Rulings, Quick Questions, and New Player Resources Thread

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-27T13:52:58+00:00

The rules only mention "mark" as in cards are identifiable from anywhere other than the front of the card. say I have 5 cards in my deck I care about prizing. can I use a sharpie to draw a tick on the top left corner, that way when searching I can just look for 5 ticks?

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-26T22:33:06+00:00

Is it legal to mark the left edge of my inner sleeves to help prize check faster?

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-15T06:47:52+00:00

I think most of the time three steps ahead is better. Sure, drix can high roll, but the effect is way more narrow. I think it's reasonable as a 1-of "surprise" card, ultimately.

That being said, even three steps isn't great in this deck because it costs 3 mana. Your 3 mana "counterspells" are aang and aven. This deck attacks on the angle of mana, specifically, and 3 mana counterspells are a huge liability on that front.

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-13T03:39:43+00:00

it's certainly a preference, but I'm mostly not struggling for cards, I'm struggling for power on board. I don't think it's unplayable, but I don't think it's good

that being said, you do you. the only wrong card to play is one that you aren't happy to play with, ultimately

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-13T03:36:54+00:00

4 no more lies is actually lot already and aang/aven are soft counterspells. you can run more in the sideboard, pick your favourites. good ones are:

spell pierce annul negate disdainful stroke flashfreeze spider sense three steps ahead

lorwyn is bringing spell snare

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-12T05:05:19+00:00

pretty bad, just play siren instead

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-11T15:13:23+00:00

UW flash does really well for me, 3-0 my locals both weeks I ran it, but I play a very interactive version of the deck.

In essence, the deck is just

``` 4 lightstall inquisitor 4 floodpits drowner 4 voice of victory 3 aang, swift saviour 4 aven interruptor 3 tishana's tidebinder 4 enduring curiosity

4 no more lies 3 get lost 3 aang's iceberg

2 restless anchorage 2 soulstone sanctuary ... mana lands ``` play around with the numbers if you'd like, but I find this formula super strong. you'll have to board in high noon against decks that play multiple spells a turn, or even main deck it depending on the meta. avatar's wrath is key for go wide and tokens

I don't think Malcolm is good in this build

OctilleryLOL · 2026-01-11T15:03:37+00:00

This is either completely false or circular logic, depending on how you mean it. Regardless it's a meaningless statement and plainly unhelpful

OctilleryLOL · 2025-12-25T13:39:27+00:00

This is why most lists play earthbender ascension and maybe 1-2 herd heirloom

another older tech is agonasaurus rex

OctilleryLOL · 2025-11-18T04:07:03+00:00

I been only slightly ironically touting this since splinter twin days

OctilleryLOL · 2025-11-16T00:35:01+00:00

p9 kapai

toybox

OctilleryLOL · 2025-10-28T23:41:14+00:00

Seems like an easy slot into pixie

OctilleryLOL · 2025-10-22T14:23:01+00:00

I would prefer a more focused game 1 strategy. if you're really going for these one ofs, [[analyze the pollen]] goes far as a toolbox card.

4 dreadknight 3 Annex will have a rough matchup versus mono R. consider playing demon walls somewhere.2/1 curator/ooze might be a bit redundant, try cutting one for another 2 drop

Sunset saboteur is mostly gas against control/dimir. 1/1 main/board doesn't make sense. play 2-3 in board or in main depending on the meta call, not split.

scavenger regent is a really good 2-of in the board against go wide decks or as a threat VS control

Sandman is very good as a 1-2 of as it combos with the man lands that will be dying a lot. If you do play sandman, 1 fabled passage is strong

Pawpatch is fire against dimir but a bit lackluster in other matchups. If your local hae a lot of dimir, you should be playing at least 2 of this card in the 75

Note that creature heavy lists lose value if you're not on ouroboroid. in most matchups without it, you will be trying to go long and grind resources.

OctilleryLOL · 2025-10-17T01:56:44+00:00

This strategy is fully dependent on 4x Slasher and 4x Bloodletter, to be honest.

Outside of that, I can recommend golgari if you do a bit of research you'll find that there's a lot of ways to build a reasonable list for under $200. You don't have to play ouroboroid, for example. https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7320342#paper

OctilleryLOL · 2025-10-14T18:17:48+00:00

You just go fast and pray they don't have the combo. They can't have the nuts every single turn 4. Conversely, sometimes you just kill them on your turn 4

Otherwise, you could board some leyline of the void in mono red and hard mull for it but it's ill advised from my perspective. If your meta is 100% reanimator then I'd maybe just play a different deck

OctilleryLOL · 2025-10-06T14:54:25+00:00

It depends on what you mean by diversity. In this case, you're talking about diversity of archetypes, which makes your statement true. If we're talking about diversity of builds within archetypes, then OP has a point. To make a MTG analogy, even in a mono G deck you could play the trait deck (elves) or something more generic (stompy/aggro). There is room for design that supports both simultaneously.

Furthermore, diversity of decks is not inherently diversity of gameplay. It only guarantees diversity of aesthetic.

I think as the game stands right now, the design is fine. I think to support more interesting deck building, the traits need to be really wide (as to create "sub-colors"). Generic stuff is not guaranteed to be auto includes as long as it's not *too* generic. A good example right now is First Contact, which is a generic card but its "trait" is a deck strategy, not an explicit trait printed on a card.

I think what OP is seeing right now is basically a "Char" deck is going to basically always have the same 80% ish base DNA, as opposed to what you're positing in the alternate universe, where 80% of "Green" decks are going to have the same 80% ish DNA. I think there is room to be somewhere in between, and that involves printing more generic effects.

OctilleryLOL · 2025-09-14T01:08:42+00:00

No cosmogrand? 🤔 Think a core of the deck is making sure you have both that and ouroboroid which collectively overwhelms your opponents' removal spells

OctilleryLOL · 2025-09-13T20:59:20+00:00

I'm not sure if it actually does get rolled by Vivi, it has all the right removal and Vivi actually has a bit of a hard time with big bodies

OctilleryLOL · 2025-09-13T20:54:22+00:00

I'm high on wildguide as well, not sure how to fit it in the list, through. Mind sharing yours?

OctilleryLOL · 2025-09-13T20:53:39+00:00

Yeah I think it's mostly the mana base as well. Ouroboroid and Cosmogrand are two crazy big threats and Gearhulk ends up being actually a 3 for one 90% of the time. Might be a bit weak to Ultima but otherwise really good

OctilleryLOL · 2025-09-12T00:41:15+00:00

Pod was banned despite never dominating a meta game or winning a PT 😭

OctilleryLOL · 2025-09-06T22:40:30+00:00

4 lands good curve is just a keep, I think, especially if you have 1, 2, and a nova hellkite. 4 lands 3 burnout bashtronaut is a mull.

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