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So what makes InQuest So Bad?

By The Gaming Monitor, Melgin's Keep Staff

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Melgin's Keep or any other of its staff members.

InQuest is one of the more popular gaming magazines on the market. It gives away a free card for new sets/games, it brings extensive coverage of new sets for the major games, it's funny, well put together and it's been around a long time. Makes for a great magazine, right? No. It is, in fact, a danger to all CCG players, Magic fans especially.

Players Guide? Miguide, more likely.

I bought this month's issue, drawn in mainly by the complete listing of all 3766 Magic cards in the pocket-sized book with the kick-ass Thorn Elemental on the cover. This was just what I needed for answering rules questions and building decks...saves me having to hunt through my boxes and check the Wizards site for cardlists. Then I looked at the thing. I can forgive funny quips at the end of a listing, like with Juzam Djinn:
Does 1 damage to you during your upkeep. 5/5. Big meanie.But what they did with Sengir Autocrat was inexcusible:
When Autocrat comes into play, put three 0/1 evil black smurf tokens into play. 2/2. All hail Gargamel!
Now, suppose I'm looking for the exact wording on the Autocrat for a rules question, or I want a card that makes Minion tokens. I'm stuffed! This doesn't guide us. It misguides us.
I know for a fact that a lot of players rely on the star rating sin the Player's Guide to help them choose which card to put in their decks. This would be a great innovation, if only they were consistent! Until this month, Sage Owl and Spire Owl, two functionally identical cards, has two different star ratings, one 2 and one at 3. They state in a number of their remarks that no-one plays with walls, yet Wall of Blossoms and Vine Trellis both get 4-star ratings. We are making a complete list of InQuest Player's Guide messups, which should be up shortly.

InQuest is infamous for its rules gaffes. Their "Stumpers" answers are short, and do not explain the reason behind the answer. Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish, he'll never go hungry. Their "killer combos" often do not work, but yet I have only seen them point out an error once. And they're harldy "killer". Bubbling Beebles and Donate? False Prophet and Mask of the Mimic? Riiiight. The Killer Decks they offer, while often made by top Magic players, are heavily watered down for rares, and often just rehash very old ideas.

InQuest is a funny magazine. No doubt about it. But there's a place for humour, and with the death of the Duelist, CCGers are losing resources all over the place. In my part of the world, InQuest is the only readily available CCG magazine. I, along with others around here, rely on IQ for accurate information in the places it gives information, and jokes where they belong. Please don't go mixing the two!