Dies to Removal

I'd try the list after the first WMCQ's or I might end up running it on the day itself.

Just started Simmons' Hyperion. I have high hopes!

Oh you will not be disappointed. The different stories are all amazing at how they tie into the overall narrative of the story. The third book, Endymion, begins with the best first line of any of them, "You are reading this for the wrong reason." Bastard.

Just for the sake of asking: I've read
The Fall of Hyperion last year and I didn't like it as much as I would have expected after reading the first one, thus never bothered starting the Endymion... seing such enthusiasm I guess that now is a good time to do so, isn't it?

Endymion and Rise of Endymion are very different from the other two. They take place several hundred years after the events of the first two novels and follow a different set of characters. Simmons has gotten a lot more philosophical with his writings, and these later novels reflect that trend.

@redthirst -- Yes, the overall structure of the first book follows a Canterbury Tales format. The series was inspired by a short story, "Remembering Siri", that he wrote for a previous collection, Prayers to Broken Stones. He didn't want to change the story, so he included it and built the structure around the travelers telling their tales to each other.

Good morning, oh great strider of the winds! How hangs it out south today? I wish I didn't have to work tonight so that I could goof off, but oh well. Are you contemplating getting in any Magic this week or does the lady have dibs on your Friday? We will be driving by you early Saturday morning as we head to Joplin for winter percussion championships at MO Southern.

I had a thought last night, clansmen (I know, run for your lives!). Zeman mentioned the Dega Midrange deck he had proposed a while back, and I found myself digging through the clan thread looking for the decklist. What do you guys think of having a clearinghouse thread for proposed decks, along the lines of the Rx deck garage but not locked into a given archetype? I'm not trying to recreate the wheel compared to the site discussion areas for decks, but rather am thinking more of a quick reference place for pet ideas, drunken epiphanies and the like which we may want to revisit. My thought is that I could just copy decks into such a thread as they appear; discussion could continue in the clan thread or be jumped over to the deck thread as appropriate.

Just a thought...feel free to tell me to keep my hands in my pockets.

Start whatever threads you like (that goes for everyone).

If it's popular - great; if not - we'll archive it.

Just stick it in the right place: new guy stuff - here; super secret spy shit - hidden forum; everything else - restricted.

Easy peasy.

Let's just not let it get to the point that we're not posting anywhere but the Clan area, though.

Sound good?

Huh... looks like a futuristic Tales of Canterbury.

Whan that aprill with his shoures soote!

Sorry...the original text of the Canterbury Tales is one of the first things my 10th grade English teacher had us read. At least, a few of them...not all. But for the whole rest of the year, he'd randomly burst into class and shout that.

He was a bit off...and probably helped shape my own level of "offness."

He even called a student a bitch once. It was hilarious.

Anyway, I just have to say...whenever I visit the MTGS forums these days, I get this feeling VERY distinctly.

I mean, it is a 4/3 on the first turn - and who doesn't want that?

Plus it's late-game reach...


Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?

Dude, could you imagine a deck full of just Mountains and Vexing Devils. That would beat any deck!

I came.

Let's just not let it get to the point that we're not posting anywhere but the Clan area, though.

Sound good?

Three posts in a row! Fuck the man

And yes, I agree with this wholeheartedly. I've been trying to spur some discussion in other areas myself. Being recluses isn't good for the overall health of the site.

I had a thought last night, clansmen (I know, run for your lives!). Zeman mentioned the Dega Midrange deck he had proposed a while back, and I found myself digging through the clan thread looking for the decklist. What do you guys think of having a clearinghouse thread for proposed decks, along the lines of the Rx deck garage but not locked into a given archetype? I'm not trying to recreate the wheel compared to the site discussion areas for decks, but rather am thinking more of a quick reference place for pet ideas, drunken epiphanies and the like which we may want to revisit. My thought is that I could just copy decks into such a thread as they appear; discussion could continue in the clan thread or be jumped over to the deck thread as appropriate.

nJust a thought...feel free to tell me to keep my hands in my pockets.

I'm down with this. I tend to brew a lot of decks in my head that may or may not be effective in a competitive environment and I'd love to have a thread dedicated to some of my non-red brews.

We've been discussing decks over in the deck areas...I think things are just stagnating a bit right now because Reanimator has a strong presence in the meta and we're a few weeks from prereleases on DGM. I don't imagine we're going to see much in the way of earth-shattering innovation between now and then, though Zeman and others have been proposing some damn nifty ideas (hence the idea of having a catchall thread to through deck ideas into). I need to grab some sleepy time for now, but I'll get a thread going later for pet projects and brewing ideas.

