# The Official Magic the Gathering card game Rules, Questions, and General Discussion Thread



## Space Lynx (Jul 9, 2021)

Alright, I have had several times now where I get frustrated at not understanding a mechanic or card and I can't find a proper forum worth bothering with... so here goes nothing.

Starting with my first question, does this card allow you to search your ENTIRE library outside the game or only the Sideboard of 15 cards?


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## Toothless (Jul 9, 2021)

Probably library. When in doubt flip the table.


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## Raevenlord (Jul 9, 2021)

The "outside the game" refers to the cards that you have in your possession besides your deck - which in competitive scenarios is only your sideboard.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 9, 2021)

Raevenlord said:


> The "outside the game" refers to the cards that you have in your possession besides your deck - which in competitive scenarios is only your sideboard.



So in Standard ranked it would be sideboard only, but any other mode basically your library that you own...

MTG is complicated as crap sometimes...


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## Vayra86 (Jul 11, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> So in Standard ranked it would be sideboard only, but any other mode basically your library that you own...
> 
> MTG is complicated as crap sometimes...



This is nothing bruh

I've got 6 EDH (commander) decks on paper here that will make you cry in agony 

But yeah this game is awesome and seriously complicated in equal measure

In general, 'own outside the game' is referring to a sideboard selection. Even if its non-competitive, you'd find some sort of limitation, because otherwise you'd have access to virtually every card. On paper, playgroups have rules for this. In some formats (like Commander) there is no sideboard at all and cards like that would be useless.

With the Strixhaven set release, the sideboard has become even more limited in size if you also use Lessons, as these also end up in your sideboard which is always capped at 15 cards. This is relevant for the current rotation in Standard (and lessons are pretty neat ways to get card advantage).

Additionally, 'cards you own' are not referred to as your 'Library'. The library is your actual deck of cards you're using - specifically, the stack you've not drawn yet.

If you want some catch-all hints and tips to get you started with understanding the game on a deeper level, give a shout, happy to provide 

One big basic tip on card rules:


			Gatherer - Magic: The Gathering
		

Has every card and with rulings if something was not clear in actual play.









						MTG Wiki
					






					mtg.fandom.com
				



Has all the rules


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## Space Lynx (Jul 11, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> This is nothing bruh
> 
> I've got 6 EDH (commander) decks on paper here that will make you cry in agony
> 
> ...



I just played MTG Arena all weekend... I did 3 Sealed deck of the new expansion DnD and I did 2 premier drafts... I had enough gold and gems saved up, and on two of my Sealed runs I won big, second place well  6 wins 3 loss, never made it to big number 7. but I got a LOT of gems back which allowed me to keep playing...

Was an insane amount of fun this weekend... haven't had that much fun since Kaladesh Pre-Release.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 11, 2021)

Cool! So you play paper too then? I can't recall Kaladesh on Arena.

Pre-release events are cool anyway. Really nice way of drafting into entirely new stuff. Quick, accessible, not like your average box draft where deck building is half the day  (for some )

As for this new set release... I'm a bit lukewarm on it having seen all the spoilers, much like Strixhaven. Its cool they merge the franchises and all, but this whole rotation just isn't my favorite setting. Its an utter mess... what have we got now? Fairy tales (Eldraine), Mutating big fatties (Ikoria), Vikings (Kaldheim) because everyone does a Nord/Viking/tough men in the snow theme this year and the last, I suppose to counteract the LGBT vibe or something (notice how many blokes try looking like em too lately? Anyway... ), Harry Potter (Strixhaven) and now DnD. I suppose its all high fantasy... but wtf!? Can we get more random?

Luckily we're going back to real Magic land soon with Innistrad, or at least, I hope so  I like it a bit less happy color and prancing ponies.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 11, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> Cool! So you play paper too then? I can't recall Kaladesh on Arena.
> 
> Pre-release events are cool anyway. Really nice way of drafting into entirely new stuff. Quick, accessible, not like your average box draft where deck building is half the day  (for some )



Yes, when I was living away from home at grad school I found a local store who did Friday MtG near my Uni.  

I actually came in second place in the Kaladesh pre-release midnight tournament, about 30-40 people were there that night.  Was a lot of fun. I remember the deck I built, I got pretty lucky on my boosters, I was able to build a heavy flying only deck... with cheap commons and uncommons, it allowed me to blitz early and keep it going with bounce cards if I remember right... but it was awhile ago.  I forget which deck beat me for first place, but I remember it being a long battle... was very fun.

@R-T-B


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## R-T-B (Jul 12, 2021)

That's what happens after a frog visits the frog god.  I've not been personally.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 12, 2021)

@Vayra86 or anyone who knows

I am playing against someone with this card here... they did the exile thing on it... well now neither of us can win the game, they are at negative 3 life, the counter they placed on a token angel... i killed that, but the game still won't end... so if this card just OP as crap a endless stalemate??? how do you get around it?


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 12, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> So in Standard ranked it would be sideboard only, but any other mode basically your library that you own...
> 
> MTG is complicated as crap sometimes...



MtgRemy has a good video on that.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 12, 2021)

also they put the counter on this card... so I can't kill it...


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 12, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> I am playing against someone with this card here... they did the exile thing on it... well now neither of us can win the game, they are at negative 3 life, the counter they placed on a token angel... i killed that, but the game still won't end... so if this card just OP as crap a endless stalemate??? how do you get around it?



You killed the angel, so the token goes away. If they're at -3 life when the effect goes away, you instantly win (because you destroyed the thing that kept them alive).



lynx29 said:


> also they put the counter on this card... so I can't kill it...



"Target Angel".

That's... not an angel. They needed to do some crazy shenanigan to put that counter onto that card. Probably possible but... they were probably just styling on you.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 12, 2021)

dragontamer5788 said:


> You killed the angel, so the token goes away. If they're at -3 life when the effect goes away, you instantly win (because you destroyed the thing that kept them alive).
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I'm still in game. he is at negative 80 life and i am at 24 life.  i suppose one of us has to fall asleep first, the concede will still give me the win.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 12, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> I'm still in game. he is at negative 80 life and i am at 24 life.  i suppose one of us has to fall asleep first, the concede will still give me the win.



Oh, I see. Its "all creature types", so it is an angel, lol.

Nah, you're gonna lose because of drawing from an empty library. It is what it is: unless you have land destruction, you probably lost the game and should concede. All he has to do is keep the darn thing as a land (never turning it into a creature) and you'll never really get an opportunity to kill it.

Only Red and (sometimes) Green has land-destruction (Beast Within). You might be able to bounce the land (land-bounce is rare, but Blue has it sometimes), which will kill the "I can't lose" token. White and Black probably has no options.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 12, 2021)

he just went afk.  he has some kind of macro that is auto passing everything instantly.



dragontamer5788 said:


> Oh, I see. Its "all creature types", so it is an angel, lol.
> 
> Nah, you're gonna lose because of drawing from an empty library. It is what it is: unless you have land destruction, you probably lost the game and should concede. All he has to do is keep the darn thing as a land (never turning it into a creature) and you'll never really get an opportunity to kill it.



well his library is empty and he isn't dead yet. you can't lose game with no library.

also i have the angel and artifact now myself, he still has lands.

stalemate.  its just whoever concedes first or whoever computer shuts down first.  i can just make a macro real quick like he did.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 12, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> well his library is empty and he isn't dead yet. you can't lose game with no library.



I said *YOUR* library will empty.

His library going empty isn't a problem. He's got the token that prevents losing the game on his side of the board (and it seems like you have no way of removing it).

--------

But if you got the angel + token yourself, you might still lose because he might be able to kill your angel. At best, you'll stalemate (if you can protect your angel token). At worst, you'll lose because he can just kill your angel with a common removal card (Portable hole??). I'd just concede frankly, his combo is stronger than yours.


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## toilet pepper (Jul 12, 2021)

I started playing during 4th edition and Mirage cycle. Looking at the cards now, all I can say is that they are OP. It makes the Unglued series of cards look like a joke.

To your question... yes it would most likely refer to the sideboard.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 12, 2021)

dragontamer5788 said:


> I said *YOUR* library will empty.
> 
> His library going empty isn't a problem. He's got the token that prevents losing the game on his side of the board.
> 
> ...



he cant kill my angel. he is out of cards. its fulls talemate.

i ended up having to concede anyway, even though it was a draw. he had a macro where he could go afk from PC but still auto pass everything, I didn't have that. 

so yeah.  wow.  what a broken combo. hard to believe its accepted in standard 2022 format.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 13, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> also they put the counter on this card... so I can't kill it...



Yep this is the staple meta game winner right now. Its ridiculous, but you can of course destroy lands to answer it.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 13, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> Yep this is the staple meta game winner right now. Its ridiculous, but you can of course destroy lands to answer it.



Instant-speed removal is also a thing, but a less common thing.

You can also destroy the artifact before it destroys itself: but you need to ensure that they don't have www available, otherwise they can just activate the ability in response to your destroy effect (and note: the destruction of the artifact is part of a cost, so its relatively difficult to interrupt).


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## Selaya (Jul 13, 2021)

I mean, this is but the symptom of multiple things that's going wrong with the game, chief amongst them
(a) The Grand Advent Of Threats - Threats get more and more efficient while answers are stagnating at best; mostly getting worse (when your best answers like bolt, stop counterspell and force are from 1993-1995, something's fucking wrong)
(b) Magic: The Creaturing, and to lesser extents Magic: The Planeswalkering/Permanenting


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## Space Lynx (Jul 13, 2021)

Selaya said:


> I mean, this is but the symptom of multiple things that's going wrong with the game, chief amongst them
> (a) The Grand Advent Of Threats - Threats get more and more efficient while answers are stagnating at best; mostly getting worse (when your best answers like bolt, stop counterspell and force are from 1993-1995, something's fucking wrong)
> (b) Magic: The Creaturing, and to lesser extents Magic: The Planeswalkering/Permanenting



broken meta's are mainly why I do sealed or draft only 90% of the time. it's a shame.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 13, 2021)

dragontamer5788 said:


> Instant-speed removal is also a thing, but a less common thing.
> 
> You can also destroy the artifact before it destroys itself: but you need to ensure that they don't have www available, otherwise they can just activate the ability in response to your destroy effect (and note: the destruction of the artifact is part of a cost, so its relatively difficult to interrupt).



Its not though because the effect is a game state change and not so much a direct effect. You actually have tons of opportunity to remove it as a land wirh a counter on it. Either as creature or as land.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 13, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> Its not though because the effect is a game state change and not so much a direct effect. You actually have tons of opportunity to remove it as a land wirh a counter on it. Either as creature or as land.



yeah, need to change out my sorcery destroy creatures for the Instant variant.


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## Selaya (Jul 13, 2021)

Theres like 3 cards at best in current Type 2 that can deal with lands, and idt any of them are really playable.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 13, 2021)

Selaya said:


> I mean, this is but the symptom of multiple things that's going wrong with the game, chief amongst them
> (a) The Grand Advent Of Threats - Threats get more and more efficient while answers are stagnating at best; mostly getting worse (when your best answers like bolt, stop counterspell and force are from 1993-1995, something's fucking wrong)
> (b) Magic: The Creaturing, and to lesser extents Magic: The Planeswalkering/Permanenting



First time in a power-creep environment?






"Fierce energy he'd never thought to see again".

Back in M10, it was clear that threats got too powerful, so they reprinted Bolt to counteract threats. Once those threats were dealt with, Bolt went back into the vault.

As for (b), Mirrodin (2003) was definitely one of the biggest buffs to Artifacts / non-creature permanents. And today's planeswalkers still don't seem as strong as say, Jace the Mindsculptor.


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## Selaya (Jul 13, 2021)

Oh, I remember all of them starting back to when they first had to emergency ban Memory Jar.
In any case, the current fuckup that is Type 2 is unprecedented; even when they basically banned the entirety of Darksteel that was like what, two B&Rs and then a done deal?
We're now at consecutive Type 2 bans for like half a decade straight and counting ...

EDIT: I'm well aware that they've reprinted Bolt in 2009. My point is that its (amongst some of the other premier answers) original printings are from the game's inception.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 13, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> broken meta's are mainly why I do sealed or draft only 90% of the time. it's a shame.



Broken meta indeed... They will just ban this into the ground for Standard.. Online its just not fun this way. You should see Modern right now.... some monkey doing the rounds...



			https://static.cardmarket.com/img/4fe2c8caae579e27b8d7e49a091b8b36/items/1/MH2/566480.jpg
		


Wizards money printing press at work..

This is why I play mostly EDH now. So much more fun and inherently guarded against power creep simply because of table poliitics. But lets face it... this was always a thing. And the sets lackong it were frowned upon too, such as Mercadian Masques (hardly gets more shite than that after Urza's... )



lynx29 said:


> yeah, need to change out my sorcery destroy creatures for the Instant variant.



Land removal!! Red has some in Zendikar. Because once the counter is placed, the land just wont transform anymore...

And you can even use this bad boy on yourself. (Gimme sec, finding card)

Ah. Cleansing Wildfire, for example.


			https://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=491777&type=card


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 13, 2021)

I pretty much only play drafts and sealed, lol.

Constructed formats were just something else: there always is a group of players who playtest the heck out of one strategy and optimize it. Its really hard to compete with that group and come up with your own strategy.

Its one of those things: its always easy to take a constructed deck / general strategy and build a "counter deck" against it. But then... that's not really what you want. You want a deck that can beat many different flavors of constructed decks.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 13, 2021)

dragontamer5788 said:


> I pretty much only play drafts and sealed, lol.
> 
> Constructed formats were just something else: there always is a group of players who playtest the heck out of one strategy and optimize it. Its really hard to compete with that group and come up with your own strategy.


Its true, but its still (also) possible to sneak between the meta with your own contraptions.

I still run a mill deck (not Dimir Rogues, it barely has creatures) that just wants to draw cards to trigger opponent mill, and counter threats, and if something fat does land, I drop an





And twice if needed, recurring it with a Mystic Sanctuary.
Pretty neat winrate up unto Platinum last few seasons 
I actually lose most to Dimir Rogues with it.
Here's the decklist, though its been different. Trying things for balance. The core is super simple. Drop Windrobber or Crab, hopefully, to secure fuel for Drown in the Loch and other counters. Wait for your mill to happen, run into Teferi's Tutelage and drop Into the Story to mill 8 and have sick advantage. If you can get Into the Story, its generally a win.

Either way, if you're brewing for Standard, game plan must either be 'wait em out and have answers' or 'win on turn 3-4'.


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## moproblems99 (Jul 13, 2021)

I wish I had all my cards from the 90s.  I would play in a heartbeat.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 13, 2021)

moproblems99 said:


> I wish I had all my cards from the 90s.  I would play in a heartbeat.



Everyone imagines that their old shoebox of cards is filled with Lightning Bolts, Dark Rituals, and Moxes.

When in actuality, its filled with Healing Slaves, that weird 1/1 trample elf... and in the corner is a well kept, well conditioned Serra Angel (valuable in the 90s, but has not lived very well due to power creep of creatures)


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## moproblems99 (Jul 13, 2021)

No, not it, just nostalgia.

I also don't want to learn the 'new' stuff.  It doesn't really matter as I don't remember much of the 'old' stuff.  I just can't think of many things that have been made better by modernists.  First example: Star Wars.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 13, 2021)

moproblems99 said:


> No, not it, just nostalgia.
> 
> I also don't want to learn the 'new' stuff.  It doesn't really matter as I don't remember much of the 'old' stuff.  I just can't think of many things that have been made better by modernists.  First example: Star Wars.



MtG sets come and go, some are great. Some are ridiculous (Shards of Alara), some have power creep. Innistrad (both the original and remakes) is probably one of the best sets ever printed. For people who do like the old stuff, New Pharexia vs Mirrodin was a good set, but so was Time Spiral.

I don't really know what makes a set good or bad... unfortunately. I've liked powerful sets, I've liked underpowered sets. I liked silly sets, and sometimes I even like "core" sets.

What I can say, is that a lot of the 90s stuff is pretty awful when you think about it. Ancestral Recall + Time Walk is so utterly bonkers that its no wonder that its never been printed again. The rules from back then are also borked: anyone remember "damage on the stack" and how that interacted with bounce spells?? And that's not even getting to the stupid "ante" system that no one actually used more than once.


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## moproblems99 (Jul 13, 2021)

dragontamer5788 said:


> MtG sets come and go, some are great. Some are ridiculous (Shards of Alara), some have power creep. Innistrad (both the original and remakes) is probably one of the best sets ever printed. For people who do like the old stuff, New Pharexia vs Mirrodin was a good set, but so was Time Spiral.
> 
> I don't really know what makes a set good or bad... unfortunately. I've liked powerful sets, I've liked underpowered sets. I liked silly sets, and sometimes I even like "core" sets.
> 
> What I can say, is that a lot of the 90s stuff is pretty awful when you think about it. Ancestral Recall + Time Walk is so utterly bonkers that its no wonder that its never been printed again. The rules from back then are also borked: anyone remember "damage on the stack" and how that interacted with bounce spells?? And that's not even getting to the stupid "ante" system that no one actually us



Fair enough.  Like I said, I am more nostalgic that knowledgeable.  I can't even say I could sit through a whole game anymore before...squirrel.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 13, 2021)

moproblems99 said:


> Fair enough.  Like I said, I am more nostalgic that knowledgeable.  I can't even say I could sit through a whole game anymore before...squirrel.



Squirrels are a thing now in fact.

*








						Against the Odds: Chatterfang Squirrels (Modern)
					

What are the odds of winning with a scurry of Squirrels lead by Chatterfang, Squirrel General in Modern? Let's find out!




					www.mtggoldfish.com
				



*


moproblems99 said:


> No, not it, just nostalgia.
> 
> I also don't want to learn the 'new' stuff.  It doesn't really matter as I don't remember much of the 'old' stuff.  I just can't think of many things that have been made better by modernists.  First example: Star Wars.



I would argue current MTG is much better than the old Legacy and Vintage stuff. That format is so warped right now... if you're talking powercrept meta, there it is. And its stable like that. If you're not bringing 2-3K worth of deck, you might as well go home. Whereas in current Standard, or even Commander (100 cards, all different), you can easily play along with 50-100 eur worth of cards.


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## moproblems99 (Jul 13, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> Squirrels are a thing now in fact.
> 
> *
> 
> ...




Are you saying I can build a squirrel powered deck?


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## Vayra86 (Jul 13, 2021)

Yep, enough options and they're pretty strong, too.


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## moproblems99 (Jul 13, 2021)

Well maybe I need give mrg a ..... Squirrel


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## Vayra86 (Jul 14, 2021)

moproblems99 said:


> Well maybe I need give mrg a ..... Squirrel



If you're looking for a less competitive (meta) environment and want to play on paper, I'd strongly recommend the EDH (Commander) format.

100 cards, approx 34-38 land, _Singleton rule (no more than one copy of each card)_ and you pick one Legendary Creature as your commander. This guy is always ready to be cast from a 'Command Zone'. This means you can really go wild on very specific builds. Its a multiplayer format, 40 life instead of 20, so games are longer and open to any strategy. Often really focused around having that guaranteed combo piece available at any time. If a Commander dies, it goes back to a command zone and you can cast it again, but for 2 colorless mana more, every time it dies.

A quick search...




__





						MTG Deck: Squirrel Storm (EDH)
					






					tappedout.net
				








__





						MTG Deck: Squirrel EDH
					






					tappedout.net
				








__





						MTG Deck: Squirrel Tribal
					

From early game small cute and cuddly, bushy tail critters.... to late game endl...




					tappedout.net


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## Space Lynx (Jul 14, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> If you're looking for a less competitive (meta) environment and want to play on paper, I'd strongly recommend the EDH (Commander) format.
> 
> 100 cards, approx 34-38 land, _Singleton rule (no more than one copy of each card)_ and you pick one Legendary Creature as your commander. This guy is always ready to be cast from a 'Command Zone'. This means you can really go wild on very specific builds. Its a multiplayer format, 40 life instead of 20, so games are longer and open to any strategy. Often really focused around having that guaranteed combo piece available at any time. If a Commander dies, it goes back to a command zone and you can cast it again, but for 2 colorless mana more, every time it dies.
> 
> ...



 I had a squirrel deck in 2005 or 2006, can't remember. Good times. lol

Squirrel Nest, enchant land was awesome haha


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## Space Lynx (Jul 18, 2021)

fyi, they nerfed/banned that combo I was complaining about earlier in this thread. its no longer allowed in Standard 2022.  LOL


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## Space Lynx (Jul 20, 2021)

I really wish instead of a new expansion, they would just do like an old block remembrance cycle... so like Odyssey Block would come back exactly the same it was back in the day... and last for 3 months as a temporary play mode... and same for Onslaught block... man... those were the days.


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## Selaya (Jul 20, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> fyi, they nerfed/banned that combo I was complaining about earlier in this thread. its no longer allowed in Standard 2022.  LOL


It's just for the Standard 2022 event that is currently running, it will not be banned come rotation.


lynx29 said:


> I really wish instead of a new expansion, they would just do like an old block remembrance cycle... so like Odyssey Block would come back exactly the same it was back in the day... and last for 3 months as a temporary play mode... and same for Onslaught block... man... those were the days.


Won't be anything like it without the 6th's ruleset.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 20, 2021)

Selaya said:


> It's just for the Standard 2022 event that is currently running, it will not be banned come rotation.
> Won't be anything like it without the 6th's ruleset.




well I meant only Odyssey block allowed to face other Odyssey block decks. the rules can't be broken regardless in that scenario? unless I am mistaken


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## Vayra86 (Jul 20, 2021)

Right, I found my mojo for the current rotation. Had a bright moment yesterday, somehow putting this together took all of 15 minutes. And its ridiculous, even blue can't touch this much card advantage right now. Its easy to burn through 30 cards of the library and see the opponent still picking up number 15.

What you're not seeing here is 4x Fabled Passage, but you can make do with 4x Evolving Wilds. Or some duals.





The idea:
- "Gain 3 life" :  triggers 'Griffin Aerie' for a 2/2 flyer which is our offensive bread & butter. Revitalize, Sanguine Indulgence can be fired for a total of three mana to draw us a card, gain 3 life and get 2 creatures back from the grave.  'Charming Prince' can also ETB for a 3 life gain trigger and since he's a creature, he can keep coming back for more. 'Mire Triton' and the Alseid of Life's Bounty can combine for another 3 life if the latter can attack, while doubling to put stuff in our graveyard faster and/or protect Lurrus. Mire Triton also has Deathtouch making for great deterrence, that is until we gain so much life we don't care anymore.

