"Hollow One: Hollow there!"

"Hollow One: Hollow there!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr, MD

With every set there are some people who look at a card and ask themselves, "How fast can I actually get this creature out to the battlefield?" Hollow One who is a 4/4 at 5 colorless mana cost is the creature in Hour of Devastation that makes me want to  ask this question.

Normally you want to hold off hope on any 5 mana CMC creatures but you can actually cheat this card into play for an alternative cost. It costs 2 colorless mana less to cast for any card you cycled or discard this turn. And out of the corner of my vision the 4 sets of Putrid Imps that I have horded when Graveborn came out suddenly raised little hands and volunteered themselves for the job.

On turn 1 you could go ahead and cast the Putrid Imp for one mana, Discard 3 cards and get a Hollow One into play.The ideal scenario is for you to have 1 land  1 Putrid Imp ,any 3 cards to discard and at best 2 Hollow Ones at hand. So think about it for a moment. At the cost of your entire hand and any sort of response you now have 2 4/4 creatures on turn one. A massive 8 damage swing per turn if your opponent cannot take care of them.

In standard or modern I see the Hollow Ones being cast at the end of a 3 cycling cycle(yeah there I said it , cycling cycle), card drawing turn. There are still cards from Inistrad like the Olivia's Dragoon or the Noose Constrictor who lets you discard cards on turn two and you could also take advantage of the Hollow One here.It just depends on which colors you want to mix it with.

Excited yet? I know I am. Time to horde something that goes with my Little Putrid Imps hehehehe

"The Scarab God: Zombies rejoice!"

"The Scarab God: Zombies rejoice!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

The world of Amonkhet had 8 gods and Nicol Bolas took 3 of them as his own minions. These 3 grixis color aligned gods have now emerged on the plane and the one that got me the most excited was the Dimir colored Scarab God. 

This legendary creature is the commander that Zombie EDH decks have been waiting for a long time  and would now probably replace the now reigning Gisa and Geralf in this department or in the case of my friend Mark worth making another EDH entirely.

Just take a look at that long line at the very beginning and tell me that this was not made for EDH games. That long line alone will win you games. So at the beginning of your upkeep 2 things happen depending on how many zombies you have in the battlefield. 

1) Each opponent loses X life. Each opponent! So you have 40 zombies. That normally just spells the end for everyone around the table.

2) You scry X. Not enough zombies in play? Well you can dig them up from your every library.

And The Scarab God doesn't even need to attack. He just needs to survive for a couple of turns as you keep on pouring zombies unto the battlefield from cards like Army of the Damned or Grave Titan.  

The reasons for playing this 5/5 God might just as well end there but it also has an activated cost that makes you want to play it even more. For 4 mana , 2 colorless and Dimir Colors you can exile a creature from a graveyard( any graveyard including your opponents!) You create a 4/4 Black zombie creature token of that thing you exiled and you get all of it's benefits. Enter the battlefield effects from Titans or Primordials or Gearhulks even stat boosters from opponents if you copy a zombie lord from an opposing player or Mikaeus for example. 

By using this ability you have eliminated a possible reanimation target or even trigger it in response to a creature being targeted by a reanimation spell. Yup Eternalizing an opposing players creature has never been sweeter.

So what happens when an opponent decides that he or she would deny you of a Scarab God win and wipes the board clean? Well the Scarab God just comes back to your hand at the beginning of the next end step. It may not have indestructibility as the other 5 mono colored gods but it more than makes up for it by potentially coming back to your hand to be utilized again. 

So are you excited about the Scarab God? I know I am. 

"The Locust God : Ang Locust Locust!"

"The Locust God : Ang Locust Locust!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

In the game of magic there are some who fall in love with certain types of game play and normally stick with the concept until they get tired and try something new. In Team Virulence  for example I specialized in Infect decks. We always had someone who was aggro or control or a little bit of both but one stood out because his decks would always do one thing. Draw. Draw massive amounts of cards that would either flood his hand or cause him to win a lot of games. 

The moment I saw The Locust God I instantly remembered Nolan who said that his main goal in life is to draw the most number of cards. Now he has a win condition.Let us take a look at the Izzet aligned god and see how strong it really is.

For 6 mana , you get a 4/4 flying legendary creature that says, "Whenever you draw a card , create a 1/1 blue/red Insect creature token with flying and haste."

You draw a card. Create a 1/1 flyer with haste! Standard players already want to pair this with Pull from tomorrow for X number of flying critters. Add the amount of cycling cards in the current standard and you have a lot of those locust babies on the battlefield. Locust talaga. Di siya weak. Malocust siya. I can't wait to get this in my PR kit and just go on punning away while I play. Gino . Team Virulence's chef and pun maker would be proud of me.

If Pull from Tomorrow is bad I imagine other worse things to pair with this God in EDH. Imagine The Locust God in play with a Consecrated Sphinx. Assuming that you have 4 opponents and you draw 2 cards for each that they draw then potentially you could have 8 1/1 Insects when your turn comes around.Make that  a solid 9 1/1 Insects on your own draw step. Then there are the other EDH staples like Rhystic study that let's you draw a card if an opponent does not pay an extra colorless mana for each spell they cast.

Then there are the Enters the battlefield cards that let's you draw a card. Primespeaker Zegana and Deadeye Navigator soul bonded with each other could make you enough tokens to win the game. Just keep on bouncing the Primespeaker. Even an Elvish Visionary can get you a 1/1 token. Assuming you really want to play 4 colors hehehheeh.

Skullclamp just begs to be used in anything that involves The Locust God. On your first draw of the turn you already get a 1/1 token that can then be equipped on the clamp ,it dies ,  you proceed to draw two cards and assuming that you have enough mana can go on until you have enough attackers to finish off an opponent or two. One thing I would really love pull off with this interaction is to have an Impact Tremors in play as well. Just keep on having Insects come in and just keep on pinging each opponent until they have no life. Sick.

One combo that gets an upgrade is the Niv-Mizzet , The Firemind - Curiosity/Ophidian Eye combo that lets you draw and ping an opponent to death. Normally you would restrain your draw and pinging to stave off dying via library death but with all the 1/1 Insect tokens you can be sure not let your other opponents feel left out from the damage dealing.They won't love you or the Locust God for it but hey what are good friends for right?

Oh and just in case you don't have a spell to draw a card , the Locust God has an ability to let you draw and discard a card for 4 mana. I love these built in things.

While the Locust God seems like it is a lot weaker than the other Gods(you can Electrify it for 4 damage after all). It also shares the same ability as the others since it will just go back to your hand when it dies on the next end of turn. 

Resilient and full of buggy goodness.

"Nicol Bolas , God-Pharaoh: The Big Boss is back"

"Nicol Bolas , God-Pharaoh: The Big Boss is back"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Nicol Bolas has finally shown himself and with Hour of Devastation only a few weeks away Wizards of the coast has been whipping up a frenzy like no other..And this new set seems to want to end in that frenzy leading up to Ixilan.

I wanted to talk about the New Nicol Bolas Planeswalker card that would hit us. At a mana cost of 4 colorless mana and Grixis colors the God-Pharaoh will demand his own dedicated deck because let us not kid ourselves by saying that he is easy to cast like Ugin or Karn. Needless to say I see people playing with Nicol Bolas if not in Standard but in EDH or Archenemy decks. I know because I already have plans to include him in my Sultai Red planeswalker deck where he will join the Sleeker version of himself.

With a starting loyalty counter of 7  , Nicol Bolas, God Pharaoh can instantly affect the battlefield as he enters. This new Bolas has 4 abilities that befit his new status. And oh boy is he just dishing out a whole bucket full of hurt.  

His first ability(+2) makes a target opponent exile the top card of his or her library until they reveal a non-land card and until the end of turn you may cast this revealed card without paying for it's mana cost.

With his mana cost , the God Pharaoh will be appearing late in the game where you can probably finish off an opponent with this first skill. It is a Mind funeral after all and when there are less spells to exile there are increased chances of ending a player there and then. Or you might find yourself getting a really good card like a mass removal. Chances are though you would be Mind Funeraling someone to a Library death before you can kill them with a creature. 

His second ability(+1) affects all opponents facing you which makes them exile 2 cards from their hands. EDH players would rejoice as they disrupt late game shenanigans and probably remove any threats for an all out attack.Archenemy players would welcome this in their decks as well.(I would)

His 3rd ability(-4) is a massive slap to the face of a player or creature. There are only a few creatures to survive a 7 damage blow. And if a player has been taking incremental damage this 7 damage swing could mean the end as well. Way to go. Bolas Chop! Or Bolas Uppercut! However you imagine him swinging those massive claws.

The God-Pharaoh's Ultimate ability (-12) gives you Final Judgement of sorts for all non-land permanents your opponents control. All of them. Planeswalkers , Enchantments , Artifacts and Creatures all gone in a flash. While still having lands makes a comeback possible. Nicol Bolas and his minions will take those odds. So much for all the set up if you let this dragon get his ultimate.

I am excited to have this card in my ever growing planeswalker collection and he really has a place for my archenemy deck so I am hoping to open this in my first packs in the PR week. So what do you think of the God-Pharaoh? A bit strong? A bit watered down?

"Samut The Tested: Attack and Fetch me my Cohorts."

"Samut The Tested: Attack and Fetch me my Cohorts."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Dissenters be dissenting and Samut be attacking. Yeah. RG is all about the aggro and this new planeswalker can make an early attacker swinging twice or getting the creatures you need for that all out attack. 

In my mind Samut the tested has no other place but a very aggressive deck. One that features a lot creatures that can attack quickly or big creatures that survive clashing with others. Red and Green have her covered in this regard as there are a whole slew of creatures that fit this description.

At 4 mana it would be easy to cast her in the 3 or 4th turn depending on the amount of creatures that you already have on the battlefield. It would be of no good for you if you are able to cast her but have nothing to receive the benefit of her first ability which is a (+1) ability. While you don't really need a target for it you might want to have one since you should be on the offensive with her on your side of the board.

