Planeswalkers are broken

I mean, seriously. There were 5 in Lorwyn (already broken in and of itself), but each of the Planeswalkers are really good. And the most recent set? Well, I can say that even though I did horribly yesterday, I still won a game and stood a chance in others all because of Elspeth, Knight-Errant, one of the three Mythic rares I got yesterday. I tried to do too much (because of the Mythics), and that is why I didn't do as well, but still. Shards of Alara is crazy. If you had no idea what I was talking about, I'll try to spell it out a little bit. In MTG, you are a Planeswalker. You can bring all these different beings together and command them. You can burn people, kill people, stop stuff from happening, etc. In the set Lorwyn, they introduced the Planeswalker as a card. Basically, you can pay a cost, and they come into play to help you. They have a loyalty to you that can grow and shrink. Every turn, you can add loyalty for an effect or remove loyatly for an effect. If they have no loyalty, then they go away. The Planewalkers in Lorwyn all started with some amount, had one ability that gave them counters, one ability that took just a small amount of counters away, and then one major ability that took a lot of counters. So, you normally would be stuck with the one ability to add, waiting for the massive ability. Elspeth (a Plaeswalker), in the most recent set, has two +1 abilities that are amazing, and a -8 ability that is ridiculous. I also like that Saprolings actually look better as opposed to looking like animals, they look more like plants.

MEV List

Here is my list for MEV. If you can't see it, click on the "MEV List" above to go to it.

MEV:

002: Archangel, Death
00?: Beast, Devolved/Devolving Brute
007: Cyclops, Man of Action
008: Cyclops, Astonishing X-Man
009: Cyclops, Mutant Messiah
012: Havok, Proud Son
014: Iceman, Jack Frost
016: Jamie Madrox<>Multiple Man, Jamie Prime
018: Jean Grey, Jean Grey-Summers
020: M, Monet St. Croix
021: Multiple Man, Army<>HYDRA
022: Polaris, Pestilence
023: Polaris, Back in the Fold
028: Strong Guy, Guido Carosella
032: Fall's Edge
034: Concussive Force
035: Cracking the Case
036: Fearless Leader
037: First Class
039: Multiplicity
040: Mutant Town Messiah
041: One Man Army
042: Optic Blast
043: Re-Absorption
046: Anarchist, Acid Blast
047: Cable, Soldier X
048: Cable, Dayspring
049: Cable, Temporal Traveler
050: Cable, Mutant Messiah
051: Caliban, Death
052: Cannonball, Samuel Guthrie
053: Domino, Probability Manipulator
054: Doop, Extra-Dimensional Void
055: Feral, Feline Fatale
056: Hepzibah, Mephitizoid
057: James Proudstar<>Warpath, Apache Warrior
058: Lila Cheney, Pop Star
059: Moonstar, Danielle Moonstar
060: Orphan, Russian Roulette
061: Pete Wisdom, Peter Paul Winston Wisdom
062: Phat, Junk in the Trunk
063: Rictor, Julio Rictor
064: Roberto da Costa<>Sunspot, Solar Flare
065: Shatterstar, Benjamin Russell
066: Siryn, Theresa Cassidy
067: Tabitha Smith, Boom Boom
068: Tabitha Smith, Meltdown
069: U-Go-Girl, Tele-Girl
070: Vivisector, Beast Within
071: X-23, Laura Howlett
072: X-23, Genetic Miracle
073: Psimitar
074: RL-9000
075: Doopworld, Team-Up
076: Providence
077: Black Box
079: Born to Run
080: Bosom Buddies
081: Deathmatch
082: In the Crossfire
083: Rapid Strike
084: Techno-Organic Virus
085: The Best at What They Do
086: X-Force Reborn
087: X-Men Don't Kill
089: Exodus, Crusader
090: Gambit, Le Diable Blanc
092: Gambit, Traitor
098: Mr. Sinister, Robert Windsor
100: Mr. Sinister, Molecular Manipulator
102: Mystique, Raven
104: Mystique, Foxx
107: Random, Alex
109: Sabretooth, Wounded Animal
113: Sunfire, Famine
118: Exodus, Crusader
121: Cajun Charm
123: Identity Theft
124: Lion Among the Lambs
125: Malleable DNA
126: Master Thief
127: Sewer Rats
128: Sinister Disciples
129: Three-Card Monte
130: X-Gene Decoded
131: Albert, Earth-50211
134: Blink, Earth-295<>Clarice Ferguson
135: Blink, Earth-295<>Dimension Jumper
136: Blink, Earth-295<>Team Leader
138: Heather Hudson<>Sasquatch, Earth 3470
140: Illyana Rasputin<>Magik, Earth-4210
141: John Proudstar<>Thunderbird, Earth-1100<>War
142: Longshot, Earth-Mojoverse
143: Magnus, Earth-27
145: Miguel O'Hara<>Spider-Man, Earth-6375
146: Mimic, Earth-12
147: Mimic, Earth-12<>Team Leader
148: Mimic, Earth-12<>Infected
153: Power Princess, Earth-712
154: Proteus, Earth-58163
158: Shadowcat<>Cat, Earth-Unknown
163: Panoptichron
165: Blink!
168: A Finer World
169: Five in One
170: Frozen in Time
171: Unhinged from Time
172: Warp Shards
173: Wolverine Squad
174: Aurora, Jeanne-Marie Beaubier
176: Captain America, Weapon 1
177: Chamber, Jonothon Starsmore
179: Deadpool, Party Pooper
180: Deadpool, Earth-5021
182: Garrison Kane, Reprogrammed Cyborg
184: Hyperion, Earth-4023
185: Iron Man, Earth-2020
190: Mesmero, Vincent
193: Sabretooth, Earth-295<>War
194: Sabretooth, Earth-295<>Team Leader
197: Spider-Man<>The Spider, Earth-15
199: Sublime, The Beast Almighty
200: Sublime, Director of Weapon Plus
201: Ultimaton, Weapon 15
204: Wolverine, Unleashed
205: Department K
206: Weapon Plus Satellite
207: The World
212: Merc with a Mouth
213: The Phoenix Egg
215: Trouble with Clones
218: Alex Wilder, Child Prodigy
220: Gertrude Yorkes, Arsenic
221: Karolina Dean, Lucy in the Sky
222: Molly Hayes, Bruiser
224: Old Lace, Genetically Engineered Deinonychus
225: Victor Mancha, Son of Ultron
226: Xavin, Super Skrull
227: The Leapfrog
229: Bastion, Prime Sentinel
232: Nimrod, Killing Machine
233: The Purifiers, Army
234: William Stryker, Fundamentalist
235: Purified
236: Apocalypse, Mutant Messiah
237: The Black Rider
238: The Coming
239: The Pale Rider
240: The Red Rider
241: The White Rider
242: Ch'od, First Mate
243: Corsair, Christopher Summers
245: Nightcrawler, Brimstone Cowboy
246: Professor X, Mutant Messiah
249: The Starjammer, Unique
251: In ze Munich Circus...
252: Super Skrull, World Champion
253: Vulcan, Gabriel Summers
254: Danger, The Singularity
255: Jean Grey, The White Hot Room
256: Kid Omega, Quentin Quire
257: Kick
258: M'Kraan Crystal, Unique
262: War Room
263: Back from the Dead
264: Breakworld Prophecy
268: Decimation
270: Endangered Species
271: Erased

