MTG CCG APAC Lands Complete Set of 15 lands SEALED !!

A few years ago (1997 !!!), WOTC gave away promotional basic lands to people in the Asia-Pacific region as a promotion for buying Tempest. There were fifteen such lands, each depicting a scene from various countries in the region in an attempt to connect players from that part of the world to the Magic universe.

The lands were grouped in 3 packs of five (Red, Blue, Clear). These, are some of the most sought-after lands in the game!!!

APAC 1 consists of:
The Plains represents Japan, the Island depicts Hong Kong, the Swamp is New Zealand, the Mountain shows the Philippines, and the Forest is also Japan.

APAC 2 consists of:
The Plains represents Australia, the Island depicts Japan, the Swamp is also of Japan, the Mountain shows Taiwan, and the Forest is from China.

APAC 3 consists of:
The Plains shows the Great Wall of China, the Island depicts Singapore, the Swamp is Indonesia, the Mountain is Fujiyama in Japan, and the Forest is from Korea.

(You can find this on Arcana - Wednesday, November 20, 2002 )

APAC 1

APAC 2

APAC 3

Set consists of:
- 3x Island - Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong
- 3x Mountain - Japan (Snowy Mountain), Taiwan, Phillipines (Rice fields Terraces)
- 3x Plains - Australia (Plateau with Kangaroo), China (The Great Wall!!), Japan (Sunflowers)
- 3x Swamp - New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan
- 3x Forest - Japan, China, Korea

All different artwork and each picture represents a location in Asia-Pacific region. Cool!

Eight Post

I do not think the concept of using vesuva and cloud post is first thought of by Ben Bleiwess, but he definitely immortalised it on the Building on a Budget article =D



http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=61084&page=5

8post

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=61084&page=6

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=1641631#post1641631

TEPS or The Extended Perfect Storm

TEPS is an upcoming deck that recently surfaced at Worlds 2006.

It is a varient of Ritual Desire, but it has since evolved. i.e. saying TEPS is Ritual Desire is like saying Aggro Loam is CAL - They are quite different animals.

Why am I interested in TEPS?

Well i always like new competitive decks =)

Also one of the creators is Singaporean.

Also it abuses the Lotus Bloom =P

Will post more on it later, but you can find it at mtgsalvation.com under the extended competitive forums.

Note that the Sally thread is locked.

Current TEPS thread

here

Also at the moment the old threads seem to be gone which is a shame cause, now you can not longer see the old posts.

I found the archives!!

The current thread is alright but alot of rehash.


My list is the same as the one found in this thread


Oh my first welcome into the thread was here, thanks Nim! =D



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 070124


The internet has'nt changed, and you meet some of the most anal people out there =)

Seriously.


Even when they have utterly lost the argument.

They go on.


and on.





and on.


Oh bother.


But I have become more understanding towards some people as I understand some of them may be suffering from something. An article on mtgsalvation enlightened me to that.

Thank God for that article or I would really have a very dim view of the human race.



As it is I am relatively easy going with anal people.



yah.




Now back on topic....



I still like the version by d.phoenixxxx best.

And the serum visions have been grand


// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)
// NAME: TEPS(S) from MTGSalvation.com

// Lands
4 [IN] Ancient Spring
4 [IN] Sulfur Vent
4 [TS] Gemstone Mine
3 [8E] City of Brass

// Spells
4 [TS] Lotus Bloom
4 [MR] Chrome Mox
4 [TS] Chromatic Star
4 [CS] Rite of Flame
4 [JU] Burning Wish
4 [TO] Cabal Ritual
4 [9E] Seething Song
2 [FD] Channel the Suns
1 [SC] Tendrils of Agony
3 [RAV] Sins of the Past
3 [SC] Mind's Desire
3 [DIS] Infernal Tutor
4 [FD] Serum Visions
1 [FD] Plunge into Darkness




Now the tops and serum visions argument.



Tops allows some nice tricks mid to late game (or when you are already winning).

But you need 2 tops to do the trick.

In any other situation it is poorer than serum visions.

Why?

Serum visions allows you to mess with your draw.

You hate bloom on your second turn, you hate land when you desire. You need to reorder the sequence of dropping your tapped lands.


Serum cures your headaches ;P


aside from that tops only allows you to dig and reorder up to 3

While serum shaves off 3 and diggs deeper.

Call it a cumulative effect ;)

2 top can digg?

You got it 3. And no draw at that. Oh unless you are talking about them tricks. Later.

2 serums?

up to 6 baby!

And so on.



Now the thing is if you are going mid to late game, go tops.

If you are trying to go off asap.

Serum lets you do that and do that safely!!


Whats there not to like?

I shall later post about varients of this deck, as well as my own tweaks.



[edit: 070127]

am beginning to think that I should use a template when thinking about TEPS .

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
cards I want in my opening hand


cards I want to flip with desire


cards in the board and why


What is my objective?


Is this card a win more?


Is this card an enabler? Why?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Reason being, I have tried to use Wheel of Fate in the deck... and it was'nt too bad... but it was win more... also it exposes you to your opponent as he is able to benefit too as WOF is symmetrical. So to make it Assymetrical, I need gigadrowse. But that necessitates the need to stuff a card into an already dense and running perfectly fine deck.


Then it hit me. Dang. It deserves its own deck. Sighs.... So I quit tryin' to stuff the WOF in the deck, but then what to do with the Fury Charm??

also in the threads, there have been talk of replacing Blooms with Simian Spirit Guide. I think its awful, but the player claims it is now faster with more possible turn 3, but less consistence or resilence against disruption.

Then there are proponents of duress MD.

Most recently I believe it was Karsten or flores, then said, quite rightly, that by the time you are casting the duress, you have set yourself 1 card down.

Of course this was already stated in the older thread



...AGAIN. AND...




AGAIN.



AND [getting predictable and tired huh? Thats how I felt too in that thread] AGAIN.


sighz...



Only in a control dense meta should you EVER use duress main.

More ANALytical people will disagree of course, but lets leave people who can only, agree with and talk to, themselves in their own worlds and continue on.


Oh yeah so I looked at Null Profusion.

This was immediately shot down of course in that thread fulla egomaniacs =)

Though I guess it was shot down rightly, though with little to no substantiation.

I tried it out.


So I think I have beginner's luck, cos i lucked out and pulled off a combo like fourth turn.

And the NP was imppressive.

But on subsequent runs it was average.

And it got me thinking. As we test the cards, we really should be very clear on our objectives.

So many arguments were ignorant and baseless. Simply because they had no frame (willingly or no) with which to base their thoughts.

For example, land count in TEPS.


The one d.phoenixxx runs has less than your usual. Dangerously less some say. But why? If you played TEPS enough. You'd know that lands are your absolute BANE when desiring. Which is why early serums are important. Brainstorms are good as they allow you to put cards in hand into the deck (no, Tops does not do this). Unfortunately thast is not present in extended. Serum visions allow you to precognition them. Hmmm literally.

I am deviating to much. ... back on topic.

So you have to consider the deck as a whole. The synergies, the why. etc. Not on a card by card basis like so many in threads have done.

Why?

Cos whether the card can be supported or whether the card adds to the deck will affect all other cards.

Ritual Desire (I am using this generically) is special in that, since the idea is just a bunch of rituals (that hardly makes a deck by the way, hence the stupidity of the name), the kill and synergy becomes rather fluid.

The kill by wheels deck I am thinking of will likely utilise the same idea. Heartbeat can also use the desire engine DUH!


grrr...

Null profusion turn out alright, but the thing is this. The real limit of null propulsion is "mana available". And running it I realised that cards like Channel the Suns suddenly become crucial/very good as opposed to being the target of "cards I am gonna cut first if i wanna stuff something new in".

Wheel was very attractive as it allowed me to dump useless "draws" (lands blooms), NP is very attractive as it makes your storm even more dangerous, but it also makes drawing out your library even a more imminent risk. As such. Is it worth it.

Upon thinking, it felt like "win more", rather than "help you win" or "win now". It does have some "help you win" aspects, as such I am still testing it.

Later. - 343 pm 070127

Well this one should have been 061122

A bit tired of blogging =P

losing direction...

plus I am really busy haha

Anyways I was rather tired of losing, and you know what, you must want to win in life, cos if you do not you WILL lose ;)

Anyways my play was alot tighter, I still made mistakes, but at least I knew where my misplays were.

Also exchanged for my first pack from the store... but I had to top up 50 cents for a pack of Timespiral... had to open immediately and surrender my plastic wrapper...

I wonder why.


I actually like my plastic wrapper as i use them to store the cards (yah yah you think we all use shoe boxes??? lol)


For extended I joined a local extended tourney.

1st round I lost 2 in a row I think. To Stamford I think.

2nd round I managed to draw. But given a more tested build I should have won.

Now I learnt an important lesson in this match. Never do anything for your opponent =P

I sped up play. I could have played slow (a CAL deck is very very slow). I could have pile shuffled. All PERFECTLY LEGAL.

But I did a simple shuffle. POTENTIALLY giving myself a crap draw, and in the event I was flustered and shuffled a sideboard card into my main board (rather I left it in there - I played wishes). And dear Clement decided to call on me. And it was very deliberate since he was watching very closely for the error.

Luckily he was too eager ;)

He called before the match started. I had not offered my deck for cutting, nor had play started. Thanks Bernard! And the guys were also rather supportive of that call as bad sportmanship.

I had mixed feelings.

I had sped up play even before the 2nd round ended, I had won my first round, so I had EVERY incentive to just do the CAL thing and go for the draw with a time out (oh yah Clement did the call with 1 minute left). But I did'nt, I took a loss, sped up my shuffling. And this is what I get.

I guess the problem is that I have a rather casual take on the tournament. So it really left a bad taste in my mouth.


Still at the same time, I know that this is an infringement had the game started. So, better to get this experience in an 8 man tourney than at a high level tourney. So in a way I am thankful that the incident happen and for people like Clement.

I will be more careful in future, I might still do my oppoent favours in the name of sportmanship, but NEVER again at my expense. No quarters given, none taken. I am a nice guy, not a fool. Its sad, but I am beginning to find that this world is so full of carrion feeders that you must be strong enough to be nice. Strength by grace is a stance only the strong can make.

Anyways third round was against David. Man Haunting Echoes. The only SB I can think in response is Shunt. But I want something that can screw Tormod as well. The best I can think of is trickbind/Voidslime/stifle. but all blue based =( Another solution is to play my own Haunting Echoes hohoho.

Actually I am beginning to think that Tormod cannot hurt CAL that badly. sure it sucks. But it is really what you let keep in the grave.

As a newbie to CAL, I suspect i have been very sloppy in what i keep in my grave, hence the haunting echoes was all hurt.



Anyways... the following is a draft on a FNM(actually up to this point I am actually typing on 061203)


First match:

Colin first dropped a death spore, but I had no removal for it.

Eventually he got down Vol. 7 as well as Vhad il-Dal.

All this time he was building saprolings while I was playing slivers.

I had watcher slivers and spineret slivers, as well as gemhide slivers.

But all it was a good defense.

The only offense I had was 2 looters.

When he got his combo, he proceeded to clinically remove the slivers.

Vhati il Dal converted toughness to 1 and a saproling was fed to the deathspore to finish it off.

So you know the thallid won that round lol.


2nd Match. an early griffin guide dropped Colins life total quickly. He got out a Hydra. but it met my sideboarded molder.

I gained 5 life from it.

I proceeded to race. and he succumbed.

Not to silvers mind you. So I got lucky I guess.


Third game same as game one. I mucked up the ground.

Stallmate, but he started popping saprolings.

Looters do what damage 1/1s can do.

But a deathspore soon stemmed the bleeding.

Eventually he swarmed and tromped the domains for the win.

TIme was called i lost on my last turn sighz

Oh yah. I was meant to lose. Why? Well I think he alphaed. My next card was camoflage. My full attack would have him I believe.

Life sucks and we move on.


2nd Round was paired with Sean

Lost 1st match as I got greedy and decided to keep a 2 land land (off colour as well).

Conceded early as he got a protection from white? ivory Giant.


2nd Match lost.

I'm not sure why =)




3rd Round was paired with Daryl I think.

Only 1 match as it took really long.

Essentially the game mucked up the floor again.


And he stormed empty the warrens.


Errors I made, and this is worth reflecting as it is a culmulative error.


I did not drop the spinneret sliver in hand as i wanted to muck up his combat maths.

But actually by then he had so many gobbos it did'nt really matter.

That was my mistake.

Subtle but it cost me the win. Why? Cost when stormed and attacked. He alphaed and I had the camoflage.

I fogged.

and.

I was 1 point short of winning that match (which would have won the game as time was called).


He alpahed me the following turn and that was that.

2nd match went into time quickly, but I knew it was over as both our decks do not win quickly.

Onlookers said I should have gone aggro and just drop everything, true, but going through the maths, I could'nt deal enough damage in time =(

ah well. So close to a win.