Magic The Gathering: My Story

My love of collectable card games began at seventeen when I was first introduced to Magic: The Gathering, this is my story:

I had been gaming for years with Battletech on Friday nights and Dungeons and Dragons every Sunday afternoon being my games of choice.  One Sunday our second edition D&D group got together as we usually did however this Sunday it seemed like no one was really interested in adventuring through Ravenloft and that is when it began.

One of our party members reached into his bag and produced two decks of cards.

Upon inspection the cards were smooth to the touch, had a glossy finish and contained some of the most breathtaking art I had ever seen.  During the next three hours the five people sitting at that table took turns playing with those same two decks of cards and my personal addiction was born.

Within two weeks I had purchased multiple packs of cards and had designed three playable decks with my Red & Black deck being my pride and joy.  Our Sunday afternoon games quickly became our Sunday afternoon Magic games (until our Dungeon Master put a stop to that).

Within a month of my first introduction to MTG I was in need of more compilation, so much like it had happened previously, I introduced my Friday night Battletech group to this amazing new game with surprisingly similar results.

Out of a group of four Battletech players I had recruited three new Magic: The Gathering players and had greatly increased my available competition in the process.

The Friday night Battletech games quickly took a back seat to the Friday Night Magic games.

When we played, we all played to win which inspired some fierce and aggressive rivalries in the process.  Each week someone was sure to arrive with a newly designed deck or a slightly re-tuned deck with the intentions of putting everyone else to shame that particular week.

This fact kept us all slightly poor as we were always buying cards in an attempt to "One Up" everyone else.....

With that fact in mind it should have come as no surprise when our group started burning out and we went back to playing Battletech, everyone had tired of Magic: The Gathering.  We still played the odd game once in awhile, but nothing like before.

Eventually people started cashing out and selling off their cards, myself included, but my story didn't end there.  For sometime I was sure I would never play again, I had an amazing collection of mint cards that I'd sold off so why would I ever go back?  Friendship!

Eight years ago I got a call from an old friend whom I use to play against, he was getting some people together at his place for a one day game, a booster draft, and he wanted me to come.  At first I resisted the temptation but I was weak and in need of a good game so I relented and went - it was one time so it couldn't hurt, could it???

Eight years have passed and I have amassed an even larger collection of cards then before, partially because I introduced my wife to Magic: The Gathering and much like before I crafted another addiction!

We don't play as often as we once did but we still play and I've reassembled some of our original group just to keep it interesting.

The competition is intense, old habits die hard after all.....

 

Service, Regret and Remorse in Alexandria

"What's wrong with Daryl?"

While watching this weeks episode of The Walking Dead with a family member I was asked that question.  

My response was simple 

"Daryl has been broken by guilt and remorse"

So then they asked:

"What about Rick?"

"Rick?" I said,  "Rick has been turned into a giant puss"

This statement might seem harsh but I honesty believe it's accurate.  Daryl is understandable - he is emotionally broken by the belief that Glenn's death is on his hands.  Further to that is Father Gabriel leading Negan to believe that Maggie is dead, one more thing to drive Daryl's guilt. 

Rick however has lost his will to fight through fear of what could happen - hence he has given up.

How long will it be before Rick's people give up on him?

We are now four weeks into season seven and after the shocking start to the season we were given two weeks of drama, the ability to catch up with various characters, but now it seems we are finally moving forward with the theme of season seven as Negan came to Alexandria to deliver service with a smile!

As the Saviors knocked on the front gate a lone walker sought to attack the group so Negan selflessly and heroically crushed it's skull with no concern for his own Well-being.  The tribute he demanded for his protection was simply half of everything they had.  Furniture, mattresses, guns and medicine, he wanted it!  

Making a tense situation worse was Carl who took a shot at one of Negans people - prompting Negan to spare his life BUT now demanding all of the guns instead.  Believing he had no choice Rick agreed, however when two weapons where confirmed missing it was made clear that Olivia would be the one to pay the price.

