#but anyway there are other variants where they give the demon different offerings as well! I can easily imagine asking the kids in the room

[capricorndevil15]

My actual favorite fairytales are ones having to do with curses, getting turned into a beast, or accidentally/willingly/any-reason-ly marrying a beast or demon or monster. Prince Lindworm is one of my most favorite-est favorites. I had a pet corn snake at one point who I called Prince Lindworm (his real name was Slinky though). Other faves off the top of my head are East of The Sun, West of The Moon, The Demon in The Tree, and Featherflight.

#I also like deal with the devil/the devil and X stories a lot! #and any tale involving any type of curse or hex or geass #and I know it's silly but I do sort-of covet lesser-known fairytales and details from specific tellings. #also jsyk I don't care What the tale actually says in my mindpalace Featherflight is a giant just like her dad. #this same interest causes me to like Urusei Yatsura btw. it's so the same. #OH the tags are all a mess now but I ALSO WANTED TO SAY I recently found out that in different tellings of The Demon in The Tree people wil #change the type of food/offering given to the demon! which is obvious in retrospect but I didn't realize! I had only heard the version wher #you give the demon jam! and so that is my favorite version and the way I tell it too LOL. I love the idea of everyone intrinsically knowing #that demons just love jam #but anyway there are other variants where they give the demon different offerings as well! I can easily imagine asking the kids in the room #what it is that demon's love the most. and then whatever the kids pick is what the couple will offer the demon in that particular telling. #also yes duh yeah I like beauty and the beast! it's not really my favoritest. I like Prince Lindworm or Snow White Rose Red way more. #but there r some variants of beauty and the best that I like more than others. I am picky about it. which ultimately means I like it.

[elsewhereuniversity]

Why You Should Wear Boots after Picking a Major You Didn’t Want

A university is a place where dreams are thrown away.

Such is the case far too often. It remains Real even between the railroad, highway and train tracks. Even there, people interrogate themselves: ‘This is your dream, but is it realistic? How much is the starting salary? Look at your classmates, elegantly breezing over what you clawed through, tooth and nail. Look at your competitors––’

So many choose to drown their dreams themselves… even though, at Elsewhere University, the dead do not rest quietly. The Wild Hunt is proof of that. Yes, that Wild Hunt, which rides across campus when the fog rolls in. We all know the versions in which they hunt for students unlucky (or unbelieving) enough to be outside when the hounds begin baying. Stay inside, stay quiet, and you’ll be all the better for it, if they ignore you.

What about the other versions, though? What about the versions in which it is best to open your windows and howl back? There are tales like that, too––

Sometimes, those brave enough to shout along with the Wild Hunt will be rewarded with a share of prey or gold. Those kind enough to repair a lost hunter’s sled soon discover this to be the right choice, for upon closer inspection, the hounds are not just hounds. Their bones are laden heavy with wrath.

And sometimes, villagers tell tales of a cloaked rider on a white horse. Horseshoes spark against the night breeze. He will ask you to play an impossible game of tug-of-war. If you are wise, you will tie the other end of the rope to a sturdy oak. The leader of the Hunt likes clever little things. He might even drop a reward in your boot.

Perhaps this is why you see students wearing boots for a while after they declare their majors. Even Magenta (who got her name from always wearing high-heeled loafers of that particular shade) and Ma-Boi-Blanche (who has 17 pairs of white sneakers) wore boots back then. Rumor has it, according to a friend of a roommate of a Forbidden Major, that this footwear will help you abandon your misery.

When the Wild Hunt rides as a group, they come to condemn. The RAs are not wrong in telling you to run for safety when the fog descends.

On the other hand, when the leader of the Hunt appears alone, he comes to test. In this more benign (but not safe, never safe) form, 4% meet a bedraggled man, 2% a king of old, 3% a specimen of demon (the Christian subspecies), 6% a harlequin, and 5% a sledder with a thick Mecklenburg accent.

84% of those who have survived the encounter say that the leader of the Hunt wears a cloak and a wide hat that partially hides his eyes (one of which is duller than the other). He gallops in on a splendid white horse.

95% of those who survived the encounter were wearing boots (one of them was wearing spatterdashes over court shoes, but eh, close enough).

100% of the survivors say that you must be ready to be tested. Be kind, clever, daring. If you are all that––and wary, wise, lucky too––the leader of the Hunt will let you go and stuff something in your boot. A post-it, on which is written the major that they chose, yet hated with every fibre of their being.

Now, put the boot back on and walk. It may be a bit awkward to walk around, what with the paper writhing under your feet, but do so anyway. Every student who has tried it reports that when they got back to their dorms, the paper had vanished from beneath their soles. In its place, they had gained a floating sensation, grafted in their bones.

By the end of the year, Ma-Boi-Blanche and Professor Redd were chattering away like old friends. The Professor had to admit that his student wasn’t very good at dissections, but there was an unmistakable passion for anatomy in his eyes, and he would improve soon. (Very soon, especially with Professor Redd’s talent of acquiring practice bodies, his jaunty hat growing redder with every new specimen.)

On the other side of campus, the law majors learned to listen for the click-clack of high-heeled loafers. Woe betide the unlucky people who faced off against Magenta, who suddenly threw herself into mock trials with gusto. Her opponents gained a Pavlovian fear response to seeing any shade of pink.

This did not go ignored. The Involved went up to the two, in order to warn them.

“The Gentry do not offer things for free,” they said. “And intelligence isn’t cheap. What in Morganwode did you pay?”

To which the ones who met the Huntsman merely laughed, because they weren’t any smarter. The only difference was that now, they were interested in the subjects they found so odious before.

In the old tales, a satisfied rider of the Wild Hunt will reward a human with meat. The person will walk back home in the dark, one shoe on and one shoe off, the boot growing heavier with every step. Once home, they will see that the raw, bloody meat has transformed into gold.

There are a few who still receive this, not always in the payment of gold, but in blessings. (Childe House’s oldest RA is one of them, which explains why the once-every-305-days evacuation has a 100% success rate, even when half a dozen residents don’t understand what a “mandatory house meeting” or a “fire drill” is.)

  Which begs the question: why does the leader of the Hunt help so many?

Rewards are meant to be given to the exceptional few. Yet the unhappy are not part of these few. Given the number of students with newfound rapture in their eyes, one does not need to be exceptionally kind, clever, or daring to transfer their passions. Just wary, wise, and lucky are enough.

When asked, the leader of the Wild Hunt proclaimed that such a spell is child’s play. We’ve already provided the ingredients: two subjects and a passion. The price is low because all he needs to do is to sever the interest from one subject, then attach it to another. Simple work, he said. He would never think of charging so much for something he could do before breakfast. It is not befitting a warrior. Think of it as a favour from a father to his children, he said, then laughs as if there is a joke here that no one else understands.

There are more people who understand than he might think, for the more competent members of the Forbidden Major have another theory. Anyone with passing knowledge of folklore would be able to recognize this person at a glance, they say (quietly, and never to the Huntsman’s face). He is the amalgamation of ghost, fae and old god.

The first rider of the Wild Hunt might be, depending on the amount of fertilizer on the campus lawn and the moon phase, the oldest warrior poet. There are less battlefields for him to watch over now, but still he is song and madness. Still, he is overcome with fury when he sees yet another soldier buckle before the fight has begun.

This child would have made a fine skald. That child could have become a brilliant shield-maiden. This one had the makings of a king, yet they chose to push these futures away, he said through clenched teeth. These children began to think there was nothing left. They started to look at the pond and that single eighth-floor window which could open all the way.

This is not a battlefield, but… to give up before the horn sounds, under his watch?

Unforgivable, he said, with an unblinking smile, all teeth and lone glittering eye. To despair is to slander my hundred names.

So the leader of the Hunt casts a few spells here, a little trickery there, and coaxes the bright frenzy back in their eyes, or so the Forbidden Majors whisper. The price is only low because of who and why he is. He helps them so they can die more valiantly, another day.

  Think of it as a favour from a father to his children, he says, then laughs as if there is a joke here that no one else understands. This is despite the fact that half the Forbidden Majors and a fifth of the Literature Majors know who he is.

(Not that they would reveal that, ever. The all-father’s wrath is a terrible thing.)

  Addendum:

Statistics unavailable for those who encountered the Wild Hunt’s leader alone, while not wearing boots. Mythological references, as well as the Sword-House valet’s intuition, imply it is better not to know.

[Author’s Note]

I did not intend “Why You Should Wear Boots after Picking a Major You Didn’t Want” to be so long. Do pardon me.

There is much debate over the identity of the Wild Hunt’s leader. My personal favourite theory is that the leader is Odin, or some variant of him, which this submission is based on. Still, I couldn’t resist hinting at the others:

“Bedraggled man” = multiple stories, in which the Hunt’s leader is any hunter who preferred hunting to going to church, or else slandered a certain god

“King of old” = Arawn

“Harlequin” = in Vitalis’ Ecclesiastical History Vol. 2 (1140), Hellequin/Herlequin is the herald of a Wild- Hunt-esque procession of tortured souls. There is also King Herla.

“Sledder with a thick Mecklenburg accent” = Frau Gauden

-Louis

#Why You Should Wear Boots after Picking a Major You Didn’t Want #stories #long post #the wild hunt #odin #louis #thanks for the note on tags! was really helpful! #very vague mention of #suicidal ideation #loved this!

[herinsectreflection]

Season Five is essentially a slow-motion trolley problem for Buffy to solve. She can let the unstoppable oncoming train that is Glory kill millions, or she can pull the lever and kill Dawn instead. It’s the most iconic choice in a series that is pretty much all about choice. This internal dilemma is externalised with the main villains. The show uses them to take a stance on the problem. There are obviously a lot of different ways to approach this from a moral philosophy standpoint, and I’m not going to talk about what is the “correct” moral choice, but how the show presents and interprets the various standpoints. It’s also worth mentioning that I am not a philosopher, this is just what I interpret from watching the show and some base level understanding.

Glory represents the option of simply letting people die. She is presented as egocentric, narcissistic, vain, and honestly kind of lazy. I think this is what the show thinks of people who would simply walk away from the lever and do nothing to keep their own hands clean. Glory does not take a sadistic pleasure in causing the death of millions, she simply doesn’t care. She justifies this by declaring that the world sucks anyway, and everyone suffers, so it doesn’t matter.

“Funny. 'Cause I look around at this world you're so eager to be a part of ... and all I see is six billion lunatics looking for the fastest ride out. ... I'm crazy? Honey, I'm the original one-eyed chicklet in the kingdom of the blind.”

- Glory, 5x21 The Weight of the World

But this is patently self-serving, yielding her own agency and using the absurdity of the universe to justify the atrocities she will be responsible for. She refuses to actively engage with the consequences of her actions, and so exposes her poisonous egomania. To simply not make a choice and let millions die would be selfish and intellectually vapid, and so Glory is selfish and vapid, and the main villain.

The Knights of Byzantium represent the opposite, strictly utilitarian viewpoint: that pulling the lever and killing the single person is not simply morally correct, but an imperative. They are treated slightly more sympathetically than Glory, since they are working in an understandable moral framework, but the story shows the ugliness inherent in their outlook. The ultimate endpoint of it is them hunting down and trying to kill a 14 year old girl. Buffy herself points out that this is inherently horrific.

“What kind of god would demand her life for something that she has no control over?”

- Buffy, 5x20 Spiral

The show is consistent throughout its run that a moral framework based purely on a utilitarian, mathematical approach and excuses any evil action as long as the amount of good done outweighs it, is ultimately unethical. That viewpoint can be used to justify any number of awful things, as long as they are outweighed on the cosmic scale. The show does not agree. It believes that certain actions are simply wrong, that no amount of good can wash out the bad. The hypothetical lives that the Knights of Byzantium could save lend their actions a reason that Glory does not have, but ultimately it does not change the fact that a child - a child with a mother, a sister, friends, a life - would be dead at their hands. The Knights refuse to confront that, simply falling back on dogmatic imperatives and silencing independent thought. They too allow their agency to be reduced, which is what allows them to commit awful actions.

Giles represents the space between these two villainous perspectives on the problem, and the heroic one that Buffy represents. He is, of course, not a villain - he’s one of the white hats, mentor to the hero. But he does argue for the utilitarian point of view. The shows stops itself being morally narrow-minded by allowing Giles to voice opposition to Buffy without being a villain, but it also proposes that the action of killing one person to save others is inherently unheroic. It taints Giles, and he accepts that.

“She's a hero, you see. She's not like us.”

I’ve been talking about Dawn as if she is the hypothetical single person on the other track, but she might better fit this scenario if we look at the “Fat Man” variation. This version posits that a “very fat man” is next to you, and pushing him onto the track will save everyone there. Dawn is that man in this scenario. Similarly, Ben can be seen as the “Fat Villain” variant, where pushing the person responsible for tying people to the tracks would save them. Giles’ murder of Ben can be seen as justified, if still unheroic, because Ben himself has chosen selfishness and tainted his own innocence.

Ben is very much a counterpart to Buffy in S5. He too had an ancient mystical force thrust upon him when he was young, which he had no choice in. His personal and professional lives suffer because of this. He cannot pursue the life he imagined for himself because of Glory’s presence, just as being the Slayer prevents it for Buffy. And both Buffy and Ben are offered an easy way out, which they spend The Weight of the World ruminating on - to simply let Dawn die. Ben at this point has a very obvious alternate solution -  the same one Buffy eventually comes to, though she hasn’t realised it’s an option yet - that he ignores. He can throw himself onto the tracks. He can stop anyone dying by killing himself and therefore Glory. But unlike Buffy, he makes the selfish choice, to preserve his own future at the cost of an innocent child. And so he is condemned, and declared a villain as he is killed.

Buffy is the one true hero in this scenario. She concludes that the only moral option is to throw herself onto the tracks. This is still, ultimately, one life given to save many. But it’s hers to give. It’s her choice to make. Glory, Ben, the Knights of Byzantium, even Giles - when they advocate for killing Dawn, they all claim ownership of her life. She becomes a lamb for them to offer up. Dawn, brave and heroic mini-Buffy as she is, actually does offer up her own life to save others too, but the point is that it’s her life to give. It’s the difference between sacrifice and self-sacrifice.

This is how Buffy reconciles “Death is your gift” with “A Slayer is not a Killer”. All the other actors we’ve considered are killers. Giles and Tara spell it out pretty well in The Gift.

BUFFY: The spirit guide told me ... that death is my gift. Guess that means a Slayer really is just a killer after all.

GILES: I think you're wrong about that.

TARA: (points to Giles) You're a killer.

A killer is not necessarily evil or a monster, as Giles as a person makes clear. But a killer will pull that lever. A Slayer will jump on the tracks. Buffy and Faith debated this idea back in Consequences, where supposed utilitarian Faith suggests that “Slayer” and “killer” are interchangeable. Buffy argues that they are not, and specifically cites the idea that they can’t decide whether the lives of others are worth saving or not.

Faith: We're warriors. We're built to kill.

Buffy: To kill demons! But it does not mean that we get to pass judgment on people like we're better than everybody else!

Throughout S5, and particularly starting in Restless she fears that Faith is in fact right, and that a Slayer is in fact a killer. But in The Gift she proves that incorrect. She ties the human part of herself represented by Dawn to the duty-bound slayer part of herself, and both lead to the same destination of self-sacrifice, and heroism.

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #buffy summers #dawn summers #s5 #the gift #rupert giles #glory #ben #meta

[berfometalpha]

Legacy of Eternity: Side story I Am No Hero - The Demon King Awakens.

Betrayal descends upon team Zeta as Eunice Striker, as she made dealings with team Alpha's Knight Candidate Kane Glenwing for Credit points to advance her teams ranking.

In exchange she had pushed Kent to the point of near exhaustion after receiving back to back punishment from Judicator Kaivon who discovered the young knight's relationship with the twin destroyer viruses. 

Now the team could only wait for the return of Eunice to deal with another matter as she pulled up to the bunker in her speeder. Rex, Lily, Winter and Clayton were waiting for her as soon as she got off Clayton grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the ground.

"You dare to fucking show up here after what you did to the Boss man!" Clayton said.

"Clay, Let her go... She did betray us but remember Eunice is still a Knight Archaena candidate."Winter pleaded.

"Who Fucking cares! She betrayed us when the boss man... Who need I remind you all that gave everything to make sure we all stuck together... Even Marky trusts the man who saved his ass from becoming the next chew toy of the high ranker." Clayton said as he slowly tried to crush her neck.

"Clayton! I am giving an order release your grip so we can question Eunice... Please I know you are angry I am too but now I want to know why Eunice betrayed my cousin!" Winter ordered.

Clayton scoffed as he lifted Eunice up and released his grip as she coughed heavily she couldn't look at any of them in the eyes for what she had done. Winter approached her with rage in her heart with only one question in mind Why...

"I did it because I wanted to save Kent..." Eunice said.

"SAVE HIM FROM WHAT! THE JUDICATORS OH I HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND FOR THEM ONCE WE LEAVE THE ACADEMY... But YOu tried to save Kent without even asking us and you did it all on your own... and not only that you decided to take actions on your own.. You not only put Kent's life in danger you also put everyone else in this team in danger... I will speak with the Judicators that support Kent to deal with you... Be warned... Once we leave this academy... Know this... You will not be welcomed..." Winter said.

"Wait please..." Eunice said as everyone walked away from her. "Kent... Tell me... What should I do..." Eunice cried.

Meanwhile at Ring 0 the very center of the academy where Hell's gate rests here is the one place no Knight Candidate or Archaena wishes to go. 

The Hell's gate is considered as the training ground built by the First founder Blazer Shadowfire to be the perfect training ground for a knight candidate to reach the title of Archaena. 

Each wave is designed in the hellish nightmare of the mind during the 1st war for creation and the 1st and 2nd Great Creation wars. This place replicates the same demons, Strength, and other attributes to give the Knight in question to push himself to the point of breaking his own limits. 

The first wave will determine the strength factor and the number of enemies that needed to be produced to face the Knight. Each victory the Hell's gate will produce a larger number of beasts or demons equivalent to the assessed data. As the gates of hell closed behind Kent he looked to a massive dome like arena where the center holds a small bunker that holds a bed, replenished food, and a level 6 forge to craft weapons. 

Just like the stores in Ring 2 the currency exchange depends on the number of kills after each wave. 

"Knight Redridge, prepare for battle wave 1: Kill count required 1,000... Reward... 32,000 points..." The Facility AI reported.

Kent didn't utter a single word the black queen tried to communicate with Kent as best as possible but he didn't respond. 

"Rip... and... tear... them apart!"Kent said with clenched fists. "Kent we need a strategy!" The Black Queen pleaded.

The fell beasts massive bipedal beasts with the bodies of a humanoid type species but can run like a 4 legged animal. These beasts have razor sharp claws that can shred through reinforced titanium and poisonous bile that they can shoot out as acidic projectiles. 

As soon as the gates around the arena opened waves upon waves of Fell beasts rushed towards the young knight. He grabbed on of the fell beasts by the throat and crushed it's neck as if he was peeling a grape fruit. 

He then rushed a group of Fell beasts with one slam of his fist a massive crater formed around him. Kent reached out to one of the fell beasts and buried his claws into it's skull and tore it's forehead off it's face. 

Kent looked to the other fell beasts as he created a small cut in his palm when the Vestroyer Virus flowed to the ground it created a blade of pure Xennomite-steel with a high frequency engine built into the sword guard. 

The blade stretched out to 1.5 meters long with a single endge with a slight curve near the sword guard that served as a slot for the Weapon heart.

 The handle itself extended to nearly half a meter in length with a ring for it's pommel.

He pulled the sword from the ground and named it Excalliburst a weapon made that shall grow with him and like the Trail Blazer a weapon that shall be his living extension.

Kent charged at the hoard of Fell beasts and began cutting and slicing the fell beasts apart without relent. He moved like the whispering of the wind like a skilled juggler he was able to move his grip from one hand to another from the normal grip to a reverse grip. 

The young knight fought the Fell beasts as if they were nothing one by one each fell before his blade and with each death the Excalliburst grew and grew with each swing and kill in battle.

After 2 hours the battlefield was drowned with the dead he bathed in their blood  while standing atop the mountain of corpses with his blade in one hand and the skull of the Fell beast in the other. 

The drones cleaned up corpses giving Kent a small time of repreave to repair his weapon and gain armor. 

The Black queen tried to communicate with her son but she simply gave him the space he needed to clear his head. 

Several minutes later Kent faced off against over 3200 ranked 2 Fell beasts these Fell beasts are similar to what he faced earlier but are ranked 51 in all statistics the only thing that is different between their first variant is they fight in pacts and not as individuals.

these fell beasts have tongues that can reached up to 5 feet in length two of the beasts fired it's tongues latched onto his arms pinning him to the ground. He struggled to break their grip as he grabbed one of the tongues and swung the fell beasts and crushed the other beasts that binded him.

  He then rushed towards the fell beasts and threw a dozen Knives at the beasts killing about 3 dozen of them upon contact.  One of the beasts tried to fire their tongues again but he sliced it in half and dashed towards the beasts and swung his blade wildly killing every beast around him.

Every two hours he managed to kill more and more of these beasts without rest or relent his body showed no signs of exhaustion as he fought and killed more and more beasts that can haunt any knight and they are trained to know no fear. As his kill count sky rocketed on the outside his team's kill score sky rocketed as well it was an early morning when Marky checked the team's ranking roster.

"My Faith's beautiful lips... Is this for real... Guys... and Lady Winter head to the briefing room NOW!" Marky shotued.

The entire team rushed towards the Briefing room that early morning as everyone rushed into the briefing room.

"Fucking hell Marky... Why the ever living fuck did you wake us up... We are suspended remember? Damn can't you take a fucking break for once." Clayton said as he scratched his head.

"Fuck you Clay but now isn't the time to fuck each other!" Marky stated. "Language please..." Winter stated as she sat down next to Marky. "Sorry Ma'am but listen I was checking on the team's roster and our previous position was just over 23000+ right?" Marky asked.

"Yeah... And your point is... we are already the laughing stalk of the entire Academy." Genji added.

"Look you ass... Our rank bumped up from 23976 to 9000!" Marky said as he showed the team's current kill roster.

"Holy fucking shit is this for real... You didn't hack the system right?"Clayton asked.

"Nope... I saw this the first thing when I logged in! I think Kent is doing some miracle work in Hell's gate!" Marky suggested.

"We don't exactly have any means to call him since Hell's gate is like a seperate dimension on its own... But this means only that Kent is still alive down there... i shall offer a prayer to the great Maker and Faith for his safe return... Thank you Marky for reporting this to us... If you shall excuse me I shall be at the prayer room." Winter said.

As Winter left the briefing room Rex and the others talked about their next big plan when Kent comes back from Hell's gate.

"Guys not to sound like a sore thumb but what should we do when Kent gets back?" Marky asked.

"Good question... Rex we need options?" Clayton asked. "Okay so you guys just deligated this to me again huh... Well we can always greet him and act like we don't know about miss Striker's betrayal..." Rex suggested.

"Speaking of where is Eunice anyway." Marky asked.

"Brother Markus for once... I don't know and I don't give a damn..." Genji replied. "So guys after we officially become marines where do you plan to go next?" Marky asked.

"I plan to stick with the boss... Genji also plans to do so... How about you Rex I know you wont stick around because of the money?" Clayton asked. "Kent is a good person... I think he will make it far... I am curious how he will fare out... So yeah I think I'll stick around for as long as it takes and see how it goes." Rex said.

"How about you Marky?" Rex asked as he handed a cup of coffee to him. "Yeah, Kent's family had dedicated themselves to helping others and saved my girlfriend and I from an entire planet's worth of angry mobs... I won't leave him hanging and besides... If I leave him with Clayton the entire fleet would be turned into a massive tissue paper for ass wiping!" Marky stated.

"Hey Fuck you Marky! I am not that bad of a leader? right Lily come on back me up here?" Clayton asked.

"I am going to say you are a pretty decent leader street wise but your sense of direction is worse than that of a 2 month old baby." Lily said as she took a sip of tea.

"Okay now that is harsh even for you Lil." Clayton added.

"By the way... I have been looking into a few things... And check this..." Marky said.

The Night Hawk's security feed caught this a couple of months ago... This proves Eunice has been consorting with Kayne as the audio logs were erased yes but the AI of the ship somehow keeps an additional copy in a seperate data pad... We can use this as evidence to push the council of the Academy to deny her from graduating... Take that you sorry bitch!

"I would like to know how did you get into the Night Hawk's data base without the right access codes... only, Kent, Lady Winter and I have a direct access to the Night Hawk's data core?" Lily asked.

"Oh... yeah... Did I forget ot mention that I... Borrowed your ID card and also took a sample of your finger print several months ago... While you were in the bath..." Marky said.

"Oh damn... Marky got some nible fingers here Woot woot!" Clayton shouted.

“Okay... Now where is my shock baton!” Lily said as she pulled out her shock baton.

“Wait I did it because I was curious why Eunice kept sneaking out at night and into the Night Hawk’s hyper radio.... I didn’t do anything else I swear!” Marky explained as the shock baton was nearly at his face. 

Lily hesitated for a moment and shocked Marky still though their regular antics is heart warming but without Kent it seemed a little different. 

She took a deep breath and told everyone that when Kent returned to them they will leave for the Frontier where the rest of the Dragon-wolf fleet waited for them. Though 7 months was long the team took their time to train working on their team work, tactics, strategy, communication, coordination, and trust between each other. 

They all promised that when Kent got back they will welcome him as a stronger team as he protected and cared for them. They will return the favor in kind and in ample amounts though they were suspended from partaking in any military exercise with the other teams and knight companies. 

Team Zeta made due with what they had in the Forest of misery as they fought ranked 42 to 51 creatures their and tested their new weaponry like the Plasma burst pistols that Rex is using. 

Marky rebuilt his m8282 Anti material rifle with a plasma conductor and a coil gun barrel allowing him to snipe from a much longer distance. On the other hand Clayton’s Chain gun was heavily modified through the Night Hawk’s Weapon Fabricator. It now has an extended barrel and a built in compensator units on each barrel with a 360 horse power belt feeder for faster deliver of bullets.

This chain gun as dubbed Trencher has the ability to fire over 9000 rounds per minute it is more than enough to make a trench since the heavy gunners use a 14mm high explosive armor piercing shells called Ripple rounds. 

Lily also made used the fabricator and modified her gauntlets to have a shock knuckle attachment along with a laser incision and health kit and her boots with a small boost kit for fast response on the battle field. 

As weeks passed the ranking of the team was already at 3,192 because of the young knight’s relentless training in Hell’s gate. 

Lily re-checked the Kill count as it already reached over 823,200 confirmed Kills in the span of 4 weeks alone. She could not help but worry about him for Hell’s gate not only challenges the physical limits of the Knight in question.

But it has a subliminal effect on the mind of the knight the longer he/she remains in Hell’s gate. The more terrible the living nightmare shall be shown into the knight which leads to mental degradation, insanity, multiple personality syndrome, unquenchable blood lust, and lack of general awareness of time around said person.

She sighed and saw the altar on the side of Kent’s private room where a small statue of Faith the goddess deity of the Dragon-wolf. She walked towards it and cleared the altar gently as it is an important memento for the young knight. 

After cleaning it she took two scented candles and lit it right beside the statue and offered a prayer to the Goddess herself. Lily prayed for the safety and protection of her brother’s very soul as hell’s gate burns the very soul of the knight to the point that they will be a shriveled shell of their former self.

Day after day Kent’s kill count rapidly increasing at an alarming rate the Judicators and Vindicators became alarmed as no knight except for the First Eternal Knight. 

Currently the record holder of the First Eternal Knight was at 8.92 million while Kent already reached the kill count for any ordinary knight of 0.921 million. 

The current Judicators are worried of the effects of the Hell’s gate on the young knight and wanted to pull him out early. As they tried to override the gate controls as it requires at least 10 of the 12 Judicators to over-ride the hell’s gate. 

Each Judicator presented their Blade Keystones as the over-ride initiated the gate won’t open. It was as if the Hell itself doesn’t want to release Kent from it’s grasp until the time is done. 

Judicator Voraiha believed in Kent’s strength not because of the Virulent plagues inside his blood but from his own skills and determination to be a hero. As he told the circle of who instigated it all according to his investigation Judicator Kaivon wanted Kent to die for his blood containing the Viruses that nearly destroyed all of creation. 

But the Virus inside him had only enhanced his body and had not gone on a rampage since his birth. Kaivon only shrugged his protest and stated that he used his family’s connections to enter the academy which was supposed to be stopped by the Vindicators before boarding. The Vindicators in charge proved and provided video evidence of his trials and none of them had provided any discrepancy or even bribery during his initiation.

“Kaivon you fool... If Kent dies... The Dragon-wolf has enough power to level the Entire academy into dust... not even the other legions can stop them... even if they tried.” Voraiha said.

“You mean... IF he...dies.... Besides the demonic blood inside his veins will keep him alive... So no need to worry Voraiha.” Kaivon said as he got off his seat.

“You are an arrogant fool Kaivon... you were never worthy of becoming a Judicator... Brothers and sisters... I wish to cast a vote... To denounce Judicator Voraiha from his seat with the circle... He has proven his worth and had tried to kill the candidates not just Kent but others as well... I have video evidence of his atrocious dealings with the other teams...” Voraiha said as the video started to play.

Undisclosed location in Ring 2:

Kaivon: Do you have everything you need? Team Beta: Yes lord Kaivon... But this Tuning fork... Was it not used to make the Viruses go on a rampage long ago. Kaivon: You are here to listen and not ask questions child... Use this fork against Kent... You need not know anything else but follow my orders... Team Beta: Yes Lord... Kavion:  This way I shall have a reason to send him to hell’s gate... This is what you get for defiling these sacred grounds...

