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52: Dripping with Self-Indulgence
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🥳🥳🥳 For their one-year anniversary, 🎂 the Snap On This!! cohosts offer up to you their most self-indulgent episode to date — but don’t neglect their ⚡ High Voltage and 🤹 OTA coverage duties, of course. 🤭
For our esteemed listeners’ consideration:
- It’s been a Year in Snap 🎉
- Last Week Card Vibes 🔥 Frankie Raye Nova 🔥 Next Week Card Vibes
- 🔌 High Voltage’s Big Ban List Energy 💡
- The cohosts find this OTA to be… moving 😏😄
- 📪📫Listener Questions (ty!!) 📬💌
- Secret Homework 🤫: podcast memories 💖💕
Video version on YouTube. (Rie's granola recipe in the video description)
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Follow us on Twitter/Bluesky:
Check out the other great shows in the Snap Judgments Network:
- Snap Decisions
- Snap Judgments
- The InfiNOT
Join us on Discord! 👾
- Join the server
- Head into the channel "welcome-rules-and-tickets"
- Find the "SJPN Podcast Fans" message, and press the button for Snap On This!!
Featured decks:
Credits:
- Cover art by Lauren
- Snap On This!! Theme by Ben
- YouTube thumbnail by Lauren’s kid, Reggi
Timestamps:
- 0:00:00 Intro / Our YEAR in Snap
- 0:27:44 Last Week's Cards (Galactus and friends)
- 0:31:43 Frankie Raye Nova
- 0:37:19 The Fallen One
- 0:40:52 Air-Walker
- 0:42:28 High Voltage
- 0:46:35 OTA Discussion
- 1:22:18 Listener Questions
- 2:27:42 Secret Homework: Precious Moments
- 2:34:54 Next Week's Secret Homework
- 2:37:22 Housekeeping / Closing Remarks
Recommended
Transcript
Anniversary Celebration & Year Recap
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello and welcome to episode 52 of Snap on This, a Marvel Snap podcast. This week's secret homework is to share something, ah a favorite moment or aspect of the podcast.
00:00:13
Speaker
If that's too self-indulgent for you, then you you might be in the wrong place because we're celebrating our anniversary today. I'm your host, Lauren Whatevs, here with my usual co-hosts, Ben and Rhi.
00:00:24
Speaker
ah We'll start with Ben. How was your year in Snap? And keep snappy. My year in Snap, well, that will be a struggle to keep Snappy because it's like 52 times as long as a week in Snap.
00:00:37
Speaker
But I will endeavor to do my best. It was pretty good year in Snap. i I did a podcast with my friends, played a lot of card games, played a lot of other games.
00:00:52
Speaker
ah You know, that
00:00:57
Speaker
It is, um you know, it is my habit to make it about about the week. so So I have been thinking about things that happened in the past week. There was um Golden Gauntlet.
00:01:09
Speaker
qualifier thing. there were some There were some hiccups and stuff, but i had I had a good time. I did not qualify, but I'll get him next time. it was it It wasn't a little bit late for me to be awake, but it was a little bit late for me to be my cleverest self. I will say that.
00:01:28
Speaker
I don't know. I think I play games better when the sun is in the sky and stuff. but you know I had lots of fun, played lots of Interesting stuff. i Yeah, it it was a good time.
00:01:44
Speaker
I did not run into any Snap on this listeners that announced themselves to me anyway, which is kind of a first in any of the tournaments I've participated in since we started the podcast. Be it a league or big tournament or whatever, there's always somebody who's like, I love the pod. Do you take note of how many... like playing Snap against people who don't listen to the podcast too.
00:02:09
Speaker
Could you take note of how many Stardusts made it into the finals? and None. It's true. I found like four. I went through pages and pages of decks. I found like four total counting myself. I didn't go through all of the pages because ah that's a lot of pages. But I got through enough to get a sense that like, oh, people still don't know about this one. That's all right.
00:02:32
Speaker
And yes, that is my line. It is that people don't know about this one. Not that this one's not good. She's still absolutely wrecking it. And i recommend you check that card out. Although I'm sure you will be more enthusiastic, dear listener, once there's, you know, an air walker to be stardusting about.
00:02:49
Speaker
But yeah, well, I think we'll all get hip to her goodness in the end. Is it true that... oh Was it F300Zen? didn't get to watch it. Were they the winner?
00:03:06
Speaker
I don't know. That sounds like the right name to me. yeah i'd have to lie fact-chuck to be sure. I will say yoinked. Someone posted their deck, and i was like, hmm, you know, i was looking for something to play, it was so clever. Like, props to them for putting it together, because at first I played it, and I, like, lost to another end-of-turn deck, as, you know, we'd been doing these guys' calls.
00:03:33
Speaker
We're extremely OTA. And I was like, okay, I don't like it anymore. then I realized, no way, I could have won because they put Cosmo in. Because if you can Cosmo, they have to play out the suit first and even play the Cosmo before they get the Prodigy.
00:03:52
Speaker
They can't get their, like, four times effect that kind of, like, guarantees them the win. and it was like a Mercury Cannonball deck, but it had Spectrum and a bunch of, And Electra.
00:04:04
Speaker
And Electra, right? Yeah, that was the winner. Yeah, now that you're talking about it, do know that deck, yes. The deck was really fun. yeah i Yeah, I played it a bunch. It was a good time. so you know I don't know if it says... It was very clever for the meta at the time, the build. don't if it translates into now, but I was impressed with their deck building for the tournament.
00:04:28
Speaker
A Gorgon, right? That's what I love. I love the idea of Spectrum ah counter ongoing decks. Anyway. That's a really smart idea for, like... nothing Yeah, really good idea for countering the meta and, like, addressing a tournament format.
00:04:45
Speaker
Speaking of the meta, i was not I was not running into all the things I expected to run into. i was ah I was a little surprised at the the density of ah Mercury that I was seeing there. And i was I was a little frustrated by that because I was also playing Mercury. But the thing I like being able to move my Mercury so that I can then move the cards that were in that lane because I was doing scream things, of course.
00:05:11
Speaker
But ah the thing about so many mirror Mercuries is that they end up in the same lane and then they're stuck there. And so then that's a whole lane of cards that I can't do just scream stuff with. Very frustrating.
00:05:23
Speaker
oh my gosh the last round of the tournament the person was a very good sport i i didn't like grumble about this or anything after the game they were like yeah it was pretty nuts that i got turn one loki every time but yeah so that's that's one those victories coming from was my own deck but uh other than that uh also pretty well represented in other people's lists um but yeah it was a fun time fun time i highly recommend uh just getting out there don't you know expect too yeah just Just try to have fun. And I think that tournaments are a lot of fun just to challenge yourself
Challenges & Inspirations: Game and Life
00:06:00
Speaker
and challenge the world! hold
00:06:04
Speaker
know? That sort of thing. I mean, yeah. It's the World Championship or World Gauntlet or whatever they're calling it. I think I'll qualify in one of them. you know I've got two more chances, right? Something like that.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yeah, two more. And they're like once a month. So...
00:06:25
Speaker
Anything else, Ben? think that's probably it right now for my week in Snap. Yeah. Cool. Or my year in Snap. ah It's just a cute cosmetic. We're definitely still on week in Snap. Rhi, how was your year in Snap?
00:06:42
Speaker
And keep it snappy. Okay. Well, first, I did want to shout out our friend ah Scott. He usually has the handle Skosko, who writes for Snap.Fan and is also on most of the media stuff because he shouted us out in his Burning Questions article, um his most recent one.
00:07:10
Speaker
And Snap podcast. So, like, yay. And, you know, I just wanted to say right back at you because, I mean, not that I'm, like, super well-read right now in all Snap things, but Scott does a great job at writing these articles because The thing with these type of articles is you want to have this conversational tone. Like I know when I am speaking, I have all these annoying verbal tics like saying like or, you know, constantly. But like it's hopefully more forgivable because dialogue, like the modulation of people's voice that they do unconsciously just makes up for a lot makes for an ease of processing the information. And when you're writing something,
00:07:57
Speaker
It's such a challenge to keep a conversational tone, you know, without, um you know, that's that's easy to read and digest.
00:08:07
Speaker
Right. Without doing, you know, annoying writing things that are less forgivable. Right. um And he does a really great job of that. And also, he does just a little bit of snark, right? Which is like snark, it's like the spice. So you always want a little bit of these articles, but it should be the spice and not the fiber, you know, of your content when your goal is to impart information or ideas. So, yeah.
00:08:36
Speaker
I just want to say that Scott does really well-crafted articles. If you want to check out his writing, it makes me think of um my granola recipe that I love.
00:08:51
Speaker
I wanted to say potato chips because they're so easy to eat and snag up and eat up a whole ah bag but... um You know, they've got more substance to it.
00:09:02
Speaker
So, like, I'm just like, keep grabbing handfuls, but, like, it's more nutritious. Yeah, better than empty calories. cheese Granola. Yeah, that'll be in the show notes.
00:09:13
Speaker
i Oh, yeah, my granola recipe for sure will provide. um So once again, your snack segment of Snap on this. Okay, now, We Can Snap. I am so glad that Lauren mentioned self-indulgence because like, this is our anniversary episode, and therefore will allow myself the pleasure of my most self-indulgent We Can Snap ever. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to take a listener question that we were going to answer later on that was directed towards myself
00:09:49
Speaker
And I wanted to unabridge it a little bit. So I thought I would bring it up to We Can Snap um and answer it in longer form than might be appropriate for the segment.
00:10:00
Speaker
ah So ah the question came from Joe, our fellow podmate, um who does Snap decisions. um You know, a great podcast, great DJ, all around swell guy. And, ah you know, he knows that I'm a fan of synthwave music.
00:10:23
Speaker
And he asked me about that. And I was like, hmm, it just really made me want to tell my story of finding Synthwave, which was that like a couple of years ago, after planning and consideration, decided to follow my dream.
00:10:45
Speaker
um which has been for so long, right? Some people don't know what they want to do in life, but I knew for a long time I wanted to do, to run um an indie game studio.
00:10:56
Speaker
I mean, first it was to work for Blizzard, but then, you know, you grow up, you learn about the industry. don't how broken it is, and it's like, okay, well, can't, like, make AAAs or work on MMOs, but, like, I want to make games. want to make experiences.
00:11:11
Speaker
And um i finally left to do it, and I started working on a game um with a longtime artist friend that it had been our joint dream ah for a long time to to make games. we made several like kind of practice games, at game jammy games together over the years to do this.
00:11:32
Speaker
And um I brought her into it pretty quick. it Started my Liza Solo project. And I poured my heart and soul into this game.
00:11:43
Speaker
It started kind of a a burnout, like COVID style um game. And then I started adding some more elements back of games that I enjoyed when I wasn't like a husk of my former self.
00:11:59
Speaker
And I did things like I did. i was making the game that I wanted to play. left nothing back. I was making these villagers for the simulation, but I wanted real villagers. I wanted to make I've always wanted to teach a robot how to love.
00:12:12
Speaker
I made villagers that could feel. I took an emotion wheel and I charted it out in a diagram and I made emotions into math so that I could have So we could have it that if you planted flowers in the in the village, in this one spot, every time a villager walked by, it would literally affect their emotion. would pull them toward one of like 16 emotions right on this wheel that like were intense emotions farther out and then in. And um it would have like a set amount. It would pull it towards, right? Like vector-wise toward that emotion. And what...
00:12:48
Speaker
high of the wheel they were would affect it. And then to keep to keep people from spiraling out, they had a constant pull toward their center motion, which would be different for everyone, right? Some people are a little more grumpy and whatever.
00:13:01
Speaker
And so it was rare, but I even programmed in the possibility that someone could be like so depressed, a villager, that they'd get up and not work, you know, go to their job and the general store wouldn't open. But that would be a rare possibility.
00:13:13
Speaker
Everything that happened, every interaction they had, every at time they met another, you know, if they met another villager who stopped them to talk and they didn't like that villager, it's knock on their emotion, right?
00:13:25
Speaker
Like, um it was it was like, i these were these were the best. They didn't have a set schedule. They decided things dynamically. based on work and priorities and their own personality traits of what activities they would do.
00:13:37
Speaker
I tracked everyone all the time because I built a parallax village. It was all 2D, but you could see all the way back to where your cottage was, right? And all the parallax layers would move differently. And so you could see all the villagers in the other layers, like farther back into the distance.
00:13:52
Speaker
I made a you know ah platform leveling system for it. um I made a whole
Marvel Snap Strategy & Card Design Discussion
00:14:00
Speaker
build a charm thing that was about like that was about grabbing building things out of materials all with its own control system.
00:14:08
Speaker
i was in the middle of building a um like a procedural forest generation. And half doing that, I think, and then half working and on this like terrarium, like simulation building system.
00:14:24
Speaker
This game had everything. And it was, it was, it was my heart. And, um, My my artists that I was working with on, it was every step who had built so much. We had pages that were heard just just lining out the pixels so that I could position all the images perfectly in the layers that were needed because we were both like that kind of person. and And for health reasons, she had, and it was kind of a slow journey to realizing she wasn't, it was going to have to be a hiatus. so it was like a long, painful journey to, to this game taking halt.
00:15:01
Speaker
um And it was long time for to finally realize that it it was, that was what was happening. and um, yeah. You know, and at this time, there's still like the possibility. Maybe she would be able to come back at some time. We didn't know when. So for that reason, and because all the parts I had built of this were all pieces of this larger your hole that was still to be built because her art was so beautiful and unique. It could not be replicated that I couldn't make up for it. I couldn't do it.
00:15:31
Speaker
Like basically the whole project happened. had had to stop. And it was just like, I came into this out of like corporate burnout and of after being like, vampires sucked dry a corporation that took me that, that just can't help but like give it their all right and just took and took. And then I went from that into giving everything into my dream. And then it felt like that was dying. I was running out of time. i knew I could take on a solo project, but it's like I didn't have the time to to build, you know, to build
00:16:08
Speaker
the masterpiece they had been working on before. And I was sober now and, you know, is starting to have health problems and other things. And I was just just feeling like so low it felt like my dream was dying. And I was taking what I've previously, what I mean, what always refer to, but I've talked about in the podcast before, a rave shower. It's just where take a shower in the dark.
00:16:35
Speaker
because you're burned out, except for like a smart light that alternates like cyberpunk colors, you know like um flashing through. and ah you play music. And preferably, you have one of those like aromatherapy like fog machine things, essential oils, so it's like billowing and smoky.
00:16:56
Speaker
Anyway, so I came in, and there was like an album i had just found. And it was like The Legend of Synthwave. and I put it on and I could just like those like the synth wavy notes that are that, you know, you hear and that's what makes it synth wave.
00:17:14
Speaker
um We're playing and I could just see like the cover of this album is ah is Princess Zelda on a motorcycle.
00:17:25
Speaker
With the city in the background. And I could just picture myself. Because there was a time in my life. A couple of years. Where I wrote a Suzuki Savage. And when I whacked the mortal to fear. Of death that I have now.
00:17:39
Speaker
But yeah. There's this thing about motorcycling, motorcycling, about being on a bike where it's like it's so thrilling, but also at times where it's so zen and like that synthwave. And I'm sitting here listening because I don't know, maybe kind of hurt. I wasn't really familiar with synthwave before this. I listened to a lot of lo-fi and a lot of video game lo-fi remixes, um especially while i was working. So this is where I tangentially shifted.
00:18:09
Speaker
um through the legend of Synthwave. And so I'm there and I just picture this, like just on this motorcycle, right? Going into this like sunset, but instead of sunset, it's like space.
00:18:26
Speaker
It's like, you know, space station orbiting crystal in the background. And it's just, it's like Synthwave.
00:18:38
Speaker
so like, okay. When you hear the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, right, it teleports you instantly to the scenery, to everything of Lord of the Rings. Like Rush kind of did the same thing. It's like music that builds a world, right? There's a lot that does that. And I feel like Synthwave does that for me without having that like reference point I'm tying to. But I return to this world and I'm there and...
00:19:04
Speaker
And hearing the song, it's like it gave me the idea for the thing I'm working on now, right? Which is, it's like game ideas. I come up with like, I don't know, three every podcast. It's like, it's just, they're a dime a dozen. But it's like a game that you can make, right? That you have your skills that will, with your skills that will still stand out. All of it is so hard. And it just, it came to me there. So like Synthwave is like not just...
00:19:31
Speaker
Not just something that teleports me to world I want to go to. it gave me hope and a time I really needed it. You know, it gave me inspiration.
00:19:42
Speaker
um So, ah Joe, I am not I am more of fan than an aficionado. Aficionado? that how you say that? I feel like I've mostly written it, not said it.
00:19:54
Speaker
Okay. Okay. I think I'd give it a aficionado, but. Aficionado. Okay. yeah Yeah. So of synth waves. So absolutely. If you have playlists, you know, at me and like, I would love to like listen to those while I'm working and everything. um But yeah, that is, ah that is where I wanted to go When I saw that question, when I thought about how I would answer it, I'm like, that that's what Synthwave is for me anyway.
00:20:29
Speaker
That's that's me lovely. Thank you. um i have had the immense and probably fairly unique pleasure of seeing a game that Rhi was talking about, and it's beautiful and impressive.
00:20:44
Speaker
um Anyway... ah My week in Snap. My year in Snap. Shit. I had one gimmick and I fucked it up.
00:20:58
Speaker
I spent ah most of my year, year, in heavy air quotes, sick. It's been a rough week. ah And it was the kind of sick where, like, I want, you know, I'm missing work and getting, you know, taking PTO and all this, like...
00:21:14
Speaker
Yes, I want to rest, but also like, let me play video games or like do something like that with my time. You know, let me catch up on Castlevania anime. Let me, you know, something that I like haven't that I'm behind on.
00:21:25
Speaker
But and I tried, but I was just like too sick to focus. And so I decided instead to just... watch K-pop demon hunters a bunch and nap. So, because it's something that brought me so much joy, but also like totally fine if I'm not paying very good attention to it or if I'm falling asleep or whatever. So that was the first half of my week.
00:21:48
Speaker
Um, second half, um, I don't know, trying to recover from that. And, uh, you, you know, ah editing stuff for this podcast.
00:21:59
Speaker
So the, our special RPG episode, that's probably going to come out. It will still be this week, but it's probably going to come out a few days later than expected because I was laid out on the couch.
00:22:11
Speaker
Um, And then also we have a special guest, which you guys are probably aware of because I probably put it in the title of this episode. And if not, look forward to it. ah um I've got something to add about that.
00:22:24
Speaker
Oh, there will come a point during that special guest segment when Lauren is upset that there's a word she can't say. The word is bitch. How did I know she would want to say the word bitch? Who knows?
00:22:35
Speaker
That is the word. Yes. My favorite part is when we devour our special guest in ritual sacrifice to appease the ancient gods.
00:22:46
Speaker
i say Snap continues another 10 years. classic. Okay.
00:22:54
Speaker
Um, like otherwise i there's one Frankie Raynova clip that I've been trying to get, um because she resets if you hit her with Zola, which makes no freaking sense. I'll talk about that more in just a second. And she resets if you hit her with Symbio Spider-Man, which that does make sense.
00:23:09
Speaker
Uh, you know, he's a different card. Um, And so I really want to double her three times. ah But it's hard because the Zola itself doesn't count as a double.
00:23:19
Speaker
I called it. Yeah. Because she doesn't see you stage the Zola and resolve the Zola. Like the same Frankie doesn't see that whole thing. So I have a plan, but it's tricky and I'm trying to figure out how to make it easier. Maybe Fallen one will help. Who knows?
00:23:35
Speaker
Yeah. Anyway, that's what I've been up to. ah zola i also was researching that. Like, why does Zola reset her? This is freaking weird. What else does Zola reset?
00:23:46
Speaker
and And I did the research, by the way. ah Because this is the kind of human I am. Does Zola reset a Red Wing? Shit, I didn't test that.
00:23:57
Speaker
That's a good one. Once per game, huh? $20.99? $20.99?
00:24:02
Speaker
Also didn't test that one. They don't say once per game. What do they say? Because they didn't come up when I tried to filter for once per game. Is it the first time maybe might be that that I needed to filter for? Okay. That's what Red Wing says for sure. And probably so one Zola does not reset movement for cards like Nightcrawler, Jeff, Mercury.
00:24:24
Speaker
ah He does reset Negasonic Teenage Warhead. im does not reset torch first steps or um the thing first steps does not reset their once per game ability.
00:24:39
Speaker
I felt like there was one more he does reset. Who else is once per game? Who else is once per game? I found three that he resets. Black Knight. He resets Black Knight. Yep. Which is so weird, right? like Yeah, very. highly Why did he reset out of this? It makes sense to me that he doesn't reset activate. like That's like an innate ability to a card. So if the card is activated and you make a perfect copy of it, the copy should be activated too.
00:25:06
Speaker
Maybe I think that that one is working like move where these cards have a single charge that like the game knows that they have or they don't have. And like, yeah, I don't know. But why aren't Negasonic and Black Knight and Frankie Ray that way?
00:25:18
Speaker
That's a very good question. I don't actually care. I actually think it'd be more fun if you could like Zola card to refresh its activated or or has moved status. But ultimately, I don't care as long as it's consistent. And you know what? I don't think it's common enough or important enough to second dinner to ever fix it. So I just have to deal with these inconsistencies. um Wouldn't it be cool to live in a world that made more sense than that?
00:25:45
Speaker
yeah Especially in something that's like a video game like this is the place where we can control things. This is why I like. lot of card games have like very consistent rule sets. That's often thought of as a feature of the genre.
00:25:58
Speaker
Interesting. This is why like, you know, just despite. me wanting to be an artist and a mental health counselor and these things that are much more like soft and squishy.
00:26:09
Speaker
i love math and I'm a very mathy person and I do analytics. And part of the reason for that is because this is a world I can control. I can make sure everything's consistent. I can make sure it's organized. and And, you know, maybe I'm more of a control freak than I care to admit, but it's like, we could have this in snap if there was anybody there who cared that much about it.
00:26:29
Speaker
sure
00:26:32
Speaker
ah um Let's move on I could publish a rulebook that explained all of these interactions in sort of a clear, accountable way. now i believes as well I believe it has been highlighted before by Glenn in Team Answers that it is a feature of a digital card game, that there's a that there's a digital enforcer of the rules. And like...
00:26:55
Speaker
That's true. That's kind of cool. like you Let players explore the space. We can keep the card text simple and like the niche interactions are things that only players who are super into that thing find. but I don't know. It would also be cool if the rules made more sense sometimes. Like, order of operations is really, it's not intuitive. There are areas where Snap could be improved in this way. Like, you know, player abilities happen and then locations and then cards.
00:27:20
Speaker
But, like, most player abilities are things you got from cards. So it's like, it's confusing. Anyway. Difficult to untangle. hu That's the real reason Snap is so fast. No one can, like, nerd rules lawyer.
00:27:37
Speaker
it's already It's already the next game by the time you're raising your complaint. yeah ah Let's talk about ah last week's cards. Any new thoughts about any of them? That's Galactus First Steps, Silver Surfer First Steps, Stardust, Redshift, and Terax.
00:27:53
Speaker
I think Galactus First Steps is better than it seemed to me at first. I still don't think a very exciting card, but I'm yeah and I don't think they're going to buff him the the way I expected they would last week.
00:28:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think he's fine. He's proven fine, yeah. Yep, exactly fine. I did have a shout-out to another of our listeners, BlazeCap, who inspired me. they are In their arena champion design, which is the homework Ben gave, um they did Emma Frost, White Queen.
00:28:31
Speaker
Oh, yeah, that was a really cool one. I seconded this. Yeah, it reminded me how much I wanted to play White Queen. It's been so long that when I went to build a deck with her, i looked in the force.
00:28:43
Speaker
I'm like, where's she at, though? Is she not a four?
00:28:48
Speaker
where She's a three now. Yeah, so ah you know, seeing being um inspired by BlazeCamp, I was like, oh, and game and remembering I'm trying to, like, do what I want in the game,
00:29:04
Speaker
and be happy. And it was fun. I mentioned this in the Galactus section because it was particularly fun to play white coin against all the people doing their Galactus first steps missions.
00:29:18
Speaker
I let them build it all up and then I just yoink it on five and it's like I'm within this lane though so when I stick it there I'm still going to be bigger than you. Anyway. Yeah. So it was a lot of fun. Played it with a Moonstone, like some Moonstone Wiccan nonsense and Legion because, you know, because of joy. I have a question.
00:29:38
Speaker
ah This is another rules kind of question. So do you know what happens if you White Queen a Galactus first steps and say this is turn five, like in your example, you play White Queen first and then you play a two cost.
00:29:52
Speaker
Does that two cost then become Galactus's herald? Yes, it will be the A White Queen doesn't? ah white queen White Queen doesn't become the Herald. For the same reason that Artemisola doesn't double Frankie.
00:30:03
Speaker
I had the same question. Thank you. Yeah, I did find that out. That's actually great. That is awesome to know. Thank you so much.
00:30:14
Speaker
But that's all. I was just saying it was fun. It was cute. I took it from where I hadn't like really been playing all the way up to the ninety s Shot me right up. just's cute It was cute. it was just cards that were fun to play, too. like Copycat, still a great card, Copycat.
00:30:30
Speaker
love it. Oh, yeah. Anyway. Uh-huh. I think out of all the cards... No, I've seen Galactus the most, but then Redshift. Like, that's the card I've seen the most out all of these.
00:30:42
Speaker
And yeah and i knew he was going to be awesome. I just... I'm so confused about the series this time. Like, how they arranged the cards. Like, the Super Premium Season Pass... is like I still haven't seen anybody do anything super compelling with her.
00:30:57
Speaker
um Silver Surfer. And then Redshift, the Series 4, is like clearly one of the best cards of the season. Yeah, I think good Series 4 cards should exist. They certainly have thrown some stinkers in Series 4 recently.
00:31:11
Speaker
um You know, your your Jenny Kales and all that. i yeah I like a good Series 4 card from time to time. Also, ah back to the tournament, I was a little disappointed I did not see more Redshift because that's kind of what I was expecting to see a lot of. I thought I was going to see a bunch of Agatha and I thought I was going to be stardusting things and, you know, thwarting ghost riders and stuff.
00:31:34
Speaker
But it just ah didn't play out that way. I know they were there. I just didn't face them. Yeah. Bummer. um Yeah. Redshift rules. Okay. This week's card Nova Frankie Ray.
00:31:49
Speaker
wait, that is what that's what she is in the game. Nova Frankie Ray. Well, that's what she is in alphabetical order when you search your collection, unlike Joaquin Torres Falcon. 2-3.
00:32:01
Speaker
After the next time you play a six-cost card, double this card's power. As expected, lots of people were disappointed um when they found out that it could only work once, even though I would argue that is literally the only reason why it says next time Yep, that's first.
00:32:18
Speaker
I do think that in parentheses once is a lot clearer than next time. It though, that's true. But again, I don't care as long as it ends up being consistent in the long run. Do we think it should be once?
00:32:31
Speaker
Do you think it would be fine if it were more than once? I think it might be fine if it were more than once. I think it'd be fine too, yes. um I hope they that. Did get her? Did you play Did you face her?
00:32:44
Speaker
A little bit, but, of you know, the card is about as good as I thought the card would be. Okay. bri No, I also didn't.
00:32:55
Speaker
I wanted, I like one too. Like you said, she's she's a card that seems fun for me, but also like I realized she's like my last... tokens if I get her. So I'm like, now is the point where like, oh, do I, would I rather have fallen?
00:33:10
Speaker
What? Like now I have to be making those kinds of decisions, I guess. Back to careful planning. hu And I haven't gotten to, uh, like play the last couple of days actually. So like, um, you know, late night re hasn't made any choices on behalf of day research.
00:33:31
Speaker
um and i haven't like seen her either to be up but once again i said like i haven't i haven't gotten to play definitely not since the ota and sadly yet hopefully soon um i've seen her a decent amount uh not a ton and mostly people trying to be too cute with her right like If she just doubles to 10, like you play like Forge or something small with her or Agony, there's a lot people doing Agony. It's like she's at 312 if you do Agony. Like you don't have to be cuter than that.
00:34:07
Speaker
Yeah, right. Well, it's a three card combo because you have to play the six also. Hopefully the six cost is about you know justifying its own existence. But yeah.
00:34:19
Speaker
Yeah. I will say the combo I've been playing with her, it's a four piece. I'm sorry. I'm using four six costs, which is like extremely high curve for what I'm used to. It's Zola plus the three discounting six costs.
00:34:32
Speaker
So Mockingbird, She-Hulk and help Sasquatch. um And I think there's something there. Like I'm trying to be super cute with her, but and I'm trying to get the three doubles, but I've had two doubles happen a lot, and it's really big, and it catches people off guard, right? Like, I don't need to Zola the Frankie Ray. I can Zola the Sasquatch that I played on turn five, um and that doesn't give...
00:35:00
Speaker
Frankie Ray extra doubles. i'm just saying it's like it's versatile. yeah so yeah I don't know what it looks like, but um had some lessons this week. like I haven't played nearly enough Sasquatch, period. like I also came away with that.
00:35:14
Speaker
because I faced a Frankie Ray deck like the one that you're describing. I don't think it had Zola in it, but it was playing Sasquatch and Mockingbird. and I was like, oh yeah, Sasquatch, I should like this card.
00:35:25
Speaker
I love playing lots of cards in one turn. Yeah. like yeah why why don't i play sasquatch i'm like i rule him out because he's a big card but or she's a big card she's not she's not really a big card like it's incredibly easy for her to be a five cost but it's not that hard to make her significantly cheaper um i'm like you know i've played tons of mockingbird and i'm fine with her going to sick and maybe because she started at five like I've played tons of Mockingbird since she went to six and it's been fine. and It's like, why am I not also playing Sasquatch? This card is, i don't know. It's a good card.
00:35:57
Speaker
um I think it goes very well with Nova. And i yeah, Simbaeo also obviously excellent with her. um I believe that.
00:36:09
Speaker
it It reminds me of one of my favorite genres of clips. one of my favorite tricks is using Mystique as an on-reveal card. Because ah people always love to see it. You know, whether I'm using Grandmaster or Odin or Absman or whatever, right? you can if you If Mystique whiffs her ability, you can do stuff with the fact that she's an on-reveal.
00:36:28
Speaker
And I love being silly with that. And you get emotes every single time you whiff Mystique. Or I get insta snaps like i with mystique and the insta step and i'm like oh you don't know that i'm about to do ronin grandmastering you're gonna be sorry um i got some of that too with like symbiote spider-man like doubling frankie ray before i merged in symbiote and they'd snap and it's like oh actually i'm gonna symbiote and then play another six and she's huge um so obviously very shongable very shadow kingable but she's, she's good at what she's supposed to be, which is a big two. And that's like, there's, there's value there.
00:37:04
Speaker
So, uh, I had more fun with her than I expected. I don't know how real of a card she is, but... my Yeah. Anyway, those were my thoughts. But hey, fun is a start. Some cards aren't even fun.
00:37:18
Speaker
Absolutely. Speaking of fun, next week's cards. First up, we have Fallen 1, a 5-5. On reveal, set your max energy equal to this card's power.
00:37:29
Speaker
This is just a vibe check. We don't need a full analysis on these. Are are either of you excited about this card? I mean, i can't tell what there is. to be i mean, like yeah the as a person who's not trying to do anything silly with this card and who doesn't even get that excited about ramp stuff, like my favorite ramp card is Hope Summers. And I'm like, is this better than that? I don't know.
00:37:46
Speaker
I'm like, you know, maybe there's something here with, ah you even with three cost Mr. Fantastic and Surge and like, you know, you want to play this on turn three with like six or seven power or something. And then like, you know, like there's probably something there. I just don't like it.
00:38:05
Speaker
and Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:09
Speaker
um Yeah, I think for me, mean, obviously I'll get Airwalker because it's the event card, but the Fallen one, am intrigued and I want to see it, but I think I'll probably hold, I'm probably just going to hold off since I'm lowering tokens anyway and maybe see what actually looks like it will tickle my fancy once it's been out because...
00:38:31
Speaker
I honestly have plenty of toys I haven't really messed with but that I've gotten lately. You know, because you know me. I'll do some old man shenanigans. Like, what? You know, I just want to play around and see what's there to be found. that You know, we have the OTA now with some stuff.
00:38:48
Speaker
um You know. That's a good do want some Frankie Ray for Nomura, though. With, like... Yeah, you love Nomura. That's a good argument for Frankie Ray, honestly. I want a dick.
00:38:59
Speaker
Um... It's a good point with like how the card releases are so aggressive now. There's so many. And even if you can keep up... I haven't had... I've played Silver... so i've played like I've started a game with Silver Surfer for steps in my deck maybe like five times at most. like I just haven't had time to experiment with that card. yeah Because five cards came out in the same week. That's more than we need. Yeah, and I like having lots of toys, but also... like You know, if I'm a player who can't keep up with everything, it's like very easy to start passing on stuff because it's like, well, I still haven't caught up with the toys I do have. yeah
00:39:37
Speaker
I'm still like, oh, I wish I had gotten around to playing more Sasquatch by now. But how are you supposed You're very behind on that one. Well, we are very behind on that One more argument I'll make, because I know a lot of people, is just a bummer. Like, oh, there's all these cards now, and I can't get them. And I was also, like, collection incomplete. Now it's like, oh, that's not going to continue to stay the case. Yeah, yeah.
00:40:01
Speaker
But it has broken up. There are cards, ah we just saw it with Su2, that are going to dominate the meta and be obnoxious.
00:40:14
Speaker
But in some ways, sometimes it does break up. Like in in ah Frankie Ray Nova week, you're not only seeing Frankie Ray Nova decks because people still have old cards they haven't played. You know what I mean Like it is... it is breaking up the meta a little more for me until the super powerful card comes along that like everyone plays or the one that everyone was excited about, like an Irish sum type card.
00:40:38
Speaker
and But yeah, it's a small counter argument fri it for the other side. don't know where fall on it. Yeah. Keeping the meta diverse or the game diverse, is that's a pro.
00:40:50
Speaker
Okay. 3-3 air walker coming in high voltage.
00:40:58
Speaker
and When this is destroyed, replace it with a four cost card from your hand or neck. We've talked about it before. I don't i don't have anything to add. and interview um Seems very strong. Would have given it a four.
00:41:09
Speaker
But, you know, Officer Stardust is not going to let too much happen on her watch. You overrated how much people would have fun playing Stardust.
00:41:20
Speaker
um Or maybe... They'll have fun once once they are forced to have fun, they will see what is fun about this card. You can't play too many games before you know a smile creeps across your face. I'm telling you, Stardust is a blast.
00:41:34
Speaker
Oh, also, there are some proactive things to do with it. I think Stardust is specifically good with Merlin because you're re-rolling a lot of locations and stuff. Stardust is specifically good with the things that Reroll locations. Also, I was able to win eight cubes on a proactive cannonballing with ah Stardust. I won a game by making sure that the rock would not exist to win the mojo world.
00:41:58
Speaker
That's so niche, but very cute. Well, that's the thing. Niche things win eight cubes. That's yeah's the game. Yeah, absolutely. was a very clever play. um Also, think last week we might have said that Fire Lord was coming up because they said he was coming on the 12th.
00:42:15
Speaker
Turns out they oopsied that, and he's coming out the 21st. So I think that's next Thursday, same time that are like the same day that High Voltage releases. so He's there too.
00:42:27
Speaker
um High Voltage is coming up and they just announced that they're adding a whole bunch of banned cards, including a huge pile of tech cards. Let's talk about that real quick. How do you guys feel about Shang-Chi, Enchantress, Cosmo, Armor, Loot Cage, Shadow King, and Super Scroll being added to the ban list?
00:42:45
Speaker
Hey, you know, I am not shy about calling out things that I think are stupid or silly or that I care about, and I have no problem with any of this. This is all fine. It's just high voltage. Who really cares?
00:43:00
Speaker
More than that, I love it though, because fight finally, finally the players do get to see a world without Shang-Chi. It's not the exact same world of snap, but this is the time to play with this stuff.
00:43:14
Speaker
It's it's a limited time mode that'd be around very quickly. That's optional yeah um we've seen before. it's reason to fresh out. going to be prices in this one though. So it's not that optional.
00:43:29
Speaker
And now and it's like without Shang-Chi, everyone can live their stupid, stupid, silly, like get the most power ever dreams, you know, like do all your Wong shenanigans. And it's like if it sucks, well, it was a limited time mode, you know what i mean?
00:43:47
Speaker
And now everyone knows what the world without Shang-Chi and Enchantress and Cosmo. It's like they really took like, hey, every time we've heard all the cards, we've heard a complaint about how they they, like, you know, there's always a subset of complainers that will complain about a counter, any particular counter or card.
00:44:07
Speaker
It had to be both Shang-Chi and Shadow King.
00:44:13
Speaker
I don't think it had to be both. Valkyrie's still around. Oh, you're right. Valkyrie is going to be falk iss gonna be the tech queen of this high voltage, just saying.
00:44:25
Speaker
okay But there's also Rogue and Echo. like They haven't taken care of all of them. um Mobius? I don't know if you play Mobius on high voltage. Only three turns to effect. But...
00:44:39
Speaker
um yeah I agree, basically, that I'm glad they're doing this experiment that people have been clamoring for. like Let's get it out. And like high voltage is the mode to do it in. Not only is it short run, limited time game mode, but also winning doesn't matter.
00:44:54
Speaker
Like missions are like 95 to 99% of how you get your points. So who cares? And we don't have any information about how many missions you can skip and still get the card or anything.
00:45:09
Speaker
Actually, they told us. So two things that are great. Air Walker is the penultimate prize. So for that that's how it was when High Voltage launched. And then for a while,
00:45:20
Speaker
the the card was the grand prize. And that's like, I don't like that. I want it to be a cosmetic or a stretch goal at the top. I want, you know, the card to be pretty attainable. Air Walker is 12,000 volts.
00:45:32
Speaker
And they say players of all levels of investment can expect to unlock Air Walker by completing at least six missions a day. You get nine missions a day for free.
00:45:43
Speaker
So you can whiff one check-in. I think that's very reasonable. You know, hit two-thirds of the can still right? If you have, like, a day when you're just not playing much or whatever. you Yeah, 300 gold for a full refill.
00:45:57
Speaker
It's 100 per mission, basically. Seems very reasonable. I applaud this. I it's a direction I'm really happy with. I hope it's a trend and not just like, hey, some some limited time game modes are going to be generous and some are going to suck. Like, yeah, anyway, ah and a pretty good card, too.
00:46:17
Speaker
Oh, so great card. Fantastic card. I'm ah I'm very happy about it. um They also notably made two of them, two of the missions easier.
00:46:27
Speaker
So ah play 500 power is now play 450 power and play nine five cost cards is now eight. Now we're going to talk about this week's OTA. It was pretty eventful.
00:46:41
Speaker
I've got I've got a lot of to say about it. Just get into it. ah Mr. Fantastic First Steps, just last season's season pass card, goes from two two to three four And we could talk about it in the same breath. Surge goes from two two to 2-1.
00:47:01
Speaker
I like one of these changes a lot better than the other one. Search change seems very good, right? Fair, well-timed, ah inoffensive.
00:47:12
Speaker
ah The sort of thing I would have i would have asked for, honestly. ah Not as crazy about that Mr. Fantastic for his steps change, like five minutes after they stopped accepting real money for him.
00:47:25
Speaker
wow And also, to just coincidentally, five seconds after i um and Dropped 5,000 tokens on him. But mostly I like to get aggrieved on behalf of other people. So don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I got i got tokens. But what a load of horse shit.
00:47:44
Speaker
Yeah. ah ah That angle, definitely, right? Like I saw people saying, I just bought this card. I've been waiting for it to enter SnapPaks or enter Series 5.
00:47:55
Speaker
Dropped 5,000 to 6,000 tokens on it, and it's immediately... and To be fair to Second Dinner, they couldn't have seen this coming. There was no way to know that Mr. Fantastic First Steps and that Two Energy would be broken. No one could have told them that. Literally no one saw this coming.
00:48:12
Speaker
ah wait, no, everyone did, you morons. Oh, my God. but Why did you sell it that way in the first place? Why you charging people $10 for a card that you know that the game can't survive with for more than seven weeks?
00:48:25
Speaker
like What are you doing? Pathetic. They don't have a stable of past overpowered two-cost season pass cards to learn from. Surely, no.
00:48:39
Speaker
It was so needed, though, which is what it was what is interp underpinning everything you're saying. is that like It was too... I felt like I needed Every time I wasn't putting it in a deck felt bad to me, to be honest. so like I did that all month.
00:48:56
Speaker
You know, it needed nerfed. It was released too strong. And yeah, I don't know why they released it that way either. and If only someone could have told them. Right. It needed nerfed, which is the other side of this. Like, I don't think they should hold back balance just because people paid for a card.
00:49:13
Speaker
Like, you know, you don't give it you don't give it a plot armor because it's a paid for card. But... There has to be some other solution. And in other games, it's refunds.
00:49:26
Speaker
If a card gets worked within a certain window, and I just, I would be crafting a new season pass level card right now. If this were hearthstone. Now, actually I admit, I know that that's a thing, but I have no idea how it works. Do you keep the card?
00:49:41
Speaker
ah No, you can you can choose to get it refunded for dust. and I see. Okay, so it's an option. you can If you want to keep it, I usually did keep the cards because I was like, well, I i like having all the tools and things, you know?
00:49:53
Speaker
Yeah, I think that needs to happen so that... You don't piss everybody off. You don't lose customer faith. like We're talking about people who dropped their tokens, but also the card was for sale up until the last day of the season. like Somebody could have just spent $10 on it.
00:50:07
Speaker
Exactly. A week and a half later, two weeks later.
00:50:14
Speaker
don't know. I think a refund system kind of fixes this problem. It's just shameless. though i don't I don't know how they would do that to people like and not expect people to get ah justifiably angry at them.
00:50:28
Speaker
ah The change itself, like, there's there's one thing I like about it. I like differentiating Mr. Fantastic First Steps with from Surge further.
00:50:40
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I like that. The card's not dead. that i I should be clear about that. I don't think they killed the card or anything. think It's still fine. Going from two two to three four means that, like...
00:50:54
Speaker
But you don't want the closest point of comparison to be Fastos. ah That's... Fastos is dead. Do you ever run Fastos?
00:51:05
Speaker
It is much better than ha deck. yeah I like that it can stack up and stuff. It is... a like But, like, it's not that far from Fastos.
00:51:19
Speaker
If you don't draw everything Fastos hits, you will get all of the benefit from Mr. Fantastic. It's better. It's just too close. It's one per turn either way. But Mr. Fantastic is the stacking on, on you know, multiple times on the same card.
00:51:36
Speaker
or or Also, you can direct it more. Like, if there's a card that you really wanted to get hit, you dump the other cards out of your hand. Like, there's a little bit more hidden information to leverage all at once with Mr. Fantastic. So it is certainly ah still a more powerful card, but, like...
00:51:53
Speaker
That was still a very rough fall from grace. It's a massive nerf, though, because of the opportunity cost of yeah now you can't play something on three. um Notably, you can't play all the first steps cards together. The whole Fantastic Four, like you can't afford to play three threes and a five. and you could, but that's all you're doing.
00:52:15
Speaker
You know, like. um You're not taking advantage of their abilities if you do that. it's sloppy you know i think this still would have been an exciting card if they had released it this way because it's still pretty good maybe not if they released it this way five minutes after surge which uh was also a strange choice on their part but um you know like this could have been a season pass card the version that we have now i just think uh maybe they should have started with it this way
00:52:46
Speaker
I don't think it's good enough. like You don't think so? And maybe maybe because of how how good it was before, but ah three is so much harder as a setup card than a two.
00:52:58
Speaker
Yeah, but you know, like it's the it's the like everyone would have been like, oh, we put this in Surfer. Surfer! I really think that people would have accepted this version as the season pass card.
00:53:09
Speaker
i You might be right. Okay, and then end of turn, it's interesting they lumped Havoc and Ghost together as the end of turn changes, but Mr. Fantastic First Steps is also a nerf to the end of turn deck.
00:53:23
Speaker
So keep that in mind. um You know, they could have made Surge the one that goes to three and finagled Fantastic First Steps down to like 2-0 or something. ah Havoc goes from two zero plus 4 to 2-1 plus
00:53:39
Speaker
Ah, yes, the long-awaited Havoc nerf that we all knew he deserved all along. But I like this because as they called out themselves, they made it so he still gets the same energy the first time he triggers.
00:53:57
Speaker
so that means the way the non-end of turn decks like playing, you know, Havoc aren't necessarily punished. They're still looking to play Havoc usually on turn six, sometimes turn five.
00:54:10
Speaker
um So, I mean, I like that part of it. yeah Yeah, if you're playing him naked, but the other places where I saw him played was like Bast and Mr. Negative, and those are both. This is a nerf for both of those.
00:54:21
Speaker
Yeah, um that's true. and It's fine. He is a strong card in the places where he gets played, and he got a huge buff from from Invisible Woman. If you the Invisible Woman prodigy thing, he was ending up as 16 power.
00:54:37
Speaker
Like a 2-16 on the last turn. that's He could solo a lane. Yeah. Stinks because just like Sunspot last time we were talking about this, like this is a card that used to have its own identity and justify its own existence independent of Invisible Woman first steps. And as ah ah Scott pointed out in that Burning Questions article in which we were mentioned, you know, the ship has sailed. And like, I guess we live in the world of Invisible Woman first steps now. But um would this be an ideal time for me to drop my my spiel?
00:55:10
Speaker
Spiel away. All right. So here's what I think. I think the other end of turn cards should be playable without invisible woman first steps. That's the point of card games.
00:55:21
Speaker
It's not healthy for these cards to exist only as subordinate pieces of a narrow little synergy package. It's boring design to make them inseparable. Card games are cool because the individual pieces are modular. Yes, there should be good reasons to play some together.
00:55:33
Speaker
And yeah, that's that's great. But every time a previously independent card gets subsumed by a package, the game gets a little less open and free. And I'm not talking about free to play in the money sense, but freedom to play in the creative sense.
00:55:46
Speaker
There are plenty of games that reward a paint by numbers approach, always playing the matchy matchy stuff together. following the recipe the devs left on the counter for you. And to some extent, it is good that Snap can be like this.
00:55:57
Speaker
But I think the great thing about card games is that each card is an individual game piece, and that makes for meaningful decisions. Maybe flattening this dimension does not make the game more beautiful and exciting, but rather kind of ugly and boring.
00:56:10
Speaker
I see this issue as being somewhat related to the decision to release twice as many cards. Many of the new cards flooding in have struggled to find useful applications, failing both as independent game pieces and synergy add-ons.
00:56:20
Speaker
But others are so ham-fistedly overpowered that they cannot safely coexist with the cards that players already love. I think these problems are exacerbated by Second Dinner's inability to seriously test the firehose of new releases, not only for balance issues, but even simple bugs.
00:56:34
Speaker
I'm looking at you, immovable Frankie Ray! And I completely understand that they don't have time to worry about quality, because the most prolific Snap players don't have time to try this many cards either! Especially those of us who still enjoy the very well-designed old ones from back when Second Dinner mostly seemed to know what they were doing and, um, gave a shit.
00:56:52
Speaker
This is not to say that old cards should never cede ground to new cards. I understand that some amount of this is inevitable and intrinsic to the card game model, but I think their current approach is sloppy and unsustainable. they're They're doing drill baby drill.
00:57:05
Speaker
I was actually planning to leave it at that, but speaking of inevitability reminds me of a difficult topic that I think will come up more and more, and not just on our little snap podcast. These 10 card months only hasten the painful necessity of a rotation system.
00:57:17
Speaker
I understand why Second Dinner is very afraid to implement such a thing, and I suspect they will botch it terribly when they finally muster the gumption. But they just killed our one and only Vulture to allow for three... Two? Three cost Human Torches?
00:57:31
Speaker
but What's going on there? What what are what what are we doing here? This... Yeah. I don't know. Sorry. Spoilers. They killed Vulture. And I expected you to have lots to say about the move changes.
00:57:44
Speaker
i I think you're right on. Like, increasing the volume of cards, if they're not exploring new design space with them, they necessarily are going to make each card increasingly niche.
00:57:59
Speaker
And then it's like... I don't know exactly what the problem is because there's a way to make the cards more niche and make it so that they're plug andplay and play and swappable with each other. And there's another way where it's just like, OK, well, these are the like six most niche cards to put in this package and ditto with this six. And and then it's like when you're deck building, you're not deck building with cards, you're deck building with entire bundle or entire packages.
00:58:25
Speaker
I agree. It's a problem. It's just what we were talking about with Faistos and Mr. Fantastic. Because, like, how you going play? There's not really reason to play them together. They're both three cost cards that you want to play is early as possible. And the redundancy of them, it feels like you're just going to play Mr. Fantastic. So it's like if it was exploring new design space, as you said...
00:58:50
Speaker
But when it's like, but we already have Gwenpool. We don't need a bunch more Gwenpools type thing. And then it just becomes one is the best and that's just the one that it's going to get played. And everyone who doesn't have that is playing the deck with like the lesser option of that.
00:59:07
Speaker
And it's not the fun world I wanted where it's just like, oh, there's all these toys and tools to explore with that it's even hard to solve the game. It's more like they all just step on each other's toes all the time. And a lot of cards look not mattering.
00:59:23
Speaker
That's why they keep it in in the comic universes, especially to women. When women get too powerful, they get sent to space. Supergirl space. Go on a space journey. Captain Marvel, go on space voyage.
00:59:36
Speaker
You know? and We need some of that in the game, though. That's what rotation is. You send them to space. you know what Sometimes they get to come back in the core set. Maybe it's a new core set every six months. Maybe it's every year. ah sort of Depends how they want to do it. Hey, what hey what if brood was in but silver surfer wasn't and then maybe six months later silver surfer was in but brood wasn't and then maybe six months after that hey they're both back again it's throwback thursday and then six months later they're both gone you know like like that's that's like what you do if you want cards to matter you can't have all of them at once
01:00:21
Speaker
I admire the goal of no rotation, but it's not something that other games have solved. And I don't see Snap... Oh, you think releasing twice as many cards is ah maybe, hmm, that didn't solve it for them?
01:00:36
Speaker
That just hastens it, right? Exactly. It was a problem they would have faced in four years. If not, you know, like, it just hastens the problem. But I don't see them taking steps to avoid the problem, right? That would be like... No, they're running headlong into it.
01:00:50
Speaker
New archetypes or, like, avoiding explicit power creep. You know, Fastos versus Mr. Fantastic First Steps. I don't know. It's the same thing as Spotlight Variants. Like when I first heard it's Spotlight Variants, I'm like, oh, like a really special looking card, super unique.
01:01:09
Speaker
And at first it made me seem like that, but very quickly, it's just like literally anything they can find. They can't keep up. And they know of their own size.
01:01:22
Speaker
company, you know ah and if you know, I know the scaling up fast is hard, but, you know, we've had some time it's like the cards are releasing without animations.
01:01:35
Speaker
lot of times they're releasing broken and it's like, I was willing to look for the optimistic side. I'm like, well, this finally solved my problem of never being excited for a new card because I'm tired of playing mirrors.
01:01:49
Speaker
You know, I was willing to look for the things, like I said, it's like, maybe I won't feel like I need to have all the cards if I can't keep up playing. It'll feel like the um the beginning experience where you're just getting so many, like a new card. It doesn't matter. You don't have them because you're having fun. Just try each little new toy you get.
01:02:09
Speaker
And I was willing to look forward to that, but like they're not delivering on their own promises. You know, you have to know, you know, what you're capable of, right?
01:02:21
Speaker
So. Yeah, big agree. That's ah it's the exact same thing. Like they're not but they seem confident in their pipeline and they're proving that. it it No, like there's a Goldilocks problem, right? Like you have to get the cards just just right ish. They have to be in the zone.
01:02:36
Speaker
You know, if there's cards that are too bad, they're Silver Surfer First Steps. As an example, it's nobody's playing with it. And if it's too strong, then everybody's going to play with it and say Invisible Woman First Steps.
01:02:51
Speaker
And so it's like, I know that they're inevitably going to miss lower high. That's just like, that's unavoidable. A team of their size versus the player base, the player base is going to get so many more hours than they could possibly get in a year.
01:03:05
Speaker
In like 10 minutes, the player base gets more time than Second Dinner could get if they played the game constantly for a year. The player base is much smaller than it used to be. I think that the player base is not really covering all the all the ground that they used to do.
01:03:18
Speaker
ah that That is probably true to an extent. Stardust should not still be a secret, is all I'm saying. I don't know. Some cards in the past have taken a few months to catch on, say you Cannonball.
01:03:32
Speaker
Legion. Legion. Yeah, Pixie. I thought Legion took off pretty quick, didn't he? mean, a month at least, right? remember Legion being everywhere on release, but maybe... It might have taken a while for him to be recognized as a meta. In good card stacks, yeah. Yeah.
01:03:52
Speaker
um Anyway, like I recognize it's a tough problem, but it's my job as the player to say this is a problem, fix it, not to tell them how to fix it.
01:04:04
Speaker
like Or to say you promised this and you're not delivering on it Something needs to change. And like I really thought, you know, with like... The design team having such a good track record overall, they've certainly had misses, but it was like, you know, see it seemed like things were getting better.
01:04:21
Speaker
you know, there were there were fewer big misses where they were clearly too strong or clearly too weak. and They've had some good stretches. Now it's happening all the time. it's just like, okay, clearly you've grown the design team as far as we know, but not to the scale that can keep up with how many cards you're trying to pump out whoever used to be on the design team was doing a good job and i don't know if it's different people now or what but uh maybe more is not better i don't know yeah it's disappointing for sure uh ghost the other change uh affecting end of turn
01:04:58
Speaker
this is complete Complete rework. Goes from 3-5 to three four Ongoing, your cards are always revealed last. New ability on reveal. Remove the abilities from all end-of-turn cards here.
01:05:13
Speaker
I mean, nobody was playing her before, but that was an interesting design, and I liked having her around. ah This design, less interesting, also not really worth playing still.
01:05:26
Speaker
So... Well, like that there's a hard counter. i mean, it does put, it's like, hey, yeah like the end of turn deck has a hard counter now.
01:05:37
Speaker
And there's reason for it to put her in surfer decks, sometimes meta-dependent, you know? Potentially. i need I'm not sure I'm convinced that it's ever really worth including this one, but.
01:05:52
Speaker
I get the release valve argument, but end of turn is such a such a small packet, like such a small set of cards right now that are affected. Yeah, this doesn't hit Invisible Woman first steps.
01:06:04
Speaker
Cosmic Ghost Rider is like two or three weeks away. he would have been an answer to this. I think this, I literally think this is the worst change they've ever made in the history of the card game.
01:06:15
Speaker
like The worst reworking, the worst buffer nerf. It's so ham-fisted. the card is still not going to get played. i agree her old ability was at least interesting, and she hardly ever saw play. Sometimes in, like, Saratek, right?
01:06:30
Speaker
And I think I saw her, like, once or twice in a Thor's deck where you're, you know, throwing Prius so your Thors are safe from shot. Like, it's not that I never saw her. It's almost never.
01:06:42
Speaker
But I think the problem was she was kind of like, a Kind of like a Havoc or a Black Cat where she she just she needed some synergy to support her. It just turned out that she wasn't the type of card that like made sense, you know, where you're a deck that easily takes priority but really doesn't want it. That's just not something that you pay three energy for.
01:07:06
Speaker
And it's insane that she lost a point of power to go to the scene. Yeah, that part is very silly. That's insane to me. This could be 3-6 and still nobody would play it. It's a dog shit card.
01:07:18
Speaker
really is. I hate this change. um and And as much as I think Ghost Old Ability is cool, i would have been fine with her getting a rework to something else that would actually be un playable. I never played her.
01:07:30
Speaker
But the new text is so bad. Yeah. Yeah. And it's just like such a little gesture. Be like, look, we know the deck's a problem, but now you can stop it with the worst card ever.
01:07:43
Speaker
like Okay. What if she was instead end of turn effects don't... Activate. and I mean, activate. That is another good point.
01:07:55
Speaker
If they wanted an end of turn hate card, they did it wrong. She should be ongoing. End of turn effects don't happen here. Because now you have to timer perfectly and your opponent can play around Maybe not even just here. Global. Maybe learn bad stats and let it be global. All end of turn effects.
01:08:13
Speaker
I agree. Like, look what Luke Cage does that. I think that's what she should do. She should just hard stop all end of turn effects. Yeah. Those global ones are potent. Your Mobiuses, Cages, your Stardusts.
01:08:28
Speaker
Yeah, I think Cage limits design space, and I don't think that he's a forever card, right? He's just holding the space until they split him up. But...
01:08:38
Speaker
I don't look ghost ability could even be cooler if there were more end of turn cards, right? Like there's like your own. There's like three of them where you don't care if you remove it, right? Like Hydra Bob, Black Cat, Mr. Fantastic first steps on the last turn.
01:08:52
Speaker
There's a few where you don't care. And then there's a Tuma as the one that's like a clear drawback.
01:08:58
Speaker
she's she's not good enough for that. And she doesn't have enough support for that to be a cool thing. Like if she opened up this new deck where it was like Sauron for end of turn, that would be cool.
01:09:09
Speaker
And maybe that'll happen, but maybe I don't think out of any of our like data mind cards that that's coming, you know, there's the vision is an end of turn card. So, okay. Cool. Yeah. You got a hate card for next turns or next season, the season pass card. Like hit Anyway, i already said I hate it. It's really bad. It's really sloppy.
01:09:29
Speaker
Could have been cool in a different context, but we don't live in that world. And I'm surprised they didn't want to sell us a new card that does this thing. You know, like if if you got to put out 10 cards every month, maybe one of them could have been this.
01:09:46
Speaker
I mean, in a way, this is more evidence that balance and and monetization are not strongly influencing each other because she is going to hurt Cosmic Ghost Rider's sales.
01:09:58
Speaker
Well, I mean, Cosmic Ghost Rider is going to hurt Cosmic Ghost Rider's sales. I do already think he's a bad card, but, you know, he might have been sold to people who, like, really hate the end of turn deck. No, for sure. Like, they they are not always operating on, like, devious master plan levels of ah coordination. like they Which is good.
01:10:16
Speaker
Yeah, no, it is good. It is. And I don't know if they want to. I mean, I just know that they aren't. That goes back to the refunds should be a thing for cards that get nerfed within a certain timeline.
01:10:27
Speaker
Like... that That would disincentivize them from doing balance changes so in order to take advantage of monetization. OK, let's move on. Move is getting a bunch of changes.
01:10:42
Speaker
Ben, do you just want to take these? like I'm not going to have anything valuable to say on top of what you will have to say. ah We'll see. um the The first change on the list is Vulture to one two When this card moves, plus 3 power.
01:10:58
Speaker
um So the first time you move him, he's better than Human Torch. Everything after that is downhill. um I mean, I guess the second time he's equal to Human Torch, if you didn't do anything special to Human Torch. Yeah.
01:11:11
Speaker
And this is old Human Torch I'm talking about, not new Human Torch. ah This is absolutely... ah oh my gosh. I i was i was talking with with people like Thursday about this yesterday, and everybody's pretty upset about this. um Vulture had a very cool identity as a three, three that gained plus six power.
01:11:35
Speaker
You could move them onto Fisk tower and he, he would start scat singing. So what by miles Davis? Cause like, he's still too ahead. If you move them onto Fisk tower, he does not give a shit.
01:11:46
Speaker
Um, so it's really disappointing to see him become an unplayable one drop because he was one of my very favorite cards in the game and that really sucks and why did they move vulture down to one two oh so they could move human torch up to three three um And he still doubles his power when he moves. He still does the same thing, Human Torch. It's just they just sold us a three cost Human Torch first steps. And I don't know why they're trying to steal his thunder with this one who now does invite people who are, you know if you're interested in doing this.
01:12:20
Speaker
Throw him in a deck with Zorn and ah Topaz, maybe Hercules if you're feeling real greedy. ah yeah like There are new things to do with this Human Torch, and that's great, but this isn't Vulture. This doesn't do what Vulture did. Vulture did a cool thing, and ah classic move, like Heimdall decks want the thing that Vulture did.
01:12:41
Speaker
They want to move that card once, maybe twice at the end. How?
01:12:47
Speaker
This is just goofy as hell. i I almost feel like i should I should have prepared better notes for this. I should just quote some shit that Thursday said because it's hard as hell. I can recite some things I've seen other people say.
01:13:04
Speaker
You've kind of touched on it, but it's like...
01:13:09
Speaker
The new three cost Human Torch, like he's viable. He lets you do something, but it's a new thing. It's a greedier thing. It's different than what old Human Torch or old Vulture did.
01:13:22
Speaker
And, like, they really, really hurt that move deck. And I know, like, you didn't, as far as I know, you did' you you didn't even play Human Torch. I did not even play old Human Torch. they They act like move synergy is just Human Torch, and that is not even the case. Like, in the in their justification, they seemed to, wow.
01:13:39
Speaker
This... This really bothers me. Also, hey, even aside from mechanics and things, I like Vulture. I love minor Spider-Man villains.
01:13:50
Speaker
I love that I get to play Vulture and Kraven all the time in the same deck and stuff. And it just sucks that I'm not allowed to play Vulture anymore, but they're giving me two different three-cost human torches to fiddle around with if I cared to do such a thing, which I don't.
01:14:08
Speaker
And like, why kill Vulture just to make more boring Human Torch stuff happen? Like, and don't they want people to pay more attention to Human Torch first steps with his cable knit sweater? Like, isn't that the version they think we're supposed to care about in 2025?
01:14:26
Speaker
Not the 2022 one? Like, I don't, nothing about this makes sense, except that they're clearly worried about Sparky ah in Robots Means Activate. So... ah Good future proofing, guys.
01:14:41
Speaker
Genius game design. i understand their argument that doubling one cost Human Torch was a problem. Yeah, I totally get so it. They should have made him cost four. I get that. Absolutely. But I don't understand why you have to kill Vulture and why you have to force a one-cost scale. Like, make it a different card, the one-cost move scaler. Because this plus three business is not good. it's like it It doesn't... Like, for a scaler, it doesn't really scale.
01:15:09
Speaker
It's... ah
01:15:11
Speaker
ah I think you've said before, though, that Vulture should be nerfed. Would you just do one? Usually I When I've said that Vulture should be nerfed, it has mostly been as a joke.
01:15:24
Speaker
But also as kind of like one those things. Plus six very strong.
Card Changes Impact & Community Feedback
01:15:28
Speaker
No, it is very strong. and that's I usually say it to make people get around to the conclusion of, oh, plus six is pretty strong, right? I don't actually like... like i For the record, I think the first time I said it, it was only plus five. Okay.
01:15:44
Speaker
okay But... Yeah, vulture is very so Vulture was just right. Vulture was on some Goldilocks shit. um This is very disappointing to me as a person who likes playing that card.
01:15:57
Speaker
I hope we see another ah move scaler. basically come back with vulture's old stats and text like well like you can have two different types of projects you can have the one character yeah okay in in the spider-man homecoming revert vulture and add a new one like i don't care how they do it but it would be like i think that there's room for both three cost vulture and three cost torch i think there's room for both of them to exist perhaps one of them is greenier does it does three Does it have to be three cost torch? I really like four cost torch because like that way it's not the same cost as the other human torch.
01:16:33
Speaker
I don't know. i just I think it's very silly that, like you know at least with Spider-Man, are we playing the two-cost Spider-Man or the four-cost Spider-Man? Or the one-cost Spider-Man who is also a four-cost Spider-Man?
01:16:47
Speaker
like I think it's more interesting to have those kinds of decisions, especially for people who like to build themy decks, because I know that like people like the Fantastic Four, and it just sucks that they all cost three.
01:17:00
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Topaz and Doctor Strange? Topaz and Doctor Strange, completely inoffensive changes. Topaz is a 3-5 that still has kind of a clunky ability, but a cool one.
01:17:13
Speaker
um And Doctor Strange still has a great ability, and it's fine that he's 2-4 because it is a tricky ability. you know It doesn't play itself, and it does I think it does merit a slightly above-rate stat line.
01:17:31
Speaker
Yeah, joins a couple other two-cost cards that are like, know, we're making two full of the new baseline. Yeah. um Well, and then also Domino and Invisible. room now um I'm surprised you don't you're not more excited about Topaz.
01:17:46
Speaker
Oh, I am excited about Topaz. I just like... three with Upside. Yeah. she That's your jam. Oh, this is good. I like it and stuff. It's just like it's hard to get excited about it when they kill vultures. So like what what are we doing with Topaz now?
01:18:03
Speaker
Just Human Torch stuff and that just makes me more upset too. So I don't know. I'm like this is this is positive. Like I am glad for the Topaz change. Yeah. I'm not going to throw him a parade for it.
01:18:15
Speaker
I'm sorry about move your pet deck taking a huge hit. i mean, I'm just going to stick to my screaming silky stuff. Picturing you laying in your bed listening to, like, a sad records.
01:18:31
Speaker
There's a rain on the window. reminds of my ex. Ben's old move deck. Okay. It's tragic. but I'm excited for the next one.
01:18:42
Speaker
You take it. Tiger spirit. Okay. All it is is that the white tiger, the tiger is getting an additional power and going to nine. But I've always had a soft spot for white tiger.
01:18:55
Speaker
One, she's often a backup in Nomura decks. um For, you know, Wong shenanigans, Odin shenanigans. I love... She's one that I always love pairing with, like, Patriot in sneaky ways. Because I forget if Patriot is on is currently, like, you know, in the ins or outs with Ravonna.
01:19:16
Speaker
I keep, like, adjusting numbers. But, like, you know, there's been fun stuff there for me. um Just other... Like, because it's such a weird ability. Because she's a 5'1", so you could, like...
01:19:29
Speaker
Cersei, there's so many little ways that she can fit in, you know. Some quirky little decks. so um So, huzzah! It's still, you know, not hitting the level where, like, Shang-Chi needs to get involved, you know? You're just sneaking right under that radar with it.
01:19:49
Speaker
um But, you know, it makes it better. And the card that I like to play, and I have the Savage Lands variant, right? which is a really sweet variant. I have an ink on it now. um It was from a gold bundle like very early on. So I feel like you know probably not everyone has it. I always feel really classy when I put it out. i'm like, emote it.
01:20:09
Speaker
Hard eyes it. I demand it. um So yeah. Yay for White Tiger. It's a good change. It makes sense. like It's keeping up with Power Creep. I just...
01:20:21
Speaker
I feel like they've got a stack of these and I wish that they were a little bit more aggressive of getting through them instead of just like sprinkling them in as they need to, to you know, fill out the OTA. Like let's accelerate this process, you know? um Terax, three, three to three, four.
01:20:42
Speaker
and you know, is a good card for them to be cautious with. yeah This PowerPoint makes him clearly better than Rock Slide. I don't know why they did it. So, you know, they talk about like they need more data before they can make changes like this We've run into this before.
01:20:58
Speaker
Rock Slide is a four cost. I know. No, I know that. But I think the one point of power is enough that Terrax is just the better card now. All right. Because there was a previous episode when I just let you know.
01:21:09
Speaker
I learned my lesson. i appreciate you. Okay. Okay. Before it was more of a, you know... but when it was yeah this is that now Now that i now that i understand what you're saying when you say that this is better than Rock Slide. I fully know Rock Slide is a four-cost card, and i think Terax is clearly just better now.
01:21:28
Speaker
um isn't automatically a bad thing but like this is the kind of not super fun deck that you like it's fine for it to be viable but let's not make it like a let's not make it a big meta presence you know also i talk all the time about these like plus ones that don't matter this is a plus one that really does matter because it makes it more likely that you're going to win that lane so like you're just going to be shuffling more rocks with terrax than you were last week you know And yeah they want to be careful with that. I think Shuffling Rocks is, as you mentioned, pretty unfun for the person drawing them.
01:22:04
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just, they really have enough data to do it already. It's been a week. I don't know what they were thinking. um It's inconsistent with past things they've told us.
01:22:17
Speaker
Yep. On to our side quests. First up, we're going to do some listener questions. Let's get into it. ah we'll We'll go through these as fast or as slow as we feel like.
01:22:31
Speaker
ah We appreciate all of you who submitted questions. OK, first up, a bunch from Mod Supreme Models who ran our Magic Magic game for us. eyes I'm going to rotate our order.
01:22:46
Speaker
Or did you just speak up when you want to. What feels right to you?
01:22:52
Speaker
We don't know. Strong opinions. Okay. Do y'all hope to affect Snap in any way? If so, how? ah Because we've already admitted this is a self-indulgent episode. I'll go ahead and say, like, we have affected Snap in at least some ways.
01:23:09
Speaker
They said Splitsmiths in official... um announcements before like official what am i trying to say messaging senselessness so like you know we've we've uh affected that i've heard other people say twosin um
01:23:27
Speaker
those are small ways um Obviously, like sitting on the Splitsmas thing, like I have affected Snap. I discovered a giant bug with the splitting system. And they have compensated us for several months after that.
01:23:41
Speaker
um And I've been critical of other things before. And I try to give lots of feedback to the devs in creator space that I have access to as part of the creator program. I think it's literally the best part of being in the creator program.
01:23:54
Speaker
um Yeah. Oh, go ahead. Continue. it agrees Oh, okay, fine. All right. Well, I am not in the creator program and I don't think I don't, if I have the the power to affect snap in any way, I think it is probably more so by ah talking to the players and reminding the players what they deserve.
01:24:21
Speaker
um That's, that's what I think. I don't know that that sounds silly, but I just want to remind people that they've They've paid a lot of money for this and they deserve for it to be good.
01:24:34
Speaker
or And even the people who haven't paid a lot of money, they've put in a lot of time and kept the player count where it needs to be so that everyone who has put in money, like the this game is not the product only of the developers. It is also like the the fruits of your labor, dear player.
01:24:52
Speaker
um And you deserve for it to be good. And I like to... Make sure everyone doesn't forget because it's easy to.
01:25:06
Speaker
i guess we sorted in descending order. Because I'm the most popular. I'm like, ah, saw something. No, I don't really think so. I don't think second dinner knows who I am. I don't think most people know what's popular.
01:25:21
Speaker
Oh, man, I don't really expect to have much influence in the Snap space. I think mostly. So was actually nice to hear Lauren talk about, like, oh, yeah, you know, in some small ways, we've made made some impacts. And of course, Lauren, of all of us, as you know, the Splitsmiths, Santa, and, you know, Math Oracle, Snap Oracle, has had great influence and and, you know, gifted us all with months of
Reflections on Growth, Change, and Personal Impact
01:25:52
Speaker
splits. So... Yeah.
01:25:54
Speaker
I answered how I have affected Snap, and I would like to spend just a second saying about how I'd like to continue affecting it. And I... It's kind of like what Ben said. Like, know, I'm doing, like... analytic articles on the economy, it's holding Second Dinner accountable. And I want people to like the systems that are good and to be critical of the systems that are bad. Like, it's a system we love.
01:26:15
Speaker
I'm not here to tear down Second Dinner or Marvel Snap. If we didn't like this game, we wouldn't be making this podcast. But it doesn't mean that we just take whatever they give us, right? um So... i I hope to continue doing that, you know, as they change the economy and stuff like that is to be one of the forces that can mathematically back up if a system is good or bad and to help give power to people's voices as they...
01:26:40
Speaker
push back or celebrate what what uh second dinner is doing um and mostly i just want you know i want to be a positive force in the community to remind people is a game that we love and to be kind to each other and yeah okay is it's the cleanest way to and to end a an answer is and yeah uh second question if snap went away what would you do the podcast about instead
01:27:10
Speaker
Oh, any old thing with with you two? and I'd talk about any any silly topic. Just keep doing secret homework. I mean, like I happen to know a lot about games. That's sort of an area of expertise.
01:27:22
Speaker
I like talking about things I ah know about. That's my preference. But I'll do bullshit about anything if if need be.
01:27:32
Speaker
I feel like we would either try probably things like Netflix games free-to-play games, you know, that we could we could do a new one each week or maybe multi-series if it was longer one, and then we'd talk because that's it as you know As you've said before, we just like getting together talk. So would have to be something like that or maybe like general geek ah news topics of the week that we felt interesting, that kind of thing probably, right?
01:28:00
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. I would do any of that with y'all. Yeah, I would also do like... um like a movie book club type thing. I know there's quite saturated space in podcasting, but yeah I think it would have to be something like that, that we all have like, it's a classic because it works ah strong mutual interest and interesting things to say about it. Right. Like there's plenty of things I'm interested in what Rhi has to say about comics, but I don't have a lot to add. I would have to really up how much time I spend reading them to, for that to be useful to a listener. Such a bonus to be honest with
01:28:36
Speaker
um ah to read more comics so that we can talk about comics. All right. thanks Look, I like what I've read. I'm just, I'm a slow reader. And anyway, um, next question.
01:28:53
Speaker
If you could force everyone in the world to internalize one lesson, what would it be? somehow missed this one. You don't have to answer every question.
01:29:03
Speaker
i have an answer. It's from Kurt Vonnegut. um And I would give this answer anyway. But it's it's basically like, God damn it, you've got to be kind. That's like the whole thing. like i think ah we're all more similar than we are different. And we're very quick to forget that. And that is what I want to burn into people's minds. And it would make a huge difference.
01:29:26
Speaker
ah Well, that's a great one. ah For me, when I saw this, I thought about how, like, as I mentioned earlier, on my new project, coming to this after, like, kind of two successive burnouts and stuff, and I was dealing with a lot of, like, physical and mental health stuff, and it was so hard for because I was used to being this person that could give as much as was being taken from me. you know, i was just...
01:29:56
Speaker
I had a lot to give and to go from someone that was then struggling to just like be that person that could do the work of 20 developers all the time. And when I knew it was in me. And to bring it back to my own like you know a center of kindness and heart, the Steven Universe movie.
01:30:17
Speaker
um Steven's moment, he kind of, I realized this kind of like what I've been dealing with, where he's like lost some of his powers. They aren't working for them and he can't get them back. He's struggling. He's like, why can't I just what I used to be able to do so effortlessly, you know? And this moment he realized he forgot his very his very first superpower. And that's the power, and that's the power of humans.
01:30:44
Speaker
particularly compared to like gems in this universe, to change. Right. And it's like, I wish everyone could realize the fact that like you can change and change is good. Right. You know, um and it's hard for me. It's hard for me to say I am still using the same.
01:31:03
Speaker
um air freshener I got from ThinkGeek before it dissolved to like the greed of capitalism ah ah of like Link. For like a decade, it's so faded out. It looks like a ghost Link now. so like you know Not all of us ah easily accept change, but we all have the power to change. i wish like people would remember but that they can change and that other people can change. You just have to want to. Hmm.
01:31:30
Speaker
Change your mind. It's good sometimes when you get new information. Absolutely. i i wish I could. i i like I like kindness. I'd like to promote some kindness.
01:31:43
Speaker
I'd like to promote
Superpowers & Comic Book Favorites
01:31:44
Speaker
ah awareness of the concept of enough. um I'd like to, you know,
01:31:57
Speaker
it is possible to like try to Yeah, to change change is good. And like if you see a way you could be better, fucking pull the trig, baby. Go for it.
01:32:09
Speaker
um I think you should not feel trapped by you have been. And I just, to you know, if you just want to like stop doing stupid stuff, stop doing stupid stuff. Or if you want to stop, you know,
01:32:28
Speaker
Participating in cruelty, just stop participating in cruelty. Just ah if if you identify a way to be better, just reach for it.
01:32:40
Speaker
It might not always be easy or happen all at once, but just go for it.
01:32:48
Speaker
I really resonate with what you two said. As somebody who left the religion I was raised in when I was 23 and left the gender I was raised in when I was 30. Yeah. ah yeah ah But also, it's a slow process.
01:33:03
Speaker
um Growth, healing, etc. Which Marvel characters' powers and responsibilities would you take on? You can't choose no one. Okay, easy. I didn't think about it too hard. I'm like, probably Gwenpool, because then I just get to be silly and make meta references all the time and do ridiculous stuff.
01:33:25
Speaker
um i haven't even read a ton of gwenpool but it's like want to summon random silly meta stuff um and okay recently i saw believe it or not a panel i didn't see in the comic itself but like somewhere online and it was okay i think it was from a gwenpool comic some character just like oh fuck i'm in a bendis dialogue i'm like ah It's such clever joke if you were like a huge comics reader because Ben is just really known for his dialogue style.
01:33:57
Speaker
Anyway, so that's my answer.
01:34:04
Speaker
i don't know. I don't know about all these responsibilities. That's what said. Take a Bitsy character.
01:34:12
Speaker
i mean, don't know. Like, if I had to have...
01:34:21
Speaker
which Which characters are not responsible for very many things? I'm i'm really thinking about this. I'm like, I don't know. like Obviously, like the good the good powers are like teleportation and super speed. Those are the good powers, right? But if you had them, you would have a responsibility. There's a saying. Dude, nobody can sacrifice more than Flash, to be honest. but The speedsters are always the one to pay.
01:34:47
Speaker
It's true. but it is the best power to have. i don't know.
01:34:54
Speaker
I guess it would be cool to like be able to heal people or something. i think I would probably, I'd be able to live with that responsibility if I could do something that good, you know? Yeah. I don't know.
01:35:09
Speaker
My first thought was like Great Lakes Avengers, somebody who doesn't really have a lot of responsibility. And I would take like a D-tier power, if that's what it meant.
01:35:20
Speaker
um I mean, those guys have kind of cool powers, even though they're niche and and weird. um Yeah, like Squirrel Girl, totally. um i will take communication with squirrels.
01:35:31
Speaker
um We're all such adults. We're like, okay, who's got the least responsibility? Because i just really can't handle more. Yeah, exactly. I would love to make the world a better place, but... yeah Coffee first? I would break if I had um a lot of responsibility. a lot more than I already have. know.
01:35:55
Speaker
I know. oh Okay. flip That cheery note. Mandatory burnout gave us two questions. You get to bring one character from DC Comics into Marvel Snap.
01:36:08
Speaker
You don't have to design the card. I just want to hear what your all specific interests might go with the question. Vertigo counts. No Sandman, though. That guy's a snooze. um My answer is going to be very um basic, but I'm going to say Harley Quinn.
01:36:23
Speaker
And only because of the the newest cartoon, and she's a blast. I love that show. That show's great. i adore her. Before that, I probably would have picked one of the Teen Titans, Starfire or Raven.
01:36:37
Speaker
I zeroed in on the vertigo of it all. and I was like, oh, you know what would be fun? Fables characters. I love, because like, okay, fairytale reimaginings are fun and comics are the perfect place for them because you want them to be visual. You know what i mean? You want to see the designs of them and, um which is what, sorry. I'm unfamiliar with Fables by but Bill Willingham. Please let me be getting that correct. I've had to think of it.
01:37:05
Speaker
Yeah, they're in a while. It's just a it retelling of, like, you know, fairy tale land, like, kind of stuck inside modern land. There's shenanigans. And the big hero is, like, ah what? It's been a long time since there was Bigsby.
01:37:19
Speaker
The wolf is the first person that follows several people. And Telltale Games, before it they were lost to the Creed of
01:37:30
Speaker
They had other reasons. I shouldn't just constantly pull out the same refrain. Okay. um their first game in their like little series that they later got known for like walking dead the cheeser i'm sure that they will remember that you know line um was ah was fables and you were playing bigsby the like big bad wolf detective and you know i'm a sucker for detective stuff so i love that is my favorite still of the telltale games even though they like developed some things later some good stuff it's
01:38:03
Speaker
let's bring some fun fairy tale reimagining into uh it's not i don't know if i was gonna bring something from vertigo
01:38:14
Speaker
don't know i'd probably that's okay i i mean like you know i i like i like the i've read some some dc things you know Read some Justice Leagues and stuff. some Some various Batmans, some Birds of Prey, some Outsiders, you know, these these things.
01:38:35
Speaker
um Mostly around the early 2000s. Very much the era of spider lore from 2004. I like um like Booster Gold, alright.
01:38:46
Speaker
Got a little a little robot buddy called Skeets. That shit's hilarious. Um... I don't know. but's ah Guy Gardner's all right.
01:38:58
Speaker
um You know, i like I like the characters that can't be taken that seriously. ah like how Kilowog calls people poosers.
01:39:11
Speaker
ah Yeah. I don't know. You know, they're they're fine. I i do... i I do have a Marvel preference. you know You know who I would bring to Snap? I would bring back DC Dual Force.
01:39:26
Speaker
That was a fine card game that, ah I don't know, I miss um just checking in, playing some dailies and stuff.
01:39:36
Speaker
I don't know. That's not really in the purview of the question, but yeah.
01:39:43
Speaker
Okay. Do you have a favorite comics panel, page layout, full page or two page spread? I'll try to put them in the YouTube without messing up the overlay like I did last episode. Sorry.
01:39:59
Speaker
Okay, so I will go – when I looked at this, this made me think, because what have I done recently? And it made me sad, because I used to, when I was streaming for a while and for a long time, when I was reading comics, I would start screenshotting, like, funny jokes that were made, really epic, like, panels and stuff, and, like, share them in, you my various discords and stuff. And I stopped doing that because I had to, like, focus in.
01:40:24
Speaker
um and work. But I really started looking back to be like, okay, let me just pick a recent one because don't ask me to pick an alt, right? The analysis paralysis involved.
01:40:40
Speaker
So I was like, I'll just pick a recent one. But then I realized what a lot of my recent ones were since I hadn't been sharing them anymore is that for many years i have had an album of ah photos on my phone. and it's called Nerdy Fashion and Spawn. It's like whenever I found an outfit I think is really cool. And I'm like, I want to light cosplay that outfit.
01:41:01
Speaker
At some point, I save it into an album and have a whole ton of pictures of just like and just like that. And then I'll get different. Sometimes I'm like, oh, that shows a different shot of it. So that picture.
01:41:14
Speaker
And it's gotten me to the point where sometimes I'm like, storyline mediocre. But like, hmm, I want that one dress. Okay, anyway, so that's what that was what I want to share. I can definitely dump a bunch of those in the discord or whatever that you know me and timeout comics.
01:41:37
Speaker
I can take off if you want more time to think about it.
01:41:42
Speaker
I had two things come to mind immediately. Maybe three. One is just a generic concept. I love like a Where's Waldo page where it's like a big zoom out and there's tons of shit happening.
01:41:55
Speaker
i don't mean Where's Waldo specifically, but like a page like that, right? Like Spider-Verse there's like so many characters and you get to see what all the characters are doing and how they're interacting with each other. And it's really cute. That's just fun. um The other things I thought of were um Zoe Thorogood has It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth. And she has this absolutely stunning page where...
01:42:14
Speaker
It's all black and she's in the foreground. ah The camera's behind her and she's like dark gray. And then it's just the face of this like monster that represents her depression. And it's bright white.
01:42:25
Speaker
It's beautiful um and stunning. He turned the page and it's in your face. And then the other thing I thought of was on a sunbeam, which is this really lovely graphic novel. That's like people in space who are restoring an old world.
01:42:42
Speaker
city planet thing. Um, and it just has the most interesting, like architecture, but it's like old and ruined architecture. It's, uh, it's like fantasy sci-fi.
01:42:56
Speaker
It's just really lovely and it has beautiful spreads of, of this environment. Hmm. Well, I didn't really have an answer that sprang to mind. So I grabbed the nearest comic book.
01:43:10
Speaker
Um, It's a good one. Here, it's a confrontation between Kitty Pryde and a Wolverine who is not himself. He is Death, the Horseman of Apocalypse. And, know, they're scrapping it up.
01:43:30
Speaker
ah You know. ah Cool. It's pretty good. Great. Thank you. His claws are very sharp, but she's very intangible. So not a lot of, not you know, tough to land a hit.
01:43:47
Speaker
Yeah. But it shows the power of comics, right? And like why they don't people still think like, oh, because it's pictures that will just translate easily to me movies. And it's like, well, have you read Alan Miller?
01:44:02
Speaker
No, it's like because Look how they utilize. It's like the idea, right? The whole concept of the two, you know, antagonists there and, you know, their conflict laid out in the middle, right? You can do or how Lauren talked about when you turn the page, right? The impact of that panel being a bit of a surprise for you when planned out.
01:44:25
Speaker
The best part. comic books, which is usually then a combination of a great, you know, writer and artist working together and utilize the panel, right? If you ever, if you're ever interested in looking at the study of the theory of comics, I would recommend there's a series called um Understanding Comics by Scott something.
01:44:47
Speaker
The name isn't coming to me, but we can put in the show notes or whatever I find out later. And um ah he he talks about all these, like, you know, like even the power of the gutter and just like, if you're interested in like film theory style stuff applied to comics, you've either already read this or maybe you find it interesting.
01:45:07
Speaker
And it's of course, it is of course a graphic novel. I've read a lot of it and it is phenomenal. There's a reason that it's like go-to thing that people refer to, to learn comics.
01:45:21
Speaker
um Joe from Snap Decisions. We already had one of his questions, but there are more. Rhi, what was the first comic book you remember reading? Okay, so when I was very little, um my mom used to shop from garage sales, and that's where, like, all my toys came from. Usually just, like, random stuff. It's why I was, like, really into Ghostbusters, but I'd never seen Ghostbusters, like, my whole childhood.
01:45:47
Speaker
And they're like, would sometimes get like random comics. Sometimes they were from old library sales. So they ah they'd have like all the library stickers on them and stuff.
01:45:58
Speaker
Be like Sonic the Hedgehog and stuff. But this, I wanted to be honest. So it's probably that the first one that I can actually remember is a Sonic the Hedgehog. And I don't even like super remember what happens in it. but I remember it existing and I'm like, Sonic's so cool.
01:46:13
Speaker
Cause also I never had a Sega. So like I have a love for Sonic that doesn't come from playing the games. Okay. But from the television show and then in comics, but when, so all of this, I always thought comics were called also from the old Spider-Man animated show, the very old one. So I had a love for comics characters. So when I was 16,
01:46:34
Speaker
And I don't know why. I didn't know anyone else that read comics. I didn't have, like, I wasn't into comic stuff on the internet. I just thought comics were cool.
01:46:46
Speaker
And when I was, ah like, 16 and I could drive, I drove to the town over. And I, like, word pigtails, like, constantly all this time. I walk into the shop and the guy is like, how did you get here?
01:47:00
Speaker
Small child. And i'm like, I am 16. I can drive. And pulled... is what I pulled off the shelves. One was, like, just some, like, random comic for sale called Aphrodite Nine about a green-haired robot assassin. and i mean, you know, see the interest.
01:47:19
Speaker
um It's one of those where, like, her memory gets erased. And, mean, clearly the people ah who wrote her may have some respect for it, but also would like to be intimate with her, clearly.
01:47:33
Speaker
But it's just like I have a soft spot for that ah that I picked up. The one that really stuck with me that I picked up that day was, of course, also Ben's favorite Ultimate Spider-Man. It's such a great run. There's so many of us of a certain, you know, generational era that love the Ultimate Spider-Man series by Brian Michael Bendis.
01:47:55
Speaker
And I ended up getting that all. i so I have it all in like graphics in my basement. I haven't read it for so long. I should pick it up again.
01:48:04
Speaker
Sorry, that's a very long answer. Hey, no, you're fine. Ben, favorite Heroclix team or figure? Well, a lot of good ones. um I was thinking about when they when they moved Vulture down to one cost, I was like, well, the cheapest version of Vulture was the best one in HeroClix. Rookie Vulture cost 15 points. It was the cheapest flying figure in the ah the first HeroClix set. And flyers functioned basically as taxis to bring your your stuff up that would actually do the damage. So you'd like...
01:48:38
Speaker
you know, you'd have some sort of heavy hitting character. You'd like, sure. You had Cyclops who was going to optic blast somebody, but you'd need to like fly him up with Vulture or after they changed the rules after the first set, you would need to move them up with telekinesis. So you could use Jean Grey or perhaps some Android armor.
01:48:57
Speaker
um so rookie Vulture is pretty cool. Also liked, uh, destiny. Rookie destiny was 20 points. She had probability control, cheapest probability control figure. um Also, there was feat card called In Contact with Oracle. This was a DC Heroclix thing. Feat cards were they's sort of like you know how astral projection is a freestanding skill that's horse shit.
01:49:22
Speaker
ah This was much the same in Heroclix. You would assign feat cards to figures, and they would give them significance. stuff than they had ordinarily and in contact with oracle was uh you could it was just 10 points per figure on your team that you wanted to basically like put in contact with oracle and you know she'd be your guy in the chair um in the in the parlance of the the spider-man movie and um you know she could move any of your numbers up by one so if you wanted to do more damage or if you wanted to
01:49:54
Speaker
Make it so ah you needed one lower number to hit somebody. That's ah pretty significant. you know like The difference between needing to roll a 7 and needing to roll 8 is pretty pretty significant.
01:50:08
Speaker
um also ah I This is funny because I don't really ah play a lot of Quicksilver in Marvel Snap, but I sure did play a lot of Quicksilver in Heroclix. I don't play a lot of Deadpool in Marvel Snap.
01:50:20
Speaker
played a lot of Deadpool in Heroclix. I enjoyed having a whole team of Deadpools. There was a feat card called Automatic Regeneration that let you use your regeneration ability without spending an action if it was showing on your dial, and that was pretty good.
01:50:36
Speaker
ah So the the plan with that was to basically just whatever happened, you would have some Deadpools alive. Oh, and one or two of them would also have the Lazarus Pit feat card. i was going I was getting crazy with the Cheez Whiz on feat cards.
01:50:51
Speaker
And ah you know people didn't like them very much, and I understand why. And I think i think those people were right. Feet cards were kind of garbage. And, ah you know, but...
01:51:01
Speaker
We all learn. And I got this way by being different ways before that. So, um yeah, yeah i but i liked playing a bunch of experienced quicksilvers together, playing a bunch of Deadpools together, experienced quicksilver is the one that had the Avengers team ability. you know, a rookie quicksilver would have had the brotherhood team ability, which is the same thing as the Avengers team ability, but only the Avengers team ability would qualify you for the Thunderbolts feed card, which let you pick a different, better team ability.
01:51:31
Speaker
So, uh, also I had a a magazine promotional, uh, Magneto that was the, the Zorn Magneto. Um, There was a Zoran Heroclix figure in the regular set, but if you got Inquest magazine and mailed in a thing and however much money or whatever the thing was, they would send you a very special promotional figure. And that Zoran was flying around and doing powerful ranged attacks and stuff.
01:51:59
Speaker
these are These are some good Heroclixes. Awesome. ah For me, favorite Nintendo system and game or game series?
01:52:10
Speaker
It's going to be GameCube. like We had an original Game Boy in our in our house, and then N64 was the first like console that was in our house, but it was it was my dad's. like They were very clear about that so that they could manage it.
01:52:24
Speaker
GameCube is one that I bought with my money. I saved it up for $2. mostly just like birthdays and stuff like that a little bit of chores but it felt like a lot of effort and a lot of like self-control and of course i was at an age where i could play a shit ton of video games so gamecube is the one that is the most like uh i feel the most nostalgic for and attached to even though i played tons of like n nes and super nintendo at people's houses um and then later an emulator My favorite series is Smash Brothers. I've played absolute shit tons of it from n sixty four to Nintendo Switch. Every single one hundreds of hours.
01:53:01
Speaker
It's um the main way that I bonded with my brother growing up. He's 11 years younger than me. So it's like you know that that's a gap to cover, especially like you know now that we're like... 20 something and 30 something is fine. But back when it was like four and 15, harder to bond. But we we just we played Mario Kart and Smash Brothers and stuff. And I've probably talked about it before. Nowadays, he kicks my ass, but still super fun.
01:53:28
Speaker
ah I don't know. Something absolutely magical about those original Smash 64 commercials where they're dressed up in like mascot uniforms and it's like cheery music as all sudden Donkey Kong is wailing on Pikachu and it's just like, what is happening? Absolutely mind-blowing as a kid.
01:53:45
Speaker
and I mean, I was i was like keeping up with Smash Bros. announcements on a daily basis and in college. This was when ah the Wii version Brawl was about to come out. And like I remember absolutely losing my mind when Sonic and Snake were announced, the first third-party characters.
01:53:59
Speaker
Now we have like 10 of them. um And then the reveal of Smash Bros. Ultimate, where every single character who had ever been in the series is coming back in the same game. Every this year! And Toon Link? Are you kidding me? Both of them?
01:54:13
Speaker
Yeah. It's just absolutely mind-blowing. It's one of the only things in video games that's still just like, I will follow whatever the next Smash Bros. announcement is for Switch 2. I will be following that game rabidly.
01:54:27
Speaker
i shouldn't say it's the only game like that because I follow Snap very aggressively. but Smash is just absolutely magical to me. I love that game. ah Even if I'm not as good at I used be,
01:54:39
Speaker
as good at it as i used to be Um, cause I don't, you don't just don't have as much time to play anymore. Um, okay. It's always a struggle for me cause you're so tiny on the screen a lot of times.
01:54:53
Speaker
Yeah. and I find the original smash to be the easiest for me to follow visually. Cause I, mean, I played the most of it, but also they just, the screen gets so busy in those later ones. Um, they do just seem tinier. The characters, I, uh,
01:55:12
Speaker
the most legible to me starting with wii u you could play eight player uh which mostly what i do is two player right one on one but definitely growing up it was you know four player always with with the neighborhood kids and play imaginary games with my siblings and melee as wacky as that sounds we we were always playing imaginary games um Yeah, just it's just a very, very special game to me.
01:55:39
Speaker
um Although I am a big fan of almost every Nintendo series. Okay,
Tabletop & RPG Gaming Experiences
01:55:44
Speaker
Cure Nimbus, co-host of... Why am I missing the Infanaut?
01:55:51
Speaker
ah Board games come up from time to time in the pod. Thank you, Rhi. And as an avid boy board gamer myself, I would like to know the host's top five tabletop games. It's okay if it's less than five or current faves. Don't stress about it.
01:56:07
Speaker
I think we'll start with Rhi. Okay, I did. All right, said not to stress it about it. And i'm like, the way can do that is by listing a bunch games. I won't get into any depth and into any of them, but if you board game a lot, you can hear these, or if they're in a genre that interests you, you can check them out.
01:56:25
Speaker
have grouping them all. Okay, so one of my, you know, have to say it's one of my top board games is a game called Rue. It's an asymmetrical um game of warfare. I'll go most in depth about this.
01:56:39
Speaker
one of my favorites. It's the one I've, like, if you you've seen before, I've, like, 3D printed and painted a bunch of pieces for it and stuff. um And it's it's a, there's, like, the cat monarch over the woodland, but then there's the woodland, like, uprising, you know, the little people.
01:56:58
Speaker
And then there's the eagles, who used to rule over the forest, but they've kind of been out of favor for a long time. A whole bunch of, like, different factions all fighting over this territory. They all have unique abilities.
01:57:12
Speaker
So it's one of those games you gotta be a gamer to get into. Or it's like you're one game or something if you're not a board gamer. And there's even one character who plays like um an adventure just like goes around. You just, instead of playing a faction, you're just one character who does quest. You're like doing your own little like RPG while everyone else is fighting a war.
01:57:37
Speaker
It's so fun. um okay and in that vein, I do have the soft spot for, like, Woodland Critter games. Everdell is a fun card-to-blow building game that I like to bust out. um There kind of a must of an expansion anymore if you play that called...
01:57:59
Speaker
Firecrest, think, that kind of fixes some stuff in the core buildings. And then there's another one with, like, mountains. Don't even get that expansion. It makes the game worse. It's horrible.
01:58:10
Speaker
Another game that's in Woodland Critters, although the theme isn't super strong, it's Tiny Towns. And it's very light and friendly. It's about, like, block building.
01:58:21
Speaker
um i love... do love ah deck building games, right? Right. And they're very difficult. Deck building games are hard because you need to be like rewarded, like for your deck building in enough time. So you need be able to play the cards and cycle through your deck without the game being too long.
01:58:41
Speaker
Valley of the Kings is one of those that's like kind of like there's like four different versions of it. I have them on. You can like mix them to make a longer game for more players. i love this game. And my friends always hate when I pull it out because they usually win.
01:58:57
Speaker
thank you But it's so fun. um As a deck builder, a little another like light game that I like to pull out for like a bigger group. It plays up to six.
01:59:09
Speaker
My Star. OK, this one only plays up to four or five. There's another kind of lightish game that's still fun for like a board game. It's like, don't make me play Settlers, to be honest.
01:59:19
Speaker
Like, I just can't. So like, um but like parks, let's play parks instead, right? That's what you bust out because it's easy enough for people to learn. It's real cute. It's got like all this art from that, like national parks.
01:59:33
Speaker
um But it's light enough for, you know, for the casuals to grasp. If we're going hardcore, Right? Then that's when we turn into, like, Arch Empress Rhi, who, like, has to abandon her kindness for more of, like, a Doom level. Like, I deserve to rule this world. i will do what's best for it.
01:59:53
Speaker
You know? And sometimes we can't be kind because we must win. um and that is how I play Twilight Imperium. Which is a big epic space board game that they've kind of reduced. It used to be like almost like a fucking 8 to 12 hour game. And now it's like you can pull out a game in six hours. But it's one those big space empire games.
02:00:13
Speaker
Along those lines, Eclipse is another great like space empire game that's not quite as big as Twilight Imperium. But you still get to like upgrade your like little fighter ships.
02:00:27
Speaker
I'm big and into theme. I love... I love rolling an empire, to be honest with you. Or on the flip side, if we want to be cozy, but still hardcore, like Caverna over Agricola. My friends will be like, Agricola is the better game. I'm like, no, Caverna, because you're a little dwarf.
02:00:44
Speaker
You know, like with a building, like it's very themy. It's very cute. It's way better than Agricola. Agricola, I probably said Agricola first. ah I knew what you meant.
02:00:55
Speaker
I disagree. Wait, you disagree? You like Agricola? Okay, but Kaverna, you're like a dwarf. It's so cute. You're building all these little dwarf things. and you say The theme is better in Kaverna, but I think Agricola is the better game.
02:01:12
Speaker
that's That's what my friends say. I have no strong opinion. and Okay. um So that's cozy. Another very cozy game, Above and Below. It's like a village builder, but it's combined with like a choose-your-own-adventure. When you go exploring in the caves, it's like you that little stories happen. You can pick. It's very charming little game um that I just busted out again recently. Okay.
02:01:42
Speaker
Broom Service is one I love. One of my friends hates it. So every time we get together, like, Broom Service! But it's so fun.
02:01:52
Speaker
And what I love about it, it's kind of in the vein, Libertalia is another game. with a similar idea, but it's pirates. So if you prefer to be a pirate than Kiki's Delivery Service, maybe look into Libertalia.
02:02:06
Speaker
But Broom Service is Kiki's Delivery Service. And it's one where everyone gets is has basically the same components. to start with right and then like you're trying to you know battle around well what other people choose because only like certain actions will go off and libertalia operates the same i love both of those games terramistica when if you want to get into a game that like if you want to turn anyone off of board gaming make terramistica their first game but i fucking love it all right oh
02:02:39
Speaker
And as far as I have a real soft spot, too, for like Lords of Waterdeep. But I don't get to play it much anymore because one of my people my gaming group hates it. But they will play Tyrants of the Underdark, which is also one of the D&D themed board games.
02:02:53
Speaker
But it's like a deck builder and you're playing as like Drow Elves in the Underdark. And it's actually very good and fun. It's like a territory gatherer slash deck builder. Highly recommend.
02:03:06
Speaker
There are a couple little like card packs that came out with after. And wrap it up, I'm just going to list another things real fast without talking about Core Worlds, Space, Deck Builder. It's an older game. I love it. I wish got to play it more.
02:03:19
Speaker
Civilization games. I love civilization games. My favorite light one is called Flow of History. It's a real easy, like, light little box, and it's very fun, you know. You get play civilization.
02:03:31
Speaker
um Through the Ages, i play... and on app. Don't play that board game. It's too much to track. Play it in the app. The app is stellar. We have played it several times. you and We have played it.
02:03:43
Speaker
I will play with you. We'll set it up. If you have that app, we'll set it up in our Discord. like I will totally play some Through the Ages games. Okay. And, um you know, i just, Founding Fathers is great.
02:03:56
Speaker
Oh, okay. I know I was trying to end, but I have to mention we just played, um ah my friend just got this game and it's like so interesting and fun and it's like innovative in the board game space.
02:04:10
Speaker
And it's not Rococo, which is a fun dress game that I also like that we've been playing that they have. It is. It was called Molly House. And it was about the old queer community in London.
02:04:21
Speaker
And so you're all playing as different kind of, I forget what they call them, but like establishments of revelry. And... um There's this thing where you're trying to, like, you know, get it on and have fun and be sociable and have balls.
02:04:36
Speaker
And it's cooperative in a sense, right? At the same time, you're trying to avoid the cops. You can also kind of, like, be a traitor like, turn.
02:04:46
Speaker
And there's there's a loose condition where everyone loses, you know, but there is, like, only one winner, you know, but everyone can collectively lose. And it's one of those, like...
02:04:59
Speaker
Games that I love where they put a point, like people wonder about the game like Prison Architect or whatever. It's like, was it intentional to the game design that that you were driven to the most efficient and cruel way of housing? In the name of efficiency, or the most cruel to the people you were looking over. And is that an intentional viewpoint in the game about...
02:05:23
Speaker
private prisons, basically? Or is it just inherent? It's just inherent. to, you know, gamifying prison system. I mean, yes, the answer to both.
02:05:35
Speaker
I mean, I don't know about both because don't know what the developers intended, but like, and in this like we played and we all died hard. First, we all got found out. We all got executed. And it was like the first lesson, okay, we got to be less petty.
02:05:52
Speaker
We want to stay alive. Gotta stick together a little bit before we're concerned about who's, like, top queen. So, it was a really interesting game design. I think it was from the lady who designed, like, the sad Holocaust game.
02:06:06
Speaker
But I haven't played because sad Holocaust thing is never way to explain. to be like i'm in the mood for that but um but love games that like the mechanics are you know that provoking anyway so sorry for spending so so asked for it you didn't say one you said five or don't stress about you definitely kept it within five yo and I like all kinds of games, you know, I enjoy some classics like like a Scrabble.
02:06:42
Speaker
like a risk. I'll even fucks with a Monopoly. My parents have National Parks Monopoly. It's got pretty national parks on things. So um there's that. You know, I also like these, the games where people get different roles every round or whatever. Your your love letters, your citadels.
02:07:01
Speaker
Other things I like. I like Blockus. Other things I like. What else do I like? Seven Wonders. What else do I like? Oh, yeah. ah You know, just I like most games.
02:07:13
Speaker
I just, um yeah, I love games. OK. I'm also going to cheat and go beyond five, but I will keep it short and sweet. I won't go too far beyond five. OK, I have played the super heavy games, and I have had a blast doing so, but I'm past that point in my life. It is very hard to get TI3 to the table and finish six-hour games.
02:07:33
Speaker
So the kind of game I like is the kind that's like 45 to 75 minutes, and there's not a lot of downtime, and it's, you know, That like light, but still interesting.
02:07:45
Speaker
So in that vein, Seven Wonders is like absolutely one of my favorites. The time doesn't slow down a lot depending on how many players you have because it's simultaneous. but Everybody knows the rules that can keep moving. Phenomenal game. There was a long period of time where my late wife and I lived like a two minute walk away from my sister and her husband.
02:08:02
Speaker
And we were playing multiple times a night. We easily logged like 150 games of Seven Wonders. And it was incredible because like we had like an active meta. Like we played enough that there was a meta and like there was a period of time where I was winning because I was the only one who was doing yellow strategy and nobody caught on yet.
02:08:19
Speaker
And but like everybody knew James was doing the the green strategy. And so like you had to you had to fight him on that because if you let somebody run away with green, it just explodes. Is that the research ones that science? Yeah. but they scale up exponentially.
02:08:34
Speaker
That's what figured. I'm colorblind, but I was like, I bet I know which thing is the green one. i yeah i And, you know, once I finally clued them in because they're taking a little while, once I clued them in that, like, yellow is how I keep winning, then, of course, they're they're fighting for the yellow cards, and it's not a dominant strategy anymore.
02:08:51
Speaker
Super fun. Love that game. um My newest version of that is Quacks of Quidlinburg. It's been my favorite for like a year or two. I've replaced the cardboard pieces with plastic ones. It's another one that's simultaneous play, and it's like push your luck. You're making a potion. Super duper fun.
02:09:05
Speaker
um It's kind of deck building, like bag building, random ingredients that you're pulling out. And if you pull too many of the ah white ingredients, your potion explodes. But you get more points for building a better potion. So very fun. And the ah ingredients do special abilities that are different every time you play the game.
02:09:23
Speaker
So... It's always interesting. um Agricola was on my list of short ones to say. It's my favorite game ever, um but a little bit on the heavier side, so it doesn't get to the table a lot.
02:09:35
Speaker
ah Caverna's fine, but I find it to be very samey game to game, whereas Agricola is totally different every game um because of the cards. Yeah. um Skull. This is another one that is like this is like a five-minute game. This is your filler game, and it is incredible.
02:09:49
Speaker
I put Love Letter in this category, too. But Skull, you just have two coasters, and or you have one coaster that's square and then four round coasters, and it's a bluffing game, and it's a very easy one to teach, but it's actually pretty heavy and and very fun, regardless of how sober or not you are.
02:10:07
Speaker
um
02:10:11
Speaker
Bananagrams is my, like... More basic one, like Scrabble's fine, but it's a little too slow for me. Bananagrams is the one I play if I want place if i want to feel smart. It's ah Speed Scrabble, Competitive Scrabble, where everybody's playing simultaneously.
02:10:23
Speaker
I find that super duper fun, and I love it when I have to blow up my board to fit a letter that I just got that I hate and rearrange everything. and that just It just scratches a certain part of my brain.
02:10:34
Speaker
Escape the Curse of the Temple. This is a co-op game where everybody's rolling dice simultaneously. don't know. so simultaneously just like it works for my ADHD man um you're rolling dice and exploring a temple and it expand you know start with like three tiles on the board and as you explore the temple it gets bigger and bigger but there's a live CD soundtrack and we use YouTube now not a CD but there's a live soundtrack while you're playing and everybody like three times during the run the the gong is gonna ring and you have to all come back to the center of the temple or else you lose one of your dice permanently and you have to get out of the temple by the time that the soundtrack ends in 10 minutes or you're all fucked it's super new fun uh the last one is oh sorry last two betrayal legacy if you haven't played one of the legacy games this is betrayal at house on the hill it's a fine game it's really fun for a story but i don't really love it mechanically but the legacy version of it which is like permanent changes and things are evolving and and you get to rip up cards and open packages and get new game pieces and the story evolves that's super duper cool um
02:11:35
Speaker
Captain Sonar. This is the last one. This is a co-op game, co-op competitive, like two teams. Um, your submarines your two submarines trying to hunt each other down, and there's four different roles on the team. And it's like really intense because you have like one person who's directing where your submarine is going, and i somebody on the other team is listening to that and recording where you're going and trying to like figure out where you are on the map based on which moves you could legally do. like You can't run into an island, so if you went northeast north, you couldn't possibly be here.
02:12:09
Speaker
It's really like intense, but super fun. If you get a group of eight people to pull it off, you don't need eight, but it's best with that because otherwise one person is doing multiple jobs and that's really hard to like mentally handle.
02:12:21
Speaker
Anyway, sorry, that was probably way too fast, but love board games I have a big collection and I don't get to play new ones very much anymore. um My board game group kind of died when my when my best friend moved away.
02:12:33
Speaker
um But yeah, we still get quacks to the table a decent amount and ah love that. I'm a couple weeks out from my my biannual board game retreat. I'm so excited. For me, that's the only time we ever do something like Twilight Imperium anymore, which we don't even have it done lately. Yeah.
02:12:54
Speaker
Right. That's the only time you can, is like you set aside time. Like, this is what we are doing. a special occasion. Okay. But even then, at this point, I'm like, but I would rather play a like a slightly less interesting game five times, you know.
02:13:11
Speaker
Yeah. As a massive TTRPG fan, I'm super excited to hear what that you guys are doing a one shot. What is your guys experience with TTRPGs?
02:13:22
Speaker
And do you have a favorite archetype to play?
02:13:28
Speaker
i'll go I'll go first. um Mostly D&D. I didn't play it until I was an adult, which is really weird because, like I said, my my siblings and I were playing imaginary games with each other all the time.
02:13:39
Speaker
um like we We saw croquet hammers in different colors and we were like, oh, we should be playing an imaginary game with these because obviously the red hammer can cast fireballs. We didn't play croquet with them. um
02:13:51
Speaker
And D&D's fine. ah I feel like it's the easiest one to teach people, even though it's certainly not true. Like, we just played Magic Magic and it's a much simpler game. It's because of the cultural awareness of D&D, you know?
02:14:05
Speaker
um but yeah dnd it's the easiest thing to get somebody into maybe but i've played other ones that are super fun mostly one shots and mostly horror flavored um dread is really interesting it uses jenga instead of dice and uh you know if somebody dies if the jenga tower knocks over but you can intentionally knock over the tower to go out with a bang like you succeed but you die Um, and then there's another one, 10 candles, 11 candles, something like that, where you literally play in a dark room and there's candles and you burn cards as you play and very interesting game and very, very grim, but like a cool way of storytelling.
02:14:44
Speaker
Um, yeah. Favorite archetype to play is, is DM. yeah It's the one I have the most experience with.
02:14:54
Speaker
Um, i I care more about picking a character that's interesting. Appreciate it.
02:15:06
Speaker
Probably like Misunderstood Monster is my favorite. I love goblins. Can't get enough of them. ah So my favorite that I've ever played was a one-shot where I played a magical girl goblin. um love it. It's very fun.
02:15:20
Speaker
Okay. um Is that everything, Laine? Okay. I'll I also started with D&D because, you know, for a long time it was, like, the the most accessible thing. And I did – it was high school. It was, like, the classic, like, Mountain Dew and Doritos, like, getting together.
02:15:40
Speaker
My character was, like, Bladestorm Song, you know, who was the paladin who, of course, ah you know, lost it to become just a fighter because, you know, she – Couldn't be lawful good. She had to be can again.
02:15:52
Speaker
um And have also DM'd, although do enjoy playing more. like DMing too. It's fun to create things and then it's like always your turn.
02:16:06
Speaker
and that's fun. But like, yeah. But it's just so fun for me to get to, like, do... Because in video games, you're like, well, I would choose neither of these. I would do this other thing. You don't get to do that.
02:16:20
Speaker
You know what I mean? any And here you get to. And it's like, oh, I want to play with that. um I won't lie. A lot of times I have ended up playing thieves.
02:16:31
Speaker
Rogues of various types. um You know, also love... I have that problem with Sky and Silver. I play. want to try everything out. So I've done a lot of things. But I wanted to mention other T2 besides D&D.
02:16:53
Speaker
got to play a little bit of a... It was D20 Modern. It was like off um branching off of D&D, but it was like set with a different... Modern abilities are set in time or cyberpunk. It was meant to encompass all of that.
02:17:07
Speaker
I really wanted to run a campaign in it sometime. It seems like, I don't know, it just seemed really fun. But in my basement, I have a whole stack of, like, you know, RPGs I haven't gotten to play. Currently, I'm in, like, a Pathfinder campaign. We've done Cthulhu before.
02:17:25
Speaker
know, um a smattering of little other things.
02:17:31
Speaker
I have mostly just stuck to some Dungeons and Dragons. Played a little Pathfinder for a bit. You know, far as ah which which things I like to play, i do like to be able to do heals because you just want to make sure that You know, if somebody else doesn't like doing heals, I mean, you never... It's me. You know, so but it's somebody's got to do the heals and be the grown-up and stuff.
02:18:01
Speaker
And so I always make sure I can do some heals, but it is also fun to do a lot of damage. So like right now... In my current D&D thing, I play a Tempest Cleric, and they have access to just some really stupid spells they shouldn't have access to by ah nature of their little subclass thing. So, um yeah, that's what I recommend if you want to heal but also do big lightnings and stuff.
02:18:29
Speaker
Tempest Cleric. They really amped up clerics for 5e. Like, nobody has fun healing. We need to make it so you can heal and do awesome shit. ah It seemed pretty silly as I was examining my options because I always go pretty deep on examining my options.
02:18:46
Speaker
I think... creating characters think ah If I was thinking about like video games, I would have been like, yeah, I'm the healer. I like playing support class. So that probably would have come up. I don't just haven't been like... Most the times when I'm
Co-host Dynamics & Collaboration
02:19:00
Speaker
the player in ah in an RPG, i'm it's a one-shot. I haven't done like a campaign.
02:19:05
Speaker
oh you deserve a campaign. We should make that happen. Yeah. I always wonder, like, I am the person who is like, I will not fucking I don't think in my MMO, like, I have characters of everything. And, like, every MMO I play, i try all the class and scrim. The thing I will not do is heal.
02:19:25
Speaker
And I'm always asking myself, right, with, like, who I am today, shouldn't, like, I be interested in like, a lot of this is based on my, I choose things based on, like, how I feel about the theme the concept.
02:19:38
Speaker
Or shouldn't want to heal? I'm like, how much of it is this bias I have from when I was young that everyone expected the girl to be the healer? And I was like, no, I don't want it. I want big sword. Anyway, so like... um So I do wonder how much I'm being held back. The same way I wouldn't wear pink for like the longest time. And now I, know.
02:20:00
Speaker
It's just rebellion. Yeah, when will be reunited with healing as a class, you know? When will the rift be healed? It's okay if it's never. Maybe never, to be honest.
02:20:15
Speaker
I want to have a sword and shield first. Okay. Two more questions, but they're kind of the same. So we lumped them together from Bishop. What do you respect most about your co-hosts? We're getting soft and squishy here.
02:20:27
Speaker
Shove or sorry, from shove. What is the most important thing or things that our three favorite co-hosts have learned from each other?
02:20:38
Speaker
Okay, I wanted to say, well, the things first that drive, I mean, besides being clever and funny people that are just fun to hang out with, it's things that are always most attractive to me in people, which is like kindness and sincerity, right? It's like harder to find that.
02:20:59
Speaker
It's hard to be that. And, you know, and they're always so like, you know, like we're recording this a day later because I needed that. And, you know, anytime one of us needs to do it, everyone's very like supportive. We never and, you know, sometimes Lauren is like, like, oh, can't like get this edit done. And you men are like, oh, my gosh, we're just glad we don't have.
02:21:26
Speaker
You know what I mean? There's, like, no pressure. We're all very kind. It's, like, there's so – lot of us, I think, grew up in this culture. I mean, we get criticized for being, like, um participation trophies and stuff.
02:21:38
Speaker
But it's this culture of, like, there's only one that can be the best, and everyone else is, like, holding you back from that, and we all need to, like – Be miserable. It's like boomer humor where they're like, I hate my wife, but everyone has to be married. And it's like, but didn't you just talk about- Yeah, how did you get into that situation? Your wife, why would? And it's like, you suffer and you suffer. And it's like- yeah I feel like the ability to you know to grow up and mature is really like, shit's hard.
02:22:08
Speaker
It's just like, how do I to just all be, as Lauren said earlier, and just a little bit kinder to each other. And my co-hosts are as kind as they are, intelligent and funny good looking.
02:22:23
Speaker
Woo-hoo!
02:22:26
Speaker
yeah
02:22:29
Speaker
Well, I don't know how to follow that. let me do this question again. the you know You know, I feel like the version in the show notes is not the long version. Don't feel like You know, it is weird that we all just sit and butter each other up. So, like, you know, don't feel... This is the self-indulgence episode. We're pretty great, is the thing. just... I am just...
02:22:53
Speaker
i am I'm so just monumentally fond of you both. You're both inspirations across the nations. And I just, I really like getting to talk to you once a week. I would do it more, honestly. Like I just, uh, I love hanging out with you both.
02:23:11
Speaker
And I think you're, yeah you're both possessed of great, uh, great wisdom of kinds that I, I may not have. And, uh, you know, I just, uh, aspire to,
02:23:26
Speaker
Bring the lessons. Yeah, I don't know. I i think you're both. Oh, I should get specific.
02:23:36
Speaker
Oh, I don't know. You're both. i don't know yeah you're both Yeah, I just think you're both the best. I like i honestly like I if I start like saying positive qualities about one view, I'm like, well, geez, that also applies to the other one.
02:23:54
Speaker
And I'm like, it yeah it's it's tough. But I. Hmm. i and This is so hard. i just, i think you're both so great in so many ways. And i would like to be more like you, you know, that's just, sorry for being overly general. There's this kitty in my lap distracting me. You're, you're doing great.
02:24:19
Speaker
Um, I, I think you are both very... ah i ah admire your vulnerability and your intelligence and expertise.
02:24:34
Speaker
um
02:24:37
Speaker
And yeah, like I think it's very easy for me to say you both are excellent in these ways. So please don't take it this way. When I say Rhea's X, I don't mean that Ben isn't. um But if I had to pick like the one lesson I learned most from each of you.
02:24:50
Speaker
um I think with Rhea, it's like resilience. you've probably said stuff about this on the pod. And if you don't want it set on the pod, we can cut it. Um, but like, you know, you've talked about how like streaming and then later this podcast were things that helped you with anxiety and speaking and, and, and that, and I admire that you, that you deal with that, even though it's like intense and hard that you deal with that every week and you do a great job.
02:25:18
Speaker
It's an inspiration for real facing it over and over again. yeah,
02:25:24
Speaker
It's really gratifying to people that are just like that. Because a lot of times people are just like, why aren't you different? Or why isn't it not hard for other people? that's what I'm saying. when you When you get a space where you just feel like it's okay that you are who you are, especially when you came from a background where it's like you were never okay, you know?
02:25:44
Speaker
For who you are, it's like those are your people, you know? Absolutely. And then from Ben, it's like
02:25:54
Speaker
It's kind of confidence that doesn't feel like the right word, but um the way that you'll just belt out impressions or songs and you're totally fine with that. Like, I find that so admirable.
02:26:08
Speaker
And obviously, like, i well, maybe not obvious because this is not um the case for everybody, but I have a relationship with my voice as a trans person. Yeah. But I love doing funny voices and and singing and all that, but they're not things that I do in public very often.
02:26:25
Speaker
I do do a voice on our on our RPG, so listen to that if you want. It's not a very good impression, but it's it's an impression. It's an accent. like And then both of you, i i find you both very...
02:26:41
Speaker
witty in a way that I'm not like, I know I can be witty and funny, but you are both very quick and very referential in a way that is a struggle for me to do either of those things. Um, so yeah, I think you're both great. And, and I like that we get along and I like that we have different strengths cause that makes the podcast stronger overall.
02:27:02
Speaker
And we've all played different cards because of each other, you know looking at the game different ways. I've really enjoyed decks from both of you that have gotten me outside of my comfort zone and Tommy's stuff from card perspective.
02:27:20
Speaker
It's been an honor and
Favorite Episodes & Listener Interactions
02:27:21
Speaker
a pleasure. think we we could all, like it's like since we are all equal, it is an equal, oh, captain, my captain among us.
02:27:32
Speaker
ah Yeah, we're all co-captains on this ship. um It works great. um Anyway, here's to 52 more. ah Kay, for the last side quest of the long episode, secret homework.
02:27:50
Speaker
Rhi, it was yours. Oh, yeah, okay. So mine was like, okay, obviously this is the episode just dripping with self-indulgence, so like it's like, tell us...
02:28:02
Speaker
Tell us things you like about us, please. um And that we like about ourselves. so Or, like, just share a funny moment aspect episode. but Pretty open, but, like, podcast related.
02:28:12
Speaker
And I decided to share as my moment. Oh, this is the wrong thing. Hold on up. Okay, the very first podcast bit that like Ben and Lauren will not remember this it was so long ago this was from May 24th of last year when we were all just getting together and talking about the podcast and we were like just prepping equipment and um Ben's talking about his microphone at the end this is just I'm just gonna like read the end of this sentence such a Ben way to phrase things
02:28:49
Speaker
said it might be good to get on the same level so my inferior audio isn't a distraction for the listeners. Because this is in reference to like our friend Chase supplied us all, thank you Chase, um with with microphones, like stand nice stand microphones for the podcast.
02:29:05
Speaker
And um that's what he's referencing. Ben got his own. Lauren, of course, offered with something helpful. It's like, hey, you can get like 30% off here or whatever. And then I spent, I don't know, probably like 20 minutes on my phone typing this.
02:29:23
Speaker
Review the first. It is day 10 still I listen over and over to the only podcast, Snap On This, Marvel Snap podcast that I can access floating adrift at sea in my broken down boat.
02:29:38
Speaker
My food is nearly all consumed and I am eyeing the rats hungrily, wondering if I will get desperate enough to build traps to do the grim work of preparing rat meat. traumatizing my soul for maybe only even a few weeks of this pallid existence.
02:29:55
Speaker
I listened to my last and best three friends, not sure if I'm imagining entirely they truly are broadcasting their opinions right now about the end of the leech meta and the viability of blink.
02:30:07
Speaker
I haven't shaved or bathed since long before I stopped bothering with the tally marks at every sunrise on the worn wood of the deck. As I stand beleaguered, a hand to my brow, searching desperately for any glimpse of land or humanity, see only the blue haze of the sky and sea blurring together.
02:30:29
Speaker
is at this exact moment, perhaps one of my lasts, that I think, if only Ben's inferior audio wasn't a distraction for the listeners.
02:30:42
Speaker
Which you both laughing emoji. That was our first podcast bit. You're right. I did not remember that. that is remember I was certain I was going to remember whatever you thought I wouldn't, but nope.
02:30:56
Speaker
Your answer, sorry because you said that you said and and you said that is why I love you. But it's for no reason. Writing a joke about something random. And it's like, hmm.
02:31:11
Speaker
Okay. Oh, yes. That was Mine is a Ben quote. Going back to episode 15, we're ranking marvel the Marvel Rivals season.
02:31:24
Speaker
we get to Bruce Banner. And Ben takes us on this journey he's talking about like, oh, they just, you know, there's some Marvel factoids that they love to give you. And one of them, their favorite one for Hulkling is to remind you that Hulkling is not a real Hulk.
02:31:39
Speaker
He's a Skrull. and And he goes, so Hulkling is not a real Hulk. But ironically enough, Bruce Banner is a real Emperor Hulkling, if you know what I mean.
02:31:50
Speaker
Oh my goodness. The journey, the payoff was just, and you know, it's another one of our like podcast bits is like Emperor Hulkling is like, that's the bar for a bad card or the archetype for a bad card. We don't all feel the same on this to be, you know, to be perfectly clear.
02:32:06
Speaker
He was Reed. Do you remember? Do you remember?
02:32:10
Speaker
um rock and already now and not to I like got so up in arms and defensive and I still don't regret it.
02:32:21
Speaker
That was a great bit. I feel like people told me after, like, oh, there's this time. where Oh, the long payoff. Loved the swap room. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed that.
02:32:35
Speaker
i I don't get me wrong. I was patting myself on the back for it pretty hard for for days afterwards. You can hear it. You can hear it in the podcast. Yeah, yeah absolutely. i'm I'm certain that. Yeah.
02:32:49
Speaker
Yeah. i was I was laughing at my own joke, but. Shit, I still think it's pretty funny. ah But no, my my favorite ah memory from the podcast, ah it's so hard to choose, but i really i really have loved these games that my co-hosts have put on for me and their willingness to keep score.
02:33:09
Speaker
understand that i you know i understand that Snap or Cap was ah was a Reggie innovation, right?
02:33:22
Speaker
All right, well, egg the whole thing came together very well, Tidal Tussle. that I love that one, but I also love Zabu, and I don't know which one.
02:33:33
Speaker
They're both so special to me, and i ah really enjoyed those. I've also loved... the the comments and things. it's been It's been a delight to interact with some of our listeners and stuff. That's been a ah big part of it for me. I ah you know like i got off Twitter like a very long time ago now, I guess. and like i just ah that's That's where I used to express my thoughts and things. and i just I like this format so much more. Only talking to like cool people than like
02:34:08
Speaker
You know, if other people want to know what I think, they can go seek it out and stuff. But I don't have to go through that nonsense. I just. i mean As much as the hellscape as it is, it is where we all met each other.
02:34:23
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So it's got an important part to the history here. It's true. For sure. It's true. We did all meet on Marvel Snap Twitter in a different time. um Yeah, there have been so many so many good moments. i it's It's hard to pick. But, yeah, I think the games.
02:34:41
Speaker
the games And i I love putting on games for you all, too, but you know and that they're not my favorite part. I most enjoy going on the the guided tour of whatever you have come up with.
02:34:53
Speaker
That's
Upcoming Assignments & Community Engagement
02:34:54
Speaker
what I think. All right, next week's secret homework, inspired as it so often is by the television offerings of ah Marvel...
02:35:05
Speaker
Animation or Marvel Studios or whatever, there's a new one on the Disney Plus. That's right. Eyes of Wakanda. And I think we should all watch the first episode and talk about it.
02:35:20
Speaker
And for extra credit,
02:35:26
Speaker
you have to not watch the second. No, can watch the second. know, if I like it, i probably won't be able to stop myself. if you if you For extra credit, you can watch the second one, but you feel no pressure.
02:35:38
Speaker
Okay, but then that will make the discussion hard, because then what if you want to talk about second episode stuff? oh yeah watch Some of us have only seen first episode stuff, because I can't commit to watching one the Okay, well then, maybe there is no extra credit. Maybe the extra credit is...
02:35:52
Speaker
Decide if you want to watch this second episode and and see if everyone feels the same. Oh, you have to. Oh, yeah. That's the thing. so from your opinion That's the extra credit.
02:36:04
Speaker
For extra credit, watch K-pop Demon Hunters, especially if you're Rii, but also me, because I only saw it the one time and I want to see it again. I was pretty proud of myself when heard the voice of when i heard the voice of Gwima or whatever. i I'm probably not pronouncing it correctly. i heard his voice somewhere else and I was like, ah, that's Gwima from K-pop Demon Hunters. And do you know where I heard it?
02:36:31
Speaker
I heard it in Squid Game. kind I only noticed it because he was speaking English, which he was not usually doing in the rest of Squid Game. But front man, the front man is the voice of Gwima.
02:36:44
Speaker
Interesting. I had no idea. Gwima the first name of Wormtongue when you said that I was instantly... Yes, I think you're right. um Okay, say. I have already seen it like six times, ah three of which were while I was delirious.
02:37:02
Speaker
um But they're doing a short run in theaters, like two days. And I have tickets. I'm so excited. That's next week. um Anyway, I can't get enough of this movie, um which is weird. I am normally not a rewatcher.
02:37:16
Speaker
Anyway. Well, a repeat watcher. I watch Rii all the time! i you liked what you heard, if you're still listening, you're amazing.
02:37:27
Speaker
ah You're... I don't know if you're the reason we do this. You're a lot of the reason we do this. Oh, definitely. You heard, we like hanging out with each other, too. like... but like Yes, we care about all of you, even the ones of you who don't comment and don't hang out in the speakeasy. Like, that's that's fine.
02:37:47
Speaker
Like, we get it. We've all been lurkers in some places before. um like But it's super fun interacting with you guys, too. And I love, like, seeing the secret homework that you come up with.
02:37:58
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, anyway, if you liked what you heard, like, comment, subscribe, leave a review, etc. All the things. um If you want to come hang out in the Speakeasy, which is our little corner of Discord, actually our little corner of the Snap Judgments League Discord, um there's instructions to do that in the show notes so or video description. Yeah, we're probably part of the Snap Judgments Network. That's why we're glommed onto their Discord, where you can listen to other great shows like the Infinaut.
02:38:27
Speaker
ah hosted by Cure Nimbus, who submitted a couple great questions for us, ah comes out on Saturdays. And it is the preeminent Snap podcast. If you want it in shorter than three-hour episodes.
02:38:41
Speaker
Yes. Shorter than one-hour episodes. ah infinant does Cure Nimbus does a great job with the infinite Infinite, and you should check it out. It's a great way to get your Snap news and opinions, etc.
02:38:54
Speaker
I
02:38:59
Speaker
don't know what to say. I'm so tired. And I still am editing all this. Tune tune in next time. it will be less self-indulgent. We promise. yeah Sorry for your self-indulgence.
02:39:14
Speaker
Yeah, i'm I'm good for a year. Same snap time, same snap channel. Yay, we did it. So long. It's been a million hours episode. Okay, so I've been itching to ask since the beginning, but it was so inappropriate to talk about. Did you guys play the original Fable?
02:39:35
Speaker
Yes. i I played a little bit of it. And my most way is that everyone looked like murlocs.
02:39:46
Speaker
I mostly played people too. would lure people out to like the demon door and you would have to sacrifice something. That's what was thinking get about earlier. If you were going like an evil route, then you would lure people out to open demon door. That was such a fun game. You could also have like a wife or husband been like literally every town.
02:40:07
Speaker
yeah You would just get gifts from them? Okay. um Also, okay, sorry, for an outro, though, I thought last week Ben was maybe going to tell us, and I would love if Lauren went to, like, teaser magic magic episode. Did you want to talk about your characters?
02:40:29
Speaker
Ben, you were going to last time. mean, yeah, that's my character, I introduced Professor Presto as the magical academic, but like the credentials are not really, not really all that strong.
02:40:43
Speaker
ah Nothing that Professor Presto has ever written was peer reviewed or anything. I, you know, it's just a thing I came up with on the, floor I can't, I can't say there's a whole lot of coherence to the, to the character. I really did just like let it,
02:41:02
Speaker
Just let it let it go. we created the the characters on the episode right before we played. So, like, I can't emphasize enough. Like, we rolled dice to determine what our characters were. Oh, yeah. I just like things to make more sense than I did.
02:41:17
Speaker
don't know.
02:41:20
Speaker
Ben, what you say? Oh, I said i just I like it when things make more sense than and they did. I don't know. Well, it's... it's very much like an improv thing, right? Like, I mean, in D&D or tabletop RPG kind of always is, but like this, like one shot where you're rolling your character on the spot, like even more so. So I rolled an Oracle. Also, I don't think you did the flashbacks right. Like at all.
02:41:44
Speaker
I didn't even do a single flashback. I gambled with a chance to explode. yeah, I rolled divination as my type of magic, close-up divination, and then I rolled a clown suit, and that just defined my character. So I play Bonk Bonk the Oracle.
02:42:01
Speaker
that's That's my character, who I created. Breakout star of the episode, perhaps. I don't know. I don't think I need to say anything else about this character. That's all of you need to know.
02:42:14
Speaker
need I loved the challenge of, like, creating it on the fly. Because rolled, like, it was, like, um I'm a close-up magician was my, like, magician ability. I do close-up tricks.
02:42:28
Speaker
But my magic ability was explosions. That's such a good combo. I love it. Close-up explosions. I did come up with my name ahead of time because, um you know, i like to put some consonants in the name sometimes. It's Deloxia Devane.
02:42:47
Speaker
And I had a blast. I did. I love it. The flashback thing was my favorite mechanic because it's like, oh, they're like, at any time, you can just go back and say you did a thing for prep. It's like, if you've ever seen, I just blinked on the name of the movie, but like,
02:43:04
Speaker
It's like, I threw that shit before I came in the room. You know, it's very much that energy with the flashback, but you get to decide it on the fly. So constantly, I was just like, how can I imprint my way out of this situation by something I've already done?
02:43:20
Speaker
Ah, glorious. Yeah, I think the flashback, it's a super cool mechanic, but like, it makes extra sense in the context of a heist. Yes.
02:43:30
Speaker
I love it. And putting real magic with street magic together, super fun. I'm glad we picked magic.
02:43:41
Speaker
Thank you so much, team, for DMing for us. Like I said, love getting to play and, like... I like to when it's just like, I don't know, getting to explore without being like, okay, but like, just pick one of the things in your sheet.
02:44:01
Speaker
like to like, get big. All right.