Blog 12

1 EQ:) what is the best way to win a Pro Tour?

2:) What is your opinion of the meta?

3:) How does the meta game effect your gameplay?

4:) What's usually on your sideboard?

5:) What playstyle best suits your personality and why?

6:) What's your usual wincon?

7:)How do you think Born of the Gods will affect the meta?

8:)What would you like to see from the new set?

9:) Does taking notes help you prepare for future events? How so?

10:) Do you think Xenagos with have an impact on Colossal Ramp?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

2.   Who is your contact?

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?   

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

1) I'm doing my mentorship at JS Anime, a local card shop about 5 minutes from my house. It’s the same place I did my summer mentorship.

2) Amit Patel

3) 15 hours soon to be 18 hours by the end of today.

4) I basically compete in local Friday Night Magic tournaments which take anywhere from 3 to 4 hours to complete. So over the course of 4 weeks (not consecutive) I play tested different decks. This gave me new found experience. Amit Patel is in charge of the FNM events at JS Anime, however I still refer to Andrew Dire for some insight. As a result of my progress, I feel I’m confident enough to take on the next Pro Tour Qualifier in the area.

Blog Assignment 10

1) Something I did regarding my senior project over the winter break was homebrew. I cannot stress how important this aspect of MtG is. It literally is the main reason why I'm still interested in the game. You take a few hours analyzing the cards from a set and you constantly question. How can I improve this deck to it's ultimate form. Sometimes that even requires replacing cards that are essential of the former deck to cause the newer deck to perform better in each stage of the game. In the end it all boils down to numbers and ratios, and too much of a good card can actually hinder the overall performance.

2) The, most important thing I learned during break was to not force that many different aspects and colors into one deck. For example, a deck with 1 or 2 colors will generally perform better than a deck with 3, 4 or even 5 colors. The reason being is that there isn't enough support for multicolored decks. You'd often find yourself struggling to find 1 mana to play a card in your hand, but unable to. This would result in things such as a dead hand and a dead draw. Useless cards that are unable to win you the game because you simply can't use them.

3) If I could talk to anyone regarding interview questions, I would talk to the legendary Brian Kibler or Frank Lepore. Brian has always been involved with the core of MtG, and the decks he usually builds are mimicked by many. I would just love to hear his opinion on the current set and future ones to come to know what he thinks their impact will be. Frank Lepore would also be an enjoyable interview candidate for his always helpful analysis and insight of the meta game. What seems to work, what doesn't and why.

December Blog Post

Born of the Gods Is coming out in February of 2014, however spoilers are being leaked. As of now, there aren't that many released. Regardless there are numerous possibilities that have spurred from these few spoilers. For example, Simic has a new planeswalker. It's the first in the entire history of the game. Born of the Gods was promised to be a multicolored  set. Another promise is that of demigods. I am truly  excited. December  was alot of things for Magic, but most of all, December  was hype.

November Post

Another month, another Homebrew. I decided to turn my Gruul Ramp list into a Naya Aggro one. Gruul is the term used for the guild that uses the colors Red and Green. Naya is a Clan that utilizes three colors. Red, Green, and White. The reason for this change was that I figured my deck would be more consistent in each phase of the game. It would have the ability to utilize more removal spells as well as stronger finishers and creatures. The hard part about the Naya transition was trying to balance out the essential cards I need, with cards that would synergize with/without them. As well as trying to determine what cards I could afford.Also dealing with the stats for the new mana base I would have to implement due to the addition color added (white). I bought the cards for my new Naya list recently, and I'm looking forward to play test it at events.

As you can see from the Charts provided the new Naya list has a more balanced mana curve which peaks at 3.  However the mana distribution doesn't correlate with the mana source distribution. This is due to a confounding factor called shock lands. They basically provide mana for 2 colors instead of the basic one color. Because of the shock lands, the distribution of the mana source is about 30%, 30%, 30%. This was necessary and it can't be replaced by trying to get the mana distribution/source to correlate to one another without running the risk of ruining my entire mana base.

Blog 9: EQ

1) I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2a) What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
A: It does not meet the rule of three.
E: It follows the first and third rule, however it doesn’t take a stance on the issue. As a result the answer to the EQ could be a list of ways to achieve said EQ.

2b) What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
A: It does not meet the rule of three.
E: It is not specific enough, it doesn’t specify what type of criminal investigation. As well as the wording is confusing. (Most important what?)

2c) What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
A: It does meet the rule of three.
E: It’s specific and allows for research on the stance he/she has taken. the research would result in an answer that could be stated without using a list or recitation of facts.

2d) How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
A: It does not meet the rule of three.
E: It’s not specific enough. It does not specify what type of chronic pain. This would cause conflicting answers in research due to the different types of chronic pain. (Diseases, and illnesses.)

3) What is the most efficient pathway to become a professional Magic: the Gathering player in the Pro Tour Circuit?

End of the Month Post: October

This month I participated in four FNM events. the Prize for getting 1st or 2nd place are Promo cards. For the month of October, the Promo was Ghor-Clan Rampager. I won one for each Friday of the month. The significance of this is that it shows my development of my MtG skills from such a low level. I used to always get last place, but now due to my research, dedication to play-testing, and perfection of my homebrews I have become a better MtG player.

 In the picture are the four Ghor-Clan Rampagers that I won with a regular one for comparison.