Phew! There's been a chaotic whirlwind of product releases over the past two months, with plenty more on the horizon. Our Organised Play efforts also his some huge milestones, too. Here's a brief on the important stuff that's happened since June, as well as a taste of things to come!
Of course with most of the country at Alert Level 2 at the moment, we've had to cancel all our in-store events :(
Our play space is still available for use during our shortened opening hours though!
Board Games
We've had loads of new stock drop in; too much to list off here! If nothing pictured above tickles your fancy, we've got the following titles dropping in store over the next month:
- Root (+ The Riverfolk Expansion)
- Pandemic Legacy: Season 0
- Pendulum
- A Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion restock
- Above and Below
- ... And more!
Don't forget that you're now able to browse board games on our website by recommended player count! It's easier than ever to find your playgroup's next big game!
Dungeons & Dragons
Mythic Odysseys of Theros has dropped! We've still got a few copies with the limited edition cover in stock, so get in fast for those! We're still currently waiting for restocks on Curse of Strahd, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and the Dungeon Master's Guide.
New releases on the horizon include Icewind Dale (15th September), Curse of Strahd: Revamped (20th October), and the much anticipated Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (17th November)!
Release dates have been a bit finicky all year though, so don't be too surprised if a few new releases arrive up to a month late. Be sure to follow our Facebook or Instagram for the latest updates on new product releases!
Magic: the Gathering
Double Masters and (the much delayed) JumpStart are in store. We've also got a selection of singles (2XM - JMP) from each set for you to peruse! While we were keen to hold a JumpStart launch event this past weekend, the extension of Alert Level 2 meant that it just wasn't possible. We're also only 3 weeks away from the pre-release weekend for Zendikar Rising, so it looks like we'll have to give JumpStart a miss altogether.
There's nothing stopping you from picking up a few boxes to play with your friends though! The set has been fantastic fun so far. Just shuffle 2 packs together, and away you go!
MTG Organised Play
Again due to the extension of Alert Level 2, we've had to cut out Commander League short. The points have been tallied, and the final standings can be found here. Congratulations to our Top 8!
- Sam Unsworth (1st - 124 points)
- Josh Krauser (2nd - 108 points)
- Mark Lewis (3rd - 103 points)
- Eva Simpson-Pettie (4th - 101 points)
- Domanic Lapslie-Rogerson (5th - 99 points)
- Callum Webster (6th - 99 points)
- Darryl Sleet (7th - 97 points)
- Noah Cave-Higgins (8th - 96 points)
Josh walks away with 12 Mystery Boosters, and Mark and Eva each score 6 Mystery Boosters! Sam has foregone the opportunity to take home a copy of Secret Lair: the Enemy Fetchlands, and has instead opted to bank a cool $350.00 store credit!
Of course all our Top 8 participants also receive a secret prize, which I'm happy to reveal here as... a free Double Masters draft! We'll be in contact soon to organise the time and date.
There are definite improvements to be made to our Commander League structure which we're hoping to implement once we're back at Alert Level 1. Subsequent leagues will be much shorter (a month in length), and will place more emphasis on rewarding attendance over wins!
Congratulations again to our Top 8, and a big thanks to the 35 players who participated during the past 10 weeks :)
Flesh and Blood TCG
So much has happened in the world of Flesh and Blood in the past 2 weeks that I feel like I've aged a full year in that time! But let's not get ahead of ourselves, let's start at the beginning:
Crucible of War and its Singles are now available! With the introduction of this set, each of the existing 8 Hero Classes have received a plethora of support. There truly has never been a better time to start playing Flesh & Blood if it weren't for...
... the ridiculous prices on the first two sets. What happened?!
On Monday, August 24th, supply for Welcome to Rathe suddenly dried up, with Arcane Rising being soon to follow. It was then announced on Tuesday that Legend Story Studios would be printing an Unlimited Edition for both Welcome to Rathe and Arcane Rising. The 'Unlimited' were announced to contain no Cold Foils, increasing the collector's value of First Edition and Alpha print boxes.
While this is good news for collectors, it is definitely bad news for players wanting to get their hands on affordable product. Fortunately, there are still affordable ways for you to get your hands on WTR and ARC cards so you can get stuck into the game!
1) Get a Welcome to Rathe Hero Deck. A fully constructed deck is still relatively cheap, as they don't contain any of the highly collectible cards affected by the Unlimited reprints.
2) Buy Singles. While there is a shortage on Legendary- and Majestic-rarity cards, Super Rares, Rares, and Commons are still in bountiful supply, and are more than enough to teach you the basics and get you started!
3) Check out our Flesh & Blood Deck-Builder Kits. They contain a play set of each Rare and Common card in both Welcome to Rathe and Arcane Rising! The only things left for you to pick up are Super Rares, Majestics, and Legendaries. We even put in all the hard work of sorting the cards for you, too!
Flesh and Blood Organised Play
On the Weekend of the 8th/9th of August, we teamed up with our friends over at Cerberus Games to bring Flesh and Blood players TWO Road to Nationals events, back to back. With 49 attendees at Cerberus, and 45 attendees at Calico, it was a busy weekend! A big thanks to the New Zealand FAB community for making both events a joy to participate in and to organise. It's always a pleasure being surrounded by keen players on the never-ending quest to hone their skills!
We were also given the opportunity by Legend Story Studios to be their official partner for the Flesh & Blood National Championships at Wellington in September! We'll be on site at the Wellington Bridge Club providing vendor services, as well as hosting a plethora of side-events for those not partaking in the main event. You can find the full side event schedule here.
Pokémon TCG
Our Pokémon TCG suppliers are currently sending us stock via sea freight due to Covid-related logistical issues.
While an ordering mishap caused us to literally miss the boat on the initial Rebel Clash shipment, we were back onto with Darkness Ablaze. You can now find our full selection for both sets either in store or online :)
That about does it for now! Once Flesh and Blood Nationals is over things should finally start winding down for Team Calico (... leading up to Christmas? yeah, right). Be on the look out though; you may see a job listing or two pop up over the next month ;)
