Posted by
Eric Minton
- Wednesday, February 12, 2014
From the Vault is an annual series of limited print run card sets, released in late August of each year, that reprint powerful cards from across the 20-year run of Magic: The Gathering trading card expansions. Wizards of the Coast has put out a press release describing this year's From the Vault set. It's called Annihilation, and the theme matches the name:
Harness the savage power of fifteen of the most brutal Magic cards ever unleashed. These limited-edition, black-bordered superweapons are legal in many tournament formats. Sweep the battlefield clean with this powerful arsenal and blast the opposition into oblivion.
Many of these cards are very expensive on the secondary market. While each From the Vault set has had a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $39.95, the combination of extremely small print runs and high demand—generated by the reprinting of glossy foil versions of hard-to-find cards with new art—means that these sets sell out really quickly, even when retailers jack up the price. If you want a copy, your best bet is to arrange a preorder with a reliable retailer.
As to which cards will be in the set, that info has yet to be spoiled. All we have is the brief description above and a dramatic illustration of some sort of magical cyclone. Naturally, the Magic community is theorizing madly as to what cards you'll find in the set. Discussion tends to center around the idea that every card in the set will be a board-sweeper. Others theorize that specific word choices in the set description hint at card names, such as inferring that the phrase "blast the opposition into oblivion" refers to the powerful spells Opposition and Oblivion Stone.
As for my own theories, I figure that while From the Vault: Annihilation will focus on spells with a destructive theme, it'll cover the gamut of detrimental effects, such as targeted removal, global sweepers, and direct damage. I also wouldn't expect it to include any cards reprinted in the last year or two in compilation sets such as Modern Masters or Commander 2013. Here's my list of 15 cards that I'm guessing we'll find here:
All is Dust: The Rise of the Eldrazi set held a number of powerful colorless spells that haunt Magic games to this day. While not as brutal as the three legendary Eldrazi boss monsters, All is Dust is nothing to sneeze at, as it has the potential for a one-sided blowout that destroys all of your opponent's non-land permanents while leaving your key board elements intact.
Armageddon: Wrath of God's badass land-destroying cousin hasn't seen print since Sixth Edition due to a move away from land destruction as a generally un-fun play style. Nonetheless, it's an iconic powerhouse that still sees play, which makes it a perfect fit for a From the Vault set.
Black Sun's Zenith: This standard-defining sorcery from Scars of Mirrodin block can be absolutely brutal, sweeping away even indestructible creatures and then returning to your library to be cast again. It's not as pricey on the secondary market as it was in its heyday, but it's still scary when it hits the table.
Blasphemous Act: Not every card in Annihilation is going to be from really old sets or super expensive on the secondary market. Blasphemous Act is a quirky damage-based sweeper, which makes it more likely to show up than yet another Wrath of God variant.
Child of Alara: This ridiculous multicolored bomb has the potential for lots of recursion or indestructibility shenanigans. It's also a legendary creature, and thus a boon to Commander players looking to try a five-color deck.
Damnation: A powerful black sweeper that's only been printed once so far in 2007's Planar Chaos. Speculation about a Damnation reprint has been rife for years, and the community raged at its absence from the recent Modern Masters set. A set based around big destructive spells seems like its natural home.
Magus of the Disk: Normally I'd expect to find the classic destructive artifact Nevinyrral's Disk in here, but it was reprinted just a few months ago in Commander 2013. However, its cousin, the Magus, is fair game, especially as the set could use a few creatures to break the monotony of sorcery after destructive sorcery.
Merciless Eviction: This spell's flexibility gives it an important place in any collection of sweepers, while the ability to exile rather than destroy makes it all the more dangerous. And then there's its precision. Most notably, Merciless Eviction is the only modal sweeper that can be tuned to hit nothing but planeswalkers.
Mind Twist: An oldie-but-goodie discard spell, Mind Twist can be absolutely backbreaking early- to mid-game. While its dominance has been usurped by narrower spells such as Hymn to Tourach and Thoughtseize, and discard in general isn't quite as effective as it used to be due to graveyard recursion, Mind Twist is still a spell to be reckoned with.
Nemesis of Reason: Okay, I admit that this one is a stretch; but I anticipate that there'll be at least one mill card in the set, and this unholy monstrosity is both fun to play and has a drastic impact on the board. Placing your opponent on a five-turn clock that can't be stopped by chump blockers or Fog effect can put a damper on all sorts of game plans.
Pernicious Deed: A powerful, flexible sweeper that's most effective in the hands of a mana-heavy ramp deck. A similar effect appears in the more recent Gaze of Granite, but the Deed is far more flexible; you can cast it in the early game and leave it hanging around until you need it, and, unlike Gaze, you can activate it at any time, including in the middle of combat or on your opponent's turn. Appearing only in the Apocalypse set, it's ripe for a reprint.
Rolling Earthquake: An absolutely ridiculous Earthquake variant from the obscure Portal Three Kingdoms set, which was printed primarily in Chinese and has very few English copies. As the Horsemanship mechanic on the card doesn't appear in any other set, the spell basically reads, “Deal X damage to each creature and each player,” which is dynamite in a red burn deck. And with Wizards reprinting a few creatures with horsemanship in Commander 2013, the door is open for other spells that reference the ability!
Supreme Verdict: A key player in the Return to Ravnica block, Supreme Verdict has a name flashy enough to fit the Annihilation theme as well as the power to back it up. An uncounterable Wrath can be absolutely devastating, even if it does allow regeneration, and the eternal formats love it because it can be pitched to pay the alternate cost of Force of Will.
Terminus: Tucking creatures onto the bottom of the library is far more devastating than death in a game rife with reanimation spells. Terminus is slightly harder to cast than its predecessor Hallowed Burial, but it's more likely to appear here due to its more violent flavor.
Vindicate: Among the most valuable and effective spot removal spells in the game. The ability to destroy any one permanent is incredibly useful, especially for only three mana. As it's never been reprinted, it currently averages over $20 on the secondary market, which should draw players and speculators alike in droves.
What crazy-powerful spells do you think will be included in Annihilation? Is it worth sinking $40 or more into the set for fifteen cards, even if they are as devastating as advertised? Share your comments with the community below!
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
In recent news, the long-awaited movie adaptation of Stephen King's universally loved The Dark Tower series looks as though it may not be happening…again!
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| "Battles that last five minutes spawn legends that live a thousand years!" - The Dark Tower |
For quite some years now, fans of the hefty eight-novel pseudo-sci-fi-fantasy-horror series, and fans of the comic book series released by Marvel, have been clamoring for news of a movie (and the saga of sequels that would very likely follow). I've been one of them ever since what seemed like a massive hint appeared in Frank Darabont's spectacular adaptation of The Mist nearly seven years ago.
I'm not sure if any of you fans out there agree with me—I appreciate and therefore encourage originality in other peoples' opinions—but I was already taken aback when it turned out that Darabont himself, one of the greatest contributors to King's film credits (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile also included), wouldn't be tasked with the mighty opportunity to produce and direct The Dark Tower.
Over the years, I followed this elusive trail of breadcrumbs, only to find that Ron Howard would be directing instead.
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| This wasn't the newest photo I could find but, Porn 'Tache! |
Not a bad choice. Howard has directed an encyclopedia's worth of movies over the years, and many of them have been decent if not very good. He's big on drama for the most part, and he's also big on spectacle when the moment calls for it. BUT! The Dark Tower is not a family friendly series and therefore should not be a family friendly movie. This is Stephen King we're talking about, not JRR Tolkien, although Dark Tower could be the biggest and most spectacular thing since Lord of the Rings. The closest thing I could credit Howard with, in that respect, is 1988's sword and sorcery adventure Willow. Still a different kind of fantasy.
Who put Howard at the helm anyway? None other than Akiva Goldsman; the guy who wrote I Am Legend, the guy who wrote I, Robot, the guy who wrote Batman & Robin, the guy who wrote Batman Forever. By now you're remembering these films for either being poor adaptations or for being ridiculous. He's also the guy who is making I Am Legend 2 and the guy who wants to make that Patrick Swayze movie Ghost into a television series. By now you're as pissed as I originally was and should resemble this:
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| P.I.S.S.E.D. |
Goldsman, who wrote for Howard on The DaVinci Code and its sequel Angels & Demons recently had this to say about The Dark Tower's progress:
Funny then that if you type The Dark Tower into IMDb's search bar, the name Russell Crowe appears! So does this mean the movie was in development and is now cancelled? Hollywood is a fickle town full of people very much afraid of being seen falling at the first hurdle, despite their existing achievements. So if it is cancelled, you'll hear about it in about five years' time when they pass the buck onto somebody else.
Seriously, what is it with these people? You spend how much buying the rights to a novel because you're creaming yourself over how awesome it would be if you could make a mega-successful bunch of movies, and then you sit there and do absolutely fuck all with it, because suddenly you realize that you're just not good enough? Is it that, or did you have better things to do? Oh, Ghost: The Series and I Am Legend 2: The Prequel To The Shit We Irreversibly Screwed Up Already? My bad, carry on smoking crack in the boardroom and don't mind the fans whose hopes and dreams you're wiping your arses with!
Sound off, Fanboys! Makes you wonder if they've read the damn thing. If they ever got this show off the ground, who would you want to see bringing it to life? Comments below and thanks again for reading.
Posted by
Unknown
- Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Omega Force, the developer behind the revered Dynasty Warriors series, has exploded onto the PlayStation Vita with their demon-hunting debut Toukiden: The Age of Demons. If putting together a group of friends to track down a towering demon and whack it with pointy things sounds like a good time to you, then chances are Toukiden will be right up your alley. While the story is rather tired and missions can feel repetitive, the game is a ton of fun, and there is a lot to like here.
Toukiden tells the tale of a war between the demonic Oni and the Slayers—the last line of defense between humanity and oblivion. As is usually the case with such stories, you are defending the final bastion of mankind, and as usual, only you possess the power to turn the tide and save the world. While I appreciate the presence of any narrative at all—most hunter games don't go beyond "go to X place and kill Y thing"—the whole thing feels derivative. However, the story takes a backseat to demon hunting, which is good because the combat is a joy.
When you create your (fully-customizable) character, you choose one of six weapon types, including the long sword, twin blades, gauntlets, spear, long bow, or chain and sickle. These weapons are at the center of Toukiden's battle system, as each one feels vastly different from the rest. For example, the long sword is all about balanced combos on the ground, while the dual blades focus on chaining aggressive aerial attacks. Changing your fighting style is as simple as creating and equipping the type that you desire, although I suggest that you complete the weapon tutorials to understand the intricacies of each instrument.
Even further customization is available through the Mitama system. As the Oni rampaged across Japan, they devoured the souls of many heroes. By collecting these souls and socketing them into your weapons, your Slayer gains access to new skills and passive stat boosts, depending on which of 8 Mitama types you have equipped. You can level-up your Mitama by completing missions or by feeding them Haku, the game's currency. This adds a welcomed RPG flavor to Toukiden, and collecting a wide variety of fallen heroes' souls should scratch the itch of any compulsive collector.
Without compelling monsters to slay, diverse weapon styles and character customization would be meaningless. Fortunately, Toukiden delivers in this regard. The small Oni look fine and are diverse enough, but as the game progresses, they become little more than a nuisance for an accomplished Slayer. However, the large Oni tower over the player and often fill the majority of the screen. It's clear that Omega Force put a great deal of effort into the Oni design, as they look fantastic.
Combat against the large Oni is the highlight of Toukiden, as it's a blast and features some fresh and interesting gameplay mechanics, although I wish that the tutorial explained them in greater detail. The large Oni all have weak points—generally on their extremities—including their legs, arms, and wings. By focusing your attacks on one of these locations, you will eventually sever it from the Oni's body. Once this occurs, you can attack the Oni's "essence" underneath, which is the only way to do lasting damage.
Battles with more powerful Oni can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to half an hour. Much of Toukiden’s appeal comes from learning the behavior of new Oni and finally defeating them in a shower of severed limbs. Each mission is incredibly satisfying as you invariably bring home mountains of loot and materials for use in weapon and armor crafting at the blacksmith. Upgrades are frequent and plentiful, and each new piece of equipment is represented on your character in increasingly epic and outlandish designs.
If you're playing alone, Toukiden is happy to provide you with reasonably intelligent AI-controlled companions for your demon hunting endeavors. However, if you want to play online, you're covered as well. Toukiden allows you to join a group of up to four players to tackle missions in the main campaign. Overall, the systems works well, but I wish that there was some sort of drop-in multiplayer instead of forcing you into a waiting room.
Hunting demons in Toukiden is certainly enjoyable, but it's not without fault. After a few hours with the game, repetition sets in—both in design and in mission structure. As you progress into Chapter 3 and beyond, your quests will send you after the same Oni up to half a dozen times. While the spider-like Manhunter is impressive and intimidating the first time around, his appearance loses some of its appeal after the fifth encounter. This applies to the small Oni as well; their character models are recycled and re-skinned into more challenging versions of the same monster. While not a huge gripe, as the existing Oni are sufficiently diverse and look amazing on the Vita, I can't help but wish for more.
Even though the story is a bit lackluster, and the missions and monster designs can become a bit dull after repeat encounters, Toukiden is a pleasure to play. Taking down large Oni is a triumphant experience, and it always feels like your Slayer is growing stronger. The game shines even brighter when you're playing with friends. With dozens of hours of demon-slaying adventures to be had, Toukiden: The Age of Demons is an easy recommend.
The hunter genre hasn't been able to find a huge following in the US. Let me know if you’re a fan in the comments!
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
Do you ever look at people that say, "well now I've seen it all" and laugh/scream on the inside for long periods of time? Do you ever feel the need to grab them by the shoulders and shake them violently, yelling "stop encouraging them!"? By them I mean the people that come up with inventions, such as the one I'm about to introduce you to.
It's Valentine's Day in a day's time, and you're counting on the local store having an abundance of chocolate and vodka. If you're really classy, you've probably thrown in some of the same stuff you buy your special lady-friend every year, like…perfume, and…can you tell I don't do this?
Well thanks to some mad boffins, say hello to your girlfriend's new wake-up call, the Wake-Up Vibe!
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| I shit you not. |
To hell with wind-up alarm clocks that keep you up all night with their loud ticking, only to go off late because they wound down overnight. Screw being woken up by your CD player cranked up to full-volume, filling your pants to the sounds of Carcass at 6 a.m. (yeah, I did that once, too). Balls to digital alarm clocks that are so quiet they wouldn't wake a mouse.
The Wake-Up Vibe is essentially an ergonomically designed vibrator with a timer that women place in their underwear the night before (if they sleep in their underwear, that is) and wakes them up on time with hands-free, er…seriously, though?! In the UK, this is retailing at about £44.99, so that's going to be upward of $70 in the US. But beware, all you romantic geeks, because we're not quite sure what kind of an effect this is going to have on the lady.
Does this mean you'll get a longer lie-in (actual sleep) from now on? Does it mean you'll be expected to perform twice as much in the mornings instead, seeing as so many of these Duracell Bunny-devouring devices turn out to be nothing more than warm-up sessions for most? What if your girlfriend loses her job because she was waking up just fine, but just couldn't get out of bed in the mornings? Goddammit, what if it's the best thing you ever bought her and this happens:
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| Permanently. |
The Wake-Up Vibe Alarm Clock is available in three different colors—pink, purple, and black—and is available from various online stores. God help you!
Sound off, fanboys! Which poor sap's going to end up watching Nicholas Sparks films this year? Comments below and thanks again for reading.
Posted by
Jeff Penner
- Monday, February 10, 2014
Diamond Comic Distributors, the world's largest supplier of our favorite reading materials and their related merchandise, has released the leaders in sales and market share for January 2014. Not surprisingly, the top performances come from The Big Two.
Despite continuing concerns over DC's reboot and The New 52 (which I'm personally still giving the evil eye), the company continues to perform very well. In fact, the best-selling single issue of the month was DC's Batman #27. However, Marvel came out as top publisher with 34.09% dollar share compared with DC's 28.06%. Unit-wise, Marvel wins again with 37.39% to DC's 30.77%. Not to be forgotten, Image Comics garnered 10.1% of unit share for comics and graphic novels.
The top ten single books sold for January was evenly split between Marvel and their "Distinguished Competition," with five each making the list (see chart below to see who got what spot).
The best-selling graphic novel for the month was Brian K. Vaughan's Saga, Volume 1 (with volume 2 also making the top ten).
Dark Horse Comics had a strong sales of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1, the official follow-up to Whedon's film Serenity, charting at #29 in single issue sales.
With The Walking Dead returning this month, it's only fitting that Monopoly: The Walking Dead Survival Edition, with custom rules and locations based on the best-selling comic, was January's best-selling games product.
The rest of the official breakdown, in much easier to read and understand charts, appears thus:
The fine print:
Data for Diamond’s sales charts—which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts—are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from a universe of over 3,500 comic book specialty shops located in North America and around the world. The account base includes brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, Internet merchants, and other specialty stores.
Unit and dollar market shares are calculated based upon orders for comic books, graphic novels, and magazines invoiced and shipped to Diamond accounts during any given month, which comprises initial preorders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable.
Please note that comics marked with an asterisk have had their reported quantities reduced due to retailer returnability and thus may rank lower on the charts than their actual sales would reflect.
The count of new titles shipped includes all titles that were invoiced by Diamond to retailers for the first time during the month and is not the official solicited title count for the month. Variant edition comic books and graphic novels at the same price point count as a single SKU. Variant edition comic books, lenticular covers, digital combo packs, and graphic novels at different price points count as separate SKUs for each edition.
So? Any surprises? Does it feel like The Big Two really have any competition on the way?
Posted by
Unknown
- Sunday, February 9, 2014
It's Game Over, Flappy Bird players. The madness has ended.
Another frustrating fad of a tiny pixelated bird has swept smartphone users, bringing you just a tap near death, bursting with anger and violent screaming, until it consumes your life and you realize your high score is still only nine points. But all that has finally ended after its developer removed it from the mobile markets.
Flappy Bird's creator, Dong Nguyen, announced the news yesterday, saying that he "cannot take this anymore."
He followed with another tweet to clarify that "It is not anything related to legal issues. I just cannot keep it anymore."
The mobile phenomenon fueled many criticisms over the idea being lifted from similar games such as the Helicopter Game, saying that its unoriginal content goes beyond "inspiration." The background art and sound effects are almost taken directly from Super Mario Bros, while the bird itself appears to be a cross between the Spike and Cheep Cheep enemies in Super Mario Bros. 3. The bird's mechanics also resemble the 2011 game, Piou Piou.
Flappy Bird gained tremendous success, jumping to the top of the Apple and Android charts while setting social media into madness with boasts of high scores and reaction videos.
According to Forbes, Flappy Bird brings in $50,000 in in-app advertising revenue each day.
Nguyen said in a tweet, "I can call Flappy Bird is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it." The Vietnamese developer said he will continue making games for the mobile market.
You can breathe a sigh of relief for now, until another game takes its place. Let us know what your highest score is in the comment section below.
Many of these cards are very expensive on the secondary market. While each From the Vault set has had a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $39.95, the combination of extremely small print runs and high demand—generated by the reprinting of glossy foil versions of hard-to-find cards with new art—means that these sets sell out really quickly, even when retailers jack up the price. If you want a copy, your best bet is to arrange a preorder with a reliable retailer.
As to which cards will be in the set, that info has yet to be spoiled. All we have is the brief description above and a dramatic illustration of some sort of magical cyclone. Naturally, the Magic community is theorizing madly as to what cards you'll find in the set. Discussion tends to center around the idea that every card in the set will be a board-sweeper. Others theorize that specific word choices in the set description hint at card names, such as inferring that the phrase "blast the opposition into oblivion" refers to the powerful spells Opposition and Oblivion Stone.
All is Dust: The Rise of the Eldrazi set held a number of powerful colorless spells that haunt Magic games to this day. While not as brutal as the three legendary Eldrazi boss monsters, All is Dust is nothing to sneeze at, as it has the potential for a one-sided blowout that destroys all of your opponent's non-land permanents while leaving your key board elements intact.
Child of Alara: This ridiculous multicolored bomb has the potential for lots of recursion or indestructibility shenanigans. It's also a legendary creature, and thus a boon to Commander players looking to try a five-color deck.
Mind Twist: An oldie-but-goodie discard spell, Mind Twist can be absolutely backbreaking early- to mid-game. While its dominance has been usurped by narrower spells such as Hymn to Tourach and Thoughtseize, and discard in general isn't quite as effective as it used to be due to graveyard recursion, Mind Twist is still a spell to be reckoned with.
Supreme Verdict: A key player in the Return to Ravnica block, Supreme Verdict has a name flashy enough to fit the Annihilation theme as well as the power to back it up. An uncounterable Wrath can be absolutely devastating, even if it does allow regeneration, and the eternal formats love it because it can be pitched to pay the alternate cost of Force of Will.
