A New Hope, A New Set #2: Jedi Academy

It’s that time again, as Wizards of the Coast preps a new Star Wars Miniatures set for our consumption and edification. Imperial Entanglements turned out pretty well, but if there was one area in which it was lacking, it was lightsabers. Sure, figures like Kyp Durron and Darth Vader, Legacy of the Force were pretty solid, but fans of Force-users didn’t have a ton of stuff to get excited about. That all changes with Jedi Academy, a set coming out at the end of June that promises to give you more Jedi and Sith than you can psychically levitate a stick at.

I mean, would you just look at all those glowing, brightly-colored weapons? If you shut off the lights, it’d be like some sort of crazy rave.

This Is Not A Real Movie…

…but it should be.

In a half-hearted effort to get some superhero stuff back on this here collection of electrons, I present to you this totally awesome Green Lantern movie trailer.

Which I remind you, again, is not a real movie.

Thoughts after the jump.

What An Entangled Web We Weave

Imperial Entanglements dropped this week and the Star Wars Miniatures universe has been buzzing as a result. Specifically, it has been buzzing about how utterly useless C-3PO, Ewok Deity is and how it has caused some individuals to throw the piece against the wall. I just don’t get this. Ol’ Goldie was the first Very Rare I pulled from this set and I was more perplexed than upset. Even though I totally offered him up for trade as soon as I pulled him, he’s nothing to get too upset over. Then again, the Internet is what it is, and overreactions are just part and parcel of the deal. But let’s put tantrums aside. The tournament is out, and the fun can now officially begin.

Today the Hall of Heroes hosted the inaugural IE Sealed tournament – buy two boosters and build the best 100 point squad possible. My eleven year-old niece Alexis graciously decided to accompany me to the tournament, and knowing that wives/girlfriends/children/etc. tend to pick the best boosters, I had her pick mine. I was not disappointed – I pulled some great commons and uncommons, and two solid Rares – Arica (also known as Mara Jade in disguise) and Admiral Thrawn. Not bad at all. So how did they do?

A New Hope, A New Set Part 1

After months of speculation and grumbling on the Star Wars Miniatures boards about when previews would start for the new Imperial Entanglements set, the previews began this week not with a trickle, but a flood. As of this writing, thirteen figures have been previewed ahead of the March 17th release. For those of you, like me, who like to assign meaningless mathematical statistics to things like this, that means we’ve already seen nearly a third of the set. To be more precise, we’ve seen 32.5% of the new figures. To be even more precise, I’m just stalling for word count.

Imperial Entanglements is intended to be a set focused on events taking place during the original trilogy of movies, and to a lesser extent in the Extended Universe, centered around the conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. Based on that criteria, the figures so far are doing just what it says on the tin. We haven’t seen anything in this set that’s too shocking so far, but fans who break out into hives at the mere mention of the prequel have a lot to be grateful for.

After the jump, a look at some of the Unique figures released so far and my thoughts on each.

PSA: Make Geekspeak Magic!

Gdaybloke was gracious enough to allow me to use this space normally reserved for me writing about the great grand-children of fictitious movie characters to promote a contest that Geekspeak (which is my podcast) is running in conjunction with our friends at The Hall of Heroes:

Who The Force Is That? #1: Cade Skywalker

Welcome to “Who The Force Is That?”, an ongoing series at Lost Hemisphere that seeks to shed some light on some of the more obscure corners of the Star Wars Miniatures universe. After all, we all know Yoda and Boba Fett and the like, but there are tons of pieces that are pulled from lesser-known parts of the canon, and it’s my goal to give them the publicity they deserve. To that end, I’ll be recapping the history of the character and reviewing the piece in terms of its usability and how well it represents its namesake. First up: Cade Skywalker.

Wouldn’t it be so awesome if Han Solo had a lightsaber? And then he flew around collecting bounties just like Boba Fett except with a hot sidekick?

May The (very tiny) Force Be With You

What I am about to tell you will make me quite unpopular in some online circles:

I still really like Star Wars.

There, it’s out in the open. No matter how many times George Lucas tries to pervert his accidental masterpiece, I still find myself enthralled by the universe and its characters. Now, my appreciation is not without limits – Episode 1 really is that bad – but by and large I enjoy Star Wars. George Lucas may have cobbled the films together out of elements from other works, but it seems he’s ripped off the right combination of stuff to engage my interest.

But we’re not here to talk about all that. Not yet. No, today we’re here to talk about what is quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the Star Wars oeuvre, Wizards of the Coast’s Star Wars Miniatures. It’s flavorful, it’s fast-paced and easy to learn, and it’s fun.

Cutting the Cards: What UDE Doesn’t Want You To See

See, sometimes someone eats a bit too much paste in kindergarten, and it kicks off a life-long habit. What can we do with these poor, addicted souls? How can we help them reintegrate into society, not judging or condemning, but at the same time doing our best to help them oversome their afflictions? Why, dear reader, we can let them write articles for our blog! That’s the kind of loving, caring blog Lost Hemisphere is – working to make the world a more welcoming place for the paste-addicted and their adhesive-influenced halucinations.

Did you know that there are cards that didn’t make it into MEV? It’s true, there are! I have no reason to lie to you…apart from, well, lots of reasons. But still! Take those out of the equation and by golly, I’m as honest as the day is long.

It just so happens that between the influence of Lost Hemisphere and my own natural radio-honed charm and wit, we were able to obtain a few of these cards, just for you, the LH readers. Enjoy, and remember: many brave men with families died to bring you this information. So if you don’t laugh, you may as well be insulting them, and then you’ll have to explain to their adorable, grief-stricken children why you don’t have a sense of humor.

Do you want that on your conscience? I don’t want it on your conscience. So enjoy.

Character-Building Exercise: The Great Machine

Interestingly, it seems more and more we’re seeing fantasy cards and home-made essential collections starting to come together now that we’re in limbo as to the next expansion of our beloved VS.

Case in point, it looks like my WarmaVS ramblings inspired pal Bryan, host of GeekSpeakRadio, to put together some cards of his own based around Ex Machina. Enjoy.

When it comes to to the works of Brian K. Vaughan, much of the love goes to titles like Runaways and Y: The Last Man. Both are critical darlings and fan favorites, and that love is much-deserved. But there’s one book that put Mr. Vaughan on my radar, and for me, it has yet to be eclipsed. That book is Ex Machina, and it appeals to me on a very fundamental level.

See, when I’m not doing stuff like this or kvetching about nerdish things on my award-winning podcast, I’m a bit of a political junkie. In my undergrad days, I dual-majored in political science and broadcasting, and I’ve been involved in news ever since. I tend not to write much about it online since arguing about politics online is only slightly less productive than trying to push a rope uphill, but it’s still a topic that endlessly fascinates me. And, as you might expect, being as I am writing an article on this website, I am also quite a bit of a fan of superheroes. Therefore, a book combining the two is a natural addition to my pull list; so much so that I like to think BKV writes each individual issue just for me.