going to need to play IN to run all these walkers anyway... this is looking like a mono-affiliation deck.
The General's Imperative- A unit that buffs your Walkers (giving them another unit damage), two more Walkers with shielding.

Seems like I'm starting with two copies of each of these, and to make it even sweeter- two of them are objective sets I've not used.  Sweet!

Next, resources are going to be an issue, due to the high cost of some of the vehicles.  I'm already playing Imperial Navy, which has one of the best resource objective sets at this point- Imperial Command.  It's got Motti, after all.  So why not include two of those, as well.

For the last couple of slots, I'm a bit torn.  I want to include The Ultimate Power, as it provides good resources, and some crunch power for killing objectives.  I also want to include Sabotage in the Snow, since the Forward Command Posts provide resources AND buff my Walkers, who should be able to shields easy.  Another Hoth objective is nice, too, as it provides a bit of synergy with other cards.

Since I can't decide between them, I'll include them both for now, and go with 11 objective sets.  I'll trim after a few games.  So, that leave my Walker deck as follows:

Imperial Navy Walkers 
Total Cards: (55)

Affiliation:
Imperial Navy

Objective: (11)
2x Imperial Command (Core 26-1)
2x The Ultimate Power (Core 28-1)
2x The Endor Gambit (Core 31-1)
2x The General's Imperative (Assault on Echo Base 56-1)
1x Sabotage in the Snow (Assault on Echo Base 58-1)
2x Unstoppable Advance (The Battle of Hoth 63-1)

Unit: (34)
2x Admiral Motti (Core 26-2)
2x Duty Officer (Core 26-3)
2x Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core 26-4)
2x Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core 26-5)
2x Grand Moff Tarkin (Core 28-2)
2x Superlaser Engineer (Core 28-3)
2x Stormtrooper Elite (Core 28-4)
2x AT-ST Commander (Core 31-2)
2x AT-ST (Core 31-3)
2x AT-ST (Core 31-4)
2x General Veers (Assault on Echo Base 56-2)
2x Blizzard Force AT-ST (Assault on Echo Base 56-3)
2x Blizzard Force AT-ST (Assault on Echo Base 56-4)
1x Snowtrooper (Assault on Echo Base 58-2)
1x Snowtrooper Vanguard (Assault on Echo Base 58-3)
2x AT-AT (The Battle of Hoth 63-2)
2x AT-AT (The Battle of Hoth 63-3)
2x AT-AT Assault Formation (The Battle of Hoth 63-4)

Enhancement: (12)
2x Orbital Bombardment (Core 26-6)
2x Control Room (Core 28-5)
2x Aft Armor Plating (Core 31-5)
2x Turbolaser Battery (Assault on Echo Base 56-5)
1x Forward Command Post (Assault on Echo Base 58-4)
1x Forward Command Post (Assault on Echo Base 58-5)
2x Orbital Resupply Station (The Battle of Hoth 63-5)

Event: (4)
2x Superlaser Blast (Core 28-6)
2x Aggressive Assault (The Battle of Hoth 63-6)

Fate: (5)
2x Target of Opportunity (Core 31-6)
2x Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base 56-6)
1x Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base 58-6)

I've got a lot of bodies, including 14 Walkers, but very little that I can do to surprise my opponent... four Events and five Fate cards might make a lot of the game predictable.  We'll see.  Like I said, I'll take it for a go in its current state.

Also, this removes a few unused objectives, leaving me with the following unused:
Imperial Navy:
A Dark Time for the Rebellion
Lord Vader's Command

Scum & Villainy:
Carbonite Transport
Hunt Them Down
Jabba's Orders
The Hunt for Han Solo
The Shadow of Nar Shaddaa

Sith:
Serve the Emperor
The Ghosts of the Dark Side
The Killing Cold
Vader's Fist

DS Neutral:
Across the Jundland Wastes
Asteroid Pursuit
Endless Reserves
Shadows on the Ice

Next time, I'll write about what I'm doing with my Light Side decks.

Star Wars LCG Progression, Part 1

So, I love card games for many reasons, but a big one is that I love the deck-building side of things.  Sitting down with an idea, fleshing it out with a variety of cards from the card pool, and then taking your ideas and throwing them against your opponent's ideas?  Well, it's just fantastic.

Now, as part of this, I really enjoy exploring the whole card pool.  That card that no one ever throws in their decks?  Yeah, those are the cards I like looking at, and seeing if I can't get some mileage out of.  It's a big part of the enjoyment for me.  So LCGs are really a natural fit- I always get a full playset of the cards with my purchases, and with no rarity, the companies should have a disincentive to printing 'bad' cards.  Every card should have a role to fill in the meta and the card pool.  Otherwise, what was the purpose of printing that card?

When the Star Wars LCG came out, I played a decent amount of it, especially when the only product out was the Core Set.  Now that the game is 'complete', however, I look back and realize there were a LOT of gaps in my experience with the game, and I played a bunch at the very beginning, some after about cycle three, and a few games at the very end.  That's great, but wouldn't it be great if I could take my time through the game, really get to enjoy it, and really get to explore the card pool?

Well, looks like I'm getting a good chance to.  My friend Eric picked up the complete set after trying the game, and we've agreed to go through the game, playing it slowly, and deliberately.  Spend a bit of time with each cycle, trying out some new decks, and actually getting to enjoy the game without the rush to 'solve' the meta, and without the need to play only the top tier stuff.  So, I'm going to blog about this, as it'll be good to help me keep track of what I've done, and hey, maybe someone else will find it useful too.

At this point, he and I are playing with the Core Set, first deluxe expansion (Edge of Darkness), and the first cycle (the Hoth cycle).  We've played a few games, re-invigorating my love of it, and hopefully giving Eric a lot of enjoyment, but as we prepare to play some more, I have decided to push myself to actually use EVERY objective set in at least some decks, so that I can explore the card pool.

This post, I'm focusing on the Dark Side decks I'm running.  Also, I'm going to consider the Core Set objectives 'played' already- I played a lot of Core Set only games, and I guarantee I've used them all at some point.  Also, just because I use an objective set doesn't mean I won't use it in the future.  I just really want to force myself to look at all the cards, and give serious consideration to using them.

So, let's look at the decks I've used so far, and how they've done.

All of my decks, by the way, I've built using the CardgameDB Deck Builder.

Sith/Imperial Navy Capital Ships
Total Cards: (50)

Affiliation:
Sith

Objective: (10)
2x The Emperor's Web (Core 23-1)
2x Imperial Command (Core 26-1)
1x Death and Despayre (Core 29-1)
2x Deploy the Fleet (The Search for Skywalker 46-1)
2x The Executor Arrives (Escape from Hoth 66-1)
1x Imperial Blockade (Edge of Darkness 88-1)

Unit: (29)
2x Emperor Palpatine (Core 23-2)
2x Emperor's Royal Guard (Core 23-3)
2x Admiral Motti (Core 26-2)
2x Duty Officer (Core 26-3)
2x Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core 26-4)
2x Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core 26-5)
1x Devastator (Core 29-2)
1x Imperial Officer (Core 29-3)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-2)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-3)
2x Fleet Navigator (The Search for Skywalker 46-4)
2x Executor (Escape from Hoth 66-2)
2x ISB Liaison (Escape from Hoth 66-3)
2x ISB Liaison (Escape from Hoth 66-4)
1x Captain Needa (Edge of Darkness 88-2)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-3)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-4)

Enhancement: (10)
2x Sith Library (Core 23-4)
2x Orbital Bombardment (Core 26-6)
1x Control Room (Core 29-4)
1x Defense Upgrade (Core 29-5)
2x Death Squadron Command (The Search for Skywalker 46-5)
2x Sith Holocron (Escape from Hoth 66-5)

Event: (10)
2x Force Lightning (Core 23-5)
2x Force Choke (Core 23-6)
2x Admiral's Orders (The Search for Skywalker 46-6)
2x Aggression (Escape from Hoth 66-6)
1x Apology Accepted (Edge of Darkness 88-5)
1x Tractor Beam (Edge of Darkness 88-6)

Fate: (1)
1x Heat of Battle (Core 29-6)

I've played this twice so far, both times against Eric's Rebel Alliance Snowspeeder deck, and both times I won.  I'm able to get at least one capital ship out pretty early, within the first two turns, and although I generally lose an objective, I usually have enough muscle to power through to the end game. 

With 29 units, I usually can keep a good board presence, and with an objective reducer, 12 cards capable of generating resources, a few other cards that reduce the cost of capital ships, and the Sith Holocron to help get the Executor out... well, I seem to have the resource curve covered.

I don't really know what more I could do to improve this one, at the moment, but it does have at least some problems with the force struggle if Palpatine isn't on the board.  I'll use it from time to time to see how it plays as Eric's decks change, but at least for now, I'm happy where it is.

Mono Scum and Villainy... Control?
Total Cards: (50)

Affiliation:
Scum and Villainy


Objective: (10)
2x Lucrative Contract (Assault on Echo Base 57-1)
2x Hive of Scum and Villainy (Edge of Darkness 80-1)
2x Jabba's Reach (Edge of Darkness 81-1)
1x The Tatooine Crash (Edge of Darkness 82-1)
1x Trandoshan Terror (Edge of Darkness 85-1)
2x Feeding the Pit (Edge of Darkness 86-1)

Unit: (30)
2x Outer Rim Space Pirates (Assault on Echo Base 57-2)
2x Corrupt Official (Assault on Echo Base 57-3)
2x Corrupt Official (Assault on Echo Base 57-4)
2x Greedo (Edge of Darkness 80-2)
2x Paid Informant (Edge of Darkness 80-3)
2x Paid Informant (Edge of Darkness 80-4)
2x Jabba the Hutt (Edge of Darkness 81-2)
2x Jabba's Pleasure Barge (Edge of Darkness 81-3)
2x Gamorrean Guard (Edge of Darkness 81-4)
1x Jawa Scavenger (Edge of Darkness 82-2)
1x Jawa Scavenger (Edge of Darkness 82-3)
1x Sandcrawler (Edge of Darkness 82-4)
1x Bossk (Edge of Darkness 85-2)
1x Trandoshan Hunter (Edge of Darkness 85-3)
1x Trandoshan Hunter (Edge of Darkness 85-4)
2x Bib Fortuna (Edge of Darkness 86-2)
2x Krayt Dragon (Edge of Darkness 86-3)
2x Gamorrean Guard (Edge of Darkness 86-4)

Enhancement: (7)
2x Bounty (Edge of Darkness 80-5)
2x Prized Possession (Edge of Darkness 81-5)
1x Bounty (Edge of Darkness 85-5)
2x The Almighty Sarlacc (Edge of Darkness 86-6)

Event: (9)
2x Explosive Charge (Assault on Echo Base 57-5)
2x Captured (Edge of Darkness 80-6)
2x Reversal of Fate (Edge of Darkness 81-6)
1x Utinni! (Edge of Darkness 82-5)
2x Spice Visions (Edge of Darkness 86-5)

Fate: (4)
2x Twist of Fate (Assault on Echo Base 57-6)
1x Twist of Fate (Edge of Darkness 82-6)
1x Heat of Battle (Edge of Darkness 85-6)

One nice thing about this idea of a progression series is that I can spend some time REALLY getting to know some of the stuff I didn't get a chance to before.  One part of that is the whole Scum and Villainy card pool.  I really didn't play a lot of green cards during the game's lifespan, except rarely when I threw things together.  Now, I'm going to force myself to do so.

This deck has only been played once, against Eric's Rebel Alliance Speeder deck.  I ended up winning, primarily on the back of the two Reversal of Fates.  So I really need to get it on the table more before I try to tweak it any, so I can figure out exactly what it is good at.  It does capture cards occasionally... but not super effectively.  It has a lot of tricks, but it feels like it's lacking focus.  That may be what I try to build into it, going forward.

It has plenty of units, and six resource cards.  Eight units with Tactics icons.  I feel like I do struggle with resources, thinking back... but yeah, really just need to play it again.

Okay, that's it for this post.  Next post, I'll look at which Dark Side objectives I still need to play, and build a new deck using a bunch of them (something Imperial Navy or Sith focused, most likely).

Made my first Brawl deck! [Magic: The Gathering]

Boom!

After hearing about the format, I couldn't wait to give it a try!  I finally sat down and built a deck, using Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun as my Commander.

I figure I'll try using it and God-Pharaoh's gift to recur a bunch of big scary creatures, like Zetalpa and Goring Ceratops, and a some control and search effects.  Figure it'll be a good intro to the format for me.  Hopefully I get to try it tomorrow!

I won't bother with a decklist right now, as it is probably garbage.  But hey, eventually if I find something that works, I'll post it up :)

Path to Carcosa: The Last King (Potentially spoilers) [Arkham Horror LCG]

My group finally found some time, and sat down and played our second game of the Path to Carcosa campaign- The Last King.  In here, we are interviewing the cast/crew of the play... and strange things start happening.

I again took Yorrick, and talked about my deck and previous results here: http://boisterous-exuberance.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-path-to-carcosa-begins-arkham.html

I made a few changes to my deck with the experience I received.  Looking to add some extra combat punch, I replaced the level 0 Vicious Blow with a level 2 version (for 2 xp), and replaced a Guard Dog with Aquinnah level 3.  That should help my survivability and damage output.

In our scenario, we had to hop between locations, talking to the crew, and generating clues.  With my Fine Clothes, I actually had a really easy time with things overall.  We ended up fully interviewing two, with two of them dying, and getting out.

We ended up getting Resolution 1, then Lunacy Reward 1, as we elected to check back on the house and party.

Our campaign log currently reads:
Doubt - 2
Chasing the Stranger - 2
You have identified the solution (Rob)
You chose not to go to the Police
The Stranger is on to you
You Intruded on a Secret Meeting
Total Experience: 9
VIPs Interviewed: Ishimaru Haruko, Sebastie Moreau
VIPs Slain: Constance Dumaine, Ashleigh Clarke
Bobby now has the Man in the Pallid Mask weakness

We continue playing on Tuesday.

New Arrivals [Tabletop Wargames/Other Boardgames]

So quite a few random pre-orders and Kickstarters arrived recently, and I figured I'd show and talk about the things I've received lately!

First up was the new issue of CounterFact magazine, a great magazine covering military history and wargames. I haven't had a chance to read the articles yet, but I assume they are fantastic as the previous ones have been.

This issue, as with all their others, comes with a game- Islamic State: The Syria War.

Two players, with one player playing as the US/NATO/Kurdish/Syrian Rebels forces, one playing the Russian/Syrian/Iranian forces, and DAESH controlled by the game system.  I've played the Libyan War in this system, but that was a solitaire design. I'd be interested to see how it plays with a second player.

Next, the Kickstarter from Way of the Fighter arrived.

This is a card game that simulates the 2D fighting video games. Kind of an interesting system- there's a minimal amount of deck building, and the mechanics seem pretty good. Be interesting to see, in practice, how this compares to BattleCon and EXCEED (which I have coming sometime in the next few months).

Next arrival was The Great Game from Legion Wargames.

This is a Card Driven wargame, covering the military and political operations in Central Asia between the Russian Empire and the British Empire in the mid-1800s.

 Beautiful looking map. Legion Wargames does great work!

And two countersheets, cards, and the rulebook. Great looking components, and one I'm planning to bring to PrezCon this month.

Next three arrivals are from Kickstarter.  First, the Traveller Card Game.

I love card games with fixed expansions. What can I say? I haven't opened this yet, and don't know the rules... I do know that there is some errata already (a printing error), so I'll have to keep an eye out for that when I open this up.

Second one was Rising Sun!

Cat shown for size comparison only, not included with the KS pledge

That's quite a lot of stuff, and I'm still missing the oversize playmat board (being shipped separately)! I may bring this to PrezCon, as it's a good multiplayer game with rules that aren't too complex.

Final Kickstarter arrival came today- Chariots of Rome.

