Category Archives: On the Tabletop

Adventures from cards, miniatures, pencil and paper RPGs, and other old fashioned games from before the internet ruined everything.

On the Tabletop

2 Guys Game LotR Commander

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Introduction

I mentioned once or twice over this most recent iteration of the page that I more or less made it into an online journal for myself with some ambition of still trying to find like minded gamers. It humbles me to say that even with my new focus on maintaining a presence through the book club and YouTube series that second goal still eludes me. But, as it is a minor secondary goal, I don’t feel too bad about it. In the interest of the first goal, I present 2 Guys Game LotR commander.

Before that, though, I need to remark that Chris and I talked a couple of times about bringing back the main podcast. He mentioned it again at the end of our gaming session the other day. Our other companion, Jason, said, “You have a podcast?” I remarked, somewhat tongue in cheek, “Well, I have a podcast.” Then, Chris explained that we recorded a few episodes many years ago. I replied that I thought about abandoning the page until I saw that next year is our 10th anniversary. Something to be said for keeping it alive that long.

The Set Up

Chris and I planned to get together before our Germany trip. Something came up and we cancelled again, but promised one another that as soon as we got back, we’d make plans again. Actually true to our word this time, we made plans to play some video games and Magic the Gathering last Friday.

First, some more background. During the time that Quinn and Liam practiced for Willy Wonka, I threw a bit of a fit in the group chat with Chris and Jason. Things got awkward and the chat went silent for a bit. I saw a card in spoilers and wanted to share. Braving the land that I razed, I shared the card in the group chat. Jason and Chris both responded. He accepted my apology and Chris invited him to our game night. He accepted. So, while not inaccurate, the title doesn’t tell the whole story.

The card that repair burned bridges.

The First Match (2 Guys Game LotR commander)

So, how did I, your intrepid author, end up playing cards I talked a bit of smack about only mere months ago? Well, (a) I never claim to be above hypocrisy especially of the gaming variety and (b) Chris and Jason bought the cards and wanted to play. So, when Chris suggested that we try the LotR precon commander decks, I figured, “Why the heck not?”

He gave me the choice of decks. I picked Galadriel because she matched my color scheme that I always get when I play, “What MTG colors are you?” He and Jason flipped for the other deck. Dang. I thought I might want to write an article, but never took notes, so I can’t remember which deck Jason played. I know Chris played Sauron, but swapped out Saruman because of possible mana restrictions. Oh, I just looked them up on Amazon. Jason played Eowyn.

As I looked through the deck and then played, I saw that (probably predictably) the Galadriel deck did elf things. It makes 1/1s, buffs them, and eventually attacks for the win. However, as Chris discovered, the blue mana serves a purpose, too. “It doesn’t matter what deck you get,” he complained when he tried to cast into open blue, “you always get those control cards.”

Nevertheless, in a tale as old as time, I misplayed several turns and ended up with a wiped board and only 6 health. While nobody actually swung against me for lethal, I saw the writing on the wall and scooped. Jason beat Chris, or he scooped, too. In any case, Jason took the win. As Chris later said, “I’m sick of losing to that guy.”

The Intermission

Jason ordered and went to get food for dinner. I ate before leaving and Chris had pizza. So, when he left, Chris fired up one of the EA Sports NHL games. I don’t know the actual number. He and I played one period of hockey (I won 8-4 or something along those lines) while Jason ate. After the game, we contemplated what to do next. More commander, of course? But, LotR again? Or, one of our other decks?

The Second Match

I picked my landfall deck. It’s the most well tuned and the one I play the most, so I stood the best chance at possibly winning. Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor commands that deck. Chris went with Prossh, Skyraider of Kher. Jason picked his dragons over zombies. So, he chose Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients as his commander.

As usual, I raced out to a pretty good head start. I triggered landfall a few times, drew Wrenn and Six, and a sac land. However, again, I realized too late that I misplayed against Chris’s strategy and ran out of gas pretty early. Then again, a Felidar retreat at any point or Emeria Angel earlier in the game put me in a better position to win. That’s just sour grapes, though, because I drew cards to wait out the sacrifice combo that Chris put together for a few turns. So, Jason overran Chris with Dragon Spirits and I died with a possible winning combo in hand.

The Verdict

Jason mentioned during clean up that he had no idea how his deck might fare against “real people”. Chris bristled at the comment, so he clarified it as “competitive” people. Chris again protested, but I owned it. When it comes to Magic, I just want to play and have fun. Win or lose, that almost always happens. So, while Chris and Jason get into a potential arms race, I’m content to just cast my silly elves and plant tokens.

Oh, I want a Craterhoof for my Galadriel deck, though. I hope you enjoyed what might become a series, 2 Guys Game LotR commander.

On the Tabletop

Tales from Middle Earth: MTG Style

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Introduction

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about Tomb of Horrors. I meant forit to be a weekly installment as I worked through the various trials faced by the protagonist in Ready Player One. Then, as you know, life got busy. Well, I still plan to undertake all of those thing. It just might have to wait until after our Germany trip at this point. After all, I still need to figure out what to do for each trial. What does any of this have to do with Tales from Middle Earth?

Nothing, of course. But, you knew that. Sometimes we go off on tangents here at 2 Generations Gaming. I feel like that made more sense in the earlier context when I started writing the article. Now, though, I fail to see my intent. Oh well. Many of you might not read this one because the overall intent of the article comes not to praise Lord of the Rings, but to bury it.

It’s Not Just Me, Right?

I make no secret of my dislike for Lord of the Rings. In fact ,I talked about it again in recent episode of Noob’s Book Club. As a result, that is only one reason why I will be skipping this set altogether. Normally, I buy a booster box and a bundle (by now we all know these were fat packs in the past, but I always feel compelled to explain that) of each set to put into binders for my collection.

However, I don’t have the same connection to Lord of the Rings as many nerds. As such, a collection of cards from that “Universe Beyond” (to use the tag line I saw somewhere describing these sets) makes no difference to me. I texted Chris when I saw the article I will discuss in the next section. He said that Jason geeked out about the set, but he agrees with me that Lord of the Rings is just boring.

The main other reason for not caring about the set is that cards have no legality in Standard. I play mostly Standard on MTGA to finish quests. I play some Historic (if I don’t have the right deck for Standard) and almost no Modern, so the discussion of those formats is also moot and gives me no reason to buy the cards. I guess if some of the cards work in my Commander decks, then I’ll consider them.

Why Do We Keep Having This Conversation?

Once upon a time, I heralded the arrival of the internet as a new golden age of humanity. It gave us access to the wealth of human knowledge. Then, phones put that knowledge in to the palms of our hands. At this point, ignorance became a conscious choice. Boy howdy, have many people made that choice.

It seems like we get finished with one conversation about the skin color, gender, or sexuality of one fictional character and then another pops up. Most recently, people fight over black mermaids and now elves. I used to think that this was ignorant but mostly harmless. Surely, any such discussion is rife with dangerous undertones.

However, I recently saw a clip on Facebook that I reposted. It talked about Edison inventing the light bulb. Then, they discussed Lewis Latimer, the black man who invented the filament and what drove him. Then, of course, I made the connection between that and these idiot conversations. “When people start arguing about mermaids and elves, they are upholding the systems that hold people down.”

The “ONE” Ring

Scrolling through the headlines, I saw that someone offered over 100,000 for this card. That quickly got out of hand and the “bounty” now sits at 1 million or more. Well, when I saw the first article, I reacted as many of the characters in the book. I decided that if I opened the ring, I would throw it in the volcano. Several other people made the same comment. Then I texted it to Chris and we talked about how neither of us had any interest in the set.

Nevermind the irony that probably the most famous metaphor for wealth and power as a corrupting influence now exists in physical form. I acutually appreciate that. At the same time, I recognize the ridiculousness of the whole situation. 1 million dollars. For a single piece of laminated cardboard with some fancy writing on it? I simply cannot with y’all anymore.

The Verdict

Cards based on one of the most boring fantasy stories ever told? Check. Look somewhere else if you want a review of them. For the first time ever, I understand the people who slam Wizards of the Coast as simply only in it for the money. That always feels like such a dishonest criticism in our society. Hey, we’re hyper capitalists, but you aren’t supposed to do things for the money. Say, what? Anyway, those of you who are fans, I hope you enjoy Tales from Middle Earth. I will be skipping this one.

On the Tabletop

Tomb of Horrors First Impression: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

I know what you’re thinking. How have I played Dungeons and Dragons for literally over 30 years and only now be giving my Tomb of Horrors First Impression? Well, let me explain, Judgy McJudgyPants. I started playing with 2nd edition of AD&D. Sure, I bought the release of the “Rules Cyclopedia” with the Dungeons and Dragons brand on it, but I never actually played any of the original content.

So, when Wade finds out that Halliday hid the first key in the actual Tomb of Horrors from Dungeons and Dragons, I started to feel the germination of an idea in the recesses of my brain. It took another couple of chapters for that idea to fully bake and grow, but eventually I came away with what I thought might be a great idea. So, I went on a search for the module.

Surprisingly, I found it easier than expected. Seeing that Gary Gygax first wrote the module in 1975, I thought I might have to pay an exorbitant amount on eBay. Either that or pirate a PDF via one of the file sharing web pages out there. My respect for the game and Mr. Gygax is too great for the latter and my respect for myself is…hold up, let me check eBay to see what I’d have to sell my respect for…69.65? On second thought, maybe I don’t have that much respect for myself. Relax, I resisted buying it, for now. But, that’s only because I discovered that, because 5e represents a renaissance for the game, they republished the module in one of their recent collections.

Structure of the Review

I plan to split the review into three sections; right out of the box, the nitty gritty, and where next? In the first section, I plan to cover the title, setting, hook, and map layout. The second section gets into the plot, encounters, and creatures. Finally, after a discussion of loot and resolution, I intend to talk about paths forward after finishing the module.

Tomb of Horrors First Impression: Right Out of the Box

Title: At first glance, simple and effective. You know exactly what to expect from the module from that title. It follows unwritten (?) D&D convention of naming things “something” of “something else”. Hall of the Storm Giants. Shadow of the Dragon Queen. Tales of the Outer Planes. That kind of thing. Looking at a list of the modules, I guess fewer titles actually adhered to that standard. But, I’m keeping it in. In short, solid title. Rating: Good, but only because I prefer flashier titles.

Setting: As I said with the title, it tells you exactly where you will be spending your time. In a Tomb of Horrors. Expect whatever your mind’s eye conjures when you hear such a thing. Undead? Yep. Potentially deadly traps? Check. Dungeon Crawling one square at a time because the next may bring doom to your party? That’s there, too. Rating: Great, but like most Dungeons and Dragons adventures, it depends on the story telling skill of your Dungeon Master.

Hook: The edition I have (5e) gives a Legend of the Tomb, which explains all of what I talked about up above. It also tells some of the story of the final encounter including the set up that he is nigh invincible. They also write the truth behind the legend as some background information. Finally, they offer some examples of where to place the tomb depending on your campaign and a guide to run the adventure including a prologue on how to start. Rating: Good, but I like to fill in with my own story when I run these things. I like the additional information even if I don’t plan to use most of it.

Map Layout: Like the title, the map layout follows a simple yet effective dungeon design. Unlike some of the dungeons I’ve seen, it doesn’t have a ton of four way intersections or unnecessary rooms. It gives false entrances, and dead ends, though, so not everything is as it seems. But, at the heart of the layout, you get long corridors and rooms that serve a purpose. Rating: Great, but I like a simple dungeon that still brings mystery and intrigue.

Tomb of Horrors First Impression: Nitty Gritty

Plot (with synopsis): The tomb lies buried beneath a hill. It is filled with deadly traps and various monsters. It also offers great treasure to adventurers brave and witty enough to survive the traps and monsters. The dread lich Acererak guards the crypt and the treasure at the heart of the tomb. As a man, he studied ways to extend his life beyond that of even unnatural means. The lich dwelled with the horrors in the halls of the tomb under the hill. Even so, his life force began to wane, so he commanded the servants to rig the traps in the tomb. After that, he destroyed them all and went to rest so that his soul may roam the various planes without being disturbed. Rating: Great, but I’m a sucker for a good lich story. I think I first learned of the creature from the monster manual and actually played a character with a friend to the realm of Raveloft and she achieved the unlife of a lich.

Encounters: Traps galore (ceiling trap, sliding block trap, poison needle trap, covered pit trap, sphere of annihilation, spike trap, and a phasing pit) wait for unsuspecting parties to trigger them and cause a mass reroll. Keep in mind that those are just the ones I saw by scanning through the module for the word trap. The module also boasts secret doors, false entrances, a chamber with three chests to choose, hidden messages, and magical effects. If it exists within the game, Gygax found a place for it in the Tomb of Horrors. Rating: Good, but bump it up to great if you’re a trap player. I’m more of a puzzle guy and there are some puzzles, but I want all the puzzles.

Creatures: Gargoyle. Poisonous (Venomous?) snakes. Greater zombie. Vrock. Flying Swords. Ochre Jelly. Wights. Demilich. For the length of the module, surprisingly low amount of combat. But, those early Dungeons and Dragons modules relied more on the traps and puzzles to keep people interested. At least the ones that I remember kept the hack and slash to a minimum. Rating: Decent. Even as someone who appreciates the more subtle side of Dungeons and Dragons, I’d find myself looking forward to the demilich during every combat.

Tomb of Horrors First Impression: Where Next?

Loot: Alongside the loot from combat and the various chambers, the tomb boasts a hoard of gems worth hundreds of thousands of gold, four magic weapons, twelve potions, six scroll spells of 5th level or lower, a magic ring, magic rod, magic staff, and three wondrous items. Rating: Decent. Those who triumph are rewarded well. However, based on my limited reading of the module, it feels like the level of loot isn’t quite to the level of challenge. Then again, we are the snowflake trophy generation, so maybe my idea of fair is warped.

Resolution: I like that the final encounter can basically only be won (unless you come in loaded for lich) if you refrain from combat instead of going into there with all of your firepower. It puts a nice little bow on top of the module that savvy players will figure out based on the overall theme of the dungeon. Rating: Great. In a time where twists like this ruled the pages of Dungeons and Dragons, Gygax proves again that he is literally one of the two dads of D&D.

Where Next? I came up with this idea because generally when I lead a party through something as a DM, I want to have some sort of idea where they go next. Sometimes you can use it to weave something into the story as a foreshadow. Most of the time, you use the information for yourself to set things up later on down the road. However, I admit now that I painted myself into a corner. Because the adventure plays so great, how do you follow it up?

The Verdict

My Tomb of Horrors first impression is very good to great. I imagine it’s the same for many players. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have endured for so long with such a large following. Maybe one of these days I will even run the module for an actual group. They need someone to advise the Dungeons and Dragons club at my school.

On the Tabletop

MTGMOM Miscellany Edition: Cards I Love

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Introduction

In between an insane schedule mentioned several times before, I finished two set reviews. I even built some terrible decks for each of the Hearthstone classes a couple of weeks ago. Now, with MTGMOM Miscellany Edition, I finish the latest set and we put to rest the dreaded Phyrexians once and for all. Or, do we?

At least in the short term, WotC seems done with the Phyrexians. As recent television and movie projects show us, though, nobody ever truly dies in fantasy and science fiction. So, five to ten years down the road, new Praetors rise to take the mantle and spread the infection. But, for now, let’s lead the resistance.

MTGMOM Multicolored Honorable Mention (Dinos, Vampires, Giant Frogs and other Miscellany)

Borborygmos and Fblthp

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One of the first spoilers I saw was Thalia and the Gitrog Monster. I made the connection then that this last stand against the Phyrexians brought strange alliances between classic characters. That hooked me immediately and increased my interest in the set. What a fun lore and plot device. Then came Mavren and Ghalta. I just now saw Borgy and Fblthp when I went to look at the spoilers, but that just looks like a fun card. Hopefully I get a chance to play some of these at some point.

MTGMOM Multicolored Card I Love (Omnath Compleat)

As the story went along, Omnath became more powerful and mastered more colors of mana. After gaining white, I wondered how they might incorporate black mana. It makes perfect sense to have Sheoldred come in and corrupt the lifeforce and give it access to not only black, but Phyrexian mana, too. I definitely want to build an Omnath deck now.

MTGMOM Colorless Card I Love (New Sword!)

With surprisingly few colorless cards in the block, I picked the only decent one. If you play eternal formats or cubes, then you know the swords of from Magic history. They blessed us with another in this set and finally completed the cycle. I know people are down on current MTG sets, but I love that the designers continue to expand the lore and bring us new ways to enjoy the past while looking to the future.

The Verdict

Too many multicolored cards and too few colorless make this an imbalanced article. But, I consider it a success that, in spite of how busy I am I completed the latest set of Hearthstone and Magic the Gathering. I need to figure things out after recording the next episode of Ready Player One, but I promise an update over the weekend. Thanks for reading my MTGMOM Miscellany edition and I’ll see you again next week.

Spoilers courtesy of Mythic Spoiler. They’ve been my go to for spoilers for as long as I can remember.

On the Tabletop

MTGMOM Gruul Edition: Cards I Love

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Introduction

I wrote a couple of days ago in the Esper edition that I enjoyed playing those colors the most by far out of the color wheel. Not only can I find few reasons that I enjoy playing red, I actually hate playing against red even more. Mono red provides a quick way to either win or lose a game, so I see that deck more than any other on Magic the Gathering Arena. Therefore, at least half of MTGMOM Gruul edition might end up not being very much fun to ready.

I promise to try to keep my bias out of the article, though, and give you a good selection of red cards. Also, while red tilts me every time I see a basic mountain, I enjoy many green cards. So, even if I fail in delivering on the red cards, rest assured that the green cards will live up to our standards here at the page.

MTGMOM Red Honorable Mention (Dinos, Dragons, and Praetor in a Storm)

Etali, Primal Conqueror

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Look at that. I gave you five cards for the price of three in this section to make up for my admitted bias against red. Since red offends me so much, I decided to pick cards dedicated to people I love. I included Etali as a nod to Quinn, who said the other day, “I want to build a dinosaur deck again.” Every time I write one of these things, I need to include the latest dragon as a shout out to Chris. This one looks like an overcosted Goldspan, but it comes with convoke, so a tokens deck brings that down. I included Urabrask simply for the third chapter of the back. That is straight fire in a storm deck.

MTGMOM Red Card I Love (Chandra fixed my mana, gives me options, and goes pew pew)

Even though I gravitated to being a blue mage and worshiping Jace as my lord and savior, my “shameful” nerd admission for this article is that I always had a soft spot for Chandra. Her cards almost always sucked, but I found her character compelling. I like this card, though.

MTGMOM Green Honorable Mention (Atraxa Falls, Kavu Chomps, and Planeswalker Three Manas)

Atraxa's Fall

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I picked Atraxa’s Fall because it removes basically anything you can name. Yes, at sorcery speed (Spikes right now are angrily composing emails to our editor to complain about that), but I found it funny that it lists every card type in the explanation. Goes with our recent trend of including word creep in articles. The Kavu shows off one of the new keywords from the new set. When I saw the new Wrenn, I texted Chris, “They haven’t learned the lesson of three mana ‘Walkers?”

MTGMOM Green Card I Love (Wurmcoil Hydra)

I think I chose the original Polukranos in one of the articles I wrote way back when. I’m far too tired right now to look and verify. Maybe I take a look and update you in the miscellaneous article in a couple of days. Until then, glory in the face of what I texted to Chris as “Wurmcoil Hydra”. Norn went crazy with this one.

The Verdict

MTGMOM Gruul edition brought a surprising amount of cards I enjoyed. I still refuse to admit that either red or green (okay, maybe green) cards bring me any amount of joy. But, when forced to play these colors at the eternal MTG table in Hell, at least I can make some good choices.

Images courtesy of Mythic Spoiler. They’ve been my go to page for spoilers for as long as I can remember.

On the Tabletop

MTGMOM Esper Edition: Cards I Love

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Introduction

Mario in March went less spectacularly that I anticipated this year. I suppose that’s par for the course for us here at 2 Generations Gaming. We get a decent idea, some time to implement that idea, and then life gets busy again. I mean, I never intended for this page to be income, but I see other people doing it and sometimes wonder why it was never us. But, no time to feel sorry for ourselves. I keep this page alive for me and me alone. If someone else finds something they enjoy, great. Besides, a new Magic the Gathering set released. So, time to review MTGMOM Esper cards.

Those who follow the page know that white, blue, and black represent the part of the MTG color wheel where I almost exclusively reside. In all honesty (and why lie?), I prefer blue, play blue and black for utility and for fun (*cough* police *cough), and splash white for maximum fun (*cough* again police *cough*). So, every set, I start truly with cards I love.

White Honorable Mention (Eggs, Like Actual Eggs Not the Deck, Planeswalker Hate and a Wrath)

Attentive Skywarden

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This set introduces some cool new mechanics. Battles (more on those later in the week), backup (might make an appearance tomorrow), and incubate. Incubate mimics the Phyrexian invasion by putting tokens on the field that transform into Phyrexians on certain conditions. Playing MTGA gave me an irrational fear and hatred of Planeswalkers. Cut short helps me deal with that. And, you all know my love for a good wrath.

White Card I Love (Elesh Norn)

The Praetors get one last stand (spoiler alert) in this set and WotC took care of their Phyrexian momma. I texted Chris when I saw the card, “You think they’ll ever make an Elesh Norn that isn’t overpowered?” He replied, simply, “Nope.” It might take a while to get back into the part of the story where they can make another Norn card (again, spoiler alert), but I remain convinced that he’s right.

MTGMOM Blue Honorable Mention (Blue Doing Blue Things and a Knight?)

Transcendent Message

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I mentioned earlier that I mainly enjoy playing blue. I just get an unnatural enjoyment out of frustrating my opponents. I try to curb that impulse when playing against friends. But, on MTGA, all bets are off. So, I’m bringing a card that lets me counter spells and draw cards. Plus, a card that lets me draw my whole deck. Oh, and a knight for some reason. I can’t explain it. I just like the card. Maybe if I ever find myself drafting the set, I will try to bully everyone off knights.

MTGMOM Blue Card I Love (Going to Segovia)

I just learned of Segovia with this set. I needed to go back to the card to check the spelling. Naturally, when I learn something new in one of the games I enjoy, I end up doing some research on that subject. I learned that Segovia is a plane where everything is super small. That made sense, then, why the tyrant is the size of a grizzly bear. Also, you get to see Siege Battle cards in action. Very cool and fun.

MTGMOM Black Cards Honorable Mention (Card Draw, Mr. Take Yo Planeswalker, and Bring Me the Head of Elesh Norn!)

Breach the Multiverse

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Honestly, I just chose Mirrodin Avenged because (a) I liked that plane and hate the Phyrexians. Seeing Karn finally avenge his loss after all this time is awesome. Breach the Multiverse feels like a fun (police) card to play in a 4 player commander game. And, I don’t have enough creatures in my UB MTGA deck to take advantage of that card draw, but I’ve been meaning to put together a token sac deck.

MTGMOM Card I Hate (Glistening Deluge)

I went with a different strategy when picking this card. Hey, when they expect you to zig, you gotta zag! Anyway, when reading the text on these cards (and I think I talked about card text creep last time), I saw this card and it made me pause as a mathematician and minor league logic troll. The phrase “…green and/or white…” includes one too many words. Logically, if a card is green and white, then it is green or white. I remember reading once that Magic the Gathering partially works because the cards logically make sense. This card does, but that extra word just bothers me.

The Verdict

MTGMOM Esper cards in this article feel a little underwhelming when compared with the last set. That’s not to say there aren’t good or powerful cards. I just chose to eschew them in favor of my pet projects and trolling. Hey, when you start your own web page, you can do the same. Heck, you can share the MTGMOM Esper cards you love in the comments.

Card images taken from Mythic Spoiler. Go there for all your spoiler needs. I’m not looking for a deal with them or anything, I just like their set up the best of all the pages.

On the Tabletop

ShadowRun First Impressions

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Introduction

This story starts like so many of my other stories. I went to Humble Bundle and saw that they offered a ShadowRun 5e bundle. Mostly, I heard about the game during the fight over the WotC decision to rework the common license for D&D because they built it on that license. Every now and then, I get an itch to try out Steampunk content. This bundle finally scratches that itch. So, I decided to check out the core rulebook and report back my ShadowRun first impressions.

Can I say again how much I love Humble Bundle? I paid 18 dollars for 17 eBooks and got basically a starter kit for a new tabletop roleplaying game. The trouble, as always, is that I have nobody to play with. I mean, Chris always seems down for something new, but we rarely find the time to get together more than a couple of times a year. We use those for MTG mostly. So, eventually, I need to find a way to enjoy this game solo.

They Have Stories to Tell

Before I talk about the core rulebook, give me some time to tease out that last statement. From what I see online, may nerds have the same trouble as me finding play groups. How can so many of us have the same difficulty without a workable solution? I know that I feel far too old and antisocial to reach out to new players. My most recent playgroups are my youngest son and 3-5 middle school kids at my D&D club.

Sorry about that. As I drove my son to do life guard training (long story not at all related to anything here), I just thought about all of that and it inspired me to share. Now that I have, I can talk about the part of the book that I read so far.

The first couple of sections of the book, as far as I can see, are simply a couple of short stories outlining some of the lore of ShadowRun. While I generally enjoy story telling in games, this time I skipped right by them. Maybe when I come back later to actually play the game, I can give you my opinion on the stories.

Humble Beginnings

Instead, I kept scrolling until arrived at the character creation part. To be honest (am I’m nothing if not honest), I only skimmed this part of the book so far, too. Since I work during the week, I have no time to actually try these games. Therefore, without the proper incentive, I see no reason to make a character yet.

However, I looked through the process and it looks mostly straight forward. However, I liked that they start the generation with your concept and backstory. For someone who prefers the story aspect of games, this feels more natural. Granted, I never have an issue with creating a story based on dice rolled, but I sometimes feel limited when asked to do that.

The Verdict

That’s as far as I got in the book. So, these are very early ShadowRun first impressions. I hope to get some sort of character creation and game play soon and update next month with my thoughts on that. Come back for that and for more as April showers bring us gaming opportunities.

On the Tabletop

Warhammer 40k Gameplay First Impressions

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Introduction

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my progress in painting some miniatures. Emboldened by that progress, I purchased a Warhammer 40k Recruit Edition starter kit from your local multinational conglomerate. As the images later show, I only assembled some of the Space Marines from that set. No paint, yet. In spite of that, I wanted to actually try some game play. As a result, what follows after a brief explanation are my Warhammer 40k gameplay first impressions.

Thankfully, the set comes with a map and some scenarios to teach you the rules in the context of actually playing the game. I still contend that the best way to learn is by doing. So, I sat down last night and I played through the first two scenarios. As he watched me set up the map, Quinn asked, “Is that Dungeons and Dragons?” “No, Warhammer,” I responded, “but it’s similar.” I realized too late that I should have asked him to play. Then, this article could have told parents how accessible the game is to kids. Based on my limited knowledge, quite. But, a missed opportunity in any case.

Band on the Run

This scenario finds three Space Marine soldiers against 5 Necron Warriors. I only assembled and painted 3 Necrons, so two empty based stand in for the other two. Also, as mentioned, no paint on the Space Marines. Next time, all models painted and ready for service. I promise.

Lone Wolf left on the battlefield

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I played through the scenario as read through and applied each rule. Surprisingly, the first two marines went down very quickly. After that, for some reason, the last guy stood his ground and tried to take on all five of the Necrons by himself. I honestly don’t know what I expected. He held his own for 5 or 6 turns before the dice ultimately betrayed him. After that, I came to my senses. Why not just run? The objective of the Marines was to make it to the other edge of the map to “reunite with their brothers”. So, I replayed the last few rounds of the scenario and he easily made it, thus ending in a draw, as the rules stated.

Surrounded!

In the second scenario, a sole Space Marine lieutenant (not 100% sure of the rank, but either a higher ranking soldier or simply a stronger one) squares off against a swarm of Necron bugs. This one introduces the player to close combat and the concept of units.

The official map

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Again, I ended up playing through this scenario twice. The first time, the bugs completely overwhelmed the single soldier. Maybe not completely shocking, but a bit surprising. Every part of the scenario talks about how strong and durable the soldier is and how squishy the bugs are. So, I reset everything, read through the rules again, referenced what I needed from the first scenario, and played again. This time, the marine held his own and eliminated the bugs with ease. That’s more like it.

The Verdict

My Warhammer 40k gameplay first impressions are overwhelmingly positive. The games move at a quicker pace than some other miniature games I played. Some of the rules take time to digest and work through, but that’s true about any game. Like I said in my introduction, I want to finish my armies and get out there and play an actual game. Before that, though, I have a couple of more scenarios to learn a few more rules.

On the Tabletop

Bant EDH Update #1: Cards I Love

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Introduction

I first leaked my plans to build a new Commander deck in my MTGONE Esper Cards article. I continued to refer to the deck in each one of the other articles of the series. Ever since then, I planned to release a Bant Commander update article during this week. However, instead of the planned big reveal of the deck, I can only reveal my commander (or commanders…that’s what we call a tease in the biz, folks) and some other strategery and deck talk. So, this Bant Commander EDH #1 comes in with slightly less fanfare than anticipated.

Now that I chose my commander and theme, deck building should go relatively quickly. Then, once I buy the cards and play against Chris and Jason, I write an assessment. If necessary, I tweak the deck for maximum efficiency or, more likely, maximum fun. Look for those updates in the coming months. For now, join me as I talk about cards.

The Genesis of the Deck

Mondrak, Glory Dominus

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The first cards that caught my eye was Mondrak, Glory Dominus. I considered building around him as the commander. That meant I could include Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines and even swap her in as commander if I wanted. Then, I saw Tekthal, Inquiry Dominus, and everything changed. I needed a UW commander, got less utility from swapping commanders out, and maybe weakened my deck overall. But, you know me. If it ain’t jank, then jank it. Further research showed me that most of the UW commanders weren’t good for the overall token and counters (not counterspell) theme. Enter, green.

Your power is…GREEEEEEN.

Green practically swims in counters of all types. In fact, writing this article reminded me of another card that I used to build a tiny leader deck. Yisan, the Wanderer Bard with proliferate can cheat out all sorts of stupid stuff. Into the 99 you go, Sir.

Bant EDH Update #1: Honorable Mention

Slurrk, All-Ingesting

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In order to find my perfect commander, I searched the Google machine. Initially, I looked for strictly proliferate/token decks, but found few. Either I am on the cutting edge here or I just janked myself into a continued losing streak. Whatever the result, I consider it a win. Then, I just searched Bant commanders and it took me to this page. Kros, Defense Contractor first caught my eye. Being fun police makes me irrationally happy, as you know. The added bonus of giving potential boons to my opponents makes it just the right amount of jank.

Alas, I abandoned the cat for the Angel. Jenara just makes +1/+1 counters ripe for proliferating. But, wait, there’s more! As I scrolled, the page reminded me of partner commanders. First, the Ojutai card and Slurrk also just make +1/+1 counters, but they also fit the jank quota. Second, the Ojutai card and the golem maker fit everything that my deck tries to do. So, it’s settled? Well, not quite.

Bant Partner Commanders I Love

Alharu gives me the +1/+1 counters and tokens that I want. Thrasios gives me card draw and possible ramp. Partner lets me sing Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” whenever I get a chance to cast them both onto the battlefield together. Really, what more can I ask for from a commander deck?

The Verdict

I overpromised a bit with this Bant EDH Update #1. I think I under delivered a bit, too, but that’s okay. It doesn’t happen often enough around here that once in a while is okay. Now that I picked my commanders, though, the rest of the process will take no time to finish. I already got some ideas of cards to include in the deck. I think the next step after building will be to play around with the deck in xMage to get a feel for it. Be on the lookout for that.

On the Tabletop

I Entered a Painting Contest!

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Introduction

A few weeks ago, a post came across my Facebook feed from That’s Entertainment, the best local comic book store within 50 miles of my house. They said that they planned to host a miniature painting contest that was beginner friendly. I, very much a beginner when it comes to painting miniatures, immediately followed the link and signed up. And, so starts the story of how I entered a painting contest.

Technically, I actually entered nothing. They gave us 3 hours to start painting at the store. I took advantage of two of those hours and then wandered around the store for about 45 minutes to look for some back issues and find some new series to read. The latest TMNT story looks awesome and now I think I might order some older trades like the one for “The Last Ronin”.

The Miniature in Question

A few other competitors recognized this monster from their travels in Dungeons and Dragons. They also seemed to come in with plans and color schemes. Since I mostly just played with Quinn and the kids at school, I never encountered a hellwasp in game. I came in with the plan to try to make it look as much like the instructions as possible. To borrow a phrase from The Lego Movie, “I like to follow the instructions.”

I went with what I knew and primed the model black. Some others primed in their primary color and I think I might try that technique on some of my models because I like the look of their models. Also, the black base swallowed some of the highlights from the drybrush and made the model look dark. Another painter said the same thing about his.

Progress Pictures

Back View

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I like that the camera picks up some of the detail that my eye misses. Makes me feel better about my technique. Because, looking at it while I was painting, I felt defeated. Nothing worked out the way I wanted and I started to think that I wasted 15 dollars. Then I saw the pictures and I found the inspiration to keep going. I felt excellent after painting the wings. I really like how they look.

The Finished Product (For Now)

I still have to do some work. It looks too blue for my liking. The actual one has more of a purple look, but that’s not too big a deal. I also want to blend the wings better. But, when I showed it off to my family, Liam said, “That looks cool!” So, I felt even better about it. Join me in a couple of weeks so you can hear the actual story of how I entered a painting contest.