A poor man's blog for Magic the Gathering (MtG), Wizards of the Coast (WoTC), deck construction, cards, combos, game play, MtG podcasts, etc.
What is "Magic: the Gathering"? Magic is a collectible fantasy-themed playing card game kinda combining Uno, War, Chess, and art dealing: match colors, draw 4, high card beat low card, different cards attack in different ways while you ogle hot chicks and dragons drawn by your favorite artists on cards you can sometimes sell for big money.
It's Pokimon for grown ups. Srsly, get your Pokimon player a Magic deck and they'll instantly sprout pubes and consider a career as a mathmatician.
Razor Boomerang 3 Artifact — Equipment Uncommon Equipped creature has "T, Unattach Razor Boomerang: Razor Boomerang deals 1 damage to target creature or player. Return Razor Boomerang to its owner's hand." Equip 2 "Few can catch it without losing a finger."
This card is a misprint, they meant to print: "Few can play it without losing."
This card would seem to suggest someone has a pathological vendetta against Krull, maybe 2 designers were competing to see who could make the worst card that would still get printed (Note how this card's art is totally mocking Bull Rush?). Honestly, I presume there is a designer sitting back and laughing at how much people think this card sucks, because he knows there will be a killer combo for it and he's waiting for the look on people's faces when he tells them and they say "Wha-whhaaaAAAT?" Until this killer combo is revealed, I yet again stand up to defend another possibly misunderestimated Magic card and struggle to find a deck for...
The Worst Magic Card Ever!
Problem 1: It costs too much to cast.
Stoneforge Mystic 1W (2) Creature — Kor Artificer When Stoneforge Mystic enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an Equipment card, reveal it (usually good for a 1st game laugh when you menacingly and dramatically reveal Razor Boomerang), put it into your hand, then shuffle your library. 1W,T: You may put an Equipment card from your hand onto the battlefield. 1/2
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Problem 2: It cost too much to equip.
Kor Outfitter WW Creature — Kor Soldier When Kor Outfitter enters the battlefield, you may attach target Equipment you control to target creature you control. 2/2
There, Free Shipping! Buy one get one free!
Problem 3: It only does 1 damage.
27 creatures in Worldwake have toughness 1 125 creatures in Standard have toughness 1. ...and... Mire Blight B Enchantment — Aura When enchanted creature is dealt damage, destroy it.
Problem 4: It taps a creature.
Quest for Renewal 1G Enchantment Whenever a creature you control becomes tapped, you may put a quest counter on Quest for Renewal. As long as there are four or more quest counters on Quest for Renewal, untap all creatures you control during each other player's untap step.
Maybe you want something more in your color?
Veteran's Reflexes W Instant Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Untap that creature.
That's 2 unexpected damage and no tapped creature, but wait, there's more!
22 cards in Standard have or give Vigilance, so you can attack and THEN ping something/someone. Cerodon Yearling, Kazandu Blademaster, Shield of the Righteous, Steward of Valeron, Asha's Favor, Griffin Sentinel, Ajani Goldmane, Joraga Bard, Scornful Æther-Lich, Stoic Angel, Beacon Behemoth, Cloudheath Drake, Serra Angel, Shepherd of the Lost, Bull Cerodon, Captain of the Watch, Felidar Sovereign, Meglonoth, Nacatl Hunt-Pride, Skyward Eye Prophets, Godsire, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, or get your degree, you can major in Business Management or Accounting. (I totally lifted that joke from Chewie of The Mana Pool.)
There are also cards which can untap, such as:
Tideforce Elemental 2U Creature — Elemental U,T: You may tap or untap another target creature. Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may untap Tideforce Elemental. 2/1
Twitch 2U Instant You may tap or untap target artifact, creature, or land. Draw a card.
Postive aspects of Razor Boomerang:
It's colorless, you can use any color mana to cast it.
It's colorless, you can do colorless damage and 14 cards in standard have or grant protection from at least one color: Kor Firewalker, Black Knight, Sejiri Steppe, Brave the Elements, Goblin Outlander, Great Sable Stag, Kabire Angel, Malakir Bloodwitch, Nacatl Outlander, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Valeron Outlander, Vedalken Outlander, White Knight, Zombie Outlander. What can you do about them? I'll tell you: use Colorless damage.
Being colorless, Razor Boomerang will do damage without triggering Nemesis Trap, Ricochet Trap, Slingbow Trap, Refraction Trap, Permafrost Trap, or Stone Idol Trap.
Let's take a look at some other cards we might want to look at:
Kitesail Apprentice W Creature — Kor Soldier (1/1) As long as Kitesail Apprentice is equipped, it gets +1/+1 and has flying. [Fear of tapping? No problem. Just equip Razor Boomerand on Kitesail and fly on in for 2, then when Kitesail is going to bite the big one anyway, tap him and get your revenge.]
Glassdust Hulk 3 W/U W/U Artifact Creature — Golem Common Whenever another artifact enters the battlefield under your control, Glassdust Hulk gets +1/+1 until end of turn and is unblockable this turn. Cycling W/U 3/4 [Razor Boomerang goes back to your hand, so cast it again and again. This big guy loves it.]
Mire Blight B Enchantment — Aura Enchant creature When enchanted creature is dealt damage, destroy it. [Suddenly, pinging doesn't sound so bad now does it?]
Glaze Fiend 1B Artifact Creature — Illusion Flying Whenever another artifact enters the battlefield under your control, Glaze Fiend gets +2/+2 until end of turn. 0/1 [More repetitive goodness.]
Scrib Nibblers 2b Creature — Rat (1/1) t: Exile the top card of target player's library. If it's a land card, you gain 1 life. Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may untap Scrib Nibblers. [It untaps.]
Esper Sojourners WUB Artifact Creature — Vedalken Wizard (2/3) When you cycle Esper Sojourners or it's put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may tap or untap target permanent. Cycling 2U
Fatestitcher 3U Creature — Zombie Wizard (1/2) t: You may tap or untap another target permanent. Unearth U
Quicksand (0) Land t: Add 1 to your mana pool. t, Sacrifice Quicksand: Target attacking creature without flying gets -1/-2 until end of turn. [more colorless mana, more colorless removal.]
Lodestone Golem 4 Artifact Creature — Golem Nonartifact spells cost 1 more to cast. 5/3 [Everything but Razor Boomerang becomes expensive.]
...and last, but not least, a consistant MVP from Worldwake:
Everflowing Chalice 0 Artifact Multikicker 2 Everflowing Chalice enters the battlefield with a charge counter on it for each time it was kicked. Tap: Add 1 to your mana pool for each charge counter on Everflowing Chalice. [One of these late game makes just about anything affordable, especially if you can UNTAP it.]
I was thinking of a way to show people how Magic the Gathering is played by using regular casino style cards:
Each player gets a regular 54 card deck and starts the match with 20 points. Players shuffle and draw seven cards, but if they do not like their hands they may reshuffle and replace their hand with one less card (6...5...etc) until they like their hand or give up and lose that game. Players then draw a card from their decks and place that card in the discard pile, the player with the highest number card goes first; if neither player draws a number card, repeat until one player does.
The first player's turn begins. At the beginning of a player's turn they must untap all their cards (won't happen your first turn). Then that player must draw a card into their hand (if they have no cards left in their deck, they lose at that time). That player may then play any single number card as a power card by putting it into play (not the discard pile); once per turn, on their turn, each player may put only one power card into play. Red power cards fuel red cards, black power cards fuel black cards. The number on the power card must be at least as high as the value of the card you wish to play.
To play a card, turn a power card sideways (until the beginning of your turn) to show it has been used, then put your card into play. You may play as many cards this way as you have remaining power cards.
* Hearts give one player points equal to their card value (you may receive the points yourself or give them to another player). * Diamonds draw cards equal to their card value (anyone may draw, but if you have more than 7 cards at the end of your turn, discard down to 7). * Clubs drain points equal to their card value (you'll probably want to affect an opponent rather than yourself). * Spades discard cards equal to their card value (someone of your choice will discard cards in their hand and then cards from their deck if necessary). After the card's effect has been completed, put it in the discard pile unless it was a power card (which has no effect) or face card (which stays in play).
Once per turn, on your turn, a face card may attack and attempt to drain an opponent's points according to it's value: Kings 3 (King of Diamonds draws 3 cards when first played) Queens 2 (Queen of Hearts gives 2 points, probably to you) Jacks 1 (Jack of Clubs drains 1 point, also from someone of your choice) When face cards attack, turn them sideways until the beginning of your turn.
Face cards may also prevent points from being drained by other face cards and doing so does not require them to turn sideways, but if they prevent a loss of more points than they have then they are sent to the discard pile.
Aces may be played during anyone's turn and send any opponent's card to the discard pile regardless of where their card is, aces prevent a card's effect from taking place. Ace's may prevent Ace's from taking effect.
Jokers put a card in the discard pile on top of it's deck.
A player loses the game when they have no points or must draw when they have no cards in their deck.
People who play Magic the Gathering often have experience with roleplaying Dungeons and Dragons, people who roleplay Dungeons and Dragons often have experience with Magic the Gathering, and there are alot of people who talk about either game, but I rarely ever find people who talk about both, even if they regularly play both. I consider that a problem for WotC, it hurts market exposure and segregates WotC's consumers. Food for thought...
D&D Class: Planeswalker
Planeswalkers prepare their spells prior to casting (they build a deck). When planeswalkers want to cast a spell, they play Magic until they find the spell they want and have the mana to cast it, which means their spells may take a few rounds to cast and various spells may trigger before the desired effect is achieved ("Where did these glowing elves come from? You only paid for one tenant you know." - Innkeeper). Mulligan is a simple action. Planeswalkers are not proficient in weapons, armor, or shields, but may have spells which function as such ("So many different tools on so many planes, I'll just eat with my hands so I don't make myself looks stupid." - Joe "I put what in my mouth?!" Planeswalker).
HP: 20 Planeswalkers do not die, they divide by zero. ...on another plane. During each planeswalker's turn(/round/whatever) after they "die", that planeswalker may roll the planar dice (d-6) whenever they could cast a sorcery; the first roll each turn/round/*sigh* is free, subsequent rolls in that turn cost 1 more than the last: roll 6 and they return, roll 1 and they get a random planar encounter / sub-plot.]
Every point of MtG damage is equivalent to 10 D&D damage, so a Lightning Bolt which does 3 MtG damage does 30 D&D damage and a 1/1 Lanowar Elf does 10 D&D damage, has 10 HPs, and costs at least 10 copper to put for the night, but doesn't cost anything to sacrifice unless the Innkeeper watches you through the spyhole and calls the town guard.
Might consider making rules for both Limited and Constructed play. I really really really want to start calling Magic cards "scrolls". :) Maybe I'll make some rules for a "Scrollcaster" class, sounds cool. Hmmm... CCG RPG? ...RPCCG? MMORPCCG?
Anyway, character generation is awesome, every game needs more of it, especially CCGs: Character packs - stats (like avatars), items... Story Packs - locations (like planeshift), NPCs, equipment, goals/quests...
Mulling it over.
Ok, so now I hear on Monday Night Magic that there's an article kinda relating to this on the Star City Games site, but I think SSGs rips people off like so many profiteering card dealers do, so I think I'll not go there to read it.
I found a twenty on the ground on Saturday morning, so I went straight to the flea market and bought an 8th Edition intro pack which comes with an MTGO disk, specifically so I could start playing MTGO. I would just pay the $9.99 with a credit card and actually get some cards worth having (because I didn't even get a Llanowar Elf with the Core Set), but I've never had a credit card and when I tried to get a Visa Gift Card I found out gift cards didn't come in denominations I could afford. Pro-Tour types have it easy, playing pauper is hard. :/
Anyay, after dreaming of the day for months, I FINALLY have MTGO (almost) and after 15 years of exposure to MtG I might actually be able to start PLAYING Magic rather than simply looking at a binder of a few hundred commons and struggling to build a deck worth having [I just got my playset of Virulent Slivers! :D]. When I play it will be my 12th game or so in 15 years. ...BUT... I have to install MTGO on this library computer before I get booted off and if another library patron is waiting for a computer I could be kicked off at any time over 30 minutes, and MTGO is only 96% downloaded and it's been downloading for the past HOUR AND A HALF!
!?!&$!-$+!?!
Update: 2 hours 5 minutes: 97% complete. ...but I'm on a Cable connection! Am I downloading high resolution scans of every card known to man?! How many "frames" does this thing HAVE? I could have downloaded my 30 Gig iPod by now. Oh, I know what's happening, God's waiting for me to complete the download so he can boot me off the computer. Just wait. Am I going to have to do this EVERY time I want to play MTGO?? Wait, this isn't even going to be MTGO III is it? ...
Next Day: Ok, I downloaded MTGO III in half an hour and stored it in on my iPod so I won't have to keep downloading it from wizards.com. It probably took a long time yesterday due to so many people being at the library eating up bandwidth. I hopped back online and installed MTGO III, then it said there was a NEW version available! ...but I *JUST* DOWNLOADED IT! Ok, download. Now, by this time, the library is full, so bandwidth is scarce and after a couple minutes it's only downloaded 40 files with 3,066 to go. I bought MTGO yesterday, but haven't even been able to make an account.
An hour later: Downloading 1400 of 3066. If I leave this computer for 5 minutes it will shut down, so I'm stuck in this chair. My ass hurts. I need a cigarette. Oh look, I'm being booted off the computer.
Well, at least the 8th Edition Intro Pack has a "Learn to Play Magic" program where I can play against a computer. I'll at least be able to play with Grizzly Burrs and Giant Octopi. Octopi, a bit too 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea for a traditional fantasy setting, but oh well, it's better than bears.
Day 3 Installed MTGO III, again, the update completed, again, then it said the New Account Server was down for repairs. *sigh*
Day 4 Let's see what happens today and what's up with the New Account Server and wot not. *waiting* MTGO III is stuck checking file versions (87%) even though it says the Update is complete and it gives me the option of Launching MTGO III. What do I do? Oh well, here goes... *Launch* OMG, it worked! :D Now I have to choose a screen name. Ok, done, but wait, it's telling me I have to buy an account to activate it... but I already got an activation code with my Core Set! I can't use my activation code until I buy ANOTHER activation code for $9.99?!
Hurdle after roadblock, it's like digging a hole to China; it looks like I'm making progress slowly, but surely, but all I'm really doing is digging my grave.
Days 5, 6, 7, and 8 I made a few attempts to get some help from WotC, to see if they're going to honor their product. Nobody from WotC has been of ANY help. I figure I've been screwed out of $16, but what do they care, it's only sixteen bucks, only all the money I had to my name. Anyway, I lucked out on Day 9 and found $36 probably dropped by some Irishman celebrating Saint Alcoholics Day, so I got a $25 American Express Gift Card and walked a mile and a half to the library only to find out the library was closed and I had to walk a mile and half right back. Tired, frustrated, hungry, and sleepy, I then realized it wouldn't have done any good anyway, because the Gift Card wasn't associated with an address, so I then went through heck of a time trying to register it with my contact information. I tried to call AmEx to sort it out, but the phone I was using ended up not working, so I got to another phone. People have been talking about class action lawsuits against Amex because the gift cards are usually regected by merchants unless people somehow figure out who to call and what options on the messaging system eventually lead to the hidden "talk the customer service rep in India" option (He was Indian, I could tell). The process was frustrating (Me? Frustrated? Go figure.), but I did eventually get the card associated with the address of my local homeless mission. Now I need access to a computer, so the wait for the library continues.
DAY 10 So, now here I am at a different library which has a better reputation of not booting people off the computer after only 30 minutes, thus in theory giving me time to reinstall MTGO 3, reupdate it, then make an account with the Gift Card, but the computer seems to be going much slower than the computers at the other library, much slower, much much slower. ...and now I'm getting booted off. IT'S THURSDAY MORNING! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PEOPLE AT THE LIBRARY ON A THURSDAY MORNING?! ...because it frustrates me, that's why.
Ok, so I hopped on a different computer hoping it was faster, and of course it isn't. A rough guestimate says I'll have to be on this computer for several hours before it's MTGO III is updated. I guess I wasted a third of my life's saving on bus fare today. (Me? Wasting money? Go figure).
I'm trying really hard not to blame WotC for all of this frustration, because they have this really cool game I've been wanting to play for 15 years.
Check this out, I figured I'd be here for a while so I decided to give the Wizards Community Forum another try, to see yet again if there's anyone I can talk to and get my Core Set Activation Code problem sorted out, but THE FORUMS ARE DOWN! It's so unbelievably coincidental, I have no problem believing it's not a coincidence: it's magic, pauper magic. I'm mystical and magical and can amaze you with my astounding ability to not accomplish the simplest of feats.
Two hours later: Hey, wow! I didn't get booted off this time! This time MTGO "Timed Out" and quit of it's own accord. This, like most things, does not please me. I need a break, I'm going to go give myself cancer. Ok nice, what timing, I'm being booted off the computer.
DAY 11 I went back to the first library early and was first on the computers, so I had all the bandwidth to myself to install then speedily download MTGO (shouldn't downloading come BEFORE installing?), but of course I got booted off the computer before it finished updating and there weren't even any library patrons in line for that computer. I'm never going to be able to even sign up for an account, much less play the damned game. I guess the only way I can play MTGO is if I give up my anti-social disorders, sell my soul into slavery for the almighty dollar, sub for some money-worshipping monkey, and do whatever bit of pointless vanity the other monkeys are trading their scraps of paper for, then I can afford to be ripped off by computer-dealing monkeys and not have to use the library, but that sounds like alot of work and I have for some time now had very little motivation to live, much less do things I don't care about (ie. everything) for people who don't care about me (ie everybody).
I am so stressed out. I need something to get my mind off my mind. You know what I like to think about when I get like this? Magic. :)
God I wish I had MTGO. :(
Maybe this time I'll get lucky...
DAY 15 By some miracle I got MTGO III updated and the new account servers were up, so I tried to use the screen name I tried to use before, but it's taken, except I can't sign into it. So I try to make a new screen name, but when I click to see if it's available, nothing happens. So I restart the program, choose a new screen name, make my order, fill out my American Express Gift Card info, and it wouldn't authenticate it. Then it told me to restart MTGO III and do it again. ... So I do it again, but when I click to register a username, nothing happens. So I restart again.
I got sidetracked helping The Magic Sock and MTGCast with their webmastering, now I'm getting booted off the computer.
