A little rant while working on my website,
I was working on one of my old projects that I stopped taking care of since Youtube went from version 1 to version 2 amoung other reasons. And now googles on version 3.0 of the api.
Now let me start by saying the documentation is Spectacular
https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/
One of the things I really like about the documentation is they tell you how each of the requested items are going to be returned
https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/channels
And then shows you ways to retreive, put, remove, etc those for that specific item
https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/channels/list
But one thing I need is ordering the elements
-The reason I can't do this on my server is because I would have to download every single video and then order them the way I desire.
Thats a bit intense considering apis are meant to be quick access to information
The big problem for me is that I need to access a users videos through their username
-certian users like the onion have a space in their title making the user title absolutely useless
A little experimentation and I've found you can use the channelID from 3.0 for 2.0 requests which is nice
That being said, its nice I still have the version 2 api available to me, however its still a bit upsetting considering how awesome the new Api is
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
The brain is a muscle
One aspect of my life that i think is incredibly important is my realizations
Amoung them the belief that: the brain is a muscle
What does that mean?
If you work it out it will get stronger
The stronger it gets the more capable it is
Now, since programming is a means to a decent lifestyle, i believe its important to try
I may not get everything right, but so long as im practicing, i will get stronger.
And once im solid, theres little stopping me
Amoung them the belief that: the brain is a muscle
What does that mean?
If you work it out it will get stronger
The stronger it gets the more capable it is
Now, since programming is a means to a decent lifestyle, i believe its important to try
I may not get everything right, but so long as im practicing, i will get stronger.
And once im solid, theres little stopping me
Monday, September 23, 2013
Websockets and.... Underscores? O_o
So... I don't write too much about my programming much recently, but that doesn't mean I haven't been experimenting. And the Current Experiments I'm conducting is setting up a game engine of sorts...
I know... Use libraries....
Why reinvent the wheel?
Because thats one of the things I love to do, and if you don't do what you love, what are you good for?
-doing what you don't love, I guess?....
ANYWAY
I'm currently working on intergrating websockets into my Java application so that I can run my game online. However I kept on coming up with the same issue "hostname is null"
I know... Use libraries....
Why reinvent the wheel?
Because thats one of the things I love to do, and if you don't do what you love, what are you good for?
-doing what you don't love, I guess?....
ANYWAY
I'm currently working on intergrating websockets into my Java application so that I can run my game online. However I kept on coming up with the same issue "hostname is null"
So what do I do?
What I do is go through the through each step to figure out what is going on.
That means going through the java_websocket source code Brought to you by an awesome group of people
So I went through it, step by step trying to figure out where things wrong.
Finally I discovered where the error was but I just couldn't figure out why it was being caused.
Why was the host null?
Take steps back, forward and 3 days and about 16 hours later google brought me to the answer
Now, this isn't truelly a bug, its actually part of the schematics, in a way
Underscores are improper for Urls, so it shouldn't register properly
However, it should at least produce a malformed URI error
That being said, I finally got everything working, web is able to interact with node.js, java is able to interact with node.js and everything is dandy in the world :)
It was a hassle to get there though, and got me pretty scared
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Theros lands: the start of something beautiful
Did anybody else happen to follow ymtc?
If not heres the latest vote. In my personal opinion this is one of the more dissappointing options.
To have a resonable effect, it needs to be played on turn 2, in modern turn 4 kills are kindof the norm and for discard spells were looking at blightning or wrench mind as the more desirable discard spells. From there the opponent has to think of what they discard to limit your gain. Or through thoughtseize or inquisition you get to choose whether you want to gain in a certain way or make sure you take out a card even if you dont gain too much.
Why would this be dissappointnimg? Its adding thought to the game, allowing oppressive synergy to exsist. Oppressive synergy at low mana isnt supposed to be one sided, it needs to come at a high cost if it is. This probably wont be turn one or two, maybe three but three is a bit late for modern playability. The more dissappointing part is we chose black enchantment instead of lands.
Aka #teamlands
Lands are the cause of mana screw, mana flood
They are the cause for unfun games or scary moments turned exciting opportunity
The lands are the ebb and flow, and theros lands allow you to control it.
My favorite lands thus far are fetch lands, new benalia and halimar depths. The reason for this is that they provide so much more than just a land, they provide prediction and hope. Fetch lands make sure you'll less likely to draw a land and if you know your top card, you can get rid of it. Halimar depths sets up you next three turns. Or lets you draw a good card then fetch away the rest. Halimar is indeed a favorite of mine. Land drops become more certain.
Now theros scry lands probably are not modern playable, and i am certain not legacy or vintage. However i could see standard and commander becoming a lot more fun. Where land screw or flood will become much much less rare (or possibly 1card less rare). Sure this means aggro decks dont have super lands for sick aggro draws. But thats why ravnica exsists, naya blitz has shocklands to enjoy. Scry lands are the begginning of something beatiful. Where magic no longer turns into a game of who gets land flooded or screwed first. Where lands can help you get lands, or possibly avoid them.
Now im not saying they will solve every problem and every game. But i will say acoiding 1 card is a lot. Similar to fetch lands except versitile in a different way. Statistically if you have 2 theros lands in your starting 7 and are playing first with a 24 land deck you have a 22/53 chance to draw a land. After playing a theros land that either becomes 100% or 22/52, on the next turn if it still wasnt drawn its a 22/51 after playing another theros land its either 100% or 22/50. Theros lands arent just durdling, they provide a lot of value. Essentially another card out of your deck for no card disadvantage, the only sacrifice is board pressence. But wraths and sweepers usually handle that pretty well.
I will say these lands are no halimar depths. You cant keep a one land hand and confidently find your second. However what they are good for is fixing and getting rid of bad draws early and late at the sacrifice of possibly not being able to make the plays youd like to
In all im very very excited about these theros lands. Even if they arent great, they are the beginning of what i hope becomes more common, fetches, scrys and indexing of you library to make sure you hit the cards you want and avoid the ones you dont.
Just wait for the pain scry lands. They may be single color producing. But they'll come one day, hopefully....
If not heres the latest vote. In my personal opinion this is one of the more dissappointing options.
To have a resonable effect, it needs to be played on turn 2, in modern turn 4 kills are kindof the norm and for discard spells were looking at blightning or wrench mind as the more desirable discard spells. From there the opponent has to think of what they discard to limit your gain. Or through thoughtseize or inquisition you get to choose whether you want to gain in a certain way or make sure you take out a card even if you dont gain too much.
Why would this be dissappointnimg? Its adding thought to the game, allowing oppressive synergy to exsist. Oppressive synergy at low mana isnt supposed to be one sided, it needs to come at a high cost if it is. This probably wont be turn one or two, maybe three but three is a bit late for modern playability. The more dissappointing part is we chose black enchantment instead of lands.
Aka #teamlands
Lands are the cause of mana screw, mana flood
They are the cause for unfun games or scary moments turned exciting opportunity
The lands are the ebb and flow, and theros lands allow you to control it.
My favorite lands thus far are fetch lands, new benalia and halimar depths. The reason for this is that they provide so much more than just a land, they provide prediction and hope. Fetch lands make sure you'll less likely to draw a land and if you know your top card, you can get rid of it. Halimar depths sets up you next three turns. Or lets you draw a good card then fetch away the rest. Halimar is indeed a favorite of mine. Land drops become more certain.
Now theros scry lands probably are not modern playable, and i am certain not legacy or vintage. However i could see standard and commander becoming a lot more fun. Where land screw or flood will become much much less rare (or possibly 1card less rare). Sure this means aggro decks dont have super lands for sick aggro draws. But thats why ravnica exsists, naya blitz has shocklands to enjoy. Scry lands are the begginning of something beatiful. Where magic no longer turns into a game of who gets land flooded or screwed first. Where lands can help you get lands, or possibly avoid them.
Now im not saying they will solve every problem and every game. But i will say acoiding 1 card is a lot. Similar to fetch lands except versitile in a different way. Statistically if you have 2 theros lands in your starting 7 and are playing first with a 24 land deck you have a 22/53 chance to draw a land. After playing a theros land that either becomes 100% or 22/52, on the next turn if it still wasnt drawn its a 22/51 after playing another theros land its either 100% or 22/50. Theros lands arent just durdling, they provide a lot of value. Essentially another card out of your deck for no card disadvantage, the only sacrifice is board pressence. But wraths and sweepers usually handle that pretty well.
I will say these lands are no halimar depths. You cant keep a one land hand and confidently find your second. However what they are good for is fixing and getting rid of bad draws early and late at the sacrifice of possibly not being able to make the plays youd like to
In all im very very excited about these theros lands. Even if they arent great, they are the beginning of what i hope becomes more common, fetches, scrys and indexing of you library to make sure you hit the cards you want and avoid the ones you dont.
Just wait for the pain scry lands. They may be single color producing. But they'll come one day, hopefully....
Monday, April 8, 2013
Magic Color Confusion:Green, Yellow and White
Now before i begin this article I want to state Cleary that when I speak about yellow, I don't mean Gold cards
When I talk about yellow I mean yellow as a color on the color pie
I'm not suggesting to add more colors since honestly, Magic has evolved to such a point that it is already to awesome and incredible of a game to start adding things that would advance complexity
But rather Yellow is its own seperate Identity
To Prove yellow as a seperate Identity let me go over what White and green are in the Real world
White
White in the real world is the color of childrens games, the hope of a great tomorrow and peace. Ghandi's color is white, a smiling face depicts white, hardwork is white, meditation is white, day dreaming is white. These colors promote more the idea that white is a color of happiness outside of being rich, intelligence, having freinds or really having any material goods at all.
That being said, white also has a problem of which their goal doesn't involve other people usually, and if it does its to make other people happy, or involve teamwork of some sort. Debating with conviction, where influencing other people to make a choice that would be in your best interest through words and feeling.
