Mix Up Your Game Night with These 5 Epic Card Games
Don’t panic, but what if I told you that every third Wednesday, my gaming group has board game night to mix up our TTRPG campaigns? It’s true, and I’ve got to say that once we started doing that, our role playing campaigns gained back some...
Trust in the Rust of MTG Arena
My Nerdarchy colleague Robin Miller and I have been totally geeking out over Magic: The Gathering’s latest expansion. Streets of New Capenna not only brings a snazzy style to the planes of existence with it’s magical gangster theme and aesthetic but also there’s simply tons of awesome new cards. One of them in particular provides another piece of the puzzle to solving the Anti-Life Equation, which is my personal quest. I knew immediately I’d have to Call in a Professional to really put the kibosh on my most loathed deck archetype. But it turns out this led to an even more fun MTG Arena deck altogether and one in which two very weird but classic D&D monsters make a tremendous splash. Let’s get into it.
Gorge Yourself on AYCE Adventure in Magic: The Gathering Arena
I love Magic: The Gathering Arena. Physical or digital MTG is the best game ever created and MTG Arena edges out the traditional version of the game with its flexibility, efficiency, speed and accessibility at the very least. Deckbuilding is a snap thanks to filters and search features, which I’ve developed a method for when it comes to optimizing a deck. My latest creation finds inspiration from my sweetie and her career as a journalist in the food industry. Her recent promotion to editor in chief got me thinking about one of my favorite MTG expansions — Throne of Eldraine — and the Food aspects of the set. Then I came across an incredible card from Modern Horizons 2 and now I’m indulging myself with a really fun Food themed deck. Let’s get into it.
Mutating Into Mythic Ranks of MTG Arena
I’ve stated unequivocally many times how Magic: The Gathering is hands down the best game ever created. I love me some tabletop roleplaying games including a lifelong affection for Dungeons & Dragons but at the end of the day it’s all about that cardboard crack, or digital crack thanks to MTG Arena — the free-to-play digital version of the OG collectible card game. Every so often when I get into a groove (and winning streak) I’ll share the decklist and thoughts here. Rather than updating the first of these posts as I sometimes do when I tweak a deck instead I’m starting from scratch here because this one is significantly different than its original version. Let’s get into it.
Solving Magic: The Gathering’s Anti-Life Equation
Oh my gods y’all. If you’re like me and cannot abide facing another Magic: The Gathering opponent whose deck is half cards to gain life and the other half getting +1/+1 counters from them or whatever then take a look at the curated collection of 60 cards I’ve been tinkering with and help me solve the anti-life equation for MTG. I’m packing four copies of Quakebringer, four copies of Roiling Vortex and infinite copies of my loathing for life gain decks. Let’s get into it.
See All Things as They Truly Are with MTG Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Book of Vile Darkness
I wrote a while back about my excitement for the Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms expansion for Magic: The Gathering and since the set released I’ve been enjoying it immensely. Spending mana to invoke all manner of awesome D&D creatures, magic items and spells brings an extra layer of nerdy satisfaction. Creating content related to tabletop roleplaying games and fifth edition D&D in particular is Nerdarchy’s bread and butter but we all enjoy plenty of other games too and it’s fun to share those other game experiences from time to time. Let’s get into it.
Shed Your Thoughts and Let MTG Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Mind Flayer Flow Through Your Deck
Creating content related to tabletop roleplaying games and fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons in particular is Nerdarchy’s bread and butter but we all enjoy plenty of other games too and it’s fun to share those other game experiences from time to time. I wrote a while back about how excited I was for the Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms expansion for Magic: The Gathering and since then the set released, which I’ve been enjoying immensely. Tapping lands for mana to invoke all manner of awesome D&D creatures, magic items and spells brings an extra layer of nerdy satisfaction. Let’s get into it.
Looking Forward to Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and Strixhaven: School of Mages for MTG Arena
While it’s true creating content related to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and Fifth Edition generally keeps Nerdarchy the Lights on we all enjoy plenty of other games too. And since this site remains primarily our blog it’s fun to share those other game experiences from time to time. Makes us relatable and whatnot. Way back when I was a junior in high school and got into Magic: The Gathering with the Revised Edition it was exciting to eagerly await The Dark’s release. Here I am 26 years later looking ahead to a Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms in a few months along with Strixhaven: School of Mages at some point. I’ve dug when the MTG multiverse crosses over with the D&D one and it’s neat to see worlds colliding the other direction now too. But most of all I’m wondering what juicy bombs I’ll find in those sets.
Games within Games | Tool Time with Gaming Sets in 5E D&D
Games are the thing around here — Nerdarchy revolves around gaming as a hobby. How to play games better, how to make games funner and new games that come out are just a few of the many nerdy things we cover here along with deep dives into fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. How a society relaxes and the kinds of games its people play reveals a lot about the society’s core values, structures and even how the people think on a perspective level. Today, we’re talking about games and we’re really going meta with the concept. Get ready to have some fun as we start this wheels-within-wheels style conversation of gaming sets in 5E D&D but from a tools perspective! Before we dive into this, it’s important to state that tool proficiencies are a staple in 5E D&D and their relationship to skills can seem concealed at best, as we’ve discussed in previous posts. That being said, every Dungeon Master treats tool proficiencies a bit differently so if you’ve got questions, ask your DM how they treat tools and tool proficiencies. All DMs are encouraged by the Dungeon Master’s Guide to adjust rules to suit their tables, so be flexible with your DM.
Speculating on Mythic Odysseys of Theros for 5E D&D
During our weekly meeting this afternoon we worked on planning videos, including one discussing the most recent Unearthed Arcana 2020 — Subclasses, Part 3. While looking over the playtest material the most intriguing one for me is the Circle of the Stars for druids. One of the subclasses features in particular, Starry Form, caught my attention before I even got to the part with any game mechanics.
“While in your starry form, you retain your game statistics, but your body takes on a luminous, starlike quality; your joints glimmer like stars, and glowing lines connect them as on a star chart.”
This vivid description immediately conjured images from Magic: the Gathering Arena, the online version of the incredibly popular card game. The newest set, Theros Beyond Death highlights the Constellation keyword and there’s a strong starry element featured in artwork and graphics from the set. That’s when it struck me — maybe we’ll see these and other Unearthed Arcana content in an official fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons book inspired by Magic: the Gathering. And after a little bit of digging around I believe that’s definitely the case.
Ravage — Dungeons of Plunder is an Adventure Board Game for Treasure and Teef!
Are you looking for a new board game? Do you like board games with great options like competitive and cooperative, as well as solo play? Is repeat play value through variable quests important to you? And No. 1: do you want to play with a tribe of orcs? If you answered yes to all of these questions, or even some of them, then I have a game for you! Ravage — Dungeons of Plunder is a dungeon delving board game where you play orcs, with three modes of play.
Celebrate Nerd Culture at Gen Con 2018 — the Best Four Days in Gaming
Hello! The Nerdarchy crew is back home from Indianapolis and back to work on all our nerdy projects. Gen Con 2018 was an incredible experience for Nerdarchists Dave and Ted, Nerditor Doug and Intern Jake, and we wanted to share some of the highlights from our excursion to the Best Four Days in Gaming. Our favorite thing about conventions is meeting up with and hanging out with friends from all over the place; seeing all the awesome roleplaying games, art and other swag; and the incredible costumes and cosplay. But more than anything, the best part is hanging out with thousands of fantastic folks from around the world to celebrate nerd culture. Down below you’ll find links to a lot of the stuff mentioned in this recap, in case you’re interested, plus a photo gallery of our adventures at Gen Con 2018.
Monocle Society’s Kyle Kinkade talks Weave — Goblins Are Jerks and More
I’m hooked on Monocle Society’s Weave. A few weeks ago I started really looking into this innovative “half tarot, half roleplay, all story” game, reading up and watching/listening to some streamed games. And if you want to know why I’m so stoked about Weave, I’ve got you covered. I’ve since played several games and yowza! I also spoke with Kyle Kinkade about the amazing game he and his team put together. Let’s get into that and share what I learned about Weave from the man himself, including some details on the new Weave playset Goblins Are Jerks.
