Alright, I should stop dreaming about playing Goblins again in standard.
I tried last night with the straight up standard Goblins at the moment and it was a travesty. Krenko, if he makes it out, is just too late. Legion Loyalist is good but, not with other Goblins unless they're being pumped in some fashion like with Dynacharge or Foundry Street Denizen can hulk out for whatever reason.
Here is hoping once more for a decent Goblin in Dragon's Maze.
Other then the failure of the Goblins last night it was pretty good time. We had six people playing up a storm at the kitchen table at a friend's place for 6+ hours of Three headed giant, 6 player free for all games, and a three way two headed giant. It was an experience for the books especially due to the fact my mono-black modern Vampires decimated the field in the hands of one of the new players in the group. She is relatively new to the game never playing but only watching and I was worried it would be too complex for her first time playing. Unfortunately, she took to the game like a boss and utilized Bloodghast's land fall, Vampire Nocturnus, Vampire Nighthawk, Blood Line Keeper, and Captivating Vampire to win the game for her team. Nothing says scoop like seven flying 3/3+ vampires that are resolved and no one has an answer for them.
I have a mean W/U control deck with the play sets of O-Ring, Detention Sphere, & Fiend Hunter(In my meta a control deck is godly. We don't live near competitive play areas in the country at all so...) which is rounded out by Syncopates, Supreme Verdicts, Arrests, Geists of Saint Traft, etc.
I always have cards in hand and psyche out even the best guys in our play group all the time. One even talked about how many O-Rings or Counterspells I had in my hand though, it was nothing but land and a Sphinx's Revelation. He lost in the end due to inaction as I resolved the Sphinxs Revelation into everything I needed.
We had 4 people show up including myself. Potentially, there could have been 15 but, the main problem being most of the Magic players in this area of the country live really far away from each other let alone from the shop so, it is always going to be a hit and miss situation, I think. The store will never have DCI or FNM qualification but, it is a fun time and the closest thing we'll have to an event.
I disagree. If the good guy wins, it was predictable. If the ending can be seen from a mile away, I have trouble enjoying it. Maybe I'm just jaded.
I think you are but, not unjustly. From day one Hollywood has used the Hero's Journey in everything and plays with the formula but it never really changes. It always progresses in the same manner in 95% of the movies out there even one's without inherit portions of the Hero's Journey.
I didn't even need a creative writing class in Art School to see that continually present profitable trend in movies. It is always going to be a go to for screen writers and directors. It works and makes money and the audience eats it up(though, my creative writing instructor wanted us to avoid it and concentrate on a reverse version a writer in New York suggested for writers to try out at a big time professional writing work shop he hosted at the New York Comic-con).
There are those people who simply notice it and just can't stand it after a while and those people generally become film critics or they lash out at everything that doesn't have an original message on the IMDB forums.
I learned early just to shut off my brain when going to the movies. I know some people really just cannot do it but, thankfully I am able to. It makes for an enjoyable experience and I don't notice motifs, themes, and film tropes being so recycled and refit and stolen from other films or the fact that most of the movies out today are adaptations.
I do agree in some capacity that there is a lot of CGI or 3D models used in movies these days but, it doesn't really bother unless it is badly used and undermines the integrity of a film in structure, pace, or quality. I generally like even most CG effects as long as they don't become gimmicky and become the crutch for everything about a movie or a character.
I went through three and a half years learning computer animation, 3D modeling, 3D texturing, 3D lighting & a mish mash of computer effects suites and programs so I have a grasp on how most of the Visual Effects industry works so I have a certain appreciation for all of it and the outcomes on screen. I mean, this fact even allows the Star Wars prequels to be something less than god awful in my eyes plus I am all about the light saber duels(though, the light saber duels in the Clone Wars 3D TV show have ended up being vastly superior to the ones from all the prequels, oddly enough).
Dwindling but, I don't think this point is necessarily all on the heads of the film industry and the quality of the films themselves(Be what they may). I remember Roger Ebert writing an article once listing reasons that theater audience continues to flag and most of those reasons are due to expensive theater costs and the continual advancement of bringing movies to the people via streaming on-line and On-Demand movie purchases.
As for what I think the film industry is missing, well, most of which have been laid out in this thread already but, for the sake of conversation and the thread I'll list them.
1.) Original Work I'm not trying to be that guy but, it is very noticeable that most of the films out there are adaptations of something.
2.) Character Driven Stories I don't care if it is the most Michael Bay explosion happy of movies but, if there isn't at least some characters driving the plot and making you care whatsoever with at least some character development then all is lost. Also, I do not mean character driven as in a character, primary, secondary, or tertiary, says something and then a scene changes. I mean, a character is fleshed out in a human way that allows identification by the audience and then adds to the plot which naturally changes on its own. The story advances, you care about a character and learn to like him and the movie has a sense of immersion.
3.) Reliance and Over use of CGI This needs to stop being a crutch. No, don't go to lunch and let this get fixed in post. Create a decent prosthetic, use a convincing camera angle, actually train the actor to do what is needed or at least half way and allow for stuntmen capability. I do enjoy CGI and 3D in movies but, I do have eyes.
4.) Allowing for Happy Accidents If you don't allow for this all you'll get is the Star Wars prequels. If you're a director and you have a vice grip on production to the point when you are scrapping everything that doesn't go to plan in the dailies or you don't even look at them then a potentially beautiful accident is lost. I'm not saying a movie that goes to plan perfectly is bad but, allowing for happy accidents can potentially save time and money for a movie studio and film in a camera. It also can create some moving and touching moments between characters that may have never been in a script. They're called Happy Accidents for a reason.
I can think of a few more off the top of my head but, I am hungry and require sustenance.
Alas, the tournament was canceled due to low turn out but, I had a fun time nonetheless at my buddy's place. We ended up playing some Kitchen table games. He and his cousin are still bad but, one of my friends who is taking to the game well enough decimated us all with his Dimir deck.
Thanks to the rather complex and hazardous nature of the multiplayer games at the kitchen table my friend can usually get off a Whispering Madness combo, at least once, which just ruins everyone, sometimes. Thanks to the fact that we're all floundering and in-fighting to stay alive with new hands he has time to either slam down a Consuming Abberation later or finish us all off entirely by milling everyone to death with Mind Grind.
Indeed, I will. I'm going to try and get him to go for Red but, his sensibilities at the moment are in otherwise places. I shall see what I can do about this.
Well, I have several hours to think it over while attempting to help a newbie get into the game this afternoon. He is a former Yu-Gi-Oh player and went out and bought a box of Gatecrash and handfuls of boosters for M13, Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored, and Return to Ravnica.
Apparently, He says he pulled quite a few..."orange rares"...so I think I'm going to have to give him some serious schooling.
Lawl. Seriously, I read that in his voice and everything.
Tonight it is a free tournament at the outlet in Valentine, NB. It isn't qualified for FNM status or any status due to the extremly small turn out for the shop so, a free tournament is all we got with a free booster for the winner. I'm debating on either my Hellrider/Standard Goblins combo or the Volatile Rig/Vexing Devil/burn deck to sweep the night.
The main idea is clearing the board with burn and Volatile Rig while stomping them with Galvanic Juggernaut and Hound of Griselbrand while punishing the smart asses or the unlucky with Vexing Devil and defending myself if I need to with Primal Clay. The Hellion Crucibles are there just in case and the Razor Tip Whip are sometimes alternate win conditions and nice pingers generally if they live. The Elixirs of Immortality do a nice job of keeping me alive in crucial moments or putting the nail in the coffin of others allowing me to further over extend while recycling everything.
I know I could make this so much worse with better burn and faster and stronger red creatures but, it is meant for casual games with more than two players and it destroys everyone in my meta at the moment(most of them are new players and I hope they can learn to beat this deck).
Well, that was a good evening of Magic. My Vexing Devil/Volatile Rig deck or Grind & Burn, as I have come to call it, trolled all over the table as the evening came to a close. It was funny to see Volatile Rig resolve and clear the board while following it up with a Brimstone Volley into Increasing Vengeance play killing one of them by turn 5. The other three died to Rolling Temblor into Elixir of Immortality into Two Hounds of Griselbrand. I loved their faces. Classic.
Quote from Dane »
I find this to be an interesting perspective, as far as Wing Chun goes. Line to defend or take, yes, but my Sigung told us he specifically sought to learn Wing Chun (Hung Gar was his main discipline, but he'd earned his stripes in Wing Chun several decades prior to my taking instruction from him) because unlike Hung Gar, a good Wing Chun practitioner shouldn't need more than the space of a coat closet to operate in.
Oh, they really don't. They can trap and strike even in clinch range but, if they're taken off their feet they lose a lot of their options. Yes, there is the Wing Chun elbow strikes and the closer striking techniques out of Chi Sao but, the power is minimal like anyone punching from the ground.
The real problem is that Wing Chun just wasn't made for fighting a grappler. It is made for responding to thrown strikes and returning the force as you move forward along the center line while chaining punches and kicks transitioning into straight blasts while trapping. It really isn't made for finding your way in and out of grappling techniques on the ground partially due to the fact in the era it was created it only had to account for the fighting styles of it's day, namely, all the animal arts that make up Kung Fu.
Well I mean, I can give isolated examples of my sparring with Wing Chun guys (Ip Man lineage admittedly), TKD or Karate guys etc; and none of them have lasted more than a couple of minutes. I have been in two street-fights and BJJ was fine. Slamming dudes on concrete is plenty effective offense.
Besides, claims that BJJ does not work in the street are both demonstrably false and almost laughable. Come on man, you know better than that.
Well, to be fair, you are doing the perfect thing to beat Karate, Tae Kwan Do, and Wing Chun. They are arts of habit that need space and a line to defend or to take and putting them off their feet ruins everything.
Now I am sure slamming dudes on concrete is effective for you and in those two street fights I am sure circumstances were as such that you were able to get them to ground or slam them in such a way but, I don't think that is safe at all. The risk involved in trying to wrestle on concrete is just too much and way too potentially dangerous in my eyes. The possibilities of wrecking your knees, bouncing your skull off the ground, possibly putting your body in danger while taking the fight unnecessarily to the ground and possibly even having the tables being turned on you if you're fighting more than one opponent or if they have a weapon are just too great to rely on grappling, alone, to save your life. It is why I say the unknowns are too many. Yes, it works for those two fights but, what if the next time the guy has a knife and doesn't care that you gave him your wallet or you're busy wrestling him and he has a free arm to get to a boot knife or a back up knife or a gun? You're dedicating your time to defending yourself and grappling him while he stabs you. It only takes an eighth of an inch to do lasting damage to a number of organs and your throat.
It is why I showed that BJJ fellow the eye gouge because that is what can happen. Why would I worry about the take down when I can rip off an ear or gouge an eye and simply slap out the impact and walk away as you writhe on the ground?
It is also one of the reasons we always use our training knives to show that BJJ alone is a risk when defending yourself because one cut is all it takes. You freeze up for a number of seconds following a stab or a cut and I have time to kill you.
Sure, claims that BJJ doesn't work as effective self defense can be demonstrably false but, they can also be shown to be demonstrably true as well.
Quote from zemanjaski »
I don't think you can realistically go beyond what we have seen in an MMA context as indicative of what broadly works; even when the sport was significantly less regulated and a lot of the more fringe TMA attacks were legal, none of them dominated. Today, where TMAs have attempted to transition to kickboxing or MMA they have almost all been unsuccessful. Today, the only realistic arguments for purporting that TMAs are as effective as the new-wave martial arts are rooted in claiming that in a strictly no-rules context, the unrestricted arsenal of the TMA fighter would triumph. Whereas that was clearly not the case in the past, I suppose we will have to give the benefit of the doubt now.
