"EDH Restoration and Developmental program:A response to loss"

"EDH Restoration and Developmental program:A response to loss"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

For about 3 weeks now I have embarked on a very ambitious personal project and that is to restore all of my EDH decks and try and add some more to my original set.

I started out with a Skullbriar deck that I played mostly as a reanimator shell rather than fully taking advantage of Skullbriars +1/+1 piling on itself abilities. At least it was like that in the beginning. Most people who I got to play with still associate me with my original Golgari deck but I have turned my attention elsewhere now that I have a stable playing group.

Initially I aimed at making competitive modern decks for our Archenemy sessions and it was quite enjoyable because it proved that I can win and still have fun even with decks that I never thought I could play with. I was simply happy being able to pull off combos , play cards that were in stock for years until these glorious days where they had time to shine.

I initially had 18 EDH decks that were cannibalized for competitive pieces for my Modern decks and for the several Tiny Leaders decks that I made(including my favorite Skullbriar who had to undergo deck conversion). It became so bad that all I had left was 4 operational EDH decks. 

Momir Vig , Vorel of the Hull Clade , Zirilan of the Claw and Phenax ,God of Deception were the only commanders left. I seldom got to play these 4 commanders but I got inspired again by two things , by an awesome Omnath , Locus of Rage deck that I fought with my brother from another mother Mark Abude and the realization that in my playgroup despite being gutted of its Mana rocks and other Lands , Phenax was still able to win.

I also wanted to play EDH as much as possible as one of my most favorite opponents was going to resign at the end of this September. Ram if you are reading this I want to fight with all of my decks against you. And hopefully ascend them into their full and complete versions before you go. I always thought that we would still have a lot of play tests together but I guess that also comes to an end.

As of this writing I have finished decks 33 and 34. Teysa , Orzhov Scion and Bruuna , Light Alabaster. I simply could not help myself. Bruuna in particular was something that I have wanted to make for a long time. 

Now that 34 decks are now operational it is now time to play test and improve them. 34,000 individual cards boggle my mind and I am thankful that I have the capability to make all of them possible.

"Midweek Magic September 2017 #33: When Omnath fell short"

"Midweek Magic September 2017 #33: When Omnath fell short"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Recently I have been having a streak of losses. It comes with the territory as everyone around me has leveled up their different commander 2017 decks and I have decided to make a lot of experimental builds for various commanders that take a beating out of the more established decks that my playgroup has.

So far I have been pummeled by Dragons and Pussies. I had limited exposure to the vampires because I died early in one game but Edgar Markov is deadly even when he is not on the battlefield. I have had no chance to battle Inalla and the wizards but I don't look forward to that as well.

Yo in particular has been consistently winning with strong plays with Steel Pussies that attack early for 5 damage and in the end game control and get rid of enchantments and artifacts in it's way. I have been on the receiving end of a well armed cat way too many times.

When Jus said "I-fist ko itong si Silumgar , drifting death"

Our group with the dirty minds laughed. He meant that he will use the fist of the suns ability to cast Silumgar but we pictured him shoulder deep into the nether regions of the Blue black dragon.

I also died to Jus and his Utvara Hellkite assaults. Imagine having 8 more flying 6/6 dragons about to attack me. It was the first time that I got to use the Liege of the Tangle in an EDH game and I had 15 reanimated lands that had to just kill Jus in a turn or he would be coming for me.

Ram who I have managed to control in this game with a Terrastodon that destroyed his 3 Islands earlier now recovered into 4 islands and used Wash Out to return my entire army to my hand. It was already getting late and I supposed I could have put up more of a fight but with a Balan and a Monstrous Fleecemane Lion and 13 life due to a Quietus spike in the face I decided that fighting would be futile and I died at the hand of pussies again.

Omnath did fall short but he does still leave a scar on my playgroups minds as being the sort of Commander that you need to control or things could get out of hand pretty fast.

"Ripjaw Raptor: Eating Brains"

"Ripjaw Raptor: Eating Brains"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

So apparently making a Ripjaw Raptor makes you smarter or at least gives you more ideas. In any case once you trigger it's enrage ability you get to draw a card.

Card advantage has traditionally been given to cards of the blue persuasion so I was happy to see this on a green card. A 4 mana creature that also happens to have a 4/5 body. 

No matter how you look at it this dino was meant to attack , take damage and let you draw a card.

Of course there would be several ways to trigger enrage and I wrote 3 separate articles on how you could do this. You could read them somewhere in this page as well.

I just like the idea of having a Honden of Infinite Rage and you have an extra draw on your upkeep with the Ripjaw Raptor.Or you could use this other card. Rile. Now you net two cards for the price of a single Red Mana! 

Or like I said you could just attack and leave the choice up to your opponent. And the choices are as follows:

1)  He or she lets you deal the 4 damage and you bring him closer to death but have no card draw.

2) He or she blocks with a weaker creature , that creature dies and you get to draw a card. Removing a future blocker and maybe drawing another Dino finisher or Lightning Strike.

3)He or she blocks with a bigger creature , Ripjaw Raptor dies but you still get a card which could be the next dino that you will be casting. Maybe another Ripjaw Raptor.

Or they can just Doomblade the Raptor while it is attacking and just negate  your  future card advantage.Oh well. Of all the scenarios that doomblade one is the one I want to see the least.

Of course 3 out of 4 scenarios is not really bad. A 75% chance of drawing a fresh card isn't really bad at all, Go Dino's! Time to brew that R/G deck now. Thank you for reading and keep on brewing.

"Doc In , Doc Out September 2017#3: "Three"

"Doc In , Doc Out September 2017#3: "Three"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Me: Anong Lihira po ang pinakamalinaw? Anong number po?"

Patient: 3 po Doc.

Me: Ok. Pabasa po.

Patient: "3"

Me:Ok.Malinaw nga.

"3 things I have seen this week September 2017 #2:Doctor's Scheds"

"3 things I have seen this week September 2017 #2:Doctor's Scheds"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Clinical schedules that fit you are a God send and Doctors are always on the look out for them. This week I saw things that made me frown and made me happy.

1) Cheaters...

So what happens when you have an 8 hour shift and you come in at the 5th hour of said shift and go home an hour before you are actually supposed to go out. Well nothing really. Until you get caught. I find it unfair that some doctors in the industry do this and get away with it. 2 hours work and still get paid in full. I would understand being late once or twice because it would be an exception but if you do this consistently for 6 years every day of the week that you are on duty I think this is what you call a pattern. 

Of course they got caught and are now facing investigation. 6 years is a lot to backtrack but I will trust in the system.

2) Texters...

We are in need of relievers....the post would start and when I begin to look the schedules might as well have been on the moon because the distance seems to be so. When choosing duties there are certain things that you need to look for such as ease of travel , if you burn more fuel than you are actually going to earn then what is the point of going on that duty? Unless it was a medical mission then burning fuel and bringing something more than just yourself is the norm.

I have consistently said no to certain duties because of distance. There are just places where I cannot go.

3) The return to UHG. 

When Dra. Jing Escurel talked to me about the possibility of coming back to UHG I was ecstatic. I had to wait a full month and a half for it but now that it is confirmed I feel really thankful. It has always been my desire to go back to UHG and I am glad to have that desire granted. I look forward to all the things that I could do again.

Scheds are blessings don't be a curse on the people who hire you. Be fair and try to be on time and never tell them that you will make it even if you are in such a far away place that you cannot be physically present unless like Goku you can teleport instantaneously from one place to another.

And now that that is out of my system back to our regularly scheduled program.

"Optum/UHG Technohub: I said Goodbye for now and I meant it"

"Optum/UHG Technohub: I said Goodbye for now and I meant it"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Optum/UHG Technohub will always have a place in my heart as I consider myself one of the doctors who were a pioneer in the place. From Building N and then Building O I was one of the first to take care of patients and help the team improve. Defend nurses and clarify patients questions. I loved the place. Libre parking eh! but there was always something relaxing about the big buildings and sprawling parking lot.

I think I might have written a lot of zombie scenarios about the place.And a couple of ghost stories because the old Tourism at the back of building O would give you such inspiration.

When I lost the post March of 2015 it was a bad first year quarter along with the loss of Convergys at the end of 2014. I had to sadly turn over my ID badge and I asked if I can keep my Lanyard. The HR told me that I could and she was sure that I will be back in the place in no time. So I said goodbye for now and I meant it. In my heart of hearts I knew that this place would always have a connection with me.

So when Dra. Jing Escurel messaged me on facebook about the possibility of coming back I was ecstatic. It took about a month longer than I expected but I did not mind knowing that I would finally go back.

And so right now 12 midnight  , This 11th day of September 2017 I am officially back as a Doctor in Optum/ UHG Technohub. With rumors that Convergys might go back to ActiveOne hands early next year could it be that I would be gaining all that I have lost? I will keep my eyes open for that.

For now I am happy to finally be back.

"Midweek Magic September 2017 #32:Savage Beating Reflections"

"Midweek Magic September 2017 #32:Savage Beating Reflections"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

I have often felt that when I play with my playgroup that each game becomes an Archenemy game regardless of what magic format we actually play. 

We play modern. I become the archenemy.

We play Chaos Multiplayer EDH I still become the archenemy.

I ought to be flattered because I am always considered a threat but there are times when I actually just want to play and not be in the sidelines. Did I cultivate this fear? Did I become a magnet for pain for trying all those weird decks? I might have.

Ram who has been out of action for almost 2 weeks came back and overwhelmed me with Prossh. A dragon combo deck that attacked and damaged with creatures sacrificed to Ashnods Altar. My Kefnet deck almost killed Ram with 15 Commander damage but it was not to be.

Jus who has been the designated police force and oppressive player in Rams absence also gave me a massive beating...of the mind. After cursing me with Fraying Sanity , I knew what came next from his deck with 5 open mana...Traumatize. I had 71 cards in my deck and heck. 1 ended up with one card in my Library during my upkeep. I was running a Narset EDH deck and I attacked with an empty Library. It was a suicide run I know but man that was Traumatizing indeed.

Which leads me here. I think I will be in this archenemy loop even with a weak deck. Time to accept my role then. Good hunting to me next week.