"Return to Ravnica Short: The Sweepers Flight..."

"RTR Short: The Sweepers Flight..."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

     The forest came to an end abruptly as the one known as the Sweeper continued to outrun her pursuers. There was actually no discernable physical change because in the vast Cityscape of Ravnica the city has encroached on everything  , it was more like a change in the mana energies that she could sense. The rich  , vibrant feel of Green mana gave way to the dark, suffocating but powerful presence of Black mana and yet since being initiated in the arts of the Golgari  the Sweeper felt the infusing power of both energies. It allowed her to continue , her feet gliding through the mixed stone and lichen filled pathways.

     Her pursuers were more tenacious than she thought , she had camouflaged her aura several times but they were still able to track her , Jarad wasn't kidding around when it came to the development of his pets. These were hungry hounds that were fed the rest of their litter. They devoured the dead and the living alike until they were the only 2 that remained.The result was a breed of survivors that was fast ,  cunning and tenacious. She was sure that if the hounds could catch her that there would be more development for this breed.

     The Sweeper thought back about the events that lead to this chase. A few weeks back an Elven Upstart from the Izzet League decided to join the Golgari. Her name was Aridsta and she quickly became the favorite of the Golgari Lichlord Jarad. With her creativity and innovativeness Aridsta quickly made all Golgari processess efficient. Her gift at Biomancy and Mana Manipulation were helping in all of the undercity dealings of the Swarm. She has become an integral part of the core and was growing in influence day by day that Jarad has left her in charge of minor Golgari tasks on a daily basis now.

  Her Brilliance wasn't really as surprising since she Apprenticed directly under the late Momir Vig and actually headed a project under the capricious dragon Niv Mizzet , it was said that she was highly prized that Niv Mizzet threw a fit when she decided to join the swarm.

   The reasons for her sudden change of heart is unknown but a lot speculate that she has several mana experiments that would not be completed without the aid of the Golgari mages. Many do no trust her in the guild but her knowledge and expertise are both welcome in improving almost aspects of the day to day workings of the Golgari and everyone had to play along to please their guild master.

   The Sweeper was among those who did not trust her and she now carries proof to the guild master Jarad that she has been secretly feeding information to the Dimir and Izzet about the upgrades and their weaknesses. It was a perfect set up for Aridsta who would reap all the profits.She was promised the position of Guild Master by not only one but 3 seperate guilds. These may just be individuals in the guilds and not the entire guilds themselves but she would let Jarad decide on what to do once she has given him all the information.

    The Sweeper was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of menacing growling. "These monsters are fast" , she thought. She believe that she has put enough distance between them but the mutant dogs that hounded her were merely a few feet away. She wanted to try another tactic but it would take time. The best would be to deal with them now rather than worry about them later. She used to be an assasin under the employ of Vraska the Unseen and she believed in her. She was able to survive long in a profession that had a very short life span and that was a statement all in itself.

    The Sweeper unsheathed her blade and a howl instantly emanated from it. The Howler  , the fabled dagger that has ended the life of a 100 Planeswalkers. Their manas trapped within , ready for the sweeper to use it at will , of course the drawback is that using much of the energy drains her life force as well , she knew eventually that her own dagger would pull her in and it would find a new master. The Sweeper did not care about that particular fact just about now. All she knew was that without this knowledge , the Swarm would cease to exist in the next couple of moon cycles. She looked at the oncoming behemoths , their mouths drooling with saliva that she knew carried enough toxins to down several grown Dromods.  She held the hilt of her dagger with her left hand and placed the blade evenly on the palm of her right hand. 

"The motion should be swift and unyielding" , she remembered Vraska shouting at her. "Swift and Unyielding."