The thing is they never invited champions or master of any of the Traditional Martial Arts to the UFC. They were always the scrubs of the competition circuit of each of those martial arts or the less talented anyways that would put on a show. As for traditional martial artists not being successful in MMA, Anderson Silva, George St.Pierre, Lyoto Machida, and a handful of others in the UFC went from Traditional Martial Arts into Mixed Martial Arts and were highly successful. The fighter Vitor Belfort in his younger career trained the straight blast, a Wingchun technique, from JKD under Burton Richardson and won many matches that way running his opponent down the ring and finishing with elbows and crosses.
Quote from Dane »
I've read it...I liked a lot about it, but it DID seem to be a bit dark purely in the name of "GRIM AND GRITTAY!"
I mean, I can dig grim and gritty sometimes, but this often just seemed gratuitously so.
And the Ultimatum event was just terrible.
I can agree somewhat there especially about the Ultimatum event. I mean, I liked the event but, it was written really badly. I do like what it did though. It thinned out the story lines that were actually approaching normal Marvel levels of broken continuity but, it reeled everything in very well.
Quote from Photodyer »
Cool idea for letting a new generation jump in and not feel lost, and the quality of the books have been consistently good.
This is what I like the most about it. It is a fresh take that is well written all the way around and one of my favorite things about it are when cross over events happen they effect the entire Ultimate comic line that is associated with it. Even now with where Ultimate Comics are they have still kept that going even though there are so few heroes now thanks to the Ultimatum event.
I tried last night with the straight up standard Goblins at the moment and it was a travesty. Krenko, if he makes it out, is just too late. Legion Loyalist is good but, not with other Goblins unless they're being pumped in some fashion like with Dynacharge or Foundry Street Denizen can hulk out for whatever reason.
Here is hoping once more for a decent Goblin in Dragon's Maze.
Other then the failure of the Goblins last night it was pretty good time. We had six people playing up a storm at the kitchen table at a friend's place for 6+ hours of Three headed giant, 6 player free for all games, and a three way two headed giant. It was an experience for the books especially due to the fact my mono-black modern Vampires decimated the field in the hands of one of the new players in the group. She is relatively new to the game never playing but only watching and I was worried it would be too complex for her first time playing. Unfortunately, she took to the game like a boss and utilized Bloodghast's land fall, Vampire Nocturnus, Vampire Nighthawk, Blood Line Keeper, and Captivating Vampire to win the game for her team. Nothing says scoop like seven flying 3/3+ vampires that are resolved and no one has an answer for them.
I always have cards in hand and psyche out even the best guys in our play group all the time. One even talked about how many O-Rings or Counterspells I had in my hand though, it was nothing but land and a Sphinx's Revelation. He lost in the end due to inaction as I resolved the Sphinxs Revelation into everything I needed.
I think you are but, not unjustly. From day one Hollywood has used the Hero's Journey in everything and plays with the formula but it never really changes. It always progresses in the same manner in 95% of the movies out there even one's without inherit portions of the Hero's Journey.
I didn't even need a creative writing class in Art School to see that continually present profitable trend in movies. It is always going to be a go to for screen writers and directors. It works and makes money and the audience eats it up(though, my creative writing instructor wanted us to avoid it and concentrate on a reverse version a writer in New York suggested for writers to try out at a big time professional writing work shop he hosted at the New York Comic-con).
There are those people who simply notice it and just can't stand it after a while and those people generally become film critics or they lash out at everything that doesn't have an original message on the IMDB forums.
I learned early just to shut off my brain when going to the movies. I know some people really just cannot do it but, thankfully I am able to. It makes for an enjoyable experience and I don't notice motifs, themes, and film tropes being so recycled and refit and stolen from other films or the fact that most of the movies out today are adaptations.
I do agree in some capacity that there is a lot of CGI or 3D models used in movies these days but, it doesn't really bother unless it is badly used and undermines the integrity of a film in structure, pace, or quality. I generally like even most CG effects as long as they don't become gimmicky and become the crutch for everything about a movie or a character.
I went through three and a half years learning computer animation, 3D modeling, 3D texturing, 3D lighting & a mish mash of computer effects suites and programs so I have a grasp on how most of the Visual Effects industry works so I have a certain appreciation for all of it and the outcomes on screen. I mean, this fact even allows the Star Wars prequels to be something less than god awful in my eyes plus I am all about the light saber duels(though, the light saber duels in the Clone Wars 3D TV show have ended up being vastly superior to the ones from all the prequels, oddly enough).
Dwindling but, I don't think this point is necessarily all on the heads of the film industry and the quality of the films themselves(Be what they may). I remember Roger Ebert writing an article once listing reasons that theater audience continues to flag and most of those reasons are due to expensive theater costs and the continual advancement of bringing movies to the people via streaming on-line and On-Demand movie purchases.
As for what I think the film industry is missing, well, most of which have been laid out in this thread already but, for the sake of conversation and the thread I'll list them.
1.) Original Work I'm not trying to be that guy but, it is very noticeable that most of the films out there are adaptations of something.
2.) Character Driven Stories I don't care if it is the most Michael Bay explosion happy of movies but, if there isn't at least some characters driving the plot and making you care whatsoever with at least some character development then all is lost. Also, I do not mean character driven as in a character, primary, secondary, or tertiary, says something and then a scene changes. I mean, a character is fleshed out in a human way that allows identification by the audience and then adds to the plot which naturally changes on its own. The story advances, you care about a character and learn to like him and the movie has a sense of immersion.
3.) Reliance and Over use of CGI This needs to stop being a crutch. No, don't go to lunch and let this get fixed in post. Create a decent prosthetic, use a convincing camera angle, actually train the actor to do what is needed or at least half way and allow for stuntmen capability. I do enjoy CGI and 3D in movies but, I do have eyes.
4.) Allowing for Happy Accidents If you don't allow for this all you'll get is the Star Wars prequels. If you're a director and you have a vice grip on production to the point when you are scrapping everything that doesn't go to plan in the dailies or you don't even look at them then a potentially beautiful accident is lost. I'm not saying a movie that goes to plan perfectly is bad but, allowing for happy accidents can potentially save time and money for a movie studio and film in a camera. It also can create some moving and touching moments between characters that may have never been in a script. They're called Happy Accidents for a reason.
I can think of a few more off the top of my head but, I am hungry and require sustenance.
Thanks to the rather complex and hazardous nature of the multiplayer games at the kitchen table my friend can usually get off a Whispering Madness combo, at least once, which just ruins everyone, sometimes. Thanks to the fact that we're all floundering and in-fighting to stay alive with new hands he has time to either slam down a Consuming Abberation later or finish us all off entirely by milling everyone to death with Mind Grind.
Well, I have several hours to think it over while attempting to help a newbie get into the game this afternoon. He is a former Yu-Gi-Oh player and went out and bought a box of Gatecrash and handfuls of boosters for M13, Innistrad, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored, and Return to Ravnica.
Apparently, He says he pulled quite a few..."orange rares"...so I think I'm going to have to give him some serious schooling.
Tonight it is a free tournament at the outlet in Valentine, NB. It isn't qualified for FNM status or any status due to the extremly small turn out for the shop so, a free tournament is all we got with a free booster for the winner. I'm debating on either my Hellrider/Standard Goblins combo or the Volatile Rig/Vexing Devil/burn deck to sweep the night.
4 Hounds of Griselbrand
4 Vexing Devil
4 Volatile Rig
3 Galvanic Juggernaut
3 Primal Clay
4 Brimstone Volley
4 Rolling Temblor
2 Annihilating Fire
3 Curse of the Pierced Heart
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Increasing Vengeance
1 Magma Quake
1 Mizzium Mortars
4 Hellion Crucible
20 Mountain
Artifacts
4 Elixir of Immortality
2 Razor Tip Whip
The main idea is clearing the board with burn and Volatile Rig while stomping them with Galvanic Juggernaut and Hound of Griselbrand while punishing the smart asses or the unlucky with Vexing Devil and defending myself if I need to with Primal Clay. The Hellion Crucibles are there just in case and the Razor Tip Whip are sometimes alternate win conditions and nice pingers generally if they live. The Elixirs of Immortality do a nice job of keeping me alive in crucial moments or putting the nail in the coffin of others allowing me to further over extend while recycling everything.
I know I could make this so much worse with better burn and faster and stronger red creatures but, it is meant for casual games with more than two players and it destroys everyone in my meta at the moment(most of them are new players and I hope they can learn to beat this deck).
Does anyone approve my signature? I never even asked so I don't know what the clan thinks of it.
Oh, they really don't. They can trap and strike even in clinch range but, if they're taken off their feet they lose a lot of their options. Yes, there is the Wing Chun elbow strikes and the closer striking techniques out of Chi Sao but, the power is minimal like anyone punching from the ground.
The real problem is that Wing Chun just wasn't made for fighting a grappler. It is made for responding to thrown strikes and returning the force as you move forward along the center line while chaining punches and kicks transitioning into straight blasts while trapping. It really isn't made for finding your way in and out of grappling techniques on the ground partially due to the fact in the era it was created it only had to account for the fighting styles of it's day, namely, all the animal arts that make up Kung Fu.
Well, to be fair, you are doing the perfect thing to beat Karate, Tae Kwan Do, and Wing Chun. They are arts of habit that need space and a line to defend or to take and putting them off their feet ruins everything.
Now I am sure slamming dudes on concrete is effective for you and in those two street fights I am sure circumstances were as such that you were able to get them to ground or slam them in such a way but, I don't think that is safe at all. The risk involved in trying to wrestle on concrete is just too much and way too potentially dangerous in my eyes. The possibilities of wrecking your knees, bouncing your skull off the ground, possibly putting your body in danger while taking the fight unnecessarily to the ground and possibly even having the tables being turned on you if you're fighting more than one opponent or if they have a weapon are just too great to rely on grappling, alone, to save your life. It is why I say the unknowns are too many. Yes, it works for those two fights but, what if the next time the guy has a knife and doesn't care that you gave him your wallet or you're busy wrestling him and he has a free arm to get to a boot knife or a back up knife or a gun? You're dedicating your time to defending yourself and grappling him while he stabs you. It only takes an eighth of an inch to do lasting damage to a number of organs and your throat.
It is why I showed that BJJ fellow the eye gouge because that is what can happen. Why would I worry about the take down when I can rip off an ear or gouge an eye and simply slap out the impact and walk away as you writhe on the ground?
It is also one of the reasons we always use our training knives to show that BJJ alone is a risk when defending yourself because one cut is all it takes. You freeze up for a number of seconds following a stab or a cut and I have time to kill you.
Sure, claims that BJJ doesn't work as effective self defense can be demonstrably false but, they can also be shown to be demonstrably true as well.
The thing is they never invited champions or master of any of the Traditional Martial Arts to the UFC. They were always the scrubs of the competition circuit of each of those martial arts or the less talented anyways that would put on a show. As for traditional martial artists not being successful in MMA, Anderson Silva, George St.Pierre, Lyoto Machida, and a handful of others in the UFC went from Traditional Martial Arts into Mixed Martial Arts and were highly successful. The fighter Vitor Belfort in his younger career trained the straight blast, a Wingchun technique, from JKD under Burton Richardson and won many matches that way running his opponent down the ring and finishing with elbows and crosses.
I can agree somewhat there especially about the Ultimatum event. I mean, I liked the event but, it was written really badly. I do like what it did though. It thinned out the story lines that were actually approaching normal Marvel levels of broken continuity but, it reeled everything in very well.
This is what I like the most about it. It is a fresh take that is well written all the way around and one of my favorite things about it are when cross over events happen they effect the entire Ultimate comic line that is associated with it. Even now with where Ultimate Comics are they have still kept that going even though there are so few heroes now thanks to the Ultimatum event.