BenDrago
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Enter to win a signed WoW TCG playmat from WoW Insider
The other weekend, I went out to Schaumberg, IL to meet up with the guys from Upper Deck at the WoW TCG Darkmoon Faire. And not only did I walk away with a couple of interviews and a lot of pictures, they also hooked me up with these two rare playmats, which we're giving away to two lucky readers!The one on top was given away to everyone who participated in the main tournament at the Darkmoon Faire events, and the one on the bottom features art by none other than Gabe of Penny Arcade. Oh, and you can't see it in the picture, but both mats are signed by none other than Mike Hummel, head of Upper Deck's R&D, and co-creator of the WoW TCG.To enter, just leave a comment (one comment and only one comment) on this post right here. As usual, the contest is only open to US residents age 13 and up (rest of the official rules here). Tomorrow morning at 11am EST, I'll close the comments and we'll choose two at random to each receive one playmat each. Good luck, comment away!Update: Contest over, comments closed. Thanks for entering everyone-- check your email to see if you won.
WoW TCG: At the Darkmoon Faire Chicago
I spent last Friday evening at Upper Deck's Darkmoon Faire event in Chicago, IL (actually Schaumberg, as our readers have pointed out). And once there, I learned all about the WoW trading card game. I got to meet both Ben Drago, who organizes these events for Upper Deck, and Mike Hummel, who developed and created the game with the rest of his team.I also saw lots of people playing the game-- there were beginner and advance tournaments running all weekend-- as well as a special section Blizzard had set up with Upper Deck to allow visitors to play on a special LAN server, where they ran scavenger hunts and PvP events ingame. Tons of people brought tons of cards, and everyone got to throw down and try to outlast their opponent's heroes more than once over the weekend. A gallery of pictures from the Faire is below-- thanks to Upper Deck for putting on the event in Schaumberg, and we can't wait to see you guys again at Blizzcon.%Gallery-4040%
WoW TCG: Interview with Ben Drago, Manager of Organized Play
When I came upon Ben Drago at the Darkmoon Faire in Chicago, he was yelling like Ragnaros. He was facing off against three WoW TCG players-- one was playing a Paladin, the second a Mage, and the last a Hunter. It was a Molten Core raiding event, and Drago was more than giving the guys a run for their money. The Paladin dropped quick (the player complained that Drago's Shazzrah "wouldn't let me heal!"), and while the mage and hunter held their own for a while, Drago eventually crushed them all with Rag's firey might.He handed out a few booster packs as prizes anyway, and then sat down to talk with me about the WoW TCG that he promotes all over the country and the world, what player reaction has been like, and Upper Deck's event plans for Blizzcon and beyond.
