Frantic Nerdcast

With PAX just two weeks away, the crew sits down to talk tabletop games, retro video games, and modern cinema. We kick things off with a recap of our latest TCG Tuesday match in Illustrals, share early thoughts on the top-down turn-based game Canvas City, and preview upcoming matches in DC Deck Builder: Rivals.
Then, the conversation devolves into a full Transformers marathon breakdown—examining Optimus Prime's ruthless kill count, the missed potential of Galvatron, and why the animated Netflix trilogy (War for Cybertron) gets the characters right. Finally, we debate the best movie trilogies from the 2000s to now, covering The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings, The Bourne Series, The Matrix, and Shyamalan’s Unbreakable universe.

It's that time of the week again. This week we chat about the Cyberpunk TCG, We talk all things PAX Australia 26, we talk the series 3 of Silo, We talk the upcoming Australian tv show Gnomes, Blizcon and much more.

Welcome to Episode 125 of the Frantic Nerdcast! On this week's episode, the crew breaks down the latest news around the rumored Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for the Switch 2, including proposed quality-of-life changes like a manual jump button. We also dive into hands-on impressions of Hollow Knight, talk TV with updates on Silo, The Gentlemen Season 2, and Bookish, and catch up on book reading lists including Three-Body Problem and Horus Heresy. Plus, we discuss our upcoming trip to PAX and showcase a custom physical DIY shuffle baseball game!
 
Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro & Sponsor: Monsters at War Card Game
02:00 - Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 Remake News & Quality-of-Life Changes
05:07 - Hollow Knight Review & Gameplay Impressions
10:04 - TV Talk: Bette, Silo, The Gentlemen, & Bookish
23:19 - Book Club: Three-Body Problem & Horus Heresy Deep Dive
42:20 - DIY Shuffle Baseball Game Project
48:45 - Nerd News: Anime Releases, Alien/Romulus, Witcher 3 Remaster, & More
57:03 - Cancer Council Longest Day Golf Fundraiser Announcement
59:35 - PAX Trip Prep & Channel Updates
 
upport Cancer Research: Donate to our Longest Day Golf Fundraiser:
AJ - https://www.longestday.org.au/fundraisers/AJStephens32782
Zac - https://www.longestday.org.au/fundraisers/ZacManning19030/nsw
Brock - https://www.longestday.org.au/fundraisers/BrockLewis32811/nsw
Support the Show:
🛒 Grab a copy of Monsters at War : https://franticnerdcast.com/product/monsters-at-war-physical-version/
Support Monsters At War on Boardgamegeek: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/466444/monsters-at-war
🌐 Visit our website for game dev blogs: franticnerdcast.com.
💬 Join the conversation on Discord (link below)!
 
Follow us on social media!
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553617388296
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/franticnerdcast/
Ajs Insta - https://www.instagram.com/weirdartbyaj/
Brocks Insta - https://www.instagram.com/franticbrock/
Zac's Insta - https://www.instagram.com/franticcaz
Discord - https://discord.gg/ajkTjBPRR2
Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/franticnerdcast
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thefranticnerdcast
 

Welcome back to Episode 124 of the Frantic Nerdcast! In this episode, AJ, Brock, and Zach break down the latest episodes of DC's Lanterns and dive into the recent trailers for the Hogwarts HBO series and the new live-action Street Fighter movie. The guys also talk about Silo Season 3, the Cyberpunk TCG initial thoughts, their upcoming appearance at PAX, and run through a pop culture binge-watch quiz!
 
Grab a copy of Monsters at War : https://franticnerdcast.com/product/monsters-at-war-physical-version/
 

Welcome to episode 120 of the Frantic Nerdcast! In this episode, the guys break down their experience at CollectorCon in Newcastle, discuss trading and completing Pokemon TCG master sets, and talk local card grading with TCG and PCG. Plus, we pay tribute to the legendary Tim Curry, talk about upcoming plans for PAX Australia 2026, dive into board game recommendations (Zombicide: Marvel & DC Deceased), and share our thoughts on the latest Toxic Avenger movie!

