I know this isn't really gaming related, but you need to check this out Joe. At 34 seconds into the clip he performs the most bizarre maneuver I have ever seen and I demand you use it in your next climbing competition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPN3gLVDsOY
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Molding: The Kingdom of Angwar
Flavor:
An evil rift has spawned in the land surrounding the kingdom of Angwar and the power of undeath grips the realm. The great lords of the Undead battle one another for the bodies and souls of the Angwar citizens. Thankfully, the populace is not without hope...
In 'The Kingdom of Angwar' you play the role of a powerful undead lord who is shaping the very land itself with evil magic and the might of your undead hoard. You must be careful, however, as every action you take strengthens the resolve of the citizens and knights of Angwar. Balance carefully your evil acts and you can lure more helpless cattle to your desecrated hellscape, overextend and face the wrath of the clergy.
Play:
A preselected player begins by bidding some number of 'Kingdom' cards they are willing to take from the central realm (a face down pile) into their province (the cards that will ultimatly form their Kingdom deck). After each player has had at least one chance to bid (each player must bid at least one) and the high bid stands the high bidder looks at the pile of cards in the central kingdom. They select one of these cards and give it to any player to add to his province, and pass him the rest of the central kingdom cards. That player does the same. This process repeats itself until all bids have been filled with kingdom cards. A player who has collected a number of cards equal to his bid can no longer be passed cards. Once all the central kingdom cards are gone for the turn any player who has not yet met their bid draws from a face down supply of kingdom cards.
All players will now have some number of cards in their province; the starting amount (probably 3) plus their bid. The players shuffle up these cards to form their Kingdom deck and starting with the highest bidder and working down take their turns. A player shuffles up his other two decks: The Resource deck and the Location deck, and then draws cards to fill his opening hand in any combination from these two decks. One location is played, and special abilities utilized, before the topmost card of the kingdom deck is flipped and makes his way towards the players inner sanctum. Location and resource cards will have values to combat the intruders and at the end of the round (large portions glossed here... see comments for clarifications) the player will tally the Victory points on the cards they played this round from all three decks to use towards the purchase of face up location cards for their location deck. If any kingdom cards find their way to a players inner sanctum their VP values are subtracted from the players tally for the round, as well as from that players stash of VP chips. Each player starts with a predetermined number of VP chips and the game ends at the end of the round in which any player loses their last VP chip. Scores are based on a players VP tally including every card in all three decks plus that players VP chips.
Three decks:
Kingdom deck - every card has some positive VP value and is obtained only through bidding or other manipulation (to be explained)
Location deck - Locations have a VP value often low but positive and are obtained through purchase at the end of a players rally phase.
Resource deck - Resource cards vary greatly in VP value but tend to be higher than locations and in some cases kingdom cards. These are earned by playing out locations and resource pairs or by winning combats against insurgent kingdom warriors.
sleep for now...
An evil rift has spawned in the land surrounding the kingdom of Angwar and the power of undeath grips the realm. The great lords of the Undead battle one another for the bodies and souls of the Angwar citizens. Thankfully, the populace is not without hope...
In 'The Kingdom of Angwar' you play the role of a powerful undead lord who is shaping the very land itself with evil magic and the might of your undead hoard. You must be careful, however, as every action you take strengthens the resolve of the citizens and knights of Angwar. Balance carefully your evil acts and you can lure more helpless cattle to your desecrated hellscape, overextend and face the wrath of the clergy.
Play:
A preselected player begins by bidding some number of 'Kingdom' cards they are willing to take from the central realm (a face down pile) into their province (the cards that will ultimatly form their Kingdom deck). After each player has had at least one chance to bid (each player must bid at least one) and the high bid stands the high bidder looks at the pile of cards in the central kingdom. They select one of these cards and give it to any player to add to his province, and pass him the rest of the central kingdom cards. That player does the same. This process repeats itself until all bids have been filled with kingdom cards. A player who has collected a number of cards equal to his bid can no longer be passed cards. Once all the central kingdom cards are gone for the turn any player who has not yet met their bid draws from a face down supply of kingdom cards.
All players will now have some number of cards in their province; the starting amount (probably 3) plus their bid. The players shuffle up these cards to form their Kingdom deck and starting with the highest bidder and working down take their turns. A player shuffles up his other two decks: The Resource deck and the Location deck, and then draws cards to fill his opening hand in any combination from these two decks. One location is played, and special abilities utilized, before the topmost card of the kingdom deck is flipped and makes his way towards the players inner sanctum. Location and resource cards will have values to combat the intruders and at the end of the round (large portions glossed here... see comments for clarifications) the player will tally the Victory points on the cards they played this round from all three decks to use towards the purchase of face up location cards for their location deck. If any kingdom cards find their way to a players inner sanctum their VP values are subtracted from the players tally for the round, as well as from that players stash of VP chips. Each player starts with a predetermined number of VP chips and the game ends at the end of the round in which any player loses their last VP chip. Scores are based on a players VP tally including every card in all three decks plus that players VP chips.
Three decks:
Kingdom deck - every card has some positive VP value and is obtained only through bidding or other manipulation (to be explained)
Location deck - Locations have a VP value often low but positive and are obtained through purchase at the end of a players rally phase.
Resource deck - Resource cards vary greatly in VP value but tend to be higher than locations and in some cases kingdom cards. These are earned by playing out locations and resource pairs or by winning combats against insurgent kingdom warriors.
sleep for now...
Monday, April 6, 2009
Here's a game question....
God does not throw dice, Albert Einstein famously declared, but suppose he was wrong. Suppose God decided to demonstrate otherwise by showing up one day at the Institute for Advanced Study. God announces that dice games are in fact wildly popular in heaven, and that the purpose of this visit it to teach a new game to Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer. God explains the rules:
There are three blank dice. First, Oppenheimer will take each of the six-sided dice and write the numbers from 1 to 18, in any order he likes, on the 18 faces of the three dice. Einstein will then examine the dice and select one of them as his own. Oppenheimer will then examine the remaining two dice and select one of them. (The third die will be discarded.) Oppenheimer and Einstein will then play repeated rounds of “Dice War” in which they roll the dice simultaneously, with a point being awarded each round to the player who rolls the higher number. The player with the most points wins.
Assume that Oppenheimer and Einstein employ the smartest possible strategies, and that the outcome will be determined by the laws of probability (meaning that God doesn’t skew the dice or the influence the rolls). Which player, if either, is favored to win?
There are three blank dice. First, Oppenheimer will take each of the six-sided dice and write the numbers from 1 to 18, in any order he likes, on the 18 faces of the three dice. Einstein will then examine the dice and select one of them as his own. Oppenheimer will then examine the remaining two dice and select one of them. (The third die will be discarded.) Oppenheimer and Einstein will then play repeated rounds of “Dice War” in which they roll the dice simultaneously, with a point being awarded each round to the player who rolls the higher number. The player with the most points wins.
Assume that Oppenheimer and Einstein employ the smartest possible strategies, and that the outcome will be determined by the laws of probability (meaning that God doesn’t skew the dice or the influence the rolls). Which player, if either, is favored to win?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
PTQ:Seattle
So I had a week to dwell on my card choices and made a few changes which I thought were stronger though maybe didn't reflect in my performance. It could be weaker but I think I just got paired against some interesting metagame opponents. Here is the new list:
BG/w Reliquary Loam: 60 cards
2 Overgrown Tomb down from 4
1 Temple Garden down from 2
1 Godless Shrine
4 Windswept Heath up from 2
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Polluted Delta
2 Swamps
2 Forest up from 1
1 Plains
1 Mutavault
2 Ghost Quarter down from 3
3 Barren Moor down from 3
4 Tranquil Thicket
3 Crime // Punishments ( swapped in for Engineered Explosives )
3 Path to Exile (the new Swords to Plowshares replaced 2 Smother and a Putrefy )
2 Putrefy down from 3
2 Slaughter Pact
3 Darkblast up from 2
3 Raven's Crime down from 4
4 Life from the Loam
1 Seal of Primordium
1 Worm Harvest
Smallpox was cut to add more threats as it was great vs non-Affinity aggro but not good vs much of anything else.
3 Knight of the Reliquary I added these as threats and mana fixing removing the Sakura-Tribe Elders
4 Kitchen Finks up from 3 I needed more life gain and stumbling blocks against aggressive decks.
4 Tarmogoyf up from 2! These are amazing but I couldn't find them last week.
Sideboard: 15 cards
1 Seal of Primordium Affinity, Vortex, Jitte, Worship, etc.
2 Krosan Grip Similiar to Seal it helps vs Jitte and Affinity the most.
2 Damnation Wrath effects are good vs all forms of Aggro.
4 Thoughtseize Combo and Faeries primarily
2 Kataki, War's Wage Die, you Affinity bastards! Die! (Crime // Punishment improved this matchup a bunch so I dropped to 2)
2 Extirpate Mirror, Slide, Martyr-Proc and probably not Faeries
2 Pithing Needle These are good vs Affinity, Faeries and Planeswalkers
Round 1 - Red Deck Wins (or Mono Red Burn)
First game he applies the classic early pressure that the red deck needs and then drops two Sulfuric Vortex. I can't find removal or race fast enough to balance his early pressure so 5 min. in we are on to game two. As I recall, I side in Grips and my Seal as well as two Damnation and do a much better job stablizing. I resolve a seal a turn after he drops vortex and break it after we both take two unfortunatly I am pretty low from his early pressure and don't see another finks to help me out. I kinda wish I had left the Circle of Protection: Red in but I hadn't seen anyone play this deck last week and against Naya Zoo they were a bit weak. Crappy vortex for the win.
0-1-0
Round 2 - Beasts
BEASTS! I didnt' think anyone would be playing this deck. I am not prepared for this matchup in any way so I am playing on my toes. He tells me I am playing slow, I contest 'Not Really' and he tells me actually I am. I respond by saying I am playing as fast as I need to play and he pretty much shuts up as he knows no judge would support his bullshit claim. He is a jerk, btw. He should have scooped game one as he mulled twice and I got loam going. He tried to scrape his way back in but I have too much advantage and we move to game two after I apply beats with goyfs. In game two he crys when I darkblast his first two Birds of Paradise telling me I should have sided it out because it isnt' that good against him. It seemed to work well as it got me dredging on turn two and kept him from accelerating. Seems good to me. He plays multiple Ravenous Baloths and I quarter a couple Contested Cliffs making finks and goyfs to slow his attack then he drops Elspeth! I did not see this coming from the primarily red and green beast deck. He equips Jitte on a baloth, Elspeth gives it flying and he pounds my face in three turns. Game three he has an interesting decision when time is called. He is on turn 1 of 5 remaining he just attacked for 9 dropping me to 9 and thus giving me about one turn less the potential finks in my hand. He decides to play Cranial Extraction instead of playing another creature. Knowing the rough contents of my hand from an earlier thoughtseize he knows he can pick Crime // Punishment, Kitchen Finks or some other targeted removal I can't remember. He can take the targeted removal which I can cast on my next turn and hope I dont' draw land to sweep his board with Punishment or he can take Punishment and hope to get through on turn 5 with more creature drops that he would play on turn three. He makes the riskier play and takes the targeted removal hoping I won't draw a land in a deck that is almost 50% land. I do and sweep and push us to a tie. He asks me if I want to concede to him. I do not.
0-1-1
Round 3 - MartyrProc
He plays a first turn Martyr of Sands. : ( Fortunatly he doens't have much else in terms of action and I am able to beat him on the offensive. Game two he plays Detritivore, Wrath of God, and finally Eternal Dragon for the win. Game three we tie with no great offensive plays coming from either of these two hulking behomoths. Nice guy and level two judge who has had to give a game loss to Corbett (my last round opponent who I have to sit next to in this round) in the past for unsportsman like behavior.
0-1-2
I have no chance at Top 8 but enjoy playing so I stay in to practice and play Magic!
Round 4 - Astral Slide
This deck is very similiar to mine as we both seek to abuse Loam and cycle constantly. He gets his Loam engine up very early game one and again game two. He didnt' know about the end step Astral Slide trick so we had to call a judge to verify that his creature stayed out till the next end step on his turn. He played well, but not knowing that and playing that deck kinda makes you wonder. Oh well.
0-2-2
Round 5 - Affinity
Game one Path his Arcbound Ravager on the end step and then I blow up lands and a pumped ornithopter with Punishment. I finish it off with quarter. Game two I drop a turn two Seal, turn three Punishment and turn four Path and quarter. I later Punishment again and he finishes the game with no permanants in play. It looks like my 75 has too much Affinity hate, I need to spread some around.
Final Results: 1-2-2
My friends pressure me into dropping so we can all go get food. It turns out they hang around for almost another full round. I should have just played it out. I had a good time and a copy of my deck made it to top 4. I just need to play faster and tighter.
BG/w Reliquary Loam: 60 cards
2 Overgrown Tomb down from 4
1 Temple Garden down from 2
1 Godless Shrine
4 Windswept Heath up from 2
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Polluted Delta
2 Swamps
2 Forest up from 1
1 Plains
1 Mutavault
2 Ghost Quarter down from 3
3 Barren Moor down from 3
4 Tranquil Thicket
3 Crime // Punishments ( swapped in for Engineered Explosives )
3 Path to Exile (the new Swords to Plowshares replaced 2 Smother and a Putrefy )
2 Putrefy down from 3
2 Slaughter Pact
3 Darkblast up from 2
3 Raven's Crime down from 4
4 Life from the Loam
1 Seal of Primordium
1 Worm Harvest
Smallpox was cut to add more threats as it was great vs non-Affinity aggro but not good vs much of anything else.
3 Knight of the Reliquary I added these as threats and mana fixing removing the Sakura-Tribe Elders
4 Kitchen Finks up from 3 I needed more life gain and stumbling blocks against aggressive decks.
4 Tarmogoyf up from 2! These are amazing but I couldn't find them last week.
Sideboard: 15 cards
1 Seal of Primordium Affinity, Vortex, Jitte, Worship, etc.
2 Krosan Grip Similiar to Seal it helps vs Jitte and Affinity the most.
2 Damnation Wrath effects are good vs all forms of Aggro.
4 Thoughtseize Combo and Faeries primarily
2 Kataki, War's Wage Die, you Affinity bastards! Die! (Crime // Punishment improved this matchup a bunch so I dropped to 2)
2 Extirpate Mirror, Slide, Martyr-Proc and probably not Faeries
2 Pithing Needle These are good vs Affinity, Faeries and Planeswalkers
Round 1 - Red Deck Wins (or Mono Red Burn)
First game he applies the classic early pressure that the red deck needs and then drops two Sulfuric Vortex. I can't find removal or race fast enough to balance his early pressure so 5 min. in we are on to game two. As I recall, I side in Grips and my Seal as well as two Damnation and do a much better job stablizing. I resolve a seal a turn after he drops vortex and break it after we both take two unfortunatly I am pretty low from his early pressure and don't see another finks to help me out. I kinda wish I had left the Circle of Protection: Red in but I hadn't seen anyone play this deck last week and against Naya Zoo they were a bit weak. Crappy vortex for the win.