End of Video

The Judicators were outraged knowing that the Judicators duty is to nurture the growth of each candidate and marine applicant to the best that they can be before they are endorsed to an individual legion. 

They casted down one of their own knowing they sent an innocent into the Jaw’s of death himself. All they could do now was wait and pray that he returns safely 2 months had already passed. 

The young knight’s kill count continued to sky rocket currently it was over 2.81 million and shows no signs of stopping. The Judicators then revealed team Zeta that the rank of the beasts he was facing was over 72 and they are already close enough to a lesser Demon Champion of the 7 herald gods to the 4 core gods of the void.

Judicator Voraiha asked them what ever it takes they must be prepared to face him should anything go wrong.

Though Rex and the others trust that Kent would return just fine Lily could not help but worry for her brother. 

As time went on the team made several modifications to the Night Hawk while Kent was gone though Lily emphasized that the ship belongs to Kent. Clayton took the liberty of modifying the pressure pistons of the Scorgon tank to increase their ability to effectively increase the weight distribution and its engines received a massive overhaul increasing Energy distribution, Energy usage and performance.

After 7 long months in the Hell’s gate the young knight’s total kill count reached over 7 million word spread across the academy of a demon born from the Hero of zeta team. 

The rumors tell of a knight candidate falsely accused of abusing his power and acting high and mighty was sent to Hell’s gate to die it was later found out that the accusations against him were false and a demon has been born from the Judicator’s mistake.

The count down began as the Hell’s gate will open as Knight Elites and Champions were requested across the 7 legions of the empire to come and help save the young knight or end him.

A total of 3 companies worth of Elites and a dozen champions from the 7 legions were sent as they fear the Judicators had made a demon from an innocent soul. 

Each Elite and Champion were equipped with level 5 anti-demon weapon such as the Ark-aegis light blade, Vanguard fire-frost hell claws, Shields of the ark-angel, and much more.

The judicators informed each knight to be prepared for they fear that the young knight they sent due to the mistakes of their own might turn against them. Each Knight knows that anyone who survives the Hell’s gate trial is no ordinary knight and to remain sane for as long as 2 days is already an impressive feat on it’s own. 

As the knights got into formation the Gate slowly opened as the locks clanked and its gears spun. Bloody mist began to spew out of the gate it as warm as if fresh blood was just spilt.

Judicator Voraiha lead the rescue inside the hell’s gate to find a blood bath as mountains upon mountains of bodies greeted them from the Fell beasts quilok, and the centurian like creatures called torsque, and the titan like creatures called Diometius. Millions upon millions of corpses as far as their eyes can see the Judicator ordered to spread out to find Kent from the sea of corpses.

After many hours of searching they found the young knight who sat upon a throne made of the dead with a feather like blade beside him. The knights slowly approached him as he suddenly opened his eyes and disappeared in a flash of smoke. 

The young knight engaged one of the Elites as he punched through his shields and threw him across the battlefield. One of the Champions grabbed him by the shoulder and tried to pin him. Kent countered by stabbing the Excaliburst blade into the knight’s foot as it unleashed a high frequency vibration that nearly caused the champion’s veins to explode.

The champion released his grip at the same time Kent delivered a three direct thrust towards the knight’s exo-skeletal frame which helps his movement.

Each Knight and Elite fought to their best as time went on they were slowly overpowered by the young knight as one of the Champions tried to contest him in a power struggle but had his hands crushed by the young knight.

Eventually he was subdued, restrained and brought back to Ring 2 for psychiatric evaluation. 

The Templars from the 3rd legion did their very best to restore his mind it was chaotic as if his temple were driven to ruins. The templars questioned how long was the time compression as Hell’s gate did more damage than they originally imagined.

According to the Xer-razh scientists found the time compression data was removed by Judicator Kaivon before he was dethroned as a Judicator. 

“How could 1 man turn such a boy with much potential into a monster...”Judicator Voraiha thought.

“Sir... We have a problem.” Marine 1 reported.

“Damn it all... it wont end... What is it trooper?” Voraiha asked.

“Sir... Master Anthony’s chains broke... He broke through the class 6 Gravity breaker rings...” The Marine reported.

“I am authorizing the use of rank 7 restraints... We have to fix him before we give him back to his family...” Voraiha ordered.

Rank 7 breaker rings are only used to restrain rank 89 demon god champions and only so few of these breaker rings were made that they were dubbed near extinct as their technology to make them had disappeared.

Though the casualties Kent caused were over 230 Elites severely injured and 51 Champions in near critical condition. The Knights understood clearly that a child left to die in one of the worse places on creation to be put into for no clear reason all they could do was pray for the safe return of his soul and his broken mind be returned to its former.

Days after the rescue mission roars could be heard from ring 2 the young knight tried to break out of his chains like a rabid animal.

Lily and Winter were allowed to see Kent but not talk to him for his mental condition was still unstable. After 3 more months of intensive psychiatric correction and repairs the Templars were able to at least restore his thoughts to some degree to communicate.

In an undisclosed room inside the Academy their Kent was placed in a debriefing room with Judicator Voraiha and 3 other champions poised to protect the judicator incase the young knight goes berserk.

Their Judicator Voraiha offered some refreshments to him but no responsed could be seen from him.

“Kent... Do you hear me... Respond with a nod if you do understand me.” Voraiha asked.

He nodded slowly as he slowly raised his head as his eyes and aura were surging with murderous intent. 

The knights were poised to defend the Judicator when he asked them to stand down.

“Kent we are not here to hurt you anymore... but do you remember who you are?” Voraiha asked.

“Name: Kent Redridge, Designation: Knight Candidate...” Kent reported like a machine.

“Do you know how long had you been inside the Hell’s gate.” Voraiha asked.

“TIme displacement: Unconfirmed, Time in Level 7: 17 ,885 days, 921 hours, 25 minutes, 30 seconds.” Kent reported.

“By the Maker’s will you were stuck inside Hell’s gate for 49 years... Kaivon... YOU bastard...?” Voraiha asked.

The room began to shake intensly as the young knight’s telekinetic ability was awakened by sheer rage and desire for vengeance. The young Knight’s restrains were slowly crushed until his arms and legs were freed from confinement. 

“You forgot... me... I... was told... 7 months... Inside that place... AND NONE OF YOU CAME TO GET ME... DAY AFTER DAY I WAITED... DAY AFTER DAY I FOUGHT... I ATE... I KILLED... I BATHED IN BLOOD... I HONORED MY FAMILY’S WISH OF BECOMING A HERO... I REALIZED ONE THING... A KNIGHT OF THE EMPIRE NEVER DESERVES TO BE CALLED AS ONE... YOU ARE ALL BETRAYERS... LIARS... THIEVES... I BELIEVED IN ALL OF YOU... MY TEACHERS... MY COMRADES... AND I EVEN CARED FOR ONE OF YOU... AND WHAT DID YOU DO... YOU BETRAY ME...” Kent said as his rage was slowly consuming him.

“Kent please calm yourself... We did come to save you... we tried to open the gate early but...” Voraiha said as the walls cracked from the telekinetic tremor. 

“TRIED... YOU TRIED... YOU ALL LEFT ME TO DIE... I BELIEVED THAT YOU ALL WOULD SAVE ME ON THE FIRST 11 MONTHS AFTER THE SUPPOSED AGREEMENT... I STILL BELIEVE THAT MY TEACHERS WOULD COME TO SAVE ME FROM HELL’S GATE... I HELD ON TO A SHRED OF HOPE IN THE NEXT 21 YEARS... YOU ALL DID TEACH ME ONE THING... HEROES ARE BUT A FOOLISH DREAM... AND THEY DON’T DESERVE TO BE VENERATED... BUT THEY DESERVE TO DIE... FOR THEIR FOOLISH BELIEF...” Kent said as he reached out his hand.

The Champions immediately tried to restrain Kent when something burst throug the reinforced Xher-romite steel wall. His blade the Excaliburst stood by his side and cleaved through the weapons and shields of the champions he nearly crossed the line when he tried to kill Voraiha.

Before his blade could pierce his three hearts Clayton tackled Kent as Genji and Marky injected him with a powerful sleeping serum developed only to counter the young knight should his blood go on a rampage.

“I am sorry Voraiha, but Lady Charlotte has ordered the arrest and head of Former Judicator Kaivon for what had transpired here...” Winter said as she deployed a stretcher.

“Very well, I shall send you his location... But my lady...” Voraiha said.

“Enough... you call this helping... after saving him you had him restrained and be subjected to many tortures... We are done here... If you want to help give him the title of Knight Archaena Champion... at least that way you shall be able to compensate for what had happened to him... This way he shall be able to have his freedom...” Winter said as they left the interrogation room.

Voraiha cursed Kaivon for what had happened to such a good candidate and now turned into the Demon King of Hell’s gate.

The Zerrohnian marines from the 15th Legion along with 2 Iron-wolve champions the Primera fangs guarded the exterior perimeter of the bunker to allow Kent some time to recover.

He slept for over 5 days straight and on the 6th day he woke up but his desire for vengeance was still strong but his desire for freedom was even stronger. he noticed that he was back at the medical facility in Zeta bunker with a dextrose attached to his arm. 

Kent tried to get up to see Lily was sleeping next to him as he gave her a gentle head pat he whispered.

“Thank you... Sister... ” Kent said.

Just a few minutes after he woke up Charlotte and Victor called Kent through the bunker’s intercom as communication rights were restored.

“My son... What happened to you... What is with all those scars?” Charlotte said.

“Mother... May I... Request...” Kent said as he tried to speak.

“Yes, you can ask anything my son...” Charlotte asked.

“May... I... go... home...” Kent asked.

“Yes of course you can... you will always have a home with us... My son... everyone had been worried for  you... Lily over their had not slept easily because you were missing for 7 months... and I was informed about a Judicator who absued his power against you... Do not worry I will take care of everything... I asked the Judicators as well to send everyone on your team to New Dawn... here you shall be safe... until you are ready to march again... As a Hero...” Charlotte said.

It seemed like the word Hero trigger Kent’s PTSD as he remembered the trauma, and torture he received from Kaivon and the betrayal from Eunice caused him to go berserk. Lily immediately tried to sedate Kent as his friends came in to restrain him. 

Kent was far from the person he once was no longer did he desire to protect but his desire to kill was stronger. Just before they left the Academy Eunice the girl who caused all his pain came to the bunker to see Kent but the Marines stopped her from getting near the Night Hawk. 

As the ship left the Academy with Kent’s promotion to Knight Archaena champion secured his hatred for the other legions grew. 

His team, cousin and family never abandoned him and aided in his recovery and vowed to never let a single knight candidate or marine to ever suffer as he did. 

Though his return from the academy was celebrated many hear of his accomplishments as he gained the infamous title of the Demon king of Hell’s gate was exaggerated. He terrified many marines and knights alike for his kill count was in total 7,391,512 and this is no small feat for an Knight lord to achieve yet the young knight achieved this in 7 months real time.

Upon his return to New Dawn his armada or the Knight faction New Hope was eagerly waiting for his return. On the Day of December 12, 4117 Kent’s Fleet named itself the Strike Fleet Zero Dawn in memory of their fallen brothers and sisters. 

On that day he vowed to never be a hero for others or for himself but he will be a shield that his people needs and a feathered blade that shall pave the way for the future of not just his people but for those who chose to ask for his help.

End of Flash back...

#LegacyofEternitysidestory

[commandtower]

Ixalan Card Analysis for Commander

Welcome to a new Commander Set Analysis article, this time for Ixalan! I haven't done one of these in a while, but I'm really excited about Ixalan and I've decided that it deserves a solid look. As with the previous times I've done this, I'll be looking at all the rares and mythics as well as any cards in lower rarities that specifically catch my attention. I'll briefly touch on their basic strengths and weaknesses and talk about examples of deck types that might like to make use of them.

As always, please remember that these thoughts are my personal opinion and are based only on first impressions of the cards. I've had only the barest minimum of time with the set as a whole and have not yet had a chance to play with the majority of these cards in Commander games. My thoughts on these cards will likely change as time goes on, and even if I don't personally have high praise for a specific card, that doesn't mean it won't be useful in a specific deck. Your mileage with these cards will inevitably vary from mine, and something I don't have a use for might be the perfect inclusion in your deck, so don't let my opinion stop you from experimenting with anything that catches your eye.

But that's enough of that, because it's time to start digging for treasure! Let's dive right in to Ixalan.

Ashes of the Abhorrent: This first rare in the set has been tailored specifically to deal with a single strategy in the game. I tend to find that cards like this one not worth the include unless your metagame is completely dominated by decks that the card will deal with. A card like this is extremely narrow and when deck slots are at a premium as they are in Commander, this feels like a dud include for most games. I can't think of anything that I'd personally want to take out of a deck to slot this in. I'm sure it will have its uses at specific tables, but it's not something that I think warrants too long a look.

Axis of Mortality: This card is pretty cutesy but it doesn't feel like it packs enough power to warrant an include in most decks. It is worth noting that having your life total set to a certain amount counts as gaining or losing the difference, and there are a dedicated subset of lifegain builds that do exist. I've never really been a fan of the dedicated lifegain strategy unless it's used to power out other abilities, so I'm lukewarm on this card. One place I think it might be funny is in an Archenemy variant deck where you can slide the opposing team's life around and pick off the easy targets, but that's a specific subset of decks and not really a central deck type.

Bishop of Rebirth: There are a few cards in this set that call back to the Titan cycle of M11 fame, and Bishop of Rebirth is doing a fairly decent Sun Titan impression. It has a substantially smaller body and only triggers on attack, and for only one less mana than the Titan it's not a great tradeoff. Sun Titan has had multiple reprints through things like promotional runs and a headlining spot in a Duel Deck, so they're not exactly hard to find either. Still, there is something to be said for redundancy in a singleton format and there are certainly decks that will be happy to see what essentially amounts to Sun Titan number two.

Goring Ceratops: Seven mana for a 3/3 body is a rough trade. The power this creature grants on a swing is definitely impressive, but the small stats are a pretty grim offset. White is pretty decent at protecting its creatures once they're on the field, though, and the fact that the Ceratops has double strike at all times does put a mark in its favor. Overall this is a risky card to play but there are lists that want it, and not just the Dinosaur deck either. Aggressive decks that want a large number of bodies out and swinging can get benefit from a card like this as long as they can protect the investment. If you can get it out there and keep it alive, it'll return the favor very quickly.

Ixalan's Binding: At only a single mana more than similar cards like Oblivion Ring or Banishing Light, the added effect makes this a very desirable upgrade for multiplayer-focused playgroups. This is an example of a card that performs entirely differently in Commander than it does in sixty-card formats. Exiling something as simple as a Sol Ring or a Gilded Lotus will have a profound effect across the entire table. Stapling a Meddling Mage to a Banishing Light would have been pretty good in its own right, but the fact that it only stops your opponents' casts turns this into an all-star of the set. This card is great and will definitely be worth including.

Kinjalli's Sunwing: One of the cheaper and leaner Dinosaurs in the set, the Sunwing is another card that's adding a redundancy option for decks that need multiple copies of the same effect. Dedicated lists that are built on the denying of resources will be happy for another card that causes permanents to enter tapped. The fact that it's also a Dinosaur is a big deal for people that want to dip into that tribe, though -- because so much of that deck will revolve around punching in for huge damage, having a viable utility card like this in the tribe makes for a solid early addition to the deck as it's still in its nascent stages.

Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle: One of a good number of Legendary Creatures appearing in Ixalan, Mavren Fein is a decent card but not specifically outstanding. The fact that his controller only gets a single Vampire token from his trigger no matter how many creatures they attack with makes him an awkward card to get behind, and in mono-White he's hard to build into as he misses out on the vast majority of Vampires in the game. He's likely better suited to a place inside the ninety-nine, standing in support of a Commander like Edgar Markov that wants to get in and start swinging right away. There will likely be lists brewed for him but he's definitely not my favorite Legend in the set.

Priest of the Wakening Sun: It's no secret that I'm excited for Dinosaurs, but I don't think cards like this are really worth it. The trigger is essentially poop text in Commander; two life is an absolute pittance in a format that starts its players with 40. The second ability is the only thing to even consider this card for, and it's nothing outstanding either. While this card could hypothetically be used to tutor up a specific Dinosaur in a non-tribal build, there are better and more generalized creature tutors that could be included. Beyond that, a dedicated Dinosaur deck has better things to use its card slots on. Really, I don't think Gishath wants to run any creatures that aren't Dinosaurs anyway, as it just dilutes his potential.

Sanguine Sacrament: There is a lot more lifegain in this set than I initially realized, and as far as dedicated lifegain spells go, there are certainly worse ones overall. Probably the most interesting thing about Sanguine Sacrament is that it’s an instant, giving it some flexibility as a safety net. I've said it before, but lifegain is best utilized as a fuel for other results. Having a high life total doesn't win you the game under usual circumstances. To further that thought, though, If you're building an engine that runs on life, you're likely to have Black among your deck's colors. Draining life from your opponents using tools in Black's arsenal is usually more satisfying than just making it appear with cards like this. Overall I think this is a lackluster card for most decks, even builds that want to gain a lot of life.

Settle the Wreckage: This is a very neat card and not something that we see very often. Weirdly enough, this reads most similarly to certain Blue cards like Aetherize or Illusionist's Gambit in that they're all instant-speed attack disruptions at four mana. The closest thing in White is probably Angel of the Dire Hour, which sits well above this card in mana cost. Of course, the value of the lean cost is offset by the Path to Exile rider, turning the creatures it exiles into lands. Some people have looked at this as a sort of "White ramp spell for yourself," turning the player's own creatures into lands to boost mana production. This works but it's not something I can see being terribly viable in most cases. Even if the creatures you're swapping for lands are disposable tokens, having enough creatures out to ramp yourself in any meaningful way would mean you're already doing pretty well in the game. This reads better as a mid-to-late-game mass combat trick, working best when the player you use it on has already established themselves and the extra lands don't add too much in value. It's a fine, strong card that will see play, but I think its use is more straightforward than people are trying to make it.

Tocatli Honor Guard: Overall this is a fairly straightforward card, and another that adds redundancy options similarly to how Kinjalli's Sunwing did. This card offers an additional effect in the vein of Hushwing Gryff and Torpor Orb, both of which have seen their share of play in Commander. Creatures with additional value form the backbone of many decks in the format, as each card in a deck needs to add a certain level of value to warrant the use of the card slot. Shutting off cards like Eternal Witness and Rune-Scarred Demon makes this a powerful include, and beyond that it also stops things like Purphoros and Aura Shards that trigger when creatures come in beside them. As a creature its stats are fairly lean for the format, but effects like this are strong and that means this card will see play.

Wakening Sun's Avatar: The first of the Dinosaur Avatars in the set, Wakening Sun's Avatar is a powerful addition to the Dinosaur tribal build. At eight mana to cast, it's not exactly light on the mana pool, but the 7/7 body and the ability to blow up the board except for Dinosaurs is huge. The Dinosaur deck is going to be about punching at the end of the day, and a card like this that just slams into play and completely clears the path for its tribe is a welcome inclusion. Even though this card's trigger only works when it enters from hand and thus not off of being flipped up with Gishath, it happily goes into that deck anyway just as a bit of extra muscle. Even non-Dinosaur decks might want this as a huge body that clears the way for itself, but it really shines when it stands next to others of its kind.

Arcane Adaptation: The ability to modify your creatures' types en masse was originally in Black when it appeared on the card Conspiracy, and when it moved to Blue on Xenograft it only changed the type of creatures currently on the battlefield. With the printing of this card, Blue now has access to modify creatures that aren't in play as well, which is a massive benefit for decks that want to manipulate their creatures this way. Arcane Adaptation is also decidedly cheaper in mana cost than previous cards like it, which is definitely welcome. Any deck that was previously running Xenograft will be happy to see this, and the ability to use this card to affect things like type-specific tutors adds a ton of extra value. This will definitely be a useful tool for the decks that want it.

Daring Saboteur: I don't think this card will be very useful in most situations. Any value it could give is basically erased by the format's deckbuilding restrictions. The slot this would take is better used by a card like Bident of Thassa or Deepfathom Skulker that offers up similar abilities to its controller's entire team. Specific Pirate builds might want to include this just because it does gain some value when surrounded by others of its type; a deck centered around Admiral Beckett Brass is probably okay with cards like this since she wants multiple Pirates to hit her opponents so she can steal from them. As it is, it's not terrible, but its value is essentially eclipsed by cards we already have. Unless you specifically need the maximum number of Pirates, I'd look elsewhere.

Deadeye Quartermaster: This card is pretty interesting to me. At first blush this card seems like it belongs more in White, as the ability to tutor Equipment cards out of the deck seems more in line with cards like Stoneforge Mystic. Blue is able to find artifacts as well, though, and this card might be better compared to something like Treasure Mage with a different spin on the tutor restriction. Picking up Vehicles as well as Equipment gives this card a bit of added value and makes it read pretty differently from anything else. It's a decent utility creature for the kind of deck that will want it.

Dreamcaller Siren: I’m not really into this one. The tapping of permanents can be relevant but I feel that more prevalent options like Frost Titan or Icefall Regent offer more as a total package. Having on-card flash is a nice boost for this and makes it a bit more useful as a surprise combat trick, but locking the ability behind the need to control additional Pirates undoes whatever benefit this might offer. This seems like it’s going to be an instant-speed Cloud Elemental more often than not. I feel like this is another example of a card that loses value because of the format’s deckbuilding rules. If the Pirate deck gets off the ground, this might be worth another look, but as it is there are just better choices.

Entrancing Melody: I can't see a reason to run this over cards that already exist, like Control Magic or Volition Reins. If you're considering this card but you're not already running at least one of those, I'd point you to those other cards first. This isn't terrible, though -- it's just not ideal. If you're already running those cards and are still looking for additional options to steal other players' cards, this is a decent piece if a little expensive in total. It's fairly straightforward overall, and there's not much to say beyond that.

Fleet Swallower: Mill is a rough strategy when the libraries in the format are ninety-nine stories tall, but it is possible to pull it off with the right suite of cards. This card is solidly large for Blue and although it doesn't have any kind of evasion, it's big enough that average combat math is in its favor. Beyond that, the trigger occurs on attacking, not damage, so it's not required to actually hit the opponent to mill their deck. Even more interesting, the player that mills doesn't have to be the one that was attacked, making for an opportunity to smack one opponent for damage and another for cards, or even mill yourself to set up specific play options for a graveyard-based deck. There's definitely value in this card for certain decks, and I know of a few players that were pretty excited to see this when it was first officially revealed. If your deck functions in a way that can utilize a card like this, it's probably worth testing.

Herald of Secret Streams: Speaking as someone who has a deck that very heavily relies on +1/+1 counter manipulation to win, I think this card looks better than it actually is. It doesn't actively create or otherwise manipulate the counters it needs to function, instead relying on other cards to make it work. Needing additional cards to function doesn't inherently keep a card from being good in this format -- one could technically make the same argument about Doubling Season, which is a card that functions well in the same strategy that the Herald is trying to fit into. Passive-type cards need to have a strong impact on the board when they're played to offset having to sit in hand until the opportune moment, though, and I think the Herald's not ideal in that regard. Plus, the card is sitting at a critical point on the mana curve at four mana, which is already fairly well-stocked with cards in this format. While it's not bad overall and could definitely be playable in the right list, I do think it's a sub-optimal choice for decks that want to play to the +1/+1 counter strategy.

Jace, Cunning Castaway: This card was officially revealed alongside the announcement of the rules change for Planeswalkers, and it makes sense considering this card requires those rules changes to function. This is an interesting take on the suite of abilities Jace is known for as it highlights his abilities as a creator of illusions. Overall I feel this Jace is somewhat lackluster; he was the subject of some hype when it was realized that he can go infinite with Doubling Season, but there are a lot of Planeswalkers that love that card, so that's nothing too crazy in my opinion. In a vacuum I think he's probably the weakest Planeswalker in the set, and his only real highlight is the gimmick of his ultimate which was included to highlight the rules change. There are better uses for the card slot this will take up, in my opinion.

Kopala, Warden of Waves: The second of the monocolor Legends in the set, Kopala follows Mavren Fein in that he's likely to be more useful as a member of the deck than as the headliner. Merfolk as a tribe have a fair number of possible Commander choices in a number of color combinations, which means that Kopala's monocolored identity will be restricting compared to other options. He is the most tribal-oriented among his Legendary peers, but his abilities have an upward limit to their viability in a format where mass removal tends to be the preferred method to deal with creatures. I think he does have a position in a Merfolk tribal build, but it's probably better not to choose him to lead the deck.

Overflowing Insight: Drawing cards is always a good thing, and drawing multiple cards is even better. Let it not be said that cards that do nothing but draw more cards aren't useful in Commander. That said, a card like this feels too clunky to get a lot of use out of. Comparing the effect against the mana cost, the value is good at one card for each mana spent, but the initial investment of seven is still very high for a card draw spell. Requiring seven mana to cast means that this will eat up the bulk of the player's mana on an average turn, and draw spells tend to function better when they leave some room to allow the casting of the drawn cards. Later turns will allow for this, but that makes this card effectively say "Draw seven, then move to end step" until about turn ten or twelve, and that's not ideal. I think it's generally a better idea to go a little leaner on the dedicated draw spells, or else use cards with variable costs like Pull from Tomorrow which allow you to tailor your play to your available mana. Overflowing Insight also reads "target player draws," which could equally be a good or bad thing depending on your playgroup -- it might assist you in killing that player who cycles through their deck really quickly, but it might also be a good Swerve target for your opponent when you're just trying to get back into the game. Overall I think this is less than ideal.

River's Rebuke: I think this card is actually more viable than it might seem. This might look worse at first glance than cards like Cyclonic Rift or Evacuation, as it deals with only a single opponent's field instead of the whole board, and is a sorcery instead of an instant. Truthfully, I think the fact that it targets only a single player actually puts this in a class of its own instead of directly being comparable to other mass-bounce cards. This card allows a way to deal with an individual player’s board before they develop too far and it doesn't cost its caster their own board to play. It could theoretically also be combined with another color's boardwipes to preemptively rescue your own field from destruction, although as a sorcery it's kind of a red flag to cast on yourself. I think the best use for this card is as a political statement during a multiplayer game, as you can use it to quickly shift the balance of a table in the direction you want. It's not going to become a Blue auto-include, but it's something that certain decks might want to try.

Spell Swindle: I find it a bit funny that Ixalan includes this obvious riff on Mana Drain when you consider the upcoming reprint of Mana Drain itself in Iconic Masters. There are actually quite a few cards in this set that are based on previous cards, this card being one of them. That said, this card is pretty good in its own right and I do expect to see it show up at the Commander table. Five mana is on the expensive side for a counterspell, but the return on the investment is definitely a plus when you consider that the Treasure tokens hang around until they’re needed. I think this will be worth trying.

Bloodcrazed Paladin: I dismissed this card as trivial when I first read it, but upon further reflection I think I actually do like it. The addition of flash can make this a viable option for a few different strategies, and the potential for good value is high considering this card costs a very decent two mana. This card might be a decently threatening body for a deck that likes to make large numbers of tokens and then sacrifice them for effects. It can also serve to quickly get a player back into the game after a board wipe, which is difficult for some decks to accomplish. The capacity for a big return is the main draw of this card, and I think it'll see a fair amount play in Commander.

Boneyard Parley: This is a very cool and unique take on the classic Fact or Fiction formula. The ability to grab creatures from any graveyard is always relevant in multiplayer games. I do think that this card is expensive enough that it won't be viable in just any deck, but there is potential for good return on the mana investment if it's played at the right time. A bit of work will be required to get the best value out of this effect, and a card like this is a bit more thought-intensive than the average reanimation spell. It'll take some testing to find out if it's worth the slot, but for decks that can make proper use of it I think it'll be quite valuable.

Deadeye Tracker: This is an example of a very good use for the Explore keyword in a color that can get a good amount of use out if it.  Having the Explore action happen as part of the ability's resolution is a great addition for Black, as it helps to ensure land drops and can also add cards to the graveyard. Manipulating specific cards in an opponent’s graveyard is a very useful addition to a deck’s toolbox as Commander has a number of strategy archetypes that involve use of the graveyard. I've seen people forget that Explore can pitch the card it reveals, but throwing cards into the bin can be beneficial in a color like Black that often wants a large pile to sift through. It can help with Delirium, add reanimation targets, or just offer a quick and dirty way to manipulate the top of the deck. There's a lot of value in this card, and it'll definitely be worth trying.

Dire Fleet Ravager: This is a very straightforwardly aggressive card that plays in a somewhat unique space. As of this writing, there are only two cards in the game that deal out life loss by one-third, and this card is one of them. This is a powerful card for combat-based strategies as it quickly reduces the damage that needs to be dealt to win, but it's also a viable piece for control variants that strive for resource deprivation, as it further reduces the options available to opponents. This is a card that's good in different decks for different reasons, and I'd expect to see it at multiplayer tables very quickly.

Fathom Fleet Captain: I'm still not sure what to make of tribal Pirates as a deck. The tribe looks like it has some decent potential, mostly because it has access to a lot of the very good creatures from this set that just happen to also be Pirates. If that deck starts to take off then I can definitely see this card holding a spot there. As it is right now, Pirates looks like it's going to be primarily built around swinging in with multiple low-cost evasive creatures like this one. The ability to create disposable bodies to minimize the loss of the deck's more central creatures is a nice addition to a deck that wants to go wide like this. Outside of Pirate tribal, though, I think this is too parasitic to be of any real value.

Revel in Riches: This card makes an immediate and blatant comparison to Black Market and it might seem at first blush to be worse. Black Market definitely has much more explosive potential in terms of mana production, but the fact that the Treasure tokens from this card stick around until they're needed is a fair exchange in my opinion. The alternate win condition on this card is interesting but I don't think it'll be a realistic goal to work towards in most games; it's better to consider the win trigger as a bit of extra gravy and treat the mana production of the Treasure tokens as the meat and potatoes of the card. A card like this requires a specific list to be good, preferably a black-centered board control list with a number of boardwipes. A hypothetical dedicated Treasure list that really wants to push for the alternate win might have to wait until Rivals of Ixalan, so we can see how the Treasure mechanic evolves.

