Collectable Card Games
August 4, 2011
Over the last few months, Critical Gamers has given you some insight to the indie developed, strategy based, card game Conquest Tactics (original post). In celebration of their recent release, Zeitgeyser, LLC is giving away 10 copies for free over at Board Game Geek. All you have to do is answer a few questions about the game and get additional entries for each correct answer.
And if you haven't participated in our Stratus Games' Launch Pad giveaway contest, you should! Two different contests, two easy ways to enter, what are you waiting for?
At Conquest Tactics Giveaway
At Launch Pad Giveaway
Critical Gamers Staff at
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July 13, 2011
First seen at ICv2 - http://icv2.com/articles/news/20525.html
Cryptozoic has announced the latest in the massive lineup in the World of Warcraft trading card game aptly named Aftermath: Throne of the Tides. If you weren't quite sure based off the name of the expansion, I will be happy to report that the expansion will contain the ever loved and hated Murlocs. Players of the MMO will know what I mean when I say that I am glad these cards don't have sound effects and voice overs applied to them. In addition to the Murlocs, players can also expect Naga and Ogre heroes. The packs will come in the typical 36 pack booster box, 16 cards per pack, $3.99 USD per booster pack. Another option is the $34.99 MSRP priced Epic Collection. The collection contains a reusable card storage box with dividers, a playmat, deck box, six booster packs, 5 foil heroes, and the Fish in a Bubble common loot card. You also might be lucky enough to pull one of the other as well new loot cards:
- Epic - Tallstrider Mount
- Rare - Throwing Star Fish
- Common - Fish in a Bubble
Players will also get to experience four new card mechanics:
- Delve - Allows players to manipulate top of draw deck
- Empower - Play allies of another class to gain access to that class's abilities
- Enrage - Gives allies bonus attack and ferocity
- Eternal - Abilities grow in power as the game goes on and shuffle themselves back into the deck each time they are played so one card can be used multiple times in a single game
And last but not least is Murloc Swarm. A card with Murloc Swarm gives itself and all other Murlocs +1/+1. So while not necessarily a huge threat in and by itself, get a swarm of these creatures together and the kiddie gloves come off. Expect the new expansion to be available early October.
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July 3, 2011
Back in April, we gave our readers a first look at Conquest Tactics, the strategy CCG from Zeitgeyser LLC which can be read here - An Early Look at Conquest Tactics Collectible Card Game. We have received word that the game is now available for pre-order and will be available online and in stores on July 20th. Conquest Tactics looks to blend the depth of miniature based strategies with a CCG card game that uses a grid based movement system. They have also created an instructional video to help us become familiarized with the game concepts which is embedded below. We are looking forward to the opportunity to get our hands on Conquest Tactics and will try to get a review up in the near future.
Editor's Note - I just got word from Zeitgeyser that once normal sales begin the starter sets will contain 2 of 4 randomly selected promo cards; however, if you pre-order before July 20th, the starter sets will contain all 4 cards.
Pre-orders at Conquest Tactics Store
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April 8, 2011
If you have never heard of Kickstarter, then let me give you a quick rundown. Kickstarter is a web based funding project that allows creative individuals the opportunity to pitch their products online in an attempt to get their product published. The project will be posted and different levels of commitment are offered, which also determines what the supporter receives if the project is funded. This allows the individual to fund the design or publishing of their product, create a fan base and hype, and keep the copyrights to the property all in one fell swoop. It is a fantastic website and has already helped many inventors, designers, and others seek their dreams of publication. The following list are some of the awesome projects that can be found on Kickstarter that are looking for your support to bring to fruition and, honestly, we love the little guys.
Continue reading: "Kickstarter Projects Worth Backing!"
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April 5, 2011
The team over at Zeitgeyser LLC has graciously given Critical Gamers an early peak at their new collectible card game called Conquest Tactics. 2 years in the making, Conquest Tactics is looking to combine the card aspect with miniatures and grid-based movement while utilizing hand management, resource allocation and battlefield strategy to outwit each other. Players will lead their army across the battlefield and use tactical points to move, attack, or cast spells against the opponent. One major difference between Conquest Tactics and most conventional CCGs is that spells and skills are not consumed upon use but are added to your Knowledge Pool. This allows a new level of depth as a well filled Knowledge Pool can and will be very intimidating to an opponent. Another new concept being added to CCGs by Conquest Tactics is Victory Conditions. Victory Conditions are similar to quests that you can do during the battle, for example you might choose to invade and occupy your opponent's side of the field, destroy their base, challenge troops that are stronger than your own, or upgrade a troop to it's highest potential. If you are able to complete the Victory Condition, then you are given a Trophy which will grant a special bonus such as the ability to draw extra cards, deal additional damage or search for the perfect troop you need at the moment. Check out their website for information about the game and stay tuned to Critical Gamers for announcement information!
At Conquest Tactics
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March 2, 2011
Mojang, the company founded from the massive indie success of Minecraft, has announced, at GDC this week, that they are working on a new game called Scrolls. John Walker over at Rock, Paper, Shotgun was fortunate enough to get to visit the Mojang headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and get a sneak peak of the game and interview with the guys. According to interview, the game will be a mix of a collectible card game and board game, but played on a PC or Mac. The player will take their set of cards and play them against what is happening on a board. This seems like an interesting meld of three different genres/industry and will have to see what Mojang is able to come up with considering the current state of the online CCG market. Head over to Rock, Paper, Shotgun and check out the interview with Mojang and find out for yourself about Scrolls.
At Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Critical Gamers Staff at
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February 16, 2011
With the 2011 Toy Fair in New York nearing its end, news abounds among the analog gaming and toy industries. Instead of devoting an individual entry per news article, we are just going to give it to you lottery style, one lump sum (minus the ridiculous taxes). Please feel free to comment about the articles in the comments fields below. We are looking for input on the types of articles you are interested in so we can keep the content relative and fresh. Any input would be greatly appreciated and we at Critical Gamers thank you for your patronage.
Continue reading: "Newsapalooza - Critical Gamers 2/16/11"
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September 28, 2010
Fall is officially here and that means only one thing: it's WoW TCG season!
We have to admit that we let the WoW TCG coverage fall a bit to the wayside during the offseason summer months. It's ok though, it's not from lack of interest. In fact it's because there's a metric crap ton of awesome board game releases this year. Now that WoW TCG Icecrown [Amazon] is finally here, though, it's time to get a bit more egotistical with our gaming. Toss out the cooperative board games -- it's mano e mano time and we're giddy with what this set means for our collection.
Aside from the standard new class cards, new allies and equipment the big kicker for Icecrown is the new Scourge heroes. Like the Traitor hero of the old school Burning Crusade sets, the Scourge Heroes allow you to put in cards from all corners of your collection. Some allow you to use both your Alliance or Horde allies. Have you been itching to use one of those awesome Alliance allies but you hate the faction's overall 'goody gum drops we're happy to be alive' lifestyle? Well now you can and you wont have to get cotton candy all over your deck box. Plus there are some powerful Scourge Hero allies to fill out your ranks, too.
Moreover, these Scourge Heroes are really something special. For the first time some heroes can mix abilities from one class with equipment from another. ... You And What Army? has details a Scourge Mage who uses Rogue Equipment, for example. Awesome.
Here's a nice index of all the Cyrptozoic preview articles:
And, of course, here's the official details:
"As you gaze out over the frozen wasteland of Icecrown, you now realize that your victory at the Wrathgate was a shallow one. Behind the great black walls, the Lich King has been building an army unlike anything the world has even known. The Frozen Throne is almost within your sight, and you must do whatever it takes to reach the Lich King's seat of power.Icecrown is a 220-card set that includes 80 commons, 55 uncommons, 15 heroes, 60 rares, and 10 epics. Loot Cards:*Rare: Wooly Rhino Mount*Uncommon: Ethereal Portal (Alternate Hearthstone Portal)*Common: Paint BombEach pack includes 20 cards (19 game cards and 1 crafting card). Loot cards are randomly inserted and replace hero cards. There are 3 different loot cards (1 common, 1 uncommon, and 1 rare). The set includes a full complement of Scourge heroes and allies including the Lich King, dual-class heroes, and Argent Crusade heroes. A new master hero, Metamorphosis, is introduced, as well as iconic characters and locations such as Jaina Proudmoore, Warchief Thrall, Ogrim's hammer, and the Skybreaker. The Hunter, Mage, and Shaman classes are featured. "
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June 3, 2010
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).
Critical Gamers Staff at
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May 5, 2010
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:
- Wrathgate Previews - The Drawing Board
- Class Captains
- Blessings and Burst
- Recruitment, Death Knight Style
- 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!
Critical Gamers Staff at
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March 26, 2010
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.
Critical Gamers Staff at
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March 23, 2010
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:
"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."
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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March 15, 2010
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:
"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."
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.
Critical Gamers Staff at
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March 11, 2010
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:
"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."
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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