"The Forsaken Gems"

"The Forsaken Gems"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

"Are we alone?" - Steven

"I don't think so." - Garnet

Farm City.15kms North of Beach City.

People from Farm City consider Beach City as their friendly neighbors and have always had a good relationship with them when it comes to trade. Their city was a quiet one except for the sound of motorized farming vehicles which sowed seed and in turn harvested them when it was time. Life was slow and life was pleasant. People would wake at dawn and sleep relatively early. All was silent.

All that silence was shattered when a Winged Dark Shadow descended upon the city and attacked the nearest farming vehicle. In what seemed like a horrible lifetime the people of Farm City pointed at the menace that was now destroying their machines and their crops. 

Then just as suddenly the winged creature flew off and disappeared into the sky.

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Beach City.

Garnet bolted upright in her bed."There's trouble we need to go to Farm City."

"Like Right now?"Amethyst asked her sleepy voice.

"Yes , of course" Pearl chimed in. I will begin activating the Warp Pads now. 

"No need for the warp pads Pearl." Garnet said as she began flexing her gauntlets." I fear that whatever caused the trouble in Farm City is heading towards us."

"Oh My." Pearl said.

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It remembered an army. It remembered friends. It remembered a smiling face. It tried to remember its own name. Tried to shout it but it only came out as a roar.

It must remember.It must remember before it was too late.

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"Here it comes!" Pearl said pointing to a dark shape that was fast becoming clear in each of their sights.

"Another Gem Beast" Amethyst said as she blew out some air out of her lips. "Isn't there something better for us to do?"

Garnet ignored her sulking companion. "Judging by it's size and speed we would be having a real fight on our hands."

"Is that supposed to be scary Garnet? You say that all the time."

"I mean it this time."

"Heads up everyone!" Pearl shouted as a solid blue beam of light came out of the beasts mouth and vaporized everything in its path.

"A Gem Dragon!" Amethyst said as she began shaping herself into a ball and bounded toward the beast. "Now this is getting exciting!"

Amethyst bounced off the dragon and landed some distance away in the ocean. Pearl slapped her palm on her forehead while shaking it from side to side. "Always so reckless"

"The last time I saw a Gem Dragon was when General Topaz was cracked on the home world!"

"There is only one way to find out. We have to subdue it and check her crystal composition."

Garnet nodded at Pearl and they performed a maneuver that they have not done in awhile. 

Pearl with her spear thrust forward lunged straight at the beast  , the monster instinctively tried to fire a Blue Flame right at her. At the right moment Pearl evaded the beam and the beast was hit with one of Garnets Gauntlets. The diversion worked and they landed a strong blow but it merely glanced on the blue gems exterior. 

"It's really tough!" Pearl said.

"I know a place where it isn't as hard." Garnet gestured toward the part where both wings connected to the beast. 

"I got it."

This was it Garnet who was running diversion for Pearl. She fired her gauntlets at the Gem Dragon and hoped that they would return to her in time so that she could deflect any counter attack but the Blue beast was upon her. She braced herself for the impact that never came. Amethyst had jumped with Steven on her back with his Gem Powers enveloped them in a pink shell.

"Thank you Steven"Garnet said stiffly. Still not getting used to Steven saving her at times.

"You are welcome. What is that thing?" Steven said with a mix of enthusiasm and awe.

"A Gem Dragon." Garnet Replied

"Wow! A Gem Dragon!" 

"Thats what I said when I saw it too!" Amethyst said.

The beast was so busy trying to get through Stevens shell that it was all but oblivious to the diving attack that pearl was doing from above.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

And then Pearls Spear pierced the left joint of its left wing which caused it to separate. The Beast fell below amidst a low tide and some tall rocks.

"Way to go Pearl!" Steven said "Now let's see if its ok."

All four landed on the beach a few meters away from the Gem Dragon. They were curious as to why this particular monster would attack without any obvious motive. They tried to move toward it but before they did a young girl landed in front of the dragon and with one motion swirled her long blond hair to the left , it seemed to extend further and further and Steven was almost hit by her golden locks before Garnet yanked him back in time.

"It's just hair" Amethyst said. "I can do that too see" Amethyst was also swinging her hair while she laughed.She stopped when she saw that the rocks surrounding the dragon were all sliding to one side. 

"What? She cut them?" Pearl said.

"I think we all know what she is." Garnet said.

"You are like me aren't you?" Steven said moving forward unafraid.

The young girl looked at them one by one and lingered her angry gaze on Steven.

"I am Venice. And I am nothing like you..."

To be continued....

"Noyan Dar , Roil Shaper: Waking up the Real Estate"

"Noyan Dar , Roil Shaper: Waking up the Real Estate"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

It is no secret that Zendikar hates the Eldrazi and its not just the inhabitants of the Plane but the thing that makes up the plane itself. Its land. By the sound of all that rumbling in the plane they are none to happy that these abominations are still around and like the white blood cells of the immune system they want to expel these invaders out. All they need is a little help from this guy.

Noyan Dar is good at one thing and that is to wake up the land while casting powerful magic spells that may or may not be targeting the land. As long as you cast an Instant or Sorcery you would be getting a 3/3 Elemental creature with Haste. It doesn't revert back to just being a land after it has been reanimated though. It becomes a creature that is still a land. 

There is a possibility that control will be able to come up with a control deck that features less creatures and has tons of Sorcery and Instant speed spells. Who needs creatures when you could go about casting magic and have the creatures that you need right? Just do your thing countering Left and Right and all your lands would be manlands in no time at all.

There is the new Roil Spout and Sheer Drop that are both defensive in nature as well as Coastal Discovery that replenishes your hand as well with 2 cards. All three could potentially be used for its Awaken Cost or simply be used as spells for Noyan Dar.

Cards like Planar Outburst also support the land animation theme. If you cast it for its awaken cost of 8 mana and Noyan Dar is in play. The following events will occur. All Non-land Creatures are destroyed. Since you triggered Noyan Dar , you end up with a 3/3 Elemental and another 4/4 Elemental from Planar Outburst. And with the board just swept you could attack for 7 unblocked damage because both these elementals have haste! 

The draw back that I see is that you are using your own lands as creatures. You could be vulnerable to Land destruction and its inherent mana shortage since what kills creatures could also kill your lands. Bear in mind that Day of Judgement , End Hostilities and Crux of Fate are all board sweepers that are still available in Standard.

Enter Darksteel Citadel , this Indestructible land will be one of the best Targets for Noyan Dar's Awakening ability. Opponents would have all kinds of trouble dealing with a 3/3 indestructible land. Unless they were already hoarding Celestial Flare.

In my opinion the best land to threaten an opponent with is an animated Inkmoth Nexus.A 4/4 Elemental/ Flying creature with Infect!Now that is my kind of land! Pardon me my Phyrexian is showing.

All of the Manlands could be targeted really if you have no other viable lands to target.I mean these lands become stronger with the counters that you add to them anyway. Win Win!

I really see one of my teammates enjoying this card in EDH. I mean casting Serum Visions and you have a creature. Cast Ponder and you have a creature. Cast Brainstorm and you have a creature. With the Correct timing you could animate all your lands and have at least 5 of them attacking. It gets even better if you choose Talrand , Sky Summoner as your "Lieutenant". He could make Drakes for you for all the Instant and Sorcery's that you cast. I see a lot of potential for these guys in the future. 

Let the new Merfolk alliance begin. Lets awaken some Real Estate. 

Editors Note:

Thanks Judge Ian Mervin Go and Raven Knives for Clarifying the Rules about the Inkmoth.

"Zada , Hedron Grinder : Pre Cursor Golem Style"

"Zada , Hedron Grinder : Pre Cursor Golem Style"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

I love goblins and collect them whenever I can. There are tons of Red Goblin Decks in my Lab and all of them would be happy with the addition of this new card , Zada , Hedron Grinder.

Zada , Hedron Grinder is a finisher and all of my goblins are clamoring for him to be included in their decks. Several things instantly come to mind when I think about this card. First , Aggressive cards who love to instantly pump creatures  will get a kick out of him when he joins all the other goblins already out from the Khans of Tarkir Block and Magic Origins. The next thing in my mind are the different shells that Zada could fit in and here are a few.

Red Green Standard Shell:

Having Elvish Mystic around for a couple of weeks after Battle of Zendikar comes out was my main consideration for this R/G shell. I mean if you are able to power out Zada by turn three then you could set up a wonderfully wicked Turn 4 kill! 

Turn 1 Forest and then Elvish Mystic

Turn 2 Mountain and Rabble Master , He gives you 1 Goblin token.

Turn 3 Mountain or Forest  , Play Zada. Rabble Master Gives you another token.

Turn 4 Titans Strength Zada and you could target all the other creatures on the battlefield that you control. At this point you have 1 Elf , A Rabble Master and 2 Goblin tokens as well Zada Himself. All in all each creature gets a +3/+1 stat pump and You get to Scry 5 times as each copy of the Titan's Strenght resolves. 

If you look at the damage calculation at this point Zada with one spell has give you enough power to kill your opponent in this 4th turn. Elvish Mystic becomes 4/2 , Each Goblin token becomes 4/2 as well and Rabble Master attacks , counts the goblins in play and receive a +4/0 instantly(because of the 3 tokens and Zada in play) making it  a 9/3 monstrosity. Oh and Zada himself becomes a 7/4 pumped up Goblin!

If you do the math you could generate 28 points of damage on turn 4! And that is just with one Titan's Strength! Imagine if you had another one in your hand.Not everyone may want to play Goblins but heck this would be amazing to pull off in standard. 

Mono Red Goblin Modern Mob:

In Modern Zada could also be the kind of Goblin that you could be proud of. A Mono Red Pumping Shell is possible due to spells like Brute Force or my personal favorite Mutagenic Growth. 

All you have to do is get to a critical mass of creatures. Keep those one drops coming and those goblin tokens pouring in and by the time Zada comes in you could surprise your opponent by having a Mutagenic growth or two resolving. Sometimes because of the overwhelming creature count opponents scoop their decks and just prepare for the next battle.

EDH Red Frontier:

Pre-Cursor Golem would be proud of this new card since they could do quite a heavy number in EDH. Imagine Zada , Hedron Grinder side by side with this Golem and opponents would be in battle damage calculation mode in no time since all the spells would find new targets as they resolve. It might produce quite a headache doing all that math but practice makes perfect right?

Time to get my calculator ready. Battle Damage counting time.

"The Chaos in Beach City"

"The Chaos in Beach City"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

for:

Alessandria Venice R. De leon

"Dad , Someday I am afraid that I might lose interest in Steven Universe and that makes me sad."

-Aven

"You might. So let us celebrate that interest by enjoying it now and making stories about them so that we might never forget."

- Me

"It was a normal day in Beach city and as often than not Steven was walking with his favorite guardian , Garnet on the main road. Steven was all bubbly as always as he greeted almost everyone on the street. He waved at the postman delivering mail and the shopkeepers who were just opening their stores. Everyone knew Steven and his guardians after they have saved the city countless times from gem creatures who want nothing more than to eat them. 

An Ice cream Shop keeper said hi to Steven and gave him an ice cream cone with 2 dripping scoops of Vanilla flavored goodness. He started to eat away as he continued walking on the Main street.

At the end of the corner he saw a homeless man who wore a tattered shirt and a cloak made of plastic. The man shivered despite the warm air. Steven decided that he did not need his own jacket all that much and tried to hand the man his jacket. In doing so the homeless man let go of his plastic cloak and the wind blew it away."My favorite cloak!!" the man shouted as he tried to stand up but collapsed on wobbly knees.Trying to reach for the thing he found most dear.

"I'll get it!!!" Steven said as he bounded toward the street and forgot about the oncoming cars from both sides.

The streets were filled with the sound of skidding tires as cars from both sides simultaneously halted and turned to avoid hitting the boy that was in the middle of the street. The cars were hit from other cars from behind and some of those cars tumbled toward the shops on either side of the road setting some of them on fire.Screams could be heard as people from the shops flooded the streets in hopes of escaping the flaming buildings. Within seconds some of the cars exploded causing various car parts to rain down on people and buildings alike.

In the midst of all this Steven jumped and caught the plastic cloak. "I got it!" He said looking back to where the homeless man and Garnet were standing. Both were staring slack jawed at all the damage while Steven remained untouched by anything but his enthusiasm.

"What happened?" He asked.

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At the end of the corner he saw a homeless man who wore a tattered shirt and a cloak made of plastic. The man shivered despite the warm air. Steven decided that he did not need his own jacket all that much and tried to hand the man his jacket. In doing so the homeless man let go of his plastic cloak and the wind blew it away.... And Garnet Caught it with so much speed that surprised Steven. She gave it to the homeless man who grinned a toothless grin at her for saving his favorite cloak.

