"Approach of the Second Sun: The Hour is Upon Us."

"Approach of the Second Sun: The Hour is Upon Us."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Approach of the Second sun has been intriguing me since it was first spoiled. I have thought of the many ways that I could abuse it and one of them is to include it in my Tron Deck for another Alternate win condition. I wonder it would fit in nicely though since the whole point of the Tron deck is to control the battlefield and not allow anything except those that I want to live to remain. Hmmmm. 

It is too bad that Cloudpost has been banned in modern because it could have been another shell that this would go into. I find myself looking at Geeen as the possible means to catch it such as Cryptolith Rites deck or just really good ramp decks that have a splash of white. Selesnyan decks would also find a good place for this alternate win condition. 

The 7 mana cost sorcery requires you to cast it from your hand and if you have cast another sorcery with the same name this turn you win the game. Otherwise you will get a second chance of casting this potential game winning spell because you will gain 7 life and put it in your library 7 cards deep. So in exactly 7 draws you will have a chance to draw it again. Hmmm interesting.

Nicol Bolas and his horns are feature prominently in the art of this card and it makes me wonder what would happen story wise should the 2nd Sun approach and connect with the other sun. 

I am still searching for a solid way to abuse this but I am intrigued by it's possibilities.

"Gideon Martial Paragon: The Third Gideon"

"Gideon Martial Paragon: The Third Gideon"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

With all this talk about Gideon Tribal being viable in standard and the much talked about two other Gideons hogging the spotlight I wanted to check out the third version who will complete the Gideon Triad. Gideon Martial Paragon.

There was a lot of talk that the Planeswalkers in these duel decks were actually made to be watered down versions of the other standard Legal versions but with the emergence of Gideon of the Trials  , Martial Paragon is sure to have some collectors on it's heels.

Martial Paragon has the biggest casting cost of all the existing Gideon , much like the original Gideon Jura who was similarly priced at 3 colorless mana and 2 plains. If I am mentioning Gideon , believe me I am as sick as you are at reading his name. It makes me want to do a Crisis on Infinite planes just so that other copies of him will be erased.

Now let us look at the Martial Paragons ability and what sets him apart from his other brothers. The +2 allows you to untap creatures you control and give them +1/+1 counters until end of turn. Hmmmmm. So what do we need to untap at this point? Exerted creatures that is what. I can see this pairing up with an Exerted Combat Celebrant so that the Human Warrior can also be untapped giving your armies another chance to attack and finish off your opponents. A wave of 3 successive attacks seems like a little excessive but just of the Martial Paragons strong points here. Oh and don't forget your creatures also have that added +1/+1. If you have enough mana you can even Blink Martial Paragon with a Felidar Sovereign and untap and enforce everyone for a 4th wave of attack. Overkill as my friend June Bryan once said. You just need to have Boros colors though.

Don't have anyone you can attack with? Martial Paragon is still the mighty 5/5 Soldier who cant take damage and is beyond the reach of a Dismember or Throttle. And for 0 cost activation too. Ever wondered how it felt like to have an indestructible planeswalker fight for you?Then wonder no more.

For the Martial Paragons Ultimate ability which is a -10. Creatures you control get a mass +2/+2 boost each and to make matters worse for all your opponents you get to tap all of their creatures regardless if they have hexproof of protection from anything since this is a non tar getting ability. Talk about a huge imbalance. You get to attack while even the biggest creatures are just lying on their sides absolutely helpless to defend against your march.

For a watered down card this final ability is something that most players actually want because it is all upside to whoever controls Martial Paragon and all downside to those on the receiving end of all those boosted creatures.

So there we go. Martial Paragon wasn't all that bad of a card now that I have analyzed him at length. I might just buy this planeswalker duel deck just because of him.And probably because I have an existing Mardu Superfriends deck that has a slot open for him

So what do you think of the Martial Paragon? Would you play him and if so what build would you want to put him in.Thanks for reading. Keep on Brewing.

"Liliana Deaths Majesty: Reanimation is a thing again"

"Liliana Deaths Majesty: Reanimation is a thing again"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Now that she is on the plane of Amonkhet seeking out the third demon whom she wants to break her contract with it seems that Liliana is once again making zombies among other things.

Liliana Deaths majesty is a mythic planeswalker for 5 mana and a starting loyalty counter of 5 as well. She once again makes a case for reanimation in a plane that is just teeming with zombies and somewhere where life and death seem like a natural progression that she fits in so easily. So let us look at all the necromantic goodness that our dear Lili has for us this time around.

Her first ability a +1 and lets you create a 2/2 Zombie creature token. You then put the top two cards for your library into your graveyard. You hope that you get something substantial in your graveyard like a good Golgari would wish for. Thank of it as a Library fuel for her second ability. 

The second ability is a -3 that lets you put a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield  , that creature is a black zombie creature in addition to it's other types. Can somebody say Eldrazi Zombie? because that is the first that comes mind right about now. Or how about Zombie Construct? Verdurous , Noxious or even Torrential Gearhulk seems like a very good target don't you think? And if you are playing in those combination of colors why not?

Now that you have managed to put zombies and more zombies on the battlefield with Liliana what else can you do to tip the odds in your favor. Why by destroying your opponents army with Liliana's ultimate ability. A -7 that let's you wipe the board of non-zombies. Hold on to that little celebration dance though.Of course there might be a little draw back here since Amonkhet is the same plane that makes embalmed zombies roam on it like it was as common as sand. 

If you also run into a mirror match with anybody using zombies heavily then you would be out of luck using this ability.

Of course this will not stop me with playing with Liliana if I do get her in my PR kit. I mean who would not want to make zombie gods and zombie gigantic wurms. Despite the looming drawback with the final ability I am still on board because this is a repeatable zombify for 5 mana.  

Time to check out the full spoiler and brew just a little bit more.

"Liliana Deathwielder: Ang Pricey mo Vess!"

"Liliana Deathwielder: Ang Pricey mo Vess!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Liliana Deathwielder is the 7 mana version of Liliana Vess in this present plane. She is looking mighty fine now that her tattoos have faded into(I assume) the parts that are covered with that purple dress of hers. Why she wants to wear something that hot in a scorching plane like Amonkhet baffles me but then again she maybe cooler than I suspect her to be. 

Now that we have move past the daunting 7 mana that makes this card relegated to a dedicated Necromantic EDH somewhere , preferably Black Green or Blue Black so she is sure to fill up  your graveyard or your opponents.

This Liliana fills the graveyard differently than the normal the original Vess or Of the Veil that forces players to discard cards. Deathwielder's first ability is a +2 that puts a -1/-1 counter on up to one target creature. This means that a you have a mana dork killer on your hands but on the turn that you are able to cast her would it really matter if they have already used their mana dork several times? At least you can still kill something is what I say.

Her second ability allows you to take something more substantial. Let us say you po a -1/-1 counter on a 13/13 Korasan Cloudscraper. Of course it would not die. It is probably just annoyed that you now made it into a 12/12. Deathwielders -3 ability allows you to kill it no questions asked. The -1/-1 counter doesn't even need to come from you. I can feel a great synergy with Wither here. Coincidentally the same plane that Liliana and all the other planeswalkers started appearing on. The plane of Lorwyn. Oh and there are a lot of those creatures giving off -1/-1 counters in Amonkhet as well like the Archfiend of Ifnir that dishes them out like assists on your opponents creatures so that they can die when you cycle a card. Assist to death. Yeah. All the more to fill the graveyards. And speaking of graveyards.

Deathwielder's ultimate ability allows you return all of the creatures on your graveyard to the battlefield. While his feels ability feels really watered down since you cannot abuse all of the other graveyards that is right in front of you in EDH games it is still a good redundancy card albeit less better than Liliana Vess who has tons of talent. I guess this is what happens when she doesn't really choose to use the Chain Veil. 

In a world where you can cycle your creatures , kill you creatures , dump your creatures in your graveyard Deathwielder will fit right in and her necromantic gift though very slow in coming to you end(About 7 mana cost slow) might still save the day for you. 

Give Deathwielder a chance. She just might surprise you.

"Nissa , Steward of Elements: Simic XXXXXcitement!"

"Nissa , Steward of Elements: Simic XXXXXcitement!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

At long last a new Simic planeswalker! And she comes in with a lot of X as well! Welcome....Nissa?How in the world did Nissa get imbued with Blue mana? Does any one else find it weird that Nissa who actually dabbled in black mana first didn't get a Golgari colored version first? Well I guess it was just me.

Now on to the new Nissa who is the first planeswalker who has an X cost on her , Like a Hydra , Like Endless One. Like something I can add into a Simic Tiny Leaders deck some day. This card is so playable in standard that it hurts. So I guess the ideal time to cast it is if you have enough mana to abuse the top of you mana carve. Let us say that highest cost in your deck is 3 mana , you ought to cast it paying 3 for the X and Simic Mana. She now comes in with 3 starting Loyalty counters.

Now looking at her 2nd ability first which cost 0. You can look at the top card of you Library if it is a Land or a creature with converted mana cost less or equal to the number of counters on Nissa you get to put it on the battlefield. For free! So 3 mana cost creatures and below are free for you now per activation. Now imagine if you have infinite mana and in a Simic EDH deck that is not impossible(Deadeye Navigator + Palinchron anyone?) You can put at least 20 mana on the X cost and you almost get a creature card or land free all the time.

So now the biggest task is to make sure that you have cards that you can cast for free that are equal or less than Nissa's  counters. And this is where her first ability which is a +2 helps immensely. You can Scry for 2 and if you think what you see is not what you need then put it in the bottom of your library. On the other hand if you like what you see try and not act too happy about it so you can still bluff your EDH opponents.

At this point Nissa and her last ability are just a bit redundant but it is still an ability that can help you close out games. It is a -6 that lets you target 2 lands , awaken them to become Elementals, give them haste and flying until end of turn. Wow. You summon 2 creatures with a combined 10 points of damage! Unopposed it would only take two turns to finish an opponent. 

Well I think I have covered all of the planeswalkers in Amonkhet for now. Nissa is the one the makes me all excited here. So what do you think of the new Nissa? Should she have gotten a Golgari colored card instead given that the plane of Amonkhet is so connected with death? Thanks for reading. Keep on brewing.

"Who is the best Red God?"

"Who is the best Red God?"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

The title is one of the questions asked during the start of Amonkhet spoiler season where Hazoret the pervert...err Fervent was compared to good Ol Purphoros , God of the Forge.

I was still gathering my thoughts and reeling from other things so I was not able to answer at that time but here is my 2 cents worth on the Bestest Red God Ever. It is Rhollor!

Kidding aside. Let us see what each god can do first.

We all know Purphorus , we paired him with that kid who kept on making Elemental creatures when you burn someone. He was the high end of mana curves in many Red decks because he was sure 2 damage when a creature lands on the battlefield. He doesn't even need to manifest in physical form. 

His 2R ability to give a +1/0 to each creature you control could just be the final push to finish off an opponent in the Red.

