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by David S. Wilson
Dominia Register #3 FEEDBACK : Received 4 more letters on the Jan. Dominia Register after the Feb. column had already been submitted. This timing issue will continue so expect to see feedback on more then just the last column. First writer wanted to know why DA SARGE and I take completely different stands on Portal. While I can't really speak for DA SARGE, I can say this as what I know...we are different people with different opinions. If that isn't enough explanation; I'll include what I suspect. From what I've read of DA SARGE, he plays duels and enters in DCI tournaments. I play multiplayer games and do not go to tournaments or join DCI sanctioned leagues. So to me, Portals was a great set with great cards. I only play duels once in a while. Now, I know someone is going to ask why do I prefer multiplayer and ignore DCI, so here is my reasoning. DCI Type I vs Type II and related rules are artificial. My friends and I all have access to the same cards and play what we have without worrying if they are "legal". We found many strong cards in Portals and are looking forward to Portals II. Sometimes we make up our own limits. One week, we might say your deck can only have Fallen Empire & Portal cards. The house we play at sets the limits or "House Rules" for the week. It's stimulating fun to have limits for 1 week ONLY because it forces me to build decks I might not have tried otherwise. Also note, duels are based on speed. Nothing is as important as speed. Because of this, low cost cards gain strength, and many cards are not even considered. In multiplayer games, speed is okay but will not win the game for you on it's own. You need cards like high cost creatures to survive. Cards affecting more then 1 player become important. Teamwork and politics become a part of the game plan. No one player can dominate no matter how good they are. Newer players can team up and knock me out if I start getting cocky. Since all my friends are experienced roleplayers we like the team aspect found in multiplayer games. The Next note was more personal; one reader wants to know more about the Fancy Rats I breed. Now we do go BEYOND DOMINIA but there has to be limits. All I will say about my Ratties is check Rat City found at http://www.itv.se/~a1090/rats/index.html. The 150 links is to rat breeders what LOD is to M:tg players! The 3rd letter I got on January's Register pointed out I didn't include Dark Ritual in the top 10 ....and then asked " are you nuts? ". Nope not nuts. It was a mistake not to include Dark Ritual in the top 3, let alone top 10. While I don't play duels often, I know what the value of speed is to duel players, and they do include Dark Rituals in any black duel deck. Dark Rituals can mean you win. As for my sanity... maybe I am nuts. Hard to say. Four years ago I underwent 3 major brain operations and had about a 10% chance of surviving. And after death there was another 90% chance I might suffer from any of 2 pages worth of possible side effects. Today I'm still alive, but 1/3 of my skull is a plastic plate and I just might be suffering from side effects, might be suffering from side effects, be suffering from side effects, suffering from side effects, from side effects, side effects, effects. And the final letter on the January column was on Lucids. I agree Licids are hard to target. But knowing that, I anticipated their making a major change in the game, and when I played them there was only slight change not major change. Perhaps Stronghold will change my opinion with the following 5 Licids.
So ...that's it for January letters now lets address the entire 1 February note sent to date. One reader was kind enough to write " Just thought I could be of service. Wotc errated Raging River recently turning it into an Enchant World. " Thanks for the update! I simply do not follow errata like some of you readers. LIST OF THE MONTH : Dragons. As a roleplayer, dragons have always thrilled me. When I got my first dragon M:tg card I was deep into Magic Fever and learned just how high a thrill you can get from a dragon. And it was only a Dragon Whelp not a full sized one! Here's a quick list of all the Dragons available. The Dragon Whelp and Elder reprints were uncommon , all others were rare. Almost all have Flying. Elders required upkeep costs.
Name P/T Sets Special Ability
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Alabaster Dragon 4/4 PO/WE If put into graveyard you get to
shuffle him back into your deck.
Arcades Sabboth 7/7 LG/CH You can add +0/1 AND 0/2 to your
creatures if untapped non-attack.
Canopy Dragon 4/4 MI Pay to fly but lose trample.
Catacomb Dragon 4/4 MI Non-Dragon blockers get their
power halved, rounded up.
Chromium 7/7 LG Rampage.
Cloud Dragon 5/4 PO Only intercepts flyers.
Crimson Hellkite 6/6 MI X damage to target creature for
red mana.
Dragon Whelp 2/3 1E-4E Pumpable but > +3/0 destroys him.
Ebon Dragon 5/4 PO When brought in opponent must
discard a card.
Fire Dragon 6/6 PO When played deals damage for each
mountain in play,to any creature.
Firestorm Hellkite 6/6 VI Flying, Trample - upkeep too.
Mist Dragon 4/4 MI Loses Flying by choice & Phases
out for a cost.
Nalathni Dragon 1/1 PROMO Pumps like Whelp & banding.
Nicol Bolas 7/7 LG/CH Damage player, they discard hand.
Palladai-Mors 7/7 LG/CH Flying & Trample.
Pearl Dragon 4/4 MI Pay to add +0/1
Rathi Dragon 5/5 TM Sacrifice 2 of your Mountains.
Shivan Dragon 5/5 1E-5E The king of Pumpable Dragons!
Teeka's Dragon 5/5 MI Flys & Trample & Rampage4
Vaevictis Asmadi 7/7 LG/CH 3 colors can pump +1/0
Viashivan 4/4 VI Pump power and/or toughness
Volcanic Dragon 4/4 PO/MI no summoning sickness.
STRONGHOLD - By the time you read this Tempest is old and Stronghold is new. I have to write this section before the Boosters are available. The only 100% safe data I have is the Checklist of Stronghold cards on the Wizards homepage. So what do I notice just looking at a check list. What should you have noticed before buying! First thing I see is BROM is doing artwork. YES! Wonder who will be Tougher; Stronghold Taskmaster or Warrior Angel? Next I notice there is only 55 common cards. That means lots of duplicates. That's why I keep bringing in Newbies, why you should too - Newbies will buy your common cards. Honestly. I have sold so many common cards to my newbies, I have more uncommon cards then common cards. I've been selling newbies 200 common cards for $10. And they love them. Try it, you'll like it. Now back to Stronghold. Now I notice no dragons. Boo...Hiss! But they did include Licids and Slivers so I know I will have to revisit both of those kind of decks. I notice new walls. Good only in Multiplayer games but since that's what I play they may be worth a look. Then I see what may be a major mistake - Lab Rats and Rabid rats. Bet they don't know rats have a dry bite. No saliva. That means you can't get rabies from a rat bite. Wizards never do rats right. And Lab Rats are just another name for Fancy Rats. So why are they black instead of white? When you have more then 1 rat in play ...which one is the Alpha rat? And what does the Alpha rat get? First Strike I would suspect. I could go on an on about the errors in M:tg rats. They did not spread the plague - that's one of history's biggest lies. And a group of rats is not called a pack. Oh well, lets get back to Stronghold. Next thing to notice is there is only 1 land. Hope this means Volrath's Stronghold is a great land. And Mox Diamond sounds like a good Artifact. By the time you read this we will all know. Based on 55 commons I will hold back to about 30 boosters this time. Okay maybe 40. I mean my nephew will only buy so many commons from me. Maybe it's time I start teaching my youngest sister how to play! Then I can buy more. Magiclaneous - as a roleplayer one of the best games I ever played is called Deadlands. The game is different from every other rpg ever produced and is an awesome winner. Now out comes a CCG called Doomtown based on the Deadlands game. And there will be different booster sets coming out every month for 9 months. I must try it. Even if the game is not as great, as I suspect...I can always use the characters in some Deadlands adventure I will run. Give both the rpg & ccg a try. Thank you - Dave
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