"Veils and Chains"

"Veils and Chains"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD 

I am tired of running in place

while all the world moves around me

I will change these weary eyes

and lift was once heavily chained

I am tired of saying the things

that I should have been doing

Tired of not living the life

that I know that I should be living.

So I will 

So I will

From this day on

and on the day after that

I will unchain myself

and listen to the unseen melodies

Life would take me where I should be

So be it.

"Neheb The Eternal: Afflicting us all"

"Neheb The Eternal: Afflicting us all"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I like mechanics that give opponents choices but choices that don't feel like choices at all since there will be an effect whatever happens. So that it just ends up as choose your poison and drink it.

Afflict is one of those mechanics. And no one embodies this mechanic more than our dearly departed but now returned Minotaur Neheb the Eternal. Now in his Lazotet encased "Glorified" body Neheb wants your opponents to feel the pain by his hands or by Afflict. Your opponent's choice.

At 5 mana and 4/6 stats you would want to block Neheb when he attacks. Only he has Afflict3. Which means if he is blocked opponents still lose 3 life. That is a reduction of 1 damage but there is still damage nonetheless.

Of course Neheb thrives on this aggression and on your 2nd main phase you can add red mana for each 1 life your opponents have lost this turn. It doesn't necessarily need to have come from Neheb himself but it has to happen before your 2nd main phase.

So if you attack with 2 creatures with 2/2 and both deal damage you get 4 red mana. You casted a Lightning Bolt directly to an opponents face you get 3 mana on your 2nd main phase.Afflict 3 means 3 red mana.

So what do you spend this red mana? Well to cast more creatures of course so that when they attack and damage next turn you get to have more red mana.

My dream in an EDH game is to deal 21 damage and then cast an Blaze or Fireball someone for the remaining 20 damage! 

Neheb the Eternal deserves a place in your aggressive decks. Imagine big monsters damaging and you able to cast even bigger monsters next turn because of his Red mana creating ability. I know what my next project would be. Now on to more brewing.

"So I was still and Listened."

"So I was still and Listened."

by

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

And I heard my wife talking to me about her fears and the things that she wants to achieve in the future and how it all fits into the future that we want to have.

And I heard my daughter share her day and the worries that she have about herself and how she could be better and that she is never enough though she is enough. 

I put down my phone and looked at these women in my life. I turned off my games and even in the wee hours of the morning I listened as my wife poured out her heart about politics and financial institutions and as much as I wanted to share my own thoughts on the matter , I listened and rediscovered something that I highly admired about my wife. Her own will. That strong will and say in the things that she wants in her life. So in the wee hours of the morning I found myself listening and learning.

I woke up when she came in the door. Waited for her to finish all her little rituals such as cleaning herself and changing into home clothes and keeping her things. Despite not having much sleep I went and I put down my phone and I listened. For a couple of weeks I have had to deal with a surly temperament from her.Some of which still show up in this conversation we were having but I was not out to dish out discipline or give a lecture.I was also here to listen and so I asked her the question. "How was school?"

And it was a torrent that flooded out. This need to share everything with me. How she was so busy and that all her friends were so busy that they can only see each other for a short while and end up during various things at the same time like walking while talking or exercising while talking. I smiled. They wanted to petition one teacher to teach in a particular subject and had began #justiceforSt.Bernard campaign because they feel that they could learn so much more from this one teacher over the current one. I listened as Aven told me in detail about decorative holes in the girls bathroom that a peeping tom used and that it was already reported and fixed thanks to her and her friend. I felt a lot of things but I felt proud mostly because we were raising up someone who despite being young knew what to do and kept calm in situations where others would panic. 

I put down my phone and I looked at my daughter. I remembered talking to my wife in the wee hours of the morning and I have realized that I missed talking to them this way. I will never let go of the weekends and my days off because I want to be a part of them as we continue to grow. I am thankful to have such a luxury when others cannot afford it. I will not waste a single moment of it. 

And so I will put down my phone and listen.

"Magic:The Gathering: Oh what fun we have."

"Magic:The Gathering: Oh what fun we have."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

My friend St Estrella posted something online about having fun while playing magic. And I said that this is the main reason why we play in the first place , to have fun.

Of course fun is a broad word and can be defined in a lot of different ways. It varies from player to player and every group has a small representation of the greater magic community. As I have been a part of several groups over the years here are a few of my observations and how Fun can be defined by certain players.

1) The Overkill - We used to have one player in our group who was never happy if he just barely killed you. It has to be something with ridiculous amounts of damage. It has to be big and overwhelming. Yung tipong may utang ka pa life points after several games. That was his fun and so to spoil it we usually would concede before he attacks with overwhelming numbers.

2) The control player. - In my current and former groups there would always be someone to spoil someones fun by controlling everything that is on the battlefield. It is by freezing everything via Stasis or Brine Elemental combo's or just killing everything or just countering everything important thing that was being cast. It's normally not fun for everyone but hey I know what it feels like to not be able to play for a long time and so once in awhile it is ok to be put in a Stasis.

3) Ridiculous Combo / Alternate win con player - It might be one that is so interlocking and complicated that a deck only wins once but it is(and I can attest) one of the most fun and satisfying moments that a player can feel. Something that makes people go wow and whistle or scratch their heads when they begin to understand what you have done. Just the sound alone of frustration and confusion can be enough sometimes.

4) The Competitive player - On the opposite spectrum there are players who are only having fun when they are running a deck that always wins or at least has a consistent win ratio. And I have been there myself too. I mean it is no joke amassing cards with hefty tag prices only to see you deck burn out in the competition.There are a lot of players like this and I understand it because sometimes it is in these moments that you find that all the things that you worked so hard for has been worth it.

5) Speculators / Buyers / Sellers - Since magic is a game that has a constant flow of new cards and interactions there are those among the community who have fun speculating what the latest card/s would be rising in stock and would be in demand during standard or even in EDH tables.This part of the magic community will forever be looking at spoilers and combos and current standard conditions. And this too is fun.

6) Pack Openers. - The thrill of seeing a planeswalker or Masterpiece or Invocation at the end of the booster pack you are opening is enough to give you that Dopamine boost that had Time Magazine calling Magic cardboard crack. The satisfying feeling of cracking open a pack and getting something that is worth more than you paid for is always something you look forward to and what Wizards of the Coast depends on to keep on making new sets. Let's not disappoint them and open some few more packs from our Local game store.

I know I might have missed a few more fun things but why don't you let me know about it if I have. I want to thank everyone who keeps on reading what I write. I write for fun and if you are having fun while reading what I write than my job is done. 

So keep on brewing and keep on playing. 

"For Nothing"

"For Nothing"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

I find myself chanting your name

in these dark recesses I came to know

The secret place I have met you

in the garden where Chiming bells grow

II

I wait for the clock to circle

So I will get my chance

To intervene in a fate

Just for one more dance

III

You smiled that day

knowing I will be back

I never told you how

I never said when

but you smiled anyway knowing

whatever it was in time

I will be yours and you mine.

IV

So the clock ticks to the very last

opening that tiny crack

into that sliver of time

So I could tell you all the secrets I have

V

I waited you said 

And I cannot control myself any longer

I reached out

Into that setting sun

to reach you

to feel you

V

And in those moments I crumble

Into the ashes that I always have

And the last moment I saw were the tears 

All that waiting

All that waiting

For nothing.

Shaw , 07 31 2017

"Lip Tight"

"Lip Tight"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

I guess it is alright

your dreams are a fight

I see them in your tired eyes

with your restless sleeps at night

II

I guess you made those choices

and you know your losses

Giving up on another dream

As you walk towards this dream

III

How can I blame you

walking away when you did

I had nothing to offer

Except the love I had within

IV

So I guess It is alright

when I see you on the TV screen

looking tired , looking sick

still professional through every scene

V

I guess you must be happy

with the way things have been

happy career , happy life

more than I could have seen

VI

How can I ask you

to give up all of that

even if there was a chance

I will hold my tongue

VII

Because your place is there

Not here where I am

I guess it is alright

I will close my eyes 

Shaw , 07 29 2017

"Midweek Magic July 2017 #25 - Bant Archenemy Massacre"

"Midweek Magic July 2017 #25 - Bant Archenemy Massacre"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

I have always thought that the colors of Bant represented something honorable and pure. The Shard with the color surely had Knights and beings that shared this quality. Of course in Magic the colors can be the same but maybe show up as something else.

Sun Titans , Reclamation Sages , Coursers of Kruphix along with Jace Beleren , Tamiyo , Ajani , Karametra and Heliod all made for a deck that was bought aggressive and controlling as my playgroup experienced. 

This was the first couple of wins for the Bant deck that I have labored in improving for almost the whole month of July and even with the wins there are still some key changes in Land and mana acceleration that need to be done.

I have never thought that Bant would do well in Archenemy but that night proved it to be untrue as I controlled opponents with well timed Oblivion Rings and Mass Removals. Destroyed key Enchantments with Reclamation Sages who are not afraid to die and be returned on the Battlefield by the Landing or attacking Sun Titans.

At least for that night Bant didn't stand for the Noble and the Pure. It represented a massacre. I liked it.