The Problem with Origins - Setting

So, first off, clearly it was a bad decision to start up this blog again at the same time that I moved home, moved jobs, and just in general had a lot going on. No Internet for about a week, no pc for almost a month, and no motivation for all of it. Not that I wasn't excited, I was just exhausted. But, hey-ho, I'm back now, and ready to roll. So, sorry for the monumentous delay, and without further ado, my issue with the setting of Assassin's Creed: Origins.

In and of itself, its fine. Just want to get that out there. The Roman Civil war (technically, like, the fourteenth, but shhhh) is a great time period, fluff of figures who's names we still know to this day, and features a land of great history and culture, barely remembered by the inhabitants, being forced into the ‘modern’ world by foreign rulers. The Hellenic cities of Alexandria and Heliopolis contrast beautifully with the Egyptian Memphis and even Latin Kyrenaika. The ancient ruins that dot the map give a great impression of the massive history buried beneath the sand.

However, that being said… They had three millennia of Unified Egyptian history to work with. Even longer if you want to mess about with the Upper and Lower Nile Kingdoms. Why didn't they use any of that? It was quite weird, I thought, when the DLC came out based on the New Kingdom, and absolutely ridiculous now that Odyssey, a prequel set in Greece, has been released. Ignoring the fact that a prequel to an origin story makes no sense, why would you only use the last decade or so of Egyptian history if you're going to use one of the earliest periods of classical Greek history.

I can appreciate why, to some extent, but I just feel that it's, well… Odd. And not exactly wrong, but I disagree with it. So, here I'd like to present you with a few alternatives that I have thought up.

1. The Heretic King

Pharaoh Akhenaten has introduced monotheism to Egypt, supplanting the traditional priesthood with a Caste loyal only to their prophet. Bayek must ally himself to the Pharaohs heir, Tutakhaten, to return the Kingdom to the true gods. Along the way, he realises that these Priests wield artifacts of immense power, and he vows that they shall never lay hands on such a weapon again.

Given that they made a piece of DLC that dealt with exactly this, they clearly felt that it was interesting enough to build a narrative around, so why didn't they just commit to it? It could even have used mostly the same story, with only the names and era changing.

2. The Rise of Ramesses

Bayek returns from campaign under his Pharaoh to ensure the loyalty of his realm. Several of the Nobles have forgotten their vows, instead joining a mysterious cult. As Bayek uncovers the true purpose of the cult, he founds a brotherhood , the Hidden Ones, to prevent this Order of Ancients from fulfilling their sinister goals.

Alternatively, this could work under Pharaoh Thutmose - known colloquially as the Napoleon of Ancient Egypt. Either way, it would begin with Bayek working his way either up or down the Nile, working as the Pharaoh's personal assassin, and later becoming a forgotten hero to the masses.

3. The Kingdom's Collapse

As another Dynasty comes to an end, the land is left divided, chaotic, and on the brink of collapse. Central authority is all but forgotten, and local rulers accept no sovereignty above their own. In this time of uncertainty, Bayek seeks to maintain the last threads of peace and law.

Historically, Egyptian history 🏝 divided into three Periods - The Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. Each lasted for around half a millennia through several dynasties before they lost control, leading to around two-three hundred years of civil war, competing kingdoms, and outside interference. In any of these, there is assuredly a place for an origin story. Bayek could well have been a man who realised that the Pharaohs were not so divine as they seemed, and that it was down to him to protect his people. Perhaps, even more so, his ally could have founded the Order of Ancients - the first half of the story could have been the two of them fighting side by side to create a better civilisation, before ideological differences - and pieces of Eden - lead them down different paths, Bayek choosing freedom from a despot while his friend chooses order and collective safety.

There we are, three - or six, depending on how you view them - alternative time periods to set the game so that the title makes sense. And are still interesting, perhaps even more so.

Anyway, I'm sorry that took so long as I said, I was ridiculously busy - and kinda lazy too - but I hope that you've enjoyed my little three-part rant on one of my. most-played games this year. Maybe one day I can just appreciate things that I enjoy…

But for now, hope that you've enjoyed reading this. Hopefully I'll be back sooner with something interesting. But for the moment, thanks again and goodbye.

Volodanti out.

The Problem with Origins - Plot

Alright, welcome back everyone. Good to have you here, and I'm excited to be continuing. Before we get started, a couple things to point out. First and foremost, there are massive SPOILERS ahead, so if you don't want to know the plot of the game, stop here. And if you want to know the plot better, go on the wiki and search for Bayek. It's what I did.

What? It's been a while, and I needed a refresher.

Second off, this is part two of these posts, and I'd advise you to read the first bit first (Maps). You don't have to, but there'll probably be a could call backs.

So, without further adieu...

The plot. Very roughly... Bayek is a Medjay, which for the purposes of the story is sorta like a sheriff. During an attempt by the Order of Ancients (proto Templars) to open a Precursor vault, Bayek's son is killed. He swears revenge on the five men who were present, but since they wore maks he's a bit less sure who they are. After a bit of tutorial, four of them are dead, and you discover that the last is in Alexandria. You travel there, meet up with your wife (Aya), make friends with a guy called Apollodorus, and kill the last member... except, it's the wrong man.
So, you go with Aya and Apollodorus to meet their benefactor - Cleopatra. She tells you that the Pharaoh is a puppet of the Order of Ancients, and if you work together you can get revenge, and replace Ptolemy. So, she gives you two pseudonyms to hunt, and leaves you to it.
So, you head upriver, do some sidequests, explore Giza, and kill your targets. But, neither of them are the one you're looking for! Such shock. Considering that one of the targets was a woman, and there were only men in the Vault. But, never mind, Cleopatra is Walkin' in Memphis, so you go to join her.
You meet up, complain, and she says 'no, but for serious, it's one of these two people. Honest'. You moan about it to Aya, but she is busy fangirling, and basically ignores you. You kill one of them in Memphis - wasn't him - and set off.
So, you head further south, make friends with a bloke called Hotephres, accidentally get his daughter killed (I'm brushing over it, but actually it's bloody heartwrenching), become a gladiator, and finally kill the last target... who is also a woman.
So, understandably annoyed, Bayek heads back to the mouth of the Nile to have a word with Cleopatra. And, lo and behond, she has two more names, and it is totally one of them. So, you meet Aya, go to find an ally, and then the 'Are you sure you want to continue?' bit happens. If you say yes, you cross the Nile, and introduce Cleopatra to Julius Caesar. Then a whole civil war happens, you kill one of the targets (still not found your son's killer), almost kill the other, but then Caesar turns up and says 'nah, I like him, we're good'. So, you win the Civil War, but Cleopatra ditches you, they both join the Order, you and Aya sorta discuss founding a Brotherhood, Apollodorus gets shanked and tells you who actually killed your son, you run home to Siwa to catch him. You don't, and he raids the Vault and steals a couple artifacts, and kills your best friend for good measure.
After the funeral, it becomes open world again. So, you're back in Siwa, and the big bad is in Kyrenaika, and you've not much else to do. So, you head north, find him, kill him, and decide that maybe actually founding the Brotherhood is a good idea. Then Aya shanks Caesar, changes her name, and threatens to shank Cleopatra... and that's basically it.

... I mean, that's really simplifying it, and I could go into a lot more detail. But I don't have to, because I'm sure that you can already see where I'm going here...

It's 20 hours worth of "the Princess is in another Castle!". You go to get revenge and, whoops, wrong person. So you try again and, whoops, still not right. The first time it happens is fine - Bayek is working entirely off a masked face and a nickname from something that happened a year ago. It's entirely possible that the individual has put on or lost weight, developed a new accent, got a tan... but when it happens nine times, you know something went wrong.
And, worse, it became predictable. When you reached Memphis and Cleopatra said 'um, actually...' I knew that was how the rest of the game would go. And, more to the point, I knew that Cleopatra would string you along and then reveal herself as an antagonist. And then the actual reveal of the big bad? It's a bloke you've seen three times, all in the past half hour, in the background of cutscenes. The only one with the same accent as the guy from the start.
But, whatever. That could perhaps be forgiven - you can do great things with the basics, after all - but Origins is also let down by the subplots. For, each area without a primary target has a subplot, generally about the oppression of the local populace, and frequently a mini-boss who is doing bad things, that is just asking for a shanking. And, on the whole, they're quite forgettable. There's one guy who has been burning farms because of rebels, and in another area there's a traitor with a vendetta against you, but they're kinda forgettable. Even the main villains are ephemeral - some make an impression, most don't. Which, I think, is partly due to not knowing who any of them are, and partly because the quests are so long.

For an example, in Assassin's Creed 2, a sequence was about avenging your father's death. That involved finding an ally, learning how to hide, acquiring a weapon, the actual assassination, and then escaping the city. Each was a self-contained 'memory' that you started, completed, and then were given a hook for the next. That made the memories easily digestible, memorable, and something to do in a single sitting. And, to help, you had encountered the target in a prior sequence, and knew who they were, what they were doing, and why you were killing them.
On the other hand, we have Origins. At each meeting with Cleopatra you are given two to three targets - generally several levels apart - and the primary goal of killing them. For example, one target (the scarab) is rumoured to bury people alive and is in the Sapi-Res Nome. That's all we know to start. We go to Sapi-Res, meet an informant, help him out,  rescue a guy, meet his daughter, move to the city of Letopolis, help out her husband, get betrayed, recover our equipment, and kill the Scarab. That's about two hours worht of content (more if you sidequest, and that's encouraged) in a single memory, spread out across a huge area, several separate missions, and most likely something people will do between other tasks over the course of two-three sittings. Admitedly, it does give you sub-missions for particular objectives, but they blur easily into one another.

And that's basically the problem. The plot is simple, kinda forgettable, and repetetive. And, I fear the last two are linked - since each area, or sequence, essentially boils down to 'go to place, help rebels, kill person, damn; wrong person' few of them really have a chance to stand out.

And, from a gameplay perspective, I understand that greater freedom is something we've been clamouring for - recent iterations of the franchise offer very little choice within memories - I feel that a bit more structure would have been beneficial. More, shorter memories, introduce us to an antagonist before the final showdown, and give them some personality. And for the love of Amun, don't copy Mario.

Anyway, with this extended rant out of the way, I can round this off with my third article - which ought to be about the setting, and my issues therein. If you've made it this far, congratulations or apologies as is appropriate, but mostly thank you.

Volodanti out.

The Problem with Origins - Map

Sup.

So, before we get into it, just want ot say - I enjoyed Origins. On the whole, I think that it's a good game, and I'm looking forward to playing Odyssey. Bayek was an interesting character, and his interactions with Aya and a host of other characters, and his quest - even if a little generic - was engaging enough that I wanted to follow through with it.

Plus, it had Romans, and you know that I love me some Romans.

However, that doesn't forgive it for a number of faults. First off, the Map.

And just so everyone is aware, from here on out, there will be SPOILERS, so don't read on if that's a problem.

Alright, now that that's out of the way...

The Map. I actually really like the map - it's an interesting mix of urban and rural, wet and dry, thriving and dead. The banks of the Nile are lush and thriving, the delta is a humid swamp, the north coast is the only spot it rains, and the mountains around Kyrenaika feel more like southern Greece or Italy than Egypt. To say nothing of the deserts that alternate between rocky, sandy and Mountainous. In all honesty, it's a beautifully put together map, and I really can't give it enough credit, nor can the aerial view here really do it justice.

So, why am I complaining about it?

Well, making a good map is one thing. Not easy, obviously, but it's a skill you can learn. What's harder though, is to use it well. And this is something that I feel the Origins team stumbled at.

So, for your viewing pleasure, I present the route you follow:

As you can see, it's a mess. To quickly surmise the plot; your son has been killed by the Pharaos' advisors, and you want revenge. You ally with Cleopatra, who is trying to overthrow him, and agrees to help you if you help her. Now, with that out the way...

I've broken it down into Sequences - the in-game equivalent to Acts. To go through it quickly, Sequence 1 starts you off in Siwa, and is mostly just a tutorial. Then, it skips through the Qatar Depression during a loading screen so Sequence 2 takes place around Lake Mareotis and into Alexandria. Sequence 3 and 4 lead you up the Nile to Memphis, and Sequence 5 and 6 roughly follow the coast of the Faiyum. After this, you have to make your way back to the Mouth of the Nile to Herakleion, and then something strange happens.
Basically, and I'll get more into it next time, you have the pre-ending conversation - you know the one, "After we start, you'll not be able to go back. Are you sure you're ready, or do you have any tasks you need to finish?" followed by the only Yes/No prompt in the game. And, if you agree, it begins the Battle of the Nile. Then, after that finishes, you find out that your arch-nemesis has fled to Siwa, and you teleport there in a cutscene. You ride through your home, ravaged by war, and into an ancient temple, where you find your best friend has been murdered. And then you bury him, and the game goes 'okay, he's in Kyrenaika, you know the drill' and hands over the reigns. So, then there's another couple hours worth of free-roaming travel to the final boss fight.
I hope you can see why this is so weird. I'll talk more about it next time, but... yeah.
Anyway, so that explains the map - and why just one section is blue. That's the 'Endgame' part, that doesn't come at the end. But even ignoring that, it's just very weirdly put together.
Why does it skip over the Qatar Depression? Why are three adjacent areas meant to be done several hours apart - Mareotis, Sap-Meh and Herakleion? Why is Atef-Pehu Nome higher level than Faiyum, but lower than Faiyum Oasis? And why on earth does it loop back on itself so often? It's just not clean design. And why are several completely unrelated areas completely untouched? None of the Desert areas, and even weirder Marmarica, are ever visited in spite of some very interesting sites. A giant Citadel, and a huge Precursor complex, for example.
To be honest, I actually very much know the reason for it. It's because they wanted to show Alexandria and the Pyramids as soon as possible, and then worked around that.

And so, as promised, I present my alternative:

First off, before I even start, you can see a much cleaner shape for it. You start in Siwa, loop the whole map, and end up back in Siwa. It looks like a single progressive journey, rather than my footfall when I can't remember where I left my keys.
Now, admittedly, there are still areas I have left out, and some switchbacks, but it is a lot less blatant. And, importantly, it follows a narrative progression; you begin in the south, where the ancient ways hold true, and work your way north through the Hellenisation of Egypt until you reach the capital - Alexandria. A city completly alien to everything you have seen thus far. And from there, westward, into the land of the Romans, before returning home for a final showdown. Which plays into a minor subplot for Bayek - throughout, he is shown to resent the treatment of his people by the foreign aristocracy. Here, we could see this in stages - first, he sees how the poor are mistreated by the rich in Faiyum. Then, moving north, he realises that even rich Egyptians are second class to the Greeks. And, when he reaches Kyrenaika, he sees that the Romans do the same.
It would, of course, require some changes. But I don't think any would be that hard. Re-order your targets, change the context for some meetings - in Mareotis you meet an old friend who is now a High Priest. That could be less a meeting with an old friend, more gathering the support of the Priesthood for you coming war. Memphis becomes where you meet Cleopatra, and Kyrenaika could be where you finally catch your foe, but he slips through your fingers, forcing a final battle in the temple where it all began. Symmetry.

I don't know that there is much else to say really, without going into the plot. And, believe me, I'll be going into the plot next time. But, for now, I'll leave you here. And, I get to say something that I haven't in over a year. So, thank you for sticking with me, and I'll see you all next time.

Here it comes.

Volodanti out.

After a Year

So, hey everyone. Been a while. A year, in fact. I'd like to say that was intentional, but that would be a complete lie. I just fluked into it. And strictly speaking, I'm not back. Not properly anyway - I don't know that this is going to be a regular thing. It's just that, well... about two months ago, I got engaged. And I'm still very excited over it. Oh, it's Andrew talking, by the way, so there's not nerdy stuff going on. Well, not at the moment.

So, yeah - you've missed a lot. And, admittedly, that's my fault, but I'll try to fill you in on the details.

A year ago, I moved in with my then-girlfriend, which involved relocating to Hartlepool. It's fine, by the way - has a very nice nerd cafe called Tea-at-Hart, so if you're ever in the area, that's worth visiting. Unfortunately, the flat is less nice, so I'll be moving again soon.

Then in April - April? ish - we went on a family holiday to Spain and I basically realised that, yeah, this is the one. So, got everything set up, bought a ring, got permission, and popped the question on our anniversary.

She cried, threw it down, and slapped me.

But, she also said yes, so that's good.

So, yeah. I did manage to get a transfer, which made things easier, but also made cash a bit tight. Which kinda explains why I haven't really added to my collections. Except for Magic. My fiance plays too, so we're actually struggling to find room for our collection. Part of why we need to move.

But, essentially, that's been my life since last we spoke. Which might lead you to question why I posted here, just to let everyone know about the non-nerdy side of my life? Well, basically, because I've had something rattling around up there for a while now, and I want to get it out.

It's a bit of a change of pace, but... I was rather disappointed by certain elements of Assassin's Creed Origins, and I want to discuss that. So, to the best of my ability, I'm going to. As I say, it's different, so I can't promise anything will come of it, but over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to do a couple articles about where I think they went wrong, and perhaps what they could have done.

If it works, maybe I'll keep going. I do have some new models that I've just painted, and the prerelease is coming up next month, so who knows - you might have me til the move. Or even beyond. I don't know for certain, but we'll find out together.

Cheers,

Andrew.

Running on Fumes

So, hey there. Time for some real talk, but you don't have to worry.

... well, you kinda do, but in a not terribly worrisome way.

Listen, here's the thing... I'm worn out. I am. Maybe it's work, maybe it's with moving out, maybe it's my (relative) lack of free time compared to when I (re)started this blog three years ago. But, whatever the reason, I'm just... worn out.

I'm sure that you've all noticed a general drop in the quality of my posts over the last year. Getting shorter, moving to fortnightly, then missing weeks...

So, here's the thing. Boy, oh boy do I say that a lot. But here it is - last Monday, I was meant to tell you about how my draft went. Well, it didn't - I was at a Christening instead, and stayed over to spend time with my new Goddaughter and family. And when I came home Tuesday I just... didn't. Then Wednesday passed, Thursday, Friday, and I thought "fine, I'll just do it Monday". But come Monday I realised - I didn't have anything to tell you about. Well, I did - I painted a Chaplain... but it wasn't especially impressive, but more importantly - I didn't feel the urge to.

And that's sorta when I realised - I'm not doing this because I enjoy it anymore. I'm doing it because that's what I do. And to be honest, it kinda feels more like work than an expression. I'm spend Sunday fretting over what to write about, and Monday procrastinating because I don't really want to stretch out a short update into a full post.

And then I think back to when I started, when I had posts ready to go, weeks in advance, just cos I had so many ideas, and wanted to get them down, and share them...

... So, here's the out and out of it; I'm going on Hiatus til I get my shit sorted. That might be the New Year, when I'm in my new place, and have some free time. That might be in five years, when I belatedly remember that I have a blog. I... I just honestly don't know.

But before I go... thank you. For coming here as often as you do, for putting up with my awful jokes, for giving me some way to express myself. I've really enjoyed my run on here, and I hope that I do come back. It's been a blast.

Volodanti out.

Let's D-D-D-Draft!

Yes, I'm late. That's to be expected. I could make excuses, but I won't. Instead, I'll just say - if you live in the North East, go to Wet n Wild. It is so worth it.

Anyway, I did something for the first time last Monday. I drafted. Specifically, I Chaos Drafted, which I believe that I'll be doing again a week today. So, we'll see if I have time to write up the results afterwards. Otherwise, it'll have to be Tuesday.

The drafting portion itself itself went surprisingly well for me. Someone dropped out at the last minute, so there were only five of us, but we made it work. Somehow, I ended up as the only person in Green, so half my deck was basically free. I figure that out about halfway through the first pack, when three decent Green cards wheeled, and there weren't many players in white either, so I basically had the run of Selesnya.

Well, actually, there were two drafting White, but it was still not that popular.

Also, yeah, I was Selesnya. The White cos it just happened, the green due to my first two picks; Predator's Howl (which didn't make it into my final deck) and Animus of Predation (which did). Incidentally, a Flying, Trample, Deathtouch, Lifelink 4/4 for 4G is basically unstoppable. Shame I only drew it once.

So, my deck? Well, at the end of the draft, it was Animus of Predation; Voyaging Satyr; Menagerie Liberator; Search for Tomorrow; Nylea's Disciple; 2x Dragonscale Boon; Anthousa, Setessan Hero; Gift of Paradise; Tangle Asp; Ashcoat Bear; Rhonas' Stalwart; Scour from Existence; Inspiring Captain; Celestial Crusader; Emissary of the Sleepless; Oketra's Avenger; Leonin Snarecaster; Cast Out; Ainok Bond-Kin; Apex Hawks; Windswept Heath; 10x Forest and 6x Plains... oh, and the Unhinged cards Emcee and Land Aid '04. Incidentally, Ainok Bond-Kin > Emcee > literally anything is a winning combination.

So, how'd it go for me? Well... not bad. We never actually finished, so I came somewhere between 3rd, and joint 1st. Lemme expand.

Round one, my opponent was in Dimir colours, and just had an answer. I drew a little badly, but mostly it was just that he was playing his cards better than me. A goodly amount of removal, and some very well reserved counters meant that I couldn't really stop him from chiseling away at my life total. Plus, a 5/5 Flyer with Shadow is basically game over unless you draw premium removal... and they don't counter it.

Either way, I lost fair and square. Don't believe I won any games actually...

... Round two went much better. He was playing Grixis, and mana-screwed himself a couple of times, but also I was just a little punchier. Three games this time, and in the end it was a game of inches rather than a crushing defeat. Which I am actually very proud of, because at worst he is going to draw with me for first, after beating every other player.

Final opponent first picked Teysa Karlov (the second version) and just went for it. Which is unfortunate, because he was to my left, and I took all the good white cards.

These were slow, grindy matches, which I believe is a necessity of Orzhov (my Warriors being the exception), but in the end I wore him down faster than he could stop me. Once again - Bond-Kin, Emcee, Menagerie Liberator is just instant victory. And this was the round that I saw the Animus.

Unfortuately, I did not get the chance to face the last player (which is a shame, cos I would like to see a 4 colour durdle-nought), because of time constraints, but I intend to face him at some point. Maybe I'll even record it! I won't.

So, all in all... Yeah, I loved it. I quite enjoy MTGO Drafts, and Paper has the added benefit of playing with friends, which is always more fun. For anyone considering it - I'd highly recommend getting some friends together, and giving it a go. Seriously; you will enjoy it.

And now, because it is half eleven, and Master Grixis is wanting to read my many praises to him, I am afraid that I shall be forced to depart. Once again, thank you so much for joining me, and I oughta see you next week.

Volodanti out.

Hour of About-Average-Actually

Alright, first off - sorry it's late. Again. I realised on Thursday that I should have posted, so... yeah, sorry. I'll have another post - a longer one - next week, and then possibly something the week after. We'll see.

So, the big question - the prerelease. How did it go? My flatmate says 'who cares?', but I hope you do... anyway it went pretty well. About the same as ever - possibly slightly better? I went two-and-two, but it was a lot closer.

I deckbuilt a hell of a lot smarter this time round. I decided from the get go that I was only going to play two colours, and when I didn't open any fixing that just helped me stick to my convictions. My Prerelease foil was an Angel of Condemnation, which was a) ridiculously good, and b) what helped me settle on white as my second colour. After blue - yes, blue was actually my first choice. Which is weird both for me, and in general. Since I've started, it's been a bit too slow for limited, but this time... well, between Aerial Guide and Unquenchable Thirst, you can get in for some good damage while your opponent has a decent board presence. Then a Dauntless Aven, a couple Aven of Enduring Hope, and Oketra's Avenger... well, I was in with a Azorius Soft-Control Deck.

Or so I had thought. Then, about turn six of my first game, when my opponent was on 8 life, I came to realise that I was in a blue-white flyers deck, with a slight life-gain sub-theme. Not a great deal, but through a combination of Aven of Enduring Hope and Angel of Condemnation, I could eke out advantage if the game went on too long.

Anyway, Round One went... I mean, I lost. But they Junded me out, so I'm fine with that. I lost 0-2, because I could knock them down very quickly, but then I had nowhere to go... in no small part due to them having the Scorpion God. Even if they don't have anything that can block Flyers, -1/-1 counters are great against cheap flyers...

Round Two was against one of my friends (Team Wansbeck Represent!), who had built a Mill deck... somehow. He had Fraying Sanity and a couple of spells that milled, plus a bit of recursion to bring back old spells. When you have to dump 20 cards from a 40 card deck, you know things are going badly. Anyway, this went better, in that I won. I killed him the first game cos he was mana screwed, won the second round when he assembled his Milling Engine (he was on 3 life when he decked me), and won the third game due to wasting ludicrous amounts of removal on anything that could mill.

Third Round I also won, though my opponent wasn't really into it. They were playing a similar deck to mine - Orzhov, rather than Azorius if I remember correctly - and I ended up having to withhold my Angel for several turns because he had his own out. That was a close couple of games, but I was playing a slightly better deck in that kinda match-up - or possibly I'm just a better player than someone who starts the game by telling me they're going to lose. Who knows?

Round Four was came down to the skin of my teeth, and is also the one I remember the least about. I remember scooping in the first game when he played out three different 5/5's, and I remember winning the second game - though I don't know how. Third game was very close too - I believe that I died due to garbage topdecks, though I can't remember the exact circumstances... but that's my fault for leaving it too late. Shame, the third guy was canny. Second best opponent that day.

Anyway, that was my prerelease, in not all that much detail. Perhaps I oughta start making notes between rounds... that's not actually a bad idea. I might try that for Ixlan. Ixilan? Xilan?

... Yeah, that's gonna be an easy pun. Look forward to that.

Volodanti out.