"More Cinnamon"

"More Cinnamon"

by:

Alessandria Venice R. De leon

Once upon a time,  there was a peasant child who was starving. There was a bakery nearby , but he hadn't any money. All he could do was sniff and stare at the delicious buns through the storefront. 

The baker's wife was having trouble deciding if she should add more cinnamon to the bread she was baking but she was quite full and couldn't bear even a sliver.There was no one around the house but her. She spotted the peasant child and wondered if she could trust him not to steal her bread. She came to a realization that trusting the child was the only way she would know if she should add more cinnamon. She called out to the child and told him what she wanted him to do. He agreed.

What the baker's wife didn't know , is that she was about to be tricked by the child! The baker's wife handed him a fresh bun with tiny red dots of cinnamon powder. He chewed with such vigor. "More Cinnamon" , He demanded.

And so came another bun. And another. And Another. And another. And many , many others.Each one was significantly sweeter than the last. When he was sure that he was full, he stopped demanding buns.

"You know,  the first one was perfect!" He said as he ran away. The baker's wife came to a shocking realization. She'd been tricked. She took a look at the oven and saw that all her buns had been eaten by the boy! Oh how stupid she felt!

From then on , she learned two valuable lessons.One , she should just leave the baking to her husband. And two, never trust a peasant child.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Editor's Note:

This is Aven's first published short story. This appears unedited. 

"Armory Automaton:General Grievous mode"

"Armory Automaton:General Grievous mode"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

There are a subset of magic players that love playing with equipment card and I usually call them endearingly as Magbabakals since they have an inordinately huge amount of hardware to kill you with. I also happen to count myself in this group because I love collecting swords and spears and axes ever since I played the original Lord of the Rings card game.

The latest toy for players in this subset is the Armory Automaton. For 3 colorless mana you get a 2/2 construct that magnetizes all of your existing equipments in play as it enters the battlefield.Making it an animated version of the Iron Throne. Now just let your mind wrap around that image for a moment and then let us continue.

Not only does attach equipments as an ETB , tt also does the same when it begins attacking and it goes into General Grievous mode. 4 arms. 4 different weapons but in EDH you might be packing a lot more than 4 so I expect it to grow a lot of extra hands.

When playing with the Armory Automaton it is important to have a Lightning Greaves in play so that your opponents cannot spoil your fun with a well timed removal. I guess you dont have to worry much if you have the Kaldra Artifacts in play or  a SOBAM in play. Those and a Stealth Suit and your opponents won't have long before are all turned into Mincemeat. Now start coughing like you have asthma as you attack your opponent and you can even say General Kenobi , cough cough for effect. General Grievous mode on!

So what equipment do you want to play with Armory Automaton? Mine would have a Grafted Exoskeleton on it. I just love turning things Phyrexian. 

"Midweek Magic #5: Leaving an opening"

"Midweek Magic #5: Leaving an opening"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

One of the things that I enjoy doing is being able to cast massive creatures for free on the battlefield. And with my version of the famous Metalwork Colossus deck.(own version kasi chopsuey yung lupa tapos di pa decided kung anong kulay talaga). I was able to illicit a few groans of disbelief and frustration from my own playgroup. I find these groaning's to be suspect because I rarely win.

Like this particular night when I was able to trigger the Sanctum of Ugin I had in play , enabling me to find another Metalwork Colossus. I was able to cast this for free because of the abundant non-creature artifacts that I had in play and I was also able to Emerge a Mockery of Nature thanks to the MC I already had in play. I was able to sacrifice 2 non-essential artifacts and able to replay the same 10/10 dude forming what seemed to be an impregnable wall of creatures even if on the other side of the battlefield Pao already had an already merged Chittering Host with Menace.

I was down to 5 life so I best watch my next moves ,I reasoned.Leave no openings I reminded myself. I checked the plays I made and I was satisfied that I would live a couple more turns for the win.I tapped the table to indicate that I was done. Of course there was something I totally missed.

Yup. A freaking Rogue's passage. And so for 5 damage I died to a rat. A giant freaking rat bite. Thank you Rogue's passage.Thanks for nothing.

"The Talking Scale"

"The Talking Scale"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

We had one of those talking scales in our clinic. The one that seems like an angry Singaporean when it speaks to you.

"Please do not move during measurement"

"Please stand straight and still."

People would come in at the clinic and they would weigh in , still act surprised at the somewhat irritated commands of the machine and it's warnings to stand straight and still. And then ask you to get off when measurements were over.

