CCG | Through Gamer Goggles

Revising Standard Dark Ascension Filters in Part 1

Feb 132012

It has been a couple of weeks since Dark Ascension has released and a standard pro tour is behind us as well. I know I could have made all kinds of predictions about what is going to be and why it is going to do so, but I have had a lot on my plate.

With that being said we should take a look at what the face of standard held for us a few short weeks ago. The Standard environment is pretty wide open. The main archetype decks were:

Delver Blade
Black Red control
U/W illusions
Grixis Control
Humans
U/W Humans
Wolf Run Ramp
Birthing Pod
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L5R Embers of War

AEG, CCG Comments Off

Feb 082012

L5R Embers of War BD

L5R: Embers of War SD

In the distant Colonies, once known as the Ivory Kingdoms, the samurai of Rokugan gather the resources the Empire needs to survive. Threatened by unknown enemies and pitted against one another in politics and economics, will their honor and steel prove strong enough for the Second City to survive? Embers of War is the brand new expansion for the fan-favorite Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game from AEG. It follows the release of Emperor Edition, the new base set, releasing in February 2012. Now that peace has settled and the riches of the new land conquered by the Empress’ forces are discovered, new alliances and rivalries are formed, both on the mainland and the Colonies. Who will benefit the most?

I have recently reclaimed some of my L5R collection and I am looking forward to this.

MtG Duel Deck: Venser vs. Koth

CCG, Gaming News, Magic The Gathering Comments Off

Feb 072012

MtG Duel Deck: Venser vs. Koth

$ 19.99 SRP

The Planeswalker Koth, from the metal plane of Mirrodin, sought help when his world darkened. He traveled to Dominaria to enlist allies and met fellow Planeswalker Venser. When Venser recognized the threat to Koth’s world was none other than Phyrexia, he knew that the only hope for Mirrodin was to find its maker. But that would mean forsaking its people in the meantime. Koth would rather die than turn his back on his fellow Mirrans. But Venser all but knew they would die anyway if they failed to reach Karn, his former mentor and creator of Mirrodin. Two Planeswalkers, one goal, very different methods. Recreate the struggle to lead the way to Mirrodin’s salvation.

Legend of the Five Rings is Free to Play

AEG, CCG, Gaming News Comments Off

Jan 302012

From Alderac Entertainment:

In the links below, you can learn all about Legend of the Five Rings, and find links to the rulebook, and NINE fully playable printable decks, one for each Clan. And these are not cheap beginner decks, these have rares and were designed to hold their own at tournaments!

Check out the flyer explaining the free cards at http://www.l5r.com/images/L5R-FREE-Decks-Flyer.pdf

You can use them to play with friends, play in official tournaments (they are acceptable through March), or add to your War of Honor games. Not only are these decks available, you can download and print the ENTIRE Emperor Edition base set at http://www.l5r.com/news/kolat-edition-pdf-available/ if you want to tweak the contents of your deck as you become better at the game!

A few notes for the new players:
– “Kolat Edition” is our name for the free version of Emperor Edition, as you learn more about the story, you will learn why the dastardly Kolat are giving away our product for free…
– You will need two sets of opaque sleeves and some playing cards to “back” these printouts with, to give them some weight when playing.

We appreciate your time in telling the world about this release. Please feel free to pass this PDF on to anyone who might be interested!

Matt’s Dark Ascension Picks

Gaming News, Magic The Gathering Comments Off

Jan 282012

Wow! It is that time already another Magic Prerelease is upon us. I am sorry for not doing this sooner, but I have been busy making some videos for the blog and trying to pay for life. So Dark Ascension is what we are going to talk about. Specifically my picks. Since this is my second ever set review I am trying to be different. my reviews will always differ from the other guys because I am a both competitive and casual and a judge. I tend to look at a set and say wow this is cool or this really stands out for this deck. What you won’t get from this is the best draft picks, or replacement cards in deck types. What you will get is a broader selection. I don’t care about only the competitive end of the game.

With that said I am going to take a different approach this time. Since, Dark Ascension is only 150 cards I ma cutting my selection to only 3 cards per color one common, an uncommon, and a rare. Starting with black.

I think the best three cards in black are GravePurge, Wakedancer, and GraveCrawler.

GravePurge

Because putting a card(s) on top of your library from your graveyard and drawing it is cool. The fact that it is an instant makes it really good.

WakeDancer

She has all the synergy you want in a card. Cheap to play and a good ability.

Gravecrawler

What can I say undead should always be played from the graveyard

Mewtwo Collection Box for Pokemon

Card Games, CCG Comments Off

Jan 232012

Each Mewtwo collection box contains Three BW 4 Next Destinies boosters One oversized EX Mewtwo card One Mewtwo Collectible figure One unique foil Trainer card! It is not part of any regular release!

Street date February 8th

Yu-Gi-OH Order of Chaos SE March 6th

CCG, Gaming News Comments Off

Jan 172012

Special Editions give Duelists a great value, combining 3 packs of the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s TRADING CARD GAME booster release with 1 of 2 hard-to-find variant cards. In addition to 3 packs of Order of Chaos, each Special Edition box will contain a special championship-level foil card sure to make a lucky Duelist’s day. Great value and excellent content will make the Order of Chaos Special Edition a must-have for players of all skill levels. Duelists will want to take advantage of the second offering of Order of Chaos because many cards in this set can be combined with past and upcoming releases. Photon Shockwave and Gold Series 4 include cards designed to work with Order of Chaos to give Duelists a boost!

Pokemon Next Destinies – Coming Soon to Stores Near You

CCG Comments Off

Dec 202011

The Pokémon Trading Card Game: Black & White—Next Destinies expansion is loaded with powerful Pokémon-EX to give you extraordinary excitement! Discover great Pokémon like Reshiram-EX and Zekrom-EX, and even Pokémon from beyond the Unova region, like Mewtwo-EX. Next Destinies delivers your destiny: Pokémon with exceptional HP, Special Energy and Trainer cards with expanded powers, and expert strategies to extend your victory streaks! 36 boosters per display 10 cards per booster

Magic the Gathering Card Quality

Magic The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast Comments Off

Dec 192011

Sorry this is coming to you late I have been a sleep for about two days fighting off pain and a fever.

Card quality is a source of much debate because it runs so close to card quality and tempo. I will even go as far to say that they are often the same. Over the years card quality has been a lot of different things. But, I believe card quality is the weight of the cards ability against its mana cost in the given environment.

Let’s look at some hypothetical examples.

The Race is On! Tempo in Magic the Gathering

Card Games, CCG, Magic The Gathering Comments Off

Dec 122011

Image via Wikipedia

Tempo in Magic the Gathering is what two or more players enter in while attempting to gain control of the game. It is a race that revolves around who can play better cards or more cards faster. Basically it is a race about gaining the upper hand. In other words the player who is winning the race usually sets the tempo of the game. The reality of it though is the tempo of a game can be one sided, balanced, or up and down like a roller coaster.

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