WORD OF THE DAY! 5/12/12

half-life [haf-lahyf]
noun
1. Physics. The time required for one half of the atoms of a given amount of a radioactive substance to disintegrate.
2. Pharmacology. The time required for the activity of a substance taken into the body to lose one-half of its initial effectiveness.
3. A brief period during which something flourishes before dying out.

EX. The half-life of the expectations of Half-Life fans is probably going to have to be at least another year longer.

TABLETOP TALES: AVACYN: BATTLE CRUISER ENGAGE DECK!

TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS

AVACYN: BATTLE CRUISER ENGAGE!

To check out my other decks, hit the links below:

MY FIRST DECK

AURAMONGER DECK

HAKUNA MATATA DECK

WURMWOOD DECK V. 1

WURMWOOD DECK V. 2

WURMWOOD DECK V. 3

BLOOD & PORCELAIN DECK

KING OF THE HILL DECK

MY FIRST PRE-RELEASE

This article serves two purposes: To share the nerd entertainment around with anyone who might find it interesting and, in this case, to prove how taking the theme of an intro pack, especially a more recent intro pack, can not only make a passable deck, but also a powerful and fun deck.

Today's deck is the angelic result of my attempts to make a mono-white deck with the Avacyn, Angel of Hope.

I spent about $13 on the Angelic Might intro pack (click this LINK to check out the deck list), $25 bucks for the Avacyn Pre-Release, and the other cards are either from my collection or from various trades/gifts, etc. I've bought one booster for Avacyn, since the pre-release, and a buck worth of cards, so we'll call that $5.

APPROX. EXPENSE: $43

You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.

After taking part in Avacyn Pre-Release, a couple of Sundays ago, I knew what I wanted to do for my first new deck for summer break. First, I broke down my Auramonger deck, which I will probably rebuild at a later date, and began working on a standard Angel deck. I toyed around with a mono-white deck and a deck with a splash of green. For the moment, I've decided to go with the mono-white configuration. If it doesn't live up to my expectations, I'll break it back down and try splashing in some green. To see what that might look like, click the link below.

TABLETOP TALES DEBATE #1

With this in mind and the purchases described above, the result was...

THE MONO-WHITE ANGEL DECK:

AVACYN: BATTLE CRUISER ENGAGE!

The deck was constructed in Standard, mostly with cards from Innistrad block & M12. The decks themes include but are not limited to: angels, humans, vigilance, and flickering. It is a mono-white affair, with white angels from M12 and Innistrad and humans from Innistrad. The spells are mostly used for removal, buffing, and flicker-effects.

For those of you who don't know, flicker-effects are card effects that involve exiling one of your own cards and returning it to the field either immediately or at the end of the turn. The reason you would do this is to take advantage of cards with entrance effects or to remove negative counters, enemy enchantments, and other annoyances.

As I always mention, I am just a casual player and I play with what I have available to me. Thanks for reading and please comment.

Please leave comments & suggestions.

To check out the contents of the deck, click "READ MORE" below.

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/11/12.

colossus [kuh-los-uhs]
noun
1. History. (initial capital letter) The legendary bronze status of Helios at Rhodes; one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
2. Any statue of gigantic size.
3. anything gigantic, massive, gargantuan, and/or powerful.

EX. I think it would be awesome to play a Katamari game that was on all three major consoles, but each game had unique levels. On the Wii-U, you could have Mario, Zelda, and Samus based levels to roll around on. On the X-Box, you could build a sphere in Halo, Gears of War, and Viva Pinata levels. And, on the PS3, you can make a globe of Ratchet & Clank, God of War, and, best of all, Shadow of the Colossus.

Tumbling over those Colossal constructs would be a blast.

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/10/12.

pancake [pan-keyk]
noun
1. A thin flat cake of batter, fried on both sides on a griddle or frying pan; flapjack, hotcake, griddlecake, etc.
verb
2. To flatten, especially as the result of a collision with the ground.
3. To drop flat to the ground.

EX. The love of the pancake is among the greatest shackles to the mortal realm.

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS: SHEPHERD SMITH?

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

SHEPHERD SMITH EXPLAINS IT ALL

Now, I try not to dip into politics or swing hard at Fox News. After all, there are plenty of other bloggers and comedians that skewer Rupert Murdoch's social experiment in misinformation. The content of this post is hardly about right-side or left-side or even bashing Fox News. It is about a moment in the life of a news anchor.

Watch the video, linked above as "Shepherd Smith Explains It All".

Note, how we begin with Shep giving us a quotation of Mitt Romney's response to Newt Gingrich dropping out of the race for the Republican candidacy. He maintains his composure and the words sink into his brain matter. He processes them, slowly, his tongue flicking across his teeth as he restrains an instinctual response to lift his desk and throw it across the room. Like a small child discovering the birds and the bees after seeing his father and mother do it in the hammock, he is shocked, disgusted, and confused. He stares forward, like a deer in the headlights of an icecream truck. All the while, he maintains his composure, as he speaks, each word falling like a brick and each pause cementing those words to the floor.

His words are profound, universal, and truthful. They are also a little bit WTF.

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/9/12.

reincarnation [ree-in-kahr-ney-shuhn]
noun
1. The belief that the soul, upon the death of the body, comes back to the Earth, or perhaps another plane, in another body or form.
2. Rebirth of the soul in a new body.
3. A new incarnation, or embodiment, of a person.
4. The rebirth of an idea, organization, or regime.

EX. The transformation of Zelda, throughout twenty-five years and over a dozen titles, has taken interesting twists in turns. From the innocence of the original title to the more romantic arcs of A Link to the Past and Ocarina to the cartoonish characterizations of the Wind Waker titles to her nearly absent presence in Twilight Princess to the far better nuanced best friend turned true love in Skyward Sword, Zelda's characterization seems to have reflected the tone of each title.

Meanwhile, Link is a grunting dope.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 4/30-5/6 2012.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP PRESENTS:

ESCAPE FROM THE SPACE DUMPSTER WEEK!

7. WORD OF THE DAY! 5/7/12. Parachute pants.

Anybody else remember the horrible blandness of the 90's? Or am I the only that feels like we've entered a less-fake HD golden age where everything is depressingly in focus.

6. WORD OF THE DAY! 5/3/12. Dinosaur terminology...

"Open the door, get on the floor
Everybody walk the dinosaur"

P.S. I loved the Avengers. Go see it. Now.

5.WORD OF THE DAY! 5/2/12. Memefication.

I think we're all agreed that Neil DeGrasse Tyson is the coolest scientist alive? Anybody got a scientist they'd like pose as a contender?

4. MUSICAL MONDAY! HARRY101UK's PORTAL 2 SONGS!

Portal 2 really was an amazing game. I think my favorite moment was the part where Wheatley tries to convince you to jump to your death.

3. TABLETOP TALES DECK DEBATE! #1

I am still waiting for some comments and criticism about how to go forward in building this deck. I've gotten a lot of hits on the post but no comments. If anybody out there wants to take a whack at offering some advice, please do.

2. WORD OF THE DAY! 5/6/12. Gizmo.

I really enjoy dipping into nostalgia to give you guys a look at super heroes. The more obscure and awesome the better. I'd argue Gizmoduck is pretty obscure, pretty awesome, and pretty much is a perfect example of how creative the teams behind the Ducktales and Darkwing Duck franchise were. I'd love to see a reboot of those franchises or just be able to watch them again.

1. TABLETOP TALES: MY FIRST PRE-RELEASE!

I had a blast at my first pre-release. Avacyn Restored is just the kind of set I like and definitely caps off the Innistrad block. A pre-release is a fantastic way for new players to get a piece of the action that is Magic: The Gathering and a great way to meet other players. I would definitely recommend the experience.

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/8/12.

wyrm/wurm [wurm]
noun
1. Mythology. The Germanic term for a European dragon, literally translated as "snake" or "serpent". Such creatures can take the typical form of a European dragon; the quadrupedal cat-like or bipedal scaly bird-like form with two talons, a long tail, large wings, and a long neck ending in a reptilian head, sometimes with feline features, or it can instead take the form of a great serpent which, in modern fantasy, is more common for this term.

EX. The wyrm rose up over the crest of the next ridge loosing white powder from the snowcaps and let out a bone-shivering roar. Its jaws dripping with a slick grease, the beast swelled as it roared again, "Yol Toor Shul!"

A series of flaming spheres flew from the beasts maw and toward the Dragonborn. Side-stepping the attack, the hero charged toward the creature, sword in hand, and responded in the dragon's own wicked tongue, "Fus Roh Dah!" Stunning the beast, just long enough, for our hero to charge directly at the beasts and take a swing at its vintage hide.

MUSICAL MONDAY! NINTENDO A CAPELLA

MUSICAL MONDAY PRESENTS

INTERNET CLASSIC: 

NINTENDO A CAPELLA!

This is the perfect example of a creative fangasm. They bundled up these classic video game songs into a delightful a capella medley and, from the moment you hear them, fill you with a nostalgic fog that lifts you up above what ever stress was bugging you, and then sets you back down with a head full of non-annoying ear-worms.

Maybe its a song, a part of a song, or the whole medley, but you will find their work stuck in your brains for days. And you won't even be annoyed.

Click the link above and enjoy.

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/7/12.

philatelist [fil-at-l-ist]
noun
1. A person who collects stamps or other postal matter as a hobby or investment.
2. A person who participates in the study of postage, stamps, revenue stamps, stamped envelopes, postmarks, postal cards, and similar material relating to postal or fiscal history.

EX. Philately has helped people deal with murderous rage for a hundred years.

SUPER MUTANT MAGIC ACADEMY

TABLETOP TALES! DECK DEBATE #1

TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS

DECK DEBATE #1

To check out my other decks, hit the links below:

MY FIRST DECK

AURAMONGER DECK

HAKUNA MATATA DECK

WURMWOOD DECK V. 1

WURMWOOD DECK V. 2

WURMWOOD DECK V. 3

BLOOD & PORCELAIN DECK

KING OF THE HILL DECK

MY FIRST PRE-RELEASE

This article serves two purposes: To share the nerd entertainment around with anyone who might find it interesting and, in this case, to ask for YOUR HELP in figuring out how to take my next deck based on an intro pack.

I spent about $13 on the Angelic Might intro pack (click this LINK to check out the deck list), $25 bucks for the Avacyn Pre-Release, and the other cards are either from my collection or from various trades/gifts, etc. I've bought one booster for Avacyn, since the pre-release, and a buck worth of cards, so we'll call that $5.

APPROX. EXPENSE: $43

You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.

After taking part in Avacyn Pre-Release, last Sunday, I knew what I wanted to do for my first new deck for summer break. First, I broke down my Auramonger deck, which I will probably rebuild at a later date, and began working on a standard Angel deck. The only problem? I cannot decide whether to go with a Monowhite Deck or splash some green for land get in a WG Deck. I'm going to my readers for some advice. I'm going to put the two potential decklists below and ask for your opinions. Some time next week, I'll post an article breaking down the resulting deck.

As I always mention, I am just a casual player and I play with what I have available to me. Thanks for reading and please comment.

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/6/12.

gizmo [giz-moh]
noun
1. A gadget or device, usually described by someone who does not know what the tool can do,where it is from, who made it, how reliable it is, and/or whether it is safe.

blathering [blath-er-ing]
noun
1. Foolish talk and/or gossip.
adjective
2. Incessantly talking, chattering, and/or mumbling.
3. Insane or psychotic sounding.

EX. Introduced into the classic Disney animated series, Ducktales in 1989, Fenton Crackshell was a literal bean counter. He quit his job at the bean factory and became Scrooge McDuck's accountant after Scrooge discovered Fenton's incredible counting skills. At a glance, he can count any number of objects and even defeated a super computer in a contest of counting ball bearings.

Later in the series, Fenton came across a robot suit called "Gizmoduck" (originally "Roboduck", hence the large "R" embossed on the chest plate) and bonded with the suit after saying the password "blatherskite" by accident, his catchphrase being "blathering blatherskite". Becoming a parody of Robocop and Ironman, he became the hero of Duckburg and personal bodyguard/security agent to Scrooge McDuck, on demand.

The only ones who know that Fentons is "Gizmoduck" are Scrooge McDuck, Launchpad McQuack, and Fenton's mother who he lovingly called M'ma. He lives with his mother in a trailer and, on more than one occasion, his mother has accidentally said the password and become Gizmoduck for a short period of time.

Gizmoduck also made several appearance in Darkwing Duck, where he often plays the Superman role to Darkwing's Batman, and the latter sees the other as his rival.

DARKWING DUCK - TIFF OF THE TITANS! PT. 1