Constructed with Worldwake

Worldwake becomes Constructed legal this Friday, February 5, 2010. A lot of big Standard events will be running this month and a lot of players have already been doing some testing, and just like the majority of the population, we have also been doing some testing of our own.

Here are some of our findings so far (Mythic Rares):

Abyssal Persecutor - I did not like this card at first. It's a Platinum Devil, something that requires you to have a solution. Imagine needing a solution for your own card? It sucks! That was until I revisited the old Jund deck back when Shards of Alara was the only expansion in Block Constructed. It was perfect with the old Jund synergies; the combination of Sprouting Thrinax, Sarkhan Vol, Bone Splinter, and Fleshbag Marauder.

Admonition Angel - Another 6-mana landfall card. The 1st of this kind was Rampaging Baloth, a card that somehow found its way into a deck. This one is so much better, specially now that Knight of the Reliquary is around to help. We have been trying this card out in Lotus Cobra decks, it is not as spectacular as you may imagine but it is a very decent utility card.

Avenger of Zendikar - A fun card that would seem to fit into the Eldrazi Green deck. It has a very prohibitive cost though, a 1-of at the most.

Comet Storm - This is a bomb in Limited, a much better Fireball as you get more targets. Will it find a home in Constructed? Probably not until the Cascade mechanic leaves the format.

Dragonmaster Outcast - The creature with the coolest ability in this set; there is only 1 problem... 1/1. How do you expect it to survive in time for it to spawn a dragon? It is also a bad early drop because it's just a 1/1 in a world filled with undercosted 1-drops. Our next option was to use it in a control deck like Grixis because it looked really good as a 1 mana must answer threat. Unfortunately, that did not work out too. Your opponent would just have targets for his otherwise dead removal spells.

Eye of Ugin - There are no Eldrazi spells in the Magic universe yet. None. I was even told that Eldrazi Monument is NOT an Eldrazi spell (judges please confirm this). This card is probably a card from the next set that got lost in the print run.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor - Hands down the best card in this set for every format. If you do not agree with me, chances are, you have not played with this card yet (or you are playing it wrong).

Novablast Wurm - I have no idea how to use this card. No idea at all. They should have just printed this as an angel so that we have a chance to sell it for its collector value.

Omnath, Locus of Mana - A guy that grows out of proportion if you have abundance of mana. What are the odds of that happening? Competitive decks are built too tightly and with optimal use of every mana that they can produce every turn. So where would you get the extra floating green? Oh and it is also a creature that is very easy to kill via spot removal so good luck with that. Lets just wait for someone to build a deck that is centered on this card.

Wrexial, the Risen Deep - We've had better 6-drops before, but this card is really cool when stealing a Cruel Ultimatum from an opponent. An EDH general perhaps?


That's it for now, I will try to go over the rares next time and try to post some updates on these once we get more testing time in.

A public service announcement from Titan

Titan Hobby Shop will be closed today as a precaution for the coming typhoon. "Peping" has already been forecasted to be as strong as Hurricane Katrina. Ingat kayo mga pare.

I just have to post this

Ok, so Sorin Markov has been fully spoiled. The card is cool and all, but in the tradition of the Titanic Ultimatum finish; we have another potential youtube hit waiting to happen...

Winning player gets lots of "coolness" points

Store opens tomorrow!

Title says it all. Yun lang.
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Oh wait, should I say more? Well, it is an MTG store and so I have MTG products in there. Singles, boosters, more singles, singles for eternal formats, Divine vs Demonic duel decks (I only have 5 of these so hurry up), etc, etc. Unfortunately, I have no accesories yet because my orders have yet to arrive.

We will also be running booster drafts in the afternoon. 3 drafts at a time, multiple queues so you can (sort of) choose who you draft with. Actually, we will be running drafts everyday, so if you find yourself with nothing much to do, bring some friends over and we will try to start a draft.

For the players who prefer to play constructed, we are still finalizing our schedule. Everything should be final by tomorrow.

M10 Rules Changes

If you were hiding under a rock like I was for the past couple of days; I have news for you.

(Barrack Obama tone) "Change is coming to... MTG"

Click here to read the article from the mothership.

A full article devoted to the new rules revision. A lot of changes, a lot to deal with, a lot of nods of approval, and a lot to complaion about.

The most common complaint I have been hearing is about rule #5

5) Combat Damage No Longer Uses the Stack

The stack is too complicated for new players, the stack makes combat difficult, the stack this, the stack that, but the stack is still there for every other aspect of the game. 1 + 1 = 3. I don't get it.

I know that a lot are upset; people go to jail for murder, and this is a multiple murder case. They killed Mogg Fanatic, Morph/Torch/Thorn-ling, and basically every other card with activated abilities that you do not play as a sorcery. Let's not forget the non-creature cards that they killed too. We demand justice!

Assigning combat damage also works like trample now except if you have deathtouch. Deathtouch just got so much better.

Chase uncommon?

Yes I also do not like this new change, but we have to deal with it. The rule affects both players that are playing against each other, not only you. It affects everyone; everyone has to adjust, first one to do so will probably be a much better player.

My favorite part of this rules change thing would be:

3B) Mana Burn Eliminated

Why? Because I have a couple of Braid of Fires lying around and I can't wait to use them!

Braid of Fire concept for future Extended
by JT Porter

4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Rakdos Guildmage
3 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
3 Akroma, Angel of Fury

4 Incinerate
4 Magma Jet
4 Braid of Fire
4 Flame Javelin

22 Mountains

The deck is a straightforward aggresive burn deck which utilizes Braid of Fire as an additional mana source for activating creature abilities or casting spells like Magma Jet on your upkeep. It's a work in progress and I am not really sure if the concept would work. It would surely be fun though.

Back in Manila, so much to do, so little time

Just got back in Manila last night (22:00). The store will be opening Tuesday next week and I have a whole long weekend to setup. I will be posting a detailed road map later tonight; for starters, our address is Unit 308 MN Square Building, Shaw Boulevard.

As for this blog, all my drafts and notes used in the recently concluded Pro Tour will be posted. Everything that came up at practice, all practice drafts, all lessons learned during the Pro Tour, and almost every random happenings from the front line.

So many stories to tell, so many cards to sell. Watch this blog.

Something that I learned from Manny Pacquiao

For those of you who are not Filipino or do not follow boxing; the "Pambansang Kamao" (or National Fist in english) just recently won another big fight. It was Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton who fell prey to his fists this time.

http://teampilipinas.info/2009/05/pacquiao-vs-hatton-live-stream.html

Enough about the fight as I do not intend to write much about it. There was an important lesson that I learned from this. I have been watching all the promotional stuff that they did for this fight and it was very clear from the start that the Pacman was a more disciplined fighter compared to his opponent. He and his training team took all the training sessions very seriously as compared to the other camp.

Preparation is the key; practice makes perfect.

A few of my idols in action

1st off, we have Justin Timberlake. But first, why is he my idol? Because he seems to get all the hot girls... and he gets them while they are HOT. He is also a good sport. Remember that Punked episode where they did a huge number on him? I would have punched Ashton Kutcher (or speared him followed by a full mount assault) at first sight if he did that to me.

Anyway, Justin, together with his girlfriend Jessica Biel, was watching the Lakers' game against Utah when the Staples Center "Kiss Cam" panned over to them. He stood still for a moment... and just literally pounced on her, looking ready for a full-on make out session. Idol! Normally, celebrities would at least shoo this kind of thing off and even get offended. Justin went along with it and put on a show for everyone. Well done.

2nd, we hav Sir Richard Branson, arguably the coolest rich dude in the planet (but he is the coolest in my book). Why is he my idol? Because I love all those wild things that he does. His Midas' touch on everything is also something to be envied.

Kite surfing is cool, it's something that I want to try someday. Having a photo shoot while kite surfing is a notch cooler. Being able to do it at age 58 is something that I hope to achieve in the future.

Q: So how do you get a lot cooler than that?
A: Have the photographer's model girlfriend hang on your back, naked, while doing so.