Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony…SpartanNerd’s Music Review

May 11, 2019 by SpartanNerd

Nothing could taint the experience of finally seeing the Ninth Symphony performed live! The Spartanburg Philharmonic absolutely nailed it…It may be the highest art Spartanburg has ever experienced, and this is an artsy place. Worries about three of my students who didn’t arrive couldn’t scar it. Neither the hazardous weather; neither the annoying synthetic buzz of the speakers in Twitchell Auditorium at Converse College: neither the horrible parking situation or record crowd audience. No. Beethoven’s music transcended it all. This is a piece that I have purchased several times over the years, the first of which when I was sixteen years old and had my family scratching their heads. A piece that I have taught about since my career began with glowing reverence. A piece that I have never seen performed except in odd snips and pieces, and never with singers.

The program started with the unconnected Modern piece, Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question,” which provided a point of variety and contrast, and set the stage for conductor Stefan Sanders’ remarks about the nature of life…the What, How, When, Why, and Where of life. This piece has a pretty and controlled strings component, and “questioners” who played from the balcony, disconnected from the rest of the players, and playing with differing keys and tempos. He explained that Beethoven strived to give us the answer that Charles Ives was also looking for with his greatest and final symphony. He described the first movement as having an urgency, the second movement as a type of demonic dance, the third movement a tribute to love, and the fourth movement all about brotherly love. I personally have always given deeper explanations of each movement…more technical ones. But Mr. Sanders let his orchestra do the talking…

As the first movement began, the straight sounds of open violin strings, the droning of the winds, the feeling of the orchestra being tuned, (a revolutionary idea in the great master’s day), the power of it all was too much for me. My heart began to race and, yes, I began to cry. How many times have I just sat and listened to recording of big-name orchestras? How many rides from college back to Pacolet have I let this play? (Yes. Years ago.). I remember listening to this to go and pick up a pet rabbit with one of my sons, and I explained each movement and what was going on to him. All of this crashed down on me at once. To me the Spartanburg Philharmonic’s rendition was devastating, powerful, and unashamed to make statements in every way. And the tempo that they played it in was perfect, not dragging at all. And as annoying as that droning synthetic speaker sound in that room was, It was completely washed away by the raw strength of the orchestra.

During the break between the first and second movements, you could hear a torrential downpour as a storm raged outside. This was God smiling at us as we listened…the second movement evokes a tempest, and this heavy rain made a perfect backdrop. As I listened, I noticed how perfectly balanced this orchestra is. I have a few recordings that sometimes when I listen to, and feel like the recording or the players don’t sound as spot on as they could. We had good seats for this concert…it’s true. But the orchestra itself was pristine. Never all night was there a single time that a horn was too loud, a section overpowering, or even a drum too tight. I mention that I have never seen the Ninth Symphony performed live before, but I HAVE seen this movement performed a few times. But the Spartanburg Philharmonic brought the greatest performance tonight.

As there was another break before the third movement, something odd happened that I didn’t understand until later. Four singers entered the stage and took a seat at the front. For this event, the choir that was to sing the Chorale at the end was seated onstage for everyone to see. But these four entered and took a seat up front, undoubtedly the soloists who would sing in the final movement. And suddenly I had a slight panic. There was to be no singing until the fourth movement? Were they skipping the third movement? (Blasphemy!). No. Nothing like that at all. I felt my tension ease as the orchestra began to play the prettiest part of the the Ninth Symphony, the Pastoral movement. I do enjoy the melody of this part…it reminds me of some of Beethoven’s other work. But I will be the first to tell you as a teacher that this is also the least exciting part of the whole work. After listening to the thing several times, you know the real treat is in the fourth movement, and sometimes it feels like some of the extended phrases and sections of the third movement are hoops Beethoven has you jump through to keep you anxious for the end. The orchestra delivered this movement nicely, and then…

So why did those singers come onstage so early? Mr. Sanders had about a fifteen second break in between the third and fourth movement. I don’t even think the players rested their instrument or turned pages. He froze in place, as many times I have done in conducting different groups…and then, with more electricity than the raging storm outside, the fourth movement began, and I jumped to the edge of my seat! And so the conversation began between the low strings and the rest of the orchestra, and it is like every single note is stamped on my soul. I look over at the cellists and bassists at the right, and then back at the other players on the left, anticipating and reveling in it all. Beethoven wrote this when he was COMPLETELY DEAF! And the classic themes of the three movements before, Orchestra Tuning, Thunderstorm, and Pastoral are all shot down, and then the low players begin to play the hymn of the ages, the Ode to Joy, and the rest of the orchestra follows suit. Then on cue. My kinsmen, the singers, they all stand in one accord at the right moment…the same electric music that made me sit up in my chair had me moving again as they all sprang into action. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that wonderful bass singer singing the classic German text as we hear the conversation yet again, with words. And how did this great chorus sound? I was worried about the balance. But it was sparkling and as pure as the greatest recording I have ever listened to. And did I mention that I was glad to hear them singing in German? My wife, sitting beside me the whole time, elbowed me in the side during the Turkish March and asked me if I was alright, and I realized again that I was crying. The quartet delivered part beautifully, and when It was time for the rest of the chorus to come in with those notes…the ones with the droning trumpet…the notes that let you know a cathartic moment is upon you, it was ecstatic. And the coda section of the piece, (should we really call it that?). This terrific group made it the greatest “mad dash” of all time. Literally, the second that it was over, the audience roared in applause and stood to its feet. The clapping went on for…five minutes? And then it kept going! Of course there wouldn’t be an encore, not after all that. But what a rush!

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was the closing performance of the 2018-2019 orchestra season for the Spartanburg Philharmonic. I want more. Our city needs more. Please keep this happening Spartanburg!

Masters of the Universe Minicomics Collection

July 4, 2016 by SpartanNerd

I reviewed the Masters of the Universe Minicomics Collection back in May, after having a tough time getting my hands on a copy. Since then, I have slowly read through every page, and can give you more of a review of the contents rather than just the product.

VINTAGE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

First thing first. “Miniternia” is definitely a favorite universe of mine now. I was aware of it, and had read a few books from it. When I was a kid, these books just confused me because they were so different from what I was used to (the Filmation cartoon.) But reading these as an adult, there is a definite vibe to those books not found anywhere else. There are comparisons to Conan the Barbarian, but as a Conan fan, I don’t think so. Miniternia is a great comic story…an innocent story in a way, and in a way more pure of a story from a writers standpoint. Mattel gave the writers carte blanche, as long as they depicted the toys. The barbarian He-Man is awesome, and the miniternia Skeletor is more insane than his other versions.

I remember hearing that there were fundamentalist Christians boycotting and protesting He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I was vaguely aware of this as a child (I AM a Christian, and was raised in a Christian home.) But as an adult, I heard people talk about it on the Roast Gooble Dinner podcasts. I can see how, after reading over half of the book, I’d bet the word “demon” and “devil” were invoked in almost every single story! Watching the Filmation show, this also comes up…I don’t know if that was daring on the part of the writers, or what?

You can clearly see transitional guidance between Miniternia and the comics that more closely resembled Filmation shows. The stories become even flimsier sometimes, and highlighting of the products becomes central, rather than story and character development. Then one day, out of nowhere, the Evil Horde becomes more prominent. As a kid, the Horde annoyed me because to me, Skeletor was supposed to be the ultimate baddy. And Hordak was apparently his teacher. I came to love the Horde as much as anything else in MOTU, but I can see why I felt that way. Mattel began to push the Horde in the mini comics, and there were more Horde figures on the shelves, and the commercials depicted the Horde more. They were supposed to be another faction…which worked well in a house with three kids. Hordes became She-Ra’s main villain, but I didn’t watch She-Ra…(yeah, right!)

I remember the Snake Men story vibrantly from when I was a child…my oldest brother was very interested in them. My mother (and grandmother) are deathly terrified of snakes, so…I never really thought of them as another faction…just as a side team that worked for Skeletor, which is exactly how the mini comics portray them. Throw in that Kobra Kahn and Tongue Lasher appeared on Skeletor’s team on the Filmation show working with Skeletor, and you can see why. It was the Mike Young 200x show that really highlighted them as another team…an even deadlier team that Skeletor’s bunch.

Of all of the things about He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, I rarely ever complain. But now is my chance. The “Three Towers” really annoy me. It is one of the rarest toys to be found, and is therefore a valuable item. But I don’t care. The whole concept is STUPID.

Lets replace Castle Grayskull and Snake mountain with two smaller versions, and put a stupid lion tower in the middle. We can connect the whole universe together with a roller coaster thingy.

There are SOO many reasons why I dislike the three towers. It is billed as “playset Eternia.” So the whole planet of Eternia can fit into one Playset? This was EXACTLY how it was depicted in the minicomics. I heard someone call it “Grayskull 2.0.” Castle Grayskull was supposed to be this ultimate place of power. But the Three Towers were meant to supplant all of that.

Eternia must be about the size of Spartanburg or upstate South Carolina…It seems it takes King Grayskull in the Mike Young cartoon about three days to cross the whole place. Maybe the three towers fit that scheme? There is a map in the He-Man art book, it came with certain characters if you subscribed to the “Club Grayskull” or whatever. That map shows the towers stretched out across a huge central continent. That MIGHT be plausible. But why would they all connect together by a vehicle? And if “Viper Tower” was meant to be Snake Mountain (It DID more closely resemble the cartoon version), and Grayskull tower was supposed to be the base for the good guys…just why? I believe Mattel sensed that the vintage line was coming to an end, and were getting desperate.

SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER

The She-Ra comics were pretty cute. One of the interviews mentions that there were strict guidelines for drawing female characters. That is apparent…the depictions of all those she-ra women are not sexy at all. Sometimes they are child-like and pretty. The She-Ra comics “de-evolve” from Minicomics format into Storybook format. There is an incorrect footnote in the first She-Ra story, that says the Evil Horde is not mentioned in the comics ever again after the first one. But that was inaccurate as the final two She-Ra stories have Catra mentioning the Horde, and also depict Horde troopers.

These books give you less of a sense of “the great rebellion,” and more just sweet little stories. Catra, “the jealous beauty” is the main villain in these stories, but she can’t really do anything worse than children do to each other, it seems. She steals a treasure box, she crashes a party by spraying everyone with water. She spreads a rumor. SERIOUSLY?

I made it through all of the She-Ra books, and rather enjoyed them. But they are far too shallow. I enjoyed the way they usually depicted She-Ra with the mask and Adora with the headband…A device you never saw on the cartoon. And I thought the story of “Crystal Dimension” was interesting, where Swift Wind was transformed into a crystal version of himself.

I never really got a sense that The Crystal Castle was a She-Ra’s place of power? It seemed to be a place where she and her friends lived instead. The enchanted forest was there. But Catra seemed to be homeless.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HE-MAN

As a child, I was just getting “too old” for toys as New Adventures came out. My oldest brother wasted no time in getting a few toys, but I don’t think I ever saw a single episode of the cartoon. I DID remember reading the comic, however.

I wasn’t aware that there were only four comics ever produced for that toy-line. I DID know that it was short lived.

Basically, the vintage He-Man and Skeletor characters translated smoothly over to the futuristic versions, with Skeletor getting burned badly while witnessing Adam transform into He-Man, and having to “fix himself” with bionic parts. The only idiotic thing is that He-Man’s sword is already a “techno sword.” They should have been able to draw the classic sword in those few panels. I always thought it was kind of stupid that the power of Grayskull had to be transferred into that starship…Really? The art and the storytelling in these books is good, but different from the earlier ones. As we read through all of these, we really see Bruce Timm’s art style mature up. Once, He-Man even looks like we would see Batman on the nineties cartoon! (Not in a New Adventures book…one of the final vintage comics.)

200x COMICS

I almost forgot! The singular “pack-in” comic is included here. With Val Staples and Emiliano Santalucia forming the bond that would become MV Creations, (and eventually break apart into the saddest schism maybe in the whole brand.) There are two comics here, one that never made it to print.

These are similar to the 200x comics that Image and Cross Gen would publish, but shorter and having a lot less content. The art is just about exactly the same. Emiliano is great! (The second book was drawn by someone else, who somewhat emulated Emiliano’s style.)

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS MINI COMICS

Before the collection, I had no opportunities to read these stories. I heard fans complain about them because they leave out a lot of story details that should be filled in. The first one is a modern retelling of the first vintage Preternia book, and the following two pull together the entire story to include even the New Adventures. An interesting detail, this story portrays He-Ro as the originator of the Power of Grayskull when he passes the Sword of He over to King Grayskull in death. Funny how it ended, with a remark about building a castle and naming it after He-Ro. (It would be named Castle Grayskull!)

I also thought the twist where Skeletor gets the techno virus from Bionatops in order to transform into his New Adventures form was also fun! I was confused about King Grayskull, King He-man (he makes an appearance!) and King Miro. What was that all about?

The art on these books are terrifically modern, and yes, they COULD have gave us more story. I see how these serve the same purpose as the earlier mini comics…justify more toys. They even introduced members of He-Ro’s team that have never been produced, simply to spark interest. Ultimately, mini-comics aren’t the best vehicle for telling a grand story…they are a place to jump off and use your imagination. And since Scott Neitlich was the guy in charge of these, that statement sounds exactly like something he would have said.

EXTRAS

The Mini-Comic collection contains lots of interviews…most of them seem to have come directly from Roast Gooble Dinner podcasts. Maybe the DID actually re-interview some of the people…and maybe these are redacted and edited versions of those interviews. I enjoyed reading them all, thought they didn’t teach me much of anything new because I had already heard it from the mouth of the person being interviewed.

So, just when I think James Eatock has astounded me with his intense Fanhood and knowledge of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, he surprises me yet again!

James “Bustatoons” Eatock apparently is the owner of a discarded and never produced mini comic, which is published at the back of this book. It apparently never made it to the coloring stage. I wonder if more stuff like this is out there? And what a find…AND how does someone like him find all this stuff? The comic is apparently the supposed pack-in with Flying Fists He-Man…it has some details issues, which might be why it was scrapped. But it is a terrific read.

And finally we have an outline of a never-produced mini comic, which would have featured Faker prominently. It is cool to read over, and I wonder if any fans who are good artists have made this book as fan art?

I enjoyed reading the Minicomics collection, and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of He-Man…a great value at under $30. Reading this kept me from purchasing other comics for awhile…I always had something new to read, and this will make its way to my office at work to read in my “spare time.”

SpartanNerd Review…He-Man: The Eternity War #8

August 1, 2015 by SpartanNerd

DC’s remix of Mattel’s classic property has recently received a lot of love from fans and critics, including the SpartanNerd. However, this time, I don’t feel as good.

Some background.

In issue #5, The Goddess/Sorceress/Teela reveals that destiny has three faces…Serpos, Zoar, and Horokoth. Serpos was the ancient god of the snake-men. Zoar has been Serpos’ replacement for ages for the Eternians, and Horokoth a god for the Horde. The Goddess thinks the Age of Horokoth is inevitable, and wonders if He-Man could, or even should prevent it.

Issue #6 shows us a dystopian future where Adam becomes King He-Man, and rules with an iron fist. He has enlisted his former enemies, Skeletor’s minions, to be a big part of his army, and is fighting against She-Ra, who leads the former Masters of the Universe as rebels against him. We see him married to Teela, who reverts to green Goddess mode and we realize it was a vision given to Adam of what the future is to become if He-Man beats back the Horde himself. So He-Man breaks the sword!

Issue #7 is more back-story for Skeletor and the Havoc Staff. Evidently, strangely, Skeletor became the Evil Overlord of Destruction by breaking the time-space continuum and preventing his own murder at Hordak’s hands…an event that had to happen because the skull on the Havoc Staff is his own skull, only twisted by demonic magic. Skeletor also tells us that he helped raise Despara/Adora/She-Ra, but because it is Skeletor who is talking, who knows if he’s telling the truth?

After all of these exciting stories, we get issue #8.

A break in the jaw-dropping revelations.

We get some fighting and some narrative in the first few pages.

We see Adam leading the charge with a gun-arm reminiscent of what Man-At-Arms uses.

We see King Hsss/Randor….(But why?)

And then the war is over. We see the next day, Adam sitting on the throne petting Battle Cat. (Not Cringer…hmmm…)

Basically, just one day after the war, and the snake-men seem less loyal to Adam. They were showing astonishing loyalty to He-Man. Now, not so much. Fisto has to call down this snake man who is about to execute Imp. Evidently, the snake men are supposed to know that prisoners are to stand trial.

Adam is catching cold. The Goddess thanks him for relinquishing his power.

I didn’t photograph the next parts, but here is a summary. Skeletor turns on She-Ra like we all knew he would. They transport into Hordak;s “Vault of Souls,” where he steals most of the souls, and then entices She-Ra to fall into the vault by throwing a locket with Marlena’s picture into it.

Act III…, Hordak finally makes his intentions known. The Eternians have one day of peace granted by him, (I guess because he’s such a nice guy.) Next he shows the future of those who are going to escape him to the planet Primus.

He uses the Eyes of Grayskull…

And destroys their future lives and their offsprings lives on Primus.

Wait another month, fools, for the next installment.

My quandary with this book comes in several ways.

First of all, why was King Hsss there? Is he making the snake men less loyal? Did Adam meet him in battle? All we get is a strange picture of him saying “sssso weak,” referring to Adam.

My next problem is…we didn’t see HOW Adam led them to defeat the Horde at Eternos Palace. All we get is “The day after liberation.” A whole book could have been devoted to just that. And SHOULD HAVE. We would have seen Adam as the strong leader he evidently is, apart from the Power of Grayskull. But the writers took the lame way out. “The next day…” “The day after Liberation,” “After the battle.” But we see none of the action. And action is one of the reasons why I like comic books. BOOOOO!!!! And just think how much more the rest of the story elements in this book would have meant?

My third gripe…this isn’t a stand-alone book in any way. Lets just say, for instance, a person goes into a comic book store and says, “Wow! A He-Man comic! I remember He-Man!” and picks this up. They will be put on their tail. Without knowledge of the series pretty much as a whole, you couldn’t understand what was happening in this book. The stupid looking Fright Zone/Castle Grayskull abomination isn’t self explanatory enough. The Green Goddess isn’t the Filimation Sorceress, or even Teela. The Snake Men are fighting WITH the good guys? A major nostalgia parade is rained on with an issue like this. Sometimes Nostalgia is the only thing that sells books about 1980’s properties. But this didn’t have to be the case. The book could be much more accessible if there was a brief page at the front that explains what has been happening. This has been done in MANY comics before. Basically all of the Conan comics. The modern Star Wars comics. Marvel’s current Secret War also give you a little background and some premise. But here, it is “jump in and read for the first time, and leave confused.”

My fourth gripe…New Adventures never does seem to be able to get ahead, does it. I never watched the show, but read the few mini comics that were printed. My brother had Slush Head and New Adventures He-Man. I myself am not completely unattached, and hope the best for New Adventures because there are hundreds of fans. But those fans just got dumped on. Hordak destroyed Primus. And we just got to see it in one panel! We could see it, and the future Masters of the Universe, who were also evidently destroyed.

Oh Hub City Geeks, I believe this comic was necessary for the advacement of the story. But there are many things wrong here. I hope things don’t turn south from here on out. The only redeeming quality here is the art, which is consistent with the better art printed in DC’s run of Masters of the Universe.

The SpartanNerd rates He-Man: The Eternity War #8 a 1/5. This is one of the lowest scores I have given a modern comic. It is a necessary read to have the story. But pitiful delivery.

SpartanNerd and SpartanTeen Review…Master Grade Zaku II MS-06S (Char’s Zaku II-S)

July 11, 2015 by SpartanNerd

Another Gundam Review and Rating by the New Types, SpartanNerd and SpartanTeen!

Here’s the box. As much Japanese as possible! This was ordered from Amazon, for $30-$40. (Memory is sketchy)

Here is the Gundam, fully assembled.

The SpartanNerd would like to go ahead and say, “I am very impressed with the solidness of the figure. It also has impressive articulation! This Gundam approaches my gold standard for action figures, Marvel Select Deadpool!”

Articulation? The fingers are each independent, and have three joints! When you turn the head, this eye moves with the head in an awesome robotic way. He has basically all of the articulation of a human! You can make virtually any pose with him.

For example, it was the SpartanTeen’s desire to give him this classic bazooka pose…

He does have a little trouble balancing. But no problem making this pose. And he is holding the pilot..”Char Aznable.”

He came with this classic piece of equipment for the pilot as well…an elevator stand for the pilot. Just so you know, there is another copy of the pilot in the cockpit.

He also comes with another gun, and this axe. Note that the flight stand was meant for a different gundam, but Zaku II S fits fine on it. The shield is removable, but he generally keeps it on! It has a hinge so that it is articulated as well.

The SpartanTeen would like to say a few things…

“It wasn’t hard to build. I am getting more used to building them, so that contributes.”

“He is a little bit “back heavy.” This contributes to some balance problems. For instance, he can’t stand on one foot like most other Master Grades I have built.”

“The Heathawk (axe) didn’t come painted in the correct color.”

SpartanNerd and SpartanTeen Rating…(We use this checklist)

Each item gets a score…
1 Too wrong
2 not right enough
3 could be better
4 pretty good, but…
5 perfect
There are five areas that we will score for our models… Construction, Articulation, Accessories, Playability, and Figure-Specific features. Each area has five criteria.
Construction
Was it difficult considering the level it is supposed to be? 5
Stupid problems? 5
Instructions easy to read? 5 (japanese Benefit of the doubt!)
Diagrams clear? 5
Stickers? Paint? 4 (water slide decals didn’t transfer completely. Wanted to tear. Good for battle damage!)
Articulation
stands easily? 5
moves without falling apart 5
posable/interchangeable hands 5
lots of articulation points 5
Dynamic poses 5
Accessories
Weapons 5
holds weapons/appropriate weapons 5
Stand 1
expansions 1
Weapon storage 3
playability
durable 5
photogenic 5
holds weapons? 4
Reasonalbe Facimile to media representation 5
Aesthetics
Figure-specific features 5
morph/ transform/ change form 1
action feature 5
LED lights 1
Diarama
Pilot included? Does he fit in the cockpit or is he in scale or not. 5 (Elevator stand!)

SpartanNerd and SpartanTeen Final Score for Gundam Zaku II-S is 5.2!

Let us know what you think in the comments!

SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review…Magic the Gathering Modern Event Deck

July 9, 2015 by SpartanNerd

Nobody panic! The SpartanNerd purchased something he originally said he had no interest in!

But there is a story…

First of all, I didn’t pay $79.99.

I am going to take a moment to talk about how wonderful the folks at the Tangled Web Comics and Games are in Spartanburg, SC. I came to their store yesterday with two cards to trade, Inkmoth Nexus from the French Event Deck I recently purchased and reviewed. I won’t divulge the details of our trade. But these decent folks made sure I had a good deal. This was the last copy of the event deck they had, and I needed five of the cards in the deck. As well as I didn’t have the sword or the Elspeth.

The Tangled Web is just good, small business. They are forever nice. And reward their loyal customers. Daniel, Anna, Danny, and Josh, this is a shout out to you. Thanks for being so nice! I have visited a ton of different similar shops and gaming places, but The Tangled Web stands a head taller than everyone else.

I have done tons of reviews of event decks since I began the SpartanNerd blog. And I purchased all of them from the Tangled Web except for the French Event Deck. Links to some of my reviews are below.

M14 Event Deck

Theros Event Deck

Born of the Gods Event Deck

Journey Into Nyx Event Deck

Dark Ascension Event Deck (French)

So, back to the review!

This event deck starts off like any other. With some inspiring information of the back. This time what is different is the cover sleeve feels like an essential part of the packaging.

Removing the sleeve reveals this SICK box. It has foil detailing. I thought it might be a bait and switch kind of situation, like you might encounter in some Magic products, where there is some kind of cardboard spacer or something. Nope. This box is a solid two piece construction. I think I will get a lot of use out of this box!

The top slides right off, and this is what your see.

Notable…this deck comes with sleeves! The life counter features the Modern Event Deck Set Symbol on the #20.

This time you only have one piece of paper. Finally, reason prevails! No general guide to playing Magic. A person doesn’t just walk into a Modern tournament without a deck, never having played Magic before, and drop $50+ on a product they don’t even know how to play!

Here is the ever-important decklist.

I am going to go through the cards, with comments. I have been hesitant to purchase this product because I had so many of the cards anyway.

I had these cards already. The Tidehollow Sculler is similar to the Brain Maggot. He has stronger power and toughness, but at white and black in the cost, he is harder to cast. I recently encountered Soul Warden when playing against a deck called “Soul Sisters.” Basically, mostly female characters that amount to little advantages, as well as some “hate bears.”

Path To Exile…One of my main reasons to purchase this. I recently won a copy. I need them for my Esper Control Deck. (I will cover that deck later.)

Inquisition of Kozilek. Another big reason for me to purchase this deck. Basically a Thoughtsieze effect, with a restriction that the discarded card has CMC of three or less. Think how much better than Gitaxian Probe this is. Of course, that is a cantrip, but still, if you put this in your Rack deck, or Waste Not deck, then you didn’t have to pay the two life for Thoughtsieze as often for the same effect. And then you might know if it is worth Thoutsiezing.

Shrine to the Loyal Legions…the first true White Weenie card in this deck. The Soul Warden and the Tidehollow Sculler are the only real creatures in this deck. Everything else is spells that generate tokens.

Lingering Souls…a wildly fun card. I already had four copies, and made that the base for my Esper deck.

Honor of the Pure…an anthem effect. You could put the Spear of Heliod here for an even better effect, and with he added bonus of removal.

Intangible Virtue…this card was insane during the Innistrad block! One of the best cards I remember from when I started playing Magic.

Raise the Alarm…another chump token generator. Again, a card I didn’t really need.

Zealous Persecution…a great way to suddenly boost your white weenie army’s power, while at the same time weakening your opponents creatures.

Spectral Procession…I only had one copy of this card before. It is just right for this deck, which is really a white-based deck.

I didn’t have either of these cards. I like how this Elspeth has a lower mana cost than the more recent one. But she isn’t as good either. She’s still pretty good. She can suddenly pump one of your guys and give him flying.

The sword is broken. It always has been! I didn’t own this card either. The Sword and the Elspeth are a good portion of the value in this deck. Both cards are around $15 dollars apiece.

The lands…I already had four copies of Caves of Koilos. This is being reprinted yet again in Origins, so I don’t see that much value. I only had two copies of City of Brass, neither of which had as good of art as featured here. So that’s good! (I like City of Brass better than Mana Confluence. Mostly for flavor reasons.) I only had one Isolated Chapel, a buddy land. I had Vault of the Archangel, but I didn’t have Windbrisk Heights. That land is a great source of on-the-battlefield card advantage in this deck. Then there are five plains, all of the same art, and three swamps. Same art.

This deck, like all of the event decks I have reviewed, comes with a sideboard. The question is, what metagame is it addressing? Here are some ideas.

Dismember can take out indestructible things.

Kataki, War’s Wage is meant to slow down Tron and Affinity decks. Burrenton Forge Tender is meant to cost a burn player two cards. (if you play both copies.)

Relic of Progenitus will shut down Lingering Souls and Unburial Rites. It is also good against a mirror match, (concievable!)

And then Durress, a general thoughtsieze effect, but it can’t get creatures. Good against Planeswalkers, burn spells, etc.

For the first time ever, I get to review how a deck plays before ever playing it! I guess I’m a little late to the unboxing party! I have faced this deck a few times in tournaments, with occasional slight modifications.

The way this deck works is, “overrun your opponent.” Get lots of chump tokens on the field. Use the Lingering Souls to block flyers. Reach critical mass, get the sword on a flyer, and GG. The Soul Warden works against burn. The Intangible Virtue doubles the effectiveness of your creatures. And then the anthem effects are very strong.

The Elspeth is dangerous. Many times I have seen players substitute the newer Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. And it’s possible to slide in a large creature, usually an angel.

I have beaten this deck a few times…probably more than I have lost to it. It is weak against a turn one Thoughtsieze. It has no response to Blue…it hopes to move faster than blue. But you can easily remand these spells, and then prepare for them. The creatures don’t have haste…so you get a second to remove them. It becomes a race against green. Sometimes it can beat green with a larger number of creatures. And green doesn’t have too many flyers…

SpartanNerd Rating of the Magic the Gathering Modern Event Deck…

My colors are white and black. This deck is mostly a “White Weenie” strategy, but it is a pretty strong take on it. I don’t have many gripes about it in that respect.

The box is excellent. It came with sleeves and an exclusive spin down counter.

If I have any complaint, it is that there are no foil cards in this deck. I love me some foil. But this really isn’t enough to take a point off.

So I am going to give it a 5/5. It is the best event deck I have seen, except maybe the French thing.

Do you agree or disagree, oh Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! And go by and visit the Tangled Web sometime!

SpartanNerd and SpartanTeen Review…Knight Gundam (SD)

June 23, 2015 by SpartanNerd

The second SD Gundam model review ever. The Knight Gundam. Does the SpartanNerd think this is worth picking up? Keep reading!

The Knight Gundam is another of those Gundams that I have zero association with. I never heard of it. SpartanTeen saw it on “Gundam Build Fighters”, at least I gather. The price was $13.99.

The instructions were in Japanese. But the Knight Gunam came with a Manga. No idea what is going on here. It is a cute little comic strip, though.

Here is the model assembled. Highly detailed! I like the color scheme…mostly gray with blue and red details. A splash of yellow for the cross on the shield and the headpiece. It has that oversized head of course. Tis time there is a barrel inside that allows you to give him two different looks for the eyes.

This Gundam has an AMAZING amount of accessories. I removed them all so you can see just how incredible it really is.

Without the accessories, he feels like a knight without armor should feel. I applaud the detail that went into this.

But this isn’t all!

It can TRANSFORM!

That’s right…Knight Gundam transforms into a Centaur!

I can’t say enough good things about this toy! Wow!

The SpartanTeen had a few things to say about it:

“The mask part is shiny. The rest of it is not, and it should be.”

“The sword is hidden in the shield.”

“Knight Gundam and Unicorn Knight Gundam combine, to for a unicorn. Alone, he is a Centaur”

“This Gundam has relatively few problems compared to other models in this series.”

“It was nothing hard…it took me about ten minutes to build.”

Here is a comparison shot with the Build Burning Gundam SD.

So what does the SpartanNerd rate Knight Gundam (SD)?

I can’t say anything negative about it. The SpartanTeen is a little bothered that the mask is vac-metal while the rest of the armor isn’t. I think it makes the mask pop, though. Then he informed me that it isn’t just a transformer, but a Combiner as well.

This thing gets a 5/5. Only $13.99 for basically hours of entertainment. The amount of things to do here reminds me of playing with “Modulok” from Masters of the Universe Classics. It is fairly sturdy, and has no stupid problems.

The SpartanNerd rates Knight Gundam (SD) a solid 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, oh Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

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