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Snap *censored* Pop Culture

February 2024 Marvel Comics

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Introduction

The end of the week got busy. We went to the Botanical Garden with Mom and then I drove her back to the train station. We spent yesterday painting the front room and dining room. And, so, in true 2 Generations Gaming fashion, February 2024 Marvel Comics article comes two days too late. Such is life. I also have no plans for the coming week as far as articles, so the page might go slightly dormant. I do have notes finally for the next episode of Noob’s Book Club, so maybe I will take this week to get back in the habit with that and the YouTube page.

Incomplete (Spider-Man Gang War)

Previously in these articles, I said I was out on Spider-Man until Wells stopped writing it. Seriously, I hated his stories that much. But, I heard good things about Gang War. I was willing to give it a chance, but my hiatus from DCBS ordering put a 3 issue hole in the run, so it will have to wait until I can make it down to That’s Entertainment or order from Midtown.

Decent (Cap and Punisher)

I want to enjoy J. Michael Stracynski’s Captain America. I loved his Spider-Man. So far, though, I want more from this Captain America story. I liked the start of it, but the set up is now going on too long. He writes so much. I think I’m just getting more impatient in old age. Speaking of old age, it hasn’t been kind to my opinion of The Punisher.

Good (Some bordering on great, others hurt by their art)

The Immortal Thor 6

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Writer: Al Ewing, Artist Martin Coccolo

The Avengers is one of the titles that oscillates between good and great. This one sets up for a new story, which looks like it might be great, but we have to wait to see. I never got into the previous Black Panther story, but I like what Ewing has done with the character and story. This one might push up into great soon. I loved Al Ewing on Immortal Hulk and I think this one might eventually get there, too. For now, I will just say that I liked the vibe of this issue and hope it continues. Speaking of Al Ewing, they are trying to keep the horror theme of his Hulk. PKJ isn’t quite on his level. And, the art is just not great. Gronbekk is making me enjoy Venom again. She writes the title with some joy and that is infectious.

Great (Where’s She Hulk?!)

Writer: Ryan North with various artists
Writers: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, Artist: Kev Walker

Without She-Hulk for some reason this month, only these two stand up as outstanding stories right now. Fantastic Four just brings that old school flavor from the beginnings of the title. Fun, fresh, and (dare I say it) fantastic! It looks like they want to capture a similar theme for the movie, so now I can’t wait to see that. The Grootfall story took some time to grow on me, but overall Guardians of the Galaxy also reminds me of the family that I know and love.

The Verdict

The February 2024 Marvel Comics line up, overall, was enjoyable. I want to read Spider-Man, because I miss the friendly neighborhood wall crawler. I also still need to catch up on X-Men so I can start reviewing that one. Then again, I read something like a dozen books, so do I really need more right now? In any case, see you in March!

On the Tabletop

MTGMKM Miscellany

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Introduction

I dedicated this week to the new Magic the Gathering set. In spite of the fact that I told Chris that I no longer wanted to collect cards and went so far as to not order any bundles in Arena, I still like the game and found some cards to enjoy in this set. Yesterday was busy, though, with play practice and swim, so MTGMKM miscellany comes a day late.

Usually in this article, I cover multi colored, colorless, and any lands that capture my imagination. Often, I don’t care much about things like fetches and the sort, so the lands section doesn’t exist. This set, however, brings us an old standard in lands with a new twist.

Surveil Lands

We have tap lands that grant life. We have ones that allow you to scry. They even created lands that come in tapped depending on how many lands you already have on the battle field. Well, this iteration of tap lands allows you to surveil. You can read the card above for an explanation of surveil. While I don’t know how much it will affect competitive decks, graveyard strategies absolutely get a boost from these and I’d probably run them over the scry lands. Plus, they’re basics, so you can fetch.

MTGMKM Mult Colored Honorable Mention (Another Wrath and Two Funny Names)

Private Eye

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I saw an article recently where someone wrote about the sheer number of wrath spells in standard Magic. One of the prominent and well known players put together a deck with only wrath spells and ended up performing pretty well overall in the meta. I just like the flexibility of this one. How can you not love an “X” cost spell that both targets “X” and creates “X”? Finally, people got big mad when WotC announced the change to typal, but it allows for broader definitions like “detective”. Maybe, even though resources are limited, I will try to build a “detective” typal deck.

MTGMKM Card I Love (A New Leyline)

Leylines came out in Guildpact and then fleshed out more over the years. I rarely play any of them, but my latest elf deck has abundance in for the extra mana provided. Initially, I thought nothing of this card, but then I read an article that talked about how much fun it made mono green devotion. That gave me a reason to either craft or try to pull it in Arena. Besides, the dual mana cost provides such amazing utility, too. Just a super fun card overall.

MTGMKM Artifact Honorable Mention (A Puzzle, A Land, and Policing Fun, of course)

Cryptex

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I think I wrote up above about colorless being part of MTGMKM miscellany. However, there aren’t many colorless cards in the deck, so I called and audible and went with artifact instead. I just like the idea of the Cryptex. It provides mana and potential card draw. The Wall lets me frustrate big giant creatures, one of my favorite past times in game. And, the land just gives you another potential card draw source along with flexible mana.

MTGMKM Artifact Card I Love

I actually got to play this card during their introductory event on Arena. It is a super annoying card that with the right build can just annihilate people fairly quickly. Now that I’ve said that, the universe will see fit to pair me with every other person who had the same idea in Arena. They will draw the nuts and show me just how right I am.

The Verdict

MTGMKM miscellany is hella fun. I can see myself playing every card that I picked and several others look interesting as well. I especially want to build the mono green deck in Arena and see how that performs. See you all in Pioneer!

Images taken from Mythic Spoiler.

On the Tabletop

MTGMKM Gruul Edition

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Introduction

I wrote in my previous article that I think I may have stopped collecting Magic the Gathering. I still like to play, but I’m at the point where I can’t justify paying the prices they want for boxes and bundles, especially when they keep reducing the value. Ah, capitalism. Well, this is the first set in a few years that I only bought the Mastery Pass on MTG Arena, too. No packs. Well, everything comes to an end. Not my review articles, though. Join me for MTGMKM Gruul edition.

Those who visit often know that I identify heavily as a blue mage. But, I branched out recently into black mana and a few decks add white for Esper colors. Red and Green often baffle me. Not recently, though. Over the last few sets, I found it easier and more enjoyable to pick the cards for this article.

MTGMKM Red Honorable Mention (Professor Plum in the Study, a fish, and a Dargon!)

Knife

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Not so this time! Not for red anyway. I looked at these cards and looked at these cards and looked again. Then, I picked some old trash for this section simply to have something to write about. They leaned heavily into the “Clue” theme with artifacts that have the same name as the weapons in the game. Also, they went pretty hard with the pun cards in red at least. There’s “Red Herring”, but there’s also “Frantic Scapegoat” and the art is a literal goat. I picked the dragon in honor of Chris.

MTGMKM Red Card I Love (Doing Red Things)

I genuinely love this card, though. Empty your hand of spells, cast this in disguise, turn it, and refill your hand. While only a common, this card does what red does and it does it amazingly well. Granted, it ends up being a little bit expensive, even at the lowest disguise cost. Still, I see this thing getting quite a bit of play.

MTGMKM Green Honorable Mention (Surprise Tree Attack, Flashy Enchantment, and Fantastic Mr. Ferox)

Hide in Plain Sight

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The green cards came a little easier to me. I immediately picked my favorite card and then focused on some other cards that changed the narrative on some of the mechanics in the set. The trees come out “cloaked” instead of disguised. The Ferox requires your opponent to collect evidence (a mechanic I haven’t discussed yet, but the card explains the card) to target it and the enchantment is just a fun little surprise to pull on your opponent.

MTGMKM Green Card I Love

Hey, look, another card that lets you play lands recursively from the graveyard. This one will find a home in my Landfall commander deck. I feel like I’m saying that a lot lately. But, what do I cut in order to fit all these new cards in? Come back later and maybe I’ll write an article about it in the next month or so.

