Finkel, OKCupid & Gizmodo

It's a shocker, I know! Who could have imagined that a red blooded planeswalker like Jon would have interest in anything aside from magic, right? ESPECIALLY a girl!! Our worlds have collided.

By now many of you have probably read the Gizmodo blog about Alyssa Bereznak (a Gawker media employee) and her OK Cupid date with legendary magic player Jon Finkel. For those of you still out of the loop on this trending topic, you can read her "article" here:

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/08/my-okcupid-affair-with-a-world-champion-magic-the-gathering-player

(EUGH. It makes me a little bit sick to know that she just earned $$ from your click!)

Seems someone hit a nerve with the online geek community, as backlash has been fierce. Her condescending attitude reminds me of the "plastics" from that Lindsay Lohan movie "Mean Girls". She seems like the type that was popular in high school, and is still trying to hold onto her cool girl rep by putting other people down.

Here is another article for you to written by / for geeky women everywhere to defend Jon and apologize for the public humiliation that wily femme fatale had attempted to heap upon him:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112671-An-Apology-to-Jon-Finkel

It makes me laugh a little, because I remember (back in the day) when people who read comics and played CCG's were ridiculed by their peers. NOW it seems like we're the ones that all our friends come to when they want to know more about the recent "Batman" or "Captain America" movies! We've gone from martyrs to kings!



Alyssa Bereznak, when the impeding zombie apocalypse finally dawns, you're going to regret not having a geek with a shovel or crowbar to back you up! :P

Cheers,

Carl Szalich

From the Vaults (FTV): Legends is released!

$34.99 is the MSRP of this bad boy... is it worth it?

Let's take a look at the fully spoiled list and make some observations!

1. Cao Cao, Lord of Wei
2. Captain Sisay
3. Doran, the Seige Tower
4. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
5. Kresh the Broodbraided
6. Mikaeus, the Lunarch
7. Omnath, Locus of Mana
8. Oona, Queen of the Fae
9. Progenitus
10. Rafiq of the Many
11. Sharuum the Hegemon
12. Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
13. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
14. Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
15. Visara the Dreadful

Wow, look at all those legends! A couple of them have new art, and this is Cao Cao's first time being printed in foil. Seems pretty decent considering many of these foils are high value due to being used in Cubes / Commander decks.

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The ones that REALLY stand out to me are:

• Doran, the Seige Tower

I get the impression that this guy could be VERY good in the new Modern format. He's G/B/W, so has a lot going for him. He gets Dark Confidant, Tarmogoyf, Kitchen Finks, Thoughtseize, Maelstrom Pulse... the deck is basically built! He's also a decent general in Commander.

Star City Games prices? LOR $12.99 / FTV $4.99

• Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

Kiki-Jiki is the combo king and a huge player in commander. Whether he's creating infinite damage by copying Deceiver Exarch / Pestermite or just copying your Inferno Titan, he'll be here waiting for you to summon him to the battlefield.

Star City Games prices? COK $49.99 / FTV $11.99

• Mikaeus, the Lunarch

The new kid on the block, set to be released along with Innistrad. It will be standard playable, and fits the mana curve anywhere due to it's WX casting cost. It's got a decent ability, so should see some play!

Star City Games prices? INN $7.99 / FTV $7.99

• Progenitus

He's the power behind the recent outbreak of "NO RUG" decks sweeping legacy, and is a 5 color general for commander. The "protection from everything" clause will ensure that this guy keeps seeing play, and legacy players love to pimp their decks.

Star City Games prices? CNF $29.99 / FTV $12.50 (Sold Out!)

• Rafiq of the Many

Maybe I'm the only one who likes him as a 1-of in bant decks (who DOESN'T like to EoT a Vendillion Clique, play Rafiq on your turn and swing for 8 in the air?), but he's a VERY popular EDH general as well. I feel as though he's the weakest card on my "list" of FTV: Legends to look out for, but still love him!

