Tau...

Well, I got two games against a super-competitive Tau list in this weekend. Let's just say my Chaos Space Marine Nurgle list got absolutely destroyed both times. Although I wasn't happy about the losses, I felt like I learned a lot about both of our armies (this was my first time playing an 1850 CSM list).

Anyway, I think it was a good experience, even though I was tabled both times! Thanks for reading my little weekend report!

Weekend Package!

Yay! Earlier this weekend, a package arrived for me! What was inside you ask? Well, I'll tell you! As a result of a trade I got 3 mostly assembled Tyranid Warriors, 10 Tyranid Hormaguants and 4 Tyranid Termagants! I'll try to get them all out and take a picture for you all, soon.

(Looks like my list of "unit-to-paint" just got longer!)

Thoughts After One Week...

Well, since it's been a week since I picked up the MTG sample decks, I figured I'd do a quick review of the set of them.

Honestly, they're great, especially if you pick up several copies of each deck. That way, you can have some of the better cards as duplicates and remove some of the not-so-good cards. So, the decks are actually a great way to get into the game, unlike other card games' starter decks. Although they're not the most competitive cards, they are still very fun to play with and they're free! What more can you ask for?!

Anyway, you should definitely pick up the MTG M15 sample decks! (Especially anyone who is new to Magic: The Gathering, like me!)

M15 Sample Decks

I've finally done it. I've decided that I'm going to play a little bit of Magic: The Gathering. So, to help me get started, I went to a gaming store last night and picked up two of each M15 Sample Deck. I had never been to that store, so I got to do a little bit of recon for the future. Anyway, I'm going to be unboxing some of these of my YouTube channel, Creative Wargaming (Blog) so make sure you head over there to check them out! 

                 

Pokemon Week Day 7: The Endgame

Oohoo! The Endgame! The most important and most difficult part of the Pokemon TCG! So, for the last day of Pokemon Week, let's talk about what your opponent is most likely to do in the Endgame!

1. Play their heavy hitters! Of course your opponent is going to throw their most powerful stage 2 Pokemon in a desperate fight to win. Be prepared to take a lot of damage! However, if you are prepared, you can dish out a lot of damage as well.

2. Heal damage. People are willing to discard cards and even energies to heal damage.

3. Finally, retreat. If it means their Pokemon is left with only 10 HP, but it survives and doesn't give up a prize card, it will help your opponent.

Pokemon Week Day 6: Playing on Your Opponent's Turn

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, my internet conked out. Anyway, I'm just going to post Day 6 and Day 7 today.

Have you ever heard the saying "The best defense is a good offense"? Well, really, that is the only way you can play in Pokemon, because you can't play cards on your opponent's turn. How? That's what I'm going to talk about!

So, the best ways to play defensively are to play cards that cause your opponent to discard cards, shuffle cards into their deck or generally mess with their strategy. This way, you can force them to think  on their feet even more than they already are! Another great plan is to use some special attacks to damage some of their stronger Pokemon while they are sitting on the Bench. By doing this, you can weaken and even defeat some of your opponent's best Pokemon before they get to the field. So, by ruining your opponent's strategy even the slightest bit, you can cause utter chaos in their master plan.

Make sure you find the kingpins in your opponent's deck quickly so that you can defeat them and win with ease!

Pokemon Week Day 5: Old Vs New

It is getting late here, so I'm going to try to keep this post brief. So, the question is "Are older Pokemon cards better than newer ones?" The straight answer to this question is NO. However, lets dive a bit deeper!

It seems that as new sets of Pokemon cards get released, the energy cost for more powerful attach is going down. For example, a near-base-set Haunter card requires two energies to deal 50 damage, but can can only deal damage while the defending Pokemon is Asleep, whereas a much newer Diamond and Pearl set Ledian can deal 50 damage for 2 energies AND has the choice of retreating after the attack. Better? Oh yeah! But don't worry if you have cards from several sets ago, the change in energy cost is very gradual, for the most part. 

So, even though old Pokemon cards are fun to collect, most of them are not the best for battling. If you disagree, though, leave a comment and lets start a friendly discussion! Thanks for reading!

Pokemon Week Day 4: Hybrid Deck Pros and Cons

Okay, so, if you looked into any given player's deck, chances are pretty good that you will find more than one type of energy card. Mainly, this is because it gives players access to many more Pokemon. This makes it very popular with players new and experienced. But, let's not be too quick to love this type of deck. Let's go over the pros and cons of hybrid decks!

Pros: Hybrid decks give you access to more Pokemon and more "situational" cards, like Stadiums and very specific Supporter cards. You also get access to some of the cooler Special Energy Cards, like the Dark Metal Energy for steel and dark hybrid decks. You also will have a slightly broader range of types, so you can cover your weaknesses much better! Additionally, almost all Pokemon Theme Decks are hybrid decks, so they are easier to acquire.

Cons: Hybrid decks use more than one type (or color, if you will) of energy, which sometimes makes it difficult to use specific attacks. (Single color decks don't have this trouble.) Hybrid decks also have more trouble pulling off unique combos because of their multiple types, whereas single-color decks can combo a bit easier. Finally, it is much harder to focus on a few important cards when building a deck, but in a single-color deck it is relatively easy.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my analysis of hybrid decks and I hope this helps you decide which deck to play!

Pokemon Week Day 3: Starting Hands

What is a good starting hand in Pokemon? Well, this question has many slightly different answers, but we are going to just going to focus on a generally good starting hand. So, here we go!

In the Pokemon TCG, you are allowed to draw 7 cards to start with, AND you must have at least 1 basic Pokemon or you must mulligan. This is slightly more problematic than other card games, because you can't choose to mulligan and you can't choose which cards you get rid of (you have to shuffle your whole hand back into your deck). However, because you also draw 1 card at the start of your turn we are going to say that your starting hand is 8 cards. Confused yet? Don't worry, it gets easier to understand from now on!

In the optimal starting hand, you would have 3 or 4 Pokemon, usually 2 basics and a stage 1 that evolves from one of those basic Pokemon. This gives you a nice boost of power on the second or third turn, so you can start the game hitting hard!

Next is the energies. Assuming you started with 3 Pokemon in your hand, you would want at least 2, but probably 3 energies in your starting hand. This way, you can power up your Pokemon for those first, usually slow, turns.

Finally we have the Trainer cards. Normally, it is bad if you have to play these on the first or second turn, but it is always good to have cards that allow you to manipulate your hand and field as you wish.

So, there you go! Now you know how to recognize a balanced starting hand! Try and use this knowledge to start your games strong!

Pokemon Week Day 2: Deckbuilding 101

This is only going to be a hard and fast guide to deckbuilding in the Pokemon TCG, but here we go!(Remember, you can only have 60 cards in your deck, no more no less and you can't have more than 4 of any card)

First, Pokemon! You need Pokemon to fight for you, so put plenty of basic Pokemon into your deck. I suggest 8-12 basics, 4-8 stage 1 evolutions and 1-4 stage 2 evolutions. However, these numbers may vary slightly depending on what kind of deck you are playing.

Next is energy cards, the cards that your Pokemon require to attack. Unwritten Rule: You must have at least 18 energy cards in your deck or this battle will be very difficult! I believe my deck runs a few more than 18 energies, like 20 or 22. 

Finally, the Trainer Cards! These move your strategy along much faster than you could on your own. Most people run less than 20 Trainers and with good reason, they run your deck out of cards too quickly! So, unless you are going to take lots of healing cards, take 12-18 Trainer cards and just take a few more Pokemon!

Well, I hope this helps you balance out your deck! I may decide to do more detailed explanations later this week, but this is just to help you see what you need make a decently balanced deck. Thanks for reading!