The 2nd ability of Samut is a spot removal effect which you should only use if you already have enough creatures amassed for a massive attack that could end your opponent or basically deal a great ton of damage. Otherwise you should just keep on piling the Loyalty counters on Samut for her Ultimate ability.

Samut's ultimate ability (-7) allows you to look for up to 2 Creatures or 2 Planeswalkers and then put them directly on the battlefield! This is the part of the card that has got me a bit foaming in the mouth as I would love to plop down very big creatures with Annihilator or just have a lot of those planeswalkers. Samut will also fit nicely in my Sultai Red Planeswalker deck so I place her high on my list of cards to acquire.  I see Rhonas and Hazoret being fetched out in Standard or maybe Rhonas and Ulamog? The last pair seems particularly nasty. 

I might build an aggressive deck around her but for my purposes I would rather have her calling Nicol Bolas , Vraska or Garruk , Apex Predator unto the field. Samut the Tested might well be another target of hate in my play groups EDH or Archenemy games when the time comes. 

"Bontu's Last Reckoning:All in the timing"

"Bontu's Last Reckoning:All in the timing"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

When you have a card that let's you destroy everything on the battlefield it will always get compared  to another card that does the same thing. In this case Bontu's Last Reckoning and Damnation will be on the same comparison sheet. Those who have enough copies of Damnation (or wish to have enough copies) see the 4 mana Sorcery as a better version of the two despite the added 1 mana cost. Sadly Damnation only exists in Modern while Bontu's Last Reckoning will help a lot in Standard for a couple of years.

Bontu's Last Reckoning can be used in Standard and would currently be the best Mass removal spell because of it's low 3 mana cost. A lot of players will auto include this but you should still be careful when you use it since it does have one nasty draw back. You won't be able to untap your lands on your next turn. A turn that would leave you like a sitting duck ready for slaughter if you are not careful. Yes you can wipe out all of the early aggressors like Energy decks but still end up dead due to two things. Vehicles and Gods(I am looking at you Hasty Hazoret). 

With the abundance of vehicles out there who can be crewed after a sweep by a creature who just landed on the battlefield and Gods who can survive mass removal due to their indestructibility and attack after their particular demands have been met you really need to get the timing right. Haste creatures can also be a problem or even Embalmed and Eternalized creatures since there are a lot players who would just let this sorcery resolve and get their zombies next turn. 

I am all for this card but in current standard it needs graveyard clearing support otherwise things that you have already taken cared off would take a big chunk of your life total later on. 4/4 Eternalized creatures are no joke even if you can Fatal push them into submission. Best to have 4 copies even if the draw back is a bit steep. 

"Loona/Jinsoul - Singing in the rain MV reaction:Jinsoul the Fish "

"Loona/Jinsoul - Singing in the rain MV reaction:Jinsoul the Fish "

by:

The Vole

Singing in the rain continues Loona's path into the sexy side and with the reveal of Singer/Rapper Jinsoul almost with the same stage as Kim Lip with the exception that she is resonating on the color Blue. Even if this color seems to have a cooling effect it certainly has a different effect especially when you start watching her dance.

Jinsoul starts the MV in a dark area with a wide arc of light illuminating her as she carries a bag of fish with her. She starts running and you instantly know that that fish is a gonner. It might explain why she is later seen in a fish shop , she might be trying to replace the dead fish because she might get into trouble. But that is just a theory.

This trap beat filled dance track features the slim waisted , blond Jinsoul as she dances her heart out and has several images where she is symbolized as a fish. Like the one where she sits inside an aquarium as she sings and that awesome floating shot where she is like a Blue fish floating in the air.

Singing in the rain continues to keep my interest and I wonder about who Loona will reveal next to complete this subunit as they normally come in threes. Kim Lip and Jinsoul also has an audio track called Love Letter where they bought mesh well musically.  For now Jinsoul the fish certainly has kept me looking out for what Loona will be like when they are finally complete.

"Stellar - Archangels of The Sephiroth MV reaction: Welcome to the fold."

"Stellar -  Archangels of The Sephiroth MV reaction: Welcome to the fold."

by:

The Vole

It has been awhile since I last saw the girls of Stellar and the last that I saw there just four of them and they were on a long drive.This time around they returned with a 5 member line up that features in a video that shows a lot of magic and hip grinding.AkA Sexy things that you expect from a Stellar MV. 

The Tree of Sephiroth sounds like a song that you would hear in some Mediterranean or Middle eastern place only it has Korean singers grinding to it's hypnotic beat and distorted sitars. The beat is heavy and foreboding at times but the result is unmistakable  , another sexy offering from the girls of Stellar. No one dares complain. 

I would like to describe the MV as a lot of Magic and Angelic hip grinding. Just a few things that you want to see in an MV. Minhee , stands out as always as she begins the song with her crystal prostrating worship.

The girls are seemingly divided into Pure angels(Minhee , Hyoeun)and fallen angels in the wastes(Gayoung , Junyool). Both factions then try to influence the new comer of the group , Soyoung to turn to their side. Although I don't know how the fans work in favor of the Pure Angels versus the more forceful influence of the Fallen Angels with oil being rubbed on the body of Soyoung. As if to say , welcome to Stellar Soyoung. Now it's time to get a little dirty.

