Article Archive

 I have written a large number of pieces, primarily focussed on gaming and nerd culture. Trading Card Games are a special focus of mine.  I have played Magic: the Gathering since I was 8 years old. I love to explore the ways that TCGs convey emergent narratives through gameplay.

Card Games

Marvel Legendary - Weapon X Expansion Review - Card Gamer

All images courtesy of Upper Deck Entertainment
Before Logan was Wolverine, he was Weapon X, a test subject whose bones were coated in adamantium, resulting in his jaded attitude and his signature metal claws. The latest Marvel Legendary expansion, from Upper Deck, focuses on Wolverine’s backstory, and the stories of the other Weapon experiments.
This review will analyze all the new cards introduced in the Weapon X expansion, and if Legendary‘s latest expansion is a smash hit like X-Men: Days...

Under the Radar - Bruse Tarl, Roving Rancher | EDHREC

From SliversSlivers to SerpentsSerpents, Magic is filled with all sorts of different creature types.If you're determined enough you can build a deck focused on any kind of creatures that you want, no matter how niche.Every once in a while, Wizards of the Coast print a brand new commander to support a creature type that they have never shown an interest in before. Baru, WurmspeakerBaru, Wurmspeaker gave Wurms some long-awaited love back in 2022, Gallia of the Endless DanceGallia of the Endless Da...

Marvel Legendary – Core Set Mastermind and Villain Review - Card Gamer

Today we’re talking about the masterminds and villains that debuted in Marvel Legendary‘s Core Set. We’ll explore how difficult they are to take down, and how fun they are as opponents. The game’s power level has increased significantly over time, so many of these old villains pale in comparison to the bad guys from more recent expansions.
If you enjoy this, we also have an article assessing the heroes from the Core Set.
Red Skull, what have they done to you? This game does Red Skull dirty; you’...

Under the Radar - Hurska Sweet-Tooth | EDHREC

Welcome back to Under the Radar, the series where we discuss brewing around niche commanders that haven't gotten enough love from the community. Supplemental products are great sources of unconventional commander. From Ravnica: Clue Edition to the Fallout cards, there are plenty of products that never went into standard and are loaded full of great commanders. The commander that we'll be talking about today comes from Foundations Jumpstart.Foundations was the final physical Magic set released in...

Marvel Legendary - Core Set Hero Review - Card Gamer

Marvel Legendary is a fantastic deck building game from Upper Deck. We’ve already published a guide on how to play, but while knowing the rules is one thing, knowing the right heroes to pick is another.  The game’s Core Set came out in 2012; some of these heroes have stood the test of time and are still going strong today, others haven’t aged well at all. Let’s dive right in and review the heroes from Marvel Legendary’s Core Set.
   
   
Black Widow is the most powerful hero in the Core Set, and...

Under the Radar - Old One Eye | EDHREC

The universe of Warhammer 40,000 may be a grim fascistic dystopia, but it did give us some pretty iconic commanders. There's Trazyn the Infinite who enables all kinds of graveyard/artifact synergies, Be'lakor, the Dark Master a staple Demon commander, and of course Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph who leads more than 15,000 wacky pinger decks.
Not every legendary creature from these precons rose to the top though. Old One Eye, the subject of our article today, leads only 225 decks (as of 12/23/2024), m...

How to Play Marvel Legendary - Card Gamer

Marvel Legendary, from Upper Deck, is one of the greatest deck building games of all time. The game first released in 2012, and even now, 12 years later, several new expansions are still released for it every year. If you’re looking to learn how to play one of Marvel’s most popular games, here’s a handy guide to get you started.
The Marvel Legendary core set contains the following cards:
Here’s how you set everything up so that you’re ready for your first game.

Shuffle these cards together to...

Under the Radar - Sauron, the Lidless Eye - EDHREC

December 16, 2024 by
Ben Macready
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
There are lots of commanders that you may want to try.
There's Uglúk, Mauhúr and other Uruk-hai.
But today we'll look at Sauron, the Lidless Eye.
Only 416 people have built around this big bad guy.
But he's an awesome card, and now I'll show you why...
There may only be one Ring, but Magic: the Gathering features four different printings of Sauron.
The most popular is Sauron, the Dark Lord who currently lead...

Under the Radar - The Wandering Rescuer - EDHREC

December 2, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Duskmourn: House of Horrors may no longer be the newest set in Standard, but we can still look back on it fondly as an expansion that provided us with plenty of terrifying commanders to choose from. Both Valgavoth, Terror Eater and Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls demonstrate their right to rule the plane by being Elder Demons with brutally strong effects. The Mindskinner possesses a formidably frontloaded 10/1 stat line for a cost of only and the less sai...

Under the Radar - Captain Ripley Vance - EDHREC

November 18, 2024 by
Ben Macready
The Modern Horizons sets contain some of the strongest cards of all time, and they have given us all sorts of powerful commanders. Back in 2019, Modern Horizons 1 gave us Urza, Lord High Artificer. Urza, Lord High Artificer is, currently, the 47th most popular commander of all time, at the head of more than 12,500 decks.
Modern Horizons 2 in 2021 gave us Chatterfang, Squirrel General who is the 18th most popular commander in the game, and leads more th...

Under the Radar - Zareth San, the Trickster - EDHREC

October 28, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Today on Under the Radar, we'll be looking at Zareth San, the Trickster. This Merfolk likes loot, but isn't a Merfolk Looter. Currently (as of 10/19/2024), he only has 162 decks built around him. Zareth San is an amphibious thief who wants you to mill your opponents until their graveyards are populated with a plethora of powerful permanents for him to plunder. Without further ado, let's get to reviewing this Rogue...
The Rogue creature type and mill dec...

Under the Radar - Orca, Siege Demon - EDHREC

October 14, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Today's Under the Radar will evaluate Orca, Siege Demon, a Dominarian that likes it when other creatures die. With only 178 decks currently built around her (as of 10/04/2024) Orca, Siege Demon comfortably qualifies to be explored in this series. She's a sacrifice-themed commander who uses the deaths of other creatures as a means to grow bigger and bigger. Once she's grown big enough, Orca will trample over your opponents' creatures and pummel them unti...

Under the Radar - The Odd Acorn Gang - EDHREC

September 30, 2024 by
Ben Macready
So, we're leaving behind the cozy, pleasant plane of Bloomburrow to head out to the horrifying eldritch doom world of Duskmourn. Let's wave Bloomburrow goodbye by analyzing a Commander from that plane who slipped Under The Radar with fewer than 500 players building a deck around them so far. The Odd Acorn Gang is the backup commander from the Squirreled Away precon. This troublesome gang of forest fighters offers up a pretty unique take on Squirrel ty...

Under the Radar - Apothecary White - EDHREC

September 9, 2024 by
Ben Macready
The clock has just struck midnight. A body has been discovered hastily concealed beneath the dining room table and the musty scent of cigarette smoke hangs in the air. It's time to gather all of the suspects together in the foyer for this edition of Under The Radar. In this series, we look at underplayed commanders with less than 500 decks to their name.
We investigate the strategies they encourage and examine the average decklist that EDHREC generates...

Under the Radar - Breeches, the Blastmaker - EDHREC

August 28, 2024 by
Ben Macready
In today's edition of Under the Radar, we're looking at another commander with under 500 decks to their name. Our second goblin in a row, Breeches, the Blastmaker is an Ixalani Pirate, who decided to take an extra-planar road trip out to Thunder Junction to play around with all of the exciting dynamite and explosives that the wild west themed world had to offer. We're going to analyze the strategies that Breeches incentivizes while digging into the card'...

Under the Radar - Pashalik Mons - EDHREC

August 19, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Goblins are one of the most popular creature types in the game. Some players love the rapid ramping and mana generation that Elf decks provide. Others crave the reanimating recursion that Zombie decks offer, or the unmatched power of a deck that can fill the sky with Dragons. Yet, although it's a simple strategy, there is arguably no matching the thrill of coating the table in a thick layer of 1/1 Goblin tokens and then turning them all sideways for mass...

Richard Garfield to Replace Chris Pratt in Sequel to Garfield Movie | Commander's Herald

The Garfield Movie was released to harsh critical condemnation in May of 2024. Hoping to change course, and find an actor capable of more fully embodying the character, Sony Pictures have recast Chris Pratt's role in the film's sequel.

With Andrew Garfield no longer taking any calls from the studio, and James A. Garfield having been assassinated in 1881, notable game designer Richard Garfield was chosen to play the iconic orange cat.

Richard Garfield is the designer of many celebrated games, i...

Under the Radar - Feather, Radiant Arbiter - EDHREC

July 30, 2024 by
Ben Macready
Welcome back to Under the Radar, the series where we take obscure commanders who lead fewer than 500 decks and show off their hidden strengths. Today we'll be talking about Feather, Radiant Arbiter, a Boros Angel who, for a small fee, duplicates any spells her controller casts that target her. Today we will compare Feather to a few other commanders to see what makes her unique, look at her average deck list and make some modifications to it.
Just like the...

Under the Radar - Aragorn, Company Leader - EDHREC

There are all sorts of commanders in Magic: The Gathering. As I write this article, the game contains more than 2,000 legendary creatures to brew around in millions of different creative ways. Yet for every Atraxa, Praetors' Voice soaking up the limelight, dozens of forgotten commanders have fallen to the wayside. Cards like Jiwari, the Earth Aflame, Syr Faren, the Hengehammer, and Hythonia the Cruel have hugely exciting depths of untapped deckbuilding pote...

Top 10 Best Mana Dorks in Commander

Mana Dorks are creatures that can be tapped down in order to generate mana. Magic has had Mana Dorks since the beginning, with the cards Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise getting printed in Alpha. Mana Dorks appear primarily in Green, as it is the Color that is best at generating mana. Green has by far the best selection of Mana dorks, in fact, this list is made up exclusively of Green cards. There have been a few Mana Dorks in other colors, but they are typically conditional (like Karfell Ha

5 Best (or Worst) Cancelled Card Games Of All Time

There are many card games like Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokémon which have stood the test of time.

These games maintained their momentum and preserved their popularity over multiple decades. For every game like these three, however, there are many which haven’t lasted quite as long.

Some of these cancelled card games, despite no longer being in print, offer some fantastic gameplay experiences. Here are five of the best card games that are no longer around!

Fire Emblem is a strategy

The Top 10 Best Commanders That Cost 1 Mana Or Less

For players looking to get their game plan going as quickly as possible, cheap Commanders are fun to brew around. There are many, many Commanders who cost two or more mana, but only a few valid options available that cost one mana or less. This list is dedicated to these exceedingly cheap Legendary leaders that can come into play on turn one.

This Kobold Commander can only be found in Dominaria United Set or Collector’s Booster packs. Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh offers. For a single Red mana, Ros

Remembering Magic: the Gathering's Forgotten Card Type

The debut of Battle cards in March of the Machine brought a brand new card type into Magic: the Gathering. Battles joined Lands, Creatures, Instants, Sorceries, Artifacts, Enchantments, and Planeswalkers in the pantheon of MTG card types. There is, however, one more card type that has been left to the wayside and forgotten by history, “Tribal”. By Tribal cards, we aren’t referring to cards that support decks that run a lot of creatures of the same type. Wizards of the Coast are not going to stop

Dinosaurs and Squirrels Team Up in New MTG Deck

is a 6/6 Dinosaur for seven mana. This big old dino debuted in March of the Machine and is currently valued at just under $2.00.

Over the years Magic has seen a huge number of big Green beaters who, due to their high cost and the increasingly fast pace of the game, are doomed to see play almost exclusively in Commander. Cards like The Tarrasque and Rampaging Brontodon . Ancient Imperiosaur seems to have broken out of this prison and is performing surprisingly well in Modern. This is thanks to t
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Gaming

2024 Games of the Year

Welcome to SUPERJUMP's annual Games of the Year celebration. As always, I like to introduce these awards by expressing gratitude for the year gone by.

Thank you game developers. You are creating marvels of art and science - important cultural artifacts - under increasingly difficult circumstances. Whether you work for a large studio or you're a solo developer: thank you. We are all living in an increasingly dangerous and intolerant world, where the moral pendulum appears to be swinging in a vio...

Dungeon Inn Review

Inns in RPGs are truly miraculous.  However bruised and battered your adventuring party may be, if they rest up for the night at an inn then they will emerge the next day fully healed and ready for more.  Dungeons, meanwhile, serve the opposite purpose. A fresh and ready adventuring party delves down into a dungeon and emerges exhausted and beaten, but hopefully with huge loads of loot.

Dungeon Inn is a game all about running an RPG inn of your very own, located conveniently at the entrance to...

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Embraces Silliness

There’s a single moment, roughly a quarter of the way through Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the game. The party is delving into a mystical forest dungeon called the Proving Grounds. An enigmatic cloaked bandit known as Hurstwine cuts through the murky woods ahead of them, the heroes in hot pursuit.

Both the player characters and Hurstwine are seeking a primal lens, an ancient and powerful artifact that lies at the heart of the dungeon. It’s a race...

Potionomics: Bring Your Best Brew

Potions are the lifeblood of all RPG adventuring parties. No one would get beyond the first floor of any dungeon without guzzling down a frankly unhealthy amount of brightly coloured magical goop. Potionomics puts the player into the shoes of a potion vendor, ready to provide the heroes of the world with the colourful healing concoctions they so desperately need.

