Dies to Removal

@Kaze: My views on the situation would be best summarized as "Live well, and either way you won't have to worry about it." Live well for the sake of living well, improve yourself for the sake of being better

Some good books to read on faith, etc: Mother Teresa's biography (she's considered a saint, but talk about a crisis of faith); "How to Practice" by the Dalai Lama; "The Screwtape Letters" & "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis; The Jefferson Bible; The Essential Tao (both the Tao te Ching and the Inner Chapters); and Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo.

[quote="[url=viewtopic.php?p=46412#p46412:2jrqcltn]rcwraspy » Sun Mar 31, 2013 1:45 pm[/url:2jrqcltn]":2jrqcltn]so folks don't think LillyotVeil will drop much after rotation, but what
about Snappy? Since RtR was fully spoiled I wanted to build a U/R or U/B tempo deck, but obviously Snaps is pivotal there. Should I invest? I don't care much about it being $80 or so, I just don't want to lose $20+ when I can just play Gruul/RDW/Naya/Jund until rotation and pick him up on the cheap.[/quote:2jrqcltn]

I'm not familiar enough with Modern or the current state of Legacy to categorically state one way or the other, but that is where you need to look to decide if it is worth investing in. See how frequently it is played in those formats, and if it sees a decent amount of play, pick 'em up. Part of the issue with cards like Snappy is that they are prime suspects for reprints in the value.sets like F:tV, CA, etc.

Also, there's an inherent fallacy in thinking of Magic as an investment if you aren't investing in reserved list cards. If you want to play U/x tempo and have a good time doing it, go ahead and buy 'em. It's a hobby, for fun:)

so folks don't think LillyotVeil will drop much after rotation, but what about Snappy? Since RtR was fully spoiled I wanted to build a U/R or U/B tempo deck, but obviously Snaps is pivotal there. Should I invest? I don't care much about it being $80 or so, I just don't want to lose $20+ when I can just play Gruul/RDW/Naya/Jund until rotation and pick him up on the cheap.

I'm not familiar enough with Modern or the current state of Legacy to categorically state one way or the other, but that is where you need to look to decide if it is worth investing in. See how
frequently it is played in those formats, and if it sees a decent amount of play, pick 'em up. Part of the issue with cards like Snappy is that they are prime suspects for reprints in the value.sets like F:tV, CA, etc.

Also, there's an inherent fallacy in thinking of Magic as an investment if you aren't investing in reserved list cards. If you want to play U/x tempo and have a good time doing it, go ahead and buy 'em. It's a hobby, for fun:)

Thanks Helios. I think I misused the word "invest" - I don't really think of M:tG as an investment, I'm just concerned about picking him up so long after he first came out and taking a big hit when he rotates when I could just play other fun decks instead. I don't really think of cards in a budget or investment way, just in a "this is what I want to build" way

Thanks again.

In summary then: Go for it. The card is so effin good that even if he takes a hit, it won't be a big one

You guys are awesome. Not a single ounce of ridicule. Who says the internet isn't better than real life? I appreciate you all giving me some words on the subject.

I missed church today, I woke up with a wicked fever and couldn't move out of bed until the better part of the morning was over. I broke out the old bible, though. And I think I'll attend a service next week. That's not to say I intend to take comfort in religion itself, though. At least not yet. It still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth from my younger years of being punished for my "sins" as a child. But I'll give it another shot. I suppose, as far as the psychological problem goes, I need to accept it somehow. I once had someone tell me that if you told yourself something
every morning after you woke up, over and over, the subconsciousness of it all takes over and you believe it. "I'm going to die someday, maybe someday soon, and that's okay" sounds like the correct thing here. It's just become such an issue in my daily life. It distracts me from work, from communicating with people, and such. I don't want to end up clinically insane or something.

So, happy Easter/day off from work/whatever you personally see today as. I think I'll visit my folks today.

Death is a transition, a change from one state of being to another. In a spiritual and philosophical sense, life itself is possible because of this kind of death. I am not the same person I was three years ago or even two weeks ago. As Picasso said, "every act of creation is first an act of destruction." Learning to deal with your fear of death is an act of destruction.

My
mantra is "This too shall pass." At first I used it to remind myself that the bad things in life are temporary. Now I use it to remind myself that happiness is also transitory, so I need to savor those moments. The trick is to not hold on, to choose again.

Are there any Unitarian services in your area? I've attended a few, and the community aspect was overwhelmingly positive. It's a sect more or less dedicated to exploring different beliefs without becoming fixated on dogma. If you want a welcoming, open environment, you might want to look there.