Yup. Welcome to the fold Soyoung. Hopefully by the end of next year when Stellar's contract ends that you could have won a couple of Music shows with this MV. 

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #4: "Ilang beses daw?"

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #4: "Ilang beses daw?"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Me: Ilang beses niyo po iniinom sa isang itong Metformin?

Patient: Isang Araw po.

Me: Ok. Isang beses isang araw tama?

Patient: Opo

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #3: "This Meme...Only for real"

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #3: "This Meme...Only for real"
by:
Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Patient: Doc masakit po yung kamay ko kapag ginaganito(Proceeds to twist her right wrist)

Me: (reminded of this meme almost blurting out: Then dont do it!) Ah ilang araw na po yang ganyan?"

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #2: "Naisip lang niya!"

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #2: "Naisip lang niya!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Overheard on the Radio:

Announcer: Ito si Mr. ______ isang ahente ng _____

Mr.____: Minsan naranasan ko na din na ihi ako ng ihi at sumasakit ang likod ko. Kaya naisipin kong magpaultra sound...

Me: Ang lupit ni Sir. Ultrasound kaagad ang naisip niya!

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #1 : "Ano ang apelyido mo?"

Doc In , Doc Out June 2017 #1 : "Ano ang apelyido mo?"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

When I have finished processing patients I usually try to call out names and when no one responds I ask random patients who are in line for the other sections like Laboratory or Xray so I can process them first. I approached one gentleman and said.

Me: Sir , ano po ang apelyido ninyo? (While looking at the charts I  was carrying)

Patient: Ah Kakain lang po ako saglit.

Me: (Ang haba naman ng apelyido niyo Sir)

"The Dragon and the 6th Talon"

"The Dragon and the 6th Talon"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

The island lay 50 miles off the coast of Busan and have been there for a long time. How it remained hidden from the world is a secret that involves Dragon Magic and some recent technological advances not to mention several laws that make it illegal to even be swimming near it.

The island had a total population of two people at the moment and a single house that had a walkway around it that allowed you views of the distant Japan and The City of Busan in South Korea. V looked on at the ocean and sighed as the wind blew the black windbreaker he was wearing making him feel cold although technically he could not feel it.

The door behind him opened and a younger male all clad in yellow appeared with a cup of what looked like dark steaming tea but V knew better. It was Dragon Beer. A cupful of which could make you forget things until next week. V looked at the yellow clad youngster and motioned for him to lower the tray and to come closer. "Noran , you know I don't drink and even if I did it would take a whole lot to get me to forget what is bothering me."

"So something is bothering you master otherwise you wouldn't choose my station as a hang out." Noran said as he lit a cigarette and let the wind take the smoke away from his master who also did not like the habit."Women troubles master?"

"More like creation problems V said as he closed his windbreaker."I think I failed."

"what makes you say that Master? All the plans over the years have been leading to this one moment.Black and Green have left us thinking that when you succeed the world will need either of their factions to survive."

"They all know what is coming when I do fail. And it seems that they are going to be right."

"Is it because one of the sacred orbs is housed in a maiden that could not fall?"

"Oh there is no maiden who could not fall. Only you know the rules. A maiden must freely give it up. Love is a component of this and if a maiden could not fall then we all know that there are two other orbs out there."

"Would there be enough time for the other two master? It seems that 65 years of searching for them had given us a rather empty cup."

"I know and well I am down to my last 99 days.And this maiden we found  , we found mainly by accident thanks to White."

Noran almost choked at the mention of White , the half insane Talon who almost killed him at one point. The main reason why he sought the isolation of this island in the first place." I wish you would not mention that monster master. My wounds still feel painful on the extremely cold nights here."

V looked at Noran and his pain revealed his true age , he might look like a fresh faced boy but he was a talon nonetheless. And it made him a whole lot older than most of the humans in existence. "What White did was unforgivable and I promise you that when I do find him that justice will be done."

"He has become good at covering his tracks master. Besides he is not the priority here and when I find him first he would be sorry for all the thing he has done to me."

V looked on at the violent sea and felt that his feelings were reflected there. "YuuA is not the one."

"Then there are 2 other out there master. I have been developing new algorithms to find them. We will find them before the 99 days are up."

"I admire your enthusiasm Noran but I feel really tired."

"A lot rides in this master and I believe that this is bigger than just one dragon or maiden or talon or scale. Isn't there another way to ascend?"

"There are several. All three involves me killing another one of my kind until I get the energy that I require. It is a big amount of energy after all."

"The Diamond Procedure , Fire Sleight and Tower Dominion."

"As expected of you Noran , Kayz has been willing to help me with the 2nd one but I love that woman so much to let her do that for me."

"I believe that Sinhee and Solhun are willing to sacrifice themselves for the other methods as well."

"You know very well that I could not do that too."

Noran looked at his master and could not help.

