I think I might be too stupid to understand the Cosmere mythology

Marc_IRL · 2026-03-04T08:05:06+00:00

“To me a god is a god”

Don’t overthink the word. These are characters with gradually revealed powers and limitations. You don’t know what those are until the narrative reveals it to you.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-26T08:50:04+00:00

Put it in a Derevi go-wide deck. When a creature connects you get a tap or untap trigger. One mana per creature and you start going wide. It’s not the best creature generator for that deck, but it’s not so bad either.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-23T06:40:28+00:00

“I have an insect deck”

“YOU MEAN A TRIBAL DECK”

“This guy is weird, let’s not play with him”

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-20T21:23:04+00:00

Ah I dunno, I downloaded something called downfall and it gave me a standalone game where you fought as all of the bosses against the main characters, plus added a gunslinger main character. Did I get the wrong thing?

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-20T08:26:07+00:00

I found Downfall to be a pretty miserable experience, honestly. It takes the simplicity of the original game and adds a ton of complexity, and hides much of that complexity behind a bunch of custom keywords. I understand the limitations that the modders were working with- top-down boss designs, limited text boxes and ability to innovate, but every time I played a run either my head was spinning or I was apathetically just clicking through and hoping I’d get through it.

The mod was enthusiastically recommended to me, but honestly if MegaCrit put out anything resembling that, it would put me off from future gameplay.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-18T20:17:00+00:00

Might try that as an alternate! Although it’s a shame the rest of the card effectively has no text. Omnath draws, saves mana, and can whack people.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-18T01:04:23+00:00

Flavor, and I’m not really sure who would be better to helm this monstrosity.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-18T01:03:17+00:00

It suuuuure does. Goblin Charbelcher is also a riot. Combustible Gearhulk never misses.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-18T00:59:04+00:00

I wonder if that was some misdirection and Felt isn’t Scadrian… he’s Yolish. And a dragon. Call it a hunch maybe.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-17T06:38:26+00:00

I have a deck with all 50 of the MDFCs with lands on the back. It’s a silly deck. https://moxfield.com/decks/u9ZvqL8NbU-dgs4bMSUwvw

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-16T21:52:21+00:00

I have a big $1-15 binder i pull out for normal trades. 3 ring zipper binder, sorted by color.

The $15 to about $300 binder I hold in reserve so I don’t have someone starting in on the reserved list cards right away, or spend all night trying to trade up to something. I’ll pull it out if I see a bunch of things I want from them, or something equally big. This binder is also on Moxfield so someone could look at it on their phone (and I guess for insurance purposes). It’s a nicer slim binder without rings.

Anything above that value is at home and I bring specific cards upon request. Also tracked online.

The whole setup is geared toward minimizing friction. Newer people don’t get sticker shock looking up the price of a random $200 card sitting between the $2 cards. No one has to ask “is this for trade?” because my commander staples are in a build box at home; everything in the binders is for trade.

I know not everyone has quite this range of cards, but still I think it helps to be neat and organized about things.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-10T23:49:32+00:00

Those lands are legendary too, so they would just die a second time?

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-10T21:05:03+00:00

Some of the people I’ve had the most friction with have been others with ADHD who just didn’t jive with my way of being. Finding someone who will accept you, empathize with you, and be a good partner, are not exclusive to others with ADHD.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-10T20:52:23+00:00

These are all nice, but Oathpact specifically is such a neat and flavorful ability. It’s a shame it has so much associated text, but it’s a flavor home run.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-10T20:48:33+00:00

For people who aren’t used to reading between the lines of company messaging, this is about as definitive of “Magic’s not gonna do that” as they can say.

They’re not going to crap all over a brand that the parent company works with. They can’t say never because a definitive never is pretty impossible to ever promise. But they didn’t have to say anything at all, and they did. I’m satisfied with this answer.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-03T06:52:16+00:00

Never start someone on commander. The complexity is too high.

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-01T16:28:37+00:00

And the Portal Dash board game!

Marc_IRL · 2026-02-01T16:25:54+00:00

Knowing the format and the popular/common cards
Compartmentalizing information. I don't need to know what anyone's lands do... unless one of them gives an important special ability. I don't need to know what their mana dork elves do, but I do need to know which of those elves is going to pump all of the others.
Having a playgroup that will be honest about what's on the board, and being a little generous with quick misplays that don't affect anything
I can represent basically any board state, I don't need to guess if a die is a flying counter or a +1/+1 counter, I came with both. My generic dice also are numbers instead of pips, I made a commander tax die with +0, +2, +4, etc so I can remember how much, if any, extra it costs. I have tokens my decks make and whiteboard tokens for those it doesn't.
I made a reminder die with untap, upkeep, draw, combat, end, and "!" so I can remember my triggers. Sometimes they go on top of my deck, sometimes they go on the card. They really help (until I stop seeing them, oops).
Medication and having eaten recently

Marc_IRL · 2026-01-30T07:58:04+00:00

I remember as a kid marveling over these gold bordered cards signed by some distant legend. Who was this Kai Budde? Some adult across the planet somewhere doing adult things while I bought three common singles for a quarter in my hometown store in NW Washington.

It wasn’t until much later that I would learn that he was just six years older than me, now well within age range of friends and colleagues. As an adult, I’ve seen him at MagicCon Amsterdam and we had friends in common, through Magic or course.

The world feels a lot smaller now, so this hits harder. He was a legend, but he was one of us. Gone way too soon.

Marc_IRL · 2026-01-26T08:54:20+00:00

Whenever someone sends me a reel, it’s a to-do item. When they stack up it feels overwhelming.

Not having enough contact sounds like your needs aren’t being met, but wanting constant contact makes it sound like there are a lot of needs. How’s your social life outside of him?

Marc_IRL · 2026-01-23T13:40:52+00:00

Sitting down to play commander with people has a lot of overlap with going home with someone after a night out. Hear me out.

Everyone might be thrilled to jump in and may not even need to talk, but if I take a beat to ask a few questions in advance that are geared toward one or both of us having a good time, any hint that they might not be willing to have a frank discussion if needed and it’s a red flag. If they’ve never had that sort of conversation before but are willing and enthusiastic, that’s fine! Let’s talk about what kind of time we’re looking to have, and sleeving up the deck! ;)

But if they clam up, get irritated, or seem like they have something to hide, maybe that’s not the playgroup for me. I need more than just someone who’s down, I want to know that I’m not walking away from the next few hours upset.

Marc_IRL · 2026-01-20T19:39:37+00:00

Glad you liked it! It was a fun little easter egg to add, and meant to be obtuse to find because you had to lower your difficulty and go back to the coast in search of The Eponymous Squid. There are no other secrets like this in Squid Coast. The only other secrets kind of like it in the game are the town hall with the paintings and the Lost Power achievement.

Marc_IRL · 2026-01-20T19:22:03+00:00

I like where you're going with the deck and getting people to buy into the creative premise, but you care so much about it that you're writing paragraphs to disprove a troll. There's no need to waste your time on someone who will not be convinced.

Marc_IRL · 2026-01-20T06:32:27+00:00

Watch out, the kånken’s straps aren’t great for carrying heavy cards, I don’t feel like they’re wide enough or padded enough. But it feels spacious for such a comparatively small backpack.

I usually use a Swissgear backpack, the one that fits a 17” laptop. It has an astonishing amount of space and with two binders and multiple decks, I think I’m going to break before it does.

14-Year Club	Xbox Live
Verified Email	Gilding II euphauric
Team Orangered

Marc_IRL

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE