The Town Herald

The e-zine about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

This Trend isn't Going Out Anytime Soon

By [wicked fae mage]



When something’s new and fascinating, who doesn’t want to be part of it? The fads of pop culture on all levels sweep nations and bring in millions of dollars of revenue. What’s better than learning the mechanics of a strategic game and learning how to outsmart an opponent and counter everything they could ever think of? On top of playing, there’s the collecting of the cards whether they be your favorites, the rare and coveted of the collections, sometimes both. Trying out your luck with the rare and favorite cards of the card types can be quite a thrill! Everybody knows that!

Who didn’t get into Pokemon and open pack after pack of cards, fishing for Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise? The fun algebraic equations that Pokemon enthusiasts invented never failed. Hold a pack of cards in one hand and another in the opposite hand. If they feel the same weight, switch one of the packs until one feels heavier. The heavier pack has a hollow card. Enjoy. :)

The premiere of Yu-Gi-Oh and the use of the cards in the anime brought out the sensation of Yu-Gi-Oh decks filled with duel monsters, magic and trap cards. The perfect decks constructed of the cruelest cards of each new series with a few new rules and effects added more entertainment to the ever-changing strategy games. There were even a few situations I’ve come across that weren’t specified in the rule books for the game.

Now, Magic: the Gathering is a game I’d only ever played once in real life. I watched a group of people play, me using one of their red decks, the others all using the other different colored decks. I learned the state-of-mind of the decks and their general design. The Xbox 360 arcade version of the game has me quite addicted. Despite there being basic thought processes behind the decks I’ve learned this: red decks thoughts are direct damage and disposable pawns; black decks thoughts are killing them when they make any move and forcing their hand; green decks are self-sufficient with over-powering your opponents with formidable creatures; blue decks think about move anticipation, counters, and playing on summoning sickness; and white decks are all about back up plans, healing and paralyzing the opponent. The game allows many strategies and many different ways to think and customize your favorite ways of thinking.

For many like me, Collectible Card Games (CCG’s) are a great pass time. Lots of people get into the games and buy out hobby shops’ and construct strong decks out of tournament decks, booster packs and themed decks. Some CCG’s are even released solely for a video game like World of Warcraft. The codes on the cards are used in the video game to get items that are otherwise unattainable.

With so many different games, this trend isn’t going out anytime soon. There are cards for Yu-Gi-Oh, fantasy creatures/Dungeons and Dragons, Pokemon, Digimon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball Z, X-Men and so many more. All of the themes are around popular science fiction and fantasy and there are definitely games for everyone, tournaments to reward prize money and fun game play, or pretty cards to put in a binder and show off.



Go or Return to:
...The Town Herald - Issue 22 entrance page
...TH Issue 22 Index page
...The Town Herald official wiki page