The Verdict

Some things are back to normal with MTGMKM Gruul edition. I found no synergy with the red cards this time other than the goblin. Then, I picked a card for my Landfall deck and it gave me an idea to take a look at that deck again. Come back in a couple of days for the rest of the cards.

Images taken from Mythic Spoiler.

Digital Playground

Marvel SNAP February 2024: Black Order

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Introduction

Let me get this out of the way and diminish my nerd cred further. I have no idea who or what the Black Order is. Even after a quick look at the Wikipedia page, I have no idea. Oh well, it won’t stop me from bringing you my thoughts on the latest update in the game Chris once called “War with additional features.”

New Locations

Neither of these locations wow me as much as some others in the past. I do like the idea of getting a random 6-cost card from my “Ones” deck, so that will be nice when I play that one. Independently, the Infinity Stones can either be game changing or a complete whiff. Like the actual stones, their real power comes from playing all of them and getting the buff on Thanos as a result. So, I will most likely curse that location when it shows.

New Characters

Proxima Midnight

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When this is discarded, jumps to your lowest-Power location. (that isn’t full)

Nope. Not even seeing the cards brings any recognition. I have no idea who any of these people are. Luckily, I don’t need to know who they are in order to play the cards. And, I will play Black Swan and Cull Obsidian without a doubt in my “Ones” deck. I don’t play discard very much, as I mentioned in the previous article about Marvel SNAP. So, I doubt that I will prioritize Corvus Glaive or Proxima Midnight unless I get a quest for discards. I like the idea of Supergiant in an reveal deck and it also sets up a pretty cool Hela in the right discard deck.

The Verdict

I’m not as excited about the Black Order update as I was Planet Hulk. Granted, not knowing the characters or story diminishes my enjoyment some. But, also, the cards and locations aren’t as much fun, either. Plus, next month is X-Men vs. Avengers and I’ll be looking forward to that. I still plan on playing enough to get all of the goodies. See you in game, SNAPers.

Note: Images taken from Marvel SNAP Zone.

On the Tabletop

MTGMKM Esper Edition

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Introduction

I texted Chris the other day and said, “As much as it pains me, I think I’m done buying cards for collection alone. The boxes are just becoming too expensive and there’s other things I would rather spend my money on.” I still enjoy the game. I included the caveat that some of the money would go to singles for my decks. And, also, in service to all of you, I continue my set reviews. Welcome, then to MTGMKM Esper edition.

With all of that said, I paid no attention to the spoilers for this set. Chris and Jason both agreed. Jason said that the names are getting more and more ridiculous. Maybe, he just mentioned the setting. Chris said something about not liking the mechanics. I think he called them “goofy”. But, I looked at the cards and made my choices. Tell me what you think.

White Cards Honorable Mention (Removal, removal, recursion)

Call a Surprise Witness

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You all know how much I love a wrath. And this one comes with upside if you control the most creatures in the game. Not tough to do if you’re playing mono white tokens. You may not know, but I’ve become enamored with instant speed targeted removal, too. Something about it just makes me giggle. The last card, while sorcery speed, allows you to cheat the system some if playing Tiny Leaders or White Weenies in EDH. You can bring your commander back once without paying the penalty.

MTGMKM White Card I Love (Speaking of White Weenies)

This card takes a traditionally green mechanic and slaps it onto a white card. It further warps that mechanic by allowing you to pull a small creature from the top of your deck instead of a land. This card is just waiting to be abused in commander with the right deck.

MTGMKM Blue Honorable Mention (A New Mechanic, Stun, and What Library?)

Bubble Smuggler

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Disguise looks like morph or manifest. But, it gives the token ward, which is a nice touch. That makes it slightly more persistent and able to be flipped on a later turn. The stun card both bypasses any counter ability, including the aforementioned ward. It also gives you two turns to find an answer instead of one. Lastly, the Living Condundrum is just a silly card.

MTGMKM Blue Card I Love (Your Card is My Card Now)

That triple blue is steep and this probably won’t see play outside of commander, but I’ve been surprised before. I just like the idea of combining this with some targeted removal on their huge threat and using it against them. Sure, there are more efficient ways of accomplishing that, but certainly not as fun.

MTGMKM Black Honorable Mention (Another New Mechanic, Flash Enchantment, and “Oops, Pow, Surprise!”)

Case of the Stashed Skeleton

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The case cards looks similar to the Saga cards and I mistakenly thought they were the same, but the trigger is different. Not sure how I feel about them. The other enchantment brings some interesting possibilities in my wildest dreams. The last card just brings instant speed removal in a different form. Plus, the added lifelink and investigate feels like overkill on a one mana card.

MTGMKM Black Card I Love (It’s a Killer)

Massacre Girl came out after a similar card hit Hearthstone. I remember when I saw it and immediately thought of that card. It takes on a slightly different flavor in this one and brings back wither. Plus, that flavor text is simply amazing.

The Verdict

The cards in the MTGMKM Esper edition, overall, are underwhelming. Some cards are fun and I can see myself playing them. But, I think my decision to stop purchasing for collection came at the right time. Come back in a couple of days to see how red and green compare.

Note: pictures taken from Mythic Spoiler.

Snap *censored* Pop Culture

DC Comics December 2023: Great, Good, Decent

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Introduction

As promised yesterday, I’m back today with DC Comics December 2023. I feel like the recent shake up of creative teams hasn’t worked as well this time as the previous few. I understand that I need to give the teams time to figure things out for themselves and their readers. But, I just enjoyed Rebirth and the ensuing stories better than Dawn of DC so far.

The thing is, the titles haven’t been outright bad. They’re just inconsistent so far. Therefore, I guess that makes my case for me that I just need to give them time to figure things out. Before I write the actual reviews, I will say that both Batman and Catwoman look good at a glance. One final note: I only ordered 7 books this month, so I will structure this article more like the independent one and review each book individually.

Batman #139 (Legacy: 904)

Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Jorge Jimenez. Now, this is more like it. I’ve been saying about Marvel Comics for the last few months that going back to basics worked for them. Batman takes that advice with this story. Batman. Joker. A string of dead bodies and threats to those Batman still holds dear. Keep it up. My verdict: Good, almost great.

Catwoman #59

Writer: Tini Howard, Artist: Stefano Raffaele. Speaking of keeping it simple, I started reading Catwoman again when Joelle Jones rebooted it. I loved the style and attitude that she brought to the book. It suffered some when she left, but Ram V wrote a good cat, as he does everything. I think Howard has the ability to give Selina the same edge that Jones did. The one thing that distracts me is the art is a bit too male gaze for the female voice of the character. My verdict: Solidly good.

Detective Comics #1076 and 1077

Writer: Ram V, Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander. Ram V takes another tactic. He turns the narrative on his head. It’s not a completely new story, but Batman: Outlaw puts Bruce in the crosshairs as the captured villain in Arkham. The story works well with V’s storytelling capability. I know some (most notably my co-conspirator Chris) didn’t like JSA on Spawn. It was different, but I liked it for what it brought to that story. I think it does the same here. My verdict: Great.

Superman #8 (Legacy 851)

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Various. This one takes a bit of a step back from the previous issues. For a while there, DC Comics turned my world on my head. Superman was the best book and I wasn’t enjoyingBatman at all. I still like what Williamson is doing with the book. I just thought this one brought in too much from outside the story and it distracted from what’s been making the book fun. My verdict: Good.

Wonder Woman #3 (Legacy 803)

Writer: Tom King, Artist: Daniel Sempere. This one disappointed me most. The curse of high expectations and all that. I loved Tom King’s run on Batman. He understood the character and wrote it with great care. I feel like too much of that is seeping into Wonder Woman’s character. He righted the ship some with the previous issue, but this one has that same muddling. The story is good. I just can’t get used to King’s interpretation of Wonder Woman. I’ll give it time. My verdict: Decent.

The Verdict

DC Comics December 2023 brings some consistency to the books. I look forward to Batman and Catwoman going forward. Ram V’s story in Detective is great. Williamson’s Superman took a step back with too much supporting story, but the main story is still great. I still have faith that Tom King will figure out Wonder Woman sooner rather than later.

Get your books at DCBS. Not a paid promotion. I just genuinely like their customer service.

