Saturday, August 31, 2013

L.A. Mood's September Heroclix Schedule




All events Begin at 6:00pm unless posted otherwise


September 5 Heroclix League Event
Build a 300pt team with your chosen keyword. I fyou do not have a cosen keyword please see the judge at the event
Prize: Lothlorien Cloak Limited edition Object

September 12 Pimp this Ride!
Build a 800 pt team, must include one vehicle
Prize:
M'Kraan Crystal Sliver limited edition object

September 19 Fear Itself Storyline Event Month 4
400 point, Sealed event utilizing two (2) HeroClix Boosters per player: one (1) Marvel HeroClix: Fear Itself Booster pack, and one (1) other HeroClix booster  or Five (5) single figure boosters (or another Fear itself, IF turn out allows) of your choosing.
Prior to the event, players will “declare their allegiance” to one of the two Fear Itself Factions: “The Worthy” or “The Mighty.” They are now fighting for victory on behalf of their chosen Faction. They will utilize the appropriate Additional Team Ability for their faction (provided in the Month One Fear Itself kit) on their force.
Resources and Relics from the Fear Itself Scenario Packs or any previous month’s Marvel HeroClix: Fear Itself events are allowed for use
Prizes:  : Odin Limited Edition figures for 1st place, 2nd place and Fellowship
Greithoth Hammer 3D Objects for participation prizes

September 26 Almost Got’em!
Bring a Gotham Villian and attempt to get the Batman
Prize:
AoA Nightcralwer limited edition figure


L.A. Mood House Rules
1. Purple Rings are legal, and no figures are retired
2. No Battlefield Conditions
3. Feats can only being used on older figures from before the Avengers set
4. Player are expected to bring a map that will be used, players may use either side if the map is double sided.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Cool stuff at L.A. Mood!

New TP's!

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales Donner Dinner Party

If you want to reacquaint yourself with the fact truth is stranger than fiction look no further than the larger than life characters in Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. Donner Dinner Party presents historical fact in a funny, engaging and deliciously entertaining way. For those hungering for a Pioneer tale gone awry (and who isn't) this book will give you bloody good story to chew on that is just dripping with historical details!

Savage Wolverine HC


The original title was gonna be "Polite and Reserved Wolverine" but that idea got SLASHED real quick. Wolverine awakes on a mysterious island full of Neanderthals and Dinosaurs.  There he is is forced to team up with Shanna The She Devil if he's going to survive his savage surroundings. Volume One of the popular series features eye popping artwork and an engaging storyline that will get all 3 of it's claws into readers early never let go.


Star Wars Complete Vehicles



You won't need to force the Star Wars fan in your life to read this in depth look at the vehicles found in all 6 Star Wars films. Featuring schematics and details not visible anywhere else this book will have you building a life size replica of an AT-AT in no time. So are you gonna stop by the store and buy it or not? We're just saying alot of people want it...and please...don't say you'll TRY to stop in. Do or Do not...there is no try.

True Patriot Book




















A slew of awesome Canadian Artists contributed to this crowd funded book featuring brand new Superheroes representing the Great White North. Every page full of unique style, wit and charm that can only be described as one thing..Canadian! This limited pressing book is not to be missed!





New Masks!
Batman and Bane Dark Knight Rises rubber masks!




















Halloween is around the corner..and so is your buddy wearing a Batman mask. Time to break the bat!




New Toy's
Breaking Bad Heisenberg Collectable figure

Meth Lab sold separately


Star Wars The Black Series Toys












These Star Wars figures are not only bigger-They are better! The sculpt and detail on these guys is incredible. If you're a fan of Star Wars or a collector in general you are gonna want these figures!

New Board Games!

Hisashi Hayashi Trains Board Game



















Ticket to Ride is great but do you ever hunger for a different train themed game to choo-choo choose? You do? Well then get on board Trains!  Use your facilities, trains and personnel to surpass your adversaries and become king of the railway!


Pandemic In the Lab!



















Pandemic was the outbreak break out hit of last year and now there's a brand new expansion!
ROFL!
















