I recently acquired a load of the new Spellfire: Remaster the Magic physical cards. Me and my friend James opened them up and made decks. Then we played a game on the cool new playmats I also ordered. I won the game. Check it out!
Spellfire: The Antigonish Variant
A blog for the discussion of the Antigonish variant (TAV) of Spellfire, a discontinued collectible card game created by TSR in 1994 and canceled by Wizards of the Coast in 1997. The TAV rules were put together as an attempt to revitalize the game by the duo of Marc Dalesandro and Hayden William Courtland in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, during the year 2000. The TAV rules also form the backbone of the upcoming Spellfire: Remaster The Magic game relaunch.
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Friday, August 18, 2023
You Don't Have To Be Psychic To Know This is A Great Card
Apparently, it's filled with fungus. |
Play The Cavernous Hall later in the game if you can, possibly as a replacement for a razed first realm. You want to hold off on playing it until you have a wide assortment of psionicist champs sitting in your pool, so that you can take a long look before deciding which one to copy. Early in the game, your choices will be limited and your opponent will have an easier time attacking. Since there is only one attack per turn in TAV, each sortie is super important. Use The Cavernous Hall to make your enemies feel like crawling into a hole in the ground!
Extra! Check out some of the gameplay posted on the Spellfire.com website. I'm not big on playing CCGs on an app (I prefer physical cards), but this looks like fun. Plus, they are using the TAV rules! I can't wait for the Spellfire relaunch.
Next time: Show some restraint!Sunday, November 27, 2022
It's really happening! Stay tuned, everyone.
Remember...this new relaunch of Spellfire uses the Antigonish Variant rules at its core.
Keep an eye here and on http://spellfire.com for more updates as Spellfire moves closer to returning.
Also check out the Spellfire YouTube channel.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
2021 TAV Rules Update (version 1.1)
Please let me know if I've used confusing wording or committed blatant mistakes. Also give me any suggestions you may have in the way of improving TAV gameplay.
Thanks in advance.
Here is the link to the updated TAV rules.
Change log:
-Tightened up grammar/phrasing throughout.
-Gender-neutral language implemented.
-Dungeon rules clarified.
-Combat rules clarified.
-Avatars' special powers can be duplicated by other cards that allow special power duplication in TAV.
-Spoils rules clarified.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
TAV in action! It's war!
This didn't happen...but almost. |
My good friend James and I recently engaged in a game of Spellfire at my place. I gave him my Tournament Deck and took my Gib Deck, and off we went. Here's how the game played out.
PREGAME - The first pic got corrupted somehow, but we both cut our decks and checked the last digit of the first number to see who went first. He won. We both drew 5 cards, and the game began.But he's got a response this time - a Black Hole. My Caravan is canceled. Not only that, but James gets to use it for himself! He takes his extra turn.
CARAVAN TURN (his) - He plays no realm, but a wild Erellika appears...and she's targeting my Temple with an Estate Transference. Does my opponent have one of his own he wants to slap down? Or is he just trying to kill off my Gibs?
Now he slaps down a Good Fortune. Things are going from bad to worse for me here. James draws 5 cards.
And he's gotten a Caer Allison. Not sure why he immediately uses it. Is Erellika that valuable? I would have let her die and saved the event for later. Is this his first mistake?
TURN TWO (mine) - Mithas is a great front land. I do not want that Horseman around, so I hit it with a Wine of Eternity to keep it under wraps and/or have James waste good cards drawing and discarding to try to wake it up again.
Unfortunately for me, he has an Enter Darkness Together! No way in hell I'm tearing up my chase card, so the Wine of Eternity is canceled by the EDT. Headless Horseman is free to rampage all over my formation (such that it is).
He attacks Mithas with the Horseman. Since I don't want to lose Thiaf I don't block. The Horseman could choose to win, and I'm short on champions. Mithas will flip itself back over at the beginning of my turn anyway. I let it go.
House rule! At my place, any spoils can be played right away, even if it's a spell ordinarily usable only in phase 3. James draws a Takhisis's Abyssal Gateway and immediately uses it to nuke my only champ. Yikes. He ends his turn after Thiaf heads off to the Abyss. The razed Caer Allison vanishes.
He also drops his dungeon, which is The Azure Tower of Onad the Fallen. Now his helpful events can't be canceled, and his harmful events can't be copied.
Prismal the Outrageous makes an appearance, with an attached Amulet of Spell Protection. It protects Prismal, and can also be discarded to cancel yet another spell.
The Horseman attacks again, this time at Tyr. I defend with the level 5 realm champion, and he chooses to automatically win the round. The Headless Horseman is discarded and Tyr is razed. He grabs a spoils.
TURN FOUR (mine) - Finally, some good luck. Though I continue to forget about Mithas, which should be unrazed, I draw Ancient Kalidnay. Gib Reltub makes an appearance in my pool.
...and then slap down my Menzo. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the way this game is going. I'd be in an even better position if I remembered about Mithas, but I don't.
I slip Candlekeep on Menzoberranzan. Now if James plays an event I can take a long look at his hand.
POW! Athasian Sloth to Cram's head. I might have to discard two cards from my hand, which would be devastating.
BUT WAIT...Dispel Illusion! The most powerful card in Spellfire makes an appearance. Not only is the Dodge not played, but I can't play it until my next turn. Ouch.
Unluckily, James has a Dispel. I discard two cards as the Sloth takes effect, and Julio is now level 10.
Desperation time. I throw down the Loup-Garou. If he has a way to stop it (or a magic item), I'm toast.
But he doesn't! I win the combat round and The Lost Sea is razed. Julio goes to the discard pile and I grab a spoils.
The spoils is a Dissolution! I try to dissolve his only realm, which would lead to the death of all his champions.
No defense! The dungeon is razed and goes to the discard pile. I snag a spoils. It's a realm, the Mad Scientist's Lab! Down it goes, completing my formation. I end my turn.
TURN FIVE (his) - James has had enough of Gib Cram's shenanigans. He has Erellika cast Wish on him. Cram dies.
I can do nothing. Menzo is razed, my Candlekeep heads off to the discard pile, and James grabs a spoils and ends his turn.
TURN FIVE (mine) - I've seen enough of the Earth Elemental for one game. I throw a Trapped on him. The Elemental can do nothing until it's negated, so he's out of action for awhile. There's no realm for me to attack, so I end my turn.
TURN SIX (mine) - I drop Netheril over the useless Mithas I kept forgetting to flip. James hits me with a Cold Cup of Calamity just after I replace my front realm.
Instead of having to discard it, I use the Wrath of the Immortals in my hand before the Cup takes effect. I target the Arch-Druid.
He responds with Unusually Good Fortune, collecting 3 cards. The Wrath goes off, dropping the Arch-Druid's level to 1, robbing him of his special powers, and making him attack or defend first.
Cold Cup goes off. James removes Duchy of Tenh and a Spell Turning from my hand. I can't attack the only realm he has in play, so I end my turn.
Next Erellika Mindshatters Reltub.
James slips a Bell of Might on Erellika, then sends the Earth Elemental to attack Netheril. Out of options, I discard Avanil for 5 cards.
The Tumor attaches Gib Cram from the discard pile as an ally. Its level beats the Elemental, and the Skull Tumor wins the round of battle. I grab a spoils. James ends his turn.
TURN NINE (his) - Erellika casts Mindkiller on Aklem, who was definitely a problem for my opponent. Aklem is off to the Abyss.
James places The Haunted Hall of Eveningstar into his formation and draws a card. Then he plays Zakhata, the False God and Manshoon of the Zhentarim into his pool.
I attach Dori's Obsidian Steed (very fitting!) and a Star Gem of Martek: Clear Crystal to Irod. Then I attack Zhentil Keep with her, since now I can.
TURN TEN (mine) - I draw my cards, discard 3 and unraze Ancient Kalidnay. Then I play my Caer Allison. That's six realms! Victory?
Bell of Might duplicates the event canceled by Helm. Now James has his second Caer Allison of the game. Okay, pal. We'll do this the hard way. Gib Irod attacks Mithas.
No defense. Mithas is razed and I get a spoils. If it's a realm I can play it and win ...but it's not a realm. The game continues.
TURN ELEVEN (his) - Unlike me earlier in the game, James remembers to flip Mithas back over at the start of his turn.
After Mithas flips back over, he plays Solamnia into the front position. With the Caer Allison, that makes four realms. Does he have a trick up his sleeve to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat here?
A Dreaded Ghost and a Loup-Garou temporarily put Manshoon's level up to 19, topping Irod's 18! Luckily Irod is undead and therefore immune to the Ghost's level drain effect. But I play Knights of Neraka, an ally that gives me a huge +13 bonus and seals the victory.
Manshoon escapes back to his pool, I grab a spoils. It's not a realm, but James is all out of options. His only hope to prolong things is if I fail to draw a realm. I have no razed realms so will have to attack to try to get a spoils if I don't draw a land. He ends his turn with his fingers crossed.