Happy Halloween!!  I hope everyone has a Spooktacularly great evening!

I hope you enjoy this Halloween themed trailer!

I really, really wish Bat Spin was available now...I would have also loved to see her fill in as a"Halloween" variant, she has so many options going that route!

That said, I apologize for the lack of activity here recently...

Home PC: Computer Virus

My home computer has a really bad virus I can't seem to get rid of and it makes doing things online virtually impossible.  I got prices on removal today and I think I may just get a new computer.

Tons of New Videos on my YouTube Channel: Undead & Halloween Themed All Week!

That said, I have managed to get a TON of new videos up for you, including plenty of Undead Themed Halloween vids for your Halloween Weekend!

Head over to my Channel to check them out: http://www.youtube.com/1ofWiisdom

Eon's Elite: 3x More Powerful, Great Aesthetics, and Awesome for Display

Similarly, I got the first two Eon's Elites in yesterday: Elite Chop Chop and Elite Spyro!

Not only have I gotten their introductions uploaded, I also fully upgraded each of them!!

I have a ton of documented info I need to transfer over, just kind of hard with the computer virus and all.  That said, you can check out all the latest on the Skylander Club Forum:

Elite Chop Chop Vampiric Warrior Upgrade Path with Attack Damage
http://www.skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=158

Elite Spyro Sheep Burner Upgrade Path with Attack Damage
http://www.skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=159

Halloween Specials

-Hijinx's Preferred Path: http://www.skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=156
-Marsha vs Persephone: http://www.skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=137

As always, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @1ofWiisdom, leave a comment here, or join the Skylander Club Forum: http://www.skylanderclub.com/forum/index.php

Oh, and if you missed it on Twitter, check out my Nephew's Spyro Pumpkin that was retweeted by @SkylandersGame

You can find and join in more Skylander discussions like this one on the Skylander Club Forum:
http://www.skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=98

Well, despite needing to be asleep and having lots to do, I could not resist seeing if my beloved Legendaries were back to their statistically superior stats.

As you should know by now, I tend to take the Skylanders Series a little more serious than most.  I am also a big numbers guy.  One of my disappointments in SWAP Force was the way that "special" in-game variants were kind of wiped clean of their stat boost.  Legendaries in SSA and Giants had nice pads vs their standard counterparts.

Despite being insanely busy and needing to be asleep, I couldn't resist the temptation any longer...I just had to know if the boost was back since Toys for Bob handled Trap Team.

The results are mixed.  In my latest late night research I had 3 Case Studies and 6 Skylanders.  Here are the results:

Character-Health-Armor-Speed-Critical Hit-Elemental Power-Total

Blades                280 30 60 10 25  405 (+22)
Legenday Blades 240 18 70 30 25  383 (-22)


Jawbreaker                340 12 50 70 25  497 (=2)
Legendary Jawbreaker 300 30 60 80 25  495 (-2)


Krypt King                300 24 60 40 25  449 (-32)
Nitro Krypt King 300 36 60 60 25  481 (+32)

As you can see, both Legendary Blades and Legendary Jawbreakers have SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER HEALTH than their standard counterparts...this is mind boggling to me.  Sure you can argue they have an edge elsewhere ,but aren't Legendaries to be superior in all categories, you know, hence why they are Legendary?

Blades and Jawbreaker both boast +40 Health OVER their Legendary counterparts.

Blades has +10 Speed and +10 Critical Hit, but also touts -12 Armor.  Of the three stats, Armor is the most significant imo.  Overall he is -22 Stat Points BELOW standard Blades.

L-Jawbreaker suffers the -40 Health, but at least touts a stat boost in the other categories: +18 Armor, +10 Speed, and +10 Elemental Power.  This gives him +2 Stat Points ABOVE standard Jawbreaker.

The biggest winner in the mix is Nitro Krypt King.  His health is the same as standard Krypt King and then he gains +12 Armor and +20 Critical Hit to give him a cumulative +32 Advantage over standard Krypt King.  Oddly enough, the Speed Stat is even at 60...one would think of all the stats to boost for a "Nitro" character it would be speed...

Nonetheless, there you have it.  I recorded intros for all 6 Characters tonight...actually bundled them together for each set.  I will get them up ASAP, but the numbers don't lie and I find them very interesting.

To me each attribute should be equal to or greater than the standard character's stats.  Having a big drop in Health is completely unwarranted.  It is also sad to see L-Blades at such a disadvantage.

What are your thoughts on the statistical discrepancies?  I am very interested in monitoring Nitro Head Rush, L-Bushwhack, and L-Deja Vu.  I have the Dark Skylanders...I really hope they have a bigger boost.

You can join in the discussion on the Skylander Club Forum:
http://www.skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=98

Where Did You Get It: Toys'R'Us
What Did It Cost: $24.99 plus tax (BOGO 40%)
What Was Stock Like: Well Stocked
What Is Included: Nightmare Express Location Piece, Piggy Bank, Legendary Hand of Fate, and Legendary Blades with Stat Cards and Sticker Sheets with Special Codes

What: Tread Head, Tech Element, Newlander
Where Did You Get It: Toys'R'Us
What Did It Cost: $10.99 plus tax (BOGO 40%)
What Was Stock Like: Very Limited, Technically a Wave 2 (10/7/2014)
What is Included: Tread Head, Stat Card, Sticker Sheet with Special Code


Bio

As an orphan from the Dizzying Dunes, Tread Head had always dreamed of racing. And after a summer of scavenging for parts, he finally managed to build a bike that would allow him to enter the local racing circuit. The other competitors laughed at the crudeness of his work, but Tread Head had built it for performance, not for style. So when the race began, he jumped out to a commanding lead. But as he entered a canyon, he suddenly found himself at a roadblock – of Goblin troops!  Knowing the other racers were in danger, he pulled off the road and kicked up so much dust that the
Goblins had no choice but to flee, allowing the other racers to pass safely. Tread Head may have lost the race that day, but he earned the respect of Master Eon, who would see to it that Tread Head would tread on evil wherever he goes!

What: Fist Bump, Earth Element, Newlander
Where Did You Get It: Toys'R'Us
What Did It Cost: $10.99 plus tax (BOGO 40%)
What Was Stock Like: Very Limited, Technically a Wave 2 for 10/7/2014
What Is Included: Fist Bump, Stat Card, Sticker Sheet with Special Code





Fist Bump Bio

Fist Bump had long been the sleeping protector of the Bubbling Bamboo Forest, but awoke from a long hibernation when a horde of nasty purple Greebles arrived with gigantic rock-smashing machines. Intent on building a new base, their machines wreaked havoc – chewing up the land and spitting out billowing clouds of smoke into the enchanted air.
Seeing this, Fist Bump was furious. Using his enormous stone fists, he hammered the ground with all his strength, creating a massive earthquake that sent huge shockwaves towards the Greeble camp. This reduced the machines to mere scrap and sent the Greebles running off in a panic. The act of bravery caught the attention of Terrafin, who brought Fist Bump to meet Master Eon. Now as a Skylander, Fist Bump makes evil quake wherever he goes!

Strategy was to hit Target first as it has been so hard to spot their exclusives outside of Launch Day at my local store. I got their as they were stocking them and was handed "the only Gearshift" and Nitro Krypt King, who they looked to have a total of 6. Also picked up a single of Tidal Wave Gill Grunt just in case. They had 3-4 Wallops, which I thought was really odd given how little stock they had...I had one, and then put it back...I didn't really scan their Traps since I was in a hurry to get to TRU and cash in on the sale.

TRU had a big selection, but no W2 Trap Masters, which I was looking for. There was a really young kid with no parent anywhere in sight for a long time just casing the traps...His dad finally showed up and between the two accounts I'd say they logged 20-30 mins just blocking off the traps. I made good use of the time and found the W2 Singles of the Core Skylanders, which was cool.

By the time the kid and his Dad left I realized how the pegs up top (that dangled a few traps) had once been full. The sad thing is the scalper lady took all 4 of the Wii U Dark Starter Packs. I went online and ordered one when I got home. I did pick up a few traps and the PowerA Trap Case.



Skylander Club Forum Link:

Text based list coming soon!

What: Torch, Fire Element Newlander
What Does She Cost: $9.99 plus tax
What is Included: Torch, Stat Card, Sticker Sheet with Special Code



More Picture and Info coming soon!

What: Funny Bone, Undead Element, Newlander
What Does He Cost: $9.99



More Info and Pictures Coming Soon

What: Chopper, Tech Element, Newlander
What Does He Cost: $9.99
What is Included: Chopper, Stat Card, and Sticker Sheet with Special Code


More Info and Pictures Coming Soon!

This post will be home to several different videos...Each will highlight a group, or certain sect of Alt-Deco Skylanders.  I will include a quick description below each installment.

What: Skylanders Trap Team Nintendo 3DS Starter Pack
What Does It Cost: $64.99 plus tax
What is Included: Trap Team Game, Portal of Power with (3) AAA Batteries, Gusto, Barkley, Collector Poster, Stat Cards, and Sticker Sheet with Special Codes

What: Skylanders Trap Team Xbox One Starter Pack
What Does it Cost: $74.99 plus Tax
What is Included: Trap Team Game, Traptanium Portal of Power, Food Fight, Snap Shot, Life Trap, Water Trap, Stat Cards, and Sticker Sheet with Special Codes

You can check out more on the Skylander Club Forum:
http://skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=52

I again want to stress this is based on ANTICIPATION, not who I think will wind up being my favorite, although if all goes well, this will have a lot of similarities with that list. The #1 Question I had prior to the whole "no battle mode" interval centered around, "Who are you looking forward to the most?" This covers my most anticipated Newlanders for Skylanders Trap Team!

1-Fling Kong
2-Blades
3-Food Fight
4-Rocky Roll
5-Chopper
6-Batspin
7-Deja Vu
8-Cobra Cadabra
9-Funny Bone
10-Fist Bump
11-Trail Blazer
12-High Five
13-Tread Head
14-Flip Wreck
15-Torch
16-Echo

Let me know your most anticipated Newlanders and how they compare with mine!  You can also post up on the Skylander Club Forum: http://skylanderclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=35

I again want to stress this is based on ANTICIPATION, not who I think will wind up being my favorite, although if all goes well, this will have a lot of similarities with that list.

I promised I would release this video after all of the Skylanders SWAP Force stuff was wrapped up, and that time is now!

This is footage I shot from the excessively epic Nintendo Booth at this year's E3.  I have to say that the pre-order shots you have seen on Amazon, GameStop, and Toys'R'Us etc., come nowhere near doing these figures justice.



The Amiibo line is very impressive with incredible detail, and that is just based on my look thru the glass display case.  I really wish I could have gotten some hands-on time with them, or an interview, but time was tight and I was happy just to get a good look at them.

The Amiibo figures honestly look more like a high dollar display piece than a video game accessory, but that is the beauty of it I suppose.  The most surprising part, given the size and detail, is that they retail for $12.99!

I plan to pick a few of these up and unbox/showcase them upon their release.  I will also use them in the compatible games and look forward to seeing how they interact in titles past Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS.

If you haven't checked them out yet, or put in any pre-orders, here is a link to their Amazon Page:
Amazon.com Amiibo Listings

They are a big step up from the Pokemon figures used in Pokemon Rumble U.

Stay tuned for much more coverage on Nintendo's Amiibo figures!