Darn you Age of Conan and the evil Flash vulnerability released this week!

Hey all, this will be a short post for the moment. I've been a touch busy trying to fix some issues -- mostly trying to repair some issues related to the recent Flash vulnerability on my home network.

Don't panic -- this site is safe -- but please do go to

http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

and upgrade your version of Flash to protect yourself from some malicious software issues. Especially if you play World of Warcraft or any other big online game ... and I'm assuming you play MTGO if you're visiting here.

A couple of the larger WoW sites have been exploited through this vulnerability, and I hear PureMTGO has had issues as well. Fortunately, both WotC and Blizzard keep database records of transactions -- so I doubt there will be any large-scale damage to the economy at large -- but there is definitely room for individuals to get hurt by the sort of folks who hack accounts to sell the contents to unknowing customers.

For right now, be just a touch extra careful -- and if someone you don't know offers you a deal that's too good to be true -- be just a touch extra wary. I'd stick to dealing with folks I trust for a bit until the issue gets resolved.

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My other big time waster this week is Age of Conan. I've been playing around with it for the last little while since it's release -- and it's definitely a different take on the post-WoW philosophy for MMOs. I haven't played enough to say whether it's good or bad, but it is worth checking out if you're so inclined. Be aware, it is rated for "Mature" audiences -- and yes, female characters can run about with their naked boobies bouncing around. Plus, there's "Fatalities" in the game play where every so often, you get a particularly grisly death when you kill a NPC or another player. If you want to know more about what I think of the game -- flip me an e-mail and I'll be more than happy to tell you.

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Okay, back to the business of MTGO for just a moment. I've played a lot of standard games in the casual room this week -- and I think the two cheap rares (less than a ticket, often 2-for-1) that have worked out really well for me have been Voice of All and Story Circle. Those two cards are a near death sentence to any mono-colored deck, and can also make it tough on a two-color deck that runs it's second color for removal or direct damage.

I played a Black-Red goblins deck the other night, and with a Voice of All set to protection from Black and a Story Circle set to protection from Red -- I kept my opponent locked out from a lot of his normal game play options. When you combine those two cards with some other flexible White removal spells, like Disenchant and Oblivion Ring -- you have the basis for a good cheap deck. Heck, add in some 4-for-1 ticket Serra Angels, and you have 75% of a deck.

Kind of like this one:

Those Pesky Angels (Standard)

Land

4 Quicksand
4 New Benalia
16 Plains

Creatures

4 Serra Angel
4 Voice of All
4 Angel of Mercy
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Angel of Salvation
1 Platinum Angel
3 Malach of the Dawn

Spells

4 Oblivion Ring
2 Disenchant
2 Crib Swap
1 Spirit Link
1 Spirit Loop
4 Story Circle
3 Sunscour (The poor Djinn's Wrath of God!)
1 Akroma's Memorial


The Platinum Angel is a bit pricey, but it's easily replaceable. The Akroma's Memorial is kind of superfluous as well -- but it's more a fun card than anything else. You can build this whole deck for around 10-15 tickets depending on how much time you take putting into getting the cards. I really love the Sunscour. It's a really cheap WoG for the deck -- both in terms of ticket cost and in casting cost. Sunscour will really punish a player for overcommitting to a lot of critters on the board to try and out race the Story Circle -- and the ability to pay the alternate casting cost and then follow it up with a Serra Angel or Angel of Mercy can really cripple an aggressive deck that had you down low on life.

The Oblivion Rings are the best cheap removal spell in Standard right now. Disenchant is always good as are the Crib Swaps. The biggest problem the deck seems to have is with aggressive decks that can get around the Story Circle with either multiple colors of creatures/damage -- or artifact sources of damage. The deck will sometimes get pushed around by a true control deck, since it relies heavily upon resolving a few key spells each game. The deck itself works more like a toolbox deck, meaning it has different ways to win from one game to the next. Sometimes you're the agro deck, playing spells every turn and using the Angels in beatdown mode -- and other times, it's very reactive ... especially in those games where you can hide behind the Story Circle and deal with the opponent's other threats retroactively with the Crib Swap and Oblivion Ring.

Anyway, give the deck a spin if you like it. Or catch me online and I'll play you in a game or two!

Later,

Don!