Sanctum Seeker: At first I was not incredibly excited about this card. I thought it was fine and playable, but nothing incredibly terrifying. My opinion of it has changed since I saw it being tested in a dedicated Edgar Markov list, and now I am a much bigger fan. With Edgar consistently doubling up the number of Vampires from the safety of the command zone, this card has the potential to be extremely scary if it comes in at the right time. The relatively low mana cost of four mana makes this easily playable in a big-mana format like this, and the four points of toughness means it's a solid body to play during the early-to-mid point of the game. I do think that this card's value diminishes quite a bit if there's not a steady, ongoing source of Vampire creatures, so outside of Edgar this might not be the best use of the slot. A card like this one requires specific pieces around it to be worthwhile, but it will certainly shine in the right list.

Sword-Point Diplomacy: There are two very major marks against this card in this format. The first is obviously the increased starting life total which means that most players won't have a problem dropping life into the effect. The second is that multiplayer games are a default state of the format, with three or four players being a common number to sit down at the table. A card like this essentially invites opponents to team up against you, ensuring whatever value you get out of this card is minimized to the point of uselessness. This card is of much better use in other formats, where 3 life is a more serious fraction against the total and there are less opponents to pay the tax. If you’re looking for something that functions similarly to this but with a better return, consider a card like Moonlight Bargain, which lets you pay life for the specific cards you want instead of relying on other players at the table.

Vraska's Contempt: This straightforward variant of Hero's Downfall causes the target to be exiled instead of destroyed for an additional generic mana. It also spits out two life for the extra cost, but I think that addition is mostly superfluous. The value of exiling the target instead of destroying it is absolutely what you're paying for here and it's very much worth the extra single mana in the cost. While spot removal does lose some value over mass boardwipes in this format, I am solidly of the opinion that there's still a need for ways to deal with specific threats, and because this hits multiple card types it's a fine piece to include. Hero's Downfall is still the number one choice at the intersection of playability and cost, but the fact that this is an instant means it probably wins out against the sorcery-speed Ruinous Path in most lists. I'll be playing with it to see how it feels, but I'm pretty optimistic.

Angrath's Marauders: There's more to unpackage with this card than there might seem. Seven mana for a 4/4 is definitely on the more expensive side, but when that four power is stapled to a Gratuitous Violence, it gains some value back for certain. While this card is obviously not at the power level of the comparably-costed Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, the fact that the Marauders has only Red in its color identity makes it available to additional decks. While we do already have a fair number of cards that offer effects like this in mono-Red, it's rare to see it on a body that can make use of the effect itself. Being a creature does make this more easily dealt with, though, and that's a trade of that'll need to be considered.

Burning Sun's Avatar: This Red member of the Dinosaur Avatar subgroup is trying its best to do an impression of Inferno Titan, and while it's not exactly succeeding, there's still a decent card to be had here. Most cards like this one that target a player and a creature usually restrict the creature choice to those controlled by the player that's being hit. Burning Sun's Avatar doesn't have that restriction, though, likely in an effort to expand the synergies between it and other members of its tribe. The Avatar's entry trigger can be used to deal damage to one of your own Dinosaurs with the Enrage mechanic, allowing for additional options and flexibility. Beyond that, it's decent spot removal for utility creatures with small-to-mid sized bodies and is also an impressive attacker at 6/6. It might not quite be at Inferno Titan's level, but it's a fine card and I expect it'll see play beyond its tribal option.

Captain Lannery Storm: I like the idea behind this card, a Pirate with a sort of "Treasure Prowess" that boosts its stats as you spend the loot you have in reserves. Captain Storm's biggest problem right now is that she doesn't really fit anywhere. As a Commander, the fact that she wants to swing in to claim more Treasure makes her base 2/2 stats a bit on the low side. This is helped a bit by her innate haste, but I don't think there's currently enough Treasure support in mono-Red to make her worthwhile as a headliner. Her next best option is to join up with the fleet, but that's not without its own problems. The Pirate tribal list under Admiral Beckett Brass is still fairly shaky since the tribe doesn't currently have a coherent theme to use as a deckbuilding throughline. As with a number of other Pirate cards in the set, I think we need to see what Rivals of Ixalan brings to the table before we can really figure out where to take Captain Storm. I like her in theory, but putting a list together is less than feasible right now.

Captivating Crew: There have been a number of cards over the years that play in the space of temporarily taking control of other permanents, but Captivating Crew is unique in that it's the first mono-Red creature that does it as an activated ability. While other cards such as Zealous Conscripts have better potential for combo exploitation through their passive triggers, this card is most interesting in its reliability, offering an easily repeatable way to get value out of opponents' creatures on the table. Having a repeatable mana sink like this is useful for Red since it's the color most likely to run itself out of options, and a mana sink that steals resources from opponents is definitely a welcome tool for a number of decks. As an aside, I love the fact that this card shares its art cues so blatantly with Magic Origins uncommon Enthralling Victor, and that both were illustrated by the same artist. While obviously intentional, it's great nonetheless, and I hope that artist Winona Nelson has further opportunities to explore this theme in the future.  

Rampaging Ferocidon: This smaller-bodied Dinosaur might not be as physically imposing as some of its kin, but it offers one of the more powerful and unique abilities within the tribe right now. The immediate comparison here is to Sulfuric Vortex, and while it's not a perfect resemblance, there's still an obvious parallel to draw. Anyone who plans to use a lifegain-based strategy to pay for abilities will have to tread around either of these cards carefully. Similarly, players of token-based decks will need to deal with the Ferocidon immediately or else be completely shut off from the theme they've built their deck towards. As a creature, the Ferocidon is vulnerable to cards in each of the five colors, but the fact that it so blatantly requires an answer means that it will have value for as long as it can remain on the board. This Dinosaur has undeniable value even beyond the tribal build, and I can see it finding a home in a number of decks that want to aggressively disrupt the flow of play for their opponents. This is absolutely a card to keep an eye out for.

Repeating Barrage: Continuing this set's growing trend of cards based on previously printed ones, Repeating Barrage is a fairly clear callback to Hammer of Bogardan. First printed way back in Mirage, the Hammer is a well-known card to longtime Magic players and was one of the earliest reusable burn spells, offering a solid mana sink to Red decks of the era that would often run out of gas. While it didn't win the game by itself, Hammer of Bogardan gave Red players something to do if things didn't go to plan. That said, the current era of Magic is a very different environment from the time when Hammer went for ten or fifteen bucks, and Commander is even further removed from what the game was then. There are better cards to use as repeatable mana sinks, and Repeating Barrage's best claim to fame now is as a nostalgic nod for the players -- such as myself -- that have been around the block since the Hammer's days.

Rowdy Crew: I'm not generally a fan of cards like this. Some randomization is obviously unavoidable in a game that begins with its players shuffling their game pieces into a massive, uniform stack, but it's usually best to minimize it once the match actually starts. There are lists that want cards like this, and the potential for a 5/5 with trample for four mana is certainly present. Lists that are built around the act of discarding cards for additional value might experiment with this as well. In a vacuum, though, this is not a great use for a card slot.

Star of Extinction: I really like that this set includes a board wipe that's based on damage, so that it triggers the Enrage mechanic on the set's various Dinosaurs. Comparing this to similar options like Blasphemous Act, the things that really set this apart are the fact that it targets and destroys a land and that its damage is dealt to both creatures and Planeswalkers. These are interesting changes but they shouldn't affect too much in an average game. It is important to note that if the land that Star of Extinction targets becomes an illegal target before the spell resolves, the whole thing is countered and the damage isn't dealt. Blasphemous Act is probably the better card overall, but it's nice to have additional options.

Sunbird's Invocation: I'm not as big a fan of this card as some of the other people at my local store, although it does definitely have the potential to be powerful. If you've constructed your deck to take good advantage of it, it basically grants every spell you cast a Cascade analogue, which has the potential to swing the game in your favor pretty far. As an effect, there's no denying that turning every one spell you cast into two is a fine way to make value back on your investment quickly. I think the overall value of this card will depend heavily on what the rest of the deck looks like; a card like this limits the use of things like reactive instants as well as spells with X in their cost. Sunbird's Invocation does have the potential to be powerful in a list built to support it, but I'd need time to experiment with building and playing that list to really get a feel for it.

Tilonalli's Skinshifter: This is a really rough sell for me. The fact that this card is a 0/1 any time except when it's attacking alongside another creature makes this essentially a useless card in all but a few situations. In a format where only one of each card is allowed, a card needs to have lasting long-term value to work well in an average list. Some specific deckbuilding style might have a plan for a card like this, but in most normal situations this card will just not be useful in Commander.

Carnage Tyrant: This card is one of the most expensive cards in Ixalan as of this writing. It's a great no-nonsense facepuncher, a card that’s all about swinging in all day. The card is definitely good and is going to see play but I would expect its value to fall once the set has settled a bit, so if you're looking for one you might want to watch it for a bit to see if it slides into a more affordable price bracket. Its best value in Commander is inside the Dinosaur tribal list headed by Gishath, as outside of that list it finds itself in a rather bloated mana cost range that's filled with a number of other playables.

Deathgorge Scavenger: This is a nice utility piece for the Dinosaur tribe, but in a more generalized list it's hard to get a feel for it. It's definitely not as good as something like Scavenging Ooze when it comes to dealing with cards in graveyards, and having to swing in to trigger the ability can be rough when it’s sitting at 2 toughness. Still, utilizing the graveyard as a resource is a popular strategy in Commander and having more cards that can deal with that zone directly is a good thing. I'd say it's worth trying this one out to see how it performs at your local tables.

Deeproot Champion: I do like this card, but it's definitely outside of Green's normal comfort zone. Cards in this color are normally all about creature spells and interactions with creatures, and giving a Green creature an ability that's basically "super Prowess" feels a little weird to me. That said, I can definitely see a use for it; I've already seen a few Temur Spells lists at tables and they'll enjoy a card like this. Because it's inexpensive and has an ongoing way to add value to itself, I think it's worth trying. It's definitely non-traditional, but there's ways to make it work.

Emperor's Vanguard: Green is probably the color helped the least by the Explore mechanic. The land-finding aspect is minimized by Green's already-superior ability to ramp, and while there is some use for the graveyard in the color, it's less direct than a color like Black and generally only puts cards back in hand to be played again. This isn't a terrible card, but Explore's limited range in this color and the fact that there's only minimal support for it as a mechanic make me less than excited to play a card like this.

Old-Growth Dryads: This card is not for Commander, plain and simple. In a format where only one copy of each card can be run in a deck, this will almost never appear early enough in the game for it to be relevant compared to the card's obvious downside. This adds nothing of value to the deck of the person playing it and actively harms them in the long run. Ramp is exceedingly important in this format, and a card like this that just happily hands your opponents the most valuable resource in the game is of little use. An argument could be made for this card's political value, but I don't think that's a valid line of reasoning to include something like this. It’s best to look elsewhere.

Ranging Raptors: This card's ability is probably one of the best Enrage triggers in the game so far. The fact that the Raptor's body is big enough to survive multiple instances of damage each turn means that the right suite of cards can net multiple lands over and over, which is a big deal for the dedicated Dinosaur deck that's going to have a high mana curve by its very nature. I think there's potential for this card to shine in multiple lists other than just the Dinosaur deck, though, as it's a unique and repeatable way to ramp multiple times. There's a lot to think about with this one but I can definitely see a future for it.

Ripjaw Raptor: Speaking of amazing Enrage triggers, Ripjaw Raptor is another huge mark in the mechanic's favor. There's not really a lot of subtlety or out-of-box thinking in the Dinosaur tribe, and a card like this one is probably the most cerebral the creature type is really going to get, but I think that's fine. There's a lot of value in cards like this that trigger off of a normal aspect of gameplay, and drawing cards is probably one of the best things that something like this can do. It'll be interesting to see how this mechanic develops in Rivals of Ixalan, but as it is right now we have the start of something really strong.

Verdant Sun's Avatar: As I'm sure longtime followers of my blog know by now, I'm not a fan of lifegain just for the sake of gaining life. Decks that run lifegain cards should also be able to use that life to power other cards' abilities and expand the options available to them -- just blindly gaining life doesn't win the game on its own. That said, I'm not opposed to a card like this in the Dinosaur deck. The tribe has a higher-than-average mana curve and it might take some time to start firing properly, and having access to a card like this one allows the deck to take a few lumps in the early game and still stabilize itself in later turns. As a bonus, this card actually runs nicely alongside cards with the Enrage mechanic, as many damage-based boardwipes such as Earthquake and Molten Disaster hit players as well as creatures. Those types of cards are viable in the Dinosaur deck as they trigger all of the Enrage mechanics on the board, and running this card offers a bit of a safety bubble to keep the player from taking too much heat from their own spells. This isn't the most amazing of the new Dinosaurs but it's a decent enough addition in its own right, and with the creature pool still fairly shallow for the tribe, it's a fine inclusion.

Waker of the Wilds: This card feels a bit like a design held over from the Battle for Zendikar era. Its activated ability seems a fairly obvious play on the Awaken keyword featured in that block, which put +1/+1 counters on lands and then turned them into creatures. There were obviously cards that brought lands to life as creatures before the BFZ block, but the way this card uses counters to animate the land makes it feel very connected to that time. I wasn’t personally excited by the Awaken ability as it appeared on cards from the Battle block; I have used cards with the ability in decks, but it's never been a deciding factor in whether a card sees play as far as I'm concerned. As such, I'm not really moved by this card. The fact that this is a space that's already been so thoroughly explored means that it's not really that amazing to me. It's fine, there's nothing specifically bad about it, but it's not something I'm going to be running out to get my hands on.

Admiral Beckett Brass: This is a hard one to read. Tribal Commanders with a static lord ability are nice enough in their own right, so the Admiral will probably see play as a Commander just because she's the best choice for the Pirate tribe at the moment. The end-of-turn trigger is pretty good when it connects but the fact that an opponent has to be hit with three Pirates to actually have it happen is a little rough. Currently, the Pirate tribe have low-to-average combat stats overall and often require other options to help them really push through. There are a decent number of Pirates with some type of evasion, so that's a mark in the Admiral's favor, but I feel like there will be some work involved to help solidify the deck's gameplan. If she's backed up properly, I think there is potential for her in the format, but it's tough to call right now. Just like with a number of other cards in the tribe, I think it'll take the release of the next set to really get an idea of what this card can do.

Gishath, Sun's Avatar: If you've been following my blog in the months leading up to Ixalan's release, you'll know that I've been pretty excited for Dinosaurs for a while now. It's exciting to see my young childhood intersect with a hobby I’ve cultivated through my later youth and into my adulthood. It’s great to watch the tribe starts to establish itself, and a powerful Legendary creature is a welcome inclusion in the first rush of cards. Gishath is a great example of what this tribe is going for and a perfect choice to headline the deck if you're looking to build Dinosaurs for yourself. Because he's so centered in support of his tribe, he's really an all-or-nothing type of card, and his value drops off very quickly as creatures other than Dinosaurs start showing up in the deck around him. Similarly, there's little reason to use a different creature to headline a Dinosaur-centric deck as creatures like Mayael the Anima already have established lines that they can follow and converting them to Dinosaur tribal dilutes what they can already do. Still, Gishath is good at what he does and I've already seen him at a table more than once as of this article's writing. Gishath is confirmed awesome.

Hostage Taker: This card was hit with clarification errata before it became available publicly. Hostage Taker is unable to take itself hostage, despite how the text might read. Even without the potential to lock the game into a draw, though, this is a very strong piece for the average Dimir control shell. The capacity to function as a sort of Faceless Butcher for both artifacts and creatures is good in its own right, but stapling on the Gonti, Lord of Luxury ability to cast the exiled card just makes this a huge presence at the table when it comes down. I honestly think this card has the potential to become an auto-include in decks that have access to Blue and Black, as it offers a ton of value for the card slot it takes. This is just a very good card.

Huatli, Warrior Poet: Huatli's suite of abilities is a little strange on the first read. Her zero-loyalty ability is probably the most interesting in that it creates a token outside of her color identity. This isn't unheard of but is generally unusual. Her plus and minus abilities are connected to each other pretty strongly; Huatli essentially has no "ultimate" ability, and the capacity to repeatedly activate the minus-X ability is the main reason to tick up her loyalty. The ability to gain life is interesting here mostly because it allows the player to chain into damage-based boardwipes like Molten Disaster, which is the Dinosaur deck's preference because it allows their Enrage triggers to happen even on the way to the graveyard. Huatli also offers her own interesting way to trigger the Dinosaur tribe's Enrage abilities through the use of her minus-X, which can be used to target your own creatures for added value. Huatli was obviously made to benefit the Dinosaur tribe and her synergies with those cards does show through, but she's strong in her own right and I think she's worth trying in any aggressive list that includes Red and White and wants options that offer a bit more staying power.

Regisaur Alpha: This is another card that's only real value is as an inclusion in the new Dinosaur deck, but will do a ton of work in that specific build. Dinosaurs seem a bit of an exclusive club in that they want only their own kind at the party to really maximize themselves. Dinosaur tribal as a deck is pretty rough right now and a lot of cards are seeing an inclusion just because they have the right creature type, but this feels like a card that will be relevant to the deck even after more options become available. As a card, this is pretty straightforward, but I think it will have a fairly dedicated slot in Gishath's hunting pack for a long while. Definitely worth the inclusion if you're walking the Dinosaur.

Tishana, Voice of Thunder: The immediate comparison for this card is to Prime Speaker Zegana, another Legendary Green-Blue Merfolk creature that can draw cards and set its stats based on other creatures you have in play. Instead of caring about your one largest creature like Zegana, though, Tishana counts your total number of creatures, making her better suited for things like token decks or other swarm mentality builds like Elves. The initial investment of seven mana is a little high but Tishana will make it worthwhile as long as you have a healthy board. I think there's potential for a card like this both as a Commander or as part of the deck. It'll be exciting to see a deck come together for her.

Vona, Butcher of Magan: I went back and forth on the viability of this card for a bit when I first saw it, but as of now I think Vona is quite good. Five mana for a 4/4 with vigilance and lifelink is already above the baseline by itself, and the capacity to pay life for what's essentially a repeatable Vindicate is certainly a useful ability. Seven life can be a bit high as the game goes on, but this card is in the two colors most likely to regain life either through passive gain effects or draining it from opponents, so that cost should be easily handled. This is a good example of a card that offers the means to an end for lifegain effects, as it's a very straightforward and valuable way to spend that life you're gaining. Vona can be quite powerful if the right suite of tools are present, and I think we'll see multiple lists for her in the near future.

Vraska, Relic Seeker: Of the three Planeswalkers in the set, Vraska is the most openly aggressive. Her plus-2 ability creates a creature with menace, a powerful offensive keyword, and her minus-3 snipes active threats on the board and turns them into disposable mana stones for her controller. Her ultimate is flashy but likely won't see a lot of use, as repeated shots with the second ability seems a better way to spend her loyalty. Still, the ultimate is easy to reach from the starting point, and with two or three menacing Pirates out it does have potential to be a finisher. Six mana is very manageable in Commander and the fact that she comes into play with as much loyalty as the mana she costs is nice. Overall I think she's quite good and will serve well as a versatile removal piece for Golgari decks.

Fell Flagship: There's not a lot to say about this one, really. Giving a vehicle the classical Specter ability is kind of interesting, and I like the idea of a ship that's a Pirate lord. A 3/3 vehicle with crew 3 seems small though, and I'm not sure if Pirate tribal is strong enough yet to be worthwhile. The tribe definitely needs lords like this to make it work, though, so this is definitely a step in the right direction. As with so many other cards in the Pirate camp, I think that this card's worth will be solidified with the reveal of the next set, when we can get a better idea of how the tribe will fit together.

Shadowed Caravel: A card like this that is extremely parasitic to other cards within its own set is usually not very good, and Explore in and of itself is already a hard sell. The Explore mechanic's value is really dependent on the color of the card it appears on. Green cards with it aren't as valuable in my opinion because they already have better options for picking up lands, but in a color like Black that has limited ramp capacity and also wants a full graveyard, Explore is a lot better. Even in that instance, though, there's not enough depth to the mechanic to make a deck centered around it. When a card is locked to a mechanic like this it tends to not be very good because it's a dead end if you draw it without mechanical support already in place. If Explore picks up steam in Rivals of Ixalan this might be worth a second look, but honestly I think it's just a better idea to include something a little more dependable.

Sorcerous Spyglass: This is an interesting take on the Pithing Needle formula that allows players a bit of foresight into the card that they name. The fact that it doesn't specifically lock you to a card that it sees when you look at an opponent's hand means no value is lost in playing this. Hypothetically, you could even look through one player's hand, then choose something that's on another player's board once you're sure the player whose hand you looked at is not a present threat. In terms of Commander, this card might actually be more useful than its predecessor. This is because it offers a distinct upgrade for just a single mana that carries its value further into the late game, but its still-low cost means that there's no substantial loss of playability in the early turns. This type of static effect is a useful and dependable way to deal with specific problems, so I would not be surprised to see this gain some traction at the Commander table.

Vanquisher's Banner: With the most recent set of Commander decks adding multiple tribal options to the format, and the heavy tribal themes present in Ixalan, a card like this is very enticing to a lot of people. While the tribal boost isn't on the level of a card like Coat of Arms, there's still solid value in a static anthem effect for a tribe of the player's choice. Beyond that, the card draw ability is very relevant as it can help to keep the deck fueled up. There's potential to chain together multiple plays using this card by drawing into other creatures of the chosen type, which can be extremely beneficial for decks that would otherwise run out of steam. Obviously this card requires a healthy creature base to be properly successful but there is definitely a lot to like about this if you're building to a tribal theme.

Legion's Landing / Adanto, the First Fort: This card is pretty candid in its abilities, but just because it's straightforward doesn't mean it's not playable. The front side of the card follows a small trend of enchantments that create tokens as they enter, with the most obvious recent example probably being Oath of Gideon. Similarly, the transformation trigger plays on cards like Kytheon, Hero of Akros and Windbrisk Heights, and the reverse side is a reworked take on the classic land card Kjeldoran Outpost. It's a solid, functional tool for token decks that want a consistent source of disposable bodies, and while its ability suite is not exactly earth-shattering to read, I think there is value to be had here.

Search for Azcanta / Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin: After the public reveal of Growing Rites of Itlimoc, I had at least one friend at my local game store who was upset that this card wasn't a Tolarian Academy on its reverse side. Despite that, though, I think the card we got is pretty good in its own right. The front side is interesting in that it can fill the graveyard while also manipulating the top of the library. It's fairly innocuous on its own, but it might be helpful if paired with cards like Jace, Vryn's Prodigy or cards with Threshold or Delirium. The back side is a great utility piece for a number of decks as a repeatable way to pull out cards turn after turn. I like this as an option for artifact-based decks as it allows them to gather up useful permanents, but a deck focused on spell-based control can also get some good value out of this. I think it’s quite good.

Arguel's Blood Fast / Temple of Aclazotz: The Black member of the transforming enchantments cycle is mechanically pretty neat. The front side is a Greed variant and the back face is a take on Diamond Valley, which are interesting cards to connect together like this. The result, though, is too hazardous on the player's life total to be of much use. While it’s true that a player's life total is a resource that can be used and I'm fine with paying life to activate abilities, the fact that this card requires you to be at five life to change into its back face is almost ridiculous in its demand. Not only is that number extremely low, but in a format that starts its players at 40 life, it's also going to take a lot of work to get there. If you're really intent on running lands that allow you to sacrifice creatures, consider cards like Miren, the Moaning Well or High Market instead.

Vance's Blasting Cannons / Spitfire Bastion: I'm not quite sure how to look at this card. The front side is essentially a locked Khans choice for Outpost Siege, which is a fine ability if you're looking for it. Red has been getting a number of cards with the Elkin Bottle ability in recent years so this is more or less expected. The reverse face is a repeatable source of damage that feels like an intersection between Shivan Gorge and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. Activating a land and tapping three others for the Bastion ability feels a little expensive since you're essentially tying up four mana sources for three damage, but repeatable sources of damage on permanents is nice for fast Red lists since it gives them a way to ensure they have damage output as turns pass. Like some of the other double-faced cards in Ixalan, the trigger to transform this card is optional, which is a nice benefit for a card like this since both sides offer distinct benefits. Overall I think there is value to be had here, but not every deck will be able to use it.

Growing Rites of Itlimoc / Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun: Without a doubt, this is the Transform card in the set that turned the most heads when it was revealed. This design is a take on the classic land Gaea's Cradle, and it offers possibly the best value among its peers. Because the transformation trigger happens at the end of the turn instead of the upkeep, this card doesn't have to survive through a full round at the table to become the land side, which is a huge benefit for the card’s controller. Plus, unlike Gaea's Cradle, the transformed Itlimoc can always tap for mana, even if there are no creatures on the field. This is a gigantic card for the format, and it's likely going to become a mainstay in nearly all mono-Green decks and many multicolored creature-based lists that utilize Green as a central color.

Conqueror's Galleon / Conqueror's Foothold: Of all the transform cards in the set, this one is probably the least mechanically connected between its two faces. In terms of flavor, it's a cool idea to have a ship that floats up to a new continent and becomes the first landed settlement there, but I'm honestly less interested in this one as a card just because there's no real intersection of flavor and mechanics compared to the others. Some people are comparing this card’s back face to Trading Post, but I'm not sure if that comparison is entirely apt. I do think it’s a decent draw engine, though, and the fact that you can essentially improve how it functions by giving it more mana is a neat card design. The front is pretty lackluster overall but it's fairly easy to transform, so it's going to come down to whether or not playing the back half is worth including the front. Might be worth a test run, in any event.

Dowsing Dagger / Lost Vale: The Dagger is the only member of the transforming artifacts in this set that's an Equipment, which gives it a bit of a different feel compared to some of the others. I really enjoy the flavor of having to hack through the underbrush to find your way to the land on the other side, even though this is mechanically minimized in multiplayer games by attacking a different player than the one you gave the Plant tokens. Still, it's a cool idea. The land on the reverse side is a callback to Lotus Vale, itself a variant on arguably the most famous Magic card ever, Black Lotus. Three mana from one permanent is always beneficial and welcome in this format where mana costs can run high, and I think this is worth testing out in any deck that wants to swing in but has limited access to mana ramp.

Primal Amulet / Primal Wellspring: This is an amazing card for spell-based decks that want to win outside of combat. Reactive control decks that run a high number of counterspells or other manipulative spell cards will see an immediate return with a card like this one, and aggressive spell-based decks will appreciate the capacity to double down on each spell they cast. The back face plays as a sort of Pyromancer's Goggles analogue but works for any instant or sorcery, making it an upgrade on that card for decks that run more than one color. The transformation trigger is also optional on this card, which is great as it allows players to choose how they want to utilize it. In the earlier parts of the game, the Jace's Sanctum-style cost reduction is more useful, while the reverse side is functionally a finisher in some lists and better suited to the later turns. Giving the player control of when the card transforms allows this to be exactly the card it needs to be as it’s needed. I think this card will see a lot of play as time goes on.

Thaumatic Compass / Spires of Orazca: The front side of this card is a nice piece for decks that don't have a lot of access to land acceleration, essentially acting as a repeatable Expedition Map for basics. It's not terribly exciting, but it's a useful activation that a number of decks will be able to make use of. The land half is a renovated version of Maze of Ith that only works on opponents' creatures. These two cards have little to really do with each other in a mechanical sense, but there is a bit of flavor here in that you have to use the compass to find your way through other places to get to the land on the reverse side. I like to think of these cards similarly to things like modal spells and split cards in that they offer multiple types of value without taking up extra card slots. This card is probably the best example of that thinking. Truthfully, I think the front side is just more useful than the back in most situations, but the fact that it turns into something that has value in the late game earns it points. Overall I think it's quite good.

Treasure Map / Treasure Cove: This is an interesting piece and one of only a handful of transform cards in Ixalan that don’t feel specifically tied to cards from previous sets. In this instance, though, it may be because this is one of the set’s  mechanical highlight cards, exemplifying the Treasure token mechanic. The activated ability of the front side is quite useful for a number of decks, and once it flips into the land it offers an alternate way to spend Treasure tokens, which is nice. This is another card that I think will gain more benefit when Rivals of Ixalan releases and additional Treasure-making cards are added to the game. As it is right now, one of the best ways to use this card is in a deck that can flicker or bounce permanents, allowing you to rebuild the Treasure tokens once you've exhausted them. There’s definitely value there but it’ll be interesting to see how this card evolves once there’s more opportunity to find Treasure.

Checkland Reprints: These are great lands that are certainly useful in any deck that can run them, and are often my personal first "go-to" when I start working on a multicolor land base. When building a new deck from scratch, these are an ideal place to start a land suite, and they’re an inexpensive and readily available way to upgrade the land base of a preconstructed deck once changes start being made. There's not much to say about them otherwise, but it's nice to have them that much more available with a new printing.

And that’s Ixalan! Thanks for reading this article. If you have any additional thoughts about any of these cards and want to make your voice heard, feel free to post a comment or send me a message. I hope that this huge, amorphous mass of words helps your deckbuilding endeavors in the future.

#wall of text #October 24th 2017 #magic: the gathering #mtg #magic #wizards of the coast #wotc #wizards #card games #magic the gathering #ixalan #articles #commander #edh #card analysis #analysis #set analysis #deckbuilding #edh deckbuilding #card selection #text posts

[witchingjackal]

On Exclusives

[I did my best to avoid spirit names that are too close to any existing shops, but I do not know every shop out there. If any species name in here is close to your own spirits, this was not intentional and is not meant as an attack on you. This entire post is not meant as a point of argument, only as an explanation of my own viewpoint. It does not cover every point that could have been made on the subject (I am well aware that it can be degrading but that constitutes an entire conversation by itself) and does not consider cultural concerns as exclusive spirits, which is another topic entirely.]

