Author Archives: dahubbz
Magic Monday: Black Control In Standard
One of the first places to start when building a deck is to choose which colors you want. Heading into this standard, I wanted to play some from of Esper(White/Black/Blue). Blue has counter magic, black has removal, white has Ojutai. Well I was looking over what Black lost, and well, it’s a lot. For starters, and probably what has everyone the saddest, whether you run Esper or Abzan(Green/Black/White), is no more Hero’s Downfall. Black is also losing Bile Blight and Silence The Believer and Drown In Sorrow, and maybe almost as heavy as a hit as losing Hero’s Downfall is losing Thoughtseize and Ashiok, Dream Weaver.
So what does black magic still have? For Esper, still a good bit of stuff. For Abzan, not as much. Abzan only has two cards left over: Languish and Ultimate Price. Oh and Sorin if you want to count him. Esper has a few more toys to work with. They still have Foul-Tongue Invocation, Crux of Fate, as well as having Ultimate Price and Languish too.
What is Black gaining? They get Ob Nixilis Reignited who looks GREAT. They get Ruinous Path which will probably be as relevant as people are thinking it will be. They get Rising Miasma the poor man’s Languish/worse Drown In Sorrow. And Bone Splinters whose sac clause might be too demanding for control players but fits well in a more creature heavy deck.
The Devoid Black cards are where the set shines in my eyes. Devoid Black gives us access to Grip of Desolation, which gives the chance to disrupt their tempo while exiling their creature, Transgress The Mind which is new hand disruption that stops Siege Rhino before it ever hits the field, and Complete Disregard that exiles Hangarback Walker and allies.
Other black cards still in the format include: Utter End, Self-Inflicted Wound, and Reave Soul.
Here’s a quick recap:
Lost:
Thoughtseize
Hero’s Downfall
Silence The Believers
Bile Blight
Drown In Sorrow
Still In Play:
Languish
Utter End
Crux of Fate
Foul Tongue Invocation
Self-Inflicted Wound
Reave Soul
Ultimate Price
Gaining:
Ob Nixilis Reignited
Ruinous Path
Rising Miasma
Bone Splinter
Complete Disregard
Transgress The Mind
Complete Disregard
So how do you guys feel about black as far as Standard Control goes? Did what it gain make up for what it lost? Are Esper Control and Abzan Control/Midrange still reliable decks?
Magic Monday
Hey guys, I’ve hinted at it before, but its finally time to start it. Im bringing Magic: The Gathering discussions to the blog! What better timing since BFZ just hit the scene. I will put up the first post tomorrow, so you guys be on the look out for that.
Scream Queens: Early Thoughts
So are you guys watching this show? Scream Queen airs on Fox and is created by Ryan Murphy, he created other works such as Glee and American Horror Story, and starring every young actress from your childhood. I do not typically watch tv shows. The only really exceptions are The League and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. This show reminds me why I do not trust tv shows.
I love most satires, be it music, films, or literature, so I was actually eager to see what this show would bring to a genre I do not particularly enjoy(slashers), Here’s a disclaimer for you: Just because it is a satire does not make it good. Also, just because it does not take itself serious is no excuse to just produce one giant joke(And I am not talking about the good kind of jokes). That is basically how you sum up this show, A self-proclaimed satire/deconstruction of the genre. Albeit, slashers are pretty laughable to being with, but this show is particularly awful.
The weird part? Most of the actors are good! At least in my opinion all the actors are very solid, even the worst of characters. They do the best with what they are given. Here’s the problem with this… Theyre not given much to work with. Most of the lines are laughable(and only a few in a good way). Jamie Lee Curtis is by far the most interesting character and the only one that seems to be getting developed. I hate to say all the characters are shallow and not very fleshed out since were only two episodes in… but I only see 3 maybe four characters getting the proper treatment. Emma Roberts, Skyler Samuals, Diego Boneta, and Glenn Powell, are all great as the characters they play and I have hopes they can drive this show to something salvageable.
The pacing is iffy. This issue shines with the murders. They just feel rushed. Oh, and they are not done well. I made a fairly quick assumption at how bad this show was going to be based on the second death of the series. The first one was comically bad and predictable, but the second one just made you say “Oh, come on”.
So lets quit being negative. Surely this show has something good, right? Well the satire and comedy is hit or miss. When they tried to be funny it came off as really bad, but when it was subtle, it was hilarious. There were several lines that went right over my girlfriend’s head like the Jimmy Olsen line that I thought were kinda funny. So I know the show has potential, but it would rather waste that potential with very unnecessary attempts at shock value. The other good thing it has going for it is that I genuinely want to know who the Red Devil is. That is very important because it gives us a reason to tune in next week.
Early Score: 3.5 out of 10. Look as fans, as audience members, as viewers who help decide what stays on air, you deserve better than a few guys sitting around writing a horrendous script with shallow characters that depends almost solely on famous actresses to carry it. We will pick this series back up around the 6 or 7 episode mark to see if it’s fixed the problems.
What do you guys think about it? Does it make you scream out of discomfort or die of laughter. Leave a comment!
Spread Awareness: October
Hey Guys! Its a new month so it’s time to spread awareness for October.
It’s that month where we dress up in all the things that scare us: Demons, devils, ghost, and monsters. But the scariest thing of all is the unknown. In October we raise awareness for Breast Cancer. Breast cancer claims so many lives it is beyond frightening. Breast cancer will undoubtedly get the most coverage this month so lets take the time to spread the word of other cancers and diseases this month.
Cancers:
Breast Cancer 
Liver Cancer 
Other Causes:
Down Syndrome 
Bullying Prevention 
Domestic Violence 
So Spread The Word, Reblog this post, write your own blog. Do your part to help raise awareness to these causes. If I missed one leave it in the comment section!
Top Five Reasons To Love Pokemon!
Were closing out Pokemon Week so it’s only fitting to do this top five!
#5 Pokemon Never Gets Old- It’s true. Even after so many years, I still want to go buy a Gameboy Color and play Gold/Silver and Red/Blue.The games are priceless just for sheer memory value(Which I’ll be getting into in a later point). That’s just the game portion of the Pokemon world. Season one is on Netflix and every kid from the 90’s had the pleasure of refalling in love with the beloved show we all grew up on. It’s pretty sweet.
#4- The World Of Pokemon Is Beautiful and Wonderful!- You gotta understand, I love breaking down worlds. I do it every time in Manga Monday and Anime Reviews. The Pokemon world is great. Simple montages of pokemons in their habitats puts a big smile on my face. Coming out of high school, I wanted to become an ecologist. I am sure that explains this part of my love for Pokemon. Heck, day dreaming about pokemons in their habitats might be why I wanted to become an ecologist in the first place. Put shortly, it is real precious to watch pokemons in their daily lives.
#3 The Games Keep Getting Better- Okay, so there is a group of people known as Gen Oners or First Gen Elitist or whatever you want to call them. I’m not saying anything is wrong with Gen one, it was great and some of my best memories of the franchise happened there. BUT… Boy, am I glad it kept going. Johto is my favorite region and I think X&Y have done wonders with the game. It is crazy to reflect on how far it has come, seriously. If you quit playing Pokemon after Red and Blue, you should be upset with yourself. I dare you to play through the 6 gens. You will see they just continually get better. Of course, some Pokemon’s have gotten quite weird, dumb, and just plain silly, but the franchise as a whole is going strong and making awesome updates. I didnt think a pokemon game would ever touch Silver, than Platinum came out. I didnt think a pokemon game would ever touch Platinum. Than X&Y came out. Somehow, they just keep getting better.
#2 The Bond With The Pokemon- Maybe this is number 1 for a lot of people, and rightfully so. Spending hundreds of hours with your pokemon’s, raising their levels, traveling the world, you can’t help but love your pokemon by the time the journey is all over. One thing I thought the show captured so well was the bond between trainer and pokemon(Except with Charizard of course). Watching Pikachu and all the other pokemon’s fight hard for their trainer and how they wanted to train hard and grow stronger was so cool to watch. It definitely was well expressed and I love that about the show.
#1 History- Yeah, there is a lot of it with this franchise. I remember years ago picking out my first Squirtle and traveling Kanto with him by my side, or collecting all the vhs’s and doing the poke rap!, or feeling bad for Ash because he is really bad at pokemon and most of the gym leaders felt bad for him so they just gave him badges, or when Brock Misty and Ash say their goodbyes and your younger self just cant handle the thought of no more new Pokemon. Yeah, I, like almost every pokemon fan, have cherished memories of the card game, anime, manga, and the video games!
This is only scratching the surface, I didnt even mention the friends you make through pokemon, the new interactions theyve added, crushing your rival, playing competitively, capturing legends, filling the pokedex, finding shinies, building a team. The list is never ending.
So why do you play Pokemon? What got you into it? Why’d you stick around for however long? What’s your fondest/earliest memory with the franchise? Leave it in the comment!
Top Five Pokemon That Need Pre-evolutions
Lets jump into this!
This post is gonna be a little short and not as in depth as previous top fives this week. This week has been crazy..
#5- Eevee- Yeap. Bringing Eevee back. So we have a couple of ideas for this guy. First, every eevolution could be bred to form a new pokemon.(Think Phione and Manaphy). Or you can evolve Eevee into your preferred choice. Than breed it. The hatched eevee would than have the type of that eevolution. This could be pretty sweet for NFE or LC. My girlfriend wants Eevee to have a baby form called Eve.
#4 Audino- I feel like Audino is suppose to be like Clefairy and Chansey(Based off design). I think she comes up short until she mega evolves, of course. I really hope they give her the evolution line like Chansey and Clefairy gained over the years.
#3 Kangaskhan- I always wanted her to have a baby form showing off the joey. Well Game Freak gave us the Mega form of Kanga and it showed the joey out of the patch. So maybe this idea is no longer valid, but itd still be cool for us to see the little joey going on it’s own adventures
#2 Miltank- I think it might be a no brainer to give her a baby form and call it Caltank(Play on calves not cows). She would be a nice, speedy wall that could be problematic in NFE or LC.
#1 Lapras- I love Lapras and a baby form would be so precious. Competitively, She would have access to Water Absorb and Toxic, but I really like the idea just based on design as it would be adorable to watch in the show.
This is not the best explanation of each pokemon. I am running off of about 10 hours of sleep total over the last three days as I am potty training puppies who wake me up every 1-2 hours and when I am not trying to sleep me and my girlfriend have been visiting her dad every four hours in I.C.U. the last two day. So I have nowhere near enough time to sit down and write an explanation for each, but it is Pokemon Week so were doing a post everyday! Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight and we’ll end this week off on a high note tomorrow!
Top Five Pokemon’s That Need an Evolution
Coming at you guys late today for personal reasons. But lets dive on in. This is a fun one.
Ever saw a pokemon and thought “Man. That pokemon is dumb, weak, or maybe even has potential?” Yeah. Me too. Here’s a list of pokemon that could use a touch up, or have potential if they could just get the evolve form they need or deserve.
*DISCLAIMER*- I made up some abilities and moves I think could go along with the pokemon.
#5- Eevee- I know what youre thinking, eevee already has like 7 evolutions, do we really need more? Yes! I say at least 2 more. Whenever they do the newest installment, I want a poison Eevee and a steel Eevee to be some of the highlights of the game. I think they can pull this off well too. In 4th gen and 1st gen, the baddies loved poison types from skunks to bats. Poison Eevee could be the head boss’s pokemon. A little ways into the game, you could be given an Eevee with a held item that would evolve it into a steel form(No, not metal. Okay, maybe.). My girlfriend wants them to do dragon and flying next.
Lets take a look at Eevee:
Type: Normal
Ability: Adaptability, Anticipate, Run Away.
Stats:
HP 55, Attack 55, Defense 50, SP ATK 45, SP DEF 65, SPD 55= 325 Base Total
Here’s what the poison evolve form would look like:
Type: Poison
Abilities: Rancorous(all poison moves have an additional 10% chance to poison opponent) Poison Point and Natural Cure.
Stats:
HP 115, Attack 70, Defense 70, SP ATK 90, SP DEF 105, SPD 115= 565 Base Total
It’s signature move would be Rancor Blast a 100 base Poison move that has “25% chance to poison opponent. 50% chance to poison steel types”
Here’s what the steel evolve form would look like:
Type: Steel
Abilities: Tough Armor( Reduces Fighting and Ground moves by 50%), Heat Proof.
Stat:
HP 100, ATK 155, DEF 135, SP ATK 60, SP DEF 70, SPD 50= 570 Base Total
#4- Corsola/Qwilfish- Okay, so I like Corsola, but its stats make it forgettable. I am not sure what the design would look like, but I am thinking stat wise we make it rival Cloyster. It might be a stretch, but I feel it should turn into a water fairy when it evolves. Fairies are weak to fire, but with a water type, that handles that. Now on to Qwilfish. Two of my favorite types combined into one pokemon. Lets face it very few people are excited to have tentacool/tentacruel, or Skelp. Qwilfish’s evolution would be an awesome sweeper
Here’s what Corsola looks like:
Type: Water Rock
Abilities: Hustle, Natural Cure, Regenerator.
Stats:
HP 55, ATK 55, DEF 85, SP ATK 65, SP DEF 85, SPD 35= 380 Base Total
Here’s what the evolve form would look like
Type: Water Fairy
Abilities: Blessed(Holy?) Armor (All moves that would be super effective to your team now restore your health instead), Shell Armor.
Stats:
HP 70, ATK 85, DEF 45, SP ATK 95, SP DEF 180, SPD 70= 545 Base Total
It’s signature move would be Blessed Veil(If hit by a super effective move, raise DEF and SP DEF by one stage)
Here is what Qwilfish looks like:
Type: Water Poison
Abilities: Intimidate, Poison Point, Swift Swim
Stats:
HP 65, ATK 95, DEF 75, SP ATK 55, SP DEF 55, SPD 85= 430 Base Total
Here’s what Qwilfish’s evolve form would look like:
Type: Water Poison
Abilities: Intimidate, Swift Swim, Rancorous
Stats:
HP 90, ATK 125, DEF 90, SP ATK 75, SP DEF 75, SPD 115= 570 Base Total
It’s signature move is Gunk Shot.
#3-Stunfisk!
Stunfisk is kinda in that group of Feebas and Magikarp, useless fishies. Albeit, Stunfisk would be the best standalone. He does lack one thing that makes Feebas and magikarp superior- They EVOLVE, he DOES NOT. Lets fix that.
Here’s a look at Stunfisk:
Type: Electric Ground
Abilities: Limber Static Sand Veil
Stats:
HP 109, ATK 66, DEF 84, SP ATK 81, SP DEF 99, SPD 32= 471 Base Total
Here’s a look at what the evolve form would look like:
Type- Electric Ground
Abilities- Intimidate Lightning Rod Rock Head Reckless
Stats:
HP 125, ATK 105, DEF 90, SP ATK 81 , SPD 99, SPD 40= Its base stats equal 540, the equivalent of Gyrados and Milotic’s base stats.
Its Signature move would be Shock Tremors a base 120 Ground move that has “Take 1/3 recoil damage, 20% chance to paralyze opponent”
#2- Maractus-
So, I have no memory of this pokemon ever existing. Stat-wise she has great Sp ATK. Design-wise I guess she is suppose to fit in with the other 3 cactus pokemon. I have an idea for what to do with her moving forward. We give her a dark type an introduce a new “weather” condition, the ability to make it night time during battle, increasing dark moves and lowering fairy moves(maybe fire moves as well since they get boosted by sunny day?).
Lets take a look at Maractus:
Type: Grass
Abilities: Chlorophyll Storm Drain Water Absorb
Stats:
HP 75, ATK 86 DEF 67, SP ATK 106, SP DEF 67, SPD 60= 461 Base Total
Lets take a look at what the evolve form would look like:
Type: Grass Dark
Abilities: Silent (Raise speed and attack during the night) Stealth (Raise Speed and SP ATK during the night)
Stats:
HP 85, ATK 115, DEF 75, SP ATK 125, SP DEF 75, SPD 105= 580 Base Total
Its signature move would be Nightfall(Makes it night, inside and outside of battle). Though this move is better suited on say Umbreon, this could be a way to showcase the move. I also thought about making it an ability like drizzle.
HONORABLE MENTIONS!
Combee gets a split evolution into Vespiking! Luvdisc its stats are miserable for a standalone poke. I think Whisicott and Lilligant could use third forms. They feel incomplete compared to Leavanny even though they arent that far behind stat-wise. Basculin would probably have an awesome evolve form. I feel like they just kinda quit on him.
#1- Dunsparce-
Dunsparce is maybe my favorite pokemon who is kinda bad. I have dreamed of over a decade to make this thing evolve. I want to make it a snake/dragon pokemon, so I am conflicted on typing. I am debating either Dragon/Poison, Dragon/Dark. If we drop the dragon idea and just make a bigger snake than I am debating Poison/Dark, Poison/Ground, Poison/Rock. But I am going with Dragon/Poison making it only the second pokemon with this typing(Dragalge).
Here’s a look at Dunsparce:
Type: Normal
Abilities: Rattled Run Away Serene Grace
Stats:
HP 100, ATK 70, DEF 70, SP ATK 65, SP DEF 65, SPD 45= 415 Base Total
Here’s a look at the evolve form:
Type: Dragon Poison
Abilities: Rancorous, Levitate, Inner Focus(Cloud Nine/Speed Boost?)
Stats:
HP 135, ATK 130, DEF 130, SP ATK 60, SP DEF 95, SPD 50= 600, the equivalent of Dragonite, Garchomp, and Salamance.
It’s signature move would be Rancor Tempest a base 120 Dragon move that has “this move as a 25% chance of poisoning opponent)
There you have it! Do you know anymore pokemons that deserve or need an evolution? Leave them in the comments!
Hope you guys enjoyed!
Top Five Types To Add To Pokemon!
Continuing Pokemon Week here, today is top five types to add!
#5 Light- Okay, years ago I wanted this type to be added to combat dark(now that fairy has been added, this type is about 90% useless). But I still think these pokemon would very beautiful to look at if nothing else.
Strong Against: Dark, Ghost, Psychic
Weak Against: Ground, Rock, Poison(maybe Bug?)
Immune To: Dark
Resist: Ghost, Psychic
Weak to: Ground, Rock, Poison(Maybe Bug?)
#4- Sound- Shout out too tpcsufian for the idea. Sound based moves and ability already exist, so why not give them their own type? Most of these pokemon are normal, so how about instead of having a boring type we give them a new type? Think Jigglypuff, Whismur, Chatot, etc
Strong Against: Ice, Bugs
Weak Against: Steel, (Debating on rather steel would just be Immune?)
Resist: Ice, Fairy
Weak To: Steel, Rock
#3- Cyber- Yet again, Shout out too tpcsufian for help with this one. Cyber is anything dealing with online/virtual realty. I think this is a good type moving forward with how cyber based our word is getting. Pokemon’s that come to mind: Porygon, Genesect, Magneminte .
Strong Against: Psychic, Normal,
Weak Against: Fire, Electric
Resist: Fighting, Normal
Weak To: Fire, Electric, Psychic
#2- Insert another mythical creature- What comes to mind is goblins or elf. We have dragons and now fairies, but it would be cool to have another mythical creature type added.
Strong Against: Fairy, Dark, Bug
Weak Against: Dragons,
Resist: Fairies
Weak To: Dragon
#1 Celestial- Yes! The number 1 pokemon type they should add is celestial. Pokemons from Space! Deoxys, Jirachi, Clefairy, all come to mind. Plus the designs are endless. I think these pokemon would just be all around great.
Strong Against- Dragon, Fairy
Weak Against- Ground, Steel
Resist: Dragon, Fairy.
Weak To: Ground, Ice, Steel
Yet again, thanks to tpcsufian for some of the ideas! Got your own type? Leave it in the comment!
Top Five Future Abilities Idea(Pokemon)!
There are tons of abilities that already exist in the pokemon universe(191 if not mistaken!), but if you want to keep things fresh for 20 years, you gotta keep making them. With this in mind, I am going throw down five ideas for future abilities!
#5- Attitude- Some very common moves are swords dance, dragon’s dance, calm mind, etc. Well if your pokemon had Attitude, then if a pokemon tried to set up in such a way, it would trigger your pokemon’s ability-Attitude. Once Attitude is triggered, you gain double what they gain. You could use it in doubles and have one pokemon that sets up. In return, this could trigger your other pokemon’s Attitude ability! I got this idea kinda based off of the preexisting ability, simple. So I get it if it feels like this ability already exist, but I thought it would be a cool way of expressing a characteristic of pokemons.
Who would have this?: I haven’t really watched much of the show since the Hoenn days, but think of any pokemon that has attitude that stands out far and above the others. I mostly mean this in a sassy connotation. Also, I was thinking it might could be a hidden ability on super weak pokemons as a way of evening things up.
#4 Tough Armor- Armor abilities exist in pokemon, but here is one I think needs to be added- Tough Armor. It simply says “Fighting and Ground moves do 50% less damage). clearly have one type of pokemon in mind for this. Steel pokemon’s tend to get wrecked by these two types. Also, I feel like when Bronzong was popular in the days of Diamond and Pearl, you had to guess the metagame based off whether to give him Heatproof or Levitate. I feel like this ability brings that guessing back. If you’re running a steel type, do you go with Heatproof, Tough Armor, or even Levitate. Sure, this covers steel’s weakness but you have to guess what types are gonna show up.
Who would have this?: Functionality-wise, I had Steel pokemon in mind. I assume you could give this to any pokemon who have a weakness to either one or both though.
#3 Caliginous/Dusk- This ability would be much like sand stream. When you summon a pokemon with this ability, it makes it nighttime. Subsequently, Dark moves get a slight boost as well as a slight boost in speed, whereas, Fairy moves get hindered slightly and maybe even fire pokemon since they like it when it’s sunny. You could also use this move to make it nighttime outside of battle to help catch pokemons that only come out at night.
Who would have it?: Umbreon jumps to mind immediately, but it could be thrown on pokes such as Houndoom and Mandibuzz.
#2 Luster- This ability goes out to everyone who loves their shiny pokemon. Basically if you breed your pokemon with another pokemon who has Luster, it increases the chances of them producing a shiny egg. In battle it could be used to increase the chance of encountering a shiny pokemon, or interact with shiny pokemon’s such as boosts moves if the user is shiny. Just a thought.
Who would have this?: I know everyone is screaming ditto right now. And it would be a welcomed upgrade in my opinion. It’s two abilities are imposter(Which is basically its move transform in ability form) and limber(I guess useful on your sweeping Ditto).
#1 Rancorous- Look, Poison Point and Poison Touch are fine, but they are dependent on the opponent attacking. I say, take the action into your own hands! With Rancorous all poison moves would get a slight boost in power. Also if your pokemon is running this ability, all damage inducing moves would have a 10% chance to poison an opponent(Even if they aren’t poison moves to begin with). I also had the idea that rancorous would just give all moves an addition poison typing, but I wasn’t sure how that would work with damage calculation(But I guess it would work the same as double typed pokemon).
So who would have this?: Crowbat, Arbok, Weezing and Muk, all come to mind. Yet again though, you really could throw this ability on any poison pokemon.
Come up with any abilities of your own? Post them in the comment section!
Pokemon Week on DaHubbz!
Pokemon has 20 years of games, animes, manga, cards, and way more under its belt. This series as touched me and influenced my life possibly the most out of any game. It is one of the reasons I started this blog. Pokemon Go and now Pokemon Z have people buzzing. I think it’s only fair we do a week of Pokemon week! I will be doing a Top Five dedicated to pokemon this Monday-Friday. I am so pumped to do this. Some will be cliche topics and some will be pretty cool.
This starts tomorrow! So check back then and lets kick this off right.
Da_Hubbz 
