Friday, January 31, 2014

WORD OF THE DAY! 1/31/14! BORN OF THE GODS PRE-RELEASE PRIMER!




demigod [deh-mee-gawd]
noun
1. A mythological being that is part god and part mortal.
2. An inferior diety.
3. A deified human.
4. A person with god-like talent or power.

EX. Hey, Planeswalkers! I know I wasn't exactly a demigod at the Theros pre-release. In fact, I did so poorly that my best friend gave me a Boulder Badge. Just like Ash Ketchum. He gave me a badge, even though I didn't win. Oh the friends I have...

And yet, like Elspeth's upcoming Journey into Nyx, maybe this is my turn to redeem myself at a pre-release. This time I've managed to bully a couple of friends to come along for the ride and I'm raring to go. As a White Mage, I will be following my "Destiny to Lead" and attempt to overcome the hordes of minotaurs, orgies of satyrs, and waves of krakens seeking to spoil my day! Aiding me in this quest will by loyal steed (and playable promo):

I will probably be playing white. As for the other color? It depends on the pool, but I tend to lean towards green, cuz mana ramp and big creatures, and blue, cuz tempo and flying creatures, but black is another strong option if I'm running an enchantment deck since there a lot of great black cards that support bestow mechanic this set.

If you're also going, here is a basic rundown of how this Pre-Release is set-up:

It cost $30 bucks to signs up and, for that fee, each player receives 6 boosters packs, including two Born of the Gods packs, three Theros packs, & a special booster pack for their chosen hero's destiny,-- Lead (White), Outwit (Blue),  Dominate (Black), Conquer (Red), & Thrive (Green)-- and a promo card for your path (which you could use in the event) and with the materials each player is expected to build, with all the lands they need, a minimum 40 card deck. There will be four to six one-on-one matches, each a best of three rounds, and the ranking in these matches would land you more packs (with the top player getting a box) and, usually, everyone gets, at the very least, a "pity pack". All together, the events are a lot of fun and well worth the admission fee ($25 if you pre-register early).

While we're here, let's take a look at the new mechanics of Born of the Gods:

INSPIRED- Activates an effect every time the creature card containing the keyword is untapped.

TRIBUTE X- Whenever a creature with Tribute X enters the battlefield, an opponent of the creature's controller's choice may choose to either put X +1/+1 counter on it or, if the "the tribute is not paid", another effect will activate.

To check out the other mechanics features in the Theros block, make sure to check out my article on the Theros pre-release HERE.

I'm hoping that I can come out ahead but, if I fail, at least Xenagos will have a good time...

See ya there, planeswalkers.

P.S. Expect an article or two about my continued adventures in Theros, next week.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

WORD OF THE DAY! 1/30/14!


creative [kree-ehy-tiv]
adjective
1. Having the power or quality of creating.
2. Resulting from the originality of a thought; imaginative.
3. Used or created in a way that is incorrect or unusual.

EX. Well. That was creative. I'm never sleeping again. Now, let's all agree, to never be creative again.

Thanks, ants. Thants.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

WTF WED! POKÉMON Z SUMMONS A POLICE OFFICER AND A BEAR!


Let's start with the "what?"

I found Vega Voverth via his Game Grumps animations. And found this odd little gem on his channel.

I've seen lots of great Dragon Ball Z parodies and lots of great Pokémon parodies. I've even seen mash-ups of these franchises. Yet, this is one is kinda special. What sets this one apart? The style that is intentionally off-putting definitely sets it apart plus combining it with the dialogue of the original scene from DBZ, well except for the Pokémon names and Pikachu's dialogue, and you've got something pretty special.

Well, some kind of "special".


And here is "the f***?!"

I don't want to spoil this one, so I won't elaborate.

Just check it out and it will all make sense. You're welcome. I think.

<3 Plagueofgripes!


Let's round off the weird with a bit of wonderful.

I love the internet. I especially love how the creative peoples of the internet can take something amusing and turn it into something magical. In the case of the fated meeting between Officer Suzanne Bourque and bear cub, the meme Miss Officer & Mr. Truffles spread across tumblr until it eventually hit the page of lemonteaflower, where it culminated in something delightfully cute and funny. Then, that art inspired Flikkof's animation above.

And that is why the internet is magic.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

WORD OF THE DAY! 1/28/14!


insatiable [in-sehy-shuh-bul]
adjective
1. Not satiable; incapable of being satisfied or appeased.

EX. Well, it's only January and I think I may have found the latest animated program to sate my insatiable appetite for animated programming-- FOX ADHD's Golan the Insatiable.

Based on a series of articles, created and written by Worm Miller, on Something Awful, Golan the Insatiable is about a little girl and the horrible demonic warlord from another dimension of swords and sorcery that lives in her room. Think of it as a darker turn on Calvin & Hobbes. Dylan & Golan.

Much like Hobbes, Golan's understanding of Earth customs is from the perspective of someone who gets most of their information from a child. He also gets his information from watching a lot of cooking shows. After all, the big fat ogre from Gkruool is as insatiable as any other big fat American. I wonder if there is some sort of commentary going on there?

Anyways, the show is rather endearing thanks to an art style reminiscent of a few different artists, including Maurice Sendak, but mostly because of how the Beekler family and the other residents of Oak Grove deal with Golan. They don't treat him like a monster, most of the time. They don't try to chase him out of town. Instead, they mostly accept him as a nuisance and only tend to freak out when he starts beating someone to death over some trivial misunderstanding with a brick.

The humor in the show comes from Golan's loveable awfulness, Dylan's dark naivete and imagination, and the polite niceness of the small American town they terorrize. This is a show where a giant horned manbeast pretends to be hooking up with the Tooth Fairy to impress his little girl minion. The show can be mildly offensive, at times, but if you like something mildly offensive but undoubtedly loveable characters, you'll find yourself wanting to watch more.

Golan the Insatiable may not be at American Dad levels of irreverant humor, but, then again, the show is still in its pilot season and the first season of American Dad wasn't exactly uproariously funny or genius either. Perhaps, if given the chance, Golan will be the best animated show FOX has introduced since Bob's Burgers.

 I certainly hope so.

Monday, January 27, 2014

MUSIC MON! JONTRON REBOOTS NORMAL BOOTS & THE ULTIMATE ANIME HERO IS IN LESBIANS WITH YOU!


Let's start out this Monday with some of the best news of 2014:

JonTron, PBG, and the rest of the old Normal Boots crew have decided to reboot Normal Boots! The site is up with new videos right now!

Go check it out or JonTron will keep punching Matt Smith in the face!



It took some time, but I think I've finally come to terms with my love-hate relationship with FOX's ADHD block on Saturday nights. On one hand, more animation, especially adult animation, is always a welcome thing in my book. On the other hand, the animation on their block is often choppy and unappealing.

Yet, with their more recent anime parodies I've come to the conclusion that there are some massive otaku on staff and, some times, their jokes are funny. Combined with other original programming, which I will cover on my blog soon, and you've got a win-win in my book.

Plus they pointed out that Bleach kinda sucks. I'm always on board for pointing out that Bleach kinda sucks.


P.S. I love Kill La Kill. I plan to talk more about that, in length, in a future blog. Until then, you'll have to be teased with the amazing visuals of perhaps the most overtly over-the-top transformation sequence in majokko history.