A great day at Gambit Games today. A busy day, lots of different games being played and some new faces.
30 Jan 2022
23 Jan 2022
MTG Event at Gambit Games
On Sunday 30th January we will be running a special sealed Magic the Gathering event.
Each player will receive 6 boosters from recent MTG sets which will be a mix of draft and set boosters. From the boosters that each player receives they will need to create a 40 card deck which they will use to play in a three round event.
We are hoping to get between 6 and 12 players. The winner of the event will receive a special playmat and the top 8 will also get Karn Liberated pin badges.
- A Core 2021 Draft Booster
- A Kaldheim Set Booster
- A Ikoria Lair of Behemoths Draft Booster
- A Strixhaven School of Mages Set Booster
- A Zendikar Rising Set Booster
- A Dungeon and Dragons Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Set Booster
The event will start at 1pm and should be completed by 5pm. It will cost just £10 per player.
If you want to play then please book a space on our website : https://www.kdgames.co.uk/book-online
31 Oct 2021
Gambit Sunday
Hi, it Gary from the Gambit Games team and today I have been at Gambit Games in East Worthing for our third full day of gaming since the lockdown lifted. It has been a busy day with lots of different games being played.
Highlight for me was the Magic the Gathering Innistrad Cube which Michael brought along. It was great to see all my favourite cards from the sets again and managed to play a decent red/green agro deck which included both parts of the Hanwier Garrison and Kessig Wolf Run. I couldn't manage to beat Mikes blue/white spirits/control though, but it was pretty close.
This was followed up by more MTG in the form of a constructed tournament also using cards from the seven Innistrad sets that have been released. Despite me thinking that the newer cards would be dominant, it was the old favourites that really ruled the event.
7 Jan 2017
Gambit Sunday
Blood Bowl - this will be available all day for people to refresh themselves on the rules and get the 2017 season underway!
Bolt Action - a tester day for the new 2nd edition rules.
MTG End of Year Tournament - this is an invitational event for all the MTG players that have score enough points in 2016 to battle it out in 6 six rounds (including draft, standard and modern) to see who will be crowned the 2016 grand champion.
Cardfight Vanguard - this is also an invitation event, this time for Cardfight Vanguard. This will be held in the evening and will be played over a number of rounds to find the 2016 champion.
Pokemon League Challenge - starting at 11am the league challenge will be a regular event this year. It is a standard event and will be played over a number of rounds depending on the attendance. This event is open to anyone that has a deck and wants to play.
Dice Masters Spiderman/Deadpool Draft - this is open to anyone that want to give it a go. It is a rainbow draft, which means that players will make their teams from boosters opened on the day. It is a great way to get the most from you booster purcahses as well as a really fun format.
Star Wars X-Wing - There is a casual large scale game planned for anyone that wants to join in. Simply bring your ships and join in.
Netrunner - We are using up and old store tournament kit to run what will hopefully be the first of many Netrunner events this year. This is open to anyone that has decks and wants to join in,
There will of course be many other board games, top top and card games being played and there is always someone available to have a game with.
Hopefully see you tomorrow for a great day of gaming and good luck to everyone playing in one of our tournament.
I will be there with a selection of stock from the shop. Remember if there is anything you want me to bring along please let me know today.
Gary of Team Gambit and KD GAMES.
30 Jul 2016
Eldritch Moon Gameday
The event winner will also get a special CHAMPION playmat,,,
29 Apr 2016
Gambit Sunday
First up MTG and its 'Shadows Over Innistrad' Gameday!
26 Dec 2015
KD Games at Gambit Sunday
First us we will have the end of year MTG tournament, which is invite only and is for the highest point scorers to see who our end of year champion will be. The event will start at 10am and we should have our winner by 6pm. There will be a great play mat for the winner, which is signed by John Avon...
19 Dec 2015
End of Year Tournament
Since January we have had a total of 81 players attend one of our events which include prereleases, launch parties, game days, junior competitions and of course KD Magic Nights (Friday Night Magic)! There have been over 72 different events of various formats and types!
Firstly last years champion will get a chance to come back and defend his title,so Michael Pike is the first on the list! Sam Chapman, Simon Wright and David Sanders are the next as they won in previous years.
Our winner from gaming convention 'CONQUEST' which was Mike is already on the list so onto pre-release events
The grand tournament is invite only and anyone that has won an individual pre-release during the year will automatically get an invite, so this adds in the following players:
Nathan Minter, Daniel Bonnett and Aaron Burns Lees!
Also included will be the player who has scored the highest average in all the events they have played in this year (they must have played in at least 5 events) which is Michael Pike with an impressive 8,97! As he is already on the list we moved down the highest average scores to the next player not already invited which will be Chris Sisley at 7.17!
Finally we then add in the top 12 ranked players not including those already selected to take the total to 18 players which are:
Paul Da Vall, Ivan Miles, Elliott Miles, Nick Murphy Cunningham, Faron Young, Bell Benstead, George Lake, Nick Lewis, Marc Le Cras, George Kennedy, Gibby Gumbrell and Piers Kennedy.
All players will receive an invite in the next day or so via facebook and I would ask that you please reply as soon as possible as if you can not attend then I can invite the next players on the list!
The Grand Tournament will be held on Sunday 27th December (as part of our last Gambit Sunday) starting at 10am and finishing at 6pm.
The event will consist of a draft lasting 3 rounds, followed by a break for lunch and then 1 rounds of STANDARD and 2 or MODERN. Entry to the event will cost £13 (£4 for Gambit Games and £9 to cover the Battle for Zendikar draft)
The winner will receive a signed John Avon Playmat...
Good luck to everyone that has qualified and I hope that you can make it to fight for the right of being the 2015 Gambit Grand Master!
Gary of Team Gambit
24 Oct 2015
KD Games at Gambit Sunday
Firstly there will two MTG Gameday events, one at 1pm and the second in the evening at 6pm.
These will be STANDARD MTG events that are included in your entrance fee with the winner of each event getting a special play mat. The top eight will get some get promo card prizes and all players will get a card just for playing.
Second up we have a sneak peak at the new Ticket to Ride UK. Anyone that wants to play is welcome to a game of this latest expansion which is not due to hit the shops for a few weeks yet.
Next we will be running a Seven Wonders tournament which may be over several games depending on the interest, The winner of the event will get an exclusive play mat for this great game.
Lastly we will be running demos of Bang the Dice game and Eight Minute Empire Legends.
16 Dec 2014
The End of Year Magic Tournament 2014
Since January we have had a total of 90 players attend one of our events which include prereleases, launch parties, game days, Luke's drafts, leagues, junior competitions and of course KD Magic Nights (Friday Night Magic)! There have been over 70 different events of various formats and types!
Firstly last years champion will get a chance to come back and defend his title,so Sam Chapman is the first on the list! Simon Wright and David Sanders are the next as they won in 2012 and 2011!
Our winner from our very first gaming convention is next, so Michael Pike makes 4!
The grand tournament is invite only and anyone that has won an individual pre-release during the year will automatically get an invite, so this adds in the following players:
Nathan Minter, Olly James and Nick Lewis!
Also included will be the player who has scored the highest average in all the events they have played in this year (they must have played in at least 5 events) which is Michael Pike with an impressive 8,73! As he is already on the list we moved down the highest average scores to the next player not already invited which will be Finley Williams at 8.64!
Finally we then add in the top 12 ranked players not including those already selected to take the total to 18 players which are:
Elliott Miles, Aaron Burns Lee, Ivan Miles, Bell Benstead, Nick Murphy Cunningham, Alex Tynemouth, Marc Le Cras, Darren Phipps Walker, Paul De Vall, Luke Vincent, Craig Harbour and Steve Baluci!
All players will receive an invite in the next day or so via facebook and I would ask that you please reply as soon as possible as if you can not attend then I can invite the next players on the list!
The Grand Tournament will be held on Sunday 28th December (as part of our last Gambit Sunday) starting at 10am and finishing at 6pm.
The event will consist of a draft lasting 3 rounds, followed by a break for lunch and then 2 rounds of STANDARD and 1 or MODERN. Please you will be required to use a different deck for each round of STANDARD (which must have a minimum of 20 cards different from the other deck)
Good luck to everyone that has qualified and I hope that you can make it to fight for the right of being the 2014 Gambit Grand Master!
Gary of Team Gambit
22 Oct 2014
How to Draft MTG
Bombs are super-powerful cards that are hard to deal with. Usually, if you play a bomb, unless your opponent answers it quickly, you will win the game.
If you are unsure of what a bomb is when evaluating a pack, ask yourself these questions:
Does this card have some sort of mass effect that provides card advantage? Does it kill creatures, make your opponent discard cards, or make your opponent lose a huge chunk of life?
Does this card provide a huge, game-breaking effect? Planeswalkers, mass removal,
Bomb cards should be picked immediately if you see them—they are the most efficient ways to win games!
The next cards you want to be looking for are cards that remove creatures or other problem cards. This can include burn, destroy effects, or creature enchantments. Removal is very important in Draft decks, and usually, the more removal you have, the better your deck will perform.
Not all removal is permanent removal. Some spells, such as bounce effects, only remove the creature for a short period of time. Although not permanent, that turn in which the creature is in your opponent’s hand will allow you to put significant pressure on him. Your opponent then has to spend all of his mana to recast that creature.
Some removal doesn’t actually kill a creature directly, but it does so in combat. These cards are commonly referred to as combat tricks.
Finally, some removal doesn’t look like removal at all—it’s just a creature with flash. Flash creatures are also considered combat tricks.
E – Evasion!
The next cards you want to draft are creatures with evasion—creatures that are hard to block. Usually in Limited games, players have a lot of random ground guys in play, and no player can attack beneficially. The game will then go to time and end up in a draw. This is where you need creatures with evasion. Anything with flying, fear, or that are unblockable are considered creatures with evasion.
Next step in drafting your deck is picking up creatures that round out the deck and fill up your mana curve. You want to be able to cast a creature every turn if possible. Therefore, it’s important to have guys that have different mana costs. A good rule of thumb is to have between thirteen and seventeen creatures in your Draft deck. Take a look at this deck that I recently drafted:
The last types of cards you will be drafting are the bad ones. These are the cards that you will be picking up toward the end of the pack and usually don‘t want in your deck.
These last five or so picks in each pack are the picks where you should keep your sideboard in mind. Yes, you do have a sideboard in Draft. Any card you don’t end up playing becomes your sideboard, and you can sideboard any number of cards in between games. It doesn’t even have to be a one-for-one swap.
The situational cards that aren’t good enough for your main deck but can be great in certain matchups are the types of cards you should by picking up for your sideboard.
Thanks for reading and I hope it is useful, Gary of Team Gambit
15 Oct 2014
Of Rhinos and Rocs
The Jeskai had put in a strong performance but their prowess was not enough to take on the resilient Abzan. Going into the top 8 there were three Abzan decks - two midrange and one aggro -three Jeskai Wins, one Blue Black control deck and one Jeskai Ascendency combo.
The break-out cards from the tournament for me were Siege Rhino, Wingmate Roc and Abzan Charm; with 12 copies of the rhino, six Rocs and 10 of the WBG instant in top 8 main decks.
Dig Through Time, Mantis Rider and Jeskai Charm also did a lot of work but a lot of people had already seen what Jeskai could do and were prepared with life gain and large creatures to counter the pesky Jeskai.
Siege Rhino truly is a beast. A 4/5 with Trample for four mana that provides a six point life swing in your favour when it enters the battlefield presents a headache for your opponent.
In the final game of the Pro Tour, Shaun McLaren had burnt Ari Lax down to 10 life and Dissolved a Sorin, Solemn Visitor. At the end of Lax's turn, McLaren used Dig Through Time and picked up Lightning Strike and Jeskai Charm; drawing Stoke the Flames on his turn and passing with six mana up. Then the game changed when Lax peeled a Siege Rhino off the top of his deck; taking him up to 13 and McLaren down to 17.Watch here
Needless to say that the Abzan's creatures offer a lot of power backed up with effective removal and solid planeswalkers.
So do I plan on playing Abzan?
No.
If Abzan and its Rhinos do take off, I think the format may change in control's favour.
Ground based aggro decks need to be super aggressive to beat Abzan. The combination of Sylvan Caryatid, Courser of Kruphix, Siege Rhino and Wingmate Roc presents an uphill struggle for players attacking with small creatures on the ground; and the life gain from the latter three cards puts the nail in the coffin. Even taking to the air with Mantis Rider no longer seems effective, owing to the prevalence of Wingmate Roc, Abzan Charm's exile ability and other forms of removal.
I'm currently looking at building one of two control decks; traditional control Jeskai or Sultai Planeswalkers. I'm not settled on either list yet but I'll deal out my thoughts based on what I have.
Jeskai Control
Lands x25
Temple of Enlightenment x 3
Temple of Triumph x 3
Temple of Epiphany x 1
Mystic Monastery x 2
Shivan Reef x 1
Evolving Wilds x 1
Island x 4
Mountain x 5
Plains x 5
Creatures x 6
Brimaz, King of Oreskos x 3
Stormbreath Dragon x 3
Other Spells x29
Chained to the Rocks x 2
Magma Jet x 2
Lightning Strike x 3
Disdainful Stroke x 2
Anger of the Gods x 3
Banishing Light x 2
Jeskai Charm x 3
Stoke the Flames x 2
Steam Augury x 1
Jace's Ingenuity x 1
Dig Through Time x 2
End Hostilities x 1
Chandra, Pyromaster x 2
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker x 1
Elspeth, Sun's Champion x 2
I've opted to test Brimaz over Mantis Rider and Goblin Rabblemaster because he comes with four toughness, something pretty relevant in a world full of Lightning Strikes and Bile Blights, while also surviving Anger of the Gods. Mantis Rider's Flying and Haste is relevant in a deck that wants to win quickly, something that this deck isn't geared towards. The king of cats isn't likely to hit the battlefield on turn three anyway as this deck is geared towards disruption in the early game.
Stormbreath Dragon has been a creature sat in the wings; biding its time on the mountain top since the days of R/G monsters. Is now the time for the 4/4 hasty flyer to strike Standard once again?
The dragon's protection from white means it can block Siege Rhino and eat Wingmate Rocs and Mantis Riders all day. It also can't be targeted by three of the Khans charms and Banishing Light.
Again the four toughness makes it resilient to red removal, while Monstrosity helps close the game.
In recent weeks people have said that control is dead. Having seen the strangling era of Detention Sphere, Supreme Verdict and Sphinx's Revelation rotate out with the release of Khans it's easy to see why some would think this.
Jeskai offers two sweepers to tackle different angles of the format - Anger of the Gods and End Hostilities. Anger sweeps away aggro's quicker creatures, while also knocking out Caryatids. But what makes this wrath of the gods stand out is that it can be cast on turn three and that it exiles; banishing Bloodsoaked Champion to the void. Sure it only hits creatures with toughness three or less but more often than not three is the Magic number for aggro.
Whereas Anger of the Gods punishes the puny, End Hostilities wipes up everything else - but may not actually end the hostilities. The latest white wrath destroys creatures great and small, along with any equipment or enchantments they may be packing, including those that have been Bestowed. People moaned that it costing five mana meant it was no good. Now that Rhinos and Rocs and other big monsters have crashed their way into Standard a five mana sweeper looks more appealing.
The question now is how the control player dictates the game up until casting the chosen sweeper.
Looking ahead, Jeskai aggro/tempo/wins will continue to burn a path through standard, it will just have to adapt to tackle the bigger threats in the format, while other aggro decks such as Monogreen devotion will also look to smash their way in.
Banishing Light and Suspension Field backed up by Magma Jet, Lightning Strike and Stoke the Flames should provide answers early enough to answer faster decks. There's even Jeskai Charm's first ability to put a creature on top of the library to buy more time.
Chained to the Rocks serves as another flavourful anger of the gods. (In Greek mythology Zeus chained the titan Prometheus to a rock, where an eagle would eat his liver each day, as punishment for restoring the gift of fire to humans). The cheap enchantment hits creatures of all sizes but comes at the downside of needing a mountain so the mana base may need to be adjusted.
Another card that stood out for me was Disdainful Stroke. A two mana instant that counters spells with converted mana cost or four or greater has got to be taken seriously in a format set to be full big creatures and planeswalkers. Stroke cancels Siege Rhino's life drain ability, Wingmate Roc, Stoke the Flames, Dig Through Time and every planeswalker except Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver. It can also negate Gods, apart from Thassa and Pharika. Against the more aggressive decks it can be sided out but if you want more counters then Dissolve, Dissipate and Negate are still standard legal.
Chandra, Pyromaster is a planeswalker I've wanted to test for some time. Her plus one ability kills of weaker aggressive creatures and mystics of the elvish and rattleclaw variety. At a stretch it can combine with Lightning Strike to burn Courser of Kruphix to the graveyard or mean that the centaur and others can't block Brimaz.
The Pyromaster's main use is card advantage. With the loss of Jace, Architect of Thought, blue based control decks will have to look elsewhere to get ahead on cards. While Chandra doesn't offer the raw card advantage of previous walkers, I think she could have a home in this shell. Scrying can help decide when her 0 ability is going to be affective and can also help you hit a spell or land drop when you need it. In one of the Pro Tour feature games, Brad Nelson used Chandra to cast Elspeth a turn early to apply greater pressure.
Her ultimate isn't too relevant but can be reached quickly; and if you hit Stoke the Flames or Jeskai Charm that's 12 points of burn for free. Casting Dig Through Time and copying it thrice, resulting in you picking the best six of 21 cards, is appealing albeit unlikely.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker adds another flying threat to push through damage and his ability to deal four damage to a creature also helps clear up the opponent's board. Again, the ultimate has a nice allure but most times you'll want to fly in for four rather than kill him off to draw three cards.
The impact of rotation on Elspeth was another talking point of the Pro Tour. The Sun's Champion had shone with her ability to create an army out of nowhere; building up to one of the best ultimates in the format. Elspeth's power was also best when Polukranos, Stormbreath Dragon and Desecration Demon were the most played fatties in Standard, owing to her ability to destroy creatures with power four or greater.
Then Wingmate Roc and its wingman arrived and Elspeth's role as a finisher of choice began to be questioned as the Roc soars over her soldier tokens and dodges her monster destroying ability. Indeed, there were only three copies of Elspeth in top 8 maindecks, with other Abzan players opting for Wingmate Roc and its flying life gain. Interestingly the three maindeck Elspeths were in Ari Lax's deck - the winner of the Pro Tour - partnered with two copies of Ajani, Mentor of Heroes and Sorin, Solemn Visitor - another surprise card of the tournament.
It's safe to say that Elspeth still has a role to play in the new standard but her effectiveness looks to have been somewhat reduced and I may cut one copy of her to smooth out the curve.
That's it for now but I'll to post my thoughts on a Sultai control brew soon.
John
27 Jul 2014
Gaming Sunday
Nick from Black Box is due to pop along with the demo version of his new Polar Bear game and we will be looking for some players young and old to give this a go. The game has changed a bit since last time and a number of suggestions have been taken on board. There will be lots of new ideas to test, so if your interested please let me know. Nick will be there from 5pm
There is a Malifaux tournament being run through out the day, details of which can be found on the Gambit Games Facebook page - if you are interested in finding out more ask us when you arrive.
There will co course be the usual Bolt Action, War Machine, Hero Clix, 40K and much much more!
Food will be available all day as usual...
28 Jun 2014
Gaming Sunday
This week I am looking for 4 players to continue with the play testing of our new campaign system for Lords of War - we have been doing it for the last few Tuesdays and need to make the final tests before introducing it as a format to the team at Black Box and the start of our monthly LOW events on Fridays at the Royal George!
There are also likely to be a few new games being played as I know several people went up to Expo a few weeks back and picked up some new toys. I have given Kevin the game IPA to have a look at and will be posting something about that on the KD Games blog a bit later today! We really need 4 players who are willing to give this a try and let us know what it is like. This is something that we have been asked to do by the game designer - so honest feedback please.
Nick from Black Box is due to pop along with the demo version of his new Polar Bear game and we will be looking for some players young and old to give this a go. This is very much in its infancy and he would welcome any comments good or bad before the game design is finalised.
There will co course be the usual Bolt Action, War Machine, Hero Clix, 40K and much much more!
Food will be available all day as usual...



























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