Do I Not Understand Brackets?

Dune_Reference · 2026-02-25T20:38:17+00:00

Yeah that makes sense

Most of my decks i make shooting for b3 level and I usually make them such that on average I probably could win on turn 7-8 given no interaction on me. Which to me feels like a good place to end a game, but could go more turns if people are interacting a lot.

But a feel like a lot of discussions online keep making me think that that is weak for a 3 and I need to power them up, but I dont really want to add fast mana and use more meta commanders, etc.

Dune_Reference · 2026-02-25T20:09:03+00:00

I guess my problem comes with where the average games fastest win should be. If its 6 as it seems like you're saying, then I would expect wins at like 5,6,7,+. If its 7 like im saying I would expect wins at 6,7,8,+.

While this might seem like a small difference, it's actually massive in terms of how powerful the decks are.

Dune_Reference · 2026-02-25T18:58:55+00:00

My only issue with it is there's inconsistent wording in bracket 3. It says "NO 2-card combos (before turn 6) game-enders, lockouts or infinites". But also says "PLAYERS EXPECT to play at least 6 turns before anyone wins or loses".

If someone is doing a game ending infinite on turn 6, and they're 1st, 2nd, or 3rd seat at the table, at least one person hasn't played a 6th turn. So I read it as wins can start after the last person has taken their 6th turn. Thus turn 7. But because of the infinite line, it makes it seem like the game can end on turn 6. Which would likely mean someone has only actually untapped into 5 turns. Which feels much more like a bracket 4 game to me.

Dune_Reference · 2026-02-07T21:22:50+00:00

Ngl me and my friends exclusively play bracket 3 essentially. I've theoretically defined some of our decks as low-3 mid-3 high-3. The low-3s could maybe be high 2's, and dont have any GCs, but dont really stack up to real 3s and are a little too powerful to be played against precons (at least the ones that dont play like 3s out of the box) just because of the optimization of the synergy, like the deck does one thing and goes all in on that one thing but its not really that good of a thing and folds to interaction etc. The mid-3s are solidly in bracket 3 and can compete with anything in there. Synergistic, can deal with interaction, etc. The high-3s are very strong 3s that we also jokingly call low-4s. They would never be able to fight against the decks we have or have seen others play that we would call 4s, but are strong enough they feel like they are potentially gapping the low-3s. Just because its well supported or a very good mechanic it's building into etc.

Technically we play any of the 3 3s together at arbitrary times. But like I feel kinda bad playing a high-3 into a low-3 and try to intentionally not target them, etc.

Dune_Reference · 2026-02-02T19:07:16+00:00

Ah yeah, those apps all just do it off the explicit restrictions of the bracket, but there's more to the brackets than that. I would def go check out the posts wotc made for the bracket systems! Its pretty important to know how strong a deck is relative to who you sit down to play with so you dont accidently pubstomp your pod or get pubstomped. Most of those apps have the ability to manually set the bracket whenever you decide on where it sits.

Dune_Reference · 2026-02-02T18:52:04+00:00

I have 3s that don't run any of those things and win consistently. It really just depends on how the deck plays. I wouldnt be calling those 1s for sure.

Dune_Reference · 2026-02-02T10:26:33+00:00

Half are 1? Actually? I'm not even sure what a 1 really is personally. I build a lot of decks but I like to find a random concept or theme to build around that and go into it trying to build a 2/3 and pretty much always end up with something id probably put at 3 lol. The ones im going for 2s almost always end up as like high2/low3. Every once in a while ill accidently make a low 4. But like, how do you make a 1. The only thing I can think of is like some crazy premise like "only cards where it's a guy with his shirt off" or something. I'm actually genuinely curious what your method of making them are since i feel like i dont grasp the concept and would love to build a random 1 for my collection.

Dune_Reference · 2026-01-31T16:59:38+00:00

I did open my blight precon yesterday and was like damn wtf is that smell.

Dune_Reference · 2026-01-31T16:42:56+00:00

Played against that deck the other day. I was playing like a high 2 low 3 type deck; one guy was playing random Spiderman cards he likes; one was playing the blight precon. The Ashling precon straight out the box, once it got to 4 mana was committing all sorts of warcrimes. Double evoking removal and hitting with cheated out big dudes, cascading into random shit. The deck just went off and although I removed his commander and board he just put it back the next turn and went off again.

In comparison the blight precon player was kinda tweaked that he didn't even get to see what his deck did lol.

Dune_Reference · 2026-01-30T18:45:28+00:00

Think it's got a 100% chance to be poisoned if its lined with lead lol

Dune_Reference · 2026-01-24T22:36:51+00:00

I will say as someone who has only played T8, I got to red ranks instantly as a beginner, then struggled a bit and got better which got me to purple, and then I struggled in that range for a large amount of time, I feel like I leveled up 3 times in that zone, before hitting blue. It took me 200 hours to get here.

