Shambling Vent is a great manland. The 3rd toughness allows it to rumble effectively against the sea of Pikers/Bears in the cube, and the lifelink is a nice ability for black decks to have access to.
Nothing to vent about ATM; have done plenty of that since last Tuesday night.
I like all the dual color manlands, I just don't run them right now because I shy away from paying the pice for some of the ally colored ones and I don't want to run an incomplete cycle. Shambling Vent ist great, and my cube even has some payoff cards for lifegain in the WB section, so it would be right at home.
I actually need to learn to vent more. I tend to swallow everything down, keep it inside and let it fester into psychological issues.
I also love all the manlands. I got back into magic during Zendikar so they were very innovative at that time, and the power level is still very high. Almost finished with my complete cycle!
Venting is very healthy! I usually have a couple beers and let off some steam once in a while.
I like the vents a lot, lifelink is nice for the black decks and the 3 toughness makes it a solid blocker against agro.
I like you can animate him, block, gain some life and tap him for mana to cast your Swords or path on the unblocked guy.
I dont vent enough, a bunch of my friends are becoming pretty right leaning when they drink and ranting about "failed multiculturalism", oppression of whites and calling everyone cucks (all that general alt-right stuff) so I have stopped drinking with them cause I either have to let it slide or spend the whole night arguing with them. It sucks.
The great thing about friends is when they become super *****ty douche bags, you don't have to be friends with them anymore.
Easier said than done when you rarely leave the house, and they are good guys if you stay off politics, known them my whole life and my brother is swinging that way to. I think it was Brexit and Trump that pushed them over the edge; I do blame some people on the left as well, I think they got so used to being called bigots for disagreeing on an intellectual level with people on topics like feminism or immigration (where there was actually discussions to be had) that they just stopped caring and went into their own little echo chambers on the internet and became more extreme as they went further down the rabbit hole as a kind of counter culture rebellion... I dunno its weird and happened slowly.
Now they have the reputation for being "bad people" so none invites to things so they don't get out much and the only opinions from the "Left" they experience and the crazy "triggered feminists" videos or whatever fox/alex jones/4chan tells them the "Left" says. They aren't bad people I just think they are annoyed at the world and that anger has been pushed in a bad direction (for instance Trump and Brexit).
I think stopping being friends with people over things like political opinions is a bad thing to do, it isolates & radicalises them and takes away the hopes of them having their mind changed; It's a lot of why they are how they are now.
I understand where you're coming from, but at the same time you have to look out for yourself as being truly happy requires some amount of selfishness. Are you only friends with these people because you feel obligated? Because you're doing them a favor due to their self-isolation based on their beliefs? Is your friendship not the same as it was in the past, and are you still holding onto what it was? And why are politics separated from who you are as a person? If you support hate and can't see both sides of the coin, are you still a good person? Does the good cancel out the bad? I agree that disagreeing about political opinions isn't means to cease a friendship, but what level of hate do you accept? Of intolerance? How much of the radicalization seeps into the personality, and what level of irrational radicalization are you willing to accept?
Even long before Trump I've stopped being friends or distanced myself from individuals who all they did was hate, hate, hate, either through ethnic slurs or by constant negativity or any of the stupid reasons young people hate as they do. What I found was instead of always being on my guard, instead of having to excuse the behavior of my friends to other friends before they showed up because I knew they would embarrass me, instead of all the ridiculous bull***** you sometimes put up with because 'they're my friends', I was finally able to be comfortable with who I was and what I was all about. Did I lose friends? Perhaps you could say so, I certainly hung out with less people, but rarely was I in an uncomfortable position due to the *****ty behavior of my peers, or at least one that wasn't tinted with 'friendship' which was actually 'the comfort of having people that liked being around me around'. This validated everything for me, and while I know what I want out of life does not overlap with everyone else, I think "being happy by not being around *****ty people" is something we all want to some degree.
Again, you're absolutely right that it's easier said than done, but by saying that you recognize it can be done. Just never forget: friendships are supposed to bring you happiness as they are supposed to be people you WANT to be around, and if your friends are so radicalized or intolerant that they act in the way you describe, it's probably time to start evaluating how you spend your time before you wish you didn't waste it, as I did.
Shambling Vent is great. A 2/3 can attack quite often and the lifelink is a decent way to race or make a comeback. Overall easily the manland that had the widest gap between readability and playability for me. It looks subpar but is actually among the best cards of the new cycle.
I like all the manlands. They fix your mana (though obviously not on a fetch/shock/dual level) and give you a late game sink. There have been many games that I've won with a Tarpit or Celestial Colonnade because my opponent ran out of gas and I just hit them a few times. Personally, I value them in this order:
Colonnade
Tar Pit
Raging Ravine
Vents
Spires
Everything Else
Something to vent about: too many of my friends have been *****ing about Trump winning the election but they didn't go out to ******* vote. The presidential election is not a game and eventually you're going to have to learn to compromise on your political choices, or else you're gonna keep losing. This especially goes for self described "progressives" who are in the process of screwing over everyone they claim to care about because they couldn't descend to our level and cast a vote for a candidate that they may not have loved with all their heart.
Luckily they're getting a rude damn awakening to the reality of elections. Hopefully they keep this in mind in future years.
Wait what? People out there think they're making a statement by *not* voting? I guess they are making a statement--that being they are really, really, really dumb.
If you want to make a statement, vote for someone that you truly feel deserves it instead of not voting at all. That way you prove that you are willing to vote and not willing to vote for garbage candidates.
I'll take the contrarian view; choosing to not vote for any candidate is still a voicing of opinion. Implicit in freedom of speech is freedom to be silent, and there's more to a vote than simply a > b. You're endorsing a particular person for office, and if you cannot in good conscience endorse anybody and "none of the above" isn't an option, choosing to vote for nobody is a valid use of your political voice.
Of course, that comes with a lot of caveats. Local elections and ballot measures are still happening, so unless you're actually an anarchist you should still show up to the polling place to put those opinions into action. Most of the time casting a write-in ballot is an all-around better choice. And there's a major difference between having a fundamental objection to any candidate holding office vs just being a stubborn idiot.
Shambling Vent is great, btw. In my opinion the best of the new manlands by a country mile.
Shambling Vent is not the best man land, but it's pretty great. Even just being a 2/3 lifelinker shows how powerful a man land can be just by getting around sorcery speed removal and being Wrath proof.
I've been doing plenty of venting since Tuesday as well. First and foremost, the election results. Second, the electoral college and my feelings about it being antiquated. Third, changes happening for me at work as we transition in a replacement manager for my team. Fourth, and probably the most important, my wife bought new pots and pans and put our old pots and pans that we've had for years in the yard sale pile. So many changes all at once!
I was really excited to see the manland cycle completed in BFZ/OGW, but on average they are a bit smaller than their allied guild WWK counterparts, and none of them have evasion, so I pick Shambling Vent and the other enemy manlands quite a bit lower than Celestial Colonnade, Creeping Tar Pit, or Raging Ravine. Still, it always makes the main deck, and the life gain and 3 toughness are quite welcome in more controlling decks.
It's not the most exciting manland, but it plays out well enough. It certainly beats the Caves of Koilos it replaced.
I've also been venting a lot to any one that will listen about the results of the US election. I share a lot of the concerns already mentioned, but what really has me spitting mad is the fact that this is the second time in the 2000s that the GOP has benefited from the archaic Electoral College that has left us with a president who lost the popular vote. When I see pundits pontificating about what the election tells us about what America wants and the voices the rest of America was ignoring, all I can think about is that when the Electoral College convenes on December 19th it is about to ignore the voices of how the greatest number of people actually voted.
Some of you may have seen the news that South Korea is undergoing some serious political issues of its own right now, with over a million people taking to the streets of Seoul demanding that the President resign over revelations of corruption and influence peddling, and that she has been under the thrall of a cult throughout her presidency. It has remained peaceful, but a million people in front of the presidential palace every weekend has been impossible to ignore. As I watch this unfold, I have to say that I've been inspired by Koreans' willingness to fight for the integrity of their relatively young democracy. If a Donald Trump presidency turns out to be destructive as his campaign promises have given us every reason to believe, I hope the American people can take inspiration from the Korean people. It's certainly inspired this American.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I like all the manlands. And while the BFZ block ones are generally worse than the WWK ones, I still like them as the 4th land of each guild. They act as wrath/counter protection and can act as finishers.
Manlands can mess up combat without doing anything and can lead to blowouts if the opponent forgets that it's there.
I have lots of thing to vent about! But not here. I'm here to escape.
I run a small morph packet spread throughout my cube (except in Red), and Stratus Dancer fits right perfectly into it. Bonus points for being evasive 3/2 beater after countering something (or sometimes even without), which was quite relevant surprisingly often. But I guess it's only useful in weaker cubes like mine.
Not much of a dancer, except when drunk, which I rarely am these days.
I have been eyeing him up for a while now, I wouldn't mind running most of the megamorphing power rangers.
I like that his base mode is good in tempo decks because its 2 evasive power for 2 and its megamorphed option seems solid as well as you can develop your board and flip him for the counter when you need to if your not beating down. I like that the more playable morph cards we get the harder is becomes to guess what you are flipping as well. I plan to add it soon after how well den protector has been doing for us.
I rarely dance, useless Im very drunk, but I hear i have some smooth "dad at a wedding" moves.
Shambling Vent
BONUS QUESTION
Anything you need to vent about?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Nothing to vent about ATM; have done plenty of that since last Tuesday night.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I actually need to learn to vent more. I tend to swallow everything down, keep it inside and let it fester into psychological issues.
I only vent hot air
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Venting is very healthy! I usually have a couple beers and let off some steam once in a while.
I like you can animate him, block, gain some life and tap him for mana to cast your Swords or path on the unblocked guy.
I dont vent enough, a bunch of my friends are becoming pretty right leaning when they drink and ranting about "failed multiculturalism", oppression of whites and calling everyone cucks (all that general alt-right stuff) so I have stopped drinking with them cause I either have to let it slide or spend the whole night arguing with them. It sucks.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Easier said than done when you rarely leave the house, and they are good guys if you stay off politics, known them my whole life and my brother is swinging that way to. I think it was Brexit and Trump that pushed them over the edge; I do blame some people on the left as well, I think they got so used to being called bigots for disagreeing on an intellectual level with people on topics like feminism or immigration (where there was actually discussions to be had) that they just stopped caring and went into their own little echo chambers on the internet and became more extreme as they went further down the rabbit hole as a kind of counter culture rebellion... I dunno its weird and happened slowly.
Now they have the reputation for being "bad people" so none invites to things so they don't get out much and the only opinions from the "Left" they experience and the crazy "triggered feminists" videos or whatever fox/alex jones/4chan tells them the "Left" says. They aren't bad people I just think they are annoyed at the world and that anger has been pushed in a bad direction (for instance Trump and Brexit).
I think stopping being friends with people over things like political opinions is a bad thing to do, it isolates & radicalises them and takes away the hopes of them having their mind changed; It's a lot of why they are how they are now.
Even long before Trump I've stopped being friends or distanced myself from individuals who all they did was hate, hate, hate, either through ethnic slurs or by constant negativity or any of the stupid reasons young people hate as they do. What I found was instead of always being on my guard, instead of having to excuse the behavior of my friends to other friends before they showed up because I knew they would embarrass me, instead of all the ridiculous bull***** you sometimes put up with because 'they're my friends', I was finally able to be comfortable with who I was and what I was all about. Did I lose friends? Perhaps you could say so, I certainly hung out with less people, but rarely was I in an uncomfortable position due to the *****ty behavior of my peers, or at least one that wasn't tinted with 'friendship' which was actually 'the comfort of having people that liked being around me around'. This validated everything for me, and while I know what I want out of life does not overlap with everyone else, I think "being happy by not being around *****ty people" is something we all want to some degree.
