"Flight of Ideas 2.0 Year End Report 2017"

"Flight of Ideas 2.0 Year End Report 2017"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

To you who are reading this I would like to sincerely thank you for sticking with me all these years. I update this blog in the hopes that I could share the things that I love and talk about the things that I love. Things that matter to me and could matter to you as well. 

While this is mostly a Magic Blog , there have been more and more posts about Music and Culture in general. I would like to present an end of year report and hopefully carry it as a tradition for as long as I can.

For all the months of the year except July and May I have been able to meet all my writing goals and for that I am extremely proud. The lesson I learned about May is that I should not really procrastinate in posting and I got stock with articles that should have been complete but ended up being posted in June! July saw me fall short because I did not have regular sections for my blog and so after July until December I find that all my goals are met.

I was also excited with the first contributions of Aven , my daughter on the blog as well as our eventual collaboration on 4 poems that I also posted here. It feels really great to be able to that with someone so young and talented.

I have decided to finish all of my posts early this month as it would be one of those hectic times again with all the parties and reunions at the end of the year.Here is to a 2018 with more contributions and collaborations with my dear Aven.

I have truly appreciated all the blessings that I have been given this year both at work and with family. Steph and Aven have always been there for me and I am glad to always be there for them. These two love me unconditionally and one can only be as blessed to have such wonderful human beings.

For Team Virulence , Team Mavericks ,HP Eton Playgroup , Playground Hobby Shop , Spiral Valenzuela. Thank you for such wonderful memories for 2017.

I am thankful for all the family and friends who continue to love me though I am not perfect and always seem caught up in my own schedules. I am sorry and next year I promise to schedule everything. 

For next year and the years after that I want to continue writing and sharing the things that I love you and I hope that you continue to read me. Your support and appreciation for my posts make me happy. Thanks again. I will see you next year. Flight of Ideas 2.0 will be back Jan 2018. 

"3 pack experiment: Unstable Edition"

"3 pack experiment: Unstable Edition"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I have been itching to get my hands on Unstable packs since my friends told me that it had already arrived. My heart sank when they said that almost all of our usual shops no longer had it in stock. Like usual I drove to Spiral Valenzuela in my hopes that they still had some. I was looking to buy 3 in any case just for this blog post.

And I was in like when I saw the Unstable sign and Luigi Ong was there to encourage me by saying that all of the packs that were opened had one full art land and a foil token. I really wanted those lands or at least a copy of each so I bought 3.

I had to drive to my first clinical duty at Shaw and I had the 3 packs inside my hoodie jacket. The excitement was building up inside me although I didn't really have expectations of what I want. A foil land would be nice but the normal lands would still be worth it. Maybe Urza ,Academy Head master? The first Un-set Planeswalker. Really worth getting my hands on.

So my first pack yielded Inciting Incite and a Full art forest! One that would go to my Omnath EDH deck! Yeah. This was getting exciting. And I had to rip through my 2nd pack now.

My 2nd pack had Grusilda , Monster Masher in it. Just the kind of commander that you would need in a Rakdos deck that featured a lot of enchantments and equipments. And a full Art Island! Yeah. Now all I need is a mountain so I can put it in my Locust God EDH deck hhahahha

My 3rd pack was a surprise as I saw the familiar planeswalker Loyalty symbol at the bottom right of my card. It was Urza , Academy headmaster! A mythic rare! And as icing on the cake I also got a Full Art Mountain! The last card I wanted!

I wanted to see if I could actually use these packs as material for my pack wars but due to the contraption specific cards I don't think that these would result in exciting battles and you can actually end up with piles that are absolutely full of nothing but unusable cards.

Now making a Contraption EDH deck is looking more and more clearer with the commons and uncommons of the set. I hope that I could buy a lot of piso piso commons and uncommons in the coming days so I could make a new EDH deck of contraptions. 

All in all I would say that this one of those very luck pack openings in awhile. Looking forward to carrying this luck into 2018. Thanks for reading and there will be more to come next year. Keep on brewing. Keep on playing.

"3 things I have seen this week: Bonuses"

"3 things I have seen this week: Bonuses"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

And so it is the end of the year once again and along with the last throes of the year that was 2017 is the time where most companies will give a royalty or bonus or 13th month pay to their loyal employees. I find myself blessed to be employed by 5 different companies that helps me maintain the lifestyle that my family and I want. We get to see each other more because of the flexibility of my schedules.

So this is the week where the bonuses come out and for my last post of 3 things for the year 2017 here are my thoughts.

Bonus #1 - Maintained

I work at a clinic that conducts Pre-employment Physical examinations. I am happy that even though I only come in every Saturday my bonus has remained what it was over all these years. Thanks in part to the continued prosperity of this hardworking company and their staff.I am happy that I get half the bonus of my friend who works at the same company.

Bonus #2 - Lessened

In another clinic due to dwindling numbers of patients and the lean months of this year my bonus was cut in half. My friend also had his cut so it was a decision across the board on this one.

Bonus #3 - Waiting

One of the hardest parts in life is in waiting. Especially if the thing you are waiting for has no guaranteed outcome. It will either be there when I check my account online or it would not be. And so a day after payday I am still waiting for this delayed bonus. May it come early. May it come soon.

3 bonuses. All different places. All different amounts and circumstances.

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #51:Spreading the Flames of Pack Wars." by:

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #51:Spreading the Flames of Pack Wars."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

After learning about Pack Wars I was determined to spread it among my playgroupmates in DXC/HP Eton. So far out I have managed to teach 3 out of 6. Janry , Pao and Cheska.

Janry and I started with 2 Ixalan packs which quickly into chuckles and a lot of dino goring. Janry was my first pack war student and then we got into some standard action. Where his Izzet energy deck proved to be more powerful than my Jund Energy deck version. 

Pao who surprised me by actually finally showing up on a Tuesday chose an Iconic Masters pack from the current 6 packs that I keep to for teaching purposes.I remembered hating this pack because it confirmed an in joke among my play group and now I hated it even more because the first thing Pao played was the dreaded Hypersonic Dragon!

I always wonder why when I teach magic tom someone I readily get beaten , it happened with my own brother Aj and now to Pao who was now applying himself to the game and beat me with the horde of flyers that was in the iconic pack he chose.

When Cheska gave us a visit , Pao surprised me by requesting to play pack wars again. It was another chance to teach and so I pitted Cheska and Pao against each other. It occurred to me that they were really serious in their deck building and they were showing a great deal of how good they were once the battles were underway.

I felt a certain pride as I watched them battle. Maybe the same feeling as my friend ST when he watched Lippy and Me duke it out. I look forward to teaching Jus , Yo and Ram very soon as well. 

Yo's turn came the following week and by the way Pao and him played he also liked the game! Looking forward to 2018 where we can play with fresh packs from Rivals of Ixalan.

"Rivals of Ixalan: Dinosaur Predictions."

"Rivals of Ixalan: Dinosaur Predictions."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Recently there was an article online that sort of spoiled the things that we would find in the expansion , Rivals of Ixalan that would be released on January next year.

As a dinosaur fan I was excited about the three headed dinosaur that they actually put on a playmat. They also announced that there will be 6 Legendary dinosaurs that had development that was different from the current dinos that we have been playing with so far. 

So in light of this here are 3 predictions that might happen in Rivals of Ixalan.

1) 5 colored Dinosaur Legend.

Having spoiled Mono-green Ghalta and Mono Black Tetzimoc that just leaves 3 more Legends in the remaining colors of magic. But what about the 6th Legend? If some of the 6 cycle cards are any indication then we might be looking at the all encompassing dinosaur commander , one that has all of the mana infused in it's body. Hey Magic did it with the Genjus so they might also do it here.

2) Triple Strike

A dinosaur with 3 heads this makes me excited in all sorts of ways. With the release of Unstable and cards that have triple strike in the fun but non standard legal set could Magic be hinting that Rivals of Ixalan might have a few cards that can hit you three times? Which begs the question what does a dinosaur with three mouths full of razor sharp teeth actually do? (I mean if not to triple strike opponents.) 

3) Could he be the one? The Gold Feathered One. 

Could the three headed dragon be the All encompassing Dino Commander that we are looking for? One look at the feathers on it's body does indicate that it might carry more than one color. I mean look at this guy , he makes Gishath look a bit like a singular wonder. More heads are better than one anyway.

So what do you think of these predictions? Do you think one or all of them might be right? We will just have to wait a couple more weeks for the spoiler filled new year. Until then keep on playing. Keep on brewing.

"Doc In , Doc Out Espesyal Letter to Patients:Videoke Edition."

"Doc In , Doc Out Espesyal Letter to Patients:Videoke Edition."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Dear Di masyadong minamahal na pasyente,

Ito na naman po tayo. Napasarap sa ating mga reunion , birthday party at kung ano pang weekend activities na nangangailangan na ikaw ay kumanta na parang nalulunod na daga sa kalagitnaan ng tahimik na kalye at makabulahaw ng iyong mga kapit bahay.

In short nagvideoke ka na naman kahit na alam mo na ang puhunan ng iyong pagtatrabaho sa call center ay ang iyong boses. Sana eh nabayaran ka kung kumanta ka na parang wala nang bukas. Kung di naman eh mas malala ngayon kasi di ka makakapag calls at di ka din mababayaran sa trabaho mo talaga.

Siguro naman may ibang paraan pa naman na makapagrelax na di kailangang mawala ang boses mo di ba? At sa susunod wag mong sasabihin sa akin na bigla na lang nawala ang boses mo kasi parang ano yun may mga engkanto na kumuha ng boses mo? Hindi puwedeng pagtulog mo may boses ka at pagkagising mo eh wala na.

Wag na tayong magvideoke kung di din naman natin kayang pangatawanan ang ating pagkanta ok? Apektado na ang kita mo , apektado pa ang account mo at higit sa lahat nasasayang ang oras ko sa iyo samantalang may mga may sakit talaga na di ko kaagad nakikita dahil sa kakulitan mo. Yun lang. Wag mo na ding ulitin.

Di nagmamahal, 

Doc June

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #50: Hit and Run Pack Buy."

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #50: Hit and Run Pack Buy."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I work hard every day. I have insane schedules that sometimes just allow me 3-4 hours of sleep before I need to go to my next duty. I have been blessed with these opportunities but sometimes during a hard week I turn to what I call a hit and run pack buy.

Since I live in very close proximity to Spiral Valenzuela , I sometimes buy myself a pack or two or even single cards that I put on my car dashboard. I sometimes open the pack at the beginning of my Friday night duties as a treat to myself. There is nothing like seeing a pack of cards or a pile of singles on my dashboard. It relaxes me.

On one of these Hit and Run pack buys I snatched 2 Iconic Masters packs and it was my hope that I would get a Kiki-Jiki or maybe a Kokusho. Cards that I felt I missed out on because that was my worst off year in Magic during the Kamigawa block. 

When I opened my first pack I got some common cards that I might need like Dissipate but my rare was an Obstinate Baloth. Not bad but not enough to cover the cost of the pack I just opened. I would be able to find a place for this Baloth but I was beginning to feel a little disappointed.

My 2nd pack was looking a little better with an opening of Mana leak  and an uncommon Mishra's Bauble that I never had before. My 2nd rare was disappointing as well and I actually forgot what it was and the reason for that was when I reached the end of the pack pile and revealed my foil...it was an Ancestral Vision with the new art work.

Jackpot I said to myself but I was expecting it to be just around 20 bucks or so. I was in a for a much better surprise when it turned out to be a 60 dollar card!

I initially thought of using the card but my Locust God EDH did not need a suspend card that would net me cards much later on in the game. And as if falling into place I saw the the post of Roniel Hisao in MTG Tambayan with some cards that I could actually use.

Purphorus and Sneak attack were my easy picks and I was hoping that he also had a Kiki Jiki. When I made the trade I was able to acquire the 2 former cards I mentioned but alas he did not have the Kiki-jiki I wanted but I did get a lot of other cool cards in exchange. One of them was a card I wanted but was not able to get when it came out. It was Thing in the Ice. This sparked a joke in my head. "Naghahanap ng Kiki pero ang nakita ay Titi." Which is so wrong on so many levels but it made me laugh.

Needless to say I was happy with the cards that I can actually use in strengthening some of my existing EDH decks. Purphorus God of the Forge in my Locust God deck. Sneak Attack in my Scion of the Ur-dragon deck and Young Pyromancer into my Omnath,Locust of Rage deck.

"Why She Dances"

"Why She Dances"

by:

Aven R. De leon/Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

Blinding strobe light and pulsating club music

She dances like an uncontrolled Manic

Trying to mask her panic

sweat on her body , her hair slick

II

She grabs another drink to down

And wary looks around

She's drunk , next moment she's on the ground

And her cries for help drowned by the sound

III

Much like the other times she asked for guidance

Sound and sound in abundance

The blinding lights and music put her in a trance

And that is why she dances

11/15/17 SM Annex , QC

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Editors Note:

This is the 4th poem that Aven and I collaborated on this November and she was gaining more confidence as she decided to lead on this one. She provided the opening line and I would be the 2nd line for each stanza.

According to Aven this is a poem about a girl who seems to forget her troubles every time she dances.

"MTG:The Bannings"

"MTG:The Bannings"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Recently a Magic pro has been banned for running a facebook page that rates women in magic for their bangability and a Magic youtuber for spewing a lot of hate and harassing other people in the community. 

The main reason that Wizards of the coast did this was to foster a more inclusive and safer environment for Magic players the world over. These include women and members of the LGBT community to play magic in peace. Is it bad for WoTC to want more players of course not.  You can love this game regardless of your race or sexual orientation. For some people it can be the only place where they find acceptance and refuge from the every day pressures that they face.

This is a very controversial move as it seems that the rights of people to express their views no matter how horrible it is being trampled on. People should toughen up. People should know a joke. People should be able to just take sarcasm or criticism.

Of course it is really different when you spew out things directed at a specific player or groups of people. To single them out and to hammer that point again and again. It stops being a joke or criticism. It turns a lot into hate. And it makes a lot of people feel that the game that they love can no longer welcome them.

Everyone is different of course and some are like just the famous Gabi leaves of our country , they let all of those things slide and still keep on being themselves but not everyone is like that. Not everyone has a tough skin or develop it. And so we also extend understanding to them for this.

Now the question we need to ask if that a particular person is adding negativity to the community or not. Being the victim of trolls myself( a small number thankfully) I know first hand how bad it can feel. However there are things that you can ignore and those that you cannot. I guess if you continue your hate for so long then someone is bound to notice it.

I love magic and to say that it is not about being inclusive is being naive. Remember those who played this game learned from people who wanted to share it as well. Those teachers wanted to include those people in the group. Include them in the community that we are all part of now.

I welcome everyone. I know how it feels to even be rejected by other players in my earlier days until I found people who love playing with me as well. I am with that journey with them still. And to you who found happiness in this game , know that the happiness is still there. And a whole lot of other people to play with as well.

Peace. Keep on playing. Keep on brewing. You never know what you can discover next.

"Utada Hikaru - Anata MV reaction : RnB Utada for Xmas"

"Utada Hikaru - Anata MV reaction : RnB Utada for Xmas"

by:

The Vole

In what is probably one of the best treats that December has given me and other Utada Hikaru fans , she has released a singled called Anata or Dear in what I  can only describe as a return to one of the queens that I have loved most. 

Utada's voice transports me back to moody times filled with heartache and questions of existence and acceptance. This new single in my adult life and the direction she took with it reflects what I have been wanting more now in music.

A jazzy , steady RnB beat that lifts Utada's Iconic voice so that you not only hear her voice but feel it within your soul as she sings. The crisp quality of the audio that is balanced all through out just draws you in with the Queen's voice at the center of it all and you just have to ask yourself if you are in the 2000's or in the 1990's again.

I must admit that it was a little bit of a tease because of the short duration but it was like a lingering sweetness that leaves you wanting for more. And like going back to an old flame you know that you are in for a treat.

"Bubbles , Trees and Funny Bees"

"Bubbles , Trees and Funny Bees"

by:

Aven R. De leon/Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

Bubbles , Trees and Funny Bees

Free as they should be

Unlike me

II

Entranced at the life they hold

Comforting , the embrace of the cold

Fascinated how they seem not to care

Stagnant and tired , they lie there

III

Living and dying the cycle continues

Everything young grows old but they renew

In the end the same soul grew.

11/15/17 SM Annex , QC

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Editors Note:
Our 3rd poem in this series. Talks about a girls observations of the life around her and the endless renewal that happens but with the same things.

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #49: An Omnath Autistic Combo win"

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #49: An Omnath Autistic Combo win" 

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

When I play with Omnath , Locus of Rage I always tend to win by being aggressive and attacking my opponent as much as I can. Most opponents succumb to this but recently I realized that my deck had a built in combo win that I was not even aware of. It was like being with someone your whole life and seeing a whole side of them. This was one was a deadly secret.

The combo involved Doubling Season , Greater Good and Omnath already in play. It was not a sure thing but this combo made it possible to increase your chances of drawing lands and playing those lands. 

This is the sequence that reduced my opponent Paolo Carandangs life points to zero. It had (ugh) Math in it. 

Played 1 land. Created 2 5/5 Elementals due to Doubling Season. Sacrificed 1 5/5 elemental , drew 5 cards , discarded 3 , Pao took 3 damage.

Drew and played a cultivate , 1 land into play and 1 into hand , created 2 5/5 tokens , total is 3 tokens. Sacrificed 1  , drew 5  , discard 3 , Pao took 3.

Drew and played Azusa , also drew some lands. 2 extra land drops , created  4 5/5 tokens , total is 6 tokens in play. 

Sacrificed 1 5/5 elemental , drew 5 cards , discarded 3 , Pao again took 3 damage. Drew a Summer Bloom , played 3 additional lands , created 6 5/5 Elementals , total is now 11 tokens. 

By this time Pao had already taken 9 points of damage and I could go ahead and sacrifice the 11 remaining tokens to finish him off. There was a moment when it felt so surreal to be able to pull this combo off and win without attacking.

But it happened and Omnath's combo is now out. Oh and I really need to have a Zendikar Roil and Young Pyromancer in this deck. 

"Doc In , Doc Out Espesyal Letter to Patients: Ang Pedia ay para sa bata Edition."

"Doc In , Doc Out Espesyal Letter to Patients: Ang Pedia ay para sa bata Edition."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Dear Di masyadong minamahal na pasyente,

Nanahimik nang makita ko ang med cert mo. Pediatrcian ang doktor kaya ang una kong naisip baka 17 , 18 or 19 ka lang. Aba , nung makita ko ang tunay mong edad eh 50 ka na pala! 

Kaya para sa iyo ito ang masasabi ko(Hingang Malalim):

Utang na loob po wag po kayong magpresenta ng medical certificate na galing sa isang pediatrician kung kayo po ay 50 years old na.

Ang pediatrician po ay para sa mga bata at paalala lang po meron po tayong mga accredited pulmonologists na puwedeng tumingin sa inyo. Preferably po ay di niyo kamag-anak at di din pediatriacian. Kakaumpisa pa lang ng clinic naglolokohan na po tayo eh.

So wag niyo na pong ulitin ha.

Di masyadong nagmamahal,

Doc June

"Interdimensional Ipis Assault"

"Interdimensional Ipis Assault"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

It happened all too quickly. I was washing dishes listening to some rapper when I suddenly heard Aven screaming and then my wife who was then taking a shower joined in too. When I looked at it was that they were so scared of I saw one of the biggest cockroaches in my life perched on top of the bathroom door.

Yup. Nothing like a giant cockroach to destroy the tranquility of a lazy  Sunday evening. Since none of the windows were open I can only theorize that this bug may have come from an alternate dimension or the future(probably sent by Aven to annoy her mom at this time period , draw back though , it also scared her so I wonder what future Aven would think of that?)

Things got a lot worse when the ipis decided to start flying around.My wife who is usually a very composed person was shouting like she was being chased by some crazy killer clown. I found that analogy odd because if she was being chased by a clown she might have already clobbered it to death. Faced with a cockroach though all she could do was turn around and scream for me to do something. 

So I was washing in between plates at this time and I had to wash my hands first. I turned to the door at the exact moment that the inter dimensional cockroach decided to fly and landed on my chest at which point I showed some amazing flexibility as I was able to reach for my tsineles/slippers really quickly and I tried to slap the pest with it.I hit my chest instead. It made me very angry. The bug landed on the floor and scampered under our cabinet.

I was not able to flush it out after a few minutes of trying and things settled quite a bit as my wife told me that we should have the house cleaned and flooded with Baygon all over again. I just stood there with slippers in one hand , a slipper shaped welt on my naked chest as I half listened and half wondered where this thing went.

The answer came when it landed in the stairs directly in front of me. The thing was hovering over my head this whole time and if I took two steps too many it might have even given me a cockroach kiss to the face( as disturbing as that sounds I am actually curious as what that would be like). Now that it was exhausted I decided to use my much touted anti-ipis jutsu . "Thousand slippers strike" I declared. If this was a fatality move in Mortal Kombat I imagine that there would be someone shouting "Juicy" in the background.

The house became still after that but Aven worried that the Alien Bug from Men In Black might visit our house for some revenge. I turned to Aven and said "If he decides to show up I will thousand slipper strike that sucker too."

Aven laughed. My wife poke her head from the bathroom and was still looking around if there were other flying ipis lurking around. I was still holding my slipper.

"The Void That Is There"

"The Void That Is There"

by:

Aven R. De leon/Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Darkness Embraces me tonight

I won't put up a fight

I stare into the void that is there

It's something I cannot bear

Yet I stare and stare and stare

I stare into the void that won't flee

And inside it. I see me

11/15/17 SM Annex , QC

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Editors Note:

Aven and I decided to sit down and I would take the lead on this one. She wanted something dark and this 7 line pome was what became of that desire.

"Tetzimoc , Primal Death: Deadly Peek-A-boo"

"Tetzimoc , Primal Death: Deadly Peek-A-boo"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

You have to admit when a big scary monsters peeks at you from some trees and you know that it is out to get you then it is ok to feel a little bit scared. When the monster is Tetzimoc you can be sure that he really wants to get you and he is just reeking of death.

This 6/6 with Deathtouch 6 mana costed monster is the latest dinosaur to come out of the Ixalan woodwork and the first Black aligned dinosaur to emerge as well. So much for just sticking to Naya colors now. 

There is one unique ability that Tetzimoc, Primal death has and that is to mark prey while it is not even in play. So here is how it works , you play 1 mana , reveal Tetzimoc, Primal death from your hand and you put a prey counter on target creature. The only draw back is that you can only play this on your turn.

When Tetzimoc comes into the battlefield each creature with a prey counter on it bites the dust so to speak. The primal death is inescapable after all. 

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #48 - Let the Packwars begin"

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #48 - Let the Packwars begin"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

In the back end of KFC sits 3 guys who seem to be intent on a pile of 5 cards that they seem to be playing against each other. Once in awhile you hear laughter , groans of frustration and even a shout or two after an intense play.

Don't worry these 3 happen to be Lippy , ST and Me who are currently engaged in Pack Wars but what in the heck is pack wars and why does it illicit such reactions from us?

