#Flowstone Strike

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Flowstone Strike by Mike Ploog

[markrosewater]

Red used to get +N/-N (mostly on cards related to Flowstone). Clearly it can still get this affect for its own creatures, but are cards like Flowstone Strike and Flowstone Blade now considered breaks?

We don’t do them any more. My gut is more bend than break.

[rockislandadultreads]

Nonfiction Thursday: Crafting with Polymer Clay

Polymer Clay Jewelry by Linda Peterson

Hand-made jewelry is always in style. So why not go one step further and make your own beads?

Polymer clay is the material of choice and you will learn how to use free-form techniques and bead-rolling tools to create several styles. Sculpted effects, simulations of semi-precious stones, photo-image transfers and use of glitter and organic material mean the beads you make will be unique. All the tools you will need are listed, and finishing techniques, such as sanding, buffing and sealing, are described. Detailed instructions on how to use your own work to create stylish and individual pieces of jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets and earrings are also included. Basic techniques, such as stringing and fixing clasps, lead on to assembling all the components in designs and styles ranging from contemporary and elegant to simple and plain fun. Beginners and more advanced practitioners alike will find both practical advice and plenty of inspiration.

Make Cute Stuff with Polymer Clay by Shelley Kommers

In this inviting, visually appealing book, you can learn to make adorable, whimsical crafts with polymer clay. The author, an experienced art instructor and professional artist, takes you through the complete steps of learning to work with polymer clay, from the tools and materials you will need to techniques, such as molding, mixing colors, and baking. The projects are simple to follow, and include adorable, whimsical subject matter such as plant pots, fairy houses, sugar skulls, finger puppets, mobiles, and much more!

This book is perfect for artists of all skill levels, from beginners to more advanced artists looking to improve their clay-making skills or learn a new technique. With colorful, full-page art, quirky subject matter, and expert instructions, anyone can learn to work with polymer clay in no time. Best of all, the tools and materials are affordable and accessible, so you won’t need to buy a bunch of stuff to get started.

Flowstones by Amy Goldin

Flowstones are mesmerizing to look at and to hold―and they're easy to make! Conceived of by artist Amy Goldin, “flowstones” are crafted by molding a sheet of polymer clay around a smooth river rock. They impart a sense of calm to the holder, grounded by the weight and soothed by the smooth surface. Each stone’s unique shape and pattern gives it a beauty all its own. In Flowstones, Goldin shares beautiful photographs of the many stones she has created, captured in nature, where their striking appearance contrasts with landscapes of smooth river rocks, grassy parks, and sandy beaches. Goldin includes step-by-step illustrated instructions so even the most hesitant crafters can enjoy creating these delightful objects.

Kawaii Resin & Clay Workshop by Alex Lee

Kawaii your way—with resin and polymer clay! In Kawaii Resin and Clay Workshop, author and crafter Alex Lee of PolymomoTea YouTube and Instagram fame shares his amazing techniques, tips, and tricks for creating awwww-inspiring, heart-stoppingly cute tiny and little projects to wear and give.

Learn about the essential tools and techniques for working with these easy-to-use mediums, from shaping to adding color, and from casting to curing.

Discover 25 jaw-droppingly adorable projects that combine polymer clay and resin in fun and unique ways.

Find expert guidance on how to create and adapt designs for making jewelry and multiples.

[tomoleary]

Mike Ploog Magic: The Gathering: Nemesis "Flowstone Strike" Card Painting Original Art (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).

[i-am-nickelbolt]

Bronze to Mythic, Dominaria United premiere draft #1, new dad style! Which means I probably don’t have the time or energy to *actually* get to mythic this time, but whatever, lets gooooooo!

Pack 1 Pick 1, I took Tori D’Avenant out of a weak pack. I don’t like taking gold cards early unless they’re busted, and especially not one with double color pips (WW) but it was a weak pack. Pick 2 got me Ertai Resurrected, which is *exactly* the kind of gold card I will take pick 2. It’s busted, it’s splashable, short list for personal favorite card in the set, yes please! Pick 3, Lightning Strike over Timely Interference and Phyrexian Espionage. It’s still early, I will splash Lighting strike in UB or Ertai in UR, and its enough better than the other two cards, even though I want both of them. Pick 4 Tolarian Geyser, yessss. Pick 5 Impulse. This is maybe earlier than I would like, but I still think Impulse is pretty good in basically every blue deck. 4 cards is just so many cards to look at! Finished off the pack with a couple dual lands, Haunting Figment and Soaring Drake wheeled, I like where I’m at going into pack 2.

Pack 2 was not the greatest. Pick 1 Essence Scatter then the two Tolarian Serpents picks 4 and 6, but not much else. I was feeling a little cut off, but I think the packs were weak in UR spells because the other blue and red cards wheeled. Even so, I’m in good shape, I just needed spells over everything in pack 3. First five picks delivered: Lightning Strike, Timely Interference, two Flowstone Infusions, and an Impulse. Perfect. Deck is built.

