Cards & Boards

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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Okay Magic: the Gathering and World of Warcraft TCG fans, listen up!

The decklist for the latest Magic product, the Duel Decks: Venser vs Koth, is now completely demystified and up online! Wizards.com has spoiled the product’s deck lists, here.

As the name would suggest, Venser vs Koth has two decks, each containing a copy of the aforementioned planeswalkers.

Perfect for some friendly and fun Magic action straight up, these preconstructed decks may not exactly be tournament-worthy, but ought to provide plenty of fun!

Don’t know about you, but I do love decks that are pure fun, very casual and thus, make for some random and exciting games.

Good deal for beginners and experienced Magic players alike, Venser vs Koth is actually perfect for further tweaks and customization. Just add more copies of the cards already in, or heck, swap in other cards! That’s why it’s a trading card game yo!

While we’re on the subject of TCGs with preconstructed decks, WoW TCG also announced its Champion Decks recently.

And looks like the contents of the Hunter deck, is now online for everyone’s consumption!  (Albeit this is off a third-party reviewer.) Kudos to gloriousaspect.com for this awesome read.

Now, I’m eagerly awaiting what the other Champion Decks have. Can’t wait!

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I may love Blood Bowl: Team Manager Card Game (by Fantasy Flight Games) for now, but I’m also steadily reacquainting myself with my favorite TCG (trading card game), World of Warcraft (or WoW in short).

Bizarrely, I’m going real easy on the customization bit – that is, I’m trying to not mix around the cards between my decks too much – but, rather, am letting my decks stay consistent, with a set bunch of cards.

Well, looks like the upcoming Champion Decks product is right up your alley, if you’re looking for instantly playable decks, straight out of the box. There will be five decks, one each for Mage, Hunter, Warrior, Shaman and Druid.

Roughly divided into Heroic or Monster, the decks will feature some of the more notable WoW universe heroes and villains. The confirmed lineup are Jaina Proudmoore (Human Mage), Lady Sylvanas Windrunner (Undead Hunter), Hogger (the Gnoll), Murkdeep (the Murloc Shaman) and Elderlimb (the Treefolk Druid).

Check out the link above for some card names already hinted, per deck. Some old classics and hopefully heavy hitters there. Slated for a late March 2012 release, stay tuned on more news about its eventual local availability!

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Have you bought your World of Warcraft (WoW) TCG packs yet? Specifically, Crown of Heavens?

Well, why don’t you head on down to finer specialty and games shops such as Comics Mart to hit them up for some mighty awesome booster packs?

That’s right folks, they’re in stock now, right here in Malaysia! The game is a little scarce, but hey, head on to Mid-Valley Megamall and look up that games shop and see what your packs give you. There will be more Monster cards, some really, really beefy good guys – remember that Stormrage Druid guy? He’s a card, in this set, and he’s a mean, huge, beating machine!

So, what do you want from your packs?

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Last week’s announcement by Blizzard Entertainment  on the new World of Warcraft (WoW) Monopoly and Starcraft Risk has induced a major bout of anticipation and euphoria in many fanboys, including yours truly.

I mean, Monopoly set in Azeroth and the rest of WoW loredom plonked in for good measure. Then, there’s a Starcraft twist to one of the most enduring and classic strategy games. Plus miniature hero pieces to choose from at the start of the game, for Protoss, Terran and Zerg? Freaking aye!

And, did you know that you could even vote in a Facebook poll, for the WoW Monopoly pieces of choice? Check it out, and vote away!

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Caught the previews to the upcoming new World of Warcraft TCG (trading card game) expansion set, Crown of Heavens yet?

Well, look no further than Cryptozoic’s very own website for spoiler overload! The set looks set to give us more new ways to play the awesome card game.

There’ll be monster heroes, new weapons, items and armor, more allies and definitely, more rocking epics and rares!

Those who’re heavily keen on WoW lore will recognize the many iconic names that are assuming new (and reborn) cardboard form. Malfurion Stormrage, Cenarius, Tyrande and Sylvanas are just some of the heavy-hitters heading our way in mere weeks.

Once again, Cryptozoic is maintaining, or I daresay, upping the ante not only in the card quality department, but also the artwork. Compared to the days when Upper Deck Entertainment had this franchise, the card imagery are stupendously gorgeous.

All I want to know is, is Hogger finally coming out in this set? I want my Gnoll token allies, now!

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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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World of Warcraft (WoW) Trading Card Game (TCG) fans take note, for there’s new stuff to be bought at your favorite game store!

The new Dungeon Decks, 2011 Fall Class Starters and Thrones of Tides expansion packs are now available. Yup, triple whammy in time for the coming holiday season? Need stocking stuffers for yourself, or friends? Look no further than these bunch of latest WoW TCG products!

The Dungeon Decks feature all-new treasure cards which make awesome upgrades to your existing decks. You can also buy one of the Dungeon Decks, which give you an awesome quest way of playing WoW TCG.

Beginners and experienced players will love the new Class starters. A follow-up to the very awesome 2011 Summer Class Starters, this special 61-card product gives us ten new heroes, and each deck contain one booster pack (from the War of the Elements expansion). Pretty darn worth it, for RM50 a pop I say!

And to sweeten the deal, each of the Fall Class Starters will have one random common, uncommon, rare or epic reprint from an older WoW TCG expansion block. Yes, these reprints mean that they return to the current Core format! Wow indeed!

Finally, if you’re looking to crack just booster packs, look no further than the Thrones of the Tides that just came in. Murlocs, and all forms of new monstrosities plus the usual plethora of allies, abilities, quests and equipment are in this set. Well, go crazy, but not too crazy!

The latest WoW TCG products were sighted in Comics Mart, Mid-Valley Mega Mall and ought to be seen in better game shops. Good luck hunting for them!

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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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Last week, I mentioned how The Star Online’s Carnivale event will be happening at Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya, and yours truly has been given a spot to demo TCGs (trading card games) and its related ilk.

I’m just stoked that I’ve been given the chance to demo World of Warcraft (WoW) TCG and the new Blood Bowl card game alongside what should be crowd favourites: electronic games and cosplay appearances.

While I did previously post that I will be definitely be rousing up some card game demos along the lines of Magic: the Gathering and World of Warcraft, looks like I’m set on focusing on the latter, for the weekend.

So the deal is, I’m giving away a limited number (not telling how many!) of “home-made” 61-card “starters”. The only catch is, well, for you to sit down for a 15-minute tutorial, to have a taste on what the game is like. (Special thanks to i.Star’s head honcho Davin Arul for donating some of his cards!)

If you’re totally new to the World of Warcraft TCG thing, fret not! Why don’t you start by checking out Cryptozoic Entertainment’s official how-to-start web resource? Or, do check out the following YouTube videos, here, and here.

I’ll be there from 12 noon till 4pm on Saturday (Nov 19) and 3pm till 6pm on Sunday (Nov 20). Hope to see you there!

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