If this fear becomes too much of a problem, then you'd benefit from some professional help. Seriously, that type of fear can overwhelm everything else around it. That's not a good place to be, emotionally, spiritually, or physically.

@Windstrider; You sure you aren't Buddhist and just don't know it yet? I'm going to check out that book series you mentioned. Sounds right up my alley.

@Kaze: Second all of windstrider's thoughts. I've been to a Unitarian service as well, great stuff.

Happy Sunday, gents. I see a lot of intelligent discussion occurred during my 2 day hiatus. I've been a little busy.

I'm hungover as hell today, but for good reason. I got pretty drunk with my girlfriend (we've been working things out and it's going better than ever, apparently) and one of my Magic buddies. The night ended at about 7 am with me and my buddy double-teaming my girlfriend. I didn't see that coming, but hey, everybody's happy. Share and share alike, they say....

Now my girl has to go bring one of her lady friends over for me to enjoy. /bragpost.

The Standard competitive section has been broken up into some sub-forums, and I moved some of your threads. Feel free to PM me or post in Suggestion Box anything I need to fix.

The Standard competitive section has been broken up into some sub-forums, and I moved some of your threads. Feel free to PM me or post in Suggestion Box anything I need to fix.

I checked it out and it looks really good. Great job.

Thank you kindly, and my thanks to admin for the assistance

Nice, Khaos

@Windstrider; You sure you aren't Buddhist and just don't know it yet? I'm going to check out that book series you mentioned. Sounds right up my alley.

@Kaze: Second all of windstrider's thoughts. I've been to a Unitarian service as well, great stuff.

No, though I have read quite a bit about Buddhism. Their ideas about attachment leading to suffering resonate with the ancient Egyptians' belief in ma'at (rough translation: balance). Our lives, thoughts, actions, etc. need to be balanced, otherwise we're creating needless suffering and conflict where there, ideally, shouldn't be any.

Dan Simmons is, bar none, one of the best authors writing today.
The Hyperion series blew me away. The rest of his stuff is equally impressive.

An idea for Dos Rakis: Rakdos Keyrune. Ignores BlOb, Supreme Verdict, and Terminus sorcery-speed effects. Bonus mana-acceleration.

Windstrider, you are a wise man, sir.

Rakdos Keyrune is nuts with Knight of Infamy.

@windstrider: Suggested readings on Egyptian beliefs?

Always happy to see a bragpost khaos

I can't forget this play last Saturday, and I'm wondering if people here would do the same. Since we don't have a board states topic here yet (maybe someone will start it?), I'll do it here.

My opponent was playing Junk Rites and it was Game 3. I sided in RIP and got it in my opening hand in Game 2 but didn't cast it since there was no need as I curved out to Hellrider without problems. It was around turn 5 and he dropped a Thragtusk on board sitting at 21 life since I attacked with a lone Hellrider earlier. He has a total of 6 available mana on board and I was wary of AoS next turn. He also cast Abrupt Decay on my Boros Reckoner the turn before I cast Hellrider.

He has 3 cards in hand (IIRC), and I had RIP, Thundermaw Hellkite, Restoration Angel, and a land in hand. I just had enough mana to cast Thundermaw Hellkite if I want to, but I didn't want to drop him if a threat of AoS shuts me down quick. He cast Grisly
Salvage the earlier turn dropping Tragic Slip, Avacyn's Pilgrim, and 2 lands in the graveyard, while opting to get a land. I have a single Hellrider on board. What would be your play?

Before reading what happened:

I haven't played Standard in ages, but here's my thought: Why take the land over Slip unless you're wanting to curve into AoS? Taking the land also probably means that he doesn't have lands in hand, and doesn't need Slip. So you can expect a Serenity, me thinks. The 5 damage from 'maw isn't relevant, and you sure as heck don't want to lose it to AoS. However, the next several turns don't bode well for you if an AoS lands. So you just play RiP, since you don't have another play.

After reading what happened:

Combat step? What's that? Yay, I forgot about that. I agree with your play.

Windstrider, you are a wise man, sir.

Thank you, khaos.

@windstrider: Suggested readings on Egyptian beliefs?

Here's a rather nifty site with a lot of early esoteric writings: http://www.esotericarchives.com/esoteric.htm A lot of them are heavy stuff, but it's fascinating. I've read some of these, but not nearly enough, and I won't even claim to understand half of what
I've read.

Be sure to read, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion by Sir James George Frazer. It is a very good comparative study of folklore, magic, and religion. Luckily, it can be found online here http://www.bartleby.com/196/.

