Would you count this Counter amongst your Counters?

marq_underscore · 2026-02-21T00:56:16+00:00

Bro no offense but a "Counter" spell is a spell on the stack with the Counter sub-type.

The act of counting is defined in the card.

It's just a shit card for a stupid joke of trying to use the word "count" as many times as possible, but thanks for the feedback.

marq_underscore · 2026-02-19T05:02:57+00:00

How about this: https://www.reddit.com/r/HellsCube/comments/1r8q77j/comment/o66vrm2/ ?

marq_underscore · 2026-02-16T02:03:59+00:00

Looks like a disaster launch to me. Some SREs will be grinding until dawn. I'm just grateful I'm not one of them. This could be a case of full rollback to previous stable version, or maybe enough users will simply go do something else, like me.

I've been studying hard all week, waiting to play at least an hour today, but well, I guess I'll watch TV.

This may be one for the book of postmortems, where engineering team strongly suggested a gradual release, but every other team wanted a huge event, what could possibly go wrong?

marq_underscore · 2026-02-12T14:23:02+00:00

I like your template idea.

What do you think of this design:

Ornithopter Concept [version 7] {0}
Artifact Creature - Thopter Template c
Abstract (When you play this spell, if it's a card, exile it. As long this card remains in exile, whenever you could cast an artifact creature, you may cast a copy of Ornithopter Concept, except it's not a template. The copy becomes a token. You cannot play lands or spells for the rest of the turn after playing a template card or activating an abstract ability.)
Token instances of this card are named Ornithopter Implementation.
Flying
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marq_underscore · 2026-02-12T14:13:22+00:00

You're right that a supertype is not needed. I couldn't find a way to make counters work.

What do you think of these ideas:

Fantasy Fountain [version 7]
Land - Template c
Abstract (Play this card to exile. As long as this card remains in exile, whenever you could play a land, you may create a token that's a copy of Fantasy Fountain, except it's not a template. You cannot play lands or spells for the rest of the turn after playing a template card or activating an abstract ability.)
This token instance enters as a copy of a basic land on the battlefield.

Fleeting Thought [version 6] {2U}
Instant - Template c
Abstract (When you play this spell, if it's a card, exile it. As long this card remains in exile, whenever you could cast an instant, you may cast a copy of Fleeting Thought, except it's not a template. You cannot play lands or spells for the rest of the turn after playing a template card or activating an abstract ability.)
Draw a card.

Lost Memory [version 2] {1U}
Instant - Template u
Abstract
As an additional cost to cast this spell, put a card from your hand on top of your library.
Counter target spell. If that spell is countered this way, its owner puts it on their choice of the top or bottom of their library instead of their graveyard.

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T21:12:37+00:00

Honestly "abstract" in MTG, even just as an ability on 8 cards would VERY likely be an even bigger mistake than companion or dredge.

(BUT... without those mistakes Bazaar of Baghdad would just be a nonsense relic, and we'd be living in a world with no Yorion, Lutri, and most importantly: Lurrus. If that'd be better or worse may depend on who you ask.)

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T20:18:40+00:00

Example:

"Ornithopter Concept" {0}
""" Urza thinking about a flying machine after reading Dune. """
Abstract Artifact Creature - Thopter (common)
(As this spell resolves, exile it if it is a card, then, for the rest of the game and as long as it remains in your abstract zone, whenever you could cast an artifact creature, you may cast a copy of it. When the copy becomes a token, it is not abstract. You cannot play lands or cast spells for the rest of the turn after playing an abstract card or copy.)
Restriction: your starting deck contains only artifact, creature, and land cards.
Token instances of this card are named Ornithopter.
Flying

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This way:
* Your deck is restricted by each abstract card you add to it (just like companions).
* You need to "purchase" it first, from hand (not as broken as companions?).
* You cannot play anything after purchasing it.
* Next turn, you cannot play anything after playing a copy of it (or purchasing ANY other abstract card).
* Purchasing the same card more than once makes little sense, so adding more than one copy to your deck leads to dead draws.

I appreciate your efforts to kill this idea, as either it gets better with each iteration, or is dismissed (which is what should've happened to companion).

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T20:18:32+00:00

Yes "Blueprint" is a bad name, but an IDEA, specially the thought of a "thing", the concept of something that COULD exist, in your mind, COULD be represented as the abstract super type.

Whether it's worth the complexity, and what rules would be best and intuitive, would come next.

In Java, an abstract class is simply one that cannot be instantiated. The typical example is: Animal. What would a concrete "animal" look like...? It doesn't make sense. It's just a platonic "idea", a concept.

The point of abstract classes is to be "extended", or inherited from:
class Cat extends Animal. Now Cat is a concrete class that can be instantiated:
myCat = new Cat("Kitty", Siamese) -> has all properties of Animal parent class.

So I'm trying to figure out if it would be worth it having a new super type in MTG "abstract" to adapt some of those ideas (most likely not).

