Online Journal

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Thursday, May 31, 2007--See this entree for more details.

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007--Holy carb! I'm writing this, like, a month later, and I totally don't remember what happened today. I don't even remember why I was too busy to write these damned entrees.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007--After work, I did another Time Spiral-Planar Chaos-Future Sight draft with the guys. This time, I ended up with a black-white deck... somehow...

10xSwamp
7xPlains
Pit Keeper
Cradle to the Grave
Dash Hopes
Urborg Syphon-Mage
3xDeepcavern Imp
Melancholy
3xBrain Gorgers
Cutthroat il-Dal
Tendrils of Corruption
Cyclopean Giant
Mass of Ghouls
Sunlance
Errant Doomsayers
Whitemane Lion
Judge Unworthy
Aven Riftwatcher
Fortify
Goldmeadow Lookout
Voidstone Gargoyle

My first pick was a Lotus Bloom, but that didn't help my deck very much.

First, I played against Brian, who essentially played the same deck that I drafted last week--a green-white concoction with Essence Wardens, bounce creatures, and Stormfront Riders. Fortunately, Brian wasn't familiar with how you play Stormfront Riders. Unfortunately, the mad lifegain he was getting made it really difficult for me to beat him. After a long game 1 and a not-so-long game 2, he beat me.

Then, I played against Jon, who played a red-white-blue deck (aka, the America deck). In game 1, he managed to beat me. I forget how. In game 2, I was winning, but then he made a comeback, only to force a draw with Molten Disaster. Then, in game three, he got out a Numot, the Devastator on me, and that was game.

I didn't stick around, because by then, it was almost 11, and my first match with Brian took a long time. So I just went home.

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Monday, May 28, 2007--Happy Memorial Day! This is when we remember... uhh... I forgot.


I sent an e-mail to Little Vivian, though.

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Sunday, May 27, 2007--I started playing Makai Kingdom. That's all I remember, though.


Also, Makai Kingdom's story sucks. It just sucks.

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Saturday, May 26, 2007--

Because today was a long weekend, me and the guys (that is, Jon and Michael) decided to go have a BBQ at Marymoor Park or something. So we did. Later, Sean and Ruby joined us.

me: ...wait a minute... Isn't Sean a vegetarian?
Sean: Don't worry, I got that covered. *pulls out 4 veggie burgers*
me: A veggie burger is not a burger.

Later, Renee joined us.

Then, we went to the hippie fest. I got a hat.

Then, we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3, even though I haven't seen the first two. (Although, since I played Kingdom Hearts, I know the plot of the first one.) It wasn't confusing at all. The only part I didn't understand was... wasn't Barbossa a bad guy?

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Friday, May 25, 2007--

After work, I went to Friday Night Magic at Uncle's Games at Crossroads Mall. The format for the night was Time Spiral Block Constructed, and I was running a Red-Black-White Sliver deck.

In round 1, I faced off against Ian H, who played a blue-white control deck. I was off to a good start in game 1, and then he played Teferi, whom I killed with Sudden Death. In game 2, I was unable to get a good start, and Ian won. In game 3, I managed to overrun Ian with slivers powered by an Essence Sliver for the win. Record: 1-0

Round 2 was quite painful. I went against Colin, who played a green-white deck of some sort. It didn't matter. I was mana screwed two games in a row. In game 2, a demoralized me discarded card after card after card as I couldn't find my third land. Record: 1-1

I played round 3 against Alan, who played a mono-black Korlash deck. In game 1, he got, and I quote, "too many Bad Moons and not enough creatures", so I was able to overrun him with slivers. I also discovered the power of Thunderblade Charge as I recurred it a few times to smash his defending players, then burn him for the win. Although somewhat demoralized after losing to slivers, in game 2, Alan faired much better, getting a good balance of creatures and Bad Moons. Fortunately, with my Disenchants from the sideboard, I was able to destroy one of his Bad Moons. Unfortunately, he eliminated my other 2 Disenchants with Extirpate. Then, he played Korlash himself. At this point, I had an Essence Sliver, a Watcher Sliver, and a Poultice Sliver in play. I had the Pulmonic Sliver in play and could easily overrun him for the win if only I had the second white mana. Instead, I played the Spitting Sliver. The next turn, I attacked with my Spitting Sliver, and he Sudden Deathed my Watcher Sliver. After gaining 3 life, I tapped the Poultice Sliver to regenerate my Spitting Sliver. Then, seeing that I had only the Essence Sliver untapped and seeing that if he attacked now and I didn't block, he could deal lethal damage to me, he made one final assault with everything. Unfortunately, all but his Korlash had evasion, so I was forced to block Korlash with my Essence Sliver. At that point, Alan was ready to call it his inevitability, except that he had forgotten that I could regenerate my Essence Sliver (which I did). Realizing that I could counter-attack next turn for the win, he forfeited. Record: 2-1

Colin ended up going undefeated and taking first place, and I ended up taking second place and winning 3 boosters (I chose to take 3 Future Sight boosters). Interesting cards in my prize boosters include: Graven Cairns, Scourge of Kher Ridges, Steamflogger Boss, and a foil Blade of the Sixth Pride.

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Thursday, May 24, 2007--I forgot this day, too, but I think I went to the gym again.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007--After a bit of training, I beat Phantom Brave today. The time on the clock was 58:56:32, Ash was at level 74, Marona started at level 78 and ended up at level 87, and everyone else was roughly level 60.

I like Phantom Brave. It's a good game.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007--After work today, I went downstairs to do an MtG draft with the guys. I had also meant to do some constructed playtesting, but we never got around to it. Oh well.

Anyways, my first pick, I got a Jaya Ballard. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the red to back her up, so I ended up drafting a green-white deck with a splash of red.

8xForest
4xPlains
4xMountain
New Benalia
Essence Warden
Uktabi Drake
Mire Boa
Wrap in Vigor
Sprout Swarm
Utopia Vow
Wormwood Dryad
Hedge Troll
Nantuko Shaman
Llanowar Empath
Kavu Primarch
Giant Dustwasp
Nacatl War-Pride
Detainment Spell
Errant Doomsayers
Whitemane Lion
Saltfield Recluse
Bound in Silence
Lost Auramancers
Stormfront Riders
Thick-Skinned Goblin
Cautery Sliver
Stormbind

Other interesting cards in my pool included Jaya Ballard, Sengir Autocrat, and Whirling Dervish.

First, I played Brian. In game 1, he was mana screwed, so I won. In game 2, he was able to gain momentum early on and crush me. Although it wasn't necessary, he played a Kaervek to seal my fate (without actually using fateseal). In game 3, I managed to get an early Essence Warden, then abused it with some bouncing craziness with Whitemane Lion and Stormfront Riders. At one point, Brian puts a Reality Acid on my Essence Warden (apparently forgetting that I had not one, but two bounce creatures), and the next turn, he plays Kaervek. Fortunately, I had a Stormbind in my hand. I had been holding it back, because I didn't want to use it and risk losing my Stormfront Riders or my Whitemane Lion, but Kaervek is dangerous. So I played the Stormbind and discarded two cards to destroy Kaervek. In the process, I lose my Whitemane Lion (but I still have the Stormfront Riders.) Then, the next turn rolls around, and Reality Acid is down to 1 counter. Unfortunately, Brian's Deathspore Thallid was up to 3 counters, which meant he could give a -1/-1 to any creature. At that point, I played Detainment Spell on his Thallid, knowing full well that he could respond by killing off my Essence Warden. I was hoping, however, that he had still forgotten about those Stormfront Riders and would kill off one of my soldier tokens instead. Fortunately, that's exactly what he did, and then I proceeded to play the Stormfront Riders, bouncing my Essence Warden and getting rid of the Reality Acid. After that, it was a beatdown from the Stormfront Riders, and I won.

Next, I playeda against a dood named Jingyang. In the first game, he outplayed me and won. In the second game, I had a potentially abusive combo in the form of Essence Warden + Nacatl War-Pride or Essence Warden + Sprout Swarm. Unfortunately, Jingyang killed my War-Pride before it got to do anything interesting, and he killed me before I could start Sprout Swarming.

Last, I played Peter. He beat me the first game. In the second game, I beat him with the Nacatl War-Pride. In the third game, I got some bounce-craziness going on with the Essence Warden, but in the end, he just overwhelmed me and won.

I really like my deck. (But not as much as I like L...)

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Monday, May 21, 2007--I forgot this day, but I think I went to the gym.

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Sunday, May 20, 2007--Today, I played even more Phantom Brave. I was able to clear most of chapter 20, but unfortunately, the final boss kicked my ass pretty badly. So I spent the rest of the afternoon fusing stuff to my mages' book to make a super-powerful book. (And it is indeed super-powerful now.)

Alas, I had to stop playing because I have work tomorrow. I'll be back at it soon enough, though.

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Saturday, May 19, 2007--Today, I played more Phantom Brave and cleared chapters 17, 18, and 19. The end is in sight.


Also, I made some curry today.

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Friday, May 18, 2007--After work today, I went to Crossroads Mall to do a draft with the doods. Long story short, I somehow ended up with a mono-white deck with a splash of blue.

11xPlains
5xIsland
New Benalia
2xSidewinder Sliver
Blade of the Sixth Pride
Knight of the Holy Nimbus
Whitemane Lion
2xLumithread Field
Dawn Charm
Judge Unworthy
Amrou Seekers
Stonecloaker
2xBound in Silence
Cloudchaser Kestrel
Knight of Sursi
Shade of Trokair
2xCastle Raptors
Saltblast
2xReality Acid
Tolarian Sentinel
Whip-Spine Drake

First round, I played against Andrew, who had also drafted a blue-white deck. Despite claiming to have drafted a crappy deck, he soundly defeated me. Record: 0-1

I got the second round bye, so I played Gabe the Tournament Organizer instead. I was able to overrun him with my white weenies and flyers, but it wasn't a cakewalk. Record: 1-1

In round 3, I played against Martin. I forget what he drafted, but I managed to defeat him pretty quickly. Record 2-1

In the final round, I played against Mark, who played a primarily green deck with some other splash colors. In the first game, he narrowly defeated me. In the second game, a creature stalemate built up, but he was finally able to power through for the win. Record: 2-2

Note to self: Tolarian Sentinel + Reality Acid combo is only good when your opponent is using it against you.

Afterwards, I had dinner with the guys at Denny's, then went to Brian's place to play Apples to Apples, a few rounds of multiplayer magic, and stuff.

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Thursday, May 17, 2007--So on Monday, when I was working out at the gym, I pushed myself so hard that my heart rate went up to 205 bpm. It left me extremely exhausted, so much so that today, I was still tired from the workout on Monday. So I skipped gym today. Instead, I went to Safeway and bought some groceries.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007--Today was kinda boring, really.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007--After work today, I did an MtG draft with the guys. Unfortunately, only 3 of us showed up. To make things even more degenerate, I suggested that we do a triple Future Sight draft.

My first pick was a Scourge of Kher Ridges. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any more red. Instead, however, I ended up soaking most of the blue and white in the draft. (Ken, on the other hand, soaked up most of the red and black, and Jon ended up with a mono-green deck with a splash of black.)

Anyways, here's what my final decklist looked like:
7xIsland
10xPlains
2xSarcomite Myr
Aven Augur
2xForesee
Infiltrator il-Kor
Spin into Myth
Whip-Spine Drake
2xLogic Knot
Lumithread Field
2xBlade of the Sixth Pride
Judge Unworthy
2xSpirit en-Dal
2xBound in Silence
2xKnight of Sursi
3xLucent Liminid

Other interesting cards in my pool include: Daybreak Coronet, River of Tears, and Intervention Pact.

First, I played against Jon, and I managed to beat him. Then, I played against Ken, who soundly beat me twice. Then, I went back home.

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Monday, May 14, 2007--Today, I my triumphant return to the gym.

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Sunday, May 13, 2007--Even more Phantom Brave. I cleared chapter 14, 15, and 16. I'm on a roll! (Phantom Brave is a long game.)


Maybe I'll do more M:tG playtesting tonight.

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Saturday, May 12, 2007--Today, I played some Phantom Brave. I ended up clearing the rest of chapter 11, as well as chapter 12 and 13, while fusing some new weapons.


I also playtested more Sliver decks for Time Spiral block.

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Friday, May 11, 2007--Foo.


After work today, I decided to go to Uncle's Games to get a Future Sight Fat Pack. It came with, among other things, 6 boosters. Interesting cards include: Muraganda Petroglyphs, Shah of Naar Isle, Quagnoth, Take Possession, Thunderblade Charge, Imperial Mask, a foil Judge Unworthy, and a handful of slivers.

Also, this morning, it just occured to me what kind of deck I should play for Time Spiral Block. I discovered last night that White has, overall, the best slivers. However, Sedge Sliver is prolly the single best sliver in the set. So this morning, I realized that the best way to go is white slivers with a splash of red-black (and enough Swamps) for Sedge Sliver (and some black kill and red burn). I haven't built the deck yet, though, let alone tested it, so expect to hear more over the course of the next two weeks.

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Thursday, May 10, 2007--Today is kinda boring.

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Wednesday, May 9, 2007--I'm feeling about 75% today, so I went to work. Then, I went to Safeway to buy more desperately needed groceries.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2007--Today, I felt a little sick, so I took the day off from work.


Later, in the afternoon, I started feeling better, so I played a bit of Phantom Brave. I cleared chapter 10 and most of chapter 11. Also, I got a nifty little Trolly that I can use as a weapon.

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Monday, May 7, 2007--I either had really bad allergies or a mild cold, but today, I just felt awful. It wasn't that bad, though. I could still go out to eat and fly on a plane. Oh yeah, I flew back to Washington. Sorry!

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Sunday, May 6, 2007--Today, the plan was that I'd be going to dinner with Chao and Feng and some other people in San Francisco. On my way to Chao's place, I decided to drop by Little Vivian's place, since it was on the way and I hadn't seen her at all during my visit to California. At first, I thought Vivian's mom would be so mad at me for dropping by while Vivian was supposed to be studying for her AP tests. Instead, Vivian's mom was quite happy to see me. Vivian, on the other hand, was napping when I visited, so Vivian's mom woke her up, and as you can see, she wasn't too happy about that. D'oh!

me: How about a pictur?
Little Vivian: No! I just woke up! I look ugly!
me: No you don't! You look pretty! You always look pretty!

Unfortunately, she ran away from the camera. I managed to snap this picture of her, though, where she has her back turned to the camera and is half-hidden by the wall. Given the circumstances, I consider this a success. (She untagged herself from this photo on Facebook, though, but at least she didn't untag all the other photos.)


So I drove to Chao's place, played some Wario Ware for the Wii ("It's-a Wii, Wario!"), then drove to a restaurant called The House in San Francisco to encounter Feng and the rest of the party. Chao described The House as "Asian fusion", which I didn't understand until about an hour later and halfway through my meal. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful.

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Saturday, May 5, 2007--Today, I went back to San Jose, where I met up with Kellie, because we were going to see Spiderman 3. Fortunately, there was no line at the ticketing booth. Unfortunately, we had to sit in the second row near a party of little middle school girls who talked incessantly throughout the movie. I've seen reviews saying that the movie was really good, and I've seen reviews saying that the movie was really bad, but I enjoyed it. I personally thought it was better than Spiderman 2, but then again, I've always preferred The Alien Costume over Spiderman No More.

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Friday, May 4, 2007--First, I ate lunch with Abhi at this Indian buffet. Unfortunately, the curry was not spicy at all. I was sadly disappointed.


Later that night was TBP Initiation and Banquet, so we spent the whole afternoon preparing for it. On our way to Bridget Lounge, Lei snapped a pictur of me, so in revenge, I snapped a pictur of her. Then later, (for some reason, people were somehow between Bridget Lounge and HP Auditorium, so we hung out in the HKN office instead with JLo), we took a pictur together.

Then, Initiation happened. Joanna was quite surprised to see me. Eric (Amy's little bro) didn't recognize me at first. Then, I dragged Joanna off to Yuhan's car to drive to Initiation.

"Forgive me for being so forceful. That's just the way I am."
--me

Banquet was at this place in Orinda called Shelby's, where TBP President Nick's little sister Justine worked.

"I'm so happy! The food is so good!"
--Masae

Here's me with Joanna and Lei, me with Jessica, and me with the lovely Winnifer. (I think I lost a pictur or two in there because the camera glitched up.) Also, I meant to get more picturs, but the opportunity never presented itself.

Then, both Lei and Joanna opted out of going to the after-party. (Apparently, Joanna's shoes were so uncomfortable that her feet hurt even when she was sitting down.) So that was the end of a Good Night.

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Thursday, May 3, 2007--Today, while eating lunch at Cheesecake Factory (mmm... Cheesecake Factory...), I had my watch battery replaced, so now, I know what time it is. Yay!

Then, I went to Berkeley, where I hung out with TBP for about 7 hours before meeting Duckie for dinner. Mmm... dinner...

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007--Today, I flew back to California. Mmm... California...

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Tuesday, May 1, 2007--Today, I packed for my plane trip to California tomorrow.

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