Go Forward: Japan, Trains and Stuff

As you may or may not know, I write regularly for AnimeChicago, of which I am a team member and general contributor. Because of that, there is no new article on this site this week. I encourage you to head over to AnimeChicago.com and check out my latest article. It's about trains, Japan, and the CTA. I tried to be humorous with it, pointing out some gripes I have with the CTA, that I think many people share. And while Japan is not a wonderland that some believe it to be, their train system is as good as you could imagine. Anyway, here's the link:

Click this thing for trains and stuff.

Special thanks to Jamie and Gabe for making this article possible.

Behind the Build - Omnath, Locus of Mana

In Behind the Build, I breakdown the design of one of my commander decks, usually one with a unique spin. This time, I review my Omnath, Locus of Mana deck.

Magic: The Gathering head designer Mark Rosewater is known for saying “restrictions breed creativity”, and although some people might have issues with the face of the Magic creative department, it is difficult to disagree with that sentiment. I personally have taken that as one of my few mantras. It’s surprising how useful it is, even beyond the scope of the game. Creativity usually only sparks once we are given a set of conditions. Otherwise, we often spin our wheels or simply get lost in all the possibilities. But when those options are narrowed down, that’s when we start to excel.

Decision fatigue happens when you are given near unlimited options. Think of a menu at a restaurant and imagine it with multiple pages, all kinds of dishes, side dishes and extras. It can be quite daunting to choose a tasty meal, and typically we end up selecting stuff we are familiar with, even though new and exciting options are right in front of our faces. Now, imagine you’re at a food truck where you have at most four or five different options. Pretty easy to pick from that menu, right? Well, restrictions help narrow down your possible options and can lead you to trying something different. Go back to the restaurant menu example, and imagine setting a restriction like “The dish can only start with the letter M” or “the dish must not have tomatoes in it.” Well, that can lead you to things you might never have tasted before, especially if you pick the latter at an Italian restaurant.

So what does this have to do with the Commander deck I’m discussing today? Building a Commander deck is itself a daunting process, especially from scratch. The format has a massive card pool, spanning over 20 years of design. Narrowing that down to 99 and a commander is not an easy feat. So we often find ourselves resorting to online guides, primers and other sources to do much of the thinking for us. And that’s perfectly fine, many people enjoy the gameplay more and will happily trade the pride of crafting a unique deck for consistency and proven results, alongside a community of similar minds constantly improving on the build. However, every once in awhile, you may want to expand outside the confines of net decks.

That’s where this deck design came from. To get the creative juices flowing, I set a restriction on myself. I wanted to hobble a Magic color of its best card type, and build from there. For this experiment, I chose green. Green’s best card type is creature, I don’t think there is much debate to that. With bomb cards like Craterhoof Behemoth and Avenger of Zendikar, games can end quite quickly on resolution of these green monsters, and ones like it. Furthermore, many of green’s most powerful non-creature spells deal with creatures in some way, and many of them care about creature cards like Green Sun’s Zenith, Survival of the Fittest or Tooth and Nail. So not only was I limiting my options for game winners, I was limiting powerful options all around.

Yet, with this simple but harsh restriction, the design flourished. When I first fired up MTG’s official card search website, Gatherer, I was astounded by the creative choices I had once I made sure the search would not spit back anything with the type “Creature”. Let me take you through the key cards that makes the deck I dubbed “Mono-Green Spells” tick.

Omnath, Locus of Mana

Omnath is well known in the Commander community for being one of the most popular mono-green legendaries. EDHRec has it listed as #1 on their deck list count, beating out Ezuri, Renegade Leader and Titania, Protector of Argoth. However, most of the Omnath decks you will see contain many of green’s premier creatures. In fact, the deck usually ticks because of these creatures, floating mana through turns to cast a big beasty is very much a central deck strategy. EDHRec lists the average Omnath deck as containing 29 creatures. Well, I don’t have the luxury to do part of that. I do however, have a backup strategy that these decks use, which is to just win with commander damage.

