NCS Aug. 7th - Kuro Loves Hidden Arsenal.

Yes, I have a confession: Along with tins, I love Konami for Hidden Arsenal. I love the shiny. I love the art. Hell, the themes in HA are actually PLAYABLE. Although the packs are slightly overpriced for having less cards, it's forgivable, especially with the new 3-pack Special Edition box. Three packs of awesome and promo cards that gel with it? Count me in.

For starters, HA has some of the coolest themes I have seen in a long time.  Flaming dinosaurs, ice dragons, awesome thunderbirds, and animal-plant hybrids, and mythological beasts abound in sets full of foil. Every card in these sets is geared towards an effective, aesthetically-unified theme. Said theme may or may not be supplemented by cards in bigger sets. One pack of Hidden Arsenal has more trade potential than a normal pack of YGO cards by virtue that someone, somewhere, will actually be looking for these cards for their own themed deck.

SPARKLE SPARKLE, CHARLIE!

And if they aren't? The spare cards are still useful simply because they are shiny. A useful foil, some supplementary HA cards, and a LOT of commons makes for an excellent lot if you know how to sell it. I've seen "Reptile Decks" marketed with Worms and a few common Reptiliannes. Kids love shiny cards, a fact that nets people amazing trades every day. One can use packs full of shiny cards to one's advantage.

Keep doing these, Konami. YGO's main selling point is its art. Mix awesome art with playable foils and a lot of sparkle and I will keep buying.

July 28th NCS - Meh + Green Tornado Project.

The video says it all, really. What it doesn't say is exactly what the Green Tornado Project is, so allow me to explain that here.

Pokemon has an amazing variety of foils and allows one to foil one's entire deck without spending obscene amounts of money. In YGO, a foil version of a card can be up to five times as much as its common counterpart. Getting such cards usually involves scaling and/or ripping off little kids. Pokemon does not have to do that.

So I started a project to "bling" the Green Tornado Starter Deck. That is, every card in the entire deck, down to the last energy card, will be coated in shiny foil. Cards that are already foil, such as the cover Serperior, do not need replacing.

Thus far, I only have a few of the necessary commons. Any RH Snivy-family cards would be appreciated regardless of what version. ;) That DS drive is still going on, but people give up cards easier than money.

Reshiram tin + Aiming for a 3DS.

 

Yep. I'm still alive. Barely. Was taking advantage of my new Toshiba (going with me to Rome) and got a new card tin at Target, so up it goes on my card game blog. 

For starters, I am sorely disappointed in ALL of Reshiram's arts for the first Black and White set. The tin promo looks like crap (but I love Reshiram), the first Reshiram (let's call it Reshi 1) looks a lot like the promo in a different pose, and the super-shiny premium art is put to shame not only for looking like something Sugimori would draw, but also for not looking as nice as, say, Primes, Lv. X's, or Ex's. I don't usually like the CG look that those cards have, but the graphic design overall is that much better. Hell, the Neo Destiny Shiny Pokemon and YGO Ultimate Rares would look more epic than that Reshiram. What a disappointing premium!


Hell, THIS looks cooler than any of the Reshiram cards so far.

The tin yielded a Zoroark and Emboar. Not too bad, there!

Second order of business: My DS has been spazzing out again. Since I'm not one of those types who ALWAYS gets the latest and greatest tech, I'm up the creek without a paddle for a bit. I do not know when/if DS-tan will recover, so, in tow with the keeping up with the times that I have been doing recently, I am looking for donations for a shiny new 3DS. If you are feeling generous, please click the button below:

(Just a rough guesstimate: If 25 people donate ten bucks each, I will have enough to afford the black 3DS. Any excess money will go towards making sure awesome people receive cool card game-related merch.)

There's something in it for you, too. I have seen people selling Pokemon -not games, not toys, little bits of Pokemon game data - on eBay. With too much excess stock from my projects, it makes sense to offer them as thank-you gifts for donations. :3

Donation gift Pokemon: 

First of all, I do not hack. All of the Pokemon up for grabs are legitimate. I do, however, know a few people with Action Replays, so if you would like a special item (such as an EV-reducing or pinch Berry) it's fine to request such.  Repeat: Pokemon below are legit, but Nintendo can be a DOUCHEBAG when it comes to things like Berries.


Current Breeding Project Extras:

(Male) Riolu with 31 ATK and/or Speed. 
(Male) Zorua with 31 HP,  SATK and/or Speed. A select few of my males have 31 in all 3 stats.
(Either sex) Pichu with 31 in HP, SATK, or Speed. 
(Either sex) Mienfoo with 31 ATK or Speed.
(Mostly female) Bellsprout, some of which have 31 ATK or Speed.
(Male) Snivy with 31 ATK, DEF, SATK, and/or Speed.  Yes, I bred a LOT of Snivy and will do more until I get two-three perfect snakes.
Feebas/Milotic. A lot. I mean that; there are several dozen on my Sapphire (enough to occupy three boxes). No guarantees, but if you want to get your hands on an easy female or easy Milotic, consider it done.

