As expected, Penny Arcade did show up at the Seattle Darkmoon Faire last weekend, and also as expected, Tycho did bring a raid deck. He also, surprisingly, dressed up for the role -- apparently he worse the cape they'd depicted in the comic while running the Molten Core game (though he couldn't find a skull pin to go with it). Sounds like a lot of fun. Upper Deck has coverage of the event, though we couldn't find any mention of the Penny Arcade guys.
Another thing Tycho mentions (and that makes it into the comic today, NSFW) is that even for people familiar but not fanatic about the game like them, entering these tournaments can be really tough -- there are tons of solid decks and strategies out there, and if you haven't done the research, someone who has can very easily trounce you. They even mention a "three card infinite damage combo" that players can use. Unfortunately, that's way too far over my TCG strategy head to actually tell you what it is (maybe commenters can help), but it seems like for new players especially, these formal TCG events might be a little tough to get into.
Still, the Darkmoon Faire events are fun, even if you're not playing at the top of the heap. UDE has lots more news about upcoming events on their website.
Upper Deck has announced the series of tournaments that will bring them down the road to the World Championships for the WoW trading card game -- "The Road to Worlds," they're calling them -- and the events began this past weekend. You can check on their website right now to see what's going down where -- odds are that if you're near a metropolitan area, there's something happening near you. These events aren't that big themselves (the prizes are a few art pieces and some extra cards, including this awesome Robotic Chicken quest card), but the big deal here is that the top two from each event move on, and eventually will try for a chance to compete in the World Championships later this year.
Good luck if you do go, and as always, bring your camera and let us know if you get pictures of the events. This is the small end of Upper Deck's tournament year (things will get much bigger later on as they move towards the big Championships), but all the same, every time they show up somewhere to play cards, there's a lot of fun to be had.
Posted May 12th 2008 7:00PM by Eliah Hecht Filed under: Tips
Back in the day, you could get 60 day playtime cards for $20 at Amazon, all the time. This appears to be the resurrection of that deal: the same cards are currently available for $20 at Circuit City. This is, as they say, a $30 value, assuming you normally pay the single-month rate of $15 per month. The cards are sold out online, but available for in-store pickup; click over to the site and enter your ZIP code to see if they're available in your store.
Personally, I'm not going for it, because the closest Circuit City is about 15 minutes away, and also because I like to pay for a month at a time and then cancel my account. That way, if I happen not to be able to play for some amount of time after my subscription is up, it doesn't renew until I need it and go renew it manually (which takes all of two minutes), and so I save a few bucks. But for those with more regular play schedules, this looks like a good deal. [via the Bronze Kettle]
The WoW Minis Game has a bit to go before it sees release in Fall 2008, but wowminifan.com has some news fresh from the New York Toy Fair to whet your appetite, including a few pictures. The miniatures themselves especially look pretty awesome, and I can see a lot of non-players buying sets just for display purposes, especially if they haven't managed to get their hands on a Figureprint.
Two big pieces of news today from Upper Deck about the WoW TCG-- first of all, they've announced details about their latest booster set, called Servants of the Betrayer, and available this coming April. The set will have new sub-factions, new ally types, and heretofore unreleased abilities for your deck. Additionally, the booster packs will continue the trend set in the last expansion, and contain 19 cards per pack, with those extra loot consumable cards showing up more often.
Second, Upper Deck has also revealed details of the Spectral Safari, a series of events at local card stores at which players will be able to win the Spectral Tiger Mount card. The contests will take place on March 1st at selected retail locations, and the winner of each contest will take home a Spectral Tiger Mount, while a Robotic Homing Chicken will be given away as a door prize, and Upper Deck will give out other prizes to winners as well.
So mark your calendars for March 1st if you plan to attend one of the tournaments, and look out for Servants of the Betrayer in stores in April (that's the booster set, not actual servants of Illidan).
Good question. nantena points us to this thread over on Upper Deck's site that has the odds set from the Heroes of Azeroth loot cards at 1:96 packs for the tabard, 1:288 packs for the Hippogryph pet, and 1:566 packs for the turtle. That means you have to buy 566 packs, which is about 24 boxes (there were 24 packs per box in Heroes of Azeroth) at about $60 each, just to mathematically come close the odds you need. That's already $1,440, and even then, considering all the cards are randomly placed, you're not guaranteed a card.
Now, the latest set is a little easier-- March of the Legion has more cards per pack, and the odds on the loot cards are better. We don't know what they are, but you'd probably get at least one loot card (and probably more) if you shelled out $1,000 right away. However, if all you want is the loot card itself (you could get a nice tournament set out of $1,000, no doubt), you're better off checking prices on eBay. $500 for a Spectral Tiger seems like a lot (and trust me, it is-- if you're spending $500 on a virtual item, you have too much money), but it's nothing compared to what you'd have to spend trying to grab the card randomly.
