Michael McNutt 
Lias and I show off another Swap Force Arena called Snake in the Hole. This is another “Boss Level” type arena where you not only have to fight off waves of enemies, but you also have to fight a giant Snake. Today we use Spy Rise and Rubble Rouser to try to charm the snake.
Check it out and let us know what you think of Snake in the Hole!
Are you ready for a Skylanders Big Announcement? Gaming Media personnel all over the industry are reporting to have received personalized video invitations from Kaos himself about a big event to take place next week in New York City on April 23rd. It is assumed that the next Skylanders Game will be the topic of that day. An article at Kotaku hosts the teaser trailer, and a personalized invite for Michael Fahey.
We will have more information for you as we learn details of this event.
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Knockout Terrafin is a Series 3 Earth Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force. He has appeared in each of the three games so far. For Swap Force he comes bundled with the Fiery Forge Battle Pack but he can also be bought separately. Being a Series 3 Skylander gives him a couple of advantages over his Series 1 counterpart. (Note: Series 2 Skylanders have the same extra abilities). First he is granted an extra attack upgrade called a “Wow Pow!” which the Series 1 Skylander does not have. This is usually the most expensive attack upgrade and is quite powerful. The second advantage is that you can switch upgrade paths after you have chosen a path to upgrade. Normally with series 1 characters you cannot switch paths without resetting the entire character.
Knockout Terrafin is a land shark. He has the unique ability to be able to burrow through the ground as if he was swimming. Knockout Terrafin is a rather plain looking Skylander. He is a two tone dark and light grey like a shark with arms and legs. The only exciting thing about the character are these two huge Wolverine-like brass knuckle claw gauntlets that he wears. It shows that he is a melee focused Skylander with some mean punching power. He wears no other armor or really has any other menacing looking features. Overall his look is a little bland and boring.
Even though Terrafin’s looks lack some flash, he does have a couple interesting and useful attacks. First he can burrow underground. This is a nice ability that allows him to escape easily when he gets surrounded. He can then use his heavy punches to work his way back through a large group of enemies. He can also unlock an upgrade that allows him to send out mini-sharks that can do some long distance damage. They can also help distract enemies so that Terrafin can move to get a better angle on his attack. Most of his other upgrades revolves around making his punches stronger, punching more enemies, adding new punching combos or adding speed. Despite this he can still be very useful in battle with a no nonsense attitude.
Overall Terrafin is a solid character. He lacks some flash and a lot of his upgrades are very basic. But he does have a few very helpful moves that makes him worth owning. However, if you already have a previous version, there is nothing new about this version that makes him worth a purchase.
| Card Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack: | 100 | Max Health | 310 | |
| Defense: | 100 | Speed | 35 | |
| Speed: | 50 | Armor | 18 | |
| Luck: | 70 | Critical Hit | 6 | |
| Elemental Power | 25 | |||
| All Attacks | |||
| Punch | Press Attack 1 to punch the enemy. Press Attack 1, Attack 1, Hold Attack 1 to perform a combo | Free | |
| Earth Swim | Press Attack 2 to burrow and while underground, press Attack 1 to perform a Belly Flop. | Free | |
| Brass Knuckles | Punch attacks do more damage. | 500 Gold | |
| Mega Belly Flop | Belly Flop does increased damage and affects a larger area. | 700 Gold | |
| Feeding Frenzy | Press Attack 3 to spawn mini-sharks that burrow and latch onto enemies. | 900 Gold | |
| Multi Target Punches | Punch attack hits multiple enemies. | 1200 Gold | |
| Sandhog Path | |||
| Master Earth Swimmer | Increased speed while burrowing. | 1700 Gold | |
