DemonDragonJ on Exsanguinate or Blasphemous Edict?

1 day ago

I have a copy of Exsanguinate in my Thraximundar EDH deck, because that is an excellent card, but I am contempaltign replacing it with Blasphemous Edict, since the newer card is an obvious choice for that deck, but, because that card is rather expensive, monetarily, I wish to ask for advice before I purchase it.

What does everyone else say, about this? Should I replace Exsanguinate with Blasphemous Edict?

DemonDragonJ on Certain Planeswalkers Losing their Sparks …

5 days ago

I am not pleased with how many planeswalkers lost their sparks after the Phyrexian invasion, because of how random it was, and how it happened for no logical reason or with no clear explanation in the story, and I am especially annoyed that that phenomenon deprived several planeswalkers of the traits that made them special and unique, specifically, Calix, the Wanderer, and the Kenrith twins.

Calix was noteworthy because he was the first artificially-created being who ignited a spark naturally; Karn is also an artificial being, but Venser gave him his spark when he died, so Calix, was one-of-a-kind, in that regard, but, without his spark, he is simply another enchantment creature.

The Wanderer was unique because she could not control her planeswalking; she would involuntarily jump from one plane to another, so it would have been a wonderful storyline, and source of character development, for her to learn to control her ability, but the loss of her spark essentially solved her issues without her needing to do anything, a deus ex machina.

The Kenrith twins shared a spark between them, which meant that they needed to always planeswalk together, but, without their shared spark, they no longer have that special bond, although I am certain that them losing their spark occurring nearly concurrently with them becoming mortal enemies was not a coincidence.

As a side note, I am certain that WotC had Ashiok retain their spark, to avoid WotC needing to assign a creature type to them, so as to keep their origins mysterious.

What does everyone else say about this? Do you believe that certain planeswalkers losing their sparks deprives them of what made them special?

DemonDragonJ on Should I Put High Fae …

5 days ago

High Fae Trickster is an amazing card, and I have put into the majority of my decks that contain the color blue, but I am wondering if I should put it into my Atraxa, Praetors' Voice and Progenitus EDH decks, since those decks are a four- and five-colored deck, so I am not certain if I should replace the colorless Vedalken Orrery with a colored card, since it is very important that I be able to afford to cast any spell in those decks.

What does everyone else say, about this? Should I put High Fae Trickster into those two decks?

DemonDragonJ on How Good is Tyrannize?

1 week ago

I have two copies of Tyrannize in my red/black deck, because I like cards that force my opponents to make a sadistic choice, but that card is rather expensive for a one-shot effect, and I also feel that better options have been printed in recent years, such as Perforating Artist, so I am wondering if I should keep Tyrannize in that deck.

What does everyone else say, about this? How good of a card is Tyrannize?

DemonDragonJ on Fireblood Invocation

2 weeks ago

I think that Reckless Assault is an excellent and under-appreciated card, but it is rather expensive for what its effect, so I have created a new version that is slightly less expensive, as seen, here:

I reduced the casting cost by 1 mana and the cost of the activated ability by 1 life, which I hope has not made this new enchantment too powerful.

I also have created a creature version of the original enchantment, as seen, here:

I made a creature version of reckelss assault, as I am very fond of creatures, and also feel that the original enchantment simply did not do enough, on its own; I contemplated giving the creature lifelink, to provide life for its ability, but I decided that that likely would have made it too powerful.

What does everyone else say, about these cards? Do you believe that I did a good job, with them? I would certainly appreciate any feedback that anyone here has to offer.

DemonDragonJ on Portrait of an American Family: …

2 weeks ago

This year is the 30th anniversary of Portrait of an American Family, the debut album by Marilyn Manson. Marilyn Manson was a performer and shock artist in the same vein as Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie (and has toured with both of them, as well), with a fearsome appearance, elaborate live performances, and dark and creepy music that features horror-themed lyrics. Many people complained about the content of the music, stating that it was a corrupting influence on the youth of the nation, and responsible for acts of violence that occurred around the time of its release, but such complaints did little to deter the album's popularity, helping to establish Manson as the next major shock rocker, following in the footsteps of Alice Cooper and White Zombie (Rob Zombie had not yet started his solo career, at that time).

The songs of the album are in an industrial metal style, very similar to that of Ministry or White Zombie, and Manson sings lyrics that focus equally on fantastic horror and on relevant social issues (such as abortion, as mentioned in Get Your Gunn), drug addiction (Dope Hat), or sexual abuse (Cake and Sodomy), making it an ideal album for angsty youth who were feeling disaffected and directionless in life. I, myself, have been a fan of Manson for many years, and I appreciate his talent for horror and theatricality, so I certainly am very glad that I discovered his music, during my adolescent years, when I was still lacking in confidence and uncertain about my life, as the music allowed me to escape and feel more comfortable and confident, with myself.

I dearly hope that Manson did something, earlier, this year, to commemorate the anniversary of his debut album, since that milestone definitely should be commemorated. What does everyone else say, about this subject? How do you feel about this year being the 30th anniversary of Marilyn Manson's debut album?

DemonDragonJ on The Incredibles: the 20th Anniversary

2 weeks ago

This year is the 20th anniversary of The Incredibles, Pixar animation studios' sixth feature film, and their first to feature a cast comprised entirely of human characters; previous films by Pixar typically featured non-human beings as the main characters, with humans making only brief appearances, if they appeared, at all, because the technology with which the films were made was not yet sufficiently advanced to portray humans in a realistic manner, but The Incredibles was finally able to do so, and in a way in which the characters' faces were not creepy or unsettling.

The story of the movie focuses on a family of superheroes, each of whom has their own distinct personality and abilities, and some viewers have even stated that The Incredibles is "the best Fantastic Four movie, ever," because of how well-written each character is. The story presents the idea of superheroes being forbidden by the government from doing heroic deeds, a premise that fictional stories have now explored numerous times, but was still a relatively new and subversive idea, when this movie was released, and how the superheroes handled living under that rule. There are numerous other superheroes in the movie, but the story focuses primarily on the Parr family (i.e., the titular "Incredibles"), which allows each member to feel like their own character, without losing focus on the plot, which itself manages to feel intense and gripping, without being too dark and grim.

The Incredibles is one of my favorite Pixar films, as I have always been a fan of superheroes, so I enjoyed this film, very much, and I do hope that either Disney or Pixar did something to commemorate this anniversary, as it would have been a shame if they did not. What does everyone else say, about this? How do you feel about this year being the 20th anniversary of The Incredibles?

DemonDragonJ on Should I Keep Greed in …

2 weeks ago

I have a copy of Greed in my Liesa, Shroud of Dusk EDH deck, because that enchantment is such an amazing resource in that deck, but I am contemplating replacing that card with one of two other cards, so I would like to ask everyone else here, for advice, on this matter.

The first card that I am considering as a replacement for Greed is Erebos, God of the Dead, since he has the exact same mana cost as Greed, as well as being indestructible, preventing my opponents from gaining life, and potentially being a 5/7 creature, but my only concern is that his activated ability costs 1 more mana than does that of Greed, and that additional cost shall add up, over the course of a game.

The second card that I am considering is Lunar Convocation, because that card is less expensive than is Greed, yet has several amazing abilities, but, again, its primary ability costs 1 more mana than does that of Greed, so I am not certain if I can justify replacing the existing enchantment.

What does everyone else say about this? Should I keep Greed in my Liesa deck, or should I replace it with one of the other two cards? Is it worth paying 1 additional mana to draw a card in exchange for the additional abilities? I certainly would appreciate any feedback that anyone here may have to offer.

DemonDragonJ on Star Trek (2009): the 15th …

2 weeks ago

This year is the fifteenth anniversary of the 2009 Star Trek film, which helped to revive the franchise after several years of inactivity and unpopularity, following the very poor reception of Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002. The film is a clean reboot (or at least appeared to be) of the franchise and its storyline, featuring new incarnations of the cast from the original series and an original plot not related to anything seen in previous stories, with a greater focus on action and adventure, compared to the cerebral nature, thinly-veiled social commentary, and political allegories of the original series, which some viewers felt made it too similar to Star Wars, rather than the original Star Trek series.

Nevertheless, despite the new film's difference in tone, compared to the original series, it was very popular and profitable, helping to re-ignite interest in the franchise and begin a new era of Trekkie fandom, as the film had two sequels, forming a trilogy, and numerous television series have since been produced. Interestingly, all of the new television series are set within the original continuity, and the reboot trilogy seems to have largely been forgotten, by now, which is unfortunate, since that trilogy is what helped to revive the franchise, initially (although, of course, the continuity in the original timeline was not always clearly defined, either).

I have been a fan of Star Trek for many years, and, although I am slightly more of a fan of Star Wars than I am of Star Trek, I still am very fond of Star Trek, and I recognize its significance in popular culture, and society, overall, so I certainly enjoyed the new movie, as well, although I am rather disappointed that it seems to have been forgotten, as it was the installment that helped to revive the franchise. One major complaint that I have about the film is that

What does everyone else say, about this? What are your thoughts about this year being the 15th anniversary of the 2009 Star Trek film?

DemonDragonJ on Was it Inevitable that WotC …

2 weeks ago

I just read this article, here, and I feel very sad, about it, since it tells the story of how the EDH/commander format had problems even before hostile reactions from the community forced the rules committee to give control of the format to WotC, so I cannot help but wonder if this was inevitable, if WotC would eventually have control of that format, since that format being independent of WOtC was one of the traits that made it so wonderful. I do not wish to promote any conspiracy theories, but I wonder if that was secretly an effort by WotC to take control of the format, because it certainly seems to be awfully convenient that the rules committee would give control of the format to WotC after receiving threats of violence.

What does everyone else say about this? Was this scenario inevitable (i.e., if it had not been this time, would there have eventually been another incident that caused the rules committee to give control of the format to WotC), and was it secretly an attempt by WotC to take control of the format, or was it merely a very unfortunate coincidence?

DemonDragonJ on Will We Ever Learn the …

2 weeks ago

The Wanderer's real name is currently unknown, since the emperor or empress of Kamigawa is not allowed to reveal it, to anyone, outside of their family, and staff members of WotC have said that not knowing her real name is a major aspect of her character, but I find that to be a very lame excuse, since she is such a prominent character in the story, so not knowing her name can possibly lead to weird or awkward situations; this is different from Ashiok, since not knowing their (Ashiok's) plane of origin, or what type of being they are, is an inherent aspect of what makes them such a terrifying and menacing being, so solving that mystery would deprive them of what makes them so unique, and also different from characters such as Calvin's parents in Calvin and Hobbes, who are important only in their relationship to the main characters, so this mystery can be dragged out, for only so long, before it becomes annoying. Also, how does she introduce herself on planes, other than Kamigawa? Does she actually call herself "the Wanderer?" As a side note, it also would be nice to learn Massacre Girl's real name, but I am not as worried, about that, since she has never been portrayed as mysterious character, in the way that the Wanderer has been, and "Massacre Girl" sounds more personal, while "the Wanderer" sound very impersonal.

What does everyone else say about this subject? Will we ever learn the Wanderer's real name?

DemonDragonJ on Does Anyone Here Miss the …

3 weeks ago

I just saw this post on Mark Rosewater's Tumblr account, and I share that user's sentiment; I miss the days when WotC released Commander products once per year, and those products were not related to the current standard set. I understand Rosewater's reasoning, with his response, but I still believe that the Commander products were better, before they were tied to the current standard set (a practice that began with Ikoria), so what does everyone else say, about this subject? Do you miss the time when Commander sets were not related to the current standard set? I certainly am interested to receive your responses, on this subject.

DemonDragonJ on How Can I Put Perforating …

3 weeks ago

I absolutely shall put Perforating Artist into my EDH decks that contain the colors black and red, but I am not certain what cards I should remove to make room for it.

In my Kresh the Bloodbraided deck, already replaced Decimate with the artist, so that is very good.

In my Thraximundar deck, I was first contemplating removing Exsanguinate, since that cards does not contribute to the theme of the deck, but it is still an excellent card, so I am now instead contemplating removing Slave of Bolas, since that card does contribute to the theme of the deck, but is very expensive for a one-shot effect.

As for my Tariel, Reckoner of Souls deck, I am having difficulty finding a card that I can remove, since nearly every card in that deck already contributes very strongly to its theme, so I may not be able to put Perforating Artist in that deck, unfortunately.

What does everyone else say about this? How can I put Perforating Artist into my EDH decks that contain the colors black and red? I certainly would appreciate any suggestions that anyone here has to offer.

DemonDragonJ on Why Did the Story Stop …

3 weeks ago

The early stories directly referenced the colors of magic, but later stories stopped doing that, to the point that re-reading the early stories and seeing references to the colors now feels weird, so I wonder why WotC made that decision; did it feel too much like breaking the fourth wall? Were they attempting to maintain separation of the gameplay and story, akin to how the various mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons are never discussed in the story of that game? What does everyone else say, about this subject? I certainly am interested to hear your thoughts, about it.