Showing posts with label card games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label card games. Show all posts

Guest Post: Top Ten Pokemon Cards That will give you the Chills When You See Them Played!

Posted by: Jason Silverain / Category: , , ,




Many thanks goes out to to the lovely lady from over at Buzy Bobbins for this guest post. -Silverain

Hello Everyone,
Today I will be sharing my top ten list of Pokemon cards that will give you the chills when you see them played available in Pokemon trading cards online.
Some of these cards are unsettling because of the pictures but most are chosen because of their in game usage. Without further ado lets get ready to quake in fear at a few of these cards.

10. Bursting Balloon - Pokemon Tool - XY BREAKpoint




My first choice on this list is a humble Pokemon tool but do not underestimate the power of this card! Lets take a look at the text on this card:

If this card is attached to 1 of your Pokémon, discard it at the end of your opponent's turn. If the Pokémon this card is attached to is your Active Pokémon and is damaged by an opponent's attack (even if that Pokémon is Knocked Out), put 6 damage counters on the Attacking Pokémon.

So if the Pokemon who using this tool is attacked the attacking Pokemon gets 60 damage, this is not an amount of damage to be sniffed at. It leaves your opponent with the hard choice of dealing their own damage at the cost of this hefty amount of damage. In many cases its just not worth it since 60 damage can seriously hinder most lower power Pokemon cards.

Most times I have had this card played against me or I have played this against others the attacker has chosen for forfeit their turn. This card is nothing but a win – win situation for the one who used it, you either get a free turn or deal a chunk of damage for free!

This card cannot be higher on this list than slot 10 however since it only provides protection for one round and is discarded after one use. 
 

9. Rough Seas - Stadium - XY Primal Clash

So why is a Stadium so scary I hear you cry! Lets look at the text of this amazing card.

Once during each player's turn, that player may heal 30 damage from each of his or her water Pokémon and Electric Pokémon.

Basically this means that a player with a water and electric deck can heal damage from all of their Pokemon every single turn. 30 damage is also nothing to be sniffed at and can have many first and second stage Pokemon swiping fruitlessly as most or all of their damage is being healed every turn. Making a battle into a hopeless slogfest. Every time I see this Stadium card come out on to the field I rush to get my own stadium out or use a Pokeball to bring out a Pokemon with Stadium removing ability, its a moment of panic which no other card gives me.

If that is not enough lets take a moment to consider the implications of this card. The Stadium is to represent the environment the battle is taking place. The changeable environments remind me of a Pokemon gym with special obstacles in favour of the leaders favourite Pokemon type. Imagine if you were a trainer in the middle of this terrible looking sea! Lets hope you have taught surf to a strong Garados rather than getting washed away on the back of a Polliwag!

8. Trevenant - Pokemon - BREAKpoint
 
Trevenant is not the friendliest of Pokemon but this picture is one of pure menace! I'm sure whatever is on the receiving end of this attack is going to be having nightmares for a long while to come.

However to top it off is actually the combination of ability and attack power. Lets take a closer look if we dare!

Ability: Nervous Seed

As long as this Pokémon is your Active Pokémon, the attacks of your opponent's Basic Pokémon cost 1 Colourless energy] more.

Attack: Energy press 70+

This attack does 10 more damage for each Energy attached to your opponent's Active Pokémon.

This combination leads to your opponent having to put more energy cards on each Pokemon to attack. However as they do so Trevenant deals more and more damage, it is is if the opponent is sealing their own doom!

7. Fighting Fury Belt - Pokemon Tool - BREAKpoint




This is a brilliant Pokemon tool card. It gives your Pokemon an extra 40 HP which is certainly enough to make a difference between fainting and getting one more attack in many cases. Not only that it makes the attacks of the Pokemon deal 10 more damage, it's not as good as a muscle belt in this regard but I really can't complain as I'd definitely use this primarily for the HP boost.
Since this card can be used for basic Pokemon only, at first makes this card seems a little more manageable.
However the scary thing about this is that already powerful Pokemon EX cards count as basic and the text on this one has not ruled out its use with them. While this card provides a welcome boost to ordinary basic Pokemon cards it has the potential to give a devastating edge to an already fearsome foe.

I really hope I don't see this combo on an opponent, Pokemon EX cards ordinarily have very high HP compared to their normal counterparts. This is just going to make them even more difficult to take down.
6. Dragonite EX - Pokemon - Furious Fists




This amazingly drawn card looks like it is ready to jump out of the frame and into battle, not only that, its ability allows it to do just that. Lets take a look at it in detail shall we:

Ability: Bust In

When you play this Pokémon from your hand onto your Bench, you may move any number of basic Energy attached to your Pokémon to this Pokémon. If you do, switch this Pokémon with your Active Pokémon.

This means that Dragonite can be ready to start dealing damage as soon as it is on the field as long as the energy is already out. This has the potential to be a surprise attack which could very well turn the tide of battle from out of nowhere as soon as it is drawn.

5. Greninja - Pokemon - XY




At first glance this looks like a fairly standard card until we take a look at its ability.

Ability – Water Shuriken
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may discard a [Water] Energy card from your hand.If you do, put 3 damage counters on 1 of your opponent's Pokémon.

I have seen this in several online games and every time it appears it is devastating to my deck. From the safety of the bench this card can keep providing extra damage, if there is two Grenninja on the bench both cards can activate the ability. The only downside is that it uses extra energy per turn but with a few Fisherman or energy retrieval cards in the deck this card can keep causing damage while safely out of harms way.

This card is even scarier when paired up with the Rough Seas stadium or a card which prevents damage to Pokemon on the bench as it becomes almost unstoppable.

4. Toxicroak EX -Pokemon - XY - Flashfire

Oh Hai so I heard you like poison so I put poison in your poison so you can be poisoned while you are poisoned!

Just take a look at this cards first attack:

Triple Poison 
Your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Poisoned. Put 3 damage counters instead of 1 on that Pokémon between turns.
 
For only two energy cards this Toxicroak can no only poison but poison that deals 30 HP damage in between each round. Just say goodbye to all of your first stage pokemon and hope you draw a full heal to keep that poison at bay! I have used this card in a deck and to be honest if it comes out first it wipes through enemies like butter … hot poisoned butter!

Not only that, for one extra energy it can deal 80 damage and you can't even rely on resistance to save you! 

Smash Uppercut 80
This attack's damage isn't affected by Resistance.

Since its an EX card the only saving grace is that you receive two energy cards upon defeating it… If you defeat it!

3.Gengar - Pokemon - BREAKthrough





From the picture alone this Pokemon is scary. That's a face your really don't want to encounter on a dark night... Or at all in fact. However the true kicker is its attacks while it does not deal a huge amount of damage the fact that it can slowly chip away Pokemon on the bench can lead to opponents having a problem setting up their evolutions in any state to fight.
In addition its second attack not only has a chilling name of creep show has a chance to automatically knock out any Pokemon no matter how powerful as long as it already has three damage counters on it already. This could be a disaster for anyone relying on a single card to get them out of this jam.

Here’s the devastating set of attacks in full: 
Sinister Fog 
Your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Poisoned. Put 1 damage counter on each of your opponent's Benched Pokémon.


Creep Show 

If your opponent's Active Pokémon has 3 or more damage counters on it, that Pokémon is Knocked Out.


The only saving grace for the opponents of this card is that it is a stage 2 and it can be a few turns of set up before your opponent can pull this out and a couple more turns for sinister fog to take effect. But tell me… are you ready…. Can you ever be ready?

2. Hypnotoxic laser - Pokemon Tool - Black and White - Plasma Storm

As you can see from the following Bulbapedia article this card is so scary it got banned in official tournaments:
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Hypnotoxic_Laser_(Plasma_Storm_123)

Lets take a look at this card:
Your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Poisoned. Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent's Active Pokémon is also Asleep.

This trainer card means that your Pokemon does not even need to know any status effect moves since once it is drawn an instant poison can be added with a chance of poison.
This card is so scary since there is no warning, at least with a poisoning Pokemon it can be found on the bench or build up to as an active Pokemon. This card is so unexpected it cannot be prepared for which is why it is so scary.

1. Hypno -Pokemon- XY - BREAKpoint




Hypno is very common on lists of scary or creepy Pokemon due to the many Pokedex entries which let us know that one of the common habits of a Hypno is to kidnap children and eat dreams! So it is not surprising a hypno card brings has a picture which frankly gives me the chills.

Firstly lets take a look at this cards ability: 
Goodnight, Babies 
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may leave both Active Pokémon Asleep.
This is an obvious reference to the kidnap of children since it is sending the 'Babies' to sleep. However it seems in this picture it is joining them in the dream world leading them down the dark road to nightmares rather than the happy world of sunshine and rainbows on the other side.
Even that Clefairy in the background looks horrified by the unfolding events!

If that is not enough on the Clefairy from BREAKpoint seems to have the aftermath of this event

I'll let you figure out what fate will befall this poor cute Pokemon.


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The creators of Cyanide & Happiness attempt to enter the adult card game market with their own creation Joking Hazard on Kickstarter.

Posted by: Jason Silverain / Category: , ,



Many of you might be familiar with the infamous adult card game Cards Against Humanity and its many, many, many add ons to the point they even have regional versions and numerous online clones (one even with a My Little Pony Theme).

The creators of Cyanide & Happiness known for their web comics often controversial nature and dark humour have decided to put a twist upon the general premise and create Joking Hazard a comic strip creating adult card game.


Its early days in the Kickstarter but its already blasted past its goal but if you want your chance to grab some of the backer bonus I suggest giving it a look.


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Speciality Dice: Miss Jessica Goldsmith's Braille dice store and 64 Ounce Games Kickstarter for Braille dice and game pieces.

Posted by: Jason Silverain / Category: , , , , ,




Back in June 2014 I did a small post on a Kickstarter for Braille Dice, it seems Miss Jessica Goldsmith's finally has finalised the design for her dice and created a Shapeways store to sell dice to the public.

This was one of the first draft dice made with the 3D printer gained in Jessica Goldsmiths Kickstarter.

Now while I support the development of braille dice I can't help at frown at the high prices for the dice which vary between £4.50 to nearly £8 PER dice when considering that a set of regular role playing dice can be purchased from most stores for that amount. I must consider though that each dice can be customised and that this is a speciality item which always causes a hike in prices.

So I find myself now noticing that another kickstarter for Braille dice has been created not by a single individual like Miss Jessica Goldsmithbut by a small husband and wife company named 64 Ounce Games that focus on creating accessibility kits for games.

A Picture of Mr and Mrs Gibbs from their website.

Richard Gibbs is the founder and lead designer at 64 Oz. and his wife Emily Gibbs is a teacher of Blind students and handles the web side of the business, quoting their own words
'Both Richard and Emily are dedicated to making great games everyone, including the blind and visually impaired, can play.'

Initially sceptical of the Kickstarter worried that it might be a simple cash grab by a company I found myself presently surprised at the range and scope of their ideas and planning beyond just the dice and after a little digging I discovered that they had created a kickstarter in 2014 to purchase their first 3D printer and open their store.

 The difference in quality is noticeable.

Unfortunately the 3D printer they purchased while fine for most projects was prone to breaking down and not suitable for the finer print details for items such a dice so this Kickstarter hopes to raise money to purchase a new one.

Beyond the kickstarter 64 Ounce Games have their own website which is quite interesting it itself hosting a podcast and provides some free accessibility kits for certain games, personally I think the piece that is most worth your time is the colour blind accessibility advice for game designers which will have you considering all sorts of issues and solutions you may have never realised existed.
Another reason I rather like this article is that it is pre-emptively seeking to address the issue of accessibility and may even help a designer fix an potential issue before a game is released.     


64 Ounce Games also have an online store which covers a staggering amount of games and ranges from replacement game pieces to braille card sleeves, predictably it is mostly print to demand and the costs do vary from reasonable to quite expensive between products but again these are speciality items and many of these games require a lot of items all of which are included in the packs.

If you'd like to learn more about 64 Ounce Games Geek and Sundry did a excellent post about them or alternatively they have several videos on their Youtube Channel.

Finally to end on a amusing note while some people are trying to make dice easier to read others are doing the opposite, Andrew NGAI over in Canada has created a successful Kickstarter to make dice printed in Minimalist design Binary Code of all things.


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Guest Post: Pokemon Cards Online Deck Rallying Cry Covered in depth by our local Pokemon Trainer, the Lovely Lady of Buzy Bobbins

Posted by: Jason Silverain / Category: , , , , , ,





If you have read the post about our trip to EXG last month you may of seen that one of the free codes available was for a Pokemon Trading Cards Online deck, if you haven't read it yet I would recommend it but here is the code that was posted: 49H3-J2S8-VX21

This code unlocks the Rallying Cry theme deck which is a Pokemon Trading Cards Online exclusive and is not available as a physical pack.





This code is for use only once per account this will give you a copy of the deck and all cards within. It uses the standard card back and a red Arceus coin so doesn't add anything new for visual customisations.

This deck is comprised of water and normal type Pokemon and also contains a selection of Trainer cards which are generally useful for your own deck building, such as Cheren which allows you to draw extra cards and the Switch card which allows the player to switch out their active Pokemon freely.


The main aim when playing with this deck to to build up the bench with Pokemon who have the Round attack. The unique thing about this attack is that it gets more powerful with each Pokemon in play with it.
For example Wigglytuff does 20 damage times the number of Pokemon with Round in play.
The Exploud in this deck does 50 damage per Pokemon in play with the round attack while this maxes out at an impressive 250 damage enough to neutralise any Pokemon card your opponent may have. However only having two Pokemon on the bench with Round this Pokemon can still output 150 damage per attack which deals with almost everything apart from strong legendary Pokemon/ Pokemon EX cards.




A decent strategy with this deck is to use kangaskhan and its call for family attack to start filling the bench quickly while using its high hit points to absorb damage. Alternately Chatot can be used to stall the opponent by causing confusion with its Tone deaf attack.

This should leave you with enough time to build up the bench full of Pokemon with Round. However if you are unable to do this the Wigglytuff also has Hypnoblast which deals 60 damage and has a chance of causing sleep. This attack really has helped to to neutralise some fairly serious threats with a little luck on the coin flips to make or keep the enemy asleep.





The one downside of this deck is that there is no single card able to deal high damage by itself so without the set up of other Pokemon on your bench the match may become difficult. Particularly if your opponent has a strategy which damages the benched Pokemon making it difficult to get them out to evolve. At this point my only resort is to use Chatot, Wiggytuff or Jigglypuff to hopefully get a status effect on the opponents active Pokemon to lower its threat if its not possible to deal the damage to take it out quick enough.

Finally once you have been playing with this deck in versus battles for a while you may want to change a few of the cards to customise it. There isn't too many substitutions that can be made without changing the focus of the deck away from building up the bench for the round attacks from Loudred and Wigglytuff.

An easy substitution is to change the Meowth/Chatot in the deck for a stronger basic Pokemon card. The purpose of the Meowth/Chatot in this deck is to help stall for time while you add energy/ evolution cards to your bench. 
However it is possible to get basic Pokemon with more HP and attacks which aid stalling.

For example:
Bouffalant From the Dragons Exalted expansion
This can be found in the Basic Green deck obtained from the trainer challenge so the easiest to get.
With 100 HP and the Bouffler special ability reducing incoming damage this card is really effective at stalling.
Alternatively you could use this as an opportunity to use a water type Pokemon Ex for this purpose or if you have an Articuno/ Kyogre the high HP will help stall and they can deal high damage on their own if the rest of the deck is not yet set up.

Trainer card substitutions

For a deck which needs the bench to be set up with evolved Pokemon it is surprising that there are only two cards (Level ball) which allow searching for Pokemon. A worthy addition to this deck would be the Wally supporter card makes it easier to get to the first and second stage Pokemon which have the Round ability particularly after using kangaskhan to fill the bench with Basic Pokemon.

Personally I would trade out the two Ether Trainer cards. The Ether card attaches an energy card to a Pokemon in play only if the top card on your deck is a basic energy card. Without any ability to stack the top of the deck this approach is down to luck at best. Perhaps other players have much better luck with this than I do but I find the use of this card rarely if ever works out for me and isn't to be relied on.

Finally if a single Rallying Cry is not enough for you and you would like to obtain more copies of the cards for deck building you can find more codes on the Bulbapedia page here.
 If you'd like to see more Pokemon themed posts various craft posts are available over at Buzy Bobbins which this month is creating Pokemon baubles.


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