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pokemonmtgcube · 6 years

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Welcome back to the Pokemon Cube! After a several-week break, we are finally ready to begin posting again. When last we left, I was struggling with the problem of how to handle a design problem: Rock and Ground behave mostly like RB and GW, but there are some examples of them each acting like the other which create some flavor issues. And I think I have finally solved it! If you’re interested, keep on reading. If not, once again, welcome back!

So I was struggling with my two options of changing Ground to RB or leaving it as GW and all of the compromises that would come with that decision, when I had a realization: If there are going to be sacrifices with either choice, why not make a new choice? I have a recurring mechanic that Maro calls “threshold 1″ which checks whether you control “another Rock or Ground permanent”, and then provides a bonus if you do. I didn’t include Steel in the check because of text space and because Steel always felt like the odd man out of Ground and Rock. It was added a generation after, and the Gen 1 Rock types Geodude, Rhyhorn, and Onix were all Rock and Ground, so the two types almost felt connected, like part of the same whole.

My mechanic which checked whether you had a “Rock or Ground permanent” is a reference to the video game abilities which trigger when a Sandstorm is active. Since I didn’t want a whole mechanic around checking whether you managed to both draft and play 1 card out of 720, I expanded it to checking for any permanent of the proper type. Then, because Ground creatures had the effect as often as Rock, I added “or Ground” for the above reasons, and so GW decks wouldn’t be incentivized to always splash Red or Black.

Anyway, long story short, this showed me that I was treating Rock and Ground as separate as Ghost and Bug when that really isn’t the case, they share a ton of overlap. This meant that by loosening my restrictions a little, I could create Rock and Ground cards which are primarily RB or GW, but occasionally flip into the other type’s colors. Since the main mechanics check for Ground or Rock, it shouldn’t even affect deckbuilding that much.

The images above show my current versions of each card, after the “Ground/Rock Epiphany”, Ground was in fact changed primarily to RB (Rakdos) and Rock was changed to GW (Selesnya). Sandstorm still seemed better in RB due to direct damage feeling like the best translation of the effect. Mudsdale also felt better in GW, since a bunch of +1/+1 counters didn’t fit RB as well.

Landorus actually has the same effect as before, but makes much more sense in RB. Groudon is now no longer an “exception” but fits normally into Red. Regirock stays in RB to complete the cycle with the other Regi’s. The starter cycle of Infernape, Torterra, and Empoleon used to be monocolored creatures with activated for RG, GW, and 1U, but getting +1/+1 didn’t work mechanically for RB, so I changed each of the starters to be costed for their dual types, and activate for their monotypes.

Finally, Lunatone and Solrock. These two became complex because Psychic and Rock originally overlapped in Grixis. While the new shake-up seemed problematic for that balance, I think it actually worked out for the best. They both used to have “next turn” effects that had memory issues, so I changed them to exert effects instead, which I’ve used on several other creatures to represent a time delay or recharging. I also solved the “direct damage with a Grass effect” problem by having Solrock punch the other creatures with its power, which is a bit of a bend but not as bad as dealing the damage directly.

Whew! Well with that finally done, I am mostly comfortable with where the cube has ended up. It’s gone through tons of iteration, and it doesn’t look like Ultra Sun/Moon will be changing that much, but I’ll create a post about it next week! See y’all then!

#ground #rock #pokemon #pokemonmtg #cube #custom cards #magic the gathering

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theedblog · 7 years

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Helllooooo y’all. The second edition of my division by division 2017 season preview is here. Still on the west coast but the slightly more mid-west version of the other west coast division. Also it’s much better. Way better. This is such a weird division. It’s a Paxton Lynch or Trevor Siemian getting good..or even decent at football away from having three Super Bowl contenders (assuming Tom Brady and probably Jimmy Garoppolo both cease to exist before the season starts). You also have the Chargers. We always forget about the Chargers. How is that? Phillip Rivers is the best quarterback in the division (I guess, right? ehhh..). They’re located in the second largest market in America. And we forget about this team. Their powder blues are the coolest uniforms in football and we just blank on who the fourth team in the AFC West is. I think I’d rather be a Browns fan than a Chargers fan. At least that way I’d get excited about a third place finish in the division. It feels like the Chargers haven’t been relevant in years and yet I get a feeling their fans feel like they are or at least should be and they have a shot every year. Sounds fucking miserable....anyway...yeah..AFC West preview.

