Two years minus two weeks

Thinking that life would be so much better, Hope, didn't hit well.

But we have survived.

I've come back to a V3.25xxx MTGO thats pretty decent.

It's lacking Leagues. But now instead of 32 cards per side in a trade, its up to 75.

Classifieds are the only official selling outlet other than player run rooms like /join auction, /join casual or /join trading.

For me, boof bots, CardNexus, MTGOTRADERS and CArdhoarder were all very nice to me. Boof bots allow you to buy 250 commons/tix -- 4 tix basically caught me up to WW from Morningtide.

I did some prerelease SCARS of MIR eventing but infect nailed me right before I killed the opponent.

Was expensive, but also ripped a few boosters. Converted the junk unc/rares into a near complete set of 4x SOM commons. If I had been patient and waited 2-3 weeks, could have bought a 4x common SOM set on EBAY (reliable 1000+ rated seller) for $4-$6 US Dollar.

I look forward to upcoming gaming. MTGO is stable and playable again. I like it again.

Sad that Hope for Change is now Change for Hope. Regime change may be needed.

Shards of Alara Premier Events tomorrow in MTGO

We've experienced casual drafting in Alara for a few days now. Folks are playing some interesting combos (much more colorful last few sets). The system seems to be stable and WOTC seems happy with the relative lack of issues.

I am taking a wait and see approach to this new set. We'll see how MPDC and TPDC hit *next* week (the 2nd week of Shards tech available to PDC players).

More updates as we see how Alara pans out in the next few weeks.

Rock on!

-tw

Shards of Alara going Live Monday 10/20/2008

Be prepared Paupers - the new booster format and Shards of Alara hit Monday. We already had this week's patch Wednesday that prepared the live system for MTGO.

IPA/OTJ goes to Classic from Extended. Futex is now just Extended Pauper (OLS onward) and STD loses PLC/TS. I will miss Vampiric Link - was fun in my BlackRush beatdown STD pauper deck. I reteched my stuff into white (still BW hybrid) using the nice 0/1 Moth that gets +4 lifegain anytime it blocks (it stacks as you declare blocking so you get the 4 lifegain even if its burned).

We have a pesky PDC classic bug with the Flagbearers. Coaltion Honor Guard and Standard Bearer do not work properly against storm affects (Grapeshot and Temporal Fissure specifically). Proper way to function - gotta target CHG/SB if in play until they are removed *then* you can target player/controller/other creatures in play. Been noted, Wotc_Lee Sharpe is working with devs (its not an A1 priority but its in top 20%) to get it resolved eventually.

Classic is tough - wide format from 7th/ipa to X/alara starting next monday. Thousands of commons to choose from. With the Gold (multicolor) and hybrid (two unique colors) commons - IPA isn't the only solution anymore. Discard decks still have some great tech so WATCH OUT.

I want to thank Wildman, Newman and Spikeboy for all the game testing as of late - its been lots of fun and got me back into STD pauper gaming. Y'all rock!

Last note - I really dislike this new booster policy - 1 land in each booster of Shards/Alara going forward. Meaning we're stuck with a ton of land as veterans. A Much Simpler solution for paper and MTGO -- SELL LAND PACKS TO THE NEWBIES. ITS bad that I already have over 750 lands as it stands now. Less reasons for me to buy boosters as I'm not in the mood to buy land this way. I don't mind random lands (foils preferred lol). But get the land packs out to the newbies and don't punish/flood veterans with common basic land.

Rock on folks!

TPDC - Classic Pauper can be rough

Thanks again to Lathspel for hosting TPDC. Was a fun event last night in /tpdc and /tpdc_results. Classic has over 2,000 unique commons to choose from in a cardbase from 7th/ipa to X/Shadowmoor.

First round I faced a very creative black deck. Had tough creatures that had some negative offsets (3/3s that gets -1/-1 for each spell casts til EOT or -1 life for every creature cast after etc). I had a hybrid black deck that had rats maindeck (chittering and relentless). Lost Game 1 but multiple Morning Thrulls for Games 2 and 3. Won 2-1.

2nd round was against my friend GSG. Very good deck - multicolor with Armadillo cloak, phantom tiger and a few nice trick cards. Hard to win game1. Took one of the games to 42 life but GG had enough cantrip/funk to keep my BHR classic deck under control. I had to prepare for work in any event - but it was fun!

Daily PDC free Pauper Events - occuring all over. Check PDCMAGIC.com or MTGO Boards PRE forums (Player Run Events) links on rightside of my blog.

Monday PDC event - MPDC was fun..Tactical Mulligans were missed

Monday's PDC event was a fun one! Thank you to ZeroFusion for hosting it (runs at 12pm Pacific, 7pm GMT in /join mpdc). We had 14 players and I do like the current flavors in standard.

My first round was a smash. I won 2-0 with some quick hitting Mimic flying. Nightsky Mimic with apparition, NG hag, unmake or the 4 cost wither hag makes for a fast hitting rush by Turn 5.

Round 2 - Mimics for my opponent and my mimics don't show. Should have done a tactical mulligan. Bogle the pain in butt is hard to remove. Note that Grave Peril should ONLY be deployed one at a time (if you have two out - BOTH get sac'd when next nonBLK critter comes out).

Round 3 - Mimics again (Red/Blue...RU) and very effective. I don't get my mimics out in a fast order (my deck is best when aiming for T5-T6 kill).

Just note to tactically mulligan - it can be important to get key cards for win condition. Also note to be patient as if you have a nonrush deck - you can survive and come back from the brink of defeat for the win.

Hats off to our PDC folk - glad to see y'all came out. Some upcoming things look good - be WARNED Shards of Alara is scheduled for release NEXT MONDAY on October 20, 2008.

Peace out!
-TW

Pauper 2hg event last night (Friday) - thank you Lathspel!

Lathspel saved the day and became the defacto volunteer host for Pauper 2hg. It was quite fun and even my friend JD joined in. The qualifiers started out as FFA matches. That was fine as I beat down the guy across from me to under 10. Even had a x/x Timberwatch boost from another player (NE of me on the game grid). It was funny until all 3 took swings at me. I died first. Then my target died. Top2 from each FFA table played in the 2hg finale.

Pauper 2hg is just as fun if not more exciting than 2hg regular. I hope to see everyone out in /join pdc, casual room, Anything Goes, Multiplayer and more!

Rock on

MPDC STD Pauper event today - it was great!

First of all big thanks to ZeroFusion for hosting MPDC - it was a BLAST. I recommend new players start out in Standard PDC to get used to things. Futex and Classic can be *quite* rough if your new.

While I did not make it to the top4 - I did place 7th with my 2-1 record. In the first round I lost to a clanmate friend hokusai22! It was close and it went to the 3rd game of that match. RedDeckWins in pauper can be tough!

Down 0-1, I then went on and faced a really cool B/W deck from gershon. He had a suprises. I had to flip and get creative with my Blk/Fly-HybridLife deck. I won 2 games but they were hard fought.

tied 1-1 going into round 3 - I faced off against dyagos. He had a very creative U/R deck. Cinder Pyromancer, Grinning Ignus and the Banneret can make it for a plink war. To add to it he splashed blue and topped off with Grapeshot swarms. It went 3 tough games but I swung with a 10/10 flyer to finish off the last game (B/W Mimic with two hybrid enchants).

I didn't top4 - I placed 7th but I was 1 game away from going 3-0/top4. In any event - hope to see y'all in MTGO and especially in /join pdc!

It gets crazy with these LRW/MOR/SHAD/EVE hybrids and mechanics. I do like it in Pauper Standard.

Check the forums at - http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1097805 for info on this week's MPDC final standings and the top4 decks!

Weekend Pauper Events Fri/Sat FPDC and Classic PDC

I had fun at the FPDC. It starts at 10am Pacific for signups and 1030am Pacific to start the event. See PDCMAGIC for more details (or on the MTGO forums at wizards.com).
Great host and good fun to be had. It's the FUTEX format (Think paper Extended, sans IPA/OTJ).

Classic PDC is a 730am Saturday gaming event. Really cool host and fun stuff to play. The classic format is one of the most diverse metagames you'll see in PDC (or in general MTGO matches for that matter). Lots of fun and Lulthyme keeps everyone smiling.

Every day there's something happening in PDC within MTGO. Free events, great prizes and good folks to play against. They are friendly, intelligent and it will not be boring.

And when's the last time a Magic player couldn't afford commons? Come out and join the fun!

10 days in MTGO v3 ... and overall...

I am truly suprised but I like it. Its lag and crash free for me. The gameplay for 1v1 gaming is smooth and relatively easy to use. While it takes a bit getting used to from 1.x/2.x - its pretty nifty in the smoothness of gameplay. Also if you switch to another window - it will warn you via sound bells when its your turn to play etc.

PROS:
Stable (I haven't seen the system crash at all)
Lagfree (I'd like to see 3000-5000 in casual gaming and see how it holds up)
Generally Clean Look

CONS:
Trading Interface different (has problems if you switch scenes at 2nd confirm)
Card viewing is a pain (the card display is detachable/adjustable - but bad fit
OVERALL UI needs tweaking/improvement - chat UI is decent but could be better.



I am glad to see the /join pdc room doing healthy. It is sad to see the decline of /join bbs but as more folks return and MTGO gameplay increases (*cough* bring Leagues and Multiplayer on by 3.1/end of this year please!) - more folks may return to /join bbs.

I'm really liking Pauper Standard (PDC STD) format right now. KithkinPauperArmy is still my favorite in Standard but GreenFastSwing is now a close second. I have a GreenFastSwing deck that seems to be fun to play. I do need to implement some more control into it. It can kill by T5-T7 if not controlled. Some token generation, slippery creatures with Persist/nontargetting and interesting conspire effects.

Sometime I'll have to test out KPA versus GFS. For now - I'll fine tune them in the Casual gaming room and in some PDC PRE(Player Run Events).

I look forward to some fun PDC events this month!

Rock on!
-tw

Paupers/PDC getting an official nod from Wizards of the Coast

On January 3rd, 2009 - PDC will have a Wizards of the Coast sponsored event in MTGO. This is a tremendous boost for the Pauper/PDC community. After 4.5 years of Pauper gaming within MTGO and over 1,000 Player-Run-Event tournaments - Wizards is stepping up to acknowledge PDC in a serious way.

A Wizards.com column "Into the Aether" did an article on PDC back in 2004 (interviewing me about the first 12-14 weeks in PDC season 1) - its nice to see an official tournament event for PDC.

I'm grateful to many folks - all my friends at pdcmagic.com, all the friends in Common Cause and many - MANY more.

Thank you and I hope this continues to grow!

Its been two weeks -- at My New Job!

I am glad to report that I am wrapping up my second week at my new job. It turns out that my skillsets and 10+ years in IT are in demand. Smiles indeed.

I didnt have to move, still near Tahoe (I love the Lake!) and near family/friends.

I plan on returning to PDC and MTGO in the near future. For now Im winding down my WOW account (freezing it) as I've been VERY MUCH SO ENJOYING AGE OF CONAN!

:)

Regards to everyone in PDC and MTGO.

Rock on,
Tharionwind

A new day and a new dawn.

In this life we breathe. In the sunshine we warm our blood. In the evenings we share a meal or drink with friends and loved ones.

I am forward looking to the freedom I have now.

I am working with professionals and today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I will return to MTGO and bring to PDC new thoughts and my passionate is not gone - just resting as I work with Real Life and what happened to me on 4/22/08.

If anyone needs an IT project manager, Enterprise Storage Administrator or a Computer Consultant in CA, OR, NEV or otherwise - send me a note.

Tough Times never last - but Tough People Do. Pastor Robert Schuller.

Each strike out brings me one step closer to my next home run. --- Babe Ruth

Rest in Peace Version 2.x MTGO 9am Today

The last card played. The last shuffled curse. The last lag time out. The last draft, trade and grumbling about values.

Yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of mtgolagdeath, I shall fear no rare nor evil. For thine is the time of the Great Upgrading. From down upon the Hilltop walketh Optimus Moses Worth to tell the masses of the news:

Thou shalt nog lag.
Thou shalt not covet another man's foils.
Thou shalt not put any other MMOs before MTGO V3.
Thou shalt not playeth Leagues nor Multiplayer til deemed appropriate upon Fixeth.
Thou shalt not steal another players fun and glory.
Thou shalt enjoy the newness of something 4 years old.
Thout shalt not ask why God made the Earth and Universe in 6 days and MTGO V3 took over 4 annums.
Thou shalt enjoy the breads of casual play until we deem the wine of drafting is good.
Thou shalt not complain about narrow chatness - for the the Divine Coder deeems it ok.
Thou shalt enjoy thineself within V3 goodness or pull the pin on the prayer grenade.

Be happy or we smite you dead.

Community and what it means to MTGO

MTGO has been around for 5 years, 9 months in live form 1.x or 2.x. Since 6/2002 it has been a strange phenomenon. Digital Objects for trade and sale. Digital objects in games that people "license to use from WOTC/Hasbro" yet in most folks held views they own them.

Its been a rough time since 2003 and the release of 2.x MTGO. MTGO has struggled due to its success with 1.x and also with 1.x flaws in design: hard coding each card's rules and a centralized master server as a bottleneck restricting growth. MTGO's team (post Leaping Lizards) tried to fix some things with 2.0 in 2003 but the crash was so horrid and nasty that they had to roll back. Ever since then 2.x has had its problems and crash/lag instability (past 3,000 or so users online at once).

Flash forward to April 2008. We're nearing the launch of MTGO V3. Its not the prettiest UI (I hate the vertical chat bar) and will launch without Leagues/Multiplayer (unless they fix that at the last minute).

Lets hope with the new 3.x infrastructure (cluster servers, better uniform coding for card rules/cards and expandibility) - we get growth in MTGO again.

What has held us together for the last 5 years of pain? Community. MTGO users on the forums and in MTGO have helped grow the community and keep it cobbled together. Critics and fans of WOTC both help make the MTGO Forums and MTGO itself a better place. I applaud one thing WOTC DOES right: They let us speak our minds on the wizards.com MTGO Forums (within some reason).

Regarding PDCWAR: Rise of Commonaria - we will be launching the Beta 1 Post V3. V3 is so close, I dont want a hangover between the downing of 2.x live and the launch of V3.

More news to come soon on PDC and MTGO!

Morningtide Release events are nearly over...

And MTGO survived. Had single client restrictions (SCR = 1 user account on at one time), alternating days for different events and other speed control mechanisms. Once V3 hits live - we'll have a stronger base system (and not 1 master server for most nongame interactions).

MOR is good to PDC - good ww stuff and other creative fun stuff. Dredge is a dangerous tech in Extended and such. I like Reinforce and Clash for MOR tech. Look forward to More fun stuff with Shadowmoon.

Continued work on PDCWAR: The Rise of Commonaria - we're finalizing the launch of the beta with more info to come.

Happy Easter and God Bless to all!

Its Easter Sunday morning and I write this update from my laptop. MOR has been a pretty decent release on MTGO. And the commons are quite fun (unless you hate ww tech with a passion). It has its own LOTR-lite theme to it and seems to be very interesting.

I hope everyone has a beautiful Easter Sunday and share time with family/friends. I look forward to more PDC fun within MTGO!

The battle for Commonaria begins soon!

The storms of war have been brewing for some time now. The continental shifts because of the Planeswalker Wars have created great turmoil. A decision by five mages (one from each school of magic) ages ago to save part of Dominaria in a protected vale called Commonaria. Shielded by powerful and ancient magic - it was a safe place for common folk, beasts and magics to live in peace. That millenium of peace has come to an end. Cracks in the the protective ward are growing from the ongoing War outside Commonaria. Each village senses the storm ahead and have begun preparations for war.

PDCX, as it has been announced, is Pauper Deck Wars: The Rise of Commonaria (PDCWAR). An upcoming beta launch date for this game will be announced soon.

Happy St Patrick's Day - Go Green PDC :)

Just wanted to wish all my pauper friends, MTGO folks and others that land here a very Happy St Patty's day! Go green and enjoy yourself in a safe and sane way. Build a Green deck today!

We're working more on PDCWARS: Rise of Commonaria (name changed) - building out the map, basic rules and such. Beta to be launched in a few weeks after MOR release is done on MTGO.

I hope to see y'all in the PDC events this week. Lots of good stuff occuring in the PDC PRE scene.

Rock on and may a pot-o-gold land in your lap today.

Peace out
Papa Pauper TW

More work and signups for Pauper Deck War: Rise of Pauperia/Common Nation

PDCX is Pauper Deck War. A multiweek event we will be beta testing in MTGO shortly. Involving 6-12 players in our first PDCWAR gaming event - it should be a lot of fun. Note that yes we will have prizes for the winner and the top3 finishers overall.

I am seeking out some assistance during this. Game rules engineering and graphics design are needed. If you wish to participate send me a note here at my blog or in MTGO/on MTGO forums.

I have modified my standard deck and will release the latest/greatest with KPA namesake. Kithkin Pauper Army :)

St Patricks Day is nearing upon us and I encourage everyone to build and play at least one green deck this weekend!

Erin Go Braugh!

Pauper Deck Wars: Rise of Pauperia (PDCX)

PDCX is PAuper Deck Wars: Rise of Pauperia. Its a 4-12 week event with 2 turns per week per player. Its a mix of PDC match games and a hex
gameboard. You will fight for lands and build up your Pauper Nation. This will be the beta and we will need 6-12 players to sign up. Its 2 matches a week for about 6-12
weeks. Your input will be valuable. And the winning prizes include 10 tix, 4x terminate, 4x wild mongrel, a 20x playset of foil land and more.

** many weeks like a league**
**2+ matches per week**
**good prizes for the winners**
**For beta we will do a 9x9 square map system**
**up to 12 players to start in PDCWAR:Rise of Pauperia**

A detailed story line to be posted here and the beta/update information at pdcmagic.com http://www.pdcmagic.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1079