Wyrmhero

The Turn is over, next one will be here soon!

Night 6: Blackmail They strapped Armina to the table in the torture chamber, and left her with Waern, trusting him to be able to get the answers they needed. Waern turned his back to her, selecting his tools. He turned back to her, and raised the simple scalpel he had decided to start with. “Did you get my letter?” Armina asked, surprisingly confident, and even cheerful, for someone in her position. Waern froze, the blade hovering slightly above her cheek. “What letter?” he asked, trying to feign ignorance. “The letter I delivered,” Armina replied. “Well, I suppose it was more of a note than a full letter. I didn’t want to waste too much ink on it. Not that it was mine, I stole Locke’s, but it’s the principle of the thing. Speaking of principles, how are yours holding up? Hiding out here, instead of doing your job and hunting that skaa child down...” Waern finally took the breath that he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. “There was no child,” he said sternly. “It was a rumour designed to discredit me, nothing more. In fact, it’s laughable to suggest that a member of the Canton of Inquisition would find themselves in that position.” “You’re right, it is laughable,” Armina nodded as best she could having a tie around her neck to keep her lying down, “and yet here we are. I wonder if they’d kill you immediately or tie you down here first?” “Listen here,” Waern said, the scalpel finding itself at her neck and digging in, drawing blood, “there is not one shred of evidence that this is something that happened, and I would know. I’ve spent my life looking over my shoulder, just in case. If there are any loose ends, I will silence them, and we can pretend it never happened, understood? And you’re looking like a loose end to me right now...” “If-” Armina winced as blood dripped down her face. It wasn’t deep, but it still stung and hurt. “If you kill me, I’ve made… arrangements… for certain details to fall into the hands of someone inclined to do something about it.” “...You’re bluffing,” Waern said, the blade piercing deeper. “And- and if I’m not?” Waern paused, internally weighing his options. Eventually, he let the scalpel drop down to the side, and sighed. He started to undo the ties that kept Armina on the table. “Fine. But the minute I find out where you’ve hidden this information...” “Of course,” she nodded as she sat up, rubbing her neck where the rope had rubbed against the skin. She wiped away the blood on her cheek. “Although, I have hidden it away rather well. I think this will be the start of a very profitable relationship for many years to come.” Waern grunted and sat down on a chair, the colour drained from his face. He looked lost, more than anything. “Cheer up,” Armina said with a smile, as she unlocked the door. “As long as you do what I say, no-one else needs to know.” She closed the door behind her, leaving Waern to sit there alone. Armina was lynched, but survived! Armina/Arranae (6): Alrin/Arinian, Sheon/Seonid, Locke/Orlok Tsuobdai, Marsh/Darkness_, Jaina/little wilson, Sony, Cyfna/Elbereth Pix/Lemonelon (2): Armina/Arranae, Nickel/Aonar Faileas Alrin/Arinian (1): Hadrian/Araris Valerian Locke/Orlok Tsuobdai (1): Pix/Lemonelon Night 6 has begun! It will end at 21:00 PM GMT on Sunday. This does mean that the Turn will be one hour longer, but I'm sure it will be fine . There is still a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

GM announcement While I have been fairly lax about these things before, I am now saying that I require all PMs to contain me within them and to be on the forum from now on. Please do not discuss the game outside of this forum, and only do so on either the thread or through the PM system.

Day 6: Man of Straw Straw woke up to a pain in his chest, and a strange smell permeating his room. He opened his eyes, but it didn't seem to make things all that clearer. His candle had long since burnt out, and the only illumination was coming from the gap under the door. It gave everything a sort of haze, as though the room couldn't quite decide which way around it was going to be. He looked over towards the door, and then there was a sudden flash. Straw closed his eyes, but it was too late to protect them. Spots of light and darkness danced on the inside of his eyelids, and he winced, resisting the urge to rub at his eyes. He blinked a few times, and his eyesight slowly returned to normal. He carefully looked back over to the door, and was able to see a bright light flickering and waving at him. He pushed himself out of bed, groaning a bit at the pain in his chest. He coughed. Was it always this hard to breathe? Darkness masked his eyes even in front of the flame, and he batted it away, wisps of smoke dissipating as his hand cut through them. That would be why his lungs hurt, he realised, and why the room was spinning around. He coughed again, stumbling over to the door. He tripped on something in the darkness, but didn't get up. It was a good thing to be on the floor when there was smoke around. It was easier to breathe down here, and cooler. As he hit the floor, he realised what the fire was feeding on. Lying all around his room like a carpet were clumps of dried, dead plant matter. It crunched under his hand as he pushed himself up onto all-fours to crawl along to the door. "You're-" he coughed, and beat his hand against his chest to try and clear it. "You're kidding me. You're trying to murder me with straw?" The fire started to spread along the ground, finding plenty of fuel in its wake. He wondered when his attempted killer had managed to cover his room in the stuff, and how they'd even gotten in. He carefully pushed himself along to the door and reached up to unlock the door so he could leave. But there was one problem. The door certainly was locked, but the key was nowhere to be found. "Oh," he said, realising how that they'd gained access to the room. "You picked the lock and stole my key." He dropped to the ground so he could breath better, tossing the straw aside as quickly as he could. His hands hurt from the heat and the fire, but it ignored it as best he could; it was either that or start suffocating. His mind raced as he tried to figure another way out of the room. The window wasn't viable, the glass in this place was pretty solid and practically impossible to break. Maybe he could open it, get some more air in, but if they stole one key they would have stolen the window key as well. He'd have to get up and put his head in the smoke just to see if it was there, it would be a pretty big gamble which probably wouldn't pay off. There was a clatter from the other side of the doorway, followed by the sweeping of a foot on the stone floor. Metal rang as a key slipped through the gap between door and floor, before resting by Straw's hand. "You had a change of heart?" Straw asked, heart racing but thankful. Maybe they never intended to kill him, just to scare him. Well, they'd succeeded at that. It didn't mean he was feeling more leniant towards them though. He couldn't promise them the same mercy from himself at this point. He scrambled up to his feet and fit the key into the lock. He covered his mouth with his arm as he coughed. He twisted the key the wrong way first, then hurriedly tried the other way. He put the hand covering his face down to the doorhandle and pulled hard. The door didn't budge, and all he got was a sharp pain through his arm from his efforts. "W-what?" He coughed again, bringing his shaking hand up to look at the key. It was the wrong one. There was laughter on the other side of the door. "Y-you..." He spluttered, the key dropping out of his hand. "You bastard!" he yelled as he collapsed to the ground, every bit of strength left in him given over to his defiance. But he wasn't going to give up and die, not while he could still breathe the fresh air coming in from the corridor. Every second he survived was another second someone could potentially save him. The light from underneath the door started to disappear until it had all gone. Straw stretched out his hand, and prodded carefully. It was a soft fabric, but even as he tried to push it out of the way, it wouldn't budge. They'd locked him in and blocked off his only remaining air supply. Shadows danced in the light of the fire behind him, casting strange shapes on the wall. Sweat dripped down his forehead, splashing onto the stone. The room started to shimmer in and out of focus, and then, finally, it faded away for good. Straw was an Obligator! Night 5 has begun! It will end at 21:00 PM BST on Wednesday. There is still a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

Night 5: Apathy When Waern entered the atrium this morning, he was surprised to find everyone idling around, none of them really talking to each other, or even focusing on anything. Everyone seemed to be staring off into the distance, unable to bring themselves to concentrate. "What's going on here?" Waern asked. Sheon shrugged. "And what," Waern continued, "does that mean?" "...What's the point?" "I'm sorry?" "What's the point, sir?" Sheon repeated, finally looking up at Waern. "I mean... say that we find this person. What do we do then?" "Torture them, extract information, and then execute them?" Waern replied, almost confused. What else would they do? "And then what?" Sheon said. "What do we do then, sir?" "Then we get on with our lives," Waern said, gritting his teeth as if to bite down the irritation he was starting to feel creep up on him. "I know what this is, bloody Soothers," he muttered. "All right, all of you!" he shouted, hoping to draw their attentions. None of them looked up at him, finding fractionally more interest in ignoring the world around them. "Fine then," Waern muttered. "As you were." He groaned quietly to himself and left them to their ennui. If they were going to ignore the world, then it was only right that he could do the same. No-one was lynched! Jaina/little wilson (2): Pix/Lemonelon, Jaina/little wilson, Armina/Arranae Armina/Arranae (2): Alrin/Arinian, Locke/Orlok Tsubodai, Marsh/Darkness_ Edguardo/Paranoid King (1): Hadrian/Araris Valerian Night 5 has begun! It will end at 21:00 PM BST on Wednesday. There is still a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

I guess? Not like there's a large number of votes to tally right now... Jaina (2): Pix, Jaina Armina (2): Marsh, Alrin Edguardo (1): Hadrian

Day 5: Shortsighted Mira sat in her room, on her bed, and listened. From outside, through the window, she could hear the rustling of the trees. She could hear snoring in the room next to her (Lord Ruler it was loud!), and the ping of the bedsprings as she shifted herself, trying to get a better view of the cup in her hand in the faint candlelight that slightly illuminated the dark. As she moved, she could feel the individual rough fibres of the blanket, each minor abrasion feeling slightly harsher, slightly sharper, than it should have. It was poor quality bedding, but it was good enough for Obligators. Comfort was not something they knew. They were not expected to leave a life of discomfort and self-denial, but they weren't going to have soft cotton sheets either. Mira examined the cup held in her hand. There was something off about it, she knew that. The cup contained water and powdered tin, or at least it should have. But appearance told her nothing was strange about it, there was no indication of tampering or contamination that she could see. So why did it make her feel uneasy? She sniffed the water lightly. Yes, there was something there. If it was anyone else that they had tried it on, they would have no doubt been successful. The poison was a clear liquid, she knew that much. Barely any smell. They had been subtle, but clearly they didn't know what sort of Misting she was. But still, she had to admit, if they had got her in that way, she would have deserved it for leaving the water aside to reach room temperature without supervision. She'd be more careful in future. She took the smallest, tiniest sip of the water. She immediately spat it out. Yes, odourless and colourless perhaps, but that didn't stop it from being absolutely rank in taste. But no doubt others would have simply gulped it down without testing it first, and only have noticed it too late. She sighed and got up to get another cup of water. The dimly-lit hallways did not terrify her as they would some others. It was still very bright to her eyes, and her ears were sensitive enough that she would hear anyone approaching long before they even knew she was there anyway. She was in her element, in such poor sensory conditions. She reached the kitchen without incident, and poured the cup of water out. She then threw the cup away, not wanting to have to deal with cleaning out the trace elements of the poison that might be lingering around, and instead poured herself a new glass. She tested that as well, and was satisfied with it. She returned to her room and closed and locked the door again, and not a moment too soon - She was practically run dry of her reserve. She put the water on the cabinet beside her bed and picked a vial from the draw. She removed the stopper and tipped the entire vial into the water, smiling a bit as she watched the silvery metal swirl around in the currents it created. It was always pleasing to watch, though she could never explain why. Somehow, just satisfying. Mira stirred the water with a spoon - Which she used the last of her tin to carefully check that it had no strange poisons on it - and waited for the metal to mix with the water. Then she drank the water, the harsh taste still making her wince even after all these years of ingesting metal shavings, and glad that her senses were dulled so she didn't have to taste it in excruciating detail at the moment. She started to burn tin again, and the world shot into focus. It was dangerous to ingest metals before sleeping, but at this point she considered it a small risk to take compared to being murdered in her sleep because she was surprised. The headache she had coming on would be a small price to pay for safety. The tin she was burning made it more painful, but she managed to block it out as best she could as she lay down on her bed. She felt a bit rough, actually. Nauseous more than anything. It was difficult, but eventually Mira managed to block off the feeling of wanting to vomit and drifted into an uneasy, weary, uncomfortable sleep. 'They poisoned the water,' she thought to herself, in a haze between sleeping and waking, 'why wouldn't they poison the tin as well?' Immediately she was awake again, getting out of bed in a shaky, delirious stumble. Feet trapped in the bedding, she tripped and fell to the ground. She tried to retch, to expel the poison, but the effort was too much for her stomach to produce anything. She crawled a distance towards the door, but every bit closer she got, she felt her strength wane. 'I'll just rest a bit', she said to herself, 'then I'll get help'. She never woke up. Mira (Frozen Mint) was a Tineye! Day 5 has begun! It will end at 21:00 PM BST on Tuesday. Despite Mira's death, there is still a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

Night 4: Traitor “You know, Quintus...” Waern said as he sat on the interrogation table, wiping the knife down with a cloth and placing it beside him. “I hate this place. Not specifically this place, mind. Just what it represents to me. I enjoy being the Prelan, I just wish it wasn’t here, so far away from decent civilisation. We’re all that’s here that stands between the rule of law and utter anarchy. It’s a heavy responsibility, but it’s not an enjoyable one.” He sighed and pushed himself off the table. He grabbed the knife and dropped it into a bucket of water. He watched the red mist rise from the blade, as it slowly ascended to the surface of the water. “And why is someone of my skills, of my talents, banished here? Because of some poxy, libellous rumour. Something that no-one in their right mind would believe. No-one did believe!” he corrected himself. “Which makes it even more of a mockery than it already is!” Quintus didn’t say anything, staring at him silently. Not that he could say anything, there was a cloth stuffed in his mouth to stop the screaming. Waern cupped his hands in another bucket of water and splashed water onto his face. He rubbed his hands together underwater to clear away more of the blood. “You’re wondering what it was, of course. Well, I see no harm in telling you. The rumour – utterly false, I might add – was that I fathered a child with a skaa. Of course, you can see how ridiculous it is that I, a Prelan of the Canton of Inquisition, would have been lax about that sort of thing.” “But, of course, even though there was not a shred of evidence, and I personally always made sure to kill any skaa women, it was taken as a sign of something. Perhaps that I was politically weak, to be accused of that in such a way. Maybe they did believe it, but couldn’t prove it, and didn’t want to make a move on me without being sure. Either way, I was considered a disgrace to the Canton and shipped out here.” “Of course, I suppose that makes it somewhat amusing that we find ourselves dealing with someone’s real bastard child. I hope that when we do find them, that’s a talker. I hope their noble parent is still alive, too. They won’t get the easy way out, I assure you. I’ll take my time, savouring the moment, the intense pleasure in wringing their heretical neck until their eyes pop out of their sockets and-” he paused, aware that he was clenching his fists around an imaginary neck. He took a breath and continued to wash the blood away. When he trusted himself to speak again with a level voice, he couldn't help but chuckle just a bit. “I’m glad you’re dead, Quintus. It makes it so much easier to talk about these things.” Quintus (Jondesu) was a Coinshot! Quintus/Jondesu (4): Hadrian/Araris Valerian, Variel/StrikerEZ, Jaina/little wilson, Armina/Arranae Locke/Orlok Tsubodai (2): Sheon/Seonid, Edguardo/Paranoid King Variel/StrikerEZ (1): DarianHammersmith Edguardo/Paranoid King (1): Alrin/Arinian Alrin/Arinian (1): Straw Night 4 has begun! It will end at 21:00 PM BST on Saturday; However, the next Day will not begin until Sunday at the same time, as I am busy GMing a Mistborn roleplaying group . There is a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

I realise the rules in the main thread are slightly ambiguous about this, but failed attacks are not mentioned in the writeup in this game. Only the Thug, Lurcher, or Seer and their attacker would be aware it had taken place at all. The reason for this is primarily to allow ambiguity on Nights like the previous one where no deaths have occurred - Were there failed kills, or did no-one try to kill in the first place?

Two things matter hugely when playing a mill deck (I'm assuming casual here, I don't think there are enough cards to make a standard mill deck, and modern mill is fairly established and dubious in these days of Dredge and hyperfast aggro decks) Have an answer to graveyard decks and Eldrazi Titans and other shuffle-graveyard-into-library-style effects. If you do not, that's basically an immediate loss for you, it's rough to race a dedicated graveyard deck when every spell you cast makes them stronger, and the only way to beat the a shuffle effect is to hope they draw the Titan or don't draw/recurr their shuffle effect. Ways to do this might be to include exile effects, particularly at instant speed. Pricier examples would be Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void, but other examples are things like Bojuka Bog, Ravenous Trap, Scavenging Ooze, and so on. Creatures generally speaking won't help you mill your opponent. Problem is that without them, you're going to die quickly to creature decks, as they build up their capabilities along both axes of board presence and lands, whilst yours is fairly linear in line with the amount of land you have. It's tough to run enough removal to deal with this as well as stick to milling your opponent, so you need enough creatures to gum up the board state and discourage attacking. Examples of good creatures which also mill are Doorkeeper, Ambassador Laquatus, Dreamborn Muse (though this one can backfire), Chancellor of the Spires (though not too many, as they're expensive and not hugely likely to be in your opening hand), Balustrade Spy, and Nemesis of Reason. Doorkeeper can lead to a pretty effective defender strategy alongside Phenax, and a Sultai mill deck can get access to Axebane Guardian for huge ramp potential, letting you power out pretty huge X spells like Mind Grind. Of course, you've then got the more combo-y styles of mill - Grindstone/Sphinx's Tutelage combined with Painter's Servant instantly mills (or practically instantly mills in the latter's case) your opponent's entire deck as soon as they get triggered. Only two real problems with this - Firstly that the Servant is a bit pricey, and secondly that if your friend group doesn't like counterspells or removal much, it will ruin the game for them and they'll refuse to play against it. Really that's true of any combo deck in casual, but it's worth noting. Also, if you play multiplayer like me a lot, you do need to make sure you can survive. Don't expect to win though if you're against many players. Like Infect, mill is a win condition that won't come up in a normal game. Other players aren't going to be helping you unless you jam four copies of Mindcrank into your decks (which is fun, but suboptimal for a pure mill deck). What that generally means is that as soon as someone is close to dying from mill they will focus on you. Against one player, surviving isn't too bad, but if you instead spread the mill out, they'll all focus on you when they get low, knock you out, and then continue the game without you. This is why you need to consistently be able to defend yourself. Things like Propaganda/Ghostly Prison help a lot here, but having a decent creature density is always important too. Unfortunately, can't link a few examples of mills decks I've made at the moment, I might do later on if you're interested. But anyway, those are my suggestions for things to keep in mind for casual mill.

