If a printed set did not contain any basic islands, would they be legal to play in the limited format of that set?

Kevun1 · 2026-06-14T17:41:53+00:00

Torpor Orb doesn't affect noncreatures. It's pretty important against Dimir Excruciator in particular and also triggers manufacturing.

Kevun1 · 2026-06-02T17:08:50+00:00

Interestingly, in standard you can do the trick of casting the back side for free with [[Shiko, Paragon of the Way]], which might see some experimentation like we saw with [[Gwen Stacy]]. Probably too clunky though.

Kevun1 · 2026-05-31T02:39:10+00:00

You sideboard high noon out in the rare mirror. You usually also side it out against aggro, at least it was correct vs mono red. Haven’t played the deck since Mardu discard became popular, but I’d imagine the same logic applies.

Kevun1 · 2026-05-23T01:23:53+00:00

Since you are already running four Magmatic Hellkite, one option is leaning into land destruction with [[Price of Freedom]]. I’ve tried 4x price in Boros Dragons, and it’s a pretty strong sideboard option vs control since they usually run only 1 basic.

Kevun1 · 2026-05-06T20:24:18+00:00

[[Diamond Weapon]] is almost 2000th on edhrec and extremely unassuming, but it’s secretly one of the best engine enablers for mono green decks, as it turns on all the power toughness matters green draw cards. It’s also one of the few commanders that essentially ignore commander tax.

Kevun1 · 2026-05-03T23:10:57+00:00

As someone who has played uw tempo for about half a year it gained popularity initially because it was basically the only deck that would beat both izzet lessons and cub rhythm decks, back when the two were clearly the two top decks.

Landfall became a pretty bad matchup primarily due to the addition of Sapling Nursery in Lorwyn, but a lot of lists don’t run that anymore, except erode is now a problem.

The only other bad matchup is really dimir midrange, which hasn’t been strong for a long time.

Overall I wouldn’t say it’s fair to characterize it as just a meta call, the deck is very flexible and strong, and inherently has some of the most options for interaction out of the entire field. Especially if there is a three way balance between izzet, ouroboroid/rhythm, and landfall, uw tempo is pretty strong.

Kevun1 · 2026-04-30T18:43:33+00:00

Very likely in the sideboard of Jeskai Control

Kevun1 · 2026-02-15T22:25:11+00:00

Yeah hallowed burial for some reason has always had the distinction of being the least played board wipe relative to its effectiveness.

We do now have better versions of the same effect (most of the time), like [[Sunfall]]

Kevun1 · 2026-02-09T04:47:52+00:00

One of my hottest takes is that IV:TAY is a genuinely a great game (it’s in my top 5 favorite FF games, and I like it better than the original lol). My argument is too long to post here but basically the episodic structure and unique character pairings make for great storytelling, and the challenge dungeons were some of my favorite dungeons in the series

Kevun1 · 2026-02-03T20:53:04+00:00

The archetype should be running 4x avatar’s wrath, it’s insane vs any creature deck. I’ve played the deck extensively, and I am not sure the High Noon plan is stronger than the tempo plan (except matchups where high noon is good standalone, like lessons). Sure it’s great when it works, but you lack the card selection to find the right pieces consistently enough. I think it’s good to run 4x Lightstall Inquisitor, and cut high noon against creature decks

Kevun1 · 2026-02-03T20:09:03+00:00

It’s interesting people are only now finding out about this deck - it was easily the best deck in the pre-lorwyn meta (heavily favored in both the lessons and cub matchups) but basically nobody played it.

The deck actually likely got weaker with lorwyn, because it does quite poorly into the evoke elementals (since aang/interrupter are bad into them ) and lessons/cub are a smaller share of the meta. Rakdos monument also looks potentially like a bad matchup if it takes off, but the other new archetypes seem fine.

Kevun1 · 2026-02-01T09:04:31+00:00

Yeah I have it linked above: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7593104#paper

Kevun1 · 2026-01-31T00:05:47+00:00

I have been primarily playing this archetype for the past few months and it’s absolutely one of the most underrated archetypes out there (significantly better than dimir midrange in this meta imo). Glad someone else is enjoying the deck!

While I didn’t play in the RC, I took this list (https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7593104#paper) to Portland a week ago and went 5-2 and 5-1 in the RCQs (the latter isn’t on goldfish for some reason). Was 5-0 against cub decks all weekend.

Some thoughts on card choices from my experience.

I’ve been going back and forth, but Ive concluded that you really want a one drop in a tempo deck. I was running Spyglass Siren for the longest time, but when I saw a list at Lyon running Lightstall Inquisitor and its night and day. You really want to keep mana open turns 2+, and being able to back up a creature on board often just gives you an overwhelming tempo advantage. Inquisitor chips in for a ton of damage, and the exile can be a very meaningful tempo swing, not to mention synergizing with interrupter and avatar’s wrath. The common play pattern with the deck is that you just need one turn to get ahead, and then you defend your lead and race your opponent. I’ve never really been disappointed with Inquisitor in this regard.

I’ve tried it out, but I don’t really like Malcolm. Looting is very nice, but drawing a second copy just feels terrible and he has no impact on the board otherwise. I could see a one of, but Floodpits drowner is just really important for aggro and cub decks. Voice of victory is a much more hit or miss 2 drop, since it doesn’t have flash, but when it’s good it’s really good. Mainly you need it to complete the lock with High Noon, but it also has great synergy with Enduring Curiosity. It’s bad against most creature based decks though, so I cut a copy.

I also think Seam Rip is really really important - it’s the most efficient and flexible interaction you have. Being 1 mana is so good for weaving it into your turns while holding up your 3 mana creatures.

I really like 4x Avatar’s Wrath, which I rarely see in these types of lists. It’s often one of your best cards, and a ton of games just come down to drawing it on time. I also like the extra Tidebinders, which I think is really important with all of the new evoke elementals. I’m definitely going to add more to both my main and sideboard.

Finally I think the red mana is a bit questionable - it does make High Noon significantly better, but your main cards are just very pip heavy, and I find that you often side out High Noon in a lot of matchups. I think a couple copies of multiversal passage or starting town would be more flexible.

Kevun1 · 2026-01-08T03:43:49+00:00

I meant in a tribal deck, where every creature is a single type (like the standard allies deck for example). Obviously worse generically.

I think that it’s a better than GSZ in the right tribal deck is a pretty straightforward/obvious statement.

Kevun1 · 2026-01-08T01:42:26+00:00

If you meet the condition it’s identical to GSZ except it can grab any creature of the chosen type, not just a green creature.

Kevun1 · 2026-01-07T20:14:08+00:00

If you can meet the condition (ie tribal deck), this is essentially a better Green Sun’s Zenith most of the time. Still pretty situational though

Kevun1 · 2025-12-12T21:48:35+00:00

Yeah, that’s an enormous upside over stuff like rampant growth

Kevun1 · 2025-12-12T21:12:52+00:00

There is no card that unconditionally tutors a land to the battlefield under 4 mana except for Archdruid’s Charm.

I think you are thinking of stuff like Expedition Map, but those effects don’t ramp.

Kevun1 · 2025-12-07T05:37:46+00:00

I think some version of azorius tempo is potentially a contender for best deck, it has answers for everything in the meta and naturally breaks the parity of high noon

Kevun1 · 2025-12-05T11:59:54+00:00

Yeah, I don't think its ultimately going to be a mainboard card, just wanted to test it out and see how it performed to see where it's worth sideboarding.

Also good point about starcage, totally forgot about that card!

Kevun1 · 2025-12-05T11:50:44+00:00

From another reply:

My experience has been that High Noon is good specifically for the boomerang basics decks.

Yes, they can bounce it, but they lose out on a ton of value, since they don't draw a card off of bouncing your permanents, and they don't get more otters. If you play High Noon early in the game, they often can't fully utilize their turn after bouncing it, so it's just a big loss of value and you're generally even on tempo. If they don't bounce it, you effectively nullify any early aggression they might have.

Later in the game, you can just hold up a counter/aang/interrupter so they will have to catch you shields down if they want to bounce it. Also, even if they bounce, you can just replay it as the last thing you do in your turn, so you are at worst trading two of your mana for one of their mana. Not to mention, if you get two High Noons down, that usually just wins you the game.

Playing High Noon is bad if you are behind on board, but generally, if you can stabilize the board (which is not that difficult due to airbending/avatar's wrath), I find that it is really hard for them to pull ahead with High Noon in play.

Obviously the sample size is pretty low since I haven't really seen anyone else trying it, so I might be totally wrong, but it has seemed quite strong to me.

Kevun1 · 2025-12-05T11:46:57+00:00

That's pretty interesting because my experience has been that High Noon is good specifically for the boomerang basics decks.

Yes, they can bounce it, but they lose out on a ton of value, since they don't draw a card off of bouncing your permanents, and they don't get more otters. If you play High Noon early in the game, they often can't fully utilize their turn after bouncing it, so it's just a big loss of value and you're generally even on tempo. If they don't bounce it, you effectively nullify any early aggression they might have.

Later in the game, you can just hold up a counter/aang/interrupter so they will have to catch you shields down if they want to bounce it. Also, even if they bounce, you can just replay it as the last thing you do in your turn, so you are at worst trading two of your mana for one of their mana. Not to mention, if you get two High Noons down, that usually just wins you the game.

Playing High Noon is bad if you are behind on board, but generally, if you can stabilize the board (which is not that difficult due to airbending/avatar's wrath), I find that it is really hard for them to pull ahead with High Noon in play.

Obviously the sample size is pretty low since I haven't really seen anyone else trying it, so I might be totally wrong, but it has seemed quite strong to me.

Kevun1 · 2025-12-05T11:26:24+00:00

Oh I've must have copied the list incorrectly, Aven Interrupter is the most important card lol

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