Packs wars is a great way to enjoy Magic:the gathering. All you need are two packs that will serve as your deck and a friend to fight with.

You open the pack and remove tokens in the packs and play with the remaining 15 cards. You will separate them into 5 piles of cards consisting of 3 cards each.

Per game each player has 5 life points. Reduce this to zero and you win that game. Since a round of pack wars consists of 5 games , the player who wins 3 games first wins.

So in a game you have access to unlimited mana of any color.This means that you can cast all of your spell at once or hold off for some battle tricks or bluffs.

I was given an Ixalan pack by St to start things off and I was pleasantly surprised at the things that you can still learn despite playing for more than a decade now. 

There will be card piles full of game winning bombs like in the case of Lippy  , he cracked a pack with the Planeswalker Huatli! This meant that your chances of winning are even close to nil when you pick that one particular pile.

Of course in this limited setting I was also able to pull off surprising things. Things that surprised me too since it seemed that you will look at cards through a different set of filters while playing pack wars.

Things like Hierophant's Chalice and Deathless Ancient which meant a single attack from the flying vampire was a win.

Or Belligerent Brontodon turning the harmless Ixalli's Diviner into a 3 powered beater.

Or the Sudden End of turn impact of the 4 damage Unfriendly fire.

Pack wars is another fun way to enjoy Magic and to look at cards a different way , cards that will continue to hold value regardless of their rarity.

And even more than that the chance to spend some quality time with friends over a friendly game. So let the pack wars begin!

"3 things I have seen this week :3 lives , 3 Tragedies"

"3 things I have seen this week :3 lives , 3 Tragedies"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I find myself in a family outing that is cause for celebration but with an added layer of perceptible pain that emanates from those who suffered such tragedies that I hope does not befall anyone. It makes you question why these things happen and if such dire situations are surmountable. I have survived my own horrors and are still suffering from them.

1) Papa D.

He stood as the patriarch and glue for the family for years. Ever good , providing things and patient with others. Generous to a fault. Until in a span of a year disaster struck , it started with a death in the family , and then a fire that destroyed the house and all the belongings that he had worked so hard for decades to achieve. And in that instant that pushes a man to almost madness he suffered an even worse insult , a massive stroke that robbed him of at least a chance to gain back what he has lost. It pains me to write about this but as I saw him at that party , the shell of his former self. Quiet and smiling  , far from the noisy welcoming man that we once knew. 

2) Tito M.

It was his birthday and the family jokester was still in his element as life of the party but when all have gone we were able to see the pain that was not able to let go for the last 3 years. He had been living in a house that he had improved , he was enjoying riches and luxuries that were all taken away in the blink of an eye when they were asked to leave a house that they were not able to secure for himself.

He spent so much of his money invested in that house and to lose it at this point of his life forcing his family to adopt a lifestyle that they were not used to but had to because what they once had was gone.To make matters worse his eldest child , the closest to him was diagnosed to have CKD stage 5 that required her to undergo dialysis twice a month at the age of 26. 

I listened to him as he lamented this but life goes on and despite the pain still tries to smile.

3) J F

I have known JF since I was a small boy and he was a smaller boy. Now that we are both older I have come to know two tragedies that struck their family in one month.  At the beginning of the month they had mourned the loss of his eldest sibling , a sister that had succumbed to cancer of the liver.

As they are still recovering from this , another death occurred at the end of the month as his youngest sibling after an argument with his wife decided to tie a rope around his neck and jump from the 2nd storey building that they shared as a common dwelling. 2 deaths in one month. The other had yet to past the 40 days that pinoys are accustomed to and yet here is another wake. 

I write about these tragedies in hopes to make sense of it but in my limited understanding I find that I do not and I hope that these men find the fortitude to withstand the storms in their lives. 

"Dumbfoundead - Every last drop MV reaction:"

"Dumbfoundead - Every last drop MV reaction:"

by:

The Vole

Somebody made it cool now. I am talking about riding on speed boat while it is being pulled by a truck everywhere. Yeah. This Dumbfoundead video emphasizes that fresh off the boat theme by being on a boat the whole time. Just the rapper and a very very very Chinese Mama.

So this starts at dawn and ends at dawn trip to who knows where in America where Dumbfoundead speaks about how he struggles as a foreign boy in the states and the success that he had garnered along the way. 

When you are a minority anywhere you just know that it is never going to be easy and he speaks about these themes with blood , tears and sweat. Every last drop that he has to push himself to the top and succeed.

Now I plan on doing this particular road trip to when I go to the states. I just hope no one stops me on the highway because that would ruin my dream. Hahahah

"From Ideas to Pages to Reality"

"From Ideas to Pages to Reality"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Earlier today(11/14/2017) I picked up a copy of Mechanized Production from Troy Lucena at Spiral Valenzuela and he told me something that reaffirmed my love for writing about Magic.

