WoW TCG Wrathgate Expansion Hits Shelves

The Summer is officially here. Every year the same thing happens. No, not that glorious Memorial Day weekend of BBQ and beers that denotes the passing of spring into summer for beach goers. That's too obvious. Plus we were supposed to be remembering our troops, not boozing it up for some sun, remember?

Nope, our new summer begins when the final chapter of yet another WoW TCG Cycle has been hoisted onto gaming shelves across the world.

And the WoW TCG Scourgewar Cycle has just come to a close with the latest Wrathgate Expansion [Amazon, Funagain] release. Boy howdy.

We're excited for a a few reasons. There's the usual giddiness over any new WoW TCG set release ( there are only three a year after all) . That's just a given. After all it's two things we love well balanced and then jammed into one small package that's well-deserved of a nerd frenzy.

Wrathgate is also a few landmarks for this franchise. First it marks the survival of the WoW TCG from what could have been a cataclysmic event when Upper Deck got sued for counterfeiting earlier this year. But Blizzard stepped up and spun off a new publishing company to keep the card game alive and well. And as proof -- here it is on gaming shelves near you.

Finally, in the WoW mythos, this release marks the Argent Crusades push into depths of Northrend to defeat the Lich King himself. With that now complete the the WoW TCG franchise has finally caught up to the World of Warcraft MMORPG. We're crossing our fingers now, but we expect the next cycle next fall to coincide with the upcoming Cataclysm Expansion for both the card and PC format. Oh baby, think about that!

So what should you expect from Wrathgate? Well the official previews have told us that the Nerubian faction has been all but tabled for now. Instead expect various Unique heroes from the Argent Crusade to be the beef of your deck, with numerous cards buffing any and all unique allies that you control. Also expect less of a focus on Death Knights and more goodness for the old school classes.

There won't be any new keywords introduced in set, but the designers have crafted up some allies that use interesting combination of the existing mechanics, some even invoking Death Rattle which was previous an ability card mainstay.

It all looks very promising, and should keep the summer months interesting at our gaming table. You can see for yourself at WoW TCG DB who've posted the Entire Collection of Wrathgate Cards.

Enjoy! WoW TCG Wrathgate is now shipping from Amazon (booster boxes) and Funagain Games (booster packs).

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WoW TCG Wrathgate Expansion Previews Begin

Cryptozoic Entertainment from 10,000 feet must look like a busy hive of army ants. In the last few months they've not only have they spun-off the traditional design team and publishing rights into a new company when Blizzard and Upper Deck parted ways in February, they've also worked on the next expansion of the WoW TCG in that time, too. Somehow, amidst all the turmoil they've found enough time to appease the audience with some nice previews of the upcoming Wrathgate set, too, which is slated to ship in just a few short weeks on May 25th.

Now, to be honest, their blog isn't kind to the eyes, at least not for disseminating large amounts of information. Their blog is boxed and framed in some crazy style sheet that's smaller than a postage stamp on a hunger strike. Somethings lost when viewing the cards' gorgeous art when you can only see 1/3 of a card at a time. We hope they work on that.

Until then here links to the full-page format articles:

1. Wrathgate Previews - The Drawing Board
2. Class Captains
3. Blessings and Burst
4. Recruitment, Death Knight Style
5. Get the Powerup; Win the Game

What does the expansion hold of us? It seems the design team isn't introducing any new keyword mechanics. Instead they're toying with varying combinations of keywords in the current toolbox o' fun.

For instance, some allies with sport both Mend and Assault abilities. Death Rattle has jumped off Abilities cards and landed on allies. This means your armed supporting forces will have nice effects both in life, and in death, and isn't that what Northrend and the Wrath of the Lich King Expansion are all about?

Speaking of which, looks like there will be an emphasis on cultivating your own pile of friendly corpses, too, as many cards will become even more powerful when your graveyard is bursting at the seams.

Finally the Argent Crusade's cast and crew will be joining the fight. Unfortunately their appearance pushes out any hopes for a strong showing from the killer Nerubian faction. Considering that Wrathgate will probably be the last we'll see of the Nerubians for a while we would have hoped that the designers would have fleshed out this faction a bit more. With the current set of cards they seem like a smaller, flat, brute force choice when weighing them against the Aldor or Scryer factions, which have more personality and are far more more nuanced.

We'll keep you posted of any more interesting tidbits as they surface close to Wrathgates's launch. Till then, cheers!

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World of Warcraft TCG Lives with Cryptozoic Entertainment

The World of Warcraft TCG was looking pretty dicey there for a while. We all held our breath when Blizzard terminated their contract with publisher Upper Deck (which was supposedly linked to some counter fitting shenanigans). And for weeks afterward the direction of the franchise was very much in the air.

Blizzard had quickly reassured fans by opening up a new WoW TCG Forum shortly after the unpleasantness with Upper Deck, and posting in their forum that the franchise would march on. However, even then a lot of folks felt the game might not have had the pulse past Summer.

The official word was that a deal was being struck with a new publisher, and that Blizzard would announce who was taking the helm... but the deadline for that news was last weekend. After that deadline came and went we started to realize that we may need to return to Magic: The Gathering for our CCG fix. *gasp*.

But nope. It looks like the WoW TCG is alive and kicking for at least one more season. We're a bit hesitant to say that the entire franchise is fully back and will be as good as ever, considering that Cryptozoic Entertainment was just formed for the very purpose of keeping WoW TCG alive.

While the higher-level pedigree is good as it seems Cryptozoic is made up of ex Blizzard employees, we don't quite know the extent of their skills. Therefore on the downside of this great story we have that unfortunate sick feeling of dread that the success of this franchise still hangs in the air. Hopefully they'll start spreading news on where they hope to take the franchise next.

For the full story checkout this piece from incgamers.com.

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Warhammer Invasion LCG - The Enemy Cycle

The innaugral cycle of the fantastic Warhammer Invasion Living Card Game is coming to a close. We're not sad, oh no, we're stoked. Why? Well FFG has committed itself to the franchise and is slated to bring bringing us a whole new set of cards just as the WoW TCG cycle winds down (hopefully not for good).

But that's just filler. We're really stoked for two specific reasons. For one: the new set attempts to give the franchise focus. The foundation has been set with the Corruption Cycle over the last 6 months, but now we're moving onwards from petty battles and heading into full out war. Specific factions will square off against each other. Balanced, bloody, old-school vendetta style.

Secondly FFG had previously announced that the new LCG format will include even more cards per deck starting with this second cycle. In fact, each expansion will include 3 of every single card in the set. No more rarity scales and getting just 1 or 2 of the cards that you really want and having to buy a second copy of the expansion. Now you'll get 3 of each. Sweet.

Here's a snippet from "New Leaders and Ancient Enemies" which announces the next set, introduces the new designers, and provides details of where the franchise is going:

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"I can't say too much yet, but The Enemy Cycle continues to explore the depth of each faction, providing them with new tools to expand upon their strategies to win. This cycle places an emphasis on the natural rivalries that take place between the six factions in the game - Dwarfs vs Orcs, Empire vs Chaos, and High Elf vs Dark Elf. What's more, the Battle Packs will contain a series of short stories that serve as a primer for those of you Invasion fans who aren't entirely familiar with Warhammer Fantasy but want to learn about your favorite faction."

- New Leaders and Ancient Enemies, FFG

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We love some good back story to why orcs are motivated to bash dwarven heads in -- that's a nice touch! We'll keep you posted as more details emerge.

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World of Warcraft TCG Put On Life Support

Word came out last month that Upper Deck Entertainment (the current publisher of the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game) was sued last month by Konami. Apparently there was some allegation that Upper Deck had counterfeited Yu Gi Oh cards in China and were brining them into American Markets. Yikes. The lawsuit ended in a settlement, which doesn't bode too well for Upper Deck's Innocence.

We don't know the details. We don't care about the details. Whats important is that Blizzard Entertainment (who owns all things World of Warcraft) took notice and decided that it was time they ended their deal with Upper Deck. We assume that this wasn't a trust issue, but more a deal was truck to cut risks from both sides, with Upper Deck pouring millions of dollars out in the settlement and all.

So where does that leave the World of Warcarft TCG? Good question. As of now we don't know. The good news is that Blizzard has created a New WoW TCG Forum in their standard World of Warcraft gaming site. There are only two official posts in there, and one quickly notes that Blizzard has started shopping around for a new card publisher:

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"As some of you may already be aware, we will not be renewing the World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game license with Upper Deck. We want to assure you that we are committed to supporting the TCG, and players can look forward to new content and strong organized play support in the near future. We will share additional details about the game's transition to a new partner as soon as possible. For those awaiting tournament prizes, we will ensure you receive them."

- The future of World of Warcraft: TCG

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We'll keep you posted once we have word where the WoW TCG lands. We hope it land gently. Oh please land gently.. we love that game.

In the meantime it might be wise to blow all your Upper Deck Points on that Ogre Costume while you still can.

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Deathmaster's Dance Jigs Your Way for Warhammer Invasion

The latest expansion to the Warhammer Invasion Living Card Game has hit shelves. The Deathmaster's Dance [Amazon, Funagain] is the game's 4th release and includes 40 more cards to fill out the premier Corruption Cycle.

And of course in true FFG style there are preview articles for you to read and get a taste before you buy. First up the Chaos get a giant Nurgle of doom with the Great Unclean One. We dare you to french kiss that hot sauce. Meanwhile the Empire previews include the group buffing Ulric's Fury which gives a band of your defenders a temporary counterstrike ability, Flagellants meat shield.

Here are the expansion's official details:

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"The Order forces have put up a valiant fight against the relentless spread of the Skaven, but now a new threat has arisen, a threat that goes by name of Deathmaster Sniktch...

The Deathmaster s Dance is the fourth monthly Battle Pack installment of The Corruption Cycle, the first linked expansion series for Warhammer: Invasion, a card game of intense warfare, clever kingdom management, and epic questing. This 40 card pack contains 20 different never-before-seen cards designed to augment existing decks and add variety to the Warhammer: Invasion metagame."

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For more information about the expansion check out the official FFG Article: The Master of the Pack. The Deathmaster's Dance is now shipping from Amazon and Funagain Games.

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Warhammer Invasion LCG Expands with Tooth and Claw

The surprise hit Warhammer Invasion Living Card Game continues to .. live with the third Skaven themed expansion in the premier Corruption Cycle. Tooth and Claw [Amazon, Funagain] includes 40 cards, that cover 41-60 of the set. Here are the official details:

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"The first battle pack, The Skavenblight Threat, saw the emergence of the diseased and squabbling Skaven. The second battle pack, The Path of the Zealot, brought new forces for the Skaven and the witch hunters. Now, new heroes are rising to do battle with the growing rat menace.

The Skaven will not give up the gains they have acquired, however, and are bringing the power and ferocity of the Rat Ogres and Gutter Runners; meanwhile the might of the heroic Gurni Thorgrimson and Ugrok Beardburna explode on the scene!

Tooth and Claw is the third monthly Battle Pack installment of The Corruption Cycle, the first linked expansion series for Warhammer: Invasion, a card game of intense warfare, clever kingdom management, and epic questing. This 40 card pack contains 20 different never-before-seen cards designed to augment existing decks and add variety to the Warhammer: Invasion metagame."

- The Heat of Battle

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The Wings of Naxxramas Revolutionize WoW TCG's Raids

The whole notion of a cooperative raid deck to a standard 1v1 Trading Card Game still remains an exciting prospect to us, even after the long series of raids over the years. They have had some drawbacks though. Some raids are long, arduous affairs that you might spend all day on. Others are just plan impossibly broken hard.