A formal apology to Daniel Way

Dear Daniel Way,

I truly believed that you were messing up Deadpool. When you were writing Wolverine: Origins, and Deadpool was in it, I honestly can say that I hated the way Deadpool was in it. It seemed to me at the time that you were making him just crazy without any of the competency that he usually has. I suppose that I was too used to Fabian Nicieza and his style of writing Deadpool. Still, the way that he was seeing things differently was making him incompetent, and there is no denying that in the comics. While you still have that in the most recent series, you have toned it down a lot and I appreciate that. I would like to apologize for saying how horribly you write Deadpool. To be perfectly honest, this is one of my favorite series, and it has only been two issues so far. Oh, and mocking Rob Liefeld in the second issue? I appreciate that. Sure, to me he isn't as bad as everybody else believes, but he still put way too many pouches on people. Thank you for addressing that. Anyway, I would like to once again apologize for not believing in you, as you have made Deadpool a really fun series.

Pi

9/24 Comics

You know the deal at this point:

Going to be updated in chunks as I do other things as well.

Ultimates 3 #5


Basic Plot: Ultron finally gets to the point.

Okay, Loeb, I think I understand you. You love mysteries, and try to create your own by throwing people into the middle of everything and expecting them to hang on until the end of the ride. Your style is interesting, and really good...some of the time. Hulk pissed me off too much and this was no Ultimates or Ultimates 2. Still, I have to admit that this wasn't as bad as I originally thought. Basically, after Ultimates 2, still my favorite series ever, I was expecitng more of the same and not your brand of storytelling. Well, now that the series is over, I can say that it really wasn't all that good. It was okay, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was at the beginning. The explanations that were given were sufficient, and I appreciate that the story is over and I understand most of it. Sure, they didn't explain everything, but they explained enough.

Captain America 42


Basic Plot: Bucky fights Sin to save the candidates, while everything goes to hell.

Seriously, this was crazy. Totally crazy. I loved how it ended. Not enough to continue reading, but I did enjoy it for the time I did read it. Man, Bucky is really stepping into the role of Captain America. Dare I say that, hmmm, okay: He can be Captain America. Not just take the role until Steve comes back (which he'll probably do eventually), but he can be the new Captain America. He just feels right as Cap. Oh well. Oh, and that last page? WTF? So crazy!

Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men Annual 1


Basic Plot: Geez, okay, here we go. The future FF fight the current FF and current X-Men, while the remaining future X-Men continue fighting.

This two parter was just bizarre. All I can say is that Ultimatum is a horrible idea and concept. Stop trying to fuck everything up! Still, this was enjoyable, but mostly made me just ask WTF a whole lot.

Fantastic Four 560


Basic Plot: The future revealed! Why the New Defenders need Doom, Human Torch and Galactus revealed! Everything is crazy!

Oh, Millar. Somehow, you make this good. This is confusing, and somewhat convoluted, but it is still something I enjoy a lot. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I love reading comics you do. Anyway, this was, as I said, confusing and convoluted, but awesome. I enjoyed when they went over how they took down Galactus. "How could the six of you take down Galactus? He's, like, the biggest bad-ass ever." "Let's just say there used to be a hundred and forty-seven of us before that fight, Johnny Storm." They used 147 freaking superheroes to take out Galactus, who ended up taking 141 of them down with him. Oh, and Susan? Well, telekinesis is one of the most powerful abilities ever, if used in the proper way and with enough power, so the nanny/Susan from the time of the New Defenders is ridiculously powerful and takes out the FF without breaking a sweat.

Ultimate Spider-Man 126


Basic Plot: Symbiote Spidey faces the Ultimates.

Well, this wasn't a great storyline. Also, when does this take place, because Fury is there and I know Fury is in the Squadron universe, and is there for years. This is weird. Seeing him face the Ultimates was pretty cool, although he put up more of a fight then I think he should have. Still, pretty cool, although everything else is mostly confusing. Hopefully, they'll explain when this actually takes place.

Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man 2


Basic Plot: Jackpot faces the Super Skrull as everybody else runs away.

Meh. Not that great. I really hope they reveal Harry to be Menace soon. Pretty much everybody runs away and that is it. Yay.

Blue Beetle 31


Basic Plot: Blue Beetle and Dr. Mid-Nite fight Dr. Polaris' men.

Dr. Polaris is behind everything. A new Dr. Polaris apparently. All in all, it wasn't anything special though. Some fun parts, and I do like Dr. Mid-Nite, but nothing spectacular that I liked about Blue Beetle.

She-Hulk 33


Basic Plot: Kl'rt fights She-Hulk over Jazinda.

