Big and dumb can be pretty dangerous.

 One of my favorite decks is Naya Zoo. Yeah, it is a tier 2, at the moment,  but I think the deck has the potential to break into the top tier.

I’ve been playing Naya Zoo for quite some time now, and it seems pretty solid. That being said, I cannot say much about how it matches up in today’s metagame. I haven’t played consistently enough against the same sort of decks you would see at a major tournament.

What I can tell you is what the deck does well. It plays cheap and powerful or cheap and potentially powerful creatures and turns them sideways. Yes, it is a beatdown deck. However, it has a few tricks. Naya Zoo generates card advantage with cascade and Ranger of Eos, a pretty nice trick with all of the removal out there. It also has a bit of removal too, for things like those pesky Baneslayer Angels.

As much as a dumb monster deck as Naya Zoo is, you cannot just throw things out there without thinking and expect to win. I know this from experience. Naya Zoo still requires brains. I would have to say 50% of my losses with this deck were due to user error.

Here is a build I went 5-2 with last Friday.

Naya Zoo

Again, I can’t say a whole lot about the matchups. I only played a few decks what I would consider “mainstream”. However, I can briefly discuss some of the cards  and how they perform.  

Scute Mob: Some say he’s great, others say he sucks, but his board presence is undeniable. He has to be answered eventually, or he will quickly get out of hand. Yes, all removal kills him, but you only paid one G. Maybe he’s a 1/1, maybe he’s a 9/9.  

Knight of the Reliquary: The best trick with her is to blow up a plains and then look for an Arid Mesa. You can figure out what to do next. Not only does this help her grow by 2 each turn, but it helps to thin your deck out too. Block and do it before damage is dealt.  She can be a lot of work, and I would suggest boarding her out in control matchups where the chances of your hard work paying off are minimal. Against other creature decks with little removal, she’s a superstar.

Enlisted Wurm: Cascade is insane, and to keep up with something like Jund, you need to be able to “cheat” in as many free monsters and spells as possible. Not only can the wurm do that, but he has a solid body as well.

Naya Charm: I only saw this a few times, but it was a monster each time I did. All of the charm’s abilities are pretty relevant. The least useful ability is the 3 damage. The charm’s other two abilities are what really makes it shine. In a standoff situation, it will win you the game. It also counts as “extra copies” of spells or creatures already in the graveyard.

Oran-Rief, the Vastwood: Sometimes, 4/4 Nacatls are really useful. The extra point of power and toughness can sometimes make a huge difference.

Sideboard: Was terrible, except for the Journey to Nowhere. Sometimes a little extra removal is necessary against those big finishers.

After Friday, I made a few slight changes to the mainboard, and quite a few changes to the sideboard. Here’s the new makeup.

Naya Zoo Two

Ajani sucked in all of my games. If I saw him, that was. Even in control matchups, there was always a sphinx or sodding Baneslayer Angel flying over my head to kill him if I didn’t have a path. However, an extra bolt or Naya Charm would have won me a few games, so I added them in.

Sideboard 2

Naya does horribly against the stupid mono-red decks out there. They burn your creatures, hit you with earthquake a few times and then Spire Barrage you to death. I wished for some Captured Sunlight, which I had in the original sideboard but took out. It will also help you get back some of your burned monsters. Uril the Miststalker should be great in removal-heavy matchups, and as an added bonus, bigger than anything Jund has. The Luminarch Ascensions should help with control matchups.

Here are a few tips on how to play Naya Zoo.

Your deck is best at 5 + lands. Never keep a hand with less than 3 lands in it. I am willing to bet I’ve lost most of the games I’ve tried it with fewer.

Unless you really need guys on the field, use Bloodbraid Elf and Enlisted Wurm as if they were removal; cast them when there’s something you need to get rid of. Cascading into a path when you don’t need it sucks, and being able to get a free one and a monster is great.

Scute Mob should be dropped on turn one, if you have it in your opening hand. They’ll have to get rid of it eventually, and even if you only get in for a couple points before you have to hold it back or it gets removed.

In a control match-up, play Ranger of Eos whenever they don’t have the mana to counter, even if you don’t think you need the guys. You will. Playing a Bloodbraid Elf or Enlisted Wurm into a counterspell is okay. They’ll have to choose.

When a block rotates out and a new one steps in, there is a rare moment when the metagame is a relatively clean slate. Here there is a chance for real innovation. New cards come in, old cards previously not “good enough” are suddenly look a lot better and strategies that just didn’t make it in the old metagame might get the chance to shine in the new one.

Lets take a look at some of the post-Zendikar decks that didn’t have a strong showing at the Starcitygames Phillidelphia 5k, or are still in the “development” phase.

Cruel Control
Bant
Naya
Soldiers
Cascade
Other Control

*Each highlighted deck link is a different version of the discussed deck.

Traditional Cruel Control (and varients)

Cruel Control has been a popular deck for quite some time now, starting as Quick n’ Toast first and slowly evolving to what we know now as Cruel Control (as almost every variant runs at least two copies of the namesake sorcery). This deck usually ends up on top sometime due to its ability to play all of the best cards in the format, no matter what the color, and can thus have an answer to most everything in the metagame. However, the deck usually has lull periods when the best cards in the format and the “enemy” are yet to be defined, such as right now, when the meta is in flux.  
At it’s core, Cruel Control is just as it says; a control deck. It keeps the board squeaky clean with the best removal, sweepers and countermagic; drawing cards in the meantime and waiting until the right moment to drop an efficient threat like Broodmate Dragon or Baneslayer Angel or cast its flagship card, Cruel Ultimatum.
Right now, the biggest changes to the deck are the loss of countermagic (not Cryptic Command = teh suck for many) and the addition of fetches (no more Reflecting Pool or vivid lands). What the deck gained is Wrath of God (Day of Judgment) and a nice finisher in Sphinx of Jwar Isle.
The deck still plays the same, just different spells. Kill, counter, cast a finisher or Cruel Ultimatum. What remains to be seen is what the deck will have to include to counter todays threats and if the old card choices are as effective as they were pre-Zendikar.

Other variants exist, such as Cascade Control. Here, the idea is pretty much the same; control the board, but with less countermagic and more creature removal, as cascade doesn’t play well with counters. Cascade control is a little more pro-active, if you ask me, if only on the back of the free cards generated by the  nine or so Cascade cards.

Other varients of Cruel Control exist too, but they all pretty much play the same way, with the choice of finishers or the inclusion of a few extra counter/kill cards being the only difference.

Bant

Bant is a deck people have been trying to work on since Shards of Alara was printed. However, the archetype has only seen limited success, usually with aggressive decks riding on the back of Rafiq of the Many or Finest Hour.
Bant is an interesting combination of cards, featuring a little bit of muscle, combat trickery and countermagic.  The deck operates as an agressive or mid-range creature deck, getting in for some early damage and then keeping the board clean until it can get in with a power hit after dropping Rafiq, Finest Hour or both.  The deck can even deal with a few things larger than itself with some countermagic. However, the deck never seems to get there. Some of the coolest creatures and best removal are in Bant colors, yet the deck just never seems to get there constantly. I do not know why, but I can speculate; the cards in the other decks are just a bit better. With no cascade, card drawing, or direct damage, it seems Bant has no real way to come back once the game starts going south either.  
Still, Bant is one of my favorite color combinations. Perhaps with the additional white removal or with a few creature changes, Bant can make a stronger showing  in the new Metagame.

Naya

Naya is another second-string deck that, like Bant, just doesn’t seem to have gotten there yet, despite great cards. Also like Bant, there seem to be different versions post-Zen; aggressive versions and a mid-range mana-rampish version. The former version is one I have had experience with. The deck usually throws out some quality one drops like Wild Nacatl and now Goblin Guide or Scute Mob, then picks up the pace with the cascade triggering Bloodbraid Elf, the powerful Woolly Thoctar or the card drawing Ranger of Eos, keeping the board and hands full. Some versions run Ajani Vengeant. The deck also runs with some removal like Path to Exile and Lightning Bolt. The extent of the Naya strategy is to bash to victory and hopefully get good draws from the elf and enough guys from Ranger to survive sweepers, which the deck was originally pretty immune to (before they reprinted wrath).
The second version, Naya Lotus Angel, uses Lotus Cobra to ramp up to Baneslayer Angel, Rampaging Baloths or Enlisted Wurm quickly. It also plays many of the same creatures  Naya Aggro runs, such as the one drops.
Naya is now adding critters like Dauntless Escort and Knight of the Reliquary, dropping some of the bigger vanilla monsters. Good move, I say. Perhaps the deck just needs some fresh cards.

Soldiers

Soldiers, the token white weenie deck of the format. Play lots of dudes, power them up with other dudes and the white-only enchantment Honor the Pure. Play more dudes and overwhelm your opponent. Not a lot of innovation here. Captain of the Watch is great for six mana. Brave the elements is great for either protecting your guys from a damage-dealing sweeper or surprising the opponent by giving your guys protection from thier guys and swing in for lethal damage.  Removal is usually limited to path, and maybe a few combat tricks with Brave the Elements or Harm’s Way.
Question: why do soldier decks playing Ranger of Eos and Captain of the Watch not play Kor Skyfisher? A 2/3 flying soldier for 1W. Return the ranger or the captain to your hand to cast them again for their CIP ability.

Cascade

Everybody knows how powerful cascade is; you get cards for free doing something you would normally do; cast a spell. It is no wonder so many powerful decks have a bit of cascade built into them, such as Cruel Cascade and Jund. Some decks are trying to capitalize on this by adding the best of the cascade cards to a single package, though the effectiveness of this idea is yet unknown. Give it a shot.

Other Control

Control is a popular strategy, and no wonder; some kind of control deck usually ends up pwning the formate eventually. Right now, aside from Cruel Control, there are quite a few other control strategies out there. Time Sieve, for example, keeps your opponent from doing any real damage before you either a.) kill them with animated artifacts, or b.) take 20 turns before killing them with animated artifacts. It seems like a dumb idea, but it works pretty well. The version linked above is a little strange, as it doesn’t run much removal or counters, but it can still be deadly.
Other combo decks include this new innovation here. According its creator, the deck’s strange spell choices might just come out of left field. but are great in today’s meta. Personally, I like Swerve, especially with cards like Mind Sludge and Blightning running around. It can switch the target of a Malestrom Pulse nicely too, saving your planeswalker. Magosi the Waterwell ain’t too bad either. Drop a counter when the opponent doesn’t make a play, let him take the next turn and then do something stupid like draw 7 with Mindspring and take another turn. 
Mono White control is also trying to make a showing, likely due to the new ”wrath” and Lumiarch Ascension. It is not as hard as it seems to get that sucker online.  Iona, Shield of Emeria can shut down games fast, and Emeria, the Sky Ruin can bring back fallen Baneslayers and Knight of the White Orchid.

I haven’t been feeling good lately. I lost my mojo a little bit so everything I’ve had in my inventory that’s new has been festering and waiting for the perfect day to come out. Today was that day. There are so many good releases that’s out on the grid that goes with the old things in my inventory that it was a blast to put outfits together (or POTing as Shane likes to call it) and bring you some new interesting looks. But before I get into anything, I want to announce that TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF THE NAIVE GIRL CONTEST. SEE HERE FOR DETAILS. That’s how you kill two birds with one stone. I hope you guys will enjoy the looks myself, Shane, and our friend Sephia Ellison has put together for you today, and if you’d like to exchange blog links with us, just comment! We love to see your work too!

Hair: Maitreya Milla
Necklace: ::LEO-NT:: <3 BED of ROSES
Leggings: !Nayar – Sheer (low cut) Leggings [Dark]
Shoes: Maitreya Gold – IXkin Golden Duo
Jacket: "NINIKO" Cotton jacket *NEW*
Dress: *Linc* Petite Taupe *NEW*

Pants: Milk Motion – My Boyfriend Jeans
Sandals: Surf Couture Freedom Flops
Tank: Friday – Layering Tank – V *NEW*
Tee: Friday – Longsleeve Layering Tee *NEW*
Hair: JE*REPUBLIC Antoinette *NEW*

Skirt: Niniko Simple Skirt (Freebee)
Coat: AOHARU – Simple Trench Coat
Socks: Miel – Lo Socks Expresso
Hoodie/Hair: Friday – Henley Hoodie / Tabs (hair)
Shoes: Maitreya Neyya – Toe-cap Grey *NEW*

Then this is the part where I found company and I said to them, “hello company, want to take a picture with me?” Shane and I were both sneakily looking at Sephia’s jacket and were pleased we didn’t have to right click, inspect her. I found something I’ve never worn before ever and I was all, “WHAT!!!!!!!!!!” because this jacket is cute, ready for fall, and I don’t remember buying it. Don’t you love when that happens? It’s like Christmas in your inventory when you find things you don’t remember buying. And after five hours of trying to take three pictures with my company, this is what we came up with!

ON SEPHIA:
Jacket: +grasp+/Fur trim hooded jacket/Olive/womens
Boots: Maitreya Female Desert Boots – Mud
Tank top: *Muism* [Union Jack Tank Top]_Chill
Jeans: :EmJay:: Ripped Jeans – Super Dark
Scarf: Maitreya Long Scarf * Sangria
Bracelet: (NS) Hand Rosary
Belt: { Kari } – Dead Sailor belt
Bow: The Golden Fleece – Chamomile
Hair: fri. – Rashelle – Thoughtful Brown

ON SHANE:
Hair: : Defectiva: Grease Trap BRN
Shirt: (NS) Collar Plaid
Pants: INDI Hunter Pants black
Shoes: UBU PornStar Lo-Tops
Pen: ~Scribble~ Jelly Pen

Hair: Truth – Peaches
Necklace: Hepatitis C – Starry Necklace
Jacket: DP Yum Yum Tweed Jacket
Heels: *Kookie* Power Puff
Skin: Atomic – Baily *VIP GROUP GIFT*
Shirt: Surf Couture – Kettle Corn Cardigan *NEW*
Pants: Ducknipple – Barks
Belt: Maitreya – Coin Belt

I don’t know why, but ChannelFireball seems to have all the good Magic authors. Newest writer Alexander Shearer makes himself to be no exception with his In Development article, where he covers his extensive playtesting with various Standard decks. Read about various aggro builds, including one centered around Vines of Vastwood and another more Naya-based. Top it off with some Luminarch Ascension control. And you’ve got yourself a decklist to last you through the Standard season.

Anakku tercinta aku ingin berpesan kepada kamu. Bila kelak kamu bisa membaca tulisan ini, bapakmu berharap kamu bisa mengerti apa yang bapakmu harapkan dari kamu, anakku.

Pada kehidupanmu bapakmu tidak menuntut sesuatu dari kamu anakku, yang sekira kamu tidak bisa memenuhinya, lakukan apa saja sesukamu yang menurut kamu sesuai dengan inginmu tapi anakku, ingatlah pada pesan yang selalu bapak katakan, jangan kamu keluar dari kodratmu sebagai wanita beriman. Apapun yang akan kamu lakukan bapakmu akan mendukung sepenuhnya anakku.

Satu saja permintaan bapakmu, tuntutlah ilmu.

Bapakmu akan semakin menua nantinya anakku, kepikunan akan datang dan maukah kamu anakku, saat masa itu datang menemui bapakmu, kamu akan mengingatkan bapakmu akan hal yang dia lupakan.

Janganlah kamu berpaling saat nanti bapakmu mengoceh tidak karuan karena kepikunan
Saat bapakmu mulai sakit-sakitan, sabarlah anakku itu adalah cobaan bagimu. Rawatlah semampumu tanpa mengurangi hak dari suami dan anakmu atas dirimu.

Orang tua yang lemah dan sakit, anakku, tahukah kamu, bagai batu kecil ditengah terjangan aliran sungai yang besar, dia tidak akan bisa bertahan tanpa bantuan lumut2 yang menancapkannya kedasar.

Dan bila masa bapakmu sudah habis. Doakan dia, tak ada hal paling sempurna di dunia selain anak yang sholihah anakku.

Selamat ulang tahun, naya anakku, maaf bapakmu tidak bisa membuat pesta meriah untuk itu. Hanya sepenggal doa, seperti apa yang sering kamu ucapkan setiap akan makan malam. Agar kamu cepat besar, pintar belajar seperti orang-orang yang sudah besar dan pintar. Amin.

Last Saturday, the 22nd of August, was the last PTQ in my area (Detroit) for Austin. I believe the only other PTQ left is in Cincinnati, OH on the 29th. And since I can’t make it to that one, this one was the last.

I didn’t make it to the site until a little after 9am thanks to road construction shutting down one of the major freeways leading to the site. I had to reroute down backstreets to make it with any kind of time leftover to finish out my deck. The tournament began at 10am so I had just under an hour to find something like 15 cards for the deck. I was planning on playing the “Naya Solution” deck, otherwise known as “Kowal Zoo.” My backup was the Ivan Drago deck that Adrian Sullivan had talked up a few weeks ago. I was much closer to building the Naya deck, but the cards were much more expensive than those for the Drago deck.

So I needed to trade with the store, Pandemonium, to fill out the deck and let’s just say it wasn’t in my favor. Now I know it’s a store and they have to make money, but by my estimation the cards I was trying to get were slightly overpriced (understandable). The trade value on my stuff, however, was around something like 40% or so. Not to mention that almost every card I was trading was something they had zero copies of. So I was expecting like 60% or so at least, given the high demand (people walking in and requesting cards I was trading, over and over). I don’t fault them for raking me over the coals, however, because I needed the cards that they had and technically they don’t *have* to trade at all. And the dude working the store was cool, as always. I didn’t have a bunch of my own money to spend so after some finageling and returning a few cards (not to mention a long wait due to people paying for the tourney with credit cards), I had all but four cards for the deck. Sure I had to alter the sideboard heavily to makeup for the bunches of cards I couldn’t afford, but it wasn’t so bad as I had decent alternatives with me.

Luckily I found a guy to trade for 2 of the 4 cards I needed and I was down to like 2 lands I still needed. I was able to borrow one, but was still down a Wooded Bastion (which I subbed in an Exotic Orchard for). After all this trading and borrowing nonsense, though, it was time for the player’s meeting and I still had to fill out the decklist. So I flew to my seat and feverishly wrote down the list. Here’s what I finally ended up playing:

4 Wild Nacatl
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Woolly Thoctar
4 Great Sable Stag
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Ranger of Eos

4 Volcanic Fallout
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt

4 Rootbound Crag
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Exotic Orchard
5 Mountain
5 Plains

Sideboard:
3 Gaddock Teeg
3 Harm’s Way
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
4 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Naya Charm
1 Banefire

I originally had a 4th Teeg in the board as well as 3 Stillmoon Cavaliers and another Forge-Tender, but switched those to the Naya Charms & Banefire at the last minute. Here we go!

