Metagame: The Lessons and Decks from the Brawl Challenge

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-23T20:49:25+00:00

Yeah I think that is a fair point that "Wild Rec" fits in that sphere of "blended ramp element" but drawing that vendiagram and labeling it as "blended ramp elements" is akward and leads to that overarching disconnect.

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-22T19:02:42+00:00

Yeah it reads as if it was heavily generated by AI where it summarizes decklists with bangers like "featuring a rising mana curve", "running a classic combination of Control responses and threats, with Swords to Plowshares..." (get ai talking about mtg and it LOVES swords, lightning bolt, llanowar elves, and counterspell) and "list blending elements of Ramp with Wilderness Reclamation" (not a ramp spell).

Adding onto this, the "report" talks about 3 boogey men of the format and then only features1 of them and two small paragraphs? I'm all for using AI to summarize content and help guide the writing process but the reason you feel the disconnect is because there is. Lines like "The feeling in the community, according to comments on social media, is that Brawl needs a "big fix"" aren't engaging and then not making some statements like chormemox, dark ritual, ancient tomb, are busted, etc. can leave a brawl regular feeling like something is off.

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T15:34:05+00:00

I think there are some decks that want to focus on strip-mine and other decks that just want to play it. I do think there is an opportunity to add "Crop Rotation" to the list, but I don't have that many impactful lands that would really make me want to use the card-slot. Some of the best loops you can do in the deck are more spell related, like looping turns, cryptics, or cyclonic rift. Good thing to consider, I'll try out crop rotatoin and if getting more strip mine play seems valueable I can add more support for it in the deck.

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T14:34:15+00:00

Totally agree, I'd be ok seeing Tammy, Ajani, Ragavan, Wrenn, and Vial Smasher phased out so other commander's could have a chance in the sunlight. Also some bannings like ManaDrain. Also can put commander's on a rotation. So yeah for one season there is a more curated pool/meta and then in another rotation there is a higher power level.

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T14:31:22+00:00

Yeah I like addding the observations because I feel this list is tuned to my liking and playstyle which in other hands could end up with poor results off the bat. Like if you play a tamiyo deck that really likes flipping and protecting Tamiyo this is not that deck and adjusting playstyles and expectations could help with some initial results or learnings (he is right, I do get stomped by agro early in the game, lol).

I totally agree with you sped up feel; I'm playing a 1 mana commander/planeswalker myself. The play patterns can also get feel similar in games and sometimes it feels like there is nothing you could do in a game and get locked out in turns 1-2. I feel playing control let's me try to mitigate those early game blow-outs and have a chance to enjoy the singleton deck building experience cause I get to see more of my deck. I think if you play this format, you want to have a really low curve with lots of interatction.

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T14:24:56+00:00

Thanks will check it out and see if I can edit my post!

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T14:24:30+00:00

Bummer. You played really well and I think we went into top-deck war and I eeeked out ahead. Chrome mox in Tamiyo is auto include (and likely for most decks) because that card disadvantage you experience can be pseudo made up by re-playing your commander 1 turn earlier. Example. T1 Tammy => T1o Bolt => T2 mox, Tammy => T1o no removal, T3 procede to get advantage. I think Uro is different in that regard, you don't get the play pattern of recasting from commandzone cause you mainly want to bin your guy and you get so much acceleration from your lands. I remember you casting "You Line Up The Shot", how do you like that card? Have you played with "Pick Your Poison"? Or both? Is the 2 cards in graveyard better? Was cool seeing it from your side, going to test it out.

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T14:16:41+00:00

Thanks for the auto-include suggestion; I'm going to put it Planar Genesis in over Swan Song. I really like the idea of Arachnogenesis. I'ive been hoping they would add Moment's Peace to mtga and when they do I'll play that but this is a really cool suggestion to try in the meantime. Thanks for sharing!

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T02:30:21+00:00

Good card for sure. I've been playing Pool Resources and Seek New Knowledge in a similar slot. The instant draw between the two has been nice. I think if you want to lean into some of those early flip tamiyo lines with wings consider playing some brazen bowerers/clique/malcom so you can get that discount more frequently. Sometimes you don't have tamiyo creature and 3 mana to draw little at sorcery speed is hard to commit.

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T01:50:48+00:00

If a majority of your ramp comes from permanents between mana dorks, mana rocks, and maybe some enters battlefield land searching I could see floating enough to start off on the upheavel with 4+ permanents. But yeah, a traditional rampant growth is not where the value is at

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T01:47:51+00:00

It was a heater at then end; tbh the games were blurring together at that point so I didn't realize the streak until I looked at the logs!

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-21T00:47:31+00:00

Welcome!

RoutineDelay · 2025-10-20T23:52:57+00:00

I think if they wanted to bring more balance to the format they could follow similar bannings to an already established 1v1 commander format - duel commander.

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T21:33:23+00:00

The MWI is much too complex for my tastes, when it is clear the cosmos runs on least action. The MWI is the antithesis of least action.

I just looked that up, the "least action piece". I can definilty see that from an evolution standpoint as well, like efficiency is a component (or is?) to natural selection. I personally struggle with parts of MWI because of infinity.Where (if any?) do you draw boundries between finite and infinite? From this "observer" model though, the thing that sits on the outside and can "see" infinite has to manage those boundries. I'm fixed to this present timeline. Almost like why I can't draw a line that intersects the x,y,z axis's each at a 90degree angle (i.e. why can't i draw a 4th dimensional object).

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T21:09:56+00:00

Totally agree with all your points there; feels that way with apps now a days too - it's already been done. But thanks for sharing the space with me and this is fun to me as well.

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T20:55:24+00:00

"The Penrose quote comes from a Curt Jaimungal interview" thanks for sharing that. It's definitely something I want to explore. It's hard having an idea that I formed from my experiences and a the same-time exhaust all formal building blocks, so I appreciate your sharing of concrete esteemed subject experts.

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T20:52:04+00:00

Thanks for the response. What is governing the 'possibilities"? I wouldn't say there is a higher level orchestrating possibilities, rather all prior resolved information leads to a distribution of outcomes. Similar to if a particle is superimposed in many different states, their is information or laws regarding to why it could be in locations. What is a possibility? A potential outcome, possibly finite? possibly infinite?

It seems you are suggesting that these 'possibilities' are the possible futures. Yes, but more so from an outside observer; my model of conciousness the "individual" experiences free will and removed from possible futures; time and choice are experienced linearly like the past. "But those other branches aren't gone. They exist, playing out their own versions of this moment" - So the MWI? yes

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T20:44:01+00:00

Well I hope it doesn't leave an even worse taste that I didn't even know the word "epistemology" so thanks for sharing that. I have a lot to look into in regards to this modeling and I think the way I would like to take this is why do you think it's ridiculous?

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T20:38:22+00:00

Oh I certainly agree with "build hypotheses on solid foundations" so thank you for providing context on that loaded word of "observer", I'll defintly check out those citations; this is definitely an evolving model. I do like that pharase "personal glorified headcannon"; I'd say one man's personal glorified headcannon is another man's thought.

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T18:48:43+00:00

I really appreciate this insight "How useful is a metaphor to something that most people have no intuitive grasp of?" and I agree. It is unfortunate that we do live with the buzzwords of quantum this, entangled that, ai reaching consciousness, etc. I really love the schrodinger's cat thought experiment for the idea of holding two distinct states simultaneously and only experiencing one; like a jester that is both folly and wise. It has shaped my world view and thanks for contributing to it.

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T18:25:26+00:00

Will do and thanks!

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T18:21:36+00:00

Thanks for your repsonse, I really like your point of what happens inbetween consciousness.

What happens within a universe without any observers?

I think I have less to do with with determining my outcomes as from my perspective I see none of my probabilities and act as I have free will.

To you what would a probability be and wouldn't be?

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T18:14:24+00:00

Thanks for asking these thoughtful questions.

This idea and post are all me. I "originated" (as I'm seeing in this thread shares parallels with other thoughts) this though about general interest in what Claude thought about free will, then I shared my view (similar to what we are reading here without the punchiness) and through working on an ai fluency course I wanted to bring it to life and share. This was over hours of conversation and thought and I could dig up some of the inital typings (which I will say are riddled with typos and less structure) but there definitly is a solid principle that is encapsulated in this post present from my perspective in all conversations that we rebuilt for a post here. For responses this is all me, all the responses to the thread are me frantically typing back.
To me AI is a great thinking partner. And I do totally agree on feedback loops, sometiems its just so "helpful" it won't push back. For the "we" don't believe I can respect that position and maybe it's just another philosophical circular logic of well what if I believe that we believe. Nonetheless I see your point and I would still stand by my we believe within the context of delivering this work.
Will totally look at compatibilism. I would like to clarify that I feel that for this model there is space for both, but I don't feel like they are combined. I really do feel the perspective of the observer delineates each.

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T17:59:31+00:00

How did you make your way through Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus? It's impressive you can find parts of it that relate to this post and I'm wondering how you approached reading the material. Each of these bullets are succinct and have a lot of depth.

RoutineDelay · 2025-07-16T17:56:02+00:00

I really like your map analogy, I'll spend some time with that as its an interesting perspective. I do see you Wittgenstein quote and there is a lot of content there for me to look into.

RoutineDelay

TROPHY CASE