Somehow my MTGO III file just got erased. Now I have to download MTGOIII_helper.exe from wizards.com onto my iPod again. It says my iPod isn't connected, so I ignore it and immediately try again and it works. I have 30 minutes before the library closes.
Download 4.2% Complete 3h 2m left
*sigh*
HEY, WOW! Someone told me how to activate my account using the 8th Edition Codes! ...and the library is closing. :/
DAY 16 Interesting how I first looked to the help section at wizards.com on day 4 or 5 and I couldn't find this help page which a forum volunteer directed me to, interesting also how when I also previously tried to email customer service as this page says I must do, it wouldn't let me, but now it works. I have to wait up to 2 days for a response. I also still have to download MTGO III Helper again or I won't be able to install and update MTGO III again and of course people have been bouncing me off the computer and eating up bandwidth, so that's taken me 5 hours already. Starting at 2hrs, I only have "8m left" until my download is complete. Watch me get booted before it's done. ... I knew it. Another day wasted.
DAY 17 I got email from Wizards saying "Your account is now active and available to play. The Core game cards will be added to your account as soon as possible. Please let me know if you need anymore help!". So I logged into my Customer Help Account to reemphasize my overlooked question about how I my American Express Gift Card wasn't authenticated even though I went through a heck of a time getting it registered and associated to an address like I was told I had to do, but when I tried to update the question, it wouldn't let me. I just finished downloding MTGO III Helper and ran MTGO III, but when it was finished it said I was running an old version. I JUST DOWNLOADED IT. So now I'm downloading 17,649 MORE files. ...and I'm getting booted off the computer.
DAY 18
Downloading. Timed out. Let's try this again. ... Let's time out again. PFT! Forget it, I'm too frustrated. I'll just content myself with some MTGCast instead.
DAY 19
Yay, progress. :/ I sat here for 2 hours and stared at the Lorwyn chicks midriff, because the troubleshooting guide says no other programs should be running when MTGO downloads. It worked. Well... it downloaded. Then it gave me the option to "Launch", so I clicked it. ...and it closed. ...and nothing else happened. Yeah...
3! 2! 1! We are go for launch! ... No? Now? How about now? Launch? Hello? Oh, Hell. ... Launch! ... NOW!
Damn you WotC,
You should have told us we were Beta Testing MTGO! I advise you to immediately pull all advertising for Magic Online, avoid mentioning MTGO as much as you can without making current players TOO suspicious. When you finally have a viable product (ie. when the Help file is NOT as big as the actual program itself!), declare the Beta Testing complete and invite people to play the actual game. When people say, "We were still Beta Testing?!", point to an old memo sent to Public Relations and point out the where the typo was.
DAY 20
I click MTGO_NET.exe and nothing happens. I click newkicker.exe, the program starts, I click "Launch", it closes and nothing happens. I click "Repair", it starts, goes through the intial "downloading files" routine, then it stops and says "FileCopyStart -- Object reference not set to an instance of an object." I tried to repair the problem, but the repair has a problem.
So I reinstall. I launch. I see a bunch of angry guys in animal helmets busting stuff up. MTGO breaks. I'd love to tell you what kind of error it is, but I could't cut and paste the error message, all I could do was say "ok" and the it all closes, it was something about "value null". Yeah, my thoughts exactly. MTGO: value null.
Good news though, I'm told I have an account with some 8th Edition Core Set cards. Too bad I CAN'T EVEN LOG ON!
So I unintstall, so I can REinstall, expecting it to leave only the intial installation program, but not only does it erase that too, it toatlly erases EVERYTHING in the whole file, even my other programs which had nothing to do with MTGO III! So I have to download the installer again?! AGAIN?! AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN!! I'M SO SICK OF DOING ALL THIS CRAP OVER AND OVER AND GETTING NOWHERE!!
MONTH 2 In the past month, I've managed to play 2 MTGO games, both on the free server, not on my account, but that was a couple weeks ago, I've not been able to do it since, and I've never even been able to sign in to my account, which I'm told I have. I redownloaded, reinstalled, reupdated, and rerepaired, but I can't get MTGO to Launch again. "Magic: the Customer Service" has been interesting, almost productive, they fixed a problem and now I can update my Help questions after their advice doesn't help.
