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Have a seat, fellow handheld gaming PC liker, as I rattle off the 30 best Steam Deck games you should be installing right now. Maybe not all at once, mind. No microSD card is that big.

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Steam Deck Academy brings together all our guides and explainers on getting the most out of your Steam Deck, no student loans or sweaty dormitories required.

I should also clarify that this is basically a non-ordered list of games that Ive personally enjoyed playing on the Deck its not a formal ranking of quality like our best RPGs or best survival games guides. Still, everything here is a genuinely great fit for Valves portable puter, whether its an impressive technical showcase for the hardware or a little indie adventure that just suits the controls well. If youre not sure which games in your Steam library will play well on handheld hardware, consider these my first and foremost recommendations.

Im not limiting this guide to games that have full Steam Deck Verified status from Valve, though their compatibility testing programme is generally handy for seeing which games work (or dont) at a glance. To make the cut, however, a game will need to be comfortably playable with face buttons and thumbsticks, and be capable of running at 30fps or higher. Those that suffer without a mouse and keyboard, or have especially high tech requirements, might be great on desktops but a good Steam Deck game they are not.

The full list follows below, and if you want more on getting the most out of your go-anywhere PC, considering paying a visit to the RPS Steam Deck Academy. Its a collection of all our Deck-specific guides, analyses, and investigations, covering everything from how to stretch the Steam Decks battery life to adding installers like Lutris, which can expand your library of playable games beyond Steam alone.

The short and sweet Aperture Desk Job isnt just one of the best games to play on the Steam Deck it should probably be the first one you try. Its essentially a free Steam Deck tutorial, designed to help you get used to the controls layout, but is entertainingly administered through a genuinely funny mini-jaunt through a pre-Portal Aperture Science. Its a clever, surprising, and unrelentingly charming introduction to your new gadget, not a mention a reminder that Valve should really make more games.

You could say that Horizon Forbidden West is just "Horizon Zero Dawn but more," but then Horizon Zero Dawn is a brilliant open world adventure, and so is this, so whos complaining? Hopefully not any Steam Deck owners, who can now play both games on the go.

Forbidden West does require more aggressive settings adjustments than Zero Dawn, and its a bigger install too: combing the base game with the Burning Shores expansion means the Complete Edition demands 124GB of storage space, nearly twice the capacity of the entry-level Steam Deck. Its worth making room for, though.

Come to Signalis for the classic-styled survival horror, stay for the deep, dense, tragic love story that will keep your brain tied in fascinated knots for weeks. The jump to a Steam Deck does absolutely nothing to dull its creepiness, and if anything, its controls are better suited to those gamepadish buttons and sticks than the mouse and keyboard of a desktop setup.

Both the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED will easily run Signalis at max quality (if thats even a concern, given the intentionally PS1-aping visuals), and its a tiny install, so will fit without fuss on even the 64GB model. No wonder its got full Verified status from Valve.

At the suggestion of several RPS readers (and with the implicit recommendation of, apparently, scores of other Steam Deck owners), I finally got round to playing Vampire Survivors. And fine, FINE, it rocks. Simply moving around and auto-attacking sounds like a dreadfully dull premise but as the XP-unlocked weapon upgrades stack up, and the initial trickles of enemies become screen-filling bullet hell hordes, holding back the tide with time-stopping lasers and weaponised Bibles becomes almost hypnotically compelling.

It only really needs the left thumbstick and an occasional face button for inputs, and the framerate keeps above 40fps even with the most overwhelming of monster crowds, so chalk Vampire Survivors up as another Steam Deck special. It doesnt suck (hahhhhhh) the battery too quickly either: although I havent done a full full-to-empty test yet, Id say you can expect four to five hours of surviving vampires before the Deck runs dry.

This lush puzzle-platformer was one of my favourite games of 2023, and I happily played through the whole thing on a Steam Deck OLED. Planet of Lana catches the eye with some splendidly colourful, Studio Ghibli-inspired visuals, and will keep your attention with its keenly paced adventuring all without taxing the Decks hardware much, nor requiring more than a few of its basic inputs.

What made its puzzle design click for me, long after Id bounced off similar side-scrollers like Inside and Limbo, is the addition of Lanas adorable monkey-cat buddy. Most puzzles and enemy encounters require you weave in commands for him, which hell follow without frustration as youre making your own moves. The result: executing solutions feels less like a load of dreary box-dragging and more like a flowing dance routine. 'Twixt human and monkey-cat, but still.

When Diablo IV first released, the only way to wrestle it onto Valve handheld was with a strong will and a conveniently step-by-step guide to installing Battle.net on the Steam Deck. These days, you can just get the ARPG demon pummeller on Steam, which certainly makes things easier though the old ways still work, if you happen to already own it on ActiBlizzs store.

Either way, I actually enjoyed Diablo IV more on my Steam Deck than I did on my big, fat PC. This is veering even further into the realm of subjectivity than usual, but the thumbstick and face button controls just feel like Im exerting more direct control over my unintentionally Billie Eilish-faced Necromancer, which in turn makes combat more satisfying than it is when delivering hundreds of abstract mouse clicks.

It also runs pretty well on mostly-high visual settings, which is an increasingly rare quality among megablockbusters. If youre interested, you can check out my Diablo IV Steam Deck settings guide for some recommended tweaks.

