Megurine Luka packs

Title: Megurinasai
Street Release: 2009/01/30

tracklist:

Disc 1:
01. Whereabouts (TECHNiA Luka RMX)
02. RIP=RELEASE
03. ワンダーラスト
04. 誰よりもHappyDay-twin vocal style-
05. スペックだけの恋
06. ダブルラリアット
07. Japanese Ninja No.1 -Full ver.-
08. Fake Real
09. bootstrap
10. 革命
11. Symmetric target
12. transient future
13. 星屑ユートピア
14. HEROINE
15. 4 FREEDOM (Original mix)

Disc 2:
01. a faint voice
02. 想い、胸に刻んで…
03. Angel's Radio -chu chu noise-
04. 甘い罠
05. Extension of my wish
06. regeneration
07. 飛べない鳥
08. 宴
09. 怨み節
10. 京都慕情
11. スキヤキ(上を向いて歩こう)
12. 永遠の霧の都
13. I(アイ)
14. Scarborough Fair
15. Happy Birthday To Megurine Luka
Bonus track:
16. たこルカポルカ
17. まぐろたべたい

Disc 3:
01 Omake
Miku Hatsune - Happy Birthday To Megurine Luka
Nike feat. Luka Megurine - Sukiyaki (Ue wo Muite Arukou)
Nike feat. Luka Megurine - I (music video)

download link:
Megurinasai disc 1
Megurinasai disc 2
Megurinasai disc 3+scans

sauce: Toshokan
............................................................

others:
Megurine Luka Pack 1
Megurine Luka Pack 2

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Since most of these are available via torrent, why not uploading them for those who haet torrent. Pack 1 contains some many other songs not included in Megurinasai, inclusing some other animu song parodies. And Pack 1 is not uploaded by me, I just take it from /rs/

tbh I never thought that someday I would listen to vocaloid, because in the first place I never had any interest in the first 2 vocaloid series (Miku and Rin/Len) because,well their music and voice aren't fit to my taste... I guess. Then I saw Megurinasai upped on Toshokan, so it got me thinking, trying this one won't hurt i suppose. And it's surprisingly a good listen, as I love her voice and many of her songs. Particularly Double Lariat, Japanese Ninja, Kakumei (my favorite), Symmetric Target, Hoshikuzu Utopia, Transient Future, Tobenai Tori, as well as the bonus tracks.

ASUS Open Winter 2009 - Summary

ASUS Winter is another annual ASUS tournament held in Russia, and Asus 2009 opened its diary with the Winter edition of the tournament, which was held in Moscow on 21st and 22nd of February. A total of 32 teams qualified to the group stage of 8, of which the top two from each group will qualify into the playoff in best-of-1 format.

Among these 32 teams, there are some quite well known teams, notably Rush3D who won the previous Asus and is the heavy favorite to win this tournament, DTS-Gaming and OKHO. Prior to the tournament, there are several major team rooster changes in Rush3d and OKHO, where vigoss of Kingsurf.International (KS.Int) joined Rush3D temporarily for this tournament, while LightofHeaven left Rush3D to join OKHO. Another notable name in the tournament is Jolie, another former Virtus.Pro (VP) who currently also played in KS.Int, played for team TG under the name PornTraktr (his commonly known nick before Jolie iirc).

ASUS OPEN WINTER 2009
date: 21st - 22nd February 2009
venue: Moscow
format: 8 groups stage and playoff, best-of-1 (grand final best of 3)
map used: Dota Allstars 6.59c

Source: prodota.ru
prodota - group stage
prodota - playoff
prodota - replay

alternate source: myMYM
myMYM - group stage
myMYM - playoff

tournament outcome:

1. Rush3D
   
2. SP6
3. OKHO
4. TG
   

tournament summary: Most teams featuring big names (Rush3d, DTS, TG, OKHO, and SP6) march through the playoff by winning all 3 games in their group stage matches. With the exception of TBA which features a notable player FocusIRE, a former SP player (and rumor has it that there's also another ex-VP player, Admiration in the team), who lost a game in the group stage.

Moving to the playoff, all the big names proceed to the semi final, winning their respective games, with the exception of DTS who lost to TG (with Jolie in) in the quarter final. Although, somehow this is not quite a surprise, because DTS seems to lost their form even after the return of their leader Travka from hiatus (or might he be the reason for their inconsistency?). Rush3d meet the expectation to reach the final by beating TG in the semi final, while OKHO fall to SP6 and have to content for the 3rd/4th place game. After an exciting final game, Rush3d finally beat SP6 to win yet another ASUS tournament. There is still no replay for the 2nd game though.

On the 3rd/4th place game, OKHO and TG battled in an EPIC GAME which eventually won by OKHO. This is probably the best game of the tournament.

........................................