I got my first Starter Pack of Magic: the Gathering during Unlimited, but it was all flowers and jewelry, so I threw it away and got a full set of Vampire: the Jyhad (later known as Vampire: the Eternal Struggle), because Vampires are frickin cool and flowers are only so-so even if they're black. My friends roleplayed Vampire: the Maquerade and I thought I was much more likely to play Jyhad than Magic. Turns out none of my friends got into Collectable Card Games for several more years, so I ended up throwing away my Jyhad cards in disgust. ...but over the past few years I've kept coming back to Magic, to see the new cards, draft a couple times, Johnny for a while, pick up some commons at the flea market, then give my cards away for whatever reason (a kid wanted baseball cards so he got three power nine cards, I stomped out of Sam's motel room because he was ribbing me for my religion so he got a couple Orzhov theme decks, I got tired of being homeless and carrying around a bunch of cards so Dallas got a Time-Spiral Fat Pack I turned into a Coalition Victory deck with Transguild Courier, Lilith decided to kick me out of her place so I left in a rage and she got a proto fairies vs angels duel set which I'm happy to say she ended up playing, etc etc.). ... I should have an honorary degree in Digression.
Lifelink cards have vampire-like abilities (do damage, gain that much life), so I included them here: Nip Gwyllion Creature - Hag 1 1 Genju of the Fields Enchantment - Aura Mourning Thrull Creature - Thrull 1 1 Mistmeadow Skulk Creature - Kithkin Rogue 1 1 Spirit Loop Enchantment - Aura Nectar Faerie Creature - Faerie Wizard 1 1 Daybreak Coronet Enchantment - Aura Knight of Meadowgrain Creature - Kithkin Knight 2 2 Loxodon Warhammer Artifact - Equipment Steel of the Godhead Enchantment - Aura Scourge of the Nobilis Enchantment - Aura Paragon of the Amesha Creature - Human Knight 2 2 Necravolver Creature - Volver 2 2 Rakavolver Creature - Volver 2 2 El-Hajjâj Creature - Human Wizard 1 1 (a Vampire: the Jyhad precursor?) Windwright Mage Artifact Creature - Human Wizard 2 2 Rhox War Monk Creature - Rhino Monk 3 4 Voracious Hatchling Creature - Elemental 6 6 Doubtless One Creature - Cleric Avatar * * Essence Sliver Creature - Sliver 3 3 Cliffrunner Behemoth Creature - Rhino Beast 5 3 Brion Stoutarm Legendary Creature - Giant Warrior 4 4 Horned Cheetah Creature - Cat 2 2 Zebra Unicorn Creature - Unicorn 2 2 Changeling Hero Creature - Shapeshifter 4 4 Stir the Pride Instant Cairn Wanderer Creature - Shapeshifter 4 4 Battlegrace Angel Creature - Angel 4 4 Divinity of Pride Creature - Spirit Avatar 4 4 Kjeldoran Gargoyle Creature - Gargoyle 3 3 Exalted Angel Creature - Angel 4 5 Paladin of Prahv Creature - Human Knight 3 4 Warrior Angel Creature - Angel Warrior 3 4 Windbrisk Raptor Creature - Bird 5 7 Phantom Nishoba Creature - Cat Beast Spirit 0 0 Titanic Ultimatum Sorcery
More on Vampire: the Jyhad / Vampire: the Eternal Struggle (same game, new name), I was going to beta-test the Sabbat expansion in '96, but ended up getting lost at Origins and I couldn't find the group until it was too late to sign up, so I wandered into a random room and guess what was in there... Magic. That's called foreshadowing, I wanted Vampire and ended up with Magic. ...and Richard Garfield, who created both Magic and Vampire: the Jyhad / Eternal Struggle. He was talking about creating a card called Wrath of God and wondering why people would play artifact decks. Apparently the seeds of Affinity were sown among the players before it spread to the designers. I quietly told Richard I wanted to talk to him after the conference and he got the impression it was going to be a very cloak and dagger moment, but I just wanted to chat and get his signiture next to his name on my deckbox for fun. I mentioned how Magic cards could be used as story-telling devices, just connect the cards and there's a story. He asked to see my Magic deck, but all I had was a 6th Edition Starter Pack I had just picked up, though oddly enough, I just so happened to have a preferece for putting all my artifacts on top. That sort of thing happens to me quite a lot. Some call it synchronicty, some call it serendipty. ...some call it magic. ;)
The guys at MtGCast wanted a Progenitus Deck, but I got sidetracked and followed a Mutagen theme, so I searched gatherer for "turtle" and immediately rediscovered the perfect card I thought I would never use: Turtleshell Changeling. I thought, "A Turtle CHANGELING?! ...but that means it's ALL CREATURE TYPES and I know MtG has Mutants... and Ninjas! ...but now I know there are TURTLES!!! So yes, Turtleshell Changelling is ipso facto a MUTANT NINJA TURTLE! ZOMG! ^_^ So...
