You wanted to see me?

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

Yesterday was a good pull day. ^_^

I...I just don't KNOW anymore...

*Twitch.*

*Twiiiitch.*

I like dragons. It's an interest that gamers tend to have. However, the emphasis on dragons in YGO has always bugged me; almost every theme seems to have one, and today, my suspicions that Konami was very highly dragon-centric were confirmed in the most vomit-inducing way possible.

They messed with Rainbow Dragon.

This just took my favorite dragon in the game and made it look like a pile of shit. I realize that they were probably basing off of that drawing of the Piasa bird, but EW. Even the Piasa would have looked more awesome than Sin Rainbow Dragon. Just...ugh.

One of the things that I really liked about Rainbow Dragon was that it had feathery wings. (Another thing was that it was an amphiptere, Quetzalcoatl, divine serpent...whatever ya wanna call it.)

Seriously, Rainbow Dark and Chthonian Emperor Dragon were not enough? How shilly can you get, Konami?

Moreover, it looks like all 10 of these cards are gonna be freakin' dragons. BIASED MUCH? Where the hell's a GRYPHON? I realize that it's their sandbox and they can do what they want in it, but they are pushing it by making all the Sin cards dragons. There have been only one or two unicorns, and a sprinkling of other fantasy creatures, but dragons seriously overwhelm the fantastic animal population.

For instance, there is not a single gryphon.

We have been waiting for a Gryphon for over ten years. The Winged Dragon of Ra looks like a gryphon on its tablet. "Gryphon Wing" and " Gryphon's Feather Duster" both hint that, somewhere, there must be an effing gryphon. Gallis does not count; close, but no cigar (note: its name implies that it should actually be chicken-like, of all things...O.o). How hard is it to pull a P.T. Barnum and stitch a lion and an eagle together? Hell, they've already done it on the cards mentioned before; draw that creature again and make it an actual monster. It demands life.

I seriously wonder why the hell I even bother blogging Konami's latest craptacular dragon cards. Somebody wake me when they start making cards like the ones from SOD-FET.

('Inverse Theory' should be my next blog post...)

Collectible Dog Tags?

So, besides the mind-scarring bath products, I found something else interesting and Bakugan-related: Collectible dog tags.

I love dog tags. I love the chains that come with them. The clasps aren't super-fragile (like some jewelery latches are), and you can put all sorts of cool things on the tags. They also don't look particularly girly, despite the fact that they are indeed necklaces.

This is certainly not the first time I have invested in such dog tags. Somewhere, floating around in the mire of chaos called my bedroom, there is a Megatron tag and trading card. There is also a Birdramon tag that I need to re-find. Point is, they're cool, so I was excited to see trading packs with Bakugan characters. ^_^

I got a pack...and pulled a "Luminous" (i.e. glitter finish) Preyas tag + a bunch of Dragonoid stickers. Not bad, but I dunno...it feels like they could have done something besides glitter. Glow-in-the-dark tags would have been AWESOME. It's also kinda weird that the trading card didn't match the tag, but I suppose that was done for variety's sake. More randomness = more cash.

Also, for some reason, they left out Runo and Julie's monsters entirely. Is something NOT cool about tigers and golems, or do I detect a hint of sexism? Hrrrrmmm...

On a side note, someone needs to use this tag + trading card strategy to promote Claymore...C'mon, SJ. You know you want in on this. These things are made extra cheaply in China. XP

Bakugan....body wash?!

No, I did not mistype anything: Bakugan now has bath sponges, body wash, bath bombs (at least, I think that's what they were), shampoo, toothbrush holders, sponges...etc. No, I was not on drugs. I was at Wal-Mart.

I wish I was kidding about this.

At least it did not break my brain as much as Digimon eau de toilette.

Breaking Even: Part 2 - Tin Wars

To demonstrate how easy it is to break even in Pokemon, I went out and got an Arceus tin today. I will also be blogging my YGO-playing brother's pulls; there is a VERY slim chance that he will come close to breaking even.

Pulls:

Arceus Lv X (Meteor Blast) ($6-8)
Salamence (~$3.00)
RH Gengar (Lv. 46) ($2-3)
Manectric lv 46 ($1)
Bastiodon (Lv. 56) ($1)
Gallade Lv55 (~$3.00)
Buffer Piece (RH, $1.25)
Spinda (RH) ($1)
Skitty (RH) ($1)

So, let's add this all up:
6+3+2+1+1+3+1.25+1+1= 19.25

That's approximately what the tin cost, if not a LITTLE bit higher. Konami, your time is nigh...

Battle Spirits: The Anime.

