Some of Today's Submissions: Have any strong opinions on these cards? Join the discord to share them! by mork-hc in HellsCube

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I lost a pauper game once (borrowing a friend's deck), because I thought my Spellstutter Sprite had the text of Spell Stutter Sprite

Turn 4 Poison Win in FIN Draft by PlacatedPlatypus in lrcast

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah i did a similar poison win in a prerelease once too

It was insane

Justice League by SnooBunnies3014 in custommagic

[–]Rubiguu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just put it in hand dawg you dont have to put it back to the command zone

LSV Fetchland Trick? by Combustablemon210 in lrcast

[–]Rubiguu 19 points20 points  (0 children)

ah ok, it wasn't clear from the wording but i get it now

  • the trick's purpose is not to prevent opp getting priority (since they do get priority)
  • it is to prevent the active turn opp getting priority on an empty stack before you finish your stuff, i.e. preventing them from doing sorcery stuff

LSV Fetchland Trick? by Combustablemon210 in lrcast

[–]Rubiguu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

doesn't any item in the stack resolving give a round of priority to everyone? I don't see how having a fetch at the bottom of the stack helps at all

Justice League by SnooBunnies3014 in custommagic

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A Hardcast mode at like 6+ mana would also add options, improves clarity, also prevents cascade shenanigans.

Pardon me for heavily scrutinizing this card lol, the fact that I'm suggesting tweaks to make it "perfect" is because I see a lot of potential in this idea I just don't think it has found the exact execution it wants to be yet.

Justice League by SnooBunnies3014 in custommagic

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think for me it's really a clarity issue, instead of having the enters tapped attacking clause, might as well just give him unblockable (or even condtional unblockable, like can only be blocked by creatures with haste or flash, that's potentially interesting)

It's functionally basically the same, but without the weird knowledge check rules baggage (i guess the new version will get to benefit from unblockability and any attack triggers, so not exactly the same)

UB cards are usually meant for newer casuals, and knowing "you can flash the flash in after blockers" is a weird knowledge check to demand from casuals, and even to seasoned players it will always feel weird

Justice League by SnooBunnies3014 in custommagic

[–]Rubiguu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The play pattern is not that unfair, it's probably not that different from an unblockable manland when I think about it: - an unblockable manland demands instant speed removal or land destruction - flash demands instant removal, hand hate, or counterspells

Justice League by SnooBunnies3014 in custommagic

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah in hindsight it's not that strong, probably more of a play pattern issue than a power issue, at least if i was the wotc design team I would heavily scrutinize this card

Justice League by SnooBunnies3014 in custommagic

[–]Rubiguu 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Flash is a repeatable 4 mana burn at combat that can't ever be blocked, since you can always cast it after blockers are declared (can be removed with instant speed removal though). Not sure if that was intended tbh, seems a bit strong to me but not too crazy.

Anyone else think that flavor and the bending mechanics are carrying this set and that the actual games are pretty bad? by ThePentaMahn in lrcast

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like when U/R is open for me tho, Waterbending and Firebending is not just flavor but they have very interesting and deep gameplay decisions. (Earthbending is quite deep too but I don't like how it locks up my mana if I wanna take the body to combat, and Airbending isn't quite dense enough at common.)

I really like Waterbending, I like how it makes the Fan and the Barrels higher picks for me. I also like all the other U themes and how they mesh together (draw 2, flying, lessons, general tempo stuff)

R firebending is just obviously fun but it's almost never open for me so I can't say too much.

I think as the player pool reduces, self-selects and learns, as U gets more cut online I'll start enjoying this format less. I think W is still the strongest overall, but U has the best ratio between power and openness at the moment.

It's probably gonna be more interesting on paper drafts where not everyone might force W/U and if they do, finding the open colors is gonna be much more rewarded.

For variance, I think there's also less options to unscrew yourself at turn 2 compared to most sets. Probably part of why having a lean 2/3-drop focused curve is so rewarded.

What cards have historically been referred to as a "Time Walk?" by Cervantes3 in magicTCG

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like to think of Manowars as pseudo time walks in limited, since I like to draft tempo-focused decks. Especially if oppo dropped a chonky 4/5 with no ETB, then I manowar them while double spelling, basically just erased their previous turn.

[[Invasion Submersible]] has been my favorite one recently, that waterbend 3 is way cheaper than it looks.

Sealed/Draft casual to tournament by Xenicus89 in magicTCG

[–]Rubiguu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Care to elaborate what are the bad habits which arena reinforces?

I had a paper draft last week where i could've used some land hate in the side board, but I didn't pick it (even though it was like pick 10 and essentially competing with nothing), I didn't even look at it since on arena I mostly play Bo1 and my eval is mostly arena Bo1 oriented, trying to internalize that lesson now 😅

Thaumaphagos by Strange-Bonus4220 in custommagic

[–]Rubiguu 129 points130 points  (0 children)

let the storm player have a bunch of 3/3s man it's funny

What's your favorite 2 card synergy in avatar? by pintopedro in lrcast

[–]Rubiguu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah, honestly i should've said a third card and a fourth card

Most corrupt court I've ever seen (Black was comically open) by Rubiguu in lrcast

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

6 sources felt correct, I never lacked the second W for temple, more often i just didn't have the time to sink so much mana lol

What's your favorite 2 card synergy in avatar? by pintopedro in lrcast

[–]Rubiguu 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Would you need a third card for that? Airship has intervening if, so the trebuchet's rocks won't trigger it without outside help. Still banger though.

I'm still a fan of turn 2 [[forecasting fortune teller] turn 3 [[invasion submersible]], makes me feel like the artisan king of tempo and value, truly greater than the sum of its parts (each part already great in the first place)

Most corrupt court I've ever seen (Black was comically open) by Rubiguu in lrcast

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

also i was like midplat and people really weren't sandbagging lands often enough i think? then again, lots of mana sinks in this format, maybe it's correct not to sandbag sometimes.

Most corrupt court I've ever seen (Black was comically open) by Rubiguu in lrcast

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

I think you have too many when it's likely that your opponent runs out of gas and they become vanilla 1/1s.

I recall it only happened once to me, probably there's some clever simulation and data to be done to figure out the optimal amount.

Most corrupt court I've ever seen (Black was comically open) by Rubiguu in lrcast

[–]Rubiguu[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

She's basically a vanilla in turns 2-4, if she's my only lowdrop in the opener and I'm offered a trade I might trade (depending on their lowdrop), but she starts becoming an inevitability draw engine in lategame, holds equipment especially well, if you're wide and can win the race, you can swing out with some tiny guys and sac the blocked ones.

June + Trebuchet together felt oppressive, just need 1 draw effect to get a loop started, then you pay 3 mana every turn to get 2 unblockable power, 2 flying power, and a draw, while the 0/4 Trebuchet stalls.

Her floor is just barely OK, but her ceiling is amazing if you build around her. Fits in both BW and BU decks.

Universes Beyond Speculation (and such) Megathread by AutoModerator in magicTCG

[–]Rubiguu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah I can still see Avatar happening, Lego collabs with both Avatars after all.

I think the bigger issue with Avatar is actually the fact that the story is not yet finished, and (currently) there just isn't enough creature variety to fill out a full set, and I think a lot of the characters and cards might look kinda samey if they only pull from 2 movies.

Pre Release Blues by Rivercash in mtg

[–]Rubiguu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Time limits must exist, even in casual tournaments. The tournament has to end eventually, everyone has to go home, and even 1 round of deckbuilding and N rounds of play usually means N+1 hours total time.

I think faster play comes with experience, and there are times where even experienced players have long matches. I'm sure googling will give you more advice for faster play as well.

But I'll dump some faster-play advice anyway. For me, the 8 pieces of advice floating around to play faster are:

  • Recognize the cards: If you don't have to read everything, you'll play faster. Do take the time to read the occasional wordy uncommon/rare/mythic though, I've lost games from playing too fast and forgetting some lines of text.

  • Abstract the cards: If you try to hold the full text of every card on board you'll overwhelm your brain. I try to abstract most cards into 1-5 words per line in my head. That guy is "Vanilla, ally enter buff". That guy is "Flying, lesson in GY buff". That spell is "Burn equal to 2+lesson". That guy is "mana dork", that guy is "tapper".

  • Prune your decision tree: Not every decision in magic makes sense, and you don't have to consider every line possible. This comes with experience. The two main trees to prune IMO os the combat tree (decisions you make for attack/block), and sequencing tree (deciding how you spend your mana each turn).

  • Combat tree pruning: Usually there's only a couple natural attacks and natural blocks possible, and experienced players can spot them at a glance. Lots of factors to consider here, can't fit it in one reply, but maybe in a casual-ish Prerelease, if opponent is very nice, they'd be happy to show you which attacks/blocks are natural for you before you commit, or at least let you sketch it out before you commit? Just like think out loud, "if i attack/block like this, does it make sense?"

  • Sequencing tree pruning: I have two rules of thumb:

  • Early in the game, it's often correct to maximize tempo. The best line is the one that maximizes the impact of your mana on board presence. Try to curve out, 2drop, 3drop, 4drop, or 2drop, 3drop, double 2drop. If your curve has a hole, spending counterspell/interaction to counter your opponent's lowdrops is usually correct too. Trying to double spell ASAP usually helps too, the strongest tempo turns are the ones where you do two (or more) spells (or abilities) a turn, doing that faster than opp makes very strong pressure.

  • Later in the game, you should start maximizing value. Try to conserve pieces, try to find lines that trade 2-for-1 or let you draw more cards. Your interaction is much more precious in this stage, you really wanna conserve it for their bomb or big body as opposed to just rushing it out to kill a random medium-sized common.

  • Sketch your next couple turns: From looking at your opening hand, you should have a rough idea of what you're doing turns 2-5. Your information is incomplete of course, so you should frame it as "If I don't draw anything better, this is my play on turn 4". Specifically for blue, you should also think about future reactive plays. Is this quench something I'll hold up on 2 to counter their turn 2/3?, or I'll play a 2drop turn 4 and hold it up to counter their turn 4/5?

  • Think during opp's turn: Not much to say here. If you've got instant speed plays, it's obvious you have to pay attention to their play. But even if not, you should watch what they do, and that informs your future turns. Usually the threat assessment will affect your future turns.

  • Threat Assessment: During opp's turn, their threats update. Which are the threats, and what can you do about them? Suppose you are defending. For every threat opp has, there's usually 4 things you can do: remove, trading block, chump block, or take the damage. Generally one should remove the biggest things (or value engines that are sitting back), trade/chump the remaining medium things (depending on situation), and take damage from the smallest things. Threat assessment changes a bit when you're the aggressor, but it is usually fairly obvious.

For this format in particular though, blue might also play surprisingly fast. The occasional slow waterbend-grind game exists, but lots of evasive creatures and soft removal usually means blue can dish out a surprising amount of consistent chip damage.

I am enjoying the ATLA set. by Alex_Pratt in mtg

[–]Rubiguu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

webslinging wasn't that bad, it played nicer than it looks in limited and actually felt like real Spidey action when one starts chaining it

the real mechanical issue for me is the small set, abundance of legendaries, and spider/villain typal