So let us now check out the new comer Hazoret the Fervent. His is similarly costed as old Purphy but he seems to serve a different purpose. 

He is indestructible and has haste because he is the intended finisher on the mana curve of some mono red decks that might be hitting standard soon. I can see him in some Red burner deck where you just point and shoot at someone and then when you have no other spells to burn with you just unleash Hazoret on the battlefield for 5/4 damage.

His discard effects of 2R lets you deal 2 damage to each opponent but it does not work well with the Vampires of Innistrad who also requre you to pay mana to cast them for their madness cost. On the downside too is that Hazoret also succumbs to Dismember where Ol Purphy just becomes 2/1 and is begging for you to fire another Dismember at him. At which point he laughs at the idea that you just gave 8 life points to phyrexian mana if you are not playing black.

In the EDH setting Purphoros has many proven combinations especially with token creators like Prossh or Avenger of Zendikar. So he scores as the better Red God here too.

Of course I have often criticized a card and died to it in tournaments so I would rather say that Hazoret needs a little more research but he does appear a little weaker than the older Theros god.

So to be safe the best Red God is still Rhollor. And I wonder what kind of card he would have should he be ever shifted into Magic form.

"Pauper Kings: Black Metal Monster"

"Pauper Kings: Black Metal Monster"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

And for my final Pauper deck using the Metal core that I was using in developing my Dimir Metal Standard deck. Here is the Black Metal Monster that features the Improvise Creature Fen Hauler. 

With the amount of artifacts it is reasonable to just ignore all those colorless mana requirements on the giant Insect and just cast it for 1 Black mana. The ideal play would be the following:

Turn 1 : Play 1st Swamp + Universal Solvent = 1 artifact

Turn 2 : Play 2nd Swamp + Play Cogworker's Puzzleknot = 3 Artifacts

Turn 3:  Play 3rd Swamp + Play Foundry Assembly(With Improvise)  or another Cogworker's Puzzleknot and Universal Solvent

Turn 4: Play  4th Swamp + Fen Hauler and still have mana available for Removal Spells.

I know ,  I know it is not as explosive as I would have believed myself but you can also just take it slow for a bit and hold on to the Fen Hauler and deal with your opponents creatures first. Dhund Operative can be your early creature and is 3/2 Beater if you have played an artifact on your first turn. Even if you have not played an artifact when it comes in.  You could always make it bigger by plopping down one or two on your next turn.

There are 10 removal spells in this card and even if Tidy Conclusion is a bit on the heavy mana side it more than makes up for it because of the Life gain it will give you for having all those artifacts littering your battlefield.Universal Solvent is also a late removal if it is done helping you get bigger and bigger creatures out.

This is a mid-late aggro beast.Let the Dhund Operative , Foundry Assembler and Fen Hauler do what they were made for. Smash. Here is the Black Metal Monster list below.

22 x Swamps

4 x Foundry Assembler

4 x Dhund Operative

4 x Fen Hauler

_________________

12 Creatures

2 x Tidy Conclusion

4 x  Dead weight

4 x Murderous Compulsion

_________________

12 Spells

4 x Cogworker's Puzzleknot

4 x Metalspinner's Puzzleknot

4 x Prophetic Prism

2 x Universal Solvent

_______________________

14 Artifacts

"Pauper Kings: Molten Red Kaladesh"

"Pauper Kings: Molten Red Kaladesh"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Today's pauper deck is brought to you by the idea that Artifacts popping into play sparks Reckless Fireweaver and he kind of spits one damage to each of your opponents. 

Pretty nifty to have a lot of artifacts to put on the battlefield then. And with the Metal core that I have wanted to build around there will never be a shortage of metal bits to throw your opponents way.

In fact there are a total of 20 artifacts in this deck or simply translated that is 1 point of damage from the Reckless Fireweaver. There are actually 24 artifacts that may come into play if you are able to activate the Cogworker's puzzleknot. You could easily do it with the Prophetic Prism of course.

22 x Mountains

4 x Foundry Assembler

4 x Reckless Fireweaver

4 x Sweatworks Brawler

4 x Salivating Gremlins

______________________

16 Creatures

4 x Shock

4 x Welding Sparks

______________________

8 Spells

4 x Cogworker's Puzzleknot

4 x Metalspinner's Puzzleknot

4 x Prophetic Prism

2 x Universal Solvent

_______________________

14 Artifacts

To round out the creatures on this deck that really cares about artifacts that come into play I also have the Salivating Gremlins that becomes an enormous 4/3 when an artifact comes into play on your side of the board. 

I also have 2 creatures that have Improvise in the deck the 3/3 Sweatworks Brawler and Foundry Assembler. The latter is also a creature that can interact with the Gremlin and Fireweaver.

Of course a red deck would not be complete without some burn and just as a little insurance you have Shock to take care of blockers or just simply shooting someone in the face with. Welding Sparks just takes care of creatures from mid to late game.

So the plan is to have the Gremlin or Fireweaver in play. Attack or Ping. Either one will do the job.

So what do you think of Molten Red Kaladesh? Would you be playing it soon? I know I will.

"Pauper Kings: Blue Steel"

"Pauper Kings: Blue Steel"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

I have to be honest. These next few decks was made with the core common artifact cards revolving around  Cogworker's Puzzleknot ,  Metalspinner's Puzzleknot and Prophetic Prism. The Artifact basis for my Dimir Metal deck that I plan to use in this years GP Manila 2017.