| Homing Frenzy | Mini-sharks home in on enemies and do extra damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Razorfin | While burrowed, your dorsal fin does damage to enemies. | 3000 Gold | |
| Brawler Path | |||
| Pugilist | Press Attack 1, Attack 1, Hold Attack 2 for Body Slam. Press Attack 1, Attack 1, Hold Attack 3 for Uppercut. | 1700 Gold | |
| Spiked Knuckles | All punch attacks do even more damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Frenzy Shield | You launch mini-sharks at enemies who damage you. | 3000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| Surface Feeder | Collect power-ups while burrowed. | 4000 Gold | |
| Wow Pow! | |||
| Have You Met My Kids | While burrowed, press Attack 3 to launch at enemies and hit them with a claw swipe move as well as with mini-shark allies. | 5000 Gold | |
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Freeze Blade is a new Swappable Water Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force. You would think that Freeze Blade comes from somewhere cold. However, while he was born in the Frozen Wastelands of Vesh, he soon moved to the Great Lava Lakes. This is where he met Blast Zone. After helping Blast Zone defend himself from some Spell Punks, Blast Zone introduced him to Master Eon and Freeze Blade became a Skylander. It was also in the Lava Lakes where Freeze Blade learned he had a magical ability to skate on any surface. This ability allows Freeze Blade to always wear his ice blades. He has very thin looking leather armor which looks more like workout clothes than armor. This allows for greater mobility which is good since he is one of the fastest Skylander characters. He is a wolf creature with ice hair and ice cuffs. He also wields a boomerang like bladed weapon called a Chakram. Overall you can tell his character is built for speed. Freeze Blade also has an alternate version called Nitro Freeze Blade. Nitro Freeze Blade is identical in pose but wears a sporty golden race clothes and silver skin instead of grey skin. Nitro Freeze Blade doesn’t look any more powerful, but he certainly looks like a force of speed. Regardless of which character you choose, their starting stats are the same.
Freeze Blade starts off with a basic Chakram Throw. This is a short ranged/melee attack. The attack can reach enemies a short distance away but doesn’t fly far across the screen. It can be used in rapid succession like punches, so it has a very strong melee feel. He also starts with the Speedy Skate ability which is a dash attack that allows Freeze Blade to burst forward for a couple seconds, damaging any enemies in his way. An early upgrade unlocks an attack that allows you to freeze your enemies. This attack has a longer range than the Chakram throw. Several other upgrades increase the damage ability of Chakram, the Dash attack and armor. The ability to freeze most of your attackers combined with a dash attack and a strong Chakram throw allows Freeze Blade to become one of the most powerful Skylanders in the game.
As a swappable character there are two different upgrade paths to choose, one for his body and one for his legs. The body paths let you focus either on either a stronger Chakram, or stronger freeze attacks. The leg paths both affect dashing, and are both pretty devastating. One path leaves a trail of ice behind Freeze Blade’s Dash. This trail will slow and damage enemies that touch it. The other path allows Freeze Blade to knock back any enemies hit by the dash which will also cause a freezing explosion when they land.
Also as a swappable character he has two soul gem abilities. The body Soul Gem gives the Chakram increased critical hit chance and damage, while the legs Soul Gem gives the dash attack more damage and prevents it from being broken by attacking enemies. Neither is a flashy upgrade, but both add even more attack power to what was already one of the strongest attacking Skylanders available.
Once upgraded, regardless of path chosen Freeze Blade’s power and speed are valuable assets that make him one of the best and easiest to use characters in the game.
| Card Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack: | 140 | Max Health | 280 | |
| Defense: | 75 | Speed | 50 | |
| Speed: | 200 | Armor | 6 | |
| Luck: | 85 | Critical Hit | 8 | |
| Elemental Power | 25 | |||
| Body Attacks | |||
| Chakram Throw | Press Attack 1 to throw an icy chakram. | Free | |
| Frostcicle | Press Attack 3 to fire a shard of ice that freezes enemies. | 300 Gold | |
| Icicles | Chakram gains a new layer of ice, making attacks do increased damage. | 800 Gold | |
| Frigid Whirl | Hold Attack 1 to charge the chakram, then release to throw it. | 1000 Gold | |
| Blizzard Blade Path | |||
| Shaved Ice | Hold Attack 1 to charge the chakram, release to throw the chakram and shoot ice in every direction. | 1500 Gold | |
| Whiteout | Ice projectiles from Shaved Ice do increased damage. | 2000 Gold | |
| Ice Sculptor Path | |||
| Oh Snow! | Hold Attack 3 to charge Frostcicle, release to freeze an entire area. | 1500 Gold | |
| Ice to Meet You | Frostcicle and Oh Snow! do increased damage. | 2000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| Winter Chakram | Chakram attacks have increased critical hit chance and do extra frost damage | 3500 Gold | |
| Leg Attacks | |||
| Speedy Skate | Press Attack 2 to dash forward a short distance and damage enemies in the way. | Free | |
| Ice Trail | Dashing leaves behind a trail of ice that slows enemies. | 300 Gold | |
| Glacial Coat | Armor increased. | 800 Gold | |
| Bladed Butterfly | Hold Attack 2 to perform a fancy skating trick that damages all enemies nearby. | 1000 Gold | |
| Trail Freezer Path | |||
| Flash Freeze | Press Attack 2 to dash, dashing will now leave behind an ice trail that damages enemies. | 1500 Gold | |
| Nice Ice | Flash Freeze does increased damage. | 2000 Gold | |
| Ice Skater Path | |||
| Penalty Frost | Press Attack 2 to knock back an enemy, wherever the knocked back enemy lands will cause a large freezing explosion. | 1500 Gold | |
| Iced Skates | Penalty Frost does increased damage. | 2000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| Iceberg Endurance | Dashing does increased damage and does not stop when attacked. | 3500 Gold | |
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It’s another good week for Skylander Character Sales from 4/13 to 4/19.
Best Buy is having a Buy 1 get 1 50% off on all Skylanders Swap Force Characters. Also Swap Force Starter Packs are on sale for $39.99.
Note: Best Buy’s ad says “ALL” Swap Force characters. But online the deal applies only to “SOME” Swap Force Characters.
Toys R Us is offering the same character deal where you can buy 1 get 1 50% off. However, their starter packs are $32.49. On 4/18 and 4/19 they will be having an Easter Sale where Giants characters will also be buy 1 get 1 free.
Target is having a buy 2 get 1 free sale if you are in need of at least 3 characters.
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Bumble Blast is a new core Life Skylander for Skylanders Swap Force. He comes with the Fiery Forge Battle Pack, or you can buy his limited variant Jolly Bumble Blast as a single character. His back story says that he was originally a beehive where bees made a sweet magical honey. Then when Kaos launched an attack on the bees to take the honey for himself, Bumble Blast came to life as their protector. He is a very detailed character but I think he looks more like a smaller version of Tree Rex than a beehive. He is a walking tree with a beehive gun and a sweet honeycomb jaw with a honey tongue sticking out. The detail on his character is fantastic. There is a little stinger coming out the barrel of his beehive gun showing the bee he is about to shoot, and even the life element symbol carved into the wood knot on his shoulder. Bumble Blast looks great, but he has a limited colored variant called Jolly Bumble Blast who looks even better. He dons a Red Santa Suit with green feet and stands on a snow covered base. He even has a candy cane striped bee coming out of a green holiday beehive gun. It’s a fantastic looking colored variant and it might be my favorite Skylander character.
Besides being a great looking character, Bumble Blast also has some pretty awesome attacks. He starts with a basic Beezooka attack which shoots homing bees at enemies. These bees hit their target as long as you are aimed fairly close to your target. He also starts with a Honey Glob attack which coats enemies in honey. As you begin to upgrade him, the bees will always target enemies coated in honey. This allows you to attack while running away from trouble. It’s a huge advantage. You will also be able to drop mines that explode to oat enemies with honey and be able to shoot multiple bees at one time. If you choose to upgrade the Bee Keeper Path, there is also an upgrade that shoots out a huge Queen Bee that knocks a group of enemies into the air. If you choose the Honey Tree Path, then you will improve your honey coating abilities.
For Bumble Blast’s Soul Gem Ability, he will gain a backpack that automatically fires bees at enemies. It’s an interesting looking change to the character and it allows you to worry more about coating enemies in honey than always firing your bees. No matter what upgrade path you choose, and even before you unlock the Soul Gem ability, Bumble Blast is a very strong Skylander and very fun to play with.
Overall Bumble Blast is a must have. He is on a short list of our all time favorites.
| Card Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack: | 85 | Max Health | 320 | |
| Defense: | 85 | Speed | 35 | |
| Speed: | 50 | Armor | 24 | |
| Luck: | 90 | Critical Hit | 4 | |
| Elemental Power | 25 | |||
| All Attacks | |||
| Beezooka | Press Attack 1 to shoot honey homing bees at enemies | Free | |
| Honey Glob | Press Attack 2 to shoot a big ball of honey that will coat enemies in honey when hit. | Free | |
| Honey Beecon | Bees will always target and attack enemies coated in honey. | 500 Gold | |
| Hungry Bees | Bees deal increased damage against honeyed targets | 700 Gold | |
| Hive Mind | Press Attack 3 to shoot a beehive into the ground. The hive explodes into honey when an enemy approaches it. | 900 Gold | |
| Painful Stings | Bees gain more powerful stingers, increasing their damage. | 1200 Gold | |
| Bee Keeper Path | |||
| Bee Armada | Hold Attack 1 to charge the Beezooka, release to shoot three bees at once. | 1700 Gold | |
| Stirred up a Nest | A new Beezooka now shoots even more bees that do increased damage. | 2200 Gold | |
| Queen Bee | Hold Attack 1 and charge theBeezooka even longer, release to shoot a Queen Bee that knocks enemies into the air. | 3000 Gold | |
| Honey Tree Path | |||
| Honey Buzz Blast | Hold Attack 2 to charge a honey attack, release to shoot a honey glob that contains angry bees. | 1700 Gold | |
| Heavy Honey | Honey attacks deal increased damage and slow enemies. | 2200 Gold | |
| Honeycomb Bark | Armor is increased. Bark skin will sometimes drip out honey that coats enemy attackers | 3000 Gold | |
| Soul Gem Ability | |||
| Bee-Pack Backpack | Gain a behive backpack that automatically launches bees at nearby foes. | 4000 Gold | |
It looks like GameStop has decided to add their hat to the Skylanders Sales that are going on at Target and Toys R Us. GameStop is also offering a Buy 2 get 1 free deal on core characters ($9.99) However unless you have no Skylanders, DO NOT take advantage of this deal online. When you order Skylanders online through a promotion like this, you have no control over what characters are sent to you. This is mostly due to the fact that GameStop seems to give each different character the same SKU. So if you want to take advantage of the Buy 2 get 1 free deal, I would suggest you actually go to the store.
Also on sale are the Starter Packs. This INCLUDES the GameStop Exclusive Dark Edition of Skylanders Swap Force. This is the only way to get the five Dark Swap Force Characters:
The regular Starter Pack is on sale for $49.99 while the Dark Edition is on sale for $59.99. GameStop is also offering an additional $10 off a Starter Pack when any old Portal is traded in.
These prices are good through 4/15. You can check out the rest of the GameStop spring savings days sale here.
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Conner is in another singing mood for this Magna Charge unboxing. At least until he starts to get him open, then his singing starts to fade a little. 🙂 Watch as he compares Magna Charge to Nitro Magna Charge and decides which one is better.
Let us know what you think of Magna Charge.
It’s time for another Swap Force Arena Battle. Today Lias and I take on a giant bird (Evilized Whiskers) in Beware of the Bird. I will be using Freeze Blade, while Lias uses Trap Shadow. Two relatively new characters to our collection. See how we do and if we can once again get three stars.
Let us know what you think of the Arena: Beware of the Bird.
There are a couple of good Skylanders character sales going on this week which is just in time for a bunch of Wave 4 characters that are on store shelves.
At Toys R Us you can buy one Skylanders figure and get one for 50% off. But over at Target you can buy two figures and get one free. These deals do not apply to the starter packs though. Also Target has all of their games this week at buy 2 get 1 free. That can be a good deal for games that rarely drop in price. Good luck hunting those wave 4 figures, now go out there and save some money.
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