Agreed. And after watching some UFC last night something occurred to me. At a UFC event the fans are nuts, they are all fired up and excited as hell. It's very easy to see that they are having a great time and absolutely love the sport. You don't see that so much with boxing. MMA is just more exciting, which will help keep people interested.
I don't know-Manny fans pretty much follow him wherever and there seems to be an energy you can't get in MMA except maybe a GSP fight in Montreal. Problem is the only Manny can generate that enthusiam and when he goes-probably sooner rather than later-all mainstream interest in boxing goes with him
I think the reason for this is money. Promoters don't care about what fight fans want to see, they don't try to give up and coming fighters any promotion to get fan interest.
This is the key reason why boxing is losing in popularity. I don't want to get into long discussion about why people like one sport over another because I absolutely love both; to me it's all about promotion when it comes to mass appeal.
Either this is because of a generation gap-Bob Arum-so just failing to realize that boxing needs to not just be all pay-per view and premium cable and that boxers need to get out there in the public. Pretty Boy Floyd and Manny are great but are known because they are out there.
Boxing has lots of talent but it's marketed to the public so incredibly poorly. Sergio Martinez, Timothy Bradley, Andre Ward, Paul Williams and many others are great fighters but no one knows other than hardcores because they're never put out into the public. Hell, more people would know Wladimir Klitschko as that huge guy who's dating the cheerleader from Heroes and Juan Manuel Marquez as they guy who drank his pee on HBO when they should be acknowledged as the best heavyweight in the world as a historically great lightweight respectively.
I don't even recall seeing any ads anywhere for the Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams fight from a couple weeks ago. We're talking a match between two of the top 5-6 pound for pound fighters that ended with a highlight-reel knockout victory for Martinez and should've instantly made him a star. Instead he's consigned to the same obscurity until the powers that be can get their act together, and unfortunately for him that won't happen until long after he's retired if ever.
1 Mint English Imperial Seal
1 Mint English Zodiac Dragon
2 Mint English Ravages of War
1 Grim Tutor
Various Legacy Staples (Duals, FOW, 20 Fetch) and standard staples (4 Jace, 4 Baneslayer)
I am loathe to make these kinds of thread but since the EBay market is thin to nonexistent I was wondering if the more experienced in the secondary market could give me some help.
So i won a side event at the Chicago PTQ for 24 Japanese M10 packs and cracked them. I ended up with the following intriguing foils.
Time Warp
Sleep
Harm's Way
Searched Ebay for all 3 and the only result that I saw was a Time Warp that had closed for about $20-which is what some people whose opinions I respect said-I just wasn't sure. Totally unsure about the other two though searches of closed auctions show foils of Sleep and Harm's Way closing at about $3 a piece. Would I be incorrect in assume an 80-100% premium for Japanese?
I suppose you've already made your decision but in case you haven't Mono red burn is also quite viable-though it doesn't have the results of affinity- and even cheaper to build.
Also, if I my ask, whereabouts in Illinois are you and where do you normally play?
The event will be held in the cafeteria area, which is in the student center-the glass building. Just go in there and and there are a bunch of signs (I think) that will guide you there. Also, I'm sure that the TOs are going to have placards with arrows and what not.
Hope you make it in time and that when you play me you suffer a congenital heart defect (that only knocks you out for one round)
The meta is obviously unknown but the feeling I'm getting is that the field will be pretty much whatever the block season ended at last year. The bias towards Toast is making me not play Demigod.
The sideboard is giving me fits because I know I want to have out to Toast and Red but that's pretty much all I can think and I feel like I'm missing out on a lot.
In other news, it looks like no Shards prerelease for Indy or Illinois.
Well the preveiling talk was that Pastimes would still be holding their big prerelease since that would be in the best interests of the dealer but apparently that didn't work out since it turns out that Graham Crackers Comics in Naperville and Wheation, IL are holding prerelease/release events at their stores
Just came back from a block tournament going 3-1 with Faeries.
