Magic the RPG

Well, not quite.  Some years ago there was talk WOTC developing a Magic the Gathering RPG using the D&D rules. After all, WOTC got its start in the RPG industry with a game supplement called Primal Order and, having the worlds most popular RPG and the worlds developed for use in the Magic card game under one owner, it seemed a natural combination to create a D&D campaign setting using the themes of the various Magic expansions. For various reasons, including the difficulty of making the "magic" system in Magic work using the D&D rules and the desire of WOTC management to keep development focused on the two games independent of each other, kept a Magic based D&D campaign setting from development.

Until Now.

WOTC has released a PDF entitled Plane Shift:  Zendikar that covers the plane of Zendikar with descriptions of the races, creatures and adventures  found throughout the plane.  The supplement comes with no rules for character or monsters, instead showing how to adapt already existing D&D races and monsters for use in the Zendikar setting. For example, to create a Zendikar angel, use the deva, solar or planetar from the Monster Manual. Statistics for some creatures, such as the Kraken, are presented in Plane Shift Zendikar as examples, but in the majority of cases, DMs are directed to the appropriate existing D&D monster reference.

Magic in this setting does not work like magic does in the Magic card game. Players still use D&D magic rules. The idea behind Plane Shift:  Zendikar is to give D&D players another way in which to experience the game, a way that some players have waited over 20 years for.

Volunteers, Fans or Employees

This week's ICV2 column  this week looks at the lawsuits filed against WOTC by Magic judges, allegeing  that, due to the service they provide WOTC, they should be classified as employees rather than volunteers.

Fun with Reporter

I am not sure why WOTC keeps wanting to mess with their Reporter software. I has worked perfectly fine for a number of years but they keep tweaking it and every time it gets tweaked, it goes on the fritz, usually just before a scheduled event. The latest idea is to make the password on a stores Wizard's account the same as the password on DCI Reporter.

Unfortunately, the password on a Wizards account has to be set at a fairly complex level, meaning that the new password will have to be just as complex. I understand that Wizards had children under 13 accessing their website and that is the reason for the complex password, but you would think I would be allows to set my own, rather than having the Wizard's website keep telling me that my password is not good enough.

New For DiceMasters

Here is info on the new DiceMasters products releasing in the next couple of months. Let us know if you want to pre-order any of it as we will likely skip the playmats and bags with out a pre-order:

Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Building Game Alliance Retailers, Be sure to submit your preorder numbers for the next two Dice Master releases from WizKids! Please contact your Alliance Account Representative to place your preorders or visit our Retailer Services website today.  Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War, which releases Wednesday, May 11th, brings the exciting Civil War storyline and upcoming movie release to the tabletop with this industry-acclaimed competitive game! Will you choose to stand by Captain America and his Anti-Registration heroes, or will you side with Iron Man and his Pro-Registration forces? Introducing more than 30 heroes and villains (and their dice!), Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War will be sure to stick out as a highlight of your Dice Masters collections! Choose your side with Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War and defeat your opponents! Coming to you Wednesday, May 25th, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Building Game brings the heroes in a half-shell from the inner-city sewers to your tabletop! These pizza-loving superheroes offer a special delivery of action to new and veteran players alike. Featuring Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and MORE, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are joined by friend and foe alike in this all-new Dice-Building game boxed set! More than a dozen heroes and villains (and their dice!) can be found in this latest addition to the Dice-Building universe. Cowabunga dudes!   Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Starter WZK 72258, $19.99 Whose Side Are You On? Introducing more than 30 heroes and villains (and their dice!), the Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Starter Set features fan-favorite characters like Spider-Man, Nitro, Jessica Jones, Captain America, Iron Man, and more! Plus, Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War premieres the Thunderbolts and the New Warriors, as well as the "Enlistment" and "Resistance" mechanics! This innovative collectible contains everything two players need to play and allows players to increase their Dice Masters collections or jump straight into the excitement! Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War 90 Count Gravity Feed WZK 72260, $89.10 The Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Gravity Feed takes epic dice battles to thrilling, new heights! Introducing more than 30 heroes and villains (and their dice!). Each Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Foil Pack contains two cards and two dice that players can add to their Dice Masters collections. Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Playmat WZK 72261, $19.99 Measuring 24" x 13", this durable and portable Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Playmat displays all of the information one player needs for their Dice Masters game. The different play areas are color-coded with instructions and spaces for Character Cards, Basic Action Cards, and, of course, DICE! Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Team Box WZK 72262, $19.99 Crafted from flexible, durable plastic with a magnetic closure, the Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Team Box contains two internal boxes and three dividers to make organization of dice and cards fast and easy. Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Collectors Box WZK 72265, $24.99 Each Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Collector's Box comes with everything one player needs to play including the Starter Set with 20 custom dice (12 all-new pearlescent Basic Action Dice and eight all-new pearlescent Sidekick Dice), a felt dice bag, 10 Basic Action Cards, and four Indicator Cards, as well as a Full Art Promo Card, four Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Foil Packs, and two dice storage trays designed to hold over 300 dice! Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Dice Bag (Captain America/Iron Man) WZK 72263, $14.99 Measuring approximately 6.25" x 8" complete with draw strings, this durable Marvel Dice Masters: Civil War Dice Bag features images of Captain America, Iron Man, and friends.   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters: Box Set WZK 72222, $34.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters features fan favorite characters including Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Splinter, and more! Introducing more than a dozen new heroes and villains (and their dice!), players can decide to build their team of heroes, villains, or some combination of the two! Perfect for new and seasoned players, alike, whether they're interested in a game or two over pizza or building the perfect team, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters is sure to deliver an experience that will leave you saying, "Cowabunga!" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters: Dice Bag WZK 72228, $14.99 The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters Dice Bag features fan-favorite characters including Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Splinter, and more! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters: Playmat WZK 72293, $19.99 Crafted from flexible and durable material, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters Playmat measures approximately 24" wide and 13" long, and displays all of the information one player needs for their Dice Masters game including a life meter and areas for their character and Basic Action cards and dice, and features each of the play areas, color-coded for players' convenience. Each Playmat can be easily rolled up for safe transport and storage, or left out to display.

Fall Yu Gi Oh Tins

Konami, never one to spare the hype, announces the release of this years MEGA TINS (Can you feel the excitement/)

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc is proud to bring you once again our flagship release of the 2016 Mega Tins!  Paving the way for next year’s Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions feature film, this year’s 2016 Mega-Tins put the original Duelists, Yugi and Kaiba, front and center alongside their legendary Egyptian God Cards. Slifer the Sky Dragon (Yugi’s Egyptian God Card) and Obelisk the Tormentor (Kaiba’s Egyptian God Card) have been two of the most popular monsters since their debut in season 2 of the original animated series.  Now they’re bigger than ever on the enormous 2016 Mega-Tins!

The Yugi & Slifer Tin and the Kaiba & Obelisk Tin each come with 6 variant cards – the highest number of variant cards we’ve ever included in a tin before!  In addition to the Secret Rare Egyptian God Card depicted on the lid, each tin includes 2 Ultra Rare variant cards of Yugi/Kaiba themed cards, including Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon, in their Ultra Rare foil technology (a combo not available since their first appearance in the 2002 Yugi & Kaiba Starter Decks).

Each tin also includes 3 Super Rare variant cards, including 2 brand new cards – one Pendulum Monster, and one D/D/D boss monster to go with the Pendulum Domination Structure Deck,tentatively scheduled for next year.

As always, each Tin also comes with booster packs for players to open up and get even more cards. The 2016 Mega-Tins Mega-Packs contain popular cards from 2015-2016 booster setsCrossed Souls, Clash of Rebellions, Dimension of Chaos, and Breakers of Shadow!

Each 2016 Mega-Tin is sold separately.

The Yugi & Slifer Mega-Tin comes with:

· 3 x 16-card Mega-Packs. Each Mega-Pack contains 1 Secret Rare, 1 Ultra Rare, 1 Super Rare, 1 Rare and 12 Common cards, including cards from the following booster sets: Crossed Souls,Clash of Rebellions, Dimension of Chaos, and Breakers of Shadow

· 1 Secret Rare Slifer the Sky Dragon (tournament-legal version)

· 2 Ultra Rare variant cards, including Dark Magician

· 3 Super Rare variant cards

The Kaiba & Obelisk Mega-Tin comes with:

· 3 x 16-card Mega-Packs. Each Mega-Pack contains 1 Secret Rare, 1 Ultra Rare, 1 Super Rare, 1 Rare and 12 Common cards, including cards from the following booster sets: Crossed Souls,Clash of Rebellions, Dimension of Chaos, and Breakers of Shadow

· 1 Secret Rare Obelisk the Tormentor (tournament-legal version)

· 2 Ultra Rare variant cards, including Blue-Eyes White Dragon

· 3 Super Rare variant cards

Antiquated Business Model

This week's ICV2 column looks at the "antiquated business model" of the brick and mortar store.

Gaming Promo Items

I am seeing a lot more promotional items coming out for games recently, with the receipt of the promo card or figure tied to a certain number of copies of the game pre-ordered. Companies like Looney Labs have done this for awhile, offering a promo card with the rlease of each new Fluxx set but AEG and Iello are getting into it in a big way, with all of AEG's releases this year and a number of Iello's larger games releasing with promo items, the reciept of which is contingent on pre-ordering a certain number of the games. Not sure how much of this is due to Kickstarter's "rewards" and stretch goals and how much is due to trying to stand out from the ever growning flood of games.

Misogyny in Gaming

A friend of mine wrote this post about the still existing problem of misogyny in the game industry. Having misogynistic behavior in a game is one thing. It is stupid and player characters should suffer the consequences of it. However, there is no excuse for misogyny by players in the game or in the store. If you ever hear anyone behaving in such a way here, please let a staff member know so we can speak to the offending person, warn them such behavior is not appropriate and, if necessary, ask them to leave the store. This is not the sort of behavior we want to have happening in the store so please help us to stop it.