#the mh1 grind

[symskellet]

Jesse , we need to mine earth crystals

[retphienix]

I unironically recommend any monhun fan with the means to do so gives monhun 1 a chance.

I'm NOT saying they should play through the entire game or some crazy nonsense like that, I just mean for like a first-hand experience of where the series started- that was fascinating to do.

Monhun 1 for the ps2 feels like rubbing your tummy and patting your head.... and reciting the alphabet backwards.... and a bunch of Velociprey and Bullfango are biting your ankles.

It somehow has some of the worst controls I've ever been willing to put up with and part of that is because you can JUST BARELY see what they are going for with the various weapons.

Like, it's bad, I loathe it, it is the worst at forcing claw grip because it HAS a right stick and your brain screams at you the entire time that you should be able to use it.

But they like... put combos in it? On a right stick control scheme? Like the SNS can do jump attack, triple sword, side spin by pressing Down, Up Up Up, Left (or right). It's like aping on fighting game inputs or something, it's so weird and I won't lie- it kinda feels good sometimes but I hate it with all my soul lol.

But it ain't just controls, there's plenty more and I truly recommend anyone interested just toss it on something like PCSX2.

Small monsters have infinite rage in their hearts. Egg quests (because of this) have never been more stressful. It has absolutely zero of the QOL changes the series has incorporated over the years- some of which I hadn't even considered like needing to have the materials to craft IN YOUR INVENTORY to make new armor or weapons (small but crazy to see lol).

Stagger and trip mechanics don't seem to use any form of resistance build up and there is an entire meta built around stunlocking the head FOREVER.

The end game fight (Fatalis) has THE MOST ABSURD lock condition of HR20 (Super fair!), Doing every online quest (There's some doozies, like 50 banana habanero hunts and just general filler, but Okay, Okay, Fair), AND HUNTING 50 RATHALOS AND 50 RATHIAN. OOF.

GS, as many already know, doesn't have charge attacks so the optimal combos (outside of hit and run, obviously) is all those meme movesets you're not supposed to do (like overhead into side swing into overhead infinite).

Hammer almost unironically feels the same as normal oldschool titles because charge is on R1 and pressing Left Up or Right all does the triple down slam/golf swing so honestly Hammer feels pretty good.

Lance is meta defining because of headstun and INSANE motion values.

But really I just say all this because giving the original version of MH1 a chance revealed a lot to me and I found it fun in more ways than one.

And that's surprising tbh. It felt like shit most of the time, but it also was kinda super fun tbh, like to the point where I sat down trying to figure out how to get PCSX2 to play online (to no success sadly) because I was toying with the idea of beating all the online content (until I saw what you have to grind out to do Fatalis).

It's.... FUN.

It's HORRIBLE. So horrible that I legitimately do not as of writing this understand how Monhun survived. Like I know Monhun thrived after Freedom came out as handhelds allowed it to explode on the Japanese market- but that's just it. I GET how MHF survived. I GET how Monhun after Freedom lead to FU, 3U, 4U, GU, World, all that.

But literally HOW did MONSTER HUNTER 1 ON THE PS2 spawn sequels??

I might have to seek out a retrospective or something that emphasizes how MH1 survived to the point where it could thrive, because yes- The DNA of monhun is in MH1. So like, it's not a 0/10 travesty.

It's more that MH1 is Just Barely offputting enough where I would expect it to be some niche fond memory game, not a game that was given a chance to continue and became what it is today.

I kinda love it. If I ever get my hands on a reasonable emulator that easily allows me to play it online, I fucking am. I'm fucking trying to get to Fatalis. But until then it's sitting there as a remarkable relic and a mystery all in one. Pretty cool.

[jones-friend]

Legendary Commentary: Commander 17

C17 saw the expansion of four tribes. Today we’re going to look at vampires.

“Vampires only got three new cards!?”

