The Drawing Board with Travis R. Chance: Vol. 1

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Travis R. Chance

 

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  1. This was awesome in every way. My God — Look at Lava Zombie‘s face! And Bronze Horse — that Spaghetti-O sauce looks like it’s shooting out of the ground in a geyser and flying into his mouth.

    A bunch of suggestions for next time (not auto-carded so as to not spoil anything if you pick them):

    Whiptail Wurm
    Pulling Teeth
    Word of Command
    Garza Zol, Plague Queen
    Aven Trooper
    Nightmare Incursion
    Pain Kami
    Kami of Fire’s Roar
    Kami of the Painted Road
    Kami of the Tended Garden
    Mannichi, the Fevered Dream
    Presence of the Master (Legends version)
    Wormfang Newt (and, for that matter, any creature with subtype “Nightmare”)
    Reverse Polarity
    Conversion
    Gaea’s Avenger
    Lifeforce
    Sorrow’s Path
    Tetravus
    Kobold Drill Sergeant
    Thunder Dragon (ME4 version)
    And the rest of the Dana Knutson collection: Phyrexian Delver, Rathi and Stalking Assassins, etc.

  3. Finally he’s back.
    I always knew it, that’s why I kept on coming here.
    It’s like they say: one never quits Magic, Magic just sometimes quits you for a while.
    And by they I mean me.

    Also, could you maybe do your ranting while playing Commander?
    Like, put 10 or 15 of those cards in a Deck and when you draw them just go nuts.

    Because personally I like hearing you talk, but it’s just so much better to see you actually play Magic while doing it.

  5. Good to see you back making videos!

    Hopefully back to some playing videos soon!!

  6. When Chris told me yesterday that he will put up content from Travis I was expecting some Commander content. Then I started watching this and it literally made me choke laughing. I actually planned to get some articles/videos in talking about “The Art of Magic” and this is a hilarious take on some of the iconic (or not so iconic) early art we can find on cards. Thumbs up!

  8. I vote for a top 10 babes of magic. — Goth Chick version of Elves of Deep Shadow.

    Also, cerebral vortex because I think I’m going to need a mind condom now that travvy daddy is back.

  10. trolol <3 your videos because of your unique commentary keep it up!

  11. Hello, all! Alas, I have been ensnared by the Aether and tugged like a stuffed panda back into the blissful misery of MtGO. I will confess, this was not a top performance on my part, but I am happy that you found it entertaining. Some may liken this to riding a bike, but, for me, it was more akin to juggling kittens and chainsaws in a wet thong and aquasocks – embarrassing, awkward, and, yeah, somewhat fun. Stay tuned for more art critiques!

    On the subject of Commander, I have blown through two new aliases and countless rage quits, discons, time out life lessons, and incidents of being blocked for not complying with the vagueries of what “Casual” players impose on the format. I am trying, and trying some more, but getting an entire game of Commander to go off without someone ruining it is less likely that brown haired guy from Wham getting a platinum single without George Michael. I will keep trying to stumble upon some non adult babies, but, on the whole, expect televised toilet water.

    Much love! Keep an eye out on Academy for some new and exciting stuff beyond myself alone!

  12. Oh, and Mink, gross bro. I only find Merieke hot, and only bc of her deflated bosom.

  14. “Old Man of the Sea” is from one of Sindbad´s travels. One of Scheherazade’s tales from Thousand and One Nights. Always loved the art of Sindbad being ridden (No hidden homosexual inuendos ^^)

    Good to have u back great content/site bla bla…

  16. And, D, just so you know, Old Man of the Sea was, in fact, a reference to Hemingway. I wish I could provide you the link, but the name was an intentional “woot” to old Ernest in the quite deliberate sense and has been account by one Mr. R. Garfield in interviews of yore.

  17. Australian Aboriginals had to contend with minotaurs along with all the other dangerous of the Australian outback! In this day and age, many a minotaur can be witnessed on the ancient wall paintings of the aborigines.

  18. Still looks ridic. And minotaurs, at least the kind portrayed in Magic hearken to the Greeks. Now don’t go getting all literal on me, folx!

  19. I guess I should have thrown in mentions to drop bears and hoop snakes to show the less than serious nature of my comment. Australia, I reckon, would have been nigh uninhabitable if there had been bulls of Minos wandering about as well!

    As always, never trust Australians when they talk about native flora and fauna!

  20. I dated a gout of Aussies when I first moved to NYC – they are rowdy, cantankerous people (from my foray) that I could imagine have some indirect lineage to half-cow monsters.

  22. I googled cockatrice, it’s an actual fantasy creature and accurately depicted.

    Fun video, I’d love to see something on the dirty artwork of magic.

  23. I’m so excited about you being back, that I come here every 3 hours, to see if there are any new comments on this or even new vids of yours.

    One question: are you guys allowed to make videos not using MODO but other programs, like Cockatrice?

    Because if you were, I could definitely help you get some good Commander games going.

    If not, what about Singleton?
    There is a guy named Neoshinji running around with a great Poly-Oath-Combo-deck.
    I watch his matches on youtube and Singleton seems to be a great format to play right now.
    Sadly he doesn’t comment so itsonly half the fun.

  24. eXXa, I don;t quite know what you mean by “Singleton.” 100 Card? Commander is a singleton format. And I am very familiar with Neo and his decks from playing 100 Card awhile back. From memory he had some neat slants, but none of which were terribly competitive. Perhaps he has got some new tricks though, so kudos to him. Sadly, 100 Card is dead as Dillinger (not my cat). Card restrictions strangled the life from it like sea water from a Speedo.

    I dunno what Cockatrice is, other than a bad card featured in this video; I am old and have little time. I did, however, make a Commander decktech and vid that got a great game.

    Also, I am back, eXXa, but please, for the love all that is decent, let us be gentlemen and not bicker!

  25. Yes, I meant 100 card singleton.
    Shinjis deck is, as far as I know from his vids, pretty competitive.
    You can check his videos out on youtube, if you want to. He’s also named Neoshinji on there.
    As far as the bannings go: I don’t mind them. Highlander is much more restricted than 100 CS and both formats are still big fun and extremely interesting to watch.
    Also I think it might be easier for you to do than Commander vids, no?

    On a side note: Cockatrice is a program for… well playing Magic.
    Similar to Magic Workstation but imo much better and also free. If you want to, you can check it out and if you like it, we can certainly make some Commander games happen.

    And this time around I’m not here to bicker, promise.

  27. 100CS didn’t die because of card restrictions, they died because WoTC changed the tournament format. 100CS used to have the highest EV of all tournies, then WoTC scrapped that and made premier events require 64 people along with additional daily events which needed 16. Obviously 64 people meant a premier event would never fire. At first a few dailies fired, but it was a struggle to get 16 when the payouts and QPs were reduced on such a massive scale to what people were used to. Then Wizards started scheduling 100cs dailies at terrible times, and they fired less and less, and then they started having multiple dailies to the point where there was no consensus time, so instead of the whole playing population banking on one time slot a week for a 100cs tourney, there were too many scheduled and 16 people would never be gathered at the same tourney at the same time.

    I still think 100CS is the most fun and entertaining format and could definitely be a big success if WoTC ever got behind the format. With commander/edh growing in popularity, many people are growing to love the singleton format and interesting choices the format presents in deckbuilding and varied play. 100CS also has a humongous card pool of MTG’s greatest hits, very similar to a cube draft format. Then there are the older, powerful cards and cohesive decks similar in some cases to less-powerful versions of legacy decks. Unfortunately from posts in the wizards forums by those in charge it appears they don’t care about 100CS at all. Why let people play eternal formats, especially one that only requires 1 of each good new card per set at most, when they can force people into playing standard and buy 4 of all the latest mythics?

    IMO what 100CS needs is 1) better prize support and 2) more coverage/attention brought to it like back when this site was consistently making 100CS videos and articles. Sadly I don’t see WoTC bringing back the old premier event payouts, but I’d love to see this site create some new 100CS content. Maybe even organize some sort of player-run event or tournament or league.

  28. Steve,

    Undoubtedly, the event changes contributed largely to the “death” of the format, but I think you should really consider the juxtaposition on the influx of 100cs/singleton players migrating to Commander. i believe the allure of the Me4 goodies that were instan-banned in 100CS was like starving while right through a glass partition other people are gorging themselves on Dunkin Donuts without reservation. I would include myself in that list. The ban list is ridiculous for 100CS – smotheringly! EDH, considered a Casual format, has access to the best and brightest, so, to me, there should have been some reconsideration with regard to some of the cards: imperial seal, flash (???). The further restrictions and the preemptive bans on the ME4 stuff def made the format less fun, and not really worth struggling through and rallying to organize.

    Believe, me, I miss it. Commander is rife with the most juvenile and self-serving so-and-sos a format could possibly stand – just yesterday I spent 8 hrs trying to get one decent game for my forthcoming continuation of “Who’s your Daddy” and literally had 5 games ruined back to back by vindictive children.

    So if anyone wants to promote the format, please, point the way. But I can cover or support was simply doesn’t exist. And last I saw anyone playing in a PE, the decks were atrocious, like the format had lurched back to right after Singleton was bonked and birthed its 100 Card variant.

  29. LOL, never heard of this guy before today, but I’m liking his style. Funny stuff, keep it up

  30. It all went so fast. First the Master of 100CS quits magic (for real this time.. uhuh), then the bannings came and then on top of that they killed the PE’s. Must have happened all within one month iirc.

    Anyway, surely commander is no worthy replacement. And judging from the comments i’m not the only one that thinks so.

    There was some effort to change the banlist (survey by chris and zimbardo on this site) and there were also discussions on the mtgo forum about event times and whatnot. Unfortunately this died out pretty fast.

    As mentioned before, WOTC doesnt care. Nobody knows why these cards were banned and no explanation was given. Though this is very frustrating and annoying, i have to agree the main reason is the events structure/time table.

    All the bitching you do about commander i wonder though why you play the format instead of 100CS. Afaik multiplayer has no sanctioned events so its both casual anyway. Ok so you can play regrowth. But play armageddon and people start acting like retarded monkeys.

  31. You can still complain and love something – please reference my fiance for proof of this. And believe that I am more than aware of the trappings of Commander. It’s those odd times when you get a game where no one quits and they sojourn through till the bitter end with no foul words perched upon their lips that make it an experience worthwhile. Alas, those times are rare. And while it may be unsanctioned, trying to get an actual game of 100CS is like being that old man waiting for the train line that was closed in Ghost World – it ain’t on its way; not any more.

    And let’s be honest, of the barely twenty people that played 100CS I’d say maybe 8 understood the format – the rest were day trippers, fringe format sharks, and players who couldn’t hack it elsewhere so thought they’d try something with a smaller audience and thereby greater chance of success. So the community was a clutch of people who had to work waaaaaaay too hard to make so little happen. If I had a dollar for every time I sat in a weekend PE for 100CS begging people to join so we could start, sometimes only at 15, 16 players. With Commander I can always get a game, I can play the cards I love, and WotC is supporting the format (with the new decks on their way, setting a new precedent and breaking an old manufacturing oath of theirs). This speaks volumes to me and gives me a piss crystal of hope that some changes may be afoot, as I read an article that Wizards was working on Commander with prize support – which would be a huuuuuge success, despite the age old controversy of it being a “casual” only format.

    So there’s my morning rant. Meh!