Thursday, May 14, 2015

The Destiny Checklist for Signifigant Others

Summary -

This reference is designed for the Destiny widow or widower to be able to figure out how long a game is actualy going to take because we all know that "5 more minutes" is a lie most of the time. 

Just look for the name of the activity that your Destiny addict has mentioned, and you can find a rough time estimate, assuming they do it on the first try.

Read the fluf if you like too.

Introduction -


Hello person who would like to know about their significant other's video game addiction de jure.  You can finally decipher what your significant other is doing, and the list will be broken down in parts from smallest to largest time sink and how many buddies he's likely to be playing with.

Please be aware, your significant other, if truly bitten by the Destiny bug, may have multiple characters, and may be repeating the activities below.

For those who don't know what Destiny is, it is another game where the player shoots things.  It also has an insidious slot machine type system built into it to keep the die-hards coming back for more.  It's online only, so with some small exceptions, there is no "save point" that can be used in the middle of an activity.   

There are daily and weekly activities that can be done to earn random rewards the first time they are completed within their window.  The game is designed to get less rewarding if it is over played, but the amount of activities available mean that it could literally be played as a close to full time job before one starts hitting the diminishing returns.

In Destiny, the clothes make the man, - literally - what the virtual doll wears determines how effective it is.  So finding the best clothes (armor) is a strong motivation in the game, as is finding the best guns...  so feel free to point out that your partner is effectively playing dress-up with a virtual doll.

Of course, most of the activities *could* award clothes and guns, could also award some mere Destiny dollar. 

And if the random rewards weren't enough create an addiction, most of the things one can win require that they be used before they become as cool as they could be...   So winning a cool toy randomly is only half the battle - the other half being using it until it becomes cool.

Lastly, because there wasn't enough already, there are more types of in-game money than there was in Europe before the E.U.   As Destiny Economics 101 would bore most to tears, just assume that there is some sort of "money" reward for the activities mentioned, thou' one or two are mentioned specifically out of necessity.

Why tell you, the poor Destiny widow or widower? So you can know what motivates your significant other, and therefor more effectively bargain for favors, and so you know whether "Just 5 more minutes babe!" is the truth or pure lies.

Who are they playing with?

Destiny can be played by one's self or in a team, and against the computer or other players.  The more interesting play activities generally require a team thou'.   You'll have to ask them if they are goofing off by themselves or geeking out with buddies.

Matchmaking vs. Non-matchmaking activities

Destiny is designed to be a social game in many respects, and the game will provide a team at random for some of the easier content.

The more difficult content, the stuff that requires communication and teamwork for success, the game actually does not provide a team.  The assumption is that a group of random people who presumably can't talk to each other wouldn't be able to complete those activities.  There are websites dedicated to finding a team for the game as well.

What this means is that if you ask your significant other to quit certain activities, particularly those that require a good team, you're impacting not only their fun, but the fun of either random strangers or their friends.  Yes, this is a blatant attempt to ask you to consider that request for "5 more minutes". 

Granted, if your significant other over committed their time, they need to own that, and on the flip side your consideration for your partner's play buddies when considering asking them to quit in the middle of a group activity is a sign of awesomeness

The Destiny Week & Reward Resets

As mentioned, Destiny has activities that only reward once a day or week. The daily reset is currently set at 4:00 a.m. CST, with the weekly reset being concurrent with the Tuesday morning reset.

There are two significant events in the Destiny Week:
  1. The Weekly Reset - this is when all of the weekly activities "reset" so that they will give out their rewards upon completion and any Raid savepoints, discussed below, are cleared and the player must start a fresh run. 
  2. The arrival of the special vendor Xur, Agent of the Nine - Xur arrives on the Friday morning reset and leaves on Sunday morning's reset.
A note about Xur, he's Destiny's equivalent of Santa in some ways, and if out of town your partner may task you with logging on to buy something from him. 

Just what the hell they're doing in the Story:

Infinite Events: 

These events can be done repeatedly for a minor reward.
  • Patrol (<5 minutes - 10 minutes):

Patrol is Destiny's easy mode for mindless fun.  It's also the least time intensive, so kick them off of the game without a twinge of guilt if you need to.
  • Strike (15 - 40 minutes):

A strike is an extended story mission that is played with two other people.  If one doesn't have friends, the game provides them with two battle buddies to do the event.

  • Glimmer Farming (10 minutes):

Glimmer is a type of money that can be earned in the game, and has a relatively low amount that can be held at any one time, making it easy to go broke. 

Due to game mechanics, playing just to get this "money" is done in ten minute increments, and generally takes an hour of dedicated effort to reach the maximum.