Whether or not it has been labeled as such, an exclusive spirit is a race or species which a spirit shop expects other to never approach. These are things which do not exist in mythology (or are merely related to the actual mythological creature) and, in theory, would never be casually encountered. There should be no issue with labeling something exclusive because again, in theory, no one else would be capable of approaching them anyway.

In theory.

This is a concept I formerly believed in. For better or worse, I no longer do.

My trust in this concept has decayed as I’ve seen the actions of those who follow it and delved deeper into the psychology behind it. There are numerous reasons it doesn’t work when actually applied, no matter how much one may believe in the concept itself. I don’t believe the majority who put large stock in exclusive labels are malicious, they’ve merely been taught from day one about its importance and have not had proper discussions, rather than arguments, about its consequences to form whatever their independent opinion may be.

Quite frankly, most conjurers do not take the time to properly classify their spirits. To me personally, this is one of the largest downfalls of the label.

There are no standards in this business. People disagree with one another, shops who attempt to set precedents are then contradicted by those who approach the subject with a different mindset. There do not exist standards for classifying your species.

In the physical world, there are standards to this. Scientists have precedents for distinguishing species and the proper tools for doing so.

Many conjurers either are not skilled enough to give these explicit details to recognize and distinguish their species, or do not take the time and effort to do so.

Vague names are given by many conjurers. For example, if I merely said Cockroach Demon and claimed this as an exclusive - off the top of my head I can remember seven distinct species of cockroach demons, most of which have equally distinct social classes. Who is to say which species I am offering, or if it is only a single social class? Who is to say there are only seven species of cockroach demons in existence? This doesn’t even begin to cover the number of non-demonic cockroach spirits, or what constitutes a spirit as being related to cockroaches.

This is already messy, yes?

Vague names, no matter how many adjectives you stuff in there, are problematic for classifying spirits. That is the simple truth. Not only that, but if you attempt to use a mythological name, not every person agrees on the interpretation of mythical creatures. Some people argue that only the original mythological gryphon is a true gryphon, while others claim that any spirit who is a hybrid of feline and avian animals is a gryphon. Lines are blurred, viewpoints conflict. As there is no way to enforce a standard, you cannot expect others to not approach whatever a “Red-tailed Gryphon” or “Moon-speckled Opal Dragon” or “Higher lava demon” may be. The astral plane is so large that other species nearly identical to those you claimed as exclusive will exist, and you cannot claim a concept of a race as belonging to you.

But what about the shops who record the best translation of the race’s own name for themselves?

For one, not every species or race has a political structure. Some do not live in any society. Others do, but do not have a single government. Imagine this in relation to humans as a whole. It would not work.

Even if you trust the conjurer to have definitely explored every faction of that race and recorded every single aspect of it, in the end the decision to label them exclusive is speaking for the entire race. Whatever political leaders have made that decision with you are speaking for everyone, down to every last member. This includes those on the fringes of society, those who have left the society, or those who were not born in it at all but are the same species.

To put it bluntly: no political leaders have the power to command those who have left their jurisdiction. If they attempt to do so, consider the implications of this situation and your support over it.

I have personally seen conjurers who will label anything even remotely close to their exclusives as stealing. I’m not sure if they have not considered there being other similar species in existence or if they want a claim over the entire concept of a [adjective] dragon. Even more than this, there are conjurers who do not know where to draw the line for exclusives. There are no standards for this, no enforcement of “hey you cannot claim the entire concept of [adjective] dragon and every individual similar to that description as belonging to you”. I have seen conjurers attempt to label mythological creatures as exclusives, out of belief that they feel closer to the species than anyone else and therefore no one else can conjure them.

But as long as the exclusive label is slapped onto that spirit, it becomes no-touchy zone no matter how valid said claim is or is not. Without a way of enforcing standards, it is impossible for the exclusive label to exist without causing issues. That is the simple truth.

Some will withhold knowledge to prevent others from approaching or conjuring them. Not only are you purposely harming your customers by doing this, but you are creating more of a reason for them to approach the species on their own. If you will not give them the information, people may be forced to approach them for basic information that you were supposed to give. This isn’t touching on the dangers and greed issues of withholding knowledge, too.

I think it’s fair to expect a certain etiquette to exist. People do not browse your shop as a quick list of what to conjure themselves. If you’ve put hard work into introducing some exciting new species, people do their best to support you and your time spent on this endeavor. At some line people may step back and acknowledge, “Alright, I never came across this species myself and have relied on this person’s information the entire time. I don’t feel I should conjure them for others.”

Labeling things as exclusive supports a black and white mentality of either approaching to the fullest extent possible, or never ever touching or thinking about.

If you want respect given to your work, do your best to foster this respect, not to slap hard exclusive labels. These labels do not help. What will help is giving more knowledge about what you conjure, explaining your reasoning for not wishing someone to conjure something, and showing your customers the same respect you wish to be given. Not everyone will show you the same respect, but these people will approach the species whether you have labeled it exclusive or not.

Set the precedent you wish to see. The current precedent is for shops to hoard things to themselves and withhold knowledge.

If a race truly does not wish for others to approach them, others will not be able to approach them. They will be turned away, protections will be put up, the meaning will get across clearly.

If the race welcomes others with open arms, why are they listed as exclusive? If you want to be the only one capable of conjuring them, set that up with the proper people within the race and other conjurers will be denied if the entirety of the race truly wishes to be conjured only by yourself.

Greed is sometimes thrown as a reason for the exclusive label. After getting to know many people, I personally don’t believe the majority have greed in mind when they do so. It’s done out of fear of others messing up their work, insecurity, a need to have something unique.

That need to have something special and unique causes many issues. It makes people want to hoard things to themselves that should not be hoarded. This sort of ego boosting attitude is a trait I personally do not think belongs in any reputable conjurer.

Again: if something is truly exclusive, you should be able to explain this clearly, and others should be incapable of approaching even when full, explicit information is shared. If you cannot share explicit details about the race then what makes them appropriate to conjure for others?

Branching off from this subject, I’d like to explain my personal system for classifying spirits rather than slapping an exclusive label on them. It is still a work in progress, and after more use I’m hoping to have refined and possibly added to this format.

Classification: (Mythological, Mythological Variant, Earthern, Astral, Realm-Specific, Contract-Bound, Exclusive) Rarity: Location: Approachability: Danger: Relations:

First, I’ll explain the various classifications.

A mythological creature is the exact spirit spoken about within mythology. Or, at least it’s what you and them think is such, with evidence to back this up. Species argue among themselves over who is the actual one spoken about, so don’t think this means you aren’t obligated to release detailed information. You still need to give your customers explicit details on what you are matching them with, especially if others offer it, as they may be offering something entirely different under the same name.

A mythological variant is a species you may use a mythological name for (eg. Snowy Gryphon) but is not the exact creature within mythology. This may be something that is a subspecies, a related species, or another species entirely which has chosen to take the name of the mythological species. This label indicates that the species is definitely not the exact mythological spirit, and you should have fully described the differences between them.

A species classified as Earthern is one which exists primarily on our own plane. I personally use this to describe spirits found in earthern locales rather than astral locations, spirits of physical objects, spirits of lands, and many others. Some examples of these would be the native spirits of Chicago I speak to frequently, some mythological creatures (although these would be given the mythological label), the spirit of the nearest plant, dragons who migrate with our physical earthern winds, and many others. It is a broad category meant for anything that lives primarily on our own nonphysical plane yet is not a specific mythological creature.

Astral spirits are possibly the broadest of them all. This is simply for anything which lives primarily somewhere that is not the nonphysical layer of our own plane. Like the earthern label, this easily includes other labels and is best used when the more concise labels do not apply.

The Realm-Specific spirits have a specific astral location which can be considered their home, and the majority of these spirits will be found there rather than wandering. Many of the “unique” astral spirits in shops are these. To describe them clearer, a spirit merely classified as astral would be a basic hellhound, which arguably has multiple astral locations they come from and travel widely outside them. A realm-specific hellhound would be one that can be traced to a single astral plane or realm, and that species (or subspecies, depending on your view of hellhounds) is not typically found living beyond it.

The Contract-Bound label is for when the point of politics needs to be stressed, although this is easily omitted if one does not find it important to stress such things. The majority of “exclusive” spirits would be this. Something that is contract-bound needs to be approached in very specific ways not limited to creating a political contract. A race which bans outsiders from their cities unless you have been labeled as a friend by a higher up member would be contract-bound. A species which requires proper energetic tags signifying you as a friend before any member allows you to approach would be contract-bound. A race which requires an official political agreement to be allowed the honor of conjuring them would be contract-bound. It is important to note that you should not be grabbing these spirits to yourself and worrying about others “stealing” them.

Finally, the hard Exclusive label should rarely, if ever, be used. You cannot reasonably control every member of a race, unless it is perhaps a small faction (<100 maybe) you are conjuring. If I were to create shoggoths from my own specific eldritch brand of energy, and these shoggoths were so unique and easily differentiated from other shoggoths to be recognized as my own, then perhaps you might consider those exclusive. It’s not as if they could be approached, as I would be the one creating them, and they would be defined by my personal energy.

I will give an example of something I do believe has the hard exclusive label.

A race I will offer in the future, who I will refer to as honey demons for now, have isolated themselves from other honeybee related demons for long enough to evolve into a distinct species. They do not let anything that is not one of their own so much as step foot near their hive. While they travel outside to siphon energy from others, they do not do anything beyond this task unless manipulation is necessary to complete it. They are biologically incapable of non-work socialization, emotions, independent thought, sexual desires, and other such things. You can think of them as a hivemind.

If something within their biology screws up and they suddenly are capable of these things, that individual is considered diseased and culled. They will chase down infected members to the ends of the universe to cull them. Most do not survive anyway, if they manage to hide from their pursuers (which will never last for long, as they will always be chased) then they will be incapable of living on their own and perish.

I myself have gotten into circumstances where I’ve become an energy donor for their queen to safely harvest eldritch energy compatible with special purposes. Due to these unique circumstances, I have managed to convince her to give me custody of any infected members rather than having them culled. They are watched with heavy scrutiny for the rest of their lives, and they go through heavy shock and other issues during their rehabilitation that many do not survive from, but they consider this to be better than guaranteed death.

This, I believe, is a situation in which others would not be able to approach the exact species I work with. It would be impossible to approach their hive no matter how much information I put out there, and the infected workers who have broken from the hivemind would be instantly culled if their overseeing hive members saw them respond to strangers approaching. Their queen does not wish for any to leave without both of us knowing, so that they can be kept tabs on. They are slowly working their way to greater freedom from hive scrutiny and perhaps a long time from now they will achieve it, but in their current position there would be no possible way for others to approach them.  

A more suitable name may someday be found to detach this entirely from the exclusive label.

Now, I’ll move on to the other parts of this classification formula.

Rarity is a description of the species’ numbers. It is their rarity within their homeland, their numbers outside it, and their general population size in comparison to other astral species. For a race within a species or a faction, this describes their numbers in relation to their species and society. This is a good indicator of how likely others will be to come across these spirits.

Location is where the species will be found, regardless of whether it is their actual home. For earthern spirits, many still have specific locations which can be described, an environment or a region. For more astral spirits this may be a description of their home realm, or their preferred locations/environments if they wander.

Approachability is not you demanding that others do not approach. This describes their general reactions to being approached, the danger level, specific requirements to doing so, and the difficulty. If they have specific requests about not being conjured en masse, note that here. If you do not want others approaching the spirit or feel they should not be approached, describe why that is here. If you cannot describe it, perhaps you should rethink things before offering the spirit or giving them a label.

Danger is exactly as it says. It describes whatever is necessary about the danger of these spirits. While of course the danger of approaching them outside of yourself should be noted, remember that this is to keep people safe and informed, not to tell them that the species is yours. If they should not be approached, detailed information will confirm this even if you do not explicitly state it.

Relations is the relationship between the species and yourself (focusing more on the shop/conjuring level relationship rather than your personal one). Many things can fall into this category, including if a contract or other agreement between you exists, which parts of the species you conjure from, how they view the shop, if you are involved in their political leaders or merely casual, if you have energetic tags making it easier for you to conjure them, etc.

In conclusion, I hope this post explains my own position about exclusives clearly. If I do not believe you should be approaching something from my own shop, I will describe the reasons behind it and why it would be difficult for you. If an entire race does not wish to be approached, that is their job to put barriers up and keep their members in line, not my job to withhold information. I know very well that there are more points where could have been made about exclusives and were not touched upon. I trust you guys to have basic respect and decency when it comes to information sharing and conjuring. If you do not, the spirits are capable of deciding for themselves whether or not to be approached.

#spirit companion #spirit companionship

[ciathyzareposts]

Morabis I: Won! (with Summary and Rating)

              Morabis I: The Dungeons of Morabis

United States

Independently developed and released as shareware

Several versions released for DOS between 1991 and 1992

Date Started: 2 May 2020

Date Ended: 10 May 2020

Total Hours: 11 Difficulty: Moderate-Hard (3.5/5) Final Rating: (to come later) Ranking at time of posting: (to come later)

          Summary: A roguelite, Morabis blends Rogue-style gameplay with an Ultima-esque attention to map design. There are some interesting new features added, such as a targeting cursor for missile weapons and the ability to see and dodge incoming missiles and magic blasts. Overall, though, most of Morabis‘s changes from the traditional roguelike template make it longer and more frustrating than the typical roguelike. Bugs, misspellings, and version inconsistencies also hurt enjoyment.

*****

The second half of Morabis preceded much like the first half, except that with more difficult levels some of the game’s problems became magnified. The chief issue with the game is the level scaling that goes on as you descend further into the dungeon. Creatures increase in attack power and accuracy in proportion to the level you’re on, such that you never seem to “develop” as a character. Meanwhile, you’re constantly having to chase down new, improved weapons and armor to account for the greater monster power. Because their accuracy also improves, you spend a lot of time fleeing combat and waiting to heal before re-engaging. You spend an awful lot of time gingerly standing in doorways in this game, as if an earthquake is always about to hit.

      The search issue never went away, but it was magnified on some levels where large portions were initially occluded. I was also a bit irked by the sheer number of ways the author found for enemies to paralyze or confuse me. I swear that every enemy, even ones who had no special powers on earlier levels, were capable of one or the other during the last 10. Between enemies and traps, I couldn’t walk more than five steps at a time without being told I couldn’t move. Half the time, I had no idea why. And at least half my deaths were caused by walking the wrong way into lava when I was confused.

             Starving and unable to move sometimes feels like the default state in this game.

          Food was also a sporadic problem. It was quite literally feast or famine. There was one period where I had to save-scum for about half an hour until I got a couple enemies to drop food when I killed them; otherwise, I starved to death before I could get anywhere. Nothing is more frustrating than finally finding food and having it turn out to be rotten or poisonous, but of course Rogue had that, too.

The best times were when, for a brief time, I had a magic item capable of alleviating some of the game’s more powerful annoyances. I enjoyed a Ring of Trap Avoidance for a few levels. A Ring of Slow Digestion was also a godsend. I found a Scroll of Nutrition at one point with about 15 charges. That was a load off. There are supposedly Rings of Lava Walking and Rings of Avoid Paralysis in the game, but I never found either. Anyway, rings don’t last forever in Morabis, so at best they offer temporary reprieve.

         A “wraglor” degrades my armor just before he kills me.

          As I descended, I started to appreciate the author’s approach to level design a bit more. I corresponded with Michael Höenie, and he sent me some of the game maps as examples. (There’s no way to view the entire map of a level from within the game, unfortunately). Using handcrafted levels instead of randomly-generated ones allowed him to do some fun things with the terrain. Some levels suggested rough-hewn natural caverns, while others suggested fortresses or jail cell blocks. Level 24 is basically one long, thin causeway over lava. The final dungeon level in particular, Castle Morabis, had an almost Ultima quality in the map design. It’s just too bad that you can’t appreciate it from within the game. The 81 x 81 level sizes are a bit large, too.

         The final dungeon level, courtesy of the author.

           Every fifth level features a mini-boss guarding the way down: Fennel the Fire Lark on Level 5, Jahaÿ the Gobnor on Level 10, Ñehnor the hobnorlin on Level 15, and Nimlatch the Dragon on Level 20. They had more hit points than others of their class but otherwise weren’t terribly difficult.

There’s an odd special encounter on Level 18 with a roomful of unicorns. They attack you, but if you attack them, the game says, “Oh! Thou mustn’t hurt a Unicorn!” (“Thou-speak” is another borrowing from the Ultima series.) What you’re supposed to do, according to Höenie’s web site, is find some grass and drop it in front of them, then they give you a key necessary for the final dungeon level. I didn’t read this until I’d left Level 18 well behind me. The encounter isn’t really fair. Nowhere else in the game do you interact with creatures this way, and there’s no particular reason to think that the unicorns would want grass. 

         I can’t attack the unicorns, but they have no such compunction.

         As for keys, you find copious numbers of them on the way down–brass, pewter, tin, copper, steel, platinum, beryllium . . . so many that you run out of inventory space if you try to carry them all. They’re mostly unused until the final level, where it appears that every other door wants a different one. At least two doors require the one that the unicorns drop, and I didn’t have that. Rather than waste hours going back to Level 18, I hex-edited my saved games to jump across the door.

               Opening one of the final doors with a key.

          Level 25 is shaped like a castle. You start in the lower-center, and if you just move north from there, you come to the chambers of the demon lord. As I approached his chamber and he taunted me, the game called him “Satu’Javu,” but when I actually fought him, he was named “Satu’Nävas. Either way, I killed him in a few blows on my first try.

            The demon has two different names depending on whether he’s taunting me or dying by my sword.

           The Amulet of Sae’gore is found in a nearby chamber, guarded by a couple of “zelthorns.” I had hoped that when I killed the demon and picked up the amulet, the game would automatically end, but no, just like Rogue, I had to make my way back up to the surface. Also like Rogue, the game preserves the original difficulty level of the game levels as you ascend, meaning that it’s really no challenge once you get out of the bottom few.

Uninterested in spending this kind of time, I made use of an exploit. When the character dies on a level and you reload, the game always reloads you on the up-staircase of that level. Thus, through a boring but faster process of die-reload-up, I made my way to Level 1 and out of the dungeon. There, I got the concluding message:

            Congratulations!! You found the amulet and escaped with your life! Unfortunately, Lord Devnon, seeing your triumph, has escaped. Fleeing with only his life, he has returned to Valkner’s Keep. Peace will now reign in the land of Croon, at least for a little while . . .

                 Winning the game.

               This brief paragraph manages to confuse the story even more. The story in the manual is titled “your quest for the Amulet of Sae’gore” but doesn’t even mention the Amulet of Sae’gore, and is instead about the new king attempting to defeat Lord Devenon by finding the Scarlette Sword and the Armor of Power. Nether Satu’Javu, Satu’Nävas, the land of Croon, nor Valkner’s Keep are mentioned in the manual backstory, either.

On a GIMLET, Morabis I gets:

                1 point for the game world. What would normally be 2 is lowered by the tangled backstory.

1 point for character creation and development. Every character is the same generic adventurer, and the level scaling problem makes development feel futile at times.

0 points for no NPC interaction, although Höenie had plans for them in the next version.

         Fighting enemies while walking on a thin bridge over lava. One wrong step means death.

        3 points for encounters and foes. The enemies were satisfyingly variant in their special abilities, although not to the level of NetHack or even the original Rogue. I liked the mini-bosses at regular intervals.

2 points for magic and combat. The game features fewer tactics than traditional roguelikes, in particular lacking any spellcasting system. There’s also no speed differential and fewer useful items to employ.

         Sorting through a treasure pile after killing a dragon. I’m not sure I want to know what an “avocado wand” is.

            3 points for equipment. It has a roguelike’s variety but not quite as much variety as most. I found that wands were almost useless. There’s only one main armor type–no helms, gauntlets, boots, and the like. But what really killed this category for me was the lack of consistency between objects of the same description. Part of the challenge of roguelikes has always been discerning, through various clues and testing, what colors go with what potions and what descriptions go with what rings, scrolls, and wands. The difficulty of lower levels is eased slightly by the fact that you’re no longer wasting time probing each new item for its likely properties. In Morabis, with colors and descriptions assigned randomly to each individual object, that process never ends. The only mitigating factor is that Scrolls of Identification are relatively common.

0 points for no economy. You can collect gold, but there’s nowhere to spend it, nor does it count towards any score.

2 points for a main quest.

         Finding the Amulet on Level 25.

         2 points for graphics, sound, and interface. Pretty much any decent roguelike gets a 3 for its utility of graphics and its keyboard interface. I subtracted a point for the searching, the lack of an automap, and frequent artifact issues with the interface.

2 points for gameplay. For the most part, I found the levels too big and the annoyances outweighing the satisfying moments. There’s no real replayability inherent in it.

            That gives us a final score of 16, from which I subtract 2 points for bugs and needless confusion in the story and instructions. The confusion comes from Höenie being between versions when he gave up, the manual having been edited ahead of the game itself.

In e-mails to me, Höenie said that Morabis started in 1985 (when Höenie was 16) as a text-based BBS game. Höenie had been a dungeon master on a server for Scepter of Goth (1978), and when Scepter was deprecated, he set out to create a similar game. 

After he got some experience with offline games–principally, Rogue, Tunnels of Doom, and Ultimas I-III–Höenie began working on his own single-player roguelike, blended with elements from Ultima like the inability to see around walls. He originally called it Morabis II, but it soon became just Morabis. After he released it, Höenie got about halfway through Morabis II: The Quest for the Staff of Yar’Bore–which would have included a level editor, spells, and NPCs with dialogue and transaction options–but ultimately life intervened and he never finished it.

Höenie maintains a web page devoted to Morabis, on which you can find some instructions for further cheating the game by adding items.

The next game is supposed to be Moraff’s Dungeons (1993), the first time that I move prematurely forward in my chronological order, and I confess that despite how well I argued for this new development a few months ago, I’m now having second thoughts.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/morabis-i-won-with-summary-and-rating/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

[vegathebeast-blog]

Origins for Super Mario Characters Name

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When I found that out I did two things. For starters, I whipped out my message (yes, I ensure that it stays that real/nerdy which I still have an old NES connected in my room) and then made positive I will be able to match the game at will. (I can. Childhood not wasted.)

Secondly, I initiated down a rabbit hole of reading Mario internet sites and Wikis and Articles. In the process, I stumbled upon the etymologies of the brands of many of the major players in the Mario universe. So, in honor of the video game which often changed the globe, right here they're, provided in useful 11 item show form.

Mario.

When Mario debuted to the arcade game "Donkey Kong", he was just called Jumpman. (Which additionally is the generic name regarding that Michael Jordan dispersed leg Nike logo. 2 of the most legendary icons actually each have generic versions of themselves known as Jumpman. But only one has nowadays reached a point of being so powerful that he shaved himself a Hitler mustache prior to filming a commercial and the balls were had by not one person to correct him.)

In 1980, as the Nintendo of America staff shipped Jumpman to raise him into a franchise-leading star (Hayden Christensen style), somebody seen that he looked just like their Seattle office building's landlord... a fellow known as Mario Segale.

Mario Segale did not obtain a cent for becoming the namesake of essentially the most well known video game character perhaps, although he most likely is not extremely concerned; in 1998 he sold his asphalt company for over $60 million. (Or 600,000 increased lives.)

Luigi.

Luigi actually has one of probably the weakest brand roots of all of the mario characters in the Mario universe (once again showing exactly why, in real life, he'd have a larger inferiority complex than Frank Stallone, Abel or even that 3rd Manning brother).

"Luigi" is merely the product of people of Japanese males working to consider an Italian name to complement "Mario." Why was the Italian label they went with? When they all moved from Japan to Seattle, the pizza place nearby to the Nintendo headquarters referred to as Mario & Luigi's. (It has since gone out of business.)

Koopa.

Koopa is a transliterated variation of the Japanese rap for the adversary turtles, "Kuppa." Stick with me right here -- kuppa is the Japanese word for a Korean dish referred to as gukbap. Generally it's a cup of soup with rice. From what I surely inform it's completely not related to turtles, particularly malicious ones.

In an interview, Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, explained he was deciding between 3 names that are distinct because of the high-speed of evil turtles, all of which were called after Korean foods. (The other two were yukhoe and bibimbap.) And that means one of 2 things: (one) Miyamoto adores Korean food and was looking to give it a tribute or even (two) Miyamoto thinks Koreans are evil and should be jumped on.

Wario.

I sort of missed the debut of Wario -- he debuted in 1992, right around when I was hitting the generation just where I was way too awesome for cartoon y Nintendo games. (Me and the middle school buddies of mine have been into Genesis just. I was back on Nintendo within four years.)

Turns out his title functions both in Japanese and english; I kinda assumed the English way but did not know about the Japanese element. In English, he is an evil, bizarro marketplace mirror image of Mario. The "M" turns to be a "W" and Wario is created. The name also functions in Japanese, wherever it is a combination of Mario as well as "warui," that means "bad."

That's a very good scenario, since, as I covered thoroughly in the summary 11 Worst Japanese-To-English Translations In Nintendo History, only a few language significant difference finesses back as well as forth so efficiently.

Waluigi.

When I initially seen "Waluigi" I believed it was hilarious. While Wario became a natural counterbalance to Mario, Waluigi felt extremely comically shoehorned (just tacking the "wa" prefix before Luigi) -- like a huge inside joke that somehow cleared each and every bureaucratic stage and then cracked the mainstream.

Well... according to the Nintendo men and women, Waluigi isn't just a gloriously idle choice or maybe an inside joke also been substantial. They *say* it is dependant upon the Japanese phrase ijiwaru, which means "bad guy."

I don't know. I think that we would have to meet them more than halfway to pay for that.

Toad.

Toad is built to look as a mushroom (or toadstool) because of his giant mushroom hat. It's a good thing the games debuted before the whole model knew how you can generate penis jokes.

Anyway, in Japan, he's named Kinopio, which is certainly a blend of the word for mushroom ("kinoko") and also the Japanese version of Pinocchio ("pinokio"). Those blend being something around the collections of "A Real Mushroom Boy."

Goomba.

In Japanese, the men are referred to as kuribo, that means "chestnut people." That is sensible because, ya know, if somebody requested you "what do chestnut individuals seem to be like?" you would probably arrive at food roughly similar to the heroes.

Whenever they were imported for the American model, the group caught with the Italian initiative of theirs and also referred to as them Goombas... based off the Italian "goombah," that colloquially will mean something as "my fellow Italian friend." It also kind of evokes the picture of low level mafia criminals without too numerous capabilities -- like individuals younger brothers and cousins who they had to work with or maybe mother would yell at them. Which also is true for the Mario Bros. goombas.

Birdo.

Birdo has nothing at all to do with this first Japanese title. Generally there, he's called Kyasarin, which regularly translates to "Catherine."

In the training manual for Super Mario Bros. two, where Birdo debuted, his character description reads: "Birdo thinks he's a female and additionally wants for being known as Birdetta."

What I do believe all of this means? Nintendo shockingly decided to create a character that battles with the gender identity of his and named him Catherine. When it was some time to show up to America, they got feet that are cold so they decided at the last minute to contact him Birdo, though he's a dinosaur. (And don't give me the "birds are descended from dinosaurs" pop-paleontology collection. Not purchasing that connection.) In that way, we would only understand about his gender misunderstandings if we read the manual, and the Japanese have been fairly certain Americans were either too lazy or even illiterate to do so en masse.

Princess Toadstool/Peach.

When we all got introduced on the Princess, she was regarded as Princess Toadstool. I assume this made good sense -- Mario was put in the Mushroom Kingdom, so why wouldn't its monarch be called Princess Toadstool. Them inbreeding bluish bloods are always naming the children of theirs after the country.

No one seems to be sure the reason they went that direction, however. In Japan, she was regarded as Princess Peach from day one. The title did not debut here until 1993, when Yoshi's Safari arrived on the scene for Super Nintendo. (By the manner by which -- have you played Yoshi's Safari? In an unconventional twist it is a first-person shooter, the only one in the whole Mario times past. It's as the equivalent of a country music superstar creating a weird rock album.)

Bowser.

In Japan, there's simply no Bowser. He's simply known as the King Koopa (or comparable variants, like Great Demon King Koopa). And so where did Bowser come from?

During the import approach, there was a concern that the American masses wouldn't recognize how the little turtles and big bad man could certainly be known as Koopa. So a marketing team put together a large number of selections for a title, they liked Bowser the best, as well as slapped it on him.

In Japan, he is nevertheless hardly ever called Bowser. Around here, his name has become extremely ubiquitous that he is even supplanted Sha Na Na's Bowzer as America's most famous Bowser.

Donkey Kong.

This's a far more literal interpretation than you think. "Kong" is based off of King Kong. "Donkey" is a family friendly means of calling him an ass. That's right: His title is a valuable version of "Ass Ape."

Great Mario Bros. is a video recording game launched for the household Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System found 1985. It shifted the gameplay away from its single-screen arcade predecessor, Mario Bros., and rather showcased side-scrolling platformer concentrations. While not the first game on the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is really famous, along with introduced many set staples, from power ups, to classic adversaries like Goombas, on the basic idea of rescuing Princess Toadstool coming from King Koopa. As well as kicking above a whole series of Super Mario platformer video games, the untamed good results of Super Mario Bros. popularized the genre to be an entire, helped to revive the gaming market as soon as the 1983 video game crash, as well as was largely the cause of the initial results around the NES, with which it was actually bundled a launch name. Until finally it was ultimately surpassed by Wii Sports, Super Mario Bros. was the very best selling video game of all moment for nearly three years, with over 40 thousand duplicates offered internationally.

#mario characters list