Evil Magma Harvest Time!

Evil Magma Harvest Time makes me do the Peanut Butter Jelly Time dance!


haha! If I had more time I'd do a YouTube video swapping out Peanut Butter Jelly with Evil Magma Harvest and have one Thomas Lionblood dancing around, because yes! I woke up this morning to this awesome site in my garden!


Evil Magma Harvest time! Man I love Evil Magma Peas. I'm not sure if a lot of people know about how awesome they are as a plant. Surround those with a Boom Shroom, a Garden Gnome, a Jimbe Drum, and an Egg Basket and you'll be harvesting an elder crop of Magma Peas in just a few days. The regular harvest is fantastic by itself with its rare reagents like Sunstone, Pearl, and Scrap Iron, but it's the final harvest where this plant's awesomeness just goes over the top.


Do you see all those Mega-Snack packs? That's just such an awesome reward for a limited amount of effort. It's like getting a free mega snack pack every few days and especially since (as per normal) the peas always return their seed in the final harvest as well.

It does take quite a bit of energy to tend to this plant, but they never get more than rank 2 pests, so it could be worse; although, I'm pretty sure most people use one character to train pets and another character to garden and then just switch things between characters with the shared bank when needed. Know what I'm saying? "Yeah we do, Friendly!"

Happy dueling!

This one's for you Autumn Duskhunter!

So if you didn't know, the test realm is open! You should get in there and check out the new stuff. :) In particular these new signs!


There's a number of standard catch phrases that you can select for your sign, but I was floored by one in particular that I saw on the list. You know, there really is no greater compliment that could be given by KingsIsle to a member of our community than immortalizing her catch phrase.


I'm floored actually. That one's for you Autumn. :) We miss your fun influence in the community. That's gotta feel pretty darn good.

Happy Dueling!

Angus vs Mavra!

This morning Angus finished up the first big wall of Dragonspyre: Mavra Flamewing.  Here's the YouTube video for the fight. :)



What you don't see in this video are the numerous failed attempts before this successful one.  My deck had to be massaged a few times until I came up with a winning combo.  The first few seconds of the video show what I was eventually packing in my mega awesome starter deck.  ;) In retrospect I should have dumped one of those tempests for another storm shield, but it eventually all worked out (even if it meant an extra reshuffle).

You know what else needed massaging besides my deck?  My patience.  I kept jumping the gun on my cards, and I was doing exactly what shouldn't be doing (messing around with Wild Bolt).  Once I straightened out my deck and got my head in the game, my cards fell in place and I pulled out a win!  The Shatter treasure card, of course, was invaluable.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Happy dueling!

Joshua Lionbane Trading Card

You may remember back a while, Bailey and Joshua Lionbane teamed up to do a huge wand strike. Joshua purchased a bunch of treasure cards for that one wand strike, and that probably cost him a horde of gold. O.o

I met Joshua in the hatchery by some random coincidence. That's always cool when I meet a reader by random accident. Randomness wins!

He's a long time reader, and he's fun to hang out with in game. He wanted a card, and even though I'm not really making these cards anymore . . . here you go, Mr. Pibb . . . I mean, Joshua!


:) Thanks for being awesome!

Happy Dueling!

What blade is this?

Question from John Legendmancer:

Hello Friendly!
Its me again, John LegendMancer.

At the Bazaar, i see a wizard who have a cool Sword Wand, after i see his Profile, the Blade's name is Lifeforce blade, which means its stitched, Can you explain what wand is it & Its profile (Level, Cards Given etc.)?


Thanks Friendly!
~John L; Adept (26) Sorcerer

Heya John, Yeah that's definitely stitched. I recognized that blade right away since it was featured in Beckett's magazine though. It's the Dragonclaw Blade from issue #26 (5 attacks, 75 fire damage). We have that stashed on one of Uber Wife's characters: Bailey Lionblood!


Be sure to check out FuzzyWuzzy's guide to Beckett items on Wizard101 Central.

Happy Dueling!

Swampy, the Disney/KingsIsle Missing Link?

You probably don't remember my Disney/KingsIsle conspiracy theory post, so here's a link.

