Traces of my fingers on your trembling flesh remain
liquid. The pubic hairs of your innocence,
bowed in adoration
of my oppression.Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wasted
She is lying beside me.
Her length sprawled and
surrendered.
Unassuming, she wakes up
and on my lips plants a
smile.
Then
disappears.
I clasp the cloth her scent touched
and breathed in the stench.
On my bed she left
wasted,
withered roses.
Their petals
turned to dusts
scattered like powdered blood.
Her length sprawled and
surrendered.
Unassuming, she wakes up
and on my lips plants a
smile.
Then
disappears.
I clasp the cloth her scent touched
and breathed in the stench.
On my bed she left
wasted,
withered roses.
Their petals
turned to dusts
scattered like powdered blood.
Child
The child stood there,
on his thick feet,
his constipated face reflected on the cold glass,
crushing Rizal’s face with his clenched fist,
debating:
“To Moo or not to Moo,
that is the question.”
The child thinks not the answer just the Moo.
And, just what his puny palm could hold.
A tin can and
a quarter of a kilo bag—
no space for anything else.
Just this: a stolen glance
and that cold glass—
(5 black prints dirtying the display).
Then he walks away,
dragging his thick feet
and his puny world
saddled on his shoulders.
Excited: Tekken the Movie
And now...the KING OF IRON FIST TOURNAMENT!
After so many years, finally, finally, they've thought of this. Actually, they've thought of this years ago..and I mean years! Only now have they had the courage to finally push through with it. For years, the poster of a gigantic "T" have been circulating, spreading the rumors of a Tekken movie, until early last year, the rumor was confirmed.
We are finally entering the Tekken.
For old school players, you might remember the animated Tekken movie several years ago (maybe even decades!) that featured old school characters jun, paul, law, gun jack (martir sa movie na to!), lee, anna, nina, and of course, father and son heihachi and kazuya. Although nothing much can be said about the quality of that film, it sparked the thirst of fans for a live action Tekken movie.
The only fear: hope they don't mess it up like what they did with Dragonball. They didn't, I think, basing on the trailer. It seems that they took actors with nationalities matching the characters they would be portraying...and Yoshimitsu looks nice...after looking like a clown in almost all of the Tekken games.
The movie would likely follow the story of Jin and his struggle against his bloodline. The other characters would be peppering the stage with fight scenes which I hope mimick the moves in the game (I saw Jin do demon scissors, and Paul the Phoenix Smasher...so I think they do.).
But enough talk. Time for you to enter the Tekken!
Tekken Movie Trailer - Watch more Game Trailers
After so many years, finally, finally, they've thought of this. Actually, they've thought of this years ago..and I mean years! Only now have they had the courage to finally push through with it. For years, the poster of a gigantic "T" have been circulating, spreading the rumors of a Tekken movie, until early last year, the rumor was confirmed.
We are finally entering the Tekken.
For old school players, you might remember the animated Tekken movie several years ago (maybe even decades!) that featured old school characters jun, paul, law, gun jack (martir sa movie na to!), lee, anna, nina, and of course, father and son heihachi and kazuya. Although nothing much can be said about the quality of that film, it sparked the thirst of fans for a live action Tekken movie.
The only fear: hope they don't mess it up like what they did with Dragonball. They didn't, I think, basing on the trailer. It seems that they took actors with nationalities matching the characters they would be portraying...and Yoshimitsu looks nice...after looking like a clown in almost all of the Tekken games.
The movie would likely follow the story of Jin and his struggle against his bloodline. The other characters would be peppering the stage with fight scenes which I hope mimick the moves in the game (I saw Jin do demon scissors, and Paul the Phoenix Smasher...so I think they do.).
But enough talk. Time for you to enter the Tekken!
Tekken Movie Trailer - Watch more Game Trailers
Ramblings III: Blogging from home
My boss would kill me if she finds out am just using this broadband to blog...or maybe not.
And yes, I'm in my bedroom, on my bed, wearing.....well, I'll stop right there, before things get ugly (I'm really having a hard time pressing the letter "b" in this keyboard). Oh well, you're not really interested about that, really,.... (assuming that a "YOU" exists). What you should be interested in is what I have to say, which right now, is not that much. It's just neat to blog, and type some piece of something from the privacy of my own...err...bed? Oh well.
That's just that. (I really have to work on what I should be putting here. Then again, all of my crappy poems are in my laptop; maybe I should upload them and let the world piss and defecate on them. Pain is pleasure.)
I really hope my boss doesn't read blogs. If she does, then "YOU" does exists!
