Top 3 Magic the Gathering Universe Beyond I Want?

3. Vampire the Masquerade

This is a license that I think has a chance, but also doesn’t. Vampire the Masquerade Rivals exists which is supposed to kind of be in a Magic the Gathering spot. That said, I’d love a set of this, and I think it’d drop into the Magic the Gathering system amazingly well.

Mainly, we already have Innistrad, we already have vampires in Magic the Gathering. Compared to the others, it’s something that already exists. Now, this is a more modern setting than Innistrad, so that might be a concern, but you’d be able to use some of the same mechanics for Vampire the Masquerade.

But one thing, that I think people might call out, is the masquerade, how do you make it so it isn’t just vampires fighting vampires. The whole point, or part of it, is that vampires run things from the shadows and want to stay hidden. So, how do you make that work in Magic the Gathering? I think there is a template for that with the ring tempting the ring bearer in Lord of the Rings set. It’s a tracker to see if you break the masquerade. So you can improve it, get it further from breaking, but as you attack it might get closer. So it’d be a balancing act which I think would be fun.

While Vampire the Masquerade is my #3, I think out of the three it’d be the easiest to do in Magic the Gathering.

2. Wheel of Time

With a lot of these, it’s hard to come up with an in game reason why they would be fighting each other. That’s the issue with a lot of IP’s, they are built around stories. But we just saw a massively successful one where it doesn’t make sense in Lorcana. Even Lord of the Rings or Doctor Who it won’t always make sense. So I just need to assume that logic is out the windows.

The nice thing with Wheel of Time is that you have different groups throughout that you can play around with. The Aes Sedai, Rand’s group, some of the bad guy groups, Aiel, and more. What does is it builds out a systems where you can create synergies between certain groups and work better with each other versus with other groups. So from that perspective I think it could work. And if it’s just a straight up battle, that would make sense for at times in the story with almost any group fighting the others. Or you could have them going up against dark friends and dark ones to do better than the other team.

But in the world of Magic the Gathering, I think it’d work. Plenty of groups to build commander decks around. And there are plenty of interesting characters to draw from.

1. Sword Art Online

Now, I think there are other anime that would get done first. With the success of the live action One Piece show, that’s the one I could have scene. But anime’s are generally pretty stingy on giving out their licensing for stuff, especially for something that isn’t just their thing. And One Piece technically has a TCG out, but not one that’s even close to the name recognition of Magic the Gathering.

But Sword Art Online, on of my favorite anime, I think could work as a trading card game. Possibly a player versus the game set-up game. Or there is dueling within the first season and the world of Aincrad. So let you take on heroes and characters from Aincrad and face off against one another, build up decks with abilities to augment what your characters can do. And let you switch heroes out, if you meet a condition they can jump in and take over the attack, like in the show.

In terms of Universes Beyond, I think switching would just be a flip card that you could have as a commander. And it’d likely break the game in some way that Magic hasn’t done before. But that’s what Magic the Gathering does regularly anyways, add in something new that changes up how the game works. And Universes Beyond are actually a decent testing ground for that.

What Set Would You Want?

I know that some of the upcoming ones might interest people that are already coming. There is Final Fantasy, Doctor Who releasing today, and Assassin’s Creed, all worlds and IP’s that people enjoy. But is there one that they haven’t announced you’d be interested in.

More generically, probably not in Universes Beyond, I’d like a set where they lean into Gundam. Giant powered machines doing the combat and being able to play around with that and piloting them, adding on mods to them, things like that. It’d feel different, but in the mechanics of Magic the Gathering, I feel like it’d work quite well.

Let me know your thoughts or favorite one.

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Games from Miniature Market

Bonfire

This is a game about gnomes building a bonfire, well, maybe that’s some of it. But it’s a Pegasus Spiele game, like the next one. And Miniature Market had a sale on them. Pegasus Spiele got on my radar because they put out First Rat, a game I wasn’t sure I’d like, but then I really did. Bonfire looks more complex, so I was interested in trying it.

Raccoon Robbers

This one I bought because it looked like a fun, more simple game from Pegasus Spiele. So I wanted to give it a go and see if it would work for me. Plus it’s about raccoons, a fun theme and comes with 3D (ish) houses that they climb up on, so fun components.

Via Magica

This is a light game that I wanted to try because I thought when I heard about it on the Dice Tower a while ago, Camilla is a fan of it there, it sounded fun. You can read my whole review here.

Mesozooic: Jurassic Mini Expansion and Triassic Mini Expansion

I’ve written a review on some of the games. Mesozooic I actually bought the base game a while ago. The two expansions were unlikely to be around much longer, on closeout, so I bought them. You can read my review on Mesozooic here.

Abyss: Kraken Expansion

This is an expansion, I own both, for a game that I need to play. It is probably not the smartest plan, but I have them now, so I need to get Abyss to the table soon. Abyss looks like a massive epic game, one you’d expect a lot of minis for. Well, it’s a much smaller simpler game than that type of game. More of an engine building from what I know. So I hope it’s one I really enjoying.

Escape the Dark Castle

This is one that just came back into stock recently. It and Escape the Dark Sector or games with fun dark looking artwork and, well, a dark theme. I want to play them and see how they stack up against something like Spire’s End. I know both can be played solo, so I’ll be getting to this one soon to really know.

18 Holes: Course Architect

18 Holes: Course Artchitect actually needs to get a review written about it. Same with the next one though that one I need to play more. But 18 Holes is about building out a golf course in a roll and write game and seeing how well that you can do. It’s a bit rules heavy for how simple the game is, but the more I play, the easier it is to pick up each time and faster games go. So it’s one that might just stick around as a solo game for me.

Bargain Basement Bathysphere

Bargain Basement Bathysphere is a solo game. And you can watch me play it on Malts and Meeples. It’s a roll and write game that is a campaign. So I want to see how it is over the long run before I write a review. It’s definitely very loosely a campaign. But the two games I played of it were a lot of fun, with really simple mechanics.

Clank! Catacombs

Clank! Catacombs I knew was a game I would buy. I waited until after Christmas, and then when I was told about Bargain Basement Bathysphere, I used Catacombs to get it to a level where I could get free shipping. It’s just another version of Clank! but one with a modular board which is build every time. Clank! In! Space! has a modular board, but that one is set to start the game. This could come out differently every time.

Three Sisters

A roll and write game from the people who did Fleet and now Motor City. I am curious about this one. I like Fleet, but it is a lot of mechanics, especially solo. Though I wonder if I will feel the same with Three Sisters. But it is one that I want to get to solo.

Star Realms Deck Building Game

Star Realms is the space version of Hero Realms, kind of. They are different games and Star Realms came first. But it’s a two player deck building game. I wanted to try it and see which one I like better. I think I’ll enjoy both, but will both stay in my collection?

Thornwatch: The Dark of the Wood Expansion

Thornwatch is a game that I picked up on a sale, probably hasn’t been in a Point of Order yet. I got it around Black Friday from the publisher. It looks like an adventure dungeon crawl sort of gaming experience. And it has some work done on it from Penny Arcade guys who I like their stuff. So I am curious about it and if it’ll be a dungeon crawler for me.

Planet Unknown

This one got an order all by itself. And I still need to play it. But Planet Unknown is a game about terraforming a planet. Yes, I own two games like that already. But it uses polyominoes and a lazy Susan. Though mine doesn’t come with it. But as you select pieces for your planet, you rotate a this central piece. And where I decide to stop rotating it, that determines what you get. So there is a bit of a puzzle where I might take a slightly worse for me piece to stop you from getting the perfect piece.

Star Trek: Super-Skill Pinball

I own two, no three, versions of Super-Skill Pinball. It is a roll and write game that I really enjoy and one I should play more. It is playing pinball and this one has a, you guessed it, Star Trek theme. There is a Christmas one as well with Christmas movies that I’m less interested in. But I do like Star Trek so I wanted to play this one.

Featherlight

Featherlight, another one that I played on Malts and Meeples with Bargain Basement Bathysphere. So you can find that in the video above. I like it as a way to optimize how you are scoring. It’s kind of a puzzle with some randomness. And I think that works really well for the length and weight of the game. It is very light, but offers you good choices as you play.

Unmatched: Marvel – Redemption Row & Hell’s Kitchen

I hadn’t planned on getting into Unmatched. But Marvel is what drew me in. And I have made a promise to myself that I won’t buy other sets, unless they are Marvel. So I am trying to get my hands on Deadpool, just waiting for someone from a Discord to ship it. But their lives are busy, so I understand. And there are upcoming Marvel sets, but I will talk about those later.

The Librarians

This is one that I got to try in 2020 when I did the digital GenCon. But it is a game around the Librarians TV show. The game is good, and I didn’t back it because I was backing too many things. So when it hit retail and hit a sale, I wanted to get it into my collection. It is a cooperative game and a fun theme that I want to play.

Ascension X: War of Shadows

Ascension, I’ve talked about it, this is my favorite introductory deck building game. I have two expansions, this one and a nature themed one, that I need to play still. But more is good because they are standalone or can be all mixed together. Well, maybe not all, but somewhat mixed together.

18 Holes: Second Edition & Expansion

You saw the roll and write, this is the tabletop version. It is still building a golf course. But you do that as a group. And then you play that course to see how well you do. I’m excited to try it. Sports games often aren’t the right match for board games. But I think that a golf theme works better than a faster spaced sport like Soccer or Football.

Starship Captains

Starship Captains is one that I played at GenCon in 2022. And I enjoyed it, but it is one that I want to spend more time with. It is a fast game, and I think that end snuck up on me in my one play. Is it one for me, or will it always feel too short? We will have to see, but I want to give it more of a try.

Relics of Rajavihara & Expansion

I just wrote a review on Relics of Rajavihara and you can read that here. But it is a fun puzzle game and I hope that this week or in the next two, I can fully wrap up the game. It’s fast and fun and a great puzzle.

Solomon Kane Expansions

Mythic Games is getting rid of their extra stock as they try and raise funds to complete and ship out other games. I could explain it more, but basically the pandemic hit them harder than a lot of companies. So this is a chance to grab the last of the stuff I don’t have. I think I own basically all of it now.

Enchanters

Another Mythic Games, another one that they sold the rights to. So it is discounted as they move their stock. A deck building game, but one I wasn’t super interested in. But when it is on sale and I can get the all in Kickstarter, or near that, it is worth buying and trying.

D&D Books

Just some more setting books and different books for more D&D content. I am there for that, and I want to mix it into my game.

Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama

This is one that Zee mentioned in his Top 100 Games. It is a rework of an existing game, with a theme that Indie Boards & Cards has used before. So I want to try it with that theme. The rest of the Kodama games are less interesting for me. But this one because it’s an existing theme is interesting.

Exit: Lord of the Rings

It’s an Exit escape room board game. And this one my wife wants to try because of the theme. And in all fairness I’m excited for the theme as well. Exit games are not my favorite of the escape room style games because they are destructive. So it’s a one time use thing. But the theme in this case pulled me in.

Skyrim: The Adventure Game

Another one where the theme pulled me in. I avoided backing it on Gamefound. The game play looked fun, but I can only back so many games so often. Then as more came out about the game, the more interesting it became to me. And I hope that it’s a pretty narrative driven game that feels like Skyrim.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice

And to wrap it up, another video game one. And one that I wouldn’t have looked at too much. But it turned into one that I was very interested in because it has that big campaign feel to it, and cooperative play. And we know that is what I like in games.

Pre-orders

Plus there are a few pre-orders to talk about.

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition – Discovery & Crisis Expansions

This one I should have added to my other set of pre-orders, but both of these are expansions to a game I really like a lot. Ares Expedition. One gives you ways to upgrade your action selection which will make you different and unique in the long run. The other one is going to offer a cooperative or solo play opportunity. So two things that I’m very interested in. There is a third one as well, but when it was on Kickstarter, it just didn’t interest me as much.

Earth

Another one coming from Kickstarter that I am picking up now. It’s an engine building game that looks like it should be pretty on the table. I find that I really like engine building games. And this one looks like it is in that framework of being light, but not too light. I’m hoping, mainly, that the rules are in a place where it is easy to teach and get to the table.

The Lord of the Rings: Adventure to Mount Doom

See what I said about Lord of the Rings before. This one is going to be an adventure book style game where you play through different scenes. Besides it being Lord of the Rings and based off of the same or similar system to the one used in the Princess Bride game I don’t know a ton more. But I’m more excited for this one than the escape room game.

Final Thoughts

Some of this has just been catching up on games that I’ve had an eye on and have been on my wishlist. The Librarians, Skyrim, and Assassin’s Creed were all on that list. And you can see a number of expansions as well.

But if it were you, which of these games would you play first? Of course, I’ve played some already, but I tried to call those out.

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So what happens if you play a game where this is the main theme of the game? Do you end up playing in the Matrix? And would that works or how would it work in Dungeons and Dragons?

I think that there are two different things that you could look at. The first being an almost T.I.M.E. Stories or Assassin’s Creed situation where you are from a future time and are being sent back in time to this world, or across dimensions. The other being a more magic way, and for Dungeons and Dragons, I would prefer to run it in the second way, though the first would be fun as well.

In the game that I’d be running, and starting with the BBEG, it would be a Wizard of some sort, because an evil Wizard would clearly be creating pocket/illusionary dimensions where the rules for the world aren’t the same. But, that would be the thing, everyone would assume that my wizard is evil, but really, it was just a magical experiment that went horribly wrong that is trapping people into these pocket dimensions or worlds of illusion really.

I would have some fun with that, for the players, probably start them in a world of illusion that seems very different than the setting that I’ve been saying that I was going to set them in. It would probably be something much more modern, there was a D&D podcast that I was listening to where they were talking about an old game (not Total Party Thrill, I forgot the name of this one), where they went to modern times and killed Santa Clause at a mall because the characters didn’t understand what was going on. I’d probably do something less than that and I would make it fairly easy to get out of.

Now, if all the players are doing is getting out of these illusion worlds, that would get old pretty fast, and it also has a problem, if everything is an illusion can it really hurt them. So I’m going to address that first and then suggest some other things that you can do in the game besides put them in an illusion world.

The big question is, since this is a world of illusion, can the players die in this world? I would say that no they can’t. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t get close or that there aren’t consequences. I’m not sure what I’d do, but I’d have them track hit points like normal, but when they die, or get knocked out, they can always come back, but there is going to be some sort of consequence. I’m not sure what I would do, maybe create a separate track where the mental anguish of going down so many times can drive them insane or eventually kill them? And I’d probably put the track at 10 spots, so it would be hard for them to die that way, but it would be possible. And I’d probably give them a way to heal it somehow, maybe every time that they level up they can remove one.

But also in these illusion worlds, they wouldn’t be the only ones who are in there. Some bad people could be trying to manipulate them to cover a crime or something like that. So, while the players can’t die in the illusion world, neither can the bad guys, so if they are able to stop an illusion world so that they can escape from it, they might also then have a real threat in the real world. And how safe are their bodies really in the real world while the players are in the illusion world? You can use things like that to push the players forward. Probably no one slitting their throats in the real world while their minds are in the illusion world, but they might come back to find that some stuff is gone.

You don’t only want to create these mini dungeons for the players of the illusion worlds. If that’s all the players are doing, it’s eventually going to get boring. So you need to mix it up, and you need to get them eventually to the wizard who screwed everything up.

I would make it so that where the illusion worlds are is “visible”. With a good perception check or some sort of description/tip off for it, so at some times you’d probably have the players running from it, and if they can do well on a skill challenge that would work as another type of encounter with this.

Another challenge I’d give them is basically figuring out and locating where these illusion worlds are coming from. Is it the epicenter of them all or is somewhere else. Getting to the origination point should be a dungeon in itself. You can pull from Dragon Age Origins here where when the Mage Circle has issues you are fighting your way through their tower, but you also have to fight your way through the fade at one point. You can create traps, tricks, and more there. I’d probably also put the wizard who created t his as trapped in something that isn’t able to allow him to stop it, like maybe an illusion became real and is holding him hostage or maybe they are trapped in illusion world and are trying to escape, but their solution is to become a Lich, so can the players get them out of that illusion world before the Wizard turns themselves into a Lich?

Finally, I’d put in some challenges in the world of the game. Obviously, there are going to be people who use these illusion worlds to do bad things in them or to loot the bodies of the people who are stuck in them. So the players will probably have to track down a few important things have been stolen and probably some things that have been stolen from them. You can even set up some sort of McGuffin, like there are glasses or some sort that allows them to more easily say the illusion worlds, or that someone has invented a form of magic that allows them to hop in and out of the illusion worlds, which the players would obviously want.

I think that I’d want to run this game and play in this game. The concept is something that will have some of your standard fantasy tropes, but also does some things that would feel completely different. And with the illusion worlds, you’d be able to do a ton of different things. Maybe it’s modern Earth, or maybe it’s just like the fantasy world, but it’s been overrun with demons, you can make up an illusion world each time. I’d be tempted to create a number of them, and then just pull from a hat so that it’s a surprise and the players can’t plan. It would be something interesting to do, and you could even, in session 0, have the players help brainstorm all of these things and are basically creating settings for their characters to be trapped in, which they might not know.

What do you think of this idea? Is this a game that you’d want to play in?

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But that doesn’t have to stop you from tackling it! Today, we’ll look at some ways to keep costs down while still enjoying your cosplay experience to the fullest. And since cosplaying on a budget is basically the only type I do, as I have not become rich and famous yet (ha!), hopefully some of the things I’ve picked up on the way will help you in your own costume-making ventures.

1. Start by setting a budget.

This step is crucial, as it helps you figure out what’s feasible. For example, you may be able to set a budget that gives you some wiggle room, but which precludes you from doing something like sewing yourself a Princess Peach ballgown from scratch. Though setting a firm budget does limit you, this can actually be a good thing — with the zillions of characters you could choose to cosplay, this is a great way to make the decision process easier.

2. Decide whether to make or buy each piece

It seems like it should almost always be cheaper to make something yourself than to buy it, right? Well, more often than not these days, that’s not the case.

To get the most bang for your buck in this respect, I suggest taking some time to plan out all of the different pieces you’ll need for your costume. Once you know what you’re looking for, you can decide whether it makes more sense to buy or make each piece. For example, you might be great at sewing and know where to get inexpensive fabric; if so, sewing the garments needed for your costume might be the way to go for you. If not, you’ll likely want to seek out a place you can buy them online.

And let’s face it; some stuff is just easier and less expensive to buy than to fabricate. For example, when I cosplayed as Rocket the Raccoon, I wanted to have a giant fake gun to carry around. I could have built one, but that would’ve required a lot more time and money than I was willing to sacrifice to the cause, so I decided buying a reasonably priced Super Soaker and spray-painting it black was a better bet in that case.

3. Use cheaper materials when you can

On that note — buying items for your costume may work well for some things, but many costumes will include components that just can’t be purchased. Captain America shields may be relatively easy to come by, but Harley Quinn hammers, on the other hand, are not.

When you’re faced with the need to fabricate a costume piece yourself, my advice is to do an internet search for others who have cosplayed as your character of choice — someone almost definitely has, and has likely even written about it — and take a look at how they went about crafting that particular piece. Even if you don’t follow their method exactly, this is usually a good way to get ideas for how you’ll do it yourself.

Fabrication is one aspect of cosplay that will test your creativity (which, obviously, is what makes it so great). But never underestimate what can be done with craft foam, hot glue, and thrifted clothes. If you’re willing to spend some time searching and strategizing, you can find all sorts of ways to create something using materials that won’t break the bank.

4. Know where to get what you need

So you’ve decided on what you’ll need to put this costume together — but where will you find all of it?

This is another place where the internet will come in handy. Places like Etsy are a fantastic resource for special costume items that aren’t readily available. Look for vintage items that could be repurposed as costume pieces, or see if you can find smaller hard-to-find pieces that are reasonably priced — it may take a little extra digging, but with some patience and the right search terms, you can find them.

Other great places include craft stores like Michaels, JoAnn’s and the like. And thrift stores like Savers or Goodwill can often be a gold mine for things that can be bought on the cheap and remade into the perfect costume piece.

5. Simple is best

Finally, one of the main things to keep in mind is that a costume doesn’t have to be complicated or super detailed to be awesome. A stylized or simplified version can cost way less than trying to incorporate every detail of the original, and it can look just as great and be just as much fun to wear. This is another great area to get creative — dream up a modernized version of an Assassin’s Creed character, go as a hipster Disney princess, or imagine what Robin’s street clothes would look like. With a little ingenuity, you’ll find that cosplaying on a budget can be as nuanced, innovative, and enjoyable as the more expensive variety — and often, even more so.

These are just some of the ways to enjoy cosplaying without going broke. What are your favorite tips and tricks for cosplaying on a budget? Share your ideas in the comments!

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