- Lurrus Companion: no permanents bigger than a 2-drop, and there are a lot of potential options on the table I'm considering here, white and black have them in spades. Once our graveyard is well stocked, Lurrus pops in (Hey, Lifelink and 3 power!) and brings the good stuff back, ad infinitum.

- Enchantments matter: 'Mire's Grasp' and 'Dead Weight' are ultra cheap and superb creature removal. When you can recurse those, they can single handedly turn the game into a win. 'All that Glitters' is the powerhouse to turn a Griffin into something that kills.

- Draw: 'Hateful Eidolon', engine. Nuff said. 'Infernal Scarring' is an optional I am yet trying out. Its not bad. Its not great. 'Eternal Thirst' is another such aura that might be replaced, but the extra lifelink and counters are even more pressure and flesh out the rest quite well.

Agadeem's Awakening while optional has already saved my game twice, and a total of 5 recursions for creatures is quite welcome, could probably do with 3-4 but I need more testing  The main reason is keeping some reaction in hand to recurse Lurrus if he gets the axe.

So far... 100% win rate (still moving up in silver) which I've not seen alot with any archetype/deck I've played in Arena. Its absolute cancer and the majority is commons and uncommons, too


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## Space Lynx (Jul 20, 2021)

I might give this a go. Thanks @Vayra86


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## Vayra86 (Jul 20, 2021)

Suggestions welcome! Give it a shot  I'm having a blast with this, lots of fun, always multiple options in hand.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 20, 2021)

yeah my blue black deck made it to middle of silver tier, and it just hit a wall after that... loss after loss.  Mind Flayer is good on paper, but higher end decks are too good at removal for it to be of any use really. and Mind Flayer is really what that deck was about.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 20, 2021)

The higher you go, the more you'll need a winning board state around turn 4-5, or ways to prolong the game until you can reach it. Most decks can win around that time already or inspire conceding by then. Card advantage, like it has always been... is everything.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 20, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> The higher you go, the more you'll need a winning board state around turn 4-5, or ways to prolong the game until you can reach it. Most decks can win around that time already or inspire conceding by then. Card advantage, like it has always been... is everything.



I just hate the red rush decks. Annoys living crap out of me every expansion.


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## Selaya (Jul 20, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> well I meant only Odyssey block allowed to face other Odyssey block decks. the rules can't be broken regardless in that scenario? unless I am mistaken


Combat Damage on the Stack.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 20, 2021)

Selaya said:


> Combat Damage on the Stack.



Lol so stupid.

I bounce my creature and yours dies from combat damage on the stack. Definitely made 6/1 creatures more playable.


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## Space Lynx (Sep 6, 2021)

I think it's kind of dumb Godzilla doesn't have Reach. Also, Godzilla should also be like a 10/10, just saying...


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 15, 2021)

I just realized something... when I first started playing Magic the Gathering 21 years ago, TCG was plastered everywhere... that was part of the fun trading with friends, etc.

My friend just joined MTG Arena, and I just realized I can't trade him any of my cards to help him get started... the heart and soul of magic dies a little bit because of that, still love the game, but the corporate greed is getting to be a bit much. 4 expansions a year, tons of spin offs a year, all the "gambling" like stuff with gems and gold and cosmetic stuff... but they can't have a trading feature so we can help our friends who want to play with us and create memories together? Sad.


----------



## Vayra86 (Sep 16, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> I just realized something... when I first started playing Magic the Gathering 21 years ago, TCG was plastered everywhere... that was part of the fun trading with friends, etc.
> 
> My friend just joined MTG Arena, and I just realized I can't trade him any of my cards to help him get started... the heart and soul of magic dies a little bit because of that, still love the game, but the corporate greed is getting to be a bit much. 4 expansions a year, tons of spin offs a year, all the "gambling" like stuff with gems and gold and cosmetic stuff... but they can't have a trading feature so we can help our friends who want to play with us and create memories together? Sad.


Different game for that. Trading is vibrant here:






						Home | Magic: The Gathering Online
					

Magic: The Gathering Online




					magic.wizards.com
				




MTGA is the entry level Magic world where you can play Standard on the cheap - or fall into the money pit if you're oblivious  Its the MTX-based Magic, Free to Play and on all platforms... MTGO is basically the online version of paper.

As for the corpo greed... yepppp. The power creep has been real lately, but at the same time, it kinda is what we're asking for. Weak sets don't get played a lot. Also... the current Standard is actually a pretty good environment, and has been the last year. Tons of different archetypes and decks that work. Decent metagame. Modern also got a major boost from MH2, even if it is a very strong set, there are also very strong answers, that's kinda where it needs to be. Some cards though of the last year give you that 'WTF how did you print this shit' moment and it tends to last and result in a ban sooner rather than later. There's been so many bans, its symptomatic for the attempts to power creep on the edge of what's doable, and often a little overboard.

But the real corpo greed is still coming, you haven't seen anything...:








						Universes Beyond
					

Universes Beyond (abbreviated as UB) is a “sub-brand” of Magic: The Gathering that exists in addition to, and alongside, the regular line of products. The series was announced by Chris Cocks in February, 2021 during the Hasbro 2021 Investor Event. The sets featured in this series are never...




					mtg.fandom.com
				



Warhammer 40K MTG? Yep...
The Walking Dead was only a sampler...
Its going full on retard. Community noises say MTG will die in 2022 but I don't believe it will. And a funky commander deck with WH40K theme... I don't know, but I'd build one  At the same time you just know the next step is Waifu Magic and all the other shit that's popular on the web. The art is already leaning into it too.

Magic has been going through these phases since the first sets but I would agree this is next level nonsense. In case you have doubts, just look here 
I'm not sure how they will position the LOTR thing, but if that enters the standard rotation, holy shit. D&D was already out of place enough, even if its somehow related.


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 16, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> Different game for that. Trading is vibrant here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm actually ok with the themed Commander decks, its not like its a whole set or anything. I actually plan to buy the Warhammer 40k Commander decks and the LOTR ones... cause they are meant to battle each other... so will be fairly balanced... so even 5-10 years from now if a buddy comes over we can play a commander round without much effort, plus I love 40k lore as do some of my other friends.  the other stuff needs to go though yes.


----------



## Vayra86 (Sep 16, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> I'm actually ok with the themed Commander decks, its not like its a whole set or anything. I actually plan to buy the Warhammer 40k Commander decks and the LOTR ones... cause they are meant to battle each other... so will be fairly balanced... so even 5-10 years from now if a buddy comes over we can play a commander round without much effort, plus I love 40k lore as do some of my other friends.  the other stuff needs to go though yes.


Yeah if they crossover from a real 'universe' that is properly fleshed out like Warhammer I have a lot less trouble with it, especially for Commander which is totally yolo as it is, you can take it any where you want in that format. Actually a little curious how they're going to implement all those lasers 

But that Walking Dead release was cringe all the way, from the art, to the cards themselves, to the whole positioning. Disgusting. I reckon Stranger Things is going a similar way. OTOH, avoiding Secret Drop was never difficult


----------



## Selaya (Sep 16, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> I just realized something... when I first started playing Magic the Gathering 21 years ago, TCG was plastered everywhere... that was part of the fun trading with friends, etc.
> 
> My friend just joined MTG Arena, and I just realized I can't trade him any of my cards to help him get started... the heart and soul of magic dies a little bit because of that, still love the game, but the corporate greed is getting to be a bit much. 4 expansions a year, tons of spin offs a year, all the "gambling" like stuff with gems and gold and cosmetic stuff... but they can't have a trading feature so we can help our friends who want to play with us and create memories together? Sad.


f2p kinda nonbos with full tradeability.
However, the solution for it exists for like, 2 decades or something now - it's called BoP & BoE.


