Closing this down

Howdie!

I'm going to be closing down this blog, in an attempt to consolidate my blogging in one place.  I realized that given the amount of blogging I actually do (not much!) it makes a lot more sense for me to just focus in one place, and just work on keeping it up to date.

Therefore, I hope to have all of the actually useful content transferred over to my Boisterous Exuberance blog soon.  As I play more card games, I'll put stuff up on there!

My hope is only having one place to talk about what gaming I'm doing will make me more eager to write- so let's hope that ends up being true!

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.

Warage Card Game on Kickstarter

Right here.

This is a card game with fixed expansions- the sort of thing I never turn down.  I have seen the first edition of this game in the local game store, but passed at the time.  However, I likely will get in on this kickstarter.  It's already hit its funding point, also!

Anyway, check it out.

My birthday present!

I turned 33 last week (on June 21), and my fiancé bought me a game: Millennium Blades.

I have opened it up and looked at it briefly, but have not read the rules yet.  It's a CCG-simulator!  We play a board game set in a world where the Millennium Blades CCG is the most popular game in the world, with thousands of expansions, etc etc.

Has a game ever been more of a match for me?  Needless to say, I will be trying it as soon as possible, and will post about it as soon as able.

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 :(.

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.

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

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 :(.