Full transcript
0:01Past the spheres, beyond the known, into
0:05the malediction. This is beyond
0:10the conclave.
0:30>> [music]
0:36[music]
0:52[music]
1:02>> Hello and welcome everyone to the very
1:04first episode of Beyond the Conclave.
1:08A poke a a podcast dedicated to the
1:10incredible world of malediction.
1:14I am Toxic Mike and I'm really excited
1:16to be here to get started on this
1:18journey of Beyond the Conclave and share
1:21my passion with the rest of you.
1:24Whether you're already playing
1:25malediction every week, you've only
1:26heard the name,
1:28or you're simply curious about this
1:29amazing game, you've come to the right
1:31place.
1:33This podcast is going to be about much
1:35more than just winning games cuz
1:38I don't do that a lot.
1:40It's going to be about strategy,
1:42painting, lore, community, tournaments,
1:45and watching a brand new gaming
1:47community grow from the ground up.
1:51Who am I? A little bit about myself, my
1:53name is Toxic Mike. I've been podcasting
1:55for years and years and years, but I
1:56took a step away from podcasting.
1:59Uh I had my baby girl,
2:01my family, my boy, my wife. I kind of
2:04took a step away. But, I'm back now
2:06because I couldn't hold it back anymore.
2:10I found this game that I became so
2:12passionate about with a community that
2:14is so amazing
2:16that I just had to share it with the
2:18world. All right. I've been involved in
2:20tabletop gaming for years, for video
2:22games for years, since I was a little
2:24little tyke.
2:26And like many people, I'm always looking
2:27for games that offer something
2:29different.
2:30When I discovered Maladiction, which was
2:32about 2 years ago, 2 and 1/2 years ago
2:35at PAX Unplugged,
2:37it immediately stood out from every
2:39other game. Before I even showed up at
2:41the convention, I was checking this game
2:44out online, on its Gamefound campaign,
2:47everywhere I could find it. And when I
2:49finally got my hands on it, I was
2:51hooked. Every other game in my library
2:54took a backseat. Okay, the miniatures
2:57looked incredible, the artwork was
2:59fantastic,
3:00the mechanics were just so easy to pick
3:04up. It was unbelievable. Okay?
3:08Um
3:09but more than anything, it felt like a
3:10game that deserved a passionate
3:12community.
3:13And this is after like playing for many,
3:15many months and starting to join people
3:18online in the TTS, or joining people at
3:21line in my local games, joining people
3:23in real life at my local game store. Uh
3:26I realized I didn't want to just be a
3:28part of it. I wanted to be a part of
3:30growing it.
3:32It felt like the game deserved a
3:33passionate community, and I had to help
3:36out.
3:37That idea eventually became
3:40Beyond the Conclave, which I put under
3:42the umbrella of Deviant Dice Rollers.
3:45What is Deviant Dice Rollers? Deviant
3:47Dice Rollers was a community I put
3:48together to showcase all tabletop games,
3:52but it now is a place where the
3:54community can meet
3:56for for Maladiction as I stutter over my
4:00words. All right, that's going to happen
4:01a lot. You got to deal with that.
4:03>> [laughter]
4:04>> The goal isn't simply to have another
4:06website or a Discord. The goal is to
4:08create a place where players can meet,
4:10learn, compete, share painted
4:12miniatures, discuss strategy, and grow
4:14the game together.
4:17All right. Now, first off, I'm going to
4:19go into this next subject saying what is
4:22Maladiction, but if you tuned into this
4:24podcast, I'm guessing you already know.
4:25But in case you don't know,
4:27at the heart of Maladiction is a
4:29tactical skirmish game.
4:31Players build teams around powerful
4:33characters, customize with the cards and
4:35equipment, and fight over objectives
4:37using terrain, positioning, and smart
4:40decision-making.
4:41It's not only just about dice rolling,
4:43which it obviously has, but every
4:46decision matters, and I can tell you
4:47that from a first person's perspective
4:50of a playing the game.
4:52When they move, when they attack, when
4:53they act when they activate their
4:55character, how how to control
4:56objectives, how to build your deck, it
4:59creates an incredibly cinematic game
5:01where every turn feels important. One of
5:03my favorite things
5:06is that no two matches ever seem the
5:08same. Uh just yesterday I was playing
5:10with one of our one of the members of
5:12our community here in the northeast,
5:14Nass, and I'll tell you what, out of
5:17those three games, I won two, he won
5:19one, but neither one of those games felt
5:24the same. And that is tremendous for a
5:27game like this to not feel the same with
5:30three games back-to-back.
5:32Um why this podcast exists. First off,
5:35first and foremost, I love podcasting. I
5:38love this medium. I love broadcasting. I
5:41love creating content. All right. Uh so
5:45it just felt natural that when I found a
5:47game that I was this passionate about to
5:50to create a podcast, to put forth my
5:53best ability to share
5:57my love and passion for this game. Uh
6:00other than that, my other way of sharing
6:01my passions would become I became a part
6:04of their Herald program, which I am
6:06right now, as of today, as of
6:10July 19th, 2026,
6:12I am a member of their true Herald
6:15program, which means I go out to the
6:17local game stores and I put on demos, I
6:20put on learn the plays, free to plays,
6:23tournaments, and I'm going to be very
6:26soon putting on a paint and take where
6:27I'm going to show people the techniques
6:29I have learned
6:31through my journey of how to paint the
6:33minis and terrain that make up the
6:35Maladiction world.
6:37Um I've also created a website,
6:39deviantdicerollers.com.
6:41Um at this website,
6:43it is uh let me pull it up for you guys
6:46right now. If you're watching the video,
6:48if you are not able to watch the video,
6:51you can go ahead and go there right now,
6:53and I would suggest that you sign up for
6:56the website. So, let me bring this over.
6:59Uh deviantdicerollers.com
7:02is a place where you can go
7:05and join in on the fun with our
7:07community. It has everything you can
7:09imagine or need with a game like
7:11Maladiction. All right, it has your own
7:14profile, your own home,
7:16where it tells you your record. Right
7:17now, I'm sitting at two and two, uh 50%
7:21win rate with my Conclave of the Spheres
7:23deck. That's right, I play as Palanor.
7:27Um it also has really great achievements
7:30that you can get. I've got three
7:31achievements so far.
7:33Uh
7:34it also has
7:37the tavern, where we can keep the
7:39conversation going on long after the
7:41podcast, long after our battles on the
7:43field in the malediction.
7:46Uh a great place to go there.
7:48One of my favorite parts of this site is
7:52you have your secret deck showcase where
7:55you can create your show your deck off
7:57or just sit there and see how good a
7:59deck might be by creating it. And you
8:02can have comments and stars ratings for
8:05that as well. And then the painted
8:08legions where you can go and show off
8:10your very cool paints that you've put
8:13together. Show off some of your
8:15creativity. Show off the way that you
8:17envision uh these miniatures and terrain
8:20to be. It's really, really cool.
8:24So, I would suggest going over there.
8:26But that's why this podcast is here to
8:28go ahead and share my passion with
8:30everybody, but also
8:32to dive into strategy, to talk about new
8:34releases, to discuss tournament results,
8:37interview players. That's right. Some of
8:40you guys from the Deviant Dice Rollers
8:41community, you guys and gals are going
8:43to be featured on this show.
8:45Feature community creations, talk
8:48painting, what paints I use, why do I
8:50use them, what's what uh
8:53what techniques I've learned to bring my
8:56creations to life. Uh share stories.
8:59Maybe argue a little bit. Hey, you know
9:02what? Not everybody has the same uh
9:04opinions or the same strategies, and
9:06they might look at my strategy and think
9:08it's not as good.
9:09Uh every great every great game
9:12deserves
9:14great conversation. All right? But we're
9:16going to build this together. This is
9:18going to be not only me, but all of you
9:21in this uh journey together. One thing
9:24that's going to make this podcast a
9:25little different is that you're actually
9:27joining us at the beginning, episode 1.
9:31Right now, we're creating the website.
9:32Well, I mean, I just showed you. We're
9:34creating it. We're throwing it together.
9:35It just got released 2 weeks ago.
9:38Growing the Discord, playing demo
9:40events, organizing tournaments,
9:41developing league systems, creating
9:43podcasts, and producing videos.
9:46So, I'm hoping
9:47that months from now, we'll be able to
9:49look back at these first episodes and
9:51remember where everything started.
9:53All right? It's going to be great.
9:57But,
9:59forget the podcast for a second. Forget
10:00me talking.
10:02What is it all about?
10:04It's all about the game, all right?
10:06And going over to the website, they've
10:08got amazing stuff, not only already
10:11released, but lined up, all right? The
10:14game,
10:15the seekers,
10:17the lore,
10:20the lore is some of the best lore I've
10:22ever heard. It's an It's original. It's
10:27breathtaking what they've done here.
10:29And you've got to check it out.
10:32Let me see. Let me go I want to go over
10:33to here. If you don't know how the work
10:35the game works, the game works like
10:37this.
10:38You choose your seeker from one of four
10:41factions.
10:43And one of the four factions you're
10:44going to be going for is going to be the
10:46Conclave of the Spears, which is the
10:48faction I play.
10:50You're going to be going for
10:52Legion of the Fallen.
10:54Uh you're going to be going for Primal
10:56Blood. Primal Blood is those guys who
10:58are just going to get in there, get in
10:59your face, melee attackers, smack you
11:02down a couple of notches.
11:04And then you've got uh
11:06uh
11:08Order of the Shattered Throne, which
11:10Seegrith is their main seeker.
11:14You're going to be able to choose one of
11:16these four decks
11:18and just wreak havoc wreak havoc
11:23on the playing field.
11:25The main ones, so you can get out of the
11:27starter decks, is Seegrith for Order of
11:29the Shattered Throne.
11:31Uh my boy, Thundersteps, for Primal
11:34Blood.
11:36Vorndel
11:38for uh
11:39the Fallen Legion.
11:41And then
11:42Palanor
11:43who I come to battle with
11:46for Conclave of the Shattered uh
11:48Conclave of the Spheres. See, I'm all
11:50over the place.
11:52But you also have some great ones like
11:54Lorendrall, Ingor Morda, which I hate.
11:58Morda, I'm coming for you. I'm going to
12:00win one of these days. Orik
12:02and the two latest seekers
12:05Liyana Who Dreams, which is Karmamock, I
12:08want to say is the actual seeker, but
12:10Liyana is kind of trapped inside of
12:12Karmamock.
12:13And Griza.
12:15A lot of things to choose from. And
12:17we're going to deep dive into each one
12:20of the factions, each one of the seekers
12:22on later episodes of Beyond the
12:25Conclave. I'm just trying to give you a
12:26rundown. So, that's what I'm saying.
12:28Looking ahead, expect expect faction
12:30deep dive strategy discussions,
12:32tournament preparation, community
12:34spotlights, painting tips, lore
12:36conversation
12:38interviews, special guests
12:40hopefully plenty of laughs. Hopefully
12:43you like my humor.
12:44And also, I want the show to be
12:47interactive. Send in your questions,
12:48share your painted miniatures, tell us
12:50about your favorite games. All right?
12:53That's what I want to happen. That's
12:56what I want this show
12:58to uh to to relieve
13:02to relieve?
13:03That's what I want this show
13:06to become.
13:07State of the Conclave, Divinitus Rollers
13:09continues to grow. Every day I look on
13:12the website, we're getting more people.
13:13Every time I go up to Top Deck in Cherry
13:16Hill, which is my home game store to
13:19show up to
13:20um there's more and more people showing
13:22up to play. I love it.
13:25And we're working hard to make this the
13:26best place online for Maladiction
13:29players. We're expanding the website,
13:31building out the Discord community,
13:32planning like local demos, events, and
13:35tournaments, and creating new content
13:37every single week. And hey, if you'd
13:40like to be a part of building this
13:41community from day one, now is the
13:42perfect time to jump in. All right?
13:46Whether you already have a copy of
13:48Deviant Dice Rollers or if you're just
13:50learning about it, we welcome you here.
13:53All right? We welcome you in our
13:55Discord, which is Deviant Dice Rollers
13:57on Discord. We welcome you onto our
13:59website. Hop in. Let us know, "Hey, I'm
14:02new.
14:03Where do I start?
14:05What do I start with? What should I get?
14:07What should I buy? This is my play
14:09style. This is the way I like to play.
14:12I'm I'm more of a a spellcaster. I'm
14:14more of raising the undead. I'm more of
14:18a healer. Or I'm more of a melee
14:21attacker, get in there with my weapon,
14:22and just smash things.
14:26We're going to be able to help you out.
14:27We're going to be able to help you
14:29understand what product to buy first,
14:31what product to stay away from, what you
14:34need, what you don't need, and how to
14:36get started in the Maladiction.
14:39All right?
14:42That is basically the rundown of what
14:46I'm trying to do here, what we're trying
14:48to do here with Beyond the Conclave
14:50brought to you by Deviant Dice Rollers
14:53and the Deviant Dice Rollers community.
14:55This podcast wasn't going to be long for
14:57a starter podcast, but future podcast,
15:00I'm planning to be about a half hour, 45
15:03minutes. All right? I'm not trying to go
15:06super long with each one. This being our
15:08first one, I just wanted to introduce
15:10myself, go over a rough outline of what
15:13we're all about, and what I'm trying to
15:15accomplish
15:17with this show.
15:18So, thank you so much for spending part
15:21of your day with me.
15:22If you enjoyed the episode, please
15:24follow the podcast, leave a review, and
15:26share it with another tabletop gamer who
15:28might enjoy Maladiction.
15:31You can also join us over at
15:32divinedicerollers.com
15:35where the conversation continues in the
15:37tavern.
15:38Next episode we're going to be tackling
15:41one of the biggest questions every new
15:42player asks, which faction should I
15:45choose?
15:47Okay, we're going to run down. I know I
15:48kind of glanced over it here in the
15:50first episode, but we're going to deep
15:52dive into each faction, what they're all
15:55about, and maybe a little bit of their
15:57lore,
15:59and the secrets that they hold within.
16:03All right?
16:05And which one
16:07I've chosen,
16:08I've seen other choose,
16:10but more importantly,
16:12which one you should choose.
16:14That's what we're going to do.
16:16Keep your rocks close, keep your enemies
16:19closer, and never stop looking
16:21beyond the conclave.
16:24I will see you guys on the next episode.
16:26Until then,
16:29be careful
16:30in the Maladiction.
16:37>> [music]