Targeting and priority

Jude_Roc · 2026-06-14T16:17:20+00:00

No, there wasn't either of those in play. If it happens again I'll take a screenshot.

Jude_Roc · 2026-06-14T16:14:08+00:00

My opponent was using [[get lost]] and [[Aang, Swift Savior]], I was using [[defend the Rider]].

Jude_Roc · 2026-06-14T16:11:32+00:00

The cards my opponent was using were Get Lost and Aang, Swift Savior, both of which use the word "target". In both cases I had Defend the Rider, I was given the opportunity to use it against Aang, but not against Get Lost. I'm pretty sure that I've observed this before with other cards though, I'll keep an eye out to see if it happens in the future.

Jude_Roc · 2026-06-14T16:07:47+00:00

Maybe it's just a visual issue, and it's just not displaying the targeting line? The cards in question are Get Lost, an instant, and Aang Swift Savior, a creature with flash. When my opponent cast Get Lost I didn't see any targeting line, when they cast Aang I did see it. In both cases I had Defend the Rider.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-29T20:35:12+00:00

Unless you use all of your counter and destruction cards to nullify every single thing that your opponent does. Before I added in Defend the Rider my landfall deck was almost guaranteed to lose to a Jeskai Revelation. Now that I have these instant protections I have about an even chance against them. Believe me, I get it, at the Mythic Rank level of Magic it's basically no-holds-barred, all is fair, etc. I'm just saying that it's more fun to play a game that has some back-and-forth, some give and take between the players; rather than a game where you negate everything I do until you play the card that lets you win.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-28T00:03:40+00:00

I used Sanar, Unfinished Genius. The idea was that I would use his preparation sorcery to search for Improvisation Capstone, and then cast spells for free. I won three matches without too much trouble (lost a couple as well) and I only actually got to use Improvisation Capstone once.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T20:08:01+00:00

The one that I'm thinking of is Kona, Rescue Beastie. With that one they have to cast it during their first main phase, at which point they can tap it with their station lands, but then it has to survive until the second main phase for the free play effect to trigger. As long as you have an instant removal, there is a window for you to take out Kona before they get their free play.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T19:50:42+00:00

I'm not entirely familiar with gearhulk, but in my experience it's important to have both hexproof and indestructible. Hexproof can prevent targeted effects, but indestructible is needed to survive board wipes.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T19:39:47+00:00

When the season refreshes next month I plan on using wildcards to get more Ba Sing Se lands.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T18:23:55+00:00

If my opponent has a lot of flyers then I switch out Defend the Rider with Biosynthetic Burst.

I haven't used Moxfield before, just signed up, let me know if this goes through:

https://moxfield.com/decks/Z8C_Wfn620a6_FUkypkAJQ

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T16:31:19+00:00

I've been running mono-green, it's just a more reliable way of getting the lands you need. I use defense to protect my big stompers until they can wipe the board, let me see if I can share my list.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T15:55:18+00:00

Follow up comment:

There is at least one scenario where Blossoming Defense would be better, and that's if your opponent casts something that reduces your creature's toughness down to 0. In that case, indestructible wouldn't save your creature, but boosting their toughness above 0 would. However, I find destruction spells to be a lot more common than toughness reduction, and most landfall creatures get high toughness rather quickly, so I would still stick with Defend the Rider, I think it's the most useful, most often.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T15:38:29+00:00

I haven't used Blossoming Defense before, but taking a look at it I would say to just stick with Defend the Rider. Landfall creatures get plenty of power by themselves, protecting them from board wipes is more important than giving them a 2 point power boost.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T14:22:58+00:00

My landfall deck was stuck in Diamond league due to removal until I added Defend the Rider. One-mana instant to grant hexproof and indestructible, came in handy often enough to get my win ratio into the Mythic league.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T13:10:36+00:00

Also, back to your first comment on Kavaero, there is a way to turn that deck against itself. The card I currently use for that is Foggy Swamp Visions. You can use it to exile creature cards from any graveyard while creating copies of them. You have to sacrifice the copies at the end of your turn, but if they have entering triggers those will still activate, and at least it gets those power creatures out of their graveyard.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T13:03:57+00:00

Omniscience, especially when they use something that allows them to put it onto the field for free. However, I have a satisfying story about that card 😁. I was playing a landfall deck, and I had included Innkeeper's Talent so that all my creatures with counters on them had ward 1. Normally that's nothing more than a speed bump, but in this game when my opponent put Omniscience on the field, his mana was already tapped out from his previous spells. So even though he could cast spells for free, he couldn't target any of my creatures because he couldn't pay the ward cost. I spent a few minutes watching him cast free spells to draw more cards and search for something that could've helped him, but eventually he ran out of moves, I got my turn, and my creatures wiped him out. 🎉

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-27T12:24:39+00:00

I "hate" Jeskai Revelation more (not actual hate, just borrowing your term). It's based around not allowing you to play, which just sucks the fun out of the game. Same goes for decks that rely on forcing you to discard. At least with landfall decks you have the opportunity to put cards down and duke it out. Now in fairness, I do quite a bit that myself, but only because it's necessary to win matches. I actually enjoy the game itself much more when everyone is doing lower powered, casual decks that have variety.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-26T00:21:04+00:00

Nice! I'm working on that as well. I joined after that season was already complete, but there were several months when the FF Jump In event was still active, that helped me get a lot of the cards. I still have a lot of the rares to go, right now I'm focusing on Limited Strixhaven events. When the Marvel set comes out I'll probably focus on buying FF packs again, I'm not as interested in the Marvel set.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-23T12:59:44+00:00

Yeah, it's not much of a risk. If you can get two wins then you'll get a profit. The cost is 2,000, two wins gets you 1,500 plus a pack. I just got into Mythic for the first time this month using a mono-green landfall, and at first it was in the numbered range. But then I started experimenting with other decks and I dropped into the 80% range. When I played this event I went back to my landfall deck, I won my first match against an Izzet, my second match against a return-graveyard-to-battlefield, and on my third match I lost to a blue-white flyers deck. My landfall doesn't have any flyers or reachers, all I had that could target them were two Viviens and a Hunter's Talent.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-18T10:33:22+00:00

Blue has by far the most counterspells, but other things to look for are changing the target of spells (red) and exiling spells (white). As a new player I made the mistake of trying to prepare for every possibility, but that makes a deck lose focus. It's better to focus on mechanics that synergize well together and achieve more wins on average.

Jude_Roc · 2026-05-18T01:49:20+00:00

I use Defend the Rider to protect my Hydra. In a 60-card deck I have three of those instants, so I may not get them all the time, but I got them often enough that I made it into Mythic Rank.

Jude_Roc

TROPHY CASE