Magic’s Planechase Releases this weekend with Tazeem Promo September 1, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering, Previews.Tags: Magic, Magic the Gathering, Planechase, Tazeem, zendikar
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It was just a couple of weeks ago that we were scavenging for scraps of info about the forthcoming Planechase set at GenCon. And this week it will be here already, with release events scheduled through the weekend. (I will be skipping these this week, but for good reason, it’s my 10th wedding anniversary and our travel plans don’t include much time for tournament play.) This handy LINK provides all of the official information about the set, if you need a refresher on the rules or what cards are in the sealed decks, this is the place to go. WotC released one more official bit of information just today, witness Tazeem, Plane of Zendikar:
This Plane card will be given away at the release events, though I see it’s already for sale on ebay, so your mileage may vary. It’s a nice lede into the next block, which I understand may have another Plane card available at the pre-release.
As a largely casual player, the whole Planechaseconcept really appeals to me…it has a very top-down design feel to it in general, really tying into the "you are an all powerful planeswalker" backstory. I expect that we will get a lot of use out of the Plane cards in the coming years. If for no other reason, this seems like a great way to balance casual play amongst decks that might not have similar “power”; levels, because some of the random effects are VERY powerful…to the tune of destroying all non-lands and/or resetting life totals to 20, or even getting a personal "Wheel of Fortune" each turn.
I’ve been playing long enough to remember the old Vanguard cards, which was really WotC’s first attempt at targeting the casual crowd. The Vanguard cards were give-aways if I recall correctly, over-sized cards with good art (I still have the Mirri with art by Richard Kane Ferguson). Vanguard cards were often crafted into competitive decks, the descendants of which can still be seen on Magic Online, reaching their ultimate form in having their own format in Momir Basic.
So whilst the old Vanguard cards seemed to lend themselves just as easily to cutthroat play as they did casual, the Planechase format goes another direction…forcing a more casual game experience by virtue of more wild and random swings amongst the effects of the cards. I hope to have a more formal review in the next week or so, after I get back from vacation and have a chance to really play some games with the new cards.
As a final note, I really the Tazeem card…there is a joke in there somewhere about Pro-Players not understanding the static ability “Creatures can’t block.” because they always play that way already.
Magic Players to face Day of Judgment in Zendikar August 21, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering, Previews.Tags: Day of Judgment, Magic, Magic the Gathering, zendikar
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Some of the biggest hype around Magic 2010 centered on the loss of core set staple “Wrath of God”. Originally appearing in Alpha, it had been in every core set since, destroying all creatures in play with no hope of regeneration for only four mana.
And as we found out today, that sort of mass destruction is on the horizon again with the forthcoming Zendikar set. A new card was previewed today as part of the “buy it by the booster box” promotion that brick and mortar stores can take advantage of. For M10 it was White power card “Honor of the Pure” (itself a new version of a classic Alpha card “Crusade”), for Zendikar it will be new White power card “Day of Judgment”.
For the same cost as the original Wrath, you get the same level of creature destruction with “Day of Judgment”, without the clause preventing Regeneration. Interestingly, this card taken into account with new “Terror” variant “Doom Blade” makes Regeneration a potential top shelf power again. Time will tell what the new environment will yield.
GenCon Bound Again August 6, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in About This Blog, Conventions, UDE.Tags: Arcane Legions, GenCon, HeroClix, Indy, Magic, Marvel, NECA, UDE, Wizkids
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I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that for the first time in many years I wasn’t going to make it to either of the big gaming conventions in my neck of the woods. For a long time Origins down in Columbus felt like my “home turf”, only a couple hours away, it could be done as a day trip, though we usually made a weekend of it. Likewise of late with GenCon, Indy is only about a three hour drive as well, and though we’ve also done it as a day trip, it’s much nicer to spend the weekend. But time and schedules didn’t seem to lend themselves well to attending either this year.
As these things sometimes do though, the clouds parted so to speak this week, and we were able to make a nice plan for an overnight stay in the Indy area to both catch a full day at GenCon and attend a concert my wife REALLY wants to see at the State Fair. (Keith Urban, for those that care.)
I’m excited to get that general GenCon buzz again this year. I plan on taking a lot of pictures for the benefit of those of you that drop by here from time to time. I really look forward to getting my hands on some Arcane Legions, just to see how it lives up to the hype. I want to try my hand at the new Marvel card game from UDE. I want to get any sort of scoop I can on the HeroClix/WizKids/NECA news. And of course I expect to pick up a lot of Magic singles to round out some decks I’ve been working on.
But mostly I look forward to seeing all of my hobby gaming friends that I only usually have the chance to catch up with once a year. If you will be attending on Saturday as well, drop me a comment here and please say hi if you see me in the crowd.
Worldwake Announced…Designers and Developers Recognized August 3, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering.Tags: Magic, worldwake, zendikar
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Wizards announced their winter 2010 set today, Worldwake, which will follow Zendikar as the second set in the block.
We know very little about this setting so far, there has been a lot of speculation, but little concrete info. Promo art seems to indicate a return of the red planeswalker (staying mon-red I’m guessing) and a continuation of the Vampire “tribe” that gained a resurgence in M10. I’d be happy to see both of those things pan out.
I will point out that Wizards does two things really well with announcements like this; the first is that they assure all of their fans that the trains are still running on time so to speak…that their very regular release schedule is still on track. But more importantly, they recognize the hard work done by their design and development staff by naming them all in the information release. Much like film studios recognizing the producers and directors of upcoming films, Magic does the same with their designers and developers. Kudos to them for doing so. It’s also nice to see names like Mons Johnson still kicking around the teams.
If NCAA Football were a Magic Tournament… January 12, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in Football, Game Theory, Magic the Gathering.Tags: bcs, Magic, ncaa
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…it would go like this. A young up and comer that had been tearing it up at Friday night magic would finally get to his first Pro Tour. And lo and behold, in the first round he’d have to play like Jon Finkel or someone…but he’d win! And then he would keep winning, and go undefeated for the whole event! And then, for the finals, he’d be ask to play for 3rd, because hey, even though Olivier Ruel and Rapheal Levy both lost a match already, everyone “knows” they are better players, and deserve the right to play for first instead.
And that’s pretty much what happened to Utah this year. They started off playing Michigan…the winningest program of all time, a team that in it’s last game had beaten Florida, Tim Tebow and all. And they won. And yeah, Michigan pretty much sucked this year…but Utah didn’t know that would be the case when the scheduled them. And Utah won out for the year, beating 6 bowl bound teams in all, or put another way, half of their opponents had winning records.
And they were still passed over for the National Championship game. And this proves the lie that all of these schools are in the same division. If that were the case, each of them would have an equal chance at earning a spot in the championship game. But clearly they don’t…if it didn’t happen this year, when could it possibly happen? Would it take an undefeated smaller school and all major programs having 2 losses instead of 1?
Now for me, this is another argument to either get rid of the BCS or create a playoff. If you get rid of the BCS, Utah gets selected for whichever bowl, and people can vote them how they like. Or, create a playoff, and Utah is in and can really play it out.
Magic: You Make the Comic Entry September 2, 2008
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering.Tags: comic, contest, desperate for votes, Magic
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The folks over at the offical Magic: the Gathering website have started a new weekly (?) contest, You Make the Comic. The idea is simple…they randomly use three card arts, contestants supply text, a comic strip is born.
I’m happy to report that my first submission has made it to the top ten for your consideration (and voting). I plan on entering weekly, I’ll post my strips here after the voting is over each weekend. The voting only lasts 24 hours as of now, so it’s a pretty narrow window. Wish me luck.
