Subcategories

• Art and Collecting
  32
  Topics
  416
  Posts

  

  Hello internet people!

  I'm in search of any and all vintage Magic: The Gathering tees. Emphasis is definitely on pre-2007 stuff, but might be interested to see whatever you have even if it's newer.
  Here are some of the tees I have so far...

  Mercadian Masques prerelease 1999
  Sliver Queen card tee 1998
  Alliances
  Stronghold prerelease 1998
  Darigaaz, the Igniter 1997
  Lightning Dragon 2001
  Goblin Grenade 1996
  Invasion 2000
  Disenchant 1996
  Call from the Grave 1997
  Thundermare instructor 90's
  Fifth Dawn Prerelease
  Mirage
  Urza's Legacy prerelease 1999

  Some tees that I NEED:

  Purple Unglued Jester's Sombrero
  Vesuvan Doppelganger
  Nightmare
  Hurloon Minotaur
  Armageddon Clock
  Memory Lapse

  However, I am looking for any and all vintage/old MTG tees. Send me a message if you have any so I can send you an offer!
  Cheers,
  Mel

• Rules QnA
  27
  Topics
  194
  Posts

  L

  So it’s not a 2/2 because morph hasn’t been established. And based on the card text, simply targeting the card isn’t enough to reveal the creature. I think 0/1 makes the most logical sense, but that is making assumptions.

  Maybe go with “undefined”, and once it’s exiled by plow you can gain life equal to the exiled creatures power?

• Off-Topic
  138
  Topics
  1512
  Posts

  S

  So, I skipped last year. Sorry about that!

  Here's the 2019 post: https://www.themanadrain.com/topic/3058/best-films-of-2019/

  Here's the full list of 2021 releases: https://www.firstshowing.net/schedule2021/

  I saw an astonishing 42 films released in 2021, way above the number I saw in the preceding half decade.

  Here are my top 10, counting down to my favorite:

  King Richard
  This was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish, with strong performances throughout. This was a remarkable story and a remarkable film about an American Icon (not the father).

  Oslo
  This was a phenomenal and surprisingly engaging film about international negotiations. I enjoyed every minute.

  Ice Road
  This was an extremely fun romp, and one of the better Liam Neeson films. I loved it.

  Candyman

  For most of the year, this was in my top 3, but a bunch of late entries surged ahead of this. This was a memorable film with a strong theme and a powerful effect. I gave it 4 stars (out of 5).

  Spiderman: No Way Home
  You'll notice that the Tom Holland Spider-man films get high marks from me, and this was probably the best entry! I still maintain that Tom Holland is too "cool" to be an effective Peter Parker, but the films he is in are the best. This was a truly remarkable film. 4/5 stars

  Bruised by and with Hale Berry

  I have a soft spot for the Rocky Films, and this was the female Rocky, but with probably the best sound track I heard this past year. 4/5 stars

  The Last Duel by Ridley Scott

  This was a film that lingered with me days after watching it. If you haven't seen it, it's incredible on many levels. It's about politics, misogyny, religion, etc. GREAT film. And it had me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

  4.5/5 stars

  Don't Look Up
  The best satire of the last few years. This film will also linger in your head for days. It's basically an allegory of the harms of extreme polarization, and it sadly hits the mark.

  4.5/5 stars

  Zack Snyder's Justice League

  I really thought this was a phenomenal film, and it washed out the terrible memory and bad taste that the previous Justice League film had left. The performances were heartfelt and the plot was personal and touching. This was the work of an auteur, and I don't care what anyone has to say about it. I gave it 4.5/5 stars

  West Side Story by Steven Spielberg

  The only 5-star film I gave this year.

  I'm a sucker for West Side Story, and this film solved most of the problems of the original, including by re-centering Latin and Puerto Rican characters and culture.

  This was a masterful film by a master of the medium. That's all I could think while watching it.

  Here's the complete list of my rankings for 2021 films from best to worst (yes, I only gave The Power of Dog 1.5 stars).

  https://letterboxd.com/smenendian/list/2021-films-ranked/

  And, since we missed the 2020 list, here is my 2020 lists:

  https://letterboxd.com/smenendian/list/2020-films-ranked/

  I felt that 2020 had more 5-star films, but 2021 had a lot more in the 4 star range.

  Best,

  Stephen

• TheManaDrain Metadiscussion

  Suggestions? Questions About the Site?

  94
  Topics
  819
  Posts

  

  @brass-man I check this site everyday, I check Discord twice a week, and I look for youtube content about once a week. The format is healthy but I personally can only take so much MTGO so I play in spurts.

  I am really waiting for paper events to fire again and engage with players face to face that is the part of the community that I enjoy the most.

  I miss the content and articles from some of the old guard that was posting here before but have not posted in a longtime. Voices like Steve Menendian @Smmenen and Brian Kelly and others. I really appreciate the work that Joe Dyer is doing over at MTG Goldfish. I love the work that Justin Gennari @IamActuallyLvL1 is doing, and he is a true asset to the Vintage community. Vintage also gets some love from a few podcasts out there like The Eternal Glory podcast, Leaving a Legacy, and Eternal Durdles but those are all mainly Legacy casts that has some Vintage updates from time to time.

  I'm not sure how we have more conversation on the site. I try to write posts to engage in conversation and most of the time I feel like I'm failing. I won't stop trying but I do not have the time to sit and write lengthy articles with tons of data points. I want to discuss strategy and innovation.

  The promise of apps/sites like Discord is that you get more voices but I feel that the opposite may actually be true.

  I come here is feel some since of a community but if I'm being honest it has been fading and it is noticeably less of what it used to be. I'm hoping that will turn around as we get out of Covid and people come back together.

  Thanks for keeping this site going, I really appreciate your work!