#casting my net wide for this one i need as many bet fans on board as possible

[octolinggrimm]

WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE THE BAD END THEATER CAST

@doomed-bythe-narrative

Bad End Theater is a great game that I love with all my heart, but it also has like 45 dedicated fans max so I'm making propaganda to compensate.

Bad End Theater is a visual novel game, in which the main mechanic is your ability, as a participating audience member of a play put on by the enigmatic Tragedy, to influence the decisions of the main cast, steering them to different endings. No matter what, though...

It's always a bad ending.

Large spoilers for Bad End Theater below, if you care

(Large but not total, there's a line of spoilers for the ending and subplot I'm not crossing)

The Maiden

Lesbian

Grew up in a religious town

Doomed by the narrative

The Maiden is a girl from a human village, which lies nearby a castle ruled by demons. She has been told since her childhood that her destiny, as written by her god, is to be captured by the Demon Overlord, and rescued by a Hero.

Eager to get her destiny underway, she sets out for the Overlord's castle herself. On the road to the castle, she meets a Demon Underling. Depending on the player's choices, she either shouts for help or introduces herself, and the is met with either confusion or aggression from the Underling.

If the Underling does not eat her, they agree to take her to the Overlord. When she meets the Overlord, the Maiden tells her why she's come. The Overlord doesn't understand, and tells her she never had any plans to capture humans, and to stop worrying about her destiny so much. If the player's choices result in the Maiden staying with the Overlord for a while to talk, the Overlord tells her stories about demons, and the Maiden begins to realize they're just people like she is. She enjoys her time with the Overlord, and talking with her gives the Maiden butterflies in her stomach. But then, a Hero enters the room.

No matter what, even if the Maiden left instead of talking to the Overlord...

It's always a bad ending.

The Hero

Doesn't really want to be a hero

Grew up in a religious town

Doomed by the narrative

The Hero is a boy from the human village. He has been told since his childhood that his destiny, as written by his god, is to save a Maiden from a Demon Overlord.

When he learns of the Maiden's disappearance, which the villagers characterize as a kidnapping, he thinks it must be his chance. He heads for the castle, and on the way encounters some demons. Depending on the player's choices, he can slaughter them, or leave them alone and take the diplomatic route through. Either way, he eventually encounters the Overlord.

No matter what, though, if he slaughters the demons or spares them, no matter what he does when he meets the Overlord...

It's always a bad ending.

The Overlord

Lesbian

my gender

Doomed by the narrative

The Overlord is the ruler of the demons. She has lived her life unburdened by the idea of destiny, but her rule over her subjects is a bit shaky, and she's rather new to the position. She likes to think herself a good ruler, though.

One day, one of her subjects, the Underling, asks for some time off, as barely anything happens. Depending on the player's choices, she can either accept or refuse. Either way, the Underling runs off. If the Underling does not eat the Maiden, they bring her to the Overlord. The Maiden explains why she's there, but the Overlord doesn't understand. She doesn't care much for destiny, it just seems like too much of a bother. Depending on the player's choices, the Maiden either stays or is convinced by the Overlord to return home. If the Maiden stays with the Overlord, the Overlord tells her about what demons are really like, and the Maiden comes to think they aren't so bad after all. As the Maiden looks at the Overlord, the Overlord can't tell whether the Maiden is into her or not. Eventually, though, the Hero arrives.

No matter what, if the Overlord tells the Underling to get back to work or not, shoos the Maiden or not, fights the Hero or not, lets the Maiden go or not...

It's always a bad ending.

The Underling

Non-binary

La creatura

Doomed by the narrative

The Underling is one of the Overlord's subjects. They're one of the castle guards, but no one ever comes around, and it's unbearably boring. So they ask the Overlord for a day off. Depending on the player's choices, she either accepts or denies their request. If the Overlord denies their request, they go off to rant to their friends about her tyranny. Their friends agree, and reveal they've been planning an assassination. If the Overlord allows them the day off, they hear none of this.

Either way, they end up meeting the Maiden while frolicking outside the castle. If they choose not to attack her, they bring her to the Overlord, and go off to take a nap. Eventually, though, the Hero arrives, or their friends are ready for the assassination.

No matter what, if they get a day off or not, support the assassination or not, eat the Maiden or not...

It's always a bad ending.

Even if everything is perfectly in place to prevent the stop the Hero, the villagers, and the assassins from ruining everything...

They all burn together.

All of them are characters in a play written by the bad-ending-obsessed playwright Tragedy. You can alter the characters' personalities along set lines, sure, but they are the one writing the play. Not you. There is no way to save the cast. They are as doomed by the narrative as they can possibly be, written that way by an in-universe author.

Or are they?

Play the game to find out! (Play it)

I'll also link this wonderful essay by azuremist about the queer themes of the game. Be warned though, it contains more spoilers than I was willing to put here!

[pauperpedia]

Tuesday Brewsday 29: Urza’s Army in a Can

Every now and then while playing games of pauper you’ll come across a very special mono white deck. This deck isn’t your typical run of the mill white weenie deck. Oh no, this deck runs on the raw tapped power of Urza’s real estate. I’m talking about Rebels! Now, if you’ve still never heard of this deck or come across it before, allow me to introduce you. Rebels is a creature type that first debuted in Mercadian Masques. Winning a flavor home run, these Rebels have a way of recruiting more rebels for their cause. This is represented well by a mechanic that allows you you pay generic mana and tap certain rebels, so that you can tutor up another rebel and put it directly onto the battlefield. Tron is by far and away the best mana producing deck, so what better land base to abuse for your Rebels. I wanted to know what would happen if I went even harder on the tutoring mechanic and played creatures that drew more of the same creatures, but also could spit out a bunch of tokens. Before I get a head of myself, let me show you the decklist.

Mainboard:

3 Ramosian Sergeant

4 Ramosian Lieutenant

4 Defiant Falcon

3 Aven Riftwatcher

4 Bound in Silence

3 Renegade Map

4 Squadron Hawk

3 Self-Assembler

2 Battle Screech

2 Dauntless Unity

3 Prismatic Strands

1 Recruit the Worthy

2 Oblivion Ring

4 Urza's Mine

4 Urza's Power Plant

4 Urza's Tower

9 Plains

Sideboard:

2 Standard Bearer

1 Coalition Honor Guard

2 Circle of Protection: Green

2 Circle of Protection: Red

3 Rhystic Circle

3 Lumithread Field

2 Nightwing Glider

Starting with Ramosian Sergeant as our one drop rebel, with three generic mana you can tutor up a two mana costed Rebel and put it directly into play. This means you can search your library for either Ramosian Lieutenant or Defiant Falcon. I’d say if you’re facing anything either black or red, your safest bet is going to be the Lieutenant so you can dodge electrickery or Suffocating Fumes. Both Ramosian Lieutenant and Defiant Falcon can do something really special for their tutor target though. With four generic mana you can tutor up Bound in Silence and put it directly onto the battlefield on to an opposing creature. The key thing to take away from this interaction is that you’re not actually targeting the creature, so you can get around Hexproof. Using either the Lieutenant or the Falcon, you can also tutor up Aven Riftwatcher if you need some life support or a threat in the air.

Why the unusual Renegade Map? Initially when I was designing the deck I had Expedition Map here as my preferred map of choice. It’s banning, however, made me think of alternative solutions. Renegade Map can’t grab you that missing Tron piece, but it still does a good job of thinning your deck and allowing you to cast more white spells by providing plains.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love Squadron Hawk! This pesky two drop can grab up to three of its friends from your library and put them into your hand. A 1/1 flyer that draws a card? Yes please! Self Assembler makes an attempt at being as good as Squadron Hawk by being a 4/4, but the lack of flying is what really holds these Assembly-Workers back. They do exactly what we want to though, which is to grab more creatures to flood the board or keep and endless supply of creatures coming in the face of heavy removal.

I think any predominantly white “go wide” decks that can support a mid ranged mana curve should play Battle Screech. This card is absolutely amazing. One of my favorite things about this card is it can still net you immediate value if your opponent counters the first half. There aren’t vary many pauper cards that can claim to do that.

Alright, so we have a bunch of creatures that can go grab other creatures, but what are we going to do with that abundance of creatures? Well, that’s where Dauntless Unity Comes in. For one white mana and a generic, it gives all your creatures +1/+1 until the end of turn which you can use aggressively or to save your team. Here’s the kicker, actually quite literally the kicker, for an additional one white mana and a generic, it will give your creatures +2/+1 instead. There are other options I could have run, like Borrowed Grace or Guardians Pledge, but I felt like Dauntless Unity seemed like the best fit.

Prismatic Strands is such a good card. Sure it can prevent all damage from a single color till the end of turn and be used again via the notorious flashback mechanic, but have you ever used it as a surprise board wipe before? Aww man I’ve had some great moments with Prismatic Strands when I’ve played it in Boros Bully. While we don’t really have a way to discard it via looting in this deck, you could always discard it to hand size after casting Squadron Hawk or Self-Assembler and filling your entire hand beyond 7 cards. It’s actually a really good play if you’re expecting Fiery Cannonade or Electrickery.

Recruit the Worthy is an interesting card because it has buyback. This means you can cast this spell for one white mana and you can pay an additional 3 generic mana to put it back into your hand instead of the graveyard like normal. It’s an instant too so you can wait till your opponent’s end step to cast this as many times as your Tron mana can allow it. In no time you’ll have flood the board with tons of 1/1s.

Since the deck is already running Bound In Silence, I thought it would be prudent to be a bit more versatile in my removal options when it came to my last two cards for the main deck. Oblivion Ring is the perfect answer since it can deal with any non-land permanent in play. So long as Oblivion Ring sticks around that is. Having a versatile removal option in the mainboard has truly been a blessing.

If you look at the sideboard you’ll notice I’m relying heavily on the color hate. I mean, we might as well since we’re a Tron deck with an abundance of mana! One of my favorites to utilize is Rhystic Circle. This Enchantment can shut down the opposition if they rely on damage to win the game. Meanwhile, you can keep amassing a strong force of your own to overwhelm your opponent.

Crack open a nice cold can of Urza’s Army and enjoy the refreshing taste of victory. Savor the salt collected from your opponent’s tears. Remember, Urza’s Army In a Can, your endless supply of fizzy creatures. I do hope you have enjoyed these blogs/articles. I’m always open to feedback and simply want to provide the best content I can. I’m always open to collaborate on a deck as well. Please visit and like/follow me at http://facebook.com/pauperpedia a fan page dedicated to bringing you links to daily articles, videos, and podcast from other content creators covering Pauper. You can also email me at Pauperpedia@gmail.com if you have deck submissions you want me to cover as well. Till next time folks, have a happy Brewsday!