tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83285888570144275212024-03-14T01:38:01.640-07:00Babylon 5 CCG: Leveling the Playing FieldBabylon 5 CCG blog, focusing on gameplay, deck building, and reviving this excellent OOP gameLobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-66776449677279167102018-10-04T13:09:00.001-07:002018-10-04T13:09:24.768-07:00On the Verge of a Win... but whose?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/Deluxe/Gallery/361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/Deluxe/Gallery/361.JPG" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="360" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
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This is why I love this game! We've paused for a bit, but at a tense moment... very possible that any 4 of 5 players in our current game will have a win within the next two turns. Same players and factions and largely decks as last game: Minbari/Vorlon, Centauri/Shadows, Centauri/Refa, Narn/Military, Non-aligned/Diplomacy. <br />
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While I did shuffle my deck, its like I put my last game's discard pile at the bottom and played the remaining cards this game. I drew my nasty "shotgun Sabbat" cards... a nasty Neutral character build designed to punish Intrigue meddlers... finally got my Narn Rabble, despite 6 United Fleet cards in my deck last game, I drew none then... but got all 3 into play now, Ja'Doc is in my ranks, etc. Even my agendas have all been different draws. But familiar friends have shown up too. Support fleets have stayed evasive but the big multiples have come up well and I briefly had "Onslaught" as my agenda to leverage Border Raider into bringing more Narn military to bear. <br />
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I did have some speed bumps this time that I didn't last time. It took a long time to hit any leadership characters, I went almost the entire game without drawing any of my three fleet support bases and only hit 1 salvage yard... so I'm killing off and rebuying fleets constantly. Additionally, I voluntarily hobbled myself by not ever going to war.... with a war deck. But I know that soon other players will start putting cards in their decks that mess with states of war and I need to know if the deck can run off its conflicts and agendas if war is removed as an option.... seems it kinda can.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NweiCpdObD0/W7ZM_NU27CI/AAAAAAAAFgw/pfiy1R5j9scPUowTzPZxuuA_Rh_e-aBWgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="1600" height="247" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NweiCpdObD0/W7ZM_NU27CI/AAAAAAAAFgw/pfiy1R5j9scPUowTzPZxuuA_Rh_e-aBWgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0775.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've got victory if I can hold the lead this turn... but look at Shadows, Vorlon, Non-Aligned, etc</td></tr>
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So to our game state now...<br />
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Minbari/Vorlons: have a massive Vorlon influence to leverage, and as we're in the Shadow War, they've got a very large fleet presence<br />
Centauri/Shadows: Equally large Shadow footprint and a strong combination of Shadow and Faction influence... has completed 3 of 5 Nanotech plague against the Non-Aligned<br />
Centauri/Refa: He's fought a long and brutal civil war with the shadow player... but staying alive and has Emperor Refa in play<br />
Myself: as mentioned above<br />
Non-Aligned... the most spending influence for most of the game and tons of Diplomacy. Civil Servants is a monster with Non-Aligned Agents/Aides/Captains... he's also got momentum and successfully pulled off two Taking Credits last turn... conventional wisdom is he's going to double Alliance next turn.<br />
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Very interesting.... can't wait to see what happens in the next few rounds<br />
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Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-35269718197371832082018-09-28T07:43:00.001-07:002018-09-28T07:52:50.828-07:00Chain reaction of crazy in final turn!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">except it kinda was</td></tr>
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A Standard Victory! We almost never have them. A quick reminder that, for us, standard victories require 30 power, not 20.... but the Shadow War/B5 still triggers at 20 and B5 triggers endgame at 20... so given that ease, the Shadow War is almost always a reality. We also play a house rule enacted by me (to make a crazy/brazen fight to stop a winner a more regular thing) that to win, someone must successfully be able to claim victory on 2 consecutive turns... and if two players cross the 30 barrier at the same time, it goes to Major Victory conditions.... so Standard Victories almost never happen<br />
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This game started slowly for me... I was playing a G'Kar Narn war deck, we had a Centauri Refa intrigue deck (who after playing conflicts on me, became the convenient target of my ire and War conflicts), a Londo Shadow Centauri deck (played by the same player who I normally mention as such in earlier AARs posted here), Delenn Vorlon Shadow deck (same player typically using this deck here too), and a Non-aligned diplomacy deck (ditto).<br />
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I've not played for a while, but the others have gotten quite a few games in without me in the interim. So once I was at 9 and they were all in the mid/low teens, they started treating me as more of a source of pity and mockery than a contender... but finally, my war conflicts got up and running (as I finally drew fleets instead of the late game cards I was drowning in) and then when I got an exploited Centauri Prime and a War Footing agenda in, I quickly moved to the front...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this +deep space fleet that got knocked to the floor was my end game</td></tr>
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Ahead of the growing Shadow influence, I broke 30 when I played a Never Again agenda which gave me +8 power and I had ascended to 24 in influence... at the end of that turn I also gained another 3 from a War Conflict (1 from uncontested conflict, 1 from Narn Homeworld, 1 from Centauri Prime... before I was getting 4, but no more War Footing). So I gain 1 turn of a Standard Victory, Shadow influence was at 18 (yikes, almost Shadow War), and everyone starts talking and plotting among themselves to block my 2nd turn of victory... I'm at 27 influence and 8 or less power from Never Again (but only needing to leave 3 larger fleets untapped to stay at 30 power).<br />
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Here's our crazy sequence of events to end the game...<br />
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-Non-Aligned player puts in Alliance targeting me as his conflict, I believe no one else puts a conflict in, I then drop in a War conflict targetting the Centauri Home Faction<br />
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-The Non-Aligned player then puts in a Taking Credit conflict targetting the Alliance... at this stage, that means that he would gain 9! from it and I would gain nothing<br />
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-People starting tapping characters into conflicts, but everyone's staying hedgey as they know I can't be left to gain my 4 from the war conflict... as even if I use most of my fleets (lowering Never Again) that the gain of 4 from my War conflict still puts me above 30<br />
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-I play Temporary Aid as my first action<br />
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-Support goes into the diplomacy conflicts from various sources (Alliance, Taking Credit)<br />
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-I put in a Kha'Mak... +1 Influence to me ;) and drop in another fleet (Deep Space? dunno)<br />
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-There's talk of blocking my War Conflict too... so I play Duel to the Death on it... keeping the struggle mano e mano<br />
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-On my turn, I play Prolonged Talks on the Taking Credit conflict... there I go.. it will loop around to next turn and I'll meanwhile gain 4 from my side of the Alliance and my War conflict... win!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/babylon5/images/b/b2/LondoGkarCouncil01.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080418000335" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="574" height="212" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/babylon5/images/b/b2/LondoGkarCouncil01.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080418000335" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talking and talking and talking</td></tr>
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-<b>Except</b> here comes Not Meant to Be from the Vorlon player... little iffy if that actually effects Taking Credit, but I'll not dither about it... I'm ready for something blocking that... and I play You Are Not Ready (yes, that's a Vorlon card, but Temporary Aid...). Whew! crisis averted... killed that near stop to my win<br />
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-<b>Nope</b>. Non-Aligned player roasts his Lhim Dram to bring back the Vorlon player's Not Meant to Be and then my brilliant surprise You Are Not Ready is negated... harumph<br />
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-Now I'm in a serious bind. I play Fleets on the Border and darky allude to aftermaths like Trap is Sprung, Casualty Reports, Wear and Tear, Catastrophic Damage, and events like Gravity Well and Tactical Nuke (all cards I've used in the past and some of which I did have in my hand). Lots of intense guessing and wondering as I move fleets and keep my big assassin Second Battle Fleet ready to punish anything entering my War Conflict. We play for second typically... so no one wants to get too slagged stopping me and truthfully, looking at cards in play, there wasn't much I think anyone could have done<br />
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-Then as the turn winds down I pour almost all my remaining fleets into the Taking Credit conflict as support. Round ends, and while I didn't roast any participants (would have liked to, but saw no need to be bitter at the end and gut other factions), I did spend 2 influence and via my Temporary Aid, played Stealing Spoils (one of the gluttony of late-game cards I kept drawing early) and swiped all 9 influence the Non-Aligned had gained), giving me a Standard (and technically a Major) Victory and my second turn with such... ending the game... <b><u>for real</u></b> this time<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.biography.com/.image/ar_1:1%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_face%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_300/MTQ3NjM5NjAyMDAwMTc2MjAy/pharrell_williams_photo_by_brian_bowen_nbcuniversal_getty_462041114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://www.biography.com/.image/ar_1:1%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_face%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_300/MTQ3NjM5NjAyMDAwMTc2MjAy/pharrell_williams_photo_by_brian_bowen_nbcuniversal_getty_462041114.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">for real.... think about it</td></tr>
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To his credit, the Non-Aligned player saw it coming. I didn't pay 3 influence to pick up Duel to the Death... which of course I should if the game were to continue... because I only had 4 influence left and I needed 2 for Stealing Spoils... which also to his credit, he out loud theorized was the only card that could block his bid to stop me and which he duly noted was a possibility since I had played Temporary Aid earlier.<br />
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In all honesty, I was shocked at how well they had obstructed the win. I hadn't even thought too far past Prolonged Talks, as I figured that alone would bag the round and therefore the game for me. Temporary Aid was intended for Stealing Spoils that round... was going to do my own influence grab on the Alliance if my War Conflict was messed with... it just happened to also work out to the same net effect by targetting Taking Credit even though, surprisingly, the Home Faction player never tapped the one fleet he had... if he did, and I attacked it, things could have got interesting if the Non-Aligned player had then dumped everything he could have into maintaining a support lead in Taking Credit. <br />
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But then I would have put my aftermaths in, removed some of his leadership and hurt some fleets and possibly killed off some of his 2 health aids and agents... leaving him in a super rough spot for playing for second or going another round with me if I hadn't still been the support leader (think I would have, but I don't know what cards he and others had in hand). I could repair and salvage fleets much faster than people can heal characters, so I liked my chances, but who knows<br />
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The game did continue for a few rounds, but the diplomacy juggernaut of the Non-Aligned Player was sufficient to get him second... here's their end game<br />
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-15378241004194501012018-09-19T21:02:00.001-07:002018-09-19T21:02:27.607-07:00Young Bloods join the Veterans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Very nice to have some new players join the game. We added 5 new recruits to lunch games (which have still been played, I've just taken a break from participating in them myself or blogging about them... Star Wars Destiny and X-Wing have taken up a considerable amount of time... but its been fun to see the game still being played.<br />
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The players have asked me to return to the game for the next session, and I think we'll do 2 5 player games at the same time with the lowest 2 at the veteran table heading to the learner table after they all get their second game in and the best 2 learners come up to veteran table.<br />
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I dunno. We'll see.<br />
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We let the first learning game be played with the pre-set starter sets. Then we let them dive into my card stash and improve those starter decks before their next game... then before the veterans move around we'll let learners tweak their decks again... but veterans are stuck... just to try and level the playing field a bit ;)<br />
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Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-62394751370657167292017-04-07T13:29:00.000-07:002017-04-07T13:29:44.470-07:00Commerce Impasse FTW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well we had another great game come to a conclusion (not really, we play out second) a few months ago. Basically NaFar went atomic. I build him up to crazy levels and then turned loose something like 60 diplomacy and 70 intrigue from just my Ambassador on everyone. </div>
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We're getting some really good games in now. I've sat out the two most recent games. Right now we've got a game down to a Shadow Centauri vs Earth Vorlon slugging it out. Our good ole Minbari Warrior Caste player in on the sidelines and the Narn player (not me :) ) got removed from play by the Centauri.</div>
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Unrest manipulation all over the place and the Vorlons and Shadows are out in force. 29 Influence for the Human player and 28 for the Centauri, so it should be close. Very fun to see the other guys get to play without interferance from yours truly. I handed off my best Narn war deck to another player so we'll see if others can duplicate my success or if I've created something so weird and cryptic that it won't work in someone else's hand.... I'm pretty optimistic </div>
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-59128973094452259572016-04-26T11:46:00.002-07:002016-04-26T11:50:18.625-07:00NaFar says No... again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We started a new lunch game, this one with custom built decks. Na'Far Diplomacy and Destiny (myself), Centauri Imperialism War Deck with Londo, Minbari Warrior Caste, Psi Corps (shudders), Minbari Vorlon Diplomacy were the players. The two Minbari players are old hands (and need faster decks, IMO) and Psi Corps player a veteran card game player and already the guy to watch, and the Londo deck ran by two on the new players as a team (I helped build this deck, in all humility, its good and doesn't need anything other than raw Centauri power to win).<br />
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We used a rather standard fare house rule for us: game goes to 30 power instead of 20. Decks must be 60 cards, cannot exceed 100. Everyone insisted they were ready for a full on deck of mine and so I let my deck run. This is a game I should win, but since we have 5 players we agree that the game will go on and play for second place too, the winning player dropping out, but with States and Global effects still in play. </div>
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So, giddy up, NaFar shuts down everyone's tensions, dropping most to 1 by end game, quickly has 20+ power and uses destiny mark upgrades from aftermaths and to give NaFar stats in the teens in Diplomacy and Intrigue, 8 point damage reduction, and 8 points of automatic opposition to all conflicts. By himself he will end most conflicts before they start, denying influence gains probably half the time they are drid</div>
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With media cards and strong/cheap defensive fleets, there's not much that scares me and I soon drop out at 30 power. However the fight for second was quite interesting. The Centauri deck starts burning through cards, drawing four free cards a turn, and building a military that would have crushed the Narn, had we not already won and withdrawn. Neron powers up slow and runs second fiddle to the Humans and Religious caste. Psi Corp runs well, but too conservative, and the Minbari deck, right at 100 cards, is too cumbersome when the wrong cards keep coming up and just fizzles. In the end, they agree to play until someone runs out of cards and then call it. Victory Centauri, but I should point out that if they played RAW, the Psi Corps player, with more cards and a recycling conflict would have eventually won, and the Vorlon deck could have got second with an agenda that counts Vorlon-Shadow influence as power (so in this game an additional 20 some... though not until NaFar had already exitted stage right).</div>
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All in all a good game. The newer players got to see their decks run, and the Centauri players decided to build their own decks as the Psi Corps player is working on a Non-aligned deck on the side. Should be interesting next game. Na'Far will take a break. Maybe I'll bring out my (crusade free) G'Kar Defense in Depth deck. Its not ran around unchained for awhile. </div>
<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-40251853814516237222016-02-16T21:22:00.000-08:002016-02-18T11:28:00.376-08:00Back in the Saddle... or Meddling with Others<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On a side note: shouldn't either "with" and "others" be capitalized, or neither? There's not a proper noun "Others" involved here... okay, sorry, moving on. I've tried to manipulate, cajole, and guide our little club into a new Babylon 5 CCG direction, and (with two of the return players chomping at the bit to go) we've finally assembled a new lunch crew. I strongly encourage you, if starting a new persistent game, to find a place where the game can be left alone, declare who's playing what at the onset, and then go from there.<br />
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We started this first game playing just starter decks (I looked them up and built them as sold). I think we're far enough in that we'll just stop the game (no one wins) and let everyone break out their custom built decks. It looks like our new group with be me and another student running Narn, our 2 Minbari players from last year (yay!), a returning player now taking up the Earth/PsiCorps mantle, a non-aligned new player (I think he'll be quite good, already deck building in his free time), and another new Centauri player (Chaotic Neutral, but that works well with either Refa or Londo, so all good).<br />
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Here's our table at the start, but many of us are in the teens (yes I know we're using the wrong Refa and Neroon) and the mechanics are well taught. I'm really thinking about going out and buying some plywood to make a bigger table this year... just so we can have 6 of us going with room to play.<br />
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If I have any concern, its the lack of aggression. Yes, so a Narn player would always say, but its more than just throwing fleets out there. They need to be willing to hurt each other a bit, work with each other a bit, get the game going. Right now all the players are kinda just building on their own. We need fleets striking, intrigue developing, diplomacy negotiating, etc. Hopefully those with the lower influence this game decide to get things going in a big way next game.<br />
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-81473179341850284882014-11-18T13:47:00.002-08:002016-02-16T21:35:20.021-08:00More Screenings of Babylon 5 season 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Mrs and I watched three more episodes. The shows are growing on her, but she's made some snarky comments to both the overacting (which is declining) and the "special" effects. It's weird for me, as I don't remember them being this bad... but as I recall, season 2 was an improvement over season 1 (hopefully).<br />
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<b>Episode 7: So much depth, yet somehow still shallow.</b><br />
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<b>Me: </b> Dang I wanted to like this episode. It has racial hatred being triumphed over, artistic integrity, young love, noble intercession, a look into a main character's past, more mysteries of the Vorlons, and more. Yet its all just sort of covered. I think JMS tried to do too much. We get a few episodes where not much happens off the "A" storyline, where as this probably needed to be two episodes. I like the thought(s) behind this one, it's still a long ways off season three's professionalism though.<br />
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<b>Mrs: </b>She got bored with this one. I tried to keep her engaged with discussion on the Homeguard, but I think it needed more Sinclair, more Garibaldi, more Londo v G'kar and less Ivanova and her past and less weak poetry.<br />
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<b>Episode 8: Such a great episode</b><br />
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<b>Me: </b>In my humble opinion, this was one of the those truly great moments in season 1. Both of the Knights feel like deep authentic characters, the mystery of the Battle of the Line is deepened, and this episode just ties in soo much. To me, this is the first time the overall story arc really moves forward. We have little baby steps here and there in the first 7 shows before this, but this one actually takes strides. This also felt like something Shakespeare would write today if he were still alive. I see some of the same art and intellect as we get in Thor in episode 8. Love it. Knight Two's closing comments are epic to me. Before the Matrix or anything like that, for him to be trapped in himself... very cool (I know there is some serious nitpicking with this episode, but I feel like they're missing the point here).<br />
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<b>Mrs: </b> She too saw the Shakespearean undertones of this. I think she really liked this episode too. It doesn't do too much and does what it set out to do quite well. Again, I think she's really buying into Sinclair as the main character and liking him for it. It really is too bad that he (Micheal) couldn't have kept doing the shows (I know, mental health and love of stage took him away). Not that I don't like Sheridan (I do), but I would have liked them both to be regulars.<br />
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<b>Episode 9: A Bit of Tolkien in here</b><br />
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<b>Me</b>: I love how JMS brought in a back story and didn't have to tell it all. It reminds me a bit of the Lord of the Rings (more the movies than the books, which do tell just about all of it). It works to develop a deep back story and not tell it all. Its how people would talk in real life. Add a few outsiders to here the story bits you need and let it all run forward. This episode also feels very mature (much like 8), in that it deals with deep and troubling issues. It doesn't have Shakespeare but instead feels like a TNG episode soaked in 40K grimdark and then dried out in space. I feel like we really get to see the workings of B5 and its political machines in this one... which I like.<br />
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<b>Mrs</b>: She liked this one, but I think it got a little too twisted to follow for a casual fan. My wife also pointed out some kinda weird plot holes, that while they didn't ruin it for me, were good points (like why didn't the Wind Swords want immortality or why is Earth letting her talk to the Narns or why are there no consequences for a Vorlon attack on neutral shipping).<br />
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<b>In other news:</b></div>
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The lunch game got delayed another day, sickness mainly kept to many away. But if I can talk them into it, I'll sit this game out (basically if there's 4 or more, I won't play... 3, I will).</div>
Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-22926234615452432842014-11-15T21:27:00.002-08:002014-11-16T00:11:56.176-08:00Gone too long. B5 CCG, Hello, Old Friend... let's talk starting hands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ah, real life... two days of traveling for work that were separated by only one hour from two days of traveling with family. Now I've returned to B5 CCG. Schedules and my travels have conspired to leave us with no lunch games this week, but I've decided to continue my posts on tips and tricks for veterans players and also some advice for new players when it comes to choosing a starting hand.<br />
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This is part of the game that some seem to treat with only casual regard, "grab some good cards from your deck and off you go". I, however, feel that you build your entire deck around your starting hand and your starting hand is chosen while considering every other card in the deck. Now I'd encourage every group to have a standing policy of announcing your deck a day or two before playing... just let others know what faction/race and if there'll be Shadows, Vorlons, Drakh, Psi Corps, Home Faction, Crusade Pile, B4, or Nightwatch featuring prominently in your deck. I know some will disagree, but having two Shadow players show up and no one else thought that would happen, can ruin the fun of a game, as can 4 Minbari and no Humans, or the like. In a ruleset where only 2 people can bring a certain faction to the table, communication is vital before the game even begins. Nor do you want to play the shell game and ambush people with a deck that no one prepared for (like a B4 or Psi Corps) that can ruin wild if unchecked.<br />
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<b>The Starting Hand</b></div>
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Of course, you need to put some heavy thought into this. Here are a few things to consider in picking those 3-5 cards to accompany your ambassador<br />
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<b>What does your ambassador do?</b><br />
In looking at the ambassador you've chosen, what does he/she do best and what will he/she be doing at the end of the game. Are they a filler while the Drakh run everything? Are they an intrigue/diplomacy/leadership/Shadow War/psi/etc monster? If your ambassador is going to figure heavily into your plan to win, do these cards support that end goal? So often I see cool upgrades or a nasty event, or a powerful fleet included in a starting hard... but they don't directly help the deck/player win the game. What a waste. Cards either move you towards a win, keep someone else from winning, or take up space and dilute your deck. No where is space more vital than the starting hand. Fun cards are fine for friendly games, but if your experiences have been less than satisfying, look long and hard at how well your ambassador and your starting hand is working towards the same goal(s).<br />
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<b>Are there cards you must have in hand to win?</b><br />
If so, consider putting them into your starting hand. Now, if there are 10 planets you need to win (Defense in Depth) or 2 different events that unlock other cards (any mark based deck), seeding multiples of them into your deck may be good enough. But, if that one rare card that you only have two of will need to show up in 20 cards to win you the game, maybe you should have started with it. Yeah, it make take away your character enhancement/flagship/mean character/killer conflict, but if the goal is to get that card in play, don't take the chance of never seeing it, put it in your starting hand. I cannot count how many times a player looked at me and said "oh you're lucky, if I'd hand such and such in my hand, you couldn't have won". Well if you could have anticipated that before the game began (and often you can't), maybe it wasn't luck that gave me the game. Think about it.<br />
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<b>Should you be using an early game agenda?</b><br />
There are so many agendas that can give a strong deck a serious early game boost. Whether that's sponsoring cards without tapping others, giving marks vital for the late game, providing win-able conflicts early one, letting you pull other cards into your deck, or reducing the cost of necessary pieces to your supporting cast, agendas need a long hard look for a starting hand. So many of these starting hand agenda won't win the game, but they'll give you a huge lead and build up your spending pool/ supporting cards quickly. Build Infrastructure is one of those cards, as is Military Buildup. Now you may need to seed 6 more agenda cards into deck to remove these once you've used them, but you should at least consider building your deck and starting hand around an agenda or two... one of which might need to be in your starting hand.<br />
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<b>How soon can you get that card into play?</b><br />
Just ask, speed matters. Think long and hard about that 12 point card you put into your starting hand. It might be the right move, but how easy is it for you to get your influence (or at least your spending pool) up to that level? Some decks fly to the early teens, others plod along and then use other means to win. If that's the case with your deck, that starting hand card that ends the game still in hand may not have been the best move. Starting hand cards are taking precious space. I firmly believe that if a card isn't in play in about 13 turns (or you're waiting to put it into play then), it really needs to go somewhere else.<br />
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<b>How reliable is that card in your meta?</b><br />
You're looking at this great card, it really helps your cause, and it seems to easy to get into play. But that Narn player over there reliably removes one enhancement a game and its an enhancement... so either have a plan, or find a card that actually gets into play. Cards that are nerfed in your meta really don't serve a purpose.<br />
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<b>Does this card need other cards to work?</b><br />
Don't put Lorien on your starting hand without a plan. No point. I, for example, put Councilor Na'Far and the Euphrates Treaty in one of my starting hands. Turn one, sponsor the conflict, gain 1 influence (no Centauri starting ambassador can stop it... and it doesn't hurt them), meet the requirements for the Councilor, upgrade for free, play aftermath of choice, and bam! a monster for the early game conflicts. However, looking up a question, if someone decides its too big of a head start for the Narns, they could start packing a starting hand card that removes the conflict, or the like, and I've wasted a turn for nothing. If that happens, new starting hand. Vorlon Space or a Z'ha'dum are simple musts for starting hands using Vorlons/Shadows. You need those marks for so many other cards. Either seed your deck with cards that unlock your starting hand choices (which is a valid approach) or just put those other cards in hand.<br />
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<b>In looking at a given type, which card is the most vital to have?</b><br />
You love this one character. However, you only get one character (besides your starting ambassador) in the starting hand. Maybe that fun media character or that trolling Zathrus just isn't the best character for the starting hand. Believe me, there have been many times I've stared at two cards of the same type, feeling like I need/want them both for my starting hand. Tough choices, but the wrong one can bite you early and often in a game.<br />
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<b>Is there synergy among your starting cards?</b><br />
One card boosts your ambassador, another gets you cheaper fleets, the third helps you with conflicts. Well that's nice, but this game rewards decks that chain fire strong cards. A starting hand that makes your ambassador Godzilla among bunnies, or instead makes your Mil 7 fleets recycles, or instead lets you spawn win-able conflicts at will is much much better. You get exponential results from boosting boosts. For the B5 CCG three cards that boost different things by two gives you one +2 boost at a time (nice, but meh). However a +2 that improves a +2 that improves a +2 is like a +16 boost that drops like a hammer every turn. One Chuck Norris is better than three Ralph Macchios (no offense Ralph).<br />
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<b>Does this card count as a one of your starting cards?</b><br />
There are cards (Crusade for a... Drakh Ambassadors, Non-Aligned second team, etc) that you can put in your starting hand, but don't count as one of those 3 choices. Be sure you're aware of these and know when they run best in your deck/hand. Also consider maybe using a Crusade Pile or a Drakh 5th column in your deck if they align well with what you're already doing/trying to do.<br />
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<b>Is there a better ambassador for your deck?</b><br />
With Severed Dreams and Wheel of Fire the amount of alternative ambassadors exploded. Maybe a slightly weaker ambassador but a bonus card is better for you. Maybe one of the Home Faction ambassadors runs your deck better than the B5 one. Maybe your starting hand isn't helping much and Londo the Gambler is better for your Centauri deck. Maybe all the hoops your jumping through to get President Sheridan in, just aren't working/worth it and Sinclair is the better choice. Look your ambassador square in the eyes and see if they're the right one for you (well, eye contact with the Drakh can be unnerving, careful).<br />
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...wait for it ...wait for it</div>
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<b>Is this better than your homeworld?</b><br />
After you've come up with the perfect starting hand... are every one of those cards better than your homeworld? Its the perfect parking spot for enhancements, gives you an extra +1 on influence gains from conflicts, and it can take the homeworld out of play for another faction of your same race. Homeworlds are the golden standard that all other cards must be held to in a starting hand. Often the answer is "yes, this card is better than that dumpy old planet", often its not.<br />
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<b>Is this better than an upgrade to your ambassador?</b><br />
After the homeworld test, I often add another one... is it better than a better version of your ambassador. Transformer Delenn and Signs and Portents takes a starting hand from 3 cards to 7. That's huge. As in look down your Minbari nose at everyone else and pity their backwater planets and miserly forces huge. Many other variations of ambassadors can do other (though less horrific) things to the competitive balance of the game. Consider them carefully.<br />
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-62946050188748999322014-11-10T21:08:00.001-08:002016-02-16T21:36:45.828-08:00Babylon 5 CCG: Getting Started<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Looking around the old interwebz, so many think that the B5 CCG sounds fun (or they have fond memories) but that its just too difficult or cost prohibitive to get into the game now. I've put together this little post to show you that its surprisingly easy and truthfully fairly affordable to get back into this game even 15 years down the road.<br />
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This assumes that you get a group of four together and split boosters from boxes (easiest way to make it affordable). How you divide up boosters is, of course, up to you. All hyperlinks following will take you to presorted and filtered eBay searches. Besides these, I'd recommend occasionally checking generic <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=16&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Babylon 5 eBay auctions</a><img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=babylon+5+ccg&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: none;" /> and looking for entire collections or sets being auctioned off. I usually see one or two still trickle by a month, and usually one of them is a ripoff and the other a steal. If you think you've found something good, feel free to ask here and I'll give you my honest opinion on the auction.<br />
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<b>Launching the Ship:</b><br />
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First thing you need is a starter set for each player (I'd just go Minbari, Narn, Centauri, Human at this point). Here are some <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg+starter&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=15&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Starter sets on eBay</a><img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=babylon+5+ccg+starter&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />. As you can see they go for around $10 apiece and are 60 card decks that are more or less ready to go. I'd then recommend going to <a href="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/Resources/bRules-1_3.PDF">Vorlon Space and grabbing the final ruleset</a>. Play a game or two with your palls for fun. Get the mechanics down, and have and idea of where you'd like to go from there.<br />
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<b>Improving the Game:</b><br />
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After you've had a little experience with the starter decks, next you need some boosters. If buying by the box (and you should) I'd highly encourage you to get at least a couple <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg+deluxe+box&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=15&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Deluxe booster boxes on eBay</a> and if your feeling up to it, I'd then look at <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg+great+war+box&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=15&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Great War booster boxes on eBay</a><img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=babylon+5+ccg+great+war+box&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />. Each box runs about $25 if you're patient. If you get two, that's another $13 a person. With two boxes of boosters, starter decks, and a good group of friends, your final cost (per person) would be $23. I dunno about you, but in my gamer circles, that's a steal. If you're a patient and wily eBay buyer, you could even cut that in half!<br />
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If you find that you want to explore the Shadow War mechanic, <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg+shadows+box&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=15&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Shadows booster boxes on eBay</a><img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=babylon+5+ccg+shadows+box&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /> are extremely cheap. This expansion was overproduced and really a little shallow in its selection. However, if going the Shadow War route, its a must.<br />
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<b>Expanding and optional factions:</b></div>
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If you get more than 4 players interested, and everyone wants to play unique factions, have additional players either grab a <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg+non+aligned+starter&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=15&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Non-aligned starter deck on eBay</a> (a later, fifth faction)<img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=babylon+5+ccg+non+aligned+starter&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: none;" /> or a <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg+psi+starter&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=15&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Psi Corps starter deck on eBay</a><img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=babylon+5+ccg+psi+starter&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: none;" /> (alternate Human sub-faction) or another one of the core factions and then a <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=babylon+5+ccg+opposition+starter&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=15&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">Home Faction (Opposition) starter deck on eBay</a><img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=babylon+5+ccg+opposition+starter&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: none;" /> (this allows two of each faction in the game at the same time). It is possible to have three Human players, and two of each of the others... but I'd not recommend it, unless you've all played before and are freeing up an entire day to play this mega game out.<br />
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After this, hunt for individual cards or look at the more rare and more expensive later expansions (Wheel of Fire and Crusade are a blast... but hardly needed to win the game, and probably not worth it if you game on a budget. Severed Dreams is really only worth it for all the alternative variants of the ambassadors... and I'd just get them as single auctions, that'll save you frustrations and money).<br />
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<b>ENJOY!</b></div>
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-21154579666980633572014-11-10T00:15:00.003-08:002018-10-04T09:39:40.997-07:00Babylon 5 CCG Strategy... using marks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well we call it strategy, but its as much tactics as anything (still calling it strategy though). In teaching the game to a little over a half dozen people, I get quite a few questions about marks. I like Strife Marks (and as a mostly Narn, or at least military, player, I appreciate them). However they create quite a bit of confusion. So here's a very basic guide to using the various marks to your advantage.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ySS37wqYXBs/VGBxteqxrOI/AAAAAAAADWk/UdNysWsqOgg/s1600/marks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ySS37wqYXBs/VGBxteqxrOI/AAAAAAAADWk/UdNysWsqOgg/s1600/marks.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b> <b>Strife Marks </b><br />
These are pretty straightforward (again, why I like them), every one of these a character or fleet has adds 2 damage to any attacks. Reminder: when you are attacked, they take damage from Strife Marks too. Weapons, Enhancements, and Groups are usually the easiest way to add these to supporting cards... though aftermaths and events can let them in too.<br />
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Pro-tip: If your tension is below 3 (or some rulesets, below 4... but I recommend highly playing with 3) with the faction in question, you cannot attack during a conflict unless given permission by a card in play. So if you're planning on stacking up massive Strife Marks, make sure your faction will be able to use them. Also, if someone's threatening the use of Strife Marks and you're at "tension 1"... ignore them.<br />
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<b>Destiny Marks</b><br />
Almost always a good thing. These are the kind of marks that trip new players up. By themselves, they do nothing (well, they look pretty in the bottom left corner of the card). However, other cards allow them to do all types of things. Examples: add power, add to stats, score Major Victory, score a Standard Victory, provide opposition, purge to repair/return to hand/heal, etc., sponsor certain characters, discount to costs, as I said, all types of things.<br />
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Pro-tip: Either use them very lightly to unlock one or two nice little bonuses or go all in. Destiny Marks should either consume less than 5 cards in your deck, or be a/the major mechanic that makes your deck tick. If you try to go in half way, all you're doing is diluting whatever else your deck can do. It's good to have a backup, but backups need to be clearly subordinate to your deck's primary strategy to win.<br />
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<b>Doom Marks</b><br />
Almost always a bad thing. Much like Destiny Marks these do nothing unless another card comes into play that activates an effect. Things like taking damage, rotated for no effect, opposition to your own conflicts, influence spent for no gain, forbids use of other cards, discarding cards in hand, purging other marks, can come from Doom Marks. Though not necessarily the opposite of Destiny Marks, they kinda are. There are a few cards that can use these to a positive effect, but they are few and far between.<br />
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Pro-tip: Use with caution as these guys usually cannot be purged or converted (there are exceptions). You'll probably get away with it the first time you take a ton of Doom Marks to gain other benefits in game. However, once you do this (or see someone else do it), be aware that the meta will shift fast. Everyone will start tossing in a few cards to make Doom Marks hurt (and there are plenty). I'd actually recommend only including a card or two that punishes Doom Mark usage until you see it used to good affect in a game... after that, salt to taste.<br />
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<b>Sub-Faction Marks</b> (<i>Shadow/Vorlon/Conspiracy and more</i>)<br />
Again, typically do nothing unless another card says different. These marks are usually a major part of your deck... or not in it at all. Most of the time either purging them or accruing them allows other cards to come into play. If you're wanting to bring in Drakh, Shadows, Vorlon, Nightwatch, Psi Corps, and probably something I'm forgetting, you need to be able to generate these marks in excess and quickly. Typically agendas and events are your best bets for these.<br />
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Pro-Tip: Consider cards that will provide a means of producing these marks every turn for your starting hand. If your entire deck is fueled by a given sub-faction mark, you need to get on building them up on turn 1.<br />
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<b>CAUTION!</b></div>
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<b>Beware: </b>For all the above marks, just knowing how to get/use these isn't enough. Know what cards can be used to put the hurt on someone who uses them... they're out there and you need to either plan on them hurting you, or plan on using them to slow down others,Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-71779889495461672792014-11-07T13:59:00.000-08:002014-11-10T00:44:17.465-08:00Narn, Na'Far is Your Friend Deck, and the end of the Lunch Game #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well Na'Far won. He weathered a Gunboat Diplomacy (Leveled the Playing Field), and took an influence hit the following round from an intrigue conflict, but pushed a Power Politics through (with Homeworld, netted a +2) which put him to 20, and an earlier trade pact, gave 21... game over, standard Narn victory. </div>
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I've decided that I'll sit out the next lunch game and just help with rules disputes and mechanics... more fun to what it sometimes anyway.</div>
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<a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&icep_uq=Babylon+CCG+Narn&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">If you're looking for Narn cards on ebay, CLICK HERE</a><img src="http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=9&pub=5575105710&toolid=10001&campid=5337599233&customid=&uq=Babylon+CCG+Narn&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]" style="border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: none;" />
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Not that it won anything big: but here's the deck</div>
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Staring Hand:</div>
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Na'Far</div>
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Councilor Na'Far</div>
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Euphrates Treaty</div>
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Nowhere to Hide</div>
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Characters:</div>
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Mary Ann Cramer</div>
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Sh'Sak</div>
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Ta'Lon</div>
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G'Sten</div>
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Na'Toth</div>
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G'Drog</div>
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Narn Agitator x3</div>
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Narn Aide x2</div>
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General Na'Tok</div>
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Du'Nar</div>
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G'Obel</div>
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Narn Captain</div>
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Ja'Doc</div>
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Na'Mel</div>
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Kha'Mak</div>
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Groups:</div>
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ISN</div>
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Narn Rabble</div>
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Aftermath:</div>
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Pariah</div>
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Glory x3</div>
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When Duty Calls x3</div>
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Fleets:</div>
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Colonial Fleet x2</div>
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Picket Fleet x3</div>
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Homeworld x2</div>
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Support Fleet x2</div>
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Security Fleet </div>
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Locations:</div>
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Narn Homeworld</div>
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Quadrant 14</div>
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Events:</div>
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Universe Today Feature x3</div>
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Level the Playing Field x2</div>
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Trade Windfall x3</div>
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Wisdom of G'Quan</div>
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Spirit of Cooperation</div>
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Enhancements:</div>
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Attache'</div>
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Man for All Seasons</div>
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Pride of the Kha'Ri</div>
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Book of G'Quan</div>
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Preeminence</div>
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Conflicts:</div>
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Alliance</div>
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Trade Pact x2</div>
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Diplomatic Intrusion</div>
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Officer Exchange</div>
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Affirmation of Peace</div>
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Affirmation of Power</div>
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Strange Bedfellows</div>
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Agendas:</div>
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Power Politics x2</div>
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The Path to Peace x2</div>
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Contingencies:</div>
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Under Our Protection</div>
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Revenge is Sweet</div>
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Power in Consensus</div>
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Bluff</div>
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Further Gains</div>
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Its not sprinter lean or fast, but its NFL fullback trim and thundering. Is it better than Cyborg G'Kar? No. Can it win in a Shadow War? Maybe. Is it fun and competitive in a 4+ player game? Yes. Is it cheesey and makes me feel guilty if I win? No. I hopefully can get it in a weekend game (or the Neroon deck... oh the honorable pain it can reap... maybe I'll post that deck next).</div>
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-5600047066762902422014-11-06T22:13:00.001-08:002014-11-09T22:49:46.530-08:00B5 CCG Lunch Game #2, Third AAR... what are the stat's on the Warleader's Fleet again?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few more excellent rounds in our lunch game. I finally put an ultimatium on the table... "get out enough diplomacy to stop Power Politics, or I win". They took me seriously after I rammed a Power Politics through and tapped the Narn Homeworld for +3 influence. Combine that with Councilor Na'Far's +2 power from having tension 1 with Humans and Minbari, and I'm sitting at 17 power... one more round like that and I would have won. So now Warleaders, Ministry of Peace workers, and Centauri notables suddenly found sponsorship. Meanwhile on only 10 influence, the Centauri have developed a solid cast, Warleader Shakiri and his fleet are flat out impressive and Neroon is spending 16 influence a turn (an impressive and powerful 2nd place showing for the new guy), Psi Corps is reeling from a Centauri Gunboat diplomacy (and needs to get some more cards in play soon... locations and telepath groups... where are you?).</div>
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I did build all three of these decks, so its interesting to see them in play. However, Bester just needs to be aggressive, so its a poor pairing with its player. Neroon is the deck I wanted to really see do well, and it is (yippee!), so there's some vindication there.</div>
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Refa is a little frustrated, as Sheridan has a vehicle to get the Combined Fleets into play and the Warleader's Fleet all look very OP to him. He's looking at his thought-to-be a juggernaut Centauri conquest deck, and lamenting the lack of fleets over military 10 (what until he see's the Grey Council Fleet). I'm trying to explain to him that a War deck doesn't need/want the big fleets, as you aren't running Border Raid or the like anymore. You want many small fleets, that way enemy fleet attacks are blunted by the mechanics of the game and with a salvage yard, you can recycle those military 5 multiple fleets all day. Not to mention, with the Centauri ability to make enhancements global, those +1 Modern Refits, and Establish Bases, and Lifepods, become even greater force multipliers on weaker/cheaper fleets... but he's not seeing it and instead is trying to build a Gather the Rebels Shadow deck... sigh... time to break out the old pure Narn War deck and show the kid how it's done. Sad thing is, the Centauri are actually better at it too. Oh well</div>
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As for my peace loving Narns: I need to get a few more fleets out, just as a deterrent for Minbari military conflicts (I have them at tensions 1, and once someone figures out the ruining that will help someone else win the game, I'm in trouble). Also worrisome, I don't have any conflicts in my hand. I know that I have about 15 in the deck, but until I have them, I only have Power Politics to build with and that shouldn't be an option anymore (though I could wait until the Humans and Centauri all place conflicts and then activate one myself... if nothing else it's paying 9 influence to keep them from using characters as they want). I also played a rather pointless card, Thenta Makur... I've got everyone's tensions at 2 or below, and I think I can hold them there for quite awhile. Who am I going to be able to attack with all those new-found strife marks?</div>
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<b>In other news:</b></div>
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I just got 4000 more plastic sleeves (for under $20, I might add, name brand ones too), so I can finally get the entire collection protected.<br />
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I did find this promising <a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2594689/1/" target="_blank">Dilgar War Fanfic</a> (disclaimer: I've not read it yet... so caveat emptor), I hope it proves to be interesting.<br />
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Also, while I use <a href="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/" target="_blank">Vorlon Space and it's Card Finder</a> for all my card gallery needs, I also found this <a href="http://bureau13.narod.ru/table.htm" target="_blank">Russian B5 CCG gallery</a>. Looks like an excellent backup.</div>
Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-8904262502635411242014-11-04T03:39:00.002-08:002016-02-18T11:31:57.560-08:00Home Faction Ambassador B5 CCG Lunch Game #2, second AAR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A little progress on our lunch game, looks like the Neroon deck has some real potential. We're kinda playing open hands here, so they've all seen mine and I've seen theirs. Almost all the fun Minbari warrior caste character/fleet combos are already in Neroon's hand and now its just growing his influence enough to get them in... we'll have to see today if he can.</div>
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In other decks, Refa's frustrated as this is a war deck of 80 some cards, 20 of which are fleets, none of which are in his hand. Meanwhile he's pumping Ragesh III to bring in a 1st-3rd fleet early and then I assume Border Raid or the like with that (we Narn aren't worried).</div>
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Bester is slowly getting things out, but I really hope he'll be aggressive. You can't play Psi Corps and play nice (well, he can be nice to someone, but he needs to pick on someone too). Its a race right now between him and Sheridan to get Earth out and get some of the limited fleets too, but I'm trying to drill into the Bester that a few Psi Corps locations, a couple high power telepaths, and Military Telepaths are all he needs to stay competitive in military conflicts and that's good enough.</div>
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Sheridan is a pure B5/Diplo deck. I think it will do well in this meta rather than the Shadow War/Military heavy games we've had in the past. He needs to focus on things other than B5 influence and just grow his own power pool. Right now, I could Power Politics and make them all tap out, but nothing gained (other than making them give +2 influence to someone other than me), but once Sheridan and the Senators are all up in running, that will change. Hopefully he and the other players will get that working together to stop Power Politics is a must right now.</div>
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Na'Far is sitting pretty. He's contingency protected, will soon have 2 strife marks on him, and is sitting at a 10 diplomacy right now. I might try and ram through one more Power Politics conflict but I think almost all the homeworlds will be in soon and this might be a pretty quick game for everyone but Refa. Right now he's got the biggest challenge besides Bester. They both need two turns to make most of their influence, where as Neroon and Na'Far can easily make 2-4 every turn. However there are some Alliance cards floating around and I'm going to encourage them to not target me... that should elevate the others quickly, but this one's going to be a race to 20 not a Major Victory (sorry Bester and Refa)... unless something unexpected happens, and just like in the show, it often does.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><b>The Screenings Continue</b></span></div>
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The Mrs and I are still watching the season 1 and we've just finished the first disc and started the second. All and all, I think she's getting it (not understanding it (which of course she is), I mean "getting it", as in seeing what redeemable qualities the series had and why people liked it).</div>
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<b>Episode 4:</b> Lumbering Plot device and Ducky betrays the Doc</div>
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Me:I like the look into the short-sighted and aggressive policies of EarthGov. Much like when the show aired, the current distrust of politicians makes this even more relevant. </div>
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Mrs: I think the lack of well done parallel plot lines in this episode made it less interesting for her. I don't want to say that this is a throw away episode, but as much I as remember liking it the first time through, this might be one to skip if you're trying to speed a new view through the first season... just mention ISN and move on</div>
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<b>Episode 5:</b> Londo's Party and G'Kar's Peril</div>
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Me: Good ole Parliament of Dreams, might be one of, if not my favorite episode of Season 1. G'Kar is overacted, and I'm glad that he's toned down in theatrics but deepened as a character later. We get to meet Na'Toth (one of those characters that I wish we saw more of, but since actress was allergic to Narn makeup, that happens).</div>
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Mrs: Found G'Kar a bit too much of a ham... and, sadly, he was. However, I think Londo and Sinclair are growing on her... but oddly enough, not Delenn (given what's coming, too bad on all accounts, I'm curious to see what she thinks of the season 2/3 changes). All in all, a solid episode for her.</div>
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<a href="http://garth.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341d6d8d53ef01a511fc1028970c-pi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://garth.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341d6d8d53ef01a511fc1028970c-pi" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Episode 6: </b>Bester Arrives and Ironheart</div>
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Mr: Good ole Bester, we meet the Psi Corps, finally, and see just how controlling it is.</div>
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Mrs: I knew this wouldn't be a strong favorite for her... the over acting, psi powers in general, and the suspension of belief needed on this one was going to make it weak. She's not a scifi person, so things like psychics in the scifi sense, just aren't a given for her... I hope this doesn't make her like season 5 even less than most people do.</div>
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All in all, its growing on her. I'm curious to see if she's emotionally invested enough in the characters to feel the betrayal and inner conflict of the next two seasons... I think she just might. She did mention the other day that she was enjoying the series and found it entertaining... if she can say that on season one, that's a pretty good sign for me.</div>
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BTW, here's an <a href="http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/eplist.html" target="_blank">Excellent episode guide for those looking</a></div>
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Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-53737687423231076162014-10-30T12:27:00.001-07:002014-11-09T22:50:41.921-08:00Homeworld Factions abound in Babylon 5 CCG lunch game #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We launched another lunch game this week, 5 players this time... and only one has a Babylon 5 vote. The decks were all picked independent of the others, yet we have no Shadows, no Vorlons (I think), and only 1 B5 ambassador and none of the original 4. <br />
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The decks go as follows (starting in the top left, clockwise): Sinclair (4 card), Bester, Na'Far (me), Refa, and Neroon. We're all still in the process of building, but I had the Euphrates Treaty in my starting hand along with Council Na'Far and Nothing to Hide (if Refa wants to run up tensions to get to war, it will at least hurt a bit), so right now I have a Diplomacy 9, DR 3 ambassador. The Humans and Neroon are at influence 7, Refa is at 5, I'm at 6 (I took a turn off to get Na'Toth in... though we are unsure whether Na'Toth is considered Na'Far's ambassador right now or not. Either way, I'd have put her in (only character I've drawn and I need another Inner Circle sponsor). Neroon's a first time player, but the rest have all played before. I'll still give advice freely, and I know Refa will too, so they should do fine.<br />
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My Na'Far deck is the normal win via tension, but I'm already wishing I have a few more cards to keep tensions down (the extra power can't hurt, especially late game). We've already had a B5 vote, kinda funny, Sheridan played the card and then got to have the only vote... but I know Neroon and Na'Far both have the agendas that enable their right to vote. No Shadow, Vorlons, Crusades, Non-aligned, or original ambassadors... should be interesting at least.<br />
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-60203100476670877282014-10-28T12:17:00.002-07:002016-02-18T11:35:29.567-08:00Babylon 5 episodes 1-3 reviewing againThe Mrs. and I are slowly watching the series from beginning to end. She's never seen them before, clearly, I saw them all back in the day. I've watched seasons 2-5 within the last year, but not season 1 and not all the movies.<br />
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<b>Episode 1: Ragesh and Raiders</b><br />
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Me: wow, I forgot how dated the CGI was. Also, I forgot how much G'kar was one part villain and one part buffon at this point in the show. Sinclair's a better character than I recalled. Londo is very much the flawed good guy.<br />
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Wife: That looks like an old video game. Found the characters weird, really didn't see the acting that bad. Not convinced, but being quite the sport.<br />
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<b>Episode 2: Soul Hunting and new medical digs</b><br />
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Me: ok, written like a Shakespeare spin off. Good, but still rough. I did like the Grey Council teasers.<br />
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Wife: noticing the forced costumes and CGI. She's liking Garibaldi and Sinclair.<br />
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<b>Episode 3: Aides and Maids</b><br />
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Me: Again, I forgot how sympathetic Londo was and how much of an antagonist G'Kar was too. I also appreciate how much JMS kept the feeling of being in space, in a major trade hub. Nice to see the main characters interacting with each other and friendships forming.<br />
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Wife: we talked about the silliness of the "futuristic" civilian clothes (and yet how 80s/90s it all felt). There was some confusion between Kosh and N'Grath (stupid character and stupid costume, glad they dumped him) as they both live in climate controlled zones.<br />
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I think she's enjoying it, but certainly not hooked. I did skip The Gathering (would have hated for that to be the first impression). I also lowered expectations as best I could (PC CGI effects, poor acting, mood inconsistencies etc. in season 1), so that helped too.<br />
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I'll post again once we've screened some more.Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-13867275885796656172014-10-27T17:17:00.002-07:002014-11-09T22:51:24.853-08:00Babylon 5 CCG Saturday AAR #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Well we didn't use this card, but G'Kar was the Great Machine and then some on his own</b></div>
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Ok, Techno-Mage citizen G'Kar goes on the shelf, at least for awhile, at least for me. He tore through just about everything and tanked the rest. With over +5 to Diplo, Leadership, and 3 Strife and Destiny marks, Invisibility, all four Legacy contingencies, a couple nasty regular ones, and every techno-mage card in the game in play (except We're in Charge... I needed to pull a few punches), nothing could touch him.... And then it got better, I stumbled on The Tech on an empty Legacy deck just recycling contingencies and events. Combing this with Isabella, I was putting a contingency back into play a turn. Just wow. I could sacrifice serious boosted strike fleets and then salvage them back into my hand. For awhile the Babylon 5 War Council was up and running.... oh the discounts, oh the healing, oh the disposable, recyclable fleets along with recycling Protection and such... only catch, I had to be left alone until influence 35+ to be able to juggle all the flaming knives... but that's what happened.<br />
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My deck was based on having a Preeminent Defense in Depth, with techno-mages and Khari dancing around the planetary influence maypole. Things like "Rally the People" are pretty scary when you can throw 30 points of Elizabeth Trent, and 30 points of ready Diplomacy at it (with Narn, that's 5 influence from one conflict... add a contingency and you're at 6... hello late game push).</div>
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<b>The Others:</b></div>
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<b>Drakh</b> (well a non-aligned front government): By far my real competition. So much Shadow, so many discounts, so many marks. Shadows probably averaged 3 influence every 2 turns for most of the game. Supposedly the Centauri were going to go to war and this deck was going to ride that wave. Would have worked, if Refa would have pulled the trigger.</div>
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<b>Centauri</b> (threaten war deck): A very nasty deck, but made four mistakes... needed two events to declare war on (in case someone shot one down), needed to get to war before the Shadow War (didn't, truthfully, was being nice as Earth was wide open), needed to concentrate on one foe and tear him apart, and needed to not talk smack to Citizen G'kar when he has an Exodus Fleet, all the above upgrades, and every techno-mage in the game boosting the Exodus fleet, along with the Hi-Tech weapons, a couple aftermaths and the Pride of the Kha'Ri... I think I was doing 28 damage and resisting or basing away 19 damage with the Exodus Fleet. Refa challenged G'Kar and he wiped two top fleets out of space with no lasting damage in return.</div>
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<b>Vorlon</b> (Minbari deck): Needs to be a bit thinner and generate a bit more influence on the Minbari side before bringing in Kosh. This deck ran a close third, and the Minbari and Non-aligned players did an excellent job trying to keep me contained. Man, I hate "You're Not Ready". Messes up all types of fun, and for 1 point generates 2 Vorlon Influence. That being said, I still think that this is the best deck I've built. Again the Minbari player had to come in late (turn 12 ish) and still was a contender and a major broker the entire game. I like how he runs this deck and I will definitely take his pointers on making it better. </div>
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<b>Human</b> (Earth Gov Senate): Good, but this deck just won't run. I gave it a higher character to card ratio than the Vorlon or the Narn deck and it didn't get them in until late.. too late. Its some sort of curse, either on the deck (I used it before and was tied for last) or the faction. I think next game I might hand off G'Kar the Machine to the Earth player and run this deck as mine... something's just not clicking here and I need to fix it/figure it out.</div>
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<b>Notes to self: </b></div>
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I have a disease, the cure More First Ones, another Isabella's Quest, a thinner Crusade deck, 2 more planets (don't know where I'll find them though, at 10 already) and We're in Charge could really make this deck hum... I think I'll hone it and then store it for a rainy B5 day (or pass it off to someone else in the club to enjoy).</div>
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We'll start another lunch game tomorrow... I think Neroon or Na'Far will be my deck of choice... or pass off Na'Far and play the Earth deck myself to see if I can get it going (probably not).Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-72911183390499865012014-10-22T22:26:00.000-07:002014-11-09T22:52:03.731-08:00Babylon 5 CCG Game #2: End of the Lunch Game... new game coming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So yeah, I "won" a game... the two new players did well, but I think this game really shouldn't count. I might need to go back and hone that Human deck some more (or maybe just rebuild it from scratch). Feels like its can't ever be more than a strong supporting cast member. I let the game go until the end of lunch and then played two planets and a contingency to close at a standard victory with 21 influence. Londo's annoyed for sure (he wasn't playing a learning deck), but techno-mages did just fine keeping Refa, the Emperor, and Londo off my Inner Circle,<br />
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In other news, I'm only needing to log about 500 more Shadow cards from having all of my cards documented and organized... here's the system so far:<br />
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Also in trying to hunt down any other current B5 CCG players, if found this <a href="http://forum.rpg.net/archive/index.php/t-327973.html" target="_blank">Old RPG forum discussion on B5 CCG</a>. Pretty interesting, even if it was 7 years ago. </div>
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Looks like we've got a game for Saturday for sure. Non-aligned, Centauri, and myself. I'll let them pick between Narn Power Politics, Techno-mage G'Kar, and Neroon Ranger deck... doesn't matter to me, the G'Kar deck is probably the weakest (just too slow), but I think they'll probably direct me toward the Ranger deck unless we have someone running the Minbari/Vorlon deck (and I hope we do) and maybe even someone running the Sheridan deck (I've already tweaked it to have a shot at putting President Sheridan in).</div>
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I'll get that AAR up as soon as the match happens... a few more games under our belts and I'll start posting deck builds for your viewing pleasure.</div>
Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-62955738726126093262014-10-20T14:58:00.000-07:002014-11-15T21:30:41.489-08:00Babylon 5 CCG AWOLs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Only 187 cards missing now:</div>
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Premier: 8<br />
Shadows: 15<br />
Great War: 22<br />
Deluxe: 2<br />
Psi Corps: 53<br />
Severed Dreams: 26<br />
Wheel of Fire: 32<br />
Crusade: 29<br />
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I finally have every Narn card and every techno-mage (fleet or character), so that's fun. It just amazes me that Psi Corp is the expansion that one cannot find any boosters for anywhere. I've also got the sneaky feeling that I probably have 10 of the missing cards, I just haven't counted/filed them correctly.<br />
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Argh! the Psi Corps cards, so tough to get at any reasonable cost. Anyone wanting to sell an Emperor Mollari, let me know about it. Here's some B5 mod action:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/HBahYmhjFOc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-88928442987823094042014-10-20T01:21:00.002-07:002014-11-15T21:30:00.070-08:00...a few extra turns and something of interest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We got a few more turns in on the lunch game: Long story short, I'm a jerk. I left one conflict uncontested and then dropped the above on it at the end of the turn... 21 opposition dropped with one card... lols. The other card I generated support with Elizabeth Trent... after having Genius Loci hop into it, doing damage to everyone. Tap a homeworld, and 19 influence. Now they brought a bunch of stuff in, and I'm holding a planet (they don't follow the blog, don't tell them)... but if think I'm just going to build up fleets and try to hasten the Shadow War. Unless it targets a card I hold, I'll probably even let them steal a little influence here and there.</div>
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As to the Saturday game, we ran out of time, but I feel confident that we'll have one this next Saturday. Looks like three players for sure, maybe 5 if I'm lucky (I like the bigger games).</div>
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As a parting note, if you've not seen this, I recommend it highly for any B5 fans, unfortunately though some rough language, so its pulling gold out of slag... beware:</div>
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-21483456661579561432014-10-17T01:51:00.002-07:002014-11-09T22:53:08.180-08:00...and Londo makes his move<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few more turns on the lunch game. Supporting characters coming out for everyone, assistants finally show up (and homeworlds). I'm Mr. Money bags, but I'm strongly encouraging the other players to start targeting me. When we called it, everyone had just revealed their conflicts</div>
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<b>Delenn: </b>Supporting characters everywhere... from a cast of 6 to a cast of 4... He's feeling a little disheartened at the weakness of the supporting row, but I'm hoping that he can see them as cheap and expendable. A fleet is now in play and Vorlon's march on with our first Final Destiny in play (let the recyling and growing Vorlon marks/influence being... good, I want the Shadow War sooner than later).</div>
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<b>Sheridan: </b> He and Londo are teaming up to try and push a Partnership for Peace through (against me). This will give each of them an extra 8 influence to spend next turn (if it works). That could really help them. I'm contingencied against the loss of influence, so I'll make them earn it, but not attempt to stop it. Sheridan got Ivanova in and improved (so that helps). At this point, I think buying cards with the possible windfall here might be the best move.</div>
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<b>Londo: </b>Slowly building up his hand, if he pushes Prey on the Weak through, and he might, with his Homeworld in play, he can start the climb to a solid influence rating here. His character pool is small, but they're pretty powerful and he's already got plans for what to do with influence gained from Partnership for Peace (basically 2 characters and a planet). I'm not sure I can stop it if I wanted to, but I don't want to get too involved. Refa is a nasty axe man for him right now. I think in his mind he'll attack with him every other turn (healing on the off turns). I like Londo's willingness to attack, most of the new players (not the learning ones, though this applies to them too) are gun shy in attacking, Londo is not, and that's good... playing conservatively does not work well in old B5,</div>
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<b> G'Kar: </b> I've got the cards to win, but I really want to see where this goes, and I'd like the Shadow War to start (gives the learning players more turns to learn the game, and then I've exposed them to the different victory sets). Right now I've spent my Legacy Deck. All its characters are out, all but one of its fleets, and its just enhancements and aftermaths until I recycle the conflicts through. I know the Minbari deck has excellent abilities to strip off enhancements, so I'm going to try and play it careful (like wait until I have two of a card and then play one with the other as a back up). Typically I try and convince all three of the other players to come at me once the Shadow War begins, so I'm trying to setup for being a bear for them to take down. Its fun for them to work together to obliterate someone and its fun for me to see how resilient I can be. My conflict is Hi-Tech Weapons, and I just want to win that and not lose Prey on the Weak. It will be good for the game for all three of the other conflicts to go through, and I don't think I can stop them anyway without exposing cards that I'll need later in the game.</div>
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We'll see if I can pull off the weekend game... it looks like it will happen soon.</div>
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Until then, check out <a href="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/" target="_blank">Vorlon Space</a> for all your B5 CCG needs... this site really makes the game run these days.</div>
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-35031920367442882612014-10-15T09:02:00.002-07:002016-02-18T11:51:41.508-08:00Narn deck won't narn... and hello old friend<br />
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Yeah, no Narns in my Narn faction, just 5 Techno-mages and a Banker... so weird</div>
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A few more turns (3 or 4?) on the lunch game. Predictably Londo the Gambler and G'kar the Techno-mage are going head to head. Its kinda broke down into two games, Narn vs Centauri (the two veteran players) and Minbari vs Narn (learning player and veteran). Unfortunately for the Human player (also learning) his cards just aren't coming up.</div>
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Londo: Got some of his heavy hitters in, Refa's up into the Inner Circle, and Emperor Turhan with his Imperial Telepaths are up and firing. I tried to block his Hunter, Prey (which gives him an auto Intrigue 2 on all future conflicts), but stuff got real. Galen and Genius Loci jumped in with both feet... Refa attacked them and Londo supported the conflict along with Turhan (thus all the damage tokens). Arthur has been a big help to him getting cards. With two cards that can generate intrigue conflicts as an action, this deck is always doing something every turn.</div>
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Delenn: Now with 11 power and 10 influence (benefited from a Narn Legacy Conflict), He's got a solid Inner Circle and good supporting cards, Vorlon influence is at 11 (I actually want the Shadow War, so I'm kinda helping subtly, much to Londo's dismay).</div>
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Sheridan: Now an Extra Conflict John Sheridan (just need conflicts now), and with a captain and a won conflict successfully pushed through (at 11 influence), he's just sitting on every great late game, 12 cost, card you could want. Hopefully the low cost quantity over quality cards that are everywhere in this deck start coming up soon. He's got no more conflicts in his hand... just waiting on the right cards to come up!</div>
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G'Kar: Well what a weird set of 3/4 turns. Played Faces in Stone on the first of the turns and was able to get Blaylock, Isabella (who got demoted last turn), and Genius Loci all in (and Genius Loci into the Inner Circle). I pushed through two Well of Forevers (cheap, I know) and an Isabella's Quest to gain 2 more influence, along with another pair of conflicts, I was able to get up to 15 influence and spending 18. I'll drop one planet next turn and then focus on guiding the Humans up to 15 influence too (its a learning game after all, and I'm in a spot to just sit back and build supporting cast and let the others fight it out). G'Kar will just play power broker for now. I did look at Londo's deck and discard Prime Minister Mollari (evil, I know), but what good G'Kar can pass on keeping Londo in his place?</div>
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Things learned: When it happens, Legacy decks can get OP... I've got 5 Techno-mages in play (G'Kar is one now). My Narn deck is too thick, I can't get any good non-Legacy cards in my hand (even with Isabella giving me extra draws)... I need to make hard choices and cut it down to 70 cards (which I'm not good at doing). Luckily the Legacy deck is keeping me in the game... I've also got two Portraits of the Past in my deck somewhere... at this rate I might use them both if they come up (lets me recycle my Crusade Pile... hello more Wells of Forever). Also, as said before, I really need to emphasize shuffling decks well to new players.</div>
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In other news... I'm still cataloging my 4k extra cards I just acquired (see a couple posts below), but I also got a little something for me. I don't know how rare this is, but I'm thrilled to have it.</div>
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So, while thinking of this, here's a vid in memory of Andreas Katsulas</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hDxkkc99wog?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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and this epic tribute too</div>
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Upcoming: going to try and get a veterans only game together this Saturday. I'm going to try my 60-ish card Neroon-Ranger One military deck. Sounds like a Centauri war deck and a Psi Corps deck will be waiting for me... maybe a Non-Aligned worlds deck and a Shadow deck too</div>
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Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-75153494753166586342014-10-13T20:52:00.002-07:002014-11-09T22:54:26.159-08:00Babylon 5 CCG House Rules: Stacking it in the House's favor, or good for gameplay?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/Crusade/Gallery/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/Crusade/Gallery/015.JPG" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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BTW: what a typical Crusade blind-side min/max card</div>
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As I look at the game and how it will play in our little club, I have to wonder if we should have a few house rules. Most of these were taken from the only tournament I ever played in. They were designed to speed up play without unbalancing the game.<br />
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Ambassador assistants not in the starting hand go into the Inner Circle when sponsored<br />
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Enhancements do not require sponsoring<br />
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Any agenda change cannot win a victory on the turn the new agenda was put into play<br />
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Start the game by raising all influence to 7 and letting everyone draw 4 cards<br />
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Only sponsoring and building influence for the first 4 turns, play is simultaneous <br />
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Just looking at them they all seem reasonable, and I don't see any major downsides to them. If everyone is aware of the house rules while building their decks, it seems fair to me.<br />
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Another thing I noticed on older tournament AARs around the interwebz is the use of side decks. Does anyone know what the established norm for this was (if there was one)? I assume this would have to also include any ISA or anti faction specific cards? 20 card limit? Just curious.<br />
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-81503257107813534942014-10-12T02:40:00.000-07:002014-11-09T22:54:38.491-08:0050 Credits and a Week... worth of cards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/SeveredDreams/Gallery/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://b5ccg.mahasamatman.com/SeveredDreams/Gallery/001.JPG" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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I had a pretty good week of acquisitions. While I haven't had the chance to put them all in yet, I acquired almost 4000 cards for under 50 USD. 2 Shadows Booster Boxes, 1 Great War Booster Box, and over 3000 fixed, commons, and uncommons (complete sets each) from Wheel of Fire, Severed Dreams, Deluxe, and Shadows (which apparently is the easiest set to acquire cards from in the current market). So for the price of a couple Crusade characters I pulled off this... and no card is represented more than x2... I was very happy with this all. I still haven't put it all into <a href="http://www.wolflair.com/index.php?context=card_vault" target="_blank">Card Vault</a> yet, but as I was mostly missing uncommons, this should really help... and I still have 2 Shadows booster boxes on the way (which is included in my total 50 USD).<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-txyzLSxOaKs/VDpJfXzMH-I/AAAAAAAADQg/JKrBHqHnKic/s1600/IMG_1314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-txyzLSxOaKs/VDpJfXzMH-I/AAAAAAAADQg/JKrBHqHnKic/s1600/IMG_1314.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The white packets are complete common and uncommon sets. I'll unwrap them as needed for our playgroup (which is mostly highschool/college kids), but for now I think I'll keep them as is... I did unwrap at least one of each, couple of the few. I'm toying with the idea of using them as give aways on the blog (say on random comment per month gets a complete common set, or the like... that'd require comments, of course).</div>
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Besides the incredible quality of the repackaged commons, I've now finished off my Sheridans, Zathrasi (lol), and complete a second set of squadrons 1-3 (finally).</div>
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Its still Wheel of Fire and Crusade rares and basically anything Psi Corps (which is more difficult than Crusade cards to find, for me) that elude me. Once I get my new rundown of missing cards figured out, I'll post that.</div>
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So for now its waiting until Tuesday's lunch game and figuring out how to hand the influx of 4k cards into my filing system (which was dealing with a total of 3.5k cards up to this point). Ufta.</div>
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My parting thought: my first Great War 2 booster packets were home runs for me: </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ngHKgqoI988/VDpL53vVjpI/AAAAAAAADQs/d8Bo1tMQki0/s1600/IMG_1312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ngHKgqoI988/VDpL53vVjpI/AAAAAAAADQs/d8Bo1tMQki0/s1600/IMG_1312.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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While hardly the best draws for someone looking at resale, for me this was great: 4 uncommons and 2 rares that I didn't have... plus a couple commons that I was looking for a third in. I've forgotten the thrill of hit great finds in a booster packet. Ah the memories. Have a great week all.</div>
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<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-13011902418553773282014-10-10T10:43:00.001-07:002014-11-09T22:54:55.996-08:00Screening and Turns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, its not that type of screening, but yeah. Me and the Mrs. are going to start watching our way through all things Babylon 5. We'll start with the Gathering and then head on through the B5 Series. I'll try to do one or two of these a week and eventually we'll have the whole thing done. She's never seen a single episode, so this should be interesting.<br />
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Another Day of the Lunch Game<br />
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Everyone's hit 10+ influence... right now the playing field looks like this:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-APJcOwv3-wo/VDgFWyefq0I/AAAAAAAADP8/t09cLyO-Os8/s1600/IMG_1308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-APJcOwv3-wo/VDgFWyefq0I/AAAAAAAADP8/t09cLyO-Os8/s1600/IMG_1308.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Starting on the top left and moving clock wise: </div>
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Gambler Londo has the King Arthur and Lord Refa in his Inner Circle, no agenda, a Garrison fleet and 10 influence. There's been a little antagonism (betrayal??) with the Minbari... but other than that he's doing well</div>
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After that, Delenn is farming up her Vorlon marks (4) and raisin Vorlon influence (8). She's (he's) lost a picket fleet to an intrigue attack by the Centauri, but has a good start to building the Grey Council force needed to contend in Diplo/Intrigue conflicts. He's also at 10 influence</div>
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Next is me (G'kar) with 12 influence (I just won Show the Colors) and 14 to apply (Independent Support). Right now I've got Defense in Depth in play, along with Elizabeth Trent in my Inner Circle and Galen as a supporting Character (I'm running a 25 card Legacy side deck). For security I've got a Utility Fleet and Galen's ship,,, but that military looks pretty weak compared to the final member</div>
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Last is Sheridan with 11 influence, but also Build Infrastructure, 17 military (Fleet of the Line and Second Battle Fleet), and Franklin in his Inner Circle. He also has a Trade Pact with the Minbari... so he's the big beat stick right now.</div>
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All tensions are as starting and all unrest is one, except Centauri (which is two, thanks Refa).</div>
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It's still a learning game, but the beauty of B5 is that getting the fundamentals down goes very quickly. Both of the new players have made some minor mistakes, but that's the nature of the game...</div>
Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328588857014427521.post-40096829856316989442014-10-08T23:25:00.000-07:002014-11-09T22:55:10.416-08:00Acquisitions <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well I found <a href="http://claudiachristian.net/" target="_blank">Claudia Christian's (Susan Ivanova) website</a>, interestingly enough she never watched Babylon 5 on network TV. Apparently she started slowly watching them for the first time... pretty interesting to see her take on things (and inside information) all these years later. She's taken a break on the screenings, but hopefully will be back to them soon.<br />
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After what I thought were shrew acquisitions, and my wife thinks are a waste of funds (she's probably right), I've already cut my missing cards down to 221.<br />
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31 Crusade<br />
35 Wheel of Fire<br />
28 Severed Dreams<br />
54 Psi Corps<br />
17 Shadows<br />
45 Great War<br />
9 Premier<br />
2 Deluxe<br />
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I've also got 3 booster boxes (shadows and great war) coming in, so hopefully I can drop below the 200 mark from those (and flesh out some missing cards). There are certainly some big rares (Emperor Mollari) that I'm missing, but its the uncommons that are becoming the real trick. No one sells those, or puts them up for trades. Its always rares. Oh well. I can't find Psi Corps booster boxes anywhere. At least Crusade, Wheel of Fire, and Severed Dreams are out there to be bought... Psi Corp just looks like a dead end for now.<br />
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We finished a few more rounds of our current teaching game (play during lunch 2 days a week). Almost everyone's right at 10, so soon the game really starts. I've always wondered, if for speed and moving the game forward, it would make sense just to given everyone 5 free draws, +3 influence, ambassador assistant in play, and start the game there. I get that for tournaments and stuff that would not go well, but for friendly play, I really am beginning to think that I might consider some sort of advanced start like that... it would get the game going much more quickly<br />
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Post any thoughts you may have on fudging the start of the game... I'm curious<br />
<br />Lobukiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07102757072282163114noreply@blogger.com0