Quote from hoser2 »Wow! Nice work.
I actually don't want either of us to spend more time researching past standards.
I thought Pack Rat standard was brutal and boring, as were the three top decks constituting about 60% of the meta, but I don't care enough to try to prove it. I didn't like and haven't played Pack Rat decks and Abzan Aggro-ish midrange decks for the same reason, which is also why I hate myself whenever I try to play a true control deck. I want to play an unpredictable game of magic where my opponent gets to play also.
I had a great time playing R/w Devotion, then Junk Midrange through the year of Pack Rats. I've enjoyed playing Selesnya Aggro, Abzan Controlling Midrange, then Temur Dragons through the first year of the Rhino. In this second life of the Rhino, I've been enjoying 5-color Temur-Abzan Ramp, then G/U Eldrazi Ramp and am now trying to build a controlling midrange deck. So I've always enjoyed myself and played decks that matched up well against Abzan aggro-ish midrange. I find the opportunity to greedily abuse the manabases of BFZ Standard to outweigh the boredom induced by dealing with same gold cards.
I should be more compassionate. I believe that this time of the Rhino has been painful for many. While I experience the diversity of Siege Rhino decks over these 14 months to be greater than the diversity of Pack Rat decks, that is largely irrelevant (true or not), except for my enjoyment. The tyrannies are comparable: there are many cool cards and deck ideas that languished because they couldn't compete, which was painful for many. I apologize for my lack of compassion. While the Rhino has allowed me to play the cards and strategies that interested me, that is not so for many others and they are not wrong. For people who hated the Rhino as I despised the Rat, these could be a long four months until the Rhino leaves the stage.
To be honest, my issue with Abzan extends to my issue with the format as a whole. Abzan preys on the fact that efficient interaction in the format is extremely sparse in each of the colors currently, and the removal (including counterspells) is all incredibly niche in effect, and the creatures others play a bit more narrow in applicability. What answers Warden doesn't answer Anafenza, what answers Anafenza doesn't answer Gideon, what answers Gideon doesn't answer Hangarback, and none of what answers any of these things answers a rolling Rhino off the top. And even *if* you deal with all of this, Den Protector gets it back. If you want to compete with Abzan, you are effectively forced into some four-color monostrosity to have access to just enough answers and points of interaction to deal with it. Equally, you are probably going into blue as the best means of combating Abzan's brutal flood of efficient threats usually involves Jace, Vryn's Prodigy to flashback the few generally useful cards in the format.
Abzan is an issue, personally, but it is admittedly an issue that stems from how terrible the format actually is. There is pretty much one deck I would call "interactive" (Jeskai, which is generally a 4-color monstrosity so it can run some truly stupid levels of 2-for-1s), and everything else is just a stream of "Can you do anything about this? How about this? And this? No? Cool, I win." Rhino is frustrating in particular because it encapsulates this entire thing; no matter how hard you play, or try to counterplay, an opponent, a single Rhino can swing the game so hard it can turn a situation from one player being massively favored in a match to just outright losing, and at a cost and level of efficiency that is far below what you would typically find for similar threats. Jeskai, while annoying, is at least open to exploitation due to it having a wide mix of different spells, and being able to be interacted with with a much wider degree of tools currently available in any given color.
So really, the issue with the format is that due to a lack of safety valves and interaction, there is very little counterplay or actual interaction. It's just jamming one difficult to answer threat after another, with Abzan having all the tools to do it pretty much better than everyone else and more consistently. It may not have the most explosive lines, but it's the most brutally efficient and consistent deck in the format, just as it was last year. The main offender being the damn Rhino, as no matter how much effort you go through to pressure them, keep the board state under control, or play a normal game of magic, a single Rhino off the top ends it. People say Thragtusk was worse, but to be honest it wasn't nearly as frustrating(as someone who foolishly played Mono-Red at the time). At best, resolving a top-decked Thragtusk only stops the opponent from losing. Resolving a top-decked Rhino in the current format not just stops the opponent from losing, but also can straight-up win the game. Couple that with plenty of efficient pieces of interaction in that format, as well as creatures being on par with it in terms of power level at all cmcs, and it was an annoying, but hardly troublesome card. It's annoying enough that Abzan has access to all of the most efficient creatures (And Gideon), as well as generally the most versatile and potent removal spells. It also gets access to the single strongest creature in the format, one which was largely printed by mistake (As it was continually upped in power level and tinkered with to combat First Response decks when First Response originally was half the cost; they nerfed First Response and left Rhino the same, which is beyond idiotic when you think about it).
So, to sum everything why I hate Abzan up (And why I'm supremely disappointed in why it continued to dominate):
1. It encapsulates everything that I feel is wrong with the format, and preys on the faults with the format in particular (Poor removal, restrictive and inefficient answers in generally, wildly divergent power levels leading to inconsistent by necessity decks, etc.) Note that I don't blame Abzan specifically for these issues, but rather Abzan is result of these issues.
2. It has access to tools so strong that it is extremely difficult to do anything about their gameplan without playing a very small handful of decks. It's to the point where many decks can't even do anything with their sideboards to actually shore up the match-up to a reasonable degree without making them a dog to every other deck.
3. It is the only deck with access to the strongest, most efficiently costed creature printed in a very, very long time, which R&D more or less admitted only made it through by mistake.
4. I'm simply tired of playing against it and seeing, as I had to play against it last year, all year, for most of my match-ups at any given event. If it were a minor thing this year, and I rarely had to play against it, I wouldn't mind. But the fact that rotation changed so little about the overall format (Other than introduce a few new fringe decks) annoys and frustrates me greatly.
1
1) Busted Starts. This plan usually involves a turn 1 Hierarch, into a turn 2 Temple into Thought-knot. Then turn 3 if you have another Thought-Knot or a Smasher, thats awesome. A start like this is very hard for any opposing deck to stop. Sometimes, a just as good start is turn 2 Reshaper into turn 3 Thought-Knot into turn 4 Smasher, with perhaps a Cavern making sure nothing gets countered. Also very hard for opposing decks to stop.
2) Long Game Inevitability. The second thing this deck does involves a Displacer doing its thing in the mid to late game. Tapping down your opponents threats, killing their tokens, and blinking Thought-Knot, Drowner, or Skyspawner. If you get stuck in a long game against Jund and other midrange decks, this is how you usually eventually trump them.
I dont see how Deep Fiend fits in to help any of the two things this deck does. Its a great ambush blocker, i guess. I'm over this card, its not right for this deck, always feels terrible.
1
VS Burn: +4 Leyline, +2 Nature Claim, -4 Kor, -1 Path, -1 Spider Umbra. They have way too much direct damage to even try to get there with Kor, dont do it. I side in a few Claims to either hit my own Rancor or kill their Eidolon of the Great Revel, which is the only threat I am worried about. The goal here is to get a Coronet or Spirit Link ASAP, then you auto win.
VS Jund/Junk/BUG/BGx: +4 Leyline, +1 Dryad Arbor, -2 Kor, -1 Path, -1 Spirit Link, -1 Spider Umbra. Kor with an Umbra is really good in the Jund matchup, but i still side out a few. However, i'm more than happy to keep a hand with a Fetchland, a Kor, and an Umbra, unless youre against Junk who play Paths. Leyline is pretty clutch here to stop discard effects, Liliana's sac effect, and Lili's ultimate. Almost any deck can potentially run Spellskite, so if you see one, add in Paths or Claims for game 3. They will keep in some number of Bolts, so if you go in on an Arbor, try and get an umbra on it right away while they are tapped out. These decks are the hardest for us to beat, but i did get lucky and beat 3 BGx decks on my way to winning Colorado States.
VS Abzan Company: +2 Grafdigger's Cage, +1 Rest in Peace, +1 Dryad Arbor, -1 Kor, -1 Spirit Link, -1 Spider Umbra, -1 Bogle. This plays no main deck kill spells, but will side in Abrupt Decay. They dont bring in Path, which means Arbor is basically hexproof and you can afford to shave a Bogle. They will try to combo, so either kill them fast or hope to hit one of your sideboard cards. Cage is great, so they cant Chord for Pridemage.
VS Affinity: +3 Nature's Claim, +2 Stony Silence, -2 Path, -2 Kor, -1 Hyena Umbra. Claim is just better than Path here, but i still dont want too many kill spells because the goal is to get a bigger creature than they have. An opening hand of 3 kill spells isnt really that great. Like any aggro match, you are looking for a Coronet and some evasion.
VS Zoo and Merfolk: I dont do sh|t unless they have Spellskites or something weird. I could see bringing in a few Claims against fish since it hits Spreading Seas and Vial, but really both of these decks cant beat a Coronet. Mono blue fish cant handle a huge Kor, feel free to go all in on her. EDIT: i see mono-U fish are playing some Vapor Snags now, so maybe be cautious on the Kor plan. I dont think i've seen Snags in my local meta, though.
VS Scapeshift: +4 Leyline, +2 Gaddock Teeg, -3 Path, -1 Spider Umbra, -1 Hyena Umbra, -1 Kor. This is another matchup where you can usually rely on Kor if you need to, but i still shave 1 because its better to have a good density of Auras. Teeg stops Scape, Bring to Light, and Crpytics, which is a big deal. They simply cant kill you if you have Leyline out, which buys you a turn since they have to Cryptic bounce it before they can combo. Still, bringing in Leyline's is dubious here, i'm not sure if it is right. You dont need Path at all, even if they use their 'creature package' out of the board, i'm not afraid of Obstinate Baloths. This deck is the most likely to have a Spellskite in the board, but usually only 1, and they have to hit it.
VS Tron: +2 Stony Silence, +2 Gaddock Teeg, -2 Kor, -1 Path, -1 Spirit Link. This matchup can be kind of tough, but Teeg stops Karn and Ugin. Stony is really annoying for them to not be able to crack maps, spheres, and stars. You need to keep a few Paths for Wurmcoil. Stony stops Spellskites, too.
VS Jeskai/Grixis/UW Control: +1 Rest in Peace, -1 Path. It depends on what kind of deck we are facing, but usually we are faster than they can handle. Teeg might be a consideration here as it stop sweepers and Planeswalkers, but he doesnt stop Kiki/Angel combo. I think you just want to stay dense in Auras and present a fast clock. Dont attack into Snapcaster mana if your creature cant handle it. I see a lot of people attack with a Bogle with only a Rancor on it, only to have it get ambush viper'd.
I guess thats all i can think about for now. Like i've said before, we just lose to decks like Infect and Living End and i'm not going to waste a slot in the board for a one-of Melira that is very unlikely for me to draw. Even if you get a Rest in Peace out against Living End, they can still cascade into sweepers until they can hard cast their dudes, its rough.
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1 Forest
1 Plains
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Temple Garden
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Slippery Bogle
4 Gladecover Scout
4 Kor Spiritdancer
4 Ethereal Armor
4 Spider Umbra
4 Hyena Umbra
4 Daybreak Coronet
1 Gryff's Boon
1 Spirit Link
2 Spirit Mantle
1 Open the Armory
3 Path to Exile
4 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Stoney Silence
2 Rest in Peace
2 Gaddock Teeg
3 Nature's Claim
1 Suppression Field
I play tested with some buddies on Saturday night, before the tournament, and we did a mock 8 man tournament which I crushed, so I was in good spirits heading into Sunday. In testing, Boon felt great and even won me a game out of the graveyard. At the tournament, there ended up being 80'ish people, which translates into 7 rounds of swiss and a top 8.
As far as deck selection, I felt Bogles might be a good call in the Colorado meta right now, as it is usually full of Burn, Zoo, Merfolk, Affinity, and other aggro. In an aggro mirror, Coronet is the nut and not a lot of those decks can handle it. Open the Armory gave access to a 5th Coronet, which I felt would be sweet. I tested a bunch of blue based decks, but they all didnt feel right. This format, you can obviously get away with being massively linear, as long as free counter spells remain banned. Situational removal and counter spells just cant beat getting faced.
Round 1 vs Junk Midrange
Right off the bat, a BGx matchup, yuck. I won the roll and was lucky enough to steamroll pretty easily at the start. He didnt get a Lilly or decay to slow me down, and all i saw was a Finks before he scooped. So, i thought he was maybe on the CoCo/Chord Abzan combo, but the next game i did see discard, Siege Rhino, and Lilly. However, i was able to play myself around those threats and took the match. Fighting off a legit Junk deck in round 1 felt great. Win 2-0.
1-0-0
Round 2 vs Jund
Geez, can you ask for a worse round 1 and 2? Discard, Lilly, and Abrupt Decay are easily the worst cards to play against with this deck. Again, though, i won the die roll and was able to sprint to a quick turn 4 win before things got nasty. Winning on the play, every time, is very crucial for this deck. Against BGx, my only sideboard plan is to bring in 4 Leylines and then i shave things like an Umbra, 2 Spiritdancers (who usually die to Decay), and a Spirit Link. On the draw in game two, here, i stick a turn 0 Leyline and turn 1 Bogle, which i was able to get there with. Win 2-0
2-0-0
Round 3 vs UW Control
Well, so much for my meta call. So far, all i've seen is midrange and control, as opposed to the aggro and Burn i was expecting. I lost the die roll here, but ground my way to a game 1 win. He got to draw a lot of cards through Ancestral Vision, but i was heavy on the umbras which thwarted any Supreme Verdicts. I felt like i was in good position to win this match, but the next two games i got Fracturing Gusted. Ugh, that had to only be a 1 of in his board, i would imagine, but he drew it games 2 and 3 and got me good. Loss 1-2.
2-1-0
Round 4 vs Bright to Light Scapeshift
Luckily, a lot of my buddies are on this list and i played against it the night before during our testing. It’s a good matchup for Bogles, unless they get a few Tribe Elder fogs and chain a couple Cryptics together. A Rancor, though, totally ruins their Tribe Elder plan. So, draw Rancor, hope they dont draw a lot of Cryptics and snaps. Game 1 he just got browned on as my deck started getting hot. I played a turn 2 Kor, which i got to untap with, and went then Ethereal, draw, Rancor, draw, and Boon draw to attack for 12 and essentially end the game. See, Bogles has its own Ancestral Vision. Game 2 i hit a double Leyline opener, which doesnt outright make the game unwinnable for Scape, but it delays them a few turns, for sure, which was enough. Win 2-0.
3-1-0
Round 5 vs UW Merfolk
Finally, an aggro match. I was ready for this and ready to see how awesome Cornet would be. I recognized this guy as a writer to that Modern Nexus website, so i wanted to make sure i got him good. Unfortunately, this was the round i decided would be a good idea to smoke a joint in between rounds and I was really feeling it. So, i wasnt very talkative and started to get nervous. Game 1, i curved into Coronet and stomped all over him. That was nice, but in game 2 i got blown out by a Hibernation mid-attack, which was gross. We had a little issue after that because after the Hibernation i had 8 cards in hand and we both didnt notice, so I never discarded. He finally noticed on my next turn when i drew and had 9 cards in hand. Dont smoke pot, kiddos. We called a judge and he just made me discard, which i had plenty of lands to do, so all was good and my opponent ended up winning that game anyway. Game 3, i was freaking out over another possible Hibernation, because there is no way to play around it. I just went fast and Coronet crushed. Win 2-1.
4-1-0
Round 6 vs BtL Scapeshift
This guy's deck was just like round 4, but he, as a person, was saltier then the guy in round 4. No one likes losing to Bogles, i get it, but how is your one card combo deck any fairer than what i am doing? You dont see me get all bitter. I was in a good state of mellow at this point and steamrolled game 1. Game 2 was a little slower, but i was able to start gaining massive life with a Spirit Link and Coronet on a 6/6 Bogle. Gaining 12 a turn quickly got me up to 43 life and far out of Scape range. Regardless, he went for scape with 8 lands, which equals 2 Valakuts, 6 Mountains, and 36 damage. I think he thought his only out was to go through the motions and hope i scoop. He scapes, plays all his lands and says, “All the triggers are pointed at you.” Without evening mentioned how much damage, but i know how math works, so i say, “Ok, I take 36, you done with your turn?” then swung for lethal the next turn. Win 2-0
5-1-0
Round 7 vs Naya Company Hoogland.dec
I was hoping to draw into the top 8 this round, but we had to play. Per the standings, i was #7, my opponent was #8, and there was a #9 who had the same record as we did and got paired down. If we drew and that #9 won, then my opponent would have been leap-frogged and not made top 8. So, i offered a draw, he declined, then got shellacked. The first game, i had a to mull to 6 and kept a hand with two Kor's and a fetch (for a possible Dryad Arbor later). I'm usually ok with these hands post board, when they side out removal, but it was risky this time. Luckily, he pathed my first Kor, but the second Kor stuck and instantly got huge and won me the game. Game 2 was a little grindier. I had a Bogle out, early, and on his turn 3 he casted an Engineered Explosives on 1. Now, this guy was reading my cards all match, not understand how Kor worked or how the Umbra's worked... so i played on his lack of knowledge in my next sequence. He sticks EE on 1 and passes with 2 mana open to blow it up. I think a bit, and play Umbra on my Bogle, he lets it resolve, i play Rancor on my Bogle?, he lets it resolves, i move to attacks and then he triggers the EE, so i got Rancor back to my hand and the Bogle lived. We had to have a judge call on that, but i knew how it worked. He definitely should have popped the EE in response to the Umbra, but he admitted later that the thought the EE would just take care of everything, which I was banking on him getting wrong. Win 2-0.
6-1-0
I got second seed in the top 8.
Top 8 vs BUG Control
This guy cubes with me and my friends sometimes, so i know him well enough. He is a great player and he built a tight Control brew with Goyfs, Lilly, Snaps, Tasigur, Ancestral, Decay... all the good stuff and expensive stuff. Essentially, this is another BGx matchup that i was trying to avoid. Even on the play, he got me game 1 with two Lilly's. I was able to fetch my Arbor once, and kill the first Lilly on the swing back, but the second won the game. Losing on the play felt awful. In game 2, i had a great opener of Bogle and Leyline, so i kept. I was chipping away, but never drew an Umbra, so a Damnation set me back and i had to go all in on an Arbor. The pivotal play in this game was him making a sequence where he thought he could Abrupt Decay my Dryad Arbor. I had lethal swinging in and he tried the Decay, which i told him he couldnt and he lost as hitting any of the enchantments on the Arbor wouldnt have mattered at that point since he was at 2 life. Had he realized that Decay is non-land, he could have played his turn differently and lived. Yay for punts. Game 3 had the most insane luck i've ever experienced with this deck thus far. I hit another Leyline and Bogle in my opener, which was sweet and started to chip away. His Damnations and Snap Damnations really kept ruining my plans, though, and then he stuck a Night of the Souls Betrayal while i had nothing out. I almost scooped here, but i remembered that Kor is still an out and he was at 7 life. We were both in top deck mode when i finally hit a Kor, played her, and passed. He, on his draw, hits a Tasigur and has enough lands to do Tasigur, use Tas ability (i give him a useless Inquisition), use Tas ability again (i give him a Goyf), then he plays the Goyf and is completely tapped out, and passes the turn. I'm about to get buried in card advantage and even though i'm at like 17 life (him still at 7), i know my clock is quick. So, i comment, "Man, i need an epic string of Aura's here." Empty handed, on my draw, i get Hyena Umbra, cast it on my Kor, draw, Ethereal Armor, cast, draw, Rancor, cast, draw, Ethereal, cast, draw, hit a blank. Holy *****, I attack for 21 (20 after the Betrayal -1/-1) trample and win. Never have i had a string off a Kor like that in such a crucial moment. Get wrecked. Win 2-1.
Top 4 vs Merfolk
Different Merfolk player than the one earlier in rounds, but the same matchup that i like playing against. Hopefully, this guy didnt have Hibernation to smash me, though. I was on the play and mulled to 5 game 1 and farted out pretty easily. Again, losing game 1 on the play felt gross, but i remembered that i should be favored, no matter what, in this matchup. Game 2, i mulled to 6, on the play but had a real hand and i was way too fast for him. I got a Coronet, which matters. Game 3, i again had to mull to 6, but again had the nut. Without Hibernation, i dont think Merfolk can deal with a Bogle, Ethereal, Rancor, Coronet hand. Well, actually, not a lot of decks can. Win 2-1
Finals vs Living End
I was hoping to dodge this match-up all day, too. Living End says "Sacrifice your creatures", so even an Umbra cant help against the unfair sweeper. I didnt know what to do, I figured I would get slammed game 1, then hope i draw Rest in Peace both times for games 2 and 3. Not the best odds. At the beginning of the match, my opponent proposed a prize split. Split the packs pool 50/50, winner gets the SCG invite and playmat, and loser gets the medal. 'Loser gets the medal?', i though to myself, thats weird, but whatever, i accepted and kept shuffling, but a second later he just announces that he concedes to me. That dude REALLY just wanted the medal, lol. He told me later that he had invites already. Since I was technically the winner then, the judges made me take a picture with the mat and medal before I gave the medal to the second place guy. So, it looks like i get all the glory, but he gets the medal, which i'm ok with since i'm sure i would have been ROFLstomped by his deck. So yeah, i took this ***** down!
http://i.imgur.com/aYNUoqc.jpg
The deck ran hot all day, but i'd also like to think i navigated myself through the field very well. I play a lot of Modern and Legacy and i know the decks throughout each format very well, which really helps in decision making. Against any non-red deck post-board, for example, you can rely on a Kor or Arbor to get there pretty consistently, which makes mulligan'ing easier. Knowing when to double down on certain decisions like this won me the day. Not playing around Lilly's or ambush viper Snapcasters are misplays i see other Bogle players make all the time. I'll never run my Bogle, with just a Rancor on it, into your open two mana, blue mage, thank you very much. I dont dilute my deck with too many sideboard cards each match. I feel like 6 is the upper limit, and out of the 6 you take out, some number needs to be Kors and Paths, so you dont run too few Aura's.
Open the Armory was sweet all day. I used it throughout to get a Rancor, Ethereal, an Umbra, and Coronet, whatever the situation called for. I like it as a one of, though, because it is still important to have enough one drop enchantments for the turn 2 double Aura plays. I could possibly see myself going up to two Gryff's Boon, though. Card was sick, even though i never got to play it from the graveyard during the entire tournament, the extra evasion was awesome.
TLDR: I sent a bunch of mages on one way trips to Browntown and won Colorado States.
1
I assumed the little goat guy and the satyr were friends and running away, which, ironically, is completely the opposite of having unflinching courage! Shouldnt the little guys be standing up to the dinosaur? Why is there a dinosaur? Does the dino have unflinching courage? Of course he would, he is so much bigger then the goat and satyr! But, the satyr has a nipple piercing and holes in his cheek, so that is pretty badass. I've evaluated this picture far too much.
1
On a totally different note, Mike Bierek has done some good art (Breeding Pool, Drana, Frost Titan, Niv Magus Elemental even), but Unflinching Courage is NOT one of them, lol. I have no idea what is going on here.
2
I'm not sure what the problem is. Obviously a deck with 4 Cryptics and some number or BtL's/Scapes can draw the wrong half of the deck from time to time, but for the most part it is consistent to curve out and start Crypticing by turn 3, which is powerful. Of course the deck is slow if you do absolutely nothing until turn 4, but it isnt built to do that, and if you kept a hand that doesnt do anything until turn 4 then you deserve to lose with any deck.
1
Blood Moon does next to nothing. BM isnt even very good against Tron either. This Eldrazi deck will contribute to a major shift in Modern. Did someone seriously just say to play midrange creatures against Eldrazi. We need real answers, not guys who dont know what they are talking about.
The next guy who tells me to play Affinity is getting a a fist shoved up their anal cavity.
1
Go.
F this deck and the narrow mindedness of WotC development team. This deck hoses every aspect of playable Magic. Like to play counterspells? You wont win with them against Eldrazi. Like to use your graveyard as a tool? You wont win against Eldrazi. Like creatures? Guess what, their creatures are bigger and better, they get a 4/5 and three 1/1's for next to no mana. Thats seven power on the board, that can also be ramp, for like 3 lands. Like land detruction? Well, this is Modern, so you dont get Wasteland to keep that ***** in check. Want to play spells? They maindeck 5-7 discard spells to make sure you are miserable the entire match.
There are no silver bullet sideboard cards aainst this deck, get ready for a terrible few years of Modern. The biggest anoyance against this piece of sht are the people who play it and act like they are apart of the inventing of it. Go blow yourself.
2
1
Yup. Control decks already suck, now every midrange and control deck gets trumped by this deck. Seriously, can control possibly get any worse than it is right now?
I feel as if a resolved Blight Herder (and it always resolves, because you sure as sht arent going to Remand it) is game over. Its a Hordeling Outburst on a Goyf that costs like 3 mana, how many cards do you need to take care of it? Too many. What a beating.