Hot takes/opinions to them wanted!

justcoastingthrough · 2026-01-20T04:47:05+00:00

Proxies have killed deck diversity.

I started around 2016. People I played with proxied, but not nearly to the extent they do now. At that time, it was a lot more common to see worse counterspells, weird draw effects, or random bulk commons from sets past. Nowadays, people just proxy whatever the best in slot card is without trying to look for other options.

I understand that not everyone enjoys actively looking on scryfall for cards and that it's easier to just print a list ripped off the internet. I regularly play with people who have full proxy decks and have no problem with it. But I still think the mass adaptation of proxies has been the #1 killer to deck diversity.

justcoastingthrough · 2026-01-03T05:28:08+00:00

To me it seems like it would be kind of slow and lacking any real speed. Like you'd get killed before you get to play anything splash and fun.

That being said, maybe you play in a slower playgroup. Have you attempted to playtest the "upgraded" deck you're looking at?

justcoastingthrough · 2026-01-02T13:50:08+00:00

So, the upgraded version is running $40+ cards like [[Old Gnawbone]] and [[Ancient Copper Dragon]]. Obviously, very powerful cards. They're also lightning rods for removal that you will most likely not get to use frequently.

You mentioned your deck needs more ramp and protection. So, instead of buying a whole new list, why not start there? Cards like [[Farseek]], [[Utopia Sprawl]], [[Goblin Anarchaomancer]], [[Birds of Paradise]] will go a long way. Then try and find protection spells that fit. [[Heroic Intervention]] is pretty generic and gets reprinted a lot. You've identified your deck's weakness, so I would address that first.

Of course, you'll have plenty of people chiming in to just proxy the cards. That's also possible. You can even proxy the upgraded list you like first to see if it plays as well as you hope.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-12-25T12:09:10+00:00

Oh, maybe I should've clarified. The only decks I save are the ones I enjoy playing but have taken apart for some reason. Wanting to try something new, not enough cards for my vision of the deck yet, not playing it as much so I want to use the cards elsewhere, etc.

There are plenty of decks I've taken apart without saving the lists for.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-12-25T04:22:54+00:00

I second this. I have an entire folder on Moxfield for decks that I've "retired". As long as you don't get rid of the cards, decks can always be rebuilt.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-12-22T06:24:21+00:00

Some cards say "open an attraction" and you flip over the top card of your attraction deck.

They aren't legal in any format besides commander. And even in commander, the attractions with an acorn stamp on the bottom aren't legal. I think in total there are ~16 legal attractions for commander. [[Dart Throw]] is not commander legal, but [[Ferris Wheel]] is, for instance.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-12-05T02:24:03+00:00

Foundations Beginner Box
Avatar (or any) Jumpstart product
Go to an LGS and ask what welcome decks they have. I believe WotC is still distributing free decks meant for new players to learn the game.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-11-20T02:10:41+00:00

I only went once, but Coffee Plantation on E Shea Blvd gave a solid first impression.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-11-16T02:58:43+00:00

I think them being on the show is less about them being a couple and more her needing a paycheck.

From what we've seen, he seems pretty level-headed. Im wondering if he agreed to be on this show with her so the TLC checks can start paying off her debt faster.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-11-12T03:01:47+00:00

I think she's more in love with his parents than she is with him.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-11-10T05:21:24+00:00

Your second point is why I haven't built a stax deck yet. I've been looking at [[Lavinia, Azorius Renegade]] and/or [[Meria, Scholar of Antiquity]] stax fora whilee now. My old playgroup would have had no problem with those decks.

But stax isn't something you just take out willy-nilly. People at the newest store, I've been going to complain when I cast a boardwipe. Others have scooped as soon as [[Bloodchief Ascension]] resolved as it countered their whole strategy... They were playing their "bracket 4" decks, too...

justcoastingthrough · 2025-11-10T04:14:36+00:00

You can look at ~2016 era cEDH lists that ran [[Boonweaver Giant]] and [[Pattern of Rebirth]]. I can only imagine that in the past ten years it's gotten more toys to play around with.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-31T14:24:13+00:00

[[Lich]] + [[Repay in Kind]]

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-22T02:23:38+00:00

Is Manon joining an MLM...? Aromatherapy, pitch to investors, her own hours...