Upper Deck has dropped three nice previews of their upcoming card set for the WoW TCG, entitled March of the Legion, set to hit store shelves in late November. The first preview is a look at how they're finally going to use those damage attributes on each card-- playing certain damage types will help open up new abilities on some card. The second preview looks at staff and dagger weapons for casters, and how UDE is bringing more of the online game abilities into the card game. And finally, the last preview looks at the addition of the Aldor and Scryer factions to the card game, as well as how Demons will enter into play. If you're a TCG player, are a must-read to find out how the new set is going to change the game.
And Boubouille at MMO Champion has even more word on the three loot cards that will be released with the set. UD hasn't officially announced what they are (though not for lacking of trying on our part-- WoW Insider is doing our best to get an official announcement on what loot cards will be available), but it looks like, according to code in the game client, that those items we originally thought were more toys for engineers are actually the loot items-- a dragon kite, a robot chicken, and a paper gyrocopter. Bou even discovered a spell for the dragon kite that says "Upper Deck" right there on it, so this is about as sure a confirmation as they come. March of the Legion, and the new loot cards, all drop on November 17th.
Update: Well there you go. Upper Deck apparently didn't like the leaks, and went ahead and confirmed all three loot cards. Look for a dragon kite, a paper airplane card, and a robotic homing chicken in a new deck near you.
I spent last Friday evening at Upper Deck's Darkmoon Faire event in Chicago, IL (actually Schaumberg, as our readers have pointed out). And once there, I learned all about the WoW trading card game. I got to meet both Ben Drago, who organizes these events for Upper Deck, and Mike Hummel, who developed and created the game with the rest of his team.
I also saw lots of people playing the game-- there were beginner and advance tournaments running all weekend-- as well as a special section Blizzard had set up with Upper Deck to allow visitors to play on a special LAN server, where they ran scavenger hunts and PvP events ingame. Tons of people brought tons of cards, and everyone got to throw down and try to outlast their opponent's heroes more than once over the weekend. A gallery of pictures from the Faire is below-- thanks to Upper Deck for putting on the event in Schaumberg, and we can't wait to see you guys again at Blizzcon.
Elwynn, Mulgore, and...Texas? Unlikely as it may seem, apparently the Darkmoon Faire is going to be making an appearance in the land of Blizzard's latest GM center this weekend. This event is being put on by Upper Deck Entertainment, who make the WoW trading card game, at the Austin Convention Center this weekend, Friday through Sunday. There will be all manner of TCG tournaments for everyone from noobs to experts, of course, but here's my question: will there be anyone on hand to sell pet frogs? I don't think so.
On the other hand, Blizzard will apparently be setting up a private PvP server just for the event with premade 70s decked out in Gladiator gear, and there will be 30 PCs running Arena and Battlegroup competitions using these characters for real-world prizes. That might even be better than pet frogs. Lots and lots of prizes are at stake in the card games and other events, from booster packs to iPods to computers, and the event is open to the public with no entry fee, so if you're going to be in Austin this weekend, it's probably worth checking out.
I was never able to collect any of the Darkmoon cards (although I'm pretty sure I have six or seven of the Warlords cards sitting in my Warrior's bank), but I always thought they were a great idea. Since the expansion, however, the old cards haven't been quite up to par for level 70s. Enter the new Darkmoon decks-- Blue announced a little while ago that there would be new cards to collect, and now Tiare has compiled what the new Darkmoon trinkets will do for you when completed.
[Darkmoon Card: Vengeance] (Ace - Eight of Storms) You have a 10% chance when hit by an attack or harmful spell to deal 95 to 115 holy damage to your attacker.
[Darkmoon Card: Wrath] (Ace - Eight of Furies) Each time one of your direct damage attacks does not critically strike, you gain 17 critical strike rating and 17 spell critical strike rating for the next 10 sec. This effect is consumed when you deal a critical strike. (Stacks up to 20 times)
[Darkmoon Card: Crusade] (Ace - Eight of Blessings) Each time you deal melee damage to an opponent, you gain 6 attack power for the next 10 sec., stacking up to 20 times. Each time you land a harmful spell on an opponent, you gain 8 spell damage for the next 10 sec., stacking up to 10 times.
[Darkmoon Card: Madness] (Ace - Eight of Lunacy) Each time you land a killing blow on an enemy, you gain the Power of Madness.
Unfortunately, we're not quite sure what "Power of Madness" means-- it could be anything from a simple beserk buff (+Damage and Spell Damage, -Healing recieved), to a shapechange to a Worgen, or even "Opens a portal into the Twisting Nether that periodically summons demonic minions to aid the caster in battle for 14 sec." (at least that's what the rumors say).
