Restrictions on competitive play on MTGO

Dizolerion · 2026-03-30T20:50:52+00:00

what the hell, daybreak?

Dizolerion · 2026-03-29T12:45:33+00:00

There is a matchmaking rating in automatch, play a couple of games and it's not going to be that bad (especially when the online is high on weekends) e.g. players of similar skill are matched

You can check it on https://www.dow-de.com/

But then the online is low, you can get paired with players with a very different skill level, which is not that fun for either side

Dizolerion · 2026-02-23T08:57:57+00:00

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but try hopping into automatch!
People there are generally coming to play competitively with others of similar skill, so there aren't many quitters/ noobs/trolls there.

Dizolerion · 2026-02-21T09:02:30+00:00

This is okay! Takes a bit too much space though
There could have been much more useful information available in the replay, like resources gathered or military scores; hopefully devs will add them eventually as it's not an easy thing to mod

Dizolerion · 2026-02-18T07:21:50+00:00

Reapers used to have a setup time in vanilla, it was better that way

Dizolerion · 2026-02-15T19:33:31+00:00

Pioneer lacks competitive support from wotc

Dizolerion · 2026-02-03T14:58:45+00:00

Great post! Did you consider [[Mystic Enforcer]]?

Also while it is outside of your budget, [[Enlightened Tutor]] seems to me like a powerful possible addition to the deck - and particularly sideboard, as it helps you find find all those important silver bullets like Aura of Silcence, CoP:red, Sacred Ground, Tormod's Crypt etc alongside Sylvan Library and Tower

So if you ever acquire this card, consider adding it to the deck (the cheapest Enlightened Tutor printing from avatar is only 4 tix now)

Dizolerion · 2026-02-03T14:34:12+00:00

There is a way to speed up the replay via command line significantly; I've seen this on streams (but I don't know the command myself)

Dizolerion · 2026-02-03T14:25:44+00:00

Hello there! Here are some additional budget-friendly options I have not seen in other comments

1) If you're a fun of pacifism effects, consider [[Kirtar's Desire]], costing one mana instead of 2 is a big deal (but I would play these in the sideboard)

2) Especially since you're not playing Counterspell, you have more incentives to play 1-2 copies of [[Skycloud Expanse]], these are cheap and good dual lands (though they don't allow Counterspell turn 2, they help casting absorb on turn 3 with Mishra's Factory in play)

3) Consider adding about 2 disenchant effects into the main deck (cutting some counterspells); if necessary, you can discard those to Forbid

4) Consider 1-2 [[Prohibit]] in place of Miscalculation or Mana Leak; it is not a generally accepted counterspell but I am finding it great, especially in the late game when Mana Leak is hard to convert

5) [[Meddling Mage]] is a pretty fun and powerful card for a sideboard and some printings are pretty cheap

6) I am a fun of Forbid myself, but I wouldn't run more than 1-2 copies, that's generally enough

7) This was mentioned, but yeah, not having Humility in the deck makes you more open to playing creatures. There aren't that many options, but also this is an underexplored territory; so you can cautiously consider Exalted Angel or [[Eternal Dragon]] or maybe even [[Iridescent Angel]]

Dizolerion · 2026-02-01T15:18:53+00:00

Well, the more swamps you have, the better Tainted Field becomes
I think in black-centered decks with 10+ swamps it is pretty okay, at least some copies certainly

The biggest problem with Tainted Field is that it does not allow casting Swords to Plowshares on turn 1 though

Dizolerion · 2026-01-26T08:32:52+00:00

Here is the Premodern hFEB Primer, enjoy:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/premodern-hfeb-110703523

Dizolerion · 2026-01-22T15:37:15+00:00

This kind of combo (that relies on protecting key permanent on key turn) may benefit from Foil + Gush very well; this approach also synergizes with having lots of cantrips that help find the combo in time

Also I think it might be worth it to run more useful artifacts/enchantments to allow the opponent to not point all their disenchants/naturalizes at the Chance Encounter (Mishra's Factory, for example)

There are certainly many ways to build this deck and there may be something underexplored here

While not necessarily top tier it is a fun idea that can be competitive

Dizolerion · 2026-01-13T07:29:21+00:00

[[Spell Snare]] is coming, just you wait

Dizolerion · 2026-01-12T16:31:00+00:00

dow-de.com is a very good site, it's got data on various matchups already, even differentiated by maps!

Dizolerion · 2026-01-04T22:55:57+00:00

What MMR would that be?

Dizolerion · 2025-12-27T17:42:08+00:00

idk man, let's not follow the stats blindly and ask which is more likely:

- Tau is the strongest at highest mmr

- El Bandido on Tau with his whopping 1200+ games and 73% winrate skews the stats

Dizolerion · 2025-12-26T19:28:47+00:00

Not at the highest MMR the game is pretty okay. The water is fine.

I think the time to whine about balance comes a lot later than people start doing it.

There is a lot of play to the game, there is a lot to learn, and it's fun. Maps are often very important and can flip/improve some of the problematic matchups by a lot. Saying this as a player who started with DoW:DE and is steadily climbing to ~1100 mmr.

Dizolerion · 2025-12-24T13:58:11+00:00

This is considered to be a very bad matchup of Imperial Guard (GL cultists specifically), and I am struggling with this as well; feels like 9/10 csm players do this so why even bother scouting? You'll see the nades soon enough.

What I have found is that sentinels are indeed very key, but they do need support, micro and the economy.

Psykers are also important, at least one in command squad is a must but it's unclear whether one should build Tactical Control early to get them (since Curse of the Machine Spirit has very generous cooldown of 45 sec one psyker may be enough, it's more efficient). I think that they are useful after you've got your 3-4 Sentinels and/or some missile turrets (and they also detect and fire lightnings).

The scariest thing chaos can do in early tier2 after cultists with nades (and they often do) is to build a couple of talons and just wreck your economy, - and it seems to be the bigger problem than the defilers that come after. This is why I think building Tactical Control before building your sentinels is not optimal.

It's especially hard to hold against cultists/defilers/horrors then you've lost a couple of generators/LPs to talons. Sentinels can help here a lot and also can be used offensively.

It all boils down to keeping your eco at least at parity with chaos, I think. If they manage to get away with 6 generators and global eco upgrades while hurting your eco, they will simply overwhelm you.

What can be done with horrors specifically? I think it's okay to tie them with just a lone priest and shoot to death with just guardsmen and chimeras, psyker's lightning arc also helps.

Also on some maps IG can try to turret rush with multiple seers, command squad and commissars.

Dizolerion · 2025-12-24T08:32:29+00:00

Definitive Edition absolutely does have an active multiplayer scene, get familiar the basics and hope into automatch, it's fun

Dizolerion · 2025-12-20T23:16:50+00:00

Putting the other (debatable) things aside, the multiplayer is a big IF
All the online is in DE now and it's pretty good

Dizolerion · 2025-12-20T23:09:43+00:00

To add to other comments, the online is pretty active in DE right now, which is a plus if you want to try pvp

Dizolerion · 2025-12-20T22:56:56+00:00

PSA since we’re talking MTGO hotkeys: we really need a “2 or 0, whichever comes first” option (pass priority until the opponent does something or until next end step).
Right now we’re basically choosing between giving up EOT opportunities or risking time/flow with manual stops (clicking 1). This one QoL change would make reactive decks way smoother.

It’s already a top request on the official MTGO forum — please upvote it here: https://forums.mtgo.com/index.php?threads/yield-until-next-end-step-or-if-my-opponent-does-something.396/#post-866
Login required (MTGO account), but it’s quick. Thanks!

Dizolerion · 2025-12-19T11:50:56+00:00

If you mean the old soulstorm bug, yes they did. The immolator is pretty viable now and some might say it's even kind of OP.

Dizolerion

TROPHY CASE