To be honest the only team I'm intersted to watch in this tournament is Rush3D, mainly because of vigoss. For this tournament, Rush3d team consist of NS (leader), vigoss, ARS-ART, Vein and PGG. This has VP remarks all over the team :))
So in total I watch 1 of their group game against BG-Gaming, and all of their playoff matches. My comment of their performance: another convincing performance by Rush3D throughout the tournament, as usual they applied the best ganking strategy used by VP in 6.48b era into the game - taking down the opponent's outer tower as fast as possible, while fiercely protecting their own outer towers, gain map control, gank, gank and gank to put the pressure on the enemies. This works particularly well in their group games, where they totally rape BG-Gaming [replay]. In that game, vigoss played a spectacular Mirana, evading many crucial stun and spells with Leap and despite the utterly one-sided game, it's a really entertaining replay to watch in the eyes of Rush3d (or vigoss)'s fan.

Moving to playoff, they continued their domination with the same style against DPM [replay]. I rarely see vigoss playing non-carry ganker like Lion, as he did in this game. IMO he does not played particularly well in this game, getting out of place in several key team battles and sometimes he just invites death by letting himself surrounded by the opponent. But overall Rush3D still played to theor core strategy, beating DPM without letting a single of their tower getting taken down. There’s one attempt at one point by DPM to take down mid tower, but they failed because all Rushed players TP in and initiate almost perfect combo, saving the tower from being destroyed.

In the quarter final, they meet TBA (read: FocusIRE) [replay]. Not quite a one sided game, but Rush3d still gained map control fairly quickly and put pressure on TBA all over the place. Vigoss played a great Puck, getting a lot of solo kills and his choice of Necronomicon totally gives TBA's Leoric no chance of Reincarnation.

Then they meet TG (read: ks.jolie.ru) in the semi final [replay]. Finally, a game where Rush3d failed to protect their outer tower. Their 1st mid tower was taken down well 25 minutes in. As expected from the leader of ex-VP, they also try to adapt similar style as Rush3D. But then, 3 ex-VP (vigoss, NS and Smile in rush3d) is overwhelmingly advantageous over 1 ex-VP (jolie). Of course Rush3d would have the upper hand :))
The fact that Sand king and Lina failed to get dagger for TG seals the game in Rush3d's favor.

With the win over TG, Rush3D book their place in the final against SP6 who previously beat OKHO (read: LightofHeaven) [replay]. Hm...a lot for me to comment about this game, but I'll make it short.

Bans:
Rush3D: Krobelus Axe Naix Brood
SP6: CM Undying ES KotL

Pick:
Rush3D: NA Warlock Puck Spectre QoP
SP6: Zeus Tinker Mirana Tidehunter Chen

Picking phase: I saw Rush3d's first three pick are NA, Warlock and Puck. Seeing this, I am smiling because I'm almost sure that Smile (Ars-Art) will play NA, which he famous of doing so in the old VP era. And my bet would be vigoss on Puck, but then they pick QoP as their last pick.. and I'm all excited. I certainly looking forward to another vigoss's "bootless-necronomicon Akasha" :)
Moving to the game, it's a fairly balanced game from the early-mid game. SP6 manage to take down Rush3d's first mid tower, although they also lost all their first outer tower in the process. Smile's NA farmed a quick Dagon, Vigoss got his Necronomicon 3 a little late, but in the end still manage to farm both Book and Guinsoo. PGG meanwhile brought back the old spectre with Radiance and Heart :D
The game is sealed toward's Rush3d's way when SP6 failed miserably in their effort to push Rush3d's bottom tower, where a perfect combo from Warlock, Puck, QoP and Spectre killed all 5 SP6 heroes, netting a triple kill for NS's Warlock, while vigoss himself got a double kill. From that moment, Rush3D gain momentum to push and steadily picked off SP6's one by one. Overall it's a really well played game from both team.

Then the 3rd/4th placing game between TG and OKHO. A really, really epic game, great comeback by OKHO to win the game. Match facts:

bans: no info
picks:
TG: Zeus Puck NA Mirana QoP
OKHO: Treant Undying CM Visage Necrolyte
replay: here

• at some point, TG had overwhelming kill/death ratio of 34/7
• 4 out of 5 TG heroes went for Manta Style (including Zeus and NA rofl)
• Light's Treant and KarocheZAEBIS's Visage basically carry OKHO to victory with drag getting Beyond Godlike too.
• blow's CM fed all game
• OKHO lost all their rax (Mega Creep), but manage to kill PotM and QoP, who has no enough gold to buy out. And while CM, Necrolyte and Undying defend the base against the Super Creep, Treant and Visage push through mid and straight to throning. TG throw all their heroes to stop OKHO but end up being killed. A really epic end for an epic comeback game.

Congratulation to Rush3D for winning Asus Open Winter 2009.

Spring 2009 Anime Series

TV SERIES

Kiniro no Corda ~second passo~ Episode 01 [26/3]
Lupin the 3rd VS Detective Conan [--/3]
Marie & Gali [31/3]
Mainichi Kaa-san [1/4]
Phantom ~Requiem of Phantom~ [2/4]
Gugutto Gokyjyou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou [3/4]
Metal Fight Beyblade [5/4]
Dragon Ball Z Digital Remastering Edition [5/4]
Jewel Pets [5/4]
Konnichi wa Anne [5/4]
Hanasakuru Seishounen [5/4]
Guin Saga [5/4]
COBRA THE ANIMATION -Mutobe no Yuushi- [--/4]
Natsu no Arashi! [5/4]
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST [5/4]
Eden of the East [--/4]
Sugar Bunnies Season 3 [--/4]
Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Crimson S [--/4]
Basquash! [--/4]
Sengoku BASARA [--/4]
PandoraHearts [--/4]
K-ON! [--/4]
Queens Blade Rurou no Senshi [--/4]
Senjou no Valkyria -Gallian Chronicles- [--/4]
Chi's Sweet Home Season 2
07-Ghost [--/4]
Shangri-La [--/4]
Tears to Tiara [--/4]
Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity- [--/4]
Saki [--/4]
Hatsukoi Gentei. [--/4]
Hayate no Gotoku 2 [--/4]
Asura Cryin' [--/4]
Cross Game [--/4]
ROBO CROSSER
Bakugan Battle Brawlers: New Vestroia
RAINBOW Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

OVA

Tsubasa: Shunraiki (OVA) [17/3]
Ichigo mashimaro: Encore (OVA) [25/3]
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei (OVA) [25/3]
Koihime Musou OVA [1/4]
To Love Ru OVA [3/4]
Denpa teki na Kanojo (OVA) [1/5]
xxxHOLiC: Shunmuki (OVA) [15/5]
ToHeart2 adplus (OVA) [24/4]
COBRA THE ANIMATION Time Drive (OVA) [4/4]

Movie/Film

Doraemon: Nobita no Uchuu Kaitaku-shi (Film) [7/3]
Yatterman [7/3]
Chou Gekijouban Keroro Gunso 4: Gekishin! DRAGON WARRIORS de arimasu! (Film) [7/3]
Eiga Precure All-Stars DX Minna Tomodachi (Film) [20/3]
Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser (Film)l [18/4]
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Ragan-hen (Film) [25/4]
Kara no Kyoukai 7: Satsujin Kousatsu (Film)
Biography of Gusuko Budori (Film)
Elite Yankee Saburo (Film)
Tsuri-kichi Sanpei (Film)
Eureka Seven: Pocket Full of Rainbows (Film)

sauce: various

............................

Spring is drawing near, finally. Too bad though, it marked the start of my final year degree, so I have no choice but to be picky for this Spring. Most likely won't have the time to marathon like I used to. For starter, I would surely put FMA and HnG2 on my watchlist. And I hope I can spare a bit more time to add 3 or 4 more series into my watchlist. I would love to watch Saki, K-On and Tears to Tiara though.

Lost Paradise

random title...is random.

somehow I feel like filling my boredom here because...
-I only has 3 weeks left before the new semester of my final year stars :((
-My housemates still haven't returned home from Malaysia, and our house rent contract is almost expired (within a few more days). How am I supposed to deal with this alone =A=
-my BankSA visa card expires this month, but I have yet to renew it. I won't be able to use EFTPOS for awhile...
-my student card also have yet to be renewed, although it still have about 2 weeks before expires



what's with all this bad news? Argh, I better enjoy this holiday while it last. Going to be a hella busy day once my semester starts.

meanwhile, while lurking through U-Tu-Be/NicoNicoDouga last night, I found an uberly greatly epicly awesome ToV MAD video

[Tales of Vesperia] BATTLE COLLECTION ~RAINBOW~

no words can describe my amazement.

ps: been a long time since I enjoy a mafia-themed animu since Baccano. Done with first part of Black Lagoon yesterday, going to continue with 2nd part soon :)

topical ten - seraph's 2008 anime

Finally its done, although very late. I'm taking my time until now mainly due to the ongoing Fall series like To Aru, Tales of Abyss, Toradora and Gundam 00, to judgie which show worth my pick. So here goes. Reminder: these are merely my personal choice.

10. Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu

MAL/official

Airing date: 2008-07-03 to 2008-09-25 (Summer)
Number of Episodes: 12

Voted as my favorite Summer show, why not making this into the list. Unfortunately, last season Summer were only filled with average shows, and Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu is the better one in my book, beside World Destruction. As previously ranted in my pre-Fall entry, while this show is one that I truly enjoy throughout, I still am disappointed with the character development, by this I refer to Yuto-Haruka relationship. We see the same thing going every week, and on top of that, the plot itself is full of predictable stuff. Well at least it has one of the better ED song, one of the few catchy song I like after those in Lucky Star (and later Kannagi).

09. Mnemosyne - Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi (OVA)

MAL/Official
Airing Date: 2008-02-03 (Winter)
Number of Episodes: 6

The only OVA that made it into the list. Why do I like Mnemosyne? First, it's Kugimiya+Mamiko Noto factor :)) Second, awesome OP and ED theme by Galneryus. Third, the concept of story itself are intriguing - the survival of the Immortals and Angels, driven by the Seed of Time from the Yggdrasil Tree. Enriched with violent, gore and nudity to some extent. In the end of the day, the story still left a little bit of plotholes, leaving the viewer bewildering on the future of mankind in the series, but overall Mnemosyne is still a satisfying show, going from one episodes to another (each of which released monthly).

08. True Tears

MAL/official
Airing date: 2008-01-05 to 2008-03-29 (Winter)
Number of Episodes: 13

Let's see...it has been almost a year since then, so my memories is kinda foggy. True tears is one of the better romance series last year, at least I like this better than Kimikiss (both series end at the same time, around Spring). With the triangle romance between Shinichiro, Hiromi and Noe, both this and Kimikiss has a slight resemblance in term of ending, but I definitely favor the final pairing in True Tears. Character development is average at best, but it is backed up by nice story and ideas (I always like Noe's chicken song :)) Animation quality is surprisingly very good too.
oh, a bonus, in case anyone missed: True Tears 300 parody :D

07. Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed

MAL/official
Airing Date: 2008-01-05 to 2008-03-22 (Winter)
Number of Episodes: 12

Another show which plays with our mind. Shigofumi is one of the better Winter series that set my tune for the show right from the first try on episode 1 (I STAB JOO). Story wise, the way it psychologically deals with a matter of life and death is always intriguing, but overall the plot is not that heavy and easy to understand. A mailman (Fumika) whose job is to send a letter from the dead to the receiver who is alive, and each of the letters (Shigofumi) has its own purpose. Each episode open our eyes to the reality of the world - the likes of corruption, hypocrisy, bullying, loyalty and honesty etc. Oh not to forget, OP song by ALI PROJECT is win :)

06. Ef A Tale of Melodies

MAL/official
Airing Date: 2008-10-06 to 2008-12-22 (Fall)
Number of Episodes: 12

hm...should I say anything more than that already mentioned in my top Fall series? SHAFT successful effort on Ef A Tale of Memories on 2007 continued with Ef A Tale of Melodies. One word: Unique-ness.

05. To Aru Majustu no Index

MAL/official
Airing Date: 2008-10-04 to ?? (Fall)
Number of Episodes: 24

The only ongoing show in my pick. Easily one of my best Fall series after Ga Rei Zero. Very good blend of thrilled action, dramas and comedies with great animation and music choice (coming from the same JC Staff that made Shana, what do you expect). And...science! The show put a good input of general science into the series, although some of the application are as ridiculous as the theorycraft in Chaos;Head. The characters are lovable too, especially Index and Misaka. No, don't deny it :)
Overall the story is divided into several arcs, which sometimes made me wonder if the past villain will be simply forgotten once they're defeated (with the exception of the current Accelerator, Misha..). Hm..Tales of Vesperia vibes?

04. Toshokan Sensou

MAL/official
Airing Date: 2008-04-10 to 2008-06-26 (Spring)
Number of Episodes: 12

The concept of this show is unique. So unique that as mentioned in my entry about this show stated; "If we were observed by people whose world has no MEA or LFA, we would have looked absolutely ridiculous". The use of military actions to show how both MEA (Media Enhancement Act) and LFA (Library Corp) try to achieve their ambition by any means emphasize the theme further.
In term of character development, we saw how the story focus mostly on the 2 main characters, Kasahara and Doujou, both of which are quite similar in term of attitude. Don't expect great romance between them, but it still exist, subtly. Graphic-wise, Production I.G. nicely applied cell-shading into the animation, which surprisingly looks good in my eyes.

03. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

MAL/official
Airing Date: 2008-04-06 to 2008-09-28 (Spring)
Number of Episodes: 25

OK, this is probably the most anticipated show in 2008, albeit overhyped. Code Geass season 1 left a great impression toward the viewers, including myself. Come the second season, I was left jawdropping in almost every episodes. Yes, each episodes never failed to impress me, seeing how miracles are made out of the impossibles. Some describes this show as trainwrecks - a disaster. Almost everything just went so smoothly (or at least went according to what the fans want it to be) - JUST AS PLANNED. But I don't mind any of that, because what more important for me is the fact that I enjoy the show. As well as the ending.

02.Ga Rei Zero

MAL/official
Airing Date: 2008-10-05 to 2008-12-21
Number of Episodes: 12

Just like Ef Melo I suppose. Nothing more to add than what already stated in my Top 5 Fall entry. A series full of awesomeness, end of notes.

01. Spice&Wolf

MAL/official
Airing Date: 2008-01-08 to 2008-03-25
Number of Episodes: 13

Heh, I guess I didn't see this coming....NOT! Economy, trading and profit show for the win. So what should I add after all the stuff I wrote on my S&W review?
That Horo is my waifu :3

Ayane compilation

I have previously posted Ayane's first two albums, Archive Lovers and Hyper Moe Trance (sorry I still haven't upload this one, the size's too large). And totally missed her 3rd album (Elehant Notes) which was released way back in last year Summer.

ELEPHANT NOTES
Release Date: Aug 06, 2008

tracklist:

1. Kimi ga Ita Shouko ni
2. Lunatic Tears...
3. DOLPHIN☆JET
4. Everlasting Sky
5. ribbon
6. Taiyou to Umi no Melody
7. Shizuku
8. Eien no Memories
9. cloudier sky
10. New Breeze
11. Close Your Eyes
12. Kimi no Kakera
13. KIZUNA
14. Purimidia

download link [here]

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

SINGLES


11eyes Opening Theme "Lunatic Tears..."／ 彩音
Release Date: May 07, 2008

tracklist:

01 Lunatic Tears...
02 Sword of Oblivion
03 Lunatic Tears... (off vocal)
04 Sword of Oblivion (off vocal)

download link [here]

.....................................................


Cloudier Sky (Ayakashi OP single)
Release Date: January 25, 2008

tracklist:

1. cloudier sky
2. WISH ON TRUTH
3. cloudier sky (off vocal)
4. WITH ON TRUTH (off vocal)

download link [here] (nipponsei release)

..........................................................

Dolphin Jet (Umisho OP Single)
Release Date: July 25, 2007

tracklist:

1. DOLPHIN JET
2. New Breeze
3. DOLPHIN JET (Instrumental)
4. New Breeze (Instrumental)

download link [here] (nipponsei release)

........................................................


Memories Off 5 Togireta Film THE ANIMATION - Theme song: Film Maker
Release Date: March 29, 2006

tracklist:

01. FILM MAKERS
02. Dare yori mo Kitto ~for memories~
03. FILM MAKERS CONCERT VER.
04. FILM MAKERS (Original Karaoke)
05. Dare yori mo Kitto ~for memories~ (Original Karaoke)

download link [here]

.......................................................


Higurashi Daybreak Portable Theme Song - Sono Saki ni Aru, Dareka no Egao no Tame ni
Release Date: Dec 24, 2008

tracklist:

01 Sono Saki ni Aru, Dareka no Egao no Tame ni
02 Key of Dream
03 Sono Saki ni Aru, Dareka no Egao no Tame ni (off vocal)
04 Key of Dream (off vocal)

download link [here] (in lossless format)


ps: Lunatic Tears best song np

Dota League Masters - Grand Final

finally Dota-League Masters concludes successfully with 2 matches played - the Loser bracket final and the Grand Final. SK.Gaming who lost their first match against MYM and knocked into the loser bracket march through the rest of the teams in the loser bracket to book another fateful encounter with MYM, who lost to KS.Int in the winner bracket final.

...........................................................................................................................................

Loser Bracket Final, SK.Gaming vs MYM

bans:
SK: SA, Chen, CM, Puck
MYM: Naix, Brood, Spectre, NA

SK Gaming, Sentinel

[earthshaker] SK.KwoM (Top)
[potm] SK.Hailo (Top)
[visage] SK.Loda (Middle)
[lich] SK.Tompa (Bottom)
[Admiral] SK.Snow (Bottom)

MeetYourMakers, Scourge

[sandking] MYM|MN (Top)
[warlock] MYM|PUSHERSTREET (Top)
[krobelus] MYM|Mlk (Middle)
[kotl] MYM|Hanni (Bottom)
[zeus] MYM|PlaymatE (Bottom)

replay download [here]

match comment: looking at the pick sequence, during MYM first 4 picks, I was left wondering what would be their last pick, because they didn't pick any late hero yet (zeus+warlock, kotl+sk as their first 2 picks). And then they last pick Krobelus... to be honest I failed to see this push strat coming because of Earthskater's existence on SK side, but I forgot that MYM push strat is not based on unit numbers.
And MYM carry their pushing strat to perfection. At bottom lane, Zeus with unlimited mana thanks to KotL, keep Lich and Admiral busy to back off due to harassment from Arc Lighning. Maelk did well mid lane too. Overall SK's lack of AOE to fend off MYM push (ES, Admiral and PotM barely able to defend against thousands of nukes coming towards them) decided the game. MYM won the game and went to the Grand Final, where the team that beat them previously, KS. Int waiting.

.................................................................................................................................................

DLM Grand Final, KS.Int vs MYM

Map Version: v6.57b
Mode: -CM Captain's Mode
Format: Best of 3

Bans:
KS.Int: Zeus Chen Puck Kotl
MYM: Naix Spectre Meepo Admiral

Kingsurf.International, Sentinel

[tinker] Ks^KuroKy (Top)
[krobelus] Ks^joliE (Middle)
[earthshaker] Ks^Puppey (Middle)
[CM] Ks^Miracle (Bottom)
[NA] Ks^LevenT (Bottom)

MeetYourMakers, Scourge

[SA] MYM|PlaymatE (Top)
[Warlock] MYM|PUSHERSTREET (Top)
[Sandking] MYM|MN (Middle)
[Lina] MYM|Mlk (Middle)
[Brood] MYM|Hanni (Bottom)

replay download: [here]

match comment: KS.Int have 1:0 advantage due to coming from winner bracket, so a win is enough for them to become the champion of DLM.
Smart move by KS.Int to ban KotL, seeing how effectively MYM used him in the LB final against SK. KS.Int use the strat that MYM used to beat SK - pushing with CM as the mana fountain. Seeing Kuroky as Tinker, I can safely say that the game almost certain belong to KS.Int. And he didn't dissappoint as usual, with quick BoT, BKB and Shiva within 25-30 minutes.
Puppey played a roaming ES, helping each lane to get kills. There's some funnily missed fissure from him too :)) Bottom lane, Playmate had a hard time dealing with NA+CM combo, although he eventually still able to farm a BKB. Mid lane, although SK+Lina dual stun combo manage to get First Blood on Jolie's Krobelus, after that they failed to put enough pressure on him. As a result, KS.Int with the help of Krobelus pushing power manage to get all MYM outer tower, while losing only one. The game has been decided since then; outplayed and underfarmed, MYM couldn't hold against the push and lose the game. Well played by KS.Int.
Not the most interesting Grand Final game if I would say, because It is pretty much a one sided game past the laning phase.

/////////////////////////////////////

overall tournament impression - Although I am quite happy to see KS.Int won the tournament, I am a little disappointed with that the lack of evenly matched game. In fact, I hardly recall any balanced game where both team fought evenly, except maybe the first game of MYM vs SK. While MYM showed their prowess by beating most of the team in the tournament easily, they still unable to beat KS.Int, and the two matches they had were not even considered as evenly match games, because KS.int outclassed them in every single aspects.

For me, this tournament also showed how strong KS.Int is, even without vigoss. Their level of teamplay is simply far above everyone else. Vigoss never seem to be missed in this tournament, in fact IMO Jolie seems to add more depth to their playstyle.

Nevertheless, congratulations to Kingsurf.International for winning Dota-League Masters Offline Tournament.

links:

www.DotA-League.com - Event Coverage
www.DotA-League.com - Event Bracket
www.DotA-League.com - Event Replays

Dota League Masters - Day 2

continuing from day one which saw the German local team Celebrities Allstars (CA) marching through the playoff, the DotA League Masters continued its second day with a handful of great games.

As of Saturday February 8th, all Winner Bracket matches has been played, featuring some interesting match between top teams, including SK vs MYM in the first round. MYM marched through to the inner bracket final by beating SK and then DmZ, and hence booked a meeting with Kingsurf.International who had convincing display throughout the tournament by beating the Preliminary winner CA and then WickeD.

The current bracket can be viewed here.

Overall I only watched 4 replays of this tournament so far, including all KS. Int replays (hey, I'm ks fan after all) and MYM-SK game.

ps: forgot to mention that all matches are in best of 1 format, except the Grand final (best of three). Map used is 6.57b.

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round 1 games: MYM vs SK.Gaming [replay]

bans:
MYM: Naix Spectre KotL Admiral
SK: Axe NA Brood Meepo

Picks:
MYM: Puck CM Mirana Chen Jugger
SK: Zeus Warlock SandKing Tide SF

match comments: Looking at the lineup, I somehow can tell that it would be hard for SK to win if they prolong the game becuase SF alone couldn't outcarry a combined Jugger and Mirana. SK looked dominant early games with some good early kills, but they slowly lose their momentum, losing major teamfights and allow Jugger to farm imba items. The final 2 teamfights decided the game, which SK lost all 5 heroes.
moment of the game: 24th minute and 43rd minute. Nice red hp escape by Loda (first) and Mania (second).

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round 2 (winner bracket semi final) game: KS. Int vs WickeD [replay]

bans:
KS. Int: Zeus Brood Admiral Kotl
WickeD: Meepo Tinker NA CM

picks:
KS. Int: Puck SandKing Warlock Spectre Chen
WickeD: naix Mirana Lina Tide QoP

match comments: one word - raped. Total domination by KS. Int, shown by how short this replay is - just above 24 minutes to force WickeD to forfeit. So badly raped that Naix can't even farm a thread. Kuroky's Spectre is a beast as always, and Jolie went for unorthodox Shiva build on Warlock.

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round 3 (winner bracket final) game: KS. Int vs MYM [replay]

bans: no info

picks:
MYM: Tinker Mirana Tide Axe CM
KS. Int: Puck warlock Admiral Lina SandKing

match comment: MYM did well in laning phase, with Axe giving a hard time on dual stun of SK-Lina (rofl). But Maelk's decision to go for Phase Boots first instead of completing Hood/Vanguard, imo cost them the game. In the end of the day, he only manage to complete Hood, but failed to geta Dagger while KS. Int was practically farmed, especially Kuroky's Admiral (16 minute Relic of gg).
30th minute in, the sign was there, KS. Int almost certain to take the game, but MYM still try their best to prolong the game, hoping Tinker can do miracle for them (because he is also relatively farmed with early BoT and BKB, then Guinsoo). However, these proves not enough to stop KS. Int especially with the amount of spammable disables that KS. int had. KS. Int won and proceed to the grand final.

MYM who lost are knocked to the loser bracket. SK who lost to MYM in the first round came all the way to the loser bracket semi final to face MET, of which the winner will face MYM in loser bracket final. It seems like these matches, along with the grand final will be played on Sunday the 8th. I am certainly root for KS. Int to take the glory :)

[DLM Preliminaries] How to pick a nicknames

Dota League Masters is an offline dota event held by Dota-League, running over three days in Hannover, Germany from Friday, February 6th until Sunday the 8th. It is basically a knockout round involving 8 teams, of which 7 of them are well known teams invited to the tournament, while the last spot is awarded to the winner of preliminary round, featuring local teams. The invited teams include Meetyourmakers (MYM), SK Gaming (SK), Kingsurf.International (KS.Int), DiamonZ.eV (DmZ), Wicked eSports (Wicked), eSuba and Mom Equals Toilet (MET).

links:
- Dota League Masters official website
- DLM brackets

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Ok, first of all, team I support in this tournament is of course, KS.Int. Second being MYM. It's sad that vigoss is unable to attend the event because of VISA problem (rofl visa again?) but he is replaced by teammate, and another ex-Virtus.Pro member Jolie.

back to the purpose of this entry.

the preliminaries round were held yesterday. the bracket:


All of them are local germany teams afaic. tbh I am not really interested in watching the replay, but considering the winner of this bracket will meet KS. Int (tough luck lads) in the real bracket, then I guess watching at least the final prelim match won't hurt.

DLM Preliminary final: Celebrity Allstars vs Get in the VAN, I have candy

Bans: (CA First) kotl | dk | broodmother | NA | Admiral | earthshaker | SA | Spectre
Picks: (CA First) CM | naix warlock | Zeus PotM | Tidehunter puck | SF Juggernaut | morphling

Celebrity Allstars, Sentinel

[Zeus] Pudge_Spencer (Top)
[PotM] CA|Wolfi (Top)
[SF] Drow_Barrymore (Middle)
[CM] Gorgon_Shumway (Bottom)
[Jugg] Puck_Norris (Bottom)

Get in the VAN, I have candy, Scourge

[naix] VAN#dippiiduu (Top)
[warlock] VAN#Belike (Top)
[morpling] VAN#gno_Ou- (Middle)
[puck] VAN#Fussel (Bottom)
[tide] VAN#Try (Bottom)

replay download [here]
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I almost cracked myself seeing this two team. The scourge team pedo-like name made me laugh, but sentinel nicknames are even more epic, integrating celebrities name with dota heroes. I lol @ puck_norris and drow_barrymore. And word has it that they have another 2 ex-teammates nicknamed Riki_Martin and Edward Nortrom :))

as for the replay itself: hm...not too interesting in my book. The early game somehow irritate me, especially top lane. Warlock laned with Naix, which is a clear indicator that he is supposed to babysit Naix. But I rarely see him use Shadow Word on naix when he is half hp, which force naix to back off a little to prevent further harassment from Zeus and Mirana. And then the rest is clear - Naix failed to farm his item. Not even a treads. Then, At some points at top Mirana seems afraid to take risk - eg casting a blind arrow to a very low hp Naix, or when he and naix was trapped at bush top tower - he could have easily kill Naix with Starfall.
CA dominate throughout the game, and booked the final place in Dota League Masters.

but as seen in the bracket, they will face KS.Int in the first round. Really hard to see them winning tbh. Fortunately there is still loser bracket, so there is still chances to advance even if they lost a match.

can't wait for the start of bracket match, especially SK vs MYM :)

The Gate of Seraphim [part 2]

continued from part 1 [here]

Let's see..last time I stop at Port Zala/Zala Coast, which is pretty much a branch from the main road of Seraphic Gate. In order to continue SG, I need to backtrack to Port Zala (from Zala Coast), went to the beach area that leads to the Zala Coast (in actual game) and use the portal there. Back to Bihar Mines. Out of room, take the portal directly on the left. Another nightmare awaits. Arrived in...

Floor 8: Cobasna Timberland

Yes, the second nightmare after Oradian Dunes. Knowing how annoying I am when I go through the real Cobasna Timberland in the actual game (without the help of walkthrough), the Cobasna in SG is no different. Those annoying teleporters are not there anymore. While this might seem a good thing, on a minus side, it is still make things annoying. Again, I need to rely on my 6th sense to go through such a friggin huge area (because there's no map, as usual). So I use the "usual" effective method I always use in many rpgs: stick to the left or right wall, all the way to the end :))
The portal at the end connects with the 9th floor, Nolaan.

A boss here, although I didn't really consider this as real boss because he is fairly weak.
Boss: Peluda (normal mode hp: 350,000)
WEAKKKKKKKKKK

oh, since I found a nice playlist from youtube (credit to animeruko), I guess I should include these videos. And need to edit the previous SG entry too. Though, for some reason s/he is a BIG fan of Capell's Reginleaf :((

Floor 9: Nolaan

It's Nolaan. A peaceful village now infested with monsters. Nothing major to be commented because there is only monsters, no boss. The crab monsters are annoying though.

Floor 10: Vesplume Tower Interior

Hm...what the hell is Vesplume Tower, I almost forgot already. Never mind that, this floor is straightforward. A couple of Order Soldiers and Ogre in my way, which isn't that hard to deal with. BUT. There's a very stronk boss lies ahead, and he is none other than Gabriel Celeste. Ok, actually he is not stronk, just like how average he was in VP, VP Silmeria, Star Ocean and Radiata Stories. But his spinning slashing sword is annoying though. It seems uninterruptable.

Gabriel Celeste, normal mode hp: 1,000,000
video time.

note: this video describes the short journey through floor 10. Notice the form which Gabriel Celeste take? Nice choice of model. That brat as Gabriel, and his sister as Ethereal Queen :)

Floor 11: Kolton

Finally, a save point! \(0w0)/
Genma is there to provide all your need. Resting, and items. I usually would stock up Gold and Silver Metal (Voucher FTW) in case i want to level up more in the next dungeons. To the left (facing the throne room) is a portal that leads to the 12th floor, Castle valette (dead end floor); while going forward 2 rooms lead to portal leading to Graad Wood, the 13th floow (continue to floor 14). There is also a portal that leads back to the real world, Kolton.
So the choice is mine. Go back? But there is no shortcut to continue with my current journey if I go back now. Save? I don't think I need one, because my party is stronk :))

Floow 12: Castle Valette

There's 2 path to choose: going all the way down will lead to a long, long path which eventually come to a dead end. Levelling in this floor at low level is nice, but at level 200+ it is kinda obsolete. So I go to the other way which brought me to the path that leads to the boss - Wrath (normal mode hp: 400,000)

again, another video credit to animeruko.

he is another boss with gay teleport, although not as annoying as Ethereal Queen. But overall 400,000 hp is not something I should be worry about, particularly considering how overpowered I am.
beat him, go back to Portal to Kolton (floor 11) and go forward to floor 12.

Floor 13: Graad Woods

This floow is long. Very long. Just like how annoyed I am while exploring the real Graad Woods due to the sheer length of this wood. Fortunately it is a very straightforward floor with virtually no branch route to confuse you. And, I actually LOVE this floor. Why? Because this is arguably THE best place to level up, get money, and get the MOST valuable ore, Atlantis Metal (ok, I know I can get this easily via voucher). It is the three Ogres by the end of this floor which provides all these benefits. How?
Go to the portal (into 14th floor), go back and you see the three ogres showing their ass to your direction. So what does that means? Use Aya's (or whoever with long range attacks) Cardinal Cloak for Pre-emptive Strike!
Coupled with Exp x 4 (capell's Enhancement skill, consume Gold+Silver Metal), you can easily get 10+ (or even more) levels within half an hour.

Floor 14: Dragonbone Shrine

Kinda tired, so I guess I'll make this shorter. Floor 14 is yet another straightforward dungeon, if you remember the secret path unlocked by Capell and co in the game which allowed him to meet the dragon. A couple of flying monsters, and on the end of the road is a boss. Seaspawn, normal mode hp 550, 000.

video time.


Seppuku if I can't kill him at level 200+. Oh yeah, this boss can transform into a ball like Mr. Kame's turtle in dragon ball and spin around the field.
After this, it is a pretty much straight route until the end of SG.

Floor 15: Castle Prevant

A reverse journey, this time we go from floor 2 to the ground floor. Although there is no boss in this floor, the enemies in this floor are generally far stronger than any other previous floor monsters. And since I mentioned that this dungeon proceed from floor 2 to ground floor, of course I need to deal with the "Dark Room". Fortunately it is not as annoying as the real Castle Prevant Dark Room because 1. there is no traps lying on the ground. 2. there is no gargoyle waiting to ambush you. In the end of the dungeon, there's a portal which leads to the 16th floor, Helgita.

Floor 16: Helgita

Just one more floor to go! The mosnters in this floor has more casters than any other floor. Which is a huge advantage for me, because all my characters are immune to magics (Capell and Edward's Hydra Armor, Sigmund's Eclipse Leggings and Aya's Lunar Necklace) :))
A boss waiting at the church of Helgita down the ground floor. Gryman with 500,000 hp at normal mode.

Floor 17: Lunar Sanctuary

Finally, the final floor~
There is no monsters, but what awaits me are 2 bosses, each need to be fought after another with no break in between. Hence, Enhancement is kinda useless in this fight, because most of the good enhancements expires after 5 minutes, and it is likely that Leonid battle alone would take about 3 to 4 minutes, leaving little to no time left for me to benefit it during the 2nd boss fight.

Anyway, first boss, the return of Leonid (normal mode hp: 1, 800,000).


I don't have problem with him. He is the same old Leonid you've defeated before, with that retarded chains emanating from the ground. And he is easy to hit too.

second boss, ETHEREAL QUEEN (normal mode hp: 2,500,000. add another 2m for Infinity mode)


She's back, baby :D Notice the model used? Oh how I missed the unblessed, and now she's back :3
Yes, she is the strongest boss in Infinite Undiscovery. And one of the most annoying because she keep on teleporting EVERYWHERE on the battlefield. And this is where Capell's Eternal Refrain shines - once succeeded to hit, this Omnislash-like move will keep on hitting the target no matter where it goes. Capell will teleport alongside the target to continue the slash. Which is why, a level 3 Eternal Refrain is a must. Not to mention this skill is one of the coolest skill in the game :)
Her attacks aren't that menacing at level 200+. Seraphim Law, Southern Cross, all are manageable with my current hp. But at one point, she did cast a spell that immobilize my entire party. I almost though I'd dead by that time, fortunately I didn't.

ps: how I wish the battle music for Ethereal Queen was "Incarnation of Devil" Too bad Motoi Sakuraba does not arrange the music for IU.

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Congratulations, SG speedrun accomplished. Took me almost 2 hours to complete this from start to finish, with no save, no rest, a marathon from floor to floor. Next time, I do want to challene Hard and Infinite Mode, unfortunately I don't know when will I pick this game again to be played. This year is a busy year in my study after all.