0-1-0
Round 2 - Beasts
BEASTS! I didnt' think anyone would be playing this deck. I am not prepared for this matchup in any way so I am playing on my toes. He tells me I am playing slow, I contest 'Not Really' and he tells me actually I am. I respond by saying I am playing as fast as I need to play and he pretty much shuts up as he knows no judge would support his bullshit claim. He is a jerk, btw. He should have scooped game one as he mulled twice and I got loam going. He tried to scrape his way back in but I have too much advantage and we move to game two after I apply beats with goyfs. In game two he crys when I darkblast his first two Birds of Paradise telling me I should have sided it out because it isnt' that good against him. It seemed to work well as it got me dredging on turn two and kept him from accelerating. Seems good to me. He plays multiple Ravenous Baloths and I quarter a couple Contested Cliffs making finks and goyfs to slow his attack then he drops Elspeth! I did not see this coming from the primarily red and green beast deck. He equips Jitte on a baloth, Elspeth gives it flying and he pounds my face in three turns. Game three he has an interesting decision when time is called. He is on turn 1 of 5 remaining he just attacked for 9 dropping me to 9 and thus giving me about one turn less the potential finks in my hand. He decides to play Cranial Extraction instead of playing another creature. Knowing the rough contents of my hand from an earlier thoughtseize he knows he can pick Crime // Punishment, Kitchen Finks or some other targeted removal I can't remember. He can take the targeted removal which I can cast on my next turn and hope I dont' draw land to sweep his board with Punishment or he can take Punishment and hope to get through on turn 5 with more creature drops that he would play on turn three. He makes the riskier play and takes the targeted removal hoping I won't draw a land in a deck that is almost 50% land. I do and sweep and push us to a tie. He asks me if I want to concede to him. I do not.
0-1-1
Round 3 - MartyrProc
He plays a first turn Martyr of Sands. : ( Fortunatly he doens't have much else in terms of action and I am able to beat him on the offensive. Game two he plays Detritivore, Wrath of God, and finally Eternal Dragon for the win. Game three we tie with no great offensive plays coming from either of these two hulking behomoths. Nice guy and level two judge who has had to give a game loss to Corbett (my last round opponent who I have to sit next to in this round) in the past for unsportsman like behavior.
0-1-2
I have no chance at Top 8 but enjoy playing so I stay in to practice and play Magic!
Round 4 - Astral Slide
This deck is very similiar to mine as we both seek to abuse Loam and cycle constantly. He gets his Loam engine up very early game one and again game two. He didnt' know about the end step Astral Slide trick so we had to call a judge to verify that his creature stayed out till the next end step on his turn. He played well, but not knowing that and playing that deck kinda makes you wonder. Oh well.
0-2-2
Round 5 - Affinity
Game one Path his Arcbound Ravager on the end step and then I blow up lands and a pumped ornithopter with Punishment. I finish it off with quarter. Game two I drop a turn two Seal, turn three Punishment and turn four Path and quarter. I later Punishment again and he finishes the game with no permanants in play. It looks like my 75 has too much Affinity hate, I need to spread some around.
Final Results: 1-2-2
My friends pressure me into dropping so we can all go get food. It turns out they hang around for almost another full round. I should have just played it out. I had a good time and a copy of my deck made it to top 4. I just need to play faster and tighter.
Monday, March 16, 2009
A Pi day PTQ: Portland Report
This is the list I played at the PTQ this past weekend with a great thanks going out to some friends:
BG/w Loam Rock: 60 cards
4 Overgrown Tomb borrowed x 4
2 Temple Garden borrowed x 2
1 Godless Shrine OWNED sucka!
2 Windswept Heath borrowed x 1
1 Bloodstained Mire borrowed
1 Polluted Delta borrowed
2 Swamps borrowed (unhinged)
1 Forest borrowed (unhinged)
1 Plains borrowed (unhinged)
1 Mutavault borrowed
3 Ghost Quarter borrowed x 1
4 Barren Moor borrowed x 4
4 Tranquil Thicket borrowed x 4
3 Engineered Explosives I wanted four and two Crime // Punishments...
3 Smallpox ...but these worked as decent replacements when I didnt' face Troll Ascetic/Affinity
2 Smother borrowed x 1
3 Putrefy borrowed
2 Slaughter Pact borrowed
2 Darkblast borrowed x 1
4 Raven's Crime borrowed x 1
4 Life from the Loam borrowed x 4
1 Worm Harvest borrowed (signed)
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder borrowed
3 Kitchen Finks DOUBLE OWNED!
2 Tarmogoyf Joe Delph loaned me the only two I could find. : (
Sideboard: 15 cards
4 Circle of Protection: Red These come in against Naya Burn
4 Thoughtseize Combo and Faeries primarily
4 Kataki, War's Wage Die, you Affinity bastards! Die!
2 Extirpate Mirror and Faeries
1 Smallpox All aggro decks including the Zoo varieties and Affinity
Round 1 - Domain Zoo
This guy was a long haired, long bearded hippie and his girlfriend was on vacation with him from Utah. She watched us play the first round before heading off to pick up some relatives and go to the real zoo. He played a hyper self-destructive version of zoo that supported not only the usual sac and shock lands but also ran 4 Thoughtseize main alongside 4 Tidehollow Sculler for disruption. He put himself on 12 just about every game. He had only 4 Lightning Helix to counter his self-destructive spree and I don't recall any Tribal Flames burning my face. Zoo can be a difficult match up, but his was not packing as much burn as normal variants and so he had trouble with reach. My Finks were gold. We split games before playing to time and splitting the match.
0-0-1
Round 2 - Bant Aggro
He plays some early threats in the form of Teeg and goyf but stumbles a bit on land. Loam capitalized on this and removed his dudes via multiple targeted removals and I recall a pair of solid poxes. I then raven's crime out his hand before turning to solid loaming. I am unable to get through a regenerating ascetics so the game stalls while I dig for more threats and worm harvest. I draw my second goyf with 8 cards left in my library and had still not seen the harvest. He should have scooped to leave himself more time in game two but instead we drag it out and try to play a second game in six minutes. He can't bash me fast enough and I improve my record. On a side note he has some Rhox War Monks I never see in play and surprisingly does not seem to be running Trygon Predators which I think is a mistake. He does have path and bant charm however.
1-0-1
Round 3 - Affinity
Game one I pox on turn two and have elders and removal to stall him as well as affinity can be stalled. Unfortunately he does what affinity does and just "gets there". This deck is ridiculous. I side in no less then four, yes four Kataki, War's Wage in my BG loam deck. I have 3 board sweepers, 12 targeted removal spells, 7 creature stumbling blocks and even disrupt his mana with Ghost Quarter on top of did I mention four Kataki's?! As you can probably foresee based on the rant I do not win. Game two unfolds like game one with me mulling to 6 just to look for War's Wage. When I see my six including some solid removal, mana and creatures I keep in the hopes I cycle quickly into my hero. I do not. At least my opponent is a nice guy and we have been chatting because this match was a beating. I got unlucky here because Loam has as reasonable a match up as anyone vs. Affinity but I was not running optimally without Crime // Punishment or Damnation and I just didn't draw the tools I needed.
1-1-1
Round 4 - BR Discard
I actually play tested a BG variant of this deck running goyf and dark confidant but decided that while it had a great match up vs. TEPS and Elves (combo) they weren't the real boogiemen they were being made out to resemble, and it had difficult match ups vs. Aggro. I did cull the pox idea from this testing however. Game one he falls victim to some strong removal early and I am able to laugh at his discard since I am playing loam. He bitches a fair amount about playing loam last round and justifiably so. His deck has a horrid match up vs. me and I am never particularly concerned. Game two he sides in relics for some mileage, but can't draw red mana. Blightning is scary on the stack but not in the hand.
2-1-1
Round 5 - Faeries
My plan is to quarter as many labs and vaults as possible and force raven's crime down his throat. My start is a little slow game one and falters to some early counters after which he comes online with Cliques and active jittes. Game two he drops a backbreaking Chalice of the Void for one. I quarter 3 or 4 lands to try to keep him off his mana but this is hardly a game even though it takes a fair amount of time to finish. I can't draw putrify and so he holds more relevant cards then I can deal with.
2-2-1
Round 6 - Bant Aggro
This is the most enjoyable match up since my opponent is all for having some fun and we banter continuously during the games. Game one I darkblast 3 Vendilion Cliques and 3 Noble Hierarchs with the fourth cowering in fear. He comments on the potential of me decking myself. I guess he doesn't know how my deck works. I make about a dozen worms and smash him good, then we go to a troublesome game two. We are having a good time and he drops an Ascetic/worship soft lock. I say soft because he is no where near killing me but starts pressuring me to go to a game three. I suspect I have some answers and that he would not be able to trump my long game plan of denying him mana and killing his Ascetic with explosives but ultimately I scoop to be a nice guy and take it to game three. I have to admit it would have taken a long time and been a cold dull game of draw-go. He can't bash though my stream of putrid removal in game three and we tie. If it had been any one of my other opponents I would have had an extra win but since I was playing for experience and not the top 8 maintaing the fun atmosphere proved more enjoyable.
2-2-2
Round 7 - Equipment.dec
He is playing five or six different pieces of equipment including jitte, warhammer, swords of fire and ice and of light and shadow, and even lightning greaves with the gift to tutor up the one he needs. He was powering up Ascetics, goyfs, and Treetop Villages. He even ran a dryad arbor which I dremt of blasting on turn one; I am sad that never happend. Game one I Putrefy and Smother all the scary stuff and bash with my goyfs. Game two I manage to seize his light and shadow turn one and I am pretty happy as that is scary, scary, scary. He is later able to witness it back and I can't keep up blocking with my vault. He piles the other sword and the warhammer on one bad ass ascetic and waltzes to victory. Game three we go to time but I think I could have gotten that one.
Final Results: 2-2-3
This PTQ taught me that when you audible a deck the night before you are doomed to play slowly the following morning because you are constantly double checking your decisions instead of knowing what the correct play is having gleaned it from play testing. All-in-all I believe the deck is strong and with a few minor tweaks would feel happy playing it again this coming weekend.
Any insight or criticisms are welcomed.
BG/w Loam Rock: 60 cards
4 Overgrown Tomb borrowed x 4
2 Temple Garden borrowed x 2
1 Godless Shrine OWNED sucka!
2 Windswept Heath borrowed x 1
1 Bloodstained Mire borrowed
1 Polluted Delta borrowed
2 Swamps borrowed (unhinged)
1 Forest borrowed (unhinged)
1 Plains borrowed (unhinged)
1 Mutavault borrowed
3 Ghost Quarter borrowed x 1
4 Barren Moor borrowed x 4
4 Tranquil Thicket borrowed x 4
3 Engineered Explosives I wanted four and two Crime // Punishments...
3 Smallpox ...but these worked as decent replacements when I didnt' face Troll Ascetic/Affinity
2 Smother borrowed x 1
3 Putrefy borrowed
2 Slaughter Pact borrowed
2 Darkblast borrowed x 1
4 Raven's Crime borrowed x 1
4 Life from the Loam borrowed x 4
1 Worm Harvest borrowed (signed)
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder borrowed
3 Kitchen Finks DOUBLE OWNED!
2 Tarmogoyf Joe Delph loaned me the only two I could find. : (
Sideboard: 15 cards
4 Circle of Protection: Red These come in against Naya Burn
4 Thoughtseize Combo and Faeries primarily
4 Kataki, War's Wage Die, you Affinity bastards! Die!
2 Extirpate Mirror and Faeries
1 Smallpox All aggro decks including the Zoo varieties and Affinity
Round 1 - Domain Zoo
This guy was a long haired, long bearded hippie and his girlfriend was on vacation with him from Utah. She watched us play the first round before heading off to pick up some relatives and go to the real zoo. He played a hyper self-destructive version of zoo that supported not only the usual sac and shock lands but also ran 4 Thoughtseize main alongside 4 Tidehollow Sculler for disruption. He put himself on 12 just about every game. He had only 4 Lightning Helix to counter his self-destructive spree and I don't recall any Tribal Flames burning my face. Zoo can be a difficult match up, but his was not packing as much burn as normal variants and so he had trouble with reach. My Finks were gold. We split games before playing to time and splitting the match.
0-0-1
Round 2 - Bant Aggro
He plays some early threats in the form of Teeg and goyf but stumbles a bit on land. Loam capitalized on this and removed his dudes via multiple targeted removals and I recall a pair of solid poxes. I then raven's crime out his hand before turning to solid loaming. I am unable to get through a regenerating ascetics so the game stalls while I dig for more threats and worm harvest. I draw my second goyf with 8 cards left in my library and had still not seen the harvest. He should have scooped to leave himself more time in game two but instead we drag it out and try to play a second game in six minutes. He can't bash me fast enough and I improve my record. On a side note he has some Rhox War Monks I never see in play and surprisingly does not seem to be running Trygon Predators which I think is a mistake. He does have path and bant charm however.
1-0-1
Round 3 - Affinity
Game one I pox on turn two and have elders and removal to stall him as well as affinity can be stalled. Unfortunately he does what affinity does and just "gets there". This deck is ridiculous. I side in no less then four, yes four Kataki, War's Wage in my BG loam deck. I have 3 board sweepers, 12 targeted removal spells, 7 creature stumbling blocks and even disrupt his mana with Ghost Quarter on top of did I mention four Kataki's?! As you can probably foresee based on the rant I do not win. Game two unfolds like game one with me mulling to 6 just to look for War's Wage. When I see my six including some solid removal, mana and creatures I keep in the hopes I cycle quickly into my hero. I do not. At least my opponent is a nice guy and we have been chatting because this match was a beating. I got unlucky here because Loam has as reasonable a match up as anyone vs. Affinity but I was not running optimally without Crime // Punishment or Damnation and I just didn't draw the tools I needed.
1-1-1
Round 4 - BR Discard
I actually play tested a BG variant of this deck running goyf and dark confidant but decided that while it had a great match up vs. TEPS and Elves (combo) they weren't the real boogiemen they were being made out to resemble, and it had difficult match ups vs. Aggro. I did cull the pox idea from this testing however. Game one he falls victim to some strong removal early and I am able to laugh at his discard since I am playing loam. He bitches a fair amount about playing loam last round and justifiably so. His deck has a horrid match up vs. me and I am never particularly concerned. Game two he sides in relics for some mileage, but can't draw red mana. Blightning is scary on the stack but not in the hand.
2-1-1
Round 5 - Faeries
My plan is to quarter as many labs and vaults as possible and force raven's crime down his throat. My start is a little slow game one and falters to some early counters after which he comes online with Cliques and active jittes. Game two he drops a backbreaking Chalice of the Void for one. I quarter 3 or 4 lands to try to keep him off his mana but this is hardly a game even though it takes a fair amount of time to finish. I can't draw putrify and so he holds more relevant cards then I can deal with.
2-2-1
Round 6 - Bant Aggro
This is the most enjoyable match up since my opponent is all for having some fun and we banter continuously during the games. Game one I darkblast 3 Vendilion Cliques and 3 Noble Hierarchs with the fourth cowering in fear. He comments on the potential of me decking myself. I guess he doesn't know how my deck works. I make about a dozen worms and smash him good, then we go to a troublesome game two. We are having a good time and he drops an Ascetic/worship soft lock. I say soft because he is no where near killing me but starts pressuring me to go to a game three. I suspect I have some answers and that he would not be able to trump my long game plan of denying him mana and killing his Ascetic with explosives but ultimately I scoop to be a nice guy and take it to game three. I have to admit it would have taken a long time and been a cold dull game of draw-go. He can't bash though my stream of putrid removal in game three and we tie. If it had been any one of my other opponents I would have had an extra win but since I was playing for experience and not the top 8 maintaing the fun atmosphere proved more enjoyable.
2-2-2
Round 7 - Equipment.dec
He is playing five or six different pieces of equipment including jitte, warhammer, swords of fire and ice and of light and shadow, and even lightning greaves with the gift to tutor up the one he needs. He was powering up Ascetics, goyfs, and Treetop Villages. He even ran a dryad arbor which I dremt of blasting on turn one; I am sad that never happend. Game one I Putrefy and Smother all the scary stuff and bash with my goyfs. Game two I manage to seize his light and shadow turn one and I am pretty happy as that is scary, scary, scary. He is later able to witness it back and I can't keep up blocking with my vault. He piles the other sword and the warhammer on one bad ass ascetic and waltzes to victory. Game three we go to time but I think I could have gotten that one.
Final Results: 2-2-3
This PTQ taught me that when you audible a deck the night before you are doomed to play slowly the following morning because you are constantly double checking your decisions instead of knowing what the correct play is having gleaned it from play testing. All-in-all I believe the deck is strong and with a few minor tweaks would feel happy playing it again this coming weekend.
Any insight or criticisms are welcomed.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Basketball and Games
This is spillover from Wecrow, and this article in the NYTimes.
One thing that's interesting about basketball, from a gaming point of view, is it's a sport that balances individual and team goals. Shooting more will raise your scoring average, but passing up bad shots will help your team. Grabbing rebounds will bump your stats and help your team, but maybe not as surely as boxing out an letting your teammate do so, or tapping the ball to your teammate.
Has anyone seen a board game that really incorporates this sort of dynamic? For instance, a game could have two teams of players, and the single winner could simply be the highest scorer on the highest scoring team. Actions could vary from the completely selfless (boxing out, setting picks) to the win-win (shooting high percentage shots) to the completely selfish (taking terrible shots, or even refusing to shoot half-court shots before quarter buzzers). Further, in a sufficiently complex game, it would not always be clear which category each action fell into.
One thing that's interesting about basketball, from a gaming point of view, is it's a sport that balances individual and team goals. Shooting more will raise your scoring average, but passing up bad shots will help your team. Grabbing rebounds will bump your stats and help your team, but maybe not as surely as boxing out an letting your teammate do so, or tapping the ball to your teammate.
Has anyone seen a board game that really incorporates this sort of dynamic? For instance, a game could have two teams of players, and the single winner could simply be the highest scorer on the highest scoring team. Actions could vary from the completely selfless (boxing out, setting picks) to the win-win (shooting high percentage shots) to the completely selfish (taking terrible shots, or even refusing to shoot half-court shots before quarter buzzers). Further, in a sufficiently complex game, it would not always be clear which category each action fell into.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Agricola Solitaire
While solitaire Agricola isn't really a great game, I've been messing around with it this week trying to figure the high score possible, or maybe just trying to make a 15 room stone house. Has anyone else spent time solo farming? What's your high score? What's your high score playing with others?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
victory
A couple of thoughts on victory conditions and general gameplay:
A lot of games include a certain "delay the leader" dynamic. The two best examples I can think of are Munchkin and Settlers... in both cases the group teams up to prevent the leader from attaining the victory condition and ending the game. I like attacking the leader, but I don't like the group dynamic it sometimes creates, in which those in last place are pressured to do something which, frankly, isn't really in their own self-interest. Once you're really out of it in Catan, upholding an embargo on the first place player only prolongs the pain and gives some other jerk a chance to win. Often, the last place player figures this out, and stops helping the group hold the winner back.... and everyone else gets angry because the last place player isn't being "competitive." I say, don't hate the player, hate the game.
All that leads me to ask, is there a way to make the "attack the leader" action help the last-place player? In other words, what if hurting the leader didn't prolong the game... but instead hastened victory?
Here's a simple example of what I'm talking about: take a deck of playing cards, deal some out. Players take turns giving points by playing cards on one another. The game ends when the group total=100 (or whatever), and the winner is the low point holder. Giving the leader points both hurts their position and brings the end a bit closer.
A lot of games include a certain "delay the leader" dynamic. The two best examples I can think of are Munchkin and Settlers... in both cases the group teams up to prevent the leader from attaining the victory condition and ending the game. I like attacking the leader, but I don't like the group dynamic it sometimes creates, in which those in last place are pressured to do something which, frankly, isn't really in their own self-interest. Once you're really out of it in Catan, upholding an embargo on the first place player only prolongs the pain and gives some other jerk a chance to win. Often, the last place player figures this out, and stops helping the group hold the winner back.... and everyone else gets angry because the last place player isn't being "competitive." I say, don't hate the player, hate the game.
All that leads me to ask, is there a way to make the "attack the leader" action help the last-place player? In other words, what if hurting the leader didn't prolong the game... but instead hastened victory?
Here's a simple example of what I'm talking about: take a deck of playing cards, deal some out. Players take turns giving points by playing cards on one another. The game ends when the group total=100 (or whatever), and the winner is the low point holder. Giving the leader points both hurts their position and brings the end a bit closer.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Molding: Krosis Prime
On the dense jungle planet of Krosis Prime your detachment has touched down, with a host of other units, into the unrelenting wilds. You are charged with security, reconnaissance and the preliminary extraction of valuable planetary resources.
In Krosis Prime you are in command of a detachment of trained mercenaries supported by the slush funds of large corporations, political extremists, and insane philanthropists. Your score is determined by the successful completion of missions, and the more people you can satisfy the more fame you can claim for your shard of an otherwise loosely organized world military.
The game begins with each player selecting missions from a closed source. The remaining missions will be made available later in the game. Each player controls a faction of similarly composed military units, including Space marines, Engineers, a Spider walker, an enforcer Mech, a drop ship and a mobile command unit.