Round 1: Grixis Control

Game 1 – I had a good draw and beat down with a Woolly Thoctar and Stag. He stumbled on land and when I dropped a Bloodbraid Elf, he packed it up. I only saw a Sygg from him that game.

Boarding: +2 Burrenton Forge-Tender, +1 Banefire
-2 Path to Exile, -1 Lightning Bolt

Game 2 - Since I wasn’t really sure what he was playing, perhaps 5c Blood or 5c Control, I boarded kinda funky. This game I had a slower draw and he was definitely in the game. He kept trying to topdeck Cruel Ultimatum throughout the game though, and afterwards I asked if he was 5cc and he was just Grixis control. My Nacatls and Thoctars were easy fodder for his Bituminous Blasts, Lightning bolts, and Doom Blades, but the Stag only fears the Bolt and he only drew one Bolt. 2x Stag FTW!

2-0 Games
1-0 Matches (8 rounds of lovely swiss for this PES event)

Round 2: Kithkin

Game 1 – This was the matchup I was afraid of. I thnk Van Lunen said it was nigh-unwinnable. First game he had an amazing draw with 2x Figure of Destiny, 2x Wisened Cenn, 2x Honor of the Pure. His 5/5 & 6/6 dudes ran me over quickly.

Boarding: +2 Naya Charm, +3 Harm’s Way, +1 Banefire
-4 Great Sable Stag, -2 Wooly Thoctar

I had a hard time figuring out the boarding for ‘kin but I figured Woollys were easily pathed.

Game 2 – A much better game for me. He played little dudes which I removed and got in there with my remaining Thoctars when Naya Charm tapped down his 6 Spirit Token army.

Game 3 – Not even close. Total blowout in my favor. Fallouts, Bolts, and Paths followed up by BB Elf, Ranger, and Naya Charm to tap his remaining team.

4-1 Games
2-0 Matches

Round 3: Jund Blood

Game 1 – What a crazy game. I’d ding him, he’d ding me, and we’d rinse & repeat until I finally got to an ultimate Figure of Destiny and got there with team Thoctar!

Boarding: +3 Gaddock Teeg, +3 Harm’s Way, +2 Burrenton Forge-Tender, +4 Ethersworn Canonist
-4 Woolly Thoctar, -4 Volcanic Fallout, -2 Wild Nacatl, -2 Lightning Bolt

I really wasn’t sure what to board in this matchup and I think I overdid it with the Canonists.

Game 2 - In this game I made things complicated with my boarding. He tried to Bit Blast a Thoctar which drew a finger-wag as Gaddock Teeg stared him down. The game came down to his Doom Blade on my Teeg when he only had 4 mana up and thusly couldn’t Bit Blast my FoD in response to ultimate pump. The Figure went the distance. The FoD was obviously the better target for Doom Blade, but he just counted his mana wrong. It happens.

6-1 Games
3-0 Matches

Round 4: 5-color Reveillark

Darn you Steve Boggemes and your roguish creations!
Game 1 – My opponent was very cordialthis round despite having the only deck in the room that should completely dominate mine. And dominate he did! Any number of Reveillarks greater than one are just bad news for me. The two he drew this game were just too good getting back dudes to trade with my dudes, blah. It ended badly.

Game 2 – I don’t remember what I boarded here, it was so wild. I got a great draw though and he only drew one Reveillark.

Game 3 - He drew two Reveillarks again and they did their dirty work. That card really is unfair when you’ve got the creatures in your graveyard already. The only effective way to stop it would be Pacifism! His Larks + 3/4 Pancakes were too much for Thoctar & team.

7-3 Games
3-1 Matches

Round 5: Kithkin

Game 1 – This round I was playing Holly, who I met at GenCon last week. She didn’t have enough gas this game and my critters made it through.

Game 2 – She had out a lethal Stillmoon for what seemed like an eternity but was probably like three turns. She just seemed to refuse to swing with it and almost punted the match. I should have packed it up as soon as it came down so we could have time for a third game, but I figured she would punt and wasted about 3 minutes that I could have used to win game three.

Game 3 – Ran out of time. Life totals at the end were Me: 19, Her: 7. SIGH.

8-4-1 Games
3-1-1 Matches

Round 6: Reveillark

Game 1 - Wild Nacatls came down in force when he always seemed to name wrong with Meddling Mage. He’d name Bolt and I’d Fallout. He’d name Fallout and I’d Bolt. *shrug*

Game 2 - I resolved a Ranger for two Nacatls after he showed me Celestial Purge on my Thoctar. Several Fallouts, Sowers, and Hallowed Burials later, my TD’d Ranger of Eos gets in there with his Cat friends.