"Doc , yung post mo about Dino paupers eh nakatulong." Troy started to say. "Naubos nga lahat ng commons ko."

"May nag PM kasi sa akin , pinost yung decklist na gusto niya. Sir gusto ko ng dalawang copy ng decklist na ito." Troy realized that he knew where the decklist came from. "Kilala ko ito ah! Ito yung sinulat mo doc."

Sometimes I really think that what I write do not matter to a lot of people , I even have my own set of trolls who praise the articles only to make fun of it among themselves(but that is none of my business really) . But it is little things like this that validate what I do and makes me want to write more.

I am not really sure if that deck list actually made a difference in that persons life , I am not sure if it made him happy or excited but one thing I do know is that something that came from my mind , leaped into a page and into reality. An idea that was liked enough to actually be made real. 

These are moments that some writers can only dream of. This is why I write too. The moment your writing alters a little bit of reality.

"Red Velvet - Peek-A-Boo MV Reaction: Pizza Delivery Boy love"

"Red Velvet - Peek-A-Boo MV Reaction: Pizza Delivery Boy love"

by:

The Vole

I am guilty. Guilty for waiting for this kind of song from Red Velvet again. After falling in love with them over Dumb , Dumb , Dumb and Ice Cream Cake I have long wanted another song that was in the same beats. Rookie was a step in the right direction and when Red flavor came around I was happier but it was Peek-a-boo which is the perfection of all these songs.

Catchy , utilizing all the different ranges that everyone has. Damn sexy and with that hook that will keep you coming back for more. Irene , Seulgi , Wendy , Yeri and Joy have improved once again and peaked in this sexy song. Since I have always found the other 4 very pretty I would like to say that Yeri with short hair is her prettiest incarnation yet.

I have a feeling that peek-a-boo was supposed to be for a Halloween release as it deals with murderous vixens who prey on hapless pizza delivery boys.

At the beginning of the MV we are shown a very big moon. A hunters moon and you know that the girls will be culling soon. No one knows why they love pizza delivery boys so much but the hints of violence done on them is clearly disturbing. There is the hall full of trophies , delivery boy shirts and such , much like in Batman's Rogues gallery. There is room full of weapons and a room full of pizza boxes that also seems to be a collection of sorts for them. I really wonder why they didn't show this over the Halloween period.

So I guess the wheels for murder are set in motion when a call is placed to a particular pizza place and one of the girls take turns in receiving the pizza and seducing the pizza boys. Luring them in the house and playing games with them. Like cat and mouse and well the girls really do enjoy the chase way too much.

To heighten their pleasure one of the girls also pretend to help the pizza boy escape. And I guess just when the pizza boy reaches a payphone to call for help the girl who escaped with him goes in for the kill. Sick. And as evidenced by that shot of missing delivery boys in the are the girls have been really really busy. And that set up of hope and then taking it away as the payphone seems unable to connect to anyone. The guy in the MV ends up as a trophy as well. As scary as this may seem I am sure some RevLuv would still volunteer for the task.

I sincerely hope RV keeps coming back with quality songs such as this.Looking forward to it.

"Doc in , Doc Out: Intent on Time"

"Doc in , Doc Out: Intent on Time"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr,\.MD

In the clinic we usually ask patients to log the medicines that they took. One of the questions to be filled was time.

And there was one patient who came in and took a long time before he logged. The nurse wondered why he seemed to be having so much trouble.

Nurse: Sir?

Patient: Parang sira po yung relo niyo. nakasteady lang siya sa 6 eh...

The nurse looked at what he was looking at. He was staring at the BP apparatus on the table.

"Loona Yves - New MV reaction:Lots and lots of apples"

"Loona Yves - New MV reaction:Lots and lots of apples"

by:

The Vole

And now we are down to the last 4 of the Loona girls before they debut but before they do Yves is November 2017's it girl. Along with her is a brand new sound that her company would want to call Soultronica. I guess that would be Soul singing and electronic music rolled into one?

I must admit that Yves is pretty but she does not have the same effect as Jinsoul had on me but there are things in this MV that grab your attention.

Apples. Lots and lots of Apples. Yves has the snake for an animal symbol and you can see that they toy around with the concept of the original sin a lot here. You can see Yves biting and biting apple after apple in this MV. And each bite of the apple signifies a choice. She lives with those choices all her life as she sings in the song.

The song initially didn't stick with me all that much but after listening to it a 2nd or 3rd time I found Yves' voice to have that nasal quality that while not annoying makes her voice distinct. 

There are links here to the other Loona members as with the previous videos. The Chuck Taylors that Odd eye circle seems to be wearing is here. I dont know why they are in a bowling alley dancing away but it is good way to showcase Yves name and dancing prowess here.

In that scene where she uses the claw machine she chooses the white bird which is the animal symbol for Haseul. Another scene here she swings a golf club at some animals where you see the Rabbit for Heejin and the Blue Deer for VIvi who also appears in this MV.

And the other Member to appear here is Choerry from Odd Eye Circle. She receives an apple that Yves drops and I believe that it traveled through that purple colored portal that she has set up. This indicates a possible duet with her.

You see the elevator stop at the 5th floor in the MV right? Well the next scene Yves is seen with Vivi who is the 5th member of Loona to debut. 

And now the confusing part. Originally she was rumored to have the snake for an animal but various websites now give off the information that she is a Swan. So the imagery of apples doesn't seem to make sense with a swan and the only Swan that you can see here is in that pile that she obliterated with a golf club. No snake either. Hmmmmmm. I wish they would not pull this kind of switch in the future.

Although I am sure that Loonatics enjoy the powerful dance moves and Yves vocals in this song. Snake or Swan might not longer matter. 

"Split Screen: Seeing Double X Double"

"Split Screen: Seeing Double X Double"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Have you ever thought of playing with multiple libraries before? Like after mindslaving an opponent you realized that it would sure be nice if I had more than one library at my disposal. Now this is the card for you.

Split screen is a 4 mana cost artifact( AKA TV screen) that lets you split your library into 4 and allows you to play with all of your libraries  with the top card revealed. If one card , let us say Glimpse the unthinkable mills you for ten cards you can choose any of the 4 libraries to mill , the same goes when you will search for land or other cards or draw from a library. Instead of one library you now have 4 to choose from , if a card that you need is on top of one library you have the option to draw from that pile. 

4 times the advantage. Imagine the frustration of your miller opponent who now has to mill through 4 libraries or someone who used Extract to look for a card but has less chance of looking for it now that he or she has to look at 4 different piles but can only choose one. This can be a double edged sword as well because you can crack a fetch land and look a library that probably doesn't have the land you need but then again it is still pretty cool to have 4 screens

to choose from.

If split screen ever leaves the battlefield then all 4 libraries are merged and your jolly old time ends. Then again no one thinks of the end of fun. Might as well not think of it as well.  

"Fromis_9 - Glass Shoes MV reaction: Idol School is in session."

"Fromis_9 - Glass Shoes MV reaction: Idol School is in session."

by:

The Vole

While watching Fromis 9, the girl group that emerged from MNET's Idol surival series called Idol School , I became a little confused.

I could tell Koreans and they were all singing in Korean but the song and the visuals of this song really feels like you were singing to a Japanese song. From the driving steady beat of the song that is punctuated by different instruments without missing that steady beat to the school uniforms and the graceful steps that you normally see on Jpop Idol groups.

Of course the Koreans would also be into this but this was a bit dizzying for me a bit. I was not able to watch Idol school and for certain only know Lee Chae-yong who is a trainee for WM Entertainment , the same company that produced my bias group Oh my girl.

The benefit of surviving idol school is very much apparent as all of these girls truly are visuals in their own right. It would really just depend on you to choose a bias. There is a girl here who looks like Binnie from Oh My girl and I mention that because the actual Binnie might have longer hair in their comeback.

The MV follows Fromis 9 as they do school arts stuff and hang out in an attic room that is all sunny and bright with the warm tones of autumn. In contrast to that the parts where they do most of their dancing are in bubble gum pink or green colors. Before Fromis 9these dance moves were usually something that Lovelyz would do but Fromis 9 is showing that they have it all. Great Visuals , Vocalists and Dancers and hopefully with Mnets backing they can attain fame in the girl group department of Kpop.

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #47: Iconic Masters - Be careful what you wish for"

"Surprise!"

"Midweek Magic December 2017 #47: Iconic Masters - Be careful what you wish for"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

We have a joke in my play group about Iconic masters when we saw the full spoilers.

"Ang sakit siguro kung magbabayad ka ng mahal para sa isang pack tapos ang makukuha mo lang eh Hypersonic dragon."

We all laughed at the thought while secretly hoping that this would not happen to any of us but then one should really be careful about what one wishes for because no one is really sure who would be listening.

So as I pulled my third pack for Iconic masters at Spiral Valenzuela and had friends like Troy Angeles video what would have been my success I scissored the top of my pack and peeled off the commons one by one. And when it came to the rare at the end I instantly saw the 4/4 power toughness and the Izzet colors. God no! I secretly hoped that it was something else and my mind raced to the Iconic masters spoilers and could not come up with another creature who was 4/4 and in Izzet colors.

The joke was made real and surely enough the Hypersonic dragon made it's appearance. I should really be care about what dragon I would call , out of all the dragons in this set I had to be stuck with this one.

And yeah the joke was on me yet again.