Digital Playground

Marvel SNAP December 2023: Hellfire Gala

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Introduction

The first week of the month generally means time for comic reviews. I promise that they’re coming. The comics arrived in the mail. I sorted them. I need to read them and review them. Before the end of the week. Besides, when I logged in earlier, the game reminded me of the Marvel SNAP December 2023 update.

They went with the Hellfire Gala this time. Without a major TV or movie release, I suppose they decided to take a cue from the comics this time. Though, I think the Hellfire Gala was a couple of months ago because right now they’re doing the “Fall of X” story line in the books. I forgot to order my comics for December, so maybe next month I finally get caught up on X-Men then.

New Locations

Neither of these locations wows me a ton. I like the idea of extra energy but rarely feel like I get to use it regularly. Perhaps by exploiting that imbalance each turn, I can play cards a turn earlier. Feels like a “win more” strategy. The white palace gives you a copy of an expensive card. Big deal.

New Cards

Selene

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On Reveal: Afflict the lowest-Power card in each player’s hand with -3 Power.

None of these cards speaks to me like the ones from the previous month. I generally don’t play buff decks, so Shaw and Havok won’t see much play from me. I like the idea of Blob as a troll card at the end of the game. I see no utility in Selene at all. She just feels really underpowered. Maybe late game if you haven’t played either of your Gobbys and you hit one of their bigger cards with it. So, some utility, I suppose.

The Verdict

The previous month interested me more than Marvel SNAP December 2023. I will still spend cash on the rewards track because I always finish it and it feels like good value. But, I doubt that I’ll play any of the cards other that to complete the special quests that they give you monthly to entice you to play the cards. Hey, I don’t mind the treadmill.

Pictures SNAPed from Marvel SNAP Zone.

Uncategorized

Morte’s Planar Parade: Planescape

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Introduction

I explained in the previous article why I defaulted to the reviews of the Planescape books instead of regaling you with mine and Quinn’s adventures aboard a haunted pirate ship. Relax. I promise that those adventures are coming. I promise. For now, let’s take a look at Morte’s Planar Parade.

The book, like the other three book collections in 5e, follows the tradition as a monster manual for the planes. In the introduction, it talks about magic and what happens when the some dies on one of the many planes. It then gives a description of how the planes affect the beings that live there. Finally, it shows some tables of different possibilities for encounters on the planes.

Your Humble Host

The conceit of this one is that the being that put together the bestiary is the handsome fella up there. Names “Morte”. He claims to be a Mimir, which is a magical construct that contains information about the planes that they tell to adventurers lucky enough to come across one.Morte, apparently, specializes in planar beasts. Or, so he says. I leave it up to you to judge for yourself if he is actually what he says he is.

The Bestiary

It lists 55 different beasts that can be found on the many planes. Since they gave the rule (you know how much I love this one) in the first book that basically, in the multiverse, “there are no rules” then 55 seems like a shockingly small number. Then again, I come from a time in the game where the monster manual introduced hundreds of new characters with each setting. But, I understand that publishing costs (like everything else) rose over the last 30 years and they give us what they can. For what’s included in the book, I like most of the monsters and can fill in the blanks.

The Verdict

Morte’s Planar Parade delivers on the promise of adding new monsters to the game. I also laughed more than once at the ridiculous commentary by Morte. He wasn’t as funny as Fizban. Then again, I have more history with Fizban. Perhaps old Morte will grow on me over the years.

Digital Playground, On the Tabletop

MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 1: Mechanics and Keywords

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Introduction

I realized a few weeks ago that both Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone released expansions this week. Instead of reviewing both sets individually (who has time for that?), I decided to write a series comparing the two sets. I, then, further refined the series by splitting it into three parts, mechanics/keywords, story, and art. MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 1 brings mechanics and keywords.

Having never written this type of article before, I have no idea how to approach it. Do I write it as if it was a true battle of the card battlers and come up with a victor at the end? Or, simply give a summary of the two sets and allow the reader to make up their mind. Now that I see that written, that makes the most sense. So, be prepared to make a decision by the end of the week.