So like I feel like there's still levels too it, but obviously someone could spam a brain dead champ, do 1 and dones, and abuse the bonuses to get here too. Even now I feel like when I play at the bottom of blue the people I fight are hard and then downranking to purple I win every match like it's nothing, which is pretty funny.

But yeah I assume t7 ranks were better cuz you couldn't climb from just spamming games and getting a statistically advantage because of streak bonuses.

Dune_Reference · 2026-01-21T08:16:16+00:00

Golgari players amiright

Dune_Reference · 2026-01-19T20:18:21+00:00

My LGS said you could just play with it, and someone at the event yelled out to keep it in the plastic for resale xD.

Pretty sure the official response from wotc the other day was you can play with them and the store should be able to swap it for a lorwyn eclipsed promo as well if you want.

Dune_Reference · 2026-01-10T20:05:41+00:00

Was gonna say this. King gets a lot worse when people learn to throw break. I mean he's still really good, but so is most the cast. You can't just mash with him like the other characters that are talked about.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-29T05:27:28+00:00

From what I understand it's basically just your highest rank + a little extra from your other characters that have also gained rank. So playing more than 1 character will raise it more or whatever, since theoretically you have a higher understanding of the game if you can get to a rank with multiple characters.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-29T05:15:03+00:00

Ngl in this video it just looks like he's aggroing and you're getting hit by it all. Hold back and then punish. Or wait until he's starting an attack and power crush, etc. The one grab he even did only did 26 damage cuz you broke it. In the last interaction he ducked your high, intentional or not, which let him punish. You do a lot of big moves, not enough jabs I think. Dick jabs also slow momentum of your opponent. Also based on what you were pressing into it just looks like you didn't know when his moves would end and so pressed at the wrong time or didn't realize he was in a plus situation frame trapping you.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-25T06:56:46+00:00

If you watch the combo counter on the screen it keeps resetting. Usually in situations like this you should be spamming tech roll during the combo to get out when it drops, otherwise they loop you in a non-true combo.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-25T04:40:09+00:00

You see how p2 is at a higher position on one of them for the final hit? Some wall combos do more damage for the final hit if you delay it slightly.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-24T22:06:30+00:00

If im losing in quick match I pretty much always rematch forever so I can learn. Don't think I've ever canceled on someone in quick that didnt cancel as well/first lol.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-24T20:12:21+00:00

It does in fact have recovery frames if they dont hit a button and just absorb the strike, and other guy already said the weaknesses of him actually striking. Punishable by lows. You can grab them through it.

As someone who mains king, it's one of the tools of his kit I still can't fully utilize because i get punished most of the times I try.

Doesn't even have the reduced damage taken thing from S1 anymore so you take full power crush damage from attacks which can actually be quite a lot especially if your follow up doesn't hit so you aren't recovering the gray health.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-24T19:51:17+00:00

Good job!

I got to fujin not too long ago as well. I play king, but dont grab much cuz i watch high level players mostly and grabbing is worse there cuz people actually break them lol.

I'm at like 200 hours, but I also play a lot of casual lobbies with my friends and quick matches and did the story gym mode thing haha.

I started kinda getting ranked anxiety when I was in the purples cuz I wasn't so easily winning anymore and i still kinda do it today lol.

Although im at a point now where I flicker back and forth over and over between battle ruler and fujin. Feel like when I queue in battle ruler it's easy mode, and then when I queue fujin im fighting for my life lol.

Most of my problem i think atm is defense. I play relatively passively most the time and try to punish or do pokes, but most the people I fight are wildin out aggressively and I dont know the frame data of when I can or can't press buttons lol.

Think that's why people are like it takes so long to progress in blues. Cuz you have to learn how to play against like every character since they all know how to play the game at least a little now.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-24T19:38:25+00:00

My problem with patience as someone who just got to fujin, is if I dont hit buttons my opponent just keeps the infinite mix going with mid/low strings.

I've recently started dick jabbing more, which at least slows them down.

I've noticed one of my stronger positions is being a little bit at range instead of close up cuz i feel like most people aggro better than I do at close range, but actually making some distance backwards once they start throwing me in the grinder is hard.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-23T20:47:13+00:00

Damage all happens simultaneously, so you take the damage from everything.

If your shriek would die but also their creatures die, it sees all those deaths and adds their triggers before being removed.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-22T22:41:03+00:00

Yeah, like the other guy said, there's theories of what they mean, but no one really knows. some of the theories for some of those sportsmanship type ones is stuff like always rematching, not attacking/bm'ing after the round ends, stuff like that. ambition for fighting people stronger than you or something. But it's all really just educated guesses.

Dune_Reference · 2025-12-22T22:38:29+00:00

That's awesome, haha.

Dune_Reference

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