One of the major problems in my theory was that Disney only uses videogames to promote their movies and characters, and never in reverse. To quote myself, ". . . to me Disney uses their video games as part of their commercial blitz and not vice versa. They don't blitz their video games, they blitz their products with video games. Disney scooping up Kingsisle would bring them a whole *NEW* set of characters that are begging to be blitzed."

Yesterday a new Press Release hit the AP Wire from Disney announcing their new Swampy videogame character with the heading, "Disney hopes game character makes it to big screen." Now THAT's a heading! :) You should check out the article here.


Swampy is pretty awesome actually. It's like a cross between the Rubbadubbas and the Peter Pan croc.


To continue to extend the conspiracy theory, could this test case be the first steps down the lane to this?


*eyebrows wiggling* EH? EH?

Meh, since the article's tag line merely comes from the General Manager suggesting a wild theory (""Maybe five years from now, wouldn't it be great if there was a movie that started up on the App Store?" Decrem said."), it's all very premature to even make guesses, but I do find it very interesting.

Something to think about. I just want an amusement park named Wizard101 land.

Happy dueling!

Latest FOG in the Mail! Teamwork: The Key to The Spiral's Door

The latest Fun Online Games (FOG) magazine came in the mail over the weekend!


The article I wrote for it is a short piece about all the different sections of KingsIsle (and really any videogame company) and a little insight into what each section does--what part they play in creating the magic of Wizard101. I think a lot of videogame-savvy kids (in particular) will like this article. My daughter has read this one through a number of times actually. She's thinking a job as a videogame artist would be her speed. :)

The code in the magazine this time around is a free Wyvern's Hoard pack. I hope a lucky couple of you at least get a dragon out of that!

This issue of FOG is all about Halloween. There's a great four page spread about all the different Halloween events coming to all your favorite games: Club Penguin, Toontown, Pirates Online, Farmville, Pixie Hollow, Free Realms, Herotopia, Neopets, Petpet park, Poptropica, Roblox, Monkeyquest, Webkinz, Wizard101, and Clone Wars Adventures.

There's no new revelations about Wizard101's Halloween celebration coming up, but it does say there might be "an extra special pet." Hmm! I wonder if they'll put one of the more rare spooky pets in the crowns shop?

. . . And the last half of the magazine is pretty much all about the Yu-gi-oh card game. It's a Beckett's mag after all. ;)

Happy dueling!

Casting the Red Ghost

For those of you who'd like to see what the Red Ghost spell looks like, here you go!



I'm digging my Red Ghost at Ancient! Kind of a fun pet.

Happy Dueling!

Angus vs. Cyrus Drake

Got a note here from John LegendMancer:

Hello Friendly! Its me again, John LegendMancer.

Congratulations for completing MooShu with Angus! Good Luck with MooShu's side quest, You'll need it!
Oh yea, as on to Dragonspyre, you'll be tested by dueling with Prof. Cyrus Drake right? Why don't make a video of it?

PS: What's MooShu's last boss you need to defeat to complete MooShu itself?

Thanks Friendly!
~John L; Adept (26) Sorcerer

Heya John. Thanks for the kind note! I actually did battle Cyrus Drake already, but I don't really have time to upload to Youtube today, so here's a link to the raw footage of that fight on x-fire. Hope you like it!

And to answer your question . . . The final boss of Mooshu is The Jade Oni!

Happy dueling!

Mooshu! Your Gear Don't Matter None!

YES!

It is all true, a level 42 Angus Unicornpants, weighing in at a mere 1000 or so hitpoints with 100 or so mana and clothed in only what the dear headmaster gave him at level 1, has bested all of Mooshu (except for a few sidequests), including those pesky Onis in Mortal Kombat!



Angus . . . wins!

FATALITY!

Pretty much it all boiled down to Angus's regular play style: minion, shields, blade, traps, aura, Triton, and a reshuffle or three.

On to Dragonspyre! (Although, I might go finish up a few of those side quests now . . .)

Happy dueling!

Woot Red Ghost! Pet of the Day!

So if you've been paying attention to Wizard101 Central, you've probably heard all about the Red Ghost. Basically from all the chatter there are two possible combinations: blue ghost + green ghost or yellow ghost + green ghost. OR, you could simply mix with someone who already has a red ghost!

Gotta hand it to uber wife and Destiny Mistshard for hooking me up with a brand new hybrid last night. I awoke with this sitting in Thomas's backpack.


RED GHOST with a 70 pedigree! I can't wait to cast that spell. :) This pet's card is awesome for necromancers. :) Three words: Death damage aura.

Happy dueling!

Angus Finishes Shirataki Temple (And Gains a Spell!)

Honestly, I knew Shirataki Temple would be a bear to beat. It's long enough as it is, but when playing a solo paper tiger like Angus, well, I knew it would take some time and patience, and it did.

Health totals on boss mobs are starting to sky rocket, and it was just a brutal experience. The worst part is dealing with an excess of storm, myth, and balance mobs, which are by far the toughest for Angus. If a monster shields, I have to break it quickly. If I get a -35% debuff charm, I have to dispel it. The short deck and lack of power pip percentage means I have to work twice as carefully and defeat sometimes is inevitable--but in the end I won. And with Angus, *eventually* winning is the only thing that matters!


Some helpful tips for this instance with Angus (and without really). You can kill Wavebringer’s minion early before you spawn him and make that a rather easy fight. If you’re going to die on the Plague Oni fight, take out his minion first, and the second time you face him, he will be alone as well.


Reshuffle was absolutely necessary. I had taken it out of Angus’s deck for Wysteria and hadn’t put one in since fighting Meowiarty to be honest. I needed Reshuffle for The Plague Oni because health totals juxtapose lack of power pips are becoming an issue, BUT! I have a new spell in my arsenal now thanks to the Plague Oni kill!


WOOTAH and THANK GOODNESS!

That spell is going to help a LOT with the challenges coming soon. I smell the burning books of Dragonspyre in Angus's future. Getting closer!

Happy Dueling!

Wizard101 Choice Online Audience Award

Hey everybody! This announcement is up "everywhere" in the Wizard101
world, but I just wanted to add my two cents that you should rush off to
vote for KingsIsle for the Audience award if you haven't already. :)
Last year we lost to League of Legends, but they said it was only by a
narrow margin. You HAVE to remember to click the link in your
validation e-mail . . . very important step. If you don't do that, your
vote doesn't count.

Psyched that there will be some rewards coming for voting soon. :)
Details below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.gdconlineawards.com/audience.php

Game Developers Choice Online Awards organizers have announced the
opening of the Audience Award, encouraging online game fans worldwide to
vote for their favorite persistent online game from September 8th until
September 22nd.

To vote for the Audience Award simply enter the name of the game and a
valid email address at this website:
http://www.gdconlineawards.com/audience.php

Deadline to vote is Friday, September 22nd at 12am PDT.
Note that an email address is required as they require vote validation.

Once you've received your validation email and confirmed your vote for
Wizard101, forward that validation email to community@kingsisle.com.
We'll be announcing rewards for those who voted very soon!

Have fun and thanks for voting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Dueling!

Angus vs. Chester and Friends (Wysteria completed)

Check it out! Here's my latest video of Angus Unicornpants! As most of you are well aware, Angus is my no gear/starter wand/starter deck storm wizard that I'm taking through the game. This particular fight is with Chester Droors and his two side kicks. (I *still* smile about that name.) It's not the last fight of Wysteria, but I feel safe in saying it's probably the most challenging. Good times. I actually wanted to add two other fights to this video but Media Maker was hating all over my files.



Fun! I want to thank KI for a fun side world now that I've played through it with Angus. It was definitely a nice distraction from my exp quest grinding in Mooshu and helped pad Angus's level a touch. He's almost 40 now! Woot!

ANGUS ANGUS ANGUS!!!

Happy Dueling!

Level 22 in Magic the Gathering Tactics

Since my last post I've completed Chapter 3 and 4 and earned a few more levels. AWWWYEAHH!


There were a few frustrating moments there as I scratched my head as to how unlucky I could be with my cards. AND there were even more moments where I had to bust down a few mental barriers to figure out what the best way to position my planeswalker and minions were. Chapter 3:1 was one of those encounters. It was ugly. You're facing off against two 40 attack trolls, three 20 attack casters, and an opponent planeswalker. These creatures are relentless and 200 health can disappear in just a few rounds as you position your planeswalker just so and with a little bit of luck make a dash to a stone that ends the match.

I died and died and died on that chapter more than I'd like to mention. To be honest I think that may be the point in the game where the developers hoped you would throw your hands in the air and dump a bunch of money buying virtual cards to construct a deck to get you through the wall. Regardless, beating that was raw and awesome.

The last victory I had this morning was also strategically intense.


It took me an hour to complete this level, and quite honestly the computer made some bad moves or I would have been toast. Gotta love when an opponent skeletal dragon who could swat me dead in one hit instead goes for your 70 attack behemoth with first strike. :)

So now I find myself on the final chapter of the solo game wondering what challenges are in store. If chapter four's end battle is any indication, then I'm up for quite a fight!

Thanks for indulging me with these MTG:T posts here on this blog. I know it's offtopic, but we've already discussed the similarities between MTG and W101, right? Word.

Happy Dueling!

Level 13 in Magic The Gathering: Tactics

You may recall my post from earlier in the week about the "Magic the Gathering: Tactics" game. The rest of the story here is that I went ahead and sprung for Chapters 2-5 in the solo game since SOE is having a two for one sale on Sony Station Points this weekend (through 5 September). I can handle $10 for that.

Keep in mind that I'm really only interested in the solo game at this point and haven't even really looked at tournament play or pick up pvp matches. I know that's probably where the "real fun" of the game (and online play) is, but I'm not really prepared for that yet.

Anyway, as of this morning, I'm up to Chapter 3 now.


WOOT! Chapter 1 was cake, but after the first mission or so of Chapter 2, the difficulty started to escalate. I had to rerun many of the missions just to figure out a good strategy of where to position my Planeswalker . . . and of course, hope and pray for good luck on my cards.

The final battle of Chapter 2 was one of these fights that was just beating the heck out of me. Basically you have an opponent Planeswalker across a chasm of ice that is impassable and you need to activate a bridge by clicking stones on each side of the chasm; however, there are just a horde of 10 attack / 10 health fire chucking goblins on that other side and a couple nasties on your own side as well. There are two dragon eggs at the far edges of the playing field that can summon 20 attack / 20 health dragons to fly across the chasm and help you unlock the bridge, but they just didn't stand a chance against all those goblins (and the opponent Planeswalker himself who liked to sacrifice your dragon).

Eventually what won this fight for me was hiding behind a rock to avoid the goblins and the luck of the draw put two archers in my deck. I put one on either side of the rock, buffed the heck out of them, and just plunked away the goblins one by one. until they were all dead.


After they were dead I was able to use the dragon eggs to fly across the chasm and win. WHEW.

Now that I'm halfway into the solo game now, I have to say that the game feels a little like the Fire Emblem games (with a definitely MTG flair), which if you're not familiar with those, a can feel safe recommending them. The dialog on Fire Emblem is about the cheesiest I've ever heard in a game, but gameplay itself is solid.

Anybody else try this game out? If you did, let me know your name, and I'll add you as a friend.

Happy dueling!

Happy Third Birthday Wizard101!

I honestly can't believe it's been three years. Where did the time go? I'm resurrecting an old picture of a cake we made for Wizard101's first birthday.

Yum! I want an excuse to have cake! I should definitely make that the family project tonight . . . make a new Wizard101 cake!

Anyway, the spiral is definitely looking festive once again.

Tiki Friendly loves parties. :)

So the first year we each got a hat as a present. The second year we got two rare transformation potions. This year we get . . . random present!

Wizard101's Facebook page tells us to go to this link by Sep 5 and redeem our third birthday present. Congrats and enjoy your present! Let me know what you get.

Happy Dueling!

Angus in Wysteria? Absolutely!

Oh! Look who's in Wysteria, stealin' their loots . . .


And why is Angus Unicornpants in Wysteria you might ask?

1- extra exp to pad his level (he's 38 now).
2- easy way to procure bacon.


I like it just a bit crispy, thanks!

Happy Dueling!