Ninja Legend of the Scorpion Clan Review

Another new game that I had a chance to play was Ninja-Legend of the Scorpion Clan. It is an intriguing game of an almost spy vs. spy nature, and is made by the same people who created Legend of the 5 Rings. The object of the game is for the Ninja and her accomplice, the Traitor to complete their 2 secret missions while the Guards attempt to stop them.  It truly is a very strategic multiplayer game, and a good way to spend an hour or so.  Thank you to all the hard workers at the AEG booth at Gen Con, who made sure that their retailers would have a chance to try out their new games before release!

This game is different than anything I have ever personally played, and the reasons for that are numerous. First of all, Ninja is probably one of the few games that plays well as not only a 2 or 4 player, but equally well (if not better!) as a 3 player.  Secondly, the fact that each player is responsible for their own actions but can still confer with other "allied" members is something not often seen in boardgames these days. Finally, the idea of each player requiring an individual (included) map to mark locations of either enemies or objectives is a very distinct feature, which I feel AEG has most definitely hit the spot on. But perhaps I should show you instead...

OPENING THE BOX

When you first open Ninja's box, the first items you see are the board and the 4 maps.  Underneath those is the 16-page rulebook, and finally the 27 miniatures, 4 decks, 6 mission objective cards, and 4 player privacy screens.  All of this is stored in a standard plastic box, although the outer cardboard box is sturdier than other comparable games. When you open the board for the first time, you'll see it is a tile-like foldout board, similar to Memoir '44 or Battle Cry.  Along the side is a descending group of 20 circles, which shows the turns of the game.  Underneath that is the Turn Order box, a handy reference for what each turn consists of.  Last is the 4 Alert Levels, which go from None to High.  You'll also notice that while the board is a beautifully rendered "blueprint" of a noble castle and gardens, there are faint blue and yellow dividing lines crossing its surface.

These are important for the maps which each player needs to fully enjoy the game.  Each player, whether Guard, Ninja or Traitor has a paper map on which to draw (about 25 map sheets per pad).  These are used to figure out where objectives are hidden, where the secret tunnel is, and which areas still need to be searched. Of course, it would not do to have a Guard see what the Traitor has marked off, even (ahem) accidentally...so the player screens are a must as well!
The plastic miniatures are also fairly well-crafted and are different colors for easy referencing, especially as the colors match up with the player screens. 

There are 20 tan and brown guards (10 with spears, 10 with swords), 1 red Traitor, 1 black Ninja and 3 yellow Drunk Guards.  There are also 2 silver Lanterns, 1 for placing on the current Turn Circle and current Alert Level.  

NOTE: Whereas the Guard cards have a tan Lion symbol on them and use corresponding tan/brown miniatures, the deck colors for the Traitor and Ninja are altered.  Thus, the Traitor miniature is red but uses the black Scorpion deck, and the Ninja miniature is black but uses the red Scorpion deck.  I don't know if this was intentional, but thought it should be pointed out!

PLAYING THE GAME
Now that everything has been explained, let's discuss game play.  As noted before, this can be a 2, 3 or 4 player game.  If it is 2 player, 1 person controls the Guards and 1 person controls the Traitor and Ninja. For 3 player, 1 person controls the Guards, and the Traitor and Ninja are split. The Guards are split as well, if you play with 4 people. 

First, set up your board and draw your cards.  Ninja takes 8 of the 12 cards available, Traitor takes 7 of the 10, and Guards take 24 of the 36 for their hands.  However, the remaining 12 Guard cards are kept out as a Draw deck.  No cards are to be shared with enemy players, and each deck has cards that are specific to the character using them.  For example, only Guards can play Listen cards, only the Traitor can use Potent Sake cards, and only the Ninja can play Shuriken cards.

Then, 8 individual Guards are posted as sentries, while the remaining Guards are grouped into patrols of 2.  Due to the wording of the cards, it is very advantageous to mix patrols (aka have 1 sword Guard and 1 spear Guard  per patrol).  The Traitor and Ninja miniatures are NOT placed on the board, and won't be for most of the game, but keep them nearby for when the Guards do find them. 

The Guard player takes her map and marks off the locations of 8 sleeping guards as well as 2 Traps, 2 Hidden Sentries, and the locations of the 6 Mission Goals (A thru F) that the Traitor and Ninja will be trying to find. They must ALWAYS be placed in their own zone. The Ninja and Traitor mark off their starting positions according to the rules, as well as the entrance and exit of the Secret Tunnel.  Place 1 Lantern on the lowest Alert Level, and 1 on the first Turn Circle. Now you are completely set up!

The game gets more complicated as it progresses, and players attempt to stay 1 step ahead of each other, but the Turn Orders always remain the same;

1. Alert Phase- Guard player draws cards corresponding to the current level of alert. The alert level then drops by 1, and the Guard plays any of the drawn cards she wants.

2. Guards Card Phase- Guard player uses cards for special effects.

3. Guards Patrol Phase- All patrols that are able to be moved or changed are moved.

4. Intruders Phase- The Ninja and Traitor make their secret moves, play whichever cards they can, and searches for their Mission Goals.

Although there are many different cards to be played, strategies to use and decisions to make every time the game is played, the Phases must be completed in order.  You cannot move onto the next Phase until the previous one is finished, no matter what.  So, even though your friend is going to spring a Trap on your Ninja or Kenjutsu your Guard, at least you'll know they have to wait their turn...

And there you have it, another wonderful game by our friends at AEG!  Ninja-Legend of the Scorpion Clan is a great game for more experienced players.  On a gamer learning scale (1=extremely new to gaming, 10=gaming professional) I would rate Ninja as a solid 7.  While not the most difficult of boardgames to learn, it does have several nuances that make it an inappropriate "first" for those who are new to board or card games. 

Like most of the games I review, we do have a copy of Ninja in our game library, so if you're in the Poughkeepsie area stop by and play!

Stasi "Dengirl" King

Mordenkain's Magnificent Emporium

Alright you old time "I started playing D&D with the boxed set..." fans out there, the coolest magic item collection has arrived.  Mordenkain dug deep into the vaults at Castle Greyhawk or where ever he keeps his really good stuff to give us 4E stats on some of my personal favorite magic items from all the old editions.  Here are just a few of the items listed in MME:

Armor; Mostly new stuff but we get Plate Mail of Etherealness and Robe of the Archmage

Weapons; Flame Tongue, Frost Brand, Giantslayer, Greater Dancing, Greater Luckblade, Maul of the Titans, Mighty Dwarven Thrower and more

Implements;  Candle of Invocation, Necklace of Prayer Beads plus others
ROD OF ABSORPTION!!
Greater Staff of POWER! (Now, if they just did the Staff of the Magi I could happily convert my 3.5 Epic Level evoker to Paragon)

Wands; Fire, Frost, Lighting and yes, the best wand ever, the Wand of WONDER

AND SO MUCH MORE....including Cursed Items

All right, I could keep going but the best thing I can say is that this book brings to current 4E D&D a lot of my personal favorites and best loved magic items from many of the past editions.  MME also adds some feats, new weapons and armor, a section on henchmen and hirelings, and a random magic item generation table for all the items in the book.  I felt like I was back in AD&D 2E for a while!

Mordenkain's Magnificent Emporium is only available, at least right now, in hobby and gaming stores so if we aren't your Friendly Local Gaming Store, drop by yours.  Of course, we can always get you a copy!