It was all well and good until one night no one was on the scales and it began to talk all by itself.

One night(A couple of days before Halloween) our Nurse on duty was busy doing clerical work when all of a sudden the scale began to speak.

"Please do not move during measurement"

"Please stand straight and still."

She looked at the scale and saw no one on it. It began to repeat the same words.

"Please do not move during measurement"

"Please stand straight and still."

No one was in the room with her. No one had been on the scale during her whole shift. 

"Please do not move during measurement"

"Please stand straight and still."

The nurse on duty unplugged the scale and waited if it would begin speaking again. She breathed a sigh of relief when it stayed silent. And this is why our talking scale will always be unplugged before anyone uses it. We don't really want to know what a ghost weighs.

"Bobbolgan4 / Red Cheek Puberty - Galaxy MV Reaction: Ear Candy."

"Bobbolgan4 / Red Cheek Puberty - Galaxy MV Reaction: Ear Candy."

by:

The Vole

A couple of seconds of Ahn Jiyoung's voice and you would probably find out if this particular duo is for you or not. For me her voice comes in as a soothing relief and it is the kind of voice that you want to hear whispering in your ear at the end of a very busy day. I have never called anyone's voice charming but this is that embodiment for me. Her voice doesn't really go all that high and neither does she strain in trying to hit any other high notes but it has the indescribable quality that hooks you and hits what I would call music's equivalent bliss point. The point where it is sweet enough that you want to keep on listening to it but not sweet enough that you easily get tired of it.

This duo has been around since 2014 but they only chose to debut this year with their Red Planet album and you got to hand it to them because it feels like their performance is more complete than what they sounded 2 years back.

I am sorry if I do not talk much about the talented rapper/guitarist half of the duo as much. Ahn Jiyoung has taken over me so much.

The video follows her as she appears to follow her crush , starting from meeting him in a cafe to a scene where she is at a basketball court and even in school. So nothing really mind blowing there except I would probably be happy if she was stalking me like this. 

Other notables in this video is that she bares a big resemblance to local celebrity Jinri Park. And my other question is that why does the crush have to be reading something. Is that to show that they are intelligent? While it doesn't hurt to be intelligent I guess it is a bit better to look handsome. I read a lot more books than this guy I bet but heck it seems cute and handsome trumps nerd with books anytime. 

Well , time to support Bobbolgan4 / Red Cheek Puberty. I hope they continue on this pleasant path that they have all been leading us.Get on the trail too.

"Haha Feat. Oh my girl - White MV reaction: A reggae christmas."

"Haha Feat. Oh my girl - White MV reaction: A reggae christmas."

by

The Vole

Nothing says that it is now the holiday than when your favorite kpop group comes up with a holiday/Christmas video. As I understand it Christmas isn't really a big thing in South Korea but it is nice that this group has set the tone once again.

Oh my girl has joined forces with Haha whom they have worked with in their most recent track A-ing. White as the song is titled is a remake of an old Fink.L song that has been given a reggae feel and sang with the charming and refreshing voices of Oh my girl to give off that Reggae Christmas feeling. While it might not seem to jive at first those two things actually come together to have a rather festive atmosphere in the MV. If you have never sang Yeah man! at the beginning of a Christmas song then this might be the start of something new for you.

The MV shows 4 of the 8 members in a single room where they are opening gifts and celebrating. Jine is still on hiatus. And I believe the these 4 were chosen because they are the actual Visual line. YooA , Jiho , Hyojung and Arin. Hyojung,  the candy leader , in particular is probably the one who gives off the sweetest look among the 4.The short-haired Binnie would have also made a great addition in the visual line but she might not have been available because of a kdrama she was shooting at the time.

So the MV opens to the 4 girls waking up on Christmas day , opening gifts and where YooA gets the short end of the stick when she chooses a gift that requires her to do some knitting.A lot of knitting in fact. The other 3 receive gifts that are already made , a scarf for Hyojung , A beret for the anime-eyed Jiho and Mittens for the Maknae ,Arin. YooA spends the early parts of this video pouting and seemingly complaining about her gift of knitting materials. She does so in a very adorable fashion that no Miracle would complain.

Despite having just 4 members in the MV , all 7 of the other active members are heard here.There is a wonderful rap part where Jiho lip syncs and it got a lot of fans excited that Jiho might be being developed into a secondary rapper until they realized that it was still Mimi who was doing the rapping. Oh well. 

