WTF? Friday...8/31/12

Here we go...

As you know, we here at the House of Adorkification have upgraded our decks to 80 cards each...between you and me, I don't like it. 

Not only do I need to buy more cards now, I have to look into buying larger boxes to hold the cards!

Is it possible to play an 80 card deck with a 60 card deck? And win?

There's been more BTS and Out-take clips from Avengers making it onto the web...only to be taken down again.

W...T...F?...

I haven't seen any of them, because I'm waiting for the Blu-ray. 

If I'm going to see long takes of Cap acclimating to modern times, Agent Hill bitching about the team or all the actors cracking up and having fun, I'm gonna do it at my leisure...repeatedly...without worrying about how much time I have before they disappear.

If you haven't heard, Robert Downey Jr. sprained an ankle on the set of IM3.

My first thought was "oh my gosh, I hope he's okay", followed by "will this change the release date?", and then "does this mean he's getting too old for this role?"

My panic subsided when I thought about The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone is 66 right now...after two Expendables films. Sure, he's been damaged a bit (at least during the making of the first one) but he keeps going. RDJ will do the same. I've said before that he won't be Tony Stark forever...just as Sean Connery couldn't be Bond forever...and I'm okay with that. And while I don't want to see him leave the role anytime soon, I would prefer he left the role earlier if it kept him from continual harm. 

So to Mr. RDJ let me say: Thank you for your hard work, but take care of yourself.

And this week's WTFN? award goes to...

  

     

        &

and don't forget...

Guess what? They're making a series...for television...about S.H.I.E.L.D....and Joss is involved.

I can't freakn' wait!!!

We're going to 80 cards now?

So, after going through my deck and describing my rationale for why I added what, Mrs. Adorkification tells me yesterday that she wants to go back to a Green/Blue combo deck...and add 20 more cards.

In the name of fair play, Adorkette and I have to add 20 more cards to our decks as well.

We have changed the rules regarding quantities of types though - we all no longer need the exact same number of Lands/Creatures/Spells in each of our decks - just as long as there are 80 cards in all.

However, being a math geek, I can't help but keep the ratios the same.

My biggest problem right now? Not enough Mountain cards!

I had six extras...but I need eight to keep the math right.

So until I can get to the local dealer...I mean retailer...I have to make do:

Iron Myr is a 1/1 that can act as a Mountain...for now...

My other stand-in is Seething Song.

It costs three to play, but adds five to my mana pool, so I gain two Mountains for a turn.

The Good: No lingering Mana Burn.
The Bad: No lingering Mountains.

I gotta get some more Mountains man...

Spells...4 & Up

Here's whats rounding out my Red deck:

Chandra's Outrage is badass. 'Nuff said.

Chandra's Fury even more so. For the record, I had no idea who this Chandra person was until recently, and the whole Plainswalker thing is new to me. It's an awesome idea, but I need to keep focused on Goblins or else I'll never save a penny the rest of my life.

Then there's Fissure...

The best time to use this card is when Mrs. Adorkification is about to bring out a scary 7/7 Wurm with trample from her Green deck and is about to kick my ass. It's helped, but I only have one in my 60-card deck and luck isn't always on my side.

The only other card I've got is an Artifact - Iron Star.

It gives me life for every Red spell I cast successfully - for one Mountain each.

The Good: It keeps me from getting Mana Burn.
The Bad: I need to have mana available to spend to gain the life.

Why can't anything be easy?

Spells...Part 3

So here's the two spells I have in my Red deck worth three mana...

Evaporate does a decent job for me because the majority of my daughter's white creature cards (along with having Lifelink or some other life-gaining ability) only have a toughness of 1. So this one card could potentially kill off anywhere from two to five creatures at once. Plus, any White beastie with a greater toughness is weakened, so Goblin Balloon Brigade, Crazed Goblins or Goblin Digging Team...all 1/1's...could kill something else off in the same turn.

My other spell of choice is Goblin War Drums...

This is an awesome card because it forces opponents to block with no fewer than two of their creatures each single creature I attack with. So if I attack with two creatures, they have to be blocked by at least four of my opponent's creatures. Otherwise, one of them gets through. The main plus is that this includes walls - so if my daughter has Wall of Bone and two other creatures in play, and I attack with any two of mine, one of them will get through. She still gets to decide which of my creatures gets through, but damage is still dealt.

Spells...Part 2

Let's start with a basic that every deck of any type should have a variation of...Giant Strength.

It gives a creature of your choice +2/+2. Great for Wall of Stone, great for Spikeshot Goblin, pretty much great all around.

Goblin War Paint does the same as Giant Strength but adds Haste...without adding to the casting cost. Granted, the second mana could be any color instead of GS's mandatory red, but in my case it doesn't matter.

Incinerate, like Lightning Bolt, does 3 damage to whatever I want. It costs one mana more, but I'll pay it for the Regeneration prevention. Plus, it keeps a Mountain from burning me.

I use Havoc whenever I play against my daughter. She uses a Black/White combo deck and changes it all the time. A lot of her stuff gives her life, and this is the one card I have (right now) that hurts her whenever she casts a successful White spell. Which reminds me - I have to look for more cards that do similar damage.

And then there's Fling...

Just look at this card. Don't read the text, just examine the art. Let it sink in. How funny is that?

This instant card allows you to essentially pick up and throw a creature you have in play...any creature...and it deals the current power of said creature to any target.

So let's say Wall of Stone is on the battlefield, along with eleven Mountains, Goblin Balloon Brigade and Goblin Digging Team, and I've got Fling, Giant Strength, Firebreathing, and Goblin War Paint in my hand.

Not that it's ever happened or anything...

I could put GS and GWP on the Balloon Brigade and Digging Team, but I'm in the mood for something fun and stupid.

If I put both on Wall of Stone, it becomes 4/12. I have 7 Mountains left at this point. I cast Firebreathing on WoS and add 4 Mountains to it, so WoS is now 8/12. With Fling, I use up all my mana (to avoid burn) and chuck my wall at my opponent for 8 points of damage.

That's f**king hysterical!

Okay...Let's talk spells...

These are the spells I've got in my red deck with a single mana cost:

Lightning Bolt - plain, simple, and cheap. Targets include opponents by the way.

Then there's one of my favorites...

...Firebreathing. Not only is this a great way to avoid Mana Burn, but it can make Wall of Stone do damage when it blocks, increase my Dragon Whelp's power - without destroying it, and make Spikeshot Goblin's spikes more...spikey.

Last but not least, there's Goblin Grenade:

"Sacrifice a Goblin to have Goblin Grenade do 5 damage to one target."

So basically, you give a grenade to any Goblin in play, like Goblin Digging Team or Goblin Balloon Brigade each of which does only 1 point of damage normally, and they'll hold onto it as they (or fly) walk up to whatever target you choose and blow up, causing 5 points of damage instead of one.

Did i mention ow much I love Goblins?

Robin III Part 29: Batman #466 (Early August, 1991)

Tim confronts a sniper in an amusement park.

I have this issue.

Tim follows an escaped convict and his crew into HeroWorld, a hero-themed amusement park. Tim takes one of them down, but two more escape into the crowds. A member of the Yung Bluds gang is shot, and Tim has someone call for an ambulance. He identifies the bullet as a rifle slug, and locates the shooter as he’s about to commit suicide. Tim stops him, and learns that the gunman is the younger brother of an undercover officer who succumbed to drugs while on a case involving the YungBluds. Tim talks the young man into handing over the gun and turning himself in.

As he helps the sniper come down from his perch, Tim sees Batman standing under an exhibition rocket and a gunman holding the park’s owner hostage. Tim swings around and takes the gunman out, but not soon enough to save Batman from the rocket’s ignition. Fortunately, Batman moved in time to save himself.

Tim tells him about the sniper and goes with the young man to the police station.

Notes of Interest:

1) This is the first time we see Tim in the Batmobile as Robin.

WTF? Moment: When Tim talks to the shooter he mentions feeling alone “while fighting for what’s right”, which is exactly how he felt while going after King Snake in the Robin mini-series.

WTF? Moment #2: A nitpick – At the end of the story, Bruce tells himself that he made the right choice having Tim become the next Robin. We know this. Bruce knows this. Tim knows this. Heck, even Alfred knows this. Let’s get past it already!

WTF? Friday...8/24/2012

Okay. First up, how's about some GotG News?

There's talk that a director has been hired - James Gunn (no relation to Tim Gunn...of Project Runway and full of awesomeness).

This has yet to be confirmed, and I haven't seen a thing James has directed, but he did Slither...which starred Nathan Fillion, so that's something.

You know what - the whole DCnU is a gimmick. 

Not only that, it allows any and all involved to do whatever they want to make things even more gimmicky.

This is a gimmick.

Speaking of gimmicks...

Here's Marvel/Jeph loeb's idea of a gimmick.

Note to self - when someone who looks a lot like  Sabretooth has four claws and tells Logan that the short Canadian created the Weapon X program in the first place, it's time to call it a day.

But in Marvel's defense...at least they're sticking to the same damn universe.

Good News - There's been some BTS and extended footage from Avengers out and about the net.

Bad News - Marvel/Disney (you know what - I hate doing that, so from now on, I'm just going to blame Disney for everything bad and Marvel for everything good regarding the MMU.)