Thankfully the latest Naxxramas Raid Deck [Amazon, Troll&Toad] fixes a lot of the things we find lacking in others, and then some. Here are top 5 reasons why we think its head and shoulders above all of the other raid deck experiences to date:

5. Variety Most of the raid decks have a plethora of bosses all under the umbrella of a specific theme. Well Naxxramas is composed of four different wings of bosses , each falling under the same Undead Bastage theme, but each wing providing a different attitude toward bad guys. The Spider Wing is littered with quick acting bosses that attach multiple times, the construct quarter is full of hard hitting, high health scary behemoths that would make Jack Palance crap twinkies, and so on. Each wing challenges your group in different ways for a spurt of 3-4 bosses, and that makes the whole deck building experience pretty darn interesting.

4. Multiple Climaxes These Wings we spoke of also change the flow of the raid entirely. The standard practice of multiple boss raids like Molten Core or The Black Temple had players run full gamuts of 10+ bosses in a row, and then hopefully the players had enough left in them to take on the final boss in a climactic battle of epicness. Problem is, Upper Deck's cramming of 10 bosses in a row required some of the bosses to be pansies and ultimately forgettable in previous raids.

Not so in Naxx. Whenever your group finishes a wing, everyone reshuffles their deck and starts anew on the next wing. The net result: Upper Deck has scaled up the bosses, each becoming more difficult, lethal and ultimately a more interesting fight. And on top of that, the game is balanced to make the final boss in each wing become a climatic fight of epicness, because why not? -- the game is going to reset after you defeat him anyway. So that's 4 times the climactic, tough battles, condensed into bar form.

3. Treasure Packs Sold Separately
While each raid deck ships with its own treasure pack, you can buy additional treasure packs separately, too. The implications for collectors is obvious, but for gameplay it's even better: You can reward your players phat loots after every wing. While technically you're not supposed to let players alter their decks between wings, traditionally in the MMO that's just what happened: your raid would tackle one wing, grab the loot, and use that loot to help defeat the second wing. And that's truly what raiding is all about - the getting to the next wing, raid, boss, etc.

2. The Raid Leader and Strategery
A new and very welcomed move in this raid deck is the addition of a Raid Leader. Every once in awhile one of the raid events will engaged the Raid Leader and have him make some pretty interest decisions. Things all the way from the Leader choosing to discard multiple cards himself, or have each raid player discard a single card, etc. These events are also sometimes beneficial, so directing the beneficial ability to the correct player at the correct time could mean the difference between success and failure.

But that's just the icing on the cake. Each of the themed wings also provides a buff to the raiders once the wing has been defeated. Some add damage to abilities, others increase the effectiveness of equipment, etc. It's up to the raid leader to decide which wing to tackle and in which order, using bonuses from one to defeat one of the harder wing, or to even bypass some wings all together and push to the final boss fight. The strategy lies within these choices and weighing such variables as what sort of classes you bring to the raid, how many people are in your party and the quality of their decks. Yep, there are definitely some good decisions to game.

1. Multiple Sessions
Raid Decks require a huge block of time - like upwards of four hours per session. Traditionally they were reserved for special weekend game night sessions, or we would hold off to play them on our quarterly dork fest, scheduling them between smaller games. In the weekend gaming sessions WoW TCG Raids landed somewhere on our Saturday mornings (through afternoon) gaming calendar like a giant gorilla dropped from a 747 flying 10,000' over a Saturday brunch in the country.

But this notion of Naxxramas wings, each a complete prepackaged experience, and when complete include a step where players reshuffle their decks to reset the state of .. everything, and start anew, is a mechanic that happens to provide an incredibly perfect breaking point. Now Raid Decks can be on normal game nights without the risk of our players becoming dead beat dads, or lining themselves up for an early 30's divorce.

In other words an already amazing experience has just become more approachable and game night friendly. It's also become an epic experience that occurs over multiple days of fresh, rested layers, instead of dragging in one long, tiring block. And that is an absolutely fantastic win-win for gamers.

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Critical Gamers' January 2010 Board Game Roundup

January was more about playing games than hearing news about upcoming games. It is, after all, the time after Christmas where we all gorge ourselves on the tons of releases that came out last December.

