Fun Friday # 10 – May the Combo Be With You

Happy Friday everyone!

For this week's fun Friday, I wanted to talk about a card game that is near and dear to my heart... Magic the Gathering. As many of you have played, and are experienced with, Magic the Gathering, I am not going to talk about basic rules. What I am going to talk about... are some nasty combos that I have discovered through my investigations of the game. I am going to start out with a few combos I myself have in deck form... then I am going to talk about some combos that are so crazy, so cheesy, that I will never subject my friends to face them in a competitive format. I like to win, but I am not that much of an Ass. Though some may tell you otherwise.

Ok! Some combos that I have rolling... Starting with my first, which is not optimized, but it still competitive in the format. One of my main decks right now is a Heroic Counter combo deck, which utilizes small creatures with the heroic mechanic to blast out huge creature quickly. I am running it as a Green/White deck, though I am putting thought into splashing a bit of blue into the deck as well. One of the key pieces to the deck is a card called Hardened Scales. Because of the cost, and the effect of that card, I can drop one, maybe even two by turn 2, with a creature, and by turn 3 have a creature that is already being bumped up toward lethal. Pivotal Cards below. 

The second Combo deck that I want to cover is actually a commander deck, with Kaalia of The Vast as the commander. This combo is meant to be a turn 4 option for the kill, though because of the nature of commander, I have only gotten it to go off once, and it has to be the right circumstance. You need to be able to bring out Kaalia by turn 3, which is possible, and swing with her on turn 4. Drop Master of Cruelties onto the field attacking with Kaalia, and if they cannot block, they lose the game.

The last combo I wanted to talk about is truly ridiculous... a student at the school I work at was telling me about it... actually showed me the deck itself. Starts like this... play a Gemstone Cavern before the game begins. Strange, I know, but I will include the cards for your perusal. Discard either Elven Spirit Guide or Simian Spirit Guide from your hand, then play Flash. Play Protean Hulk from your hand... then let it promptly die. Search your library for 4 Disciples of the vault, 1 carrion feeder, and play the 12 (!) X cost artifacts from your library.  They die because they have no toughness... Ready for this? Opponent takes 48 damage, loses the game before they even get to go. On their turn. When they are playing first.

…

Only play this deck if you really want no one to ever play with you again.

Stupid.

I was speechless.

It should be important to note that Flash has been banned, so this deck would not work competitively. But in a casual game.... Holy Hell

Know of any cool combos you would like to share?

Thank you for reading!

-Rob-

Fun Friday # 9 – The Merc With a Mouth

Happy Friday Everyone!

It is time. Time to discuss an amazing movie. A movie I have seen not once, but twice in theaters. A movie I would be happy to see again. I went with a group of friends, then I had to take my wife. Had to.

 

Deadpool.

Dead – Mothereffing- Pool

This movie is absolutely incredible. If you have gentler sensibilities (Language, Violence, Blood, Masturbation Jokes), This is not the movie for you. But If you like all of that fun stuff, you will love this movie.

There was a whole lot that this movie did so right, and a few things it did not do so well on. Here are a few of my personal views.

The absolute best part of this movie, without a shadow of a doubt, is Ryan Reynolds. He was … perfectly cast for this movie. Honestly, Deadpool must have been written, as a comic book character, nearly 20 years ago, for Ryan Reynolds. He absolutely fulfills the role of the Merc with a Mouth. In nearly every aspect of the movie, he personifies the idea of deadpool.

The fourth wall breaking for this movie was awesome. It worked really well, pulling in tons of references that worked really well for the 1990s-2000s kid in me. Over and over again, there was little things that kept popping up, that were not story driving, but great little references.

OK, a few things that were not so great... the first being Mr. Reynold's supporting cast. They were fairly two dimensional... The ladies were pretty, but that was about the extent of it. It would have been nice to see even more exploration of their characters, though I fear they may not be returning.

The next thing that I found not so great was the real lack of footprint for another movie. It is one of those things like... where can it really go after this? It just seemed like the development for the future movies was week.

Thank you for reading,

Have a great Weekend,

-Rob-

Fun Friday # 8 – Holy Heck, X-Com 2!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Hope everyone is feeling good, gearing up for a weekend!

For this Friday, I am going to talk about the game I have been playing the heck out of.... X-Com 2.

30 hours in, and going strong. Heck, I haven't even beat it yet. I am just enjoying it, playing though and enjoying myself.

Before anything, let's talk about what X-com actually is. X-Com is a series of games revolving around alien invasion. It involves fighting off waves of baddy aliens who are gross, and bad, and clearly want to enslave the world. You are responsible for stopping them, and pushing them off earth.

I got my start in X-Com: Enemy Unknown... and it was a whole new thing to me. Enemy Unknown was the reboot of the original series, and was a turn based tactical squad game. There were also some base management mechanics, but the game itself was all about the tactical turn based gameplay. I put hours and hours into this game, struggling to get the right combination to ease my path to victory. It can be a very unforgiving game, but when you get that victory it is so sweet.

 

Now, X-Com 2 is an awesome continuation to this series. Many of the mechanics are similar, but there are a ton of tweaks that completely change the way the game is played. Keeping your squad in cover and in concealment is extremely important. Also, the enemies in X-Com 2 are particularly unforgiving... made worse by the armor mechanic, which reduced the amount of damage you are doing.

To make things even worse, there is a count-down timer till the end game... so if you do not interact with the main story enough, you can lose the game straight out. The trick is, of course, to let it get close, before doing something to reduce the time.

I would highly recommend this game to anyone who is interested in turn based games, squad tactical games, shooting aliens in the face games, or even just games where you get to sneak around and break things.

This is the type of game I will be playing for years to come.

And with that.... have a great weekend everyone!

Thank you!

-Rob-

Fun Friday # 6 - 13th Age - D&D for the new age

Happy Friday Everyone! 

Today, I am going to have a discussion about 13th Age. 13th Age is an RPG that was recently released from Pelgrane Press. 13th Age combines the best parts of traditional d20-rolling fantasy gaming with new story-focused rules, designed so you can run the kind of game you most want to play with your group. Created by Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet, 13th  Age gives you all the tools you need to make unique characters who are immediately embedded in the setting in important ways; quickly prepare adventures based on the PCs’ backgrounds and goals; create your own monsters; fight exciting battles; and focus on what’s always been cool and fun about fantasy adventure gaming. 

 

13th Age has so many great things going for it. I am going to go through a few of them.  

First up is the Icon Relationships. The Icons are the movers and the shakers within the world itself. They include people like the Dragon Emperor, and Elf Queen, and the Golden Drake. When you build your character, you get to choose your relationships with the Icons, building a backstory for your character. For example, I could say that I have a minor relationship with the Dragon emperor, because I was a minor member of his court. Then I could also say I have a major relationship with the Prince of Shadows, because I was a member of a secret society of thieves within the capital. Really interesting, because it gives players a place within the world.  

The next thing I want to talk about is the One Unique Thing. This ties back into the backstory of the character. The One Unique Thing is the one thing that makes your character different from every other PC. For example, my character can see a ghostly representation of his twin brother who died in the birth. This one unique thing never has an effect on game play, just on story itself. Usually a really good vehicle for moving the story, which is awesome. It also really helps bring your character to life.  

In terms of gameplay, 13th Age does skill checks completely different. Each character has a certain number of background points that they get to assign, based on their background. These backgrounds are what players use to make skill checks! For example, if my character has 5 points in a thieving background, when he decides to make a lockpick check, he would add his 5 points of background  to his check, and that would be the result. No more looking for relevant skill check. Use that backgrounds! Really make the game more streamlined.  

Now, in terms of combat, 13th age offers a mechanic called the Escalation Die. This escalation die is a d6 that, as combat goes on, goes up, and when you make attack rolls and damage rolls, you add the escalation die to the result. For example, say it is round 5 of combat. I get to make an attack roll, add the escalation die, which shows 4, plus my modifier. Bam! Needless to say, combat is much much quicker, getting back to the narrative part of the story.  

Now, the last thing I wanted to touch on was how awesomely quirky the book itself is written. There are tons of silly little things that stick out to you as you read it. Just to post an example, look at the monster reference for an owlbear, and the attacks it can make.  

 

Rip and peck: +9 vs. AC—15 damage, and until the end of the owlbear’s next turn, the target is hampered (makes only basic attacks) while engaged with the owlbear 

Vicious hybrid: If the escalation die is even, make another rip and peck attack. 

 

 

Feed the cubs: An owlbear that scores a critical hit against a hampered enemy tears a piece of the creature off (GM chooses a limb) and will subsequently attempt to retreat with the prize to feed its cubs. The torn-up enemy is stunned until the end of its next turn. 

 

I mean... come on. Tearing your arm off to feed the young? Awesome! 

Take a chance to play this game! It is awesome! 

Have a great weekend!  

-Rob-

Showcase Sunday # 6 - Dark Shards Battalion

Happy Sunday Everyone! 

For today's showcase, I am going to show you the start of an army I am working on for my wife, some Dark Elf Dark Shards.  

This was the first real marathon paint I ran into. As a whole, this squad probably took me about 20 hours, and I am very happy with them. The trick I was running into, particularly with large units of models, is that they do not need to be display quality to look good in the group. For example, the only real parts I concentrated on were the standard bearer, and the sergeant. Everything else was done at a fairly fast clip, and would stand up under close scrutiny, but not for long.  

For the scheme, I was trying to go with something a little less traditional. I decided to go with a lighter blue/teal on dark blue/black. I like to think the teal really makes the unit pop on the field, and that is definitely what I was going for.  

All I really need to do for this unit is to find a movement tray so I can move them easier.  

These were definitely a test of patience for me, but I look forward to moving on to the next unit.  

Thank you for looking! 

Have a great week! 

-Rob-

Fun Friday # 4 - The Rise of YouTube

Hi there everyone!

Happy Friday!

YouTube. 

YouTube is so prevalent in our culture now...you can find anything on there. 

In some cases, that is a bad thing, with embarrassing things that you did in high school posted for the world to see. But for the most part, the majority of videos are constructive and informative... especially when it comes to hobbies and Video games. You can find a tutorial for anything if you look hard enough, from 4 other people who had the same issues as you. YouTube is also a fantastic way to discover new things. I want to talk about 3 major aspects that I use YouTube for, and why I think it is a great thing. 

The first thing I want to talk about is miniature war gaming. There are millions of different videos on what games to play, how to play them, what models to get, how to build/paint the models... the varieties are endless. Perhaps the biggest reason why I am always interested in building, painting, thinking about these things is because I watch videos all the time about these games. I have two main groups I watch, Miniwargaming, and Guerrilla Miniature games. Both of these groups cover a fairly wide variety of games, and cover other aspects of the hobby as well, from hobby showcases to rules discussion, with all sorts of battle reports in between. Perhaps the best thing about these channels is the wide variety of games they run. I have discovered Infinity, Frostgrave, Bolt action, and Age of Sigmar because of the battle reports posted there. 

As for video gaming itself, I have to speak to the success of the Let's Play Crew over at Rooster Teeth. They have a huge channel, and a big company just based on YouTube channel awesomeness (And Merch). The Videos they make are humorous and enlightening, and really showcase the games they are playing. I can not tell you how many games I have picked up because I watched them play them. I also have to send a shout to the group of streamers who play War Thunder, Phly Daly, and Baron. When I was really into War Thunder, those are the guys I watched to show me how to play right. They are who I watched when learning a new aircraft. 

Lastly, Magic the gathering has a huge following on YouTube. Perhaps my favorate thing to do, if I have a lot of time, is to watch though past Magic championships. The way those guys play, and the decks they build... they are so intense, scary even. Interesting to watch, and hear the commentary following, however. 

Do you watch anything on Youtube?

Anything peak your hobby fancy?

Let me know!

-Rob-

Sunday Showcase # 4 - Warhammer 40k Orks

 Happy Sunday everyone!

Today I thought I would show off a few Orks I painted up for a buddy, in the Freebootas colors. 

Now, as I am sure you can tell, I am still working on my photography. 

The Ork Boy I painted first, nearly a year ago as a test piece for the army as a whole. I was testing my ability to paint skin tone, as well as the extra little bits that go along with it. I was happy with the tone of the green, as well as the contrast i was able to achieve on the muscle tone.

Now, the War-boss I painted up as a Christmas gift for the same friend. Again, tried using more advanced techniques for getting a good coverage all over the model. I was also trying to make it look more realist, so I did quite a bit of dusting with lighter tones to simulate more light hitting the raised parts of the model. 

Thank you for looking! 

Have a great week!

-Rob-

Fun Friday # 3 - The 100

Happy Friday everyone!

Television is a tough thing for me. It is difficult for me to sit down and commit to only watching a show for any amount of time. I just don't have the attention span. So, when something grabs my attention... it is a big deal in my book. Enter.... The 100

The 100, a show I found on Netflix... well, I am intrigued. Definitely goes hand in hand with the current Sci-Fi kick I am on for my reading. 

The show takes place about 100 years in the future, in a world where nuclear holocaust was a reality, and life on earth is thought to be unstable because of radiation. A group of space stations from different nationalities ended up banding together to create the Ark, a massive space station that holds around 2400 people. The problem is that the life support systems are failing... so in order to see if Earth is survivable again, the Ark sends down 100 of it's juvenile delinquents to the surface. 

I really enjoy a whole lot about this show, but some things really stand out to me. For one, the special effects they use to show certain events happening are really awesome. Really well done, without being over the top, A la Battlestar Galactica. Another thing I really like about this series is how it approaches livability in an overgrown earth with no infrastructure. The kids realizing they have to figure out how to survive, and how the heck they are going to do it seems really well documented, and a natural progression. Another interesting thing about this series is the types of beings they meet on Earth. Without giving too much away, they meet several different tribes of humans... not all willing to help. 

So far, the only thing that is bugging me about this series is how quick people are to change nature. i mean, sure, I understand about pressure of survival, and having to make difficult decisions... but it doesn't make sense to me when a person has gone though several tough situations and sticks to his guns the whole time, before changing on something that has no where near as much impact. 

Have you seen The 100?

What do you think of it?

-Rob-

Showcase Sunday # 2 - Aragorn, and the Masque

Alright, I have to admit, taking pictures is HARD. Like.... Really hard. So if you think they suck, i promise, my professional photographer (My wife) and I are working on it. 

So lets go on with Showcase Sunday, # 2. This week I have decided to showcase two models I painted for my dear wife when I was first wooing here. Thankfully for me, she still married me. 

First up, we have Aragorn, from Lord of the Rings. You all know him, Strider, the lost king of Gondor, all that jazz. I painted him up for a few reasons. Firstly, he is one of her favorite characters from the books/movies. Secondly, I actually really liked the dynamic nature of the model in questions... it screams headlong charge into a band of Uruk-hai to me. 

Some things that I remember being REALLY proud of when I painted this model... The base is badass. This is from right after I learned to build and paint much better display/showcase bases for models, and I was really excited about how this one in particular came out. Another thing I thought really turned out well was the cloth on Aragorn's tunic. It looks worn, dirty even, just vibrant still. I was happy with it anyway!

Now, the second model I painted for my wife is... the Masque. I know, strange choice, but i had a good reason behind it... I think. When my wife was looking through the W

arhammer page at the armies, humoring me, the demonettes of Slannesh actually stood out to her. I know, I know, you are sitting there saying to yourself, what kind of woman likes those scantily clad demons.... well, lets just say I got pretty damn lucky. So when I was looking for a second model to send to her, this HQ unit... with the Corset, screamed at me. So.... I attempted to paint a Demonette of Slannesh. I was pretty proud of my results here as well, I was really proud of how the cloth on her robe came out, as well as the underlying petticoats. Sadly, this model suffered the indignity of mauling by small fuzzy monster of batting piece chewing (Read, Kitten). The model mostly survived, and had some touch ups since.

