Here There Be Games - HTBG Blog

Magic lore, it is as vast as it is interesting and there is no end to the questions I receive about it. Today's topic pertains to one of the most asked questions I get. So without further ado, enjoy! "Why are current planeswalkers so much more different than older planeswalkers?" Wow, what a question, now how to tackle that. Well, gather around kids this is going to be a good one. Different yes, but no less fabulous! So let's begin at the beginning, when talking about planeswalkers: you can sort of split them into two groups; pre-mending and post-mending.There is a lot of ground to cover and nearly limited tangients to go on so I will be limiting myself to mostly important events and the basic differences. Now let's break down the meaning behind those names. For the last time the names do not mean 'Bear Blaster' and 'Bear Blaster XTreme' now get out of my office! First up is pre-mending. Planeswalkers used to be very very strong,...

Ob Nixilis is pissed off with his spark returned and Kozilek just showed up to do a slow waltz of decimation with Ulamog across Zendikar. Things could be better, but the planeswalkers are regrouping. Several other things are going down in the story, but that's not important. If you're a lore-nut, like me, you can go check out the storyline and what's going down on Wizard's website. As for the purpose of this article, we are going to take a look at this new set, not from a flavor standpoint, but from a mechanical one. Let's go! Your expression. Probably. So let's talk mechanics and keywords. First up is Cohort. Now I initially thought of Cohort as a trash mechanic, since you need two allies (one with the ability, the other to, uh, you know, help out) but now having played with and seen it played in pre-release events, I can revise my opinion somewhat. Cohort is a cool and occasionally-tricky trash ability.  Just the thing for Cohort! W...

Today I would like to talk about one of my new loves, Living Card Games!  Ah Living Card Games, where should I start! First off let's go over exactly what a Living Card Game is! Card Games can be separated into three different types of games. The first, and resoundingly more popular, being Collectible or Trading Card Games (CCG or TCG). In these games, cards are purchased at 'random' and there is usually a strong secondary market of individual cards, each of which having their own value. This causes the hobby to be split in two, half being playing the game and the other half in collecting and maintaining a collection of the cards! The second less-popular, but still super fun option, is called a Deck Building Game.  There are plenty of examples of these out there in any flavor an aspiring gamer might enjoy: Ascension, Legendary, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, The DC Deck Building Game. Now in these games, it is a box set with expansions available, ...