Yesterday I shared with everyone some introductory links on two of the most popular TCGs (trading card games) in Malaysia, Magic: the Gathering and the World of Warcraft TCG.

Well, before I start delving into some introductory info for boardgamers and finally, tradeable miniature gamers, I’ll have to do a quick newsflash regarding the top TCG, Magic.

Back in August 2009, Wizards of the Coast had announced Worldwake’s impending release on the official Magic website, MagicTheGathering.com. Well guess what, fast-forward to late January, and the official and unofficial previews are here! The official Worldwake microsite by Wizards has spades of spoilers – do check out the visual spoiler which is being updated daily (except weekends – well, most weekends anyways). The updates will run all the way till the set’s official release on February 5. In keeping with Zendikar’s “land matters” theme, the 145 cards in the set will continue to explore land-related mechanics.

A new cycle of dual lands are confirmed (allied colors this time – IMHO not as exciting as the Zendikar enemy-color fetchlands, but having them around makes for some interesting late game options ;-), plus all the races explored in the preceding set will have new cards. Hmmm, maybe the Allies and Vampires will get the more interesting cards, but we’ll see eh? Green mages will love to have their hands on the new bunch of creatures – well, Wizards is on track to make the current Magic scene more “interactive” (hence the focus on creature combat and direct damage, instead of more control-based strategies).

But wait, the new Jace looks set to usher in the promised Blue renaissance? Yes, Wizards has confirmed that a new shift is beginning once again, so all of you Magic fans who long for more “control” will see their dreams come true! Tom LaPille confirmed what many Magic fans had already suspected: that Wizards of the Coast’s R&D will push Blue to become competitive again, something that has not happened for eons, literally.

Finally, I’ll leave you with two more links, here and here. The first is MTG Realm, which is one of the numerous sites that will have loads of decent spoilers (mmm, more Worldwake previews), while the latter is a home-grown blog on all things that are Magic, here in Malaysia. Especially useful for finding out the latest local events and tournaments.