Leorenz Jamias – A Transient Life

The excitement building up for the Philippines Duel Commander Super Series has finally reached the South through its 3rd leg at Madcap Gaming. Duel Commander enthusiasts, fans, and hard-core players from all over flocked the scene hoping to bag a Top 4 finish and enter the finals for the Super Series. We witnessed great plays, new tech, and even greater fun and camaraderie all around. From Round 1 through the end, the event was definitely a rousing success.

The Madcap Gaming Community and The Pinoy Planeswalkers all around have great reason to be thankful for and celebrate the successes gained throughout the year. And what better way than to hold a monumental tournament and a Christmas party?! The Southern Bivouac is a great way to cap off 2014 as it comes to a close. It is one big hoorah as we look back to a great year and then move forward to a better and brighter 2015.

New sets and new formats bring new ideas - sometimes, though, the sparks of the strategies of an older time still holds true until today. Many players out there will remember Necropotence and, I imagine, will give a slight involuntary grin at the thought of and the dominance it once had. But there are a whole lot of players out there who don't remember, but have heard whispered rumors around the gaming shops. Wouldn't it be nice to show them what the sheer raw power of the skull can really do? The card and the deck that fundamentally changed the way people thought about resources also changed the face of Magic forever. Let us then harken back to the days of old and command in the splendid moments once dubbed Black Summer .

Prossh dominates the Kher region of Dominaria. Each day at dawn, he takes to the skies, tracking his prey and monitoring the lands he claims as his own. The sound of dragon wings in the distance sends many of his subjects into a panic, scrambling for shelter that can withstand his dragon fire. He levels entire villages just to punish a single hunter who strayed into his territory. Those who don't pay tribute to him are burned alive. Prossh is worshipped by the kobolds of the region, and some offer themselves to His Mighty Overlordship in hopes that he spares their kin. Prossh is a predatory machine, and the death of his "allies" just makes him stronger.

Coswort Hobby Shop have finally ventured deeply into Duel Commander with their format first Tournament! As a show of support and also to help the Commander Community flourish in the south, the Madcap Gamers, Syntax Assassin and I crammed ourselves into an SUV and made our way through a quick road trip up the San Pedro and Cavite boondocks all the way to Coswort. Who knew we'd unknowingly and unintentionally end up muddling the meta mixture with murky waters.

"In matters of life and death, he trusts his gut." - flavor text for Viscera Seer There have always been fans and a place in gamer's hearts for reanimator. Who wouldn't want taking fatty scary monsters out from the grave or simply bringing an army of your fallen heroes en masse back onto the battlefield for cheap? And for each set and as the years go by, there never was a lack for reanimation spells nor targets to whet our appetites. Sadly, through it's own popularity and strength, there have also been a number of graveyard hate to arise. So it has been that reanimator strategies come and go depending on how strong its new archetypes would be and also on how unexpected it would come out in a certain meta. Duel Commander is no exception especially being an eternal format where every best card to deal with all of the best deck types is available. The question always remains then. When is the best time to play reanimator?

It was a slow start for a Sunday in a holiday season that was about to end. I slept in for most of the day and didn't really got out of bed until after lunch. It was mostly from the late night I had the day before. I knew Madcap Gaming already have a Commander tourney planned for every weekend starting with the one later on. I wasn't as eager to play only 'coz it was just one of those days we'd all rather sleep in than do anything else. Still, I dragged myself and thought I'd check it out even if I didn't get to register. There also was a part of me that had a kind-of nervousness in bringing Ezuri out. I've blogged about the deck and even have been sort-of mentoring a friend on Elven gameplay. I do have confidence with the deck and my skills. Yet if I didn't get a good tourney standing, it would feel like a let down for myself, my blog, and my friend. Still, I had to throw anxiety aside and just go for it. I figured what good is it if I didn't...

Ezuri and the Legion of Elves Overruns Duel Commander through Strength in Numbers and Overwhelming Instinct The elven tribe have grown strong and sturdy throughout the years. Their appeal and popularity is undeniable considering the many decks that are filled with the little pointy eared critters. Even more with the number of gamers choosing Elf Legends as their Commanders. I believe, this is largely due to Green and the Elves touching base with the fundamentals of Magic, namely mana production and card advantage. And with Ezuri at the helm, the elves leave an exceptionally predaceous stomping and make for a force truly deadly to reckon with.

The Simic Combine invites you to witness the unfolding of reality and illusion. While everyone else struggle to find where they fit in the world, our guild has arrived to help release your true potential and facilitate your own transformation. You will become a catalyst of natural change and a bearer of immense wisdom. Join us. Envision the perfection of orchestrated life. Explore your inner mad scientist. Enwrap your love for Aliens, Predators, Frankenstein, Mutants, and some of the other best sci-fi you've ever dreamed of. Enter and comprehend the arcane cerebration and natural evolution of your gaming experience.

You've probably heard it once or twice among your playgroup that a mono Red deck does not fare well in EDH / Commander. Or you may have gotten frustrated lately with how most decks you come up against are simply chock-full of hard-core combos. Maybe it's gotten to the point the game is just not as fun as it should be. You are looking for some change. You are looking for more battle action. Well, it's high time to reintroduce them to the power of an aggro strategy and why it has always been called Red Deck Wins!

I quickly took to EDH, or now known as Commander, as soon as I heard about it. There are a lot of components that got me interested. I started inviting friends to the format, though it took them a while to catch on to the Magic. Well, so to speak. Each deck is unique. Each card is meticulously collected. Each deck is carefully crafted to suit the player's wants and needs. Each one to encounter would be very well attuned to and take on the personality of its creator. Those, I think, are some of the best reasons why gamers are attracted to this format. These were what attracted me to it.

I started playing Magic: the Gathering a couple of years after it was introduced. From then on, it has always been a part of me. Throughout the years, the game has progressed and has given rise to defining decks associated for each player. One that has become a signature deck for me, at least locally, are elves. The plethora of cool elf creatures, spells, and legends attracted me to the Elven tribe. I designed a deck as soon as the Visions expansion was released. I have been playing elf decks since while regularly tweaking and evolving them into what they are today.