The game is a bubbling melting pot of various genres, mixing business management elements with deckbuilding-based haggling gameplay a

Total War: Attila and the "Dark Ages"

Total War: Attila portrays the collapse of the Roman Empire as an unmitigated tragedy. How does this depiction measure up to scrutiny?

These words are gruffly recited by the narrator of Total War: Attila towards the end of the game’s introduction. This quote paraphrases two verses from the book of Revelations which describe Conquest, the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, being unleashed upon the world. Accompanying this narration is footage of a pitched battle being waged at night b

Are Golden Endings Always the Right Path?

One thing which makes video games unique is their ability to tell stories with branching narratives. This is something that isn’t possible using other mediums, outside of experimental choose-your-own adventure stories like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The interactive nature of video games makes it possible for them to have multiple different endings depending on the path the player takes through the story. This means that players can get endings tailored to the

Storyteller Review - A Tale Worth Telling

Storyteller is a puzzle game created by Daniel Benmergui, an Argentinian game developer who is probably best known for creating the adorable art game I Wish I Were The Moon.

In Storyteller, the player is given a magical book that they need to fill with insightful tales. Every level is an individual story that the player needs to bring to life. Each story provides the player with an objective that needs to be accomplished by utilising a series of different characters and scenes. For example, pla

Dragon Ball: The Breakers Review

The Dragon Ball series is famous, or perhaps infamous, for its bombastic battle sequences. Shirtless space aliens, with absurdly sculpted physiques, scream and launch energy blasts at one another. Villains loudly monologue about their invincibility, before the heroes eventually bring them down after a five-minute-long transformation sequence. All of the attacks have wacky names which fans can recite by heart. Because the series is extremely action-oriented, there have been innumerable Dragon Bal

Why Do Birds Fly? The Moral Philosophy of Tales of Berseria

“Why do you think that birds fly?”

This strange sentence is not an excerpt from a book on falconry. Nor is it a question from a biology exam or a promo for the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s from the 2016 Bandai Namco RPG Tales of Berseria.

The game’s primary antagonist, Artorius Collbrande, uses this question as a means of evaluating people’s moral principles. But how does a basic question about the biology of birds tell us anything about someone’s morality?

More to the point, does this question

Other Articles

Review: See How They Run

See How They Run is a comical whodunnit, which lovingly spoofs the murder mystery genre with the care and affection that only a sincere parody can provide.

There are some great laughs, but it builds towards a disappointing conclusion. The film is certainly funny, but it’s hardly a mystery of Agatha Christie’s calibre.

Our leading duo consists of the eager and excitable rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse

Ronan) and her boozy superior officer Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell).

The pair have a d

Thor: Love and Thunder proves lightning does strike twice

There have now been four Thor films and their quality varies wildly – but Thor: Love and Thunder is among the franchise’s best.

The Original Thor (2009) was a perfectly serviceable superhero origin story, that did a fine job of introducing Chris Hemsworth’s titular character without excelling enough to be truly great or being inadequate enough to be truly terrible.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) ranks among Marvel’s most forgettable films, as it features an utterly generic plotline performed by a

Elizabeth II: The Queen & history's other longest reigning rulers

In February of 1952 Queen Elizabeth II became the queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Her platinum jubilee, in June of 2022, marks the official public celebration of her 70 year long reign.

Elizabeth II is one of history’s longest reigning rulers, however, she does not have the longest reign of all time.

Several other rulers have had reigns which have rivalled, or even exceeded, her 70 years.

Here are a few of their stories…

Louis XIV ruled France from May 1643 to September 17

Labour keeps control of Enfield but Conservatives make gains

Labour kept control of Enfield council on Thursday after holding the 38 seats they took into the 2022 election, but the Conservatives had a successful night gaining seven councillors and shutting out any other party from the area.

The election results mean that all of Enfield’s 63 seats are held by either Labour or Tory councillors, after the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and the Independent Community First Group, a group of former Labour councillors, lost their two, one and seven councillors r

Fundraiser launched for injured Croydon swan

A fundraiser is in progress to assist the treatment of a swan from Croydon who was hurt in a dog attack.

Wayne the swan was injured on the afternoon of the 7 February after a dog bit him on the beak.

The Swan Sanctuary is a wildlife rescue service based in Shepperton, specialising in treating swans.

The sanctuary took Wayne into its care on 8 February.

In a Facebook post The Swan Sanctuary announced: “Wayne was attacked by a dog and has suffered a life changing injury to his beak.”

“We are