Avacyn Restored Prerelease

Hey guys! Just a quick note to let everyone know Avacyn Restored is going up for sale THIS FRIDAY! I played in both days of Prerelease Tournaments and can say that it's one of the best looking sets I've played in (and I have 2 prior prereleases to compare it to, now.). I didn't pull any game-breakers, but hopefully in the few packs I purchase I'll get some of the cards I wanted. If not, I'm sure I'll be building decks around the other awesome cards in the set. I really want the three dual-colored Legendary Angels, but I won't hold my breath.

Converted Mana Costs (CMC) for the following (in case you don't want to click the links). If you actually want to know what they do, go ahead and click!

Bruna, Light of Alabaster [3][W][W][U]

Gisela, Blade of Goldnight [4][R][W][W]

Sigarda, Host of Herons [2][G][W][W]

If anyone can tell me what their nicknames are from and why they might be called that, you'll gain +5 awesome points with me.  I'm personally most excited about Sigarda.

Your [Planeswalking] Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Pirate101 Talk

I'm *always* late on the bandwagon with this kind of post. I guess I just wouldn't be me if I wasn't, just like a certain Necromancer wouldn't be herself if she wasn't always at least one world behind! For those of you who haven't crawled out from under your rocks lately, Pirate101 is coming. I've already added the link in the sidebar under KI operated sites. It looks to be interesting so far. Here's a play-by-play of my thought process as I heard about it.

Initial reaction:
OH MY BARTLEBY! A PIRATE GAME!

Followed by:
This feels a bit...I don't know...cheap. Recycling the 101? Using the same character models? *continues reading* Same universe even? Same lore..."we are not amused".

Followed by:
Ya know, re-using the 101 is a great tie in, and the same models and universe and established lore is a wonderful marketing ploy. I approve. It doesn't look turn-based. That's a plus.

And finally:
It's turn based. Wah. But it's different. I'll give it a shot, at least. Hopefully I'll be wonderfully surprised like I was with Wizard101. I just hope it's possible to get the same name and appearance. I have so many identities as it is x_x

And I've already created a new blogger for it, just in case I can't get the same name. I know I blog here about Star Trek Online once in a while, but keeping both games by KI separate (primarily because of the look) could be very important in not confusing people. If I can use the same name and appearance (physical, not gear.), I'll probably just stick with one blog. It'll change colors and titles, but otherwise will be a conglomeration. If not, I guess I'll be maintaining 2 blogs. I might, anyway. My URL is already reserved for it, and while I won't tell you what it is, I can tell you that you should expect many similarities between this blog and that one. A countdown to a certain new podcast is already up and everything is in place.

We'll see where the Skyways take us.

Your Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Pirate101

Pirate101...the second game by KingsIsle Entertainment to offer a family-friendly environment and turn based gameplay. It was announced on April 25, 2012. I heard about it over twitter. This blog, Through the Eyes of a Privateer, will outline the game and the adventures it holds for me. That is, as soon as I'm able to play it.  Here's to many adventures on the high-skys!

[John Lifeglen?]

I Bought a Pack...Say Wha?

Yep, folks. You read the title right. I bought some of the new Emperor's Attic packs and I liked it.

But John! You're so vehemently anti-pack!!! What are you thinking?!


Thank you, random internet personality, for voicing that for me. This is the first pack I've actually enjoyed. Why, you ask? It's all furniture (save for some seeds. Which are still sort of pseudo-housing). There are no junky reagents, treasure cards, gear that's no better than what I'm wearing, or over-hyped mounts and pets anywhere in it. Instead, we got over 60 NEW housing items, 8 of which are interactive. The Tag Game is in it, and while I didn't get it there I did win one from Paige Moonshade. Tag is AWESOME! If you don't want to test your luck with the packs, it will be craftable when Avalon hits the live realms.

That's really all I posted to say. This Hoard has my blessing. It's not stuffed full of all old junk that nobody wants or needs, it's not all filler. There are minimal old items in it (such as the Shrines from MooShu) and I can honestly say that I got at least 2 new items per pack every time, usually more.

Oh, and I'm going to open up my Sun Palace tomorrow night for a game of Tag. Possibly multiple games of tag. My Sun Palace is actually going to be a Headquarters for the Council of Light. It's decorated for the most part currently, complete with Aurum and Argentum guarding the gates (+5 points to the first person to comment the literal inspiration for their names, and +10 points to the first person to tell me which book series the names are actually pulled from). The house won't be completely complete until we can mount wands on our walls, but it's coming! I'm so excited and ready for it. Big plans!

So...Tag tomorrow (well, tonight). 4/24/2012. Let's meet in the Myth School Tower, Lincoln Area 1 at 5:15 PM CST. Teleport Bus will be a baby John Lifeglen (Do NOT report for impersonations, please!!!). We'll arrive at Headquarters at 5:30 to begin the game!!! Baby Lifeglen will be wearing a Plain Pumpkin Mask with Black and Orange Guardian Robes and Boots and wielding an Ascendant Staff. Hopefully he'll stand out enough to catch your attention!

Hope to see you then!

Your Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Branding Yourself

In an online community, it's important to broadcast yourself the same way through all of your platforms. In the Wizard101 Community, for instance, you should choose one wizard name and stick with it. Avatars can be different across the map, sure, but if you really want to build recognition it's important to build your own "brand" that you can be proud of. Some brands only require a name (aka The Friendly Necromancer) to have everyone on board as to who you're talking about.  Some involve a certain style about them or the pictures they use. Some (like mine) try to tie everything together.

By "brand" I mean something easily identifiable as YOU.  Changing your name constantly on Twitter can make it difficult for followers to know who they're following.

My brand involves a lot of recycling images and colors. My Avatar for Blogger, Wizard101 Central, Diary of a Wizard ConnectX, my Wizard101 Facebook, Wizard101 Twitter, and Wizard101 Google+ all use the same base image. My Twitter one always has the "Support Diarykids Twibbon" on it, but you can still see that it's me. My Signature on Wizard101  Central is made to match the current avatar. I've taken it a step further now, even. I'll update my Header here whenever I create a new set of Avatar and Signature pictures. My Google+ and Facebook cover banners will be getting updates at the same time. I've chosen a specific orange and a specific brown that I'll be using (for now, and it's subject to change) in everything that I do, along with choosing a specific font.

But that's just me. If you're random and like having all kinds of different things going on, that's not necessarily a bad thing. That's your brand, just like I have mine. Make it you. Good branding doesn't have to be cookie-cutter and perfectly matched up. Good branding says "Hi. This is something that [YourNameHere] did." and makes it fully obvious what else goes with your stuff. I find that easiest by giving it a common thread.

Be it a name, a color scheme, a general font or picture, or any combination of those. Make it you, because you're the only you the world has.

Your Friend Always,
John Lifeglen