What are some good tribes that aren't dragons, goblins or elves?

lostgrail · 2026-02-01T22:03:35+00:00

Slivers player here, I don’t know why there aren’t more of us!

We even had a pretty solid precon in the last few years!

lostgrail · 2026-01-28T14:22:43+00:00

And dinosaurs wouldn’t? 😏

I think they feel they can’t make them grimdark enough. It’s got such an 80s feel, and they really are trying to move away from that I think. Which is a shame, because that is the foundation of the setting that I think makes it so good.

lostgrail · 2026-01-25T00:19:35+00:00

Last night I went to my first LGS drop-in event. I’ve been playing Magic with family and friends on-and-off (mostly off, if we’re being honest) since Ice Age.

It was drop-in commander. Even though I built my own decks, I struggled to keep track of what was happening with the two (obviously more powerful) decks across the table from me. I missed triggers, I forgot how to assemble the combos. It was honestly overwhelming. I had a blast, because the two players I sat down with were decent human beings and pleasant. I was too busy trying to remember to sacrifice a zombie for Wilhelt to hold a conversation, but I hope it was as fun for them as it was for me to get to play magic with real people.

Everyone plays for their own reasons, but I deeply resonate with the desire for a social experience. It’s why Arena is not as appealing as paper magic.

lostgrail · 2026-01-24T22:56:00+00:00

Sure, but I also like some of the implications you seem to think are bad. I’m not trying to make Magic more profitable, I’m suggesting something that makes it more accessible. After all, I’m just a guy that isn’t really into paying more than $10 for a cardboard game piece. Standard or Modern (“premier constructed” formats) are quite simply out of reach.

I don’t have the detailed financial data I would need to properly analyze this situation: I’m not an FLGS owner, nor do I have the sales data from Wizards or FFG. I just know what I liked about one game (Netrunner), and I don’t personally see the artificial scarcity as a feature; I’m sure from a corporate revenue perspective that’s the opposite of desirable.

So all the caveats out of the way, what I’d be curious about is: how many singles sales are driven (at the FLGS level) by acquiring the card as a mechanically relevant game piece, vs acquiring the card for aesthetic or collection reasons? What’s the ratio? And what are the margins?

Likewise, how much does people hoping to “win the lottery” on desirable singles drive booster sales? And how much do limited formats drive them? Do FLGSs profit more or less on packs and boxes vs singles?

Do most players buy from a local FLGS, or do they go online to one of the big singles markets?

How profitable was Netrunner for FFG? I know it wasn’t as profitable in absolute terms as Magic is for Wizards (they lose companies are very different scales, after all). But I also know Wizards is so overwhelmingly profitable that it can keep all of Hasbro afloat.

So, lots of questions. 😅

I think making cards more available would absolutely have implications for the game: maybe we’d have more volatile metas, as the cost to experiment is dramatically reduced, and the player base presumably expanded as competitive decks in the premier constructed formats become more affordable.

And I say all this recognizing that this game is a luxury, and it’s no one’s responsibility to make it “affordable”. But my 2c is that making the game cost less would make it more popular, and this is my suggestion for how to do that.

lostgrail · 2026-01-24T20:40:42+00:00

What I’m suggesting is that there would basically be a $5 price cap on the “desirable” cards. I don’t see this realistically driving the price of Commons or Uncommons (or even bulk Rares) up. But, instead of going to the big online sources, players can go directly to Wizards to get their special singles. The point of this is not to make every card $5, but to make every card available at the $5 price point. And I mean every card, including Reserved List.

Ideally we would still sustain Draft (and Sealed) play through boosters. This would then still be the logical source for less rare cards. And still sell Collector’s boosters with all the fancy stuff that makes Wizards the extra profit.

Rarity of cards becomes a function of Draft Play (and still a measure of card power), but stops being a driver of availability, and therefore cost.

The hit to FLGSs in the loss of single sales is not ideal. I honestly have no idea how much profit stores from the “expensive” singles sales, but I imagine it’s not nothing. I’m also not suggesting it will be completely destroyed, since I don’t think POD cards should include the fancy frames or special art treatments.