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 16, 2021)

Selaya said:


> f2p kinda nonbos with full tradeability.
> However, the solution for it exists for like, 2 decades or something now - it's called BoP & BoE.



i don't know what that means.  BoP?  Birds of Paradise?


----------



## Selaya (Sep 16, 2021)

Binds on Pickup, a mechanic from World of Warcraft (since borrowed from by other games, but yea), whereby an acquired item is immediately bound to the acquiring character/account.


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 16, 2021)

Selaya said:


> Binds on Pickup, a mechanic from World of Warcraft (since borrowed from by other games, but yea), whereby an acquired item is immediately bound to the acquiring character/account.



I understand what you mean now, yeah.  It's no big deal, just to me, as a kid, it was a part of the game that should never have been separated from it, regardless of the platform.  /shrug


----------



## Vayra86 (Sep 16, 2021)

Selaya said:


> f2p kinda nonbos with full tradeability.
> However, the solution for it exists for like, 2 decades or something now - it's called BoP & BoE.



Too confusing. What errata will you make for Equipments? And what about 'control permanent?'


----------



## Selaya (Sep 16, 2021)

Nono, it's for a meta-issue like MTGA where rn _everything_ is bound vs MODO where _nothing_ is.
Neither is the solution. A combination, making use of cards that are bound (either when acquired or when first used, depending on their provenance) would be a _much better_ idea. Free cards being untradeable will mean that they will not (overtly) devaluate the tradeable ones, and with a BoP/BoE system both can coexist.


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 16, 2021)

Selaya said:


> Nono, it's for a meta-issue like MTGA where rn _everything_ is bound vs MODO where _nothing_ is.
> Neither is the solution. A combination, making use of cards that are bound (either when acquired or when first used, depending on their provenance) would be a _much better_ idea. Free cards being untradeable will mean that they will not (overtly) devaluate the tradeable ones, and with a BoP/BoE system both can coexist.



I agree with this and see where you are coming from. Also, I think even BoP cards that are no longer legal in Standard format should be allowed to trade... cause frankly my friend just needs some cards to help him get going and enjoy the game some.  (the pre-made decks they give out our pure ****)


----------



## Selaya (Sep 16, 2021)

https://mtgarena.codes/ < redeem everything, should give you enough wildcards to build a decent monored or something

I would disagree with BoPs eventually becoming unbound, it'll put up too much residuals that'll devalue everything fast, but yeah.


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 17, 2021)

Selaya said:


> https://mtgarena.codes/ < redeem everything, should give you enough wildcards to build a decent monored or something
> 
> I would disagree with BoPs eventually becoming unbound, it'll put up too much residuals that'll devalue everything fast, but yeah.




i didn't know those codes were there, this will help him a lot thanks lol


----------



## Vayra86 (Sep 17, 2021)

Selaya said:


> Nono, it's for a meta-issue like MTGA where rn _everything_ is bound vs MODO where _nothing_ is.
> Neither is the solution. A combination, making use of cards that are bound (either when acquired or when first used, depending on their provenance) would be a _much better_ idea. Free cards being untradeable will mean that they will not (overtly) devaluate the tradeable ones, and with a BoP/BoE system both can coexist.



Yes, you have a good point, I was joking


----------



## Vayra86 (Sep 20, 2021)

Innistrad is looking like a pretty sweet set release. Its about damn time after the totally uninspiring D&D and Strixhaven sillyness.

Prerelease was fun as hell in any case, and the mechanics actually do work... even if you keep mistaking Day for Night mechanics and vice versa. But they do make transform very usable, and kind of put the game state out of your control, but not too much to destroy your plans... most of the time.

Similarly the decayed Zombies are the. Perfect. Zombies. Finally we have actually disintegrating undead as you use them, as you'd expect from heaps of flesh.

Disturb mechanic is also great... Flashback for creatures. Yeppp. And the return of Flashback, is very welcome too. Commander has been boosted so much. Orzhov similarly, reanimator plays are much better now.. white is shaping up to become a proper color... neat.

Can't wait for the next part of this set release (Vampires)


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 20, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> Innistrad is looking like a pretty sweet set release. Its about damn time after the totally uninspiring D&D and Strixhaven sillyness.
> 
> Prerelease was fun as hell in any case, and the mechanics actually do work... even if you keep mistaking Day for Night mechanics and vice versa. But they do make transform very usable, and kind of put the game state out of your control, but not too much to destroy your plans... most of the time.
> 
> ...




yeah I had 40k gold saved up... I did two Innistrad drafts over the weekend, first draft i won 4-0 then lost 3 in a row over stupid mistakes I made. lol

second draft was clunker, 2-3, but i had enough gems at this point to do a sealed Innistrad event... so I did that, won 4 and lost 3.  was pretty fun overall.  

i am saving my other 10k gold and going to save up now for next release, i never spend any real money haha.  i'm mainly looking forward to January with the 'cyberpunk themed release' I might actually buy the mastery pass on that one.


----------



## Vayra86 (Sep 20, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> yeah I had 40k gold saved up... I did two Innistrad drafts over the weekend, first draft i won 4-0 then lost 3 in a row over stupid mistakes I made. lol
> 
> second draft was clunker, 2-3, but i had enough gems at this point to do a sealed Innistrad event... so I did that, won 4 and lost 3.  was pretty fun overall.
> 
> i am saving my other 10k gold and going to save up now for next release, i never spend any real money haha.  i'm mainly looking forward to January with the 'cyberpunk themed release' I might actually buy the mastery pass on that one.



Are there no real prerelease events near you? Shop near me has been doing them for some time now, live and in person is just so much fun. Best events IMHO because everyone's new to the cards.


----------



## Space Lynx (Sep 20, 2021)

Vayra86 said:


> Are there no real prerelease events near you? Shop near me has been doing them for some time now, live and in person is just so much fun. Best events IMHO because everyone's new to the cards.



there are, but werewolves and vampire and zombie stuff have never really interested me. Magic is a very expensive hobby, so i don't participate all the time. I will be doing all 4 pre-release events next year in person though, its the first year all 4 expansions really have me excited. January is my number 1 excited for release.  that cyberpunk theme is going to be amazing... MTG always has the best art... can't wait to see how the artists interpret that genre,


----------



## Space Lynx (Feb 14, 2022)

Does anyone know what caused the feud between Urza and Mishra? I'm really trying to get into the lore a little bit better this year. Any tips on where to start understanding the MtG lore better?

Sidenote:  Neon Dynasty is a bit overrated of an expansion imo, got kind of bored of it already and I was expecting to really reinvigorate my love for magic...


----------



## Vayra86 (Feb 14, 2022)

Neon Dynasty is a nice set for commander  Totally new playlines. And it has a few sweet staples too.

I mean:


 
This is crazy good.

- Vehicles are feasible now.
- Goad is getting to something substantial.
^precon material but also in the standard set.
- Artifacts have gotten So. Much. Support. Its absolutely crazy the amount of directions you can take them in. Neon Dynasty picks up where MH2 ended really in that sense. There are many more colored   artifacts too. Equipments are now also creatures sometimes. Etc.
- Ninja's/ninjutsu, obviously... but probably not on their own.

- You can build a Shrines deck now with numerous commanders, there are 16 Shrines plus this one;
That was an instabuy for me. 





But yeah... MTGA is still very much uninstalled and I won't go back in there as long as Alchemy lives. I'm happy with paper tbh, the metagame(s) on formats are very healthy right now, despite power creep. New levels of balance, its pretty good. What's less good is the flavor... its all over the place. I see you want to get into 'The Brothers' War'  That's the kind of flavor I favor too 









						Mishra
					

Mishra was the brother of Urza. A cruel and ruthless Argivian artificer, he had the same humble origins as his brother, eventually coming to control the western half of Terisiare (i.e. Zegon). Mishra was able to confederate various Fallaji tribes of the Western Desert under his command...




					mtg.fandom.com
				












						The Brothers' War
					

The Brothers' War is the ninety-fourth Magic expansion. It was released on November 18, 2022. The Brothers' War was designed as an "event set", meaning that its mechanical structure was built around an event rather than a world. In this case, the set revolves around the story of the Brothers'...




					mtg.fandom.com


----------



## Selaya (Feb 14, 2022)

dont bother, it'll get all but ruined by them revisionists


----------



## Vayra86 (Feb 15, 2022)

Selaya said:


> them revisionists


Who dat? I don't do social media so this sort of stuff doesn't land


----------



## Space Lynx (Feb 15, 2022)

I might get the vehicle based Neon Dynasty Commander deck, I haven't decided yet...

and I do agree, Shrines are pretty cool.


----------



## Selaya (Feb 15, 2022)

Vayra86 said:


> Who dat? I don't do social media so this sort of stuff doesn't land


well havent you paid attention to recent mtg, it's retcon revisionistland everywhere


----------



## Vayra86 (Feb 15, 2022)

Selaya said:


> well havent you paid attention to recent mtg, it's retcon revisionistland everywhere


I did, and we mentioned the problems in this topic too I think, assuming you speak of the whole Universes Beyond, MTGA Alchemy, Unfinity's acorn fuckup and the 'new approach' of 'something for everyone'. But revisionist still doesn't land tbh, what do you mean?

Im also seeing one of the healthiest Modern formats ever right now... Standard sets are hit/miss, but certainly not pure power creep, the banwave material is not quite as bad as it was 1,5-2 years ago (Oko, Uro, Omnath and other stupidity). 

I think what you need to do is cherry pick what you like, much like how Wizards say they intended it. The problem here is approaching the game like we used to, trying to catch 'em all. But a vast majority is becoming more and more obvious to be a money pit that won't hold its value. At the same time, you see older cards hold value just the same.

Perhaps my perspective is different, a bit more toned down also because I play Commander mostly. I'm used to cherry picking  Every set release is a small blessing because it brings more support for strategies that might not have been possible before.


----------



## Space Lynx (Feb 15, 2022)

Vayra86 said:


> I did, and we mentioned the problems in this topic too I think, assuming you speak of the whole Universes Beyond, MTGA Alchemy, Unfinity's acorn fuckup and the 'new approach' of 'something for everyone'. But revisionist still doesn't land tbh, what do you mean?
> 
> Im also seeing one of the healthiest Modern formats ever right now... Standard sets are hit/miss, but certainly not pure power creep, the banwave material is not quite as bad as it was 1,5-2 years ago (Oko, Uro, Omnath and other stupidity).
> 
> ...



I am enjoying Commander as well, and I intend to ask my friends to make up our own new rule. I want to relive the old Odyssey Block days, but through the eyes of Commander.  So Commander (still singleton) but Odyssey Block only...  (commanders will have to be of course from a newer set)

could be a lot of fun, pulling out all of our old cards and giving it a go. we have a lot of Onslaught block too, so maybe combine both.


----------



## Vayra86 (Feb 15, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> I am enjoying Commander as well, and I intend to ask my friends to make up our own new rule. I want to relive the old Odyssey Block days, but through the eyes of Commander.  So Commander (still singleton) but Odyssey Block only...  (commanders will have to be of course from a newer set)
> 
> could be a lot of fun, pulling out all of our old cards and giving it a go. we have a lot of Onslaught block too, so maybe combine both.



Its really cool to theme your cubes a bit for Commander yeah... there's a world to (re)discover that way. Themed drafts are good too... we're looking for an Innistrad theme soonish, you can actually still get your hands on a few of those boosters from back then. And otherwise you could make your own with a common/uncommon set of each and a handful of rares.

I'm just gonna share this, two of my most successful Commander decks.

Kwain is ultra safe, sit back relax and enjoy your counter plays until you can win right out of nowhere, while everyone gets to play their deck until that moment. Its super fun to pilot.

The other is 'fair deck' enchantment-based stompy. This one gets targeted in my playgroup, like, hard. And they still struggle, 3 on 1... You can snowball 3-5 enchantments out in one turn if you get the mana ramp.






						MTG Deck: Kwain, Gas Rabbit
					

Kwain is a brilliant little rabbit. He gives everyone cards and life and you ear...




					tappedout.net
				









						MTG Deck: Sythis of the Bountiful Harvest
					

Playstyle This Sythis build plays for maximum synergy around its commander's obv...




					tappedout.net


----------



## dragontamer5788 (Feb 15, 2022)

Vayra86 said:


> the banwave material is not quite as bad as it was 1,5-2 years ago



Remember when they effectively banned all of Mirrodin? (I use hyperbole, but it felt like that when the Artifact/Affinity lands were banned)

I remember. Oh my, what an overpowered set.


----------



## Vayra86 (Feb 15, 2022)

dragontamer5788 said:


> Remember when they effectively banned all of Mirrodin? (I use hyperbole, but it felt like that when the Artifact/Affinity lands were banned)
> 
> I remember. Oh my, what an overpowered set.



I read about it, didn't play at the time. But yeah. The game's survived numerous screw ups, let's see where the current ones go...


----------



## dragontamer5788 (Feb 15, 2022)

Vayra86 said:


> I read about it, didn't play at the time. But yeah. The game's survived numerous screw ups, let's see where the current ones go...



Here is a funny Reddit topic that came up in my searches, trying to remember how borked Mirrodin was.


__
		https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/epjb93

Mirrodin is so borked its banned in *modern* for crying out loud.

Mirrodin was incredibly overpowered. Bonesplitter and Seething Song as a common and Loxodon warhammer as an uncommon. Lulz. I do wonder if the designers of MtG recognize how borked it is and continue to print the silly overpowered stuff whenever they return to that plane.


----------



## Space Lynx (Apr 29, 2022)

Can anyone tell me what the hell the point of this card is?


----------



## Vayra86 (Apr 29, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> Can anyone tell me what the hell the point of this card is?



Everything on the stack that is not cast; a copied spell is a copy, not a cast. Spells from triggers count too

This one is on my want list  niche as fck, but cheap!!


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## Space Lynx (Apr 29, 2022)

Vayra86 said:


> Everything on the stack that is not cast; a copied spell is a copy, not a cast. Spells from triggers count too
> 
> This one is on my want list  niche as fck, but cheap!!



I see what you mean now.

What the hell does this card do? I have read it a 100x and my dyslexia is still not understanding... lol


----------



## Vayra86 (Apr 29, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> I see what you mean now.
> 
> What the hell does this card do? I have read it a 100x and my dyslexia is still not understanding... lol



You can enchant any creature; not just creatures you control.


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## Space Lynx (Apr 29, 2022)

Vayra86 said:


> You can enchant any creature; not just creatures you control.



so if I enchant my enemies creature, all his creatures have to attack me?

damn this card seems overpowered...


----------



## dragontamer5788 (Apr 29, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> What the hell does this card do? I have read it a 100x and my dyslexia is still not understanding... lol



I'd enchant my own creatures, to setup favorable trades.

It forces the enemy to "alpha-strike" each turn, which is often a bad thing. If you have death-touch creatures or other kinds of combat tricks (1st strike, vigilance, etc. etc.), forcing the enemy to attack is very important.


----------



## DemonicRyzen666 (Apr 29, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> I see what you mean now.
> 
> What the hell does this card do? I have read it a 100x and my dyslexia is still not understanding... lol


This reminds me of this Siren Creature deck I have that's forces people to attack me, but I have Blood Reconning in it too.


----------



## Space Lynx (Apr 29, 2022)

I opened up some packs, not many, just some gold I had saved up...

got 4 of these... wtf lol. 






this seems OP


----------



## Vayra86 (Apr 29, 2022)

Naah capenna isnt a very strong set overall. Some niches get served and pioneer and modern are getting some early win opportunities. Standard is the usual 






						Daily Deck Tech from Capenna: Pioneer's New Turn Three Kill | Cardmarket Insight
					

Every workday while the Streets of Capenna are new, Insight takes a quick look at another deck featuring the fresh cards!




					www.cardmarket.com
				




From my Commander-first POV I do have about 30 rares/mrares on my wantlist


----------



## rethcirE (May 12, 2022)

I've never played, but got my first Commander deck for my 34th birthday a few days ago . There is a "league" of sorts at my work that meet weekly to play. I will soon infiltrate their ranks with.....questions and annoyance mostly I'm sure. 

I'm pretty excited to play though. Attempting to learn all I can online/YouTube and watched several matches so far. An of course, I went online and got card sleeves, a deck box, and some fun looking dice. Anything else worth investing in?


----------



## Vayra86 (May 13, 2022)

rethcirE said:


> I've never played, but got my first Commander deck for my 34th birthday a few days ago . There is a "league" of sorts at my work that meet weekly to play. I will soon infiltrate their ranks with.....questions and annoyance mostly I'm sure.
> 
> I'm pretty excited to play though. Attempting to learn all I can online/YouTube and watched several matches so far. An of course, I went online and got card sleeves, a deck box, and some fun looking dice. Anything else worth investing in?



Cards 
The best approach to getting your hands on cards is reading a shit ton about MTG, reading deck lists and understanding the mechanics they use etc. Then you slowly get an idea for what price of a card means in the MTG universe. And then you can start buying Singles.

If you collect cards through preconstructed decks and/or booster packs, you'll be having a more expensive hobby and you won't make the constructed commander decks you'll eventually want, most likely. Precons are generally good investment in terms of bang for buck, but they are also centered around ideas you might not like. 'Building your own' is a guarantee you'll carve out your own path / journey through this game.

It really is just that: a journey. The game has a miraculous depth and knowledge and insight comes in phases. Don't expect to figure it all out right away. Play a lot, and it will come to you  Borrow some constructed decks from others to see the difference with preconstructed. And, another great approach is to take a preconstructed deck and figure out how to pimp it and refine it further. Adding synergy, removing shitty cards, etc.

Commander is all about synergy anyway. You build around or with a specific commander. Many effects on cards exist in dozens of ways/wording. Getting a clear view of all those mechanics is a massive undertaking, so focusing on one niche/playstyle (or 'archetype' as its called) could help you. Example: 'Reanimator' is an archetypes. It focuses on moving cards into and getting it out of the graveyard to gain an advantage. Another is 'Weenie', focusing around small cheap creatures to overwhelm. 'Lifegain', focusing on cards that gain life and get advantage out of that. And so on.

I would strongly suggest to stay away from Youtube/best of lists and the bog standard Commander top lists - they quickly go towards competitive play, overpriced cards and lame combos that go stale quickly (personal experience). Its much more fun to play Commander with cheaper cards. Cheap lists can easily destroy a table, too 
Rather, see what creativity players pull off here;





						MTG Deck Builder and Community - TappedOut.net
					






					tappedout.net
				



Find a commander of choice and enjoy. Most of the time good decklists have descriptions and explanations, its a community site with tons of info.

Here's a bunch of decks I built for Commander. A very broad selection of archetypes, and all on a medium or small budget (tops out at 350-400 eur including a pricy land base)
If you want to have a group hug deck, check out Kwain, Gas Rabbit. Its cheap to build and never ceases to be fun at the table, basically people want to keep you alive while you find a sneaky way to snatch a win. Its a good example of how varied the commander format is.



			https://tappedout.net/users/VayraTheGatherer/deck-folders/
		


This is an example of an upgraded Preconstructed deck:





						MTG Deck: Kotori's Armored Core
					

Kotori brings her best pilots to the battlefield to crew a host of scary vehicle...




					tappedout.net


----------



## Space Lynx (May 24, 2022)

Does anyone know what the Magic the Gathering Arena "Vault %" is?

If you login to MTG Arena, at the top of the screen next to your gold count, if you go hover your mouse to the left of that, it shows you how many wildcards you have to craft with, and at the bottom of that list is has "Vault %"  wth is Vault %...? Mine says 82%


----------



## Selaya (May 24, 2022)

duplicate commons and uncommons acquired (above the count of 4) will be destroyed and converted into vault progress (used to be for rares and mythics asw, but they convert into small amounts of gems nowadays, and boosters have duplicate protection for those), once that fills up to 100% you will receive a buncha wildcards from it


----------



## Space Lynx (Jun 3, 2022)

can't believe this game I just played, my enemy was almost at 40 life, had me down to 1 life for 95% of the entire match, even when he was close to 40. I gained 0 life, but drew Legion Angel, and that gave me new lease on life for a bit after I cast Farewell... long story short I won, can't believe it. lmao one of my best matches ever


----------



## rethcirE (Jun 3, 2022)

Vayra86 said:


> Cards



I have 8 decks now. I think I'm just a habitual collector and this game definitely feeds off that energy. Won a few 1v1 games, our 3-4 person games are definitely the most fun and big learning games for me. One game saw 5 board wipes and lasted nearly 2 hours! I managed 5 new decks for $15-20 each which seemed like a bargain. The other 2 were closer to MSRP, and the final was my original birthday gift. All in all I'm having a ton of fun and managing to get a game in fairly often. Turns out many of my coworkers play or used to and some are starting back up in the last few months.


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## Space Lynx (Jun 4, 2022)

rethcirE said:


> I have 8 decks now. I think I'm just a habitual collector and this game definitely feeds off that energy. Won a few 1v1 games, our 3-4 person games are definitely the most fun and big learning games for me. One game saw 5 board wipes and lasted nearly 2 hours! I managed 5 new decks for $15-20 each which seemed like a bargain. The other 2 were closer to MSRP, and the final was my original birthday gift. All in all I'm having a ton of fun and managing to get a game in fairly often. Turns out many of my coworkers play or used to and some are starting back up in the last few months.



if you can get 6 people together someday, Emperor game mode is a hoot of fun. honestly Emperor is one of the best ways to play Magic the Gathering, but it requires 6 people, 3 vs 3 and it requires 1-2 hours of play time. some of the best days in my entire life were playing Emp 1-1-1 (this references the lanes being limited) on Magic ONline original client back in 2005 or so.

it's really sad to me MTG Arena does not have Emperor or 2H Giant, cause quite frankly I don't have the money to spend on original client anymore, so I exclusively use Arena these days, being poor and all lol


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## Space Lynx (Jul 31, 2022)

I don't know how anyone can stand playing meta and just playing these copy/paste decks. It's so freaking boring to me. My love for magic, was and has always been the same for the last 21 years (yes I have been playing I think close to 21 years now).

+beautiful jaw dropping art work that impresses me every expansion and is unparalleled in its beauty
+quotes that make me think more deeply the majority of the time
+improves my vocabulary so much that I get compliments on my ability to use creative words when writing
+not being able to access every card, but instead make decks creatively based on what card packs I end up opening
+having the Standard format to always play in to keep things mostly fair and balanced (before meta type player base is reached in ranking anyway)
+made many great friends over the years, and regardless of what country you are in, there is a Friday Night Magic place down the road somewhere
+Emperor game mode in Magic Online back in the day was insanely fun and a missed opportunity for WotC 
+2H Giant Standard themed events were super fun back in the day, and another missed opportunity for WotC
+ Arena allowed me to enjoy Magic again in an unexpected way, very cheaply. I enjoyed it a lot up until Alchemy
+overall just being creative with new deck ideas based on cards I have, trading cards back in Magic Online in 2002-2004 was pretty fun, before the bots and mega merchants set up shop anyway...  funny how bots were even ruining my life back then 

-cost/expense
-my Magic Online 2002-2007 purchases have been lost to time (I wish I could figure out how to get them back or at least have them transferred to Arena the equivalent cost spent)... that's another negative imo, the constant spending of money never transfers over time, its just a money sink really... at least until Arena came out.
-Commander is overrated imo, because so many cards are legal that should be illegal... it ruins the fun if you are going up against rich opponents (this happened to me recently... they defeated 5 people by turn 4 or 5, can't remember) and it was all legal because Commander is so lenient with what cards are allowed... its nonsense. I wouldn't mind themed Commander decks that are meant to face each other, or maybe singleton Commander to kind of keep things more balanced.
-Alchemy ruined Arena for me, its just shoved in your face so much I can't stand it. I can barely keep up with the other 20 game modes and Standard should always be pinnacle, and they made it out to be Alchemy is a new version of Standard, a huge error on their part imo. I haven't played as much since they introduced Alchemy, I am probably not alone, and as the pandemic fades, people will move on in droves from the sheer overwhelming nature that Magic has become



any thoughts on all of this? mostly just venting, while still trying to praise the game I love.


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## Vayra86 (Jul 31, 2022)

> Commander... yea, LGS Commander tables are like that. You don't really need those though. Organize your own table, your own playgroup, and this format is endless fun. It will evolve. Someone bringing the heavy hitters? That someone is primary target. I'm that guy on our table, I always bring a new deck every time, or 3-4 even, and all my decks keep changing, and I do push some huge bombs in them. But do I always win or even dictate every round? Nope... But if you find me at your local LGS and don't realize what's happening, yep... sucks to be you  The thing is, you either play constructed or you play draft or sealed. If you play constructed, build a good deck. Doesn't have to be high in price. You can build killer decks without even a single rare, there is just less access to exotic stuff/synergy/builds. But good ones? Definitely.

> Standard... too bad it happens in MTGA because that atrocity is not getting a single megabyte allowance on my machine ever again since Alchemy. That was insta-hard-boycot and done. I do like the prerelease drafts in LGS. Standard though to me is a money sink, but then my focus is commander. I only 'check' standard rotation/sets to cherry pick Commander cards. And that's also where I get profit in trading. Every set lately has had uncommon and even common hits that exploded in value - I tend to buy a few common/uncommon sets (1x every card in the set of that rarity) at 15 eur for a pack of both, they always break even and I have every card there is minus a few rares I buy as singles on top.

Cards like this are straight up money makers  You just gotta have an eye for it. This started at 2 cents - each one of them.





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						Deadly Dispute (AFR) - MTG Singles | Cardmarket
					

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						Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary (ZNR) - MTG Singles | Cardmarket
					

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And this list just keeps expanding with new things as the meta evolves and all the Standard/Modern sheep follow it religiously. Clickyclick! I just make money  This game is all about cherry picking now. Find the niche you like, and make it work. If you try to understand its trading better, you can make almost anything work! I checked the other day... I'm at 6K EUR spent since july 2020. 3.5K was made back on selling cards. And my collection has reached a value of about 7K EUR total. Is crypto even this good...? You don't see value plummet ever, the worst that can happen is you misfire on thinking a card has value.

Cherry picking applies bigtime to preconstructed and commander cards; to Standard sets, and even to buying booster boxes. An MH2 box is likely to still turn you a break even, or a small profit. A Double Masters 22 box is likely to get you a net loss but you could get lucky. Every standard set draft box is a certain net loss. Etc..

And those trades then allow me to build something like this (just waiting on last few cards, so hyped lol - the commander is in yellow sleeve)






> The Meta
Yeah... the all consuming meta. I get ya. Its boring AF or gets there soon enough. I did play a Modern deck just to see how I would like competitive play in LGS on that format. Built a newly styled Dimir Mill thing, including Oboro (35 euro land) and all those painlands, total price just over 300 eur (IOW, it had everything a tournament deck would want for)... After two nights of play I got fed up with it. And it didnt even suck in terms of play, I think I won just under 50%, and sure did get a nice peek on how 'the meta' plays and where the fun is supposed to be at. Its about those tiny tweaks, an expert knowledge and insight plus your own developed idea on how to 'play against the meta'. After all, its there for everyone. The key is adaptation... But yeah, we're talking about adaptation in three numbers behind the comma really. Not my favorite thing if I want to play fun/relaxing games, it feels a bit like work. Commander in that sense is much more free form. And if you come into commander with 60 card deck notions, you will not have a good time. The dynamic is just different, big things work in commander, while in Standard and Modern meta, they tend to suck hard.

The Dimir Mill deck got sold two months after building it... and apparently I could price several cards higher than I bought them for. Made +40 eur on that in total... and Oboro is still up for sale (!).

So what is better? The tight meta with few surprises, or the free form of commander with lots of surprises and the immense chance your scissors won't find a paper at all, but only rocks? That's personal, and perhaps its a bit of both. Everything gets boring if you do it too much.

> Cost
Yeah. No  Not seeing that issue, as you can read... Every card you own holds its value, for the most part, but selling unused cards off is a great way to keep the thing cost neutral at some point, I'm there now and its awesome. Bought a DM22 box from card profit alone, and parting it out now enabled me to build that Animar Eldrazi deck for zero!

By the way... isn't Commander always a singleton format? That's the whole thing, sure you have that 100 dollar card... in your 99. That's what the whole idea of synergistic/themed deck builds rides on.


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## Space Lynx (Sep 3, 2022)

So far my Dominaria United runs:

4 wins 3 losses in my first draft 

5 wins and 3 losses in my first sealed deck tournament

and I am hoping to get one more draft and sealed in tonight before bed. lol

Overall I think Dominaria United is a bit of a weak expansion, I like that they are encouraging multiple land decks, but those cards don't draft well due to the 40 card limitation.

I just wish Arena would bring in Commander and 2 Headed Giant modes, and possibly Emperor mode with some older cards to support Emperor (perhaps even a pre-constructed Emperor only mode, where you don't even get to use your own cards, that way everyone can experince the true joy of old school Emperor 1/1/1 gaming)


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## Space Lynx (Sep 23, 2022)

So Unfinity comes out October 7th. "Space Carnival Sci-Fi" is the theme for this side fun magic the gathering expansion/experiment... interesting theme I like it.

Unfinity looks like fun for those of you that have a group of friends that can draft it together or do a sealed deck together. I won't be playing it unless it comes to Arena, too expensive to play IRL magic these days. still neat though, hope they bring it to Arena.

I think this card below looks kind of fun, source was PCGamer for this picture.

@Vayra86 have you got to play with the Commander you pictured above yet? that looks like a fun one I admit.


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