"Couple PDA while Driving: Save your PDA later."

"Couple PDA while Driving: Save your PDA later."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I have nothing against showing affection. Probably except when you start kissing and start your PDA sessions when one of you is actually driving on the road. Not only do you endanger yourselves in this ignorant act but the lives of those who happen to be on the road with you that day. When I saw the pictures of this couple and the girl who was driving too I had the big urge to slap something. 

Accidents happen even when people are very alert and focused on the road. What more when you have two idiots who are not paying attention to the that very same road. It made me really angry that I share the same road with these idiots. 

I take solace in the fact that since they are already being hunted down by the LTO. And the next drivers license suspension are sure to follow. These idiots with their phone cameras taking evidence of them doing stupid things that they do not think will bite them later on. Well. It is only a matter of time before they serve as another reminder that in this time and place things have consequences. Just like drinking and driving. Harutan and PDAand Driving also do not mix well.

"Gargos , Vicious Watcher: Oath of Gargos"

"Gargos , Vicious Watcher: Oath of Gargos"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I can see how it all begins. A creature becomes the target of a removal spell.The that creatures controller will shout , "Eh Gargos ka pala eh!!!" Then all hell will break lose.

Or at least it will when my brother from another mother Mark Abude and I play. Where we usually have a punny time and Gargos sounds like something we cannot pass up with it's implied profanity in tagalog.

Seriously though I think this would make a great monogreen commander for Hydras everywhere especially that I cannot think of a great monogreen Hydra commander. Polokranus aside. And Progenitus seems like a card beyond normal reach even if does allow you to use every color of mana to bring about your hydras.

Gargos , Vicious Watcher will make you commit to green because of the 3 green mana it needs and the 3 mana of any color that follows. 6 mana is easy for any green EDH deck. So it means that with the right conditions you could play him as early as turn 3 or 4. 

And this brings me to the great thing that Gargos , Vicious Watcher brings to the table. A 4 colorless mana on all the succeeding Hydras that you would cast. PolyK and Oran Rief Hydra now cost a mere 2 green mana to cast.  And all those X Hydras? Well you first need to determine what amount of mana you are paying for the X. If you pay 6 for X then you get to subtract 4 colorless mana from that cost! 

And the kicker(and Gargos will kick a lot of asses here) Gargos has the triggered ability to fight another creature you do not control when a spell Spell targets a creature you control. So if an opponent tries to target a creature you control , Gargos fights something first. The ability resolves even if the spell is countered.

I can see it now. A lot of people hesitating to target your creatures because Gargos is watching and will viciously respond to any threat that they want to sling at you. Or if you want to remove any of their pesky creatures then all you need to do is target one of your own creatures with a spell. I suggest a growth spell. 

And so Gargos will remain high on my list.And what is Gargos's oath? I will watch. I will hurt you.

"Thought Distortion: Eliminating late game Card advantage"

"Thought Distortion: Eliminating late game Card advantage"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

One of my most frustrating moments as a magic player was when I discovered that Magic was a world full of control magic and most of the time the answer to the question "May I play this spell?" is a resounding "No". I would have to ask permission all the time. And if it a spell was not countered it meant that they were saving up to something else. Most games would drag on and on and I would have to concede out of sheer boredom. 

All that change when I discovered the power of Black to be able to counter these control tactics. Most Blue players are secretive by nature and would not want you to know their future plans. They would counter a 1 Black mana costing Duress for this very reason. Of course as games progress on especially in EDH the Blue player will always have the advantage. The longer the game the more this kind of player can set up. However this card now exists.

At 6 mana , 4 of any color and a 2 Black. You can target an opponent  and you can exile all non-creature , non-land  cards in that players Hand and Graveyard! And the sweetest thing is that this massive discarder cannot be countered! This negates the accumulated card advantage that a control player has. And since most Blue players only place a few creatures in their decks you are getting a lot of value for a mere 6 mana. 

Yup. The Skull might be rigid but the mind it seems can be easily manipulated. 

"Flood of Tears: Mostly Others Tears..."

"Flood of Tears: Mostly Others Tears..."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD 

Flood of Tears is just the kind of card that one would look for if you want to spread a little misery among your EDH play groupmates while maintaining an edge over them. 