Again, you're absolutely right that it's easier said than done, but by saying that you recognize it can be done. Just never forget: friendships are supposed to bring you happiness as they are supposed to be people you WANT to be around, and if your friends are so radicalized or intolerant that they act in the way you describe, it's probably time to start evaluating how you spend your time before you wish you didn't waste it, as I did.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Something to vent about: too many of my friends have been *****ing about Trump winning the election but they didn't go out to ******* vote. The presidential election is not a game and eventually you're going to have to learn to compromise on your political choices, or else you're gonna keep losing. This especially goes for self described "progressives" who are in the process of screwing over everyone they claim to care about because they couldn't descend to our level and cast a vote for a candidate that they may not have loved with all their heart.
Luckily they're getting a rude damn awakening to the reality of elections. Hopefully they keep this in mind in future years.
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Draft my cube!
Watch me stream!
I don't need to vent, I'm exuberant about getting a new job.
Of course, that comes with a lot of caveats. Local elections and ballot measures are still happening, so unless you're actually an anarchist you should still show up to the polling place to put those opinions into action. Most of the time casting a write-in ballot is an all-around better choice. And there's a major difference between having a fundamental objection to any candidate holding office vs just being a stubborn idiot.
Shambling Vent is great, btw. In my opinion the best of the new manlands by a country mile.
Cubetutor Link
I've been doing plenty of venting since Tuesday as well. First and foremost, the election results. Second, the electoral college and my feelings about it being antiquated. Third, changes happening for me at work as we transition in a replacement manager for my team. Fourth, and probably the most important, my wife bought new pots and pans and put our old pots and pans that we've had for years in the yard sale pile. So many changes all at once!
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
It's not the most exciting manland, but it plays out well enough. It certainly beats the Caves of Koilos it replaced.
I've also been venting a lot to any one that will listen about the results of the US election. I share a lot of the concerns already mentioned, but what really has me spitting mad is the fact that this is the second time in the 2000s that the GOP has benefited from the archaic Electoral College that has left us with a president who lost the popular vote. When I see pundits pontificating about what the election tells us about what America wants and the voices the rest of America was ignoring, all I can think about is that when the Electoral College convenes on December 19th it is about to ignore the voices of how the greatest number of people actually voted.
Some of you may have seen the news that South Korea is undergoing some serious political issues of its own right now, with over a million people taking to the streets of Seoul demanding that the President resign over revelations of corruption and influence peddling, and that she has been under the thrall of a cult throughout her presidency. It has remained peaceful, but a million people in front of the presidential palace every weekend has been impossible to ignore. As I watch this unfold, I have to say that I've been inspired by Koreans' willingness to fight for the integrity of their relatively young democracy. If a Donald Trump presidency turns out to be destructive as his campaign promises have given us every reason to believe, I hope the American people can take inspiration from the Korean people. It's certainly inspired this American.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Manlands can mess up combat without doing anything and can lead to blowouts if the opponent forgets that it's there.
I have lots of thing to vent about! But not here. I'm here to escape.
Stratus Dancer
BONUS QUESTION
Do you like to dance?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Not much of a dancer, except when drunk, which I rarely am these days.
I like that his base mode is good in tempo decks because its 2 evasive power for 2 and its megamorphed option seems solid as well as you can develop your board and flip him for the counter when you need to if your not beating down. I like that the more playable morph cards we get the harder is becomes to guess what you are flipping as well. I plan to add it soon after how well den protector has been doing for us.
I rarely dance, useless Im very drunk, but I hear i have some smooth "dad at a wedding" moves.