Mini Magic Celebrity Commercial – The Real Ladies Demon

Editor’s Note: Just the ad this time. So we don’t break up the pace of this commercial, it’s going to be the dialogue only. This card was spoiled by WotC employee Monty Ashley.

Hello baby, how are you doing? Why yes, I think it’s completely appropriate for me to be shirtless. After all, how can I show off my manly chest hair? I know you like to run your hands through it.

Ah, so you noticed my wingspan. Pretty impressive, right? How many of those Angels  you know have a wingspan like this? And all they have are feathers, always molting and messing up the place. Mine? Leathery skin.

That smell? Pure sulfur. From the bowels of Hell, where I just craved out from. While I know it’s not the rich mahogany leather bound book smell you’re more likely used to, you’d be surprised; sulfur is a complete aphrodisiac. Then again, I’m me, so you really don’t need the smell to be drawn to me.

You want to know about the pile of dead bodies I’m resting upon? Baby, I did that for you, so you’d know I’d do anything and everything for you. That guy over there, the disemboweled one, no other other disemboweled one, he was staring at you all night. Seemed like a creep, a real stalker. Mutilations, beheadings, anything you want, I can do.

What? Alright, I understand. Not like you’re the only girl at the bar here tonight anyway. Man, why can I ever find the right girl for me?

(Voice Over) Match.com, where we find your soulmate. Come try our 27 point test today free for a month. Match.com, because picking up single ladies in a bar when you’re a hellspawn is hard enough.

Mini Magic Celebrity Commercial – Manliest Ad Ever

Editor’s Note: Just the ad this time. So we don’t break up the pace of this commercial, it’s going to be the dialogue only. If you don’t get this, there is the corresponding commercial after the ad. This card was spoiled by WotC employee Mike Turian.

Hello, Mages. Look at your Planeswalker, and now back to me. Now back at your Planeswalker, and now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if you stop using White Weenie decks and switch to Green Mana, he could attack like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on Zendikar with the Beastbreaker your Planeswalker could attack like. What’s in your hand? Back at me. I have an Rise of the Eldrazi booster pack with two cards for that deck you love. Look at it again, the cards are now moxes. Anything is possible when your Planeswalker attacks with Green Mana and not a goblin. I’m on a beast. (Whistle tune)

Hooptedoodle – A Man, a Plan, a Canvas, oh, So Close

Click for the full art

(Editor’s Note: Being a fiction writer, sometimes all that comes out of my fingers when I write is prose that just meanders for a while. Elmore Leonard explained that the term is called “hooptedoodle” and sprung from John Steinbeck’s book Sweet Thursday. It’s a non-sense word that doesn’t mean anything; the author is just going to write a while for fun. This is one of those times. Some of you might like this, others will think I’m wasting your time and for that I apologize. You may skip this post, and I wouldn’t be hurt. This isn’t required reading by any means, but I wanted to get this Magic-related story down. – MtGCP)

Editor’s Note 2: For explanation of the title, it’s based off a palandrome.

I’ve played Magic off and on for a long time. I started in playing in Revised at age 11 after watching some other kids in my 6th grade classes play the game during breaks and having fun. I don’t remember how I convinced my mom to get it for me for Christmas, but I ended up with a two-player starter pack in my stocking. For those of you who were wondering, I got a Royal Assassin and a Lord of the Pit. I taught myself the rules by reading the book, over and over again. No, it wasn’t easier to play pre-6th edition rules, and for the longest time played my lands above my creatures.

One of the stores that I would visit near my house was Games and Gizmos, which is now a computer repair center I believe. One time while I was in the store I saw that they had some posters for sale, and not just any posters, but Magic: the Gathering ones. I was able to talk my mom into buying me a poster, a replica of the one that is pictured above. She told me that I could hang it in my room if we got it framed (so the tape didn’t ruin the paint on the walls).

Continue reading “Hooptedoodle – A Man, a Plan, a Canvas, oh, So Close”

Duel Deck: Phyrexia vs the Coalition – A Video Review

Jacob from GatheringMagic.com and I were lucky to get our hands on the Duel Deck: Phyrexia vs the Coalition early I don’t know how he did it, it just happened. Imagine the worst thing possible. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Anyway, here’s the trailer for the video:

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Design Class – Designing for a Post-Reserved List World

So deep undergound, you can't find it anywhere

So that happened…

Listen, no matter how you feel about the Reserved List, it’s clear what the position that Wizards has taken is to reprint a few cards, then lock up the Reserved List forever. That’s fine, it’s a business decision as there have been several WotC employees who have come out against the Reserved List. I’m not here to get into what it happened, or what it’s been doing to the game (for those of you following me on Twitter, that’s been my secret project for a while, a huge, huge Reserved List article that goes over the whole situation and possible solution. It will appear soon).

What we have to do is move on. Of course, there’s the issue that most people are worried about: Eternal formats. While it does close off such re-printings of certain cards, there was almost no chance of WotC reprinting the Power 9, or any of those high cost cards. The worry comes from a format not getting an new players, so the growth gets stunted and therefore, eventually “dies off.” I know what it’s like when no one around you doesn’t play the same format as you. And since that has happened to Vintage, people (like me), are worried the same thing might happen to Legacy, right as it’s starting to grow and get more and more popular.

I believe that niche cards can be expensive because they fit in niche decks. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale only sees play in one deck, 43 land. While it’s disgusting to see a land see prices of $300+, the deck only runs one and it’s only one deck. Lion’s Eye Diamond is approaching $50, needs a playset, and is seen in one or two decks. Force of Will is practically $50 as well, but sees play in a variety of decks, and was uncommon. But I believe that it’s all okay for all of that to happen (maybe not Force, but that’s another article) for Legacy to survive if not for one thing.

Dual Lands.

They’re on the Reserved List too.

Continue reading “Design Class – Designing for a Post-Reserved List World”