Welcome to this week’s PUNCHLIST, where we round up the biggest news in nerd culture. Beyond this article, you’ll not see much content from Nerds on Earth for the foreseeable future.
While our nerdy hobbies can be a wonderful distraction from the stresses and anxieties around us, some moments are too important to retreat into escapism. Therefore, Nerds on Earth will be suspending our content in order to amplify the voices of the oppressed and shine a light on injustice.
We realize this is an embarrassingly small effort on our part, but we are compelled to do something, however minuscule it may be.
7. Star Wars: First Book in New Thrawn Trilogy Releasing Early
Timothy Zahn is working on a new trilogy featuring the calculating Chiss, Thrawn. Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising was originally slated for an October release, but will be available in multiple formats, including audiobook, on September 1. The Ascendancy Trilogy appears to focus on Thrawn’s early life and origins.
+ More here: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising Release
6. PS5 Reveal Event Scheduled for June 11
Sony is airing a pre-recorded event tomorrow at 1pm PT that will showcase their next-gen console, the PS5. The thing that has most people excited is the reveal of a number of game titles that will be available at the system’s launch. It is set to last around an hour, and can be watched on Twitch and YouTube.
+ More here: PS5 Reveal
5. Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day Titles Coming in July
X-Men #1 will drop on Wednesday, July 15, and will be a prelude to the X of Swords crossover event. Spider-Man/Venom #1 will release a week later on July 22. The actual Free Comic Book Day’s date is yet to be rescheduled after its postponement was announced due to COVID-19.
+More Here: Marvel’s FCBD Titles
4. Fantasy Flight’s Cosmic Encounter Gets a 1v1 Duel Title
Cosmic Encounter Duel pits two players against one another in a race for cosmic conquest. Like the original game, the first player to establish 5 foreign colonies wins, and combat involves selecting a number of ships to commit and the use of Reinforcement cards. The Tactics tokens also add a new wrinkle to the gameplay and strategy. It is due out June 19th and is available for pre-order now. There’s also an optional gamemat for purchase!
+ More here: Cosmic Encounter Duel
3. DC Ditches Diamond Distributors
DC Comics is hoping to see new growth by distributing their titles through UCS Comic Distributors and Lunar Distribution. It is a decision they say they’ve been moving towards “for some time, long before COVID.” They did thank Diamond Comic Distributors and its owner, Steve Geppi, for decades of service.
+ More here: DC Comics Changes Distributors
2. Wizkids Unveils 2D Minis for D&D
There will now be a cheap alternative to 3D miniatures for Dungeons and Dragons. No images have been revealed, but we can expect something along the lines of Paizo’s Pathfinder Pawns. Four sets have been announced, and will sell for $14.99 each.
+ More here: D&D Idols of the Realms Essential 2D Miniatures
1. Terraforming Mars is Getting a Big Box
The box is designed to hold the base game plus all of its expansions, and comes packed with 3D terrain tiles:
- 24 city tiles (6 designs)
- 40 forest tiles (5 designs)
- 9 ocean tiles
- 14 special tiles (including 3 new ones)
This sounds like a must have for fans of this excellent game! Follow the Kickstarter Campaign here.
+ More here: Terraforming Mars Big Box
Check back next Wednesday for more news for nerds. Better yet, scroll down just a few more inches and sign up for our newsletter, The Cable.
Tabletop Takeaways: Tips for Dungeon Masters with a Narrative Spin