Hades claimed, by Advent Calendar rules, RPS GOTY status back in 2020. And its just as tense, inventive and witty on the Steam Deck: it runs at a perfect 60fps, and only needs the face buttons and a single thumbstick for its slick, combo-happy combat. Being a rougelike mostly it wouldnt normally be as suited for short bursts of portable play, say on a bus ride, but the Decks quick resume feature lets you take a break whenever and immediately hop back into a run.

Hi-Fi Rush is the kind of game that plays better on gamepad controls than a mouse and keyboard, so it always had the chance of being a great Steam Deck game. That chance becomes a certainty with its easygoing performance, allowing Medium quality to run at a nearly constant 60fps and High quality to rock n roll along at 45fps or more.

Id happily recommend Tango Gameworks surprise rhythm action/hack-and-slash/platformer hybrid regardless of what you play it on: its a funny and satisfying brawler with some creative boss fights, and its final act kicks off with one of the single best combat encounters Ive played in an action game. That its more or less a perfect match for the Steam Deck thus makes me one very happy wannabe rockstar indeed.

Look at us lucky PC folk the first R&C game on Steam just happens to be the best one in the entire, two-decades-old series. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a funny, inventive, intelligently paced shooter-platformer with delightfully mad sci-fi weaponry, from the burrowing rocket launcher to the grenade that turns baddies into topiary sculptures.

On the Deck, its best played with the visuals toned down, but it still looks great and thats about the only concession required. An official Steam Deck control scheme adapts the former PS5 pad inputs flawlessly, and theyre all highly customisable if you want to make some tweaks.

Stray shakes off notions of merely being a haha-funny-cat novelty game with some stellar worldbuilding and intuitive puzzle-platforming, helped along by a sleek context-sensitive traversal style. This translates perfectly to the Steam Decks controls, and despite being a bit of a looker, Stray avoids any serious performance issues on the portable hardware. Theres some very occasional stuttering but thats present on high-end desktop PCs as well, and if you simply lower the Effects quality setting from High to Medium, you shouldnt drop below 30fps.

Wavetale runs as smoothly on the Steam Deck as your character does on water. An emotive platformer at its core, the greatest joy in Wavetale is catching a ride on your movement-mimicking merperson friend to zip across the rolling ocean. Its a blast, especially once you also get the hang of chaining together jumps and hookshot moves to navigate the flooded world even faster.

Originally launched for the ill-fated Stadia before finding sanctuary on PC, Wavetale incidentally benefits from the Stadia controller inputs effectively matching the Decks, so it feels like it was meant to be here all along. Performance is good too: not quite a solid 60fps, but consistently about 47-50fps.

For all of its performance hiccups on Windows, Elden Ring is such a good match for the Steam Deck that its earned Verified status from Valve. Its certainly more comfortable to play and navigate menus with the thumbsticks than to deal with Elden Rings wonky mouse and keyboard support, and running on Proton with its shader pre-caching feature - actually helps smooth out the stuttering that, on Windows, plagues the game to this day.

Smushi Come Home got the surprise launch treatment during Wholesome Direct 2023, and whew, is wholesome the right word. Plucked from his island home, friendly fungi boy Smushis return journey is a ranging but almost invariably tranquil one through flowery forests and airy caves. The supporting cast are chill, the acoustic-led soundtrack is delightful, the platforming is gentle... its just a nice place to be, yknow? Especially with a mostly free-roaming setup that lets you poke around each new patch of woodland as you please.

The Steam Decks hardware limitations also do little to harsh the vibe. Smushi Come Home runs at a consistent 60fps and is probably best played with pad controls anyway, while battery drain is on the slower side. I did find it tricky to read the in-game map at 800p, though theres always the Steam Decks zoom tool, and once I got the lay of the land I rarely needed the cartographic help anyway.

If youre like me (or Katharine) and dont have the patience, temperament, or hand-eye coordination for Soulslikes, you may find Deaths Door more palatable. Its a less demanding, though still challenging, take on How do I kill this dude no wait I am dead RPGs that also happens to suit the Steam Deck very comfortably indeed. I actually tried playing it on my desktop after first trying it on the Deck, and quickly abandoned the mouse and keyboard for a return to the handhelds twin sticks. Its easy to get a solid 60fps, too.

Feel-good racer Forza Horizon 5 is a natural fit for gamepad-style controls, and the Steam Decks haptic shoulder buttons even give it a little shake to enhance that feeling of stomping the accelerator. When launching it from Steam Id suggest lowering the graphics settings to Medium for suitably speedy performance, and if youre a PC Game Pass Ultimate subscriber you can stream it instead.

Theres a lot of action on this list. Maybe too much. Lets all calm down for a moment with Dordogne, a beautifully watercoloured indie adventure thats as much about appreciating the little things in life as its about cherishing the deepest relationships. It trades not in arcane point-and-click puzzling but in simple interactions with everyday objects, adopting a deliberately slow pace while injecting enough thought and character into each interaction to stave off tedium; Dordogne masterfully evokes the trepidation of reading a personal letter, or the joy of finding a long-lost heirloom in a dusty drawer.

Valve have only rated Dordogne as Playable on the Steam Deck, rather than Verified. I think the warning of undersized text is a bit harsh I havent had to zoom in to read anything yet though it does fail to offer native 1280x800 resolution support. The closest it comes is the 1280x720 option, which in all honesty is fine. Whats 80 vertical pixels between friends?

Portal 2 was one of first games Valve showed running on the Steam Deck, and its clear why. It runs smoothly, doesnt need a mouse and keyboard, and is even one of least demanding games Ive tried in terms of battery life drain most 3D games tend to quaff a full charge in around two hours, half of the four that Portal 2 took. Its also a successful showcase of the devices rear buttons, which let you jump or crouch without taking your portal-aiming thumb off the right stick.

