La Luz Beach Resort 2012

If you are planning to go to the beaches of Batangas, why not try La Luz Beach Resort. It will take you between 4 hours to about half a day's drive from Manila. It is a resort which in my opinion caters to the class A and B market.

Once you arrive, you are greeted with a refreshing drink of ice tea and a face towel freshly soaked in cool water. While this may not sound like much in writing, it is like finding an oasis in the desert after enduring a long drive under the hot summer sun.

The cottages of La Luz are the best aspect of the resort, again IMHO. Simple, but elegant. Furniture is made of bamboo and capiz like shells. Rooms are clean and well maintained. Air condition and hot shower baths are available. No fancy tech stuff though, which I think is intentional, since without TV or computers to occupy one's time, then one is forced to make use of other means of having fun such as reading magazines, playing board games, beach volleyball or frisbee, hiring a masseuse, kayaking, snorkeling, and of course swimming on the beach. This doesn't mean that you can't bring your gadgets. A lot of tourists have their own laptops, phones, and pads - but I think this defeats the purpose of being at the beach. Consider it an opportunity to withdraw from tech addiction.

Digital cameras are a must though, since there are a lot of potential photography subjects available at the resort. You can choose from the natural landscape, to the resort's dining facilities, to the beach chairs and umbrellas, just to name a few. There is even an elevated rock formation from which you can take pictures of a lot of different views of the shoreline. This must be the reason why a couple choose the spot as the venue of their beach wedding.

The sand at La Luz is not as fine nor as pure as the beaches of Boracay. And the beach immediately drops from about 3 ft to 6 ft with just a few strides from the shore. This might be a turn off for inexperienced swimmers, and is probably the reason why not that many children are present at the beach. Life vests are available for a fee, and are usually coupled with snorkeling gear, for those who are not afraid to dive the depths. Floating platforms also act as achievement trophys for the adventorous swimmer.

La Luz offers lunch, dinner, and breakfast buffets along with the facilities. Open-air cottages with matresses are scattered along the shoreline and are free (as long as you've already paid for a room reservation and for the buffet) on a first-come-first-serve basis. So if you are a couple, or a family, wanting to enjoy summer on the beaches of Batangas, give La Luz a shot. A bit pricey, but well-worth it.

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Alteil: Defender of Seasons / Sakon

Sakon seems to have more potential than her counterpart Meltiria. Let's look at the Defender of Season's skills and stats.

As a soul skill, Sakon would probably work well with a Discarder file especially when dealing against Rush files. The grammar may be wrong (1 cards) but you get the idea. For every enemy unit with HP 0 or lower, send 1 card from the file to the cemetery. Its a trade-off between sending a card after sacrificing 2 LP in Lria or sending potentially more cards in Sakon. Of course, if your up against a Biggies, you might not even be able to send a file to the grave. And if you don't have Lria, then Sakon might be a good SS alternative.

For SP Stealing Decks, Sakon's start skill might be of use too. The battle-time night clause might be bypassed by Eskatia (though I've yet to see an SP Stealing deck use her). But Sakon just might create a new SP Stealing type of deck, and along with Mad Priest and Nightmare Given Form, might completely create an SP lock for your opponent.

Sakon is a two hitter (like Winston, Shvara, Folrart Dual-wielders, etc. with a twist. You are penalized an LP if you kill an enemy unit). Now why would a player want that? Must be desperate to use this skill or you want to trigger a certain SS. 

The close skill seems to be aimed as a counter against MAX HP - 60  hate SS and similar effects. But I don't think it is effective against Sergis or Folrart Paladin SS. Perhaps the conditional use should be changed to MAX HP = 0 or lower for wider coverage.

Decent stats for a level 4 unit at 60 HP, and AGI 4. ATK could have been higher, but I guess Aoizakura's DEF bypassing ability more than makes up for the low ATK. Again, similar to Meltiria, it is just strange that the card type does not match the decks that I think this card should be placed in. Still, this card just might see more playtime than Meltiria. I would recommend trying her out to those who can afford buying a set.

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Alteil: Song of Spring / Meltiria

New card boxes are selling for 1000 Gran a pop. If you are a collector and have amassed most of the cards, this will be like shelling 3000 Gran for a complete set. Are the new EX Spring Cards worth it? Lets look at the first one called Song of Spring, Meltiria.

It seems strange to have a new Faerie card for Refess when Faeries are considered Gowen's territory. So this must mean this card isn't really meant for a Faerie deck. And if you look at the soul skill, Treasure hunter is still better since it only returns your cards, not your opponent's.

The open skill, Message on the Breeze seems to be appropriate for Refess rush files. Sort of an alternative to Lavende maybe. But the non-character clause is still icky to me. Would have been great if the non-character clause of the lower than LV 3 clause were removed. Meltiria would have then been useful in Star Dragon files. Perhaps she's supposed to be useful in an Eternal Morning file, but again, Lavende and Brahma seem to be better suited for cemetery recycling in an EM file. Meltiria's being a level 4 card also seems to work against Refess rush files.

Does this mean she's supposed to be used in a Refess level 4 and above file? Time of Budding again seems to contradict this too because you can only return a card of level 3 or lower to the unit you healed. And again, the non-character clause seems to rule out Meltiria's usefulness in current Refess metas like TGC, Toromea, and even Alphonse-Annarose.

Perhaps Meltiria is supposed to create a new Refess meta file. Can't wait to see players in Folrart create one.

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Tim Cone Now with B-MEG

I was surprised to see Coach Tim Cone with a new team. I always thought that he would coach Alaska until he walked away from the game of basketball. Coach Tim Cone for me is the Phil Jackson of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), and him, together with the Alaska Teams of 1996 and 1998 would always be my childhood sports heroes.   Johnny Abarrientos, Jeffrey Cariaso, Bong Hawkins, Poch Juinio, and Jojo Lastimosa would be the epitome of a Philippine Team running the Triangle offense. Kenneth Duremdes would fill the athleticism much needed after the departure of Cariaso in 1997. And now, 2012, I see Abarrientos and Cariaso still teaming up with Cone as coaches in B-MEG.

Coach Tim Cone brings the much needed leadership to a young team like B-MEG. I've watched them place second to Talk and Text last conference. While they have the hunger and passion of most young teams, they lacked the fire power to match the almost All-Star like team of Talk and Text. I'm really surprised the Talk and Text team was able to afford all those big names on their team. Doesn't the PBA follow rules on salary cap? Or have these big named stars sacrificed salary for the opportunity to win championships. And Talk and Text is lucky to have Coach Chot Reyes, (probably my second favorite PBA coach ever since he showed how he could turn around a bottom-rung Coca-Cola Tigers team during the early 2000s). Reyes is a protege of sorts to Cone, and now is a formidable coaching rival. And last season, B-MEG did not have a leader that could match Reyes, nor the big-named stars that could match Alapag, Peak, Carey, Castro, Fonacier, etc. At least now, they have a mentor in Cone, and a star in Yap, and another offensive threat in Bowles.

Perhaps the need for a balance between stars and role players is what is making B-MEG successful at this point. The triangle offense seems to thrive under this formula too. Placing too much emphasis on stars, like the 2003-2004 Lakers team (Shaq, Kobe, Malone & Payton), can be as disastrous as a lack of stars. Having a high-profile coach in Cone allows B-MEG to have better influence on referee calls. Lets see how it all turns out as 2012 Commisioner's Cup comes to a close.

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Regine Velasquez: Never Give Up

Listen to this video. Regine is great, as always, but one has to appreciate the guitar accompaniment in this song. Respect to Amy Holland, but this new rendition fits the songs message and mood, IMHO.

Just attempting to place chords that might have some semblance to the guitar accompaniment, but I know its nowhere near nor as good. Still, there apparently are no tabs available for this song or even the Amy Holland version.

If you want to help me out, please give me a link to better tabs.

Regine Velasquez: Never Give Up


Standard Tuning


Intro
D - Asus - D - CM7 - Bm7 (Repeat)

Stanza Pattern:
Em                       CM7
I can tell it's gonna be

         B - BbM7 - A
Another night alone

Em                                CM7
And I don't have the energy
      B   -  BbM7    - A
to go out on my own
  CM7           Bm7
When you're gone,
 CM7 Dsus D G
I just want to hide
Em         Bm7
I can't go on,
Em         Bm7        CM7 - D - Dsus - D
All I doubt here inside

Chorus:
G                                  Em
But I will never give up, I'll never give up
CM7                        Dsus4 D - Dsus4 D5
I'll never believe that love just fades away
G                    Em

Never give up, I'll never give up
CM7
I'll never give up
 Dsus4 D - Dsus4 D5
I'll never give up

(Instrumental
EM7 C#m7 F#m7 B Bsus B D
EM7 C#m7
Am7 - Bm7 - C - D (Repeatable)
Am7 - Bm7 - C
F - G Gsus4 G Dsus Dsus D )

Stanza Pattern:
In the middle of the night, I wanna reach for you
I'm so uneasy when you're gone
I don't know what to do
It's so hard just to go downtown
I'm not happy
'Til I'm home safe and sound

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Columbine Student's Father 12 Years Later

This letter was forwarded to me. I hope you too can be blessed by it.

Columbine Student's father 12 years later

 

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness...

 

The following is a portion of the transcript:

" Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

> Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

> Your words are empty air.

> You've stripped away our heritage,

> You've outlawed simple prayer.

> Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

> And precious children die

> You seek for answers everywhere,

> And ask the question "Why?"

> You regulate restrictive laws,

> Through legislative creed..

> And yet you fail to understand,

> That God is what we need!

" Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge...Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen again.

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Error 651

Just got home from work and was trying to go online when I started receiving the following error.

Called my ISP and they walked me through a few troubleshooting steps.

• Restarted the ISP modem
• All lights were normal
• Went to device manager, and noticed that one of the devices was listed as Other Devices

I thought it was merely a Driver issue so I swapped network ports (my mother board has a built in LAN port but for some reason, I was using a PCI card) and lo and behold, I was back on line. It is good to have a back up. It turns out my LAN card gave out. Even after trying to update it via the Internet, a driver could not be found for it.   

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Jessica Sanchez: Is America Ready for an Asian Idol Winner?

America showed that it was ready to elect an African American President in 2008. Is America ready to vote for an Asian American Idol?

Apparently, not yet. Despite being one of the best singers in American Idol Season 11, Jessica Sanchez received the lowest voting turn out this week. She was in the middle of "singing for her life" when all the judges stood from their seats and went on stage to use their only save of the season. Randy Jackson mentioned that America got it wrong and that voters should choose the best singer in America. That is what the competition is all about. To quote Wikipedia:

Sanchez has received five unanimous standing ovations for her competitive performances from the judges, three from solo performances, one for group performance, and one for a duet.


Sanchez singing talent is a cross between Beyoncé Knowles and Whitney Houston. Admittedly, she doesn't have the looks, at least not yet. But image is something that can be worked on. Extraordinary talent is something someone is born with. If she is "crazy-good", why is she being ousted this early in the competition. Are the other contestants way better than her?

Perhaps we are over-reacting. Perhaps voters thought that Jessica Sanchez would get most of the votes and they would cast their vote for someone else this week. This is one way of rationalizing what happened.

But another reason could be the "like-ability" of the contestant. Fans of the show have proven in the past that the contestant ending up as the winner isn't always the one with the best talent, but one with the best fan-base.

There have been a lot of "best singers" being ousted in past AI seasons. But this usually happens near the finale, usually when contestants are vying for the top 4 or top 3 spots. But Jessica Sanchez' case is different. AI still has 7 people vying for the top spot, and she now gets the lowest vote.

Was this week a fluke? Or is America telling the judges what they really want. Perhaps the audience is still not ready for an Asian Idol. The competition is named American Idol after all. Let's see what happens in the coming weeks.

April 27, 2012 Update
Elise has been voted out, leaving 5 contestants in Joshua, Holly, Philip, Skylar, and Jessica.

May 11, 2012 Update
Holly has been voted out, leaving 3 contestants: Joshua, Philip, and Jessica

May 18, 2012 Update
Joshua has been voted out, leaving 2 finalists: Philip and Jessica


May 24, 2012 Update
Philip Phillips is 2012's American Idol

Guitar Tab Creator

So there I was, watching Andy McKee's rendition of Tears for Fear's Everybody Wants to Rule the World and I was thinking, "wouldn't it be great if there was a way to record the tabs for this song". It's a great video by the way, and you can check it out below.

So back to the problem of being able to record or write down the tabs. I'm already in front of my PC, and I'm kinda feeling lazy and no longer want to pick up my paper and pencil to write down the tabs. After a few minutes of searching, I stumbled upon this free website for creating guitar tabs, http://www.guitartabcreator.com. You just need to register and once you have an account, you can login and start creating tabs.

I log in and start playing with the interface. Below is a screenshot of what its like.

First impression, this app is clunky and cumbersome. But hey, what would you expect, be grateful it is free. And with some patience, (maybe a lot of patience), you can get the job done.

Here's my attempt at creating a tutorial for using Guitar Tab Creator. 

1. To start, click on New Tab.
2. Title is self-explanatory.
3. Start putting in chords. You will notice that if you click on the fret board, squares start popping up. You will need to click on the Record Chord button under Create Chords in order for your notes to line up. And when you are done, click on the Stop Recording button. This process is a pain and will take some practice before you get used to it. If you make mistakes, simply click on the Back button under Tab Controls. (But be careful pushing that Back button too much, it can ruin a lot of already finished work)
4. Click on the Save button way below the screen when you are done. (I would recommend clicking on it after every chord input, which can be very tedious, but will safeguard your work from mistakes).

And that's about it. Again, you will expect a lot of bugs from something free.

One more thing, and I'm not sure if it is a browser issue, but if you look at that fret board above, it will be full of squares from all your input. I'm not sure exactly how to remove all those since it is annoying when you are trying to write down a new chord.

A workaround I've found is to change the first drop-down box under Scale Helper from none to any other setting, say C, then change it back to none. This will clear the fret board temporarily until you finish entering the new chord. Rinse and repeat for every new entry. Annoying, but like I said, this app is free. 

If you find a better alternative free online guitar tab site creator, (what a mouthful), then let me know. And to all guitar tab creators out there, I don't know how you do it, especially for 3 page long tabs, but much respect.

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Alteil Disconnections

One of the most disappointing aspects of Alteil gaming would be the random disconnections that happen when players are having a match. Below is a typical scenario of an Alteil disconnection.

As you can see, I was clearly ahead of my opponent in terms of field control. So this match should have been a win for me. But because of Alteil disconnections, I ended up losing this match, lower RP, and an ended winning streak.

Reasons for a disconnection have been attributed to a player's browser, his computer, or his ISP. I have re-installed Flash several times, tried different browsers, and the disconnections only seem to happen when I am on the Alteil website. So I really don't think the problem is happening because of my computer or my ISP.

The only time a disconnection during a match is acceptable should be during the website's maintenance. Players have suggested several solutions to this problem on the forums. Some suggestions are prone to player abuse (say the match is not counted for the losing player), but I specifically like the suggestion of a reconnect button. Websites like Yahoo Games allow players to reconnect in timer-based matches like Chess. So as long as the timer has not run down to zero, a player has a chance to reconnect to that same match. So if Alteil incorporates one, a player should have roughly about 5 minutes maximum time to reconnect.

Yahoo Games are also made using Flash so I don't understand why Alteil developers seem to have a difficult time implementing this despite the disconnection issue being present until now. I have been playing Alteil for 3 years now and I have been getting disconnected in random matches since my first year. Perhaps this feature presents too much trouble with very little gains for Alteil management. But they should also see it as an opportunity to show that they hear their players concerns and are doing something about it.

Addendum:

An alternative to having a reconnect button is to add logic to the game which analyzes which Player was ahead and awards the win to that player. There are several factors that could be analyzed.

• Which player had the lower remaining time during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more units on the field during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more LP (life points) during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more SP during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more cards in their deck during the time of the disconnection

Based on these questions, it should be easier to piece which player deserves the win during a disconnected game.

I still don't know if there is a flaw in Flash that allows gamers to force the opponent to get disconnected. If there is, no one would share it since they have an advantage in having that secret. But if the developers are made aware of this exploit, perhaps a fairer playground could be created in the future. 

Error 718

Sometimes, while trying to establish an internet connection, I get the following error window.

I am not really sure what causes it. There are days when after a few tries, the connection is established while there are also times when I try for several minutes, and even restart my modem, and it still doesn't work. So I blow off some steam, (since calling my ISP is seldom productive), and when I get back after a few hours, seems as though everything is working perfectly fine.

Tried to do a bit of online research on Error 718 and here are some things I've found out about it.

• It can be caused by using either a wrong user name or password or both
• It can be caused by an expired ISP account
• It can be caused by poor line quality

And out of all the above reasons, only the last one seems to fit my scenario. I don't have to re-input the username or password whenever I connect to the internet. I pay my bills on time so I'm not expecting an expired account. So how do I deal with poor line quality.

My ISP says that as long as they can establish a connection, they have done their part. And browsing speed appears to be within expected service levels. I guess some problems are not really important and should just be ignored.

How about you? Have you had some success with an Error 718 issue? How did you solve it? Share your experience and hopefully, others may benefit from it.

Can I Use Luminate and Adsense Together?

Based on the FAQs on Luminate's website, it seems you can. You can also read on the FAQs by going to http://www.luminate.com/faq/

Finishing Mass Effect 3

***Warning: Possible Spoilers***

After purchasing Mass Effect 3 about a month ago, I have finally been able to finish it. (No, I don't usually play games 24 hours straight so I'm not the type of player who will finish a 40 hour RPG in 2 days). I plan on going through it several more times to explore the alternative endings. And out of the PS3 games that I have played this year, ME3 has my nomination for Game of the Year.

While others might say that ME3 offers less than what ME2 had to offer, I say less is more. Less playable number of characters, true, but ask yourself this. Out of 10 options, and with only 2 slots in your party, you usually play either your favorite support characters or those you've built up in terms of level. In ME3, your choice of party members has been trimmed down to about 5. (6 if you make the right choices and 7 if you download from DLC, which is so uncool BTW and perhaps my only annoyance with this game. When I purchase a game, I expect to have everything in it). And still out of those 5 possible party members, you'll usually just play your favorite 2 or 3. Still wish there was a playable Geth or Ninja type character though.

I am pleased with the story and with the side quests. And even if some of the characters from ME2 are no longer playable, it is nice to know that they are still an integral part of this story. If ME3 is the last Mass Effect game, it is a fitting ending, tragic (since a lot of your characters die and the mass relay network is destroyed) but fitting.

While there are ways to avoid the deaths of major characters, I feel that if Shepherd were to die in the end, it is only right. All of them deserve to be remembered as heroes. It is also strange but kind of funny if Joker and Trainer were to be the Adam and Eve on that new planet they crashed into in the end. Wonder how EDI will mix with those two, and also weird since EDI was in my party during the final battle. (She should have died along with Shepherd and my other party member or I shouldn't have included her in the last mission for the story to make sense).

This game is way better than FF XIII - 2 in terms of replay value and even in terms of content. And a lot of the loose ends in ME2 and perhaps even ME1 (although I still haven't played ME1) are explained in this final chapter. (If there were to be an ME4, they should come up with a new set of characters).

So if you want a game set in a Star Trek / Star Wars type universe with great artwork and story line, pick up ME3. It is well worth it.

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Alteil: Deep Squid

Believe it or not, Deep Squid is one part of Alteil's Set 1 cards. I bet its previous stats and skills were mediocre. I don't even really remember any of these anymore, except I think, and I may be wrong, it was originally a level 4 card. But now,  it is good to see some old cards getting some playing time in the Folrart Arena after being buffed. Let's take a look at the new and improved Deep Squid (DS), shall we?

So now, DS is a level 6 card with high HP and Agility, and a decent ATK and RNG. Pluck from the Surface is a really cool start skill, making DS comparable to Belus, a 4-star card. Sure, there's the requirement that DS be all alone on your field. And if you're packing returns, as long as you can keep the unit match ups at 1-vs-1 or even 2-vs-1, you can maintain the upper hand.

With the release of Falkow EX 10, DS has been used in Gardia / EX Rubia decks. Tentacle Slap works nicely with Gardia and Rubia's minor damage dealing abilities. Being able to pinpoint 20 damage twice makes short work of a rush deck in most cases.

I've also seen a Big Blue deck working in DS. Whatever Lightning Wyvern leaves in play can be pretty much wiped off by DS, and the high HP helps it survive Lightning Wyvern's penalty. Some variants also have  Storm Wizardess, (another great 2-star card), who's engaging open skill works great against character based decks. And the three-peat direct damage of 20 will work well with DS's pinpointing.

Getting a complete set of DS might be tough though unless they make it the Card of the Week or you are willing to give up 60 point cards, the equivalent of a 5-star card. And I think I recycled my set months ago for an EX event which I now regret. This just goes to show that it may be prudent to keep some of your completed card sets in tack. You never know if the people behind Alteil will buff that specific set of cards.

Perhaps Alteil staff should also consider "re-printing" the old cards into the new sets, with better artwork too. Instead of the cartoony version of DS, they could place a realistic / life-like rendition. This was something Magic Player's appreciated with every release of an N-th edition of the basic set. Die hard player's would buy new packs to get copies of cards they already had, if it had better artwork. Great artwork can sometimes revitalize a card game. Good artists is something that seems to be lacking with Alteil's current sets. I know that we have the seasonal art change, but if you could allow players the chance to always keep the art, that would be great too. Just my two cents worth.

Alteil: Sunday Afternoon Bringer Nerfed

Continuing an April Fools' Day tradition, Alteil released a new card for Gowen called Sunday Afternoon Bringer, shortened henceforth as SAB. SAB has been dubbed as "the perfect card", (although to me, the perfect card would be a card with an Open skill stating you win or opponent gets 0 LP, and you could play it for 0 SP, and perhaps they would release this card in 2013's April Fool's). Let's take a look at his skills and stats.

SAB reminds me a lot of the original Bringer before he was nerfed twice. SAB does not have the agility penalty of the current Bringer and is able to deal 40 damage instead of the current Bringer's 30 damage Open skill. Both Bringers still have the Gowen level penalty.

If Alteil gives you an opportunity to have 25 copies of SAB in your file, would you take it? He is useless as a Soul Skill, so I would still probably place only about 3 copies of him in my file. Until Alteil makes multiple copies available, I'll never really know the optimal number of SABs in a deck. It could be a cool joke though... how many SABs does it take to fix a light bulb.

I've crunched a bunch of numbers on "You'll Win Anyway" and you can check it out below.

Old ATK	Enemy Level	ATK Level Buff	New ATK
41	0	135	176
41	1	120	161
41	2	105	146
41	3	90	131
41	4	75	116
41	5	60	101
41	6	45	86
41	7	30	71
41	8	15	56
41	9	0	41

The current Bringer is usually used to take down big cards like Star Dragon or Joachim. SAB is still decent up to level 5 cards, but tends to be weaker for level 6 and above cards.

Overall, I think that SAB is still a cool card and would probably play him in a regular file if I had 3 copies of him. It is a good card for gowen players starting out with Alteil so if you're one, I hope you were able to get him since he was only available as a give-away for one day. (But I think we might see him as a promo card for future packs or boxes).

Update: Post April Fool's Sunday Afternoon Bringer Nerf

Below is an image of SAB after it was nerfed.

The Open skill now has an activation cost of 30 SP. So even if they buffed the damage to 999, you'll probably have a difficult time generating enough SP to pull it off.

"You'll Win Anyway" has also been nerfed to 2 SP instead of just 1 SP activation. And now, instead of being fully healed, SAB only heals 20 HP.

Here's the new updated attack table.

Old ATK	Enemy Level	ATK Level Buff	New ATK
20	0	90	110
20	1	80	100
20	2	70	90
20	3	60	80
20	4	50	70
20	5	40	60
20	6	30	50
20	7	20	40
20	8	10	30
20	9	0	20

His stats have also been downgraded to simply 50 HP and 20 ATK. He only costs 3 SP to put into play though.

Looks like this card is pretty useless now.

bomomo.com

While reading about HTML 5, I happened to land on a site called bomomo.com. Here's a sample drawing that I was able to accomplish on that site.

If you have time, perhaps you can also play around with that site and come up with your own artistic expression. Have fun!!!