Dave

International Talk Like a Pirate Day 9/19/11

Arrrr mateys! It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day today! To be celebrating such a fine day, I have some of thee worst pirate jokes yea have ever heard. So if yea be a land-lobber then read on and be prepared to shiver yea timbers.

Q: Where does a pirate go on vacation?
A: Arrrr-kansas

Q: How much did the pirate pay for corn?
A: a buck an ear (buccaneer)

Q: Why couldn't the pirate go to the movie?
A: It was rated Arrr

Q: Why was it rated R?
A: It showed to much booty.

A guy walks into a bar and sees a pirate sitting at the bar with a peg leg, hook, and an eye patch.  The guy thinks, this pirate would be cool to talk to.  So he walks up and sits at the bar.
Guy: So are you a real pirate?
Pirate: Arrr, I be.
Guy: How did you get a peg leg?
Pirate: I was working the mast in a heavy storm and the rigging wrapped around me leg and ripped it off.
Guy: WOW! So how did you get the hook?
Pirate: I was swimming through the wreckage of me ship and a shark bite me hand clean off.
Guy: AMAZING! So how did you end up with the eye patch?
Pirate: A bird flew over head and crapped in me eye.
Guy: Really... after the other stories...
Pirate: Well it was the first day with me new hook!

Q: Why didn't the pirate take a shower before walking the plank?
A: He knew he'd wash-up on shore later.

Q: What does a pirate say when he is playing Santa?
A: Ho, Ho, Ho, and a bottle of Rum!

Q: Why did it take the pirate so long to learn the alphabet?
A: He spent years at C!

Q: Where did the one legged pirate go for breakfast?
A: IHop

Q: Why are pirates called pirates?
A: They just Arrrr

So if thar be any of yea scurvy dogs out there liken a good or bad joke, have at thee!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Summoner Wars Master Set Review

This past Gen Con had a plethora of awesome games, both for purchase and demos! One game that our store actually had the opportunity to purchase early was the Summoner Wars Master Set by Plaid Hat Games.  Not only were the demo runners helpful and pleasant, but the owner allowed us to buy 4 new copies for our store 2 weeks before release.  Kudos to all of them for helping out hobby stores!  The Master Set received an incredible amount of attention by both new and experienced Summoner Wars players, so I thought it might be time to write a review. 

First, let me tell you a little about the previous editions of Summoner Wars. Prior to the Master Set being  released, there were 2 Starter Sets available, which were great for 2-player battles.  They also had Faction Decks and Reinforcement Packs, some of which are pictured below.

All of these decks and packs are fully compatible with the Master Set, and there are even extra slots in its packaging to fit them!  Conversely, any player would be able to set aside the more special, customizable cards for easy use, or another pre-made deck if that was preferred.

OPENING THE BOX

When we first open the box, we see the 21-page rulebook, the 2 sides of the board, a bag of 5 dice, punchable tokens, and 6 separate decks.  All of these are individually shrink-wrapped, sorted according to Faction, and are ready to play right out of the box. Notice the extra empty slots for more decks, both of your creation and future expansions of Plaid Hat Games.  Now that's what I call planning for your company!

PLAYING THE GAME

First, each player must choose a deck, whether pre-made or customized.  The two sides of the board should be lined up like so...

...and the decks should be placed in the proper spaces.  As you can see, there are 3 card sections for each player; Draw Pile, Magic Pile and Discard. Each player picks their Deck, find their Reference Card, and begins the Starting Setup show on the Reference Card.  The remaining cards are shuffled and placed on the Draw Pile.  Roll a die to determine who goes first, and you're ready to go!

TURN SEQUENCE

As board and card games go, Summoner Wars has a few more steps than average.  They are;

1. Draw
2. Summon
3. Play Event Cards
4. Movement
5. Attack
6. Build Magic

After all steps are completed, it's your opponents turn.  Can't remember all of it?  Don't worry, everything you need to know is in the easy-to-understand rulebook, including game terminology, victory conditions, lists of expansions, how to set-up the game for 3-4 players, and helpful tips on creating a more customized deck. 

All in all, the Summoner Wars Master Set is the perfect starting place for gaming newcomers or enthusiasts.  It has many decks already available, a very clearly written rulebook, easy to use cards and simple rules.  On a gamer learning scale (1=extremely new to gaming, 10=gaming professional), I would mark Summoner Wars as a 3.

 But that's just my opinion...why not pick it up and play for yourself? We have a copy ready to go in our Dragon's Den Library, so if you're in the area stop by for a quick game or demo!

Stasi "Dengirl" King

Innistrad Magic Events at the Dragon's Den

Innistrad

As we are getting closer to the release of Innistrad for Magic the Gathering, we wanted to post some quick information about the events we will be running over the next few weeks.  We have events at the Dragon's Den for the pre-release, the launch, and a games day all set and ready to go.  So read on and learn about all the different Innistrad events that are coming up!

Pre-release:

We have 4 different Sealed events that are coming up for Innistrad.  All the sealed events are $30.00 and include 6 packs, plus the promo card (while supplies last).  Prizes will be determined by the number of players that sign up for the events.

Sealed #1
Midnight 9/24/2011
Special at the midnight only: FREE pizza and soda!

Sealed #2
Noon 9/24/2011

Sealed #3
Noon 9/25/2011

Sealed #4
5:00pm 9/25/2011

Launch Party:

The official Launch Party for the release of Innistrad will be held Friday night on 9/30/2011.  We will be running a draft at 6:00pm as the official event!  The cost of the event is $15.00 and will include 3 packs and a promo card (while supplies last). Prizes will be determined by the number of players that sign up for the events.

Game Day:

Game day is a constructed event so it is open for players to try and build the best deck.  The event will be run on Saturday 10/29/2011 starting at noon. Everyone who players will get a promo card and the top 8 will get a special promo card. The cost of this event will be $5.00 and prizes will be determined by the number of players who sign up.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

New 52 - Week 2

The New 52 continues with the 2nd wave of new titles. After reading the first two weeks worth of titles, there's one word to describe The New 52: Dark.

Not that there's anything wrong with books that are dark in tone or material, but I'm hoping we see a bit more sunlight and hope peek through the books as the month continues. Too much of anything can be.. well, too much.

That said, there's some gems this week. Let's get to it.

Deathstroke #1 - Good introductory issue. An all-in-one plot for the character, plus a hook at the end. A bit of a surprise there, with his comment about not liking competition; it made me laugh. The one thought I had (and this has gone through my head a couple times in the last couple weeks) is that Deathstroke's outfit was a little too much 90's Image Excess. Sometimes simpler is better? (See Batwoman's costume). That said, solid first issue.

Grifter #1 - Oh, DC. Why must you take my previous Wildstorm characters, pour gasoline on them, and then make me watch as they slowly burn away, never to be remembered by those of us who loved them ? TELL ME WHY, YOU SADISTS.

Okay, got that out of my system.

Grifter was described as Sawyer from Lost meets the DCU. That pretty much hits it on the head. Grifter is a con man, but things go very bad, very fast. This was a good first issue.

Mister Terrific #1 - I was very happy to see the fan-favorite from JSA get his own book. It was a good story, but it felt a little write-by-numbers, y'know? It lacked oomph. This one might take a couple issues to come together.

Green Lantern #1 - Anyone who was reading GL before this month should be able to pick this up and jump right in. For new(er) readers, it might be a little tricky, trying to figure out why Sinestro is Green Lantern instead of Hal, who the guys in the yellow uniforms are, and what's going on. Also, isn't Carol still in-charge of the you-know-who's? BRING BACK COWGIRL, GEOFF JOHNS.