Garnet hurriedly carried Steven away from the homeless man and stared at the traffic as cars steadily sped by.

"What was that about?" Steven asked innocently.

"It's nothing Steven.Now lets go somewhere safe." Garnet said in her cool and even voice.

Steven shrugged his shoulder , held Garnets hand and with the other finished what was left of the melting vanilla ice cream.

The End

"The Massage"

"The Massage"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Ed was weary. He needed this he told himself as he began to undress. He has been working non-stop for 3 weeks and this massage should ease out the stress that he felt through every part of his body.

He was too tired to care about anything else. He wanted to go home to have his wife with him as he usually did but this was a Friday anyway and he could make it up to her with a date on Sunday. He was just too tired to drive so when he showed up alone the attendants at the spa were surprised but they soon had him in a room by himself.

He placed his face inside that hole that looked directly at the floor. His forehead comfortably rested on the top of the circle. As he breathed the scented air of the room he began to relax and the sounds that were playing was that of a stream flowing. Normally he would joke that it made him want to go to the bathroom but this night he found the sound...soothing. The room  , the entire floor where he was in was almost dark save for a few well placed light sources that illuminated paths and the different room designations. He knew that there were other customers with him because of the groaning sounds and the tapping sounds that their masseuses made. A small child giggled once in awhile and was scolded by someone who he assumed to be her mom.

A slight rapping on the rooms door. "Is it ok to come in sir?"He didn't even need to reply  , his masseuse already knew him enough to take his silence as a yes. Ed felt himself relax as the masseuse started on the first strokes at his back. A maneuver that would start from the back of his neck down to the end of his spine. Ed blinked in the darkness. He felt something breathe upward from the floor.Like someone blowing a kiss. He opened his eyes. Saw nothing. Probably a draft he told himself. 

Ed put his hands to the sides of the bed. The masseuse was now focusing on his left leg. Something touched his right hand from below. Ed felt the coldness of that touch but he opened his eyes to look at what it was anyway.Nothing. Before he could even close his eyes something touched his left hand. Ed stood so suddenly that the masseuse stepped back in surprise. "Sir?" she inquired. "Did it hurt?"

Ed found himself staring at empty spaces at both sides of his bed and feeling a bit sheepish. "No , you were doing great. I'm Sorry , I'm just really tired. Please keep going."

Ed thought that this was what stress did to a man. He was beginning to feel things that weren't really there. He smiled despite himself. He felt well practiced hands massage the sore muscles of his legs and he drifted off to sleep.

"Hey Ed. It's not stress." A voice whispered inches from his face. "It's me."

Ed opened his eyes.He tried to struggle but the entity held his hands on both sides. It was looking at him from the floor. He tried to lift his head but he was held firmly in place by other unseen things. The face began to rise from the floor inching toward him. Ed tried to close his eyes but they were held open as well. The entity rose steadily...Ed could not even scream. 

The masseuse felt his client tense a little and then relax after a few more seconds. He was always like this she told herself and thought nothing of it.

"Sir our session is over. You could rest for a few minutes. I would have tea ready for you in the lounge. Thank you."

The masseuse did not need to wait for an answer. This was Sir Ed after all and he would just follow in the lounge when he was ready.

Ed never came.

"It Peered In"

"It Peered In"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I once mentioned to a friend that I think that my family and I do not usually go and find ghosts out of habit. I think we do not go to Haunted Places , I believe that some of us are just plainly haunted.

A couple of weeks back My brother Aj and his girlfriend Gladys went up to Baguio to celebrate the latters birthday. Aj took time off and they were having a merry time. One night changed all that.

It was around 10pm when the couple decided to sleep in the A-House that they were renting in Lowakan Road. The house was practically deserted because the students usually living there was out for Sem break and would be back in a week or so.This house faced the road and at its back was a steep cliff. The room that my brother rented was on the 2nd floor of the house. One side of the bed that they were lying on was facing the window. As expected it was cold and they were able to doze off once they settled in. Aj told me that he woke up and turned toward the window. And there he saw them , a few inches away from his face , separated only by a thin glass window ,  2 red eyes staring at him from the darkness. 2 eyes that did not blink or turn away for what seemed like an eternity.

Aj kept on looking at it because he thought he was dreaming. Whatever it was  , it obliged him as well as it never moved. All this time my brothers mind was thinking how somebody could get to this 2nd floor. This thing must be flying because there was nothing but forest and cliffs where he faced. My brother turned away because this thing was not going away. He closed his eyes and turned to look at it one more time.

Then nothing. When my brother read my story about the Guardian by the window his girlfriend commented that it was like the thing that they saw. Red eyes from the darkness. Lowakan Road has many other ghost stories but those things never happened to my brother. When I go back up in Baguio. I'd rather stay in the City. Not really a guarantee but I guess we would see who else is more haunted.

"Oblivion Sower:Mana Siphoning like a boss!"

"Oblivion Sower: Mana Siphoning like a boss!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Since Battle for Zendikar has been announced a couple of months back there have been much speculation as to who will represent the deadly Eldrazi brood in the upcoming Zendikar Vs. Eldrazi duel deck that will come out less than a month from now.August 28 , 2015 to be exact.

Many have theorized that it might be a reprint of the Eldrazi It that Betrays since the Big 3(Emrakul , Kozilek and Ulamog) has already been reprinted in Modern Masters and further printings would certainly lessen the prices of these particular hot cards. Though I honestly wished that It the Betrays would be reprinted I kind of hoped that I would be seeing a new card and I was happy when Wizards of the Coast decided to show this new card.

Oblivion Sower. A new kind of Eldrazi and it seems that the new line of these monstrosities are not content in annihilating just your permanents. They now also target your library and what is even worse is that they get to exploit the Lands that are sent to exile by anything.

Most magic players know that Zendikar is a mana rich plane and it would make sense that there would be a lot of ways to ramp up in the lands department but this is the first time that an Eldrazi creature would be able to manipulate a library and then manipulate the aether by siphoning off any land cards that happen to be there.

This mythic rare cost 6 colorless mana which makes it available to any of the magic colors and their different strategies. Having a 5/8 frame means that it will be sticking around for awhile and could handle the worst of attackers or could be a mean attacker by itself. Just exactly how I like my Eldrazi.

Now going to the Enters the Battlefield ability of this new Eldrazi , When you cast Oblivion Sower , you get to choose an opponent and he or she exiles the top 4 cards of his or her library.Then you may put any number of Land Cards that player owns from exile onto the battlefield under your control.

Wow is all I could say about this card. Let us dissect the text on the card for a moment. When you cast Oblivion Sower... All this means is that you need to have used mana in order to put this creature onto the battlefield. This negates reanimation shenanigans or it being cheated into play via Aether vial or Elvish Piper. You could still use those cards but it would not trigger it's ETB ability. Insert giant frown here.

Not to worry though since there are a lot of ways to ramp up in the current EDH scene and 6 mana seems like nothing even in the Standard setting. So when you are able to cast it , you choose an opponent who then exiles the top 4 cards of his or her library.

Now comes the fun part. You get to put those exiled lands in play under your control. Since the wording is that you may put any number of Land cards that player owns from exile onto the battlefield under your control it means that there might be an ability or spells in Battle for Zendikar that exiles Land Cards. Another thing is that you could potentially exile 4 Land cards and get 4 land cards that you could use readily. Notice that it did not say comes into play tapped and you potentially could use those 4 particular mana! Plus any other lands that would be in that specific players Exile zone! Talk about a Land Vacuum! It makes me wonder how things would turn out but this card might be a great fit for cards that love exiling things from the graveyard like decks with Hedonistic Trove,Tormods Crypt or Leyline of the Void!.

Sadistic Sacrament is also one card that would help in exiling 15 land cards if it is kicked.(Would we see a reprint in Battle of Znedikar?) Nightveil Spectre or Circu , Dimir Lobotomist would also love to help in the exiling department. This card would also make a lot of Delve players uneasy since their advantage comes from exiling things from the graveyard and yes that involves lands.Lands that would be available for the Oblivion Sower to siphon off from the Exile zone and be used to ramp mana to power out even nastier creatures from the new Eldrazi line.

I can't wait to see this in action! I can't wait to see what other kinds of Eldrazi would be creeping their way out of Zendikar. Would we see the return of the Annihilator mechanic or would it be replaced by a far more deadlier one. For now the speculation continues.And in Magic even the speculating is fun.