I bought my daughter's 'Future Horde' onesie from J!nx long before she was even conceived. I knew when I got my 'For the Horde' shirt that I wanted myself to have a matching outfit with my baby. I love World of Warcraft merchandise... I guess I'm just a real fanboy that way. I have some of the action figures, and I'm looking at getting Vindicator Marrad as soon as I set aside some RL Gold.

My brother-in-law gave my wife and I the World of Warcraft board game a couple of years back, and I got more than a few packs of the Trading Card Game (although I was probably just hoping for some cool loot). I love the comic books -- both the ones from Wildstorm and the ones from Tokyopop -- and I enjoy a lot of the Warcraft-based comics online. I gobble up pretty much most anything World of Warcraft.

So here's something to chew on this morning: what World of Warcraft merchandise or spin-offs do you like so far? There's the Frostmourne replica, of course. And we've given away cool stuff from Manaprincess, too. The Bronze Kettle / WoW Insider's Shelbi Roach makes those awesome, awesome, awesome chibi items like stickers and keychains. What World of Warcraft-related stuff do you have? Do you make any of your own?

If you remember way back to the end of June, we told you about the new tabards available for purchase using your UDE points from the WoW Trading Card Game. At the time, Upper Deck said the new tabards would be included with patch 2.4.3. Well, 2.4.3 is here, but the tabards are sadly not.

According to UDE_Patrick, the plan for releasing the tabards is now a little different. The first tabard will be available on August 1st, and each additional tabard will be added one at a time over "several months." He doesn't really specify why this change has been made, or even which tabard will be first.

Some of us will obviously be disapponted (like tipster Donna, who already has ample points to pick up one for her, and one for her boyfriend). Some of us will have a little more time to pick up more points in before the release, and maybe score some of the cool loot cards from the new set.

For the Fourth, we're going with the obvious choice: a hot little infinite fireworks trinket that isn't all that easy to get.

Name: Perpetual Purple Firework (Wowhead, Thottbot, TCGLoot)
Type: Epic (sometimes Uncommon) Trinket
Damage/Speed: N/A
Abilities:

• Use: Shoots a purple fireworks display into the air that explodes into a rain of sparkles.
• It has infinite uses (hence the "perpetual"), and a 30 second cooldown. The whole display itself lasts about 4 seconds, but it does like pretty purty.
• No level requirements, so anyone can use it -- provided you can get it.

How to Get It: Yes, it's a TCG item, but not one of the normal ones, where you just buy a booster and hope you pick it up. Nope, this fireworks trinket is part of Upper Deck's "points" program, in which points is just a fancy word for "spend more money!" Every booster pack you buy has a certain number of points in it, and when you've collected enough points cards, you can spend them on UDE's website for ingame items like this one. There's about 100 points per booster pack, and this item currently costs 3,000 points (it used to cost 10,000!), so you'd have to buy 30 booster packs (MSRP around $5, though you can find them cheaper and more expensive in different places, so about $150 total) to get enough points for the trinket.

Fortunately, we have eBay, where people are selling and buying the UDE points for as cheap as $15. Still not really a great way to get an ingame item (spending real money for virtual stuff, woo!), but if you really want to get your hands on this trinket, there you go. Otherwise, just do a few runs of Scarlet Monastery's Armory, and you'll have all the fireworks you need.

Getting Rid of It: You can't! Vendors won't take it, and it'll never run out of charges, so the only way to get rid of it would be to destroy it. And that would be like throwing money down the drain, which is something that TCG buyers would never ever do, right? Right?

Upper Deck is hosting a fun little TCG event at various stores around the country this weekend -- the Two-headed Ogre Smash and Bash is a new event they have planned in which two players (so you and a friend) show up and fight together against another team with constructed decks (which means you show up, and they give you cards to make decks with, without having to bring your own). It seems like a lot of fun, and even if you're not a huge WoW TCG fan, if you can bring along someone who knows what they're doing, they can probably carry you (just like real Two-headed Ogres).

There's a $40 per team entrance fee, but the good news is that you get to keep all the cards you play with (eight booster packs, and you never know, there might be a loot card in there), and additionally, everyone who turns out for the tournament gets a code for one of those fireworks trinkets (that sets off fireworks at will), and the winner of each tourney gets an Ogre disguise to wear ingame.

There's a list of tournament locations over on the website -- the TCG probably isn't for everybody, but we've never really seen a more beginner-friendly event for the card game, since the fact that you've got two players here means that you can back each other up. Seems like fun -- if you go, definitely be sure to tell us how it went.

Last week we told you about the new loot Upper Deck was launching a new expansion to WoW TCG. We even showed you pictures of what the cool new stuff will like for Patch 2.4.3. Well, now you can see these juicy tidbits in action with our movie of them.

You'll see us testing The Path of Illidan, trailing green felfire from our footsteps while running, jumping and even dancing. We've also got video of a few cross-faction D.I.S.C.O. parties gettin' down and funky, with the music and sparkly lights. It was dance fever!

Then it was time to try out the Ethereal Soul-trader. He announces himself as if your life is finally complete and follows you around very dutifully. Enjoy the movie - Adam, Zach, and I sure enjoyed making it for you!

Upper Deck has sent news of the newest loot items in the WoW TCG, and yowza they're neat. These will all come in the new expansion, called The Hunt for Illidan and launching July 1st.

