Dark Ascension!

It’s that time!

This weekend, we will be holding two separate pre-release events for the the new Magic the Gathering set, Dark Ascension (checklist here). For those who unfamiliar with pre-releases, Wizards has even posted a handy primer! Saturday afternoon’s event will be an individual sealed ($25 per person), while on Sunday evening we’ll be running a Two-headed Giant sealed tournament ($20 per person).

Because there is a limited amount of product and promos available in support of these events, we are going to  be sticking to a fairly strict timetable. On Saturday, we are opening registration at noon, and will be closing it at 12:45. At that time, all registered players will be allowed to open their booster packs (3 Dark Ascension, 3 Innistrad) and will have twenty minutes to build a minimum 40-card deck. (Land Stations will be available to ensure that you have enough mana to power your creation.) The number of rounds (and the prize support) will depend on the number of players we have out, but it’s probably best to plan for six rounds, ending between 6 and 7 PM.

For Sunday, the event will be a pairs sealed tournament (Two-headed Giant), with registration opening at 5 PM and closing at 5:45. Partners will receive 2 Dark Ascension and 2 Innistrad boosters each, and will use the pool of eight packs to build two minimum 40-card decks. We strongly advise that you arrange your partnerships ahead of time, although we will attempt to pair up solo players.

For both events,  participants will receive a double-sided promo card, Ravenous Demon/ArchDemon of Greed (while supplies last) and an achievement card to track their successes.

In other Magic news, Dark Ascension officially releases February 3rd, and we’ll have the “buy a box” promo card, Gravecrawler.

To help you build your Dark Ascension collection , we’ll be holding not one, but two Draft Friday Night Magic events – both February 3rd and 17th! (The FNM promo card is a foil, alternate art version of Despise).

Join us in making Dark Ascension a huge success!

Sneak Peek!

Calling all Yu-Gi-Oh! players… it’s that time again! Our first sneak peek of the year will be happening the weekend of January 14th and 15th, starting at 1 PM each day.

The Konami siteexplains: “Order & Chaos – Polar opposites, slugging it out in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME for years. Now, the feud that never seems to end hits a new zenith in 2012, with Order of Chaos.

As chaos and order collide, Order of Chaos contains all the tools YOU need to forge a Deck and achieve whatever destiny awaits. There are plenty of other cards in this 100-card set, for Decks of all kinds.”

Everyone gets a limited edition, Ultra Rare Inzektor Axe – Zektahawk Spell card as well as five boosters of the new set, plus we’ll be randomly drawing for game mats (pictured below)!

Remember the aim of these events is to play, trade and have fun! We’ll be resuming league play with the new Turbo Pack 7′s next week, and are playing a tournament for January 29th (can’t let Magic players have all the fun).

See you in the store!

Holiday Hours for The GameShelf

Please note our revised hours during the holiday season:

-Christmas Eve: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

-Christmas Day: CLOSED

-Boxing Day: Noon to 4:00 p.m. (remember we’re having our Annual Boxing Day Sale!)

-New Year’s Eve: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

-New Year’s Day: CLOSED

We are otherwise open our normal hours all other days during the Christmas period.

Please, have a happy, safe and healthy holiday season. We look forward to continuing to serve you in 2012!

Super Dungeon Explore!

Every so often, a game comes along that manages to cross standard gamer lines – and this is one of them. Soda Pop Miniatures has released Super Dungeon Explore, which it describes as “the chibi anime strategy battle game”.

First selling point – this game is cute. Not just cute, but “squee”worthy cute. It comes loaded with more than fifty chibi-style minatures, including a huge “level boss” dragon and nine unique adventurers.  These models are just begging for a custom paint job, and the large, flat eye areas allow for some amazing personalization of expression.

Check out this Google Images search for some of the many interpretations of these models, or just hang on until we get some store models painted up.

Here’s a closeup of some of the hero characters in unpainted form:

If you’re immediately sensing an video game vibe, hearkening back to the days of Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy 3,  you’ve discovered the second selling point: nostalgia. Even the adventures reflect this: choose from 8-bit (2 heroes), 16-bit (3 heroes) or super (five heroes)!

And underneath it all, the third selling point – this game is fun. It plays well with two players (bad guys vs. good guys), but you can play more by just having additional players control more heroes. It’s a dungeon crawl that will appeal to people who are fans of either traditional or video game RPGs, with a streamlined rule set designed to play in 60 to 90 minutes. For more opinions, check out these reviews:

If there is a downside to the game, it is that this *is* a miniatures game. The models do need some assembly (and gluing), and the box doesn’t come with instructions for that. Fortunately, Soda Pop has recognized the need, and  produced a visual Assembly Guide. For best results, be prepared to prime and paint them, although it’s not an absolute requirement.

This game is a great introduction to miniatures play (and the large features and anime style are very conducive to learning how to paint miniatures); it appeals to role players, miniatures players, anime fans, and video gamers alike. How can you go wrong?

We currently have two copies of the game – and two copies of the special release edition “Candy and Cola” promotional figure(s). Act now – supplies are limited!

Winter is Coming…

but it doesn’t have to be Stark.

