There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
A lot of the lessons you learned here, like Lieutenant being very poor (looks great against specifically Earthshaker but not too much else) and no Vine Mare in the main were hard lessons for me to learn especially into day 2 as R or RB were 5 of the 6 rounds I ended up playing. I went 2-7 against those decks overall between having a poor plan against them and some disastrous misplays.
Miraculously day 1 I was 2-0 against Turbo Fog through some of the most wild games I could imagine playing. Playing around their removal even something like Settle can be a losing proposition regardless as with each passing turn your WP just keeps dropping. Against that deck I'd just say 'buy the ticket...(hope) to win the raffle'.
Thanks again, I really enjoyed your writing style and I look forward to finding your future Magic thoughts now I know where they are.
PS. Not a chance you'd remember this but you were my first opponent about five years ago in a GPT at (formerly) Comics and Gaming in Fairfax, VA. That was my first match in a competitive non-FNM type event ever. I'll never forget how you just absolutely crushed me and how in awe I was; I had an Elspeth and Brimaz and was playing without sleeves early into my time with Magic. Obviously I've learned a lot since then but I wanted to say I've admired your finishes from afar and always rooted you on and hope you continue to find success. Thanks for helping spur my competitive spirit!
-Ted