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Phil Cape

Apparently my coworkers think Eminem and I are the only two to ever make it out of Detroit alive, hence the 8 Mile title on last week’s post.  I actually lived off 5 Mile, so that makes me… three times more hardcore than Em?  Or something. 

So last week I was sitting at my desk, thinking about how bad I am at segues and what topic I should have for this week when the answer got dropped on my desk -- literally.  Check it out:

Yeah, that’s all Crown of the Heavens product, the first of its kind. It arrived last Thursday along with a simple request: I'm to make the gunslinging decks for the upcoming DMF here in Los Angeles.  Now, making an actual physical deck of cards is a lot more work than what we normally do here in R&D to make a deck.  In standard playtesting we will print off the cards in the deck, cut them to size with a paper cutter and slide them into sleeves atop other physical cards.  This is fast and easy.  In the case of a gunslinging deck, though, I doubt a printout of Edwin Van Cleef or Mazu’kon will pass.  So this week, for me, will include an element of a scavenger hunt as I attempt to make six unique decks that are competitive but not overwhelming, using an unknown quantity of resources.  I’ve been shown the complete sets in these cabinets here:

And also the more recent physical cards over here:

And of course I’m working with the product we have on-hand and opened for Crown of the Heavens card selections.  It will be an interesting hybrid of limited and constructed, and my hope is that these decks can showcase some of the cool fringe decks that either got a boost from Crown or have been marginalized/ignored by some of the more oppressive power cards.  If you’re still on the fence about attending, I highly recommend you make it out.  DMF weekends are always a blast, and since this is our hometown event we’re going out of our way to make it extra special – you’ll even get to see me!  Oh yeah, and it’s your first shot to get some of the awesome Crown of the Heavens cards that you’ve been drooling over all week.  My favorite Crown of the Heavens previewed thus far is Rage of the Elements.  I just made a deck with Earthen Might, Bottled Elements, that and *SECRET UPCOMING SET 18 CARD*, and it looks super exciting.   What’s your favorite card previewed so far?