The deck was good, not great. I think I drafted the seat correctly, at least I don’t think there was any busted deck I missed out on. These types of decks tend to be half and half. If you draw a mix, your deck is insane. If you draw only one half, your deck struggles. My first loss was to black/red grind-em-out. They just had better late game card advantage than I did, and I drew air on the last few turns.

My second loss was to the mirror. They were a little tricksier than me and my first blue was a tap land on turn 5 or 6. I think it’s a fine keep. Mulligans are awful in limited, don’t mulligan for the most part unless your hand is non-functional.

My third loss was kind of a heart-breaker. I thought I was super duper dead, but I somehow managed not to die (Ertai is busted). Then I thought I was winning somehow, but they had the blue Saga that wraths the board and makes that many zombies for each player. Even so, I was a tiny bit ahead, and just needed to draw an action spell. So many live draws in my deck, but I ended up drawing blanks.

Set seems super fun and interactive. I hope to play a lot more, but new dad style is not friendly to spending hours and hours drafting.

[inventors-fair]

Here are the runner-ups for the rock and roil contest! This was a very difficult contest to pick runner-ups for, so congratulations to the ones that got there!

-

@ignorantturtlegaming - Seraph of Immolation

Hot mama that’s a spicy angel. So at its base its a 4/3 flying first strike haste for four mana. That’s already very playable. I like the first strike anthem, that’s a cool way to give it some landfolk synergy. The land wakening ability probably didn’t need to untap, since that makes it pretty easy to go infinite with cards like Market Festival. Otherwise, though, two mana to turn a land into a 3/1 is a good cost-risk ratio, and the first strike interacts with that in a very cool way. The last ability is pricey enough that it won’t come up often, but interacts really well with every other part of the card (the keywords on her, going wide, the first strike). Honestly, if you dropped the untap from the activated ability and added a mana to the cmc it would easily have made it to the top. It’s still really cool, but I can’t ignore that it’s a touch too strong.

-

@whuh-oh​ - Morkrut Mists

This card is crazy! I jest, it’s actually just a nice card. It’s pretty smart to make a delirium card that’s an enchantment, since that’s one of the harder types to get into the graveyard so milling or discarding duplicates turns it on. I really like how +2/+2 and lifelink is a huge bonus, but having the delirium condition and only affecting horrors, a fairly weak tribe, balances it out. You have to put a lot of work into this card to make it strong, but ho boy is it strong once it gets there! The animation ability is also pretty clever, because while you will rarely use it before delirium is active, you can if you need a land in the graveyard. And then once it is active, it’ll probably be late enough in the game that you’ll have lands you don’t mind losing. I do have a few gripes about the card: I wish that it granted haste so you don’t get punished by misclicks, I wish it had more ways to help delirium other than just putting lands in the graveyard considering that’s one of the easier types to get in there anyway, and I think a +2/+2 buff is maybe too good for an uncommon if there are any other decently playable horrors in the set. But those are all still pretty minor or assumptive, so I still really like the card!

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@wolkemesser - Flowstone Flunkies

What a weird card! You can give all of your creatures +1/-1 until your next upkeep for a red mana, and you get to turn a land into a creature while you’re at it. So turn one you play this, next turn you attack for 4? Not a bad rate, but not overpowered. Similarly swinging for 10 on turn 4 but opening up your lands to 1-toughness kill spells seems like exactly the risks red should be doing. I like how this encourages you to play a lot of higher toughness red cards, something you don’t see a lot. In practice it’d probably be a lot of the 1 mana 1/2s they’ve been printing like ghitu lavarunner, soul scar mage, and swiftspear, but that’s still a deck worht making. This is a hard card to judge because of all its moving parts, but I really like how genuinely unique it is, and it’s a great take on the prompt. My only issue is I wish it gave the lands haste, because nobody wants to have to keep track of that. This was the very first card entered, and it never really left the back of my mind. The only thing that kept it from the winners circle was the complexity and possible power concerns.

-

Commentary is all written up and should be out to you all soon. Good jobs all around though!

-Mod Mr. ShinyObject

[inguk-ia]

Flowstone or Fluorite // Open Event Starter

We dig up diamonds by the score  A thousand rubies, sometimes more But we don't know what we dig 'em for We dig dig dig a-dig dig

It was involuntary. Unavoidable. He just couldn’t help himself. The clinking of each strike of the hammer and pick stoked the fire that lived, burning, in his stomach’s furnace. When the chisel hit just right and revealed a new section of earth, there was a minuscule mental moment of bated breath, hoping a glimmer of color would shine through the dark underground terrain. Thickly gloved hands would rub at palm sized bumpy mounds of earth, working to possibly reveal a crude mineral that would later be shaped and shined by those same gloved hands.

