Thursday, June 19th, 2014

If you’ve been reading my blog posts, articles, whatever you want to call them for a while now, then you may have noticed that they are centered around “Magic: The Gathering.” Now there is a perfectly good explanation for this. The main reason being is that is my area of gaming expertise.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with this, but it makes things a little boring if you’re not into “Magic.” That’s where you come in. Consider this an open casting call for writers of all backgrounds. One of the goals I am trying to accomplish is to help get different content on the site. That’s where you come in.
Is there something related to gaming that your very passionate about?Is there an awesome Dungeons and Dragons sessions you want to tell people about? Do you have experience in table top wargaming like Warmachine or Warhammer 40K? Are you really good at painting miniatures or scenery? Something that would be great is content with tips and tricks for beginner miniature players.
Don’t worry, I’m always open to others writing about “Magic.” Having multiple perspectives is a great thing to have. It really helps to diversify the writing on the website. So, if you’re interested in giving writing a shot, then let me know. Pitch me your ideas at Simeon.Cortezano@hotmail.com. Please include your name and keep your pitch to around 200 words.
If you’re idea sounds good, we’ll contact you and move from there. These writing opportunities are strictly voluntary. That should be the last thing on your mind, though. The idea is to have fun and help spread your knowledge.
This Friday will be the third Friday of the month. You know what that means. Modern will be offered at this Friday’s FNM in addition to Standard and Draft.
This would be a great time to try out any ideas you may have for the Modern season that’s now in session. In case you missed it, Battleground Games & Hobbies hosted a Grand Prix Trial on June 14. Several of the Top 8 competetors included some of the usual players from the Abington store: Ken Briscoe, James Costello, and Chris Alexander. Also in the Top 8 was Devin Malko who plays at the Plainville store. The eventual winner was Nicholas Blake who also plays at the Plainville store.
The deck lists for the entire Top 8 can be found by clicking on this link.
If you missed out on the GPT on June 14, then don’t worry. There will be another GPT hosted at the Abington store. That GPT will be held on June 29. The format is Modern and the winner will also receive a box of Modern Masters in addition to the 2-round byes. This should be a big turnout. Everyone will be gunning for that box of Modern Masters. This could be your chance to open a foil Tarmogoyf!

If you play Weiss Schwarz, rumor has it that the store will be getting some visitors from out of town looking for some pick-up games. So if you’re tired of the usual competition and are looking for some new action and new opponents, this is your opportunity to do so.
The usual time for Weiss Schwarz actions is 2:00 PM on Saturday. Be there or be a four-sided object.
Can you believe it’s time for another “Magic: The Gathering” set to be released out into the wild? The Magic 2015 core set prerelease has been scheduled for both the Abington and Plainville stores.
All of the information you need to know can be read here, but if you’re too lazy to click on the link then keep reading.
The prerelease packs will once again make their presence known. It is important to know that if you’d like to be guaranteed a specific color of your choice you’ll need to preregister for the event you want to participate in.
Regarding preregistration, there were some issues with the Journey Into Nyx prerelease where some people couldn’t get the color they wanted to when they showed up to the store. Unfortunately, the colors they wanted had all been spoken for through the preregistration process. If you don’t want to be denied a color, please, I urge you to preregister ahead of time so you don’t miss out on the color you want.
Oh yeah, I was talking about the prerelease. The event will be held the weekend of July 12-13. Here is a quick rundown of what’s happening:

Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: July 12th Friday night / Saturday morning
Time: 12:00am (midnight)
Entrance Fee: $25.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: July 12th Saturday afternoon
Time: 12:00pm
Entrance Fee: $25.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: July 12th Saturday night
Time: 6:00pm
Entrance Fee: $25.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Two-Headed Giant Sealed Deck**
Date: July 13th Sunday afternoon
Time: 12:00pm in PLAINVILLE, 6:00pm in ABINGTON
Entrance Fee: $20.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: July 13th Sunday night
Time: 6:00pm in PLAINVILLE, 12:00pm in ABINGTON
Entrance Fee: $25.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
*Sealed Deck: Each player receives one Core Set 2015 Prerelease Pack corresponding to the color of their choice.
**Two-Headed Giant Sealed Deck: Each TEAM will receive 2 Core Set 2015 Prerelease Packs with which to build two 40 card decks.
Here is also a breakdown of what you’ll get when you enter the prerelease:
Each Player will receive one Core Set 2015 Prerelease Pack that contains:
5 Core Set 2015 booster packs
1 Seeded booster pack*
1 Premium promo card
1 Activity card
1 Spindown life counter
1 Welcome Letter
For this event, players may use the promo card included with the Prerelease Pack in their tournament deck.
*Contains cards from the Core Set that are or have synergy with the color you chose.
Well that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed this week’s version of “This week in gaming.” If you liked what you read then help us out by spreading the word. Hit the social media buttons down below and tell all your friends about this article and the store!
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. 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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Tags: Dungeons and Dragons, magic thew gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Warhammer 40K, Weiss Schwarz
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Events, Featured Post, Games Workshop, Magic: The Gathering, Miniature Games, Pathfinder, Popular Posts, Role-Playing Games, Warhammer 40K, Weis Schwartz | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, June 18th, 2014

According to hobby news website ICv2.com, in early 2015 Privateer Press plans to ratchet-up the level of violence in its fantasy RPGs with the launch Iron Kingdoms Unleashed, a self-contained, hyper-aggressive role-playing game that is set in the wilds of western Immoren (Immoren is the continent that is the setting for Privateer’s Iron Kingdoms RPG as well as its Warmachine and HORDES miniature games). Iron Kingdoms Unleashed will be both a complete game unto itself and fully compatible with the Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game, though Unleashed will have sharper, more feral edge to it.
Iron Kingdoms Unleashed will offer players a wide range choices for their fantasy surrogates ranging from Trolls, to Farrow, Gatormen, Bog Trogs, Pygmy Trolls, Nyss, humans, Warlocks, Tharn Ravengers, and more. Careers open to players include (among others) Mistspeaker, Bokar, Bonegrinders, and Monsterhunter. In addition to a large number of playable characters, Iron Kingdoms Unleashed will also include a wide range of monsters for players to do battle with in this extremely aggressive fantasy RPG in which bloody encounters look like they will be extremely frequent. Over 100 pages of the Iron Kingdoms Unleashed Core Rulebook, which is due out in early 2015 and contains all the elements necessary to play, will be devoted to detailing the powers, habits, and occasional weaknesses of the game’s many monsters.
The recently announced Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy: Monsternomicon supplement for the Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy RPG, which is due out in September, and which contains vital information on 40 different monsters, will be fully compatible with the new Iron Kingdoms Unleashed RPG.
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Tags: Full Metal Fantasy, Iron Kingdoms, Iron Kingdoms Unleashed, New Release, Privateer Press, RPG, TableTop
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Post, Role-Playing Games, Store Related | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
Stronghold Games announced last week that it will release a new edition of the critically-acclaimed board game Medina in November, according to hobby news website ICv2.com.
The game was designed by Stefan Dorra (Amazonas, The Bucket King, Buccaneer) in 2001, nominated for several European awards, and was originally published in the US by Rio Grande Games. The strategy and city-building game takes place in 1822, in the city of Medina. Players build large palaces and renovate the city wall, as they improve and expand the city. Players get points for finishing buildings, building the largest buildings of a certain color, and connecting buildings to the city walls.

The new edition features a double sided board, as well as nearly 200 wooden pieces, tiles, four player screens, a score block, and a rulebook with updated game play. The game is for 3 -4 players ages 10 and up, and plays in 60-90 minutes.
Stronghold is releasing a slew of new games in the second half of 2014, including Diamonds, Among the Stars and others – all available at your local Battleground Games & Hobbies!
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Tags: Board Games, ICv2, Medina, New Release, Stronghold Games, TableTop
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Post, Store Related | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2014
Last week, Z-Man Games has announced it will release the new card game Chimera in the third quarter, with a pre-release at Gen Con in August, according to hobby news website ICv2.com.
Inspired by Tichu and other hand-management/hand shedding games,Chimera is a three player game where each round one player is the Chimera, and the other two are the Chimera Hunters. The player who bets highest for the round is the Chimera, while the other two players try to stop that player from winning their bet. Rivals play sequentially pairs, trips and straights to collect points.

The box comes with 54 cards, a scoring pad and a rulebook. The game is for three players, ages 13 and up, and plays in 45 minutes. Sounds like a sweet game to add to any board game collection. Ask a Battleground Games & Hobbies associate to order this game for you today!
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Tags: Board Games, Chimera, Gen Con, ICv2, New Release, TableTop, Z-Man Games
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Post, Store Related | No Comments »
Monday, June 16th, 2014
Fantasy Flight Games has announced it will launch Star Wars: Empire vs. Rebellion, a new strategic card game set in the Galactic Civil War in the third quarter of 2014, according to hobby news website ICv2.com.

The players in this two-player game are either in command of the resources of the Empire, or the heroes of the rebellion. Game play revolves around trying to tip the outcome of a key event, such as infiltrating Imperial Center or carrying out a strike on an enemy base, in your favor each round. Players deploy resources in the form of Military, Diplomacy, Recon, or The Force cards. Character cards shift unfolding events. Strategy cards for each faction are secretly chosen before play begins, and determine how the faction will approach its operations.
Star Wars: Empire vs. Rebellionis designed by Sebastien Gigaudaut and David Rakuto.
This is Fantasy Flight’s fifth Star Wars game, which also include Star Wars Age of Rebellion RPG, Star Wars Edge of the Empire RPG, Star Wars: The Card Game, and Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game.

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Tags: Board Game, Board Game Day, Card Game, Fantasy Flight Games, New Release, Star Wars, TableTop
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Card Games, Events, Featured Post, Store Related | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 16th, 2014
CoolMiniOrNot, publishers of ‘Super Dungeon Explore’, will release Arcadia Quest, a new campaign-based miniatures board game, in December 2014, according to hobby industry news website ICv2.com.
Designed by Eric Lang (Quarriors), the game is semi-cooperative, as each player leads a guild of heroes on a quest to dethrone the vampire lord and reclaim Arcadia. However, only one guild may lead in the end, so players must battle each other as well as teaming up against the monstrous hordes. The game features branching scenarios, and players gain new weapons and abilities as they progress. The game is designed so that players’ actions and abilities can be remembered from one session to the next, and CMON already has plans for additional campaign expansions.
The game is for 2- 4 players, and each scenario plays 45 -60 minutes. The box includes 9 double-sided game tiles, tokens, cards, a campaign book and sheet pad, four guild dashboards, 37 highly detailed miniatures and a rulebook. The game was funded on Kickstarter in March, and raised $774,222 from 4,885 backers ($158.49/backer average).
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Tags: Arcadia Quest, Board Game, CMON, CoolMiniOrNot, ICv2, Kickstarter, New Release, TableTop
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Events, Featured Post, Store Related | No Comments »
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