Good Gamery

Author: paz

  • Summer of Emilevin’ Week 1 VOTE!

    Summer of Emilevin’ is already proving to be totally awesome. In the first week, we’ve received hilarious content from both regulars and newcomers alike. It is now your duty to VOTE and help determine which Week 1 item will earn its creator some boosters.

    Click here to VOTE! (You must register on the GG Forum to vote, of course.)

    Here are the five items you’ll be voting on:

    There are still 5 more weeks of Emilevin’ to come, and YOU are encouraged to participate! Click on the Summer of Emilevin’ banner above to get the scoop on how to enter and what’s at stake.

  • “Greaves” Begins Interplanar Tour

    This article is a Summer of Emilevin’ contest entry. This 6 week contest gives out both weekly prizes and final prizes of booster packs! You are invited to participate and compete by making some awesome and/or hilarious content of your own! Click on the Summer of Emilevin’ banner above for more information.


    PRESS RELEASE

    From the touring company that brought you Phantom Monster of the Opera, The Musician Man, and Angelic Chorus Line, we are proud to present the classic hit musical Greaves!

    Greaves follows two lovers from wildly different backgrounds: Ajani Zuko of the Phoenixes, and Chandra Dee of the Pink Angels. Chandra falls for Ajani while visiting from another plane, but can he accept her for who she is, or will she change for him? Spoiler alert: Entwine!

    Sing along with the songs you know by heart, like the signature hit Emilevin’ (“Emilevin’, happened so fast…”). Other hit songs include Wizard School Dropout, Hopelessly Gaining Loyalty Counters For You, Look at Me I’m Chandra Dee, and the one I know you’re thinking of — Barbed Lightning!

    Get your tickets now for these upcoming performances:

    And finally a 8-day series over the course of 24 hours on Teferi’s Isle.

  • Brambleschnapps

    This article is a Summer of Emilevin’ contest entry. This 6 week contest gives out both weekly prizes and final prizes of booster packs! You are invited to participate and compete by making some awesome and/or hilarious content of your own! Click on the Summer of Emilevin’ banner above for more information.


  • I Have Wings, Yet Cannot Fly

    This article is a Summer of Emilevin’ contest entry. This 6 week contest gives out both weekly prizes and final prizes of booster packs! You are invited to participate and compete by making some awesome and/or hilarious content of your own! Click on the Summer of Emilevin’ banner above for more information.


    “I Have Wings, Yet Cannot Fly”

    by Whippoorwill

    I have wings, yet cannot fly;
    No faerie or angel am I.
    I live on through the hurricane;
    Stand fearless ‘gainst the needle rain.

    I have wings, yet cannot soar;
    Your river boa is no more.
    I cut through this insipid fog
    Who needs a Bojuka Bog?

    I have wings, yet cannot glide;
    These en-Kor I will not abide.
    Flinging damage ’round the field
    Now their own Kor fates are sealed.

    I have wings, yet cannot fly;
    No dragon, sphinx or djinn am I.
    Yet I wish I could reach the sky
    When ground tremors, and I die.

  • A Lorwyn Public Service Announcement

    This article is a Summer of Emilevin’ contest entry. This 6 week contest gives out both weekly prizes and final prizes of booster packs! You are invited to participate and compete by making some awesome and/or hilarious content of your own! Click on the Summer of Emilevin’ banner above for more information.


    For years, Shapeshifter children who were displaced from their original homes — so-called ‘Crib Swap Babies’ — have suffered from an undeserved social stigma. They may look different to those around them, but given the proper love and care they can develop into fully-functional adults.

    We want to bring people together today to end the discrimination and recognise the contributions that children from crib swap families have already made to society. We talked to legendary creature Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile about the difficulties she faced growing up.

    “Yes, I was a crib swap baby,” she told us, her perfect Kinsbaile accent belying her origins. “It was tough at first; all the other Kithkin at school always teased me about how weird I looked, which I thought was unfair given that they had squashed faces.