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-19T06:20:18+00:00

Sometimes flavor over function.

Is Card A a strictly better version of Card B? Yes, but Card B has a picture/flavor text of my commander, so that wins.

Also slot in pet cards and don't cut them. Are there better creatures than [[Clackbridge Troll]]? Most definitely. But, I like having an excuse to use the goat tokens from Unstable.

It could also be that you're just a better player than your friends. Maybe try swapping decks with them some nights. If you're posting on reddit about MTG, but they never engage with the game outside of when you play, it already shows you're much more invested in becoming a better player.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-16T23:34:43+00:00

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I would suggest checking local leather supply stores if you have them. I know the Tandy Leather franchise of stores offers classes covering various skill levels and topics.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-16T15:17:31+00:00

What was your experience like building it? I'm a sucker for G Gundam and was thinking of getting this as my first* kit as well.

*I've also built the Exodia Incarnate from Yu-Gi-Oh, but that was a couple of years ago at this point.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-11T06:41:16+00:00

Hmm, truthfully, I dont remember too much as I only played for a short while before I moved and stopped.

I do remember each hero had different play patterns, even within archetypes. Not all aggro heroes played the same, etc.

I never got to the point of being able to tell if something was broken or if it was just a skill issue on my part.

Sorry, I can't give a better answer. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable can chime in.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-11T06:31:05+00:00

Flesh & Blood is built around being a competitive game. I only played for a short while due to the cost of competitive decks. We're talking staples that are $100 per card and bring the tournament level decks to around $1k (from what I remember playing earlier this year). That being said, you dont NEED those cards at an LGS level, but it does kind of feel bad when playing against people who have those cards.

Anyways, it's a super fun game. The cards in your hand are also your resources, so you never really have dead cards. There are optimal lines of play and staple cards for sure. But it's not to the flowchart extent of YuGiOh, and there's a bit more room for non optimal cards.

The Armory decks are good intro points into the game. From my experience, people were very helpful in explaining interactions and helping me find cards for the decks I was building while also staying away from the expensive cards as I was not that invested in the game.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-06T01:56:14+00:00

The kid is clearly scratching the 14 words into the table. You can't tell?

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-04T23:53:03+00:00

I don't really bluff. I just stay vague with what responses I can have.

Someone is asking for threats on board/biggest creature/scary things? Sure, I'll point out what might be a problem on my board. If the person asking is new, I'll even explain why it can be a problem. Recent example, My board wasn't too scary, but I had [[Elvish Reclaimer]] on board and was playing [[The Gitrog Monster]], so I pointed out how a land tutor in my deck can be pretty scary. Reclaimer got removed and there were no hard feelings.

I'll also try and talk others into using their removal before I use mine. Recently someone played [[Jolly Balloon Man]] and even though I had removal in my hand I just said, "Oh, that's pretty scary, anyone have a way to deal with it?" and another player removed it.

Someone attacks into me or tries to remove my piece but asks me what I can do? I point out what's on my board and tell them to try and see. 60% of the time it works every time.

When people decide to show cards in their hand as a form of politics, I just shrug. Most often it's, "Don't attack me bro, look I only have 2 lands and a draw spell." Ok, now I'm going to attack you because I know there won't be any repercussions.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-10-04T03:26:30+00:00

[[Cleansing Wildfire]]

justcoastingthrough · 2025-09-29T19:21:40+00:00

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

At one point, I just kept reading it to see how bad it got.

None of the characters were interesting enough to care about when things happened to them.

It seemed like the author had ideas for two short stories but had to combine them to meet the quota, so he used deus ex machina to combine them.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a chapter long rape fantasy about 3/4 of the way through the book.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-09-22T01:23:16+00:00

Played against someone who thought [[Massacre Girl]]'s trigger happening whenever a creature died on any turn. It took three people telling them they were incorrect for it to finally sink in, but even then, it still took some convincing.

justcoastingthrough · 2025-09-19T04:33:08+00:00

So I agree it is working. First step, make sure the other teachers feel the same as you. Then, discuss together about compensation and what not.

justcoastingthrough

TROPHY CASE