Can you condense a well known phrase to just a few letters and symbols? CAN YOU?!?!? Buy this game and find out! ROFL is the fun party game that's guaranteed to make you and your friends LOL.

New Statues!

Jon Snow Statue

Winter is coming...and that means christmas so we're letting you know now we have this Game of Thrones statue now so you can save up.

The Vision
Speaking of statues..Check out this sweet statue of The Vision!!! It's super awesome...This photo does not do it justice. Lucky for you it's in the shop! Stop by and check it out!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

So, a Centuries Old Mechanic And the King of Euro Designers Walk Into a Bar...

In this week's post, I want to introduce you to one more game by designer Stephen Feld and that game is Trajan.  Now, as I've noted in previous posts, Stephen Feld well is known for having designed some of the most 'euro' of eurogames.  Additionally, 2013 has very much been the year of Feld as he has released four titles this year including Bora Bora, Bruges, Rialto and Trajan.  Thus far, I have spoken about Castles of Burgundy -- which is a brilliant medium weight euro that stands out as one of Feld's best medium weight euros.  I have also written about Rialto, which is one of Feld's lighter titles.  Today, I'm hope to introduce you to Trajan -- which is definitely one of Feld's heavier euros.  It's also one of my favourite of Feld's designs!

In Trajan, you will be attempting to develop and strengthen various segements of the Roman Empire.  You'll be able to influence the activities of the Senate, expand the borders of the Empire militarily, construct buildings and infrastructure within the borders of the empire, as well as trading various commodities around the Mediterranean.  At least in theory that's what you get to do.  Because, to be perfectly honest, the theme of this game is really, really pasted on -- as is the case with many of Feld's titles.  But, let's be honest, if you're part of Feld's target audience then you weren't looking for theme anyways!  Trajan is unreservedly, unapologetically all about generating VP as fast and as efficiently as possible.  This game is so euro you could just call it Sven!  Know it, love it, embrace it!



In terms of game play, Trajan represents a fusion of a centuries old mechanic with modern game design practices -- and, in my mind, this is what makes the game worthy of particular note.  The ancient mechanic is the mancala or 'sowing' mechanic.  Contrary to popular belief the term mancala doesn't refer to a game -- but to a mechanic.  In games that employ this mechanic, players have a board that is divided into a number of individual bowls, each of which contains a number of seeds.  Players will take all of the seeds in a bowl and then sow them one at a time into succeeding bowls until they have no more seeds in hand.  Surviving evidence suggests that the mancala mechanic emerged sometime in the 6th-7th century AD, and it's been employed by numerous games around the world since that time.  Feld's decision to make use of this ancient mechanic and to place it at the heart of modern euro game is simply brilliant!

In Trajan, each player has their own player board which depicts six bowls -- bowls that will be filled with two, coloured tokens at the begining of the game.  On your turn, you'll choose a bowl and take all of the tokens in that bowl into your hand.  Then, you'll sow those tokens, one at a time, moving in a clockwise direction, from bowl to bowl.  Each bowl is associated with a particular action and when you place the last token in your hand into a bowl, you'll take the action associated with that specific bowl.  But wait, there's more!  Each of the bowls not only has an action associated with it, but also the potential to grant access to powerful Trajan tiles.  These Trajan tiles grant you points and particular benefits -- but to acquire these tiles you'll need to engineer the placement of your tokens so that that the colours of tokens that you've placed match the colours indicated on the Trajan tile associated with a particlar bowl.  In order to maximize the benefit that you get from each of your "sowing" actions, you're really going to need to think ahead and strategize about how to move your tokens not just this turn, but in the next turn or two to come.  There's more to this game (collecting and shipping goods, constructing buildings, influencing the Senate) but it all revolves around this central central mancala mechanic.



So, what do I love about Trajan.  First of all, I love the fact that this is a dyed-in-the-wool, VP getting euro.  Now, this might not float your boat, but it's certainly my kind of game.  Second, I love that there are so many ways to acquire those VP.  The rules for the game are really very straightforward, but in terms of what you can choose to do during the course of play, there are just so many paths to follow.  Further, I love the fact that there is a racing quality to the game.  There are significant bonues for being the first player to accomplish certain goals: eg. shipping goods, moving legionaries into the provinces) and you need to be aware not just of what you are doing, but what all the other players are hoping to accomplish.  Additionally, this is a game that makes you think -- really think!  There are just so many decisions to be made -- each of which is not that significant on its own, but all of which compound together to shape both your strategy and determine your performance.  If you want to really stretch your mind and get in a good, solid, thinky game -- well Trajan is title you should check out.  Finally, Trajan plays very well with any number from two to four players.  Although it's probally at it's best with three or four (because of the increased competition for resources) what's surprising is that Trajan turns out to be a really, really solid two player game.  Overall this is fantastic title -- and I would highly recommend checking it out!

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

More 'Feldian' Fun!

Two weeks ago, I made a post regarding Castles of Burgundy which, as I noted, is one of my favourite titles from one of my favourite designers.  That designer is Stephen Feld and I think it's fair to say that in the years to come, we will look back on 2013 as being the year of Feld.  Why you ask?  Because Feld will be releasing four new titles this year including: Amerigo, Bora Bora, Bruges, and Rialto.  At this juncture only Amerigo has yet to hit shelves and the titles that have are receiving excellent reviews across the board.  In this week's post, I'd like to introduce to you Rialto, which is a some what unique title for Feld in that it trends towards the lighter side of the euro game spectrum.

In Rialto, you will be competing to become the eminence grise of Venice.  I know, I wasn't sure what that meant either.  A little research, however, revealed that the term eminence grise refers to an individual who exists as the power behind the throne, so to speak.  That is to say, an individual who's power and influence, while great, remain somewhat hidden from view.  As such, in Rialto, you will be competing to spread your influence in the city of Venice and, in so doing, to gain the attention and favour of the Doge.  Now, I'll be honest with you: as cool as that sounds, I'd be lying if I told that there was much in the way of actual theme in this game.  Feld is the consumate euro game designer and he is well known for creating brilliant game systems and then shellacing a paper thin themes on overtop.  Seriously though, if euros are you bag than you weren't too concerned about theme to begin with.



So how does Rialto play out?  Well, the game plays out over six rounds, each of which has three phases.  In this respect the first two phases really represent the heart of the game.  In the first phase you are going to be laying out a series of rows of cards.  Each row will have six cards and you will lay out a number of rows equal to one plus the number of players in the game.  The key here is that there are six different types of cards (well, seven if you included the wilds), each of which corresponds to a different stage in the second phase of the game.  There are: Doge, gold, building, bridge, gondola and concilmen cards.  And here's the rub: if you want to participate in the resolution of those stages during the second phase of the round, you will need to have at least one of the corresponding cards in your hand at that time.  As such, the real challenge of the first phase of the round, is to select which row of cards will allow you to particpate the most competitively and broadly in that second phase.  This situation is made even trickier once you realize that the selection of said card rows is conducted in player order -- an order that is itself influenced by the play of the Doge cards during the next phase!  Once every player has selected a row of cards to take into their hand, they will also receive a number of cards drawn randomly from the draw pile -- which means that while you will have some information about what they are capable of doing during the next phase, you can't be entirely certain about the cards that they have in hand.

And this lack of certainly makes things interesting during the second phase because, during the next phase of the round, you'll be participating in a series of mini-auctions in which you'll bid cards from your hand in order to gain influence, money, building right and, perhaps most importantly, the rights to place your councilmen out on to the board.  To participate in an auction you'll need to have at least one card of the corresponding type in your hand and, if you win the auction, you'll receive a powerful and exclusive bonus as a reward.  Now, while all the auctions are important at different points in the game, there can be no denying that participating in and, if possible, winning the councilmen auction is one of the more important ones.  That's because, in many respects, Rialto is a light area control game.  On the main board, you'll find a map of Venice that has been divided up into six regions.  One of the main ways to score points in the game is by placing councilmen into these regions and, if possible, placing the most councilmen into a region.  But, in order to have councilmen to place you'll need good cards -- which can only be guranteed if you can choose early one in the selection phase of the round.  And to move up in player order means winning Doge auctions.  And if you want to build some of the more powerful buildings that let you draw more cards and earn additional VP, well then you're going to need to win those auctions.  But activating buildings costs money -- which you can only get by winning those auctions!  I'm sure at this point you're smelling what I'm selling!  The real tension here is the need to do everything at some point in the game -- but when and how, that's the tough part!



