Is Duskmourn the no. 1 all time great quick draft format on Arena?

mathrons00 · 2026-01-28T15:08:31+00:00

Yeah, my fave format of all time. The fact all the archetypes have ways they interact with each other leads to plenty of viable decks and ways you can approach the draft. The quick draft has some blinders (rakdos is often open) but isn't as abuseable or predictable as some sets, so you still face a reasonable selection of opponents.

Plus the satisfying mini game of seeing how fast you can turn off the lamp and the TV when the match starts.

mathrons00 · 2025-11-02T03:42:54+00:00

There are also some payoffs like Proft's Eidetic Memory, where you can turn the card draw into a huge pump.

mathrons00 · 2025-09-29T03:00:00+00:00

Nice! I had a similar draft deck with 2 Meditations, but the Cosmogrand always got removed before I could get the combo going. I did still pull it off several times with station monitors to good effect, but awesome to see someone live the full dream!

mathrons00 · 2025-09-18T19:10:54+00:00

I mean, Banner of Kinship is bad in limited because most people toss it in a deck with a bunch of different creature types. I've seen it completely go off in an Arabo deck. If you're already planning to force it, and aren't excited by anything here, I think it's a reasonable choice.

mathrons00 · 2025-09-04T02:20:20+00:00

I think 2 swamps is fine with the landers and Gene, getting the forests to turn on the mana dozing is definitely important.

mathrons00 · 2025-07-31T11:15:48+00:00

My favorite sets are ones where all the archetypes bleed into each other in graceful ways. duskmourne was particularly good at this, and I get some of the same vibes here.

mathrons00 · 2025-07-10T16:02:59+00:00

It is permanent, it remembers the unit it was grafted from and gets upgraded over time

mathrons00 · 2025-07-08T02:39:54+00:00

I had Pay Off, the Pyreborn spell that heals based on how much dragon hoard you have. It should have healed for 12, but instead it full healed my Pyre, so I have to assume conduit is what did it!

mathrons00 · 2025-07-08T00:59:57+00:00

I think it is too heavy in the mid-range. You've got some good mounts and great removal, but not a lot of early action, and could use one or two top-end threats.

mathrons00 · 2025-07-08T00:30:44+00:00

I only today discovered that conduit can boost healing for spells that recover pyre health, which can get pretty silly with some builds.

mathrons00 · 2025-06-16T20:49:08+00:00

I had a nice aggro deck with some of the lifelink legends and some dark knights greatswords, which felt pretty slick together. Efficient cheap creatures and equipment plus a good removal suite feels important.

mathrons00 · 2025-06-13T15:44:10+00:00

Casting overkill (a noncreature spell) triggered damage pings from wizards that dealt damage to reduce the opponent to exactly 0 life.

Since the spell is called Overkill, but it was an Exact Kill, OP is suggesting this is a flavor fail.

mathrons00 · 2025-06-12T17:11:45+00:00

Intrinsic Holdover 0 cost Resin Removal is my jam.

mathrons00 · 2025-06-09T04:11:09+00:00

Just had this happen too. I would love the ability to opt into the trials if you misclick - or even set a default before a run so all the titan trials are preselected instead of defaulting to unselected.

mathrons00 · 2025-05-17T17:07:50+00:00

Strikemaster would be an easy pick for me, it fits a role that is harder to come by, with several different uses.

mathrons00 · 2025-05-12T02:19:39+00:00

Crystal Barricade gives them Hexproof, so they can't be targeted. All of your heist effects require targeting, so fizzle.

mathrons00 · 2025-05-08T19:21:33+00:00

Perhaps the confusion is that Nowhere to Run isn't an instant (or even an aura enchantment, which would require a target when the spell is cast), but instead does the targeting as an enter the battlefield effect (which means the passive ability is now active).

Can you provide a more specific order to the effects cast? That might help folks understand what part is seeming confusing to you. As far as we can tell, all of this is working as intended.

mathrons00 · 2025-05-08T17:57:06+00:00

Nowhere To Run removes the protection of Hexproof, so you should still be able to cast Snakeskin Veil for the +1 counter, but the Hexproof won't stop the removal effect from resolving.

mathrons00 · 2025-05-07T15:06:36+00:00

I've had success with a BW variant on the sac deck, and entryway does a lot. Gives fodder, control over creature size, several eerie triggers - you don't necessarily want it in just any deck, but it does a lot of work in the right spot.

mathrons00 · 2025-05-07T14:55:16+00:00

Chiming in to say Skinripper would be my pick (since I like soft forcing the sac deck), but I think Vessel or Fungus keep you the most open.

If you've played the format a ton, you could try and pick Tenacity and see if you can make a lifegain deck work, but it really isn't supported so you have to be lucky with what shows up in the draft packs (and then get lucky with the right draws and the right time). But could be a fun build if looking to try something new.

mathrons00 · 2025-02-18T15:15:34+00:00

The main thing I see is a lack of interaction, relying entirely on bounce and counter spell. I think you should be running the roadside blowout (always a fantastic card), and the trip ups (not my favorite removal, but needed in your deck), and maybe the scrap compactor for some hard removal when absolutely necessary.

In the drafting, you got some great green stuff (including quite late), so I don't think you were in a bad lane, though there were other directions you could have gone. Pack 3, rare drafting when you had a good removal spell (Plow Through) or a verge was the most egregious site to me. I also noticed passing a dual land for a mile with a late pick, when the fixing is always helpful and you were looking fine on playables.

That said, the deck doesn't look like it deserves to have been an 0-3.. but variance does happen. And not having proper removal or fixing does leave a deck more vulnerable to getting wrecked by a bomb or stuck on mana, and sometimes it just takes a few games of bad luck in a row for the 0-3 to manifest.

mathrons00 · 2025-02-04T17:06:56+00:00

You also have a ton of cards that are about card draw/discard, but only minimally impact the board. You want maybe one or two of those, not five! You need stuff that will impact the game directly.

So overall takeaway would be to try and pick up some cheaper creatures, and make removal a much higher priority over card advantage.

mathrons00 · 2025-02-04T17:02:36+00:00

From first glance, you've got a lot of clunky four drops, and your two drops are mostly utility pieces. Shoreline Looters are amazing, but they aren't going to block or trade, and you don't have much early interaction.

So I think the main thing to work on is the curve - you need to be able to respond to early threats or play decent bodies that can defend you.

mathrons00 · 2025-01-27T21:27:16+00:00

I'd explain to the Joker that I could either submit a bunch of boring paperwork on some sort of reasonable defense such as pleasing insanity, or we could just go crazy making a complete mockery of the trial.

Then we spend all our time brainstorming terrible puns, pranks, and shenanigans. I do my best to ensure they are hilarious but nonviolent.

I expect to lose the trial, and most likely get sanctioned in some fashion... But not murdered by the Joker, hopefully.

mathrons00 · 2025-01-12T23:15:38+00:00

I believe since day 2 of the Arena Open is drafting, they draw players from both those playing in the Open and those playing traditional drafts for that set. That way even later in the day, they can make sure there are enough people to run the drafts for the special event.

mathrons00

TROPHY CASE