"Do you want humanity and dragonkind to die Master? Because failing in all the methods mean just that. You are the last Creation Dragon . the last descendant of the First. All of the talons know this and we are compelled to assist you in any way to make your goals a reality."

"I know that Noran but I feel tired.YuuA makes me feel tired. Searching in vain has not been is not one of my goals."

Noran took the cup of Dragonbeer from the table behind them."Then drink and rest master.We will continue to work. Forget all this for awhile and we will wake you when you are already needed."

V looked at the offered cup."No. I will be in the dessert. Continue your invaluable work here." The last creation dragon was illuminated with a blue light and with a little push flew into the air on the way north to China.

Noran drank a sip from the cup , coughed at the strong liquid and threw the rest toward the sea. His master sure was a complicated one.He was falling hard for this human but he knew that human loved another. His master most likely knew that and  with his experience he could guess that there would be some new mountains forming in China in the next few days.

"Her Messages for the Dragon"

"Her Messages for the Dragon"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

V pressed the app to retrieve his voice messages but he did not even know why he bothered. He only knew that it would be full of messages from her.

The machine read off the message in what it hoped was it's friendliest robotic tone:

Message 1:

"Why are you not answering your phone? I am worried about you. Please call me." 

Her voice sounded a bit frantic like she really cared. The answering machine droned on.

Message 2

"V if you don't answer your phone I will go there and drag you out until you talk to me."

V blew air out of his mouth and thought. "Goodluck with that , you don't even know where I am."

Message 3

"V I know I was wrong but please give a me a chance to explain all that has happened. We can't let it end like this."

It was a mistake opening these messages but V was in the habit of hurting himself with his bad choices. Hearing her voice was painful and it seemed like someone was pulling all the muscles in his chest apart. Her voice didn't even sound like Summer.

Message 4

"Please talk to me. I feel so alone right now. I am going to wait for you until midnight at the dormitory rooftop. Please show up. If you have even a little bit of feeling for me please show up."

Typical YuuA , V thought to himself. Demanding but not demanding and making the choice about him and not about her. If you don't go you are the one who made the decision not to go. She was the one waiting. She was also the one that hurt him so much that he has trouble focusing on what to do. A part of him wants to go and a part of him wants to rage.

Message 5

"I know by now that this is pretty useless and that you are beyond my reach at this point. Please know that I still love you and maybe we can start again. Like that date we had in the  Dragon vault. Oh V , I am so sorry to have done this to you. Please come back." YuuA began sobbing on the phone. "Please , please , please call me be back. Please , please , please , see me."

V gritted his teeth and the anger from inside him welled up again. She was using the one thing she knew always worked on him. Her freaking tears. Her needs. Her wants. The old him was struggling with his new reality. He had to say to himself that things were going to be much better without her. Of course it meant that he will not ascend and he will turn to dust a week from now but that would be much better than staying in a situation that would make him crumble into nothingness now.

There was something in that decision. A sense of clarity that he did not know he could have and the words of those who cared for him came flooding back into his mind.

"Humans are bad news.I find it best not to meddle in their affairs as much as possible."

"You really don't have challenges my son.Everything is easy for you that you don't really lift a finger to be better."

"Why would this one human female care what happens to our kind? She is human. We are dragons. We have always been at war."

"You seem to have a fatal misunderstanding of the role Creation Dragons serve.With or without ascension you still serve our kind."

"Master , Do not be stupid as to fall for this person. Ruin follows the foolish."

V looked at the ceiling and muttered to himself."I guess I have to take advise from all of you. And all of you make sense. So the logical thing to do is for me do to the one decision that does not make sense to anyone of you."

V put on a shirt and jacket. Got his keys from the nightstand. If she was waiting. He would not make her wait long.

"The Dragon and the Fox Maknae"

"The Dragon and the Fox Maknae"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Binmi was pretending to eat the bagels in front of her while secretly looking at V. Besides her was YuuA who was doing the same thing and was not doing a great job at hiding it. 

"I don't know Unnie. If he loses the hairstlye and the weird clothing he does look really cute." Oh My Dolls Cute Maknae said without taking her eyes off the odd dressing weirdo who served as their driver and body guard.

The lead dancer said nothing and continued to eat. The maknae turned to face her and with a very serious face that seemed out of place for her asked."YuuA unnie if you don't like V could I have him?"

"Have him? are you asking me like he was some sort of toy that I owned?" YuuA raised an eyebrow at the bold way the younger Binmi was acting. "You seem to have some experience at this."

"I do Unnie , there were a lot of boys in my old school and I'd kiss once on a date.Have you ever been kissed by a boy before Unnie?" 

There was a prolonged silence as YuuA gathered her thoughts. She went back to the time that boys would try and kiss her one way or the other only to be met with the timely kicks of his older brother. She would be mad at him for costing her the experience but she knew better now , he was only looking out for her. "No. Not even once."

The fox smile on Binmi's face appeared again and YuuA knew that she would be up to no good again. "I kissed a lot of boys but I want to know what V Oppa's lips taste like. It is probably the least I can do after what he did for me with those 5 awful men."

