"Are you sure he won't just... You know, eat me on the spot?" Jazmyn gulped, trying to keep pace with the younger woman in front of her, "In my experience thus far, talking dragons have not kindly received 'visitors'."

Narset stopped and turned, although she did not laugh her smile was warm and full of mirth at her fellow planeswalker's trepidation.

Narset was younger, yet still just a little taller than the fox, radiant in her golden attire, decorated with blue and white robes that flowed just as long as her dark hair.

http://www.magicspoiler.com/wp-cont.....aneswalker.png

Jazmyn couldn't help but feel a little flustered in comparison, garbed in a drab green tunic they had procured from a Dromokan trader along the Salt Roads, dust and sand and muck clinging to her.

Not that she was ungrateful to the trader, that there were other canids on this plane Jazmyn was relieved, having welcomed Jazmyn and Narset long enough to refresh themselves and set Jazmyn's broken arm in her current cast curiously made out of dragonscales - which Narset kept reminding Jazmyn not to fuss with.

It was Narset's cool, calm beauty that seemed ethereal, unworldly, entranced by those deep blue eyes Jazmyn had followed if only to keep the other Planeswalker's company a little while longer.

"...Yasimin?"

Jazmyn shook her head, realising Narset was speaking to her, rolling her head around the new variation of her name on this world.

"Sorry," Jazmyn managed, "Just, a lot to take in still."

Narset's smile lost none of its warmth, "Then take comfort, was it not yourself who said He appeared before you once already?"

Jazmyn adjusted her pace, careful of the cold slab steps they had been climbing for what had seemed ages, "Yes, but, not really... I mean, it was fleeting, he appeared and then, just, kind of flew off.

"It was just chance, you know?"

Narset stopped once more, now positioned at a hidden door, her hand gripped on some mechanism Jazmyn couldn't quite make out, "In this world, Yasimin?

"There are no coincidences."

Narset opened the doorway and beckoned the vixen through. With no small amount of second thoughts she stepped through and into blinding daylight once more.

It was the wind more than the light that caught Jazmyn off guard after hours in the caverns winding tunnels. All around her the wind pushed and pulled, her eyes watering as she fought for balance.

Yet finally as she opened her eyes she could take it all in, stood upon a high and mighty plateau, staring down at the dozens of towers that jutted out of the snow dusted the mountainside, winding their way along the path of waterfalls into a great and glistening lake.

And everywhere around her, Jazmyn could see the dragons of Tarkir. As far as the eye could see the dragons flew, the snow-white dragons prominence evident in every piece of the temples activities: many watching over the legions of monks at training and work; others directly helping as they dove into the lakes and back up to deliver shoals of fish to waiting nets; even the temples themselves seemed designed with the dragons in mind, as many would land to take perch on the overhanging rooks from every side of the alabaster towers.

Becoming quickly aware that Narset was watching her, Jazmyn struggled to collect herself, clearing her throat, "It- it's beautiful here, Narset. Spectacular even."

Narset just smiled and nodded, but her eyes were tilted in another direction. Taking hint, Jazmyn turned to follow her gaze, nearly taking a start as her head was forced to pull straight back to look up at the massive form stationary above them.

His wings and scales were smooth and curved as soft as a bird of prey's down feathers, His pristine white hide decorated in a red and regal crest, His eyes closed and clawed palms clasped in serene thought. Yet slowly the eyes opened, calmly taking in the two much smaller forms before Him.

He spoke, but not in a way Jazmyn expected, a sing-song trill escaped the dragon's throat, strong, yet cooing and soothing at the same time.

Narset remained still despite the high winds, bowing slowly, "The Great Teacher Ojutai welcomes you, Yasimin, Pilgrim of Worlds."

http://blog.mtgprice.com/wp-content.....hase-Stone.jpg

Ojutai bowed slowly upon his perch, and Jazmyn dumbfounded, could only rush to return the gesture.

"I... Thank you," Jazmyn looked between Ojutai and Narset as she rose, not sure whom to address, "But... Forgive me for asking, why have I been invited here?"

The great dragon craned his neck downward at the fox, answering only in the same draconian tongue. As Ojutai would speak, Narset would listen, then turn to Jazmyn to translate once more.

"Ojutai states that he has much to discuss with you.

"And many great matters of importance."



~~~~~~~

So! Now you've hit this point you may wanna turn back, lol, from here on in, this is all Magic geekery, so, yeah, expect tons of jibberish if you wanna sit and read this all XD

Now that I've indulged a little, yesterday was Game Day, and after feeling crummy all week - with no further word from our social worker and the newest injury and all - I finally decided to go and try to have fun.

I'd been trying to figure out what to play with for weeks and recent matters had certainly been more prioritised over magic that it all became pretty last minute.

Okay, quick explain, playing Magic isn't too dissimilar to most Sandbox tactical games, you need to build up resources - mana - of varying types to cast your spells and summon your allied creatures before you, as such, entire games are fought and won by mana resources alone, with a very unpopular few choosing strategies that starve the other player of mana until they just lock their opponents out of the match

It's not a surprise then that some of the most expensive and sought after cards are those related to sorting out mana for you to play your cards

Most folks set a ground rule of playing a one or two color combination deck so it stays easy enough to find the mana you need to play with, but it's not impossible to play with all five colors provided you plan ahead

So three colors is doable, which was my plan to build a deck around two of the Dragonlords of Tarkir, Silumgar (Blue/Black) and Kolaghan (Red/Black), since they shared a color, it would be theoretically easier to put them together

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=391924&type=card
http://media.wizards.com/2015/dftyu.....pwQd7C5LL8.png

http://www.mtgotraders.com/store/me.....torms_Fury.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dYOLdxc.png


Play testing however didn't work, and then I realised that the core of the deck was red, so instead of working in the shared color black, the deck was struggling to keep up with costs of all three colors

So, drawing board was turned to, and I realised that if I wanted to go with a similar theme I had to look at the main color first and then choose the two Dragonlords that fit best from there instead, and ended up sticking with Silumgar (Blue/Black) and Ojutai (White/Blue) and thus began setting up the set of cards that worked from the previous build, fitted in some more draw spells and balancing, alongside some of Ojutai's awesomeness

Guilty story? That 'fleeting moment' mentioned in the story? I pulled Ojutai at the prerelease and later traded him the same day, not realising how powerful he was, gaah, hindsight, least the guy traded me back later, even if he added ten bucks to the card price I'd traded him originally XP

Happens

Still a little uncertain on whether or not I had chosen the right path, I took my deck and went to the store yesterday for Game Day, opened up especially early for us to get in and get ready

Usually I help out with kids or new players just getting started or learning, so it's often I end up on a lower draft table with them or might help a little out during an event, so, having not bought any cards in a while and having set aside some Game Day money, I went and bought a Fat Pack of cards and promised the kids there they could have the cards I didn't need if they'd help me open them

(Seriously, lol, my left hand fingers are still kind of useless, this whole journal is being typed on a smartphone in lil snippets at a time, and I didn't wanna have to start using my teeth in the middle of the shop)

At which point one of the older competitors looks at me eyeing the Fat Pack and deciding which one to grab, and tries to dissuade me that I'd be throwing money away buying it

(Like it sounds, Fat Pack is a box that has like multiple packs inside, a guidebook to the set, lands and dice for newbies, lot of contention whether or not it's more worthwhile than just buying the same amount of normal boosters)

I shrug and just say what I promised the kids, plus the box is handy right now for me to carry cards easier away later, I just wanna crack some packs is all

So, sitting down, and ironically I shudder at the 'Illusory Gains' opened in pack 1

Pack 2, Blood-Chin Fanatic, so-so? She's pretty cool-ish

Pack 3, a second Illusory Gains, wait, what?

When pack 4 opens, I feel a pit of dread as a second Blood-Chin Fanatic is pulled, and literally the guy waves a friend over, having hovered to look for trade material, the two laughing about the point being made about the proof on the table

Then pack 5, there she is, Narset Transcendant, and the box just bought itself, there's the usual collection of congrats, friendly insults and such, the guy behind me shrugs about how it's better to be lucky than good

Things are plenty fine, when Pack 6 opens Atarka's Command, 9 dollar rate, pretty damn decent

Then pack 7, Dragonlords Atarka her goddamn self, between her and Narset, I just opened the two most expensive cards in the set

Packs 8 and 9 are nowhere near as epic, but dear me, before the event even starts I'm buzzing happy from this, lol, and make sure to wave the guy back over to look and see my three big pulls as I hastily pull out my deck list and amend it, if I was unsure before about going with Ojutai, finding his prize pupil in a pack sealed the deal

Sorry second Ugin, you're sideboard material!

Things kick off and the ground hits hard, Jeskai tokens, lots of burn, lots of monks who summon other monks to fight, the guy took it a little hard that I got his creatures to Drown in Sorrow not once, but twice, but, got through there alright with a 2-1 win

From round two onwards it gets harder, a mirror match against another Silumgar player, but unlike me, he isn't packing Foul Tongue Invocation to get him to sacrifice his own creatures that would otherwise be immune to my other spells, but it's horrible, grinding work, Round 1 takes 37 minutes for me to pull a win

At which point, he very loudly asks a judge how slow I can play before I get a slow warning

The judge looks at me with the arm in the cast and a friend frantically helping me side-deck, then simply looks at the other player and states in the most flat tone possible "She's allowed sufficient time for side-decking, which is subject to whichever substitutions she must make."

Then walks off, not even dignifying the guy further

Goddamn we have an awesome judge

Round 2, we are draining each other's cards away blow for blow, with a prized moment of surprise sees Stratus Dancer megamorph to protect my cards from a Thoughtseize and we keep running down cards until we hit a top deck mode

He's got an even bigger suite of Planeswalker's than me to call on, but he's packing Garruk Apex Predator to take out any on my side of the field, even with a card to shove Garruk back, Garruk's too fast and takes out Ashiok

I'm holding a Dragonlord's Prerogative, sure the card he's holding after he passes turn is a counter spell, if I can pull one of my dragons I can nab four cards and he can't counter it

Nope, one better, Narset's arrived to help, and again, she steels my resolve, this next move is too good NOT to risk it

Narset hits the battlefield and immediately he has an answer, not a counter, instead with a Hero's Downfall, but Narset has that last parting gift before being wiped off the battlefield, giving me a free copy of my next spell

Dragonlord's Prerogative draws me four cards and with another four to come, and although I don't have any of my big hitters I start battering down every advantage I can until the claxon sounds for round, five minutes left

Those five minutes go by far too fast, and now we're on Final Five Turn clock, I fire off every end turn trigger I can to try and make them count, with Tasigur, Golden Fang giving me back the same Anticipate every time my opponent is forced to pick

Finally I hit it, Haven of the Spirit Dragon, crack the haven and return one of my fallen dragons to play it all over again, Silumgar and his favorite piece of bling Tasigur swing for the win in final turn - seriously, he turned Tasigur into a necklace at one point in the cards

We've went to round and are the last match, literally I'm still switching back to my main deck, resleeving cards and trying to make a half assed attempt at pile shuffling since my friend's occupied

Second match is a lot harder, this guy plays control with a capital Blue, literally every card we play is backed up with how many cards we can counter each other's attempts to counter the other, I'm playing more threats with my dragons, but he's taking them out one after the other

Ashiok hits the field, and each time I try to fight back its too late, Ashiok slowly cranks up and up until finally unleashing Ashiok's Ultimate, wiping out my hand and grave all at once

I brave a few turns to try and come back, but it quickly becomes evident that Ashiok has tipped it, and keeping in mind last round going to time, I decide a tactical retreat is in order and give the round to him, side up, and quickly assemble forces, as our battle became quickly tied around beating each other's Ashiok.

I pull my second out and hit his single copy of Pearl-Lake Ancient, netting an instant resignation from my opponent

And for the second time in as many rounds the guy mentions me and slow playing, although it's more jokingly than the last guy I can't help feel a little irked

And another round of back and forth results in us both ending with 30+ life after the end of five turn count, tie match

And once again? We're the last two players active, immediately with no breathing space, rushing to sort cards, needing the bathroom, hungry and thirsty like I can't believe it, two hours solid play with no breathing space, I'm hitting a limit here

And the limit hits me like a ton of bricks, next round I meet a Jeskai rush deck, turn one a hasted Swiftspear means trouble for me off the bat, I can get a move in by turn three at best, but he proves that his turn three is better than mine, swinging for 15 damage in a single turn between his monks

Literally I can't even count straight and I look at the clock, 8 minutes into round, ask the guy if he minds if I take a quick break

He's fairly sure, so he nods, shrugs and I head outside and remember what fresh air is after three hours in a comic book store of card game players, lol

It's surprisingly effective and I make my way back in, siding carefully and then claw back in, the guy plays fast and wide, so Drown in Sorrow helps immensely against his Goblin Rabblemaster and Dragon Fodder-ed goblins

A Myth Realized makes for a powerful win condition on his side of the field, but choosing an Ultimate Price from Anticipate over my dragon I wait and strike, before my dragons go over the top and find me an equaliser

He sides heavily here and the surprise is in round three with a Mastery of the Ways, manifesting and going even wider, gaining him life to make it harder for me to hit home and making it harder for me to decide how to block when he swings in

Ojutai blocks a face down that flips over to a Seeker of the Way, and quickly he throws down an Artful Maneuver, and a Silumgar's Scorn from me closes that down to let Ojutai and then Silumgar himself attack, before the guy throws a wall of burn spells at me to empty his hand and show just how far he was from winning and then concedes with a handshake

This match gives me a massive time difference to let me get another breather and relax before next round...

Round 5? And it's against a judge, and I admit to myself that I am in for a hard match, I've seen/heard the rank of white/black warriors that have rampaged across the planes

People around us are taking intentional draws to get through to the top 8, but my opponent makes it very clear he wants to play, more packs and more points to him, fair enough to him, I did come to play, but I can't help but wonder about his attitude if he thought I was just slim pickings

Sadly it just wasn't to be, his double striking warriors take it all out on me and Ashiok doesn't even make him flinch, grinning every time he brings out a Mardu Skullhunter to make me discard on the back of his attacks

I side as best I can, but he pounds me mercilessly for the win, leaving me at 3-1-1

It's a bit of a dull end to the rounds, and I'm bitterly reminded about losing the cut offs last Game Day with 7 other people at 10 points, so I resign a little that it's in lucks hands now

That is when a situation occurs that makes things pretty complicated

The Second and Third place players are suddenly disqualified for collusion, having agreed to split on packs, suddenly it seems like I'm into the top 8, but it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to consider it

The incident goes past and things settle down, it's a horrible way to end the Swiss to hear that folks got left out, but it's a rule enforced for reason. And sadly one I do my best to watch out for whenever it could crop up.

But the final standings go up, and me and my friend are through, he's been stoked all day playing a Temur dragons brew that's worked well against the control deck meta, so he's happy to be in his first top 8

The prizes are awesome full art cards for this far, Thunderbreak Regent and Scaleguard Sentinel are both awesome cards, and amazing already in standard to have rarer versions of them, but my eye is more happily on my 7th place standing, even with our 2nd and 3rd places, if they had stayed in, I managed to get in, taking a little solace there

Folks crack packs, the Champion Mat now on full display to invite some excitement, and I have to let out a tiny exclamation of wow at finding Sarkhan Unbroken - yes, yes, laugh it up - in one of my prize packs

So, yeah, let's say I just came in there and walked out with about 50-60 dollars card profit at the end of the day

Now it's time for the big one, though, it's all about the Champion spot, and I rush headlong into battle against a Mardu dragon build, who has awesome fun with a home brew that looked really fun, my dragons take his down in the air, with a rather memorable win being Dragonlord Silumgar taking control of Dragonlord Kolaghan, having them stand aside Dragonlord Ojutai and swing together, three of the five Dragonlords all at once for a win

I decide not to side and we hit round two, and with Ojutai out and on guard, pull out my Planeswalker's one after the other, Ashiok hitting Ultimate First to exile his cards from hand and grave, Ugin to refuel me massively, and the nail in the coffin Narset, whose ability to prevent them from playing any non-creature spells seals the deal and push me to semi-finals, much to some spectators excitement to see not just one, but three Planeswalker Ultimates fire in a single match

My friend also makes it through, and we agree to do our damnedest to make it to the grand final together

Easier said than done, my opponent is my judge from earlier who handed me my loss, but luck is somehow on my side, something happens to jam his mana pool and stalls his warriors long enough to let me drown in sorrow and steal the first match

It's a short one, but I know his deck from when we last played, I side in like my life depends on it and we hit the match, with multiple Jorubai Murk-Lurkers holding me in by sheer skin of my teeth, pulling back my life
Total, blocking his fighters, and striking again and again as he finds himself stalled, which ends up being enough for Silumgar to arrive and swing in for victory!

Sadly, victory is bittersweet, as my friend falls, but my pride restored, myself and my opponent hit the grand finale, and I quickly discover I'm facing the same White/Black warrior deck type, but much wider spread, quickly being overwhelmed by forces in game one, trying to side like I did against my former opponent

But then, disaster strikes, my opening hand is useless, so I invoke a mulligan to reshuffle and draw one less card

Even worse

Finally, I take the third hand and gamble on two lands, Ojutai, Anticipate and an Ultimate Price, hoping it will ride me through to stabilise

Sadly that doesn't quite pan out

This hand was struggling to begin with, it needed precision and I made a single misplay over when to use my Anticipate or not leaves me unable to find a white mana to play Ojutai, leaving him stuck in my hand and leaving me at the mercy of my opponents Sorin, Solemn Visitor who pumps his army and gains him massive life every turn, and massive envy from me at his second foil Sorin after I deal with the first, lol

I'm locked out, facing a wall of warrior tokens, and realise he can kill me in one turn, extend the hand and congratulate him on his win


And there you have it, second place

The highest I've ever reached in a Game Day, and while winning would have been awesome, I resolve myself at least that I fought hard and did well, better than I could have

Ojutai may not have handed me victory? But he and Narset certainly taught me a lot that day indeed~

(Oh yeah, then I collapsed later in bed in front of the laptop, utterly exhausted, lol, but yeah, multiple hours of Magic will do that, Jeri was very nice and gave me a blanket later, lol)