Monthly Archives: August 2013

Metallica….

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I like a lot of different music.  My college education has exposed me to a lot of different styles and forms, and my experiences teaching (guitar especially) have granted me access to many new acts and stuff like that.

I’ve had a few spells…Country Music, Punk Rock, Top 40 etc.  But through it all, Metallica remains.  I can’t make a top ten list of songs…I would rather make a top ten list of albums!  Here’s my list with some commentary.

9 and 10.   Load and Reload  I do not have a copy of these anymore.  Just the same, Load and Reload would represent low points for Metallica to me.  Not that some of the songs aren’t good…they are.  But the band is being influenced commercially too much, and they are losing some of their punk edge.  To this day I don’t like the song “Until it Sleeps.” I feel “The Hero of the Day” is a good song, but it’s weak because it is over-produced.  I love “The Memory Remains.”  The use of of the Hurdy Gurdy Marianne Faithful’s singing voice are really cool here.  But the band just seems to be thinking wrong…

8.  S & M (Symphony and Metallica)  Remember the SpartanNerd mentioning the music degree?  You see, I had this idea.  First.  It just seemed…impossible.  Surely Metallica wouldn’t be interested in working with a symphony orchestra.  Surely an orchestra wouldn’t want to work with them.  It’s like angels and devils.  Oil and water.  It is the kind of thing I would dream of, but then dismiss right away.  BUT THEN IT REALLY HAPPENED!  This is a good concert.  Not exactly the same as other live recordings Metallica had put out…A little calmer, a little longer….But you get most of the “hits” and a few others.  Before this concert, I never gave too much thought to the song “Of Wolf and Man,” for instance.  This concert put that song back on my radar.  The orchestra is its own piece of art in this concert too.  I have to wonder how the band prepared for this.  They must have had a recording.  But the orchestra just read the notes on the page.  And if you listen close you can hear some Modern period or Post Romantic style art music coming from them as they play “the fifth Beatle” to Metallica.  It’s good to hear a live orchestra playing “The Ecstasy of Gold” at the beginning.  And it’s good to hear that lead into “The Call of Ktulu,” another song that Metallica had retired.  “The Memory Remains” is a good one here, and the two new songs, especially “No Leaf Clover” are pretty good.  I feel a few things were lacking.  At the end of the concert the producers say “Next year!”  I don’t think this ever happened.  If they did, it would have been good to hear “Orion.”  I also wish they used a heavier live bell sound in “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

7.  Garage, Inc  I have similar feelings about this as I do to number six on the list.  It is more like a history lesson.  You get the rare EP “Garage Days Revisited,” the “Metallica and Friends” radio show, and some punk rock covers done in Load and Reload style.  But the real gem here is “Turn The Page,” a Bob Seager cover.  Who would have thought?

6.  Kill ’em All  My punk rock friends would probably bash me right now, for listing this album at number six.  But I really like this album.  It’s just my sixth most likely to turn on.  When I’m bored.  TO me it is more of a history lesson.  And I never listen to it without thinking of Megadeth.  (Mustaine was fired just before the recording, evidently)

5.  Ride the Lightning  People like to talk about sophomore albums generally being failures.  I like Ride the Lightning to Mortal Kombat 2.  It is an advance on the original in almost every way.  Where “Kill ’em All” had an unpolished sound, this album is only slightly less raw…That tiny bit of shine helped them really get noticed.  You also get “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Fade to Black,” and “The Call of Ktulu,” all experiments of baby-band Metallica that would grow into greater things in the future.

4.  …And Justice For All  I like this album because it is a beatdown.  It has plenty of weaknesses. (Lack of bass, band seems to wander a little, over produced at times, etc) But still it delivers the kick in the gut I need.  Guitar World Magazine said (wrongly) that after this album “Metallica laid down their axes and walked away from Thrash Metal forever.”  (That was a loose quote, and from a magazine 10 years ago.)  I like just about every song, but strangely not “One.”  I mean I like the guitar solo, but the whole life support thing and all is just too depressing.

3.  Metallica  What most people call The Black Album, me and my middle school friends used to all “Metallica Metallica”, I think because it would be listed this way in catalogues and all.  This one takes me back to a younger SpartanNerd, who was just learning the ropes of listening to music and getting involved in a scene.  I enjoy music from the 1990-1996 period more than other music…I see it as MY generations music.  The singles, videos, radio play, and grammy performances of this album are what exploded me into being a Metallica fan.  Prior to this album, I had a little exposure to “..And Justice For ALL.”  But this one got me hooked.

2.  Death Magnetic  You might be saying “Seriously?”  Yes.  It represents a return to their roots.  But they’ve matured and gone through their own little fads and all.  PLUS Robert Trujillo gets to shine.  “All Nightmare Long” and “The Unforgiven III” are my favorites, but I like it all.

1.  Master of Puppets  (of course!)  The book 1000 Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die says something deep about this album.  It says that it is the point where Metallica began to create “thinking-man’s music.”  A statement so true.  I firmly believe this album is the brainchild of Cliff Burton alone.  Sure the rest of the band definitely had a role, but it is so much more artistically advanced than their other albums, in ways the band has not returned to since.  References to H.P. Lovecraft stories, Sonata Allegro forms, guitar synth, and concept album.
           My highlights are…

The intro to “Battery”, with it’s clean but still heavy opening chords, to the punch in the gut you get right after…Then this song breaks into something akin to stuff on “Kill ’em All.”

The song “Master of Puppets.”  Honestly, I get sort of tired of this song because of the heavy rotation it gets EVERYWHERE.  But no denying it is a true metal masterpiece.  The instrumental section in the middle that leads to a beatdown chorus and then a wild solo…this is great stuff!

“The Thing That Should Not Be” is just about the HEAVIEST SONG IN HISTORY.  This song is TERRIFYING!

“Sanitarium” Arguably the weakest song on the album.  I do like the chimed harmonics at the beginning.  This song cements to the concept premise of people exerting power over others…the theme of the whole album.

“Disposable Heroes” is a war song.  I love it!

“Leper Messiah,” probably the most controversial song on the album.  This song comes close to the heaviness of “The Thing That Should Not Be.”  And man is it fun to play!  Do I agree with what it says.  I do, in fact.  This song is about TV preachers and the like who abuse the religious trust that other people put into them…Somewhere I heard that James Hetfield’s mom was a member of Christian Science, and died of cancer, refusing treatment.  If true, this song and other religious statements by Metallica probably speak to their anger and feelings towards the way the Church has treated them.  And instead of people going around criticizing them for their views, or wondering why they aren’t afraid of satanism, humanism, and atheistic viewpoints or why they might yield those (whether they do or not), they should instead show them the joy that a true relationship with Jesus Christ can bring.  The problem is most people of christmas persuasions in America do not show joy and peace.  Just judgement, head shaking, and finger pointing.  But that’s enough of my high-horse!

“Orion”  If I was stuck on an island…….You know the rest.  I don’t have a favorite song.  More like a list of favorite songs.  But this song is up there on that list.  I tried to play this for years.  Then one day I cheated, and looked in a tab book.  I mean this piece is heavy, danceable, imaginitive, sexy (yes!) and is also a statement….It belongs on this album as a testament to the artistry of Cliff Burton…and goes along with the theme of people controlling others…The stars are ever above us.  Orion the hunter hunts every night.  Horoscopes are printed every day….

“Damage Inc.”  I believe that this song was recorded as a continuation of “Disposable Heroes.”  This is probably truly the last “old school” Metallica song.  You could argue about that, but with the death of Cliff Burton, this creative mode came to an end.  What if Cliff was still with us?  How would the band have been different over the years?

Pandora #1, #2, and #3 comics review

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When I signed up at the Tangled Web to get most of the Justice League Trinity War crossover stories, I hesitated on a couple of titles….One was Pandora,  I’m glad I went ahead and ordered it

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Pandora was first introduced to us back in the first few issues of Justice League as their backup stories.  I spent my time scratching my head….Who was this, and why did I care?  Remember, I was new to DC, pretty much.  Then things got worse with Justice League, showcasing Cheezeball Shazam each month.

It’s a good thing I have been reading the JLA stories as well….There are a lot of tie-ins.

The puzzle of Pandora is why I hesitated….But she has turned out to be a really cool character.  She is an immortal, an idea that I did not know about, but apparently there are more immortals out there in the DC universe.

So Pandora feels she needs to open the box.  In this story, Pandora’s Box appears to be an alien skull, covered in gold and bearing a third eye in the middle of its head.

The box seems to possess people who touch it, and they turn evil, but it wears off after they drop the box.  People as “good” as Superman and Wonder Woman.  On the other hand, it makes Vandal Savage (another immortal) remorseful….to the point of crying.

Without giving away too many plot points, Pandora is on a quest to kill the seven deadly sins, who are spirits guiding humanity in evil throughout history.  For thousands of years, she’s not been able to slay them.  Not even hurt them.  And they call her mother, which has to be bad.

One cool thing she is doing is having a weapons maker inscribe runes and stuff on her guns.  I GUESS the idea is to enchant the weapons so they can kill the spirits.  It seems to be pointless though….another example of her failure.

So she released the sins, (who killed her tribe), became cursed and immortal, and flounders in trying to stop the sins, then trains to try and fight them or even kill them….Her whole life seems to be a failure.

Which is why I think I am rooting for her.

What do you think?  Comment people…I have some stuff to give away!

Comic Review…He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #5….The Origin of Despara (She-Ra)

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I might be one of the few commentators out there who enjoy the new Masters of the Universe comic.  I hope it’s truly doing well…And I hope the Justice League crossover gives it a big boost as well.

Of all the things about the comic that could be said, the most striking thing has been the appearance of She-Ra as Despara.  She has a butch haircut, and goes around in Hordak’s body armor ruthlessly….and I mean ruthlessly killing rebels and masters.  She is more than Force Captain Adora could have ever been, (in regard to the Filmation story.)  No she’s a cold blooded zealot, wanting to shine victory on Hordak.

The origin story here did not disappoint!

Here’s the cover.

I am glad to see the classic feminine look of She-Ra here.  We really haven’t gotten to see this much in the DC New 52 version of the comics….aside from a variant cover that I have not been able to get.  But if anything, Comics have proven that the cover doesn’t usually tell us much.

But this cover does….In this issue, the lies of the Horde become apparent to Despara….And she learns that she was Adora from the Shadow Weaver, who in this story has been a “mother” to her.

I like everything about this re-telling.  In fact, in the old established story, some things didn’t make any sense.  Here it all makes perfect sense.  It is well explained, and furthermore, we see the Horde’s twist on things, having the origin told from the Shadow Weaver’s point of view.

Skeletor stole Adora from the crib…Why didn’t he take Adam?  This story explains it.  The Sorceress intervened.

Why hasn’t Randor, or anyone else mentioned it yet…His mind has been wiped!  Everyone’s has been to help them with their grief by the Sorceress.

And Marlena…she’s dead too, evidently.

A couple of other things I liked.  Shadow Weaver shows her jealousy of Hordak here.  She speaks ill of  him and his arrogance.  She continues to see herself as Despara’s mother, a character quality I was unaware of.  (I haven’t watched much She-Ra….I AM a boy, you know.)  She also speaks of Skeletor in glowing terms…It’s like she’s in love with him.  This is also apparently new.  FInally, she says that she believes the Sorceress allowed Adora to be taken.  Not sure if this is her trying to put more slant on it or what, but it makes sense the way she says it.  She says that it is the kind of sacrifice Grayskull would require.  And that only one of the twins was required to fulfill the prophecy.

So my logic is, in the taking of Adora, 20 or so years were bought to train Adam to become He-Man.  At least this is how Shadow Weaver, a dark mage, tells it.

In this issue we see the Shadow Weaver killed by Hordak and his godlike power.  Why can’t he so easily kill Adora?  A good question.

What I didn’t like.

Teela had to stab her at the end, didn’t she?  Why couldn’t she have taken the heroic high road?  The writers are typecasting Teela into someone more hardcore than she should be.  I don’t much care for the snarky conversations between her and Adam, or the way she snaps virtually everyone else up.  She always gets the last word in these stories, and is such a prominent character that you could almost call this book “Teela and the Masters of the Universe.”  Here it is no different.  Despara heals Teela, and Teela thanks her by stabbing her back.

Also, we’ve seen who killed in this series…

Leech, Sorceress, Flutterina, and now Marlena and Shadow Weaver.  And at 11:30 at night my memory might be evading me.

Keep in mind that we’ve only had a six issue web series, a six issue mini-series, and five issues of the ongoing series.  If I’m right, that adds up to a character killed off in 1 out of 3 books.  What other comic can survive like this….My thinking is that the writers are thinking short term.  “No way this series is going to last much longer.”  I hope I’m not right.

At least Man-At-Arms hasn’t been turned into a snake man.

And at least Orko is still a good guy….oh…he’s not…..

What I hope to see

Next issue is the last issue of this story arc.  I hope to see Despara shed that name and claim Adora.  I hope to see her raise the sword and become She-Ra…The classic version we know…not the soldier from Wreck-It Ralph.  Somehow the sword gets to her, and it’s power breaks the fog of lies that surround her.

And I hope she tips the scales away from Hordak.

But for the future…I want to see a She-Ra book of her own.  Now we will have a hero with a truly dark history.  Someone who has to find redemption from the evil she has committed.  The book would show us how she gains the trust of the rebels and breaks the back of the Horde.  It would be awesome!

Is it too much of a fantasy?  Let me know!  Commentors could win a prize!

Unboxing……Magic The Gathering Core Set M14 Event Deck

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I already expressed my woes about the Magic 2014 Core Set not being as good as the 2013 one.

So why did I buy this Event Deck?  It is mostly made of Ravnica Block cards that I didn’t have!

Here’s my unboxing.

First, I never shared my Playmat with the world before.  I believe it is titled “Protector of the Keep.”  I’ll save my reasons for liking it for another entry, but you should know that this is the background you see on my photos of the cards.

On .with the show.

You’d think there’s be a Chandra in this deck……..

This event deck comes in a box similar to other event decks I’ve opened.  This one comes with the cover showing off Chandra’s new look, and the back gives a description which in my words summarily says “This deck is Gruul.  Bloodrush and Burn to win.”
That cover slides right off….


You get to see the real box.  In my experience these boxes are OK.  You just can’t be too rough with the fastener because it is nothing more than a little bent piece of cardbord.  Unfortunately, you will not be able to fit your deck and the sideboard in the box without it bucking a little if you are using card sleeves.
The deck comes with a spindown counter.  Mine is blue.  I wonder about everyones?  It seems like green and red would have been more appropriate?
There is of course some promotional garbage in the box.   This is making its way right to the trash before it distracts a SpartanSmurf.  But first, a picture of the decklist.

If this picture isn’t good enough, there is a little thing called a Web Search!

There is also a little divider.  If you are not using sleves, then this can help you divide your sideboard from your main deck.
A good iPhone background pic….
The cards come in two saran-wrapped decks.  The larger one is the deck.  The smaller one is the sideboard.
Cigarette style wrappers…I guess to fuel our addiction!
I am not going to discuss every card, or provide a photo.  But I am of many. I am offering a little analysis and opinion.  That’s all.
The first card of note is Kalonian Tusker, and M14 card.  I like this guy because he is a 3/3 and only costs two green.  This deck came with four.
Dryad Militant is a 2/1 for one green (or white).  This creature is to function as a way of stopping people from the Flashback mechanic that is going to be ILLEGAL ANYWAY, at least in standard next month.  It might serve some purpose for the Theros block that we have yet to see.  It is a pretty card though.


I only had one Wild Beastmaster.  So now I have two.  Whenever she attacks eith other creatures, they get a boost equal to her poser.  The trick here is to bloodrush her when you attack….so then the bloodrush effect is amplified onto the other creatures….  Why did they only include one copy in this deck?


Ogre Backbreaker is for endgame, at five cost.  I see this guy as more of a finishing move.


Deadbridge Goliath is cool, because it is an insect!  Scavenge is kind of the opposite of bloodrush, but I see why its here in this deck.  Again, this is more of a finishing move.

I don’t usually picture a beetle when I picture a Goliath….



Gore Clan Rampager is one of the most commonly encountered cards at tournaments.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen it played as a creature.  You hold the card and bloodrush onto an attacker, giving them trample as well.  There a four copies of this in the deck.


I had been wanting another Rubbleback Raiders card.  SpartanSmurf #2 has one, but will not trade it to me (probably wisely so).  Each time he attacks, he gets +1/+1 counters for each attacking creature.  I wanted this card before to put in my tokens deck….Just imagine the strength it could have.  In this deck it is designed more to function like the Tusker, just as a (potentially) big one.
You can really Wreck stuff with this card!
Wrecking Ogre recently beat me down!  It has double strike, so your getting a 6/6 for 5 mana.  But for that 5 mana, why not bloodrush it onto something else and make that thing stronger and give it double strike.  I only wish this deck came with more copies.  True, this is a finishing move, but still.


All the land that came with the deck was basic or a Gruul Guildgate, with the exception of Stomping Ground and Rogues Passage,  I wanted another copy of each land anyway….
And this brings me to the first modification I will make to the deck…I am going to swap out some of the forests for another Stomping Ground and a Rootbound Crag.  The Rogues Passage is going into a different deck.
What else am I going to change…
I put my other Wild Beastmaster in…and removed an Elvish Mystic.
I replaced every Shock with a Mizzium Mortar.  The Mizz is one more mana more costly, but it is well worth the extra cost for the versatility and the greater damage.  On the other hand, it is also a Sorcery rather than an Instant, so you get a different rhythm when playing it.
I replaced the Deadbridge Goliath with another Ogre Backbreaker…..At the end of the day this is a better card.
I put a Chandra’s Phoenix in place of Elvish Mystic.  And also an Advocate of the Beast and Marauding Maulhorn in place of Elvish Mystics.  It’t not that I don’t like the Mystics, it’s just that this isn’t really a ramp deck…
What about that sideboard?
It came with Savage Summoning, a good card to surprise your opponents after they tap out on their turn.  I can’t wait to play this card, but I haven’t had the chance yet.

I can’t wait to play this card!

Skullcrack is a good control card.

AND it’s technically better than shock

I couldn’t imagine a green and red deck coming without Naturalize in the sideboard.  Just in case that opponent is trying something like Ratchet Bomb or even using an enchantment against you.


Act of Treason…..Man am I glad they went back to the original art!  That art from the Ravnica block was creepy!


Annihilating Fire is another answer to Flashback card.  But also a good answer to something that blinks like Obzedat or Aetherling.  If you play it right.

This card is just…..meh

There are three Gruul Charms…I am not a fan.

Where’s the litterbox?

And then there is enlarge.  This is one of the biggest growth effects ever.  But it is mighty costly.
So I took out the Enlarges, and added Thragtusk and Farseek.  And I swapped out the Gruul Charms for Rancors.

I lost to SpartanSmurf #1 last night just playing the deck vanilla….I’ll post results later after I play my modified version!

Repaired MacBook Pro!

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First of all, I have to thank the Lord Jesus.  He takes us through these kinds of trials.   And I learned so much going through the ordeal.  So many things.

Today I was at work, bothered by every technology issue.  These folks I work with have delegated some of the technology help to me.  Five times a day someone’s Windows 8 tablet/computer hangs, doesn’t sync, fails to recognize peripherals, etc.  SpartanNerd that I am, perhaps I am a little bit TOO unafraid of computers!  They keep me hopping, and I am happy to help.  (How often does Mac OSX hang or fail to recognize peripherals….NEVER!  We should have got macs!)

But what bothers me, is that I could not fix my own MacBook Pro, which took a nasty fall in May and hasn’t worked correctly since.  I can fix everyone else’s problem but my own.

Now I’ve opened this machine several, several times.  Stared at it, poked at the wires.  Removed things.    Nothing worked.  It always would go to sleep shortly after showing me the apple screen.  Also in Bootcamp mode with Windows 7.  The only mode that would work was Windows Safe Mode for some reason.  But then the machine is severely stunted, so….

I detailed my workaround in this post.  Basically, I trial-and-error-ed the mac hard reset and PRAM clear over and over, restarting until I heard the fans blow, which apparently prevented the machine from sleeping.  But in this weird, undocumented mode, the keyboard and trackpad do not work.  So I have been using an Apple bluetooth mouse and keyboard that I have laying around for my iMac.  These items didn’t work that great with the iMac, but they have been a lifesaver in my situation.  Furthermore, in this stunted mode the computer is much more sluggish.  And the Superdrive wouldn’t work.

But not now.  After today’s revelation!  How come I never saw it before?

I recently discovered that I could go into this secret mode, and cause the fans to stop blowing after startup, by choosing “Sleep” from the apple menu, and then causing it to wake up.  I discovered this by accident…The bluetooth mouse is very sensitive.  I would choose “sleep,” the screen would darken and fan would stop, but before I could flip the switch on the mouse, the movement would wake it back up….but the fans were not blowing.  This little accident got me thinking about the problem some more.

My thought process was….”Maybe the ribbon cable from the keyboard is loose somehow…That’s why it won’t wake up.”  I thought of this in the past, but when I saw how hard it was to fool with the MacBook Pro Unibody Topcase, I backed off.  You more or less have to disassemble the whole thing.  But today, with newfound courage and “what do I have to lose,” I decided to go ahead with the operation.

But it didn’t come to that!  After I removed the battery, hard drive, DVD drive, some of the cooling system…I realized I could see the enclosure magnets…How come I never noticed them before…I think it had something to do with removing the hard drive.  But as I looked at those, I began to think….The sensor…must be somewhere up here near the magnets?   If it is not in the screen.

So I checked the keyboard cable.  It was fine.

I thought about the sensor some more…and found one for sale on eBay.  Now I didn’t buy it…I just looked at it….It is connected to the battery indicator lights….Those little LEDs that tell you how full the battery is if you press a little nearly invisible button.

So my reasoning was…”Can the machine work if I remove those?  How about if I just disconnect them?”  Guess what…

PROBLEM SOLVED!

What I Learned

Where does Jesus fit in this story?  As I was disassembling the machine, I thought, “If I break it, oh well.  I was planning on replacing it anyway.”  Then I stopped and said a prayer right then and there.

Today it was Jesus who revealed the fix to me.

What have I learned from this three months of torturing?  (To me, that’s what it has been.)

I am too attached to my stuff.  I have had some near depression because of this.  Remember the long blog hiatus?  It’s not that I couldn’t blog.  I didn’t feel like it.  I didn’t feel like using my other mac, my iPad mini, or my iPhone to blog.  I didn’t feel like using my work-issued PC (though I probably wouldn’t have anyway) or another laptop I have access too.

Because my favorite machine was broken.

I also only recorded one song this summer….Because of my broken laptop.  Notwithstanding I had the ability to record other ways….(iRig, Guitar to USB, digital monitors, Digitech GNX4, or other mentioned devices.)

I came out of my funk about the time the BIG LOTS MOTUC thing hit.  I bit the bullet, and forced my Macbook Pro to work for me so I could review figures.  But the rituals that I had to do to make it work were killing it for me.

What else did I learn… Nothing as deep.  Now I know how to replace/upgrade the hard drive, remove and replace the SuperDrive, and remove and replace the battery.  All of which I was convinced I would have to go to the genius bar to do.

I was going to grudgingly buy a new mac, probably at around $1300.  Jesus kept me from this by helping me fix it today….Now I have one more blessing to count!

Two Unbeatable PokeMon decks

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Long ago, between the addiction with Shadow Era and Magic the Gathering, me and my boys began playing PokeMon cards.

Now I have some background with PokeMon.  In college, my roomates would watch the show.  I would not…But eventually when I got a Gameboy Color, I got the first PokeMon game, and HATED IT.  You would think I would have like it, being a fantasy lover and all that.  Also being a fan of Zelda and Final Fantasy.  But PokeMon the game just didn’t do it for me.

It wasn’t long before I was confiscating PokeMon cards from students, as they were banned.  (Most cards are banned at school.)  I would read what was on the card and scratch my head.  Sometimes an “energy” card would turn up.  Then I really scratched my head!  That made no sense to me at all.  In fact, Trading Card Games didn’t make sense to me.

But after I finally started playing the game with my boys, I saw that it was really easy.  I liked how the game allowed the boys to win, it wasn’t just me dominating all the time.

But now I have two decks that can’t be beaten.  And I must consider making a deck that is weak enough for them to take out so that they won’t lose confidence.

Deck #1….Reshiphlosion  (Reshiram and Typhlosion)  link to bulbapedia

This deck is called a “championship deck.”  The cards do not have the standard back of the regular cards.  Basically, it only has four Reshirams and four Cydiquil/Quilava/Typhlosions.  (Well, technically it only has one Quilava…It counts on Rare Candy to evolve Typhlosion most of the time)  This deck is all about card advantage, being padded with support cards that let you search for the cards you need.  The two Pokemon have synergy….Reshiram has a Blue Flare attack, that hits for 120 damage, but then he loses two fire energy to the discard pile.  Typhlosion allows you to take fire energy out of the discard pile and put it on a Pokemon….See how this is an unbeatable strategy?

Deck #2….Furious Knights/Noble Victories (heavily modified)

I picked up Furious Knights one day when we all decided to splurge on some cards.  The knights are Escalvier in this deck.  And I found it to be weak sauce.  So I looked to the Reshiram and Typholosion deck for inspiration!  I included four copies of Shelmet and Karablast, each of which likes the other.  These evolve into Escalvier and Accelgor, so I included the four copies of each of those.  Everything else pretty much allows me to get what I need out of the deck, with the exception of some healing cards and Snivy/Servine/Serperior, which are there to help heal the PokeMon.  (you see, because this deck is a grass deck, it can be burned very easily.)

The idea is to get the Escalvier attack “Twin Needle”  If you can pull this off, you can knock out almost anyone…your opponents become anxious every-time you flip the coin!

So, anyone want a complete deck list?  Write a comment and I will get that out to you!