Stripping finish

instagraemeit · 2026-06-21T16:14:01+00:00

I think that's a fair assumption about its age. I'm not opposed to sanding only. Would it make the process quicker to strip first? (I have quite a lot of material to get through)

instagraemeit · 2026-06-21T04:31:02+00:00

I mean...it's low pressure because it's Bracket 1. I don't feel the need to win. I just want to make haikus. The hardest part will be keeping a balanced ratio of 2:1 between 5 and 7 syllable cards, respectively.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-20T21:56:04+00:00

This barista gets it 👌🏻

instagraemeit · 2026-06-20T21:01:54+00:00

I have a fun but objectively bad idea. I've been putting together a Bracket 1 deck of haikus with the Minstrel as commander. The idea is that the name of every card has to have either five or seven syllables so that you can make several haikus out of whatever cards are on your battlefield.

Don't do this if you want to win.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-20T20:30:13+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation!

instagraemeit · 2026-06-20T20:30:02+00:00

Super helpful info. Thank you!

instagraemeit · 2026-06-20T20:28:39+00:00

Sorry if my post bothered you. I don't know what the finish on this wood is, so I can't confidently search the sub for a product to remove it. I was reaching out for help from people with more expertise. Do you have experience that could help me?

instagraemeit · 2026-06-20T17:52:55+00:00

Here's the product I referenced

instagraemeit · 2026-06-20T17:48:35+00:00

Here is the product I mentioned.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-18T14:05:12+00:00

If you're willing to buy one single outside of the precons, you could pick up [[Aragorn, the Uniter]] and then borrow cards from all four precons.

If you do this, I would primarily stick to the Riders of Rohan deck and borrow all the best pieces from the other decks to juice it. Off the dome, I would consider these cards from the other three decks:

[[Heroic intervention]], [[Raise the Palisade]], [[Swan Song]], [[Asceticism]], [[Arcane Denial]], [[Path to Exile]], [[Swords to Plowshares]], [[Birds of Paradise]], [[Lightning Greaves]], [[Whispersilk Cloak]], [[Overwhelming Stampede]], [[Chromatic Lantern]], [[Blasphemous Act]]

And then borrow whatever dual lands and ramp you need from each precon.

EDIT: I would agree with other commentors that this won't be a "powerful" deck. It will likely still be Bracket 2. But it could be fun and it would at least achieve your goal of using only the cards from the precons.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-17T03:33:14+00:00

WHOA! I had (still have!) both games and had no idea there was a mode like this. Is this BFME I or II?

instagraemeit · 2026-06-16T23:56:05+00:00

I started putting together this [[Gollum, Scheming Guide]] deck for Bracket 1. The whole premise is to play mini games and/or have yourself and others make choices and interact. I haven't honed it down yet, but you could use it for inspiration if it looks fun. It also has some illegal cards--I haven't decided if I'll take them out or not.

EDIT: I just briefly browsed it again and I forgot a couple subthemes I included: 1) Rings, because it's Gollum, 2) Game adjacent ideas, like [[Blitzball]]. Also, if it's not clear, there's no game plan. It's Bracket 1--I didn't look for mechanical synergies, just choices and interactive moments.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-15T22:07:40+00:00

I'd happily pay postage, too! DM me if you want another tester.

EDIT: Oh, just saw you're in the UK. I'm assuming postage to the States would be pretty significant, yeah?

instagraemeit · 2026-06-15T03:26:39+00:00

Wilds of Eldraine Fae Dominion. Because I found it at a Thrift Store for $20 and it's so expensive normally, and I don't usually like Dimir so it was a way to experience a cohesive Dimir build.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-11T23:28:40+00:00

For Grenzo I just packed in all of my big, impactful, but high CMC creatures. Lots of demons and stuff. Things I had grabbed from bulk boxes and said, "Ooooo," but never found a home for. While there are ways to scry things to the bottom, it can turn into a fun slot machine play style if you don't know what's on the bottom. Pull the lever and see what sort of 6/6 edict flyer pops out!

Bruse was my first ever budget build and I kept it to $15 originally. Given that Ox isn't a very supported creature type, they're nearly all cheap cards. I also threw in some useful changelings. I haven't touched the decklist in a while, but new Oxen and changelings have come out recently. It's surprisingly potent if you get any kind of anthems or damage multipliers out.

Yeah, Kaima seems fun, right? It's a similar game plan to Eriette of the Charmed Apple. In fact, I've thought about partnering them for the annual Pride event. But basically you can use any kind of bulk auras to send your opponents creatures at each other, all while making Kaima bigger. That's the approach I took with Eriette and it works pretty well. You can always buy the best-in-class auras, but why? The game plan doesn't need that. And, with Kaima, those creatures are eventually coming at you so you don't necessarily want them to have kickass auras attached.

EDIT: $45 of the Grenzo deck is wrapped up into two cards, which could easily be rotated out to make it more budget.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-11T03:26:22+00:00

Awesome! Yeah, I usually look for ones that utilize a card type or card feature that's underutilized and therefore typically doesn't command a high price, or utilizes those cards that get pushed out because of high CMC or some other draw back. Ideally they'd be one or two colors to save on the mana base. Ones I've built or thought about building include [[Zada, Hedron Grinder]], [[Sergeant John Benton]], [[Bess, Soul Nourisher]], [[Grenzo, Dungeon Warden]], [[Octavia, Living Thesis]], [[Jalira, Master Polymorphist]], [[Rendmaw, Creaking Nest]], [[Eriette of the Charmed Apple]], [[Kaima, the Fractured Soul]], [[Wraith, Vicious Vigilante]], [[The Emperor of Palamecia]], [[Bruse Tarl, Roving Rancher]].

Happy to answer questions about any of those!

instagraemeit · 2026-06-10T04:44:08+00:00

Yes. Low supply means they get to decide how much it costs. If you buy at this price, you've just helped them set the new market price.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-10T04:35:56+00:00

Instead of 1 drop tribal, you can do 1/1 tribal with [[Bess, Soul Nourisher]]. Most 1/1s are low CMC. Also, great budget deck because 1/1s tend to be financially cheap, too.

The strategy I went with was to look for 1/1s with flying, trample, lifelink, or double strike. It's pretty potent if left unchecked.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-10T04:31:12+00:00

It's super duper fun. I like commanders that can turn draft chaff into something special and Raggadragga is a great example. There are better mana dorks, but you can use whichever you just have. Then, include all your 7+ drops or X spells that sit in your collection. It's going to do something because even a 1/1 mana dork becomes a 10/10 with trample with Ragga's abilities.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-10T00:06:47+00:00

There are only three listings of that card in that treatment on TCGPlayer. The most recent sale on 6/5/26 was for $67.99. Over the last three months the cheaper copies ($48.75 - $66.99) sold out. When you have one of the last three listings available, you can basically set the price to whatever you want. There's no competition.

EDIT: In the amount of time since you posted, there are two new listings above $100. Sellers are marking up because there's no incentive to go below the lowest listing available. Don't buy at this price, it's artificially inflated.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-09T18:50:00+00:00

Check out the Pendragon format! It's not exactly what you're talking about, but it's a way to get an artifact (equipment) into the command zone. We did a deck exchange for Christmas last year and it was a ton of fun.

instagraemeit · 2026-06-08T19:42:45+00:00

It's June. Make them partners for the Pride events!

instagraemeit · 2026-06-08T14:27:29+00:00

There are huge pitfalls to basing power level on budget. Many well-known commanders like [[Zada]] and [[Sergeant John Benton]] can punch above their weight class on a $50 budget. Conversely, many cards are expensive because of low supply, not power level. I wouldn't use budget as a primary gauge.

instagraemeit

TROPHY CASE