I made a Duel Pack! :)
Heroes! Yay! ^_^
4 Amoeboid Changeling - It's the Mutagen! :-D 4 Turtleshell Changeling - MTG: Mutant Turtle Game!!! RIGHTEOUS!!! 4 Righteousness - Target blocking creature gets +7/+7 until end of turn. 4 Veteran's Armaments - Katana, bo, nunchuka, sai: +1/+1 for each attacking creature; and Ninja Turtles equip instantly! Casey Jones too! 1 Auriok Steelshaper - Casey Jones - Soldier - Equip costs you 1 less [because of the golf bag). As long as Casey Jones is equipped, Soldiers / Turtles you control get +1/+1. 1 Nezumi Shadow-Watcher - Splinter - Sacrifice Splinter: Destroy target ninja! He's only 1/1 because he's old, but he's so bad ass he can even destroy that Ask a Ninja Guy! 1 Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero - April O'Neil - X+Tap: Search your library for a Rebel/Turtle permanent card with converted mana cost X or less and put that card into play. Then shuffle your library. 3: Put target Rebl/Turtle card from your graveyard on the bottom of your library. - April's always dragging the Turtles into Trouble, but she's good at finding out what bad guys are up to... 4 Peek - Look at target evil player's evil hand. Draw a good card. 1 Visserdrix - Creature - Rabbit Beast 6/6 - Usagi Yojimbo - He costs 6u, that's why he isn't in many cross-overs. :( 1 Walker of Secret Ways - Karai - High echelon leader of the Foot, heroine or villainess? She promises the Foot won't bother the Turtles anymore, but can she be trusted? - 1u:Return target Ninja you control to its owner's hand. 4 Story Circle - As Story Circle comes into play, choose a color. w: The next time a source of your choice of the chosen color would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage. - The Turtles ALWAYS win, because they're the GOOD guys! :) 4 Holy Strength - See?! GOOD guys! :D
4 Amoeboid Changling - The bad guys have Mutagen too! :( 1 Higure, the Still Wind - Shredder - Whenever Shredder deals combat damage to a player, Shredder searches for another Ninja to put in the hands of EVIL. I call dibs on playing the Turtle deck! 1 Experiment Kraj - Krang - Legendary Creature - Ooze Mutant - He's a BIG bad guy, REALLY hard to defeat, but he's really just some slimy brain with tentacles and stuff. Yuck. :p 1 Scandalmonger - Bebop - Creature - Boar Monger 3/3 2:Target player discards a card. Beebop is always trying to stop the Turtles from doing what they want. 1 Rhox - Rocksteady - Creature Rhino Beast - Even if you defeat him, he regenerates again and again! Bad guys are often like that. 1 Karstoderm - Leatherhead 1 Walker of Secret Ways - Karai - I KNEW I couldn't trust her! 4 Ninja of the Deep Hours - Foot Clan - Ninjutsu (1u: Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card into play from your hand tapped and attacking.) 4 Shuriken - 2 damage to target creature, they won't kill the Turtles, but they sure are annoying. 4 Brass Man - ROBOT Foot soldiers - 1 - Artifact Creature - Construct - 1/3 Robot Foot soldier doesn't untap during your untap step. At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay 1. If you do, untap Brass Man. - No wonder they're so easy to kill! 4 Myr Servitor - Mouser Robot - At the beginning of your upkeep, if Mouser Robot is in play, each player returns all cards named Mouser Robot from his or her graveyard to play. - Stupid Robots keep hunting Splinter! They were made by a scientist who mutated and became half FLY! He didn't adjust well. 1 Misshapen Fiend - Baxter Stockman - 1/1 - He's the fly. He can fly. ...but he's a wimp. 4 Warp World 5RRR - They're trying to warp the entire world! But they'll never do it, the Turtles won't let them! 2 Unholy Strength - See?! EVIL!
Lands: 27 10 Island 4 Terramorphic Expanse 4 Llanowar Wastes 2 Forest 2 Swamp 1 Hall of the Bandit Lord 1 School of the Unseen 1 Safe Haven 1 Volrath's Laboratory 1 Mirrodin's Core
Results: 1) Gerry Thompson 2) Lee Steht 3) Nathan Elkins 4) Kenneth Castor 5) A.J. Sacher 6) Kyle Bundgaard 7) Antonino de Rosa 8) Hunter Burton
My Timmy was delighted to hear Lee Steht (of mananation.com)won 2nd (w/ Fairies of course). Yea for MtG media! :D
My Johnny was delighted to hear alot of pros yet again had their noggles handed to them by rogue decks. ^_^ ...not Tribe-Rogue decks, just unexpected decks. :)
My Spike scowled at me because I'm too perpetually broke to draft FNM, much less attend a Grand Prix. :? ...but I did start using proxies, he's very pleased with that. ;)
[...and people had a hard time pronouncing Pththisis. ^_^
Muha... Muhaha... MUHAHAHAHA!!
Under construction:
4 Dark Depths 4 Vesuva 4 Yavimaya Coast 7 Forest 7 Island
4 Animate Land g 4 Life (Life/Death) g 4 Lifespark Spellbomb 1 (+g to activate) 4 Balduvian Conjuror 1u 4 Fate Transfer 1b/u 4 Balduvian Frostwalker 2u 3 Crucible of Worlds 3 3 Shapesharer 2u
SideBorat: Consecrate Land Skyshroud Ranger
Maybe Spike Tiller, Gaea's Liege, Jorael, Life // Death, , Rude Awakening, etc.
My Johnny wants a Genju of the Realm / Composite Golem combo to go with it. My Spike says don't be greedy. My Timmy says, yes, I'll have a Genju of the Realm / Composite Golem combo to go. :) ...and Pththisis. ^_^
I heard that song and knew I HAD to make a MtG compilation. :)
Rainbow Voice - by David Hykes & The Harmonic Choir (makes a nice chill intro) http://music.yahoo.com/track/19267948
Blackened - Metallica (the lyrics sound like a long list of black cards) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAvwod7BBK0
Paint it Black - Rolling Stones (Mono-black) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MO0iGw-0sY
White and Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovich (Mono-white) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw
Blue - Eiffel 65 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H25lz7gchaw
Blue - The Birthday Massacre (Blue/Black/White if you ask me) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knapkdtwV58 (Tool/Stuffy-Doll version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCcuw4YH3i8 (Final Fantasy version)
Burn - Nine Inch Nails http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHhRyvWp-9g
Fire Woman - The Cult http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC2QUV3xJ0I
Fire - Paulina Rubio (Chandra's Theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts3CUq7QH7s
Go Into the Water - Dethklock http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJZmMgcjaPI
A Forest - The Cure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY7wuV_C1oI
Soylent Green - Wumpscut http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS66F9sKGfk
Sliver - Nirvana (Maybe in an Un-set)
The Silver Circle - Faith and the Muse (it's a bit of a stretch, but the title fits)
Black or White - Michael Jackson (Not exactly Orzhov, but it might not be totally gay. ...maybe.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI9OYMRwN1Q
Into White - Cat Stevens (green pepper walls, water ice, tables of paper wood, blue eyed drummers, black spiders, red legged chickens poised to strike, and everything emptying into white) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRKKVIkWCMM
Drink Deep - Laura Veirs http://music.yahoo.com/Laura-Veirs/Drink-Deep/lyrics/40410419#lyricstop http://music.yahoo.com/track/40410419Sea
Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf ("Won't you come with me, little girl, on a magic carpet ride") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdnSxVK0WzM&feature=related
Shards of Alara Soundtrack:
Shards - Deep Rising http://music.yahoo.com/track/13333329
Hellion - Angels on Acid Tribal Song: Hellion http://www.myspace.com/angelsonacid666 (It's on their myspace playlist last I checked)
Lion - Rebecca St. James Shard - Bant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOVvu6JyCUs
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How it started:
After being a beach bum for a while, I decided to get back into Magic: the Gathering, went to a card shop, spent my last $20 on some commons, buying whatever cards I liked for whatever reason, mostly for the art, so I didn't end up with much in the way of a playable deck, but I had fun Johnnying my cards, got a decent overview of the common cards in the present Extended game, and I found I was leaning heavily towards Black/Blue when I went to the local gaming store and bought a booster pack of Shadowmoor and the pack just happened to be heavy on Black/Blue Merfolk. A few days later I was at the Beaches Branch Public Library and downloaded Dethklok to my iPod, because I enjoyed Metalocalypse once or twice, and as I listened to the first two songs I felt like the synchronicities were mounting and I was inspired this start this project.
A few podcasts on my iPod (I intend to expand the reviews later):
* MtGCast (mtgcast.com) - a steady source of new high-quality podcasts. If you want a new podcast to listen to every day, this is the place for you. Shows on MtGCast: ** Monday Night Magic - Tom, Derek, and Gavin. The main spearhead podcast for MTGCast: Tom is the Johnny, Gavin is the Spike, and everyone else involved helped make it quality edutainment. ** Road Warrior Otwell - Christopher E. Otwell ** Planeswalk with the Professors ** The Magic Schoolbus ** The Magic Sock
* The Magic Sock - a long time veteran to magic, great content.
* Magic: the Gathering Podcast - Excellent coverage of Pro Tour, Grand Prix, and World tourneys. This is the podcast where pros get their 5 minutes of fame.
* Mana Nation (mananation.com)- Weekly hi-defintion video podcasts, very professional looking. New players should check out the videos of drafting and play.
* Deck Builders -
* DeckConstruct - Alex and Dan, bringing the magic of London to the world.