Stay warm inside and challenge your friends to the ultimate battle for the Iron Throne. Fantasy Flight’s second  edition of the hugely popular boardgame based on George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones is back on the shelves.

This expanded version includes items previously only found in the expansions; Wildlings, Siege Engines, Ports and Garrisons all come into play. Screens now come included, to hide your strategies from the enemy – and the new Tides of Battle cards simulate the vagaries of warfare.

Read more about it on Fantasy Flight’s site – then choose your house.

Graveborn

The latest Magic the Gathering premium decks are in store now!

This sixty-card, all-foil deck is a must have. What’s in it? These:

plus twenty-one swamps. This is a fast, powerhouse deck that will be of particular interest to Commander players. It’s in-store today for $34.95, and they’re going fast!

 

The Christmas Wish List is Back!

Yes, once again you can make it easier for friends and loved ones to shop for the gamer in you, and save them some money while doing it.  We launched the Wish List program last year and it was so successful we HAD to bring it back.

Here’s how it works. Come into the store and ask for a Wish List form from us. You fill it out with your name, and list anything you’d really like for Christmas on it. Then you give it back to us and we keep it on file, and then tell your friends and family that you’ve filled out a GameShelf Wish List. When folks come in looking for gifts to buy you, we can refer to the list and point them at what you’ve put down, and bypass things others may have already got you from the list, because we cross things off as they’re bought. And if they buy you something off your Wish List, they immediately save 5% off the regular retail cost!

So, starting this coming Friday, November 3, you can fill out your Wish List and rest easy knowing that you aren’t going to have to explain to your little sister what “Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls”  is, how your grandmother can go about getting her hands on something called a “Warhammer 40000 Chaos Space Marines Defiler”, or how to make sure your boyfriend buys you the right expansion for “Settlers of Catan”!

For the Board Gamers

If you’ve been into the store, you know we do board games. Currently, we have more than 2400 games in stock, so we’re sure to have something that will pique your interest. Check out some of our latest additions!


The Legend of Drizzt is the latest in Wizards of the Coast’s offering of D&D flavoured board games – and it’s a big one!

Based on R.A. Salvatore’s best-selling novels chronicling the adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden, this game includes 42 miniature figures, a ton of dungeon tiles, 200 encounter/treasure cards and multiple scenarios that will provide hours of challenging fun.

For those who prefer their strategy gaming to be a little more historically accurate, we’re proud to be carrying A Few Acres of Snow.

This two-player game, from acclaimed designer Martin Wallace, simulates the dynamic struggle between France and England for control of what would eventually become Canada.

For a different kind of conflict, ZMan Games brings us The Walking Dead, based on the popular graphic novels by Robert Kirkman. Manage your resources, scout carefully, and you might just survive.

For fans of the genre, next week will mark the release of a new game by Cryptozooic – The Walking Dead. Confused? Don’t be – this version is based on the television series. While survival is still the aim, in this game you can be turned into a walker and wind up playing against your friends in a whole new way.

For the Star Trek fans, now is a great time to get into themed board games. We currently have three in stock – Star Trek Expeditions, Star Trek Fleet Captains (both from WizKids), and  our newest offering, Star Trek the deckbuilding game from Bandai.

If you’re a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a fan of Jean-Luc Picard, or even just a fan of deckbuilding games, come on in and try out a demo!

Yu-Gi-Oh!

New stuff, restocks – and an upcoming Sneak Peek! It doesn’t get any better.

First, a brand-new release, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s twenty-first structure deck, Gates of the Underworld:

A fiend type deck using Dark World monsters, this 40-card box contains 1 Ultra-rare, 2 Super-rare and 37 common cards, plus a mat, dueling guide and rulebook. Get your own Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, and use your opponent’s monsters against him!

We also have restocks!

Yes, we have Legendary Collection 2, Gold Series 3 and Gold Series 4 all on the shelves. If you missed your chance to pick up one of these special sets before, grab them now before they’re all gone!

Finally, join us November 5-6 for the Sneak Peek of the upcoming set, Photon Shockwave! This set introduces the “Photon” and “Evol” archetypes, and provides further support for XYZ monsters. As usual, we’ll be supplying a participation card – the Alexandrite Dragon – to all entrants, plus drawing randomly through the day for other great prizes!

Pokémon now in Stock!

New in store, and great for early Christmas shopping!

Fall tins -

choose from Emboar, Serperior or Samurott tins. Each includes a special high-powered foil plus a fun figure, 3 Black & White series booster packs plus 2 additional boosters, and a code card for the Pokémon TCG Online!

We also have gift sets that make buying for your Pokémonster incredibly easy:

The Clash of Legends sets include 4 booster packs, 2 Level X  foil cards and 1 oversized Legend Cards starring either Palkia & Dialga or Darkrai & Cresselia.

Also showcasing an oversized card is our Zoroark-Illusions Collection:

This set also includes a foil Zoroark with Snarl attack, 3 booster packs and an online code that unlocks a booster pack online, plus your special Zoroark as both a card and a new avatar Item.

And, as usual, we have booster packs, theme decks and trainer kits in stock to fulfill all your Pokémon needs – and don’t forget organized play every Tuesday and Thursday evening!

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