Sunday, November 30, 2008

Unleash This! #6, The Quicksilver Combo goes Modern

You guys know the Quicksilver, Mutant Avenger + Quicksilver, Mutant Avenger + Legendary Battles combo I love so much, right? Well with the release of MEV, this combo is entirely re-enactable with Nightcrawler, Man of the Cloth.


We've known for over a year now that he can do similar things, but there really wasn't a reasonable substitute for legendary battles. Add to that, Quicksilver doesn't even have to be a part of the team attack whereas Nightcrawler requires it (which was mostly useful in cases where your opponent has exhaustion tricks). Well I just told you guys a moment ago that MEV fixed this problem, and how? Sewer Rats.

Now, I know this looks painful, and it is, but being able to team attack an entire board is completely worth it.

And the Marauders have some decent synergy with the X-Men. All we have to do is look at Gambit, [version] Sewer Rat for that; All of a sudden your stun effects work.

Then Sewer Rats combos greatly with X-Men Assemble. Nightcrawlers get bigger, and can stun bigger guys on their own. not too shabby. You have Cutting Loose for a +4 turn long pump, pretty much (two for each, team attacking together ...)

Then Gambit has off initiative tricks. His 6-drop, the Traitor. Three-Card Monte. Random. Well ... maybe that's taking this a little far with the Gambit support, but you get the idea. Let's see how it turned out:
---------------------------------------------
4 Gambit, Sewer Rat
4 Gambit, Le Diable Blanc
4 Night Crawler, Man of the Cloth
4 Random, Alex
1 Gambit, Death
3 Gambit, Traitor

4 Mobilize
3 Clash
4 Carrying the Torch
4 Underground Movement
4 Divided we Stand
4 Sewer Rats
3 Three-Card Monte
3 Cajun Charm
4 X-Men Assemble!
2 Graduating Class
3 Cerebro
3 Asgard
--------------------------------------

The basic idea of the deck is to get a gambit out on 2, preferrably the MEV one so you have both X-Men and Marauders out. Otherwise, Sewer Rat allows you to Graduating Class / Cajun Charmlock on initiative.

Underground Movement is there to push vulnerable characters into the hidden area (like your Nightcrawlers).

Clash and Carrying the Torch bypass uniqueness for ya. I guess you could get out multiple copies of gambit, but I'd make sure that the Nightcrawler combo is ensured first.

Three-Card Monte/Cerebro/Asgard are there to ensure that you hit with Gambit, Traitor. Basically TCM their X-1 cost dude, where X is the number of cards in your hand. That leaves you with one card in hand to swap out with cerebro/Asgard to get whatever character you want to stun their 6 with Traitor's ability.

Another way you could go, if you tweak the deck, is to shift out Gambit on 1, play gambit on 2, put 3 more shift counters on gambit on 3, with odds you can stun someone / Cajun Charm them, random on 4 off init stun their 2 exhaust their 4 brickwall then bring out a nightcrawler on 5 and a fresh gambit 2 if need be, gambit on 6, then the 2nd nightcrawler on 7 to team into their board then. Or you could avoid gambit 6 and go 2 nightcrawlers for evens on init, but that seems to be a harder route.

This deck hasn't been played at all, and might have very low consistency. That said, I'd love to hear your input. In hindsight, this deck doesn't have any off-initiative control until turn 6. Since that's the case, take odds if at all possible.

- Alex "OSM" Lloyd

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Unleash This! #5, What are you thankful for?

With yesterday's street release of MEV, thousands of pack wrappers have already hit the dumpster (none by me yet, I'm stopping by a shop on my way home for thanksgiving later today). Good times, right?
Well, I'm not going to say one word about what's really on my mind, other than it evokes fear, potential depression, maybe down the line loss of self identity. But for right now, we still have vs.


I just watched a movie last week, you may have seen it; The Peaceful Warrior.
Soc and Dan say in the movie that this moment, right now, is what matters. Not fearing for the future, not thinking about mistakes past. I can learn from that, and will apply this message to the rest of this entry for your reading and visual pleasure.

I'm going to tell of the things I am thankful for in VS from the past year in chronological order (as close as I can), feel free to comment with what you are thankful for as well.

1. I'm thankful to UDE for them keeping the game going thusfar after the Pro Circuit died.

2. I'm thankful to a couple of my local friends who I played with for the last time when MVL and DCL came out for what they've given me in the duration that I've known them. This is inclusive to Mike "Aceswolf" Healey and Rich "pseudophonic" Latour. The latter showed me how to play competitively and inteligently, the former showed me how to be caring for the community.

3. I'm thankful for the subsets UDE made to accompany the marquee events for the drought between DCL and MUN.

4. I'm thankful for UDE/TBS giving bloggers the opportunity to preview MUN. I think that move made our community grow, if only for the reason that the set becomes more "personal."

5. I'm thankful for I'm_All_Noobish putting all of the MUN images on his photobucket. I used those pictures for the MUN OCTGN patch, which has been tweaked a bit with some help from flashback81.

6. I'm thankful for UDE running 4 megaweekends since the Pro Circuit died, when they originally said they would run 3.

7. I am very thankful to Ken (Kariggi) and his Christine (American Maid) for allowing me to stay with them, Patrick, Roger, Bacon and Noobish for MWNY.

8. I am thankful for having the chance to meet a ton of realmers at MWNY, including Ralph/Blues, Cliff and his sidekick Benny.

9. I am thankful to my parents for buying me a flight to origins for my birthday so I could compete at worlds.

10. I am thankful to Quackers and Jimmy for allowing me to room with them.

11. I am thankful again to meet many players at origins, including Aaron Mead and his crew, Cool Kurt and his crew (again), MSU Hitman, and others.

12. I am thankful for TBS's efforts at Worlds, congrats for his performance in the bounty hunt events, and for him placing higher than everyone resulting in him passing his packs down and enabling me to get a pack, which I got him to sign.

13. I am thankful for, in addition to meeting people for the first time, seeing familiar faces from MWNY and my local scene at Worlds. It made me feel more connected to the event.

14. I am thankful for the kindness of the vs system community, letting me borrow stuff as I struggled to get my Illuminati deck complete in time for round 1 parings (which I did, with like 5 seconds to spare). Especially Aaron, giving me a Dr. Strange secret avenger. I got my 5th copy recently and was able to give him one at the Battle of the Border to complete his playset.

15. I am thankful that my online trades and purchases this summer went well and without a hitch. Walter Soback's lot has been put to good use.

16. I am thankful to Darrius for his help and company as we treked to Cliff's for MW Indy

17. I am thankful to Cliff for driving us down and being so hospitable.

18. I am thankful to the Ring Has Chosen guys for having me on the show.

19. I am thankful for meeting Mr. Awesome, LizzardLightning, Fatalsync, Spooky and others.

20. I am thankful for Steak & Shake. They have like the best mocha milkshake ever, and they have my coffee shop in there too. like woah.

21. this one should've been mentioned much earlier, but thank you vsrealms and stu for your votes and support in the stuvivor challenge and thank you gday for being a great opponent in literature.

22. I am thankful to Jetpack Comics and Your Move Games for their marquee events and support.

23. I am thankful to TBS for granting me not one but two previews for MEV in the forms of Ice-Man and One Man Army.

24. I am thankful to Lost Hemisphere for the Summer of Love

25. I am thankful to Ralph at Jetpack Comics, casanovapooh at Nested Egg, Hills Wholesale, to Gdaybloke and the rest of Lost Hemisphere, to Cliff, The Governor's Inn and to John for your help in making the Battle of the Border what it could.

26. I am thankful to Aron's crew, Phou's crew, Ryan, Spud, Pablo, gday, Cliff, everyone for making the event festive. I will cherish this event for the rest of my life.

27. I am thankful to UDE for printing MEV. Even if it's not in Europe and Australia yet, as long as it exists then hope remains.

28. I am thankful to all who were inspired by the results of the Battle of the Border. Chawie is working hard on getting Battle of the Border: Texas Edittion ready and I hope the best for him and for my financial situation to hopefully be able to go down there. D-Block and Blues mentioned the possibility of there being a Battle of the Border: South Jersey vs North Jersey too. I'd love for the Battle of the Border to become a series of fan-made events, and for all of you who want to do something like this or have any questions, feel free to ask.

29. I'm thankful to have a couple other players on campus where I live

30. I am thankful to be a member of vsrealms.com

so, that's 30 things I'm thankful for VS System-wise. How 'bout you?
- Alex "OSM" Lloyd

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Regarding The Ring Has Chosen Episode 66

While I appreciate the nod from Cliff and Squire, I have to clear up a couple things that seem to have been skewed out of proportions.

First, money.

* Ralph, the owner of Jetpack Comics, put down the deposit on the room. Not me. Ralph was paid back and compensated for the deposit from a portion of the $ me and John received from the participants' $15.00 entry fee. In addition, he contributed 25% discounts to the store as participation, gave $25.00 in store credit to the person who won the event, and donated two prize kits to the pool as well.

* I didn't get financially shafted; I was compensated for the boxes of product used for the Super-Crossover. A valid and proportionate share was given to Spud for letting us use his box of MUN in the sealed event as well. It's true, I spent plenty of hours calling various places, ordering things, confirming details and costs and such sure. But really, I did that because it needed to get done, not so much for any other reason. You guys dedicated the weekend to us, it's only fair that I bust my ass to make sure you guys wouldn't be disappointed.
My donation to the prize pool included:
* 11 other playmats (I kept one for myself for selfish reasons)
* The foreign MOR rares (that I bought this past summer from Walter Sobac)
* an odd assessment of MUL (nothing too extravagant)
* The trivia packs my team won at Gencon (DSM and MMK)

so really, compared to Lost Hemisphere and Matt "VS_Savant2" Robertson and Cliff, this was quite reasonable. Please don't think I was financially shafted.

Next, on UDE, no, they did not assist with this event at all. This was 100% fan-run.

When I got home from work on Wednesday night (the night Cliff and Squire recorded TRHC ep 66), I had a facebook chat with Cliff, and some of what Cliff mentioned in the podcast came up in our conversation. I made sure to address his concerns as I have addressed my reactions to them here in our facebook conversation, so I would like to ask for you all to not hold anyone responsible for this relatively reasonable miscommunication. Because that's what it was. Cliff mentioned rumors flying, and I'm sorry but I was too busy having fun and trying to be a good host to talk about how the event came to be, and if I had addressed them there then this all could have been avoided. My previous entry on how the Battle of the Border came to be hopefully addresses the related details more accurately.

Thanks again everyone, for reading this, for your support, and your respect. Thank you Cliff and Squire for naming me the Hero of the Month TRHC equivalent for the month of November, I'm honored. I appreciate your efforts, everyone, for making VS System everything it can be. Thank you for the respect you show me on the realms, and I can't wait to post there with you guys soon.

- Alex "OSM" Lloyd

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Battle of the Border!: TBS, I'm sorry.

Just a heads up, this is basically my event designer diary entry.

I look back fondly to the events that happened this past weekend; The Battle of the Border. It was a ton of fun, you don't need me to tell you - other participants already have.

I'd like for one thing to be clear before I continue - I loved the Pro Circuit, I loved the events this past year (even MWNY was redeemed by a Cliff hug), so please allow me, TBS, to apologize for the feedback from this past weekend's event consisting of things like "better than any event ever." I'm sure they appreciate the events you guys have put on, and I hope you don't take it as your events weren't enjoyed - because they were. By many.