Welcome back to the Frantic Nerdcast! On this episode, the boys break down all things pop culture, MCU, horror movies, and TCG collecting. First up, we tackle Spider-Man, diving deep into our review, character development, and hidden Easter eggs. Then, we react to the massive D23 announcements, including the official X-Men cast (Sadie Sink, Adam Driver, Samara Weaving, Kit Connor), the insane Avengers: Doomsday trailer breakdown, Vision Quest updates, and controversial news like 3D Bluey and Frozen 3. Later, we review Blumhouse's latest horror hit Obsession directed by Curry Barker, touch on new TV shows like Reacher and Lanterns, and sit down with special guest Viking's Collectibles! We talk about card shows, eating spicy peppers for pack openings, and his awesome Squirtle Squad charity binder raising funds for breast cancer research. Viking Collects - https://www.instagram.com/viking__collects/ Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro & Spider-Man Review 08:26 - D23 News: MCU X-Men Cast Announced 17:26 - Avengers: Doomsday Trailer & Vision Quest 24:30 - Disney, Pixar & Bluey Movie News 28:26 - TV Corner: Reacher, Lanterns & Ted Lasso 36:19 - Guest Interview: Viking's Collectibles (Card Shows & Charity Binder) 54:12 - Horror Movie Breakdown: Obsession (2024) 01:05:43 - The Longest Day Golf Charity & Outro

Welcome to episode 121 of the Frantic Nerdcast! We're down a host (missing Zach), so AJ and Brock are taking a slightly more "casual" approach this week—even if AJ's intro voice threw everyone off! In this episode, we dive deep into a FULL SPOILER REVIEW of 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'. We break down the arachnid hormone mechanics, the Jean Grey reveal, the Hulk/Frank Castle dynamics, and how this sets up Weapon X, mutant inhibitor collars, and Secret Wars! We also discuss: • AJ’s resin 3D printing disaster and recovery • Updates on our in-development skirmish game, Rift Chaos • Board Game of the Week: The rare Japanese-only 'Deck Build Gundam' • Movie & TV Chat: 'Big Bad' (Save the Green Planet remake), 'The Dink' (pickleball comedy), 'Lucky', and 'Ted Lasso' Season 4 • TCG Tuesday spotlight on WIXOSS • Big news: We got MEDIA PASSES for PAX Australia!

The boys are back for Episode 120, coming to you in full monochromatic green style! 🟢 This week, we’re opening up with some high-stakes local bin chat before diving straight into the big pop culture releases.
We give our initial (mostly!) spoiler-free thoughts on Spider-Man: Brand New Day—is it truly the best MCU Spider-Man movie yet? We also dive into Ryan Murphy's The Beauty (and how it compares to the graphic novel), Netflix’s The Boroughs, Peacemaker Season 2, a nostalgic Mortal Kombat marathon, and early impressions of Silo Season 3.
Plus, Brock gets put on the hot seat for a blind Dragon Ball Z Character Ranking, we highlight how to play our game Monsters at War, cover huge news in the TCG and tabletop world (Universes 40k, PAX Aus, and Ready Player Two), and share details on an incredible community FU Cancer fundraiser.

We are shaking up the schedule this week with an early Tuesday recording because Thursday is reserved for Spider-Man: Brand New Day!
In this jam-packed episode, the boys dive into their early impressions of Palworld 1.0, recent progress on Diddy Kong Racing, and a fresh playtest report for our upcoming 3D printable skirmish game, Rift Chaos! Plus, we break down Christopher Nolan’s epic three-hour film The Odyssey, jump into Horus Heresy book chatter, and discuss big news for Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Finally, we react to all the massive SDCC drops—from Marvel’s big Avengers and Ghost Rider reveals to DC’s Lanterns, Blade Runner 2099, and the spoof-filled Spaceballs Cinematic Universe plan!
Head over to franticnerdcast.com to grab our card games or check out the latest miniatures! Stay Frantic!

We are officially back and fully legal to drink again for Episode 118! This week, the boys break down the internet-breaking trailer for Avengers: Doomsday. We discuss Gambit taking on Shang-Chi, comic-accurate Mystique, Thor's ominous warnings about Doom, and how Secret Wars is being set up.
Later, AJ takes on a blind ranking challenge of classic board games (Ticket to Ride, Wingspan, Carcassonne, and Game of Thrones), and we give an in-depth review of Stonemaier Games' asymmetrical standalone game, Duel of Meloch.