Doom's page

Rock on, dude!

So much for that not-exactly-popular saying, "Those can't, edit".

;)

Take care,

Rick

I LIKE HeroScape, I think it's a very nifty game.

The only issues I have are board assembly (I feel ready for a break after putting it together), and getting the thing back in the box afterward.

But the drafting, tactics, and general feel of it are all good, and it's the kinda thing I recommend to kids for under the ol' Xmas tree.

Take care,

Rick

Yeah, Poison is great, like getting a free action that guarantees damage.

But, the only way I ever make it work is either with Mastermind (problematic, since you might well take a huge load of damage to deliver two clicks), or with Incapacitate. The latter is even more problematic, since you need to hit and push what you plan to Poison, usually forgoing a click of damage...in exchange for doing a click of damage from Venom, and if defense is so high that Poison is the answer, I sure don't want to use a tactic that requires me to roll to hit so that I don't need to roll to hit.

So, what's the 'real' way to use Venom to great effect?

Take care,

Rick

Hey, you mighta gleaned from MY article (with a Mind Control team) it's one of my favorite powers as well...I especially like using it with a Defend character, since this ability best allows you to maximize the usefulness of Probability Control (since it gets better the harder the rolls your opponenent needs to make).

I'm not so sure multiple control will work well; I find that keeping the controller in line of sight of everything she (I tend to use Scarlet Witch) needs to see can be problematic, and doing it for two characters sounds almost impossible.

Yeah, Dredd is cool...starting off with Outwit is darn helpful, since I can mess up an opponent's plans right way. I'm also, of late, a big fan of double target Incapacitate.

In Mechwarrior, there's an ability, "heavy armor" (among others) that reduces damage...but over half the pieces in the game have one or more armor-piercing attack. High damage values on even lower cost pieces even further reduce the usefulness of armor.

On the other hand, few characters have a good way to get past Toughness, and even fewer low cost figures have damage 4 or more, where reducing things a click still hurts bad.

But, Incapacitate cuts right through Toughness (at least for pushing), and gives a bonus effect as well...and two targets doubles the fun!

Ah well, back to the funnies,

Rick

As luck would have it, I played a Barrier-heavy team just last weekend, with Pyro and a good barrier maker (with 2 target Incapacitate at range, sorry, I"m terrible with names).

You're right, Barrier isn't often used, which is why I wanted to try it in a team theme. In this game, I used it to tie down the veteran Green Arrow (10" range is BRUTAL)...he can't shoot through them, and by pushing, I kept the barriers up long enough for my Blob to give some tender lovin' to him.

The heavy hitter in my team was Judge Dredd...again, he has 2 target Incapacitate. So, anything that comes around the Barriers is going to get pushed. That was the theory, anway, although mostly I used Barrier to restrict lines of fire instead of movement.

I'm not sure it's the strongest strategy around. I won, but it was a brutally hard fought match (although perhaps Blob isn't the best melee support); I healed up perhaps 15 points of damage (yay Probability Control!), it was the only thing that saved me.

Take care,

Rick

YOu mean only other RPGS? I've certainly tried a few others, but D&D just seems to be the one that works the best, at least not counting computer games.

Of course, I'm in Lousiana, where readin' folk (much less folk with money to spare on another set of game books) are few and far between. It's hard enough to get 4 people to play D&D D20, much less something else.

Now, for board games and such, Risk 2020 is good, and HeroScape is AWESOME, and all things WizKids have been known to rumble across my card table.

Take care,

Rick

Yeah, Bushido is pretty strong, it definitely seems to work well with white weenie...those early weenies can't be blocked for the first few turns at all, and even 4 mana creatures like the 3/2 ogre in black can't do a thing to them until it's almost too late.

The ogre/demon combo is rather hard to pull off, by the way, although some demons have such tiny drawbacks that it's no biggie, I guess. It's definitely rockin' when the ogre's start regenerating when you cast a demon. :)

Take care,

Rick

I find most boardgames online to be frustrating.

Inevitably, I'm paired or in a game with a ridiculously slow player. I gave up on M:TG Online, after the umpteenth game that took over an hour to play because my opponent, as near as I could tell, needed to consume an entire pizza every time he drew a card.

Using a computer to assist play is fine, but most online 'board' games just don't work so well. I like to be able to talk to and read my opponents, and neither is quite as good through an internet connection. I also worry a bit in trading games, as it's way too easy for players to make a pact that you know nothing about, or to even have one position run by more than one player.

Settlers might break the mold, we'll just have to see.

Take care,

Rick

The new mechanics seem ok, although Splice doesn't seem so good...it's HARD to get the crazy amounts of mana to really make the spell work. If you almost never have 7 or more mana in draft to successfully splice, I don't see it much happening in constructed, either.

The split creature cards are also not exactly balanced...the Black in particular is crazy strong (a 4/2 for 2 mana on the second turn, with no drawbacks, is freakish good).

The creatures that generate effects when they hit the graveyard are pretty nice, but not THAT nice...do they count as a mechanic?

Hmm, what was the other mechanic?

Take care,

Rick

I think it should all be about the strategy with the miniature. Granted, there's artistry and collectiblity to consider, but the top (i.e., valuable) miniatures are primarily that way due to powerful abilities--not counting ridiculous rarity and thus not reviewing since almost nobody will ever have one.

For instance, you could do a page on R2-D2 (as one of many examples), discussing all the details that make it an interesting/important figure. Strategy is the good stuff. :)

Take care,

Rick

Rick

Guess I can't bring a computer, eh?

I'd go with

Settlers of Catan
Axis and Allies
Divine Right
Monopoly
HeroQuest

Take care,

Rick

Guess I'll try this again.

I certainly agree a great player with weak models can beat a weak player with great models, but that misses the point...what happens when a great player has great models? Top players generally don't give themselves handicaps, at least when they're competing.

While it's possible WoTC can come up with an infinite level of synergy, there's an inherent synergy in "lots of damage, lots of hit points" that may very well be the best in any event.

Already we're down to about 20 distinct models in top armies. At some point, there will either be power inflation in the later expansions (say, and orc that hits for 20, costing 4 points), or it won't be possible for the later expansions to offer any models worth tournament play.

Maybe infinity can be reached by WotC, but I'm more inclined to believe retirement or limited formats are the only possibilities.

Take care,

Rick

Hrm...my reply fell into the void again? Weird.

Hey, there's a DOOM board game coming out soon-ish, and with the AvP movie, I bet some sort of miniatures game will see daylight in a year or so.

Take care,

Rick

I can't help but worry a bit about the future of DDM.

At some point, we'll find the 'best' creature for each alignment, in each rough cost. For example, the displacer beast, large silver dragon, and orc warrior are the best all around creatures with respect to alignment/point cost. Although there are hundreds of creatures now in DDM, I'd say about half of them use one or more of a dozen 'top' creatures...and without retirement or some other device, that's how it's gonna be, perpetually.

Now, perhaps something better will come along (although I'm afraid to think of a better 3 point creature than the orc), but the only way it can happen is if there's a general power creep amongst the miniatures (say, and orc for the same cost that has has 1 pip better AC), but this is the equivalent to retirement.

Does anyone else see this happening, and if not, why not?

Take care,

Rick

Actually, I haven't played Magic much either...about the only place to play is a tiny card store in Gonzales (one of many places where Bleiweiss is unwelcome, although at least he never got banned there), which consistently has at least 4, and sometimes over 15, players, for Friday night Magic.

On aturday, it's PACKED with little kids--Pokemon night!

Trouble is, Friday is also the only night the other store runs Mechwarrior/Wizkids stuff...and the only night I can get a D&D group together.

Most frustrating, I find myself trying to go to two different hobby shops in the same night.

Take care,

Rick

Yup, the more I play it, the more I like it (and I even found that missing piece!).

It really does fit back in the box? I've been kinda dreading trying that, it seemed such a snug fit when I emptied it all out.

Ah well, back to slaughtering space aliens and dragons and vikings and elves oh my...

Take care,

Rick

Yeah, that'll work. Gotta love that cheesecake helper. ;)

Thanks,

Rick

Yes, it did...what a drag.

Well, what my somewhat longer post said was, unlike the Star Wars CCG which was too complicated to really play, the miniatures game is quick and simple enough that folks will certainly give it a go.

Is it deep enough? I dunno. But folks will play.

Take care,

Rick

Yikes, did my post fall into the void?

Hoody hoo! What, no page with Undefeated covers on them?

Say, how do you guys get titles like editor, reviewer, and such?

Thanks,

Rick

That, I have to concede, is an issue.

They do MOST of their business online. I've played a few games there, but nothing for tournaments and such. They also have a LAN, and that seems to be as big a draw as all the toys. But I do keep hoping some serious players will show up. Alot of little kids are around, but they aren't quite so interested in rules and stuff ("Let's have a 143 point game, since I have 143 points of figures. What's alignment, anyway?").

Take care,

Rick

Or playing cool computer games. I'm currently smitten with Titans of Steel...a big robot fighting game, almost exactly identical to Battletech. The hook? It's turn based strategy, so you can actually THINK about how to move your toys around, instead of clickclickclickclickety click your way to success.

Take care,

Rick

Yeah, I've been checking it out, too. I certainly like the look, and the "figures from every era/epoch/genre" hook seems to work nicely.

Then again, actually setting up the board is a puzzle...I practically needed a nap after assembling one, trying to put every piece in the right place (and, darnit, there seems to be a piece missing).

It's not exactly a CMG, tho, and it does seem like some pieces are costed a bit too kindly. Ah well, must be time to playtest. :)

Take care,

Rick

Wow, dunno how you missed 'em...catching Michael around was tough, but seemed like the cheerleaders were always there, not that I ever saw them cheering. :)

Take care,

Rick

>>It does fit in the magazine, but we haven't had super-deep coverage yet. Expect our coverage to get deeper, though, since D&D minis seem to be one of the fast-rising stars.

<<

Indeed it is...there's actually a store here in Baton Rouge that covers D&D minis almost exclusively. No Mage Knight, no Heroclix, and 2 boosters of Mechwarrior, and and entire wall of minis singles.

The owner says they're doing well. :)

Take care,

Rick

Wow, you had time to play in a tourney?

I'm impressed.

Did you check out the Navia Dratp tourney they had running? I didn't get to see if the winner had much chess experience.

Take care,

Rick

Oh, I'm not saying he's a bad player or anything like that (although it seems like every time I saw him, he was wailing about being on one losing streak after another...I always presumed, much like the judges around here, he scored his wins somewhere else).

Thing is, he writes like he was a popular and loved guy, and I sure don't recall it that way.

He may well have been the most despised player in New Orleans (which is saying something, I assure you); I gamed with him for over a year before anyone referred to him by his first name, it was always "Bleiweiss", he was held in such disrespect--he certainly returned same, saying things that don't bear repeating. Folks started calling him 'Diarrhea' after an article he wrote, more or less boasting of his dubious prowess on the activity, and he left for greener pastures later.

But now he's calling folks, by name, cheaters and such in his blog...I know, he's hardly relevant enough to spend the time on tracking down other people to see if I've gone a bit senile on the subject, but it's darn annoying to have him say such things about my friends (he even slopped some vitriol on me, with an eense of truth to it, I concede).

Oh yeah, gotta go find cool things for you. :)

Take care,

Rick

Hiyas!

This is Rick Moscatello...any Louisiana gamers out there?

Also, did you, or anyone you know play Magic in the New Orleans area in the 90s? Bleiweiss has been blogging the most amazing smack and rubbish about his alleged skillz and popularity around here during that era, and I reckon it's time to call him out. I can track down most of the shop owners and such, but the more the merrier, after all. ;)

Laterz,

Rick