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TheAmericanSpirit
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Post by TheAmericanSpirit » 2 years ago

Just preordered my strixhaven stuff. It was less than I expected, but I did actually buy a precon for an upcoming league in my playgroup. Pretty excited for that!
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cryogen
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Post by cryogen » 2 years ago

DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
Is anyone else noticing that the prices on precons seems to be dramatically inflated from previous releases? The set of 5 preorder is $300 in NZ right now - last year I paid $200. The prices look pretty inflated in the US too, from what I remember. On top of that, apparently the prerelease is delayed a week in NZ. Anyone know what's going on, or have any idea whether prices are likely to go down?
Well they jumped back to their original $40 USD price tag, so $200 for the set. Not sure how that translates to kiwibux.
Sheldon wrote:You're the reason we can't have nice things.

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TheAmericanSpirit
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Post by TheAmericanSpirit » 2 years ago

cryogen wrote:
2 years ago
DirkGently wrote:
3 years ago
Is anyone else noticing that the prices on precons seems to be dramatically inflated from previous releases? The set of 5 preorder is $300 in NZ right now - last year I paid $200. The prices look pretty inflated in the US too, from what I remember. On top of that, apparently the prerelease is delayed a week in NZ. Anyone know what's going on, or have any idea whether prices are likely to go down?
Well they jumped back to their original $40 USD price tag, so $200 for the set. Not sure how that translates to kiwibux.
I think wotc also said somewhere that their initial supply of strixhaven products is somewhat limited due to shipping interference (likely that suez business). So that expectation of an initial lack of supply is also driving up some prices, even though it's ultimately an unlimited print run product. See also the eldraine brawl decks and their weird temporary spikes until more were dumped into the market. Now you can snag one for <20, but at one point it was like 40 quid for the korvold due to mark up and short supply.
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toctheyounger
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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

cryogen wrote:
2 years ago
Well they jumped back to their original $40 USD price tag, so $200 for the set. Not sure how that translates to kiwibux.
My LGS has them at $65 NZD, which is probably pretty comparable after conversion from USD.
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Post by Guardman » 2 years ago

TheAmericanSpirit wrote:
3 years ago
@Guardman

I'd switch companies if I were you (unless you're subject to a foul, local monopoly). Just before the netflix/streaming boom, our tv provider (dish network) started partitioning off channels we already had previously into packages we had to buy individually. So we bailed on it, and now save much more money. When companies make these 'cost-saving' choices at the expense of the consumer, they never tend to backtrack. So don't negotiate with terrorists, find greener pastures instead.
There are three providers for my area, Comcast Xfinity, AT&T, and WOW!. After looking into it, and as much as I don't like it, I will probably end up staying with WOW!

Xfinity lowest tier is 25 Mbps for $25 Introductory Rate (IR), next is 400 Mbps for $50 IR. The 400 Mbps is way more than I need, and I went digging and by year 3 or 4 my rate would go up to $99 a month. Plus with Xfinity's poor customer service and general evilness, I don't want to pay twice as much as I am now for something I don't need.

AT&T's website is a pain to navigate. And it appears the only service they offer at my address is 18 Mbps for $45 (IR). That seems so bad a value that I am having trouble believing its true, but their website isn't offering me any way to change it other than removing it or adding it back.

I currently have 100 Mbps, which is a little more than I need (I probably need 50 Mbps), but I like having the buffer in case I have people over. And without renting the equipment I can get it down to $50.00 a month. And currently I use a little less than 250 Gb per month on average, while my data limit will be 1.5 Tb per month. So as much as I want to make a change on moral grounds, it just doesn't make sense for me to do it on financial grounds. Plus out of the three, they do have, by far, the best customer service.

Related Question: I am planning to stop renting my modem from WOW! and buying my own to lower how much money I am paying to them. I talked to WOW! and the person helping me said it needs to be Docsis 3.0 compatible. Does anyone have any recommendations in this front. I am currently looking at this one, but modems are a little out of my league, so any info could help.

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Post by pokken » 2 years ago

Got my first vaccine dose (pfizer) today and feelin alright so far. Super stoked to maybe get back to normal-ish, at least being able to have vaccinated friends over for magic!

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Post by JWK » 2 years ago

My entire Strixhaven preorder came in: case of prerelease packs + a box of draft boosters to do sealed with friends, plus each of the new commander decks. Gonna be doing a lot of MtG this weekend, methinks.
I have 68 active EDH decks, with more in progress. I don't consider this a problem. Do you?
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Post by Ulka » 2 years ago

I wish I had more time for mtg this weekend but grad school requires 2 papers to be written this weekend on top of lots and lots of reading.
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Post by cryogen » 2 years ago

pokken wrote:
2 years ago
Got my first vaccine dose (pfizer) today and feelin alright so far. Super stoked to maybe get back to normal-ish, at least being able to have vaccinated friends over for magic!
Congrats! I got Moderna and no ill effects beyond a sore arm. I go full 5G on Wednesday, so fingers crossed. I keep hearing that the second dose is worse.
Sheldon wrote:You're the reason we can't have nice things.

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Post by pokken » 2 years ago

cryogen wrote:
2 years ago
Congrats! I got Moderna and no ill effects beyond a sore arm. I go full 5G on Wednesday, so fingers crossed. I keep hearing that the second dose is worse.
Sore arm only here too so far

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Post by Guardman » 2 years ago

Getting an appointment to get a shot has been rough in Illinois due to a lack of available shots. Luckily, I got my first shot (Moderna) Tuesday, just by chance by checking a pharmacy's website at the right time. I only had a sore arm as well, but supposedly you should expect to feel at least a little like you are sick after the second shot (which means it is working).

Also I had the person giving me the shot told me something funny: "I appreciate you wearing a T-Shirt. Earlier today someone came in for their vaccination in full long-johns."

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Post by JWK » 2 years ago

I've been playing some Strixhaven sealed (with prerelease packs). Gotta say, I continue to be glad to not have lessons be available outside the deck in Commander, but they make for a very interesting dynamic in sealed, allowing for more in the way of spellslinging than you can typically do with a limited deck, since it's usually so imperative you build your decks creature-heavy in limited. Makes me wonder what it would be like to draft this set.
I have 68 active EDH decks, with more in progress. I don't consider this a problem. Do you?
I am also one of those barbarians who enjoys winning by turning creatures sideways.

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Post by RxPhantom » 2 years ago

Guardman wrote:
2 years ago
Also I had the person giving me the shot told me something funny: "I appreciate you wearing a T-Shirt. Earlier today someone came in for their vaccination in full long-johns."
Oh my god this happens to me all the time. Be prepared to take off your shirt if your'e wearing long sleeves. People don't understand that if you roll a sleeve too tight, you can get blood spurts.

Also, a lady passed out with her eyes open, and it was the second scariest thing to ever happen to me at the pharmacy. Did I mention that her eyes were open, because they. WERE. OPEN.
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Post by Dunharrow » 2 years ago

In Canada the rollout is taking forever. I am expecting my first dose in June, and second in September.
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Post by Ulka » 2 years ago

cryogen wrote:
2 years ago
pokken wrote:
2 years ago
Got my first vaccine dose (pfizer) today and feelin alright so far. Super stoked to maybe get back to normal-ish, at least being able to have vaccinated friends over for magic!
Congrats! I got Moderna and no ill effects beyond a sore arm. I go full 5G on Wednesday, so fingers crossed. I keep hearing that the second dose is worse.
It is. Moderna has taken every one I know out for at min 24 hr. I was out for 12 but i also had shingles less than a full year ago so my pain tolerance is still high
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Post by JWK » 2 years ago

My secondary Moderna dose made me really, really sick for all the next day, on par with the worst cold ever, or a moderate case of flu, with fever, shivering, nausea, all-over body aches, headache and brain fog. But the next day I woke up and was fine, just felt a little run down. I've known several people who were down for two days after the second Moderna dose. Still better than contracting COVID-19, though. I have known a lot of people who lost family to COVID, others who have ended up severely impaired post-COVID, and in my own small practice, I have lost four clients to COVID. Two were elderly, one was in 30s but not in great physical condition, but the fourth was a young woman who was very active and in pretty good health prior to infection.
I have 68 active EDH decks, with more in progress. I don't consider this a problem. Do you?
I am also one of those barbarians who enjoys winning by turning creatures sideways.

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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

I'm having my first 5G installment today. I fully expect to be getting told what to do by Bill Gates and speaking Russian within the month.

Despite being fairly normal here in Middle Earth I'm taking no chances. As a lifelong asthma sufferer with a young child, I'm not effing around with this virus. There's no rational reason that I've heard not to get it done, so my default stance was always to get it done at the first opportunity.
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Post by RxPhantom » 2 years ago

It makes me really happy to read these stories of people getting their vaccinations. I know the side effects can be a bear, but at least you know it's working! Thank you.
Can you name all of the creature types with at least 20 cards? Try my Sporcle Quiz! Last Updated: 2/18/22 (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty)

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Post by JWK » 2 years ago

I played two of the Strixhaven precon decks today at PlayEDH. I played the Silverquill one first, ended up winning that game. Second game I ran the Prismari one, even though I was casting huge things from early in the game, the Aesi precon wiped the board with me and two other players without breaking a sweat. Silverquill and Prismari are both well above average power compared to precons as a whole, and they're both a lot of fun to play straight out of the box. I look forward to playing them some more, and to trying out the other three, over the next little bit.
I have 68 active EDH decks, with more in progress. I don't consider this a problem. Do you?
I am also one of those barbarians who enjoys winning by turning creatures sideways.

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Post by EonAon » 2 years ago

Guardman wrote:
2 years ago
TheAmericanSpirit wrote:
3 years ago
@Guardman

I'd switch companies if I were you (unless you're subject to a foul, local monopoly). Just before the netflix/streaming boom, our tv provider (dish network) started partitioning off channels we already had previously into packages we had to buy individually. So we bailed on it, and now save much more money. When companies make these 'cost-saving' choices at the expense of the consumer, they never tend to backtrack. So don't negotiate with terrorists, find greener pastures instead.
There are three providers for my area, Comcast Xfinity, AT&T, and WOW!. After looking into it, and as much as I don't like it, I will probably end up staying with WOW!

Xfinity lowest tier is 25 Mbps for $25 Introductory Rate (IR), next is 400 Mbps for $50 IR. The 400 Mbps is way more than I need, and I went digging and by year 3 or 4 my rate would go up to $99 a month. Plus with Xfinity's poor customer service and general evilness, I don't want to pay twice as much as I am now for something I don't need.

AT&T's website is a pain to navigate. And it appears the only service they offer at my address is 18 Mbps for $45 (IR). That seems so bad a value that I am having trouble believing its true, but their website isn't offering me any way to change it other than removing it or adding it back.

I currently have 100 Mbps, which is a little more than I need (I probably need 50 Mbps), but I like having the buffer in case I have people over. And without renting the equipment I can get it down to $50.00 a month. And currently I use a little less than 250 Gb per month on average, while my data limit will be 1.5 Tb per month. So as much as I want to make a change on moral grounds, it just doesn't make sense for me to do it on financial grounds. Plus out of the three, they do have, by far, the best customer service.

Related Question: I am planning to stop renting my modem from WOW! and buying my own to lower how much money I am paying to them. I talked to WOW! and the person helping me said it needs to be Docsis 3.0 compatible. Does anyone have any recommendations in this front. I am currently looking at this one, but modems are a little out of my league, so any info could help.
I recommend two things, the first being is choose a different modem and to make sure its a singular modem not a combo modem router. The reasoning is that while everyone is different in their needs for the equipment they purchase if you ever have a issue with that breaking down its much easier to test to see if its the modem or the router if they are two separate units. With both the modem and router separate if the Wi-Fi goes down you can try direct connect to the modem to see if its the router that went bad or the modem. Because of the heat generated by both sets of electronics merged into one case it can get fairly toasty even in the open. This shortens the lifetime of the electronics.

My parents have a modem/router combo and it just does not have the power it needs to hit the whole house. Admittedly its on the extreme corner of the house but it still cannot reach the distance from walls and conduit and doors and so on. Boosters can be used but its just cheaper to have a stronger router for Wi-Fi

Now I don't know your living situation and or the area that the Wi-Fi signal has to cover but buying a router separately means if need be you can use a wire from your modem and move it to a better coverage position without having to have the modem very far from the ethernet/cable port which is more important.

The second thing is never, ever, EVER rent a modem router from a cable or phone company. Unless it literally comes free and with no surcharges or fees put to it, you will always spend 4 or 5 times in one year what you would have once for a router/modem you purchased yourself once. This is probably what I would go modem wise. This is what I'd use router wise.

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Post by Airi » 2 years ago

Ulka wrote:
2 years ago
It is. Moderna has taken every one I know out for at min 24 hr. I was out for 12 but i also had shingles less than a full year ago so my pain tolerance is still high
Yeah, even the first dose kinda took me out for like 18 hrs. Felt tired and like I was running on a bad dial-up connection.

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Post by pokken » 2 years ago

I've recently swapped to asus mesh wifi for home router use and really happy with it.

Asus has the best firmware of any of the mesh systems from what I can tell and doesn't try to stick you for subscription firewall or antivirus software or whatever, everything is included. The system i got was the three unit midrange dual band one. No real need for more at 100mbps wan. It's covering our whole place all three floors and back yard.

Ive always had good luck with Motorola cable modems. Good prices and never had one fail. Arris was ok but had one lose it's wifi chip which was annoying - a good reason not to use the combo router modems.

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Lifeless
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Post by Lifeless » 2 years ago

I've had good luck with my Google wifi mesh setup, also 3 APs. It's pretty limited when it comes to advanced features and you have to use it as the primary router for your network unless you want to double NAT everything, but for most people that doesn't really matter very much. I only got these because they were a ridiculously good deal and don't have any subscription or upkeep costs. I'm an IT professional but I didn't need to know anything special to get them working very well in my environment.

I'll also +1 the get vaccinated talk. My family caught covid in Oct and fortunately everyone was ok outside of a couple minor lingering symptoms like my tastebuds, but my elderly father was touch and go for several weeks, only barely avoiding a hospital stay. Pfizer shot was no big deal for me but my wife had 2 unhappy days after her first shot (not uncommon for people who have had a vaccine after getting covid). Stay hydrated, get some extra rest, etc. It's all worth it.

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Post by Gamazson » 2 years ago

I got the Moderna shot on Friday. My shoulder was sore for 2 days making it difficult to raise my left arm over my head. Thankfully I had the weekend off. My job isn't super physical but with my luck that would have been the day I needed to take a bankers box down from the top shelf.

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Post by TheAmericanSpirit » 2 years ago

cryogen wrote:
2 years ago
pokken wrote:
2 years ago
Got my first vaccine dose (pfizer) today and feelin alright so far. Super stoked to maybe get back to normal-ish, at least being able to have vaccinated friends over for magic!
Congrats! I got Moderna and no ill effects beyond a sore arm. I go full 5G on Wednesday, so fingers crossed. I keep hearing that the second dose is worse.
Second dose kicked my ass for about 14 hours and then relented. It's really not so bad if you can handle semi-violent temperature shifts and a headache on an errand of meaness.
There's no biscuits and gravy in New Zealand.
(Except when DirkGently makes them!)

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