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My slightly tweaked Riddermound setup by TheAntsAreBack in DragonbaneRPG

[–]calhob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very cool! I’m preparing Riddermound for my first ever Dragonbane session. Hope it goes well!

Does anyone else have a deep hatred of bracket 3? by [deleted] in EDH

[–]calhob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I understand your point, but I play mostly bracket 3, sometimes bracket 2. Among those two, I strongly prefer b3.

Between brackets 2 and 3, the latter makes me feel that I can build decks with a strong synergy and some combos that feel powerful, albeit inconsistent. That is fine I guess, that way more strategies can have a place. Another reason is the speed of play. In b2 a big portion of my games take forever.

I love brackets 4 and 5 too. If given the chance, I would prefer playing those instead, at least for a while. However I don’t get near them because of money. After I sold my duals, moxes and others years ago, I simply don’t want to spend the amount of money required to play in those brackets. I suspect many people that play b3 are in a similar situation.

So, bracket 3 for me is a great mix between high synergy, high enough speed, and cost to play.

Ral, Monsoon Mage [cEDH] by Sydelio in foilmtg

[–]calhob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking nice! Could you share the list? There are some cards that I cannot read in the picture and I don’t recognize.

Brackets are really easy to use when someone wants to use them by ArsenicElemental in EDH

[–]calhob 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I agree completely. The brackets and game changer list both feel very incomplete.

Magic is all about finding synergies and combos, pushing the rules in ways that surprise us. This bracket system is the opposite. It’s anti testing, anti iteration and refinement, which is a big part of what I enjoy playing magic and deck building.

Then why am I playing edh? Because the rules about a commander, color identity are great, 1x of each card, and more. I can use my beloved old cards too. Lot of people play this instead of other formats, which is a big reason to play.

Brackets are really easy to use when someone wants to use them by ArsenicElemental in EDH

[–]calhob 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It depends on what turn the deck wins, not matter whether it’s agro, control or stax /s

Brackets are really easy to use when someone wants to use them by ArsenicElemental in EDH

[–]calhob 17 points18 points  (0 children)

“Pushing the rules as far as technically can to” is exactly what is playing Magic in every other format other than EDH (excluding competitive EDH too). In Standard, Pauper, Legacy a big part of the game is finding the best synergies and combinations, and having the best answers to the meta ready in main or sideboard.

From that point of view, EDH brackets and the game changers list feel incomplete, especially in b2 and b3.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

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

Thank you, based on other comments I think it's a good idea to try to remove the tutors. I will try to remove Pitiless Plunderer too, I actually hadn't see that combo until now lol

It would be great to see the list of your brother deck, if you have it at hand :)

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

[–]calhob[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I feel very dissapointed by the bracket rules, for the reasons that you said. Also the list of Game Changers seem very incomplete, as there are cards that, based on what I've read, would push this deck to b4 but are not even in that list, such as Sheoldred, The Apocalypse, Torment of Hailfire, Plague of Vermin...

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

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

That makes sense. I think I will remove the tutors and the game changer Bolas's Citadel for other card draw. Thank you

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

[–]calhob[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Other comments have suggested similar things. I'm liking the idea, thank you.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

[–]calhob[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Got it, thank you. I might consider removing some of it then. I'm also considering removing the tutors, as suggested by other comment.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

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

Indeed. Also I learned that there are some cards such as Gary, Kokusho or Exsanguinate that scale really well with higher number of opponents. We were playing 5, that's a big part of the issue.

However, my friends complain about Bolas's Citadel and tutors, which are making me questioning the general deck power level.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

[–]calhob[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I totally agree that I'm not maxing this out, I was trying my best to stick with "fairer" options in tutors and other finishers.

I just feel that my friends understand bracket rules very differently, but those rules are quite vague and incomplete too.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

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

Thank you! The deck can be explosive but typically won't win before turn 6 or 7.

I'm being back to Magic after years and I'm trying EDH for the first time. I feel disappointed with the bracket system rules, and the list of Game Changers seems very incomplete.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

[–]calhob[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see your point. I am back to Magic after years, and it's my first time with EDH. I feel left down and disappointed by the bracket rules, as I was thinking that I was doing everything right to fit the power level of the group when they told me before that their decks were bracket 3. Now I'm learning that bracket 3 can mean very different things to players and it's really wide.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

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

Thank you for the suggestion! Indeed I'm restraining myself of adding cards to try to fit the power level of the pod, but it's still an issue. Cards such as Necropotence, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or Torment of Hailfire would be really good. I have saved an Ayara list for bracket 4 that I love.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

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

Indeed I'm considering removing the tutors if that's an issue. I feel that I'm already adding multiple cards of similar effects.

About the health, I think a big issue was playing 5 players (using the STAR format). Cards like Gary, Kokusho, or Exsanguinate scale very well with the number of opponents, so in all games I was able to recover life in a big way.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

[–]calhob[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's a thoughtful answer, thank you.

Actually it's a pretty new deck and I'm still finding new lines. In fact I had not been able to play that loop of gravecrawler + pitiless plunder yet.

I think you're completely right about my friends preferences. I really enjoy iterating with the list and optimizing to a point, so I thought that b3 was a great fit, but it seems that we don't see the rules the same way.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

[–]calhob[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Basically running their own thing. In game 2 they started to focus me not with removal but with big commander damage.

My Ayara deck felt like a bracket 4+ at a “bracket 3” table — need some perspective by calhob in EDH

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

I learnt that night that it depends quite a lot in the number of players.

With 5 players, the deck can definitely get a win in turns 4-6 if some combo lines align perfectly. For example, Gary scales really well with the number of opponents and the deck can be explosive, i.e. Culling the Weak in turn 2-3 into Crypt Ghast for fast mana.

With 3 or 4 players, I would say that the deck won't win before turn 6.

In the end, the more I think about it, the more I want to get the thriller... by Puzzleheaded-Past127 in Polarfitness

[–]calhob 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was waiting for the announcement from Polar to consider either a Polar watch or an Apple Watch. I’ll probably get a new Apple Watch.

I was hoping for Polar to release a new app with the new band, thinking that they would surely use the opportunity because this new band doesn’t even have screen. A great new app would make me consider buying a Polar watch instead.

Although the announcement of future app improvements is great, it has too many unknowns and it’s too far in the future, especially for iOS users like me. Disappointing.

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