[JT] Don't call it a comeba- ... Ok yeah, It's totally a comeback...

Ok guys...  Here it is.  Another post.  I bet you never thought you would see the day.  Sorry I've been so quiet on new content; I've had stuff I wanted to get out, but I just could not focus enough to get them onto paper... err...  I mean a computer screen.  This is just going to be brief, but I need your input on something so I can work on a few pieces, so I figured I would give you all a small update at the same time.

First of all, I was lucky enough to be invited to do another guest spot on The Mana Pool this week!  We discussed the first wave of Born of the Gods spoilers.  You can find the episode by diving into the pool (i.e. clicking).

Over the next few weeks I'll be bringing you updates on all of my constructed decks (standard and EDH).  At the same time though, what I need from you guys is what you think my next EDH deck should be.  I have a few ideas I want you to choose from:

1) Sydri, Galvanic Alchemist / Artifact Control
Esper control in EDH with a heavy artifact theme.  Pretty much sums it up.

2) Venser, Shaper Savant
If you don't know by now, you should:  Venser is my favorite Planeswalker, but since I have not really done much with my Spellbook format in a while, I can't build an EDH deck for him.  So the alternative is his creature form.  Of the three ideas, this is the one I think I can make with the most flavor (something which, if you remember, is something very important for me to be able to keep and maintain an EDH deck).

3) Arcane
Either mono-blue with Uyo, Silent Prophet or an Esper build with Dromar, the Banisher.

So, like I said, I want to know which deck YOU want me to talk about.


For now that's the only definite stuff I have planned.  There are a few other pieces that might come up (a few anime reviews come to mind), and I am going to try and get the rest of my team back into action again.  Not sure how much time they all have for it now, but I'm sure you'll see them again at some point soon (I'm sure they all have some gushing to do over Dr. Who since they haven't in a while).  Speaking of which, Jas has actually started another blog of her own.  Check out a few Bookworms in Dresses.


Ok.  Short and sweet like I predicted.  I promise I won't leave you for such a long time again!
- J.T.

[JT] Pokemon XYD (The D is for Disappointment)

 

Ok...  I've had a bit of time to let this stew and see if my opinion changes after giving some thought, which is why this post has taken so long (it has nothing to do with my laziness.  Nope.  Nothing.), and I am just going to get it out in the open right up front: I found Pokemon Gen. VI, a.k.a. X and Y to be a HUGE let down.

Go ahead.  Throw all the garbage you want at me.

*waits*

You done?  Ok.  Now that that is out of your system, let me explain why I think this:

1) Storyline
Without a doubt, the biggest reason I was let down by the games was the lackluster story.  Black/White had the single greatest story line in a Pokemon game (which is a lot for me to say since (Heart)Gold/(Soul)Silver have always been my favorite in the series).  The story was one of the reasons I got as re-enamored with the games as I did, so imagine my disappointment when I reached the apex of X's story, expecting it to take a massive upswing or even continue on after the ridiculousness that is Team Flare (probably one of the worst Teams ever, if not THE worst), only to find a lackluster post game (that will not be a separate point since I will admit that I have not finished the post game yet.  I had to put the game down after the bad taste that was left in my mouth by the main game.  In fact, today was the first time I had started to seriously play it after finishing the main game a few days after it's release).


2) 3D
Let me get this out of the way: I like the 3D.  These are without a doubt the most beautiful games in the

series (though I do miss the mini sprites and graphics, but that's something that's just a personal preference).  The problem I have is with the seemingly random uses of 3D.  You get the opening cut scene with Prof. Sycamore in 3D, which gets you geared up for the adventure.  Fletchling flies through your house and wakes you up in your bed in 3D, and you start to walk around.... in 2D?!  You walk down the stairs in 2D, talk to your mom in 2D, and then walk outside, and get a 5 second cut scene in 3D?  The cut scene in and of it self is fine... something new for the series besides just sprite standing still or walking back and forth.  I am fine with those, but the fact that they seem to use these as a medium to show off the 3D, and only then (besides in certain battles and a few other select areas) seems like a cop out.

Again, don't get me wrong.  I love the 3D graphics... WHEN THEY ARE USED.  The Elite Four chambers are incredible, and watching the Pokemon World Championships are going to be a whole heck of a lot more entertaining if they use XY with the battle animations on, but the inconsistency with HOW they used the graphics is my main problem.

3) Poke Transfer
It has been a standard pillar of the past few gens that there is a way to transfer in Pokemon from previous gens into your new game, and that is no different in X and Y.  What IS different though is that there is no internal method of doing so.  From what I have gathered (and I will admit that it is possible I have not given this due diligence, but this is my understanding currently) is that starting in December, there will be a Pokemon Bank app/download you can get that will allow you to store up to 3,000 Pokemon to use in this and future gens, which is a great idea.  However, you get a free trial and then you have to pay a fee to use the bank.  It's something small (like $5 a year or something), but the thing that really irks me about it is that this is why things like Skylanders and the like have been something I have stayed away from.

