Me and my Deck

~Ooc: Magic
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It's been a while since I discussed my deck here... Anyway, here it is, a spinoff from Katsuhiro Mori's deck. Mori piloted this until the Top 8 of Worlds, but he lost in the semifinals. Ryo Ogura, on the other hand, played exactly same deck as Mori, and managed to land in the Top 2, but lost in the final game with Mihara, who piloted a Dragonstorm deck. But enough talk, here's my take on TriskeTron:

122006 ~ TriskeTron

4 Boreal Shelf
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
1 Urza's Factory
1 Academy Ruins
1 Prahv, Spires of Order

2 Triskelavus
2 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir

1 Careful Consideration
2 Spell Snare
3 Faith's Fetters
3 Wrath of God
1 Mystical Teachings
4 Remand
2 Spell Burst
2 Mana Leak
2 Think Twice
3 Dimir Signet
4 Azorius Signet
4 Compulsive Research
1 Clutch of the Undercity
1 Rewind

Sideboard:
2 Spell Snare
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Wrath of God
2 Circle of Protection: Red
4 Rune Snag
1 Return to Dust
3 Annex
1 Muse Vessel

There it is. Trisketron, slightly modified from Katsuhiro Mori's list. The main differences are as follows: Obviuosly, the Sideboard is tweaked according to the metagame. Also, I pulled the following cards from Mori's list and replaced them accordingly:

-4 Hallowed Fountain ._. (Just because I don't have the funds right now...)
-1 Island
-1 Commandeer (The price of this piece rocketted to 200ea from 50ea because of Mori's list...)
-2 Tidings (I don't like sorcery speed card draw...)

+4 Boreal Shelf ._. (Hollowed Fountain Proxy)
+1 Prahv, Spires of Order (Against the aggressive metagame)
+1 Rewind (Works like a charm with Spell Burst Lockdown)
+1 Clutch of the Undercity (Transmutes for a lot of things, disables hellbent, and emergency bounce and life loss)
+1 Faith's Fetters (The metagame here's very aggressive.)

There. Criticism are very much welcome.

Fate/Stay Night

~Ooc: Literature
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"I am the bone of my sword.
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.
I have created over a thousand blades.
Unknown to death.
Nor known to life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons.
Yet, those hands will never hold anything.
So as I pray, "Unlimited Blade Works."

~ Archer

Secure Shell Protocol Port Number

:: Entry #22 - Ten days pass ::
~Ooc: Headlines
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Mood: Jolly?
Music: Kono Machi de wa Dare mo ga Mina Jibun Igai no Nanika ni Naritagaru, Law of Ueki OST
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I just finished watching Fate/Stay Night, and it was really great. A real must-see anime, on par with Evangelion both in storyline and graphics. *sigh* Again, ten days pass before I got up and update this blog... Maybe I should rename it since I can't seem to find the time to complete the ~Ic stuff. Anyways, here's a brief summary of what happened last week and a half.

> Freaking hard prelim exams on System Analysis & Design and Philippine Constitution.
> I tried to set-up Austin and Angel, which ended in vain. I'll discuss later...I hope.
> I realized the situation Aubrey's in right now, and I don't think I can bear to be in her place...
> Edwin flies to singapore. Oh, he's got an XBox360. T_T
> Kasambahay "Overnight Christmas Party". We ended up "malling" in waltermart (of all possible places...) since there we're barely a dozen people in the venue. We thought it would be a very sad christmas party, so we went to waltermart instead.
> Overnight at my house. Allen, Austin, Roy, Phil, Jerwin, Jm, MarkCovs, thanks for being here!
> Reunion of my highschool batch, section Leibniz at a Resort this Dec.29... It's overnight too, and I really hope I can be there... My bestfriend's (Grace) not going to forgive me if I can't make it there...