Specifically January was the month of the Naxxramas Raid Deck. The ability to take on one or two wings in a sitting, easily pack up the game, and then resume where we left off is a huge deal with this latest raid deck. Kudos to Upper Deck to making this game far more sustainable without any overhead... it's become a 4 time event at our weekly gaming nights.

Also another shout out to the Warhammer Invasion Living Card Game and Warhammer Chaos in the Old World board game. Theses two remain to be top notch contenders for gaming time no matter where and when we play.

And Fantasy Flight Games is on a roll because they just released the epic emipre building and fantasy adventure game Runewars. This is a beast of a release with more layers of depth than a spanish onion. Could it be true that we already have a strong game of the year contender in January? Wow. Can't say we're sad about that.

Here are our stories for January:

Board Games

• "Runewars" the Empire Adventure Board Game Hits Shelves
• Mystery Express Announced, Rekindles the Classic Clue
• Greed Corp: Chess Meets The Golden Child Meets Guns
• Mayfair Games Announces Pillars of the Earth: Builder's Duel
• Runewars Rules Published Online
• Straight Up Chess: An Elegant Proposition
• Runewars: An Epic Strategic Board Game Coming Soon

Card Games

• Mayfair Games Announces Pillars of the Earth: Builder's Duel

Collectable Card Games

• Warhammer Invasion LCG Battle Pack 2: Path of the Zealot

Gaming Culture

• Greed Corp: Chess Meets The Golden Child Meets Guns

Gaming News

• "Runewars" the Empire Adventure Board Game Hits Shelves
• Mystery Express Announced, Rekindles the Classic Clue
• Greed Corp: Chess Meets The Golden Child Meets Guns
• Mayfair Games Announces Pillars of the Earth: Builder's Duel
• Runewars Rules Published Online
• Straight Up Chess: An Elegant Proposition
• Warhammer Invasion LCG Battle Pack 2: Path of the Zealot
• Runewars: An Epic Strategic Board Game Coming Soon

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Warhammer Invasion LCG Battle Pack 2: Path of the Zealot

Path of the Zealot [Amazon, Funagain], the second Battle Pack for the Warhammer LCG, is now out on shelves! (actually has been for a few weeks, but with the holidays and all). We're really digging this game with its interesting placement mechanics, disparate factions, the deck building implications of the various races, and generally its fresh strategic view of the Collectible Card Game type gameplay. Plus life is cheaper in its Living Card Game format.

Invasion was one of our favorite releases from last year, and we're keeping a careful eye on it as it evolves over this first cycle release.

Before we get into the details we would also like to note that Fantasy Flight Games has announced that they're changing the format of these battle packs for all of the LCG games. In Future Cycles (Path of the Zealot is pack 2 in the 5 pack Corruption Cycle), the prices will increase to 15 bucks (from 10) but you'll get more copies of the powerful cards. The idea being that you won't have to shell out for mutliple packs in order to stack your deck with the good stuff.

In principal this sounds great. We'll see how it pans out.

Anyway, here are the official Path of the Zealot details from FFG. You can read more about the expansion from the official preview article Walk the Path.

"This latest addition to the exciting card game of kingdoms, questing, and combat brings a host of new deck building options to your Warhammer: Invasion game. Poison Wind Globadiers rain death upon the heads of their opponents, as they can corrupt themselves to deal damage. The Chittering Horde tactic brings more Skaven into your fold, as it allows you to search a portion of your deck for ratmen recruits.

Path of the Zealot is the second monthly battle pack installment of The Corruption Cycle, the first linked expansion series for Warhammer: Invasion, a card game of intense warfare, clever kingdom management, and epic questing. This 40 card pack contains 20 different never-before-seen cards designed to augment existing decks and add variety to the Warhammer: Invasion metagame. Head to your local game store or our webstore and pick up your copy today!"

- Walk the Path

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WoW TCG Naxxramas Previews Come Just Before the Storm

We thought we'd be playing the Naxxramas Raid Deck by now. We're jonesin'. At first we heard it was slated for release on Tuesday of this week, but now we see that Troll and Toad has it listed for December 24th. A game scheduled to ship from warehouses on Christmas Eve? Who thought that was a good idea? Seriously.

