Journey into Standard (Brainz)

This past weekend I attended the Journey into Nyx prerelease at my local nerd store Gamer's Gauntlet. I ended up choosing the Green prerelease pack (Forged in Pursuit) as Gamer's Gauntlet was limited on the White packs. I opened some great, and some not so great, cards. I formed a deck utilizing two of my deepest colors, Green and Blue. Some of the better cards I opened, in my colors, were Fleetfeather Cockatrice, Prophet of Kruphix, Thassa's Emissary, Kruphix, God of Horizons, Hubris, War-Wing Siren, Chariot of Victory, and of course the Green promo card Heroes' Bane. Those are the cards that really helped to make my decision to construct a Green/Blue deck. They were also instrumental in assisting in my victories.

Some other great cards that I opened, that were unfortunately not in my colors, were Temple of Silence, Nyx Weaver, and Iroas, God of Victory. It is almost as if the Gods of Nyx were teasing me by getting my hopes up of going Red/White. I did pilot my deck to a 10th place finish in the Limited tournament at Gamer's Gauntlet.

Some really good new card that showed up at my prerelease were Godsend (which was pretty much unbeatable unless you had artifact hate), Lagonna-Band Trailblazer (which is surprising but it locked down the early game then became a threat with its heroic trigger), of course Dawnbringer Charioteers (which is the White promo that I wanted to choose), Brain Maggot (which took away threats from your hand until you removed them), Master of the Feast (which, despite its drawback, is a really powerful card), Silence the Believers (great removal spell), Hydra Broodmaster (massive body that can run the battlefield over late game), and Pharika, God of Affliction (which was in a very synergistic, graveyard based strategy).

Overall I think that Journey into Nyx will provide a much needed shock to the Standard format. I am excited to see the new brews that Journey into Nyx will bring to Standard. I am also excited to see what Wizards has in store for the next few sets that will help to define Standard. This week I will be reading all of Conley Woods' set reviews on Journey into Nyx to see what his thoughts are about the changing face of Standard. The single card that I am most excited for is Athreos, God of Passage because I have a deck he would be perfect for. I will leave you all with some cards that I feel will be awesome in the upcoming standard season.

Easing into exercise (Brawn)

Welcome back to Brainz & Brawn. Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. I also hope, since we will be talking about wellness, that you didn't go overboard with eating junk this past weekend. This week we will kick off the first Brawn section of this blog. Talking with my family over this weekend, I have discovered that a few of them have started their own journey to seek the benefits of fitness and wellness. They have taken a big step in becoming well and fit, getting a gym membership.

As the title suggests, this post will be about easing into the exercise process. I'll start by outlining a few very basic things we all should do become more well and fit. The first easy thing we should do is park further away at the grocery store, or any store. This simple task of parking, and essentially walking, a greater distance to your destination will help you burn more calories. Another thing that we should do is to take the stairs more often. Taking the stairs is a great compound exercise that uses many different muscles. Using the stairs whenever possible is a great way to assist in achieving your fitness goals. If you work on the 25th floor of an office building, for instance, I am not suggesting that you climb all 25 flights of stairs. What I am suggesting is that you start by climbing a few levels then take the elevator either the rest of the way or most of the way for a break. Then, once you've taken a break say to the 22nd floor, you can climb the rest of the way on the stairs. This is a great way to start exercising without a gym membership. Another thing we should do, especially pet owners, is to walk our dogs. Not only is this a good way to build our cardiovascular endurance but it also helps us to both bond with our dogs and maintain our "pack leader" status. If you don't have a pet then walking for even 30 minutes or more will help to assist you in obtaining your fitness goals.

For those of us who want a little bit more, we can do simple calisthenics (exercises requiring no equipment) at home. These exercises can include push-ups, sit ups, burpees, and lunges (among others). There are many different variations of push-ups that you can do to train different areas of the chest and arms. I recommend starting with basic push-ups. This usually means that your feet and hands are shoulder width apart. Then, keeping your back straight, lower your body to the floor and just barely touch your chest to the floor. You should keep your elbows near your side. Sit ups are also a very basic and easy exercise. They can be done by yourself or with a partner holding your feet. I recommend putting something soft, but not too bulky, underneath your lower back for some support. To do a sit up you should have your feet shoulder width apart and start with your back and feet flat on the ground. Then, utilizing your core, lift your body up till your chest touches or comes near your knees. Some people cross their arms across their chest and touch their elbows to their knees at the top. This is fine as long as you are not extending your elbows to touch your knees. For burpees, or squat thrusts, I have inserted a video that explains how to do them visually. 

These exercises and tips that I have explained are all beneficial to your health and wellness if performed properly. Always remember to keep whatever muscle you are training engaged. What this means is that the muscle(s) should not rest during the duration of the exercise. One last thing to consider when thinking about exercising or encouraging someone else to exercise is that everyone learns at their own pace. Starting off fresh or getting back into exercising should be a slow process. I can tell you all about the benefits of fitness, wellness, and exercise but it is up to YOU to put these tips to good use. Exercising takes willpower and YOU have to be the one to stick with it. It is in your best interest to be fit and well.

First Post (Brainz)

Hello and welcome to my blog Brainz & Brawn. This is the first post of many to come. I intend this space to be a creative outlet for me to talk about and express my passion for both being a nerd and fitness/wellness. I will alternate each week between the Brainz section and the Brawn section, unless the readers (you) would like me to mix the two subjects. The topics for the Brainz portion will revolve around anything nerdy/geeky such as: video games, Magic: the Gathering, computers, technology, or anything else I can think of that fits my passion for being a nerd. The Brawn portion will be posts about how to keep fit while still expressing both mine and your passion for being a nerd. These Brawn posts will include topics such as: how to do basic and easy exercises at home, how to properly lift at the gym, how to make the most of your time at the gym, some eating tips, and anything else I can think of that relates to my passion of being fit. 

This week I will start off by talking about the new spoilers for Magic: the Gathering's newest set, Journey into Nyx. I have been into Magic: the Gathering (MTG) since around 2009, although I wish I had found it sooner. I absolutely love getting together with my friends and playing Magic. I also enjoy going to my local store (Gamer's Gauntlet) and competing to win prizes. Mythicspoiler.com is a site that contains the most comprehensive list, and images, of the newly spoiled cards. Keranos, God of Storms, Iroas, God of Victory, and Godsend are the three cards so far that I am excited about. I feel that these cards will see quite a bit of play in standard. I personally want to create a deck around both Keranos and Iroas.

I plan on going to the Journey into Nyx prerelease event on the weekend of April 26th. I am not sure yet which color I will choose for the event based on these promo cards. I am leaning towards either White or Green at the moment, although Black doesn't look that terrible either.

Thanks for reading and be sure to tune in the following weeks for more exciting information about how we can find balance between Brainz & Brawn. We don't have to choose just one. Also, be sure to check me out on Twitter and Facebook using the links in the About Me section, and leave constructive comments.