• The Path of Illidan, which is a super common loot card (like the Pet Biscuits), and will enable players to leave glowing green footprints around Azeroth and Outland as they walk around.
• D.I.S.C.O., which creates a disco party anywhere, along with a disco ball, lights, and music.
• And finally, most interesting, the Ethereal Soul-trader, who is a full-size Ethereal as a pet. Additionally, this card is actually a whole slew of items in one -- the Soul-trader will give you currency for creatures killed while summoned, which can then be traded off for other prizes, including special foodstuffs, a special alcoholic drink, a ball of energy (to throw in people's bags and play catch with), and even the Ethereal's outfits as wearable items.

Pretty incredible. Upper Deck is hosting a preview of the next expansion on Saturday at various locations around the country, and the cards will be out, as we said, on July 1st. The Spectral Tiger Mount was great, but I think we have a new loot card winner with the Soul-trader. A mobile NPC with their own currency gained from killing mobs? Yes please.

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.

If you've never been to Upper Deck's Darkmoon Faire event before, it's a pretty good time. It's obviously a lot more fun if you're a fan of the WoW TCG (as they have open-to-close tournaments and events going on), but even online game players will find something to do -- UDE sets up an event realm provided by Blizzard, and they sometimes even have leveling and instance contests as well.

Upper Deck is holding a Darkmoon Faire event in Seattle next weekend, June 13-15, and they sent along a note letting us know that the guys from Penny Arcade are going to be there in attendance. Both Gabe and Tycho, you'll know if you're an avid reader of the comic, are fans of the card game, and while Upper Deck isn't clear about what they'll be doing there (all they tell us is that the guys will "partake" of the gaming), it's not hard to expect that at least Tycho will be eventually running a Molten Core raid game.

Should be fun -- if you're around Seattle and get to stop by the Seattle Center next weekend (it's free to visit the event, and various tournaments have different costs associated with them), definitely take pictures and let us know how it went.

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.

The new and improved Blizzard store opened recently, and it's definitely worth a look. It has a very clean layout, making finding what you want pretty simple. They carry everything from the Blizzard games to the Warcraft action figures to WoW game time. Their apparel selection isn't very large due to that primarily being handled by Jinx, but the store is still worthwhile.

Plus, registering for the Blizzard store comes with another perk. You can register for the Beta Test lottery, which is a chance at being chosen for upcoming beta phases of various games. Wrath? Starcraft II perhaps? All of the above? Who knows! I've been considering getting into the WoW TCG, so if I get a shot at a beta test out of it, too... hey, why not?

Edit: The Blizzard EU store is not yet live, but I imagine it will be soon. Sorry, Europe!

I'd like to interrupt your patch 2.4 coverage for this important announcement. This Saturday, 29 March is your first opportunity to get an early look at the Servants of the Betrayer expansion to the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game. Upper Deck welcomes players of all skill levels.

If you love Vanity pets, this may be the time to start playing WoW TCG. The new set will feature the new super common consumable loot card: Papa Hummel's Old-Fashioned Pet Biscuit, which adds growth counters to a party pet in the TCG. It can be traded in the MMORPG for biscuits that boost the size of cosmetic pets.

Those of you who are fanatics of the WoW TCG have probably heard of the new Servants of the Betrayer expansion already, but even if you have, it's worth checking out this new article on the official Upper Deck TCG site. It goes into greater length about the philosophy behind the new cards, and introduces the basic ideas, mechanics, and lore behind the new Traitor Heroes. While "Servants of the Betrayer" rightly assumes you'll be able to control Vashj and Kael, they decided that they did not want to make those two central to deck building, since they already plan to release a new Black Temple raid deck later on. Instead, they will be possible allies of a new series of "Traitor Heroes."

The first Darkmoon Faire event of the year is set to kick off this weekend (and indeed, has probably already started) in Orlando, Florida. If you're around down there and have any interest in the TCG at all, it's a lot of fun -- they're going to have lots of beginner and advanced tournaments, of course, and an ingame leveling contest on an event server, as well as tips on how to build the best deck and do some card crafting. I went to the Chicago event a little while ago, and I can confirm it's a fun way to spend a weekend afternoon. As always, if you go, take pictures and drop us a note when you get back.

In other TCG news, reader Dave (thanks!) sent us a note about what looks to be a brand new booster set, called The Hunt for Illidan. The set was announced quite a while ago, but with a release date of July 2008, retailers are just now ordering the cards. And there will be new loot cards in the new set, so we'll keep an eye out to see what else Blizzard has up their sleeve for new TCG rewards.

Tomorrow's the big day for the Spectral Safari tournament that Upper Deck is organizing. At various locations all around the country, TCG players will be competing for prizes of all kinds, including the coveted Spectral Tiger mount. The good folks at Upper Deck have also posted a guide for would-be tiger winners -- they've broken down a few classes in the TCG game, so even if you haven't been practicing maniacally for the last few months, you can still read up and and have a chance at winning the tournament.

And don't forget that even if you're not playing, Upper Deck wants you to go anyway; send them pictures or reports of the event, and you might get chosen to win even more prizes. And if you do go, drop us a note here on WoW Insider about what it was like -- obviously, UD is hoping for this to be a big event tomorrow, so it'll be interesting to see who shows up at the various locations. If you are going to compete, good luck! Win yourself a tiger mount!

WoW Insider has obtained a copy of the "sell sheet" sent to distributors about the upcoming WoW minis game, and it contains information about pricing, pack size, and even some hints at a release date.

Basically, the minis will become available in three different ways: there will be the core booster sets, which will contain three minis of the same Horde or Alliance faction, plus three character cards and six ability cards, and will have a suggested retail price (SRP) of $14.99 per booster. Additionally, each booster will have a chance to include an ingame Loot Card, supposedly from the Trading Card Game (there is no word if there will be loot cards specifically for the minis game), and a 1/8 chance to have an "epic" character.

More info on the starter sets, including the full text of the "sell sheet," after the break.