Day 4: Disappearing Act The knock on the door woke Waern up in the morning, the pounding breaking its way into his mind and slowly irritating him enough to see who it was. He opened the curtains, and grimaced at the light that flooded into the room. The sun stared down at him from above, cutting a beam through the ashen sky and shining intensely through the glass. Lord Ruler, was it already so late in the day? He shrugged on his clothes, and glared at the door as buttoned his coat. “I’m awake!” he shouted. “Lord Ruler, didn’t you hear me say not to wake me unless it’s urgent? What happened, did someone die?” “No, sir!” Variel said through the door, his voice muffled on the wood. “But well, we’ve been waiting for you to appear for some time now, sir, and I drew the short straw, so I’m here to wake you up.” “Oh are you indeed?” Waern asked, contemplating returning to bed. Well, he was dressed now, so no point trying to ignore the world any longer. “You are my Obligators, and I am not beholden to you. You will wait on my time if I say so, understood?” “Uh… Yes, sir.” “Good,” Waern nodded to himself. “Now, I will take a pleasant, leisurely breakfast before I grace you all with my presence, understood?” He opened the door, and shoved Variel out of his way. They had to remember their place. “Very good, sir,” Variel agreed, bowing swiftly. “Though I should probably remind you that we don’t exactly have much fare to work on. Your breakfast probably won’t be that appetising. Mostly beans and dried food, sir.” Waern chuckled and took a key out of his pocket, dangling it in between his index and ring fingers. “I have the key to the pantry, Variel. While it’s not much better, salted and cured meats are a world away from canned rations.” He flicked his fingers and the key disappeared. He smiled at the surprise on Variel’s face as he failed to follow the movement of the key. “Not bad for an increasingly old and arthritic hand, eh?” “Uh, no, sir,” Variel said, nodding again just to be safe. “Where did you hide that? Armina was... investigating your pockets while you slept. She didn’t find it.” “Do you think I would hide it where anyone could find it?” Waern asked. “Give me some credit. I wouldn’t have bothered hiding the key to the building if I didn’t think you wouldn’t find it. If nothing else, I pride myself on a bit of sleight of hand, and making all sorts of things disappear... It's surprisingly useful in our business. Though admittedly, more for field-work than for paperwork.” Variel smiled a little and made a mental note. Perhaps after this was done, it might be a way to ingratiate himself with the boss here, learning a few coin tricks. "I see, sir. So… I suppose we will see you in the atrium soon.” “Soon enough,” Waern said with a shrug as he walked away. “But by all means, don’t wait for me to start. I intend to take my time this morning.” Day 4 has begun! It will end at 21:00 BST on Friday 20th. There is a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

Turn is over!

Night 3: Cast In Blood “Sir?” Someone shook him. He refused to budge, to acknowledge their existence. The darkness was cool, and quiet, and the wider world was not. “Sir, wake up.” He groaned and pushed the hand away, desperate for just another moment to recover from the lack of sleep last night. “Sir, we need you to be awake,” the voice said again, jolting him more harshly. He opened his eyes, ready to curse his awakener, and instead winced. The light was blinding, and Waern closed his eyes in futile protest. “What do you want?” he eventually said, forcing himself to keep his voice as calm as possible. “We’ve made a decision, sir,” Nickel said. “Variel and Straw are taking him to the chamber now.” “Oh, good.” Waern replied, wishing they’d just got on with it themselves. He hauled himself up, hands placed against the wall to steady himself. “Well… I suppose I’d better go and interrogate him… Who is it, anyway? Who do you think it is?” “Sart,” Cyfna said. “He’s been acting oddly lately. Could be something there.” “Could be,” Waern agreed. “And if it isn’t?” “At this point, sir, I think we’ve all accepted this is not going to be a clean victory,” Cyfna replied. “While some of us might be happier with this than others,” and at this, she spared a glare at Locke, “I don’t see any other way forward.” “No, that’s true,” Waern nodded. “Well, if Sart is a loyal servant of The Lord Ruler, then he should die happy, knowing that his death brings us one step closer to the truth.” He dusted his coat down and checked his belt for the dagger. Good, it was still there. He wasn’t going to leave it again, that was for certain. "The Final Empire was birthed in blood, and we must all be glad to give our own to let it continue." He rubbed the back of his neck, where it had gone stiff from how he was sitting. “Well, I suppose I’d better get to it,” he said. “Then I’m going to bed. And I don’t want to be disturbed tonight, you hear? Even if one of you is being murdered right outside my door and clawing the wood apart trying to get in, I’m not opening my bedroom door for anyone. I intend to sleep like the dead after this is done. Goodnight.” Sart was a Smoker! Sart (4): Locke (Orlok Tsubodai), Hadrian (Araris Valerian), Jaina (little wilson), Cyfna (Elbereth) Arranae (2): Sheon (Seonid), Sart Edguardo/Paranoid King (1): Alrin (Arinian), Pix (Lemonelon) Pix/Lemonelon (1): Edguardo/Paranoid King Night 3 has begun! It will end at 21:00 BST on Wednesday 18th. There is a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

Alea iacta est. No more PMs until the next Turn is up.

People should always read the rules when signing up for a game, even if they think the rules are simple and straightforward or as 'normal'. Seekers do not scan alignment in this game - What would they be scanning for to tell whether someone has taken a bribe or not? Seekers can only tell what Role someone has, including the Seer if they have not used all their atium up.

So the way that Parallel Lives and Anointed Procession work is that they are both replacement effects, that is, something which says 'if X would happen, do Y instead', where Y in this instance is '2*X', basically. Therefore what really happens is Parallel Lives sees the event X and replaces it with 2*X, and then Anointed Procession sees 2*X and replaces it with 2*(2*X), or 4*X. Replacement effects have a rule which states that each spell or ability can only modified once by a single replacement effect, so it doesn't loop to 2*2*2*2....*X though. It's the same reason as to why 'Thought Reflection' doesn't infinitely draw cards for you, but the fact that it's a single effect makes it more obvious. As for these two, Dunkum has stated the more common combo you see. Sprouting Phytohydra doesn't really do anything, since it has Defender, and it being a 0/2 means it would only take 2 damage before it dies, since it still takes the damage. You also need to figure out what the tokens even do for you in this deck other than exist. Phytohydra is by far the better of the two to combo with, since it won't die from the damage and instead has a replacement effect (oh look! :P) which changes the damage for counters. Generally speaking though, the combo is fairly slow, and you're better off with something like Blasphemous Act instead to do 13 to someone's face with Stuffy Doll, Spitemare and/or Boros Reckoner. There is a general 'Enrage' style deck though, which is quite fun to play in casual. For example, this is one I have on Cockatrice:

Certainly worth spending some time over, when there's a potential like that!

It's actually growing more and more popular every year. The print run size now dwarfs that of ten years ago, and that in turn is huge compared to Unlimited (and that's even if we ignore cards obtained on MTGO, the official online client to play the game). MtG's entering into its 25th year of release this year, and keeps getting more and more players, despite the admittedly shakey year it's had. If there are some cards from unlimited, might be worth having a look at this site, see if there's anything in there that might be worth selling if they're in good condition. I'd definitely sleeve anything you find along these lines even if you don't sell them.

'Create' is a new shorthand term that they introduced in Kaladesh, long after Parallel Lives was created. It means 'put [a token] onto the battlefield', so you're right that they're kind of the same thing, but 'Create' specifically refers to tokens; it's still templated as 'put onto the battlefield' for cards. So actually, Parallel Lives and Anointed Procession are the exact same card, just in different colours. You can see the Oracle text on the above links to confirm this. The good news about this is that if you are playing Green and White in Commander, you can have an extra copy of the effect, or even gain access to it even if you're not running Green :D. I've been to an Ixalan prerelease, where I won at 2HG with a random stranger I met there :D. Hopefully going out later to play EDH, first time I get to try the C17 Vampire deck, which has a number of fun cards from Ixalan included. I'm really glad we finally have Vampires in White, I've always said that their cruel authoritarianism would be a perfect fit for the colour. Overall, it looks like a fun and level set, if a bit on the lower end of the power scale. I'm hoping to build a cube for it for my friends and I to play online, but it looks like it really needs Rivals to make it work between all the tribes, sad to say.

Day 3: Canton Tea Party Waern wiped the sweat and some of the blood off his brow as he placed his instruments in a bucket of water to soak. He watched the still-wet blood swirl in the warm water for a moment, before realising he was dozing off, lost in the mesmerising patterns it was producing. It was late, and he was tired. He left the chamber and started locking up. There was nothing particularly dangerous or useful in there, but it was usually best to stop people stumbling on the room accidentally in the dark. They could injure themselves quite badly if they knocked over the bucket and stood on the tools, after all. He had just turned the key in the lock when he heard the cry for help. Immediately he broke into a run, heading to help the source. It was only when he found the cloaked figure withdrawing their knife (was that metal or obsidian? He couldn’t tell what material it was made from in the dark) from Eobard’s throat. Waern’s hand went to his belt, only to realise that he had taken his coat off in the torture chamber, and neglected to put it back on when he left. And now it was locked away. The figure watched his hand, and when they realised he was defenceless, they started to advance. Waern, for his part, started to retreat, a step for a step. Then the deadlock was broken, and he turned and ran. Cowardly perhaps, but Waern had always believed that discretion was the better part of valour. Besides, after being banished to this godforsaken place, Waern had very little pride remaining. He turned a corner, footsteps beating down on the stone floor in time with the footsteps of his pursuer some distance away. His sudden movement had given him some space, but not enough that he could sneak away from them without them knowing. He turned into another passageway, and then disaster – it was a dead end. Hurriedly, he grabbed the first doorknob and tried to open it. He gave up quickly, as it was apparent it was locked. He tried the next one, which was open. He flung himself through the door and slammed it shut. There was a key in the lock, so he turned it. Only then did he allow himself to breath and see which room he had escaped into. “Sir, this is a surprise,” Jaina said. “Of course, you’re more than welcome to join us, I’ve always said that to everyone, but I never thought anyone would actually take me up on it. But still, as I say, happy to have you here with us, there’s enough for everyone. Please, have a seat.” She gestured opposite her. Waern blinked and didn’t move. Jaina had changed out of the dour Obligator uniform they were required to wear, and was now wearing a light-coloured long sundress, with a matching wide-brimmed sunhat. She sat on the floor, presumably because Joe had broken all the chairs in the building, and in front of her was a table with three china cups on it, as well as a plate with biscuits. “...Us?” Waern said, knowing that was really not the question he wanted to ask, but it was the only one he was able to think of at the moment. “Yes-” Jaina said, before frowning and looking to the side of the table and then under it, and finally checking the pocket of her Obligator coat. “Oh, your loud entrance scared her into hiding. Well, it will just have to be us for a little bit, but I’m sure that’s fine.” “Right...” Waern nodded, though he wasn’t quite sure why. A strong smell of alcohol hit his nose, and he frowned. “Is that… That’s not tea in those cups, is it?” Jaina shook her head. “Unfortunately we seem to have run out of tea, so I have had to make do.” “Make do… with what?” “Whiskey,” she said, a small grin on her face. “It was the first thing I could find. Now are you going to sit down? It’s very rude and distracting, having you stand there like that. You loom, sir. Or you do when you’re standing and I’m not, anyway. Please sit and have a biscuit.” Waern didn’t immediately respond. Instead he crouched down, took the key out of the lock, and looked through the keyhole. An eye stared back at him, and he hurriedly jammed the key back in the lock, hoping that would at least scare his attacker. He turned back to the tea party, or rather whiskey party, apparently, and considered his options. Dealing with this madness, or death. Perhaps he was already mad, considering death seemed the more enticing of the two. He massaged his temple and slowly came to a decision. “I’ll stay,” he said, and hating himself for it. “Good!” Jaina smiled, removing the stopper from the glass bottle that was slightly out of his view, and pouring a third cup as full as one would normally fill it with tea. “Just have a seat over there, and I’ll introduce you...” When his Obligators turned up for the meeting the next day, they found a Waern with great black bags under his bloodshot eyes, wincing at the sound of every footstep. His face was pale and his gaze was unfocused. “Hehe,” Jaina giggled a little from a corner of the room, where she had sat down to stop the walls spinning so much. “He looks like a panda.” Waern grunted. “Tell me later who you think it is. You guys talk for a bit. For The Lord Ruler’s sake though, keep it down.” He leaned against the wall behind him and slid down until he was sitting against it. “I’m going to try and catch up on some sleep." He closed his eyes and folded his arms. "Wake me if you need me.” Eobard (Steeldancer) was a Lurcher! Day 3 has begun! It will end at 21:00 BST on Tuesday 15th. There is a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

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Confusion. They have very similar names, so best to refer to them as their full name to avoid ambiguity. Fixing that now.

Night 2: No Easy Chair “We,” Waern said to them all, “have a problem.” “What would that be, sir?” Eobard asked as he started to shift some of the wooden rubble with Marsh’s help. “This skaa is not just a spy, but also seems to be no better than a common thief,” Waern spat. “They have practically emptied our vaults. At least, I’m hoping it’s them, and not one of you.” “I’d be impressed by that,” Marsh chuckled as he tossed aside a broken chair leg. “Where would they put all those coins, in their trousers? It’s obvious, just check if anyone’s wandering around with them round their ankles!” “That is not what they stole,” Waern replied, through gritted teeth. “We also had money in the form of atium within the vault. They stole – as far as I can tell – None of the coinage, but practically all of our wealth.” “...Ah,” Marsh said, pausing as he dislodged more of the wood. “Yeah, that’s a bit different then, sir.” “Quite. There are a few possibilities here, but I think it seems odd to take what would be obviously incriminating evidence from the vault. Wherever they might hide it, if we can trace it back to them… No, I don’t think this is about material wealth. I believe they have stolen it because they can use it.” “You think they’re Mistborn?” Locke scoffed. “A skaa Mistborn?” “No, I didn’t say that.” Waern said. “That is such a remote possibility that I don’t think it is worth considering. Besides, I feel that if any of you were Mistborn, we would have discovered that secret after as many years. No, I believe them to be a Misting that can burn atium – a Seer. It’s rare that Seers discover what they are, since atium is expensive and the higher ups in this place tend to keep them close to our chest. However, it would not be impossible for such a secret to be discovered in this place. Everything points towards this possibility.” “So does that make them dangerous?” Davus asked. “If they can only burn atium, I mean. It’s not like they’re a Pewterarm or a Coinshot.” “Of course it does,” Locke said. “There’s a reason why the Great Houses live and die by the metal in Luthadel. Doesn’t matter who or what you are, if you face a Mistborn who has access to atium, even if they’re out of their other metals, you’re going to have a bad time.” “It is as Locke says,” Waern nodded. “Regardless of them not being Mistborn, regardless of some of you being Mistings, the Seer is by far and away the most dangerous person in this room. The worst part is that we don’t even know how many beads they have access to – We have a rough idea, but they may have had their own stash, and merely wished to supplement it.” He shook his head. “Regardless, you are informed now of the situation. Use that information as you will.” “Now then,” he continued, “you’ve all had a day to think about this. Which of you do you think is a spy?” “It’s suspicious that Joe was wandering around out here last night,” Sart said. “I think if we look anywhere, it should be at him.” “Him?” Waern asked. “I saw him last Night, he’s not the one who stole from the vault.” “Yes sir, and once again I apologise for the damage done to the furniture,” Joe said as Eobard and Marsh pulled him out from underneath and stood him to his feet. “Unless he was working for them, or had someone else steal for him,” Mira said. “Good point,” Waern nodded. “Wait, what?” Joe asked, as Eobard and Marsh’s hands suddenly held a tighter grip on him. “Good work capturing him, you two," Waern grinned. "Now take him to the chambers. I’ll be along shortly.” A Joe in the Bush was a Rioter! A Joe in the Bush (2): Sart, Mira/Frozen Mint Eobard/Steeldancer (1): Straw Jondesu (1): Edguardo/Paranoid King Mira/Frozen Mint (1): Armina/Arranae Cyfna/Elbereth (1): Droughtbringer Sart (1): Hadrian/Araris Valerian Night two has begun! It will end at 21:00 BST on Sunday 15th. There is a Tineye alive, so PMs may be continue to be sent. Players Quick Links:

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