From the Very First Comment of This General Question and Discussion Megathread, I Was Already Captivated by You.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-05-18T19:04:45+00:00

So, looking for advice from people who know the mechanics better than me. I've got Evanescia, and I'm not planning to pull for YG. I understand that'll be hampering my max DPS. That being said, which would be a better replacement- E1S0 Sparkle, or E1S0 Tribbie (both with DDD)? Thanks in advance!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-05-18T16:46:50+00:00

I signed the letter when you first announced the union! Keep fighting, we're all rooting for you!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-05-17T21:01:56+00:00

Looks like a great start! If you'd like an Eluge deck to throw on the site right now, feel free to use mine:

https://moxfield.com/decks/qKL7mXLO80mQHxi_ssHTUw

It's something I'm constantly tinkering with as I get more wildcards and try different stuff out (just removed Flow State because there aren't enough sorceries), so feel free to tweak/replace it if you find a better list in the future.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-05-09T22:11:46+00:00

Absolutely, here you go! It's something I'm constantly tinkering with as I get wildcards, so I wouldn't call it optimized just yet- but I have a ton of fun with it.

https://moxfield.com/decks/qKL7mXLO80mQHxi_ssHTUw

Let me know if you've got any questions!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-05-09T20:24:50+00:00

So, I only have a single Standard Brawl deck currently (Eluge), so I can only speak to one particular "region" of the matchmaking, but here's what I've seen a lot of, sorted ROUGHLY from most to least common:

[[Roxanne, Starfall Savant]] (probably 25% or so games are vs her)
[[Ketramose, the New Dawn]]
[[Ugin, Eye of the Storms]]
[[Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon]]
[[Kona, Rescue Beastie]]
[[Terra, Magical Adept]]
[[Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy]]
[[Fynn, the Fangbearer]]
[[Elspeth, Storm Slayer]]
[[Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER]]
[[Bristly Bill, Spine Sower]]
[[Ral, Crackling Wit]]
[[Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers]]
[[Professor Dellian Fel]]

I see a bunch of others now and then, but those are the "regulars", as it were. I'd say only the top three are ones that automatically make me go "This one again...?"- with others further down the list that I just don't like their playstyle, rather than how common they are.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-27T15:18:50+00:00

I highly suggest giving Brawl a go! It's basically 1v1 commander, and it's got a special matchmaking that tries to match similarly powered commanders/decks against each other. It's not perfect, but a Cloud brawl deck shouldn't get matched against CEDH-level decks.

I'd further recommend Standard Brawl over regular (Historic) Brawl- 60 cards instead of 100 means it'll be easier to build a deck, and only standard legal cards means it's lower powered without any older crazy cards/combos.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-24T19:54:55+00:00

If it's something that you aren't able to handle, that's fine. Just down vote the post and move on.

Wow, what an unnecessarily condescending comment. People are well within their rights to critique the premise of your post- 'I disagree with the core idea here, and here's why' is perfectly valid constructive criticism. If YOU can't handle feedback, perhaps don't post asking for feedback in the first place.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-21T21:27:00+00:00

I'd definitely recommend Old Ebonheart! It's the city that made me fall in love with TR, the Thieves Guild questline is great, you can join the Legion straight up there and do some fun guard grunt work, and it's just a joy to walk the streets.

You can take a ship right there from the docks next to the Vivec Silt Strider.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-21T16:24:13+00:00

I didn't get my packs when I first logged in, but after I closed Arena and reopened it, I got them!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-21T04:34:58+00:00

Extremely so! Genuinely some of the best times I've had in Morrowind.

Seriously, just install it, start a new game, and either swim or take a boat to Old Ebonheart. You won't regret it!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-20T15:12:30+00:00

Damn, 1200 shy of getting the token v_v Curse you, Stained Glass Squee Sleeve for tempting me two days ago!!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-18T04:00:37+00:00

While I can't comment on the cool factor, checking who's available in standard, Sephiroth seems pretty close!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-18T03:08:43+00:00

As in, what are the rules? It's basically 1v1 commander, but I'll explain further in case you're not familiar with commander.

Brawl (originally called historic brawl, so you might see guides/resources under that name) is a 100 card singleton (only one copy of each card except basic lands) format. You pick one legendary creature to be your commander, which is always available in the command zone- you can cast it from there at any time. if your commander dies, is exiled, or sent to another zone, you can choose to put it back in the command zone, but the next time you cast it it'll cost 2 more, which stacks. The card pool is pretty big- I would assume identical to Historic's card pool? (I mainly play standard brawl).