Pokemon was always something that could stand alone; you buy the game, and everything is done in game.  You did not have to worry about buying figures or points or anything like that.  You invest in the new game and that was it.  Now you have to pay to do something that you've been doing for years.  Sure this is will (I hope) have a few other features that make it worth while, but we do not even have the option to do things the old way.   The other thing that bothers me is that we have to wait until December!  Two months after the game is released.  Why do I have to wait that long, especially for a game that has very little post game following a main game that can be completed in no time at all?

These are the three biggest things I have had a problem with.  There are some other smaller and more aesthetic/personal things I had a problem with (new Exp. Share for instance), but those are just me so I won't bog down this post with it.

Basically, TL;DR :

From Penny Arcade

So, what do you think?  Do you agree?  Think I'm just an old man that wants you young whipper-snappers off my lawn?  Let me know.  Until then, I think I'll be here waiting for the ability to transfer in old Pokemon -_-

*JT used TELEPORT*

[Jas] ConView: NYCC 2013

This was my second year of going to NYCC, this time I flew, which limited the costumes that I could take. But, on the flip side, I got to stay at my friend's apartment, which made the trip a lot cheaper overall! (Paying for hotels is a real drain on the wallet, lemme tell ya!) Anyways. I got there a few days early to sight-see, and by sight-see I mean go places in NYC that I hadn't been before! But...that's a story for the other blog! Let's focus on NYCC here!!

Cosplay doggy!

It's a HUGE convention. I mean seriously. Over 130,000+ people, I don't even know the actual number, but that's what some guy in the dealer room told me. The cosplays are always something to see, that's for sure! I look forward to taking pictures at this convention, more than some others! Although there aren't really nice places inside the center to take pictures, which kinda sucks!

On another note, the dealer area in NYCC is something to really take in. There are SO MANY VENDORS! (And I don't mean small time vendors) These vendors are publishers, game companies, and even companies like Intel and Verizon for goodness sake! There are always freebies like tote bags (Which I got from Wtf is Yeah!) as well as free nails?! Yeah, that's right, free stick-on nails. You heard me right. 

proof!!

This year wasn't a cosplay year for me really. I re-did Peach and also did Bee from Bee and Puppycat, since it was comfy and relatively easy to put together. I ended up even getting interviewed in both costumes. Go figure! But there were a lot of other fantastic costumes! I can't even begin to talk about them!! (I want to brag about all my friends, but I should actually highlight strangers too, you know, it's nice) 

That must have taken so much effort to make!! The girl couldn't hear anything though!

I didn't really have a haul from this con, since all I bought was a shirt in the dealer room! Whoa what?! Crazy right? I spent all my money on taxis and food.

Best shirt ever, hands down. 

[JT] CGC: Something cool...

... happened to me last week.  I'm chilling on my couch, watching anime, and I get a text seeing what I was up to.  Well, it turns out my class was cancelled, so nothing at all...  One thing led to another... and this happened...

Let's hear some other people's thoughts on the rotation, shall we?

[JT] CGC: Spotlight/Highlight #2: Rotation MVP

I should have had two more of these up by now, but there hasn't been anything that has really grabbed my attention from Theros and the pre-release.  Sure, there were some standouts...

Sunday's Sealed pool.

Medomai, the Ageless is a freaking house, and the Bident can be huge if you have an unchecked flier you've been getting in with, but nothing really gripped me.  So I decided to forgo this for a while.  However last night Theros officially released, and that means that the standard format has officially rotated.  So, I would not be doing my duty if I did not do a HL/SL on the one card that has stood out to me for the past standard format...

Redirect!   Yes.  Redirect.  How many of you thought I was going to use my old buddy Deadeye Navigator?  While I did build my deck around him for two years, I have to give the MVP to the best counterspell ever (ok, not really).

At the end of it's legality, the count of Bonfire of the Damned's that I have redirect totals 3 (should be 4, but I misplayed at last week's standard), and I have even countered the uncounterable Counterflux with it.  I whole-heartedly believe that there is no feeling more satisfying in Magic that your opponent miracling a Bonfire and you blow them out with a Redirect; or when your opponent goes to Counterflux your finisher, you tap two blue, they say "It can't be countered", and you respond with "I know. Redirect Counterflux to Redirect"; or when the same scenario plays out with an Abrupt Decay pointed at your Detention Sphere.

Here's another cool thing... Redirect get's around Hexproof since the only thing it is targeting is the spell.  That means you could have Redirect-ed your opponents kill spell back at their own Geist of Saint Traft.  This spell has done some serious work for me, and I am just as sad to see it go as I am to see Deadeye go.

