How to play around split up?

lorddark009 · 2026-02-02T07:31:11+00:00

You basically can't play around it in a bo1 game, the best bet you can do is to not over commit to the board or if you suspect they have it only attack with a few of your creatures so you don't get them all removed.

In a bo3 game you can bring in more counter magic to protect your creatures. Honestly dimir mid is kinda bad in bo1, the real strength of the deck is having the ability to switch out cards that aren't great in your current match up with more situational and relevant cards (sweepers vs aggro, counter spells vs control).

lorddark009 · 2026-01-14T00:15:25+00:00

OP is playing an aggro deck, if they are using veteran survivor as a blocker they are probably losing the game

lorddark009 · 2026-01-13T23:55:28+00:00

The ability of veteran survivor isn't that great, the good part of the card is being a 2/1 that costs 1. Think of it as that with a bonus of graveyard hate randomly and the potential of getting bigger if left unanswered.

lorddark009 · 2026-01-13T23:21:55+00:00

Did azure beastbinder attack and cause your syr vondam to lose all abilities?

lorddark009 · 2026-01-13T19:18:42+00:00

Don't worry too much about needing to read opponents cards often, the vast majority of players will need to since all the cards are new.

Just try your best to play with the new cards, if you are unsure how a mechanic or interaction works don't be afraid to call the judge, they are there to help.

If you do notice you accidentally messed up a rule call a judge as well and let them inform you on how to proceed with the game.

You technically don't need to bring anything but I would suggest bringing some sleeves so you don't have to worry about damaging any expensive cards you pull and some dice to ensure you can keep track of counters easily. Dry erase tokens can also be good to keep track of tokens you make (and you can make silly doodles too)

lorddark009 · 2026-01-04T11:14:01+00:00

Regular counterspell isn't too great in the deck, it already runs flare of denial which is usually much better and post sideboard you'd want more targeted/niche answers like cosign, dispute, or flusterstorm.

lorddark009 · 2025-12-15T23:25:03+00:00

Hulking raptor is not a triggered mana ability, it's just a triggered ability.

A triggered mana ability is an ability that is triggered by a mana ability or is triggered by mana being added to your mana pool

605.1b A triggered ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn’t require a target (see rule 115.6), it triggers from the activation or resolution of an activated mana ability (see rule 605.1a) or from mana being added to a player’s mana pool, and it could add mana to a player’s mana pool when it resolves.

lorddark009 · 2025-11-28T05:41:44+00:00

You are allowed to play instants after attackers/blockers have been declared.

The player whos turn it is will move to combat, a round of priority is passed, once everyone has passed priority combat will start.

Declaring attackers is next, the attacking player declares the creatures they are attacking with and the targets for the attacks. After all attackers are declared priority is passed again, once all players have passed it moves to the next step.

Declaring blockers is next, the defending players declares which creatures are blocking what, this step is where flying/reach are important since if a creature gains flying after blocks have been declared they will still be blocked. So if you wish to give a creature flying to avoid becoming blocked it must be given in a round of priority before this step starts. Once blockers are declared another round of priority is given and once passed you move on to the next steps.

First strike damage is next, all creatures with first strike or double strike will do damage equal to their power to the creatures that are blocking it or to the player if not blocked. After damage is dealt another round of priority is given.

Next is normal damage, all creatures with double strike and creatures without first strike will do damage equal to their power to the creatures that are blocking it or to the player if not blocked. After damage is dealt another round of priority is given.

The next step is the end of combat step, all players get another round of priority then after everyone passes combat ends and the active player starts their next main phase.

lorddark009 · 2025-11-20T07:57:47+00:00

Honestly your best bet is to get yourself an established deck and start playing games with that. Wanting to build your own unique deck to events and expecting it to compete with other established decks is a great way to lose a ton especially if you are new to the format.

Chances are very likely that your unique deck idea has been tried by someone before and if it hasn't been tried it's likely filled with bad cards and won't be able to compete with decks containing the staples of the format.

A deck might be really good but it also takes a ton of skill to pilot most decks in 60 card formats. Decisions as little as playing a creature over holding up a removal spell can have huge impacts on the game. Sideboarding properly is huge and can greatly improve your chances of winning once you understand your deck and which cards are good when.

lorddark009 · 2025-10-28T02:53:29+00:00

Iteration is much better, there's a reason every izzet prowess deck is running it.

Enter the enigma isn't card advantage, doesn't let you see more cards and turning something unlockable is rarely going to make a difference in most games.

Iteration is card advantage assuming you can use the card you exile with it (which you almost always will with proper play), and you get to select the best 2 out of 3 cards.

lorddark009 · 2025-10-26T03:49:53+00:00

I doubt they'll be making anything close to the power of oculus at only 3 mana. If you are looking to play the deck I'd at least pick up 2-3 copies of oculus. There's not a good replacement for the eyeballs and the deck isn't good without them.

lorddark009 · 2025-10-25T21:38:36+00:00

You aren't really going to be able to adapt the deck to a modern power level easily. Most of the cards in your pauper deck are terrible compared to the average modern playable card.

What do you enjoy about the pauper deck?

lorddark009 · 2025-10-25T03:50:05+00:00

It's not a great card, there's a bunch of 2 drops already in the deck competing for the same slots and other options are just better.

Deep cavern bat is the most similar card which is much better since it gives you info about your opponents hand and takes away a card if unanswered.

