MTG Salvation

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Kamahl, the Fallen »

These Judges should just get a real job.

Yeah, how horrible those judges are, wanting things like the ability to go eat during a 12-hour entirely unpaid shift. They deserve to be a disposable resource that a multi-million dollar corporation can use and discard.

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Kamahl, the Fallen »

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Kamahl, the Fallen »

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

So if you do something to help others, get screwed during that process, and seek compensation for getting screwed, that's not "acting like an adult" or "holding themselves accountable"?

This lawsuit would not exist if it happened to a person 1 or 2 times. Acting like an adult means walking away from situations where you are being taken advantage of, not hanging onto it like a failing high school relationship, and holding yourself accountable when you are putting yourself in a position to continually be taken advantage of.

I actually heard this exact point in a different debate this week. In that one, he was saying that a girl should have taken responsibility for her attire when she was sexually assaulted.

In the world of debate, we call this "victim blaming". So the party at fault here is the ones who prevented the judges from being able to take breaks or get food, not the judges for allowing this happen to themselves.

There is a difference between sexual assault and being taken advantage of for doing something that was completely voluntary. The control of the situation, in this instance, is entirely in the hands of the individual volunteering their time to the organization taking advantage of them. In an assault situation, that is very much not the case.

I am sorry, but you are wrong and a great example of why everyone in this country is so eager to use a lawsuit as a means of not holding themselves accountable for making poor choices in life.

On that I guess we are going to have to disagree.

The person above comparing the judges to volunteer lifeguards at profit gyms is spot on. They may be volunteers, but they are given the hours, responsibilities, and liabilities that an employee has. Therefore, they deserve many of the rights that employees have as well. No one is asking for job security, just the lunch breaks, rest breaks, and overtime that everyday employees receive.

As far the lawsuit goes, litigation is expensive, especially against a large entity. I highly doubt this was their first course of action.

I have to say, all you're doing is blaming people for getting screwed over by people who should know better. The fact you direct your ire at the judges ("Maybe they should get real jobs") shows a real lack of empathy.

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Kamahl, the Fallen »

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Kamahl, the Fallen »

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

If every judge took this route, there would be no judges, no events, and basically no sanctioned game. Is that what you want?

I don't know, I just sort of hold the opinion that judges are people too, and more importantly deserve to be compensated for working as employees.

Look, I do volunteer work and last Thanksgiving I did not get a lunch break in my 7 hour shift of helping at a kitchen. I am required to wear a shirt that bears the name of the organization that I volunteer with. At the end of the day, I am volunteering my time doing something that I love and something I think is worth my time and if I do not get a lunch and it bothers me that much - I stop making plans to volunteer at large events like that.

Plain and simple.

In fact, it is not even just holidays I do not get lunch. There have been a number of local animal rescue events I have volunteered for and have not had time to get a lunch in.

Judges are volunteers, nobody is putting a gun to their head or holding the rent bill over them. They are volunteering their time and went into it knowing that they are doing so. You kind of throw your other priorities out of the way when you do something like that.

Glad you help people out. Good for you.

Here's the issue that you seem to miss: volunteers deserve to be treated fairly too. You not getting a break or a meal at the soup kitchen is every bit as bullcrap as the judges not getting rest. Federal law mandates breaks and lunches for employees working more than six hours, and breaks for working under that (based on four hour increments). Why should the volunteers be treated different considering they are the ones helping put money in the company's pocket?

Not sure where you seem to think I disagree that volunteers should be treated fairly.

I do expect judges t be adults, and act like it. These Judges are not, they are being petty. It is a sad day when MTG judges cannot hold themselves accountable for making bad choices.

So if you do something to help others, get screwed during that process, and seek compensation for getting screwed, that's not "acting like an adult" or "holding themselves accountable"?

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Kamahl, the Fallen »

Quote from Teysa_Karlov »

Quote from Kamahl, the Fallen »

These Judges should just get a real job.

Yeah, how horrible those judges are, wanting things like the ability to go eat during a 12-hour entirely unpaid shift. They deserve to be a disposable resource that a multi-million dollar corporation can use and discard.

It should only take 1 event for you to gain the expectation that that will not happen - thus you simply cut your losses.

Grow up.

If every judge took this route, there would be no judges, no events, and basically no sanctioned game. Is that what you want?

I don't know, I just sort of hold the opinion that judges are people too, and more importantly deserve to be compensated for working as employees.

Quote from Lord Malorne »

@Kamahl, the Fallen - Has your deck changed any based off the recent SCG Open? Seeing the amount of Human/x aggro decks and the W/B eldrazi decks?

And why are people using dragons in this dragonless esper thread

It is going to change. I am not sure to what exactly. There are some important things to note after this weekend though. First and foremost, The deck needs to be built to not utterly fall behind. This 2 Languish nonsense is just that. Decks can be fast right now, and if they are not being fast, they are highly disruptive to control. It is interesting that people would play Dragonlord Ojutai at all, considering that there is a lot of stuff that shuts him down. From edict effects and discard, to Archangel Avacyn, the card is just less than stellar in my opinion - and the dragon value cards are not good enough to really justify running him. There are likely only 2 finishers I would consider playing right now that are creatures.



Dragonlord Silumgar has a bigger ass on him than Dragonlord Ojutai and Ojutai is remarkably brittle these days. If you want a dragon that has roughly the same amount of risk, I think Dragonlord Silumgar has a lot more built in power right now and having Haven of the Spirit Dragon means you can still get that dragon recursion value. As for Alhammarret, High Arbiter, his ability being As he inters the battlefield, means you can scout for lat game removal that might stop you from closing the game and just shut it down on the spot. His body is otherwise less than stellar, but his body means you get the perks of being able to get around edict effects and spot removal depending on the situation. If we are being completely honest though, I am not really a fan of either of them - nor am I a fan of any creature atm.

The trade off here is that relying on planeswalkers is remarkably slow, and you run the risk of just decking yourself. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is just not fun on the 3 color mana base, and Narset Transcendent might as well just be Sorin, Grim Nemesis because he can actually draw you the card if it is a land... but once again, he is just slow and clunky at killing an opponent when you need to be able to put real pressure on them.

Running a straight UW or UB deck might just be better right now. You will be able to run Gideon more consistently and you still have access to a ton of great spot removal spells in W for a decent draw go game if you manage to get your foot in the door. Your other option of straight UB means you are getting access to some great disruption options at the cost of missing out on Sorin, Grim Nemesis and Anguished Unmaking, but you get to use more life to draw cards with black draw spells instead - and you can still get Dragonlord Silumgar in there at the 6 mana slot. The biggest appeal of UB is Flaying Tendrils, but UW gets Declaration in Stone

I feel like Esper is just needing to do way too much at once, so it is likely best to just focus on a UW or UB shell right now. It is a damn shame that Madness is such a trash control mechanic for now :(, but in the mean time I think the key should be to focus on building around having access to more sweepers. Going two colors even opens you up to exploring Corrupted Grafstone and Brain in a Jar to get to a bigger game faster, either by ramping or letting you get in some free spells while leaving mana up so you can use virtual mana as you move into the later stages of the game.

UW Azorius Control



The real selling point of UW is going to be the ability to EOT Secure the Wastes into Ormendahl, Profane Prince, but what makes blue appealing is the ability to use counter magic for disruption and you can back it up with some great removal options in white. There are so many white removal spells on the cheap, and they should not be that difficult to get online. Another payout is the ability to mitigate damage using Gideon, Ally of Zendikar tokens and clean the board up with Planar Outburst to start laying in beats for a quick close. Overall, UW is going to give you a faster closing game at the cost of having to tap out in some spots that might be generally unfavorable no matter how you swing it. Getting to use counter magic like Clash of Wills, Scatter to the Winds, and even Confirm Suspicions can make for a solid game when backed by Celestial Flare, Swift Reckoning, Immolating Glare - can make for a solid draw go game, only tapping out to start putting pressure on or to seize an opportunity to stabilize. Having access to Declaration in Stone is also utterly fantastic.

UB Dimir Control



I think there is a lot more to have with UB, mainly your cheap instant speed removal options to add to your counter suite. There is less need to tap out and you are less restricted in the early game on what your removal is hitting or what other casting stipulations may exist. Silumgar's Command seems like a really powerful card here, giving you the ability to punish their mana base in addition to answering planeswalkers or creatures. There is not a lot of 2 for 1 value in Control right now, and that means this card is capable of doing an incredible amount of work. Focusing on Dragonlord Silumgar means you can quickly close a game with proper set up, and also gives you access to the dragon cards - making your draw go game a bit stronger. Sure, UW can run Dragonlord Ojutai but I just think there are better things to be doing if you are on white. Their ability to close the game is much more efficient, where UB is not and it needs those dragon cards.

Personally, I will likely be focusing on UB Control for now.