As for Egyptian stuff, these should be a good place to start. They are by no means exhaustive, but they give good background info. Egyptian Magic by E.A. Wallis Budge. Ancient Egyptian Divination and Magic by Eleanor L. Harris. Egyptian Legends and Stories by M.V. Seton-Williams. Ancient Egyptian Magic by Bob Brier.

A lot of my worldview has been shaped by chaos theory, aka complexity theory. A little book by the name of Seven Life Lessons of Chaos by John Briggs and F. David Peat is an easily accessible introduction to the metaphorical
applications of chaos theory. I love this book. It's amazing.

There is wisdom to be found in the most unlikely places. A word of caution, though: once you see these kinds of things, once you open your mind to them, you can't put it away. You really do begin to look at the world in a different way.

Disce mori.

Before reading what happened:

I haven't played Standard in ages, but here's my thought: Why take the land over Slip unless you're wanting to curve into AoS? Taking the land also probably means that he doesn't have lands in hand, and doesn't need Slip. So you can expect a Serenity, me thinks. The 5 damage from 'maw isn't relevant, and you sure as heck don't want to lose it to AoS. However, the next several turns don't bode well for you if an AoS lands. So you just play RiP, since you don't have another play.

After reading what happened:

Combat step? What's that? Yay, I forgot about that. I agree with your play.

He can't take
the slip since Grisly Salvage only allows you to take a creature or land.

Death is a transition, a change from one state of being to another. In a spiritual and philosophical sense, life itself is possible because of this kind of death. I am not the same person I was three years ago or even two weeks ago. As Picasso said, "every act of creation is first an act of destruction." Learning to deal with your fear of death is an act of destruction.

My mantra is "This too shall pass." At first I used it to remind myself that the bad things in life are temporary. Now I use it to remind myself that happiness is also transitory, so I need to savor those moments. The trick is to not hold on, to choose again.

Are there any Unitarian
services in your area? I've attended a few, and the community aspect was overwhelmingly positive. It's a sect more or less dedicated to exploring different beliefs without becoming fixated on dogma. If you want a welcoming, open environment, you might want to look there.

If this fear becomes too much of a problem, then you'd benefit from some professional help. Seriously, that type of fear can overwhelm everything else around it. That's not a good place to be, emotionally, spiritually, or physically.

A quick Google search shows there is, in fact, a Unitarian meeting place of sorts in South Bend. I may look into it, if I believe it will help. I think I'll explore a bunch of different things until I find something that resonates.

My girlfriend is Wiccan, and ever since she heard of these doubts of mine she's been trying to "recruit" me or something. But dying a human and being reborn as a tree just doesn't sit well with me.

Oh well. For today, I feel a bit better. Certainly in part because of you fellows. Thank you.

Alright, gentlemen, I am officially doing a happy dance...our new home comes in under the radar with the work firewall, so I will not have to go blind for half the week!

@Khaos...as I said to LK a few nights back, I'm jealous, you dawg! Brotherly shots to the head aside, though, I hope things stay on a good path. Just keep taking care of you as you have been recently...you're on a good path.

@windstrider - what are you thinking comes out for keyrune? I remember we tried it before where Reckoner now resides...

Also, great job encapsulating change as both anabolic and catabolic in nature. I agree that we weather many "little deaths" (beyond the French euphemism, thank you) as we go through life...each new path
we choose starts with another ending. A good mindset to remember...I need to get back in tune.

I will be adding Hyperion to my book list as well, sir...

@Kaze - I echo the guys suggesting that you should consider some trained/profession counseling if you can't shake the preoccupation with mortality. We can armchair from experience--and in Aesnath's case even training--but it's no substitute for a committed counselor who can get down to the roots with you. Along the lines of mantra, you might look into the concept of "energy meridian tapping"...I have found that it can have a remarkable impact with regards to changing attitudes and mindsets given that it is a purposed action with physioligical reinforcement. Again, though, I got my start with it though the counselor I saw when I was in the initial throes of crisis with my ex.

@Helios - I echo your recommendation of the C.S. Lewis books...my uncle sent them to me back when I was in the big black hole of my
marriage crashing under the warping impact of insanity and alcohol and I found them remarkable reads.

Rakdos Keyrune is nuts with Knight of Infamy.

Oh yes. It might be time to bring it back into the mainboard.

Well, crap, BlOb does affect keyrunes since it hits both artifacts and creatures. Dammit!

Thanks windstrider! I'm not too concerned...once you read the Tao te Ching, it is a very similar experience.

He can't take the slip since Grisly Salvage only allows you to take a creature or land.

Told you I haven't played Standard in forever I even had to look up AoS's toughness and what Rip does. Whoo-ee. Glad I didn't go to that PTQ.