And yes, I'm in my bedroom, on my bed, wearing.....well, I'll stop right there, before things get ugly (I'm really having a hard time pressing the letter "b" in this keyboard). Oh well, you're not really interested about that, really,.... (assuming that a "YOU" exists). What you should be interested in is what I have to say, which right now, is not that much. It's just neat to blog, and type some piece of something from the privacy of my own...err...bed? Oh well.
That's just that. (I really have to work on what I should be putting here. Then again, all of my crappy poems are in my laptop; maybe I should upload them and let the world piss and defecate on them. Pain is pleasure.)
I really hope my boss doesn't read blogs. If she does, then "YOU" does exists!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ramblings II: A Quote
'pag 'di mo masyadong pinagtutuunan ng pansin, malamang, 'di mo maalala
Just a quote from a friend via IM. Just think...
Hitting Two Birds with One Post: Two Reviews
Ah, to write is very tiring and very time consuming. Yesterday, I have written about a paragraph of my review of Inception before I was lost in an ocean of office work (not that I'm complaining, I should be working, in the first place), so that's that, and it ended there.
So now, just to satisfy my own longing for my own review of two films I watched over the weekend, I'll be mashing them into one post. Here it goes...
PS
This may contain spoilers so read on your own risk. :)
Inception by Christopher Nolan
As I said in another post, this film promises a weird and hopefully exciting world. The premise of the story is that people, in the world of the film, can now steal information directly from other people's minds. Neat? Yeah...Leo is an extractor, the one who does the actual stealing, who can't over the guilt over his wife's death. He forms a band of thieves for one a last mission: an inception, or the act of putting an idea in a person's mind. Together with a researcher (Gordon-Levitt), a forger (Hardy), a chemist (Rao) and an architect (Page), accompanied by the one who commissioned the job (Watanabe), they journeyed into their target's mind (Murphy) where they are forced to confront the devils of reality, well, especially in the case of Leo, where his projection of his wife, every now and then appears and sabotages the mission, which climaxes in a gripping confrontation, and an intriguing ending.
To explain the movie would defeat its purpose. The film's aim could be, in itself, inception, the same with other movies worthy of the name. To instill an idea in a person's mind is one of the aims of art. This film does this. By questioning the thin line we tread between the real and the imagined (or in this case, the dreamed), we then define each and in turn know its constitution, and as part of it, we then come to the knowledge of what we are. When we have knowledge of what is real, then we are in touch of what we are in the now, and have a foresight of what we should be. Leo talks about being trapped in the Limbo, an eternal nothingness, just plain idea. Creation and time mashed together - that's what God might have felt, when the world begun, an idea, nothing more.
When the film began, we are very much in the real. We are in touch with the real (and by real I mean worldly, meaning of this world) conflicts of the film: Cobb's failure to retrieve information from Saito, Cobb's and Arthur's planned escape, Cobb's conflict with his children and with his own past. But as we progress into the film, we get deeper into Cobb's character (mainly from the eyes of the architect Ariadne) and we realize the root of the conflict which lies in the imagined.
As the protagonists try to overcome the physical conflict, the inception of Fischer Jr's mind (which, ironically, also lies in the imagined), Cobb also struggles to overcome his own devils. In the end, it is left to the viewers to determine whether Cobb ended in the real, or the imagined.
The stunning visual graphics only heightens the feeling of and the experience within a dream. It is not distracting in any way and is very much essential in the film's storytelling. Plot-wise, I first had an issue regarding the seeming unimportance and irrelevance of idea to be incepted. But, after thinking it through, it was more appropriate to have a shallow physical story so that the deeper, more complex internal conflict of the protagonist could surface.
PS.
Kitty Pryde aka, Ellen Page, is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! :)
Overall: 8/10
Hating Kapatid by Wenn Deramas
From a very thought-provoking Inception experience, on Sunday, my girlfriend, after a minor skirmish (a topic of another post in itself) trooped to SM San Lazaro to watch Hating Kapatid. The film, I should say, delivered the goods.
It is about (if you haven't guessed it yet) siblings, sisters, who grew apart from their parents. Rica (Judy Ann Santos) has, for a long time, been three persons in the life of Cecil (Sarah Geronimo): mother, father, sister. All these change when their parents (Cherry Pie Picache and Tonton Gutierez) comes home from Libya. This change, plus blossoming love between Cecille and Edcel (Luis Manzano) and a resurgence of romance between Rica and Bong (JC de Vera), her ex from long ago, causes hilarious twists and turns until everything gets resolved, as is in every feel-good movie, happily.
The movie, as I said, delivered. Sarah and Judy Ann have good comedic timing add to the craziness of Vice Ganda and you have a movie. The films also hits a soft spot in every Filipinos' heart: family. It touches on having siblings, extended families, and family members (especially parents) working overseas. Opening at 11 million, it deserves, all the nods it gets.
Overall: 6/10
PS.
Sarah is also sooo cute. :)
So that's that...till the next movie...which, I'm praying should be soon. The next movie event to watch is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, and that's almost four months from now. Such a long wait for half of a movie. Jeeez...corporates. They better make sure it's worth the wait.
So now, just to satisfy my own longing for my own review of two films I watched over the weekend, I'll be mashing them into one post. Here it goes...
PS
This may contain spoilers so read on your own risk. :)
Inception by Christopher Nolan
As I said in another post, this film promises a weird and hopefully exciting world. The premise of the story is that people, in the world of the film, can now steal information directly from other people's minds. Neat? Yeah...Leo is an extractor, the one who does the actual stealing, who can't over the guilt over his wife's death. He forms a band of thieves for one a last mission: an inception, or the act of putting an idea in a person's mind. Together with a researcher (Gordon-Levitt), a forger (Hardy), a chemist (Rao) and an architect (Page), accompanied by the one who commissioned the job (Watanabe), they journeyed into their target's mind (Murphy) where they are forced to confront the devils of reality, well, especially in the case of Leo, where his projection of his wife, every now and then appears and sabotages the mission, which climaxes in a gripping confrontation, and an intriguing ending.
To explain the movie would defeat its purpose. The film's aim could be, in itself, inception, the same with other movies worthy of the name. To instill an idea in a person's mind is one of the aims of art. This film does this. By questioning the thin line we tread between the real and the imagined (or in this case, the dreamed), we then define each and in turn know its constitution, and as part of it, we then come to the knowledge of what we are. When we have knowledge of what is real, then we are in touch of what we are in the now, and have a foresight of what we should be. Leo talks about being trapped in the Limbo, an eternal nothingness, just plain idea. Creation and time mashed together - that's what God might have felt, when the world begun, an idea, nothing more.When the film began, we are very much in the real. We are in touch with the real (and by real I mean worldly, meaning of this world) conflicts of the film: Cobb's failure to retrieve information from Saito, Cobb's and Arthur's planned escape, Cobb's conflict with his children and with his own past. But as we progress into the film, we get deeper into Cobb's character (mainly from the eyes of the architect Ariadne) and we realize the root of the conflict which lies in the imagined.
As the protagonists try to overcome the physical conflict, the inception of Fischer Jr's mind (which, ironically, also lies in the imagined), Cobb also struggles to overcome his own devils. In the end, it is left to the viewers to determine whether Cobb ended in the real, or the imagined.
The stunning visual graphics only heightens the feeling of and the experience within a dream. It is not distracting in any way and is very much essential in the film's storytelling. Plot-wise, I first had an issue regarding the seeming unimportance and irrelevance of idea to be incepted. But, after thinking it through, it was more appropriate to have a shallow physical story so that the deeper, more complex internal conflict of the protagonist could surface.
PS.
Kitty Pryde aka, Ellen Page, is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! :)
Overall: 8/10
Hating Kapatid by Wenn Deramas
From a very thought-provoking Inception experience, on Sunday, my girlfriend, after a minor skirmish (a topic of another post in itself) trooped to SM San Lazaro to watch Hating Kapatid. The film, I should say, delivered the goods.
It is about (if you haven't guessed it yet) siblings, sisters, who grew apart from their parents. Rica (Judy Ann Santos) has, for a long time, been three persons in the life of Cecil (Sarah Geronimo): mother, father, sister. All these change when their parents (Cherry Pie Picache and Tonton Gutierez) comes home from Libya. This change, plus blossoming love between Cecille and Edcel (Luis Manzano) and a resurgence of romance between Rica and Bong (JC de Vera), her ex from long ago, causes hilarious twists and turns until everything gets resolved, as is in every feel-good movie, happily.
The movie, as I said, delivered. Sarah and Judy Ann have good comedic timing add to the craziness of Vice Ganda and you have a movie. The films also hits a soft spot in every Filipinos' heart: family. It touches on having siblings, extended families, and family members (especially parents) working overseas. Opening at 11 million, it deserves, all the nods it gets.
Overall: 6/10
PS.
Sarah is also sooo cute. :)
So that's that...till the next movie...which, I'm praying should be soon. The next movie event to watch is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, and that's almost four months from now. Such a long wait for half of a movie. Jeeez...corporates. They better make sure it's worth the wait.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Excited: Inception
Later today, my friend and I would be watching Inception. This movie, since I saw its trailer the first time, has intrigued me. With the tagline "Your mind is the scene of the crime." it promises a premise that would compete with the Matrix in sheer weirdness. Outstanding visual graphics sadden me that I cannot watch this in IMAX. Either way, I hope that it would be a great watch. Would post a review next week, if I could, but right now, gotta work. For now, feast on the visual spectacle that is Inception.
Deck Testing: The New Age of Artifacts
Hi guys! It's Friday morning and no work yet, so I was able to playtest my deck at the workstation. This deck I'm talking about is the deck I'm planning on building in real life. I have almost all the pieces. Here's the list. Please take note that the list is rough. Following Conley's advice in his deckbuilding article, almost all cards are 4-offs.
UW AGGRO ARTIFACTS (v1)
Lands (24)
1 Dread Statuary
6 Island
9 Plains
4 Sejiri Refuge
4 Terramorphic Expanse
Creatures (20)
4 Esper Stormblade (3-Pointer)
4 Juggernaut
4 Master of Etherium (Team Captain)
4 Steel Overseer (MVP!)
4 Vedalken Outlander
Spells (16)
4 Everflowing Chalice
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Open the Vaults
3 Path to Exile
3 Voltaic Key
Sideboard (15)
3 Dragon's Claw
4 Ethersworn Shieldmage
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Reinforced Bulwark
Before I get into the two matches I played thus far, let me talk about the card choices.
Creatures
Master of Etherium
When building an artifact deck, creature choice are often very narrow and very obvious. Right now, when looking for the best artifacts, there's no place to turn to but the shard of Esper. Home of the Vedalkens and such, Esper hosts a lot of nifty artifacts that you would wanna see. Esper Stormblade is often at worst a 3/2 chumper, and a 4/3 flier at minimum best. Vedalken Outlander just shrugs off any bolts. But the true star is the artifact lord Master of Etherium which becomes insanely huge so easily, so fast.
Steel Overseer
The new core set brings us a new lord, the insane Steel Overseer. Boosting your team (including itself) once each turn is INSANE! You'll have Baneslayers in no time! Plus, being untapped with another artifact, things can get pretty ugly pretty fast. Juggernaut is insane when you get him out of bolt range. Completely ignoring Wall of Omens and Wall of Denials in control decks is huge!
Spells
The key....
The star here is Voltaic Key! Untapping and re-tapping an Overseer is ugly! Of course, what artifact deck won't want to Open the Vaults? You can just attack with your team (usually trading a guy or two) and play this as an ultimatum post-combat making all those trades not trades at all! The chalices are acceleration plus upping the artifact count for your masters. Paths and Rings are obvious top removal picks for a base white decks which completely dominates some matchups.
...to the vault.
Sideboard
The sideboard is pretty straightforward also. Lodestone Golem is there against Jund and against control decks. You would wanna make them pay more for their spells and cascade. Against control you'll be siding these in for your paths and a ring. Against jund, well, I don't know. :)
Shieldmage and Reinforced Bulwark are for aggro decks. Having an insanely large Bulwark is simply amazing. And Dragon's Claw for red-based deck.
Now, on to the matches.
Match 1: Versus Mythic Conscription
Because I don't take down notes as I play, I'm just recalling this from memory. Game 1, we developed our boards quickly with him having a pair of birds, a cobra, a heirarch, a wildwood and a couple of other lands. I have been attacking with a pair of stormblades being pumped turn after turn thrice by an overseer with two keys in play. I just played a juggernaut and passed the turn when he played a Baneslayer Angel his turn, then enchanted it with Conscription (hardcast) the following turn. After that, we were at a stand-off. His 15/15, Annihilator 2, Exalted +5 more abilities Angel is looking at a pair of 11/10 Stormblades, a 10/10 Overseer and and a 9/7 Juggernaut. Everything was a stalemate until I drew a path for the win.
Game 2 was pretty much uneventful as I had a fast start and I beat him down so fast he didn't know what hit him. His birds and heirarchs were in awe.
Match 2: Versus Red-Green Burn Ramp
I'm telling you, this is one weird deck. He was playing with Llanowar Elves, Zektar Shrines, Lava Axe, Fireball, Exploding Borders, Ondu Giants, Harrow, etc. Game 1 I mulled to 4 keeping an expanse a path and a pair of chalice. I managed to beat him that game with him doing nothing much but play land, put counter on shrine, go. He managed to crack two shrines that game, but i have 2 paths as answers. He burned me a couple of times, but his lack of defender cost him his dear life.
Game 2 I had a nice draw, but he had an awfully insane amount of burn in hand, fireballs, lava axe and stuff, that the game ended in short fashion, like Turn 5.
