an evening playing magic the gathering, thoughts and results

well like the title said I spent most of this evening playing a trading card game. Magic the gathering is a fairly complex game based on the use of "mana" to "summon" creatures, cast spells and defeat opponents, I enjoy it, the trick is for me, to not take it too seriously and enjoy the social side.

I apologise in advance because this may get a bit technical, a new set comes into "standard" on Friday so my current standard legal deck well kind of isn't, standard is basically a competitive format based on a cycle of "sets" being legal for play. there are a few others, Vintage - anything is legal, well mostly there are a few cards banned, like the joke "unhinged cards" Standard, Extended and modern. It can be as expensive as you make it from buying an intro deck or 2 and playing with friends to buying booster boxes or hell full blown decks card by card online, all options have merits and all can be done.

I spent most of the night honing my Modern deck which is a single colour mana deck, the five colours are red, blue, green, black and white. I run a Red deck for modern that is in the slang referred to as a Burn deck. this means it is a fast paced direct damage spell deck using red or fire.

most newer decks especially in standard with the new Return to Ravnika set are dual colour decks and in fact I think I may buy something different as a challenge, I play a white artifact deck themed around a single mechanic called metalcraft. mainly because robots and weapons are cool and that is what that deck does, equipping monsters with weapons, armour and other toys to get big and gribbly.

So I think I may pick up the blue/white starter for this new set for a very different style of play. all the colours play differently and have very different ethos's. if you are interested read up on it by googling magic the gathering or checking out this link the mtg official site

but moving to the real point of this post, the reason I enjoy magic of mtg is the social side, the wide range of people, from the young 12-13 year old just trying it to the uni students who play socially down the pub right up to the guys who have been playing since the game started, its a great atmosphere, every player is different and each game is new and interesting because no person or deck plays the same. it is as cutthroat or as serious as you want it to be and there are so many formats to try, group games, team events, blind deck build drafting where you enter an event build a deck from cards selected from packs passed round a group whilst they do the same right the way to serious heavy tournament play.

there are events everywhere and you are part of some larger community, with my DCI number I can go to any FNM event around the world and with the right deck, be it standard, modern, vintage or just casual can be relatively sure of finding a game. its something that can be social, friendly or deadly cutthroat your choice, so maybe check it out, grab a booster, find a local retailer and come play?

Updating the links and posting something little as well.

Well firstly this is the culmination of the piece of the budding couple and a little bit of an explanation.

Rebirth.

As a sort of teaser here is something more from the artifact I built during my time as an undergraduate.

this piece is called "start the ball rolling"

“You fucking idiot! I mean 250k and we were clear! What the fuck have you got me into! Guns, drugs, knives, smuggling for fucks sake!”

These raised voices were heard from the next flat, alongside the ringing sound of a slap, hand meeting flesh, the crunch of bone, neck snapping back and the thud of skull bouncing off hollow plasterboard.

There’s stressing and panic, curses and muttered arguments of what needs to be done. How to move a body, where to shift a corpse to?

“Shit!”

Clothes...car – all have to go.

New arguments erupting now, the whys, the hows etc. The last sounds heard are the sounds of a mournful question.

Which one of you bastards is going to pay to clean my drywall? 

Well then till next time ladies and gents, TTFN.

Ben. 

linkbacks to my work

Firstly this is a link to the first in the series of a short story that will potentially become an extended ebook soon.

Dear Diary, Teaching and learning.

secondly

a small reflection on the nature of erotic writing in my eyes.

pool of reflection

Love Notes, most of this isn't mine but I am working with the wonderful Ellie to finish it.

Love Notes

Poetry, one of my first pieces for storytime..

love and lust

Artistic Passions - a short series based on a piece that was graded at university. one day the full artefact will be an ebook.

part one part 2 part the third

finally this is something I wrote as a bit of fun to skate through a deadline.

one hell of a proposal

Ummm.... Hi.

I should probably actually use this thing, but basically my writing has mainly focused on the group blog at

storytime trysts

I should really post something each few days on my own work site, be it projects or writing or general whatthefuckery, so well here is a new blogger, one of my editors actually opening her new blog.

check her out and maybe stick around a while.

http://astarnightingale.wordpress.com/

there is of course the wonderful Ellie Mack my other editor so seriously check her out.

ellie.


but onto my work for the day. poetry and focusing on an old format when I was trying to write to spec as it were, it was a challenge from a tutor, write to the form and features of the style expected from the format.

An English Ode to pain.

My back aches and this pulsing pain wont leave

It follows and twists each second of each day

Hurting so much this tightness hurts to breathe

Through drugs fuel a reprieve it seems to stay

Though not though want of an easing drug 

I sit and wait forlorn for each doctors verdic’ 

Each new gimmick dissolving, mug of foam 

  The mixture tainting taste, placebo slug

Hope above all hope in  solution trick

One day this will stop, under sod and loam

The blood pulse my life hurting coursing through

 oh gods not now so strong, vomit from the pain

this is strange I should know this, nothing new

everything I push for sapped body drain

I’m struggling I know this fight less

Pushing seems so hard it seems pointless now

This hurts so much this burning this pain trap

Its all wrong its all blood and bandage mess

This stress forces pushing harder why? How

Sick I am I swear it sick of this crap

The drugs don’t work say band known as  verve

They ain’t wrong

This shock this pain signals coursing through the nerve

Testing me am to fight, is this too strong.

The blood flowing as I scream

This sickness this pain

This anger courses through me as I bleed

This follows this pushes even as I dream

Sapping me this malicious drain

Agony, shaking coursing, the creed

Thanks for reading and I will in theory post more.

looking back at 9/11

It's weird I can remember  room, seat number reaction what I wore, but I suppose every generation has an event like that. JFK, Lennon Dimebag from pantera, but it is amazing how one act can mark a decade. 9/11 was a change in the world in how people thought and was something more than an attack it was a catalyst for many ideolo=gies to take power for social control, for religious war and for liberal pc but if we weren't x then they wouldn't hate us pandering.

9/11 needs to be remembered but we need to remember the people and the event. the catalyst and when we as scholars write about the post 9/11 world make sure we do not diminish it or any other world changing linchpin. Forgetting the human cost in the rush to talk about it's affect on art, music and literature.

  take the game chrononauts there are linchpins in time change those it flips the world for example if JFK survived but Reagan didn't and Lennon did, Nixon would have been impeached and senator Lennon legalises pot in the early 90's or so say the games designers anyway. just imagine how one event which burns itself into the collective psyche can control the next decade and beyond. something to consider or the musings of a sleep eprived scholar? you decide.

So an update

so I have been accepted on a blog writing original work am helping get something published and now working on my master's, I need the discipline so will rebuild this blog posting at least once a week.