This is, obviously, a game about Chariot Racing! There are different drivers, rules for damaging the chariots... and I'm sure a bunch more, but I don't know too much about this yet (other than it looks awesome!).

 Just really cool looking components.  I can't wait to play this!

So there ya have it- this is what I've added to my collection recently, and hopefully will have something more to say about all of these in the near future!

Got my new Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn decks!

I finally opened my two new acquisitions from Plaid Hat Games, the Masters of Gravity and the Path of Assassins expansions! Let's take a look.

I'll start by looking at the Path of Assassins expansion. There were previews here, here, and here, already, but nothing beats having the product in your hand. Jericho seems to be focused on directly killing the opposing Phoenixborn (hence the name, haha). What's really interesting about this deck is the lack of power symbols on any cost! An entire deck with cards tailored around only the basic die symbol. That's pretty awesome, and with all the basic magic symbol costs on these cards, it'll give us players a lot more options when building decks.

Back of Jericho Kill's box

Well, most of the cards that are part of the deck were already previewed in articles, and the rest will be on the Ashes deck builder in no time, so I'm going to post the rest here!

Spear Master! Well, I despise that discard cost, but a three attack Battle Advantage Unit that only costs basic magic symbols is going to find a use, I think. She'll be able to do a lot of damage to your opponent's defenders, and help you win that attrition war, or get an opening to put some real damage onto the Phoenixborn.

I'm not sure I'll get a whole lot of use from Squire outside of this expansion deck. Buuuuuuut, card draw is always nice, and with the one Deluxe, there certainly are good ways to make some use of it. Still, probably better ways to go about getting your draw.

I'm not sure what I'll do with Hand Tricks. Spend a basic die to draw a card and get a basic die... with the cost of this card as well. This feels like a card that could make some pretty great combo deck work, should such a set of cards make it worthwhile. I'll give it some thought.

The other expansion in The Masters of Gravity, with Echo Greystorm as the Phoenixborn. Previews for this were posted here, here, and here.

Back of Echo Greystorm's box

He uses dice from the two recently released deluxe expansions in roughly equal numbers (slightly more focused on Divine), including cards with Parallel Costs, that can be paid for with either Divine or Sympathy magic.

Let's take a look at the other cards in this expansion.

Law of Fear is going to be a great finishing card. Put it out, increase some attack values, and then hammer your opponent, who has to pay some precious resources (or wounds) to stop you. There's potential to set up some great endings with this card, I can't wait to actually use it!

Holy Relics seems fine. I've tried using an Orrick deck that just maxes out some Gobi Sunshields to make them brutal, and this would fit in nicely. Pretty straightforward.

This feels a bit pricey for the ability, but coupled with all the other exhaustion manipulation available in this particular deck, Enlightenment is probably a great card. There are TONS of uses for having a unit available for something else, so yeah, I bet this probably sees play, and probably will be worth its two dice.

I LOVED the Deluxe Expansions, and these cards just drive home how great this game is. I can't wait to play again, and throw these decks on the table, and then build some decks using these cards!

The Path to Carcosa begins... [Arkham Horror LCG]

My game group finally sat down to start going through The Path to Carcosa campaign for Arkham Horror: The Card Game.  We spent a bit of time working to determine who would play what, as we wanted to make sure we had all the bases covered.  In the end, our team is myself, running William Yorick, Rob running Minh Thi Phan, Ben running Lola Hayes, and Bobby running Akachi Onyele.  We should have a good spread of abilities, with Minh, Lola, and Akachi able to investigate decently well, with some combat abilities spread out among us all (although I probably take point on that)  We hope to each be flexible enough to contribute where needed, but still have a useful niche.

To start, I just took a deck from ArkhamDB, as I was a bit crunched for time, and figured that the decks are there would be pretty good.  Specifically, I took this deck

William Yorick

Assets
2x Guard Dog
2x Knife
2x Fine Clothes
2x Lantern
2x Gravedigger's Shovel

Events
1x Dodge
2x "Look what I found!"
2x Lucky!
2x Emergency Cache
1x "If it bleeds..."
1x Bury Them Deep

Skills
2x Vicious Blow
2x Guts
2x Perception
2x Overpower
2x Unexpected Courage
2x Resourceful

Treachery
1x Random Basic Weakness

Enemy
1x Graveyard Ghouls

This seemed pretty great actually- good stats for the things I want to do, and a few ways to get things done even without drawing a token.  Finally, we decided to play on Hard difficulty, which will definitely give us a challenge!

And now, I'll create a bit of a buffer here.  Below here will have a few spoilers:

So, went through the scenario pretty easily, each managing our own role well. A big monster appeared in the Theater, I took care of it in one turn. Clues? As a team, we had no problem with them. Overall, we moved through very effectively. In the end, we managed to get the clues we needed, defeat the Man in the Pallid Mask, and get out in time.

Our campaign log currently reads:
Doubt - 1
Chasing the Stranger - 2
You have identified the solution (Rob)
You chose not to go to the Police
The Stranger is on to you
Total Experience: 6
Bobby now has the Man in the Pallid Mask weakness

Look back on 2016 card gaming

Welcome to 2017! I'm only a month or so late.

Last year ended up being rough on my time, and I gamed a lot less than I did the previous year (I flopped cards only 200 times last year, compared to 325 the previous year. Lots of factors contributed, which I've mentioned from time to time- I got married, had a lot of other family drama to deal with, worked on my Master's... all sorts of things. My Thursday gaming group, who I joined to play L5R has not touched the game, or any card games since AEG announced the sale, which effectively cut my gaming days in half.

However, I still love card gaming, and I am definitely excited to see what this year has in store.

So, let's look at what I did play last year:

.hack//enemy - 1 (new!)
24 TCG - 1 (new!)
7th Sea CCG - 1 (new!)
Adventure Time: Card Wars - 1 (new!)
Android: Netrunner - 71
Arkham Horror LCG - 5 (new!)
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn - 2
City of Heroes CCG - 1
Doomtown: Reloaded - 6
Epic Card Game - 8
Force of Will - 2 (new!)
Game of Thrones 2nd Edition - 9
Hecatomb - 1 (new!)
Legend of the Five Rings - 6 (all arc)
Lord of the Rings LCG - 15
Magic: The Gathering - 45 (3 Standard, 38 Commander, 3 Pauper, 1 Draft Multiplayer)
Marvel VS 2PCG - 2
Pokemon - 3
Star Wars CCG - 1
Star Wars Destiny - 1 (new!)
Star Wars LCG - 6
Star Wars TCG - 1 (new!)
Warhammer 40K: Conquest - 9
WARS TCG - 1
Xena - 1 (new!)

I did manage to add a few new games to the ones I have tried, at least, so I can count that as a success for the year. In addition, no game was so terrible that I would not play it again (although I am only including Xena as a means to introduce my wife to card gaming. That will likely be a cut at some point).

Speaking of, I will repost from last year- here is the list of games I will not play again:

• Powercardz/Spawn Powercardz - I played this quite a bit as a kid. Its mechanics, I recognize now, were terrible. It is too simple, and not really much of a game.
• Hyborian Gates - Was this even a game? I think purchasing this really was just enjoying the great art (and awful cropping). The game itself (yes, I managed to figure out the rules) was just awful.
• Spellfire - I have not played this in a LOOOOONG time, but I have no positive memories of having done so. I believe some of my complaints were actually addressed, but this still was not enjoyable enough to bother trying again.
• Weis Schwarz (new addition to this list for 2016) - Cas and I gave this a shot this past year, but the game was extremely weak. The climax cards add an unpleasant level of variance to the game, and although part of the mechanics are meant to address the Runaway Leader syndrome, it does not do quite enough to make up the gap. If I manage to get enough pieces together to swing for the fence, and I hit a climax card, I am annoyed. If I do not... that's tough to recover from. It was far too simple for us, even without this.
• Gridiron Fantasy Football - The mechanics of this game were not particularly bad, but the game dragged unbearably, and at some point, I would rather just play something else.  

So far, 2017 has been off to a great start. I've already had the opportunity to try a new game (Myths at War, the English translation of Guerra de Mitos), which I absolutely love. Also, I have played a few games of Arkham Horror and Magic, and I expect I will get many chances during the year to sit down and play.

That, as ever, is the goal, of course. With several new games on the horizon (L5R LCG, Twilight of the Gods, the Traveler Card Game), and old games that I have cards, and am preparing to try (Wyvern, Rifts, Magi-Nation), this is going to be an exciting year for me and card gaming.

My Card Gaming, Week Ending 8/6/16

Games played:

• Adventure Time Card Wars - 1 game.  I grabbed a copy of this for pretty cheap, and figured it would be a fun filler.  After trying it, that's basically exactly what it is.  I think it would be pretty fun, and simple enough to teach to non-gamers.  I'm a ways away from building some new decks for this, however.  Plus, you know, I'd want to play it more.
• Doomtown: Reloaded - 1 game.  Taught the game to someone at the game store.
• Epic Card Game - 5 games.  Improved my two constructed decks some.  They actually make for a decent match against one another- now I just need to try to get more people interested in the game.

New acquisitions:

• Android: Netrunner - Grabbed the Corp World Champ deck.  I will probably buy the other one, but I wanted to see if it was worth it to do so, first.
• Dragonball Z -Two boxes of Vengeance boosters.  I'm finally caught up on major purchases for this game.  Now to just buy random things I need.
• Lord of the Rings LCG - Flame of the West expansion.  Quite some time before I'll do anything with this, but I was glad to buy it.
• Warhammer 40K Conquest - Slash and Burn.  Still haven't opened this, but I think we'll be playing a lot of Conquest next week, so this could easily be something I see a lot of soon.

Won't have time to do a Back Issues on Monday, sadly, but I'll get back to it the following week!

New FFG LCG!

You know, in case you haven't seen it yet.

I, naturally, am excited, but I also realize what seems to happen whenever FFG comes out with a new LCG.  Something is likely getting canceled :(.  I hope to be wrong, but we'll see what news GenCon brings...

Back Issues, Scrye 97

Issue released July 2006

Anachronism

8 participant tournament, won by David Bennett:
Kupe
Slea Le Scian Le Cumaduelleog
Dli Breithim
Heyokha
Moka

Horemheb the Great
Heimadal
Prosveschenniy Absolutism
Polusablya
Broigne De Cailles

Thasunka Witko
Ast
Sword of Mars
Ithanchan Thawaphana
Golden Corselet

Inuyasha
The Band of Seven:
8 Kagura
6 Bankotsu, Band of Seven
6 Jakotsu, Band of Seven
6 Suikotsu, Band of Seven
6 Mukotsu, Band of Seven
5 Renkotsu, Band of Seven
5 Ginkotsu, Band of Seven
2 Tenseiga, Sword of Life
3 Halt!
1 I Didn't Say Get Naked!
1 Is That All you Got?
1 Here He Comes to Save the Day!
1 Burst of Power
1 You Were Worried
1 Just Ask for Help
3 In Command
3 Kikyo's Embrace
1 Overjoyed
Kaitou:
1 Making Plans
5 School Hallway
6 Kyukotsu, Band of Seven

Tournament Deck List for 11 person tournament, won by Michael Lum:
19 Naraku's Poison Insects, 3
2 Naraku, Master of Demons
2 Goshinki, Spawn of Naraku
6 Kagura, Spawn of Naraku
2 Muso, Heart of Onigumo
6 Koga, Wolf Leader
3 Thank You Great Lord
2 The Little People!
1 Burst of Power
1 Is That All You Got?
1 On the Move
1 What Are You Doing?
1 On the Run
1 Just Ask for Help
1 The Long Walk Home
1 Overjoyed
1 Menacing Evil
2 Naraku's Power
1 Thinks Don't Look So Good For Our Hero
1 Tenseiga, the Sword of Life
1 Beach Front
1 Nest of Eggs
2 Woodland Valley
6 Kanna, Spawn of Naraku
1 Massive Destruction
1 Shikon Jewel Nearly Completed
1 Steak
1 Blown Away
1 Woodland Valley
1 Enraged
2 Naraku's New Castle
1 Goshinki, Spawn of Naraku

Pretty sure there's supposed to be a seperator there somewhere, but I have no idea where.

Magic: The Gathering
Quite a bit of discussion about the Dissension expansion, talking about the featured Guilds, a top 10 list of cards (the new dual lands won out), and a text spoiler of all the cards.

Turning Red (Red Control)
4 Great Furnace
3 Goblin Lore
4 Gamble
1 Wheel of Fortune
3 Tangle Wire
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Grim Monolith
4 Shrapnel Blast
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Diamond
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Barbarian Ring
1 Lotus Petal
6 Mountain
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Triskelion
3 Gorilla Shaman
1 Sol Ring
4 Mycosynth Lattice
4 Shattering Spree
4 Goblin Welder

Get the Mycosynth Lattice into the graveyard, use Goblin Welder to get it out, and use Shattering Spree to do some serious damage.

Racer Knights of Falconus 
Racer:
Fannie Gremster (Gremlin Knight, 122-UR)
Vehicle:
War Hog (Ogre Chassis, 19AB-C)
Snake Charger (Serpid Engine, 58-C)
Tuned Crystal (Alfar Tires, 33-R)
Spellslinger V (Human Weapon, 71-U)

Wait, what?  Odd inclusion, I know- but I definitely remember playing this for a time in college, and enjoying it some.  It came and went pretty quick though.  I bought a bunch of packs, and then like overnight, no one had any interest in playing.  Kind of a pity!  Maybe I'll go search for some random packs, just for nostalgia.  Hmmm....

Top Tens

Top Selling CCGs:

1. Magic: The Gathering
2. Yu-Gi-Oh!
3. Pokemon
4. VS System
5. Duel Masters
6. Inuyasha
7. Dragon Ball Z
8. Legend of the Five Rings
9. WWE Raw Deal
10. Zatch Bell

Top Selling Magic Cards:

1. Watery Grave
2. Overgrown Tomb
3. Umezawa's Jitte
4. Stomping Ground
5. Birds of Paradise
6. Twincast
7. Chrome Mox
8. Godless Shrine
9. Wrath of God
10. Niv-Mezzet, The Firemind

Universal Fighting System
Ninja Caliber:
1 Taki
Attacks:
4 Shadow Ripper
4 Bamboo Cutter
4 Blind Drop
4 Shadow Split
4 Twin Splitters
4 Earth Scroll
4 Swift Edge
4 Item Stitch
4 Disembowel
Foundations:
4 The Power of the Gale
4 Persistence
4 Ridiculously Flexible
4 Focus the Soul
4 Green
Weapon:
1 Rekki-Maru & Mekki-Maru
Action:
4 Finesse

Kick It!:
1 Chun-Li
Attacks:
4 Knee Flip Kick
4 Tenshin Shuu Kyaku
4 Senjou Shuu
4 Kakushu Raku Kyaku
4 Heel Stomp
4 Earth Scroll
4 Souren Shou
4 Jab
4 Senretsukyaku
Foundations:
4 World's Strongest Woman
4 Green
4 Feels no Pain
4 Hardened Veteran
4 The Power of the Gale
4 Power Up

I've never played UFS, but I know it's still out there.  Guess who just ordered some starters?  This guy!

Vs System
X-Burn (Mutant deck using only cards from X-Men expansion):
4 Archangel, Angel
4 Changeling, Kevin Sidney
2 Lockheed, Saurian Sidekick
4 Jubilee, Jubilation Lee
2 Longshot, Hero of Mojoworld
4 Shadowcat, Katya
4 Dazzler, Rockstar
4 Xorn, Shen Xorn
4 Havok, Critical Mass
4 Cyclops, Blue Leader
4 Harry's Hideaway
4 Worthington Industries, X-Corp
4 Time Breach
4 The Evil Eye
4 Turnabout
4 Feel the Burn

Are You Mental (only cards from X-Men expansion):
4 Viper, White Warrior Princess
4 Sage, Tessa
4 Tarot, Hellion
2 Harry Leland, Black Bishop
2 Madelyne Pryor, Black Rook
4 Empath, Hellion
1 Shinobi Shaw, White King
4 Trevor Fitzroy, White Rook
1 Magneto, Black Lord
4 Donald Pierce, White Bishop
3 Emma Frost, White Queen
4 Join the Club
4 Memory Probe
3 Absolute Power
3 Psychic Armor
4 Army of One
3 Shaw Industries
3 The Hellfire Club
3 Inner Circle

Acolytes of Avalon (only cards from X-Men expansion):
4 Rem-Ram, Acolyte
4 Kleinstock Brothers, Acolyte
4 Amelia Voght, Acolyte
4 Chrome, Acolyte
4 Joanna Cargill, Acolyte
2 Senyaka, Acolyte
4 Spoor, Acolyte
3 Anne-Marie Cortex, Acolyte
1 Sabretooth, Savage Killer
1 Harry Delgado, Acolyte
1 Colossus, Acolyte
1 Exodus, Acolyte
1 Fabian Corteaz, Acolyte
4 Boot to the Head
4 Lying in Wait
4 Sovereign Superior
4 The Acolytes
4 Kidney Punch
3 Kill or be Killed
3 Ruins of Avalon

Other Things:
An interview with the brand manager for the Battlestar Galactica CCG.  Looked like an okay game, but the cut corners on the cards are a bit of a turn-off for me. The description of the game looks like a mesh of other CCGs, so it's hard to tell what makes it unique.

My Card Gaming, Week Ending 7/30/16

Games played:

• Lord of the Rings LCG - 5 games.  Picking up from where we left off, Bobby, Ben, and I finished up the Long Dark (in two tries), Foundations of Stone (first try), and tried Shadow and Flame twice, but failed, meaning we'll try that again next time.  I changed the secrecy deck I was using for a time for a Spirit/Lore draw heavy deck, trying to ensure everyone had a lot of cards, and then using Protector of Lorien to give me a potential outlet to get rid of cards I didn't actually need.

New acquisitions:

• Dragonball Z - Various singles
• Magic: The Gathering - Various singles to make my superfriends deck

Back Issues: Inquest Gamer 64

Issue released August 2000.

Magic: The Gathering

Report from the U.S. Nationals, won by Jon Finkel, and his decklist:
2 Phyrexian Negator
2 Skittering Horror
3 Skittering Skirge
1 Stromgald Cabal
1 Thrashing Wumpus
4 Dark Ritual
4 Duress
1 Engineered Plague
1 Eradicate
1 Massacre
1 Perish
1 Persecute
1 Stupor
2 Unmask
4 Vampiric Tutor
4 Vicious Hunger
4 Yawgmoth's Will
2 Dust Bowl
4 Rishadan Port
2 Spawning Pool
15 Swamp
Sideboard:
2 Engineered Plague
1 Eradicate
1 Massacre
1 Perish
2 Phyrexian Negator
1 Phyrexian Processor
1 Powder Keg
2 Rapid Decay
1 Stromgald Cabal
1 Stupor
1 Thran Lens
1 Unmask

Magic's Top 100 Most Knockout cards was a feature in this issue.  I won't list them all, but the top 10 were, in order, Ancestral Recall, Library of Alexandria, Tolarian Academy, Mind Twist, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Balance, Mana Drain, Demonic Tutor, Force of Will, and Time Spiral.

Killer Decks: Replenish
1 Marble Diamond
1 Sky Diamond
1 Trade Routes
1 Seal of Removal
1 Lilting Refrain
4 Attunement
4 Parallax Tide
4 Frantic Search
2 Counterspell
4 Enlightened Tutor
4 Repenish
4 Opalescence
4 Parallax Wave
2 Seal of Cleaning
4 Adarkar Wastes
10 Island
9 Plains
Sideboard:
3 Seal of Removal
2 Seal of Cleansing
2 Counterspell
3 Chill
2 Mana Short
1 Back To Basics
1 Arcane Laboratory
1 Energy Flux

Get Enchantments in the Graveyard, cast Replenish, have enough new creatures (with Opalescence) to win the game.

Theme Deck: Beach Blanket Blammo (Deck built around the beach)
The Babes:
1 Argothian Enchantress
1 Caller Of The Hunt
1 Elvish Ranger
1 Fire Elemental
1 Jasmine Boreal
1 Lady Evangela
1 Pixie Queen
1 Rubinia Soulsinger
1 Serra Angel
1 Sivitri Scarzam
1 Verduran Enchantress
1 Vesuvan Doppelganger
The Hunks:
1 Balduvian Horde
1 Craw Giant
1 Ivory Guardians
1 Mijae Djinn
1 Nameless Race
1 Ragnar
1 Sanctum Guardian
1 Serendib Djnn
1 Soldevi Sentry
1 Soldier of Fortune
1 Veteran Bodyguard
1 Zhalfirin Crusader
The Supplies:
1 Chaos Orb (beach ball)
1 Elixir of Vitality (beer!)
1 Soothing Balm (suntan lotion)
1 Sunglasses of Urza
The Elements:
1 Burnout
1 Heat Ray
1 Heat Stroke
1 Heat Wave
1 High Tide
1 Sands of Time
The Critters:
1 Homarid
1 Horseshoe Crab
The Sand & Stuff:
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Plateau
4 Taiga
4 Tropical Island
4 Volcanic Island

Top 10 Magic Cards

1.  Masticore
2. Replenish
3. Rishadan Port
4. Morphling
5. Greel, Mind Raker
6. Mageta the Lion
7. Parallax Wave
8. Parallax Tide
9. Lin Sivvi
10. Rootwater Thief

 Top 10 CCGs:

1. Pokemon
2. Magic: The Gathering
3. Star Wars CCCG
4. Legend of the Five Rings
5. Young Jedi CCG
6. 7th Sea
7. Wheel of Time CCG
8. Star Trek CCG
9. Deadlands: Doomtown
10. Babylon 5 CCG

 Wheel of Time

Killer Deck: Illian Rising!
Starting Villain:
Sammael
Starting Hand:
Lord Brend
King Mattin Stepaneos
Strong Loyalties
Advantages:
1 Charismatic Leader
1 Illian
2 Preemptive Strike
2 The City of Illian
2 The Shadow Rising
Challenges:
3 Confrontation
3 Invasion
3 Request Tribute
2 Stalemate
3 War of Attrition
Characters:
2 Lord Argirin Darelos
2 Lord Ballin Elamri
2 Lord Drapeneos
2 Lord Elris Mancuri
1 Lord Ershin Netari
1 Lord Gregorian Panar
2 Lord Jeordwyn Semaris
1 Lord Spiron Naretin
Events:
3 Overrun
3 Sabotage
3 Strong Loyalties (maybe 2, since this is in the starting hand)
3 The Port of Illian
Troops:
2 Blockade Runners
3 Illian Lancers
2 Illian Volunteers
2 The Companions

Work to get Illian into your hand as soon as possible. Then you can start getting all those Illian characters into play, then play The Port of Illian.

Theme Deck: Let There Be Light!
Staring Hero: Rand al'Thor (1,1,2,1 version, chosen starting allegiance: Children of the Light)
Starting Hand:
Circle of Light
Child of the Light
Half Legion
Advantages:
3 A Second Chance
1 Circle of Light
2 Leader of Nations
3 Momentum
2 Saidin Angreal
Challenges:
3 Confrontation
3 Testing Fate
3 Political Maneuvering
Characters:
3 Child of the Light
2 Jarette Byar
2 Whitecloak Spy
2 Geofram Bornhald
1 Eamon Valda
1 Pedron Niall
2 Dain Bornhald
2 Hired Agents
2 Wandering Nobles
Events:
3 The Light Illumine
3 Blood Tide
3 Twists in the Pattern
Troops:
3 Light Brigade
2 Legion
3 Half Legion
3 Patrol Troop

They mention that this isn't so far away from being a real killer deck, Children of the Light are pretty good, apparently.

Other Things:
They give a review of the Prophecy expansion for Magic (A-), the Sailor Moon CCG (B-), and the Digimon Digi-Battle Card Game (C).

There's some discussion about the X-Men card game- basic training, and a player's guide for the game.  I didn't include those here, as the game is pretty well panned.

My Card Gaming, Week Ending 7/23/16

Games played:

• Nothing :(.

New acquisitions:

• Dragonball Z - Perfection Booster Box
• Magic: The Gathering - Eldritch Moon Booster Box

Once again, I've just been too busy to play :(.  Upcoming wedding, finishing the project.  Busy times!

This week I should get back into the swing of things :)

Back Issues: Inquest Gamer 56

Issue released in December 1999.

Magic: The Gathering

Top 10 cards from Mercadian Masques

1. Squee, Goblin Nabob
2. Scandalmonger
3. Thwart
4. Power Matrix
5. Two-Headed Dragon
6. Ballista Squad
7. Mercadian Atlas
8. Soothsaying
9. Notorious Assassin
10. Collective Unconscious

No Rishadan Port, Bribery, Food Chain, or Dust Bowl?

Killer Deck: Green Beatdown
4 Albino Troll
2 Elvish Lyrist
4 Hunted Wumpus
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Pouncing Jaguar
4 River Boa
2 Uktabi Orangutan
4 Wild Dogs
4 Giant Growth
2 Might Of Oaks
4 Rancor
14 Forest
4 Gaea's Cradle
3 Treetop Village
1 Yavimaya Hollows

Mana Acceleration into creatures, then enhancements to deal as much damage as possible.

Non-Killer Theme Deck: Agents of Doom (Computer theme deck)
Hardware:
1 Balance (adjust your view)
1 Cold Storage
1 Elven Cache
2 Memory Crystal
3 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Phyrexian (17") Monitor
1 Phyrexian Processor
1 Urza's Tower
Software:
4 Benthic Explorer
1 Browse
1 Rank and File
4 Veteran Explorer
Internet:
1 Web
1 Magnetic Web
1 Mana Web
1 Silk Net
1 Soul Net
1 Sunweb
Pre-Installed Games:
1 Booby Trap
1 Gamekeeper
1 Goblin War Buggy
1 Teferi's Puzzle Box
Computer Problems:
1 Back to Basics
2 Memory Lapse
Computer Repair:
1 Jhoira's Toolbox
1 Jhoira's Tools
Power Sources:
4 Forest
6 Island
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Mishra's Workshop
1 Mountain
2 Plains
2 Swamp
4 Urza's Power Plant

Deck Building: Special Lands
Get lands on the table, keep them on the table, and use Wrath of God to clear the board for them to win.
3 Crop Rotation
2 Exploration
2 Hurricane
4 Mulch
4 Rancor
1 Reclaim
2 Symbiosis
3 Disenchant
4 Enlightened Tutor
2 Pacifism
2 Sacred Ground
2 Wrath of God
4 Forbidding Watchtower
7 Forest
6 Plains
4 Stalking Stones
4 Treetop Village
4 Wasteland

Top 10 Cards:

1. Masticore
2. Treachery
3. Squee, Goblin Nabob
4. Powder Keg
5. Two-Headed Dragon
6. Yawgmoth's Bargain
7. Emperor Crocodile
8. Ivory Mask
9. Vampiric Tutor
10. Delraich

Star Wars CCG

Killer Deck: Blitzkrieg
Locations:
1 Hoth
1 Hoth: Defensive Perimeter
1 Hoth: Echo Command Center (War Room)
1 Hoth: Echo Corridor
1 Hoth: Echo Docking Bay
1 Hoth: Ice Plains
1 Hoth: North Ridge
1 Spaceport Docking Bay
Characters:
1 Admiral Motti
1 Admiral Ozzel
1 Commander Igar
1 DS-61-2
2 Elite Squadron Stormtooper
1 Garindan
1 General Veers
1 IM4-099
1 Lieutenant Watts
1 Major Marquand
1 Quarren
1 Sergeant Major Bursk
1 Sergeant Narthax
4 Snowtrooper
2 Snowtrooper Officer
Vehicles:
1 Blizzard 1
1 Blizzard Scout 1
1 Blizzard Walker
1 Tempest 1
1 Tempest Scout
1 Tempest Scout 1
1 Tempest Scout 2
1 Tempest Scout 4
1 Tempest Scout 6
Starships:
1 Black 2
1 Bossk in Hound's Tooth
1 Dreadnought-Class Heavy Cruiser
1 TIE Avenger
1 Vengeance
Interrupts:
1 Freeze!
3 Trample
1 Twi'lek Advisor
1 Walker Garrison
Effects:
1 Crossfire
1 Empire's New Orders
1 Imperial Academy Training
1 Imperial Arrest Order
1 Rebel Base Occupation
Weapons:
1 AT-AT Cannon
1 AT-ST Dual Cannon
1 Blaster Rifle
1 Blaster Pistol
1 Scout Blaster
Epic Events:
1 Target The Main Generator

Basically, set up on Hoth, and start some serious draining.  If they come to stop you, great.  If not, that's fine- you'll have options.

Non-Killer Theme Deck: "Hair Power"
Locations:
1 Endor: Back Door
1 Endor: Chief Chirpa's Hut
1 Endor: Dense Forest
1 Endor: Great Forest
1 Endor: Hidden Forest Trail
1 Endor: Rebel Landing Site (Forest)
1 Forest
1 Jungle
Characters:
2 Bothan Spy
1 Chewbacca of Kashyyyk
1 Chewbacca
1 Chief Chirpa
1 Daughter of Skywalker
2 Ewok Sentry
2 Ewok Spearman
2 Ewok Tribesman
1 General Solo
1 Graak
2 Ithorian
1 Joh Yowza
1 Kazak
1 Logray
1 Lumat
1 Paploo
1 Rabin
1 Romba
1 Talz
1 Teebo
1 Threepio
1 Wicket
2 Wookiee
1 Wuta
1 Yarkora
Vehicles:
1 Chewie's AT-ST
1 Ewok Glider
Interrupts:
1 Ambush
2 Dash
1 Ewok and Roll
1 Ewok Log Jam
1 Ewok Rescue
1 Here We Go Again
1 Let the Wookie Win
1 Rug Hug
1 Take The Initative
1 Who's Scruffy-Looking?
1 Wookiee Guide
1 Wookiee Strangle
2 Yub Yub!
Effects:
1 Wokling
Weapons:
1 Chewbacca's Bowcaster
1 Ewok Catapult
2 Ewok Spear

Top 10 CCGs:

1. Pokemon
2. Magic
3. Young Jedi
4. Star Wars
5. Legend of the Five Rings
6. Star Trek
7. Doomtown
8. Babylon 5
9. Tomb Raider
10. Aliens/Predator

I've never managed to snag any Aliens/Predator decks.  And wasn't Young Jedi terrible?  I remember it being terrible.


Other Things
Article with some fake cards for the Star Wars CCG, for humor (for instance, the two part Darth Maul (Top Half) and Darth Maul (Bottom Half) cards).

BabeWatch - an article with various women from gaming/fantasy/sci-fi demonstrating why they'd be attractive to the average man, with the readers able to vote for the sexiest of them, to grace a future cover.  This issue's girls were Radiant, Laurana, Lanfear, Bayushi Kachiko, Wendy Cheng, Lara Croft, Red, Xena, Sonja Blue, and Sally Tsung.

My Card Gaming, Week Ending 7/16/16

Games played:

• Nothing :(.

New acquisitions:

• Android: Netrunner - 23 Seconds
• Doomtown: Realoaded - A Grand Entrance.  Man, it sucks so bad that the game is ending :(.
• Dragonball Z - Evolution Booster Box
• Lord of the Rings LCG - Temple of the Deceived.
• Star Quest - 7 starters.  Got these for cheap.  Game seems to have bad reviews (apparently a very blatant rip-off of Magic: The Gathering), but meh- it was cheap!
• Star Trek 1E - Box of The Borg Boosters.  A new affiliation for me (Hirogen) as well as enough cards that I could actually make a Borg deck.  Seems like a win.
• Star Wars LCG - Redemption and Return
• Terminator CCG - 2 Starters.  Precedence has done alright by me, so I figured I'd grab some of these and see how the game looks.
• Warhammer 40K: Conquest - Unforgiven
• WARS TCG - 2 Boxes of Boosters.  Trying to get a few random rares I need for some deck ideas.  
• Wyvern CCG - Starter Deck.  Give me a chance to learn the rules.

I haven't had much time to play the past two weeks- I've been working on a final project for the class which has taken up all of my time.  With luck, after next Monday I can begin playing some more games.

Back Issues: Scrye 12

This issue released in January 1996.

Scrye Readership Awards (for 1995):
Here are the results of the first Annual Scrye CCG Awards.

Best Collectible Card Game:
1. Magic: The Gathering
2. Jyhad (Vampire: The Eternal Struggle)
3. Shadowfist

Best Expansion:
1. Ice Age (M:TG), The Umbra (Rage)
2. Legends (M:TG)
3. Homelands (M:TG)

Best Playability:
1. Magic: The Gathering
2. Wyvern
3. Rage, Jyhad, Overpower (tie)

Best Graphic Design:
1. Magic: The Gathering
2. Star Trek: The Next Generation CCG
3. Rage

Best Art:
1. Magic: The Gathering, Guardians (tie)
2. Rage

Best Art for an Expansion:
1. Ice Age
2. Homelands
3 The Umbra (Rage)

Best Card Artist:
1. Anson Maddocks, Melissa Benson, Richard Kane-Ferguson, Quinton Hoover, Douglas Shuler (tie)

Best Rulebook:
1. Magic: The Gathering 4th Edition
2. Wyvern
3. Overpower

Coolest Chase Cards:
1. Ancient Fighting Arts of China
2. Gridiron Fantasy Football

Wildest Cards:
1. Guardians
2. Gridiron Fantasy Football, Illuminati NWO

Best Player's Guide Book:
Illuminati NWO

Most Underrated CCG:
Legend of the Five Rings
Wildstorms
Ultimate Combat
Battlelords
(Tie for all)

There are not many surprises to the winners.  The first, oldest, and best-selling CCG dominates the awards in a fledgling market.

Other Things
These early magazines always have articles on reader submitted card combinations.  Many such combos are dated or less efficient than similar combos are now, but I do find them charming to read.

In addition, I love that many of the standard articles of the time are very multi-game.  The card combo section had combinations for the Star Trek CCG, and the rules questions section had some Shadowfist questions.

According to one of the news articles, Fantasy Adventures was going to have "Robert Jordan's book series" as one of the expansions.  I wonder if that was going to be the Wheel of Time?  Hard to believe, but then again, I do not think Fantasy Adventures ended up having any expansions to begin with.

Back in this era, there were so few CCGs that they actually could, as a "Card Collector Compendium", list all of the expansions for every game in the list.  I will not bore you all with that, but it is interesting seeing which games were listed that never made it out.  Daemonstorm from Caliber Game Systems, for instance- these were the makers of the really crappy Powercardz CCG, so this probably is not a big loss.  Same goes for One-on-One, from Playoff/Cardz... makers of Hyborian Gates, which was probably an even worse CCG.  Donruss had plans to release Fire on Ice, 24 Seconds, and Versus CCGs.  I assume these would have come out had Top of the Order and Red Zone done well enough.

A lot more checklists made these magazines.  Checklists for Gridiron Fantasy Football, Middle-Earth: The Wizards, Battlelords, Kult, Tempest of the Gods, Quest for the Grail, Red Zone, and the Netherworld Expansion from Shadowfist are included.

For Red Zone, an article detailing advice on running tournaments and tips for how to build your first deck are included.  For Quest for the Grail, two variant ways to play the game have an article.  There is another article talking about tournament rules for Shadowfist, and another one talking about some tricks to playing Gridiron effectively.  Finally, Highlander gets an article covering Advanced Rules from the Movie Edition.

That's right- a whole issue without a single deck list.  Good reading overall though.

Back Issues: Inquest Gamer 13

This issue is dated May 1996

Guardians

This was the game highlighted in their basic training article, covering the basics of the game, some gameplay tips, and an example deck.  Let's look at the deck:
Starting Cards:
Guardian: Harkin
Stronghold: Khnumian
Essentials:
7 Normal Brom's Angelics
3 Brom's Angelic Shield/Lands
1 Brom's 13-point Angelic Standard Bearer
5 Spires
Spells:
5 Dispel Magic
1 Force Barrier
2 Gold Bribery
1 Oppressed Slave
1 Pepe's Slow Down
2 Power Lunch
1 Spikey Crenelation
2 Vitales Dark Cloud
1 War
Creatures:
2 Ancient Ogres
1 Angel of Death
1 Captain Hannibal Hawks
1 Caring Guy
3 Cleric
2 Great Black Ri'shar
5 Ice Ogre
2 Lancer
3 Polar Ice Ogre
2 Razor Sliph
3 Rik Sook
2 Schneebolt
3 Smoke Spirit
3 Warty Fiends

I know literally nothing about this game other than that it exists.  It seems to have been decently well received, but I 'm not sure when I'll have time to look into it.

Finally- they mention that 'The Card To Get' is Dragon Wing Lord.  Strong AoE attack and can fly, but vulnerable to bribery by babes and beer.

Magic: The Gathering

Killer Deck: Eggs Over Easy
4 Rukh Eggs
3 Jokulhaups
2 Fireballs
1 Wheel of Fortune
4 Dark Rituals
3 Animate Deads
3 Burnt Offerings
3 Kjeldoran Deads
1 Demonic Tutor
2 Simularcums
2 Will-O'-The-Wisps
4 Tinder Walls
1 Tranquility
1 Regrowth
2 Giant Growths
1 Despotic Scepter
1 Zuran Orb
2 Mana Vaults
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Feldon's Cane
2 Badlands
5 Mountains
6 Forests
8 Swamps
Sideboard:
4 Red Elemental Blasts
1 Tranquility
2 Simulacrum
2 Gloom
2 Blood Moon
2 Flashfire
1 Anarchy
1 Curse of Marit Lage

Basically a lot of tricks to get the Rukh Eggs into play and cracked for their Bird tokens.

Top 10 Hottest Magic Cards:

1. Dual Lands
2. Autumn Willow
3. Baron Sengir
4. Jester's Cap
5. Deflection
6. Icy Manipulator
7. Primal Order
8. Shivan Dragon
9. Mahamoti Djinn
10. Mind Warp

Middle-Earth Collectible Card Game

A large article with hints and decks to help people out.

Let's at least list the tips:

1. Don't waste time.
2. Plan your trip.
3. Start with Strategy
4. Choose your minor items wisely.
5. Key creatures to common terrain
6. Remember uniqueness
7. Bluffing
8. Deal with your weaknesses
9. Drawing and discarding (basically, do it all the time).
10. Combat clues (bring combat tricks)

Alright, let's look at some decks.

Ringwraiths' Revenge
Starting Characters & Items:
Bifur
Bofur
Dain II
Eowyn
Peath
Voteli
1 Black-Arrow
1 Star-glass
Characters & Wizards:
1 Alatar
1 Balin
1 Bombur
1 Galva
1 Nori
1 Radagast
1 Thorin II
1 Voteli
Combat Resources & Enhancers:
3 Blocks
3 Dark Quarrels
3 Escapes
1 Favor of the Valar
1 Fellowship
2 A Friend of Threes
2 Risky Blows
Marshalling-Point Resources:
1 The Arkenstone
1 Dunlendings
1 Durin's Axe
1 Glamdring
1 Great-shield of Rohan
1 The Iron Crown
1 Lossoth
1 Men of Anorien
1 Men of Lebennin
1 Men of Northern Rhovanion
1 Orcrist
1 Rangers of Ithilien
1 Riders of Rohan
1 Sword of Gondolin
1 Woodmen
Hazard Creatures:
1 Adunaphel
1 Indur Dawndeath
1 Khamul the Easterling
1 Mouth of Sauron
1 Olog-hai
2 Orc-guards
1 Orc-lieutenant
1 Orc-raiders
1 Orc-warband
2 Orc-watchers
1 Ren the Unclean
1 Uvatha the Horseman
1 Witch-king of Angmar
Hazard Events:
3 Doors of Night
2 Fell Beasts
1 Lure of Nature
2 Minions Stir
1 Morghul-horse
3 Morghul Nights
1 The Nazgul are Abroad
1 Twilight
1 The Will of Sauron
Sites:
1 Blue Mountain Dwarf-hold
1 Dead Marshes
1 Dunnish Clan-hold
1 Edhellond
1 Edoras
1 Henneth Annun
1 Iron Hill Dwarf-hold
1 Lake-town
1 The Lonely Mountain
1 Lorien
1 Lossadan Cairn
1 Lassadan Camp
1 Minas Tirith
1 Moria
1 Mount Gram
1 Pelargir
1 Rhosgobel
1 Rivendell
1 Ruined Signal Tower
1 Sam Goriwing
1 Shrel-kain
1 The Wind Throne
1 Woodmen-town

Oooh, looks fun- lots of Nazgul, and running the characters who have bonuses against Nazgul so your opponent can't use them, plus things to convert icons to Shadow-land.  This would be a fun way to play the game.

The Company Deck
Starting Characters & Items:
Boromir II
Glorfindel II
Legolas
1 Athelas
1 Elven Cloak
Characters & Wizards:
1 Aragorn II
1 Frodo
2 Gandalf
1 Gimli
1 Merry
1 Pippin
1 Sam Gamgee
Combat Resources & Enhancers:
1 Cracks of Doom
2 Dark Quarrels
1 Dodge
1 Favor of the Valar
1 Fellowship
1 A Friend or Three
1 Lucky Strike
2 Ringlore
2 Risky low
1 Test of Form
Marshalling-Point Resources:
2 Beautiful Gold Ring
1 Dwarven Ring of Durin's Tribe
2 Fair Gold Ring
1 Gollum
2 Lesser Ring
1 Magic Ring of Courage
1 Magic Ring of Nature
1 The One Ring
3 Precious Gold Ring
1 Scroll of Isildur
1 Shadowfax
1 Tower Guard of Minas Tirith
Hazard Creatures:
2 Ambusher
1 Assassin
1 Crebain
1 Giant
3 Giant Spider
2 Slayer
3 Wargs
1 Watcher in the Water
3 Wolves
Hazard Events:
1 Clouds
1 Dwar of Waw
2 Lure of Nature
2 Muster Disperses
1 River
1 Shelob
1 Siege
2 Twilight
2 Wake of War
Sites:
1 Amon Hen
1 Bag End
1 Bandit Lair
1 Bree
1 Caves of Ulund
1 Dancing Spire
1 Edhellond
1 Edoras
1 Gladden Fields
1 Goblin-gate
1 Irerock
1 Iron Hill Dwarf-hold
1 Isengard
1 The Lonely Mountain
1 Lorien
1 Minas Tirith
1 Moria
1 Mount Doom
1 Rivendell
1 Thranduil's Halls
1 Weathertop

Build a strong company, get some rings, and have the option of dropping the One Ring off at Mount Doom for the instant-win.  I'll probably throw these two together, and see if I can rouse up an opponent.

Top Five CCGs

They weren't doing top 10s at this point, but their Top Five this issue was as follows:

1. Star Wars
2. Magic: The Gathering
3. Star Trek: Alternate Universe
4. Middle-Earth: The Wizards
5. Red Zone (Whaaaa?)

Inquest World Records

I thought this would be fun to include.  Basically, cards from various games that break some sort of CCG record.

Most Powerful Card: Time Vault, from Magic: The Gathering.
Longest Card Name: Malkavian Derangement: Alternate Personality, from Vampire: The Eternal Struggle
Most Doubly Subliminal: Subliminals, from Illuminati: New World Order (it has the word sex hidden in the art, as well as text telling you to go buy more NWO).
Best Two-Part Flavor Text: Jade Statue and Goblin Shrine, from Magic: The Gathering.
Coolest Thematic Card: The One Ring, from Middle-Earth: The Wizards
Scariest Monster Named After a Cosmetic: Rouge Specter, from Guardians
Most Incomprehensible Rules: Amok, from On the Edge (holy crap that's a tough one to read).
Deepest Shag Carpet: Gaps in Normal Space, from Star Trek CCG
Biggest Scrub: Halbarad, from Middle-Earth: The Wizards
Best Depiction of Nothing: Explore Typhone Expanse, from Star Trek CCG
Best Acronym in a Card Name: Dwarven Demolition Team, from Magic: The Gathering
Most Erotic Card: Voice of Pain, from Kult
Most Susceptible to Chest Cold: Super Model, from Guardians
Most 'It's Not Worth It' Card: Army of the Dead, from Middle-Earth: The Wizards
Most Confusing Card: Ice Cauldron, from Magic: The Gathering
Most Disturbing Card: Sensory Deprivation, from Vampire: The Eternal Struggle
Most Redundant (Tie): Shadowfist, from Shadowfist, and Wyvern, from Wyvern
Biggest Abuse of a Mysterious Power: Alter, from Star Wars CCG
Best Dressed Card: Gilbert Duane, from Vampire: The Eternal Struggle

These sort of articles were probably the #1 reason I read Inquest, I hate to say it.  They really were great light, enjoyable reading.

Other things:
A whole FAQ for Quest for the Grail.  That's a game I've never played, and know nothing about.  If someone wants it, I'll definitely type it up though.

There's a multi-page preview of the Star Trek: Original Series CCG (which would be released as Star Trek: The Card Game).  The magazine sounds pretty excited about this, and the designer of this game was critical of the Star Trek CCG released by Decipher... it's kind of unfortunate how poor this game did in comparison.

They reviewed a few games here.  Top of the Order scored a 3 out of 6- it's a baseball CCG by Donruss.  I believe I tried the football game Donruss put out (Red Zone?) and it was terrible.  BGG rates this game a 3.8/10, so Inquest wasn't alone in their opinion.  The Netherworld expansion to Shadowfist was rated a 4/6, and Dark Sovereigns for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle was given a 3/6.

They previewed the Netrunner CCG.  This is one I played and have boxes of cards for, but I likely won't touch again as Android: Netrunner does a great job of remaking it.  I remember enjoying this as a kid though, certainly.

Non-card game things include an interview with the artist, Brom.

My Card Gaming, Week Ending 7/2/16

Games played:

• City of Heroes CCG - 1 game.  Once again, played with Regulus and Polar Star starters.  I'm now comfortable enough to start building some of my own decks.
• VS System 2PCG - 1 game.  Ran my Thanos deck against my Magneto deck.  Why yes, I finally did build my own decks!  Was quite a lot of fun (Magneto won), but gave me experience deck building and playing more than just a starter.
• Warhammer 40K: Conquest - 2 games.  Played both against Ben, first was using my Anrakyr the Traveler deck against his Salane Morn deck.  I mulliganed into a very very pricey hand, and couldn't actually get enough board presence to be relevant.  Second game I played my Morn deck against his Nahumehk deck.  I managed to get a very strong command presence, and was able to pretty effectively handle him in battle.  I managed to win on planet 5- he ran out of bodies to stop me from taking it.

New acquisitions:

• 7th Sea - 2 Scarlet Seas starters.  I'll break these out, learn the game, and see how I feel about it (the rules have me excited though).
• Adventure Time Card Game - For the Glory! Booster.  I'll try this game out this weekend, but it's nice seeing what's potentially available if I decide to build some decks.
• Dune - 2 Eye of the Storm starters.  Same as above, I'll read the rules, learn the game, see how I feel.
• Epic - Sage Tyrants Pack.  I think I'm up to two copies of each of the Tyrants packs.  
• Highlander CCG - 3 Starters.  This was really popular for a time, but I know almost nothing about it.  Figured I could correct that.