The rest of the video has the girls eating Holiday treats and the scenes where they get cream on their noses from Cupcakes or drinks is one that you should pay attention to. One scene even has a surprised YooA who gave off her signature death stare after having whipped cream smeared on her nose by Arin!

Speaking of the maknae Arin , she has grown quite a lot and her charms are really showing strong here making fans want OMG to make a comeback at the soonest possible time.

I would say that the scene where the 4 gather in front of the Christmas tree would give you the real reason why they were the one's chosen to appear here. They literally dazzle the screen even without the effects. 

So thank you Skull and Haha for this catchy Reggae Christmas track. My holidays are made.

"Sunny Girls - Taxi - Performance Reaction: Hyperventilation mode on."

"Sunny Girls - Taxi - Performance Reaction: Hyperventilation mode on."

by:

The Vole

So what happens when 4 of your biases from different groups are seemingly picked from your mind and then clumped together by Inkigayo for a special girl group project that would show a  cutie sexy concept? I expect that there would be parts fanboying in between hyperventilation.

YooA from Oh my girl , Eunha from Gfriend , Cheng Xiao from WSJN and Nancy from Momoland as well as Produce IOI alum Nayong who is part of Gugudan. This group represents the current crushes or biases of the current crop of girl groups. It reminds me of so much of Dazzling Red and how that group pulled so much attention. 

I have not followed Gugudan enough so I would not be talking much about Nayoung but this track focuses on her deep voice and the only semblance of a rap part in the song.

Momoland's Nancy might be the new comer of the group and the youngest at that but she is given such a prominent Center billing since Dublekick(Momoland's company) is the one producing the song. And I guess no one can complain since her half asian/half american looks stand out among the others.

Cheng Xiao is great as part of the dance line and did not disappoint. Even showing off a cartwheel to show her awesome flexibility that had fans in the studio shouting.

YooA and Eunha form the groups main vocals , their voices suited for the danceable RNB track that puts to good use their dancing skills and smooth and cute voices. 

I would like to thank Inkigayo for coming up with this concept and hope that there is more in the future. With the reactions of the fans in the studio one can only assume that there will be more in store for the Sunny girl's than this just one song.

Now where the hell is that brown bag. Time to stop hyperventilating.

"Gabby Alipe- Visions MV reaction:The Beautiful Dirty City."

"Gabby Alipe- Visions MV reaction:The Beautiful Dirty City."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Finally a video that I could react to that I actually feel a very strong connection to because I have walked the same places and seen the same things over and over again.

In the high definition black and white video , scenes of the daily life in Manila can be seen but this is far from the glamorous clubs or the clean city scape that one can expect from such videos. The theme is to see the city for what it really is for it's inhabitants.There is a lot of take in. A vision of sorts that appear before your eye and then wavers before it moves on the next. 

These are things that you see every day but do not notice brought in sharp focus that even the ugly and the dirty seems beautiful. 

Gabby Alipe walking in the streets and underpasses and bridges of Manila in all it's sharp contrasts of religion and politics and economics. For once it is not about people dancing but everyday people smiling for the camera and being brought to bear in all their normalcy.

Manila City Hall to The Quiapo Church , Gabby Alipe takes you on a tour to show the every day life of the city of Manila and its inhabitants. 

Enjoy the frenetic strumming in Visions and the iconic voice of Mr. Alipe coupled with the Japanese flutes in the chorus of the song that is part inspirational song / battle anthem for someone who is facing difficulties but still believing that with perseverance and a little belief things will still fall into place.All in good time as the song goes.

All in good time.

"10 Signs that you might be a Stan..."

"10 Signs that you might be a Stan..."

by:

The Vole

Stan. A name that was given new meaning after the hit song from Eminem came out. It talks about a fan who really loves  a particular artist to the point of obsession even to the point that they think that there is a special relationship that goes between them and the artist even if they have never met at any point in their lives.

In Kpop lingo this pretty much pertains to a fan who follows a particular artist or group regardless if it leads to obsession or not I can't tell but there are certain signs that you might be becoming a Stan of a particular Artist or group if you are exhibiting some of the following:

1) A True Stan - Knows individual voices even if they do not see who is performing on stage. 

2) A True Stan  - Would go through a 2 hour long fan cam video  of a fan meeting without even knowing a word of Korean and still enjoy it. 

