Cryptozoic at GAMA 2012

Cryptozoic had so much to show us at GAMA!  They had information about non-sports cards, deck building games, board games, and trading card games.  I'll try and summarize some of what we saw so that everyone will have a chance to here about what is coming from Cryptozoic.

The Hobbit:

This year Cryptozoic will be releasing 2 different deck building games.  One game will be a bit of a throw back for the Lord of the Rings, and the other will be The Hobbit, Unexpected Journey!  The first one will release in the summer and the second in the winter of 2012.

World of Warcraft:

Well there is so much to say about World of Warcraft (WoW), that it might be easy to do it as a list.  So if you are looking for more information, then try the WoW website to get more details.

• March - Champion Decks: These decks will be pre-cons focusing on main characters from the online game.
• June - Tomb of the Forgotten: The third in the block of current sets.  They will introduce the Forgotten, a monstrous race of paladins.  
• August - Battle of the Aspect Raid:  This is a new Raid deck around Deathwing.
• October -Timewalker: War of the Ancients: A new set with never before seen characters from the lore of World of Warcraft.
• November - Feast of Winterveil Tin: a new holiday tin for World of Warcraft.
• Coming this year will also bring a WoW Deck Building Game: Clash of Champions.

Non-Sports Collectible Cards:

If you are really into pop culture, and you really like to collect, then check out some of these great products that will come out these year.

• Vampire Diaries
• The Guild
• Big Bang Theory
• Smallville
• Fringe
• Tarzan 100th Anniversary
• The Walking Dead

 Other Games

• DC Comics Deck Building Game: using Cerberus Game Engine
• Castle: based on original characters from the Marvel graphic novels
• Capcom Deck Building Game: using Cerberus Game Engine (will work with DC game)
• Batman Arkham Asylum: based on the video game, play as batman or the inmates!
• Archer: Mature Audience... 'nuff said!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Star City Games Invitational Qualifier March 2012

Welcome to our Star City Games Invitational Qualifier for March 2012!

We had a really nice turnout for our first Star City Games Invitational Qualifier (SCGIQ) with 40 players.  We had players come in from as far away as Long Island and NY City.  What was really great was the number of local players that did so well.  Thanks to Steve Carpenter for being a Head Judge for this event!

We also have a resident Magic Card painter.  He will alter cards and custom paint on them for players.  He has done many cards for the store and is doing a nice job. Check out his site: Alterated

Congrats to James Rynkiewicz for winning the event.  He and Chris Brellochs played out an epic game lasting almost 2 hours to complete best 2 out of 3.  

Here are the players and deck lists who were Top 8 in the event:

James Rynkiewicz

UW Delver

4 Geist of Saint Traft

4 Delver of Secrets

4 Mana Leak

4 Ponder

4 Gitaxian Probe

3 Invisible Stalker

4 Vapor Snag

4 Snapcaster Mage

2 Thought Scour

2 Dismember

2 Sword of War and Peace

2 Runechanter’s Pike

9 Island

1 Plains

4 Seachrome Coast

4 Glacial Fortress

3 Moorland Haunt

Sideboard

2 Corrosive Gale

2 Celestial Purge

2 Dissipate

2 Phantasmal Image

1 Batterskull

1 Jace, Memory Adept

1 Revoke Existence

1 Surgical Extraction

1 Divine Offering

2 Timely Reinforcements

Dave Oppenheimer

UB Zombies

4 Gravecrawler

4 Diregraf Ghoul

4 Geralf’s Messenger

4 Diregraf Captain

4 Phantasmal Image

4 Tragic Slip

4 Geth’s Verdict

2 Phyrexian Obliterator

2 Liliana of the Veil

1 Sword of War and Peace

2 Fume Spitter

3 Mortar Pod

4 Darkslick Shores

4 Drownyard Catacomb

14 Swamp

Sideboard

3 Ratchet Bomb

1 Sever the Bloodline

1 Corrosive Gale

1 Mental Misstep

2 Surgical Extraction

2 Black Sun’s Zenith

1 Phyrexian Obliterator

1 Dismember

1 Go for the Throat

2 Nihil Spellbomb

Frank Demerie

UB Zombies

4 Mortarpod

4 Diregraf Captain

2 Phyrexian Metamorph

2 Skirgsdag High Priest

4 Gravecrawler

4 Diregraf Ghoul

4 Geralf’s Messenger

3 Geth’s Verdict

2 Fume Spitter

3 Porcelain Legionnaire

2 Phantasmal Image

3 Tragic Slip

1 Go for the Throat

14 Swamp

4 Darkslick Shores

4 Drowned Catacomb

Sideboard

3 Nihil Spellbomb

3 Corrosive Gale

3 Distress

2 Go for the Throat

1 Cemetary Reaper

2 Phyrexian Metamorph

1 Fumespitter

Jason Arensini

UW Humans

3 Moorland Haunt

4 Glacial Fortress

3 Seachrome Coast

11 Plains

4 Doomed Traveler

4 Champion of the Parish

2 Gideon’s Lawkeeper

3 Gather the Townsfolk

3 Geist of Saint Traft

4 Hero of Bladehold

2 Elspeth Tirel

4 Honor of the Pure

4 Intangible Virtue

4 Oblivion Ring

4 Midnight Haunting

1 Island

Sideboard

2 Revoke Existence

2 Celestial Purge

2 Day of Judgment

3 Mirran Crusader

2 Nihil Spellbomb

2 Leonin Arbiter

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Surgical Extraction

Christopher Brellochs

UB Tokens

4 Doomed Traveler

3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

2 Elspeth Tirel

4 Intangible Virtue

4 Honor of the Pure

4 Oblivion Ring

4 Gather the Townsfolk

4 Lingering Souls

4 Day of Judgment

2 Midnight Haunting

2 Ghost Quarter

3 Vault of the Archangel

4 Evolving Wilds

4 Isolated Chapel

10 Plains

2 Swamp

Sideboard

1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

2 Hero of Bladehold

3 Mirran Crusader

2 Celestial Purge

2 Divine Offering

1 White Sun’s Zenith

2 Doom Blade

2 Surgical Extraction

Douglas Kimball

Wolf-Run Ramp

6 Forest

2 Kessig Wolf Run

3 Inkmoth Nexus

1 Mountain

2 Plains

4 Razorverge Thicket

3 Sunpetal Grove

3 Copperline Gorge

1 Clifftop Retreat

2 Batterskull

2 Green Sun’s Zenith

1 Birds of Paradise

2 Acidic Slime

4 Primeval Titan

2 Solemn Simulacrum

1 Thrun, the Last Troll

2 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

4 Huntmaster of the Fells

1 Gideon Jura

4 Rampant Growth

4 Sphere of the Suns

4 Day of Judgment

2 Ratchet Bomb

Sideboard

2 White Sun’s Zenith

1 Autumns Veil

2 Karn Liberated

2 Ratchet Bomb

3 Celestial Purge

2 Combust

2 Ancient Grudge

1 Ray of Revelation

Lyon Kressner

RG Aggro

2 Hellrider

2 Galvanic Blast

2 Sword of War and Peace

4 Huntmaster of the Fells

4 Green Sun’s Zenith

1 Garruk Relentless

2 Phyrexian Metamorph

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Birds of Paradise

4 Rootbound Crag

4 Copperline Gorge

4 Strangleroot Geist

1 Vorapede

1 Devil’s Play

2 Sword of Feast and Famine

1 Acidic Slime

1 Thrun, the Last Troll

1 Incinerate

1 Daybreak Ranger

2 Kessig Wolf Run

10 Forest

3 Mountain

Sideboard

2 Slagstorm

2 Traitorous Blood

2 Autumn’s Veil

2 Ancient Grudge

1 Thrun, the Last Troll

1 Naturalize

1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast

1 Garruk, Primal Hunter

2 Combust

1 Bellowing Tanglewurm

David Reed

UB Zombies

12 Swamp

1 Island

1 Buried Ruin

4 Darkslick Shores

4 Drowned Catacomb

2 Fumespitter

2 Phantasmal Image

2 Phyrexian Metamorph

3 Porcelain Legionnaire

3 Diregraf Captain

4 Gravecrawler

4 Diregraf Ghoul

4 Geralf’s Messenger

2 Lilliana of the Veil

1 Go for the Throat

2 Mortarpod

3 Tragic Slip

3 Geth’s Verdict

3 Mana Leak

Sideboard

2 Mimic Vat

2 Nihil Spellbomb

2 Surgical Extraction

3 Distress

1 Sever the Bloodline

2 Black Sun’s Zenith

1 Phyrexian Metamorph

1 Ratchet Bomb

1 Cemetary Reaper

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Winner of the GAMA 2012 Outstanding Organized Play!

We of the Dragon's Den are pleased to announce that we are the proud owners of the 2012 GAMA Power Retailing Award for Outstanding Organized Play. Our events manager (Sean "Striderlotr" Banks) and buying manager (Stasi "Dengirl" King) were on hand to receive the reward. For those unable to attend, it was presented during the GAMA Trade Show Dinner on March 13th, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is the non-profit trade organization dedicated to serving the tabletop game industry. The award reflects our success in organizing and running diverse and exciting events in the Poughkeepsie store. This is a national award given by members of the GAMA board, which includes game manufacturers, wholesalers, and other hobby and game store owners.

We are so proud of all our employees who pull together during each of our 1000+ yearly events. Whether it involves the actual running of the events, putting up player lists, the intricate planning of simultaneous compeitions, completing press releases, cleaning the play spaces or simply rearranging the tables and chairs, every employee has proved crucial in one way or another to our continued success. Of course, special thanks must go to Sean for running and planning the majority of events, and to Stasi for writing the winning essay!

Dragon's Den would also like to thank our numerous judges and volunteers who help us run our events (and obviously, they run them well!) Last, but most certainly not least, we would like to thank all of our players. Regular customers who come to our store during any of our events often remark at how kind and polite our player base is to onlookers. New players, be they young or old, are always welcomed into our community, and given every opportunity to learn. Women and men, 10 year olds or 80 year olds, newbies or old-time gamers...everyone of our players is counted individually for what they bring to the table, and as a part of a ever-expanding community. It is our players we thank the most, for being the community that we are confident every store wishes they had.

Thank you everyone for your support, and we hope to announce another award next year!

-Stasi "Dengirl" King

Vanguard and Monsuno New CCGs at the Dragon's Den

So you have played Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or even Pokemon, but now it is time to give a new game a try! With the release of two brand new Collectible Card Game (CCGs) to the market, I thought it would be a good idea to do a quick little blog post about them both.

Cardfight!! Vanguard

This is a hot new CCG that uses a very different type of card mechanic and play area layout.  One very interesting side note about Cardfight!! Vanguard, is that they are sized like a Yu-Gi-Oh! card, so smaller size... finally another use for those smaller sleeves!

The game is designed around having a card in play that is your Vanguard or avatar that you use to attack and defend.  You start with a level 0 Vanguard, and can give it a Rider to increase the level.  You can also play Rear-Guards, but they must be equal or lower level then your Vanguard.  When your Vanguard is hit in combat, look at the critical score on the attacker, and you take that much damage.  When you take 6 damage, you lose... or if you have no cards to draw!

Here are some examples of the larger creatures... and in a very cool foil pattern!  Notice that they have a number of powers: constant and activated.  They also have some serious increase in power level.

The starter comes with a full deck ready to play right out of the box!  It is geared toward a clan and makes it easy to start learning the game. 

Monsuno

This CCG is based on  a TV show with the same name.  The starter is really cool as it allows 2 players to get involved right away with 2 different options for the starters.  It also comes with a booster so that you can customize your deck right out of the starter.  Below is a picture showing off the Monsuno cards for one of the starters: Core-Tech vs Eklipse!

The decks contains Monsumo cards and Strike cards.  Your deck most contain a minimum of 40 Strike Cards and exactly 3 different Monsumo cards with a launch total of no more then 15.  Each deck may contain up to 3 of any given card, but only 1 of a card with keyword Unique.

The game is broken down into turns and each player may do one of three different things: Launch a Ready Monsumo, Attack, or Recover. Combat is broken down into 3 steps: Draw a card from the Strike Deck, choose a card and play it facedown, and both cards are reveled and players check to see which card Dominates.

If you want to learn more, then stop in and give one a try!  I hope you stop in and want to give a new CCG a try.  These games look great and I can't wait to play both so that I get some more experience with each!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Staff at the Dragon's Den 2012

We have had many people stop in and ask... "So do you work here?"  I thought that maybe the staff shirts with our store logo would be a dead give away that we staff here in the store, but then again...

So here is current staff as of 2012.  We took this picture of the staff to use in the Power Retailer Awards for GAMA, and we never got to put it in.  So not to let a fun picture go to waste, I thought I would put it in our blog for everyone on the interweb... I mean the world wide network... maybe ever faceyspace... or twitterpages...

Playing Pieces

Front: Jessica, Amanda, Brittani (dndprincessaria), Stasi (dengirl)

Middle: Bob

Back: Alex, Sean (striderlotr), Scott (therageking), Stan, Rachel, Dave
Not in picture: Soyla

So if you stop in and are wondering who to talk to, well here is what each of the pieces to this great game can do:

Power Behind the Throne: Soyla, Webmaster

King: Dave, Regional Manager... knows some of everything in the store!
Queen: Sean, Store Manager... knows some of everything in the store!

Rook: Stasi, Purchasing Manager... does the purchasing for the store
Rook: Rachel, ebay/shipping

Knight: Bob, lead video game technician
Knight: Alex, video game technician

Bishop: Scott, Comic book manager
Bishop: Brittani, RPG maven

Pawn: Amanda, Cashier/Comics
Pawn: Jessica, Cashier/Retro Games
Pawn: Stan, Miniatures Minion

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks