FREE Foil Promo & Release Date for M:tG – Duels of the Planeswalkers

We just got word from Wizards PR pipeline that Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers will drop on June 15th via Steam.  Not content with giving you the core game and the first expansion for the low low price of $9.99, Wizards is also giving away a free Nissa Revane foil promo card if you pre-purchase it and live in a participating country.  As you can see, Nissa is getting all dolled up for the occasion and busting out her finest Kanyeezy lyrics for the crowd.   Details on how to get your foil promo can be found at the Duels of the Planeswalkers offical site early next week.  As for you Nissa, we’ll see you soon looking stellar in foil around the PNG offices.

Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers coming to PC via Steam

So apparently Wizards and Valve have struck a deal to bring Duels of the Planeswalkers to PC gamers this summer.  Per a press release by Wizards PR, it will be available for pre-order via Steam on June 1st and will cost $9.99.  The package includes the core game and the first expansion along with all the goodies you would expect from a Steamworks game.  No information on if the second expansion pack will be available for purchase.  While my first impressions of the XBLA version of the game put the game somewhere around average, it has since grown on me.  Look for a review of the PC version here shortly after it comes out!

Magic: The Gathering: Rise of the Eldrazi Release Info Hits the Internets

Wizard’s announced the next set in the Zendikar block’s name as you can see in the large logo above.  It’s scheduled release date is April 23rd, 2010 with pre-release event dates of April 17th – 18th, 2010 and the launch party dates of April 23rd – 25th, 2010.  Previews should start going up on MagicTheGathering.com on April 5th, 2010.  You can find more information in the official Rise of the Eldrazi press release.  Hit the jump to see the Rise of Eldrazi symbol and some artwork.

Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers Expansion Dated

Bored with Duels of the Planeswalkers?  Need more cards, decks, challenges, and Two Headed Giant levels?  Looks like you only have to wait one more week to boost your virtual library.  The expansion for Magic: The Gathering -Duels of the Planeswalkers has been dated for 10/21/09 (next Wednesday) on XBLA.    It will drop for a paltry 400 MS points and include all listed above in addition to a new campaign.  Hit the link for the official press release on Wizards of the Coast’s site.

PNG Sneak Peek – Magic the Gathering: Zendikar Spoilers!

So we hear you guys like yourself some Magic spoilers, eh?  Do you dig tapping that land, walking those planes, and casting those spells?  Are you dying for a sneak peak at the next expansion for Magic the Gathering?  Well Pixels and Grids hit the mother load thanks to Wizards and their PR firm and got hooked up with spoilers for 11 cards for Magic’s upcoming expansion, Zendikar.  Zendikar also marks the beginning of a new block and has an emphasis on lands.  In the spoilers you’ll see examples of a couple of new mechanics and types of cards such as Landfall (Plated Geopede -R) and Trap (Windfall Trap – U).  In addition to some gorgeous artwork for the lands, you should definitely look at potentially powerful cards such as Teetering Peaks (land) and Oran-ReifSurvivalist (G).  Zendikar is scheduled to hit a game and hobby shop near you on October 2nd, 2009.   Hit the break for those hot new pics!

the lazy magic writer – magic sucks (at the moment)

This is the reason why Magic sucks.

Fellow PNG writer Logan Persons shot me an email about 30 minutes ago with the following content:

whose dick do i have to suck to get some MTG posts?  Just point me in the right direction.

Since I’m married and I don’t want it to have to get to that, here’s a small update with my thoughts about Magic in its current incarnation: It sucks.

Sorry, but those are my feelings about it. I’ll get around to it after I explain what I’ve been doing for the past few months since my last update.

In May, I prepared for Grand Prix: Seattle, where I placed 49th and won $200 and a pro point for my troubles. Here’s my list of opponents and the decklist I played:

Day One:
R1-R3: Byes due to a GPT win.
R4: David Dobis – U/W Reveillark w/ Borderposts. Win 2-1.
R5: Steve Sadin – Jund Aggro. Loss 1-2.
R6: Tom Martell – Swans Cascade. Loss 0-2.
R7: Joseph Peters – Bloom Tender Reveillark. Win 2-1.
R8: Kevin Rand – 5cc Planeswalkers. Win 2-1.
R9: Doug Potter – Faeries. Win 2-0.

Day Two:
R10: Brandon Willis – B/W Tokens. Win 2-0.
R11: Stan Bessey – 5cBloodbraid. Loss 1-2.
R12: Mauricio Blanco – B/W Tokens. Win 2-1.
R13: Cristian Calcaro – Faeries. Loss 0-2.
R14: Gabriel Nassif – Jund Aggro. Win 2-1.
R15: Thomas Huteson – Faeries. Win 2-1.

Final record: 11-4 (8-4 in matches).

Decklist follows after the cut…

PNG Gencon Hands On – Magic The Gathering: Planechase

Do you enjoy Magic?  Millions across the world do, and this September Wizards of the Coast is releasing their newest iteration of the popular card game called Magic the Gathering: Planechase. I was extremely fortunate over the weekend to get a sneak peak of their newest edition while at Gencon.  Before we get right into things, let me give you exactly what you want to know right here, right now.

Magic the Gathering: Planechase will launch on September 4th 2009, and each deck will retail for $19.99.  Here is what you’ll get inside the box…

• 10 all-new Plane cards
• Ready-to-play 60-card deck
• Six-sided planar die
  
• Planechase strategy insert with multiplayer rules

Check out my impressions and more details after the jump…

First Impressions – Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers

Before I get into my impressions, let me give you some of my history with Magic.  I’ve been out of the game for a good 6 or 7 years now, but that itch just never really went away.  You see, Magic the Gathering was, for the most part, my first foray into non traditional gaming.  I remember my older half-brother bringing home a bunch of Revised Edition commons and building some crappy starter decks for my younger brother and I back around 1996.  As I got older, I kept playing and got pretty decent at deck building and the strategy that is inherent to the game.  There was nothing better than rummaging through your shoe boxes of cards, making strategies with friends, and trying to come up with unstoppable combos and plays.  Unfortunately, playing the actual card game takes time and money, things that at certain times in everyone’s life they may not have to spare.  Magic Online released back in June of 2002 and helped alleviate the time restraint.  You weren’t really tied down to scheduled tournaments at libraries and hobby shops anymore, but you were spending just as much on virtual booster and tournament packs with nothing physical to show for the money spent.

Magic the Gathering:  Duels of the Planeswalkers alleviates both the time and the money concerns but by sacrificing what makes Magic fun in the first place.

PNG Daily 5/19/2009: The Duke Will Live Forever!

That’s right PNG’ers, The Duke lives! Well, at least 3d Realms isn’t actually closed.  Shacknews has a press release up from the legally embattled company clearing the air. Looks like the Duke Nukem Forever team was let go but the company still exists and owns the rights to the Duke Nukem IP. It is now (you can start giggling now Jim) pretty much certain that Duke Nukem Forever will not see the light of day as Take Two owns the publishing rights. Since Take Two is suing 3D Realms, you can pretty much assume that they’re going to take their ball and go home.

Wizards of the Coast gouging you at the 4E and Fallout DLC for everyone news after the jump!

PNG Daily 5/6/2009: Zerg Rush Battle.net

We unfortunately have to break that tabletop RPG Daily chain we’ve had going this week.  No news was quite as big today as Blizzard opening up enrollment to beg to get into the upcoming Starcraft II beta.  The link is to a Giant Bomb article that kindly points out that one of the requirements is that you own a Blizzard game tied to your Battle.net account. 

My Google feeds weren’t entirely unkind to the world of grids today though.  Wizards of the Coast has a few stat block previews from their upcoming Monster Manual 2 that you can find on their facebook page.  So far they have put up blocks for the iron dragon, clay golem, and warforge resounder.

I wish certain parts of posts could be tagged, because this certainly deserves to be filed under “WTF?”.  Kotaku is reporting that the Atari Jaguar will be getting a new game called Mad Bodies this year.  It is described as a Break-Out style shooter that has been in development for 6 years.  Following the maze of links from Kotaku to their source who in turn got it from another source will get you to the game’s home page.  It looks like they’re taking orders for the first run.