Another birthday is now in the books. This one was a low-key affair (bigger celebrations are planned for later in the year but they are not in any way related to Magic or any other TCG). So back to the (big?) day. Much like last year (and other past years), the boys focused on Magic for gifts.

Before I explain Christian’s gift, here is some important background. First, while I recognize that Blue is probably the most powerful colour in Magic, it is not my favourite. It is at the bottom of the list with Black.

That did not prevent me from building a mono-Blue Commander deck headed up by Talrand, Sky Summoner. This Merfolk Wizard is all about casting instant or sorcery spells to create an army of 2/2 drakes. Logically, you would expect the 99 to come with plenty of both to overwhelm his foes with lots of flying threats. Maybe a Temporal Manipulation (especially that Frazetta version) or the annoying Alrund’s Epiphany? Or a heap of cheap counter and draw spells that not only stymie your opponent but also get you more drakes.

While Talrand has featured in a few rounds of Commanders, wins have been few and far between (but they have happened). And after every loss comes the advice to drop the many enchantments in the deck in favour of more instants and sorceries.

So, Christian kindly put together a selection of blue cards that would help my Talrand deck. Among the cards were Baral’s Expertise, Insidious Will, Overwhelming Denial, Pull from Tomorrow. A Mindsplice Apparatus, a useful artifact, and a Cemetery Illuminator were also included. As well as number of enchantments like Mirror Mockery and Monastery Siege (probably a sly shot from Christian that I may have too many enchantments in my deck).

Also included was a Mithril Coat from the recent The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set. It’s not intended for my Talrand deck but was a card that I had hoped to pull for my Ruhan deck.

And then there is Noah’s gift. It is a scrap of torn paper. It is a handwritten coupon for one free event (a pre-release, a draft or another limited event). Maybe not much to look at but an awesome gift nonetheless. While I know Noah probably scrambled (I’m on to you, Noah!), it is a great gift because of what it represents – A future memory of time spent having time with him (it’s explicitly called out after all). How cool is that?

All in all, a very awesome birthday. And Talrand will soon be upgraded and ready for another round of Commander while Noah and I decide which event to go to next.