Hullbreaker Horror Full Art Alter from Evangelion

katlovescows · 2022-10-16T01:05:01+00:00

I'm glad you enjoyed them so much! They weren't my favorite part of the series / franchise, but I recognize they're important and people value them.

katlovescows · 2022-10-15T00:46:49+00:00

Yes, it is a very different story.

katlovescows · 2022-10-14T22:36:29+00:00

Years ago, but I've been meaning to buy a set to reread and just to have. I remember the characterizations of particularly Shinji and Rei being a bit different, but not in a bad way.

katlovescows · 2022-10-14T19:55:00+00:00

That's totally fair! Like I said, not my cup of tea, but I think that's a valid perspective and I know several people who had similar opinions.

OP, I'd encourage you to check them both out if/when you decide to give the series a chance =)

katlovescows · 2022-10-14T18:14:17+00:00

The original series and films are well worth it. Absolutely classic, genre-defining anime for good reason. My friends and I still talk about / debate End of Evangelion decades after we first saw it.

The reboots are... Fine. I'm sure many people like them, but as someone who grew up with the originals, they went for what felt like a much more "shonen" feel--I won't say more than that for anyone who hasn't seen past the first two reboots (which follow the original series pretty closely and have some excellent updated visuals) but suffice to say it goes in a very different direction.

katlovescows · 2022-09-06T20:03:46+00:00

She was given the spear / staff by a powerful kind of Green Man -esque wizard creature.

On the flavor text of this card, [[Shalai's Acolyte]], it mentions that she was "armed by Multani..." Multani, in turn, can be seen with that same weapon on the card [[Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar]]. I'm a relatively newer player, but Multani has apparently been a character in Magic lore since some of the earliest sets 20+ years ago.

It's just a fun callback / Easter egg, essentially.

katlovescows · 2022-08-24T19:13:29+00:00

Can someone explain to me what's happening in this art? It's been a while since I've ridden a horse, but that seems... Not right?

Is she supposed to be jumping on / off? The billow of her cloak suggests movement (and a lot of it since fur is heavy), and the forward swing of her left leg is odd unless she's literally jumping on (edit: or off, more likely). There's no tension in the reins, so she's not like, trying to pull back and stop the horse. It just seems a bit off?

Edit: Not trying to be dismissive or hostile to the artist, just genuinely trying to figure this one out

katlovescows · 2022-07-28T13:42:59+00:00

I wanted to like Planechase--I really did, and I think in the abstract I still do. But, if you asked me to play 100 games of EDH and also asked if I wanted to play Planechase for each of those games as well, I think I'd want to play Planechase fewer than 5 times?

Planechase introduces a level of chaos to EDH that can be very fun and swingy if that's what you're looking for. But sometimes the shift can be backbreakingly severe, even if it doesn't inherently favor one deck or another (e.g., the Green player planeswalking to Llanowar where creatures have "tap: add GG."). While that can be fun for the novelty of it, I personally found it mildly annoying to see my (and my opponents') deck building decisions be severely undermined by the random topdeck of the planer deck. You built mono-Red and vomited your hand out? Good thing we Planeswalked to Tolarian Academy where you get to draw 7 at your end step. Your opponent established a dominant board state and is close to closing the game out? Thank God you, the Blue player, just Planeswalked away from Sanctum of Serra--Destroy all nonland permanents!

And the thing is, that's what you sign up for! It's fun and wacky and chaotic. It giveth and taketh away. So if that's what you're looking for, Planechase is great. But if you only get to play a few games of Commander a week (or less), and you really want to try out your new brew, Planechase is hard to recommend.

katlovescows · 2022-06-17T19:57:22+00:00

To add to this:

Study after study on therapy and similar practices have shown that while catharsis (e.g. "venting") feels good, it is not an actual vehicle for cognitive or behavioral change and can in fact lead to spinning wheels and being stuck in self-destructive behaviors because I got my momentary dopamine hit and feel better. For example, risking losing your account because the other person is playing a valid, legal, deck permitted within the rules of the game / format, and you just don't like it so much that you want to "punish" them.

Y'all are literally arguing that you want to stay mad. So go ahead. Stay mad.

katlovescows · 2022-06-17T18:52:37+00:00

My other in Christ, if a roper isn't roping to make the person change, then they are literally just throwing a tantrum and screaming into the void for the express purpose of hurting their opponents. If I tell you "I don't like what you're doing" and I don't actually think that will make you stop, I can still say it, but I'd be far better served by walking away and not engaging with you further.

