Friday, October 29, 2010

The Dark Eldar are Coming!

If you play Warhammer 40K, then you have most likely heard that the Dark Eldar are coming back into the fray! They were brought out a few editions ago when they made the new box set that included Dark Eldar and Space Marines. They are now back... and looking to bring EVIL to a whole new level.

We were able to get an advanced copy of the new Dark Eldar Codex, as well as three of the new boxes of minis; The Dark Eldar Kabalite Warriors, Reavers, and Raider. We had one of our local gamers (who I think is secretly living here) assemble and paint them up, as they look really nice and I think they will be represented nicer out of the box then in it. Marc has done a very nice job getting them assembled quickly and getting them painted... with multiple paint steps!

We have also had the codex out for players to read and review... which has led to some very interesting conversations. We have had some people rip them and say how bad they are, while others quietly read the book and made few comments. Another of our gamers commented that most players that are bashing the Dark Eldar are most likely thinking of them with Space Marines in mind.  This faction cannot be played out like Marines... or like most other factions.  You need to think about the Dark Eldar in a different way.

The new models look fantastic as well.  Again, out of the box, assembled, and painted really brings them to life and shows off the stupendous detail.  The models hanging on to the outside of the Raider look fantastic and really add to the fast, raider mentality that Dark Eldar portray.

If you are interested in getting any of the Dark Eldar kits or the Codex, stop in at the Dragon's Den and check out what we have right now, and maybe even place an order!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Who are the Planeswalkers in Magic the Gathering

In Magic you play as a Planeswalker. A being so powerful you can travel across planes of existence and summon creatures to battle for you. When reading through many of the different books, novels, and comics you may have stumbled upon many other Planeswalkers and wondered... How many planeswalkers are out there?

Well if you are playing Magic right now, you know all the current Planeswalkers. We have seen at least one for each color and some that are multicolored. Here is a list of the current Planeswalkers and what color they represent.

Jace Beleren- Blue
Tezzeret the Seeker- Blue
Jace, The Mind Sculptor - Blue
Ajani Goldmane - White
Elspeth, Knight Errant - White
Gideon Jura - White
Elspeth Tirel - White
Garruk Wildspeaker - Green
Nissa Revane - Green
Chandra Nalaar - Red
Chandra Ablaze - Red
Koth ot the Hammer - Red
Liliana Vess - Black
Sorin Markov - Black
Ajani Vengeant - Red, White
Venser, the Sojourner - Blue, White
Sarkhan Vol - Red, Green
Sarkhan the Mad - Red, Black
Nicol Bolas - Blue, Black, Red

But, there are many more that have apeared in books, comics, and graphic novels.  So many of these different Planeswalkers appear briefly, but several are referenced over and over again.  These are the more commonly talked about Walkers, some are even cards... just not Planeswalkers... Yet...

Urza
Ravidel
Bo Levar
Commodore Guff
Daria
Freyalise
Kristina of the Woods
Lord Windgrace of Urborg
Taysir
Tevesh Szat

Armada Comic created a number of different comic book runs based on Magic. They introduced new and used many existing Planeswalkers in their stories. They also introduced the concept of Battle Mages and Spell Squires, people that were aspiring to become Planeswalkers. There are way to many to list, but Ravidel is mentioned as both, before becoming a Planeswalker. Here is a list of the Planeswalkers mentioned in the comic books.

Ravi
Serra (Viewed as a goddess, but was aPlaneswalker in love with Feroz)
Feroz
Sandruu (Minataur Planeswalker trained by Feroz, and banished by Taysir)
Taysir (Jealous of Sandruu as he has won the heart of a woman Taysir wanted)
Ravidel
Freyalise
Tevash Szat
Kristina of the Woods
Leshrac
Faralyn
Jamil (killed his brother using Nightmare)
Altair (Was enchanted to not access his ability to Planeswalk, freed his people with the help of Nightmare, the enchantment was broken and he served Nightmare for 10 years)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Welcome to the FLGS Blog!

Welcome to the first post on the Friendly Local Gaming Store, FLGS for short, Blog! We hope that you learn something new about what happens in the gaming store world as well as what new and exciting events, items, and trends are taking place.

Follow this blog for more information and we will try to get posts up weekly to notify players, collectors, and hobbyists of all types!  This Blog is created by the Dragon's Den in Poughkeepsie, New York. We are the store that's all about fun!

Gamma World Game Day: Trouble in Freesboro

This past weekend was the Gamma World Game Day adventure called Trouble in Freesboro. Players had a chance to create characters using the new random method character generator. It was fantastic to see everyone excited about how their character might look or how they might interact. We had everything from the telekinetic hyper-cognitive, to the pyrokinetic rat swarm! Trying to figure out what the pyrokinetic rat swarm did with night vision goggles and a riding horse... but that added to the fun! As always the maps were fantastic, but not a surprise as they were created by Jason Engle.

The adventure was well written and the players really had fun. Facing off against Genghis Tangh and his group of Porkers added to the jokes that were flying. One of the coolest aspects that Wizards worked into the adventure was the active links to see play handouts virtually. We had a player with a laptop who pulled up the 3 links that the players found as they explored. The email and evacuation plan were nice touches, but the security camera video was the best!  They went back and watched it multiple times after the session.

The promo cards that everyone received were Alpha Power: Power Mimic, and Omega Power: Dehydrated Man. They both should be in a deck you create, as they really are powerful. There is something about a Powdered Scientist that can be helpful... but can leave to pursue its own goals is hysterical!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

West Point Historic Games Weekend

This past weekend, The West Point Museum held the first West Point Historic Games Weekend.  Focused on playing historic games of all types, ranging from board games, to miniature games, to card games; each game had history involved in it. The Dragon's Den was excited to be a part of this first event and helped to run demo games both days. The games that were being demoed at the event were:
  1. Flames of War
  2. Command and Colors Ancients
  3. Battles of Napoleon: The Eagle and the Lion
  4. Wings of War
  5. Pocket Battles: Celts vs Romans

One of the highlights at the event was a 2 day long game of Axis Allies! The big twist was that it was played blind! This means that the teams that play each side (Axis or Allies) don't know what the other side is doing until they either enter a new territory or do a recon mission.  They set up the complete game using 1940 Pacific and 1940 Europe, make 2 very large game boards. Each team had 3 members controlling different countries involved in the war. This method of play allowed for some fantastic tactics and plans that you could never do if you can see the whole board in play.

If you are curious about how the blind Axis and Allies is played, or what it looks like to have both of the games together, check our calendar in December as we are planning a day to give this a try! We are also looking forward to attending next year and making the event even bigger.