Burning The Shadows

Just in case you hadn't noticed, there are two different computers I play on. This might help explain the differences in the screen shots taken. Most of the decks are the same on both computers. As you may have noticed, I got to play CapAp again. This time I went with a Cald deck I haven't played in a while. Magam Flamesmith would start off the game with only a Coal Ergar. Lanyx Reaper would toss down a Shadow Dryte, Core Grag, Gweag, and Warrada's Ring. A lot of cards on that opening turn. He would end up drawing lots of cards before Magam burned her way through his defenses. Once she managed to start burning stuff, she started netting me cards with Gorgle's Glasses. When Lanyx was defeated, he played a Spirit of the Core. I had to read the spell some, and then decided that I could leave no creatures in play by simply having the Giant Arboll dump all its six energy onto Magam who only had two herself. Warrada would flip, play her ring, Tomes of the Great Library, Orok, Chaos Jile, and Shadow Dryte. Magam's effect was taking its toll. Now she would toss in a Scroll of Fire to turn up the heat. Warrada would only have one creature survive with one energy. Having had one of the other creatures blasted by a Crushing Heat, Warrada couldn't even access her relics. It was curtains for Warrada and she would also play a Spirit spell. With two creatures in play, I chose to limit the choices and had this Giant Arboll follow in the footsteps of its predecessor. Togoth would inherit the Ergar. He played out the Cald Shadow Geyser, Awakening, a Chaos Sphere, Shadow Vinoc, and a Gweag. Normally, my answer to the Cald Shadow Geyser is Beam of Light, but that had been Entombed earlier. However, I looked at my hand and hatched a plan. Magam would toss down a Greater Vaal to gain enough energy to use its power from her effect. Not stopping there, Magam would play all three of my Flambits. All three Flambits used their powers and moved three energy from Togoth to the Greater Vaal. It was devastating for Core. Greater Vaal would incinerate one creature and stand tall there reminding Core that Cald had found a way around the Shadow Geyser this game. Magam Flamesmith went all the way. I remember when I had played a Shadow Geyser deck and it had shutdown my Cald deck so completely that I switched my relic discard from the Raxis to Beam of Light. Wow, it has been so long that I had to look up the Raxis. Anyways, it was fun playing with CapAp. It is fun to see the variety of decks he uses. Though, I gather he's growing tired of his current set and might be making some new ones soon.

Wind Whipping Through Tunnels

After shopping with my wife, I logged back in that evening and would end up playing another game with ManiacMadMax. It seems that while I was gone, they had learned a harsh lesson that effects don't count against burrow and the nice Dark Cragnoc combo had been trimmed down quickly by a couple Bulabantu. Well, for our second game this day, I chose to go with my "burrow" deck in honor of the Underneath deck they had used against me earlier. Delia would go first for Arderial, tossing down the standard three Vellups and an Elder Vellup, which put a Warlum in the hand. Myka goes first my Underneath deck with none of her starting cards. I happened to pull two copies of Hidden Door in my opening hand. Those two spells would clear two-thirds of relics out of my deck. Akkar, Gorgle's Curse, and Strag's Ring would finish off my cards. Gorgle's Curse would ensnare the Elder Vellup while purity would burrow one of the other Vellups. With the nice invulnerability of the Akkar, the two Vellups that could attack would do little to it. The Akkar would attack after Strag's Ring and Gogor's Spade were in play. Tossing out an Urigant, I "dug up" the Vellup I kept burrowing. Delia saved up some energy and tried to eliminate Myka using Cataclysm and using Jetstream to put a Warlum into play. Fortunately for Myka, the Warlum could only attack once and a Crushing Fungus would finish off Delia. Sorreah would repeat the Jetstream. Having lost her defensive Burrow, the Flying Darbok played this way would finish off Myka. FlutterYup, Wyle, and Ayebaw would finish off Sorreah's creatures for the turn. Emaal would play two Pylofuf and a Trogovo. Flying Darbok would use its power on the Ayebaw to get a hit on Emaal and then Sorreah played Cataclysm. ManiacMadMax released that this could've been a bad choice and thought perhaps they should've wasted the last of Sorreah's energy to play a Flutter Yup first to make it fresh Magi versus fresh Magi instead. Anyways, Celebrated Hero would flip for Underneath and play a Trogovo and an Akkar against a spent Sorreah. Sorreah didn't last. Kalius would go last. First he used Cataclysm to clean the field before playing Storm Wings and Storm Ring. Then, Kalius used his power to summon an Ayebaw. Multiple strikes that could gain energy (unlike Jetstream), and removing twice the energy, the game ended with Kalius the victor. Not the sort of Arderial I am used to seeing. It was refreshing.

