Posts Tagged ‘TCG’

Bushiroad Announces New ‘Weiss Schwarz’ Expansion for January

Bushiroad will release a new Nisekoi-False Love expansion for its Weiss Schwarz TCG, according to hobby retailer news website ICv2.com. The Trial Deck and Booster Pack will release on January 23rd and will be available in Battleground Games & Hobbies in Abington, MA.

The set is based on the Niseko -False Love romantic comedy anime based on the manga series by Naoshi Nomi that VIZ began publishing in English in January.  The anime adaptation began airing in Japan in January 2014, and was licensed by Aniplex USA for streaming in North America, where it streams on Daisuki, Crunchyroll and Hulu.

The story follows high school students Raku Ichijo and Chitoge Kirisaki, children of bosses of rival yakuza factions.  Their parents decide to end their feuding by pairing their children, who do not get along, but must pretend to date to keep the peace between the gangs.  Raku has a crush on another girl at school, and he also made a childhood promise to a girl who bears the key to his locket.  Other developments arose to further complicate the situation in typical rom-com fashion.

The Trial Deck will include 10 exclusive trial-deck only cards (5 types).  Two types of exclusive RRR Foil cards as well as an SP Gold Foil/ Hot Stamp card signed by a Japanese voice actress are randomly inserted in decks. The pre-constructed deck will include 50 cards (same content for each deck), as well as a deck manual, playbook, playmat and rule sheet.  Random decks will also include special RRR foil or SP Gold Foil/Hot Stamp signed cards from the Japanese voice cast.  The decks are packed six to a display, with eight displays per carton.  The English edition does not include gold/silver campaign coupons.

The Booster Pack includes new cards and new characters in the 100-card set, which includes 17 parallels.  Each booster includes eight cards, with 20 boosters per display.  Four rubber playmats are included in each carton.  One PR card out of six types will be included in each display as well.  The English Edition does not include gold/silver campaign coupons.  With this set, English and Japanese cards may be played together in tournament formats (except in Japan and certain major tournament formats).  Exclusive SP Gold Foil/ Hot Stamp signed cards from the Japanese voice actresses are randomly inserted in packs.

This set will follow the December release of Weiss Schwarz: Fairy Tail ver. E.

 

Don’t forget to join us here at Battleground Games & Hobbies in Abington, MA each and every Saturday beginning at noon for our weekly Weiss Schwarz tournament!

 

 

 

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Wizards of the Coast Announces ‘Kaijudo’s’ Last Set – ‘Vortex’

WOTC

 

Wizards of the Coast announced yesterday that the next set for the Kaijudo TCG – Vortex – will be the final set for the long-running card game. In addition, Wizards of the Coast likewise announced that the Kaijudo “October Duel Days” will be the final scheduled organized play event and that the World Championship in Providence, RI this October will likewise continue as scheduled.

Wizards of the Coast had this today regarding their decision to end the Kaijudo brand:

 

“For more than two years, Wizards of the Coast has worked to create a great action TCG brand with Kaijudo. While Kaijudo’s retailer and player community continued to grow, our product offerings didn’t meet the expectations of the broader fan base to engage further with the brand. As such, Kaijudo’s Vortex card set, releasing on August 29, will be the game’s final paper TCG release.”

 

You can read the entire press release by clicking here.

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Gen Con Exclusive – Upper Deck Announces Return of ‘Vs System’

 

Upper Deck Entertainment announced this weekend at Gen Con 2014 the return of the Vs System card game via Twitter.

In the game, players build and play a deck of Vs. System cards in an attempt to win a game against their opponent. It was first published in 2004 and is set in the superhero genre. The game was discontinued by Upper Deck Entertainment in January 2009 before being relaunched in 2014.

More on this story as it develops over the weekend.

 

 

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This week in Magic: Another second place finish

loss of the ring
 

Ever since GP Boston-Worcester, I’ve had the competitive bug. This past weekend were the TCG Modern State Championships. So, I decided to take my burn deck and try my hand at this. To be honest, I went into the tournament not knowing too much besides the format of the tournament. I didn’t even know what I was playing for. I guess, in a way, this is a good thing. Concern yourself with winning first, then figure out what you get after.

 

On to the deck. For reference, here is what I played this past weekend.

 

Mono Red Burn:
4x Goblin Guide
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel
4x Hellspark Elemental
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lava Spike
4x Shard Volley
4x Searing Blaze
4x Skull Crack
4x Rift Bolt
4x Flames of the Blood Hand
15x Mountain
1x Arix Mesa
4x Scaling Tarn

 

Side board:
3x Combust
3x Shattering Spree
3x Searing Blood
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Molten Rain

 

There was a pretty good showing for a Sunday tournament: 52 players. As you can see, I haven’t made any major changes to the deck as far as the core spells go. However, I was able to get my hands on some fetchlands. I was actually concerned about how it would affect my game. It definitely felt different playing with them. Obviously it made my Searing Blazes amazing, but it’s hard to explain exactly how going from a budget deck to playing with fetchlands made me feel.

 

I didn’t start the day well, I lost my first match to Tarmo-Twin. This time, the deck had the newly added Huntmaster. I felt the match was close, but he seemed to always have the edge. The Huntmaster adds a whole new dynamic to the deck and the match. You would never think much of it, but the act of gaining life (any amount) against a burn player hurts so much.

 

Starting the day with one loss meant that I had to win out. It was a six round tournament with a cut to Top 8. My next match didn’t start well either. I was up against Scapeshift. This is a match that tends to favor me, but two early Remands and a Cryptic Command kept enough at bay that he has able to combo off. Also, remember how I had mentioned playing with fetchlands was a different feeling. Well, what was a great matchup for me, became a decent matchup. Dealing myself, albeit, only a couple points of damage is enough for Scapeshift to combo off a little bit earlier on me.

 

I quickly got game two, but I was a little on tilt because of my round one loss. Even my opponent noticed how cautious I was playing. Game three was where things really changed for me – not only in the match, but for the day as well. I had to take a mulligan and went down to six cards. My opponent had decided to keep a seven-card hand. However, my opponent (who was on the play) drew a card on his first turn. This is always an awkward situation, but in a higher competitive tournament, i had to call the judge over, even though I knew it was an obvious mistake. My opponent wasn’t happy as well; his unhappiness with not with me, but with how he could have allowed himself to draw a card, especially during game three.

 

The judge came over and the situation was explained. I’m never sure what the rulings are going to be here, but I was hoping he would at least get to play the last game. I don’t remember what the official ruling was here, but I know my opponent had to take two cards, at random, from his hand and shuffle them back into his deck. I ended up winning this match, and I had a very good feeling as to why. My opponent, after the match, confirmed that feeling. The two cards that he had shuffled back into his deck were two forests. During our game, I saw how much he was digging into his deck, knowing he was looking for a forest. Luckily for me I was able to burn him out. A win is a win.

 

I ended up winning out leading into the sixth round. A bit of gambling on my part, and I was able to draw into the Top 8 in sixth place.

 

The Top 8 favored me if things played out the way I wanted them to. There were three decks I was unsure about, and my quarterfinal opponent was one of them. His first turn play meant I was playing the mirror. Funny thing is, I have never played the mirror before. The closest I have come to playing the mirror was at a GPT leading up to GP Boston-Worcester. That wasn’t Mono Red Burn, though. It was RWB Burn.

 

Our match went to game three and that was a tight game that I got thanks to 75% luck. My opponent kept a one land hand (something that a Burn player can afford to do thanks to so many one-drops in the deck). By turn two, his groan had made it obvious and I sat up straight, poised to win. However, I was sitting on two Searing Blazes that had yet to see a target. Thanks to some fetchlands, I had brought myself down to a respectable burn range for only two lands. My opponent wasn’t doing too well either. I just needed one more burn spell. I was starting to flood, though. While, they were not the greatest threat against burn, I still played my Hellspark Elementals. My only fear at the time was them getting bolted or something else. I hadn’t even considered them getting targeted by Searing Blood.

 

The first time I played the Hellspark, it got killed via a Searing Blood dealing 3 to me. My opponent drew a card and passed. I followed that up by unearthing my Hellspark. That was met with another Searing Blood dealing 3 more to me. At this point, my life total was now at 5. I was sweating. I was going to lose this game. It was going to be heartbreaking. At the same time, I was excited to see such a great comeback from another burn player.

 

On his turn he cast a Skull Crack and passed the turn with mana open. I was clueless. This was either the worst slow-roll or he didn’t have anything. I just needed a burn spell, forget creature, I just wanted something I could point at him and deal him damage. I flipped the top card and revealed a Skull Crack of my own. My opponent extended the hand and replied, “Well at least one burn deck will move on.”

 

The other decks I knew about were a Junk deck, a Jund deck, two Twin decks, and still another deck I didn’t know about. The semi-finals came and things were really favoring me because both Twin deck were eliminated – one of them being my opponent from round one that I had lost to.

 

My semi-final opponent was against Adam Snook, a well known player in the local tournament scene and was playing Junk. We knew what each other was playing and he was not looking forward to it. I got game one as expected, but I tried not to let myself get ahead of things. Game two was a humbling point as I flooded out and he smashed me with hand removal, Goyfs and a Treetop Village. While I appreciate the humbling moment, I was still able to crush game three and move onto the finals.

 

How I derped the finals

Here is what you’ve all been waiting for. My finals opponent had beaten Affinity in his matchup, meaning I was facing him and his Jund Deck. If you ask me, everything was coming up Simeon at this point.

milhouse
 

Our game one did not start out how I wanted it to. He won the dice roll and won the match. I got a little flooded, but there are just some things you can’t help. This was one of them. Our second game went how I thought it would, I was on the play and I just burned my opponent out.

 

I kept a seven-card hand, and my opponent had to take a mulligan. He kept six. He opened with an Inquisition, and took one of my many burn spells. I opened with a fetchland into Lava Spike. His turn two had him shocking himself to 15 life to play a Tarmogoyf. He played a fetchland, fetched for a land, swung with his Gofy bringing me to 16, and passed the turn. I had, in my hand, a Lava Spike, two Shard Volleys, and a Molten Rain. I played my third land.

 

Now, any smart person would have played their Molten Rain and set their opponent back a land. In a deck that plays three colors, this can be a big game changer, but I am not a smart person. I, instead, elect to Lava Spike him bringing him to 11 life. I paid for not blowing up his land. He played Liliana of the Veil on his next turn and ticked her up. I chose to discard the Molten Rain I failed to play. He swung with Goyf and brought me down to 10. That was a six point hit thanks to grabbing an Eidolon from an early discard spell.

 

I drew a land on my next turn and now only had two Shard Volleys in hand. I had to pass the turn. My opponent drew and activated Liliana again, then swung with Goyf bringing me down to 4 life. I had responded to Liliana by using both of my Shard Volleys. This brought him to 2 life and I had two lands left.

 

Looking back, I realized how bad of a situation I was in. At the time though, I had put a lot of faith in my deck. but I failed to realize how many of my burn spells I didn’t want to draw – Searing Blaze, Searing Blood, Flames of the Blood Hand. I gathered my lands up and my opponent said to me, “You should windmill slam it.” Referring to the top card of my deck. Everyone who had stuck around (even Josh ‘cause he didn’t have a choice) began to lean into the table. I reached for the top card of my deck. I braced myself. I was looking for a Bolt, another Volley, a Spike, or even a Skull Crack. It was at that moment I could hear the trumpets in the background as they played the infamous “Womp Womp.” I had flipped over a Mountain.

 

About the author

Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!

 

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‘Dragon Ball Z’ TCG to Make a Comeback!

Photo courtesy of ICv2.com.

Panini America, publisher of licensed sports and entertainment collectibles, announced plans last week at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) to release a new edition of the classic Score Dragon Ball Z card game in August, according to hobby industry news website ICv2.com.


 
The 2014 edition will include more than 200 new cards, reprints of past fan favorites and will be completely compatible with the original series.  The new game was developed by Panini America Brand Manager Aik Tongtharadol, a former DBZ world champion who also worked on the original game.


 
The 69-card 2014 Dragon Ball Z Starter Deck will feature five Prizm technology cards and one parallel in every deck.  Release is planned for late August of this year.


 
Score originally introduced the game, based on the evergreen hit anime series, back in 2000, with the Saiyan Saga starter decks and boosters.  The game was hugely popular and released 11 expansions, based on different “Saga” story arcs.  After the Kid Buu Saga release, Score shifted focus of the game to the Dragon Ball GT Sagas in 2003  and introduced some key rule changes, though the game was still compatible with previous versions.


 
Score redesigned and reintroduced the game in 2005 as the Dragon Ball Z Trading Card Game, but the rules of the game were changed to accommodate FUNimation’s Ultimate Uncut Edition DVD releases, and the new edition was not compatible with previous expansions.  The game was officially discontinued in June 2006.


 
Bandai America released the unaffiliated Dragon Ball Collectible Card Game

 

So, if you’re a Dragon Ball Z fan, this game is not to be missed. Please be sure to let you’re local Battleground Games & Hobbies know you’d like to check this game out!

 

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THE ‘MY LITTLE PONY’ CCG – AN UNEXPECTEDLY WELL MADE GAME by Derek Minasian

2014.03.21_minasian
 

My name is Derek and this year I’ll be going on 33 years old. It is safe to say I’ve played “Magic: The Gathering” on and off for the better half my life. Nowadays I find myself just into limited formats and if you’ve ever seen me at the Battlegrounds in Abington at the “Friday Night Magic” draft you know for sure I am un-apologetically a Brony. If you haven’t heard the term before it is basically a catch-all for any adult fan of the TV series “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” Now I’m not writing this to try to convince you to watch the show or to explain to you why I am a fan. Instead I want to tell you about the “My Little Pony CCG” released late 2013 published and released by Enterplay. Please don’t let the pink and purple pastel equines on the cards fool you. There is a real game in there and even I am surprised to say that it’s pretty good.

 

Before I get started I do want to address my obvious bias. I’ll probably tell you my morning coffee tastes better when I drink it from my Rainbow Dash mug and that I draft better when I have my Pinkie Pie play mat. These facts no doubt call my objectivity into question. To be honest with you when I heard there was going to be a “My Little Pony” TCG tie-in August of 2013 one could say I was cautiously optimistic at best. I didn’t really know what to expect from a company that had never made a card series like this before.

 

The premise

Unlike many TCG’s the “MLP CCG” is not so much about two players squaring off in a battle to defeat their opponent. The My Little Pony CCG actually focuses around the two players working together to solve various problems and thus advancing the game. Players earn points by solving these problems and the first player to score fifteen points is the winner.

 

The game mechanics are not terribly complex as it does, after all, need to appeal to a young audience. In my own experience I learned how to play inside the first round of the prerelease tournament using just my pre-made starter deck, a rule book, and the players sitting around me. What I have found fascinating is that despite the simple design of the game it has become quite competitive.

 

How it works

Each player needs a draw deck, a problem deck, and one main character of their choice. To those “M:TG” followers your main character is similar to having a commander in EDH. A player’s deck can use any combination of the game’s six colors or “elements” and like “M:TG” each color has its own unique style, key effects, and synergies.

 

you_might_say_fluttershy_has_an_affinity_for_her_critter_friends
 

Main characters always begin in play and are the starting source of each player’s power or energy. Each main character is two-sided and has a unique flip condition. Once the condition is met the card becomes boosted and increases the main character’s power and typically grants new abilities. Main characters are always in play and can never be removed.

 

Problem decks must have exactly ten cards and are placed in the center of the play area with the top card face up. Each problem card displays its conditions for each player to solve.

 

The forty-five minimum card draw deck consists of your friends, resources, events, and troublemakers. These cards are used to solve problems or in some cases impair your opponents from solving them as well.

 

Just_the_doctor
 

Similar to “M:TG,” each player’s turn is broken into phases. These phases are the ready phase, troublemaker phase, main phase, and score phase. Each player takes turns in an effort to solve the problem cards in order to achieve victory. Players earn action tokens each turn which can be spent or saved up to play cards.

 

But it’s for little girls

Well I certainly have heard that argument once or twice. There is no question that the TV show on which this game is based has drawn a much unexpected audience. I would argue as a gamer that the creators of the “MLP CCG” prioritized the strategy and game play mechanics to appeal to gamers before adding in the ponies.

 

This_flower_looks_very_familiar
 

 

For the younger players the game’s mechanics allow for chance to be a large factor in deciding final outcomes. This allows casual players to have fun without having to rely heavily on the most powerful cards to win. For more serious competitors constructed decks are all about mitigating the game’s random effects, manipulating these effects, or outright overpowering them.

 

Like the TV show, the “MLP CCG” is also very meta with many pop culture references that would likely fly right over some of the little one’s heads. “M:TG” veterans like myself can and will find plenty of inside jokes referencing “M:TG” and other games that are hidden in the cards’ mechanics and flavor texts. In short the game is fun, family friendly, and suitable for ages ten and up.

 

In closing

I’m well aware a TCG or any game based on the “My Little Pony” franchise isn’t likely to have a broad spectrum appeal. I think it’s unfortunate that this well made, uniquely designed, and truly intuitive game might get looked over just because of the cutesy characters on the box. If you are however willing to check your hesitations at the door and give this game a try, you might be reminded that it isn’t the packaging or pictures in a game that make it great but the content of the game play that counts.

 

About the Author

Derek is one of the Abington store’s consistent FNM players. In person, he looks intimidating and hardcore. However, he gives great hugs and is very kind at heart. Don’t let his looks deceive you. While he may, admittedly, be a Brony, he is one of the strongest “Magic: The Gathering” Limited format players at the store.

 

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