#danger EDH

[beatsandskies]

Theme Deck Review Compendium: Torment “Grave Danger”

I am a huge fan of Black: it’s my favourite colour. So I’m a big fan of Torment’s four theme decks. As they are all black. And not the boring Rugby Union type. (Let’s Gone Warriors!) I’ve only got one of them (Waking Nightmares) built up currently but the other three are near the top of the list to work on next. I think I’d have to do all three of them since it’d be almost impossible to choose.…

[femmchantress]

Blehhh I can’t find my preexisting posts, but tldr half my house is still unemployed and cost of living increases have hit New Orleans really hard these last few years and we’re really struggling to make ends meet. We aren’t in danger of losing our home or anything, but after the necessary bills are paid each check there’s nothing left, making it really tough to reliably get groceries and medication and toiletries and keeping the cats fed. :/

Also please don’t help out if you’ve already done so, I don’t want to be like a drain on the resources of loved ones. Also please please please if you do give, let me know if there’s anything at all I can do in return - nudes, EDH deck list reviews, copy editing, etc.

CA: urnolamom

Vnmo: rachel-judith91

Kofi: in blog description

[longeyelashedtragedy]

🚨🔪dangerous AU chapter 6 is up!🔪🚨

Chapter 6: Zemra per ty mnalet (edhe per ty rreh)

read at your own peril, and remember this fic is locked to registered users only!

[reubenyeoart]

Speaking of your planeswalkers, how did you design them and theme them around their colors? If you haven't answered this before. I love the theory behind the colors and how planeswalkers are represented.

Ah; the colour connections my fanwalkers had are a bit looser than how the colour pie works, hahaha.

For Kanerva, my first planeswalker; he's simply based on my W/B enchantments EDH deck, led by Daxos, the Returned. It's also an allusion to his fur colours (since he's a panda).

For Tormund, he was designed for an idea I had for a piece I did for my Ko-Fi. I wanted to create a Kaldheim-based character and designed Tormund's outfit based on the Kannah, since I envisioned his magic being based on growing stronger the more he puts himself into danger (also the reason why he doesn't wear any topwear).

This piece was to highlight Tormund's character, showing Tormund wanting to flex his abilities and planeswalking to Amonkhet to complete the Trial of Strength.

[vedalkensamurai]

Can an anarchist be represented by a mono-blue Commander deck?  I say yes.  Check out our latest article on Commanders Herald to see how.

[pollonegro666]

2023/02/11 Visitamos el faro del cabo de palos, una construccíon que ayuda a navegar a los barcos que navegan en esta zona de costa recortada. El actual tiene mucho años, pero en este lugar ha habido también en la antigüedad torres de vigilancia para avisar del peligro de piratas.

We visit the Cabo de Palos lighthouse, a construction that helps navigate the ships that navigate this area of indented coastline. The current one is many years old, but in this place there have also been watchtowers in ancient times to warn of the danger of pirates.

Google Translation into French: Nous visitons le phare de Cabo de Palos, une construction qui aide à naviguer les navires qui naviguent dans cette zone de côte découpée. L'actuel a plusieurs années, mais à cet endroit il y avait aussi des tours de guet dans les temps anciens pour avertir du danger des pirates.

Google translation into Italian: Visitiamo il faro di Cabo de Palos, una costruzione che aiuta a navigare le navi che navigano in questa zona frastagliata della costa. Quella attuale ha diversi anni, ma in questo luogo esistevano anche anticamente delle torri di avvistamento per avvertire del pericolo dei pirati.

Google Translation into Portuguese: Visitamos o farol do Cabo de Palos, uma construção que ajuda a navegar os navios que navegam nesta zona recortada da costa. A atual tem vários anos, mas neste local também existiram em tempos remotos torres de vigia para alertar para o perigo dos piratas.

Google Translation into German: Wir besuchen den Leuchtturm von Cabo de Palos, eine Konstruktion, die bei der Navigation der Schiffe hilft, die durch dieses gegliederte Küstengebiet navigieren. Der jetzige ist mehrere Jahre alt, aber an dieser Stelle gab es in der Antike auch Wachtürme, um vor der Gefahr von Piraten zu warnen.

Google Translation into Albanisch: Vizitojmë farin Cabo de Palos, një ndërtim që ndihmon në lundrimin e anijeve që lundrojnë në këtë zonë bregdetare të prerë. E tanishmja është disa vjeçare, por në këtë vend në kohët e lashta ka pasur edhe kulla vrojtimi për të paralajmëruar rrezikun e piratëve.

Google Translation into Armenian: Մենք այցելում ենք Կաբո դե Պալոս փարոսը, մի շինություն, որն օգնում է նավերի նավարկությանը, որոնք նավարկում են այս ափամերձ հատվածում: Ներկայիսը մի քանի տարեկան է, բայց հին ժամանակներում այս տեղում եղել են նաև դիտաշտարակներ՝ զգուշացնելու ծովահենների վտանգի մասին։

Google Translation into Bulgarian: Посещаваме фара Cabo de Palos, конструкция, която помага при навигацията на корабите, които се движат по тази разчленена крайбрежна зона. Сегашната е на няколко години, но на това място в древността е имало и наблюдателни кули, които да предупреждават за опасността от пирати.

Google Translation into Czech: Navštěvujeme maják Cabo de Palos, stavbu, která pomáhá při navigaci lodí, které plují po této členité pobřežní oblasti. Ta současná je stará několik let, ale i na tomto místě byly v dávných dobách strážní věže, které varovaly před nebezpečím pirátů.

Google Translation into Croatian: Posjećujemo svjetionik Cabo de Palos, konstrukciju koja pomaže u plovidbi brodova koji plove ovim razvedenim obalnim područjem. Sadašnja je stara nekoliko godina, ali su na ovom mjestu u davna vremena postojale i osmatračnice koje su upozoravale na opasnost od gusara.

Google Translation into Danish Vi besøger fyrtårnet Cabo de Palos, en konstruktion, der hjælper med navigationen af ​​de skibe, der navigerer i dette fordybede kystområde. Den nuværende er flere år gammel, men der var også vagttårne ​​på dette sted i oldtiden for at advare om faren for pirater.

Google Translation into Slovak: Navštevujeme maják Cabo de Palos, stavbu, ktorá pomáha pri navigácii lodí, ktoré sa plavia v tejto členitej pobrežnej oblasti. Ten súčasný má niekoľko rokov, no na tomto mieste boli v dávnych dobách aj strážne veže, ktoré upozorňovali na nebezpečenstvo pirátov.

Google Translation into Slovenian: Obiščemo svetilnik Cabo de Palos, konstrukcijo, ki pomaga pri navigaciji ladij, ki plujejo po tem razčlenjenem obalnem območju. Sedanji je star nekaj let, vendar so na tem mestu že v davnini stali stražni stolpi, ki so opozarjali na nevarnost piratov.

Google Translation into Estonian: Külastame Cabo de Palose tuletorni – konstruktsiooni, mis aitab navigeerida sellel taandel rannikualal navigeerivatel laevadel. Praegune on mitu aastat vana, kuid sellel kohal olid muistsel ajal ka vahitornid, mis hoiatasid piraatide ohu eest.

Google Translation into Suomi: Vierailemme Cabo de Palosin majakassa, joka auttaa tällä sisennetyllä rannikkoalueella navigoivien alusten navigoinnissa. Nykyinen on useita vuosia vanha, mutta paikalla oli muinaisina aikoina myös vartiotorneja, jotka varoittivat merirosvojen vaarasta.

Google Translation into Greek: Επισκεπτόμαστε τον Φάρο του Ακρωτηρίου, μια κατασκευή που βοηθά τα πλοία να πλοηγούνται σε αυτό το οδοντωτό τμήμα της ακτής. Η σημερινή είναι αρκετά ετών, αλλά υπήρχαν και σκοπιές σε αυτό το σημείο στην αρχαιότητα για να προειδοποιούν για τον κίνδυνο των πειρατών.

Google Translation into Dutch: We bezoeken de Cape Lighthouse, een structuur die schepen helpt bij het navigeren door deze grillige kuststrook. De huidige is enkele jaren oud, maar er stonden in de oudheid ook wachttorens op deze plek om te waarschuwen voor het gevaar van piraten.

Google Translation into Norwegian: Vi besøker Cape Lighthouse, en struktur som hjelper skip å navigere denne innrykkede kyststrekningen. Den nåværende er flere år gammel, men det var også vakttårn på dette stedet i gamle tider for å advare om faren for pirater.

Google Translation into Polish: Odwiedzamy latarnię morską na Przylądku, strukturę, która pomaga statkom poruszać się po tym wciętym odcinku wybrzeża. Obecna ma kilka lat, ale w starożytności w tym miejscu znajdowały się również wieże strażnicze, które ostrzegały przed niebezpieczeństwem ze strony piratów.

Google Translation into Romanian: Vizităm Farul Capului, o structură care ajută navele să navigheze pe această porțiune de coastă cu adâncituri. Cel actual are câțiva ani, dar pe acest loc existau și turnuri de veghe în vremuri străvechi pentru a avertiza asupra pericolului piraților.

Google Translation into Russian: Мы посетим мыс Маяк, сооружение, которое помогает кораблям ориентироваться на этом изрезанном участке побережья. Нынешнему несколько лет, но в древности на этом месте также стояли сторожевые башни, чтобы предупредить об опасности пиратов.

Google Translation into Serbian: Посећујемо светионик Цапе, структуру која помаже бродовима да плове овим разведеним делом обале. Садашњи је стар неколико година, али су на овом месту у давна времена постојале и карауле које су упозоравале на опасност од гусара.

Google Translation into Swedish: Vi besöker Cape Lighthouse, en struktur som hjälper fartyg att navigera denna indragna kuststräcka. Den nuvarande är flera år gammal, men det fanns även vakttorn på denna plats i forna tider för att varna för faran med pirater.

Google Translation into Turkish: Bu girintili çıkıntılı kıyı şeridinde seyreden gemilere yardımcı olan bir yapı olan Cape Deniz Feneri'ni ziyaret ediyoruz. Şu anki birkaç yaşında, ancak eski zamanlarda korsan tehlikesini uyarmak için bu noktada gözetleme kuleleri de vardı.

Google Translation into Ukrainian: Ми відвідаємо мисовий маяк, споруду, яка допомагає кораблям орієнтуватися на цьому порізаному узбережжі. Нинішньому кілька років, але на цьому місці в давнину також були сторожові вежі, які попереджали про небезпеку піратів.

Google Translation into Arabic: نزور منارة الرأس ، وهي عبارة عن مبنى يساعد على إبحار السفن التي تبحر في هذه المنطقة من الخط الساحلي ذي المسافة البادئة. يبلغ عمر المبنى الحالي عدة سنوات ، ولكن في هذا المكان كانت تو��د أيضًا أبراج مراقبة في العصور القديمة للتحذير من خطر القراصنة.

Google Translation into Bengali: আমরা কেপ বাতিঘর পরিদর্শন করি, একটি নির্মাণ যা ইন্ডেন্টেড উপকূলরেখার এই অঞ্চলে জাহাজগুলিকে নেভিগেট করতে সহায়তা করে। বর্তমানটি বহ��� বছরের পুরানো, তবে এই জায়গায় প্রাচীনকালে জলদস্যুদের বিপদ সম্পর্কে সতর্ক করার জন্য ওয়াচ টাওয়ারও ছিল।

Google Translation into Simplified Chinese: 我们参观了开普敦灯塔，该建筑有助于航行在这片锯齿状海岸线区域航行的船只。 现在的一座已经有很多年了，但是这个地方在古代也有瞭望塔，用来警告海盗的危险。

Google Translation into Korean: 우리는 들쭉날쭉한 해안선이 있는 이 지역을 항해하는 배를 항해하는 데 도움이 되는 구조물인 케이프 등대를 방문합니다. 현재의 것은 오래되었지만 이곳에는 고대에 해적의 위험을 경고하기 위한 감시탑도 있었습니다.

Google Translation into Hebrew: אנו מבקרים במגדלור הכף, מבנה שעוזר לנווט בין הספינות המפליגות באזור זה של קו החוף המחורץ. הנוכחי הוא בן שנים רבות, אבל במקום הזה היו גם מגדלי שמירה בימי קדם כדי להתריע על סכנת הפיראטים.

Google Translation into Hindi: हम केप लाइटहाउस का दौरा करते हैं, एक ऐसा निर्माण जो इंडेंटेड कोस्टलाइन के इस क्षेत्र में चलने वाले जहाजों को नेविगेट करने में मदद करता है। वर्तमान वाला कई साल पुराना है, लेकिन इस जगह पर प्राचीन काल में समुद्री लुटेरों के खतरे से आगाह करने के लिए वाच टावर भी रहे हैं।

Google Translation into Indonesian: Kami mengunjungi mercusuar tanjung, sebuah bangunan yang membantu navigasi kapal-kapal yang berlayar di area garis pantai yang berlekuk ini. Yang sekarang sudah berumur bertahun-tahun, tetapi di tempat ini juga terdapat menara pengawas di zaman kuno untuk memperingatkan bahaya bajak laut.

Google Translation into Japanese: ケープ灯台を訪れます。これは、この入り組んだ海岸線の地域を航行する船の航行を支援する建造物です。 現在のものは築年数が経っていますが、この場所には古くから海賊の危険を警告する監視塔もありました。

Google Translation into Kyrgyz: Биз жээк сызыгынын бул аймагында сүзүп жүргөн кемелерди башкарууга жардам берген курулуш тумшук маякына барабыз. Азыркысы көп жылдык, бирок бул жерде байыркы убакта каракчылардын коркунучун эскерткен кароол мунаралары да болгон.

Google Translation into Malay: Kami melawat rumah api tanjung, sebuah pembinaan yang membantu menavigasi kapal-kapal yang belayar di kawasan pantai yang berenden ini. Yang sekarang berusia bertahun-tahun, tetapi di tempat ini juga terdapat menara pemerhati pada zaman dahulu untuk memberi amaran tentang bahaya lanun.

Google Translation into Mongolian: Бид далайн эрэг орчмын энэ хэсэгт хөвж буй хөлөг онгоцуудыг жолоодоход тусалдаг барилга болох хошууны гэрэлт цамхагт зочилдог. Одоогийнх нь олон жилийн настай боловч энэ газарт эрт дээр үед далайн дээрэмчдийн аюулаас сэрэмжлүүлэх үүднээс харуулын цамхагууд байсан.

Google Translation into Panjabi: ਅਸੀਂ ਕੇਪ ਲਾਈਟਹਾਊਸ ਦਾ ਦੌਰਾ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਾਂ, ਇੱਕ ਉਸਾਰੀ ਜੋ ਸਮੁੰਦਰੀ ਤੱਟ ਦੇ ਇਸ ਖੇਤਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਮੁੰਦਰੀ ਜਹਾਜ਼ਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨੈਵੀਗੇਟ ਕਰਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਦਦ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ। ਮੌਜੂਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਕਈ ਸਾਲ ਪੁਰਾਣਾ ਹੈ, ਪਰ ਇਸ ਸਥਾਨ 'ਤੇ ਪੁਰਾਣੇ ਜ਼ਮਾਨੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਮੁੰਦਰੀ ਡਾਕੂਆਂ ਦੇ ਖ਼ਤਰੇ ਤੋਂ ਚੇਤਾਵਨੀ ਦੇਣ ਲਈ ਚੌਕੀਦਾਰ ਵੀ ਬਣੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ।

Google Translation into Pashtun: موږ د کیپ لیټ هاؤس څخه لیدنه کوو، یو ساختمان چې د کښتیو په نیولو کې مرسته کوي چې د ساحلي ساحل په دې سیمه کې تیریږي. ا��سنی څو کاله زوړ دی، مګر په دې ځای کې په پخوانیو وختونو کې د سمندري غلو د خطر څخه خبرداری ورکولو لپاره د څار برجونه هم شتون درلود.

Google Translation into Persian: ما از فانوس دریایی دماغه بازدید می کنیم، ساختاری که به حرکت کشتی هایی که در این منطقه از خط ساحلی فرورفته حرکت می کنند، کمک می کند. برج فعلی چند سال قدمت دارد، اما در این مکان در زمان های قدیم برج های دیده بانی برای هشدار از خطر دزدان دریایی وجود داشته است.

Google Translation into Tagalog: Bumisita kami sa cape lighthouse, isang construction na tumutulong sa pag-navigate sa mga barkong naglalayag sa lugar na ito ng naka-indent na baybayin. Ang kasalukuyang isa ay maraming taon na, ngunit sa lugar na ito ay mayroon ding mga tore ng bantay noong unang panahon upang bigyan ng babala ang panganib ng mga pirata.

Google Translation into Thai: เราไปเยี่ยมชมประภาคารแหลม ซึ่งเป็นสิ่งก่อสร้างที่ช่วยนำทางเรือที่แล่นในบริเวณแนวชายฝั่งที่เว้าแหว่งนี้ ปัจจุบันมีอายุหลายปีแล้ว แต่ที่นี่ยังมีหอสังเกตการณ์ในสมัยโบราณเพื่อเตือนถึงอันตรายของโจรสลัด

Google Translation into Urdu: ہم کیپ لائٹ ہاؤس کا دورہ کرتے ہیں، ایک ایسی تعمیر جو ان بحری جہازوں کو نیویگیٹ کرنے میں مدد کرتی ہے جو ساحلی پٹی کے اس علاقے میں سفر کرتے ہیں۔ موجودہ والا کئی سال پرانا ہے لیکن اس جگہ پر قدیم زمانے میں بحری قزاقوں کے خطرے سے خبردار کرنے کے لیے واچ ٹاور بھی موجود ہیں۔

[grimecrow]

My New Dustin MTG EDH Deck!

I have been trying to find a good deck to use Dustin in forever and never having any luck but finally I did it! And it turned out stronger than I expected! It is also a ton of fun to play which is the big thing for me.

I call the deck D&D (Dorky&Dangerous) and when you look at the list you can see how straight forward it is. I thought, given that today is Stranger Things Day now would be the time to show off my new precious!

[neurocarecom]

Recognizing Intracranial Hemorrhage: A Quiet Danger to Brain Function

The health of the brain is seriously threatened by intracranial haemorrhage, a medical emergency that happens within the brain tissue or nearby areas. This bleeding disorder, which is frequently brought on by trauma or underlying medical conditions, can have serious neurological repercussions if it is not identified and treated right away.

Different Types of Brain Hemorrhages

Intracerebral haemorrhages come in a variety of forms, each with unique symptoms and causes:

Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH): This type of bleeding occurs inside the brain tissue and is typically brought on by a blood vessel rupture or hypertension.

Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH): Sudden, intense headache brought on by bleeding in the subarachnoid space, frequently due to aneurysmal rupture.

Bleeding between the skull and the outermost layer of tissue: Epidural Hematoma (EDH) Epidural Hematoma (EDH): Usually the result of head trauma, this is bleeding between the skull and the outermost layer of the brain.

Subdural Hematoma (SDH): An accumulation of blood between the dura mater and the brain's surface, usually in older adults as a result of mild traumas or head injuries.

Identifying Symptoms:

Symptoms of an intracranial hemorrhage can change depending on where and how much bleeding occurs. Sudden, intense headaches, nausea, vomiting, weakness, numbness, confusion, and loss of consciousness are typical symptoms. Early diagnosis of these symptoms is essential for prompt medical attention.

Reasons and Danger Factors:

Blood clotting problems, head trauma, cerebral aneurysms, elevated blood pressure, and the use of blood-thinning drugs can all lead to intracranial hemorrhage. People who smoke, have high blood pressure, or have had a stroke in the past are more vulnerable.

Diagnostics and therapy:

Intracerebral hemorrhage is diagnosed by medical professionals using imaging tests like CT or MRI scans. Surgery is frequently used as part of treatment to remove clots, repair damaged blood vessels, and relieve pressure on the brain. To control symptoms and stop more bleeding, therapies and medications may also be used.

Preventive measures and lifestyle adjustments:

The risk of intracranial hemorrhage can be considerably decreased by leading a healthy lifestyle that includes managing conditions like diabetes, quitting smoking and excessive alcohol use, and controlling blood pressure. Preventive measures include regular check-ups with the doctor and timely treatment of any underlying health conditions.

Intracranial hemorrhage is a dangerous medical emergency that needs to be treated right away. Those who are aware of the symptoms, risk factors, and preventive measures can make mental health a top priority. Seek immediate medical attention if you or someone you know exhibits symptoms consistent with an intracranial hemorrhage. The health of your brain is extremely important; give it top attention.

To ensure prompt and efficient medical intervention for intracranial hemorrhage, it is imperative to locate a specialized neurosurgeon. Patients should always look into the most reputable and well trained neurosurgeons and think about asking for recommendations from their local healthcare providers. In Kashmir we have Dr. Rahil Rafiq a highly qualified and accomplished neurosurgeon, who has forged his path through renowned institutions of the country, bringing unparalleled expertise in complex brain and spinal surgeries. He is renowned for his patient-centric approach and dedication to comprehensive well-being. Neurocare run by Dr. Rahil Rafiq in collaboration with Noora Hospital makes it the ultimate destination for intracranial haemorrhage treatment.

[johnybones56]

Tbh building a sliver deck, especially a morophon sliver deck, is more an optimization exercise than a labor of love. Your priorities are:

1 - Get 7 mana to summon morophon naming slivers

2 - summon gemhide/manaweft sliver

3 - summon hibernating sliver

4 - summon sliver hivelord

You're slow and weak early on, but each of these goals provides an enormous boost in a specific way, and when they're finally all working together you can simply win the game at your leisure, but before that point you have major weaknesses.

The real beauty of slivers is that the weaknesses are usually different. The trap can unfold in any order (although 2-1-4-3 is best) and as it does your other slivers progressively remove specific weaknesses or increase the overall strength of your board in fundamentally unpredictable ways. This creates a psychological impact - the danger cannot be prepared for. It makes the sliver player the actor and their opponent the reactor, and they feel it as a tide. This is why I think Taylor plays morophon slivers, and why slivers occupy such a powerful role in the player conscience when they're honestly not even that powerful by EDH standards, especially if you're building on a budget. Taylor probably isn't though, she's urban nobility.

Undersiders EDH decks

Taylor: Morophon slivers

Brian: Whatever deck Taylor made for him (he doesn't really get it but she seems interested)

Aisha: Kamigawa pre-built, slowly customized over time based on boosters

Alec: Buys a new gimmick deck every time, not very good at the game but sometimes it's the Thing everyone is doing and it's not like he can be alone with his thoughts, thinks he enjoys it because he plays every week but whether he actually has fun is unclear. I'm thinking he doesn't put in the effort to actually start liking the game until after Aisha does.

Lisa: Banned for knowing what cards everyone has based on their facial expressions and minor damage to the back

Rachel: Doesn't play

[markrosewater]

Wheel of Fortune... too dangerous to take it off the reserved list and reprint? Many decks would love the benefit of a full wheel in EDH I figure.

The Reserved List has nothing to do with power. There are plenty of weak cards on it.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Black Crab (2022)

Black Crab is a different kind of apocalyptic film - and not only because its wastelands are icy rather than dusty and rusty. This makes it refreshing. It doesn’t quite reach the emotional depth it wants to but you won’t mind thanks to the many dangers along the way.

Years into a war in Europe, “the enemy” is about to win. Caroline Edh (Noomi Rapace) is selected for a mission that could end the conflict. To complete operation "Black Crab" she and other soldiers must skate across the winter ice surrounding Sweden and deliver a package deep behind enemy lines. With the location of her long-lost daughter as an incentive, there’s nothing Caroline won’t do to accomplish her goal.

Though it isn’t quite set in a world so ravaged by war that civilization has completely collapsed, things are bleak. The non-soldiers we see are hungry and desperate for news of their loved ones. There aren't bands of scavengers roaming the countryside, but only because the fighting hasn’t stopped. The government is gone but some high-up generals are keeping the battle going. There are rumors of what distant armies are doing, but everyone is running on fumes so it could be nothing more than hearsay. The large expanses of ice traversed by Caroline and her team - which includes Forsberg (Aliette Opheim), Malik (Dar Salim), Karimi (Ardalan Esmaili), and Lieutenant Nylund (Jakob Oftebro) - is beautiful, but lifeless. You know a bit of sunlight and warmth would bring all the green back, but spring seems impossibly far. Once they put on the skates, you realize just how dangerous this assignment is. There’s the cold, and the fact that they’re out in the open - easy targets for any enemy. Worse is the thin ice they’re on. One bullet, one wrong move and you’re diving into that frigid water below. With the inherent paranoia of a critical but desperate mission and a world prepared to do anything to survive, you’ve got plenty of reasons to sweat.

Director Adam Berg wisely dispenses with unnecessary details. We know hardly anything about the war. We know the conflict hasn’t spread outside of Europe, and that it's gone on for long. That’s it. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter because we’re not following generals or politicians. We’re following individuals who’ve been forced into becoming soldiers. We don’t really care which side wins. We care about Caroline reuniting with her daughter. Unfortunately, this is where the film misses its mark a bit. While there are many flashbacks or dreams of Caroline and Vanja (Stella Marcimain Klintberg) together, you don’t love Vanja the way Caroline does. All of the mission's dangers are lessened. Not by too much, thanks to a strong performance by Noomi Rapace, but something's missing.

Black Crab adequately illustrates that “War is Hell”, the setting offers something new to this type of story, and there are plenty of inherent thrills to keep you invested. It wants to be more emotional than it is but (and I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot) since you’re watching this at home “for free”, you won’t mind. Even if I had paid to see Black Crab, I would’ve been satisfied. (Original Swedish with English Subtitles, March 22, 2022)

[thenamesblurrito]

Cybertronian neurodivergence and mental health

Psychiatry is a fairly well developed science on SNAP’s Cybertron, if only to better control people and fix them to serve the state. Or, on a darker note, to label dissenters and revolutionaries as mentally unstable and thus not worth listening to. People like Rung, Froid, Minitron, and Trepan are well-known figures in their field, but counselors and therapists are relatively common across Cybertron, mostly attached to corporations or funded by the state with the express goal of keeping everyone working smoothly. Even Beta Trion has a counseling license, which is why she’s one of the counselors at the JAAT.

Warning for discussion of mental illness, “normative” psychiatry, and discussion of ableism. Please note that this is a noncomprehensive list, and none of these terms are one-to-one representatives of human conditions, they’re only based off of them. The worldbuilding I’m doing here is not a statement about any real neurodivergence, mental illness, psychiatric system, or actual human being, and the values of the society I’m creating are very much opposite of my own.

Nonstandard circuitry

The Cybertronian term for neurodiversity. A convenient catch-all for any processors with “deviations” from forging, instead of issues developed over time. Those that make it difficult to easily sort mecha into functions or workspaces are usually called disorders and stigmatized in general society, and those that can be harnessed to improve or increase the amount of work a mech does are praised as dutiful, with all their detrimental symptoms ignored.

The state-controlled psychiatric system is hardly a neutral party in this, meaning every diagnosis, every medical file, every prescription, and every patient and practitioner is another cog in the machine, another manner of control. On a person-to-person level, there often is a genuine desire to help individuals and improve lives, but someone with a diagnosis of nonstandard circuitry will always have that marked as part of their ID. Their employers can see and use that. Because of the way everyone is assigned a function, a nonstandard individual won’t often struggle to find a job, but the types of jobs available to them will change.

Mostly, people have to choose between pursuing an evaluation and diagnosis to get help if they’re struggling, and avoiding diagnosis to have another aspect of themselves dissected into a set of manacles to chain them to their assigned function. Black market therapy has a strong, widespread community, but psychiatric mediations are too heavily controlled to be easily taken or copied, and bootlegs are dangerous.

Hyperfunction

A spectrum of several related conditions with related symptoms that vary in strength and effect. According to the diagnostic standards, a hyperfunctional person has a notable imbalance between social comfort and expertise in personal interests. For routines, skills, and subjects they are driven by or attracted to, they excel, hence they term “hyperfunction”, referring to their above-average ability in their particular areas of interest. This makes them very valuable to functionism, even if their interest turns to a detrimental obsession that interferes with the rest of their life.

Hypercalculative Regulation Hyperfunction

Based on autism. Mecha with HRH develop in a different manner than standard mecha, often struggling to learn common social norms and rules while soaking up all information of interest at a level higher than their peers. Their sensory nets are queued to different impulses, meaning relatively inconsequential feelings or sensations can become catastrophically painful, but certain stimulations are soothing and fun. They often require routine of some sort, predictable procedural schedules or actions they can rely on, with difficulty adjusting to unexpected change. Each individual will often connect with one or several particular special interests, becoming notable in their expertise. While each person is different and these interests usually have nothing to do with their frame’s function, they can often be assigned to work within their special interest, as their passion is valuable. Transmutate has been diagnosed with HRH. Prowl and his trine are likely on the upper end of this spectrum, although they’ve deliberately avoided evaluation.

Hypercalculative Divergent Hyperfunction

If HRH is comparable to the defunct distinction of “high functioning” or “mild” autism, HDH is “severe” autism. The two are just different levels of the same nonstandard circuitry, but functionism puts emphasis on diagnosing according to how easily someone can be used, thus the differentiation of “severity”. Going from the self-contained routine hyperfunction of HRH, mecha with HDH cannot function as a normal member of society. Common elements are a total lack of social skills to the point of little or no language development, aversion to touch and comfort, hypersensitivity, and meltdowns in response to an unpleasant situation. While mecha like these can be given work of sorts, they are considered more trouble than they’re worth, and often live a life of near-indentured servitude under adult caretakers.

Persistent Compulsion Hyperfunction

Based on OCD. Most commonly known by the flagship symptom of a compulsion to follow organization and routine, PCH has a much, much broader effect than that. A mech with PCH has to deal with intrusive thoughts and anxiety, often concerning contamination, violence, loss of control, or loss of morality. Relatively minor rituals like keeping symmetry and order in one’s physical environment keep some of the fear away, but often this can degenerate into complicated and objectively useless routines to assuage the intrusive thoughts, like checking precisely twenty times to see if the door has been locked. Compulsions like this can be draining and time consuming, even becoming dangerous in some cases, and only reinforce the fear after providing temporary relief. The meticulous and careful procedure of a mech with PCH is valuable for jobs that require thorough work, but more debilitating symptoms are usually shut down and medicated until the individual is competent enough to work again. Minimus has minor PCH, undiagnosed, but it may worsen as he ages. Fixit has been diagnosed with PCH and takes medication for it.

Executive Disregulation Hyperfunction

Based on ADHD. Commonly described as “an impulsivity in pursuing fulfillment”, it’s characterized by a short attention span, emotional disregulation and sensitivity, periods of intense energy and lethargy, inability to start or complete tasks, and chasing stimulation until said stimulation no longer provides entertainment. Because of their poor ability to regulate their executive function, many undiagnosed mecha are called lazy or idiotic for being unable to perform relatively simple actions or habits. Conversely, a subject that piques their interest will receive their full attention and effort. The adult Fireflight and the younglings Hot Rod, Skywarp, and Misfire all have EDH, although none of them are diagnosed.

Triple Fracture

This is the condition Blitzwing has due to his triple changer frame. It isn’t seen in any other frametype, hence it’s name. Triple-changers are uncommon enough to be easily targeted by the prejudices of functionism, but not the easily suppressed rarity that functionists wish they were. Aside from greater strength, durability, and flexibility, two alt modes don’t have much of an adverse effect on their physical health. The biggest negative stereotype about them is their “insanity”.

While nonstandard circuitry comes in many forms, the most feared and misunderstood version is triple fracture. It’s a mental disorder that occurs in less than five percent of triple-changers, but nevertheless it has gained synonymy with that frametype. For our case study, Blitzwing's processor functions in three sections: responsive, reactionary, and deflective. His responsive instincts manifest as the personality slice nicknamed “Icy”. This is the calmest, most well adjusted side of him, capable of taking time to think through and settle on a genuine response to a situation, but likely to switch out under duress. His reactionary instincts are nicknamed “Hothead”, and this is the personality slice that has an immediate reaction to stress, and who uses over-the-top anger and bluffing to push back against whatever is making him feel threatened. His deflective instincts show up as “Random”, acting out and adopting an attitude opposite of the mood around him to divert attention from the actual stressor and onto his own actions, which gives him a modicum of control.

He isn’t three separate people, and he isn’t even really three separate personalities. The different nicknames for the different personality slices are more of a tool for him to describe his current feelings than a set of actual names. He simply doesn’t have the ability to rationally choose a response to stimuli because of the three different filters his processor uses to perceive the world. Even his occasional crazier or more violent episodes occur because his instincts are trying to defend him. Triple fracture cannot be medicated either, because what might stabilize one slice will unbalance the other slices, and the processor as a whole will suffer. However, a triple changer with a good support system and coping mechanisms is perfectly capable of living a normal life, personality slices and all. They aren’t inherently bad, either. Blitzwing can more easily stand up for himself when in Hothead mode, and is very good at telling jokes and playing a room when in Random mode.

Modal Triple Fracture

Exactly like the above, except locked into what form a mech is currently in instead of switching out according to a situation. Sky Lynx has modal triple fracture. His responsive personality slice is tied to root mode, reactionary tied to beast mode, and deflective tied to shuttle mode. He stays in root mode most of the time to keep the most rational part of himself at the forefront.

Modal Personality Disorder

Sort of related to triple fracture, modal personality disorder causes a drastic mood swing whenever a mech transforms between root and alt mode, usually between a calm demeanor and a high-energy or intense demeanor. Unlike triple fracture, this does not involve separate personality slices, only mood swings. Since it’s caused by a specific variation in the morphcore section of the processor which controls the t-cog, it’s considered a processor malfunction type of nonstandard circuitry. It occurs more in modal frames than other frametypes. The adult Road Rage and the youngling Cliffjumper both have MPD, although only Road Rage is diagnosed. Diagnoses are disproportionately more common among beastformers, because of the stigma of “beast instincts” overwhelming one’s sapience.

Submechanoid Psychosis

A punitive psychiatric term based on the now defunct inadequate personality disorder. Colloquially known as feral syndrome, this term is less a genuine condition and more an excuse to label unsatisfactory beastformers as less than people. It refers to beastformers and occasionally toolformers who are violent, unintelligent, or otherwise have a personality not perfectly suitable to subservience. Many beastformers with genuine MPD are deliberately misdiagnosed with submechanoid psychosis. If Grimlock were ever to undergo an evaluation, he would likely be diagnosed with this, although he actually has MPD. Riptide, if he were a beastformer, would also probably be labeled as submechanoid.

Neurasthenia

Based on the now defunct neurasthenia. The condition of the high castes, neurasthenia causes fatigue, dissatisfaction, anxiety, migraines, weakness, and depression. It isn’t nonstandard circuitry, but rather a condition caused by too much stress and/or too little stimulation. It’s mostly diagnosed in upper class individuals, following the theory that the constant scrutiny of being an upper class example to society is chronically nervewracking. The symptoms and causes are poorly defined, with contradicting opinions from different psychological practices. The most common listed source of neurasthenia is overworking within an intangible function, such as the performance and emotional labor of a public figure. Prescribed treatments usually including some form of physical work with tangible results, so as to rejuvenate an individual’s motivation with real, concrete evidence of their ability and accomplishment.

Defunctional Disorder

Based on clinical depression. Characterized by lack of interest, demotivation, low moods, and lethargy and exhaustion, defunctional disorder is a relatively common mental illness. It can be caused both by forged nonstandard circuitry and stress from one’s situation. It’s labelled for the way it makes an individual less likely to adequately perform their function, but it has significant effect on day-to-day life and habits outside of work. A mech affected by defunctional disorder may fall into despair and hopelessness, self-hatred, or utter numbness, and may consider self harm or suicide. Dead End, Sideways, Swerve, and Buzzsaw all have defunctional disorder. Only Dead End and Buzzsaw have been diagnosed, but neither are medicated. Many people believe Alpha Trion must have it, hence his drinking problem.

Baseline Alarm Disorder

Based on paranoid personality disorder and anxiety. BAD often shows up as a comorbid condition with PCH. It’s caused by a constant triggering of a mech’s internal preservation and security systems, conjuring a sense of doom and danger at all times regardless of the current situation. Considered a processor malfunction type of nonstandard circuitry, a mech will suffer from paranoia, anxiety, illogical suspicion or mistrust even of a situation they know to be safe, panic attacks with acute physical fear responses, and intense stress and energy drain. Red Alert, Breakdown, and Spinister all have BAD, but only Spinister is diagnosed. He’s medicated, which is what inspired his fascination with medical mechanics.

Overclocking

A poorly defined “disorder”, overclocking refers to a processor overworking itself, moving too quickly to follow itself. This is usually a symptom of a larger condition, often HRH or EDH, but it’s also diagnosed as a standalone condition. Overclocking is characterized by scattered or nonsensical trains of thought, manic energy and following exhaustion, difficulty forming words or coherent sentences, abrupt movement coupled with aborted actions, uncontrollable tics, and a continual sense of restlessness, urgency, or inability to pause. It isn’t exactly rare on Cybertron, but it’s almost never diagnosed on Velocitron. An overclocking Cybertronian seeing a Velocitronian psychiatrist is unlikely to receive a diagnosis, but a Cybertronian psychiatrist is likely to label a normal Velocitronian as overclocking, simply due to their often speedy nature and cultural behavior. Blurr has a stutter, is quick and clumsy, and speaks with the typical speed of a Velocitronian, which means he would likely be incorrectly diagnosed with this condition.

Sporadic Hang Syndrome

This condition is basically the opposite of overclocking, instead causing a mech’s processor to pause, buffer, and/or restart a certain task or thought, often repeatedly. Some people have these problems only with certain actions or feelings, some only deal with it in stressful situations, and some have persistent trouble no matter what’s going on. Symptoms include freezing mid-word or action, forgetfulness, repetition of the same word or action, uncontrollable tics, and random and/or triggered long periods of “blankness” of no movement or sensation, the processor caught in an unresolved task or thought loop.

Autoexecution Syndrome

Caused by an error in loading and running scripts in the processor, a mech with autoexecution syndrome struggles with choices, changing routines, and executive function. Symptoms include improper ending of the recharge cycle, low impulse control, intrusive thoughts and acting before thinking, and compulsion to complete a sequence or routine before doing anything else. While it’s related to PCH and can be comorbid with it, autoexecution syndrome lacks the fear and anxiety aspect of PCH and is classified as processor malfunction nonstandard circuitry. Hubcap has autoexecution syndrome and is medicated for it.

Information Creep

Based on dementia and Alzheimer’s. A condition gained later in life rather than forged nonstandard circuitry, information creep occurs in a very old mech who’s running out of memory storage space. It’s occasionally called blurred data. Eidetic decay is normal in older memories as they are compressed and reformatted for deeper storage, but at some point the memory file itself becomes too corrupted to read or is deleted completely. A mech that has reached old age is almost certain to get information creep at least on a small scale. The condition becomes debilitating when the corruption starts encroaching on large portions of the memory, even into short-term memory. It causes difficulty knowing where or when one is, uncertainty as to who others are or what their significance is, problems following conversations, and anywhere from general absentmindedness to total loss of interaction with external stimulation. One would think that size null mecha are more prone to this, but that isn’t true. The percentage of size null mecha who suffer from more than just slight information creep is much lower than the percentage of older modern mecha who suffer the same. Medics and psychiatrists are unsure as to why.

Overwritten Information Creep

Similar to the above, except not caused by age, rather by an error in the processor that overwrites stored data rather than making a new folder in chronological order. This is uncommon, but can affect any age. Mecha affected will find themselves losing time, forgetting pieces of or entire memories no matter how recent or vivid, losing track of possessions, getting lost easily, and having difficulty connecting information with its source or correlation. Although no one pays attention to him enough to notice, Rung has overwritten information creep, hence his chronic forgetfulness.

Primus Apotheosis

A relatively recent term coined by Froid, primus apotheosis is suspected to affect 2% of all adults who have come in contact with the vigilante factions operating in Iacon. It’s characterized by excessive admiration or obsession with one or multiple faction members, idealization of their teachings to the point of blindly following, dysmorphia in their own frames and irrational belief that they ought to look more like these vigilantes, and abnormally increased interest for people and subjects outside of their assigned function, class, and cultural background. So far, a youngling’s typical overenthusiasm for a new interest has proven indistinguishable from primus apotheosis, so diagnoses are limited to adults. The condition is practically guaranteed in any survivor of relic corruption, usually with especially strong frame dysmorphia. Froid has had to do the majority of diagnosing himself, because that insufferable fool the Academy has hired as their chief counselor has the audacity to claim “primus apotheosis is absolute nonsense”.

Pathological Dissent

A punitive psychiatric term based on the now defunct sluggish schizophrenia, drapetomania, and general political abuse of psychiatry. Mecha diagnosed with pathological dissent are, without fail, rebels and activists of some sort. The official diagnosis claims that these people are “neurologically incapable of being satisfied with their inbuilt function”, therefore the state must take custody of them for their own health and wellbeing. It is by far the most dangerous label any individual could ever acquire. Froid and several others have remotely diagnosed the vigilante faction members with pathological dissent, and Impactor was also diagnosed with it prior to his execution.

[radramblog]

Full-Art Basic Lands

Magic is inherently a game about customizability and aesthetic, and nowhere is this best displayed than in one’s choices for Basic Lands. From longtime players flexing their Beta sets, to the cheeky people running exclusively white-bordered ones, to newbies and people who don’t care as much just grabbing what they can from the nearest land station.

However, a full discussion of basic lands would be highly impractical for this kind of post, seeing as there are 244 different arts for Plains alone, and I only have so much time in a day. However, what I did want to discuss is the different varieties of some of the most coveted basics in Magic- the Full-Arts. There’s a lot more types now than there used to be, so they’re worth discussing at length. Also, they’re freaking cool- expect a fair chunk of gushing in this post.

(Update: I forgot just how many sets had FABLs at this point, so this ends up being a two-parter. The other half’s already written, at least, and it’s probably going up on Thursday seeing as that’s going to be a very fucky day for me. It’s just, like, nobody wants to read 3000 words of this in one sitting, I think.)

Unglued

The first iteration of what could be called full-art lands was in Magic’s first Silver-Bordered parody set, Unglued. Considering what these look like, though, it might not be appropriate to call the Unglued lands full-art, as maybe “alternate border” is a better description. The framing of the art on these cards is, well, frame-like, with a verticality that reminds of a tall window or Egyptian cartouche.

I believe these ones used to be somewhat divisive, and I can see why. As much as the frame is interesting, it is also fairly distracting, and the dull brown of the Land frame doesn’t look particularly great when extended. And while the taller frame well suits the art for most of the cards, the Plains looks a little weird next to the very tall trees and forbidding rock faces of the other four arts. Interestingly, the Plains is also the cheapest of the five, though this is probably owing to this version being reprinted in The List for…some…reason. And not the rest. Huh.

 Unhinged

Much like Unglued, Unhinged is a parody set, and the basics that come with it served as experimentation on the design much like the joke cards toyed with potential future card mechanics. Unlike the Unglued lands, though, the Unhinged Basics are pretty universally agreed to be fucking gorgeous.

Almost the entire card is dominated by the art of the card, with a thin frame and border the only dividers between art and edge. The modern land frame looks much more interesting than the old-border one, frankly, meaning that the parts of the card that aren’t art just look a little bit better. And that art…John Avon is an absolutely excellent landscape painter, and his skill is in full swing here. There’s intense colours and hundreds of subtle details, with the vastness of each land’s world conveyed through either an aerial or first-person perspective. The Forest and Swamp are impossibly deep, the Plains and ocean impossibly vast, the Mountain impossibly tall.

For a while, these were the de facto full-art basics, to the point where the MTGO Cube tournaments gave them to your decks by default. They’ve well earned that title, frankly, as there aren’t a lot of Magic cards that look as good as these do.

 Zendikar

Zendikar is the first Standard set to have come with an alternate style of basic, an choice made to support the set’s Landfall theme and adventurous world. For the first time, the full-art lands were made to convey landscapes utterly alien to earth, worldbuilding in much the same way as those from previous Planes like Mirrodin and Alara. This also means it was the first set with full-arts that also had more than one art per basic, adding collectability and variety to this and many future sets.

The landscapes of the Zendikar full-arts are bizarre and otherworldly, with floating rocks (and the infamous “cup Island”) and impossibly gnarled and branching trees. The violence of the plane’s Roil is conveyed through crashing mountains, steaming vents, and tornadoes of water. While previous lands have had charm, these have character.

It was the Zendikar basics that were the defaults when I started playing Magic, since the Unhinged ones were prohibitively expensive and the Unglued ones were that and also not everyone liked them. Even then they were pricy, not 4 years since their printing. It’s also worth noting that these were the first iterations of full-art basics that would get a normal-frame version, the art compacted into a standard Basic shell- obviously they don’t look as good, but in pieces of art designed for a portrait, the cropped landscape doesn’t quite work.

 Judge Promos 2014

There isn’t a lot to say about these, seeing as they’re basically irrelevant to most players. They’re the only other set of basics in the “Modern” (8th Edition-Conspiracy) frame as full arts, and they make up a panorama which is fairly cool. They’re pretty, sure, but not especially notable.

Also, fuck Terese Nielsen. And fuck TERFs in general. 

 Battle for Zendikar

I remember these fondly, seeing as the were the first that came out since I started playing, and the Fat Packs containing a solid block of them sold out almost immediately. I did manage to pick one up for Oath of the Gatewatch, though. This was the first set in the current frame, with a border that’s only tapered at the top and the black bottom section for collector information. Hot take, but I think these look better framewise than Zendikar.

As far as art goes, each land type has 4 new arts and 1 reprinted (yes, including Cup Island), and I think some amount of the unique character of Zendikar was lost in the 6 years between releases. Much of the violence and chaos of the originals is missing, and there’s more of an emphasis on the amazing vistas of the plane- brighter skies, even on some of the Swamps, and relatively fewer of the Hedrons which dominated the landscape.

However, I’d argue this works thematically for the set. Original Zendikar was about exploring this dangerous, rugged world, where survival is not guaranteed and landmarks were just as likely to float away or collapse as they were to remain standing. But Battle for Zendikar is a war story, of fighting against an insurmountable force- thus, the basics are here to show that the world and all its beauty are worth fighting for.

 Oath of the Gatewatch

This is kind of a special case, seeing as the Plains, Islands, Swamps, Mountains, and Forests from this set were the same as those in Battle for Zendikar. However, Oath of the Gatewatch added a new basic “type”, in the typeless Wastes, along with two different art treatments representing the devastation in the wake of two Eldrazi Titans, Ulamog and Kozilek.

There’s a clear winner here. The desolation of Ulamog is chalky, dry, and skeletal, and while it’s kind of disquieting, it holds no candle to the utter unreality of the bismuth landscape left by Kozilek. It’s ultimately just so much more of an interesting piece of art, a world as alien to us as the Wastes were to the game of Magic. There’s a reason that was the version they chose to put in the old border in Time Spiral: Remastered.

 Amonkhet

For a world as monobiomic as Amonkhet, the basic land art is surprisingly varied. I was wondering how they’d make Forest work on a desert plane with one main city. Unfortunately, the full-art land art is somewhat less interesting. Amonkhet, like most sets, has 4 arts per basic land type, but in this case, only one of those is full-art, making packs marginally more of a gamble.

I see what they were going for. The visions of Nakhtamun presented by these cards are relatively peaceful, with the Throne of the God Pharoah in the background adding this ominous mood, as the Second Sun slowly creeps towards it. It is somewhat jarring, though, when you realize that all of these pieces are apparently taken from the same angle, meaning that that section of the city must be a bit of a hodge-podge.

These arts are basically fine. I don’t have a huge issue, but I wish there was a bit more variety, especially considering the gorgeous shots in some of the other basics from the set. You could have put the Monuments in the background instead of the Bolas horns, like some of those other basics do, but I suppose that wouldn’t do for the next set, would it.

Hour of Devastation

The full-art lands of Hour of Devastation are the same shots as from Amonkhet, but after the God-Pharoah’s return has laid waste to Nakhtamun and its people. The rivers run red with blood, the sky is an ominous haze, swarms of insects ravage the clouds, and those big buildings acting like mountains are, uh, kinda broken.

I will confess a love for these cards, if only because the non-Swamp ones are a great thematic choice for basics in a Black-based multicolour deck. In addition, and this is kind of a unique, personal bias, but: When the Sealed League for this set came around, foils of these were given out to players as promotion, but the batch we got at our local was heavily, heavily overprinted. Thus, I have a single copy of the Forest from this set that looks utterly gorgeous, this incredible darkness only pierced by the glow of the horns that are somehow more foreboding than the night surrounding them. It’s been in my Sultai EDH deck ever since.

 Unstable

Much in the vein of its predecessors, Unstable has basic lands trying out a new Thing than the others, and in this case the basics aren’t just full-art, they’re borderless. And they got John Avon back for them, so the art is as incredible as Unhinged was.

One interesting thing about these is the haze of colour in the background of the art pieces. The Forest has this green glow, and the tinge of the clouds in the Swamp and Mountain lean black and red respectively. This helps a lot in these cards, letting the semi-transparent frame blend into the art, helping that seamless feel.

My main, and probably only, issue with these basics is the holographic rarity stamp present on every rare since Magic 2015, as while these obviously would be and did become valuable, they’re still just basics. The only real money in Unstable, sure, but I don’t think that’s deserving of the stamp, which is kind of distracting. It’s absence would also have allowed the bottom border to be even lower, were WoTC willing to compress the collector’s information to a single line. It is a missed opportunity, but not especially much of one.

[sexhaver]

Besides white being out of balance, what are your thoughts on kaldheim so far?

runes seem interesting, specifically the enablers. tutoring up runes is both a cantrip and deck thinning for a semirelevant effect

world tree seems good for commander in theory but looks like itll just lead to golos goodstuff piles with a consistent instawin combo that can be tutored by their commander

that white snow hoser is probably not good enough to keep snow in check in standard, especially in, like, white and not as a colorless artifact. a MDFC hatebear is a really cool concept though, good use of the mechanic

maskwood nexus seems like a really dangerous card for edh. i love it

really just a lot of cool commanders here, which kind of concerns me. it looks like they're designing for EDH, possibly at the expense of standard? we shall see

hahahahahahahahaha

[mtg-thrill-of-possibility]

A Reflection on Magic, the Pandemic, and the Dark Side of Arena

Hello to all the readers who may stumble upon this in the search for new Magic content. I wrote this mostly to fill a void in my life that has opened up over the last year and more of a mental health thing than some form of Magic related advice but since it is about that, I thought they’d go hand in hand. I love Magic. Or at least I have loved Magic? It’s hard to tell. Like nearly everyone on this planet, I’ve been shut off from in-person Magic and it had/has me left down. I normally volunteer at my LGS and help them organize their tournaments and judge the events and generally whatever else they ask me to do because I really love Magic. I love playing with my locals who don’t spend hundreds of dollars and craft GP/MF level decks. I love watching a group of people playing draft chaff and off beat home brews and where adults and teenagers can compete with one another on that level. I enjoy sitting off to the corner on the store’s EDH night and listening to games and drawing tokens for games in my own corner while I wait for my own games or sometimes my ow turns. I also love traveling with my wife to cities and go compete in GP/MFs where we usually both scrub out of the main event by round 3 or 4 and then hit the vendors and side events as well as explore the cities for new restaurants. I miss Welcome Days where adults bring in kids and I show them the ropes. I love meeting adults who poke their noses in and ask me “Magic is still a thing? I played that in high school” and show them the changes. I can still remember the Theros Beyond Death prerelease last year and thought how much fun it was to not work the event for once and just play. And looking back, boy am I glad I entered the THB prerelease.

February was the start of the downturn. Our EDH night was slightly less full but I just figured it was due to the weather since the winter usually has a downturn in the attendance for every event. But then the rotating cast of 10-15 FNM players was 6; Pioneer on Saturday had 3. The next week, the EDH crowd was down to from the usual 6-8 pods to 2. FNM and Pioneer failed to fire. The news that COVID-19 was starting to creep into the Midwest prompted me to ask the store what precautions we wanted to take and when we were going to stop in general.

I work in chemical research and I have a background in pharmaceuticals and once (or twice) studied the MCATs and considered going to med school. I was definitely concerned but in February it hadn’t reached my state (yet) and I wanted the store to be ready for the imminent shutdown and continued downtick in participation (my LGS and I had been strategizing how to move up in events and the store ranking on the WPN). But it’s a red state. Science denial must be a recessive trait that the Midwest incorporated into its identity for a long time and I was told that I had some freedom but to not go crazy. I thought I’m a volunteer. I’m not spending what little money I have on stuff for you guys. So, I did the best thing I could think of for free, I started a Discord server. I was really excited at the prospect. I had just bought a webcam in case my workplace started working from home and thought how cool it would be to be able to organize events in Arena and talk through Discord when the store wasn’t available. I asked if we could hang up a flyer and tell all the Magic customers that they continue with tournaments and Magic if they joined the Discord I set up in the store’s name.

My LGS asked how much this was going to cost them and I said exactly as much as it costs them now if not a little less since we don’t need the store’s utilities or a cashier behind the counter in the after hours to work the tournament. They were happy and I got the greenlight. Things worked okay at first. Those with Arena accounts showed for a few weeks. Others I knew were interested were convinced that we were overly sensitive to the virus and FNMs continued to limp along with 4-6 people until everything ground down to a halt.

Come mid-March, COVID had finally reached the state and the city. Cases were light, a few hundred people tested each day, single digit cases detected but I again was worried. My workplace had already begun educating everyone on how to wash their hands properly and disinfect every surface and everyone was issued a bleach spray bottle with their name and a serial number on it. While the mayor and governor hadn’t ordered a shutdown yet, I advised strongly that the store go ahead and if they wanted to continue that I wouldn’t be there to assist until the curve was sufficiently flattened.

I’m not sure why but they trusted me and listened. I was glad and I pushed again for people to join the Discord server. Players were reluctant but I assured them that this may be the future for some time and if they get on now, they can still get the Ravnica intro quests and start building up their Arena collections. I got more on my side, we had 8-10 and got them all to try and hook anyone else they knew to join us. However, by the end of March, my workplace had moved to 100% virtual and with my extra time, I had begun to unwittingly shift the power dynamic in the store by accident. You see, I really love Magic. I was now working from home for a job that required me to have direct physical access to hundreds of thousands of dollars or sensitive equipment that need recertification when they get moved 12 inches down a work bench and dangerous chemicals I don’t want near me unless I know there’s an inspected chemical shower nearby. When the campus shut down, I got very bored. I did what research I could from my home portal, attended virtual conferences and webinars every day, but I had tons of down time. That meant watching my wife play Animal Crossing, playing with my dogs, marathon sessions of Civilization but most crucially, I also began grinding Arena.

My local meta had been defined by the understanding that none of us were really Arena players. I had played when the Kaladesh and Amonkhet closed betas were happening, but I was turned off by the fact that all my playing of those formats amounted to nothing when it launched with Ixalan and I would start from square one. Everyone in the group typically shied away from tier 1 tournament decks because to all of us, it was more fun to goof around with RG auras and Tilonalli’s Summoner decks than it was to grind Esper Hero or the new Uro decks. And the limitation that everyone didn’t have all the shocklands meant we were all playing on roughly the same card pools with some variation due to our play styles. So when I suggested we all start playing Arena to replace the tournaments, it worked because it meant we all played the same dumb decks we’d play in person with a few exceptions of having less than perfect mana bases.

But I would find myself grinding Arena everyday where my friends and locals were not. Even though I jumped into Arena at mid-March, I finished the Theros Beyond Death mastery at level 78 when Ikoria began to creep around the corner. I had just begun to get back into Magic when Fate Reforged hit and didn’t realize how much I love wedge color alignments over shards but boy did I love Abzan in Khans standard and now I was in love with Abzan again in Ikoria standard. Grinding the way I did meant I drafted most afternoons for the first month of Ikoria (and forced Temur every time) and started climbing the ranked ladder in the evenings. Ikoria would also mark the first time I spent money on Arena. I’m notoriously spend-thrift in video games and anything you can free-to-play I do religiously because you shouldn’t make a game grindable over the course of years if you give me that option. But drafting took gems and I really love drafting but most people at my LGS are too concerned about rares than learning to do it properly and a lot of younger players feel lost when I draft a zero rare deck and go 4-0 and collect my prizes. By the end of April, I would reach Platinum in constructed and Gold in limited. But now my LGS was far less inclined to play with me. I didn’t brag about any of my rankings but the skill disparity had begun to creep in as well as the difference in our collections. Having played so much Arena, I could see the tells the software gives away that paper Magic doesn’t. I learned to read when the game would hang up on the beginning of combat and end steps because they’re holding potential responses. I began to do the full control shortcut to bluff counter spells and removal. In paper Magic, if my opponent would sequence things wrong or tap their mana wrong, we’d make jokes and rewind it because it’s one of those human errors that we all make and redo it the right way.

But Arena was different; some learned the hard way to not trust the auto-tapper, some didn’t realize that the way they normally stack triggers in paper is backwards and too late to fix after a spell or ability resolved. And I couldn’t help them. And I let them make their mistakes because I can’t change Arena. If they use the auto-tapper and they realize that Arena doesn’t tap the Castle Vantress even though they couldn’t activate it anyway and they lose a dual source, I couldn’t help them. If they have the lethal Explosion in hand but forgot to hit Control in their second main so they can stack the Wilderness Reclamation triggers in their end step, I don’t concede out of pity.

In May, I try and keep the Magic going by suggesting that we shift the format to a draft limited but they’re unconvinced of the website that allows you to simulate an 8-person draft and then import the drafted card lists to Arena. Why? Because they don’t have the cards already and I’ve changed the dynamic. They know I’m much more skilled at Arena and Ikoria drafting. The news has also been reporting that the curve was flattening, and our state was lifting restrictions on gatherings. They want to play EDH and paper Magic, not this digital intangible game. I reluctantly agree but keep grinding on Arena anyway. My friends didn’t want to play Magic on Arena and I couldn’t understand why. I was getting burned out on drafting at this point and the drafts were harder to fire off a month and a half later, work was returning on a limited schedule where I was onsite 75% and virtual 25%, it really did seem like things were returning to normal.

In June I finish the Ikoria mastery and at this point my wife had begun to show more interest in playing on Arena and trying to get her account a little more stocked since our normal paper system is I aggregate everything we typically need and I make her desired deck and hand it off to her to wreck people on FNM but since I didn’t have to judge, I got to play and we couldn’t both play from my account at the same time. I casually start hers and I get the wild hair that maybe I should make a loaner account in the store’s name and if anyone says they don’t have the cards, they can borrow the store’s account for the tournament. I make the account but put the pipe dream on hold when Wizards announces that in-store play can resume with the Core 2021 prerelease. I could read between the lines and see that the curve was trending the wrong way and thought it was a bad idea but at my insistence, everyone would have to wear a mask at all times and hand sanitizer was available every 15 feet and the store had lots of space for players to spread out. The turnout was low which helped as well, and I had everyone who showed up at least aware that I was trying to keep the Discord going and that in case there’s another shutdown that there was another avenue for them.

Well, I got my wish because within a week of the launch of Core 2021, my state had regressed, and cases were exploding and gathering restrictions were sent back in place. Shortly after that, Wizards suspended in-store play again and with that I created the store’s Arena account. At the time, things were pretty good. The locals weren’t playing as much and my server was still fairly empty but most of the Magic Twitch community I interacted with had strongly adjusted to the new paradigm. EDH streaming was commonplace, I had my new Arena account to focus on building up as well as my own. Pro level events and Opens were being held on Arena and the expansion of Amonkhet Remastered gave me hope that Magic was on the mend. But I also think it was with Core 2021 that things started to slide into the negative for me. Grinding the second account was frustrating me a lot. The lack of human interaction was tilting me out for no reason. Some days the server would have me wait a whole minute (the horror?!) for a game and then my opponent would be the world’s slowest red player where everything seemed delayed. There would strings of games I would play where I couldn’t get a third land drop after a mull to 4 and other times where I’d flood out and would have won if it weren’t for generic whiny reason why everyone says they lose.

Maybe it was when I began to see that Arena is not Magic the Gathering as much as it is a video game that it began to really sour on me. For those of you who don’t play a lot of Arena and instead interact with humans over webcams is that Arena is designed for you to not play off beat home brews except in direct challenges with your friends. The game is meant for you to play the best combination of 75 cards and for you to help it machine learn through millions of matches what is and what is not the correct play pattern based on the available information you have. It wants you to play the very best decks in a format against the other best decks. I started to see this in Ikora standard when decks would scoop if you were on the play and went turn 2 Agonizing Remorse. Decks were and still are so linear that they can’t handle that kind of disruption or it’s a matter of the players know it’s faster to accumulate wins by scooping than grinding out a long game.

If you need evidence of whether or not this is true, you should play Arena now and see how often people scoop against the double Ruin Crab opener with a Fabled Passage back-to-back. Or if an opponent against your Lurrus Auras deck will time out when they know they can’t win. In paper Magic, when you drive 4 hours to a major venue, pay your entry fee, you never see your opponent rage scoop unless it’s Legacy and you know what your opponent’s on and you mull to zero so you can see what’s in their deck. You call a judge to your table if they start stalling. Nothing is more annoying that an opponent spamming “Good Game” at you through a match when it’s obvious that you’re not killing them that turn but they’re empty handed and have nothing relevant on board.

I’ll admit myself that what my wife calls “Wizard Chores” for the Daily quests, if I’m 1 red spell short of finishing a quest, I’ll log in for one more game and Boulder Dash my opponent’s creature or cast Shock to face and immediately scoop. Who is that helping? I’d spend the week at work in my down times thinking about what dumb cards I hadn’t played with from a set, start making a list, furiously find the cards on a Friday afternoon and grab dinner with the wife and then race to my LGS for FNM.  Magic used to be something I only got to do twice a week with people in a shared setting and we’d unroll our playmats, shuffle up our jank, and laugh and generally have a good time for three to four hours. With Magic at my fingertips, Arena is a distillation of efficiency at spell slinging combined with the minor rewards system we’ve come to recognize the free-to-play traps to “encourage” us to play different things. If I want to play 100 matches in a day, all I need to do is sit at my computer long enough. If I want to play my old jank on Arena, I can’t even count on the Casual play channel to help since it’s always filled with people with 55 of the 60 cards that make the best deck learning how to play before they commit the wild cards for the deck.

Zendikar Rising has been a pretty dark point for everyone on Arena I believe. It seems like a lifetime ago that Omnath was printed and that I had immediately cashed in four mythic rare wildcards for the deck I would get to play with on Arena for 2 weeks before Wizards realized their mistake. Honestly before I had started writing this in the week before Kaldheim will hit Arena, I forgot that Omnath was part of the most recent set as all I can remember Zendikar Rising giving us is the extremely irritating Ruin Crab and Soaring Thought Thief. The few locals I had left on my Discaord server when ZNR released had lost interest in Arena since they enjoyed the Ravnica standard that was rotating out and Pioneer was not yet available for Arena. I’ve encouraged nearly everyone I know from my LGS to buy webcams since October given that the current state of the COVID world is not likely to go away and the new culture and channels that have opened up in the world to fill the void of EDH has some level of benefit even when in-person play resumes. Not many people play and I’ll search for an occasional game on the official Discord when the craving strikes. Some of my friends have been taking advantage of the webcam world and started playing older formats with me over webcam such as Pioneer and Modern to rekindle their love for Magic and the hope that we can start playing tournaments over webcam. Finishing up the ZNR mastery passes on my two accounts and my wife’s account has been giving me a much-needed break from Arena and honestly, it’s probably done the most to lift my spirits.

I’ve been taking a lot more time to reflect on why I love Magic and I plan on doing in the future. The first thing I know I’m going to do and stick to is not get a Mastery Pass for mt LGS store’s account. They don’t pay for all the work I put into the one already grinding multiple accounts is not good for my mental well-being. The second thing I know I am going to do is relearn how to have fun in Magic again. Not really hinted at in this article so far is the fact I love the art in Magic and I’m often inspired by my own crazy mind to illustrate my own works or reimagine my favorite cards with my own art. Since the release of Rise of Skywalker, I had been working on a personal project of creating a second expansion to the largely underground Star Wars the Gathering card game and ended up making 200 unique, draftable cards. I wouldn’t call myself an artist because I’m still learning and I don’t necessarily aspire to an artist but I would love to improve my skills and one day make a piece that’s so good someone wants on a card. Over the last two years, I’ve been deeply jealous of how amazing and hard working the Magic cosplayers are and that I should put my art to good use and make my own cosplays. And then there’s the playing of Magic. I miss the Gathering part of Magic. So this brings us to the bedrock of this piece. I hope to continue this blog steadily as time moves forward. I’m rarely ever satisfied or have my attention on any one project for too long but 2021 is a new year. And I hope that the title is a hint to the future. Whatever it is; whether it’s deck construction, art alters, or Magic cosplay, story, general discussion, that’s what I’m here for. It’s the Thrill of what I might work on next and I promise because I’m terrible right now at doing so, I’ll be sure to take pictures and try and stream when I can to keep myself honest about the whole deal. I hope you’ll all join me or at least join the Discord to yell at me.

[jones-friend]

Legendary Commentary: Commander 2011

Just one last bit of commander goodness from the original cycle, and my favorite wedge, temur.

Riku was my first and is my proudest commander. What I love about Riku is how flexible his abilities are and how they lend to so many playstyles. Given that EDH is a singleton format, having two of one card can be very good. Having a second for two mana is awesome. Skipping over all the game breaking plays you can make, Riku can do whatever you want. Aggro, control, spellslinger, hug, even mill.

Animar. Animar was my strongest and most degenerate build. Its hard not to be too powerful with this card. I ran an exclusively creature only build using cards like Nullstone Gargoyle and it routinely cleaned house. With protection to most removal spells Animar is a terror to behold.

King of the Flying Men. Most Edric builds work with unblockable small drops that accelerate you into wincons. While they can be boring to play against Edric offers dangerous draw as decks that go wide gain a clear advantage very early on.

And that wraps up the original commander cycle. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these, temur, or other wonderful things from these decks. Feel free to inbox me. Safe planeswalking.