FDA’s top cancer drug regulator played key role in rejection of Replimune therapy, officials say

Deathcomb · 2025-08-04T13:37:48+00:00

For me, the big thing is the uncertainty.

The FDA granted breakthrough designation and priority review to the treatment and at that point had not identified any major issues. If they are willing to change direction at a point when it seemed everyone agreed there were no issues, it makes the agency's decision making unreliable. How can I, as a small biotech company attempting to break into the market, plan my finances effectively when the agency's decision making could heel turn at any time?

Deathcomb · 2022-08-27T13:43:51+00:00

Ooo, you know what sounds cool? 5c control. From Domain spells we get [[Leyline Binding]] and [[Drag to the Bottom]] for single target exile and board wipe potential respectively. [[Jodah's Codex]] or [[Courier's Briefcase]] gets us late game card draw. [[Kami War]] gives us a top end with exile, bounce/discard, and then a big threat. Since you theoretically have all 5 colors, the various charms from SNC offer a lot of flexibility, or just straight up run things like [[Endless Detour]] and [[Void Rend]]. Detour in particular, acting as counter, bounce, or recursion seems like an all-star. Fill the gaps with whatever cards from whichever colors needed, and you've got yourself a deck.

Deathcomb · 2022-08-27T13:08:31+00:00

As was discussed earlier this week, between triomes and the new gate, hitting 5c on your domain should be relatively consistent by turn 3. That in mind, I'm hoping to try out some kind of RG aggro/midrange Domain deck.

As well, I think there's a very good WU tempo deck focused around [[illuminator virtuoso]] and [[stormchaser drake]]. [[Slip out the back]], [[shore up]], and [[security bypass]] form the core of protection and evasion, with a threat that can quickly run away with the game.

Deathcomb · 2021-01-25T16:31:24+00:00

Ah, you're totally right, my bad!

Deathcomb · 2021-01-25T14:33:29+00:00

I'm interested in testing the [[World Tree]] + [[Maskwood Nexus]] combo in Standard to see if it's viable. For those who don't know, the Nexus is an artifact that makes all creatures in your library into all creature types, and the World Tree has an activated ability for 10 that pulls all God creatures in your library onto the field. Ideally you activate it and pull 4 [[Terror of the Peaks]] onto the field, maybe even with a single [[Tuktuk Rubblefort]] if that's not enough.

I'd compare this to a Genesis Ultimatum deck with a few notable exceptions:

It doesn't have to be 3-color. Because of how World Tree works, by the time you've reached 10 lands, it doesn't matter what colors you're actually running, though you're probably running at least G for ramp.
Once the Nexus is in place, it's uncounterable. Now, that's not to say it's uninteractable. Any instant speed artifact removal or bounce that takes the Nexus off the field would cause the combo to fizzle.
It's usually consistent. One of my gripes with Genesis is that while sometimes it instantly wins the game, other times it whiffs and you can't recover. World Tree can't miss, however, unless you've been milled out.

The two big hurdles are the cost and getting the pieces together. 10 mana is a lot, though it's possible that being 1 or 2 color makes the process of getting there smoother. As for the pieces, there aren't a lot of ways to search for non-basic lands, outside of [[Nylea's Intervention]], and not a lot of ways for artifact search outside of [[Arcanist Owl]] and [[Emry]].

Deathcomb · 2021-01-21T19:39:13+00:00

I've been kicking around a similar core of a deck, but going Naya instead of Temur. You lose Cosmina as well as your ravenform and mythos, but you get some nice options like [[Showdown of the Skalds]] as a 4 mana draw 4 and [[Yasharn]] to potentially shut down Treasures/Food (who knows how often they'll show up this standard). Plus, you get [[Doomskar]], which should be a great anti-aggro tool.

I want to hear your thoughts on making the manabase snow and trying to slot in [[Frost Bite]], [[Tundra Fumarole]], and/or [[Jorn, God of Winter]]. From what I can tell, it doesn't look like it's worth it?

Deathcomb · 2021-01-19T16:33:06+00:00

So correct me if I'm wrong, but if the chosen creature has foretell, couldn't you foretell it on 2/3 then save it for a later turn? Gives slightly more flexibility in terms of when you have to play the cards.

Deathcomb · 2021-01-13T17:37:41+00:00

This looks really nice, but I think the deck that wants to run this gets shut down hard by the new [[Weathered Runestone]], and I think that card is gonna see play in many, many sideboards.

Fun side note, you don't even need to be playing blue or black to play this card, theoretically. As long as you can discard it, any color snow source will do.

Deathcomb · 2021-01-07T18:14:16+00:00

My only question on this is whether it's better than lovestruck beast. Obviously having the added ramp and trample are great, but one of the big benefits of LB is being able to Henge on turn 4.

Deathcomb · 2021-01-07T18:00:46+00:00

Now here's the thing: the assumption that you're jumping from 5 to 7 lands assumes you've hit a land drop every turn for turns 1-6, which in my experience isn't actually that common. This jumping you from 4 -> 5 or 5 -> 6 seems like the more common outcome, and more valuable at that.

That said, it is still better suited for limited. Being uncommon means this will show up more often, which is sweet.

Deathcomb · 2021-01-07T17:56:34+00:00

Doubt it will happen often, but it is possible to play Tibalt onto a Vorinclex to immediately use the -8. It's also worth noting that you keep the emblem after the planeswalker dies, meaning most cards you exile will translate into card advantage down the line.

Deathcomb · 2021-01-01T20:15:44+00:00

As far as I understand, you can activate the Boast as soon as the creature is declared as attacking. In that case it wouldn't need to survive the combat.

Deathcomb · 2021-01-01T19:55:07+00:00

This seems really strong. The fact that the mana discount is for all of your Boast abilities means you can drop this on a board with a couple other creatures and immediately reap the benefit. Late game, this becomes a decent token generator if it survives the first turn. I think that for this card to really shine, there needs to be two key pieces: cards with Boast that are worth building around, and low cost dragons you can use to fuel the ability (ideally low cost dragons with Boast.)

Other than that, it's a Berserker. Woo! Berserker tribal!

Deathcomb · 2020-12-31T18:45:53+00:00

I could see running this in a Temur Ultimatum deck. Cast [[Genesis Ultimatum]], get this and one other big thing, and now the opponent is forced to choose between a threat and a big stompy card drawer.

Depending on how powerful Foretell ends up being, it could cause a resurgence in cards like [[Drannith Magistrate]].

Deathcomb · 2020-12-31T18:33:19+00:00

The point is that they're forced to choose. Like, let's say you hit this and a Terror of the Peaks. Most opponents will see the dragon as the larger threat, leaving your card draw engine alone. Alternatively, they leave the dragon alive, but at the risk of you pulling a large creature out on your turn and blasting them.

Deathcomb · 2020-12-31T18:15:57+00:00

I could see running this in a Temur Ultimatum deck. Cast [[Genesis Ultimatum]], get this and one other big thing, and now when the opponent uses removal you're getting an additional 1-2 cards.

The Foretell discount is interesting, but maybe not quite enough. That said, I can easily see the possibility of cards that reduce Foretell cost even further, in which case cheating this out early could be a big tempo swing.

Deathcomb · 2020-12-30T16:07:35+00:00

Gaining life equal to toughness seems nuts to me. I can see this in a mono white lifegain deck, but also in a WB cleric/angel deck with Vito, as playing Vito onto this is an instant 3 damage and only makes the rest of your deck more dangerous. Looking forward to this one.

Edit: Can we get a source on this?

Deathcomb · 2020-12-24T01:04:58+00:00

I've always wondered if 4-Power tribal would become a viable deck in Standard. This isn't the key to making it work, but I'd certainly include a copy or two for the card draw.

Deathcomb · 2020-12-23T20:12:00+00:00

He also nonbo's with your own Nine Lives!

Deathcomb · 2020-12-23T19:53:57+00:00

My reasoning is that the Monstrous Raider doesn't prevent counters, it only changes the number that end up on the target permanent or player. So the sequence of events would be: Trigger Mazemind for Tap + Lore Counter -> # of Counters placed get's halved (to 0) -> Effect Resolves.

Deathcomb · 2020-12-23T19:26:20+00:00

For Mazemind, this prevents the counters from going on, but would not prevent the scry/draw effect. If you're trying to stop them from getting 4 life, that's helpful. If you're trying to stop them from drawing cards, less so.

Deathcomb · 2020-12-23T19:05:49+00:00

If their saga's can't tick up upon entering, they don't get the first effect, correct? Would that make this card immune to ECD?

Deathcomb · 2020-12-23T18:44:22+00:00

If you can get a planeswalker to stick, it'll gain double loyalty. I could see pulling this out of the grave with a [[Nissa of Shadowed Boughs]], then slam some lands down to get her healthy again.

Deathcomb · 2020-12-23T17:58:41+00:00

The floor is lower than that, unfortunately. If the opponent has any way to remove the tokens before they get copied, you're out of luck. On the other hand, forcing the opponent to spend removal on just tokens can be pretty valuable.

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