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.