I want to be a superhero.

No, not like Eminem in his new video Without Me. No, not like some super-powered guy with laser eyes like Superman. I just want to be a superhero. Flying through the sky, saving the day, keeping trouble at bay, and being generally regarded as a"good guy."

I do happen to realize that this is not a possibility: you don't see people with my build and look doing anything spectacular. As a matter of fact, you don't really see any superheroes, period, except for maybe Police, Firefighters, and Doctors. This does not defeat my dream. I look ahead, to the future, wanting to be a"superhero" typecast character - basically, something like Bruce Willis in the 5^th Element. Sure, there wasn't anything about him that was super (and you could even say he wasn't that great) - but he was the hero regardless, being a great part of saving the day.

I want to rescue the princess from her high tower in the sky out of the clutches the evil warlock holding her captive. Maybe it's me; maybe I am way out of my time, since living in Medieval times would seem like a good match. I have to admit, I have always had this infatuation for knights, sorcerers and elves. The whole scenario to me is pretty darn cool.

I want to ride into some town on a horse, fully dressed in armor and praised by some and feared by others. I walk into the"ye old pub" and sit down, have a drink and talk about adventures with other travelers of my breed before spending the night at the inn, and getting up in the morning and setting out to the next town, looking for that next adventure and that very important next princess.

Back when I was in school, when I would read a book of my choice, it was fantasy. Something that was based on medieval times, with knights and warlocks and that good stuff. Dragonlance books were great, but my all-time favorite was David Eddings. Boy, can he write - he makes you really interested in that next page, even if he is talking about some plain old chore for the hero (or heroine).

Then again, maybe I am influenced by the video game generation I grew up in - a world filled with princesses and saving them, from the Super Mario Brothers to the Adventures of Link and Zelda. Sure, Metroid was cool and all, but it wasn't as good as Dragon Warrior I. That is where I fell in to the Roleplaying Game crowd, drooling over Final Fantasy 2 and 3 as they came along on Super Nintendo. Lunar I and II for Sega CD - a then eventually moving on to the Sony Playstation where the whole RPG thing really took off, with all kinds of great games like Final Fantasy 7, Alundra, Beyond the Beyond, and Sukoden. I liked them all, though some of them now seem so lame as you get graphics flashback (not to be confused with flashback in Magic), where because of the steps the newer and most recent games have taken with graphics; the older ones look so choppy or lame.

Sukoden was amazing when I first saw it - I mean, wow! Now I play it, and am like, there could have been so much more better; look, I CAN SEE THE PIXELS!

So I want to be a hero, a superhero, one who saves princesses and the day. Maybe I could fly in my own dreams.

I want to be a Super Girl.

Flying over the buildings
Over the mountains
Over the blue sky
Over the rainbow

I am sure I lost about 95% of you right there. Super Girl? Have you ever seen the cartoon on Cartoon Network called Powerpuff Girls? It's just pure fun; I mean, it's really cheesy in a lot of ways - but at the same time, it gives you that great feel when all is said and done. Little mini adventures in saving the day, making you feel like you could be a superhero. Recently, Cartoon Network started airing a video every now and then like they do from time to time. It is Powerpuff-Girl oriented, and is from the little-known band Shonen Knife. The songs name is"I'm a Super Girl."

So sue me, I like Powerpuff Girls.

In fact, I like Sailor Moon.

"What is wrong with you?" I am sure you are asking. Yes indeed, I like Sailor Moon, and as a matter of fact, I have every episode on tape recorded off of TV - including the lost episodes. I even went to the extent to get the Fan-Subbed versions of the Sailor Moon movies way before they come over to the U.S. They are much cooler, too; instead of being dumbed down a little for the public, the Japanese variants had blood to some extent, and a little stronger language. Sailor Moon in Japan was to appease to all audiences, not just little kids.

In the U.S., Sailor Moon is intended for girls ages 6-12, and basically no one else. It is very funny how things like that happen, I mean, sure girls need something they can watch, but the general eye tells us that things like Sailor Moon are only for girls - that if guys watch them and enjoy them, there is something wrong with them. A little crazy in the head, most say.

I'm a cartoon fanatic. I still watch them and I am twenty-two years old. I've enjoyed Sailor Moon, Darkwing Duck, Ducktales, Talespin, Wildcats (Helspont is the man!), Kissyfur, Voltron and Tiny Toons Adventures. To this day, I still find new cartoons I enjoy - things way below my age. But cartoons are supposed to produce pleasure, and I still get that from cartoons - shows like Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, and many more.

Of course, I am also kind of an anime freak, got into that a long time ago. I like to be ahead of the game. Dragonball Z, you ask? Pshaw. Way old in my opinion. I had seen a lot of it before it was public release on the cartoon stations in the U.S. It is pretty big these days, when I remember watching a lot of a few years ago. I am more into the general movie release anime, not the public cartoon kind. Things like Bubblegum Crisis (the original, with 80's music, not this 2040 stuff), Aa Megami Sama (Oh My Goddess), Magic Knight Rayearth, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ranma 1/ 2, El-Hazard (the original) and other great movies like Armitage, Ghost in the Shell and Vampire Hunter D (new and old).

I enjoy both anime and manga, which to most people are the same thing. You see, manga is the comic-strip form; anime, on the other hand is the drawing style that is used, and there are many sub-categories which use the anime drawing style. Anime is just basically a abbreviation for Japanese Animation. I do collect manga, I follow Oh My Goddess - which once again goes in that category in the U.S. of accepted as a little strange for a guy to find that amusing.

I don't care what you think about that, I enjoy it. I have to admit, I find the semi-super powers, Comedy/Love story stuff interesting. Things like Ranma and Oh My Goddess are my top 2.

One of the great things about those manga titles is that they are down to earth. No super-duper powered weapons, or flying around or anything like that. No Mechs crashing along the earth. They are generally usual people with special skills and talents and the occasional powered person who isn't overdone. In Ranma, the main characters are all specially skilled in one way or another in martial arts. They all take some things to the imagination and extreme, but things are generally realistic in a comic strip sense. Sure, Ranma himself and others like him are mixed up a little since they traveled to the springs of Jusenkyo and fell in and are now cursed with another form... But its not like these forms are super sick, like the one cat thing from Tenchi Muyo which can turn into a huge spaceship. Ranma's curse is that he changes to a girl when splashed with cold water, and reverts back to male when doused in hot water. It makes for plenty of silly situations, which makes the whole series work out okay. Everyone else in the comic changes to some animal, like a Pig or Cat. The whole thing with Ranma works so great as they present it as a problem from a start, and the fact that he is living with three attractive females who all have their faults. The aggression of one of those females, Akane, makes the whole series work.

Unfortunately, the longer the series has gone, the worse it has gotten. Things seem so overdone now in the newer comics and movies (the movies are all based on the comic series episodes) and they make some really stupid episodes. Regardless, the original TV series for Ranma and the OAV (Original Aminated Video) series and the movies (1 and 2) are great.

So I want to be a super hero.

I want to be a Magic super hero, too. I try to do it all. I am so pledged in my own actions that I push the issue, I try way too hard to do something that I shouldn't be doing. I tend to make mistakes along the way, claiming that I can win with any pile of cards because I think they are all underplayed and underrated - and the result sometimes is that I fall flat on my face, pushing my luck and myself too much.

What can I say? I'm always trying to prove myself over and over again. I do have a factor driving me on though. I get to write online and talk about my adventures, telling the tales of yore like my hero image at a bar in medieval times. I am sure some people are more likely to remember a game where I dropped a Shivan Dragon, all Armadillo Cloaked up, then beat someone into submission - than they are to remember what Gary Wise, an amazing writer, said about Crackling Club in his review of Red for Torment.

I want to make an impact in every single person I can, remembering my name, for some reason or another, because I did something weird, not on the regular track of things.

I'll tell you this much; I know I won't remember the guy I played against (Robert Beverly) at Regionals playing Black-Red-Green Zombie Infestation/Madness a year from now, but I am sure he will remember me when I beat him down with an Armadillo Cloaked Charging Troll and was at one point over ninety life in the game.

I know I won't remember one of my opponents, whose name I have already forgotten, who played Psychatog/Upheaval - but he will remember the first game we played in where I dropped turns 2 and a 3 Llanowar Knights and he realized that those were really good versus him that early in the game. I like to make a story to tell, a memory, an adventure to spread on. I want to be notorious, either in bay way or good, for being Rogue most of the time. I play Magic my way. I play to win and showcase my stuff, but I won't sellout and play Netdeck X which is regarded as the deck to play.

So I did it, I tried for the big score. I went all-out and talked about a certain deck I would play and win with. I set the bar high, but knew that I can play pretty much anything well, even if it is bad, and have a good showing in the tournament. I am very confident, when I want to win, I pull out a good deck to play and go with it. I really feel that I can play the"worst" color combination in any format and contend with it; I have that much faith in my abilities.

Unlike anything else in life, I don't doubt myself in Magic.

I have played a long time, I have done a lot of losing for a long time, and I have done a lot of winning too. So I went for the big one, to show you all what I am made of.

The result?

I failed miserably.

That hurts to say. I am disappointed in myself, and I am sure some of you are disappointed in me. I am also sure some of you by now have just backed up away from this article, wanting to see what this crazy fool had said he could do and see what happened.

The doubters won, the believers lost.

I have let down the Magic community and have lost some respect. But you know what? I will keep on chugging on, and God willing, I'll do it sometime again and prove it. I will get that big score, I will prove to all watching that I gotz mad game, too. You know what I want? I want to play one-on-one versus Kai Budde or Jon Finkel in a series of formats to beat them at the game they are known for winning. I want to defeat them, to get the public opinion that Jeremy C. Muir is not some random scrub filling in slots at a tournament. I also don't want to be thought of when the day begins as a likely candidate for a 0-2 drop day.

(As a matter of fact, I never 0-2 drop. That's idiotic. I just dropped this much cash on a tournament to play in to give in right away? I am coming away with something, gosh darn it. So I play another round. I have never gone 0-3. never. I always end up 1-2 at that point, and do not give in. I dig until I get that third loss, I want to snag as many wins as I can on the way.

(I came to play Magic cards at a Magic tournament. I also came to have fun. I'm not going to give in at 0-2, call it a day, say there was some problem here, bitch about it, and wait around for a while for things to finish so the others and I can go home.)

Alan Webster once said something that to this day still brings a smile to my face: It was about Regionals when Rebels and Replenish were the craze. I think 2000 if I remember right, but my dates on things can sometimes be off. It was part of his article Rosewater.dec here on StarCityGames, which you should all read sometime. It was about those who were prepared, kind of prepared, and taking chances. It was about who has a chance to make top 8 at a 200+ person event. The best part though was one quote - about going to the tournament, or maybe not:

"Take the money for your entry into Regionals out of your pocket. Unfold it. Look at it. Feel it. Read it, especially the part about 'Legal Tender for all Debts'. Then refold it and put it away. You just won 25 bucks!"

Good stuff, and I have thought about that sometimes. I feel that about hthree-man sealed events; I mean, a lot of the time the three-man team is just 3 players who are good, but haven't ever played together. Sometimes it works out, but most of the time, it doesn't as when it comes down to it, the people you thought you could win with may not be the best teammates for you to be with. As we all know, teamwork is a very important thing when you do something of that nature, when you have a lot more I's than TEAM, things don't work.

This doesn't mean I wont go to a three-man sealed event; I mean, that is pretty fun. But I don't go to every qualifier I can for it - and in fact, I don't mind missing out on it. Sure, it being something that anyone could compete in these days as overall rankings for that aren't that high is great, but really, what are your chances of winning over some other team that really does work as a team together?

Whoops, sorry I skipped off the subject above.

I was talking about my deck I played in a tournament and failed with. I had talked about a Green/White/Red deck I would play in a tournament, as I showed it online, which included many unused cards that I think are better than many think. The biggest problem? I went too far; I made expectations of myself that were way too high.

Instead of using a few cards I wanted to prove, most of the deck was packed with cards I wanted to prove. The problem with that?

What if not all of them are all that great or work well together, like a team?

Then I would suffer, and suffer some more, and look like a total jackass.

So that happened to me.

I went 2-3, but was 1-3 before the last round. I figured since I had talked so much about this deck, that I would play the last round. Its not very often that I am 1-3, so it was kind of weird. I got paired against someone I should never play against based on levels of skill and experience. My opponent had to ask me what Shivan Dragon, Call of the Herd, Urza's Rage - and what Birds of Paradise did! On the other hand, he did know off the top of his head what Shelter, Global Ruin, Flowstone Charger and Charging Troll did. Either that guy only looks at rogue cards or he just shouldn't be playing me, because he shouldn't be playing against someone who stays atop the game when he is still learning how to play the game right and what cards to play. Fog? Of course he played four in the main deck, and Thorn Elemental too, with Elvish Pipers.

I will say this, though; I did not play against any other bad decks or bad players. I fought strong and never got my butt kicked in any match that I lost. There was only one really bad game during the day, where I only had three mana on the board when my opponent had like ten and a Psychatog in play.

Yeah, I didn't win that one.

The best parts about the day? I did some mad killing with Global Ruin. Lands died often when I played against people. Shivan Dragon won a ton of games out of the sideboard. Shelter was there most of the time when I needed an answer to their answer. I also killed someone with a Armadillo Cloaked Birds of Paradise, and did some damage to someone else in that fashion.

The deck, in case you don't remember:

4x Birds of Paradise
4x Thornscape Familiar
3x Wild Mongrel
4x Call of the Herd
3x Flametongue Kavu
3x Flowstone Charger
3x Mystic Enforcer
4x Urza's Rage
4x Shelter
3x Global Ruin
2x Harrow
2x Armadillo Cloak
3x Karplusian Forest
3x Brushland
2x Mountain Valley
1x Sungrass Prairie
1x City of Brass
7x Forest
3x Mountain
3x Plains

Sideboard:
2x Shivan Dragon
2x Savage Firecat
2x Charging Troll
2x Wrath of God
2x Orim's Thunder
1x Armadillo Cloak (I couldn't find the 4^th Global Ruin)
2x Squirrel Nest
2x Scorching Lava

The sideboard of course, is a total pile, like the deck. But it also matches my very erratic sideboarding style. I must be the worst sideboarder ever in the game of Magic. I have very stupid and bad tendencies. I don't take out certain cards versus certain people, unless I am trying to really win badly and spend a lot of time judging just which card is the right one to pull out (like in a top 8 match or something). I take a little of this and a little of that. In order for me to really explain, this is what I did one match versus a Blue-Green-Red Madness deck that was not of the ordinary build, using things like Jade Leech.

OUT-

1x Flowstone Charger
2x Harrow
1x Global Ruin
1x Mystic Enforcer
1x Call of the Herd

FOR-

2x Wrath of God
2x Shivan Dragon
2x Squirrel Nest

WHAT THE HELL? WHO IN THE WORLD PULLS OUT CALL OF THE HERD WHEN THE OPPONENT IS PLAYING JUST TWO JILTS?

I do.

I am very erratic when it comes to sideboarding. When I am up a game, I tend to take out cards that I didn't need the game before. That often includes cards that didn't come up. I may pull out something like Flowstone Chargers versus a slow deck that doesn't have any burn because... I never drew one the game before and in such didn't need it to win.

Yeah, I know, the reasoning is very mistake-filled, but I do it nonetheless, and more often than not, works out, as I draw the sideboarded card which is more helpful for me in the right situation, in that right situation. Call me a SLG (Super Lucky Guy), but I do that stuff. I don't just topdeck in certain games, I fricken' mize my way to victory. I'll be playing a match, both of us have no hand and land in play. I will turn on the creature switch and just peel like six creatures off the top of my deck.

I suffer from SLG syndrome, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I have to admit, I am one of those types who tries to see the best in every card in Magic. I want to be the next guy who sees a card no one dubbed that great and make it so. Natural Order, Pure Reflection, Jilt, Ashnod's Altar, Quirion Dryad, Donate, and even Necropotence - all cards that at one time or another were dubbed bad cards.

Yes, Necropotence was in that bin.

When that card came out, people hated it, you could get it like it was a lace from someone, and was generally considered much worse than Oath of Lim-Dul. Then some people proved that Necro was actually sick. What? A card that we have in our common boxes becoming a powerhouse all of the sudden? That never happens! (... mumbles including the words Illusions of Grandeur, Pandemonium, and Pure Reflection).

What can I say? I want to be a trend-setter for usage of Magic cards. I want people to want me to autograph a card of theirs because of my efforts.

Sure, I am nowhere close now - but as I said way above, some day I will score big. It's like playing the slot machines... One of these quarters is going to work sometime. Then I will win a boat load of goodies and feel very happy about it.

Someone take this guy gambling or something!

Maybe just buy him a scratch ticket instead.

All right; onward.

Is it me or does Judgment really seem very cool? I am sure many of you have now busted open some packs either at a prerelease or bought 'em from StarCity. You look at a lot of the cards and so many cool ideas for decks show up in your head. You have a lapse about certain power cards in the Type II format and all you can think of is your new Judgment-based deck that will take the world by storm.

Then you build your deck, invite some friends over, and someone cast Upheaval or something else of that magnitude against you, and you realize all this anticipation and excitement has gone to waste. Hey, it's not your fault; you did what everyone is supposed to do, see new cards and throw the old ones away and just work the new ones. I have to admit, I want to build a Bird deck; there are tons of cool new birds and cards to work with birds, including that feather card where all birds get +1/+1 for each counter on it. The name of that card? Insignificant. It's birds; they suck usually, right?

Well, I want Kangees anyway.

That piece of junk just might work in this deck. Turn 8, right before Upheaval hits, bust out five birds! Sick!

My first impression of the set and its colors? Boy does red suck a lot - but boy did it also gain some really great filler cards to decks I would like to now try. Boy, does green not seem to be so set-dominant, but is still cool.

My first impressions for a deck, which I dug out a notepad and have already built this bad boy to play, which hasn't seen a game yet, but I can't wait!

This deck does include madness cards, which I try not to play since everyone in the world does - but I don't mind casting these cards for their regular casting costs.

JUDGMENT INSPIRED AND INCLUDED MONO RED:

4x Raging Goblin (gotta start off good)
4x Grim Lavamancer (mmmmmmm... TOASTY!)
4x Goblin Raider (need that second-turn stick)
4x Hell-Bent Raider (I've been waiting to bust these out for way too long now)
2x Jeska; Wizard Adept (Barbarian goodness, baby!)
3x Skizzik (the essentials)
2x Fledgling Dragon (I like it, but need to try it out to see what I really think)
3x Firebolt (I usually end up playing three of these for one more of some other card)
4x Flame Burst
4x Fiery Temper
4x Violent Eruption
4x Barbarian Ring
2x Petrified Field
16x MOAANTAINS

I am sure I will eventually decide that there must be some better version of this deck to make somewhere. I do feel good about it though, lots of cool stuff, good beats, tons of burn and some tricks with Hell-Bent Raider/Madness and Barbarian Ring/Petrified Field. I am sure you have already noticed, but I do not have and Flametongue Kavu in the deck; it's going to get banned.

Just kidding! I know what Flametongue Kavu does, and for the time being I am going to see what I think of things like Jeska and Fledgling Dragon, see if I want them in there at the four slots before I add my Flametongue's. Remember now, this is a deck to test out, its not in any finality process right now, when it gets to a point where it looks tournament viable, I will let you know.

I have to admit, building some red/X Threshold deck with Book Burning was tough to not do; I like the combination of Book Burning and Fledgling Dragon. Go ahead, pay six life, then pay it again? No? Then eat fatty Fledgling beats!

Another very cool card I pulled that I want to try use somewhere, most likely in the sideboard, is Breaking Point. Lose all your creatures? No? Take six, then this burn, then that burn, and finish you with this. Bad choice. Six is a lot - especially when your opponent is not gaining any life. That's just under one-third of your opponents life. Red is about math - no, not 2+2 = 4. More like 20-X-Y-Z divided by the number of extra cards you draw for some reason or another, because, well, they will kill them to.

A good player can play red and beat you like no tomorrow. Give the same deck to someone else who sucks at math, and they will lose for sure. When your opponent is at twenty, don't Shock them turn 1! That is completely not necessary, unless you got the god of all decks or hands. Turn 1 Shocks are creature removal. Turn 4 Shocks are creature removal. Turn 8 Shocks, though, are most likely weapons versus their life total, unless you are really in a bad spot, and well... If you are playing a bunch of burn and creatures and are in trouble at that point, you're probably not going to win.

So here is the math that may run through a current (read: not November) Sligh/Mono Red players head in an Extended tournament, who is playing the deck the way it should be.

This is during.. Turn 3, let's say for some reason.

Opponents life = 20.

20-(AxN)-B-C = G
G-(PB/CLIL)= Y?

WHAT???

A = Jackal Pup
N = Relentless Charge used on Jackal Pup that turn
B = Incinerate
C = Fireblast
G = Remaining Life Total
PB = Probable Burn (to be drawn)
CLIL = Cards Left in Library
Y = Why, as in is it worth to go after them with burn spells RIGHT now?

Will this be 0?

So you figure out what you can get them at right now. I will do the first equation for you.

20-(AxN)-B-C = G

AxN= Jackal Pup damage (2) x Reckless Charge damage (3) == 5
B = Incinerate (3) == 3
C = Fireblast (4) == 4

So, 20-5-3-4=G

G = 8

So figure that you may have 24 total burn spells lets say for a heavy burn deck (I will include Ball Lightning in the burn count, since its 6 damage one time only). You have already used something previous lets say, like a Shock, on a creature, and one Incinerate and one Fireblast. So you now have twenty-one burn spells left.

If your deck is 60 cards, and you are on turn 3, and say you went first, you should have 51 cards left in your library.

So 21 divided by 51 = 0.411 or roughly 41% on a chance that you would draw a burn spell next turn. Of course, each turn, this figure changes, so most people generally don't start taking chances too early on things since, well, that's a lot of math and too much of a chance in failing out.

Also, you need to figure in the probability of your opponent doing something to stop your deck from doing the necessary things, in the sense of Force of Will, Counterspell, or some life gaining aspect.

So generally, even though those cards above are great, doing any more than Relentless Charging the Jackal Pup seems a bit of a rush.

Essentially though, red is all about math. Figuring when and where to play your burn spells. So if you plan to play something that is mono red, don't play it like an automaton. Think. Take your time. Burn can take more time to play correctly than a Counterspell deck. If it does, most likely you are doing things right, and hopefully are winning.

I am sure I just got some ten-year-old to just take all of his red cards, and flush them down the toilet or burn them on the stove. Math in magic can be a little higher than some people can handle. It's all about X's, Y's, Z's and other unknown variables being plugged in as you go along.

Then again, some people just get along by playing every burn spell they think they should at the other player cause they aren't doing enough, and stay very aggressive, and you know what, they win too.

Alright. To end my article I will talk about some Judgment. I am going to make a top 5 list, going from 5^th to 1^st, talking about the most interesting cards in my mind that I have seen so far from Judgment (I have not seen everything). No, this is not my personal listing for the top 5 cards in the set, or limited, or anything. These cards just stick out a little; they seem like they could be good, but need a setting to be good in first. The question for most of them, what is that setting? Is that worth trying out or is it too much of a dedication to be good?

Consider these as cards that I feel are buzzworthy:

5. Breaking Point (Rare), Red, RR1, Sorcery
Destroy all creatures unless a player has Breaking Point deal 6 damage to him or her. Creatures destroyed this way can't be regenerated.
Wrath of God? 6 Damage sure is a lot!

4. Chastise (Uncommon), White, 3W, Instant
Destroy target attacking creature.
You gain life equal to its power.
A new Exile, and the timing may be right.

3. Battle Screech (Uncommon), White, 2WW, Sorcery
Put two 1/1 white Bird creature tokens with flying into play.
FLASHBACK - Tap three untapped white creature you control.
Sure, it's four mana for 2 1/1 white flyers, but it almost casts flashback right off!

2. Keep Watch (Common), Blue, 2U, Instant
Draw a card for each attacking creature.
EVEN your creatures, draw a new hand with a hoard. Trenches, anyone?

1. Book Burning (Common), Red, 1R, Sorcery
Unless a player has Book Burning deal 6 damage to him or her, put the top six cards of target player's library into his or her graveyard.
Threshold, ummmm, NOW!

Some interesting stuff for sure. Who knows if any of them will ever be used or not, but I think they leave you a feeling that they aren't bad, and will be kept nearby just in case.

Feel free to ask me anything or just let me know your ideas.

Jeremy Muir
Elven Disciple
Keiichibell@go.com

-"Hey Mojo, Blossoms here to make things right for a monkey gone wrong!"
Shonen Knife, I'm a Super Girl (powerpuff girls related)-