NotAddicted.com

Runned · #1 10-26-2006, 04:47 AM

This week Blizzard officially released World of Warcraft: The Card Game. It’s a much like similar games on the market only it includes a lot of stupid shit from the massively multiplayer game that fathers its name. Maybe I’m wrong, I mean who doesn’t want to complete quests during table top card battles? In true TCG fashion, you’ll be able to collect rare cards such as a Leeroy Jenkins card (I shit you not) and others that you can redeem online for in-game items such as cosmetic mounts, tabards, and pets. I unfortunately missed out on the card game fad, but thanks to the World of Warcraft General Forums I now know I really didn’t miss much.

See, there was a time in my life when I had to make a very important decision, one I was certainly not ready to make. About half way through high school, everybody I knew and considered a “friend” either played football or Magic: The Gathering. Since the two parties didn’t exactly get along that well, my entire high school reputation was on the line. I never made the decision, I never got to experience the MTG frenzy as it unfolded; nor did I experience losing my virginity to the fat friend of a girl my football buddy wanted to rail at a homecoming kegger. If I were to make the same decision today I’m still not sure if I’d be able to, but I’ll be honest and say MTG holds a special spot in my heart because the cards had kickin’ rad illustrations and the rules were so stupid and complex that even half the players couldn’t understand them.

When I heard the card game was going to be released, I was curious as to what the WoW community thought of the game. While browsing the General Forums I noticed that the day before TGC was to hit the shelves, Blizzard announced when they were planning on releasing the Burning Crusade – which was a lot later than most gamers were anticipating. Coincidence? I think not! It didn’t take too long to find a thread dedicated to the card game, only soon after I wish I hadn’t found it at all. And this is where I digress...

I’ve been around long enough to know how the threads in the general forums work, but it never ceases to amaze me. It’s as if these guys meet once a week at their club house to discuss ways to turn every thread into a steaming pile of shit. I’d say about eighty percent of threads on this forum follow the same format, which looks roughly like this:

Person creates topic under the pretences of sparking an honest discussion.

Obligatory “first post” from some jackass who just wants to be the first person to reply, or makes an attempt to be the first person to shit on this thread.

Someone making a half hearted attempt to relate to the original topic, but ends up complaining about first shit post.

Thread shitter #2, either defending the first reply or making his own thread shitting counter argument.

Posts 5-20 are people arguing off topic

Around post 20 or so somebody who read the first post and skipped the rest makes a reply genuine to the topic of the thread.

All posts after that are from people calling him a noob for going off topic, and go back to creating a huge communal pile of shit.

This thread was no exception. It started innocently enough with this kind gentleman asking if the wow community was interested in the card game.

QUICK, I NEED TO GET THIS REPLY IN BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES, UM UH $@#@$@$ VIRGIN! YES, BRILLIANT!

This guy shows remote interest in the topic, and then makes an interesting counter argument to having girlfriends.

Oh burn! I feel like such a nerd for holding out until I had pubes.

This next guy brings up an interesting point, I could go on and on about how much it sucks having kids for each time you've had sex or how...

Nevermind.

Yu-Gi-Oh was an interesting television show, and I'm not sure which came first - the card game or the cartoon. I remember a guy I use to work with being ashamed of playing it because he was a hardcore old school MTG player and I guess it's the RP server of the TGC world.

As I mentioned earlier, the rules to these games are so retarded and complex that calling someone an idiot for not understanding them is a little out of line. A good friend of mine in high school tried to explain them to me and I just felt like a 17th century American Indian being lectured on bible scriptures. He does bring up a good point in the second half of his post, however.

RARGGHHH ANGRY AT THE INTERNETS

The thread continued to spiral into chaos and was eventually buried by a dozen or more identical threads. I guess I would be way out of line by suggesting that the moderators of these forums actually do their jobs, but with the amount of man power it would take to complete such a task Blizzard would need to release a WoW: Pog Game to cover the costs. If you’re lucky enough to get the WoW: Pog Game Collectors Edition Ultra Rare Dwarf Mountain King Slammer you can trade it in for a WoW Tamagotchi keychain pet.

I wasn't expecting to get much - if any - information about the card game from these forums, but like a moth to a light bulb I couldn't turn away. It seems to me however that this card game was released as more of a means to recoup lost revenue from expansion push backs instead of providing any kind of entertainment value. If you aren’t already a big fan of this game genre you might want to save your money, I can only see this being any useful to those who already enjoy card games (and I mean really enjoy them) or people who buy in bulk to exchange the rare cards for in-game items. I could just be stating the obvious, though.

Frybread · #2 10-26-2006, 05:23 AM

This is going to make searching for cheap Game Cards tough on me. Also, could you please do commentary on the wow forums all the time? That way I could stand them for like 2 or 3 minutes.

Donkeypunnch · #3 10-26-2006, 08:53 AM

I fell for it, the "enter the code and get a cool looking whatnot", and the special scratch off card that gets you the turtle mount.
I was led to believe that every pack of cards had a cosmetic upgrade , and in my a great moment of nerd bliss actually thought I would be the the one to get the turtle mount to lord over the less nerdy masses.

WRONG!! Come to find out that each pack of cards has a code that you enter that awards you points, after a certain amont of points you can buy CRAP. Oh and no scratchoff.

So now I look at the pile of useless crap sitting on my kitchen table, thinking of the gold i could of bought, or the 60 rogue I could of bought on ebay instead of a game that I had no interest to play in the first place.

Great marketing gimmick for blizz though, pull expansion back release card game .

Mordiceius · #4 10-26-2006, 10:53 AM

What are the crappy rewards for collecting a bunch of points?

Runned · #5 10-26-2006, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordiceius

What are the crappy rewards for collecting a bunch of points?

http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/w....aspx?aid=1243

Quote:

Reward #1: An alternate blue tabard

Reward #2: A reusable trinket that sets off a unique fireworks display

Reward #3: A reusable trinket that changes your in-game appearance to an ogre

Mordiceius · #6 10-26-2006, 11:14 AM

You know though, I really can't knock it. Blizzard is just finally catching onto what asian MMOs have done for YEARS now. I don't think I have EVER played a chinese/korean/japanese MMO that didn't have some feature where you could spend money for in game shit. Bliz just went about it indirectly (even though there is shit like this going on for those games too). I don't think Bliz would ever put a button into the game that just is like "CLICK THIS BUTTON TO BUY STUFF WITH REAL MONEY FOR STUFF IN THE GAME" like most MMOs from asia do.

Duladin · #7 10-26-2006, 12:08 PM

Give them time, it'll happen.

Mageyoulook · #8 10-26-2006, 12:13 PM

Back in the fourth and fifth grades (xx years ago) I was addicted to Neopets.com. Blizzard's release of their TCG is reminiscent of the Neopets TCG (which was released well after the fad had died out). The outcome will probably be the same: people buy it for the novelty, then find themselves wondering how their money would have been better spent. Within a couple months, the TCG in-game rewards will probably be looked upon as signs of supreme nerdiness (L2SPENDYOURMONEY NOOB)

SeiferTim · #9 10-26-2006, 12:16 PM

I played M:tG back in High-School, I played the Pokémon TCG, too, back when it first came out, but lost interest in both of them over time. I may pick up a couple of packs just to see what it's all about, see if I can get any cool in-game stuff, perhaps play with people when the servers are down, or I'm out of the house (there's apparently a whole world on the other side of these walls!!), but that's fairly unlikely. I was more interested in the Board game, but didn't pick it up because of the price. I gots me some bills to pay!

isobelle · #10 10-26-2006, 06:29 PM

i was a yugioh whore. i torrented the xbox game on accident (meant to get something else), and started to play it with my roommate until we actually began to understand the rules.

went and bought starter decks, and began the downward spiral. we would play nonstop from getting home from work to going to bed... even made some custom felt covered table to play on.

right when we were in full swing, i moved to japan and realized they were like 'two sets' ahead of the states. i bought about 500 dollars worth of packs (no, not all at once, but i used to save the wrappers in some box, and one day added up the total of how much i spent, much to my dismay).

i can't even read the japanese cards, but would download translation files from dmcomet.com or whatever. the worst part about it was that i had built about 10 fully realized decks, but had no one to play with. the 'fun' of it was looking up the cards, and writing back home ot my roomie to tell him about the new cards. finally just made myself stop buying cards at 7-11 when i'd go on beer runs, but if i found someone to play it with i'd jump back in a heartbeat.

TCG games are fun in a 'don't involve a monitor' way. never did magic, but would pick it up if i had someone to show me the ropes (and play with after having learned).

Apecito · #11 10-26-2006, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isobelle

i was a yugioh whore. i torrented the xbox game on accident (meant to get something else), and started to play it with my roommate until we actually began to understand the rules.

went and bought starter decks, and began the downward spiral. we would play nonstop from getting home from work to going to bed... even made some custom felt covered table to play on.

right when we were in full swing, i moved to japan and realized they were like 'two sets' ahead of the states. i bought about 500 dollars worth of packs (no, not all at once, but i used to save the wrappers in some box, and one day added up the total of how much i spent, much to my dismay).

i can't even read the japanese cards, but would download translation files from dmcomet.com or whatever. the worst part about it was that i had built about 10 fully realized decks, but had no one to play with. the 'fun' of it was looking up the cards, and writing back home ot my roomie to tell him about the new cards. finally just made myself stop buying cards at 7-11 when i'd go on beer runs, but if i found someone to play it with i'd jump back in a heartbeat.

TCG games are fun in a 'don't involve a monitor' way. never did magic, but would pick it up if i had someone to show me the ropes (and play with after having learned).

Magic is by far the best TCG around. Probably the most popular as well.

I was (for around 2 years, 2 years ago) a Magic addict. To tell you the truth, Magic made me the nerd I am today. Imagine, if you dare, a world of fantasy and adventure that doesnt involve sitting in front of a screen (I know, it sounds weird. But just imagine).

[oldtimes]
You truly do feel like some kind of general, leading your forces closer and closer into your foe's land, in order to deal the satisfying final blow.
You would set up your army any way you liked: You could base your strategy in mind-numbling formward planning and field control, effectively hindering all of your enemy's moves. But you could too outnumber your opponent, keeping your devastating armies well hidden in your hand, preparing its arrival each turn and dealing a surprise attack of such magnitude that left your opponent and all the spectators in an aweful shock.
You would lead goblins, elves, humans, dragons and all other sorts of fantasy creatures you can imagine. Angels, demons, fairies, and even the nightmare-like undead.

Your magical abilities were unlimited, with an incredible array of spells at the reach of your power-hungry fingers. Control the might of the green and overwhelm your opponent and his pitiful minions with its devastating balance between calm and chaos. Choose the way of the red and scorch your opponent with blazing spells in just the first minutes of the match. The way of the blue put unimaginable wisdom in your mind, leaving you free to thinker with your enemy, as the future is already part of your knowlodge. The way of the white comes with its own deals, giving you the holy to control. Good and strong at the same time, you would lead your clerics and warriors into battle, and at time you would even have the wrath of god himself at your command. Yet, the path of the black is by far the most treacherous and sly. The legions of the undead are at your feet, as well as the disgusting beings that deal with all kinds of fellony and blasphemy. Murderers, thieves, spies, slavers and fallen angels are only but a part of your horrific numbers.
[/oldtimes]

That is all I can say really. I probably spent over 1k in cards, and several days /played. Probably more time than the time I have spent playing WoW, and that's a lot of time.