Those of you who talk to me often know that I love "Battle Spirits." Though it was made by an American (a guy who also worked on M:tG, Avatar, and Duel Masters, if memory serves) it has enjoyed quite a bit of love in Japan. The cards are well-designed in a number of regards; the game seems like it would be a fun and fast thing to do before Anime Club meetings. I am watching this game like a hawk because it inspires me. It makes me go, "hey, I could do that."

The same cannot be said for the anime. Oh, the poor anime. I realize that it is helping to sell cards, but good Goddess Shrub-Niggurath...there is a reason that nobody is subbing it.



Not the first time I've watched this, but thoughts...

~The monsters look awesome. That's about all that does. I'm not 100% against blending CGI and traditional animation, but in this case, it kinda clashes. It worked in Kara no Kyoukai; it does not work here.

~Why do the cards somehow...vanish in a non-magical tournament?
~Another art clash: I would have expected the character designs to be more...elegant. The cards (and the tournament setting, for that matter) have a classy, almost gothic feel; the rest of the anime is very much CoroCoro-style.

~The mouse is adorable. I don't know exactly what's going on with it, but it's adorable.

~That is a DAMN NICE PARKING GARAGE. I'm not sure whether to love it because it's got an awesome car elevator or hate it for being a bit unrealistic, but DAYUMN. It makes Chicago garages look like crap!

~So the mouse can't go to school, but J gets to carry his cat around like a Bond villain. OK.

~Does every kid have a shiny gem animal? I want a shiny gem animal...

~"Meganeko?" Is that her name, or is Bashin just calling her "glasses girl?"

~Is Bashin supposed to be...'special?'

~What does soccer have to do with anything, and how much hair gel is that guy using? OK, I get that he's a famous soccer player, but...that hair will haunt my nightmares as much as (some) futanari does. X.x

~The lines look...too thick. Sunrise, are you trying to copy Toei, there?

~Oh, VERY subtle tweak to the 'Spirit' mark on Mr. Soccer Player's back. I see what you did there.

~Those cards in the back of the BS Center look an awful lot like YGO cards...I should not even need to explain what is wrong with that.

~Wellllll, now that I look, J's cat could be a Digimon...

~Oh, wait, no. It meows to start a painfully long arena construction sequence.

~It looked like a Purple People-Eater to me...

~The monsters themselves actually look pretty cool. I dig the texture on Eyeburn.

~I'm not sure whether the turn skips are a good thing or a bad thing. If I recall, this game is supposed to be pretty fast...

~Gowsilvia is a very cool card. I'm not just saying that because it's a mechanical kirin-dog. XP

~What's with the pop singer? I know she's singing about living and a new world, but...holy crap, is this going to be like Canaan?

~It's sponsored by McDonald's. I'm scared.

And now, the final verdict...supported by YT comments:

"I play Battle Spirits and don't pay attention to this movie, Battle Spirits is the only game that has impressed me enough to buy it and I was NOT dissappointed, I recommend this to you"

"When will the day come when a trading card game is so big the Staples Center is sold out and NBC broadcasts the finals live? Screw Wimbledon, I want to watch Battle Spirits. LOL"

Fun game, lame anime. We mean it. BUY THE GAME. Also, I need a 'sensei' to teach me how to play it; my area SUCKS for games. I've already ranted about my local game store; I may, however, take a couple of decks there and see if anyone is interested.

Breaking even.

I finally remembered exactly WHY I hate buying YGO packs: It's nearly impossible for one to break even.

What do I mean? Well, when I get a Pokemon 3-pack, the cards I pull (as well as, often, the promo card) allow me to pay for the pack, if not make a small profit from it. This is because Pokemon has great character value; sticking in a Darkrai, Dialga, Cresselia (the new Arceus one is GORGEOUS) as a guaranteed promo sells very well on both the first and secondary markets, and depending on your pack luck, it's possible for one to earn back what one paid for. If nothing else, the promos and collector coins will retain their value; besides making one's own deck, one can customize their Pokemon game rather easily with mats, sleeves, etc.

YGO doesn't have that level of character value going for it. Or, well, maybe it does, but Konami certainly isn't utilizing it to its fullest potential. The promo Il Blud from my Crossroads of Chaos 3-pack doesn't sell as nearly as well as the Cresselia could (sorry, I'm keeping the Cress), despite its playability. This has been a consistent problem with Konami for as long as I can remember.

There is no doubt a way that they could make things like this pay for themselves. You could always stick in something like Crush Card Virus, a card that was withheld from places besides Japan for over 5 years. Do not BS me with "that card is broken and should not have been released anyways;" you do not have enough character value to make your customers break even from your product.

Trust me, Konami, you want to do this. A happy player base = more money for you. Letting the customer win now and then (meaning on a roughly 50-50 basis) makes them want to buy your cards.