I have genuinely enjoyed playing Rialto and for a variety of reasons.  In the first place, as I noted above, this is a lighter design for Feld, who is normally known for his medium (Castles of Burgundy) to heavy weight (Trajan) designs.  Rialto is a very easy game to learn and to teach and even newer gamers will find the game accessible and non-threatening.  Further, Rialto, which has been designed to play with two to five players, plays well with any number along that spectrum.  The real surprise, however, was how smoothly the game plays with two.  In fact, while you can play the traditional game with two quite comfortably, there are also variant rules which add a dummy player and additional challenge to the two player game.  Further, the game plays quickly; once you know what you're doing, you'll find that you can knock out a three or four player game in about an hour.  This quick play time is due to two factors.  In the first place, the genuine elegance of the design -- the game plays so smoothly and intuitively.  And, secondly, because so much of the game play occurs simultaneously. Finally, despite the simplicity of the rules, there are genuinely challenging decisions to be made.  In my estimation, truly great game design involves producing games where the complexity is located not in the rules but in the decisions -- and here Rialto shines.

So, I like Rialto -- but will you?  Well here's who I think would be interested in a title like Rialto:

* Fans of euro games.
* Folks who are more concerned with elegant game design than a thematic experience.
* Any one looking for a good "gateway" style game that can be used to introduce new gamers to the hobby.
* Folks who appreciate the following mechanics: area control, auctions and hand-management.
* You're looking for a quick but satisfying game that can be used to begin or end you regular gaming sessions.

If this sounds like your kind of title -- well, we've got Rialto in stock and on the shelves!  So come on down and check it out soon.

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

New to L.A Mood

New Statues!
Green Lantern Statue


















There's no better way to put the awful Green Lantern movie out of your mind then by staring at this premium statue. Look at it-It doesn't look like Ryan Reynolds at all! Not only does it not look like Ryan Reynolds-It lights up! Yes-we'll take your money.



Killing Joke Statue



This very cool Japanese Kotobukiya statue captures the cover of the classic graphic novel The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and acclaimed artist Brian Bolland! Not only is the sculpting and painting job gorgeous but it also a has built in motion sensor! Whenever it goes off the Joker snaps a pic and this spotlight turns on! 



New Graphic Novels!
Daniel Clowes Reader


















This collection not only contains the complete graphic novel Ghost World it also has several other classic stories as well. Some are even being reprinted for the very first time. What's that you're afraid you won't be able to place the stories in biographical, artistic, and socio-economical context? There's essay's included that do that for you!

Lenore


















In order to celebrate Roman Dirge's triumphant return to comics after being the victim of a cowardly hit and run driver we have three classic volumes of Lenore in! Noogies, Wedgies and Swirlies! You can't keep a good artist down!

New Games!
Timeline





















How well do you know history? This fun and interesting card game both challenges players and educates about histories greatest inventions! Guess the correct date to the corresponding invention and discard the card-First one without any cards wins! Fun!


Flux Boardgame


















The Board Game version of the Fluxx lives up to it's card game predecessor with every changing rules that are..you know..in FLUX!  Get ready for a different way  to play your favourite game where the only thing that is certain is nothing is certain!




City of Iron

2-4 players compete to build up a small nation in a world of machines, magic and money. Become the leader of one of four rival races: The industrious humans, The Toad Engineers, The Scholarly Cresarians, or the clever hogman.