Frantically Rick made a plea to his people - turn over the missing guns before Olivia's time ran out. It was at this point we realized Rick's people had already begun to lose faith in him.

That didn't take long!

Eventually the guns were located, along with food and alcohol in Spencer's home - this would later lead to a confrontation between Rick and Spencer.  Negan would take what he came for and as he was preparing to leave Rick asked if Daryl could stay, Negan suggested that if Daryl wanted to stay then maybe Daryl should speak up, try and sway Negan to allow it.

Daryl said nothing.

As they were leaving Negan informed Rick that when he came back they had better have something "Interesting" for him or one of Rick's people would surely die!

Rick would later tell Michonne that he had always known Judith was not his daughter but that he loves her and accepts her as his daughter just the same.  Rick also confirmed that he was afraid of losing more people - he wants to watch Judith grow old.

The common theme seems to be the numbers game, Rick is worried that his people can never stand against the Saviors based on pure numbers.  What he has yet to realize is that at his core Negan is a bully who is being allowed to have his way.

Cut the head off the snake and the snake dies!

Had the residents of Alexandria taken the fight to Negan and his people as soon as they set foot within the towns walls then I'd venture to say things would have gone much differently.

As part of setting the tone for what is to come for the remainder of season seven:

As Negan was leaving he asked Rick if he had anything to say, Rick offered a reluctant thank you referring to the fact that no blood had been spilled, Negan laughed and responded with "I just slid my dick down your throat and you thanked me!"  

How long will it be?  How long will it be before an all out confrontation begins and who will get the ball rolling?  Personally I'm betting on Maggie being the one to rise up and seek her revenge but I'd also love to hear what you think.

Either comment below or head over to our CanGeek website were you will find links to our social media feeds - let us know what you think.

Our True Heroes

I love my comics and my comic book heroes, especially the DC superheros, but I know in my heart who the true heroes are.

Like so many others my family has had a proud history of military service.

Growing up I regularly heard stories of my grandfather on my fathers side,  William Thomas was career British military and served on the German front during the first world War.  Upon suffering a shrapnel related injury his service was over, thankfully he survived but it would ultimately claim his life a few short years later as the injury created other health related complications.

My father was less than two years old at the time and would openly admit that he had few memories of his dad.

My mother's father served during the second world war however we know very little of his 

service.  Alexander Malcolm was a happy and joyful Scotsmen but if questioned about his wartime activities the joy quickly left him as he politely declined to comment.

Such is the way of true heroes - they do what must be done not for praise but because it is the right thing to do. 

My families story is no different then that of the many other families with military heritage, the pride we feel for those who came before drives us on word, my fathers eldest brother served in the Navy during world war II as did other members of his extended family, I've often wondered if my grandfathers service lead to those choices. 

My pride comes from the simple knowledge that if not for the continued willingness of military personal to put themselves in harms way and potentially make the ultimate sacrifice, we would not enjoy the rights and freedoms we do today.

From playing board games and video games to cosplay and reading our favorite literature, I have to believe that the world would be a much different and a less tolerant place had Adolf Hitler and the German army been the victors at the conclusion of 1945.  Had Bin Laden not been neutralized he would have continued to stage attacks world wide, many more lives would have been lost.

Such is the reality of the world we live in - there will always be those intent on doing harm to others, but there will always be those ready to serve, to protect our right to be free.

So as we acknowledge the true heroes this remembrance day, please take a moment to consider what your life would be like if not for them, the sons and daughters and mothers and fathers who leave their families behind in order to defend and protect all the families of our global community.

Lest we forget.

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Welcome To Earth - Leave Your Bias At Home

I have said it time and again,  DC should stop wasting their time with feature length films and focus on prime time television, because at this point DC truly owns that time slot!

Thus far this season of the CW's Supergirl has just continued to prove my point.  From the introduction of Tyler Hoechlin as Superman, to this past Monday when Lynda Carter was introduced as President Oliva Marsdin, the casting for this series has been fantastic!

But my opinion goes far beyond casting, through the writers this show has been willing to tackle some tough topics and has done so in an thought provoking manner.

Welcome To Earth which is the third episode of season two began the character development of Mon-EL after his arrival in the season one finale.  Mon-EL is the last survivor of the plant Daxam, a sister moon to Krypton which was turned into a wasteland following Krypton's destruction.

Mon-EL had been in a comatose state up until now but upon waking up he fleas the DEO, most likely out of fear,  and becomes the subject of a city wide manhunt having been labeled "Dangerous" by the powers that be.  Meanwhile the President of the United States arrives in National City to sign the "Alien Amnesty" act, a law intended to give all illegal aliens the same rights as any other American citizen.  Unfortunately not ever alien views this new law in a positive light, with some viewing it as an attempt to expose and track the alien population.

One such alien sets out to eliminate the President before such a law can be set in motion.

After the first attempt on the Presidents life, J'onn goes on record as disagreeing with this bold act, he states that having lived both as a black man and an alien among humans that humanity is not ready to accept the differences of others.

Meanwhile Kara is so blinded by her distrust of the now absent Mon-EL that she immediately assumes he is responsible for the attempts on the President and enlists Winn to help track down and imprison Mon-EL once and for all.

While Kara is searching for her rogue Daxamite Alex takes another approach with the help of National City Police Detective Maggie Sawyer, another new character played by Floriana Lima. Together they investigate a private drinking hole known to be frequented by aliens, at least according to Maggie.  Maggie admits to having known of the alien presence and the existence of the DEO for quite some time and states that for a Lesbian from a small town she has always felt like she could relate more to aliens then to humans.  Alex holds a different opinion, she states that beyond her sister, Superman and J'onn J'onzz there are few trustworthy aliens to be found.

Kara and Winn are eventually successful in finding Mon-EL who is at the National City observatory desperately trying to send a distress call to Daxam.  After a physical altercation Kara is able to return Mon-EL to a DEO holding cell were he states his innocence and ultimately the shared bias of to former enemy races began to come to light.

Kara is now convinced that with Mon-EL imprisoned that all is right with the world again, that is until another attack takes place against the President.  Now having to accept that Mon-EL was not involved, Maggie, Alex, and Kara set out to find the real perpetrator and are once again exposed to the prejudices of an alien who, like J'onn, believes mankind while never accept that which they do not understand.

In the end Kara must set aside her personal bias, she  releases Mon-EL and break the news of Daxam's fate to him.  Meanwhile J'onn J'onzz, the last Martian goes to investigate  an alien refuge, the private bar Maggie introduced Alex too, and comes face to face with another alien in hiding - M'gann M'orzz the last daughter of Mars.

This most recent episode of Supergirl was ripe with the unfortunate bias that seems to be inherent in humanity as a species.  The shows writers did a impressive job of communicating this through the narrative and in the end gave us all something to think about.

This is the type of storytelling that will continue to bring me back week after week,

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The Walking dead - The Breaking of Rick Grimes?

"Eeni meeni miini moe"  how many episodes does Negan have to go?

When season six ended fans where left to question who was the unfortunate recipient of the beating from Negan and Lucille?

Now that season seven has begun we know that it was in fact two of the members of 'Team Rick" that have left the show with the systematic murders of both Abraham and Glenn.

This horrifying event was followed by a powerful statement by Rick who promised that one day he would kill Negan.  In response Negan then drove off with Rick to began the methodical breaking of his spirit which concluded with a simple threat,  either Rick was to cut Carl's arm off with an axe or Negan would kill them all!

This scene concluded with Daryl being taken hostage and an injured Maggie out to seak her revenge.

Tonight's episode was a powerful season premiere with the surprising departure of not one but two cast members.  This has brought us two questions,  how long does Negan have before Rick truly seeks retribution?  OR has Rick truly been broken?

Head over to our Facebook page and let us know what you think comes next!

Thanks for reading.

Going GEEK: October 14th - October 16th

If you live within or relativity close to the Greater Toronto Area this is a great weekend to be a
geek!  With multiple events taking place your biggest challenge might be finding the time and money to take in these outstanding events.

1.  Unplugged Expo:

Celebrating their fifth anniversary & featuring a lineup of guests from multiple genres, Unplugged Expo is a little bit cosplay, a little bit nostalgia and a lot geek!  The staff strive to maintain your level of excitement from the moment you arrive.

Featured events include but are not limited to the YTV Zone PJ reunion, the Harry Potter: Room Of Requirement, the Masters Of Cosplay competition, Unplugged singing idol,  and Just Dance 2016 dance off.

Unplugged Expo is being held at the Weston Harbor Castle hotel on October 15th and 16th with tickets ranging in price from $10.00 to $35.00 plus applicable taxes.  For a complete list of events and guests head over to the Unplugged Expo website.

2. LEGO Imagination Nation Tour:

Concluding a tour which began in June with stops in Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, the LEGO Imagination Nation event roles into the Metro Toronto Convention Center from October 14th to October 16th.

From diving into a pit of LEGO bricks or going hands on with the latest and greatest in LEGO Video Games including LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens and LEGO Dimensions this event promises to have something for every LEGO enthusiast.

This event also boasts your opportunity to meet one of only seven people to be certified as a LEGO Master Builder in the world, this is your opportunity to learn from a true LEGO master.

With a general admission ticket valued at $28.50 plus applicable taxes this seems like a can't miss event for the entire family.  Head over to the LEGO Imagination Nation Tour website for all the details.

3.  Oshawa Comic-Con:

We love our small regional shows, they don't seem to get lost in their own hype and the vendors aren't fighting to make up the costs of overpriced tables by super inflating prices.  

One such show is the Oshawa Comic-Con held at the Harmony Creek Community and Events

center.  We've had the opportunity to attend this show a few times now and have found the staff and the vendors to be friendly and outgoing folks who are attending as much out of a sense of enjoyment as they are for financial gain.

This one day event which is presented by Pop Culture Canada runs from 10:00am until 4:00pm with a completely reasonable $5.00 admission per person.  For more details we recommend visiting the Oshawa Comic-Con Facebook events page.

As always thanks for reading and remember to visit the CanGeek website for links to our various social media feeds.

 

Glow Swords Unite Generations

"If Dad likes it than it can't be chill!"

As a father of two I sometimes find it a challenge to develop common ground with my boys.

I'm not old, not by any stretch,  but even if I was in my sixties what is age?  It's merely a number used by society to define the time you've put in and experience you've gained.

One such place that I've attempted to achieve a measure of common ground with my kids is in our shared love of Star Wars!  So when I was introduced to Glow Sword Battle Toronto last year (formerly the Toronto Lightsaber Battle) it truly felt like the will of the force!

Administrated by Newmindspace this is a free all-ages event were the only costs you are responsible for are your personal lightsabers. 

My eldest son who was twelve at the time was not an easy sell, he couldn't imagine a group of people with Lightsabers battling it out in the dark representing any measure of fun, so he stayed home.  My youngest son was nine at the time and he was all over this, so together we went into the darkness armed only with our glowing swords and when we emerged into the light we had become a little closer and had a fantastic evening of fun!

Over the past twelve months my older son has come to realize just what he missed out on last October so together this year we will all converge on Glow Sword Battle Toronto 2016 ready to defeat our foes!

That is after all the magic of fandom,  Finding shared interests with others in order to develop not only common ground but also friendships and memories that endure the test of time.

Should you be interested in learning more about this event check out the Event Page and as always remember to follow us on our CanGeek Community Page.

Thanks for reading!