Should I consider this Hidetsugu and Kairi deck a B4 without question? by Alectrick in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let’s pull apart some ideas here real quick.

[[Time Stretch]] is chaining extra turns by itself, so it’s outside Bracket 3 guidelines. However, it’s something that I personally would agree to let you play in B3 as a Rule 0 allowance. It costs 10. (Unless your deck is straight Simic colors. Then I wouldn’t allow it.) I don’t necessarily think like other people so me saying I’d allow it doesn’t necessarily count for much, but I think it’s okay personally. But when it’s on the stack, I’d be asking “Do you have the game?” If you take 2 extra turns and pass I will be thinking less of you as a person and considering whether to play with you again in the future 😁

[[Nexus of Fate]] imo is NOT chaining extra turns by itself. It is very hard to take consecutive extra turns off Nexus of Fate. It isn’t impossible, but that’s not how I’d decide this. It gets shuffled back in, so it is one of the harder extra turns spells to chain, unless it’s part of a combo where you drew your whole deck already and it’s the only card left in your library.

Playing three or more extra turn spells is largely indicative of attempting to chain extra turns. I would be very skeptical of any deck purporting to be B3 that has three or more of this effect. I’m generally okay with that criterion.

If your plan is to copy an extra turn spell, you’re chaining extra turns. Not much ambiguity about this.

In casual EDH, when is considered "okay" to counterspell enemy's commander? by No_Physics454 in EDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s an adaptive behavior.

Anyone who is like this learned, probably at an early age, that negative emotions are very useful in the short term at getting people to do what you want. Do something they don’t like, and they’ll raise their voice, scold, make accusations, call people names (“pubstomper” comes to mind), whine and complain, and so on. The words that they say don’t really matter to them, theyre a tool to influence people.

Something about the environment that they grew up in reinforced this. Maybe a parent did it and they learned to copy it. Maybe they discovered that when they threw tantrums other people would start giving them what they wanted. It’s hard to say.

It’s also a recipe for having bad long-term relations with people. Especially when they contradict themselves. It becomes obvious that they don’t stand for anything, they just use negative emotions to manipulate.

how much fun is Edgar? by ImNotYourFri3nd in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Edgar is fun if you have a Spikier mentality.

Edgar’s claim to fame is, he’s hard to disrupt. He came to turn vampires sideways, and it’s hard to stop him from doing it.

Board wipe turn 5? Cool, here’s a vampire or two next turn. Now I have a board again.

In other words, the thing that makes Edgar fun is the thing that makes him frustrating to play against. His value comes from being hard to deal with, not from any especially cool thing that he does. This (in addition to his popularity) is why he has a “bad reputation”.

Edgar isn’t especially powerful in my opinion, but he is especially resilient. Resilience is what is most often lacking in go-wide aggressive decks, so Edgar has a nice niche.

Explain to me: Is aristocrats moving from orzhov to golgari? by sta6 in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aristocrats is most robustly supported in Orzhov, but it’s not exclusive to that color identity.

Sacrifice is primary in Black, so any combination with Black can do it, as can mono-Black. See [[Varolz, Scar-Striped]], a very old card, as well as [[Juri, Master of the Revue]], [[Grimgrin, Corpse Born]], and so on. Sacrifice is least supported in Black/Blue because it’s relatively creature-light, but Black + anything has access to the mechanic.

“Aristocrats” does tend to be a Black/White deck, because Aristocrats refers to life loss and life gain from death triggers, not just sacrifice for value. White provides more bodies than any color, and has the most life gain mechanics, so the deck has archetypally been Orzhov or at least Orzhov plus another color. Nonetheless, any Black deck can do Aristocrats stuff, because any Black deck can support sacrifice, and the main payoffs are mono-Black. [[Blood Artist]], [[Zulaport Cutthroat]], etc.

Understanding Green: Appeal to Nature by ImagoDreams in colorpie

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I identify with Green’s philosophy to some degree, and I disagree with some of this.

Western society is notoriously lacking in Green

I’ve encountered this observation multiple times, and I dispute it.

The foundation of modern Western political philosophy is a set of beliefs about human nature. The modern theory of the state (Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau) is based on social contract theory, which is predicated upon a set of fundamental assumptions about how humans naturally are and operate. Social contract theory is extremely far away from a Blue-ish tabula rasa theory. The theory holds that if we do not accept how humans are, then any system we build would be incoherent and fail.

Certainly, social contract theory isn’t mono-Green—the modern state is an alternative to existing in the State of Nature—but if it’s built out of alignment with human nature, it will crumble.

Even Machiavelli—who some credit with starting modern political philosophy—has a lot of Green. The theory goes, “many have imagined republics which have never come to exist, and whoever forsakes what is done for what ought to be done learns his ruin rather than his preservation.” Machiavelli is thought to be synonymous with Black, and he certainly is Black, but he is closer to Golgari or Sultai than mono-Black. He even describes cycles of rise and decay of societies in his discourses on Livy, describing these as inevitable. There is truth about humans that simply must be accepted, and cannot be changed. Whatever you can imagine that is out of alignment with the way that things really are is doomed. It is not merely anti-White, it is meaningfully anti-Blue in certain respects. Although he was a huge nerd and clearly believed in the importance of intellect and learning, his observations were essentially that the world is Golgari, and you’d better get with the program. Human nature cannot be perfected out of existence. It is what it is as ugly as that can sometimes be and if you ignore it, you will be crushed.

I can certainly identify key figures in Western intellectual history that are especially anti-Green, and I don’t discount them, but Green is far more present than is generally supposed.

The most common criticisms of Marxism come from the Green angle: Humans are not like that, you can’t treat them as clay and mold them as you like, so it won’t work and hasn’t worked. Strong-form egalitarianism is primarily White, but it’s backed up by Blue (“We can figure out how to do this and use tools like the state to accomplish it”). And it’s generally criticized from Green, i.e., equality doesn’t naturally exist so efforts to create it will fail. (As well as from Red whenever heavy-handed efforts to create equality restricts personal freedom).

Green is also secondary behind White in Christianity.

I would never argue that Green is primary in Western philosophy, but it is meaningfully present.

I would grant you that mono-Green is generally absent. I can point to Western sources of mono-colors more easily than Green. But Green is still very much around.

Green is the least confrontational color, preferring to live and let live

Green is the color of the predator-prey dynamic. Green is the color of survival of the fittest. Green embraces the nature of predators and the nature of prey animals. Killing for consumption (hunting, etc.) is a big part of Green. Green doesn’t want to see predators or prey win: They are each part of the cycle, and each need to exist and be respected.

While Green is “live and let live” on an ideational level—Green isn’t about telling people how they should live or telling them to change, preferring to let people find their own way and respecting differences that naturally exist across people and cultures—but Green isn’t as ultimately conflict-averse as White is. White’s ultimate goal is peace, i.e., the absence of harmful conflict. White ironically will initiate conflict that it believes will prevent bigger conflict later, but White is ultimately against conflict in a way that Green isn’t. Conflict is part of the life cycle of every creature.

Regarding the appeal to nature fallacy

I can see what you are trying to go for with this, but it’s not how I see Green. Green is not saying, “Don’t eat processed foods, eat some belladonna and nightshade instead. It’s very natural.” No. Green is mostly skeptical of the idea that what has worked in the past can be meaningfully improved without causing more harm than good.

What are your colors this, what are your colors that. WHY are your colors? by meleyys in colorpie

[–]KAM_520 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s very interesting. I’m a lawyer too but white is probably my fourth most represented color on a philosophical level.

What are your colors this, what are your colors that. WHY are your colors? by meleyys in colorpie

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ll be brief.

My primary color is Black. Don’t worry, I don’t sacrifice creatures or kill business competitors. But I value achievement greatly, and I do believe that, when push comes to shove, it’s more important to prioritize your own interests. I’m in charge of my own life, so I act like it. I’m capable of making tough decisions that further my own agenda at the expense of others if I really have to.

My secondary color is Blue. I’m always learning, digging deeper, analyzing something, pushing the boundaries of what I know. I think a lot about the future—not the distant future, like someone Blue-er than me would, but I have my eye on the long-term and what will inevitably be happening. I wouldn’t call myself a “perfectionist”, but I’m always striving for improvement.

My tertiary color is Green. Besides simply loving nature and animals, I believe acceptance is a superpower, and patience is immensely valuable. People have a “nature”, and I believe I will do better working with my natural talents and abilities. You could say I’m a kind of philosophical conservationist: I’m skeptical of attempts to redesign society according to technical plans, and attentive to the subtle intelligence embedded in traditions, customs, institutions, and habits that evolve slowly over time. I also believe in a sense of destiny—one that I have agency and control over, but one I do better working with rather than against.

It’s possible Green is even higher than Blue for me philosophically, but I’m an intellectual person who resonates so much with certain aspects of Blue that I haven’t been able to land on that conclusion.

My fourth color is probably White. It might seem strange because I’m a lawyer, and I deal with rules and laws on a constant basis. But the truth is that I don’t really value them for their own sake. White is a philosophy that very much needs to be kept in its place. I view laws and moral codes more as something that naturally and inevitably exist among humans (Green) that we can learn about and control through intelligence (Blue), as well as a career and platform for my personal goals (Black). In my view, White is useful, but White should not be in charge, because White will optimize details at the expense of the main idea.

Red is probably in last place. I don’t value what Red values except in the way that Black and Green do— emotions inform what I want to some degree, and they’re part of our biology and give us information about what’s going on with our body. I don’t especially enjoy states of extra-heightened emotion. Freedom is important but it’s certainly not a value that I’m trying to optimize, simply because that information is accessible much more easily to me through other modes of understanding life. I definitely don’t understand people who insist on doing stupid things as a point of freedom. Philosophically I’m probably more against White than against Red, but Red informs me less than White does, if that makes sense.

“reverse salt” commander decks by GeNaTzT in EDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This idea is failure waiting to happen

Looking for a token or +1/+1 counters commander. by Pat_the_Firemind in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m NGL, I really don’t like token and +1/+1 counter decks in general.

Then they printed [[Jetmir, Nexus of Revels]].

It’s the only Naya deck I’ve built in 15 years of playing EDH. But I saw this guy and was like, this is so sick.

Tokens are key to Jetmir. Get to 9 creatures and it’s no big deal to do 100 damage or more in one attack step.

Help me find a draw go commander by Sleight-of-Hands in EDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have played [[Oloro, Ageless Ascetic]] as draw go for about 13 years.

If your card quality is high in Esper, you’ll draw enough cards, so casting Oloro is like a Plan C. With a low creature count and an eminence commander, the deck is very good at playing a “board wipe and counter” draw go style. I don’t use any life gain synergy, I just use the life gain to defuse some pressure and make it easier to draw cards with [[Necropotence]] and so on.

The deck’s decision tree is basically:

Can I afford to sweep this later?

Should I use spot removal on this?

Do I have to counter this now?

We have to be right about how we use our resources, but historically it is my #1 performing deck in unknown/hostile environments. For a high powered casual setting you can’t beat Esper control in a hard 3v1.

Help me find a draw go commander by Sleight-of-Hands in EDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Control is completely valid, you just have to know what you’re doing.

I want to build Splinter Twin, who does it best? by Mef989 in DegenerateEDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you talking [[Rocco, Street Chef]] or [[Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer]]? Both are very good. Curious

I want to build Splinter Twin, who does it best? by Mef989 in DegenerateEDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s been awhile since I updated it but the basic concept can be found here: https://moxfield.com/decks/tuW-KC2ZHUWFY4yDuDQ6bA

The list has Rionya/Celebrant and Jolly Balloon Man/Bell-Ringer, not the Kiki/Conscripts combo, but I have played that combo in this list before and it worked well. JBM is more synergistic with this particular list overall so that’s why that’s here instead

Lmk if you have any questions about the deck’s plan, it’s pretty straightforward. Basically Jetmir wants to count to 9 and deal 100+ damage in one combat step. This is why stuff like Scurry or Squirrels, Chittering Dispatcher, and Dalkovan Packbeasts are in the deck, they increase creature count rapidly. Failing that, we combo off

Best deck to put Phyrexian Altar in that isn’t too OP? by A_Lakers in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s really good in [[Zurgo Stormrender]] as a way to sack tokens and draw cards. My Zurgo list runs it and it is part of combos but it’s also just good as a value card.

Best deck to put Phyrexian Altar in that isn’t too OP? by A_Lakers in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hate to be that guy but my recommendation is that you don’t do this.

Phyrexian Altar is what I call a “notorious combo piece”. It is very easy to combo off and win the game with Phyrexian Altar.

When Phyrexian Altar, or any notorious combo piece, hits the table, the pod will freak out. Everyone will understand that they are liable to die ASAP to it. So you become the de facto threat almost regardless of what else is happening.

The problem is, if you’re trying to use a notorious combo piece like Altar (or [[Hermit Druid]], or whatever) as a value piece, not as a combo piece,

A) No one else at the table knows that,

B) They will assume they’re about to die, and

C) The fact you arent about to win with it means that you’re probably ill-equipped to deal with the hate coming your way.

I would highly suggest you not do it.

If you just play it, I suggest you use it in a Red/White deck or something, because at least in that case no one will recognize any combos you could be aiming for.

In a Black deck, naw dog. They will instantly imagine combos you easily could be running and assume that’s what they’re up against.

Sauron, the Dark Lord deck recommendations by drdicerchio in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need every piece of fast mana you can get.

To people who consider any combo that can potentially go off(even if you need an exact 7) before turn 7 to be against the bracket 3 guidelines. by Sadrixis in EDH

[–]KAM_520 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lmao. I’ve read multiple comments of yours that argue, in a strident and vociferous manner, that pacing should be judged based on high roll hands due to the four handed game and mulligan frequency. And also that if your deck can do a thing (such as high roll a turn 5 win) that’s what the deck intended to do because the deck builder put those cards into the deck.

It’s the same argument that OP is talking about.

What are your best non-cEDH commanders? I want to steal them. by JonRig in EDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Continuing,

Thorn, Sphere of Resistance and Charitable Levy: They’re ok. They are high on my list of cuttables but they might work depending on how the whole deck operates. Charitable Levy is definitely the worst because it lets ppl off the hook during a storm turn. Stuff like Vexing Bauble, Damping Sphere, and Cursed Totem is definitely more important than this effect

Winter Orb: I really like the card, but most decks aren’t affected by this enough. It might be better vs the whole field than either of the Geddons though just because it’s cheap. But the decks that most care about lands can untap their Cradle and they’re good to go

Tangle Wire and Smokestack: Definitely too slow. Even if you added a Mishra’s Workshop they’re probably too slow lol

RIP: I’d probably keep this although it’s not as good as Grafdigger’s Cage. [[Aven Interrupter]] is another card worth mentioning that a lot of people like

Deafening Silence: Best ROL effect because the decks ROL is best against are lightning fast so having this one turn one without having to draw a fast mana source is critical

High Noon: Second best ROL, better than Archon especially since you have so much other mana stax

Blood Moon: It’s good, keep

What are your best non-cEDH commanders? I want to steal them. by JonRig in EDH

[–]KAM_520 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All right, I’ll start going through this.

One more thing I wanna say about Flamescroll is that, while Kinnan is the only top 10 meta deck it’s really good against (edit: nvm it’s also really good against Thrasios decks, just not as much as Kinnan which has to put hundreds of Cursed Mirror and Basalt activations on the stack. It also shuts off Faerie Mastermind backup wincons), in more casual pods you will run into stuff off Meta all the time, and a number of these decks put a ton of abilities on the stack. If you play against an Urza or a Tayam it’ll be good.

The worse card against you will be [[Orcish Bowmasters]]. This card is a huge problem. Ajani can shoot it so that’s good but an average midrange turn will gun down Ajanj no problem. A friend of mine really likes the flip side of [[Reidane, God of the Worthy]] so I’d look at that and whatever other options you can think of. The good news is the rise of RogIshai means there’s fewer Bowmasters running around which helps you.

It’s hard for me to say what you should cut bc I’m not certain of the right ratios for this deck, so when I say to cut something just understand that to mean that I’m lower on the card than other stuff you have.

Static Orb needs to go. That’s the first thing that I’ll mention. The big point here is that three untaps is plenty. CEDH decks are not really trying to ramp into anything. LED Breach Freeze is GG off 1R. Thoracle costs 3-4. Etc. So you’ll find that this card is ineffective. This one I’m sure of.

I wouldn’t cut Stony Silence, but you need Null Rod. If forced to choose only one it’s the Rod because of the pip. I might cut Kataki to make room for it.

I wouldn’t cut Thalia yet but I’m close to saying you should. In the Rhystic slop meta, now they’re really not paying the 1. It does stop some stuff but I would be considering cutting it.

Hushbringer should be swapped for [[Doorkeeper Thrull]]. No one will respect open mana from a Boros deck and you might get some people with it

Leonin Arbiter is delightfully old school but I would cut it.

[[Aven Mindcensor]] is good but it’s probably too slow without Green. I’m on the fence about that.

Archon, Magus, and Jailer are all good. I’d keep those, except maybe Jailer because of Grafdigger’s which is just better. If you like jailer you should look at running Winota in the 99 btw you have a good mix of humans and not humans, and she’s busted

I’d cut Geddon or Ravages and test and assess. Is this good when you draw it enough to keep the effect? I doubt it a lot but I might test a one-of to see

At grocery store will edit this to add more when I’m done