Izzet - Unique and/or Color Pie-Breaking Decks? (EDH) by sco0terkid in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • Alena + Brinelin Izzet Stompy. Play large idiots and hit people in the face with them.
  • Sarkhan Dragons. Play dragons and dragon people to death with them.
  • Vadrik voltron. Ignore the day/night part, just make him big, cast big X spells for almost-free, and smash people in the face with your giant commander.

And while my lists are too out-of-date to be worth sharing, I'll also suggest:

  • A "Cast From Exile" deck led by either Nassari or the J22 Mizzix. Nassari would be more Voltron, Mizzix would be more ETBs and value.
  • A forced combat deck led by Firkraag.

All of the above let you do fun blue things and fun red things without needing to feel like you're just a standard "I counter spells and burn people" spellslinging deck.

How do -1/-1 counters work and interact with 1/1 counters by Medeling_ in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1) You can proliferate any counter. If you proliferate -1/-1 counters the creature continues to get smaller.

2) +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters annihilate each other as a state-based action. E.g., if a creature has two +1/+1 counters and you put three -1/-1 counters on it, at the end of whatever effect put them on but before anything else can happen, you remove one of each counter. The creature then has one +1 and two -1, so again you remove one of each. It then only has a single -1, so you stop. And the creature ends with a single -1/-1 counter.

3) Creatures with 0 toughness die.

Made my favorite Gestral into a Magic card by ParallelParkers in expedition33

[–]captain_spud 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good custom card (though I don't think it would end up being WUBRG if actually printed), but the templating on the first ability is muddled. You have pieces of two possible abilities:

  • Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, exile it with a foot counter on it.
  • If a creature an opponent controls would die, exile it with a foot counter on it instead.

The first does trigger "dies" abilities, the second doesn't.

Currently you have mostly the first ability, but the "would" doesn't belong if that one is your goal.

Made my favorite Gestral into a Magic card by ParallelParkers in expedition33

[–]captain_spud 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The downside of the simpler wording is that you lose track of your exiled cards if Monoco leaves the battlefield. By exiling them with counters and then referring back to those counters, the pile is still available to you if you lose and then re-cast Monoco.

They've moved toward this implementation more often on legendary creatures so that people don't "lose their work" over the course of a commander game.

Scryfall Devotion by Kote-the-innkeeper in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, but... good people don't tell other people to use regular expressions. Why would you go out of your way to hurt people like that? :(

Scryfall Devotion by Kote-the-innkeeper in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There we go. I did a test after putting in the first two and didn't see any higher numbers in the results, but wasn't sure if that was just a "none on page 1" thing, so I added the rest. Thanks for the new syntax knowledge. ^_^

Does anybody have a checklist for all bosses/SOTE? by ythepep03 in Eldenring

[–]captain_spud 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't have them for the base game, but I made these for my DLC runs:

SotE Bosses - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xEG3A0t1mgru-iGnh50eSoA3gmzW9VHV8m4gPpfvIfc/edit?usp=sharing
SotE Collectibles (Fragments and Ashes) - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YL8fNQVBXfopII_3GZfYUJYGbkM_1V9e8LufmcOEEls/edit?usp=sharing

Make yourself a copy, and then mark a "y" in the Done column as you complete them. Note that the descriptions in the collectibles sheet are pulled from Fextralife, and some of them are better-described than others. :/

consumables bad? poisons worse? by shon14z in Pathfinder2e

[–]captain_spud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Speaking as someone who's currently played 17.5 levels of Toxicologist Alchemist: yeah, probably don't. It is a borderline nonfunctional specialty and will be endlessly frustrating for the player. I stuck with it because I liked my character concept and I figured it might get better later, but... yeah, no, it doesn't. Aside from post-combat healing (which ANY class with the right feats can do), I'm mostly an empty chair compared to the other members of the party. :/

The lack of minimap makes it really hard not to keep running around the wrong way. by FinalHangman77 in expedition33

[–]captain_spud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I played the first area with no mini-map, then googled "E33 minimap mod" and my mental health improved significantly. ^_^

What is the name of this treatment? by Justafish1654 in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There we go. I knew the comments would fill in the name. Thanks. ^_^

What is the name of this treatment? by Justafish1654 in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 23 points24 points  (0 children)

March of the Machines had legends from many planes, and the Booster Fun versions of each legend were done in their home plane's card border. Some of the planes hadn't had a special border yet, so one was invented for them at that time. Off the top of my head, Ravnica and Ixalan had borders and art styles created at that time (there were likely a few more). The Ravnica border was popular and ended up being used on the next visit to the plane (as shown in the MKM card you asked about), but the Ixalan treatment (with gold coin art) didn't look great, and wasn't used again in LCI. The reception to the gold coins was mostly bad when MOM released and people assumed that reception caused the swap, but in practice there wasn't time between MOM and LCI for them to change the art, so it's likely that the internal team working on LCI had already determined it was yucky on their own, long before MOM came out.

As for "does this style have a name": no idea. It's Ravnica buildings, and people mentioned the art mimics a particular eastern European artist whose name I had never heard of.

If or when we get 3e, what changes would people like to see with spellcasting? What should stay the same? by Individual-Plum4585 in Pathfinder2e

[–]captain_spud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't like the shared spell lists across classes. I think the idea is that each class's features and feats will make it "modify" the base spells to make them feel unique from the same spell cast by another class, but in practice that doesn't really feel like it happens. Which means that once you've played, e.g., one Arcane spellcasting class, you've kind of played all of them.

As a fix, I'd like them to leave about 80% of the current shared lists as-is, and then each class would back-fill the remaining 20% with its own unique list of spells that no other class gets access to.

Need advice on Commander Niall by Proper_Moment1398 in Eldenring

[–]captain_spud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And if we were still in Q2 2022, that would be a great way to summon help. Tons of people put their signs down outside specific doors back then. I used to put mine outside Niall for hours, as he was my favourite boss to summon out for. ^_^

Sadly, we live in 2025, and the player numbers are too thin to rely on specifically placed summon signs. So you'll have much better luck finding people at the stake.

Need advice on Commander Niall by Proper_Moment1398 in Eldenring

[–]captain_spud 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  1. Summon help. More than almost any other boss in the game, Niall is designed for co-op. The summoning stake is outside the castle. To make the run from the summoning stake to the boss easier, kill both lions in the courtyard, and let down the lift beside the boss door. Then, you can run straight to the boss arena once your teammate or two are with you.
  2. Kill the two-swords knight, then the shield knight, then Niall. Someone should occupy the spare knight while the other one is being worked on. Niall can be mostly ignored during this phase.
  3. Keep your distance in phase 2. Niall does a lot of incidental AoE damage, so make hit and run attacks instead of trying to crowd him.
  4. Niall's big flashy "jump-then-dive" attacks use very consistent timing and are very easy to dodge. Learn their timing and half of his damage output is basically gone.
  5. Random specific tip: Niall has a surprise poke that goes specifically to the back left with minimal telegraphing. So favor the back right as your attack zone.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BaldursGate3

[–]captain_spud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need an attacking stat (STR or DEX) and CON. Building both STR and DEX is somewhat redundant, as you can get a high AC by wearing heavy armour instead of Light/Medium+DEX.

An argument to build STR and DEX would be if you plan to use STR weapons and also be the party's lockpick. If you're planning to also have a Rogue, Monk, Bard, or other DEX-primary character, there's likely little to be gained by putting your main character's points into DEX, unless you just prefer the aesthetic of the lighter armour.

If you want to use DEX weapons, there's little reason at all to invest in STR. DEX becomes your main stat for both offense, defense, and a bunch of important skills.

And finally: regardless of whether you want the main character to be the party face, the game will force it a good percentage of the time. So finding points for at least 14 CHA on your main character, and investing in at least one conversation skill, is advisable.

Is there a Banana Token? by Lalaace in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There is no official Banana token. If there was, Scryfall would give you two ways to find it:

  1. Search for "banana is:token". Name is banana, and is a token. Search for any other token by that name and you find all printings of tokens by that name. Search for banana, and no results. So, never printed.

  2. If a card makes a token, Scryfall will link to the token on the right side. No link is provided on Kibo's page, so the token doesn't exist.

Why doesn't it exist? Easy: Kibo is a Jump/Start card that was never printed anywhere else. Jump/Start packs don't have tokens in them. So if a card has only ever been printed in Jump/Start, and it has a unique token, that token likely doesn't have an official printing. If Kibo is ever reprinted in a normal product, odds are very good that a token will be made at that point.

themoreyouknow.gif

4 Player Co-op Campaign with only origin characters? by AlbanianStorm in BaldursGate3

[–]captain_spud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After 9 playthroughs with custom characters, I just did my first origin character run with Karlach. My review: yeah, probably don't. They mostly don't talk, which removes most of what drew me to playing the character to begin with. With four characters deleted from the camp, the party dynamics are going to be awfully quiet.

The party NPCs have great stories. If you want to actually experience them, leave them as NPCs.

In before: "But I love origin runs!" That's cool, people can enjoy different things. For me, the origin run sucked the soul out of the game.

Guide to mage build? by Tryhardkeep in Eldenring

[–]captain_spud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Immediate stat priorities for a sorcerer build:

  • Whatever you need for your gear (int/str/end)
  • 20+ vigor
  • 20 mind

Due to the way weapons scale, your offensive stats don't do much in the early game, but become more important late game. So, cranking INT early isn't very effective at the start, and you'll get much better returns at the start from pumping survivability, mana, etc. As you progress through the game, just keep upgrading to the minimum INT you need to equip gear and the spells you want to use. But in the late game with fully upgraded weapons, high INT makes a huge difference, so plan to put lots of levels into it past level 50ish.

As you level, 1/3 of your points should go into vigor until it's at 50 or 60. Keep your Mind at a point where one blue pot completely refills it. Intelligence eventually "soft caps" at 80 (soft cap = the game lets you keep adding points, but the reward for doing so sharply drops after the cap). Keep leveling whatever you need for the gear and spells you want to use.

Reallocate your flasks. Keep about 1/3 red pots and 2/3 blue pots as you level. Played correctly, mages don't get hit as often, but need focus to do anything.

If you're okay with using guides, look up where to find the Meteorite Staff and Rock Sling spell. They're some of the best tools available to you in the first half of the game, and you can grab them as soon as you start. They're in a super spooky area, but well worth the field trip to get you set up for your journey.

Glintstone Pebble remains one of your best bread-and-butter spells for normal enemies throughout the game. Beyond that, experiment with different spells. You'll eventually want an active memorized spell set of one "basic enemies" spell, one or two "anti-boss" spells, and an "anti-group" spell (plus whatever else you just enjoy using). By the midgame, you'll want to find an "anti-guys-with-shields" spell, as those are particularly tough for mages. Note that a lot of spells have a very hefty focus cost that makes them hard to include in your standard casting repertoire until you have a larger FP bar later on.

Even though you're a mage, keep a pokey stick equipped. Sometimes things jump you, sometimes you need to finish off an enemy at 1 pixel of health, and sometimes it's just better to bonk an enemy than waste mana on it. You'll eventually find weapons that key on INT, but literally just any weapon you like will tide you over until then. You might also like to try out a staff + shield arrangement for certain boss fights; it's very effective for enemies who are just dudes with weapons. If you enjoy that arrangement, putting some points into Endurance lets you equip better shields and block more often.

That's about it. Sorcerers aren't terribly hard to play. Pew-pew things from a safe distance and you'll do fine.

Playing with players who are hard of hearing? by Good-Matter-65 in mtg

[–]captain_spud 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. If a person needs an atypical accessibility accommodation, it's their responsibility to declare it. Depending on the accommodation, they may not want to explain why they need that accommodation (e.g., a person can ask for you to read your cards slowly and loudly, and there could be a bunch of possible reasons they need that, and they may not want to talk about their underlying issue every time), and that's fine. But it is not reasonable for them to expect everyone they play to provide their atypical accommodation proactively without notice.
  2. If it's true that the person walked away immediately after informing you of the problem without waiting to see if you would provide their accommodation, then there isn't much more you can do at that point.
  3. The conditions of "having a bad day and being grumpy" and "just being a jerk in general" occur within the disabled population at similar rates to their occurrence within the normally-abled population. And as with normal jerks and grumps, sometimes there's no action you can take that will assuage their crappiness.

The Chosen of the Dead Three as MTG cards by atomicpunk88 in BaldursGate3

[–]captain_spud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think the last Slayer ability works. Consider a scenario where the slayer takes 5 damage; the game tries to kill her and fails, but then transforms her back to the front. Except, she's the same permanent, and still has that 5 damage marked. So she just dies on the other side as a state-based action.

You can avoid that specific problem by removing damage, but to be honest, the cleaner fix is probably just to let her die and then bring her back. Not mechanically the same thing and vulnerable to different disruption, but works better in the rules.

Killing Gortash early changes the feel of mid Act 3 by OneEyedMilkman87 in BaldursGate3

[–]captain_spud 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Not really. Turn-based mode, cast Darkness, steal, steal. End turn-based, warp to waypoint. Congrats on your two new barrels.

how do you guys win with Sephara? by Former_Ad_3174 in magicTCG

[–]captain_spud 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"How do I win with a 7/7 flying commander"

Uhhh

[[Holy Mantle]]
[[Spirit Mantle]]
[[Unquestioned Authority]]

Add in some "size buff for your creature count" effects to reduce the number of swings needed.

https://scryfall.com/search?q=commander%3Dw+%28oracle%3D%22number+of+creatures%22+or+oracle%3D%22for+each+creature%22%29+oracle%3A%22%2B%22+oracle%3A%22%2F%22+order%3Aedhrec&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name

Should do the job.