10-4-1 Games
4-1-1 Matches

Round 7: Combo Elves

Game 1 – Despite me Pathing his Archdruid, he’s one land short of Primal Command and my creatures got in there.

Game 2 - He claimed once again to be “so close” to killing me this game. But I had out an Ethersworn Canonist and I had some removal in hand. He later showed me Mark of Asylum which I hadn’t thought of and would’ve been really good against my fallouts and bolts. Ranger for 2 Nacatls is really really really good. 9 power for 6 mana. ouch!

12-4-1 Games
5-1-1 Matches

Round 8: Jund Mannequin

Game 1 – We both had good draws but I had 2x Bloodbraid Elf that both paid off. When he tapped out for Chameleon Colossus, I swung and got in just enough to Bolt him out.

Game 2 – I kinda felt bad for this one. He mulled to five after sideboarding, during which time I explained that the reason I hated Jund was it’s inconsistency and bad mana draws…. yeah… I promptly smashed him with something like Bloodbraid into Stag followed by Bloodbraid into Thoctar. It wasn’t pretty. I remember the final attack being for 13. Sorry man.

14-4-1 Games
6-1-1 Matches

At this point I’m really worried about the tiebreaks and whether or not I’ll actually make it into the top 8. After a brief review a couple people assured me I was in, but I had my doubts. I kept running numbers and theorizing with the match results I knew for sure and even I thought I was a lock. Then when they announced final standings, I was 9th. 9th. Ninth. @*#%*Y@%!!! I don’t want to type all the expletives that were going through my head because my blog would probably get removed or something. But I was livid. I’ve been waiting a long time to get back to “the show” and the last chance I had with G/B Elves I basically punted to Kurtis Droge playing Lark. So instead of just fuming the whole way home I took the time to analyze where I went wrong.

Round 5. Holly. I spent too long in this match consumed with the idea that I was the stronger player and that I could simply pull out a hopeless game. Not gonna happen again. I’m planning on going into every match with a clean slate. No matter who the opponent is I’m going to be prepared for anything. I guess you have to know when to hold em and know when to fold em. My bias toward not conceding until the last point of damage is dealt got the better of me. I’ve won quite a few matches where my opponent had me all but shutdown and for some reason I’d get back in the game. Earlier in the day I had an opponent concede at 13 life when I swung for 9. So he had another turn to topdeck say, a Cruel Ultimatum, but he packed it in and we went to game 2. So I guess in this tournament the same thing that helped me win helped me lose. /frown.

What I took away from this PTQ experience was that Woolly Thoctar is REALLY fun. A 5/4 for three mana is as silly-good as you’d think it would be. Especially if they can’t deal with him right away or plan on blocking and you remove the roadblock… It’s just plain sweet. I for one will be looking for an excuse to play him in whatever deck is good after Zendikar comes in. Also, I need to work on my “game mode.” It’s like Jet Lee said in Fist of Legend, “Eventually you develop a fighting mode and it becomes natural.” I need to get into that fighting mode so I can smash people and do so within the 50-minute time limit each round.

Oh, and I would highly recommend the deck for any remaining PTQs. It’s so fun to play and while it doesn’t look like much, it really has great card advantage and raw power. My MVP on the day would probably have to be Ranger of Eos, as the CA and damage he generates are just silly. Firespout is, of course, a beating, but avoid overextending and you should be fine. And besides, the deck is Woolly enough to get you there.

I’ve been working on getting draft recaps up, but the formatting of this lovely WordPress blog doesn’t allow me to easily cut & paste the code, so I have to heavily manipulate the HTML to get it to display correctly. It’s possible that I’ll get my own site soon that will allow enough space for that, but we shall see in the coming weeks. For now I’ll try to keep up the blog posts as Zendikar info comes to light and we enter a new season of sealed deck!

A revista Playboy divulgou no final da tarde desta quinta-feira (23) um comunicado afirmando que não está em negociação com a ex-BBB Naiá, 62 anos, para um possível ensaio nu.

“A Playboy(risos), ao contrário do que vem sendo noticiado(risos), não quer falir botando uma velha pra posa nu não  está em negociação com a BBB Naiá”, (risos)afirma o comunicado da revista.

No início da tarde, Paulo Roberto(infeliz marido dela) afirmou ao Terra que a ex-BBB mantinha contato com a revista e que “as negociações já aconteciam há um certo tempo”.

PUTZ E VOCES PREUCUPADOS COM A GRIPE SUINA!

Berhubung temen-temen gw yang doyan kuliner pada menghilang entah ke mana dan sibuk dengan “kegiatan” masing – masing gw jadi jarang nyobain makanan – makanan aneh lagi. Namun hari ini kebetulan, ada seorang teman yang lagi mampir ke rumah ngajakin makan nasi goreng.

