Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Robert Prevost, is the first American pontiff. He was elected on Thursday, less than three weeks after the death of Pope Francis, and his elevation immediately made history. Leo grew up in Chicago, majored in math at Villanova University, and spent decades serving the Catholic Church in Peru. Significantly, Pope Leo is also the first pontiff to hail from the Augustinian order, which was founded in 1244.The Augustinians are a mendicant order, which means they rely largely on charitable donations for their needs. They prioritize community and missionary work, with a special emphasis on serving the poor and the weak. Those beliefs may have influenced Leo’s decision, while he was still a cardinal, to share critiques of the Trump administration online, particularly on issues of immigration — which puts him at odds with another prominent American Catholic: Vice President JD Vance.In a January interview with Fox News, Vance used his faith as a justification for the Trump administration’s America First agenda. “You love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that, you can focus [on] and prioritize the rest of the world,” Vance said. Shortly after that interview, Leo shared a link to a National Catholic Reporter article titled “JD Vance Is Wrong: Jesus Doesn’t Ask Us to Rank Our Love for Others.” Today, Explained wanted to get to know this new pope and better understand why the conclave selected him. So we called up Terence Sweeney. He’s an assistant teaching professor in the humanities department and honors program at Villanova University — not only the pope’s alma mater (class of ’77) but also the only Augustinian university in the United States. His conversation with Noel King, edited for length and clarity, is below. There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. How surprised were you [by Pope Leo’s selection]? I was both surprised and not surprised. I’ve been talking about him with friends and students for the past couple of weeks. Yesterday morning, I popped into the office of Father Allen, an Augustinian on campus, and I said, ‘Are we gonna have an Augustinian pope?’ And he said he didn’t think so. Sure enough, a few hours later, I got a text message from my friend who said, ‘You called it.’ But at the same time, I was very surprised. I was hopeful for him, but he’s an American, and traditionally, that’s seen as, ‘Oh, it won’t happen.’ So I both kind of called it and was totally shocked.So tell us who he is. Who is Robert Prevost, or Pope Leo XIV?Prevost is a kid who grew up in Chicago and went to Villanova University. He had met Augustinians as a young man and joined the order just after college. Maybe most notably, [he] then proceeded to spend most of his life as a priest and then a bishop in the missions in Peru. He could have gotten assigned to a nice parish in a wealthier part of the United States, but instead, he went to Peru to be with the poor, to do work there, to do ministry there, and I think that’s in many ways the heart of who he is.You can think about it like this: I have a pretty cushy spot at Villanova. I have a house. It’s comfortable. To suddenly shift gears to a totally new culture, learning the language fully in a place that maybe doesn’t have as many perks as an American suburban parish might, I think that’s a real sign of wanting to be with those on the margins of global power and economics. I don’t think we’ve had a pope in centuries who has had this experience of working in the missions. We’ve had pastor popes, scholar popes, diplomat popes. But a pope who spent most of his life in a poor part of a country doing missionary work — I don’t even know if we’ve ever had one.When Pope Francis died, there was a big conversation about whether the church would pick somebody who was more traditional or who was viewed as more progressive, the way Pope Francis was. What kind of choice is Pope Leo XIV? Where does he fall on that spectrum?In some ways, like Pope Francis, he kind of throws us off of these spectrums.He took the name Leo, which is a pretty traditional papal name. He’s the 14th, right? He’s not the first. He’s closely identifying with both the first Pope Leo, Pope Saint Leo the Great, and Pope Leo XIII, who are richly part of the tradition. Leo XIII is notable for his work on something called Catholic social thought: what the church brings to the questions of economics and justice and politics. And that has tended to be something that what we call progressive Catholics have really centered on. I think it was also notable that the language of his first address to the people in St. Peter’s Square was richly tied in with Pope Francis: He talked about bridge-building and peace being with all of you. And I think there are some signs that he wants to carry on a lot of what Pope Francis did, but maybe make more connections, we might say, between the kind of Pope Francis side of the church and the Pope Benedict side.You’ve mentioned several times that he is an Augustinian. What is an Augustinian, exactly?The Augustinians are a group of friars. They were founded in 1244, and they’re grounded in three principles: living in community, a really strong sense that wherever we go, we go together. [A] deep sense of the heart. If you ever see an icon of St. Augustine, he’s often holding a heart. [That symbolizes] the sense that what we need to do is make connections with other people in their hearts. And a really strong call to the mission to go out. The original Augustinians often went into cities and various places to be with people where they were. After Robert Prevost was chosen yesterday, immediately it came to the surface that he had expressed some opinions on immigration. I saw people — and you had written about this in the past — drawing a line between the Augustinian tradition and the current controversies that the United States is facing over immigration. What is the Augustinian position on immigration?Fundamentally, one of the most important parts of being an Augustinian is sometimes called the order of loves. It’s this idea that our hearts need to grow. Our hearts can get very narrow. We can fall in love only with ourselves. So we need to find a way to have our hearts expand to make room for God, who is infinite. When you make room for God, you make room for everyone, particularly for those in need. One of the big tasks of his pontificate for Americans — for all kinds of Catholics, all kinds of people — is helping us broaden our hearts.Notably, we have a vice president who’s Catholic. JD Vance has spoken about the order of loves. You can think about what he said as having a lot of the right words, but getting the tune wrong. He described one of the very important ideas that the order of loves teaches us: that we rightly prioritize people who are closer to us. He’s emphasizing that and saying: Americans rightly prioritize Americans. But he’s missing the point of the order of loves, that [the heart] was supposed to expand, to go outward. Whereas Vance seems to be talking about it as a way of retracting and going inward.Pope Francis challenged him on this. Then Prevost retweeted an article in America magazine about challenging Vance on this. That’s an early indication that he, as pope, is going to very much stand with a broadening of our loves.It is very 2025 for a new pope to be retweeting criticism of a vice president. What do you think it tells us about Pope Leo XIV?I think that he sees his office as a bishop, and now as bishop of Rome, as a prophetic one. He has a task of prophetic witness. That prophetic witness is going to speak about a lot of things. He is going to speak about the environment. He will definitely speak about immigration. He is going to speak about abortion. He is going to speak about a number of things that are going to throw American binaries off. We have to keep in mind that he’s a profoundly pro-refugee and pro-life pope, and something I share with him, the sense that the love that we broaden out is meant to go particularly to the smallest and the most forgotten. And I think he sees that, and I think he’s going to speak in that prophetic witness as did the popes before him.See More:

The two actresses will star in Reptilia, a 'dark and wet' thriller set in Florida about a mermaid seducing a human.

Beano's Café / SHEWEKAR Design StudioSave this picture!© Nour El RefaiCoffee Shop Interiors•Kafr Nassar, Egypt Architects: SHEWEKAR Design Studio Area Area of this architecture project Area:  450 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2023 Photographs Photographs:Nour El Refai Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers:  C.Reality Furniture, Ultra Design Lead Architects: Shewekar El Gharably More SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Text description provided by the architects. The design intention for Beano's GEM was to stay true to the brand while paying homage to our Egyptian heritage and its iconic representation at the GEM. Upon entry, one is taken in awe by the rich brass tree inspired by the Banyan tree that grows on Egyptian soil and is said to make wishes come true. Its aerial roots are beautifully stylized into swirly, delicate folds of perforated brass sheets.Save this picture!Save this picture!The counter is made of roughly cut Aswani granite, while the lighting is custom-designed and made from our beloved Alabaster that was widely used in Ancient Egypt. In ancient times, the color blue represented the heavens, the dominion of gods, as well as water and the primeval flood, represented here in the custom-made blue glass with the papyrus plants drawn on it.Save this picture!The cozy neighborhood-café feel was not lost when transported to the GEM, it was simply elevated to match the grandiose and honor of that space. The eclectic feel of matching materials, the color palette, and the delicate modern lines of the furniture were all maintained to ensure a thread of continuity between this and other Beano's branches.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less Project locationAddress:Grand Egyptian Museum Commercial ArcadesLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this office Published on May 10, 2025Cite: "Beano's Café / SHEWEKAR Design Studio" 10 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028859/beanos-cafe-shewekar-design-studio&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Welcome to CGHOW! In this tutorial, "Unleash the Magic: Crafting Material Spells in UE5 Niagara," we dive deep into the enchanting world of Unreal Engine 5 to create mesmerizing material spells using the powerful Niagara system. What You'll Learn: Step-by-Step Guidance: Follow along as we guide you through the process of crafting stunning material spells from scratch. Niagara Techniques: Discover advanced techniques to harness the full potential of Niagara for creating dynamic and interactive spell effects. Material Integration: Learn how to seamlessly integrate materials with Niagara to enhance the visual impact of your spells. Creative Tips: Get insider tips on how to add unique touches to your spells, making them stand out in any project. Why Watch? Whether you're a game developer, VFX artist, or a creative enthusiast, this tutorial is designed to elevate your skills and inspire your next project. By the end of this video, you'll have the knowledge and confidence to create your own magical effects in Unreal Engine 5. Join the Community: Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more exciting tutorials. Share your creations with us in the comments or on social media using #CGHOW https://linktr.ee/cghow #UnrealEngine #Spell

The crisis of fentanyl and other opioids is far from over in the U.S., and a new study stresses that point, finding that the illicit use of these substances is much more prevalent than prior studies suggest. Published today in JAMA Health Forum, the research reveals that 7.5 percent of adults in the U.S. had used illicitly manufactured fentanyl at some point between June 2023 and June 2024 — a percentage that is more than 20 times higher than past reported rates. According to the study authors, the results suggests that new methods must be adopted to study the severity of the ongoing opioid crisis.Read More: The Opioid Crisis Is Not OverUse of Fentanyl and Other Opioids Though illicit fentanyl is increasingly tied to fatal overdoses in the U.S., the prevalence of its use is understudied. In fact, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is one of the largest studies to follow illicitly manufactured fentanyl in the U.S. from year to year, and yet, it has only tracked the substance since 2022. In that year, it found that 0.3 percent of U.S. adults — including individuals aged 18 and above — had used illicitly manufactured fentanyl.Over the years, some studies have suggested that the use of other illicit opioids, such as heroin, may be much more prevalent than the NSDUH surveys report, leading to questions about the accuracy of their findings on illicit fentanyl. Hoping to figure out the true extent of the issue, the study authors set out to measure the use of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other illicit opioids more accurately. Of the 1,500 U.S. adults who were surveyed, around 7.5 percent reported illicit fentanyl use between June 2023 and June 2024, while around 11 percent reported illicit opioid use. The rates of illicitly manufactured fentanyl were more than 20 times higher than the NSDUH rates from 2022 — a difference that is consistent with those reported in previous research, assuming that year-to-year opioid use is increasing. The findings suggest that illicit fentanyl use may be underestimated by the NSDUH, stressing the need to avoid such overestimations in the future. “Estimates of illicit opioid use are rare and typically are available only years after the information is collected, limiting our ability to monitor trends on a near-term basis,” said David Powell, a study author and an economist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization, according to a press release. “Our study offers a method to quickly and repeatedly monitor illicit opioid prevalence at low-cost.”Intentional and Unintentional Use Conducted online and including a sweeping sample of U.S. adults, the new study asked participants about their use of illicit fentanyl and other illicit opioids, including their intentional and unintentional use. Around 4.9 percent of the participants reported that they had used illicit fentanyl intentionally, while around 2.6 percent reported that they had used it unintentionally. Interestingly, around 25 percent of the participants who used illicit opioids reported that illicitly manufactured substances were involved in their first opioid use, whereas around 39 percent and 36 percent reported that prescribed or unprescribed prescription opioids were involved, instead. According to the study authors, additional research is required to better understand the differences between their results and the NSDUH results, but it is possible that the differences between the two relate to the set-ups of the two studies, with one occurring completely online, and the other occurring only partly online. Since a portion of the NSDUH responses are collected in person, it is possible that some of its respondents shied away from accurately reporting their use of illicitly manufactured fentanyl. (That said, the study authors stress that online surveys can introduce their own issues into data.)“Ultimately, the data presented here should be treated as a substantive data point for understanding and curtailing the ongoing opioid crisis,” said Mireille Jacobson, another study author and an economist at the University of Southern California, according to a press release. “More near real-time information is needed to evaluate not only where we are in the epidemic, but, more importantly, whether we are making progress in reining it in.”This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:JAMA Health Forum. Estimates of Illicit Opioid Use in the USSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and HealthSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Whether you load your silverware upside down or not is a different discussion.   Image: Kseniya Ovchinnikova / Getty Images Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Doing the right thing for the environment often means extra work. Biking or walking to the store, for example, is less carbon intensive than driving your car but takes more effort. As someone who cares about the environment but is also very, very lazy, I’ve been wondering: Is there something I can do to lower my impact while also doing less work?  As it turns out, there is: using the dishwasher. Research shows that using your dishwasher isn’t just easier—it uses less water and energy than washing dishes by hand. Even better, dishwashers kill more bacteria than hand washing. Let’s go over the research and discuss the nuance.  Dishwashers are more energy efficient than washing (mostly) Research done at the University of Michigan and published in the journal Environmental Research Communications compared washing dishes in the sink with multiple hand-washing methods. It found that, in most cases, the dishwasher is more efficient than hand washing. When typical manual and machine practices were followed, machine dishwashers were associated with less than half the greenhouse gas emissions and used less than half the water. Most of the emissions are tied to the energy used to heat the water. It should be noted that the Michigan study was done in partnership with the Whirlpool Corporation, a manufacturer of dishwashers. But other experts and studies found similar results. How do dishwashers manage to be more efficient than hand washing? First, they re-use water. Dishwashers work by filling with a certain amount of water and then spraying it at your dishes repeatedly. After this they drain, then add fresh water to repeat the process. This typically happens three times. [Related: The forgotten story of the woman who invented the dishwasher] Having said that, you’ll notice the nuance about typical practices in the quote. There are a couple reasons for this. First, a lot of people who use dishwashers tend to rinse their dishes off in the sink first. This isn’t necessary—dishwashers have a rinse cycle for exactly this reason. The practice also undercuts the efficiency of the dishwasher.  That’s why the researchers recommend scrapping large bits of food directly into the trash, instead of rinsing. The study also recommends turning off the “heated dry” option and only running the dishwasher when it’s full to maximize the efficiency.  This uses a lot less water than the most common method of doing the dishes. From the study: The common “running tap” method of manual dishwashing, which involves washing and rinsing dishes beneath a steady stream of hot water, used more energy and water than any other method tested. If you’d like an excruciating level of detail on this I cannot recommend this Technology Connections video (below) enough. Yes, it’s a half hour of one man talking to a camera about dishwashers, but it’s fascinating from beginning to end and really highlights why these devices are so much better at cleaning dishes than people.  How to use less water than a dishwasher Now, not everyone has a dishwasher. It turns out it’s possible to use less water than a dishwasher while doing the dishes—you just need to be strategic about your water usage. The U of M study, and a German study on global dishwashing habits published in the journal Tenside Surfactants Detergents, both recommend an energy efficient manual option. From the German study:  There is one exception: the double-sink method. In this method, crucially, there is no pre-rinsing of dishes. Instead the dishes are scraped off and then placed in a sink with soap and hot water, left to soak. The dishes are then washed and rinsed in a second sink, filled with cold water. At no time does running water run over the dishes.  If you can follow these instructions, and never reach for the faucet to rinse with fresh water, you might be able to out-perform a dishwasher in terms of efficiency. I can imagine a few potential problems—not having a big enough sink, the water in the second basin getting gross halfway through, or some grime not coming off. Still, it’s something you can try.  Turn that tap off, hand washers. Image: Getty Images Elena Zaretskaya Dishwashers leave less bacteria There’s another benefit to using a dishwasher, however: it kills much more bacteria on your dishes. This has been well documented since a survey of 1,000 restaurants conducted in 1947. This report, which is highly cited to this day, found that machine washing leaves significantly less bacteria on glasses and utensils than hand washing, with particularly high rates among establishments that use towels for drying after hand washing instead of air drying.  Why is this? Dishwashers heat water much hotter than anyone using their hands, mostly because extremely hot water has a tendency to burn human hands. High temperatures are very effective at killing bacteria, meaning dishwashers are much better at leaving your plates and utensils sterile. 

Nature, Published online: 09 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09095-8Author Correction: 2023 summer warmth unparalleled over the past 2,000 years

Some users of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have been reporting strange changes in food preferences, such as a new dislike for meats or fried foods, and scientists are beginning to figure out why

Photo Credit: OnePlus OnePlus Pad 2 Pro will be available in two colourways in China Highlights OnePlus Pad 2 Pro will launch in China next week The tablet could be equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip The OnePlus Pad 2 Pro might feature a 13-megapixel rear camera Advertisement OnePlus Pad 2 Pro is set to launch in China next week. While the company has yet to announce any plans to launch a new high-end tablet, a new model called the OnePlus Pad 2 Pro has been listed on Oppo's store in China. The listing reveals the RAM and storage configurations of the upcoming tablet. It will be available in two colourways in China. It could be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and could be equipped with a 12,140mAh battery.OnePlus Pad 2 Pro RAM, Storage and Colourways (Expected)The listing for the OnePlus Pad 2 Pro (via GSMArena) is currently listed on Oppo's online store in China. It will be available in four RAM and storage configurations — 8GB+256GB, 12GB+256GB, 12GB+512GB, and a top-of-the-line 16GB+512GB. The upcoming OnePlus Pad 2 Pro will be available in Deep Sea Blue and Ice Silver colour options (translated from Chinese). The listing gives us a good look at the tablet, which bears a striking resemblance to the Oppo Pad 4 Pro, which was recently launched in China.If the OnePlus Pad 2 Pro is indeed a rebranded version of the Oppo Pad 4 Pro, it could run on an octa core Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, paired with up to 16GB of RAM. The company could also equip the handset with a 12,140mAh with support for 67W SuperVOOC charging.Like the Oppo Pad 4 Pro, the upcoming OnePlus Pad 2 Pro is likely to sport a 13.2-inch (2,400×3,392 pixels) LCD screen that refreshes at 144Hz. It could feature a single 13-megapixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel camera on the front for selfies and video chats. The listing on Oppo's website suggests that the OnePlus Pad 2 Pro will be launched in China on May 15. Pricing and availability for the tablet will be announced on the same day. There's currently no word on whether the tablet will be launched in India and other markets.Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details. KEY SPECSNEWSDisplay 13.20-inchProcessor Snapdragon 8 EliteFront Camera 8-megapixelResolution 2400x3392 pixelsRAM 12GBOS Android 15Storage 256GBRear Camera 13-megapixelBattery Capacity 12140mAhMore Oppo Tablets For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Further reading: OnePlus Pad 2 Pro, OnePlus Pad 2 Pro Specifications, OnePlus David Delima As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More Related Stories

signal Member Oct 28, 2017 43,085 /!\ Non-Gaming OT /!\ Feb 18 update: A First Look at Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™ The beloved FINAL FANTASY RPG series and its unforgettable characters, items, and moments from across sixteen mainline games are now here in Magic: The Gathering! magic.wizards.com Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY Sign up now to get updates about future collaborations, events, and releases sent straight to your inbox. magic.wizards.com Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™ | Card Image Gallery The beloved FINAL FANTASY RPG series' sixteen mainline games, filled with unforgettable characters, items, and moments, are now here in Magic: The Gathering! magic.wizards.com - - - View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0CgU7bOgNU Zakeel Gordon, product architect of #MTGxFINALFANTASY, and Shoichi Ichikawa-san, producer at Square Enix, discuss the set, which arrives June 13, 2025! Get notified of future updates about the set: http://mtg.social/FINALFANTASY Click to expand... Click to shrink... There's a livestream later today that should have some more info: View: https://x.com/wizards_magic/status/1849586671282434237 But shared on Twitter was... View: https://x.com/FinalFantasy/status/1849647109105918371 Kefka playmat incoming?? My interest in this set will be on how the cards look since fftcg > mtg for actually playing so more teases please. e: Art from the trailer   Last edited: Today at 8:24 AM Lightsong Member Nov 11, 2022 9,273 Magic: the Gathering |OT| Foundations - Core Set 2025-2030 OT Prerelease Date: November 8–14, 2024 Arena Release Date: November 12, 2024 Paper Release Date: November 15, 2024 Previous thread Arena thread Product info Where to find previews Card image gallery Mechanics Next set: ??? Story archive Premier events schedule Hidden content Magic: the... www.resetera.com   Sheev Avenger Oct 25, 2017 2,845 UK I am getting into Magic purely for this.   Super Studied the Buster Sword Member Jan 29, 2022 13,390 I don't play Magic but I'm in.   Jawmuncher Crisis Dino Moderator Oct 25, 2017 44,701 Ibis Island Hell Yeah. Will likely be buying a Booster Box & Bundle when this hits.  Neutron Member Jun 2, 2022 3,484 That's some beautiful looking poison.   Dukie85 Chicken Chaser Member Oct 25, 2017 3,126 Wait, wut? I gotta find this deck ASAP.   PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 132,250 I am gonna spend so much fucking money on this set and then never play the decks.   OP OP signal Member Oct 28, 2017 43,085 Sheev said: I am getting into Magic purely for this. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Just play FFTCG!! Dukie85 said: Wait, wut? I gotta find this deck ASAP. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Not until 2025!   Lightsong Member Nov 11, 2022 9,273 I want to build a commander deck around Lulu so bad. signal said: Just play FFTCG!! Click to expand... Click to shrink... But MTG actually has a sizeable community. :P Otherwise this crossover would probably not happen.   OP OP signal Member Oct 28, 2017 43,085 Lightsong said: But MTG actually has a sizeable community. :P Otherwise this crossover would probably not happen. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I know but it''s so good 😔 I wonder who the precon commanders will be 🤔   AviAvi ▲ Legend ▲ Member Jun 23, 2021 9,759 I AM SO EXCITED   Angst Member Oct 27, 2017 4,238 Read the title and was like "Kefka isn't in FFX"   Squid Bunny One Winged Slayer Member Jun 11, 2018 5,671 Not the biggest FF fan, but I WILL build anything FFXII related that comes out. Balthier as the commander ofc.   Sheev Avenger Oct 25, 2017 2,845 UK signal said: Just play FFTCG!! Not until 2025! Click to expand... Click to shrink... Hah, I have a ton of the cards but nowhere around me these days sells them, plus I have nobody to play them with.   DanteMenethil Member Oct 25, 2017 8,965 Man.... I really shouldnt spend hundreds of dollar on cardboard... but I really want to   PLASTICA-MAN Member Oct 26, 2017 28,988 I thought this is a collab between HSR AND FF. I need more sleep. XD   Quinton User requested ban Banned Oct 25, 2017 23,037 Midgar, With Love Sheev said: I am getting into Magic purely for this. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Same.  PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 132,250 signal said: I know but it''s so good 😔 I wonder who the precon commanders will be 🤔 Click to expand... Click to shrink... My guess is, it'll be three decks split up across various "eras" of FF history. A 1-6 deck, a 7-12 deck, and a 13-16 deck with each of the heroes as commanders. And then the fourth will be a villains or summons deck.  Chibs Member Nov 5, 2017 4,715 Belgium Goddammit, guess I'm getting back into Magic for a bit   Quinton User requested ban Banned Oct 25, 2017 23,037 Midgar, With Love signal said: I know but it''s so good 😔 I wonder who the precon commanders will be 🤔 Click to expand... Click to shrink... It's tough finding communities in the US for FFTCG outside of the biggest cities, at least in my experience. My UK colleagues, and especially my French friends, seem to have a far easier time with it  TheJollyCorner AVALANCHE The Fallen Nov 7, 2017 10,340 That's some fantastic artwork. RIP, citizens of Doma. 😢  Zael Stormborn Member Oct 27, 2017 498 Gaia I never had any interest in Magic until now. They got me.  Crashman Member Oct 27, 2017 7,231 Doma got what was coming to it if it thought drinking that swirling purple paint in their water was a good idea.   Hawk the Slayer Banned Oct 1, 2024 810 That's one hell of a amazing artwork they did for Kefka!   TheAggroCraig This guy are sick of the One Winged Slayer Member Nov 6, 2017 7,270 My friends buy a lot of MtG so I'll see if I can get on some of their dupes for this set   sderttreds Member Jan 6, 2023 1,221 the artist other art btw, kinda surprised to see indonesian name so i searched him   Mephissto Member Mar 8, 2024 1,093 I am almost 5 figures into magic (playing for a long time) and this set ain't gonna help me trying to spend less. Awesome art for Kefka too.  Rob Member Oct 25, 2017 5,459 SATX God please don't be a Secret Lair. Please, please. I'll gladly take it if it was nothing but precons.   AdvancedWind Member Oct 27, 2017 936 São Paulo, Brazil This card alone shows the advantage of MTG over the FFTCG when It comes to flavor. FFTCG never shows abilities or "events" on the card art because every card is a creature / character   PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 132,250 Rob said: God please don't be a Secret Lair. Please, please. I'll gladly take it if it was nothing but precons. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Every indication we've heard is that it's a Universes Beyond set, like the Doctor Who set.  Kurtofan Member Oct 28, 2017 1,184 PlanetSmasher said: Every indication we've heard is that it's a Universes Beyond set, like the Doctor Who set. Click to expand... Click to shrink... it's actually a full set like a normal magic set, Doctor Who was four precon decks only.   AdvancedWind Member Oct 27, 2017 936 São Paulo, Brazil It's a Full draftable set + Commander decks + secret Lair + random assorted bullshit, like Lord of the Rings. Main set goes to arena and mtgo too   Squid Bunny One Winged Slayer Member Jun 11, 2018 5,671 PlanetSmasher said: My guess is, it'll be three decks split up across various "eras" of FF history. A 1-6 deck, a 7-12 deck, and a 13-16 deck with each of the heroes as commanders. And then the fourth will be a villains or summons deck. Click to expand... Click to shrink... They did that for Doctor Who, but I think they'll definitely give at least FFVII its own precon. (Honestly I'm worried all the precons will be FFVII)  Kazhar Member Feb 20, 2024 309 My two favorite franchises are doing a crossover. My wallet won't survive this.   PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 132,250 Squid Bunny said: They did that for Doctor Who, but I think they'll definitely give at least FFVII its own precon. (Honestly I'm worried all the precons will be FFVII) Click to expand... Click to shrink... The fact that the first art they've given us is Kefka makes it pretty clear it's not just going to be FFVII, I think. They would've marketed it with FFVII stuff first if it's going to be an FFVII-heavy collab.  DjDeathCool Member Oct 28, 2017 2,855 Bismarck, ND This is so awesome! My least favorite aspect of the fftcg is the recycled art. Do we have any idea what the extent of the collaboration will be?   PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 132,250 DjDeathCool said: This is so awesome! My least favorite aspect of the fftcg is the recycled art. Do we have any idea what the extent of the collaboration will be? Click to expand... Click to shrink... Based on retailer leaks, we know it's a bunch of stuff, but we don't know what the stuff is specifically yet.  Camisado Member Nov 3, 2017 1,565 The WHAT!? No interest in magic, and this wont change it, but I'm going to own every card with a Final Fantasy character on it 😅  OP OP signal Member Oct 28, 2017 43,085 AdvancedWind said: This card alone shows the advantage of MTG over the FFTCG when It comes to flavor. FFTCG never shows abilities or "events" on the card art because every card is a creature / character Click to expand... Click to shrink... Latest sets have lots of good original art but yeah I guess it's often not an 'event' in the art or something similar. Yet…!!!   Ouroboros Member Oct 27, 2017 15,985 I was hoping it would be Kefka ripping up an alpha black lotus.   Camells The Forgotten One Member Oct 25, 2017 4,347 Yeah I was afraid they would fixate on FFVII, looks like it's not the case, I'll spend so much money on that thing...damn   Kazhar Member Feb 20, 2024 309 DjDeathCool said: This is so awesome! My least favorite aspect of the fftcg is the recycled art. Do we have any idea what the extent of the collaboration will be? Click to expand... Click to shrink... It will be the same type of release as the Lord of the Rings set (fully draftable modern legal set + 4 commander precons + secret lair drops at the very least). They also said all 16 mainline games would be represented and Wizards has been quite good at it so far. The Fallout and Doctor Who sets put a lot of effort even on their most unloved or niche entries.  Squid Bunny One Winged Slayer Member Jun 11, 2018 5,671 Damn, Sagas are going to go crazy in this set, art and flavor-wise. PlanetSmasher said: The fact that the first art they've given us is Kefka makes it pretty clear it's not just going to be FFVII, I think. They would've marketed it with FFVII stuff first if it's going to be an FFVII-heavy collab. Click to expand... Click to shrink... That's true. I'm just hoping FFXII gets some love.   PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 132,250 Squid Bunny said: That's true. I'm just hoping FFXII gets some love. Click to expand... Click to shrink... XII will be represented for sure. They'll cover every mainline FF game to some extent and probably have some spinoff-related stuff like a Chocobo card and some Tactics rep. I wouldn't be surprised if you see something like Yiazmat or the Undying as a Legendary Creature, or the Sky Fortress Bahamut as an Artifact Land.  OP OP signal Member Oct 28, 2017 43,085 PlanetSmasher said: XII will be represented for sure. They'll cover every mainline FF game to some extent and probably have some spinoff-related stuff like a Chocobo card and some Tactics rep. I wouldn't be surprised if you see something like Yiazmat or the Undying as a Legendary Creature, or the Sky Fortress Bahamut as an Artifact Land. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I need a Balamb Garden full art land.   MimicBox82 Member Jan 9, 2018 5,394 Sweden Kefka poisoning the rivers of Doma Castle, I guess?   Hoot Member Nov 12, 2017 2,338 God that is absolutely gorgeous, would love to have that just as a painting. This might get me back in MTG cards   Dragmire ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 25, 2017 1,162 Fantastic art. I love that it's a moment in the series and not just a character posing.   PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 132,250 signal said: I need a Balamb Garden full art land. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I don't even know what color mana you'd get out of Balamb Garden, honestly. All of the Gardens feel more like colorless artifact lands than anything else.