I like this issue, but barely. You see, in Annihilation: Super-Skrull, Kl'rt fought his own people in order to find a way to save his son Sarnogg from destruction on the planet Zaragz'na. But he is joining with Skrulls in order to kill his daughter. What, he doesn't care about his daughter? He only cares about his male offspring or something? Oh well. Still, in the end, he realizes that he prefers his daughter being alive to his daughter being killed, and ends up leaving and throwing Nogor away. Guess who's back as an enemy of the Skrull empire? He changes his allegiances so much, it is crazy.

Runaways 2


Basic Plot: Majesdanians attack in retribution for their homeworld.

Poor Xavin. She just got Karolina back and they are ready to start anew when it is revealed that Skrulls killed her homeworld. Awww... That means Karolina is not quite ready for Skrull-Majesdanian relations. Sigh. I still really like this series, including the art, which fits really well for this series. Ramos is an artist I like, but he doesn't fit with everything, such as when he drew Wolverine. It was slightly more serious, so seeing the slightly distorted version didn't quite fit for me.

Nova 17


Basic Plot: Nova and Darkhawk fight off Skrulls.

I have always liked Darkhawk ever since I first found his comics in the 3 for $1 box at a store in San Francisco. Sure, he represents the "mysterious robotic-like guy with weird powers" 90's-esque stereotype, but I still don't care. He was in some issues of Spidey (I do like the Round Robin arc of ASM with Moon Knight, Darkhawk, Punisher, and a whole bunch of guys) and Spidey was in a few of his issues. He just seems to me like one of those Spidey-like guys that is new to his powers, a teen, and unsure of himself, trying to fight crime, all while learning about the world. Blue Beetle and Invincible are part of this too. Of course, by this point, he is more sure of himself, as is Nova, and they were teammates in the New Warriors, so they somewhat get along, aside from that Nova isn't fully trusted since they are being invaded by shapeshifters. Still, very cool. Oh, the issue. Um, pretty good. I enjoyed it. Um, the ending was just confusing, and where the hell is Worldmind? And what the hell is Wendell doing there?

Avengers: The Initiative 17


Basic Plot: The Shadow Initiative go after Spider-Woman/Veranke at Camp Hammond.

Oh, I love this series. And what I have believed for a long time (ever since I realized it was a known character) seems to be true. They have very much hinted that Jean Grey is Mutant Zero in this issue, from her red hair to telekinesis. Oh, and her greatest fear is the darkness in her htat has a name? I mean, I always felt that it fit well that Mutant Zero was Jean (mostly because it had to be a dead character that was female, a mutant and was well-known), but this is just screaming that it is Jean. Well, ninja-Jean, but whatever. The artist is one that I don't necessarily like, with the ridiculous muscles coming out of people, but it is fairly toned down in this issue, with not much of that going on. I love the writing, and I loved when Spider-Woman turned them all on Trauma, who shapeshifted into a Skrull because they feared he was a Skrull.

Black Panther 41


Basic Plot: Black Panther and Storm enact their plan.

Why is this so awesome? Why is Black Panther so bad-ass? I mean, seriously people! He is ridiculous. He was able to detect all of the Skrulls in Wakanda because of the Panther God, giving him the plan of making the Skrulls shapeshift into...I'll let you see. Man, though. I've learned my lesson. Leave Wakanda the fuck alone. Seriously, they took on the Skrulls and kicked their asses. That was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. The two page spread at the end? Holy shit! This is what happens when you invade Wakanda.

New Avengers 45


Basic Plot: What happened with Veranke and Criti Noll during House of M?

Well, I loved House of M (although do think that if they removed the second, fourth and fifth issues, it would have been nearly the same thing) which was written by Bendis and love that this is drawn by Cheung, who has a similar style to Olivier Coipel, which makes it look a lot like House of M. This was a little bit of nostalgia for me, as House of M was when I started picking up issues weekly. Not very much new, just kind of learned that they knew what was going on during House of M, one of Scarlet Witch's kids killed Veranke and they learned soon after that the Annihilation Wave struck the Skrull worlds.

Thunderbolts 124


Basic Plot: The Thunderbolts defend DC.

Look at that image. Go ahead, I'll be right here. Awesome. Remember way back when (last week), when I said how much I love Norman. Aw man, he is a great leader. Now, the Thunderbolts are still a horrible idea, but they at least function cohesively which makes them really hard to beat. Man, this is an awesome series. I love the Thunderbolts. Go Osborn! Any issue that starts with Norman Osborn opening fire on a room full of Spider-Man Skrulls while laughing maniacally has to be good. And man, Venom, Penance, Bullseye, Radioactive Man and Swordsman all prove how powerful they are. Seriously. Moonstone is still proving somewhat incompetent, which is cool, and Songbird is barely in it. Everybody else is pulling their weight though, and posing for the cameras in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Norman gives a speech. "My friends! These creatures think Earth belongs to them! That they can come here--to our
home--and make us kneel! But this is our world! This is our country! While a single breath remains in our bodies, we will fight and die to keep it! Stand with me! Show them! Let us shout it with one voice! This...is my country." Norman is awesome.

Wolverine: First Class 7


Missed it. I'll get it soon, though.

Deadpool 2


Basic Plot: Deadpool trains Skrulls.

Awesome! I mean, seriously. This is a great jumping on point for Deadpool fans. It gives his origin and shows you that just because he is crazy doesn't mean he isn't awesome and really badass. I mean, he took out the Skrulls, wanted to join them, they take his blood, realize they can make immortal Super Skrulls and make a whole batch of Deadpool Skrulls, complete with swords and costumes. This was a dream come true for me, believe you me. Anyway, he goes to show how badass Deadpool can be by having his team take out a whole squadron of Super Skrulls. Not just weak powers either. Powers include: Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Cyclops, Mr. Fanastic, Nightcrawler, Thing and many others. Still, outnumbered 5-1, they conme out on top. His method is madness! Oh, and he mocks Rob Liefeld and his pouches, which was awesome. Man, this is a ridiculous series. Oh, and the end? Nick Fury knows to call on Deadpool. How cool is that? With a Skrull invasion, Fury knows to contact Deadpool to get him to take out a whole bunch of Skrulls. Crazy. Remeber, madness is his method.

West Coast v East Coast

Okay, I know schools on the West Coast start later than here on the East Coast, but I mean, come on! Maybe it is just my professors, but I am going to have had 4 tests in 5 of my classes before my friend even has one single class. 80% of my classes will have had a test in them before one single lecture for my friend. Yes, I know that it is the same amount of school all in all, and that I will be out of school long before her, but it just doesn't feel right, you know?

Sealed v Draft v Constructed

Constructed is the most basic way, where you have the rules ahead of time, and spend time constructing a deck that fits the format. Now, there are many different constructed formats, including Golden Age, Silver Age, Modern Age, Random Punks, Silver Random Punks, Modern Random Punks, BYOS, BYOT, Build a Legend, mini-deck, Highlander, etc. I mostly enjoy Silver Age, but having to think of different ways to build decks (mini-deck/BYOS, etc) are also enjoyable to a point. I can bring whatever I want to a tournament, as long as it fits thouse bounds, which is fun, but the thing I dislike? There are many people better than me, who have more rares, or better ideas, and better ways to run their decks, and include cards I would never think about that make their deck ridiculous. I still enjoyed the 10K I went to where I won 0 games, and only got 3-7 because 3 people didn't show up, but I would have enjoyed it more, had I been a better deckbuilder. As a player, I'm not the best, but I'm pretty good. As a deckbuilder, I could use a lore more improvement.

Sealed is a lot of fun, because you have the same chance as everybody else at the very beginning. Now, there is still emphasis on deckbuilding, but somebody can't have playtested their deck for a long time beforehand and worked out all the kinks, making sure they have the best rares and the best tech. Sure, if you aren't a great deckbuilder, you still could have problems. Still, I enjoy that my losses are pretty much mostly my fault. I could have built a better deck, most likely, out of the cards I was given. I didn't, and now I have to make do with what I have. Sure, some people get ridiculously lucky (Come on, two Blinding Rage at a Sealed event?), but mostly, it is on you to do better.

Draft is my favorite, because you can make more consistent and better decks than in Sealed, and without all of the ridiculous deckbuilding and testing of Constructed. Plus, it is cheaper and more interactive. As opposed to buying 5 packs, you only have to buy 3, but you do need the people. I can see how good cards are in a new set by building sealed decks out of my boxes, but I can't draft, unfortunately, as I don't have the people available. Still, I do enjoy drafting more than anything else.

What about any people that might actually read this? Do you prefer 1 of them to the others?

Are You Embracing Change?

9/17 Comics

Well, here you go:

Amazing Spider-Man 572



Basic Plot: Bullseye and Thunderbolts guards equipped with the gizmos to take out Spidey go after him, as Norman plots.

When did Norman lose it completely? I mean, he was always a nutjob, but he at least cared about his kids. I mean, Spidey snapped Norman into amnesia with Harry multiple times. Now, he just doesn't care? Oh well. Still awesome. I love Norman. He is ridiculously awesome. The Green Goblin is ridiculous. Ridiculous. And he pulls it off so well. Man, I love New Ways to Die! a lot so far, although mostly because of this arc. I wonder if the stuff after will be any bit as good, which is annoying to me, as I don't know the quality of my issues month to month, but I do enjoy the thought of a 6-issue storyline in two months.

Incredible Hercules 121


Basic Plot: Amazons go after Amadeus.

This was really good. I wasn't as happy about the last issue for reasons of Secret Invasion feeling somewhat pointless, but this issue brought it back to what it was before all of that, a bunch of fun with Herc and Amadeus. Namora is also there, so that is fun as well. All in all, it is just a lot of fun, and that is what makes Herc such a great comic. Oh, and the story at the back? I love Chris Giarrusso so much and his Mini-Marvels with the Skrulls have been great.

Secret Invasion: Thor 2


Basic Plot: The Asgardians fight against the Skrulls as Donald Blake delivers a baby.

Meh. This is one of the ones I don't like as much. One reason is Beta Ray Bill. As much as I love him, he was trapped in some demonic dimension last we saw him. Oh, and suddenly, the Skrulls were able to find him, capture him, torture him and abuse Stormbreaker? Stormbreaker, which has the same enchantments as Mjolnir? Which includes, as far as I know, the same enchantment that makes it not be able to be used by anyone other than those worthy (such as Bill or Thor). Hmmm. Oh well. I enjoyed it, but think that it is kind of ludicrous that the Skrulls are able to take on the Asgardians the way they do in this. Oh, and that Super Skrull? Come on! Well, at least Thor wins and then goes to NY by himself to fight the Skrulls with the new Cap.

Mighty Avengers 18


Basic Plot: Nick Fury sends his Commandos after Maria Hill.

Heh. Nick is a dick. I never quite realized how much of one he was. I still like him, but I mean, come on! How do you make your team work well and love you? Well, insert a device into them that can't be copied or interfered with (so he knows it's them), kick their ass to prove that powers don't make the man, and finally kidnap and torture them under another guise to make sure they won't talk to enemies. Oh, I didn't realize Nick Fury was a dick no matter what universe he's in. I still think he is awesome, but man! Oh, and seeing the Commandos in action is pretty cool. Oh, and it was all a test. Maria isn't a Skrull (as far as Nick knows). Ha! You went through all that effort because I wanted to test you! Geez!

Guardians of the Galaxy 5


Basic Plot: Drax works on his plan, while everybody else also does their own thing trying to find the Skrulls amongst them.

I love Drax. I used to love his Infinity Watch version (the one I knew), and when they had the Drax miniseries, I was intrigued by his trasnformation into a bad-ass. I still appreciate brain-damaged Drax, but have to admit that this is awesome, seeing him as a total bad-ass, who just kicks ass. I mean, he is going to blow up Knowhere to see which people were Skrulls after they were all dead. Also crazy, but yeah. This is a great series and a great issue. Man, I love these Guardians of the Galaxy. They are so bad-ass.

MTG gets political

Okay, I love this card. Sure, you can claim that you are saving 1 red mana for later, but don't you think it'd be easier to keep the land?

Anyway, I was stumbling upon the web and found this and loved it. The second one is pretty good also. When I think about offshore drilling, I really think about this card, well, what this card does. Sigh...

The Age of Apocalypse is upon us...

Okay, so before they had made the MAA set with Apocalypse's team, I had already made this part of my alternate realities set. It's a lot of cards, so be warned. This was made soon after MTU, and I really liked the equipment from that set and the generic plot twists that could help a team more if they had that affiliation, so see that in here. The Horsemen theme is generally to become stunned and become more powerful, it's kind of weird.

Some notes: If you see AOA, that means that is a card from the Age of Apocalypse (most aren't) and is part of an alternate reality. There is one card that specifically requires cards from the Age of Apocalypse, but otherwise, they are used for things not seen in this team. As an example of templating, I was thinking of this:

The AOA is in the background, like the Hellboy stuff, although will actually matter. Oh, and this doesn't specifically have a trait (I like the traits, sue me), but mutants in general would have traits. Also, they all have the Horsemen of Apocalypse affiliation, but if a character has another affiliation listed, that means they are dual-affiliated. Anyway, enjoy:

Abraham Kieros<>War, Horseman
2
2/3
Mutant-Energy
Activate >>> Replace target non Team-Up location. Use only during your attack step.
Uncommon

Abyss, Horseman
3
6/3
Mutant-Physical
AOA, Concealed-Optional.
Stun a character you control >>> Move target character to the hidden or visible area.
Common

Ahab<>Famine, Horseman
3
R
5/5
Loyalty-Reveal.
Whenever a character you control becomes stunned, stun target character with a cost of 2 or less and exhaust Ahab.
Uncommon

Apocalypse, The First One
1
2/1
Mutant-Physical
Discard Apocalypse >>> If you control a Horsemen of Apocalypse character, search your deck for a mutant card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Discard a card.
Uncommon

Apocalypse, Immortal
5
F/R
10/9
Mutant-Physical
Concealed
Invulnerability
Vengeance: Whenever Apocalypse becomes stunned, he cannot be KO’d this turn.
Common

Apocalypse, Ruler of Earth
7
F/R
17/16
Mutant-Physical
AOA
Discard a Horsemen of Apocalypse character card >>> Characters you control have +X ATK while attacking this turn where X is the cost of the card you discarded. Use only once per turn and only if you control at least three Age of Apocalypse characters.
Rare

Apocalypse, The 12
9
F/R
25/24
Mutant-Physical
Loyalty, Invulnerability.
Stun Apocalypse >>> Remove any number of characters from the game. Those characters’ controllers lose endurance equal to those characters’ cost. Use only while Apocalypse is ready and only during your attack step.
Rare

Archangel<>Death, Horseman
6
F/R
13/12
Mutant-Physical
Activate, stun a Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control >>> KO target character with a cost less than the cost of the character you stunned. Use only once per turn and only during your attack step.
Common

Autumn Rolfson<>Famine, Horseman
4
8/6
Mutant-Energy
Stun a character you control >>> Target character cannot ready this turn. Use only once per turn.
Uncommon

Baal, Father Figure
2
2/3
Characters you control named Apocalypse get +1 ATK and have invulnerability while not in combat.
Rare

Caliban<>Death, Horseman
2
3/3
Mutant-Physical
Stun a Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control >>> Whenever Caliban stuns a character an opponent controls this turn with the same cost as the character you stunned, KO that character.
Common

Caliban<>Pestilence, Horseman
6
12/13
Mutant-Physical
Loyalty.
Whenever a character you control becomes stunned, target opponent loses endurance equal to that character’s cost.
Uncommon

Chamber, Clan Akkaba
3
X-Men
R
5/3
Mutant-Mental
Stun a Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control >>> Target opponent loses endurance equal to that character’s cost. Use only once per turn.
Common

Deadpool, Dead Man Wade
4
R
7/7
AOA, Concealed.
Whenever a character you control becomes stunned, you may stun Deadpool. If you do, KO target stunned character and its controller loses endurance equal to that character’s cost.
Uncommon

Deathbird<>War, Horseman
4
F
6/6
Concealed-Optional
Loyalty-Reveal
Deathbird gets +1 ATK for each stunned character you control.
Common

Dracula, Violent Adversary
5
Underworld
F
9/9
Concealed-Optional
Loyalty-Reveal
Whenever Dracula stuns a character, gain endurance equal to the number of stunned characters you control.
Common

Exodus, Betraying Ally
6
F/R
13/12
Mutant-Mental
Stun a character you control >>> Exodus gets +X ATK this turn where X is the cost of the character you stunned.
Common

Gazer<>War, Horseman
3
F/R
6/4
Mutant-Energy
Stun Gazer >>> Target opponent loses 4 endurance. Use only once per turn.
Common

Genetic Fodder, Army
2
R
2/2
AOA
Stun Genetic Fodder >>> Put 2 +1/+1 counters on target character.
Uncommon

Holocaust, Horseman
7
16/16
Mutant-Energy
AOA
Whenever Holocaust attacks, each opponent loses endurance equal to the number of stunned characters you control.
Common

Mikhail Rasputin, Horseman
6
11/11
Mutant-Energy
AOA
Stun a character you control >>> Put +1/+1 counters on target character equal to the cost of the character you stunned.
Uncommon

Mr. Sinister, Uneasy Ally
5
10/9
Invulnerability.
Stun Mr. Sinister >>> Stun target character with a cost of 4 or less.
Uncommon

Ozymandias, Reluctant Servant
1
1/1
While you control Apocalypse, Ozymandias has evasion.
Vengeance: Whenever Ozymandias becomes stunned, you may evade a character you control.
Uncommon

Ozymandias, Living Stone
4
5/9
Invulnerability.
Whenever a character becomes stunned, Ozymandias gets +1 DEF this turn.
Rare

Plague<>Pestilence, Horseman
5
Morlocks
9/6
Mutant-Physical
Whenever Plague stuns a character, KO that character unless that character’s controller pays endurance equal to the number of stunned characters you control.
Uncommon

Sandstormers, Army
1
0/1
Sandstormers get +1 ATK for each stunned character in play.
Common

Stryfe, Untrustworthy Ally
7
F/R
Mutant-Mental
16/16
Whenever a character you control becomes stunned, replace any number of resources you control.
Whenever a character becomes stunned, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
Uncommon

Wolverine<>Death, Horseman
4
8/7
Mutant-Physical
Stun Wolverine >>> KO target stunned character with a cost of 4 or less.
Uncommon

Apocalypse’s Armor
2
E
Apocalypse’s Armor costs 2 less to recruit onto a character named Apocalypse.
Equipped character has +2/+2, invulnerability and “Whenever this character becomes stunned, target opponent loses endurance equal to this character’s cost.”
Uncommon

Steeds of Apocalypse
0
E
Equipped character gains the Horsemen of Apocalypse affiliation, flight and “Whenever this character becomes stunned, gain 1 endurance.”
Common

Apocalypse’s Tower
2
L
Terraform, AOA
To flip, stun a character with a cost of 2 or greater you control.
Characters you control named Apocalypse have +2 ATK.
Horsemen of Apocalypse characters you control get +1 ATK.
Common

Teleport Platform
2
L
AOA
Stun a character you control >>> Move a character you control to your hidden or visible area. If you control a Horsemen of Apocalypse character, gain endurance equal to the cost of the character you stunned.
Uncommon

The Core
3
L
Terraform, AOA
Stun a Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control >>> KO target stunned character. Use only once per turn.
Common

Age of Apocalypse
3
PT
AOA
Ongoing: Characters you control named Apocalypse have “Stun Apocalypse >>> Stun target character if its cost is less than Apocalypse’s. Gain endurance equal to that character’s cost.
Rare

Apocalypse’s Horsemen
2
PT
To play, discard a card.
Search your deck for a character card with the version Horseman, reveal it, put it into your hand and shuffle your deck.
Uncommon

Corrupting the Soul
3
PT
To play, exhaust a character named Apocalypse you control.
Whenever target character you control enters combat this turn, it gets +1/+1 this attack for each stunned character you control.
Common

Eternal
1
PT
Ongoing: Whenever a character named Apocalypse you control becomes stunned, you may search your deck for a character card named Apocalypse, reveal it, and put it into your hand.
Uncommon

Genetic Superiority
2
PT
Target attacker you control gets +2 ATK this attack.
Whenever a Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control becomes stunned this attack, target character gets +1 ATK this turn.
Uncommon

Mega Morph
3
PT
To play, stun a character you control.
Target character you control named Apocalypse gets +3/+3 this turn.
Rare

Mutant Messiah
7
PT
To play, stun a mutant you control.
If you haven’t played any plot twists this turn, search your deck for a Horsemen of Apocalypse character with a cost less than the cost of the character you stunned, put it into your front row and shuffle your deck.
Rare

Ruthless
3
PT
AOA
Whenever a Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control becomes stunned this attack, KO it and put +1/+1 counters on target character equal to the KO’d character’s cost.
Uncommon

Stun Blades
2
PT
Target Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control gets +2 ATK this attack.
Whenever a character is stunned this attack, that character’s controller loses endurance equal to that character’s cost.
Uncommon

Survival of the Fittest
3
PT
To play, stun 3 characters you control.
Ongoing: At the start of the recovery phase, recover a Horsemen of Apocalypse you control and lose endurance equal to that character’s cost.
Rare

The Twelve
9
PT
To play, stun Horsemen of Apocalypse characters you control with a total cost of 12 or greater.
Remove any number of characters an opponent controls from the game and that opponent loses endurance equal to those character’s cost.
Rare

Timeless
2
PT
To play, stun a character you control.
Search your deck for a character named Apocalypse, reveal it, and put it into your hand.
Common

World Domination
2
PT
AOA
To play, choose two affiliations you control.
Ongoing: Crossover those affiliations.
Stun a Horsemen of Apocalypse character you control >>> Target character you control gets +1 ATK this turn.
Common

Deadpool

Yeah, there is a new Deadpool series, and as afraid as I was that Daniel Way was writing it, I have to admit, it was a great start. It had everything I needed from my favorite Merc with the Mouth. Humor, insanity, violence and stupidity, all while being kick-ass. You know the alternate art cover? The one by Liefeld (oh, no)? Well, at Comic-Con, Liefeld had that cover as a poster and I was able to bu it. Man, that is aewsome in a larger size. While I understand people's dislike of Liefeld, I can appreciate him, partially because I did grow up in the 90's and partially because he created Deadpool and has gotten a lot better over the years. I know people love Jack Kirby, but personally, I don't see the appeal in his work. Some of the later DC stuff is actually pretty cool, but the rest never appealed to me. What does that have to do with anything? Kirby seems like this great artist, whereas Liefeld is seen as, well, I don't want to use the words. I persoanlly like Liefeld more, even though a lot is stupid, he still did a lot and tried hard, and I actually like most of his stuff (not feet, or bug guns or ridiculous numbers of pockets) more than Kirby (who I see as drawing things flat and somewhat uninteresting). Plus, he helped create Deadpool. I mean, I can't ever be angry with him for anything because he created one of the things in my life that has been the best. Anyway, Deadpool is a great series and everyone should read it and buy it so it doesn't die. Too many series have died because not enough people read them, even though they were great. Sure, some bad series live on, but the good ones don't seem to get a fair chance. Sure Cable & Deadpool lasted 44 issues longer than anyone expected, but hey, that is a lot less than I would have liked.
Why is the Hulk v Wolverine DVD coming out in January? Why can't Marvel let me buy my Deadpool now?

Comics for 9/10

Here's the covers and the reviews will be by later:

Ultimate Origins 4


Basic Plot: Nick Fury's a super soldier and Bruce Banner, Hank Pym, Richard Parker and Franklin Storm all work on new super soldiers.

Um, okay. Some interesting stuff. Mostly, I am confused. So, why is Nick Fury suddenly a super soldier in the Ultimate universe? Sure they established that a while ago, but I am still confused. Why didn't it seem he acted like it during everything he was in? Oh, and those weird eye thingies? The Ultimate Watchers. Sigh... Bendis, there are some weird things you are doing. What is going on? Why are you destroying the Ultimate universe? Oh, Ultimatum. Right. Well, why are you having Ultimatum? Why can't it just continue and not be a crossover universe with epic stuff only in individual series. Why are you crazy? Still, Hulk's first Ultimate appearance? Fought and met Spider-Man. Hulk's first actual Ultimate appearance (by that, I mean the first time in actual time and not in reading comics, like Colossus took Banshee before it existed/we knew it existed) ended up being him staring down young orphan Peter Parker as a baby. Oh, Peter, your life was f'ed up before you were old enough to crawl!

Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual 1


Basic Plot: Honestly? Um, get back to me on that.

Yeah. Okay. Let's see... In the future, 20 years from now, the X-Men will consist of Captain America, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde with webbing, Rogue with wings and claws and Phoenix ( a guy). All revealed, it is actually Cyclops who lost his powers and took over the mantle of Cap after Cap died, a Wolverine robot (all Sentinels in the future are Wolverine), Phoenix is Franklin Richards (yeah, Reed and Sue's kid) and weird shit happens. I don't really know how to describe it. Oh, and apparently, the future FF is Firestar (yeah, probably Liz), Invisible Woman, Namor and Iron Man/Crimson Dynamo? Sigh... The story finishes in Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men Annual, which is just stupidly named. Oh, and there are 3 more annuals, Ultimate Spidey, Ultimate Cap (with Black Panther) and Ultimate Hulk. Hmm....

Amazing Spider-Man 571



Basic Plot: Anti-Venom fights the Thunderbolts, Menace fights Norman and Norman discovers Spider-Man's secret...

Spider-Man sets up the camera and then has it designed to always take pictures so that the spider on the front of his chest is dead center in the frame. Spidey only uses Peter Parker as someone to pawn pictures off to. Oh, Norman... Well, I am glad this is a longer arc, and I do enjoy it so far. Man, though, they are pretty much yelling at us that Menace is Harry. Crazy. Hmmm, who is Jackpot? We still don't really know... Anyway, a great start to the New Ways to Die arc that keeps being consistently good this time around for at leat 4 issues, as opposed to last arc's 3 issues are great, then 3 issues suck, then 3 are okay...

Secret Invasion: Inhumans 2


Basic Plot: The Royal Family fights back.

Note: Whenever attacking the Inhumans, don't do it outright, just do it in secret. Otherwise, they'll gain the upper hand and kick the crap out of you. Man, Medusa is a bitch. She takes the Skrull who attacked her and tortures him by exposing him to Terrigen mists a bunch of times, causing weird mutations and making him tell whatever she wants. Man, they are all bad ass. Still, they will have a hard time trying to find Black Bolt, I suspect, but when they do? Shit. I really don't want to be a Skrull then.

Secret Invasion: X-Men 2


Basic Plot: The X-Men use guerilla tactics as Nightcrawler keeps listening to Skrull rhetoric.

Oh, Nightcrawler, who would have ever guessed your faith would be a weakness? Skrull bible v Nightcrawler? Skrull bible FTW. Oh, and X-Force shows up. The new one, yeah. No Wolverine in it anymore, jsut X-23, Warpath, Wolfsbane and Archangel. Yeah, Archangel. Still transformed somehow. I don't quite understand, but whatever. Maybe Carey thought they would keep Warren in his Apocalyptic form. Oh well. Still cool to see. I enjoyed it a lot. And the killing of the Super Skrull ot be delivered as a tissue sample to Beast? It feels right for some reason. I don't know why. Maybe this is too colorful and I don't think of it as trying to be ridiculouly dark so it fits. Oh well. I enjoy stuff like this.

Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers 3


Basic Plot: Runaways+Young Avengers v Xavin's teacher+Elektra/Cloak/Dagger Super Skrull.

Awesome. I love this series. The art is different, but I enjoy it a lot. I also really like how Yost wrote Xavin. Xavin is an awesome character (and one of the reasons I like Runaways) and he is great in this entire series. Everything was well done, and at the end, I am satisfied and the story was well written and beautifully drawn. It is weird seeing the art like this, but I enjoy it. It's the same artist from the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane stuff, which isn't as much a superhero comic, and it isn't really a superhero type art, but I think it is still good and worked well.

Secret Invasion 6


Basic Plot: The Skrulls spread the message of embracing change, while the heroes gather for one last offensive.

Okay, Thor, Captain America and Iron Man together again for the first time is awesome. New Thor, with Bucky Cap and SHIELD head Iron Man are just awesome. I hate Tony, but man, that is awesome. As much as I like the Skrulls, damn, that was cool. Thor is so great at this point in time, and Bucky does a great job trying to fill the role of Cap. Oh, and the dialogue between Skrull-Spider-Woman and Nick Fury:
"He loves you."
(Spidey)-"Uh...he who?"
"God."
(Fury)-"Yeah? Well my god has a hammer!"
I love this series. Bendis is awesome (in general, althought the destruction of the Ultimate universe is bullshit) and I love this series. I don't really care what other people think about it. Secret Invasion is possibly the greatest Crossover event I have ever read. I think it is ridiculously awesome. Go Skrulls!

Deadpool 1


Basic Plot: Deadpool tries to fight a bunch of Skrulls.

