Happy New Year

Eastern Hub Port

I'm trying to think about my extended essay for school, write a bit, research and after some time of trying to concentrate I just have to stop for some time. I'm kind of stuck and I'm afraid I won't be ablet o finish my work. Each day I rewrite my original text that probably is from majority irrelevant. I need to put my arguments there and somehow put my research into it... Anyway this post is not about my difficulties with the paper but about what came of it^^.

Today morning I played with my friend a game of Legend of the Five Rings. I really appreciated this. He hasn't played since Samurai and does not want to play because well of one of our local players that seem to mess up everything he touches. Anyway I played with my Emperor decks against his Samurai Great Falls Castle deck.

In between writing my essay and trying to figure our where to head next I started writing names of cards down and see if I could produce a samurai decklist. This deck is purely theoretical, I could actually try to put it together as I own majority of the cards.

My friend was telling me that there wasn't much draw in Samurai which might be true so I looked for some cards I could use. I knew that there is one follower and send home card drawing cards for samurais so I found those and integrated them in my deck. There's ofcourse Taoist Archer and Veteran Advisor but I'm not sure how good this gold scheme can get. Few Against Many is a wonderful card, both abilities are good.

No matter what...the decklist is here. I might go look for my samurai personalities later. I did not find the box with those cards, have to be somewhere here. hm....

Eastern Hub Port

Eastern Hub Port
ERM? 1x Border Keep
hm? 1x Bamboo Harvesters

Dynasty: ??
3x Kobune Port
3x Rich Coffers
2x Fortified Camp
2x Private Trader (or how the holding that gives gold for an action is named)
1x Temple of Gisei Toshi
2x Secluded Waystation
2x Secluded Village
1x I am ready

3x Yoritomo Kurei
3x Yoritomo Sunagawa
3x Yoritomo Tadame
1x Yoritomo Utemaro XP2
3x Tsuruchi Shisuken
1x Moshi Nakata
3x Yoritomo Jera
1x Moto Xiao
3x Tsuruchi Saya
1x Yoritomo Tadame XP

Fate: ??
3x Taoist Archer
3x Ronin Brotherhood
3x Imperial Elite Guard
3x Wandering Budoka
3x Peasant Vengeance
3x Hold!
1x Koutetsu Unabara
3x Oni Daikyu
2x Juslty Earned Victory
2x Unwavering Assault
2x Knowledge
3x Few Against Many
3x Standing Fast
3x Ruthless Advance/Doomed Intention or combination of both?
1x Ring of Water
1x some smaller follower??
1x ???

Copics attempt

For quite some time I wanted to buy some copic markers. My boyfriend bought me a set so I wanted to see how it works^_^. I don't have the right colors nor the right colors for the blendings effects I would want but anyway the copics are just purely awesome!

Here's a little picture I colored tonight. Ignore the lineart for now^^. I couldn't even write kanji in the proper way with it o_O

[EE] Kyuden Kitsune revisited - Honor this time

I went through some cards and created a draft of KKexp honor. I ignored cards many cards so I still have to see if there are some good cards in previous editions.

I played with it today against EE legal deck and it was quite fun. I had problems with distinguishing what token is what and what which token does, but otherwise it felt good^^. If I would manage to win one battle everything would be fine. With some tweaks this is going to work for sure.

I'm missing a personality (actually two in dynasty) and I haven't gone through the fate cards much yet.

Kyuden Kitsune XP

Kyuden Kitsune Xp
1x Border Keep Exp
1x Bamboo Harvesters Exp

Dynasty: ??
3x Kobune Port
3x Merchant Atoll
3x Ageless Shrine
2x Temple of Hotei
1x Temple of Gisei Toshi
1x Traveling Peddler
2x Overgrown Grove
1x Naoharu's Gift
1x Ebisu's Honesty
1x Willing Spirits

3x Kitsune Kohaki
3x Kitsune Gina
3x Kitsune Denhei
3x Kitsune Tokoru
3x Moshi Tomeno
1x Kitsune Ohsuki
1x Kitsune Hisano
3x Shakash

Fate: ??
3x Entrenched Position
3x Sundering Strike
3x Pearls and Spirits
3x Seeking the Way
3x Wall of Honor
3x Obscuring Pathways
3x Unpeachable Name
3x Duels of Serpents
3x Consecration
3x The Mountain's Power
1x A Game of Dice
2x Capturing the Soul
2x Chikushudo Trickery
3x Great Sacrifice

Cards in consideration

Warded Path
Surprise Attack
Hanabi
Pearl of Rage
Rage of the Spirits
Taming the Beast
Earth Flows
Fury of a mob

I'll try to figure out if defending and trying to divide my opponent's army will work if not I'll play more cards that can do something in actual battle. I have to review Reckless Rush and Sundering Strike. Both cards are awesome but I'll try to figure out if there are other ways more suited for my nonhumans and shugenjas.

Also thinking about Indomitable Home...if clan holdings won't be reprinted I'm going to play this.

Innistrad first real experience

Yesterday I had the chance to draft Innistrad and today I build GW Tokens deck out of two boxes of Innistrad. I know I'm pretty late to discover the card from Innistrad^^ (considering limited).

My drafting experience wasn't that good^^. The deck was capable of 2:1 but it really lacked creatures.

I started picking removal which in the end probably wasn't as good idea as I thought. I should have been picking good aggro creatures since the beginning which would made me play RW. I ended up playing RB with not so many creatures which was a problem. Traitorous blood and more burn spells was something that could help me but wasn't that good as a flood of creatures. I did not quite count with the transform ability and I was caught offguard by it. But the three rounds were nice and it was nice to see what the cards can do. It seems to me though that the best way is going really aggro...meh. Actually mill seems quite viable if you get the right cards as well.

