Just so I don't risk biting off more than I can chew, I think it's a good idea to work some breaks from blogging into the new blog schedule. I'm pretty happy with the format that is evolving, the daily features and with getting back to writing regularly. But even I need a day off and I've set some pretty high standards for this new endeavor. Now that I've had some time to break this new blog in, it's time I took a break. I'm usually a little bit busier on weekends anyway, and a rock show or two usually pops up each month on these party nights.
Therefore, on Saturdays or Sundays I will take a step back and simply publish a Weekend Update. That should give the blogger some space so the blog does not become overwhelming. As part of this, the Card o' the Day will be a weekday feature only to give me extra time off. Time to think more about Pauper, read up on other writers, get future writing started in advance, and I almost forgot...
...time to actually play Standard Pauper instead of just writing about it!
Now that the format of the new blog and my return to writing for PureMTGO are all set after a pretty hardcore writing streak to jump-start me, the next few weeks should feature much more playing than writing. It's about this time every week I start to think about Monday's upcoming Standard Pauper tournament, anyway. This will likely be the topic of most Weekend Updates, but anything Pauper (and everything else I've been getting up to) is on the table.
As I wrote in my first Post-Tournament Post, I am still working on Boros Aggro. Last week I tried to make greater use of the Battalion ability than is usual in Boros. Since then, another Boros list, Gamelen's New Recruits, featuring token-making spells and the Populate keyword made the Top Eight. Discussion about the archetype has continued about the many paths Boros could follow to re-take the top spot.
Personally, I'm just hoping to make the cut, but I've been considering all the available options to get there. Batallion is out and Populate has been tried before. Both seem a little bit too reliant on achieving optimal-board states in order to work, so that leaves me wondering about simpler stand-alone abilities like Haste, Aura, and Burn. I'm still not sure which one I will be going with, but both Red and White have some cool options I hope to surprise folks with on Monday.
Whatever I do choose, I'm sure to have good games and have fun. Maybe this week I'll actually have some good luck! I hope you do too. Thanks for reading the Weekend Update. Peace,
- C
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Standard Pauper Card o' the Day: Rakdos Shred-Freak
So it's Black Friday, but it's still a very Red week here on the blog. What does that mean for the Standard Pauper card of the day? It means you get both:
This hasty little berserker is finding a home in all sorts of Standard Pauper decks. Red Decks of all stripes want to start beating quickly and he does just that. But Mono Black control builds are taking advantage of the fact that Shred-Freak technically has two black mana symbols in his casting cost, upping the devotion count for the game-winning Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
I'll bet we'll be seeing this Freak around for a very long time, and his slightly higher price range for a Standard Pauper card tells me he has applications in Classic and non-Pauper formats as well. He's a pretty heavy hitter for such an early Standard Pauper Card o' the Day this Black Friday. Give him a shot! Thanks for reading. Peace,
- C
This hasty little berserker is finding a home in all sorts of Standard Pauper decks. Red Decks of all stripes want to start beating quickly and he does just that. But Mono Black control builds are taking advantage of the fact that Shred-Freak technically has two black mana symbols in his casting cost, upping the devotion count for the game-winning Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
I'll bet we'll be seeing this Freak around for a very long time, and his slightly higher price range for a Standard Pauper card tells me he has applications in Classic and non-Pauper formats as well. He's a pretty heavy hitter for such an early Standard Pauper Card o' the Day this Black Friday. Give him a shot! Thanks for reading. Peace,
- C
Top 5 Friday: Standard Pauper Decks
It's still Thanksgiving time and I'm in for my third dinner in a row with family. I'm stuffed already! But in between all the visiting, I did get to write, format, and submit my first article to PureMTGO in a long time. The new Standard & Pauper series (you can find the old articles here) will once again keep track of the top decks in the Standard Pauper competitive metagame. So as a preview, here are the Top Five Decks of Standard Pauper right now for the blog's first Top 5 Fridays column.
The TOP FIVE Standard Pauper Decks, Early Theros Season:
There are, of course, other decks present in the metagame, but these are the Big Five of the early Theros season. I've got more data about these decks to share once the article is published, and I hope it will be up in time for this coming Monday's MPDC tournament. I'll surely be playing one of the above.
For now, it's Turkey Time...again! Thanks for reading the first Top 5 Friday blog! Peace,
- C
The TOP FIVE Standard Pauper Decks, Early Theros Season:
1. Dimir Mill
2. Mono Black Control decks
3, Boros Aggro
4. Auras and Hexproof decks
5. Orzhov decks
There are, of course, other decks present in the metagame, but these are the Big Five of the early Theros season. I've got more data about these decks to share once the article is published, and I hope it will be up in time for this coming Monday's MPDC tournament. I'll surely be playing one of the above.
For now, it's Turkey Time...again! Thanks for reading the first Top 5 Friday blog! Peace,
- C
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Standard Pauper Card o' the Day: Structural Collapse
And the holidays are upon us all! Before I sit down with family for a spaghetti dinner (turkey will be tomorrow and I'm still sleepy from last night's get-together with the other side of the family) I'll see if I can find a Standard Pauper card since not everybody around the world celebrates this holiday. Any Red cards about holidays?
MTGO - Traders: CARD NAME- 0.02 Tix
MTGO - Traders: CARD NAME- 0.02 Tix
Aside from the incredible irony of holidays being associated with a collapse in structure, it turns out that this Rauck-Chauv holiday is pretty big deal for the Gruul Clans. Planeswalkers of the anthropological persuasion are in for a challenge if they wish to know more about these wild celebrations. From the MTG Salvation Wiki:
"Little is known about the Ghor Clan, however, Rauck-Chauv, a holiday celebrated many times a year by the Gruul, is named after their two-headed leader. It is likely the Ghor are the most hedonistic clan."
There are a few other commons and uncommons in the Classic card pool that mention these reoccuring events. So here, when we run into a holiday, it will always be Rauck-Chauv instead! At least until I find another Magic: the Gathering holiday with Pauper representations.
Mmm...savor that flavor! Savor your turkey and cranberry sauce, too, and hey...I'm thankful you stopped by :-) Happy Thanksgiving! Peace,
- C
I Think It's Thursday: The Magic of Philosophy
While the primary focus of this new blog will be Standard Pauper and other Rarity-Restricted Casual-Competitive Magic: The Gathering formats , you'll notice I'm interested in a little bit more than just that. Aside from music - which I just play instead of wasting time blogging about - my biggest current interest in a new-found passion for philosophy.
One might say I've fallen in love with wisdom.
So once a week I'll shift focus from Standard Pauper to my philosophy studies. But I'm sure I can think up ways to tie the two together most of the time. The best Magic writer of all time, Mike Flores, has often noted that has favorite hobby is not playing Magic, but thinking about Magic. And that suggests that there is a Philosophy of Magic waiting to be thought up and written about.
For the time being, and from this point forward, I just want to share what I discover to be the Magic of Philosophy and the Philosophy of Magic.
The THOUGHT for this I Think It's Thursday is: I think philosophy is magical. I've often had many variations of a dream profession. I'd wonder how great it would be to be a famous rock star or bestselling novelist, a powerful politician, or even pro Magic player. But these days I often dream of just being a philosopher, a worthier pursuit than all of these other dreams, and probably even the one for which I'm better suited and likely for success IRL.
::
Anyway, I'm rambling as I'm bound to do when I get all thoughtful. Thanks for tagging along with me while I keep tabs on my philosophical studies and ramblings. Until the next time I Think It's Thursday, good luck, have fun, and good games! Peace,
- C
One might say I've fallen in love with wisdom.
So once a week I'll shift focus from Standard Pauper to my philosophy studies. But I'm sure I can think up ways to tie the two together most of the time. The best Magic writer of all time, Mike Flores, has often noted that has favorite hobby is not playing Magic, but thinking about Magic. And that suggests that there is a Philosophy of Magic waiting to be thought up and written about.
For the time being, and from this point forward, I just want to share what I discover to be the Magic of Philosophy and the Philosophy of Magic.
The THOUGHT for this I Think It's Thursday is: I think philosophy is magical. I've often had many variations of a dream profession. I'd wonder how great it would be to be a famous rock star or bestselling novelist, a powerful politician, or even pro Magic player. But these days I often dream of just being a philosopher, a worthier pursuit than all of these other dreams, and probably even the one for which I'm better suited and likely for success IRL.
::
Anyway, I'm rambling as I'm bound to do when I get all thoughtful. Thanks for tagging along with me while I keep tabs on my philosophical studies and ramblings. Until the next time I Think It's Thursday, good luck, have fun, and good games! Peace,
- C
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Standard Pauper Card o' the Day: Akroan Crusader
It appears I've accidentally established a Red theme for my first week, even before my first weekly theme is figured out. So let's make the Standard Pauper Card o' the Day another interesting Red selection. This guy might end up being my new hero:
This list of Red Token-making creatures is illustrative of a split between Standard and Classic and even the gap between Vintage in the paper world versus the MTGO realm. But they can wait on that for now, because they are now letting me do this!
Now that is one unique and very flavorful card. It's an A+ in design and a perfect five-out-of-five fit for all player psychographics. Everybody's inner-Melvin and Vorthos can see the Spartan flavor everywhere. Spikes should see a token-generator with card-advantage potential, Timmies are thinking about building around the Heroic mechanic for token swarms, Johnny's are trying to figure out how to trigger this 300 times in a single turn while screaming "This! Is! Pauper!"
He's also a big step in filling out Red's philosophical position in the color pie. Would you believe Akroan Crusader is the first 1/1 Human Soldier for one Red mana at common in history? I had trouble too, but what a debut! See, he's also only the third common Red creature to see print that can produce one or more tokens. His company is as illustrious as I believe he will soldier on to be.
All that said about our Card o' the Day and I've never even really tested him! My red one-drop of choice so far has been Foundry Street Denizen, but I've been impressed with guy from the other side of the table, so it's time to log on and test out Akrosan Crusader. Give him a shot, thanks for reading and until next time, GL & HF! Peace,
- C
Wacky Wednesday: Red Is The Wackiest Color
Red is my favorite color and it just happens to be the wackiest. Total coincidence, I swear! Shades of crimson are also my favorite in real life for deeply-held political and aesthetic reasons that are more deliberate. Therefore, it's fitting I talk Red for the first installment of Wacky Wednesdays on the new blog...at least until I come up with something less cheesy and impulsive than "Wacky Wednesdays".
Yesterday I alluded to the fact that Lightning Bolt is my favorite Magic card of all time. It was one of the first cards I ever saw and truly hit me like a bolt of lightning. I bolted to the nearest games hobby shop to pick up my first two 4th Edition Starter decks and was so happy to pull a copy from both packages. From then on, I've always loved this wacky game and bolting critters in the ass and opposing planeswalkers in the face with cheap burn. As you can see, I never even tire of the word, almost to a fault :-)
Little did I know that I was falling for the wackiest color in this already whacked out game!
My first success in Magic at the middle school lunch tables was with Sligh, featuring some classic uncommons like Viashino Sandstalker and Wildfire Emissary. My God, we made a lot of noise when we were dueling over our bad macaroni and cheese! Surely everybody thought we were whacked out beyond all professional assistance.
But I didn't care. I was playing Red!Later, when I discovered Pauper, I knew I wanted to get started in the Classic format with red decks. These tend to be inexpensive but remain competitive. Some might whine that Burn and Goblins are boring, but that's whack! I like racing and I'm partial to lists that are almost entirely creature-less or almost entirely creatures, both. Like I said, burning and bashing face are two of things I love about playing Magic no matter what format. And as a final, fateful bonus, Red does historically well in our favorite format, Standard Pauper.
You just gotta be wacky enough to run Red! Take off your thinking cap once in a while and throw on your mad cap. Like so:
Check out at Madcap Skills up there. That card is as whacked out as the guy on it! Red isn't supposed to be an Enchantment color, but I guess everybody gets Auras these days. This is one of the scariest in the format. And see how Red doesn't just want to use simple evasion like white flyers or blue's dry "unblockable" dudes. Red wants to mess with blocking and attacking to create whacky psuedo-evasion situations. Now that's just more chaotic and fun. And Red!
And that's just the edge of the flames for Reds random mechanics Paupers can exploit. There are four, count 'em, four variations on the formerly-uncommon gem, Act of Treason:
And I haven't even gotten to the weirdest of the whacked out stuff Red can do: looting & filtering, blowing up pesky artifacts and lands, making really big explosions - not the mention the completely wackiest mechanics of all on common Reds like making fast mana, messing up combat, sac'ing and shuffling, and more! I guess that means a "Red Is The Wackiest Color: Part 2" post is coming some Wacky Wednesday in the future. Until then, good luck, have fun, and good games!
Peace,
- C
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tuesday Post-Tournament Post - MPDC 23.06
On Mondays, I always try to play in the MPDC Player Run Event on Magic Online. This weekly gathering is a long-standing Standard Pauper tournament run through PDCMagic.com and hosted by gwyned, author of a blog similar to here, Writer Adept. I recommend frequenting these places regularly if you're interested in or serious about Standard Pauper. The best place to get started if you're brand new is the MPDC Season 23 Master Document, which gives you all you need to know to get started (and good for all players to refer to).
So on Tuesdays, I'll post my brief thoughts and take-aways from the tournament experience, which is always good fun (even if my luck is bad). I used to write blog-length ramblings and play-by-plays right in my deck descriptions on Gatherling, but I think this new blog will save that sites memory and grant me more free rein here.
Then let's get to it! Yesterday twenty-five Standard Pauper players got together to compete in the sixth event of MPDC's twenty-third season. It marked the third week in a row that SPP Clanmate MudnisV has piloted the dreaded Dimir Mill deck to victory! He's got a great post talking about how he's developed this monstrous control deck over at the Standard Pauper Players Clan Blog.
Dimir Mill is definitely the deck to beat in the early Theros season. I was playing it the previous couple weeks as I always give the "best" deck a shot. But I am an Aggro player at heart and was not playing the deck very well. So instead, I built up a Boros Aggro deck based on rhysticy's winning list from before MundisV's Milling streak began.
Here is my Boros Aggro from MPDC 23.06:
Join the glorious Boros Reistance against the Dimir Mill oppressors!
I did not end up doing well in the Swiss. It's been like that all season so far. But damn if it didn't feel good to turn dudes sideways and blow stuff up again! Constantly staring at a fistful of blue counters and black removal with nothing but land and Archaeomancers on the battlefield is just not action packed enough for me right now. I need some good old red-based excitement! I'm really liking some of the Boros options; had fun trying out Bomber Corps, but I think I should stock up on Haste creatures and put Rakdos Shred-Freak back in that slot. What do you think of the switch? Feel free to make suggestions about Boros Aggro in the comments below!
I tried to practice a bit more than I did in preparation for previous tournaments and think I played a bit tighter than normal. Still not good enough, though. Some of the decks I faced were completely new to me and threw me off. The Bant Enchantments deck the clan captain is working on and an interesting Simic Evolve both bested me and got me thinking I'll have to plan for them in the future.
But I'll stick with something Red for now. I'm a Red Mage at heart and it felt great to have some burn at my disposal and army of quick little beaters. I will likely try Boros again next week, practicing more and refining the list further. Then again, I might not be able to resist building a straight Red Deck. No ice! Mono Red has been placing fairly well, which gives me hope for the future :-)
And there you have it! The first installment of my weekly post-tournament musings are up on The Web. I hope to see you for the tournament next week. Thanks for reading. Have fun, good luck, and good games!
Peace,
- C
.
So on Tuesdays, I'll post my brief thoughts and take-aways from the tournament experience, which is always good fun (even if my luck is bad). I used to write blog-length ramblings and play-by-plays right in my deck descriptions on Gatherling, but I think this new blog will save that sites memory and grant me more free rein here.
Then let's get to it! Yesterday twenty-five Standard Pauper players got together to compete in the sixth event of MPDC's twenty-third season. It marked the third week in a row that SPP Clanmate MudnisV has piloted the dreaded Dimir Mill deck to victory! He's got a great post talking about how he's developed this monstrous control deck over at the Standard Pauper Players Clan Blog.
Dimir Mill is definitely the deck to beat in the early Theros season. I was playing it the previous couple weeks as I always give the "best" deck a shot. But I am an Aggro player at heart and was not playing the deck very well. So instead, I built up a Boros Aggro deck based on rhysticy's winning list from before MundisV's Milling streak began.
Here is my Boros Aggro from MPDC 23.06:
Boros Batallion Unleashed
RW Aggro by Cabel in MPDC 23.06 (1-2)
| Creatures 4 Daring Skyjek 4 Gore-House Chainwalker 4 Skyknight Legionnaire 4 Viashino Firstblade 4 Wojek Halberdiers 3 Bomber Corps 3 Foundry Street Denizen 3 Splatter Thug 2 Rubblebelt Maaka 31 cards Other Spells 3 Madcap Skills 2 Gods Willing 2 Lightning Strike 1 Celestial Flare 1 Chandra's Outrage 5 cards |
Lands 9 Mountain 7 Plains 4 Boros Guildgate 20 cards
Sideboard
3 Keening Apparition 3 Electrickery 3 Chandra's Outrage 3 Celestial Flare 3 Annihilating Fire 15 cards |
|
Join the glorious Boros Reistance against the Dimir Mill oppressors!
I did not end up doing well in the Swiss. It's been like that all season so far. But damn if it didn't feel good to turn dudes sideways and blow stuff up again! Constantly staring at a fistful of blue counters and black removal with nothing but land and Archaeomancers on the battlefield is just not action packed enough for me right now. I need some good old red-based excitement! I'm really liking some of the Boros options; had fun trying out Bomber Corps, but I think I should stock up on Haste creatures and put Rakdos Shred-Freak back in that slot. What do you think of the switch? Feel free to make suggestions about Boros Aggro in the comments below!
I tried to practice a bit more than I did in preparation for previous tournaments and think I played a bit tighter than normal. Still not good enough, though. Some of the decks I faced were completely new to me and threw me off. The Bant Enchantments deck the clan captain is working on and an interesting Simic Evolve both bested me and got me thinking I'll have to plan for them in the future.
But I'll stick with something Red for now. I'm a Red Mage at heart and it felt great to have some burn at my disposal and army of quick little beaters. I will likely try Boros again next week, practicing more and refining the list further. Then again, I might not be able to resist building a straight Red Deck. No ice! Mono Red has been placing fairly well, which gives me hope for the future :-)
And there you have it! The first installment of my weekly post-tournament musings are up on The Web. I hope to see you for the tournament next week. Thanks for reading. Have fun, good luck, and good games!
Peace,
- C
Standard Pauper Card o' the Day: Lightning Strike
This should be a fun feature that should not take too much time. Can't promise I'll get to it every single day, but let's get to it anyway!
The Card o' the Day feature will usually focus on the Standard Pauper format, but every now and then an older card might pop up. I'll just say a few words about why I like it, my thoughts on its place in the format, and leave you all to add your thoughts in comments.
The Card o' the Day feature will usually focus on the Standard Pauper format, but every now and then an older card might pop up. I'll just say a few words about why I like it, my thoughts on its place in the format, and leave you all to add your thoughts in comments.
Red has always been my favorite color and Lightning Bolt will always be my favorite card. Bolt really is just a tad too powerful, which is why I love it just the way it is. Adding another colorless mana to the casting cost has been a good way to balance things out since Incinerate, another favorite of mine.
That said, I was disappointed with the previous functional reprint in this vein, Searing Spear. That's just not in flavor with the idea of The Bolt. Dealing three damage to a creature or player at instant or speed is an electric mechanic, flavor wise and in game. It deserves to be represented by lightning bolts in the artwork, and Adam Paquette's Hand-of-Zeus painting is the best bolt art since Magic 2010 brought back the original Lightning Bolt.
I'm not quite sure this card's place yet. I ran a few in Boros yesterday, but it didn't seem essential. Cheaper options like Shock might be better, and the many four-toughness dudes and big enchanted Voltrons are out of range of this otherwise fine spell. I'll still end up playing it heavily, though. I just love to bolt stuff :-)
And that does it for our first Card o' the Day on the new Cabel the Pauper blog. See you tomorrow! Peace,
- C
Introducing: Cabel the Pauper - A New Pauper Blog
Greetings and well met! I am Cabel the Pauper. This is my first post on my brand new blog about Pauper Magic and my other eclectic interests.
In real life, my name is Colin. I'm a Thirtysometing dude from historic Albany County, New York. I am an American citizen and English is my native tongue. I cannot blog in any other language...yet!
Blogging
What I write here will reflect my interests and who I am in real life. The subject matter will focus primarly on playing Pauper on Magic Online. But I'll also blog about any of those things listed in the blog description from time to time. I like lots of different topics and enjoy sharing my thoughts and writing about all of them.
But the top focus of Cabel the Pauper will be Standard Pauper and all Rarity-Restricted and Casual-Competitive formats of Magic: The Gathering on Magic Online and on paper.
This is my second attempt at a blog after years of political blogging as Soundpolitic and posting about Pauper as Copperfield. I consider it a big step forward in my personal reboot as a Magic player and blogger at the same time.
I'm thinking a bit of my Magic and blogging history is an order, if only to get it out of the way so I don't feel the need to keep relating the same tale ad nauseum. I'll try to keep this explanation - and all blogs henceforth - brief and to the point:
Soundpolitic
As Soundpolitic, I learned the ropes about blogging. I started out on DailyKos and then The Albany Project, eventually working my way up to a front-page and rec-list poster of political blogs. It was a good writing experience and I got to meet some interesting politicians and activists in my local political scene.
But that era of my blogging and political development is over. I no longer aspire to be the citizen-journalist I originally set out to be. I believe just talking politics with family and friends once in a while is sufficient for now. I finally want to make my break with the Democrat vs. Republican deadlock as I have completely rejected both conservatism and liberalism. I'll probably only blog about this sort of thing here only once in a blue moon, and try to keep it Magic related.
That's the main focus of the new Cabel The Pauper blog: Pauper Magic.
Pauper Magic
I first started playing Magic: The Gathering soon after seeing my first cards at a youth group in middle school. The cards were intriguing and I wanted to know what the text box meant, what the symbols in the corner were for, what the numbers at the bottom meant, and everything else about this unique new game. I played from 4th Edition during Alliances and Tempest was the last set I got into while playing during lunch and after school.
I quit for a long time, but once I got my first "real" job, I used some of my extra cash to return to Magic. I was drawn back by the black borders of Tenth Edition and classic fantasy Tribal elements and Hybrid multi-color of Lorwyn/Shadowmoor. Unfortunately, I lost the job after only a few months, and a few months later sold my rares and uncommons to compensate.
Fortunately, this lead me to discover the Pauper format and PDCMagic and put my remaining commons to good use. After a while of playing Standard Pauper on paper, I finally got a Magic Online account. I got my Classic Burn deck that I always wanted, but I always focused on Standard Pauper due to affordability and the great weekly events, MPDC, hosted by Gwyned, and SPDC, run by PDC and Gatherling guru, Jamuraa.
Part of this blog's purpose is to live up to the inspiring example of these Standard Pauper pioneers. So the majority of content on this blog will focus on that format specifically and Pauper generally. And I don't think I completely lived up to these guys as Copperfield.
From Copperfield to Cabel
Under the name of Copperfield, I started posting deck threads, and later branched out to writing articles on Pure MTGO. I'm still proud of much of my past work, but more often than I'd like I displayed a regrettable tendency to engage in flame wars and "troll-hunting". Aside from that, there was the practical matter of solving confusion as to who I was when posting as Copperfield while playing/running hosting in-game as Cabel.
So now it's just Cabel in-game and online and there will never be such useless silliness posted under this clean new alias. The name change represents a clean break from these bad habits as well a fresh start as a Magic player and blogger. "Copperfield" was just a stepping stone, some mistakes were made and lessons learned, and "Soundpolitic" was no different. So retiring both egotistical alter-egos and adopting Cabel makes perfect sense.
Cabel the Pauper
As Cabel, I will continue to post on the PDCMagic boards and will also be making use of the Standard Pauper Players clan-only forums. I will also try to change my username on PureMTGO and other sites in anticipation of new articles and further forum posts. MTG Salvation seems like fertile ground for Standard Pauper, and as always the push for official support from WotC marches onward.
But more than anywhere else, I will post here. And the plan is to post prolifically, yet succinctly. And above all with good nature, good humor, and good intent.
Because as you can see, I tend to be rather long-winded! I have many ideas about many things and feel the need to explain everything about anything I think. This is not bad if kept in my mind, but it's not all worth posting and this blog needs focus and clarity the same way my thoughts do. This new blog will finally serve as exercise in improving my writing and thinking skills.
So instead of spewing thousands of words about every current of thought that sweeps me away - or getting so caught up in my thoughts that I turn into Mr. Internet Jerk again - I will keep things on the topic and always be as kind and helpful as possible in posts and comments.
And when I say I want the blogs on Cabel The Pauper to be prolific and succinct, I mean I will post once a day and adhere to a strict one dozen paragraph limit....
Two For Tuesdays #1: Introduction!
Except for Tuesdays! If it's Tuesday, it's time for....Two-For-Tuesdays!
Two-For-Tuesdays will feature not one, but two posts. In one I'll share my thoughts on the previous nights MPDC tournament. In the other one I get to post whatever I want just for blogging fun, but these will likely be about Magic as well. This Tuesday, I choose to write about getting this blog started, introduce myself, and state my main goals and other random musings about what I want this blog to be.
Oh, and since I've done so already, I get to break my one dozen paragraph limit on my random Two For Tuesdays posts, too :-)
The Blog
And so it begins! By the end of today I'll get my thoughts on yesterday's tournament posted and the new Cabel The Pauper Blog will officially be up and running! I hope you enjoy it and visit regularly..
On the to-do list for the Blog's first week is visual and layout decisions and the construction of a proper Blogroll of other Standard Pauper sites and some related useful links for fellow Paupers. I need to figure out other daily themes to help me keep up the pace of blogging a little each day, too. I might even include links to my social media profiles, but I don't really use those for Magic much. If you have suggestions for what you'd like to see on Cabel the Pauper, let me know in comments.
Thanks for reading and stopping by. I look forward to blogging more and seeing you here again soon. Have fun, good luck, and good games!
Peace,
- C
In real life, my name is Colin. I'm a Thirtysometing dude from historic Albany County, New York. I am an American citizen and English is my native tongue. I cannot blog in any other language...yet!
Blogging
What I write here will reflect my interests and who I am in real life. The subject matter will focus primarly on playing Pauper on Magic Online. But I'll also blog about any of those things listed in the blog description from time to time. I like lots of different topics and enjoy sharing my thoughts and writing about all of them.
But the top focus of Cabel the Pauper will be Standard Pauper and all Rarity-Restricted and Casual-Competitive formats of Magic: The Gathering on Magic Online and on paper.
This is my second attempt at a blog after years of political blogging as Soundpolitic and posting about Pauper as Copperfield. I consider it a big step forward in my personal reboot as a Magic player and blogger at the same time.
I'm thinking a bit of my Magic and blogging history is an order, if only to get it out of the way so I don't feel the need to keep relating the same tale ad nauseum. I'll try to keep this explanation - and all blogs henceforth - brief and to the point:
Soundpolitic
As Soundpolitic, I learned the ropes about blogging. I started out on DailyKos and then The Albany Project, eventually working my way up to a front-page and rec-list poster of political blogs. It was a good writing experience and I got to meet some interesting politicians and activists in my local political scene.
But that era of my blogging and political development is over. I no longer aspire to be the citizen-journalist I originally set out to be. I believe just talking politics with family and friends once in a while is sufficient for now. I finally want to make my break with the Democrat vs. Republican deadlock as I have completely rejected both conservatism and liberalism. I'll probably only blog about this sort of thing here only once in a blue moon, and try to keep it Magic related.
That's the main focus of the new Cabel The Pauper blog: Pauper Magic.
Pauper Magic
I first started playing Magic: The Gathering soon after seeing my first cards at a youth group in middle school. The cards were intriguing and I wanted to know what the text box meant, what the symbols in the corner were for, what the numbers at the bottom meant, and everything else about this unique new game. I played from 4th Edition during Alliances and Tempest was the last set I got into while playing during lunch and after school.
I quit for a long time, but once I got my first "real" job, I used some of my extra cash to return to Magic. I was drawn back by the black borders of Tenth Edition and classic fantasy Tribal elements and Hybrid multi-color of Lorwyn/Shadowmoor. Unfortunately, I lost the job after only a few months, and a few months later sold my rares and uncommons to compensate.
Fortunately, this lead me to discover the Pauper format and PDCMagic and put my remaining commons to good use. After a while of playing Standard Pauper on paper, I finally got a Magic Online account. I got my Classic Burn deck that I always wanted, but I always focused on Standard Pauper due to affordability and the great weekly events, MPDC, hosted by Gwyned, and SPDC, run by PDC and Gatherling guru, Jamuraa.
Part of this blog's purpose is to live up to the inspiring example of these Standard Pauper pioneers. So the majority of content on this blog will focus on that format specifically and Pauper generally. And I don't think I completely lived up to these guys as Copperfield.
From Copperfield to Cabel
Under the name of Copperfield, I started posting deck threads, and later branched out to writing articles on Pure MTGO. I'm still proud of much of my past work, but more often than I'd like I displayed a regrettable tendency to engage in flame wars and "troll-hunting". Aside from that, there was the practical matter of solving confusion as to who I was when posting as Copperfield while playing/running hosting in-game as Cabel.
So now it's just Cabel in-game and online and there will never be such useless silliness posted under this clean new alias. The name change represents a clean break from these bad habits as well a fresh start as a Magic player and blogger. "Copperfield" was just a stepping stone, some mistakes were made and lessons learned, and "Soundpolitic" was no different. So retiring both egotistical alter-egos and adopting Cabel makes perfect sense.
Cabel the Pauper
As Cabel, I will continue to post on the PDCMagic boards and will also be making use of the Standard Pauper Players clan-only forums. I will also try to change my username on PureMTGO and other sites in anticipation of new articles and further forum posts. MTG Salvation seems like fertile ground for Standard Pauper, and as always the push for official support from WotC marches onward.
But more than anywhere else, I will post here. And the plan is to post prolifically, yet succinctly. And above all with good nature, good humor, and good intent.
Because as you can see, I tend to be rather long-winded! I have many ideas about many things and feel the need to explain everything about anything I think. This is not bad if kept in my mind, but it's not all worth posting and this blog needs focus and clarity the same way my thoughts do. This new blog will finally serve as exercise in improving my writing and thinking skills.
So instead of spewing thousands of words about every current of thought that sweeps me away - or getting so caught up in my thoughts that I turn into Mr. Internet Jerk again - I will keep things on the topic and always be as kind and helpful as possible in posts and comments.
And when I say I want the blogs on Cabel The Pauper to be prolific and succinct, I mean I will post once a day and adhere to a strict one dozen paragraph limit....
Two For Tuesdays #1: Introduction!
Except for Tuesdays! If it's Tuesday, it's time for....Two-For-Tuesdays!
Two-For-Tuesdays will feature not one, but two posts. In one I'll share my thoughts on the previous nights MPDC tournament. In the other one I get to post whatever I want just for blogging fun, but these will likely be about Magic as well. This Tuesday, I choose to write about getting this blog started, introduce myself, and state my main goals and other random musings about what I want this blog to be.
Oh, and since I've done so already, I get to break my one dozen paragraph limit on my random Two For Tuesdays posts, too :-)
The Blog
And so it begins! By the end of today I'll get my thoughts on yesterday's tournament posted and the new Cabel The Pauper Blog will officially be up and running! I hope you enjoy it and visit regularly..
On the to-do list for the Blog's first week is visual and layout decisions and the construction of a proper Blogroll of other Standard Pauper sites and some related useful links for fellow Paupers. I need to figure out other daily themes to help me keep up the pace of blogging a little each day, too. I might even include links to my social media profiles, but I don't really use those for Magic much. If you have suggestions for what you'd like to see on Cabel the Pauper, let me know in comments.
Thanks for reading and stopping by. I look forward to blogging more and seeing you here again soon. Have fun, good luck, and good games!
Peace,
- C
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