Hello! This is Oliver Tiu writing my first article for MTG Arena Zone. Over the past few weeks, I have won a MagicFest Online event and qualified for the Mythic Invitational with the help of what I have been calling the second best standard deck of all time, Jeskai Lukka. I figured it would be helpful to offer my thoughts on the deck to both those who wish to play the deck and those that want to beat the deck. In this article, I will go over specific card choices, a general idea of how to mulligan with the deck, and I will include a detailed sideboard/matchup guide.

This past weekend, I qualified for the Mythic Invitational with the following list:

Some of these card choices are pretty obvious, since theyre omnipresent throughout every Jeskai Lukka list. However, I will explain some of the less orthodox choices and why I believe that they are worthy of a slot in the deck.

4 Agent of Treachery

A vast majority of Jeskai Lukka decklists only include 3 Agents, but I have always chosen to play 4. I believe that having access to 4 is extremely important against Bant and the mirror, which are currently the two best decks in my opinion. Games in these matchups can go very long, since it is fairly trivial for both decks to overcome an agent or two with their own agents, and Teferi bouncing the stolen target. Therefore, you want to have access to four, almost ensuring that your Lukkas will have a target for his -2 ability, even very late in the game. Most lists play three in order to decrease the odds of drawing it but, against Bant and Jeskai, hard casting agent is a legitimate strategy that can swing the late game in your favor. If Bant and Jeskai somehow become less popular, then I can see going down to three agents, but I dont see that happening any time soon.

3 Solar Blaze and 1 Shatter the Sky

In the current metagame, Solar Blaze is almost more reminiscent of a Plague Wind than a Wrath of God. Against the two most popular aggressive decks, Obosh and Cycling, Solar Blaze kills basically all of your opponents creatures while not killing your own The Birth of Meletis tokens, Yorion, or Archon of Suns Grace post sideboard. In addition, it doesnt let your opponent draw a card like Shatter the Sky does. Although it is worse against the mirror and Bant than Shatter the Sky, wrath effects in general are not very effective in these matchups. As a result, I firmly advocate for playing at least three Solar Blaze as a concession to the various aggressive decks in the format.

I actually think that the one Shatter is the least important card in the deck, and I can easily see cutting it for a cheap interaction spell such as Aether Gust or an Omen of the Forge. I included it in case I played against an aggressive deck where Solar Blaze is not that effective, such as Priest of Forgotten Gods sacrifice decks, but those decks have been fairly pushed out of the metagame.

4 Castle Ardenvale

Many lists that I have seen only include three, sometimes even two, Castle Ardenvale. However, I staunchly believe that four is necessary. The card simply has too much synergy with the deck at such a low opportunity cost. Between the Triome and the Shocklands, the Castle will come into play untapped the vast majority of the time, and it provides an endless stream of tokens to fuel Lukka. In addition, the Castle provides a lot of value in drawn out games against the mirror, Bant, and Temur Reclamation, allowing you to put on pressure against these decks while playing a makeshift flash game. The tokens also do a great job of pressuring problematic Planeswalkers.

1 Commence the Endgame

This sideboard card is fairly narrow, not in terms of which matchups it comes in against, but in its specific application in these matchups. It is basically another copy of Shark Typhoon, but is much worse against Teferi and Narset. Now, that does not sound like an appealing card, so why am I playing it? Basically against decks with counterspells such as Bant, the mirror, and Temur Reclamation, Shark Typhoon is your best card thanks to its unique ability to pressure your opponent at instant speed while being immune to counters. Therefore, another copy of this type of effect is very useful in these specific matchups, despite its weakness to Teferi and Narset. It is a very high variance card, so dont get discouraged if you end up getting wrecked by one of these Planeswalkers while Commence the Endgame is in your hand.

3 Archon of Suns Grace

This is probably the biggest innovation in this current iteration of Jeskai Lukka. I previously played Dream Trawler in this slot, which has seemed to rapidly gain popularity recently. I believe that these kinds of Lifelink threats really help in aggressive matchups where a single Agent of Treachery may not be able to save you: from an onslaught of small creatures and burn spells. Additionally, Archon and Dream Trawler are fairly easy to hard cast against these decks, while Agent is quite difficult to pay seven mana for safely. The reason I prefer Archon over Dream Trawler currently is that Archon is far easier to cast, even though it is often slightly worse to Lukka into. Archon allows you to play a turn four Fires of Invention into Archon, which provides a huge tempo swing against aggressive decks where you can quickly obtain a favorable position on board. Most decks do not board in answers to Archon against Jeskai Lukka, so it is very likely to survive. Since Jeskai Lukka is already playing a ton of enchantments, Archon seemed like a natural inclusion. It also has great synergy with Yorion, since blinking all of your enchantments results in a whole horde of lifelink Pegasi ready to overwhelm your aggro opponents. Although using Lukka to find a four drop off of his -2 may seem a bit underwhelming, it is often good enough since Archon is just that effective against the popular aggressive decks.

3 Omen of the Forge

Having access to a two mana interactive spell against aggressive decks is vital in order to survive the early game against these decks. The three options I see for this slot are Glass Casket, Fire Prophecy, and Omen of the Forge. I dont like Glass Casket much despite being able to kill larger creatures, since it is sorcery speed. If youre on the play, you are not able to kill a two drop on curve with a sorcery, which can mess up your whole curve. In addition, some red aggro decks sideboard in artifact destruction in order to kill walls, so Glass Casket provides additional targets for these fairly narrow sideboard cards. Fire Prophecy vs Omen of the Forge is something I thought about for a while prior to the qualifier, but I decided that the upsides of Omen outweigh those of Fire Prophecy. Omen has great synergy with Yorion and Archon, providing a lot of free value. Fire Prophecy deals an additional damage and allows you to loot away excess lands or unnecessary Agents in hand; however, its biggest appeal its ability to kill a 3/3 Flourishing Fox on the draw. So, if Cycling significantly rises in popularity, I can see swapping out the Omens of the Forge for Fire Prophecy.

1 Fry

As you will see later, the deck is designed in such a way where the number of cards that get sideboarded out against the popular decks cleanly get replaced by an equal number of effective sideboard cards. The way the numbers broke down, there needs to be a card that can come in against the slower decks like Bant and the mirror that also can be brought in against Cycling. Fry fills this role perfectly, since it is able to kill Cyclings best threats (Fox, Lurrus, and Valiant Rescuers), while also killing various Planeswalkers and shark tokens against the mirror and Bant. In addition, you can use it to kill a human token in response to a Lukka -2 to deny them an Agent. While Fry is not exceptionally good in any specific matchup, it is a crucial roleplayer against many popular decks. I can see going up to two Fries if you can make space for it, since it is so versatile in the current metagame.

Thanks to the London Mulligan and companions providing a free extra card, I highly recommend mulliganing very aggressively in the current standard format. Cards like Yorion, Narset, and Lukka let you easily recoup the card disadvantage from mulliganing, so it is far more important to have smooth mana and a good curve than having an extra card or two. Many MTG players are naturally adverse to mulliganing to five, but in 2020, mulliganing to five is no big deal at all. I have won countless games on mulligans to five with this deck, and rarely regret my decision to do so. Now, Ill go over some tough opening hands and explain why I would mulligan them or not.

On the draw and your opponent revealed that theyre playing a Yorion deck.

This hand is obviously awkward since it has all tap lands, which has a fairly high chance of messing up your intended curve. However, the hand has a fairly optimal number of lands with all of the necessary colors (double blue, double white, and double red). In addition, Narset is a great card against Yorion decks since she rarely gets pressured and makes cards like Teferi and Uro a lot weaker. Therefore, I would choose to keep this hand on both the play and the draw, hoping to find an untapped land sometime before turn three between draw steps and the scry from the temple. With this hand, I would choose to play a Triome turn one, since the temple will be more effective the following turn when you know for sure whether you still need an untapped land or not.

This was taken during the finals of the Redbull Untapped event. On the draw against UW Yorion deck.

I would choose to mulligan this hand, despite it being a good hand if you draw a blue source in the first three draws. First off, the hand needs double blue to let you have a powerful set of plays on turn four (Teferi and Dispute), which is pretty unlikely. In addition, you ideally would want to have an untapped blue source by turn two, so you could hold up dispute for their three mana Planeswalkers. If you fail to draw one by turn two, you can easily either be out-valued by Narset or risk having Teferi come down and shut down your Disputes. For these reasons, I think this hand is too risky to keep since the deck mulligans very well. Even if your draws work out, the hand isnt that exceptional. I would rather go down to six and hope for a more stable draw.

On the play against an Obosh deck.

Once again, I think this hand is too risky to keep. Fires and Solar Blaze is the best turn four play you can possibly have against an aggressive deck, but the hand is too land light to ensure that. If there was a blue source here, you could spend your second turn cycling Typhoon for zero and have a better shot of finding the necessary number of lands. Hence, I would keep it if the Plains was a blue source instead, but would not keep this particular hand since you cant afford to stumble against aggro. I would rather be down a card but have a smoother draw against the Obosh decks.

Game one is pretty luck based; whoever is able to stick a Lukka into Agent first tends to win since there is not much disruption in the pre-sideboard games. Post-board it gets interesting, since the games often play out in a sort of Flash way, where both players are scared to tap out during their own turn since they can get their play countered and give their opponent an opening to stick their own threat. Therefore, cards that let you deploy a threat at instant speed, like Shark Typhoon and Commence the Endgame, tend to be very important post-board. Fires is a risky card, since your opponent can steal it and take advantage of it, but it can still be very effective on the play since you will get a full turn to take advantage of it before your opponent can steal it on their turn five.

The game plan here is pretty simple: just answer their creatures then use Archon to gain enough life to survive a Zenith Flare. You often want to Narset and not use her ability if shes under any kind of pressure. Keeping her passive ability around is generally far more important than acquiring more value with her -2.

I am honestly pretty confused about why this deck continues to be popular. In my opinion, the Lukka matchup is pretty even, but Temur Rec is quite weak to aggro and Bant Ramp. Therefore, out of the most popular decks, it has one even matchup and two fairly bad ones. In addition, the deck isnt nearly powerful enough to justify playing a deck that lacks a Companion. My biggest tip for this matchup from the Jeskai side is to just play your threats into their counters. You can get punished, but playing a draw go game against them is exactly the kind of game they want to be playing. By jamming your cards, you force them to have enough counters for all your threats, while not giving them the time to develop their sharks or instant speed card draw.

Im actually surprised that this deck has been declining in popularity, since I think PVs latest list that features Nightpack Ambusher in the sideboard is actually quite good against Lukka. They can play a very effective Flash game while also being able to play potent sorcery speed threats like Elspeth Conquers Death and Teferi. My tip for playing this matchup is also just to play your threats into their counters more often than not. Their deck isnt that threat-dense, so it is unlikely that they can punish you too much for tapping out during your own turn. Additionally, they tend to have seemingly infinite counters post-board, so it is very unlikely that you can simply wait and hope for them to put their shields down. Instead, I prefer to trade threats into their counters until they either run out of them or I can set up a turn where I can play a threat and use a Dispute or Veto to counter their counter.

Just survive their early onslaught, then stabilize and close the game out with Archon of Suns Grace. This is a very straightforward matchup.

Dovins Veto is good on the play because you can counter a turn two Lucky Clover. I dont actually think that this matchup is that bad, but the card Brazen Borrower is quite effective against this deck. Its important to actually put pressure on them, since theyre one of the few decks in standard that can actually go over the top of Lukka if the game goes super late, so I would suggest trying to steal their larger creatures with Agent, and then apply pressure with their own creatures.

This matchup is bad on paper, but the fact is that their deck is very clunky and inconsistent, so you can easily take advantage of these weaknesses. Just get rid of their power cards like Risen Reef and Omnath, then steal their sizable threats like Omnath and Cavalier of Thorns. If you can keep them off of their engine cards, its pretty easy to overcome their support cards. Fires of Invention lets you set up huge swing turns, that can easily overcome their extra value, through the mana advantage that Fires provides.

Read more here:
Jeskai Lukka: Learning the Second Best Standard Deck of All Time - MTG Arena Zone

The crack of the bat and the sound of little cleats is the soundtrack of summer, and if everything goes as planned, we could have Little League baseball in the coming weeks and months.

Theres a lot yet to be done, and far more planning before the games begin, but for 3,000 or more young people in Winston-Salem and surrounding communities, there just might be baseball this summer.

There are things we need to work out, District 2 administrator Vince Scanlon said. Were all waiting on what the governor says we can do and what the health department says we can do.

Scanlon has 16 leagues scattered across Forsyth, Guilford, Davie, Rowan, Surry, Stokes and part of Chatham counties. No two leagues are completely alike, and theres no way to set a single set of dates for opening day.

A lot, he said, will be left to the individual leagues.

Some have already made plans. Walnut Cove has canceled its season. Rowan County will start in August. Kernersville is looking at July 1, and Winston-Salem is considering opening practices in mid-June.

The unknown is what a season will look like.

Little League of America, the parent organization located in Williamsport, Pa., announced in April that there would be no Little League World Series or any regional tournaments before that.

It left open the possibility for leagues around the country, indeed the world, to resume playing according to local health guidelines and released its own 2020 Season Resumption Guide for local chapters to follow.

Carter Catlett, the president of New Market Little League in Guilford County, said plans are already under way for taking precautions.

We might start practices with the parents sitting in their cars, but well do what we have to do, Catlett said. We might have to limit the number of teams practicing, or with 12-member teams, we might have six in the outfield and six in the infield or groups of three doing pitching or fielding or whatever.

He said safety and cleaning protocols will be in place, from wiping down equipment and dugouts between games, if not innings, and keeping parents separated behind the fences and in the bleachers and away from the dugouts.

The main thiing is to just get these kids outside, Catlett said. They need to be together among friends again, even if its just to practice for a couple hours twice a week.

Catlett said he understands there are people who think Little League baseball should be the furthest thing from our minds right now, but he also knows how important it can be, especially in a time of social distancing.

I get it, he said. But Ive been in public service my whole life. I know what the priorities need to be.

All across America, youth baseball organizations are busy debating if and when to open our fields to the kids again. No two states are on the same schedule. Here in the Piedmont, no two communities are on the same timeline.

Scanlon said there are still details to be worked out about liability, insurance and potential refunds. He said all families would have to consider signing waivers before allowing their children to play.

And then everyone would be in it together, to open an American pastime.

Its hardly our most important issue facing us, but baseball is part of the fabric of communities here and abroad.

Were going to play Little League baseball this summer. When and where are just some of the unanswered questions right now.

Contact Ed Hardin at 336-373-7069, and follow @Ed_Hardin on Twitter.

Read more here:
Ed Hardin: Little League in the on-deck circle, waiting to go to bat - Winston-Salem Journal

Strong, shifting winds Wednesday drove a large brush fire in the middle of Silver City that officials say burned 4.5 acres in less than two hours.

In addition to 10 members of the Silver City Fire Department, a combined 37 firefighters from the Tyrone, Pinos Altos and Whiskey Creek volunteer departments arrived on the scene to fight the blaze, which Silver City Fire Chief Milo Lambert said started in the area of Canal and 20th streets, along Pinos Altos Creek.

The cause is still under investigation, and is undetermined at this time, said incident commander Capt. Nate Schwarz of the Silver City Fire Department.

A five-person crew with a Type 3 engine was dispatched by the Silver City Ranger District of the Gila National Forest, which also deployed a massive Type 1 helicopter to drop approximately 2,300 gallons of water to slow the fires progression and assist firefighters on the ground, said Marta Call, public affairs officer for the Gila National Forest.

The helicopter is prepositioned at the Gila National Forest Tanker Base at the Grant County Airport, where the Forest Service has a pumper stationed, Call added. Thats where the helicopter got the water.

All personnel responded from both our stations, and so did a couple off-duty personnel, Schwarz said. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation. We got the call at 1:50 p.m., and arrived on-scene at 1:57. We had the fire contained at 3:25 p.m., and all fire units cleared the scene at 8:19 p.m. We called it completely out at that time, and were still monitoring the area.

We dont know the cause, he continued, but were pretty sure it was due to misuse of fire. We have a state and local order in effect, and there is no open burning due to fire danger.

Schwarz said Wednesdays blaze was a perfect example of why people need to be particularly cautious about sources of ignition in areas known as wildland-urban interfaces, known as a WUI a zone between undeveloped and developed land.

There were no injuries among the public or firefighters, and no structures were damaged as a result of the fire, although Schwarz noted that several different neighborhoods were threatened by what he described as a very significant fire.

Houses and apartments off Pine Street and Kimberly Drive, Paul Place all were in immediate danger, Schwarz said, as were numerous houses and other structures along Silver Street and Maple Street, where dwellings back onto the undeveloped open space around Pinos Altos Creek.

As winds shifted around 2:20 p.m., large trees along the creek and in the open space began to catch fire, causing a handful of deer and other creatures to flee.

Pine Street resident Gerry Bartells stood on the bank of Pinos Altos Creek with some of his neighbors and looked southeast as the blaze crept closer to his home.

Theres a fox den right there, he said, pointing to an unburned part of the field, as a young deer ran in circles several times before launching itself west across the creek to safety.

Schwarz said that, fortunately, the wind remained predominantly out of the west and southwest, largely driving the blaze into the open space and away from homes in the Silver Heights neighborhood.

As the wind changed direction several times, however, and before crews had fully deployed on the north side of the fire, the large gray-black column of smoke and flames began moving toward residences on Oak Street between Silver Street and Pinos Altos Creek. Residents scrambled to move vehicles out of the way as firetrucks set up at the edge of the creek. Some Oak Street residents briefly contemplated evacuating their homes, but were reassured by the calm and collected presence of Lambert, who told them: Weve got this.

Across the open space that lies just east of Oak Street and the creek, Jim and Phyllis McQuaide were also getting nervous as flames licked the chain link fence on the west side of The Gardens, a gated community off Pine Street that they and dozens more senior-aged residents call home.

It was 20 feet away from us. We could feel the heat through the windows, Jim McQuaide said. The wind shifted it started going toward us and it got scary. We thought we were going to be evacuated.

When Forest Service and other firefighters arrived at The Gardens, began to extinguish spot fires and quickly fanned out to contain the main blaze, residents breathed a sigh of relief.

We are so thankful for the response from not just our police and fire company, but all the volunteer firefighters and the Forest Service, McQuaide said.

GEOFFREY PLANT

(Press Staff Photo by Geoffrey Plant)A Forest Service helicopter dropped thousands of gallons of water onto the blaze from a bladder suspended beneath it. Incident commander Capt. Nate Schwarz of the Silver City Fire Department told the Daily Press that the fire had threatened multiple neighborhoods and numerous structures, but no damage was sustained.

Go here to read the rest:
'All Hands on Deck': Cherry Hills wildfire under investigation - Silver City Daily Press and Independent

The first season of Below Deck Sailing Yachthas taught us a lot about life aboard the Parsifal III. The show's producers had a firsthand look at the yachtie and charter guest shenanigans and theteam revealed all in an enhanced version of Season 1, Episode 13that aired on May 4.

So what kind of secrets did the producers and crew shared exclusively from the episode withBravo Insider?

1. Honorary Yachties

Since most ofproduction also worked onBelow DeckandBelow Deck Med, they consider themselves "honorary yachties." They've spent so much time aboard these boats, it's only fair.

To really become part of the experience, producers hada glossary to learn as much as they could about the sailing process and vocabulary before filming began.

The creator ofBelow Deckis actually an avid sailor, too!

3. Hot Tub Findings

So, have any... odds thingsbeen found in the hot tub?

"People's dignity," say producers. Not the best find, but somewhat better than what we were expecting.

In general, the most common items charter guests leave behind on the yacht are jewelry, sunglasses, cell phones, and chargers.

4. Different Territory

"The tilting and tacking" is the biggest different between filming on a sailing yacht versus a motor yacht. "Also, the sailboat is much smaller, so everyone is crammed together and overhears everything," say producers.

According to the film crew, "Using the tender to run personal errands is 'the captain's call.'"

5. Ready for Any Emergency

There were a couple of scary moments in this episode. Producers confirm bees were indeed attacking on the show, emphasizing, "Somany bees."

But don't worry, no one got stung. Medics were close by if needed, especially when Adam Glickwasinjured.When Adam hit his nose, producers say it seemed"very bad he really smashed his face into that log."

For more producersecrets, check out "Episode 13 Behind the Episode."

And don't forget to catch new episodes ofBelow Deck Sailing YachtonMondays at 9/8c.

The Daily Dish is your source for all things Bravo, from behind-the-scenes scoop to breaking news, exclusive interviews, photos, original videos, and, oh, so much more. Subscribe to The Daily Dish podcast, join our Facebook group, and follow us on Instagramfor the latest news hot off the presses. Sign up to become a Bravo Insider and be the first to get exclusive extras.

The rest is here:
Below Deck Sailing Yacht Producers Reveal the Odd Thing Found in the Parsifal III Hot Tub - Bravo

This blue, white, and red deck is near the top of the leaderboard in Standard at the moment, and for good reason. The tri-color control system is a formidable thing to get around, filled with ways to acquire your opponents creatures and counter their spells. A lack of creatures means its a good, if expensive, pivot if youre looking to broaden the ways youre most comfortable playing.

The thrust of it lies in having three of the rare Agent of Treachery, a 2/3, 5-and-two-blue rogue that allows you to take an opponents permanent when it enters the battlefield. The Agent was introduced in the 2020 Core Set, and as the only creature in Jeskai variants, is an integral part of the deck in any version you want to make up, and will cost you nearly $10 to pick up on its own.

From there, a few commonalities emerge, such as the uncommon counter-spell Dovins Veto, which counters a noncreature spell and cant be countered. A fairly cheap card, this is one to keep an eye on given its usefulness. Theres also the rare sorcery Shatter The Sky that destroys all monsters with power 4 or greater, or Shark Typhoon, an enchantment that turns noncreature spells into tokens.

The lands are where a lot of the accumulated value comes from. The rare Fabled Passage, allowing you to put a basic land into play untapped if youve already put several lands out, is priced at $12 currently, or Sacred Foundry, which generates red or white mana, not far behind at $11.52. Raugrin Triome, a rare land from new set Ikoria that provides red, white, or blue mana, is slightly cheaper at the moment at just over $8, so its worth tracking some of those down in the new boosters.

Average Overall Price: $511

Read more from the original source:
The Best Competitive Magic: The Gathering Decks of 2020 - Den of Geek US

Entrepreneur David Politis witnessed the early days of cloud software a decade ago when businesses started accessing applications through the web instead of in-house data centers.

That led him to launch BetterCloud which helps manage an ever growing collection of apps that businesses now use, for a growing number of tasks, including email, collaboration and, increasingly in the age of remote work, videoconferencing.

"There was no Slack at that time, no Zoom, no Dropbox," he told Business Insider. "It was the early days of Google's G Suite. But we saw this was going to be a trend. People were going to adopt these applications. They were going to need new tools to discover, manage and secure those applications."

On Wednesday, BetterCloud, which has become a leading platform for managing cloud apps, said it has raised $75 million from investors, led by Warburg Pincus. The company has raised a total of $187 million from investors, including Accel and Bain Capital Ventures.

Politis said his team had been fundraising when the coronavirus crisis escalated, leading to the sudden lockdown and the sharp pivot to remote work.

"A lot of the conversations that we had paused, because many people that we were talking to were worried about the impact that COVID would have on the world, their funds and their portfolio companies," he said.

But conversations they had with Warburg Pincus in March led to the funding round.

"This feels like a business that is going to only get stronger, and with a bigger opportunity," Politis said.

Brian Chang, managing director at Warburg Pincus, echoed that view, saying: "Companies large and small are increasingly migrating to cloud-based productivity suites like Google Apps and (Microsoft's) Office 365."

BetterCloud's technology "is becoming a critical enterprise software category," he told Business Insider.

Here's the pitch deck BetterCloud used to raise $75 million:

Originally posted here:
The CEO of BetterCloud used this pitch deck to raise $75 million from investors including Warburg Pincus to help businesses manage their cloud...

This weekend, the ninth edition of the Duels of Runeterra tournaments took place. Europe crowned a brand new champion in MihommeMichel, while North America had its first hat-trick winner in Winding God, who won his third straight tournament in his fourth straight grand finals appearance.

Below are the decks the two champions used to win these events and our personal advice whether you should take these lists to ladder.

Endure Spiders

The Endure Midrange has been a tournament king in multiple community events and invitationals. In region-lock formats (where you can use a region only once in your line-up), pairing it with Freljord is the best combination and in this combo, the Endure deck is supreme.

The deck got a few new tools with Rising Tides with Blighted Caretaker and Fury of the North, but the playstyle has remained the same: play small tokens, apply early pressure, and then drop a game-winning They Who Endure.

Can I play it on ladder: Yes, but be warned that this is not a top tier deck, because you cant ban bad match-ups like Ionia controls.

Champless Burn

Playing NO/PZ burn has never been better, because you dont even need champions in the current meta. This was one of the most popular decks in this weeks tournaments and is by far the fasted aggro deck out there. If you enjoy killing people by round 5, thats the list for you.

Can I play it on ladder: Not only can you play it, but its a deck that will likely get you to Master once you learn its match-ups. The deck isnt as easy to play as it seems, but there are many games where you will just run over people.

Scouts

Scout decks are often the third in deep aggro/midrange line-ups as this one here from MihommeMichel. The deck has had fluctuating popularity and success but never truly disappeared from the meta. The Rally from Scouts is a great tool to level up Miss Fortune and theres also a lot of utility in the Spells, including Purify to deal with Endure/Ledros, Rangers Resolve to survive damage, and Relentless Pursuit for those turns when you need a third attack.

Can I play it on ladder: Like Endure, yes, you can play it, but there are better aggro/midrange decks out there, like the ubiquitous Bannerman. That said, if you like the playstyle, you will see a lot of success with it.

Vi/Heimer Control

Vi/Heimerdinger remains arguably the best control deck in the meta, edging out Lux/Karma and Ezreal/Karma by just a bit. Its a tournament mainstay and it often goes far into top 8/top 4, and here its even winning the event.

Vi/Heimer wins by the old recipe of playing spells and spewing endless amount of turrets from Heimerdinger. Vi is an additional control tool that can challenge and kill the biggest threats, while also being a threat to control decks herself. A complex, but powerful deck to play.

Can I play it on ladder: Yes. If you like control decks and dont want to calculate Ezreal combo damage or navigate the Lux spell management, thats the best control you can play.

Frostbite Control

Winding God used a Frostbite Control deck to win his third finals in a row and its for sure an interesting pick. The deck is quite unpopular on both ladder and in tournaments but it has clear power spikes when played correctly. It has a lot of stalling potential and absolutely destroys heavy midrange decks like Deep Sea Monsters. In tournaments, you can ban its bad match-ups like Lux and Ionia controls where its hard to level up Ashe, or Burn Aggro, which kills you too quickly, and have as free reign over the other decks as you can get.

Can I play it on ladder: Very ill-advised. Yes, there are people hitting Master with it, but the deck has a lot of very bad match-ups and its not easy to play by any means. If you like Controls, try some of the Ionia or Lux ones.

Bannerman Midrange

Oh, the good old Bannerman. Ever since BruisedByGod invented it, the deck hasnt left the tournament or the ladder meta. Its simple to play, has great curve, Vanguard Bannerman is still powerful and now you even have the Round 3+4 punch of Loyal Badgebear and Grizzled Ranger, which are so difficult to deal with.

This is by far the best midrange deck in Runeterra right now, and whichever list variation you will choose, you wont be mistaken.

Can I play it on ladder: Yes, absolutely yes.

Disclosure: The author of this piece is associated with the Duels of Runeterra tournaments.

More:
The six decks that won this week's Duels of Runeterra tournaments and which ones you can use on ladder - VPEsports

Axl Rose and Slash are asking fans for a little patience. Yeah. Yeah. / Vilhelm Stokstad, TT via AP

A little behind schedule as usual, Guns N Roses have postponed their entire summer tour, including the July 24 date at Target Field leaving only one Twin Cities stadium concert on the books for summer 2020.

Coming the same day Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy postponed their Aug. 11 show at the Twins ballpark till 2021, the GNR show will also purportedly be rescheduled. Axl & Co. did not specify if they, too, will wait till next year.

The North American tour is being rescheduled out of an abundance of caution, GNRs statement read. The tour was supposed to start at Summerfest in Milwaukee on July 4. Smashing Pumpkins had been tapped to open some dates, but a warm-up act had not yet been announced for Minneapolis.

As with most Ticketmaster-sold concertsduring the COVID-19 crisis,fans will have to wait until makeup dates are announced to seek refunds if they do not want to hold onto their tickets.

In other cancellation news, the Black Crowes also called off their Aug. 13 stop at Xcel Energy Center along with the rest of their tour on Monday.

By our count, that leaves only one big stadium gig and two major arena concerts still on the books for summer in Minnesota. The Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Poison date at U.S. Bank Stadium on June 27 weirdly still hasn't been delayed. Also Dan + Shays Target Center date already postponed from early April -- is still on the calendar for Aug. 29, and Harry Styles Xcel Energy Center show on July 19 still hasnt been formally postponed. Clearly, though, theres only one direction for young Harry to go.

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Guns N' Roses postponement nearly clears the deck of Twin Cities stadium concerts this summer - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: May 18, 2020 / 12:32 PM EDT / Updated: May 20, 2020 / 10:13 AM EDT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Its almost Deck season.

The Deck at The Gas House hoped to open on Wednesday, but said it was weather pending of course. With temperatures in the mid-50s, the weather has ruined those plans.

The Deck hopes to open Thursday now.

The Deck said there would some changes to the way things look and feel at the outdoor restaurant/bar when the season gets underway.

The Deck is going to be a little different for a bit. Please bare with us as we navigate this strange time together. We sincerely cant wait to see some lovely people! Better days will be here. Lets all be cool to each other.

In a memo titled Halls Plan of Attack, the Halls restaurant chain said last week it was looking toward better days ahead and rewind the clock to March 16th as best we are able to begin the process of reopen its restaurants to dine-in customers, and that will start with The Deck.

Were putting everything in place to get the 2020 version of The Deck up and running next week (fingers crossed) and lining up the best course of action to take it from there on the other stores, Halls said in the memo.

Halls said in the memo it was working through new requirements, processes, and business decisions that restaurants will have to address.

Were still making sure that we have everything in place to be certain that were doing it the right way, and not compromising the health of our guests and our employees, the memo said.

Halls is still offering carry-out, drive-thru, curb service and delivery from The Original Drive-In on Bluffton Road, The Hollywood Drive-In on Lima Road, State Street Prime Rib, The Commissary in New Haven, The Tavern at Coventry, The Gas House, The Merc, and Takaoka of Japan, the memo said.

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Opening of The Deck pushed off - WANE

By: Sebastian Morris 7:00 am on May 19, 2020

Proposals to construct a new observation deck on the upper floors of the Chrysler Building have arrived for review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. As promised by Aby Rosen, co-founder of RFR Holding and part-owner of the Midtown East icon, these plans comprise just one phase of his vision to invigorate interior spaces of the landmark at 405 Lexington Avenue with new restaurants, a food hall, and retail spaces.

Designed by Gensler, the observation deck would be constructed on the 61st floor. The existing terraces at this level are located on both the north- and south-facing elevations. Proposed modifications include replacement of existing terrace doors with new power-operated entryways with widened frames to accommodate wheelchair access.The illustrations also reveal the installation of 13 glass panels spanning just over 51 feet wide at the edge of the terraces. Described as a glass screen, the panels will stand approximately seven feet tall and will align with the top of the terrace windows.

East-West View of existing terrace (left) and proposed glass screen (right) RFR Holding; Gensler

North-South view of existing terrace (left) and proposed glass screen (right) RFR Holding; Gensler

Existing double-hung windows on the 61st and 62nd floors will be replaced with single-lite hinged windows. The existing exterior trim, however, will not be altered.

Renderings of the proposed structure from several vantage points depict minimum visibility of the observation deck from street level.

Street view from third avenue, one block east RFR Holding; Gensler

Street view from East 46th Street, three blocks north RFR Holding; Gensler

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LPC to Review Proposal for an Observation Deck at the Chrysler Building - New York YIMBY