Sometimes seeing such a massive fish with a fly rod in hand makes an angler speechless.

The fish above comes from the waters of Guatemala via Casa Vieja Lodge.

To check out more from Casa Vieja Lodge, please click here.

Read More : The Complete Guide to Hunting: Basic Techniques for Gun & Bow Hunters (The Complete Hunter)

This is usually a problem that windows users come across, so let’s review a few steps you can undertake to keep your computer clean after deinstalling software.
There is one thing I would like to get straight right away, a good installer asks you how you want to uninstall. If you select uninstall all including settings and preferences, it will as a matter of fact do just that, without leaving any leftovers on your hard drive. Sadly, installers like this are hard to come by. Most of the time you are on your own. So here is what you do…

1. Check your program files
Go to the location where the software was installed, the default install software of most windows software is program files, open this folder (probably under the c:\ drive) and check if the folder where you initially installed the software still exists. If you did already delete the program via the uninstaller, you can just delete this folder.

2. Check you profile folder
Since windows vista you have a hidden folder in your profile folder called appdata. Make sure your windows explorer is set to show hidden files (file >> extra >> folder options >> display >> show hidden files and folders). To open the appdata folder, click start, click your username and there it is, a hidden folder called AppData. Open it and you’ll find 3 sub folders, Local, LocalLow and Roaming. Check in all 3 of these folders if there is a folder which contains the name of the software or the name of the publisher of the software. You can probably delete this as well

3. Check the registry
Push the windows key + r and type REGEDIT, then hit enter. On the left hand screen you’ll see a folder structure. There are 2 folders you need to check: HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. These both have a software folder, open them and check if there is a subfolder there with the name of the software you’ve just uninstalled. If it is you can most likely delete it.

Once you’ve done all this, you can be rather sure that you got most of the software leftovers.

Everything on your life path supports your journey from pain to joy, from fear to love, from powerlessness to empowerment, and from limitation to limitlessness. There are no challenges in any aspect of your reality that do not support your evolution. Every trial and sorrow has embedded within it the spark of your Divine truth, which you can see and know when you seek the highest outcome.

That is why the brightest path is often the most challenging one because it represents your soul’s call to healing. It is not the path of highest vibration, greatest clarity, or the one that is the most joyful and peaceful for you. Very often it is the one that is the most challenging and that you find least desirable. Your soul lights this path so you will follow it and in doing so, create healing and transformation. This is your journey into Ascension and evolution.

The more you resist this bright path, the brighter it becomes. Your soul agreement is grounded in healing and you are the healer, as well as the healing. It all happens through you and while you have the ability to experience the pain, you also have the ability to take the journey through the pain to create joy. If you allow the pain to become the journey, you have lost sight of your soul’s healing commitment. The commitment you have with Source is to move from healing to evolution, from density to Light, and from fear to Love. Everything in your reality supports this journey. This is Ascension and it is your mission.

You are warriors of the Light and for the Light, and many of you are now completing this very long journey, whose beginning you do not remember as it began with your first incarnation. The veil between dimensions, frequencies and vibrations has been lifted, but it is one of several veils that are now clearing. When the veil is lifted, all that was hidden behind it is revealed and this includes the veils in your own lives.

Your power and true Light were hidden from you so you could fully experience the density of that which you came to heal. And this is what has become your brightest path so you can apply your power to its resolution. The time you have long awaited is now here, move forward to bring the Light of truth, peace, and love to the places you know need them the most, beginning with you and your healing journey. You heal the world by healing yourself.

If you resist the pain, you are resisting the expansion of your own Light. You created this path for yourselves so you could bring Light to the world. Resist the temptation to judge, as it limits your ability to understand the true nature of your experiences. Everything exists to support your transformation, evolution and Ascension.

The most difficult challenges can inspire you to take the greatest action and while fear can create powerful inertia, you use fear as a vehicle to move you from that which you fear the most into joy. How much easier could your journey be if you recognized that fear and its emotions indicated the presence of powerful healing opportunities?

Have the courage to step bravely into the most brightly lit path, the one you fear the most. Empower and encourage yourself with the Light, guidance and support that will help you transmute the fear into a greater expression and expansion of your Light. Be willing to go within and find the spark of Divine Light that is within everything and your boldness and courage will be rewarded with the guidance you need to take the next step, and each one after that.

Always ask to be shown the highest outcome, the most wonderful solution and the greatest peace, joy and love in every situation. Seek healing and wholeness, to be brought back to your Divine center of unlimited joy, peace and love, expect to be guided and supported in each step of this journey and you will be.

Copyright (c) 2013 by Jennifer Hoffman. All rights reserved. You may translate, quote, and link to this article, in its entirety, on free, non-commercial sites only, as long as you include the author’s name and a working link back to this website. All other uses of this article and information are strictly prohibited. http://enlighteninglife.com/everything-supports-your-journey/

Listen, I get it, it’s hard out there for a pimp. You’ve either got a million things happening in your life or you’ve got almost nothing happening in your life, 20somethings today live in a weird limbo of extremes, so appropriate dating habits may seem the least of your concerns.  Rent, food, a job SHOULD be more important than finding a lady friend but the efforts the majority of you guys are putting into finding a lady friend are really getting sloppy. I’m talking white girl wasted sloppy.

A man came into a store I was at recently and announced to a woman WHILE SHE WAS WORKING that he brought her a pineapple, with no explanation as to why and left.  And let me tell you, this is not rare.  Bro, don’t bother us when we’re working it’s so fucking embarrassing and makes us look unprofessional (DO YOU KNOW how hard it is to be a woman in her 20s and look professional? DO YOU?).  This is high school shit, don’t be such a pussy.

A dude came to me at work in front of all my co-workers and patients to announce that he brings his patients to me because I’m the best at what I do – embarrassing and kinda weird ESPECIALLY because it’s like I don’t exist outside work. He talks me up and smiles and makes eyes at me in the hospital but when we see each other on the street or subway he’s like ‘oh lol didn’t see you there after we made direct eye contact’. Look, I know I’m good at what I do. And while I appreciate you acknowledging that, how about you don’t be such a creep and acknowledge me outside of work for something unrelated to my profession, or buy me something. Seriously, if a guy buys me a coffee I get a little turned on. Judge me.

And it’s not like we ladies make it real easy, let me be real honest.  We want you to buy us shit, acknowledge that we’re independent, and think we’re amazing while also having your own life and career and awesome hobbies. But guys, you can’t play a player. At this point 98% of women in their 20s know what’s up. If you’re doing weird shit like giving me a pineapple or only being flirty in the work place – we’re totally on to you. We know you’re not actually trying, or that you’re a retard.

My best advice is to be straight forward, whether you’re trying to wife someone or sleep with her – follow these rules

• don’t bother us when we’re working, SERIOUSLY
• tell us how you feel, do you have feelings for me or my vagina? I won’t be offended either way
• if you’re gonna get me a gift it better be: sparkly, a suggestive box of condoms, or food/alcohol

Just man the fuck up and we’ll stop complaining about how you all suck.  And don’t be so surprised when your next date starts with the lady asking you out – just roll with it because clearly she has bigger balls than you do and she’s awesome (and definitely knows her way around a penis)

Love Always,

Lilly Lou

p.s. get tested, like seriously… get your shit checked out

Other international locations that have the lottery (but often contact it the lotto) are England, Ireland, Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, and additional.

Just as we all use other text in a different way, some call it the lotto and some get in touch with it the lottery. It is the exact same sort of pool recreation in which you have to decide on between certain figures and you have everywhere from two to 60 quantities to select. It is a match of opportunity and luck, but if you use other individuals approaches of raising your odds of successful the lotto or the lottery you can see much more winnings in your video games.

You can use lotto syndicates, lotto methods, and much more to increase your likelihood of winning. A lot of have experienced profitable the lotto jackpots or smaller prizes by utilizing these specific methods. So, no matter whether you call it the lotto or the lottery have exciting, acquire some money, and play responsibly!

The bulk of people who get into pick 6 online games use random numbers, but if you’re looking to crack the lottery code it is really heading to just take more than performing what quite a few other people are by now doing. Hence, it would make feeling to remain away from just picking “favorite” quantities, beginning dates, dates of anniversaries, and so on. These quantities have by now been applied and lost thousands of instances by hundreds of unsuccessful gamers. Cracking the code is all about using scientific and mathematical processes.

Remember, finding quantities utilizing quite common (but sad to say ineffective) approaches like making use of start dates and sequenced figures will not crack the lottery code. The cause for this is that the directors of this kind of games are banking on the typical and ineffective procedures currently used by hundreds of thousands of folks. They really don’t want folks to gain every and every time, due to the fact if that have been the situation, they would eliminate enormous quantities of income.

Only remain absent from the misconceptions. It’s incredible just what variety combinations will make you lose. Consider of it this way – numerous other folks, like you, are attempting to hit the jackpot. What do you sense they are considering? Of system, they are making an attempt to assume of employing issues like repetition and sequences to earn. They think that by repeating quantities regularly, they improve their odds of successful. They consider by using quantities in a sequence like 1, two, 3, 4, 5, and six, no one else have used this kind of numbers and as a result they are probable to gain.

