Just in case you forgot- you can pick it up at Amazon for $24.99 for a limited time. I already picked mine up at Best Buy yesterday because I just couldn’t wait.
Granted, I don’t think that Iron Man 2 is quite as good as the first Iron Man, but just the same it’s a fun watch and with over 3 hours of behind the scenes footage I felt good picking it up. Even if it does have a forced Avatar: The Last Air Bender trailer at the beginning…grr….
While I’ve had a blast exploring the 2011 Core Set, I can’t say I’m anywhere near as excited about the latest MTG expansion, Scars of Mirrodin. I’m sure JB would be disappointed, but I just can’t help it.
I’ve browsed the visual spoiler and while there are certainly a few stand outs for me, the set as a whole isn’t ringing my bell. Why? For starters it’s a throwback to the original Mirrodin block it would seem- a set I’m completely unfamiliar with as a relative noob in Magic. I’m sure that set must’ve had a pretty big impact on players at the time for them to revisit it here, but sadly, I wasn’t one of them.
Lacking the ability to connect with the nostalgic aside, I have at least gathered that the set is centered highly around artifacts. There are definitely some artifacts I’ve enjoyed success with, but not to the point that I’ve gotten around to building an entire deck around them. I’ll admit I picked up the new duel deck, Elspeth vs. Tezzeret but I haven’t had a chance to play with them. It’s possible they may yet change my opinion on artifact-heavy decks but we’ll have to see.
I’m also not particularly fond of having poison counters featured so prominently. I understand that when you’ve got a TCG that’s maintained the kind of popularity that Magic has for 15 years you might need to revisit a safe mechanic if only for a breather before the next big thing, but poison counters always seemed kind of cheap to me. Unless the rules have changed, if you can put 10 poison counters on an opponent they lose, which is almost like reducing their life to 10 from the onset of the game in my book and believe me, there’s no shortage of creatures dealing poison counters in Scars of Mirrodin.
Maybe I’m just getting elitest after being spoiled by so many wonderful cards from Zendikar, but I just don’t seem to be getting into this one. I’ll probably still do some drafts just to see if I eat my words and maybe get the fat pack, but I can’t see myself splitting boxes of the set with friends either.
How do you feel about Scars of Mirrodin?
Over the weekend I got a brand-spanking new Apple Time Capsule. I’d been needing a new wireless router for a while and was also looking for a solid way to backup my iMac and Nicole’s Mac Mini. Having now set it up and enjoying the peace of mind that having all of your data backed up offers, I thought I’d offer a few tips regarding the setup process. While the entire setup is pretty simple if you follow the directions, there may be some features/nuances you aren’t aware of.
Now that we’re all aware of what 2K’s next big thing is, it’s time for a new trailer! Watching the below it’s easy to see that while the next Bioshock installment isn’t taking place in the haunting tunnels of Rapture, it most certainly does capture the feel of Bioshock. By that I mean the gameplay isn’t just familiar, but appears improved and refined. The environment too certainly harkens back to the propoganda-laden corridors of Rapture with its overtones of indoctrination.
Remember though- this is early footage. So, as good as it looks now I can only imagine what will be like when it finally see the light of day in 2010, though hopefully they’ll bump that up and we might see it in time for next Christmas. Either way, it’s very exciting stuff.
Halo: Reach, although a brilliantly written and devastatingly handsome game, was not the highlight of our September 2010. The real excitement is that Joshua and I are engaged! I was pretty much forced to say yes after receiving this beautiful ring which has one large diamond with a “halo” of smaller diamonds around it. 
The best part of the ring though wasn’t the thirty-three diamonds, but instead the engraving on the inside:
“Player 2 <3″
Thank you guys for the support this last year! We were very excited to share the news! We are officially the nerdiest, geekiest engaged couple ever.
Apologies for the unannounced absence as of late. Nicole and I went with family to Myrtle Beach last week and while last year we had plenty of internet access to go around, this time we weren’t so fortunate. Originally I was going to do a post once we arrived explaining our short hiatus, but alas it wasn’t in the cards. Nicole will probably be posting more about our vacation sometime this week, but for now know that no we haven’t abandoned you all and yes we love you like sons and daughters. Ok, that’s pushing it, but we certainly love you enough to let you borrow our lawnmower. If we had one I mean.
Anyways, stay tuned for our Halo Reach: Legendary Edition unboxing video sometime tonight and I’m sure some more MTG posts from JB.
Excelsior!
Hello reader, and welcome! Today we are going to talk about tips and tricks to minimize costs to playing our favorite hobby! Now, I’m no expert on trading by any means, but I do know how to minimize costs, and make it so I have ended up pretty close to breaking even over the years I have played magic. So, dear reader, lets get started!
Welcome one and all to another exciting episode of Studies into Standard. First of all, let me just say sorry for the delay. I’ve had a rough week. First, my laptop breaks. Then my car breaks down. Then I have to work a 60 hour week this week at the warehouse… anyways, I finally got it finished! So in this episode, I take my U/W Control deck that I built in my original article, and play at my local FNM. For those of you who don’t remember, here is the decklist that I posted:
Planeswalkers
2 Jace Beleren
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Gideon Jura
Instants
2 Jace’s Ingenuity
2 Condemn
2 Deprive
Enchantments
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Cancel
4 Mana Leak