But sweet cards nevertheless. The Wrath and Crusade cards look especially cool, but I'm confused about the 10 second limit-- someone with Wrath can supposedly build up to a whopping +340 crit rating, but does that mean they somehow have to hit 20 times (without critting) within 10 seconds? Is that even possible? I don't see it procing more than two or three times before the ten seconds are up or a crit appears.
One of the most interesting aspects of the WoW TCG (trading card game) has been the in-game tie-ins. The best-known example is probably the ever-popular turtle mount, which is only attainable via a scratch-off-to-reveal code that can be found on rare cards. There is also apparently a hippogryph pet and a couple of tabards (flame, frost), though I haven't personally seen either. So it comes as no surprise that the expansion to the TCG, Through the Dark Portal, will feature more of these loot-for-cards promotions. As announced on Upper Deck's page, here's what you can get:
Picnic Blanket. When used, summons a nice picnic setup, complete with umbrella and grill. Anyone around can right-click the grill to get "Grilled Picnic Treat," a BoP food that gives a buff reading "Does nothing. Tastes great!" Hopefully this blanket is reusable, since it looks pretty neat when used (see pic).
A pet monkey named Bananas. Come on, it's a pet monkey! Like Upper Deck says, who doesn't want a pet monkey? Very cute.
Finally, there will be a "fortune-telling device." Click it and an imp appears and whispers an answer to you (allegedly to the entire party, in a future patch, though I think that would get old fast). Upperdeck says it's similar to "a certain toy you may have had as a child." This would definitely help make some decisions a bit easier.
Neat stuff. Do any of you play the TCG? How is it? Like everyone else I know, I played a lot of Magic: the Gathering when I was younger, but I haven't really touched those kinds of games in a while.
The most recent TCG preview features quest cards - three of them in fact: Your Fortune Awaits You, Are We There, Yeti?, and Tooga's Quest. I find it interesting that these cards more or less mirror existing in-game quests, though fit neatly into the TCG's own structure. What's the point of quests? Well, they offer you rewards - usually extra cards, but sometimes other useful things - in exchange for resources. So what are resources? During every turn a player may play one card face down (any type of card? I'm a little unclear on this). You can use this card to pay a single resource cost. Thus, the further into the game you get, the more you can afford to pay for skills, abilities, and interesting quests.
This week's Sprawl's Scrawl has an interesting preview of the upcoming World of Warcraft trading card game. I've certainly been wondering how the World of Warcraft is going to be converted into card came format, and this certainly makes it sound like an interesting game - though details on gameplay are still very sparse. The game is packaged in starter decks, which contain a pre-constructed 33 card deck that's styled around one of the nine possible classes (which is random), two booster packs (with 15 additional cards each, to customize your deck), and 3 oversized "Hero" cards (of unknown use). The game will focus primarily on one on one PvP combat - as you test your cards and skills against those of another player - however, there are also rulesets for multiplayer and raiding. For raiding, there are 60-card raid decks that may be purchased and played, with one player acting akin to pen-and-paper dungeon master for the players attempting the raid.
Can't wait to find out more? Well, the game is set for a Halloween release, but you can already pre-order starter decks and boxes of booster packs at Upper Deck's online store.
Remember the Warcraft trading card game that's being developed? The suggestion has always been that some of the cards you collect may convey bonuses within the game itself, though the Upper Deck website is vague on what sort of rewards they might be. Well, a recent addition to Thottbot gives us a hint - the spell "Create Upperdeck Turtle Mount," which seems to be part of the recent build on the test realms. A search of Thottbot provides other possible TCG rewards - tabards, pets, and trinkets. Somehow, the thought of my Gnome warlock riding around on a giant turtle appeals to me...
As expected, Penny Arcade did show up at the Seattle Darkmoon Faire last weekend, and also as expected, Tycho did bring a raid deck. He also, surprisingly, dressed up for the role -- apparently he worse the cape they'd depicted in the comic while running the Molten Core game (though he couldn't find a skull pin to go with it). Sounds like a lot of fun. Upper Deck has coverage of the event, though we couldn't find any mention of the Penny Arcade guys.
Upper Deck has 
The Queen of Spades on WoW LJ asks the million dollar question about 
Upper Deck has dropped three nice previews of their upcoming card set for the WoW TCG, entitled 
I was never able to collect any of the Darkmoon cards (although I'm pretty sure I have six or seven of the Warlords cards sitting in my Warrior's bank), but I always thought they were a great idea. Since the expansion, however, the old cards haven't been quite up to par for level 70s. Enter the new Darkmoon decks-- 
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