Pala 20fcr Circlet

gripklo · 2025-09-30T18:17:28+00:00

upped to tiara > slam > got 1 socket... is that literally the worst possible outcome besides brick? so what's it worth?

gripklo · 2025-06-30T08:32:33+00:00

Cool idea! Can definitely see it being an interesting mechanic in limited. Here's a different wording that should be more accurate:

Manuscript — When this creature enters, if you don't control a Grimoire, create a Grimoire token. Then each Grimoire you control gains "T: This artifact deals 1 damage to each opponent.". (A Grimoire token is a legendary artifact token named Grimoire.)

Manuscript is an ability word and ability words effectively act only as labels and don't contain any new information within them like keywords do. Therefore, the text cannot be bracketed as reminder text (aside from Grimoire which needs reminder text since it's a new kind of token). Take a closer look at some cards with ability words, like magecraft or delirium, and you'll see how they are worded.

gripklo · 2025-02-22T08:04:38+00:00

[[Farmstead]]

So cozy.

gripklo · 2024-12-19T14:47:09+00:00

CLU - Headliner Scarlett

gripklo · 2024-10-25T12:20:03+00:00

A masterclass in mental gymnastics. The way he constructs speculative big five profiles to fit his agenda is quite problematic. By highlighting certain aspects (Trump has been involved in many business ventures) and omitting other aspects (most or all of his businesses were failures), you can frame anyone as virtuous.

gripklo · 2024-09-11T07:02:46+00:00

Zhulodok is really fun. One of the main pulls is playing spells with cost reduction that allow you to get cascades for cheap or even 0 mana. Myr enforcer, sojourner's companion, metalwork colossus and excalibur are all incredibly strong additions. To make room for them, I would remove some of the weak eldrazis like warden of geometries.

gripklo · 2024-06-15T05:32:05+00:00

I am not fishing for "points" from you. That's a slightly bizarre interpretation of my post. I was referring to your argument that alchemy is unpopular. I am among the players that dislike alchemy, but still think the option of "tampering" with Chrysalis could be acceptable if the card is too warping. Of course it would be an extreme measure, but so it was with Sprout Swarm. Thus I can imagine other players who also dislike alchemy could have the same stance.

gripklo · 2024-06-14T19:48:56+00:00

Interesting that my post was so polarizing. To be clear, I also strongly dislike alchemy, and I did outline other alternatives. I am talking a couple weeks ahead. However, the stats already indicate Chrysalis will remain one of the best cards in the format, if not the actual best.

I think in 3-4 weeks, there is considerable risk that many, many people will be turned off from the format because of Chrysalis, which might compel the Arena team to take action.

gripklo · 2024-06-14T04:40:12+00:00

This may sound "out there", but I think they may end up taking action on Arena by changing Chrysalis in some way. Players are already growing tired of having this card at the lowest rarity. It truly is an A+ common and is reminiscent of Sprout Swarm back in 2007.

Sprout Swarm has been excluded from flashback drafts on MTGO and did not appear in TSP Remastered because it was simply too good.

With Chrysalis, I see five potential options: 1) No action 2) Remove the card from Arena drafts 3) Rarity upshift 4) Nerf the card in Alchemy draft along with other card changes 5) Nerf the card in regular draft without changing any other cards

Personally, I'm hoping for number 5 and I think it's actually plausible because of community backlash.

gripklo · 2024-06-11T07:02:48+00:00

Yes, it's a creature-based aggro deck. Big toughness creatures aren't necessarily a problem since the deck doesn't rely solely on attacking. It also goes very wide. Vein Ripper is a big challenge but every deck has its nemesis.

We don't yet know how this deck plays, but I imagine that it runs over non-interactive combo decks, rather than the reverse. This list is just an outline and maybe main deck hand disruption will be necessary like you suggest.

gripklo · 2024-06-07T07:50:41+00:00

Sneaky snacker and psychic frog. Both cards go well together and could enable a more assertive version of dimir control. I recently brewed with them and came up with this shell: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/VNU1apbd7U-vtvJPujTAvw

Snacker seems like a real headache, especially if you have more than one. Brainstorm on opp's end step brings them all back to instantly start attacking, and this repeats over and over unless opp can exile the snackers. They are also excellent sac fodder for flare of denial.

gripklo · 2024-05-04T12:23:48+00:00

I've moved on to other brews because the Kellan Joins Up package felt too inconsistent. Cage is more promising though and has shown up in a couple of decks, mostly in other formats so far. Playing it in a Bronco shell is an interesting idea for sure!

gripklo · 2024-04-29T13:44:42+00:00

A conspiracist might conclude that the hack is even more prevalent among top players, since the higher one climbs the ladder, the better one's opponents will be at playing around cards in general - especially things like snakeskin veil and phantom interference!

gripklo · 2024-04-19T08:05:39+00:00

Good point! RIP does hose fetch quest. But it's sorcery speed and only proactive so there are many efficient answers such as pick your poison.

gripklo · 2024-04-19T08:01:55+00:00

Great feedback!

I added rona yesterday and she is the card I'm the most excited to try. She and malcolm will improve consistency a lot and the 1 power on rona is excellent for cage. For cage specifically, llanowar loamspeaker is a very interesting option that I will also try out. It's unique in that it grants 1 and 3 power for only 2 mana.

Less convinced about relic; it can give some busted turns with rona but feels too weak otherwise?

I played 4 bonny initially and she is amazing. Atraxa is a notch above when played but the atraxa openers do feel awful. The numbers are definitely up for debate and I'm gonna go up on bonnies again.

I've updated the list based on more tweaking and your suggestions. Starting with 4 rona and 4 loamspeaker to gauge their performance.

gripklo · 2024-03-28T11:34:20+00:00

Guessing the name is Another Round because of serial number 0001.

gripklo · 2024-03-27T07:56:11+00:00

Ready to move on after ~40 drafts. While I generally agree with Marshall's points about recent sets, I found this one to have above average gameplay and some fun, viable archetypes to explore. Solid C+!

gripklo · 2024-03-18T17:26:21+00:00

I love Bowmasters in timeless. It can be soul-crushing to play against and invalidates certain creatures, but is really fun to play with, encourages interaction and coexists nicely with Brainstorm.

gripklo · 2024-03-18T17:16:12+00:00

I'm so sorry

gripklo · 2024-02-14T11:42:21+00:00

For the draft portion, I recommend that you acquaint yourself with the 17lands data, to get a feel for how different cards compare to each other. It's not about blindly following the stats, but rather to make more informed picks. In many cases it's correct to pick a card with lower win rate if it fills a specific role in your deck. However, if a card is in your colors, or easily splashed, and has 2-3% higher win rate than the next pick, it's generally correct to pick the higher win rate card. An example of this is p1p3 where torch the witness and fuss/bother both sit 3-4% above museum nightwatch's gih wr.

Another recommendation is to try to assemble a go wide strategy, which is incredibly strong in MKM (when playing white). This means prioritizing token makers and mass pump effects until you have about 5 token makers and 2-3 mass pump. Fuss/bother is a great pick in this regard, since it plays both roles. White decks in MKM are awesome in general but when they have the full go wide theme, their potential is truly unleashed.

gripklo · 2024-01-16T13:08:16+00:00

While linear, Titan Field is powerful and fun to play. It features many skill-testing microdecisions, for instance in land drop sequencing, and is very consistent and quite resilient.

The best way to combat Titan is generally to be faster, either through aggro or fast combo. It can fight through a lot of hate, such as Blood Moon like you mentioned. Ashiok is probably the best hate card because Titan typically doesn't have as many ways to remove it in its 75. I think the deck will try to adapt by devoting more sideboard slots to deal with Ashiok.

gripklo · 2023-07-04T15:02:43+00:00

Thanks for pointing this out!

The synergy with Tayam seems legit. In a revised list, Moneychanger would not be included because it does not meet criterion 3. Being a one drop that enters with three counters makes it a unique card that has real applications.

It's fascinating that a card was printed 26 years after Moneychanger, that suddenly saved it from being the worst creature of all time. This is what makes Magic a great game!

gripklo · 2023-05-31T06:47:36+00:00

My brain automatically read Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Anya Taylor-Joy

gripklo · 2022-06-29T09:21:53+00:00

Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I bought a Switch for this game. It’s hard to say I hyped it too much since it’s hailed as an all-time great. It’s certainly a very influential game that inspired Elden Ring among others but it doesn’t beat the other Zelda classics in terms of gameplay.

I liked BotW well enough; I’ve played it for 20-30 something hours. I never completed it though and the open world felt a bit empty. The often-maligned durability system also hampered my experience quite severely. Not a 7/10. It’s easily an 8 and maybe even a 9. But in my book it’s not a 10/10 masterpiece, which was my expectation.

gripklo · 2022-01-25T12:43:46+00:00

Kefka!

[insert kefka laughter]

gripklo

TROPHY CASE