"Shaman of the Forgotten Ways:The tucked threat"

"Shaman of the Forgotten Ways:The tucked threat"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

Biorhythm. One of those cards that I had the pleasure of owning even before EDH. And one card that I hoped that I could have put to good use before I found out that it was one of those cards that were banned in the EDH format because it proved to be too strong. I mean it could end the game in an instant. People who control the spell just need to make sure that they control at least one creature and then destroy the rest. Wrath of God + Indestructible creature + Biorhythm means that every one's life total because equal to the number of creatures he or she controls. So yes it does not end well for everyone else unless they decide to fling something your way before they die. So they decided to ban this awesome card because it makes game play a bit less exciting to those who die by it.

So imagine my surprise when they printed Biorhythm on a stick.This is in the form of Shaman of the Forgotten ways. I loved the card instantly but there was some concern that it too would get a banning. 

There are several reasons why this would not come to pass.

1.It is a freaking creature! One of the classic questions in Magic is...Can you Doom blade it? If so then no worries.

2. Formidable - Look at the amount of power that you need to amass in order to activate this ability. A prerequisite that may or may not win you the game. Since this will be a green EDH deck expect that the 8 power requirement will be negligible. Still. Can you doom blade it?

The Shaman is already 2 Power and because of the 2 mana that it adds you could be sure that you would be casting Atarka or even Surrak in no time at all.The question is while you have a 

3. 11 mana to activate!.... So let us say that you already have 8 power or more for the Formidable pre requisite. The question now is do you have enough mana to activate the the Shamans ability before someone can doom blade the hell out of it?

Unlike the cheaper costing Biorhythm which could also be cheated into play , Shaman of the forgotten ways will force you to play straight and narrow. 

With these reasons do you think I will dissuaded into not playing the Shaman? No way. I still think that this is a fun way to end the game and people will always be wary of that seemingly innocent 3 to cast mana producer that you have usually tucked in your lands. 

They would be counting lands and they would be counting creatures. Wary if you would be able to pull off a Biorhythm on them. This could prove to be a great diversion if you are actually planning to go all Aggro.Or maybe when they are not watching you could take out that tucked threat and just activate it.

"Tiny Leaders:Azusa at Usapang X."

"Tiny Leaders:Azusa at Usapang X."

ni:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

Bata pa lang ako eh mahilig na ako sa X. Sa sobrang hilig ko sa X eh napakarami kong nahahanap sa internet. Napakaraming website na merong X at sa tingin ko eh lalo pang darami ang mga X sites na ito. 

Kung hahanapin mo si Azusa , Lost but seeking makikita mo na marami ding nakaakibat na X sa kanya. Minsan kung kumausap ka ng mga tao eh marami din na mabibigay sa iyo na X.

Itong nakaraang Block sa Magic the Gathering na Theros , palibhasa eh Griyego ang tema natutuwa ako at napakarami ding X na lumabas. X na X na X talaga!

"Wow X"

Sila ang dahilan kung bakit naisipan kung gumawa ng Hydra Deck para sa Tiny Leaders na format ng Magic.Siguro di ko na masyadong paguusapan ang mga basics tulad nang 22 na lupa at si Azusa na tumatayong Commander ng deck na ito.

At dahil si Azusa ang Commander alam mo na ang deck na ito eh magsusuka nang magsusuka nang magsusuka ng lupa. Ang gusto niyang gawin sa buong laro eh maglabas nang maglabas ng Mana o lupa para masustentuhan ang pangangailangan sa X.

Ngayon sa format ng Tiny leaders ang mga manlalaro eh nalilimitahan sa mga spells at creatures na nagkakahalaga ng 3 mana o pababa lamang. Magandang ehersisyo ng pagiisip lalo na at kailangan mong magisip ng maigi kong ano ang bagay sa mga deck na gagawin mo.

Dito kay Azusa eh magandang sa unang bagsak pa lang ng lupa eh maica- cast mo na ang Eladamri's Vineyard o si Magus of the Vineyard.Mapapansin mo na mabibigyan ka ng napakaagang 2 mana bago ang iyong main phase. Mana na puwede mong gamitin para mailabas ng maaga si Azusa at makalapag ng 2 extra na lupa kada turn.Siyempre isasama natin sila Courser of Kruphix , Sylvan Caryatid , Elvish Mystic , Muldaya Channelers , Farhaven Elves , Wood Elves para lalo pang bumilis ang ating Mana sa paglabas. 

"Mmmmm X ulit!"

Kadalasan sa turn 3 pa lang ay napakarami nang Mana na magiging available sa Green Mage pero dahil di ka nga puwedeng lumampas ng Mana cost 3 sa Tiny Leaders dito ngayon papasok ang X. Ang tropa ng mga Hydra na puwede mong palakihin depende sa mana na ibibigay mo sa kanilang X.  Ito ay mga Hydra na nakita kong pakalat kalat lang sa bahay kaya binigyan ko sila ng tahanan , maaari natin tawaging Bahay Kalinga Hydra. Si Mistcutter Hydra , Hooded Hydra , Vastwood Hydra , Protean Hydra , Primordial Hydra at Genesis Hydra.

Kadalasan si Primordial Hydra at Mistcutter Hydra ang nagsisilbing pambato ng deck at salamat sa card na Solidarity of Heroes sila ang kadalasang nakakatapos ng mga kalaban.Si Primordial Hydra kasi dumodoble ang counters kada Upkeep minsan umabot ng 80 ang counters sa kanya! May utang pa sa buhay ng ilang games ang kalaban mo. Kasalanan ng simple pero napakalakas na Solidarity of Heroes.

"Solid Pre!"

Ngayon maliban sa aking mga paboritong X creatures ano pa ang magandang mailagay dito sa deck na ito? siyempre para abusuhin ang dami ng lupa na lumalapag sa battlefield naglagay ako ng Dungrove Elder. Lakas base sa dami ng iyong mga Forests. At Hexproof pa! sakit sa ulo! Si Budoka Gardener eh andito din , masaya kaya gumawa ng X/X na Elemental base sa dami ng mga lupa mo. Medyo pag nabilang mo mabibigla ka na lang kasi may 10/10 Elemental ka na.Ang paborito ko na Strata Scythe galing sa Mirrodin ay isa pang malaking tulong sa pagiging agresibo ng deck na ito kahit na sino kasi sa mga mahihina mong creature(gaya ng mga Woodelves na 1/1) eh biglang nagiging Higante.

Sa mga lupa ay maganda ding isama ang Nykthos , Shrine to Nyx dahil sa dami nang Green Creatures na nagdadagdag sa Devotion count. Mas maraming mana mas maraming pampakain sa X. 

Speaking of X ang card na Animist's Awakening galing sa Magic Origins ay nasama ko na din dito. Di lang siya masayang X card. Tuwang tuwa pa sa kanya si Vinelasher Kudzu! 

"Lupa...Lupa.....Lupa....Lupa....Lupa....Untap"

Hanggang dito na lang muna at magpapakain pa ako ng mga Hydra. Mula sa Bahay Kalinga Hydra. Signing Off. 

"Magic Origins PR timeline:Missing and Finding Liliana ,Heretical Healer"

"Magic Origins PR timeline:Missing and Finding Liliana ,Heretical Healer"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Saturday , July 11,2015  

9:30am - Approved by big boss to play...Aven thumbs up...Wifey thumbs up...

9:31am - Calls Tournament Organizer(Yes , I have him on speed dial right next to Pain Reliever Supplier and Spa Reservations) to reserve a black PR kit...

12:00 noon - Got home after a long breakfast and errands...fixes Lands , Sleeves and playmat for PR...set alarm to 2pm...promptly falls asleep...Snores to every one's annoyance

2:00pm - Alarm sounds and it feels as if souls were being strangled somewhere in the distance...Lets alarm go to snooze...another 5 minutes is probably ok...

4:00pm - Eye seems to burst open....Seems to have forgotten something but what?....Reality comes crashing down....The PR!!!! waaaah...

"Probably looked like this guy...only not as cute..."

4:03pm - Manages to Gargle with Listerine , Change clothes , Get gear , kiss sleeping wife and wide awake daughter before rushing through the door , going back shortly to check that it is locked and off to my car... which has a semi-flat tire...

4:15pm - While having my tire vulcanized called St ,(My Tournament organizer) and was greeted by the news that one of our Community mates got a Liliana , Heretical Healer PR foil in his PR kit...My heart sank , there was little chance of lightning striking twice in a particular event...

4:30pm - Saw the Horrendous traffic along Mac Arthur and decided that it was better to stay home and pick my Black PR Kit tomorrow...

Sunday , July 12 2015

After getting my PR kit this is what I opened. 

Lightning was supposed to strike twice yesterday. I can only imagine what I would have achieved with Liliana , Dark Petition , a whole lot of removal and Gaea's Revenge in my PR deck. Probably a lot...So maybe next time I won't let that alarm go to snooze...

"Am I not bomb enough for you? tsk tsk tsk..."

"A Letter to Luzvi"

"A Letter to Luzvi"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

It has been a few months and the pain is still here. I wrote this letter for my mom on the 5th day of her wake. I was there in front of her remains as I typed these words. Typing it helped me but I am still in pain with her loss. I am not sharing this for anything. It is still my blog after all and well if I could post my silly thoughts on anything I could surely post about the woman who first loved me unconditionally. 

Ma,

I was sad that I was not able to talk to you one last time. I was sorry that after seeing you so healthy and happy I was only able to see you lifeless with a group of doctors who were trying desperately to revive you.

I wish that I could have told you that I loved you and that I was there , that you were not alone in all of this. I was there. I wished that you could have opened your eyes and escaped this time around as well like you always did in the face of death.I always believed that you would be lecturing me and reminding me of family ties and bonds for as long as I lived.

I wish you could have said , I love you son to me one last time.I wish you could have told me how proud you are of me one last time. It is only now that I realized that you didnt have to tell me those things  at all. I realized that in all those times that we were not around each other you always talked about me even among your friends or probably even to people whom you have just met. Like Aven and me I knew that you could probably not stay quiet for very long. We all know where we got it.

It hurts but now more than ever I am filled with realizations.

I realized that all those invitations to have breakfast or dinner or to go with you to different places was your way of saying that you loved me and loved my company. I realized that all those times that you relied on me to do the things that you wanted was your way of saying that you trusted me and that I could get all of those things done because you believed I could. I realized that all your life you loved me and was so proud of me beyond anything that I could ever accomplish in this life of mine.

I realized that I was and never was loved less by you in any of the things that I did or accomplished. Of even in the things that I was never able to do or resolve. You loved me even if you did not tell me those words. You showed me. You talked about me. Bragged about me as if I could move the moon and stars. Probably told them that I was important. I probably wasn't important to them but I know that I was important to you and that was all that mattered. 

Ma. I love you and you know that I do. You may or may not hear me at all but I do and it will be hard without you believe it or not. You were a glue to this family and you kept us together.

To everyone else you were Superwoman. Savior.To me you were mom and as often as told you that I would pay you back you always told me that...Bayad na anak. I will try and live a life that you would be proud of Ma. I will be a good husband and Father to Aven. I will be a good Kuya to Aj and Nadine. I will be a good son to Dad. Thank you ma for always loving me. I will see you again. 

your son,

June 

"Living Lore: When Scrolls Attack"

"Living Lore: When Scrolls Attack"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

Here we go again after all the hyped cards and the stabilization of prices that follow after a new expansions release. I am now happily able to buy certain "crap"(another mans trash , another mans treasure ) rares and see if I could run with it in the EDH setting.The card that I have set my sights on today is Living Lore. 

Have you ever been attacked by books before? Maybe the worst time a book hurt you physically was when someone threw one at you or a book dropped on you from a high place like a shelf. Well if you live in the world of Alternate Time Tarkir AKA Present Tarkir the books or specifically the scrolls there could actually kill you. Talk about crushed by pages of an unread manuscript or spellbook. Living Lore is exactly that. 

I mean at 4 mana this is basically a cheap spell that could turn out to be a pretty nasty monster given one condition. You need to have an Instant or Sorcery Spell in your graveyard to feed it. The way I look at it this is like reverse Imprint or Graveyard Imprinting. Living Lore is perfect for a lot of Self Mill decks which could be Sultai/Silumgar or Dimir or basically anything that has Blue in it. Any deck combination that could use high mana casting cards early.I expect to have Entomb getting a really high mana cost card in the graveyard as well.

So here is the cool thing as Living Lore comes into play you exile an Instant or Sorcery(Better Choose A Very High Mana Cost Card) and its casting cost becomes Living Lore's Power and Toughness. Imagine Temporal Trespass "Imprinting" on this Baby and you got an 11/11 creature willing to do your bidding! You really don't have to do it early so this could fit in to some peoples controlled style of play , political maneuvering or just their deadly end game.  Dig Through time seems like another great card to go with Living Lore. 

But wait...There's More! Not only do you get to smash face with your book/scroll and smile like a nerd who suddenly has the power to hurt someone with a book...when Living Lore deals combat damage you could sacrifice it and use the "Imprinted" Instant or Sorcery spell on it. I don't know but someone out there might have thought of mixing this up with an Obliterate to annoy his friends. Oh wait. That would be me. 

Opponents better have blockers ready because you could be sure that when someone has this in their EDH deck there would be plenty of nasty Instant and Sorcery Spells just waiting to be abused....err...reused.

Living Lore. Play it. Have the satisfaction of crushing someone with a scroll.Yeah slapped around by scrolls. Imagine your opponents admitting that.Death by Book.  

"Pauper Kings:Boros Slash and Dash"

"Pauper Kings:Boros Slash and Dash"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Lizzie a long time Magic buddy in SM North called my mono red Kolaghan Dash deck  Slash and Dash awhile back. I am not sure if there is an archetype already existing in Standard pauper but the name is simply too cool to pass up so Lizzie and my avid readers I came up with a deck that is fitting of the the name. Boros Slash and Dash:

4 x Wind Scarred Crag

9 x Plains

9 x Mountains

__________________

22 Lands

4 x Impact Tremors

4 x Raise the Alarm

4 x Dragon Fodder

4 x Triplicate Spirits

4 x Pacifism

4 x Lightning Strike

__________________

24 Spells

4 x Jeskai Student

4 x Kolagahan Stormsinger

4 x Mardu Scout

__________________

12 Creatures

Impact Tremors is still a big part of the strategy here and the point is to get one or two out early so that most of the token producing spells would act as direct damage even before a single attack could be declared. 

As I was telling my fellow Team Virulence Team mate Mark Abude the other night it feels good to have your Raise the Alarm and Dragon Fodder act like they were Shocks. And if you have enough creatures to convoke a Triplicate Spirits then you also get a lightning Bolt for Free! All thanks to Impact Tremors. Well everyone coming in on your side will sure get to burn your opponent. How is that for a Dashing entrance right?

Pacifism and Lightning Strike offer you early control here but should you find yourself fighting bigger monsters that a little 3 damage could not kill then I suggest boarding in a Pressure Point. A well timed Pressure point could simply be disastrous for your opponent. 

Imagine the smile on your face when you draw a Pressure Point with your weenie army poised for the lethal attack and your are able to tap the lone creature that they have in your way. Priceless.

Of course weenie 1/1 creatures might not be enough for the victory so I added in Jeskai Student , who takes advantage of all the non-creature spells in this deck and could be relied on to finish an opponent as well ,  Kolagahan Stormsinger , who is fast , activates Impact Tremors and should it survive could reactivate it the following turn.Mardu Scout is simply a 3/1 for 2 mana. With Dash. And I love goblins. So yeah. In the deck you go my little goblin.

Boros Slash and Dash is at its heart a very aggro deck. Push for the early damage and damage as often as you can. The reason is that if your opponent has no way of recovering damage in the end game , even if he or she has managed to stabilize the board and none of your dashers could no longer attack. Those token producing spells would be the difference. Placing more creatures on the battlefield while damaging an opponent? So much value for your mana. So much direct damage goodness. 

"The Weight of your stay"

"The Weight of your stay"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

I

Listen now

Oh listen now to these words

though I may no longer say them

you keep them and be safe

II

I ask you to dare

to look at the sky and soar

to be up there where you belong

and open up more doors

III

Soon it will go

and all things will fade

Yet try to hold on a little

bring a little in this life

IV

Say what you mean

and mean what you say

keep your promises from yesteryears

and yesterdays

V

So that one day

So when that day comes

Stand and be weighed

worthy oh so worthy of your stay