Mana Flare 🍁

Loved the bonus cube content at the end!

Top drafted cards. Sahagin U common 19 Magitek Infantry W common 18 Hecteyes B common 16 Combat Tutorial U common 16 Namazu Trader B common 15 Scorpion Sentinel U common 15 Retrieve the Esper U common 15 Weapons Vendor W common 15 Vayne's Treachery B common 14 Ice Magic U common 14

As you can see by my most drafted cards, this was definitely an Esper format for me.

I really enjoyed the blue play patterns (5 cards), but found myself in black (3) and white (2) quite frequently as well.

The first non-esper card in my list is at rank 20, which is nuts.

(2/2)

60.9% game win rate / 62.3% match win rate.

I'm pretty sad that #MTGxFinalFantasy is coming to an end so quickly. It was a fantastic format and one of the most balanced I've played.... ever?

I won slightly above my average and played a mix of Bo3 and Bo1 due to time constraints. 7 trophies in 29 tracked drafts (plus some on mobile).

(1/2)

Match loss was in the finals to a bant lifegain/auras monstrosity. Lost that match 1-2 with game 3 ending on turn 4 to the nut draw.

Cube Cobra List: Modern Prime >Modern Prime is a lower power synergy cube featuring “in-universe” cards from modern-legal sets in the classic modern card frame. **No glitz.** No double faced cards, split cards, commander cards, o...

Here's the cube if you're interested: cubecobra.com/cube/list/Mo...

2-1 in a 10-player draft of the Modern Prime cube with this sweet UW Awaken Control deck.

Loved being able to awaken my lands, cast a one-sided board wipe and then do it all again by picking up the wipe with Halimar Tidecaller.

All three matches were against aggro and I had some decent SB options.

This is Ember. In a forest. With little spirits around it.

Ember talking to one of the campfire spirits.

A typical puzzle sequence. Each area has many interconnected scenes through which puzzles may be solved.

A block puzzle, more or less.

The Last Campfire is a perfect cozy puzzler and easy to fall in love with.

The game follows the melancholy journey of Ember as it seeks to find its way back to its people. The narration stunningly and honestly might be the best part. Puzzle challenge hits the sweet spot.

#steamdeck #gaming

The town of Beacon Pines as they set up for a festival. Beautiful art.

Conversations can play out many different ways.... only one path leads to a happy-ish ending.

Beacon Pines, as a frozen hellscape.

The storybook shows all the branching paths the game can take.

I loved everything about Beacon Pines - an adorable mystery-adventure that is perfect for handheld gaming.

The plot is creepy-cute and intriguing enough to keep you hooked. While the game itself is short (5hr) don't let that stop you - it's a cozy trip in a gorgeous world.

#gaming #steamdeck

Cover: The Ministry of Time By: Kaliane Bradley

The Ministry of Time is fascinating on two fronts: this is a modern time travel(ish) story that also focuses on a historical event I know well: the doomed Franklin Expedition (1845). I loved the blend of old & new.

The book shifts 2/3 of the way thru in a really mind-bending way.

9/10

🪐📚💙 #scifi

Deck was a 48-card pile, btw - and a couple times I came very close to decking, so no regrets going over!

🏆 3-0 (6-1) with this golgari graveyard pile, featuring Yawgmoth and Syr Konrad at the top end.

My lane was very open and I had an embarrassment of riches in the SB as well.

Deck 1 Cornered by Black Mages 1 Hecteyes 1 Malboro 2 Namazu Trader 2 Sephiroth's Intervention 1 Shinra Reinforcements 1 Summon: Anima 2 Vayne's Treachery 1 Sorceress's Schemes 1 Bard's Bow 2 Chocobo Kick 1 Coliseum Behemoth 2 Gysahl Greens 1 Reach the Horizon 1 Sidequest: Raise a Chocobo 1 Summon: Fat Chocobo 1 Tifa Lockhart 1 Crossroads Village 1 Eden, Seat of the Sanctum 2 Vector, Imperial Capital 5 Swamp 8 Forest 1 Fynn, the Fangbearer Sideboard 1 Battle Menu 1 Summon: Anima 1 Call the Mountain Chocobo 1 Samurai's Katana 1 Self-Destruct 1 Goobbue Gardener 1 Loporrit Scout 1 Tifa Lockhart 1 Garland, Knight of Cornelia 1 Rydia, Summoner of Mist 1 The Wandering Minstrel 1 Blitzball 1 World Map 1 The Gold Saucer

It's getting a bit silly here..... zillions of damage incoming.

🏆7-1 with a scrappy BGr deck, splashing Sorceress's Schemes for nonsense.

While Tifa isn't great in a vacuum, she played really well here, specially on turns where I could vomit out three lands.

Pretty sad my final opp conceded from 19 w/o letting 3rd & 4th land triggers complete....

#mtglimited

Deck 1 Ambrosia Whiteheart 1 Battle Menu 1 Coeurl 2 Magitek Infantry 1 Restoration Magic 1 Slash of Light 1 Summon: Primal Odin 1 Bard's Bow 2 Chocobo Kick 1 Chocobo Racetrack 1 Coliseum Behemoth 3 Gran Pulse Ochu 1 Sazh Katzroy 2 Summon: Fat Chocobo 1 Summon: Titan 1 Gladiolus Amicitia 1 Rinoa Heartilly 1 Serah Farron 2 Gohn, Town of Ruin 1 Gongaga, Reactor Town 3 Insomnia, Crown City 2 Rabanastre, Royal City 3 Plains 6 Forest Sideboard 1 Dwarven Castle Guard 1 Summon: Choco/Mog 1 Red Mage's Rapier 1 Galuf's Final Act 1 Gran Pulse Ochu 1 Noctis, Prince of Lucis 1 Tidus, Blitzball Star 1 Magic Pot 1 Relentless X-ATM092 1 World Map

🏆7-1 with one of the more adventurous decks I've drafted this format. GWrb legends, I guess?

Splashing Odin off a bunch of tap lands felt great. Racetrack was incredible with Titan and Gladiolus.

Never got to go off with Sazh - he was shy and I only cast him once.

#mtglimited #mtg

Obviously Wizards is trying to expand the tent, but it saddens me that they're doing it in a way that pushes away many long time fans.

Among my play group I'm the MOST willing to give the new sets a chance. Many of my friends are completely out.

This new direction is driving them away.

But Edge of Eternities is just Not Magic too me. I'm terrified me how popular it seems.

Spiderman is dumb. Period.

Avatar was a lovely show, but I don't need it in my Magic sets.

Aetherdrift was a clown shoes set with a good draft environment.

Tarkir was a wonderful classic vibe but limited was too one note.

Final Fantasy is UB, but a great draft set that I'm playing due to massive nostalgia.

The literal rest of the MTG release schedule this year is not for me.

Yet another clown shoes set (EoE) followed by two more UB sets? Sorry, no. My wallet and time budget are super happy though.

2025 is a #MagicTheGathering dumpster fire.

Cover: Only Hard Problems By: Jennifer Estep

Romantasy in space.

This series isn't great... but it's also something I strangely keep reading (despite a small sense of self-loathing every time I pick up the book).

The entire thing is formulaic, like a season of Friends - but maybe that's the charm?

5/10 for the junk food effect

🪐📚💙 #scifi

The average age I'm referring to here is just of the "extra" slots.

There are 130 sets I'm considering, so 390 cards "on theme". Right now that leaves me with 80 non-land slots to spend on cards from ANY set, and of those the avg age is currently 2016.

One drop that eats premium removal = great card.

Of the 80 "extras" currently in the cube, the average card age is 2016 which I feel is too recent. I have another small round of changes planned to bring this down - I'll be aiming to trim 5ish years to reach an "ideal".

Feel free to mock draft the Archive on CubeCobra and leave feedback.

(3/3)

First trophy deck of The Archive. Bant auras, featuring the busted-in-half Tameshi.

I had the pleasuring of drafting The Archive for the first time a few weeks ago and it was so much fun.

Lots of lessons were learned, including some cards that were more oppressive than expected. (Looking at you, Tameshi!)

Bant auras came away with the 3-0, as shown below.

(2/3)

The OG Serra Angel art. Still love this one so much, even after all these years.

Introducing my first full-sized #mtg Cube: The Archive:

cubecobra.com/cube/overvie...

3 cards per standard legal set since the beginning of Magic's history.

It's still very much being refined - the biggest trick is allowing older cards the space to breath given decades of power creep.

(1/3)

Last episode of Lords of Limited started an interesting discussion about Sazh's Chocobo and its win rate. Ben, despite the self proclaimed distrust towards data, as always makes important contributions towards it. So - what can the numbers tell us about that card?

1/12

Cover: The Good, the Bad and the History By: Jodi Taylor

I don't know why these books don't get old - but after reading all 14 mainline St. Mary's books I find myself disappointed that I'm at the end (for now).

@www.joditaylorbooks.com always manages to make me laugh and her particular brand of time-travelling hijinks is too much fun.

🪐📚💙 #scifi #books

Luisa sitting on a rock outcropping, sword in hand with a map and journal laid out beside her. A lift system is in the background as is a dungeon gate.

Luisa taking on four enemies.

I played through Dungeons of Hinterberg a few weeks ago and quite enjoyed it.

An indie title, the core loop of the game is a mix of Zelda-style dungeons and hack & slash combat with little relationship building vignettes between each run.

Ran perfectly on my deck. Light & fun.

#steamdeck #gaming

The Starmetal Symphony #1 August Kitko and the Mechas from Space Alex White

A queer glamrock space opera featuring sentient anime-style mechas? Sign me up!

I loved the first half of this book but it quickly started to sputter out and get too nonsensical for my liking and ultimately I finished more disappointed than satisfied. Won't read the sequel.

6/10

#books #sci 🪐📚💙

Cover: There's Only One Noon Yeah By: Rob Bell

After reading the first book in this series my anticipation couldn't have been higherfo this one.

While still excellent, Noon Yeah fails to capture the wonder of Welcome to Firdus. I was particularly dismayed it didn't pick up any of the threads from the previous book.

7.5/10

#books #scifi 🪐📚💙

Cover: I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom By: Jason Pargin

This book is a wild road trip by a pair of (un?)loveable internet junkies who get themselves mixed up in an insane plot all while Reddit loses it's collective mind thinking they're terrorists hellbent on bombing Washington.

Gotta read it to believe it.

8/10 for sheer nuttiness.

#booksky 🪐📚💙

Deck 1 Combat Tutorial 1 Dragoon's Wyvern 1 Ice Magic 1 Il Mheg Pixie 1 Magic Damper 1 Qiqirn Merchant 1 Sahagin 1 Sidequest: Card Collection 1 Sleep Magic 1 Stuck in Summoner's Sanctum 1 Syncopate 1 Call the Mountain Chocobo 1 Laughing Mad 1 Mysidian Elder 1 Sandworm 2 Suplex 1 Thunder Magic 1 Warrior's Sword 1 The Emperor of Palamecia 1 Kefka, Court Mage 1 Shantotto, Tactician Magician 1 Lion Heart 1 Baron, Airship Kingdom 1 Treno, Dark City 1 Vector, Imperial Capital 7 Island 1 Swamp 6 Mountain Sideboard 1 Coeurl 1 You're Not Alone 1 Ice Flan 1 Rook Turret 2 Shinra Reinforcements 1 Laughing Mad 1 Opera Love Song 1 Cactuar 1 Lunatic Pandora 1 Monk's Fist 1 Rabanastre, Royal City 1 Nyxbloom Ancient 1 Strixhaven Stadium

🏆 Back into the win column with this solid little UR number. I P1P1'd Kefka and then let the table tell me the best way to draft Grixis.

There are a few suboptimal cards in here for sure, but they all pulled in the same direction and I think that made all the difference.

#mtglimited #mtg