FireThunder

Hey. Nice planeswalkers you got there. Also, Nicol Bolas' final form has been revealed in all his glory.

My word, there are some really pushed creatures in this new set. Take for example, the boar god:

Martina enjoyed WrestleMania weekend a little too much.

Peyton and Billie show off their new belts backstage.

A few hours in: this is a fun show. Entering hour seven: Not to be overly negative: Kofi/Bryan was damned good. But it felt like such a slog to get through...

No lie, during my hiatus I kept up with the cards that were being printed. As cool as I thought they were, I'm glad I didn't have to deal with the Eldrazi (... yet). So... War of the Spark is looking sick as hell. Ignoring the leaked Nicol Bolas that's floating around... how about another bah-roken Teferi? How about an uncounterable Negate for Azorius? How about a bunch of new mass removal spells? How about the return of proliferate? Even the underpowered planeswallkers that we knew would be printed at uncommon seem like they could be roleplayers in certain decks. I'm a big fan of the new Kaya that lets you target hexproof targets. This set is going to flip the game on it's head in so many formats.

Woo, I've listened to this about twenty times the last two days and I love it! The video has stirred up controversy, so consider this your NSFW warning: it contains depictions of violent events and debauchery that have occurred throughout the history of Germany. The very first scene features Till getting his head cut off, for crying out loud!

I've been doing more drafts since they went back to Ravnica Allegiance for ranked (thankfully). In amidst all the Simic decks I've drafted, I had a pretty sweet Azorius deck with a Dovin that I opened in pack two. I got to use his ultimate a few times and... well, the least I can say is Dig Through Time in limited formats is dumb as hell. The rest of the deck was removal and flying creatures, so that helped build up his loyalty quickly enough. And I've seen pros testing him in builds like esper control and Hero of Precinct One decks. But his biggest weakness is that he's not Teferi. But when Teferi is starting to get played in eternal formats, it's a sign of how ridiculous the card is. Kaya is another planeswalker that isn't broken at first glance but can fill a really solid role. I picked up my first 5-0 in a league with esper control and she helped me stabilize again aggro decks after I swept the board. Again, however, I'm playing 1-2 Kaya in that deck and the full 4 Teferi.

The price point has kind of put me off from trying them in the past, but I picked up a six pack of Dogfish Head's Indian Brown and it's pretty damn good. I love dark IPAs because they combine the smoothness of an ale with the roasty goodness of a stout. This one is no exception, with citrusy hops commingling with a coffee and dark chocolate finish. Other brands of dark IPAs and lagers that I've found that I like are New Belgium's 1554 and Uinta's Ba Ba Black Lager. I'll have to take the plunge on some of Dogfish Head's other beers. Indian Brown impressed me quite a bit.

Ranked Limited shouldn't be anything except the newest set. No tournaments are going to do anything like Dominaria draft when it's been out a year, so why is ladder Rivals of Ixalan draft? ... and no, I'm not salty that I lost to a close game to Tetzimoc.

My pauper jam was usually mono-black control. It's not nearly as strong as it used to be on Magic Online and the top performing version is significantly different than the one I played. Instead of playing utility creatures like Chittering Rats and Gary, this version is full of card draw, removal, and 12 life drain effects (Corrupt, Tendrils of Corruption, and Consume Spirit). When I was playing Gates, I found that I have to get a Guild Summit on the field early. Otherwise, I think it runs out of gas too soon and not even a huge Hydroid Krasis might be able to catch you back up in time. And as cool as Ram and Colossus are, they are extremely susceptible to removal, mostly because there isn't much of a choice to be had by your opponent. "Hmm, should I hold on to this Cast Down or kill the 7/7 trample creature with vigilance? How about this Contempt for the Colossus?" I've been splitting time between Sultai and Jeff Hoogland's Temur Domri deck. It's essentially the green of Sultai/Golgari with a splash of red for three copies of Domri, Chaos Bringer and two copies of Ravager Wurm and a splash of blue for everybody's favorite jellyfish hydra beast. Ravager Wurm can be ridiculous when it hits (and it has one of the best animations in the game) and Domri can draw you more creatures and then give them riot.

Get well soon, Dean!

ONEY RULES. Also, where can I get one of those Humberto Carrillo shirts?: That Cedric/Tozawa match was pretty sweet.

We had our first pauper MCQ this last weekend, won by Bogles... because of course it was. But the top eight was filled with eight different decks, which is really cool. https://www.channelfireball.com/pauper-mcq-top-8-decklists/

Uh oh, looks like the rest of the WWE roster is starting to follow Becky and Ronnie's lead.