Matthew Wishart
6/3/2008

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I find it fitting that the last card I previewed was the Swarm of Annihilus, and now I get to show everyone:



First of all I have been saying for a very long time that I am a huge fan of the Annihilation story line. It is the best comic book event of all time by far. Now mind you that is just my humble opinion, but if you ask me that counts for a lot. There is something about this card though that I feel I have to point out; he is a seven drop just like Blastaar. This is not something I enjoy. I truly hope that Richard Rider has another version in this set so that I can play him with Blastaar. Now the next thing to look at is his ability. When you play him you remove the top seven cards of your deck from the game. You are then able to play any of the plot twists removed this way. This is a very interesting ability. We have not seen much of what the United Front has to offer, but this could be a very powerful ability. At the very least Richard will make for a very good seven drop for either Doom or for Alpha Flight. Yes I know that Alpha flight already has Beta Ray Bill, yet you cannot deny the power of Richard Rider for a team that is all about playing as many blue cards as possible.

As the leader of the original United Front Nova had to do what ever it took to either win a battle or just plan survive. He had a knack for just happening into a winning situation. This new card depicts that tact perfectly. It shows that sometimes you need more than just a little luck. Sometimes you have to make your own. Richard Rider will be able to dig up what ever is needed to secure a victory. This guy is a true boy scout; he's always prepared. I guess housing the entire intellect of an entire army can do that for someone though huh? Oh you don't know Richard Rider's background? I guess this is the time (when most of you have already stopped reading) for me to explain his background.

Richard Rider has very humble beginnings. He was just another high school kid. Then one day all of that was changed. One day a Nova Centurion was running from a cosmic level threat that had already destroyed the home world of the Nova Corps, Xandar. This lone Centurion was running for his life and with his dying breath gave Richard Rider his powers, in hopes that he would use them to try to save the Nova Corps. Richard Rider being a younger teenager was more than willing to jump into the fray and help out. He started out battling low level street thugs and eventually worked his way up to cosmic level threats. Nova would go on to join up with the New Warriors (you know the team responsible for the entire Civil War) and gained a love for Namorita. From here Nova had to balance his alliances between the Nova Corps and the New Warriors. It was this that would actually help lead to the destruction of the rebuilt Xandar. The planet is rebuilt yet again while Richard Rider serves with the New Warriors once again. This time however, when the next distress call goes out Richard Rider answers the call and returns to Xandar. He arrives just in time to watch Xandar be destroyed yet again (man how many times can the same planet be destroyed anyway?) this time by the Annihilation Wave. Richard Rider somehow manages to survive the attack and is the lone surviving member of the Nova Corps. From here he goes on to take on the entirety of the Worldmind, all of the intelligence and memories of every being to ever be a member of the Nova Corps and it itself is sentient. This also bestows Richard with the entire power of the Nova Force, the Nova Force is what empowers all the members of the Nova Corps and is normally spread out over thousands of individuals. From there Richard goes on to help for the United Front to try to stop Annihilus. This was basically anyone who was crazy enough to fight against Annihilus and his massive army. The notable members where very numerous and all with just insane amounts of power. Just think about an army that had not one but four heralds of Galactus on its team and still nearly lost! They also had Quasar, Drax, Starlord, Moondragon, Captain Mar-Vel, Super Skrull, Ronan the Accuser, Blastaar, and Gamora just to name a few. Needless to say this “team” was not without power and still Annihilus gave them everything they could handle. Time and time again, however bad the situation Richard managed to keep the fight going and keep his team alive (for the most part). The turning point of this war was when the Silver Surfer managed to free Galactus from capture (oh yea did I forget to mention that Annihilus managed to capture Galactus!) who then went on to wipe out about ninety-five percent of the Annihilation Wave. This led to a final show down between Richard Rider and Annihilus where Richard pulled Annihilus's spine right out of his mouth! It was just an amazing read. I highly suggest that any one that is a comic book fan pick up the current Nova comic books. You will not be disappointed as they one of the best on going comics on the shelves right now.

With all of that said I guess this will finish off one of the greatest set of previews I have ever seen or been a part of. I have never seen any set get more hype than this set has, well except for maybe DC Origins. This has been a very fun trip for me and I cannot wait to start cracking these packs. I also cannot wait for Mega Weekend New York where I get to draft this set and get in as many sealed events as possible. I just cannot wait for first Negative Zone, United Front, and Alpha Flight cards that I get to open!

Until then, remember that sometimes it is better to buy your boxes from your local hobby shop rather than online. You have to remember that without the hobby shops we really don't have a game. We need to support our game and the best way to do that is to support our local stores. If you don't support your local store than you might find yourself without one and no one wins in that situation.

So go out have fun and play the greatest game on Earth!

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