Daily Events:

These activities have their rewards reset each day, thus giving every day the potential to play more while feeling like one is accomplishing something.   
  • Public Events (5 minutes to complete + up to 10 or so minutes of waiting):

These are random little extra missions which randomly occur while wandering around on patrol.

There are websites that have pretty accurate timers for when and where public events will occur, but they are not exact.  Players hunt public events because the first reward of the day can be saved up for future use. 
  • Bounties (<5 minutes - half an hour): 

Bounties are short, mostly easy, tasks that can be done for minor rewards. There are around 15 per available per day - some are doable in patrol, some require a quick hop into a longer mission, and some are only achieved playing against other players.

Most don't need to be finished in one sitting, so they are easily interrupted if they do go long. 
  • The Daily Story Mission (20-40 minutes): 

This takes a mission which they've played before, and makes it slightly harder and provides a small reward.

Weekly Events:

The weekly events are where the more difficult & time consuming content lies.  The rewards are limited to one time a week per character
  • The Weekly Heroic Strike (20 - 50 minutes)

This is a slightly more difficult strike, hence the added time.  It rewards Xur-bucks, for the vendor mentioned above.
  • The Weekly Nightfall Strike (25 - infinity minutes)

This is the content that separates the men from the boys. This content punishes the player for losing by making them start over from the beginning, losing being defined as all members of the team being killed.

Your partner will likely be intensely focused and hopefully working with his team to complete this objective.  Try and at least let him finish the mission if he's playing with buddies as Nightfalls are particularly nerve wracking to do by one's self.

The Nightfall Strike also basically gives the player a bonus "money" for the rest of the week for just about every other activity, so it's likely to be something your partner wants to do consistently if they plan to play more during the week.
  • The Raids

Raids are the be-all-end-all of Destiny content, and are designed for a six-man team. 

  • What's so different about Raids?


Raids are the one activity in Destiny that actually allow you to quit and resume progress, that being said a good group usually wants to finish in one sitting due to the hassle of finding five other people to do the activity with. The different save checkpoints are noted below - most also some with some sort of activity reward, with an exception or two, so finishing a checkpoint is preferable to abandoning it in the middle.

Raids often have, in addition to an overwhelming number of enemies, some sort of puzzle or unique mechanic that makes them more fun and interesting than the typical "shoot until you run out of bad guys" game play. 

Due to this factor thou', a section of a Raid can be "lost" long before the last player dies.  Resetting the encounter by committing suicide, i.e. "Wiping", is common, and makes it a challenge to gauge estimate a completion time, as any individual section of a raid shouldn't take more than 10-20 minutes to complete, but repeated failed attempts can make things last hours longer than they "should have" - particularly when the game bugs out through no fault of the player.

In addition, there is a special role in each Raid which takes additional skill as it requires the use of a special weapon, noted below.

The Raids come in two difficulties, easy and hard, and can be run on easy then hard for rewards.  Hard Raids penalize death by not allowing the player to be "revived" by his team mates, so "wipes" are more frequent as being down a player for the whole encounter can make some things impossible to complete. 

Honestly, a team that works well together and has a good "special weapon bearer" through a hard raid is a treasure, so please factor that in when you're contemplating whether to ask your partner to stop playing.

Conversely, if your partner is beating their head against a wall due to bad team mates, you could be doing them a favor by having them quit and try with better team mates at a future point in time. 
  • Vault of Glass: (Normal - a hour and a half; Hard - two hours)

The Vault of Glass (VoG) is the longest, most challenging encounter in Destiny from a teamwork and mechanics standpoint.  It is also the most lengthy activity. 

The enemies are methodical and relentless, basically like the terminator, and there is a lot of defending a point from wave after wave of enemies until an invisible timer runs out, so many of the encounters are basically timed. 

The special weapon's bearer for the VoG is the "Relic Holder", though due to the mechanics of the "Boss Fight" at least 3/4 of the team could have to be a Relic Bearer.

There are several sections to it, and it is pretty common to get a checkpoint from another player so that one only has to play the sections they want, hence the list for your guidance as one can start in the middle and possibly only want one section.

Here are the sections/checkpoints for VoG:

  • Opening the Vault (10 minutes)
  • Confluxes (20 minutes - No Loot)
  • Oracles (10 minutes)
  • Templar - "The Sub Boss" (10 Minutes)
  • Gorgon's Maze (5 minutes)
  • The Jump Puzzle (<5 minutes)
  • Gatekeepers (10 minutes)
  • Atheon - "The Boss Fight" (10 minutes)
Please note that these are estimates, with a tiny amount of padding, that assume both a competent team with adequate equipment, a team lacking in either or both can effectively have the infinitely long experience alluded to in the "Nightfall" section.

  • Crota's End - (Normal - 45 minutes; Hard - an hour and a half)

Crota's End (CE) is two entirely different experiences between Normal and Hard for a fully geared up player.  Normal is almost a slightly longer strike, where Hard is a challenge.

Crota's End plays something like a zombie movie, with a mix of frentic running and gunning combined with some point defense while the gate unlocks itself. The special weapon's bearer for CE is the "Sword Bearer", and this position is 80% responsible for success or failure in the "Boss Fight".

Crota's End is so easily ran up to the Boss Battle, particularly on Normal, that its less common to use a check point, but some people will skip to the "Boss Fight" particularly on hard.

Here are the sections/checkpoints for CE:

  • The Abyss (10 minutes)
  • The Bridge (10 minutes)
  • The "Thrallway" (5 minutes)
  • The Deathsinger - "The Sub Boss" (10 minutes)
  • Crota - "The Boss Fight" (10 minutes)Th
Crota the boss fight is particularly challenging on Hard Mode, as it is very dependent on the game playing "nice" while getting the Sword and it was very common for this to take upwards of an hour on Hard Mode due to repeated wipes.

  • The Prison of Elders (an hour - with the right gear)

This is more of a mash-up of a Strike and a Raid, but since it is an "End Game" activity, it's getting put into the Raid category.  Basically, this is go into four rooms with random bad-guys and challenges, and kick ass. 

The main thing to note is that there is no checkpoint in this activity, so quitting in the middle leaves the player with nothing to show for it, so if you're going to ask your partner to stop, try and do so at the beginning as playing for no loot = sad panda.

Competitive Destiny - player versus player (PvP):

The main thing to know about PvP is that one "match" is about 10-15 minutes, including the time it takes for the game to find opponents.

There are two special events that are similar to Raids that are limited time only events, the Iron Banner and the Trials of Osiris.   
  • The Crucible (12 - 15 minutes on average for a match)

This is the term for PvP in general for Destiny, and there are  different game types. 

Most of Destiny's PvP game types are team based, Rumble excluded, so again, it's best to let your partner finish playing if time allows as two to five other players are depending on them.
  • The Iron Banner Tournament (50 odd matches)

The Iron Banner is a week long "tournament", from weekly reset to weekly reset, that basically tracks points earned for number of wins and special bounties completed in 6 vs. 6 matches. 

Individual match times are the same as The Crucible.

The reason to play is that the Iron Banner allows the player to "buy" Raid equivalent armor and unique weapons once their character has earned a certain number of points. 

Players are awarded 50 points a win, and 40 points up to five losses before their next win.  The special bounties are effectively two "free wins". 

The game has two additional "bonus point" systems that make the actual amount of time needed very difficult to estimate without a spreadsheet because one of these systems gives a bigger bonus later in the week.

There are five ranks to the Iron Banner:

Rank 1 - 100 points
Rank 2 - 1200 points / 1300 points total
Rank 3 - 2400 points / 3700 points total (A Gun & Armor!)
Rank 4 - 2400 points / 6100 points total (More Armor!)
Rank 5 - 2400 points / 8500 points total (Another Gun!)

To get one character to rank 5, it's generally estimated that it will take an hour a day Tuesday through Monday, or 2 hours a day Friday - Monday. 

This doesn't count the fact that the player will likely have to "glimmer farm" as mentioned above if they want to be able to buy anything.
  • The Trials of Osiris (up to 20 minutes a match, up to 10 matches)

The Trials of Osiris is a mini-tournament that runs from Friday until Monday, and unlike the other PvP events, consists only of pre-made teams in a 3 vs. 3 match.   Each match consists of an up to 2.5 minute round, with the best of five winning the match meaning that match could go a total of eight rounds.

Each attempt at the Trials of Osiris allows a player up to three match losses before being reset, with the maximum number of wins being 10.

The fact that three losses ends the attempt makes this the "Hard Corps" tournament, with zero guarantee of success.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Living the "Green Stompy" Dream in Conspiracy Draft

So I had huge fun because I started with a Pack 1, Pick 1 Squirrel's Nest, and just forced green like it was going out of style.  Ended up in Green/Red with one white splash.  Also, a pack of Theros and a pack of Journey to Nyx were added to the draft, which was surprisingly relevant.. 

