Upgrades

Video games teach you things. This may be surprising to some people, but those people don't read my LJ, I bet.

And one of the things I've learned from legions of strategy games is simple. The upgrades that help the most are the ones that upgrade your basic dudes. Not because your basic dudes work for everything, but because you almost inevitably have the most of them, so making them slightly better has as big an effect as upgrading your badasses to be even MORE badass. And your basic dudes are almost always the most versatile (and if they're not, then the most versatile dudes usually end up being the most common).

Like in X-Com, the best investments are for weapons and armor for your basic infantry guys. Sure, you could make a force of all tanks, but that puts too many eggs in one basket and they're not as flexible as the four guys you're giving up. And trying to make a single squad of super-soldiers can work, but even in the best armor, people can die easily, you're better off having a bunch of decent guys, with the ubers mixed in. The other thing is to make sure your guys are trained and equipped for the right things. Some things are good for frontal assaults on alien battleships, but no good for when the aliens are attacking a city. And if you don't know what you're doing, lots of people are going to die for no good reason.

The Magical Cards

Nothing really deep here. I like the B/W Orzhov guild, and the crazy token deck I built from the precon is loads of fun and doesn't suck. Spirits and bats and wizards. And the little plastic ninja I use as tokens.

And I also got my new Player Rewards cards from Wizards. Ignore the FAQ on that page, the available cards haven't been updated in like a year. I got 2 textless Putrefys, a textless Pyroclasm, and a textless Giant Growth. All with pretty art. And I got my 4th Hypnotic Specter finally, this one the shiny DCI one they give you after you play in 20 tournaments. He's sweet and shiny, with the old art. Man, I need to start going to Friday Night Magic again.