Cards & Boards

Cryptozoic Entertainment keeps bringing in the goodies, as the World of Warcraft TCG’s latest expansion set, War of the Ancients, is slated for a late September sneak preview event.

And in case anyone wants to play here in Petaling Jaya (or the Klang Valley), check out the local WoW TCG community’s Facebook page here for latest info and dates of the same event.

War of the Ancients will be a new block, and marks a literal return of sorts, to the Warcraft universe’s roots, by focusing on the first races that was more prevalent in the very first expansions of the TCG. Yup, say hello again to Taurens, Orcs, Elves and Humans, among others, as Cryptozoic seems to be stepping off the Monster-and-Dragons theme for a wee bit.

More spoilers incoming, as the weeks roll on, so stay tuned to Cryptozoic’s official WoW TCG site for all sorts of awesome updates on the new stuff!

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It’s not very often that card bans in trading card games (TCGs) happen, especially for a masterpiece such as WoW TCG (World of Warcraft Trading Card Game). But fans will be disappointed to note that the proverbial axe has fallen on three cards, to be exact.

But sometimes, despite best intent, games do get broken. With thousands of cards to manage and monitor, Cryptozoic has decided to remove Sava’gin the Reckless, Bottled Light and Etched Dragonbone Girdle from the more open, and very new Contemporary Constructed format.

Well, with majority of players having yet to take to the new format, the effect of the card bans remain to be seen on the secondary marketplaces. Sava’gin was worth a princely sum, so let’s see how this ban filters through?

I’m still deeply divided over card bans. How much should a game company do before implementing the ultimate ban sanction? What about cards that negate or overcome the powerful effects of other cards? Discuss away!

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WoW TCG (World of Warcraft Trading Card Game) fans will be excited to know that there will be a new Raid Deck product next month.

Battle of the Aspects has a worldwide street date of August 7, which is very, very soon! Now, there’s just been a whole spoiler-full article summary on the official Cryptozoic Entertainment website, right here.

Raid decks are standalone multiplayer products, and function with special rules, so players can get going and participate in a many-versus-one contest, against a preset deck.

The backstory for this special set, involves a huge dragon thing named Deathwing the Destroyer. Well, what matters more is that we’ll be getting more new treasure pack cards, in this very primo and special set. Well, there’s already a new Thrall confirmed for the set: can you say, uber-powerful? I’m drooling too much!

Now, the other interesting bit about Battle of the Aspects is the new WoW TCG variant that will debut with it. Dubbed the Chaos Format, you will be able to build decks that can only have single copies of your favoritest cards.

Yes, Magic fans will instantly recognise this as a ripoff, errr, homage to the now-staple Commander format. The Chaos Format has another neat rule, in which every ally can protect a hero, regardless on whether they have the Protector keyword or not.

Well, looks like we’ve got to hang on a little bit more before we try the new stuff!

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World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (or WoW TCG in short) would be pumped as hell over the arrival of the latest expansion set!

Now that us Malaysians have another steady WoW TCG supplier to count on, it’s time to crack open more packs, and enjoy the new loot.

One of the better ways to enjoy WoW TCG is undoubtedly by buying the Epic Collection. It’s great value as you get a cool playmat, a bunch of booster packs, and some shiny stuff, all locked in a nice sturdy box that has class separators for you to sort your budding card collection.

I bought one in Worldbreaker, and I still love the box. Well, curious? Then get the lowdown from local WoW TCG, Team CyberWOW, on what the deal is, for the latest set’s Epic Collection, here! Convinced yet?

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Well, straight after I raved about the new incoming WoW TCG expansion set, there’s more good news. Your friendly games stockist and hangout Comics Corner will be filling us with supplies of the new set, Tomb of the Forgotten, this month onwards!

Better yet, there they now have stocks of the newer recent expansions, Crown of Heavens and Throne of the Tides. And, Champion Decks too!

Well, for the record, supply of WoW TCG even in the Klang Valley has never been the most plentiful. Am glad to note theis positive change in this, as more stocks should feed us fanboys well enough!

Will it mean that we will now have another place to participate in sanctioned events, crack packs and win cool premium cards? Let’s see what happens next shall we?

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It’s that time of the year again when a new World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (WoW TCG) set comes a-calling.

Tomb of the Forgotten, will check in worldwide by June 12, with more monsters, loot and other good stuff, then!

Very few preview cards for now, but the good news is, the previews will kick off on WoWTCG.com by May 26. The bad news? Well, we got around three and a half more weeks to wait it out, so, let’s keep on waiting shall we?

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Mano et mano trading card game (TCG) sessions can only get you so far, and the World of Warcraft TCG is no exception.

My playgroup’s recent rekindlement with WoW TCG has been amped up further with the new Dungeon Decks, featuring three awesomely cool characters: meet Lord Godfrey, Scarlet Commander Mograine, and Vanessa Van Cleef.

So the basic premise is simple: you get your regular (or your best!) 61-card decks, and start taking on a Dungeon Deck. Each Dungeon Deck can be run “automatically”, so no player needs to control it, as the resultant actions (and pain) are resolved semi-randomly.

You and your friends get to go against a common enemy that wields regular, and often, spectacularly powerful allies, equipment and abilities.

I had a chance to have a go at the Scarlet Commander Mograine Dungeon Deck over the weekend, and boy was it amazing fun. Each deck has level difficulties, with Level 1 proving to be pretty easy for our beefed up Class Starters (around half or more of the Class Starters tweaked and modded with our favorite, and stronger stuff).

Level 2 was astonishingly tough going, as the multiplication of damage was pretty insane. Imagine the Commander himself gaining Assault 10 in some turns, and you get the picture. Another masochistic attempt – this time Level 3 – proved to be disastrous as well.

Well, I have to say that things got a lot more manageable once my group fielded much stronger and beefier decks – my improvised Death Knight Ghoul rush, a full-on Horde Shaman and an uber-Priest.

We were helped by quick opening hands, and efficiently grinded out the win thanks to plenty of ally destruction (Priest) and totems (Shaman). The raid ended with an appropriately-timed Turn 7 Zarixx, Herald of Death, which added one 3/3 Ghoul token ally to the pair already on board, and attacked for 12 damage. (Overkill admittedly, since the evil Commander was down to his final point of health.)

After four to five raids in less than two hours, I have to say that these decks are excellent value for money, given that the replayability is pretty darn high. Cryptozoic’s artwork continues to be superb, while the speedy gameplay ensures that downtime remains a minimum. Conclusion: pick up these babies and give your regular WoW TCG decks a fun workout, now! Warning though, don’t underestimate these puppies!

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Trust that everyone enjoyed last weekend’s The Star Online Carnivale event which took place at Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya. I certainly had fun demo-ing some of my favorite games, the World of Warcraft (WoW) TCG and the new Blood Bowl card game (by Fantasy Flight Games).

Speaking of WoW, looks like my beloved TCG franchise will be getting a brand spanking new expansion in February next year, with Crown of the Heavens poised to be shining through then.

Not much said about the set yet, except the fact that we should be seeing more interesting new cards then. I have to say that Cryptozoic’s designs have been pretty unique so far, with a varied mix of cards entering the pool the past year or so. The artwork has been simply gorgeous, and a huge improvement over the older sets!

The latest mass product which was recently available worldwide, the Dungeon Decks product, is looking mighty exciting too. Undead and Paladins, oh my!

I’m certainly looking forward to the next wave of 2011 Class Starters – December is the release date, and man, will that month be here already?

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