YuuA turned red at the younger girls bold words. "If he wants to kiss you then there is nothing I can do about that. You just need to be careful around that one. The more I learn about him the more questions pop out."

"Im really surprised that you would just let me have him unnie. I have seen the way he looks at you.Those long lingering stares. I want someone to look at me that way too."

"He looks at me that way? " YuuA was blushing even more. 

"I also see the way that you look at him. You can try to hide it but Fox smile Binmi sees all!" Binmi placed her hands over her head to make fox ears and made them flop up and down. "Buing Buing!"

V approached the two ladies. "And what is it that you noticed today Fox Smile Binmi?"

The two girls turned red.

"That these Bagels are great!" Binmi said while picking one and waving it at V's face. "V Oppa why do you wear the things that you wear?"

"It's a secret." the turtle necked , blond wigged weirdo said.

Yuua looked at Binmi. "I told you that whenever you ask him something he gives you more to think about."

"No I do not." V said. Grabbing a bagel himself and taking a bite at it. "It's a secret only because I am hiding from some people."

YuuA rolled her eyes. "There he goes again. He tells you the answer but it invites another question to be asked see Binmi?"

"Should I ask him or should you unnie?" The maknae said. Yuua turned silent so Binmi asked away.

"Do you like my Unnie?" 

V smiled at the question.

"I could answer that now but I want to have a bet with you."

"Sure" the cute Maknae smiled back.

"I will take you out to dinner. Anywhere you want but you have to prove that she likes me."

"Deal!" Binmi said while raising a thumb towards V. "I know she likes you because....Mmmm...mmmpph....mmmmph..."

YuuA with her almost cat like reflexes was able to cover anything Binmi had to say and dragged the younger one into another room. All the while giving V that dreaded I will deal with you later look that she had given Bee before. 

V shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the bagels left on the table. There was no sense in wasting good food. He wondered which one did YuuA's lips touched and when he determined that he could not know he ate them both.

In the other room One can hear the faint cries of Binmi asking forgiveness from her Unnie as the latter tries to strangle her.

"The Dragon Tries to Impress"

"The Dragon Tries to Impress"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

V stood at the back of the 4 girls he was assigned to watch. For this broadcast for their fans they were divided into 2 groups and each would compete at a shooting hoops game in this arcade. YuuA stood excitedly with Jinyo , Bee and Seunsee. 

The latter two were looking at V with grudging respect after the events in Myeongdong but they were acting really feminine as the camera filmed. 

The 4 of them drew lots to find out who would go first and it was Seunsee who kept shooting until she got 46 points. Jinyo handed the camera over to YuuA and she shot 36. Bee who was the most boyish in the group got 56 points and a nervous YuuA didn't even think that she could score higher than 20 points. In the end she only got 9 points.

V could not help but laugh at the score which made YuuA look at him with utter disdain.

"Kpop superstar. Let us see you shoot better then."

V just nodded. "Only if you turn off the camera."

Jinyo put down the camera but she angled it in such a way that it would still catch V in action. She plans on having a laugh at their bodyguard/drivers expense later.

V stood in front of the machine and cracked his knuckles. He slammed on the bright red button in the center and the balls all came falling down. He grabbed one , bent his elbow and flicked his wrist sending the ball into an arc that swished into the chain net. The 4 girls looked on as he repeated this motion adjusting for the weight of the balls in his hand and not missing a single shot which gave him a grand total of 465 points. The machine announced , "Top Player".

The 4 girls gaped at their bodyguard/driver. 

"How in the world did you do that?" YuuA said who came next to him. "Teach us. We need to do better than the other team."

"Teach Yuua the most V. She needs it!" Jinyo joked as she looked at the camera.

"You didn't turn it off did you?" V asked

"Yeah, it makes me think that you were just showing off for YuuA."

Bee and Seunsee looked at the tall man who suddenly lost his grin.

"I'm impressed. Now teach me!" YuuA said like a cat who just found a chew toy. She was pawing at V. "Teach me  , teach me."

"Ok" V said. She positioned the lead dancer in front of the hoop and grabbed a ball and placed it in her hand. "Bend your elbow like this" , V started and Jinyo continued filming. Later they would see how YuuA smiled so much when she reached a 100 points. And behind them V just giving a thumbs up.

"Midweek Magic 2017 # 20 - Girls Night Out"

"Midweek Magic 2017 # 20 - Girls Night Out"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

One day as I was fixing card by color I happen to just plop done Black cards that I already had.And I just happened to look at cards that I have a set of and this deck emerged.

22 x Swamps

1 x Liliana , Heretical Healer 

1 x Sidisi , Undead Vizier

2 x Yahenni , Undying Partisan 

2 x Bontu , The Glorified

4 x Festering Mummy

4 x Vengeful Rebel

3 x Baleful Amit

4 x Bonepicker 

4 x Bloodsoaked Champion

1 x Tasigur , The Golden Fang

________________

27 Creatures

1 x Liliana Vess

_______________

1 planeswalker

4 x Trial of Ambition

3 x Bontu's Monument  

2 x Sign in Blood

2 x Sever the bloodline

______________

11 x Spells

Of course the girls I am referring to in the deck is Bontu , Liliana , Sidisi and Yahenni. It's just funny that they happen to be in the same pile altogether and I was able to finish the deck and sleeve it in less than half an hour.