Green
What is green? Green is the color of the forests. Whats in the forests? A food chain of creatures far different from one another. Green shows variety but also shows a caste system. Worms eat the dead, grass and plants grows from the worms digestion, Moles and rabbits eat the plants and cats and wolves eat them. Theres also a secondary one where mice eat bugs and owls eat the mice. Pretty much Its a bunch of chains. Then as humans enter it we come in as observers. As we observe we may get consumed by it, because though we feel bad for the prey we respect the predators more. On top of that its amazing the kind of love that the animals give to their young. It feels safer. However its not. There are poisonous parts of each forest/jungle and these types of places are unforgiving. The weak die, the strong survive. This isn't a sort of hopeful idea but rather a reality.
So why do we as humans love the forest so much? I'd say the forest is like music to a cobra, it hypnotizes and makes you believe its the proper place.
A very good magic set that I believe depicts the forest as it should be is Lorwyn. The trees survive off of the dead. And if its not the dead it needs a caretaker. Someone that i provides food, water, shelter and everything else it needs. The Trees aren't evil, since they make no action. However it's natural hunger is to feed off of the dead, off of worms. And as a result it needs those things to die so it can continue to prosper.
Why make this article
Before I get into yellow, I want to write a little bit about why I wrote this in the first place. Over the course of my life i have been taught red, yellow and blue are the primary colors. If you add them togethor when they are flashlights on a wall, they make white. If you add them togethor when they are dyes they make a murky dark color (but would make black most likely if they were bold/pure red/yellow/blue)
So the three colors red yellow blue make the rest in one form or another
Magic however depicts a different color system; red, blue green
This isn't uncommon as we can actually see in computer programming that it works off of red blue green as well. And all the other colors are made from the combonation. Likewise apparently our own eyes are see in red/blue/green which means in ways that yellow is nonexistant. Though obviously it exists.
Why i made this article is more the unrepresentation of yellow in so many areas it boggles my mind. Yellow is unrespected most likely because it is the hardest things to depict. Red/Blue/Green was probably very simple to program, so why include yellow? Yellow isn't seen very much by our eyes, so why make it a color we register?
And of course: Color isn't seen very often Thematically in a magical setting, so why should we care to include this color over Green in Magic: the Gathering?
Yellow
Yellow. Yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow.
What is Yellow? Yellow is................
Gold
Gold creates greed and a caste system
caste systems allow people to say "I'm better than you"
So what is Yellow? Yellow is a way to say "I'm better than you"
Historically, knights can be seen akin to modern day football players. They're assholes and they pick up all the good women. Romeo and Juliet and really all romance in many ways really are just stories, and yellow is the representation of the truth. Traders are also akin to yellow, They do not work the feilds, they do not help in mining. However, they offer supply and they can let other know the demand. They don't do much at all except for trade and influence other people to continue their line of work. However, if it wasn't for them, kings would not have known about rubys, saphires and pearls. Spices would not be in such high demand and of course Colonies and Settlements and Wars would not have been fought for the desire to have everything at hand
Yellow in many ways is the story of getting an inch and wanting a mile.
While red is a story of Fire and aggression and passion.
Blue is a story of the sea and understanding the ebb and flow
Yellow is the story of Gold and wanting more.
Confusion: Yellow and White
White has taken many of yellows more "desirable" aspects. Yellow created the caste system and a natural Law and Order amoung people. The King is on high, Then his advisors, then the military then the tax collectors, then the farmers/people with purpose then everyother worthless scab that floats on this great earth.
Amoung examples of why yellow is yellow is:
1) Our knights decided to rape and pillage in a foreign land? Did they bring anything good back? They're heroes.
2) I want to expand our kingdom, lets start a war
3) The church and ethics say I should only marry once and have no mistresses. I disagree.
4) A neighboring kingdom has crossbows, I want something better. A neighboring kingdom has an atomic bomb, I want 10,000.
These are actual representations of real yellow. Which however, has become more akin to white.
White however has taken the burden of being considered yellow.
First Strike
"Oh you have a 2/2? My 2/2 has first strike"
"Oh your 2/2 has first strike? My 2/2 strikes even before your first strike does"
This is an example of Yellows Arms Race. Its the color of being better at all costs.
White has a tendancy to want to play fair and win doing it, or to equalize everything so things are fair. Children are a great example, if someone isn't playing fair, they will get very upset. However, by making sure players can play fair and still win or at the very least have a good time thats important. One way to see this is the fact if yellow were to attack, obviously white wouldn't block. However they would attack back for the same damage. Yellow makes it more of a standstill situation.
Its important to point out though that yellow if it is to be the "arms race" color has access to everything in a way. Another way to look at it though is that they can pay for everything, and teach it to their minions.
Wrath of God: If I don't win, nobody will
Yes, this is iconic to Gods Judgement, and God is dipicted as undoubtedly white. However, as seen in biblical respresentations, god has a jealous side. And if we are to look at other things in the bible, he has purposefully made Job a miserable man just to prove to the devil he would still worship him. He tested mans passion in love.
However, if we are to look at things magically. If I were losing, and didn't care that much about my creatures or anything really except winning. I would destroy everything. Everything's gone now, but my stuff is better. My next card will be better than yours.
This is more of a yellow aspect
Knights and Showmen
Knights are nobility, Soldiers have a certian brother hood attached to it however they are also part of a caste system. A Militia is literally made by the people for the people. Riots are another example of By the People for the people, though obviously in a much more aggressive manner.