    She could her the growls drawing near , the stench of their breath almost overpowering. The 2 hounds pounced at once , sensing that their prey would not be able to deal with such an attack. Then there was a blur of movement , the dagger swung toward the two monsters , swirling colors clinged to the daggers wake. The blade didn't even touch them but the void that it created sucked the monsters in. Without a sound , 2 more lives were added to the mana of the Howler and with it a small of amount of its wielders life force. The Sweeper staggered to the ground on one knee. Her head reeling with the sudden weakness. "I must go on" she whispered to herself and within a heartbeat was gone again.

    A short distance away , a tree opened one malevolent eye and recorded all that took place. "Mistress Aridsta" it began its report telepathically. "The Sweeper lives and continues her journey to Jarad , shall we send in more Hunters to track her down."

     There was a long pause. "No" the slick voice answered. "Let her go for now , she plays a very important part in the downfall of the Swarm , she hasn't noticed it yet but when she does it will all be over. Retrieve any material you can from the latest hunters and continue observing from a distance."

     The tree moved to obey and monitored the struggle that The Sweeper would go through to reach her goal. 

"The Right And Wrong Things..."

"The Right And Wrong Things..."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Warning: Any similarities to living or deceased individuals are purely coincidental. None of my friends or own life has inspired this blog. Not one ounce of it comes from my personal experience. Not one ounce comes from my family or friends. Yup it is a blog of pure fiction. Read on. 

     People all want different things.It wouldn't be as much fun to live in a world where we all want the same things.Sometimes the things we do in out lives are right , wrong and maybe both at the same time.

    Let us look at Marriage for example , it is something that some people want in their lives but for some, they have an aversion for it like it was a plague of some sort. People find stability in it while others find a loss of individuality or a curtailing of freedoms. This is the part where peoples different personalities and wants come in. There are people who are actually trapped in marriages or who feel that they are trapped. They feel like there is nothing they could to better their lives or their situations because they are now stuck with someone that they no longer want to be with and in the Philippines Divorce is not legal no matter what grounds you have to present in court. No matter the mental and emotional trauma or even if it is your bruised and battered body. 

     In this scenario where people are dissatisfied with the people they are with it is common for affairs start to set in , there are people who feel that they can be happy with other people and try to test the waters.Some merely put a toe in , while others dive bomb head first into the pool that is infidelity. A few decades ago it was the men who were predominantly doing this and destroying the family single handedly. Nowadays this  is no longer the case. There are more and more women who have taken it upon themselves to be happy even if they already have children or a husband.

 This is all well and good , no one should actually stand in the way of people finding their own true happiness. So the best thing to do before having an affair is to take care of the current relationship that you are in. Cut it clean. Cut it deep so that no trace of your connection will remain.Much like a surgeon gouges out huge chunks of flesh so that all traces of cancer can be removed. Some people are meant to be alone. Some people are meant to be with other people and maybe you are one of these people whose life will change once you are with someone else. 

    Many believe in this and why shouldn't they but before one would go with their supposed soul mate or twin flame or whatever else they would really want to call him or her they need to  please ensure that their affairs are in order. Yes it sounds a lot like dying because it is an actual death , the death of a relationship that they once belonged to. The goodbyes never end and the regrets and the blame and all the talks that lead to nowhere. If you choose to go into an affair head on please be sure to take care of your children , provide for them , advise them that the separation is not their fault. Advise them that though you will be in different places and different houses that the love you have for them will not diminish. Once you have dealt with the death of your marriage , make sure that your husband or wife and your children know clearly whats going on then and only then can you move and be happy. No one will stop you from being happy but if you are going to destroy something make sure that you never want to go back to it , that you can cut ties and move on fully to the direction where you want to take your life.

     Those left behind will suffer but they will suffer knowing that there is an end to it. That in a matter of months or years there will be a new life to look forward to. All because you were brave enough to do the right and wrong things.Not necessarily the smartest but brave to do the thing that you did. Maybe they will be thankful for it in the end. After all happiness only comes once and when it does then we should all go for it. If you are reading this and find yourself nodding. Shame on you.

"Would you want S with that L?"

"Would you want S with that L?"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

Warning: Before reading I must warn you that the word Love appears in this blog. A lot. I too was sickened with the amount of L-words that I threw all about but I was compelled to write this. I don't know why but I was.

