Sam West
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Articles by Sam West
Streamlining Operations with On-Behalf-Of Automation in ArcGIS Workflow Manager
In today’s fast-paced and complex operational environments, process orchestration is a necessity. Automating routine tasks, reducing bottlenecks, and ensuring that processes run smoothly and consistently across departments and systems is an ever-growing challenge.
High‐protein vegan and omnivorous diets improve peripheral insulin sensitivity to a similar extent in people with type 2 diabetes
1 INTRODUCTION Dietary intake is an important modifiable factor in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D).
The 53 Best Black Enchantments in Magic Ranked
Last updated on December 1, 2025 Animate Dead | Illustration by Bastien L. Deharme Are you in the market for some spells that manage those annoying creatures that keep smashing in your brains at the Commander table? Maybe you just aren’t getting enough cards in hand in a given game or want some spicy combos to get some surprise victories out of nowhere. If so, there’s an abundance of black enchantments that give you what you’re looking for.
The 47 Best Red Enchantments in Magic Ranked
Last updated on November 20, 2025 Descent into Avernus | Illustration by Bruce Brenneise Creatures are flimsy. They can provide great effects, but they’re so prone to interaction, making them a major element of your game plan comes with risk. If you want to reduce the risks while still bringing backbreaking passive effects, enchantments are what you need. Red offers some fantastic enchantments that can up your deck’s power and dazzle factor.
The 48 Best Mass Pump Cards in Magic Ranked
Nissa, Ascended Animist | Illustration by Chase Stone So, you’ve been slinging spells and casting creatures, slowly building up a board full of creatures. Your opponents have been resilient, though; their life remains high, and despite the number of creatures you have, you don’t quite have the collective power to take them out.
Sliver Swarm Upgrade Guide: 26 Easy Changes You Can Make
Leeching Sliver | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov They’re back, and they’re in every nook and cranny of your board and graveyard: we’re talking slivers. Sliver Swarm is a preconstructed Commander Masters deck dedicated to the glory of 5 color slivers, but it has a twist. I’ve got your guide to some easy upgrades that take it to the next level. I want to make this list as powerful as possible while maintaining the overall theme and strategy behind the precon.
The 44 Best White Artifacts in Magic Ranked
Mysterious Limousine | Illustration by Dan Scott White has been dabbling in artifacts in its own unique fashion for a while. It has some of the best quality artifacts that can slot into a bunch of decks, but wading through all the draft chaff printed over the years can be daunting. For your consideration, let me present my top 44 picks for the best white artifacts in Magic.
Enduring Enchantments Upgrade Guide: 23 Easy Changes You Can Make
Starfield Mystic | Illustration by Eric Deschamps Enduring Enchantments takes the iconic enchantress strategy and moves it into black from primarily white and green. This third color adds a new direction the archetype gets to explore: graveyard shenanigans. I’ve got some easy changes you can make to upgrade it out of the box and add some more punch to the deck. I’ll cover everything from ramp and interaction to win conditions and the overall mana base. Ready?
The 50 Best Blue Artifacts in Magic Ranked
Last updated on April 23, 2026 Phyrexian Metamorph | Illustration by Jana Schirmer & Johannes Voss Blue: the color of instants and ingenuity. It has some of the greatest artifact synergies in the game based on its love of knowledge and desire to conquer enemies with intellect in the form of complex, powerful, magical machines. These are the best blue artifacts for Commander brewing, with some applications in other formats like Pioneer and Modern.
The Complete Guide to Control Decks in Magic: the Gathering
Control Magic | Illustration by Terese Nielsen Magic is a game with diverse decks and numerous strategies across multiple formats. If there’s a way you want to play the game, there’s probably a format that supports whatever strategy you love. Something to help pick out your deck is archetypes. Many Magic decks are categorized into four major archetypes that dictate how the deck plays and wants to win: Aggro, midrange, control, and combo.
Éowyn, Shieldmaiden Commander Deck Guide
David Royale 13 minutes ago Commander, MTG Decks, Strategy Éowyn, Shieldmaiden | Illustration by Craig Elliott Lord of the Rings has come to MTG, and today we’ll cover one of the most exciting commanders from Middle-earth to aid humanity. I’m talking about none other than Éowyn, Shieldmaiden, a commander perfect for a human EDH deck. It enables an aggro strategy that can be paired with stax and control elements thanks to the depth of the blue, white, and red cardpools.
Galadriel of Lothlórien Commander Deck Guide
Sam West less then minute ago Commander, MTG Decks, Strategy Llanowar Elves | Illustration by Chris Rahn.jpg Galadriel of Lothlórien is one of the multiple scry payoffs The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, and it sets us up with to build around scrying in Commander. I’m convinced it’s the best of the bunch by a country mile.
Sméagol, Helpful Guide Commander Deck Guide
Sméagol, Helpful Guide | Illustration by Campbell White Sméagol is well known for being the nicer half of the pair of minds inhabiting the body of a tortured hobbit. Today, we’re delving into the kinder half of his psyche with a $25 self-sacrifice landfall deck all about the temptations of the ring and juicing far too much value out of every creature we’ve got. This deck is an introduction point for people looking to delve into a unique take on the classic landfall strategy.
MTG Lord of the Rings Scene Boxes: Are They Worth It?
Bilbo’s Birthday Party Scene | Illustration by Livia Prima The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth boasts a huge number of new products you can pick up showcasing all kinds of interesting characters in a variety of treatments. One new category of products are the Lord of the Rings Scene Boxes, which showcase some of the amazing pieces of art depicted on six of the cards in the set.
Saruman, the White Hand Commander Deck Guide
Timothy Zaccagnino 16 minutes ago Commander, Deckbuilding, MTG Decks, Strategy Saruman, the White Hand | Illustration by Leonardo Borazio The Lord of the Rings’ first venture into the world of Magic: The Gathering brought with it every classic character from the novels, including heroes, villains, and ents. So many ents. Today we’re building around one of the most recognizable antagonists from Tolkien’s work: Saruman. No, not Saruman of Many Colors, the other one. No, not Saruman the White.
Sauron, Lord of the Rings Commander Deck Guide
Sam West 9 minutes ago Commander, Deckbuilding, MTG Decks, Strategy Sauron, Lord of the Rings | Illustration by Alex Brock Sauron, Lord of the Rings helms the Hosts of Mordor preconstructed deck to great success. What if you don’t want all the mess of the precon, and instead want a powered-up Sauron deck that packs a lot more punch? This, then, is the perfect deck for you.
Lord of the Nazgûl Commander Deck Guide
Sam West 2 minutes ago Commander, MTG Decks, Strategy Lord of the Nazgûl | Illustration by Anton Solovianchyk The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth introduced a major boon to the unappreciated wraith creature type. Before now, the best wraith in of Magic probably had to be Street Wraith; now, we’ve got Lord of the Nazgûl, the Witch-king of Angmar, the Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin, Ringwraiths, and, of course, the nine Nazgûl.
MTG's LotR Rings of Power: How Much Are They Worth? How Many Are There?
Sol Ring (LotR Elven Ring of Power) | Illustration by Randy Gallegos The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is the latest set from WotC, and it’s bursting with flavor. It looks like a set for everybody; it’s for new and experienced players alike, as well as fans of both MTG and Middle-earth. At the heart of the set are the mythical limited Rings of Power. What are these rings, and most importantly, how does somebody go about acquiring such a powerful artifact?
Overland literary journal
Kondo claims it could help overspending, weight loss efforts, starting a business, unhappy relationships, career dissatisfaction, feelings of insecurity, stress, procrastination, not knowing your direction in life, and so on. Under this rubric, any problem could be absurdly blamed on not being tidy enough.
Murife Run - Sam West speaks on why he broke up with Vivian
"I am not well. I have been getting support but sometimes I crash. My heart is so heavy . Someone left us and now hates us. I've been trying to rebuild but I've been wondering why. Please pray for me because I'm still a mother." The couple had been together for years after Sam West proposed to Vivian during a live TV show. They were admired by many because of their blended family. Sam west had a son from a previous union while Vivian had a daughter.
'The Last Duel' Is Just a Bro-Down That Conflates Rape with Love
The Last Duel fails to interrogate the complex relationship between power and sexual violence in a plot fundamentally about power and sexual violence. Matt Damon as Jean de Carrouges and Adam Driver as Jacques Le Gris in The Last Duel. (20th Century Studios) For those who missed this critically anticipated box office flop, The Last Duel is a Ridley Scott-directed Ben Affleck and Matt Damon brainchild, co-written with Nicole Holofcener.
Flow State, or the struggle to stage the sublime under Covid
Rising was supposed light up Melbourne and remind the city that – despite everything – art and music (festivals) will prevail. They even set up a sculpture-laden ice rink in the Sydney Myer Music Bowl. But, sadly, the fourth lockdown killed most of the program. The festival lost millions. And, according to Instagram, the rink only got used as a shortcut by foxes. I was lucky enough to preview Sara Retallick and Amanda Roff’s Flow State before it got shut down.
Monroe Street Midway
Roller skating. New murals. Pickup basketball. Food trucks. DJs. Smiling faces… All in the same spot? That’s right. In downtown Detroit? You’ve got it. Worth the trip? 100000%. That’s the beauty of the Monroe Street Midway– it’s fresh, new and there’s something for everyone to enjoy. I had the pleasure of playing a small role in helping to plan this outdoor activation- it took a big team and a lot of passion to develop this immersive experience in such a short time.
Isol-Aid and the limits of post-capitalist ‘connectivity’
Back in March – around when they first locked down the pubs and clubs – I sat down on a grassy hill, opened up Instagram, and tuned for the first time into the Isol-Aid Music Festival. I was soon distracted by the sight of a very stylish woman, waving from the bottom of the hill. ‘Hello,’ she said, ‘I thought I recognised you!’. I recognised her, too. Last year we worked together in the marketing department of a bank.
Dungeons & Dragons in lockdown: as my universe contracts, this game expands whole worlds
The novels I’ve been meaning to read are still on the shelf, and the puzzle of Northern Italy I started is back in its box. The puzzle was supposed to be mediative, and a little bit poetic because they’re having such a hard time over there, but I didn’t even connect all the edges. And I’m OK with that, because this morning my Dungeons & Dragons gang saved a Bullywug campsite from the pinchers of a giant crab-monster.
Indie's Dead, But Bloc Party’s 'Silent Alarm' Tour Was Beautiful Anyway
Way Out West is a column where Melbourne-based writer and cultural critic Sam West thinks (a lot) about music-related stuff, and life in general. The name of the column comes from an old trance song Sam likes. Read more Way Out West here. Bloc Party are in Margaret Court Arena playing Silent Alarm in full.
Exclusive: Chantelle Cameron - My Story, women's boxing and world title dream | World Boxing News
A fight against Brazilian-born Viviane Obenauf (12-3-0) on the 2nd of December at the Leicester Arena for the IBO world lightweight title. For Cameron however, the road to this point has been one filled with highs and lows. In her amateur career prior to turning professional, she endured controversial decisions and even Olympic heartbreak.
Exclusive: Lee McGregor, Barry and Shane McGuigan discuss link-up | World Boxing News
McGregor has been plagued by family tragedy this year - whilst competing at the highest level in the unpaid ranks. “I lost my mum earlier on in the year, my grandma and we’ve lost my cousin at 32 years-old,” he says candidly. “I was fighting through all of this, having to still train, still drag myself to training camps and make weight.
Exclusive: Chris Billam-Smith, Shane and Barry McGuigan discuss working relationship | World Boxing News
“I wouldn't be working with him if I didn't believe he could go all the way and that’s the way it is. He has to believe he can - and the two of us definitely believe it,” says trainer Shane McGuigan, speaking of a new prospect looking to make some noise in the paid ranks of boxing. The journey started a little later than normal for Bournemouth cruiserweight sensation Chris Billam-Smith.
'The Art of Banksy' Exhibition Says More About Banksy Than Banksy Ever Could
The best angle I could come up with to cover Melbourne’s new Banksy exhibition was to break in and tag the place up. That’s what one of the hooded truth-speakers in his stencils would do. There’s no way they’d stand for some entrepreneur — Banky’s former manager Steve Lazarides, who hasn’t spoken to the artist in over a year — staging a show in Banksy’s name without his permission.
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