You have to remember, this was around the time of Ixalan. Vampires gained traction in OG Zendikar under monoblack. Then in Innistrad as rakdos. Ixalan opened them up to orzhov colors, and C17 brought them together under a mardu banner. They did get offcolor legendaries, they’re just accounted for in other places.

Eddie. Eddie my boy. Getting two vampires for one is INCREDIBLE. Making them all bigger on swing is FANTASTIC. The precon and shadows over innistrad come with a lot to make the deck incredible. Cordial Vampire from MH1 with Indulgent Aristocrat from SoI give 2 +1/+1 counters per sacrifice. Small drops gain value fast here, lifelinkers like Vampire Nighthawk, Vampire of the Dire Moon, and Gifted Aetherborn all make combat an issue. Remember, you get vampires on cast so returning to hand is more preferable than returning to the field.

Licia is a departure from vampire tribal into a kind of pain tribal. She can come down a 3 drop 7/7 first strike lifelinker and that’s crazy value. While red doesn’t have a lot of life manipulation the boros and rakdos synergy pulls rank. Here we want ways to dump our life into abilities for Licia to rally it back. This is a life as a resource deck so Greed, Unspeakable Symbol, and Promise of Power. Heartless Summoning can help you with Licia and big drops like Vilis. Stunning Reversal lets you empty your life out to draw 7 cards. Lastly, Treasonous Ogre into Repay in Kind can result in lethal combat. Dangerous, but lethal. Children of Korlis and Tainted Sigil can cause huge lifegains.

Mathas is a multiplayer centric commander. As is such, toss in all the multiplayer cards like vows, curses, all that good stuff. Tainted Remedy can reverse the lifegain here. Your plan is to have things die so be ready with mass recursion like Exhume, Twilight’s Call, and Living Death. Keep draws lime Howling Mine and Reforge the Soul to keep the game from grinding to a halt. Your gameplan can be to win through graveyard theft so Thrilling Encore, Grim Return, Sepurchal Primordial, and Minion’s Return all get the job done and help bounty counters make your opponents play into your hands.

And that’s all for vampires of C17! There’s a lot of good ones to pick from. Which are your favorites? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Safe planeswalking.

[zbexx-blog]

GOAL: 🏁Win a feature match in cosplay @ #mtgvegas •If you only know me from my cosplay photos, you may not know I am a serious competitor! I don't have the time to grind but when I show up to play, I'm prepared and know the rules/format well enough to know what you might be holding, and give you a good match. • •On the left you can see me as Vraska, Relic Seeker back in November 2017 at #gpportland where I was 4-0 going into Round 5 Standard. This was not my first feature match ever, but it was my first in cosplay. We played 3 games, I had a killer play in game 2 with Hazoret, Bomat, Soul Scar and burn spells, only to be shown on air Game 3 only in speed-up-mode, failing to draw a 3rd land source. • •On the right I'm cosplaying Nissa, Worldwaker just recently at #mtgseattle in June 2019, where I was 4-0-1 going into Round 6 MH1 Sealed against @murgatronic. We had 3 great games of Magic, but you wouldn't know as there wasn't video coverage at this event. We ended in a draw. • •Swipe to see me in a couple of @channelfireball ads as Emmara, Soul of the Accord that have popped up on my Facebook recently🥰🥰 Here I'm sweeping Side Events earning lots of Prize TIX! • •I will be playing in the Modern GP @ #mtgVegas in just over a week! I hope to achieve this goal sooner than later!!!!! • •Until next time, BE FAB! 💖-Z • • • • • • #mtg #MagicTheGathering #mtgcosplay #mtgaddicts #mtgcommunity #magicfests #magicfest #gamergirl #gamergirls #girlgamers #cosplaygirls #cosplaygirl #competitive #competitivegamer #mtggirl #mtggirls #magicgirl #magic #vraskarelicseeker #nissaworldwaker #MagicTheGatheringcosplay #featurematch #featurematch #cosplay #cosplayandgamergirls #cosplaygamer (at Las Vegas Nevada) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1FbKHIn2ck/?igshid=187n5ubhqj4wb