Rakdos Keyrune is nuts with Knight of Infamy.

Oh yes. It might be time to bring it back into the mainboard.

Well, crap, BlOb does affect keyrunes since it hits both artifacts and creatures. Dammit!

Yeah, it comes in tapped, but subsequent activations are unaffected since converting to a creature is not ETB. Keyrune solves issues with board wipes and some removal, but BlOb shuts it down on the casting turn (suck...).

It's not like it can attack on the casting turn. There would be times that mana or the defensive capability would have mattered though.

In other news, I'm contemplating whether to bring RG Aggro or Naya Midrange for the WMCQs.

Sup guys. I guess we've migrated here. Gotta say I kinda like how the entire premise of this site is "fuck MTGS"

There's definitely some of that, but I don't really feel that's the premise (though I'm not official, so what the fuck do I know?) I've gotten the impression it's really more, MTGS without anal-retentiveness, founded by people who were shafted by MTGS, so there's some bitterness that will be less of the focus over time.

I could be totally off though.

/bragpost.

Good stuff man. I have much fondness for those sorts of antics from my own life. First time thing?

Am I the only one who hates April 1st?

(Or was that statement an April Fools joke? Or is this one???)

I don't do April Fools.

I also don't do St. Patrick's Day. At least, the requirement to wear green. Someone wants to try to pinch me...they bear all responsibility for the costs they pay.

I can't wait to see how many fake pregnancy posts there will be on Facebook tomorrow from dumb bitches thinking they are clever. I hate April Fool's Day

Random piece of trivial info...

To those of you using photobucket for image hosting (e.g., for your sigpic or avatar), it gets lost anywhere that firewalls online storage (I, for example, "x image" rather than your pic). I found the easiest solution was to create an album in my facebook account and host the pics there. Seems to be working just fine.

Just pulled a foil Griselbrand. Is anybody still using this card so i can sell it?

I see your Grislebrand and raise you ~



[/brag]

Is she standard legal?

I know Griselbrand goes for about thirteen USD.

I'm not sure what you can sell the girl for though, Z. Looks like a mythic rare.

@photo - thanks, buddy. I'm going to keep trying to be the best me that I can be. Apparently, the two things that were negatively affecting our relationship were (1) my excessive drinking and (2) putting MTG before her.

@Dane - for her, yes. She's mentioned to me numerous times about wanting to invite a couple over or bringing another dude into the bedroom (and in turn, she would find a lady to bring home for me). When we talked about our sexual history, she told me that the only thing she hasn't tried was having two guys at once or a couple swapping thing. Personally, I've never had two chicks at the same time before so my fingers are crossed on her making that happen. I always told her that if anything like that would happen, it would definitely involve booze and somebody that I knew pretty well (since I would definitely need to know if this person was (A) clean and (B) mature enough to handle this sort of thing). I
have to say, I've never seen her this happy and weirdly enough, I think it has only made our relationship stronger.

@Z - I'm unable to block right now and completely helpless.

Nice!

Cheers to y'all for the birthday wishes. The day was spent eating, drinking, and with my redhead gf. You know your day's going to be good when you get pounced on as soon as you wake up. ^^
Felt a little worse for wear today, but worth it.

Went to work for an hour and a half today. Not enjoying the environment there anymore, so looking for more jobs to apply for, and hoping I manage to get something interesting. Also managed to play a shitload of matches against UWR Midrange/Control. Went 2-2 pre-board, 4-0 post-board. (I didn't have the board for it.) Basically, the game notes are that casting Ash Zealot is a good skill toi have.
I guess if I'm more in-depth, being able to apply pressure on board all the time with Stonewright, and forcing through damage while holding up Boros Charm mana makes UWR worry about both losing
when they cast Supreme Verdict, as well as losing when they tap out for [card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card]. Being much more conservative with mana, while applying pressure with a Stonewright'ed Ash Zealot or Boros Reckoner means that I can usually beat UWR Control unless they have a much better hand than me.

I'm hoping the meta is full of Naya Blitz players, especially players picking up the deck because they're sick of losing to Reanimator. I crush that match-up.

EDIT: Foil Griselbrand is pretty nice. ^^

I can't see your raise zem, for now.

@Kaze, foil mythic rare to be exact.

> speedbump; happy birthday mate!
> khaos; same here! At least I've read the card and didn't try.
> ham; the wolf is 23

What exactly happened here I wonder (look at ranked #2):
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/Ma ... rn/5230631

And mono-red still placed 4th at recent mega-fnm (a.k.a SCG Orlando)
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdat ... ckID=54497