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Benjamin Macready

My name is Ben, and I am a Gold Standard NCTJ certified journalist. I specialise in pieces about gaming and the culture surrounding it. I believe that games, whether they are played digitally or on a tabletop, are unambiguously art. Games can tell branching stories that wouldn’t be possible in other mediums. I aim to document and critique them on their own terms.

Wargamer •

Previews for the Hobbit MTG Crossover have raised a bedeviling bear mystery

MTG players are trying to work out whether The Hobbit crossover will really feature 'the biggest bear' in the history of the game or not.The upcoming Magic: the Gathering The Hobbit crossover will contain "the biggest bear we've ever printed". This promise was made by MTG's head designer Mark Rosewater on his blog 11 days ago. When the formidable 6/6 Bear shapeshifter card Beorn the Fierce was previewed, many players assumed that this was the giant fury threat promised by Rosewater, but there ma...
Wargamer •

The Pokémon TCG's Delta Reign expansion will provide more support for the game's buggiest archetype

Currently, the attack 'bug out' is only known by one Pokémon, but an influx of new insects could spawn an archetype from this unusual move.If you've cracked a handful of boosters from the Pokémon TCG's Pitch Black expansion, then you've probably opened a few copies of Sizzlipede. This relatively unremarkable common possesses the "Bug Out" attack, which deals more damage the more cards with Bug Out you have among the bottom seven cards of your deck. As the only card with Bug Out, Sizzlipede has c...
Wargamer •

The MTG Borg Star Trek deck finally breaks a 4 year long pattern

For years, MTG Commander decks focused on villains have always occupied the same colors, but a new Star Trek deck is set to shake that up.Back in September 2022, The Ruinous Powers MTG Commander deck was printed (the Warhammer 40'000 Chaos Space Marine precon). The Ruinous Powers was a Grixis deck, meaning that it was black, red, and blue. This set a trend that villain focused Universes Beyond Commander decks stuck to for years. Masters of Evil, the Dr Who precon, kept these some colours. As did...
Wargamer •

Pokémon TCG fans are hungry for more Morpeko

Aside from Darkrai, the Special Illustration Rare Morpeko ex is the most valuable card in the Pokémon TCG's Pitch Black expansion.Darkrai may be the mascot of the Pokémon TCG's brand new Pitch Black expansion, but he's not the only chase card in town. Personally, I always find it interesting to see who claims that silver medal, and earns a place as the second most desirable card in the set. In the case of Pitch Black, it looks like that honor goes to Morpeko.
Morpeko is a Pokémon that knows two...
Wargamer •

There's now an official Pokémon card that uses the word "yeet"

Do you ever have one of those moments where you suddenly feel incredibly old? I'm still not quite 30, but this card from The Pokémon TCG's brand new Pitch Black expansion made me feel positively ancient. That's right, you've read the headline, so you know there's a Pokémon card that talks about yeeting, and if you've seen the thumbnail, you know that card's a Slowpoke.
Slowpoke 029 from Pitch Black possesses an attack called " All-You-Can-Yeet". Other than giving off big 'how do you do, fellow k...
Wargamer •

Darkrai can use a sinister bell to score KOs in this new Pokémon TCG combo

When John Donne wrote "send not to know for whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee" was he making a tragic statement about the nature of loss and our collective humanity, or was he bragging about pulling off a sweet combo with his Pokémon TCG deck? Scholars may never know, but what we can be certain of is that the cards Dark Bell and Mega Darkrai ex were clearly designed to work together. and they make a fun (if not entirely practical) pair.
Mega Darkrai ex, the mascot of the brand new Pokémon T...
Wargamer •

Since the release of Marvel Super Heroes, MTG's Soul Stone has consistently risen in price

The Soul Stone is an incredibly expensive MTG card, and since the recent release of Marvel Super Heroes, it has only gotten more costly.We've got six Marvel sets on the MTG release schedule, which just so happens to match up with the number of Infinity Stones there are in the Marvel comics. Marvel Super Heroes gave us the Mind Stone, while last year's Spider-Man MTG expansion gave us The Soul Stone. Neither of these two magical rock macguffins are cheap, but The Soul Stone is particularly pricy,...
Wargamer •

Is Mega Excadrill ex set to burrow into the Pokémon TCG's meta?

On July 17th, the Pokémon TCG's Pitch Black expansion will officially release. Over in Japan, though, players have been experimenting with cards from the set since May. The card Mega Excadrill ex has garnered a lot of attention for its ability to deal with the current master of the Standard meta Dragapult ex. Let's dig into what makes Excadrill so exciting.
Is Mega Excadrill ex one of the best Pokémon cards in Pitch Black? Well, it's a 340 hp metal type stage 1 (it evolves from Drillbur). For tw...
Wargamer •

Wage adorable warfare in this plush deckbuilding board game

Describing itself as "the cuddliest game of conquest", Button Kingdoms is a deckbuilding board game that's currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Players take on the role of children who are using their imaginations, and their collections of plushies, to wage war against each other in order to control the playground.
In Button Kingdoms, play is split into several phases. The core of the game revolves around auctions that occur in the Button Kingdoms Bazaar. Players place 'intention stones' face...
Wargamer •

This nameless trainee is one of the best cards in MTG Marvel Limited

If you're looking to get better at drafting Marvel Super Heroes, or any MTG limited format for that matter, it's always important to know what the best common cards are. While there are plenty of explosive mythic rare bombs in most sets, they won't show up in every draft. You'll see commons far more frequently, and they'll make up the bulk of your deck. One Marvel common stands head and shoulders above the rest, though, Hero in Training, which is subtly one of the most impactful superheroes in t...
Wargamer •

The Pokémon TCG gets a bunch of new Mewtwo Merch

As part of the celebration of the Pokémon TCG's upcoming 30th anniversary, a new line of Mewtwo merchandise has just been released.The big event for Pokémon TCG players this year is the massive 30th Anniversary set that's dropping this September. There's more than one way for The Pokémon Company to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series, however, and they recently unveiled a line of new Mewtwo TCG accessories to commemorate the occasion. Let's take a look...
Last Wednesday, the official Po...
Wargamer •

We interviewed the designer of this metatextual murder mystery TTRPG

Il Fantasma del Giallo: The Phantom of the Yellow is a TTRPG about murder, disgraced actors hoping for one last chance, and trends in Italian cinema in the sixties and seventies. Players control actors who take on a variety of archetypal cinematic roles, as the lines between reality and fiction begin to warp and blur together.
Il Fantasma del Giallo is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with the campaign set to conclude on the 22nd of July. It was created by Laurence Phillips, a designer bas...
Wargamer •

The MTG Marvel set has given Izzet decks a merfolk makeover

The card Namor the Sub-Mariner from the new Magic: the Gathering Marvel Super Heroes set is making some waves in the standard format.Blue/red or 'Izzet' has been a dominant color pair in Magic: the Gathering's Standard format for more than a year now. Even with regular bans hitting key cards like Vivi Ornitier and Cori-Steel Cutter, Izzet decks have shown an incredible degree of resilience and just keep bouncing back. Cards from Marvel Super Heroes are now beginning to make their way into the St...
Wargamer •

Mega Malamar is set to make its Pokémon TCG debut

Malamar has been in the Pokémon TCG for years now, but when Delta Reign releases its mega form will finally make a dramatic debut.Malamar is an incredibly popular Pokémon, in fact, for a few weeks last year it was maybe the most beloved Pokémon in the world. Well, now Malamar fans can rejoice, because a recent batch of reveals show that Mega Malamar is finally due to make its Pokémon TCG debut in the upcoming Delta Reign expansion.
So, just what does Mega Malamar ex do?[1] Mostly, it punishes yo...
Wargamer •

July's biggest MTG tournament will feature a "Marvel-themed immersive experience"

MTG players at MagicCon Amsterdam this July will be able to get their hands on a Loki promo for completing an immersive Marvel experience.Every year, MTG players from across the world come together to get in some games and compete for the chance to qualify for the Pro Tour at a variety of different Magic Cons. This year, MagicCon: Amsterdam, which is running from July 17th-19th, features not only the opportunity to play some Magic, but also what Wizards of the Coast are describing as a "Marvel-t...
Wargamer •

There's an awesome new Pokémon TCG Brock promo, but it's only available in China

Brock was always destined to be a rock type Pokémon trainer, the word 'rock' is literally in his name after all. Much like a rock, this upcoming Brock promo Pokémon TCG card is going to be pretty sedentary, as it's only set to release in China. Let's talk a bit about the new Special Illustration Rare Brock's Scouting and why it's region locked.
So the Pokémon TCG looks very different in China compared to the rest of the world. They receive their cards later on, but they get bigger expansions tha...
Wargamer •

Hulk Smash! Bruce Banner is currently the most popular Commander from the MTG Marvel Crossover

Currently, Bruce Banner is the most popular Commander from the MTG Marvel set, however, a new challenger is quickly catching up to him.Marvel Super Heroes, the new MTG Comic Book crossover, officially released this Friday. The set, and the assortment of Commander decks, Jumpstart packs, and other supplemental products that were released alongside it, granted us a whopping total of 371 brand new Legendary creatures. With so many new options to choose from, MTG players face a frankly overwhelming...
Wargamer •

The Pokémon TCG's new Delta Reign Rayquaza card has officially been revealed

The reveal trailer for the upcoming Pokémon TCG expansion Delta Reign showed off that it's a sky-high set starring Mega Rayquaza. Despite this, it was surprisingly coy about actually presenting us with any new information about what it has in store. We saw the artwork that will feature on Rayquaza's card, but none of its attacks or abilities. Until now, several weeks later, we've finally been granted a peek at what the big green dragon has to offer, and it doesn't disappoint.
According to the tr...
Unwinnable •

Dark Souls is About Breaking with the Past - Unwinnable

The first Dark Souls game is set during the dying days of a supposedly golden era. In the distant past, the sun god Gwyn and his armies overthrew the immortal stone-scaled dragons who previously held dominion over the world, bringing an end to the Age of Ancients and ushering in the Age of Fire. But now, centuries later, the flames are fading, and all the ills of the world can be traced to those who are desperately trying to fan their dying embers.

Gwyn’s power is embodied by a continuously bur...
Wargamer •

Boosters for the MTG Marvel crossover contain some returning Secret Lair Superheroes

MTG players hoping to get their hands on the five legendary creatures from the 2024 Marvel Secret Lair superdrop now have another shot.Neither Marvel Super Heroes nor the MTG Spider-Man set were the first time that comic book characters made their way into Magic: the Gathering. Back in November 2024, there was a Marvel Secret Lair superdrop containing mechanically unique cards for Captain America, Wolverine, Iron Man, Storm, and Black Panther. This superdrop sold out effectively immediately, mak...
Wargamer •

Why is every Rayquaza card in the Pokémon TCG so similar?

There have been more than 30 Rayquaza Pokémon Cards printed since 2003, but the artwork on each of them follows a very similar pattern.Guys, do you think everything is alright with Rayquaza? We've had more than 23 years of Rayquaza Pokémon Cards, and the Sky High Pokémon always looks absolutely furious. Sometimes, Rayquaza is depicted charging up an energy blast, sometimes they're rushing forwards in an attempt to break out of the frame, sometimes they're gliding skywards, but they're always dep...
Wargamer •

This MTG subtype returns for the first time in 21 years in the Marvel crossover

Marvel Super Heroes is introducing new Arcane cards to Magic: the Gathering, marking the first return of the subtype in over 20 years.While Marvel Super Heroes is thematically a large departure from the high fantasy genre MTG is primarily known for, the set does include a variety of familiar features. The artwork on several cards brings us back to New York, where a surprising number of Universes Beyond sets have taken place. We're also getting more Spider-Man cards to accompany those from last y...
Wargamer •

The Pokémon TCG's Pitch Black expansion is trying really hard to make fossils work

Far from being dusty and forgotten relics, Fossil Pokémon tend to be quite popular, just ask the Kabuto King. Despite this, they're often not competitively viable in the Pokémon TCG. They need to evolve an additional time from a fossil trainer card, making them cumbersome to play, and their initial vulnerable forms can also easily be knocked out by attacks that hit the bench. The upcoming Pitch Black expansion is making an attempt to dust fossils off, and make them more powerful.
In a recent pre...
Wargamer •

The MTG Marvel Beginner Box gives Black Widow the blandest legendary card in the game

The MTG Marvel Beginner Box contains simplified versions of many Marvel characters, but they may have gone a bit too far with Black Widow.Black Widow doesn't have a lot of luck in either the MCU or in MTG. Despite debuting in Iron Man 2 in 2010, Black Widow didn't get her own solo movie until 11 years later in 2021. In Magic: the Gathering, she has also received the most underwhelming legendary creature of any Marvel character: Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.
Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff is a tw...
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