Future Projects (i.e. the sooner you donate, the sooner I can get cracking):

Drought Vulpix - High chance of getting a female, guaranteed to have Hypnosis and at least 1 IV in 31. Comes with a free Fire Stone.
Drizzle Poliwag - Can't make any guarantees yet, but I have some good Water stock to work with.
Eevees - Soon, I will be working on an Umbreon strain with 31 in HP/ATK, if not 4 stats in 31. After that, Leafeon. Espeon/Jolteon-friendly Eevees will be next.
Growlithe with Close Combat and/or Crunch. 31 in ATK and/or Speed.
Misdreavus, IV's uncertain. 
Absol with 31 ATK and/or Speed. Speed doesn't matter much when one has Sucker Punch, but still.
More Snivy. Yep.

NCS 11/29 - FUCK YES!

Two words: YES! YES!

I had been flopping like a fish about whether I should give Konami another chance or not. I thought "eh, one pack couldn't hurt" since I had a dream about YGO last night/this morning. Flipped my British pound coin until it approved of a pack, and check out the result! (For those unaware, the Secret Rare of the pack, Naturia Beast, is worth twenty bucks upwards.)

The other reason I gave Konami a chance is because of something that will be coming out December 7th. More on that when it happens, but let's just say that Duel Disks are getting closer and closer.

Did the same thing with Pokemon. That little binder is cool; I love the Legendary Beasts so much! It's also getting to the point where I can feel whether a pack will have a holofoil or not. Love the coin and a personal little secret of mine. Hint: It's not a pocket scale!

Also got my brother the Marik deck. I don't know why his wife will not let him spend money on one of Konami's better moves, especially since the whole family is hooked on games. Mirror Force needed to be a common a LONG time ago.

9-26: Suicune Tin!

This officially makes up for making Suicune look like crap on the Legend cards, Nintendo. Seriously, I love you for temporarily whoring out something that is not a dragon or Lucario. Alas, I am also aware that this is short-lived; come Black/White, I am SURE that you will be pimping Reshiram, Zekrom and Zoroark in tins after the usual starter run. Ya rly. (I will, however, be getting my mitts on a Tsutarja/Jarorda tin ASAP.)

Got a LOT of pent-up dragonhumper angst to write about, but before I do that, I will add that the YGO tins are not as visually impressive this year. They come with some nice reprints, but I think Konami's losing their touch. Tins are really their forte; I smell a decline.

NCS: FINALLY found that Doctor Who Pack!

I found that Doctor Who card pack during a quick excavation of my room yesterday. No, I do not consider cleaning my room 'cleaning;' 'excavation' is a far more accurate term regarding the amount of work entailed and the end results. In this case, the end result was a super-shiny Donna Noble card (which I THINK is a 'super-foil emboss' card found in 1/4 packs). No, I will not share her; she is one of my favorite characters from the series AND is a shiny card. ;)

Word to the wise: Be wary of trading card companies making trading card games. Yes, it's cool that one can get cards printed that way, but I have seen some TC companies (namely UDE) doing some very scary things with their TCG properties, such as creating their own fakes and deliberately misprinting cards to increase their value.

See ya!

5-13 NCS: I FINALLY Flipped Konami the Bird.

Behold! I not only pulled something shiny, but flipped Konami the bird afterward! *Insert Final Fantasy victory music here.* Yeah, I was tempted to get that 5.99 Crossroads of Chaos 3-pack, but I'd probably get a junk foil anyways. You know, even though it had a really good vibe...

...It was 5.99 for a reason.

NCS 4/15 + I Have A Dream...

Yeah, it took me a while to post this. Sorry about that; I've been under a lot of stress lately. One of my favorite teachers has left my college (NUUUUU MILLER-SENSEI! At least she's getting paid more), and finals are next week. Don't worry, though; I have a few article ideas in mind, and just realized that I have a dream alongside writing books:

I want to rip The Zone a new one by opening my own shop specializing in Eastern merchandise. Electronics, trading cards, anime, manga, the works. I'm sure that somebody has thought of it, but I have found an amazing site that sells AWESOME gizmos (light-up, waterproof keyboards, BLING jump drives, etc.) in bulk, customized, and so forth. It's all based in China, and could VERY well be a sweet business endeavor...

...unless there's some horrible catch.

You wanted to see me?

OK, then. Have a link to a video of me opening card packs!

Yesterday was a good pull day. ^_^