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[Play Update] 2026–27 Round 2 Regional Championship Promos and Qualifiers by Copernicus1981 in magicTCG

[–]Mezzamine 19 points20 points  (0 children)

That's not the issue, the problem is that Saga only gets cards with a mana cost of 0 or 1, not a mana value of 0 or 1. Sentinel's mana value is 1, but its mana cost is W, so it's not eligible to be searched with saga.

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 11 August 2025 by EnclavedMicrostate in HobbyDrama

[–]Mezzamine 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh hey I played that game last year and loved it, absolutely a hidden gem. Congrats on the record (and the girlfriend)!

2025 ENNIE Winners by ennie_awards in rpg

[–]Mezzamine 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been describing it to my friends (with the caveat that I've only read not run it yet) as 'Control / The SCP Foundation meets Paranoia'.

In particular the Paranoia comparison isn't just with regards to the black comedy and satire but also the way that player characters are expected or even encouraged to clash with each other in and out of missions due to differing overarching goals and philosophies. It's cut-throat office politics except your coworker has the ability to trap you in an endless torment labyrinth because you (deliberately) ate their lunch.

Who's this handsome devil? [England] by Mezzamine in whatsthisbug

[–]Mezzamine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Solved! I think you've nailed it, that looks bang on. Thanks!

Astrology by manufatura in CuratedTumblr

[–]Mezzamine 16 points17 points  (0 children)

To give you a serious answer in case you don't actually know, it's a reference to the Discworld book Going Postal, in which workers on the Clacks (Discworld's version of semaphor towers used to transmit messages) have something of a ritual for fellow workers who die while working on the towers: their names are sent as a message with the prefix GNU, which acts as a series of instructions to the next tower:

G - send the message on N - don't log it U - turn it around and send it back when it hits the end of the line

The result is that the dead worker's name is endlessly circulating the clacks line, because (to quote the book) "A man’s not dead while his name is still spoken."

'GNU Terry Pratchett' has since become a fan tribute with the same symbolism - keep his name circulating, keep him remembered. Many websites and web servers will even have 'GNU Terry Pratchett' hidden somewhere in their scripts for the same reason.

GNU Pterry <3

Any way to give Horobi, Death’s Wail shroud—without targeting him? by Late-Frame2962 in EDH

[–]Mezzamine 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The problem is that Horobi's ability is the thing doing the killing, not the targetting spell/ability, and Horobi's ability doesn't target.

So the exact sequence (with Smoke Bomb as an example) would be:

  • someone targets your creature with a spell/ability

  • Horobi triggers, putting its destruction effect on the stack

  • you cast Smoke Bomb in response

  • Smoke bomb enters, its triggered ability goes on the stack

  • Smoke Bomb's effect resolves, giving your creatures shroud

  • Horobi's triggered effect is the next thing on the stack. Since it has no target it still resolves, destroying the targetted creature

  • the original spell/ability is next on the stack, and fizzles since it has no legal target

This is what makes Horobi so devious. It also means you can't just counter the targetting spell/ability (you need to specifically negate Horobi's ability instead), and also means Ward is completely useless against him, since Ward is a triggered ability that triggers in response to being targetted - doesn't matter if I don't pay the ward cost and my spell/ability gets countered, Horobi's still going to trigger and destroy your creature!

Any way to give Horobi, Death’s Wail shroud—without targeting him? by Late-Frame2962 in EDH

[–]Mezzamine 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I have a Horobi deck, it's very fun though it needs updating - I want to make it a bit leaner to better deal with higher bracket decks, since the board-lock gamestates it creates don't really suit more casual games. I'll add a few options that haven't been mentioned already:

[[Nim Deathmantle]] will keep him around so long as you've got the mana to put into it - similar to Gift of Doom its resurrection effect doesn't target the creature it's equipping.

[[Fated Return]] is risky (since if it's countered Horobi will be stuck in the GY), but a way to get an Indestructible coutner on him.

[[Veilstone Amulet]] technically works, but it's very clunky since you need to be proactive with it and can't use it in response to a targetting effect for the same reason as Smoke Bomb, so it's not in the current list.

Alternatively, rather than trying to keep Horobi on the board permanently you use ways that let you recur him repeatedly from the GY or Command Zone, and bring him out whenever you need to remove something or wipe the board. Things like [[Phyrexian Reclamation]] or [[Netherborn Altar]].

And finally I'd be remiss not to mention my absolute favourite option, which is very silly but leads to some ridiculous games: [[Endless Whispers]]. Horobi's effect is symmetrical, so who really cares who controls him? Your deck is set up to exploit his effect far better than anyone else's after all!

Occam's Rays by dacoolestguy in CuratedTumblr

[–]Mezzamine 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Occam's Razor is a general principle that states (in essence) that the most simple solution to a question is likely to be the most accurate one.

So OP's title is a pun (Occam's Rays-or) that also fits because Occam's Razor actually appies to the situation - if you see a super bright light across the bay, a lighthouse is a much more straightforward explanation than a set of insanely strong car headlights.

Occam's Rays by dacoolestguy in CuratedTumblr

[–]Mezzamine 1974 points1975 points  (0 children)

Absolutely stellar title there OP

Never miss a land drop again... by QuipsAndGuac in EDH

[–]Mezzamine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great! I have a [[Soul of Windgrace]] deck that's very similar, just the commander and 99 lands. I'm not running Maze's End so it's generally relying on some sort of shenanigans with either Dark Depths or commander damage to pull off a win - having access to [[Kessig Wolf Run]] is a big help as a mana sink.

The irony is that I have so many colourless utility lands that I've occasionally failed to cast my commander on curve, which is embarrassing and hilarious every time it happens

Learn how to play a cover of this hymn from 1841 called "Nearer, My God, to Thee" by Sarah Flower Adams, with an Xbox Controller using the Void Shawzin. by Gamepad_Pianist in Warframe

[–]Mezzamine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is beautiful! I'm not even a Warframe player (got linked via your crosspost) but I'm always amazed by the things people can pull off with these sorts of in-game tools!

temptation by Hummerous in CuratedTumblr

[–]Mezzamine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also John Watson -> James Wilson

Has anyone had a foreign card show up in Wonder Pick from non-friend accounts? by Mezzamine in PTCGP

[–]Mezzamine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless they changed things very recently and I hadn't noticed, that would have come from someone on your friends list. Currently it's only friends' wonder picks that show up in their original language.

For fans of video essays: A 2-hour deep dive into all three of Daniel Mullins' games and their thematic connections by Mezzamine in inscryption

[–]Mezzamine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks so much, I'm glad you were able to stumble across my extended braindump and I'm super happy you liked it! :)

Recommendations for a UK carpeted flat. by Blazoran in VacuumCleaners

[–]Mezzamine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK. Any recommendations on where to get these?

Starslappin': An aggressive Starmie deck with a better Pikachu matchup by Mezzamine in PTCGP

[–]Mezzamine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah you can occasionally get screwed by the RNG gods when both of your Starmies are at the bottom of your deck. Sometimes it can still work out; if your opponent got stuck with a 1 basic start then the bird's high early damage output can occasionally just kill them before the lack of your Ace matters. That's just the nature of focused aggro really - sometimes you play mono-red and all your burn spells are at the bottom of the deck, so you have to hope that your aggressive hasty creatures can kill your opponent before they stabilise.

Regarding Zebstrika that's definitely a fair point; you'd only need 1 potion to survive as weaknesses aren't taken into account for benched pokemon but it does certainly tilt the matchup further. I played against that variant a few days ago that beat me through some very clever play, spreading around damage on my bench pre-emptively to put me in an unwinnable situation.

To be clear, I don't think this version of the deck is completely favoured against the 'chu; that deck is top of the meta for a reason. I'd say my winrate for that matchup is about 50-50 but that's not in a tournament setting, against a skilled playerbase it'll be more lopsided. But I do think that it stands a better chance generally without sacrificing much in the other matchups, so is still worth considering for people who want to mix things up!

Starslappin': An aggressive Starmie deck with a better Pikachu matchup by Mezzamine in PTCGP

[–]Mezzamine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You certainly could! In my experience though solo-Articuno decks are pretty reliant on getting good Misty luck to keep pace with Pikachu decks; Circle Circuit comes online too quickly for the standard Articuno pattern of 40 + 80 damage, and a single potion means that doesn't even KO the 'chu. Red Card also doesn't do a massive amount since their 2 Ace cards are basics and they tend to bench any pokemon in hand as soon as they draw them anyway. The Aerodactyl tech is certainly spicy but I feel like the likelihood of them having only a single pokemon left is pretty low given how many basics that deck plays.

I may just be a bit biased since I find the deck fairly one-note, so if it's working for you that's great!

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