That's about it. Oh, and it's Christmas in just a few more hours, so Merry Christmas! ^_^

Weight of your soul*

:: Entry #21 - Sixty ::
~Ooc: Headlines
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Mood: Tired
Music: Me & U, by Cassie
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Just got a whopping 60% in Prelim Grade in P.E. ~_~ Still have acouple of exams this day, but I need to send off this ACM Article to April before noon. I haven't finished the TicTacToe and Lecomelec Election Software yet though, and I still have to review on my Theory Subjects (Systems Analysis & Design and Data Communications & Networking). Darn it, I wish PLDT can get the phonelines fixed by tonight... I want to know what happend to Emiya (Fate/Stay Night). He's the only protagonist in an Anime I know who dies twice in the first four episodes ^^; There's a lot of things I want to discuss, a lot of things I want to do (Write the ~Ic stuff, for example), but I can't because of this academic stuff. *sigh*

I kind of regret being active in the Academe last semester... ~_~ I'll try to post something later, I still have a few errands to run...

*- According to this.

My Life, My Soul, For the Phoenix.

~Ooc: Literature
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I have always played Magic:The Gathering CCG, but in terms of story, L5R just rocks my world. I really love the setting, and the writers are really superb.

Kudos to Legend of the Five Rings Writers, namely Shawn Carman, Nancy Sauer and others! :D

The Number of First Moves in Chess

:: Entry #20 - Hurting ::
~Ooc: Headlines
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Mood: Still grumpy...
Music: Still the ITCC's keyboards...
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Why does it hurt? I no longer care about her, I'm quite sure I have moved on. To the point that I have someone else in my heart right now... But how come it really pains me to see her and Emil walking around the campus? How come I don't feel anything when we see each other without Emil? My heart bleeds when they're around, and I don't know why. Darn it.

Guess what though? I still haven't finished the ACM Article, and PLDT still haven't got the phonelines fixed. That means I'm typing right now at the ITCC, which is really annoying. I have prelim exams on my P.E. Class and Systems Analysis & Design tommorow, which sucks. I hope I can finish this projects (The Lecomelec Software and the accursed TicTacToe Software) before friday though... Btw, Magic's Gold Rush is this saturday, but I can't attend because of Prelim Exams. I really hate my life right now...

The Fourth Alternating Factorial

:: Entry #19 - I hate allergies... ::
~Ooc: Headlines
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Mood: Grumpy
Music: Keyboard clicking...
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So, PLDT's having problems with their phonelines. This means that I again doesn't have internet access at home, so please bear with me for a while. I'm facing problems left and right here, and I really need to stabilize. Just look at my ToDo list! Darn it... The quintessential problem of Lecomelec Software, the A.I. Software...Who would've thought programming a simple TicTacToe would take a couple of weeks to finish? Darn it, my mind is still reeling with game states and A.I. algorithms. What else... Well, I'm currently typing up an ACM article for LCA, and I still have to review for my DataCom&Networking lab. exam later. Oh, and I still have to review for my constitution exams...

*sigh* Have mentioned I that I collapsed last P.E. class? My legs gave way after running for quite a while. I'm really not made for sports, no matter how hard try, my body just gives up after a while. What else...

I'm going to post my ACM article here later, as well as an ~Ooc:Life post and an ~Ooc:Magic post, so sit tight and see ya all later! I hope... ~_~

Shíbā in Chinese

:: Entry #18 - I'm itchy ::
~Ooc: Headlines
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Mood: A bit grumpy
Music: Half Crazy, by: Freestyle
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April informed me sometime today that I'm one of the contestants for tomorrow's quiz bee. At 9:00am. T_T *sigh* I've no choice though, she's really kindof annoyed at me right now. I still haven't done the LCA website (which was due last August). I also downloaded the French episodes of Fate/Stay Night, an anime on the top lists of AnimeYume. It was already 25% complete when I noticed (1gb out of 4gb total), and I have to repeat the process all over again. And I still have to redownload the RF Client. Darn it, I've got lots of problems... There's still the quintessential problem of lecomelec, the election software, and a smaller 'assignment' on A.I. Did you know how hard it is to code an A.I. for a tic tac toe game? It's freaking hard. Really. Anyways, I still have to type a few things up, so sayonara, for now.