A charming Portal-inspired puzzler where instead of completing brain-bending test chambers for the amusement of a murderous AI, youre completing brain-bending test chambers to keep the Earth from exploding. Also, instead of portals, your gun fires a time-rewinding beam that scoots objects back along their previous path of movement, or rebuilds ruined stairs and bridges. It makes for some devious puzzle-platforming challenges that you almost have to solve in reverse, as well as some entertaining action sequences based around making desperate repairs to an escape route.

The Steam Deck can run The Entropy Centre reasonably well at Ultra quality, though I found switching to High maintained its polished aesthetic while more consistently staying above 45fps. Its simple control scheme and small installation footprint less than 12GB give further credence to its handheld suitability.

The Steam Deck wouldnt be a consumer electronics product if it didnt run The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, only this time Todd H. wont need to sell you a whole new copy. Other than some slight UI awkwardness when trying to type in a new character name, this is the enticingly sprawling Skyrim that weve known for years just explorable on a handheld.

Dad jokes aside, the relationship-centred narrative and otherworldly beauty of God of War show how much its grown up from the series edgy early days. Still, the PlayStation link does help make it a natural fit for the Steam Decks controller-esque buttons and thumbsticks, and it runs decently on Original graphics settings. You can always lower these or switch on its native FSR upscaling if youd prefer a higher, smoother frame rate.

What better PC game to play on a handheld than one originally developed for a handheld? Monster Hunter Rise began life as a Nintendo Switch exclusive before a respectable PC port made it playable on Windows and thus, the Steam Deck as well. In places, particularly UI navigation, it often feels more natural to use the Decks more Switch-like controls than a keyboard, and the so-so visuals are a lot easier to forgive on a 7in screen than on a 27in, 1400p desktop monitor.

Playable MMOs are in short supply on the Steam Deck, whether it be down to anti-cheat software refusing to shake Protons hand or complex controls that just cant go without a keyboard. Nevertheless, I was impressed by how the free-to-play Albion Online adapts to the Steam Decks inputs and screen. One or two button presses can handle a full loadout of items and spells, and if using a trackpad to direct the mouse cursor doesnt feel quite right, you can just prod the touchscreen instead.

RimWorld is one of very few games seriously, hardly any to have been patched specifically to improve how it works on the Steam Deck. That means the interface, an easily overwhelming patchwork of icons, indicators, logs, tabs and other tiny-typefaced elements, remains legible on the 1280x800 screen. You can also zoom in further, and scroll through lists by swiping the touchscreen. All very thoughtful additions that might just help your sandbox base-building efforts end in survival rather than starvation.

Valve were so keen on making Half-Life 2 suitable for their portable PC that they went back, early in 2022, to optimise the 2004 shooters UI so it would be more accommodating to a compact touchscreen. Unsurprisingly, it also takes maximum advantage of all the Decks bells and whistles, giving you a full choice between thumbstick, trackpad or gyroscope aiming.

Ill confess, Ive spent hours using Final Fantasy XV for hardware benchmarking, but had never sat down to properly play until trying it out on the Steam Deck. And its great the controls adapt perfectly, and Medium video settings deliver fine frame rates without knackering quality. High is playable too, though youll be dipping close to 30fps at points.

Another top 2D jumper is Celeste. While sharing a wicked fondness for insta-death hazard dodging as Super Meat Boy, its not quite as much of pressure cooker, and tempers the challenge with a stronger story emphasis and a more considered, melancholy atmosphere. The Steam Decks controls are up to the task, too, even if you only need a small selection of them.

Lovely little life-change sim Unpacking feels, appropriately, right at home on the Steam Deck. If anything, the leisurely pace of its stacking and arranging puzzles is a better fit for those moments of melting into a sofa or lazing around in bed, Deck in hand, than it is for sitting up straight at your PC's desk. I also love how you can use the touchscreen to drag your lifetime of bric-a-brac around the room, though the left thumbstick works well too.

The streamlined point-and-clicking of Kentucky Route Zero helps it settle onto the Steam Deck rather effortlessly. I kinda wish it would use the D-pad to flick through menu options rather than the right thumbstick, but thats a personal gripe that hardly dulls this games best bits: the storys slow uncovering, the moments of quiet contemplation, and the gorgeous art. All of these are present and current whether you play Kentucky Route Zero on a Steam Deck or a 3000 titan of a desktop.

Outer Wilds is best experienced with a game pad, says its opening splash. A Steam Deck will suffice as well, allowing you to to enjoy this cute, thoughtful generator of ill-fated space adventures away from your main PC.

Bestest Best badgewearer Marvels Midnight Suns loses none of its charm on the Steam Deck. Firaxis card-based superhero RPG leans heavily on the magical side of its source material, while distinguishing itself from most spandex-and-quip adventures by encouraging you to chat with and befriend your team of supes. Its a game of relationship-building as much as it is of kicking goons through air conditioners.

Theres some performance inconsistency on the Deck, particularly when nosing around your home base hideout, but on default settings it can easily hit 60fps during combat. The slickly-designed UI doesnt need any special control scheme customisations, either; I liked using the touchscreen to thumb through cards, myself.

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The 30 best Steam Deck games - Rock Paper Shotgun

In 2023, Anthony Albanese was shooting for the moon, his eyes on the Voice referendum. On one view, he looked like the idealist reflecting his left-wing roots.

In 2024, were seeing a pragmatic, determined, managerial prime minister, busy attempting to reinforce the anchors of the ship of state and to clear its decks ahead of the May 14 budget. But this week, some rough weather hit the boat.

At a Labor national conference less than a decade ago Albanese opposed the ALP embracing turning back boats carrying asylum seekers. This week, his government tried to rush through legislation to give it power to force non-citizens to cooperate in their removal by, for example, signing an application for a passport or other travel documents.

Also this week, the government watered down its proposed vehicle efficiency measure in an effort to defuse opposition attacks that it is a new car and ute tax.

On another front, Albanese last week took the extraordinary course of declaring the government wont proceed with legislation on religious discrimination without bipartisan support.

Taken together, these actions show a PM wanting to chart a course firmly focused on an election that is at most just over a year away.

Preoccupied as it was with the Voice referendum for much of last year, the government was late to appreciate the extent to which voters were becoming overwhelmingly concerned with the cost of living.

Its not making that mistake now.

Last year it also didnt anticipate a possible threat to its immigration detention regime. It was ambushed by the High Courts judgement in November prohibiting the indefinite incarceration of immigration detainees.

As a result of that decision, about 150 people were released, the Coalition sparked a fear campaign about ex-criminals roaming the streets, and the government played catch-up with emergency legislation including for preventative detention.

Read more: The consequences of the government's new migration legislation could be dire for individuals and for Australia

But it always has the refugee lawyers on its heels and so, for example, to avoid court rebuffs to legislation already passed, it has been withdrawing its requirement for individuals to wear ankle bracelets.

The government didnt want to be caught out a second time by the High Court, which has another seminal case coming, with a hearing in April. It relates to an Iranian man whos refusing to cooperate with attempts to deport him; Iran wont take back involuntary removals.

The government has better prospects of winning this case. But it wants to shore up its defences, both to convince the court, and in the event the worst happens.

This weeks bill would prohibit non-citizens the government is trying to remove from refusing to cooperate. The penalty would be a mandatory years jail, with a maximum sentence of five years. Countries that refuse to accept involuntary returnees would also be subject to sanctions their citizens (with some exceptions) could not get visas to come to Australia.

One can imagine what Labor would have said if a Coalition government had thrown up such a bill with no notice.

The government gambled the opposition would have little option but to pass the bill. But on Wednesday the Coalition called its bluff.

In a rare alliance of Coalition, Greens and crossbenchers, the Senate has referred the bill to a committee inquiry. This is due to report on May 7, meaning the legislation cant be passed before the budget session (or the High Court hearing).

Worse for the government, the heat intensified on Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil, after a report that she had bawled out her departmental secretary, Stephanie Foster, over Foster making public, in the context of a Senate hearing, a document about the ex-detainees criminal backgrounds.

On the same day the immigration legislation was unveiled, Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King walked back the governments vehicle efficiency standards policy.

Initially the government had released three options for this new (and overdue) policy, declaring its preferred option would see Australia in line with the United States.

Then a few things happened. The Coalition went into full attack. The US recalibrated its own position, under pressure from its auto industry. The Greens, unhappy about another government policy, indicated they wouldnt wave through the governments option.

The Albanese office maintained oversight of negotiations with the industry, and agreed to take meetings with senior stakeholders from the car companies and industry bodies, to build confidence in the consultation process.

The retreat on emissions standards is modest, although the opposition will campaign against the standards regardless.

While the battle over the immigration bill and the retreat on emission reduction standards were playing out in public, behind closed doors Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus was briefing his opposition counterpart Michaelia Cash, the Greens and crossbenchers about the proposed religious discrimination draft legislation.

Read more: Future of Anthony Albanese's religious discrimination legislation is in Peter Dutton's hands

The government has given Cash the draft legislation, on a confidential basis. The Greens and some crossbenchers were angry they were not provided with it.

From whats been said so far, the proposed religious discrimination legislation would scrap the present provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act, which allow religious schools to discriminate on grounds of sexuality and gender identification against both students and teachers.

This would be replaced in new legislation by a prohibition of any discrimination against students. Schools would be able to preference people sharing their faith and values in hiring, but not discriminate in firing.

In addition, there would be an explicit protection to safeguard people against discrimination on the basis of their faith.

The Senate forced the government into an inquiry on the immigration legislation, but Albanese has said he wont have an inquiry into the religious freedom legislation.

Albaneses conditional stand on this legislation is driven by his not wanting a divisive debate in the run up to the election. He has been seared enough by the Voice issue.

On religious discrimination, he is wedged between LGBTQ+ advocates and various faith groups. The situation is further complicated by the Greens saying they would be willing to work with the government on the legislation. If the attempt to get bipartisanship Labor-Coalition agreement falls apart, both sides can blame each other. Most voters will have their minds on more urgent concerns.

The final days of the autumn parliamentary sitting have run off course for the government, with the delay of the immigration legislation. The uncertainty hanging over the religious freedom legislation is unhelpful. Despite Albaneses efforts, the seas are still choppy.

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View from the Hill: Albanese hit by unexpected wave as he tries to clear the decks - The Conversation

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New Business: Martingale Wharf Restaurant to expand waterfront deck; T-BONES in Derry to get facelift - The Union Leader

Magic: The Gatherings Outlaws of Thunder Junction is arriving, and its time to look at the Commander decks. These pre-con decks are always quite interesting, especially when it comes to their themes. In this case, were heading to Thunder Junction, a villain-centric story focused on a band of outlaws trying to get one big score. That means the primary characters will all be fan-favorite antagonists from the MTG franchise.