I'm glad I had the chance to draft. I thought that I wouldn't have the opportunity to draft this expansion set at all.

When I saw Geist-Honored Monk I wanted to build a deck around. That card just seems overpowered for ISD Block^_^. Well, ok we have Garruk there (good with tokens), Snapcaster Mage (burning vengeance, it should work in ISD block right...but with W and G going strong and being able to destroy enchantments easily...hmhm) but well this card just can truly beat an opponent. So I searched the cards from the two boxes and put this together.

I can imagine this working with red as well. Still Garruk + Doomed Traveler seems efficient enough.

Township Tokens

4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Doomed Traveler
4 Fiend Hunter
4 Geist-Honored Monk
3 Hamlet Captain
4 Mayor of Avabruck
2 Mentor of the Meek
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Creatures [26]
1 Garruk Relentless
Planeswalkers [1]
4 Intangible Virtue
4 Midnight Haunting
Spells [8]
10 Forest
4 Gavony Township
10 Plains
1 Shimmering Grotto

Kyuden Kitsune - Non-human military

Today I tried some non-human military. It was supposed to be EE legal but it seems that Yutakana no Onna is not EE legal? I though that she was reprinted but maybe not...

Here's the decklist.

Kyuden Kitsune XP

Kyuden Kitsune Xp
1x Border Keep Exp
1x Bamboo Harvesters Exp

Dynasty: ??
3x Kobune Port
3x Merchant Atoll (it actually works well)
3x Everwinter Copse (Does not really help much, but it is forest and winter card. Also can be tapped for honor and it gives one more gold.)
3x Ageless Shrine
3x Recuitment Officer (have to try it)

1x Blessings of Shi-Tien ....

1x The Dark Naga
3x The Sleepless One
3x Qalyar (great peronality, this little creature is what this deck needs!)
1x Fukuzo
3x Kitsune Tokoru
3x Moshi Tomeno (cheap and has naval, but it's not the personality I would like to play.)
3x Yukataka no Onna
3x The Shakash
3x The Red Hunger
1x Kitsune Ohsuki
1x Kitsune Hisano

Fate: ??
3x Entrenched Position
3x Sundering Strike
3x Fury of a Mob
3x Tireless Efforts (I have a lot of cards that bow my personalities as a cost. so that's why I play this. The other action comes handy a lot as well)
3x Oblivious (perfect! keeps my opponent personalities at reasonable numbers and can take down a personality I hate)
2x Pearls and Spirits (I like the card but eh...)
3x Near Miss (that's like 2 koku for my follower or a negate its destruction? I kind of like that)
A game of dice
1x Satoshi's Dual Warfans (I need more cards like that)
3x Sneak Attack
3x Scourge of the Sea
Black Pearl
3x Taming the Beast
1x the Vengeful
3x Reckless Rush
3x Broken Alliance

So well...I like it^^. I thought that this could work and be a bit 'rushy'.
I chose Kyuden Kitsune because the Mantis Shugenja's create nonhuman spirits with good abilities. It is also a forest and I can gain honor via the stronghold. The ability on it is good.

Then I have all the nagas I could find + Fukuzo that can remove a personality from a discard pile or well be a copy of something.

Atoll + Ageless Shrine is all what is needed. I would like to add Recruitment Offices to see what it does,. Having even more personalities for attack/defense might prove good and will help me keep the numbers for fury of a mob.

Yukataka no Onna is has a good force and can be a nightmare for clans with higher family honor.

Red Hunger is brute force + good ability and it is one of the personalities that wants to have Naval.

I put Sneak Attack in the deck but I don't think that 3x is necessary. I would probably play two though. If I'll find something better battle action I won't play the card at all.

Entrenched Position has a good ability in battle and can help me against clans going first.

So that's about it I guess. I'll try to look for some other cards. I miss movement or more bowing of enemy cards. So I'll try to figure out what to do with it. Also I don't have any negate effects. The redirecting guidance seems good but that's only one card. I'll see what I can come up with.
----------------------------------------
I'd like to play Surprise Attack as well...hmhm..

Emperor Arc? L5R rant...xy

Well, I've been thinking about why I don't really enjoy playing this game that much (compared to Magic). Well, many things come up starting with the rules changes from time to time (which actually means quite often for my liking), inconsistency of certain decks etc.

But there are other elements that ruin the game for me. They are closely linked to the local community

1. Current arc

The current arc is still Celestial. For few more months it will still be the official format. I know that many players are bored of it and seem not to like it. But on the other hand did they even change their decks or build a new one? Not really. Some ended with PotD o_O. I mean come on, the current arc has many more cards.

I spend some time playing Mantis Commanders, then Crab Duelist and lastly Dragon LSC Honor. My Crab Duelist deck is still celestial legal but is outdated and can't handle many decks that can be build now and this is the problem of certain players here. They do not progress. They are frozen in time and are not willing to move on.

Then there are those that claim that the Celestial Arc is too overpowered or boring and whatnot and they want to play EE legal decks. But wait a minute....we don't even have the cards needed for those decks! It started as 2 sets decks! It's not a bad thing to play a EE legal deck but asking others to play it as well and ignoring the fact that it's still CELESTIAL ARC is a problem. I have Celestial decks and I would still want to play but with whom? With players stuck in the past or with those that ignore celestial as much as possible?

When there was a tournament league going on it was the same. Who actually cared about a new set? In Magic this does not happen. (It's like coming with Lorwyn block deck to an Extended tournament...).

2. Mind game

The second major thing is...well mind games. I did not realize that I really need this in a game but after pondering about this for a long time I came to the conclusion that I do. If I want to enjoy a game I need the player interaction - that means that both players count with what other player can play and you just play around it. When I play against someone who ignores all that and just plays the way he think is correct I get lost and I don't enjoy the game at all. Because well, it's not a game. I mean I could just take my deck and play alone.

This is also why I wasn't really sure what a good player in L5R is or if there can a be a good player. If a game can be played on the same 'mind level' as in Magic. I met only three people that played this way outside our community in which I can name two people. The outside local community players are Daniel Nagy and 2 other players that were in top 8 at Prague's Kotei. These players played well and I enjoyed the games. The mind game was present, both of us knew which cards are relevant for the match up and which cards we need to play around. We knew which card combination would screw the game. The anticipation of how it will end was there. Sure if one was would misplay it would ruin the game as well. Anyway those three memorable games are something that I was expecting from L5R.

Everyone is talking about the game as something superior to Magic in terms of game play and being much more consistent. But still I can't hardly enjoy the game when I get to play against someone that can't even understand that THIS match up is a 100% win or loss. The player won't even realize that if by a chance this (something) would happen it would change the outcome of the game....Why the hell play such a game? What makes me angry the most is the fact that the player does not see the way how I could win or lose even though the game has already been decided by turn 3.

This probably concludes my rant. Simply put... I'd love to play but the games have to have a certain level of game play. I'll gladly build a deck that is of equal level to someone else's deck but if the player does not even see what I did and why....that's sad. I just wanted to play a game that I could call a game not T3 win.

Lady Bei color

And a colored version...(WIP)

Another drawing - Lady Bei

Another landscape attempt, drawing this time

Landscape attempt

Um..now what should I do with it?

Magic: The Gathering World Championship

Last few days, I worked for school, was trying to sell as much cards as I could and in between I was trying to follow what's going on at Worlds. This morning 3am it all ended and Iyanaga is the new champion. He smiled in the end^_^.

That's him after him won the last game.



And this was one of his awesome wins^_~. That's when he played Sphere of the Suns to have metalcraft. He then proceeded and played one galvanic blast after another.

Random Photo of the Day

Lion Paragon - Shamate Keep

I have Last Step Castle deck for this arc but no one wants to play against it. So it seems I won't be able to play with honor decks much. My crane dishonor did not see much play either as it met similar response. So what military I should try? Certainly something versatile and something what I like. Since the release of Shamate Keep I wanted to try it. I wrote a decklist down and it seemed playable. In the meantime our local Lion Clan player build Paragon deck and it works for him. My deck is a bit different though. My play style is different but it seems that the decks still work in similar fashion. I don't want to steal anybody's idea or anything, but unfortunately I wanted to play Paragons and I build a deck similar to well probably many Paragon decks out there^^.

The only sad thing for me is that I won't have much chances to play with it... *sniff*. I like it. But well... EE is coming and I counted 73 reprints so far. (At least 73 non-personality cards that I recognized as reprints). So maybe...similar deck will be playable later? Who knows... Fate-wise it's quite EE legal.

So here's the decklist. There are cards I'm not really sure about. Primarily fate cards.

Guided By Honor
Scouting Far Afield
Desperate Rush
Iron Will

I like Guided by Honor and it won me many battles. I would like to play the card 3 times, but well ... I would want to play it like 2.2x? That does not count as a playset though. I included Scouting Far Afield so I could return OAS primarily. But I won't probably meet much honor here so I decided to have this card instead OAS so I could bring something else back. But most of the time it ends up being used as +3F.
Desperate Rush is a card I wasn't really sure about, but with Proper Deference, Shameful and Cowardly it usually works. It is a kill action of sorts and that's why I have it there in a playset. Especially when those Lions PH is usually high. Unless I have Kasei on the table. I also have 1x Iron Will as this card sometimes can win a game but many times does not really serve me much except for another +3F. I actually would keep the card in the deck.

I think that dynasty side is pretty clear. This is the first deck that can actually use Sadahige's ability well^_^ so I included him. It never was a good personality for me but now...he's cool!

Actually I have one more slot available in my dynasty deck and I'm not really sure what to include. It should be SAMURAI and if possible Paragon. But I did not find anything worth it. So well...For the time being its Furumaro, but I don't like the card in my deck.

This deck is pretty versatile and that's what I like on decks. It's a military though...um...not my style.

Shamate Keep

Shamate Keep
1x Border Keep Exp
1x Bamboo Harvesters

Dynasty: ??
3x Copper Mine
3x Remote Village
2x Chugo Seido
3x Ageless Shrine
Traveling Peddler
2x Fortified Docks
My Father's Shrine
Kitsune Den

1x Farmlands
1x Akodo's Guidance
1x War of the Dark Fire
1x Alter History

1x Akodo Shigetoshi
3x Matsu Nishijo
3x Matsu Kinihara
3x Matsu Shunran
1x Akodo Ryozo
Akodo Tsudoken
3x Matsu Kasei
Akodo Sadahige
Akodo Kobi EXP
3x Matsu Koyama
Ikoma Hagio EXP

Fate: ??
3x Force of Spirit
3x Grateful Reward
3x Singh Remnants
3x My Life is Yours
Ring of Water
Iron Will
2x Will
3x Know No Fear
2x Proper Deference
2x Shameful and Cowardly
3x Desperate Rush
3x Sneak Attack
Creating Order
A Game of Dice
Scouting Far Afield
3x Cast Aside the Weak
Only Actions Speak
2x Guided by Honor
3x The Perfect Moment

EDH Tourney aka I have nothing to write about...

A holiday in our country, some players actually came here to play some highlander. Six people counting me was here. EDH is being played here at least twice a week but the day of the tournament no one usually shows up. So even 4 people is a lot.

