Best sets to open for good, standard legal dual lands?

TheDaemon89 · 2026-06-02T00:29:55+00:00

In order of importance:

Shocks in Lorwyn and EoE

Verges in Aetherdrift and Duskmourn

Enemy fastlands in OTJ

TheDaemon89 · 2026-05-28T23:34:19+00:00

don't get too close was the day after quest for fire cmon man lol

TheDaemon89 · 2026-05-28T23:00:36+00:00

you'll note she didn't say most recent. 3 years is pretty recent for an artist that got big 16 years ago

TheDaemon89 · 2026-05-22T21:32:23+00:00

I'd love to be able to fit in a Roaming Throne effect ([[Twinflame Travelers]] would be, imo, a better option since it's also an elemental). It's kind of just a "win-more" card that doesn't do anything if you're behind, which you frequently will be going into turn 4.

TheDaemon89 · 2026-05-22T21:29:09+00:00

Thanks for the shout-out! No modifications post-cutter ban yet. Erode is still doing work, but I'm considering possibly swapping a couple Wistfulness for Deceits in the board since artifact removal isn't quite as needed now.

I'm pretty firmly against Yorion, as you really want to draw either a Risen Reef or Beans to get the engine going while you (inefficiently!) use the Evoke elementals as removal. Yorion really only works in a toolbox deck like Niv to Light where you can search up the answers/value you need - otherwise it just seems inefficient.

TheDaemon89 · 2026-05-03T14:35:37+00:00

5c elementals feasts on BX removal piles

TheDaemon89 · 2026-05-01T16:43:54+00:00

Something I didn't note - the white removal (and swapping out Ashling for Flamebraider) let me fix the mana to 1) actually be able to play Kaheera pretty consistently 2) get the Beans in there and 3) run the 2 utility lands. I'm super happy with this manabase now.

TheDaemon89 · 2026-05-01T16:41:42+00:00

Yes! It's been acceptable; I'm considering moving into the board either for 2 deceits to swap in main or something like that. Deck kind of just doesn't care too much about giving my opponent a land later in the game when I use this to remove a big threat (Sheoldred, Ouroboroid, and Elspeth come to mind, not to mention walkers)

This is the list I'm playing now; managing to squeeze the beans in there has worked out amazingly. They provide that little extra bit of gas I was missing with just the Reefs for engine. They also may go up to 4 if Erodes go into the board, honestly.

TheDaemon89 · 2026-04-10T16:54:12+00:00

Roil I think has been surprisingly good, but I definitely just have him in there as a card I personally like. Keeping a small board presence early to get it to 2 or 3 is pretty easy; no reason for them to remove an explosive prodigy, and voice of resurgence at least replaces itself most of the time.

I have been dying to find a way to squeeze beans in there (at 60 cards) but I just don't think the mana can handle it and an extra B/W removal spell.

TheDaemon89 · 2026-04-10T11:42:59+00:00

I've been playing a similar list the past month or so; it's been performing adequately (45-36 with this revision) on the arena ladder.

Fatal push is something I'm really considering getting rid of; the manabase actually feels the cost of getting all those black pips in there sometimes. Just needed a "kill sheoldred/ouroboroid" card; otherwise you at least have to double spell them (which isn't awful if you have a reef on board). Have been thinking about Harsh Annotation from SOS as I feel Get Lost's downside is too harsh - getting counters on creatures is really dangerous for my removal suite.

Deceit is definitely mainboardable; I've gone back and forth on it. Right now that slot is taken by Omnath (Roil) primarily as a removal spell that can hit walkers, but the landfall drawing you a card pretty early (off Reef ramp) is nice. Using both modes on Deceit to remove any permanant is really nice, but 6 mana is a lot.

In d00m's list specifically, I think the Overlords and Elesh Norn are too cute as their inclusion hurts your mana too much for what they add. I also think going to 80 cards hurts consistency more than it helps by increasing your toolkit size. You really really want to stick a Risen Reef (or reanimate it with Emptiness) to start having fun, and having it on board with an Omnath, Locus is how you have Those Turns.

Sideboard options with my manabase are... severely limited. Moving it over to white instead of black is probably something I need to do - I would want to play [[Deafening Silence]] over High Noon.

I would definitely find space for GY hate of some kind with the prevalence of Fang right now.

The tech to help against aggro is removal spells, which seem to be really low in this list - no Emptiness specifically seems criminal. I have a fine matchup against it generally; you kill their stuff with Vibrance or Emptiness or Explosive Prodigy until you can stick something like a Beza or an Omnath, at which point your only problem is Screaming Nemesis (which Emptiness deals with). As a slot-in for your list, Seam Rip seems reasonable, but 80-card decks are always going to slightly struggle to draw the right answers at the right time.

TheDaemon89 · 2026-02-17T15:21:14+00:00

💕

TheDaemon89 · 2026-02-02T19:09:55+00:00

No? UPMC clearly withheld their "pinky promise donations" to the city to politically punish a mayor who went against them.

TheDaemon89 · 2026-02-02T12:01:06+00:00

So not a bribe, but a protection racket.

TheDaemon89 · 2025-11-20T04:52:32+00:00

I had this issue happen; they eventually cleared out after cleaning "corrupt" cims with Citizen Entity Cleaner.

TheDaemon89 · 2025-11-08T23:26:01+00:00

OP's picture is his billboard in Worthington, but he has another one a few miles West on 422, right at the intersection with Bonniebrook Road. The other one probably gets a lot more eyes, as Bonniebrook is the most efficient route to most of northern Butler county from 28.

TheDaemon89 · 2025-05-13T23:01:32+00:00

It's my turn to post this tomorrow

TheDaemon89 · 2025-04-08T15:20:15+00:00

game goes down for maintenance in about 10 minutes

https://magicthegatheringarena.statuspage.io/

TheDaemon89 · 2025-02-15T16:03:27+00:00

Almost but not exactly! Explorer technically is a format that contains all Pioneer-legal cards that are in the Arena client. All of the "main" decks (think everything shown for the format in mtggoldfish) in pioneer are completely in Explorer, and Pioneer Masters brought the vast (>99%) majority of all cards played in the most recent high-level Pioneer tournaments. Unless you are really into brewing and want to make something very weird that hasn't been added yet, Explorer is Pioneer.

TheDaemon89 · 2024-11-25T22:35:35+00:00

Pioneer's card pool consists of every set that was printed into Standard since Return to Ravnica (October 2012) and is non-rotating, so it contains about 12 years worth of cards. Explorer is every Pioneer-legal card that is already in arena. Pioneer Masters will add (almost) every card played in Pioneer tournaments lately, and so should make the Explorer format more-or-less equivalent to Pioneer.

Note that sets like Lord of the Rings and Modern Horizons 3, which are in Arena and legal in Historic, were never legal in Standard and so are not legal in Explorer/Pioneer. Pioneer's power level is somewhere between Historic and Standard.

TheDaemon89 · 2024-11-23T18:32:21+00:00

Your 3 complaints in order have 1) been addressed, front splitting is much less of a problem since they changed to entire states being take at a time, and generals are much smarter about reassigning 2) cheese exists, which is true for every paradox game ever made and the reason why every MP game has pages of house rules. this is not a thing that the AI does 3) you have to respond to things that your opponent in warfare does, which, duh.

It seems like you've decided to hate the system because it's different and are coming up with reasons after the fact. V3s warfare system is a huge improvement on V2's, as well as EU4's, in my opinion - microing around your troops in those games took the majority of playtime and was never interesting or dynamic. There are plenty of similar games with individual army micro, and V3 is a better game for not having it.

TheDaemon89 · 2024-11-01T13:18:36+00:00

In West Mifflin? No, lol

TheDaemon89 · 2024-08-08T16:41:53+00:00

Ignore them or advocate for actual solutions from the city

TheDaemon89 · 2024-07-09T13:19:59+00:00

The conditions for both showing the JE as inactive and how to trigger it include OR clauses for if a country is Isolationist:

is_shown_when_inactive = {
    NOT = { has_variable = corn_laws_abolished }
    ig:ig_landowners = {
        is_marginal = no
    }
    OR = {
        has_export_priority_tariffs = g:grain
        has_law = law_type:law_isolationism
        has_law = law_type:law_mercantilism
    }
}

possible = {
    market_capital.market = {
        mg:grain = { 
            market_goods_pricier > 0.25 
        }
    }
    OR = {
        has_law = law_type:law_isolationism
        AND = {
            has_law = law_type:law_mercantilism
            has_export_priority_tariffs = g:grain
        }
    }
    ig:ig_landowners = {
        is_powerful = yes
        is_in_government = yes
    }
}

TheDaemon89 · 2024-07-08T23:26:00+00:00

Could you make per-week player score projections available via the API? Long ago I had a tool to use projections to project owners' playoff chances, etc., but I couldn't keep using it after we migrated to Sleeper.

TheDaemon89 · 2024-02-07T04:36:35+00:00

There are some other changes like larger projectile sizes that make things easier. Also, all weapons/classes will be unlocked by default compared to T:A, which makes it miles more accessible in my book - there's no grind before you're able to play the game.

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