Hola all. Massawyrm here.
CALL OF CTHULHU: THE CARD GAME
Okay, this one is definitely interesting. FFG has been picking up old collectable card games and taking the C out of CCG. They began with GAME OF THRONES and have now moved on to the mid 90’s era Lovecraftian post-Magic game CALL OF CTHULHU. Personally, I’ve been really intrigued by how they’ve handled this. As much as I used to LOVE CCGs, eventually I grew weary of the constant feederbar mentality of having to keep purchasing card to remain competitive. Add in constant new releases and issues with new cards conflicting with old cards and you ended up with a scene that was restricting or banning outright older cards to make way for the new ones. And I got kind of burnt on that.
So here comes FFG applying the old ideas to the newer games. They’re rereleasing these old games as box sets, with all the cards you need to play. THEN they subsequently release expansion packs which further expand the game – which can either be played as a straight up expansion or instead as you would a CCG by combining all the sets and making your own decks.
The biggest selling point of this game for me, outside of my obvious affection for all things Lovecraftian, was the fact that this is a straight up 2 player game. One of the problems with a lot of board games is that they are designed to be either 3-6 player games or party games. While you can play a game like Descent or Talisman with 2 people, it’s just not the same. So most often they sit on the shelf until we have friends over. But a game like this I can play with my wife when we’re in a gaming mood. And the limited, pre-built decks means she doesn’t have to feel like I’m building her deck for her. We’re simply playing the game as it is balanced.
The CoC starter box contains two decks worth, plus some extra for some variety. Already FFG has released 3 of their ASYLUM PACKS, themed expansions with all new cards that tell stories from the classic Mythos tales. But if you can find some of the old cards (or you still have some lying around) they are compatible with the new system – you just need to sleeve your cards to obscure the back (they have new backs.) If you’re a Lovecraft fan and you enjoy CCGs, this is definitely worth a look.
SPACE HULK
Okay, last week I told you there was a rumor going around that Games Workshop was revamping and reissuing their classic gateway drug of a board game SPACE HULK for relaunch later this year. After I posted that I got a call from Bigred over at Bell of Lost Souls who had a nugget of info for me. He’d made a few calls and told me without a doubt, IT IS HAPPENING. Sources that are always 100% confirmed that it will be dropping later this year. So I made a few calls of my own. And those calls told me the same thing. Here’s what we know:
-No one has a solid release date, which is par for the course this far out with GW. What we do know is that it is planned for Q3 – or August/September/October.
-GW is no longer in love with the Blood Angels. We’ve got a shitty micro codex that while cool when it came out pales, in comparison to Codex marines. Odds are it will either be A) a popular codex chapter B) Blood Ravens in hopes of drawing in fans of Dawn of War II or C) Dark Angels Deathwing in order to allow players an already playable army in 40K (I’ve actually heard this is a possibility.)
-The new plastic terminators are cheap and easy to assemble. They’re also readily convertible – I picked up 10 of the Black Reach terminators, the metal Thunder hammer/storm shield conversion pack and the TH/SH upgrade sprue from the close combat box and built myself 10 CC termies with only a little additional clipping. Odds are good that they’ll be just like the BRTs, but with different iconography.
-While there’s no price point yet, GW is known for making cheap starter sets. With the ability to field up to three squads of 10 terminators in the current codex, it will be entirely possible to build a fully functional, full sized army from two Black Reach Starter sets (or like most folks are doing, buying one and trading online/with a friend – orks for marines) and SPACE HULK. I imagine you’ll be able to run about 1500pts for somewhere around $100 if you’re smart about it.
If you’ve never played the original, you have no idea how excited the rest of us are. The premise is pretty simple – a giant floating ghostship is adrift in space and filled with aliens known as Tyranids (nids for short.) The Space Marines have sent in their Terminator Suit wearing marines to clean them out. Alien swarms, tight corridors and heavy duty weaponry. It’s a lot of fun. I’ll have more on this as it develops.
DARK HERESY RELEASE SCHEDULE
Hey! You got your FFG in my GW. No! You got your GW in my FFG! I know, let’s try it. Recently GW decided to turn over their RPG games to FFG to release while they focused solely upon their miniature based games. FFG started out first reprinting the books and are now finally releasing their own material – new books! I’ll have a copy of the next book CREATURES ANATHEMA shortly, which by all accounts is a fantastic monster manual that like a lot of the D&D MMs make for great reading even if you’re not playing the game. A lot of old school favorites make appearances as well as some new friends. Or so I’m told.
Anyhow, last night FFG released a PDF of their release schedule in a cool format with some fluffy reading for you 40K fans. Neat stuff hinting at what the books will contain. You can find it here. But for those of you who want to skip the foreplay and just get into it:
-Creatures Anathema Available Q1 2009
-The Radical’s Handbook Available Q2 2009
-The Haarlock’s Legacy Trilogy Part 1: Tattered Fates (Q1 2009), Part 2: Damned Cities (Q2 2009), Part 3: Dead Stars (Q3 2009)
-Ascension Available Q4 2009
So no big Q3 release for Dark Heresy, but something new every 3 months or so regardless. And a complete adventure path this year.
STAR WARS IMPERIAL ENTANGLEMENTS
I should have some of these coming my way very shortly, but Wizards of the Coast sent over a few pics of the set that are showing up around the net today. The miniatures set seems to be covering the Post ESB era, and I know I recognize a few of these below. I’ll be picking some up for my upcoming Star Wars Saga Edition campaign.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
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