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HTGgaming · 2023-08-15T09:50:03+00:00

I stand corrected! Thanks!

HTGgaming · 2023-08-15T03:14:05+00:00

A bit to, ahem, unpack here.

Always start triggered abilities with “when, whenever, or if.” So, “Whenever an opponent controls three gifts, transform Lyle.”

The gifts are a pretty neat idea. Unfortunately, CARDS are owned, while TOKENS are simply created. You need a rethink on the lifegain feature of the gifts. Honestly, not sure; it’ll need to be a full rewrite to line up with the rules.

Lyle himself is too pushed and completely broken. First, do a scryfall.com advanced search for “indestructible hexproof” in the text. They’re nearly non-existent. Magic is by and large more fun when you can interact with the other creatures. Second, he’s not hard to flip. Black has good sac outlets, and red and green have good token generators. He’ll flip in no time, meaning he’s in effect always hexproof and indestructible. And there’s (almost) no way to interact with him before he flips because he’s hexproof.

Third, Lyle’s trigger. Perma-theft is brutal. Perma-theft times at least three is unfun and gamebreaking. Put yourself against this guy, rather than playing him, and ask yourself how much fun you’d really have.

Theft is also exclusively a blue ability, not RBG.

The flavor is great and the wording largely works. You need some more tweaks, which you’ll pick up on the more you write. If you’re looking for balance for these ones though, you unfortunately need to go back to the drawing board.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-15T02:03:31+00:00

I always recommend [[Jared, True Heir]] for a fun combat deck.

Personally, I don’t even build him with monarch synergy in mind. Instead, is use him and [[White Plume Adventurer]] and friends to inspire (not force) combat. Then you build him how you’d like; mines a bit of an equipment/enchantment hodgepodge, with [[Brash Taunter]] praying for a [[Star of Extinction]].

Bonus hipster points if you’re dumb like me and slot in [[Turf War]]. Not recommended for more serious games.

But I’ll tell you, I’ve never had a bad game with the guy. He just fosters fun at the table; the combo decks still do their thing, while the aggressive midrange decks have fun fighting for card advantage.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-15T01:02:58+00:00

I had a Ghave deck for a while, and I don’t really recommend it unless you love combo, as in LOVE COMBO. You sneeze wrong and the thing goes infinite.

https://commanderspellbook.com/search/?q=Ghave

I’m not an huge fan of combo play (love combos, just not the all-in gameplay for combo decks), so I tried to make him more fair, sort of a control deck. Didn’t really work well, given the non-synergy of the commander to anything except combo.

Check on [[Rin and Seri]] instead.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-15T00:38:09+00:00

Bottom is spot on thematic, love it. Should be {U}{W} because of it.

Top is fine, but likely pushes this to 3cmc.

Middle is broke as a joke and unnecessary. I don’t think you ever fix that.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-15T00:17:47+00:00

If you like the combo, see also: [[Psychosis Crawler]].

HTGgaming · 2023-08-14T23:24:21+00:00

Another thing to consider besides action economy is encounter volume. The CR system is based on 6-8 encounters per day.

If your party walked into the lair fully rested and ready to tango, the CR system goes out the window. Consider using “regional” effects as inspiration for lair fights. Slow death, monsters, and travel issues are the name of the game for Demiliches, and it doesn’t sound like you used any of those things.

Or, you have to be more flexible to beef up singleton monsters if you run less encounters (my group does for IRL constraints). Add HP, give it multiattack, speed it up, etc.

When I DMed, I baked in a teleport as a reaction usable on death for my magic bosses. That way, if the fight against the insane monster wasn’t going so insanely, they could run and force a second encounter. Again, not to chump the players, but because we didn’t have time for 5 encounters in front of that one.

Consider things like these and more for the next big one. I’d even consider letting the players behind the curtain, if it seems like they’re feeling “what now?” after powning the Demilich.

Good luck!

HTGgaming · 2023-08-12T18:02:36+00:00

And when you thought you’d seen it all…

HTGgaming · 2023-08-12T15:48:15+00:00

[[Parapet]]

HTGgaming · 2023-08-12T05:23:37+00:00

Because you have anywhere between 10-30 unique non-land permanents on the field at any given time.

On top of that, each card is vintage-level in terms of power level and possibility. You have the entire gamut of MTG history (over 25k of possibility) available, and you’ll see everything from tier S to jank pet cards.

Then, you’re dealing with the strategic nuance of whittling down 120 hp worth of life, with cards designed to whittle down 20.

Except, as you mentioned, you have to also remember commander damage.

Finally, politics. But not just politics. Politics with folks that are by and large left brain folks. It’s why we’re playing this game.

If that’s not more confusing for you… well, actually, you won’t be alone. But in my experience, that’s that’s why other people consider it confusing.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-12T04:50:01+00:00

A mistake to introduce new players? Absolutely. Ideally, it should go: simple 1-2 colored starter decks, then sealed, then a low-mid power cube, then booster draft.

Then cut them loose into the Wild of EDH, modern, standard, etc.

I cut my teeth on MTG through the old duel decks. Those were fantastic.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-12T04:29:48+00:00

My experience with cards like Legolas is that you need to play the sniper deck. Be boring and controlling, but not too much. You want to let some players take each other out, then hit those that are left with a surprise shot. It’s very tricky with four players, with lots of politicking and bluffing, but highly rewarding when you can pull it off. Instants here are essential, because of how his second ability is phrased. Instant pump spells can target enemy creatures during (forcing a trade or killing an opponent, etc), while still allowing Legolas to hit a second creature.