    “But when I hit puberty,” she said, “my body began to accept its Kithkin surroundings. Now the only things that set me apart are my sharp eye and my hideous dress sense.”

    An Immaculate Magistrate, who preferred not to be named, also had a heart-warming story to tell.

    “I was extremely lucky not to be killed at birth, really,” he said. “Elvish society is still a bit behind the times when it comes to matters of political correctness. But an old oak tree offered to take me in, and raised me like I was his own sapling. When I was fifteen, I became the handsome elf you see before you!”

    The interviewee is now working as a fashion designer.

    Whether it is to a Merfolk or Goblin family, whether raised by Faeries or Giants, crib swap babies can blossom into responsible and high-achieving adults with, if anything, a wider range of career options open to them than other people. Crib swap babies today can be found employed as Advisors, Allies, Archers, Artificers, Assassins, Assembly-Workers, Barbarians, Berserkers, Brushwaggs, Citizens, Clerics, Cowards, Deserters, Drones, Druids, Elders, Flagbearers, Knights, Mercenaries, Minions, Mongers, Monks, Mystics, Ninjas, Nomads, Pests, Pirates, Rebels, Riggers, Rogues, Samurai, Scouts, Shamans, Soldiers, Spellshapers, Survivors, Warriors, and, of course, Wizards.

    We would also like to give special thanks to Mistform Ultimus, without whose support and funding this campaign would not have been possible.

  • Armored Cancrix Asks If You’ve Seen John Connor

    This article is a Summer of Emilevin’ contest entry. This 6 week contest gives out both weekly prizes and final prizes of booster packs! You are invited to participate and compete by making some awesome and/or hilarious content of your own! Click on the Summer of Emilevin’ banner above for more information.

    (This article contains language.)


    An alleged metal-coated crab appeared on the coast of Zhalfir earlier this morning, causing quite the commotion on the normally peaceful region.

    According to witness reports, the large crab appeared out of a glowing ball, and asked passers-by for their clothes.

    “I was holding a whispersilk cloak for a friend at the time,” said a local merfolk. “My friend would kill me if I had given it to some oversized crab, so I took the cloak on my right hand and extended the left one to the crab. Thankfully, it wasn’t very bright, so it put on a piece of nothing and went on its way.”

    The voluminous crab then asked a number of people if anyone knew a man named John Connor.

    “Motherfuckin’ crab was crazy, y’all,” said one fellow. “He was all like, ‘Have you seen John Connor?’ Fuckin’ crabs, man, you know what I’m saying?”

    “It’s the same thing every year,” said a local man. “A person can’t enjoy a nice walk on the beach, some punk has to appear out of nowhere and ruin everybody’s good time. The world coming to an end, it’s understandable. Being invaded by an army of mechanical horrors, we can live with that. But having to put up with this crap, it’s just unacceptable. Damn crabs!”

    Reports indicate the hulking crab then proceeded to hijack a knight’s mount and run off with it. Zhalfirian authorities have no further leads on the alleged crab’s whereabouts.

  • Summer of Emilevin’ (contest)

    Emilevin’, \ˌěm-əl-‘ěv-ən\ (n.)

    1. Hanging out while playing the Magic 2011 Core set.


    2. Relaxin’. Chillaxin’. Warlord’s Axein’.


    3. Friends, Magic cards, and 40s of 211.

    People employ many different strategies to beat the summer heat. But nothing’s more refreshing than popping open a crisp, ice-cold booster pack of M11. To celebrate the great tasting, less filling new Core set, we’re having another content contest.

    Contest


    Every piece of humorous and/or awesome content you submit between now and the end of AUGUST is automatically entered, whether it be fake cards, funny articles, or even set reviews and tournament reports.

    • Submitted content doesn’t have to be about M11 stuff!
    • You can submit multiple items over the duration of the contest!

    Wow!

    How Do I Submit an Entry?


    I’m pleased you asked. Please take a look at these instructions.

    Two Ways to Win!

    The total prize pool consists of a BOOSTER BOX of M11 and a BOOSTER BOX of Rise of the Eldrazi. There are two ways to win packs from this pool: weekly Best Content Item awards, and final Best Overall Contributor awards.


    FIRST WAY TO WIN: Weekly Awards

    Each week during the contest, the Good Gamery community will vote on which single ITEM was the best ITEM of the week.

    Week 1 (July 18-24): 3 booster packs

    Week 2 (July 25-31): 3 booster packs

    Week 3 (August 1-7): 3 booster packs

    Week 4 (August 8-14): 3 booster packs

    Week 5 (August 15-21): 3 booster packs

    Week 6 (August 22+): 3 booster packs


    Each winner may decide his or her ratio of M11 to RoE packs.

    SECOND WAY TO WIN: Final Awards

    At the end of the contest, the Good Gamery community will vote on who were the best CONTRIBUTORS to the overall contest. In the past, this has generally been determined by quality, but quantity can help, too.

    First, we’ll have a vote that narrows it down to the top 3. Then, we’ll have a run-off vote to determine the order of the top 3.

    1st place: 24 booster packs

    2nd place: 18 booster packs

    3rd place: 12 booster packs


    Each winner may decide his or her ratio of M11 to RoE packs from the remaining prize pool (1st picks first, etc.).

    Get involved! Team up!

    Need ideas? Don’t know how to make cards? Want to collaborate on one or more items (and work out any prize splits for the weeklies yourselves)? Get on Java chat! Get into the contest thread and post! Everyone is welcome to participate. And even if you don’t win, you’ll always get constructive feedback to help you for next time.

    How Do I Submit an Entry, Again?


    Alright, one more time. Please take a look at these instructions.

    The Ultimate Emilevin’


    Soon after the contest ends, the biggest event of the summer begins: GGC 2010! Make your way to Portland, OR USA to attend GP Portland on the weekend of September 11, 2010, and you’ll simultaneously attend the Good Gamery Convocation!

    GP events during the day, tabletop gaming and partying at night.

    M11. 211. September 11.

    (remember to snag a shirt in time for the event)

  • Fading In

    This week, Wizards of the Coast revealed that the second set of the Scars of Mirrodin block, codenamed “Camera”, will be released before Christmas this year, two months earlier than the anticipated date.

    In his “Making Magic” column, head designer Mark Rosewater hinted that that the set will also represent another first in Magic history. We tracked him down to learn the reason for all the fuss.

    “Designing Magic all comes down to innovation,” he explained in a phone interview on Friday. “Ninety percent of what we designers do boils down to determining what we’ve never done before, and then doing that. We set a high bar for ourselves With Rise of the Eldrazi: a large third set, big-mana limited format, and colorless spells were all significant innovations.”

    “When developing Scars, we needed something to make the block really pop. We decided that the second set of the block would need a twist. I spoke with [M11 lead designer] Aaron Forsythe about ideas he and his team were pursuing for the next core set. They were examining what it was that made M10 so successful. The large number of functional reprints we introduced in M10 proved to be extremely popular with players.”

    “I was unimpressed. Printing the same cards with new names hardly seemed groundbreaking at all. Then all of a sudden, a billion tiny creative flashbulbs went off in my head all at once,” described Rosewater. “Functionally reprinting an entire set was the natural evolution of that idea.”

    The new set, which will be named Halberd of the Thopterlord, will contain all 143 cards originally printed as part of the Nemesis expansion. As with functional card reprints, players will have a chance to rediscover the cards in a whole new context.

    Rosewater elaborated: “the set will play completely differently this time around. Previously forgettable
    cards like Kill Switch and Complex Automaton may turn out to be the most relevant ones of this block,” he gushed. “And forget everything you thought you knew about Air Bladder.”


    “This is going to revolutionize Magic,” he said.

    Designing the set took more effort than you’d expect, Rosewater explained. “Though the cards are the same, the set is completely new. Halberd will have a brand new back story, a new expansion symbol, and updated Oracle creature types.”

