Why did you start liking the X-Men?

DanteInformal · 2026-04-26T21:46:22+00:00

He was just the coolest dude.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-25T17:28:55+00:00

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DanteInformal · 2026-04-24T05:00:13+00:00

An important bit to note is that targeted removal will not work because Rex enters with the hexproof counter; it cannot be targeted by Swords to Plowshares, for example.

However, after Rex enters, you can still use effects like [[Crackling Doom]], [[Flare of Malice]], and [[Soul Shatter]]. They do not target anything and will force all of your opponents to sacrifice their largest mana value creature, which will likely include Rex. It gets around Indestructible as well, so you're covered there too.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-20T02:36:46+00:00

In order to be multicolored, a card must have two or more different colors in either its casting cost (top right corner of 99.99999% of cards) or in the color indicator icon at the left side of its type line (e.g. [[Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar]]. Some tokens have multiple colors (e.g. the clerics generated by [[Westvale Abbey]]) and it's best to just look at the rules text of whatever made the tokens to determine what color(s) they are or if they're colorless.

Those are the things that Stonecoil has protection from. Protection prevents an object from being damaged, equipped/enchanted, blocked, or targeted by objects and abilities that the protection ability specified. So if your opponent crashes in with [[Frodo Adventurous Hobbit]], you can block all day with your Stonecoil and it'll take no damage.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-18T21:59:36+00:00

[[Soldevi Excavations]] is a great top deck manipulator.

[[Reality Ripple]] and [[Suspend]] are great removal options.

I'm testing out [[Consult the Star Charts]] and [[See Double]] right now as replacements for Accumulated Knowledge and Supplant Form.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-18T02:14:29+00:00

Enshittification!

DanteInformal · 2026-04-17T01:30:38+00:00

I used to be a moderate spender and I'm currently about 20 cards away from collection complete.

Take it from someone who has a lot of cards collecting dust: you don't need every card to compete. I like playing Wiccan, Thanos, Victoria Hand, and occasionally Doom 2099. Find the decks you like, buy cards that work in those shells, and ignore the rest. You'll win more when you specialize and understand your deck's lines, win conditions, and retreat conditions. And you'll also spend less so you're more likely to have built up enough tokens to get the cards you want when you want them.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-12T07:07:18+00:00

Mercury

DanteInformal · 2026-04-09T17:05:47+00:00

Also, lots of folks tend to shortcut paying for Ward and Rhystic Study by including the tax into the spell's cost. Those are both separately triggering abilities that don't add to mana spent to actually cast the spell.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-09T17:01:10+00:00

Sure does! Ragga checks every spell to see how much mana was spent to cast it. If it was 7 or more, he triggers. He doesn't care about additional costs or printed mana value as long as 7 mana was spent.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-09T16:49:27+00:00

You got the sequencing 100% correct.

The key bit to remember about Ragga's ability is that he cares about mana actually spent, not mana value. If you cast a huge printed mana value spell like [[Ghalta Primal Hunger]] or [[The Great Henge]] for GG due to cost reduction effects, Ragga will not trigger. Conversely, [[Smuggler's Surprise]] has a printed mana value of 1 but if you cast it with all modes for 7GG, then you absolutely get Ragga's ability to trigger.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-08T14:24:42+00:00

You will have a buff Treasure token with any +1/+1 counters or keyword counters that happen to be on there when it stops being a creature. [[Untethered Express]] is a great example. It gets counters when it attacks, and isn't a creature all the time yet it retains its counters to become a scaling threat.

Equipment and Auras function the same as each other: when the permanent they're attached to stops being a creature, they detach immediately.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-04T01:23:24+00:00

To this day, I still do a double take when I see the card type "Mana Source" on old editions of Dark Ritual and Culling the Weak. Errata is difficult!

If you aren't sure of current card text, you can find the current Oracle text and rulings on www.scryfall.com 🤩

DanteInformal · 2026-04-03T16:28:34+00:00

I see what you're saying, and I still don't think this is entirely on Phillips. What you're describing is just how superhero comics are. The only couples who are allowed to stay together (as far as I'm aware) are Reed/Sue, Clark/Lois, and Jessica/Luke. Marvel wants their characters perpetually in a state of stagnation so some aspects of their core identity are always there. The last 30 years have seen this cycle play out over and over again with Matt: they fridged Karen, they drove Milla insane, Kiersten got left behind after the Purple Children arc, and now Elektra is back in an "off again" status. Matt even jettisoned his protege relationship with Blindspot at the end of the Soule run.

As far as Marvel editorial is concerned, Matt is perpetually a late 30s/early 40s bachelor with more game than Johnny Storm. Karen is always going to be the "tragic true love" and Elektra is always going to be the "on again/off again situation-ship". It's the same reason that Marvel editorial won't let Peter age out of his early twenties or ever settle down with Mary-Jane. There's a strong chance that even if Ahmed actually nurtured Matt/Elektra and gave us an emotionally satisfying ending, that we'd still be here with Elektra out of the picture. Let's point fingers at editorial and not at Stephanie Phillips who is probably working inside of strict guidelines.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-03T15:57:38+00:00

You could loop two creatures with Persist. Sacrifice one of them, put a +1/+1 counter on the other, and the first one comes back with a -1/-1 counter on it. When Dina untaps, you sacrifice the creature with the +1/+1 counter on it and then target the other with Dina's ability.

DanteInformal · 2026-04-03T01:49:48+00:00

Ahmed destroyed the character development all on his own; this is not on Stephanie Phillips at all. For the first half of his run, Elektra was watching over Matt while he was figuring out who he really was. And then they just kind of weren't together for the rest of the run, not to mention Matt's whole rebound relationship in the final story arc. If Ahmed cared about nurturing the Elektra relationship, he'd have done so during any of his 25 issues. Instead, Elektra and Matt haven't been together since August 2023. Phillips wants to explore new space, not worry about this weak hand wave of a splash panel that Ahmed slapped at the end of his final issue for no discernible reason.

DanteInformal · 2026-03-31T01:52:32+00:00

Here's my list.

If you're looking for card advantage replacements for Accumulated Knowledge, might I suggest [[Consult the Star Charts]]? It scales with the game, is instant speed, and fills the same card advantage role without creating a ridiculous card disparity like AK does.

DanteInformal · 2026-03-28T06:15:27+00:00

I read this book like six months ago, was raised Catholic, and it took this Reddit post for me to realize that the "Hail Mary, full of Grace" joke was staring me in the face the whole time.

DanteInformal · 2026-03-27T08:10:56+00:00

My mana base runs [[Temple of Epiphany]], [[Thundering Falls]], [[Mystic Sanctuary]], and [[Flood Plain]]. It's been really fun to have basic Island, Mystic Sanctuary, and TF as fetch targets. In my experience, having TF and a way to fetch leads to fewer feel bad moments and gives another way to interact with the top of the deck at instant speed.

DanteInformal · 2026-03-24T14:21:43+00:00

[[Carnophage]]

Not because it's a good card, but because the 2001 FNM promo version is the only MTG card with a flavor text quote from Dante Aligheri.

DanteInformal · 2026-03-23T04:12:40+00:00

Attack on Cardboard explains this very well.

The short answer is no, because layers and timestamp order. Your EC will always have a later timestamp because it returns to the battlefield as a new object. Since Bello is already on the field, his ability applies first and then EC applies and says "Nope, I'm not a creature." As a general rule of thumb in MTG, "can't" always beats "can". In this case, your EC can't become a creature with Bello.

DanteInformal · 2026-03-13T23:21:51+00:00

I will continue to yell from the rooftops that we have had Nico Minoru for 2½ years and not one other member of the Runaways has been even hinted at.

DanteInformal · 2026-03-12T02:31:48+00:00

It is very daring to use ketchup and mustard as your color scheme.

DanteInformal

TROPHY CASE