Planet Steam











Take on the role of an entrepreneur in a Steampunk Boom town! Race to get supplies, assemble equipment, claim plots of land and extract resources! The player who makes the most profit wins!


New in things that are totally awesome to Horror fans!

Friday the 13th part 3 and 4 replica masks!


Ch-chi-chi....CHA-Cha-chaaah....These authentic beauties from Necca capture every detail of the Camp Crystal Crystal Lake killer's famous mask! The brilliant packaging even allows you o try it on without opening it. Cool!







Friday, August 02, 2013

August Magic Schedule

August Magic Schedule
FNM Standard -   
Start Time 6:30; 
Entry Fee $2;
Swiss Rounds; 



FNM Drafts -  
Start Time Draft #1 Starts at 6:30 Draft #2 Starts approx. 8:30 (after two rounds of Standard); 
Entry Fee $10; 
Keep What You Draft; 
Swiss Rounds;
Latest Draft Format (e.g., currently M14); 
Prizes consist of 3/2/1/1 booster pack prizes (based on 8 players) to the Top 3 and FNM foils distributed to the Top 2 players automatically.

Other prizes, like foil door prizes and other handouts, including Intro packs and Battle Packs, will be distributed as before, with a door prize pool equal to about half the number of entrants!  Based on our average 30-man FNM attendance (you can see the  expected prize distribution above), I think this is an exceptionally exciting change.  Let everyone know about our huge FNMs - the more people who play, the larger the prize pool gets!

 August Magic Schedule

Aug 2- FNM
Standard-legal deck required. 6:30 pm start time, $2  $10 3-2-1-1 M14 draft available at 6:30pm and 8:30 pm.
Aug 3- Grand Prix Trial Detroit $10 11am registration opens 12pm start. 
Aug 4- Commander Open Play 3:00 pm. Sunday Modern 3:00pm $5 entry Prize goes into store credit.
Aug 5 -  Monday Night Draft
6:30PM Start Time  M14 Draft Rare Redraft $10 entry fee
Aug 9 - FNM  
Standard-legal deck required. 6:30 pm start time, $2 $10 3-2-1-1 M14 draft available at 6:30pm and 8:30 pm.
Aug 11 - M14 Gameday 12pm start no entry.
Aug 12 -   Monday Night Draft
6:30PM Start Time M14 Rare Redraft $10 entry fee
Aug 16 - FNM Standard-legal deck required. 6:30 pm start time, $2 $10 3-2-1-1 M14 draft available at 6:30pm and 8:30 pm.
Aug 18 - Commander Open Play 3:00pm  Sunday Modern 3:00pm $5 entry Prize goes into store credit.
Aug 19 - Monday Night Draft
6:30PM Start Time M14 Rare Redraft $10 entry fee
Aug 23 - FNM Standard-legal deck required. 6:30 pm start time, $2 $10 3-2-1-1 M14 draft available at 6:30pm and 8:30 pm.
Aug 25 - Commander Open Play 3:00pm  Sunday Modern 3:00pm $5 entry Prize goes into store credit.
Aug 26 - Monday Night Draft
6:30PM Start Time M14 Rare Redraft $10 entry fee
Aug 30 - FNM Standard-legal deck required. 6:30 pm start time, $2 $10 3-2-1-1 M14 draft available at 6:30pm and 8:30 pm.


 Grand Prix Trial Detroit
On August 3 we are hosting Grand Prix Trial Detroit. It will be starting at 12pm and have a $10 entry. The format will be standard. Aaron Dos Remedios has agreed to be our judge.
Prizes: 1st place will have a choice of a box of M14 or From the Vaults 20 and 2 byes to Grand Prix Detroit
2nd will receive the item that 1st did not choose
3rd 1/4 box of M14
4th 1/4 box of M14
5th-8th 6 packs of M14
There will also be door and feature match prizes.

Through out the day there will be $15 8-man win a box events going on
 Deck list will be required


Game Day M14


12pm start time.
Free entry
Standard Format Everyone will receive
Top 8 will receive
The winner of the whole shebang will get the champio mat