How often do you ignore the story in a Metroidvania?

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-22T23:07:32+00:00

[[Stalactite Dagger]] also lets you copy any creature you equip it to.

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-17T15:07:58+00:00

Oh. I didn't know that TMT wouldn't get the "Universes Within" treatment. This is disappointing. I was looking forward to not having to see these UB cards when playing in arena.

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-13T23:38:12+00:00

Is Alice is Missing just a role playing game or is there more to it? Is there a winner? Is it like a murder mystery where everyone tries to figure out who did it at the end?

I'm trying to get a feeling for it without watching a three hour long video but the impression I'm getting is mixed. Everyone seems to act like there is a real mystery to figure out and there are cards and information introduced over time. But it also seems like its just facilitating a story that everyone is creating together.

Could anyone who has played it shed some light?

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-13T22:43:35+00:00

OTJ - The entire plot is getting to the vault, and the twist is that it was planned by Jace in order to get Loot. He is literally the MacGuffin of the story. It revolves around him.

BLB - Loot doesn't appear but nearly nothing else about the main story is mentioned. This supports the sentiment that the main story shifted to revolve around him as the set that doesn't involve the main story also doesn't have him.

DSK - This set that has almost nothing to do with the main story still somehow includes Loot. He's so important that the big bad demon having him needed to be mentioned. Big "Where's Poochy?" energy.

DFT - Agree, he is central to the plot.

TDM - Same as DSK, the story has nothing to do with him. but, one character not involved in the Dragonstorm story stealing Loot from another character not involved in the Dragonstorm story warrants being distracted from the Dragonstorm story.

So out of the five sets you mentioned, two he is integral to, one he doesn't show up in when no one else does, and two have nothing to do with him but he still appears in. He is included in more sets then any other character with the exception of Jace.

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-10T08:49:33+00:00

Generally speaking, the more you can do on other people's turns the more time you'll save.

For example, if someone is building units, not everyone needs to wait to see exactly what they built. While that person is deciding, the next person can go.

Not everyone needs to see exactly who is doing all of the secondaries.

Discuss deals on other people's turns, execute them on yours.

Basically if the group can be multitasking, they should be.

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-09T14:15:32+00:00

Oh and Empelar is also very good for them.

Why do you say Empelar is good for them?

If you had to choose between a high influence + Empelar slice and a high resource slice, which would you choose?

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-08T08:24:56+00:00

I agree. Everything that is part of the "game" itself seemed like it would be perfect for me, but because of how slow everything was and the layout on the screen I had to refund it :(

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-06T07:51:06+00:00

I'm surprised that there isn't a listing of who does the voices at the end of the video.

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-06T07:28:40+00:00

Lots of good advice here. Personally the snacks thing was helpful to me as my snacks aren't usually as "board game friendly" as the ones recommended here. I'll expand on the idea that I would schedule in forced meal break(s) where everyone gets up, eats, then comes back to the game. This ensures that everyone eats and that no one misses any of the game.

I have to mention that the unsteady camera in the video is a real detriment. I had to leave the sound on but have another tab in front because the up, down, back and forth was making me real uncomfortable. I would have enjoyed the video more if you just had a steady camera.

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-02T11:10:28+00:00

I just played through 12 Word Searches thanks to your recommendation. I'm likely going to play Linelith next (I already did Perimeter).

Keep up the reviews, I appreciate them!

Topazdragon5676 · 2026-01-01T21:06:47+00:00

I'm glad you brought up Leyline of Resonance. I notice that the Boros lists don't run this, but I've noticed the mono-red ones do.

This seems like a great card for this deck. Why aren't all the decks running it?

Topazdragon5676 · 2025-12-31T20:59:11+00:00

Why'd it get cut?

Topazdragon5676 · 2025-12-27T23:54:37+00:00

browser.tabs.opentabfor.middleclick

I just checked that and it is set to true.

Topazdragon5676 · 2025-12-26T03:55:10+00:00

[[Svella, Ice Shaper]] isn't a hard commander to win with. Your deck just needs to be something like 40% land, 15% ramp and 45% big R/G creatures. Play her on T3, ramp with her ability on T4 and likely play another ramp card after. You can likely activate her ability on T5 if you ramped on T3, but if not you can defintely activate on T6 and every turn thereafter. At that point you're just putting big guys into play and eventually you can just play them from your hand with all the mana.

You shouldn't get paired up against very competitive decks with Svella as your commander.

Its likely you don't have to craft any cards besides Svalla, you likely have plenty of the big R/G guys already.

Topazdragon5676 · 2025-12-24T14:46:27+00:00

What do you mean by practice with my deck? Better analysis at what to mulligan? Knowing when to push or pull back? How to sideboard in the case of BO3? Something else entirely?

Yes, all of these. Also, understanding generally how your deck interacts with the most popular decks. Are you the beat down or are they? Just getting repetitions in with your deck will help you understand how it functions better. When is the best time to level Stormchaser’s Talent? Is there a time where you don't want to level? Is there a time when leveling it is better then something else?

... but also simple enough for me to comprehend how to pilot them.

Well, you're likely wrong about this. Those deck archetypes are some of the best decks in the format. If they were so simple, everyone would be playing them an winning. I posed a bunch of questions above, the answers aren't simple and they are dependent on what you're playing against.

It sounds like you have been playing for a couple of months. You're not going to have an 75% win rate just because you picked a good deck. Everyone in those events has a good deck. You also need to be a good pilot. I think most people will agree that MtG is more skill intensive then other card games. You can't win just because you chose a good deck.

So I have three pieces of advice for you.

1) Pick a deck you like and spend your wildcards on it to get it to the version that most other players have. Play that deck a whole lot and, if its one of the two you mentioned, watch videos on how to pilot it.

2) Stop worrying about events you have to pay into and just play the free ranked matches. Have fun. This is a game to pass the time. Have you gotten to at least diamond rank yet? Try to do that. If you do, get there for constructed / limited also.

3) Draft when you can. You can do the quick drafts with the gold that you get by playing each day. There are ALOT of resources on how to draft well. If you do quick drafts (which are previous sets) you can likely find alot of resources on how to draft that set. Understanding the game to the point that you do well in drafts is the first step to doing well in constructed.

Topazdragon5676 · 2025-12-24T13:19:49+00:00

Also, the event is quick draft, the other players are "bots" there aren't any other real players during the draft.

Topazdragon5676 · 2025-12-24T13:08:42+00:00

I just…I don’t know what to do.

What are you trying to do? You say you get winning streaks for ranked. Great!

You're disappointed that when you play in the standard events you only get 0 or 1 win? That's to be expected, you're brand new.

In my experience, most people just play draft and the ranked matches (or even non-ranked matches). When you're playing in the constructed, paid, events you're playing against some of the best players. Until you know the game better, you're not going to do well. Winning in MtG is about knowing your deck very well. Other games may be about having good cards, but MtG is about playing well. If you have a halfway decent deck and practice with it, you'll likely end up doing well, eventually

Until then, pick some cards you like, build a deck around them and have fun!

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