This 6 mana sorcery forces everyone to bounce all their non-land permanents to their hands and that in itself foils a lot of end game plans for some. And to add insult to injury while everyone suddenly finds all their hands full you have a chance to plop down a non-land permanent. Only if you were able to return 4 non-token permanents to your hands. And you get to ask yourself the question what is it that I want to put on the battlefield the most?

So you choose this card. 

And then that is about the time that you need to excuse yourself from the game to gloat but mainly to not be beaten up by the players who can't play any of their cards at the moment.Yeah. You'd be tearing up with joy with this most evil plot. Make sure not to tear up when no one wants to play with you in the next few weeks. 

"Mu Yanling , Sky Dancer: Island Victory!"

"Mu Yanling , Sky Dancer: Island Victory!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I took one long good look at Mu Yanling and all I could think about was my Team Virulence team mate Nolan as he was finally able to activate her Ultimate ability. That devilish smile spreading across his face as he now looked at his Islands as card drawing machines. That has always been his dream. To draw cards and to maximize how he can do it. With Mu Yanling he can now abuse his Islands. Seemed like a weird thing to say but if you knew Nolan he loves his Islands way too much.

Mu Yanling is that latest planeswalker to represent Blue , now that we have all been a little bit saturated with all the Jace's floating around in the multiverse. She costs 3 mana and at the same cost as the original Jace Beleren.

Coming in with 2 Loyalty counters , I find her a bit squishy and in a set that sees the reprinted Shock there should be some concern for this. Although I believe she can activate her first ability and get that loyalty counter to 2 before she dies from the dreaded instant. And what does that do? Well it weakens an early creature on the board  with a -2/0 and it grounds it by making it lose flying(if it had it) until you can stabilize a bit.

Her 2nd ability which gives you a 4/4 Blue Elemental  Bird  token with flying. Since it is a -3 it means that she has to survive her first activation. Another thing to note is that since Chandra has an Elementals matter theme , it would be interesting if there is a Temur deck of Elementals that will come out with this planeswalker as well. Hmmmm

Her ultimate ability though should be the main consideration to put her in a mono blue deck. It would take 4 turns to possibly activate it and get the emblem and what would be a great way of winning with all these Island Card Drawers? Well with another Blue Planeswalker in Jace , Wielder of Mysteries who acts like the planeswalker version of Laboratory Maniac.

In my mind that Lab Maniac is my friend Nolan. Laughing all the way as he draws and wins.

"Atemsis , All Seeing: Death by Knowledge"

"Atemsis , All Seeing: Death by Knowledge"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD 

Atemsis is the kind of card that you want to build around. I can see it now.It saw me seeing it. It saw me building something. Then it got disappointed that I did not build it at all and moved on to that Slivers deck I never got to doing because I got the First Sliver in my Modern Horizons box...Anyway.

This Sphinx is a 4/5 flyer costing 3 colorless and 3 blue mana. It has the ability to let you filter your hands by drawing 2 cards and discarding a card for a blue mana and 2 mana of any color.

And when it deals damage to an opponent you get to check your hand  , reveal it and if you have cards with at least 6 different converted mana costs that opponent who just got damaged loses the game.

The flavor of this card is that with all the knowledge that it will let you accumulate you will be able to see all possible futures and determine the best possible outcome for victory. 

It seems to me that someone was watching a certain Marvel movie where a certain Sorcerer Supreme looked into 14 millions plus futures to see the lone chance of winning.

So Atemsis , Sees all that you are planning and it will be able to stop them all. Except for a well timed spot removal like Go for the Throat for example.

Well now that I got that out of my system Atemsis is one of those needed Sphinx Commanders and could keep Unesh company as my friend Ram said.

When playing Atemsis it is great if you have a Spellbook or Reliquary Tower so that you can always have more than a full hand in case you are just drawing lands and not getting those different mana costs in.

If you have the Peregrine Drake + Deadeye Navigator you can sink all of that unli mana into a Mystic Archeologist to keep drawing 2 cards! Or use the new Spectral Sailor for those end of turn or sudden shenanigans. And if you have the different CMC that you need...Attack!!! 

Atemsis should draw enough attention when it is on the battlefield even if it is not your commander. You just have to give a little more respect to a card that can let you win in one swing. If John Wick can kill someone with a book. Atemsis can surely kill you with just knowledge.