Tujuan awalnya adalah nasi goreng babi di Sentosa(JL. Aceh, Enak Loh, rugi kalau belum pernah coba) , namun karena penuhnya minta ampun, kami terpaksa mencari tempat lain. Maka tibalah kami di NAYA , jalan terusan pasteur depan hoter Grand Aquila, Bandung.

Salah satu makanan khas di NAYA adalah nasi goreng ular, berhubung gw belum pernah coba, jadi langsung gw pesan! Harganya pun murah, cuma 20 ribu rupiah / per porsi. Pelayanannya pun cepat, tidak sampai 10 menit nasi goreng sudah siap disantap.

Dari bau dan bentuknya , memang tampak seperti nasi goreng biasa, yang menjadi pembedanya adalah daging yang digunakan adalah daging ular. Tidak menjijikan seperti bayangan gw dan tidak seaneh harapan gw. Rasa daging ular , mirip daging ayam dicampur sapi, namun punya tekstur yang lembut. Untuk rasanya nasi gorengnya cukup standar. Tapi porsinya benar-benar besar, mungkin kalau cewek yang makan bisa untuk berdua!!!

Bagi yang penasaran , atau belum pernah mencoba silakan datang ke Rumah Makan Naya ini, suasana yang sederhana dan tidak terlalu ramai menjadi salah satu kelebihan restoran ini.

Comme je n’ai pas d’inspiration pour de nouveaux billets et que j’aimerais voir le blog survivre au moins un an, voici des observations faites au hasard dans les derniers jours, oubliant complètement la ligne directrice du site.  Bonne lecture.

• Le chroniqueur Sébastien Diaz pourrait être le fils d’une alliance malsaine entre Stéphane Crête et Pierre Lapointe.

• Les croustilles de riz Crispy Minis de Quaker devraient être disponibles en format géant.  Je (et vous aussi, j’en suis sûr!) passe à travers ça en 15 minutes, saperlipopette!

• Parlant de la compagnie Quaker, j’aimerais savoir qui est le bonhomme genre “Amish constipé” qui leur sert de mascotte.

• A l’épicerie où je travaille, jai remarqué qu’une compagnie de papier d’aluminum a changé son produit.  La boîte indique maintenant “Papier plus épais!” puis plus bas, “Conçu avec vous en tête!”.  Je n’aime pas me faire subtilement insulter par des produits ménagers, merci.

• Je crois qu’il y a plus d’alcool dans l’eau Naya que dans la Coors Light.

• C’est les plus laids qui restent à Loft Story.

• Il est temps que t’aille jouer dehors quand tu constates que l’empreinte de tes doigts et de la paume de ta main est incrustée dans ta souris d’ordinateur (comme c’est mon cas).

• La catégorie Wacko Jacko que Mr. Love a crée sur le blog pour son unique post sur Michael Jackson est vraiment très spécialisée.  Mais, en le mentionnant, je vais pouvoir l’utiliser!

• Les mots écrits en gras dans ce billet sont pour faire ressortir le sujet de la phrase.  Mais j’aime bien mettre en gras d’autres mots qui n’ont pas rapport pour déstabiliser les lecteurs.

• J’aime mieux “Les Petits Garnements” que “La Guerre des Tuques”.

• No way que les kids dans “Les Petits Garnements” ont construits La Blur tout seuls.

• J’ai envie de faire un billet complet sur “Les Petits Garnements”.

• L’os du coude s’appelle le “funny bone” en anglais. Pourquoi?  C’est tout sauf drôle quand tu te le pètes sur un coin de dossier de chaise et que ça résonne jusque dans tes chevilles.

• Pour un gars qui n’a pas d’inspiration, j’ai quand même réussi à faire un post de 350 mots sur n’importe quelle connerie qui envahit mon cerveau à ce moment-même.

Xeinte, achei o site da Nana do BBB9! 

Tem uma parte ótima que ela revela seu futuro com uma bola de cristal, é Mara, entra aki e faz sua pergunta! Perguntei se vou casar, ela disse que SEIM!

Olha o perfil dela, temos  tantos gostos em comum!

Ator : Tarcisio Meira   / Cantor, cantora ou banda : Roberto Carlos e Julio Iglesias /  Prato preferido :  Arroz, feijão e ovo frito / Filme  : “Titanic” e “Ghost”  / Hobby :  Pintar tecidos  / Música da vida :  ”Sandra Rosa Madalena”, de Sidney Magal

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1 Naya Panorama
1 Nacatl Outlander
1 Rakeclaw Gargantuan
4 Plains
1 Naya Battlemage
6 Mountain
1 Ember Weaver
1 Dragon Fodder
1 Mosstodon
1 Thorn-Thrash Viashino
1 Dark Temper
6 Forest
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Maniacal Rage
1 Branching Bolt
1 Titanic Ultimatum
1 Might of Alara
1 Bloodpyre Elemental
1 Knight of the Skyward Eye
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Rockslide Elemental
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Obelisk of Jund
1 Gift of the Gargantuan
1 Akrasan Squire
1 Matca Rioters
1 Rhox Charger

Sideboard
1 Gustrider Exuberant
1 Swamp
1 Cancel
1 Dragon’s Herald
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Gleam of Resistance
1 Paragon of the Amesha
2 Quenchable Fire
1 Lightning Talons

8-4

R1,G1: Nacatal show on turn one, along with some other small men.  He plays Etherium Sculpter and Sphix Summoner (showing Sharuum).  I have Branching Bolt and lethal.

R1,G2: I have Noble Hierarch and Knight of the Skyward Eye.  He had a very good deck with 2 Resounding Cards (esper and bant) and he used couriors capsule twice with gargoyle.  He countered my Branching Bolt with the Resounding Wave, but it allowed me to set up Titanic Ultimatum with 4 small guys in play.

R2,G1: Get a quick start which Ember Weaver holding the fort.  I fail to draw plains to win with Titanic Ultimatum before he kills the Weaver and gets me.  Plains is next.

R2,G2: Curve out with slow rolled Resounding Thunder to tilt him.

R2,G3: Mull into Nacatal, Noble, 2 Forest, Rhox Charger, Ultimatum.  I draw my other lands and eventually cast Ultimatum earning a “What a lucksac” from my opponent.

R3,G1: I Mull into a hand with no forest on the draw.  It didn’t go well.  He had Flameblast Dragon.

R3,G2: I play Nacatal and the suit it up wiht maniacal rage. nuff said.

R3,G3:  He had a really nutty Unearth draw involving Corpse Conoseur, Scourging Devil, and Grixis Slavedriver.

Estamos de volta. Após dias sem atualizar, quando já imaginava que mais ninguém interessante ou relevante morreria, não é que apareceu um presuntinho fresco? O especialista em castelinhos de areia Sergio Naya infartou nesta sexta. Abadá, a partir de agora, só o de madeira. Os detalhes foram copiados do UOL e estão logo abaixo.

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 O ex-deputado e empresário Sérgio Naya, 65, foi encontrado morto na tarde desta sexta-feira (20) num quarto do hotel Jardim Atlântico, em Ilhéus, na Bahia, onde pretendia passar o feriado de Carnaval. Naya era proprietário da construtora Sersan, que construiu o prédio Palace 2, no Rio de Janeiro, que desabou em fevereiro de 1998 matando oito pessoas.

Segundo o médico chamado para o atendimento, a provável causa da morte foi um infarto. Pessoas ligadas à família de Naya confirmaram posteriormente a morte por infarto.

Segundo o hotel, o motorista de Naya solicitou que o ex-deputado fosse chamado, pois não estava no lugar marcado para encontrá-lo. Os funcionários chegaram a procurá-lo em outras dependências do hotel, antes de entrar no quarto. O corpo de Naya foi encaminhado ao Instituto Médico legal (IML) da cidade.

Palace 2
No próximo dia 22, o desabamento do Palace 2 completa onze anos. Na ocasião, oito pessoas morreram e 150 famílias ficaram desabrigadas. Nos dias seguintes, com a área já isolada, houve outras quedas. Por fim, o local foi implodido.

O empresário teve o mandato de deputado federal cassado meses depois, mas foi absolvido em processo judicial que o apontava como réu do crime de responsabilidade pelo desabamento. Naya chegou a ficar preso, mas sua defesa argumentou que ele não era responsável pelo planejamento e execução da construção. Em 2004, o empresário voltou a ser preso quando tentava fugir para Montevidéu, e ficou detido por mais quatro meses.

O ex-deputado foi condenado a pagar indenizações que variavam entre R$ 200 mil e R$ 1,5 milhão a cerca de 120 famílias do Palace 2. Alegou, contudo, não ter dinheiro, e seus bens começaram a ser leiloados.

Deputado
Sérgio Naya cumpriu três mandatos como deputado federal por Minas Gerais, após ter assumido como suplente. Foi eleito em 1990 pelo PMDB e reeleito em 1995 pelo PP.

Após o desabamento, teve o mandato cassado pela Câmara em abril de 1998, tornando-se inelegível por oito anos, e seus bens e os da Sersan foram bloqueados pela Justiça em julho de 2002.

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Enquanto ele passava dessa pra outra, eu estreava o ar-condicionado que foi instalado no meu quarto. O que isso interessa? Nada. Mas é que tá um calorão na rua e aqui tá bem bom. E era isso… O Coveiro Premiado estará atento neste Carnaval.

Yeh Saal bhi guzar gaya har saal ki tarha

 Zindagi rahi meri ek sawal ki tarha

(by Shoaib)