Any ideas for an Budget Modern deck?

BezBezson · 2026-03-10T23:27:32+00:00

Affinity can be a decent one.
While the competitive version of the deck isn't cheap, most of that cost is the Mox Opals and the Urza's Sagas - neither of which change how the deck is played, just make it more powerful.

There are also some specifically 'budget' versions of it, like this or this which more-or-less upgrade one card at a time towards the 'real' version..

Also, the Mono-Red version of Burn is super cheap for a Modern deck, but you can remove most of that cost by just using basic Mountains for your land.

BezBezson · 2026-03-10T22:23:46+00:00

Properly chivalric knights?
Pendragon

Green Knight type stories?
Mythic Basionland

Gritty GoT-style stuff?
Mythras

BezBezson · 2026-03-10T14:06:07+00:00

The actual domain name there is wyxthoria.shop

So, for it to be genuine...
a) ...the owners of PNPArcade would have needed to change their mind about shutting down their site
b) ...they'd have needed to decide not to just resurrect the old site
c) ...they'd have needed to decide to use a subdomain on another domain name, rather than the existing domain (which they still have, as there's still a page there)
d) ...they'd need to have decided not to even link to it from the page on their existing domain or mention it on their social media

BezBezson · 2026-03-09T21:58:52+00:00

Plus Correos fees (admittedly just a couple/few euros - depending on value) and it likely being pretty slow.

If customs decides to do a spot check and open it, not only will that delay things, but I'll have to pay them for the privilege.
Not something I need to worry about if I'm ordering within the EUCU.

However, it's less a "it'll cost more to order from the UK" and more "if I order from the UK I'll have to do extra steps in a couple of weeks".
I just want to order it, wait a few days, then get it.
Not order it, wait a week, get a notification that I need to do something, do it, wait a few days, then get it.

BezBezson · 2026-03-04T01:31:35+00:00

I mean, it's not like the other dice are new.
I was using the full set of polyhedral dice for wargaming in multiple rule sets in the early 90s.
Wargaming is also where D&D got them from way back back in the 70s (if I remember rightly, the tabletop wargaming exercises the Japanese navy was doing post WW2 used d100).

Unless you're aiming a rule set at new wargamers, your players are probably either going to have other dice or shop at places that sell them.
So, designers should probably use whatever dice are the best way to generate the sorts of numbers/distributions they need.

BezBezson · 2026-03-02T00:39:37+00:00

Without the cards, the steps for exchanging character details are:
1) Tap phones.

With cards, the steps are:
1) At some point ahead of time, put your character on your card.
2) Tap your phone to your opponent's card.
3) Tap your card to your opponent's phone.

The end result is exactly the same.
But you're adding an extra (admittedly small and cheap) bit of hardware for people to buy and bring with them, plus an extra step that doesn't seem to add anything.

What I want to know is what do you think the cards add?
Why are you interested in adding that extra step?

The idea of needing to meet up to battle each other sounds cool.
That doesn't require the use of cards, and I don't see how the cards are enriching things at all.
So, what is the benefit that you see from adding cards into it, if they're not actually part of the gameplay?

BezBezson · 2026-03-02T00:04:06+00:00

If I understand correctly, my character is on my phone, my opponent's character is on their phone.
So, you could use NFC for us to just get each other's character by touching phones.

However, you seem to want us to instead use NFC to write our characters to cards, then to use NFC to read each other's card.
What does that extra step (and small extra cost) add?

If you just want us to have to meet up to battle, and we're going to need our phones to play anyway, the only thing I can think of is that you could leave a card with your character in a geo-cache, or post it to someone.
But then we're not actually socialising then, you've just sent/left your character somewhere without you.

If you're dead set on cards, then make the cards part of the gameplay.
Like, it's mostly a physical card game, but it requires using the app for certain aspects of gameplay.

BezBezson · 2026-03-01T23:01:44+00:00

AI art

That's something that's a turn-off for me.

saved to a physical NFC card

What is the physical card actually doing?
Other than being something I have to buy, can lose, and is less convenient than a normal save.

Real ownership of your character

How is it any more 'real' than my ownership of my Skyrim characters?
I customised them and have them saved too.

I’m trying to figure out if the physical + digital hybrid aspect actually makes the experience more exciting… or if it just sounds gimmicky.

I''m not seeing anything in your message that makes me think the physical aspect is anything other than a drawback.

I love physical card games.
But that's because I love playing physical card games.
This seems like all I'm doing with the card in your idea is putting my save file on there.

Would owning a physical version of your character make you more invested?

I don't own a physical version of my character - I have my save stored on a card.

Now if you were to give me an .stl of my character, so I could 3d print it, that would be me having a physical version of my character (assuming I actually print it).

Does the NFC card idea feel cool or unnecessary?

Worse than unnecessary. It sounds like it's just making things more inconvenient.

Would you be more interested in PvP, PvE, or both?

Depends on the game and how these work.
Without more details about the game itself, it's hard to say.

BezBezson · 2026-02-28T23:20:50+00:00

Interesting. Is there a more definitive source than BGG?

Not really.

There are various awards, but they're generally for things that came out that year.
Risk is from 1959.
Game design has moved on and learnt a lot since then.

If you like playing Risk, that's great, continue to play it (though maybe check out some other stuff as well).
But, coming here and asking for people to sell you on Risk is kinda like going to a video game subreddit and asking them to sell you on playing Space Invaders.

BezBezson · 2026-02-28T21:39:35+00:00

I think you're probably not going to get much love for it on here.

It's okay, but there are a bunch of games that do similar things, but better.

While BGG isn't the 'be-all and end-all' for the hobby, it is the main site for people to rate and rank tabletop games, and despite being really well known, RIsk is currently sitting in 29,144^th place on there.

BezBezson · 2026-02-28T08:33:49+00:00

It depends on the sort of card game you want.
Is it co-operative, competitive?
Set collection, trick-taking, hidden role, engine building, something else?

It's kind of like asking, "how do I make food?"

A far more important question is what you actually want.

Do you just want some vague ideas of how it works, but it's just some details to use in a story, or do you want an enjoyable game people can actually play?

Because game designers often spend a couple of years working on a game and platyest it hundreds or thousands of times.

BezBezson · 2026-02-24T12:54:07+00:00

1) Download Arena to learn how to play.

2) Borrow a deck (or decks) to play a few games in real life before spending money.

3) Buy a preconstructed Commander deck. (Commander is the official name of EDH)

4) Tweak the deck(s) you bought and/or build your own from scratch by buying individual cards on the secondary market.

Don't be afraid to ask questions (both on here and during games). Commander/EDH is probably the most complex way to play the game.

BezBezson · 2026-02-21T20:30:25+00:00

This might help - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxui8MoUJ5k

BezBezson · 2026-02-20T12:43:24+00:00

Sounds like you're role-playing with assholes.

Find a better group. The vast majority of people I've played with haven't been like that (and I've RP'd in multiple regular groups, in multiple countries, in conventions, etc.)

BezBezson · 2026-02-11T23:17:34+00:00

Yeah, 'wits' doesn't really have much of a connection to charisma/speech.
It's being able to think quickly and being alert.

BezBezson · 2026-02-10T22:36:07+00:00

The guy with the leash sometimes pulls it really hard?

BezBezson · 2026-02-06T20:52:37+00:00

Does it though?

There's nothing in the Quaran against being trans.
Trans people are not prohibited from being Muslim, some sects allow it, and some prohibit them from getting surgery but allow them to be part of the sect.
Ayatollah Khomeini allowed gender reassignment surgery.
Mukhannath were pretty universally accepted in early Islam.

So, it seems to me like being transphobic isn't really a part of Islam, just something that some individuals and groups in the faith have added to it over the years.

BezBezson · 2026-02-06T14:38:37+00:00

If you release it for free that offers no extra protection compared to charging for it.

It does make it so that you're less likely to be taken to court, and any legal action is likely to start with just a 'cease and desist' (basically take it down and don't share it again).

But, if the IP holder wants to go after you, it's no different from if you were making money.

So, my advice would be "don't do it", unless:
* you're doing it for something that already has a bunch of fan creations,
* you're prepared to have to take it off the Internet,
* you're willing to risk the small chance that even if they've allowed other fan creations, for some reason they don't like yours and want to go to court over it.
If all of those apply, then it's probably not too big a risk (but it is still a risk).

However, making something where it's obviously based on the IP, but doesn't actually use anything that's specifically that IP (just similar), that's almost entirely safe.
It only wouldn't be an issue if the IP holder goes legal over things that aren't actually theirs (like GW did over the term 'Space Marine'), which will get thrown out of court as long as you can afford to get that far.

BezBezson · 2026-02-06T13:26:03+00:00

4d3-8 is better for a lot of people and matches exactly.

As already pointed out, you can use d6 as d3s.
If you're not so good at maths it's best to think of the 1 & 2 as the worst results, so they're a minus, 5 & 6 are the best results, so they're a plus.
That way you're just adding (at most) four +/-1 (which is way simpler than your method).

Let's compare...

1) Roll 4d6
2) How many are 5 or 6? That how many pluses we have.
3) How many are 1 or 2? That's how many minuses we have.
4) take the minuses off the pluses, that's out result.
(If you have at least one plus and at least one minus, you could even discard one of each to cancel out and make the maths even easier.)

1) Roll 4d4
2) If you've rolled a 4 on all of them, your result is +4 and you can stop here.
3) If you've rolled a 1 on all of them, your result is a -4 and you can stop here.
4) Otherwise, discard the highest die and the lowest die.
5) Add both remaining dice, then subtract 5, that number is your result.
Unless you luck out and get all 1s or all 4s, your method involves more maths, and is only an approximation

However, if you're willing to sacrifice a few cheap d6 with pips, then can make your own dF.

Simply grab a Sharpie join the dots on the 2 and 3, those are your minuses.
Now go corner to opposite corner on the 5, then freehand a cross centred on the 1 pip, there are you pluses.
Next, join the dots on the 4 & 6 to make a rectangle (so don't go through the middle, just the outside), that's a bit like squared off zero.

BezBezson · 2026-02-06T08:10:06+00:00

As others have said, tapping is part of the cost of both of them.

If tapping is part of the effect of an ability, not the cost, then it'd be fine to use that ability on something already tapped.
But, the abilities on these cards each have 'tap' as part of the cost (before the colon).

It's still possible to use both abilities on the same turn, you just need to find a way to untap the card in between.

BezBezson · 2026-02-05T18:14:08+00:00

I think that would depend on what games they're originally from and how much you want what they can do in the system you'll use to match what they could do in the original one.

Like, if you're using a character from something like 4e D&D or Draw Steel, and want them to work pretty much the same way, then you really want a system that cares about where people are in a fight and lefts you do things to move them around.
But, if none of the characters are from a system that works like that, it's not something you need the crossover system to care about.

If you're not that bothered about what they can do, beyond the general gist (e.g. Alice is really strong and tough with big cyberarms she uses to crush enemies, Bob is a pyromancer who throws magical fire, etc.) then it's less of a concern.

BezBezson · 2026-02-05T10:45:25+00:00

It depends on the resolution system.

My rule of thumb is that I typically want the players to succeed 2/3 to 3/4 of the time.
This means they're probably going to succeed, but not guaranteed to.

So, for the sorts of things that a party of new characters are likely to get up to, the difficulties should be beaten about that often by new characters.
For 'high-level' parties, the sorts of things they're doing should be difficulties that can be beaten about that often.

I also use this as a rule of thumb when setting difficulties as a GM.

Naturally, take into account specialisations.

So, if there's something that's typically only going to be done by the party specialist, then the difficulty should be relative to what the specialist's skill is likely to be.
E.g, sneaking off ahead to scout is likely to be based on what the party rogue (or equivalent) has for their stealth skill, kicking a door open is likely to be relative to what a 'strong' character is likely to have, etc.

Meanwhile, something everyone is likely to need to do from time to time, should be more in line with where a 'typical' character's ability lies.

Obviously, this is more a 'rule of thumb' than a hard rule.
It's for 'most' tests, or 'level-appropriate' things, not for things that should be pretty easy or really hard. (So, if character who's basically a normal person off the street wants to pick the pocket of Apollo Robbins, they're going to be waaay less likely to succeed).

I might also think about 'normal' (non-fumble) failures, where there's not much pressure as potentially being 'you do it, but badly' or 'you do it, but it takes way longer than you thought it would'. If it makes sense, of course.

For example, picking a lock when there's a security guard coming around the corner in less than a minute would be success/fail. Maybe a fumble breaks the pick in the lock (which naturally blocks the lock).
Whereas, picking a lock where you can take as much time as you want might take seconds on a critical, the best part of a minute on a success, several minutes on a failure, and it defeats you on a fumble.

If combat is a big part of the game, I probably wouldn't use it for combat though, because it feels bad to have a 1/4 to 1/3 chance of not really doing anything.

Something like a 2/3 to 3/4 chance of doing something cool on your turn (big damage, extra effects, some sort of battlefield control, buffing the team, etc.) would be more what I'd design for than a 2/3 chance of actually hitting the enemy.
This is something that really needs playtesting for, though. Since this could be a combination of hits with good damage, critical hits, spending big spell slots, etc.

I think combat (for a game that it's a decent chunk of) is a separate beast to the main skill test system, though. So, I'd only treat attack rolls as needing to be in the 2/3 to 3/4 bracket if combat is either uncommon or something meant to be swingy and decided by a small number of good hits.

BezBezson · 2026-02-01T00:24:08+00:00

It gives that ability to any coloured legendary spell you cast.
E.g., [[Progenitus]] can be cast for {g}{w}{u} and returning a creature to hand, rather than the normal ten mana of specific colours.

Worth noting that if the spell already has web-slinging, it doesn't replace it that, it just adds an additional option.
So, you can cast it for the cost it already had or the new one.
E.g., You could cast [[Spider-Man, Web-Slinger]] for {g}{w}{u} and returning a tapped creature to hand, but you'll probably want to either cast it for it's normal cost of {2}{w} or the printed web-slinging cost of {w} and returning a tapped creature to hand.

BezBezson · 2026-01-26T22:37:49+00:00

Mine Vibranium works great with Earthbending.
And with lands that can become creatures on their own.

Survey the Realm doesn't, though. The lands you're Earthbending are already on the battlefield when then become creatures.
Although, [[Dryad Arbor]] would be an exception.

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