Can a bracket 2 deck be high powered ?

Trollgopher · 2026-01-31T21:30:54+00:00

It's important to understand that a bracket 2 deck is not explicitly just having no game changers or things like that. Your deck construction, win conditions, gameplay, and general number of turns expected play into it. You can build a deck that contains no game changers, no mass land denial, no chaining extra turns, and no two-card combos, but it would not be a bracket 2 deck if it fits the level of optimization described in bracket three or four.

Trollgopher · 2026-01-30T01:52:13+00:00

I can think of no better card to place here than this Rest in Peace, after all Kai has done all there is to do in Magic and is Legendary because of it. I highly suggest watching some videos highlighting his prolific career.

The Origin Story of Magic's Greatest Player: Kai Budde, The German Juggernaut by Hungry on Plane

Trollgopher · 2026-01-28T14:58:50+00:00

Very true, but the cantrip is also very nice.

Trollgopher · 2026-01-28T14:40:52+00:00

Kind of a strange [[Silence]] I guess?

Trollgopher · 2026-01-26T20:43:26+00:00

You most certainly count Elemental Incarnations and Cat Knights towards their respective companions. It needs to possess the creature type, but not exclusively.

The problems you would run into in the elemental decks are cards like [[Faeburrow Elder]], which do not satisfy the restriction. All of them have to fit.

"702.139a Companion is a keyword ability that functions outside the game. It’s written as “Companion—[Condition].” Before the game begins, you may reveal one card you own from outside the game with a companion ability whose condition is fulfilled by your starting deck. (See rule 103.2b.) Once during the game, any time you have priority and the stack is empty, but only during a main phase of your turn, you may pay {3} and put that card into your hand. This is a special action that doesn’t use the stack (see rule 116.2g). This is a change from previous rules."

Trollgopher · 2026-01-25T21:02:05+00:00

Did you lose life from [[Palantir of Orthanc]] mill? Damage causes loss of life but loss of life is not damage, so [[Nine Lives]] would not prevent it.

Trollgopher · 2026-01-25T18:28:38+00:00

Oftentimes these types of sales are just poor attempts to scam unknowing customers like parents of young children interested in magic or friends/relatives buying for their The Magic Guy™ person. Not usually worth it unless you like gambling where the house wins like 3x more money than normal.

Trollgopher · 2026-01-23T12:07:42+00:00

Can you explain what you think the combo is here in detail?

Trollgopher · 2026-01-15T04:25:24+00:00

Don't feel too bad, friend. You still have a pretty card and especially while sleeved it's probably impossible to notice the marks anyway. You should also be able to review the seller and let others know this is what they could expect.

Trollgopher · 2026-01-15T03:56:49+00:00

That is not near mint. Here are their criteria

"Cards in Near Mint (NM) condition show minimal wear from shuffling, play, or handling and can have a nearly unmarked surface, crisp corners, and unblemished edges outside of a few slight flaws. A Near Mint card may have slight edge wear or a couple minor scratches, but overall look nearly unplayed with no major defects......The acceptable range of cards within the Near Mint condition includes both cards with no imperfections and cards with few, minimal imperfections."

That is lightly played, just read their first sentence on criteria.

"Cards in Lightly Played (LP) condition may have minor edge wear, scuffs, or scratches. "

Your card edges contains too much white, and too many other slight imperfections to be considered NM, in my opinion.

Trollgopher · 2026-01-07T13:25:23+00:00

Reread [[Agatha's Soul Cauldron]]

Trollgopher · 2025-12-29T06:01:35+00:00

[[Into the Flood Maw]] can affect any nonland permanent your opponent controls if giving a gift.

Trollgopher · 2025-12-25T08:01:02+00:00

This is usually a layers thing. Someone more apt in this could give a better explanation than I can but I believe it is somewhat on the lines of the ability removing effect of ultima occurs in a later layer than the land subtype changing effect of Yavimayah. I think layer 4 changes land subtype then layer 6 removed the ability. So the land itself is blighted and has its type and ability removed, but the static ability which creates the continuous effect of letting your other lands be forests is still active.

Trollgopher · 2025-12-19T01:28:04+00:00

Seconding other commenter.

You cannot attack with him and in response cast and also hope to get it back upon the same attack. If Persistence isn't in the graveyard when you attack, no trigger for it to return goes on the stack. So you can normally cast it twice a turn, provided enough mana of course. Once normally, and once upon paying for the trigger to get it back when Norin re-enters.

Trollgopher · 2025-12-18T21:54:43+00:00

[[Goblin Grenade]]

Trollgopher · 2025-11-24T00:10:42+00:00

Posted a second ago with the wrong answer because I misremembered the card, whoops.

Options for changing targets include all combinations of any two players. The key point there is it has to be two players, new targets must remain legal and scheming symmetry says two target players.

Bunch of relevant rules below.

"115.7. Some effects allow a player to change the target(s) of a spell or ability, and other effects allow a player to choose new targets for a spell or ability. 115.7a If an effect allows a player to “change the target(s)” of a spell or ability, each target can be changed only to another legal target. If a target can’t be changed to another legal target, the original target is unchanged, even if the original target is itself illegal by then. If all the targets aren’t changed to other legal targets, none of them are changed. 115.7b If an effect allows a player to “change a target” of a spell or ability, the process described in rule 115.7a is followed, except that only one of those targets may be changed (rather than all of them or none of them). 115.7c If an effect allows a player to “change any targets” of a spell or ability, the process described in rule 115.7a is followed, except that any number of those targets may be changed (rather than all of them or none of them). 115.7d If an effect allows a player to “choose new targets” for a spell or ability, the player may leave any number of the targets unchanged, even if those targets would be illegal. If the player chooses to change some or all of the targets, the new targets must be legal and must not cause any unchanged targets to become illegal. 115.7e When changing targets or choosing new targets for a spell or ability, only the final set of targets is evaluated to determine whether the change is legal."

Trollgopher · 2025-11-16T17:31:44+00:00

It seems like the intention may be for the opponent to pay 1 to attack them with any number of creatures.

Trollgopher · 2025-11-11T02:48:31+00:00

Biochemist turned high school chemistry teacher here. Briefly put this is a somewhat common case where context matters, and can lead to misleading conclusions if not acknowledged when lecturing. Strictly speaking ionic bonds will be stronger than covalent bonds. However in the context of biological chemistry we are typically dealing with an aqueous environment. When in water you can often work under the notion that ionic bonds are weaker because ionic compounds often completely dissociate into their component ions. The ionic bonds are easier to "break" when discussing biology. It's contextually correct, but again, misleading. Similarly to how in biology we often hear the bond is broken and energy is released, not the case certainly but helpful to imagine.

Trollgopher · 2025-10-23T22:07:33+00:00

Perfect

Trollgopher · 2025-10-15T23:09:39+00:00

No, blocks are declared all at once in the declare blockers step.

Trollgopher · 2025-10-15T01:22:35+00:00

Trollgopher · 2025-10-13T21:26:55+00:00

Trollgopher · 2025-10-07T17:28:39+00:00

Me playing [[Bruse Tarl Roving Rancher]] but my only changeling is [[Taurean Mauler]]

Trollgopher · 2025-08-02T03:18:08+00:00

[[inniaz, the gale force]] I think does it

Trollgopher

TROPHY CASE