Sometimes I wish Geoff Johns would write just one book a month, instead of 2-4. Ever since he became head honcho/VP at DC, his writing hasn't been the same.

Batman and Robin #1 - Oh Damian, you lovable jerk. Why can't you and Daddy Wayne just get along?

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E #1 - Like Animal Man and Swamp Thing from last week, this one floored me. Great, strange issue. Franky's father is in the body of an 8 year old girl? I couldn't possibly pin this one down with one word, but I'll try: Must-buy.

(Yeah I cheated there. Whaddya want from me?)

Demon Knights #1 - I was both amused and disgusted by the "rough" comment. If you've already read it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you'll understand. I have to confess, my expectations were low for this book, but they surpassed them. This was a "pieces and players coming together for the first time" -type first issue, and it was fun. Good read. Anyone who read Stormwatch last week already knows this ties into the history of the New DCU.

Resurrection Man #1 - With all my love for Abnett and Lanning, you'd have thought I read the original Resurrection Man series, right? Wrong. The writing on this was strong, and it felt like a "long read". Great value for $2.99. The art, though, was a little off. Sometimes the characters looked disjointed? Body parts not quite lining up right? It added a little atmosphere to the book, but it also took me out of the story sometimes, too.

Superboy #1 - Hey now, this was good. They've jettisoned all the previous Superboy stories (and Teen Titans, I'd imagine), and stated fresh.  Solid first issue, one of the best from this week.

Legion Lost #1 - ... and now, one of the weakest. Yikes, this was messy. Too much talking about superpowers, and the costumes are so complicated I STILL don't know who's who. Or why I should care. Granted, it's easy to be intimidated by all the LSH characters, there's only a million of them. But "time-traveling super-heroes from the future, stuck in the present"? That's a pretty nifty concept, but all the language about the "Flashpoint wall/event/whatever" lost me. Hopefully next month is better, 'cause I'm going to hear about this review from loyal reserivst Gatti, that's for sure.

Red Lanterns #1 - And now, a big ol pile of Rage. As many of you already know, I'm a huge fan of the Red Lanterns (my rage issues are legendary, ask the employees at the Den), so I've been waiting MONTHS, nay YEARS for Atrocitus and the Almighty HATE KITTEH to get their own book. This was another strong introductory issue, and Ed Benes did a good job on the art.

Suicide Squad #1 - Like you could make this title anything BUT dark, right?  Lots of blood and mayhem, but I have to confess, it was missing something. In the original Suicide Squad by Ostrander and it's spiritual successor, Secret Six by Gail Simone, the books were dark, but balanced  with a little light comedy here and there. Halfway through this book, I thought to myself "Why isn't Gail writing this?" The voices in my head had no answer. The only other criticism is my own blinders: Anytime I see Harley in a comic, I automatically pipe in her voice and mannerisms from The Animated Series. This book didn't jive with the show. That's more me, than anything else, I think.

Batwoman #1 - This was awesome. The. End.

-Scott.

Magic Celebration 2012 Recap

Well the Magic Celebration is now over.  So what did we see, and what did we notice:

Number of players:

In the first flight we ended up with 33 players total! The second event had 28 at the start.  We had drops in almost every round as players finished up and felt their deck was not going to win.  Getting a dual land and a foil land kind of hurts in this format...  Well I have a feeling that having 61 players is a pretty good turnout for the Magic Celebration and I would love to know how other locations did.

FREE T-Shirts:

We had many people excited about getting a free t-shirt!  I think was a masterful plan by Wizards and really helped the local stores.  No internet sales for that t-shirt!!!  We ended up selling out of the t-shirts by 2:00pm and with 8... yes I said 8 t-shirts, they went really FAST!

Digital Download Promo Cards:

 Well many people were wondering why the choice was Jace, Chandra, and Gideon... I kept telling people maybe it was a Red, White, and Blue thing... I mean maybe with Remembrance Day tomorrow, maybe Wizards was being Patriotic.  If they went with the same colors as the promo titans for the game then it would have been Jace, Chandra, and Liliana... but that would not have been as patriotic.  The cards each have a unique digital item code one for Steam, PS3, and Xbox 360.

In the end, this event was fantastic for Magic and Wizards of the Coast.  It allowed players to have some fun and get a bunch of FREE stuff!  I'm very happy to see Wizards doing something this fantastic for the players.  Now to see how all of this effects our Planeswalker points and all that new stuff.  And now for all the questions about Planeswalker Points... but we'll save that for another day.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

The NEW 52 for Wednesday September 14th

Next Wednesday, the next wave of THE NEW 52 from DC COMICS arrives:

Deathstroke #1 - The popular villain gets his own series.
Superboy #1 - The clone of Superman who's got the dna of a super-villain inside him!
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 - The book with such a long title, I've got not enough room to write a description!
Resurrection Man #1 - The cult-classic returns! He lives, he dies, he wakes up with new powers!
Demon Knights #1 - DC goes medieval on your... well, you know.
Suicide Squad #1 - You're going to buy this comic just because of the cover. Don't deny it.
Green Lantern #1 - Hal Jordan is NOT a Green Lantern anymore. So who's the new GL of sector 2814?
Red Lanterns #1 - I AM THE RED LANTERN OF SECTOR 2814. I mean... love the hate kitteh, don't you?
Batman and Robin #1 - Father and son, together for the first time!
Mister Terrific #1 - The world's smartest man gets his own title!
Legion Lost #1 - Members of the LSH, stuck in the 21st century, with no way to go home!
Grifter #1 -The Wildstorm hero stars in his own spy thriller!
And finally...

Batwoman #1 - Finally, Kate gets her own ongoing. J.H. Williams is doing the writing and art; this book WILL be gorgeous.

Guaranteed.

See you next Wednesday!

The New 52 - Week 1

...and here we are.

After months of questions and teases and press releases and the occasional fanboy rage, The New 52 have landed at the Dragon's Den. After reading all of this week's books, I came away pretty impressed. All of the books are easy jump-on points; you don't need to know anything about the characters, but if you do, that's okay too. DC's done a good job of blending "jump-on point" without tossing away much of the continuity for the older readers.

Random comments:

* Most of the titles managed to end on a cliffhanger. Some more memorable than others (Detective Comics, for one)

* Several of the covers are different than originally solicited. That's not a bad thing

* I'm hearing many reports of stores under-ordering these books, across the country. This may sound crazy to you, but I'm just saying this now: I am fairly certain that all of The New 52 #1's will be go to 2nd printing by the end of the month. Get the 1st prints now. Trust me.

 * Review Time.

Justice League #1 - Yes, this came out last week, but I'm including it here anyways. This was a strong first issue, but not a strong introduction to The New 52. On that level, it didn't succeed. But I'm not going to lie: It was great to see a Jim Lee-drawn comic again.

Action Comics #1  - My expectations were high for this book. Grant Morrisson's All-Star Superman is one of the landmark stories for the character, so we all know what he's capable of doing with the character. But this book... this is a very different Superman. This Superman is a bit more reckless, unexperienced, and a bit more anti-authoritarian. It was great to read a Superman who didn't come off as having a stick up his you-know-where.

It was great. Fresh. New. Innovative, while paying homage to the past. Plus the last page... so simple, yet brilliant.

Animal Man #1 - This book creeped me out. It really did, the whole issue made me feel anxious. How is that possible? I don't know, but it happened anyways. And the last page... wow. CREEPY. Don't give this one to your kids, they'll have nightmares (seriously).

Batman Detective Comics #1 - Sweet mary, mother of god, if Animal Man #1 creeped me out, this one made my jaw drop. The last page is... no, I'm not going to use any words to read it. But you Will Not See That Coming. This issue was dark, bloody, and then the ending? Wow. Just... wow. Okay Tony Daniel, you got my attention.

Batgirl #1 - Can I talk about Babs getting her legs back without the internet going crazy? Good. So yeah... Babs is back in the costume. They acknowledge The Killing Joke, and her paralysis, but they gloss over her time in the wheelchair. Ignoring the backstory, this is a younger, less-somber Babs, and I think this book is going to surprise the naysayers.


Batwing #1 - I didn't have a chance to read it. BAD SCOTT. BAD SCOTT.

Green Arrow #1 - Adios, beard. Adios, Black Canary. Neither are around, and this is a clear mix of the ornery Ollie we all know and love, and the poutier Green Arrow seen on Smallville. The art didn't do much for me on this book, but the writing was tight; That said, this book was fun, but didn't overwhelm me.

Hawk and Dove #1 - Don't hate. No, really, this wasn't bad. This amped up the tension and drama between Hawk and Dove, dropped a lot of hints about Dove's connection to the original Dove, acknowledged the relationship between Dove and Deadman that came out of Brightest Day. I had low expectations, but this was pretty fun. As for the art... Liefeld did okay here.

Justice League International #1 - As a huge fan of the original JLI/JLE run, this was a bit of a disappointment. The characters didn't quite mesh together as well as you'd like. Some of the ha-ha's were still there, but it didn't quite have the humor that made the original run such a classic. That said, I have faith in Giffen, as should you all. Noone does these characters better, it just might take an issue or two for him to get back into the swing of things.

Men of War #1 - This was a gritty-but-not-overbearing war story, featuring a character with the last name Rock. And although this isn't my normal cuppa... I really liked it. Fun and dark, but without being overly so. Color me surprised by how good this was.

OMAC #1 - I opened this up, prepared to dislike it, and came away satisfied. There's TONS of Kirby riffs in this, from the artwork to the layouts, to the writing, but done well. Another pleasant surprise.

Static Shock #1 - A fun yarn, right from the beginning. Fans of the character are going to enjoy seeing Static back in action. I never watched the cartoon, so I don't know much about the character, but this book jumped off the page. Great stuff.

Stormwatch #1 - As an old-school Wildstorm fan, reading this was painful: It's a clear re-boot of all the Authority and Stormwatch characters. As someone who knows nothing about any of them, or has not attachment, it was a decent read. I think I probably set the bar too high on this one for myself.

Swamp Thing #1 - ... But this book: WOW. Great, GREAT first issue. Scott Snyder's been killing it at DC, and this issue managed to give the character(s) a fresh slate, but still keeping Swamp Thing's history intact (especially the Alan Moore stuff). Great read, highly recommended.

-Scott

Quarriors the Dice Game by Wizkids

While out at Gen Con this year, I had the chance to try a new DICE building game so similar to all the great DECK building games called Quarriors by Wizkids! So let's open the box... or in this case the tin, and see what's inside.

Inside the box:

The first thing you notice with the collector's tin is that it is shaped like a die and has the markings on each side corresponding to the Dragon die in the game.  It is a very nice look, and I think will appeal to many players and collectors.  Once you open it up, you find 4 dice bags of different colors (Black, Blue, Green, and Red).  The dice bags are the same color as the tokens used per player to track victory points.  The next item is the rule book.  The rules are very straight forward and easy to understand, so easy in fact that my 8 year old was playing in no time!  Further down is the tracking card used for keeping track of victory points.  The victory points vary depending on the number of players; 12 for a 4 player game, 15 for a 3 play game, and 20 for a 2 player game. The tray below the rule book and tracking sheet contains the ability cards for the dice. There are 3 different types of cards; Basic, Spell, and Creature.  The cards represent different levels for the dice, so that they can make promo cards that will change the way the dice results are seen.  There is also a small area for the tracking cubes, again in matching colors to the dice bag.  The final thing in the tin are the dice! There 130 dice in 15 different varieties.  The dice correspond to the cards, and the cards represent different levels of the dice.

Playing the game:

So now that we have pulled apart the box, lets look at the game.  If you have played any of the deck building games, then you have an idea of how to play Quarriors... just think dice instead of cards.  You start the game with the 3 basic resource cards, 3 different spell cards, and 7 different creature cards.  Remember to shuffle the groups of cards separately so you can draw from each group.  Next have each player chose a color for their dice bag and victory point token.  Give each player 8 Quiddity Dice (the basic die), and 4 Assistant Dice.  This is your starting allocation of dice.  Each players turn will follow the same steps, so I'll detail one player from the beginning:

1. Score Creatures
2. Draw and Roll Dice (Remember to shuffle... shake the dice bag) (Draw 6 without looking)
3. Ready Spells and Summon Creatures (Optional)
4. Attack Your Rivals
5. Capture 1 Quarry Die from the Wilds (Optional)
6. Move Dice to Your Used Pile

So then all you have to do is pass your turn to the player on the left and repeat! One key rule, just like with the deck building games, you don't gather and reshuffle your dice until you need to draw a die and you can't.  You just wait until then and then pick them all up and put them back in the dice bag.  Continue playing until you reach the correct number of victory points.

So I've had a lot of fun playing this game so far, and I can't wait for it to become available... or is it??? We are hoping to get this great game in at the store, we are just waiting to learn about availability.  As it looks like they will have an expansion out this fall, I'd like to see both in the store soon.

I'd like to thank my little group of play testers... also know as Alex, Aiden, and Emily.  They were great, and really enjoyed the game! With and age range from 8 to 16, they picked up the rules and concept quickly, and ask to play the game frequently.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Magic the Gathering Celebration

Are you ready to celebrate with Magic?!?!?

We are! 

So what is this Magic Celebration you may be asking... Well it is a fantastic and fun way to experience Magic the Gathering with friends in a casual format! We will be running this free, yes I said FREE, event here at the Dragon's Den and we are hoping that you come and join us.  So here are some details about the event:

What: Magic the Gathering Celebration
Where: The Dragon's Den
When: Saturday September 10th at 12:00 noon
Event Type: Mini Master
Cost: FREE

What is a Mini Master Event you ask? Well, I'll be happy to explain this format to you.

Everyone who plays will receive a 2012 booster pack and 15 basic lands (3 of each type). You then pull out the tip/token card and shuffle the land and booster pack together... remember, no peaking! You then play out the game as normal; drawing 7 cards, having 20 life, and having fun. We will be running the event as 16 player pods and 4 rounds.  If we get more then 16 players, we will create another pod. 

So now that we have covered the basics, would you like to learn some more? You would! GREAT!

If you win your round you will get another booster pack for FREE! You will then have a few minutes to modify your deck with the new cards.  Winners will then be able to make a 40 card deck with as much land as they like.  With 4 rounds, players will have a chance to modify their decks as they win.

We will also have a few special promo cards to give away.  These cards are not for the Magic card game, but for the Duel of the Planeswalkers 2012 video game.  There is a digital item code on each card that will unlock a digital item for your account on the chosen gaming platform.

There will also be a FREE, yes I keep saying that word, T-Shirt for the first several people who purchase a Deck Builder's Toolkit! Supplies are limited and once they are gone, they are gone.

Speaking of supplies being limited, each of these items and the event are on a very limited quantities.  If you are interested in being a part of this Magic Celebration, then you want to get to the Dragon's Den and get ready to have some fun!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

New #1's (not from DC)

December 

Voltron #1  - The lions reunite in this new series from Dynamite.

