StormBringer Brings the Dead of Winter

StormBringer stopped by on Saturday for dinner and two rousing games of my Christmas present, Dead of Winter. As readers of my blog know, I am a huge fan of Plaid Hat Games, being that Summoner Wars is my all time favorite game. 

Dead of Winter does not disappoint and lives up to all of the hype surrounding this incredible title. 

We easily won the first scenario and foolishly tried another scenario on Hard Core mode which pretty much buried us. StormBringer's vaunted luck was tested when he lost characters in both games on his first turn. 

Despite the crushing defeat, the game is a fun, immersive experience. Looking forward to my next game of it. Maybe next time we can bring SurfMonkey or KatoKatonian to the table for even more fun. 

In other news...

I continue to teach my students how to play this game of games. In addition, Weezoh and Brigid have also purchased it and are loving it. Yayyy!!!

Cops vs. Robbers: Solo Match vs. Minion

This weekend I got in another Solo match vs. Minion. This time I played Max's Government/Investigator Agency deck vs. my Syndicate rush deck. For the first game, I played the random roll method for Minion's card draws, for the final two games, I just had Minion draw three cards except on its first turn draw 2 as recommended. 

Game 1: 

All three games were close, but this one was the least close. Agency won it overwhelmingly by the end. To be fair, though, I think it was mostly due to Minion drawing 2 cards most of the time. 

One thing I loved from this game was, I really, really, really love Tommy Gun. The original CCG version was an attachment that added 3 Combat icons. They have modified it a bit now in the LCG version it is an attachment that adds 2 Combat icons and a Combat struggle. I like it...a lot. 

Game 2:
This game, the Syndicate's control took over and partially shut down my play. The key was two consecutive Early Starts, exhausting my characters and preventing them from committing to stories.
In the end, the Syndicate won.

Game 3:
This was a good back and forth game that in the end meant victory for the Agency. The Early Starts were drawn again by the Minion, but by the time they were, the Syndicate wasn't poised to win as it was in the previous game.

Then Agency control kicked in, crippling the Syndicate's board.

Looking forward to my next match up. I am leaning toward playing my new Agency Hunter deck vs. Cthulhu. Ought to be a good one! See you next time. Until then, keep on slinging cards!

Cthulhu vs. Yog-Sothoth Solo Minion Match: Call of Cthulhu...

Over the past week, I have run this solo match. For the record I used the roll a die: odd Minion draws 3 cards; even, it draws 2 variation. Cthulhu and I won the first game handily. The Kopesh of the Abyss was in full force. 

Game 2: 

Yog had a lot of control and crippled my resources and deck suffered greatly. In the end, Yog pulled out the victory. 

Rubber Match: 

This game is a source of embarrassment for me. You see, I thought I had discovered an impressive combo involving Hydra and Deep One Rising.          

Unfortunately at the end of the game I realized Deep One Rising reads 'After you play...' which is different from 'enters play.' Needless to say, I was decimating Yog's minions by bringing the Deep One Rising into play with Hydra and destroying them. I shouldn't have been able to do that. As a result, I forfeit the game to Minion and lose the match. 

Gotta read the cards...

Here are the pics from the game anyway...

Next up: Cops vs. Robbers (Agency vs. Syndicate). Stay tuned...

SurfMonkey Hears the Call of Cthulhu and Braves the Cold for Conquest...

Finally, SurfMonkey and I managed to continue our monthly-ish tabletop gaming night. The frigid cold prevented SurfMonkey from bringing any of his own games this night, but I, of course, have more than enough to keep us busy.

First up was two games of

SurfMonkey wanted to play with his favorite Chapter of Space Marines: The Space Wolves. I played my current favorite faction: Eldar. Ragnar won the day. Then we switched decks, and Ragnar won yet again. Take that, Xenos scum!

After those two games, we pulled out my current passion, 

Now, it had been some time since SurfMonkey has played this awesome game. So, this evening's game was more of a refresher than anything, a learning game. 

Thankfully--as frequent readers of my blog know--I have been playing it A LOT (because I love it and am fascinated by it)! The game went smoothly, and I think SurfMonkey is looking forward to more games of it in the future despite the fact my Yog deck crushed the Agency...

Until next time, good reader, Great gaming!

Hastur vs. Order of the Silver Twilight Solo Minion Match: Call of Cthulhu LCG

In the past week, I managed to get another match to the table. This time is was Hastur vs. Order of the Silver Twilight. For this match I played the Minion-plays-2-cards version. 

From now on, I think I will go with the suggested version where every Minion turn, a die is rolled, and Minion draws either 2 or 3 cards depending on the roll because now that my card pool has increased and thus, my decks have improved, Minion isn't as powerful as it used to be: I won: 2-0.

Game 1: 

This game was actually close for most of the game and was one of the longer CoC LCG games I have played solo. Hastur's insanity making/control combos were in full force this game, slowing it down. My Silver Twilight game managed to keep up, though, and eventually won the third story. 

Game 2:
This game was a rout. A bad draw by Minion and the Silver Twilight banging on all cylinders, I smashed Hastur's teeth.

A snow storm approaches, so I will more than likely get another play in. Haven't decided on the decks yet, but I might play a monster faction vs. monster faction this next time. We shall see. 

Until next time, dear reader, game on!

Call of Cthulhu LCG: Vs. Minion: Syndicate vs. Shub

Game 1: 

Continuing my Best of 3 Matches vs. Minion, I took my Syndicate Skill Manipulation/Rush deck vs. my Shub reanimator deck. Syndicate got out to a fast lead, quickly winning two stories, but then Shub appeared, and the deck started cooking. 

Thanks to two early game Untimely Burials, a Plague Stone, the discard pile was chock full of creatures who quickly filled the field after the Stone cleared it.

The Mother's forces began to overwhelm the criminals, though there were a few struggles the Syndicate managed to stave off, but soon Shub's offspring quickly smothered the board. 

Game 2:

Shub came out swinging and even pulled off the board sweeper move with The Plague Stone. However, The Syndicate recovered nicely, and once Mr. David Pan hit the field, supported by the Clover Club Pit Boss, Dutch Courage, and the The Clover Club, there really was no stopping the Syndicate. 

Game two belonged to Mr. Pan.

Game 3: 

I finally managed to get in the third game today. It was a pretty even game until the end when Syndicate pulled away. And Mr. David Pan didn't even make an appearance. Shub did, but wasn't enough to bring victory. O'Bannion's Inner Council was too much for the Old Great One. The Council was definitely the dominating force in the Syndicate's win. 

In other news, the boys and I even managed to get in a game of D&D. Major Orchard, Capt. Teamat, and Kardrell Stormpeace finished one quest, became members of the organization known as The Shields, and were sent on yet another mission to slay a dragon who has taken up residence outside of Bard's Gate. 

Snowy Saturday: Continuing Matches vs. Minion. And Max Returns for Conquest...

Today as the snow came down, I once again returned to the gaming table to continue my matches vs. Minion. 

GAME 1: The Cultists of Cthulhu win!

 GAME 2: Agency wins!

GAME 3: Agency comes through in the clutch!

Really enjoying these games. Tomorrow proves to be a day where the outside is not for human exposure; thus, next up: Syndicate vs. Shub!

Eldar kicked Space Marine butt. Sorry, Max...