Blue Steel is a deck that aims to control your opponents board by countering it with Metallic Rebuke which are powered out by those core artifacts I mentioned.Cogworker's Puzzleknot is a 2 for 1 artifact when you cast it. Metalspinner's Puzzleknot and Prophetic Prism provide enough card draw so you can get any of the 10 creatures in this deck.All of which can easily be Improvised by the abundant artifacts in the deck. Prophetic Prism is a great mana converter so you still have the ability to use either Puzzleknot and their effects.

22 x Islands

4 x Foundry Assembler 

4 x Bastion Inventor

2 x Gearseeker Serpent

________________________

12 Creatures

4 x Metallic Rebuke

4 x Select for Inspection

4 x Ice Over

2 x Take Into Custody

_______________________

14 Spells

4 x Cogworker's Puzzleknot

4 x Metalspinner's Puzzleknot

4 x Prophetic Prism

2 x Universal Solvent

_______________________

14 Artifacts

The Bastion Inventor is a particular favorite of mine here since it has Hexproof and will be hard to remove once it lands on the battlefield. Gearseeker Serpent is an affinity creature at common that usually costs 2 blue mana by the time all your core artifacts are in play.

Universal Solvent is here too as a late removal when you get enough mana. Believe me when I say that opponents will keep on looking at your mana and this artifact from time to time because they don't want to cast a huge monster on the board that can be removed by it for 7 mana.

Select for Inspection , Ice Over and Take Into Custody are things that the Consul does and they are in full glory here as this will serve your form of removal in the mono blue deck. You might have a problem with a lot of smaller creatures that may go in for damage early but don't be afraid to your removals and blockers early because when your Improvise/Affinity creatures come in later on you might have already exhausted your opponents creatures and hand.

"Lost Signal"

"Lost Signal"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Can you hear it from there?

The beating of this heart?

Broken only by the oceans roar

and the lands that scatter through out

But you do know right?

That caring for you from a distance 

Is like a signal lost in space and time

That you are a fading star

that I want to desperately want to wish on

And that wish is to hold you

And finally tell you

Rest now Star

Here. Where my heart beats the strongest.

Finally to say those words to you

Even if they travel through a space that might not reach you.

04/17/2017 Sykes Shaw 500

"Rhythm Traps"

"Rhythm Traps"

by:

Virigilio F. De leon Jr. MD

My body is moving on it's own when I hear that beat

the one you make with your mood.

And it spreads just a little more brightness

in this ever spreading gloom

There are things that I keep and I act cool

but around you it seems I never could

It frustrates me that you know all my moves

and you smile when I try to them all on you

So I dance around you and sing that song

trying to coax that smile from your lips again

I am saying baby please just one more for me

And it excites me when you oblige

So we are trapped in this rhythm

And I cant think of no one better to be with

And as we sway to the sound

You say that you feel the same.

04/17/2017 Sykes Shaw 500

"Screen Frustrations"

"Screen Frustrations"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

I see that pain in your eye

And I want to take it all away

I want to make you smile

because that too makes my day.

I know how you try and try and try

Through aching bones and bruised bodies

You persevere through the shouts 

Improve and reach through the doubts

Through sleepless nights and Dreamless tired sleeps

Through fears that you might not even share with me

And all I know is because I can feel

How tired you are from the screen

The twinkle in your eye is waning 

and so are your smiles

Oh how I long to bring those back for you

but I know that I cannot.

04/17/2017 Sykes Shaw 500

"A Summer Rain"

"A Summer Rain"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Your eyes are like a summer rain

the only cool thing in this blaze

When you tell me the smallest things

I find myself drawn into your maze

And in the days that you are not around

you leave a mirage that hints of you

And when you are actually here

you radiate in thousands of hue

Your smile is like a sudden storm

capturing me in so many ways

When you tell me those words again

I am alive for days 

So here I am whispering your name again

In this silence that I find myself in

Will I see you in this wasteland?

Will you be my summer rain?

04/17/2017 Sykes Shaw 500

"3 Things I have seen this Week #4: A Sock , A Car and A Ghost.

"3 Things I have seen this Week #4: A Sock , A Car and A Ghost.

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

The weeks seem to be getting weirder and weirder for me which I like? I guess.

So this weeks trifecta list goes like this.

#1 I saw a sock. 

A sock that my friend Ram brought me because he said that he found it in the meeting room that he was in. "I hope this is what I think this is."He began telling me. And I said , "Yes. Its a sock , a ladies thin sock that only covered the inside of her shoes. And right now a girl or a guy who is into those socks is walking with an incomplete pair."

#2 I saw a Car that was parked in front of a building...for 3 days.

So in one of the Call Centers I was working for a guard greeted me at the parking lot by asking where I was going and I said , "Doctor po ako diyan sa _______" 

"Ok po. Kotse niyo ba yan Doc? " pointing to the car that I just got off." (Sa akin malamang unless binuksan ko yung kotse at nagpahinga lang ako sa loob di ba?)

"Opo sa akin,(I just answered) Bakit po?"

"Ah kasi po yung isang kotse na yun eh 3 araw na dito." pointing to a car 4 parking slots away from me.

"Ok"

#3 I saw a Ghost.Again.This time on a friends FB page.

So my friend Ace never believed in ghosts or any paranormal things but the picture he took might be giving him some challenging thoughts at the moment.

While trying to snap a picture of the Eastwood Skyline he was able to see something that appeared directly behind him. A Ghost.

Fact is he didn't even see the picture right away because he took a 30 nap first. I wonder if the ghost hovered above him for awhile before leaving?

So yeah. A sock. A car. A Ghost. What have you seen this week?

"3 Things I have seen this Week #3:Chicken!"