Avengers X-Sanction #1 - The return of Cable and the lead-in to next year's big Marvel event.

Carnage USA #1 - The cult favorite character returns in another mini-series!

Fantastic Four #601 - Hickman's FF saga continues with the return of the Fantastic Four ongoing.

November

Star Wars Crimson Empire III #1 Empire Lost (Dark Horse) – The Imperial Guardsmen return.

Uncanny X-Men #1 – The last major Marvel/DC title to get a relaunch.

Avenging Spider-Man #1 – Joe Maduera returns!
Peanuts #0 - A new monthly series, and only for $1!
Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #1 - Dynamite Fans rejoice! They're now publishing FG, too!
Fear Itself  #7 Point One - The after-effects of FI on Captain America after the death of Bucky.
Fear Itself  #7 Point Two - Iron Man and Odin square off.
Fear Itself  #7 Point Three - The solicitation says "THOR NO MORE".

October

Orchid #1 (Dark Horse) – Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine jumps into comics.

The Strange Talent of Luthor Strode #1 (Image) – New post-modern super-hero mini-series.

Penguin: Pain & Prejudice #1 (DC) – WAK WAK WAK. The history of the classic Batman villain.

Batman Odyssey Vol 2 #1 (DC) – Neil Adams returns to his Batman series.

Shade #1 (DC) – Starman fans, James Robinson returns. This should be 15 types of awesome.

Legion Secret Origin #1 (DC) – History of the Legion, plus get a Legion ring free.

Spaceman #1 (Vertigo) – Did you like Batman Knight of Vengeance? Same creative team.            

Fearless #1 (Marvel) – Mini-series that follows up on Fear Itself.

Incredible Hulk #1 (Marvel) – HULK HAVEN’T HAD NEW #1 IN AT LEAST TWO MONTHS. HULK SMASH!

Avengers 1959 #1 (Marvel) – Howard Chaykin writes and draws

Avengers Solo #1 (Marvel) – 2 stories: One featuring Hawkeye, the other featuring Avengers Academy.

Wolverine & The X-Men #1 (Marvel) – New x-title featuring Marvel’s least-seen character, Wolverine.

Star Trek/Legion of Super-heroes #1 (IDW) – This series needs to have Darkseid screaming “KHAN”.

30 Days of Night Ongoing #1 (IDW) – Steve Niles returns! The Maxx’s Sam Keith draws!

Dark Shadows #1 (Dynamite) – Barnabas Collins is back.

September

Annihilators Earthfall #1 (Marvel) – Marvel’s Cosmic characters take on the Avengers.

Ghostbusters #1 (IDW) – I’m singing the Ghostbusters theme as I type this. Billy Dee Forever.

Buffy TVS Season 9 #1 (Dark Horse) – Joss Whedon returns!

Star Trek #1 (IDW) – Takes place in the re-launched Abrams-verse.

John Carter Princess of Mars #1 (Marvel) – New Disney movie in March, here’s the Marvel adaptation

Ultimate X-Men #1 (Marvel) – Kitty puts the X-men together.

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) – With Peter Parker dead, Miles Morales takes over.
Game of Thrones #1 (Dynamite) - More George R.R. Martin goodness!
The New 52 (DC) - All 52 of the New #1's.

Miniature Gaming at the Dragon's Den Part 2

With so many new miniature games being played at the Dragons Den, I figured I should mention that we still have table space on Wednesday and Thursday for mini games that are not listed in the post below.  We do see Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy, Malifaux, and Flames of War players on those night and sometimes on Saturday.

To continue with some of the new future events, I wanted to add a couple that are out a bit farther.  These may be subject to change, so check our calendar or in the store for more details.

November:

Wednesday nights: Privateer Press (Hordes & Warmachine) Escalation League
                             Infinity Escalation League
Thursday nights: Flames of War Early War Aces
                         Dystopian Wars Escalation League
Thursday November 24: Closed! Happy Thanksgiving
Saturday November 12: Malifaux Tournament
Saturday November 19: Warhammer 40K Tournament
Saturday daily: Open Play


December:

Wednesday nights: Privateer Press (Hordes & Warmachine) Escalation League
                             Infinity Escalation League
Thursday nights: Flames of War Early War Aces
                         Dystopian Wars Escalation League
Saturday December 10:  Privateer Press Warmahordes Tournament
Saturday December 17: Flames of War Early War Tournament
Saturday December 24: Wings of War: Snoopy vs The Red Baron (I hope you all get the reference for the holidays)

Remember that some events might change slightly or be modified, so check with the store or online to make sure you have the most recent information. So now we have made it almost all the way to Christmas break for schools.  We will be planning some other events with the students home for the holidays, so stay tuned for more information as it will be sure to follow... just maybe not for a month or two!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Miniature Gaming at the Dragon's Den

So we have a new staff member who is helping to focus on miniature games here at the store.  He has set up a list of events that we will have on our Google Calendar very soon, but I thought we could get a list posted here on our blog as well.  If you are interested in big games, skirmish games, or anything in between, check out the list and hopefully you will see an event that you like.

August:

Wednesday nights: Privateer Press (Hordes & Warmachine) demo games
                               Warhammer 40K demo games
                               Infinity demo games
Thursday nights: Flames of War demo games
                            Malifaux demo games
                            Flames of War: Aces of Aces event
Saturday daily: Open Play

September:

Wednesday nights: Privateer Press (Hordes & Warmachine) Assembly & Paint (Week 1 & 2)
                               Warhammer 40K Assembly & Paint (Week 1 & 2)
                               Privateer Press League: Sand Narrows (Week 3 & 4)
                               Warhammer 40K Escalation League (Week 3 & 4)
Thursday night: Flames of War Assembly & Paint (Week 2 & 3)
                          Malifaux Assembly & Paint (Week 2 & 3)
                          Flames of War Mid War Aces (Week 4 & 5)
                          Malifaux Escalation League (Week 4 & 5)
Saturday September 10: Infinity Tournament
Saturday daily: Open Play (unless other events scheduled)

October:

Wednesday night: Privateer Press League: Sand Narrows (Week 1 & 2)
                             Warhammer 40K Escalation League (Week 1, 2, 3, & 4)
                             Privateer Press (Hordes and Warmachine)Open Play (Week 3 & 4)
Thursday night: Flames of War Mid War Aces (Week 1, 2, 3, & 4)
                          Malifaux Escalation League (Week 1, 2, 3, & 4)
Saturday October 8:Flames of War: Late War Tournament, Battle for Salvation
Saturday October 22: Dystopian Wars Tournament
Saturday daily: Open Play (unless other events scheduled)
Sunday October 16: Privateer Press: Sand Narrows World End
Sunday October 30: Malifaux Story Encounters
Monday October 31: Malifaux Story Encounters (Happy Halloween)


We have more events planned for the rest of the year.  Stay tuned for more information about November and December as they will be posted soon... but may have changes made, and will be great save the date information.  For more details about the upcoming events in the store, check out our calendar of events on our website, or stop in and ask!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Gen Con 2011 The Best 4 Days of Gaming

Welcome back from the "BEST 4 DAYS OF GAMING" also know as Gen Con!

So we got back from Gen Con last night, and it was a fantastic show! We had a chance to try many different games, check out product that is not released just yet, and see all the greatest product that could be seen.  We are going to share some pictures, share some stories, and give some insight into some games.  To make life easy, I'm breaking it down by vendor so you can see the different areas you'd like more info about.  So if you are ready to read on and want to learn more, continue through the trip to Gen Con 2011!

Wizards of the Coast:

There is a lot to talk about with WotC. They had a great booth set up as a ruined castle, and a live action D&D event behind it.  The booth was amazing as was the D&D Mega Adventure that was set up through out Gen Con with QR Codes.  The players got into trying to find the codes and earn points for their faction.  All of this was for the soon to be released Neverwinter campaign setting.  Away from the booth you show the two locations for all the events: The Sagamore Ball Room and the TCG Hall.  At the TCG hall you had so many Magic events, it was almost overwhelming, with the highlight being Nationals!  So many players going in and between events, it was incredible to see.  Upstairs in the Sagamore there was Dungeons and Dragons. It was not just the RPG though, they also had 3 Dragon Ante, all the board games, and the D&D National event as well.A big announcement was for the Lords of Waterdeep board game which is a Euro style board game set in the Dungeons and Dragons world.

Wizkids:

What can I say about Wizkids other then WOW! The new Star Trek game that involves fleets of Federation and Klingon ships looks amazing.  The price point at first looked a bit high, until you started to count up all the ships you got in the base game.  We would love to get a copy of this game a give it a try to get the Trek fans into a great looking ship to ship minis game.  Another game that they had out was Quarriors! Quarriors is a fantastic game involving dice that is similar to the deck building games.  We had such a blast playing this game, that I had to buy a copy for myself then and there.  It played fast and had the option of adding new abilities to the dice without having to make all new dice.  We will be demoing this game soon and getting players excited to try a new type of game.  I really can't talk about Wizkids without mentioning the Heroclix.  They had a number of great items out for sale including Heroclix, Street Fight, and Gears of War... BUT the items that had people looking were the painted pieces (not on bases) of The Lord of the Rings and Pathfinder.  They all looked great!  Check back as more information becomes available we will be writing more.

AEG:

We had the opportunity to go over and talk with the people at AEG as well as attending their Big Game Night.  I would have liked a little more structure to the big game night and maybe in an area that was a little quieter so that we could really check out the games.  We did have a chance to play Ninja, which is a very secretive board game involving Ninjas and guards set in the L5R world..  It was a blast! We will have a copy in this week and will be running some demo games to give players a chance to check it out.  We also got a chance to see Thunderstone, Parthenon, and Legend of the 5 Rings CCG.  AEG has a bunch of really great games out now and if you are looking to give something new a try, they would make a great choice.

Gary Games:

Gary Games is the publisher of the game Ascension.  This is a great deck building game that was created by a number of Magic players who were looking for another game to play between Magic.  The same design group also created Redakai, but we can talk about that later.  I had a chance to play in a tournament for Ascension, but sadly came in second in my pod, so did not advance.  They also had a number of great promo cards that you could pick up at their booth.  We also had a chance to discuss the Dragon's Den becoming a part of the Game Day program that they run, so hopefully we will be a part of the next one which is coming up soon.  

Fantasy Flight Games: 

Well the big announcement here was that Fantasy Flight Games picked up the rights for Star Wars.  To show case this, they had several games on display and were running demo games of several of them.  Star Wars X-Wing looked fantastic! It is a miniatures ship to ship combat game that takes a few elements from Wings of War.  Instead of a deck of cards for movement, each ship has a disk that you pick your movement from and place face down next to the ship (for that hidden movement similar to Wings of War).  They used different templates then for movement and attacks.  They kept some of the flavor with the weapons and abilities on the different star fighters, but we only got to see the X-Wing and Tie Fighter.  They also did a new card game for the Star Wars universe, but we did not get a chance to demo that game.  Some other items of note at the booth would be their release of the Gears of War board game and the new revised edition of Dust Tactics. 

Plaid Hat:

Plaid Hat is the maker of Summoner Wars.They have a new starter box that will be coming out in a month or so... or maybe we will have several copies in a few days! We had the chance to demo the game with them at Gen Con, and they allowed us to get a few copies while we were there.  The new starter has new factions, which if I remember correctly is an addition 6 new factions.  It also has a double board so that it is a little easier to play on and see your side of the board.


I hope that you have found some new information or got to experience some of the Gen Con trip from the write up.  We will be adding more information over the week and get some other impressions so you can hear about some other games and events.  There will always be more to add about Gen Con, but I think this is long enough, so watch for the next post soon.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Magic Innistrad Corrected Information

Welcome Magic players! 

So I'm here to talk to you about the stupidity of some of the newest (or oldest) posts that now have players in a tizzy over what might or might not be in Innistrad.  We have had many players come in freaking out over the new 8 card format for booster packs, as well as the new rarity or time shifted add  into the set.  As an Advanced Level TO who can call Wizards and ask silly questions about this, I'd like to set the record straight.  So if you would like some new info, read on... if you would like to stick your head in the sand and believe the nonsense then stop right here.

8 Card Boosters:

 

 So here we have a picture of the new boosters... or a clever fake.  First off, as confirmed from Wizards, there will not be a 8 card booster pack.  Second, do we think that Baron Sengir, Apocalypse Chime, and Willow Priestess will be the cover art for the set? Come on players, I think we can be a little smarter and not just blindly believe everything that some dope posts on a website to get players excited.  Remember that we will have the boosters and events here at the Dragon's Den... and they will be 15 cards not 8!

New Color Rarity:

Well here it is, I see 5 colors with purple just like a Time Shifted card from Timespiral... but wait, that can't be correct... can it??? NO it is not correct! Again, after contacting my rep at Wizards to confirm or deny these crazy stories, I have found that there is no truth in these wild tales.  So we will only have the normal 4 levels of rarity, there will NOT be any time shifted cards or a new rarity! Come on players, do I have to spell it out for you?!?!

So I hope this helps clear up some questions and helps players to calm down and relax.  I'm glad that so many players have come in concerned about these possible changes and brought this to our attention so we can try and answer the questions and kill the bad rumors.  As we run many events at the Dragon's Den, we really do try to give our players some good information and have great events.  So stop in and play a (real) game!

Public Service Announcement:

Please do not believe everything you read on the internet! We have called Wizards and asked these questions to get correct information. If any of this information is faulty, then it is faulty from Wizards, the people who MAKE MAGIC!

Magic 2012 Prerelease and Launch Party Events July

As we get set up for our weekend of crazy prerelease events, I thought I would take some time to post some bits and blurbs from the Magic 2012 Prerelease. We will begin with a Midnight event Saturday morning.  Many people get confused by this, which is why I will clarify it is Saturday morning and not Friday morning! So with that in mind, here is a list of our events we will run for the weekend:

1. Midnight Saturday July 9: Sealed
2. Noon Saturday July 9: Sealed
3. 5:00pm Saturday July 9: Draft
4. Noon Sunday July 10: Sealed
5. 2:00pm Sunday July 10: Draft
6. Open Play both days with the Intro Decks

We will have product and promo cards as long as they last.  We have had several average events for prereleases in the past at 60+ with several that have been over 100 players.  Magic has been a great game here and we have had many great players come through the store.

So we ended up with 74 for the midnight event and another 28 for the noon that day! With over 100 players doing sealed it was a great day.  We saw all the Planeswalkers during the course of the events and we even had one player pull 2 different ones in the midnight event Saturday.  Sundays events were much smaller, but it did bring the total number of players in all the events closer to 150 (counting all the drafts).

Launch Party we did a Draft and ended up with 29 players.  It was a great turn out on a Friday night for draft and so many players are now getting excited for the set.  I've now heard many players talking about combos and how the new cards will work in Standard.