I always liked Machine Gun decks where you can just mow down anything that appears on the battlefield while keeping creatures of your own. 

Trial of Ambition is a great creature removal especially for decks that have a low churn of critters. I might add a Cartouche here since I had a game where I was able to cast all 4 copies could not recycle them because I was too lazy to look for the Black Cartouche in the same pile.

I have two creatures here that act as creature removal as well in the form of Festering mummy that reminds me a lot of Festering Goblin. It always kills one toughness creatures for me especially when it is sacrificed to Bontu or Dies to Baleful Amit who puts a -1/1- counter on it. If the opposing creature is tougher let us say 3/3 then Vengeful Rebel can do the job and it's revolt ability is always triggered because there are so many ways for a creature to die in this deck. Sacrificing to Yahenni and Bontu is always an option with the former even offering to have a creature sacrificed instantly and at no cost. "Thank you for the snack Darling" you could almost hear Yahenni say.

So who benefits from all this death? Why Liliana , Heretic healer of course who can then ignite her spark and become a planeswalker. And then there is Bonepicker who costs a measly 1 black mana.

Bontu's Monument allows you to also play cards at a discount and also a little siphon of life from your opponents. -1 for them +1 for you. Not bad since all of you 3 mana crits now just cost 2 mana.

Bloodsoaker Champion works well with Bontu as he could die and just come back again and again for the god. Sidisi , well the black version of her is your tutor here and allows Bontu to attack as well when she exploits one of your creatures.

When you graveyard is full. Tasigur , Golden Banana Boy himself can also be cast on the cheap because of Delve. I was able to play this deck and the battle tricks alone was enough to keep me interested. It is not archenemy material but a great assault deck for modern. 

There might be a lot of pieces to improve but right now I am pretty satisfied in how it is performing.

"Midweek Magic 2017 # 19 - Daga Daga Daga"

"Midweek Magic 2017  # 19 - Daga Daga Daga"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

One of my pet decks is my mono black Relentless Rats deck that have undergone a lot of versions over the years. In it's original form it was the only deck that beat out my Uncle Dick. When I was playing EDH heavily , I acquired a Balthor the Defiled and it became my assault deck of choice. When Tiny leaders was a thing it was one of my Tiny Leaders deck with a Varolz at the helm because I was too lazy to find a more decent Black Commander for it hahaha.

It was stuck in Tiny Leaders mode for awhile until I decided that it should go back to it's original form and maybe wreck a little havoc in our weekly EDH decks. The deck took several changes in the first week that it came out. Mostly the addition of Gray Merchant of Asphodel who took advantage of the numerous rats in play and the accompanying Black Mana symbols that littered the battlefield. The huge upswing in life and siphoning of life from each opponent was enough.

The deck also has a single copy of Exsanguinate which gains massive mana when all of the rats are in play and a Shrine of Nykthos is activated. I was able to win one game like this and the Rats established themselves as a dominant force.

I mean the rats can kill you on the mid game with sheer force alone but even when they cannot attack they are still deadly because of Gary and Exsanguinate.

Even if the board has been wiped there is the singleton Balthor that can save the day by bringing all of those rats in your graveyard back. 

As an assault deck The Relentless Rats are awesome and offers support by consistently pressuring the Archenemy player to deal with it as soon as possible while my teammates plan the big boss' demise.

Yup. I will always play Rats.

"Midweek Magic 2017 #18: Black Sun Salvation"

"Midweek Magic 2017 #18: Black Sun Salvation"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I have never thought that I would say it but I am thankful that I was saved by the Black Sun's Zenith.

You are probably thinking that this sorcery saved me the normal way which is by putting a lot of -1/-1 counters on all creatures on the battlefield that even Indestructible ones die to it. While it has saved me in this way countless times. It has saved me in a different way this time.

It was a 2 vs. 2 vs. 2 match. We found ourselves pairing so that Ram and Yo who had a combination of Grinders and Attackers would dominate my Sultai Superfriends and Pao's Black Green Delirium/Graveyard monsters. On my right was the pair of Cheska and her seafoods deck and Janry's B/R deck that featured awesome creatures like Phyrexian Obliterator and Demigod of Revenge.

For some reason Ram had begun targeting my library with 2 consecutive Sanity Grindings that had me mill 18 and 17 cards respectively. I was in a lot of trouble and on my right Janry was discarding my hand and Cheska was amassing a lot of tentacled monsters on the other side. Things were not looking good. 

This was also the day where Cheska had given me Choco Mallow Pie and I had left the empty wrapper in front of me as a reminder not to attack her. Ram felt most of that and Janry felt the same as our creatures connected and eliminated our first team of the night.

When it was time to face Cheska and Janry all I had were 6 cards and it was not looking good. I even drew a Jace Beleren that would not let me draw but instead I let Pao draw extra cards so that he can develop a board presence. He attacked and was able to go through and I was able to draw a Black Sun's Zenith to wipe the board. I also got to play Nicol Bolas and was able to Ultimate it targeting Janry and his lands. Pao and I would not have been able to win without the Black Sun as I was able to cast it for 0 at our 2nd main phases and it would go back to the library and I would be able to draw it again to avoid being beaten by library death.

It was an exciting come from behind win as I was sure that the B/R and Seafoods combo would be our undoing.

"Midweek Magic 2017 #17 - Stop Listening to your heart"

"Midweek Magic 2017 #17 - Stop Listening to your heart"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

In life listening to your heart is right most of the time. It let's you be free to decide who you want to be. More often than not it lets you be the best version of yourself. It let's you do the right things and you are at peace with it.

So I guess there must be a great disconnect when you Listen to your heart and it tells you things like "Oppress Other Players." or "Yes , Yes! Stasis and that Brine Elemental Lock Combo you always pull off are fun ways to end the game." or "Put the fun in unfun" or "Turn On in Prison." Our resident Oppressor in the group Ram did listen to these things and took it to heart. 

Think of all the horrible controlling ways that a game could end and Ram probably has that same deck and he is happy to use it. It makes him happy! And of course we on the receiving it of it are mostly in shock when the combo is pulled off and we end up twiddling our thumbs doing nothing.

Don't get me wrong those. A play group always needs a strong oppressor in it so that the other players would improve their game and not be happy with just the results of the current games. People develop Hate for certain strategies and if the oppressor takes joy in pulling off Nefarious schemes then every other player in the room feel happy to stop those same schemes.

All in all this will lead to really exciting and satisfying game plays of political cooperation and mutual respect for the power of both the decks and those who wield it. The result is that that Oppressor normally dies first before all chaos breaks lose but heck that is just how the ball rolls.

Take it from someone who runs a planeswalker Tron deck. People in the group make faster , stronger decks and there are times that you just roll over and die without even knowing it.

"3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #3 - Unwarranted kindness"

"3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #3 - Unwarranted kindness"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

The kindness of others. Sometimes you just seem to meet people who are naturally kind and considerate. I consider days I met them as lucky days indeed.

1) An inventory that does not have the item that you are actually looking for. And then someone who you do not know pointing out where you can purchase the said item.

2) Someone gave me Choco Mallow Pie! The elusive pie!

3) A parking attendant gives you a better parking slot due to the shower of flowering buds.

3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #2-B - New Laws

3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #2-B - New Laws

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

This was actually late as the laws about dashcam and such was already temporarily put on hold. Still. It was an insane and tense moment for all drivers who uses apps and such to navigate the heavy traffic on our roads.

1) Dashboard memes! - yeah , the one's where the cluttered windows of Jeepneys are compared to that of private car owners. Now that even sampaguita is being banned the Sampaguita vendors are sure to feel the pinch.

2) People reading the ban on public smoking while they are smoking in public.Priceless.

3) A car entering a street with a gigantic No Entry sign. I mean it was the kind of sign that an almost legally blind person can see from a mile away. Tsk tsk tsk.

3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #2-A - Magic Players

3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #2-A - Magic Players

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Sitting with my friends and fellow magic players I quietly and not so quietly notice the following things.

1) A magic player getting his first planeswalker(Chandra) in packs that he never thought that he could get them.The excitement grows!

2) I have a magic player listen to his heart unfortunately what his heart said were things like "Oppress other players" and "Put On in PrisON" and "Put the Fun in UnFun."

3) I saw a Magic player put on expensive sleeves for his decks. "Your addiction grows. So will the expense but it will be worth it."

3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #1 - Las Casas Edition

3 Things I have seen this week May 2017 #1 - Las Casas Edition

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Amidst all the beauty that I have seen Las Casas there are some few scenes that made me scratch my head and even make some of the stories that I share with friends. I will never forget the place and plan on going back whenever I can. In the mean time let these things that I have seen remind me that despite looking educated and well to do some people simply are not.

1)  A woman loudly demanding where she can find Rizal , to which the guide calmly replied with , "Sa Rizal Park po. Bahay lang po ng Lolo niya ang nandito."

2) A man complaining that the old houses didn't have bathrooms. I am not really sure if he doesn't know how the old houses were made or if he really wanted to go badly but had no idea where the nearest bathroom was.

3) The beautiful opulent houses that carry so much history that it makes me want to create such a beautiful place. At least in my mind.

"FreeURmine"

"FreeURmine"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Opening Windows and Opening Doors

Unto the past that I have never seen before

Focused on the future , caught up in the now

Unaware of the distant , ever moving past

Escaping from the sacred emblems

and the halls where you have trapped them

The memories animate and speak and dance

Beckoning you to join them at least , at once

You find that this is the thing that you missed

The little details in the etchings

The little words of embrace by someone long gone

And the words that had these feelings free

No longer afraid to open the door

No longer afraid to open the window

Letting the memories flee

Alone in the distant quiet reverie.

Notre Dame O5/17/2017