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.

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.

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 :(.

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

Back Issues: Scrye 80

This issue came out February 2005.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 10 Most Important Collectible Games:
Who doesn't love top 10 lists?

1. Magic: The Gathering
2. Pokemon
3. Star Trek CCGs (1st and 2nd Editions)
4. Mage Knight
5. Legend of the Five Rings
6. Yu-Gi-Oh!
7. Heroclix
8. Star Wars CCG
9. Jyhad/Vampire
10. Vs. System

My Thoughts: This is 'Most Important' and not 'Best' or any other metric.  These are the games that did the most to make the collectible game hobby what it was in 2005 (and what it is today, really).  It's actually kind of nice to see that all of these are still around in some form or another (Star Wars, Star Trek and Jyhad all are actively supported by Player Committees, and L5R will return in 2017 as an LCG). 

Top 10 Selling CCGs:

1. Magic: The Gathering
2. Yu-Gi-Oh!
3. Vs. System
4. Lord of the Rings TCG
5. Pokemon
6. Dragon Ball Z/GT
7. Inuyasha
8. Warlord
9. Game of Thrones
10. Legend of the Five Rings

My Thoughts: Because of this issue, I went out and bought Inuyasha and Warlord starters, to get some exposure to those games.  The other ones I've played and have cards for, other than Yu-Gi-Oh, which I can't seem to scrounge up interest for.

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

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

Back Issues: Inquest Gamer 101

This issue released in September 2003.

Dragon Ball Z:
"Energy Empowered Piccolo" Deck
Note- this game has since been re-printed, but some people still do play with the old cards, so I'll include the deck here on the chance someone is interested.

Main Personality:
Piccolo, the Trained (Level 1)
Piccolo, the Mentor (Level 2)
Piccolo, Earth's Protector (Level 3)

Orange Style Mastery (Cell Saga)
South Kai Sensei

Sensei Deck:
3 Breakthrough Drill
HUH???

Physical Combat:
3 Gohan's Kick
3 Hidden Power Level
1 Nappa's Physical Resistance
3 Orange Car Push
1 Vegeta's Physical Stance

Energy Combat:
3 Krillin's Solar Flare
1 Nappa's Energy Aura
3 Orange 5-Finger Focus
3 Orange Energy Discharge
3 Orange Energy Setup
3 Orange Mouth Shot
3 Orange Sneak Attack
3 Orange Stare Down
3 Orange Trick Shot
3 Tien's Tri-Beam
3 Vegeta's Jolting Slash
3 Yamcha's Skillfull Defense

Allies:
1 Android 14

Combat:
3 Brothers in Training
1 Goku's Dragon Ball Quest
1 Super Saiyan Effect
1 Time Is A Warrior's Tool
3 Trunks Energy Sphere

Non-Combat:
3 Android 20 Absorbing Drill
3 Energy Empowerment Drill
1 Expectant Trunks
1 Frieza is Ready
1 Orange Destruction Drill
2 Orange Focusing Drill
1 Orange Lifting Drill
3 Tien's Mental Conditioning

Dragon Ball:
1 Dende Dragon Ball 1
1 Dende Dragon Ball 2
1 Dende Dragon Ball 3
1 Dende Dragon Ball 4
1 Dende Dragon Ball 5
1 Dende Dragon Ball 6
1 Dende Dragon Ball 7

Battleground/Location:
2 Winter Countryside
1 Z Sword Plateau

My own thoughts: A deck like this wouldn't be legal now, I think- how are all these Named cards in the deck? Must have been a different world back then.

Legend of the Five Rings:
"Crane on the Brain" Deck

Stronghold:
Kosaten Shiro/Tsudao

Dynasty:
1 Imperial Gift
1 Welcome Home

2 Campsite

1 Daidoji Rekai (Exp. 2)
3 Doji Okakura
1 Doji Reju (Exp. 2)
3 Doji Kurohito
1 Doji Kurohito (Exp.)
3 Doji Yasuyo
1 Kakita Rensei
1 Konetsu
3 Yasuki Hachi
1 Yasuki Hachi (Exp.)

1 Gifts and Favors
3 Hiruma Dojo
3 Jade Works
3 Market Place
2 Poorly Placed Garden
2 Sanctified Temple
1 Shrine Of The Sun
3 Silk Works

Fate:
1 Ring of Earth
1 Ring of the Void

1 Blade of Truths
1 Celestial Sword of the Crane
1 Imperial Standard

1 Doji House Guard
1 Empress' Guard

3 Block Supply Lines
2 Corruption's Price
3 Deeds, Not Words
3 Flattery
2 For the Empire
3 Iaijutsu Duel
2 Imperial Edicts
3 In Search of the Future
2 Outmaneuvered By Force
3 Overwhelmed
2 Return For Training
2 Superior Tactics
3 To Do What We Must

My own thoughts: This looks to be a deck legal in the Four Winds environment, although I think this would still be legal and play correctly in the current Fortress of the Obsidian Hand Legacy rules.  Also, seeing Yasuki in a Crane deck brings me back.  Ahh, the good old days.

Lord of the Rings TCG:
A deck based around Ents!

Starting Fellowship:
1 Frodo, Courteous Halfling
1 The One Ring, The Ruling Ring
1 Merry, Learned Guide
1 Pippin, Wooly-Footed Rascal
1 Quickbeam, Bregalad

Free Peoples:
2 Birchseed, Tall Statesman
1 Ent Horde
4 Ent Moot
4 Forest Guardian
3 Hobbit Sword
2 Host of Fangorn
2 Long Slow Wrath
2 Mind Your Own Affairs
4 Roused
2 Severed His Bonds
1 Treebeard, Earthborn

Shadow:
2 Arrow From the South
2 Desert Spearman
4 Elite Archer
4 Mumak
3 On The March
4 Southron Bowman
2 Southron Invaders
3 Southron Traveler
3 Southron Wanderer
3 Whirling Strike

Adventure Deck:
Western Emyn Muil
Fangorn Forest
Golden Hall
White Rocks
Helm's Gate
Hornburg Armory
Cavern Entrance
Nan Curunir
Saruman's Laboratory

My own thoughts: I really need to play this game.  I have an opponent lined up, so maybe after playing some games I can throw this together.

Magic: The Gathering:
This issue included a ranking of all the sets from Alpha/Beta/Unlimited up through Eighth Edition, all rated on a 1-5 scale.  The fives were Alpha/Beta/Unlimited and Arabian Nights.  The ones?  The Dark, Chronicles, Homelands, Fifth Edition, and Weatherlight.

Killer Deck: Grave Robbers
4 Doomed Necromancer
1 Undead Gladiator
1 Visara, the Dreadful
3 Buried Alive
4 Duress
3 Entomb
3 Innocent Blood
4 Smother
2 Stitch Together
3 Zombify
1 Arcanis, the Omnipotent
1 Phantom Nishoba
1 Anger
4 Burning Wish
4 Barren Moor
4 Bloodstained Mire
7 Mountain
10 Swamp
Wishboard:
1 Aven Cloudchaser
1 Buried Alive
3 Cabal Therapy
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Demolish
1 Haunting Echoes
3 Recoup
1 Sickening Dreams
1 Symbiotic Wurm
1 Zombify

Apparently this placed 2nd at the German Nationals one year.  Drop stuff into the Graveyard, cheat it into play, win.

Cheap Magic Deck: Forest Fire
4 Birchlore Rangers
4 Bloodline Shaman
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Seeker of Skybreak
1 Taunting Elf
4 Timberwatch Elf
4 Wellwisher
4 Wirewood Herald
4 Wirewood Hivemaster
3 Wirewood Symbiote
4 Wirewood Pride
16 Forest
4 Wirewood Lodge

Throw out elves, beat down.  Seems easy enough.

"Turning Trash Into Treasure": Risky Move
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Explosive Vegetation
3 Fertile Ground
4 Moment's Peace
4 Squirrel Nest
2 Arcane Teachings
4 Firebolt
3 Risky Move
4 Shock
4 Spark Spray
9 Forest
4 Forgotten Cave
7 Mountain
4 Tranquil Thicket

Top 10 Magic Cards at the time:

1. Sliver Overlord
2. Forgotten Ancient
3. Eternal Dragon
4. Birds of Paradise
5. Stifle
6. Force of Will
7. Sliver Queen
8. Akroma, Angel of Wrath
9. Call to the Grave
10. Raven Guild Master

Top Ten CCGs:

1. Yu-Gi-Oh!
2. Magic: The Gathering
3. Lord of the Rings
4. Legend of the Five Rings
5. Pokemon
6. Dragon Ball Z CCG
7. WWE Raw Deal
8. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle
9. Warlord
10. Warcry

Final Thoughts:
This issue was focused a bunch on the new version of Mage Knight coming out, as well as the release of the 8th Edition set for Magic, but we still got a few decks for other games, as well as the typical things you'd come to expect from Inquest- random humor, news, price guides, etc.

