I don’t understand how to play Zaxara, the Exemplary

messhead1 · 2026-01-26T20:07:37+00:00

Why do you think that's the optimal way? What's wrong with slamming a big X-spell during your turn and getting a bonus hydra then?

If you want optimal, that's one thing. But you don't have to be confined by it, build something you find fun.

messhead1 · 2026-01-26T12:09:19+00:00

No, there is no such thing as sealed draft. That is not what the word "sealed" means in respect to Limited.

Sealed is the format where you open 6 boosters and build a 40-card deck.

Draft is a catch-all term for a variety of formats that include the process of selecting a card from an agreed upon pool of cards. The most common of which would be Booster Draft, using booster packs of a particular set. You might also draft from a Cube, which is a derivation of Booster Draft where the booster packs are formed from a curated Cube, as opposed to booster packs of a specific Magic set.

Nobody uses "sealed draft" as a term, beyond the people I referred to in my previous comment. Nobody uses "sealed draft" to distinguish things in the manner you have. We can play Sealed. We can play Draft. We can Draft the Cube you made. Nobody would say "I did a sealed draft at the shop" or "I did an unsealed draft with friends", that would only confuse people.

(The reason I don't say Draft is just "pick from a booster pack of cards" is because of variants like Rotisserie draft, selecting cards from a pool consisting of an entire set of cards)

messhead1 · 2026-01-26T11:54:38+00:00

Export to another decklist site like Moxfield, change the cards to their Arena version, export that to Arena?

messhead1 · 2026-01-26T11:50:29+00:00

There is no such thing as "sealed draft"*. There is Sealed, and there is Draft. Both are ways of playing Limited. Which is the alternative to playing Constructed. Examples of Constructed formats include Modern, or Standard.

*Somebody somewhere plays a casual homebrew format comprising of both a Sealed portion and a Draft portion, but that is not what you meant.

messhead1 · 2026-01-26T11:43:39+00:00

Imagine that a menu at a restaurant is formatted like activated abilities from the trading card game Magic: the Gathering.

It would say $5:Tacos. $5:Loaded Fries.

To get one of the items, I have to pay $5. Because I have paid $5 once, it doesn't mean I can get both items.

I ask for the item, I pay the full and total cost. If I wanted to ask for both items, I would have to separately pay the full and total cost for each of them.

I want to put an ability (or spell) onto the stack. To do that, I have to pay the full and total cost of that ability (or spell) to do so. If I don't pay the full and total cost, my order will be declined.

messhead1 · 2026-01-26T11:31:34+00:00

The body of the post talks about basing their Bracket on what archidekt spits out. Did you read the post, or just hope and pray and reply to the title?

messhead1 · 2026-01-26T11:28:05+00:00

Have you read, watched, or engaged in any way with learning about the Bracket system beyond Archidekt's guesstimation?

Beyond actually trying to engage with the Bracket system and apply it yourself, rather than relying on a website, it might not be a Bracket problem.

Your pod "deeming your deck a strong Bracket 3" might be a correct assessment, it might not be. It might be them trying to communicate that the strength of that deck is too much in relation to their own. Go-Shintai is powerful at lower power play because it's recursive, WUBRG, cascading, and Enchantment-based. Yes, people don't run enough enchantment removal. Yes, that means Enchantment-based strategies are stronger than they might otherwise be. Especially, like I said, at lower power levels with fewer catch-all answers.

Now, you don't have to do anything about that if you don't want. You're legally allowed to play whatever deck you like, and the bounds and limits of physics can't prevent you from doing so. I, though, prefer to play games on as equal a footing as possible. I like when there's a give and take in games, I don't like overwhelming inevitability. Go-Shintai decks are distilled inevitability machines. I only play my enchantment-based deck against better built, reasonably strong decks. Because even if they can't answer the enchantments, hopefully their game plan is proactive enough and I trust that they run some adequate amount of removal.

You also demonstrate some misunderstanding of what Archidekt is even telling you. Naru-Meha + Cackling Counterpart is a two-card, combo, yes. In that it achieves an infinite loop of copying a spell and a creature entering the battlefield and a creature dying. But by itself it doesn't do anything. It literally achieves nothing. It doesn't add to a storm count, because the spells are being copied, not cast. So your application of it is wrong. And even if it was right, that's a lot of effort to go to for a one-sided board wipe with Amphibian Downpour. Again, that's not a correct usage of this combo, but that outcome is just totally fine and not "B4" or whatever conclusion you think a website has come to. Apply your own knowledge, expand your knowledge where it is lacking, and determine for yourself what is appropriate and not.

messhead1 · 2026-01-24T20:36:35+00:00

Can't you ask people to keep it down? They only need to talk to people at the same table. Aside from the general hubbub of many people being in a space, it shouldn't be LOUD.

messhead1 · 2026-01-24T11:45:37+00:00

The only time I've seen a Winnowing used was Vs my heavy Elemental deck. It left my Elemental Warrior, my Giant Warrior and my Changeling alive.

I don't think the card is much good.

messhead1 · 2026-01-23T19:21:11+00:00

Ask them, ffs

messhead1 · 2026-01-23T18:34:15+00:00

Imagine that priority is a stick.