Well on to Love...

A lot of people actually equate love to the act of sex. While no one can deny that sex is in fact one of the driving forces in our daily lives , having it does not necessarily equate to love.Nowadays a person (may it be man or woman) can have multiple sex partners but does not necessarily love all of them. A person can say I love you as often as they can but it doesn't have to be true as well. So what does it really mean to love someone?

No one can really say because it is different for everyone and we don't have the right to judge how people can show these feelings or the acts that constitute this showiness. It is ok though to keep an open mind about these things. The act of physical intimacy is part and parcel of a relationship but there are relationships that do not rely on it to assure each other.So the question you have to ask is if you are spending more time naked with each other and you take that away...what then would you have? Sadly some will answer that there will be nothing left , if you are one of these people then you better think deeply about why you are in the relationship that you are in.

A lot of people are forced into these kinds of situations(The kind where sex is the only connection) because there is a great disconnect about love and sex. Things are bound to end up in regret and hate and hurt. Fornication is something that is still frowned upon no matter how the country is moving forward into the 21st century. A majority of men for example think that sex is a given and a majority of women still hold on the the notion of not giving up "Bataan" just yet. Or at least not until a certain number of months or dates have passed in a so called relationship.

The approach to this topic now rests on the individuality of the persons involved. Sex once consumed is an irreversible process. It happens when it happens. For some it forms a strong bond , For others it confirms the fact that what happened is merely a by product of biological need. Sexual compatibility is often a tedious pursuit because there are levels where the 2 minds and bodies would have to connect.

Love is an every day act that may or may not constitute sex but a connection without passion may lack love in its core. 

"Return to Ravnica Shorts: Solstoy the Transporter"

"Return to Ravnica Shorts: Solstoy the Transporter"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

     The dragon was ill at ease with its new surroundings. Its tail was thrashing about but the cage that contained it held in place , the cage was made of pure Mizzium after all. Though it might have contained the mighty beast physically it allowed the Dragons fire it was currently spewing at its handlers through without hesitation.  The handlers were trained and suited for the task but it seemed like Dragon fire was nothing that you could prepare for. The Izzet provided these new fireproof suits and approved it with the Seal of the Firemind , the suits were indeed fireproof but several of the handlers had already died within them. It seemed like the Goblin Wizard who concocted them still had that races flair for mischief. The suits were fireproof but they didn't control the temperature when dragon fire  engulfed it. The result is several boiled handlers and a profit margin that was dwindling by the minute for the caravans master , The Goblin called Solstoy. The halt in the caravans progress will be costly because there was more that they need to deliver than this one Dragon.

     The Dimir Necrosage (or at least thats how he appeared , you never can tell in Ravnica)  who requested this species has set a specific price and they will not be inclined to renegotiate in behalf of the dead handlers that now littered the surrounding areas of the dragon cage.  Solstoy cursed the goblin inventor furiously  , seeing coin melt away into a puddle of nothingness along with his reputation in acquiring hard to find items and delivering them swiftly. He was sure that he would lose contracts to the Orzhov and even to those upstarts that believe that he was losing his touch. He believed that the dragon Niv Mizzet was mad at him for trading in his primitive brethren , The Firemind was capricious but he never showed enough interest in his own kind in Ravnica. Then again it wasn't the first time that the elder dragon acted out of character and who knows if he has had it in for Solstoy this time around.

     Solstoy removed the thought of this from his mind for now to focus on the task of transporting the dragon. His second in command informed him that the other handlers were growing hesistant over the fact that they didnt really want to die for nothing. He was sure that he could give them a good reason to comply but it seemed like it was only his magic that would save the day for now. Like all employers in any plane of existence he believed that if you want something done properly then you have to do it yourself. The dragon was still breathing fire when he arrived , its skin rippling between blue and red hues. A couple of his men were cowering under a piece of rock. The cage still held though and that was one thing that he was thankful for. He walked to the upward thrust stone where the men were hiding. He wouldn't really call them men with the way they were acting right now but it was a term that was probably used as a general term for people who was under his employ.

     Upon his appearance the others quickly decided to find another place to hide. Like so many insects that scatter when found under a rock they went into so many direction away from their employer. Solstoy was a 6 foot goblin after all and his muscles rippled among the thin robes that he wore. The trace of a life spent in various fighting pits operated by the Orzhov until he was rich enough to buy his way out of that kind of life. It was not his size or apparrent strength that the others feared , it was the magic that he was known to conjure , most of the time his spells required a sacrifice and he wasn't really all that picky about who he would use. Anyone at all would do. The unlucky one who was to suffer this at the moment was a young goblin who was too slow to react and had chosen to run smack into the giant goblins waiting arms.

    Solstoy grabbed the slow goblin by the scruff of his neck with his huge left hand and with his right hand motioned the correct seals for this particular spell , the young one shriveled as to be expected when your life force is drained but instead of turning to dust as most of Solstoys sacrifices this one merely turned bronze and returned to its normal greenish skin coloration after a few seconds. The giant goblin noticed that immediately and saw the potential in this one. Regardless of the results the young one collapsed , the Goblin Wizard had all the life mana he needed to cast a massive Sleep spell. Dragons were mostly immune to magic but this one spell was so effective that this dragons massive scale eye lids closed and it dropped like a child after a particular naughty romping about.  

   " Now you worthless cowards , get back to work and get this caravan moving. I will not lose profit over the likes of you." Solstoy bellowed. With the casting of magic done , the workers slowly came back. He pointed to the young goblin who was slowly waking up from his sleep. "This one comes with me. Make sure that he is taken cared of and send him with guard to the back of the caravan." Solstoy thought of how he could take advantage of this easily regenerating Life mana source. A few ideas already seemed profitable to him. He would have to think about it further as they traveled. 

     In a matter of minutes  , the massive trading caravan was on the move once more. In this area near the Rubble Belt the Gruul has seen the massive line with what undoubtedly was very precious cargo but it bore the sigil of Solstoy on each of its massive carriages. Not even the hungriest of the clans dared to assault it. It just wasn't worth it with Solstoy guarding it with his magic.

"Spreading fire...One player at a time"

"Spreading fire...One player at a time"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

     I love teaching Magic and I pride myself for spreading fire and the love of Magic to those around me . Most notably my brother , my cousin Pong and the rekindling of Magic interest in most if not all of the members of Team Virulence.I may not be the greatest player but I pride myself as someone who can reignite or ignite peoples planeswalker sparks.

     I also love one more thing and that is blowing things up...in the world of Magic. Almost all of my early teaching decks were Red , the Mono Red Goblins and the Mono Red Beast deck (That my brother beat me with after just one round of instruction - which makes me wonder if I'm such a good teacher but a bad player hahahahha) and there was my mono Red Land Destruction deck. Red decks are fast and fun and many magic players get a feel of the game by learning the Red way. My Land-D deck was simply what I loved to call a point and shoot deck. You aim a spell at something and it goes kabloom! Kablam!...

     One of the people I taught was so happy with the deck that she was able to beat really expensive decks with it. This Land-D deck consisted of Commons and Uncommons and the only expensive cards in it are only worth 10 pesos each. Talking about cheap but efficient right?

Its simple and it never gets old. A creature drops , you burn it , a land drops , you blow it up. Got nothing else to target? Aim at your opponents directly!

     Point and shoot. This simplicity starts something inside most players , mainly a desire to learn more concepts about the game. Many players may love Red for awhile but the more they are exposed , the more they learn to embrace the other colors as well. Much like an Avatar learning to use all the other elements in harmony. Magic  teachers are in abundance because they also would like to produce more players to battle against or battle with and like most teachers they also hope that those they teach will rise up to be better and in turn teach what they have learned. 

     I enjoy teaching magic and blowing things up. In the real world that might necessarily be a good thing but in the world of magic where the mind rules  , it is a perfect fit. 

EDH Infect: "A Surprising Win Condition"

EDH Infect: "A surprising Win Condition"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

     The game of Magic has been around for 2 decades now.People who have been playing it for a long time have been maintaining various decks and their concepts over the years. You have your Millers , discarders , Reanimators among them and a certain affinity to certain creature tribes like Goblins , Vampires , Zombies just to name a few. Personally I am a great advocate of the Poison/ Infect Mechanic. The attraction is plain: A players life total is reduced to 10 measly poison damage regardless of any format. Creatures with Infect dish out damage in the form of poison counters that cannot be removed.The goal is to make a Phyrexian out of your opponent after all and to tell them that: "All is one" when you win. It's no surprise that I have tinkered a lot with the mechanic in all the colors available as well as non traditional builds when it was still in standard. Now that it has rotated out I have found that I am carrying my love for this mechanic unto Modern and EDH. Since I have no time to tinker any of my modern decks now that the EDH frenzy has gotten to me I'd like to think about the crazy things infect has done for me in the win category. 

     In the EDH( Elder Dragon Highlander) or Commander format a players life total is 40 life points. With the Infect Mechanic it is now reduced to 10 poison damage. While I have made a dedicated Mono Black EDH deck with Skithiryx as its general , I have found that I have unknowingly put in a splash of my favorite mechanic as an alternate win condition. When you have 11,000 individual card pieces at your disposal you often come up with a lot of combinations that would work to your advantage but I have never forgotten the potency of Infect even if it is just an alternate win condition in some of the 18 EDH decks that I have made. 

     In the recent games that I have played I found it thrilling to win via the infect mechanic (even to be defeated by it from my team mates from Team Virulence) and to once again experience the sense of panic that it invoked during its glory days. EDH players who took their time in developing their boards often met an end they did not expect:

  

- Consider a Godo , Bandit Lord equipped with a Tensa and a Grafted exoskeleton. He becomes an 8/8 trampling infect machine that can untap and attack a second time...

- Consider the Kaldra 9/9 Avatar swooping in for damage  only to be pumped by a lone Tainted strike... 

- Consider a Gruul onslaught of Weenie Creatures (Around 5 or 6)  , An Overrun and Triumph of the Hordes. All those 1/1's become 5/5's with Infect ...

- Consider a Shivan dragon with Phyresis attached to it , swinging and being pumped for 5 for the win...

- Consider a Demon of Hell's gate swinging and being pumped with a tainted strike...

- Consider a consuming Aberration(with a Phyresis attached) that infects you with 100 poison counters...

- Consider a lone bite from an Inkmoth Nexus and then being continually turned into a phyrexian with a Contagion clasp each turn via the proliferate mechanic...

- Consider a Kozilek or an Ulamog taken over by a well-timed Corrupted Conscience swinging in for 12 and 10 Infect damage respectively and with Annihilator too...

     These are some of the plays that I have made and plays that have been done to me in the past weeks and I must say that to Infect someone in an unexpected way is really satisfying. Everyone is just so concerned with the combos that they want to pull off and they expect a certain build like aggro or control that sometimes that a good infect win from a lone creature comes as a shock.

     There would be more plays in the future but in the mean time I'd like to treasure these Infectious plays. There would be more concepts to come and at least for me the Glory of Infect will never die. "All will be one."

"The Counselor"

"The Counselor"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

I

Hours pass me by

And I am lost in your words

About Sorrows I can do nothing about

About Pains I cannot heal

II

Hours pass me by

And I am enamored by your words

You pain the world so beautifully

I know they are pretty lies in your head

III

Hours pass me by

And I am enthralled

By these stories you weave

By these nothingness you conceive

IV

Hours pass me by

And I never wonder why

I listen

I laugh

I cry

I get mad

I love

It never hits me

This foolishness I pursue

Means nothing much to you.