My 9th grade English teacher had a hard-on for making us memorize poetry and shit - memorizing the first like 40 lines of the Canterbury tales in old English was probably my least favorite thing about that class... which was, by far, my least favorite class.

Have a nice afternoon everyone!

It's one of those mornings where I'm completely uninterested in getting out of bed. I lay here wondering if missing 8 hours of pay is worth whatever else I'd do instead (probably not).

Day 53, mofos!

I have a lovely latina coming over tonight for wine and lots of sexual tension. Uh oh...

So, I'm going to Korea next week. Hope Kim Jong stays in his crib and doesn't throw his rattle at anyone while I'm there.

Okay, so I lied. The FoS brewing thread is now in place in the restricted section. NOW it is time for sleep!

Okay, so I lied. The FoS brewing thread is now in place in the restricted section. NOW it is time for sleep!

When you wake up you can probably edit or delete your post with my deck in it. We posted it at the same time...

We've been discussing decks over in the deck areas...I think things are just stagnating a bit right now because Reanimator has a strong presence in the meta and we're a few weeks from prereleases on DGM.

Gotta admit. This blows my mind. It feels like Gatecrash JUST came out...and it also feels like RTR had a MUCH longer pre-GTC run than GTC got before DGM.

Of course, a lot of people feel that VD wins games for them...perspective is a funny thing, and mine probably has a lot to do with it being the first set release since my return to the game. I had a lot to absorb...

And since I'm mainly playing limited right now, I also have trouble figuring out why Reanimator has so much presence, with so much viable graveyard hate. I mean, I
know all the arguments AGAINST graveyard hate, I guess I just have to see it in action for it to really click.

I think "reanimator" is so big right now because it actually encompasses Farseek-driven goodstuff decks. Their graveyard isn't necessary to the win...they mana ramp and once they start in with tusks and angels and such they are overwhelming. Aggro can still go under and get them dead, but when they are hitting early centaurs followed by tusks, they are buying a lot of ground. Just my local observations.

I mean, it is a 4/3 on the first turn - and who doesn't want that?

Plus it's late-game reach...


Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?

Dude, could you imagine a deck full of just Mountains and Vexing Devils. That would beat any deck!

I like that idea--using standard deck construction rules, you'll reliably deal between 0-16 damage every game! Sweet! 16 damage is a lot.

[quote="[url=viewtopic.php?p=47969#p47969:3fkep6qy]photodyer » Wed Apr 03, 2013 8:43 am[/url:3fkep6qy]":3fkep6qy]I think "reanimator" is so big right now because it actually encompasses Farseek-driven goodstuff decks. Their graveyard isn't necessary to the win...they mana ramp and once they start in with tusks and angels and such they are overwhelming. Aggro can still go under and get them dead, but when they are hitting early centaurs followed by tusks, they are buying a lot of ground. Just my local observations.[/quote:3fkep6qy]

This makes me a sad panda. I was happy once I found a deck with green that DIDN'T play tusk. Then Reanimator started to sound interesting...but it plays tusk.

I've said this before. I'm not trying to be hipstery...I just don't like the card and don't want to play it.

I like Zem's list except for the Reckoners, they can be in the SB if you want them for the mirror?

-4 Reckoner

+4 Brimstone Volley/Spears?

Boom!

Yeah the junk rites deck does well because even if you pack in GY hard, it can just become a midrange deck like every other deck on the farseek/thragtusk/resto plan, which feels like half the decks out there right now. I was the only guy in the top 4 at my FNM last week that wasn't playing thrag/resto in the deck. As for RTR feeling like forever, well the time between the main October release and the next set release is the longest

I think "reanimator" is so big right now because it actually encompasses Farseek-driven goodstuff decks. Their graveyard isn't necessary to the win...they mana ramp and once they start in with tusks and angels and such they are overwhelming. Aggro can still go under and get them dead, but when they are hitting early centaurs followed by tusks, they are buying a lot of ground. Just my local observations.

This makes me a sad panda. I was happy once I found a deck with green that DIDN'T play tusk. Then Reanimator started to sound interesting...but it plays tusk.

nI've said this before. I'm not trying to be hipstery...I just don't like the card and don't want to play it.