Dragon Clan Oni [L5R]

Ever since the release of Evil Portents last year, I have been dying to try to play more Legend of the Five Rings, mainly so I could try to use the new Ikikashi Sensei.  As a primarily Spider Clan player, having access to all the tools of the Shadowlands without having to end my own game (through dishonor) sounded like an absolute blast.

The first decision was which Stronghold to take in my deck.  Even though I can't dishonor myself, I can be dishonored, and I've been on the receiving end of that often enough that I wanted to at least give myself some buffer.  Playing as the Spider would start me at -8 honor, only 12 honor loss actions away from losing the game.  Starting from the high honor clans and working down, I decided to go with the Dragon Clan stronghold.  This starts me at -3 honor and has the additional benefit of giving me a ring in play- I have been using Earth or Air, usually.

Here is what I am running in my Dynasty Deck:

1 Severed from the Emperor

1 Forgotten Legacy
2 Fudoist Temple
2 Gold Mine
1 House of Disgrace
3 Lane of Immorality
3 Suana Dojo
1 Temple of Destiny
3 The Feeding Hills
2 Traveling Market

3 Akuma no Obake
2 Fushiki no Oni
3 Gekido no Oni
2 Hatsu Suru no Oni
2 Keppo
3 Minikui no Oni
3 Patairaku no Oni
1 Umikaiju
3 Voitagi

None of this feels particularly surprising- run a lot of the honor loss Holdings, since they do not affect me, and fit in several Shadowlands personalities.  I'm still tweaking the various counts of the Oni in between games, but that's what I'm currently at (if I'd ever draw a Umikaiju in-game, I can figure out if I like him in here or not).

My Fate Deck:

1 Ring of Air
1 Ring of Earth
1 Ring of the Void
1 Ring of Water

3 Oni Familiar
3 Skeletal Troops
3 The Desiccated
1 The Unquiet Moto
3 Zombie Troops

1 A New Alliance
1 Ambush
3 Another Time
2 Back to the Front
3 Blind Honor
1 Brazen Disregard
2 Breaking the Rhythm
1 Calculated Risk
2 Corrupted Ground
2 Strength in Subtlety
3 The Looming Darkness
2 Victory Through Deference
2 Wedge
3 Your True Nature

Again, I am trying out a few things.  I want to have some anti-dueling help, but Another Time ends up getting on my nerves.  I may switch to Kharmic Strike.  I may consider dropping it altogether and up my numbers of A New Alliance and Brazen Disregard.  I am still testing, and still trying to figure out what I like.

Does anyone have any success, or any thoughts?

Decks to help teach Lord of the Rings

So this upcoming week, I'm going to be teaching Lord of the Rings to some of my friends, and I had the task of creating a couple of decks to teach the game.  I decided to build four decks, one in each sphere, using only the contents of two Core Sets and cards from the first cycle.  Primarily the addition of the cycle was due to the limited choices of Ally cards in the Core Set, primarily for Tactics. 

Anyway, I've posted the decks on cardgamedb, so I'll just link to them here:

Leadership Deck
Lore Deck
Spirit Deck
Tactics Deck

I think each of these does a good job of showcasing the strengths of the individual spheres, and start showing some different ways that players can interact with one another AND some of the subthemes in the game (the Tactics deck has a bunch of Eagles, and the Spirit deck has a fairly decent Rohan synergy, or at least as much as could be expected from them at this point in the game's release).

My hope is that these will be fun decks, and since they were all made using a fairly limited card pool, they will allow the players to see the variety of decks and strategies available to Lord of the Rings LCG players early on.

Plus, hopefully it'll create new players, which is the most important thing!

Ku'gath Plaguefather Aggro

Well, figured I'd actually throw a post out.  I've been playing a lot of Conquest, and generally as new Warlords come out, I give them a shot, so when the Scourge finally dropped, I immediately tried out Ku'gath.  The deck I've been running is this:

Warlord:
1x Ku’gath Plaguefather (The Scourge)

Army Unit (29)
2x Black Legion Heldrake (Core Set)
3x Chaos Fanatics (Core Set)
3x Heretek Inventor (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Khorne Berzerker (Core Set)
4x Kugath’s Nurglings (The Scourge)
3x Shoota Mob (Core Set)
3x Splintered Path Acolyte (Core Set)
3x Vicious Bloodletter (Core Set)
3x Void Pirate (Core Set)
2x Xavaes Split-Tongue (Core Set)

Attachment (6)
3x Dire Mutation (Core Set)
2x Rune-Encrusted Armor (Core Set)
1x The Plaguefather’s Banner (The Scourge)

Event (10)
2x Fetid Haze (The Scourge)
3x Promise of Glory (Core Set)
3x Tzeentch’s Firestorm (Core Set)
2x Warpstorm (Core Set)

Support (5)
1x Fortress of Madness (Core Set)
3x Ork Kannon (Core Set)
1x Vile Laboratory (The Scourge)

This feels pretty standard for him at this point.  Some comments, however.

Black Legion Heldrake is one of those cards that when dropped, can completely change the game for your opponent.  Imagine having a Bloodied Warlord, and knowing that you need to win the next battle at a planet where the Heldrake is sitting.  That's an awful position to be in. What's nice about Chaos is that you can often get the Heldrake out!  Either winning at Yvarn (if it's available) will do it (Ku'gath can certainly win any planet he wants early game), or using the various cultists to play him from your hand at a discount.  Either way, despite its cost, the Heldrake does make it to the table.

People on cardgamedb seem to prefer the Ravenous Flesh Hounds to the Black Legion Heldrake, but I don't find myself wishing I had the Flesh Hounds in my hand when I draw the Heldrake.  There are corner cases where the Flesh Hounds would be better, however, but against some factions, the Heldrake's Flying will be nearly impossible to get around (I have yet to kill a Heldrake with Ragnar, for instance).

Chaos Fanatics, Heretek Inventors, and Void Pirates are generally used only for command.  Sometimes my opponent has put the Inventor at an early planet, but given the very Aggro focus of this deck, that's perfectly fine.

Khorne Berzerker is a late, but handy addition.  First, he's a prime target for the Rune-Encrusted Armors... but the huge advantage is that with Ku'gath, you can power him up conveniently.

Xavaes always seems to be worth it.  Put him down where a major battle is about to happen, and you'll generate so much economy you'll have no issues affording that Bloodletter or Heldrake.

For Attachments, I've considered dropping the Rune-Encrusted Armors for Promotion, because Chaos has such a difficult time at times with the command struggle.  But in every game I have draw it, the Armor has actually been a tremendous hindrance to my opponent, generally on the Berzerker or on Split-Tongue.  Two extra HP can be tough to prepare for (especially if I deploy it later in the turn), and the extra attack is a great bonus.  Dire Mutation is an amazing play as an Ambush, making it extremely difficult for your opponent to plan how much to shield on their most important units.  If they shield an attack to leave them at 1 health, and you attach Dire Mutation as your next action, you've ruined their day.

The Events feel obvious; almost every Chaos deck seems to run these.  Promise of Glory is basically just a type of economy.

For Supports, I have to say that Ork Kannon is an incredible, incredible boon to Ku'gath.  Your opponent may foolishly attack other Chaos units at the planet to avoid putting damaging on Ku'gath, which he could then transfer as (unshieldable) damage.  Ork Kannon not only provides Ku'gath damage to redistribute as 'gifts', but also puts additional damage on his units!  Win-Win!  I've also used them to drop Command units sitting alone at planets.  As I've mentioned, the Command struggle is tough for Chaos at times.

I had built this deck pre-Gift of the Ethereals, but I haven't made any changes to it after its release.  Some thoughts on cards I could include though...

Ammo Depot is one I have considered (and still consider).  In several games, I have dumped my hand VERY early in the game (usually to win a planet or two), and have resorted to top-decking.  This would help me keep that momentum going.  I feel like I would need to drop something to include this, however, and at this point, the best bet is the Fortress of Madness.  I may play around with that.

Despise does not strike me as particularly useful, as I have plenty of more direct kill options.

Goff Big Choppa seems like a great card, but I couldn't see using it here.  I do like having Armorbane, without a doubt, but I find the extra resilience provided by the Rune-Encrusted Armor is often a bigger help than the additional offensive punch.  Ku'gath can generally grind down opponents himself- I just need things to stick around long enough to help him.

Nurgling Bomb is a tough one.  I love it, as it is a very thematic inclusion.  However, I don't have so many Nurgle units to make it very one-sided (my Nurglings tend to get used only on the planet I need to win, or as a command unit), and the cost doesn't really make it attractive, even for its additional flexibility.

Rotten Plaguebearers are a better choice with Zarathur in my eyes.  They do add an additional aggro push to this deck though, so I may try swapping them in for one of the various command units I have.

Sslyth Mercenary. I don't find this card good in any deck, let alone this one.

Throne of Vainglory. One of the guys I play with is trying to build a deck around this card with some interesting results, but it's definitely not a card you can just throw in and expect to get a benefit from.  Not a good inclusion here.

Well, there you have it.  As I play more with this deck, and make changes to it, I'll occasionally update it.  In the meantime, I will probably post my Aun'shi deck online soon as well, since I've been trying to run him, as he is the newest warlord.  So expect that soon.

Current Holden Deck (Romance of the Nine Empires)

So, after my first 8 games of R9E, I've decided to try to work on the decks a little, just to cut my teeth on deck building for this game.  I decided to start with Holden, who I've been having a blast playing, and because I think their starter deck felt a little weak.  These are just small changes to start, but as I try different things with them, I'll post updates.

So let's get to it.

Castles:
Border Keep - 1
Castle Holden - 1
Fortified Market Town - 1
Protected Farmland - 1
Sanctuary - 1

I switched out the Outpost and Temple of the Snail Spirit for a Fortified Market Town and Sanctuary.

Outpost feels like a pretty bad card, and it's only ever gotten destroyed very quickly in all the games we've played, so I felt that replacing it was a no-brainer.  It feels like Holden struggles with money.  Their Stronghold only provides three gold as income, and I wanted to make sure to supplement that from the beginning, so I added the Fortified Market Town.  Of course, that put me over castle points, so the Sanctuary was switched in to keep the deck legal.

Cohorts:
Peasant Archers - 1
Veteran Men-at-Arms - 1

I didn't change these at all.  Veteran Men-at-Arms is really handy for stopping an attack, so that will probably stay for now.  I don't really struggle with food so far, so I'm thinking of dropping Peasant Archers.  Maybe replace it with another VMaA?  We'll see- I'll test it out sometime.

Heroes:
Alaric Buxtehude - 1
Coeli Quando - 1
Genevieve - 1
Jack Newcomer - 3
Myriad Buxtehude - 2
The Vanguard of Guild 10-42 - 3
Tuatha Dundareel - 2

So let's see, +1 Alaric, -1 Coeli, +1 Newcomer for now.  I played around with using Siter'Ath Jones in the deck, but he didn't really help me a whole lot.  I felt that 12 heroes was a tiny bit too few, so bumped it up to 13.  I never got any use out of Coeli (and still don't), so replacing him with Jack Newcomer, who I use all the time seemed obvious.  I'll probably try switching out Coeli with yet another hero at some point.  Maybe drive that raid point home with Siter'Ath again.

Properties:
Exotic Mounts - 1
Extraplanar Obelisk - 1
Library - 2
Motte and Bailey - 1
Simm's Tomb - 3
The Queen's Chamber - 1
Training Grounds - 3
Valiant Squire - 3

Changes here are 2 extra copies of Simm's Tomb.  Again, my early games playing this deck really struggled with money.  Extra Simm's Tombs help a lot with that.  If you can get the Biggest Turnip out early in the game, they are fantastic money cards, that will give you some great use late game (to pull back quests).  I worry a bit about running too many properties in the deck, but so far it hasn't felt too bad, but again, we're early in playing this game.

Quests:
The Apple of Life? - 1
The Biggest Turnip - 3
A Desperate Offer? - 2
Journey? - 1
A Most Peculiar Lamp? - 1
Rescue the Hostage? - 2

I switched out one Journey for  The Biggest Turnip.  Having a quest in play is such a big deal, upping the gold on Simm's Tomb, and increasing your hand size that I felt the most important thing was to increase the chances of grabbing that Turnip!  Drawing additional copies later on is hardly a big deal, of course.  It's still a four Fate value card, you can Bury it for draw, and when Genevieve is out, you'll have a quest in your buried pile that you can use to stall for actions if you need to (grab the Turnip, then bury it again to draw a card).  Even without the stalling at times, it's an additional card draw.

Journey I find I use late game, and drawing it early doesn't help me one bit (even though it is a fairly simple quest to complete).  Moving it down to one copy hasn't seemed to be a problem yet.

Tactics:
Blight - 2
Death from Above - 2
Lost to the Nexus - 2
Negotiation - 2
Soul of a Dragon - 2
Torrential Rain - 2
The Tree of Life Blooms - 2
Snow in Summer - 2

So here, I dropped 2 Tactical Acumen, and 1 Undermarket Dealings.  In the games I've played, I've never found a use for these cards in this deck.  Since I'm generally playing this deck super defensively early in the game, then completing quests like mad mid-to-late game, I will probably make a bunch more changes here, as I get more games on the table.  Perhaps dropping 2x Blight for 1 more Snow in Summer and one more Soul of Dragon/The Tree of Life Blooms?  We'll see.  It's going to take some more games to figure that out.

So let's see, my Holden deck is currently only 8 card slots different than the starter set, but I already feel a difference in how it plays.  We'll see what changes I make as I continue to put it on the table:)