With that, I leave you to ponder "what could have been..."; How would Redirect have changed your life for the better?  Or are you super lucky that it did not see more play in your area?  *Sigh*  I hate to see you go, old friend, but perhaps we will see you again.

[JT] CGC: Highlight Spotlight #1: Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

Jas gave me the idea a little bit ago of how I can stick to "CGC once a week" like I had originally intended it to be, and I loved the idea.  Basically, each week (or as close to it as I can) I will pick one or two cards and talk about it fairly briefly.  Because we are in the middle of MTG Theros spoilers, That's where these first few are going to come from (small side note:  when we are in spoiler season, I am just going to stick with cards that I can confirm have been officially spoiled by Wizards of the Coast or anyone they have given a spoiler too.  This is something that The Mana Pool does, and I really like this policy).  This week, we are talking about the newest planeswalker to join our ranks: Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

Let's take a second and look at the glorious (and creepy) art a little closer...

Look at that, it's even posed like it wants to be in the spotlight.

It might just be because of my recent love of Esper, or it might be my burning desire to make a mill deck (it was the first type of deck I built before I fell in love with the moonfolk), but I was downright giddy for this card.  It comes down on turn 3 with basically 5 loyalty since there's no reason why you would activate it's middle ability.  This means that there are only a few scenarios where it will not survive to get at least a small creature with her middle ability to protect itself (most of these scenarios involve your opponent playing aggro/burn).

Ashiok makes me want to build a fun little deck I like to call "Esper Cast-All-Of-Your-Opponent's-Spells-So-They-Don't-Have-To", where you are also turning your opponent's cards into your own resources while you are depleting their library.  For example, Ashiok pairs really well with Nightveil Specter from Gatecrash.  I also want to add that Specter plays very well with the new Devotion mechanic... just saying.











There is another new card from Theros coming out that has the same feel as these two, but puts a new twist on these effects:  Daxos of Meletis.  The twist that he brings is that he allows you to cast the spells you exile them by paying their mana cost.  Up until this point, most of the effects like this have said "without paying its mana cost".  It's always great getting a free spell, however the "problem" (used loosely) came when the spell was an X spell.  Since you were not paying anything, X always equaled zero.  That's not so with Daxos and the newly spoiled Psychic Intrustion; he allows you actually cast the spells by paying the mana cost.  You do not get the benefit of a free spell, but you do get the benefit of, say, casting your opponent's Sphinx's Revelation.

 I'm going to give you a little bonus and give you a brief little thought about the new Scry lands (by the way, Scry might be my favorite mechanic in the game).  I am not going to tell you whether or not I think they are good or will see play, because the simple fact is I'm not sure (except super fast aggro decks...  they do NOT want these lands) and you've probably already heard a million other opinions.  I will however mention something I overheard at FNM this week that I believe is a really good way to view them: "They will make you more likely to keep a two-land opening hand."

There you go; my first entry in what I hope will be many more HL/SLs.  Let me know what you think of the new card(s) and what card that's been spoiled so far that makes YOU the most excited.  I'll see you again with the newest Theros card from the coming week that leaps out at me.

Until then, I'm shutting down this spotlight...
-JT

[JT] CGC: Can you solve The Sphinx's Riddle?

I love sphinxes, almost as much as I love the moonfolk; and since I already have an EDH deck built for them (a bit out of date, but still...), a while ago I decided it was time for me to give my other loves some... well...  love.  As you all know from both my moonfolk deck and my Legend of Zelda deck (actually, going through a massive overhaul currently), I love flavor as well.  I love it so much so that I've come to realize I cannot maintain a non-flavor based EDH deck for more than a few games because they lack the fun that flavor deck bring to the table.

When it came to my Sphinx deck, I had to find some theme I could latch on to.  I knew what creature was going to be my general already since there is only one legendary sphinx that allows me to play all the others: Sharuum, the Hegemon (I want to side track here for a second and say that I REALLY hope the Esper commander deck that is coming out will have a new legendary sphinx as the commander since I am tired of showing my commander to people and having to follow it with the line "It's not that kind of Sharuum deck...").

At first I tried making it an Arcane based deck (you remember Arcane; the subtype from Kamigawa that allows you to Splice other spells onto it?  Yeah, that's the one), but it did not have that flavor punch that makes me drool over a deck.  I was still at a loss.  I needed something that was inherent to the mythos of sphinxes, and it dawned on me one day that the answer was in Sharuum's flavor text the whole time...

"To gain audience with the hegemon, one must bring a riddle she has not heard."

RIDDLES!  Sphinxes are all about riddles, and I knew that if I could translate that somehow into a theme for my deck, I'd have Vorthosian gold!  The answer to this riddle (heh heh... get it?) laid in the other Esper color card from Shards block that I was going to make absolute certain had a place in this deck: Brilliant Ultimatum.

What better way to pose a riddle to your opponents than making them choose between things?  Let's see how well this idea translated into an actual deck...




Creatures (32):

Probably my favorite sphinx

Sharuum, the Hegemon (Commander)
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Enigma Sphinx
Sphinx Sovereign
Magister Sphinx (As much as I want to play with all of the sphinxes, I would completely understand if this ended up banned)
Sharding Sphinx
Sphinx Summoner
Cerulean Sphinx
Serra Sphinx
Sphinx of Uthuun
Jelenn Sphinx
Consecrated Sphinx
Isperia the Inscrutable
Isperia, Supreme Judge
Vexing Sphinx
Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Chancellor of the Spires
Sphinx of the Chimes (... yes...  It's in here... I kind of had to)

My very first sphinx *whimsical sigh*

Sphinx of Lost Truths
Argent Sphinx
Sphinx Ambassador
Windreader Sphinx
Goliath Sphinx
Conundrum Sphinx
Belltower Sphinx
Grand Architect
Solemn Simulacrum
Adaptive Automaton
Steel Hellkite
Gold Myr
Silver Myr
Leaden Myr

Riddles, Non-creature spells (21):
Brilliant Ultimatum
Choice of Damnations
Do or Die
Far // Away
Distant Memories
Killing Wave
Painful Quandary
Jace, Architect of Thought
Soul Ransom
Reparations
Rhystic Study
Covenant of Minds
Dispense Justice
Devour Flesh
Dash Hopes
Fatespinner
Truth or Tale
Murmurs from Beyond
Tribute to Hunger
Flooded Woodlands
Vexing Arcanix


Non-riddle, Non-creature spells (10):
Sphinx's Revelation
Mask of Riddles
Sphinx-Bone Wand
Venser, the Sojourner
Coat of Arms
Crystal Ball
Unwinding Clock
Azorius Signet
Orzhov Signet
Dimir Signet

Lands (37):
Island x5
Swamp x3
Plains x2
Seat of Synod
Ancient Den
Vault of Whispers
Vivid Creek
Vivid Meadow
Command Tower
Arcane Sanctum
Azorius Guildgate
Azorius Chancery
Orzhov Guildgate
Dimir Guildgate
Glacial Fortress
Drowned Catacomb
Seachrome Coast
Darkslick Shores
Watery Grave
Godless Shrine
Mystic Gate
Sunken Ruins
Nimbus Maze
Tainted Isle
Esper Panorama
Terramorphic Expanse
Evolving Wilds
Mystifying Maze
Buried Ruins
Reliquary Tower

Cards I am still trying to get my hands on for this deck:
Petra Sphinx
Curse of Wizardry
Esper Charm
Fatal Lore
Temporal Extortion
Imperial Edict
Library of Lat-Nam
Fact or Fiction
Monomania
Scrounge
Thought Prison
Thran Tome
Riddlekeeper
Liar's Pendulum
Intuition
Maze of Ith
Isolated Chapel
Dimir Aqueduct
Orzhov Basilica
Vivid Marsh
Fetid Heath
Hallowed Fountain
Patriarch's Bidding
Propaganda (and similar effects)

So how does it play?  FREAKING AMAZINGLY!  This might be the deck I have had the most fun playing.  There's a decent bit of inherent strength in the creatures, and Grand Architect (an inclusion that I have to admit I am not completely fond of since I feel it detracts from the flavor or the deck, but sometimes you have to go function over form) allows you to pump out the larger sphinxes a lot quicker than normal.  However, there is nothing more satisfying than playing a Choice of Damnations at any point in the game to either drain them for a large chunk of life or just leave them with absolutely nothing while everyone else has everything.

One thing I want to make a note of is that this deck works a little better in a one-on-one duel than it does in multiplayer.  Being able to focus all of your riddles on one player makes them all the more potent (Can you imagine an opponent's face when you give them a Choice of Damnations and they focus on keeping a board state so they keep their creatures, and then you follow up with a Do or Die?  It might be down right cruel; certainly more so than if each of those spells targets a different player.  That is not to say that the deck cannot hold its own in multiplayer matches, but for those I find myself relying more on things like Sphinx of the Steel Wind than the riddles she would ask.

As I have said, this is probably the one deck that I have had the most fun playing.  It is the antithesis of the decks that allow little to no interactivity; it requires it. 

And on that note, I am will see you all again soon.  I don't intend to take a long hiatus again (though I also didn't intend to take these last few either).  In the mean time though, I wonder how many of your opponents can answer The Sphinx's Riddle?