Friendship is Card Games: Spice Up Your Life · 10:53am Jun 12th, 2016
This is certainly an interesting recipe, but before I start sampling it, I should note that you can help determine the subject of next week’s card blog by voting here. Now, where’d I put that spoon…
Oh good, the writers did notice the marked absence of the Cutie Map. I thought Starlight might have bolloxed it up with her time-space shenanigans. Just because a device can do something doesn’t mean it should. And apparently, the magical solution… is to turn it off and on. I suppose the real trick was figuring out how to do that at all.
Also, Starlight finally got a bit part. Good to see it; as I've said before, it makes her feel more casually integrated into the group, especially when she joins in the group flat look at Rarity's Canterlot-induced exuberance.
The startup sequence is interesting. It could just be a series of false positives as the Map recalibrates itself. On the other hand, it could be a series of missions that the Bearers missed and that have now expired. The double-Twilight icon could refute that… or it could be the Map trying to represent ponies similar to her using the available icons. Goodness knows there are plenty of Twilight parallels to choose from. Heck, it might even be her human analogue, which raises questions about whether the Map can detect friendship problems in other universes. Hmm...
Pinkie has a point. The Map just plops the Bearers where they’re needed for events to optimally unfold. This actually ties in nicely with the time travel. It’s possible that the Map has an extratemporal perspective, knowing to send ponies where they will do the most good because it sees them doing that good.
Rarity asks herself what she will wear… then settles on “nothing.” Well then.
That tasteless tasting tour probably cost hundreds of bits.
Location’s rather important. Sitting in a back alley isn’t exactly going to draw in the crowd, no matter how colorful the exterior. At the very least, put out a sign in a more prominent area.
Hmm. An orange unicorn mare with a saffron flower cutie mark who wants to cook something exotic. Bugsydor certainly has a reason to like this episode.
Coriander Cumin says that he and Saffron Masala traveled “halfway across Equestria” to get to Canterlot. Definite planet-country ambiguity there, unless Celestia conquered the world and didn’t tell anyone. Still, at least this provides a good reason for them not to recognize Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
Rarity trying to quash individuality does feel off, but there is some logic to it. As Zesty Gourmand later notes, Fashion Horse is working outside of her comfort zone. She’s looking at this as business rather than art, and her goal is success at any cost. That she’s been blinded by celebrity again doesn’t help. Yes, she’s learned pieces of this lesson before, but this is a different, compounded context.
Furthermore… she’s right. As Pinkie’s efforts prove, in the current culinary-cultural climate, the only way for a Canterlot restaurant to get any business is to meet with Zesty’s approval, and her extremely specific standards mean that there’s only one way to get that approval.
I really liked the song. There’s a wonderful Bollywoodish vibe to it.
So, let me get this straight: Zesty won’t rate the Tasty Treat because nopony’s going there. Nopony’s going there because Zesty hasn’t rated it. It’s a shame that Circular Logic is already a card.
Also, did Donut Joe have to meet the Gourmand Standard or what?
Hmm. Well, so much for my Picky Pepper headcanon. I figured she was a restaurant critic herself, though I suppose she could've suborned herself to the celebrity. In any case, it’s good to see her again.
I do like how Zesty Gourmand’s understated color scheme reflects her preference for exceedingly subtle tastes. (Also, how hilarious would it be if she were related to the pony Lemon Zest? Especially if the latter were the former’s daughter.)
Girls, you’re in plain view of the customers. Maybe argue some other time? Or place?
Zesty, you are a unicorn. You could have caught the bowl. Of course, she had judged the place before she’d ever gone in, so she was probably looking for an excuse. Still, that doesn’t excuse Rarity failing to snag it.
The reminiscing scene is nice, but it makes me wonder what happened to Saffron Masala’s mother, especially since she doesn’t seem to factor into the fond memories. There may be tragedy there.
The initial division of labor was an intuitive one: Let Rarity cajole Zesty and handle the interior decorating while Pinkie drums up a crowd. But this is Canterlot, where Rarity’s social capital carries a lot more weight than that of some party planner who just saved the world a few times.
Also, this leads to an interesting lesson: When you can't win the game as it is, change the rules. That... that has some dangerous applications. 
If Gordon Ramsay pony calls someone a donkey, is that racist?
I have to wonder how Zesty got her Canterlot cachet if nopony else agreed with her taste. Of course, the same could be said of Sassy Saddles, slayer of boutiques. According to Rarity, Zesty "grew up around fine dining," so it seems that this may be something of a heritage position. Makes sense that ponies would respect pedigree at the core of the diarchy. Though, on that note, I’d love to see Luna go out to eat one night and ruin Zesty’s reputation with a single idle comment. I'm pretty sure princess trumps critic, even if she isn't the Princess of Food.
There are certainly some holes in this episode’s logic, but honesty? I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a fun spectacle, and it gave me plenty of fodder for that one story idea that involves the Canterlot restaurant scene. Heck, I may have an explanation for how Zesty rose to power. But for now, let’s see what I can cook up given these ingredients…
Exotic Chef 1W
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
T, Sacrifice a permanent: You gain 4 life.
”Try it. You’ll like it.”
1/1
Collaborative Cuisine 2W
Enchantment
2W, Tap two untapped creatures you control: You gain life equal to the total power of the tapped creatures.
Not enough cooks don’t do the broth any favors either.
Complacent Apathy 2W
Enchantment
Players can’t cast spells during other players’ turns.
”Whatever.”
—Coriander Cumin
Celebrity Glamour 1U
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature you control
Enchanted creature has hexproof.
As long as enchanted creature is legendary, spells that target it cost 2 less to cast.
Like gods, celebrities are only as important as their disciples believe them to be.
”It’s Gonna Work” 1U
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on “It’s Gonna Work”.
U, Sacrifice ”It’s Gonna Work”: Reveal the top X plus one cards of your library, where X is the number of verse counters on ”It’s Gonna Work”. An opponent separates them into two piles. Put one pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard.
Spread the Word 1U
Instant
Whenever a creature deals damage to a player this turn, draw a card.
”I knew I should’ve loaded the party cannon with fliers!”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Charismatic Icon 1UU
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
When Charismatic Icon enters the battlefield, gain control of target creature with power less than or equal to your devotion to blue for as long as Charismatic Icon remains on the battlefield. (Each U in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
2/2
Hide the Ingredients 1UU
Instant
Target spell’s owner shuffles it into his or her library.
”Don’t worry, I know exactly where I put it.”
—Saffron Masala
Scorn Divergence 2U
Instant
Counter target spell if it doesn’t have the same name as a permanent or a card in a graveyard.
In a city built around immortals, anything original is met with great suspicion.
Conform 3UU
Instant
Each creature target player controls becomes a copy of target nonlegendary creature until end of turn.
Nopony was quite sure where all the eerily identical waiters came from. Nopony particularly wanted to know.
Persistent Pessimist 4BB
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
If a player would lose life, that player loses twice that much life instead. (Damage causes loss of life.)
“Always expect disappointment. You’ll never be disappointed.”
3/3
Flickering Duplicate 3R
Instant
Put a token that’s a copy of target creature onto the battlefield. That token has haste and “At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this permanent.” The “legend rule” doesn’t apply to permanents with that token’s name this turn.
The Map quickly corrected the error. Twilight would never forget it.
Cross Purposes 5RR
Sorcery
Target creature fights another target creature.
Rebound (If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from exile without paying its mana cost.)
Popular Appeal 1G
Sorcery
Spells you cast this turn have affinity for creatures. (They cost 1 less to cast for each creature you control.)
The herd mentality is a powerful force among ponies, one the clever can exploit for both good and ill.
Renovation Crew 2GG
Creature — Pony Spellshaper
G, T, Discard a card, Sacrifice a land: Search your library for a land card and put that card onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
”Of course we can change it back. You’ll just have to pay us again.”
2/2
Reinitialize 1(wu)
Instant
Exile target artifact, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control.
”Just a simple simulation of the initial cascade effect that created the Cutie Map in the first place. Really, anypony could’ve done it.”
—Princess Twilight Sparkle
Triple Truth GUU
Sorcery
Draw three cards and reveal them.
At the intersection of Generosity and Honesty lies everything you ever wanted to know.
Go with the Flow 2(gu)
Enchantment
If you would draw a card, instead look at the top two cards of your library. Put one into your graveyard and the other into your hand.
”Let events come as they come. You’ll be amazed by what comes of it.”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Refined Palate 1WB
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, you gain twice that much life.
All creatures lose lifelink and can’t have or gain lifelink.
Only one pony enjoyed Canterlot’s culinary trends, but she was the only pony whose opinion mattered.
Demanding Gourmet 1BR
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player exiles a card from his or her graveyard. If he or she does, Demanding Gourmet deals 1 damage to that player.
”Look at that! If you’d cooked it any less, it’d still be moving!”
3/2
Zesty Gourmand 2WU
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Advisor
Whenever a player casts an instant or sorcery spell, change the text of that spell by replacing all instances of numbers with 1. (Number words aren’t numbers.)
Players can't pay costs that contain X unless X is 1.
”Subtlety is everything.”
1/3
I always believed that the reason the map stopped working was because the redemption of Starlight Glimmer was the map's real mission all along. The map's first action was to send them to her, and at the end of season 5 the way the scroll absorbed the map's magic and then vanished made it seem like destiny had been fulfilled and had taken its tools back from whence they came. And since the scroll was Star Swirl's spell, that's another element of destiny I can imagine he had foreseen and planned from the distant past, in order that Equestria may live.
It was only months later that I rewatched the closing scenes more closely and saw that the map is actually still on even after the scroll disappears, which also contradicts the opening of this episode
I thought it was hilarious that the extensions of magical crystalline life forms can be fixed by rebooting them.
Now that would be interesting, if Sci-Twi visited Equestria ...
Which would mean that that Map works a lot like I envision Pinkie's own precognition, but on a larger and more public scale.
You noticed that too!
I figured she was dead, actually. The real culture of which their culture is a Fantasy Counterpart isn't big into divorce, though nowadays it sometimes happened. And Saffron seemed to be taking a rather wifely role as principal aide and advisor to Coriander, implying that Coriander's actual wife isn't around.
Plus, I totally see the Sisters as big hearty eaters -- and Luna isn't very diplomatic.
"VespidTemps -- yes, I can get you a waiter that looks just like the ideal model. How many will you need?"
I found that quite realistic. I've been to many places where on the main street you get the mediocre restaurants catering for tourists, while the best places are in side streets, catering for those who know they do good food. I knew one restaurant that was almost impossible to find, and closed Saturday and Sunday (as the chef wanted the weekend off) How did it survive? Very good food and a reputation spread by word of mouth.
I'm interested. To me that is the big untold story in this episode - how could she have such a hold on the Canterlot restaurants? She's evidently a control freak who saw any deviation from the standard as a threat to her. But what did she do to silence other critics? Did Trenderhoof never visit Canterlot?
I've got my red banners out and you're going all Unsure Sweetie Belle on me?
Also, I really need to watch this, since two of my favored spices are... coriander and cumin.
But I always really need to watch MLP. I just don't know a way to torrent it without getting caught and sued. Damn copyright law.
I loved the episode. I'll blog about it later too, but as a foodie I can see exactly how such a thing would pan out in Canterlot. Pretentious as it may seem, Zesty's got a point to her point of view - hers is definitely the more difficult path to follow, in terms of skill, though it's certainly not a practical one as restaurants still serve chiefly the public and not a small, elite ring.
EDIT: What are we calling Gordon Ramsay pony? We can't feasibly actually call him Gordon Ramsay, right?
I think I'm reading too many of your "Friendship is Card Games" blogs. I'm starting to get curious about Magic...that actually scares me.
Anyway, FINALLY! Someone else who likes it! I feel not so alone in this opinion anymore!
4017269
I just watch it on YouTube, since I'm always hiding in a closet around the time the episodes air. Give it around 2 hours, and I can guarantee that someone will have a full, commercial-less, HD version of the episode up on YouTube.
Hide the Ingredients is amazing. I'd run it in Modern. Because screw Supreme Verdict.
A cool episode. I went into more detail on Oliver's blog, but my take home from the episode was this:
1) Zesty is a critique of the Michelin three star system, and the tendency of restaurant critics to become increasingly detached from the reality of normal food.
2) The episode in general was a critique of people's increasing reliance on online reviews, particularly since the advent of smartphones and mobile Internet.
I await the flood of Saffron Masala porn in the feature box with sad resignation.
Yes. Yes I did.
I was actually thinking of parallels between Amber Spice and Saffron Masala after the episode, which was a fun exercise. Fun fact: The Indian ponies' ears are actually drawn very similarly to how I draw the ears on most ponies. I know DHX isn't watching me at all, but it was an amusing pile of coincidences.
I actually enjoyed the idea that Zesty Gourmand started out as being unusual in the Canterlot restaurant scene, but had the charisma to make her opinion matter and the first restaurant to cater to her tastes became a unique stand-out. And then as time went on and more restaurants fell into line, her views became ever-more entrenched and radical, and inertia kept the restaurants in check. Thus the tragic fall from avant garde to old guard.
Hide the Ingredients is a lovely card. It can even be used to keep a spell from resolving that says "this spell cannot be countered."
Does Cross Purposes seem overcosted to anyone else? The most expensive fight spell I've seen costs 3G, and that one puts a +1/+1 counter on the would-be fighter before the fight. And it itself is unusually expensive for a fight spell. This one costs about the same as a Gruul Ragebeast, but the 6/6 ragebeast makes you fight whenever you summon a creature, while this spell only lets you fight twice.
Ooh! Popular Appeal would go so great in my Ezuri, Claw of Progress deck. Token spam makes for a lot of nearly free spells.
Renovation Crew is crazily good if your deck has a healthy amount of (or even just one rather important) nonbasic land in it. It really shines, though, when it's working for The Gittrog Monster. If I'm reading it right, discarding a land to sacrifice a land would count as two separate instances of land(s) hitting the graveyard, and thus trigger Gittrog's effect twice.
4017191
And now I'm envisioning Zesty Gourmand and Trenderhoof as being archnemeses. Thank you for the wonderful image.
I really wonder where Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala came from map wise. I mean the Darring Do episode showed an area that seemed almost Central American, which might be Maretonia. So I'm curious to see where that culture came from. I know that Trotaham is the counter point to Great Britain, And Stallongrad is problem pony Russia.
Flickering Duplicate is hilarious. Twilight really wouldn't let that go.
Also, remember Hot Soup from M15?
4017166
I suspect the Map burnt out shortly after sending the modified time travel to temporal oblivion. Plus, there is the question of why it sent the Bearers on missions seemingly unrelated to Starlight at all.
4017191
Oh yes, the best city restaurants are usually off the beaten path, but they need to get that word of mouth going first.
As for Zesty's rise to power, let's just say that the working title of that story is Better Dining Through Chemistry.
4017269
All I'm saying is that that's how revolutions get started, for good or for ill.
As for seeing the episode, if all else fails and you don't mind someone talking over bits, there are always blind reactions.
4017280
I kind of want to call him Raw Bar for the sake of irony.
4017182
But yeah, given how she was willing to tear her world apart to get to Equestria, she'd probably be thrilled to visit. Though the hooves might take some getting used to.
The only Bollywood movie I've ever seen as a superhero action flick. It still had several musical numbers in the same vein as "It's Gonna Work."
My thinking as well. Their cooking together may have begun as a way for them to cope with her absence.
I'm a big fan of Skywriter's supposition that alicorns have incredibly demanding metabolisms. Sadly, that means that they probably aren't too likely to venture far from the industrial-capacity royal kitchens.
4017191 I was thinking that about Trenderhoof, too. Trend would definitely have wanted to "discover" someplace like the Tasty Treat. I did this in one of my stories, actually, so I'm reluctant to let go of this idea. He'd be obsessed with its being "authentic" cuisine, though.
Donut Joe's is exactly the sort of place Trenderhoof would review: "That's my thing. I take the mundane, the simple, the unappreciated, and I make it relatable," resulting in much too much foot traffic and iron determination on Joe's part not to "Trenderize" it and go upscale and "trendy." (I wonder if Canterlot has gourmet food trucks?) But Trenderhoof is a travel food writer, among other things.
4017191
I figure that Trend's thing is to sample little, out-of-the way, undiscovered gems. Also, I'm hanging onto my theory that his behavior in "Simple Ways" was the sign that an utter nervous breakdown was coming on. Not long thereafter, he went into rehab and intensive therapy. I figured this made sense, since he was modeled on Anthony Bourdain. From Kitchen Confidential (see above Wikipedia link):
Trenderhoof now is on "extended leave," living the simple life in some quiet place in the country. Curiously, he was dead right about needing to get out of life in the fast lane for a while. This has left the Evening Standardbred without one of its food critics, thus leaving Zesty Gourmand unchallenged.
4017352
... and her homeland is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of a place even more prudish than my Equestria, as well. At least where respectable girls are concerned, and Saffron very obviously is. In fact, she's a Daddy's Girl.
4017284
Give in to the Card Side. We have cocoa.
4017308
"All I need to execute the abolishment edict is bang my gavel, and... That's odd. Where did it go?"
4017374
And the story that went with it.
And yes, encountering a holographic clone of herself would probably stick in Twilight's mind, even if it would be the fourth time she's met herself (if you count "It's About Time" twice.)
4017355
Heh. Thought you'd get a kick out of this. A shame Amber's in another universe; it'd be fascinating to see her reaction to horse-Indian cuisine.
I do like your take on Zesty's rise. She definitely seems like the type who'd get swept up in her own hype.
The thing about Cross Purposes is that, as with Blood Feud, you don't have to control either fighter. You can have two of your opponent's creatures kill one another, then do it again for free on your next turn. I'd say that's worth seven.
As for Renovation Crew double-triggering the Hypnotoad... I'm really not sure, and browsing the comprehensive rules isn't telling me anything definitive. I want to say it won't work, since both would be going into the graveyard because of the same effect, but I can't say for certain.
4017405
I commend you for writing Trenderhoof as an annoying and sometimes superficial, but also talented and not-evil Pony. There's too much of a tendency sometimes in the fandom to assume that anyone who causes problems for the Mane Six -- an "antagonist" in the technical sense -- must also be a villain. Trend's no villain. He's just a hipster, smarter and more creative than most of the breed, and Innocently Insensitive about his own prejudices. That's all.
4017416
Oh. I had noticed the second creature didn't need to belong to an opponent, but it had not occurred to me that the first creature didn't have to be yours, either. I retract my statement about inappropriate costing.
As for the Glorious Hypnotoad, I'd say that it would trigger twice, since I'm fairly certain that cost and effect are separate events. After all, when a spell or ability is countered, all costs paid for it are wasted (including additional costs, like sacrificing a creature).
It would be fascinating to see Spicy run into Indian cuisine, and I'm mildly sad that she won't exactly get the chance to do so. This doesn't mean, however, that she can't learn more from pegasus and earth ponies about what constitutes an herb or spice.
4017416
No! I cannot! I must not! I will not make the same mistake as I did with Yu-Gi-Oh cards! I will protect my bank account, and keep myself from suffering constant defeat!
...My defenses against this are going to get destroyed, aren't they?
I love reading reviews and comments after watching an episode, it helps you find things you missed, or improve your opinion of an episode. I enjoyed the song, even though it was too obvious how things were going to fail and that made the episode rather meh for me.
As for the cards, can't help but notice you missed the effect that adds verse counters to ”It’s Gonna Work”, and Popular Appeal causes as infinite combo with Sprout Swarm.
Rarity does get annoyed with Zesty too in the end enough to throw one of Zesty's lines back at her, which also demonstrates how Zesty's attitude has become detached from reality.
4017394
Sadly this explanation holds much less interest for me :(
Eh, just because it has an overarching purpose doesn't mean it won't ever do anything else. Especially if Star Swirl was involved, there could be any number of other points of interest.
The thing about the map, though, is that for all that they call them "friendship problems", that's really a very poor description of what the map highlights. The map highlights places where the entire social culture has gone astray and needs to be set right, rather than mere personal relationship problems. In the s5 finale, it was the entire world.
The map also sends out not those ponies who are necessarily best equipped to the task, but those who have the most to learn from it. The map operates like a hidden mentor with a very different perspective on the world, grooming those who attend it to become better ponies while making the world a better place. All of which fits extremely well with my ideas about Star Swirl
I should write my own blog about this, really. But after a long weekend at a con downtown, and in light of the horrible news from Orlando, it's hard to muster the strength.
4017454
The thing is, both cards would be hitting the graveyard at the same time, since they're both part of the ability's cost.
4017498
Like wet cardboard.
4017505
Yikes. Nice catch on the song. Fix made. As for the Sprout Swarm combo, it's hardly the only way to go infinite with it.
4017521
I hope you do write that blog at some point. It sounds fascinating... though I do have to wonder how Star Swirl could make Twilight's castle. Though if anypony could, it would be him.
4017611
Well, before Tirek came and reduced its potential story value I had already decided that Star Swirl had planted the acorn that would eventually grow into the Golden Oak library. It actually made a very brief appearance in Clover. Nobody noticed, but then, they weren't supposed to
4017611
Oops, my bad.
I misread the card.
I was actually amused by the synopsis of this episode because I've been marathoning Kitchen Nightmares lately, and the episode is almost a Whole Plot Reference. (The restaurant having good food but being tucked in an alley is actually reminiscent of "Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack" episode, one of the only episodes where Gordon actually cleaned his plate.)
I would actually be fascinated to watch a "Gordon Ramsey Reacts" video of just this episode.
But, yeah, Pinkie's tour of Restaurant Row would have been hella expensive considering it's a series of fine dining establishments in the capital city. I would have looked at the decor of the next several restaurants and asked if they were anything like the last one. Though, I would probably have also asked where my food was when they put the first plate in front of me.
Trying to think of something more to add, but that's all I can come up with.
Cards are changing the rules of the game all the time, Golden Rule and all.
Speciesist. A unicorn calling a pegasus featherduster is racist, but when you cross that species line... . Also I just want more people to use the word "speciesist".
Though, I guess ponies and donkeys could be in the same species... .
On Collaborative Cuisine's flavor text; semi-obligatory Too Many Cooks link.
Hum, Complacent Apathy is a complete shutdown of counter-magic and combat tricks. In normal White flavor it is "equal" in that it hits everyone the same way. You just, you know, don't ever plan on casting anything on other people's turns and design your deck around that. Not your fault that the Blue Mage wanted to bring counter-magic to the game or that the Green-mage wanted to play Wild Growth after you declared your attackers.
That being said I feel this card should be even more White than it is. I'd say cost it at 1WW. 2W felt a little "low" cost wise but 3W doesn't seem right either so I'd keep it at CMC three but swap in another colored mana. Not a problem for a mono-colored deck but makes it a bit of a stretch for a multi-colored one.
I kinda understand why you restrict Celebrity Glamour to only things you control but I don't think you really need that restriction on it. I think it would open a lot more fun play if you could drop this down on your team-mates creature and they go buff crazy, or you could drop it on someone-else's general and be a kingmaker in glorious style.
One the one hand I'm rather sure Spread the Word should be limited to combat damage, but on the other hand without that rider it combos so well with other things... . But Blue normally draws from creatures slipping though to deal combat damage, not just any damage.
I like that Charismatic Icon can take a 2 or less power creature on it's own.
Oh, Hide the Ingredients is the sort of "counter spell" that I'd really like to see actually be printed. Though we don't get "can't be countered" all that often I don't think there would be much reason for it to be printed unless deck shuffling was a thing, which is highly unlikely to ever happen. Though (The Second, Return of Though) with Scry now being an evergreen thing deck stacking is certainly a thing.
On Conform's flavor test; "Now, I'm not saying they are changelings but... . They are changelings."
Also, that is a nice use of a one word card name. The one word card names are a scare resource and have to be used sparingly.
I could see using the "suspend the legend rule" clause on Flickering Duplicate to have the first instance, the flickered copy and then maybe another "normal" copy all on your side of the battlefield at once. There are plenty of Legendaries that could benefit from multiple copies of themselves around after all.
Though, sadly, it won't help you deal Commander damage, since the copies are not Commanders;
Also, it should be “At the beginning of the next end step, sacrifice this permanent.” Heat Shimmer's wording is a bit out of date, Splinter Twin is a bit more recent and has the new phrasing.
I saw Cross Purposes's mana cost and what it did and thought "Why is this so expensive?" and then I saw that it has Rebound and then thought "Oh, that is why it is so expensive."
Oh, Popular Appeal is one of those spells that look all innocuous at first but then after being cast the caster summons up a bunch of tokens from nowhere and starts sacing them for colored mana and next thing you know you're facing down a 101/101 Squirrel with trample and hexproff and who knows what else... .
I almost feel that the cost on Renovation Crew should be "Discard a land card" instead of just "Discard a card". But that would make it a bit too restrictive.
And Reinitialize is another good use of a one word card name. Sometimes all you need to do to get your war golem of death and destruction working again is turning it off and tuning it back on again. That or percussive maintenance.
At first I thought the wording for Triple Truth should have been "Reveal the top three cards of your deck then draw three cards." but then I looked at it seems they do have this "draw and reveal" vernacular. Which is nice, really makes things easier.
Now if they'd just use the "mill" vernacular... .
I wish to point out that Go with the Flow would prevent you from losing the game because of an empty deck, because you never actually draw a card. Did you intend for it to be that way or it is just a happen accident?
Hum, should Refined Palate be combat damage or not? This one isn't as clear-cut to me as Spread the Word above is. This one is obviously supposed to mimic, but not actually be, lifelink, which does triggers off any damage... . And the trade off of not having any lifelink at all, but you also shut it down for everyone else too... . I think it should be fine being any damage, but it's a hard call on this one.
I think Demanding Gourmet should only deal the damage if they couldn't feed it. That would give people insensitive to play cards to have stuff in their graveyard. As it is now it is counter-productive to fun play, since it punishes people for putting stuff into their graveyard.
"At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player exiles a card from his or her graveyard. If he or she can't, Demanding Gourmet deals 1 damage to that player."
Lot to comment on this time, guess it was bound to happen after my not having much to comment on.
4017498
A a former Yu-Gi-Oh player and a current Magic: the Gathering player I can tell you that M:tG is a much better use of your money.
Yu-Gi-Oh is infamous for it's pack filler. While i'm not saying M:tG doesn't have "filler" cards I will say that every M:tG card ever printed has some value without having to reach into some silly combo that lets your 100/100 Level One Normal Monster be relevant. Ok, well, maybe not every card but even that one can be useful in some cases. Crazy silly overly long combo that wins you the game though convoluted means not withstanding it does have use.
Also, price wise, I can drop by my local card store for a $25 ($40 total if I played in two) release event and get six-booster packs (14 cards plus one Land for the "15" cards per pack, with each booster being around $4 normally) and the chance for more as prizes (up to a full booster-box, which is 36 packs). Though lately for the pre-release events you pick a color slash color-set and one of your packs is subbed out for a "matched pack" that has a Rare of that color slash color-set and your other 14 cards are in-color as well.
And you can buy an "Intro Pack" for around $15 which gets you a decent 60 card deck plus two booster packs. And by "decent" I mean you can buy one and enter the "casual" tournament that is Friday-Night-Magic and actually expect to win a few games with something literally right out-of-the-box. The Intro Decks are often a hit heavy on Land cards but are rather tight when it comes to self-interaction. They leave some room for improvement of course, because they want you to buy more cards after all, but in the end it's not that hard to pull together a competitive M:tG deck for under $100-150.
Now, if you want to go professional well... . There's a reason those tournaments pay out cash prizes with a lot of zeros before the decimal point. And take place in exotic locations that they fly you out to and give you free room at fancy hotels.
There is a pre-release for the next set coming in about a month (July 16) and I would highly recommended that if you like card games you give M:tG a try and pre-release events are the best place to do so. They tend to be rather low key (unless you get one of those players) and you might be able to get a bunch of extra cards afterwards from the people who have already ordered full-sets and are playing for fun or looking to try and open the "money cards" of the set.
4018606
Y'know...despite the educated calculations and well-thought explanation for why one might be a better thing to spend money on over the other, it doesn't really inspire much confidence in how things may end up for me in any case.
Still, I might try giving it a go.
Is such an establishment really going to be judged by the same standards as a restaurant? I'd think that the Canterlot cafe circuit would have its own distinct pretentious critic, although probably more of a hipster type like Trender than another Zesty.
4018814
Well, your main problem seemed to be money to me, so I'd thought I'd focus more on the price aspect... .
I have a lot of fun with the game for not a whole lot of money, and having fun with it is the most important thing.
I'd also recommend picking up any of the Duels of the Planeswalkers games off of Steam. They simplify the rules just a bit but overall are a very good way to learn the game if you can't have someone sit down and teach you directly.
4017693
Tirek also reduced the library's real estate resale value. He is Tirek the depreciator!
I'm reminded of an inverse or family to Tamora Pierce's Chamber of the Ordeal, especially when it and Kel were butting heads. The Chamber, if you're not a Tammy fan (and you should be!) is a room where prospective knights have to go after performing their vigil. We've only seen the inside 'test' from the perspective of the heroes, and bad results from some real tooljobs, but the Chamber is basically an emotionless tester of "will you wield power ethically; will you go where I need you to go." It exists outside of our fishbowl perception of time, and it sees Kel defeating a necromancer who uses the souls of children to power death machines, and it frustrates them both because the Chamber just doesn't see the world the way humans do. All it knows is that Kel can fulfill this purpose, so it shows her what information it has and presumes she'll do what needs to be done when she gets the context.
Oh, and it inflicts wounds that heal and reopen upon the body of those it deems sufficiently unfit until they confess their crimes, or flat out kills them. Twilight may have gotten the better deal at Cosmological IKEA.
Yeah, I've noticed them doing that a lot lately, which depresses me; it could mean that the whole "never happened before in Equestria" could be read as "Never before occurred in the whole world!" and that's stupid given some of the other canon... but. Reserving judgment.
It also makes no sense from the POV of any non-pony countries. I figure Maretonia and Saddle Arabia are offshoots either prior or post windigo, and while grateful and so forth for the raising and lowering of sun and moon and whatnot, don't cede their governing authority, but do get along well, hence the negotiations. But would the griffons call it that? The dragons? I know it looks like the ponies are the humans of this fantasy world (which makes those extraordinarily STUPID deer effin' elves, man...) but still... Also confusing.
I mean, immigrants can land in California from India. I kinda wish the portrayal of "exotic" foreign ponies was less, uhh, flatly stereotyped to the point of nigh-racism, but hey.
Damn, Coriander Cumin has me hungry for some falafel. Actually, there's a totally out-of-the-way falafel shack 5 minutes' bike ride from work. I should go there tomorrow for lunch. Or the Indian close to there.
Damn Pinkie, you know how to enjoy food.
NO RARITY DON'T TWIST INDIAN FOOD INTO YOUR STUPID NUEVEAU CUISINE TEMPLATE. TRUST IN THE POWER OF PINKIE. STOP TRYING TO BOLLYWOOD.
4040105
I'd say they Bollywooded with moderate success, if one allows for the missing dozens of backup dancers.
4040425 Well yes, but with the slight problem that Rarity's scheme was a horrific idea in the first place. Pleasing the self-important snob does not work.
On the other hand, mylittleeconomics could probably tear that whole episode a new one for Zesty Gourmand's absolute abuse of even the remotest possibility of market competition.
Zesty would probably run an Eldrazi deck.
"See? This card game agrees with me! The colorless are superior!"
4193332
Yeah, but the Eldrazi are the multiverse's least discriminate eaters. Though Zesty would probably appreciate Emrakul's tendency to reshape everything around her in her image.
4193388 Counterpoint: All of reality is as dust to the Eldrazi. To them, there would logically be so little distinction of flavor that the quantity would be the only saving factor of the very concept of food.