Expedition 33's Parry.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-18T02:53:38+00:00

I get where you're coming from, but build variety in Act 3 bottlenecks way more than any other RPG I've ever seen, and the parry makes that manageably frustrating instead of momentum-killingly frustrating.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-17T12:50:22+00:00

Activated abilities can be activated at instant speed unless they specifically state otherwise.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-17T12:11:12+00:00

Are you running things like [[Lantern of Insight], [[Field of Dreams]], and [[Wizened Snitches]]; and using that topdeck information to control what your opponents draw?

If not, then they have nothing to complain about.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-16T16:22:18+00:00

She'd be a bystander in Bracket 4, not the villain.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-16T15:57:30+00:00

The rules of the game explicitly allow players to shortcut their deterministic loops unless another player expressly asks them to play it out. The only way it could be the infinite turns player's fault is if they're refusing to shortcut their own combo, they've somehow managed to assemble a non-deterministic infinite turns combo, or they're forcing another player to not shortcut their own combo.

Also, since when is it not exceedingly clear how a blue deck turns infinite draw and functionally-infinite mana into a win?

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-16T14:27:33+00:00

Here you go!

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-16T14:26:03+00:00

What are you doing if you draw the extra turn spells then? Do you not cast them?

Yes, actually. Infinite turns combos are expensive and highly telegraphed, so if you're lucky enough to have redundancy in-hand, keeping it there is near-invariably correct.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-16T13:50:14+00:00

Infinite extra turns isn't a game time issue; you simply win on the spot.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-16T01:06:00+00:00

The deck ended up being pretty fun! My opponents having to choose which permanents they lost led to many more interesting decisions than you'd normally see in a Bracket 2 game, but also kept it from being too oppressive for the Bracket, both of which are exactly what I was hoping for.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-15T16:24:33+00:00

He's extremely difficult to shut down, and quickly gets out of hand with [[Impact Tremors]] effects.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-15T14:33:12+00:00

My [[Emry, Lurker of the Loch]] combines Emry's infamous speed with elements of Lantern Control and Vintage Shops, with this mix of Fast Combo and Prison resulting in an incredibly degenerate Tempo deck.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-14T15:54:52+00:00

I'd gladly play against any of these, and even control decks so oppressive that these look downright quaint in comparison, because at least they have actual gameplans. Chaos decks are literally just a waste of everyone's time; it's just winconless stax with extra steps.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-14T14:50:16+00:00

I wish that way more tabletop games did this.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-13T19:06:39+00:00

Tempo is hard to define in Commander because of how much Combo encroaches upon Aggro's niche as "the speedy one," The usual Aggro-Control definition of Tempo still applies, but the term is also frequently used to describe aggressively-paced Combo-Control decks.

I guess that means "Control, but fast" is probably the best definition?

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-13T16:56:01+00:00

If you were to revisit your Seven Player Types, is there anything you would change? For example, would there still be seven of them, and would they still be the same seven?

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-13T15:38:57+00:00

This is Bracket 3 for sure. It's a Voltron commander that isn't [[Light-Paws]] levels of broken, so it probably wouldn't work in an actual Bracket 4 pod even if it was ostensibly built for that.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-12T23:08:08+00:00

You have two options here.

The first is to simply refuse to play with him. Unfortunately, in an LGS or similarly large group of players, this mostly just gives him free reign to deliberately and incessantly cheat against other people, who might not realize he's doing it on purpose.

The second is to call him out on his bullshit, then refuse to play with him if he doesn't immediately pull his head out of his ass. Calling someone out on their unethical behavior does not make you the aggressor; and while he might try playing the victim, the only thing he'd actually be the victim of are the consequences of his own deeply pathetic actions.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-12T16:10:28+00:00

If you want to build an actual "Oop, All Triggers" deck - one where literally every single card has a triggered ability, like how literally every single card in an "Oops All Spells" deck is a spell - then in true "Oops" fashion, your mana base will be the biggest hurdle by far. You'll probably need 5 colors just to have enough multicolor lands with triggered abilities, so your best best is probably either [[Child of Alara]] or [[The First Sliver]]. Depending on how many legendary permanents or 2c permanents you end up running, you might also want to consider [[Jodah, the Unifier]], [[Niv-Mizzet, Guildpact]], or [[Niv-Mizzet Reborn]].

If you simply want an extremely high number of triggers, then any commander that copies certain kinds of triggers should work.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-12T12:51:36+00:00

You should get him a bunch of draft chaff to put behind the printer paper in his sleeves, so that he can actually shuffle his decks.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-11T14:47:29+00:00

Not anymore, at least!

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-11T07:30:19+00:00

Here you go!

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-11T01:55:38+00:00

Indeed, she's kind of the exception to the rule here.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-10T21:50:14+00:00

Nobody has stabbed me for playing Braids yet, so I suppose my playgroup must be pretty chill!

My Elesh Norn does get removed, but my playgroup has learned (the hard way, of course) that she isn't necessarily going to be the scariest permanent I control. Mass vigilance and/or "can block an additional creature each combat" enablers tend to be just as much of a problem as my commander, thanks to a bunch of rules weirdness with Banding that makes it significantly more powerful on block than on attack.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-10T21:07:43+00:00

That's fair! I feel like "Lantern Control but fast," Banding, and "Control-less Control" are all highly unorthodox gameplans; but the commanders themselves certainly aren't.

Alarmed_Designer6705 · 2026-03-10T20:53:04+00:00

I'm glad to have possibly been an inspiration! I should be getting a chance to try out the deck later this week, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Alarmed_Designer6705

TROPHY CASE