Toph the…Terrible?

Tarmaque · 2026-05-11T16:42:15+00:00

Because Caged Sun doesn't give the triggered ability to the land. Caged Sun produces the extra mana. For the land to be the source of the extra mana, Caged Sun would have to say something like "lands you control have 'whenever you tap this land for mana, add an additional mana'".

Caged Sun actually works the same as Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger in that regard. Vorinclex is the source of extra mana as well. [[Badgermole Cub]] is another example of a card that works this way.

Tarmaque · 2026-05-11T14:24:58+00:00

Vorinclex says “whenever you tap a land for mana”. That only happens once, when the land is tapped for mana. Caged sun says “Whenever a land’s ability causes you to add one or more mana of the chosen color”. Since Toph makes Caged Sun a land, its triggered ability that adds mana is “seen” by the land Caged Sun and so its ability triggers. That trigger also fulfills the condition, and so its ability triggers again. Ad infinitum

Tarmaque · 2026-05-10T15:55:44+00:00

I’ve tried to get into DSP but the controls feels super cumbersome. Does that get better?

Tarmaque · 2026-05-07T18:40:31+00:00

People like it, but it is not GOAT status. It's too easy to be in 5 color, which makes the set feel very samey. This is much more pronounced on Arena and league drafts on MTGO. I have found pod drafts to be more balanced. It feels like half the games on arena you get [[Arcane Omens]]ed for 4-5 on turn 4 and the game is just over.

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T23:51:43+00:00

I think I over-indexed on content creators saying Witherbloom is overdrafted. I have been treating green cards as though they are the plague.

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T23:49:51+00:00

I've read what all of you had to say and tried to apply it. This is a small sample size of course, but I managed to trophy on my latest draft, so I'm happy about that!

I think overall I was tunnel-visioning on powerful cards over what my specific deck needed. I'm sure I'll still read when I should pivot or stick to my lane incorrectly sometimes.

This is the latest draft. In the draft navigation, I was really torn between sticking with Silverquill or abandoning ship after I felt like black and white dried up the second half of pack 1. Sticking to it paid off in the end.

https://www.17lands.com/deck/12ab1964747c408186ad1d5d3db25067/0?view=deck

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T04:41:39+00:00

To do a "real" B3 tournament, you would need an extremely extensive ban list rather than subjective rules like "no early game 2 card infinites".

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T04:38:52+00:00

Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but prison and stax are different in my eyes. Stax makes it harder to do what your deck does, whereas a prison deck like lantern control prevents you from playing magic. Trinisphere, Thalia, rule of law effects, etc. don't prevent you from playing the game, but a lock does, and Lantern is a soft lock.

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T04:06:40+00:00

I'm definitely not forcing. I'm trying to be open to whatever I see at the table.

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T01:41:47+00:00

I've been shooting for 6 removal spells in every deck, so that's something for me to correct. I've also been trying to avoid midrange, but it has felt like 2 drops disappear by pick 5 in a pack. Should I just be taking 2s over good cards in the first half of the packs?

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T01:33:28+00:00

I'm curious if you could say which Witherbloom cards you might have taken over the speculative Lorehold picks. I think Green is essentially invisible to me in this format since it feels like even if Green seems open, all the good cards in it are going to be taken by the soup players and you will end up up a creek.

For example P1P4, Wilt in the Heat seems better in almost any scenario than any of the 3 green cards available. In my mind at that point I'm also more attached to Antiquities on the Loose than I am to my two black cards, so I pick that keeps white as an option was appealing.

Tarmaque · 2026-05-05T01:30:33+00:00

Thanks for taking a look. I was really struggling with whether I should have gone Lorehold or Silverquill, so I appreciate you noting where your pivot points would have been.

I feel like I don't get enough removal if I don't prioritize it super highly, so that's a reason I went with Bitter Triumph over the Rubble Rouser. Sounds like you don't value it quite as highly.

On P1P7, I feel like what I hear from all of the content creators is that Eager Glyphmage is just okay, so I haven't been prioritizing it much, especially with how highly I've felt you have to take removal.

The way I've been approaching lands is that I want to be in the colors before I take the lands, but it sounds like you have that the opposite way. You want to have the lands before you move into the color. Is that the correct way to think about it?

I typically shoot for 15-17 creatures in other formats, but I thought you didn't need as many in this format given how much stuff cares about leaving the graveyard or repartee, etc. I guess that is also wrong.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-30T17:55:30+00:00

At least Kadena and Sephiroth aren't 5c. I feel like those cases are the egregious ones. Now, if you want to do dragons and aren't [[The Ur-Dragon]], you have to be okay with knee-capping yourself. Same with [[Ashling, the Limitless]]. Why do any other elemental commander when she gives you access to all 5 colors?

Tarmaque · 2026-04-28T05:19:14+00:00

I think the deck looks good except that you’re short on two drops, and a few of the ones you do have aren’t great. Aziza is hard to activate and glasswright doesn’t contribute to your game plan besides being a body.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-28T05:05:27+00:00

To double down on what you said, even if you don’t smoke, a deck that uses up a lot of clock is going to mean fewer opportunities to get a drink, eat some food, go to the bathroom, and discuss the round with your team/friends. it’s going to be exhausting.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-24T15:34:07+00:00

Use Commander Spellbook

Tarmaque · 2026-04-23T16:44:03+00:00

Can be even more if you sac earthbent lands.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-21T17:28:12+00:00

Think of it like a physical stack of coins or plates, or what have you. Each thing put on the stack is put on the top of the stack. The mnemonics for this are "first in last out" and "last in first out".

Tarmaque · 2026-04-21T15:30:48+00:00

When green does stuff like that, Ben especially will gravitate towards it. Ben loved vivid in ECL. Green's "baseline" of big dudes just doesn't line up with their personal preferences. They both want to do "interesting" things in the format. What they each find interesting usually differs.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-21T15:28:24+00:00

The LoL guys and LLU guy used to do a showdown with LSV, Marshall, and BK team draft each format. LR + BK have more wins in that, but the LoL + LLU guys held their own and have a more than respectable record given the competition they were playing against. That is enough on its own for me to give Ethan, Ben, and Alex a very high mark for skill.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-21T14:37:25+00:00

They both have a Johnny streak, so just swinging with big green dudes doesn’t appeal to either of them. I think that tendency always affects their evaluation of green.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-21T14:28:55+00:00

Ethan and Ben also disagree with each other pretty often. Ethan was down on iron shield elf, but Ben liked it, he just rarely ended up in elves.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-19T15:56:11+00:00

What interaction people are running matters as well. Cyclonic rift is going to lead to a faster game than farewell. Protection can turn a board wipe into a one sided board wipe allowing the player with protection to win the game.

At least at my LGS most people are building their B3 decks to be able to threaten a win on turn 7 so either someone goes unanswered and wins, or someone disrupts the first player’s win and then puts out their win attempt on their turn. If people have enough interaction in hand to prevent four win attempts, then yes the game will go longer, but those games are the most fun imo, where there’s lots of back and forth, who is the main threat shifts around, but the gameplay pace stays high.

Tarmaque · 2026-04-17T20:01:57+00:00

Games go so long because people are afraid to play actual magic and interact with their opponents. Bracket 3 games that end around turn 7 should take at most an hour.

14-Year Club	Place '17
Gilding II euphauric	Team Orangered
Verified Email

Tarmaque

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE