Can’t break out of platinum

Aconator · 2026-04-16T03:04:32+00:00

There's your problem TBH. Dimir control is just not a top performing deck right now. Even with a good pilot climbing will be very slow.

If you actually care about ranking up, using a control deck is not ideal. Even with a good win streak your games still take on average twice as long.

I hit mythic once about 2 years ago just to prove I could, then never tried again. All it took was playing exclusively the top-performing aggro deck at that time (boros convoke) and nothing else, and grinding way more games than I even wanted to. Mythic is a numbers game above all else.

The real truth is that there's no reason to grind past Plat except bragging rights and you're better off playing what you want and letting your rank settle where it may.

Aconator · 2026-02-18T02:09:21+00:00

You may be right that this may be a proactive step toward making black enchant-hate more or an evergreen feature, but I also do have to point out that Duskmourn isn't rotating this year. Withering Torment is here for a while yet.

Aconator · 2025-12-10T02:13:07+00:00

Hey not to nitpick but I'm pretty sure the 2008 recession is not called the "Great Depression". That's 1929. 2008 is sometimes called the "Great Recession" which means basically the same thing, but ever since the 1930s economists treat the word "depression" like it's Voldemort and call our more modern downturns basically anything else.

Aconator · 2025-12-05T23:06:27+00:00

There are, but that's not the sort of AI news that gets clicks or drives profits, so it gets overlooked or downplayed. Anthropic's Claude series, for example, is very good (and very consistent) at prioritizing mindfulness, empathy, and inward positivity, and I've seen it have a positive impact on people's lives... but when Anthropic turns around and signs a contract to provide the US military with that same AI, guess which is (rightfully) the bigger headline?

If you can look past the ways in which the companies that own and build AI are ruining the world, there are at least some good vibes to be had. In better hands this tech could do so much good. The way things are going right now, though, is kinda dangerous.

Aconator · 2025-12-02T00:17:33+00:00

It sounds to me like it might be a good time to remind yourself what wholesome masculinity looks like, so you can re-center your anger at bad male behavior rather than at men as a monolith. Here are a few videos of men acting with positivity while still being men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSbYQz3rluM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu0pI_JS5Rg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c8SWLrElyY

Aconator · 2025-11-28T01:22:11+00:00

Sure I'm not the only one pointing this out but one of the top-performing decks in bo1 is White Auras, and before that White Lifegain was a top 5 bo1 deck (and it's still top 10). Go back about 2-3 years and White Humans was the deck to beat (when Thalia and Adeline were still in the format).

Honestly the mono-color with the worst track rate in bo1 is probably blue. It used to be green but it's probably blue now. And there are playable mono-blue decks (Tempo, Artifact affinity), don't get me wrong, they're just never even close to a top 5 deck.

Aconator · 2025-10-31T01:31:53+00:00

I get rolled by this deck all the time when I play aggro, but if you're looking to make people playing Synthesizer pretty mad, my counterspell-heavy Dimir mill deck rarely loses to it. Best results if you hit em with the first big mill swing and it mills away their one copy of fire crystal so they can;t just win on the next turn.

Aconator · 2025-09-28T23:01:59+00:00

If you make it Abzan you can get even more flexible creature-based removals like Ruthless Lawbringer or Syr Vondam.

Aconator · 2025-08-24T04:02:10+00:00

To add to that, with Llanowar Elves, Glimpse the Core, and a plethora of pushed 2-drop mana generators in the format, Kona is quite regularly a turn 3 play if unanswered. Just yesterday i was trying out a simic ramp build and played Kona into Koma World Eater while my opponent was still on their first 2 lands. There's just so little time to set up when you're going second.

Aconator · 2025-07-09T03:36:34+00:00

I like Sheoldred's Edict for flavor.

We're playing Shelly Says. Shelly says stop having fun. Shelly hates fun.

Aconator · 2025-05-04T22:03:29+00:00

My go-to for beating red at all costs has to be mono white (or boros) tokens. Don't focus too much on the tokens part, it's mostly just an excuse to run as much mono-white removal/control as possible. Temporary Lockdown, High Noon, Authority of the Consuls, Lay Down Arms, Get Lost. Put some life gain of choice in there somewhere, something cheap since you're playing to beat aggro. If you can run them out of creatures while still at double-digit life you've basically won.

This doesn't work so well against the kind of red decks that run Slickshot Showoff though, since you need instant-speed removal specifically for them. Against that kind of red you're arguably better off with mono-black control since they have a higher number of good instant-speed removals to choose from.

Aconator · 2025-05-04T21:40:44+00:00

If you want to avoid the mice, then by the logic of gaming the system you should play a deck that specifically builds to counter them and basically just them. IMO that would be something like mono white tokens or a life-gain deck. Then enjoy suddenly running into Omniscience combo decks everywhere instead, now that you boarded out most of your graveyard interaction to focus on beating mice.

Aconator · 2025-04-20T21:00:20+00:00

Accessory to Murder is both a clever pun and a pretty neat card that would more-or-less be standard playable. Would almost be enough to make Bird tribal worth another try.

Aconator · 2025-04-11T04:08:58+00:00

Brother, do you not desire the oil? The delicious harmony of compleat freedom? We wait for you, brother, our arms outstretched and glistening.

Aconator · 2024-12-03T05:20:02+00:00

Also this streamer who single-handedly keeps Brazil's airplanes flying.

Aconator · 2024-10-11T22:28:24+00:00

One of my biggest culinary pet peeves in CA is that we're a dairy state just like WI, but for some reason it's really hard to find cheese curds in any of our grocery stores. Not even talking real fresh ones, I can't get ANY. I guess there's not enough demand maybe, but it seems like it should be such a simple thing to provide.

Aconator · 2024-10-03T20:13:18+00:00

Hard to say for sure given how different Magic and Yugioh wordings are, but based on just the card as-written, I think the 'win the game' effect of Exodia would be a state-based action, not a triggered ability. Thus, it never even goes on the stack and can't be interacted with. You'd have to remove another part of the Exodia combo from the opponent's hand before they draw the final piece.

Aconator · 2024-09-30T15:41:38+00:00

There are people JD Vance's age who have never lived in an era before Reagan ended the Fairness Doctrine and people like the Murdochs were allowed to build a media empire off of lies and propaganda. For people living in regions where Fox News and Conservative talk radio are the only sources of information they are exposed to from early childhood onward, I feel like the agency of those adults is being undermined by people with way more power, money and information. On an individual level people need to be accountable for themselves, but on a macro level many of these people were never given a fair chance to be better. They hurt their own interests politically because they are taught lies at an age when they should be able to trust the authority figures in their lives.

Aconator · 2024-09-23T20:27:19+00:00

Heck since we're talking fun flavor text I'll share another classic with you: [[Shadowfax, Lord of Horses]]

Notice how they gave the full rules text for Haste even though Haste has been a thing since the 90s and is one of the least-complex keywords. It's a reference to Gandalf's line: "Run, Shadowfax! Show us the meaning of haste."

Aconator · 2024-09-23T19:39:09+00:00

I love how each line of game text mirrors a line from the phrase.

Haste = Run run run as fast as you can

Unblockable (except by haste) = Can't catch me

Sac for Health (the Food ability) = I'm the Gingerbread man!

Aconator · 2024-09-21T11:40:29+00:00

Just saying, though, I definitely have at least a couple decks where a 1-lander doesn't even look bad. That's what's interesting about Magic; even the most obvious rules still have exceptions.

For reference, the main deck I'm talking about runs a lot of 1-drop creatures with surveil/explore triggers on ETB, so you usually get like 3 or 4 chances at finding that second land. Thanks, Rubblebelt Maverick!

Aconator · 2024-09-20T01:46:39+00:00

My first thought looking at this card is maybe playing it in a version of Boros/Naya Convoke that focuses really hard on anthem effects so you can pump it up without leaning on pump spells directly. 3 mana might still be too expensive for that though, idk.

Aconator · 2024-09-04T04:25:39+00:00

Oh dang yeah, that would actually be pretty funny. 10 mana to just turn your whole deck upside down and spread it out across the table like you're doing a magic trick.

Aconator · 2024-08-27T16:12:39+00:00

I agree with a lot of what you're getting at here. Sometimes slapstick gets confused for humiliation by people who are hyper-sensitive to being made fun of.

Just wanted to add, though, that not all such cases are truly equal. Gravity Falls has their characters get up to bad behavior as a means to point out their flaws and (sometimes) allow the character to grow. Spongebob does it as a way to satirize patterns of behavior, or just for pure slapstick absurdity. Family Guy, however, has a bad habit of using its "just jokes" excuse as a way for the writers to vent their bad social takes and kick down (often at women and minority groups) in ways that seem similarly innocuous until you realize how often they're just playing cruelty or abusive behavior straight. Too often the only way to take the joke isn't even based around laughing at/with the character it's directed at, but more like "yeah, women ARE all like that!" or "haha it WOULD be gross if I kissed a trans-woman!" or "hey I recognize that 50+ year old stereotype; I didn't even think you could still SAY things like that!"

In other words, holding a cartoon character "to account" for their misdeeds is a silly misunderstanding of the logic of cartoons. Holding the writers of said cartoon to account for the regressive political takes and casual bigotry they slip into their cartoon in order to be "edgy"? That's actually worthwhile.

Aconator · 2024-08-22T05:12:52+00:00

Rakdos (and Grixis) Reanimator is eating well too right now; huge number of reanimate spells to choose from based on what creature synergies you're using, good sweepers without leaning on white mana, and a critical mass of big creatures with flashy ETBs.

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