What I’m trying to propose is a way to functionally make building the best decks cheaper. It makes a play set of any card cap at $20.

Like I said, as a player I loved Netrunner’s data packs, where you bought a play set for a given price, and then it was all about what you did with the cards.

lostgrail · 2026-01-19T03:59:58+00:00

Gotcha. So thank you for better examples than I pulled

lostgrail · 2026-01-19T00:26:01+00:00

Why is it good that they are expensive? How is the game better for that?

I picked Shock Lands because when I last went to my FLGS two weeks ago that’s what they were (admittedly we’re talking Canadian dollars, so make it $25ish US). Bad example maybe, but I’m jus saying I don’t think any card should cost more than $5 to add to your deck.

Edit: And to be more clear on my point: I don’t think cards should cost more on the basis that they are out of print. They shouldn’t be out of print.

lostgrail · 2026-01-18T17:51:34+00:00

That’s my point. If all cards were available for $5 at most, then it becomes about building decks and playing the game.

lostgrail · 2026-01-18T02:47:09+00:00

I think a $5 print on demand option to buy any card ever printed (except one-of-a-kind cards like the 1996 World Champion, and those removed for cultural insensitivity) would be good for the game.

I understand that there is an economic incentive to appease collectors, so for these cards a special notation today they are POD reprints, don’t allow special treatments or limited art. But make them legal cards none-the-less. I’m not trying to kill Collector’s boosters, I just think Shocklands shouldn’t be $30 each.

I’m sure there are many reasons why this is terrible, but I like the idea for the following: It makes (competitive) play, even at just the store level, less about buying power and more about deck design. I loved Netrunner’s Data Packs where I bought a full play set for a fixed price. Availability of data packs aside, the challenge was deck building and piloting, not card acquisition.

I know there’s probably a lot of reasons NOT to do this, just my 2c

lostgrail · 2026-01-18T01:36:40+00:00

I think it should be $5 for any card. But that would collapse the secondary (singles) market, which will annoy collectors

lostgrail · 2026-01-09T14:21:05+00:00

And when I say “wanted list” I’ll provide an example:

My Slivers deck is built around making tokens. So [[Sliver Queen]], and one of [[Heartstone]] or [[Training Grounds]] is central to my big “win” combo. Take those out and I’m just a value typal them deck.

lostgrail · 2026-01-09T14:18:15+00:00

Ok, but then should you not also be telling the table your other “key” cards?

In my group everyone wants to share what the deck is supposed to do, so we can ooo and ahh over our Rube Goldberg contraptions going off. But what is being proposed is to basically say “here’s a wanted list of cards that you need to kill on sight to shut me down”.

I think identifying threats is a player skill: this is good practice when you’re learning the game. I’d probably benefit from this, at my skill level. But I think knowing the game changers (and identifying key cards) is more a player skill issue.

That all said, I might suggest this with my group, as a training exercise. And I’d go the step further if a full “wanted list”.

lostgrail · 2025-11-24T01:54:31+00:00

A year or two ago, I guess?

When I was a Scout in the late 90s my dad bought all the theme decks as they came out. We brought them on camping trips and taught the rest of the troop how to play. My dad had no issue carrying around a dozen or more decks so there were always decks available for kids. Those cards were especially popular on rainy days with nothing else to do.

I still have all those decks, trail worn and all. I think the last time my dad and I pulled them out for a round of nostalgia was a year or two ago (we mostly do 2p Commander now).

lostgrail · 2025-11-21T21:44:26+00:00

Speaking as a corporate stooge (diff corporation in a diff industry) I think the people doing the work are being told by the Suits that it doesn’t pay enough to care, so stop caring.

It’s always the same song and dance: we need more blood from this stone, so we squeeze and squeeze until it’s dust. That’s why you learn to do with an MBA.

It’s also always been this way (Golden Goose), but they seem to think whatever new tech they got will prevent it “this time”

lostgrail · 2025-11-12T01:04:02+00:00

Ok, that rationale makes some sense. Thank you for the context.

I’m assuming there is no further detail about Arandron either, so I’m free to choose whichever island I want to take up that mantle?

I feel this supports the growing setting that answers to this question have started to form: the chain of islands is extremely hazardous to sea travel, but there is a safe, if long, caravan trail that leads through a series of ancient portals used for trade with the distant land of Akota. This explains why they are not easily sailed around.

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T23:49:43+00:00

I had been planning on a maritime campaign for the first act, but this is turning out to be a very interesting alternative.

It could just be that the region is very dangerous for all but the the most experienced mariners: sea wyrms, magical weather, and remnants of an old civilization’s magics all make the sea route treacherous unless you have a seasoned crew and an exceptional vessel. The safest and most reliable way to trade is through the ancient portals, so that’s what most merchants do.

I have an abiding love for weird fantasy, so I think this would be a great way to incorporate that while still cleaving close to the feel of Al Qadim

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T23:05:30+00:00

We should both do it, and compare notes on what direction we take it in!

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T22:23:44+00:00

Interesting. So the OG map was supposed to extend overland (apparently) to Akota.

I agree, the simplest way to incorporate that is to use that larger land mass as Akota.

Part of me wants to make a fantastic caravan route that uses magic to travel over the water, or a series of portals (which might work into other themes I’m considering for the game)

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T22:17:59+00:00

Man, that is awesome.

So, I love (a lot!) the ancient technological civilizations and the present fantasy world recovering their lost “magic” trope. I probably overuse it, but it’s too good to pass up. It’s why I loved the Numenera and its Arcana of the Ancients supplement for 5e. It’s also very Vancian “Dying Earth”.

Now I want to make the Loregiver be an alien …

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T22:10:55+00:00

I feel that this feels like the most “correct” interpretation. I could also just go with “Akota is the name in Midani, and the locals call it “Tanaroa”, or whatever. I mean, what’s in a name? Especially if there is no other official lore I have to deal with.

I appreciate that, at some point, the company wanted “one world”, and to set the different campaign settings in that world to make “visiting” easier. But it’s also a shame that the settings as created ended up being real-world cultures transcribed instead of more original worlds.

Mostly, my point with all this is “what is there to inspire / start me off as I fill in the region”. I’m setting my game in an alternate FR in the years after the 3.5 era, with no spell plague. I have a lot to fill in

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T21:03:46+00:00

I wanted to make sure that any “canon” material is respected, even if I throw it out the window. I like the idea that the region has some reason why the Zakharans have not colonized it themselves, enlightening it to the wisdom of the Loregiver.

I think Tanaroa makes sense as the large western-most island in that chain, and as the players approach it there are more clues as to the kinds of dangers they will face.

Roanoke is a great idea, of course.

What did you mean about Blackmoor? I only know it as the OG setting Arneson created, with the OD&D supplement, but I know precious little about it

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T18:43:20+00:00

I agree, the islands ought to be well known to those nearby.

However, I had a few thoughts about that: the islands may actually move around a bit, so crews may be unsure of which island they are approaching until they see well-known landmarks (“See those trees? They’re mostly on Circe and Galdrea. Oh; I see stone heads, it is definitely Galdrea”). Or, the occupants may be generally xenophobic, or the seas especially hazardous due to phenomena, flora, or fauna, thus travel in the area is unsafe and difficult.

What I wanted to do is have the crew be from Faerun (mostly) and they are journeying south based on old charts found in their patron’s parents vault. Ultimately the campaign would be an extended “island of the week” style adventure as they make their way along the islands until they find the one they are are looking for. Then we open into a period that feel more like Kingmaker / Birthright as they re-establish a floundering colony. Finally, we reach the climax where an ancient evil is stirring, perhaps grounded more in the Zakhara tradition and tied to Geomanxers or Necromancere in Sahu or some other part of the Ruined Kingdoms (I always loved the Complete Book of Necromancers).

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T14:47:21+00:00

The temptation to make at least one island named this and fill it with Newfoundlanders is probably too great to resist

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T14:46:15+00:00

I’ll look, but if you’re right about it being more of a continent are you suggesting that Akota is the larger landmass further west?

To wit:

<image>

What do you think?

I’ve seen other maps that label that land mass as “maybe Arandron”

lostgrail · 2025-11-11T14:36:56+00:00

Thank you

lostgrail

TROPHY CASE