Btw, here's a trailer from Fate/Stay Night. Enjoy! :D

Magician's Jury

~Ooc: Magic
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Just the other night, a Jun (My guy bestfriend) asked me about the competitiveness of his deck. I'll get to that later - I'd just have to post a few decklists here: One is the list of Yuuichi Miyazaki, 2006 Aichi Standard Champs, 3rd place, and the other one's the list of Kazuya Saitou, 2006 Yamagata Standard Champs, 1st place.

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Yuuichi Miyazaki
2006 Aichi Standard Champs, 3rd place

Main Deck
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1 Pendelhaven
20 Forest
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21 land

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Silhana Ledgewalker
4 Scryb Ranger
4 Yavimaya Dryad
4 Spectral Force
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24 creatures

4 Call of the Herd
4 Blanchwood Armor
4 Moldervine Cloak
3 Stonewood Invocation
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15 other spells

4 Spike Feeder
3 Giant Solifuge
3 Serrated Arrows
3 Krosan Grip
2 Greater Good
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15 sideboard cards
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Kazuya Saitou
2006 Yamagata Standard Champs Winner

Main Deck
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2 Island
8 Forest
4 Breeding Pool
4 Yavimaya Coast
1 Pendelhaven
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19 land

4 Llanowar Elves
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Scryb Ranger
4 Plaxmanta
4 Ohran Viper
4 Spectral Force
3 Mystic Snake
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27 creatures

4 Call of the Herd
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
2 Stonewood Invocation
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14 other spells

1 Mystic Snake
1 Loxodon Warhammer
3 Serrated Arrows
3 Giant Solifuge
3 Krosan Grip
4 Repeal
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15 sideboard cards
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What's the difference? Well, Kazuya's obviously the 1st placer, and Yuuichi only placed third - although it seems unfair of us to judge them this way since they're not from the same district. But still, the point remains. Single colored decks need very good pilots in order to make it to the top lists, while dual colored decks, even simple ones, can be found on the top easily. Proof? On the whole japan, how many mono colored decks have placed in Japan champs? Only one per district in the average: and only Mono-White is populous, and there's only one Mono-Green (Correct me if I'm mistaken here).

Let's take a look closer at the two lists - Both of them utilized the same primary win con - a turn 3 Spectral Force through Scryb Ranger acceleration, finishing with elephant beatdown + stonewood invocation. But Kazuya's list can be found many times through the Japan Champs - most of them placing at the top 3. How come Yuuichi's the only Mono-Green player at the top 3? Because Yuuchi's list is a dedicated aggro-beatdown deck. Meaning, it does nothing but beat you down. Kazuya, on the other hand, used some control elements such as Remand and Plaxmanta. Why? Because a dedicated aggro-beatdown dies to control. Lets take a quick run down, ok?

White:
Wrath of God
Faith's Fetters
Condemn

Blue:
Remand
Cancel
Repeal

Red:
Lightning Axe + Fiery Temper
Pyroclasm
Char

Black:
Sudden Death
Stupor
Persecute

There. The four Control Colors. It very hard to control the game using Green - because it's mainly a beatdown color. We dip to green for creature support - and to every other color for control. Now, enough background, and answer Juner's Question: Is my Mono-Green Beatdown deck competitive?

Short answer: Yes.

Long Answer: It depends. No matter the build of a green deck it will never have the capability to control the game. And herein lies its weakness - it boasts very little removal, so it relies on sheer speed. And so, luck becomes a factor.

ProPlayers very seldom rely on luck.

Thus, most players dip on other colors for control support - musch like how other decks splash green for creature support. Anyhow, I'm starting to feel sleepy, so I'll post this now. I'll probably expand on it later, but for now... Ciao. ^o^;

Women

~Ooc: Life
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'Woman' Post part I:

The hell's with women? Most don't follow conventional logic and almost every single one of them expects you to read their minds. Fun Fact: I hate women who clamps up when she's supposed to be talking. In other words, almost every girl.

Do you know why I really love my bestfriend? It's mainly because of this: when she's angry, she goes off like a freaking nuclear bomb. If we're not alone, or if we're in a public place, she goes on normally until we find some secluded spot then - BOOM!. >_< I know it sounds sadistic of me to like someone who explodes, but still. When you're angry, blow up. Please. Why? Because when people blow up, they actually say what they mean to say. I don't have to dig through perfumed shit, sort through thinly veiled taunts just to find out why the hell you're not talking to me. I don't have to say sorry, cuddle you and all, trying to pry the f*cking truth out of you. I know my ears will ring and my ego would be bruised, but I expect that. I want to know my mistakes - why you're angry, so that I won't make the same mistake again.

So, moral of the story: just freaking blow up, dammit!

Disclaimer: No, the person I'm talking about ain't you. Whoever you are. She's doesn't freaking know that this blog exists. And even if she does, she too freaking numb to care about me and feelings... T_T

'Woman' Post part II:

On another note, I asked a girl for help just last last week. I know, that's a long time, but my PC's broken. Anyhow, I found out about a little bug in my system, and I panicked. I REALLY panicked. I was sooo darn desperate for help that I somehow ended up sending a somewhat offensive message to her through friendster. I hate friendster and I hate her, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I got a few opinions out of her, and some of the lifelines I pulled produced results, but all in all, You could say that I'm currently 'in medication'. Don't pry. ~_~

Anyways, why do I hate her? My reason seems absurd right now, but before, for me, its enough to wage war on someone. Even if that person is a woman. Well, here's the gist of the story: She dumped JM, then bragged on friendster that she didn't love him. Well, not exactly bragged, but she posted that in a few of her bulletin posts. The first part (Her dumping JM), I actually approve. JM really acted immature and insensitive back then. Sorry JM. But the second part (at least back then) for me, was unforgivable.

When a girl becomes someone's girlfriend, she does so because of a reason. Love, wealth, fame, whatever. You'd usually find that out after the relationship. This is also true for us boys. JM cried his guts out when this girl dumped him. He desreved it. Sorry JM. But while one of my berks was experiencing grief, this girl was off at friendster, telling everyone that she didn't really love him. It makes on wonder: Why then, did she became her girlfriend? Love is crossed out. What other reasons can there be? Whatever that reason is, it not enough to cross one of my ka-tropa.

And so, I waged war. And I'm not sure, but I think I lost - since I no longer believe in my cause.

Anyways, that's done. :D Good luck to us. That was one convoluted post eh? I'm not sure what the hell up with the whole 'Woman' Post part II thingy, but that's that - Ciao. *sneaks off to write another post*

The Most Random Number

:: Entry #17 - More bull, less sh*t ::
~Ooc: Headlines
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Mood: Happy...kind of...sort of...
Music: Hindi ko kaya, by: Josh Santana
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One my hard drives crashed. The 200GB one, along with everything I downloaded for the last year and a half. I keep system & important files on my other drive (Only 40GB) and keep everything 'volatile' such as download files and pirated* games on the other drive. It's very uncharacteristic of me not to go ballistic over the amount of erased data, but yes - I'm calm and focused. There's a lot shitty things happening around me, and I think I'm numbed out. I'll elaborate later. Really. I'm writing bits and pieces right now... ~_~ *sigh*

Btw, I'm kindof broke. Aside from the crappy things happening, I'm also having financial problems. Which is crappy. Some good news though - my mom brought me Robert Jordan's Knife of Dreams softbound novel, which is really great. I guess I'm starting to recover from my unlucky streak...

Anyways, I don't have any music in my drive right now, so I searched the net for something streaming, like an online radio or something. I remembered seeing one of those in Kalibog Forums, and guess what? I like their playlist. Here's a link. Just click on the OPM Jukebox for streaming goodness. Other than that, I guess I'm going to start typing... ~_~

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* - I do not condone pirated goods.

PS> Hi Jun. ^^; Hehehehe