On each players turn they may do one of the following:
As a bonus, and a requirement to foster interesting play, the activated unit may, depending on the type, combat alien forces on the surface or collect valuable resources which will help that unit's controller to complete his mission objectives. Clever use of unit influence and strategic deployment will help a player make the most of his mission cards. When a player has completed three missions the game will complete one final round before a faction is crowned the Krosis Elite.
In Krosis Prime you are in command of a detachment of trained mercenaries supported by the slush funds of large corporations, political extremists, and insane philanthropists. Your score is determined by the successful completion of missions, and the more people you can satisfy the more fame you can claim for your shard of an otherwise loosely organized world military.
The game begins with each player selecting missions from a closed source. The remaining missions will be made available later in the game. Each player controls a faction of similarly composed military units, including Space marines, Engineers, a Spider walker, an enforcer Mech, a drop ship and a mobile command unit.
On each players turn they may do one of the following:
- Deploy one unit to a terrain space (the unit must be able to navigate the terrain)
- Move one unit (adhering to terrain restricions)
- Scout new terrain (this includes moving a unit)
- Secure discovered terrain (a second search of the wild countryside)
- Seek additional missions
- Close a completed mission (a player's third mission ends the game)
As a bonus, and a requirement to foster interesting play, the activated unit may, depending on the type, combat alien forces on the surface or collect valuable resources which will help that unit's controller to complete his mission objectives. Clever use of unit influence and strategic deployment will help a player make the most of his mission cards. When a player has completed three missions the game will complete one final round before a faction is crowned the Krosis Elite.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Rattlesnake Review
RattleSnake - A family game for 2 to 4 players
Fantasy Flight Toys & Nexus
Roberto Di Meglio (War of the Ring, Age of Conan)
This is an interesting quick play game where players take turns lacing a snake pit with rattlesnake eggs. The 12 eggs are divided evenly and each player rolls a die depicting one of six colored snakes. You then place a snake egg on the board on top of a snake with the corresponding color (The board is a mash of different colored snakes). The first player to place all of their eggs without any rolling off the board or colliding into other eggs is the winner. If you goof you have to collect the offending eggs. Simple.
Oh and did I mention the eggs are oblong earth magnets... Clack! Clack! Clack! Go the snake eggs! Lots of fun, great at parties or as a drinking game, and very inexpensive (I picked it up for around $10 on sale). I think this is a game of pure approachable fun and would seem more at home on the shelves of Target then your local game store. Even though it has a die for randomization it still gets a nod from me. Everyone loves magnets and the fact that a game can actually play in under 5 min makes it a great filler to keep people occupied while waiting for players or for the teapot to whistle.
Fantasy Flight Toys & Nexus
Roberto Di Meglio (War of the Ring, Age of Conan)
This is an interesting quick play game where players take turns lacing a snake pit with rattlesnake eggs. The 12 eggs are divided evenly and each player rolls a die depicting one of six colored snakes. You then place a snake egg on the board on top of a snake with the corresponding color (The board is a mash of different colored snakes). The first player to place all of their eggs without any rolling off the board or colliding into other eggs is the winner. If you goof you have to collect the offending eggs. Simple.
Oh and did I mention the eggs are oblong earth magnets... Clack! Clack! Clack! Go the snake eggs! Lots of fun, great at parties or as a drinking game, and very inexpensive (I picked it up for around $10 on sale). I think this is a game of pure approachable fun and would seem more at home on the shelves of Target then your local game store. Even though it has a die for randomization it still gets a nod from me. Everyone loves magnets and the fact that a game can actually play in under 5 min makes it a great filler to keep people occupied while waiting for players or for the teapot to whistle.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Dragon Cake
Now THAT'S a cake:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21474400@N04/tags/dragoncake/
sorry for the off topic, but I thought with the 20-sider it's game appropriate.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21474400@N04/tags/dragoncake/
sorry for the off topic, but I thought with the 20-sider it's game appropriate.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Reader Blues
Please weigh in on this issue: I plan on posting some game designs and prototypes here and while they may not be Spiel winning (or even good) do not initially want them to be available to the general public. This unfortunately means that the permissions are set to allow only the folks that have been invited to read the blog to view it and thus you can't add it to a reader. Is this going to enrage anyone?
Aquaretto review
Played Aquaretto today, and thought this would be a good venue for a quick writeup.
If you want a walk through of the game play, obsessed board gamers has done a decent video review; take a look.
The mechanics I liked in this game:
If you want a walk through of the game play, obsessed board gamers has done a decent video review; take a look.
The mechanics I liked in this game:
- The building up and selecting of animal "trucks". - basically for each player there is a truck that holds up to 3 cards, you go around in a circle and place animals on the trucks, anyone can choose to take a truck at any point. Tile selection is one of the few random events that I really like in board games. In this case you've got the interplay between loading a truck that you wan't vs not making it too inticing for other players. Since you can't place a tile on a truck and take it in the same turn, there is a lot of posturing. It worked well.
- Animal placement, and expansion of the board. Since animal's can't be directly adjacent, there are decisions to make about where you place animals, but more importantly, how much space you need to expand your collection of animals. Time is involved to make sure you expand the board where you need space for animals. I ended up expanding in the wrong direction one game, and this resulted in a glut of animals that I simply didn't have space for, but should have. This added a bit of a puzzle aspect to the game, I liked.
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