So like I was saying..

Bad News - Marvel/Disney pulled all said footage down, because leaking clips to promote the release of a Blu-ray/DVD isn't as effective as leaking clips to promote the release of the movie in the first place.

And the WTFN? award of the week goes to...

Joss Whedon - who said this week that in addition to directing Avengers 2, but to "consult on the entire Marvel world view."

So he's involved with the planned ABC series as well as all future MMU films.

Hey Joss - kill off Rocket Racoon, and bring Alpha Flight to the screen (with Nathan Fillion as Guardian) and I'll be happy.

One more thing...

I apologize for the curse word, but if you don't find this funny, you can't call yourself a dork.

What other creatures do I have...

I don't have many non-Goblin creatures in my deck, but they are connected...

Beasts of Bogardan get protection from Red, which does nothing for me, but gains +1/+1 if my opponent has any white cards. So thanks to my daughter's deck, these 3/3 creatures are now 4/4.

But that's not the best part...

Remember Skirk Outrider? With this card, SO is now 4/4, even if I'm playing against my wife's all-Green deck.

What about flying creatures? Well for starters, there's Airdrop Condor...

It's a 2/2, but for two mana (and a sacrificed Goblin) it gives a target of my choosing damage equal to the current power of the sacrificed Goblin.

In other words, the Condor picks up said Goblin...carries it over walls and various land creatures...and drops it on whatever target I choose. 

Again...Goblins are funny as hell.

The only other creature I have is another flyer - Dragon Whelp.

It's a 2/3, but comes with Firebreathing included...sort of.

For each Mountain I spend, DW gains +1/+0, but I can only use up to 3 Mountains this way without destroying it.

Meaning it's a baby dragon...that can breathe fire...but if I make it too powerful it dies.

Look at that picture. How could you kill something that cute?

Goblins 4 & up...

Now we're getting serious. As serious as can be where a card game featuring Goblins is concerned anyway...

Goblin Battle Jester is cool because of it's ability. Any successfully cast red spell allows you to pick a creature that cannot be used to block this turn. So say you're playing someone with an all-Green deck...and that person brings out a 7/7 worm-thing with Trample...you're on the ropes, but so is she. Casting any red spell, including making your Goblin Balloon Brigade fly, allows you to make that worm-thing unable to block this turn. Throwing everything you have at your opponent, (including GBJ by the way, since the ability doesn't involve tapping) could win you the game...or kill you off because of Mana Burn. Not that I'd know anything about that...or anything.

Skirk Outrider is a 2/2 land creature, but gains +2/+2 and Trample as long as you have a Beast in play. For the moment, let's assume there is no Beast in play. With Goblin Chieftain, this is now a 3/3 creature. With Flamestick Courier, it's a 4/4. Throw down a Beast of your choice, and this could be a 5/5 or a 6/6. With Trample.

THAT'S what I'm talking about...

Goblin Dynamo is the highest casting cost Goblin I have. Yes, it's only a 4/4 land creature, but if you use it right it could win you the game next turn.

I haven't used it right...yet.

Goblins Galore...

Obviously, the more powerful the creatures, the higher the casting cost. Here are the Goblins I have with a little more kick to them...starting with Goblin Striker.

G. S. is also a 1/1, but has Haste - which means it can attack when it first comes out, and First Strike - meaning it attacks first when blocking. Mrs. Adorkification plays an all-Green deck while Adorkette uses White/Black. Both have spells and mean things that can kick my butt, so anything that can attack first helps.

Of all my Goblins, Spikeshot is my favorite. Tapping one Mountain (in addition to itself) allows it to throw a spike equal to it's current power at any target I choose instead of attacking. The spike goes over walls, and eliminates any potential First Strike damage. Add something to increase it's power, like Giant Strength or (yes) Firebreathing, and the spike can be mighty painful.

Goblin Hero is a straight up 2/2 land creature. Nothing special about it, but hey...it does 2 points of damage!

Goblin Replica is also a 2/2 land creature, but for a price of four mana (and itself) it destroys a target artifact.

In other words, it runs headlong into said target artifact and both explode.

Then there's Flamestick Courier...

By paying the three mana and keeping it tapped, you give another Goblin +2/+2 and Haste. Remember Spikeshot Goblin? With this, that's a 3-pointed spike being thrown to whatever you want.

Goblin Chieftain is awesome. It has Haste, but also gives every Goblin in play (except for itself) +1/+1. Now there's a 4-pointed spike to throw, and Goblin Hero is 3/3, Goblin Replica is 3/3...heck even Goblin Balloon Brigade and Goblin Digging Team get respect.