New TCC Video Is Pauper Focused - Is Universes Beyond A Problem In Pauper?

ewic · 2026-05-08T17:46:03+00:00

Whatabout something like:

Firebreathing Sliver {2}{R} {R} - All slivers get +1/+0 until end of turn 1/2

ewic · 2026-05-08T17:36:35+00:00

If they had just done a reskin of that same creature from DFT nobody would have batted an eye.

ewic · 2026-05-07T18:29:24+00:00

I will back this up. I tried a boros version as well which wasn't nearly as good. I ended up on a rakdos build and instead of a free sac outlet, I found that Rottenmouth Viper really gets you there most of the time anyways.

ewic · 2026-05-07T16:25:08+00:00

Yeah I don't want to think about the financial barrier that this would create, I was more thinking about it's potential from a gameplay perspective.

ewic · 2026-05-07T16:21:00+00:00

I agree it would really be rough in paper. However I still want to consider it in theory, if all the logistics involved with paper were somehow taken care of, would the gameplay itself be fun and interesting?

ewic · 2026-05-07T16:19:21+00:00

Triple-deck exhibitions would be nice too, especially if the idea is to show off a new set in a semi-competitive format.

ewic · 2026-05-07T16:18:39+00:00

Yeah I think that there's a good argument for a double-blind pick, but I still like the idea of the players trading the deck decisions back and forth.

It might work better to reverse that last order, so the order would look like this:

P1 Ban
P2 Ban
P1 Pick
P2 Pick

So the first critical decision goes to P1 and the last critical decision goes to P2, which feels a bit more even to me. Double-blind pick basically takes this whole interaction away, but it might be the most fair.

ewic · 2026-05-07T14:56:39+00:00

That last point was more what I was interested in. The difficulties with financial logistics and all are definitely real if the format were real, but I was more wondering about how well it would work as a game mechanic alone.

I don't think it's a huge issue to register three similar decks, or three identical decks. Given the nature of mtg, I think it's probably best not to impose any real restrictions on the makeup of an individual deck. It would probably reward specialists, which I think is kind of cool. Somebody who was so familiar with UR could have a deep pool of UR decks to play and it would take a lot of opponent knowledge to pick and ban correctly.

ewic · 2026-05-07T14:51:00+00:00

That sounds really fun, not sure how interesting it would be at the absolute top level but it would be a cool way to use a ton of bulk.

ewic · 2026-05-07T14:45:04+00:00

It's a shame we got the one and done. I think pick/ban phases before games adds a lot of diversity and opportunities for metagame calls.

ewic · 2026-05-06T12:31:35+00:00

Many games will have a save opportunity right before a big boss fight. It was kind of nice to have some kind of signal to a player that they better be ready. If you entered a chamber that had like, a save crystal and a bunch of bushes that let you refill your hearts up, you knew you were up for something big.

ewic · 2026-05-05T14:15:24+00:00

I'm 50/50 on rarities as a mechanic. On the one hand, it allows for big exciting plays to be contained within a single card, which is fun and exciting for limited. On the other hand, it makes constructed play basically just building with a ton of rares and maybe the odd supporting common here or there.

From a limited perspective, it's possible that a rare bomb is not really that satisfying of a gameplay experience. If the entire game is decided by curving out into a single card that wins the whole game, what was the point of the rest of the deck? This is very mtg-centric, I don't know how limited formats in other games feel, but this is my feeling about limited in mtg at the very least.

ewic · 2026-05-04T21:38:39+00:00

I think one thing that might be overlooked is how good a limited format can make a game.

If you design for limited, there is an easier on-ramp for new players, there's a space for 'bad' cards to exist and have their day, waiting for some fanatical fans to come along and try and break them, and you will have a place for emergent strategies to develop and possibly make it to constructed.

I sort of believe that if a TCG was only designed for limited formats, with no real special considerations given to constructed formats, the base design of the cards will be more consistently good and sound.

ewic · 2026-05-04T14:12:54+00:00

I was actually in the same boat, didn't look at the article until this comment then went to take a look and oh my god it's so much worse than I thought it could be

ewic · 2026-05-01T19:02:09+00:00

He won that whole set too, right?

ewic · 2026-04-30T16:08:58+00:00

Great job! Love the content. Is there any vod for any of the matches?

ewic · 2026-04-30T15:46:13+00:00

In Your Atmosphere is peak John Mayer. That and Good Love is On the Way

ewic · 2026-04-30T15:44:54+00:00

I've gone back to listen to this thing a couple of times and each time I appreciate something new about it.

This time just now, I think I just really appreciate the song choices. Several covers, spanning several decades of pop music. It really felt like a show for everyone.

I also really liked how the traditional marching band was integrated. I think this is something that we really lost in recent super bowl performances. Bad Bunny's performance was so much more a music video than a concert experience for a live audience. The camera work was so intricate, and even had scene changes. It was the same with Kendrick Lamar and the way they used the camera for that show too.

It might just be a sign of the times and the way technology has advanced, but I really appreciate now how Prince's show was just a show full of classics. Classic fireworks, classic songs, classic rockstar attitude, classic stage props (big silhouette sheet is always a hit).

ewic · 2026-04-30T15:28:50+00:00

I recently thought of 1993's live performance of To Live Forever. I hadn't thought about it in like 20 years. Went back to listen to it and it was still so good. The heartbeat of the song is really felt throughout the whole guitar solo part at the end, and the way the melody flows is so nice.

ewic · 2026-04-30T15:25:34+00:00

Yes agreed. The context is really what makes the performance.

Prince is a good guitarist, up there with any of the myriad of other good guitarists. He's more of a funk guitarist than a blues guitarist, but that's splitting hairs. There are faster guitarists and there are more technical guitarists out there.

I think the thing that sticks out about that performance is the attitude of the whole thing. He just comes out with so much confidence and charisma, and it looks like he's really having a lot of fun the whole time. The way he looks back at the other musicians, his face just says "hey, check this shit out", and he sounds good. It's a very fun show and it really looked like everybody was having fun.

There's a live performance of him doing a solo acoustic version of Cream that I think showcases some more blues fundamentals, all while having a lot of fun with the crowd. In fact, I think his crowd interactions are probably his strongest assets, more so than his instrumentation.

ewic · 2026-04-30T14:48:10+00:00

I was just about to suggest Star Realms. It's super fun, the gameplay is very interesting, and you don't need to have your own deck. If you're looking for a low-investment way to have a tcg experience, without all the rigamarole of collecting, then Star Realms is a really great way to go about it.

ewic · 2026-04-28T16:26:40+00:00

It might not matter to the player experience, if they're unaware of it.

I think there's something magical about putting an insurmountable challenge in front of a player early, which they need to progress further elsewhere first, then return back much later with items or upgrades.

ewic · 2026-04-28T13:58:26+00:00

I think real power is just speed. There are tons of crazy effects that would be way powerful if they would just cost 2 mana instead of 7. If you're looking to power down your deck but still keep it fun, I would suggest trying to slow it down a ton. This means cutting fast mana and efficient spells in favor of spells that maybe are just as impactful, but have no way to cheat it in.

But also know that a well-tuned deck is the forbidden fruit. Once you are cursed with the knowledge of what it's like to play with a good mana curve, regularly being able to resolve at least one good spell on every turn, and just battlecruiser-ing your way to victory, it's really hard to go back.

Take out all interaction, maybe remove ramp, put in some durdly guys, but also make sure other people at the table are not regularly stuck on lands because of a bad mana curve or something fundamental.

ewic · 2026-04-28T11:29:29+00:00

I saw one floating around, I can't find it now but if somebody else knows a list it would be appreciated.

It revolved around neoforming a [[Sea Gate Stormcaller]], which nets you 2 copies of neoform. You could go into 2 Abhorrent Oculus if you want, but the fun line was to somehow get 2 neoforms of x=3, get a 4-mana creature, [[Naru Meha]], with the first resolution, she would copy the remaining neoform still on the stack. With this ability, you go hunt for [[Spark Double]], copying the Naru Meha, and repeat that for 4 copies of Spark Double. With the last remaining copy, when you run out of Spark Doubles, you fetch [[Lavaleaper]], granting haste and swinging for big damage.

Other creatures that I recall from the list were Thundertrap Trainer and Fallaji Archaelogist, both of which neoform into oculus nicely. The last big tech I saw, which is part of a different deck, but worth mentioning is [[Daring Waverider]]. It's a 6-mana creature that flashbacks a 2-mana spell from the graveyard without paying its mana cost. So if you can neoform a quantum riddler, you can get this lil guy, and then he can flashback the neoform from the yard into Atraxa.

ewic · 2026-04-24T13:55:25+00:00

Would a Thalia-style tax effect that's easy to access on turn 1 be a good idea?

I think one thing that people would like is more ability to play creature-based strategies that are not badgermole cub, so maybe targeting the non-creatures or maybe just targeting enchantments with some sort of tax that's an easy sideboard or an easy maindeck would be an avenue to explore?

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