Of course, he had to keep an eye and careful ear out for his surroundings. Inguk had ventured decently far, though not too deeply, into the Davelis caves. These were likely already well excavated (or perhaps eroded by the weather, he hadn’t decided yet whether they were man made), but the mining experience was far too enjoyable for this hard working steambot. It was likely quite illegal that he was doing this without a permit or rights to the land. So, the tools stayed securely in his belt and he was ready to continue his whistle and twiddle his thumbs the second it looked as though he were caught. No need to be arrested in a foreign country… again.

[argentvive]

Jaime’s Fate: A Clue in A Feast for Crows

AFFC has twice as many Brienne chapters as Jaime chapters, but Jaime thinks about and pines for Brienne as much as she does for him.

I’ve finally made it to Jaime III in AFFC, more than halfway through the book.  Jaime thinks about Brienne A LOT, but he also thinks about what he’d like his name and destiny to be.  In my opinion, the chapter provides a massive clue for Jaime’s fate at the end of the series.  

(The events in Jaime III are not in the TV series, so this is a still from Episode 7.07, where we see Jaime riding away from King’s Landing in search of his destiny.)

The chapter begins with Cersei telling Jaime she wants him to go to Riverrun to defeat Brynden Tully.  She is in green again, while Jaime--

<”All the color is draining out of you, brother. You’ve become a ghost of what you were, a pale crippled thing. And so bloodless, always in white.”>

Cersei’s comment reinforces that Jaime is in the albedo (White stage) now.  

When Jaime sets off on his mission we learn that his two mounts are named Honor and Glory.  Honor wears the white of the Kingsguard, Glory the Lannister crimson, a subtle clue that Jaime’s path is honor now, not glory.  

Jaime recruits the executioner Ilyn Payne for the mission. As they ride together, Jaime muses, “Perhaps there is yet hope for the both of us.”  It’s hard to imagine redemption for Payne, but the insight into Jaime’s thoughts shows us that redemption is what Jaime wants for himself.

This chapter gives us the first detailed description of Jaime’s prosthetic hand:

<The hand was wrought of gold, very lifelike, with inlaid nails of mother-of-pearl, its fingers and thumb half closed so as to slip around a goblet’s stem....”Men shall name you Goldenhand from this day forth, my lord,” the armorer ha assured him the first time he’d fitted it onto Jaime’s wrist. He was wrong. I shall be the Kingslayer till I die.>

The war party take shelter one night in a castle of the Hayfords.  Jaime opens the shutters in his tower room and sees a “horned moon.”  When we get a reference to the moon, we should know Jaime’s thoughts will soon be turning to Brienne.  

Jaime and Payne go to the castle courtyard to spar.  Jaime is trying to learn to fight left-handed.   “Payne was as rusty as his ringmail, and not so strong as Brienne....They danced beneath the horned moon as the blunted swords sang their steely song.”  Symbolically perhaps, Brienne is keeping watch over Jaime still.

As the column crosses from the lands belonging to King’s Landing to those sworn to Riverrun, they see increasing signs of looting and slaughter.  Jaime dispenses justice:

<...Some outlaws had taken shelter in the root cellar beneath the second brother’s keep.  One of them wore the ruins of a crimson cloak, but Jaime hanged him with the rest.  It felt good. This was justice. Make a habit of it, Lannister, and one day men might call you Goldenhand after all. Goldenhand the Just.>

This seems pretty straightforward foreshadowing to me.  Honor and justice are qualities that go with a protagonist who has achieved the Red Stone, and all the gold that goes with it.  Jaime is not there yet; he has only achieved the White Stone.  He must still pass through the Exaltation stage.  He must renounce and abandon Cersei.  Only then can--and will--he be truly worthy, truly honorable.  Only then will he lose the hated “Kingslayer” name and be acclaimed as “Goldenhand the Just.”

In the following sentence we learn that the soldiers are going to Harrenhal.  Harrenhal is where Jaime and Brienne experienced their final, permanent Chemical Wedding, in the baths.  Harrenhal is also where Jaime threw caution and good sense aside and jumped into the bear pit to save Brienne.  You would expect the rest of the chapter to be full of references to Jaime’s experiences with Brienne, and you would be right. 

<Jaime found himself wondering if Brienne might have passed this way before him.>

Jaime finds out that Vargo Hoat, the raider who had ordered his maiming, has died, been cut into pieces, and (mostly) eaten.

<Somehow revenge had lost its savor.>

The only way the civil war can end is if the endless cycles of revenge and retribution cease.  Jaime is losing his own desire for revenge--perhaps he can exert his leadership and be a model for others in this regard.  

Jaime shows mercy to the remaining captives--including the girl Pia and Ser Wylis Manderly.  After taking dinner with Ser Bonifer Hasty, a deeply religious man that Jaime appoints to command the garrison, Jaime descends to the courtyard to watch his men sparring.  But an unseen force draws him away.

<His fingers had the itch again. His footsteps took him away from the noise and the light. He passed beneath the covered bridge and through the Flowstone Yard before he realized where he was headed.

As he neared the bear pit, he saw the glow of a lantern....>

Ser Ronnet Connington is there.

