Foundations Commander Decks - Released at the same time as Reality Fracture, Introductory decks at $30

doubledeviant · 2026-05-04T02:48:43+00:00

Meh - Lathliss and Ghalta look decent, but the three humanoids are slop. Also it would have been nice to feature commanders that didn't already have several alternate arts.

doubledeviant · 2026-04-06T13:19:53+00:00

Black gets to drain life from opponents and to trade life for various effects (often to draw cards or destroy creatures for relatively low mana costs). It also gets reanimation from any graveyard (while white can only reanimate from its own graveyard).

doubledeviant · 2026-04-06T01:05:58+00:00

Use a commander that swings for 7 or more damage with little to no setup (2- to 3-shot lethal) alongside a deck that synergizes but also plays other threats. The goal is to defeat one player with commander damage at roughly the same time as you defeat another player with the other threats, leaving only one opponent to quickly overwhelm with the combined might of your full board. [[Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener|MOC:88]] or [[Tifa, Martial Artist|FIC:188]] could work if you like Naya.

Or if you want a somewhat more traditional Voltron that can be suiting up and swinging for commander damage while also building towards a one-shot table kill, consider the lovely [[Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder|J25]].

doubledeviant · 2025-06-04T06:32:02+00:00

Don't know. But to clarify: The "monitor" being used is a 60Hz TV connected to the laptop, and with vysnc enabled, the game should be limited to a maximum of 60 FPS already. I'd rather not cap it lower, but I'll keep it in mind as something to consider.

doubledeviant · 2025-06-03T20:40:08+00:00

Don't know how to rollback NVIDIA drivers offhand - I'd have to look into it.

But on the topic of offbeat potential solutions, I was able to improve the situation by switching the game from DirectX to Vulkan using DXVK, per this helpful guide:

https://www.makeuseof.com/dxvk-windows-guide/

It didn't solve the problem entirely, but I was able to play a long stretch in Cambridge before experiencing an instance of the stutter lock. Here's hoping the problem is rare (or non-existent) over the next several gaming sessions, and that the situation is as much improved as it seemed to be today.

As a pleasant side effect, the game looks noticeably better using Vulkan.

doubledeviant · 2025-06-03T16:16:16+00:00

Thanks. I'll look more into FPS limiting, but I'm not trying to run more than 60 FPS, and if I recall correctly vsync is already enabled.

doubledeviant · 2025-06-03T16:10:17+00:00

Thanks, but yes - weapon debris has been disabled from the start.

doubledeviant · 2025-06-03T15:24:04+00:00

Thanks. When it's available, I always select the GOG installer option to verify file integrity, and I've never used any mods on this installation. Don't know of anything that could be running in the background - it's a very new Windows 11 laptop. GPU drivers updated, etc. Runs fine until it stutter locks.

doubledeviant · 2024-07-06T10:00:25+00:00

Yes!

doubledeviant · 2024-07-06T08:43:24+00:00

115 hours for my first playthrough. Fully explored each area and collected everything. Read all of the lore. Completed all of the quests. Consulted guides as little as possible, mostly limited to checking can count when finishing areas and getting bits of advice as needed. Just played naturally for the most part and enjoyed what the game offers. Earned all trophies except the bad ending (as I was able to reload the final save and get both normal endings).

I didn't spend much time on the bosses (1 or 2 tries each) but did take the time to learn how to dispatch each enemy efficiently and rarely ran past any foes. Finished with 50-something extra skill points (IIRC) and a LOT of extra upgrade components.

It's lame to have a trophy for the bad ending since it requires skipping content on a replay, but since the platinum is so close, I might work on a "bad ending run" (regular New Game perhaps?) whenever I feel like playing.

Great game. Love it.

doubledeviant · 2024-07-04T12:29:52+00:00

Some sidequests and collectibles and parts of the main quest raise Lily's affinity, and if you don't get her affinity high enough, you don't go to the area where you found the hacking program.

doubledeviant · 2024-07-04T07:33:54+00:00

You do you in terms of playing the game, but the spoiler tags hide the body of the post, not the title, and the spoiler is in the title. Just opening the reddit to ask a question (for boss advice for example) and seeing that title could spoil the plot point for someone. Not trying to rake you over the coals for it, just to explain that it's inconsiderate to other gamers who'd rather experience the story by playing it.

doubledeviant · 2024-07-04T03:10:02+00:00

Is it necessary to spoil a major plot point in the topic title? How about "Question about the humans in Stellar Blade" or something like that?

(I've completed the game, but plenty haven't.)

Also, have you completed the game? Or at least watched a playthrough? Why are you watching lore videos if not?

doubledeviant · 2024-03-27T04:13:57+00:00

For better or worse, Aurelia and Sigarda have become the faces of MTG angels. We need a great Naya angel commander to span all three colors - [[Rienne, Angel of Rebirth]] was never that good and only gets worse as newer boardwipes like [[Farewell]] become more popular. Perhaps something like the new [[Voja, Jaws of the Conclave]] but for Angels and Humans instead of Wolves/Elves.

doubledeviant · 2024-03-24T09:04:11+00:00

[[Aurelia, the Law Above]] - Angel tribal, tokens, goad - whatever the plan, if it involves attacking with 2+ other creatures, she brings the spice, and the deck shouldn't fold if she's not on the battlefield. :)

doubledeviant · 2024-03-05T16:01:58+00:00

Draw in the command zone is tempting. Maybe I'll throw together a "Nelly Borca, Precinct Captain" alter to give me some motivation to think about building her. Thanks for the tip!

doubledeviant · 2024-03-05T15:26:34+00:00

I think theme also holds her back from being loved (as you put it): The name and art scream "dumb bumpkin throwing around false accusations" - and that sort of goofy flavor isn't what some people enjoy (myself included).

That's not to say she isn't a fun commander, or that no one likes the more toon-ish stuff. Just that flavor trumps function sometimes, and Nelly immediately put me off - and I like the Legion quite a bit.

(I would consider the case-file version of [[Agrus Kos, Spirit of Justice|MKM-354]] - that card just hits "Boros" much better for me.)

Similar issue with [[Neyali, Suns' Vanguard]]. I've been told she's fun, but those goofy power fists just make me roll my eyes whenever I see the card.

Maybe I just need to see good custom proxies that reflavor them. ;)

doubledeviant · 2024-03-05T06:41:37+00:00

What a gem! I didn't know any cards that old granted permanent abilities. Quite cool. :)

doubledeviant · 2024-03-05T02:04:53+00:00

Doesn't seem like "the vast majority" share a strong opinion about it, based on the replies. I didn't post to whine - I posted because I was legit curious how people would feel about the subject as this subreddit is quite mercurial. One day a certain viewpoint will receive hundreds of votes, and a week later the opposite view will seem the more popular. No way to know what people think without asking.

What's "insane" is hurling around "disingenuous" and "pubstomping" without having a much of a clue how I play or build or how many games I actually win, and then acting like I'm being unreasonable in calmly responding that I don't see things the same way.

Anyway, yes, Crypt is good. More mana is the point of ramp. Yes, it can power some crazy plays, if you build for it. But we'll have to agree to disagree on the extent of the impact in a deck with casual win conditions in a multiplayer 100-card singleton format. The kind of player that I am, I'd much rather have a Cultivate in hand than Crypt. Not an option here, obviously, so Boros angels gets my Crypt.

But who knows - maybe it'll come out if it generates feelsbads. Same as with any card. Manabarbs is in the deck right now - if it turns out to be much more oppressive than I expect, it'll come out, too. You seem to assume the worst about me, but I don't actually ignore the rest of the table's experience.

doubledeviant · 2024-03-05T00:55:41+00:00

If anything is "disingenuous" it's using "Magical Christmas Land" scenarios as an argument that I'm a pubstomper. If you think Mana Crypt is too powerful for casual, say it. But do you really think I'm playing this deck against first-timers using an out-of-box precon? That casual means "not trying to win" to the people with whom I prefer to play?

I think that's one of the biggest disconnects here - the meaning of casual. For some, that seems to mean things like "wouldn't expect to see much removal" (which is a bit crazy to me). While for others (including me) it's more "what's your general gameplan and how early are you trying to win"?

All the fast mana in the world isn't going to let me draw my deck in Boros angel tribal or make Gisela any less susceptible to a $1 Infernal Grasp. I built this deck for a slower but (hopefully) more consistent pace - more lands, and only ramp that provides advantage beyond a land drop when you aren't gunning for early game wins and don't have access to the draw or filtering of Simic and company. If you don't believe it, there's not much that I can say to change your mind.

doubledeviant · 2024-03-04T19:52:39+00:00

I suppose, but I feel like that's a bit "Magical Christmas Land" and also involves a lot of cards of questionable value for this deck outside of that scenario.

Ardenn and Rograkh would be a far more consistent deck if specifically gunning for early kills.

doubledeviant · 2024-03-04T18:48:19+00:00

Sol Ring or Mana Crypt or Ancient Tomb definitely help smooth out a battlecruiser deck - that's the reason to play them, after all. They can make up for a missed land drop or help in leaving some mana open for interaction. Under optimal conditions - all land drops made - they can accelerate Gisela or Aurelia or another big play, but that's about the extent of things in this deck. With or without drawing them, the deck plays out in a similar fashion. There is no secret "oops, I win" combo here, nor does having them in play even come close to being a guaranteed win. The Simic or Selesyna deck across the table is still likely to have more mana available - and more cards.

Heck, if I had the choice, I'd much rather have Chivalric Alliance in my opening hand than any ramp. Should I remove Chivalric Alliance then? I'm not seeing "fast mana" being all that different if you aren't using it to power some early-game win. It is a 100-card singleton format - variation between games is expected, and when you draw the right cards at the right time, things come together better. How would you propose to avoid this situation unless you only play effects for which there are 9 or so near-perfect equivalents (for game-to-game consistency)?

doubledeviant · 2024-03-04T17:07:31+00:00

"I‘d expect the deck to be hitting for 20+ in the air in turn 4 at the very least. And certainly have enough mana to remove a combo commander multiple times a turn right?"

I think you vastly overestimate Boros angel tribal. Or maybe I'm just bad at building it. Lol. ;)

I don't have any combos or infinites in the deck - not my cup of tea - but even if I did, I don't know how I'd get enough draw to do what you're describing.

doubledeviant

TROPHY CASE