Star City Games prices? ALA $17.99 / FTV $3.99 (Sold Out)

• Sun Quan, Lord of Wu

An addition from Portal: 3 Kingdoms. To be honest, I'm surprised they decided to include ANY of P3K in this FTV, but hey, it's his first time in foil, so SOMEONE has to want him! I think he's underwhelming in his abilities (really WotC? You had to bring back horsemanship? *sigh*) so it must just be his rarity that keeps his value so high...

Star City Games prices? P3K $24.99 / FTV $9.99

• Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

Another of the better cards to use in commander. He's got a really high casting cost, but his ability to destroy ANY permanent in play and the fact that he's colourless makes his a valuable ally in the battle against other plainswalkers. And hey! Should a milling strategy emerge before Innistrad is released (aka: while he's still legal in Standard), maybe he'll make sideboards everywhere in order to shuffle the graveyard back into your deck! Lol.

Star City Games prices? RoE $24.99 (Sold Out) / FTV $9.99 (Sold Out)

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So what does this tell us about this FTV?

I hear a LOT of complaints in the online community about how this should be named "FTV: FAIL" and bitching about how many of the legends are recent cards. BUT let's take a look at the VALUE that you're going to get out of this thing!

Based solely on the 7 "hot" cards that I listed above, lets see their values SCG vs. FTV?

SCG Values on ORIGINAL SET FOILS: $144
SCG Values on FTV: LEGENDS: $51.50

So you're basically getting $144 worth of "stuff" for only $51.50... that's a savings of $92.50! If you ever wanted to use these foils in your decks / cube, clearly it's a better deal to buy FTV versions, and the boxed set is better yet!

Now we also need to consider the $34.99 MSRP of the FTV boxed sets. I was lucky enough to pick up three of these from one of my LGS (Local Gaming Stores... Thanks Brad @ Worlds Away!), because people didn't seem interested. Lucky for us that SCG is buying OPENED FTV's for $50 already, and they are selling SEALED copies for $80!

The verdict?
OBVIOUSLY it's a good deal... buy all you can @ MSRP!!

BUT if you're not fortunate enough to have access to FTV at retail... how much should you be looking to spend? With SCG buying @ $50 and selling @ $80, I would pay $60 for the FTV if I wanted to collect it, or needed many of the cards. If however, I just wanted that shiny Captain Sissay for my commander deck I would buy the single and not worry about this set.

I hope this has helped you determine what cards you'll want to pick up and if the FTV: Legends boxed set is right for you (and yes, yes it is!).

Cheers,
Carl Szalich

And so it begins...

Good day to you gentle sirs and violent brutes! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. :)

Within these moldy tomes you will find information on all things geek, with an emphasis on Magic: The Gathering.

While I love the game itself, I don't go to many major tournaments, and traditionally only play at local events (FNM / Drafts / Sealed). My expertise these days is on the Finance side of the game, and I have a huge collection with which to trade / sell. (Yes, it CAN be profitable if you know what you're doing!)

"He's bigger than he thinks."

Why ORGG, you may be asking?

When I started playing MTG in 1996, I had the option to buy either packs of Unlimited, Revised OR Fallen Empires. Knowing nothing about the game and hearing that "Ebon Praetor" and "Hand of Justice" were the best cards ever, it prompted me to purchase FE. I never did get a Preator nor a Hand of Justice (my brother got a HoJ though), but I sure did get a few Orgg to throw in the trash bin! It wasn't until an early tournament (mono-color) when I got the beats by the beast that I started to appreciate him, and it spawned a ton of Black / Red decks featuring such undercosted fatties as: "Goblin Mutant" & "Orgg" with spells like "Paralize" and "Word of Binding" to allow them to attack. It was called: "The Orgganizer", and much fun (and rage on the part of my friends) ensued.

I also appreciate that when Orgg got "trained", he got a LOT worse. Like in life, sometimes "more" isn't "better".

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Cheers,
Carl Szalich