    “We’re even going to have a new prerelease card. Rathi Assassin was pretty crappy.” MaRo paused. “Granted, Assassin will also be in Halberd. But it won’t be as terrible this time. Well, it probably won’t. In any case it won’t be the prerelease card,” he emphasized. “The prerelase card will be Mossdog.”

    If the set is a success, wizards will consider functional reprints of other sets. “I suggested that we should reprint Alliances next, and this time, call it Dalliances,” confessed Rosewater. “We’re still workshopping that one.”

    Halberd of the Thopterlord will be available in 15-card booster packs and goes on sale December 21st.

    “We also have an idea for an exciting new trading card game in the works”, he said.

  • Kjeldoran Knight: I’m Breaking Up the Band

    Kjeldoran Knight gave the following quote to Good Gamery earlier today in an exclusive that marks the end of The Beebles, the most successful Magic band in history. The Beebles have been at the forefront of the public consciousness since they formed in Liverpool during the Declare Attackers step. Since then they have released a string of global hits including ‘Ticket to Ride the Dilu Horse’, ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’, and ‘A Hard Day’s Knight’.

    “Look, man, hey, I’m not giving you a full interview or anything. You’ll receive a statement from my people at the end of the week. But yeah, the rumours are true: the band is splitting up.

    “I mean, we’re just going our separate ways, you know? We worked great together for a few steps, but this is a new phase and me and the boys have a few different ideas about where we’d like to go from here.

    “I still consider them my friends, and I hope we’ll be able to collaborate again, of course. Kjeldoran Escort in particular is a great guy – he reminds me of myself after four mana. I’m sure you remember the band’s giant dog phase, which was fun at the time, but the rest of us have moved on.

    “Kjeldoran Warrior and I have sure had our differences, but I think a lot of that stemmed from the older brother-younger brother relationship we have. To me, he’ll always be the guy who was summoned on turn one.

    “As for Shield Bearer, well, Shield Bearer’s a good kid. I don’t know if he’ll ever be a Skyknight, really, but he played a very important part in the band and I’m grateful for it.”

    Kjeldoran Knight decline to comment on his recent Cathedral of Serra marriage to legendary creature Ayesha Tanaka, known for her avant-garde artwork such as putting a skirt on a suit of armour.

  • Why We’re Going Back to Mirrodin

    Repetition is good for Magic players. Repetition is good for everyone, so repetition is good for Magic players. Repetition is your friend. You like when you see the same thing again. You need to see the same thing again. Repetition is your friend. Seeing the same cards is good. Seeing the same places is good. Repetition is necessary, because repetition is good. We use repetition a lot. We are going back to Mirrodin. There will be artifacts, just like in Mirrodin. We will reuse some cards that are artifacts. We will reuse some cards that are not artifacts. You like Mirrodin. You will appreciate us going back to Mirrodin. Mirrodin is your friend. Repetition is your friend. It is the same. It is familiar. Familiars are from Invasion. Mirrodin is not Invasion, but Mirrodin is the next block. You will like Mirrodin. You always have liked Mirrodin. Artifacts are good. You like seeing artifacts again. Artifacts don’t have colors. We did a set based on colorless. Mirrodin was also based on colorless. You like Mirrodin. Mirrodin had artifacts. Mirrodin has artifacts. Mirrodin will have artifacts. You like artifacts. Artifacts are your friends. You will enjoy playing with colorless. You enjoyed the last set with colorless. Colorless is like colors, but less. You like having sets around colors. Invasion had colors. Mirrodin is not Invasion, but Mirrodin is the next block. Ravnica had colors. Shadowmoor had colors. Shards of Alara had colors. Mirrodin will have colors, but Mirrodin has lots of artifacts. You like artifacts. You like seeing artifacts again. Artifacts are colorless, except when they aren’t. You will enjoy playing with artifacts. You will enjoy playing with artifacts with colors. They are your friends. It is familiar. You like Mirrodin. Repetition is good for Magic players. You will like seeing Mirrodin again. You do like seeing Mirrodin again. You will buy Mirrodin packs again.

    Until next week, repetition is your friend.

    Mark Rosewater