Round 1: G/W/R not a pile but not great either, 2-1
This is basically that random round 1 deck you end up getting paired against that you're kind of scared of when you see a turn 1 vivid land or something like that and think you might be playing a tier 1 deck but then a bunch of unexpected stuff happens and you're just caught off guard.
Basically it was a green white deck running stuff like kitchen finks, G/W Liege, Chameleon Colossus but a lot of strange stuff like the Green Red witch. The pilot was a nice guy who admittely made some mistakes due to being out of the game a while but he had a good time and that's what should matter-though as we all know that's not always the case
I take game 1 pretty easily but game 2 sees me get caught by a cloudthresher when I foolish try to flash in a scion of oona to give me leathel when I don't have to in order to win. Game 3 fortunately goes better as an early bitterblossom keeps me on the offensive and I'm able to take it by playing around the thresher though it never appeared.
Round 2: G/W Kithkin, 2-1
Now this deck resembled more the mono green aggro standard deck playing things like G/W Liege, Wilt Leaf Cavilers and Kitchen FInks but still maintained the base Kithkin weave pieces though I have no idea what changes he made to the standard lists to make his deck
Game 1 is textbook on how Faeries should work as early game countering and creature kill keeps him off explosiveness until Mistbind Clique(s) seal the deal.
Game 2 sees him Spectral Processing on turn 3 then again on turn 4 off of Windbrisk Heights. Dropping a Liege afterwards seals the deal.
Game 3 I am able to fight off the turn 3 Spectral Procession with Bitterblossom tokens and Scion of Oona pushes me past the finish line.
Round 3: Elementals, 0-2
The standard list you'll see in that thread.
I pretty much had no game as Soulstokes just flung cloudthreshers and all sorts of other madness which I just couldn't stop. Didn't help that I got land screwed game 2 but I guess that's neither here no there.
We played like 4 more games afterwards and I only one once.
Round 4: Mono Black Control, 2-0
Like round 2 this was based off a list you might see in standard except no Korlash or Damnation. A work in progress for sure but it seemed to perform admirably.
I got down to 1 in Game 1 and things got pretty hairy when he played a Demigod of Revenge (with me at 1) but, since that was the last card in his hand I brought in my second mistbind and a scion got me over the top when I cracked back. Dusk Urchins was really huge in this matchup for him-it wouldn't have been close if he hadn't gotten all that card advantage.
Game 2 doube Bitterblossoms get me down to 5 but they let me play to Mistbind Cliques worry free to fly over in the end. Vendilion Clique kept him from playing what he needed to-though it didn't hurt that he just drew land off the replacements.
In terms of my matchups I'm worried that I'm too busy trying to tailor my deck to be favorable against too many decks that I'm making it favorable against nothing.
Also, I'm just not sold on Fathom seer in a deck with 9 Islands. One change I've been thinking on is taking out/siding the Ronoms and adding 2 Snow Islands, removing the 4 telling times and replacing with 2 Fathom Seers and 2 Chroniclers (or 3 Fathom Seers and 1 Teferi)
I don't know-Manny fans pretty much follow him wherever and there seems to be an energy you can't get in MMA except maybe a GSP fight in Montreal. Problem is the only Manny can generate that enthusiam and when he goes-probably sooner rather than later-all mainstream interest in boxing goes with him
This is the key reason why boxing is losing in popularity. I don't want to get into long discussion about why people like one sport over another because I absolutely love both; to me it's all about promotion when it comes to mass appeal.
Either this is because of a generation gap-Bob Arum-so just failing to realize that boxing needs to not just be all pay-per view and premium cable and that boxers need to get out there in the public. Pretty Boy Floyd and Manny are great but are known because they are out there.
Boxing has lots of talent but it's marketed to the public so incredibly poorly. Sergio Martinez, Timothy Bradley, Andre Ward, Paul Williams and many others are great fighters but no one knows other than hardcores because they're never put out into the public. Hell, more people would know Wladimir Klitschko as that huge guy who's dating the cheerleader from Heroes and Juan Manuel Marquez as they guy who drank his pee on HBO when they should be acknowledged as the best heavyweight in the world as a historically great lightweight respectively.
I don't even recall seeing any ads anywhere for the Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams fight from a couple weeks ago. We're talking a match between two of the top 5-6 pound for pound fighters that ended with a highlight-reel knockout victory for Martinez and should've instantly made him a star. Instead he's consigned to the same obscurity until the powers that be can get their act together, and unfortunately for him that won't happen until long after he's retired if ever.
1 Mint English Zodiac Dragon
2 Mint English Ravages of War
1 Grim Tutor
Various Legacy Staples (Duals, FOW, 20 Fetch) and standard staples (4 Jace, 4 Baneslayer)
I am loathe to make these kinds of thread but since the EBay market is thin to nonexistent I was wondering if the more experienced in the secondary market could give me some help.
So i won a side event at the Chicago PTQ for 24 Japanese M10 packs and cracked them. I ended up with the following intriguing foils.
Time Warp
Sleep
Harm's Way
Searched Ebay for all 3 and the only result that I saw was a Time Warp that had closed for about $20-which is what some people whose opinions I respect said-I just wasn't sure. Totally unsure about the other two though searches of closed auctions show foils of Sleep and Harm's Way closing at about $3 a piece. Would I be incorrect in assume an 80-100% premium for Japanese?
Thanks in advance
Top 8 was:
2 Naya Zoo
1 TEPS
1 Elves
1 Bant
1 U/W Tron
1 Faeries
1 Astral Slide
U/W Tron ended up playing TEPS in the semis and Bant played Elves but I left before I could see what eventually won.
I personally went 5-2 with Naya Zoo.
Also, if I my ask, whereabouts in Illinois are you and where do you normally play?
The event will be held in the cafeteria area, which is in the student center-the glass building. Just go in there and and there are a bunch of signs (I think) that will guide you there. Also, I'm sure that the TOs are going to have placards with arrows and what not.
Hope you make it in time and that when you play me you suffer a congenital heart defect (that only knocks you out for one round)
The meta is obviously unknown but the feeling I'm getting is that the field will be pretty much whatever the block season ended at last year. The bias towards Toast is making me not play Demigod.
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Stonybrook Banneret
4 Chameleon Colossus
3 Sower of Temptation
2 Sygg River Guide
4 Cryptic Command
3 Sage's Dousing
3 Esper Charm
3 Wrath of God (Hallowed Burial if I can't come up with the ***s in time)
2 Crib Swap
1 Vivid Grove
4 Flooded Grove
4 Wanderwine Hub
4 Secluded Glen
4 Reflecting Pool
3 Mutavault
4 Thoughtseize
3 Cloudthresher
3 Flashfreeze
2 Firespout
2 Reveillark
1 Sower of Temptation
The sideboard is giving me fits because I know I want to have out to Toast and Red but that's pretty much all I can think and I feel like I'm missing out on a lot.
Well the preveiling talk was that Pastimes would still be holding their big prerelease since that would be in the best interests of the dealer but apparently that didn't work out since it turns out that Graham Crackers Comics in Naperville and Wheation, IL are holding prerelease/release events at their stores
http://www.grahamcrackers.com/events.htm
I guess Pastimes just couldn't justify renting out a big space to have such a limited slate of events and I can't say I blame them
Necropotence pretty much turns to garbage without Hymn to Tourach, Strip Mine, Disk and 8 Pump Knights
OP was made over two months before morningtide became legal.
In other word this thread needs a new one quick.
Round 1: G/W/R not a pile but not great either, 2-1
This is basically that random round 1 deck you end up getting paired against that you're kind of scared of when you see a turn 1 vivid land or something like that and think you might be playing a tier 1 deck but then a bunch of unexpected stuff happens and you're just caught off guard.
Basically it was a green white deck running stuff like kitchen finks, G/W Liege, Chameleon Colossus but a lot of strange stuff like the Green Red witch. The pilot was a nice guy who admittely made some mistakes due to being out of the game a while but he had a good time and that's what should matter-though as we all know that's not always the case
I take game 1 pretty easily but game 2 sees me get caught by a cloudthresher when I foolish try to flash in a scion of oona to give me leathel when I don't have to in order to win. Game 3 fortunately goes better as an early bitterblossom keeps me on the offensive and I'm able to take it by playing around the thresher though it never appeared.
Round 2: G/W Kithkin, 2-1
Now this deck resembled more the mono green aggro standard deck playing things like G/W Liege, Wilt Leaf Cavilers and Kitchen FInks but still maintained the base Kithkin weave pieces though I have no idea what changes he made to the standard lists to make his deck
Game 1 is textbook on how Faeries should work as early game countering and creature kill keeps him off explosiveness until Mistbind Clique(s) seal the deal.
Game 2 sees him Spectral Processing on turn 3 then again on turn 4 off of Windbrisk Heights. Dropping a Liege afterwards seals the deal.
Game 3 I am able to fight off the turn 3 Spectral Procession with Bitterblossom tokens and Scion of Oona pushes me past the finish line.
Round 3: Elementals, 0-2
The standard list you'll see in that thread.
I pretty much had no game as Soulstokes just flung cloudthreshers and all sorts of other madness which I just couldn't stop. Didn't help that I got land screwed game 2 but I guess that's neither here no there.
We played like 4 more games afterwards and I only one once.
Round 4: Mono Black Control, 2-0
Like round 2 this was based off a list you might see in standard except no Korlash or Damnation. A work in progress for sure but it seemed to perform admirably.
I got down to 1 in Game 1 and things got pretty hairy when he played a Demigod of Revenge (with me at 1) but, since that was the last card in his hand I brought in my second mistbind and a scion got me over the top when I cracked back. Dusk Urchins was really huge in this matchup for him-it wouldn't have been close if he hadn't gotten all that card advantage.
Game 2 doube Bitterblossoms get me down to 5 but they let me play to Mistbind Cliques worry free to fly over in the end. Vendilion Clique kept him from playing what he needed to-though it didn't hurt that he just drew land off the replacements.
Here is what I went with
4 Scion of Oona
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Pestermite
2 Sower of Temptation
4 Ponder
4 Nameless Inversion
4 Cryptic Command
4 Broken Ambitions
4 Bitterblossom
4 Secluded Glen
4 Sunken Ruins
3 Swamp
8 Island
4 Thoughtseize
2 Incremental Blight (really wanna up this to 3)
2 Mind Shatter
2 Sower of Temptation
3 Vendilion Clique
It's also really good against most aggro.
I really don't see how it's not a mandatory 3-4 of for the foreseeable future in RDW and whatever else it may evolve into.
6 Snow Covered Island
2 Calciform Pools
2 Mouth of Ronom
2 Faerie Conclave
3 Hallowed Fountain
4 Nimbus Maze
Creatures
4 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
3 Brine Elemental
2 Teferi
2 Willbender
3 Spell Snare
4 Remand
4 Rune Snag
3 Cancel
4 Telling Time
4 Wrath of God
Enchantment
4 Faith's Fetters
3 Porphry Nodes
3 Dodecapod
2 Aeon Chronicler
4 Jester's Scepter
3 Remove Soul
In terms of my matchups I'm worried that I'm too busy trying to tailor my deck to be favorable against too many decks that I'm making it favorable against nothing.
Also, I'm just not sold on Fathom seer in a deck with 9 Islands. One change I've been thinking on is taking out/siding the Ronoms and adding 2 Snow Islands, removing the 4 telling times and replacing with 2 Fathom Seers and 2 Chroniclers (or 3 Fathom Seers and 1 Teferi)