Misc. Updates 3/9/15

Hey all!

I'm glad I could find the time to write these, at the expense of sleep on Sunday nights, of course. I sleep so little, anyways.

Not much has happened for me in the past week as far as online gaming, so I will plug some things at the end of this post.

The Pain of Pets

As some of you might know, I've been struggling to get a 'good' pet for years now. For some time, I deemed THIS acceptable.

*shudder*

 Luckily, I found (hatched) Rudy over the past summer.

<3

However, after so long, I have finally made a good (but still not perfect) pet.

So, yeah. We'll just say that I was excited when I leveled him up to epic earlier.. I could, could, grind him up to mega. But it takes too long, and, quite frankly, I don't want to be heartbroken like a few other times I've taken pets too far. Rudy, for example. Sigh. I digress.

The Mentality Matters is a blog that one of my close friends has started fairly recently, focusing on the various aspects of the mind. Nothing incredibly scientific, but a few topics are delved deeply into. Admittedly, I haven't yet read all the articles, but i have skimmed, and I think it's worth checking out.

PessimisticEdge is a blog dedicated to the, well, pessimistic (negative), point of view. Not yet boasting a large number of posts so far, this will hopefully be written over soon.

Most of you know about my TappedOut account by now, but if you don't, this is it. I don't use it often, mostly for writing posts, but still; add me! :)

This is my playlist of music that I listen to. It's mostly just random music videos that I remember to bookmark. A lot of people ask me about my taste in music, so I suppose here it is.

What else? Oh yeah! I recently created a tumblr, but haven't used it much. :/

Yup, I think that just about covers it.  If you want to email me, shoot me one at gorman.ravenhunter@gmail.com !

Until next time,

~Ravenhunter

MTG Updates 3/2/15

Ahh. Feels good to be able to sit down a write this after so long.

So basically, I don't want to delve (heh) as deep as I did last time, so I'll just do the past month of events. (Which includes Game Day and a Two-Headed Giant event, for value!)

I have been playing Green Devotion, splashing red for Crater's Claws and Xenagos, the Reveler. This past month I have been playing exclusively that deck, and loving it. Here is the list I've been using.

FNM  2/06/15

Off to a good start winning the first round, I was humbled by my second opponent to go on to win the rest of my matches, winning a Gruuling devotion mirror in the finals.

FNM 2/13/15

Went completely undefeated, not even losing a game, to face my father in the finals. He was rocking a B/R brew featuring Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, attempting to grind out opponents with small, aggressive deathtouch creatures. Luckily, I didn't have to have my Arbor Colossus(s) trade with his Typhoid Rats, as he conceded the match to me. (We share a card pool anyway, so the prize split didn't matter.)

Fate Reforged Game Day 2/14/15

Ah, Valentine's Day. I hate it. -_- It didn't hate me, though. I went undefeated once more, facing devotion mirror in the finals AGAIN to pull out and win off a Barrage of Boulders. Ladies may not want to be with me, but Ugin does. <3

FNM 2/20/15

Round 1, I played against Nick, who has been down on Magic for a while, but has returned, ready to save the day with... 5 Color "Lucky Charms"?! Either way, Temur Charm proved to be almost worthless once more, putting me at a good start with a win.

Round 2, I was pitted against Jeremy, playing Goblins. Usually, I have an OK matchup against various red decks, due to Theros block all-stars Courser, Caryatid, and Polukranos. Unfortunately, it didn't work either game, putting me at a humble 1-1.

Round 3, the computer paired me against Lane, piloting Villainous Wealth. Unfortunately, I was able to use Dictate of Karametra better than him, allowing me to Crater's Claws him out in our 2 games. 2-1

Round 4 saw me playing against Ben, rocking an aggressive Jeskai brew featuring Shaman of the Great Hunt, Mantis Rider, and Goblin Rabblemaster, backed up with a bunch of burn. Losing game one, it triggered my Temur Battle Rage (of which I run none), allowing me to crush him game 2. However, this Jeskai student would not be put down, so it was off to the races. Unfortunately for him, I have big creatures, he had small burn spells. Also, WINds of Qal Sisma did a good number on him, leaving me at 3-1.

Round 5 had me against Kaleb, cruising (not literally) with Gu Devotion. Unfortunately, game 1 was over with just under 15 minutes left on the clock. He was able to Aqueous Form his way to victory game 2 on turns. 3-1-1

In the top 8, I was playing against Tyler, playing Gr Devotion as well, but with Rabblemasters. I Crater's Claws'd him to death from 21 with 3 lands in play game 1, which he was impressed by, to say the least. Game 2 I kept a loose one on the draw, eeking out a victory after triple-Rabblemaster beats.

On to the top 4, I had played against Ben once more. Winning game one boosted my confidence a little too high, keeping a loose one games 2 and 3, with me facing death while barely putting a dent in his life total.

While I still have to speak of this most previous Friday Night's adventures, along with the fun of 2-Headed Giant, I believe I shall end it here, as I have to get ready for school!

Until next time,
~Ravenhunter

Wiz Updates 3/2/15

Oh god it's 4:30 in the morning and I'm writing this..

So, it's been a while, hasn't it? How are you all doing?

....

Right. Uh..

Wizard101

The last time I updated stuff from Wiz was.. August 2nd?! Welp.. I guess I don't have much to say, so I'll let the pictures talk.

So.. yeah. Right now he's at the gates of Hades, and has unfortunately been there for about a month, as I can't find time to actually go do any runs!

As far as anything going on that's NOT my storm, well...

I started (and finished) my Jade gear at the end of January. Unfortunately, I had to spend ~$40 to do so, but I know it's a LOT less than others have had to spend, and for that I am grateful.

And with that, I will end this blog post, but will shortly resume my tales with Tournament Reports. In the meantime, I did this in under 45 minutes, so I feel accomplished! :D

Until next time,

~The Ravenhunter

8/1/14 FNM Report

Hey, everyone!

I'll just spoil it and say that I got 2nd last night at my local shop's FNM. Noting that, I'll dive right in and get to the decklist and then the matches.

Here's the decklist.

I'll go through the card choices.

4 Elvish Mystic and 4 Sylvan Caryatid: Green decks need mana ramp to get their game going, and these are what we have to work with. While an Elvish Mystic variant has pretty much always been a thing in Standard, this one has an FNM promo and looks sweet in foil. Also, Sylvan Caryatid is good against various aggressive decks in that it's an X/3 and ramps you to your various big green monsters.

4 Courser of Kruphix: This is another creature that helps accelerate mana and blocks well against aggro.

4 Polukranos, World Eater: Big, 5/5, Hydra, thing.., that is ALSO good against aggro, who has been known to Monstrosity for 28 to wipe the opponent's entire board. Just sayin'.

2 Xenagos, God of Revels: Xenagos, gives things big and haste-y, value.

3 Hornet Queen: The reason this deck is a thing. It provides 3 devotion, 6 flying power in green, and deals with Elspeth pretty effectively.

1 Reclamation Sage, 1 Arbor Colossus, 1 Nylea, God of the Hunt: Some good Chord targets. From dealing with D-Spheres, swatting down Stormbreaths, and giving stuff trample, these are good 1-ofs to have.

4 Chord of Calling: A card I was excited about when I saw previewed, I knew it would find a home in Standard. Also Storms with Hornet Queen well.

3 Domri Rade: Good with Courser, provides card advantage, etc. Also it's pretty much impossible to beat a Domri emblem.

2 Xenagos, the Reveler: Planeswalker, tokens, mana, value, etc.

3 Garruk, Caller of Beasts: When you provide green, in standard, good card draw, I will take advantage of it. Also, Garruk -> Hornet Queen is kinda good.

12 Forest: Green sources; can't live without 'em.

4 Stomping Ground and 4 Temple of Abandon: Need red sources, and these also happen to provide green.

4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: Devotion was the cornerstone of this deck, and shall continue to be until I get bored of this deck, which will take a while.

Sideboard

Most of these are self-explanatory, and I was wanting to change the Bow of Nylea's into Nylea's Disciple, but I forgot them at home, so this is what I ran.

So, with this setup, I charged bravely into battle! Let's see how it went.

Round 1

The first round had me sitting across from one of my good friends, Emmanuel. He was running an Esper control list from which I saw Ashiok, Far//Away, Elspeth, Hero's Downfall, and Supreme Verdict, as well as lands. Game 1 went poorly for me, with him resolving a Supreme Verdict followed by an Elspeth to which I had no answer to. In Game 2, I had a Bow of Nylea active, putting back various Chord targets. Sadly, he was able to answer Phyrexian Revoker 3 times, causing Elspeth to make a lot of tokens as well as an emblem. I lost 0-2, putting my overall record to 0-1.

Round 2

In the following round, I faced my father, who was running Bg Devotion. The first game swung in his favor thanks to my flooding out and not resolving Hornet Queen fast enough. The second game had me at a fast start and he came back from it, threatening to kill me. However, our stomachs took the reins and he decided to give me the match 2-1 if I went and ordered our calzones. I agreed happily, putting my overall record at 1-1.

Round 3

Round three paired me against one of my best friends, Lyndsey. She was piloting a Bant Flash deck with the Archangel/Chimera/Fathom Mage combo in it. However, she was not able to assemble such a combination and I promptly curb-stomped her both games, putting my record at a winning 2-1.

Round 4

The computer had me paired against Julian, who is known for his trolling ways. He did not disappoint because he was running a Golgari Dredge/Bg Devotion hybrid featuring Abhorrent Overlord and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. From memory, the first game went in my favor due to an unanswered Hornet Queen. The second game didn't end well for me, dying with my opponent at a life total in the low 50s and multiple Harpy tokens on his field. The third game was pulled out of my keister by what I believe was an unstopped early swarm of creatures. 3-1.

Round 5

In the final round before the cut to top 8, I faced a fairly new face to the shop, Dylan. My opponent this round was running what appeared to be White Weenie, featuring a playset of Brave the Elements, which blew me out more than once over the course of the tournament. I started off the game somewhat slowly, trading my first-turn Elvish Mystic for an early Soldier of the Pantheon. I won the game nonetheless, thanks to multiple Hornet Queens. Going into game two, I was feeling cocky, causing me to keep a greedy hand. This punished me the greatest as I got swiftly disposed of. The final game almost went to time, but I pulled out of the match with a 2-1 win. Overall record: 4-1

Top 8

I played against another control deck piloted by David, but he chose to cut black, sticking to straight UW. I flooded the board quickly game one, not slamming into a Supreme Verdict. Game two swung in my favor, but he put up more of a struggle, having an Elspeth to make plenty of tokens. I felt kinda bad about winning this from a social standpoint, but I quickly got over it as I continued nomming on my food.

Top 4

As I sat down against my second-to-last opponent, I recognized a face that hasn't been seen around in a while, Chris. He was shipping into a Bant Midrange-Flash-Control, thing. He admitted to building his deck an hour before the tournament, which isn't entirely uncommon at my shop. I'd seen him play some of his last round, resulting in my knowing to play around certain cards. Regardless, I flooded the field both games, resulting in a 2-0 win in my favor.

Finals

I was excited as I sat down to play the top 2 for the fourth time in a month and a half. I was somewhat nervous, as I should have been, to sit down against Dylan once more. We went to a third game, with me having the first game and he winning the second. The third game was another greedy game in general for me, having taken 10 off of a Reckoner hit to the face. This ultimately ended up losing me the game thanks to an Eidolon of Countless Battles bestowed onto an Archangel of Thune. However, I still walked away with a full stomach and 7 packs for my troubles.

Wow. Another long MTG post, I believe this will suffice for now.

Until next time,
~The Ravenhunter

Storm beats Dragonspyre!

 Summer of the Storm

Well, Thursday afternoon, this happened.

I fight you, I fight you IRL!

So, that turned into this.

Malistaire: 'Sir, please stop your foolishness'

 So that was cool.

As you can see in the pictures, my friend Zachary Mythcloud helped me in this Malistaire run, which lasted like ~30 minutes. Part of this was due to niether of us being able to join Blue's livestream run, not to mention the lag that was caused by trying to watch the stream.

I made it into Celestia, and an hour and a half later, finished both Survey Camp and the Grotto, and on the doorstep of the District of the Stars. :) <- Smileh Fahce.

However, after 2 hatches, I still do not have my Tempest hybrid. Awww....

Anyways, I'm gonna cut another W101 post short and do a FNM report for last night.

Until next time,
~The Ravenhunter

Long-Overdue Tournament Reports

 *Spins in chair*

Hello once more, my fellow 'hue-mans'. It's been a while since I've done a tournament report, but I figured that since I have not posted at all since the beginning of the summer, I might as well make up for it and do ALL these tournament reports at once. That's right, ALL AT ONCE. Prepare your bodies!
(Disclaimer: All FNMs are Standard)
(Disclaimer #2: I don't remember most of the matchups)


Friday, June 13th, 2014
I went 3-2 in the Swiss rounds, going into top 8. I unfortunately lost in the top 8 to a Boss Sligh (Mono-Red) deck, ending up in 5th place. The list can be found below.

List:http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gr-devotion-61313-7414/

Saturday, June 14th, 2014
Format: Modern

Round 1 was against Ub Faeries, which made it to game 3, but not in my favor. 0-1.

Round 2 had me battling against a mono-Blue Artifact-Grindclock brew. It was a spicy matchup and my Eldrazi shuffling came into play here. We made it to game 3, which ended happily for me. 1-1

Round 3 had me against the eventual winner of the tournament, the Bogles deck. This is a horrible matchup to begin with and me not drawing a green source in game 1 and getting wrecked by Suppression Field in the second didn't help me one bit. 1-2

As you can see, I went 1-2 in the Swiss rounds, not to make it to the top 2 with one of my favorite archetypes of all time, Eldrazi Green. The list can be found below.

List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/eldrazi-green-61413/

Friday, June 20, 2014
I ran it back this week using the exact same list from the week prior. To my suprise, I went undefeated the entire tournament and ended up claiming 1st place. In the top 8, I recall facing Gr Monsters, BUG Superfriends in the top 4, and finally Azorius Control in the finals.

List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gr-devotion-61313-7414/

Friday, June 27, 2014
It seemed to work well last week, so I ran it back yet again. (I'm really just lazy.) I won once more, going undefeated for the second week in a row, claiming ultimate bragging rights as well as the first place prize. In the top 8, I faced Naya Hexproof, Gr Monsters in the top 4, and Bw Midrange in the finals.

List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gr-devotion-61313-7414/

Friday, July 4, 2014
I never seem to learn (or build a new deck), so I ran it back once more in this small, 8-man FNM. Unfortunately, I did not claim first place AGAIN, but I did go 2-1 in the swiss and in 4th place at the end of the night, losing to Boros Aggro in the top 4.

List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gr-devotion-61313-7414/

Saturday, July 5, 2014
Format: Modern Pauper
This was an interesting event, and considering it was Modern, I turned to my go-to deck, Burn. However, not having access to Goblin Guide and the like, I did what I could, ending up going 2-1 in the Swiss rounds and finishing first place.

List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gr-devotion-61313-7414/

Saturday, July 12, 2014
Format: M15 Sealed
I was only able to attend the midnight prerelease, choosing Green as my color, and ending up Simic colors due to double Soul of Ravnica. I went 2-2 in the swiss rounds, unable to make it into the top 8 due to tiebreakers. I ended the night with 9th place, a pack, and a lot of fun.

Friday, July 18, 2014
This FNM was the first that M15 cards were Standard legal, and I was very excited to play with my re-vamped Green devotion deck, jamming in some Souls and Chord of Callings. I went undefeated in the 5 swiss rounds and I won my top 8 match, but sadly lost in the top 4 due to Elspeth pumping out tokens from my opponent's Azorius Control deck. Here's the list.

List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gr-chord-71814/

Saturday, July 19, 2014
Format: M15 Draft
The draft portion of this event went over smoothly, with me ending up Gb midrange splashing white for an Ajani Steadfast that I opened in my second pack. I went 2-1 in the swiss and lost in the top 4 to my opponent's UW control deck that countered the Ajani I cast game 1. It made me real sad in the face. :( <-See?

Friday, July 25, 2014
Finally, the last FNM report of this post, but not the last tournament. I edited my Green Devotion deck from the previous week to include more of a Chord of Calling package. I went 4-0-1 in the swiss, tying (unintentionally) with my father into the top 8. I won against Boss Sligh in the top 8, won again in the top 4 against Bw Midrange, and finally losing in the finals to a Gw Devotion deck.

List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gr-chord-71814/

Saturday, July 26, 2014
Format: Standard 2 Headed Giant
This is the last tournament I will be reporting on today, and it was a doozy. I teamed up with my father for this tournament, who ran Mono-Black Devotion, contrasting my Mono-Red Devotion. We went 2-1 in the 3 swiss rounds, not making it into the playoffs of top 2. It was another fun time, and we walked away with 3rd place prize. The lists can be found below.

My list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-red-2hg-72614/
My partner's List: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-black-devotion-72614/

WOW. That took a lot out of me, but it felt good. Also, over the progress of writing this BEAST, I have quested my Storm wizard to the door of Malistaire, because, value. :) Happeh. Anyways, I really, REALLY want to keep writing tournament reports, and hope to get in the habit of doing it weekly. I have to get some progess done on my summer reading, so I'll end this off here.

Until next time,
~The Ravenhunter

Back to the Wizardly Grind...

Summer of the Storm

 THUNDA!!

Yes, I've made it all the way to level 48 and I've trained Storm Lord and have a little baby Stormzilla! He's so cute!

NOMNOMNOM

I plan on hatching this Stormzilla with my Death's Wraith and getting the Tempest hybrid, which gives a Wraith item card.

~Slurp~

ANYWAYS... Stormy is being a good little quest-er and is in the Drake Hatchery beating people up to crack open the dragon egg that will fly him to victory over Malistaire in his lair.

 (Insert hammertime joke of your choice here.)

Back to other things...

Diaries of a Deathly Wizard

My Exalted Necromancer has started and finished Khrysalis part 2 in a little over a month. Also, Exalted! Also, new look!

Thanks to the awesome people of Mercenaries101 over on Central, I was able to defeat Archmagus Lorcan and Moros almost back-to-back!

M101: http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?149-Mercenaries101

That's all I have for this post, but I'm about to turn around and write a *few* tournament reports that are long overdue. In the meantime,

~Ravenhunter