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7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
1/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL Iss
The Barracks
Arsenal
Issue: 2IN THIS ISSUE
Hi everyone; thanks for picking up this
months issue of the Arsenal. My name is Ken
Sheldon, owner and proprietor of the
Barracks LLC, your local friendly game storethat prides itself on customer service and its
friendly gaming community. We highlight
Magic, Warhammer, Warmachine and
Hordes, and are always looking to expand
our community with both new and old
games.
Personally, Ive played Magic since Ice Age.
Ive seen it change with its many new sets
and rules. Ive played Warhammer Fantasy
since the days of the Lizardmen and
Bretonnian starter box, and absolutely love
both the game aspect, as well as the hobby
aspect. Ive owned and managed one othergame store, and spent a lot of my work life in
retail. I used to blog professionally about
miniature games, mmos, and other game
related topics.
Owning and running a successful game store
was always one of my points on my bucket
list. Why? Well, Ive been to too many game
stores where the guy behind the counter was
not only rude to their customers, but, also
inconsiderate about various player ideas. I
feel that this mentality is all too common,
and there is no place for that in a gaming
atmosphere. Games are just that, games,
and while yes, power gaming exists, and
there is nothing wrong with it; but that
doesnt mean that new ideas are bad ideas.
Games are ways for people to escape the
everyday reality and have fun. No ones idea
of how they want to either build an army, or
construct a deck, is a bad idea as long as they
have fun. This mentality has spilled over into
our community, and Im happy to say that
weve got the best group of gamers here, and
I wouldnt trade them for the world.
So, what else is the Barracks? Were located
in Petersburg, MI, on the corner of Wood St.
and E. Center. We currently have a 12 ft x 6 ft
war gaming table, as well as 16 spots for our
regular FNMs. Now, were a small store and
weve often experienced overflow. This
brings me to our biggest news since we
opened! Well be changing locations to a
space that is at least twice our current size!
This will give our card flippers more table
space (around 30 or so spots) and our war
gamers more tables (around 6 tables
minimum)! And even better, were only
moving across the street!
Now, this wouldnt have been possible
without the gaming community we have as
well as the local residents of Petersburg.
Without all of your support, this dream
wouldnt have been possible.
Anyways, enjoy this issue of the Arsenal.
Hope to see you at the shop soon!
TsuroWhat is Tsuro?
Page
New Magic Set (M14)The new set M14 is discussed.
Page
Welcome to the Barracks!y Ken Sheldon
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
2/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
A few months ago, Games
Workshop released their long
awaited update for the realms of
Chaos with the Chaos Daemons
Codex for Warhammer 40k. Ive
had a few chances to play withmy Chaos Daemons force and its
left me with a few thoughts on
these guys.
This issue, well touch on some of
the Daemons HQ.
The immediate top contender is
Skarbrand. Hes big. Hes beefy.
He kills things with authority.
Essentially hes a GreaterBloodthirster who was such a
jerk; Khorne kicked him out of his
realm. This guy is a beast when it
comes to close combat. He hits
on a 2+, can re-roll misses, and
will instantly kill just about
anything. Hes not invincible
though, and becomes a huge
target when hes fielded. Enough
shots will ground him, and
eventually you wont be able to
make your save. So, if you field
him, make sure you get him into
close combat as soon as you can
to avoid him becoming a bulletsponge.
Next up is KuGath, Plaguefather.
I personally dont care much for
him; however, I dont feel Ive
utilized him to his full potential.
So, lets cover what he is. Hes a
high toughness, high wound
model that uses poison attacks, is
a psyker, and has a decent blast
ranged attack. He is a high pointcost model, however, with his
high toughness; it will be hard for
your opponents to get a shot
through. Having him running with
Epidemus will only make him
tougher as the tally grows. I could
see his viability in bunkering
down in cover, holding down an
important objective along with
some Nurglings while tossing
plague ridden blast templates at
your opponents troops.
Remember, hes a daemon of
Nurgle, which increases cover
saves to a ridiculous 2+.
That leads me to Epidemus, the
Tallyman of Nurgle. Hes one of
the lesser heralds, so that means
that you can still take 3 more
heralds for 1 HQ choice. His
ability keeps a tally of all
wounds inflicted by Nurgle
units. The more wounds you
inflict, the more bonuses you
gain, including the ever
amazing Feel No Pain on high
toughness troops. If you run
anything Nurgle, you really
should take him.
The Keeper of Secrets was a hug
surprise for me as I never used to
run Slaanesh in my daemonic
hordes. However, the Keeper
seemed too useful to pass up,
especially with the high initiative
and weapon skill. While not thestrongest unit in the game, the
ability to instant wound with no
saves is really nice. I would
consider this HQ to be more of a
assassin, targeting one of your
opponents high point model, an
letting it go to town. I wouldnt
recommend using it in every
match, however, when it comes
time to knock off a high point
model, this may be your unit. Thtricky thing to balance though is
the point cost. I sometimes find
hard to justify a Monstrous
Creature as an assassin.
Finally, theres the most
underrated, and the most costly
HQ unit, Kairos Fateweaver. He
wont last you in close combat, a
his weapon skill and toughness is
awful. But, he really shines in hispsychic abilities along with his
staff. Lets focus on his psychic
abilities first: he is two level four
psykers in one. He can essentiall
take four abilities from four
different schools, while also
knowing the entire school of
Change. This offers a lot of choic
and variety to his abilities. His
The Daemonic
Hordes in the
Grim Darkness of
he FutureKen Sheldon
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
3/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
other ability lies in his artifact,
which allows for one friendly dice
re-rollper player turn. How many
times have you had a game on
the line where one dice roll stood
between you and victory? Well,
this can help change that. Its anydice as well, so, if you need to
pass a save, or to re-roll a charge.
While its only one dice, it still can
help turn the tables.
Chaos Daemons also have a boat
load of lesser heralds they can
take, all of which can be equipped
with some pretty great stuff,
which alone can be less than
intimidating, but exploring thecombos that can be done with
these in a squad can really prove
to make a death star unit.
This force generally seems to rely
heavily on combos. Daemons
alone dont have a ton of
stopping power, however, when
you start complimenting your
units with bonuses you get from
HQs, you start seeing the power
that lies within the denizens of
the warp.Next issue, well discuss the Elite
choices within the Chaos Codex.
Magic ForumBy Christopher Cannon
This is a section we will feature
every month in which we will
answer any questions or address
any comments received.
However, this section will not be
possible without the support of
our readers so participation is
encouraged.
Any questions or comments can
be submitted to either Ken
Sheldon at The Barracks or to
myself, either in writing or
through the website. All
questions and comments that we
display will be done
anonymously.
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
4/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
Full Game!
Game board!
There is a certain Zen about
Tsuro. Whereas most games
focus on immediate competition
and placing you against your
fellow players, or trying to gather
the most resources to outlast
your opponent; Tsuro is simply
about your choices before you fill
the game board.
Tsuro: A Game of Paths (by
Calliope Games) was releasedback in 2004, but has seen
reimplementation in their sequel
Tsuro of the Seas (2012). Both
games follow a simple premise.
Follow the path you lay in front of
you and dont fall off the board. If
your path crosses another
players path, you are both
removed from play. While this
premise is incredibly simple, the
game has seen many play hourson my dining room table.
The beauty ofTsuro is in the way
you approach the game. While
you can approach this with your
opponents destruction in mind
and try to lay a trap for them to
fall into, youre taking risks. And
as in the name, will those paths
pan out? Or, you can approach
the game as a way to avoid youropponent, taking subtle risks, an
abstractly planning out your
strategy. Either of these
strategies works, but personally,
Ive found the more relaxed you
are, the easier it is for your
opponent to move themselves o
of the board.
Tsuro is for 2-8 players, and take
around 20 minutes to play. Its a
great de-stressor while you wait
for dinner to finish cooking, or
after a busy day at work. Its a
great value for $29.99.
Tsuro: A Game of PathsBy Ken Sheldon
Standard Tsuro game
YOUR
AD
HERE
Advertise with us!
(734)279-1565
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
5/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL Iss
Besides fireworks and
Barbeques Magic players
have something else tolook forward to this July, the
release of the M14 Core Set.
This core set signals the return of
the Slivers. While I like tribal
themes in the set I do not know
why they brought back the Slivers
instead of making a new tribe. I
personally believe that a Sliver
deck is for the unoriginal because
of the lack of thought and
planning required to construct
one. All you have to do is put all
your Slivers together with some
mana and your deck is ready to
play. Not to mention that if you
do play a Sliver deck, you might
as well paint a bulls eye on your
forehead because you are
definitely going to be targeted.
Of course you know the planes
walkers will be back as well. Will
this be the set in which we
actually receive a usable
Chandra? There has been new
Chandra art leaked on the
internet which leads me to
believe there will be a new one.
However, only time will tell if it is
actually functional. I believe that
they will reprint the same Garruk
and Lilianna from M13 in M14. As
for white, I believe they will
reprint Ajani, make a new Ajani,
or replace Ajani with Gideon or a
new planes walker. Unfortunately
I also believe they will reprint Jace
Memory Adept. I personally
would like to see him replaced
however, since he is a fan favorite
I do not think that will happen any
time soon.
So what else will they reprint in
this set? Hopes for everyone
(including myself) are high that
they reprint Thragtusk. Anyone
running this card in
standard is probably
hoping that they do as
is probably a staple and
hard to replace. Hopes
are also high that they
will reprint the dual or
buddy lands. With thcurrent mana pool
available in standard this decisio
will greatly impact every players
deck building strategy. What
does the future hold for the M14
Core Set? Only Wizards
knows..
The Barracks will be featuring
multiple release events, the
schedule is as follows:
7/19@1:30 1v1
7/19 @ 6:00 1v1
All Pre-release registration is $25
in advance / $30 at the door. Pre
release schedule: 7/13 @
midnight (1v1) 7/13@ 3pm
(1v1)7/14@3pm (2headedgiant)
PRE-ORDER INFORMATION
$99.99 per box
$39.99 per fat pack
M14By Christopher Cannon
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
6/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
Aetherling: The
Sleeper ofStandard
By Daniel Wylie
This past week at FNM, I realized
that Aetherling is a completely
nuts card in a control/ tempo
shell. Trying him for the first time
in a constructed format, I
Immediately fell in love.
With his first ability giving you the
option to exile him and return him
to the battlefield at the beginning
of the next end phase for just one
blue mana makes him a great
threat that is hard to answer.
Your opponent will have to use
two removals on your Aetherling,
offering you a two for one in yourfavor just for having a creature, or
this could be used to give him a
sort of pseudo vigilance.
His second ability is that for one
blue mana, he can make himself
unblockable until end of turn.
This means that even if your
opponent is flooding the board
with some chump blockers, you
can just turn your guy
unblockable and bash in for as
much as 8 each turn. This leads
me into his next ability; which is
for one colorless you can give him
+1/-1 leading you to be able to
pump him to an 8/1 unblockable
for 5 mana. However, you may
want to leave one blue for his
safety net. Being a possible 8/1
though, it makes him by himself a
2 turn clock if you have done at
least 4 damage to your opponent,
or even if theyve taken 2 shocks
from lands. With many decks
having such greedy mana bases,
shocking ones self from twolands isnt farfetched at all.
His final ability gives himself -
1/+1, making him able to block
just about anything! For one
colorless, he can trade with your
opponents Thragtusk or you can
even give him 0 power if the guy
sitting across from you is trying to
swing in with Boros Reckoner for
the kill, making Aetherling anamazing win condition and utility
creature.
Even though his converted mana
cost is 4 colorless and 2 Blue,
most times you want to cast him
with 4 Colorless and 3 Blue,
leaving one blue open for
protection, so they cannot kill
your Aetherling the turn you casthim. Personally, in my deck I run
two in the main board, along with
two more in side board, but I
really think he is worth running 3
main board just because he is the
ultimate and perfect win
condition, as long as you dont
personally make a misplay like I
have in very inopportune times. I
was sitting at 18 life after shocks
and my opponent went to hisattack step, and turned a 7/5
Thragtusk, that was made from a
Master Biomancer, sideways to
bash in for seven. I only had one
blue mana up and I made the
bone-headed move to instead of
chump with a Deathrite Shaman
or a Beast token, throw my
Aetherling in front and exile it in
response to damage, which fell
right into his plans when
Aetherling was promptly
putrefied, and in turn I scooped.
In a control versus control,
Aetherling is just a nuts card,
which is when I always try to waiuntil my opponent has tapped o
or I draw my singleton Cavern of
Souls, and immediately name
Shape shifter.
I have thoroughly fallen in love
with Aetherling, because he
simply takes over and wins
games. I foresee him to rise in
price. Also, never, ever, under an
circumstances ever, tap outleaving your Aetherling
unprotected. Ever.
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
7/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
Control Magic
By James Dluzen
You only need to know
three words if you want to play
control in Magic: The Gathering;nope, nope, and nope. If you can
say these words with any amount
of confidence, than youll be fine.
If you want to learn how to
control any deck in Magic, than
youll have to know the
opponents deck better than they.
To understand how and why the
opponents deck will win is the
first step to control.
When playing a Magic
match with a control deck, the
object of the game is not to win,
but to make sure that youropponent does not even come
close to remotely winning. You
will have to know the ins and outs
of your opponents deck; you will
have to know his win conditions,
his colors, his play style and his
sideboard. Then after knowing
your opponents deck better than
he does, it is time to focus on
your own.
The golden rules for
building a control deck is as
follows; be polite, be efficient,
and have a plan to counter every
card that is played.
Unfortunately, playing control in
Magic is a rather difficult play
style but the most rewarding.
When setting up your deck, you
will need a plan for every card in
your opponents deck, then youwill need back-up plans, and then
contingent plans for both the
original plans and back-up plans.
Now after all the theory o
Magic the Gathering control, her
comes the actual card talk. Blue
and black are usually related to
control decks, since blue has
plenty of counterspells, and able
to bounce cards to their ownershands. Though black does not
have very many counterspells, (a
total of five), the color itself is
very handy at creature control
and also hand disruption.
There are plenty of blue
cards and colorless blue cards
that help control the opponents
spells and board presence. A few
that I use, other than straight
Counterspell, are Aether
Spellbomb, Vapor Snag, and
Psychic Barrier. The fun way I us
these cards, in conjunction, is th
Vapor Snag is a one manaUnsummon that makes the
opponent lose a life, while
returning the creature back to th
hand. It is useful in setting back
your opponent a whole turn, all
the while setting yourself up to
use Psychic Barrier, a two mana
counter spell just for creatures,
for the same creature you
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
8/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
returned not a moment ago. Plus,
just for the extra comfort of a
back-up plan, you have Aether
Spellbomb on the field. A
innocent one mana artifact that is
just sitting cozy in the corner, just
waiting to be used to eitherbounce a creature, if you have no
cards in your hand, or draw a
card, if there are no creatures in
the foreseeable future. Thats
pretty sneaky sis.
Now blue is not the only
color that can control an
opponents game play. The all too
savage and niche color of black.
Black is not always the
considered to be a control color,
but with blacks ability to destroy
almost anything that touches the
board, and the ability to disrupt
the opponents hand, I find thatblack serves its purpose well. A
few black cards that come to
mind, that are especially useful at
getting rid of anything and
everything, are Geths Verdict,
Murder, and Inquisition of
Kozilek. All useful cards and all
uncommon and common cards.
Say your opponent plays a rather
large creature, and you of course,
do not want it on the battlefield.
The first card that should come to
mind is Murder, a three mana
destroy instant. Well that takes
care of that, now doesnt it? But
wait, your opponent just playedanother creature and this time it
has hexproof (Cant be targeted
by spells or abilities your
opponent controls), alas
whatever shall you do? You play
the Geths Verdict, a two mana
instant sacrifice card, to make
your opponent choose his only
creature (Hexproof) to sacrifice.
Then begins your turn, and to
start off you play Inquisition ofKozilek, one mana sorcery, which
lets you look at your opponents
hand and choose a nonland card
of converted mana cost three of
less and make them discard it. I
think you did a not bad job of
controlling the board presence
and controlling your opponents
hand, with just straight black
cards.
Though all five of the
colors can in some way, shape, or
form, control some aspect of the
game, in my opinion, blue and
black have the most say in what
getting played.
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
9/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
The following is the eventsschedule for June-August 2013:
Friday Night Magic
6-7-13: Sealed Deck $25
6-14-13: Standard $6
6-21-13: Booster Draft $15
6-28-13: Standard $6
7-5-13: Booster Draft $15
7-12-13: Standard $6
7-19-13: Sealed Deck $25 (M14 two release
party events- one @ 1:30-5:30, the other @
6:00-10)
7-26-13: Standard $6
8-2-13: Sealed Deck $25
8-9-13: Standard $6
8-16-13: Booster Draft $15
8-23-13: Standard $6
8-30-13: Booster Draft $15
COMMANDER EVERY
SATURDAY @ 1:30
Saturday Magic
6-1-13 Booster Draft $15
6-8-13 Modern Masters Draft $30
6-15-13 Standard 30 pt. Highman $2
6-22-13 Modern 2HG $2
6-29-13 Chaos Draft $15
7-6-13 Modern 1 v 1 $2
7-13-13 Standard 30 pt. Highman $2
7-20-13 Modern 2hg $2
7-27-13 Standard 2HG $2
8-3-13 Chaos Draft $15
8-10-13 Modern 1 v 1 $2
8-17-13 Standard 30 pt. Highman $2
8-24-13 Modern 2HG $2
8-31-13 Standard 2HG $2
WARGAMING EVERYSUNDAY @ 1:30
Sunday Magic6-2-13: Constructed Pauper $2
6-9-13; Noble $2
6-16-13: Planeschase FFA- Modern $2
6-23-13: Assassin-Standard $2
6-30-13: Knights and Kings-Standard $2
7-7-13: Constructed Pauper $2
7-14-13: Assassin- Standard $2
7-21-13: Planeschase Modern FFA $2
7-28-13: Commander 2HG-$2
8-4-13: Constructed Pauper Trophy
Tournament Spartan! $5
8-11-13: Assassin-Standard $2
8-18-13: Planeschase Modern FFA $2
8-25-13: Commander 2HG $2
Schedule may be subject to
change
NEWS
Friday Night Magic Promo (JuneThis months Friday Night Magic Promo is
Izzet Charm. Players who finish in the top
will receive this foil promo during the mon
of June.
Friday Night Magic Promo (July)Rakdos Cacklerhas been announced as th
FNM promo for July.
Friday Night Magic Promo (AuguDimir Charm has been announced as th
FNM promo for August
Upcoming Events ScheduleBy Christopher Cannon & Ken Sheldon
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
10/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
In this section every month we
will discuss drafting certain cards
and other pointers that may help
you out in a Magic drafttournament.
In this second edition of Draft
Tips I am going to focus on which
commons, in my opinion, should
be top priority draft cards from
the Dragons Maze set.
Chances are you are going to be
drafting your deck mainly around
your rares, and with the
abundance of Guild Champions in
Dragons Maze you should have
no problems quickly determining
your decks color identity. I have
selected one common for each
color to help you construct an
effective deck.
The first card we will discuss is
Riot Control. This card has a veryreasonable CMC of 3 and can
definitely save you some pain.
With Instant speed you gain 1 life
for each creature your opponents
control and prevent all damage
that would be dealt to you this
turn. This card can be especially
effective when playing a multi-
player format because the
rewards will be even greater. Not
only do I recommend this card to
be drafted for any deck running
white, I also recommend it as aCommander staple.
The second card we will discuss is
Hidden Strings. If you want to play
control this card will definitely
help to that effect. Two mana,tap or untap two permanents,
then you throw in the whole
cipher ability and really this
card is just utterly disgusting and
mean. All this adds up to a
mandatory draft pick for any deck
running blue.
The third card we will be
discussing is Sinister Possession. one drop enchant creature that
will make your opponent have to
think twice about attacking or
blocking. This card will also help
with any deck running control,
highly recommended for any
deck running black.
Draft TipsBy Christopher Cannon
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
11/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
The fourth card we are
going to be looking at is Weapon
Surge. The overload ability is
where it is all at with this
beautiful card, making one attack
able to be the killing blow. You
can also use this card to save oneof your favorite creatures. A
definite staple for any deck
running red. I would definitely
consider this card for one of my
first commons picked.
Our final card is Mending
Touch. Do you want to block butyou do not want your creature to
die? Have no fear if you have this
nifty little card in your hand! Just
one green mana and your guy is
regenerated and back in action!
This card should definitely be on
the top of the list for any deck
running green.
Standings PointsBy Christopher Cannon
In order to promote competition
at The Barracks we have created a
point system as to the regards ofthe outcome ofMagic: the
Gathering tournaments. The
tournaments included in this will
be Friday Night Magic, Saturday
Commander, and Saturday Night
Magic. Points will be assigned as
follows:
1 vs. 1 & Multi-Player Format:
1
st
Place = 5 points2nd Place = 3 points
3rd Place = 1 point
Last Place = -1 point
Team Player Format:
1st Place = 3 points each
2nd Place = 2 points each
3rd Place = 1 point each
Last Place = -1 point each
This is to promote competition
and can even affect your strateg
as you attempt to vanquish foes
with higher point totals.
Prizes will be awarded every two
months for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Las
place. (2 months shall be referre
to as Rounds)Every 2 months
the points will be reset and a new
round will begin. A yearly total
will also be kept. Good luck fello
Planeswalkers and good gaming
The Barracks Arsenal
84 E. Center St
Petersburg, MI 49270
734-279-1565
7/28/2019 June July August Newsletter
12/12
THE BARRACKS ARSENAL | Issue2
Standings
As of 6/21/2013
Yearly Round2
Player Points Points
Matt Belair 34 11
Chris Cannon 23 11
R.J. Thoune 19 10Mike Cannon 11 7
James Dluzen 8 5
Ben Rachor 5 5
Derek Cornell 18 4
Allen Beck 3 3
Melissa Lederman 3 3
Bryan Youngpeter 7 3
Dustin Nastally 3 2Dave Lafontaine 9 1
John Stewart 1 1
Kyle Thompson 1 1
Kael Cardella -1 0
Nate Darling 3 0
Joe Dluzen -1 0
T.D. -1 0
John Goodin (Squid) 2 0Sebastian Rice 0 0
Dave Steffes 3 0
Dan Wylie -1 0
Matt Ansley 2 -1
Austin Binkley -4 -1
Dave Tibbs -1 -1