But pretty Much Knights are the football players of the magic universe, to the average person they may be assholes unless they don't want to be. However, when it comes down to it, they don't need to be nice, and the king may not even want them to be. A Showman is different though. Showmen are white. Why? because literally the only reason they do what they do is because they feel good pleasing the crowd. And who are any of us except for part of the crowd. A Showman can appreciate a good showman, a Knight may be jealous of another knight. A Showman may never escape his job. A knight may eventually become a duke.
A showman never needs to Blitz a small town. A knight may have to on order.
Even though Gladiators aren't necessarilly considered white, and may even be bigger assholes than a knight. Pleasing a crowd is white, Its when money and status starts getting involved where you start actually feeding into more yellow territory.
Equipment: The Arms Race
Equipment is obviously an arms race. However white isn't filled with artificers. In fact you have maybe one that loves his craft so much he spends their life working on it. However equipment is made for killing and take over. its purpose though also in defense, in mass quantities is more of a
the prophet predicting war and preparing for it is white
The factory creating them for mass use is yellow
yellow is also always looking for that one up, and as a result they're focus is one lean mean killing machines
Confusion: Yellow and Green
Mana dorks
Elves. Specifically Llanowar Elves. Llanowar elves have always been depicted as badasses, able to take down big creatures through enginuity and grace. Because they know their forest better than anyone else. What you actually see though is that they produce mana. Mana production isn't bad, however, I don't believe that is what an elf is meant to be. They're suppose to be a well working order adapted to the forest, not weaklings that spend every waking moment sapping mana for it. Sylvan Ranger is a truer elf than llano, though obviously llano has its place in the world
Yellow however is a caste system. Farmers, miners, factory workers
Farmers, miners and factory workers whole purpose is to provide resources for everyone else to use.
What is a mana dork? It provides resources for everyone else to use
Elves, like the native americans aren't immune to the wild. But what they do is they adapt to it and survive in it. In its good times and its hard times. They adapt. Mana dorks don't adapt. They are used for one purpose or to die. Thats not an elf.
What is Yellow?
Yellow is mana dorks, arms race and having things that are better than your opponents
About necessary sacrifices
Literally Yellow is the color of have one building where all people do is produce mana
Another building where all people do is produce tools of war
And another group where all they do is fight
And making sure people will do it even if they don't want to
Its the story of ant's and having things better
What is White?
White is about family and being happy with what you have
A story of misfits and happiness
About showmen and wonder despite the world being a hard place to live in
The story of the underdog getting there
The story of migration to new begginings
Its also the story of forgetfulness and unawareness of others intentions. Or even ignoring them.
What is Green?
Green is about the wild, about taming and understanding what really is just a terrible place.
Death isn't a nice thing, and yeah we can understand it. But in a way green is about living in a place where you know its dangerous, but you learn to adapt in it rather than changing it.
Conclusion
Theres a lot in here thats a bit incomplete and half hazard. However I am convinced in my argument and will probably stand firm by it despite the fact it may not be seen by others and isn't fully fleshed out. However, without yellow, White has taken the role where yellow should be. Yellow is about organization and mindlessness while white is about playfulness and relaxation. Being human. Green also is in the territory wiht mana dorks and Shouldn't even be a color to begin with.
That being said, should magic change? Probably not. The difficulty in retuning and readjusting the color pie isn't an easy one. It takes observation and finding rhyme rhythim and patterns that can't be found over night (well they can but thats another story). Also, Our colors in magic are so fun and fleshed out that it would be a dissappointment to see anything change. Why fix a well working wheel?
However, I do share these complaints because though white is my color of choice. I don't like how its represented at all. I understand why its represented that way, but I don't appreciate it.
Also, though I think green's appearence is more widely understood than yellow, I also think its misrepresented. Never mind the fact I think it shouldn't be a color to begin with
Thanks for your time :)
When I talk about yellow I mean yellow as a color on the color pie
I'm not suggesting to add more colors since honestly, Magic has evolved to such a point that it is already to awesome and incredible of a game to start adding things that would advance complexity
But rather Yellow is its own seperate Identity
To Prove yellow as a seperate Identity let me go over what White and green are in the Real world
White
White in the real world is the color of childrens games, the hope of a great tomorrow and peace. Ghandi's color is white, a smiling face depicts white, hardwork is white, meditation is white, day dreaming is white. These colors promote more the idea that white is a color of happiness outside of being rich, intelligence, having freinds or really having any material goods at all.
That being said, white also has a problem of which their goal doesn't involve other people usually, and if it does its to make other people happy, or involve teamwork of some sort. Debating with conviction, where influencing other people to make a choice that would be in your best interest through words and feeling.
Green
What is green? Green is the color of the forests. Whats in the forests? A food chain of creatures far different from one another. Green shows variety but also shows a caste system. Worms eat the dead, grass and plants grows from the worms digestion, Moles and rabbits eat the plants and cats and wolves eat them. Theres also a secondary one where mice eat bugs and owls eat the mice. Pretty much Its a bunch of chains. Then as humans enter it we come in as observers. As we observe we may get consumed by it, because though we feel bad for the prey we respect the predators more. On top of that its amazing the kind of love that the animals give to their young. It feels safer. However its not. There are poisonous parts of each forest/jungle and these types of places are unforgiving. The weak die, the strong survive. This isn't a sort of hopeful idea but rather a reality.
So why do we as humans love the forest so much? I'd say the forest is like music to a cobra, it hypnotizes and makes you believe its the proper place.
A very good magic set that I believe depicts the forest as it should be is Lorwyn. The trees survive off of the dead. And if its not the dead it needs a caretaker. Someone that i provides food, water, shelter and everything else it needs. The Trees aren't evil, since they make no action. However it's natural hunger is to feed off of the dead, off of worms. And as a result it needs those things to die so it can continue to prosper.
Why make this article
Before I get into yellow, I want to write a little bit about why I wrote this in the first place. Over the course of my life i have been taught red, yellow and blue are the primary colors. If you add them togethor when they are flashlights on a wall, they make white. If you add them togethor when they are dyes they make a murky dark color (but would make black most likely if they were bold/pure red/yellow/blue)
So the three colors red yellow blue make the rest in one form or another
Magic however depicts a different color system; red, blue green
This isn't uncommon as we can actually see in computer programming that it works off of red blue green as well. And all the other colors are made from the combonation. Likewise apparently our own eyes are see in red/blue/green which means in ways that yellow is nonexistant. Though obviously it exists.
Why i made this article is more the unrepresentation of yellow in so many areas it boggles my mind. Yellow is unrespected most likely because it is the hardest things to depict. Red/Blue/Green was probably very simple to program, so why include yellow? Yellow isn't seen very much by our eyes, so why make it a color we register?
And of course: Color isn't seen very often Thematically in a magical setting, so why should we care to include this color over Green in Magic: the Gathering?
Yellow
Yellow. Yellow, yellow, yellow, yellow.
What is Yellow? Yellow is................
Gold
Gold creates greed and a caste system
caste systems allow people to say "I'm better than you"
So what is Yellow? Yellow is a way to say "I'm better than you"
Historically, knights can be seen akin to modern day football players. They're assholes and they pick up all the good women. Romeo and Juliet and really all romance in many ways really are just stories, and yellow is the representation of the truth. Traders are also akin to yellow, They do not work the feilds, they do not help in mining. However, they offer supply and they can let other know the demand. They don't do much at all except for trade and influence other people to continue their line of work. However, if it wasn't for them, kings would not have known about rubys, saphires and pearls. Spices would not be in such high demand and of course Colonies and Settlements and Wars would not have been fought for the desire to have everything at hand
Yellow in many ways is the story of getting an inch and wanting a mile.
While red is a story of Fire and aggression and passion.
Blue is a story of the sea and understanding the ebb and flow
Yellow is the story of Gold and wanting more.
Confusion: Yellow and White
White has taken many of yellows more "desirable" aspects. Yellow created the caste system and a natural Law and Order amoung people. The King is on high, Then his advisors, then the military then the tax collectors, then the farmers/people with purpose then everyother worthless scab that floats on this great earth.
Amoung examples of why yellow is yellow is:
1) Our knights decided to rape and pillage in a foreign land? Did they bring anything good back? They're heroes.
2) I want to expand our kingdom, lets start a war
3) The church and ethics say I should only marry once and have no mistresses. I disagree.
4) A neighboring kingdom has crossbows, I want something better. A neighboring kingdom has an atomic bomb, I want 10,000.
These are actual representations of real yellow. Which however, has become more akin to white.
White however has taken the burden of being considered yellow.
First Strike
"Oh you have a 2/2? My 2/2 has first strike"
"Oh your 2/2 has first strike? My 2/2 strikes even before your first strike does"
This is an example of Yellows Arms Race. Its the color of being better at all costs.
White has a tendancy to want to play fair and win doing it, or to equalize everything so things are fair. Children are a great example, if someone isn't playing fair, they will get very upset. However, by making sure players can play fair and still win or at the very least have a good time thats important. One way to see this is the fact if yellow were to attack, obviously white wouldn't block. However they would attack back for the same damage. Yellow makes it more of a standstill situation.
Its important to point out though that yellow if it is to be the "arms race" color has access to everything in a way. Another way to look at it though is that they can pay for everything, and teach it to their minions.
Wrath of God: If I don't win, nobody will
Yes, this is iconic to Gods Judgement, and God is dipicted as undoubtedly white. However, as seen in biblical respresentations, god has a jealous side. And if we are to look at other things in the bible, he has purposefully made Job a miserable man just to prove to the devil he would still worship him. He tested mans passion in love.
However, if we are to look at things magically. If I were losing, and didn't care that much about my creatures or anything really except winning. I would destroy everything. Everything's gone now, but my stuff is better. My next card will be better than yours.
This is more of a yellow aspect
Knights and Showmen
Knights are nobility, Soldiers have a certian brother hood attached to it however they are also part of a caste system. A Militia is literally made by the people for the people. Riots are another example of By the People for the people, though obviously in a much more aggressive manner.
But pretty Much Knights are the football players of the magic universe, to the average person they may be assholes unless they don't want to be. However, when it comes down to it, they don't need to be nice, and the king may not even want them to be. A Showman is different though. Showmen are white. Why? because literally the only reason they do what they do is because they feel good pleasing the crowd. And who are any of us except for part of the crowd. A Showman can appreciate a good showman, a Knight may be jealous of another knight. A Showman may never escape his job. A knight may eventually become a duke.
A showman never needs to Blitz a small town. A knight may have to on order.
Even though Gladiators aren't necessarilly considered white, and may even be bigger assholes than a knight. Pleasing a crowd is white, Its when money and status starts getting involved where you start actually feeding into more yellow territory.
Equipment: The Arms Race
Equipment is obviously an arms race. However white isn't filled with artificers. In fact you have maybe one that loves his craft so much he spends their life working on it. However equipment is made for killing and take over. its purpose though also in defense, in mass quantities is more of a
the prophet predicting war and preparing for it is white
The factory creating them for mass use is yellow
yellow is also always looking for that one up, and as a result they're focus is one lean mean killing machines
Confusion: Yellow and Green
Mana dorks
Elves. Specifically Llanowar Elves. Llanowar elves have always been depicted as badasses, able to take down big creatures through enginuity and grace. Because they know their forest better than anyone else. What you actually see though is that they produce mana. Mana production isn't bad, however, I don't believe that is what an elf is meant to be. They're suppose to be a well working order adapted to the forest, not weaklings that spend every waking moment sapping mana for it. Sylvan Ranger is a truer elf than llano, though obviously llano has its place in the world
Yellow however is a caste system. Farmers, miners, factory workers
Farmers, miners and factory workers whole purpose is to provide resources for everyone else to use.
What is a mana dork? It provides resources for everyone else to use
Elves, like the native americans aren't immune to the wild. But what they do is they adapt to it and survive in it. In its good times and its hard times. They adapt. Mana dorks don't adapt. They are used for one purpose or to die. Thats not an elf.
What is Yellow?
Yellow is mana dorks, arms race and having things that are better than your opponents
About necessary sacrifices
Literally Yellow is the color of have one building where all people do is produce mana
Another building where all people do is produce tools of war
And another group where all they do is fight
And making sure people will do it even if they don't want to
Its the story of ant's and having things better
What is White?
White is about family and being happy with what you have
A story of misfits and happiness
About showmen and wonder despite the world being a hard place to live in
The story of the underdog getting there
The story of migration to new begginings
Its also the story of forgetfulness and unawareness of others intentions. Or even ignoring them.
What is Green?
Green is about the wild, about taming and understanding what really is just a terrible place.
Death isn't a nice thing, and yeah we can understand it. But in a way green is about living in a place where you know its dangerous, but you learn to adapt in it rather than changing it.
Conclusion
Theres a lot in here thats a bit incomplete and half hazard. However I am convinced in my argument and will probably stand firm by it despite the fact it may not be seen by others and isn't fully fleshed out. However, without yellow, White has taken the role where yellow should be. Yellow is about organization and mindlessness while white is about playfulness and relaxation. Being human. Green also is in the territory wiht mana dorks and Shouldn't even be a color to begin with.
That being said, should magic change? Probably not. The difficulty in retuning and readjusting the color pie isn't an easy one. It takes observation and finding rhyme rhythim and patterns that can't be found over night (well they can but thats another story). Also, Our colors in magic are so fun and fleshed out that it would be a dissappointment to see anything change. Why fix a well working wheel?
However, I do share these complaints because though white is my color of choice. I don't like how its represented at all. I understand why its represented that way, but I don't appreciate it.
Also, though I think green's appearence is more widely understood than yellow, I also think its misrepresented. Never mind the fact I think it shouldn't be a color to begin with
Thanks for your time :)
Monday, March 18, 2013
Lands Excitement
I'm writing this to influence the masses in hopes of a retweet
Though there may be some disagreement, I hope you can respect my thoughts and it breeds creativity and hope for the future of this awesome game we call magic the gathering
Reasons why the community may be calling out for lands
Rhythmic Lands vs Utility Lands vs Spell based Lands
Why choose lands?
Reasons why the community (especially me) may be calling out for new Lands
There are two major culprits of terrible magic games: Mana flood and mana screw
Mana Flood
Lets do a little statistics work shall we?
24/60 cards in your deck are lands which means we have about a 40% chance to draw a land for the first draw we have
23/59 = 38.9%
22/58 = 37.9%
21/57 = 36.8%
20/56 = 35.7%
19/55 = 34.5%
18/54 = 33.3%
17/53 = 32.0%
I tend to be a gambling man myself, and knowing the rest of the community recognizes luck as an obvious factor in the game we play we should look at this with a very stern eye...
drawing your first 7 gives you a minimum of 32.0% to draw a land. 32% is a lot. With statistics some people believe the likely hood of drawing another land is impossible, no way... but the fact of the matter is each one of these draws are completely independent from the other. And unless you tend to stack (which isn't legal) or put things in completely different areas before you shuffle. If you shuffle probably it wont make a difference.
However, there is good news out there for people who hate flooding. There are lands that help you avoid it
Now, they can't stop your first 7 draws but they do help along the way
Now for a normal hand of 24/60
Keep with 3 in hand (statistically pretty likely)
21/53 = 39.6
Lets play a fetch
20/53 = 37.7 its a start
And look of course we drew another land
19/52 = 36.5% will be our next draw
but first we crack another fetch
18/52 = 34.6%
We drew another land...
17/51 = 33.3%
turn 3, drop a fetch
16/50 = 32%
Whats the moral of this story?
The moral is that we can manipulate statistics with our lands to drop our statistics without drawing any crazy spell or anything, something as simple as a terramorphic expanse reduces mana flood significantly, never mind the halimar depths/fetchland combos
Mana Screw
If anyone has ever built a neat little combo or casual deck I'm sure you've run into this problem
Turn 1 land, pass
Turn 2 land, pass
Turn 3 ....... pass
Turn 4 ....... pass
Turn 5 ....... pass
If you get lucky you may be able to crawl back into it after that, but most likely the answer is: no.
there are spells that help you with this however amoung them are:
-Rampant growth, Sylvan ranger, ponder, index, weathered wayfarer, knight of the white orchid,
and pretty much any cycler/draw spell
However, when has a land ever helped you with this problem?
-Ravnica Bounce lands, new benalia, halimar depths
Are these good solutions though? Maybe, maybe not
Rules tell us 60 is the minimum
Pros teach us minimum is the best
And Daily MTG doesn't say otherwise
When it comes down to it, when playing white weenie, you plan to risk getting mana screwed. On top of that you risk getting 4 for 1nd. on top of that you risk getting your cards out matched by bigger creatures. On top of that you have to worry about instant speed removal on your anthem effect. Basically theres tons to worry about and when statistics aren't in your favor either, low curve decks definitely don't get much benefit.
Midrange and control recognize they'll be playing longer games so...
Cycling, looting, mulching, Rampant growth, mana dorks. These become much more appealing though what happens when your BUW control deck never gets passed 2 lands after 2 cycles and 2 draws? what happens when your mana dorks all get killed off?
Does this mean that mulch and Rampant growth are the only reliable ways to get out of mana screw?
i think this is poor way to think about it. We have lands that reduce mana flood. likewise Lands for mana screw should be likewise important
Rhythmic lands vs Utility Lands vs Spell Lands
Rhythmic Lands
the first three turns don't necessarilly say whether you will win the game or not, but they can definitely let you know if you will lose them
-What Rythmic Lands in a way are ways to effect the rhythem of those first turns
Color Screwed? Dual Lands
would you be willing to wait a turn for good effects? tap lands
would you be willing to take life for good effects? pain lands
would you be willing to sacrifice a land for more mana? Havenwood Battleground
Good Lands provide a beat, a rhythm, where they leave their user weaker in one way or another because they'd rather take a chance for their desires
These are what I call Rhythmic lands because they provide a rhythm for you early turns to make sure everything else will go swell
A very special Rhythmic Land is Gemstone Caverns
This land is suprisingly balanced for its incredible effect. Obviously its a turn 0 win enabler however due to its legendary nature its not for every deck and turn 0 sometimes isn't enough to get there
Utility lands
Reliquiry Tower allows you to hold all the cards you so please, Terrain generator allows ramp, Tolaria west is a combo enabler, Mad Blind mountain can reset statistics if you need to, mistveil plains allows you to restock on goodies, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea allows everyone to draw at your convenience
What do all these cards have in common? They utility in certian decks.
And while some are more centered around certain colors, others aren't.
I think these kinds of lands are good because while other lands are tempo oriented, these are more simply used for certain cases. Not everyone will use them, though everyone can use them
Spell Lands
Spell lands are simply lands with spells attatched to them. Man lands are an example, kessig wolfrun, arena. These set more of a looming shade of death around the late game rather than provide anything early on.
These spell lands are very important simply for the fact that games need to end.
And Many times Boards get wiped and spells get countered. And things are traded.
But lands generally stick around, and with 10+ mana but no cards in hand, something needs to happen.
Why Choose Land
Lands are the heart of magic
As many Spells as you want per turn but only 1 land...
yet nearly all decks have around 40% lands
Because its our restriction.
And even though spells can solve problems, do we want some dumb big effect that nobody will play?
Or something that helps us casually and put in any deck we truelly care about
Cavern of souls will most likely stick around for the rest of magics life time
But personally I think lands present the greatest challange of all
Enabling Excitement and creativity with the mundane
Though there may be some disagreement, I hope you can respect my thoughts and it breeds creativity and hope for the future of this awesome game we call magic the gathering
Reasons why the community may be calling out for lands
Rhythmic Lands vs Utility Lands vs Spell based Lands
Why choose lands?
Reasons why the community (especially me) may be calling out for new Lands
There are two major culprits of terrible magic games: Mana flood and mana screw
Mana Flood
Lets do a little statistics work shall we?
