Salamandrine endurance (channel 4, deal 1, trick S)

Salamandrine endurance (channel 4, deal 1, trick S)

Image by KevinHutchins314
Salamandrine endurance could be necessary during the final joust in the upper reaches of the heavens. The Titanomaxia has progressed until all of the Cosmic Tribe dancers among the mundane elements have exited from the contractor's hand, and only the theogony of the Void remains to settle the exchanges with the co-defenders. The two collaborators against the contractor have some important names and faces to evacuate from the lower realms before the final bridges are burnt behind them, but even with some help from the DEMON (Zero the Hero) they don't all expect to escape the inferno. The blaze spreads as they scurry and scramble!

Strategy:

Dealer (Contractor) = It won't help to lead from the bottom of the trumps because the 5 Hierophant heard from Gode: the Lord's message to the Hiero Hearer explained the position of the 7 Chariot in the defender's posession. It won't help to lead from the top of the trumps, because the 21 God of the Universal Axis heard from the pope: the poopmobile (7 Chariot) can always be used to deflect any bolt of lightning from Olympus, and the defender won't even need to call on the power of his Angels to stand against such a strike.

So this leaves only the middle section of the trumps. Due to the prior usage of the other interleaved Tribe Members in the Void, the contractor now finds his 11 (Lust for Power), 13 (Death of Power), 16 (Tower of Power), and 17 (Star Power) have all become co-adjacent. Any of those will perform the same trick: they will force an uppercut from the defender, and this will cause mandatory flight of one Angel. The defender is known to have three co-adjacent seraphim: 20 Emergence dream~angel, 19 Sun angel, and 18 Moon angel. The contractor can use the 16 to push a seraph out of its eyrie, and this will continue to conceal his 17 in order to obscure its possible future overtrump powers from the Medium. Therefore his logical choice to play in the Void here is: the 16 Tower Of Power. He must spend this power card and passively allow the co-defenders to zip away with all the value of this tierce; with a grimace he shows his 16 Glower.

Initiate = The overtrump is mandatory, and the Initiate defender holds three co-adjacent Angels (20, 19, and 18). All three will do the same job of rescuing this tierce (and any included face card from his partner), but the subtleties of the information imparted by his choice could theoretically come into play later when there are potential questions of more overtrumps. Thus it seems smart to use his lowest seraph 18 Moon Angel and deftly retain his higher orders of void~guardians. This would hopefully impart a tiny hint to his buddy to suggest he still holds major trumps which could be able to defend further tête points among the final few face cards.

Medium = His partner is overtrumping, so this is where he can favorably dispose of another valuable face card. He has names in the courts of Fire and Air. If they collect the points for his final Fire face, then he will still have "wiggle room" for the faces in the court of Air. His DEMON joker remains uncertain of its duties. He's quite sure there's no way for him to ever regain the lead from his position, so he uses the most defensive tactics: he happily disposes of the Υ Upsilon of Fire face card in the defenders' favor. (In a French deck it would be le Chevalier de Trèfles; in an English deck it could be the Knight of Batons/Rods; here in the Cosmic Tribe its costume is worn today by a dancer known as Shiva on the Salamander, a firebreather transforming into flames for who knows what Queer Ends?!)

Scansion:
Dealer (Contractor) = void 16 Tower.
Initiate = overtrumps 18 Moon.
Medium = favorably dispose Υ Upsilon of Fire.
Defense scores 2 tricky points for the Υ face card (Queer cavalier Wands) +1 point for the tierce; these 3 are added to their previous 33 for a new subtotal of 36 tricky points at the end of this tierce (S).

dandelion achenes (channel 4, deal 2, trick V)

Image by KevinHutchins314
There was a wish, then a premonition, and now a dream coming true. When ALL IS SAiD and done: it might be only a silly daydream of sex and fruity pleasures, or it could be a pastiche of the aesthetics you'd remembered in another dream, or just a strange thought which coincidentally became more real than seemed possible. Enjoy the sensations, and maybe you'll remember the trippy bits next time you're dreaming of the taste of the fruity sex pastiche.

And don't forget the self fulfillment.

When something fAILS to be EDucAtIonAL, it might stiLL cause a ChUCKLE: blowing on the spindly dandelion achenes to assess the remnants, versus plucking daisy petals in a chant of "loves me, loves me not", for example.

Strategy:

Initiate = You will not lose the lead. The lunatic Moon 18 had been foretold by the Bitch, and you play it dreamily near the end of the scoop but not necessarily at the extremity. You are guaranteed to capture tête points from at least one of the opponents' face cards. They all knew they'd see it coming around again eventually, so here you may bring the Man in the Moon (18 of trumps) back for its reward!

Medium = Do you have another pip card? Ta-daahhh! You have the only pip card remaining on the defending side, and it's the Water 6. It amplifies and multiplies the dreams as you acquiesce your 6 Six Sex of CupS.

Dealer = Of your three face cards, the dude with the fewest tête points is amazingly the Prince of Dreams, the Queen of Hearts, la Dame des Coeurs, the Ψ Psion of Water with +3 scored on his name. You utter his magical title as you surrender the incredible Stevee Postman, offering up the Prince of Cups.

Scansion:
Initiate = represent the prognosticated Moon 18, lunatic.
Medium = unfavorably dispose Water 6, amplification.
Dealer = unfavorably dispose Ψ Psion of Water, prince of dreams.
Contractor scores +3 tête points for capturing the Ψ face card, plus +1 Tricky Point for the tierce; these 4 are added to his previous 32 for a new subtotal of 36 points at the end of this Trick V. Tempo is destined to be unchangeable.