Also, a true unsung hero - Matt "VS_Savant2" Robertson. I'd link you to his profile so you could give him rep, but vsrealms.com is down (and so are all of the sister sites). This guy is pure goodness; He sent not one, but TWO carepackages to me to be used as prizes, and he didn't participate or anything. Here's what he supplied us with:
---------------
* Superman Lunchbox (won by Cliff)
* X-Men 3 movie (won by Steph 'misguidedwonder')
* Iron Man comics (given to everyone as participation)
* Modern/Golden Rares, foils & EAs (given out to multiple recepiants)
* Spider-Spud (won** by Spud)
* 2 Deckboxes (combined with others and given out to multiple recepiants)
---------------
I mean, seriously. All this stuff, plus the cost of shipping, out of pure generosity.
The VS community owes you.

Now, back on track. I'd like to narrate the course of events that led us to this spectacular event taking place:
First, Let's go back. Back to VS Worlds, this past July - I meet Aaron Mead and Steph. Now, as awesome as that was, I had no idea this encounter would be the spark next to an oil drum that would result into the sky being lit up like fireworks (ok so I'm not that great with metaphors, psych major here). We played in the Golden Age event the Thursday of Origins, and I swear I've never laughed as much as when I played my Spider-Clones against Aaron's New School (I think he used similar words when recounting the tale).

The next significant piece was Steph being convinced to join us on vsrealms, and I was reminded again of Aaron's awesomeness, and passively suggested that if we were given the opportunity, playing again would be great. Since we live so close to the Canadian/US border, I used the words "Battle of the Border" to highlight the epicity of what said encounter would be like (because it was, in every sense of the word, completely epic playing at Worlds). What with Steph's thread being called "Hello from Eastern Canada" resident Spud & Gday joined in on the conversation, and agreed that it would be excellent to play.

Suddenly, this comment, desire to relive an amazing vs experience was coming alive (and Jebus Aaron we didn't play once! we'll fix that at BotB2).

We started talking about where such an event should be held, and after a week or so (now mid-late July), We settled on Rochester NH on the grounds that we needed local presence, and relative central-ness to everyone (except Gday's crew). A close runner-up would have been Niagra. While we're talking about location, just a quick note that (well at least I felt that-) whoever hosts the event should put up more than those traveling. I feel this way because we don't have to spend a crapton on gas, we don't have to get hotel rooms, we can still live relatively normally in the duration. While I appreciate your praises alot, don't forget that you guys played a major role as well - I thank you for traveling the distance, going the extra mile to be here.

So now that the location has been decided on, John Tauron_Nox went to Ralph (owner of Jetpack Comics) to see about finding us a place to play. Ralph has done this sort of thing before, runs numerous comic-based events in the city of Rochester, and is a true saint. The store doesn't really have too much gaming space (IE they can't fit 30+ people for an event of this calibur) so the urgency to find a place to play was heightened. More on this in just a sec.

Next, we needed to figure out what exactly would be in the event: by this time (early-mid august) I had missed my local GA BYOT, and I love the concept for the format (anything that can let me play quicksilver, mutant avenger and pseudo-infy attack has to be good in my book). It felt like a very thematic format, and we can say the Avengers played against the Alpha Flight***.
We actually had a vote, and although a couple guys wanted modern, the majority wanted GA BYOT. Me being the great compromiser I am I suggested that modern be casually played in hotel rooms. I'm glad what basically came out of this was that Friday was the meet & greet event, so by the time we all went to the main event we knew eachother. We agreed to play super x-over sealed if there was time.

Then, when everything seems to be going great, I get a PM from Tauron_Nox saying that Ralph couldn't find a reasonable location (It was worded a little differently but this is the basic message I got). With John being busy and Ralph at a dead end, and with the event less than 3 months to go I started to panic. I tried looking at Special Events New England, New England Tent Rentals, and checked with gamestores I knew had the room for us.

I ran into the same wall Ralph ran into, it seems. Then, I turned to my 2nd best friend in the world, google.com. At this point I was gasping at straws. Somewhere in that first page of the google search was The Governor's Inn, and I thought 'gee, that sounds like a decent place.' Right in Rochester. So, I gave 'em a call. What would it hurt, right? So I call them and get some info, and tell them I'd have someone take a look (I mentioned this place to John and Ralph, they check it out). We get the green light; $200 per timeslot, 2 timeslots in a day. $400 for a day. $100 down payment.

Me, never having done this sort of thing before, I ask Ralph/John if that's a good price. They jumped on it. The raincloud's silver lining grows brighter. Even better, Matt Robertson's package came in. On the forums, Gday says he'll chip some prize support in, and Matt responded by sending yet another package. I love them generous folk.

Three weeks out. I haven't spent one cent yet. I figure it's about time to start shopping around for boxes for the super x-over (I get paid bi-weekly if that's a good enough excuse). I get the idea that having playmats would be cool for the event (hence the multiple threads on the subject).
Eventually I'm lead to casanovapooh on the realms, and am told I'm too late to make the playmats. But, if I hurry, I could get something in and he'd try to get it out.
By this time I had already asked Spud if he'd get something together, and have seen plenty of nice images. I needed something quick, and I made the playmat as we know it in under 2 hours. Considering it was done with paint and considering I'm sucky when it comes to all forms of art (computer graphics included, just look at the vs symbol of this blog's header).
I had to ask casanovapooh to add the text to the playmat.

Two weeks out. Trouble comes up with people who were previously on the "definitely coming" list. I weasle one into going, but couldn't get Darius. ahhh. Gotta fix that for next time. Also, Scott tells me of a super duper prize (as we now know as galactus poster).

One week out. I get a call from the governor's inn saying that they had a cancellation and that if we moved rooms we'd get 1/2-off. hells yeash! Also, the entirety of the prizes arrive from my end of things & Matt's.

Then, the day comes ... It's Friday, 11/7. The day everyone gets here. Let's pause the game here, and continue our story next time shall we?

- Alex "OSM" Lloyd



** I rigged the dice-roll on that one
*** NONE of the Canadians ran Alpha Flight. What's up with that???

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Battle of the Border: The Warriors Left Standing

While no-one got shot, stabbed, or cleaved, plenty got smacked around (even to the back of the head). Here are the lists of the rest. *Of what I've been given. Still need the 2nd place and 3rd place lists*

1 - Phou Phommavong
Characters 30

4X Boliver Trask
6X Hounds of Ahab
5X Sentinel Mark 2
5X Sentinel Mark 5
4X Nimrod
4X Bastion
2X Cassandra Nova

Plot Twists - 27

4X Mobilize
4X Search and Destroy
4X Cover Fire
4X Savage Beatdown
4X Finish Move
4X Reconstruction Program
3X No Man Escapes the Manhunter

Location - 3

3X South American Sentinel Base

2 - Glenn Aissis


3 - Robert Bender


4 - Ralph Edwards
Characters - 26
12 Anti-Green Lantern
4 Chomin
4 Xallarap
3 Fiero
3 Felix Faust
Plot Twists - 30
4 Trial by Fire
4 Blinding Rage
4 Mega Blast
4 Cosmic Conflict
4 Big Leagues
2 Surprise Attack
4 Banished to the Anti-Matter Universe
3 Emerald Dawn
1 The Ring Has Chosen
Equipment - 4
4 Ring of the Sinestro Corps


5 - Aaron Mead - Running "Shaft!"
*Note, all versions of characters are Ultimates unless stated otherwise.
Characters - 31
4 Wasp
4 Clint Barton
4 Nick Fury
2 Natasha Romanoff - Mighty Avenger
4 Hank Pym
1 Natasha Romanoff
1 Lady Deathstrike MUN
4 Iron Man
3 Captain America
2 Thor
1 Death MUN
1 Beyonder MUN
Plot Twists: 22
4 Liberation Day
4 Mobilize
4 Ultimate Human
1 Gah-Lak-Tus
4 Savage Beatdown
2 Now I'm Fighting Dirty
1 License to Kill
Locations: 3
3 Triskelion


6 - Pablo Felices Costello
1-drops:
4x Wong – Mystical Manservant

2-drops:
4x Tania Belinskya <> Red Guardian
2x Beast – New Defender

3-drops:
4x Hellcat
1x Hawkeye – Loudmouth

4-drops:
4x Samantha Parrington

5-drops:
4x Hulk – Grumpy Green Goliath

6-drops:
1x Silver Surfer – Prodigal Herald
1x Wendell Vaughan <> Quasar

7-drops:
1x Hulk – Strongest One There Is

Plot Twists
4x Flying Kick
4x Mega-Blast
4x Mobilize
4x The B-Team
4x Bloodsport
4x Press the Attack
4x Righteous Anger
2x Hulk Smash
2x Astral Projection

Locations
3x The Great Arena


7 - David Tierney (Spud)
1-drops:
1x The Penguin – Gentleman of Crime
1x Catwoman Cat’O Nine Tails
1x Amadeus Arkham
1x Mad Hatter

2-drops:
1x KGBeast
1x Calendar Man
1x Charaxes – Moth Monster
1x The Penguin – Crime’s Early Bird
1x The Riddler – Brain Teaser
1x Tally Man

3-drops:
1x Blockbuster
1x The Penguin – Arms Merchant
1x The Penguin – Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot
1x The Joker – Out of his Mind
1x Great White
1x Charaxes – Drury Walker
1x Mr. Zsasz

4-drops:
1x Poison Ivy – Pamela Isley
1x Hush – Mystery Man
1x Hush – Silent and Deadly
1x Batzarro
1x The Joker – Headline Stealer
1x The Joker – Laughing Lunatic

5-drops:
1x Killer Croc – Waylon Jones
1x Matt Hagen <> Clayface – Mud Pack
1x Scarecrow – Fearmonger
1x Scarecrow – Fear and Loathing
1x Catwoman

6-drops:
1x Two-Face – Heads or Tails
1x Sondra Fuller <> Clayface
1x The Joker – Killer Smile
1x The Joker – Crazy for You

7-drops:
1x Two-Face – Split Personality
1x Basil Karlo <> Ultimate Clayface

10-drops:
1x Death – Second Force of the Universe

Consistency
1x Jack-In-The-Box
1x Ego Gem
1x Secret Origins
1x Usual Suspects
1x Mobilize
1x Beside Myself
1x Pick A Card
1x Certifiable
1x Prison Break

Pump
1x Stryker’s Island
1x SKREEEEEE!
1x Burn Baby Burn!
1x Savage Beatdown
1x Glass Jaw
1x Flying Kick
1x Nasty Surprise

Board Control
1x Money Talks
1x Kidnapping
1x Finishing Move
1x Death Trap
1x Smiles, Everyone!

Misc.
1x Frog of Thunder
1x No Man’s Land
1x Chilly Reception
1x Roshambo
1x Have a Blast
1x Siphon Energy


8 - Clifford Parmeter
1-drops:
3x Zabu
3x Aunt May – Golden Oldie

2-drops:
3x Blade - Knightstalker
3x Black Cat – Nine Lives

3-drops:
2x Ka-Zar
1x Mattie Franklin – Reserve Webhead
1x Darkhawk

4-drops:
4x Spider-Man – Sensational Spider-Man

5-drops:
2x Venom – Lethal Protector
1x Phil Urich – Green Goblin
1x Michael Collins <> Deathlok

6-drops:
4x Wolverine - Canucklehead

7-drops:
1x Spider-Man – Amazing Spider-Man
1x Spider-Man – Stark’s Protege

8-drops:
1x The Sentry – Golden Guardian of Good

Plot Twists
4x Gift Wrapped
3x Trial by Jury
3x Need for Speed
3x Indebted
3x Nasty Surprise
3x Blind Sided
3x Pathetic Attempt
2x Savage Beatdown
1x Trouble with Dinosaurs

Locations
2x Empire State University

Equipment
2x Ego Gem

So I got a PM today,

And it came from unclechawie. He asks:
------------------
"OSM,

I'd like to replicate BotB here in TX. Any insight you can provide into how to make this a great an invent as possible would be much appreciated. Thanks for your help."
------------------

My response: Plan things out 3-5 months in advance. the Battle of the Border this past weekend was awesome, but there were a couple things that could have gone better if we had more time (the playmat would've had different art). I also suggest you get into regular contact with a space rental place unless your local hobby league shop has room for 20-40 players. The Battle of the Border had a ton of prize support from different parties; Gdaybloke's crew chipped in, Cliff chipped in, VS_Savant chipped in, me and others all chipped in. People brought cool and different things; it was sort of like a pot luck. We're fortunate to have people in the area to help out; I wouldn't have asked them personally to chip in but I'm very glad they did and I feel like it helped to give everyone a positive experience. Everyone left with at least two decent prizes, not to mention around 20 promos per player.

Advertise the event at least 2-3 months out so people can make plans. Drill it into people, convince them to go! I feel like we decided on GA BYOT a little late and potentially we could've had more people from Rhode Island show.

We were fortunate to have a spot for 12 hours of play; even then, it felt rushed. In the beginning it seemed like we had plenty of time but it slipped away. I guess that's when you know you're having a good time.

On the playmat, I bought 12 copies. Nested Egg Gaming gave me a discount because it was for a big event; hopefully they can do the same for you when you get to that point of the planning stage.

We had a constructed event and a sealed one. We also had a meet and greet the previous night, which was casual play and a draft. Maybe that model will work for you, or maybe you'll want to try something different.

Call it the Revenge of the Alamo, lol. Hope this helps.
--------------------

So, I figured I'd share this with the entire vs community.
Next up will be the top-8 decklists from the Battle of the Border, and after that will be commentary.
'Till next time gang!
- Alex "OSM" Lloyd

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Battle of the Border: The Combatants have gathered

It seems the participants have made it through the Wretched Path of Doom unscathed. As they relax and prepare for the following day's trials, casual play ensued. The night wrapped up with a 2-pod MUN draft, and here are the results:




Is this a sign of what is to come? Should I expect complete and utter defeat? Well, I will if I don't get some sleep soon, so I'll leave it at that. Actually, no. What I'll leave you with is this: Spud's real first name is David.

- Alex "OSM" Lloyd

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Battle of the Border! High Noon is coming

As the warriors gather, in preparation for travel, the sun begins to rise. They have gone through some trials, but yet they still have more to come. The next one shall prove difficult; the Wretched Path of Doom. Ensnarled within include rabid beasts, needle ceilings, and a mid-level boss battle. However, if they survive the Wretched Path and reach the Colosseum, then the light of High noon shall shine upon them as they wage war with the enemy of the opposing side.

-------------------------

Have I set the tone? Are you anxious, warriors? And of you, those who are watching, chanting, cheering from the stands?

The rules of combat are as follows:
* GA BYOT constructed
* 7 rounds (most likely anyways)
* 1v1 contests
* Team Rules apply (will elaborate)
* Solo Performance will be awarded as well

now my elaboration:
As to decide who are the fittest, finest warriors in the lands, player game averages will be averaged again together to form team averages. The greater of the two shall emerge from the Colosseum victorious. The averages will work because playing against teammates wouldn't change the average one way or another.

There will be many prizes, and of them, included are these:
* Complete sets of two Golden Age expansions in foil and nonfoil
* Modern Age Rares
* Modern Foils
* Foreign Language cards
* EAs/Promos
* Secret Super Duper Earning Condition Prizes of Grandeur
* Comics
* Movies
* Jetpack Comics discount / Store Credit
* More secret specialty prizes

What are these specialty prizes about? Well ... things are going to be interesting. Sometimes, a Warrior might find a trusty edge buried in the desert sand just as decisive peril might strike. While these won't affect game outcomes, how your game comes out might play a factor. We'll have an eagle in the sky keep a lookout for those who have proven themselves worthy and fortunate.

Lemme Hear you BATTLE CRY!

- Alex "OSM" Lloyd