"3 Things I have seen this Week #3:Chicken!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

This week seems like it was Chicken week. Oh wait. Every week is Chicken week but I did see some new things about Chicken and so here is my list.

#1 This week I have seen and eaten the McDonalds Buffalo style Chicken.

So it was basically their normal Chicken in what looked like Buffalo styled sauce that looked like the same sauce used for some Sweet and Sour fish which kind of messed up my experience with it since my mind kept expecting that I was eating fish but I was eating chicken instead.

#2 I have seen the ad for the new KFC Sisig Chicken.

I am a fan of Chicken Sisig but the one from KFC seems like it is just a bunch of fun shots covered in 4 thin lines of Sisig sauce. I have not tried it yet and if my McDonald's chicken is an indicator I might not have learned my lesson yet.

#I saw the Korean Chicken store from across the Tokyo Bubble Teahouse we were eating in at T.Morato.

My wife and I planned to go and cross the street to have an order to take home. We never got to it because we were full of Poutine Fries  , Crunchy Maki Rolls , Truffle Soup and Cheese Covered Teriyaki. Hopefully next week.

Whooo. A week full of Chicken. Have you had chicken this week too?

"3 Things I have seen this Week #2: Wipers , Kpop and Amonkhet"

"3 Things I have seen this Week #2: Wipers , Kpop and Amonkhet"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

So the three things I see each week might things that I just want to see or something that I did not want to see or just something someone wanted me to see. 

Here are the three for this week. I really have to work on my intros.

#1 I have seen my wiper not working while the rain poured horribly.

Horrible Horrible thought of being caught in the rain while the wiper on your car didn't work right? I had to live through it and after a couple of minutes of driving using the Force I was able to stop at the Shell near SM North and saw that there was a pile of dead leaves and other things that were preventing my wiper from working. It would have been odd to have been killed my leaves.

#2 I have seen way too much Kpop this month and they are still coming until the end of the month.

I don't know what it is with April but it seems like almost everyone wants to come back and you dont' even miss a week where no one is debuting or coming back or repackaging an album. Insane.

#3 I have seen the full visual spoiler of Amonkhet

And Yes I am still a magic player and this expansion has an Egyptian theme going on what with Cats and Mummies and all sorts of Scarabs and Jackals. This is going to be a good one.

How about you? What were the things that you saw this week?

"3 Things I have seen this week #1 : Tummy pats , Blown Tires and Dejected Idols"

"3 Things I have seen this week #1 : Tummy pats , Blown Tires and Dejected Idols"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

As part of Arya Stark's training to be a Faceless Man in the City of Braavos she had to learn 3 different things in one day and share them with The Kindly Looking man in the house of Black and White.

I have took it upon myself to also learn 3 things every day that I did not know but I feel like if I write one of these things every day then it would take up other topics that I want to talk about so I would rather write something about the 3 things that I have seen this week and to start things off there is my first three.

1) I have seen a man pat the tummy of a kid on an elevator and mockingly say taba mo ngayon.

The man seemed to be to fit for his own good if you ask me and the kid looked like he was less than ten. The kid also did not look like he was overweight but he did have that small belly that kids tend to have. So I am not really sure why the guy was doing this to a kid who just seems like he has a bigger belly. Maybe it is a form of payback? I may never know as the guy and the small kid went down the elevator before I could ask.

2) On my way to work one day I saw a car with it's left wheel clean blown off and all I can say is that this guy is going to have a really interesting morning dealing with police and paying for the cost of the tire that blew off.

3) And for the 3rd thing I saw this week. I saw the dejected look of a Kpop Idol as she watched another group celebrate their win on a music show. Goes to show how hard it is to have your work put out there and receive less than the attention that you believe you should be having. My heart goes out to this idol for that dejected look that she gave knowing that the other group celebrating also had a hard time as their popularity has waned down after a couple of comebacks.

So there. 3 things that I saw this week. I will try to write things that are unique to me and maybe you can also try to write something that is unique to you as a form of mental exercise. Who knows there might be things that you see that could lead to some great insight or idea that you might have not seen before. All in all thanks for reading and have a great week.

"Midweek Magic 2017 #16: One Last Dance"

"Midweek Magic 2017 #16: One Last Dance"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Playing magic has allowed me to meet a lot of diverse people who at the very least connect with me about Magic. However there are times that other interests of mine intersect with theirs too and I find myself a happy man when this happens. 

Our lone female player , Cheska runs a Quest for Ula's Temple / Seafoods deck when we play archenemy and during turns we got to talking about Kpop. While I have a bias for certain female groups I listen to one or two boy groups from time to time. So Cheska asked if I liked Big Bang and I said yes because they really produce quality content.  So she began playing a couple of Big Bang songs and when "Last Dance" came on I told Ram that this was the song where many Big Bang fans break out into tears and Cheska turned Red because in her words "Kuhang kuha ko raw" the way Big Bang fans cried and wished that all 5 members would enlist at the same time. Ram , Yo and I laughed so hard. 

This night was a very amusing night as we traded jokes and played another round of Archenemy where the villain gets to win most of the time because of those God schemes that get enacted. It also turned out to be a bittersweet one as Cheska would be transitioning from the company pretty soon and this series of games was also our Last Dance with her. This Ajusshi will miss playing with you but it was great that we have memories of this night of Magic and Kpop. 

"Midweek Magic 2017 #15: Onslaught Nostalgia"

"Midweek Magic 2017 #15: Onslaught Nostalgia"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Lately I have been playing more and more as an Archenemy during our midweek Magic games at Eton and since I was able to assemble my Tron deck featuring the Eldrazi brood and the Planeswalkers Ugin and Karn I have been winning more and more. I realized that Ugin is an absolute asshole in games even I am up against 3 or more people.

However I feel a lot more excitement from the games because of the Schemes that I get to enact. Ram has been calling it God Schemes since lately I have been drawing really great ones when I play my Tron deck. My favorite would be have you met my Cohort where I get to play Karn or Ugin for free and I don't even need to have them in my hand,

In one particular game we were joined by Jus who brought his old , unsleeved deck which gave me so much horror for 2 reasons. 

1 is because it contained all the Legendary Champions from Onslaught. Akroma , Silvos , Rorix , Visara , Arcanis and Jareth. And Jus was just shuffling them in without any protection! The horror! 

It gave me so much nostalgia because Onslaught was the first time that I really got into magic and here was Jus who also started around that time despite our age difference. 

2 reason that this deck gave me horror is the Riptide Shapeshifter , something that lets you name a creature card type and you get to reveal cards from your library until you reveal the creature card type and  plop that down after paying the activation cost. 

Of course Jus named Angel and on the battlefield went Akroma who I had no answer to at that time. It took a couple of turns to reduce my life total and despite my god like luck in schemes I was beaten by one of my favorite cards in Magic.

I had such a great time despite being horrified at the cards and their future state. Jus. For the love of the game please put them in proper sleeves. Those champions deserve it ok?

"Midweek Magic 2017 # 14 - Tron Tron Tron"

"Midweek Magic 2017 # 14 - Tron Tron Tron"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Have you ever been beaten by 4 Metalwork Colossus who came in and gave an Akroma impersonation because of the latter's Memorial in play? Flying Robots give me the chills. It's a good thing there are not Blightsteel Colossus in this deck.

Or how about having your life total smashed by a Reality Smasher and right behind him , attacking next turn was an Ulamog the Ceaseless Hunger and Kozilek the Great Distortion?Yup ,2 of the Brood waiting in the wings to finish you off. Very bleak right?

These are decks that are powered by the Urzatron lands which give off massive amounts of energy when you have all three lands in play which are Urza's Tower , Mine and Powerplant.

For weeks I have been beaten by these fast decks and have been longing to get my own Tron lands and finally this week I was able to go back to our Ancestral house and got most of my cards. It was a painstaking effort to go through dusty boxes and binders but it was worth it to find my Tron lands in pristine condition after being kept in that binder for years without play.

I finally found a home worthy for Ugin and Karn and Emrakul and Kozilek the Great distortion who my friend Ram sold to me on the cheap. The tron I built was not perfect because it seemed like an EDH deck with singular copies of creatures and planeswalkers and things like my Oblivion Stone. What felt great though is that I really did not have to spend anything at all to build the deck. Expedition Map , Prophetic Prism . Chromatic Prism and Ancient Stirrings were available to me as well as a set of Copperline Gorges that was also sold to me on the cheap by my friend Ace. See. It pays to have friends.

Last night we were able to play 5 chaos magic using the star pattern so that we don't have to deal with each other all that much. What happened is something that I didn't even expect would happen. Ram on the other hand expected that I would be able to draw and dig deep into my RG Tron deck. First up was Ugin who wiped the board clean very early. From then no one was able to set up properly until Karn appeared and then Emrakul and Desolation Twin finished the job with two successive turns. I think I enjoyed the nervous laughter and the constant threat assessment but without another play in check the Colorless monstrosities just rampaged. I plan to play another deck next time or play this deck against other Tron decks. 

"Midweek Magic 2017 #13 - Gathering Energy for Jund"

"Midweek Magic 2017 #13 - Gathering Energy for Jund"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

This week has been a very successful one for me as I was able to go to Regran and was able to find the pieces I was looking for to complete my Jund Energy deck (Or at least most of the pieces that did not include Lands , Planeswalkers named Chandra and Walking Ballistas). 

I was nervous to have it tested against another fellow Jund Energy deck player in Janry. I was also very excited with the interactions that I saw during my own play testing. 

Of course the deck revolves aroung getting a Winding Constrictor on the battlefield and abusing the counters it can give you and your creatures. I was running a full set of Rishkars which might be a little risky but in my play testing I have found that getting two of them is not really bad.This guy and the snake really play well. Just the two of them become instant power houses since there is essentially 2 +1/+1 counters on them.Casting another Rishkar blows up one of the existing copies on the battlefield but you have to choice of which to send to your graveyard so the one who dies is the fresh one and the old one could attack with an additional 2 +1/+1 counters. The interaction gets out of hand really fast.I was able to do this in several games and won. 

Another thing I have learned is that Longtusk cub would just keep on himself with Energy and grow really fast with a snake in play and even net you 3 energy counters for whatever it is that you want to do later on.

Nissa , Vital Force is also great here since you can use her ultimate ability on next turn that she came in . You get an emblem which is Landfall=Draw a card. Land Fetches get you 2 cards. Evolving Wilds nets you 2 cards for example.

And my lone Walking Ballista? Well in one test play I was able to grow it to an 8/8 which attacked for for 8 damage and then let go of all it's counters to deal 8 damage more to finish the game. Baboy. Simply Baboy.

I can't wait to have more testing done but for now I have been able to find a home for Ulrich of the Krallenhorde and Ishkanar. I might not get the chance to use this rather than for training against my improved Blue Black Tezzeret schemer deck. 

"All I know is your name"

"All I know is your name"

The fading light raises the stars

Across this our shared sky

Somewhere out there you are breathing

The same air as mine

I wonder if there was a way

to bridge this insurmountable distance

I know that even if I appear before you

It would still be the same wide chasm

I am but a stranger

I am that no name face you see

The One admiring you

Who's every dream is you

Yet is all the same

All we have is this shared sky

All we have is this distance

All I know if your name

01/21/2017 - MVR 

"Ms. Grundy of Riverdale: Not your parents Ms. Grundy"

"Ms. Grundy of Riverdale: Not your parents Ms. Grundy"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

One of the things that I scanned through in Netflix was the sexy reboot of the Archie franchise now called Riverdale. When I say sexy it seems like everyone seems like they would be sleeping with each other and all the "weird and ugly people" from the comics have been transformed into the Fxxxable versions of themselves. The main characters are rather dark and have more than their share of teenage problems. Far from the happy go lucky crew of the paper version. Even the grown ups seem to be about rolling in bed. Mr. Andrews , Archies rotund balding dad for example has been transformed into a buff older red head who has had a romance in the past with Veronica's now MILF mode mother.

I can probably handle all of that but there is one thing that still bothers me to no end and that is the hot teacher Man eater version of Ms. Grundy who is actually having an affair with every ones favorite carrot top. 

I mean from the old white haired , needle nosed , thin woman who on most occasions is the victim of Archie and his gangs harmless yet fun pranks or unintended problems into the music teacher that probably has a waiting list that goes on for months. 

I have still not watched the show or any parts that have Ms. Grundy and Archie making out because as an older fan of the comics I find myself cringing at the thought. My wife laughs at my discomfort. I mean Ms. Grundy is someone you run to for advise about the world not someone you run to for worldly experience.

And Hollywood would probably continue the reboot of older ladies like what they did with Aunt May by casting Marisa Tomei. While visually pleasing I rather think that the old women should not be replaced as their characters play an integral role in developing the main leads.

In Archie's case in Riverdale Ms. Grundy seems to be developing a rather side of him. A younger me would peek. The old me still cringes because I still see the old wise face of the previous character. 

"Hating this Laze inducing Heat"

"Hating this Laze inducing Heat"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

When I was young I hated the heat just for the thing that it was. I hated being in the sun , being baked by it , colored a crispy brown by it and being blinded by it when I woke up late during this supposedly Lazy April Month.

However I now have another reason to hate being in the heat. It was not long when my mom joined our maker in a blazing morning like this. And the heat brings back those memories of being in the Fatima ER , seeing her being revived and seeing her lifeless. April should have been a more relaxing month even with me being in the mercy of the sun but there is nothing that I could do about these memories coming back.

Last Saturday since all of the other food establishments were closed I was happy that I go to buy breakfast at Shakey's because it was literally just below the clinic that I worked for in Shaw Boulevard. I was enjoying the breakfast with my family when I realized that the last meal that I shared with mom was the same Seafood Marinara Pasta before she went home to Odiongan for the last time.

My family is very sensitive to me when they see me sad and I was instantly comforted by them. I am lucky in this way because I did not have to face my sadness alone. Time they say will heal all this  , not to forget how my mom was but ease the pain of her loss but I guess April will always be a bitter sweet month for me from now on.

We could take care of the heat by not going out or going out at night but there is sadly nothing I can do about the memories of that hot morning.

"The Marks We Leave"

"The Marks We Leave"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

There are things in this life that we cannot change. Things that we just need to live with as best as we can. There are decisions and thoughts and words that we may regret but that is all in the past and what matters is what we do with our life moving forward right?

Of course there would be those who would never see beyond your past or cannot help but think differently about you once they have learned what you have done or said or did not do or did not say. The question you need to ask yourself is do you really need these kinds of people in your life? Mistakes will be made and actions can harm but do you need to be punished for it when you have already been punished enough by your remorse and self immolation? Someone once said that the only apology you need to do is to yourself. If you have forgiven yourself and seen the error of your ways why should you keep on bowing to those who demand explanations or further apologies from you?

The past is the past and though it may still affect your future it is for you to decide to never forget but also live your life. Happiness and Life are both still to be yours and the people in your life always deserve the best version of you not when or if. So if you live the best version of your life to the best of your ability and in your own deathbed you might just as well smile because you did not let the dictate of your fate , situation or others lead you but your own convictions.

We could only wish as much in this life.

The legacy that we leave here are the actions that we have done that affect people the most. If that means raising a well rounded achieving child or a happy wife or achieving the pinnacle of your career or your studies then those are the things that we have left as our marks in this world. 

"The Wrong Focus"

"The Wrong Focus"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

I read a story the other day about an OFW mother who had to rush back home from Kuwait to look for justice for her dead son.

The story goes that the son was wrongly accused as a drug supplier in their area. The 19 year old had a heated argument with another person named Pejie and they were brought to the baranggay to settle their dispute and this is where it turns weird. According to the story Pejie with his accusations and all was recorded by the barrangay official who was mediating their fight. That same night some armed men covered in bonnets picked up the boy and shot him in the head. He was asked to run first but since he had clubbed foot could not and therefore had to be executed that way.

The mother who had to beg her employer to go home for her son , the article even mentioning how she had to kiss her employers feet 3 times and how she was not able to bring anything home as assurance that she would go back to her employer. 

The mother then began complaining to the baranggay official , claiming that her son died because they did not verify if he was selling drugs or not. 

While I am horrified at the thought of being identified as a drug addict or drug supplier I am more horrified at the way this story was presented in such a dramatic way as to tug at the common peoples heart strings like it was some telenovela material. 

It is insinuating in not so subtle ways that since the baranggay official known of the boy as a drug pusher he then ordered a death squad to go after him in the night and kill him to have one less problem in the community. The thing I found odd is that the mother did not blame the prime suspect in all of this. Pejie whom her son had an argument with and was actually the one who made the accusations. 

I understand that people would always want to find others to blame and it has come to a point in our society that it is best to blame the official who could have done this and not the prime suspect who might have had the means or contacts to have the boy killed. It saddens me that I read such tabloid material in a full spread of a broadsheet. Painting more hues on the current/suspended drug war of the President.

I am not for murder but I am for the right person to be brought to justice. The mother in her grief might be barking up the wrong tree and seeing nothing else at the moment. I know how that feels but maybe those who were reading this could actually think first before jumping into any conclusions.

Then again people's opinions are already colored so in the end it might not even matter.

"Fate and the 8 Clinics"

"Fate and the 8 Clinics"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

It is quite amazing what one tends to read when you are in vacation mode. I read about 8 clinics that were shut down last March 2017 because they were being investigated in relation to  their connection to a couple who may or may have not been funding terrorists from our country.

I am familiar with these 8 clinics because we are all in the same industry. And I personally 2 Doctors from 2 of the clinics and I find it sad that a source of their income has been suspended at least for now. It is not easy being a doctor in our country and it may seem like there are countless opportunities but in truth there are only a few that help us make a living. 

I am thankful that I also did not push in my application to two of these same clinics and that I have been guided to be in the clinics that I am in now. I am glad to have been introduced to the proper people and how one clinic led me to the others like a door opening another door and another door until I found these great places to work.

I hope that these 8 clinics will be cleared soon or that Doctors I know there find clinic slots that are more stable. 

"On Quakes and Fear mongering"

"On Quakes and Fear mongering"

by:

VF De leon Jr. MD

These latest earthquakes have been really scary but is something that should not come as a shock to all of us since we are part of the Pacific Rim of fire where earthquakes are a constant. 

To add to this heightened sense of fear some people have even posted that the Big One might be coming. That these earthquakes in Batangas could trigger the other fault lines that can be found here in Luzon. 

It bothers me to no end that some of these people are professionals who are in the throes of fear and in spreading their own fears others would have their own well fed. If Mr. or Ms. So and So actually is scared why shouldn't we be too right? 

First if you do a google search this warning of the big one was published last Feb 2017 and there was no mention of the big one occurring. Current news also warns of the big one but it is one of concern for preparations. No one is predicting that it would happen right about now. There is no set date. Only that people should be ready for it.

They see the numbers of 100,000 and millions in property damage but this things have not yet happened. Please be responsible in your social media accounts because people who look up to you are more likely to believe what you say about the Big One. We are not geologists. We do not work at Phivolcs. Our names are not Renato Solidum. Let us keep our calm and in doing so calm other people around us too. You are never far away from a person that you can influence with your words or belief and so let us not be the fear mongerers of our time.

Kalma lang. May Oras pa.

"Oh My Girl - Perfect Day April fools MV reaction:It is still All girls thankfully. "

"Oh My Girl - Perfect Day April fools MV reaction:It is still All girls thankfully. "

by:

The Vole

It has become a tradition for Oh My Girl every time they come out on April to have a special April Fools day fan service where they dress up in their alternate persona's , Oh my boy. They sing their second strongest single(AKA as the song that people might have wanted to be the carrier single) and get to wow everyone with their dancing and singing skills.

This comeback for the album Coloring book they have teased Perfect day and dressed up in short shorts and what seemed like an airforce , long sleeved formal uniform. Their long legs leaving little doubt that they are Oh my girl despite what they are trying to convey that they are Oh my boy.

I am glad that WM has somewhat limited the exposure of Hyojung , YooA and Mimi in the opening sequence of the song. Perverted Miracles have had a field day during the showcase and teaser where the step requires both these front facing dancers to open their legs wide. The actual release of the song in Oh My Boy persona has this sequence a bit darkened and the choreo was thankfully changed when they first showed it on M countdown. No one wants to get banned or get an 18+ rating here after all.

This song is awesome and has really cute close ups of the girls as they do their things around chairs. Yes they do their cutie sexy things in tight shorts around steel chairs! Changing formations and stepping on them too. One particular step that got me worried was when YooA pulled two chairs together and danced on it. Waaaah!

While it doesn't seem as dangerous as the Brave Girls Choreo of Rollin(Those had them grinding while wearing high heels!) I still don't want anything to happen to these girls. They are already missing Jine and one more member might break them into sub units! 

Seunghee and Hyojung is on point here as always , Mimi still carries her weight as a vocalist and foregoes the rapper parts. Although there is a semi rap part here for her. YooA , Jiho , Binnie and Arin are stunning. I especially like Arin's part where she sings It's Magic. Many miracles are now making lovable meme's of Arin stating Ah Arin You are Magic. YooA and Jiho slays so much in their screen time here that you hold your breathe a little and realize that the song is done.

What does Perfect day say about the girls? They are slowly pushing their way into more daring territories while maintaining that innocent and fresh girl group image of theirs but you just feel that in the near future they might do a sexy concept. 

Many are saying that Perfect day should have been the carrier single for this comeback because of its anthemic chorus , tighter sounding Rock Guitar track that reminds you of an Avril Lavigne song with softer vocals. This was the same thing they said about One Step , Two Step but Coloring Book is more akin to Cupid so I love that song. 

All in all Perfect Day shows the girls growth and exploration of other things.And I am looking forward to the next April Day Fan service.