I played my Mimeoplasm deck and in the first round I encountered Scion of the Ur-Dragon. My deck is build in a way so it could possible deal with everything it can encounter. In this case I decided to keep my opponent of the remaining fifth color so I would not need to deal with the general as that card can kill me in 1-2 turns. I destroyed twice a source of black mana which gave me enough time to play Karn Liberated which won me the game.

In round 2 I played against mono-green deck (running some multicolored cards like progenitus and green/x lieges). So I knew that I wouldn't need to deal with the general as the player was unable to play it. His start was mana elf + wall of roots and later played cards like Brawn, Vigor, Omnath and some big beasts. I was playing lands. I had 2 islands, 2 colorless lands + mana stone. If this card would be destroyed I would probably lose. Anyway my back up plan was Jace TMS who would slow my opponent enough till I would get a forest, search for two swamps and then play Damnation. Anyway I managed to play Skyshroud Claim getting me the lands I needed and played Damnation. Jace followed. My opponent having only one card in his hand - I had Dissipate for that. Jace won me the game even though I had big creatures on my side and 14/14 Mimeoplasm. One more attack would suffice as well.

Round three. Hidetsugu goblins + some big creatures like Akroma and Inferno Titan. He played like 6 goblins fast and dealt me some damage. My only removal in my hand was Life's Finale. I was hoping to survive till the point I could actually play the card but still 15 was were it ended. I played Life's Finale and my opponent was also left with one card on his hand. I reanimated some creatures but later Jokulhaups restarted the game. My opponent wasn't drawing lands. I got one first after 3 turns - Creeping Tar Pit. Flooded Grove followed. I tutored the one more land so I could ramp and I even drew Sol Ring. That pretty much decided the game.

After that I handed out the prizes to other people.

3:0, one lifetime point, and hopefully few satisfied players.

Jace - Acrylics on paper

Oh well, my first attempt at painting something bigger is relatively finished..or well. I just painted something that should have been Jace Beleren from Magic: The Gathering.

What I learned? Not sure this time. I started with a base coat which was in shades of grey. Then painted outline of what it should be on the painting and then tried to refine it. I learned that...I can't draw ^_~ as usual and that I hardly orient myself on that sheet of paper. I learned that more paint actually works pretty well though and that 'erasing' with water works wonders. But one would need to know where something went wrong. I need to work on that. Anyway here's the painting. No...I'm not going to be presenting that tomorrow...no way.

Drawing cats

Fantasy artist should be able to draw plants, animals, characters and landscapes. So my next subject is ... a cat. I made few attempts and still can't figure out how to draw fur^^. But one can actually see that it is a cat. Good start^^.

Random Photo of the Day

Kavárna V sedmém nebi

Nearby our store there is a café called 'In 7th heaven'. It is a nice place, many people go there, primarily students as it seems.

Apart from good coffee and tea you can order all kind of alcoholic drinks and soft drinks. They serve even some food. They do delicious toasts and quiches and you can get something sweet as well. This is also one of the few places where you can order a good carrot cake.

The prices are a bit higher than usual, but considering the place it is situated (Zborovska, Prague 5) the prices are actually ok.

There is a free wi-fi available for most of the day as well.

The place can be quite noisy when there are many people, but most of the time you can find a spot where it's a bit more quiet (either downstairs or upstairs in one of the
corners).

They are open till 1am.

Address:
Zborovska 68
Prague 5
Czech Republic (obviously)

Personal Rating: 4/5
Note: in terms of what they have there I would give them 5/5 as there is nothing missing for me. But I need to lower the score for the fact that it can be pretty noisy and the environment is not something I would actually like. But do not let this bother you, check the place out if you haven't been there and judge for yourself. It is truly a great place.

New Category and end of FB RSS

Today I went through some posts and edited them so images would be centered and of the same size (mainly concerning magic cards). When I was doing that I also assigned those posts a new category - Magic Alter.

Sooner or later I would like to create new categories and delete the old ones. This way I would like to keep TCG/CCG cards' alters in one category and everything 'artistic' by me in a different category.

The other news... if I show up on facebook this is the first thing that I see.

You currently automatically import content from your website or blog into your Facebook notes. Starting November 22nd, this feature will no longer be available, although you'll still be able to write individual notes. The best way to share content from your website is to post links on your Wall. Learn more about notes.

This means that these posts will cease to post to Facebook notes and probably the ones from WotC won't work either. If by a chance you like my blog then it is time to actually switch to reading it from the original source. (or you can go to My Feed and subscribe to it)

Vampiric Tutor

So this is the first card that does not have the borders etc. I used toothpick to get the paint from the name of the card and the type of the card. When I was trying to get paint off the 'instant' it was rather dry already so I wasn't that successful with that. I still did not manage to mix the right colors for this card...and I forgot about the blood I wanted to paint on the knife...so maybe later.

Defining Space - Polyhedra

I was wondering how I could show or define space and I remembered one post I made earlier on my blog. I was describing how to create a
Menger sponge out of cards. I know that a card is a 3d object but when we look at it we take it as something planar rather than something um... cuboid.

So I decided to do something similar. But I wanted to explore polyhedra. I like fractals, steller objects and the basic polyhedra in general so this seemed as the right thing to do. Creating this needs a good conception of space and by doing this we create an object that we really perceive as an 3d object.

Celica colored - mixed media

Celica + Bamboo

I talked to Jeremiah on Wednesday and he suggested that I try to paint something in B/W and then shaded it. After that I should match the shades of grey with color. For that I wanted to draw something that would show me where are the shadows and were are the highlights. I drew this late this night. It's actually rather complex for the task I would like to do. But nonetheless I would like to use it for another experiment and color it somehow, no matter what I use - either felt tip pens + something or acrylic paint + something with what I would do the lineart.

When I woke up today and my left hand hurt in a way I haven't experienced in a long time. I Last time when I felt such a pain was when I was excessively playing Beatmania IIDX and this resulted in long discussion about carpal tunnel syndrome and my inability to use my hands for some time. I used a bandage to immobilize my wrist and I hope it will be alright in the near future. I have to admit that I've been drawing a lot (even though just few work made it to the internet) and that might be the reason (especially when I can hardly put any pressure on a pen/pencil without experiencing an intense pain).

I decided to draw something though today as well. My mother told me to draw something different and brought me some bamboo brenches (or how to call that..is bamboo a tree?). I used my right hand for the following drawings. The hand was quite surprised that I want to use it.

Here's last bamboo drawing...

Status report

Hello everyone,

I don't usually address anyone as my blog serves me as a journal or something. I don't attempt to write something professional or something that would inspire people around the world even though some posts actually might look that way^^. Anyway this blog is feeded to Facebook (and Wizards of the Coast community) so probably more people will read it than just those following my blog. I would like to say something.

In short, this blog might get less and less posts, might end its existence as is now or get divided into another subgroup. (Magic: The Gathering - but well I'm not the best person to be writing about that topic)

When I started a blog in 2002. I was sharing my experience from conventions, tournaments, gaming sessions and some interesting stuff I encountered in real life. First years of my blog entries are lost, the following years from 2005 are somewhere on the internet and I would rather not want them to be there^^. But well they remind me of the past, of what I went through and whom I met and so on. Great times and bad times. Many links are broken, photos and videos aren't available (thanks to AvexTrax who managed to get me banned from youtube).

Anyway what I wanted to say is...from 2002 till the 2008 more or less had actually something to say and to enrich some people. Since 2008 though the blog lost its focus and this probably won't change as my life is different from the one in the past. I simply don't have anything interesting to share and when I do I usually post with a delay.

My University Projects blog is being updated weekly and will be at least till the end of my studies at the University. If you want to know what I do you can check it out. I won't repost anything again.
----------------------------
Another thing. I'll probably stop posting stuff on Facebook, meaning uploading stuff, commenting, liking etc. If by a chance anyone would want to stay in touch with me I suggest you use email to contact me.

Cockatrice

I've been hearing and seeing this name on Magic forums and Facebook I did not really know much about it until recently when I played few games over it. So what is Cockatrice?

Cockatrice is an open-source multiplatform software for playing card games, such as Magic: The Gathering, over a network. It is fully client-server based to prevent any kind of cheating, though it supports single-player games without a network interface as well. Both client and server are written in Qt 4.[cockatrice.de]

I used Apprentice years ago then switched over to Magic Workstation. I abandoned that software because I encounter a lot of people that behave really bad or they think that they know the game. Anyway MWS is not bad and I thought it well done. But I have to say that I had many issues with installing new sets, exporting database and loading newly created decks into MWS Online Play.

Cockatrice is a alternative to MWS. It is really easy to install. You just download it and run it. It will install the software and then run Oracle which is the game's database. To update with new set you just have to run the Oracle and it will do the work for you. The images are downloaded either on the fly as you play the card or you can download it at once (or use your MWS images).

Deck Editor
You can create a new deck in the deck editor or load an old one - which can be either in the software's format or any text type one, it loads MWS files as well (.dec, .mwDeck). The deck editor is fast and creating your deck is pretty easy. And there is no blue and green arrow as in MWS. You can entirely use your keyboard. Type a name, highlight the card you want with the arrows and hit enter how many times you need the card. This has allowed me to create my EDH decklist in a really short time and that was a big plus for me.

When you have a card highlighted in your decklist using + or - you can change the card count.

Shortcuts
If you've ever used MWS then you already majority of the shortcuts. This has allowed me to play via Cockatrice and do not look as a complete idiot.

CTRL + I will do a roll for you
CTRL + M will draw your seven cards and mulligan
CTRL + U will untap your permanents
CTRL + D will draw a card
CTRL + E will draw cards
CTRL + T will create tokens
CTRL + A will attach a card
CTRL + S will shuffle your deck
CTRL + W will show you the top card of your library
CTRL + Space will proceed to next phase/step (or you can use the function keys F5-F10
CTRL + L will let you set life total
CTRL + J will create a copy of a token that is already in play

F2 will concede a game letting you to start a new one in the current session
F3 will show your library that can be sorted in several ways (alphabetically, by type...helps a lot even though at first it was rather confusing to me)
F4 will show your graveyard.
F11/F12 changes life total.

That's what comes to my mind when trying to remember some shortcuts. If you right click a certain zone you'll get more options or you can access it via the game menu.

Targeting is done by holding the right button and moving the cursor towards the target.

Play
Once you have your deck you can connect to a server or start a local game. Everything is free and works wonderfully. You can play 1-on-1 game or a multiplayer game. You can let spectators watch you play and talk in the chat (or disallow it). This allows for judges of online tournaments to be there. This seems as a really good feature and will make tournament play possible. There are different kind of league tournaments played via Cockatrice (for example Win a Dual Highlander Series).

When you start a game, you have several green, blue and red part on the screen. They are your hand, battlefield and stack respectively. I didn't know about the stack until my opponent was placing cards there and that showed in the text/chat window. It sure is helpful if you actually use it (I gotta start to do that). Other elements on the screen are player name, avatar, life total, library, cards in hand, graveyard, RFG zone, turn structure, mana pool + storm count, card description and the chat window.

The software is colorful, but it is fast, efficient and well done. Check it out.
The player base is low for the time being but I think many more people will start to play on cockatrice server.

BTW you can download it from http://cockatrice.de/ (not anymore so go to -> http://www.woogerworks.com/

Got robbed...

Yesterday some people decided to get some stuff that don't belong to them (money) along with the keys (which probably is a bigger issue now, I need to contact this house keeper or anyone (after figuring out how to get out and back in which is now a problem - someone will help me hopefully)).

I don't have anything against people that are of different nationality or whatever but there were two groups of people in the store today. They could easily be one group - same race, same behavior. From this day on if anyone from the group comes in I'll kick him out of here.

I don't need additional problems to solve. I have a lot of them already.

S'Tsung playing Legacy no.4

Everyday I would like to produce some drawing, painting or anything else that can be produced.

Today I was rather stuck with 'what to draw'. So I ended up doodling some characters...After a while I came across a photo of me playing Magic. That day a big Legacy and Vintage tournament was held in Cerny Rytir and thus photos from the event can be found on the internet. A friend of mine did few photos that day...

I took a paper and pencil and tried to draw what I saw but after 3 hours of trying to do that I gave up. I looked more closely at the photo and my completely wrong drawing and started a new one (still on paper). I realized my errors and tried to correct them but it was still difficult to do...I couldn't come up with anything that could serve me as a reference in the picture.

In the end I opened photoshop and tried sketching the two tables and the outline of my body several times to see if I can actually see what is correct and what not. In the end I came up with something that seems correct.

This little drawing took me about 5 hours to figure out. I learned about all my incapabilities of trying to draw something in space or the correct perspective and in the upcoming weeks I'll try to learn something more.

Desolation Angel Drawing

Another drawing I made. I couldn't come up with a form or the idea of what it should be. But the drawing was already reminding me of desolation angel so I went for it.

Trinket mage fetching for Sensei's Divining Top

Repost frommy university projects blog

Background was the first step, now I tried the 'content'. I did not want the top to be so bright as on the original image so in the end it ended up really dark. I wanted it to be dark so the focus would still be on the Trinket Mage nor the top.

In real life it looks much better. The scan though shows how inaccurate I was when doing this and what needs to be improved.

Card altering

Sensei's Divining Top - Winter Theme ->

Here is a video I took while altering Sensei's Divining Top (I apologize for the poor quality, I used Windows Movie Maker and that was the biggest mistake ever).

Many people from all around the world wonder how people alter cards. When I started altering I did not have any help because I started quite some time ago and I had to figure everything on my own. Nowadays many people alter cards and I believe there are many tutorials or tips on the internet. Here is my take on card altering. If you have any questions just post a comment.

Type of alters

Alterers either extend the original illustration or paint over it with something original. Anything in between is not uncommon (for example keeping some of the original elements, or changing only the background). Both normal and foil cards can be altered. People can also alter cards in another way than just paint on them. For example there are people that do 3d alters or foil peel alters.

If you will be painting on cards there are three types of alters.

Borderless alters

Textless/Full Art Alters

Partial Alters

Tools

What one needs in order to alter cards?

• acrylic paints - I use Vallejo Model Color paints but anything that works for you is fine. Many use Golden Fluid Acrylics. The paint should be of high quality. In order to start you should buy at some kind of Yellow, Red, Blue, Black, White and Brown. From this you can pretty much mix anything. If you do not know much about mixing paints it's time you start looking that up. (Fortunately for me learning how to produce the color I wanted in hexadecimal code is what made me learn how to mix colors, I mention this here because many people starting to alter ask me this.)
• brushes - so far I use Citadel Fine Detail/Insane Detail brushes. Usually brushes are marked with numbers. I use 0, 00, or 000 brushes.
• toothpick - to get rid of paint that got where it shouldn't. The toothpick should always stay dampened (when you use it).
• clear varnish - when the alter is finished it is good to use some kind of finish - acrylic paint varnish (I'm using Citadel Matte Varnish).
• ink rubber - if you want to blank a card this is one of the ways to go. it takes time and patience. Acetone can be used for this purpose but I would advise against it unless you know what you are doing because it can be harmful for your health and/or the card when used too aggressively. When working with foils this is the only way to go though (or you can use nail polish).
• artist tape - if you want to blank or prime only certain parts of a card the tape comes handy. Be careful when taking it off the card. Be gentle!
• markers/liners - some artists use markers to do alters. They can be used in addition to acrylics. Most people use Sharpies or Copic Markers. I also use Copic Multiliners for finer work (these actually are soluble in water unlike the permanent markers!). Markers are also glossy which is often looked upon as bad. Matte varnish will make it matte though in the end. But you can also use the markers to create some nice effects. Especially when used on foils.
• palette - this is something you can either buy or create one yourself. In general what you need to achieve is something that keeps some moisture so the paint won't immediately dry. I'm too lazy to get something proper so I use a card sleeve and a top loader (water blobs under the sleeve). If you want to do something better just google wet palette.
• daylight lamp - without enough light you won't be able to match colors properly. The light should not be colored or anything (normal light bulbs will skew your perception of color of your paints), look for something that imitates daylight.

Preparation

The first step when altering a card is its preparation and this is a very important step. The card should be clean and without any grease on it (otherwise it gets a bit complicated to paint on, so for starters grab a new card). I prime the card with a certain grey hue paint. How bright is the grey depends on how bright or light the colors I want to have on the card. Priming the card is not necessary as there are people who don't do it but you can run into trouble, especially if you want to alter red cards or white bordered cards. Try it with and without priming and then you can decide what is better. The paint adheres better on primed surface and won't do crazy things you don't want the paint to do so that is why I prime everything nowadays. In earlier days I used to get rid of the ink from the card using a rubber or acetone, but painting simply over the card is better. It allows for a better control of the paint. I use Vallejo Model Color - Natural Grey for priming. Depending on the overal darkness/lightness of the card I use lighter or darker tone. The quality of these basecoats will show on the final alter so one should learn how to do it properly. Several layers should be applied and should be as thin as possible (this applies to altering in general) without any bumps or texture.

Painting

When the card is primed one can start actually painting. Some people draw (you can use pencil, mind the surface, do not scratch it) what they wish to paint and then 'color' it but that is up to you. I paint the areas with more or less the colors I need need and then I start adding more detail and later highlights.

In general when painting you need to be doing thin layers of paint. So even if you are using already quite liquid paints, dilute them with water. The right ratio of paint and water is something one needs to figure out on his own and it depends on the paint one uses. In my case the Vallejo Model Color paints require quite a lot of water. The more thin layers the better (the more layers the more vivid the color will be). When the area gets the color you want you can stop with the layering. It takes time and patience. The layers should be thin so that the paint won't add too much weight to the card. If the card will become too heavy it won't be tournament legal. The higher quality of the paint use the less layers is needed (because it contains more pigment).

Tip: Dry brush technique is good for clouds, nebulae etc. If you are going to use this technique use some old brush for it so you won't ruin your precious brush.

Tournament Legality
If you will be altering cards that the player will want to play at tournaments note that the card's name, mana cost and power/toughness or loyalty need to be visible. The game text does not necessarily need to be present. The card should be recognizable at first glance, shouldn't contain anything that could offend someone (naked females included) and shouldn't be misleading or giving information relevant to the game (for example Trinket Mage with Sensei's Divining Top painted on it is not in general considered tournament legal). Anyway if a card will be allowed or not depends on the head judge.

Details

When this was done I tried painting the sakuras and some petals. This is the part of the process one spends the most time usually. This is when you need to match the artist's style, pay attention to all the colors and detail. Details is what makes a nice alter. But sometimes you will simply get stuck the same way I got stuck with this Top. I did my best at that time because simply I did not know how to proceed. But I always come back to that later when I have more experience and I come up with something. This alter did not turn out the way I wanted but I certainly learned something. If you are ever going to alter a card don't give up. Just alter the cards and you will eventually get better. Each alter helps a lot.

Finishing touches and correcting mistakes

When the alter seems finished one usually looks at it and does final touches. This is the time during which I sometimes use 'washes' (very diluted paint) and use it to slightly change tones of some painted areas. I add more contrast in general. When this is done one needs to get rid of all the mistakes and paints that are where they shouldn't be. If excessive paint is on the card's non-painted surface it is easy to get rid of it. Simply wet a tooth pick and scrape the paint of the card (or use the brush to wet certain area - don't use too much water) and than get rid of it with a tooth pick).

Finish

When your alter is finished it is good to use acrylic varnish on it but not all artist use it. I would suggest one thing though. After you finish your alter just let it be for a while (let's say a night or day) and come back to it to see if you are still content with the work you produced. If not you can still do some final touches and only after that seal the card.

Card altering is tedious work and requires thus a lot of patience. For those of you who actually paint on canvas painting on something so small as a Magic card can be pretty unnatural. It takes time to get used to it. Anyway with each alter all of you will get better at it. So don't give up if your first alters won't look good or the way you envisioned them. Sooner or later they will.

Hope you found this article helpful and I wish you fun and good luck with altering cards.

You can view some of my alters on my site -> http://stsungalters.com/index.php

Some sketches

reposted from my university project's blog

Keyboard Mania? - Airflow

Today I was trying to delete some files from my notebook's harddrive so the OS would have some free memory and I stumbled across one very strange thing - Doremimania. Few years ago I installed a Keyboard Mania simulator (caled Doremimania) on my computer and tried it. I recorded few of the songs when playing them for the first time on sight read. I have to say that it was REALLY difficult for me to figure out which note is which and what should I press while not looking at the keys because I tried following the notes on the screen. That's why I was playing easy songs and avoided stuff like Kakumei^^.

Being able to play on the piano does not help with Keyboard Mania much when you first play it because you are unable to read it or at least I wasn't capable of reading that which was quite a surprise because I'm used to playing IIDX doubles (and thus reading the notes)! But it seems that 14k and even a small keyboard is a great difference.

This is how Airflow ended up sounding like^_^. It wasn't that bad^_~.


EDIT: I will reupload the file.. for the time being the file can be found -> Airflow (Google Drive)

For those interested in trying something like this. They can try Synthesia. It is a software that allows you to learn how to play something on the piano. It allows importing one own's midi files so BEMANI songs can be imported and played. I created a midi file for Blind Justice in Ableton Life that I imported into Synthesia. I did not manage to create two tracks at that time (each one for one hand) but Synthesia is supposedly capable of doing this on its own. Here is how it looks (or rather looked) like (the audio is not from Synthesia but Ableton Life.

Mimeoplasm revisited

I decided to change some cards in my Mimeoplasm deck. Since the beginning the decklist has changed quite a lot. But the last changes weren't that big.
I still want to keep this deck in the same style, no crazy reanimation of dreadnaught and death's shadow or skithyrix etc. I just wan't to have some fun with it and be able to deal with many threats.

Early I decided to drop cards like Tarmogoyf, Umezawa's Jitte. I tried playing Chameleon Colossus, Frost Titan, Thrun and even Troll Ascetic but these card in general don't do much. So I decided for bigger effects - thus I included cards like (Tutor) Demon, (Fact or Fiction) Sphinx, Avenger of Zendikar. I decided to add even Snapcaster mage and I like him Mr. Chan is so great!
I also added Life's Finale - good against non-mimeoplasm matchups, Mind Twist, Forbidden Alchemy, Profane Command, Fact or Fiction and Life from the Loam. The deck is now more consistent.

So well the updated decklist looks like this (finally managed to update the decklist on tcgplayer):

The Mimeoplasm

Main Deck:
1 Acidic Slime
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Fertilid
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Genesis
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Grave Titan
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Karn Liberated
1 Liliana Vess
1 Mulldrifter
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Primeval Titan
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Trinket Mage
1 Wood Elves
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Yavimaya Elder

1 Beast Within
1 Brainstorm
1 Counterspell
1 Cryptic Command
1 Cultivate
1 Damnation
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dissipate
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Forbidden Alchemy
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Krosan Grip
1 Life from the Loam
1 Life's Finale
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Mind Twist
1 Mindslaver
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Necromancy
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Profane Command
1 Putrefy
1 Regrowth
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Sol Ring
1 Sylvan Library
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Treachery
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Voidslime

1 Academy Ruins
1 Bayou
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Command Tower
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Faerie Conclave
1 Flooded Grove
3 Forest
3 Island
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Polluted Delta
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Strip Mine
1 Sunken Ruins
2 Swamp
1 Tolaria West
1 Treetop Village
1 Tropical Island
1 Twilight Mire
1 Underground Sea
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Vesuva
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Wasteland
1 Watery Grave
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard:
1 The Mimeoplasm

The Gatherin

Bill Bouden a.k.a Spruke and Patrick Chapin bring you Tha Gatherin a Magic: The Gathering related album.

You can get it at SCG, ChannelFireball or itunes.

I was in awe after hearing the songs. Storm is so full of energy and memories. Full of tension. No matter what I can't really describe the feeling, but I think that I understand more how it felt for Patrick Chapin at that time.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor is something I was expecting made into a comics or something but here it is a song that is much better medium. (banning Jace)
On the album there are earlier songs like Shuffle 'em up which I really like.

So no more talking just check it out! It costs 10 bucks and it's worth it.

1. Introducing
2. Jace the Mind Sculptor
3. Still Had All Deez
4. Hymn to Tourach
5. Don't Drink and Draft
6. Brewmaster's Delight
7. Road Trippin
8. Shuffle Em Up
9. Innovate
10. Mythic Rare
11. Phyrexia Self
12. Mise (Break It)
13. Money Draft
14. Never Was (On the Pro Tour)
15. The Calm
16. The Storm

Zoo experiment (highlander)

I was wondering how much damage could some kind of a zoo deck deal. I think that 20 life is relatively ok even though I can't imagine this deck get through a Primeval Titan or something similarly big that's played early (2nd-4th round). But well I haven't really played against any real aggro deck in highlander so I have no idea what such game would look like. (except goblins that were faster than me erm than my naya zoo)

There was a proposition that we could do a 60-card highlander tournament and that's where my zoo highlander was created. It was a deck with giant growth effects (not that I would play this card) and some burn. The weird cards were something like symbiosis, thrill of the hunt, reckless charge etc. In a way it was a card advantage^^ But as you suspect it did not work well (ok it was beating local players fine). So now here's 100 card list. (now I need to sort the cards)

I tried this decklist. It's fast. It can deal more or less 18-24 dmg before it dies. Needs relatively a lot of mulligans and hands like 'oh 1 fetchland that's fine' don't work much. It runs a lot of fetch lands and shuffling the whole deck is not that fun either.

The deck is not fun (oh yeah, probably because it's not aggro-control/control). But it deals sufficient amount damage in timely manner to be good at highlander constructed.

(I might bother bother submitting this to tcgplayer later.
EDIT: I typed it in...)

Zoo experiment^^

Creatures [36]
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Blitz Hellion
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Boggart Ram-Gang
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Eternal Witness
1 Figure of Destiny
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Goblin Guide
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Jotun Grunt
1 Jungle Lion
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Kird Ape
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Loam Lion
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Rip-Clan Crasher
1 River Boa
1 Savannah Lions
1 Scab-Clan Mauler
1 Skyshroud Elite
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Troll Ascetic
1 Vexing Shusher
1 Watchwolf
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Woolly Thoctar

Planeswalkers [3]
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Garruk Wildspeaker

Spells [25]
1 AEther Vial
1 Armageddon
1 Burst Lightning
1 Chain Lightning
1 Char
1 Firebolt
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Incinerate
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Krosan Grip
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Lightning Helix
1 Magma Jet
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Path to Exile
1 Rancor
1 Staggershock
1 Sudden Shock
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sylvan Library
1 Vines of Vastwood
1 Volcanic Hammer

Lands [35]
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Strand
3 Forest
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Mountain
2 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Raging Ravine
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Savannah
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Taiga
1 Temple Garden
1 Treetop Village
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Wooded Foothills

Elesh Norn - colored sketch

Space Walk

This is repost from my University blog

We got a task which consist of a walk. During that walk we should at given intervals capture somehow what is there. I decided to take 1 minute intervals and to take photos.

My starting point was Prague College and my ending point my game store. The distance covered was 3.5 km.

At the beginning of the walk I was taking photos of buildings and what was on them. My very first photo was of a statue. I wasn't really sure what it was till I processed the photo at the game store.

Still walking the main street - Vinohradska - my hourglass ran out and it was again up to me to take a photo. This time it wasn't a photo of a building but a photo of an advertisement of a bank. It caught my eye already when seeing this at Andel.

Next I came by the main train station. I took a quick photo and crossed the street.

After this I knew that I would end up at Wenceslaw Square where are obvious 'items' to take a photo of. My hourglass was stopping me at different places and not even the best places to be taking photos. So I decided to improvise. I was choosing objects that pleased my eye and seemed interesting enough to be put to memory.



Few more flowers and a statue followed. After a while I ended up a bridge. Two stops at the bridge. I couldn't help and do the obvious photo. The second photo was rather different^^



Some photos have really beautiful or really bizarre colors. The green, red and yellows are really beautiful nowadays and the sky was changing color when I was arriving to my destination. At one part of the sky it seemed that a storm was coming. On the other side it was light blue with beautiful white clouds.



To view all the photos in chronological order go to my Google Gallery.