Dirty Jungle Drums

I logged in hoping to get in a quick game of Magi-Nation. It was actually quite nice to that a few were online and playing games. I would end up playing two games with ManiacMadMax. This first one was started before my wife had in mind to go shopping so I didn't have too much time to hang out afterwards. Trug would go first for ManiacMadMax using Hidden Door to net a nice combo of relics. Amulet of Ombor would get the matching Gate to the Ombor from the deck while Strag's Ring would burrow the Giant Parmalag fetched by the Gate. I didn't even think about the fact that I was once again using a Restriced deck. This time Paradwyn. Arawan would go first me by searching for and playing a Fog Hyren. An N'kala would round out the creatures for the turn. Robe of Petals was played first, of course, and Spell Pulse was a lucky draw on the first turn to wipe out at least two of the Underneath relics. While Arawan would constantly slam at least one small creature into the Giant Parmalag to try and press his way through, he would end up being defeated by an Ormagon with Impact flinging the Giant Parmalag into him to finish Arawan off. This left Trug still in play. While sacrificing Ookami isn't what I like to do with Paradwyn, I went nuts with Ookami in the hopes of drawing off the Cataclysm. As it was, I didn't draw a Spell Pulse before Trug gained the energy to use Cataclysm. With Ookami going out of control with his Hardshell Weebos and Lahalou, Cataclysm was a great choice. Now it would be up to Kiersta to somehow deal with two Underneath Magi. Kiersta tossed down a Robe of Vines, a Vine Hyren, two Tropical Plith, and then dreamwarped a Fog Hyren and Lahalou. Of course, I had used her effect at the start of the turn. Sorrowing Ogar would flig to use Cleansing on Dark Cragnoc, though none would be played at this time. Gloves of Crystal would add some energy to an Agovo played, while a Thunderquake for nine energy would get the Fog Hyren and one of the Tropical Plith. Crushing Fungus would get the other Tropical Plith. I don't think Sorrowing Ogar was going to go for all that card draw. Fortunately for Keirsta, Sorrowing Ogar was not the key Magi of the Underneath deck and she bowed out. Gruk would take the final stand for Underneath. Gloves of Crystal, Strag's Ring, and a Dark Cragnoc would make for a powerful opening move. One massive burrowed creature. So, of course, I rejoiced to have my Spell Pulse by then. ManiacMadMax would reveal that they had a copy of Warrior's Boots and an Ormagon that would've won the game. So, with Gruk winning the game, we discussed for a little bit the combo of the deck which dealt with forcing the opponent to smash into a large burrowed creature turn after turn after turn using Gruk's unique power. As I stated earlier, I couldn't hang out long to discuss things.

