I played another round of the Coming of Galactus last night. I was all set to sub in the Terrax figure from the previous set – until I opened my boosters. I got both the Living Laser and Ares. LL is reputedly a beast in this format and, not only is Ares one of the super-rares, Ares is a monster. He’s an army unto himself – but at 275 points (in a 300 point battle) he would have to be.
It was a bit of a number crunch, but I decided to go with the Ares, a pog, and the Inferno card. I easily won the first game. I won the second game through some good maneuvering and lucky rolls. The last game was down to the bitter end. It started with Ares and pog in the Xavier’s mansion ruins against Gargoyle, Giant-Man, and Iron Man. It ended up being Iron Man and Ares slugging it out and I finally defeated him on my last click. I had lost the pog in all three battles – but he had only been there for zone control and as a distraction.
When the numbers came in, there was one other person with threes wins, but I easily won on points due to keeping Ares alive. That means that I will get a bye in the final battle for Galactus and a better shot at actually pulling off a win. It’s good to see that I’m picking this back up pretty quickly. Since the big guy goes for over $200 on ebay, this would be the only way for me to get one. Well, there is always a 1 in 500 chance of pulling a ticket for one in a booster but, even with 20+ people at the final, that’s still about a 1 in 12 chance for me.
Here’s hoping.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Valley-KHAN!!!
We had started watching 24 on Friday night – but only managed to get through 5 hours on the weekend due to the barbeques – both good, but they really cut into our viewing time. So we should be finished after the long weekend instead.
We did find out that Valleycon has quietly moved their convention from Sept 21-23 to Oct 27 – 28. While this does give me an entire extra month to finish the costumes for the kids, it does kind of mess up the holidays that I already had to book back in April. Plus, the weekend it is now on will conflict with the Manitoba Comicon. So we’re a bit torn.
Links: http://www.valleycon.com/ - which might have William Shatner (Denny Crane!)
http://www.manitobacomiccon.com/ - which will have David Prowse and Richard Hatch
Even though it’s too hot for much else, I was able to work on a few planes – finishing the paper DVII and assembling the ERTL Spad XII. I also started work on an Airfix Avro 504K. My planes are two Central, two Allies – but they are deeply balanced towards the Central side. Once I finish the Albatros and another Spad and a Nieuport, we should be able to try Canvas Eagles.
We did find out that Valleycon has quietly moved their convention from Sept 21-23 to Oct 27 – 28. While this does give me an entire extra month to finish the costumes for the kids, it does kind of mess up the holidays that I already had to book back in April. Plus, the weekend it is now on will conflict with the Manitoba Comicon. So we’re a bit torn.
Links: http://www.valleycon.com/ - which might have William Shatner (Denny Crane!)
http://www.manitobacomiccon.com/ - which will have David Prowse and Richard Hatch
Even though it’s too hot for much else, I was able to work on a few planes – finishing the paper DVII and assembling the ERTL Spad XII. I also started work on an Airfix Avro 504K. My planes are two Central, two Allies – but they are deeply balanced towards the Central side. Once I finish the Albatros and another Spad and a Nieuport, we should be able to try Canvas Eagles.
Friday, July 27, 2007
the boy who had lived?
So we had picked up a copy of the new Harry Potter book on Monday. Shan read the ending and a few parts and skimmed through it but hasn’t actually read it yet. I won’t get to read it until she does though. She seems to be in no rush to start though, so who knows when I will know.
I can speculate though – I meant to get this up on last Friday – so those who have read the book can smile knowingly. To start, there are rumors of 2 major characters (see other rant about what classifies a “major” character) being killed in this book. This is also rumored to be the final book. Rowling has previously said that she didn’t want anyone else writing her characters.
- Harry dies. It would make a final end to the series and prevent others from writing sequels. I also feel that it would work well with the “in order for one to live, one must die” quote from the last movie. Most had disagreed with me on Friday but I pointed out that he doesn’t have to stay dead.
- Ron or Hermione die. One of them could die but people felt that it would be too cruel to the other character. If they both died though, that would work – but people didn’t like that idea as they felt it would be too cruel to the fans.
- Snape dies. Most people at work, plus Shan, believed that Snape will die protecting Harry. This would redeem him as most of us never really believed the fact that he abandoned Harry in the previous book.
- Voldemort dies. Okay, as the big bad (a phrase from Buffy – means major villain) of the series, he is expected to die. He’s a borderline major character in that he’s mentioned in all the books and he is behind the scenes in a lot of the action. He’s really more of a strong supporting character and an easy cop out as one of the two deaths if he is.
- Hagrid or McGonagall die. Strong secondary characters again. Shan did believe this as valid as it helps to remove Harry’s support before the final battle.
There is also some debate about whether Dumbledore is actually dead. A person who has a phoenix for a pet is playing with heavy foreshadowing. Being alive though makes it harder for Harry to take over as head of the school though - unless Snape lives and gets to take over.
Anyone else dying is either a secondary character at best, and a late add-on disposable red shirt (old Star Trek OS reference for a disposable character) at worst.
I mention it now as we’re off to a barbeque on Sat and discussion may inadvertently come up. Knowing smiles all around, I’m sure.
Since we’re speculating, for those who saw the 1-18-08 trailer before Transformers and were wondering, what the heck? There were a few websites devoted to it already. It looks like a Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla (HSX agrees with us). We’ve been keeping up with the rumors at work and, according to JJ Abrams from Comicon, it’s not Godzilla but sort of his version of that kind of story. Since a lot is on handheld, I don’t expect we’ll really see much more of the monster (or monsters) than feet and silhouettes.
In many ways though, I was really hoping for another Godzilla film. The roar in the trailer certainly sounded like the big G to me.
David
I can speculate though – I meant to get this up on last Friday – so those who have read the book can smile knowingly. To start, there are rumors of 2 major characters (see other rant about what classifies a “major” character) being killed in this book. This is also rumored to be the final book. Rowling has previously said that she didn’t want anyone else writing her characters.
- Harry dies. It would make a final end to the series and prevent others from writing sequels. I also feel that it would work well with the “in order for one to live, one must die” quote from the last movie. Most had disagreed with me on Friday but I pointed out that he doesn’t have to stay dead.
- Ron or Hermione die. One of them could die but people felt that it would be too cruel to the other character. If they both died though, that would work – but people didn’t like that idea as they felt it would be too cruel to the fans.
- Snape dies. Most people at work, plus Shan, believed that Snape will die protecting Harry. This would redeem him as most of us never really believed the fact that he abandoned Harry in the previous book.
- Voldemort dies. Okay, as the big bad (a phrase from Buffy – means major villain) of the series, he is expected to die. He’s a borderline major character in that he’s mentioned in all the books and he is behind the scenes in a lot of the action. He’s really more of a strong supporting character and an easy cop out as one of the two deaths if he is.
- Hagrid or McGonagall die. Strong secondary characters again. Shan did believe this as valid as it helps to remove Harry’s support before the final battle.
There is also some debate about whether Dumbledore is actually dead. A person who has a phoenix for a pet is playing with heavy foreshadowing. Being alive though makes it harder for Harry to take over as head of the school though - unless Snape lives and gets to take over.
Anyone else dying is either a secondary character at best, and a late add-on disposable red shirt (old Star Trek OS reference for a disposable character) at worst.
I mention it now as we’re off to a barbeque on Sat and discussion may inadvertently come up. Knowing smiles all around, I’m sure.
Since we’re speculating, for those who saw the 1-18-08 trailer before Transformers and were wondering, what the heck? There were a few websites devoted to it already. It looks like a Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla (HSX agrees with us). We’ve been keeping up with the rumors at work and, according to JJ Abrams from Comicon, it’s not Godzilla but sort of his version of that kind of story. Since a lot is on handheld, I don’t expect we’ll really see much more of the monster (or monsters) than feet and silhouettes.
In many ways though, I was really hoping for another Godzilla film. The roar in the trailer certainly sounded like the big G to me.
David
Thursday, July 26, 2007
sweet, blessed rain
It finally rained - a quick, solid downpour that dropped the humidity immensely. It was much, much better.
The second round of the Coming of Galactus event was yesterday night. I opted not to play the Silver Surfer from the previous week and instead played a theme team since I had three figures with the Avengers keyword – Starfox, Black Panther, and Luke Cage. I easily lost my first game to RagingMadboy, an old player back from when I used to judge, mainly due to the fact that I had no ranged attacks.
I had thought about changing out my team between rounds, but kept with it. I still lost the next two rounds, but both were very close – each with the opponent only left with one figure at the end. I’m getting used to the zones of control and followed my strategies through on both games but lost focus at the endgame. I’m really looking forward to next weeks matches.
David
The second round of the Coming of Galactus event was yesterday night. I opted not to play the Silver Surfer from the previous week and instead played a theme team since I had three figures with the Avengers keyword – Starfox, Black Panther, and Luke Cage. I easily lost my first game to RagingMadboy, an old player back from when I used to judge, mainly due to the fact that I had no ranged attacks.
I had thought about changing out my team between rounds, but kept with it. I still lost the next two rounds, but both were very close – each with the opponent only left with one figure at the end. I’m getting used to the zones of control and followed my strategies through on both games but lost focus at the endgame. I’m really looking forward to next weeks matches.
David
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
too hot to breathe
We're experiencing a bit of a heat/humidity wave at present. The temperature is hitting highs of 308 Kelvin - and that's before factoring the 62% humidity. (Kelvin = Celsius + 273.15, for those who are still using the archaic Fahrenheit system - you're on your own). We've had overnight lows of 298 K (25 C) - that's a nice summer high not an overnight low. Since we don't yet have central air, we are coping as best we can.
It's actually nice to come to work, where they have the AC cranked down to a balmy 293 K.
We finally saw Live Free or Die Hard. It was a fun explosion romp but no Transformers. It's good to see Mary Elizabeth Winstead getting good notice. We remember her from Wolf Lake - which we have yet to find on DVD. A surprise to me was seeing Kevin Smith in the movie - he is becoming more known lately as an actor instead of a director as his last five projects in HSX have all been for acting.
Here's hoping the rain will actually cut the humidity enough to be able to do things at home again.
David
It's actually nice to come to work, where they have the AC cranked down to a balmy 293 K.
We finally saw Live Free or Die Hard. It was a fun explosion romp but no Transformers. It's good to see Mary Elizabeth Winstead getting good notice. We remember her from Wolf Lake - which we have yet to find on DVD. A surprise to me was seeing Kevin Smith in the movie - he is becoming more known lately as an actor instead of a director as his last five projects in HSX have all been for acting.
Here's hoping the rain will actually cut the humidity enough to be able to do things at home again.
David
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Old faces
Played the first round of the Coming of Galactus last night. I won my first game, lost my second, and closely lost my third. I haven't really played Heroclix since Ultimates when I used to Judge, and even back then I didn't play that much. It was a huge turn out - over 20 people - and the judge kept everything running pretty well. I don't hold out much hope for me winning a Galactus against this crowd, but you still get a herald for showing up - and that's worth the 2 boosters cost for me.
I saw a few faces I vaguely remember from back in the day. Not enough to put a name to, especially not their actual name. A few of the board names seemed familiar but I couldn't match the faces to my memory of the faces. I did run into Perry though. I didn't even see him until between the second and third round. He had been out of Heroclix for a while too but had been pulled back in by the Galactus event.
He asked about when we were doing another Wincon. We get asked that from time to time. It brings a smile to my face to know that it was warmly remembered by a few. Someday I'll go back over the tales - of it's inception, it's start, it's run, and it's return.
Until then, stay Cosmic.
David
I saw a few faces I vaguely remember from back in the day. Not enough to put a name to, especially not their actual name. A few of the board names seemed familiar but I couldn't match the faces to my memory of the faces. I did run into Perry though. I didn't even see him until between the second and third round. He had been out of Heroclix for a while too but had been pulled back in by the Galactus event.
He asked about when we were doing another Wincon. We get asked that from time to time. It brings a smile to my face to know that it was warmly remembered by a few. Someday I'll go back over the tales - of it's inception, it's start, it's run, and it's return.
Until then, stay Cosmic.
David
Monday, July 16, 2007
Current
Procrastination pays off again. Our neighbours have taken down the fence and replaced it. It took a few weeks, but it crosses another of my chores off my list.
We took the kids to see Surf's Up at CinemaCity - it's a second run theatre where you can see movies for $2 instead of $8. The popcorn is much better as well. The film was fun. I didn't have a lot of hope in it - but it hearkened back to the fun surf films like North Shore.
We are all caught up with our TV viewing. We watch a lot of TV so we normally tape the shows and watch later on the other machine. After a few weeks we usually fall behind until some of the shows start getting cancelled. This season, a lot of our old shows ended and quite a few of the new ones washed out - so, even with catching Hidden Palms and Traveller, we are all caught up.
Except for 24. Since season one, we have been taping the entire season and watching it in a single weekend. Sort of like waiting for the tradeback instead of following the limited series.
We've been reading the tradebacks of Fables by Bill Willingham - who I've like since before Elementals. It's a great updating of the classic characters from the fables dropped into a modern setting. We've been picking them up from the library but will have to get them for our own.
I have a package slip to cash in one the way home today. They tried to deliver it on Sunday when we were out. It should be my Green Lantern Corps Heroclix set but we'll see after work.
Speaking of Heroclix - the Galactus tourney I was supposed to be in on Saturday didn't happen. We drove out there and were told that it would actually be happening on Wednesdays. As a former judge, I'm not sure they can do that, but they are. We'll see how it all plays out.
Not that I'm bitter. Well, not too bitter anyways.
David
We took the kids to see Surf's Up at CinemaCity - it's a second run theatre where you can see movies for $2 instead of $8. The popcorn is much better as well. The film was fun. I didn't have a lot of hope in it - but it hearkened back to the fun surf films like North Shore.
We are all caught up with our TV viewing. We watch a lot of TV so we normally tape the shows and watch later on the other machine. After a few weeks we usually fall behind until some of the shows start getting cancelled. This season, a lot of our old shows ended and quite a few of the new ones washed out - so, even with catching Hidden Palms and Traveller, we are all caught up.
Except for 24. Since season one, we have been taping the entire season and watching it in a single weekend. Sort of like waiting for the tradeback instead of following the limited series.
We've been reading the tradebacks of Fables by Bill Willingham - who I've like since before Elementals. It's a great updating of the classic characters from the fables dropped into a modern setting. We've been picking them up from the library but will have to get them for our own.
I have a package slip to cash in one the way home today. They tried to deliver it on Sunday when we were out. It should be my Green Lantern Corps Heroclix set but we'll see after work.
Speaking of Heroclix - the Galactus tourney I was supposed to be in on Saturday didn't happen. We drove out there and were told that it would actually be happening on Wednesdays. As a former judge, I'm not sure they can do that, but they are. We'll see how it all plays out.
Not that I'm bitter. Well, not too bitter anyways.
David
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