Mutant Chronicles: Movie and CMG Reviews July 30, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CMG, Movies, Reviews.Tags: Mutant Chronicles
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Besides sharing a setting, the Mutant Chronicles movie and cmg both suffered some serious setbacks in regards to production and release. As I’ve found, the end results for each weren’t that bad. 
I’ll talk about the game first, as that was my first exposure to the universe (besides a handful of Doomtrooper ccg cards I ended up with back in the day). Last year, there was a lot of industry hype for the game. Fantasy Flight Games was putting it out, and they seemed intent on doing it right. It was originally slated to be packed in blind boosters, a la HeroClix. Then came the delays. And more delays. And then they changed the whole thing over to fixed purchases…army packs a little more like say HeroScape. These were ready to go finally by GenCon last year, and the game was finally in the players hands. (ICv2 details the history of the delays and the format change HERE. A post over on BoardGameGeek posits a slightly different take HERE.)
Some thoughts about the game…I like the scale. The figures are somewhere between action figure and heroclix/scape. I like the hex bases…they fit well enough on HeroScape maps. I like some of the armies, Bauhaus and Brotherhood, and could do without some, like the Algeroth. But that’s great, because the army packs allowed me to buy what I wanted, and ignore (most) of the rest. I DON’T like that the army cards came only in the starter, I would have avoided the starter if I could have, just for lack of interest in the figs, added to the fact that I was using 3d terrain instead of the official maps. (Like most minis, I took this game my own way a little bit, your mileage may vary.) I like the concept of the team building a lot… (more…)
Is Facebook the new Scrye? Arcane Legions suggests it might be… July 29, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CMG.Tags: Arcane Legions, Facebook
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Arcane Legions is probably the closest thing to the “next big thing” right now in hobby gaming…it has a great pedigree behind it (the founder of WizKids is one of the producers), a unique take on packaging and pre-painting (a mixed bag for both), and a unique formation element.
With all of that being said…it’s also noteworthy that is one of the first big releases to come in the post-gaming magazine period of the hobby. There is no more Scrye…there is no more InQuest, or Dragon, or Dungeon. Instead, you have fan sites, blogs, ICv2, and a few other web outlets. But Arcane Legions has taken to social networking well…it has a presence on Facebook that is more meaningful at this point than it’s official website. Sign up as a “fan” of Arcane Legions, and you’ll get updates with new pics of figures in the first release, rules updates, and a home page full of useful information and communication avenues directly with the people behind the game.
To be sure, Arcane Legions isn’t the only game leveraging social networking, Magic is putting itself out there and spoiling cards via Tweets. However, Magic has had a chance to evolved into that position. (And let’s not forget the fact that the existence of Magic launched many game magazines back in the day, including hits like InQuest and misses like Conjure.) Arcane Legions is using social networking as it’s front line with what will likely be it’s hardcore fans. It will be interesting to see if that is enough to get the word out.
WotC Announces Premium Deck Series, Slivers to Lead Off July 27, 2009
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Well this is a new one. Wizards announced today in their daily update a new product line, the Premium Deck Series…a single deck made entirely out of foil premium cards. 35 bucks gets you no less than sixty foil cards including five rares and one mythic rare, deck box, rules, counter, etc. Read all about it in the PRESS RELEASE.
As the title suggests, this deck will feature the one fantasy creature perhaps most unique to Magic lore, the Slivers. No indication is given as to deck color, though with Slivers in each color (including artifact Slivers), odds are good there might be a full rainbow of colors in the deck.
For myself, I’ve never been a huge fan of foil cards, nor Slivers for that matter. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t be giving this deck and the ones that will presumably come after a good hard look.
Revenge of the Fallen Cracks All Time Top Ten July 27, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in Movies, Transformers.add a comment
Found an interesting tidbit over on Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily, apparently, my favorite movie of the summer so far, Transformers 2 – Revenge of the Fallen, has now cracked the all time Top Ten top grossing films, supplanting another favorite, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. 
This is interesting to me if for no other reason that the fact that this movie has largely gotten HORRIBLE reviews, almost across the board. As I said, I loved it, and friends have said they liked it better than the first TF movie. This certainly assures TF3 will get the budget it needs I’m guessing.
I should also take this time to point out that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is starting to look better and better the more trailers I see. I think Hasbro could have two blockbusters this moview season.
Marvel Superstars TCG by UDE to be Demo’ed at GenCon Indy July 27, 2009
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UDE received a lot of attention from HeroClix fans when they announced they had a new license to make collectible minis games featuring the Marvel characters. What didn’t get a lot of attention at first was that they had also renewed their license for making collectible card games for Marvel as well. 
With the venerable VS. system seemingly having run it’s course, UDE is set to re-enter the fray with a new Marvel game called Marvel Superstars TCG. And apparently this is going to happen pretty fast, as according to GenCon press materials, this game will be ready to be played as a free demo in just a few weeks…
“Compete against Blizzard, Quest for an Exclusive Mini, Experience Marvel, and More at Upper Deck Booth #1005!
Upper Deck presents the ultimate location for World of Warcraft, Dinosaur King, and Marvel at booth #1005!
For the first time ever, get your exclusive sneak preview of the all-new Marvel Superstars Trading Card Game by signing up for a free demo.”
As more info becomes available, I will be sure to pass it along.
Quick note: stubarnes of VSRealms.com has already started a wordpress blog to chronicle the beginnings of this game, which can be found here – http://marvelsuperstars.wordpress.com/
Magic 2010 Sell Outs…that old Magic smell is a winner July 24, 2009
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This year Wizards of the Coast decided to revamp the core set by adding in new core fantasy cards for the first time since the days of Alpha/Beta/Unlimited some sixteen years ago. (The set has changed much over time, but always by adding reprints from existing sets.)
The new set was printed with roughly half the cards being brand new to the game. Even accounting for perhaps half of those being along the lines of functional reprints or power tweaks (I’m looking at you, Doom Blade), there has been a lot of excitement for this base set, more that we’ve seen since maybe 8th when the new borders popped up. WotC even ran pre-releases (I went 3-2 piloting the proverbial pile) and release events since this was truly a NEW set.
Wizards did a great job of cleaning the set up and bringing back a more standardized fantasy feel. With the hodge podge of sets past cluttering up Xth edition, there were good cards to be sure, but the cohesive feel of a set was missing. That feeling is back.
I can confirm that my local shop did sell out of their inital orders within the first week of actual release…in fact, I think it was by Wednesday. For a core set, that’s an impressive feat. There have been a smattering of stories like this on sites like mtgsalvation, but I think this proves that WotC took a step in the right direction with this decision.
SDCC News: NECA to helm HeroClix – UPDATE July 22, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CMG, Conventions, HeroClix, Marvel.add a comment
On site reports are coming in from San Diego Comic Con today, as seen on HCRealms.com…the reports are that NECA has won the bidding war and will be taking over the HeroClix line. This seems to be confirmed by an Amazon posting for the long awaited Chariot of Thor piece. 
NECA may ring a bell for some of you, they produce a number of licensed toys and collectibles already. While I don’t see any games in their inventory currently, I am quite sure they will be able to find someone that is interested in the game design of future sets. (Insert obligatory throwing of the hat in the ring here.)
This will be interesting to see in action…with Hammer of Thor supposedly due still this fall now, this likely pushes the first NECA developed set into direct competition with UDE’s forthcoming Marvel minis game next year. Of course, the gaming consumers should be the real winners, with what should be a number of great comic book games to choose from.
UPDATE: ICv2 commented on the news today, confirming some of the above information. They report that an official announcement could come later today. (West coast time…so I’m guessing late afternoon/evening for we mid-westerners.) Since ICv2 waited a couple of days to run the story, I’m guessing they are working from some more official information. I’ll tag a final update if/when official news comes down the pike.