If they are going to make the format chock full of value creatures where you get somethnig from them no matter what (like they did with the Titans) can they at least give us mana leak back and stop making all these cards "that can't be countered" and rotate out that godforsaken land that makes your insane value creatures uncounterable? Is keeping mana leak and day of judgement in the format really that difficult? They make for good checks on creature based strategies.

WotC doesn't want good checks on creature based strategies because having your strategy nullified in any way isn't "fun" - they'd rather just have 100% goodstuff decks running around trying to out-value each other.

Good morning, oh great strider of the winds! How hangs it out south today? I wish I didn't have to work tonight so that I could goof off, but oh well. Are you contemplating getting in any Magic this week or does the lady have dibs on your Friday? We will be driving by you early Saturday morning as we head to Joplin for winter percussion championships at MO Southern.

'morning, Jerry.

Right now I'm the only one awake in the household. My wife has to work tonight, so she's sleeping through most of today. My son has apparently decided that his bedtime should be around midnight. It's a good thing the rest of us are regular night owls to keep up with him. It makes for some stressful late nights, but the quiet mornings are nice. My
daughter is off at school, probably bemoaning the fact that she has to take math class and suffering through untold bouts of teen angst.

I'm grading Technical Communication assignments since I have to teach that class this evening. Thankfully, most of these students have had their Composition classes before this, making their writing decidedly better. My Tuesday night class was an exercise in frustration when the students turned in their cause/effect essays. I turned back all but one of them for various errors, the most serious being an almost complete lack of understanding of how to use APA in-text citations and how to correctly format a References page. I've seen too much of that lately, so I'm refusing to accept any papers without correct citations and references. I'm being nice this time around and not docking any points, but subsequent essays without these items will be returned for revision and 10
points deducted from their totals. For fuck's sake, they can at least get the formatting of the paper correct, especially when I created an APA template for them.

As for magic this week, I don't know. My wife's last day at her current job is tomorrow night. She starts at East next week, so I should have Friday available to go play if I want it, but I've been considering taking her out to dinner on Friday night. I might take her out on Saturday evening if I can persuade the grandparents to take the youngest.

Plus, there's the fact that I'm not sure how I want to restructure Dos Rakis to compete in the current meta. When I get the time, I want to hodgepodge together a primer and get a discussion going about it. I've thought about going with a more consistent Red with a minor splash of black for Dreadbore, but I'm afraid I'd miss my Knights and Aristocrats too much.
I feel like I'm missing something important, some key interactions that can make that deck work again.

WotC doesn't want good checks on creature based strategies because having your strategy nullified in any way isn't "fun" - they'd rather just have 100% goodstuff decks running around trying to out-value each other.

Not that I disagree with your cynical evaluation...but honestly, WotC, doesn't massive amounts of lifegain nullify my strategy to reduce my opponent to zero? Bet you didn't think of THAT one when you were pointing the ship in this "new direction."

That makes games more fun - now both players get to play even more spells.

Headshot.

WotC doesn't want good checks on creature based strategies because having your strategy nullified in any way isn't "fun" - they'd rather just have 100% goodstuff decks running around trying to out-value each other.

I think they're just trying to get a huge influx of players. By making the game "fun" for beginners with the goodstuff decks, it appeals to many more people. The trend isn't sustainable, and I don't think the guys at WotC are oblivious to that fact. They're going to reign it back in and open up the control and combo archetypes again and take the emphasis away from "make dudes, turn sideways." They'll already have their influx of players who enjoy the game, then a subtle change to strategy can
occur in the next set and the next set, leading to deeper understanding of the game and in the end, more "fun."

Or maybe I'm just an optimist.

Last game I played that switched the game's emphasis to getting more players never got out of that as far as I know.

Everyone I knew quit that game.

So yeah, I'm hoping you're right.

WotC doesn't want good checks on creature based strategies because having your strategy nullified in any way isn't "fun" - they'd rather just have 100% goodstuff decks running around trying to out-value each other.

I think they're just trying to get a huge influx of players. By making the game "fun" for beginners with the goodstuff decks, it appeals to many more people. The trend isn't sustainable, and I don't think the guys at WotC are oblivious to that fact. They're going to reign it back in and open up the control and combo archetypes again
and take the emphasis away from "make dudes, turn sideways." They'll already have their influx of players who enjoy the game, then a subtle change to strategy can occur in the next set and the next set, leading to deeper understanding of the game and in the end, more "fun."

Or maybe I'm just an optimist.

I'm not a fortune teller, but I've suspected something like this is happening already.