The truth of the matter is, repeating quantities is not the crucial to cracking the code, but making use of a combination of quantity varieties is. Winners have employed a blend of both equally incredibly hot and chilly numbers, odd and even figures, and so on. In addition, sequenced numbers have previously been utilised by so many men and women than imagined.

guide

Perhaps you would be interested in also studying his secrets and uncovering the lottery code for by yourself The Lotto Code Unveiled .

That addresses just about every single point out in the United States!

Other nations that have the lottery (but often simply call it the lotto) are England, Eire, Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, and much more.

Just as we all use other words in different ways, some call it the lotto and some get in touch with it the lottery. It is the very same sort of pool match wherever you have to choose among specific quantities and you have any place from two to 60 quantities to choose. It is a recreation of possibility and luck, but if you use other folks techniques of increasing your probabilities of winning the lotto or the lottery you can see much more winnings in your video games.

You can use lotto syndicates, lotto systems, and additional to increase your odds of profitable. Quite a few have experienced winning the lotto jackpots or smaller sized prizes by using these distinct procedures. So, no matter whether you get in touch with it the lotto or the lottery have fun, win some income, and play responsibly!

The vast majority of folks who get into decide 6 video games use random numbers, but if you are searching to crack the lottery code it really is likely to consider additional than performing what many others are presently doing. Therefore, it would make sense to keep away from only selecting “favorite” quantities, start dates, dates of anniversaries, and so on. These figures have by now been used and dropped hundreds of instances by hundreds of unsuccessful players. Cracking the code is all about using scientific and mathematical procedures.

Don’t forget, choosing quantities working with very prevalent (but regrettably ineffective) strategies like making use of start dates and sequenced figures will not crack the lottery code. The reason for this is that the administrators of this kind of game titles are banking on the typical and ineffective methods presently employed by thousands and thousands of folks. They never want individuals to win every single and each and every time, since if that were being the situation, they would drop substantial quantities of cash.

Basically stay away from the misconceptions. It really is unbelievable just what number mixtures will make you eliminate. Feel of it this way – many other individuals, like you, are hoping to hit the jackpot. What do you come to feel they are pondering? Of study course, they are making an attempt to assume of employing points like repetition and sequences to gain. They assume that by repeating numbers continually, they increase their odds of profitable. They assume by using figures in a sequence like 1, 2, 3, four, five, and 6, no 1 else have used these kinds of figures and as a result they are very likely to earn.

guide

Maybe you would be interested in also finding out his strategies and uncovering the lottery code for by yourself The Lotto Code Uncovered .

Bali Trekking And Telaga Waja Rafting is exciting tour packages to climbing the third highest bali mountain of batur combine with rafting at telaga waja river. The trip will climbing mount batur and your journey will be guide by our trekking guide, around 06.30 you will arrive at the top of the mountain and enjoy the beautifull of sunrise. Mean while you can boile some egg as your breakfast with few of bread and after the trekking finish you will enjoy rafting adventure in the best river in eastern part of bali.

You will doing 2,5 hours river rafting at telaga waja and after the rafting finish you will enjoy your buffet lunch. The packages will bring you to the wonderful memory with different experiences as the feature of this package. The tour will be very comfortable with our private air-conditioning car transfer and to keep your convenience and enjoyable journey our professional tour driver is always outstanding offer his best service with the information you need.

Price :
Adult USD 80
Children USD 65
Minimum 2 person participants per booking

Bali Trekking and Telaga Waja Rafting Include :
• Private A/C Vehicle
• English Speaking Driver
• Experience Trekking Guide
• 2,5 Hours Rafting at Telaga Waja River
• Light Breakfast at the top of Mt Batur (breakfast consists of eggs boiled in the Volcano and a few sandwiches.
• Buffet Lunch

Bali Trekking and Telaga Waja Packages Itinerary :
02:00 – Pick up at the hotel
04.00 – Start Trekking Mount Batur
06.30 – Arrive at the Top of Mount Batur
07.30 – Down the Mount Batur
10.30 – Rafting at Telaga Waja River
13.00 – Buffet Lunch
14.00 – Back to hotel

BOOKING

Today your children remembered the birth of the House. Today they celebrated as they recalled the magical events of that afternoon many years ago, when you deigned to send your spirit down to your disciples, and gave them the capacity to spread your word. Today, many say, marks the true beginning of the greatest House that ever was and ever will be. And today dearest Father, I was reminded of how utterly and completely forsaken I am.