3) A True Stan - Would get a joke from their favorite idol even if they can't speak an ounce of Korean. Body language seems to convey a lot.

4) A True Stan - Needs daily doses of Aegyo to survive.If you cannot stop clicking a video where your favorite artist or group is doing something cute. There is an existing word for this but being a True Stan you already know what that is.

5) A True Stan - would have a voracious appetite for their chosen artists content. Expect a not so secret video cache in their laptop , tablet or phone.

6) A True Stan - Probably has Soompi , Allkpop or OneHallyu already bookmarked and notifying them as soon as they open their devices.

7) A True Stan - Would declare their fandom even with the slightest provocation. I am a....(insert fandom name here)

8) A True Stan - Would have a predebut picture of their favorite artist or group lying around somewhere even if that is not the most flattering picture of that person or group.

9) A True Stan - Would dig deep behind a video and could probably tell you the behind the stories about a particular MV.

10) A True Stan - knows when his or her favorite artists would appear next like clockwork even if they can't go to that appearance themselves.

So have you found yourself in any of these 10 signs? Stanning is not really bad and it is a better addiction than most. Just be careful that it does not take over your life. It is one thing to stan but other things let to dangerous things.

"The Dragon approaches"

"The Dragon approaches"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

"Have you ever seen a patient dragon get mad?" she asked one of her captors , the shortest one with the short cropped hair who was menacingly holding a gun to her head. "Do you know how fast things could get really ugly?"

"Hopefully he could get to you faster than I can pull this trigger."

"Oh he can. Do you hear that?" YuuA leaned a little closer to the right.

From the distance a low rumbling. The one nearest to Yuua pointed at the nearest window and two armed lackeys looked out just in time to see the side of a mountain sliding to the valley floor below. Both of them swallowed involuntarily.

"Ah. Finally you can see him. Watch the trees." Yuua said still smiling. Amused at the panic that must have been setting in the hearts of his captors by now.

True enough the trees were falling left and right.The sounds of their fall echoing through the abandoned mining valley. Each Tree crashing on the forest floor caused the building that they were in to shake.3 , 6 , 12 , 15 they counted in their heads. The trees kept falling. The kidnappers looked at each other , all 12 of them could just imagine what would happen when what ever was doing that was able to reach their hide out.

"Should I ask him to come faster?" Yuua looked at the one holding the gun to her head. She could see the fear in those eyes but he was the leader and he felt like he needed to do something.

"Shout at him if you must. Tell him that if he does not stop his approach then you would be nothing but a lifeless corpse before he arrives." The leader said visibly shaking with the false bravado.

"Wrong answer. He heard you." Yuua looked straight at the window. Squinting just a little."Here he comes"

The force of the impact came before the slashing sound. 11 of the kidnappers who were vigilantly guarding Yuua looked at the room and saw that it was falling to the right. Their vision followed and slipped to the floor as 11 heads fell , cut cleanly from their bodies. 

The lone survivor of the 12 was heard screaming in horror and took aim at Yuua from a far corner of the room. He was alive mainly because he was as tall as the chair that Yuua was sitting on and the others stood a full foot taller than him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" A man said behind the lone survivor. The man turned and saw  V who was casually walking over to where he was.A Tree trunk still in one arm. 

"Oh . Let me get rid of this." V threw the tree toward the mountain behind him without any effort. A plume of dust rose up where it hit. And another part of the mountain slid down to the valley.

The survivor threw down his semi-automatic weapon to the ground in surrender. "I am glad you came to your senses" V smiled. "Now tell your boss that he should never meddle in the affairs of the Silver King. I might pay him a visit next. I might be hungry when I drop by. Now let my Yuua go and be on your way."

The man took the keys from his pockets and freed the cuffs from Yuuas hands. He then ran as fast as he could away from the place. Yuua walked calmly over to V.Like a tiger about to pounce. 

"What took you so long?"

"I got lost."

"I forgive you."

"What?"

"Now let's eat something."

"I know just the place!It's nice to know that being kidnapped hasn't dampened your appetite."

"Only because I knew you were on your way to get me." YuuA said as she slid her arms around V's. 

"Shokugeki No Soma:Let's eat and strip."

"Shokugeki No Soma:Let's eat and strip."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Shokugeki No Soma is about the main character Souma as he traverses the tough cooking world as a first year student at the elite Tootsuki Cooking Academy. This manga engaged me at the get go because of the challenge that was posted to Souma to improve himself and it was something that he believed could achieve that he brazenly said so during his school's opening ceremony.

This manga seems like the spiritual successor to cooking master boy , an anime that my wife were so into when we were dating. There are interesting characters that make life easy or harder for Souma , and some of the judges for the cooking unknowingly or uncontrollably when they sample the dishes which makes me want to pose the question. What the heck are they eating that seem to be going into orgasms and stripping?Oh and where can I get that for myself?

Like Cooking Master Boy there are visuals that are over the top when people eat and I am still surprised at the amount of food that gets fresh approaches and characters who battle with their own personalities.

Probably one the biggest features in this manga are the Shokugeki's. Challenges that could be issued to anyone. This raises the stakes as the story progresses as there are a lot of people in the academy that do not want Souma to succeed. He keeps on surprising them anyway. I am currently issue 92 and the manga has now run into 190. If like me your current manga has ended and are looking to get into a new one this might be a great one for you.

It has drama , action , comedy and a little bit of ecchi in it too. Don't be surprised. Let's eat and strip together should be a subtitle here somewhere.

"Midweek Magic #4 : Ram's Girls"

"Midweek Magic #4 : Ram's Girls"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

4 years ago my friend Ralph offered me a foil Sen's Triplets at an absolute bargain price I somehow was in the mood to make mono colored commander decks only. Maybe I was looking at the Esper colors and concluded that I don't have enough lands or mana rocks to support this commander.Maybe I was too tired and did not really read the very long text of the card. Whatever it was I now feel like it was a very wrong fated move.

Fast forward to 2016 and I now have a new playgroup in Eton Centris , I was reintroduced to this card which I now fondly call Ram's Girls and like the things that I did not pay much attention to they really kicked me in the butt.

Ram said that his only EDH deck had the Sen Triplets as his commander and I vaguely remember reading about them but that was it. I was able to dominate our 1v1 for awhile until these women showed up on the battlefield and just like that all of my well thought out plans with Vorel as my commander was foiled.

The Sen Triplets was like an offensive version of the Pre-cog triplets from Minority report. They control your mind. They control your turn and they can cast from your hand as if it was part of your opponents hand. Extended library mode. They can play your lands. Your creatures. Play your spells and then counter them with your own counters leaving you vulnerable on your next turns and your hand all the more lighter.

"It would have been fitting but not just meant to be."

I felt a little bit hopeful though because I still had a chance to turn the tables with a Corrupted Conscience in my hand but alas. It was lands that would be my undoing. 1 land was all that was missing and I would have controlled the Sen Triplets but then again as fate would put those ladies would never be mine. And for as long as we are playing EDH games in Eton they will always be Ram's girls.

"Midweek Magic #3: A taste of my own medicine"

"Midweek Magic #3: A taste of my own medicine"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

During one of our midweek magic sessions I waxed nostalgic and poetic about my former life as a Phyrexian Plaguelord. This was the title bestowed to the player who was able to achieve the most poison wins for the current season in the SM North Sky Garden community. I won over much better players because I was too stubborn and I think due to sheer attendance!

I told Ram and Pao that there is no greater feeling than to see an opponents butt rise a few feet from their seats when you first cast a Glistener elf on the table. Or the dreaded turn 1 Inkmoth nexus casting Signal pest and on turn two attacking with animated Inkmoth Nexus and Signal pest for 2 Poison counters and then paying 8 life to cast 4 copies of Mutagenic growth for the win.

So the next week Ram , Pao , Vince and I decided that we would play with modern decks , I managed to search the mess that is my card laboratory and found the Mardu deck deck that I used in the last GP minus 5 lands and since I was not able to find where those went I foolishly played with 21 lands and would end up suffering later that night.

And what should Pao be playing this night? Why Mono Black Infect Machine gun. The kind that I also used to play and who should suffer an Equiped Vatmother to the face? Why me of course and oh boy did my own medicine tasted bitter. Bula bibig ko eh. But I was happy that I got to play with Infect again.

Ram ran with a Mishra Artificier prodigy deck and that too proved too abusive as it would power out mana rock at first and then the big guns like Scuttling doom engine and Phyrexian Juggernauts which also had infect. 

And then there was the infamous Land Cut. Where I played 7 turns with just lands. Guess who died from that turn of events. Thanks for the deck cut Ram. It was so frustrating but fun to see what the other decks were churning up. I laughed as the Vatmother poisoned me to death. So this is how that feels. Hahahahah

Looking forward to some payback now that the Mardu deck is fixed. Time for some more midweek magic.  

"Midweek Magic # 2: When Mill Met Delirium"

"Midweek Magic # 2: When Mill Met Delirium"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

The storm was passing and things were getting back to normal back at work. Ram and Pao paid me a visit in the clinic and we got to play a little Pantry magic where I wanted to test my chopsuey Monowhite vehicles deck against the Modern Blue Black Mill deck that Ram brought with him.

Pao who was fairly new to magic brought in an almost patch work Golgari Black/Green deck that featured Delirium. Decks with a lot of creatures do tend to dominate in matches like this but Ram was able to pull off the win in the end with well timed Crypt Recursions in the face of overwhelming creature superiority.

"I did tell you that I would haunt your dreams right?"

One of the memorable plays involved an Archive trap aimed at Pao who seemed happy milling his library and Ram realizing that Delirium was now online on just turn two! From then on Pao would be able to get creatures from his graveyard like Nemesis of Reason and would be able to cast a Soul Swallower. A freaking Soul Swallower with Delirium online and the only true removal in my deck was Revoke Privileges! When that monster came out I did not have one at hand. It would eventually have 9 counters on it making it a 15/15 trampler that would kill me and Ram. Oh and that Nemesis of Reason that Pao got ,  it paired up with Soul Swallower and had its monstrosity activated to be a 12/12. Despite having a lot of Servos and even a Chief of the Foundry in play I eventually died thanks to Delirium. And oh thanks to Ram as well. Note to Ram Milling decks and Delirium decks don't mix well. Hahahahaha

It turned out that mixing up the decks created a wonderful experience where we all had fun.And all of the wins were decided by smart moves until the very end. It will be interesting to play with you guys again soon. Finally getting some Magic plays going on.

"Midweek Magic #1: Phenax for the win.Finally"

"Midweek Magic #1: Phenax for the win.Finally"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

I was happy with my current schedule but there in lies a little monotony when all you ever get to talk to patients are coughs and colds that come and go.

So when Ram asked me if I wanted to play EDH the answer was  just yes. I have been in HP Eton for almost a year now but last night was the first time that I ever got to play EDH here and it was a a fun 1 hour with Phenax and Momir Vig as my Commanders. Vorel was waiting in the wings but time simply did not allow him to take the field but there would be other times now that we have established the times and days that we could play.

Some of the most memorable plays involved having Consuming Aberration , Arcanis and an already Manifested Phenax on the battlefield with a Keening Stone.

"I'm not really to keen on that."

It was milling overkill as I have never experienced before in my life. Though I have made this Blue Black deck into a dedicated miller deck I often find myself winning with Aggro means since Consuming Aberration always becomes huge and I tend to copy my opponents bigger creatures for their effects and power. Last night was different as it was a pure mill win!

With 25 cards already in the graveyard , I tapped Phenax for 7 mills , Arcanis for 4 , making it 36 cards in Ram's Graveyard and then tapping Consuming Aberration for 36 more cards to fall. Then the Keening Stone activation for the Coup de grace.  

Such a wonderful feeling to see something work finally. I guess I live for those moments when the decks actually work regardless of my somewhat kooky builds.

"Kynaois and Tiro of Meletis: Let the group hug begin."

"Group hug tayo, kaibigan"

"Kynaois and Tiro of Meletis: Let the group hug begin."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

The group hug.It used to mean just that  , a group of people hugging each other but in Commander parlance Group hug takes on a much different meaning.

This is an effect that benefits everyone or just people you like you who are playing against you at the moment. EDH group hugs could range from a draw for everyone from Jace Beleren's first ability to a dragon token from Death by Dragons with the exclusion of the opponent you are trying to kill.

And the latest grouphug effect comes from a legendary creature/s from the Commander 2016 set who some players are dubbing the Bromance commanders. None other than Kynaois and Tiro of Meletis.  

The first thing that I would like for you to notice are those statues in the upper left corner of the card.Reminiscent of the Titan of Braavos or the Kage statues of Madara and Hashirama in Naruto those are actually the statues that stand at the opening of Meletis in this card.

There have been some discussions that these statues are those of Kynaois and Tiro of Meletis.From their card one can say that it might be them depending on how long they ruled Meletis because normally monuments like that are erected when the rulers die or in some cases some rulers don't get to see their own monuments completion. I really wonder if Kynaois and Tiro of Meletis are the peaceful lovers that are mentioned in Guardian of Meletis. Just look at that buff duo and you could probably gather that they usually give peace to their enemies by giving them a thrust of a sword in the chest. However it seems that with their 2/8 stats they are no longer into the killing business and just defending what they have built and admiring it in that good vantage.

Bant Red or Jeskia Green we still don't have a name for the 4 colored commanders but one thing is for sure Kynaois and Tiro of Meletis will make great political strides for EDH players who have them on the battlefield. They are tough to kill and it is hard to not like a creature that allows you to put a land card from your hand or draw a card if you don't have one in your hand. Expect these guys to hang around as they continue to give you card advantage until you get your strategies in place. And then the group hug can end but until then. "Look what we fought for.Look what we built together.

"Change your perspective on Non-Standard relationships"

"Change your perspective on Non-Standard relationships"

by: 

Alessandria Venice R. De leon

What will happen when a relationship isn't normal or standard? That's the question isn't it? What do I mean by "not standard"?

Well what I mean are relationships that have a girl taller than the boy or males which makes for awkward personal appearance. Of course it isn't as big a problem as how their relationship is , but you just have to sit down and ponder about it sometimes.

It is curious why the male has always been defined or declared as the superior , meaning that they are expected to be bigger or taller than the female. Sure that is how we evolved,but why? It makes you think doesn't it? For example  the female in the relationship is taller than the male. We can automatically assume that they look awkward. Why can't the female be taller than the male? Why can't she be bigger? Does it even play a huge part in the quality of the relationship? It doesn't. Why can't we change our perspective about this? Of all the things  that we have changed this 2016  , we haven't changed what of the "oldest" problems in the world. But that's just it. It isn't a problem. I repeat. It doesn't have to be a problem. We can change our perspective on this matter because it will really embarrass people in the future.

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Editor's Note: 

This article appears unedited as it was texted to me by my first official contributor. Aven is a 10 year old who is beginning to ask questions and may grow up faster than I hoped.

I do not own any of the pictures that appeared on this blog post. Thank you.

"Deepglow Skate: Doubling time"

"Deepglow Skate: Doubling time"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

My vision instantly focused on these few words when this card got spoiled.

Double.Counters.Any number.Target Permanents.

And like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons I steepled my hands and said , "Excellent." There was some maniacal laughter too but I don't really want to get into all that much.

Needless to say I began thinking of the possibilities. And there are tons that could make the Deepglow Skate a win condition. Here are a few of what I thought of on the spot.

Creature Counters

While there is the obvious advantage for Simic creature cards  , Hydra's and Endless One's. Doubling counters is fun and how do you achieve this? Why in comes our favorite soul bounding and paddling expert Deadeye Navigator who would have with this particular fishy friend.

Artifact and Enchantment Counters

Have you ever wanted to win with a Darksteel Reactor but your evil plans are always getting spoiled halfway through? well say hello to my little fishy friend which makes you work for just half of the counters needed to win. Let us do a little math here. Assuming that you have the Reactor, Deadeye Navigator and Deepglow Skate coming into play for the first time.And that your reactor has at least one charge counter on it. The Deepglow Skate makes it two , you bounce it with Deadeye Navigator ,it comes back you have 4 , 8 , 16 , 32 counters. Imagine. 4 activations of Deadeye's ability and you win! Assuming no one ruins your fun of course.So be very careful when you activate.

I kind of wished that Helix Pinnacle didn't have Shroud on it so this could work on this as well but I guess it is happy with the Prophet of Kruphix along side it to give it Tower counters on each opponents End of Turn.

Planeswalker Counters

Impatient with the slow way that Planeswalkers are hitting their Ultimates? You now have another option in the Deepglow Skate to make your superfriends well ah more super. Imagine getting Venser's ability faster or Liliana of the Veil permanent halving ultimate in turn 4(assuming you have 5 mana available which is always a possibility in EDH). Jace can mess with your opponent's library at a much faster rate from drawing to milling and everything in between.Imagine Ugin's Ultimate or Nicol Bolas's Ultimate. 

Now that you have seen some of the possibilities. Steeple your hands and say it with me. "Excellent."

"Reyhan, Last of the Abzan: Skullbriar Loves you"

"Reyhan, Last of the Abzan: Skullbriar Loves you"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Reyhan, Last of the Abzan gave me one of those moments that made me happy. One is that he is in my Golgari colors and would fit Tiny Leaders with my favorite Skullbriar. And I am sure that they would have a happy life together even in EDH.

So Reyhan, Last of the Abzan  is basically a 3/3 creature when it comes into play but he serves a much greater purpose for the +1/+1 counter loving Abzan. When a creature you control dies or is sent to a command zone , if it has one or more +1/+1 counters on it you may put that many +1/+1 counters on target creature.

So a deck that features Skullbriar who gets the counters fast and early works well with Reyhan and if they are both in play and you have a Primordial Hydra or Endless One that dies you could just imagine where those counters would go. On to Skullbriar who does not lose the counters even if he dies. The interaction also gets better with a counter laden Skullbriar who essentially transfers all those on a creature of your choice. Meaning you have something to politically barter with when you are playing multiplayer EDH. This could be done at instant speed by the way if you have a sacrifice outlet. If that isn't scary then just imagine a Glistener elf attacking you and it instantly gets bulkier with a load of +1/+1 counters on it thanks to a sacrificed massive creature.

I expect a lot of dice to be on my side of the battlefield from all the counters that Reyhan, Last of the Abzan will be able to allow. I could just see it now. Commander 2016 is shaping up to be one hell of a set. My wallet is already filing an advance complaint. 

"Saskia the Unyielding : Hitting two birds"

"Saskia the Unyielding : Hitting two birds"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Saskia the Unyielding is one of the new Legendary creatures coming out in Commander 2016 and boy am I excited for this one. The 4 colors that this commander has is notorious for producing tons of tokens especially White and Green. So what makes me excited about this one you ask?

Saskia the Unyielding is the magic version of Julio Valiente with a jungle bolo shooting one bullet through it and killing 2 opponents at the same time. If you don't get the reference (my age is really showing here) goggle Lito Lapid in his physics defying exploits as Julio Valiente and laugh all you want. 

So how does Saskia the Unyielding do this particular trick? When he comes into play you get to choose an opponent. And get this , whenever a creature you control deals damage to an opponent that same creature deals damage to the chosen opponent.

Picture this for a second. You managed to create 10 million tokens with Presence of Gond and Midnight guard. I know what you are thinking with that many tokens you could just attack all of your opponents and win but that is not the point of the blog hahahaha. So anyway you could split the army attacking 5 million to the opponent on your left and another 5 million to your right. The opponent right in front of you begins to laugh at the lapse in judgement until he or she see's Saskia the Unyielding in play and then is erased from existence by the oncoming 10 million token damage. Ah living the dream.

So now that I am wide awake again what do you think of Saskia the Unyielding? Would you choose him over the other New Commanders? Keep on Brewing. Keep on Playing.

"Selfless Squire: Turning the Tides"

"Selfless Squire: Turning the Tides"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

How many times has this happened to you. You look across the battlefield and you see the horde from the opposing side as your opponent is going all in because they feel that they could win. For a couple of heartbeats you seem to contemplate and act like you are going to scope up you deck in acceptance of the inevitable. And then like a real seasoned Planeswalker you cast Rout or any sorcery Mass Sweeper with Leyline of Anticipation in play to have all those attackers disappear and you prepare for a counter attack. 

Normally the Mass Removal would affect your side of the board too but the card I want to talk about today gives you a chance at a massive counter attack that is rather one sided in your favor. Enter the Selfless Squire and yes it could enter the battlefield any time you could cast an instant because it has flash and if you have 4 mana you could cast her in response to your opponents attack. 

Two things happen. She prevents all the damage that would be dealt to you this turn. And that amount of damage prevented gives the Selfless Squire a gigantic stat boost since she will receive a number of +1/+1 counters for each point of damage prevented. This card is perfect for all your EDH friends who tends to overkill you. Like they know that you only have 20 life points left and they still attack you with 80 points of potential damage in one assault. Selfless Squire ought to teach them a lesson especially if they have not left any blockers. That 80 points of damage they tried sending your way is now consolidated into one creature that could give them a taste of their own medicine.

Selfless Squire would give opponents pause in scenarios where you are the only two remaining players on the battlefield. She reminds me of the time Podrick Payne saved Tyrion Lannister from one of the White Cloaks who was ordered to kill him. Tyrion lost a nose on that one but hopefully Selfless Squire could do more for you on the battlefield more than Podrick did. I have a feeling that she would. 

So what do you think of the Selfless Squire? Would you include her in one of your decks? I would. So keep on brewing and keep playing.