With a name like Dark Ascension, is it really a surprise to anyone that Black seems to get some of the best toys in this set?
Dark Ascension Commander & Casual Review
White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Multicolor, Artifact & Land
Black Cat
This card is adorable! Sure, I would have loved if it was more involved with luck (though the random discard is a nice touch). Most easily compared to Ravenous Rats, Black Cat isn’t a bad card but in multiplayer this kitten just doesn’t do enough. Unless you happen to have some great recursion engine… Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: black, commander, dark ascension, edh, game, magic: the gathering, multiplayer, review
I hate blue mages when they’re being predictable. Draw-Go may be one of my least favorite deck types ever, but even I can’t help but be excited when blue is given a bunch of odd toys to make wonky combo decks. Thankfully, Dark Ascension provides just that.
Dark Ascension Commander & Casual Review
White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Multicolor, Artifact & Land
Artful Dodge
This is a card I see having use two different ways. First, is any deck involving Kiln Fiend. He loves getting spells cast on him and loves being unblockable even more. This is a fine addition alongside Distortion Strike. The other way this can be used was brought to my attention by Mark Rosewater as an anti-werewolf measure. It’s not easy casting two spells in a single turn to transform a werewolf back to a human, but being able to pay UU to do it can be great. Personally, I would prefer Defy Gravity as it is an instant, but it is nice knowing the tools exist. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: blue, commander, dark ascension, edh, game, magic: the gathering, multiplayer, review
In Brief
I like to know what I’m getting into with a new game so here are the basic details about Eclipse Phase. The game is several years old but it’s made a big impact, winning the Origins award for Best RPG in 2010 and earning Gold and Electrum status for all of its sourcebooks on Drive Thru RPG. Its core book has Platinum status, putting it in the top 0.11% of sales for that site. For a single-gameline Third Party company, that’s damn impressive.
Genre: Gritty sci-fi.
System: d100-based original system.
Potential Library: Small (6 sourcebooks and 4 adventures).
Publisher: Posthuman Studios.
It’s the near-future and humanity is screwed. Military supercomputers, the TITANs, built to protect the free world took it over instead, going off the wall and firing nukes everywhere. Earth is an irradiated hellhole, remnants of the TITANs remain in quarantine zones, and humanity is scattered throughout the solar system.
Tags: Eclipse Phase, Game to Try
Now that Dark Ascension is fully spoiled, it is time to really look at the cards and try to find out where they work the best. If you’re looking for a captivating analysis of the Standard environment, this isn’t place. But if you want to find out how to make use of almost every card in Dark Ascension at the kitchen table or while editing your Commander deck, look no further! Following my own absurd precedence, I will be starting with white.
Dark Ascension Casual & Commander Reviews
White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Gold, Artifacts & Lands
Archangel’s Light
I don’t know why the first card of every set is often an odd one, but I’ve seen this happen before. There’s no denying that Archangel’s Light is the worst mythic in the set. Yes, this card can simultaneously help you against mill and beat down decks but the casting cost is way too high for it to ever get much use. If this card cost half as much, it might be okay but as it stands… I’m sorry for when you get this in a booster pack. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: commander, dark ascension, edh, game, magic: the gathering, multiplayer, review, white
We’ve already discussed that when gaming parties go bad that you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villianry. There’s an analogy about one bad apple and a basket of fruit somewhere in there, but I think Star Wars covered it. This type of game destroying behavior isn’t just limited to the players. The dungeon master (DM) can be just as liable and the behavior just as destructive.
In some cases it can actually be worse. Since a DM holds all the cards, they can usually mitigate the circumstances when one PC goes rogue (pun!). In contrast, there’s very little the party can do about a bad DM. So here they are, the five biggest crimes a dungeon master can commit. As before, they’re presented in no particular order. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Dungeon Master, dungeons and dragons, Gaming
To see all of the Dark Ascension cards spoiled so far, check out our Visual Spoiler!
From the mothership…
~Counterwhip/lash~ 4UU
Instant (R)
Counter target spell. You can cast a non land card from your hand that shares a card type with the countered spell without paying its mana cost.
Gruesome Discovery is now in English and Skirsdag Flayer is less blurry. But there is more – check out the wall of text spoilers courtesy of MTGSalvation: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: dark ascension, innistrad block, magic: the gathering, spoiler, Wizards of the Coast
All this talk about D&D Next has me re-evaluating my time as a player. Getting ready for a new edition has me thinking about why I started playing, my earliest campaigns and characters and all of that. That trip down memory lane has brought me back to the Penny Arcade D&D podcasts, which follow the hilarious adventures of a group of Penny Arcade’s finest (and Will Wheaton) as they try and survive the world of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) 4e as controlled by Chris Perkins.
You would think that listening to people roll dice and play pretend would be boring, but it is the exact opposite. Listening to Gabe, Tycho and the others try to defeat vampires and solve puzzles got me thinking about the personae you often find around a gaming table. That mixture of personalities and quirks can make a game memorable or leave it in shambles.
We might all try our best to behave and slip into a sense of community while gaming, but inevitably we’re going to break a rule or two. Some of us are more adept at avoiding these pitfalls than others, and some gamers (you know who they are) are down right terrible. So here they are, in no particular order, the five worst offenses players can make during a game of D&D. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 5e, dungeons and dragons, Gaming, Penny Arcade
