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My 'dragonwrought' kobold priest of Tiamat (blue dragon heritage), he is a tiny egomaniac (think a kobold version of Invader Zim, only more competent)

This is it!  The one you’ve been waiting for!  No sense putting it off any longer, so I’ll just go through the cards I think will make a difference in all formats.  Obviously, there will be cards I don’t mention, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to judge for yourself (after reading my other reviews…YOU DID READ THEM, RIGHT?) which are good and which are not.  Let’s begin!

Going for the throat on this one (though I really can’t…’cause he’s a planeswalker.  Get it?  Oh you’re no fun…).  There’s a reason this bad boy is still sixty dollars on starcitygames.  Four cost walker that starts with three loyalty; mkay, I’ll take it.  Pretty typical.  First ability, puts out a dude with lifelink.  Fantastic!  He can protect himself two ways the turn he comes out!  Sweet!  Second ability, put out an emblem that makes your dudes more powerful.  Hmm…a way to pump my dudes without you being able to do a thing about it?  Seems kinda…oh, you know: GOOD.  Alright, whatever, that’s just aggro-ey.  Ultimate is…remove six and destroy up to three target creatures and/or planeswalkers.  HOLY SHIT HE DOESN’T PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS.  And by others, I mean your dudes.  Wow, walker removal is grea- what?  What do you mean there’s more?  Return each card put into a graveyard in this way back into play under…your….control.  OH DEAR GOD WHY.  WHHHHYYYYYYY??!?!  Well, because Wizards thought having a set without at least one card over $30 is preposterous.

There you have it.  Constructed play, he’s either aggro’s best friend or control’s best friend…and your opponent’s worst nightmare.  I don’t think I have much more to say here, pretty sure you all get the picture.   ONWARD!

CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN!

Oh, and captain.  Sorry, didn’t say it FOUR TIMES.  Apparently, lords are being taken down a notch.  Uncommons for lords are popular right?  Yeah, since all of you remember playing in Scourge, when the warchiefs were popular.  Damn youngins…

I’m assuming I can just show you guys the value of the three drops here and I don’t have to explain why they’re good?  Or which are better?  Ugh, fine.  First strike is great, and giving others is even better, though probably more suited in limited than constructed.  Zombies may now see competitive play because of their sheer efficiency and ‘disciple’ effect (still too young?  Disciple of the vault…look it up.  And weep).  Drogskol captain, although giving your spirits the most broken ability in the game (well, standard at least) is great, he’s also competing with that three slot with one of the most broken creatures in standard right now: Geist of Saint Traft.  I mean, yeah, he pumps him, but I’d rather play geist almost always.  Though Phantasmal image just found a new toy essentially.  I don’t think it has the back up right now, but we still have one more set to go.  Immerwolf is practically a must have if you’re doing r/g werewolves (remember from last article?  Yeah, it may be your time to shine now), though he really don’t play well with the new mythic werewolf dude.

Speaking of which…

Once again, I think StarCityGames.com may know what they’re doing when it comes to card prices; there’s a reason this guy’s almost twenty bucks right now.  When you play him, you get four power for four mana.  Oh, and you gain two life, essentially for free.  I’ll take it.  Typical werewolf flippy thing aaannd…oh.  He becomes an efficient four drop with trample…that bites things.  Multiple things.  Two damage to your opponent and two damage to a creature he controls…wait, UP TO one creature he controls.  Yeah, I think that’s the epitome of efficiency right there.  And, of course, the drawback of ‘oh, you cast two spells, damn, I go back to my lame side’…OH WAIT.  His ability states if he flips back, I get another wolf and two life.  Hmmm…a really efficient werewolf that has two incredibly useful sides?  Yeah.  If I had it, I’d run it.  Maybe not in r/g werewolves, but a r/g aggro deck…OH YEAH.  Kessig fodder maybe?  Either way, complete and utter bomb in limited, and quite possibly a power house in standard.  We’ll have to see, but if it can see play, I’m positive it will.

Next up…

Wowzers.  Will this card make an impact?  Yeah.  Though I think this may be one of the only cards that I review that won’t make as large of an impact in limited as it will in constructed.  And by constructed, I mean pretty much EVER FORMAT.  Let’s go through some decks that have been popular.  Legacy, we have reanimator.  Typical, dump stuff into yard, get stuff out of yard.  Oh wait, guess I can’t now.  Yes, I can remove the cage.  But you know what?  Until you do, you ain’t doing crapola.  What else have we got in legacy…oh, I know!  ANY DECK USING SNAPCASTER MAGE.  People I think seem to forget the part that they can’t cast cards out of the yards, either.  Everything with flashback?  Gone.  Your efficiency with snapcaster?  Whoops, gone.  Hope you’ve got some removal for this sucker, on top of whatever other hate I’ve packed in against you.
Now, let’s talk standard.  Solar flare was a pretty good deck archtype, did well for a while.  Same applies here that applied in legacy; no yard utilization for you!  What else…Birthing Pod!  Yes!  That was a decent archtype, though it didn’t live long, it still flares up every once and a while.  People seem to also forget that you can’t get creatures from libraries, either.  Hope you really didn’t need that pod to ramp with.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are definitely ways to easily deal with this card in all formats.  But, like I say with Goblin Charbelcher: “You can only deal with it if you draw it.”

Now that we’ve discovered the hate, let’s see a reason to use it…

Ahh yes.  That’s a good reason.  Combo time everybody!  Not only is it a pretty nice card overall, but it’s got some pretty heavy combo implications.  Necrotic Ooze already reared it’s ugly, misshapen head once.  I think it has a chance to do it again.  Having this guy in the yard pretty much guarantees you can play what you need.  Or, you can just play a blocker and not worry about losing the blocker’s ability for the ooze.
Or, you can do what I really want to do with him: Heartless Summoning + Perilous Myr.  Folks have been trying desperately to fit these two cards into a deck (not the same deck, of course…until now).  Tempered steel variants see the myr in their sideboard every once and a while, and heartless summoning has shown up in Birthing Pod lists occasionally, but none have ever really seen play.  I think the idea of curving from heartless to lich on turn three is a good idea.  Grixis may have some work to do here, but I think it’s at least somewhat manageable.  But, that’s just the Johnny coming out in me.  Either way, it’s a good card to keep your eye out for.

And now, the honorable mention goes tooooo:

With the amount of time that tokens have seen play, I do honestly expect these two cards to see at least some play.  Giving all my little dudes that got big thanks to enchantments/emblems deathtouch and lifelink?  Me like.  Me likey lots.  Or, you know, sac’ing the one that didn’t get through to gain a card.  That works, too.  Either way, I could definitely foresee these two cards getting use.  Use your imagination.

So, there you have it.  TheScourge’s review on Dark Ascension!  Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the cards I mentioned, and take heed to the limited tips I’ve given you for the release this weekend!

At this point, you’re probably waiting for me to get to ‘the other cards’/'multicolor’ cards, but alas, we still have red and green to get through.  So, bear with me, this will be the last post before we get to the true bread and butter of the set.  Let’s get down to business!  To defeat…the Huns……..yeah, okay.  Anyways…

RED:

What can I say?  For constructed, red is a steaming pile of garbage.  For lack of about one card.  Yes, one.  No, you’re r/g werewolf aggro decks don’t count (feel free to prove me wrong).  This card will be making a hit in (I predict) EVERY constructed format.

Yup.  A common.  Best card in red, if you ask my opinion.  Right now, in modern, there are literally ZERO cards for one mana that will net you two cards (if I recall correctly).  And, some decks love ditching cards.  I’m predicting pyromancer’s ascension might get some love here soon, folks.  This here is one hell of an addition.  Other than this card….yeah.  Nothing here is catching my eye.  Only other possible I see is Mondronen Shaman in r/g werewolf aggro decks (happy now?  You at least got a mention).  Even then…pretty sure they won’t get to the competitive level.

Limited, however, is a different story.  I think red is pretty strong for limited.  Two different cards that burn on their own, with flashback, even.  And then there’s three cards that attempt to wipe out your opponents creatues.  Yeah, costly.  But hey, removal is removal in limited, and the more you’ve got, the less creatures you have to beat through to get to your opponent’s squishy, squishy face.

And, what would red have to offer if it didn’t come with a bomb?  Who knows, because it definitely DID come with a bomb.  And a great bomb at that.

All I’ve got to say, is THANK GOD IT’S A MYTHIC.  Evasion?  Check.  Big power/toughness?  Check.  That’s all you really need for a bomb.  But wait!  There’s more!  Oh, you mean the creature filled deck that I just made because it’s limited gets a pump for each red mana I get?  Oh, that’s meh.  OH WAIT.  Giving each creature you control a steady fire breathing effect is, you know, kinda good.  And by kinda, I mean holy crap in a hat.  The only thing I really have to say about this devious dragon is the mana cost.  It’s a pretty big commitment on red, but even that’s counter-acted by it’s ability.  Oh, you need at least three red mana to cast?  Sweet, that means I’m hitting you for at least 8 next turn, plus however many creatures I have x3 plus their powers, too.  Yeah.  GG.

So, red in constructed: Meeeehhh…one power house card, and it’s a common.  Red in limited?  You bet your ass.

GREEN:

What can I say about green in constructed….meeeeehhhhh.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, there are some decent options.  For instance, strangleroot geist will DEFINITELY see play.

In some iteration of some deck or another, it will see play, whether it be mono green efficient aggro, or some deck we have yet to face.  A 2/1 for two with haste is always nice.  Being able to survive a board wipe/kill spell and come back STRONGER is even better.  Maybe birthing pod will come back…

Everything else is just…gravy.  I mean (once again, giving hopes to you silly r/g werewolf players out there), wolfbitten captive gives werewolves another one drop that’s kinda nice, but I’d never want it to flip.  When are you going to have a spare four mana to pump it?  Oh wait, you’re not.

Limited, once again, is a somewhat different story.  We’ve got some neat options here.  For instance, young wolf is quite a nice one drop for green.  One for a 1/1 is cool.  It dying and becoming a 2/2 is great.  Trade twice shall we?  And then there’s vorapede, which, again, thank god it’s mythic.  These for draft are quite the issue to deal with (thinking back on it, these may also see play in that silly deck that strangleroot geist could be in, who knows).  Increasing savagery can turn the tide of a game (as it did for me several times in the pre-release).  Morbid triggers are awesome when you get an 8/8 trample for six (Gravetiller Wurm).  And, of course, briarpack alpha is always nice.  An instant speed creature with a pump?  Sounds good to me…I liked Village Bell ringer in the last set, I’ll like pseudo similar effects in this set; surprise factors are always great.

But, we can’t mention green limited without our bomb.  Yeah, I mentioned Vorapede.  He could work.  But I’d rather not stare down a 10/10 on an early turn.

Go go gadget second intro pack rare that I’ve discussed.  Turns out, in a format with really limited removal, having a straight up dude-that’s-bigger-than-yours is a winning scenario.  No evasion needed on this guy, his ass is full of cushioning.  And, he comes out sooner the quicker you trade up.  Curve well with your dudes and sacrifice them to save face?  Maybe you’ll play this guy turn five.  I like 10/10s on turn five.  Don’t you?

Don’t worry, even if you just skimmed through this guide, the one you’ve been waiting for is coming up next!  Stay tuned!

Welcome back to the column that breaks down gaming into what’s really important, ten things at a time! The best civilizations in D&D have a very different feel from anything in the real world. A...

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Welcome to the second installment of a new series that delves into the storied history of some of the most iconic characters and events in the lore of the Dungeons & Dragons game. This article sheds light on one of the most epic battles of all time: the clash of Corellon, god of the elves, and Gruumsh, god of the orcs.

For some, a game of D&D offers the chance to exercise their crafting skills.

Test your game knowledge in our D&D-themed crossword puzzle! Clues found from the Shackled City to the City of Towers.

Joseph Wu Origami has added a photo to the pool:

Still from a stretched frog base. The first gorilla I learned back in 1981 was Kasahara's, also made from a stretched frog base.

Interviews and Profiles

• Publisher's Weekly (Charlene Brusso) interviews Caitlin R. Kiernan.
• Reddit interviews Myke Cole.
• Fantasy Matters (Peter McClean) interviews Nick Harkaway.
• [SFFWRTCHT] A Chat With Author John R. Fultz.
• Chuck Wendig interviews Myke Cole.
• Night  Owl Paranormal interviews KV Taylor.
• A Word's Worth interviews Theodora Goss.
• 3rdWard interviews Mary Robinette.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Rod Rees.
• Small Beer Podcast with Julie Day, Gavin Grant, Michael J. DeLuca and Three Messages and a Warning.
• Fiction Frontiers interviews Matt Taylor (podcast).
• The Agony Column interviews Stan Lee (podcast).

Advice/Articles

• Nancy Fulda on What Readers Teach Us.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch on The Business Rusch: The Book Trade.
• Damien Walter Grintalis on Women in Horror Month.
• Bryan Thomas Schmidt on VLog: How To Respond To Reviews.
• My Journal Courier (Nick Capo) on Commentary: Understandable surge in fantasy, science fiction.
• Juliette Wade on Dealing with chronological breaks in your story.
• The Outer Alliance (Jennifer Pelland) on Machine.
• io9 (Meredith Woerner) on The Scariest Ghost Movies Of All Time.

News

• Strange Horizons Changes for the Fiction Department.
• StarShipSofa Online Writers Workshop.
• Holodeck Workshop How To Succeed With Your KICKSTARTER Project.
• Star Wars/Mad Men Mashup.

Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole

Certified has added a photo to the pool:

Find out more about Fractured Kingdom at: www.fk.housedok.com/

Artist: Adam Sward
Gallery adamsward.webs.com/
Contact adamsward.webs.com/contactpricing.htm

When my players see an adventure hook dangling in front of them, sometimes they bite, and sometimes they swim away.

Interviews and Profiles

• Clarkesworld (Jeremy L.C. Jones) interviews Lisa L. Hannett.
• Clarkesworld (Jeremy L.C. Jones) interviews Lev AC Rosen.
• Gabrielle Wang interviews Margo Lanagan.
• The Millions interviews Ben Marcus.
• The Future and You interviews Jonathan Mugan (podcast).
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show interviews Myke Cole (podcast).
• SF Site interviews Paul Di Filippo.
• Solaris interviews James Maxey.
• The Nervous Breakdown (Gabrielle Gantz) interviews Lavie Tidhar.
• Gollancz interviews Robert V.S. Ridick.
• The Big Thrill (L. Dean Murphy) profiles Matt Forbeck.

Articles

• The King of Elfland's Second Cousin on Character Plausibility in Prose and on Screen.
• Janice Hardy on We're Ready for Revision Pre-Flight: Top 10 Self-Editing Tips.
• Cat Valente on A Far Green Country.
• Nick Mamatas on A Novel.
• Boston Herald on ‘Potter,’ ‘Twilight’ feed generation’s ‘Hunger’ for fantasy lit.
• SFF World Book Club discussions Well of Sorrows and The Recollection.
• Shimmer Five Authors + Five Questions : Goals.

News

• The "Steampunk Girl" Song. Free Download.
• Ardath Mayhar has passed away.
• 2011 Recommended Reading List.
• Call for Submissions, Steampunk Revolution Antho.
• The Orbital Drop: This is Not a Game.
• Wilful Imrpropriety: 13 Tales of Society and Scandal edited by Ekaterina Sedia TOC.

Clarkesworld February 2012

I'm attempting to build a database of World SF releases in English--and to a certain extent, work by POC (since there's overlap). This isn't a comprehensive list, so if you have any suggestions or corrections, feel free to comment (which is moderated) and I'll the recommendation to the final list at the end of the year.

To a certain extent--and there's something ironic in this--I'm basing the list on works first published in the US (when applicable) so these should theoretically qualify for next year's Hugo and Nebula Awards. For translated work, only new translations are included (these don't necessarily qualify for the Hugo).

Novels (40,000 words or more)

• The Great Game by Lavie Tidhar
• The Taker by Alma Katsu
• MM9 by Hiroshi Yamamoto, translated by Nathan Collins
• Darkest Light by Hiromi Goto

Anthologies

• Three Messages and a Warning edited by Eduardo Jiménez Mayo and Chris N. Brown (see Short Stories below)
• The Weird edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer (US eBook now available, US print in May; previously released in 2011 in the UK; see Short Stories and Novella below)
• Diaspora Ad Astra edited by Joseph F. Nacino (see Short Stories below)

Novella (17,500 ~ 40,000 words)

• Interim Goddess of Love by Mina V. Esguerra (eBook)
• "The Other Side of the Mountain" by Michel Bernanos, translated by Gio Clairval (The Weird)

Novelette (7,500 ~ 17,500 words)

• "The Five Elements of the Heart Mind" by Ken Liu
• "War Zone" by Judas Ortega
• "The Sanatorium at the Sign of the Hourglass" by Bruno Schulz, translated by John Curran Davis (an older translation is available in The Weird)
• "The Day the Sexbomb Dancers Invaded Our Brains" by Carljoe Javier

Short Stories

• "The Last Summer" by Ken Liu
• "What Everyone Remembers" by Rahul Kanakia
• "Scattered Along the River of Heaven" by Aliette de Bodard
• "The Stoker Memorandum" by Lavie Tidhar
• "Birth Story" by Joyce Chng
• "Remains of the Witch" by Tony Pi
• "Story with Pictures and Conversation" by Brontops Baruq, translated by Christopher Kastensmidt
• "Endless Life" by Nadia Bulkin (Phantasmagorium #2)
• "Under a Mount of Earth" by Celestine Trinidad
• "The Tower And The Kite" by Matthew Jacob F. Ramos
• "Recognizing Gabe: un cuento de hadas" by Alberto Yáñez
• "Cosmic Love" by Harry Markov
• "Clay, Cast, Cats" by TCA Lakshmi Narasimhan
• "Maxwell's Demon" by Ken Liu (Fantasy and Science Fiction January/February 2012)
• "The Guest" by Amparo Davila, translated by Anna Guercio (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Murillo Park" by Agustin Cadena, translated by C.M. Mayo (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Hour of the Fireflies" by Karen Chacek, translated by Michael J. Deluca (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Waiting" by Iliana Estañol, translated by Joanna Tilley (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Hunting Iguanas" by Hernan Lara Zavala, translated by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "1965" by Edmee Pardo, translated by Lesly Betancourt-Gonzalez (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Variation on a Theme of Coleridge" by Alberto Chimal, translated by Chris N. Brown (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Photophobia" by Mauricio Montiel Figueiras, translated by Jen Hofer (The Weird)
• "The Last Witness to Creation" by Jesus Ramirez Bermudez, translated by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo (The Weird)
• "Rebellion" by Queta Navagomez, translated by Rebecca Huerta (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Future Perfect" by Gerardo Sifuentes, translated by Chris N. Brown (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Luck Has Its Limits" by Beatriz Escalante, translated by Stephen Jackson (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Stone" by Donaji Olmedo, translated by Emily Eaton (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Trompe-l’œil" by Monica Lavin, translated by Andrea Rosenberg (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Lions" by Bernardo Fernandez, translated by Chris N. Brown (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "A Pile of Bland Desserts" by Yussel Dardon, translated by Osvaldo de la Torre (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Amalgam" by Amelie Olaiz, translated by Armando Garcia (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Nahual Offering" by Carmen Rioja, translated by Emily Eaton (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Pachuca Second Street" by Lucia Abdo, translated by Emily Eaton (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Wittgenstein's Umbrella" by Oscar de la Borbolla, translated by Sara Gilmore (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Mannequin" by Esther M. Garcia, translated by Chris N. Brown (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Mr. Strogoff" by Guillermo Samperio, translated by Steve Vasquez Dolph (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Mediator" by Ana Gloria Alvarez Pedrajo, translated by Anisia Rodriguez (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Pin" by Leo Mendozza, translated by Armando Garcia (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Nereid Future" by Gabriela Damian Miravete, translated by Michael J. Deluca (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Pink Lemonade" by Liliana V. Blum, translated by Toshiya Kamei (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Return of the Night" by Rene Roquet, translated by Armando Garcia (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Three Messages and a Warning in the Same Email" by Ana Clavel, translated by Elsy Jackson (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The President without Organs" by Pepe Rojo, translated by Chris N. Brown (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Transformist" by Horacio Senties Madrid, translated by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo and Jose Alejandro Flores (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Drop" by Claudia Guillen, translated by Leah Leone (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "Wolves" by Jose Luis Zarate, translated by Bernardo Fernandez and Chris N. Brown (Three Messages and a Warning)
• "The Infamous Juan Manuel" by Bruno Estañol, translated by Anisia Rodriguez (Three Messages and a Warning)
• “The Dissection” by Georg Heym, translated by Gio Clairval (The Weird)
• “The Vegetable Man" by Luigi Ugolini, translated by Anna and Brendan Connell (The Weird)
• "Mister Taylor" by Augusto Monterroso, translated by Larry Nolen (The Weird)
• "Axolotl" by Julio Cortazar, translated by Gio Clairval (The Weird)
• "The Ghoulbird" by Claude Seignolle, translated by Gio Clairval (The Weird)
• "Oplan Sanction" by Alexander Marcos Osias
• "Ina Dolor's Last Stand"  by Raymond P. Reyes
• "The Cost of Living" by Vince Torres
• "A List of Things We Know" by Isabel Yap
• "The Keeper" by Audrey Rose Villacorta
• "Ashes/////Embers" by Dannah Ruth S. Ballesteros
• "Rizal" by Eliza Victoria
• "Gene Rx" by Katya Oliva-Llego
• "Robots and a Slice of Pizza" by Raydon L. Reyes
• "Lucky" by Raven Guerrero
• "Space Enough and Time" by Anne Lagamayo
• "Taking Gaia" by Celestine Trinidad

So, last week I spoke about white and what I thought about it, today I’ll touch up on what’s going to leave us black and blue from Dark Ascension.  Let’s get to it!  BLUE:

I’m not exactly sure on what I think on how blue will perform.  On one hand, there really isn’t too much that I can see that will really change standard too much.  Really what I can see MAYBE hitting standard are two cards; first card is Curse of Echoes.  Not necessarily a main board card, but I can see it in control decks for the mirror match up.  Turns out, I love copying your counters.  The other card I do actually want to discuss: Thought Scour.  This card is a throw back to Mental Note, from Judgment.

Just wanted to show where the game has gone.  Same cost, same speed, same cantrip.   Difference is, of course: Choice.  The game has gone quite a ways since the time of Judgment.

With those cards possibly showing up in Standard, I feel I must make some comments on another two formats before I get to Limited play; EDH and Modern.  For modern, I feel that Mystic Retrieval MAY find a place in Pyromancer Ascension decks…provided the format slows down a bit.  It’s a decent alternative to Call to Mind, and it could work better for strategies that involve self milling.  And as for Commander, I wanted to point out that Beguiler of Wills is most definitely going in my Azami Wizard deck as soon as I get my grubby paws on one.

Now for what you all were waiting for: Limited aspects of Blue.  Well, once again, not anything too startling.  Geralf’s Mindcrusher is quite a bomb, and can really help out your pool if you pull a Chill of Foreboding or two.  Thought scour is always great for that draw, and Dungeon Geists can lock down your opponents bomb permanently if they can’t find a way to deal with it.  Artful dodge can be quite a nice little top deck or card to keep track of in the yard, in case your blue decides to go aggro.  And, of course, any of the efficient zombies that require you to remove another from the yard to cast are quite good.

But, let’s get down and dirty with it!  Paint it Black!

For constructed, we’ve got a couple possibles: Geralf’s Messenger, Gravecrawler, Mikaeus, and Tragic slip.  Tragic Slip will see play in your typical U/B control decks, making quite the awesome replacement for Wring Flesh.  Mikaeus could definitely go into Solar Flare as another bomb, or it could just as easily make it’s way into Birthing Pod.  I like sac’ing stuff to get bigger creatures on the board, and then getting what I sac’ed back.  Mikaeus also makes it much easier to overextend into that Day of Judgment and not get punished as hard for it.  Geralf’s messenger has been heralded as the anti Kitchen Finks, though I’m not sure what presence he’ll make in standard just because of the black commitment.  And Gravecrawler?  Well, a certain GrimGrin would like to talk to you.  Several times over.  Like, as many times as you have black mana.  Just sayin’.

For limited, all of the above would be quite decent.  If you can, even Geralf’s Messenger if you can handle the heavy black commitment.  Gravecrawler is really the only ‘iffy’ one, but if you can back him up, he’ll be phenomenal.   Another couple decent mentions I think should be included: Undying Evil and Death’s Caress.  Undying Evil can turn the tide of combat, and can even increase your later game.  Death’s caress is just point blank spot removal, and has an added bonus against humans, god forbid.  And, last mention: Mikaeus is making me want to build an EDH deck around him.  Seems to be a bit powerful to me.

Well, that’s all for now.  Next article, I’ll discuss what I think Green and Red have to offer.  Leave me a comment if you think I forgot anything!

Certified has added a photo to the pool:

Find out more about Fractured Kingdom at: www.fk.housedok.com/

Artist: Adam Sward
Gallery adamsward.webs.com/
Contact adamsward.webs.com/contactpricing.htm

This year in the magazines, we’re taking a break from the Nentir Vale “points of light” setting to shine a light on the Forgotten Realms as well as some of our other popular worlds, past and present. You’ll see more Eberron articles, more Dark Sun articles, and even some content for Ravenloft, Planescape, and the World of Greyhawk. But the Realms, in particular, will receive a lot of love.

Forges across the Elemental Chaos produce powerful weapons used by the plane's mightiest champions.

Joseph Wu Origami has added a photo to the pool:

I played D&D on Sunday. Another player summoned a celestial dire ape. With no golden ape figurine, I folded one out of gold paper. This one is a refinement of that quick design. Stretched frog base.

Interviews and Profiles

• Allen and Unwin Sea Hearts Book Trailer and Q&A with Margo Lanagan (video).
• Books for Keeps interviews Margo Lanagan.
• The Functional Nerds interviews Andrew Mayne and Justin Robert Young (podcast).
• The Ginger Nuts of Horror interviews Alison Littlewood.
• Suvudu (Peter Orullian) interviews Ted Chiang.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Myke Cole.
• Michael Molcher interviews Simon Bestwick.
• Gollancz interviews Pierre Peve.
• Suvudu (Eric Geller) interviews Ryder Windham.
• Adventures in SciFi Publishing interviews Morgan J. Locke (podcast).

Advice/Articles

• Rich Horton on Summary: Tor.com, 2011.
• Chuck Wendig on 25 Things You Should Know About Story Structure.
• Graham Edwards on Fiction as a source of protein.
• Slate (Lydia Kiesling) reviews The Snow Child.
• Omnivoracious (Seira Wilson) on "A Wrinkle in Time" 50th Anniversary.
• The Guardian (Damien G. Walter) on What's become of corporate society?

News

• The Hobbit casting call shut down after 3,000 extras turn up.
• Book View Cafe Releases Gilman's Practical Meerkat as ebook.
• Neil Gaiman & Todd McFarlane Settle Decade-Long Dispute.

 Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan

This adventure draws its inspiration from the tri-partite “G” series of modules written by Gary Gygax in the 1970s—a series that was later collected into a single adventure module titled Against the Giants, published in 1981 by TSR, Inc. The series pitted characters against hill giants, frost giants, and fire giants, but stone giants got the short end of the stick. This adventure gives stone giants their moment to shine.