Phyrexians practice a more aggressive form of Green magic than is standard, believing that only in conflict can a creature prove its worth. It is because of this that they focus entirely on predators and the idea of survival of the fittest.
Go here and click on the Green And Multicolored link to follow along, then hit the jump as I discuss how Phyrexia has twisted my second favorite color.
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Schools of Magic - Green, Part 1
The deepest depths of the forest contain the secrets to an ancient and powerful magic. This is the energy of growth, and it is a primal power. It is the energy of the beasts and plants, and it contains the secrets of mana.
This was originally my favorite color, and though I now I prefer Red, I still love me some Green spells. Go here to follow along, then hit the jump for an in depth look at the spells available to a Green mage!
This was originally my favorite color, and though I now I prefer Red, I still love me some Green spells. Go here to follow along, then hit the jump for an in depth look at the spells available to a Green mage!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Schools of Magic - Red, Part 2: New Phyrexia
Red is the color most at odds with the core philosophy of Phyrexia. While Red celebrates freedom and self-expression, Phyrexia enforces unity and conformity at all costs. It was perhaps inevitable that Red mana would resist Phyrexia's influence, resulting in the least amount of change from Red's core philosophy.
Click here to follow along, and hit the jump for a trip to the Furnace Layer of Phyrexia.
Click here to follow along, and hit the jump for a trip to the Furnace Layer of Phyrexia.
The Schools of Magic - Red, Part 1
Flowing from the mountains, the power of passion, fire and chaos are the domain of Red magic. Slaves to their desires, Red mages are the most passionate and unpredictable of all.
Go here to follow along, then hit the jump to check out my favorite color!
Go here to follow along, then hit the jump to check out my favorite color!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Schools of Magic - Black, Part 2: New Phyrexia
Historically, Black has been the only color that Phyrexian magic used. While New Phyrexia has magic of all colors, Black remains the central color, and its effects can be found among all colors.
Go here to follow along, and click the "Black and Red" link at the top to jump to the cards I'll be discussing. Then hit the jump, and learn some pointless things!
Go here to follow along, and click the "Black and Red" link at the top to jump to the cards I'll be discussing. Then hit the jump, and learn some pointless things!
The Schools of Magic - Black, Part 1
Normally, I would write an introduction on the color I'll be discussing here. The problem is that someone has already written a better one than I could! Last friday, April 22nd, Gamma-Mage posted this on the Magic: the Gathering Flavor and Storylines forum. This post is what inspired me to write this series of blog posts, and I thank Gamma for that!
Follow along on Gatherer as I examine Black magic in Magic 2011! Hit the jump!
Follow along on Gatherer as I examine Black magic in Magic 2011! Hit the jump!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Schools of Magic - Blue, Part 2: New Phyrexia
Before we start today, I'd like to take a moment to talk about the reason that I'm able to do this blog series. Usually, the two weeks before the prerelease of a small set are devoted to previews. This usually means two to four cards are revealed each day, with the full set revealed the day of the prerelease. New Phyrexia's prerelease is May seventh. That means that yesterday should have been the first day of previews, but the full set was revealed. While Wizards won't ever admit why they did it, it is almost certainly because a week before, scans of the full set were leaked, and everyone could find it if they wanted it.
Honestly, I'm not sure where I stand when it comes to this. I'm a bit of a spoiler hound, and I'll admit that I looked over the spoilers. However, I think this may have hurt my overall experience, as I didn't have the time to digest each card on its own. I'm hoping doing this will help, as I really need to look at each card in detail for this. So, without further ado, go here for the spoiler, and hit the jump to listen to me babble about inane details!
Honestly, I'm not sure where I stand when it comes to this. I'm a bit of a spoiler hound, and I'll admit that I looked over the spoilers. However, I think this may have hurt my overall experience, as I didn't have the time to digest each card on its own. I'm hoping doing this will help, as I really need to look at each card in detail for this. So, without further ado, go here for the spoiler, and hit the jump to listen to me babble about inane details!
The Schools of Magic - Blue, Part 1
Blue is the color of intellect and logic, drawing its power from the relentless power of the sea. Through the ages, Blue mages have been known as the greatest scholars in their worlds, driven to understand everything in existence. They are not satisfied with simply knowing everything. All that knowledge must be put to use to control the world around them.
Once again, it is time for me to examine Magic cards in far greater detail than was intended. Full disclosure, I don't like playing Blue, though I identify as a partially blue person. (the other part is Red) I will be using Magic 2011 once again, and you can follow along here. Hit the jump for a look inside a Blue mage's spell book.
Once again, it is time for me to examine Magic cards in far greater detail than was intended. Full disclosure, I don't like playing Blue, though I identify as a partially blue person. (the other part is Red) I will be using Magic 2011 once again, and you can follow along here. Hit the jump for a look inside a Blue mage's spell book.
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Schools of Magic - White part 2: New Phyrexia
With the release of the full spoiler of New Phyrexia (find it here) I thought it would be interesting to contrast this highly irregular plane with the default setting shown in Magic 2011. Once again, I will be focusing on White for this post. Interested? Then hit the jump!
The Schools of Magic - White
So, there's been a thread on the Wizards Community lately about the various schools of Magic within the colors. It started with one person writing an in-character discussion on the schools that make use of Black mana, and it kind of spiraled from there.
For those interested, the thread is here. After the jump I'll be detailing my thoughts on it, and I'll be going through all the cards in Magic 2011 to fit them into the various schools. To follow along, see here, which is the entire list of M11 cards in the order that I'll be discussing them. In this post I'll be focusing on the White cards, but expect future blog posts to focus on the other colors.
For those interested, the thread is here. After the jump I'll be detailing my thoughts on it, and I'll be going through all the cards in Magic 2011 to fit them into the various schools. To follow along, see here, which is the entire list of M11 cards in the order that I'll be discussing them. In this post I'll be focusing on the White cards, but expect future blog posts to focus on the other colors.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming
Before I start this, I'll say what I know about this series.
-It's epic fantasy
-It has political machinations (Come on, Game of Thrones! Could it be more obvious?)
-Almost everyone is scum.
And that's pretty much it! I believe a bunch of my friends love it, but I can't be sure. So... without further ado, episode 1 of Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming.
Don't worry if you missed the episode title, because they repeat it FIVE MILLION TIMES. It got kind of irritating. But really, that's a minor thing, and the title drop has always been a pet peeve of mine, so let's ignore that and get to what I really thought.
It opened with... a scout or something, as he found a whole bunch of completely butchered bodies, along with a little girl impaled on a tree. Not creepy at all, especially when it is shown that the body parts are laid out in some kind of pattern. It looks kind of like the symbol of Phyrexia from MTG, but I think I'm seeing that symbol everywhere, so I actually have no idea what it is.
He goes back and reports it to his asshole commander, who insists on going to see it himself and... well, he's not very Genre Savvy, is he? The bodies are all gone, which is super creepy. And then... ZOMBIE LITTLE GIRL! And some sort of demon guy? His eyes seemed to be glowing. I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but this got me interested, at the very least.
We get introduced to the characters, and none of them made much of an impact initially - in fact, I have to refer to wikipedia to get their names. I do like Sean Bean's character, Eddard "Ned" Stark (what kind of name is Eddard, and how is Ned a nickname from that?) His comment after the execution was something that I find admirable, and reveals a lot about his character: "The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword." It shows his devotion to duty, which is a trait I generally like in a character.
The show is clearly adept at establishing personalities quickly, even if it isn't so good at making me remember their names. Arya is adorable, and is clearly a tomboy. Bran is... well, he's 10, and a boy. His habit of climbing everything reminds me of myself at that age. Jon Snow is the bastard who has nobility and honor that his half-brothers lack. I have less of a grasp on Robb, who is the oldest son, and Catelyn, Eddard's wife, but it is only the first episode. And Sansa is... well, she seems like kind of a bitch.
The king's introduction scene is almost painfully obvious how it's going to end up from the moment it starts, though he and Eddard do have a relationship that I like - the Vitriolic Best Buds thing. His wife, on the other hand... well, at this point she's essentially a non-entity, though that changes later. Their son looks like the shallow pretty boy (he almost looks like Draco Malfoy, actually) and the other guy... was that Jaime? I'm confused now, I have no idea who anyone is. Oh, and there's a character who's called the Imp, and I have no idea how to feel about him right now. He's definitely an asshole and a lecher, but he is viewed as less than a man, so we'll see. I may feel more charitable to him at the moment because of the other main characters we meet shortly.
His name is Viserys, and he creeps me out! The pale skin with platinum blonde hair looks eerie to begin with, but his opening scene is detestable. He strips his sister (!) to admire her body (!!) and fondles her (!!!!!!). His sister, Daenerys, looks almost as creeped out as I feel, and I kind of feel bad for her. And then we find out he's marrying her off to a savage (I'll get to that) for political gain, which is... Well, I really hope he dies in a horrible way. He's the type of scumbag who will do anything for his own gain.
The man she's being married to is Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki. They are viewed as savages by everyone else, which is something that really bothers me. Whenever an entire people is written off as savages and implied to be subhuman, it sets off warning bells, and this episode doesn't do a whole lot to lessen the feeling of unease I have. The wedding seems to go out of its way to prove that the Dothraki are savages. One of the things that doesn't make any sense to me is the statement that a wedding is considered dull unless there are at least three deaths. WHAT. That seems counter-productive.
So, finally, plot happens. I guess the King's old Hand (his right-hand man, I guess) was murdered, and so Eddard is going to take the position. So there's drama there. More importantly, while Bran is climbing a tower, he comes across two people having sex! It appears that it's Cersei, the queen, and her twin brother Jaime. WTF. That's gross enough as it stands, but then Jaime pushes Bran off the tower! WHAT! And then the episode ends, with Bran falling off the tower.
Final thoughts: I have no idea what to think about this show. I'll watch the next episode, and I'll try to get up my thoughts on it sooner next time. I'm definitely going to give this show a chance, but I don't yet know if I'll like it.
NOTES:
-It's epic fantasy
-It has political machinations (Come on, Game of Thrones! Could it be more obvious?)
-Almost everyone is scum.
And that's pretty much it! I believe a bunch of my friends love it, but I can't be sure. So... without further ado, episode 1 of Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming.
Don't worry if you missed the episode title, because they repeat it FIVE MILLION TIMES. It got kind of irritating. But really, that's a minor thing, and the title drop has always been a pet peeve of mine, so let's ignore that and get to what I really thought.
It opened with... a scout or something, as he found a whole bunch of completely butchered bodies, along with a little girl impaled on a tree. Not creepy at all, especially when it is shown that the body parts are laid out in some kind of pattern. It looks kind of like the symbol of Phyrexia from MTG, but I think I'm seeing that symbol everywhere, so I actually have no idea what it is.
He goes back and reports it to his asshole commander, who insists on going to see it himself and... well, he's not very Genre Savvy, is he? The bodies are all gone, which is super creepy. And then... ZOMBIE LITTLE GIRL! And some sort of demon guy? His eyes seemed to be glowing. I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but this got me interested, at the very least.
We get introduced to the characters, and none of them made much of an impact initially - in fact, I have to refer to wikipedia to get their names. I do like Sean Bean's character, Eddard "Ned" Stark (what kind of name is Eddard, and how is Ned a nickname from that?) His comment after the execution was something that I find admirable, and reveals a lot about his character: "The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword." It shows his devotion to duty, which is a trait I generally like in a character.
The show is clearly adept at establishing personalities quickly, even if it isn't so good at making me remember their names. Arya is adorable, and is clearly a tomboy. Bran is... well, he's 10, and a boy. His habit of climbing everything reminds me of myself at that age. Jon Snow is the bastard who has nobility and honor that his half-brothers lack. I have less of a grasp on Robb, who is the oldest son, and Catelyn, Eddard's wife, but it is only the first episode. And Sansa is... well, she seems like kind of a bitch.
The king's introduction scene is almost painfully obvious how it's going to end up from the moment it starts, though he and Eddard do have a relationship that I like - the Vitriolic Best Buds thing. His wife, on the other hand... well, at this point she's essentially a non-entity, though that changes later. Their son looks like the shallow pretty boy (he almost looks like Draco Malfoy, actually) and the other guy... was that Jaime? I'm confused now, I have no idea who anyone is. Oh, and there's a character who's called the Imp, and I have no idea how to feel about him right now. He's definitely an asshole and a lecher, but he is viewed as less than a man, so we'll see. I may feel more charitable to him at the moment because of the other main characters we meet shortly.
His name is Viserys, and he creeps me out! The pale skin with platinum blonde hair looks eerie to begin with, but his opening scene is detestable. He strips his sister (!) to admire her body (!!) and fondles her (!!!!!!). His sister, Daenerys, looks almost as creeped out as I feel, and I kind of feel bad for her. And then we find out he's marrying her off to a savage (I'll get to that) for political gain, which is... Well, I really hope he dies in a horrible way. He's the type of scumbag who will do anything for his own gain.
The man she's being married to is Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki. They are viewed as savages by everyone else, which is something that really bothers me. Whenever an entire people is written off as savages and implied to be subhuman, it sets off warning bells, and this episode doesn't do a whole lot to lessen the feeling of unease I have. The wedding seems to go out of its way to prove that the Dothraki are savages. One of the things that doesn't make any sense to me is the statement that a wedding is considered dull unless there are at least three deaths. WHAT. That seems counter-productive.
So, finally, plot happens. I guess the King's old Hand (his right-hand man, I guess) was murdered, and so Eddard is going to take the position. So there's drama there. More importantly, while Bran is climbing a tower, he comes across two people having sex! It appears that it's Cersei, the queen, and her twin brother Jaime. WTF. That's gross enough as it stands, but then Jaime pushes Bran off the tower! WHAT! And then the episode ends, with Bran falling off the tower.
Final thoughts: I have no idea what to think about this show. I'll watch the next episode, and I'll try to get up my thoughts on it sooner next time. I'm definitely going to give this show a chance, but I don't yet know if I'll like it.
NOTES:
- I want a dire wolf puppy!
- Was the sheath Eddard used for that great sword a bear?
- It was pretty obvious that the White Walkers are just what they call zombies.
- The wolf helmet that one of the guys with the King was wearing looked dumb.
- "It's not hunting if you pay for it." ZING
Welcome!
Welcome to MicorkView! I intend to use this blog mostly to talk about thinks I like - later today I'll be watching the first episode of Game of Thrones and posting about that, and I also plan to post about books I'm reading and games I'm playing, so keep an eye out!
Kithkin, the Peacekeepers of Tyranix
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted! The contest ended - I didn't win, though the plane that did deserved it! I'm going to post a few more things about Tyranix, then I'll put it up for entry into the Expanded Multiverse.
This time, we see what the Kithkin of Tyranix are like.
This time, we see what the Kithkin of Tyranix are like.
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