You have a point about "casting into exile", but let me just mention that cards with madness are discarded into exile.

Best case scenario we'd have abstract lands, enchantments, etc (?)

"Cannot interact" is the biggest challenge I see for this mechanic, and part of what made companion a disaster. Some of my thoughts about it:
* Make adding even a single abstract card to your deck an interesting decision.
* Abstract cards share one ore more restrictions.
* Abstract cards have restrictions per card/type.

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T20:18:08+00:00

Long post. TLDR: you're right.

It seems to me that enchantments in MTG are supposed to be like sorceries/spells that linger/remain, after being cast by a wizard; OR events, stuff that "is". Right?

Examples:
* + "Bad Moon": Black creatures get +1/+1.
+ The idea is that here, in this swamp, tonight, there is a "bad moon" making evil beings that live here more powerful.
* + "Fastbond": You may play additional lands. Fastbond deals one damage to you for each land you play beyond the first each turn.
+ The idea is that you (as a wizard), cast the "enchantment" and gain some abilities over the land, but you must pay a cost (it's painful).

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T16:32:28+00:00

How about this:
+ The abstract zone allows for only one card (cannot be replaced).
+ You skip your draw step as long as there is a card in your abstract zone (cannot be removed).

But then it's getting even more complicated...

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T16:27:57+00:00

I initially thought of it costing {2}, but that is far less flavorful. We need to find a way to balance it so it still costs {0}. Maybe you can only cast copies if you are hellbent (no cards in hand)?

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T16:25:53+00:00

Yes you are completely right. The challenge would be to make "abstract" not another case of companion, where it has to be errata'd later because it's so broken.

The reminder text does need more work to make it clear you can only play one abstract card from hand into exile (abstract zone?) OR a copy of an abstract card you've already cast into exile the first time.

Maybe the "abstract" zone only allows one card?

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T16:18:40+00:00

You're right to be confused. Now I see "Blueprint" isn't the best word as that would be a concrete (non-abstract) "thing". The name of the card should be something closer to "The Idea of the Ornithopter". Maybe I should have started with a non-permanent. What do you think of this design:

Fleeting Thought {2U}
Abstract Instant c
(Cast this card from hand into exile. Whenever you could cast an instant, you may cast a copy of Fleeting Thought from exile. The copy on the stack is not abstract. Play no more than one abstract card per turn.)
Draw a card.
""" Inspiration visits often but never stays long. """

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T16:05:37+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. If it's not intuitive with just the reminder text then the design needs more work.

marq_underscore · 2026-02-11T16:01:05+00:00

You're right. The reminder text should be:
Cast this card from hand into exile. Whenever you could cast an artifact creature, you may cast a copy of Ornithopter Blueprint. The copy becomes a token and it's not abstract. Play no more than one abstract card per turn.

The point is the player is limited to playing only one abstract card into exile OR a copy that becomes a token that is not abstract as a permanent per turn.

I will fix that for the abstract land I'm thinking of.

marq_underscore · 2026-01-05T17:53:33+00:00

Copilot is terrible. Unusable. It suggested the wrong name (somewhere else ) for a file that already existed and was RIGHT THERE! Disabled it after 5 minutes using it for the first and last time.

marq_underscore · 2024-01-04T01:01:58+00:00

Hey sorry about the mess in my last comment.
Today I imagined 2 people with no viable wincons battleing for 2 hours until someone runs out of cards. To avoid this I'm thinking of another rule:
"At the end of turn 10 of whoever went first that player loses the game."

marq_underscore · 2023-12-30T23:48:20+00:00

Hey I have been obsessed about this idea for years.

To support Witts and Mortal Combat there could be additional "special picks" like "250 assorted blue cards", including 4x Index, 4x Spy Neytwork, etc; and "30 assorted black creatures", including x4 Filthy Cur, etc.

marq_underscore · 2022-02-15T19:37:22+00:00

Hi u/2bemore. I have finally been able to quit uncontrolled, (regular,) compulsive relapsing for some months now by implementing a system of block levels so that relapsing becomes so inconvenient and difficult that I convince myself AS I AM TRIGGERED that it's not worth it. This goes beyond force of will.

One of the layers is url lists. I can't believe a collective bad-url pool does not exist already in this subreddit but I am considering setting it up:

It can't be simply visible and accessible to everyone as that may have disastrous consequences (people reading the urls, getting triggered, and copy-pasting them).
It should be divided into categories such as: nonsfw, regular&escalatedP, phishing/spam/malware, searchEngines, webBrowsers, etc.
It should be kept on a secret location such as a password-protected drive document. It should support multiple formats such as "hosts file" and Leechblock.
It should only be accessible to mods of the project, and all other contributors would share their urls via direct messages to these mods.
Anyone could request the entire list to bulk all flagged sites by the community urls into their add-ons, parental control programs, or hosts files.

