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.