Amazing Spider-Man #666

Coming in 2 weeks! Amazing Spider-Man #666 has a personalized cover with both store logos on the front! Limited copies will be available, ask for yours now!

DC in September - My Impressions

I didn't have a knee-jerk reaction when I first heard that DC might be relaunching their entire line in September. The comic industry has a history of reinventing itself; I.E. Marvel has launched and/or relaunched the Avengers title 4 times in the last 15 years. The Silver Age of DC was used to reinvent and create new characters following the Golden Age, etc. I wasn't overly concerned about the comics, but I was excited about DC for the first time in along while.

I was worried about how the customers of this store (and others) were going to take the news. I was not happy with how they rolled out the information, especially since it took a couple weeks before anyone got a definite answer on whether this was a fresh start (cold reboot, new continuity) or a soft relaunch (keep previous continuity). I had some questions.

In mid-June, DC Comics hosted a series of Retailer Roundtables across the country. I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon in NYC with other retailers, asking questions and getting answers from some of the top people working at DC.

My thoughts:

- Over half the time (the meeting went 3+ hours) was spent discussing the new titles and creative teams. There were half a dozen executives and VP's on hand to discuss the books. Dan Didio and Jim Lee answered all of the creative answers.

- Jim Lee might be the nicest guy in the entire industry. Funny observation: Retailers weren't afraid to ask Didio tough questions, but they softened their tone for Jim. Conclusion: No retailer ever wants to get on Jim Lee's bad side.

- Every one of the DC and Warner Brothers people were enthused about The New 52. There was definitely a feeling of passion and commitment. DC is going all-in on this, in every department across the board.

- Didio stressed how important timeliness was going to be on these books. Remember the old days, when you got a Superman and Batman book every week, the same week of every month? The old days are back. Dan Didio was asked several times about DC's newfound commitment toscheduling. He said, and I quote, "I was personally embarassed when 3 Green Lantern books all shipped the same week." They are focusing hard
on making sure books come out on time. Someone asked him "What happens if someone misses their deadline?" Without missing a beat, he responded, "Someone already has." [They're off the book]. You could've heard a pin drop in the room after that one.

- Speaking of continuity, I got some answers: Batman, Green Lantern and all the characters associated with Brightest Day are continuing what's going on in their books right now, more or less. I get the idea they might be tweaking a couple things in the Batman books (specifically with Tim, if the Teen Titans solicitations are any indications) but that's it. All the Green Lantern titles LITERALLY be taking place after the War of the Green Lantern Aftermath mini-series. Swamp Thing's book will come out of Brightest Day. Deadman will come out of Brightest Day.

- They're integrating some of the Wildstorm characters into the DCU. As a longtime WS fan, I'm not certain how I feel about that. Voodoo has never had her own book, and Ron Marz has been writing Witchblade forever, so that character is in pretty good hands.

- Superman and Justice League are getting cold reboots. I know this might cause some gnashing and wailing, but neither book has sold well. It makes sense that DC wants their strongest and best properties to regain the sales dominance they used to have. Superman is an icon, and is selling very poorly. Justice League sells good, but not great. Putting Grant Morisson, George Perez, Jim Lee and Geoff Johns on this books will change that fast.

- Graphic novel collections of The New 52 won't start until May 2012. Yes, it's really going to be that long before you see collections.

- DC released a video of the top creators and VP's talking about The New 52: http://bit.ly/iIGtHg

--

More soon.

-Scott.

DC in September - The New 52

We're getting a lot of questions about what DC Comics is doing in September with the 52 #1's: They're relaunching all the books?  They're rebooting them? Morpheus is taking over the Teen Titans? They're making Krypto the new Wonder Woman?

(Yes, No, Um, and waitwhatareyou-), respectively.

DC sent out a FAQ last week. Get the answers. Feast your eyes.

---

GENERAL

* Why do it?  There is a lot of speculation out there, are you "rebooting" the titles?

This is an epic and ambitious initiative that ushers in a new generation of comics for DC Comics and will set the tone for storylines and characters for years to come.  With all of the titles starting at #1, our creative teams have the ability to take a more modern approach - not only with each character, but with how the characters interact with one another and the universe as a whole, and focus on the earlier part of the careers of each of our iconic characters.  A time when they didn't have as much experience defeating all their nemeses.  A time when they weren't as sure of their abilities. A time when they haven't saved the world countless times. It's this period that is rich with creative opportunity as we show why these characters are so amazing, so iconic and so special.

We think fans will be excited by this approach and The New 52 will provide DC Entertainment an opportunity to aggressively reach the widest possible audience worldwide, through captivating stories and an accessible entry point.  We see great opportunities to tell new, contemporary, cutting edge stories building off the best known, classic stories that make up each of the title's back histories.

* DC Comics has had a number of reboots, what makes this one different?

This is not a reboot, it's a launch.  This is a historic initiative for DC Entertainment and the DC Comics characters - and a first in the company's publishing history. This next era of DC Comics characters will see 52 all-new #1 issues of its super hero titles at the same time AND same-day digital across the board. In addition to the number changes, our talented creative teams are working behind the scenes to create compelling storylines and new costume designs for many of our iconic DC Comics characters.

* Why not call it a reboot?

It's not a reboot.  A reboot is typically a restart of the story or character that jettisons away everything that happened previously.

This is a new beginning which builds off the best of the past.  For the stories launching as new #1s in September, we have carefully hand-selected the most powerful and pertinent moments in these characters' lives and stories to remain in the mythology and lore.  And then we've asked the best creators in the industry to modernize, update and enhance the books with new and exciting tales.  The result is that we retained the good stuff, and then make it better.

* Does The New 52 undo events or continuity that I've been reading?

Some yes, some no.  But many of the great stories remain.  For example - Batgirl.  The Killing Joke still happened and she was Oracle.  Now she will go through physical rehabilitation and become a more seasoned and nuanced character because she had these incredible and diverse experiences.

* So will all titles be entry points or will you need to know back-story for some?

Each title will read as a #1 issue that will make jumping into the story extremely accessible for all types of readers. The stories are designed in a way that new fans will be able to pick up a book and immediately be drawn into the story, while at the same time existing fans will be engrossed by the new and epic moments that take place.

* Do the new #1s mean that the previous stories didn't take place?

Our creative teams have a firm understanding of the storied heritage of characters and titles. The new #1 issues will introduce readers to a more modern, diverse universe of DC Comics characters, with some character variations in appearance, origin and age. All stories will be grounded in each character's legend - but will map to real world situations, interactions, tragedies and triumphs.

Overall, DC Entertainment is focused on putting out the most innovative storylines, featuring the most iconic characters, created by the most creative minds within the industry.

* Might you just introduce a new DC "Ultimate" line and give it the spotlight for a few months, then have the opportunity to bring back the other continuity? Will this all be put back to "normal" after a few months?

No - this is the new universe of DC Comics characters.  This is an epic and ambitious initiative that ushers in the next era of the DC Comics characters and will set the tone for storylines and characters for years to come.  This is not an "event," because events expire.

* Why are you changing the costumes?

DC Entertainment is led by some of the biggest fans of comics out there. We know that if Geoff and Jim are excited about the stories and artwork, we're on to something big.  While there may be some naysayers, when we thought about starting the entire DC Comics universe line of comics with #1/first issues we looked at the benefits for the long haul, not just a year or two.  Our goal is to create a watershed moment for DC Entertainment - and the industry as a whole - where fans will remember this as a time of innovation while maintaining DC Entertainment's commitment to creating entertaining and masterfully created stories.

* Do you not care about your company's history? If you do this right, what do you want your legacy to be 75 years from now?

The legacy of DC Entertainment, and DC Comics before it, is based on the creativity of our editors and our creative talent, and our commitment to the best storytelling possible.  DC has always been about character development and growth.

Take Batman for example.  In the early days he was a vigilante who brandished a gun.  Then he morphed into a whimsical character and then in the 1960's he became more of the gritty, grim avenger of the night.  We can all agree that we are glad Batman evolved.

Our goal is to create a watershed moment for DC Entertainment - and the industry as a whole - where fans will remember this as a time of innovation while maintaining DC Entertainment's commitment to creating entertaining and masterfully created stories.

* Specifically why end Action and Detective before they reach their 1,000th issues? Action Comics is the longest running American comic book, followed closely by Detective Comics, the company's namesake. Isn't renumbering these series actually a retreat from the love of "comics as comics"?

Our Co-Publishers and editors thought long and hard about this.  It was an extremely important decision that was not taken lightly.  But executing this unprecedented event meant taking creative risks on every level and pushing forward with big, new ideas.  A partial renumbering would not have had the impact we needed to showcase the amazing changes and direction we have planned for the new DC Comics universe of characters.  Counting issue numbers is focusing on the past, not the future.

* Can this event fix/undo an event I don't like from the past?/ Can this event bring back a character from the past that I miss?/ Does this event change the status of (insert pretty much any character here)? What would you say to someone whose favorite superhero no longer exists?

Characters are always evolving in the DC universe and part of the evolution means that characters come and go. While not all current characters will be part of the new DC Comics line of books, we are confident the ambitious plan we are creating will introduce a new generation of protagonists and antagonists that will captivate readers.

We are kicking things off with our best and brightest characters and what makes them so compelling and great.  Simply because you don't see a personal favorite in the September launches doesn't mean your favorites are gone.  This is just the beginning.

Variants

For variants, we chose our core iconic titles..  And of course, we sought out those titles with the most compelling visuals.  This variant program will continue for September, October, and November at least.  We will be offering variants on five different titles, effectively one each week.  Some specifics so far:

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 VARIANT EDITIONS

There will be 1:25 and a 1:200 (yes, we're ordering the 1:200 - Scott)

VARIANT COVERS

There will be limited variants for each of the following, plus a 1:200 (No, we don't know if we're ordering those for these titles - Scott)

·        ACTION COMICS #1 VARIANT EDITION
Cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

·        BATMAN #1 VARIANT EDITION
Cover by Ethan Van Sciver

·        GREEN LANTERN #1 VARIANT EDITION
Cover by Greg Capullo

·        THE FLASH #1 VARIANT EDITION
Cover by Ivan Reis and Tim Townsend

--

More soon.

-Scott.

Flames of War: D-Day 2011 Recap

Every year we run a large, multi- player and table event near the anniversary of D-Day to honor and remember the day and all who served during the war to end all wars.  To celebrate this anniversary we run this massive Flames of War event.  I know that I've already posted information about the day and how the event went, but now it is time to show some pictures that we now have from this day.

As today is the 4th of July, I figured it was appropriate to get these up today! Happy 4th of July to everyone who is celebrating today here in the States!

If you want to read more about the event, check out the blog post from June: D-Day

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Free RPG Day Recap

Brave adventures, 

those of you who are still standing... 

we salute you!

Saturday June 25th, 2011

The Day

Now that the dust has settled and the players have rolled for some great prizes, we are going to recap the day and let people know the highlights so that they can better understand the craziness that they participated in or missed out on.  If you did miss out... where were you????? Free RPG Day falls in the middle of June on a Saturday yearly, so you should make it next year! 

 Costumes

 The Staff even got involved with the fun of coming in costume to the event. If you notice in the picture above, even some of our DMs got dressed up. Sean, Brittani, and Stasi all went out to the front of the store to pose for pictures, next year YOU should come in costume also!

 Tables

Over the course of the day we ran many different events.  We set up several different tables so that players would be able to see the signs letting them know events and times for different games. We were able to have 4 tables with 4 different time slots for games all day.  We also set up tables for free stuff and for demo games of board and card games that are RPG-like (Castle Ravenloft, Thunderstone, etc).  With all the great demo games we ran with the FREE RPG Day adventures, as well as some special RPG demo events we ran with materials from previous years, including some L5R and source material from the past 2 years for Star Trek, we had full tables for all the events.
 

  Live Action

One of the oddest events of the day was our live action D&D Event! We created 6 different characters with very basic stats and then created 2 killer boss monsters with their crazed minions! So if you wanted to face off against the Crazy Samurai or the Insane Wizard you could chose your class from Fighter, Wizard, Ranger, Cleric, Monk, or Warlock.  As the event went on, we learned about the the characters we built... and darn can we build some killer basic characters!  On the fly, we had to make the bad guys just a little tougher to challenge the players.  We also needed a few more minions to round out the combats.  Next year, we will make sure it is EPIC and maybe even add on a dragon!

 FREEBIES

 By the end of the day we had given away almost all the FREE RPG Day event product.  We also had a free contest where every event you played in got you a checkpoint.  When you had to leave for the evening you got a D20 to roll and you got to add +1 to the roll for each event you were in!  Depending on what you rolled, you got a choice of prizes, just for coming in to play some FREE games.  Another great free item was from Dapper Devil. Dapper Devil sent us these great tiles that make D&D tracking fantastic.  If you have not seen there product, check them out here: Dapper Devil, or stop in and check out what we have here in-store. They also make great tokens for creatures in Magic, so stop in and see a sample here at the Dragon's Den!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Wizards Ban announcement 6/20/11

Ok, so Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has finally added new cards to their ban list, the first time in Standard in a very long time.  What does this mean for the game, and what does it mean in general.....

Well it does make me wonder why? Why did they make this announcement with only a few months before rotation and both Jace and Stoneforge would leave Standard anyway? Why did they put Stoneforge in the Event Deck when they had to know what the format was doing before they created the decks? Why did they allow the format to stagnate for so long?

Wait a minute.... are you saying you have no idea what I'm talking about??? Well you need to read what WotC has to say about the new banned cards!

FREE RPG Day Saturday June 18, 2011 the 12:30 Time

So it is now 12:30 and we will be starting the next time slot for all the FREE RPG Day events.  This hour we have Dragon Age, Savage Worlds, Arcanis, and a pick up game of Dungeon Crawl Classic! From where I am standing, I can also see Dave setting up for a demo of Castle Ravenloft, the board game, Thunderstone the deck building game, and Ascension the deck building game.

So just to let people know, we have 6 players with a game master in Savage Worlds, 6 players with a game master in Dragon Age, 4 players and a game master in Arcanis, and 7 players with a DM in Dungeon Crawl Classics. So many games and so much more to come today.

We will also start our version of the D&D Live Action Event! Come in and play as a Wizard, Warlock, Fighter, Ranger, Cleric, or Monk.  Take on the Crazy Cultists and there master: either the Evil Wizard or Evil Samurai!

Don't forget, the more events you play in the better the bonus on your prize die roll. We have some great FREE prizes for FREE RPG Day, but to get the really, really, really good prizes, you need to participate in events.

We also have some great samples of some fantastic new tokens made by Dapper Devil!  If you have not seen these, you might want to take a look.  We have some here, but I know there are so many more out there.  Check them out at Dapper Devil. They also make some really cool Magic the Gathering Tokens, so come in and see a sample of them as well!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks