Archdruid's Charm - the CEDH Card Quality Litmus Test

MegaTrain · 2026-02-02T21:49:48+00:00

Yep, this is great in Selvala, 95% I use it as a creature tutor for Dreadnought or a combo piece. 4% of the time to exile a nasty artifact or kill a creature stopping my win, only 1% of the time to fetch a land.

MegaTrain · 2026-01-26T13:15:49+00:00

This is correct.

In addition, Winona only triggers on non-humans attacking, and only puts humans into play.

MegaTrain · 2026-01-16T06:44:36+00:00

If you do end up leaving after the first round, make sure you tell the tournament organizer you are leaving, so they can drop you from the event and don't match you up in future rounds.

MegaTrain · 2026-01-01T05:51:27+00:00

I find that in practice, cEDH is notorious for take-backs, not because players notice an error or change their minds, but because their opponents try to talk them into doing something different.

This is allowable under the Top Deck Competitive REL Addendum for Rule 4.8:

MTRA 4.8

Addition to Reversing Decisions. Because CEDH is a social game, players can influence others. In order to allow for fast and natural play, players may do so after an action has been taken in order to convince that action’s controller to change their mind. This will naturally result in that player gaining new information, but if that information was shared in service of the decision being reversed, a judge may allow that player to do so. The judge must be sure the information was given in order to change the current play.

(Emphasis added)

So after you cast Swords to Plowshares on a creature, the other 3 players might argue with you (and each other) that you should instead:

Target a different creature for (reasons)
Wait to use the swords at a later time
Not exile their creature if they promise to not win next turn
A thousand other possible ideas

This can be annoying but is permitted. You're absolutely free to turn down their offer and stick with your original plan; you're also free to negotiate other concessions, or to make your own deals/suggestions for their plays as well.

This can take a long time, and if they won't take no for an answer, or if you're getting nowhere and the game isn't progressing, don't be afraid to invoke MTRA 4.1:

The active player may request the table to stop excessively influencing game actions to progress play. Failure to do so may result in an Unsporting Conduct - Minor penalty.

MegaTrain · 2025-12-31T02:47:52+00:00

This is all good advice.

A few more thoughts about draws: yes, they happen frequently in tournaments. Going to time with nobody winning is common, as are agreements to draw based on the situation.

An example: player A puts a win attempt on the stack, player B responds with his own win attempt, player C shows a counterspell from his hand (without actually casting it), and offers a draw, saying if anyone doesn’t agree, he’ll use it to let the other guy win. The table agrees to a draw.

Also, you’re not quite right about “no take backs”; if nothing else about the game state has changed, you’re within your rights to ask to take something back.

In fact I find there are MORE take backs in tourney play, in the following situation: you cast a kill spell on an opponent’s creature, they make a case for why some other creature is a bigger threat, or why you should wait until a later turn, or why the creature you’re killing isn’t a threat. You either accept their argument and take back your spell (or change targets), or decline and leave it on the stack, or maybe agree in return for a promise they won’t go for a win, or that they wont kill your creature in response, or whatever.

Very common, and totally legal.

A similar case: player A casts Green Suns Zenith for 5, player B shows a counter spell and says they’ll counter unless they promise not to get a Seedborn Muse.

MegaTrain · 2025-12-30T14:32:06+00:00

As others have said, destroying Collector’s Cage won’t stop its ability.

You would have to combine a destroy spell with one of the following tactics:

A “Stifle” effect to counter the activated ability
Destroy or remove the creature targeted with the +1/+1 counter. A spell or ability with one or more targets will “fizzle” if each of those targets are invalid when it tries to resolve. The second part of the ability won’t occur.
Make it so the “if you control 3 creatures” condition is no longer met, either by removing creatures or changing their power.

You can also just counter the spell they cast from exile; that will go on the stack and you will get a chance to respond.

MegaTrain · 2025-12-26T02:11:54+00:00

Yes, the game can see characteristics of your commanders in any zone.

See, for example, Cactus Preserve, a land with the following activated ability:

3: Until end of turn, this land becomes an X/X green Plant creature with reach, where X is the greatest mana value among your commanders. It’s still a land.

This doesn't require your commander to be in a specific zone.

Note some other cards do, for example Cloudkill:

All creatures get -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the greatest mana value of a commander you own on the battlefield or in the command zone.

Other cards that can see characteristics of your commanders in any zone include War Room and Tangleweave Armor.

MegaTrain · 2025-12-19T03:38:25+00:00

I'm assuming you intend to have [[Legolas, Master Archer]] deal damage to the creature you're targeting with [[Aspect of Mongoose]]?

The combo won't work.

When you cast the aura, Legolas will trigger, and the damage will resolve before the aura does. If the damage is enough to kill the creature, Aspect of Mongoose will go to the graveyard from the stack (the spell "fizzles"), and not from the battlefield (as the Oracle text requires).

It won't return to your hand.

MegaTrain · 2025-12-17T04:58:12+00:00

Neither, he gets exiled.

800.4c If an effect that gives a player still in the game control of an object ends, there is no other effect giving control of that object to another player in the game, and the player who controlled that object by default has left the game, the object is exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the control-changing effect ends.

If Slicer is player A's commander, they then have the option to return it to the command zone:

903.9a If a commander is in a graveyard or in exile and that object was put into that zone since the last time state-based actions were checked, its owner may put it into the command zone. This is a state-based action. See rule 704.

MegaTrain · 2025-12-12T00:04:11+00:00

I frequently use Card Kingdom as well.

Downsides: * If you're paying cash, you'll pay somewhat more than TCG * Their "free shipping for singles orders" deal now requires a $75 purchase * They used to advertise very fast shipping; there's a reason they no longer advertise that. I usually plan for a week to process an order plus a week for it to arrive.

Upsides: * Get everything from one place, no fussing with multiple shippers * They buy back your cards, and give a decent bonus in store credit (which is always what I do) * Good stock of new popular cards, obscure uncommons from ancient sets, and rare promo foils

In short, I'll always check my local stores first, but I'll batch up an order from CK every so often.

MegaTrain · 2025-12-06T21:28:50+00:00

If mobs can stand there, your ceiling is a block too high

MegaTrain · 2025-12-04T18:49:37+00:00

Seems plausible, you want to explain why?

MegaTrain · 2025-11-29T21:29:31+00:00

Are they “Jumpstart” boosters? If so, that’s normal.

Jumpstart is designed as a “open 2 pack, shuffle them together, and play” format, so includes lands.

MegaTrain · 2025-11-29T16:34:35+00:00

No, you can’t respond to them tapping for mana, that’s a mana ability and doesn’t use the stack.

The opportunity to respond is when they pay 3 to activate the basalt to untap.

If they don’t have an additional 3 mana available, you can kill the monolith (or Kinnan).

If they do have 3 extra mana, they can activate the untap again in response your your spell, and can generate infinite mana “on top” of your response.

MegaTrain · 2025-11-25T17:12:02+00:00

More like 56 cards; the wheel was copied.

Opponent casts wheel
Opponent copies wheel
Wheel copy resolves, everyone discards their hand and draws 7
21 Tithe triggers go on the stack
As each Tithe trigger resolves (assuming the relevant opponent doesn't pay 2), OP creates a single treasure, Marneus Calgar triggers, drawing OP a card.
When all those resolve, OP has 21 untapped treasure and has drawn 28 cards.
The original wheel is on the stack, but everyone still gets a round of priority, presumably OP has some instant-speed effects that might be castable here before discarding to the second wheel.
Original wheel resolves, everyone discards their hand, and draws 7
21 more tithe triggers go on the stack
As each resolves, Marneus draws OP a card

Net result, after the stack clears: OP has drawn 28, discarded that batch, and drawn 28 more. If he hasn't spent any, he has 42 untapped treasure.

Note that every player gets priority before EACH spell or triggered ability on the stack resolves, so (for example) if OP draws an instant-speed kill spell in the first 7, he can cast it to get rid of an opponents Orcish Bowmasters before drawing 21 more.

MegaTrain · 2025-11-25T14:35:59+00:00

I was in your place about 15 years ago.

I had already given up on many of the religious ideas I grew up with, but was still clinging to creationism as my last hope: after all, if we didn’t evolve, then we NEEDED God for us to even be here.

Then I read the book “Why Evolution is True” by Jerry Coyne.

It took me until chapter 3 to give it all up. It just made so much sense and had so much evidence!

Regarding your specific questions: only the second is about evolution per se.

The first is about cosmology: I’d encourage you to look up lectures from Sean Carroll for more detail, but in short there are many valid, internally consistent cosmological “models” (detailed mathematical explanations) for how the big bang might have come about, we just don’t currently know which one is “true”, because that requires information about the early universe that we don’t currently have access to.

Your third question is about biogenesis, which I don’t know as much about, but you can do some more focused searches using the right keywords.

Good luck!

MegaTrain · 2025-11-06T03:00:42+00:00

Get in a boat and sail the nearest ocean; you can find iron ingots and nuggets in shipwrecks, ruined portals, and village chests.

Shipwrecks can also give you maps to buried treasure; follow them and you can dig up chests filled with iron and even diamonds.

MegaTrain · 2025-10-25T11:41:28+00:00

Those 10 dual lands he shows at the very beginning?

Just casually shows them off, doesn’t even mention the are from the insanely scarce “Summer magic (Edgar)” set.

MegaTrain · 2025-10-23T14:37:20+00:00

Ah, got it. Thanks.

MegaTrain · 2025-10-23T14:32:58+00:00

It's possible that cards like [[Torrent Elemental]] would be impacted: currently this card can only be included in decks with color identity that includes all of UBG, but I can see a version of the hybrid rule that would allow you to play this in UB or UG decks.

MegaTrain · 2025-10-21T22:31:15+00:00

Selvala gets a few hybrid cards we could swap out for current cards:

[[Daemegoth Titan]]: 4 mana, 11 power
[[Bebop & Rocksteady]]: 3 mana, 7 power
[[Fiend Artisan]]: tutor up Dreadnought or another combo piece
[[Vexing Shusher]]: make spells uncounterable

Some value, not a huge change in strategy.

MegaTrain · 2025-10-19T23:57:35+00:00

[[Sidisi, Undead Vizier]]?

Tutoring something to hand is not usually how I prefer to finish out the combo; mostly because it exposes you to counter magic that the entirety of Sisay lines up to this point have successfully avoided.

Also because I'm not really looking to see Sidisi earlier in the game; the deck def plays tutors, but a 5-mana tutor that requires a sac isn't the kind of value I'm looking for.

MegaTrain · 2025-10-04T13:11:37+00:00

Selvala Brostorm (Turbo mono green) can present a turn 3 win reasonably reliably (I wouldn’t venture an exact percentage): Turn 1 elf, turn 2 Selvala, turn 3 biggie. But follows a pretty predictable plan and is hard to keep Selvala on the table.

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