All AFC West Crew:

QB - Derek Carr, Raiders

RB - Melvin Gordon, Chargers

TE - Travis Kelce, Chiefs

WR - Amari Cooper, Raiders

WR - Demaryius Thomas, Broncos

FLX - Tyreke Hill, Chiefs

OL - Kelechi Osemele, Raiders

OL - Gabe Jackson, Raiders

OL - Rodney Hudson, Raiders

OL - Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff, Chiefs

OL - Matt Paradis, Broncos

DL - Von Miller - Broncos

DL - Khalil Mack - Raiders

DL - Joey Bosa - Chargers

DL - Chris Jones - Chiefs

LB - Jatavis Brown - Chargers

LB - Bruce Irvin - Raiders

LB - Dee Ford - Chiefs

DB - Aqib Talib - Broncos

DB - Chris Harris - Broncos

DB - Marcus Peters - Chiefs

DB - Eric Berry - Chiefs

Offensive Player of the Year - Derek Carr, QB - Raiders

Defensive Player of the Year - Von Miller, DL - Broncos

Rookie of the Year - Garrett Bolles, OL - Broncos

Breakout Player of the Year - Chris Jones, DL - Chiefs

Comeback Player of the Year - Mario Edwards, DL - Raiders

New Comer of the Year - Marshawn Lynch, RB - Raiders

The All-AFC West Defense team was all about new guys. I love me some Justin Houston, Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, etc.. but looking at how these players are trending compared to those like Dee Ford, Jatavis Brown, Chris Jones, etc.. and couldn’t help but feel like the times are a changin’. In the secondary you still have the Broncos’ CBs. I thought about taking one out and adding one of the Chargers’ CBs. Chris Harris is a lock but Casey Heyward and Jason Verrett over Aqib Talib was a thought. Those guys are both younger but I still went with Talib because he can cover bigger TEs that usually create big match up problems for teams. The offense was a little tougher. There wasn’t an obvious choice for RB. You know I wanted to pick Skittles but I think he, like Jamaal Charles over in Denver, are going to contribute but are a little past their prime. There’s also Spencer Ware and he’s fine. But that’s about it. Melvin Gordon is the only RB is the division I can see that represents a ton of potential. He showed it last year too before he got hurt. The WRs in this division are also a little tough to pick. I think Tyreke Hill looks more like a pure WR this year than a trick play guy and Amari Cooper could be a top tier guy. The third option was a little tougher. Demayrius Thomas, Michael Crabtree, Manny Sanders, Keenan Allen...I went with Thomas. They all have their issues but he’s the most proven out of the gang and has the best run-after-catch ability which lessens his dependence on other factors. Not a great division for offensive tackles but their are a bunch of good interior O-linemen.

Offensive Player of the Year in this division wasn’t close. Defensive Player of the Year though...Von Miller and Khalil Mack are, in my opinion, two of the five best defenders in football. I also believe Khalil Mack is the slightly better player. That doesn’t always matter though. I think Oakland is thin at linebacker and Khalil Mack has to take his hand out of the dirt and do some dirty work. Von Miller will be going balls to the wall after all the quarterbacks this year. So basically I think Mack will end up with MVP tape but the state sheet will have more sacks under Von Miller’s name and that’s what will end up mattering more. Joey Bosa could also put together an Defensive MVP type of year. He has that type of potential but until it’s more than that I can’t vote him over Miller or Mack.

This isn’t a great division for rookies. I don’t really see a guy who’s really going to make a huge impact for KC or LA this year. Oakland has a few guys that will play and may be pretty good. Gareon Conley and Obi Melifonwu should help out in the secondary while Marquel Lee and Eddie Vanderoes are penciled in as starters in the front seven. Butt Denver getting a day one starter on a O-line that was pretty bad last year should be the biggest impact.

Living in Northwest Arkansas I saw a lot of Chiefs games last year so I saw a lot of Chris Jones. I was pretty surprised when I went a looked at his 2016 stats. They were pretty minimal. Obviously a defensive lineman like him can have a big impact without a ton of stats but still...it felt like he was always blowing guys up and getting in the backfield. This year I think the numbers match the film and he could sniff double digit sacks and grab a bunch of tackles for loss and pass deflections.

Mario Edwards never actually hit that point that I couldn’t also make him a candidate for Breakout Player but this is more about the potential as a thunder/lightning kinda duo he was forming with Khalil Mack before his injury.

The best new comer to the division was between two veteran RBs, Jamaal Charles and Marshawn Lynch. They will both be part of a committee of decent RBs but Skittles will likely be the bell cow while Charles will probably be more of a change of pace/third down back to CJ Anderson’s early/short yardage role.

All in all, this isn’t an easy division to predict. The Broncos could win it with even decent QB play. Their defense is going to be that good. The Chiefs are what the Broncos would like with a decent QB. However, when it all wraps up I think the Raiders take this division.

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