Berserk & Rancor

These are the primary commander damage win cards in the deck, allowing you to smash right through an enemy’s defences while Omnath stays huge. It’s fairly easy to catch a player on their back foot and hit them for a ton. Berserk is a very important card as it can double as a surprise for other commanders swinging in and as a removal spell of sorts, just make sure that the creature isn’t attacking you.

Overrun, Overwhelming Stampede & Triumph of the Hordes

You can use these to buff Omnath to victory, but most of the time one of these three are probably helping you win with the deck’s secondary strategy, which is tokens. Overwhelming Stampede is an all-star in my opinion, in any green commander deck, as it gives you a way to push through a stalled board state and can help you take out multiple players on one turn. Now, I understand the hate for Triumph in that people find infect to be a cheap win, and I would agree, it’s just that Wizards has not given us a comparable non-creature spell on par with Overrun and Stampede, but if they ever do, this will be out of the deck. This deck wants as many effects like this as it can get.

Arachnogenesis

There are a plethora of token spells in the deck, but I wanted to point out this monster specifically. Having instant-speed cards in the deck is very important, since you can float the mana you generate each turn with Omnath and not have to worry about using it should Omnath get killed. Obviously, for this card, that’s not always going to be the case, but having this as a backup plan in case some opponent-caused nonsense comes your way is always nice to have.

Doubling Season, Parallel Lives & Second Harvest

Of course, to accompany all the token cards are the token enablers. I don’t think I need to speak on the raw power that Doubling Season and Parallel Lives provides, given that much has been said about them in the past. I do want to mention Second Harvest as an up and coming card in this deck, which can act similarly to Arachnogenesis in many situations.

Earthcraft & Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Every Omnath deck is hungry for large sums of green mana, and these cards provide just that. Earthcraft is downright busted and a decent, though still pricey itself, budget option for Gaea’s Cradle, which is a card that will permanently be on the wishlist for this deck. Nykthos is also a good Cradle replacement and is quickly becoming a card I throw in every mono-colored deck I play. The benefit of the amount of mana it can produce for such a small investment is insane. I recommend this card for everyone out there to try.

Hurricane & Squall Line

With all that mana, these two cards can also help close out the game for any player unfortunate enough to be below your life total. I have cast this for upwards of 30 mana. These also help deal with one of green’s major weaknesses, which is flying creatures.

Mirri's Guile & Sylvan Library

Card draw and card selection is scarce in green, but there are still some great options, like the two listed above. Sylvan Library is a format staple and similarly on par with Phyrexian Arena. Guile, on the other hand acts as a Sensei’s Divining Top substitute, helping you shape your draws for maximum power. Couple these with cards like Shamanic Revelation and Soul's Majesty, and green has a card draw package that makes red and white cry.

Song of the Dryads & Utopia Vow

Removal is another place where green can falter. It can fight other creatures well enough and has not problem dealing with artifacts and enchantments, but having a catchall like Song is great. Bonus points for using song on a permanent, then playing a Vesuva to get a copy of the original permanent you just slapped the Song on. Another fantastic card in this deck for “removal” is Vow of Wildness. While it doesn’t get rid of the beast on the board, it makes it work for you and not against you. Additionally, you can slide it on Omnath should the need to win by commander damage arise.

Ezuri's Predation & The Great Aurora

Who says green can’t have board wipes? Wizards has been kind enough to print two fantastic big mana spells to help clear the board. With the token subtheme the deck operates under, the value of both of these cards goes through the roof. Having tokens out with Aurora usually makes your board better than theirs and with the token doublers in the deck, Predation can get out of hand quick.

Mouth of Ronom, Scrying Sheets & Snow-Covered Forest

One last package I want to mention is the snow land package, which is something I would recommend in any mono-colored deck. Scrying Sheets can give you extra card draw each turn, and Mouth is a small investment on the ability to have an extra creature removal spell in your deck.

So there you have it, the key cards for this unique restriction-based deck. Of course, what deck tech article would be complete without a full deck list? Here is the glory of Mono-Green Spells:

Quick Sketch - From Thumbnail to Ink

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. I started as most people did with random doodles and incomprehensible scribbles, then moved on to cars being my main focus as a kid. I wanted to be a car designer when I was young. However, after watching Dragonball Z as a preteen, my focus shifted into character design. I took art classes all four years in high school, but had to give up that route once I moved on to college, but I never stopped drawing. I apologize for the completely non-professional work displayed below, but I want to create a record of where I currently am with my skills (or lack thereof).

Recently, I completed a shift to a fully digital realm, utilizing my Surface Book and the program Clip Studio Paint to do designs digitally from start to finish. I find that this encourages me to keep at art since my sketchpad is unlimited by size and my toolbox is much larger.

I start my design by doing a simple gesture drawing to get the pose and proportions correct. My trick here is to work with a full size canvas, but to zoom the canvas out far enough to match a normal thumbnail size.

Thumbnail Gesture

After that, I zoom back in to the full size of the paper and create a new layer to build the proper musculature over the thumbnail. I use a blue pencil to make future layers show through. I will also adjust the opacity of the previous layer to help with discerning the new lines. Make sure to lock the lower layers so that any erasing doesn't ruin the lower layers.

Adding Depth

From there, I switch to a red pencil to sketch in the character details on a new layer. It's okay if it is rough at this point since this will be used for the ink layer.

Putting some "character" on it.

I added another layer to sketch over a coat from the previous layer, then left both visible for the ink layer.

Here is the final ink layer. I'm still getting used to inking this way. My old process was to use a vector program to do some inking, but decided that a raster program is much faster for my needs. You will notice some bleeds and too thick lines, but I hope to have this hammered out soon.

It's not perfect, but it's a start.

Anyway, thanks for reading this. I hope to do future sketches with even better looking designs, but I'm still shaking some rust off.

Food Truck Primer - Donermen

Welcome to Food Truck Primer, a series of articles where I give a rundown of different Chicago-based food trucks.

I love food trucks. Instead of being restricted to the “safe” lunch places that comes with working downtown, food trucks allow for dining experiences that you can’t find in the types of restaurants that can afford the exorbitant rent in downtown Chicago. You can eat great food at a reasonable price and still be able to share in a collaborative community. It’s small business and local flair, much like one of my other big hobbies, craft beer.

Actually, craft beer is how I found out about the first food truck I am writing about, Donermen. It was through 3 Floyds Brewing social media that I was introduced. And if you know anything about craft beer and the reputation that 3 Floyds has within the community, you could understand my excitement in trying this food truck.

Donermen’s primary focus is German street food, with a focus on food made by Turkish immigrants. Their menu consists of two main dishes: Doner kebab and curry wurst. Doner kebab is spit-roasted chicken with wonderful spices while curry wurst is German sausage smothered in a tomato-curry spice sauce.

Donermen’s doner kebab comes prepared in a few ways, but I recommend the Doner Box, which is the aforementioned chicken, served on a bed of fries, salad and veggies, along with tzatziki and hot sauce. It’s a wonderful mix of colors, spice and textures.

Donermen's fantastic Doner Box

Their curry wurst is equally fantastic. The handmade sausage blends perfectly with the sweet and spicy tomato-curry sauce, while the side of fries offers a bit of crunchiness. They have brought this dish to Christkindlmarket the past two years and blows away the competition.

Tasty, tasty curry wurst.

If you’re not feeling meat for lunch, their druid wurst, which is similar to their curry wurst except the sausage is 100% vegetarian, is a fantastic selection. I find myself switching between the two often when I’m not going for the Doner Box. The truck also recently added poutine that is very good in and of itself.

Beyond the fantastic food, Donermen also has, in my opinion, the best looking food truck. It’s hard to miss their truck wherever it is, with gorgeous mural on one side and D&D references on the other.

I love that art.

You can find Donermen throughout the downtown area of Chicago on the weekdays for lunch and at various bars and breweries on nights and weekends. They also cater, if you ever need great food for a party.

So if you see this beautiful blue and red truck out on the road, please give it a try. You will not be disappointed.

Bottles & Cans (Or Just Clap Your Hands)

When I first got into craft beer everything was pretty much in bottles, and cans were really only relegated to terrible macro beers (you know, the big three). It was difficult to find a craft beer that was actually served in cans and when I did, to be honest, I was afraid mainly because cans were seen as cheaper and didn't have the same kind of “class”, so to speak. They almost seemed to undermine what it was to be craft. But then I actually tried one, and at first I didn't even drink it directly from the can, because I didn't think it would taste very good. A lot of the craft breweries at that time encouraged people to pour it into a glass like you would do with bottles. I don't know if it was laziness or if I was being a little bit adventurous, but I skipped the glass and have never looked back.

I think the first question to ask is “Why were bottles chosen originally?” I think the answer to that is that it was cheaper. Canning lines take a lot of money, but over time it seems that the technology has gotten cheaper. Hence, you now see a whole plethora of can choices, and it appears that most new craft brewers, who are getting into distribution, are definitely focusing on the cans. Bottles, maybe because of their connection to wine, always had this higher class feel to them, especially bombers. They can be served similarly to wine and poured into a special glass to give this air of superiority. I think the problem with that is that craft shouldn't take itself too seriously. Beer is always going to be the working class drink but that doesn't mean that it's consumers should ask for something that tastes terrible.

Cans are the perfect solution to a lot of the problems that bottles have. You can’t take bottles to the beach, the park, or pretty much any other venues. Bottles are heavy, they're hard to carry and can easily break. Cans, on the other hand, are much lighter, stronger, and are easy to carry. Plus, they can go almost anywhere that you're allowed to bring drinks. So not only do you get to enjoy your beer in more places, but don’t have to worry about it breaking, which is just nice.

I think the other main benefits that cans have over bottles is that they can help beer stay fresh for longer. One of the big problems with bottles is oxidation, which essentially means that air gets into the beer and can make it take it taste terrible. Another problem is light. Light can really change the taste of beer, so even the freshest beers in brand new bottles have to go through light and air to make its way to the liquor store or to the bar that you're at. Whereas with cans  there's very little air and there's total darkness. It's a perfect vessel for beer. Oh did I mention that it gets colder quicker? Because it does.

So why did it take so long? Why are craft breweries still using bottles? I know that some already invested into the machinery and really can't go back now. These breweries risk falling behind. Nowadays, when I go to the store, if I'm given the choice between two very good beers, I’m buying the canned one.

Bottles still have a use though. You don't want large, brash beers that you would age for a long time in cans because the cans don't contribute anything. Here, the air and temperature changes might help the complexity of the flavors, and they still present better than cans.

In my opinion, cans should be the go-to option for any beer under 8% ABV. Larger, heavier beers should continue to stay in bottles.

In the 99 - Hitting the Reset Button

Welcome to In the 99, a series of articles where each time I pick a theme and discuss seven Magic: the Gathering cards, focusing on their uses in the Commander format.

The boardstate’s all gummed up. The other three players have some very serious permanents threatening your ability to stay alive. You could pass the turn and hope for the best, but Player A is one card away from their combo while Player B could just steal this whole game with their army of tokens and Player C, well you’re not certain what they’re doing, but whatever it is, it isn’t good. Wouldn’t it be better if you could just make it all go away? You know, like hitting the reset button on an old video game console?

Sweet, sweet redemption.

Sometimes, you just have to say no to everything and everyone at once, and that’s where sweepers come in. The term sweeper, for the unfamiliar, is used for any card that can deal with a large number of cards all at once. Instead of chipping away at each player’s permanents costing you precious cards and time, opt for some of these choices:

Austere Command

Few sweepers in the game have the level of detailed boardstate sculpting that Austere Command offers. Its four modes allow the caster to keep exactly what they need while getting rid of everything else. Have a ton of tokens and want to get rid of big threats? Done. Don’t like the potential artifact combos on the board? Boom, gone. Some enchantments dragging your game down? Not anymore, they’re not. At its worst, it’s a Wrath of God for 2 more mana, but at its best it’s a massive card advantage swing and can downright win you the game if timed well enough.

Cyclonic Rift

Austere Command can win you the game if it’s well timed, but Cyclonic Rift can win you games most of the time. This card is one that has been up for debate for banning for years, and with good reason. If taking extra turns is one of the most powerful things you can do in Magic, to the point that most new extra turn cards that Wizards of the Coast prints have a self-exile clause to keep from looping the effect over and over again, then Cyclonic Rift can be like taking 5 extra turns. First, you get to keep everything you have in play, unlike most sweepers where you usually give up at least something. Second, you put each opponent much further behind than you, they will most likely have to spend the next 3 or 4 turns just getting back to where they were. Third, it clears your path to victory. Timing this spell at the end of your last opponent’s turn can leave the entire board vulnerable during your turn.

Toxic Deluge

Having options in Commander is a huge plus. The more things a card can do in your deck, the more situations you can get out of with that card. If you pack many of these cards into your deck, you’ll find that you’re never out of fight. We see this implicitly with Austere Command, but Toxic Deluge is bit more subtle. As I have said previously, shaping the way you utilize your sweepers for maximum advantage will ultimately help you win games, and that’s exactly what Deluge does. At the low, low mana cost of 2B, you can kill tokens, deal with indestructible creatures, or just remove everything. You don’t usually get that kind of power even at 4 or 5 CMC. Don’t be worried by the life payment portion, starting at 40 life in a game of Commander makes the payment essentially worth about half what it appears.

Warp World

Spin the wheel! A lot of players don’t embrace the chaos that red can provide, but Warp World can be a surprisingly smart card. This isn’t a card you instantly put into any deck that fits its colors, like you can with this article’s other examples. You have to plan around it, and make sure its weaknesses are minimized. Essentially, you need to limit the number of non-permanent spells and Planeswalkers in your deck. Cards that produce more than one permanent are great too, especially creatures that make creature tokens, because Warp World allows you to get more value out of these “army in a can” cards. But the true beauty lies in the fact that your opponents are more than likely not on the same plan as you and will probably end up with less of a board state than you. Coupled with the total chaos caused by this card, you will completely screw up your opponent's game plan while more than likely getting rid of the problem.

The Great Aurora

Is this green’s version of Warp World? Kinda. There is less you can do with this to maximize your gains, but it has markedly less potential to help out your opponents. The best thing about this card is that you get to essentially play your turn again after you cast this spell. So you can have priority in getting exactly what you want out for that turn. Couple this with tokens and/or cards that give you no maximum hand size, and you have a combination that can be downright devastating. And since you are already playing green, you have access to the be mana ramp spells in the game, especially those that put lands directly into play. This card is like a mix between Cyclonic Rift and Warp World. You get a board reset that is somewhat random and you get to play whatever you’d like after this resolves.


Merciless Eviction

I believe this will be a mantra for all subsequent articles: choice is always a good thing. This card sits right at the top when it comes to choice, similar to Austere Command. Sure, you only get to remove a subset of cards and aren’t able to mix and match like Austere Command can, but you make up for that with the fact that it exiles whatever you don’t like. The hierarchy for removal is as follows: gain control of the permanent > exile the permanent > shuffle the permanent into its library > destroy/force sacrifice the permanent > return the permanent to hand. There are few cards that sit any higher on this hierarchy that can affect as many permanents as this can. Merciless Eviction primary weakness is that it is a two color card, limiting it to fewer decks. However, you should definitely play this if you can.

All is Dust

Our final card can bring finality to most of the board. All is Dust can be a be all, end all when it comes to sweepers. Only most artifacts and most Eldrazi can survive the resolution of this card. The best thing about this card is that it forces sacrifices and does not destroy anything, which gets around indestructibility without issue. Control decks want this card more than others since they care less about permanents on the board, and this card is a shoe-in for any colorless Commander deck, as you completely maximize your gains on casting this spell.

So there you have it, seven ways to clear the board and inch you much closer to victory. But remember, simply jamming these cards into your deck won’t automatically make it better. Sweepers require a great sense of timing to utilize the card to its utmost ability. When in doubt, my advice is to wait until you are absolutely certain that you won’t make it to your next turn.