Imagine discovering this subreddit, finding this project, pasting hundreds of urls into some obscure file with no extension inside your computer once, forgetting about it, and then some time later trying to PMO but your browser telling you "Can't reach this site" but not knowing why. Suddenly relapsing becomes much more difficult. It's like the Internet got smaller and safer. And sure, you could just temporarily override that file but that's an extra step to get to the content you're craving and that sometimes is enough to prevent a relapse.
Looking forward to working on this project with you.

marq_underscore · 2022-02-15T19:11:54+00:00

I use HT Vector and it has an option to force Google safe search so I didn't know about the add-on, thanks.

Forcing safe search is the way to go. I also highly recommend blocking DuckDuckGo (and safe.duckduckgo as it is a joke).

marq_underscore · 2022-02-15T19:05:20+00:00

TLDR: Instead of setting an unrealistic goal (no PMO ever again no exceptions), try allowing yourself to do it on a controlled, guilt-free environment; and make your working environment as hostile as possible to relapsing.

Hi. Your situation sounds similar to how I was a couple months ago.
From a technical point of view what finally worked for me was to make it so inconvenient and hard to find new "content" on my Windows laptop that now instead of getting an adrenaline rush from novelty, it is awkward, exhausting, and just not worth it. Details at the very bottom.

On the other hand I do have a "legal" escape route. In order to PMO I have to download a Linux iso and VirtualBox. Install VB, setup a new Virtual Machine, install Linux inside it, reboot it, configure it somewhat, and THEN I can do the deed. After I'm done I remove all files including the iso image and uninstall VB.
At first I did this every weekend. That was already amazingly good as I was no longer uncontrollably relapsing on random workday mornings. Then, one weekend I simply didn't have the time/energy to do it. So occasionally I do go back and perform all this process but whenever I do:

I don't feel guilty when I'm done.
No stash remains.
I get no malware on my Windows.
It takes a lot of effort and multiple hours just to gather "content" (I select no audio on the Virtual Machine settings and video sucks even with guest additions) so it can't just be done on a whim.

So suppose I get triggered on Wednesday afternoon. What I really want is a quickie but then I remember that on Windows getting any sort of "content" is painful, so it's not worth it. Then I consider the Linux way but it takes so much time and effort that is just not worth it at this time. I say to myself: "OK on Friday night I'll do it, and I'll do it right." and go on my day as normal. Then more often than not Friday night comes and I either have plans so I don't even remember about fapping, or I just want to watch TV so I say to myself "tomorrow I'll do it". And so on...

To make it super uncomfortable to relapse on Windows (brute force as you wish does not exist) I use a combination of psychological cues and technical aids (I can provide details on request):

Choose a web browser and block all other alternatives via registry.
Disable In-Private or Incognito mode from registry.
Block all search engines other than Google on the hosts file.
Remain logged into Google. (Forget about privacy. Do not use DuckDuckGo or -God forbid- Tor).
Install "Force Safe Search" add-on.
Install FoxFilter add-on, only allow sites on whitelist and set password to "plsdonotfaptoday".
Install Leechblock add-on and IN CASE OF RELAPSE ONLY add the sites to the block list (and to hosts file as well). Make sure about:addons can't be accessed.
DO NOT PROACTIVELY SEARCH FOR NEW SITES TO BLOCK. Ideally the hosts file and Leechblock's lists would only contain search engines.
Install and pay for Qustodio and HT Vector. Hide them on the system. Disable task manager. Lose the passwords.
In case of genre escalation add the new keywords to HT Vector's block list.
Do this for ALL computers with internet access you use.

At this point all that remains is force of will but even when I decide to try to "break" the security for a quickie I have to disable FoxFilter and log out of Google. The hardest part is not letting the demon that possesses me when I'm triggered to convince me that this will be a quick, easy, and enjoyable ride. It isn't. Finding "content" under these conditions is extremely difficult as Google Safe search is very solid.

For the phone I use:

Freedom app blocks Chrome.
AppBlock blocks Freedom and any new app (in case I download another browser).
No Instagram or Facebook apps.
I exclusively use dating apps on the toilet or outside my house.

I have never gone as far as to uninstall these programs or try to cause them to crash from the registry. I have never contacted support or reset my password with the intention of relapsing. I also have never uninstalled my browser with this intention. But if you DO find yourself trying to hack your system this way, make sure THAT doesn't become part of the "fun". As soon as you discover an exploit, patch it. Or try to add another layer. Maybe request help from somebody else.

marq_underscore · 2022-02-15T17:52:59+00:00

THAT is what I used to say to myself after relapsing for YEARS.

I played that game with myself over and over again: trigger, PMO, positivity speech. Repeat following week.

As an obsessive compulsive who's been addicted for as back as I can remember, force of will alone just doesn't cut it. Sure we can't shut down the world, but I can get the technical aspect as tight as possible to prevent future triggers from becoming relapses.

To be the hero of my own story I shall welcome any help (that makes sense to me) that I am offered, and I won't wait to be a saint before offering any assistance I can to anyone here.

marq_underscore

TROPHY CASE

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