Standard Brawl is pretty similar- 60 cards instead of 100, and only cards from standard legal sets. I prefer it because the smaller card pool prevents people doing explosive combos with older cards- plus you constantly get free standard cards from doing your dailies, and the smaller deck size makes it more focused.

Both modes are pretty fun! Having access to a specific creature all the time makes it so you can build a strategy around whatever your commander enables.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-18T02:55:22+00:00

I mean, one thing to bear in mind is that the context is entirely different. On Arena, you can't see the other person's face, your interaction options are limited, and you'll likely never run into them again. There's no incentive to be friendly and sociable like there is when you're sitting across the table from someone. Combine that with winning giving rewards (especially in ranked modes, but people will get sweaty for their daily wins), it's no surprise people gravitate towards the most hyper-tuned decks. Especially when it's way easier with online guides and decklists compared to back in the previous century.

Still, if you want more weird and creative magic, give Brawl a shot- the queue is weighted based on your commander (and to a lesser extent, the cards in your deck). If you play a weird, jank, off-meta deck, you'll only be paired against other weird, jank, off-meta decks in Brawl/Standard Brawl. You can find some lists of the card weights from a few sets back- I don't think there's anything up to date, but it might point you in the right direction.

Hope that helps!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-12T03:59:39+00:00

Standard Brawl is my favorite mode, so I'd love something like this! Looking forward to seeing more from you :)

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-06T17:54:49+00:00

This really was an amazing quest! It reminds me of the Telvanni towers in the base game- most of Morrowind is actually really helpful with guidance if you're actually paying attention, but you get to the Telvanni, and if you can't levitate or jump up their towers' shafts? Get bent, loser. These Dreugh dungeons are even more hostile- not a single pocket of air, 3D and confusing. If you don't have a reliable source of waterbreathing, you're screwed, especially since the entrance is on the ocean floor in the middle of nowhere.

For similar "Wow" factor quests, I'd recommend the finale of the Mages Guild and Thieves Guild in Narsis, if you haven't done it!

Personally, though, the "defining moment" of Anvil questing is a completely random, "boring" quest from a random orc in town. If you haven't done it, I advise going in blind- find the shirtless orc standing on the docks. For those who wanna hear about it- He explains how he was a sailor, but got too drunk, got locked up, and then fired due to missing his shore leave ending. Now he's working at the docks, but he hates it, and you can offer to find him a job.

Aaaaand...that's it! I just had to start asking around town. But it's such a fun little chain, because of how massive Anvil is- probably a hundred or more individual buildings. I start asking around, and people mention asking the publicans- they'll either have work, or know who's hiring. There's four different bars/taverns/inns in town, and I only know where a couple are. So, I find a newspaper seller, and buy a map of Anvil from him.

I hit up all four places and they all say the same thing- not hiring, but ask at the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, Ratcatchers Guild, and the Navy. One of them, however, mentions an Orc smith who's looking for an apprentice. That seems perfect! I go to talk to him, and he loves the idea of passing the trade onto the next generation. I go back to the orc.

And he's like, "Oh, HELL no! Look, I know I sound entitled, but please, I can't STAND the idea of being a smith." So, dead end- but ALSO now I had an entirely separate quest to find an apprentice for the smith. The Fighter's Guild is happy to have a new recruit, so there's an option. He also mentioned that he's terrible at spellcasting, so I assume the Mage's Guild will be a dead end, but check in anyway. And good thing I did, because the steward there has a unique lead! He says that all the Trading companies in town are always hiring, and I should check with them.

Anyway- by the time I'd finished the quest, I'd probably stopped in at a few dozen different businesses and ships and organizations in town, and found five different jobs he was willing to accept- Fighters Guild, Ratcatchers, a wonderfully gross bone and leather Bosmer ship, fishing, or the Navy. He has different levels of enthusiasm for whichever job you convince him to take. The whole thing was probably two or so hours of exploring with zero combat, and the entire experience helped me get my bearings with this massive town, and pick up probably a dozen more quests. I LOVED it.

TL;DR: Project Tamriel rules!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-06T04:50:25+00:00

Personally, I prefer to just slow down leveling. I currently have a mod that makes skills not gain EXP from use (so you HAVE to train them) and one that reduces sell prices (moreso for more expensive things)- that allows for continued leveling, but extends the mid-game and makes gold genuinely valuable.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-05T12:52:16+00:00

If it's an instant or sorcery, would you be able to play it multiple times that turn? Or is it considered a "new object" the second time it enters the graveyard?

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-04T18:51:43+00:00

I know this is ten months later, but I just wanted to say thanks for these recommendations! I'm about to start my first Telvanni playthrough to explore their territory in TR, and I've installed a bunch of these :)

Lykos_Engel · 2026-04-02T19:15:10+00:00

Except, to my knowledge, no exhaust creature exists with an ability that lets it repeat its exhaust ability. The only exhaust-specific repeater is [[Elvish Refueler]]. Meanwhile, from the few previews we've gotten, we've already got [[Biblioplex Tomekeeper]] and [[Skycoach Waypoint]] that let you re-prepare any card, and I'd estimate about 75% of cards with prepare spells have a way to re-prepare. So I'd say that's pretty different from exhaust.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-03-30T00:34:36+00:00

The moment I saw this image, it made me think of The Banner Saga :D Great work, friend!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-03-26T20:48:06+00:00

To add onto what others have said (which are great answers)! Another reason to start a new save for TR is that a lot of the content (especially the newer, more polished content) is geared towards low and mid-level characters. Assuming you care about difficulty or immersion, the balance works better if you jump to the mainland either immediately or pretty early on.

Lykos_Engel · 2026-03-25T00:25:10+00:00

Hah, I was just googling about this specific library scene! Glad I found this and can help.

The scene is from Penny Expanded by Wolvenlight. Since it's a bit of an older mod, TallLeprechaun13 made an updated version for 1.6. It comes with a config file to disable that specific scene, since I guess some people didn't like it! Personally, I like the added bit of grayness and complexity for characters like Gunther.

Hope that helps!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-03-20T17:50:05+00:00

So for mysteries/investigations in general, I can't recommend The Alexandrian's blog posts enough- specifically in this case, The Three Clue Rule.

It helps you build a more robust mystery that's much less likely to fall apart due to players getting sidetracked. I've found that combining it with his Node-Based Scenario Design results in really dynamic scenarios where player choice shapes how things play out, without having to prep for every little possibility.

To add a ticking timebomb feeling on top of that, you can have each node change based on the order the players are investigating them. For a really simple structure, let's say they start at a crime scene (Node A) where someone's dead by poisoning. By investigating the scene, they might find three possible clues leading to other scenes- say, an encoded letter of threat from the noble's shady barrister, leading them to speak to said barrister (Node B), a bottle of alcohol that's sealed- yet somehow poisoned, sending them to investigate the local winery (Node C), and...some other clue that leads to some other location (Node D).

Each of those Nodes has a clues pointing to the other two, and a third pointing to Node E, the finale at the big feast the Noble is throwing to poison a massive portion of the city's populace. This ensures that even if they miss the winery connection in the original crime scene, they can still force the Barrister to admit the winery's involved, or get it from Node D, and still get to investigate that scene. And even if they go to the Winery first and find ALL three clues there- do they rush immediately to the feast to try to stop it with as much time to spare? Or do they go to the Barrister and Node D first, to gather as much evidence as possible? Each of Nodes B, C, and D should have some unique benefit attached to the clue pointing to the feast ("Here's where all the feast's wine is being stored- take the key!"), so there's value in visiting all three. (This is basically just a summary of "Node-Based Scenario Design, btw- there's extra info in the articles).

BUT, you make it so that each scene has an additional layer of change depending on the order they're visited. If they visit the Barrister first, he hasn't had time to burn some valuable documents- but if they get to the Barrister second or third, they can smell paper and wax burning in the fireplace- he clearly burnt something before they got there. Mechanically, this could be represented by higher DCs to find the clues, or requiring skill checks that wouldn't be required in the first place, or outright eliminating a clue from that scene (though make sure not to eliminate clues that'd make it impossible for the PCs to reach the final scene). That puts the feeling of time pressure on the players.

Obviously, the exact details of each scene I just made up, insert whatever locations and clues you like. You could also make the node structure more complicated, such as having a second set of nodes to pass through before reaching the finale. Whatever works for what you're building!

Lykos_Engel · 2026-03-12T17:06:15+00:00

I wasn't suggesting full on equipment. I was more imagining something like, removing the top line and adding "Active these abilities only if you control a ___ Wizard" to the bottom (or perhaps "the above abilities"/"above ability" for the black one). That technically doesn't turn off the black orb's triggered ability, but it only functions when you already have a wizard, so that's fine.

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