"The 3 things that I have seen this week September 2017 #1 : Zombies"

"The 3 things that I have seen this week September 2017  #1 : Zombies"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

"I have seen the Zombie apocalypse and it is real."

This is what Cersei Lannister from the popular GOT series would say in a tabloid somewhere and this is what of much what I have seen this week in both fictional and real life.

1) The Zark's Burger Apocalypse.

Reminiscent of scenes from The Walking Dead swarming unto an enclave of humans and 28 days later where the Undead are running toward some fresh meat. People who were after the 8 peso burger from Zarks turned into zombies that cared neither for their neighbors or their dignity all for the chance of eating a burger that usually costs 149 pesos. 

Are the scenes shameful? Yes. Am I glad that I took no part in it? Yes. Does it speak to a social inequality problem that we all have in this country? Yes.

All it takes is an 8 peso burger and all hell breaks lose. I would say that is a problem.

2) The White Walkers Breaks the Wall.

We all knew it was coming from the trailers of Season 7. The White Walkers would now command an undead Viserion and break part of Eastwatch by the sea to set up the Undead Vs. The Living match up that has been hinted at since season 1.

A funny thought occurred to me as I watched Viserion scour the wall with what looks like an ice blast. Doesn't more ice make the wall stronger? but then again it seemed like a different kind of flame altogether. It might be a rotting kind of breath.

3) Zombies on both Sides.

The drug war is a polarizing issue for our country and sadly despite both sides having valid points of contention no one seems to be a moderate to take all the conflicting views and arrive at a solution that could at least keep people from forming zombie masses on both sides where they pick a color and just stick with it because they are all in. No gray party to just come up with something simple and maybe there isn't one because the issues are complex cannot be solved by something simple. And being a mindless zombie is preferable than to not have a side.

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #29: The Support Killer"

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #29: The Support Killer"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

When you ask Yo Castillo about how his deck would win he would often shrug his shoulders and smile. The reason is that most of his decks has no win condition. He was 100% support , doing the stat pumping for creatures , occasional countering and removal for everybody else on the board. He was the workhorse support of the group almost chanting oh la la la la like some battlepriest.That is until today.

Well for the past 2 days really ,  he had killed me with a well timed Flame Jab and on Day 2 overwhelming vampire attacks from Olivia Mobilized for War , an EDH deck that was no doubtedly fine tuned by our now notorious support Killer. 

So I guess sometimes baring your fang ain't so bad huh Yo? 

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #28: Riding the Genesis Wave!"

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #28: Riding the  Genesis Wave!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I have often wanted to make a deck that included Genesis Wave and Craterhoof behemoth. I also wanted to make a Omnath , Locus of Rage deck and hopefully be able to have a handful of Elementals that could rampage all over the battlefield ever since I battled this particular deck against my friend Mark Abude.

I finally my chance of assembling this Mana Ramp Gruul deck. And on my road of restoring all of my EDH decks Omnath was a part of the first wave. 

On one game I was able to create the Elemental tokens I wanted via super pumped Genesis Wave that dumped a lot of lands on the battlefield with Omnath , Locus of Rage and Rampaging Baloths both birthing out killer fatties. And at the end of the wave I was able to reveal the much awaited Craterhoof Behemoth. I was just so happy to have pulled it off.

Another game featured Ram's Leyline of Singularity that was a perfect foil for tokenator decks such as mine since every nonland permanent on the battlefield becomes Legendary. Meaning all of my elemental tokens will explode. I had Omnath in Play and Doubling season as well which doubled my tokens an when one died gave Ram 3 direct damage. It even got worse since I already had 1 remaining Elemental token in play each land fall meant I was creating 2 more tokens that would explode and deal 6 damage. With the amount of Lands falling it was only a matter of time and Omnath proved worthy of the first wave of my EDH restoration quest.

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #27: Phenax showing off"

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #27: Phenax showing off"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

It was a typical EDH game for Ram , Janry , Jus and Me. A thursday where Ram debuted his Monogreen Azusa , Hapatra for Janry and Baral for Jus.

Phenax despite being gutted of some of its mana rocks and lands performed consistently again showing that it deserves all the bling that it had and should be restored to full glory.

Earlier I wanted to Rites of Replication my Grave Titan and Cackling Counter part it too. It dies to Rams well time Beast Within.

I was also the target of a Terrastodon.(I am the one usually doing this in my previous playgroup). So I copied it  with a Rites of Replication and at the end of a turn Cackling counterpart my copy of the terrastodon before it died.

I was counting Janrys library after Jus was able to Traumatize it to 50% in the previous round. I counted 21.

With Phenax in play , 1 9/9 Terrastodon and 4 3/3 Beasts. It was enough to finish the game I just had to wait for the next turn so Janry can draw to a loss but I drew an Altar of Dementia and sacrificed my token terrastodon to it so the game can be finished.

Phenax has proven to be the most consistent of my EDH decks and deserves all it's bling to be restored. And so it shall be.

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #26: Introducing Consecrated Sphinx on Turn 2!"

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #26: Introducing Consecrated Sphinx on Turn 2!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Nobody likes  a Consecrated Sphinx appearing at any point in the game but with this scheme on just our 2nd turn the Consecrated sphinx landed on the battlefield and I was able to draw 6 cards the next turn which was too much card advantage than what my opponents actually expected. It was a couple of turns later that they decided to concede because of the overwhelming card advantage. The scheme "Introductions are in order" really made my night.

Oh just the little ways that Archenemy and my Sultai Red deck can win a game. When it does it simply does.Of course on the flip side of things when it doesn't work I get massacred and you can be betrayed by the very schemes that are meant to save you. 

This time around though it was the Consecrated Sphinx and the Scheme that won the day.

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #25 -Malabanan Jr's.:This is what oppression looks like."

"Midweek Magic August 2017 #25 -Malabanan Jr's.:This is what oppression looks like."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

In my HP/DXC Eton playgroup we have one guy  , Jus , who runs a deck that I fondly call Malabanan Jrs. It is the kind of deck that hurts you in small doses , sucks the life out of you little by little and when this life is amassed and Jus hits critical mass  that end truly comes for you with a  Massive Aether reservoir blast to the face.

Imagine every little thing that lands on the battlefield or dies there contributes a little to your demise. You play creatures Authority of  The Consuls taps it and gives 1 life point to Jus. You play a non-creature spell Kambal deals damage to you. A creature That Jus control dies? Zulaport Cutthroat is there to blade you a little. Jus plays a land? Return to Hagra sucks you a little and you lose a life point.

Malabanan Jr.s does nothing but suck the life out of you and it's controller survives even the most severe of attacks. It is always a frustrating deck to face in archenemy games because it seldom loses when it has all of it's pieces on the board.

So I rummaged for my Tranquility and Paraselene the other week. Oh and they fit in well with my current Bant Deck. I will be ready for Malabanan Jr's next time.

"3 things I have seen this week August #3: Madness"

"3 things I have seen this week August #3: Madness"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

People lose their minds sometimes in increments and sometimes in such a massive way that they do not even notice as they plunged into an an unknown precipice. This week seems like madness and  I too was a part of it.

1) I saw so many memes crying for justice for a boy who was killed by policemen in relation to drugs. - The war on drugs is a polarizing issue and if you are not on one side then you are on the other side. Madness. It is as if you cannot have a differing view before people assign you a particular color. At least to the close minded you are one color and sometimes it is not the color that they like. Madness.

2) A friend of mine seems to be finding characters that often seem to do something less significant and then goes to disparage other characters because they are involved in the grander scheme of things. Sadly I find this maddening because there is no need for this distinction. Do a little or do a lot we are just actors on the stage called life. We act our roles even if we know them or not. 

3) I saw a man lugging around boxes upon boxes of Magic cards in what can only be called Brewers madness. - This mad person was me as I tried to restore EDH decks that I have gutted in order to create Modern and Archenemy competitive decks. It feels like I have neglected them and after weeks I have finally heeded the call like a true madman listening to the voices of cards in his head. The result is that from the 4 operational decks that I kept I now have 25 with 9 or more pending decks waiting for lands and plastics to cover them. Well output is output. Spoken like a true madman.