The significance of the today’s event is not one that can all too easily be brushed aside. For many it is a call to jubilation. Our Father, from his abode in the Great Upstairs, decided to send his spirit, his very essence, to guide and protect his children. This was the latest in a series of events aimed at humbling the terrible You-Know-Who and exulting your beloved offspring. First you took it upon yourself to take our form, that we may see you as we saw ourselves. Then you died for us, sacrificing the purest life to ever grace this earth, that our debt to you may be washed away and our souls cleansed of their iniquity. And then, to prove that even Death could not hold you, you restored life to yourself and gave your followers a reason to believe, to hope. And when you finally had to depart, dearest Father, you promised to come once again in a different form at a different time, to help your children weather the storms of a harsh world.  Of course the day you selected for your second arrival was not one of little importance. It was perfectly timed, a day that already held deep meaning for your first House, the House of the Star. Not satisfied to lay the foundations for your new House on a new day, you decided to do it on a day the old guard celebrated a gift you gave them at their birth. You decided to arrive on the day of the Pentecost. And while I cannot speak for the rest of your children Father, I think I understand exactly why you picked such a day for your grand entrance.

The history of the House of the Star is in many ways the history of my House, the House of the Cross. In fact until the arrival of your spirit, the House of the Cross was nothing but another wing in the small but old House of the Star. And as I mentioned, the Pentecost did not begin the day your spirit arrived Father. It began centuries before, after you had just concluded yet another display of the raw awesomeness that is your person.

I know you have not forgotten but permit me to remind you. The children in Egypt had enslaved the Stars, and after giving them many chances to let them go (while simultaneously ensuring that their King would not take advantage of these chances) you showed your might, taking first-borns and parting seas, and you delivered your children safely from their clutches. And seeing your children lost in the desert, you decided to give them a Law, a law to guide and protect them, to light the way in times of extreme darkness and to distinguish them from the rest of your unsaved and apparently unloved children. And impressed with your works, as you were wont to be at that time in our history, you commanded that they commemorate this day with a feast, the Feast of Weeks, so named for the weeks that passed between their deliverance and the arrival of your Law.

Looking at the history of the Stars and the Crosses, it is rather evident that you enjoy repetition, dearest Father, for the birth of your newest and greatest House followed the exact same template as that of its predecessor. Eventually, for reasons as yet only discernible by you, the time came to spread your love to the rest of the world and you performed this duty with the requisite flair one has come to expect from you. You sent the Brother-Saviour, and in a series of events just as magnanimous as those surrounding the first Pentecost, you had him killed and resurrected and ascended, and then you sent once again a guide for your people, this time in the form of a spirit. His death was to deliver, just as the death of all those boys in ancient Egypt served to deliver your children then, and your spirit gave the new House purpose, just as the Law did for the children of the old one.

I must stress that as it was with the Brother-Saviour’s sacrifice I appreciate the importance of today’s feast. The presence of the spirit is the only thing that gave courage to the early members of the House to go forth and spread your word. Children not originally in the House of the Star, such as myself, would never have heard about the Brother-Saviour and his wondrous sacrifice without the spirit, and some of us would never have had the privilege of being born into the House of the Cross. But as you can see, I am no longer in the House. I am a lost child, a wanderer, seeking that which would lead him home, and from my seat on the Outside I have but one very big question, Father: Why?

Do not mistake my query dearest Father. I am not asking why you sent the guide. That much is evident. The past few weeks have seen me list for you the troubles one such as myself has had with defining a concept as basic as truth. Every step of my journey has been plagued by the dangerous whisperings of my despised companion. While I doubt that the early children of the House had the very same issues that I do, I am quite certain they were beset with issues that at least bore a striking resemblance to mine. Doubt you see, is the parent of Fear, and it is well known that in those early days your disciples were quite afraid. Their meetings were secret, their ministry effectively non-existent. And it was only when your spirit arrived on this auspicious day, that they had not just the courage, but the ability, to go forth and spread the good news. The same goes for those early members of the still standing House of the Star. They were afraid, unsteady in their ignorance, surrounded by a land they did not know and presented with a purpose they could not understand. It was only with the guiding force of your perfect Law that they were able to progress.

So I understand why you sent the spirit. What I do not understand, dear Father, is why once again, there was a need for all of this. It has taken you two Houses and more than a thousand years to see your wishes for your children reach its zenith. In the first case, you had to craft resistance from the Egyptian King in order to show your might. You had to sacrifice all those boys so that all could know that you were the Father among Fathers. And even this was not enough, for it was not done for all of us. You spent time and energy and (innocent) blood laying the foundations of the House of the Star, all the while knowing that eventually you would replace it with a new one by means of another death that on some days seems just as superfluous as the firsts.

Even on the topic of why you sent the spirit, Father, one has to wonder why your children, children of the greatest Father in all the world, are in need of a guide at all. We have a perfect Father, one that does not – cannot – Doubt, one that is as conversant with the ways of Sophia as any being in the entire universe can be. Your Book tells us that we were moulded from your hands, that our breaths come from your lips. And yet, we are so very different from you, so much weaker, so much less… Underneath all these events, purposeless they might seem, is a very important message, one that I find driven home time and time again in the mythos of the House: It is never enough to just deliver your children. Even after we are saved we are still lost; we have no clue what to with our freedom. Given time we will eventually find ourselves in the wilderness of confusion and we will need your guidance.  And looking upon the wondrous nature of the one that bore us, one has to ask why, Father, why?

I mentioned that whilst my former siblings celebrated I was filled with sorrow, reminded of how abandoned this child of yours truly is. For on this day it was not enough for me to realise that regardless of what I do, regardless of how perfect my Father is, I will always pale before him. No, your 13^th apostle, in the celebration’s second reading, did me one better. He went ahead to say that not only would I always pale before you, but in order to partake of whatever joys I found lacking while I was in the House, in order to truly be in the House, I would need to be bestowed with your spirit, I would need the wondrous guidance of my perfect Father. I, the lowly being that I am, cannot do this on my own, and until you show me the way this immense journey I am undertaking is a useless, pointless one.

I understand the need for guides dearest Father. Blind men need help to navigate the world. Ignorant men need teachers. Those with poor hearing need aids, and those with poor sight need lenses. Where there is a deficiency, Father, there is need for a guide. And if there ever was a being so deficient, it is I. Sad and confused I left my home in search of truth, and I have been plagued by Doubt ever since. It is quite evident that I do not know the things I need to know to believe, for if I did I will not be lingering on the Outside. Every thought I have will not be so easily attacked and dissected by my winged companion. Every House outpost I meet will not be a source of sadness and envy. And yet if the man so filled with your spirit, so guided by your hand is to be believed, the only way I can break free of these chains, the only way my deficiencies can be vanquished, is if you give me your spirit. I do not have your spirit because I am confused. I cannot be unconfused without your spirit. And you, Grand Arbiter that you are, can decide – no, could have decided – at any moment to send this guide down to me. And yet you have not. And so I ask once again Father, why? Why have you not yet chosen to send this spirit? What purpose does my torture serve? And if the only ones that can be in the House are those you have elected to give your spirit, what does that say about the multitudes we are told are waiting on the Outside? What kind of Father, dearest Father, will refuse to guide his children? Like your sacrifice its circular nature defeats its purpose. For if only by your spirit can your children spread the word, and if only by your spirit can your children accept it, of what use is all that happens in between?

But even all these are not reason enough for the sadness I feel today, Father. No.  That responsibility lies, once again, with my dear, dear friend. For as I thought these thoughts he saw fit to whisper to me a terrible question: What kind of perfect Father is so distant he needs to send guides to help his children?

With a heavy heart,

Your Prodigal Son

P.S. This letter would probably reach you after the Pentecostal festivities are over. Please be understanding; it took quite a while to pen it.

For those of you who don’t already know me: I’m a long-time casual player, with over 10 years experience under my belt. Having been introduced to Magic at a young age, I’ve grown up playing a mixture of casual, multiplayer and competitive sealed formats. Like any good Magic evangelist, I’ve done my best to spread the love to new players, and decided to start this blog in order to share some of my opinions and ideas on the beautiful game with newcomers and old hats alike.

What is Sealed Deck, and Why Should I Bother?

Sealed Deck is one of the most popular Limited formats played with real-life cards. Although it is used in a lot of places, from pre-releases (i.e. to celebrate all the new goodies when a new set comes out) to Pro-Tour Qualifiers, it’s just as easy to grab a bundle of boosters and friends and spend a great afternoon playing Magic.

The name ‘Sealed’ comes from the fact that each player starts the competition with a certain amount of sealed product (6 booster packs of random cards) – no previously owned cards are allowed! Unlike Constructed formats – where a great deal of investment and planning is required to compete at tournament level – players start on a level playing field, meaning that a smart player can do well regardless of their financial situation (an important issue for students like myself!). From these 90 or so cards you open, you’ll have a time limit in which to analyse, narrow down, and ultimately put together a deck to play the rest of the competition with.

One of the myths you may have heard about Sealed is that it is primarily a luck-based format. All too often, you hear complaints from people who lost because they “opened a bad pool”, or from Constructed players who hate the format because they don’t understand/accept that there are skills necessary to do well in it.

Don’t be that guy!

The truth is that if you evaluate your cards properly, and are willing to recognise and adapt to the options your pool is giving you, then there is always a viable deck in there – even if it is not the most obvious one.

Sure, anyone can open a really bomby pool with all of their rares in two colours and do well, but if your luck is as bad as mine then in all likelihood this won’t be happening to you. What makes a great player stand out from his peers is the patience to not just give up when they don’t open the windmill-slam mythic they were hoping for, as well as the ability and vision to turn those ‘bad pools’ into something workable. In fact, they are few things more satisfying in Magic than achieving this, and the skills required to succeed here are transferable to all other areas of your game.

This part of the guide will assume that you are relatively new to Sealed, either never having played before, or having done so once or twice. If that sounds like you – read on, friend! If you’re more experienced, you may still enjoy this as a recap, but expect to see more advanced concepts such as tempo and metagame evaluation being discussed in forthcoming articles.

So let’s assume you’ve rocked up to your local pre-release / mate’s house, cracked your six booster packs, and are now faced with a small mound of shiny new cards to play with. As pretty as it is, these cards are going to need a lot of work on your part before they become the efficient, beautiful and deadly engine of destruction you need them to be. So where do we start?

Deck Size

In other forms of Magic, you’re probably used to playing with 60 card decks. In Sealed however, the minimum deck size is 40 cards. While it may be tempting to play more than this – don’t do it! Stick to 40 cards. This way, you maximise your chances of drawing all those cool cards you pulled, and don’t end up wasting time drawing subpar cards that shouldn’t have been in the deck to begin with.

STEP 1: Choosing Your Spells

As you have wisely decided to follow my advice and stick to 40 cards (I’ll know if you haven’t), you’ll probably want 17 of those to be lands (which we’ll discuss in more detail later). This means we’ll be scouring our 90ish card pool for 23 lucky candidates that will make the final deck. We’ll want between 13-18 of these to be creatures, and the remaining 10-5 of these will be instants/sorceries/artifacts/enchantments/general magic tomfoolery.

The first thing you’ll want to do is split your pool into a pile of each colour, plus an extra pile for artifacts. Some sets (such as Ravnica and Alara) have a lot of multicolour cards, making this a bit trickier, and we’ll cover that issue another time. Assuming you’re not in one of these multicolour sets, you’ll usually want to play 2 colours, maybe ‘splashing’ a third or fourth.

Only powerful Sealed Deck pools really allow you to play 23 good cards in just 2 colours, more than half of the time you’ll want to include a couple of good cards from a third colour (called a splash). Good splash candidates are:

• Cards than only have one coloured symbol from your splash
• Cards that are useful late game
• Cards that fill a hole in the deck’s capabilities.

While it may be tempting to pick colours based upon whichever two from your pool have the most cards in, it’s better to pick the colours which have the most good cards in instead. To do this, we need a relatively quick way to evaluate which cards are good in Sealed Deck (which is different, say, to cards that are good in a Constructed Format). I present to you, avid reader, the tried-and-tested (and coincidentally named, nothing else really fit) BREAST method.

NOTE: There are actually two entries for A here. While both are equally important concepts, Advantage applies more to slower sets, while Aggression is more relevant to faster ones.

Bombs

A phrase you’ll hear a lot in Limited formats, a ‘bomb’ is a (usually rare) powerful card that has a big impact on the game and can often win matches single-handedly if left unanswered. Obvious examples include big, powerful guys with awesome abilities (like Baneslayer Angel or any of the Titans), but bombs can also be lower down the mana-curve (like Vampire Nighthawk). Bombs are often a strong reason to play a colour. A trap that a lot of new players fall into however is to just play the colours in their pool that have the biggest bombs, without any regard for the quality of the other cards in those colours. Although bombs are great, they’re nothing without a solid supporting cast of other cards – so make sure you check your colours for all of the categories in this list before making a decision!

Removal

The second most sought after type of card is the coveted ‘removal’ spell – so called for its ability to remove an enemy dude from the board. While the obvious removal will show up in the form of destroy/burn effects (think Doom Blade, Lightning Bolt), you should also be on the lookout for more subtle forms of removal (Paralyzing Grasp, Utopia Vow) which can still get the job done. Playing removal is vital in Sealed to save you from enemy bombs.

Evasion

Your next priority is creatures with evasion – ones that are hard to block. This can take a number of forms, but the most common ones are flying, intimidate and just straight-up unblockable (see Welkin Tern, Bladetusk Boar, Invisible Stalker). Sealed Deck often leads to mexican standoff / stalled board states, and these guys are vital to pushing through damage if this happens.

(Card) Advantage

As was once so elegantly put by the Limited great, Steve Sadin:

“If a sequence of plays (or decisions) ends with a player up one or more cards, that player has gained card advantage.”

I could (and probably will!) write a whole article on the concept of card advantage alone. Suffice to say here, card advantage is a good thing – particularly in slower formats. The idea is that if you keep drawing extra cards, or putting your opponent in positions where they lose 2 cards for 1 of yours, they will eventually run out of resources while you’re still packing heat. Card advantage can come up in a number of ways, such as:

• Card draw (such as Foresee, Deep Analysis).
• Discard effects (Mind Rot, Augur of Skulls).
• Board wipes, such as Wrath of God.
• Destroying an enemy creature that is currently enchanted with an Aura.

Aggression

In faster formats, you’ll have less time to see the benefits of card advantage. Instead, you’ll be more concerned with efficient beaters to smash face with and take control in the earlier stages of the game. In Gatecrash for example, creatures come hurtling out of the starting blocks, and a set of quality guys like Wojek Halberdiers and Drakewing Krasis will be key to winning the life race.

Synergy

This is harder to define than the previous categories, as synergy covers a pretty broad spectrum of beneficial card interactions, and will vary largely depending on the set in question. Some synergies are obvious, some more subtle. Looking for synergies across different colours can help you decide what pair of colours to go for. The best synergies come from cards that are still good on their own, but better in unison – synergies that require you to play two very situational cards are almost never worth it! I clearly can’t cover all known synergies here, but to give you an idea, here’s a little sample of some favourites of mine from a recent Time Spiral block competition I played in:

• Deepcavern Imp + Gorgon Recluse:  Turn the aggressive Imp’s echo drawback into a brutal (and cheap) Gorgon that can hold the fort like a champ.
• Leaden Fists + Phthisis: Drop the fists onto an enemy bomb (while tapped!) to keep it out of the action and buy you some time. Later on, hardcast Phthisis onto the (now buffed) bomb for a crushing 14+ damage. Ouch.
• Kavu Predator + Grove of the Burnwillows: Not only does the Grove act as a great mana fixer, turn the lifegain drawback into pump for the Predator, starting with a 3/3 trampler that can attack on turn 3, which grows stronger every turn.

Trash

Unlike the previous categories, the Trash is something you actively look to avoid rather than include. Every pool has them: the junk rares, the overly-situational cards, and generally anyone that doesn’t quite cut the mustard. Cut these cards from your pool when you find them, and you’ll have an easier job evaluating the quality picks that remain. Common culprits to watch out for are:

• The Weird and the Wacky: Combo pieces that belong in Constructed, a vexing Commander deck, or the nearest dustbin. Enduring Renewal, Possibility Storm, Confusion in the Ranks.
• The Double-Edged Swords: Cards that often benefit your opponent more than you if not built around carefully. Braids Conjurer Adept, Howling Mine etc.
• The “Do-Nothing” Cards: These cards try to disguise themselves as useful, but ultimately don’t pull their weight or are far too situational and should not take the spot of a better contributor. Think Twice, Illness in the Ranks, Shadow Alley Denizen.
• 8 out of 10 Auras: Yup, sorry folks, but those nifty little enchantments for your guys often just aren’t worth it. Buffing your guy with something like Divine Favour doesn’t give you a lot of benefit, but sets you up for a 2 for 1 loss in card advantage if your opponent then caps your guy with a Doom Blade. To make the cut, auras either have to be awesome (like Madcap Skills) or removal based auras for their guys (like Pacifism).
• The Ripoffs: Some cards may look interesting… until you see the extortionate mana cost attached. Prices so exorbitant you feel like you’re trying to buy a Guiness in Dublin. Watch out for scammers like Jedit’s Dragoons, Merfolk of the Depths and Primal Visitation.
• LIFEGAIN: Last, but by no means least, the bane of all new players. A card that straight-up gives you life (and nothing else, like Predators Rapport say) is never really worth a deck slot. Why? The key to Sealed matches is establishing a strong board position – so cards you play should either be a threat to your opponent, or be able to deal with one of their threats. Gaining life does neither, except perhaps prolonging your suffering for an extra turn. Avoid at all costs.

STEP 2: Choosing Your Lands

The 40 card limit includes lands, and 80% of the time you’ll want to be playing 17 of these mana-producing badboys. What’s more, in Sealed, the basic lands are not included in your pool, but are available in unlimited supply during deckbuilding. If you open non-basic lands that fit your colours/strategy , then you can include them instead of basics if you want to.

In certain cases, it might be better to play 16 or 18 lands.

Play 18 lands if:

• Your deck needs to hit its first 4 land drops. This applies to fast formats such as Zendikar, where most matches ended up in an aggro-race, and loss in tempo caused by missing an early land drop could often be fatal.
• Your deck has a lot of cards at 4 or more mana. The extra land will let you ramp up to four, five and six mana more consistently, making your expensive cards more playable. If your deck doesn’t have many guys below four mana that are capable of holding their own, then the extra land can save you from being dead in the water early on.
• Your deck is playing 3 or more colours. Playing that extra land gives you a better chance of being able to access all of your splashs colours.

Play 16 lands if:

• Your deck has at least 2 non-land mana sources, such as artifacts or creatures that tap for mana. This prevents you from “flooding out” and drawing a surplus of lands (and not enough threats to spend them on).
• Your deck has a very low curve, i.e. your plan is to be very fast and aggressive, with most of your creatures at 3 mana or less. This can occasionally work for some formats, although it is risky and you’ll need some very efficient beaters to pull it off. The upside however (particularly if your pool is lacking in bombs) is that on a good draw, you should have enough pace and threats that the late game / land advantage won’t matter to you, and you should beat the opponent before they deploy their bombs.

Wrapping Things Up

This ends Part One of my (hopefully) useful guide. Join us next week where we’ll be looking at some more advanced concepts, and putting some of the preachings here into practice with some walked-through examples and exercises. Feel free to hit me up with any questions / suggestions you may have. Magic is, after all, as much an art as it is a science, and many of you may disagree with the opinions I put forward. If so, that’s great! Only through discussion and the criticism of others can we really improve our game. Until next week, it’s been a pleasure.

- James

Creatures of the night came out of their homes.
Following her into the dark forest.
As she danced through the night, 
with only the light of the moon to guide her.

Wolves walking by her side, guiding her.
Protecting her.
She curled the ends of her red painted lips up.
A beautiful smile showing on her face.

She was neither good nor bad.
A princess of the darkness.
Filled with life,
but inevitable connected to death.

Dancing as if she was in her own little world.
Protected by the creatures on her side.
The darkness.
The moon.

Alone she danced.
Laughed and cried.
Twirled as her black hair spread around her, like a veil.

Alone.
But happy.

The Gwinnett Christian Counseling Center, Inc. offers therapy, mental health assessments, and psychological relationship analysis and therapeutic treatment for marriage, family, and all relational issues. Emotional trauma such as separation, divorce, addiction, finances, grief, anger, violence, depression, stress, etc. We pecialize in premarital and blended family counseling through the healing power of God. Located on the historic courthouse square in Lawrenceville, Ga. since 1978. 770-963-7472 YOU CAN GET MARRIED IN ATLANTA TODAY! YES, RIGHT THIS VERY DAY! ALL YOU NEED TO BRING IS A MARRIAGE LICENSE FROM YOUR LOCAL COURTHOUSE AND WE CAN SET UP THE CEREMONY IMMEDIATELY –

Congratulations Katie Skeoch!

Katie is the proud new owner of the very funny alternative travel guide ‘When in Rome’…

We hope she’ll enjoy these funny customs from around the world.

*Girl About the World*

Read More : The Diet Dropout’s Guide to Natural Weight Loss: Find Your Easiest Path to Naturally Thin

Before I get into what I believe, let’s talk about what Content ID Claiming means:

When a company partners with YouTube, they can have YouTube automatically check for stuff that has their intellectual content. Nintendo has said in a message that they don’t want the channels to get any sort of strike, or for the videos to be removed. Nintendo will be just replacing your monetizing settings on the videos, with theirs. Meaning their ads will be playing on your videos, and any money you make off of the video will be instead transferred to Nintendo automatically. You won’t make anything off of the video(s).

I believe that we shouldn’t boycott because, if the reason behind why they are Content ID Claiming videos is because they are losing money, then maybe we should continue doing what we were doing before any of this happened, and hopefully one day they will stop doing this, because they’ll gain more money. If we keep telling people how good their games are, and showing people why they should get said game, then they’ll make more money, and at some point stop what they are doing. If we were to all boycott, then Nintendo would seek out different ways of making money, and would probably lay off a few people, and do some other drastic things, because they won’t be getting the advertisements that actually help them out more than I could guess they know.

I also believe that those who boycott will be responsible for Nintendo’s downfall, and were doing Nintendo Let’s Plays/videos for the money. I do understand that there are people like, Chuggaaconroy, NintendoCapriSun, etc.. who were doing this as a living, but if you weren’t, and you just stopped doing it because of what Nintendo is doing now, then I feel as though you were doing it just for the money. (That is if you were partnered, or making any money off of it.) I’m going to continue producing Nintendo videos, because I love their games, and I have fun recording them, not because I want to just earn money. I didn’t really care for the money anyways. It isn’t that important to me.

I have a question for those who are boycotting.. Tell me.. How in the hell will making Nintendo lose more money, make them stop doing this? I believe the only way to make them see that they are wrong is by helping them make more money. I’m pretty sure that there are more reasons behind why they started, but if it mostly is because the Wii U isn’t selling so well, then shouldn’t we help them get more money, or try to promote the Wii U ourselves as well?

These were just my thoughts, leave any opinions, or what you think in the comments below!