Weaving In The Jungle

In this game against CapAp, I went first with Ahdar using my Restricted Weave deck. In short, no Aritex to try and create massive energy that way. Anyways, Ahdar went first playing his Uwamar and a Seaweed Lascinth. Liriel would flip for Paradwyn and play a Bagala Hunter and Bulabantu. Bulabantu would take three off the Seaweed Lascinth while the Bagala Hunter would stalk the Uwamar, followed by Froxfire to get rid off it. It wasn't looking good for Ahdar at all. Liriel would play a Jungle Riddle on her next turn, setting up massive energy to overwhelm the poor Weave Magi. It would be up to Kesia next to deal with Liriel. She would play out her flute, a Drowl, two Sagaweave, and two Bungaloo. While I was hoping for an Uwamar in the draw from the Drowl, this number of creatures would setup Kesia to start the energy games with her flute. Kesia's Flute would be meet a Relic Stalker real fast. Fortunately, I had another copy in the hand. After Kesia got past Liriel, Iain would flip. Iain would use his power, play Ambush, and another Jungle Riddle. Remember, this isn't my Weave deck with Aritex, so it was common for my Magi to have no energy to discard to the riddle. Iain would continue his efforts against Weave that opening turn by playing a Poison Baloo Root, T'kanzam, and Crushing Vines. After crushing a five energy Weave creature, the Poison Baloo Root would use wither. While a good opening for Iain, Kesia would push through to Squik. Squik would open up with the Scarletsong Banner, another Ambush, Bagala Hunter, and an N'kala. Kesia would respond with a Weave Seed, doing as much damage as she could. When Squik played a Jungle Riddle, I would choose to discard some energy from Kesia to defeat herself. This would allow a fresh Bo'Ahsa to take the field before Squik could get out of hand. Bo'Ahsa would get lucky and net the last two Uwamar in the deck when she played a Drowl. The Drowl would be followed by both Uwamar, a Tropical Jumbor, and a Sagaweave. The goal was to try and snatch the initiative away from Squik, and with the ability to redirect one attack per turn in defense, Bo'Ahsa would prove a great nuisance to Paradwyn. Squik would gain a bunch of energy before going down using a Scarletsong trik. Also, Squik often attached a Scarletsong spell to my creatures that could've removed energy from my Magi while my creatures attacked or defended, except I made it a point to always spend Bo'Ahsa's five energy before my attack step. The first time was with Sawgrass to eliminate something big that I had forced to attack my smallest creature. One time I used Weave Seed. Another time I used Warrior's Boot to put in a four energy creature and played The Hunt. In the end, Bo'Ahsa demonstrated that her balance of defense could turn the offensive in her favor. It was a fun game.

Rocks Lost In The Grass

According to the file name I saved this screen image, this game was played back on the tenth. This will bring me current on blogging my online games. It also indicates that I haven't had a game of Magi-Nation in nearly two weeks too. Ah, well.

ManiacMadMax would go first with Gia. While Book of Ages was played, it was simply sacrificed to Gia's power to fetch a Junjertrug Horn. Weave Powder, Uwamar, a Junjertrug, and a Tweave (during the draw step) would round out Gia's opening turn. Targ'n would oppose her as my first magi. He tossed down a Sagawal, Agrilla, Thoughtful Baldar, Feet of Stone on the Junjertrug, and Kybar's Echo. Playing all five cards on my first turn isn't a common play outside of Bograth. Targ'n would do quite well against Gia. That extra invulnerability being key to his strength. Kesia would face Targ'n next. Brushfire would finish off one Targ'n's creatures, while Sawgrass would get the Urigant. Relic Stalker would take Climbing Staff. Kesia would also play Weave Powder, Uwamar, two Stumbling Junjertrug, and an Aritex that starting turn. She would survive Targ'n's counterstrike by only the Aritex. Kesia would retaliate to his tactics using Weave Seed and The Hunt to gain a solid offensive. Throwing in Brushfire again, Targ'n and Kesia would end her turn with each only have one creature with just one energy. And, yes, Targ'n defeated Kesia. This is where Kybar's Teeth would lose momentum. Ninx would play out that Weave Powder again, Brushfire the Moga to eliminate it, Aritex, two Frusk, and a Junjertrug. She would stare down Targ'n to defeat him at last and then used the healing power of the Aritex. Celebrated Hero would go next. He used Feet of Stone on one of the Frusk to trim down the card draw I was going to grant Ninx by a fraction. Warrior's Boots and Gogor's Spade would make for a good offensive. With a good sized Cragnoc to attack with, the Junjertrug was a short lived threat. However, I forgot that Ninx's stare when ending Gogor's opening turn. He wouldn't last long at all. Now it would be up to Traveling Healer. It was nice to get his grudge effect for once. He would spend it all on a Cragnoc and two Galiant. I would forget that his Galiant would only add energy according to the smallest opposing creature in play. Dang! Fortunately, the smallest opposing creature had three energy so I didn't lose any. Ninx was running strong. While I figured the impact would hurt the Traveling Healer, Ninx managed to find a way to tip the scales so none of his creatures would survive the Weave assault.

Second Best?

I was just thinking the other day about something that perplexes me somewhat. There seems to be an invisible line that custom-card players won't wanna cross for some reason and I wonder why that line is thus drawn. Lemme illustrate this.

Suppose I was to design a new Brub in a new set. I add in some power or effect that is similar to the original Brub. Obviously it'll be a bit powerful. People will use it right? Well, if it works for them they will try it out. Now let me add "Alternate Brub" to the subtitle, will it still be used? I think so because alternate creatures really isn't a big deal particularly if they are better than their original Parent. How about if I reuse the picture from the original card somewhat, will people still use it? I guess so, I mean people use Grim Pyder in their decks eventhough that's just a recoloured Pyder.

What happens though when I name this new Brub as "Brub" - P2C as in to put it into Project Second Chance custom set? Suddenly it seems people shy away from using the card. Why? It's a custom card. The only difference between "Brub" - P2C and a "Custom Brub" is name is slightly different and the "Custom Brub" will probably use a recoloured image. That is what is perplexing me. I guess each player probably have their own reasons for not wishing to change and play with a P2C card.

I really wanted P2C to work because I'm running out of images for future card expansions and reusing existing card images as part of P2C is a new way of making new custom cards without having to worry about the images. Due to the lackluster response on the Custom Card Forums though, it makes me wonder if it's even viable to go this route. A review of Awakenings is up next, but I think I might scratch that unless there is at least 6 people who post their interest or something.

Nevertheless, as promised previously, all the 9 P2C cards have been added to gEngine for play. The usual rules apply - make sure you ask your opponents if it's OK with them if you played with these cards before you actually play with them and get people steamed and everything. Please try not to drive away the new players however much they may complain or act high-and-mighty. Unlike what I posted previously, I'll only make these cards custom legal early next year so there's a 2 week period for people to actually play with them and stuff - they won't be boosted in power though as I'm rather comfortable with the power-ups that was given to them as part of P2C.

Wymitch

So I was playing around with the Creature Card Maker today in the hopes that I could make some creatures for Ancient of Days. Well, I did about half a dozen creatures - they are really easy to do once you get the hang of it. Here's one of them:


Cute furry cold fella isn't he. I like the fact that it has the furok's nose and fangs too. Well, naming things are a bit difficult, but I decided to call this creature Wymitch after Malovis who sadly has gone on to other things. Oh well. Guess his legacy will still live on.

Now, a creature like that though won't be able to go onto a card without a background. The CCM has some stock background but those are low quality and only the first 5 regions are available. So I would have to draw in backgrounds for every creature I'm making. Not so easy. The Wymitch is Nar though, and since it looks like a koala, I might as well make it a climbing creature... but what is there to climb in Nar? Staglatites of course.


Here's the deal to all prospective creature makers out there. Make a creature (not from the first 5 original regions and not Universal) and if I like it, I'll draw in a background and use the image on AoD. Creatures should be posted to the fan-art section of the custom card forum. Have fun!

Iceberg

ThemRockinBones and I played another game the same day. While I posted both these pics shortly after we played (here's hoping this pic holds as I type this since it seemed to want to disappear from the edit window), it would be a while before I took my notes and converted them into the story to go with. Since ThemRockinBones mentioned that they were thinking of making a Nar deck since they rarely saw any play Nar, I thought I could swing out my own Nar deck for the second game. As such, I managed to go first with Balachron. He played out two Mombak and an Ice Arboll to get an initial freeze going. Borse would flip as the first Magi for ThemRockinBones. Borse played Orlon's Ring, Hubdra's Cube and two Orathan. With the offensive from going first, Balachron would punch his two big Mombak into Borse's creatures. It would take a few turns, but it would then be up to Quilla. Quilla would make the stand for Orothe next using Undertow. She played out three relics, one of which was another Orlon's Ring. Orathan and Wellisk would create her defenses. As you might notice in the picture, Balachron had been gaining steam and would end up facing Bria when it was apparent that Quilla lacked the creatures to defend herself. That picture wasn't captured. In essence, Balachron was like an iceberg cutting through the waters of Orothe.

Tidal Wave

About time I write a little something to go with this pic. I played ThemRockinBones, I think for the first time. I opted to go with one of my restricted decks. In theory, they should be a bit weaker. Of course, theory and reality can be two different stories. Well, Orlon would go first for me, drawing a couple cards with his Sea Barl and healing it back up a little with Submerge. Trygar would play a full spectrum of cards including Tunneler's Boots, Ghost Bwisp, Pylofuf, and Syre. Not a bad start. However, I actually wanted Orlon to go down and attempt to go nuts with the Brothers of Vengeance. And so it would be. Brothers of Vengeance would toss down a Karak Band (Necklace is banned in restricted), Hubdra's Cube, five creatures (maybe even these five?), and they played an Undertow. So why does the Cube pictured have nothing on it when I would've stolen a relic? Simple. I discarded it to the power of the brothers and this is not the same cube pictured. Trygar would use his effect Avenger to play a Ghost Bwisp. Strag would be next. While Strag's Claws would be played, you can see that Strag didn't survive against the Brothers. The Wellisk by this point is getting big at seven energy. Although, this Wellisk does give me some protection against an Ormagon and the game is conceded to Orothe.

Failing To Test Summon

This Sunday I got in a game with CapAp. This brings me back to my eighth deck for Twilight War. With such a variety, I don't think I've got any real playtesting in, but it has been lots of fun and interesting for me. Well, I would end up going first with Tiller. I drew cards like usual and only played a Balamant that first turn. CapAp would reveal Jaim, play the Orothean Goggles, a Monsoon Hyren, and a Sea Barl. A great opening of drawing cards for both of us. However, I would use Tap Roots to shrink the Monsoon Hyren and attack to eliminate it. A Weebo would be the beneficiary of Bythan's Gift, eliminating the Balamant from play. However, toss in a Nocturne for a Forest Hyren and that should give you an idea just how the game would go for a while. In fact, it wasn't long before I managed a Nocturne for the second Forest Hyren in the deck and Tiller was facing off against Mobis. Mobis would use Warrior's Boots to place a Wellisk into play. With a Submerge on top of that, the Wellisk attacked the Weebo and survived with one energy. Mobis would play a second Wellisk and a Bwill. Obviously, attacking the Bwill was not a good choice with either of the large Forest Hyren. They would attack to eliminate the two Wellisk, making it safe to play something small to attack the Bwill later. In the end, Tiller would work past Mobis and face off against Quilla. The single Coral Pyder played by Quilla wouldn't last long, but she had plenty of energy to spare. As you can see, I had placed another Balamant into play and was probably going to use a Remember Ring to get a Forest Hyren back (Tidal Wave for ten energy got both of those monsters). However, CapAp had run out of time and had to leave. I was taking too long taking my turns. I don't if I was going slower than usual or not. Anyways, once again I fail to test Summon. If you look at the picture, you might just see all three copies in my hand. While I continue to fail to test Summon, I really have enjoyed the spell as it has taught me a new way of playing Naroom. It really makes me wish that Traitor's Reach had been released. I doubt I would've ever come up with this variant on Naroom without a spell like Summon, yet I have grown to love how fresh it feels to play Naroom outside of my normal routine. The funny part about this, all the mechanics that are making this deck work come from cards created by Interactive Imagination. Now, I wonder if I could make this deck work starting with another magi. Though, I think I'll try and hold off on that thought for a little while. I already have a vast number of decks to choose from on gEngine and few that I don't for non-Naroom decks that I would like to create online and try first.