24/60 cards in your deck are lands which means we have about a 40% chance to draw a land for the first draw we have
23/59 = 38.9%
22/58 = 37.9%
21/57 = 36.8%
20/56 = 35.7%
19/55 = 34.5%
18/54 = 33.3%
17/53 = 32.0%
I tend to be a gambling man myself, and knowing the rest of the community recognizes luck as an obvious factor in the game we play we should look at this with a very stern eye...
drawing your first 7 gives you a minimum of 32.0% to draw a land. 32% is a lot. With statistics some people believe the likely hood of drawing another land is impossible, no way... but the fact of the matter is each one of these draws are completely independent from the other. And unless you tend to stack (which isn't legal) or put things in completely different areas before you shuffle. If you shuffle probably it wont make a difference.
However, there is good news out there for people who hate flooding. There are lands that help you avoid it
Now, they can't stop your first 7 draws but they do help along the way
Now for a normal hand of 24/60
Keep with 3 in hand (statistically pretty likely)
21/53 = 39.6
Lets play a fetch
20/53 = 37.7 its a start
And look of course we drew another land
19/52 = 36.5% will be our next draw
but first we crack another fetch
18/52 = 34.6%
We drew another land...
17/51 = 33.3%
turn 3, drop a fetch
16/50 = 32%
Whats the moral of this story?
The moral is that we can manipulate statistics with our lands to drop our statistics without drawing any crazy spell or anything, something as simple as a terramorphic expanse reduces mana flood significantly, never mind the halimar depths/fetchland combos
Mana Screw
If anyone has ever built a neat little combo or casual deck I'm sure you've run into this problem
Turn 1 land, pass
Turn 2 land, pass
Turn 3 ....... pass
Turn 4 ....... pass
Turn 5 ....... pass
If you get lucky you may be able to crawl back into it after that, but most likely the answer is: no.
there are spells that help you with this however amoung them are:
-Rampant growth, Sylvan ranger, ponder, index, weathered wayfarer, knight of the white orchid,
and pretty much any cycler/draw spell
However, when has a land ever helped you with this problem?
-Ravnica Bounce lands, new benalia, halimar depths
Are these good solutions though? Maybe, maybe not
Rules tell us 60 is the minimum
Pros teach us minimum is the best
And Daily MTG doesn't say otherwise
When it comes down to it, when playing white weenie, you plan to risk getting mana screwed. On top of that you risk getting 4 for 1nd. on top of that you risk getting your cards out matched by bigger creatures. On top of that you have to worry about instant speed removal on your anthem effect. Basically theres tons to worry about and when statistics aren't in your favor either, low curve decks definitely don't get much benefit.
Midrange and control recognize they'll be playing longer games so...
Cycling, looting, mulching, Rampant growth, mana dorks. These become much more appealing though what happens when your BUW control deck never gets passed 2 lands after 2 cycles and 2 draws? what happens when your mana dorks all get killed off?
Does this mean that mulch and Rampant growth are the only reliable ways to get out of mana screw?
i think this is poor way to think about it. We have lands that reduce mana flood. likewise Lands for mana screw should be likewise important
Rhythmic lands vs Utility Lands vs Spell Lands
Rhythmic Lands
the first three turns don't necessarilly say whether you will win the game or not, but they can definitely let you know if you will lose them
-What Rythmic Lands in a way are ways to effect the rhythem of those first turns
Color Screwed? Dual Lands
would you be willing to wait a turn for good effects? tap lands
would you be willing to take life for good effects? pain lands
would you be willing to sacrifice a land for more mana? Havenwood Battleground
Good Lands provide a beat, a rhythm, where they leave their user weaker in one way or another because they'd rather take a chance for their desires
These are what I call Rhythmic lands because they provide a rhythm for you early turns to make sure everything else will go swell
A very special Rhythmic Land is Gemstone Caverns
This land is suprisingly balanced for its incredible effect. Obviously its a turn 0 win enabler however due to its legendary nature its not for every deck and turn 0 sometimes isn't enough to get there
Utility lands
Reliquiry Tower allows you to hold all the cards you so please, Terrain generator allows ramp, Tolaria west is a combo enabler, Mad Blind mountain can reset statistics if you need to, mistveil plains allows you to restock on goodies, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea allows everyone to draw at your convenience
What do all these cards have in common? They utility in certian decks.
And while some are more centered around certain colors, others aren't.
I think these kinds of lands are good because while other lands are tempo oriented, these are more simply used for certain cases. Not everyone will use them, though everyone can use them
Spell Lands
Spell lands are simply lands with spells attatched to them. Man lands are an example, kessig wolfrun, arena. These set more of a looming shade of death around the late game rather than provide anything early on.
These spell lands are very important simply for the fact that games need to end.
And Many times Boards get wiped and spells get countered. And things are traded.
But lands generally stick around, and with 10+ mana but no cards in hand, something needs to happen.
Why Choose Land
Lands are the heart of magic
As many Spells as you want per turn but only 1 land...
yet nearly all decks have around 40% lands
Because its our restriction.
And even though spells can solve problems, do we want some dumb big effect that nobody will play?
Or something that helps us casually and put in any deck we truelly care about
Cavern of souls will most likely stick around for the rest of magics life time
But personally I think lands present the greatest challange of all
Enabling Excitement and creativity with the mundane
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