Numerous

How many decks can one have assembled before they become too many? Now finding that I can't fit all my Warlord decks into one Battle Box, I'm asking myself that question.

Of course, one wants a variety of decks assembled in order to prevent the possibility of boredom that inevitably arises from playing the same deck over and over again. hence why I have some decks assembled from each faction and every class. That does mean that my humble collection of rare cards is stretched somewhat thin, however; not all my clerics can have access to Sieze Life, not all my assassins can dish out a Knife After Dark, etc. This may lead to some sub-optimal decks, but so long as they're fun, who cares? And since I still have spare Spencers and Dominy's, I can build plenty more FreeK decks, at least...

Sure, I could swap cards in and out of different decks (indeed, my dwarf decks are forced to share the same starting line-up as I don't have enough Warsongs for more'n one deck), but then I'd have to continually be putting cards into and out of all the different deck protectors that I have. It's bad enough that some of my decks have to languish in my old 'clear' protectors rather than luxuriate in the ones with pretty pictures on the back.

Now, there are only three more decks than can fit into the BB (twelve being the number that I consider the comfortable limit of the box's capacity), so it's only three extras to carry around, but is that still too much? Only two days ago did I have a cull of two decks that weren't really pointful to playing (Xiathe sniper and Brikta smash), and as time goes on I will deconstruct those that fail to perform well even after tinkering.

The number twelve was good, though; I could select which deck I would play for a game by rolling a d12. With fifteen decks, the choice becomes harder to randomise. How important is that with regards to determining a sensible number of decks to tote around? probably not quite as valid as the weight of the bag carrying all these piles of cards, right? Well, it's not taxing my definition of 'heavy', so in that regard it's fine.

Since I have no spare deck protectors left now (having bought more last Friday, admittedly), fifteen shall now be the functional maximum, new ideas forcing out old ones when they occur. The number has developed naturally, so there's no need to arbitrarily punish some of the strange decks that I've put together recently.

Except that Ablung one. I don;t know what I was thinking, putting every card with 'Shadow' in its title into a deck and hoping that it would work...

Deverenians at Large

In honour of the Stolen Destinies Dev week, you'll find a Dev-related new fiction up at the Alderac forums. Penned as it is by Jon Sherefkin, author of the Skyyrek story, I urge you all to go and read it, as it's told with his customary flair.

Of Medusan Lords and Deverenian Destinies

Up at the Warlord main page, there is a chance for people to submit their own ideas for the name of the latest Medusan Lord, a rather badass NoThRoG scout. Just be mindful that the closing date has now been extended to the 21st of this month, so don't be thinking that you've missed your chance!

While you're over at the site, you can also see the images for the warlords from the forthcoming Plane of Secrets expansion. Pretty cool, eh? Combine their sweet art with the fact that they're the first 'off-class' warlords for the factions for a while (by which I mean that the Deverenians get a rogue, the Dwarfs a wizard, the Elves a fighter, the Free Kingdoms a wizard and the NoThRoG a cleric - the Mercenaries' seemingly classless beastie is another matter entirely) and you'll begin to understand just how strange a place the Plane of Secrets is. Full of beauty and wonder, yes, but there are terrors there as well...

Third on the list of updates to the site (though not the least, by any means!) is the latest of the Stolen Destinies selections, this time for Deverenians. Who to choose? Taking into account the fact that all of you can read this time, I'm not going to reel off a list of candidates this time around. I'll just settle for telling you who snagged my own vote.

Sir Corwin Lorath. Not terribly useful from a gameplay point of view, but his minor storyline teaming up with Maxt Stormcrow to kill the emperor needs to be concluded, no? Little lvel 1 like him will need to hijack someone's destiny to get that achieved now, though...

Also, Sir Corwin was the piece of art that made me realise just how awesome an artist Jason Engle is. Random fact of the month.

You'll all be noticing the name 'Laela' on the SD list, and wondering who she is, and why you should bother to waste your vote on her. Well, while I'm not about to spoil the surprise that the Plane of Secrets has here (I'll leave that to someone else), you can extrapolate from her name what business she's about; not a knight or squire, and with no noble family lineage. Hmmm...

The Temple is Down, but...

The Alderac Forums now feature Warlord areas alongside L5R, CoH, etc. While the Temple of Lore site may be on the fritz at the moment, there's now somewhere new to put all your posting!

Destiny of the Seven Dwarves

Stolen Destinies is here. Malrog Ironface, founder of the Medusan Lord conspiracy, is going to finally have his revenge on the Lands of the Accord. His is a devious scheme, involving a perfect alignment of the moons, the Plane of Secrets and the stealing of fates.
However, all is not lost. With the voting of players of the Warlord CCG (that's you people reading this, unless you happened upon this article randomly) characters that we've all come to know and love can have their destinies assured, elevated to something greater than they were before.
Faction by faction the voting has progressed, with campaigns raging for certain sides in the conflict for popularity; of 42 candidates for each group, only the 7 most popular will seize control of their destinies, with one making it to the exalted position of warlord. Oh, and fiction to go with, natch.
It's week four now, and the Dwarfs are up for the vote. Unfortunately, 2007 has welcomed in a little downtime for the Temple of Lore forums, so I'm going to use my column here to lobby for my favoured candidate instead. Firstly, a list of those up for a chance at the big time (makes this article longer, and thus more impressive):

Aialla Truthlight
Anneal
Avalanche
Awl Beetle
Barhon Ironblade
Barrier
Bleed
Blue Jasper Gargoyle
Brawl
Brin, Pillar of Kor
Chain
Claw
Defiance
Denali Sagebound
Dirge
Dodger
Durick Havard
Edge
Envy
Fetter
Furore
Guardian
Hearth
Hymn
Ice
Limestone Gargoyle
Martyr
Memory
Roar
Rubble
Ruthless
Saul Tombcarver
Scorch
Staunch
Stonefist
Time
Trail
Traveler
Tripwire
Truth
Uthas Battleheim
Will

A shortlist of my own shall now follow. Avalanche is a Blackstone Raider: what's not to like about that? Claw: dwarf with a bear, and a staple character of old in Mat B's Xod deck (so long ago, now...). Dirge: He's almost a synonym for 'bad card' (jockeying with Sedwin Elfhunter on that score, actually; hence why it ain't in the dictionary just yet), but this could really be his chance to shine. Dodger: Hey, he has beet art, that should be reason enough. Edge: Badass from back in the day. Furore: One of Soren Nihil's buddy boys. His master may be gone, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a future (I hear that Ter-Soth's still recruiting...). Guardian: It's pretty clear that this dude's guaranteed a place in the seven dwarves (ha), but he is an icon of the faction, and deserves it. Saul Tombcarver: The guy carves tombs. C'mon... Stonefist: A fist made of stone, and that's his name. Who would win if he arm-wrestled Lord Anguisant, I wonder..?
Of course, all the others have valid arguments for inclusion as well (okay, maybe not the Awl Beetle or any of the Gargoyles; who likes rocks, anyway?), but hopefully this little wonderment of mine has got y'all thinking a bit more. Voting's open through Friday, when the next faction - fifth and penultimate - goes up to the block. Go now!
In the end, I plumped for Furore.