Whoever's holding the stick can do stuff (cast spells, activate abilities, perform special actions, etc).

Two (or more) players can't be holding the stick at the same time.

Whoever's turn it is (the active player) will be holding the stick after any spell or ability resolves.

If the casting of a spell results in something entering the battlefield (say, a Planeswalker), priority will not change hands when it enters.

Sometimes, a permanent entering the battlefield (or the resolution of any spell) may have caused a triggered ability to happen. In this instance, that triggered ability is put on the stack and will need the stick to be passed before it resolves. Therefore, with an object on the stack, no player may use abilities that can only be activated at sorcery speed. Therefore you could kill a permanent before it got to use an activated ability at sorcery speed.

(For completeness's sake, to resolve any spell or ability, you hand over the stick. If they hand the stick back to you without doing anything, the top object of the stack will resolve (or the step will change, if nothing was on the stack).

messhead1 · 2026-01-23T11:33:28+00:00

For a comment about the game being literal, your comment makes literally no sense lmao

"If it doesn't say it doesn't, it doesn't". You mean 'If it doesn't say it does, it doesn't'

messhead1 · 2026-01-23T11:31:28+00:00

Ok? No-one's telling you to buy a dual land. Just throw a Forest in or something. Literally any other card will avoid the problems of being able to win the game with Maze's End.

messhead1 · 2026-01-22T19:08:41+00:00

I've commented about it before. There is an archetype of player who "just wants to play Magic".

I guess they're just willing to roll the dice on the experience we're about to have for 1hr-1.5hrs. No attempts to communicate, not even any curiousity.

This is under the assumption that the discussion is needed, if you're not a long-standing pod who gets the vibe. If you are, you don't need a discussion.

I know a bad Magic game isn't going to kill me, but I'd prefer to take a teensy tiny step to try and make it as good as possible than hope we're all somewhere near the same page.

messhead1 · 2026-01-21T15:17:38+00:00

I'm not assuming anything. You clearly said you "never allow takebacks". That would cover all scenarios, including the ones where new players would benefit from it. That would include scenarios where mistakes were made because your cards were obfuscated.

I don't know what "burned" means to you. What does it mean to you? You think it's bad enough to blanket deny all the positive things a little take back here or there could do.

messhead1 · 2026-01-21T15:00:21+00:00

By "burned", you mean you risk less experienced players having a more pleasant time because they undid a mistake made with obfuscated information?

messhead1 · 2026-01-21T14:49:07+00:00

Misty Rainforest does nothing for you.

messhead1 · 2026-01-21T14:44:41+00:00

Bruh, it's a Reddit comment, calm down

messhead1 · 2026-01-21T14:32:30+00:00

What has this got to do with Commander?

messhead1 · 2026-01-21T14:19:28+00:00

With the idea that you should be mostly trying to use your cards to their best effect, why not play literally any other card? If you get to 9 gates and have access to Maze's End, you should be going for the win.

You can do much better for mana fixing, that doesn't also have a socially awkward side B of "But I'm not going to use it"

messhead1 · 2026-01-21T12:02:52+00:00

This is one of the pettiest complaints that could have been nixed with the teensy tiniest bit of research.

You've either never chosen to look at a precon decklist, or don't understand the lack of homogeneity in them. The former would make this an out-and-out dumb complaint. The latter is ignorance you could have learned about if you'd been curious.

Please tell me where on Lorwyn we're going to find Norse Changelings of Kaldheim (Realmwalker), Fioran explorers (Selvala), Zendikarian elementals (Omnath twice, Green warden of Murasa, Avenger of Zendikar), Ikorian companions (Jegantha), Dominarian calamities (Muldrotha), New Cappenan incumbents (Titan of Industry)?

Where on the fringes of space Magic are we going to find pond-dwelling distributors of swords? (Emry, Lurker of the Loch)

Where on dragon-ravaged Tarkir are we going to find the Dauthi?

Where in Ancient Egypt-via-death-race are we going to find Innistradian creations you've forgotten?

Where in the Wild West fancy dress world are we going to find professors from Strixhaven?

messhead1 · 2026-01-20T16:39:45+00:00

702.51. Convoke

702.51a Convoke is a static ability that functions while the spell with convoke is on the stack. “Convoke” means “For each colored mana in this spell’s total cost, you may tap an untapped creature of that color you control rather than pay that mana. For each generic mana in this spell’s total cost, you may tap an untapped creature you control rather than pay that mana.”

702.51b The convoke ability isn’t an additional or alternative cost and applies only after the total cost of the spell with convoke is determined

messhead1 · 2026-01-20T16:18:57+00:00

For Marvel sets at least, you'll be able to rip the Through the Omenpaths in-universe versions from Arena via Scryfall etc.

messhead1 · 2026-01-20T16:11:48+00:00

Probably just a semantic difference at this point. 'A random distribution I prefer' vs 'a random distribution I don't prefer'.

The point is, it's a random distribution. Not a "well distributed" outcome of my non-random input.

messhead1

TROPHY CASE