Magic the Gathering Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska

The Ultimate Mind Mage Faces The Master Assassin The history of Ravnica has long been shaped by the struggle for supremacy among its ten feuding guilds. A tenuous peace keeps the power of the guilds in balance, but they would need little excuse to reignite the smoldering coals of a conflict that could engulf Ravnica’s world-spanning city. Jace Beleren, a mind mage who has adopted Ravnica as his home, has seen to it that the delicate peace holds. He has become the Living Guildpact, the embodiment of the guilds’ agreement to share power, and he works tirelessly to preserve that peace. The deadly gorgon Vraska, a Planeswalker who was born on Ravnica, is an assassin for hire who follows her own arcane moral code. She is a master of her trade, killing her marks and then disappearing into the tunnels of Ravnica’s vast undercity. Though she works mostly with the Golgari guild, she is bound by no permanent allegiance. In the wrong hands, Vraska’s skills could destabilize an entire world. With a few key assassinations, suspicions would lead to accusations, and accusations could lead to war. Jace, the caretaker of Ravnica’s peace, refuses to let that happen.

# of Players: 2

Playing Time: 45 minutes

Difficulty to learn: Easy to Moderate

Library Catalog Record: We’re sorry; this game is somebody’s personal copy, so the library does not currently own this game. If you’d like to see this game or more like it in the library, let us know!

Gloom

The world of Gloom is a sad and benighted place. The sky is gray, the tea is cold, and a new tragedy lies around every corner. Debt, disease, heartache, and packs of rabid flesh-eating mice—just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, they do. But some say that one’s reward in the afterlife is based on the misery endured in life. If so, there may yet be hope—if not in this world, then in the peace that lies beyond.

In the Gloom card game, you assume control of the fate of an eccentric family of misfits and misanthropes. The goal of the game is sad, but simple: you want your characters to suffer the greatest tragedies possible before passing on to the well-deserved respite of death. You’ll play horrible mishaps like Pursued by Poodles or Mocked by Midgets on your own characters to lower their Self-Worth scores, while trying to cheer your opponents’ characters with marriages and other happy occasions that pile on positive points. The player with the lowest total Family Value wins.

# of Players: 2 – 4

Playing Time: 60 minutes

Difficulty to learn: Easy

Library Catalog Record: http://library.lib.asu.edu/record=b6284416~S2

Once Upon a Time: The Storytelling Card Game

Once Upon A Time is a game in which the players create a story together, using cards that show typical elements from fairy tales. One player is the Storyteller and creates a story using the ingredients on her cards. She tries to guide the plot towards her own ending. The other players try to use cards to interrupt her and become the new Storyteller. The winner is the first player to play out all her cards and end with her Happy Ever After card.

# of Players: 2 – 6

Playing Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty to learn: Easy

Library Catalog Record: http://library.lib.asu.edu/record=b6284399~S2