The Deck - sans basic lands:
  • The Conspiracies
    • Brago's Favor x2
    • Muzzio's Preparations
    • Sentinel Dispatch
  • Reflecting Pool x2, because why not?
  • Renowned Weaver
  • Torch Fiend
  • Sakura-Tribe Elder x2
  • Selvala's Enforcer x5(!)
  • Sporecap Spider x2
  • Elvish Aberration x2
  • Chartooth Couger
  • Woodvine Elemental - the white splash
  • Scaled Wurm x2
  • Power of Fire
  • Respite
  • Echoing Courage
  • Trumpet Blast
  • Portent of Betrayal (the surprisingly relevant card..)
  • Neylea's Presence
  • Squirrel Nest
  • Fires of Yavimaya x2
I decided that I would go the "Undercosted Beater" route, as Selvala's Enforcer seems "meh" at four mana, even if it is card draw for green, but a potential 3/3-7/7 for two seems good, particularly in multiples...

Odd set up in that the two surviving members of one 4 player match were I was playing against a Father/Son duo and a player I didn't know.  The son was at the "proficient at playing, but was still grasping subtleties" level of play skill and the dad was an EDH guy who had been playing continuously since 1994.

So Game One I lived the dream of curving out into Fires of Yavimaya on Turn 3, Turn 4 flipping my Conspiracies and dropping two Selvala's Enforcers one of which was a 7/7, another of which was a 4/4, and then smashing "the dad" with zero creatures for 11...

I then dropped a 3rd Enforcer that came out as a 6/6, and smashed "the son" for 17...  Afterward stealing a large blocker from "the Dad" with the one Theros Threaten effect and finishing him as he was playing as if he still had outs to my board state.  Which apparently involved a 10/10 Flying Double Striker of some type, but he didn't show me his hand so I don't know how other than he'd drafted Basandra and was on a Boros beatdown plan...

After that, I left the "son" durdeling at three life, and went after the opponent who'd literally done nothing the whole game, and just repeatedly bashed through his weenies...  Which took awhile as my Parleys and his card-draw had left him with a hand full of gas.  But after both Elvish Abberation & a Scaled Wurm, I had a board state that I haven't seen since 1995... 

Which is me in a multiplayer game with an army of huge green beaters.

Game 2 someone was on a better plan which was early Grenzo's Cutthroats with the Preparations & the Conspiracy that allows you to pull them out of the deck plus the Vent Sentinel plan, but he made a tactical error and killed the wrong threat with 12 points of burn, a player with a bunch of small fliers, then died horribly the next turn to the "son" who had moved up with me due to a Reign of the Pit Token he didn't realized had flying.

That left me with a fog in hand, and enough combat tricks to crash through the remaining player.

Good times for me, though I felt bad about hyper-aggro'ing out the table game one...  But not bad enough to where I wouldn't draft a similar deck in the future thou'.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Becoming a Middle Aged Dandy

Because this is an epic blog post here's the Tl;dr: My shave routine, my "handsome" regimen, and product reviews. 

- Shaving Routine -


I don't remember the inchoate itch that got me to take the plunge into wet razing, but the event that crystallized it for me was a Massdrop for a Feather AS-DE2, All Steel-Double Edged Safety Razor.  And then the Massdrop for the Feather Artist Club SS Shavette with Artist Professional Blades cemented it.  After watching Mantic59 and Geofatboy on YouTube, I took an educated plunge into the wet razing world.

I've rounded out the collection with Dovo 5/8"  9/16" Round Tip Straight Razor as a new purchase - it's too bad that it was falsely advertized as "like new" when it in fact had a chip in the blade as that issue shorted me a 1/16".  I have only a single shave under my belt, and have yet to acquire a strop, and I'm leaning towards using this blade another time or two, then either getting the full straight razor set-up or just sticking with the shavette.

I feel that the Feather Shavette is still the better shaver, but will probably save up for a razor that doesn't need to have its blade ground to be a functional shaver, as I feel that there may be some beveling on the Dovo Blade that wasn't preserved in that process.

As I was taking the plunge, I realized I needed a Parker Silvertip Badger Brush; now you may look at that brush as expensive, but to be honest, it is the least expensive "top of the line", i.e. Sivertip Badger hair brush, I found as vendors want $150 to $250 or more for a similar shaving brush.  There are issues with a new brush, namely wet animal smell, that can be addressed by soaking the brush in a teaspoon of borax dissolved into a cup and a half of water and then working up a lather or two with the brush to get the soap scent into the hair.

Now and some shaving cream or soap at the very least, and while at Whole Foods, I also discovered that there are shave oils and I've come to like a combination of Herban Cowboys "Dusk" shaving soap fort its sandalwood & leather smell, and Leap Organic's Shave Oils and After Shave Balm.  I find that the shave oil is great for holding post-shower moister on my face while I prepare my shaving lather, and that the balm on a face that has been just splashed with cold water post alum block is one of the most pleasant feelings in my daily routine.

The difference between the shave oil and the balm is one of viscosity, the shave oil is a much lighter weight than the balm.  The soap is there to smell good, provide a bit of extra lubrication & hydration, and help my razors stay clean as that an oil only shave can really gum up my DE razor.

I also decided that certain styptic, or blood clotting products would be useful, with My Nick is Sealed being my go-to "Oopsie" product.  The one thing I personally love as a part of my post shave routine is using an Edward Jagger Alum Block on my face as it both disinfects, seals any minor abrasions, and tightens the skin in a way that makes it seem to lap-up the aftershave balm. In addtion to all of this, it tells you how well you shaved - via a salt on wound stinging sensation.

So my shave routine with my safety razor is:
  1. Shower and spend the last 1-2 minutes massaging my beard with hot water prior to exiting the shower.  Doing this helps you know which directions your facial hair grows in different areas in the beginning.  My hair is straight down on my face and jawline, then the gullet and neck part in the middle of my chin and slowly start to sweep to where the hair is pointing towards my back.  The very sparse hair that's on the bottom third of my neck grows straight up to the top of my head, just to switch it up some more.
  2. After drying off, but leaving my face alone, I apply the shave oil.
  3. Mix-up and apply the lather to my face.  This process takes a few minutes for both getting the brush "loaded" with lather, and then using the brush to gently lift my whiskers and lightly exfoliate at the same time.
  4. Do a pass that is straight down my neck, which is a "with the grain" (WTG) pass on my cheeks and an "across the grain"(XTG) pass on my neck.  I like using the Shavette to make this pass these days.
  5. Decide whether I want a baby's butt smooth shave or just a passable shave - if just passable, skip to step 8.
  6. Reapply oil and lather, go XTG on my cheeks, against the grain (ATG) on my "soul patch" and WTG on my neck.
  7. Reapply oil and lather, go ATG on my jaw line & cheeks.
  8. Clean my shave brush while the tap is still hot.
  9. Apply cold water to all shaved areas.
  10. Wet the alum block in cold water and apply to all shaved areas.
  11. After 30 seconds, rinse alum bock area with cold water, using the wait time to dry the alum block off for storage.
  12. Apply shaving balm to wet skin.
  13. Clean razors for storage.
  14. Profit.
Now what happened after wet shaving for a few weeks was that I had cheeks and neck that were as smooth as a baby's bottom and looking lovely outside of the few minor scars that comes with the learning curve for a sharp piece of metal that slides over one's face.  I began to realize I was lavishing the lower half of my face with attention and ignoring the upper half of my face completely...  That seemed like a recipe for looking like a horizontal version of Two-Face.

- "Handsome" Regimen -

As an aside, from massaging your beard with oils, etc...  Your hands will be gloriously smooth as well, so bonus.

So what I did is hit my sister up for a belated Christmas gift of a trip to the spa for a facial so I could get a recommendation on how to properly go about this from an esthetician.  My facial challenges are relatively minor.  I have combination skin, and that leaves me with large pores on and next to my nose.  I don't have any skin conditions on my face outside of the occasional pimple.

The basic formula that I received for a routine:
  1. Cleanse
  2. Tone
  3. Vitamin C Serum
  4. Eye Cream 
  5. Moisturize with SPF (a.m.) / Epidermal Repair Cream (p.m.)
  6. Exfoliate twice a week.
Products I've been using for my routines:
  1. Cleanse - Bulldog Facial Wash
  2. Tone - Eminence Organic Skincare Stone Crop Hydrating Mist
  3. Pore Reducer - Kyoku for Men Pore Reducing Serum 
  4. Vitamin C Serum -  Skinceuticals CF Antioxidant Treatment* / DIY Vitiman C Serum
  5. Eye Cream - Kyoku for Men Eye Fuel / Skinceuticals A.G.E. Eye Complex*
  6. Moisturize - Bulldog Anti-Aging MoisturizerSkinceuticals Epidermal Repair Cream
  7. Exfoliate - Eminence Strawberry-Rhubarb Exfloliating Powder
The one thing I want to say about beauty products is that for me, less is more.  I found the best way to avoid feeling too greasy is to use tiny amounts of product that are nearly dry by the time I'm done applying them to my skin, an will list the amounts and techniques for application that have worked for me.

Now integrating these two routines is a bit of a pickle.

I honestly feel that my shaving routine accomplishing everything that I need for the areas I shave, as shaving is very exfoliating by its nature, and the alum block seems to have the same effect as the toner, and the balm is moisturizing as all get out...  I had a cold winter wind blowing on my face and could feel the balm protecting me while still not being too greasy.

What I do to integrate the two is:
  1. Apply cleanser to my entire face in the shower. Large dime-sized bead lathered between the whole hands.
  2. Exfoliate upper cheeks & forehead if necessary in the shower.  Quarter sized portion of powder "lathered" between the wet, whole hands.  I used this much because I want to aggressively hit my nose and that much powder starts off as a fine grit sand paper that gets gentler as it's applied to the skin.
  3. Shave routine outlined previously.
  4. Apply toner to cheeks, nose and forehead. Three-four sprays that are then rubbed into the skin.
  5. Apply eye cream.  Sesame sided beads that are mixed on the tip of my index fingers and then applied to the eyes and eye lids.
  6. Apply pore cream. A pop-corn sized bead applied with one index finger, using the other finger like a painter's palate
  7. Apply moisturizer. One Pea sized bead for the cheeks, nose and forehead, moving it up to dime sized if moisturizing my whole face.
I have also tried using the alum block, then applying the toner mist to my entire face, and it just didn't feel as effective as having a bit of cold water on my face and hands and applying the after shave balm.

- Product Reviews -

 I have expensive tastes because I prefer value to low price.  That being said, I don't want to purchase a pure status symbols.   My preference is for products that feel "natural" so you'll see the word "Organic" more often than not. 

 Products for Shaving:

  • Feather Razor and Shavette - these are both great shavers that have the value to justify your price; and honestly, do you really want to run cheap, sharp steel over your face daily?  If you're really looking to get into Wet Razing inexpesively this Feather Safety Razor is one way to start.
  • Parker Silvertip Badger Shaving Brush - least expensive option for lathering up like a champion - I believe that this comes in both a chrome and plastic handle; go with the plastic as the hot water one uses for shaving can heat that thing up a bit too much.
  • LEAP Organics Shave Oil - this does a great job of keeping my beard soft and pliable for shaving while feeling purely natural cooking oil.
  • LEAP Organics After-Shave Balm - this balm feels great and leaves a healthy feeling sheen on the skin that actually can protect from wind chapping in the winter and feels lovely to the touch on my cheek according to post nuzzling feedback from the wife.
  • Herban Cowboy Dusk Shaving Soap - this stuff smells manly and lathers reasonably well. 
  • Edwin Jagger Alum Block - great stuff, though some may feel a rock is a rock. 

 Products for "Handsomeness": 

  • Bulldog Facial Cleanser - a very light, clean smelling facial soap that leaves the skin ready for the rest of the regimen; also, it's less than $20.00, which is a bargain for facial products.
  • Eminence Stone Crop Mist - this greenish watery fluid seems to help by initially providing some moisture.   
  • Kyoku Eye Cream & Gel - this combo seems to tighten my eyes up just a bit and help them keep a lighter color when I'm sleep deprived, which is fairly frequently.
  • Kyoku Pore Reduction Serum - took a day or two for this to work, but seems to keep my pores at about half the size that they would be without treatment.
  • Bulldog Moisturizer - This stuff does a great job of quickly absorbing into the skin while making the skin feel dry and moisturized
  • Eminence Exfoilating Powder - this stuff is awesome, as you can mix it to be as abrasive as you'd like, and it dissolves into nothing after use because it's rice based. The Bulldog brand exfoilant that I've tried had the annoying traits of not being gritty enough combined with the grit sneaking into my eyes and irritating them.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

My Magic Story



I originally got into Magic as a Dungeons and Dragons alternative, but I’ve actually found it to be a  nice mirror for self-reflection due to its competitive nature.  D&D is a collaborative story telling game, and while there are plenty of munchkins who treat it as a win-lose game, at the end of the day, it’s a group of people who’ve gotten together to tell and interesting story.  As an aside, single player video games are puzzles, because they are designed to be solved eventually. 
 
Magic, on the other hand, is competitive at its core; the rule system doesn’t let everyone win as they do in D&D and as someone who shied away from sports and the competitive games for most of my life – the world of competition was foreign to me.  For me, as I delved into the hobby in my early thirties, I came to realize that the notable Magic personalities on the Pro Tour circuit at the time, in addition to likely being geniuses in their own right, treated Magic like an additional part-time job.  It really drove home, unfortunately a bit later in life than I would have liked, that excellence, vice mere proficiency, requires effort.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

GP Vegas Pools... What a Waste of Potential

Just a sealed pool for ya'll - G.P. Vegas Sealed Pools. 

For the record, I "won some and lost some"...  And we'll just leave it at that

Deck - Bomb laden Junk Dredge: 
Sword of Light and Shadow
Doubling Season
Maelstrom Pulse
Street Wraith Death Cloud (my biggest punt deck building)
Knight of the Reliquary
Dakmor Salvage
Teramorphic Expanse
 Moldervine Cloak
Search for Tomorrow
Absorb Vis x2
Worm Harvest
Incremental Growth
Walker of the Grove x2
Giant Dustwasp
Reach of Branches
Penumbra Spider
Imperiosaur
Pallid Mycoderm
Stinkweed Imp
Eternal Witness
Thallid Shell-Dweller x2
Rathi Trapper
Festering Goblin

Playable Side-board:
Pepper Smoke
Faerie Macabre
Drag Down
Kataki, War's Wage
Test of Faith
Death Rattle
Raven's Crime

Other:
Arcbound Stinger
Arcbound Wanderer
Arcbound Worker
Myr Retriever
Pyrite Spellbomb
Runed Stalactite
Amrou Seekers
Blinding Beam
Court Homunculus
Gleam of Resistance
Ivory Giant
Kithkin Greatheart
Saltfield Recluse
Sanctum Gargoyle
Veteran Armorer
Careful Consideration x2
Erratic Mutation
Etherium Sculptor
Faerie Mechanist
Logic Knot
Mulldrifter
Peer Through Depths
Perilous Research
Pestermite x2
Reach Through Mists x2
Riftwing Cloudskate
Take Possession
Vedalken Dismisser
Auntie's Snitch x2
Festering Goblin
Syphon Life x2
Warren Philpherers x2
Warren Weirding
Hana Kami
Riftsweeper
Brute Force
Crush Underfoot
Firey Fall
Hammerheim Deadeye
Rift Bolt
Stingscourger
Stinkdrinker Devil
Tar Pitcher x2
Thundering Giant x2
Progenitus
Trygon Predator

Friday, January 11, 2013

A completely Irrelevant Post - My 1st Place Avacyn Restored Pre-Release Sealed Pool

The Deck - Green/Red Aggro Soulbond:

  • Diregraf Escort
  • Somberwald Vigilante
  • Lightning Mauler
  • Wandering Wolf x2
  • Boarderland Ranger
  • Hanweir Lancer x2
  • Wolfir Avenger
  • Flowering Lumberknot x2
  • Druid's Familiar
  • Yew Spirit
  • Howlgeist
  • Wolfir Silverheart
  • Snare the Skies
  • Joint Assault
  • Lightning Prowess
  • Thunderbolt
  • Pillar of Flame
  • Triumph of Ferocity
  • Abundant Growth
  • Bladed Bracers
  • Tormentor's Trident
  • +Lands
Play Notes:
  • It was a small Pre-Release, 16 players, 4 rounds.
  • The original plan was to beat down with a 9/9 Lumberknot, but that never materialized; and yes, I know that Lumberknot was a swingy inclusion, if not an outright limited trap, but the Timmy in me couldn't resist the siren call of under costed 5/5's...
  • Curving out Hanweir Lancer into Druid's Familiar  was just dirty in the early game.  Two turn 4 first striking 4/4's won be more than one game. 
  • I had the following scenario happen with that combination.  I played my turn 3 Hanweir Lancer, my opponent asked what's its Soulbond ability was, and I told him.  He assumed that I was bonding it to my Diregraf Escort as well; which I never stated.  There was some heartburn over that miscommunication. 

The Pool:

White: 
  • Cathedral Sanctifier x2
  • Nearheath Pilgrim
  • Moorland Inquisitor
  • Thraben Valiant
  • Moonlight Geist
  • Farbog Explorer
  • Seraph of Dawn
  • Leap of Faith
  • Cursebreak
  • Cloudshift
  • Divine Deflection
  • Terminus
  • Defang
  • Call to Serve
  • Builder's Blessing

Blue: 
  • Wingcrafter
  • Nephalia Smuggler
  • Alchemist's Apprentice
  • Fetter Geist x2
  • Lunar Mystic
  • Lone Revenant
  • Outwit x2
  • Ghostly Flicker
  • Second Guess
  • Fleeting Distraction
  • Peel from Reality
  • Geist Snatch
  • Dreadwaters
  • Spectral Prison
  • Ghostly Touch
Black:
  • Hunted Ghoul
  • Butcher Ghoul
  • Crypt Creeper
  • Bloodflow Connoisseur
  • Searchlight Geist (Foil)
  • Evernight Shade
  • Driver of the Dead
  • Essence Harvest x2
  • Ghoulflesh x2
  • Demonic Rising
  • Grave Exchange
  • Unhallowed Pact
  • Mental Agony
  • Death Wind
Red:
  • Falkenrath Exterminator
  • Scalding Devil
  • Kessig Malcontents
  • Riot Ringleader
  • Raging Poltergeist
  • Battle Hymn
  • Uncanny Speed
  • Demolish

Green:
  • Wildwood Geist
  • Nettle Swine

Artifacts:
  • Narstad Scrapper

Monday, November 5, 2012

Human Aggro in Standard

Statement of Purpose and a Vanity Post

Purpose: 

This post is going to consolidate all of the Human Aggro & some of the more agressive mid-range strategies for the Return to Ravnica Standard season so long as it's a tier-2.5 or better archetype.

I'm not qualified to do the analysis.  I will say that determining why the last 15 cards in a deck are different is generally what helps improve one's card evaluation abilities if done in context with what the other popular decks at the time were, hence the dates on all of the articles and deck lists.

This is a work in progress, I'm going to put time into updating it until I'm caught up, but there are a large number of decks to catalog due to States.

Minor play subtleties for UW Aggro:

  • Levy Skyknight (and the other multi-colored cards with the detain mechanic) can detain nonland permanents not just creatures; making it much more flexible than I originally thought, as Planeswalkers can be targeted.
  • Silverblade Paladin is better paired with a Geist of St. Traft angle token instead of the Geist if you just want to push through damage.
  • Cavern of Souls with "Cleric" as the chosen creature type gives you the ability to play both Geist of St. Traft and Fiend Hunter.

Vanity Post:

Before I took a six month break in my MtG career due to the fact that Standard with two full blocks always feels like stale good-stuff decks take over the format, and since I'm a VORTHOS-spike, this just depresses me so I've taken to just not playing standard between the release of the last block in a set and the rotation in October.  I did it when New Phyrexia was released and Caw-Blade was the menace de jure, and again after Avacyn Restored and Delver seemed to be everywhere.

Now many will note that I don't have updates regarding Innistrad & Dark Ascension, and that's due to the fact that I have forum comments detailing Haunted Humans that could make excellent blog posts languishing away in obscurity.

And while it appears, as of November 5th, 2012, that Bant Control will be out in force at the moment, there are Human Tribal decks still viable in the format, so I'm going to collect both decks and articles on the subject here so that the changes in the meta-game and the card choice justifications can be followed with changes in the meta-game.

It is my intent to edit this post as new decks are successful, and this is basically going to be a consolidation of any articles I find, though I'm mainly using TCGPlayer as my source for articles and deck lists as Craig Wescoe - who writes for TCGPlayer, is the professional player & magic author who is most dedicated to White aggro strategies.

As a side note for newer players, Craig Wescoe, is just now starting to live down an incident at the 2010 Columbus Grand Prix where he called the judges to investigate a humorous comment about a wager made by his opponent, which ended with the opponent getting disqualified.  Many in the competitive community thought it was a "dick move" and Wescoe has accordingly gotten hell for it since.  The flack he's caught hasn't stopped him from placing in large events thou'.

To put the Grand Prix incident in context, if you read about the life of a semi to professional Magic player, the pro-players in the MtG community tend to wager at the drop of the proverbial hat regarding who pays for dinner, etc...  And if they are feeling snarky, they'll perform a "Wescoe Check" prior to making a wager of any sort. 

I mention that incident because I feel that Wescoe is still one of the best writers over at TCGPlayer, and a "must read" author for any budding aggro player despite that incident. 

Articles:

State's Articles: 

Competitive Event Placement:

States 2012 Placement: 

Azorius Aggro - New York States 2012 - 2nd Place
Azorius Aggro - New York States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Bant Aggro - Wisconsin States 2012 - 1st Place
Azorius Aggro - Wisconsin States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - New Hampshire 2012 - 3rd-4th Place
Azorius Aggro - British Columbia 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Selesnya Aggro - Newfoundland States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Maine States 2012 - 3rd-4th Place
Bant Aggro - Minnesota States 2012 - 3rd-4th Place
Azorius Aggro - Minnesota States 2012 - 1st Place
Azorius Aggro - Iowa States 2012 - 3rd-4th Place
Azorius Aggro - Idaho States 2012 - 1st Place
Bant Aggro - Colorado States 2012 - 2nd Place
Selesnya Aggro - Oklahoma States 2012 - 2nd Place
Azorius Aggro - Arizona States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Vermont States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Rhode Island States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - North Dakota States 2012 - 1st Place
Azorius Aggro - Nebraska States 2012 - 3rd-4th Place
Azorius Aggro - Nebraska States 2012 - 2nd Place
Azorius Aggro - Missouri States - 2nd Place
Selesnya Aggro - Wyoming States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Wyoming States 2012 - 3rd-4th Place
Azorius Aggro - Wyoming States 2012 - 1st Place
Azorius Aggro - South Dakota States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Manitoba States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Mississippi States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Selesnya Aggro - Ontario States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Connecticut States 2012 - 5th-8th Place
Azorius Aggro - Michigan States 2012 - 2nd Place
Selesnya Aggro - Michigan States 2012 - 5th-8th Place