<Below, the carcass of the bear still sprawled upon the sands, though only bones and ragged fur remained, half-buried. Jaime felt a pang of pity for the beast. At least he died in battle.”> 

And so Jaime returns to the scene of his rescue of Brienne.  He does not intend to go there. As is common with protagonists in an alchemy story, he acts subconsciously, on instinct, propelled by some invisible force.  This is, in an odd way, a reunion with Brienne.  As I wrote in my earlier post on the rescue, the bear is a lunar animal, white, and symbolizes Brienne.  Even though the bear might have killed both Brienne and himself, he feels “a pang of pity” for the bear now.

And you know if Jaime is thinking about Brienne that somehow GRRM will work in a reference to the pink dress, and he doesn’t disappoint.  Jaime recounts the story to Connington:

<”The Mummers put her in a pink silk gown and shoved a tourney sword into her hand.>

Again, Jaime is Red and Brienne is White, and one of the symbols of their conjunction (coniunctio)  in the Chemical Wedding is her pink dress.

Connington describes the circumstances of his brief engagement to Brienne, in increasingly insulting terms.

<”The bear was less hairy than that freak, I’ll---”

Jaime’s golden hand cracked him across the mouth so hard the other knight went stumbling down the steps. His lantern fell and smashed, and the oil spread out, burning. ”You are speaking of a highborn lady, ser. Call her by her name Call her Brienne.”>

Jaime is defending Brienne’s honor.  Since they are alchemically one person now, an insult to her is an insult to him, and he strikes Connington.  Also, I think this is the third or fourth time Jaime has insisted that Brienne be called by her proper name.  Names mean a lot to him; he longs to shed his own hated “Kingslayer” sobriquet.   

One thing I’m not sure of is whether to take the reference to the burning oil from the lantern and the “spreading flames on [Connington’s] hands and knees” as some kind of coagula.  Fire usually has a symbolic meaning in an alchemy story, but I can’t figure out what it could mean here.  I don’t think Connington becomes a major character later. 

[allyouneedishype-blog]

(Book) Jaime appreciation post (I)

After being extremely pissed at what D&D have done to Jaime in the show (especially after 7x03), here comes a post to remind everyone about that amazing character development that we should be witnessing since season 3. We really can’t understand what’s the whole point of stopping a redemption arc of one of the most interesting and complex characters of this story, a character you begin hating and despising but end up admiring and loving (for most people) because of the person he’s becoming/become. We think we’re gonna leave the ranting here because we had finally managed to (kind of) cool down since yesterday and we don’t want to get salty again.

So, here goes our appreciation/comparison post of (book) Jaime/Season 3 Jaime, showing the beginning of that redemption arc (when book Jaime and show Jaime still had something in common). Hope you enjoy it!

Part I:

Jaime ran his fingers through his hair. “Walton,” he said, “saddle the horses. I want to go back.”

“Back?” Steelshanks regarded him dubiously. He thinks I’ve gone mad. And perhaps I have. “I left something at Harrenhal.”

Jaime’s head jerked round at the sound of a distant roar, faint but ferocious. It echoed off the walls of Harrenhal, and the laughter swelled up like the sea.

All of a sudden, he knew what was happening. Have we come too late? His stomach did a lurch, and he slammed his spurs into his horse, galloping across the outer ward, beneath an arched stone bridge, around the  Wailing Tower, and through the Flowstone Yard.

They had her in the bear pit.

Brienne wore the same ill-fitting gown she’d worn to supper with Roose Bolton. No shield, no breastplate, no chainmail, not even boiled leather, only pink satin and Myrish lace. Maybe the goat thought she was more amusing when dressed as a woman. Half her gown was hanging off in tatters, and her left arm dripped blood where the bear had raked her.

At least they gave her a sword. The wench held it one-handed, moving sideways, trying to put some distance between her and the bear. That’s no good, the ring’s too small. She needed to attack, to make a quick end to it. Good steel was a match for any bear. But the wench seemed afraid to close. The Mummers showered her with insults and obscene suggestions. “This is none of our concern,” Steelshanks warned Jaime. “Lord Bolton said the wench was theirs, to do with as they liked.” “Her name’s Brienne.”

“Pull her out of there.”

Bellowing in fury, the bear showed a mouth full of great yellow teeth, then fell back to all fours and went straight at Brienne. There’s your chance, Jaime thought. Strike! Now!

She moved around the pit, keeping the wall at her back. Too close. If the bear pins her by the wall… The beast turned clumsily, too far and too fast. Quick as a cat, Brienne changed direction. There’s the wench I remember.

Where’s the blood? Then suddenly he understood. Jaime rounded on Hoat. “You gave her a tourney sword.”

“I’ll pay her bloody ransom. Gold, sapphires, whatever you want. Pull her out of there.”

“You want her? Go get her.”

So he did.

Jaime VI, ASOIAF A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin.

