#Secret Premium Rare Swings

[aikatsuswings]

[goldenjcink]

finishing up our list of membergroups are our three premium groups. as mentioned in our first two membergroup posts, premium groups are to be seen as something fun, mostly for the purposes of aesthetic, and as a cute bonus. please do not feel limited by the existence of these groups — if you don’t want to purchase a premium membergroup, you can still make a character whose personality fits the description of these groups and simply put them in another group. however, you can earn a free premium membergroup by completing our second task. now, with all of that out of the way, you can view the description of these groups under the cut.

lavender — the pessimist, the enigma, the isolato

opening the curtains but not letting anyone in, alone in their car on a dark strip of highway, a scratched vinyl record, faded street signs, the pain of an almost, keeping their feelings to themselves, solitude, the beauty of a twilight sky, the pain of ‘almost’, being mysterious on purpose, getting their hopes up and watching them fall, being the best at keeping secrets, film cameras, fairy lights, lo-fi hip hop, staring up at the moon and wondering if she’s looking back at them, taking their time learning to trust someone, unsweet tea.

orchid — the muse, the bellwether, the dreamer

the kind of beauty that inspires artists, loving to travel, setting trends, sociable, can talk their way into or out of any situation, gossiping, large hoop earrings, flashy rolex watches, rose gold or sterling silver, swinging from the chandelier, the horizon lined with skyscrapers, fresh flowers, spontaneous trips, not a hair out of place, high-end cologne, the newest makeup palette, new york fashion week, compensating for something, never feeling entirely happy, never being entirely themselves, passionate kisses, fluttering eyelashes.

snapdragon — the netizen, the caustic, the technophile

frequently using the internet, energy drinks, sarcastic remarks, social media influence, technologically savvy, buying the latest gaming console, junk food, niche memes that no one else really understands, hair dyed in unnatural colors, on the hunt for rare squishmallows, neon lights and led light strips, talking a little bit too loud, stoners and gamers unite, the cool older siblings from disney channel movies, smarter than people give them credit for being, the ‘chill’ friend or the adhd friend, no in-between.

[cloviaglade]

THE CRIMSON FLOWER ROUTE CORPORATE UNION AU

Yeah it came to me in a dream shared it with a friend and she said I should inflict it on the world so here we go

Warning: It's super long but I broke it up into chunks

(note not all members of the house fall into the categories listed also I'm not the best with corporate terms and positions. Also this was made for fun and isn't that serious)

The houses

The Black eagles generally were in accounting or sales. They dealt with a lot of the customers firsthand and were considered expendable

Blue lions where mostly in HR or IT

Golden deer mostly worked in maintenance and public relations.

Staff and church members are members of the board. Flayn has her position on the board despite her age because nepotism

The Seiros Co:

It's a large company that provide a large array of services and products that promote physical and emotional well-being. The company started out with good intentions but soon became a corporate monster

The company provides a host of benefits to its employees including on site housing, on site restraunts, on site pools gyms ect. They even have the best insurance on the planet. They even have horse therapy.

However they have to pay premiums on the health insurance, their rent is docted from their pay, they have to pay for on-site facilities, and those living on site are heavily encouraged to work overtime.

a lot of this is justified by cover every single health expense and days of for minor colds. Many employees seek mental health care more often than they seek physical care.

The on site living conditions vary heavily. Most are just a small white room with a single bed and a dresser. No visitors after certain hours and forget about outside visitors. However rumors are spreading that the board members have spacious luxury apartments.

The pay without all the benefits is not a wage you could live off of. But with the rent for these rooms doct from your pay you couldn't reasonably save up for different arrangements.

The strike begins:

Edelguard was finally fed up watching her team struggling. She hears constantly about how her workers are not making enough. How they have to scrape because they needed new clothes or shoes. Or worse how Petra wasn't able to support her sick grandfather

She hired a lawyer Hubert to look into information about their contracts and compare everything to labor laws. She needed to know how much of this was legal and if there was anything to be done about it.

Huberts lawfirm dealt with several lawsuits in the past. They are considered ruthless in court however media painted them out to be money hungry and demented

As expected, it was legal (mostly due to lack of regulation for these types of benefits) but really unfair, So Hubert suggested a strike. His firm would handle all the legal matters as they prepared a lawsuit and to unionize.

Edelguard was careful to organize it in private. Nothing was emailed. Nothing to tract them. Flyers were handwritten and posted in the dorms inviting members to secret meeting on slow hours.

Roles

What everyone did on the day of the strike/position they were in the office.

Black eagles

Edalguard: head of sales- she got everyone in her department and many others in different departments to simply stop working for the day when she commanded everyone to stop working via megaphone. She suck in hubert and went to a private meeting room to set up a list of demands.

Hubert: head of Vestra lawfirm- he snuck past security with the help of Edelguard. He brought a laptop and a phone with Hotspot so he could video call the rest of his attorneys from inside the conference room. Once the strike was in full swing he toured the place with Edelguard gathering evidence.

Ferdinand: senior sale manager has the highest customer satisfaction - when the strike was well underway he sent a mass email to everyone in every department including the CEO and founder herself in a very professional tone about how there is a strike. Lornez replied immediately and they when to the breakroom to enjoy tea while on the clock.

Lindhart: IT software specialist - first thing he did was turn off all the bans on websites. Everyone could go on whatever website they wanted to. He left the download blocker up and other safety precautions in place. Others could looks at memes and scroll through social media ect. He then returns to his dorm and takes a paid nap.

Caspar: manager in accounting slow but very accurate and a real team player - he hated the no pets policy with a burning passion so he let all the stray and feral cats that hang around the building in through one of the side doors. They stayed mostly on the ground floor and a few made a mess under the desks. He played with the strays with a few of his co-workers.

Bernadette: customer service rep. - she hated the calls filled with angry people. She clocked out, disconnected he phone, ran into her dorm and screamed into her pillow until calm. Once she calmed down enough she did some embroidery.

Dorothea: sales representative- has the highest upsale rate - she gets into her car and just leaves. She is still clocked in. Nobody knows where she went. Some say she met with a lover, others say she went on a binge. Nobody really knows.

Petra: bilingual sales rep. - she signed her phone off and immediately called up her family overseas. She proceeded to catch up and talk with her family for hours. She rarely got to speak with them due to the difference in timezones.

Blue lions

Dimitri: head of IT - he doesn't actually know much about IT and has little intrest in it. He got the job because his dad recommended him. With the outside website ban lifted and the lost of control of his department he frantically tried to get everything under control

Dedue: cyber security and protocol educator - although the bans are lifted he is still concerned about a cyber attack. He is frantically try to restore the ban but it seems like lindhart deleted the code.

Felix: hardware specialists - he was the one who should've been promoted into Dimitri's position and is a bit smug about how everything is falling apart in front of his boss. He bypasses the download blocker and plays minecraft on the company computer. Dimitri is too busy to notice that felix isn't helping.

Sylvain: HR rep. - he knew from the start that working conditions were shit. He was tired of trying to raise moral by doing everything but paying the employees more, giving them time off, and reasonable working hours. He went to the break room where Ferdinand and Lornez were having tea and ate a bunch of the snacks the company was reselling at super high prices then faxed a picture of his ass and balls to rhea herself as a letter of resignation.

Ashe: new hire in IT - was called down to the first floor to replace a keyboard a cat peed on. Found caspar was the reason the cats were let in. Caspar then persuaded him to play with the cats instead of shooing them out. 3 hours later he completely forgot about the strike and clocked out per usual. He completely forgot about the strike

Mercedes: head of HR - she meets with the board and discussed what to do about the strikers. They can't force them to go home since everyone striking lives on site and has every right to be there. No significant damages is being done to property. The only loss is from those not working (and a keyboard covered in cat piss and $35 worth of snacks) Mercedes is forced to find a way to get them to stop but in a way that doesn't really change anything. She leaves the meeting when it is over clocks out and returns to her modest house she calls out sick for the next couple of months.

Annette: HR rep - she tries to stop the chaos on the floor and to convince everyone to return to work. She is ignored. She wanted to ask for a megaphone to help gain attention but edelguard took the one from HR and the person with the key to one in the event closet is striking as well. She runs around in a paint trying to answer emails and settle everyone down.

Ingrid: IT helpline rep - helping Dimitri reset the ban on outside websites is above her pay grade. She at least know some of the terminology and the basics. She manages to set up a very basic blocker but it didn't block whole domains just the homepage of every website she could think of that's wasn't appropriate for work. Logging into the site allowed you to bypass the block. Ingrid feels like she will be fired for not being able to do more

Golden deer:

Claude: event planner - noticing that there was no work happening he finally decided it was time to actually do his job. He dipped into those sweet event funds and ordered as many pizza's as he could from every pizza join that could deliver. He busted out the sport balls and got employees to clear some room for flag football on the 3rd floor. He got Hilda to organize games of hide and go seek in floors 4 and 5. All games and activities were not officially approved but followed all guidelines.

Hilda: claudes assistant - organized games on the 4th and 5th floors. The cubicle although uniform made excellent hiding spaces and the food plaza just got rid of the old tables and chairs awaiting delivery of new ones so there was a ton of space to run around. Hidia had to jump between floors pretty often which was a workout all on its own but it was worth it to see everyone smile at work for once.

Lornez: head of advertising - he was tired of writing jingles and stupid commercials for the company. He wasn't aware of the strike until he got the email from Ferdinand. He offered to treat him to some tea he brought from home. They had a lovely talk and watched Sylvain stress eat. He tried to talk Sylvain out of resigning but failed.

Raphael: pizza delivery guy - he thought it was a joke at first since they never delivered pizza to the Serios Co but was persuaded by Claude. He got stopped at the front by the front desk clerk who was ordered not to allow any deliveries. Soon more pizza guys showed up and some of them where not as nice as Raphael. He eventually got in and successfully delivered his pizza.

Ignatz: accountant - he wanted no part of this and tried to work despite being on the 3rd floor. He doesn't have any PTO and is frantically trying to get his absence approved because he cannot work under these conditions. He got walled in with desks and chairs and hand to crawl his way out to try to find someone in HR to help him but found their office empty. Worst day of work ever.

Lysithia: Intern- hopes to join the advertising department - She needs this job for school credits so finding out that her boss told her to take the day off because of strike she immediately thought of her record. Lorenz assured her that she would get credit as long as he had any say in it. She played a round of hide and go seek before studying in Lornez's office

Marianne: customer service rep.- she heard the rumors and on the day of the strike she freaked out and when to have a panic attack in her car. She was on lunch technically but she took a 3 hour lunch. She came back in clocked out and decided to try that horse therapy.

Leonnie: pizza delivery guy (not nice) - she knows the customer didn't care that the order took so long to complete and was very understanding that the 30mins or less delivery time but seriously! 50 PIZZAS!! She had to stretch and press dough at top speed for like 45 mins then she burnt her hand while boxing some of the pizza's and she had to deliver all of it to this company just outside of town and now the person at the front door is insisting that the pizza was ordered by mistake oh no! Not today! You will take the pizza and you will pay for it and tip 25%.

Church

Rhea: CEO and founder - she honestly believes her practices are helping the community. She doesn't realize that she doesn't give her employees much choice. She thinks her employees are ungrateful.

Seteth: president - also believes the company is doing the best they can. He knows the dorms are small and brand but they house 78.364% of their employees and they all see a doctor at least 3 times a month. He hates that he has difficulty finding a balance between competitive prices, compensating workers, and turning a profit.

Flayn: secretary - she saw the fun going on in the 5th floor while on her lunch and thought it was organized by staff and didn't connect it as part of the strike.

Catherine: front desk - tried to turn away all the delivery drivers but more kept coming. She kept getting calls from upper management about the social media platforms and tried frantically to get in to make a statement but had little luck. She gave up when Leonnie demanded payment and let all the delivery people in.

Shamir: social media manager- she originally attended the meetings as a mole but soon learned that her fellow employees hardships. She drafted huge posts on every platform exposing the truth, changed all the passwords then took a vacation during the strike.

Hanneman: chief operational officer - he is calling and emailing the IT department about the bans every moment he can. He organized the meeting as soon as the strikers got rowdy.

Manuela: chief financial officer - although she is worried about the finances she has also been pressing about where to cut the budget first. Horse therapy is ridiculous! They own the whole ranch and are responsible for the upkeep of every horse. And all the horses are carefully hand selected and trained too. It's too much nobody uses the horse therapy because nobody has the time off to go to horse therapy!

Alois: Chairman - his title is mostly empty. He joined the strikers in a game of flag football scored a touchdown. Then went back to work as usual. Didn't check his emails about the strike since he only checks them in the morning when he first comes into work.

Gilbert: treasurer - he puts business first. Doesn't know his daughter works for the same company. Was friends with Dimitri's father. He is stressing about how the company will recover financially. He is the reason for the pay cuts so they can fund most of the benefits.

Cyrill: gopher - he gets paid minimum wage and lives on site. He considers himself lucky that he can drive the company car to go pick up office supplies from the store. He was homeless before he got a job at Seiros and feels like he is important.

Results

Since several members of the board were caught participating in strike activities the hubert and his firm counted them at strikers and used this in court.

The dorms were not considered responsible accommodations saying that prisoners in jail cells at least have their own toilet.

The news when crazy with the posts on social media. The account never replied to any dms or comments. When called they said a rogue employee posted them falsely because she was being fired.

Rhea was forced to pay a lawsuit that gave all dormitory workers an allowance of $1000 for rent for life. Even if they choose to leave the company.

Dimitri was fired for not actually having any training. Felix was promoted to the head of IT and everyone respects him.

Rhea looses her company. And most of her assets. She kept the therapy horse ranch and manages that for a living.

With the entire company now belonging to her since everyone above her resigned she made a ton of changes making the company more normal. She pays a fair livable wage to every employee. She repurposed the dorms into offices or solitary break rooms.

Huberts firm gets rebranded as a honest firm that wants to help the little guys. He later goes on to help other corporations unionize.

[leonameowzz]

👻TW Halloween Adventures (Savanaclaw): Elephant Graveyard👻

Hello, I’m back with a Halloween special story today! I’m planning to write one for each dorm but today we’re starting off with Savanaclaw. It’s definitely turned out longer than I expected but please enjoy~

You first heard of the Elephant Graveyard when Leona mentioned it in passing during your recent lunch. He casually brought it up in hopes of scaring you, although it had quite the opposite effect, in fact your interest was piqued. Determined, you spent the next few days researching both online and in the library. Most sources described the place as extremely ancient and creepy, but what caught your attention were mentions of a certain treasure located there, although no one had ever been able to find it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much information of said treasure.

You knew it would be futile to ask Leona, and Ruggie wouldn’t do either since he would only inform the former. Just when you thought you were out of options, a certain French archer came to mind and you hurriedly made your way to Pomefiore. After you explain the situation to Rook, he nodded thoughtfully before explaining, “There are rumors of an emerald crystal hidden within the Elephant Graveyard and whoever finds it is said to be blessed with eternal happiness and prosperity. However, that place is notoriously dangerous and those who dare venture inside rarely make it out.”  

You thank Rook and excuse yourself, but not before you’re joined by Jack who happened to overhear your conversation since he and Vil had just returned from working out together. He could tell from your expression that you were determined to explore that place and confronted you about it. You didn’t deny his claims and even shyly admitted that you were hoping to find this treasure and gift it to Leona. Jack knew how stubborn you were and wouldn’t be persuaded out of the idea, so he reluctantly agreed to accompany you on this adventure since it would be troublesome if anything happened to you.  

He also stated that “If we do somehow manage to find the treasure for Leona, perhaps it may even bring back that side of him that I admire so much”. Both of you made plans to explore that weekend under the pretense of ‘history research’ and started preparing supplies and potions for the journey. Of course it was kept a secret between you two, even Grim didn’t know about it and you had to bribe him with premium tuna to spend the weekend with ADeuce.

The closer you got to the Elephant Graveyard, the less people and animals you encountered. Located on the outskirts of Afterglow Savannah, it was a place where the sun didn’t shine and ominous clouds loomed overhead. Huge skeletons filled the entire area, further contributing to its menacing and eerie atmosphere. Just standing at the entrance felt as if the life was being sucked right out of you. Even Jack could only stand there in awe and trepidation. Sure, he had seen similar sights at Savannaclaw dorm, but to see the actual thing in person was an entirely different story.  

If the outward appearance wasn’t enough to scare anyone off, the rancid smell permeating the entire place certainly would. It was safe to say neither you nor Jack were keen on staying too long. As you ventured deeper, your flashlight caught something sparkle in the nearby distance. You and Jack hurried over to it, only to find a pair of shattered spectacles and nearby lay several human skeletons at the foot a large mammoth skull. You cover your mouth, resisting the urge to scream at the sight.  

It was then that you caught shadows moving from the corner of your eyes. Jack tensed up as he scanned the surroundings for movements. Suddenly, menacing growls echoed all around and glowing red eyes began emerging from all sorts of cracks between the animal carcasses. The two of you soon found yourselves surrounded by a pack of beasts with razor sharp claws and fangs, along with an ebony hide and spiky tail. One beast towered over the others in size, most likely the alpha, as it eyed its prey hungrily.  

Jack immediately shielded you behind him protectively. Even if you couldn’t use magic, you had taken precautions to equip yourself to fend off potential attackers. As the beasts charged forward, both of you prepared to engage in battle, fighting back-to-back, with Jack transformed into his wolf form and you swinging your sword, occasionally hurling an offensive potion. Jack managed to land a significant blow on the alpha, granting an opening for you both to escape. However, victory was short-lived as you ran into a dead-end due to poor visibility, and got cornered. Jack’s magic was almost depleted, as were your resources and strength, and it seemed like a lost cause when you heard a loud roar followed by sand blasting the beasts away. A hand reached for you in the darkness as it pulled you along, not stopping until you were basking under the sun’s glow again, Ruggie and Jack following closely behind.

After catching your breath, you looked up only to be met with summer green eyes boring into your own as Leona ranted at you, “Were you trying to get killed herbivore?! I know Headmaster doesn’t give you much allowance but were you that desperate for madol? Or are you just too adventurous for your own good? Curiosity kills the cat you know, besides such a crystal doesn’t even exist. It’s just a false rumor spread by the elders to deter thieves from stealing the royal treasure.”  

“Wait, so the magic crystal isn't real??” You pout dejectedly. After going through that near-death experience, turns out it was all for naught? Both you and Jack were visibly disappointed and just drained. As you mindlessly fumbled around in your pocket, your hand touched something hard as you fished out a small (scaly?) stone. Upon closer inspection, it was definitely no emerald crystal, but it did emit a faint greenish glow. Could it have come from that beast when Jack attacked it previously? You offer it Leona stating, “I know this isn’t anything valuable but please take it as thanks for saving us, we had intended on giving you the rumored treasure but since it never existed...”  

This definitely caught Leona off-guard as he had initially thought you and Jack went exploring solely out of curiosity, but to think the two of you had embarked on such a dangerous trip for him. Even though he was touched, this prideful lion would never show it, only huffing in response as he accepted the gift from you. It was Ruggie who spoke up teasingly, “You have no idea how worried Leona was, he almost got into a fist fight with Rook for divulging false information to you~”

“Ruggie you little-” Leona growled in irritation, tail swishing from side to side. He was too embarrassed to meet your eyes, and quickly sauntered off back to his dorm before any of you could notice the blush forming on his cheeks. Geez, his juniors were such troublemakers, making him exert more effort than necessary... and yet he wasn’t too bothered about it this time. In fact, he made a mental note to pay extra attention to you from now on since you had a knack for getting into trouble.

*A/N: The beasts are loosely based off Odogoron from Monster Hunter World who resides in Rotten Vale, which I found quite fitting for the Elephant Graveyard in this case*

[rockrageradio]

Paul McCartney

DECADES-SPANNING “LIVE” ALBUM MILESTONE REISSUES

AMOEBA GIG

PAUL IS LIVE

CHOBA B CCCP

WINGS OVER AMERICA

TO BE RELEASED JULY 12, 2019 VIA MPL/CAPITOL/UMe

Following last night’s kick-off of this year's North American leg of his record-breaking FRESHEN UP Tour, PAUL McCARTNEY adds to his Summer of LIVE: Paul has confirmed updated releases of four albums capturing performances spanning from his 1975-1976 return to U.S. arenas with Wings to his intimate 2007 set at Amoeba records in Los Angeles. The albums — Amoeba Gig, Paul Is Live, Choba B CCCP, Wings Over America — will be released July 12, 2019 via MPL/Capitol/UMe digitally, on CD and on both black and limited-edition color vinyl.

AMOEBA GIG:

Amoeba Gig is the first full length commercial release of Paul’s surprise free concert at Hollywood’s Amoeba Music on June 27, 2007. To date only four songs have seen wide release as the Amoeba’s Secret EP, two of which were nominated for Grammy Awards in 2008: "That Was Me" for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and "I Saw Her Standing There" for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. A few years later in November 2012, an extended 12-song excerpt of the Amoeba show titled Live in Los Angeles – The Extended Set was made available free to PaulMcCartney.com premium members for a limited period. And come July 12, 2019, a full 21-song recording documenting possibly the most intimate L.A. show Paul has ever played will be made available to the public for the first time. The millions of people not among the luckier than lucky few hundred rubbing elbows with the likes of Ringo Starr and Woody Harrelson during that once in a lifetime in-store set will be able to experience those performances of Beatles classics “The Long And Winding Road,” “I’ll Follow The Sun” and “I’ve Got A Feeling,” Flaming Pie’s “Calico Skies,” plus Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox,” Jan Garber’s “Baby Face” and an emotional rendition of “Here Today.” Additionally, the LP will include an exclusive soundcheck recording of “Coming Up."

Amoeba Gig has been newly remixed by Paul’s engineer Steve Orchard and will be available in configurations including CD, 2 x 180g black vinyl, and limited-edition color vinyl (LP1 - clear, LP2 - hazy amber transparent).

PAUL IS LIVE:

Recorded during the U.S. and Australian swings of the tour in support of 1993’s Off The Ground, Paul Is Live is Paul's fifth live album. Originally released that same year, the album is famous for the multiple meanings and clues embedded in its title and cover art, all of which play on the “Paul Is Dead” conspiracy/hoax. In addition to a wealth of Wings and Beatles classics, covers of Roy Brown’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and Leiber and Stoller’s “Kansas City” and more, Paul Is Live also offers a peek behind the curtain: Three songs improvised on the spot and exclusive to the album, all recorded during rehearsals in various locations over the course of the tour.

Paul Is Live has been newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios and will be available in configurations including CD, 2 x 180g black vinyl, and limited-edition color vinyl (LP1 - opaque baby blue, LP2 - plush peach white opaque).

CHOBA B CCCP:

The live-in-studio Choba B CCCP (Russian for “Back In The USSR”) was released in the Soviet Union in 1988, making Paul the first Western artist to issue an album exclusively for that market. In a conscious decision to get back to his roots, Paul spontaneously spent two days covering his favorite hits from the 1950s. The sessions produced 22 songs in total (and one of the outtakes being a version of The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There”). Choba B CCCP was a deeply personal album and a way to acknowledge fans who had supported him and The Beatles since the start. “When I was very young I asked my dad if people wanted peace,” Paul explained at the time. “He said to me, ‘Yes, people everywhere want peace – it’s usually politicians that cause trouble.’ It always seemed to me that the way The Beatles’ music was admired in the USSR tended to prove his point, that people the world over have a great deal in common. In releasing this record exclusively in the Soviet Union, I extend the hand of peace and friendship to the people of Russia.” Choba B CCCP was released in the rest of the world following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Choba B CCCP has been newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios and will be reissued as the original 11-track Russian release. It will be available in configurations including CD, 180g black vinyl, and limited- edition opaque yellow vinyl.

WINGS OVER AMERICA:

Rare #1-charting triple live album, Wings Over America is a document of one the most sophisticated and dazzling rock shows of the 1970s or any decade. Paul and the band would eventually perform to more than 600,000 people at 31 shows in the US and Canada, ending with three historic nights at The Forum in Los Angeles. It’s no exaggeration to say that the excitement that greeted Paul McCartney & Wings (Linda McCartney, Joe English, Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch) in the spring of 1976 as they embarked on what would become their one and only North American tour was overwhelming. Having released four consecutive chart topping albums — Red Rose Speedway, Band on the Run, Venus and Mars and At The Speed Of Sound – not to mention 1973’s Academy Award-winning James Bond theme “Live and Let Die” – Wings' career was in full flight… and as Paul’s first U.S. tour since The Beatles, the sheer joy of both the band and its fans were off the charts throughout the 90 hours of recordings distilled into this triple album. Wings Over America was last reissued in 2013 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection series winning the Grammy Award for Boxed or Special Limited-Edition Package.

Wings Over America will be available in configurations including double CD, 3 x 180g triple vinyl, and limited-edition color vinyl (LP1 - transparent red, LP2 - transparent green, LP3 - transparent blue) both come with original souvenir poster.

#soundcheckwithgentry #paulmccartney #rock #poprock #musiclegends #rockmusic #rocknroll #classicrock #rockrageradio

[commandtower]

Ixalan Card Analysis for Commander

Welcome to a new Commander Set Analysis article, this time for Ixalan! I haven't done one of these in a while, but I'm really excited about Ixalan and I've decided that it deserves a solid look. As with the previous times I've done this, I'll be looking at all the rares and mythics as well as any cards in lower rarities that specifically catch my attention. I'll briefly touch on their basic strengths and weaknesses and talk about examples of deck types that might like to make use of them.

As always, please remember that these thoughts are my personal opinion and are based only on first impressions of the cards. I've had only the barest minimum of time with the set as a whole and have not yet had a chance to play with the majority of these cards in Commander games. My thoughts on these cards will likely change as time goes on, and even if I don't personally have high praise for a specific card, that doesn't mean it won't be useful in a specific deck. Your mileage with these cards will inevitably vary from mine, and something I don't have a use for might be the perfect inclusion in your deck, so don't let my opinion stop you from experimenting with anything that catches your eye.

But that's enough of that, because it's time to start digging for treasure! Let's dive right in to Ixalan.

Ashes of the Abhorrent: This first rare in the set has been tailored specifically to deal with a single strategy in the game. I tend to find that cards like this one not worth the include unless your metagame is completely dominated by decks that the card will deal with. A card like this is extremely narrow and when deck slots are at a premium as they are in Commander, this feels like a dud include for most games. I can't think of anything that I'd personally want to take out of a deck to slot this in. I'm sure it will have its uses at specific tables, but it's not something that I think warrants too long a look.

Axis of Mortality: This card is pretty cutesy but it doesn't feel like it packs enough power to warrant an include in most decks. It is worth noting that having your life total set to a certain amount counts as gaining or losing the difference, and there are a dedicated subset of lifegain builds that do exist. I've never really been a fan of the dedicated lifegain strategy unless it's used to power out other abilities, so I'm lukewarm on this card. One place I think it might be funny is in an Archenemy variant deck where you can slide the opposing team's life around and pick off the easy targets, but that's a specific subset of decks and not really a central deck type.

Bishop of Rebirth: There are a few cards in this set that call back to the Titan cycle of M11 fame, and Bishop of Rebirth is doing a fairly decent Sun Titan impression. It has a substantially smaller body and only triggers on attack, and for only one less mana than the Titan it's not a great tradeoff. Sun Titan has had multiple reprints through things like promotional runs and a headlining spot in a Duel Deck, so they're not exactly hard to find either. Still, there is something to be said for redundancy in a singleton format and there are certainly decks that will be happy to see what essentially amounts to Sun Titan number two.

Goring Ceratops: Seven mana for a 3/3 body is a rough trade. The power this creature grants on a swing is definitely impressive, but the small stats are a pretty grim offset. White is pretty decent at protecting its creatures once they're on the field, though, and the fact that the Ceratops has double strike at all times does put a mark in its favor. Overall this is a risky card to play but there are lists that want it, and not just the Dinosaur deck either. Aggressive decks that want a large number of bodies out and swinging can get benefit from a card like this as long as they can protect the investment. If you can get it out there and keep it alive, it'll return the favor very quickly.

Ixalan's Binding: At only a single mana more than similar cards like Oblivion Ring or Banishing Light, the added effect makes this a very desirable upgrade for multiplayer-focused playgroups. This is an example of a card that performs entirely differently in Commander than it does in sixty-card formats. Exiling something as simple as a Sol Ring or a Gilded Lotus will have a profound effect across the entire table. Stapling a Meddling Mage to a Banishing Light would have been pretty good in its own right, but the fact that it only stops your opponents' casts turns this into an all-star of the set. This card is great and will definitely be worth including.

Kinjalli's Sunwing: One of the cheaper and leaner Dinosaurs in the set, the Sunwing is another card that's adding a redundancy option for decks that need multiple copies of the same effect. Dedicated lists that are built on the denying of resources will be happy for another card that causes permanents to enter tapped. The fact that it's also a Dinosaur is a big deal for people that want to dip into that tribe, though -- because so much of that deck will revolve around punching in for huge damage, having a viable utility card like this in the tribe makes for a solid early addition to the deck as it's still in its nascent stages.

Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle: One of a good number of Legendary Creatures appearing in Ixalan, Mavren Fein is a decent card but not specifically outstanding. The fact that his controller only gets a single Vampire token from his trigger no matter how many creatures they attack with makes him an awkward card to get behind, and in mono-White he's hard to build into as he misses out on the vast majority of Vampires in the game. He's likely better suited to a place inside the ninety-nine, standing in support of a Commander like Edgar Markov that wants to get in and start swinging right away. There will likely be lists brewed for him but he's definitely not my favorite Legend in the set.

Priest of the Wakening Sun: It's no secret that I'm excited for Dinosaurs, but I don't think cards like this are really worth it. The trigger is essentially poop text in Commander; two life is an absolute pittance in a format that starts its players with 40. The second ability is the only thing to even consider this card for, and it's nothing outstanding either. While this card could hypothetically be used to tutor up a specific Dinosaur in a non-tribal build, there are better and more generalized creature tutors that could be included. Beyond that, a dedicated Dinosaur deck has better things to use its card slots on. Really, I don't think Gishath wants to run any creatures that aren't Dinosaurs anyway, as it just dilutes his potential.

Sanguine Sacrament: There is a lot more lifegain in this set than I initially realized, and as far as dedicated lifegain spells go, there are certainly worse ones overall. Probably the most interesting thing about Sanguine Sacrament is that it’s an instant, giving it some flexibility as a safety net. I've said it before, but lifegain is best utilized as a fuel for other results. Having a high life total doesn't win you the game under usual circumstances. To further that thought, though, If you're building an engine that runs on life, you're likely to have Black among your deck's colors. Draining life from your opponents using tools in Black's arsenal is usually more satisfying than just making it appear with cards like this. Overall I think this is a lackluster card for most decks, even builds that want to gain a lot of life.

Settle the Wreckage: This is a very neat card and not something that we see very often. Weirdly enough, this reads most similarly to certain Blue cards like Aetherize or Illusionist's Gambit in that they're all instant-speed attack disruptions at four mana. The closest thing in White is probably Angel of the Dire Hour, which sits well above this card in mana cost. Of course, the value of the lean cost is offset by the Path to Exile rider, turning the creatures it exiles into lands. Some people have looked at this as a sort of "White ramp spell for yourself," turning the player's own creatures into lands to boost mana production. This works but it's not something I can see being terribly viable in most cases. Even if the creatures you're swapping for lands are disposable tokens, having enough creatures out to ramp yourself in any meaningful way would mean you're already doing pretty well in the game. This reads better as a mid-to-late-game mass combat trick, working best when the player you use it on has already established themselves and the extra lands don't add too much in value. It's a fine, strong card that will see play, but I think its use is more straightforward than people are trying to make it.

Tocatli Honor Guard: Overall this is a fairly straightforward card, and another that adds redundancy options similarly to how Kinjalli's Sunwing did. This card offers an additional effect in the vein of Hushwing Gryff and Torpor Orb, both of which have seen their share of play in Commander. Creatures with additional value form the backbone of many decks in the format, as each card in a deck needs to add a certain level of value to warrant the use of the card slot. Shutting off cards like Eternal Witness and Rune-Scarred Demon makes this a powerful include, and beyond that it also stops things like Purphoros and Aura Shards that trigger when creatures come in beside them. As a creature its stats are fairly lean for the format, but effects like this are strong and that means this card will see play.

Wakening Sun's Avatar: The first of the Dinosaur Avatars in the set, Wakening Sun's Avatar is a powerful addition to the Dinosaur tribal build. At eight mana to cast, it's not exactly light on the mana pool, but the 7/7 body and the ability to blow up the board except for Dinosaurs is huge. The Dinosaur deck is going to be about punching at the end of the day, and a card like this that just slams into play and completely clears the path for its tribe is a welcome inclusion. Even though this card's trigger only works when it enters from hand and thus not off of being flipped up with Gishath, it happily goes into that deck anyway just as a bit of extra muscle. Even non-Dinosaur decks might want this as a huge body that clears the way for itself, but it really shines when it stands next to others of its kind.

Arcane Adaptation: The ability to modify your creatures' types en masse was originally in Black when it appeared on the card Conspiracy, and when it moved to Blue on Xenograft it only changed the type of creatures currently on the battlefield. With the printing of this card, Blue now has access to modify creatures that aren't in play as well, which is a massive benefit for decks that want to manipulate their creatures this way. Arcane Adaptation is also decidedly cheaper in mana cost than previous cards like it, which is definitely welcome. Any deck that was previously running Xenograft will be happy to see this, and the ability to use this card to affect things like type-specific tutors adds a ton of extra value. This will definitely be a useful tool for the decks that want it.

Daring Saboteur: I don't think this card will be very useful in most situations. Any value it could give is basically erased by the format's deckbuilding restrictions. The slot this would take is better used by a card like Bident of Thassa or Deepfathom Skulker that offers up similar abilities to its controller's entire team. Specific Pirate builds might want to include this just because it does gain some value when surrounded by others of its type; a deck centered around Admiral Beckett Brass is probably okay with cards like this since she wants multiple Pirates to hit her opponents so she can steal from them. As it is, it's not terrible, but its value is essentially eclipsed by cards we already have. Unless you specifically need the maximum number of Pirates, I'd look elsewhere.

Deadeye Quartermaster: This card is pretty interesting to me. At first blush this card seems like it belongs more in White, as the ability to tutor Equipment cards out of the deck seems more in line with cards like Stoneforge Mystic. Blue is able to find artifacts as well, though, and this card might be better compared to something like Treasure Mage with a different spin on the tutor restriction. Picking up Vehicles as well as Equipment gives this card a bit of added value and makes it read pretty differently from anything else. It's a decent utility creature for the kind of deck that will want it.

Dreamcaller Siren: I’m not really into this one. The tapping of permanents can be relevant but I feel that more prevalent options like Frost Titan or Icefall Regent offer more as a total package. Having on-card flash is a nice boost for this and makes it a bit more useful as a surprise combat trick, but locking the ability behind the need to control additional Pirates undoes whatever benefit this might offer. This seems like it’s going to be an instant-speed Cloud Elemental more often than not. I feel like this is another example of a card that loses value because of the format’s deckbuilding rules. If the Pirate deck gets off the ground, this might be worth another look, but as it is there are just better choices.

Entrancing Melody: I can't see a reason to run this over cards that already exist, like Control Magic or Volition Reins. If you're considering this card but you're not already running at least one of those, I'd point you to those other cards first. This isn't terrible, though -- it's just not ideal. If you're already running those cards and are still looking for additional options to steal other players' cards, this is a decent piece if a little expensive in total. It's fairly straightforward overall, and there's not much to say beyond that.

Fleet Swallower: Mill is a rough strategy when the libraries in the format are ninety-nine stories tall, but it is possible to pull it off with the right suite of cards. This card is solidly large for Blue and although it doesn't have any kind of evasion, it's big enough that average combat math is in its favor. Beyond that, the trigger occurs on attacking, not damage, so it's not required to actually hit the opponent to mill their deck. Even more interesting, the player that mills doesn't have to be the one that was attacked, making for an opportunity to smack one opponent for damage and another for cards, or even mill yourself to set up specific play options for a graveyard-based deck. There's definitely value in this card for certain decks, and I know of a few players that were pretty excited to see this when it was first officially revealed. If your deck functions in a way that can utilize a card like this, it's probably worth testing.

Herald of Secret Streams: Speaking as someone who has a deck that very heavily relies on +1/+1 counter manipulation to win, I think this card looks better than it actually is. It doesn't actively create or otherwise manipulate the counters it needs to function, instead relying on other cards to make it work. Needing additional cards to function doesn't inherently keep a card from being good in this format -- one could technically make the same argument about Doubling Season, which is a card that functions well in the same strategy that the Herald is trying to fit into. Passive-type cards need to have a strong impact on the board when they're played to offset having to sit in hand until the opportune moment, though, and I think the Herald's not ideal in that regard. Plus, the card is sitting at a critical point on the mana curve at four mana, which is already fairly well-stocked with cards in this format. While it's not bad overall and could definitely be playable in the right list, I do think it's a sub-optimal choice for decks that want to play to the +1/+1 counter strategy.

Jace, Cunning Castaway: This card was officially revealed alongside the announcement of the rules change for Planeswalkers, and it makes sense considering this card requires those rules changes to function. This is an interesting take on the suite of abilities Jace is known for as it highlights his abilities as a creator of illusions. Overall I feel this Jace is somewhat lackluster; he was the subject of some hype when it was realized that he can go infinite with Doubling Season, but there are a lot of Planeswalkers that love that card, so that's nothing too crazy in my opinion. In a vacuum I think he's probably the weakest Planeswalker in the set, and his only real highlight is the gimmick of his ultimate which was included to highlight the rules change. There are better uses for the card slot this will take up, in my opinion.

Kopala, Warden of Waves: The second of the monocolor Legends in the set, Kopala follows Mavren Fein in that he's likely to be more useful as a member of the deck than as the headliner. Merfolk as a tribe have a fair number of possible Commander choices in a number of color combinations, which means that Kopala's monocolored identity will be restricting compared to other options. He is the most tribal-oriented among his Legendary peers, but his abilities have an upward limit to their viability in a format where mass removal tends to be the preferred method to deal with creatures. I think he does have a position in a Merfolk tribal build, but it's probably better not to choose him to lead the deck.

Overflowing Insight: Drawing cards is always a good thing, and drawing multiple cards is even better. Let it not be said that cards that do nothing but draw more cards aren't useful in Commander. That said, a card like this feels too clunky to get a lot of use out of. Comparing the effect against the mana cost, the value is good at one card for each mana spent, but the initial investment of seven is still very high for a card draw spell. Requiring seven mana to cast means that this will eat up the bulk of the player's mana on an average turn, and draw spells tend to function better when they leave some room to allow the casting of the drawn cards. Later turns will allow for this, but that makes this card effectively say "Draw seven, then move to end step" until about turn ten or twelve, and that's not ideal. I think it's generally a better idea to go a little leaner on the dedicated draw spells, or else use cards with variable costs like Pull from Tomorrow which allow you to tailor your play to your available mana. Overflowing Insight also reads "target player draws," which could equally be a good or bad thing depending on your playgroup -- it might assist you in killing that player who cycles through their deck really quickly, but it might also be a good Swerve target for your opponent when you're just trying to get back into the game. Overall I think this is less than ideal.

River's Rebuke: I think this card is actually more viable than it might seem. This might look worse at first glance than cards like Cyclonic Rift or Evacuation, as it deals with only a single opponent's field instead of the whole board, and is a sorcery instead of an instant. Truthfully, I think the fact that it targets only a single player actually puts this in a class of its own instead of directly being comparable to other mass-bounce cards. This card allows a way to deal with an individual player’s board before they develop too far and it doesn't cost its caster their own board to play. It could theoretically also be combined with another color's boardwipes to preemptively rescue your own field from destruction, although as a sorcery it's kind of a red flag to cast on yourself. I think the best use for this card is as a political statement during a multiplayer game, as you can use it to quickly shift the balance of a table in the direction you want. It's not going to become a Blue auto-include, but it's something that certain decks might want to try.

Spell Swindle: I find it a bit funny that Ixalan includes this obvious riff on Mana Drain when you consider the upcoming reprint of Mana Drain itself in Iconic Masters. There are actually quite a few cards in this set that are based on previous cards, this card being one of them. That said, this card is pretty good in its own right and I do expect to see it show up at the Commander table. Five mana is on the expensive side for a counterspell, but the return on the investment is definitely a plus when you consider that the Treasure tokens hang around until they’re needed. I think this will be worth trying.

Bloodcrazed Paladin: I dismissed this card as trivial when I first read it, but upon further reflection I think I actually do like it. The addition of flash can make this a viable option for a few different strategies, and the potential for good value is high considering this card costs a very decent two mana. This card might be a decently threatening body for a deck that likes to make large numbers of tokens and then sacrifice them for effects. It can also serve to quickly get a player back into the game after a board wipe, which is difficult for some decks to accomplish. The capacity for a big return is the main draw of this card, and I think it'll see a fair amount play in Commander.

Boneyard Parley: This is a very cool and unique take on the classic Fact or Fiction formula. The ability to grab creatures from any graveyard is always relevant in multiplayer games. I do think that this card is expensive enough that it won't be viable in just any deck, but there is potential for good return on the mana investment if it's played at the right time. A bit of work will be required to get the best value out of this effect, and a card like this is a bit more thought-intensive than the average reanimation spell. It'll take some testing to find out if it's worth the slot, but for decks that can make proper use of it I think it'll be quite valuable.

Deadeye Tracker: This is an example of a very good use for the Explore keyword in a color that can get a good amount of use out if it.  Having the Explore action happen as part of the ability's resolution is a great addition for Black, as it helps to ensure land drops and can also add cards to the graveyard. Manipulating specific cards in an opponent’s graveyard is a very useful addition to a deck’s toolbox as Commander has a number of strategy archetypes that involve use of the graveyard. I've seen people forget that Explore can pitch the card it reveals, but throwing cards into the bin can be beneficial in a color like Black that often wants a large pile to sift through. It can help with Delirium, add reanimation targets, or just offer a quick and dirty way to manipulate the top of the deck. There's a lot of value in this card, and it'll definitely be worth trying.

Dire Fleet Ravager: This is a very straightforwardly aggressive card that plays in a somewhat unique space. As of this writing, there are only two cards in the game that deal out life loss by one-third, and this card is one of them. This is a powerful card for combat-based strategies as it quickly reduces the damage that needs to be dealt to win, but it's also a viable piece for control variants that strive for resource deprivation, as it further reduces the options available to opponents. This is a card that's good in different decks for different reasons, and I'd expect to see it at multiplayer tables very quickly.

Fathom Fleet Captain: I'm still not sure what to make of tribal Pirates as a deck. The tribe looks like it has some decent potential, mostly because it has access to a lot of the very good creatures from this set that just happen to also be Pirates. If that deck starts to take off then I can definitely see this card holding a spot there. As it is right now, Pirates looks like it's going to be primarily built around swinging in with multiple low-cost evasive creatures like this one. The ability to create disposable bodies to minimize the loss of the deck's more central creatures is a nice addition to a deck that wants to go wide like this. Outside of Pirate tribal, though, I think this is too parasitic to be of any real value.

Revel in Riches: This card makes an immediate and blatant comparison to Black Market and it might seem at first blush to be worse. Black Market definitely has much more explosive potential in terms of mana production, but the fact that the Treasure tokens from this card stick around until they're needed is a fair exchange in my opinion. The alternate win condition on this card is interesting but I don't think it'll be a realistic goal to work towards in most games; it's better to consider the win trigger as a bit of extra gravy and treat the mana production of the Treasure tokens as the meat and potatoes of the card. A card like this requires a specific list to be good, preferably a black-centered board control list with a number of boardwipes. A hypothetical dedicated Treasure list that really wants to push for the alternate win might have to wait until Rivals of Ixalan, so we can see how the Treasure mechanic evolves.

Sanctum Seeker: At first I was not incredibly excited about this card. I thought it was fine and playable, but nothing incredibly terrifying. My opinion of it has changed since I saw it being tested in a dedicated Edgar Markov list, and now I am a much bigger fan. With Edgar consistently doubling up the number of Vampires from the safety of the command zone, this card has the potential to be extremely scary if it comes in at the right time. The relatively low mana cost of four mana makes this easily playable in a big-mana format like this, and the four points of toughness means it's a solid body to play during the early-to-mid point of the game. I do think that this card's value diminishes quite a bit if there's not a steady, ongoing source of Vampire creatures, so outside of Edgar this might not be the best use of the slot. A card like this one requires specific pieces around it to be worthwhile, but it will certainly shine in the right list.

Sword-Point Diplomacy: There are two very major marks against this card in this format. The first is obviously the increased starting life total which means that most players won't have a problem dropping life into the effect. The second is that multiplayer games are a default state of the format, with three or four players being a common number to sit down at the table. A card like this essentially invites opponents to team up against you, ensuring whatever value you get out of this card is minimized to the point of uselessness. This card is of much better use in other formats, where 3 life is a more serious fraction against the total and there are less opponents to pay the tax. If you’re looking for something that functions similarly to this but with a better return, consider a card like Moonlight Bargain, which lets you pay life for the specific cards you want instead of relying on other players at the table.

Vraska's Contempt: This straightforward variant of Hero's Downfall causes the target to be exiled instead of destroyed for an additional generic mana. It also spits out two life for the extra cost, but I think that addition is mostly superfluous. The value of exiling the target instead of destroying it is absolutely what you're paying for here and it's very much worth the extra single mana in the cost. While spot removal does lose some value over mass boardwipes in this format, I am solidly of the opinion that there's still a need for ways to deal with specific threats, and because this hits multiple card types it's a fine piece to include. Hero's Downfall is still the number one choice at the intersection of playability and cost, but the fact that this is an instant means it probably wins out against the sorcery-speed Ruinous Path in most lists. I'll be playing with it to see how it feels, but I'm pretty optimistic.

Angrath's Marauders: There's more to unpackage with this card than there might seem. Seven mana for a 4/4 is definitely on the more expensive side, but when that four power is stapled to a Gratuitous Violence, it gains some value back for certain. While this card is obviously not at the power level of the comparably-costed Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, the fact that the Marauders has only Red in its color identity makes it available to additional decks. While we do already have a fair number of cards that offer effects like this in mono-Red, it's rare to see it on a body that can make use of the effect itself. Being a creature does make this more easily dealt with, though, and that's a trade of that'll need to be considered.

Burning Sun's Avatar: This Red member of the Dinosaur Avatar subgroup is trying its best to do an impression of Inferno Titan, and while it's not exactly succeeding, there's still a decent card to be had here. Most cards like this one that target a player and a creature usually restrict the creature choice to those controlled by the player that's being hit. Burning Sun's Avatar doesn't have that restriction, though, likely in an effort to expand the synergies between it and other members of its tribe. The Avatar's entry trigger can be used to deal damage to one of your own Dinosaurs with the Enrage mechanic, allowing for additional options and flexibility. Beyond that, it's decent spot removal for utility creatures with small-to-mid sized bodies and is also an impressive attacker at 6/6. It might not quite be at Inferno Titan's level, but it's a fine card and I expect it'll see play beyond its tribal option.

Captain Lannery Storm: I like the idea behind this card, a Pirate with a sort of "Treasure Prowess" that boosts its stats as you spend the loot you have in reserves. Captain Storm's biggest problem right now is that she doesn't really fit anywhere. As a Commander, the fact that she wants to swing in to claim more Treasure makes her base 2/2 stats a bit on the low side. This is helped a bit by her innate haste, but I don't think there's currently enough Treasure support in mono-Red to make her worthwhile as a headliner. Her next best option is to join up with the fleet, but that's not without its own problems. The Pirate tribal list under Admiral Beckett Brass is still fairly shaky since the tribe doesn't currently have a coherent theme to use as a deckbuilding throughline. As with a number of other Pirate cards in the set, I think we need to see what Rivals of Ixalan brings to the table before we can really figure out where to take Captain Storm. I like her in theory, but putting a list together is less than feasible right now.

Captivating Crew: There have been a number of cards over the years that play in the space of temporarily taking control of other permanents, but Captivating Crew is unique in that it's the first mono-Red creature that does it as an activated ability. While other cards such as Zealous Conscripts have better potential for combo exploitation through their passive triggers, this card is most interesting in its reliability, offering an easily repeatable way to get value out of opponents' creatures on the table. Having a repeatable mana sink like this is useful for Red since it's the color most likely to run itself out of options, and a mana sink that steals resources from opponents is definitely a welcome tool for a number of decks. As an aside, I love the fact that this card shares its art cues so blatantly with Magic Origins uncommon Enthralling Victor, and that both were illustrated by the same artist. While obviously intentional, it's great nonetheless, and I hope that artist Winona Nelson has further opportunities to explore this theme in the future.  

Rampaging Ferocidon: This smaller-bodied Dinosaur might not be as physically imposing as some of its kin, but it offers one of the more powerful and unique abilities within the tribe right now. The immediate comparison here is to Sulfuric Vortex, and while it's not a perfect resemblance, there's still an obvious parallel to draw. Anyone who plans to use a lifegain-based strategy to pay for abilities will have to tread around either of these cards carefully. Similarly, players of token-based decks will need to deal with the Ferocidon immediately or else be completely shut off from the theme they've built their deck towards. As a creature, the Ferocidon is vulnerable to cards in each of the five colors, but the fact that it so blatantly requires an answer means that it will have value for as long as it can remain on the board. This Dinosaur has undeniable value even beyond the tribal build, and I can see it finding a home in a number of decks that want to aggressively disrupt the flow of play for their opponents. This is absolutely a card to keep an eye out for.

Repeating Barrage: Continuing this set's growing trend of cards based on previously printed ones, Repeating Barrage is a fairly clear callback to Hammer of Bogardan. First printed way back in Mirage, the Hammer is a well-known card to longtime Magic players and was one of the earliest reusable burn spells, offering a solid mana sink to Red decks of the era that would often run out of gas. While it didn't win the game by itself, Hammer of Bogardan gave Red players something to do if things didn't go to plan. That said, the current era of Magic is a very different environment from the time when Hammer went for ten or fifteen bucks, and Commander is even further removed from what the game was then. There are better cards to use as repeatable mana sinks, and Repeating Barrage's best claim to fame now is as a nostalgic nod for the players -- such as myself -- that have been around the block since the Hammer's days.

Rowdy Crew: I'm not generally a fan of cards like this. Some randomization is obviously unavoidable in a game that begins with its players shuffling their game pieces into a massive, uniform stack, but it's usually best to minimize it once the match actually starts. There are lists that want cards like this, and the potential for a 5/5 with trample for four mana is certainly present. Lists that are built around the act of discarding cards for additional value might experiment with this as well. In a vacuum, though, this is not a great use for a card slot.

Star of Extinction: I really like that this set includes a board wipe that's based on damage, so that it triggers the Enrage mechanic on the set's various Dinosaurs. Comparing this to similar options like Blasphemous Act, the things that really set this apart are the fact that it targets and destroys a land and that its damage is dealt to both creatures and Planeswalkers. These are interesting changes but they shouldn't affect too much in an average game. It is important to note that if the land that Star of Extinction targets becomes an illegal target before the spell resolves, the whole thing is countered and the damage isn't dealt. Blasphemous Act is probably the better card overall, but it's nice to have additional options.

Sunbird's Invocation: I'm not as big a fan of this card as some of the other people at my local store, although it does definitely have the potential to be powerful. If you've constructed your deck to take good advantage of it, it basically grants every spell you cast a Cascade analogue, which has the potential to swing the game in your favor pretty far. As an effect, there's no denying that turning every one spell you cast into two is a fine way to make value back on your investment quickly. I think the overall value of this card will depend heavily on what the rest of the deck looks like; a card like this limits the use of things like reactive instants as well as spells with X in their cost. Sunbird's Invocation does have the potential to be powerful in a list built to support it, but I'd need time to experiment with building and playing that list to really get a feel for it.

Tilonalli's Skinshifter: This is a really rough sell for me. The fact that this card is a 0/1 any time except when it's attacking alongside another creature makes this essentially a useless card in all but a few situations. In a format where only one of each card is allowed, a card needs to have lasting long-term value to work well in an average list. Some specific deckbuilding style might have a plan for a card like this, but in most normal situations this card will just not be useful in Commander.

Carnage Tyrant: This card is one of the most expensive cards in Ixalan as of this writing. It's a great no-nonsense facepuncher, a card that’s all about swinging in all day. The card is definitely good and is going to see play but I would expect its value to fall once the set has settled a bit, so if you're looking for one you might want to watch it for a bit to see if it slides into a more affordable price bracket. Its best value in Commander is inside the Dinosaur tribal list headed by Gishath, as outside of that list it finds itself in a rather bloated mana cost range that's filled with a number of other playables.

Deathgorge Scavenger: This is a nice utility piece for the Dinosaur tribe, but in a more generalized list it's hard to get a feel for it. It's definitely not as good as something like Scavenging Ooze when it comes to dealing with cards in graveyards, and having to swing in to trigger the ability can be rough when it’s sitting at 2 toughness. Still, utilizing the graveyard as a resource is a popular strategy in Commander and having more cards that can deal with that zone directly is a good thing. I'd say it's worth trying this one out to see how it performs at your local tables.

Deeproot Champion: I do like this card, but it's definitely outside of Green's normal comfort zone. Cards in this color are normally all about creature spells and interactions with creatures, and giving a Green creature an ability that's basically "super Prowess" feels a little weird to me. That said, I can definitely see a use for it; I've already seen a few Temur Spells lists at tables and they'll enjoy a card like this. Because it's inexpensive and has an ongoing way to add value to itself, I think it's worth trying. It's definitely non-traditional, but there's ways to make it work.

Emperor's Vanguard: Green is probably the color helped the least by the Explore mechanic. The land-finding aspect is minimized by Green's already-superior ability to ramp, and while there is some use for the graveyard in the color, it's less direct than a color like Black and generally only puts cards back in hand to be played again. This isn't a terrible card, but Explore's limited range in this color and the fact that there's only minimal support for it as a mechanic make me less than excited to play a card like this.

Old-Growth Dryads: This card is not for Commander, plain and simple. In a format where only one copy of each card can be run in a deck, this will almost never appear early enough in the game for it to be relevant compared to the card's obvious downside. This adds nothing of value to the deck of the person playing it and actively harms them in the long run. Ramp is exceedingly important in this format, and a card like this that just happily hands your opponents the most valuable resource in the game is of little use. An argument could be made for this card's political value, but I don't think that's a valid line of reasoning to include something like this. It’s best to look elsewhere.

Ranging Raptors: This card's ability is probably one of the best Enrage triggers in the game so far. The fact that the Raptor's body is big enough to survive multiple instances of damage each turn means that the right suite of cards can net multiple lands over and over, which is a big deal for the dedicated Dinosaur deck that's going to have a high mana curve by its very nature. I think there's potential for this card to shine in multiple lists other than just the Dinosaur deck, though, as it's a unique and repeatable way to ramp multiple times. There's a lot to think about with this one but I can definitely see a future for it.

Ripjaw Raptor: Speaking of amazing Enrage triggers, Ripjaw Raptor is another huge mark in the mechanic's favor. There's not really a lot of subtlety or out-of-box thinking in the Dinosaur tribe, and a card like this one is probably the most cerebral the creature type is really going to get, but I think that's fine. There's a lot of value in cards like this that trigger off of a normal aspect of gameplay, and drawing cards is probably one of the best things that something like this can do. It'll be interesting to see how this mechanic develops in Rivals of Ixalan, but as it is right now we have the start of something really strong.

Verdant Sun's Avatar: As I'm sure longtime followers of my blog know by now, I'm not a fan of lifegain just for the sake of gaining life. Decks that run lifegain cards should also be able to use that life to power other cards' abilities and expand the options available to them -- just blindly gaining life doesn't win the game on its own. That said, I'm not opposed to a card like this in the Dinosaur deck. The tribe has a higher-than-average mana curve and it might take some time to start firing properly, and having access to a card like this one allows the deck to take a few lumps in the early game and still stabilize itself in later turns. As a bonus, this card actually runs nicely alongside cards with the Enrage mechanic, as many damage-based boardwipes such as Earthquake and Molten Disaster hit players as well as creatures. Those types of cards are viable in the Dinosaur deck as they trigger all of the Enrage mechanics on the board, and running this card offers a bit of a safety bubble to keep the player from taking too much heat from their own spells. This isn't the most amazing of the new Dinosaurs but it's a decent enough addition in its own right, and with the creature pool still fairly shallow for the tribe, it's a fine inclusion.

Waker of the Wilds: This card feels a bit like a design held over from the Battle for Zendikar era. Its activated ability seems a fairly obvious play on the Awaken keyword featured in that block, which put +1/+1 counters on lands and then turned them into creatures. There were obviously cards that brought lands to life as creatures before the BFZ block, but the way this card uses counters to animate the land makes it feel very connected to that time. I wasn’t personally excited by the Awaken ability as it appeared on cards from the Battle block; I have used cards with the ability in decks, but it's never been a deciding factor in whether a card sees play as far as I'm concerned. As such, I'm not really moved by this card. The fact that this is a space that's already been so thoroughly explored means that it's not really that amazing to me. It's fine, there's nothing specifically bad about it, but it's not something I'm going to be running out to get my hands on.

Admiral Beckett Brass: This is a hard one to read. Tribal Commanders with a static lord ability are nice enough in their own right, so the Admiral will probably see play as a Commander just because she's the best choice for the Pirate tribe at the moment. The end-of-turn trigger is pretty good when it connects but the fact that an opponent has to be hit with three Pirates to actually have it happen is a little rough. Currently, the Pirate tribe have low-to-average combat stats overall and often require other options to help them really push through. There are a decent number of Pirates with some type of evasion, so that's a mark in the Admiral's favor, but I feel like there will be some work involved to help solidify the deck's gameplan. If she's backed up properly, I think there is potential for her in the format, but it's tough to call right now. Just like with a number of other cards in the tribe, I think it'll take the release of the next set to really get an idea of what this card can do.

Gishath, Sun's Avatar: If you've been following my blog in the months leading up to Ixalan's release, you'll know that I've been pretty excited for Dinosaurs for a while now. It's exciting to see my young childhood intersect with a hobby I’ve cultivated through my later youth and into my adulthood. It’s great to watch the tribe starts to establish itself, and a powerful Legendary creature is a welcome inclusion in the first rush of cards. Gishath is a great example of what this tribe is going for and a perfect choice to headline the deck if you're looking to build Dinosaurs for yourself. Because he's so centered in support of his tribe, he's really an all-or-nothing type of card, and his value drops off very quickly as creatures other than Dinosaurs start showing up in the deck around him. Similarly, there's little reason to use a different creature to headline a Dinosaur-centric deck as creatures like Mayael the Anima already have established lines that they can follow and converting them to Dinosaur tribal dilutes what they can already do. Still, Gishath is good at what he does and I've already seen him at a table more than once as of this article's writing. Gishath is confirmed awesome.

Hostage Taker: This card was hit with clarification errata before it became available publicly. Hostage Taker is unable to take itself hostage, despite how the text might read. Even without the potential to lock the game into a draw, though, this is a very strong piece for the average Dimir control shell. The capacity to function as a sort of Faceless Butcher for both artifacts and creatures is good in its own right, but stapling on the Gonti, Lord of Luxury ability to cast the exiled card just makes this a huge presence at the table when it comes down. I honestly think this card has the potential to become an auto-include in decks that have access to Blue and Black, as it offers a ton of value for the card slot it takes. This is just a very good card.

Huatli, Warrior Poet: Huatli's suite of abilities is a little strange on the first read. Her zero-loyalty ability is probably the most interesting in that it creates a token outside of her color identity. This isn't unheard of but is generally unusual. Her plus and minus abilities are connected to each other pretty strongly; Huatli essentially has no "ultimate" ability, and the capacity to repeatedly activate the minus-X ability is the main reason to tick up her loyalty. The ability to gain life is interesting here mostly because it allows the player to chain into damage-based boardwipes like Molten Disaster, which is the Dinosaur deck's preference because it allows their Enrage triggers to happen even on the way to the graveyard. Huatli also offers her own interesting way to trigger the Dinosaur tribe's Enrage abilities through the use of her minus-X, which can be used to target your own creatures for added value. Huatli was obviously made to benefit the Dinosaur tribe and her synergies with those cards does show through, but she's strong in her own right and I think she's worth trying in any aggressive list that includes Red and White and wants options that offer a bit more staying power.

Regisaur Alpha: This is another card that's only real value is as an inclusion in the new Dinosaur deck, but will do a ton of work in that specific build. Dinosaurs seem a bit of an exclusive club in that they want only their own kind at the party to really maximize themselves. Dinosaur tribal as a deck is pretty rough right now and a lot of cards are seeing an inclusion just because they have the right creature type, but this feels like a card that will be relevant to the deck even after more options become available. As a card, this is pretty straightforward, but I think it will have a fairly dedicated slot in Gishath's hunting pack for a long while. Definitely worth the inclusion if you're walking the Dinosaur.

Tishana, Voice of Thunder: The immediate comparison for this card is to Prime Speaker Zegana, another Legendary Green-Blue Merfolk creature that can draw cards and set its stats based on other creatures you have in play. Instead of caring about your one largest creature like Zegana, though, Tishana counts your total number of creatures, making her better suited for things like token decks or other swarm mentality builds like Elves. The initial investment of seven mana is a little high but Tishana will make it worthwhile as long as you have a healthy board. I think there's potential for a card like this both as a Commander or as part of the deck. It'll be exciting to see a deck come together for her.

Vona, Butcher of Magan: I went back and forth on the viability of this card for a bit when I first saw it, but as of now I think Vona is quite good. Five mana for a 4/4 with vigilance and lifelink is already above the baseline by itself, and the capacity to pay life for what's essentially a repeatable Vindicate is certainly a useful ability. Seven life can be a bit high as the game goes on, but this card is in the two colors most likely to regain life either through passive gain effects or draining it from opponents, so that cost should be easily handled. This is a good example of a card that offers the means to an end for lifegain effects, as it's a very straightforward and valuable way to spend that life you're gaining. Vona can be quite powerful if the right suite of tools are present, and I think we'll see multiple lists for her in the near future.

Vraska, Relic Seeker: Of the three Planeswalkers in the set, Vraska is the most openly aggressive. Her plus-2 ability creates a creature with menace, a powerful offensive keyword, and her minus-3 snipes active threats on the board and turns them into disposable mana stones for her controller. Her ultimate is flashy but likely won't see a lot of use, as repeated shots with the second ability seems a better way to spend her loyalty. Still, the ultimate is easy to reach from the starting point, and with two or three menacing Pirates out it does have potential to be a finisher. Six mana is very manageable in Commander and the fact that she comes into play with as much loyalty as the mana she costs is nice. Overall I think she's quite good and will serve well as a versatile removal piece for Golgari decks.

Fell Flagship: There's not a lot to say about this one, really. Giving a vehicle the classical Specter ability is kind of interesting, and I like the idea of a ship that's a Pirate lord. A 3/3 vehicle with crew 3 seems small though, and I'm not sure if Pirate tribal is strong enough yet to be worthwhile. The tribe definitely needs lords like this to make it work, though, so this is definitely a step in the right direction. As with so many other cards in the Pirate camp, I think that this card's worth will be solidified with the reveal of the next set, when we can get a better idea of how the tribe will fit together.

Shadowed Caravel: A card like this that is extremely parasitic to other cards within its own set is usually not very good, and Explore in and of itself is already a hard sell. The Explore mechanic's value is really dependent on the color of the card it appears on. Green cards with it aren't as valuable in my opinion because they already have better options for picking up lands, but in a color like Black that has limited ramp capacity and also wants a full graveyard, Explore is a lot better. Even in that instance, though, there's not enough depth to the mechanic to make a deck centered around it. When a card is locked to a mechanic like this it tends to not be very good because it's a dead end if you draw it without mechanical support already in place. If Explore picks up steam in Rivals of Ixalan this might be worth a second look, but honestly I think it's just a better idea to include something a little more dependable.

Sorcerous Spyglass: This is an interesting take on the Pithing Needle formula that allows players a bit of foresight into the card that they name. The fact that it doesn't specifically lock you to a card that it sees when you look at an opponent's hand means no value is lost in playing this. Hypothetically, you could even look through one player's hand, then choose something that's on another player's board once you're sure the player whose hand you looked at is not a present threat. In terms of Commander, this card might actually be more useful than its predecessor. This is because it offers a distinct upgrade for just a single mana that carries its value further into the late game, but its still-low cost means that there's no substantial loss of playability in the early turns. This type of static effect is a useful and dependable way to deal with specific problems, so I would not be surprised to see this gain some traction at the Commander table.

Vanquisher's Banner: With the most recent set of Commander decks adding multiple tribal options to the format, and the heavy tribal themes present in Ixalan, a card like this is very enticing to a lot of people. While the tribal boost isn't on the level of a card like Coat of Arms, there's still solid value in a static anthem effect for a tribe of the player's choice. Beyond that, the card draw ability is very relevant as it can help to keep the deck fueled up. There's potential to chain together multiple plays using this card by drawing into other creatures of the chosen type, which can be extremely beneficial for decks that would otherwise run out of steam. Obviously this card requires a healthy creature base to be properly successful but there is definitely a lot to like about this if you're building to a tribal theme.

Legion's Landing / Adanto, the First Fort: This card is pretty candid in its abilities, but just because it's straightforward doesn't mean it's not playable. The front side of the card follows a small trend of enchantments that create tokens as they enter, with the most obvious recent example probably being Oath of Gideon. Similarly, the transformation trigger plays on cards like Kytheon, Hero of Akros and Windbrisk Heights, and the reverse side is a reworked take on the classic land card Kjeldoran Outpost. It's a solid, functional tool for token decks that want a consistent source of disposable bodies, and while its ability suite is not exactly earth-shattering to read, I think there is value to be had here.

Search for Azcanta / Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin: After the public reveal of Growing Rites of Itlimoc, I had at least one friend at my local game store who was upset that this card wasn't a Tolarian Academy on its reverse side. Despite that, though, I think the card we got is pretty good in its own right. The front side is interesting in that it can fill the graveyard while also manipulating the top of the library. It's fairly innocuous on its own, but it might be helpful if paired with cards like Jace, Vryn's Prodigy or cards with Threshold or Delirium. The back side is a great utility piece for a number of decks as a repeatable way to pull out cards turn after turn. I like this as an option for artifact-based decks as it allows them to gather up useful permanents, but a deck focused on spell-based control can also get some good value out of this. I think it’s quite good.

Arguel's Blood Fast / Temple of Aclazotz: The Black member of the transforming enchantments cycle is mechanically pretty neat. The front side is a Greed variant and the back face is a take on Diamond Valley, which are interesting cards to connect together like this. The result, though, is too hazardous on the player's life total to be of much use. While it’s true that a player's life total is a resource that can be used and I'm fine with paying life to activate abilities, the fact that this card requires you to be at five life to change into its back face is almost ridiculous in its demand. Not only is that number extremely low, but in a format that starts its players at 40 life, it's also going to take a lot of work to get there. If you're really intent on running lands that allow you to sacrifice creatures, consider cards like Miren, the Moaning Well or High Market instead.

Vance's Blasting Cannons / Spitfire Bastion: I'm not quite sure how to look at this card. The front side is essentially a locked Khans choice for Outpost Siege, which is a fine ability if you're looking for it. Red has been getting a number of cards with the Elkin Bottle ability in recent years so this is more or less expected. The reverse face is a repeatable source of damage that feels like an intersection between Shivan Gorge and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. Activating a land and tapping three others for the Bastion ability feels a little expensive since you're essentially tying up four mana sources for three damage, but repeatable sources of damage on permanents is nice for fast Red lists since it gives them a way to ensure they have damage output as turns pass. Like some of the other double-faced cards in Ixalan, the trigger to transform this card is optional, which is a nice benefit for a card like this since both sides offer distinct benefits. Overall I think there is value to be had here, but not every deck will be able to use it.

Growing Rites of Itlimoc / Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun: Without a doubt, this is the Transform card in the set that turned the most heads when it was revealed. This design is a take on the classic land Gaea's Cradle, and it offers possibly the best value among its peers. Because the transformation trigger happens at the end of the turn instead of the upkeep, this card doesn't have to survive through a full round at the table to become the land side, which is a huge benefit for the card’s controller. Plus, unlike Gaea's Cradle, the transformed Itlimoc can always tap for mana, even if there are no creatures on the field. This is a gigantic card for the format, and it's likely going to become a mainstay in nearly all mono-Green decks and many multicolored creature-based lists that utilize Green as a central color.

Conqueror's Galleon / Conqueror's Foothold: Of all the transform cards in the set, this one is probably the least mechanically connected between its two faces. In terms of flavor, it's a cool idea to have a ship that floats up to a new continent and becomes the first landed settlement there, but I'm honestly less interested in this one as a card just because there's no real intersection of flavor and mechanics compared to the others. Some people are comparing this card’s back face to Trading Post, but I'm not sure if that comparison is entirely apt. I do think it’s a decent draw engine, though, and the fact that you can essentially improve how it functions by giving it more mana is a neat card design. The front is pretty lackluster overall but it's fairly easy to transform, so it's going to come down to whether or not playing the back half is worth including the front. Might be worth a test run, in any event.

Dowsing Dagger / Lost Vale: The Dagger is the only member of the transforming artifacts in this set that's an Equipment, which gives it a bit of a different feel compared to some of the others. I really enjoy the flavor of having to hack through the underbrush to find your way to the land on the other side, even though this is mechanically minimized in multiplayer games by attacking a different player than the one you gave the Plant tokens. Still, it's a cool idea. The land on the reverse side is a callback to Lotus Vale, itself a variant on arguably the most famous Magic card ever, Black Lotus. Three mana from one permanent is always beneficial and welcome in this format where mana costs can run high, and I think this is worth testing out in any deck that wants to swing in but has limited access to mana ramp.

Primal Amulet / Primal Wellspring: This is an amazing card for spell-based decks that want to win outside of combat. Reactive control decks that run a high number of counterspells or other manipulative spell cards will see an immediate return with a card like this one, and aggressive spell-based decks will appreciate the capacity to double down on each spell they cast. The back face plays as a sort of Pyromancer's Goggles analogue but works for any instant or sorcery, making it an upgrade on that card for decks that run more than one color. The transformation trigger is also optional on this card, which is great as it allows players to choose how they want to utilize it. In the earlier parts of the game, the Jace's Sanctum-style cost reduction is more useful, while the reverse side is functionally a finisher in some lists and better suited to the later turns. Giving the player control of when the card transforms allows this to be exactly the card it needs to be as it’s needed. I think this card will see a lot of play as time goes on.

Thaumatic Compass / Spires of Orazca: The front side of this card is a nice piece for decks that don't have a lot of access to land acceleration, essentially acting as a repeatable Expedition Map for basics. It's not terribly exciting, but it's a useful activation that a number of decks will be able to make use of. The land half is a renovated version of Maze of Ith that only works on opponents' creatures. These two cards have little to really do with each other in a mechanical sense, but there is a bit of flavor here in that you have to use the compass to find your way through other places to get to the land on the reverse side. I like to think of these cards similarly to things like modal spells and split cards in that they offer multiple types of value without taking up extra card slots. This card is probably the best example of that thinking. Truthfully, I think the front side is just more useful than the back in most situations, but the fact that it turns into something that has value in the late game earns it points. Overall I think it's quite good.

Treasure Map / Treasure Cove: This is an interesting piece and one of only a handful of transform cards in Ixalan that don’t feel specifically tied to cards from previous sets. In this instance, though, it may be because this is one of the set’s  mechanical highlight cards, exemplifying the Treasure token mechanic. The activated ability of the front side is quite useful for a number of decks, and once it flips into the land it offers an alternate way to spend Treasure tokens, which is nice. This is another card that I think will gain more benefit when Rivals of Ixalan releases and additional Treasure-making cards are added to the game. As it is right now, one of the best ways to use this card is in a deck that can flicker or bounce permanents, allowing you to rebuild the Treasure tokens once you've exhausted them. There’s definitely value there but it’ll be interesting to see how this card evolves once there’s more opportunity to find Treasure.

Checkland Reprints: These are great lands that are certainly useful in any deck that can run them, and are often my personal first "go-to" when I start working on a multicolor land base. When building a new deck from scratch, these are an ideal place to start a land suite, and they’re an inexpensive and readily available way to upgrade the land base of a preconstructed deck once changes start being made. There's not much to say about them otherwise, but it's nice to have them that much more available with a new printing.

And that’s Ixalan! Thanks for reading this article. If you have any additional thoughts about any of these cards and want to make your voice heard, feel free to post a comment or send me a message. I hope that this huge, amorphous mass of words helps your deckbuilding endeavors in the future.

[loreleywrites]

Commons of Devastation

While the Gatewatch is busy dueling Nicol Bolas, the everyday citizens of Naktamun are facing off against the nameless Eternals. The story isn’t just decided by flashy mythic rares, and neither is limited. Whether you’re playing in a sealed deck event this week at the Hour of Devastation prerelease or drafting the set ten years from now, commons are going to be the foundation of your deck.

I like to look at every set through this lens and highlight what I think is the best common in each color. That isn’t to say that these are pack-one-pick-ones in draft, but that they’re cards that will pull their weight and help you win games of Magic. They’re not mind-blowing bombs, but workhorses that get the job done.

Air Support

I’d untap that.

Evasion wins games. This is an evergreen truth about limited. Dauntless Aven provides 2 power of flying for three mana, which is the standard rate. If that’s all it was, it would be a passable card that I probably wouldn’t be talking about.

But this is also a block where creatures can exert themselves for better stats. When your Gust Walker can just be a 3/3 flier for 1W, you’re winning most of your games of Magic. Dauntless Aven’s ability to untap your exert creatures snowballs your aggressive pressure, as it’s also an effective attacker. While exert decks often make use of combat tricks to untap their creatures, having an ability stapled to a body that can swing in the air checks off more “this is a good card” boxes.

Secret tech! Dauntless Aven targets any creature you control, not just another. If it’s your only attacker, it’s essentially a 2/1 flier with vigilance.

The only downside here is that 1 toughness is fragile against -1/-1 counters. But remember, this is a common creature. You won’t get an unstoppable bomb at common. “Dies to removal” has never been much of a criticism of creatures anyway.

Fly Away Home

DRAKES 2: Devastated Boogaloo

Remember all that stuff I just said about how flying is good? Aerial Guide is a flier that gives flying to something else. If you can attack without fear of being blocked, you’re going to win damage races. If you topdeck Aerial Guide in a stalled board, you suddenly find yourself able to swing past your opponent’s defenses and seize momentum.

Obviously, the larger creatures you have, the better Aerial Guide gets. White and Blue have access to eternalize in this set, which means you can make your own 4/4s later in the game. Swinging for 6 damage in the air will end a lot of games. Blue, Red, and Green all have access to huge creatures as well. Giving any of them flying can just end games on the spot.

If Hour of Devastation limited ends up as aggressive as Amonkhet limited, then Aerial Guide will be an excellent offensive Blue creature to pack into your deck.

I Bet That Stings

No need to be snippy, The Scorpion God.

Instant-speed removal is always good in limited. It’s even better when it comes with bonus effects. Torment of Venom is what’s called a punisher card. It offers two bad options that the victim opponent gets to choose. In this instance, the choice is lose 3 life or lose a card.

But wait! We can’t forget about what the card actually does: put three -1/-1 counters on a creature. This is a kill spell! Three counters will kill most creatures and permanently shrink larger ones into an easily blockable range. Being instant-speed removal is enough to make the card worthwhile.

But then the punisher choice piles on the misery. Most of the time when you cast Torment of Venom, you’re going to kill a creature and have its controller lose 3 life. That’s a fantastic card! If your opponent is low on life, however, this becomes an easy two-for-one. The only downside to this card is that double Black mana in the cost makes it almost impossible to splash. You’ll probably have to be playing Black to cast this spell.

Hot Dog

Its marksmanship is worse than its bite.

Remember all that stuff I just said about how three -1/-1 counters will kill most creatures? Open Fire can kill all those same creatures. Except it costs one mana less. And can be easily splashed for. And can just dome the opponent when they’re at a low life total.

Most commons aren’t first-pick caliber, but Open Fire absolutely is. Dealing 3 damage to a creature or player has never been bad in limited, and three mana is a perfectly fine cost to pay in a format rooted in its creatures. This isn’t Lightning Bolt or Lightning Strike for Standard, and that’s fine. That’s not what this card’s purpose is. Its purpose is to be a premium Red removal spell in limited.

Open Fire is the kind of common that makes you want to play Red in sealed deck. Getting passed one in draft makes you move into Red. Don’t get mired in the “but this isn’t Lightning Bolt” trap; this card is fantastic in limited.

Don’t Skip Arm Day

Have a little bit of Column A and then some of Column B…right to the face!

At the core of Amonkhet’s aggressive decks are two-drops. I’ve already mentioned Gust Walker, but Nef-Crop Entangler is another one of those fantastic exert two-drops with evasion. Now Green gets its version with Rhonas’s Stalwart.

When you exert this creature, it becomes a 3/3 that can’t be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less. That means it can’t be chump blocked. That means it can’t be double blocked by smaller creatures to take it out. This has two outcomes. First, it means this will sometimes be an unblockable 3/3. Second, it will likely trade up with more expensive creatures when blocked. If your opponent is trading their three-drop for your two-drop, it’s going to be much more difficult for them to profitably block your four-drop.

Survival of the Commonest

It’s always easy to tell which rares are bombs and which ones are narrow and aimed at constructed. With commons, the overall lower power level makes it more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Succeeding in limited partly comes down to identifying which commons are deemed worthy of inclusion in your deck.

Good luck during your prereleases this weekend, initiates, and may the gods bless your sealed pools with common cards fit for a pharaoh.

[aikatsuswings]

Sweet Whole Cake

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/travel/in-london-communal-garden-is-just-for-you-and-a-few-neighbors/

In London, Communal Garden Is Just for You (and a Few Neighbors)

Most Londoners will never get the keys to the castle, but a lucky few do get the keys to a communal garden, semiprivate spaces for the exclusive use of residents with homes in surrounding buildings.

Some of these leafy spaces qualify as mysterious, almost-secret hideaways, tucked behind homes and invisible from the street. Others are tempting, well-groomed areas in plain view but cordoned off by iron railings and gates.

With the city’s once red-hot real estate market so depressed because of concerns around Britain’s possible departure from the European Union, buyers are looking for that something extra, even if access to a parklike communal garden can come with a set of seemingly random rules: Older than 12? You may not be allowed to toss a ball around.

Most of the garden squares in the English capital date to the Georgian or Victorian eras, when the city was fast expanding over fields and marshlands. But at least a few smart Londoners saw value in holding onto these patches of greenery: Many are now protected by the London Squares Preservation Act of 1931, which also limits their use to “ornamental pleasure grounds or grounds for play, rest and recreation.”

Experts say there really is no accurate count of how many are out there. The city’s last complete inventory was carried out almost a century ago, according to Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, a landscape architect redesigning the gardens of Kensington Palace and the author of “The London Square.”

“There are possibly 350 early squares (17th to early 20th century),” he said. “If one were to count communal gardens that are not called ‘squares,’ ‘crescents,’ etc., I expect the number would be closer to 600 to 700.” Some of the newer ones, he said, “are merely street widenings and excuses for the builders to inflate the asking prices that surround them, as it is still very desirable in London to live on a square.”

Ipek Muminoglu and her husband, Miray, say that having access to a communal garden has made big-city life more serene.

The couple bought their four-bedroom, 1,750-square-foot, or 160-square-meter, apartment in 2010 in a building that abuts the Canfield and Greencroft Garden in the South Hampstead Conservation Area. Mr. Muminoglu is a banker in the Canary Wharf financial district about 25 minutes away by Tube, while Mrs. Muminoglu is a stay-at-home mother.

“I was brought up in a house with a garden in Istanbul, so I had this romantic idea of getting a house with a garden,” Mr. Muminoglu said over tea in their sun-drenched salon. “But then I realized that a communal garden is the best because someone else looks after it. I wanted a garden and a balcony, and we got both.”

Their neighborhood in northwest London is a zone of multistory red brick Victorian-era single-family and subdivided homes that feature terra-cotta panels, original stained glass and decorative ironwork on balconies.

Front gardens are packed with rose and lilac bushes, and are enclosed with low walls and green hedges. It’s not uncommon to hear French, Italian or Japanese being spoken by neighbors.

Mark Rees, the sales manager for South and West Hampstead at the real estate agency Parkheath, said the area “typically will attract families and also maybe slightly older young professionals,” even in a market slowed by Brexit-related fears.

He added that many people looking for homes are requesting properties with access to a communal garden. “It’s part of the charm,” he said.

It’s also part of the price. Mr. Rees recently sold a two-bedroom apartment with access to the Canfield and Greencroft Garden that had an asking price of nearly 1.5 million pounds, or about $1.9 million.

“Any outside space here in the U.K., especially within London, is a bonus,” he said. “So having access to a communal garden would certainly push you up into the higher end of the valuation price per square foot.”

A unit that would rent for £2,000 a month without a garden would probably list for £2,500, Mr. Rees said. “There’s certainly a premium. Valuewise for a sale, add roughly £50,000.”

For the Muminoglu family, their property, built in 1886, was a compromise.

“I’m a big fan of flats rather than multistory houses,” Mrs. Muminoglu said. “He had never lived in a flat in his life. We were looking for very different things.”

But they agreed they wanted to live close to the city center.

“We knew we had to be urban,” Mr. Muminoglu said. “And it’s so important to be where friends can stop by.”

He loves the view of the communal garden from the balcony off the kitchen-dining area.

And she loves the light that streams in across the tree-filled meadow, where the iris and daffodil bulbs send up green shoots.

The garden’s lawn gently slopes over the equivalent of two city blocks and features benches, swings, a slide and a half-dome jungle gym for children, and cherry, apple, evergreen and even palm trees.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, one could hear birds singing and the occasional airplane overhead. A man was taking a walk with a baby on his chest. A couple sat quietly on a bench. An orange tabby cat and a squirrel scampered through the bushes. A preteen boy threw a Frisbee to a dog.

How often do the Muminoglus use the garden?

“To be perfectly frank, not enough,” Mr. Muminoglu said, “but whenever we do, it’s really priceless. A couple of barbecues a year, or one Sunday we might grab our newspapers and spend three hours there. It’s one of those things: It’s so lovely that it’s there. Just looking at it fills me with joy and relaxation.”

As with many communal gardens, a local committee stipulates how and when the space can be used.

“It’s heavily regulated by the Canfield and Greencroft Garden Committee,” Mr. Muminoglu said. “For example, if you are over 12 years old, you are not supposed to have any ball games. We don’t allow bonfires. We don’t allow fireworks — but quite a few of the other gardens must, because we hear them.”

The garden is supported and maintained through fees paid by the owners of properties that surround it.

“This garden actually belongs to some lord’s or viscount’s estate,” Mr. Muminoglu said, “and each building pays something toward it. I think our entire five-flat building pays around £1,600 a year. So we pay around 300 a year to use the garden.”

Any drawbacks of the shared space were minor, he said. “Every now and then you might have some of the youngsters congregating with certain smells,” he said, making it clear he was not referring to simple cigarettes. “But very rarely, and not during the day.”

“The worst,” he said, “is when you are down in the garden barbecuing and you realize you forgot the ketchup.”

Security issues, he said, were also minor. “People who used to live here sometimes try to keep the keys,” he said. “At first, we did have some concerns, but with an alarm and everything, nothing has happened on our side.”

Hollywood, however, did come up with one memorable security breach: In the film “Notting Hill,” the characters played by Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant break into Rosmead Garden by climbing over an iron fence.

Mr. Grant’s British bookstore-owner character explains to Ms. Robert’s American actress character about the “mysterious” communal gardens that are “like little villages.”

When she suggests they enter, he replies: “No. That’s the point. They’re private villages. Only the people who live round the edges are allowed in.” (That didn’t stop them from taking a moonlight stroll.)

Communal gardens and squares can also be found in other areas of London, and home prices rise substantially in tonier parts of the city.

James Gilbert-Green of the agency Savills handles what he calls “the prime market in prime central London, so areas like Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Kensington,” which feature both types of communal gardens: ones in front of the property and ones in back.

“People like both, for being able to let kids run directly out the house and into the garden rather than across the road,” he said, “but there’s also an attraction for the common garden square, which is perhaps a little bit more secure because your property doesn’t directly back onto it. You are over the road from it, and your principal rooms at the front of the house overlook that lovely green space.”

One recent listing with Savills was a three-bedroom apartment with a little more than 2,800 square feet on Eaton Square in the Belgravia district with an asking price of almost £10 million. Eaton Square is “made up of six separate garden squares divided by the road network that goes between each one,” Mr. Gilbert-Green said.

Among other notable squares is Cadogan Place. “It’s popular because it’s so large, about eight acres in total,” he said. It also has two tennis courts.

Belgrave Square “is interesting,” he said. “It’s quite a busy garden, a very, very grand, ambassadorial garden square, and the biggest houses in Belgravia are on Belgrave Square. The garden itself is about six acres. It feels like a sort of oasis when you are inside. You have no idea of the traffic that’s going around. It’s lusciously planted, good for summer parties.”

Invitation only, one presumes.

Luckily, all hope is not lost for those of us on the outside looking in.

Each June, the gates of dozens of otherwise private spaces are unlocked for Open Garden Squares Weekend, during which ticket holders can visit.

[housebeleren]

War of the Spark Limited - Premium Uncommons

Alright, time for the Uncommons. I’m going to try to get through all the cards in the set this weekend, so I can see how my ratings compare to the professionals as they come out next week. All ratings out of 5. Let’s go!

White

Let’s start with a Planeswalker, shall we? After all, they’re the major theme of the set. Evaluating ‘Walkers at Uncommon will be a different experience, but I think it will be rewarding. 

When it comes to The Wanderer, I really like her, and I think she’ll be one of the most impactful Uncommon Planeswalkers in the set. Sure, Bring to Trial wasn’t exactly the best card ever, but that’s because it had to be cast exactly when the threat was present. With The Wanderer, you can drop her turn 4 whether or not there’s a target for her, and just leave her on board. If there are no targets for her ability, and you have a decent 2 or 3 drop out, she’s likely going to be hard to attack right away, and will deter your opponent from playing any big threats for fear of just losing them on your turn. Not only that, but her static ability completely nullifies Band Together, Sorin’s Thirst, and basically all of Red’s removal suite. That gives her enormous potential to blank an opponent’s hand and force them to devote all their resources to getting rid of her, while you can do other things. I can definitely see siding her out against something like a Blue/White deck full of small fliers, but I would start on the premise of running her first, because she seems sweet. 3.0

Effects like this are often hit or miss, but I anticipate War of the Spark being a set where board stalls are common. And if that ends up being the case, this card can be a completely serviceable win condition. The lifelink is especially relevant to making this card work, since it will buffer you from the blowback attack you might face after alpha striking. Again, I’m going to be optimistic on this card at first, and reassess after I see how the format shakes out. 3.0

This one feels like a lot more of a risk, and it definitely ranges from completely unplayable to linchpin of your deck, depending on how many Planeswalkers and +1/+1 counters you have. Generally speaking, any repeatable proliferate cards are worth looking into. I’m going to guess most decks that try will have enough targets to make this worth playing. If the opposing deck has lots of fliers to block with, consider siding it out. But if they don’t, this can run away with the game. 2.5

Saved the best for last, for this color at least. I don’t think there’s any doubt that this is the premium removal for White in this format. It hits basically everything you want, at a reasonable cost, and gives you the benefit of a free Scry 1 out of the deal. Plus, Enchantment removal is light in the set, so this is likely to stick around. All told, I’m expecting this to be a totally solid, first-pickable card. 4.0

Blue

Kasmina is interesting for sure. Her static ability bears some resemblance to The Wanderer’s, in that it’s a protection against removal. However, rather than blanking certain cards entirely, it just makes all spot removal more expensive (Note that it doesn’t affect Prison Realm, which I’m sure will cause some confusion during Prerelease). I think The Wanderer’s will generally be better, but Kasmina’s isn’t just decorative. It will slow things down. From there, she pumps out Wizards, and if you can get both activations out of her, she’s been worth the casting cost. If you can get a repeatable proliferate card of some sort, that will definitely serve you well here, and she can be one of the best engines in the game. I’ll usually run her, but she’s not a slam dunk. 2.5

Honestly, Blue feels more aggressive to me in this set than White. Just look at this beast. 5 mana for a 3/3 & a 2/2 flier is a great deal, but the real power will be if you already have an Army started, because then the flier has Haste. And that’s just rude. It shouldn’t be hard to have a 1/1 or 2/2 Army already going by the time you cast this, so dropping it an immediately swinging with a suddenly large flier is big game. Take this card early, and prioritize cheap Amass cards to curve into it. 3.5

This seems like a mini-bomb. A 3/2 flier for 4 is a card you’ll run anyway, but bouncing a cheaper creature to turn it into a 4/3 is big game. What’s even bigger game is if you can get extra value out of the thing you bounced, such as a creature with an ETB or a Planeswalker that’s almost out of loyalty. It won’t get there every time, but the floor is high enough that I’m picking this early and running with it. 3.5

Black

I expect this to be a controversial pick, but I’m going to stick with it. First, the card has half of Ill-Gotten Inheritance stapled to it, and we all underestimated that card. This makes Ob one of the few cards in the game that has a built-in clock for your opponent. If they don’t deal with it and you can stall, they will eventually lose. Given that I expect this format to be grindy, I honestly think this will be a totally viable way to close out games. 

As for his loyalty ability, people are quick to point out that it’s card disadvantage for you. Sure, you kill their creature, but then they are up 2 more cards! True enough, but sometimes, a bomb is worth killing that much. This is especially true in limited, where the card quality ranges from super mediocre filler to game-ending. In limited, would I give someone two cards off the top of their deck in exchange for their Bioessence Hydra? You bet your ass I would. Because what they’re going to draw is going to be worse. So yes, don’t just kill little vanilla Commons with this. Save it for their bombs. 

The secret additional power to Ob is that you can also use the ability as an Altar’s Reap. If you have an early curve creature that’s outlived it’s value, cash it in for two more cards for yourself. What makes this card good is it’s versatility, an always underappreciated asset at first glance. Will I play this in Commander or a 60 card format? Hell no. Will I run it in limited until proven wrong? Without a doubt. 3.0

This is a nice, clean 2 for 1 in a lot of cases, and there’s not much more you can ask for in a removal spell. Yes, it only kills small things, so I wouldn’t take it over a Prison Realm or something, but it’s still good. 3.0

This guy seems really good. His stats are good enough to play on his own, as you often get vanilla 2/3s for 3 mana at Common. But his attack ability is really strong as a way to ensure you get value out of him later on as well. Sure, he’s likely going to trade or even just killed on attack, but if he trades it’s a clean 2 for 1. I’ll take it. 3.0

This one is definitely more situational, but I think there are going to be enough Army tokens and Planeswalkers running around that most decks should have targets for this. In other words, evaluating this as “Destroy target Army creature or Planeswalker” as its floor still makes me think it’s possibly worthwhile. I may be totally wrong here, but I wanted to mention it, since I think it’ll work more often than not. 2.5

Red

5 mana isn’t a ton, but there’s a lot going on here. First, it’s an automatic +1/+0 to every Red creature you control, and a buff to every Red damage effect as well. That alone can make for a really big swing the turn she comes down. On top of that, she can Shock a couple of times, most likely taking out small creatures or putting Planeswalkers in the danger zone. I don’t think she’s the best Uncommon ‘Walker by far, but she’s a solid workhorse and will get the job done. 3.0

Lightning Strike continues to be good, and I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t stay good here. 3.0

It’s weird to me that if they’re “twins,” the original one doesn’t have Trample, but whatever. It’s two 2/2s for 4 mana, which is a fine rate, but what pushes this over the top is the fact that amassing a large Army token is great, but giving it Trample is better. This is one where you really want to go deep on Amass, and see if you can build the biggest, stompiest monster you can. It may end up playing worse than I expect, but I’ll start with this as a solid card in my mind. 3.0

Arlinn costs a bunch, but man, does she make an impact. On her own, she can pump out three 3/3s, and that is a fine deal for 6 mana, even spread out over 3 turns. If you happen to have any copies of Arlinn’s Wolf in your deck, those also get affected by her static ability, so keep that in mind. Like Kasmina, if you can find a reliable proliferate engine, this will run away with the game. 3.0

Speaking of proliferate engines! This is probably the best one in the set, and I’d run it in any deck that has counters. It turns all your lands into extra utility, so you don’t even have to go through any deckbuilding hurdles to make this good. Just play cards & profit. 3.0

Rubblebelt Recluse was already one of my favorite cards in Ravnica Allegiance, and this is all the stats with none of the drawbacks. In fact, it has an upside! This is going to make combat a nightmare for your opponent, even if the troll is your only 4+ power creature. I look forward to beating down with this guy, since very little in the set can trade with it. 3.0

Mowu is the clear Best Boy of the set, and a card that can singlehandedly run away with the game if you have any ways to put counters on him. Even without that, he’s 3/3 Vigilance Trample, which is totally playable. Once you can put counters on him, he becomes the biggest thing on the board, so definitely prioritize those. I love how well he combos with Yanggu, and at Uncommon, it’s not going to be that rare to get both of them. 3.0

Multicolor & Colorless

Kaya’s static ability is basically just flavor text in limited (unless you’re facing down a Wardscale Crocodile, I guess), but her loyalty ability is the real deal. Most of the time, you’re just going to activate it two turns in a row and remove your opponent’s biggest threats. Sometimes it’ll get taken out in-between, but either way, you’re almost always going to get a 2 for 1 from this somehow, and that’s worth it. If you get a chance to proliferate her enough to activate her three times, you just win. 3.5

Angrath isn’t a slam dunk, and I have no idea why he’s creating Eternals (I’ve heard the flavor is that he’s using his Threaten magic on them, but it still feels weird.) That said, he’s a pretty good deal for 4 mana. Menace matters in limited, and building up a big Army with menace is really sweet. He’ll help you push through damage and take out opposing Planeswalkers, and that’s good enough for me. 3.0

Kiora may seem like a weird pick, but I think people are underestimating just how good of an engine she can be. If you get her early, you can prioritize creatures that will make use of her triggered ability, and her loyalty ability will help you ramp into the mana you need to cast them. She’ll be highly situational, and you really don’t want to run her if you can’t make use of her first ability. But assuming you have a few sources, I think she’ll be good. 3.0

Saheeli is another one whose viability relies entirely on her first ability. You really want to churn out 2 servos to get close to your investment back, but as soon as you’ve gotten 3 or more, you’re in Value-town. Fortunately, Red/Blue spells is a theme in this set, so I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble. To top it off, once you have some servos out, along with some good creatures, you can make one servo a copy of your best creature, to push through some powerful attacks. She won’t belong in every deck, but she’ll be a powerhouse in the decks built to optimize her. 2.5

The last Planeswalker on my list is Vraska. She’s one of the few sources of Deathtouch in the set, which are great against opposing Planeswalkers, as well as excellent defenders for your own. If you happen to have an evasive creature that can slip in for damage, it’ll get bigger each time it hits as long as Vraska remains on the field. All told, I think Vraska will be very frustrating to play against, and a worth ally on your side of the board. 3.0

There’s no shortage of targets with CMC 4 or more, so I’m totally on board for good, clean, unconditional removal of those problems. If you’re in the colors, you’ll absolutely want to play this. 3.5

Domri gets one last blaze of glory, and it’s a suitably powerful removal spell. It’s cheap, effective, and leaves your creature powerful than it started, so you’re never going to want to pass this one. 3.5

The stats on this are pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. 2/3 Flying is almost worth 4 mana, but drawing a card and gaining life on ETB is just awesome. It’s a card worth splashing for, and definitely a good sign that the color combination is open. 3.5

Hexproof & Menace are two words I would very much like to see on my giant Zombie Army, and 2/5 worth of stats, split between two creatures, is a fabulous deal for 3 mana. Expect to hear exasperated groans from your opponent when you land this on the table, because it’s virtually impossible to remove and be anywhere close to even on mana or resources. That said, it’s more of a support card than a bomb unto itself, so there will be decks you don’t put this in. But that will be rare if you’re in the colors. 3.0

If you can cast this on turn two, it’s a 2/2 flier for 2, and that’s a fantastic start. If you get it later, you still get some value out of its ETB. And then, finally, it’s got the mana sink to end all mana sinks, assuming you’ve got the board presence to make use of it. I’m going to start high on this card, and assume it’s going to be great. 3.5

Apparently Prophetic Bolt was too powerful, which doesn’t surprise me one bit. I wish this checked the top 3 of the library, because then it would be more elegant symmetry with the damage, plus it would be literal Lightning Strike & Anticipate stapled together. (Yes, I know Anticipate puts it on bottom of library, but shush. Symmetry.) Anyhoo, I have no doubts this will be fantastic every time it’s cast. 3.5

Okay, I’m torn on this one, because the second part where it loses +1/+1 counters instead of damage is a real downside, because that means your opponent can chump it to death over multiple turns. That said, it does survive Deathtouch, which I suppose is a cute perk. No, the real reason I like it is that it is a literal curve-filler, wherever you need it. Draw it early, and you can always have a relevant card to cast. Draw it late, and you can sink all your mana into it and make a massive threat. If Proliferate weren’t in the set, I’d drop this down, but given that there’s chance for it to get bigger and recover the lost counters, I’m going to declare this tentatively very good. 3.0

Alright. That’s it for all the ones that get highlighted. Below, I’ll run through my thoughts on all the other cards really quickly:

Ajani’s Pridemade - I’ll mostly leave this for Arena Standard, but it’s not an awful card for limited. There are just enough lifegain effects in this set for it to gain a couple counters. One note I will make is that they intentionally made a lot of cards have “mini-quests” to place counters on themselves, so has not to make them too powerful with Proliferate. This fits the mold. 2.5

Gideon’s Triumph - With basically all of the Triumph cards, they need to be evaluated as if you’ll never have the relevant Planeswalker, which is why only Chandra’s got noted up above. This effect is good, and sometimes you’ll take out their best creature with it. I do like that it works on both offense & defense, which makes it better than some variants. 3.0

Rally of Wings - If you have no fliers, this isn’t worth playing at all. If you have fliers out, it’s a decent trick. That variance makes me skeptical that this will work out. If you have a deck with tons of fliers, knock yourself out. 2.0

Sunblade Angel - 6 mana is a lot, but you do get some pretty impressive keyword soup out of it. My only concern is that this will often trade down in mana to a cheap removal spell, so I’m not looking to slam these. 2.5

Teyo, the Shieldmage - Teyo is a precious little dove of a Babywalker, and we need to keep him safe. Fortunately, he’s pretty decent at keeping himself safe. Unfortunately, that’s about all he’s good at. If you really need to stall, I guess he’s fine. But I wouldn’t be happy first-picking him. 1.5

Augur of Bolas - If you’re in the spells deck, this goes up a notch, but mostly he’s a Constructed plant. For limited, his effectiveness is a little more, well.... limited. 2.0

Bond of Insight - Again, if you’re in the spells deck, this becomes playable, but if you’re not, it’s completely unplayable. For the most part, I’d skip it until I’m sure I’m in the right deck. 1.5

Flux Channeler - I’m really excited about the prospects of this for Commander, but in limited it’s fighting with itself a little bit. The more noncreature spells you have, the less stuff you have to proliferate. I can see it working once in a while, but I can see it whiffing more often. 2.0

Jace’s Triumph - Again, you’re never going to have Jace out when you cast this, so it’s Divination. This format seems like it will enjoy Divination, so there you go. 2.5

Lazotep Plating - The dream is to use this to counter a kill spell & be left with a 1/1 for your trouble. That’ll happen sometimes, but not as much as we’d like. 2.0

Narset, Parter of Veils - I expect Narset to make waves in eternal formats, including Commander, due to her Leovold, Emissary of Trest line of text and easier casting cost. In limited, she’s two Impulse that can only find certain card types, and I’m not quite sure that’s worth it. I’d kinda rather just run Divination, I mean... Jace’s Triumph. 2.0

Bond of Revival - Rise from the Grave has always been good, though this format doesn’t look like it’s going to be full of great reanimation targets. It exchanges the ability to loot your opponent’s graveyard for granting Haste, which honestly is better in a set with Planeswalkers abounding, so I’ll give this a tentative pass. 2.5

Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage - This could be a Mind Rot format. I’m not sure yet. But he is costed right, and his static ability is a surprising clock that’s going to force your opponent to play suboptimally once the game goes long. So all told, he could be worse. 2.5

Dreadmalkin - What the hell is a malkin? Either way, it’s unclear if the sacrifice deck will come together or not. Until then, I’m not totally convinced. But it’s worth trying. 2.5

Liliana’s Triumph - Edicts can be great or awful, depending on the format. There are enough tokens in this one that I’m not sure it’ll be great. 2.0

Vizier of the Scorpion - Unlike the other two in this mini-cycle, this guy isn’t impressively costed. 3 mana for a 1/1 and another 1/1 with Deathtouch is... eh? And given that you can only have one Army at a time, Deathtouch isn’t super relevant on it. It does protect well, so I’ll give it that, but Chandra’s Pyrohelix embarrasses this. 2.5

Bolt Bend - Redirecting a kill spell is a solid two-for-one, so that potential makes me optimistic, though beware this will sit dead in your hand sometimes. 2.5

Bond of Passion - OOF. What happened on the costing of this card? Nominally, it’s an Act of Treason stapled to a Shock. I get it, putting these two effects together is more powerful than they are separately, and can easily lead to blowouts. But this couldn’t have been 5 mana? 1.5

Cyclops Electromancer - The Flametongue Kavu impersonators persist. This one will often ping for 1 or 2, but I wouldn’t expect much more than that. In the spells deck, this goes up. 2.5

Devouring Hellion - This set needs a Dragon Fodder before I’d be really excited about this. He’ll probably be a 4/4 most of the time, and that’s only okay for something that requires a sacrifice. 2.0

Tibalt, Rakish Instigator - I’m seeing Tibalt being more relevant for Constructed sideboards than good for limited. The Devil tokens are better than they seem at first glance, since they’re effectively all 2/1s. He’ll do some good work. 2.5

Tibalt’s Rager - Pretty solid. I like his death trigger. 2.5

Bond of Flourishing - The three life is nice, but I’d rather have Shimmer of Possibility and get whatever I want, thanks. 1.5

Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter - I almost included Yanggu in my highlights. I think he’s pretty great as a way to just disperse buffs to your creatures. You really want a 2 drop before him, but I’ll take it either way. 3.0

Nissa’s Triumph - Hard pass. 0.0

Paradise Druid - This set has enough multicolor that I suspect the druid will be really good. Best fixing in the format, and if you can get counters on her, she can grow to be an unstoppable threat. 2.5

Storm the Citadel - I like Overrun effects, though it’s a shame this doesn’t grant Trample. That said, this will lead to some big swings, so I’m okay with it. 2.5

Dovin, Hand of Control - I’m not seeing it. Nobody wants to be this purely defensive in limited. 0.5

Dovin’s Veto - I’d go with one of the mono-Blue counters instead, and leave this one for Standard control mirrors. 1.5

Ashiok, Dream Render - Like Narset to some degree, Ashiok is clearly a plant for constructed formats. Unlike Narset, Ashiok doesn’t even do anything particularly useful while at it. 0.5

Tyrant’s Scorn - I almost included this one in my highlights. It kills any small creature or bounces a bigger one, and both of those are worth 2 mana. If you’re in the colors, play this. 3.0

Angrath’s Rampage - I like that you get to dictate what type of permanent you want them to sacrifice, and that makes this better than Liliana’s Triumph most of the time, if you can cast it. 2.5

Mayhem Devil - This is the buildaround card for the R/B sacrifice deck, and if the deck comes together, it’ll be great. If not, it’ll be a 3/3. 2.5

Rubblebelt Rioters - I don’t like that this requires other creatures in play to do anything. I do like that it has haste. Usually it’ll do something. 2.5

Samut, Tyrant Smasher - Most of the time, you’re not going to cast anything else the same turn you cast Samut, so you’ll often land her, then wait until your next turn to start doing anything useful. Once there, she lends some considerable power to the board, but I’m nervous about her impacting much right away. 2.5

Huatli’s Raptor - The unfortunate thing is that if you cast this turn 2, you’ll have nothing to proliferate. But it does give the card some benefit as a late draw, which adds to its flexibility. 2.5

Huatli, Sun’s Heart - There are a ton of White cards with big butts, so I can see her putting in some work. Combo with Teyo for maximum cuteness. That said, I don’t know that there’s really enough support to make the butts deck work this time around. 1.5

Pledge of Unity - This seems like a beating, though there aren’t as many go-wide cards in the set as I’d like before I really get excited. 2.0

Cruel Celebrant - While my Commander friends are rejoycing, and I’m sure this will have some relevance in Standard, I don’t see it being a huge player in limited. Death happens, but the creature is too flimsy to stick around long enough to enjoy it. 1.5

Invade the City - This is the Red/Blue buildaround for the spells deck. When it’s good, it’ll be great, but you really want this to reliably be X=3 or better. 2.0

Deathsprout - Make no mistake, this is a powerful card, but the mana cost on it is quite restrictive, and makes it pretty difficult to splash. In a dedicated Black/Green deck, you’ll always play this, but it can absolutely be correct to pass this and take more conditional removal in your colors rather than try to force this. 2.5

Leyline Prowler - Black/Green is clearly being pushed as the “Multicolor” combination, so hopefully that ends up panning out. This is a good enabler, as well as solid stats on its own, so I’d basically always run this if you can. 3.0

Heartwarming Redemption - So many feels. While this is likely to be immensely popular in Commander, I’m not totally sure it has much place in limited. 1.0

Nahiri, Storm of Stone - The equip clause is completely irrelevant, but giving all your creatures First Strike does complicate combat. And she can take out tapped creatures that attacked the turn before she came down, so that’s something. Overall, I have high hopes. 3.0

Tenth District Legionnaire - I’m skeptical of this Red/White Herioc archetype really panning out, but if it does, the Legionnaire will be a powerhouse. If not, she’s a hard to cast bear. 2.5

Neoform - Leave this card for constructed formats. Despite the counter, it’s just not worth it in limited. 0.5

Firemind Vessel - Honestly, the Common color fixing is just better. This comes down too late, and can’t even be used the turn it does. 1.0

God-Pharaoh’s Statue - Maybe this is a slow finisher in some kind of control deck? But honestly, I don’t see it. Davriel & Ob Nixilis do this job better. 1.0

Emergence Zone - Great utility land for Commander. Just not great for limited. 0.5

Interplanar Beacon - I’m skeptical this will be all that useful, but if you somehow manage to draft a bunch of Planeswalkers of different colors, I guess this works for fixing. But again, the Common fixing just seems better. 1.5

Whew. This is pretty tiring, but such a useful exercise to go through. Next up are the Rares & Mythics!

[moondaisies]

Selling photocards + albums

only accept payment by Paypal or Bank transfer in Euro or USD

Photocard Shipping Europe: Normal envelope= $1,7 Bubble mailer= $5

Everywhere else: Normal envelope= $2 Bubble mailer= $5,5 for tracking add $7 to shipping method

Also willing to trade for cards on my wishlist:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_dlMe7oMj_TR7nfn4YNieHLMR7R9fDclfCquKolNm5s/edit?usp=sharing

Albums Shipping Europe:

Envelope 100 - 350g = $7,4 350g - 1kg = $12,8

Box 0 - 350g = $9,2 350 - 1kg = 13,8 1kg - 2kg = 18,4

rest of the world: Envelope: 100 - 350g = $9 350 - 1kg = $21,2

BOX: 0-350g = $9,22 350g - 1kg = $14 1kg - 2kg = $28,06

shipping for Belgium is cheaper. I can also use Mondial relay Kiala or DHL to ship to France and Netherlands which would be cheaper for heavy packages^^

B1A4: Beautiful target JP Group v1 $9 Beautiful target JP Group v2 $9 Beautiful target JP Group v3 $9 Oyasumi Goodnight JP Group v1 $9 Oyasumi Goodnight JP Group v2 $9 Oyasumi Goodnight JP Group v3 $9

B2ST: Junhyung Bad girl JP $14 Junhyung Japan premium $14 Kikwang Midnight sun KR $10

EXO: D.O XOXO (TW press) $7 Kai Mama B $9 Kris Mama B SOLD Kris Growl B SOLD Lay Growl B $9 Lay XOXO $9 Tao MAMA A (ch press) SOLD Tao MAMA B SOLD Tao Growl $9 OT12 MAMA (ch press) $7 EXO-K OT6 MAMA B KR $9 EXO-M OT6 MAMA B KR $9

INFINITE: Dongwoo Elite teen $10 Dongwoo Destiny $9 Dongwoo Paradise $9 Dongwoo Natuur pop (Close view) $10 Dongwoo Natuur pop (Far view) SOLD Dongwoo New challenge $9 Hoya Destiny $9 Hoya Paradise $9 Hoya Elite teen (Heart) $10 Hoya New challenge $9 Hoya Natuur pop (Close view) $10 Hoya Natuur pop (Far view) SOLD Sungjong Destiny $9 Sungjong Paradise $9 Sungjong New challenge $9 Sungjong Natuur pop (Close view) Sungjong Natuur pop (Far view) Sungyeol Destiny $9 Sungyeol Paradise $9 Sungyeol New challenge $9 Sungyeol Natuur pop (Close View) $10 Sungyeol Natuur pop ( Far view) $10 Infinite-H Fly High Dongwoo V1 (Silver) $7 Infinite-H Fly Hight Dongwoo V2 (Silver) $7 Infinite-H Fly High Dongwoo V3 (Silver) $7 Infinite-H Fly High Hoya V1 (Silver) $7 Infinite-H Fly High Hoya V2 (Silver) $7 Infinite-H Fly High Hoya V3 (Silver) $7 Infinite-H Fly High Hoya V4 (Silver) $7

NU'EST Aron Face $6 Baekho Face $6 JR Face $6 JR Action v1 (microphone) $6 JR Hello v1 (heart) $6 JR Hello v2 (green) Minhyun Action (White t-shirt) SOLD Minhyun Hello (Ipad) $6 Minhyun Hello (Heart) $6 Ren face $6 Ren action (without microphone) $6

SHINee: Group World Concert II v1 $12 Group World Concert II v2 $12 Group World Concert II v3 $12 Jonghyun Lucifer KR $9 Jonghyun Replay JP SOLD Jonghyun Juliette JP $20 Jonghyun Sherlock KR $9 Jonghyun Sherlock AVEX TW RARE QYOP Jonghyun Dazzling girl $15 Jonghyun SMTOWN (Close View) $13 Jonghyun SMTOWN (Far View) $13 Jonghyun World Concert II v1 (pink background) $13 Jonghyun World Concert II v2 (pink background) $13 Jonghyun World Concert II v3 (blue background) SOLD Minho World Concert II v1 (green background) $12 Minho World Concert II v2 (green background) $12 Minho World Concert II v3 (blue background) SOLD Minho Sherlock $9 Minho Lucifer $9 Minho Misconceptions of you $9 Minho the first $17 Minho Dazzling girl $12 Onew Lucifer $9 Onew Sherlock $9

SUPER JUNIOR: Donghae I wanna dance JP V1 (Red suit) $12 Eunhyuk Ride me (Leather jacket) $18 (also trading for donghae ride me vertical,Ride me group vertical and Ride me group horizontal) Eunhyuk SS3 photobook polaroid $25 (not pictured, pm me for pics) Heechul SS3 Photobook polaroid $25 (not pictured, pm me for pics) Kangin SMTOWN III Seoul (close view) $8 Leeteuk SS3 photobook polaroid $25 (not pictured, pm me for pics) Shindong Bonamana A $5 Shindong Blue world JP $8 Sungmin SS3 Photobook polaroid $25 (not pictured, pm me for pics) Zhoumi Swing $8 Group I wanna dance JP V1 (Red suit) $12 Group Skeleton (Vertical) $12 Group SS3 Photobook polaroid $25 D&E Pre-order postcard $10 Eunhyuk present (Double v-sign) $30 also trading for Donghae Present (red jacket) or one of the present group cards

TVXQ: Jaejoong Best selection 2010 (slightly damaged) $10 Yunho Catch me V4 $8 Yunho Humanoids V4 $8 Yunho SMTOWN III Seoul V1 (Close View) $10 Yunho I AM SOLD Yunho TIME JP (slightly damaged) (Close View) $10 Group Catch me V1 $8

VIXX: Hyuk Voodoo TW (also trading for Leo Voodoo TW) SOLD Hongbin Hyde (also trading for Leo Hyde) $10 Ravi Rock Ur Body ( also trading for Leo Rock ur body) $15

Other: After school playgirlz Group TW press $15 After school first love Nana SOLD BIGBANG Seungri YG-ummy Candy Special Final in Dome JP Polaroid $15 BTOB Ilhoon Press play $8 Boa Only one (normal edition) $7 Boa I AM $7 B1A4 Jinyoung in the wind $7 B1A4 Jinyoung sticker What's going on $7 F(x) Amber I AM $15 B.A.P Yongguk badman $9 SOLD

ALBUMS: EXO K - Growl $11 SOLD EXO M - Growl $11 EXO K - XOXO $11 SOLD EXO M - XOXO $11 SOLD EXO MAMA $10 B1A4 1st concert DVD $21 B1A4 What's Going on $11 SOLD B1A4 into the wind $11 B1A4 ignition (signed) $27 B1A4 Beautiful target jp $11 (or $17 w/PC) B1A4 baby goodnight jp $11 or (17 w/PC) B.A.P 1st mini repackage album $21 SOLD B.A.P No mercy 15€ SOLD B.A.P One shot $11 SOLD B.A.P One shot tw $21 SOLD B.A.P Warrior $11 SOLD B.A.P Power $11 SOLD B.A.P Stop it $11 SOLD B.A.P Badman (Himchan signed) $27 SPICA Russian roulette $21 SOLD Miss A I don't need a man (Fei signed) $27 Wonder girls Wonder party $11 Cross gene timeless begins $32 SOLD Kim hyun joong Lucky 10€ RESERVED Kim hyun joong fanmeeting dvd $16 SS501 Five men dvd (malaysian) $16 Infinite Paradise $11 SOLD Super Junior SF&S $16 (Red sold) D&E The beat goes on $11 D&E I wanna dance $11 D&E I wanna dance ELF $11 IU last fantasy special edition $32 IU spring of a twenty year old $11 Secret poison $11 Secret letter from secret $11 CNBLUE Re:blue Yonghwa $32 CNBLUE Ear fun $11 MBLAQ Mona lisa $11 MBLAQ Men in MBLAQ DVD $21 B2ST Airlines DVD $21 B2ST Beautiful Show DVD $21 B2ST lights go on again $11 B2ST mastermind $11 Yoseob first collage $11 SHINee shinee world concert $21 Reserved SHINee 1000 years (Damaged) $11 SHINee Dazzling girl (Pink) $11 SOLD SHINee Dazzling girl (White) $11 SOLD SHINee Lucifer $11 Reserved SHINee The first $21 SHINee Replay $21 TVXQ Catch me limited edition $32 TVXQ Time $10 TVXQ Humanoids (Slightly damaged) $11 Nu'est special edition $32 SOLD Nu'est face $11 or ($16 w/ PC) SOLD Nu'est action $11 or ( $16 w/ PC) Nu'est action (signed & Damaged) $21 ($27) 4Minute Volume up $11 Kara Solo collection $21 BTOB Press play 10€ SOLD Lee Hi First love 10€ SOLD BoA Only one $11 After school Play girlz $11

[aion-rsa]

Disney’s Live-Action Mulan Ending Explained

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Mulan article contains MAJOR spoilers. Read our spoiler-free review here.

Disney just dropped its live-action adaptation of Mulan on Disney+ for “premium access.” Directed by Niki Caro and based on the Chinese legend, the film tells the story of Hua Mulan, a young woman who disguises herself as a man in order to take her aging father’s place in the army. The new, live-action version is very much not a shot-for-shot remake of the 1998 animated film, which means, even if you are a fan of the original Disney feature, you might still have some questions about how everything went down in the live-action flick. Let’s break down Mulan‘s epic ending…

Mulan Defends the Imperial City

Mulan leads her compatriots into the Imperial City, which is unguarded thanks to the powerful Xianniang, who possessed the chancellor and instructed them all to gather in one place. Things go sideways fast and the soldiers take on the rest of the baddies. 

Mulan goes looking for the emperor, but he has gone off to confront Rouran enemy Böri Khan, also thanks to Xianniang/chancellor, whom Mulan finds on the imperial throne in his place. Seeing her there, it’s hard not to think that if things were different, she could’ve been on a throne like that, a warrior empress in her own right. She’s certainly more formidable than Böri Khan. 

Xianniang Dies to Save Mulan

Mulan and Xianniang pick up where their previous confrontation in the geothermal valley before the avalanche. Mulan has clearly revealed her true self, but Xianniang nonetheless finds it “impossible” for a woman to be leading a man’s army, since she has lived a life of exile. She tells Mulan she never wanted to live a life of darkness and destruction, but was forced to by the way she was treated by society. Mulan tries to appeal to the inherent goodness within Xianniang, and the conversation continues over the rooftops of the imperial city, calling back to Mulan’s childhood at the beginning of the film. 

In the end, Xianniang sees more in common with Mulan and seems regretful of her own life, showing Mulan the way to Böri Khan and the Emperor. Xianniang tells her former master that Mulan has done the impossible: a woman leads this army. He dismisses that as impossible and calls Mulan a girl, which Xianniang corrects: “woman.” 

When Böri Khan sees he has been betrayed, he notches an arrow and shoots it at Mulan, using what appears to be his greatest skill (other than catching arrows.) While we’ve watched Mulan use her qi to defy many arrows throughout the movie, Xianniang must know that Böri Khan’s archery skills are too much for her, because she flies to intercept the arrow, falling out of the sky. Mulan catches her in bird form and she transforms back into a person, dying in Mulan’s arms, having sacrificed herself for the woman who could do what she could not. It’s unclear why Böri Khan doesn’t simply shoot another arrow at Mulan.

Mulan Uses Her Qi To Kill Böri Khan

Mulan fights Böri Khan on bamboo scaffolding above some molten lava pits that he created just for the occasion? Sadly, Mulan loses her (father’s) sword, which falls into one of the pits and melts down. Throughout the fight, the emperor encourages her to tap into her qi, and at one point the ancestral phoenix reappears, as it has in all her times of greatest need throughout the film, to help her fight. 

Böri Khan and Mulan fight on a beam high above the ground, suspended by a rope. Mulan eventually cuts the rope, sending the beam and Böri Khan falling to what appears to be a typical Disney bloodless, morally sound death. She quickly jumps onto the rope that holds the beam up, and swings to the emperor’s side, where she frees one of his hands. But Böri Khan isn’t dead after all, and he shoots an arrow at the emperor, who uses his free hand and his qi to redirect it away from himself. Mulan uses her qi as well and redirects the arrow yet again, to kill Böri Khan, making for a rare Disney death where the hero takes an active, direct, intentional role. 

Does Mulan Get in Trouble For Pretending to Be a Man?

Having saved the emperor, Mulan reunites with her fellow soldiers, and while it briefly looks like Cricket has died because he is slumped over and full of arrows, it’s just an illusion. The soldier was lucky after all – it’s just the arrows in his bag, and he was only momentarily knocked down. Mulan, the Sergeant, and all of their soldiers made it through the battle, victorious.

There’s a huge festival in celebration of the victory. A beautiful woman leads Mulan into the imperial chamber to see the Emperor – it’s Chinese-Malay actor Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians), in a cameo. The emperor thanks Mulan for everything, compliments her, and offers her the greatest honor for a soldier, to be an officer in imperial guard. She turns it down because she says she has to make amends with family, and it’s pretty awkward because there’s quite the crowd. 

Mulan’s Love Interest Honghui

Mulan gets ready to go back home, but fellow soldier Honghui stops her before she goes, to say she didn’t say goodbye, and generally be romantic and dreamy. He offers his hand to her and remarks that she’s still afraid to take it, but now that he’s in on her secret, it feels like the context is changed. Rather than rebuffing friendship, it feels like Mulan hesitates because it’s now a romantic offer. She leaves without taking his hand, but there’s a sense that these two crazy kids will see each other again. 

Mulan Returns Home

Mulan arrives home and her sister, who’s made up and pouring tea for the matchmaker instantly knows it’s her– does she have some of that qi power herself? Mulan apologizes to her family but it’s a happy reunion. She’s sorry about losing her father’s sword, especially because she now understands why it means so much to him, and he tells his daughter that she’s a warrior now. 

They’re interrupted by the arrival of the Emperor’s guard, which now includes Sergeant Qiang. Mulan’s father anticipates that he’s there to punish his daughter and says that his old friend will have to go through him, but Sergeant Qiang assures him that’s not why he’s there. He comes bearing a personal present for Mulan, from the emperor, a replacement sword. The three characters from her father’s sword are etched into one side of the blade, loyal, brave, true, with one additional character on the reverse: dedication to family. Sergeant Qiang says that Mulan has brought honor to them all and reiterates the emperor’s offer for Mulan to become an officer in the emperor’s guard. The entire village is overwhelmed by this presence, and the fact that it’s all for Mulan. 

Mulan looks at the new sword she’s earned, and in the reflection she sees her childhood self and the phoenix, and she smiles. The film ends there, but it implies that, having brought honor to her family, her village, and her country by being true to herself, Mulan will now honor her own wishes and accept the offer to join the emperor’s guard and continue to cultivate her qi. 

The post Disney’s Live-Action Mulan Ending Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2ZaklYK

[blockheadbrands]

The Return Of The Super Sativa Seed Club

Danny Danko of High Times Reports:

One of the original cannabis seed-breeding companies, famous for its haze varieties, is back on the scene with rare old-school and new-school flavors.

Back in the Haze

Founded in Amsterdam by Karel Schelfhout in 1985, the Super Sativa Seed Club (SSSC) was one of the first companies to sell seeds directly to the public through its catalog as well as ads in the back of High Times. In fact, the SSSC was only the second cannabis-seed company, after the Seed Bank, to operate openly in the Netherlands. At that time, Karel was a squatter, taking over abandoned properties and fixing them up to be habitable as well as turning them into some of the very first indoor growing facilities in Europe. In these growrooms, Karel and his compatriots pioneered and developed the techniques to grow indoors using horticultural lighting, rockwool mediums and mineral nutrients in liquid solutions delivered directly to oxygenated plant roots.

Back then, “Sam the Skunkman,” a legendary breeder from America, had recently moved to Amsterdam from California and gifted Karel with his Original Haze and Skunk #1 seeds. Those varieties, as well as some seeds received from Nevil Schoenmakers of the Seed Bank, became the building blocks of the SSSC catalog of strains.

Business quickly took off, and between 1985 and 1987 the SSSC sold millions of seeds all over the world. Karel’s mission was to “spread cannabis seeds around the world and empower cannabis consumers to grow their own cannabis from the very best genetics.” However, due to the rapid rise of the company, and the paranoia that came with it, his relationship with his business partner disintegrated and the SSSC folded.

Luckily, Karel held on to the most important genetics for more than 80 years, patiently waiting to return to the cannabis-breeding community once the political and legal climate became more tolerable. During that time, SSSC varieties were used to create many Cannabis Cup winners and legendary varieties by the many seed banks that stepped up to fill the void left by the departure of the SSSC from the scene.

Old to the New

In 2007, I inducted the Super Sativa Seed Club into our High Times Seed Bank Hall of Fame as “Esteemed Pioneers Emeritus” along with Sacred Seeds/Cultivator’s Choice, the Seed Bank, Lowlands Weed/Seed Company and Positronics. By this time, Karel’s son Kees had joined the team after a stint growing his own plants near Barcelona. He made the Karel’s Haze strain famous in the cannabis-friendly social clubs of Spain and realized that the time had come to reintroduce the SSSC to the general public. Using new-school techniques and premium old-school sativa-dominant genetics, the master-breeder father-and-son team of Kees and Karel fulfilled their destiny to restore the legacy of the dormant seed bank and relaunch the SSSC in 2018.

In keeping with the old traditions, the SSSC sells only regular seeds, meaning that both female and male seedlings emerge from their beans. The benefits of this are many, but the most important is hybrid vigor. Because the seeds are produced from distinctly different parentage, the F1 progeny (or first filial generation) is stronger than its parents and results in bigger yields of potent pot. The key is to grow the seeds out, discarding the males and keeping the females to flower or holding on to them as mother plants in their vegetative stage. This way, you can take clones from the mother plants that you know will be female and behave identically to their parent.

The SSSC also operates as a true club, with different tiers that members can join in order to receive a variety of benefits. These include exclusive merchandise, personalized growing advice, access to personalized newsletters and even the ability to create and name a new strain of a member’s own together with Kees and Karel.

Connoisseurs and home growers are the focus of the SSSC. The company specializes in hard-to-find, boutique and special genetics for the true aficionado. It’s an old-school scientific approach to breeding that doesn’t include feminized or auto-flowering strains. Karel and Kees believe that the only way to produce the best and most unusual varieties is to stick to the original techniques of pollination and selection from large populations.

So if you’re interested in flavors and terpene profiles that aren’t more of the same old stuff, look no further than the SSSC. Its relaunch includes four distinct varieties that will tickle the tongue and tantalize the senses. These unique and electric strains are both a throwback to the past and a glimpse into the future. Hashish produced from SSSC strains will have you soaring into the atmosphere with unrivaled potency and taste. More strains are coming, but these first four represent the best of the old and the new.

Karel’s Haze finishes flowering in just 8-9 weeks/ Courtesy of SSSC

Strains from the SSSC Catalog

Kees’ Old School Haze

If you’re in the mood for a “blast from the past,” this is what you’re looking for! Kees’ Old School Haze is an exciting 100 percent pure sativa that grows in the blink of an eye. KOSH is a clone more than 30 years in the making and is a plant for the more experienced grower. Under stable, optimized conditions, Kees’ Old School Haze offers huge harvests after 12 to 13 weeks of flowering. Our original Old School Haze produces dark, musky, ammonia-like aromas combined with a fresh citrus touch. When smoked, it is a real hazy experience with a great trippy effect. Expect a seriously strong smoke! The Old School Haze is the cornerstone of the SSSC. She has been with us for almost 35 years and still growing strong! Offering the world the original Old School Haze taste experience.

Specifics Old School Haze x Old School Haze 12-13 weeks Pure sativa Old School Big plants

Tips From the Master Breeder This is a bit of a sensitive lady. She will produce arm-long buds with the right treatment. Make sure your room/tent is ventilated properly day and night. Try to grow at 25-26° C (77° F) constantly. An air-conditioning unit will be the ticket to success in hot climates. Excessive temperature swings will make her shoot out thin, useless branches that produce tiny buds and can be slow to ripen. The Old School Haze won’t be much fun for the average grower.

Karel’s Haze

One of our easier strains to grow, you can expect mature flowers in eight to nine weeks. This is a really special hybrid, made from our Old School Haze and Chem Dog OG Fire, a variety that produces medium-to-large plants. Natural vigor produces fat, frosty OG buds, so keep your eye out for those. And look for the fruity or gassy phenotypes. You can expect good-yielding, frosty plants with a beautiful terpene profile, which are great for making extractions.

We are ready to say that Karel’s Haze is our new pride and joy. It’s one of the most delicious smokes you will ever have, with a layered taste of tropical sativa lime and a citrus touch with a dark gassy aftertaste. Karel’s Haze offers you the best of both worlds. A very smooth smoke, but after a few tokes a head rush can be expected.

Specifics OSH x Chem Dog OG Fire 8-9 weeks Hybrid sativa 70%/indica 30% Medium/large plants

Tips From the Master Breeder If you want this baby to produce for you, try to top your plant during veg (remove the growing tip). This will allow you to avoid single-branched plants. We want big trees, of course…

Prima Holandica

Our tribute to a very special Secret Super Sativa: Prima Holandica. We crossed it with Old School Haze, our best sativa. Expect big plants with sativa buds as long as your arm. This is quite a producer; you can find a complete spectrum of sweet, fruity aromas. But we also found some phenotypes with a peculiar metallic/diesel taste. Some beautiful and interesting specimens can be found in these seeds. This smoke will bring you to an elevated state, with a strong trippy effect that will last for quite some time.

Specifics Old School Haze x Secret Super Sativa 10-11 Weeks Pure sativa Medium/big plants

Tips From the Master Breeder Make sure you have enough height in your room/tent because these will get tall. Or flip the light cycle (into a 12/12-hour regimen) earlier than normal, while the plants are still small.

Frosty Friday

This original “Creeper Sativa” variety is a fast grower. The Creeper genetics produce huge amounts of branches and buds. It will need support for sure; it’s a big plant! The buds are not the biggest in size, but they have a nice dense structure and appearance. The smell leans toward the gassy/chemical side of the spectrum. This variety needs around 10 weeks of flowering. When the blooms are mature, they will be covered in resin. This is a high-yielding strain perfect for making extracts. The hash that is made from this plant is top quality as the buds are simply excellent.

Specifics M4 Creeper x Karel’s Haze 10 weeks Sativa 70%/indica 30% Medium/big plants

Tips From the Master Breeder This is our trichome machine. With large and plentiful trichomes, this will produce top-quality hash. Turn off the lights for the last two days before harvest in order to maximize the terpene profile.

Originally published in the September, 2019 issue of High Times magazine. Subscribe right here.

TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE ON HIGH TIMES, CLICK HERE.

https://hightimes.com/grow/return-super-sativa-seed-club/

[billybennight]

All Right Reserved Billy Bennight Photography

Living in LA has its advantages and this week here’s my accounting of cool things that happened. I’m a big fan of being active during the week because it offers smaller crowds, eliminates amateurs and offers greater intimacy with new acquaintances and friends alike. The larger the event the less promising the possibilities has been my experience. This will be a regular occurring write up in my Extravagant Behavior blog.

Monday found me at the Residence of  Belgium for drinks and bites mixed with a cultural and history lesson from the Consul General of Belgium, Henri Vantieghem, sponsored by The Los Angeles Press Club. The dress recommended for the evening was “Smart Casual” and I found myself in Hancock Park outside the residence with a smart look around 5 pm. Henri welcomed all of us in a formal and cordial way. He started to inform us of the interesting history that precipitated the state of Belgium and offered highlights on what makes his country unique in European history.

After his enlightening talk, we were all invited to the garden and pool area of the residence for beautifully presented light bits and beverages that reflect Belgian culture and tastes. From the bar, I chose the Chimay presented in a Chimay branded glass. The was a cauliflower soup presented in a shot glass, baked mussels with herbs and tasty brazed steak cubes. I had a number of interesting discussions where I moved from porch to pool. On my second visit to the bar, I happened to run into Mario-Max Prinz Zu Schaumburg-Lippe as I was about to order my beer. It’s been a while. We engaged in pleasantries and our mutual interest in red carpet events. Of course, Prince Mario-Max is often on the other side and the subject of the red carpet step and repeat activities. After that, I returned to my poolside table to continue my talk about men with women. There are secrets and opinions women will share with a sympathetic male that most men will never hear because they are too busy being “men” being controlled by the penises. Penises never negotiate subtle and nuanced conversations well and rarely take other’s feelings or thoughts into consideration. It was a satisfying end in this phase of my evening.

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My next move was to the private media parté at HATCH Yakitori + Bar at The Bloc in DTLA for some progressive Japanese cuisine. I arrived in my Lyft to the side of the main entrance of The Bloc. There’s this staircase you can slip through and descend via an escalator that ovoids prying eyes for a discreet entrance and exodus from the establishment. I arrived in a quiet seductive manner and the festivities were in full swing when checked in. Inside it was crowded, buzzy and energized with foodie frivolities with bites and beverages, cameras and phones mounted to capture moments of food ecstasy and cocktail provocations. Over at the end of the bar was Executive Chef Daniel Shemtob, under amber heat lamps, with torch in hand searing the special A5 Nigiri Wagyu Beef on a bed of sticky rice. Chef Daniel set ablaze those tasty morsels of expensive Japanese beef for everyone who made it to this grand performance of culinary ecstasy in DTLA. Fire, food, and libations dominated the rest of my evening that included: Hamachi, Avo Tuna Toast, Agedashi Tofu, Black Karaage Chicken, Chicken Meatball with Egg Yolk Stick, Thigh and Green Onion Stick, Mushroom Party Stick, Pee Wee Potato Stick, and Pork Belly Stick. These delicious bites were paired off with a curated Sake List, selected premium Japanese Whisky, and various Japanese Beers. Of all of these goodies, I had the Chicken Meatball with Egg Yolk Stick, Mushroom Party Stick, Pork Belly Stick, and A5 Nigiri Wagyu Beef. These bites were interspersed cocktail moments with the Matcha Highball, Mangorita with 2 shot of Saki: one was unfiltered in a pearl-ish white and the other clear. Both were not aged and delicious. The Chicken Meatball with Egg Yolk Stick was pure Japanese ecstasy and A5 Nigiri Wagyu Beef “TDF”! the Toward Chef Daniel shared his thoughts and aspirations for HATCH Yakitori and the experience he wanted to have people enjoy.

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More After the Break

The party reignited Thursday with a special grand opening rooftop party at the Santa Fe Lofts. I arrived at dusk with the party already a couple of hours old with DJs spinning people swinging in the midst of cocktails and bites. I just can’t say no to a festive gathering that synergistically pulls together food, drink, music, and the arts. James Peter Henry transformed the Santa Fe Lofts’ rooftop with lively murals created by him. There was a fun deck that offered a place for the DJ and a delightful 280 view of Los Angeles, a place with sofas and fire to warm yourself in the evening air and rooms where James Peter Henry canvases could be viewed in a gallery fashion adjacent to a small kitchen where the bites were being prepared. It was a comfortable embracing atmosphere designed space where you could dance, explore or find a place to rest. It so happened with all of these good things swirling around I ran into some of my compadres Art critic Shana Nys Dambrot and clothing designer Victor Wilde. It’s always good to see friendly faces to exchange funny quips and giggles in the golden hour’s air atop the city.

Saturday was the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend and happily a night of Art and exploration. I’ve been fascinated by the Bendix Building for well over a year with that grand neon sign spire jutting up into the DTLA night sky glowing red over the city. I regarded it as rather inaccessible until I saw artist Osceola Rentoff‘s post about his exploits there about a month ago. Of course, I was intrigued at the prospect assailing the venerable structure to discover its secrets and explore its ancient halls. Osceola was showing one of his photographs from “High and Dry” on the second floor at the Von Lintel Gallery for the “Does Not Reproduce” show. I took that in and then decided to hop on the elevator to find more and explore further. On my assent huddled in with a group of art lovers a young gentleman, artist Mark Acetelli of 1717 Collective, suggested anyone who wanted to see the roof and his art should join him on the 10th floor. That was the cue! I continued with him not wanting to miss this opportunity. I love the LA Skyline. As a photographer I keenly interested in seeing the LA skyline from different vantage points. Mark was kind enough to open the window to allow me access to the roof just under the iconic Bendix sign as the sun was setting. The skyline is most magical at dusk. It was marvelously revelatory taking in the view of LA from east, north, and west in the glowing orange light of the fading sun. I joined Mark in his studio where he spent time explaining his latest work, a series of ghostly apprehensions he’s painting on canvas.  He referred to them as guardian but it’s a detailed and complicated concept I won’t detail here.

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I descended to the 10th floor to find Track 16 Gallery.  The first thing in sight welcoming me was this odd organically inspired ceramic piece glazed in muted tones. I really didn’t know what to expect from the initial viewing of the art. Once inside I drifted towards the back in a circuitous manner seeing more of these organic ceramic forms by artist Galia Linn for the “Evidence of Care” show. To my surprise, Heidi, Victor, and Shana appeared while I was nesting in the back nursing a Tecate beer while digesting the people and the art they had come to see. A chit chat ensued and they soon introduced me to Paige Wery of The Good Luck Gallery. It wasn’t long till we a caravaned to the lower levels together. For a while, we took in the different galleries and artist’s work passing from level to level. There is always a joy being surrounded by sharp-witted folks with a gifted vocabulary that can add insight and an unexpected twist to a thought or observations while strolling the halls of an ancient building regaled with art and creative ideas actualized. But with all good things, I was pulled away by other interest landing me in the Durden and Ray Gallery where I ran into Paul Redmond. I hadn’t seen Paul in a while given he left Getty Images for a career as a realtor selling high-end properties. We caught up a bit and talked about some of the art in the “Repeating Fragments.” show. It was a bright concoction of paintings and geometrically inspired installations. From there on out the fade was gaining its own momentum and I called it a night. If you’d like to have a full rundown on the galleries and artist showing in the Bendix Building I highly recommend Shana’s overview in the LA Weekly.

Monday was Bob Rickett’s annual Memorial Day offering with notable people within the LA underground music and art scenes. Bob hosting the shindig with a for Memorial Day with a combination of solemnity and celebration. For those of you not in the know, Bob is a driving force in both Groovy Rednecks and Talking Teason. He’s an aficionado of American music that includes the knowledge and application of this fine tradition of Americana. The musicians I’m familiar with who were in attendance were: Tex Troester, Taquila Mockingbird (LA Beat Art Editor), Jeff Boynton, Ken Huntington, and Pat Hoed. This is by no means a complete list because there were many more talented folks there than I can shake a stick at. I was joined by Lisa and it was nice to see Cake, Dave, Peter, Steve, Josefina, Rose Mary, Dirty Ed, Merry, Mona Jean, Bob, KXLU Stella, Senja and Margaret. All luminaries in their own right added to the joyful reunion and festivities. Food was plentiful and outrageously delicious. There were great beers and divine whiskeys to inebriate and lubricate.

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Peter and Denice discused LA’s music scene of the 80’s from an A&R and publicity perspective as Atlantic Records and William Morris Endeavor point of view. There were name dropping and intricate details were exposed in the table talk episode setting in the kitchen. It was an enjoyable flashback to the thriving LA music scene of the ’80s.

The music and the alcohol took over and the sun was setting in Plams in West LA. Bob and a cluster of fine musicians gather in his back yard and they unwound some of the best folk and country songs of the 20th century in a way that sparked memories of my own growing up in Blythe. My folks with other family and close friends would gather often in my youth to sing and play the songs the loved. They’d jam song after song till the very wee hours of the night. My brother and I along with my cousins would fall asleep to similar tunes Bob and his cohort of musical friends were playing in the backyard at his place rounding Memorial Day. It’s comfort music and like comfort food, it’s filling and satisfying in ways other entertainment can’t ever touch. When Lisa and I departed I left being fulling satisfied and comforted by something that goes deeper than a clever joke or a chummy conversation. It drills into my consciousness and reaches into me in ways few things can. It’s like being bathed in warmth and love on a cold winters night. It’s community and safety that affirms human dignity beyond the constructs of words.

Socially LA has its advantages and here's my accounting of things that happened. Party Party Party is a fun overview of things I cover mixed with a fine gathering of friends. This will be a regular occurring write up in my Extravagant Behavior blog. Living in LA has its advantages and this week here's my accounting of cool things that happened.

[biofunmy]

In London, Communal Garden Is Just for You (and a Few Neighbors)

Most Londoners will never get the keys to the castle, but a lucky few do get the keys to a communal garden, semiprivate spaces for the exclusive use of residents with homes in surrounding buildings.

Some of these leafy spaces qualify as mysterious, almost-secret hideaways, tucked behind homes and invisible from the street. Others are tempting, well-groomed areas in plain view but cordoned off by iron railings and gates.

With the city’s once red-hot real estate market so depressed because of concerns around Britain’s possible departure from the European Union, buyers are looking for that something extra, even if access to a parklike communal garden can come with a set of seemingly random rules: Older than 12? You may not be allowed to toss a ball around.

Most of the garden squares in the English capital date to the Georgian or Victorian eras, when the city was fast expanding over fields and marshlands. But at least a few smart Londoners saw value in holding onto these patches of greenery: Many are now protected by the London Squares Preservation Act of 1931, which also limits their use to “ornamental pleasure grounds or grounds for play, rest and recreation.”

Experts say there really is no accurate count of how many are out there. The city’s last complete inventory was carried out almost a century ago, according to Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, a landscape architect redesigning the gardens of Kensington Palace and the author of “The London Square.”

“There are possibly 350 early squares (17th to early 20th century),” he said. “If one were to count communal gardens that are not called ‘squares,’ ‘crescents,’ etc., I expect the number would be closer to 600 to 700.” Some of the newer ones, he said, “are merely street widenings and excuses for the builders to inflate the asking prices that surround them, as it is still very desirable in London to live on a square.”

Ipek Muminoglu and her husband, Miray, say that having access to a communal garden has made big-city life more serene.

The couple bought their four-bedroom, 1,750-square-foot, or 160-square-meter, apartment in 2010 in a building that abuts the Canfield and Greencroft Garden in the South Hampstead Conservation Area. Mr. Muminoglu is a banker in the Canary Wharf financial district about 25 minutes away by Tube, while Mrs. Muminoglu is a stay-at-home mother.

“I was brought up in a house with a garden in Istanbul, so I had this romantic idea of getting a house with a garden,” Mr. Muminoglu said over tea in their sun-drenched salon. “But then I realized that a communal garden is the best because someone else looks after it. I wanted a garden and a balcony, and we got both.”

Their neighborhood in northwest London is a zone of multistory red brick Victorian-era single-family and subdivided homes that feature terra-cotta panels, original stained glass and decorative ironwork on balconies.

Front gardens are packed with rose and lilac bushes, and are enclosed with low walls and green hedges. It’s not uncommon to hear French, Italian or Japanese being spoken by neighbors.

Mark Rees, the sales manager for South and West Hampstead at the real estate agency Parkheath, said the area “typically will attract families and also maybe slightly older young professionals,” even in a market slowed by Brexit-related fears.

He added that many people looking for homes are requesting properties with access to a communal garden. “It’s part of the charm,” he said.

It’s also part of the price. Mr. Rees recently sold a two-bedroom apartment with access to the Canfield and Greencroft Garden that had an asking price of nearly 1.5 million pounds, or about $1.9 million.

“Any outside space here in the U.K., especially within London, is a bonus,” he said. “So having access to a communal garden would certainly push you up into the higher end of the valuation price per square foot.”

A unit that would rent for £2,000 a month without a garden would probably list for £2,500, Mr. Rees said. “There’s certainly a premium. Valuewise for a sale, add roughly £50,000.”

For the Muminoglu family, their property, built in 1886, was a compromise.

“I’m a big fan of flats rather than multistory houses,” Mrs. Muminoglu said. “He had never lived in a flat in his life. We were looking for very different things.”

But they agreed they wanted to live close to the city center.

“We knew we had to be urban,” Mr. Muminoglu said. “And it’s so important to be where friends can stop by.”

He loves the view of the communal garden from the balcony off the kitchen-dining area.

And she loves the light that streams in across the tree-filled meadow, where the iris and daffodil bulbs send up green shoots.

The garden’s lawn gently slopes over the equivalent of two city blocks and features benches, swings, a slide and a half-dome jungle gym for children, and cherry, apple, evergreen and even palm trees.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, one could hear birds singing and the occasional airplane overhead. A man was taking a walk with a baby on his chest. A couple sat quietly on a bench. An orange tabby cat and a squirrel scampered through the bushes. A preteen boy threw a Frisbee to a dog.

How often do the Muminoglus use the garden?

“To be perfectly frank, not enough,” Mr. Muminoglu said, “but whenever we do, it’s really priceless. A couple of barbecues a year, or one Sunday we might grab our newspapers and spend three hours there. It’s one of those things: It’s so lovely that it’s there. Just looking at it fills me with joy and relaxation.”

As with many communal gardens, a local committee stipulates how and when the space can be used.

“It’s heavily regulated by the Canfield and Greencroft Garden Committee,” Mr. Muminoglu said. “For example, if you are over 12 years old, you are not supposed to have any ball games. We don’t allow bonfires. We don’t allow fireworks — but quite a few of the other gardens must, because we hear them.”

The garden is supported and maintained through fees paid by the owners of properties that surround it.

“This garden actually belongs to some lord’s or viscount’s estate,” Mr. Muminoglu said, “and each building pays something toward it. I think our entire five-flat building pays around £1,600 a year. So we pay around 300 a year to use the garden.”

Any drawbacks of the shared space were minor, he said. “Every now and then you might have some of the youngsters congregating with certain smells,” he said, making it clear he was not referring to simple cigarettes. “But very rarely, and not during the day.”

“The worst,” he said, “is when you are down in the garden barbecuing and you realize you forgot the ketchup.”

Security issues, he said, were also minor. “People who used to live here sometimes try to keep the keys,” he said. “At first, we did have some concerns, but with an alarm and everything, nothing has happened on our side.”

Hollywood, however, did come up with one memorable security breach: In the film “Notting Hill,” the characters played by Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant break into Rosmead Garden by climbing over an iron fence.

Mr. Grant’s British bookstore-owner character explains to Ms. Robert’s American actress character about the “mysterious” communal gardens that are “like little villages.”

When she suggests they enter, he replies: “No. That’s the point. They’re private villages. Only the people who live round the edges are allowed in.” (That didn’t stop them from taking a moonlight stroll.)

Communal gardens and squares can also be found in other areas of London, and home prices rise substantially in tonier parts of the city.

James Gilbert-Green of the agency Savills handles what he calls “the prime market in prime central London, so areas like Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Kensington,” which feature both types of communal gardens: ones in front of the property and ones in back.

“People like both, for being able to let kids run directly out the house and into the garden rather than across the road,” he said, “but there’s also an attraction for the common garden square, which is perhaps a little bit more secure because your property doesn’t directly back onto it. You are over the road from it, and your principal rooms at the front of the house overlook that lovely green space.”

One recent listing with Savills was a three-bedroom apartment with a little more than 2,800 square feet on Eaton Square in the Belgravia district with an asking price of almost £10 million. Eaton Square is “made up of six separate garden squares divided by the road network that goes between each one,” Mr. Gilbert-Green said.

Among other notable squares is Cadogan Place. “It’s popular because it’s so large, about eight acres in total,” he said. It also has two tennis courts.

Belgrave Square “is interesting,” he said. “It’s quite a busy garden, a very, very grand, ambassadorial garden square, and the biggest houses in Belgravia are on Belgrave Square. The garden itself is about six acres. It feels like a sort of oasis when you are inside. You have no idea of the traffic that’s going around. It’s lusciously planted, good for summer parties.”

Invitation only, one presumes.

Luckily, all hope is not lost for those of us on the outside looking in.

Each June, the gates of dozens of otherwise private spaces are unlocked for Open Garden Squares Weekend, during which ticket holders can visit.

Sahred From Source link Real Estate

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[deniscollins]

They Want It to Be Secret: How a Common Blood Test Can Cost $11 or Almost $1,000

Hospitals and insurers negotiate over healthcare prices in private, and they don’t want competitors to know about the deals they’ve been able to cut. As a result,  a metabolic blood panel test cost can range from $11 or $952. Should doctors and hospitals be required to publish negotiated prices: (1) Yes, (2) No? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

It’s one of the most common tests in medicine, and it is performed millions of times a year around the country. Should a metabolic blood panel test cost $11 or $952?

Both of these are real, negotiated prices, paid by health insurance companies to laboratories in Jackson, Miss., and El Paso in 2016. New data, analyzing the health insurance claims of 34 million Americans covered by large commercial insurance companies, shows that enormous swings in price for identical services are common in health care. In just one market — Tampa, Fla. — the most expensive blood test costs 40 times as much as the least expensive one.

If you’re a patient seeking a metabolic blood panel, good luck finding out what it will cost. Although hospitals are now required to publish a list of the prices they would like patients to pay for their services, the amounts that medical providers actually agree to accept from insurance companies tend to remain closely held secrets. Some insurance companies provide consumers with tools to help steer them away from the $450 test, but in many cases you won’t know the price your insurance company agreed to until you get the bill. If you have an insurance deductible, a $400 — or even a $200 — bill for a blood test can be an unpleasant surprise.

Outside of health care, a swing of prices as huge as the one for blood tests in Tampa is unheard-of. Recent studies of the retail prices of ketchup and drywall, for example, showed much less variation. A bottle of Heinz ketchup in the most expensive store in a given market could cost six times as much as it would in the least expensive store. But most bottles of ketchup tended to cost around the same. And, in every case, you would know the price of your ketchup before buying it.

“It’s shocking,” said Amanda Starc, an associate professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, who has studied the issue. “The variation in prices in health care is much greater than we see in other industries.”

In some cities, the blood test prices look more like the prices for consumer goods. Most tests in Baltimore cost around $30. Most in Portland, Ore., cost around $20. But if you live in Miami or Los Angeles, the price becomes much harder to predict.

Hospitals and insurers negotiate over prices in private, and they don’t want competitors to know about the deals they’ve been able to cut. The data in this article comes from the Health Care Cost Institute, which pools bills from three large insurance companies. (Even the institute can’t say which insurers and providers are attached to the different prices, and it has eliminated certain markets with less competition where it might be easy to guess.)

The Trump administration may eliminate this secrecy, making numbers like the ones in these charts more common and easier to find. As The Wall Street Journal has reported, the administration has asked for comments on a proposal to require doctors and hospitals to publish negotiated prices.

The institute examined several common procedures and observed two kinds of pricing differences. Prices vary considerably between markets. And, in many metro areas, they range widely between one health care provider and another.

Because these are prices paid by insurance companies, many experts say the differences between markets matter more, because they affect insurance premiums that all those with insurance in that area pay, even if they don’t get a blood test or an operation. On average, a cesarean section birth in the Bay Area costs more than three times as much as one near Louisville, Ky., according to the institute’s data.

The average hotel room in the San Francisco area last year cost only around double the average hotel room in Louisville, according to STR, which tracks the industry.

The swing within markets increasingly matters for patients, too, as the share of employer plans with sizable deductibles keeps rising. That means that choosing a provider where your insurance company has failed to strike a good deal could mean significant out-of-pocket costs.

In some cases, prices may be higher because the quality of services or the cost of doing business in a given market is higher. More influential is market power, that of either insurers or hospitals, research shows.

Sherry Glied, a health economist who is the dean of the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, said a bigger factor was probably how many patients your insurer sent to a given hospital. Popular places are likely to offer better prices, because the insurance company negotiates a bulk discount. The most expensive providers tend to be the ones where the insurance company has little negotiating leverage — and where the service is so rarely used it doesn’t mind the higher price.

“One person buys one hamburger, and another buys 1,000,” she said. “And it completely makes sense that the guy who buys 1,000 hamburgers gets a better price.”

That sort of market power can work in the opposite direction, too. In markets where there is a dominant hospital chain, or a powerful hospital that many patients insist on using, insurers tend to face high prices, with less leverage to bargain the hospitals down. Martin Gaynor, a professor of health economics at Carnegie Mellon University, was a co-author of a recent study showing that in markets where fewer hospitals competed for patients, the hospitals tended to be paid more.

“Some of these really simple diagnostic tests — what the heck?” Mr. Gaynor said. “It does mean, in a sense, the market is broken in terms of problems with market power.”

The prices that hospitals and doctors charge to patients who are not in their insurance networks also range widely, and are typically (though not always) higher than the prices that insurers pay. The Obama administration began publishing these list prices for some of the most common medical services on a government website. The Trump administration recently began requiring hospitals to also publish a comprehensive list of prices on their own sites, though the data can be challenging to use.

For years, Jeanne Pinder, who runs the consumer-oriented website Clear Health Costs, has been collecting the cash prices for medical procedures around the country. She said the only health care services with predictable pricing were the cash-only treatments that insurance doesn’t cover, like Lasik eye surgery, Botox and tooth whitening.

“When you get into M.R.I.s, ultrasounds and blood tests, they are crazy,” she said. “The secrecy in pricing all over this marketplace encourages this behavior.”