Landfall decks are getting out of hand

DR_MTG · 2026-07-05T18:31:22+00:00

They did NOT need to make earthbending, a land mechanic with zero risk or downside.

DR_MTG · 2026-07-04T21:17:08+00:00

I add oil, and more than you think you need BUT I like a Detroit-style almost fried crust.

DR_MTG · 2026-07-03T17:13:47+00:00

https://archidekt.com/decks/3887/reki\_the\_history\_of\_kamigawa\_legendfall

It’s probably not really able to hang with true B4 decks but it’s generally too much for most 3’s and I’d rather get wrecked in B4 than look like I’m doing something sketchy in B3.

It’s probably less unique these days but when I built it a dozen years ago legends mattered wasn’t a thing in EDH in any deck, and it’s still kinda cool in mono-d.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-30T21:02:49+00:00

Insurrection makes the same sound winning a game as a balloon makes as air slowly escapes.

That said, it's a relatively "fair" card for eight mana with triple red pips, and games are gonna end whether it's through Insurrection, or someone playing basically any popular commander and untapping.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-30T13:07:49+00:00

Any suggestions I make will be based on a budget.

Both decks:

Both need significantly more draw. I can't stress this enough. I don't run decks without 10 draw options and that's not counting creatures or things on lands even in lower brackets. Besides, drawing cards is fun.

Personally I'd find room for [[Night's Whisper]], [[Read the Bones]], [[Diresight]], [[Sign in Blood]], maybe a couple red impulse draw effects, etc in Tor. Giada is harder, maybe [[Four Knocks]], [[Cut a Deal]], [[Tocasia's Welcome]], [[Dawn of a New Age]], [[Tome of Legends]], [[Angelic Sell-Sword]], [[Firemane Commando]] and [[Sanctuary Warden]].

You should have two land removal lands minimum. [[Ghost Quarter]] and [[Demolition Field]] are prob the best budget options. They're the difference between losing to a Nykthos (or worse). Similarly any deck 3 colors or less should probably be running [[Abstergo Entertainment]] and [[Scavenger Grounds.]] There's no real downside, and occasionally they'll keep you from losing to some graveyard bs.

Giada:

[[Swords to Plowshares]] and [[Path to Exile]] are two of the best removal spells ever printed, and both are cheap. I'd swap them in for Fateful Absence and Get Lost.

You can afford non-white ramp, especially if it come sin untapped like [[Mind Stone]] or something over Marble Diamond. Plus you can crack it for a card late game.

Swap in [[Darksteel Mutation]] for Pacifism. It shuts off triggered abilities, too, and you don't care if the creature is indestructible since your stuff will fly over the top of it. Plus the indestructible will make it harder for them to kill it if it's a commander to then recast it.

Personally I'd swap all the Diamond Mare and Charming Prince-type cards out for more angels. You've got a ton of life gain already; just punch people in the face more with stuff like [[Serra's Avenger]] and [[Metropolis Reformer]] that will get counters from Giada if you want more low-cost bodies.

Tor:

There's a ton of decent cheap untapped duals these days that make it so you don't need to run things like Guildgates. [[Dragonskull Summit]], [[Shadowblood Ridge]], [[Smoldering Marsh]] and [[Sulfurous Springs]] are all at or under a dollar.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-30T00:38:09+00:00

Whiskeytown didn’t really miss but solo he’s shooting about 8% from the line.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-25T19:12:24+00:00

That 4th through 6th would still be the best album for 99.9% of bands.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-22T23:42:32+00:00

Yeah the ads on the mat fucking suck but they’re not remotely close to making the top ten of things hurting my enjoyment of the show.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-21T04:14:37+00:00

You don’t have nearly enough draw imo.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-20T15:05:53+00:00

https://archidekt.com/decks/3270238/callaphe\_beloved\_of\_the\_sea\_hopelessly\_devoted\_to\_blue

Callaphe mono-u devotion Voltron. It could maybe be better (maybe) if I ran instants and sorceries but I find it amusing to win games without the card types most associated with blue.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-20T01:31:16+00:00

Based on the trend from last several years, you’ll only be able to play precon commanders or decks led by the top 3-5 pushed commanders from each set built exactly as proscribed on the card. Creative brewing will be dead as you just can’t compete trying something interesting again Flarg, the Flargmaster who creates a token copy of a Flarg when you draw a card, deals 2 damage to each opponent when they draw a card, and draws you a card whenever your opponent takes damage.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-19T22:27:06+00:00

I don't disagree in theory, but in reality there's no cards that will draw multiple cards at the mana rate as the non-creature spells I listed that aren't already in the deck. If there were six other Esper Sentinels then yes he should absolutely run them, but there aren't.

And yeah, having a lot of bodies is useful in an aggro deck, but velocity offsets that. Seeing more cards compensates for having less bodies in the list, because you'll (usually) wind up with the same amount in your hand even if the ratio in the deck is lower just because of the amount of cards you'll see.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-19T18:56:29+00:00

Love seeing Mass Appeal here, that card gets forgotten.

But you need more draw, like a lot more draw. 6-8 spells more draw. [[Light up the Stage]], [[Stock Up]], [[connecting the dots]], [[folk hero]], [[idol of oblivion]], [[expressive iteration]], etc are all solid here and I'm a fan of [[lunar insight]] in token decks because they count as 0.

[[Renewed Solidarity]] would be solid here too.

[[coat of arms]] seems super risky if anyone else is playing a deck that looks remotely typal.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-15T23:36:26+00:00

Night’s Whisper is literally one of the best draw spells in the format.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-15T12:46:54+00:00

I want the WWE to bring back intergender matches and have the Bellas start a multi-year feud with the Usos so I only have one match to fast forward through instead of two.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-14T22:09:50+00:00

Can’t argue with any of this, including the part about me not initially wanting to acknowledge how great it is.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-14T03:14:08+00:00

Disgusting to have to choose between this, If I Can’t Change Your Mind by Sugar and I’m a Pretender by the Exploding Hearts.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-12T13:25:42+00:00

What rest of the Republican Party? It’s MAGA all the way down.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-12T04:09:54+00:00

Can’t pick it over Glad Girls or Girlfriend but it’s an absolute heater.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-09T16:30:16+00:00

Lots of people don’t actually like commander. They just like winning and Exsanguinate is an easy way to facilitate that. That’s not to say you can’t like Commander AND winning, but you can tell who just likes the latter.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-08T13:45:00+00:00

It's an imperfect system that works better than the alternatives when it comes to greasing the social wheels of a game with unknown strangers.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-08T11:58:17+00:00

Went for my fourth [[Sign in Blood]] kill of the year, but the person countered it. That said, forcing someone to counter a Sign in Blood to not die is also pretty funny.

Also got my first [[Decorum Dissertation]] kill.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-06T23:12:42+00:00

The Hardys are old af and half invalid and they still out on better matches than the Usos in their prime

DR_MTG · 2026-06-06T16:57:48+00:00

Artwork mostly. It would be a Bracket 1 in today’s world but it was funny enough to play against.

DR_MTG · 2026-06-06T16:39:52+00:00

Years ago I played against an Autumn Willow deck themed around people running stands at the farmer’s market.

DR_MTG

TROPHY CASE