WeEatDeadPeople · #12 10-26-2006, 11:31 PM

Heh. I made a fortune on MTG as a kid. See I went to catholic school, so that naturally meant I dealt blackjack with marked cards with 2 kids working as dealers under me as well. good times! anyways, whenever the new fad would hit (namely MTG and pogs) I would sell them and make hella profit. I would actually go buy tons of pogs just to sell at school.

Good times. The best is when I stole some kids cards then sold them back to him and he was none the wiser.

Also, MTG had item loot =P

Big games you could win alot. Was nice.

Runned · #13 10-27-2006, 01:09 AM

Japan has 7-11's??

#14 10-27-2006, 03:37 AM

Card game announced well over a year ago. Try harder on the conspiracy theories though.

WeEatDeadPeople · #15 10-27-2006, 03:39 AM

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006...d_oxygen_a.php

apparently you can buy canned air in japan 711 too

WeEatDeadPeople · #16 10-27-2006, 04:15 AM

Also thats some of the worst card art ever

colekutz · #17 10-27-2006, 06:25 AM

The gum with the cards will allow us to wait for the sweetened bread.

Mordiceius · #18 10-27-2006, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeEatDeadPeople

Also thats some of the worst card art ever

You're the worst card art ever.

Donkeypunnch · #19 10-27-2006, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Card game announced well over a year ago. Try harder on the conspiracy theories though.

HUH?

smarsh · #20 10-27-2006, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runned

http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/w....aspx?aid=1243

Two things I noticed.

The Longshot tabard on the card is very different from the one in-game.
And under the ogre-suit picture->

Quote:

Originally Posted by blizz

Final graphic still in development

So it'll probably not look like the existing ogres in some way, screwing them over.

I haven't played it in years, but Magic was the only CCG ever worth a shit. Releatively cheap hobby too, especially when compared to modern ccgs, because all the cards you needed were commons. They've got them all designed now in ways to maximize the ammount of packs(usually boxes) you need to buy to play them. "What, you don't have 6 of the ultra-rare leroy jenkins?!! Get outta here noob!" etcetcetc
Now people can take a break from their time-sink, to go play a money-sink.

smarsh · #21 10-27-2006, 11:24 AM

MTG had exploits too!

I had this one deck where I'd have a cheap card discard a huge dude from my hand, then I'd raise_dead on him next turn, so I'd get the biggest creature in the game out on like turn 4.

It was so fun watching people start off confused at what the hell I'm doing ->realization->denial "THAT'S BULLSHIT"

/nostalgia

Mageyoulook · #22 10-27-2006, 02:57 PM

Oh hells yeah. Back in 1998 or so, when Tempest and Stronghold (M:tG sets) were hawt, I had my Recycle (everytime you play a spell, draw a card), Aluren (spells with converted mana cost 3 or less are free), and ALL THE *original* SLIVERS!! That equated to a mass of 40 5/5 flyers with first strike, haste, and regen on about turn 5. Add a Sliver Queen and it was PWNAGE. Actually, I think back then it was still OWNAGE. The new slivers that came out in Legions are pale imitations imo.

#23 10-27-2006, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runned

Japan has 7-11's??

They are owned by a Japanese company. Norway also surprisingly has 7-11s

BTW I love the dissection of forum threads and will do my best to get this as off-topic as possible.

#24 10-27-2006, 04:05 PM

Dude the pog game and slammer shit cracks me the hell up, and I was already laughing aloud at work for the rest of the post. This might be the best post I've seen here.

Apecito · #25 10-27-2006, 08:25 PM

I remember I used to play online for free with a little nifty program I found one day. I'll look it up and post it in a sec

Edit: Took me about 3 secs with google :P

Use at your own risk!

#26 10-29-2006, 10:40 AM

let us not forget pokemon........ laff.

Fastinyoh · #27 10-30-2006, 01:34 AM

I used to play poker and double solitaire with my grandma but thats about it.