lunch

jolli jeep: porkchop, pancit, and rice. hmmm. its ok. its cool.

lunch

lunch was at chili's: grilled pork belly meal. 3 good pieces! yummy! and cali to boot!

lunch

lunch at max's. karekare.. sarap!

extra hours

i have just been informed by my manager that i am requested to help a J2EE project. i will be helping review design and codes for a messaging architecture.

i am excited with this although this will mean i need to work long hours. i have dedicated 10 hrs on wkdays, (2hrs a day) and 8 hrs on weekends (4 hrs sat/sun). this will be on top of the regualr 8 hrs i am doing for my project.

this is a very good opportunity for me and i hope i can help in the capacity that i can.

 

lunch

grilled pork belly, pinakbet and double rice! yummy! i've been craving for pinakbet for a week now. finally!

lunch

lunch at popeyes! squid rings, double rice, and cookie a la mode! yummy!

My 1st Place Finish at MD5 Block Constructed

Thanks a lot Tm Shogun!
 
I almost quit the team last week because I think I won’t be able to contribute to the team at my current skill level. But Wendell and Richie asked me to consider. They said I can still get my confidence back with the help of the tm and not as an individual. I appreciated the effort they put to convince me to stay. And I was rewarded with a good run last Saturday.
 
I think my playing skills plus the strength I got from praying during shuffling helped a lot. I did not lose focus. And I played all the fundamentals I know to a T. Fundamentals like card advantage, tempo, board position, playing poker faced, to card information you should not forget. Not all my plays were perfect, and to be honest, I had a couple of misplays because of rust. I just got so fortunate that somehow, I did overcome them.
 
For those of you interested about the prayer, it is basic.
 
1 Lord’s Prayer
3 Hail Mary
1 Glory Be
1 In Jesus name, I offer this game. Please give me a better draw.
 
 
I always thought prayer should not be part of magic since this is a fantasy game. But the strength I got from above gave me the resolve and focus to win. *Siguro nga sa prayer din galling yung term na “god draw”.
 
But Ian was right in saying that my Top decking skills (TDS) were at its peak last Saturday. I can’t count the times when I say a prayer and say, “please Lord, give me a blue mana source (Glimmervoid, Seat of the Synod) and it will be given. If those two were not given, I’ll top deck chromatic sphere instead.  And to always have my Shrapnel Blast at the 5th turn always assured me I can win.
 
I emailed personally Josh Lytle. It was his build that I modified that for me was perfect for the current MD5 metagame.
 
Here it is. http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=7636
 
RAFFI and the Disciples (Capless Affinity v2.1) 

2x Blinkmoth Nexus
3x Glimmervoid
3x Darksteel Citadel
4x Vault of Whispers
4x Seat of the Synod
4x Great Furnace

4x Shrapnel Blast
4x Thoughtcast
4x Night's Whisper

4x Welding Jar
4x Chromatic Sphere

4x Disciple of the Vault
4x Arcbound Worker
4x Arcbound Ravager
4x Frogmite
4x Somber Hoverguard

Sideboard
4x Annul
4x Cranial Plating
4x Myr Enforcer
3x Shatter

  
MAINBOARD 
 
The field is full of hate. I agree. But none the less, the greatest archetype for MD5 cannot simply be denied.
 
Here is the match ups from all the rounds.
 
1st round: vs. KCI; Went 2-1.
2nd round: vs. Mono Green; went 2-1
3rd round: vs. Crystal Eternal; went 2-1
4th round: vs. Big Green; went 2-1 *Ramon dela Cruz
5th round: vs. Big Red with Black; We ID. But when we played for fun, I won 2-1; *Richie Chua
6th round: vs. Red with Black for terror: We ID but when we played for fun, he beat me 4-0. *I think it’s good to have the bad draws now. *Paul John Claviolo
 
After getting 4W-0L-2D; I got seeded at 5th.
 
Quarters: Against Big Red: Went 2-0; *Richie Chua
Semis: Against TNN: Went 2-1; I had not misplayed on the first game, I could have taken it 2-0; *Charles Basilio
Finals: Against Ravager Affinity: Split prize. He dropped with my request.  *Joseph Basilio
 
I’m not sure if the metagame will eventually change from the fact that the finals pitted Ravager Affinity against each other.  I see some player’s with Affinity bringing it this coming Saturday. I suggest we try to feel how the metagame usually shifts based from the results of the past tournament.
 
I hope I can adjust so I can help the team in the capacity that I can. =)

md5 block constructed tomorrow

tomorrow, i will be playing in the md5 block constructed tournament at neutral grounds madison square, ortigas. i will be piloting my revised ravager affinity i fondly call raffy using the capless affinity build. i will be play testing with teammates tonight at neutral grounds glorietta 2 in hope to prepare for a good showing tomorrow. i think it is about time i get a top 8 finish.

lunch

lunch was at max's with chicken and fresh oriental lumpia. yummy!

raffi

raffi, as my ravager affinity deck is named, will be tested on MD5 block constructed this coming saturday at madison square ortigas. it will face the field full of artifact hate in big red, crystal eternal, uw march, tooth and nail, and the ravager affinity mirror.

i am ready to face the hate and try to prove that affinity is still one of the tier 1 decks of the block.

work plan and work estimates

i have successfully modified our work estimates for project 002137. everything looks good and my teammate raymond agrees on the schedule. after considering all the factors and adjusting the formulas, i modified the work plan so that my team lead ed can create the T-Docs.

it is a productive morning for me. yesterday, i also finished code component for 002137. i also did my testing. the component test will be started today with hans.

times flies

it had been so long since i posted something here. i have been busy with magic the gathering again, by trying to cram and qualify this year and failed. instead i went to help judge at nationals and it was great. i hope that i can make it to nationals 2005. i will be playing all major tournaments and it started last week. so far, the metagame here needs to be studied carefully because wrong sideboard card choices means you will fail.