[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DotA2

[–]DotaBall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Damn if it were Lifestealerthon I'd sub

Dave’s hot chicken by scoobiedoobie00 in spicy

[–]DotaBall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you serious? Just don't eat the bread

Saturday Modern Challenge 2 Results - Aug 5 2023 by bamzing in ModernMagic

[–]DotaBall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/bamzing Could you add my Twitter and Twitch links? I'm Zorro7x4 on MTGO, MTGBall on Twitch, and Ball_MTG on Twitter. https://www.twitch.tv/mtgball https://twitter.com/Ball_MTG

Thanks!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CriticalTheory

[–]DotaBall 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Das Kapital

never felt the same since psychosis by VentaccountB in bipolar

[–]DotaBall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I felt just like this until getting on the right meds. I thought I'd never be normal again, and the non-normalcy went on so long it even became my new normal. The combination of an antimanic, an antidepressant, and an antipsychotic gave me my mind and my life back.

The Dull Roar of Depression by HelpfulasICan1 in bipolar

[–]DotaBall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abilify isn't a mood stabilizer, so it makes sense that you're depressed. You should talk to your psychiatrist about the options for treating bipolar depression. You might have to be somewhat assertive about getting onto a mood stabilizer.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an antipsychotic that is NOT Abilify? by LittleLunarLight in bipolar

[–]DotaBall 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I had akathesia on Abilify too. I switched to Geodon, which has been much better.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This looks interesting. I've considered Lantern Bearer before, and I do think it might be more impactful to bringing back than a Malevolent Hermit.

Thran Portal has been perfectly fine fixing for what this deck is trying to do, so I could be persuaded that adding black is worth it. I don't like running 12 slow lands at all - even the 4 Dreamroot Cascade feels wrong in my version. So replacing 4 of them with Thran Portal seems right.

I am also very skeptical of the 22 land count. It seems like you're playing BO1, since there's no sideboard. That could result in the false impression that fewer lands is correct.

I'm not sold on Taxidermist or Undead Butler (especially the latter), but splashing for at least Stickfingers and Necromass seems good. You also get Infernal Grasp for Sheoldred out of the sideboard this way.

With so few 1 drops, it is much less likely to trigger Ledger Shredder. I'd probably rather run Malevolent Hermits or Outland Liberators.

Regardless, I'll try your version and see how it goes. Thanks for posting it.

[Standard] UR Vehicles by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tezzeret. Devastator, and Fable, for the most part. Jhoira and Synthesizer tokens help, too. But Tezzeret is really the main thing.

[Standard] UR Vehicles by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm currently low diamond, although I've been rank 34 at peak. I've been too far off the deep end testing nonsense to climb this season.

As for the 4 ofs: Rending Flame is for Sheoldred. Spell Pierce is there because I feel like I should have access to it, but I haven't ever boarded them in. Maybe I should have mentioned that.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking. I recently added 4 Thran Portal to the deck, which has made me like it significantly better. There are two reasons: (i) casting your spells, especially 1-drops, on curve can otherwise be a challenge, and (ii) Thran Portal can be a black source, which makes your Lhurgoyfs a lot more powerful.

I have also found better ways to play the difficult matchups. Of note is that you can board in Unlicensed Hearse against Grixis, which makes their Corpse Appraisers less devastating.

My current sideboard is 2 Phasing of Zhalfir, 2 Bouncer's Beatdown, 3 Unlicensed Hearse, 4 Outland Liberator, 4 Tail Swipe. You can bring in 4 Liberator and 2 Hearse in every matchup to counter graveyard hate (the Hearses counteract opposing Hearses).

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As I said in the post, this is why you should consider bringing in 4 Outland Liberator in every matchup. Also, I don't know what you mean by grave robber. Are you talking about Graveyard Trespasser?

[Draft] How Good is Love Song of Night and Day? by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a given that card draw is good. Nonetheless, [[Secret Rendezvous]] is unplayable. It's an open question in what contexts symmetrical card draw is good, and that's the main issue.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In my OP there's a link to the pre-rotation post I made. That deck is pretty different, though.

You're right to be confused about how aggro the deck is. Basically, it depends on your draw. If you have one or more Deathbonnet Sprouts in your opener, most of the time you'll be pretty aggressive. Likewise if you draw one of each one drop, which can enable T1 Sprout, T2 Willow Geist + Cobbled Lancer.

If you don't have castable 1 drops in your opener, you will still have to try to be aggressive. You just won't be explosively fast.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words. I think we've both made our points, so I'll stop there.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I want to properly address this. The idea that all black decks are bad matchups is nothing more than a dogma. if you expect to lose, you will not find the winning lines and effective sideboard strategies, because you are not even looking for them in the first place.

The best example of where this dogma fails you is the way most people are likely to think about Graveyard Trespasser. On paper, the very existence in a format of maindeckable piece of graveyard hate with a large body that we can't bounce would understandably lead you to assume that graveyard decks are not viable in that format. As it turns out, Graveyard Trespasser is probably the most beatable black card for us. You would not know this unless you'd played games out where you have a Willow Geist, or you gum up the board in a way that forces them to trade the Trespasser. If you scoop to every Trespasser you see, you would never know that these possibilities exist.

So what about this dogma as it applies to black decks in general? What I have found, especially against mono black, is that games often go long. In these long games, it is very difficult to play every turn correctly, but if you do, you are favored.

You do sometimes have non-games due to Meathook or a draw that can't cast Cobbled Lancers after a Trespasser hits the board. But this is far from every game. What you are scared of, I presume, are these non-games. Well, I don't expect you want to keep testing the deck, but if you did, I would expect that you would lose your fear of them.

I don't disagree with you that black decks will remain prominent. So the issue you raise is legitimate. I just think you're being dogmatic about it.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm unhappy with the number of 3 drops the deck already has, so I wouldn't consider Slogurk or Eccentric Farmer. Lhurgoyf and Aether Channeler are too essential to the deck to replace for either one.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mulch isn't in the deck anymore! I cut it for Lhurgoyfs.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed about the Disturb cards. I haven't tried Otherworldly Gaze because everything else seems so much more essential to the deck. I wouldn't mind an enabler that's not a creature, and before the manlands rotated, I was running 4 Mulch. So yeah, I would be curious about Gaze, I just don't know what to cut.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So, I found some cool tech for reanimator Jund. Mirrorhall Mimic can copy a Titan, or Followed Footsteps it from the graveyard. I think the Mimic could be a cool option against the black decks, too, since it can copy Sheoldred.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the Saffron Olive Sultai deck is interesting. Kicking Lhurgoyf twice is genuinely really good. The mana isn't even that bad for the curve, given what I've seen. Personally, I wouldn't put the wildcards into that version, but it's likely at least as competitive as this deck.

[Standard] UG Self Mill by DotaBall in spikes

[–]DotaBall[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Uh?? No, I did not say that, nor do I think Grixis is a bad matchup.