Posts Tagged ‘Wizards of the Coast’
Wizards of the Coast Announces ‘D&D Tyranny of Dragons’
Monday, May 26th, 2014
Wizards of the Coast announced last week the highly anticipated product line-up for the Dungeons & Dragons Tyranny of Dragons campaign, ushering in a pivotal year for the popular role-playing game brand. The entertainment offerings include the D&D Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual and Dungeon Master’s Guide that bring the campaign storyline to life for tabletop RPG gamers, as well as digital offerings led by a new module for the Neverwinter MMO.
NEW D&D Logo
To celebrate 40 years of entertaining players and to coincide with the Tyranny of Dragons product line-up, Wizards of the Coast has also unveiled a new logo for the brand. The redesign includes a larger ampersand that is clearly a fire-breathing dragon, conveying an element of danger with its sharp edges and barbs on his tale and evoking some of the main elements that D&D stands for, including adventures and fearsome monsters.
NEW Ampersand Logo
First out of the gate for Tyranny of Dragons digital offerings will be a new module for the highly-acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons MMO, Neverwinter, from Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment. The new module, aptly titled Tyranny of Dragons, will be the premier digital Dungeons & Dragons experience for players and will launch on August 14, 2014.
Tyranny of Dragons Digial Logo
For players eager to sink their teeth into the Tyranny of Dragons storyline around the gaming table, two new tabletop adventures will also release this year. Hoard of the Dragon Queen (August 19) and The Rise of Tiamat (October 21) will take players into the depths of the dragon’s lair, pitting them against Tiamat, the most fearsome dragon in D&D’s history.
In addition, Wizards has partnered with WizKids to produce a new line of D&D miniatures (see “WizKids Releases Details for ‘D&D Fantasy’ Miniatures“) that fans can use in conjunction with their Tyranny of Dragons adventures, as well as complement their tabletop RPG experience brought forth by the new rules set. With these new minis, players can expect high-quality, pre-painted plastic miniatures featuring iconic heroes and villains straight from the Forgotten Realms.
For the full Tyranny of Dragons story overview and product line-up, including PC and mobile games, tabletop roleplaying adventures, digital tools, collectible miniatures, comics, apparel and more visit DungeonsandDragons.com and stay tuned for more Tyranny of Dragons offerings and release dates to be announced in the coming months.
Best of all, Battleground Games & Hobbies will have a full line of Dungeons & Dragons Tyranny of Dragons products in stock as soon as it becomes available! Press release and information courtesy of Alfred Cloutier.
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Tags: Alfred Cloutier, D&D Next, DND, Dungeons and Dragons, Press Release, Role-playing Game, RPG, Tyranny of Dragons, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Featured Post, Role-Playing Games, Store Related | No Comments »
Revisiting Mono Green Devotion For Friday Night Magic
Thursday, May 22nd, 2014
This past Friday, for FNM, I played a fun Mono Green deck. I guess you could say, it was a strict budget deck. I spent less than $20 on the cards that I needed, and less than $10 on cards I needed for the main board. This was also the first time I played the deck. That tends to be the case with a lot of decks I play. However, it makes things a lot more fun when you learn things on a whim.
I should also mention that this deck was not my creation. This deck was found from the “Decks of the Week” section on DailyMTG.com. This deck was played by “ph_crescens,” and they went 4-0 with the deck.
So, without further ado, here is what I played:
Main board:
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Experiment One
3 Dryad Militant
4 Brushstrider
4 Burning -Tree Emissary
4 Kalonian Tusker
3 Wild Beastmaster
3 Reverent Hunter
4 Slaughterhorn
4 Aspect of the Hydra
2 Giant Growth
2 Ranger’s Guile
19 Forest
Side board:
3 Unravel the Aether
1 Skylasher
4 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Hunt the Hunter
1 Mending Touch
2 Ranger’s Guile
2 Plummet
This deck was a lot of fun to play. I was able to win many game ones, but I ended up losing all my games after that. I lost my element of surprise and didn’t have enough reach. Still, losing helped me understand the deck more. With that, I now have a better idea as to what the deck needs.
While I really wanted to stay on budget, this deck really needs Mutavaults. There was no worse feeling that right after a Supreme Verdict. Once that was cast, I had lost all advantage. If I were running Mutavaults, not only would I still have a threat on the board, the pump spells that remained in my hand would never have gone to waste.
Wild Beastmaster is a really cool card. Well, it’s cool when you can actually trigger it with a pump spell. Otherwise, it is absolutely terrible and is the first thing I would replace. It was obviously respected by my opponents because every time I played it, it would die right away. So what could replace it?
Boon Satyr would be a really great addition to this deck. It’s a 4/2 for three mana, and it’s cost helps add to the overall devotion because it has two green symbols in its cost. The added bestow ability is great for those times the deck begins to flood out. Not to mention, it helps in those situations where your opponent casts Supreme Verdict. It also helps add to your devotion with the two green mana symbols in its casting cost. This will help boost our Reverent Hunter and some new additions to the sideboard which we’ll get to in a bit.
He wasn’t in our original build, but Polukranos, World Eater would be excellent for this deck. He’s a little more than a budget card, but those rules went out the door when I found the need to add Mutavault. A 5/5 for four mana is hardly something that you can ignore, especially since it has the monstrous ability and helps add to your devotion.
What green deck would be without Nylea , God of the Hunt? Because she is a Legendary Enchantment, and her becoming a creature is dependent on your current board state, she has to be limited to 2-3 copies. However, she should be a power house in this deck. Even if she doesn’t become a creature, she finally give your creatures the reach this deck has been needing which is trample. She can also pump your creatures to an absurd number.
So where does this leave us? As far as the main board is concerned, here is what I think should be run:
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Experiment One
3 Voyaging Satyr
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Burning -Tree Emissary
4 Kalonian Tusker
4 Boon Satyr
3 Reverent Hunter
4 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Nylea, God of the Hunt
4 Aspect of the Hydra
4 Mutavault
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
12 Forest
As you can see, I’ve decided to go all out with the devotion. By adding Voyaging Satyr and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, we’re aiming to get our big guys out there as fast as we can and hit them hard before they know what hit them. However, this deck will definitely have its vulnerabilities. For example, once your opponent has an idea as to what’s going on, then the right removal spell will set you back to the stone age.
If you play this deck, you’re pretty much committed from the very beginning. So lay down the beats as much as you can. Here is an example side board if you still are having trouble coming up with one:
2 Arbor Colossus
4 Mistcutter Hydra
3 Nylea’s Disciple
3 Ranger’s Guile
3 Mending Touch
Mistcutter Hydra and Skylashers should help you against the control matchup or anything that has blue in it. Ranger’s Guile will help you against decks like Mono Black where removal spells are dominant. Mending touch is something to think about and is a neat little trick against board wipes like Supreme Verdict. However, it only helps one creature at a time, so be wary of its limitations.
This should be a fun deck to run at an FNM. I’d be a little cautious before running it at the next major tournament. If you do decide to take it to something major, there are still some tweaks it can afford, but only some major play testing will help you figure that problem out.
If you have any suggestions on what others could play in the deck, then let us know in the comment section below. I would love to hear what other people have to say.
Ps. There is still plenty of time in May for you to help me hit that goal of $300 for my Extra-Life campaign! So donate today! One lucky person might win their own copy of Takenoko from me! Click on the banner below.
About the author
Simeon is 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!
Donate to the Extra-Life fundraiser!
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Tags: Card Games, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | 1 Comment »
Wizards of the Coast Announces Name of Next Magic Set – ‘Khans of Tarkir’
Tuesday, May 20th, 2014
Last weekend, during Pro Tour Journey into Nyx – in which Hall of Fame Magic the Gathering player Patrick Chapin was crowned champion – Wizards of the Coast announced the name of the fall release Magic the Gathering set in an interview with Mark Rosewater. The name of the next set is Khans of Tarkir; and while very view details were revealed, Mr. Rosewater did say that the set will be released this September and the block will follow the big set-small set-big set release format.
You can watch the interview with Mark Rosewater by Rich Hagon, here:
What do you think of the interview? Does the new set sound exciting to you? What do you think the “something old” and “something new” that players are asking for is? Let us know in the comments!
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Tags: Khans of Tarkir, Magic the Gathering, Mark Rosewater, MTG, Pro Tour Journey into Nyx, Rich Hagon, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Events, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Store Related | 2 Comments »
Wizards of the Coast Announces Complaint Against Cryptozoic & Hex Entertainment
Sunday, May 18th, 2014
A couple of days ago, Wizards of the Coast – publishers of the famous card game Magic the Gathering – published a press released on their website detailing a lawsuit the company filed in United States District Court for the Western District of Washington [State] alleging copyright infringement on behalf of Cryptozoic Entertainment and Hex Entertainment.
You can read the press release below, in it’s entirety. What do you think? Have you played Hex? Is it, as the press release alleges, a Magic the Gathering clone? Let us know in the comments below!
“May 14, 2014 (Renton, WA) – Today Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington against Cryptozoic Entertainment, LLC and its alter ego, Hex Entertainment, LLC (collectively, “Cryptozoic”), for willful infringement of intellectual property rights.
Cryptozoic develops and publishes the digital trading card game, Hex: Shards of Fate, a clone of the world famous tabletop collectable trading card game, Magic: The Gathering®, and its digital expressions, Magic Online® and the Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers® franchise.
“Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast vigorously protect our intellectual property. This infringement suit against Cryptozoic demonstrates that while we appreciate a robust and thriving trading card game industry, we will not permit the misappropriation of our intellectual property” said Barbara Finigan, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Hasbro. “We attempted to resolve this issue, but Cryptozoic was unwilling to settle the matter.”
The suit includes claims for copyright, patent and trade dress infringement.
About Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering is the world’s best strategy game with more than 20 million players and fans worldwide. Through a unique blend of digital game play and face-to-face play opportunities in more than 6,000 hobby game stores around the world, Magic offers a robust gaming experience for its global community of passionate fans. For more information, visit magicthegathering.com.
About Wizards of the Coast, LLC
Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. Wizards’ players and fans are members of a global community bound together by their love of both digital gaming and in-person play. The company brings to market a range of gaming experiences under powerful brand names such as MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and KAIJUDO. Wizards is also a publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information about our world renowned brands, visit the Wizards of the Coast Web site at www.wizards.com.
About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company dedicated to fulfilling the fundamental need for play for children and families through the creative expression of the Company’s world class brand portfolio, including TRANSFORMERS, MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MY LITTLE PONY, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, NERF and LITTLEST PET SHOP. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with innovative play and entertainment experiences, in a variety of forms and formats, anytime and anywhere. The Company’s Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for more than 180 markets around the world, and for the U.S. on Hub Network, part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK). Through the company’s deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and is ranked as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens.” Learn more at www.hasbro.com.”
Tags: Copyright Infringement, Cryptozoic Entertainment, Hex, Hex Entertainment, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Press Release, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Featured Post | No Comments »
This week in ‘Magic: The Gathering’ – Vintage Masters, Boxborough TCG Player 5K, and State Championships
Thursday, May 15th, 2014
This has been a pretty busy week for “Magic: The Gathering.” Today, Wizards of the Coast announced that they were filing a lawsuit against Cryptozoic Entertainment and Hex Entertainment. Wizards is claiming that the game “HEX: Shards of Fate” is a “clone” of “Magic.” The lawsuit goes on to include claims about “copyright, patent and trade dress infringement.”
In case you haven’t check it out, “HEX” looks a lot like “Duels of the Planeswalkers.” Even the mechanics of the game are really similar. If you asked me, “HEX” looks to be a lot of trouble.
Vintage Masters previews
In other news, the previews for Vintage Masters have started on DailyMTG.com. This is really looking like a fun set for Magic Online. I’ll get into the big stuff, but for those of you who enjoy pauper, Circular Logic and Arrogant Wurm are going to be common in Vintage Masters. This means that they’ll be allowed for use in the Pauper Format. It also means that Madness will be a deck that you’ll be able to play now. I’m definitely going to build this. Want an idea of what it’ll look like? Then check this out:
Lands:
2 Terramorphic Expanse
11 Forest
9 Mountain
Creatures:
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Arrogant Wurm
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Gathan Raiders
4 Granger Guildmage
4 Scab-Clan Mauler
2 Werebear
Spells:
4 Fiery Temper
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Firebolt
2 Lightning Axe
This was a deck list that was suggested by Gavin Verhey on DailyMTG. It’s definitely a good start. While it doesn’t play one of my favorite counterspells, this looks to be a very aggressive deck. Arrogant Wurm is a very scary creature. It’s much scarier when you can get him out earlier than his five mana casting cost. As fun as this deck looks, I’m still going to try to find a way to play U/G Madness.
Obviously, the main attraction of the Vintage Masters will be the release of the Power 9. In case you didn’t read the announcement, a new rarity was created just for the Power 9. This new rarity is called “Special.” Ironically, there is nothing special about the name and is rather lack luster.
According to DailyMTG, a piece of power can be opened at a ratio of one out of every 53 packs. They’ll also be twice as rare as a Mythic rare. I asked a really popular Magic finance guru what his thoughts were on the price of these cards online, and he had this to say,
https://twitter.com/MarcelMTG/status/465722453671411712
What’s even cooler is that Force of Will is going to be a rare in the set. I believe Mana Drain will also be in Vintage Masters. This is going to be a really popular set on Magic Online. The best part is that because this is a digital product, we don’t have to think about limited print runs. Granted, they won’t be available forever online, but players won’t have to worry about Wizards running out of cards to sell because they didn’t print enough.
Boxborough TCG Player 5K
The TCG Player 5K was held in Boxborough, Mass. last weekend. I went despite some early morning health issues. However, they subsided by the time I got to the event. I went with a couple of friends and some a few familiar faces from the Abington store.
A big shout goes out to Jesse who I also met at the event. Jesse plays Commander at the Abington store and used to be a more competitive player. Did I mention he told me he read’s my stuff!? (yeah, that’s me bragging) He was in Boxborough to get back in the thick of things. Similar to me. I’ve been trying to get back into the competitive groove, and I think this was a good start.
Granted, my record was horrible at the end of the day, but I felt like I got a lot out of it. If you want, you can read my full report here.
Starcitygames.com State Championships
This weekend will be the Starcitygames.com State Championships. I’m currently thinking about what I want to play. At the Boxborough 5K I played B/G Devotion. It was similar to the list that had won the Starcitygames.com Open Series in Cincinnati, OH a few weekends ago.
Will any you be in attendance this weekend? Still thinking about a deck? Well here’s the deck I suggested to play at the end of my Boxborough TCG Player 5K tournament report:
Main board:
4 Desecration Demon
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4 Brain Maggot
4 Lifebane Zombie
4 Underworld Connection
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hero’s Downfall
4 Devour Flesh
2 Bile Blight
1 Ultimate Price
4 Mutavault
4 Temple of Malady
4 Overgrown Tomb
13 Swamp
Side board:
4 Duress
2 Dark Betrayal
2 Doomblade
2 Erebos, God of the Undead
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Ultimate Price
2 Golgari Charm
So you may notice a few things out of place with this deck. First of all, I am terrible Pack Rat player. However, after taking it out, I quickly felt very comfortable with the deck. Sometimes they say play the deck you’re most comfortable with, and this is it. I also took out the green splash in the main board. It was moved to the side board. Also, I settled the debate over Nightveil Specter being in the main board. I decided to remove it all together and replace them with the Lifebane Zombies from the side board.
I felt that having the Zombies in the side board was limiting my side board options and, thus, didn’t give me many removal spells. I moved the Zombies to the main to open up my horizons.
So you may notice a few things out of place with this deck. First of all, I am terrible Pack Rat player. However, after taking it out, I quickly felt very comfortable with the deck. Sometimes they say play the deck you’re most comfortable with, and this is it. I also took out the green splash in the main board. It was moved to the side board. Also, I settled the debate over Nightveil Specter being in the main board. I decided to remove it all together and replace them with the Lifebane Zombies from the side board.
I felt that having the Zombies in the side board was limiting my side board options and, thus, didn’t give me many removal spells. I moved the Zombies to the main to open up my horizons. If you’re unsure about this deck, don’t forget that you still have FNM to test the deck out. So give it a shot this Friday.
Ps. There is still plenty of time in May to help me get to my goal of $300 in my Extra-Life Fundraiser. So if you’d like to donate today, then click on the banner below. The link should take you to my donation page. If I hit my goal, I’ll be giving away a copy of “Takenoko”! Thanks for donating!
About the author
Simeon is 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!
Donate to the Extra-Life fundraiser!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Friday Night Magic, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Events, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | No Comments »
Wizards of the Coast Announces New Judge Promo Cards
Thursday, May 8th, 2014
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What do you think of these brand new promotional Magic the Gathering cards announced today on Dailymtg.com? Are you excited for a promo Force of Will? Let us know in the comments below!
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Tags: Elesh Norn, Force of Will, Greater Good, Magic the Gathering, Promotional, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering | 5 Comments »
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