I have also been very much enjoying Matt Leacock's most recent coop game Forbidden Desert.
I played a game of Forbiden Desert earlier this evening with my sons, age 3 and 6. Credit to Mr Leacock that he has designed a game that is mechanically simple enough that my younger son can play his own turn within the rules and with minimal prompting; the older son is just beginning to work out how to use abilities tactically (he was the climber tonight and carried his younger brother's piece into shade and safety, and my piece into an otherwise inaccessible part of the board); I enjoy the challenge of trying to protect them from the game, usually as the water carrier or navigator.
I hope he completes the trilogy. I always assume that the adventurers are the ones escaped from Forbidden Island. The diver/climber is an extreme sports nut; the messenger is out delivering mail in all weathers and has an instinct for meteorology; the pilot has to carry the water bottles about as penance for crashing the chopper. I'd love to see them fly off in the sky-ship to some Laputa-like place, maybe with the twist that the players have to manipulate the board before the game assembles some sort of mechanism.
Pandemic is much more of a challenge, though still a good game. I'm a bit of a Matt Leacock fanboy.
I've loved almost everything that Guy Gavriel Kay has written. The two best are probably Tigana (the favorite fantasy novel of several of my friends) and The Lions of Al-Rassan (historical fantasy and my favorite of his books).
Agree with this, including preferring Lions to Tigana. For some reason Tigana is the book most enjoyed by friends who "don't read fantasy". I can't for the life of me work out why, as it is pretty clearly in that genre.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Agree with this, including preferring Lions to Tigana. For some reason Tigana is the book most enjoyed by friends who "don't read fantasy". I can't for the life of me work out why, as it is pretty clearly in that genre.
You are the only person I know that prefers Lions. Have you read his latest two? I haven't yet.
I've not read a great deal of King's work but I'd be hard pressed to put him above Zadie Smith, Cormac McCarthy or Irvine Welsh. (YMMV obvs.)
Happy New Year!
What I mean to say, is that I rarely find that kind of quality writing in fiction that really pulls me in from a subject matter perspective as well. He writes the stories I want to read, and than does it in a way that blows me away. So it's not just a matter of the technical writing, human condition/character development, wordsmithing and those things that I appreciate ...It's being able to experience those things within a story that holds my attention and appeals to my interests.
I have a little story, and since it is Magic-related and Cube-tangent, I figured I'd share it here too. Enjoy!
I love Modern Masters. I love the idea, the execution, the draft format, the pack layout (with a foil in each pack), playing with the cards...everything. I love it so much I even went to the only Modern Masters large event, GP Las Vegas, over the summer. I did very well, which only deepened my love for all things Modern Masters. I even have two boxes of it sitting unopened in my other room, to be opened and drafted/enjoyed at some point in the future. The thing I DON'T love?
I can't open valuable cards for $#@+.
Seriously, the last great card I opened from a pack might have been a foil Sword of War and Peace when it was Standard legal. I guess I did open a foil Hero's Downfall, but at the time it was only worth about $5 and was headed straight for my Cube anyway. Most of my recent opened packs contain something akin to a turd that falls out and bounces off of my shoe.
My very first draft at midnight of the Modern Masters release day saw my friend - seated on my immediate right - open Elspeth, foil Kitchen Finks, foil Eternal Witness, Doubling Season, and Something Else, while I opened Dragonstorms and the like. In prize packs I opened about 6 Scions of Oona while others were popping Vendillion Cliques and Cryptic Commands. I've gotten passed better cards in draft than I've opened, including a foil Kitchen Finks, a crimped Bridge from Below, and a Glimmervoid among others. The best card I've opened? Also Glimmervoid. A single Glimmervoid, that is. It felt like others were all hitting the jackpot while I was the cartoon character who always found the cherry when rubbing to find the third '7' on the lottery ticket.
I kept drafting and doing well, but kept bombing on opening packs. I left the Grand Prix (report is here...go read it!) at a tally of 38 packs busted without anything to write home about, but because it was so fun to play I continued to draft the set, spend my store credit winnings on packs, and bounce more turds.
It couldn't last forever, right?
40 packs.
One of my roommates at the GP dropped with his foil Dark Confidant + Tarmogoyf pool to play other things. A friend opened a Tarmogoyf for his dad while sitting next to me. Others were opening foil Swords then selling them to the store for a pittance, while I sat with my pockets turned inside-out at the same table. A good local friend acquired a freshly-opened foil Tarmogoyf for his Cube. A very good friend from Phoenix hit me up with this text message one day:
"How much should I get for this foil Bob I opened?"
It seemed as though while everyone else was opening joy, I was opening only forlornness.
50.
I hadn't been playing Magic much, so I was excited when I entered a 2HG draft featuring Modern Masters packs for the cheap price of 50/team, which is pretty close to retail (in the SE U.S., packs retail for about 12 now). Cool! Of course, I opened nothing in my 3 packs (my teammate opened a foil Engineered Explosives, though), and with only 7 total teams only 42 packs total were opened. Unfortunately, we weren't the team that opened the foil Sword of Fire and Ice, or the foil Kokusho, or the Dark Confidant, or the Vendilion Clique...you get the picture. While featuring two very good decks, our team unfortunately lost to the foil Kokusho (being able to drain life for 10 my sacrificing him at will is pretty good, I heard) and went home early. The best card I opened was a Blinkmoth Nexus, which we passed for more important cards. I was unwilling to trade for the foil SoFI, even though it was offered to me. I'm not even sure he could find enough cards for it!
53.
A couple more prize packs later, and still nothing spectacular. I was starting to lose hope about ever tasting the sweet nectar of prosperity from that golden wrapper.
55.
On Thursday, I went to a great store to battle some Modern. An acquaintance of mine was opening packs of Modern Masters while others bet on the outcome. He had already opened a foil Yosei, the Morning Star, and then opened a Sarkhan Vol while I watched. Money changed hands, and there was much rejoicing.
Quick aside: Have I mentioned that I have only ever opened one mythic, as well? It was in the first draft of the GP, and I had to pass it for a superior card. Awesome, right?
As I am wont to do, I got to play the most Magic for nothing but the pure pleasure of it. After going undefeated in the swiss without dropping a game, I promptly lost 2-1 in the top 8 for no prizes. Perhaps I could have played differently or gotten a bit unlucky, but that so-close feeling is always a touch bitter. While regaling a good friend (and store employee) with my tale of woe and self-reflection, he suggested that I buy a pack of Modern Masters to soothe the raw feeling of losing to a Pithing Needle naming Tarmogoyf.
"I mean, you are bound to break it, right? I can't tell you what to do, but you should certainly buy a pack. I'll give you a dollar if you don't open a card worth at least $7. You're due."
I was not to be swayed. Why would I throw away money just to add to my collection of Auriok Salvagers?
"I'll tell you what: I'll buy a pack too and we can both be miserable together."
Sold.
The packs were brought over, and I declined to choose a pack, as I would surely pick the wrong one. JT also declined to pick a pack, so he flipped the two packs around to 'randomize' them, and I chose one without looking. We opened the packs and decided to go with my delayed gratification method of looking at all the cards in order to build anticipation (instead of going right to the back of the pack).
We flipped cards through the commons and uncommons, evaluating them from both a draft and financial perspective. My pack was leading, with a Kodama's Reach and Search for Tomorrow. Once we got the the final 2 cards, they were turned face-down. I'm used to revealing the foil first, while JT insisted that the rares should be first because of the potential excitement of the foil. This made sense to me, so we both flipped, and each revealed a Chalice of the Void! We had a good laugh at this, and the spectators around also had a chuckle as the tension fled from the scene. All that was left was to flip the foils.
Simultaneously, we flipped those foils onto the table; I was actually watching JT's at first, since that would surely be the better card. In the moment I saw his foil Thundercloud Shaman I thought, "Well, that is certainly a strong draft card. I guess I should actually look at my own card."
DING! It isn't a Tarmogoyf, but it is a pretty good way to end a streak.
Just thought I'd share a piece of my joy about something that really doesn't matter. It's the little things, right?
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
I wish it was a foil Goyf! It just happened in spectacular fashion, so I figured I'd tell the story. As it turns out, I have a Shards of Alara foil Elspeth already Maybe I can use this one to get some future Cube goodies...
If I want to proxie up cards for a cube, do the cards still exist on these forums? IIRC, there were a couple members who had a complete (or high amount) proxie cube.
@Antknee: Since you already have a Shards one I say let it ride! Trade it in for more MM packs and open that foil Goyf (a foil SoFaI would also be a win)!
If I want to proxie up cards for a cube, do the cards still exist on these forums? IIRC, there were a couple members who had a complete (or high amount) proxie cube.
Hey, welcome back KiL0!
We don't have a thread that's full of proxy card art anymore. But I know there are at least a few members here who have all proxy cubes that will hopefully come out of the woodwork to give you a hand.
If I want to proxie up cards for a cube, do the cards still exist on these forums? IIRC, there were a couple members who had a complete (or high amount) proxie cube.
You might find the Digital Rendering Thread an interesting source of inspiration. It is against the forum rules to discuss the creation of physical proxies (counterfeits), but the Digital Rendering Thread has some beautiful representations of common cube cards if you want to take a look.
Sherlock Season 3 is awesome. The game is back on.
I nominate this post for the Understatement of the Year award. I realize it's only January 4th, but "awesome" doesn't even come close to the greatness of Sherlock.
@AntKnee: I got one of those Elspeths too! She sits strong and proud in my cube as a sign of MMA's awesomeness!
I tried the MLP CCG for the first time today at a small local tournament. Have to say, its not too bad. It doesn't feel like a crappy Magic, and that is already better than most other CCGs. Kind of reminds me of the old Decipher Star Wars glory days. Of course already thinking about a MLP cube...
Anyone else also thinking about this? Lots of possibilities...
Well, hello guys. I'm the new mod. Not sure how many of you know of my existence, but I'll try to do doing my best to try to work with you all going forward, and to be able to be as good of a mod as bondfong is.
Cheers to the new year ahead, and many cube staple.
Well, hello guys. I'm the new mod. Not sure how many of you know of my existence, but I'll try to do doing my best to try to work with you all going forward, and to be able to be as good of a mod as bondfong is.
Cheers to the new year ahead, and many cube staple.
Well, hello guys. I'm the new mod. Not sure how many of you know of my existence, but I'll try to do doing my best to try to work with you all going forward, and to be able to be as good of a mod as bondfong is.
Cheers to the new year ahead, and many cube staple.
Your existence is known. Your ascension is joyfully registered.
On a more serious note: I'm happy that one Cube Forum veteran replaces another as Cube Forum mod. This forum is a Safe Haven in the roaring seas that are the Internet and I am confident that it will stay this way with you as our new mod, because you know the spirit of this here place. Congratulations!
Well, hello guys. I'm the new mod. Not sure how many of you know of my existence, but I'll try to do doing my best to try to work with you all going forward, and to be able to be as good of a mod as bondfong is.
Cheers to the new year ahead, and many cube staple.
I really liked The Hunger Games books, although the third was a step down in quality from the others. I get the feeling she rushed writing it when the first ones became mega-hits. But, overall, they were really good books.
I enjpyed the books. I read all three of them in three days. Though they arent particularly good. I thought the first book was better than the first movie but I thought the second movie was better than the second book. I thought the third book was overall weak.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That's the remarkable thing about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse
Calvin and Hobbes Cube Tutor
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I played a game of Forbiden Desert earlier this evening with my sons, age 3 and 6. Credit to Mr Leacock that he has designed a game that is mechanically simple enough that my younger son can play his own turn within the rules and with minimal prompting; the older son is just beginning to work out how to use abilities tactically (he was the climber tonight and carried his younger brother's piece into shade and safety, and my piece into an otherwise inaccessible part of the board); I enjoy the challenge of trying to protect them from the game, usually as the water carrier or navigator.
I hope he completes the trilogy. I always assume that the adventurers are the ones escaped from Forbidden Island. The diver/climber is an extreme sports nut; the messenger is out delivering mail in all weathers and has an instinct for meteorology; the pilot has to carry the water bottles about as penance for crashing the chopper. I'd love to see them fly off in the sky-ship to some Laputa-like place, maybe with the twist that the players have to manipulate the board before the game assembles some sort of mechanism.
Pandemic is much more of a challenge, though still a good game. I'm a bit of a Matt Leacock fanboy.
Agree with this, including preferring Lions to Tigana. For some reason Tigana is the book most enjoyed by friends who "don't read fantasy". I can't for the life of me work out why, as it is pretty clearly in that genre.
Have you read any Gene Wolfe? He's better, IMHO.
And happy new year to all!
My 380 Beginners’ Cube on Cube Tutor
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
You are the only person I know that prefers Lions. Have you read his latest two? I haven't yet.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Cormac McCarthy is insanely good.
Draft my cube!
Watch me stream!
What I mean to say, is that I rarely find that kind of quality writing in fiction that really pulls me in from a subject matter perspective as well. He writes the stories I want to read, and than does it in a way that blows me away. So it's not just a matter of the technical writing, human condition/character development, wordsmithing and those things that I appreciate ...It's being able to experience those things within a story that holds my attention and appeals to my interests.
Though I am a fan of Cormac McCarthy's work too.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I'll post a thread for it later today.
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
I love Modern Masters. I love the idea, the execution, the draft format, the pack layout (with a foil in each pack), playing with the cards...everything. I love it so much I even went to the only Modern Masters large event, GP Las Vegas, over the summer. I did very well, which only deepened my love for all things Modern Masters. I even have two boxes of it sitting unopened in my other room, to be opened and drafted/enjoyed at some point in the future. The thing I DON'T love?
I can't open valuable cards for $#@+.
Seriously, the last great card I opened from a pack might have been a foil Sword of War and Peace when it was Standard legal. I guess I did open a foil Hero's Downfall, but at the time it was only worth about $5 and was headed straight for my Cube anyway. Most of my recent opened packs contain something akin to a turd that falls out and bounces off of my shoe.
My very first draft at midnight of the Modern Masters release day saw my friend - seated on my immediate right - open Elspeth, foil Kitchen Finks, foil Eternal Witness, Doubling Season, and Something Else, while I opened Dragonstorms and the like. In prize packs I opened about 6 Scions of Oona while others were popping Vendillion Cliques and Cryptic Commands. I've gotten passed better cards in draft than I've opened, including a foil Kitchen Finks, a crimped Bridge from Below, and a Glimmervoid among others. The best card I've opened? Also Glimmervoid. A single Glimmervoid, that is. It felt like others were all hitting the jackpot while I was the cartoon character who always found the cherry when rubbing to find the third '7' on the lottery ticket.
I kept drafting and doing well, but kept bombing on opening packs. I left the Grand Prix (report is here...go read it!) at a tally of 38 packs busted without anything to write home about, but because it was so fun to play I continued to draft the set, spend my store credit winnings on packs, and bounce more turds.
It couldn't last forever, right?
40 packs.
One of my roommates at the GP dropped with his foil Dark Confidant + Tarmogoyf pool to play other things. A friend opened a Tarmogoyf for his dad while sitting next to me. Others were opening foil Swords then selling them to the store for a pittance, while I sat with my pockets turned inside-out at the same table. A good local friend acquired a freshly-opened foil Tarmogoyf for his Cube. A very good friend from Phoenix hit me up with this text message one day:
"How much should I get for this foil Bob I opened?"
It seemed as though while everyone else was opening joy, I was opening only forlornness.
50.
I hadn't been playing Magic much, so I was excited when I entered a 2HG draft featuring Modern Masters packs for the cheap price of 50/team, which is pretty close to retail (in the SE U.S., packs retail for about 12 now). Cool! Of course, I opened nothing in my 3 packs (my teammate opened a foil Engineered Explosives, though), and with only 7 total teams only 42 packs total were opened. Unfortunately, we weren't the team that opened the foil Sword of Fire and Ice, or the foil Kokusho, or the Dark Confidant, or the Vendilion Clique...you get the picture. While featuring two very good decks, our team unfortunately lost to the foil Kokusho (being able to drain life for 10 my sacrificing him at will is pretty good, I heard) and went home early. The best card I opened was a Blinkmoth Nexus, which we passed for more important cards. I was unwilling to trade for the foil SoFI, even though it was offered to me. I'm not even sure he could find enough cards for it!
53.
A couple more prize packs later, and still nothing spectacular. I was starting to lose hope about ever tasting the sweet nectar of prosperity from that golden wrapper.
55.
On Thursday, I went to a great store to battle some Modern. An acquaintance of mine was opening packs of Modern Masters while others bet on the outcome. He had already opened a foil Yosei, the Morning Star, and then opened a Sarkhan Vol while I watched. Money changed hands, and there was much rejoicing.
Quick aside: Have I mentioned that I have only ever opened one mythic, as well? It was in the first draft of the GP, and I had to pass it for a superior card. Awesome, right?
As I am wont to do, I got to play the most Magic for nothing but the pure pleasure of it. After going undefeated in the swiss without dropping a game, I promptly lost 2-1 in the top 8 for no prizes. Perhaps I could have played differently or gotten a bit unlucky, but that so-close feeling is always a touch bitter. While regaling a good friend (and store employee) with my tale of woe and self-reflection, he suggested that I buy a pack of Modern Masters to soothe the raw feeling of losing to a Pithing Needle naming Tarmogoyf.
"I mean, you are bound to break it, right? I can't tell you what to do, but you should certainly buy a pack. I'll give you a dollar if you don't open a card worth at least $7. You're due."
I was not to be swayed. Why would I throw away money just to add to my collection of Auriok Salvagers?
"I'll tell you what: I'll buy a pack too and we can both be miserable together."
Sold.
The packs were brought over, and I declined to choose a pack, as I would surely pick the wrong one. JT also declined to pick a pack, so he flipped the two packs around to 'randomize' them, and I chose one without looking. We opened the packs and decided to go with my delayed gratification method of looking at all the cards in order to build anticipation (instead of going right to the back of the pack).
We flipped cards through the commons and uncommons, evaluating them from both a draft and financial perspective. My pack was leading, with a Kodama's Reach and Search for Tomorrow. Once we got the the final 2 cards, they were turned face-down. I'm used to revealing the foil first, while JT insisted that the rares should be first because of the potential excitement of the foil. This made sense to me, so we both flipped, and each revealed a Chalice of the Void! We had a good laugh at this, and the spectators around also had a chuckle as the tension fled from the scene. All that was left was to flip the foils.
Simultaneously, we flipped those foils onto the table; I was actually watching JT's at first, since that would surely be the better card. In the moment I saw his foil Thundercloud Shaman I thought, "Well, that is certainly a strong draft card. I guess I should actually look at my own card."
DING! It isn't a Tarmogoyf, but it is a pretty good way to end a streak.
Just thought I'd share a piece of my joy about something that really doesn't matter. It's the little things, right?
-AA
I use descriptive language. Assume that I'm being nice and respectful. (I'll tell you when I'm not.)
My Cube: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/9029
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
My 380 Beginners’ Cube on Cube Tutor
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
-AA
I use descriptive language. Assume that I'm being nice and respectful. (I'll tell you when I'm not.)
My Cube: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/9029
If I want to proxie up cards for a cube, do the cards still exist on these forums? IIRC, there were a couple members who had a complete (or high amount) proxie cube.
My cube
My cube on Cube tutor
I'm OP_Forever. I'll be putting this in my signature for a while so everyone know I change my nickname.
Hey, welcome back KiL0!
We don't have a thread that's full of proxy card art anymore. But I know there are at least a few members here who have all proxy cubes that will hopefully come out of the woodwork to give you a hand.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
You might find the Digital Rendering Thread an interesting source of inspiration. It is against the forum rules to discuss the creation of physical proxies (counterfeits), but the Digital Rendering Thread has some beautiful representations of common cube cards if you want to take a look.
Digital Rendering Thread
360 Unpowered Cube | Cubetutor
I nominate this post for the Understatement of the Year award. I realize it's only January 4th, but "awesome" doesn't even come close to the greatness of Sherlock.
MY CUBE!
EDH Decks
Tomorrow, The Pitcher's Name
I tried the MLP CCG for the first time today at a small local tournament. Have to say, its not too bad. It doesn't feel like a crappy Magic, and that is already better than most other CCGs. Kind of reminds me of the old Decipher Star Wars glory days. Of course already thinking about a MLP cube...
Anyone else also thinking about this? Lots of possibilities...
My Tribal cube
My 93/94 old school cube
My Artifact cube
My Hearthstone Quiz App for iOS
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
Cheers to the new year ahead, and many cube staple.
My cube
My cube on Cube tutor
I'm OP_Forever. I'll be putting this in my signature for a while so everyone know I change my nickname.
On a more serious note: I'm happy that one Cube Forum veteran replaces another as Cube Forum mod. This forum is a Safe Haven in the roaring seas that are the Internet and I am confident that it will stay this way with you as our new mod, because you know the spirit of this here place. Congratulations!
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
(Jk, I know it is One Piece )
Opm's Cube on MTGS
Wife's Etsy Store (Hair Accessories for Girls)
Congrats!
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor