BCW Z-Folio

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

As it is Friday, make to to pop around to your local gamery shoppe to take in Friday Night Magic event.  We'll try to get out to our favourite store, OMG! Games here in Barrie and hopefully be crowned FNM Hero.  Not certain of tonight's turnout as here in Canada-Land, we are moving into the long weekend which means many are moving at turtle-speed up congested highways to get to the cottage or camp out.

Anywhoos, today we wanted to hatter about the latest innovation in TCG storage with the 4-Up Folio.  These storage / trade binders contain pages with four card slots down or across.  The Z-Folio LX 12-Pocket from BCW Supplies has 20 12-pocket pages for a 480 card capacity and features side-loading pockets and a wrap-around zipper for great security.  Available in your favourite colour of mana.  Here's a short 1.5 minute video going over the features -

With the BCW Supplies Z-Folio LX design one can see all four of your standard-constructed deck sets displayed.  Personally, we are happy to tuck our four-of's within the same pocket but we think we are the minority in this regard.  Very robust / sturdy construction.  Rather like the wrap-around zipper for security as well as the nice padded covering material which promises to take melted pizza cheese and clean off nicely. Be aware that this measures in at approximately 14" (35.5 cm) by 13" (33 cm) so make allowances for this if you are porting this to a tourney in your back-pack.  The important thingy to note is that the Z-Folio LX will take your sleeved cards which make
deployment of your cardboard awesomeness very rapid.

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Gamers Bag

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

We are rather happy to have picked up this rather nice Gamers Messenger Bag from Ultra • PRO recently and want to yatter about it.  We've seen players at Magic: the Gathering events packing fat stacks and gaming accessories in just about everything you can imagine from plastic shopping bags, Crown Royal purple bags, customized brief cases and of course back packs which are so ubiquous at Tournaments and Friday Night Magic events.  Anywhoos, before we get too far along, please check out this video of the Ultra • PRO /  FaceOff messenger bag -

This gamers messenger bag was designed by Ultra • PRO in conjunction with Keep Pursuing (KP) and their unique interchangeable 'FaceOff' cover flap.  You get one rather plain looking cover with just the logo (which may be great if you are heading into a meeting), or the very cool illustrated one with that Dragon by artist Mauricio Herrera ('El Grimlock').

There is a metric ton of secure interior and exterior compartments, elastic loops to keep your deck boxes secure, cushioned neoprene interior compartment for your laptop or tablet, side storage pocket fot a playmat tube and a small inside pocket to keep dice in.  Lots of loops for pens, zippered pockets for note pads, and a full back zippered compartment to hold your trade binder.  Quick release adjustable shoulder strap lets you get this bag in the best spot for walking / biking or taking the tube to your game.

What we love :

• Foremost, that interchangeable bag cover flap.  We hope Ultra • PRO may have different graphics in the future but for now, Mauricio's dragon is rocking it.

• The exterior shell material - don't know what the material is properly called but it appears to be water resistant if you happen to get caught dancing outside in the rain with a Pina Colada or even more importantly WUBRG spills some table syrup from his waffles onto your messenger bag during an FNM.

What we think may be improved :

• We do like that there is a small 4-inch deep bag-interior pocket for dice.  This pocket should be secured with a velcro closure but think most players will just opt to have a container / bag of dice stored in another option within the bag.

• That pocket for your playmat tube is OK but we personally don't think it is deep enough.  We would rather see an elasticized band secure the tube along the strap or have a place just under the top of front panel flap.

Completely unnessary but cool all the same is that protective cover bag that this was shipped in - we suggest that you may be well served by stuffing this in one of the messenger bags numerous pockets.  If you need to crash on your buddy's couch after an epic late night game of Commander, this may be a handy pillow cover so you don't have to imagine what that pillow was next to earlier in the day.

The Ultra • PRO Gamers Bag by KP FaceOff comes in a red zipper trim and a blue one.  This will retail in the area of about 80 clams or so and we think it a solid investment if you are in the market for a product to safely and securely port your game to your battlefield.  

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BCW Deck Locker

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

If you're Christian, it's Good Friday and we wish you a wonderful Easter Holidays with family and friends.  There is of course no Friday Night Magic for most of us here in North America as well as other regions so players  here in Barrie are heading off to the local gaming store, OMG! Games Saturday where I think there will be an entire day of drafts.  

Anywhoos, we've got another product review for you today - its the Deck Locker from BCW Supplies.  Before we get into it, here's a short vid from us -

This is a pretty fine deck box which will hold your full 60 standard constructed, the 15 card sideboard as well as a crap-ton of tokens if you need.  We also were able to get in a full 100-card Commander deck no problem but we suggest you don't try that unless you are really in a bind.

The Deck Case also has a rather cool dice tray which should accommodate all your dice / counters.  We got a D20, our lucky flip coin, a full Chessex set (7 dice - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 & d00) as well as that big Planeswalker life counter from Commander's Arsenal.

Outside finished layer is textured (so your greasy hands won't drop it so readily) as well as embossed with that kick-arse BCW dragon logo.  Inside is pimped out like Quagmire's pad with microfiber material promising never to rug-burn your precious cardboard.

There are two magnetic closures and the thingy kinda looks like a fridge with a smaller separate closure for the dice tray and the larger main compartment one where you will store your cardboard whoop-arse.

We did a drop and although the mag closure did pop on the strategic angel we dropped it at, it did not puke contents everywhere.  The small door mag closure is tight and will not likely pop where the larger one might if you klutz'd it, so don't game unless you are sober.

Suggestions for BCW Supplies -

If possible during next upgrade, provide a small write-on surface so players can label their deckboxes should they have more than one.  

Another suggestion - MOAR mag closures / stronger magnets on the main compartment door - we want the iron being sucked out of our hemoglobin. 

All in all, a very sweet deck box which we would recommend to your mom.  Depending on how deep in the woods your gamery shoppe is, you could expect to pay anywhere from $15 to $20.
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Alpha Grimoire Deck Box

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Hello again MTG peeps,

MTG Realm has now been live for about 8 years, has about 12,000 regular followers and have hit about 7 million page visits.  These metrics may be impressive but it still pales in comparison to the vast volume of Magic: the Gathering cards found in just about every room in our secret lair.  We've got cards in desk drawers, binders, boxes, shelves and believe it or not, the collection is fairly well organized.  Having said this, we will admit that our MTG shelf is not rather pretty with the large variety of storage options we have (yep - hashtag that first world problem).

Anywhoos, we've recently picked up a very interesting deck storage box - the Alpha Edition Grimoire Deck Box from Wizardry Foundry.  First and foremost, this box looks great on the shelf and has actually given us a bit more space after organization.  This box is constructed with wood, bonded leather, and has a felt liner which makes us feel a lot better about how much safer our cards are now.  You can squeeze about 1000 un-sleeved cards in the box, or put all your existing deck boxes right in there.  It'll take 10 UPR 75-card boxes or 4 of those mag-flip boxes with room to spare.  Best of all, if you have a cube and need to take it over to your friends place, this box is for you.

Before getting the Grimoire, we did our research, as with all our purchases, and the thing which impressed us most, is that Wizardry Foundry had gone out of their way to solicit feedback from the gaming community.  Armed with this feedback, Wizards Foundry will be moving forward with the design and manufacture of the next generation of Grimoire deck box - The Grimoire Pro Tour.  You can also help them by dropping by their Kickstarter page.

Our Review

• Aesthetics - just lovely looking (we can almost hear Angels singing)

• Sturdiness - like a Fort Knox for your cardboard

• Closure - Alpha Edition has a magnetic closure and can pop open during transport but latter editions have addressed this.

• Artwork - liking the artwork on the Alpha but want better selection which the Kickstarter hopes to address.

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KICKSTARTER PROJECT !

Grimoire Pro Tour Magic Deck Box

A smaller, more portable version of the Grimoire Deck Box, aimed to carry 3 decks and accessories. All your tournament needs in a box!

Grimoire Pro Tour:

• 300 cards with no sleeves, or

• 3 Ultrapro 75 card Deck Boxes

• Tournament Deck, EDH Deck, and Draft Sleeves

• Extra compartment for necessary accessories

• 19cm x 21.6cm x 9cm

• 7.5" x 8.5" x 3.5"

Wizardry Foundry and its founder Jonathan Lau answered the gaming community call for improved portablility with yet another re-designed version.  Please drop by the Kickstarter project page for additional information.

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Ultra PRO Dual Flip Box

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Following up on our late day post yesterday on Ultra PRO's Journey into Nyx product offerings of Magic: the Gathering deckboxes, card sleeves, playmats, and portfolio, we want to yatter to you about another product just hitting the market presently - MTG Dual Flip Boxes.

We're all about not only keeping our precious cards safe 'n' secure but also making 'em look good to / from and at the local gaming stores we go to.  Check out our product review video before we get into the 4.1.1. -

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These fine looking and functional deckboxes have a suggested retail price of just $25.  We will be putting them through the paces over the next several months but for now, we have to say two thumbs up.  Robust, aesthetically pleasing, and adaptable to the Magic: the Gathering game format you are in to.  Here are the features - 

• Leatherette material with debossed Planeswalker and Mana Symbols.

• Magnet closure.

• Soft inner liner protects cards.

• Holds up to 200 collectible cards in Ultra PRO Deck Protector sleeves. 

• Adjustable divider allows the dual compartments to hold either 2 decks of 100 cards or 2 deck of 80 cards plus Oversize cards.
 

WHITE - # 86127
BLUE - # 86128
BLACK - # 86129
RED - # 86130
GREEN - # 86131

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Theros Holiday Gift Box

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

We'll be heading out to OMG! Games latter on tonight to play in the Friday Night Magic event but wanted to swing by today during lunch break to pick up the 2013 Theros Holiday Gift Box on the chance it may sell out latter today.  Apparently we did have nothing to fear as the store ordered a good number.  While at the store there happened to be a few other players there also on a lunch break to grab some singles ahead of the event tonight and not there to pick up the Holiday Gift Box.  After a discussion of what they would pay for four booster packs of Theros (it's about $5 here in Central Ontario), they realised that given the price tag on the Holiday Gift Box (priced at $19.99 at OMG! Games), it was essentially a no-brainer.

Anywhoos - let's have a looky-loo in the box now !

Contents:

• A storage box that can hold more than 2,000 cards

• Six illustrated plastic dividers

• A sticker sheet for customizing the dividers

• Four Theros booster packs

• An alternative-art Karametra's Acolyte from the Theros set

• 20-card Theros basic land pack

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Release Date: November 15, 2013 for an MSRP: $19.99

Enchant the Magic™ player in your life with the Magic: The Gathering® Holiday Gift Box, containing four booster packs from the Theros™ expansion, 20 basic land cards, and a premium card featuring an illustration unique to this gift box.

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Notes :

• Peel 'n' stick sticker are great.

• The box art is nice but not as epic as last year's Return to Ravnica box art.

• The Dan Scott art for alt-art foil Karametra's Acolyte is stunningly beautiful but we have wishes for a more popular standard-format card.  Last year's foiling on Dreg Mangler was a bit weird 'n' flat.

• The art for the six card dividers are simply gorgeous.  The divider thickness seems a bit thinner from last year.

• Card storage box appears robust and on the same quality as the previous year's box.

•  Our four booster packs did not net us anything epic : Temple of Silence / Nighthowler / Artisans of Forms / Labyrinth Champion.  We did finally get a token that we've been looking for which is cool.

•  All in all a very solid purchase and of great use to just about every Magic: the Gathering player we can think of.

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MTG 2013 Holiday Gift Box

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

As it is Friday, you should consider attending a Friday Night Magic event at a local gaming store, where friends and fiends meet.  You have a chance of adding a slick alternate art Dimir Charm to your Magic: the Gathering collection.  We'll be at our fav LGS, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land where we've got a few new MTG singles from MTG Mint Card to tweak that Bant hexproof stack we've been playing.

Anywhoos - some news today from the mothersite - they've just announced that they will be producing another Holiday Gift Box this November, just in time for Christmas.  We were very impressed with last year's Gift Box (look for our article / video review over here), and are certainly going to have one set aside for us this year.

Anywhoos - here's the 4.1.1. from the motersite -

The box itself can hold more than 2,000 Magic cards and is available worldwide in English on November 15, 2013. You do get more than just a beautiful box to store your cards in for the MSRP of $19.99, though! To wit:

• Four Theros booster packs
• Beautiful storage box that can hold more than 2,000 Magic cards
• Twenty Theros basic lands
• Six illustrated plastic dividers
• Sticker sheet for customizing the dividers
• An alternate-art Karametra's Acolyte from the Theros set

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Did you see that too?  Yep - a card name for Theros - Karametra's Acolyte.  Pop your speculation hat on yer noggin!  We're thinking Karametra is either the red-aligned 'god' or perhaps a legendary creature spell from the City of Akris on Theros.  Throw your comment in below!
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Lastly, here's a few pics from last year's Holiday Gift Box -

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Mirrodin UltraPro

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Good Day and Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

The usual Scars of Mirrodin artwork spoiler / previews via certain UltraPro (card storage product) retailers jumping the gun ahead of the official release really did not happen last season - perhaps it will be different for the Mirrodin Besieged previews. Anywhoos - this is just a post to catch up on some of the very lovely looking UltraPro products you may see around your game table now or the very near future. Make tracks to a store to check their stock to pimp your game.

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Scars of Mirrodin Phyrexia 3-Ring storage binder
featuring the Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon art by Chippy



Scars of Mirrodin Mirran 3-Ring storage binder
featuring the Shape Anew art from Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai


Scars of Mirrodin Phyrexia Symbol
Deck Storage box and sleeves


Scars of Mirrodin Mirran Symbol
Deck Storage box and sleeves


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We firmly believe in silly things like lucky Magic the Gathering sleeves can only help your game just like lucky Bingo Trolls can complete a line. Well perhaps not but but we still feel better at FNM when we get handed our own derrière by a kid with a budget deck sleeved with craptacular toxin-leaching sleeves manufactured in a sweat-shop in a third-world country. Wow - sorry about that - we kind of ran on -

Happy Gaming folks !
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Duels Planeswalker Decks

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Good Day MTG peeps,

We're taking a quick break from thinking out loud (or rather blogging out loud) about developing new decks with Rise of the Eldrazi set. Instead, we will be peering into the very short future to see what else is being expected in our fav game . . . namely Duels of the Planeswalkers decks to be released on / about 4th June.

Inspired by the decks from the Duels of the Planeswalkers digital game, Wizards will now make these 60-card decks available in 'paper' format. As a nice bonus, these will come with a 15-card Magic 2010 booster pack, to allow you to customize your deck further (crack'n packs is mostly likely one of our fav pastimes so this is certainly welcome). Let's have a looky-see . . .

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Hands of Flame –
The Chandra Nalaar Deck

Burn them all with Chandra’s red deck. Put your opponent on the defensive, then unload an awesome arsenal of fiery destruction.



Teeth of the Predator –
The Garruk Wildspeaker Deck

Harness the power of Garruk’s green deck. Take advantage of its abundant resources and devastate opponents with awesome creatures.



Thoughts of the Wind –
The Jace Beleren Deck

Manipulate the fabric of the Multiverse with Jace’s blue deck. Watch the fumbling attempts of your opponents as you counter their spells and turn their creatures against them.



Ears of the Elves –
The Nissa Revane Deck

Elvish dominance continues with Nissa’s black and green deck. Decimate your opponents with a legion of elite elvish fighters.



Eyes of Shadow –
The Liliana Vess Deck

Rain down despair with Liliana’s black deck. Master the forces of malevolence and death, and punish opponents with a suite of discard effects.


Duels of the Planeswalkers decks will be available on June 4th, so make tracks to your local brick 'n' mortar and reserve one soon. For DECK LISTS, click HERE.

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Something else which is hitting the shelves are new Rise of the Eldrazi storage products. Check these out . . .

The 9 card portfolio is rather interesting as it does not follow the traditional colour wheel order - that is unless you turn it on its side. To pick these up, check out MTG Mint Card - all the Rise of the Edlrazi singles are now up and ready for pre-order. BONUS - just enter "MTG-REALM" on check out page and you will get $5 off on your order of $50 or over. This code is good until the end of April, so plan your purchases now.

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Card Storage

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Every Magic player eventually encounters this enviable problem . . . card storage - Where to organise and store your cards when not in use beating someone with them.

A quick look around my home shows a variety of card storage solutions that my wife and my kids have employed . . .
My two older kids (MTG and Pokemon) typically keep their cards in containers or binders. My daughter (the youngest who is collecting Bella Sara), stores her cards with her play jewelry.

Not having a lot of extra money for a professional card storage container, I have even caught myself sizing up an old fishing tackle box I found in the garage . . . pathetic actually (not to mention the smell of dessicated fishing bait).

In the image above, you can see my oldest kid's binder and his two ion deck boxes. My wife also has an ion case with the remaining two colours being claimed as my own. These deck cases are typically the only thing I feel comfortable taking to FNM without putting myself at risk of being teased by someone a quarter of my age.

My wife also has an interesting plastic container which formerly held retractable reel clips for card-lock keys / name badges. I had something similar which once held 3" wood screws but overuse and abuse forced me to retire it.

I purchased a cardboard card storage box capable to holding 500 un-sleeved cards but had decided to pimp it by gluing chaff cards identifying cards from which sets (Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor - and eventually Eventide) the box contains . . . very nice.

We also try to obtain boxes or containers which may had at one time contained Magic cards such as booster display boxes or tournament decks. I even have a fairly handy container which formerly held 3 1/2 " diskettes (that's floppy high tech boils & ghouls ! !). I find the diskette box ideal for holding my deck AND sideboard as well as my dice. When opened on the table it also provides a very kewl tray for all my dice.

Speaking of dice, you may be able to see my wife's micro-dice purchased back in the heady days when all those crazy +1/+1 counters were pumping up your Lorwyn-block critters.

You may also note the odd black & white bingo-chip thingys in the fore-ground as well. To be able to distinguish between a +1/+1 (Lorwyn-block) counter and a -1/-1 (Shadowmoor-block) wither counter, I raided an old Othello game I found in the basement . . . I throw a chip white-side up for a positive counter and black-side down for a negative counter . . . just brilliant ! The spouse informs me that however brilliant that idea may have been, she is less than pleased that it was at the expense of the Othello game.

Who knew how resourceful one could be in the the issues of card storage.

~ Happy & Safe gaming everyone !