Hell yeah! Deadpool's back with his own series. First, the negatives: Deadpool is still written by Daniel Way. Deadpool still is seeing things. Positives: Deadpool seems better when not being drawn by Steve Dillon and being written by Daniel Way. Deadpool realizes that he is seeing things. Deadpool is back in his own series. It was awesome. Okay, so he has two voices in his head now, the yellow boxes and white boxes, with typewriter like text, and he explains that he sees from his own POV, which while ususally meaning Point of View, here means "POOL-O-VISION™", which then makes an argument between the yellow boxes and white boxes on pronouncing the TM, which is silent. Oh, and he dressed as the Phillie Phanatic. For those who don't know, he is a mascot for the Philidelphia Phillies baseball team that looks like this (albeit without the copyright infringement, and thus nameless baseball teams). Man, and he wants to join them? WTF? Oh, wait, Daniel Way already wrote WTF? at the end of the comic. Well, Mr. Way, you have impressed me. Keep up the good Deadpool.

VS stuff

So, VS is hard for me where I am, but I hopefully can do more in terms of VS related activities. I think I might post my MAR set of Marvel Alternate Realities. I know I have said I would do that before, but I really wanted to actually create the cards in Photoshop, but right now, I just don't care enough.

Otherwise, I am really looking forward to MEV, and hopefully, I'll be able to build a killer Deadpool legend deck that is able to defeat anyone.

I still am on forums and read blogs, but I just don't have opportunity to play, as I don't really like online play (I'll do it, but it kind of irks me a little, especially with people who won't actually listen to you, and...long story) and have no one near me who'll actually play. The closest are people who might play once, but would more likely rather play M:TG, which I will play also.

Oh No, You Didn't!

Okay, this commercial is awesome. The game, I don't know about because it doesn't interest me, but it does seem like it could fit with Deadpool as it is a humorous song about mercenaries.

You can also download the whole song, which has two more whole verses and a chorus, at their site.

I just love that song. It is catchy and is about mayhem and violence. What could be better?

Comics on 9/4

Hey, today is my parents' 20th anniversary! Happy anniversary.

Punisher War Journal 23

Basic Plot: The end of the Jigsaw arc. Everything comes to an end.

Well, I haven't really liked WJ since the Kraven arc, but I do have to admit that this was probably my favorite of all the issues. I still dislike Chaykin's art, but it was bearable. When they brought in the Wrecking Crew, I was concerned as to how they were going take them out. I mean, these guys, while mostly idiots, have gone up against big shots like Thor multiple times. How would Punisher take them out? Well, aside from Domino apparently driving a truck into two of them (Piledriver and Bulldozer) to stop two of them, it made sense. Rhino came to save Frank. Wait a sec... what? Yes, I love that Rhino came to help him. With everything Punisher did, he still let Rhino go and Rhino paid Frank back big time by taking out the Wrecker, giving Frank the opportunity to grab his crowbar and beat Thunderball. And why did he not take out Jigsaw? Well, it is pretty convoluted. I didn't like his reasoning. Sure, he can't see the big picture all the time. Well, whatever. I remember during Marvel Team-Up, the arc with Ringmaster, there was a Punisher/Blade team-up and Blade talked about how he was immortal and might be able to complete his mission of eliminating vampires, but Frank won't be able to. Frank just kept saying he didn't care and was going to try. In this, it seems he is less bad-ass like that. Oh well...

Venom: Dark Origin 2

Basic Plot: Eddie covers the story of the Sin-Eater.

Really? I want new stuff. This story was covered in, what, 3 pages in issue 300 of ASM? While not a bad story all in all, this was just pointless. It basically was a more detailed version of how Eddie covered the story of Sin-Eater, and then revealed who Sin-Eater really was, just a few hours before Spidey caught the real one. Eddie took the fall, then became Venom. Okay, so this needed a whole issue? Sigh... I don't understand this series. I think it is trying to make Eddie Brock look crazy, dangerous and sympathetic all at the same time.

Secret Invasion: Front Line 3

Basic Plot: More about the people in NYC trying to get away from Skrulls.

I like the art in this series, but the story? Well, I think it could be interesting, but I just don't care enough about these people, most of them anyway, so it just doesn't matter that much to me. Sure, I like Urich, but otherwise, that cop, the guy and his daughter, not as interesting. Oh, and the ending? Just stupid to me. I mean, basically, what the cab driver said? My point exactly. The "Rolling Sevens" are this street gang that have a subway tunnel and don't want to let survivors through. And the driver says "Aw, that's bull, man. I spend my whole morning running away from aliens, I ain't gonna be scared of some mope with a bright light." Then he gets shot. Oh no! I'm so worried!/sarcasm This is just stupid to me. I don't know.

Amazing Spider-Man 570

Basic Plot: As Norman plans, Venom, Anti-Venom and Spidey fight.

Okay, I have to say it. When they first showed pics of him, I thought, "What is this guy? Anti-Venom?" Then I realized that was a pun and laughed. Wait, he really is called Anti-Venom? That is pretty stupid. Come on, Slott, get a better name than that. Anyway, the fight was amusing, and Mr. Li (aka Mr. Negative) is starting to look suspicious to May for having the panic room in the homeless shelter. Norman is awesome though, throughout. He is easily my favorite Spidey villain, and he is working really well in this. Oh, and something came to me. I think Harry Osborn might be Menace. That would be so awesome. Hmmm...

Labor Day?

Because of Labor Day, comics tomorrow.

Apologies

I'm sorry for not having my reviews up yet, but it was difficult. So, not only did Marvel have 18, yes, that number is correct, issues that I wanted last week, but DC's only title that I actually pick up came out (Blue Beetle) and Marvel had another issue that was free, so I had to go through 20 different issues. Still, I got through them all. I might put up reviews, but we shall have to see.

Sore thumb

Ow. Okay, I have played Metroid Prime 3 recently, and on Saturday, I beat Metroid Prime (all the wya through, in about 8 hours with 75%). You hit the A button a lot in those games to shoot the crap out of enemies. Still, my thumb has never hurt worse than playing Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 for Wii. Using a GCN controller, and playing as Chiaotzu against such enemies as Frieza, Perfect Cell and Broly really make your thumb hurt, especially when you win. Basically, it is about 3 minutes or so of constant button mashing. And if you let up, they are going to get a single attack in and kill you. Still, I was able to actually win against these guys which amuses me to no end.