Author Archives: dahubbz
What Pokemon Set Got You Into the TCG?
Hey guys! The Pokemon TCG came out almost 30 years ago in Japan! Wow. That’s wild!
I was wondering what set got everybody into the card game. For me, it was Base set. I was born in 1994. I was in my youth when Pokemon arrived state side. I got to live through the original Poke-Boom and there’s nothing quite like it. The games, the anime, the toys, and of course the TCG. I got into base set and was hooked! I collected from Base Set until EX Dragon.
Honestly, I’ve had a very off and on relationship with base set. I’ve always thought the background for some of the cards were kind of bland. Not to mention, it was reprinted twice in Base Set 2 and Legendary Collection. I worked at a hobby shop during the Covid Boom of Pokemon as our TCG specialist so I handled this set sooooo much. Some days I was over seeing Base Set. Other days I couldn’t get enough. Now that I no longer work there and I’m in my 30’s I appreciate the original Base Set.
I don’t aggressively collect Base Set these days. I have most of the Commons and Uncommons but not nearly enough of the rares and Holos. Maybe I’ll show off my Base Set cards in another post. Blastoise and Squirtle are my favorite cards from the Set.
What was your first set? Let me know if down below. Thank you for reading. Have a great day!
Xbox’s Disc to Digital
Last week we talked about Grand Theft Auto 6’s announcement to go digital only and how Sony followed that up by announcing they are ending production of physical disc for Playstation starting January 2028.
All eyes have turned to Nintendo and Xbox to see their next moves. Nintendo has already been training gamers for a digital future with game key cards, a practice I am not letting off the hook. Everyone knows Microsoft will most likely go digital only with the next Xbox generation. So why am I thinking about buying Xbox Series X games?
Well, it’s still in the test phase, but we’re hearing word that Microsoft will be incorporating a process called “Disc to Digital.” At first glance, I assumed this meant the next console was for sure going to have a disc drive. But I heard word immediately after Sony’s announcement that Microsoft wanted a digital only console as well.
If my research is correct, players who own an Xbox One or Xbox Series X can participate in this. Your last gen console will act like a hub. You insert your old disc into your previous Xbox. It will read a code from the disc and grant the next Xbox [Nicknamed Peoject Helix.] a digital license for you to game digitally.
Yeah, its not nearly as great as I thought. Licenses are the bane of physical media as those linceses dry up and redistribution becomes impossible. The licenses Microsoft is suggesting is also one they can revoke when they want. That’s dangerous. But it is leaps and bounds better than Sony. Both Sony and Microsoft are killing future physical media, which isn’t good nor should be supported or celebrated. But we are gamers. There will be games in the future I want to play. If Sony says screw backwards compatibility and screw future physical releases, then I am just out on them entirely and want no part of the PS6 [Ratchet and Clank would be the only game I would sadly miss.]. If Microsoft is still honoring and supporting backwards compatibility, then I consider that a huge plus.
If I hypothetically wanted or was forced into owning a digital only console for next gen, then I would support Microsoft over Sony. Though, admittedly, both are atrocious and probably not worth supporting.
If this program is in fact part of the next Xbox, then that would put Xbox squarely in the middle of Nintendo and Sony. Sony clearly hates the cost of physical distribution as well as the fact that video game preservation exist. They don’t want gamers playing on old hardware. Nintendo will end up destroying Sony in that department as the Switch 2 can play [maybe, I think] all the original Switch 1 games. When Sony moves to the Playstation 6, we already know it won’t be backwards compatible due to not having a disc drive.
This seems so backwards. Sony, to my knowledge, has ensured a majority of the PS4 library is playable on the PS5. As well as most PS5 games are playable straight from the disc [no need for day 1 updates or constant internet access]. Sony should be clinging to physical media like the rest of us. They own and produce blu rays and other forms of physical media. While Microsoft was known for their home computers and digital software of Microsoft Office. That’s why so many of us feel betrayed by Sony and find it ironic we are rooting for Microsoft to do the right thing.
If you are like me, you prefer your games to be available to play offline and without needing updates to play. As a result I’m going to start doing research on what Xbox One and Series X games are playable on the disc in offline mode. Some games are broken messes or incomplete without their day one patches while some games force you to be online to play. I’m not super interested in having those games in my collection.
With that in mind, I’ll do a follow up blog of the games I find that fit this list. I’ll mostly be relying on the internet for this as these will be the games I’m going to start hunting down, not ones I actively own and can test myself. Websites like “Does It Play” will be a huge help, but they mostly specialize in Playstation.
If you know any games that fit that bill on Xbox One and Xbox Series X, leave it in the comments.
Sorry if this post feels disjointed or all over the place. Many of us are still processing what the digital future will look like and what we want to do. Truthfully, Sony has knocked it out of the park with this generation. They’re a little lack luster with their pricing models and exclusives, but the backwards compatibility and games on the disc of the PS5 has been impressive. Too bad this is where Sony dies for most of us.
Anyway, thanks for reading and have a great day.
The Mount Rushmore of the N64
The Nintendo 64. What a beautiful library. Leaving the Super Nintendo and 2D games behind, Nintendo would launch their most ambitious console of all time, the Nintendo 64.
So many of its most recognizable IPs would become the faces of the most popular genres of the time. But if you could only limit yourself to four games, what would be the Mount Rushmore of the N64 library? There’s many ways to interpret that. For my purposes, I’m going with four games that proved Nintendo was cutting edge, the front of video game innovation, and define what it was like to own an Nintendo 64 – not necessarily my four favorite or the four best.
007: Goldeneye
I would be remiss to not mention a multi-player experience. There’s so many! Some of my favorites are Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart and Mario Party 2. But looking back at the iconic nature of Goldeneye, I’m giving it the selection. Goldeneye was a behemoth on two fronts. It revolutionized both multi-player versus games as well as FPS games. Let’s tackle both points.
First, multiplayer. The Nintendo 64 was beloved for couch co-op and couch versus. It had four controller ports and a fantastic selection of games. Often, Goldeneye was the pick when we had friends or family over. Everyone had their favorite characters, weapons, and maps. I know for me, when I was at my grandmother’s with my brother our cousins would come from down the street. The four of us would play countless rounds of Goldeneye. We would play 2v2 and we would basically play King of the Hill with the Golden Gun. If your team had it, you made sure that person did not die.
To this day, almost 20 years later, the only multiplayer FPS games that come close to recreating that experience were when my brother and I beat Halo 3 together. Or when Xbox Live changed everything and I was able to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 online with a different cousin of mine even though we lived five states apart! [Man, the future used to be so cool!]
Now on to what it did for First Person Shooters. Goldeneye was my dad’s game. He was a fan of 007 movies. I still remember him bringing home Goldeneye the movie from Movie Gallery and my unhealthy obsession with Goldeneye was born.
As much as my dad and I loved the movie and as much as my dad played the game, oddly enough we never played it together. He only played the campaign. At the time, I didn’t realize how groundbreaking the campaign was. And it’s certainly easy to overlook. But prior to Goldeneye, Doom was the industry standard. It was fast-paced, tight corridor action, and had out of this world set pieces, literally.
Goldeneye was rarely any of that. Mission structures went from ‘find key and rush to the end’ to ‘explore massive levels and complete different objectives around the map’. Gunplay went from ‘guns blazing’ to ‘using a multitude of strategies for each new area’. There was an emphasis on mission variety that scaled with difficulty increases, exploration, elements of stealth and espionage, and strategically picking off enemies to not alert others.
These changes went unappreciated to a little kid like myself. Goldeneye was my first FPS… and I wasn’t very good at it. I would select the easiest difficulty and often end up alerting every enemy. For me, my 007 playthroughs often felt like Doom. Shoot up every enemy, ignore bonus objectives, and rush to the end.
But for skilled players, there’s a lot of depth and strategy that can go into each playthrough. That kind of experience varity just wasn’t present in First Person Shooters before it.
Very rarely do games perfect the blend of single player campaign depth and multiplayer versus depth. In fact, I cannot think of a game that makes both halves feel like the better part simultaneously [Halo is probably the only game series that comes close.] .
With all that said, I think its obvious that Goldeneye had one of the biggest impacts in video game history and is worthy of being on the Mount Rushmore of N64 games.
Star Fox 64
I would say Star Fox is an underrated candidate for Mount Rushmore status, but worthy nonetheless. Star Fox 64 is […was?] the second title in one Nintendo’s most ambitous IPs, Star Fox.
Debuting on Super Nintendo, Star Fox blew people away. It was built with the new Super FX chip in mind. This allowed the Super Nintendo to produce seemingly full 3D graphics years before the release of the Super Mario 64.
Four years later, Star Fox and team took to the skies again to redefine what a video game could be. In 1997, this game truly stood out. The game looked and played great. It featured tight on rail gameplay. The world’s felt lived in. Voice acted team members interacted to what you were doing [how many of you shot your teammates back in the day? Their responses were great]. Epic backdrops that were destoryed or blew up as you played were a visual feast for your eyes. There were giant bosses waiting for you at the end of the stage. And who can forget, dynamic path changes.
That’s right. As you made your way through the galaxy, your path could change depending on factors like how well you played. This allowed the game to have insane replayability, secrets to discover, and allowed the game to naturally handle difficulty scaling. As new or bad players would naturally follow the easier path, while veteran players could aim for different paths for harder experiences or new routes.
I loved this game as a kid. I would have to have the GameFAQ [who remembers that website?] loaded at all times to try to get my preferred route. However, I’m not a big on rail shooter or shoot ’em up fan. Meaning, as the N64 rotated out of the limelight and I moved on to newer things like the PS2, I never really went back to Star Fox. I tried newer space shooters and just never liked them.
But lately, as I reflect back on the N64, Star Fox always stands out to me as an epic, ambitious project. Panzer Dragoon released two years prior and did a lot to move Shoot ’em Ups in a good direction. But Star Fox’s branching paths, voiced characters, 3 vehicle types [did you know there was a submarine in Star Fox 64?], and the rumble feature make this a unique experience on the Nintendo 64!
Super Mario 64
No Nintendo 64 Mount Rushmore would be complete without Super Mario 64. Oddly enough, this is a game I feel a lot of hard core retro players go out of their way to hate. That might sound funny on the surface, but I know a lot of Nintendo 64 gamers who swear Banjo Kazooie is better in every way. Banjo had cooler power ups, bigger levels, a great cast, and Rare’s signature ability to just make an awesome N64 game.
Even I say Donkey Kong 64 is my preferred 3D platformer. I love the epic levels, the five playable characters, the mission diversity, and of course Rare’s signature ability to just make an awesome N64 game.
But Super Mario 64 is just timeless. It’s a classic. Wonky level design and atrocious camera aside, I’d argue this is one of the Godfathers of video games.
Mario 64 was revolutionary in ways that we cannot really fathom today. Other companies tried to create 3D games. Sony wasn’t dumb. They saw what Nintendo was cooking up. They released several games that tried to be first to market as a true 3D game on home consoles. But there’s a reason people often remember Super Mario 64 as that first truly epic home experience 3D game. Because it nailed it.
Nintendo designed the console and the controller around this game [apparently they had a bunch three arm humans playtesting this game.]. Of course it was going to work.
Super Mario 64 worked back then and still captures the hearts of people today for a couple of reasons. A. The controller. People give it a hard time, but it was vital to video games being able to transition to the 3D space. For starters, the joy stick. You may forget the original PS1 controller did not have joysticks. They stuck with the traditional D-Pad. Needless to say, the joystick allowed for more fluid and complete movement. The C-Buttons were also paramount. In Mario 64 the C-Buttons are always active, allowing the player to rotate camera options to find the exact style they need for each situation.
B. The pick up and play nature of the game. Mario 64 isn’t bogged down with an amazing story, just what you need to know for an adventure. Princess Toadstool [who the heck is this Peach character I keep hearing about?] has baked Mario a cake. Mario arrives to learn that Bowser has made himself at home. Its up to Mario to stop him. That’s really the jist of the story. Mario has access to two levels right away. Bom-Omb Battlefield and Princess’s Secret Slide. The player can amass quite a few stars with just these two levels. Once the player has rounded up a handful of stars, the entire first floor becomes available [even more levels than that if you know how to backwards long jump into the wall and shoot yourself through doors, but that’s a different story.].
I think its that degree of ease and unlockability that makes it so easy to get into. It doesn’t feel like you have to grind experience points for hours to get new abilities or face unbeatable bosses to advance. You just need to go around having fun, collecting stars, and occasionally beat Bowser.
C. The perfect first stage. I’ve never played a game before where the opening level is just simply this perfect. It is simple. It is open. It is the perfect level for a sandbox game. Mario drops in, has a nice open area to run around in, and eventually, a mountain to climb. Here, a boss awaits him to test his strengths. This stage also test your ability to find hidden shortcuts, collect red coins, and even fly through the sky. It is great at teaching players simple mechanics and giving them areas to test the basics for harder stunts later.
And that’s the thing, each level will build on what the player has learned. Future levels add wall kicks, other hats, environment hazards like lava, but Bom-Omb Battlefield allows the players to get a grasp on gameplay before sending them out into the bigger world.
D. The music slaps. It just does. Simple as that.
Super Mario 64 was a system seller unlike any system seller I’ve ever seen before. Sony had epic cinematic works of art that were great in their own right, but Super Mario 64 is the pinnacle of what makes gaming fun. [And did I mention you can pull Mario’s face on the home screen to make funny faces? 10 out of 10]
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Where do you even start with arguably the greatest game of all time? For everything I said about Super Mario 64’s simplicity and commitment to nailing the little things, is true of Zelda but with mastering the large scale nature of a video game. The quest is epic, the setting is great, the items are perfect. And honestly, what this game doesn’t get credit enough for is being the perfect size game. Literally, if you asked how big a game should be before it feels bloated, I would point to Ocarina of Time. Breath of a Wild is truly an insane adventure but it is filled with so much empty space and an obnoxious amount of Korok seeds. [I will never complain about the 100 skulltulas every again].
Locations are another strength of the game. There’s plenty of diversity here so no location feels the same as a previous one. Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, The Lost Woods, The Gerudo Desert, and on and on. The game also used a time jump mechanic where you play as kid Link and adult Link. This allows them to essentially double the map as exploring locations as a adult feel different from exploring them as a kid.
Side quest are also done in a healthy amount. There’s the heart pieces and songs to collect. The mask quests, skulltulas to find, poes to kill, a fishing hole, horse racing, and plenty of weapon upgrades that all give Link plenty of stuff to do if you get bored of the main quest. Again, all of this is manageable. Even if I love side quest and gameplay diversity in my games, this feels like a healthy, manageable amount for the average gamer and why I don’t think Ocarina of Time suffers from bloat like many games did around this time. Bloat in video games is an epidemic that has only gotten worse in video games.
Of course, we can’t talk about why Ocarina of Time was cutting edge for the time without mentioning the Z Lock on system. Ever gone back and played a game only for it not to hold up well? Yeah, that isn’t a problem here. Ocarina of Time aged amazingly. Compare it to the OG Resident Evils. They were masterpieces upon release. But tank controls, static camera angles, and a… looser[?] aiming system have many modern gamers saying those games are nearly unplayable today. [Of course a tad bit of exaggeration, but this is the case for a lot of older games.].
The jump to 3D was not kind to every combatant. Many didn’t understand level design, how to make smooth movement, or how to aim in a 3D space. I simply just do not see those flaws in Ocarina of Time and a large part is Link’s ability to lock on. This made sword fighting and ranged weapons easy to use and actually kill enemies.
In my mind, Ocarina of Time is the definitive open world adventure game of its time. Combat is easy, movement is smooth, the world is the perfect size, plenty of great NPCs to make the world feel lived in, great and iconic items and weapons, cool use of magic, great dungeons, and memorable boss fights. Yes I’m biased, but I cannot think of a single complaint for this game that isn’t just nit picking [like how in the original you have pause to equip the iron boots and then pause to unequip them.].
There you have it. My Nintendo 64 Mount Rushmore! I tried to leave bias out where applicable. For example, Star Fox and Goldeneye aren’t in my top 4 N64 games, but I think their impact was too great to ignore.
One game that would be in the running off of contributions to gaming would be the Pokemon Stadium series. Their transfer packs were huge at the time. The rental pokemons were kind of a joke, but with the transfer pack you could migrate your Gameboy team over to your Stadium cart.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon I think would be worthy based on just how great of a game it truly was. A lot of people say Perfect Dark deserves to be on the list because it took what Goldeneye established and improved upon it, but Goldeneye was just so instrumental to this era that its hard to leave it off.