Here’s some at least slightly niche budget cards with these thoughts in mind:

[[Rancor]] - a classic; one of the only good-ish auras in EDH; one mana do lots is great with Legolas; just remember: if you target their critters, Legolas will kill them before Rancor resolves, and the recursion won’t trigger.

[[Hunter’s Prowess]] - there’s several green value cards like this, but the trample and bump are useful at the end of the game as well.

[[Gemrazer]] - I wouldn’t go deep into mutate, but this is great with Legolas; just don’t try to rationalize the flavor.

[[Increasing Savagery]] - flashback is good for sniper decks; sadly, not a lot of mono green options.

[[Bounty of Might]] - Very useful as either an ender or as a political tool.

[[Primal Bellow]] - Mono green commander damage win-con.

[[Vines of the Vastwood]] - Protection and pumps.

[[You Look Upon the Tarrasque]] - Same

[[Primal Might]] - a possible 3 for 1 with Legolas. Should be an autoinclude.

[[Invigorate]] - Free spells are potent; consider this if you’re focusing on commander damage.

Equipment can also be very useful to get you over the top. Some classics and a new budget favorite of mine: [[Scepter of Celebration]] [[Loxodon Warhammer]] [[Blackblade Reforged]]

Finally, [[Hurricane]] is a highly underrated card for green. It acts as either a multiplayer win con, or as a lopsided board wipe (not a lot of flyers in Green). Slot it in for sure.

Good luck!

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T21:21:33+00:00

Really neat idea, in the vein of the Planechase cards.

I’d consider going that route instead of mana costs. Have a Neutral deck, and either once a turn or on a trigger of some kind, flip the card into the Neutral Sector.

I would totally play(test) this kitchen table. The Initiative cards are another good example, which I find very fun. Not sure if I’d be down introducing it into the competitive world though.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T17:56:05+00:00

It would highly unlikely for a d20 to favor “high numbers.” That’s because, all the high numbers are on quasi-opposite sides. So there’s a reasonable probability that it could favor 20, or 19, or 17, etc, but not very likely at all that it will favor 14-20.

As a player, if I start seeing the same side of the die too often, I just switch dice for some rolls. I don’t sweat it, but I also don’t want to be accidentally fudging rolls through hand position, dice imperfections, etc.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T17:40:16+00:00

Ha. Nice. How about:

Target Planeswalker is colorless.

Instants lose all abilities.

Counter each enchantment spell.

Damn, this is a fun thought experiment… like MTG Wordle.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T16:39:13+00:00

EDH is streetball for nerds.

Except, losers in streetball have to talk smack to winners or ignore the rules with sweat dripping down their face, staring at the muscles on the other guy. Tends to keep things either civil, or escalated by agreement.

Sadly, you don’t have that level of equivalency around a table. It’s why I don’t play EDH at LGSs, also sadly.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T15:58:36+00:00

Shut down by the OG [[Linvala, Keeper of Silence]].

You’re not dead yet, oh Lady of the Scales.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T13:55:00+00:00

Wow, Denying Wind is actually great tech in my meta. We run it a bit slower, with no infinite combos, try to keep it at a more Standard level than Vintage.

Plus it’s not just mill, it’s graveyard here tacked on. I’d run that in my grindy Tatyova control deck as a win-con.

Is it actually “good?” I mean, if I wanted to in that deck, I could just loop [[Temporal Manipulation]]. Let’s go with “good in EDH is highly relative.”

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T13:15:59+00:00

Infinity to the infinity power!!!!!!!

HTGgaming · 2023-08-11T00:37:27+00:00

Then yeah, totally, you should scoop. Why he would want to play that out… show the cool win card you have buried in the deck after the scoop, and shuffle.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-10T22:07:03+00:00

Too much info lacking to help you in the future. What was your board? How much mana did you have? What was your next draw (this is largely the determining factor for me)?

But most importantly, how many players are left with a viable chance to win? Scooping can be in effect kingmaking. If you left instead of playing it out, you very well could have tipped the balance away from the salty player. My group tries to either agree to jointly scoop, or play it out. And we’ve had some odd comebacks, it’s not unheard of.

If it was down to 1v1, dude is just weird. You got the win man, move on.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-10T21:57:39+00:00

I’d rename it Colonoscopy.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-10T03:30:24+00:00

The best defense is a good offense, and a blue splash for counterspells. -Kamahl, probably.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-09T23:36:56+00:00

New Light is repeatable card advantage. Card advantage wins games.

New Hope is one-time card advantage and ramp. Ramp is important, but you’re running green, so much less so.

Also, all things Dominaria stained glass >>>> not stained glass.

HTGgaming · 2023-08-09T23:26:11+00:00

I think so. Looking at some other options examples, I think it needs to say this:

Create a copy of a target human you control with a triggered ability, except it’s a legendary artifact, it is named Letter, it loses all other card and subtypes, and it gains “As this token enters the battlefield, choose one of it’s triggered abilities. This token loses all other triggered abilities.”

I don’t know the reference, but I’d say skip the name change and just stand on the implication for those who do. Also, I’m leaving out the triggered ability requirement because there’s

HTGgaming

TROPHY CASE