War of the Spark Tournament

Like planeswalkers?  This is the set for you. Nicol Bolas (dragon below) is attacking Ravnica, and many planeswalkers including Ajani, Liliana, Jace, Nissa, Chandra and Jaya are opposing him in this epic battle.   There are 37 planeswalkers in this set ranging from uncommon to mythic rare, so they have varying strengths.  If that is not enough for you, there are even five gods!  You can attack the player or the planeswalker; choose when deciding which creatures are attacking.

Information about War of the Spark

• Mechanics: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/war-spark-mechanics-2019-03-31
• Here is a set review (note that we are using 6 packs; no promo cards) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkqMtU1S5Bk&ab_channel=MountainManMagic
• Card image gallery: https://gatherer.wizards.com/sets/WAR

Want to practice building a deck before the weekend? 

• Try Draftsim https://draftsim.com/draft.php?mode=Sealed_WAR

If you read this far... congratulations, hope you took a look at some of the links above, and you can also click on the pictures for official trialers for War of the Spark.

Final Fantasy MTG Draft Resources

June 2025

Here are a few resources to familiarize yourself with the Final fantasy set. 

• Draftism FF Set Review   The Set review is very thorough and isn't a video, the rest are YouTube videos.
• FINAL FANTASY DRAFT GUIDE! Top Commons, Color Rankings, Archetype Overviews, and MORE!
• Prepare for FINAL FANTASY Prerelease! Sealed/Draft Archetype, and Deckbuild!  Started after the intro. Note that prerelease you have 6 packs whereas draft you end up with 3 packs of cards (after the pass around), but the deck building is essentially the same.

MTG Club October 2024

How to Play Magic the Gathering

Learn to Play videos: https://magic.wizards.com/en/how-to-play 

MTG Turn Order Info graphic: https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/ghs7jx/mtg_turn_order_info_graphic_repost/?rdt=53091

Magic the Gathering Learn to Play Event 

Time:    Sunday, October 13th, 1:30pm
Place:    401Games Downtown (5 min walk from Bloor Station)
Cost:     $5  

Planeswalkers (players) will receive a play booster pack, foil promo & a starter deck.

Full Details & Registration: 
https://store.401games.ca/products/downtown-events-magic-the-gathering-learn-to-play 

Magic the Gathering Club 2024

   

Here is some useful information for our Rawlinson MTG club from the basics to tips for the upcoming  tournament.

Introduction and rules of the game:

• Basic and Comprehensive Rules 
• Turn Structure Infographic (more detailed than the picture below)

February 2024 Prerelease Tournament:

Prereleases tournaments occur just before a new set comes out and uses 6 booster packs to make a 40 card deck of 23 spells (including creatures) + 17 land.  Here are some useful links to get ready:

• Murders at Karlov Prerelease primer.  I suggest you watch the video, "Draft Archetypes of Murders at Karlov Manor!" and then skip to the section "Building a Mystery"
• Mechanics (special abilities) found in Murders at Karlov such as disguise, collect evidence, Cases as a new enchantment subtype...

Draft Tournament:

Drafting is way to play Magic where you sit down with other players, each with three packs of cards. You, along with everyone else at the table, open one pack each and select—"draft"—one card from that pack. Then you pass the rest of the cards to the player on your left until all the cards are chosen.  Then you do the same for the second pack, passing to the right and 3rd pack passing to the left.

• The New Player's Guide To Drafting Magic
• MTG Draft Guide
• What is a booster draft and how is it done? (This is based on an older set, but still relevant.)
• Online draft practice

Art Raison d’etre

I heard this question in an online discussion, asking about the value of art and it bothered me enough to make this post!  

• All forms of art develop soft skills required for successful careers such as problem solving, perseverance and concentration to name a few.  Here are more: Top 10 skills Children learn from the arts

• 9 Reasons to study art (in Highschool) - many of these apply to elementary students too

• Why study art? Tate video including the voices of artists, youth and major cultural figures

• Music IS Literacy (from MusicPlayOnline.com)

There are so many connections between math and art, particularly in geometry. Some art/math activities I did in the past are tessellations and symmetry drawings.  There are many other activities you can do:  

• Math in art - 18 STEAM projects

• Picture This: Using Art to Explore Math (and Math to Create Art)

• Popular art activities for Math class

Here are more links to the connection between Math and Art:

• Art and Math: Aesthetics of Calculations article

• Visual examples of math in art ttps://www.learning-mind.com/examples-of-art-and-math/ 

• Need a Study.com subscription - How Math Models are used in art

Art can be studied because it breathes life into all the other subjects in terms of interconnections and study skills or life skills.

Art is the foundation of our daily life as seen in culture, as well as all forms of online and offline media.

Art rounds out our life as a student, working person or real human being.

Art can lead directly or indirectly into a career or further enjoyment of life.

WashZilla.io

WashZilla.io
Part A: Look at the site, choose one:
__ it is a real product
__ it is a hoax

How do you know?

Part B: Look on the internet, for proof if it works or not.  (List 3 sites, and why you think the site/source is reliable or not)

Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus site

Website: Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus 

Website Exploration Questions:

1. What are some of the reasons why the tree octopus is endangered?
2. Where can you find the pacific tree octopus? (In which region, and where is it?)
3. Who created the website?
4. In the links, which conservation organization specifically mentions the tree octopus?