I recently got to preview these decks alongside other members of the press to see what awaits Commander fans in Magic: The Gathering for Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Several of these decks look very interesting to me. Lets dive in and see what is on offer!

As is tradition, Magic: The Gatherings Outlaws of Thunder Junction expansion will feature four Commander decks. Most of these are three-colored, like the Fallout Commander decks, with one Red/Blue deck to round things out. You can see the deck themes below, with a brief description of each of them:

Desert Bloom comes with Yuma and Proud Protector, a three-color Human Ranger with a high mana cost. However, for each land in the graveyard, he costs one generic less.

His purpose is to help you flood the board with 4/2 Plant Warriors each time a Desert is put into your graveyard from anywhere. Thats right, Desert lands are back! Im curious about this deck, but the other ones felt more powerful to me.

Grand Larceny is more my speed - Im all about taking my opponent's cards and using them myself. This Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander deck features Gonti - Gonti, Canny Acquisitor. I love Spells you cast but dont own cost 1 less to cast right out of the gate for this 5/5.

This deck promises chaos in multiplayer groups. Whenever one of your creatures deals combat damage to a player, you can peek at their top card and exile it. You can then play it as long as it stays that way and use any mana to cast it. Thats interesting because it says 'play.' I imagine you can also use your opponent's lands that way.

Most Wanted brings back Olivia as Olivia, Opulent Outlaw, a Vampire Assassin in a deck focused on building lots of Treasure Tokens and picking up Outlaws. Outlaws are a new mechanic focused on a specific set of creature types: Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks.

Whenever one of those creature types deals damage, and shes in play, you gain a Treasure Token. You can also sacrifice two of them, alongside 3 mana, to give all of your creatures two +1/+1 counters for this Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander deck.

Sadly, this can only be done as a Sorcery. Nonetheless, I think this will be an incredibly powerful, popular Commander in Magic: The Gathering.

Finally, the two-color deck, Quick Draw. This deck feels like it will require a lot more thought and planning if you want to get the most out of Stella Lee, Wild Card. She is all about getting access to more cards. When you cast your second spell each turn, exile the top card of your deck, and you can play it until the end of your next turn.

She also lets you copy an instant or sorcery - only if youve already cast three or more spells this turn. This feels like the more effort and thought you put into your turns, the bigger payoffs youll get when it comes to combos. I want to see her in Storm decks right away.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction will be released in Magic: The Gathering on April 19, 2024, alongside these powerful new Commander decks. There are plenty of interesting new mechanics, powerful cards, and more coming for players worldwide.

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Magic: The Gathering reveals deck archetypes for Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander decks - Sportskeeda

Newly crowned bosun Ben Willoughby may have felt like the last Below Deck docking was rainbows and sunshine, but dark clouds are on the way.

Captain Kerry Titheradge reveals exclusively to Entertainment Weekly that not only was the former lead deckhand not his first choice for bosun, but Ben's future isn't locked in on St. David.

"Ben wasn't my first choice to be in that position, but he does know the boat well. He's very good at his job, but he definitely needs to stay focused and understand what the chain of command means," Captain Kerry says.

Also, firing bosun Jared Woodin immediately before a new charter meant that someone from the deck team would need to lead. "He knew the boat well. I didn't know the boat," Captain Kerry says about Ben. "I used to live by a mantra that you can teach a job, but not a personality. And I think if you can treat someone differently, maybe they might not be the ideal personality for the job. But at the time, I needed the right skillset for the job, and that's what he had."

But Captain Kerry adds a teaser that could be a harbinger of tension to come. "I had a lot of faith in him to do that job. But you'll see in the episode as well, more than once, I said, 'Are you up for this?' I mean, I think three times I asked him," Captain Kerry recalls. "And the last time you could see his face, he was sick of being asked a question. And that might give you an idea of the future discussions I'll be having with him."

Fred Jagueneau/Bravo

A possible future discussion could involve Ben's boatmance with deckhand Marie "Sunny" Marquis. Did Captain Kerry know about the bubbling flirtation?

"That was part of the conversation I had with him about having to act different amongst the other crew. I wasn't officially aware," Captain Kerry says. But he was aware of Ben's messy love triangle from last season: "I was aware of his history in his position," the captain adds. "I give everyone a fresh start. Hopefully people react differently to different styles of leadership. And I was hoping that he would react to a different style of leadership later in the season more than once. He came quite close to things not being very good for him. And he may not make the whole season."

Could this neatly tied bowline start to unravel?

Below Deckairs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.

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'Below Deck' star Captain Kerry admits Ben Willoughby wasn't his first pick for bosun - Entertainment Weekly News

MIAMI Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said earlier in the week that our guys are not ignorant of how important the last few weeks of the season are.

Miami has little time to improve its position in the standings the 39-33 Heat currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the sixth-place Pacers. If Miami wants to better its playoff position, upcoming games against struggling teams like Portland on Friday and Washington on Sunday are crucial.

Were ready to go, Spoelstra said. At this time of year, were trying to play our best game to get wins, regardless of who were playing, how were playing, where were playing. Thats where we are right now. Were coming off a tough loss the other night. But the opportunitys still there for us. Thats what we have to just continue to understand. There can be disappointments during the season. Theres ups and downs. You ultimately are what your record says you are. But theres opportunities in front of us if we can take advantage of it.

But several key players are dealing with injuries, limiting them when they play or keeping them off the court completely.

Guard Tyler Herro is set to miss his 17th straight game due to tendinitis in his right foot, though he was shooting during Miamis practice on Thursday.

We dont have a timeline, but its definitely encouraging for him to get on the wood and try to get ready, Spoelstra said. This is part of the amp up. This is part of the plan. And theres a lot of encouraging things.

Forward Duncan Robinson will miss his fifth straight game due to left facet syndrome, a back injury. He was watching practice Thursday.

Right now, it has to be this idea of all hands on deck, Spoelstra said. But it has to be in an intelligent way. Were trying to get back guys out there as quickly as we possibly can. Theyre doing whatever they have to do around the clock to make themselves available. Ultimately, all of this becomes about committing to something bigger than yourself, giving to the team whatever you can give at this time of year. And then each case is different. Everybodys body is different. Everybodys rehab is different. Everybodys place in that part of the ramp up is different.

But its not all bad news for the Heat.

Star Jimmy Butler, who missed the Heats loss to Golden State on Tuesday, participated in part of practice Thursday and is listed as probable for Fridays contest against Portland. Forward Kevin Love, who has missed 14 games with a bruised right heel, is listed as probable, as are Caleb Martin and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

For the available players, the focus remains on the game ahead of them, center Bam Adebayo said.

If youre available, youre available to play, Adebayo said. If youre not, get as much treatment as you can to get back on the court.

The Trail Blazers feature a young team. Earlier this month, they became the second team since 1971 to start five rookies in a game (with a group that included former Chaminade-Madonna star Toumani Camara). Although Portland is second-to-last in the Western Conference, that energy can make them dangerous, Spoelstra said.

The one thing you can definitely expect is theres going to be a great deal of speed, athleticism, quickness, energy, youthful enthusiasm, Spoelstra said. All of those things, on any given night, can be extremely dangerous.

Chauncey (Billups) has that group playing really hard, and they dont have the pressure of anything. We have to continue to do what weve been talking about. we have to get a lot more consistent to our identity night in, night out, and be our best version also offensively (so) we can put some points on the board.

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Banged-up Heat have 'all hands on deck' - South Florida Sun Sentinel

Becky Lynch found herself getting physical with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio on this weeks WWE Raw. Mondays episode saw Lynch come out to interrupt a promo by her WrestleMania opponent, who had Dominik with her. Ripley said that Lynch has been too distracted by Nia Jax to focus on her and she deserved the proper attention.

That brought out Lynch, who went back and forth with Ripley about the latter not wrestling on Raw and what being a champion means to them. Ripley said that Lynch was a cockroach and that she wanted to see Lynchs daughter Roux, call her Mami. Lynch warned Ripley not to say anything about her daughter and the two continued to go back and forth until Lynch nailed Mysterio when he got in her face and then brawled with Ripley.

The two will compete with Ripleys WWE Womens World Championship on the line at WrestleMania 40.

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Becky Lynch Brawls With Rhea Ripley On WWE Raw, Decks Dominik Mysterio - 411mania.com

Jill Zarin is taking her talents to another reality series but not for long!

On Monday, Bravo unleashed the midseason trailer for Below Deck season 11, which featured a familiar face in the Real Housewives of New York City alum, 60.

Halfway through the trailer which teases the nine remaining episodes in the season Zarin is introduced as one of the "original housewives of New York," as well as a charter guest with a few specific questions during a meal.

"This is a buffet," she says in the clip. "It shouldn't be a three-hour meal. Make it better."

After Zarin tells staffers that her "burger's cold," the trailer then cuts to a clip of Chef Anthony Iracane asking for a translator.

"Because I have no idea what the f--- is going on right now," he says.

While the trailer teases Zarin's cameo as a moment to look forward to this season, it also highlights some new arrivals on staff, heated arguments and even some impromptu dance routines.

The early look at the remainder of the season begins with Captain Kerry Titheradge reflecting on the "ups and downs" of season 11. "It wouldn't be yachting if we didn't [have them]," he says. "We don't do this because it's easy. Easy s--- is on the shore."

The trailer later cuts to a tense moment between stew Barbie Pascual and chief stew Fraser Olender, an in-car argument between cast members, and a few silly moments that could've made the blooper reel.

Eventually, the preview teases a new stew coming on board, as well as deckhand Kyle Stillie and Barbie's flirtatious relationship getting some air time as they're shown embracing each other.

"I really like Kyle," she says in the trailer. "It's just like a fun, flirtatious... whatever."

Unfortunately for the crew, the season may not end on a positive note for everyone, as the trailer also teases the potential departure of one unnamed cast member. "I've done everything I can for you to succeed," Titheradge can be heard saying in the clip to an employee. "The issue is you are not thriving. If you're not all encompassing, adding value to the rest of the crew, I can't have you here."

While the trailer ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, both Titheradge and Olender shared some insight into Zarin's Below Deck appearance during a conversation with US Weekly last month.

Shes sweet. Shes very lovely and very funny but demanding, Olender said. [But] all guests are demanding. Theyre charter guests and theyve got their preferences and sometimes they can be frustrating.

Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Still, he added that the cast "had a wonderful time and we had that amazing beach picnic," while Titheradge called her an "honorary" crew member. When asked about her specific preferences while on board, Olender brought up the RHONY alum's ice requests.

Its going to be the ice," he said. "She didnt like any of the ice apart from a specific one. From a specific freezer. So we had to have a specific ice box that kind of followed wherever she went. I love it. If thats the biggest concern, then we should [be good].

Below Deck airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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RHONY's Jill Zarin Is One Demanding Charter Guest in Below Deck Midseason Trailer: 'Make It Better' - PEOPLE

Summary

Captain Kerry Titheradge hints he may fire Ben Willoughby in Below Deck season 11. The Gold Coast-based Deckhand quickly rose to popularity after his debut last season. He earned his promotion and became the Lead Deckhand within five episodes. Unfortunately, Bens performance in season 11 has been slightly underwhelming. Over the episodes, he has made various mistakes and distracted himself with other things like hooking up with junior Deckhand, Marie Sunny Marquis. Most recently, Ben earned an unexpected promotion. He became the Bosun after Captain Kerry fired Jared Woodin due to his attitude and inability to focus on work.

Ben has yet to showcase his abilities. However, Captain Kerry has already teased that things may not end well for the new Bosun. While talking to Entertainment Weekly, Captain Kerry shared that Ben may not make the whole season. He added that Ben has come quite close to things not being good for him. Besides teasing Bens exit from the show, Captain Kerry also shared the possible reasons.

He said, I had a lot of faith in him to do that job, implying that Ben didnt live up to his expectations and made him question if he deserved the promotion.

Captain Kerry disclosed the real reason he chose Ben as the Bosun. He revealed, Ben wasn't my first choice to be in that position, but he does know the boat well. The new Captain shared that the Lead Deckhand knew the boat more than him. Therefore, he had no choice but to give him a chance.

Captain Kerry said, at the time, I needed the right skillset for the job, and that's what he had.

While the Australian Captain didnt say if he would fire Ben, he shared that his future discussions with him would be about whether he could handle the job.

Captain Kerry is right to doubt Bens skills. Over the years, many Below Deck crew members have become successful by concentrating on their jobs more than romance or drama. Joo Franco from Below Deck Down Under is a great example. When the Zimbabwe native debuted in the series, he had drinking problems. However, he didnt let the issues dictate his future and completely altered his personality to earn the promotion. Similarly, Tumi Mhlongo achieved the position of Chief Stewardess through hard work. She deserved her promotion because she was passionate about her job. Unfortunately, Ben has yet to improve himself.

Its hard to say if Ben deserves such a harsh punishment. However, he does need a lesson to help him understand that work is more important than romance. Captain Kerry knows that his new Bosun has potential. He also admitted to having faith in him, which proves he wants Ben to improve. Ben has a golden opportunity in his hand. If he can show Captain Kerry that hes ready for the job, things can go in his favor. Captain Kerry may even request him to return for future Below Deck seasons and make him his right-hand man.

Below Deck airs every Monday at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Below Deck is a Reality television series and franchise that has seen many spinoffs since its creation in 2013. The original series follows the lives of a crew that lives on a Superyacht called Honor and chronicles their experiences during "charter season."

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Ben Willoughby Might Be Fired In Below Deck Season 11, According To Captain Kerry - Screen Rant

For a game thats covered everything from Norse mythology to Japanese Cyberpunk, its incredible that Magic: The Gathering has gone this long without doing Westerns. Despite being one of the most heavily requested settings, weve never had a rootin, tootin cowboy set before Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

With it finally almost here, Wizards of the Coast has broken Outlaws of Thunder Junction out of the Sheriffs jail and ridden off into the sunset, letting us getting a mighty long look at some of the mechanics, art treatments, and Commanders well be seeing when the set launches on April 19.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction is the final set in the year-long arc thats followed Kellen through the multiverse. In pursuit of his father Oko, hes gone from Eldraine to Ixalan, to Ravnica, and now to the brand new world of Thunder Junction.

Thunder Junction was originally a barren plane, but with the opening of the Omenpaths after the March of the Machine, all kinds of folk from across the multiverse have settled here. Including, unfortunately, many villains. A ruthless and lawless world, Thunder Junction is full of too many criminals and not enough sheriffs to bring peace.

Thunder Junction is the first brand-new plane weve seen since Streets of New Capenna in mid-2022.

Of course, theres a bigger reason for coming to Thunder Junction: the Vault. Buried in the centre of the plane is a secret treasure that is sure to be the crux of the next big story arc, which should take us through to mid-2025.

Murders at Karlov Manor was fairly conservative in new mechanics, but Outlaws of Thunder Junction is going for broke with a whole gang of keywords not seen in the game before.

Partys back, but someone invited to bad kids. Outlaw is a batching mechanic, meaning it ties together already existing types under one banner, and then lets you do fun things with all of them.

Outlaw ties together five creature types: Mercenaries, Rogues, Warlocks, Pirates, and Assassins. The set is full of such creatures, like Kellen, the Kid being a Rogue, and Vraska, the Silencer being an Assassin.

One of the next sets after Outlaws of Thunder Junction is Universes Beyond: Assassins Creed, which could get a big power bump from the outlaw-loving cards in this set.

These creatures dont inherently do anything, but other cards will reward you for having them with buffs or special effects. For example, the face of the Most Wanted Commander deck; Olivia, Opulent Outlaw; will give you a Treasure token if one or more outlaws manage to deal combat damage.

In formats where both party and outlaw cards are legal, like Pioneer, Modern, and Commander, this mechanic could gives Rogues in particular a massive boost, as theyre the only creature type that is beefed up by both.

Finally, you can commit crimes while playing Magic and be rewarded for it. This doesnt mean you can do a cheeky bit of tax evasion while drafting, though; crime has a very specific meaning in Magic.

Any time you cast a spell or activate an ability that targets a permanent, their permanents, or cards they own in the graveyard or in exile, you are committing a crime. This means plenty of older cards also now automatically become crimes, which is the entire purpose of one of the sets two bonus sheets the crime-centric Breaking News.

On top of the crimes themselves, there are cards that care about committing crimes in other ways. For instance, Freestrider Lookout lets you go through the top five cards of your library for a land when you commit a crime, while Magda, the Hoardmaster makes Treasure tokens.

Kicker is one of the most successful MTG mechanics of all time, to the point that its a common joke in Magic that every other mechanic is effectively just kicker. This couldnt be truer for spree, which takes the idea of kicker and modal spells and makes them compusary.

Each spell with spree has two costs: the original mana value in the top right corner, and a series of extra costs listed in the card text. You must pay at least one of these, but can choose to pay for as many of them as you like.

Take Unfortunate Accident. You cant just cast it for one black mana, otherwise nothing would happen. You must pick at least one of its two other abilities and pay their additional costs as well, meaning Unfortunate Accidents actual mana cost is at least one black and one generic, and at most two black, three generic.

While weve had all sorts of Vehicles, from cars and trains to flying air ships, weve never been able to just ride a horse. Or, in Magics case, Innistrads Gitrog Monster.

To saddle a creature with the Mount creature type, youll need to tap other creatures for a total power of its saddle cost. This is just like crewing a Vehicle, but the big difference is that, as Mounts are already creatures, they can attack whether theyve been saddled or not. Instead, other effects become available by being saddled.

The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride lets you sacrifice the creatures that saddled it to draw extra cards and put lands into play. We can expect to see plenty of other saddle effects in this set, but Id personally love to see a way to give any other creature a saddle cost to turn Emrakul into a mount.

The final new mechanic of Thunder Junction is a reworked version of Kaldheims fortell. Like foretell, you pay a cost to exile a card from your hand to cast on a later turn. However, theres one massive difference: you get to cast the card for free.

Unlike foretell, you also exile the card face-up so your opponents can see whats coming.

You can only cast a plotted card on another turn, and only at sorcery speed. This means youre telegraphing to your opponents what youre going to play, but finding the right moment to play something for free can be devastating.

While there are costs that are the same as their mana value, and some cost more, the majority of cards with plot will be cheaper to plot than to hard cast. This also fits nicely into all those paradox-centric exile strategies that have emerged thanks to the likes of the Doctor Who Commander decks.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction is unfortunate because it has not one, not two, but three different subsets that can be found in booster packs.

This is a lot more than we normally get, but its due to the late cancelation of a March of the Machine: The Aftermath-style epilogue set originally called The Big Score.

The Big Score is now known as The Vault, and makes up the vast majority of this sets version of The List. These are all Standard-legal cards, despite not having the main sets OTJ set code, and of course can also be played in Commander, Modern, Vintage, Pioneer, Legacy, and Oathbreaker.

As this was originally its own mini-set, there isnt an overarching theme, and we could find just about anything as previews go on. The first card weve seen for The Vault is a new Sword Of card, with Sword of Wealth and Power protecting you from most crimes your opponents want to commit and also letting you copy instants and sorceries of your own for free.

Filling up the rest of The List are the Special Guests, which were introduced with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan last year.

Special Guests are reprints of older cards, but with new art flavoured to the theme of the set. Stoneforge Mystic, the classic Equipment deck staple, is now a blacksmith in the frontiers of Thunder Junction, and well definitely see more like it as previews go on.

The original bonus sheet actually intended for Thunder Junction, each and every booster pack includes at least one Breaking News card, and theyre all themed around the various crimes you can commit.

Anything that can target an opponent could be up for grabs in this slot, ranging from the simple direct damage like Clear Shot, to counterspells like Mana Drain, to even a whole Plainswalker with the infamous Oko, Thief of Crowns putting in an appearance thanks to his ability to steal artifacts or creatures.

Its only been a few weeks since the four Fallout Commander decks launched, but were already seeing our next batch of four thanks to Outlaws of Thunder Junction. There are a few neat surprises here though that set it apart from the usual set tie-ins.

The decks are:

Once the domain of booster fun and Secret Lair, the Commander decks themselves have been experimenting with including fun art treatments as of late. Fallout had full-art lands included as standard, and now Outlaws of Thunder Junction is making the face cards a bit fancier.

Each of the four Commander face cards are a full-art treatment, rather than the regular frame they usually get. We dont know if there even will be regular frame versions of these cards, as right now the only ones weve seen have been full-art.

These decks have an optional minigame to overlay your regular round of Commander, with bounty cards offering up a slightly different twist on the format.

Note: Like Planechase, Bounty is completely optional.

Youll need at least six Bounty cards (with each deck having three included), but twelve are preferred. Theyre shuffled into a face-down deck, and, on the third turn of the game, you reveal the top card to see a condition. If youre able to meet this condition, you collect the reward.

However, if you dont complete the bounty, its reward level goes up, the next player reveals the next bounty card, and they could try and take both at once.

The rewards you get become greater the longer a bounty is out, ranging from making a Treasure token to making two of them and drawing a card. Spread that out over potentially 12 different bounties all out at once, and it could be incredibly explosive to go for the bounties.

The bounties themselves arent too tricky, though, so theres a good chance your opponents could steal them from you. For instance, all The Outsider wants you to do is cast a card from anywhere other than your hand like casting your commander, or playing a plotted card.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction releases on April 19.

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Outlaws Of Thunder Junction Debut Story, Mechanics, Commander Decks Revealed - TheGamer