Showdown in the Badlands Mechanics and Keywords

According to the Blizzard expansion page, Showdown in the Badlands only introduces two new keywords, Quickdraw and Excavate. For those of you who play Eternal, Quickdraw sounds familiar. However, in Hearthstone it has a completely different effect. Cards with the keyword get a bonus if you play them the turn that they are drawn. The card below gives you an example. If you play this on the turn it enters your hand (so it can be discovered, not drawn is how I interpret that), you get a coin. If you combo it with another card, you get a coin. According to my rudimentary research, you can only generate one coin with this. So, small miracles. Yes, that pun was intended.

Excavate, on the other hand, only applies to certain classes. By my understanding, other classes can excavate cards through Discover, but you don’t get a pay off of the legendary treasure. You simply cycle through the Common-Rare-Epic treasures. If you want to see the various treasures and their rarity level, check out this guide at Hearthstone Top Decks.

Aside from the keywords, the only notable mechanic that I see returning in the set is “Highlander” decks. So called because they only contain one copy (get it?!) of each card, some cards in the game pay off for just such a deck. The most prominent is the original Reno, which healed your character back to full health in the case of only one card left in your deck. Others came along like Kazakus and Zephrys that were fun, but the only ones that really caught on long term were priest cards. Well, Reno is back and he wants your Highlander deck again.

Lost Caverns of Ixalan Keywords and Mechanics

The other reason I didn’t want to directly compare the two sets is that Magic the Gathering is a much more complex game than Hearthstone. Therefore, with each set release, they have more keywords and mechanics. They also have cycles in each set that share a commonality. If you’ve never played the game, you care nothing about those. On the other hand, if you have, then you probably already know all of this. If you somehow exist in another subset of those possibilities, you can read more here.

The two brand new keywords in the set are Craft and Descend. Craft allows you to transform an artifact into a more powerful artifact with a mana and additional cost. Descend refers to your graveyard. You can descend by putting a card into the graveyard. You can check your descend score with an “X” value.

The Verdict

No, I didn’t lie. You won’t find any actual verdict here at the end of MTG vs. Hearthstone Part 1. Instead, I leave you with a question. Which of the keywords has you most excited, interested, or wondering. Are there any that you can see yourself building a deck around? I, for one, love the idea of Reno and I’m putting that in my decks.

Snap *censored* Pop Culture

A Note About the FNAF Movie

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Introduction

My kids went to see the FNAF movie on Thursday. They actually put together a group of their friends and took over a movie theater for the event. When I heard, I got the idea to maybe record a special episode of Noob and Sons with them.

Then, I talked with each one of them about the movie. None of them seemed overly impressed with the movie. Because I like to promote positivity whenever positive, I don’t want to release a podcast basically trashing it. So, I collec their thoughts here and put the whole mess behind us hopefully.

Quinn – “It was Okay”

Christine and I both asked him the night of the movie when he returned home. He replied, “It was okay.” But, he reported that he had fun and that’s all that matters. He also told us a funny story about one of his friends who got scared during the movie only when a truck honked its horn. For the record, Quinn is very much like me when it comes to entertainment. His “It was okay” means that he’s pretty disappointed with the whole ordeal.

Aiden – “They Made it for Kids”

Of the three, Aiden sounded the most positive. He said the movie, for what it ended up being, was okay. He didn’t like that they geared it too much for kids. His final complaint is that they should have followed the game more. When I said I only recently played the game, he confessed that he never played it much, either. So, no big surprise, but our horror kid wanted the movie to be scarier.

Liam – “The Problem is the PG-13 Rating”

He said this the other day when we watched Scream as a family. He made the connection because of Matthew Lillard. I need to watch something good with Matthew Lillard in it. “So,” I replied, “you didn’t like the movie.” During his answer, he said this. I asked, “The games aren’t that violent, are they?” He laughed and said they are. It’s mostly pixelated violence, I guess, but they do show people being dismembered and such. Well, I guess I never witnessed that in my quick playthrough last week.

The Verdict

I also considered watching the movie myself and giving my thoughts when I learned that they released it on streaming at the same time. So, for now, we put this subject to rest with the knowledge that all three Lucas-Mullen kids came away disappointed with the FNAF movie.