Let me know what games make your Mount Rushmore of Nintendo 64! And let me know what console I should do next! Thanks for reading have a great day!
Zombie Madness OG Yugioh!
My Zombie Madness Recreation!
Hey guys, I’ve made post in the past about TCGs in general, but I’ve talked about Yugioh a few times. As much as I try to keep up with new Yugioh [and I’m not doing a great job of that.], I love Yugioh from 2002-2014 [off and on.]
As an old head, I tried to get into GOAT. Edison sounds cool with Lightsworn, E Heroes and Gladiator Beast, however I never played with Synchro monsters before I took my first break. Which is why I kept going back to GOAT.
Looking at GOAT decks got me so excited. However, looking at exact lists, I realized I never really played meta Yugioh. I was 8 and my brother was 6. I told my wife I remember playing two decks: Dragons and Warriors. I told her I remember playing Masked Dragon and the Armored Dragons. I remember my brother playing zombie cards like Pyramid Turtle and Vampire Lord.
Then it hit me. We played structure decks (And probably just tweaked them with our favorite cards). I did some research and realized Zombie Madness and Dragon Roar released at the same time. And, based on my memories I can assume I got the Dragon’s Roar and my brother got Zombie Madness.
I did some digging through our cards and was able to assemble what I’m calling Zombie Chaos. I wouldn’t say it is strictly optimized, but it seems really solid on the surface.
1x Sangan
3x Pyramid Turtle
3x Giant Rat
This line of play is what got me thinking. I remembered my brother playing Giant Rat and Pyramid Turtle. As I was looking at them, I noticed their synergy. When Sangan dies, he lets you search for a 1500 attack monster and add it to your hand. When Giant Rat dies, he can search for an Earth monster with 1500 attack and summon it. When Turtle dies, he can search for a zombie monster with 2000 defense or less and summon it. These cards form the back bone of consistency for our deck.
1x Ryu Kokki
2x Spirit Reaper
2x Vampire Lord
I don’t actually know the proper numbers of each to play, but these make up our zombie targets. Ryu Kokki is our beater. He will be better when I build my Warrior deck later. Vampire Lord had all the swag back in the day. And Spirit Reaper has proven to be an all star through the years. If there’s any Zombies I should add to the tool box, comment down below!
This is where I’ve taken some liberties with the zombie strategy. I’m not sure if we will keep it or not, but Black Luster Soldier is so cool. I know my brother and I loved this guy as a kid. Who knows if we ever summoned him properly as kids [haha.]. My light package includes:
2x Magician of Faith
1x D.D. Warrior Lady
1x BLS
1x Night Assailant
1x Breaker the Magical Warrior
1x Chaos Sorceror
I wanted some generically good dark monsters. These were the 3 I arrived at. Chaos Sorcerer is another good top end for the Chaos engine. Breaker is generically an All Star in retro Yugioh. I usually like to play Exiled Force in my retro decks, but I wanted the dark version of this effect for Chaos. Truthfully, Exiled Force may find its way into the sideboard as a searchable target for Giant Rat. I didn’t want this deck to lose its Zombie identity so I went a little light on the dark package. I would like to add a 2nd Night Assailant if I find one.
What does Yugioh call reanimation? Either way, we are playing Zombies! I wanted to lean into reviving. I do want a second Book of Life, but not sure I have one. Snatch Steal is a reference to the structure decks and the fact my brother and I jammed those in every deck as kids. Creature Swap is filthy in a deck with 7 recruiters. We can Creature Swap Giant Rat for one of their creatures and then swing into it and we still get the search off of it. Call of the Haunted is a classic and perfect for Zombies!
Classic Yugioh am I right!? Pot of Greed is naturally insane. Since I wanted reanimation to be a bit of a focus here, Graceful Charity and Card Destruction are gas here. Graceful Charity is card neutral [G.C. plus 2 discard balances out the three you drew.], but its card selection. For example, discarding Vampire Lord or Ryu Kokki and then playing Book of Life to reanimate it, while also banishing a card from the opponent’s yard [potentially messing up their own BLS], is a great tempo swing. It would also enable us to discard 1 light monster and 1 dark monster to special summon our BLS early. Its a busted card made better by the Zombie and the Chaos engines. Card Destruction is literally the same. The drawback is you can set up your opponent, but this is casual and I wanted more discard outlets.
2x Nobleman of Crossout
1x Fissure
1x Mirror Force
1x Torrential Tribute
1x Sakuretsu Armor
3x Compulsory Evacuation Device
I also go a little heavy on my removal packages in card games. This could definitely be tweaked for more thematic includes. The 3 Compulsory Evacuation Device are nods to the structure deck itself. Sakuretsu Armor was a favorite of mine back in the day. T. Tribute and Mirror Force are obviously busted. I threw Fissure in last minute to round out the list. It should probably just be Raigeki Break.
You work hard to cheat out BLS or Ryu Kokki, you need to have insurance. These 4 cards, plus Breaker the Magical Warrior can help clear the back row for your special summons. Magic Jammer is another interesting card we could run over some of the removal.
Thoughts
I played this last night against my wife. I was able to chain up very quickly. I opened with both Turtle, Rat, and a Heavy Storm so the match was pretty easy. Obviously, not every match will go that smooth. My brother is coming over Monday to play some more games, so, if needed, Ill revisit this post with any updates.
The idea was to recreate the structure deck of Zombie Madness [2005] to relive those old school duels my brother and I had without creating meta decks. The chaos engine may prove too unfun or too powerful, but that’s still to be seen. [Last night I didn’t see a single light monster.]. If it becomes too strong for our casual meta, I can always add some more thematic zombie monsters to lower the power of the deck.
Cards too considering: Raigeki Break, Magic Jammer, a 2nd Night Assailant, Mystic Tomato, Thunder Dragon, Tribute to the Doom, a 2nd Book of Life. If you are wanting to build this, just know if you go too heavy on the Chaos staples, the deck will lose its identity.
Format
So what’s the format exactly? The deck tries to thread a nice line of legal in GOAT while also being something we could have played in January 2005 when the cards came out. Mirror Force and Sangan are banned at the time of the Structure deck’s release but are legal in GOAT. So those are decisions you’d have to make for yourself. Since no one hosts tournaments off the ban list of January 2005 and the fact my brother and I didn’t really follow it to begin with, I used GOAT’s ban list as an outline, not a hard rule. Though, as I tweak the deck, Mirror Force and Sangan would be cards I’d considering cutting just based off the ban list of the time of the deck’s release. But again, this is a casual deck and you should just agree on a ban list with your friends.
Do you remember the Zombie Madness structure deck? What do you think of my version? Would you use this deck for old school Yugioh? What old school structure deck should I recreate next? I’m thinking the Dragon Roar deck!
Thank you for reading! Have a great day!
Migration. Family Movie Night: Physical Media Appreciation Post
A few months back I got tired of streaming models. As a result I’ve take an aggressive stance on buying DVDs. [Maybe I’ll make a post about this in the future.] Anyway, we try to find a movie for a family movie night every week.
This week is Migration. My four year old daughter was obsessed with ducks around the time this movie was coming out, December 2023. But she was a little too young to take to the theaters at the time.
Now my two year old son is obsessed with ducks. My dad actually has about a dozen ducks at his house. My son loves to chase them around.
I found this movie for $5 bucks at Walmart. So I grabbed it, my daughter some sour patch kids, and us some new popcorn to try [we are popcorn fiends.]
While I avoid looking too much into movies before I watch them [I like going in blind.], I know Migration centers around a family of mallards as they migrate south. However, misadventures arise.
Another awesome part that sold me on it are the features! This includes three shorts, meet the cast and more. I’m excited to dive into those goodies!
Illumination has become argubly my second favorite animated studios behind only Disney, really. Their Despicable Me series is definitely one of my favorite animated series. Secret Life of Pets is also really good.
With that said, I think this movie will be a hit in our house. Maybe I’ll edit this blog with my thoughts? Not sure.
Either way, thank you for reading and have a great day!
WordPress Has Achievements Now!?
Most of you probably don’t know this, but I am an Xbox achievement junkie. There are plenty of games I have no interest in, but if they have manageable achievements, I’m all over them.
I bring this up because WordPress just rolled out achievements. This mean we will be taking this journey together. Let’s check out some of the ones that stood out ot me.
These are the achievements I already own. These unlocked immediately when I posted yesterday. Also, yeah, crazy. 11 years!
Not sure why other achievements automatically unlocked but these didn’t. I have written a metric ton on here over the last 11 years. I would be very interested to see my totals. Alas, I suppose it is just counting from here on.
Some are real interesting like these where its base on when you publish. This is the case with Night Owl and Early Bird. There also seems to be plenty of secret achievements!
I’m going to need you guys to achieve some of these! As you can see, there’s a couple that rely on me responding to comments. So let’s get to chatting.
These stood out to me as some of the tougher and more time consuming ones. I have to remember to post on February 29th! If I miss that, it’ll be four more years to get it. Wild! We’re also not even due up for a leap year until 2028. The world could have already ended by then…
And so the marathon begins. I’ve tried and done some of these before. You can reference my Pokémon Month I did like a decade ago where I made a post related to Pokémon everyday for a month. I was going to do it for Zelda, but gave up. So to say it is going to be a challenge is an understatement. I mostly blog about Movies, Games, Animes/Mangas, Comics, Board Games, TCGs, and other nerdy and collectible topics. If there’s anything you want to see in that space let me know. I like doing reviews, top 5s, and just general discussions. So drop some ideas down below!
Make sure you follow the blog and let’s see how earning these achievements go. Thank you for reading. Have a great day!
I’m Not Excited for the Future of Video Games
Last week Rockstar made an industry changing decision – GTA 6 is going to be digitally only. I think we’ve known this slow death was coming for physical video games for years now. However, the fact Grand Theft Auto 6, arguably the most hyped video game development of all time, is the one to lead this charge is just concerning for us physical collectors.
Most companies, in fact 90% of developers, will never make something as ambitious as Grand Theft Auto. Between the previous GTA games and the Red Dead Series we have no reason to believe this game will flop, or underdeliver or any of the negative things you could assign to a video game. It certainly wasn’t rushed, which I like.
With that said, an $80 digital only game is about to release and blow the world away. Meaning everyone in the industry is going to believe consumers want, or are at the very least, are okay supporting $80 digital only games.
We aren’t.
We just really like and want more Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Auto 5 has received updates and support as well as was a darn good product when it came out 13 years ago. Very few companies are releasing 10 out of 10 games and still supporting and having thriving player bases 13 years later.
But, all that said, it killed my anticipation of the game. I was fully prepared to back the truck up for a new PS5 and a copy of GTA6, as the Switch 2 is my only current gen console. I no longer feel that need. If I have to get the game digitally, I’ll wait for it to come to PC.
Still, Rockstar did receive backlash for this announcement by boomers and old head gamers like myself. [I’m 31, but my soul is ancient.]. So how did Sony react seeing this pushback?
By announcing the end of physical media!
No joke. Its ending.
What!? And this is also coming on the heels of removing 500+ digital movies and closing down the PS3 and Vita store. Wake up people.
My brother called me to check on me because he knows im a physicsl fiend. As someone who mostly buys digital, he was indifferent. I think this is a closed minded way of looking at it. Sony controls pricing, distribution, as well as availability and can just remove media at any point.
Its hard to see the forest for the trees. Its hard to realize how this affects everything when were talking about just video games. But were digitalizing our world.
In some ways, it has been beneficial. I shop Walmart and Amazon more than I care to admit. But with the advent of shipping and online commerce, they’ve made it the easiest to shop. But I’m at the whims of their decisions. And as they run out all the small businesses, I have less and less options.
The same will be true when video games are all digital. If I dont like Gamestops pricing, I can go to a local store, or a convention. I can try to see if Amazon, Target, Best Buy, or Walmart has a deal or lower prices.
When Sony is the only person I can get the latest game from, I can’t go to a competitor.
That’s just the Sony side of things. Xbox is… well, I don’t know. I hear they’re in a real State of Decay. They are threatening to shut down 4 studios as well as massive lay offs across the industry. One of those companies being Double Fine Productions.
People say Nintendo is silently winning by not doing anything. It really depends on the key card situation. Sony, Xbox, and Rcokstar have done so much reputational damage in the last 7 days people are actually already looking back at the keycards with nostalgia and fondness. They’re still a stepping stone to a bleak future. I don’t plan to actively buy or collect key card game.
I feel a bit of responsibility to support the games getting physical carts like the new Star Fox Ocarina of Time Remake and Elder Scrolls Oblivion. Let’s just hope Nintendo remains prideful that their internal developed games remain on the cart. It pains me the new Onimusha will be key card only.
All this to say, I’ve been playing PS2, N64, and other retro consoles more and more. Sony cannot delist my PS2 games. Nintendo can’t say my Super Mario 64 is just a keycard. Xbox cannot close down these projects that already breath on OG xbox.
Retro collecting remains the way to go. Vote with your wallet. And most importantly own your stuff people. You dont have to have massive collections. You dont have to be a hoarder. But if there’s something you want to exist in its current state untampered and unchanged, buy it! If there’s a trend you want to support, buy it! Dont let these companies speak for us.
Must-Try Cards from Lorwyn Eclipsed
Lorwyn Eclipsed is almost here, but the whole set is now spoiled. I thought it be fun to look at some of the cards I’m most excited to brew around. It is worth noting I rarely play Standard, so most of my picks are for other formats. I like Pauper, Tiny Leader, and Pauper EDH more right now. My picks will reflect my current interest (not so much power level or general buzz.). Let’s get on to the list. Leave a comment below on the cards you are most excited about.
#5 The Evoke Elementals
I’m lumping all these guys into one spot. I think they are versatile and fun. I don’t know if any will see standard or modern play or anything like that, but they certainly could. I am more interested in them from a cube perspective. Cube is one of those formats where you can tailor make the power level and synergies. It’s very easy to create environments where these guys are all stars. Not to mention, I like when Wizards does these big, fun cycles like the Gearhulks, Gods, and Titans of previous sets.
There’s five Incarnations and I really like four of them. Deceit reminds me of Dinrova’s Horror and apparently has already found a combo with Superior Spider-Man. Wistful seems like a more flexible Mulldrifter, which is never a bad thing. Emptiness seems solid. I never scoff at flexible reanitomater spells and this is one that can double as a removal spell. Vibrance has to be my favorite though. It gives me strong Kroxa meets Uro vibes. Both of those cards are in the running for two of my favorite creatures ever. This can bolt anything and/or ensure you find your next land and gain some life. I really like this one. Catharsis is my least favorite as I am just not interested in anything it is doing.
#4 Glister Bairn
Honestly, this is a set of honorable mentions. Where there’s interesting stuff for pauper and interesting cards that can be commanders. However, most of the set doesn’t exactly sing to me. I’m putting this on the list not because I’m rushing out to get it, but because I think it is interesting. There’s plenty of interesting ways to make off color tokens in Blue and Green to generate tokens that are white or red or black. Amssing Zombies makes black creature tokens. Resculpt makes blue and red elemental tokens. Glimmerburst can draw you two cards and make a white enchantment creature token. Like I said, I’m not rushing out to build it. I just love these creatures that provide deck building limitations and puzzle. These are fun thought exercises.
#3 Iron-Shield Elf
There’s plenty of elves I could have picked. Formidable Speaker, Champions of the Perfect, Virdent Emissary, are all great elves that could probably slot right into Lathril when they come out. I’m putting Iron-Shield Elf on here because A. He’s probably going to fly under the radar so I figured I’d give him his 15 seconds of fame here. B. He slots into one of my decks that isn’t just elves. I built Hashaton in tiny leader. Admittedly, the existing discard outlets we have are pretty good. Therefor, I am not sure if he will make the cut, but I think anytime we get instant speed “free” discard outlets we should at least take notes. All in all, elves got a lot of support this set and that is always cool.
#2 Maralen, Fae Ascendant
Speaking of Elves getting support, here’s something crazy. She combines two of my favorite creature types: Elves and Faeries. She rewards you building elf ball so you have a high creature count as well as rewards you for playing flash faeries. I like both of these strategies. My thing is I’m not 100% sure how I want to build her. I’ve had Lathril Elves for a while and always wanted to splash blue for Sultai elves. However, I have been waiting for a good UB Faery commander that speaks to me (obviously, there’s a bunch of good ones. I just haven’t really pulled the trigger on them yet.). Is it finally time to pull the trigger and just smash them together? I’m not sure. I also already own Mothman as my Sultai commander. So I am conflicted, but this is atleast very cool and on my radar.
#1 Abigale
Abigale checks a lot of boxes for me. I don’t own a lot, if any ,Orzhov commander decks at any level (Pauper EDH, Tiny Leader, or regular commander.). Despite loving WB as a color combination, I’ve yet to see a strategy that speaks to me. But Abigale in Tiny Leader is currently speaking to me. Her ability to blank the bad text of big creatures like Rotting Regisaur and Death’s Shadow is so tempting. Not to mention, players have already found a whole host of other creatures that are big and dumb with drawbacks that Abigale can just remove. Then you play blink spells like Ephemerate so you can keep triggering her etb. I think the design idea was to use her ability to blank your opponent’s creatures like Badgermole Cub, because I’m not sure she got any other support in Lorwyn which makes me think Wizard did not envision her being an archetype, but more so a hate piece. Maybe I am wrong or missed something, but that’s how I see it. Anyway, I think she is the card I am most looking forward to building and that is in Tiny Leader.
So there you have it. The Elementals and Elves are eating good. Merfolks got some cool cards but nothing that made we want to build them. There’s plenty of other cards that look cool or I’m keeping an eye out to see what they do, but these are the cards that jumped out to me for brewing purposes. Let me know what you are building when Lorwyn Esclipsed officially releases.
Thank you guys for reading. Have a great day!
5 Heroes Every Marvel Champion Fan Still Wants!
Hey guys! 2026 is finally here. I took a break from Marvel Champions in 2025. However, just a few months ago Fantasy Flight announced we are getting Daredevil in 2026 (One of my favorite heroes in all of comics!). So needless to say, I am back in the Marvel Champions head space. Daredevil was arguably the most requested hero. Now that he is confirmed lets take a look at 5 heroes I think the community still wants.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the art used in today’s post. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
#5 Mantis
I like Mantis in the movies, but she isn’t high on my list. Still, every time this question gets brought up I see Mantis grabbing votes. If we returned to Guardians adjacent or space related, I would love to get Nova Richard Rider. However, Sam’s Nova already exist in the game, so Mantis will be the pick here. I see her get a lot of attention with the thought we might get a new core box eventually. I don’t know what to make of all those theories, but she is probably the female hero I see with the most votes.
#4 Midnight Sons
The first team on this list is a team I see mentioned all the time. I think it is less obvious to casual fans, but in the Marvel universe as a whole I could see things lining up as movies start to veer towards some of these characters as well as the game already having a cult following. Ghost Rider is my number #1 most requested hero and this wave would be the perfect chance to introduce him. Blade and Moon Knight would undoubtedly be huge hits as well. Since the big boxes tend to be 1 male character and 1 female character, I think Werewolf by Night and Elsa Bloodstone would be the two choices. Then I think Ghost Rider, Blade, and Moon Knight are three easy choices for hero packs. They could redo Doctor Strange here or if they want another female character, could give us Niko Minoru. This is the next wave I am most excited for. I cannot wait to see how they handle it.
#3 Punisher
No doubt the biggest omission from the new defenders wave is Punisher. Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage were no brainers. I think Elektra was a pretty easy pick given the storyline they are doing. Iron Fist may have had the lowest score with the Netflix series, but he was still an easy pick. So the way I see it, Punisher basically got skipped over for Echo. Its honestly hard to see what wave he would get introduced in. I think we will be waiting a while for this one.
#2 Beast
Beast definitely has an argument to be number 1. Like Punisher, his wave came and went. Unlike Punisher, I could easily see another X related wave. People also say if they redo a core box he would be a great fit as he represents both the X-Men and the genius traits. I don’t think players will have to wait too long before Beast finds himself in one product or another.
#1 Fantastic Four
This is where I was dead wrong on my prediction for the next wave. I’ve been saying Fantastic Four was going to be the next wave since the Mutant Genesis box. It just seemed like a no brainer with Marvel acquiring the rights to Fantastic Four. I thought we would see a unified effort to get them into everything, even games like Marvel Champions. I thought it made sense for Fantasy Flight as well to capitalize on new fans getting into the Fantastic Four. However, with Fantasy Flight revealing their road map for 2026, I see no room for them do anything with the Fantastic Four until at least 2027. As far as the big box goes, I think Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman are the included heroes. I think we will get a Galactus scenario pack. Human Torch, The Thing and Silver Surfer seem like no brainer hero packs. The last hero pack could be a multitude of characters including Franklin Richards or even a take on Doctor Doom like Magneto got.
I am beyond thrilled to get Daredevil in Marvel Champions, but I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the possibilities for future waves and hero packs. So let me down below what heroes you want to see in the game! Thank you for reading! Have a great day!
![My Top 5 Commander Pre Cons of 2025! [That I Wish I Had Bought]](https://dahubbz.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/tdc-8-teval-the-balanced-scale-1.jpg?w=90&h=70&crop=1 "My Top 5 Commander Pre Cons of 2025! [That I Wish I Had Bought]")
My Top 5 Commander Pre Cons of 2025! [That I Wish I Had Bought]
I play casual commander with my wife. So the need to buy new pre cons is a feeling we get very seldomly. It normally takes a big set or something we are fond of to get us to buy one. For example, my extended family loves Lord of the Rings. They said they would learn to play magic if I got the decks. We had several game nights playing those. Fallout is one of my favorite IPs, so naturally I grabbed all of them. So as you can see, I rarely buy pre-cons, but when I do, I tend to get them all. My wife and I also got the Eldrazi and Sliver pre-cons from Commander Masters. Outside of that, I’m normally a buy singles, build my own decks kinda guy. With that said, 2025 presented several commander pre-cons that hit my radar, but I didn’t pick up. These are the decks I wished I had grabbed.
#5 Counter Intelligence (Edge of Eternities)
Here’s something funny. I almost asked for this Pre-Con for Christmas. At the end of the of the day, I just wasn’t very interested in the way that it played. That may sound weird for the #5 deck I wished I had bought, but the truth is, I liked parts of it more than the whole of it.
Kilo really interest me as a proliferate Tiny Leader commander. My thought process was to create a Uwr infect deck with Blighted Agent, and Prologue to Phyresis, then back that up with proliferate triggers from Ripples of Potential, Experimental Augury, and Thrummingbird. One problem I had is I’d rather Kilos be Grixis [BUR] so I could have Voidwing Hybrid and Anoint with Affliction. So honestly, I did not pull the trigger on this one, even though parts of it are cool. The mana base also has cards I like, too, which is a plus.
#4 World Shaper [Edge of Eternities]
Another Edge of Eternities Pre-Con. Admittedly, this set had a cool aesthetic and backed it up with some sweet cards. I have yet to play with the station/spacecraft cards. I’m kind of an old man at this point, so new things scare me. However, the the backing theme of saccing seems very coherent, which is not always present in a pre-con. This would be the deck I would buy for my wife. Despite Mardu being her favorite color scheme, she loves sacrificing for burn damage. I think the land subtheme looks interesting as well. So overall, I like the look of how this one plays.
Korvold as a back-up commander is kind of insane, and truthfully would probably be my wife’s commander. Scouring Swarm is one of my favorite cards from the new set. Exploration Broodship is a great call back to the OG Exploration. I’m limiting it to three pictures per deck, however there’s so many good, playable reprints in here its crazy. Harrow, Mayhem Devil, Satyr Wayfinder, Tear Asunder, The Gitrog Monster, Tireless Tracker, Moraug, Fury of Akoum, and Oracle of Mul Daya are all good inclusion and we could probably go on and on.
#3 Y’shtola, Night’s Blessed [Final Fantasy]
This could have been #1 as it was certainly the one I was most tempted to buy. It also is probably the closest to my actual playstyle. So why didn’t buy it? 2 big reasons. 1. I actually built my Esper commander from this very same set, Noctis. So I was conflicted building two commanders from the same set that were the same color. Their playstyle are very different, so I am not ruling her out forever, but I am not in a rush. Secondly, I play mostly 1v1 commander with my wife. So that really lowers her triggering potential. Since she triggers on each end step, playing 1v1 instead of multiplayer free for all cuts from four triggers to two. That was honestly the biggest reason I didn’t get this one. Now, don’t get me wrong, she would still let me draw two additional cards a turn loop. The second effect would still be in play and is what draws me to her in the first place. It just gets harder because her second ability is meant to trigger her first.
Admittedly, I found the reprint value here a little weak. It introduced Tataru Taru which seems to be approaching all star status. It does include one of my favorite combos: Torrential Gearhulk and Sublime Epiphany, allowing to you make multiple Gearhulks and cast multiple spells. Dig Through Time and Into the Story are sweet. Frantic Search and Unwind seem like omissions here.
#2 Temur Roar (Tarkir Dragonstorm)
Tarkir is my favorite plane along with Theros, so I was really tempted to grab each of the pre-cons. Ultimately I passed because April is so hectic [my anniversary, my wife’s birthday, and my daughter’s birthday] so I had very little in the way of spare time or money for pre-con decks. Temur is my favorite 3 color scheme, but it is also one of the hardest for me to build. I like the idea of Temur monsters [as Surrak Dragonclaw was the closest I’ve come to building a Temur commander]. Not sure if I want to lock myself into dragons. My wife has a Kaalia deck and has all our good red dragons. Ultiamtely, upon revisiting this deck, Eshki Dragonclaw has caught my attention as a Temur Adventure deck. I want a Temur commander deck. I’m just not sure who I want as my commander.
These are some really cool cards. I like the look of Sarkhan here. I think its a neat card.
#1 Sultai Arisen [Tarkir Dragonstorm]
My number one is Teval. My top 3 all interested in one way or another, but ultimately I did not pull the trigger on any of them. Teval is in one of my favorite color schemes and I love the play pattern. Unfortunately, my favorite commander deck is Mothman, the Sultai commander from Fallout. Still, this deck seems awesome. The reason its number 1 on my list is because it created a strategy I really want to play. I’m thinking about taking this idea down to Tiny Leader or Pauper EDH. When a card leaves your graveyard.
I actually didn’t realize Kheru Goldkeeper wasn’t in the pre-con. That’s actually crazy. Either way, I was thinking baout taking Kishla Skimmer to Tiny Leader and Goldkeeper to Pauper EDH. Thats getting beside the point. Point is, I like the strategy of this pre-con more than any of the other ones we’ve looked at. Delve and Renew, both sultai mechanics, play nice here. Flashback cards like Think Twice also seem okay. All in all, this strategy is the one I’m watching closely!
So there you have it. I think 2025 will be a year a lot of people look back on with a stink eye because most of the sets don’t feel like Magic. 3 Universe Beyond sets, a set in space, and a set about cars make it a weird year. Of course we returned to a fan favorite plane in Tarkir, so I cannot complain. Also, Spiderman and Avatar not getting commander decks I think are to their detriment.
So I will probably not be picking up any commander pre-cons, but next year Lorwyn might give us an elf pre-con and I am all about that! Anyway, thanks for reading. I will see you guys in the next one.
Da_Hubbz 