BREAth of relief (channel 4, deal 3, trick P)

Image by KevinHutchins314
an AREA to lay BARE the remaining strong and weak qualities

a BREAth of relief when the Words are ruled acceptable

and once again into the BREAch

Strategy:

Dealer (Contractor) = As you continue to lead from your longest suit in the Wands of Fire, the opponents will be able to more accurately deduce most of the remaining Cosmic Tribe dancers in your hand. This might be worrisome as they look for ways to foil your plans, but you must persevere. The 3 Wands of Virtue are a trinity becoming a unity, burning away the troubles and finding goodness in the results. The three stages are coming to pass: planning, courage, and endurance. You expect the co-defenders to escape with another valuable face card, but you know you must allow this to happen in order to work out the necessary choreography of the rest of the trump cards. You bravely continue to extend your Wands in their direction.

Initiate = Here you may again favorably dispose of some valuable card because you expect your co-defender to have more trumps in the Void. You select the next dancer in the Court of sWords. The Queen of sWords in the Air is the most rewarding choice, according to the rules and logic of your position.

Medium = You are glad to trump this tierce and defend the Queen of Air for your team. From your lowest trumps you select the 12 Hanged Man, the Scarlet Pimpernel on the edge of danger, snatching the Ψ Psion Queen from the guillotine.

Scansion:

Dealer (Contractor) = lead 3 Wands of Fire, virtuously.

Initiate = dipsose of the Queen of Air, logically.

Medium = void, 12 trumps gratefully, as your Man in the Aether rescues another monarch.

Defense scores +3 tête points for the Ψ Psion Queen, plus +1 Tricky Point for the tierce. These 4 are added to their previous 29 for a new subtotal of 33 points at the end of this Trick P. The Medium restores control of the tempo leading to the next move.

Death does not get the last Word (channel 4, deal 1, trick U)

Image by KevinHutchins314
The higher-ups
hier ops
hier ops hand
hierophants had seen the Writing On The Wall
as they made their Last Stand.
Lashing out, thrashing about, desperate moves are made;
but to what avail?

Resistance is formidable.
The Sun shines on the co-defenders, and smiles.
Some shall escape the clutches of Death,
breathing a sigh of relief,
thanking their good luck,
speaking of their fortune,
saying the words of gratitude,
forever indebted he swore swor swor
the words wordswordsword swordswords
Death does not get the last sWords Words
u swor

Strategy:

Dealer (Contractor) = It would be a disaster to waste the power of the TITAN 21 of trumps too early, so a lower card is needed in the Void at this moment. His other three Cosmic Tribe dancers are: 11 Strength, 13 Death, and 17 Star; and they have all become co-adjacent. The contractor is probably unable to claim more than two of these four remaining tricks, so it looks like death is imminent. Here he plays 13 in the Void.

Initiate = The required overtrump necessitates a choice between his 19 Sun Angel or his 20 Dream Angel. Keeping the 20 in its position of possible pronouncement, he chooses instead to utilize the 19; he shines the Sun and signals to his collaborator the time is nigh for delivering a most valuable dancer away from Death.

Medium = Now he is able to favorably dispose of any card, so he plays his highest Υ Upsilon of Air (Rebel Words, Cavalier sWords, Chevalier de Pique).

Scansion:

Dealer = void 13 Death.
Initiate = overtrumps 19 Sun.
Medium = favorably dispose Υ Upsilon of Air.
Defense scores +2 tête points for the Υ face card, +1 point for the tierce; these 3 are added to their previous 36 for a new subtotal of 39 tricky points at the end of this trick (U).

TALL dark stranger will help the rebellion (channel 4, deal 3, trick R)

Image by KevinHutchins314
gazing into the smoke, mists, clouds and fog, what can we see?

figures begin to take shape, faces are gradually revealed…

a TALL dark stranger will help the rebellion

Strategy:

Dealer (Contractor) = It's still too early to attempt to overpower your opponent's trump cards, so you must continue depleting them with the expenditure of your long suit of Wands of Fire. Your next card from that color (Rods) is the 4 Hands Reaching For Rewards.

Initiate = Although you can't be certain of the locations of the remaining trump cards possessed by your teammate and by your opponent, it appears you might still escape with another face card favorably disposed into this tierce. You are hoping for a TALL dark stranger to come along and rescue your Chevalier de Piques, Cavalier of sWords, Υ Upsilon of Airs. Although it's getting more risky with each move, you believe you should allow your most valuable dancer into this trick. The Rebel Prince from the Court of sWords leaps into the winds.

Medium = Unbeknownst to your teammate, you actually possess more trumps than your opponent. You are able to rescue your friend's face card. Selecting your lowest dancer in the Aether, your TALL dark stranger (11 of Strength and Lust) will assist the rebellion against the contractor. The TALL figure in the Void helps the Prince avoid estrangement, and whisks him to safety.

Scansion:

Dealer (Contractor) = reach upward with more force, 4 Wands of outstretched arms, hands trying to pluck the fruits.

Initiate = favorably dispose of the Υ Upsilon of sWords, the Rebel bravely leaping.

Medium = void, 11 trumps, Strength of a TALL dark stranger whose fortitude helps the Rebel.

Defense scores +2 tête points for the Υ Upsilon face card, plus +1 Tricky Point for the tierce. These 3 are added to their previous 33 for a new subtotal of 36 points at the end of this Trick R, and the Medium reacquires the tempo.