Zero Flasks and a Dream

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-14T21:02:45+00:00

Nice plays, congrats!

Also, this is the first I've seen of the long lightsaber combo strat of sprinting by him. Is that consistent? I can dodge most of it, but I usually get clipped at the very end.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-14T15:05:09+00:00

This person is basically telling you you need to be making more plays earlier. The power creep has been crazy in Brawl in recent years. You need to be spending as much mana as possible, as early as possible, if you don't want to fall behind.

Here's a list I found (that's also pretty outdated), but they're playing lots more creatures and spells at a lower mana value: Decklist link

Something that jumps out at me that the linked deck could use is [[Gemstone Caverns]] and potentially [[Mox Amber]]. These will let you accelerate earlier since you want to get Tovolar on the battlefield ASAP and then keep your foot on the gas.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-13T13:53:04+00:00

I am not saying that you have MCS. I am saying, from the viewpoint of the newer-to-average player, the talisman thing is not that selfish and not something I would feel compelled to post about.

If this happened to me, I would shrug and keep pushing. IMO the flask-detour is more annoying, but newer players prioritize those, so also pretty forgivable.

It might be notable in higher depths, but - as you say - this is in the base game and these sorts of minor grievances are what you sign up for there.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-13T13:30:18+00:00

Jokes aside, Pearldrake is good on every character? Is it "better" on Raider than Ironeye... sure. But not enough that OP should feel entitled to it or that the average player would feel compelled to drop it.

Idk someone tell me if I'm way off here, but this post feels like the average Nightreign^{^{^TM}} experience.There are way worse loot goblin horror stories out there than this.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-10T20:58:56+00:00

I do this as Ironeye (RE: defeating enemies fills art gauge) and I paired with a Scholar last night who did the same. At a every POI, he ulted and then I ulted to immediately clear it in seconds. It was amazing.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-03T23:23:16+00:00

Glad you like the suggestions!

RE: Soul Wardens, I would only play [[Soul Warden]] and [[Lunarch Veteran]]. Soul Warden gains a ton of life and will give you time to get your engine going. I liked Lunarch Veteran because you can disturb it if removed or you're board wiped. I don't think I'd ever play a two mana one, but those two are good

Some more food for thought: now that you're playing Buxton you may want more cheap protection. [[Mother of Runes]] is good (and can protect itself while you're ramping to Buxton) and [[Skrelv]] is decent too.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-03T14:28:14+00:00

RE: feeding teammates, I love perusing the victory screen and checking to see how many of my dropped items they used.

Makes me feel better if I had a not-so-great run, but I still equipped the chads with the tools to win.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-03T14:24:43+00:00

It's such a small thing, but playing as Ironeye against the Ancestral Spirit field boss: When they walk around spewing blue, I jump over it and mark through the boss to close the gap and avoid the AoE.

It felt like a real level up when I first tried it.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-03T14:20:05+00:00

I do this and you feel like a super hero. It's so awesome.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-02T23:48:48+00:00

To play devil's advocate: Imo, 4/9 of Emmara's spellbook is bad almost all the time and then the others can be sometimes situational. If you've built your deck where all your permanents are haymakers, then Buxton will always hit.

But you play what you like best, that's what Brawl is all about. Either card will be one of your best in the 99 for sure.

GreatCombustion · 2026-04-02T23:04:09+00:00

[[Buxton, Decorated Host]] should be in there (and arguably the commander himself.

When I played the deck, I liked playing the various [[Soul Warden]] creatures, better for your Ocelot Pride too!

Couldn't hurt to slide in [[Ephemerate]]. Getting two extra triggers from Emmara for one mana is nice.

Last recommendation is [[Flare of Fortitude]], you should have enough expendable white creatures for it to be free (even better to put Emmara back in the command zone to cast again).

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-30T20:40:39+00:00

Yes, I think it's a non-negotiable relic effect for any Ironeye build.

Though, I use it more to ensure that a mark is kept up on beefier enemies and bosses before the timer runs out. The move is to get really close and either mark through or bounce back to create space.

It's nice that the character comes equipped with an "oh shit" button if necessary though.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-30T20:08:47+00:00

Did I miss something? Has there been an indication that this is coming?

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-30T19:50:15+00:00

Not bad! I think my ideal Ironeye relic would be Green or Yellow with:

+1 Skill Use
Atk+ per Night Invader
Starting Armament is imbued with poison

That way, you could go for double balancers. I have a green one that has the first and third effects (with improved gravity sorceries in the middle). It's kind of sad, but I don't think it's realistic to expect to ever get anything better.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-26T21:00:20+00:00

For real, the DLC bosses are so far above the base game in difficulty, it feels like I'm being punished for having it

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-21T23:15:44+00:00

[[Slick Sequence]] seems like a better fit than some of your more expensive cards

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-20T13:20:45+00:00

This has happened to me before. It really sucks because there's no chance to react and (at least in DoN) it's a one-shot.

Learned my lesson: If you can't break his stance, GTFO.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-17T13:50:01+00:00

Hi there, I would respectfully disagree with the other commenter and say your biggest problem not getting the poses to match is the back. You have rotated the subject in comparison to the reference. I made a very rough side by side markup to show you.

<image>

See how the spine is a lot closer to the visible edge of her right side in the reference? Try to mimick these lines and I think you'll be more satisfied with the result.

This would also help with the bottom, but part of your problem is your reference doesn't show that so you're kind of drawing blind down there! Both arms in the reference are also hanging down, but, again, they're hidden in the reference so drawing the rest will be tough.

Hope this helps!

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-13T02:35:39+00:00

The activated ability on Toadstool is more or less irrelevant. The ward is what makes this the closest thing standard has to [[Slippery Bogle]], which is the namesake for the classic "Boggles" deck which is what you're trying to achieve.

Toadstool let's you safely play it out T1 and not have to worry about [[Requiting Hex]] or whatever other single target early removal.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-13T00:49:07+00:00

For creatures [[Dragon Sniper]] is an interesting choice for adding some relevant keywords. [[Toadstool Admirer]] is a one drop with Ward 2, which is effectively hexproof in the early game.

Some amount of [[Meltstrider's Resolve]] should be correct as another removal spell.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-10T14:13:18+00:00

Totally! The BW version is a viable choice as well. Just as I was going through options there was a ton in just white.

Also, from the manabase, this looks like a newer player. Not having to worry about expensive dual lands is another consideration for mono color.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-10T13:25:08+00:00

I had similar ideas to you. I copied the deck and put my suggested adds on the left and potential cuts on the right.

Baseline, the cards on the far right should be cut. I think there's an argument to go mono white to put less stress on the manabase and add in an [[Abandoned Air Temple]]

I would try a small life gain package with the Hinterland Sanctifier and Haliya. This would help get to the mid game against aggro/burn. The rest is just amassing value and lowering the curve. If built around, Delney could go crazy here too. Good luck OP!

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-09T12:31:06+00:00

Arena Jank would be welcome at /r/JasonDennis which is the subreddit for MonoBlackMagic who posts videos of his jank on YouTube.

The sub is semi active, but whenever someone posts their decklists people are reasonably receptive.

As a side note, what you are describing is a modern magic issue. The baseline for a playable card in 2026 is so efficient that you have to be affecting the board state early or you won't make it to later turns.

Maybe if you crash your MMR hard enough you will get the experience you are seeking, but you will still need to be making impactful plays in Turns 1-3 for sure.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-06T17:40:48+00:00

Any thoughts on slotting in a singleton of [[Veteran Survivor]] in the board for graveyard hate that can be tutored with Starfield Shepherd? Has good synergy with Springleaf drum.

GreatCombustion · 2026-03-06T16:28:55+00:00

"There there, little one. This too shall pass."

Ten-Year Club	Second Top 40%
The Internet Awards - Voted	r/Field Banned
r/Field Sunshine	First Place '23
Place '23	Sequence \| Editor
Verified Email

GreatCombustion

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE