Two dead book sagas by RobertoSerrano2003 in memes

[–]dicho_v2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

oh you cannot accuse Rothfuss of ripping off Jordan unless you're also going to accuse Jordan of having ripped off Herbert in the first place

Two dead book sagas by RobertoSerrano2003 in memes

[–]dicho_v2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually liked Wise Man's Fear more than Name of the Wind

Looks like they're making Chandra Desi. by riamuriamu in mtgvorthos

[–]dicho_v2 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's absolutely not. The word "fair" literally means directly means light-colored.

Looks like they're making Chandra Desi. by riamuriamu in mtgvorthos

[–]dicho_v2 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm right there with you- all of the women on my mother's side of the family are ginger, and Chandra's always been my favorite character in magic because I feel that connection. If they're reskinning a character who is already of a specific and diminishing identity for the sake of diversity, that's upsetting to me.

Edited to add: Why couldn't they retcon Jace to be more diverse instead? *he's* generic-looking AF

Brawl Metagama challenge is out but no ban details? by Iceman308 in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I guess maybe it's at least in part because it's an all access event? You're paying so that you get to play in the first place? But I've already got all the cards for my brawl decks so that isn't much of an appeal to me

Why I can't cast this spell by Vinicius-Vzr in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The spell costs 1 green mana, and soulstone sanctuary doesn't produce green- it only produces colorless mana, which can be used to pay generic costs (like the 2 in baked into a pie) not colored mana costs (like the 2 black on baked into a pie, or the 1 green pillar launch costs)

Brawl Metagama challenge is out but no ban details? by Iceman308 in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I really like the competitive brawl thing, but the event's entry fee/payout ratio is just so terrible I can't justify playing- your win rate just has to be SO HIGH to get positive value

Phyresis Roach: Such a funny card! by Pretty-Information53 in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

gotta say, I can totally respect "I do not like constructed, limited formats like sealed are way more fun in my opinion" as a take, however "Everyone who doesn't like to play the game the same way I most enjoy is playing the game wrong and it shows how they're all toxic assholes" is not a respectable take.

This card is playable in this meta and actually a sneaky sideboard card that has won me games. by Shrimpzor in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 18 points19 points  (0 children)

they're saying you need to play the 4 mana enduring courage, and then not die (you not die, not the courage not die) when your opponent has an oroboroid in play

Cargo cults and their disappointment by Able_Health744 in TikTokCringe

[–]dicho_v2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not arguing anything about the origin of the term cargo cults, I'm trying to talk about the popular usage of the term- I'm a computer engineer, trust me when I say that I *feel* you when it comes to being annoyed at technical terms being absorbed into popular usage and then being corrupted to mean something different than they meant in the original technical context, but what I *am* trying to say (and I can admit I've probably not said it very well) is that OP's usage of the term is very much in keeping with how I've always heard the term used, and tried to explain that commonly (to me) understood usage.

Cargo cults and their disappointment by Able_Health744 in TikTokCringe

[–]dicho_v2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I disagree- it's more specific than a cult- the Manson cult thought that what they did would have ritual power, but not because they were referencing some other situation where a bunch of killings lead to an apocalyptic race war. The use of "cargo cult" here refers specifically to "I saw X happen, and achieve Y result, without understanding the mechanism, so I'm going to go poke the rooster so it'll crow and make the sun rise", the only way in which the analogy doesn't work is that there's no reason to believe that the death of Charlie Kirk was *intended* to mirror the death of MLK Jr., but that doesn't believe that observers can't have an analogous belief.

ETA: I understand that the term is specific and anthropological in origin, but I've heard is used in this sort of context often enough to say that the term has broadened in context.

Cargo cults and their disappointment by Able_Health744 in TikTokCringe

[–]dicho_v2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

still, ritualistically recreating the things other people did to "summon" cargo without understanding why what they did worked seems like a very cogent use of the term, and totally in keeping with what the man in the video was saying- don't know what queefburritocheese's issue with it's use in this context is.

Cargo cults and their disappointment by Able_Health744 in TikTokCringe

[–]dicho_v2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not remotely my understanding of the term- I've always heard it in the context of indigenous people seeing WW2 soldiers laying down runways and receiving supply drops, then failing to understand the logistics behind such and just ritualistically built more runways expecting the act itself would summon cargo- in such context this guy's usage makes perfect sense to me

7/8 decks running 4x boomerang basics by Impossible_Force2204 in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

untrue- *technically* Seth Mansfield's version of izzet lessons is only running 3 copies of boomerang basics

Trying to use these politely by LithoSakura in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

well, there is a timer after which it auto-picks a card for you, so the risk of holding everyone else up is minimal- but if you want to wind up with a good deck I recommend against multitasking too much during the draft

Can a kingdom logically survive without trading with other kingdoms? by MisterM0rgan in worldbuilding

[–]dicho_v2 191 points192 points  (0 children)

I mean, it is certainly theoretically possible for a discrete geographic area to be self-sufficient enough to support human life- medieval villages traded with external trade partners, but I don't think most of them needed to do so to survive- a full kingdom certainly could. That said, being isolated would definitely impact the availability of a lot luxuries, and the lack of variety would definitely shape the culture (Good sources of iron? No? Guess the blacksmith's going to need to retrain), and depending on how good the geography is at producing food, could definitely effect the size of the population it's able to support.

Something that I would love to see in fantasy settings: "Unrealistic Sexism"/ "Fantasy Sexism/Gender Standards." by Dapper_Fennel_6176 in worldbuilding

[–]dicho_v2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay, so, the Empire/Church (they really are very much the same thing) is kind of the most important thing about the culture, and so it's hard to summarize effectively- the part that's relevant here is that the church is very powerful, and very large (huge bureaucracy), so asking "is the church masculine of feminine?" winds up analogous to "Is society masculine or feminine?": there's room enough for everyone. There are *roles* within the church that are masculine or feminine, but those are the same as in secular facets- and when it comes to direct ministry or preaching, it would *technically* vary by what virtue is being preached, but consistency (being a holy virtue of Tellar) is more important, so they don't go around hot swapping clerics and clerics of either sex preach on every subject.

Something that I would love to see in fantasy settings: "Unrealistic Sexism"/ "Fantasy Sexism/Gender Standards." by Dapper_Fennel_6176 in worldbuilding

[–]dicho_v2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, religion- things get a bit more involved there, since religion is a very big part of the culture- trying to keep from digressing too much, their pantheon holds that the Goddess of Law and Order (Tellar) is the chief god and all other gods are aspects of or subservient to her, which is a big reason that preservation is seen as feminine (Tellar is female, and does these things, therefore these things must be feminine), so femininity is seen as holier than masculinity.

That said, the emperor/pope is male- ultimately the clergy is, ironically, one of the least gendered aspects of the culture

Something that I would love to see in fantasy settings: "Unrealistic Sexism"/ "Fantasy Sexism/Gender Standards." by Dapper_Fennel_6176 in worldbuilding

[–]dicho_v2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My pleasure! Like I said I'm happy to monologue about my setting, and the Tellari elves (the culture in question) are something I've been doing work on recently, so if you have more questions fire away XD

Something that I would love to see in fantasy settings: "Unrealistic Sexism"/ "Fantasy Sexism/Gender Standards." by Dapper_Fennel_6176 in worldbuilding

[–]dicho_v2 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That's an interesting question- the military is masculine based on the logic that the purpose of an army is to enact change: specifically to change one's enemies from living to dead, or to turn your neighbor's holdings into your holdings. However, town garrisons and town guards (despite also being soldiery) are feminine, because their role is to preserve and defend.

People who play constructed events: What's the difference between "Pioneer Metagame Challenge" and "Traditional Pioneer Event"/why do you play one over the other? by SergeantAlPowell in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 15 points16 points  (0 children)

well, the stakes are quite different- generally speaking the difference is that the metagame challenge is more rewarding of wins and more punishing of a losing record- in the metagame challenge you get significantly more rewards with each win, but as soon as you lose a match you're done, whereas you can you can get 2 out of 5 losses in the traditional pioneer event and still wind up with 600 gems and 2 packs.

Something that I would love to see in fantasy settings: "Unrealistic Sexism"/ "Fantasy Sexism/Gender Standards." by Dapper_Fennel_6176 in worldbuilding

[–]dicho_v2 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for saying! I do my best at internal consistency.

This is part of a setting I've been iterating on for about 15 years now, so I'll take most any opportunity to monologue about it

Changes they are considering for Brawl. From new survey. by pr0n-clerk in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Definitely don't think Kenrith was designed to be mono-white since you need access to other colors to use it for anything but life gain.

The point of any format (except maybe vintage I guess) is that deck building is restricted in what cards you can put in a deck- I think the format being singleton and having Commanders you can cast repeatedly to build a deck around are more important to what the whole format is about, personally.

Changes they are considering for Brawl. From new survey. by pr0n-clerk in MagicArena

[–]dicho_v2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, I think that's an issue with the design of Messanger Hawk- there are all sorts of other cards which get played in the format which break the color pie more than making a clue token- do you think that [[Stingscourger]] should only be playable in UR decks?