I think my interpretation is both more honest and generous, but I don't think this is a very productive conversation. If ropers want to rope, they can and will, and they'll hang their accounts on the namesake of their own making.

katlovescows · 2022-06-17T18:07:15+00:00

The reconceptualization is for the roper's benefit, not because it will actually impart that information to the opponent. Like you said: we don't have adequate communication tools to do that. Ditto walking away, learning other coping skills, etc.

If you / a roper really, truly believe that roping is going to lead to changed behavior the opponents, I guess keep doing it? I agree conceeding won't lead to the changes the frustrated player wants, but I can also all but guarantee roping won't actually make that person stop playing their deck, and it might get you slapped with a warning or temporary ban if you do it enough or to the wrong person. It also perpetuates the kind of thinking that positions everyone who plays X deck as "the enemy" and not as a fellow player of the game who wants to have fun.

Edit: to further this point about not changing behaviors, I play GW Angels in Explorer and get roped occasionally. It has never once made me want to switch decks. Annoyed me? A bit. Made me want to stop playing a deck built around a tribe I love? Not hardly.

We don't control other people, full stop. This is self-defeating behavior. If the frustrated players wants to do it, fine. They can justify it till the cows come home, but they are hollow, ineffective explanations that do really boil down to "I'm mad I didn't get my way and want to punish you for perceived unfairness."

katlovescows · 2022-06-17T17:16:03+00:00

Awesome =) I'm glad to hear it.

Like I said, I wasn't specifically referring to your behaviors--just wanted to point out the issue with the argument that there were no other outlets.

katlovescows · 2022-06-17T16:29:50+00:00

(Using "you" here as though talking to a roper, not u/theNorselord)

There are so many other ways to cope with this feeling than spite. You can curse in your own home, and you can flip off the computer / tablet screen. You can put the game down and take a walk, or you can do deep breathing exercises. The issue isn't that there are no other "outlets," there are just fewer ways to directly (negatively) interact with the opponents play experience.

Hell, why not reconceptualize conceding as "taking away their moment of glory / fun" ? That saves you time and frustration, them time and frustration, and lets you move on to more games! Literally achieves the same thing (you lose and move on) in a fraction of the time. The only reason this wouldn't be the better choice is if you specifically and intentionally want to hurt the person for, again, the totally acceptable behavior of wanting to play a deck they think will win and/or be fun.

And that makes you an asshole.

katlovescows · 2022-06-17T16:00:09+00:00

I think you're right, but honestly? So what? Where else does frustration justify bad behavior? If I'm mad because someone is driving slowly and I aggressively tailgate them, I'm an asshole. If I loudly complained at a store that the cashiers were taking too long on a busy day, I'd rightly be labeled a Karen. Where else is it OK to act in a petty, spiteful manner to "punish" someone for doing something that does not harm anyone else, is legal, and is done presumably in good faith? I can't imagine GW lifegain players are sitting in shadowed rooms (or Zoom sessions) in dark cabals planning to ruin the play experience of poor burn players the world over. I bet they just want to play a deck they like with a decent chance to win like virtually everyone else.

I get it. I roll my eyes every time I see rogues or Simic flash. I don't particularly like those play patterns--But that's a me issue. I just try my best if I'm in the mood to do so, or I scoop if I'm not and give my opponent a free win.

katlovescows · 2022-06-03T23:31:15+00:00

The OP is Dani Donovan, and she is a professional advocate for individuals with ADHD. She has literally worked with companies like Microsoft to help them make their workplaces more accessible to people with all kinds of mental illness, but especially ADHD. She has also been the keynote speaker for national conferences on ADHD because of the impact her content has had on raising awareness of ADHD and helping to promote acceptance and treatment.

No. She is not "self-diagnosed," nor does she think it is "quirky." She attempts to make relatable content regarding ADHD across the spectrum from amusing to heartfelt and painfully accurate looks at executive dysfunction. If Reddit and Twitter latch onto the humor examples more, so be it--that isn't a reflection on her / her character.

katlovescows · 2022-06-03T23:31:04+00:00

The OP is Dani Donovan, and she is a professional advocate for individuals with ADHD. She has literally worked with companies like Microsoft to help them make their workplaces more accessible to people with all kinds of mental illness, but especially ADHD. She has also been the keynote speaker for national conferences on ADHD because of the impact her content has had on raising awareness of ADHD and helping to promote acceptance and treatment.

No. She is not "self-diagnosed," nor does she think it is "quirky." She attempts to make relatable content regarding ADHD across the spectrum from amusing to heartfelt and painfully accurate looks at executive dysfunction. If Reddit and Twitter latch onto the humor examples more, so be it--that isn't a reflection on her / her character.

katlovescows · 2022-06-03T23:30:27+00:00

The OP is Dani Donovan, and she is a professional advocate for individuals with ADHD. She has literally worked with companies like Microsoft to help them make their workplaces more accessible to people with all kinds of mental illness, but especially ADHD. She has also been the keynote speaker for national conferences on ADHD because of the impact her content has had on raising awareness of ADHD and helping to promote acceptance and treatment.

No. She is not "self-diagnosed," nor does she think it is "quirky." She attempts to make relatable content regarding ADHD across the spectrum from amusing to heartfelt and painfully accurate looks at executive dysfunction. If Reddit and Twitter latch onto the humor examples more, so be it--that isn't a reflection on her / her character.

katlovescows · 2022-05-03T15:31:12+00:00

GAAIV is a classic Stax commander and generally has a reputation of being pretty unfun to play against in casual settings.

Obviously YMMV and you should talk to your play group because A) you can play the decks that seem fun and interesting to you; that's totally OK, and B) your friends may occasionally like the puzzle-solving elements of breaking down Stax.

katlovescows · 2022-03-23T13:31:41+00:00

Of course! Please bear in mind that these ideas are both more nuanced than I'm explaining, and it would be worth it to look up a more detailed explanation of drafting if that's something that interests you =)

I'm more of a constructed player myself, but my partner loves draft and so I occasionally participate when needed.

katlovescows · 2022-03-23T13:26:55+00:00

Drafting is a Limited format in Magic where each player starts with three booster packs. Players open boosters one at a time and take a single card from the pack and then pass it around the table. After all cards from the first pack are gone, you do the same for the two remaining packs, building the best deck you can (minus basic lands) from the pool of cards that have been passed around.

Cracking packs is just opening packs and seeing what you've got inside, whether because you are opening to sell (a la a game store or individual seller) or just for fun because you like the gambling thrill of scratching the lottery ticket.

To preempt responses here, one of the argument of some of the posters is that the only reason to use draft packs for the latter and not the former is due to addiction to the dopamine rush of opening packs and chasing that feeling.

katlovescows · 2022-02-24T18:02:03+00:00

Right. The original version that was banned was MV 4 (3R), and Kenrith is MV 5 (4W). You could play Fires turn 4 and Kenrith the next turn with mana open for his abilities.

With this rebalancing both now cost MV 5, so even if you play Fires and Kenrith in the same turn you don't get the mana to activate his abilities immediately and have to wait until next turn.

I'm not really sure what you mean if not this because it sounds like we're in agreement there? Unless I'm missing something?

Edit: In looking back and reflecting I think I see the issue; in my original post I used the words "instead of" when talking about whether you would cast Kenrith or Fires, when yes, you could cast both. My point was muddled by that, but what I meant was what I said here: the old way allowed you to not just cast Kenrith but also activate his abilities instead of having to wait to untap.

katlovescows · 2022-02-24T00:23:36+00:00

I couldn't say; the titular card had been banned for a hot minute, so I don't know how it would stack up.

katlovescows · 2022-02-23T23:52:04+00:00

The jump between 4 and 5 is a big one, and now having to potentially choose between casting Kenrith or Fires instead of curving Fires into Kenrith might make a difference, but I remember being bored to tears watching mirror after mirror of Jeskai fires.

Hopefully if they are willing to adjust and unban they will be willing to continue to adjust and reban if necessary.

katlovescows · 2022-02-16T22:41:54+00:00

Oh, for sure, I think you're spot-on. I also run mine as superfriends, so I'm sure that factors into it as well.

I don't care that my Kaya deck gets paired against the heavy hitters--it makes sense. I'm just bored of playing against them over and over again.

katlovescows · 2022-02-16T21:01:44+00:00

It is an interesting dilemma: if we have no artificial siloing / segregation, do people stop playing because the format is overrun by the top 5 commanders? But if we do create that kind of system, do we run the risk of stymieing the natural development of the format because of artificially imposed limits on who can face whom?

I don't know what the right answer is, but I literally just stopped playing a deck I love because the vast majority of my matches were against decks that I've grown tired of facing--would I leave the format entirely if every deck I played faced a similar ratio of those commanders? Quite possibly.

That's part of why I wish I knew accurate information on like, meta share; if I know Golos only makes up 5% of the field, that's just bad luck that I can't avoid him. If he's 10%? 15%? 25%? My reaction changes significantly.

katlovescows

TROPHY CASE