I think we've already begun the "downward slide." After looking at all the complaints during the official Gatecrash spoiler season, and how much the set sucked on a competitive level, and how much WotC was "obviously" catering to Limited and EDH players, I got to thinking about the oft-quoted MaRo statement about the creatures <-> spells power level was a cycle.

That led me to wonder how much of the "obviously crap" stuff in Gatecrash might end up being incredibly awesome once Theros is in, and Innistrad is out.

I could be
completely up in the night, but I agree that they can't just keep making things bigger and better. A very subtle shift will be needed to keep from producing another Fallen Empires or Homelands, but if they have it planned out well enough, it could happen.

Last game I played that switched the game's emphasis to getting more players never got out of that as far as I know.

Everyone I knew quit that game.

So yeah, I'm hoping you're right.

You're not talking about the NGE, are you?

Warhammer Fantasy and 40k.

Morning folks!

My lit teacher just said: "...he's telling you that there is uncertainty all around you, but you have to choose something."

I feel like the world is conspiring in a Hyperion-like direction.

On WotC and the game: I subscribe to the "They have information we don't," and they probably know what they're doing. I've literally been ready to drop magic several times, but then they announce that we're Returning to Ravnica, or that the next set is Greco-Roman. Somehow, they get the right hook every time.

So, I'm going to Korea next week. Hope Kim Jong stays in his crib and doesn't throw his rattle at anyone while I'm there.

Best wishes, sir. Let me know if you need
any internet hook ups to avoid censorship, though I'm assuming you'll be in the South so it probably won't be an issue. What's the nature of your trip? Seems like a bad time to go

WotC tries to have it both ways.

Deep game with customization and infinite strategies=hardcore playerbase
Simple game with cool monsters/art and a variable reinforcement ratio=new/casual playerbase

I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually acknowledge that standard is not designed to be very deep or not designed for advanced/hardcore players. It may be the real reason they have pushed modern so hard; as an alternative to standard. I know that the "but modern's banlist is busted" argument applies here, but they are really supporting the format in a way that is unheard of for eternal formats. I hope it has more to do with the format gaining its footing, so that they can take some of the training wheels off eventually.

I'd be OK with that breakdown, Aesnath. If Modern catches the wave and becomes a serious format, I'll be pleased to play it for the majority of my games. The card pool is deep enough that I could build nearly any kind of deck I wanted without resorting to cards with a serious drawback.

Welp... time to start testing Modern seriously, I guess.

If that is the plan for breaking up the formats, I certainly hope Modern gets a lot more tournament lovin.

I think Unburial Rites is an extremely toxic card.

Not only can you play value creatures, but you can play them literally 3 times with Unburial rites. Add in Resto angels for ETB effects and its obscene.

Sure you can "counter" Unburial Rites easily with GY hate or counterspells, but then your deck is diluted against straight value creatures hard cast.

I'd like to try my hand at modern aggro builds, its just hard to break into that format when I started playing in RTR and have zero cards/knowledge of all the sets you can play with modern.

Maybe in a year or two if I'm still around, I'll be happy to break out some hellriders and go to town

I'm perfectly fine with them pushing Modern and making it the format of choice for "serious" players, as long as they ensure decent availability of cards.

I've read all the arguments, I can see the point of view of the collectors...but honestly, as someone who started the game back when it was new, and has a binder of old desired cards, like original dual lands...I couldn't care less if they started putting one of the Power Nine/ABUR dual lands in every booster, and they dropped to nothing. I want to build decks, and I want to play the game. I keep my cards so I can build any deck I want...not because I'm banking on them being worth something.

The speculation that Modern Masters is going to be incredibly small in print size, and may drive prices up (which I don't agree with, but I can see the argument for, and it makes me nervous) DOES give me some apprehension for the idea of Modern becoming the format for &
quot;real" players.

So, I'm going to Korea next week. Hope Kim Jong stays in his crib and doesn't throw his rattle at anyone while I'm there.

Best wishes, sir. Let me know if you need any internet hook ups to avoid censorship, though I'm assuming you'll be in the South so it probably won't be an issue. What's the nature of your trip? Seems like a bad time to go

Yes, it is South Korea, so I should be fine with regards to censorship.

I'm going to support some work on the control
system for a nuclear power plant. I'll be there for four weeks.

It is a bad time to go, but they're not going to stop construction. The power plant was supposed to be online sometime last year, but you know how schedules go.