The Seers by Julianna Scott (Book Review)

The original review can be found at The Founding Fields, here.

The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra R. Clarke (Book Review)

The original review can be found at The Founding Fields, here.

Cracked by Eliza Crewe (Book Review)

The original review can be found at The Founding Fields, here.

Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings (Book Review)

The original review can be found at The Founding Fields, here.

The Holders by Julianna Scott (Book Review)

The original review can be found at The Founding Fields, here.

Emilie & The Hollow World by Martha Wells (Book Review)

The original review can be found at The Founding Fields, here.

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (Book Review)

You can find the original review over at The Founding Fields, here.

Tyrion & Teclis Trilogy by William King (Book Review)

When William King returned to the Black Library some years ago after taking a long break writing various Warhammer fiction, his first trilogy for the fantasy arm was the Tyrion & Teclis trilogy that told the origin story and the adventures of two of the most famous High Elves of the Old World, the twins Tyrion and Teclis, one a warrior and the other a mage. In the High Elven lore, they are both great champions and much has been written of them, but this was the first time we got up close and personal. And it proved to be a decent enough experience as a reader, although there were definitely moments where I felt that the story and characters missed their mark.

Conan Vol. 2: The God In The Bowl and Other Stories (Comics Review)

With Conan Vol.1: The Frost Giant’s Daughter and Other Stories, Dark Horse embarked on a bold strategy where the classic Conan stories were shaped anew, with writer Kurt Busiek putting together a continuous narrative that charted the rise of Conan from a simple Cimmerian warrior to the King of Aquilonia. With the addition of fantastic artists like Cary Nord and Dave Stewart, the series began well with the first volume, establishing a clear frame of reference for the characters and his adventures in a way that would always leave you wanting more.

In Conan Vol.2: The God In The Bowl and Other Stories we see more of the same as Conan now sets out for the Nemedian city-state to learn more of the world, to hone his skills as a thief and see more of what the world at large could offer someone like him. Kurt’s writing is very much on point in this volume, as it was in the previous one, and now that the Cimmerian is in more familiar circumstances, the story becomes all the more enjoyable. And along the way, artists Tom Mandrake, Cary Nord, Thomas Yeates and Dave Stewart add a particular vividness to the visual aspect, enhancing the story in every way possible.

Conan Vol. 1: The Frost Giant's Daughter and Other Stories (Comics Review)

Of all the heroes over the years who have left their mark on the wider world of fiction, few if any come close to the pedigree of Conan the Barbarian. Multiple movies, hundreds of comics, numerous novels and short stories. Decade after decade goes by and he is always there in some form. Dark Horse Comics, who have held the license for the comics on the character for several years now have done a great job of shepherding Conan through various iterations, whether as a young warrior first stepping out in the world, or as an aged king. That is where we start with here.

Conan Vol.1: The Frost Giant’s Daughter and Other Stories is a collection of some of the earliest Conan stories, chronologically speaking, where we meet Conan as a young adventurer who barely knows of the world outside of Cimmeria but is eager and willing to explore. Writer Kurt Busiek weaves the many stories together into a stunning narrative that is enhanced by artists Cary Nord, Thomas Yeates, Dave Stewart and others. The story is a little fuzzy here and there, but the creatives here have captured the essence of Conan really well and delivered a stunning package.

Adventures In Magic the Gathering: Aether Revolt Banned & Restricted Update

For every major booster set release for Magic the Gathering, Wizards of the Coast releases a special news update called the Banned & Restricted Announcement that seeks to inform the larger playerbase community on whether or not the powers that be have decided to ban, unban or restrict certain cards for the major sanctionable formats. Usually these announcements come just a week before the official paper release of the respective sets and outline how these formats might change. However, this past Monday some of this got thrown out the window for something that’s a real shake-up.

Coming in a full week early, the Aether Revolt edition yesterday of the B&R announcement has seen three premier cards banned from the Standard format, and two cards banned from the Modern format, with the other formats receiving no changes. The Standard bannings have shaken up the community in significant ways, and that is mostly what I will be talking about here, and touching on the Modern bannings as well. Overall, while I feel that all the bannings are deserved, there’s much to unpack here and it is not a clear-cut scenario at all.

Adventures In Magic the Gathering: The Modern Metagame

More than any other year in the last several years, the Modern format was put under an especially harsh scrutiny, owing to the January Banned & Restricted Announcement from Wizards of the Coast. Coming out just before Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch, this announcement decreed that two key format staples Splinter Twin and Summer Bloom were banned. Such is the price to pay for having a Modern PT. Unfortunately, during the PT, Eldrazi decks of various builds dominated the tournament, and in the months following, they were everywhere. It was a display of performance almost unmatched in the format’s history, necessitating a ban of the archetype staple Eye of Ugin in the next B&R update, as well as the announcement that Modern would no longer be a PT format.

Now, we are about five months from that day, and the modern meta has shifted considerably since then. There was the brief rise of Abzan CoCo as a powerful deck, but that phase too has passed. Now, the utter dominance of a single deck has given rise to a more diffuse dominance, where no one or two or even three decks are clearly at the top. Various new strategies have come up, challenging the top tier decks for their crown. And this diversity was highlighted this previous weekend in the Grand Prix tournaments held in Guangzho (China), Lille (France) and Indianapolis (USA). Here’s how the meta broke down.