[super-lemon-sama]

Mariana's "Gem guardian" WARNING there's a lot to read so if you want a summary skip to the end Zircon used to be a member of Captain Ray's crew He left after having a heated argument with Captain ray over money. (he wanted to keep more of the money and goods for the crew, she wanted to keep giving it to the poor) After that he started doing bounty hunters work for the obsidian market [homeworlds black market] after being approached by one of the obsidian markets leaders and offered a job, he began taking high paying bounties and "retrieval" jobs and started selling the gem shards and corrupted gems on the market Zircon was trying to capture a corrupted gem on earth when it attacked a cruise ship what he didnt know about the job before taking it was that the corrupted gem in question was ten times the size of a cruise ship and all teeth and tentacles. the beast wrapped itself around the ship and was trying to crack it in half zircon ran aboard and started making his way to the ships deepest room. his plan was to drill through the bottom of the ship and attack the tender belly of the creature that was wrapped around the ship. before he could even go bellow deck however he was stopped by a young human girl crying her eyes out. she was weeping about how her parents were gone and she couldnt find them. He was irritated that this stupid thing was getting in the way and was about to yell at her when she let out and ear piercing shriek "BEHIND YOU!" He dropped down just in time to dodge a tentacle. a little bit of time passes where she tries to attack the creature head on and the girl some how helps him however when he is about to strike the ship snaps in half and the next thing he knows is that he's hurt badly and sinking rapidly. the first thing he sees is small human girl wildly flailing and yet sinking faster than he. she reaches out for him before passing out he's idle for a moment but when air escapes her mouth and the bubbles fly up past his face he jumps into action grabbing her and swimming towards the surface He found a half submerged cave and dropped her there did a few compression she sputtered and began to breath again but remained unconscious he sighed with relief, and collapsed against a flowstone column before reverting back into his gem from The girl awoke with partial amnesia and decided to live on her own until her parents... or the mysterious hero showed up his gem kind of grew onto the flowstone column he collapsed on as the years went bye. mariana (the girl now older) thought it was just a normal gem and would admire it and monologue to it often one day she was monologue-ing to the gem and started talking about the vague memory she had of someone bringing her here, and how she wasn't sure if it was real or a dream. she got frustrated and started tearing up. she kicked a small rock and it flew up and smashed into a small stalactite, that then crashing down not hitting the gem but the growth right above it. there was a loud popping noise and the gem rocked out, landing right at her feet. she picked it up looking deeply into it That's when he reformed of coarse. scaring the shit out of her. at first she tried to fight him she didn't like him blah blah blah but he explained to her how he felt obligated to care for her since she had kept him company for so long (plus a bunch of other reasons) Zircon is kind of a spoiled prince character he acts kind of deadpan with a "I am right and if you dont you do what I say, then you're obviously an idiot" kind of attitude. especially after so many years of being a very proffesional and deadly bounty hunter, as well as one sided conversations has left his compassion a little crippled His personality and attitude can make it seem like he doesnt care but her actually cares about Mariana a lot. But other than what Mariana has told him while in his gem he doesn't know much else about humans. certainly not enough to really help her that much (yet) [here's a bit about a love triangle that I might change or completely get rid of later, you can most certainly skip if you mostly just want to read about zircon] there's this weird back and forth love triangle thing going on between Mariana Richard and Zircon Mariana does actually like Richard and would like to talk to him about her problems but she's so stubborn she wont, Richard want to help her and see some mysterious and kind traits in her but interacting with her is such a hassle and can end badly, zircon cares about Mariana a lot and sees himself as her guardian and in a way she was his, zircon sees that Richard cares about mariana  and respects him a lot and will go to him (more like let himself into his house when ever he feels like) when ever he's unsure on how to help Mariana but he also gets a sense of annoyance about him due to mariana being stubborn and getting annoyed when Richard tries to help her, Richard feels kind of the same towards zircon, he's very mysterious and interesting, he's attracted (both in a social curiosity and romantic sense) to the pair (zircon and mariana) and he's not totally sure why. [end] Zircon has kept his gem a secret for a long time. he had body augmentations that would allow him to summon a weapon without his gem being exposed. the weapon wasn't HIS weapon, but a simple gem made gun. (im unsure if i want to do guns but oh wellll) this is supposed to show how his personality and affections were closed off. he wasnt wiling to reveal anything weak about himself or connect to others however when he is reformed a second time his outfit changes (and I might change his hair, but im still unsure) to reveal his gem it's to symbolize how he's changed he's more open and friendly, and wiling to reach out, and be reached out to. he also begins to use his real weapon(s) (which are large drills on either one or both of his hands) Summary: a rouge gem bounty hunter goes to earth to capture a corrupted gem monster but ends up saving a small human girl from drowning instead after saving her he goes back into his gem for many many years and grows onto the cave he left her in the small girl in now a young adult living in the half submerged cave he had left her in she often talks to the gem as a muse of sorts telling it about her problems and dreams and what not he comes out of his gem and thanks her for keeping him company and declares he will be there for her like she was for him. they are both grumpy and stubborn and arent good friends at first but of coarse eventually become best friends and maybe even lovers?????

[i-am-nickelbolt]

Bronze to Mythic, Dominaria United premiere draft #3, new dad style!

Pack 1, pick 1 Squee, Dubious Monarch. Nothing dubious here, I’m snapping off the Goblin Rabblemaster with escape. Pick 2 Lightning Strike over Urborg Lhurgoyf. Lightning Strike is a nice aggressive on-color card, and Urborg Lhurgoyf, while powerful, is a bit of a non-bo with Squee. Pick 3 Balduvian Atrocity over Rulik Mons, Warren Chief. I’ve been really impressed with Balduvian Atrocity when my opponents have played it, and now I’m hoping to get a bunch of Phyrexian Ragers. Pick 4 Knight of Dusk’s Shadow over Extinguish the Light. I’m feeling pretty dialed in to red/black. Pick 5 Phyrexian Rager over Hurler Cyclops and Flowstone Infusion. Passing the Cyclops hurts, but I really value keeping my curve low. Pick 6 I took a random rare over Urborg Repossession which is definitely wrong, but I don’t really want to be splashing in my focused, low to the ground aggro deck. Pick 7 Eerie Soulmender over Uurg, spawn of Turg. I don’t want to be tempted to splash. Pick 8 Cult Conscript, which is a *fantastic* card for my deck. Pick 9 Gibbering Barricade over Braids’ Frightful Return. The Return is a card that I don’t really know how to evaluate, I think it’s a high ceiling, low floor kind of card. Pick 10 Splatter Goblin, nice. Pick 11 Phyrexian Vivisector, pick 12 In Thrall to the Pit. So pack 1 went really well, my curve basically stops at 3, black is wide open, and my red cards are busted.

Pack 2, Pick 1 Braids, Arisen Nightmare, and after playing with it, it’s now one of my favorite cards in the set. Hoping a Cult Conscript wheels since I got mine 8th pick. Pick 2 Lightning Strike. Pick 3 Phyrexian Rager. Pick 4 was a dud pack, I picked Keldon Flamesage because it was rare over an off-color dual. Pick 5 another dud pack, taking a rare over Gibbering Barricade and Keldon Strike Team. Pick 6 Geothermal Bog over Yavimaya Steelcrusher. Pick 7 second Phyrexian Vivisector over second Bog and second Eerie Soultender. Pick 8 Extinguish the Light, and then I wheeled two Goblin Picker, a card that I think people need on their radar, especially in low-curve aggro decks like this one.

Pack 3, Pick 1 Splatter Goblin in yet another dud pack. Pick 2 Garna, Bloodfist of Keld really got me pumping the fist though. Red/black chump attack!

The deck was exactly what I had hoped for in terms of mana curve, but my average card quality was maybe a little lacking? I didn’t feel like I got cut off, there were plenty of red and black cards available, but this is maybe something worth remembering about red/black: A lot of the better red and black cards have kickers in other colors, and are not particularly good in red/black if you can’t kick them.

My first loss was after going 4-0 very easily (I drew Braids a lot.) They were Aggro red/white on the play, they had cheap interaction and fliers, and I got stuck on a clunky hand with only 3 lands and couldn’t really make any headway.

My second loss was to Domain, and I feel like this one got away. The order in which they drew their cards matched up really well with what I was doing. The turning point of the game was when they had Destroy Evil for my Knight of Dusk’s Shadow that I pumped twice (even though they didn’t cast it in combat.) The funny part is I was thinking about that card, but they hadn’t played any white cards at all up until this point, and it seems like a funny card to splash to me, so I figured I was safe. If I didn’t pump a second time, I would have won this game. Even then though, they still had to topdeck something (a Meria’s Outrider) to kill me, or Squee and Phoenix Chick would have been enough.

My third loss was to Esper Tokens, and it’s another game that I think might have gotten away. I maybe got too aggressive in the early game, but at the same time tokens can be pretty hard for me to deal with, as they kind of blank my menace creatures. That being said, patience would have let me chump-attack with Splatter Goblins for better value. But even so, I was basically empty-handed, and they resolved a Silver Scrutiny for 5, and it still ended up being close, which makes me think I missed it. They used to say that if you play a red deck and your opponent wins at 1 life, you missed lethal somewhere, and that’s how I felt.

A couple observations:

Rakdos has a surprising amount of card draw and selection. Goblin Picker, Phyrexian Vivisector, and Phyrexian Rager are all common, and a bunch of other cards have incidental virtual card advantage of some kind. I felt like I was able to filter away lands incredibly easily or dig to important spells. Goblin Picker in particular is a card that is easy to pick up and should make the cut in most low-curve red decks.

Braids is *disgusting.* Probably second favorite card in this set after Ertai. But Splatter Goblin doesn’t combo as well with Braids as you might hope. If they only have one creature with 1 toughness, they can sacrifice that creature to Braids before the Splatter Goblin’s death trigger resolves, so it’s rarely a 2-for-1.

In Thrall to the Pit has felt surprisingly decent. It reminds me of how Threaten effects used to be reasonable maindeck cards in aggressive decks 20 years ago. I had a second one that I maybe should have played.

[i-am-nickelbolt]

Bronze to Mythic, Dominaria United premiere draft #2, new dad style!

Pack 1, pick 1 Fires of Victory over Lagomos, Hand of Hatred and Citizen’s Arrest. Mostly personal preference. It’s cheaper than Arrest, the kicker is nice to have but not necessary, and I was eyeing the Tolarian Terror on the wheel. Pick 2 Talas Lookout, perfect. Pick 3 a RW dual over a bunch of medium red playables. Pick 3 is a little early for duals, but this spot where everything else is medium is where I like taking them. Pick 4 Talas Lookout. Pick 5 Phyrexian Rager over Tribute to Urborg and no blue or red cards. Could go either way on this one. Pick 6 Tolarian Geyser over Tolarian Terror. Pick 7 Soaring Drake. Pick 8 UW dual. The Terror from pick 1 wheeled, as did basically all the other blue cards from the next packs. Blue is wide open, but I could go black or red and splashing white is pretty easy.

Pack 2, pick 1 Lightning strike over The Raven Man and Frostfist Strider, and again eyeing a Tolarian Terror on the wheel. The Raven Man I don’t think does much in limited, and Lightning Strike is the cheaper card of what’s left. Pick 2 Timely Interference over Raff, Weatherlight Stalwart and Impulse. I think there’s a world where I could have taken Raff and leaned into UW, but I keep saying this, the cheaper single color card is where I’m at most of the time. From here on out, not much else to say except no one else is drafting blue.

Pack 3, I opened Serra Paragon, which... what could have been, am I right? I was happy enough taking Flowstone Infusion and eye a third Tolarian Terror for the wheel.

So this deck felt pretty close to being busted. Lots of cheap spells and 3 Tolarian Terrors feels great. So what happened?

I won my first 3 matches, although the second match my opponent had a busted GR deck with multiple rares and great uncommons. I think they expected their deck to win through sheer power, I don’t think they played particularly well, and I’m sure they missed the winning line at the end of the game. 

4th match I lost to RB grind-em-out again. The thing that really won it for them was that they had two of the 2/3 menace that returns a guy with haste, the creature in the graveyard was Flowstone Kavu, and I had bounce spells. I think i messed up the last turn, but I’m not sure. I was at 7 with 3 creatures against their two 2/3 menace guys, and I figured attacking with one creature was safe to set up a possible kill next turn backed up with my bounce spells I was unable to use. But they came back with a removal spell to let their menace creatures attack freely and a Lightning Strike. They must have just drawn it.

5th match I lost because I abandoned the game because, well, I am an mtg dad, so when my 3 month old son cries, I have to take care of him.

6th match was the same. I thought I was fine to squeeze a game in, but no, duty calls. Shame too, I was going to win this one very easily. Arena needs emotes for parents! Sorry, my kid needs me, congrats on the free win! It’s unfortunate, but it’s part of the mtg dad life. Someday, gods willing, we will be playing Magic together.

[mtgbracket]

Round of 8192 - Batch 82

You can now vote in Batch 82!

Currently open batches:

Batch 82 Batch 81 Batch 80 Batch 79 Batch 78 Batch 77 Batch 76

Batch 75 results will be up shortly.

Feature match: Powerful and off-colour pie enchantment Drop of Honey is against slightly off-colour hasty returning beater, Vengevine.

Full list of matchups:

Cover of Winter vs Otherworldly Journey Séance vs Henchfiend of Ukor Gempalm Incinerator vs Aether Gale Hellkite Igniter vs Beacon of Immortality Rack and Ruin vs Streetbreaker Wurm Horror of Horrors vs Coercive Portal Slaughter vs Thundermare Indrik Stomphowler vs Cephalid Sage Revelsong Horn vs Breaker of Armies Bound in Silence vs Spectral Shepherd Ashen Powder vs Acquire Chalice of Life vs Dragonlord Dromoka Kiku's Shadow vs Possibility Storm Psychic Miasma vs Fastbond Nikko-Onna vs Glacial Fortress Hunted Troll vs Thunder Strike Fiery Mantle vs Hum of the Radix Aerial Maneuver vs Brass Herald Concordia Pegasus vs Ichorclaw Myr Raven Familiar vs Contagion Soldevi Excavations vs Spreading Seas Into the North vs Pure // Simple Flowstone Hellion vs Ancestral Vision Gitaxian Probe vs Darkwater Catacombs Grand Architect vs Encroaching Wastes Unbreathing Horde vs Merfolk Looter Energy Vortex vs Fathom Mage Chlorophant vs To Arms! Vengevine vs Drop of Honey Sawback Manticore vs Scarland Thrinax Brave the Elements vs Damia, Sage of Stone Bounteous Kirin vs Kraum, Ludevic's Opus

[mtgbracket]

Round of 16384 - Batch 250

Batch 250 voting is now open. The following polls are currently open:

Batch 250 Batch 249 Batch 248 Batch 247 Batch 246 Batch 245 Batch 244

Batch 243 results will be up soon.

The full list of matchups for today is:

Public Execution vs Battle-Rattle Shaman Scion of Darkness vs Preemptive Strike Devout Monk vs Invasive Surgery Deathlace vs Forfend Jet Medallion vs Furyborn Hellkite Metrognome vs Plasm Capture Clinging Mists vs Mammoth Umbra Coma Veil vs Promise of Power Leaden Fists vs Bloodletter Quill Karplusan Minotaur vs Topan Freeblade Selective Memory vs Suffocating Blast Cache Raiders vs Solitary Hunter Insolent Neonate vs Flash Foliage Cyclopean Tomb vs Confound Joraga Bard vs Heliod's Emissary Mindstab Thrull vs Silence Herald of Anafenza vs Carrion Wurm Arctic Aven vs Spearpoint Oread Ribbon Snake vs Moorland Inquisitor Primitive Justice vs Eunuchs' Intrigues Aesthetic Consultation vs Titan Forge Abyssal Hunter vs Conduit of Storms Fugitive Druid vs Kobold Taskmaster Stratus Walk vs Rootwater Shaman Goblin Welder vs Curse of Oblivion Nihil Spellbomb vs Liliana's Reaver Tendo Ice Bridge vs Searing Spear Askari Cragganwick Cremator vs Air Elemental Thief of Blood vs Whirling Dervish Black Cat vs Boompile Call to Heel vs Fault Line Flowstone Embrace vs Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

[mtgbracket]

Round of 16384 - Batch 163

Batch 163 voting is now open. The following polls are currently open:

Batch 163 Batch 162 Batch 161 Batch 160 Batch 159 Batch 158 Batch 157

Batch 156 results will be up soon.

The full list of matchups for today is:

Alloy Myr vs Looming Spires Waterwhirl vs Falkenrath Reaver Grave Pact vs Viridian Longbow Winds of Rath vs Downdraft Clear the Land vs Clifftop Retreat Valor vs Guided Strike Veiled Serpent vs Spiteful Shadows Zektar Shrine Expedition vs Brimaz, King of Oreskos Hell-Bent Raider vs Archers of Qarsi Suture Priest vs Devouring Strossus Kitsune Diviner vs Dimensional Infiltrator Glen Elendra Liege vs Karplusan Wolverine Master Healer vs Amphibious Kavu Coercive Portal vs Tranquil Domain Flowstone Channeler vs Rainbow Crow Onyx Goblet vs Hypnotic Specter Trading Post vs Ambassador Laquatus Vapor Snare vs Emcee Desolation vs Rune of Protection: Black Crusader of Odric vs Boros Charm Red Cliffs Armada vs Soltari Priest Accursed Centaur vs Necroplasm Altar of Shadows vs Desperate Stand Thought Harvester vs Increasing Devotion Sadistic Hypnotist vs Nahiri's Wrath Dust Corona vs Seeds of Renewal Copper Tablet vs Hallowed Moonlight Alpha Brawl vs Thornweald Archer Haunted Crossroads vs Selvala's Stampede Squire vs Despoil Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed vs Nyxborn Shieldmate Loaming Shaman vs Soul's Majesty

[mtgbracket]

Round of 16384 - Batch 126

Batch 126 voting is now open.  The following polls are currently open:

Batch 126 Batch 125 Batch 124 Batch 123 Batch 122 Batch 121 Batch 120

Batch 119 results will be up soon.

The full list of matchups for today is:

Pious Evangel vs Telekinetic Bonds Sadistic Sacrament vs Flowstone Wyvern Season of the Witch vs Disrupting Shoal Mindclaw Shaman vs Veiled Sentry Lumbering Falls vs Mtenda Lion Parasitic Strix vs Marshal's Anthem Song of Blood vs Meditation Puzzle Bloated Toad vs Earthbrawn Lightning Strike vs Dwarven Weaponsmith Tranquil Grove vs Titanium Golem Wanderlust vs Sphinx of the Final Word Niblis of the Breath vs Wolfcaller's Howl Goblin Kites vs Giant Scorpion Metathran Soldier vs Illness in the Ranks Grid Monitor vs Ash Barrens Chainbreaker vs Myr Superion Palisade Giant vs Caravan Hurda Crosstown Courier vs Warren-Scourge Elf Malignus vs Hunted Wumpus Briber's Purse vs Spreading Algae Confiscate vs Chimeric Coils Hidden Retreat vs Cloudcrest Lake Benalish Trapper vs Blastoderm Zombie Assassin vs Topsy Turvy Tidal Courier vs Howling Banshee Glaze Fiend vs Fighting Drake Gustcloak Harrier vs Chancellor of the Tangle Ghostly Flicker vs Ogre Warrior Genesis vs Arrow Volley Trap Panharmonicon vs Phytoburst Roterothopter vs Bone to Ash Oversoul of Dusk vs Brimstone Mage