Game 3, I don't exactly remember how I beat him, but I did by attacking cleanly. I didn't won though. He disconnected before I got him to 0! Hehe...
Well, that's that. I'll have to play more games against more archetypes before going back to the drawing board again, but things are looking steely nice.
UW AGGRO ARTIFACTS (v1)
Lands (24)
1 Dread Statuary
6 Island
9 Plains
4 Sejiri Refuge
4 Terramorphic Expanse
Creatures (20)
4 Esper Stormblade (3-Pointer)
4 Juggernaut
4 Master of Etherium (Team Captain)
4 Steel Overseer (MVP!)
4 Vedalken Outlander
Spells (16)
4 Everflowing Chalice
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Open the Vaults
3 Path to Exile
3 Voltaic Key
Sideboard (15)
3 Dragon's Claw
4 Ethersworn Shieldmage
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Reinforced Bulwark
Before I get into the two matches I played thus far, let me talk about the card choices.
Creatures
Master of EtheriumWhen building an artifact deck, creature choice are often very narrow and very obvious. Right now, when looking for the best artifacts, there's no place to turn to but the shard of Esper. Home of the Vedalkens and such, Esper hosts a lot of nifty artifacts that you would wanna see. Esper Stormblade is often at worst a 3/2 chumper, and a 4/3 flier at minimum best. Vedalken Outlander just shrugs off any bolts. But the true star is the artifact lord Master of Etherium which becomes insanely huge so easily, so fast.
Steel OverseerThe new core set brings us a new lord, the insane Steel Overseer. Boosting your team (including itself) once each turn is INSANE! You'll have Baneslayers in no time! Plus, being untapped with another artifact, things can get pretty ugly pretty fast. Juggernaut is insane when you get him out of bolt range. Completely ignoring Wall of Omens and Wall of Denials in control decks is huge!
Spells
The key....
...to the vault.
The sideboard is pretty straightforward also. Lodestone Golem is there against Jund and against control decks. You would wanna make them pay more for their spells and cascade. Against control you'll be siding these in for your paths and a ring. Against jund, well, I don't know. :)
Shieldmage and Reinforced Bulwark are for aggro decks. Having an insanely large Bulwark is simply amazing. And Dragon's Claw for red-based deck.
Now, on to the matches.
Match 1: Versus Mythic Conscription
Because I don't take down notes as I play, I'm just recalling this from memory. Game 1, we developed our boards quickly with him having a pair of birds, a cobra, a heirarch, a wildwood and a couple of other lands. I have been attacking with a pair of stormblades being pumped turn after turn thrice by an overseer with two keys in play. I just played a juggernaut and passed the turn when he played a Baneslayer Angel his turn, then enchanted it with Conscription (hardcast) the following turn. After that, we were at a stand-off. His 15/15, Annihilator 2, Exalted +5 more abilities Angel is looking at a pair of 11/10 Stormblades, a 10/10 Overseer and and a 9/7 Juggernaut. Everything was a stalemate until I drew a path for the win.
Game 2 was pretty much uneventful as I had a fast start and I beat him down so fast he didn't know what hit him. His birds and heirarchs were in awe.
Match 2: Versus Red-Green Burn Ramp
I'm telling you, this is one weird deck. He was playing with Llanowar Elves, Zektar Shrines, Lava Axe, Fireball, Exploding Borders, Ondu Giants, Harrow, etc. Game 1 I mulled to 4 keeping an expanse a path and a pair of chalice. I managed to beat him that game with him doing nothing much but play land, put counter on shrine, go. He managed to crack two shrines that game, but i have 2 paths as answers. He burned me a couple of times, but his lack of defender cost him his dear life.
Game 2 I had a nice draw, but he had an awfully insane amount of burn in hand, fireballs, lava axe and stuff, that the game ended in short fashion, like Turn 5.
Game 3, I don't exactly remember how I beat him, but I did by attacking cleanly. I didn't won though. He disconnected before I got him to 0! Hehe...
Well, that's that. I'll have to play more games against more archetypes before going back to the drawing board again, but things are looking steely nice.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
speaking of witch (pun intended slightly)
Speaking of Voldy, of course you have seen the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows right? Right? RIGHT? Well, if you haven't you can check it out below. I'm putting it here so that I could re-play it anytime, and I'm soooooooooo...excited...and nervous. The Half-Blood Prince was a disappointment. I hope that the year the fans spent waiting for the first half of the finale, won't end up as a disappointment as well.
too sad it won't work
I can't make Lord Voldemort work. Yes. This post is about Magic, but why not include a few fantastic elements. Here's the list:
VOLDY.DECK (v1.3)
Lands (24)
4 Marsh Flats
4 Mystifying Maze
15 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
Creatures (14)
3 Fleshbag Marauder
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
3 Grave Titan
4 Phylactery Lich (aka Lord Voldemort)
Other Spells (22)
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Crystal Ball (aka, errr... Crystal Ball?)
4 Diabolic Tutor (aka Accio
3 Everflowing Chalice
4 Mind Sludge
4 Sign in Blood
1 Sword of Vengeance (aka Elder Wand?)
4 Tendrils of Corruption
Sideboard
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Dragon's Claw
4 Duress
3 Pithing Needle
Indestructible. Even Voldy is not immortal.
He could easily be banished away via an O-ring, or a Journey to Nowhere, not to mention being exiled and condemned. Such a sad fate. In many games I was two-for-oned by my opponent when he ringed my colalr or my sword. Much like what happened when Harry revealed that the true master of the Elder Wand was not Voldy, but himself. Thus, Expilliarmus defeated Aveda Kedavra.
In the end, the star of the deck, in the few moments that it shone is a turn 4 Mind Sludge for 5 followed by a turn 6 Grave Titan. With the chalices out, sometimes, these happen a turn or two earlier.
I have matched up against a Time Warp deck and a Pyromancer Ascension deck; both of which gets murdered by game 2 leylines.
All in all, I think the deck is a fail. Voldy, no matter how flavorful he is, is very much "destructible" and can be disposed of quite easily. He is not the sort of card you would wanna build around. I think this would be better converted into a mono-black control deck...what do you think?
Voldy is fail.Tired of Magic?
Getting tired of playing usual Magic? Noel de Cordova (it's okay if you don't know him) cooked up some interesting formats for you and your friends to enjoy. Check it all here.
*sigh*
I miss playing Magic with friends. Wish things would be simple. I would wanna play that Mind Swap Magic.
When will I get to play some magic.
*sigh*
I miss playing Magic with friends. Wish things would be simple. I would wanna play that Mind Swap Magic.
When will I get to play some magic.
Ramblings I
Please bear with me, my dear reader, if you exist. These Ramblings shall sprout forth from this blog every now and then. Right now, what I want to rumble about is the hunger that I am currently experiencing, and the beef tapa and fried rice I can't wait to devour for lunch later, about twenty minutes more. How savory the scent of the beef would be after I pop it in the microwave to heat and toast a bit, to give it a crunchy texture. The fried rice, seasoned with a spicy flavor mix, complementing ever so neatly the crisp and tenderness of the beef, mixing into my mouth in a savory splendor.
Then, I remember a news bit I heard from Unang Hirit this morning, as I was preparing to go to work. It talks about an increase of about the 4% increase in the number of people who are experiencing severe hunger in the last three months.
Severe hunger.
I reflected on that phrase for quite a while. It was so...clean, that term. Severe hunger. In two words it was able to conjure a scary image. A cool, clean, ghastly image of death in its purest and cruelest (not to mention slowest) incarnation. Hunger. Starvation.
It's the worst way to die, they say, by starvation.* Your body would just refuse to work due to lack of energy, like a stupid fuel-deprived car halting in the middle of EDSA. It would just sit there until it gets smashed by one of the passing vehicles.
When would I know that the hunger I'm feeling is "severe" enough? Isn't severity subjective, therefore making the whole statistic subjective? Severe hunger. Am I severely hungry right now? How would some crispy beef tapa and hot fried rice taste to a "severely hungry" person? Would it taste "severely better"?
Then, I remember a news bit I heard from Unang Hirit this morning, as I was preparing to go to work. It talks about an increase of about the 4% increase in the number of people who are experiencing severe hunger in the last three months.
Severe hunger.
I reflected on that phrase for quite a while. It was so...clean, that term. Severe hunger. In two words it was able to conjure a scary image. A cool, clean, ghastly image of death in its purest and cruelest (not to mention slowest) incarnation. Hunger. Starvation.
It's the worst way to die, they say, by starvation.* Your body would just refuse to work due to lack of energy, like a stupid fuel-deprived car halting in the middle of EDSA. It would just sit there until it gets smashed by one of the passing vehicles.
When would I know that the hunger I'm feeling is "severe" enough? Isn't severity subjective, therefore making the whole statistic subjective? Severe hunger. Am I severely hungry right now? How would some crispy beef tapa and hot fried rice taste to a "severely hungry" person? Would it taste "severely better"?
Excited: Chronicles of Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Of all the books in C.S. Lewis's eternal classic, Chronicles of Narnia, the book I love the most is the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Why? I don't exactly remember what the book is about (I vaguely recall a journey to the end of the world, much like Pirates of the Caribbean's last installment), but what I do remember is that this is the most action-packed of all the books. Suffice it is to say that if sea battles, ships, majestic visual effects and enchanting mythical creatures doesn't excite you, then...OBVIOUSLY, this movie is not for you.
Just a side note, the rate the chapters of this series are being released, I won't be surprised if when we reach Book 7, the main actors are already engaged, or something. Ha!
Just a side note, the rate the chapters of this series are being released, I won't be surprised if when we reach Book 7, the main actors are already engaged, or something. Ha!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Land Destruction in Standard
I was introduced to Magic by a friend of mine who has a land-destruction deck. I have been killed over and over by the vise. I know how irritating that is. Too sad that for a long time, no Tier 1 land destruction deck has been available to standard for a while. Mainly, they attribute this to the absence of 3-mana land destruction spells like Stone Rain and Pillage, cards which I remember distinctly belonging to my friend's deck. His First turn Forest to a Birds of Paradise often ends with a turn 2 Stone Rain or Pillage on my only land. *sad face*
In my attempt to bring back this feeling, only this time on the opposite end of the table, I tried to brew up a Standard Land Destruction Deck, taking inspiration from Conley Woods's Magical Christmas Land Deck he played during Worlds 2009. Here's the decklist:
Lands (25)
2 Tectonic Edge
2 Dragonskull Summit
3 Raging Ravine
5 Forest
4 Mountain
2 Rootbound Crag
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Verdant Catacombs
Creatures (19)
4 Acidic Slime
4 Mold Shambler
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
Other Spells (16)
4 Demolish
4 Roiling Terrain
4 Violent Ultimatum
4 Lightning Bolt
Sideboard (15)
4 Terminate
4 Lavaball Trap
3 Chandra Nalaar
4 Manabarbs
The main deck is basically straightforward. You would wanna ramp into four mana (where the deck starts doing things) and destroy all lands and lock your opponent while beating them up with 2/1 snakes, 2/2 oozes, and 3/3 elephants!
But "magic" of this deck is when it is able to pull off a turn 3 Violent Ultimatum! KAPOW!
Let's look at the card choices.
The Creatures
The creatures are basically what you expect, given the standard environment. The weakest of these, I would say, would be Goblin Ruinblaster - having only the ability to blow up non-basics - it is weaker now in a meta where basic Plains and Mountains are in Tier 1 decks. The best I would say is Mold Shambler. This Hill Giant passes of as a 3/3 for 4, or a 3/3 for 6 that eats a land, an enchantment, an artifact, or even a planeswalker! Acidic Slime is good offensively and defensively. Lotus Cobra and Birds of Paradise are key ramp creatures essential to the deck's functioning.
The Spells
Without 3-mana Pillage or Stone Rain, Demolish is the most efficient land-destruction spell in the format (well, aside for the pseudo-land destruction spells in the guise of Spreading Seas and Convincing Mirage). Roiling Terrain punishes decks that fetches a lot. Violent Ultimatum is the star. When you're casting this bomb, you're surely winning in short time; although, in most matches I side them out for removal. And lastly is Lightning Bolt. As long as this baby is standard-legal, nobody should be playing a deck with red without it. IT IS A MUST.
The Sideboard
The sideboard is basically packed with removals. Terminate is an obvious best removal given the colors. Chandra is a way to deal with Baneslayer Angels (although I could cut this for Combust, maybe, but, I like Chandra's flexibility). Lavaball Trap is against Turboland, and Manabarbs against decks that taps a lot of lands to cast its spells.
Playing the Deck
I have to be honest: I only test my decks at Workstation. The deck is awesome against Jund! I had more games where the other player just disconnected than games I won. It has problems with red decks, almost unwinnable. The only strategy I have is to not play landy, but just play aggro. Even that is doubtful. Against Turboland is a tight one. However, game 2, when you are able to stick a Manabarbs, they just often concede. I haven't tested against control decks that much, so I don't know how it plays around Mana Leak and other counterspells yet.
Well, that's about it. Try building it (those who have the money to do so) and bring it in any FNM, and be hated! haha
In my attempt to bring back this feeling, only this time on the opposite end of the table, I tried to brew up a Standard Land Destruction Deck, taking inspiration from Conley Woods's Magical Christmas Land Deck he played during Worlds 2009. Here's the decklist:
Lands (25)
2 Tectonic Edge
2 Dragonskull Summit
3 Raging Ravine
5 Forest
4 Mountain
2 Rootbound Crag
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Verdant Catacombs
Creatures (19)
4 Acidic Slime
4 Mold Shambler
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
Other Spells (16)
4 Demolish
4 Roiling Terrain
4 Violent Ultimatum
4 Lightning Bolt
Sideboard (15)
4 Terminate
4 Lavaball Trap
3 Chandra Nalaar
4 Manabarbs
The main deck is basically straightforward. You would wanna ramp into four mana (where the deck starts doing things) and destroy all lands and lock your opponent while beating them up with 2/1 snakes, 2/2 oozes, and 3/3 elephants!
But "magic" of this deck is when it is able to pull off a turn 3 Violent Ultimatum! KAPOW!
Let's look at the card choices.
The Creatures
The creatures are basically what you expect, given the standard environment. The weakest of these, I would say, would be Goblin Ruinblaster - having only the ability to blow up non-basics - it is weaker now in a meta where basic Plains and Mountains are in Tier 1 decks. The best I would say is Mold Shambler. This Hill Giant passes of as a 3/3 for 4, or a 3/3 for 6 that eats a land, an enchantment, an artifact, or even a planeswalker! Acidic Slime is good offensively and defensively. Lotus Cobra and Birds of Paradise are key ramp creatures essential to the deck's functioning.
The Spells
Without 3-mana Pillage or Stone Rain, Demolish is the most efficient land-destruction spell in the format (well, aside for the pseudo-land destruction spells in the guise of Spreading Seas and Convincing Mirage). Roiling Terrain punishes decks that fetches a lot. Violent Ultimatum is the star. When you're casting this bomb, you're surely winning in short time; although, in most matches I side them out for removal. And lastly is Lightning Bolt. As long as this baby is standard-legal, nobody should be playing a deck with red without it. IT IS A MUST.
The Sideboard
The sideboard is basically packed with removals. Terminate is an obvious best removal given the colors. Chandra is a way to deal with Baneslayer Angels (although I could cut this for Combust, maybe, but, I like Chandra's flexibility). Lavaball Trap is against Turboland, and Manabarbs against decks that taps a lot of lands to cast its spells.
Playing the Deck
I have to be honest: I only test my decks at Workstation. The deck is awesome against Jund! I had more games where the other player just disconnected than games I won. It has problems with red decks, almost unwinnable. The only strategy I have is to not play landy, but just play aggro. Even that is doubtful. Against Turboland is a tight one. However, game 2, when you are able to stick a Manabarbs, they just often concede. I haven't tested against control decks that much, so I don't know how it plays around Mana Leak and other counterspells yet.
Well, that's about it. Try building it (those who have the money to do so) and bring it in any FNM, and be hated! haha
Foot Note to Leaving*
Saying goodbye is an inappropriate song
enchantingly sung
to an audience afraid to criticize.
They pass it off because of its beauty,
not of its sense.
It is a curious thing to say
without even remembering the first meeting.
And in leaving,
a weight drags, taking time
to imagine and take things in.
Soon, it will be as common as breathing,
these goodbyes and despedidas.
Getting used to leaving
(unlike singing) doesn’t need much practice––
only an acceptance
of the way things are,
down that path of your choosing.
But more important than saying
these goodbyes, is the tracing,
and the finding
of the way back to the homes you have built,
the pasts you have sung off––
foreign notes and alien tunes––
music that once seemed so
familiar
now just a whisper
in the distance.
*for Fathers A, J, and M
enchantingly sung
to an audience afraid to criticize.
They pass it off because of its beauty,
not of its sense.
It is a curious thing to say
without even remembering the first meeting.
And in leaving,
a weight drags, taking time
to imagine and take things in.
Soon, it will be as common as breathing,
these goodbyes and despedidas.
Getting used to leaving
(unlike singing) doesn’t need much practice––
only an acceptance
of the way things are,
down that path of your choosing.
But more important than saying
these goodbyes, is the tracing,
and the finding
of the way back to the homes you have built,
the pasts you have sung off––
foreign notes and alien tunes––
music that once seemed so
familiar
now just a whisper
in the distance.
*for Fathers A, J, and M
first post: Ball or Top
Good 'ol top.
The new guy on the block...literraly.hi guys..from friendster, which is currently blocked here at the office, i'll be blogging here at blogspot. for my first post; it's something that i started asking myself since the prerelease of M11, the latest coreset of Magic the Gathering - a card game i just love playing (if you don't know anything about MTG, you can read about it here); anyway...this is the question:
Is Crystal Ball possibly the new Top?Well, obviously, the top is way better. It filters your library, it draws a card, it's obviously better in many ways than the ball, but in the current standard, can the ball be of any use? I wonder.
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