Magic: The Gatherings Outlaws of Thunder Junction is arriving, and its time to look at the Commander decks. These pre-con decks are always quite interesting, especially when it comes to their themes. In this case, were heading to Thunder Junction, a villain-centric story focused on a band of outlaws trying to get one big score. That means the primary characters will all be fan-favorite antagonists from the MTG franchise.

I recently got to preview these decks alongside other members of the press to see what awaits Commander fans in Magic: The Gathering for Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Several of these decks look very interesting to me. Lets dive in and see what is on offer!

As is tradition, Magic: The Gatherings Outlaws of Thunder Junction expansion will feature four Commander decks. Most of these are three-colored, like the Fallout Commander decks, with one Red/Blue deck to round things out. You can see the deck themes below, with a brief description of each of them:

Desert Bloom comes with Yuma and Proud Protector, a three-color Human Ranger with a high mana cost. However, for each land in the graveyard, he costs one generic less.

His purpose is to help you flood the board with 4/2 Plant Warriors each time a Desert is put into your graveyard from anywhere. Thats right, Desert lands are back! Im curious about this deck, but the other ones felt more powerful to me.

Grand Larceny is more my speed - Im all about taking my opponent's cards and using them myself. This Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander deck features Gonti - Gonti, Canny Acquisitor. I love Spells you cast but dont own cost 1 less to cast right out of the gate for this 5/5.

This deck promises chaos in multiplayer groups. Whenever one of your creatures deals combat damage to a player, you can peek at their top card and exile it. You can then play it as long as it stays that way and use any mana to cast it. Thats interesting because it says 'play.' I imagine you can also use your opponent's lands that way.

Most Wanted brings back Olivia as Olivia, Opulent Outlaw, a Vampire Assassin in a deck focused on building lots of Treasure Tokens and picking up Outlaws. Outlaws are a new mechanic focused on a specific set of creature types: Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks.

Whenever one of those creature types deals damage, and shes in play, you gain a Treasure Token. You can also sacrifice two of them, alongside 3 mana, to give all of your creatures two +1/+1 counters for this Magic: The Gathering Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander deck.

Sadly, this can only be done as a Sorcery. Nonetheless, I think this will be an incredibly powerful, popular Commander in Magic: The Gathering.

Finally, the two-color deck, Quick Draw. This deck feels like it will require a lot more thought and planning if you want to get the most out of Stella Lee, Wild Card. She is all about getting access to more cards. When you cast your second spell each turn, exile the top card of your deck, and you can play it until the end of your next turn.

She also lets you copy an instant or sorcery - only if youve already cast three or more spells this turn. This feels like the more effort and thought you put into your turns, the bigger payoffs youll get when it comes to combos. I want to see her in Storm decks right away.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction will be released in Magic: The Gathering on April 19, 2024, alongside these powerful new Commander decks. There are plenty of interesting new mechanics, powerful cards, and more coming for players worldwide.

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Magic: The Gathering reveals deck archetypes for Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander decks - Sportskeeda

MIAMI Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said earlier in the week that our guys are not ignorant of how important the last few weeks of the season are.

Miami has little time to improve its position in the standings the 39-33 Heat currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the sixth-place Pacers. If Miami wants to better its playoff position, upcoming games against struggling teams like Portland on Friday and Washington on Sunday are crucial.

Were ready to go, Spoelstra said. At this time of year, were trying to play our best game to get wins, regardless of who were playing, how were playing, where were playing. Thats where we are right now. Were coming off a tough loss the other night. But the opportunitys still there for us. Thats what we have to just continue to understand. There can be disappointments during the season. Theres ups and downs. You ultimately are what your record says you are. But theres opportunities in front of us if we can take advantage of it.

But several key players are dealing with injuries, limiting them when they play or keeping them off the court completely.

Guard Tyler Herro is set to miss his 17th straight game due to tendinitis in his right foot, though he was shooting during Miamis practice on Thursday.

We dont have a timeline, but its definitely encouraging for him to get on the wood and try to get ready, Spoelstra said. This is part of the amp up. This is part of the plan. And theres a lot of encouraging things.

Forward Duncan Robinson will miss his fifth straight game due to left facet syndrome, a back injury. He was watching practice Thursday.

Right now, it has to be this idea of all hands on deck, Spoelstra said. But it has to be in an intelligent way. Were trying to get back guys out there as quickly as we possibly can. Theyre doing whatever they have to do around the clock to make themselves available. Ultimately, all of this becomes about committing to something bigger than yourself, giving to the team whatever you can give at this time of year. And then each case is different. Everybodys body is different. Everybodys rehab is different. Everybodys place in that part of the ramp up is different.

But its not all bad news for the Heat.

Star Jimmy Butler, who missed the Heats loss to Golden State on Tuesday, participated in part of practice Thursday and is listed as probable for Fridays contest against Portland. Forward Kevin Love, who has missed 14 games with a bruised right heel, is listed as probable, as are Caleb Martin and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

For the available players, the focus remains on the game ahead of them, center Bam Adebayo said.

If youre available, youre available to play, Adebayo said. If youre not, get as much treatment as you can to get back on the court.

The Trail Blazers feature a young team. Earlier this month, they became the second team since 1971 to start five rookies in a game (with a group that included former Chaminade-Madonna star Toumani Camara). Although Portland is second-to-last in the Western Conference, that energy can make them dangerous, Spoelstra said.

The one thing you can definitely expect is theres going to be a great deal of speed, athleticism, quickness, energy, youthful enthusiasm, Spoelstra said. All of those things, on any given night, can be extremely dangerous.

Chauncey (Billups) has that group playing really hard, and they dont have the pressure of anything. We have to continue to do what weve been talking about. we have to get a lot more consistent to our identity night in, night out, and be our best version also offensively (so) we can put some points on the board.

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Banged-up Heat have 'all hands on deck' - South Florida Sun Sentinel

Becky Lynch found herself getting physical with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio on this weeks WWE Raw. Mondays episode saw Lynch come out to interrupt a promo by her WrestleMania opponent, who had Dominik with her. Ripley said that Lynch has been too distracted by Nia Jax to focus on her and she deserved the proper attention.

That brought out Lynch, who went back and forth with Ripley about the latter not wrestling on Raw and what being a champion means to them. Ripley said that Lynch was a cockroach and that she wanted to see Lynchs daughter Roux, call her Mami. Lynch warned Ripley not to say anything about her daughter and the two continued to go back and forth until Lynch nailed Mysterio when he got in her face and then brawled with Ripley.

The two will compete with Ripleys WWE Womens World Championship on the line at WrestleMania 40.

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Becky Lynch Brawls With Rhea Ripley On WWE Raw, Decks Dominik Mysterio - 411mania.com

Summary

Captain Kerry Titheradge hints he may fire Ben Willoughby in Below Deck season 11. The Gold Coast-based Deckhand quickly rose to popularity after his debut last season. He earned his promotion and became the Lead Deckhand within five episodes. Unfortunately, Bens performance in season 11 has been slightly underwhelming. Over the episodes, he has made various mistakes and distracted himself with other things like hooking up with junior Deckhand, Marie Sunny Marquis. Most recently, Ben earned an unexpected promotion. He became the Bosun after Captain Kerry fired Jared Woodin due to his attitude and inability to focus on work.

Ben has yet to showcase his abilities. However, Captain Kerry has already teased that things may not end well for the new Bosun. While talking to Entertainment Weekly, Captain Kerry shared that Ben may not make the whole season. He added that Ben has come quite close to things not being good for him. Besides teasing Bens exit from the show, Captain Kerry also shared the possible reasons.

He said, I had a lot of faith in him to do that job, implying that Ben didnt live up to his expectations and made him question if he deserved the promotion.

Captain Kerry disclosed the real reason he chose Ben as the Bosun. He revealed, Ben wasn't my first choice to be in that position, but he does know the boat well. The new Captain shared that the Lead Deckhand knew the boat more than him. Therefore, he had no choice but to give him a chance.

Captain Kerry said, at the time, I needed the right skillset for the job, and that's what he had.

While the Australian Captain didnt say if he would fire Ben, he shared that his future discussions with him would be about whether he could handle the job.

Captain Kerry is right to doubt Bens skills. Over the years, many Below Deck crew members have become successful by concentrating on their jobs more than romance or drama. Joo Franco from Below Deck Down Under is a great example. When the Zimbabwe native debuted in the series, he had drinking problems. However, he didnt let the issues dictate his future and completely altered his personality to earn the promotion. Similarly, Tumi Mhlongo achieved the position of Chief Stewardess through hard work. She deserved her promotion because she was passionate about her job. Unfortunately, Ben has yet to improve himself.

Its hard to say if Ben deserves such a harsh punishment. However, he does need a lesson to help him understand that work is more important than romance. Captain Kerry knows that his new Bosun has potential. He also admitted to having faith in him, which proves he wants Ben to improve. Ben has a golden opportunity in his hand. If he can show Captain Kerry that hes ready for the job, things can go in his favor. Captain Kerry may even request him to return for future Below Deck seasons and make him his right-hand man.

Below Deck airs every Monday at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Below Deck is a Reality television series and franchise that has seen many spinoffs since its creation in 2013. The original series follows the lives of a crew that lives on a Superyacht called Honor and chronicles their experiences during "charter season."

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Ben Willoughby Might Be Fired In Below Deck Season 11, According To Captain Kerry - Screen Rant

Jill Zarin is taking her talents to another reality series but not for long!

On Monday, Bravo unleashed the midseason trailer for Below Deck season 11, which featured a familiar face in the Real Housewives of New York City alum, 60.

Halfway through the trailer which teases the nine remaining episodes in the season Zarin is introduced as one of the "original housewives of New York," as well as a charter guest with a few specific questions during a meal.

"This is a buffet," she says in the clip. "It shouldn't be a three-hour meal. Make it better."

After Zarin tells staffers that her "burger's cold," the trailer then cuts to a clip of Chef Anthony Iracane asking for a translator.

"Because I have no idea what the f--- is going on right now," he says.

While the trailer teases Zarin's cameo as a moment to look forward to this season, it also highlights some new arrivals on staff, heated arguments and even some impromptu dance routines.

The early look at the remainder of the season begins with Captain Kerry Titheradge reflecting on the "ups and downs" of season 11. "It wouldn't be yachting if we didn't [have them]," he says. "We don't do this because it's easy. Easy s--- is on the shore."

The trailer later cuts to a tense moment between stew Barbie Pascual and chief stew Fraser Olender, an in-car argument between cast members, and a few silly moments that could've made the blooper reel.

Eventually, the preview teases a new stew coming on board, as well as deckhand Kyle Stillie and Barbie's flirtatious relationship getting some air time as they're shown embracing each other.

"I really like Kyle," she says in the trailer. "It's just like a fun, flirtatious... whatever."

Unfortunately for the crew, the season may not end on a positive note for everyone, as the trailer also teases the potential departure of one unnamed cast member. "I've done everything I can for you to succeed," Titheradge can be heard saying in the clip to an employee. "The issue is you are not thriving. If you're not all encompassing, adding value to the rest of the crew, I can't have you here."

While the trailer ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, both Titheradge and Olender shared some insight into Zarin's Below Deck appearance during a conversation with US Weekly last month.

Shes sweet. Shes very lovely and very funny but demanding, Olender said. [But] all guests are demanding. Theyre charter guests and theyve got their preferences and sometimes they can be frustrating.

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Still, he added that the cast "had a wonderful time and we had that amazing beach picnic," while Titheradge called her an "honorary" crew member. When asked about her specific preferences while on board, Olender brought up the RHONY alum's ice requests.

Its going to be the ice," he said. "She didnt like any of the ice apart from a specific one. From a specific freezer. So we had to have a specific ice box that kind of followed wherever she went. I love it. If thats the biggest concern, then we should [be good].

Below Deck airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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RHONY's Jill Zarin Is One Demanding Charter Guest in Below Deck Midseason Trailer: 'Make It Better' - PEOPLE

For a game thats covered everything from Norse mythology to Japanese Cyberpunk, its incredible that Magic: The Gathering has gone this long without doing Westerns. Despite being one of the most heavily requested settings, weve never had a rootin, tootin cowboy set before Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

With it finally almost here, Wizards of the Coast has broken Outlaws of Thunder Junction out of the Sheriffs jail and ridden off into the sunset, letting us getting a mighty long look at some of the mechanics, art treatments, and Commanders well be seeing when the set launches on April 19.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction is the final set in the year-long arc thats followed Kellen through the multiverse. In pursuit of his father Oko, hes gone from Eldraine to Ixalan, to Ravnica, and now to the brand new world of Thunder Junction.

Thunder Junction was originally a barren plane, but with the opening of the Omenpaths after the March of the Machine, all kinds of folk from across the multiverse have settled here. Including, unfortunately, many villains. A ruthless and lawless world, Thunder Junction is full of too many criminals and not enough sheriffs to bring peace.

Thunder Junction is the first brand-new plane weve seen since Streets of New Capenna in mid-2022.

Of course, theres a bigger reason for coming to Thunder Junction: the Vault. Buried in the centre of the plane is a secret treasure that is sure to be the crux of the next big story arc, which should take us through to mid-2025.

Murders at Karlov Manor was fairly conservative in new mechanics, but Outlaws of Thunder Junction is going for broke with a whole gang of keywords not seen in the game before.

Partys back, but someone invited to bad kids. Outlaw is a batching mechanic, meaning it ties together already existing types under one banner, and then lets you do fun things with all of them.

Outlaw ties together five creature types: Mercenaries, Rogues, Warlocks, Pirates, and Assassins. The set is full of such creatures, like Kellen, the Kid being a Rogue, and Vraska, the Silencer being an Assassin.

One of the next sets after Outlaws of Thunder Junction is Universes Beyond: Assassins Creed, which could get a big power bump from the outlaw-loving cards in this set.

These creatures dont inherently do anything, but other cards will reward you for having them with buffs or special effects. For example, the face of the Most Wanted Commander deck; Olivia, Opulent Outlaw; will give you a Treasure token if one or more outlaws manage to deal combat damage.

In formats where both party and outlaw cards are legal, like Pioneer, Modern, and Commander, this mechanic could gives Rogues in particular a massive boost, as theyre the only creature type that is beefed up by both.

Finally, you can commit crimes while playing Magic and be rewarded for it. This doesnt mean you can do a cheeky bit of tax evasion while drafting, though; crime has a very specific meaning in Magic.

Any time you cast a spell or activate an ability that targets a permanent, their permanents, or cards they own in the graveyard or in exile, you are committing a crime. This means plenty of older cards also now automatically become crimes, which is the entire purpose of one of the sets two bonus sheets the crime-centric Breaking News.

On top of the crimes themselves, there are cards that care about committing crimes in other ways. For instance, Freestrider Lookout lets you go through the top five cards of your library for a land when you commit a crime, while Magda, the Hoardmaster makes Treasure tokens.

Kicker is one of the most successful MTG mechanics of all time, to the point that its a common joke in Magic that every other mechanic is effectively just kicker. This couldnt be truer for spree, which takes the idea of kicker and modal spells and makes them compusary.

Each spell with spree has two costs: the original mana value in the top right corner, and a series of extra costs listed in the card text. You must pay at least one of these, but can choose to pay for as many of them as you like.

Take Unfortunate Accident. You cant just cast it for one black mana, otherwise nothing would happen. You must pick at least one of its two other abilities and pay their additional costs as well, meaning Unfortunate Accidents actual mana cost is at least one black and one generic, and at most two black, three generic.

While weve had all sorts of Vehicles, from cars and trains to flying air ships, weve never been able to just ride a horse. Or, in Magics case, Innistrads Gitrog Monster.

To saddle a creature with the Mount creature type, youll need to tap other creatures for a total power of its saddle cost. This is just like crewing a Vehicle, but the big difference is that, as Mounts are already creatures, they can attack whether theyve been saddled or not. Instead, other effects become available by being saddled.

The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride lets you sacrifice the creatures that saddled it to draw extra cards and put lands into play. We can expect to see plenty of other saddle effects in this set, but Id personally love to see a way to give any other creature a saddle cost to turn Emrakul into a mount.

The final new mechanic of Thunder Junction is a reworked version of Kaldheims fortell. Like foretell, you pay a cost to exile a card from your hand to cast on a later turn. However, theres one massive difference: you get to cast the card for free.

Unlike foretell, you also exile the card face-up so your opponents can see whats coming.

You can only cast a plotted card on another turn, and only at sorcery speed. This means youre telegraphing to your opponents what youre going to play, but finding the right moment to play something for free can be devastating.

While there are costs that are the same as their mana value, and some cost more, the majority of cards with plot will be cheaper to plot than to hard cast. This also fits nicely into all those paradox-centric exile strategies that have emerged thanks to the likes of the Doctor Who Commander decks.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction is unfortunate because it has not one, not two, but three different subsets that can be found in booster packs.

This is a lot more than we normally get, but its due to the late cancelation of a March of the Machine: The Aftermath-style epilogue set originally called The Big Score.

The Big Score is now known as The Vault, and makes up the vast majority of this sets version of The List. These are all Standard-legal cards, despite not having the main sets OTJ set code, and of course can also be played in Commander, Modern, Vintage, Pioneer, Legacy, and Oathbreaker.

As this was originally its own mini-set, there isnt an overarching theme, and we could find just about anything as previews go on. The first card weve seen for The Vault is a new Sword Of card, with Sword of Wealth and Power protecting you from most crimes your opponents want to commit and also letting you copy instants and sorceries of your own for free.

Filling up the rest of The List are the Special Guests, which were introduced with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan last year.

Special Guests are reprints of older cards, but with new art flavoured to the theme of the set. Stoneforge Mystic, the classic Equipment deck staple, is now a blacksmith in the frontiers of Thunder Junction, and well definitely see more like it as previews go on.

The original bonus sheet actually intended for Thunder Junction, each and every booster pack includes at least one Breaking News card, and theyre all themed around the various crimes you can commit.

Anything that can target an opponent could be up for grabs in this slot, ranging from the simple direct damage like Clear Shot, to counterspells like Mana Drain, to even a whole Plainswalker with the infamous Oko, Thief of Crowns putting in an appearance thanks to his ability to steal artifacts or creatures.

Its only been a few weeks since the four Fallout Commander decks launched, but were already seeing our next batch of four thanks to Outlaws of Thunder Junction. There are a few neat surprises here though that set it apart from the usual set tie-ins.

The decks are:

Once the domain of booster fun and Secret Lair, the Commander decks themselves have been experimenting with including fun art treatments as of late. Fallout had full-art lands included as standard, and now Outlaws of Thunder Junction is making the face cards a bit fancier.

Each of the four Commander face cards are a full-art treatment, rather than the regular frame they usually get. We dont know if there even will be regular frame versions of these cards, as right now the only ones weve seen have been full-art.

These decks have an optional minigame to overlay your regular round of Commander, with bounty cards offering up a slightly different twist on the format.

Note: Like Planechase, Bounty is completely optional.

Youll need at least six Bounty cards (with each deck having three included), but twelve are preferred. Theyre shuffled into a face-down deck, and, on the third turn of the game, you reveal the top card to see a condition. If youre able to meet this condition, you collect the reward.

However, if you dont complete the bounty, its reward level goes up, the next player reveals the next bounty card, and they could try and take both at once.

The rewards you get become greater the longer a bounty is out, ranging from making a Treasure token to making two of them and drawing a card. Spread that out over potentially 12 different bounties all out at once, and it could be incredibly explosive to go for the bounties.

The bounties themselves arent too tricky, though, so theres a good chance your opponents could steal them from you. For instance, all The Outsider wants you to do is cast a card from anywhere other than your hand like casting your commander, or playing a plotted card.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction releases on April 19.

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Outlaws Of Thunder Junction Debut Story, Mechanics, Commander Decks Revealed - TheGamer

Summary

Below Deck season 11 is ending in the next few months, and season 12 isn't too far behind. The Bravo series began in 2013 with Captain Lee Rosbach at the helm. He was an interesting character from the beginning and made the show what it is today. Fast-forward to the present day, Below Deck is airing its eleventh season and has created four spin-offs. The show has clearly become a huge success and continues to be one of the network's top shows to date. What makes it such a success is its ever-changing cast, locations, and relatable workplace drama.

For Below Deck season 11, viewers experienced quite a change ahead of the return of the original series. Captain Lee stepped down as the captain following a series of health issues from the last two seasons. To replace him, they got Captain Kerry Titheradge from Below Deck Adventure to take his place. While the change was very jarring at first, viewers have been able to warm up to Captain Kerry quite easily. Since he is a familiar face, it wasn't difficult to get used to Kerry at the helm, and so far, he's doing a great job at it.

So far, there has been very little news about Below Deck season 12. However, there was some speculation regarding Captain Lee's return. There were several outlets online that claimed Captain Lee might return to Below Deck next season; however, Lee himself has yet to confirm the rumors. While many viewers would be ecstatic to see Lee return to Below Deck, that doesn't seem likely. Lee has said he was fired from the show, and it would be odd for the network to re-hire someone they just fired the year prior. If anything, Lee would return as a guest.

Below Deck season 12 has yet to be confirmed by Bravo. However, the network will likely have Below Deck return for another season as the show has done so well since its inception in 2013. Below Deck has been one of the best franchises to come out of the network since The Real Housewives. The show has provided drama, luxury, and more, which has enticed millions of viewers in the last 11 years. It would be a huge shock if Bravo decided not to bring Below Deck back for another season, especially since they recast Captain Lee with Captain Kerry.

If Below Deck does return for another season, the show will likely return sometime in early 2025. Below Deck season 11 premiered on February 5, while Below Deck season 10 premiered a few months early the year before on November 21, 2022. With the addition of Below Deck Down Under, Bravo's had to switch scheduling for the shows over the years, so it makes sense that Below Deck season 11 premiered a little later this time around. Since Below Deck Down Under isn't going anywhere, so Below Deck season 12 will likely air in a little less than a year from now.

As for the potential cast for Below Deck season 12, that is all still up in the air as well. However, it's safe to say that Captain Kerry will be at the helm next season. Even though there were rumors Captain Lee could be returning, those rumor likely stemmed from fans who were sad to see Lee leave the series. Nonetheless, Kerry has been the perfect replacement for Lee - Kerry is strict but kind and truly cares about the well-being of his crew. In fact, Kerry might be the best captain in the Below Deck franchise to date.

As for the cast members, Below Deck usually replaces most of the crew. However, Chief Stew Fraser Olender will likely return as he's been a fan favorite since he joined the series as a regular stew in season 9. Deckhand-turned-Bosun Ben Willoughby may also return, as season 11 was his second season. As for the rest of the crew, they will likely be replaced with new crew members if they don't make a splash by the end of the season.

Below Deck airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.

Below Deck is a popular reality TV franchise that focuses on a group of crew members as they work on luxurious yachts and cater to their client's needs. After the original series proved to be a success, Bravo developed a handful of spinoff shows including Below Deck Selling Yacht, Below Deck Adventure, Below Deck Down Under, and Below Deck Mediterranean.

The rest is here:
Below Deck Season 12: Latest News & Everything We Know - Screen Rant

Xandi Olivier has been a breath of fresh air on Below Deck Season 11. This season has been filled with drama, however, Xandi has managed to stay out of it. While Xandis fellow crew members have been having a hard time onboard, she has been chilling. Xandi is easily one of the most likable cast members on Below Deck Season 11, heres why!

One of the best things about Xandi is that shes so good at her job. Xandi is an amazing Stew, who contributes a lot to the interior team!

From day one, Xandi exhibited incredible skills in housekeeping. Housekeeping can be a problem for the interior team at times, but Xandi never fails to do it perfectly. Xandi cleans the cabins from head to toe, and never slacks on folding towels and tucking in comforters! Xandi also had a lot of patience with Cat Baugh, who struggled with cabins on her first try. Unlike Barbie Pascual, Xandi took her time and tried her best to teach Cat her ways.

Another strong suit of Xandis is table scaping. Xandi has already done several beautiful tables this season, and her creativity has shone through. Xandis napkins are particularly impressive, as she folds them into intricate shapes to match the theme of the meal. While Xandi may not enjoy being on service, her tabling skills never go unnoticed!

Another thing that makes Xandi so likable is her lack of interest in drama. The interior team is a mess on Below Deck Season 11, with Xandi being the exception. Cat and Barbie have been engulfed in a feud since the start, where both women have made mistakes. Chief Stew Fraser Olender has done his best to diffuse the situation, but ultimately just made things worse when he began having his own problems with Barbie.

Xandi, on the other hand, has stayed completely neutral. Xandi has stayed out of the feud between Cat and Barbie and has maintained cordial relationships with each of them. Furthermore, Xandi has a good relationship with Fraser and is the only Stew who does not stress him out constantly.

On nights out with the crew, Xandi is also a pleasure to have around. Xandi doesnt have issues getting along with anyone and never gets so drunk that she forgets how to act properly. All in all, Xandi is easily one of the least problematic crew members so far on Below Deck Season 11.

My downright favorite thing about Xandi is her wicked sense of humor. Xandi is one of the most relatable Below Deck cast members Ive seen in a while, so we have no choice but to stan!

One of Xandis most hilarious moments was her response to her tip money from the first charter. When asked in a confessional what she planned to do with the cash, Xandi responded Therapy and a chiropractor. After dealing with problematic guests as well as her fellow crew members, it is understandable why Xandi would need therapy! The chiropractor, Im not so sure about.

On the other hand, one of Xandis most relatable moments was when she discussed not being a people person. Xandi described herself as a vampire and even revealed that the reason she liked housekeeping was because it kept her away from the guests. On shows like Below Deck, we introverted viewers dont always see a lot of cast members like us, which makes Xandi so much fun!

Just when I thought Xandi couldnt get any better, she was seen watching crime podcasts during her break. While the rest of the crew worked upstairs, Xandi winded down by listening to a story about a murder. I love Below Deck, and I love a good crime show just as much! Below Deck crew members are usually caught up in drama and gossip, Xandi just wants to stay up to date with her shows. What a queen!

While there are not many crew members on Below Deck Season 11 worth rooting for, Xandi is one of them! Xandi is great at her job, stays out of drama, and is hysterical. What more could you ask for?

TELL US WHAT DO YOU THINK OF XANDI ON BELOW DECK SEASON 11?

The post Xandi Oliver Is a Star on Below Deck Season 11- Heres Why appeared first on Reality Tea.

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Xandi Oliver Is a Star on Below Deck Season 11- Here's Why - Yahoo Entertainment

Highlights

Science! is one of the four Commander decks released as a part of Magic: The Gathering's Universes Beyond collaboration with the Fallout franchise. The deck features factions from the Fallout series based around science, such as the Brotherhood Of Steel and the Institute.

Mechanically, Science! is a Jeskai (red/white/blue) Commander deck built around the energy counter mechanic. It is filled with cards new to Magic that are very powerful, enough to make an impact not just within the Science! deck, but across multiple decks in the format. Science! has a lot of amazing cards, with these ones worth taking an extra look at.

Sentry Bot turns a wide swing of creatures at you into a plethora of energy counters. While it usually costs a lot of mana, it can discount itself to potentially let it hit the battlefield for just one white mana.

Sentry Bot is a great blocker thanks to its high toughness, and it gives you somewhere to dump your energy counters into. While it can take a while to get to three energy counters, spreading +1/+1 counters to all of your creatures can slowly turn them into massive threats.

As with Fallout, healing with Food sometimes grants you caps (in Magic's case, turning into Treasure). Nuka-Cola Vending Machine is a great way to easily generate Food tokens, which can then be turned into Treasure tokens to help ramp you.

When combined with other cards that make Food tokens on their own, it becomes even better, especially if you have a way to sacrifice the Food token without spending the mana to do so. At its worst, Nuka-Cola Vending Machine has a low-mana investment to start generating Treasure tokens on its own.

One thing decks built around energy counters have trouble with is consistently having a source to generate them. Brotherhood Scribe is a way to counteract this downside by giving you an energy counter by tapping it when metalcraft is active. Since it only costs two mana, you can start generating energy counters early in the game.

Brotherhood Scribe's stat-boosting effect triggers off of any effect that gives you an energy counter, so multiple separate triggers will boost your creatures each time. The card can make your creatures into threats while loading you up with energy counters for later use.

Dr. Madison Li is the face commander for the Science! deck, and one of the best cards in the deck. All artifact spells you cast turn into energy counters being put on you, even if they get countered. It also acts as a way to sink your energy counters into.

None of Dr. Madison Li's effects use mana to cast, so as long as you have the energy counters to pay, you can use any of them depending on what you need for the gamestate. Dr. Madison Li easily generates energy counters on its own thanks to its static, so you'll always have energy counters as long as you have artifacts to cast.

Rex, Cyber-Hound can easily gain many activated abilities of any card in the graveyard with its effect. When it deals combat damage, the effect that triggers helps to use Rex's other ability to always have a source of milling so Rex can copy abilities.

With the right cards being exiled, Rex, Cyber-Hound can gain a plethora of strong effects on itself. In a deck with a lot of energy counter generation, Rex doesn't have to worry about attacking to use its effect, letting you give it a ton of different abilities.

Plasma Caster is the best Equipment found with Science! Since, when the creature it is equipped to attacks, it gets two energy counters. As such, you will always have two energy counters to pay for its effect. It's a 50 percent chance to exile a creature blocking it, or else deal one damage to it.

Plasma Caster's ability is not once-per-turn, so if you have multiple energy counters to pay, you can potentially use its effect on all creatures blocking your creature. This effect would already be great, but Plasma Caster gives a small stat-boost as well and hardly costs any mana.

Shaun, Father Of Synths can double up on any attacking legendary creature that isn't itself. Shaun itself doesn't need to attack for its effect to trigger either, letting it sit back in combat and take advantage of its effect without having to put it in danger of dying in combat.

The only downside to Shaun, Father Of Synths is that if it ever leaves the battlefield, it takes all the Synth token copies it made with it. However, being able to consistently create token copies of your legendary creatures is what makes Shaun so good, especially if they have enter the battlefield triggers.

Automated Assembly Line is both an excellent way to generate energy counters and turn those energy counters into 3/3 artifact creature tokens. Although it can't make too many energy counters on its own, Automated Assembly Line can take advantage of the energy counters that your other cards are making that are more consistent at doing that.

So long as you have three energy counters to pay, you can keep making Robot tokens. Since these are artifact creatures, they can feed into Automated Assembly Line's first effect to start getting those energy counters back.

Since Synth Infiltrator has improvise, it becomes easy to cast it for just two blue mana, especially if you have artifact tokens that aren't doing anything on the battlefield. It becomes a copy of any creature on the battlefield, not just your own, so you can take advantage of your opponents' creatures as well as your own.

Synth Infiltrator can make an expensive creature cheap to cast. It is a Synth artifact creature, which can play into artifact strategies that care about how many you control. For how easy it is to cast combined with its great effect, it's one of the best clone cards in the game.

Overencumbered can shut down the ability of an opponent to attack unless they have a lot of mana to spend. While giving your opponent three tokens is normally a downside, in Overencumbered's case, it just makes them have to pay more mana to get rid of them to just start attacking.

Since Commander is home to a lot of mana rocks and many other utility artifacts, opponents will often control a ton of artifacts they can't get rid of. As such, Overencumbered forces a ton of mana to be paid just to attack with their creatures.

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The Best Singles In The MTG Fallout Science! Commander Deck - TheGamer

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is finally out, and it's a treat, especially for fans of the original game you can readGame Informer'sreview here to find out what we loved and didn't love across our 80 hours with the game. However, regardless of whether you're a long-time fan or not, one thing new to everyone playing Rebirth is Queen's Blood.

Introduced early in Rebirth, Queen's Blood is an in-universe card game that seemingly everyone around Gaia's various continents plays, from Junon to Nibelheim and elsewhere. And after spending dozens of hours playing it, I can understand why - it rules. It's easily my favorite game-within-a-game ever, and one I hope spins out into its own thing in some form, be it a digital card game, a physical one, or something else.

It can be a difficult game, though, but it's one worth learning. It's both satisfying in its own right but also unfolds across a mysterious side story that plays out through the game's entire runtime. If you're struggling to keep up with Gaia's various opponents, though, we have you covered with the best Queen's Blood deck, tips and tricks, and more.

After ranking up a few times in Queen's Blood, which requires defeating a specified amount of opponents and various named "boss" characters, you'll gain what is, in my opinion, the single best card: Migardsormr. Boasting a base strength of 6, a wide array of mat placement, and a special ability that increases its strength by +1 for every card destroyed after it is played (both enemy and ally cards destroyed, mind you), it's a card I continuously win on the back of.

Now, you're, of course, free to build your deck however you want, but my personal deck, the one I consistently win with, is below (ignore the card on the right as it's just the reward card):

As you can see, the most important card is Migardsormr. From there, you can build it out how you'd like, but when using Migardsormr, it's important to cater to its special ability. You should be using cards that destroy enemy cards and cards you can place on top of your own, thereby destroying the (ideally) weaker card beneath it.

When using this deck, it's extra important to get Migardsormr placed as soon as possible. My typical start begins with a Security Clone placed in the middle row to the far left. This turns the two far-left spots above and below it into slots ready for cards that require two placement pawns. I often then place an Archdragon directly to the right of the Security Clone to turn those two-pawn spots into three-pawn spots, which allows me to throw down Migardsormr the next turn.

There are other options to turn around a three-pawn spot quickly, and you'll want to keep those options open in case your opponent immediately pushes from right to left, but for the most part, this three-turn setup gets Migardsormr out onto the playing field fast. From there, it's all about playing cards that destroy enemy cards and replacing your own cards with stronger ones, like placing a Grandhorn (with a strength of 3) on top of the Security Clone. That move alone adds 2 to your total count (replacing Security Clone with Grandhorn) and an additional 1 to Migardsormr's strength since you destroyed the Security Clone.

Regardless of how you build your deck, we highly recommend using Migardsormr to create a deck themed around destroying enemy and ally cards to boost the strength of this serpentine fiend. Do that, and you'll pick up some powerful wins, like a few of my best wins below:

For more about the game, readGame Informer'sFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth review, and then head toGame Informer'sFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth hub for exclusive behind-the-scenes features, video interviews, and more.

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The Best Queen's Blood Deck In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Game Informer