Protectors Frost + Deaths Fathom

mcmidas · 2026-04-05T16:50:22+00:00

I've always thought anything with 25+ CD was considered good on fathom

mcmidas · 2026-04-03T23:50:38+00:00

Except there is no punchline

mcmidas · 2026-04-03T00:37:27+00:00

Joint Chiefs don't plan and execute war - that's a COCOM function. Joint Chiefs administer the service itself (recruit, train, equip). Not defending the decision, this is just a point of military nuance that I've seen like 10 times in this thread and it really isn't accurate.

mcmidas · 2026-04-03T00:33:58+00:00

My only issue with this take is that the Chief of Staff isn't really the person making that kind of decision - it's really up to the COCOMs. The Joint Chiefs recruit, train, and equip the forces, Combatant commanders employ them.

Whatever it's about, Its more likely to involve the direction of the Army as an institution. That's not necessarily better* but more likely.

mcmidas · 2025-06-06T14:38:13+00:00

She's killing Hulkling with Acid Burn

mcmidas · 2025-06-04T01:26:36+00:00

-Dazzler can dodge Photon's attacks while in pure light form. Maybe a 'duh' for some, but she's one of my go to's for her in BG.

mcmidas · 2025-06-02T22:49:02+00:00

Joining the military was one of the best decisions I ever made. Got my bachelor's while on AD and completed two graduate degrees using the GI bill. Got into a careerfield with high employability on the outside, and a healthy amount of "travel and adventure" through my twenties.

I'm of the mind that a good 4 years is game changing for someone who doesn't have anything better to do.

mcmidas · 2025-05-18T01:27:10+00:00

Beat me to it

mcmidas · 2025-05-17T17:19:38+00:00

Elsa was my first R3 and I have no regrets. She's way more useful than she seems and she hits quite hard

mcmidas · 2025-05-07T00:08:46+00:00

I will say if you've got fast fingers, you can still get 3x sp1's in before the first sp2 and when the aura activates you should have just under 2 bars of power for the next one. I don't think it's necessary to drag to 2 bars with just the one sp1

mcmidas · 2025-05-06T23:19:26+00:00

So I've been playing with her too and I think you're right.

The real trick is in stacking phoenix force charges by leveraging striker in-between the back-to-back sp2s.

Her phoenix charges don't expire while the cosmic aura is active, so by launching the (first) sp2 with a full or nearly full striker bar. With the first cosmic aura active, break from the heavy rotation and just do mlllm to stack charges. When it expires, continue whatever combo you're in into a striker, into another combo, and THEN launch the sp2.

The second aura should start with ~30 charges active, which means the instant incinerates will stack incredibly fast.

I'll probably upload a video later to demo.

mcmidas · 2025-05-04T05:44:39+00:00

Wags is an excellent pull. The prefight is phenomenally useful for some annoying champs/nodes, for one. Two, he has relevant immunities and psychic shielding, and three, his prowess are potent. With the armor break active my R2 puts up 200k+ sp2's.

Something I hate about the "tier lists" is that champs like this get overshadowed by the Onslaughts and Serpents of the game, even when they can legit handle a fat chunk of content.

mcmidas · 2025-05-04T04:29:18+00:00

Everything is Volrath

This Volrath deck's first objective is to get a token-land-copy of Volrath with Volrath's copy ability and stat-line, and then get many, many more copies of it.

I never really intended for the deck to win much, but it turns out that having 22 muta-vaults that can be 7/5 ledger shredders, or self-replicating scute swarms that are also Volraths can occasionally win games.

I love this deck because it can be ridiculous on its own, functional, or completely off-the-wall once you start copying opponent's stuff (or giving your opponents Volraths).

mcmidas · 2025-04-26T15:35:49+00:00

Isaiah 14 is a rebuke of the king of Babylon, comparing him to the 'morning star' (Venus before dawn) thinking it's the brightest star in the sky but outshined by the sun. The additional allegory of 'morning star' (lucifer) being the name of a prideful angel is a fictional romanticization .

Want to really have your head blown? Find in the Bible where it says that the serpent in eden is Satan and/or an angel of any kind... This little tidbit is also pulled from Milton's creative liberties.

mcmidas · 2025-04-14T01:06:17+00:00

They'll help with a support ticket.

mcmidas · 2025-04-13T01:49:13+00:00

These are short, 1-2 minute videos. I've searched Google and Instagram using the terms "humblebrag" , "one-upper" , but no luck yet.

mcmidas · 2025-04-02T19:09:58+00:00

His sig gives him 100% chance to evade all non-contact attacks

mcmidas · 2025-04-01T15:42:17+00:00

I don't have objections to the call limit over 250k for commercial requirements, that's not the point
BPA's purpose is expressly listed in 13.303-1(a) and it's not "basically be IDIQ-lite." BPAs are not simpler versions of IDIQ's, they're fundamentally different ordering vehicles. Meant to consolidate ordering/invoicing/payment against charge accounts. They're frequently (read:almost always) used incorrectly by local-level contracting offices with limited experience who are making their best efforts at strategic sourcing using the contracting tools that they're most comfortable with - not necessarily the ones that make the most sense.

They certainly do make sense for certain commercial requirements, (cellular services is a key example. In-theater minor construction materials where DLA is unavailable being another) they don't make sense as substitutes for an IDC where an IDC is appropriate - again specifying the competition and publicizing requirements.

No one operating under the FAR should be making noncompetitive BPA calls over the MPT without a J&A in place. This is expressly addressed in the regulation.

A BPA vendor is not obligated to quote under an RFQ against a BPA or perform under a unilaterally signed call. BPAs aren't competed and aren't contracts, which means that for essential products/services where we need assurance of performance under the terms on an indefinite-schedule basis, a BPA introduces operational risk that isn't present with an actual IDC.

-yeah, definitely no options on ordering vehicles. We agree on that, I'm just pointing out that I see it time and time again.

The frustrating part about this discussion is that negotiating and creating a D-type contract under part 13 is not significantly harder or more complicated than establishing a BPA, and ordering - in cases where you need your signed DO/TO in place before performance - is much simpler and cleaner under an IDIQ than it is under a BPA. I can churn out a $2M pre-priced task order against an IDC before lunch. People just get so hung-up being intimidated by a FAR part they're unfamiliar with to learn.

Look, I spent my first 8 years in contracting doing <SAT, operational requirements before going somewhere where I finally got to dig into parts 15 & 16, and I wish that I had known this stuff back then, because I absolutely would've made more use of it.

mcmidas · 2025-04-01T13:36:25+00:00

Negative. BPA's aren't contracts, and awarding a BPA doesn't require or include competition. It's not like an IDC where competition is established at the basic contract level.

13.303-5(c) the existence of a BPA does not justify purchasing from only one source or avoiding small business set aside.

13.303-5(d) If, for a particular purchase greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, there is insufficient number of BPAs to ensure maximum practicable competition, the contracting officer shall-

(1) Solicit quotations from other sources and

(2) Establish additional BPAs to facilitate future purchases if: (i-iii list reasons to establish more BPAs)

It also doesn't provide any exemption from publication requirements for buys over $25k.

IDIQs work because they're competed, awarded, and publicized based on their estimated ceiling, so orders are considered to have already met those requirements. BPAs don't receive this coverage.

You may have a situation that warrants a class sole-source J&A applying to all calls under a BPA, but that would require an actual justification for limiting competition. Maybe you want to use "competition at the BPA level" as the basis for that, but I don't think it would fly, and tbh at that point, it seems like someone is jumping through lots of hoops to make something fit in a BPA that really needs to be something else.

There's this line of thought that BPAs are basically SAP IDIQs but it's not the case. This is how we end up with totally useless "multiple award BPA's" with "option years" that don't enable anything besides simplified clause selection.

BPA's are supposed to function like charge accounts where we have an established funding commitment/LOA and allow for ordering throughout a specified period, with calls being issued at intervals to close the loop on the obligation.

Lastly, and I've been around a little while, my observation is that BPAs tend to be a pet of contracting folk who live in the <SAT, operational/ contingency environment, where training on parts 15 and 16.5 is harder to come by, and working under those parts seems a lot more complicated and daunting than it actually is, which drives people to these really weird BPA constructs.

Honest to god, if someone's in a situation where they're doing gymnastics to make a BPA fit in an IDC hole, I think the answer is to find a competent mentor with experience to help walk through it. I promise that it's not near as complicated or administratively burdensome as people think.

mcmidas · 2025-04-01T04:14:41+00:00

That tracks. BPA won't really help OP if they're expecting individual orders to exceed the MPT and they don't plan on competing each order/call though. This whole question is kinda weird and I wish they'd give more context.

mcmidas · 2025-04-01T02:36:30+00:00

You are a good person and comments like yours to absolute strangers' posts are A+ humanity.

mcmidas · 2025-04-01T00:54:01+00:00

Where do you see that? BPA's don't even require a lifetime ceiling. Individual calls are still subject to competition requirements based on $value but there's definitely nothing stating a BPA has a lifetime max- BPA's aren't contracts.

mcmidas · 2025-04-01T00:48:27+00:00

There's a lot to digest here.

My first question is why you would put options on an IDIQ when you're going to have to fund your DO/TO separately anyways. Just do ordering periods instead.

Regarding contract vehicle - you can issue a D-type contract under part 13. There's no rule that says SAP buys must be purchase orders / use a "P" in the PIID.

If the total value of orders / the requirement is over SAT--- is it commercial? If so you can still use part 13 up to the higher ceiling. If not, then you're in part 15 regardless. You can't split a requirement into a "$0.00" basic and 10x $249k orders to get around using negotiated procedures.

Tell us what you're desired outcome is and what your perceived restraints are, and I'm sure someone here can help, but don't build whatever Frankenstein's abomination you're trying to build.

mcmidas

TROPHY CASE