SPOILER
Glorious Disaster: D/A
On it's own, it does kinda average damage and siphons away your Magic too fast to really hurt anything so without anything to supplement it, D.
If you have Born Gain however, it's damage gets a pretty big spike as all you need to di is channel and kite and do free damage.
Apocalyptic Storm: B/S
Giving Blitz effects more reliable AoE is helpful. This isn't giving any sort of raw damage burst so this is more a range buff.
It becomes particularly nasty however if you pair it with Romantic Spark however.
Thermal Dynamics: D/S++
So, by itself just giving things scorch is kinda useless and doesn't do much. If you have the other Scorch buffs, might be a little better.
The only way this becomes truly worth taking is if you already happen to have Scalding Vapor.
Killer Current: C
This is fairly niche. If you have all the right boons it can do nutty DPS but without that combination of boons, it doesn't do anything so it's kind in the middle for me.
Master Conductor: A
A solid, reliable Duo that always gives you great DPS and AOE buff. IT doesn't require much of anything to become strong the moment you get it and only becomes better with hammers and other boons.
Romantic Spark: C
If you're running a Sprint Build or Get Apoc Storm, can be really good. Otherwise, is too situational and risky to be effective.
Kings Ransom: A
Very, Very strong and will only get stronger depending on how you rolled your balance of boons. Multiple levels into Blitz and lightning boons makes clearing rooms fairly easy.
Funeral Pyre: D/
Usually, pretty useless. it's just not effective enough to matter compared to the other ways to apply Scorch.
Spiteful Strength: D
It's honestly better just to get a Heroic Flutter Strike/Flourish with some levels than this.
Cherished Heirloom: F
The If Possible basically means if you maxed it to level 3, this Duo Boon does nothing. Yup.
Soul Mate: C
Hitch's main power point was the ability to link the whole room so limiting to two really is more of a nerf than anything. Makes this worse for encounters but stronger for Guardians and feels weird for it.
Golden Rule: B/S
Ah yes, I smack you with my wallet has returned. If you're stockpiling Gold, it's tier goes up. Otherwise, it's occasional extra damage.
Queens Ransom: God-tier
So, this is probably single handedly the strongest overall Duo. For a couple reasons.
One, it's buffing Hera's Boons, which are Monstrous. It can reduce the Prime of Born Gain to 1 (I haven't gotten it to 0 quite yet or know if it can but even 1 is dumb if you have triple-digit magic)
3 levels per Zeus boon is insane power when you think of some of Hera's boons that buffs.
Nasty Comeback - Something Tickles you and it dies. Engagement Ring - Something spawns and it dies. Keen Intuition - Turns omega Engagement ring into a nuke
More importantly though, there is Family Trade, which lets you swap your Attack/Special/Cast/Sprint for one that's higher rarity and has bonus levels.
These bonus levels are applied after to the bonus levels you already have from Queen's Ransom.
So you can get a Heroic max level Flutter Strike/Volcanic Flourish/Wave Flourish/Solar Ring/Breaker Sprint/Smithy Sprint
Island Getaway: God
Damage reduction is helpful. The main thing is the 'nearby' mechanic. This lets range weapons cheese Flutter Flourish builds. Especially the Staff.
Good god this just do gross DPS to guardians with Double Moonshot.
Natural Selection: S
More Boons, higher hammer chances. Need I say more?
Seismic Hammer: D
The other Hephaestus Boons you can at least upgrade to lower their CDs.
Beach Ball: D
Maybe for a normal Boon 150 base is okay damage but if I'm sprinting around aiming this thing and it only tickles things, it's not worth it.
Scalding Vapor: S/God
One of the best Damage sets in the game and if you compile it with other boons, it only gets stronger.
This however, becomes truly God tier when you pair it with Hitch Sprint.
By running around and linking everyone together you steambath, you can clear most rooms rapidly.
Torrential Downpour: A/God
This By itself, empowering Cast builds is very strong.
However, this becomes the untouchable Sunshine God build if you pair it with Born Gain and Local Climate.
Putting these two together turns you into a solar nuke that melts anything that gets near you with infinite magic.
Room Temperature: B/S
Normally, this makes it so you can stack more Freeze.
However, if you have higher enough levels in Heroic Volcanic Strike, you can can reduce the CD to one second.
Combining that with the ax lets you CC lock entire rooms without a care. IF Guardians could be Stunlocked by Freeze, this would be the strongest Duo in the game.
Freezer Burn: C
Meh? More Scorch is alright. Because it's also freeze, it makes it more viable than other Scorch setups but also, still can't reliably freeze Guardians, which is the main thing Scorch struggles on.
Hearty Appetite: C/A
The 'I slap you with my HP' Duo.
This is okay for some extra damage, and becomes fairly strong if you build into it.
Phoenix Skin: A
If you have the HP to sink into it, it's the only source of Regen in the game and it's fairly reliable.
Sunny Disposition: C
If the Heart Throbs just rotated a little further out, I'd consider this okay. It's kinda average otherwise.
Stellar Slam: C
Helps in clearing rooms but no extra damage in a Duo Boon is kind of a letdown.
Soft Caress: B
Another proc of ignoring damage for Guardians is always valuable.
Burning Desire: F
Pretty useless. Relies on there actually being Shades around and even then, the damage is pretty low per.
For how uncommon Shades are, the damage on this should be much higher.
Chain Reaction: B
More procs on Volcanic triggers is decent, the only issue is this particular Duo is very inconsistent. As Written, B. But currently doesn't function that way atm.

Here‘s a guide for Coop Mode:

Coop Captain:

How does Coop Captain work?

Coop Captain is any character that is either lvl 150 or you use a Coop Tome on. These Characters have predefined specials, Captain Abilities and Actions, which will apply to both teams. Rare Recruits (rr) or sugo rares (sr) have the identical coop abilities, so it doesn‘t matter which one you pick. Since these Captains have predefined abilities, Don‘t use OP Captains as Coop Captains (e.g any new SR or characters like G5 Luffy). It is better to use Rr or old legends, as those don‘t have Captain Abilities you might want to use.

What do the Coop Captains do?

The Abilities of Coop Captains are predefined, working as follows:
Captain Ability: Every Captain is a 4.5x boost of their Color (base effect) up to 6x (max lvl) and a rainbow Captain from 4.25x to 5.75x including a HP boost
Captain Action: Applies a 30% Resistance down of Characters 1st class for 2 turns and a 20% Resistance down of Characters 2nd class. Use this when you need that extra push in damage, for example on the boss. The effect is triggered by swiping down (like EX, Switch or Captain Action)
Captain Special: This is by far the most important aspect of your Captain, as this can hab the Tide of battle, when deciding who you wish to use, you should focus on this criteria. The Ability of the Captain is only based off of Rumble Style the Character has. Here‘s the Breakdown: - RCV-Style: Reduces unfavorable status icons on you and partner by 1-2 turns and heals all players (this does not include Hunger or status effects like bind, despair etc.) - DBF-Style: Delays all enemies (not bypassing immunity) by 1-3 turns and removes all enemy effects by 1 turn - DEF-Style: Reduces damage taken by 50%-90% for all players 1-2 times and heals all players - SPT-Style: Changes all player‘s (including block) slots to Favourable and reduces special charge by 1-2 turns and extends beneficial effects by 1-2 turns - BAL-Style: Reduces 1 enemy‘s HP by 15%-25%, heals all players (up to 2x Hp pool) and reduces everyone‘s Bind/Despair by 1-2 turns - ATK-Style: 250‘000-2‘000‘000 Damage (bypassing everything) to all enemies, changes both players‘ type slots to own type and reduces all players‘ Special charge by 2 turns

Which Coop Captain is the best / should you focus on?

Assuming you are playing with randoms, it is exactly in this Order: 1. RCV-Style 2. DBF-Style 3. DEF-Style 4. SPT-Style 5. BAL-Style 6. ATK-Style
This is because the 2 turns effect removal is OP. bleed? pain? Not with this special. Healing is also essential for playing with randoms, because you can make sure they survive so that you can clear the rest of the stage. Second is DBF, because they remove all enemy buffs by 1 turn, which allows you to save a special On the mob-stages or reduce damage limiter. The delay is also good, because if you don‘t manage to kill, you wouldn‘t get their atk damage. Next is DEF for its survivability SPT for extension and possibly special charge reducer (however, this character isn‘t immune to it BAL is situational, could be useful, but they don‘t reduce effects more than a simple support does. Don‘t use ATK-Style, the damage is a fucking joke, so only the special cooldown is useful, but SPT already does this
If you play with a teammate, I recommend using 1 DBF Style for the fodder stages (reducing def up) and one RCV Style for survivability and reducing of annoying effects like Pain, Bleed etc.

Coop Teams

What are the requirements for Coop Teams?

This Text is focusing on Infinitum Sea Difficulty:
Generally, you want to have a Team that is capable of: - Regular medium Damage Output (switch Characters with some type of ATK boosting effects) - Bind/DespaiParalysis Remover (this should be done via Captain and Supports) - Poison remover (as support Character, very important) - Enemy Buff Remover (I recommend 2 characters to be able to remove up to 10 turns of all 3 main buffs) - If you are unable (because of missions or other reasons) to be capable of all these things,focus on survivability and debuff removers, so that you can kill the fodder stages and can skip your turn at the boss to have your teammate clear it. - You want to use a Captain that removes some type of debuff on your crew passively, if they remove 2 that‘s even better (e.g Yamato Ace, G5 6* Luffy, Vegapunk)

General best use Crew

The Best General Team you can build is:
Psy Luffy G5 6* RCV-Style Coop Captain (preferably a Straw Hat) STND Sanji / Zoro Straw Hat that removes Def Up (Nami Carina for example)
Yamato Unit (e.g Yace for resilience) Debuff Remover (e.g Psy Cerebral Chopper)
Add some supports that remove Despair (Whitebeard on Yace, Luffy has V1 INT Reileigh) Add a Support that removes Poison
With this team you can Solo Infinitum, as long as your Parnter doesn‘t die and skips their turn if they can‘t defeat the boss this turn.
This team is OP, because with Luffy’s EX you bypass all barriers, only needing to deal with Def Up. Zoro/Sanji give you amazing attack boosting effects, and a STND for even more damage. They also remove Def zip, but you should use this only on the boss stage. All other characters are more or less free to use what you want, but you want to make sure to have some debuff removers, Def Up removers and make sure to be able to trigger STND every turn (so someone like Yamato/Ace is amazing, as their burn bypasses resilience and they change their slot (including block), which can then be switched by Zoro/Sanji

What do you play for?

Every month there will be a Coop Event, where you can grind for Stones for that specific 3 month period. After 3 months there will be the Grand Feast Sugo Fest, where you can pull with the Stones you have grinded over the past 3 months. Here, a multi pull costs 100 gems, and at the end of the event you will only get 5 multipulls out of all the pulls you‘ve done. Based on the rarity (and how recent the character is) your get points for the ranking, which will give you even more rewards (Rainbow Gems, SR Tickets) The Grand Feast Sugo Fest will have all normal banner legends from before the 1st month event period started (right now this means all legends up until and including QCK Slasher Momo)

How does Luck / Boosted Units work?

Luck affects which drops you get while clearing a Coop Quest. Drops you can get are (not exclusive as I will probably forget something uninteresting): - Feast Stones - Luck Drops - Cotton Candy - Special Level Tomes (including Sugo Rare) - Proof of Friendship
Luck is only affected by your Coop Captain and your Partners’ Coop Captain. You will get 1 luck every 5 levels and 1 luck for each rr of the same evolution tree and 2 luck for a sr for the same evolution tree. Your luck maxes at 100, meaning with your Partner the maximum luck you can have is 200. Boosted Units give you extra drops (similar to PKA or Blitz). However, different to those modes, you don’t need them in your crew, simply having the character unlocked is sufficient.

Communication

Lastly, but very important is communication. While the current ways to communicate are very limited, thee are a few messages you can use, which will allow you to more easily power through the content. Here’s how I’ve used and interpreted the ones I’m using: - Help Me: You are unable to clear this stage. This can mean either a debuff on you, or you can’t remove all enemy buffs. If the issue is that you have debuffs, try to stall while taking as little damage as possible and dealing as much as possible. If you simply can’t remove all enemy buffs, either a) it’s the boss: remove as many as you can, then skip your turn (top left next to the partner’s HP) b) fodder stage: Simply skip your turn - Let me Handle this: Mainly use this on the boss or if your teammate uses Help Me. This tells your Teammate to skip their turn, and let you kill all enemies - Please Remove that: Mainly used at the boss, letting your partner know they should remove enemy buffs as much as possible and then skip to you, because except for this enemy buff your can clear the stage - I’m sorry: Apologize if you didn’t manage to clear your stage, this is solely to be a good person and upkeep moral - Thank you / My thanks: Thsnking your teammate for something they’ve done, this is to upkeep moral and being a good person - Usopp Burn Emoji: Something fucked up. Very vague, I don’t recommend using this to properly communicate with your teammate - Wait! Stay strong: This tells your Partner they should stall, so for example only killing one enemy, or keeping the enemy left on low HP - We need a few more Communication Emojis, for example that you need debuffs removed

Use Skip

You can only skip your turn once in a row, and if you have skipped your partner cannot skip in that exact turn. When skipping, you do not lose a turn on the effects you have, so when you have a debuff on you and you skip your turn, you’ll not reduce any turns of debuff that’s currently on you. Skip is overpowered as fuck, especially on the boss stage, because it is the other player’s turn without the boss doing anything. Take a boss like Luffy. He does a lot of debuffs on you, so you remove as much def as you can, and then simply skip to your partner. Assuming you have cleared all stages prior, your Partner will now have nearly all specials and no debuffs on a boss with about 50mil HP. That is very easy. If you can’t defeat the current stages enemies, don’t forget you have a skip button
Please. Use. Your. Skip. At. The. Boss, especially when your teammate tells you “let me handle this”.
If there are any infos missing or wrong, please let me know so I can update this guide. I’m also open for questions

I'll mainly be gaming and coding. Might photoshop sometimes but I don't really edit videos.
MSI Pro B650M-P
MSI Pro B650M-B
Asus Prime B650M-A 2
Gigabyte B650M-K
ASRock B650M-H/M.2
Wanted the ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2 originally but its sold out in DataBlitz and I kinda wanna build now. Feel free to suggest other boards but budget is 7k ish. Can push to 8k if ever. Thank you! :)

Hey, yall. This is fganniversaries and apologies for missing last week; I genuinely thought that I posted for the week but turns out that I didn't upon looking. As per usual, I will be recapping anniversaries relating to fighting game announcements/releases this week. Like always, if I missed one, do please let me know in the comments. Here would be the following anniversaries:
May 13

• 2023: SF6 20 Days Left & 19 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town Press Release
• 2022: Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl - Official Jenny, Hugh Neutron & Rocko Reveal Trailer/Jenny DLC Release + Moveset & Gameplay Showcase
• 2021: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Kyojuro Rengoku Reveal
• 2021: KOFXV Leona Heidern Tomohiro Nakata Sketch
• 2020: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath - Official Gameplay Trailer
• 2020: Samurai Shodown (2019) - Iroha DLC Release
• 2020: TFH Post-Launch Development Update #1 + Story Mode Chapter 1 Dev Commentary
• 2016: UNIB 5-13-16 Information Division Corner
• 2014: BBCP Version 1.1 Patch Notes
• 2014: JJBA:ASB Lisa Lisa & Ikuro Hashizawa DLC Release
• 2014: Skullgirls Encore 1.02: Are You Ready For? Edition Patch Notes
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 5/13/14 Director’s Room Post - Charizard’s Flare Blitz Special Move Reveal
• 2013: Divekick - New Character Reveal: Markman + #eSports Hour #5
• 2010: Battle Fantasia Xbox Live Distribution
• 2010: BlazBlue PC Release Postpone Announcement
• 2005: SvC Chaos releasing on Xbox at AU.

May 14

• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula Character Breakdown Trailer
• 2023: SF6 18 Days Left Countdown Illustration/Dan Tails
• 2020: GGST 1st Delay Announcement
• 2020: KOFx WWE + Cinematic Trailer/Razer Giveaway
• 2019: Samurai Shodown (2019) - Return of a Legend Trailer/Character Trailer #6 - Genjuro & Character Trailer #7 - Haohmaru
• 2019: SCVI Update Ver. 1.40 Patch Notes
• 2018: ARCommunity Sol Badguy of Guilty Gear - Digital Painting by Nainsoo
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Kawase Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: Guilty Gear NS, PS4, and PC Digital Port Announcement
• 2015: MKX Patch Notes 5/14/15 + Reptile Skin
• 2014: BBCP Version 1.1 Release
• 2014: SSB4 5/14/14 Director’s Room Post - Brittany Trophy Reveal
• 2013: Injustice "The Killing Joke" Skin Pack Announcement
• 2013: Skullgirls Color DLC Today, New Characters Coming
• 2009: Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 originally releasing on PSP at JP.
• 1998: Guilty Gear: The Missing Link originally releasing on PS1 at JP.

May 15

• 2023: Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta Video 1: Characters & Battle System/17 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town Team Story
• 2021: PS5 releasing at CHN.
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.52.2 - 0.52.3 Change Log
• 2020: KOFAS x WWE Blogpost
• 2019: GBVS Trailers: Gran, Katalina, Charlotta, Lancelot, Ferry
• 2019: GGXXACR NS Promotional Video
• 2019: Guilty Gear releaisng on PC via Steam WW.
• 2019: MK11 Combo Breaker Tournament Stage Variant Reveal + Gameplay Footage
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Noko GameplayTrailer/Blade Strangers Joined by Indie All-Stars
• 2018: FEXL 01-2018/05/15 Battle Video
• 2017: Injustice 2 - Official Gameplay Launch Trailer
• 2015: Killer Instinct (2013) Textual Stream Part 2: The One About Hisako, Cinder, and Q&A/ Retro Hisako & Cinder
• 2015: Tekken 7 - Jack-7 Reveal Trailer
• 2015: Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] Announcement + Phonon Reveal & Location Test Announcement
• 2014: Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! PS3/Vita Promotion Movie
• 2014: P4AU Labrys Trailer
• 2014: SSB4 5/15/14 Director’s Room Post - Color TV-Game 15 Assist Trophy Details
• 2014: UNIEL System Page
• 2014: USFIV Pre-Order Costumes Trailer/Balance Changes Videos for Ryu, Gouken, Evil Ryu, & Cammy.
• 2013: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle Kars & Kishibe Rohan Reveal
• 2013: Skullgirls - Early Work-in-Progress River King Casino Music - Piano Melody
• 2012: Asura Wrath's Lost Episode 2 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360.
• 2008: Bleach: Heat the Soul 5 originally releasing as a PSP exclusive only at JP.
• 2007: Art of Fighting Anthology releasing on PS2 at US.
• 1998: Clay Fighter: Sculptor's Cut originally releasing as Blockbuster rental exclusive on the Nintendo 64 at NA.
• 1994: ClayFighter Tournament Edition originally released as a SNES exclusive only in NA as a Blockbuster rental exclusive.

May 16

• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula DLC Release + Character Profile, Story + Smartphone Wallpaper
• 2023: Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta Video 2: Battle Hub/16 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: MultiVersus – Official Cinematic Trailer - "You're with Me!"
• 2021: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Character Intro Trailer #10: Kyojuro Rengoku
• 2021: Guilty Gear -Strive- Story Trailer Livestream
• 2021: Samurai Shodown (2019) Shiro Tokisada Amakusa Reveal + Steam Port Announcement
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.0 - 0.53.2 Change Log
• 2019: Flappy Fighter - Battle 2
• 2019: GG1 + GGXXACR releasing on Nintendo Switch via eShop WW + Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Collection releasing at JP
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Helen Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle - RWBY Highlight Trailer
• 2018: FEXL 01-2018/05/16 Battle Video
• 2017: Injustice 2 originally releasing on PS4 and XB1 at NA.
• 2017: UNIST Experience Event Announcement
• 2014: P4AU Ver.1.11 Update Notice
• 2014: SSB4 5/16/14 Director’s Room Post - Villager Alternate Costumes Reveal
• 2014: UNIB 2014 Summer Illustration Contest Announcement
• 2008: GGXXAC+R Hidden Element Annonncement
• 2001: Project Justice releasing on Dreamcast at NA.
• 2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee Official Reveal + Trailers #1 & #2/ Reactions

May 17

• 2023: GGST Season Pass 2 Playable Character #4 [Asuka R♯] Trailer/Gamespot Exclusive Gameplay
• 2023: SF6 15 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2021: Mortal Kombat 1 - Tomorrow Is A New Dawn Teaser
• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula Concept Art
• 2023: Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta Video 3: Competitive Features & Events
• 2022: DNF Duel｜Story Mode
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town DLC Release/Geese Howard Tomohiro Nakata Sketch
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 1 - What is Magic?
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.3 - 0.53.4 Change Log
• 2020: DBFZ Goku (Ultra Instinct) Launch Trailer
• 2019: GBVS Closed Beta Exhibition Match
• 2019: Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Collection releasing at EU + Launch Trailer
• 2019: Kill la Kill If Story Mode Chapter 1 Movie Preview
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Liongate Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle - Persona 4 Arena Highlight + Yang Gameplay - Distortions, Combos & Assists
• 2018: SCVI Yoshimitsu Reveal + Screenshots
• 2017: Injustice 2 releasing on PS4 & XB1 at AU.
• 2017: Tekken 7 - Character Trailer #2
• 2013: BlazBlue Anime Adaptation Announcement
• 2013: Skullgirls Beowulf Announcement
• 2013: UNIB 2013 May Q&A Corner
• 2012: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Hades Brawl & Colorful Battle Videos
• 2010: BBCS 2nd PV Trailer
• 2008: SCVI Ashlotte Reveal
• 2005: Nintendo Wii Official Reveal at E3 2005
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl Announcement
• 2005: Spectral VS Generation originally releasing at arcades at JP
• 2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee Official Website Launch/IGN E3 Hands-On Impression & Gameplay #1, #2, #3

May 18

• 2023: Guilty Gear -Strive- Starter Guide - Asuka R♯
• 2023: Mortal Kombat 1 - Official Announcement Trailer
• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula Theme BGM Composer Statement
• 2023: Street Fighter 6: Days of the Eclipse #3: Manipulation Issue Release/14 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 2 - Worldwide Development and Gears
• 2021: Fighting Game Glossary by Infilament originally launching
• 2021: KOFXV Ralf Jones & Clark Still Silhouette
• 2021: Skullgirls 2nd Encore 2021-05-18 Beta Mode Update
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.5 Change Log
• 2020: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath - Official Friendships Trailer
• 2019: TFH Early Access Patch #19
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Curly Brace
• 2016: KOFXIV Team Gameplay Trailer #2 - Yagami
• 2012: Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL releasing on the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 at EU.
• 2012: UNIB Waldstein SD Wallpaper
• 2011: BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II releasing at arcades at NA.

May 19

• 2023: Mortal Kombat 1 Kollector’s Edition Liu Kang Statue Preview
• 2023: SF6 13 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: DNF Duel｜Practice Mode
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town Kou:G Illustration
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 3 - The Crusades
• 2021: KOFXV - Character Trailer #19-20 - Ralf Jones & Clark Still + Screenshots/Team Ikari Reveal
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.6 - 0.53.7 Change Log
• 2021: Umbrella Animation Stream with Persona! (May 19, 2021)
• 2017: Injustice 2 releasing on PS4 & XB1 at EU.
• 2017: Tekken 7 “No Glory For Heroes” English Story Trailer
• 2017: UNIST Home Information
• 2016: Killer Instinct (2013) Gargos Release Date Reveal/Gargos Ultra Combo & Montage, Gameplay Footage vs. Mira, Thunder & Tusk
• 2015: Street Fighter V - M. Bison Reveal Trailer
• 2015: Tekken 7 Jack-7 Release
• 2014: BB x BB Collaboration Beginning
• 2014: SSB4 5/19/14 Director’s Room Post
• 2013: Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- Announcement Trailer + Screenshots
• 2011: Dead or Alive: Dimensions originally releasing on the Nintendo 3DS at JP.
• 2010: BBCS Tager & Litchi Information
• 2005: IGN E3 2005: Shigeru Miyamoto Interview
• 2005: Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection originally releasing as a PS2 exclusive only in JP.
• 1998: Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. originally releasing on the Nintendo 64 at NA.

May 20

• 2023: SF6 12 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2021: Blazing Strike Publisher “Aksys Games” Reveal + Press Release
• 2021: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Tanjiro Kamado (Hinokami Kagura) Reveal
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 4 - The Second Holy Order Selection Tournament
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.8 - 0.53.9 Change Log
• 2021: Virtua Fighter x eSports Official Announcement Live Stream Reveal
• 2020: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath – RoboCop vs. Terminator Round 1 & Round 2 Gameplay Footage
• 2020: TFH Version 1.0.3 Patch Notes
• 2016: One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum Announcement
• 2016: UNIB 5-20-16 Licht Kreis Information Division Corner
• 2015: M.Bison Makes His Return in SFV
• 2014: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle Vannila Ice, Pannacotta Fugo & Narciso Anasui DLC Release
• 2014: P4AU Ken Armada & Koromaru Reveal
• 2014: SSB4 5/20/14 Director’s Room Post - Assist Trophy Item Capsule Showcase
• 2014: USFIV PS4 Pre-Orders Beginning
• 2013: ASW 25th Anniversary Book Release Window Reveal + Festival Conclusion Message
• 2013: Injustice Gods Among Us v1.03 Patch Notes
• 2011: BBCS 3rd Patch Distribution
• 2011: Dead or Alive: Dimensions releasing on the Nintendo 3DS at EU.
• 2011: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus releasing on Wii at EU.

Hey, yall. This is fganniversaries and apologies for missing last week; I genuinely thought that I posted for the week but turns out that I didn't upon looking. As per usual, I will be recapping anniversaries relating to fighting game announcements/releases this week. Like always, if I missed one, do please let me know in the comments. Here would be the following anniversaries:
May 13

• 2023: SF6 20 Days Left & 19 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town Press Release
• 2022: Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl - Official Jenny, Hugh Neutron & Rocko Reveal Trailer/Jenny DLC Release + Moveset & Gameplay Showcase
• 2021: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Kyojuro Rengoku Reveal
• 2021: KOFXV Leona Heidern Tomohiro Nakata Sketch
• 2020: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath - Official Gameplay Trailer
• 2020: Samurai Shodown (2019) - Iroha DLC Release
• 2020: TFH Post-Launch Development Update #1 + Story Mode Chapter 1 Dev Commentary
• 2016: UNIB 5-13-16 Information Division Corner
• 2014: BBCP Version 1.1 Patch Notes
• 2014: JJBA:ASB Lisa Lisa & Ikuro Hashizawa DLC Release
• 2014: Skullgirls Encore 1.02: Are You Ready For? Edition Patch Notes
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 5/13/14 Director’s Room Post - Charizard’s Flare Blitz Special Move Reveal
• 2013: Divekick - New Character Reveal: Markman + #eSports Hour #5
• 2010: Battle Fantasia Xbox Live Distribution
• 2010: BlazBlue PC Release Postpone Announcement
• 2005: SvC Chaos releasing on Xbox at AU.

May 14

• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula Character Breakdown Trailer
• 2023: SF6 18 Days Left Countdown Illustration/Dan Tails
• 2020: GGST 1st Delay Announcement
• 2020: KOFx WWE + Cinematic Trailer/Razer Giveaway
• 2019: Samurai Shodown (2019) - Return of a Legend Trailer/Character Trailer #6 - Genjuro & Character Trailer #7 - Haohmaru
• 2019: SCVI Update Ver. 1.40 Patch Notes
• 2018: ARCommunity Sol Badguy of Guilty Gear - Digital Painting by Nainsoo
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Kawase Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: Guilty Gear NS, PS4, and PC Digital Port Announcement
• 2015: MKX Patch Notes 5/14/15 + Reptile Skin
• 2014: BBCP Version 1.1 Release
• 2014: SSB4 5/14/14 Director’s Room Post - Brittany Trophy Reveal
• 2013: Injustice "The Killing Joke" Skin Pack Announcement
• 2013: Skullgirls Color DLC Today, New Characters Coming
• 2009: Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 originally releasing on PSP at JP.
• 1998: Guilty Gear: The Missing Link originally releasing on PS1 at JP.

May 15

• 2023: Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta Video 1: Characters & Battle System/17 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town Team Story
• 2021: PS5 releasing at CHN.
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.52.2 - 0.52.3 Change Log
• 2020: KOFAS x WWE Blogpost
• 2019: GBVS Trailers: Gran, Katalina, Charlotta, Lancelot, Ferry
• 2019: GGXXACR NS Promotional Video
• 2019: Guilty Gear releaisng on PC via Steam WW.
• 2019: MK11 Combo Breaker Tournament Stage Variant Reveal + Gameplay Footage
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Noko GameplayTrailer/Blade Strangers Joined by Indie All-Stars
• 2018: FEXL 01-2018/05/15 Battle Video
• 2017: Injustice 2 - Official Gameplay Launch Trailer
• 2015: Killer Instinct (2013) Textual Stream Part 2: The One About Hisako, Cinder, and Q&A/ Retro Hisako & Cinder
• 2015: Tekken 7 - Jack-7 Reveal Trailer
• 2015: Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] Announcement + Phonon Reveal & Location Test Announcement
• 2014: Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! PS3/Vita Promotion Movie
• 2014: P4AU Labrys Trailer
• 2014: SSB4 5/15/14 Director’s Room Post - Color TV-Game 15 Assist Trophy Details
• 2014: UNIEL System Page
• 2014: USFIV Pre-Order Costumes Trailer/Balance Changes Videos for Ryu, Gouken, Evil Ryu, & Cammy.
• 2013: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle Kars & Kishibe Rohan Reveal
• 2013: Skullgirls - Early Work-in-Progress River King Casino Music - Piano Melody
• 2012: Asura Wrath's Lost Episode 2 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360.
• 2008: Bleach: Heat the Soul 5 originally releasing as a PSP exclusive only at JP.
• 2007: Art of Fighting Anthology releasing on PS2 at US.
• 1998: Clay Fighter: Sculptor's Cut originally releasing as Blockbuster rental exclusive on the Nintendo 64 at NA.
• 1994: ClayFighter Tournament Edition originally released as a SNES exclusive only in NA as a Blockbuster rental exclusive.

May 16

• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula DLC Release + Character Profile, Story + Smartphone Wallpaper
• 2023: Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta Video 2: Battle Hub/16 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: MultiVersus – Official Cinematic Trailer - "You're with Me!"
• 2021: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Character Intro Trailer #10: Kyojuro Rengoku
• 2021: Guilty Gear -Strive- Story Trailer Livestream
• 2021: Samurai Shodown (2019) Shiro Tokisada Amakusa Reveal + Steam Port Announcement
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.0 - 0.53.2 Change Log
• 2019: Flappy Fighter - Battle 2
• 2019: GG1 + GGXXACR releasing on Nintendo Switch via eShop WW + Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Collection releasing at JP
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Helen Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle - RWBY Highlight Trailer
• 2018: FEXL 01-2018/05/16 Battle Video
• 2017: Injustice 2 originally releasing on PS4 and XB1 at NA.
• 2017: UNIST Experience Event Announcement
• 2014: P4AU Ver.1.11 Update Notice
• 2014: SSB4 5/16/14 Director’s Room Post - Villager Alternate Costumes Reveal
• 2014: UNIB 2014 Summer Illustration Contest Announcement
• 2008: GGXXAC+R Hidden Element Annonncement
• 2001: Project Justice releasing on Dreamcast at NA.
• 2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee Official Reveal + Trailers #1 & #2/ Reactions

May 17

• 2023: GGST Season Pass 2 Playable Character #4 [Asuka R♯] Trailer/Gamespot Exclusive Gameplay
• 2023: SF6 15 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2021: Mortal Kombat 1 - Tomorrow Is A New Dawn Teaser
• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula Concept Art
• 2023: Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta Video 3: Competitive Features & Events
• 2022: DNF Duel｜Story Mode
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town DLC Release/Geese Howard Tomohiro Nakata Sketch
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 1 - What is Magic?
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.3 - 0.53.4 Change Log
• 2020: DBFZ Goku (Ultra Instinct) Launch Trailer
• 2019: GBVS Closed Beta Exhibition Match
• 2019: Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Collection releasing at EU + Launch Trailer
• 2019: Kill la Kill If Story Mode Chapter 1 Movie Preview
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Liongate Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle - Persona 4 Arena Highlight + Yang Gameplay - Distortions, Combos & Assists
• 2018: SCVI Yoshimitsu Reveal + Screenshots
• 2017: Injustice 2 releasing on PS4 & XB1 at AU.
• 2017: Tekken 7 - Character Trailer #2
• 2013: BlazBlue Anime Adaptation Announcement
• 2013: Skullgirls Beowulf Announcement
• 2013: UNIB 2013 May Q&A Corner
• 2012: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Hades Brawl & Colorful Battle Videos
• 2010: BBCS 2nd PV Trailer
• 2008: SCVI Ashlotte Reveal
• 2005: Nintendo Wii Official Reveal at E3 2005
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl Announcement
• 2005: Spectral VS Generation originally releasing at arcades at JP
• 2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee Official Website Launch/IGN E3 Hands-On Impression & Gameplay #1, #2, #3

May 18

• 2023: Guilty Gear -Strive- Starter Guide - Asuka R♯
• 2023: Mortal Kombat 1 - Official Announcement Trailer
• 2023: KOFXV Sylvie Paula Paula Theme BGM Composer Statement
• 2023: Street Fighter 6: Days of the Eclipse #3: Manipulation Issue Release/14 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 2 - Worldwide Development and Gears
• 2021: Fighting Game Glossary by Infilament originally launching
• 2021: KOFXV Ralf Jones & Clark Still Silhouette
• 2021: Skullgirls 2nd Encore 2021-05-18 Beta Mode Update
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.5 Change Log
• 2020: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath - Official Friendships Trailer
• 2019: TFH Early Access Patch #19
• 2018: Blade Strangers - Curly Brace
• 2016: KOFXIV Team Gameplay Trailer #2 - Yagami
• 2012: Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL releasing on the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 at EU.
• 2012: UNIB Waldstein SD Wallpaper
• 2011: BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II releasing at arcades at NA.

May 19

• 2023: Mortal Kombat 1 Kollector’s Edition Liu Kang Statue Preview
• 2023: SF6 13 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2022: DNF Duel｜Practice Mode
• 2022: KOFXV Team South Town Kou:G Illustration
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 3 - The Crusades
• 2021: KOFXV - Character Trailer #19-20 - Ralf Jones & Clark Still + Screenshots/Team Ikari Reveal
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.6 - 0.53.7 Change Log
• 2021: Umbrella Animation Stream with Persona! (May 19, 2021)
• 2017: Injustice 2 releasing on PS4 & XB1 at EU.
• 2017: Tekken 7 “No Glory For Heroes” English Story Trailer
• 2017: UNIST Home Information
• 2016: Killer Instinct (2013) Gargos Release Date Reveal/Gargos Ultra Combo & Montage, Gameplay Footage vs. Mira, Thunder & Tusk
• 2015: Street Fighter V - M. Bison Reveal Trailer
• 2015: Tekken 7 Jack-7 Release
• 2014: BB x BB Collaboration Beginning
• 2014: SSB4 5/19/14 Director’s Room Post
• 2013: Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- Announcement Trailer + Screenshots
• 2011: Dead or Alive: Dimensions originally releasing on the Nintendo 3DS at JP.
• 2010: BBCS Tager & Litchi Information
• 2005: IGN E3 2005: Shigeru Miyamoto Interview
• 2005: Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection originally releasing as a PS2 exclusive only in JP.
• 1998: Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. originally releasing on the Nintendo 64 at NA.

May 20

• 2023: SF6 12 Days Left Countdown Illustration
• 2021: Blazing Strike Publisher “Aksys Games” Reveal + Press Release
• 2021: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Tanjiro Kamado (Hinokami Kagura) Reveal
• 2021: ExplaMaytions with May! Episode 4 - The Second Holy Order Selection Tournament
• 2021: Tough Love Arena 0.53.8 - 0.53.9 Change Log
• 2021: Virtua Fighter x eSports Official Announcement Live Stream Reveal
• 2020: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath – RoboCop vs. Terminator Round 1 & Round 2 Gameplay Footage
• 2020: TFH Version 1.0.3 Patch Notes
• 2016: One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum Announcement
• 2016: UNIB 5-20-16 Licht Kreis Information Division Corner
• 2015: M.Bison Makes His Return in SFV
• 2014: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle Vannila Ice, Pannacotta Fugo & Narciso Anasui DLC Release
• 2014: P4AU Ken Armada & Koromaru Reveal
• 2014: SSB4 5/20/14 Director’s Room Post - Assist Trophy Item Capsule Showcase
• 2014: USFIV PS4 Pre-Orders Beginning
• 2013: ASW 25th Anniversary Book Release Window Reveal + Festival Conclusion Message
• 2013: Injustice Gods Among Us v1.03 Patch Notes
• 2011: BBCS 3rd Patch Distribution
• 2011: Dead or Alive: Dimensions releasing on the Nintendo 3DS at EU.
• 2011: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus releasing on Wii at EU.

I know there's a limit of 100 files, but I haven't been able to find anyone talking about whether the game plays nicely with longer tracks - like over an hour? I recently came back to the game on PC with a very silly modlist and the thought occurred to me to see if I could play through the entirety of, say, Shrek playing on my cassette speakers in free roam just blitzing through outposts, but I don't know if that's even technically feasible.
Has anyone played around with this sort of thing? Ofc I realize Kaz and Ocelot will be chiming in constantly but it's a novelty.

Tuleyome is hosting a free event at Woodland Regional Park Preserve on Saturday from 10am to 1pm. There will be a self-directed nature scavenger hunt for kids and adults and an iNaturalist BioBlitz for older kids and adults. The Tuleyome Youth Boot Bank will also be on site, providing free loans of hiking boots to kids.
More information about the event available here:
https://tuleyome.nationbuilder.com/nature_scavenger_hunt_and_inaturalist_bioblitz

Tuleyome is hosting a free event at Woodland Regional Park Preserve on Saturday from 10am to 1pm. There will be a self-directed nature scavenger hunt for kids and adults and an iNaturalist BioBlitz for older kids and adults. The Tuleyome Youth Boot Bank will also be on site, providing free loans of hiking boots to kids.
More information about the event available here:
https://tuleyome.nationbuilder.com/nature_scavenger_hunt_and_inaturalist_bioblitz

Course Title: Exploring the Panorama of Poetry
Course Description: This course delves into the rich tapestry of poetic forms, guiding students through the exploration and creation of fifty distinct styles of poetry. From classic sonnets to innovative forms like golden shovel and palindrome poetry, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of poetic expression, learning the nuances of each style and honing their creative skills.
Week 1-2: Introduction to Poetry and Sonnets - Overview of poetry styles - In-depth study of sonnets - Writing Exercise: Crafting a sonnet on personal experiences
Week 3-4: Embracing Haiku and Villanelle - Understanding the elegance of haiku - Exploring the repetitive beauty of villanelles - Writing Exercise: Composing haikus inspired by nature
Week 5-6: Limericks and the Art of Humor - Decoding the humor in limericks - Crafting limericks with wit and wordplay - Writing Exercise: Creating humorous limericks on everyday topics
Week 7-8: Free Verse and Acrostic Poetry - Liberating creativity through free verse - Playing with words in acrostic poems - Writing Exercise: Expressing emotions through free verse
Week 9-10: Ghazal and Tanka Mastery - Unveiling the beauty of ghazals - Crafting tankas with precision - Writing Exercise: Creating a ghazal on themes of love and longing
Week 11-12: Cinquains and Pantoum Prowess - Perfecting the art of cinquains - Embracing the rhythmic challenges of pantoums - Writing Exercise: Developing a pantoum on personal growth
Week 13-14: Sestina and Rondeau Exploration - Mastering the intricacies of sestinas - Crafting rondeaus with musicality - Writing Exercise: Composing a sestina on the theme of time
Week 15-16: Triolets and Kyrielles - Understanding the charm of triolets - Embracing the structure of kyrielles - Writing Exercise: Crafting a triolet on the beauty of simplicity
Week 17-18: Ode to Joyful Ballads - Writing joyful odes - Crafting narrative ballads - Writing Exercise: Creating an ode celebrating personal achievements
Week 19-20: Epic Journeys and Blank Verse - Exploring epic storytelling - Mastering the art of blank verse - Writing Exercise: Composing a blank verse poem reflecting on personal reflections
Week 21-22: Petrarchan Musings and Terza Rima Mastery - Delving into Petrarchan sonnets - Crafting poems using terza rima - Writing Exercise: Writing a Petrarchan sonnet on conflicting emotions
Week 23-24: Renga Collaboration and Prose Poetry - Collaborative renga creation - Experimenting with prose poetry - Writing Exercise: Crafting a prose poem inspired by a vivid memory
Week 25-26: Concrete Poetry and Narrative Art - Creating visual impact with concrete poetry - Mastering the art of narrative poetry - Writing Exercise: Developing a narrative poem based on personal experiences
Week 27-28: Pastoral Elegies and Morning Aubades - Writing pastoral poetry - Crafting mournful elegies - Writing Exercise: Composing an aubade capturing the essence of dawn
Week 29-30: Ekphrastic Marvels and Found Poetry Adventures - Creating poetry inspired by art - Crafting poems through found materials - Writing Exercise: Developing an ekphrastic poem based on a chosen artwork
Week 31-32: Epigrams and Clerihew Laughter - Crafting witty epigrams - Writing humorous clerihews - Writing Exercise: Composing a clerihew about a contemporary figure
Week 33-34: Quatrains and Double Dactyl Delight - Mastering the art of quatrains - Crafting light-hearted double dactyls - Writing Exercise: Creating a quatrain reflecting on the beauty of simplicity
Week 35-36: Terzanelles and Haibun Adventures - Crafting terzanelles with precision - Exploring the combination of prose and haiku in haibun - Writing Exercise: Composing a haibun narrating a meaningful travel experience
Week 37-38: Golden Shovel Challenges and Villancico Celebrations - Creating poems using the golden shovel technique - Crafting festive villancicos - Writing Exercise: Developing a golden shovel poem using a line from a favorite poem
Week 39-40: Tercet Beauty and Sevenling Narratives - Embracing the charm of tercets - Crafting sevenlings with narrative flair - Writing Exercise: Composing a sevenling reflecting on a vivid childhood memory
Week 41-42: Palindrome Reflections and Parallelismus Membrorum Insights - Creating palindrome poetry - Crafting poems using parallelismus membrorum - Writing Exercise: Developing a palindrome poem exploring balance in life
Week 43-44: Rubaiyat Contemplations and Blues Poem Expressions - Exploring Persian poetry with rubaiyats - Crafting poems inspired by the blues - Writing Exercise: Composing a rubaiyat on themes of love or mortality
Week 45-46: Erasure Transformations and Anaphora Intensity - Crafting poetry through erasure - Mastering the use of anaphora - Writing Exercise: Creating an erasure poem using a page from a novel or newspaper
Week 47-48: Tetractys and Sijo Harmonies - Crafting tetractys with specific syllable counts - Exploring traditional Korean poetry with sijo - Writing Exercise: Developing a sijo capturing a moment of beauty or introspection
Week 49-50: Blitz Poem Exploration and Epitaph Conclusions - Crafting blitz poems with rapid expression - Writing poignant epitaphs - Final Project: Compose an original poem using a style of the student's choice, reflecting personal growth throughout the course.
Assessment: - Weekly writing exercises - Participation in collaborative projects - Midterm and final projects showcasing mastery of chosen styles
Materials: - Poetry anthologies - Artworks for ekphrastic exercises - Writing journals - Selected readings for each style
Prerequisites: None. Open to all students with an interest in poetry and creative expression.

First up your ethics don't matter but I'm partial to fanatic authoritarian personally, second ethic REALLY doesn't matter but xenophile, militarist, xenophobe and pacifist are all hot contenders.
Second of all you're gonna wanna be Overtuned. Start with Thrifty + the new Commercial Genius overtuned trait. You're gonna wanna stay quite small early and if you can spawn in a secluded cluster with one chokepoint, GOOD, because the early game is all about staying small and quiet and minding your own business.
Now I know what you're thinking, Merchant Guilds, right? No, you're gonna need a lot of stability for what comes next, and you're gonna be swimming in nobles before you know it - It's thematic with the ascension you're going to go for, so for stylepoints, influencing draw weights and stability, go Aristocratic Elite and whatever second civic you like - I go Oppressive Autocracy because I'm a fucking gremlin.
Early game, unity rush, homeworld is half labs, half administrative offices, grab a trade world and a factory world. Civilian Economy, obviously, and buy your minerals and rely on space mining/arc furnaces as best you can. Go Marketplace of Ideas instead of the usual Consumer Benefits, so you can grab cybernetic as fast as humanly possible and immediately grind it out and rush Imperial Chipset advanced authority at the end. Once you've got cybernetic all done you can switch to consumer benefits and reform that factory world into a sorely needed forge world.
Now immediately engineer your species to be as short-lived as possible. Grab all three -30 year lifespan traits and focus on border defense as you cook. Set the game to very fast and remain inwardly focused while you blitz through as many governor rulers as possible - Aristocratic Elite and Imperial government will give you a high weight for your heirs to be governors, which is what you want, but even if you roll 'bad' and get a scientist or commander, the permanent buffs from them are still great and you'll wanna catch 'em all eventually. You can't lose!
Grab as many mechanical pop trait points as you can and just keep diminishing the life expectancy of your squabbling noble houses so they don't even have time to plot against eachother, they barely have time to make a decree before they're toast.
Rush orbital rings and get a noble estate on every ring and before you know it you'll have 6-8 nobles on your worlds + 2 politicians + whatever other ruler adding buildings you might have provide.
Once you've sufficiently stacked your chipset, engineer your burned out species into something actually effective and start buying those lifespan techs that you're probably sorely behind on.
Congrats, you're now free to reform your civics into whatever you want, pick great traits and reformat your empire into something sensible, but with +25% resources from all jobs, +25% research speed and +25% damage on ships.
Can it be abused better? More minmaxy? Sure. Cook up a more minmaxed rush variant of this, I'll be over here in my tophat and monocle laughing all the way to the bank, only to die in transit.
This post brought to you by the Stellaris Nobility.

hey folx! 26tf here who just started playing chess last year. i’m just under 800 elo for both Rapid and Daily, and float around 600-700 in Blitz. (Chess.com)
I’d love to have some more pals to get into some daily games with c: maybe learn a thing or two from, or teach a thing or two to if you’re lower rated than me.
im on both Chess.com and Lichess, so feel free to hmu!!!
I’m big on 1. e4 e5 thanks to Chessbrah, and I tend to play the Dutch against everything else as I still lack for a system that feels more comfortable against 1.d4. What do you like to play? c:
My favorite players are probably still content creators, as they’re the ones I see most often. That said, I would really like to learn to play like Lazavik as I improve.

Welcome to the Tuesday content creator roundup on a Wednesday!
This thread will feature some noteworthy contributions from Flesh & Blood content creators. Lots of gameplay, box openings, discussions etc. Catch up on content by reviewing the links below!
Videos

• Alpha Investments Rudy asks What happened to Flesh and Blood?
• TCG TALK has their Assassin Final Spoiler Impressions - Flesh and Blood TCG
• Flesh and Blood TCG streamed the Flesh and Blood TCG: Calling Warsaw Classic Constructed
• AggroBlaze96 streamed Ward to the moon! Flesh and Blood TCG !discord !deck
• DMArmada says This is a WIN.. Flesh and Blood TCG Meta Wrap-Up
• Sloopdoop thinks Flesh and Blood Shouldn't Have Boardstates
• Klloo ooyy brings us a [Combo Showcase Eradicate Nuu] Looking for Combos, How Many Cards to Banish? Flesh and Blood TCG
• Dice Commando discusses SO... MANY... SPOILERS... Mistveil Precon Dump! Flesh and Blood TCG Go Again! Ep498
• Arcane Games and Events streamed the May AGE Open Top 8 Flesh and Blood
• AshenWingzTCG has a Common/Rare Spoiler Review Part The Mistveil Flesh and Blood TCG
• OK&Y Podcast brings us Enigma vs Dash/VictoKayo Flesh and Blood Classic Constructed 331
• Lupinefiasco continues Daily FaB #182 Kayo vs. Teklovssen Flesh and Blood Heavy Hitters
• TCGTed streamed Flesh and Blood: Cracking Packs and Chilling!!! #fabtcg
• playset-seho calculates the EV HVY - flesh and blood expected value HEAVY HITTERS fabtcg 05/2024
• The Romping Club has their Flesh and Blood ProQuest Season 5 Vlog: Chasing The Gold
• The_Village streamed Brewing Aim Counter Riptide! [Flesh and Blood CC]
• On Hit Effect says Flesh & Blood is a Game of Reunions
• Emeritus for Four brings us the ProQuest S5 Flesh and Blood Davao Magic Shop May 5, 2024
• MrE of Rathe shares the Maxx Hero Story - Flesh and Blood Lore

Blogposts & Other Resource

• Parker Brown has the Recap: Battle Hardened: Richmond
• Joshua Scott reveals the Card Database (Beta)
• Kasharn Rao says it's Time for Tokyo!
• Alex Kivitz shared the Calling: Warsaw Live Blog
• Kasharn Rao has a Part the Mistveil Primer
• Daniel Yam continues Brute in Commoner - Part 4: Kayo
• Jo O'Brien writes about The Power of Equipment of Blitz

Podcasts

• The M-n-R Cast brings us The M-n-R Cast: Mistveil First Impressions
• Instant Speed: A Flesh and Blood Podcast asks Who is Joe Sapp, The Fixer?! Instant Speed Podcast
• Runaways Podcast shared Runaways Podcast Episode 23: What's Nuu with MST
• Red Zone Rogue discusses NEW FAB MERCH, NEW FAB SPOILERS > Living Legends Podcast Ep 99
• Flesh and Pod posted Flesh and Pod Episode 127: No Such Thing as Bad Content
• The Attack Action Podcast brings us Episode 88: All You Need to Know About Cube with OK&Y A Flesh and Blood TCG Podcast
• Fresh and Buds discusses 143. Going the Distance with Precons w/ Mister Viz Flesh and Blood TCG
• Siblings in Cardboard - A Flesh and Blood Podcast asks What Do We Do About Kayo? Siblings in Cardboard Podcast Episode 36
• FaBcast der Flesh and Blood Podcast bring us PQ Season 5 und Prism Update - FaBcast - der Flesh and Blood Podcast Folge #100
• Pitch It To Me Podcast explores Ep. 39: Power of Precons

This was another long one! We know this can never be an exhaustive list and many of the creators listed above put out more than one video just this week so feel free to peruse and view past content as well.
Did I miss some great FaB content from last week? Share links and details in the comments below!

CURRENT AS OF 5/13/2024
Made this because I was bored and thought I'd put my love of lists of things to good use. Here's where you can find and farm shards for every character in MSF. I'll try to keep this current with new updates and any changes that occur. If I make any mistakes, let me know.
Table of Contents
Heroes Campaign
Villains Campaign
Nexus Campaign
Cosmic Campaign
Mystic Campaign
Doom Campaign
Heroes Campaign Hard
Villains Campaign Hard
Nexus Campaign Hard
Incursion Campaign
Legendary Events
Dark Dimensions
Scourges
Sagas
Trials
Blitz Store
Raid Store
Arena Store
War Store
Crucible Store
Orbs
Other
Not Currently Farmable
In-Game, Unreleased
Upcoming Characters
Heroes Campaign
Beast
Black Panther
Bullseye
Cable
Captain America
Captain America (Sam)
Colossus
Doctor Strange
Emma Frost
Firestar
Gamora
Iceman
Mysterio
Punisher
She-Hulk
Shocker
Squirrel Girl
Spider-Man (Symbiote)
Venom
Yondu
Villains Campaign
Ghost Rider
Groot
Gwenpool
Hela
Jessica Jones
Juggernaut
Kingpin
Kitty Pryde
Magik
Mighty Thor
Morbius
Ms. Marvel
Nebula
Rescue
Sabretooth
Shang-Chi
U.S. Agent
Vision
War Machine
Nexus Campaign
Black Widow
Bucky Barnes
Captain America (WWII)
Drax
Electro
Elsa Bloodstone
Fantomex
Ghost-Spider
Green Goblin
Iron Fist
Mister Fantastic
Mockingbird
Moon Knight
Moondragon
Mystique
Nobu
Psylocke
Red Guardian
Silver Samurai
Star-Lord (T'Challa)
The Thing
Winter Soldier
Yellowjacket
Cosmic Campaign
America Chavez
Karnak
Kate Bishop
Misty Knight
Nakia
Taskmaster
Thanos
Wasp
Mystic Campaign
Brawn
Doctor Voodoo
Multiple Man
Okoye
Stature
Storm
Swarm
Doom Campaign
Captain America (Sam)
Dark Beast
Loki
Namor
Polaris
Red Skull
Silver Surfer
Spider-Woman
Heroes Campaign Hard
Carnage
Darkhawk
Dazzler
Deadpool
Echo
Gambit
Lizard
Maria Hill
Mysterio
Phyla-Vell
Spider-Man (Noir)
Spider-Punk
Sunspot
Tigra
Wong
Villains Campaign Hard
Agent Coulson
Bishop
Black Panther (1MM)
Cloak
Dagger
Fantomex
Mighty Thor
Moonstone
Nico Minoru
Photon
Sersi
Sharon Carter
Spider-Man 2099
Strange (Heartless)
Viv Vision
Nexus Campaign Hard
Absorbing Man
Sylvie
Loki (Teen)
Thor (Infinity War)
Titania
Union Jack
Incursion Campaign
Deathpool
Iron Man (Zombie)
Kang the Conqueror
Spider-Weaver
Vahl
Legendary Events
Adam Warlock
Black Bolt
Doctor Octopus
Ebony Maw
Invisible Woman
Iron Man
Jubilee
Magneto
Nick Fury
Omega Red
Phoenix
Shuri
Star-Lord
Dark Dimensions
Kestrel
Ultron
Ultimus
Doctor Doom
Dormammu
Super Skrull
Mephisto
Scourges
Morgan Le Fay
Rogue
Red Hulk
Archangel
Sagas
Apocalypse
Trials
Nova
Black Cat
Green Goblin (Classic)
Old Man Logan
Blitz Store
Ant-Man
Captain Marvel
Crossbones
Deadpool
Elektra
Hand Archer
Hand Assassin
Hand Blademaster
Hand Sentry
Hand Sorceress
Human Torch
Iron Fist (WWII)
Luke Cage
Mantis
Maria Hill
Mockingbird
Namor
Okoye
Proxima Midnight
Quake
Ravager Boomer
Ravager Bruiser
Ravager Stitcher
Rescue
Rhino
Ronan the Accuser
S.H.I.E.L.D. Assault
S.H.I.E.L.D. Medic
S.H.I.E.L.D. Operative
S.H.I.E.L.D. Security
S.H.I.E.L.D. Trooper
Scarlet Witch
Scream
She-Hulk
Silver Surfer
Spider-Man
Spider-Man (Miles)
Spider-Slayer
Stryfe
Sunfire
Toad
Valkyrie
Viv Vision
White Tiger
Raid Store
A.I.M. Assaulter
A.I.M. Infector
A.I.M. Monstrosity
A.I.M. Researcher
A.I.M. Security
Agent Coulson
Baron Zemo
Bishop
Brawn
Cloak
Cull Obsidian
Cyclops
Daredevil
Elsa Bloodstone
Graviton
Hawkeye
Ikaris
Ironheart
Killmonger
Korg
Kraven the Hunter
Mercenary Lieutenant
Mercenary Riot Guard
Mercenary Soldier
Mercenary Sniper
Misty Knight
Moonstone
Ms. Marvel (Hard Light)
Negasonic
Nico Minoru
Night Nurse
Rocket Raccoon
Scientist Supreme
Sharon Carter
Spider-Man (Big Time)
Stature
Thor
Vulture
Yo-Yo
Arena Store
Agent Venom
Anti-Venom
Blob
Colleen Wing
Corvus Glaive
Dagger
Deathlok
Domino
Falcon
Gambit
Heimdall
Hydra Armored Guard
Hydra Grenadier
Hydra Rifle Trooper
Hydra Scientist
Hydra Sniper
Korath the Pursuer
Kree Cyborg
Kree Oracle
Kree Noble
Kree Reaper
Kree Royal Guard
Loki
Madelyne Pryor
M'Baku
Mordo
Phyla-Vell
Red Skull
Ronin
Shatterstar
Spider-Man (Noir)
Spider-Punk
Spider-Woman
Star-Lord (Annihilation)
Strange (Heartless)
Yelena Belova
War Store
Absorbing Man
Carnage
Crystal
Dazzler
Echo
Forge
Ghost
Ironheart (MKII)
Longshot
Minn-Erva
Mister Sinister
Pyro
Scarlet Spider
Sersi
Sif
Spider-Man 2099
X-23
Crucible Store
Abomination
Agatha Harkness
Black Panther (1MM)
Beta Ray Bill
Captain Carter
Cosmo
Ghost Rider (Robbie)
Hulkbuster
Iron Man (Infinity War)
Lady Deathstrike
Nemesis
Nightcrawler
Quicksilver
Orbs
Black Knight - Boosted Odds in Premium Orb
Kang the Conqueror - Boosted Odds in Premium Orb
Ronin - Boosted Odds in Arena Orb
Other
Hulk - Achievements
Mister Negative - Daily Web Free Claim
Wolverine - Daily Objectives
Not Currently Farmable
Cosmic Ghost Rider
Gwenpool
Iron Patriot
Juggernaut (Zombie)
Peni Parker
Peter B. Parker
Red Goblin
Spider-Man (Pavitr)
Starbrand
The Leader
Void Knight
In-Game, Unreleased (No Unlock Event Yet)
Daken
Pandapool
Upcoming Characters
Guardian
Karen Page
Man-Thing
Professor X - Dark Dimension
Sasquatch

Here's the first one from a two months ago (copied here because I can't find a linkable archive):

Developing Confidence & Self-Belief
...
One of my best-ever chess performances occurred under unique circumstances. It didn’t happen in a rated tournament, and I didn’t even play particularly strong chess. In fact, I don’t think anyone would predict why I consider this result so special!
It happened in London in November 2018. The World Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana was in full swing (the one where they drew all 12 classical games), and the company I co-founded, Chessable, was hosting a free 3+0 blitz event at the Battersea Chess Club on the evening of one of the rest days. My business partner, David Kramaley, and I were expecting 30-40 participants - mainly Chessable enthusiasts, members of the club, and bored World Championship spectators. So, we were pleasantly surprised and more than a little alarmed when 100+ players turned up that night! Much scrambling ensued as we tried to confirm with Battersea club management whether we could even accommodate that many players. Did we have enough boards? Enough chess clocks? Enough ‘Team Carlsen’/’Team Caruana’ masks (this was the theme for the evening!)? Nobody seemed to be sure, but we rolled with it. The tournament was delayed by nearly an hour. In the end, there were eight sections of 14 players each, for a total of 112 players. Each section was a round robin, with the eight winners advancing to a final knockout bracket to determine the winner. Five GMs and 12 IMs competed, including recognizable personalities such as GM David Howell, GM Simon Williams, IM Eric Rosen, IM Kostya Kavutskiy, and IM Christof Sielecki.
Now, I was tired. I had taken an overnight flight from the US, and I had not slept a wink on the plane. David had picked me up from Heathrow Airport that morning, and we, along with now Chessable CEO Geert van der Velde, had spent most of the day preparing for the event. I was stressed, sleep-deprived, and over-caffeinated from Costa coffee. For a moment, I thought about just assisting the tournament directors instead of participating in the tournament. But in the end, chess players play. So, let’s go!
The tournament lasted several hours, and it was a wonderful mess. With the influx of players, the overwhelmed Battersea tournament directors had no means of digitally pairing the event, so results were chalked up by hand on hastily-made crosstables. The club was bursting at the seams, with players packed arm-to-arm down long tables, frantically flinging pieces and punching clocks, trying to keep pace with the unforgiving 3 minute/no increment time control. Upon completion of a game, many players scrambled to the bar (yes, there was a bar in the chess club - welcome to England!) to grab a pint before the next game commenced. Chess at its finest.
Despite the chaos, I started off well. The atmosphere was competitive, but there was a jovial mood in the air (I think the masks helped with that!). At the board - playing the game I love in another country - my concerns melted away. I felt proud to have helped organize an event like this, and I was profoundly grateful that the attendees took the logistical difficulties in stride. I won game after game, and I eventually won my group, thereby advancing to the eight-way knockout that featured several of the aforementioned titled players. It was getting late, but there were still many players and spectators in attendance.
During the first knockout game (which was now even faster: 2+0), I had a small epiphany: I was in a flow state. Normally, I’m a careful, strategic chess player. I struggle with time management - a consequence of perfectionism and overthinking. That day, I was so tired and relieved that the event had not been a disaster that I simply let my hand do the playing. I was firing out my first-instinct moves, and it was working! I was ahead on the clock in almost every game, confidently executing moves through pure inertia. As a result, I was putting a lot of pressure on my opponents! In the moment, I recognized this flow feeling, but I resisted the temptation to further analyze or “capture” it. That’s the last thing you want to do in an immersive state; it’s crucial to just let it ride.
I won the first knockout game, and I next sat down to face GM Howell. David is an incredible player - a former 2700+ FIDE, three-time British champion who made Grandmaster at age 16 - but I remembered that he was also notorious for time trouble, and two minutes is not a lot of game clock to work with. Why couldn't I beat him? Everything had come easily to me up until that point, and I believed there was no reason why that shouldn’t continue.
We shook hands and started the clock. I played 1.d4, and David responded with a tricky opening, the Grünfeld Defense. I kept driving the pace, sticking mainly to the first move that came to mind. Move, hit clock. Move, hit clock. As a result, I built up a nice little time lead. My memory is hazy as to the game itself, but I recall that at one point, I was on the defensive and opted to give up my queen for a few of David’s pieces. Move, hit clock. In blitz/bullet chess the initiative is at a premium, and you usually want to be the one forcing your opponent to make the tough decisions. I knew that although David had a queen near my king, he was maneuvering this high-value piece in tight quarters, and I had several lower-value pieces I could throw in his way. Move, hit clock. Move, hit clock. In trying to find the best way to continue the attack, David hesitated just a bit, and his clock registered ‘0.00.’ I won the game on time!
Proof of time management: here I am with an extra 14 seconds!
In the final, I faced fellow American IM Kostya Kavutskiy. This game actually closely mirrored the contest with GM Howell. Frazzled but strangely confident, I resolved to continue hammering out the moves (move, hit clock). Feel free to watch what happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHeNkMroQCg (thanks to Eric Rosen for recording)
I had a promising position early on, but then I made a couple mistakes, and Kostya sprang to life, grabbing a key pawn with his queen. Although I was down a piece and fighting to defend my king, I held a 2-to-1 lead on the clock. Move, hit clock. Move, hit clock. With 13 seconds versus my opponent’s 6 seconds, I dodged a major bullet, as Kostya had barely any time to register that I had just made a huge blunder (see if you can spot it - 3:39 in the video). Like GM Howell, Kostya’s time ticked down to zero. I had won the game, and with it, the entire event! Needless to say, I slept very well that night in London.
Why do I call this my best-ever performance? Sure, I beat a few strong players, but I was dead lost in the final and probably getting outplayed in the prior game, too. Besides, the tournament was ultimately just a fun event played at a very fast time control. But for me, this was the moment where I fully understood what it meant to trust myself. In entering an event exhausted and stressed, and in giving myself permission to switch off the self-critical, second-guessing part of my brain, I actually achieved the best possible outcome! Performing in spite of adverse conditions felt like a validation of the tens of thousands of hours I had put into chess. It was as if my primal chess brain teamed up with my hand to let me know that even stripped down to solely my instincts, I was already good enough. “Hey John, you’ve put in the time - how about you let us take over tonight? Just trust us.” Autopilot. No fear (fear is a topic for a future post, by the way!). Enormously fun and liberating as well. I still struggle with my clock, but this tournament is always a useful reminder of my natural ability. It showed me that I don’t have to play clean chess under perfect conditions to win. I can win “ugly,” too!
We are all capable of way more than we think, and we often need difficult or even rock-bottom moments to prove that to ourselves. This is why I believe so deeply in my tagline: “Only through our inevitable blunders shall we pave the road to mastery.” But make no mistake: true confidence and self-belief are forged in the work you’re willing to undertake. I’m certain that lightning would not have struck me that evening at the Battersea Chess Club if I hadn’t paid my dues, and this is true of high performance in any pursuit. I love what Michael Jordan had to say on this subject:

"If you have doubt or concern about a shot or feel the 'pressure' of that shot, it's because you haven't practiced it enough. The only way to relieve that pressure is to build your fundamentals, practice them over and over, so when the game breaks down, you can handle anything that transpires."

Eliminate self-doubt through deliberate practice and repetition. If you do that, you’ll be poised and prepared while those around you are panicking and crumbling. And you know what’s interesting? The universe has a way of rewarding those who have done the work and possess the courage to bet on themselves. Jordan’s description of NBA “regular season” performers versus “playoff” performers highlight this sentiment perfectly:

"Some guys in the league right now, their regular seasons are different than the playoffs," Jordan explains. "Why is that? Because it's a different kind of pressure. Those guys, when it gets stripped down, don't believe in themselves. They aren't sure they can hit the big shot, so they can't. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy."

In chess and in life, you should always view yourself as a player in the game. You don’t have to be Kanye West-level irrationally confident, but you should believe that good things can and will happen to you. If you recall, this is what I told myself before that game with GM Howell! So, regularly engage yourself in positive self-talk. Remind yourself that you’re equipped to handle any number of circumstances. Life imposes a great deal of negativity upon us already - if we’re not our own greatest cheerleader, how can we expect others to believe in us? In closing, I’d highly recommend you watch this excerpt from an interview that 22 year-old Magnus Carlsen gave to Charlie Rose back in 2013. The entire 53-minute conversation is worth watching, but I was especially struck by Carlsen’s frank comments on the role confidence and optimism play in his psychology and his ascent to the top of the chess world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1EyeI9ahRg

“...I think you need to be absolutely confident, and I think it’s always better to be overly confident than pessimistic … if you’re not optimistic - if you’re not looking for your chances - you’re going to miss opportunities.”

At 2:35, Magnus reveals that by age 16-17, he realized that he would “...probably become the best at some point” (kudos to Rose for drawing that out of him), and he needed to make a mental paradigm shift towards optimism to drive that reality home. By the way, this interview was conducted several months before Carlsen defeated Viswanathan Anand to become World Champion! It’s clear that Magnus had already hard-wired his unequivocal self-belief. I hope this post inspires you to cultivate/refine your personal convictions. It’s far more than a platitude (“just be confident”); it’s about developing core self-belief through introspection and hard work. And when things get tough (and they will!), lean into those down moments. Be grateful for them. After all, you’re about to discover who you really are!

The second one is archived and readable on the browser here: https://r.news.johnbartholomewchess.com/mk/msh/1f8JAEjGcfF85zTdQ93UiM3ZzT/_15S6dm-Vblj
You can subscribe here: https://johnbartholomewchess.com/the-chess-mindset-newsletter-im-john-bartholomew/

Round 2 of the NBA playoffs has been a blast so far, and several series have the chance to go the distance. While injuries and three-point variance remain the two most important explanatory variables for why any given series is the way it is, those are boring to talk about! There are other factors worth examining, as well.
As I did for Round 1, I’ve cherry-picked some numbers that tell an interesting story explaining the current state of each contest. These are not always the most important stats (which are well-covered pretty much everywhere), but they’re all illuminating in their own way.
[Hello, everyone! Thanks for reading! As I did for Round 1 and all my other posts, I've collected a bunch of illustrative video clips that can be found in-context here or linked throughout the article. I think they add a lot to the discussion. Enjoy!]

Minnesota Timberwolves — Denver Nuggets (Tie 2-2)

41 → 69

The Wolves’ ferocious defense found success in the first two games of the series by hounding the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray each step up the court. Jokic loves to grab a rebound and take it up himself, but he had to work to get past the pressure of Naz Reid and Karl-Anthony Towns. Meanwhile, Murray could barely move around the tentacles of Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker: [video here]
The squeeze mostly worked. The Nuggets’ offense suffered, and Denver’s lack of supplementary playmakers and ballhandlers loomed large (both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson have been hobbled, and neither is a fantastic positional dribbler anyway).
In Game 3, though, the Nuggets made an important adjustment. They unshackled Orlando Aaron Gordon.
Gordon has become an incredible third banana in Denver by leaning into his strengths: dominating defensively while attacking post mismatches and lurking in the paint for dump-offs. He’s sacrificed usage for efficiency and team success. But Gordon was a whole ‘nother beast when he played for the Magic, a would-be point forward who foreshadowed the coming of Paolo Banchero.
It’s not like Gordon doesn’t do any playmaking anymore; the Nuggets love to station Gordon up high and have him initiate some action to get Jokic the ball on the move, as we talked about in the series preview. But after the Wolves’ tremendous full-court blitz in Game 2, Nuggets coach Michael Malone decided that Gordon needed to tap into his latent skills further.
It’s always fun when the stats so beautifully lay out what the eyes see. Gordon has seen a massive increase in his touches each game: 41 in Game 1, 48 in Game 2, 60 in Game 3, and 69 in Game 4, a whopping 46 of which were in the backcourt! For comparison, Minnesota’s point guard Mike Conley only had 40 backcourt touches in that contest; Murray only had 30.
Rudy Gobert has marked Gordon all series and has been excellent in almost all other respects (give or take an ugly end-of-game stretch in Game 4), but he’s the lone Wolf incapable of at least token full-court defense. Gordon is usually wide-open in the backcourt to bring the ball up. Even when the Wolves tried to pressure with McDaniels or others, Gordon easily powered through the defense. This is probably the lamest “highlight” I’ve ever clipped, but it’s important: [lame video clip here]
Think about the toll it took on the smaller Jamal Murray to do this dozens of times in Games 1 and 2. Having Gordon available to get the rock across halfcourt saved Jokic and Murray’s energy and helped the Nuggets find their offensive rhythm.
Shooting 11-for-12 in Game 4 was a nice exclamation point highlighting Gordon’s excellence over these last two games, but his gaudy field goal percentage overshadowed the important, quiet part: Gordon has broken the Wolves’ pressure. Minnesota will need to find another strategy to regain control of the series.

New York Knicks — Indiana Pacers (Tie 2-2)

44%, 46%; 31%, 37%

Injuries and recovery have been the game's name in this series more than any other. The Knicks keep dropping, while Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton finally resembles the superstar who tore up the league to start the year despite amassing some bumps and bruises of his own.
However, other variables help explain this tie, and I wanted to highlight one in particular. In New York’s two wins, 44% and 46% of their shots were right at the rim. In their two losses, just 31% and 37% of their attempts came around the cylinder. (For context, Orlando’s 39% was the best mark in the regular season.)
Shots at the rim are the most valuable field goal attempts in the game for obvious reasons. New York was one of the league’s worst at getting to the rack in the regular season (less than a third of their field goal attempts). But Indiana’s defensive philosophy all season has been to hug the three-point line like a toddler squeezing their Teddy. The Pacers allowed the fewest three-point attempts but, conversely, gave up the most layups.
This has been a battle of weaknesses, and New York came out on top — at first. Jalen Brunson repeatedly wormed his way to the bucket. Josh Hart set up an RV in the lane for Games 1 and 2, finding particular success in classic Hart coast-to-coasts: [video here]
However, things have changed. Hart’s parking pass expired; the Pacers have done a fantastic job limiting his fast breaks over the last two games. Indiana has also altered their halfcourt coverage, switching coverages on Brunson and helping more aggressively off New York’s ancillary players to bolster the paint protection.
The Pacers switched Brunson’s primary defender from Andrew Nembhard to the longer Aaron Nesmith in Games 3 and 4, and he was far more effective on the exhausted Brunson (who tweaked his foot in Game 2). Nesmith is foul-prone (and hurt his shoulder diving for a loose ball in Game 3, yet another ailment suffered by these two teams), but he has done an excellent job of navigating the endless array of screens New York sets for their diminutive point guard.
The Pacers have also been more comfortable ignoring Hart, Precious Achiuwa, Miles McBride, and even (foolishly) Donte DiVincenzo on the perimeter if it means stymieing a Brunson drive: [video here]
Of course, the sheer workload thrust upon Brunson and Hart is another factor in the Knicks’ declining rim pressure.
Consider this: Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson have run 32.5 and 31.0 miles, respectively, in these playoffs. Third-place Max Strus, for Cleveland, has only run 26.8. When we talk about players putting a lot of mileage on their legs, we rarely mean it so literally. And in Brunson’s case, especially, it’s been a lot of ground covered while dribbling under duress.
When the wheels start falling off, getting into the paint becomes a daunting task. Settling for floaters or pointlessly swinging the ball around the perimeter becomes the path of least resistance. It’s harder to muster the energy to push in semi-transition. But if the Knicks want to return to their winning ways, they must rediscover how to attack the basket.

Boston Celtics — Cleveland Cavaliers (BOS 2-1)

13.0

Cleveland has averaged 13.0 free throws against Boston’s ferocious defense in the first three games. Charlotte’s 18.4 FTAs per game were the league’s lowest in the regular season; Cleveland averaged 20.2.
The charity stripe was always destined to be a tricky area for the Cavaliers. Boston led the league in defensive free-throw rate during the regular season; they never foul. Meanwhile, Cleveland was a below-average free-throw team, even with Jarrett Allen. (It’s worth noting that in the aggregate, we haven’t seen fewer free throws in the playoffs overall, although Boston has handed them out at an even stingier rate than usual.)
But Cleveland isn’t forcing turnovers, getting in transition, or snagging offensive rebounds. These actions generate lots of buckets in and of themselves but also typically lead to free throws at a high rate. Instead, the only points Cleveland has generated have been in the halfcourt, where they’ve been shockingly effective thanks to Mitchell’s brilliance — a 102.4 offensive rating, which would have been a top-five mark in the regular season.
But scoring in the congested mud of the halfcourt is the hardest thing to do at a high level. Against a defense as good as Boston’s, you can’t expect to survive without finding easier ways to get points, and free throws are the easiest. I don’t expect the Cavaliers to suddenly launch themselves at the rim and earn a barrage of freebies, but it would be nice to see someone besides Mitchell test the defense. Darius Garland only has two free throws in three games!
I don’t want to blame the Cavs when the real story is Boston’s defense, which has shown remarkable discipline all season. The intelligence of their collective defenders is most evident in their ability to slow offenses without fouling. Even their weakest link, Al Horford, has made a living avoiding foul trouble — he’s been in the 90th percentile or higher for foul avoidance every year since 2011. That’s wild.
Cleveland has put up a fight, but they need a whole lot to go right to win three of the next four games. Manufacturing a few freebies would be a big step in the right direction.

Oklahoma City Thunder — Dallas Mavericks (DAL 2-1)

26

If I had told you before the series started that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be outscoring Luka Doncic by a huge margin and Jalen Williams would have a slight edge on Kyrie Irving, you’d probably be feeling pretty good about the Thunder’s odds.
But after averaging 4.4 made baskets per game in the regular season, PJ Washington has doubled that this series, knocking in 26 of his 48 attempts (14 of which were triples). He’s driven the Mavericks to a 2-1 series lead thanks to back-to-back 29- and 27-point games.
It’s not like Washington can’t score; he dropped 43 earlier this year for Charlotte and had 32 in a two-point win over Golden State in April. But his jumper had been shaky for most of his short Dallas tenure. Oklahoma City wanted to test Washington’s nerve by leaving him wide open to further load up on Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.
The Thunder’s typical defensive strategy is to put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on weaker offensive players to let him play free safety in the passing lanes. He’s had the Washington assignment for much of the series and has ignored him to help in the paint. The ball has found Washington (and then the bottom of the net) every time: [video here]
While the threes punishing SGA’s roaming tendencies are massive, Washington has also had success with his floater game and some bully ball. In the scant minutes OKC’s Josh Giddey has played this series, Washington feasted: [video here]
Washington’s defense has shone since the moment he stepped onto the tarmac at DFW, but there were questions about whether his offense would translate to the playoffs. In this series, at least so far, he’s had every answer.

Shipping is not included unless noted. Please offer on bundles, I'm really inclined to move as much of this stuff as I possibly can and will offer better deals the more you buy.
On everything $5 & under, consider it 3 for $10, 5 for $15, 20 for $50

Title	CIB/loose	Price/Notes
Console Dreamcast	Loose	$70 - Yellowed, but works great. Includes A/V and power cords, as well as one OEM controller. Sold to CronoGod
3 controllers	Loose	$20 each - 2 white OEM, one green Performance-branded
2 OEM VMUs	Loose	$20 each - One green, one white Green sold to CronoGod
Memory card	Loose	$10 - Performance-brand
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command	Loose	$15 - Good condition Sold to CronoGod
Centipede	Loose	$6 - Good condition
Chicken Run	CIB	$13 - Good condition
Crazy Taxi	CIB	$20 - Sega All Stars
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX	CIB	$6 - Good condition
Disney’s Dinosaur	CIB	$13 - Good condition
Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000	Loose	$8 - Good condition
NFL Blitz 2001	CIB	$35 - Good condition
Quake 3 Arena	CIB	$20 - Good condition
Resident Evil CODE Veronica	Loose	$20 - Includes both discs in a kind of broken jewel case thing
Sega Bass Fishing	CIB	$8 - Sega All Stars
Sega Smash Pack Volume 1	Loose	$10 - Includes case, no manual, decent condition
Shenmue	CIB	$30 - Cracked bottom of jewel case (the plastic piece)
Skies of Arcadia	CIB	$125 - Excellent condition Sold elsewhere
SnoCross Championship Racing	CIB	$10 - Good condition
Sonic Adventure	CIB	$45 - Sega All Stars Sold elsewhere
Sonic Adventure 2	Includes case, no manual	$110 - Good condition, no manual/cover art Sold elsewhere
Tomb Raider: Chronicles	CIB	$18 - Good condition
Vigilante 8 2nd Offense	CIB	$22 - Good condition
Virtua Fighter 3tb	Loose	$15 - Good condition

Pics of Dreamcast stuff here, please request more as needed. Local pickup is great, also able to ship.

All clean, but untested (I don't have a Saturn console)

Title	Notes	Price
Bootleg Sampler	Loose	$5
Iron Man X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal	Loose	$10
Sega Worldwide Soccer ‘97	Loose	$8
Tomb Raider	Loose	$15
Virtua Cop	Loose	$5
World Series Baseball ‘98	Loose	$8

Title	Console	Price/notes
Bandai Golf Pebble Beach Challenge	NES	$3
Days of Thunder	NES	$8
Double Dribble	NES	$6
Knight Rider	NES	$10 Pics
Side Pocket	NES	$7
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World	NES	$12 Pics
Slalom	NES	$8

Title	Console	Price/notes
D Force	SNES	$8
Frogger	SNES	$10
Metal Combat	SNES	$10 Pics
MVP Baseball	SNES	$5
NBA Live 95	SNES	$5
Tuff E Nuff	SNES	$12 Pics

2 SNS-001 Consoles For Parts/Not Working 2 For Parts/Not Working consoles that have been broken down, including one housing (has some chips/cracks), 2 motherboards, all components, however some are guaranteed to not work. The boards themselves may have additional issues beyond the removed chips, I have no way to test or check them. Neither of these motherboards work. Both of them were giving different graphical issues on the screen, so I thought I'd be clever and try to swap some chips around, but found out as I was doing it that I have no experience with it and was in way over my head. I do not know if there are working chips here to even create one working SNES, as far as I'm aware all of the graphics chips/etc. are bad. Pics here $35

Title	Console	Price/notes
A Bug's Life	GB	$5
All-Star Baseball 2000	GBC	$5
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3	GBC	$5 - Bad label
Demon Driver	GBA	$6
Rayman Advance	GBA	$8
Smuggler's Run	GBA	$4
Treasure Planet	GBA	$5
Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002	GBA	$3
World Tennis Stars	GBA	$3

Feel free to take all Game Boy/ColoAdvance games for $30+shipping

Title	Console	Price/notes
Barbie: Jet, Set & Style	NDS	$3 - Loose
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow	NDS	$25 - Loose, no label, authentic
Deal or No Deal	NDS	$4 - CIB
Games Around the World	NDS	$4 - CIB
Horsez	NDS	$4 - CIB
Imagine: Fashion Designer	NDS	$4 - CIB
Imagine: Fashion Stylist	NDS	$4 - CIB
Jeopardy	NDS	$5 - CIB
MahJong Quest	NDS	$4 - CIB
My Farm	NDS	$4 - CIB
Pictionary	NDS	$5 - Sealed
Winx Club Magical Fairy Party	NDS	$7 - CIB
Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop	3DS	$20 - CIB
Harvest Moon 3D: The Lost Valley	3DS	$20 - Loose

Title	Console	Price/notes
Accessory Gibson Les Paul	360	$65 - Tested, sometimes the green button needs to be pressed hard. I should probably just open it up and clean up the pad, but there's a chance the rubber is just wearing out, as it tends to do.
Accessory OEM Controller	Xbox	$10 - have 2, both model S for original Xbox, both have breakaway cables
Burnout 3	Xbox	$8
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One	Xbox	$5
Gun	Xbox	$5
Juiced	Xbox	$6
Superman Returns	Xbox	$5
Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict	Xbox	$5
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	360	$6
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	360	$6
Ghost Recon 2	360	$5
Guitar Hero 2	360	$10
Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock	360	$10
Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock	360	$10
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith	360	$15
MLB 2K9	360	$5
NBA 2K12	360	$5
Ridge Racer 6	360	$10 Pics

Please note - most of these games are not complete - either missing manual, replacement case/cover art, or loose disc. Please check with me if you're curious.

Title	Console	Price/notes
Treasures of the Deep	PS1	$15 - CIB
Wargames: Defcon 1	PS1	$12 - CIB
Warhawk	PS1	$12 - CIB, longbox, not in great shape
American Chopper	PS2	$4 - CIB
Arctic Thunder	PS2	$8 - CIB
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005	PS2	$3 - CIB
Call of Duty: Finest Hour	PS2	$4 - CIB
Call of Duty: Finest Hour	PS2	$4 - CIB
Crash n' Burn	Ps2	$8 - CIB
Eragon	PS2	$4 - CIB
Flatout	PS2	$8 - CIB
Flatout	PS2	$5 - Loose
The Getaway	PS2	$8 - CIB
The Getaway	PS2	$4 - Loose
Gran Turismo 3	PS2	$5 - GH CIB
Guitar Hero 2	PS2	$4 - CIB
Hitman 2	PS2	$5 - CIB
IHRA Drag Racing 2	PS2	$3 - CIB
Kingdom Hearts 2	PS2	$5 - Loose
Madden 07	PS2	$3 - CIB
MX vs ATV	PS2	$3 - Loose
NAMCO Museum	PS2	$7 - GH CIB
NBA 2K9	PS2	$5 - CIB
PopCap Hits Vol. 1	PS2	$5 - CIB
Rise to Honor	PS2	$8 - CIB
Smuggler's Run	PS2	$8 - CIB
SOCOM 2	PS2	$5 - CIB
Splinter Cell	PS2	$4 - CIB
Starksy & Hutch	PS2	$5 - CIB
Strike Force Bowling	PS2	$4 - CIB
Tetris Worlds	PS2	$5 - CIB
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002	PS2	$2 - Loose
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005	PS2	$2 - Loose
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006	PS2	$2 - Loose
TOCA Race Driver 2	PS2	$6 - CIB
Trigger Man	PS2	$4 - CIB
World Championship Poker	PS2	$4 - CIB
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	PS3	$5 - CIB
Grand Theft Auto IV	PS3	$8 - Loose
Killzone 3	PS3	$5 - CIB
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe	PS3	$8 - CIB
Rocksmith 2014	PS3	$10 - CIB
Skyrim	PS3	$4 - CIB
Sports Champions	PS3	$4 - CIB

Title	Console	Price/notes
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga	Wii	$5 - CIB
Manhunt 2	Wii	$18 - CIB
The Price is Right	Wii	$4 - Loose
Wii Play	Wii	$5 - CIB
Wii Play	Wii	$5 - CIB
Skylanders	WiiU	$4 - Case
Skylanders	WiiU	$4 - Case
LEGO Dimensions	WiiU	$4 - Case

Thanks for looking!

I'm trying to blitz out getting through Spanish on Duolingo. My trial for Duolingo Max is coming to an end, but it seems best to leave it in place with a subscription. My goal is to get through the 230 units in Spanish and see where that takes me in learning Spanish.
I've seen earlier posts about people trying to set a pace of a unit a day. I was using the free Duolingo when I started, but I quickly discovered that the ads just slow things down too much. Plus fighting for hearts was annoying. Somewhere with either Super or Max, I picked up the ability to drill with the little barbell icon. This is very valuable to me.
I've seen posts from people talking about people cheating in leagues. Some of the posts talked about how fast someone was making XP. To give away my secret, here we go. This last week, I hit over 20,000 XP during the week. In the week, I knocked out my unit-a-day goal. I'm on day 18 and on Unit 10 in Section 2. Moving through the lessons rapidly causes the opportunities for the x2 XP period of time, which is 15 minutes. Once I get in the x2 XP period, I move directly to drilling. The "biggest bang for the buck" in drilling is "Speak." It's actually wonderful that this is the best pick, because there are many that believe that the weakness of an online app is not getting to speak.
When drilling when not in the x2 XP period, I listen to what is said, and try again and again to get my speech correct using my own ear for feedback. I try to imitate even the tone of the character (e.g., I drone on like Lilly, I try to be a little kid, I talk really fast, I try to sound pompous, etc.). But during the x2 XP period, I take off immediately and read the sentence. If I'm moving, I can get through the 10 sentences in as low as 32 seconds, but mostly a bit higher (e.g., into the 40s and 50s). There is some turnaround overhead in getting going to the next round of speaking (perhaps 15 seconds), so if I am moving, in a 15 minute period, I can crank out over 1,000 XP, probably approaching 1,500 XP. If there was a real battle to win the league, I can spend 100 gems to get the 15 minute period extended. I have accidentally pressed this button to extend, only because the software on my iPad has this at right about the same spot as the Continue button. So, getting to 20,000 XP for the week is a pretty doable thing--no cheating required.
The voice recognition software is a little weak at times, so when drilling, I know I missed the pronunciation, but the system gives me credit anyway.
The little three-star games off to the side of the lesson trail helps me work on fast-matching my vocabulary. The software is set up just perfect for me to fail at the very end. The company wants be to spend 450 gems or buy a package of 1-minute extensions, but I'm not going that far. My gems would be all gone too quickly, causing a need to actually thrown down real money beyond the subscription to get that extra time boost.
So that's my league strategy. This website is about gamification, and gamification is going to be something I hope causes me to actively engage in a big way in order to compete at a high level. But the unit-a-day thing is just a whole other thing. People talk about immersion as the fastest way to learn a language, but I'm not leaving home anytime soon, so immersion is going to be more of a trick than a travel plan.
So, here is my immersion plan. No, I changed my mind. That will be some other post. I'll just keep this as the post about setting the challenge for doing a unit a day for my Spanish learning. It's likely I could fall off the path rather quickly. After all, Section 1 gives the student a false sense that progress won't be that difficult. Like doing something like the Pacific Crest Trail, there are many that sign their names up at the start, but a lot fewer that make it to the end.
So, if you want in on this challenge with me, send me a friend request in Duolingo. My handle is the same. Start from wherever you are, meaning if you are on 43 units in, and think you can take the challenge from there, you are committing to being at unit 50 a week later. Maybe we will all fail to reach this goal, but maybe just shooting for the stars will get us to the moon!