What do you think of these models from 3 years ago!

Let me know below

-Rob-

Fantastic Friday # 2 - How to RPG and Have a Damn Good Time Doing it

Hey there folks! 

First things first... yes, I know it is Sunday. Yes, I know this post was supposed to come out on Friday. Lets just say life got crazy, and I didn't get a chance to get to it. Or we could also say I just didn't know how to put to computer what was floating around in my head. You know what, we could say lots of things, but I think we should talk about RPGing. 

Role Playing Games. 

Of the paper and pencil variety, at least. 

That is what I am going to talk about today. 

So this is going to be a Part - How To, and a Part - Good Player Etiquette guide to RPGing. Lets simplify, make this Part 1, and Part 2. I have put quite a bit of thought into this, and Part 2 is very derived from Part 1, but it all makes sense together. I think. Or not. Whatever. Apricots. Fandango. The Ministry of Silly Walks. 

Part 1 - How To Role Play

Guideline # 1 - Become your Character - This is the true heart of role playing. You are acting out as this character. You ARE your character. Understand as much as you can about your character when playing him/her/it, so when you are engaged in interactions, you respond not as yourself, the player, but as your character. This can be very difficult, and it definitely takes practice. Ask yourself, what are the motivations of my character? What does he/she/it want?

Guideline # 2 - Never be Embarrassed - You are playing in an imaginary world with imaginary people. There is no room for embarrassment in that. Don't judge people for the character decisions they make, roll with what the DM gives you. And always remember, there are no bad decisions, there are just bad rolls. 

Guideline # 3 - The Dungeon Master is God - The Dungeon master is your best friend and your worst enemy. RESPECT THEM. They are there to bring enjoyment and adventure to your group. It is your job to assist them the best you can in that. That means NOT second guessing them, that means NOT trying to tell them what is and what is not possible. A good DM can craft an incredible story that can span for months if not years of real time. Embrace that. RESPECT THEM

Guideline # 4 - Have Fun - At the end of the day, you are playing a game with friends set in an imaginary world. Set the drama at the door, and embrace the immersion in the experience. Don't be afraid to try things that sound crazy, or off the wall. Think outside the box. 

Part 2 - Good Role Player Etiquette

Suggestion # 1 - Don't Stomp on Other People's Ideas - Always remember that this is a game where teamwork is key. Anyone may have a good idea for how to get past a certain situation. be willing to ask for help, or take suggestions... but don't take all night with it, the game must go on. 

Suggestion # 2 - Don't Meta-game - You know what your character knows. not what the party knows, unless the party shares that information. Always remember to keep track of what your character knows in game. 

Suggestion # 3 - Be Involved - Play the game! If you get to a part where you do not understand what is going on, ask questions. If you need to disengage for a few minutes, step away from the play area. The single most irritating thing to do as a DM is to have to repeat information because players were not paying attention. Heck, most DMs will not repeat information. Pay attention to what is going on. 

Suggestion # 4 - Play as a party - This sounds like a dumb suggestion, but everyone is there to play, so let everyone play. Involve everyone. Discuss plans. Let others try that charisma check. Let someone else talk. RPGs revolve around teamwork, so play as a team. 

Ok, some closing statements here. Now, I am not trying to flame anyone. Heck, I think I myself may be guilty of... at least most of these. But the trick is learning from experiences, and building from them. As well as that, you may have noticed that there are not "Rules", or "Commands". These are Guidelines. Suggestions. They may work for you, they may not. 

I found a great resource for being a great RPGer on a blog, which I will post a link to. 

11 ways to be a better roleplayer

Thank you all!

what do you think it takes to be a good RPGer? Any suggestions or Guidelines to add?

-Rob-