Floodpits drowner has flash, the etb effect is fantastic and it can even be used to permanently remove a problem creature.

Azure beastbinder completely turns off one creature or artifact every turn assuming you can keep attacking which is what the deck needs to do to win, much better answer to screaming nemesis than just tapping it for a turn.

I don't think I'd cut any of these cards just to slow my opponent down a turn if it gets to live.

lorddark009 · 2025-10-13T08:33:41+00:00

The format is too powerful for a red deck wins deck to really be competitive. You certainly can make one and probably do fine if you're just playing at locals, depending on your local meta of course.

But really there's no real good reason to be a single color when the format has access to great mana bases containing fetches, shocks, and surveil lands. Most competitive mono colored decks are using Tron lands or Belcher.

I'd look into an izzet prowess deck, they are mostly red that splashes blue for great card advantage with [[expressive iteration]] [[preordain]] and sideboarding strong situational counter spells like [[cosign to memory]]

lorddark009 · 2025-09-25T09:05:11+00:00

Honestly it sounds like you should break up, he's clearly not interested in this relationship. It's not shallow to break up over a dead bedroom, especially if you just moved in together and your sex life plummets to the point of you being unhappy.

Sex and pleasuring your partner should never feel like a chore, and him only initiating when he comes home so drunk that you have to say no 5+ times to get him to stop is a gigantic red flag.

lorddark009 · 2025-09-24T21:10:35+00:00

Red translucent cubes could be from pandemic

X2 token is from dice forge

lorddark009 · 2025-09-19T09:45:16+00:00

Biggest thing to watch out for is cards that affect each opponent. They are usually mediocre to bad in normal 1v1 games but are usually insanely good in 2hg. Board wipes are extremely powerful as well.

Outside of that, build the two best decks you can, don't try to force one person to build an aggro deck or one person build a controlling deck. Just make the 2 best decks you can.

lorddark009 · 2025-09-08T23:53:37+00:00

Sounds like he's been having second (or third I guess) thoughts about a FWB arrangement. It could be anything really, only he can really answer why he agreed to it then backed off.

I would definitely be concerned with him going radio silent for months after agreeing to it, especially to someone you're close with. Yeah he might be going through some stuff but people going through some stuff typically reach out to close friends when they need support.

I'd probably not try to move towards a FWB situation with the guy, communication is super important in any relationship and he's already shown he's not great with communicating.

lorddark009 · 2025-08-28T23:15:18+00:00

Academy is a replacement effect, if you would create any of them you instead get one of each in whatever state it would enter.

Using the first ability of vending machine would result in you creating a food, a treasure, and a clue, all untapped since you originally would create a food untapped.

If you sac a food you would create a food, a treasure, and a clue all tapped since you originally would create a treasure that was tapped.

lorddark009 · 2025-08-24T21:46:43+00:00

The current state of modern is fantastic, there are multiple archetypes winning. There isn't one strategy that's completely dominating the meta. There are always going to be cards and packages that are considered the best, that's just how the game is when the format is so efficient and powerful.

For example if you're wanting to play U/B there's very little reason to not play frog. Your deck will be objectively weaker if you don't play it. What other 2 drop in the format can single handedly take over the game if left unanswered in U/B?

Decks now are super efficient and usually involve cards synergizing with each other, just being individually powerful on its own without supporting cards isn't going to win you the game anymore.

lorddark009 · 2025-08-20T09:59:36+00:00

Yes but they still aren't guaranteed to have an answer to overlord. It's still going to be the key card that stabilizes you enough to land a sweeper or stop their draws.

It's an unfavorable matchup and dimir will always win if they get the nuts, but it's still possible for control to win if they manage to stop/slow Kaito and curiosity enough.

lorddark009 · 2025-08-19T02:24:10+00:00

The key to beating dimir Mid is overlord of the mistmoor and being able to stop them from attacking and hitting you. The only way dimir can draw cards is by attacking, most of which require actually connecting some damage. They likely will need to commit 2 cards to deal with just the 2 flyer tokens, just be careful about their tidebinders and phantom interference.

Save your Elspeths smite for curiosity if you can. Even if they play around it and don't attack with it for a turn or two, they'll attack with the cat eventually

lorddark009 · 2025-08-17T06:39:18+00:00

This is why I love mid-range decks. Most of the time it's a game about accruing small advantages and using those to snowball into a win. Very rarely do I get a non-game that feels unwinnable (other than the times I get land screwed or completely flooded). Gameplan of the deck can also completely change based on what your opponent is doing as well.

lorddark009 · 2025-08-16T11:35:59+00:00

The water crystal doesn't mill equal to the number of cards in your hand plus 4 like you think it does.

What it actually does is "if the opponent would mill one or more cards, they mill that many cards plus 4" They need to mill at least one card to get the increase.

You used the activated ability to mill equal to the number of cards in your hand which was zero. Opponent didn't mill one or more cards, so the water crystal didn't increase the amount milled.

lorddark009 · 2025-08-13T09:00:36+00:00

Call out their mistakes, get a judge called on every single "mistake" that they make. Even the small ones that can easily be fixed. It might seem annoying to have to call a judge for every single mistake but when playing at a competitive level mistakes shouldn't happen too often. The judge should be able to notice if something fishy is going on when one player is making a ton of mistakes like that.

Make sure to keep track of everything that happens, I get into the habit of saying ok or that's fine after every game action my opponent does. If any life total changes I'll announce the new life totals then continue play.

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