u/capybaravishing

Many Chinese microbrands get labeled as homage watches even though they have cool and unique designs of their own. Yet when a Swiss manufacturer churns out their slightly modified Submariner clone, it is considered a new design.

Hydroconquest is a nice diver, but it looks like someone went Mr Potato Head with Rolex and Tudor spare parts. If Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and JLC Master Compressor are unique designs, so are their Chinese counterparts. To claim anything else is just snobbery, plain and simple.

EDIT: let me spell it out for you. If HC is unique, but a Chinese diver with a new hand set and/or a tweaked dial isn’t, you’re being a chauvinist.

So my friend recently bought a Wise Adamascus AD8 and I was blown away by how good it looks. This lead me on a deep dive of watch micro brands and I found enough beautiful watches to make my head spin.

The problem is, I love quartz watches and I really, really don't want to buy a mechanical one. The really cheap alternatives don't work for me either, as I'm looking for actual water resistance, domed sapphire crystal and (preferrably) a ceramic bezel inlay. And yes, there are Chinese brands out there, but I don't want to buy a 1:1 'homage' to a classic.

In addition to the Wise AD8 some of my favorite models include Traska Freediver, Lorier Neptune, Oris Divers Date and the classic Seiko 62MAS. This should give a pretty good idea of the kind of watch I'm looking for.

I would very much appreciate any suggestions that come to mind!

I’m chilling in my hotel room with a binder full of cool cards with my head still spinning. I’m leaving Italy tomorrow and while I’m sad that my trip is over, I am going home with so many warm memories.

This was my third Paupergeddon. I could go on about the games I played and the cards I bought or traded, but what really makes me want to travel all the way to Lucca is the community. I didn’t have my friends with me this year, but I didn’t feel alone for a second. I kept striking up conversations with strangers and by the time the event was wrapping up, the event hall was full of friendly faces.

I must also say, that I have really come to appreciate Lucca. It may take some time for me to get there, but the city is beautiful and well worth the effort. And being able to down shots of espresso between rounds is a luxury I will miss back home.

Thank you to everyone for great games of magic and a beautiful weekend. I don’t think I’ve had this much since I was a teenager.

So yeah, do you run them? I’ve personally decided to cut them for Nyxborn Hydra, as it seems to work better with the big mana plan and help to mitigate the risk for a huge blowout against Affinity etc.

What’s the consensus? Do you run them?

So yeah, I’m an aggro / tempo player and recently I have sort of fallen out of love with Pauper. It feels like all the best decks want to grind value like crazy and every round goes to time.

Red Madness is still good, but I’m a bit tired of the play patterns. I used to love playing blue fae, but it doesn’t seem to do great in the meta, even when I splash black for removal. And sure, there’s the slower Augur version, but it’s… Well, grindier.

I’ve tried so many decks, but it feels like I’m always stuck in these dreary grindfests. I get that some people love fighting for incremental advantage and squeezing water from a stone on turn 17, but I really don’t.

Am I just burnt out on Pauper or has the meta shifted?