Well there's good news in this. Upper Deck has decided to tide us over with another peek at the raid with "Naxxramas Preview - How Eventful!" Those with pun detectors and raid experience might have picked up that this is all about the raid's Event cards, which are usually dolled out when one of the minor bosses hits the ground with double X eyes.

The main interesting thing we see here is the new role of the Raid Leader. One player will be placed in charge of speaking for the team when it comes for confrontations with the player controlling the bosses. Interestingly enough there's an event - which are normally evil - that makes the Raid Leader choose from drawing multiple cards for himself, or letting his teammates draw cards.

An event that puts cards into your hand? These things usually cause you pain; we can't see why Upper Deck would make life easier for the raid. Now, there is another event card that forces players take damage if you're holding too many cards, but this seems ... not so severe, and the combo would have to be drawn just-right from a deck of shuffled cards. Interesting.

Anyway... the raid launches next week. For reals (we think). We'll let you know when it actually starts shipping from stores. Until then, happy holidays!

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Wahammer Invasion LCG The Skavenblight Threat

First up are the nasty, highly aggressive, and diseased ridden ratmen of The Skavenblight Threat [Amazon, Funagain]. These guys are the dregs of society. We're talking punch a baby in the face rotten, and they're not afraid to show it.

In fact, some of the skaven have a nasty little trick up their sleeve: they're willing to corrupt themselves if it helps the great good. Or at least what they conceive to be the greater good , which is probably eating rights to a moldy piece of blood sausage.

Fantasy Flight Games has released a series of previews detailing some of the marquee cards of the expansion:

1. The Alpha Rat
2. Fight With Your Bear Hands
3. The Hunters Become the Prey

Here are the official details:

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The armies of Order are locked in a fierce struggle with the forces of Destruction. And now a new threat, the Skaven, make their way into the Warhammer: Invasion card game.

The Skavenblight Threat is the first monthly Battle Pack installment of The Corruption Cycle, a linked expansion series for Warhammer: Invasion, a card game of intense warfare, clever kingdom management, and epic questing. This 40 card pack contains 20 different never-before-seen cards designed to augment existing decks and add variety to the Warhammer: Invasion metagame.

CONTAINS CARDS 1-20 of THE CORRUPTION CYCLE.

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The Skavenblight Thread is now shipping from Amazon and Funagain Games.

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WoW TCG Scourgewar Kicks off a New Cycle

WoW TCG Scourgewaris now shipping from Amazonin both individual Booster Packs and in Booster Boxes. Funagain Games also has Booster Packs. TrollandToad.com has boxes, packs, and individual cards.

Yes, it's out. The new World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Expansion Scourgewar brings the game to the frozen tundra of Icecrown. Eventually the expansion will lead to the steps of both Naxxaramas and the Lich King in two different raid decks, but for now expect tons of Death Knight content to breathe life into the new class. The expansion includes new mechanics and keywords: "Assault" buffs allies who are attacking (in much the way bosses have +attack while attacking). "Mend" is all over the place, in Allies and Equipment, and allows Heroes or Allies to passively heal your hero or allies each turn. Mounts are a new type of cheap allies that augment your abilities in a similar way that Locations compliment Quests. There's also focus on class-specific mechanics so that you're hero will have more of an effect on your deck than just its flip power. And perhaps most exciting when it comes to new content are the new Nerubian faction; a new choice other than Aldor and Scryer, but with a cast of giant undead spider demons. You can't go wrong with spider demons.

Oh man, is it game night yet?

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Cyber Monday 2009 Board Game Sale at FFG

One of the top notch board game and card game publishers is Fantasy Flight Games, and their Holiday Sale is already in full swing.

For board games they have Lord of the Rings expansion, Lord of the Rings Confrontation expansions, Cave Troll, and World or Warcraft board game expansions on sale. There's also a huge sale on A Game of Thrones Collectible Card Game, the Call a Cthulu CCG, and Mutant Chronicles Miniatures game.

There's a lot going on here!

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