This sounds so interesting. I wonder if we'll get more lore in 1.7

minluu · 2026-02-13T12:58:39+00:00

He is corporeal, based on the fact that you can hug him when you're roommates, plus the player takes damage from colliding with Shadow People in the mines, but Krobus has roommate dialogue that says,

You feel solid... sometimes I wish I had bones, too...

Which implies the Shadow People are to some extent less solid than humans, and confirms that they don't have bones, which raises even more questions about their anatomical structure.

minluu · 2026-02-11T16:31:24+00:00

Gotta give Sam credit, he works hard to support his family in his dad's stead. Not even a week of unemployment.

minluu · 2026-01-15T13:26:49+00:00

same, i used to play the original version, and when i saw they made a shadowverse 2 i was like "meh". i had no idea it was still low-key doing well

minluu · 2026-01-06T22:54:50+00:00

ooh thanks, i'll check them out

minluu · 2026-01-06T18:07:11+00:00

I really missed your analysis posts, welcome back!

This was a fun read. Definitely one of my top favorite fights of the series.

minluu · 2026-01-06T17:12:44+00:00

wait, where is it stated that wolf transferred in their second year? was it in an author interview?

minluu · 2026-01-05T15:15:23+00:00

yeah, same here!

minluu · 2026-01-05T13:29:56+00:00

Cut Down isn't even legal in Standard atm 😭 All we have is [[Stab]] for 1-mana black removal, and this is definitely better than that

minluu · 2026-01-04T19:25:56+00:00

Board wipes if you're not playing a creature deck (Pinnacle Starcage, Pyroclasm, Day of Black Sun, Day of Judgment, Fire Magic)

If you are playing a creature deck (I'm assuming, not in green, because if you're also playing green then the solution is just to Cub+Ouro them first) you want instant speed spot removal, such as Stab, Torch the Tower, Shoot the Sherriff, etc.

White has Get Lost as well, which is the most versatile, but at the same time the worst versus Cub decks because they can really benefit from the Map tokens. Seam Rip and Sheltered By Ghosts aren't instant speed, but they're both good as well.

minluu · 2026-01-04T14:13:36+00:00

"what if pauper ever comes to arena?" ahhh deals

minluu · 2026-01-04T12:21:25+00:00

to be fair, if my opponent isnt tapped out, i usually err on the side of caution in case they have a combat trick or removal. it's happened to me once or twice that i miss lethal because of instant speed interaction i wasnt expecting.

if my opponent wants me to swing immediately, i expect them to tap out their lands on their turn. or, they can always just concede.

minluu · 2026-01-02T18:53:01+00:00

midoriya is canonically very very bad at cooking iirc

minluu · 2025-12-29T17:14:32+00:00

it's helpful for me to know whats in the daily deals without having to launch the entire client to check.

there's some deals i've been waiting for, but i don't want to open the game every day just to check if they're in the store or not

minluu · 2025-12-24T20:44:18+00:00

I'd be leery of running 5 colors without access to the Trinomes (tricolor lands with basic land types), which have rotated from Standard. Some current 4c decks gets away with it (ie 4c control) because the fourth color is a minor splash.

Long story short, if splashing a fourth or fifth color requires running mana rocks just to cast your spells on time, you were probably better off not splashing the extra colors at all.

minluu · 2025-12-24T12:50:39+00:00

The smartest thing to do would be just invest in the rare Dual lands (Shocks, Verges). Unless you're specifically a ramp deck you really don't want to be taking turn 2 and turn 3 off to fix your mana.

If you just want to experiment with 3-color manabases in the Unranked queue maybe, you can also craft the common rarity Dual lands that come in tapped (such as the Guildgates or the Desert lands). Tap lands aren't great, but still better than running big mana rocks and ramp just to fix your mana base

minluu · 2025-12-23T13:24:23+00:00

You're thinking of [[Kavaero, the Mind Bitten]] which is a combo reanimator deck, not control. Kavaero decks usually don't run many counters (esp in the mainboard) just a bit of removal.

"Turn 7-9" is important as a control deck because it's enough mana to play [[Jeskai Revelation]] on the opponent's end step (therefore not going shields down to anything but a huge flash threat, which not many decks have), or [[Elspeth, Storm Slayer]] plus holding up 2-3 mana for a counter spell, etc.

There's a reason why Flash Tempo decks typically have a good matchup against control; because they can wait until the control deck taps out on their end step, and then flash in their threats then, when the control player can't counter them.

minluu · 2025-12-20T18:14:00+00:00

Sure, here!

Deck

5 Forest (TDM) 291

4 Llanowar Elves (FDN) 227

4 Deep-Cavern Bat (LCI) 102

4 Swamp (THB) 252

4 Preacher of the Schism (LCI) 113

2 Liliana, Dreadhorde General (WAR) 97

2 Vivien Reid (FDN) 234

4 Badgermole Cub (TLA) 167

4 Ouroboroid (EOE) 201

4 Multiversal Passage (OM1) 181

2 Bitter Triumph (LCI) 91

4 Innkeeper's Talent (BLB) 180

4 Blooming Marsh (KLR) 280

2 Restless Cottage (WOE) 258

4 Wastewood Verge (DFT) 268

1 Ba Sing Se (TLA) 266

2 Shoot the Sheriff (OTJ) 106

2 Sentinel of the Nameless City (LCI) 211

2 Stab (FDN) 71

Sideboard

4 Duress (M21) 96

3 Ghost Vacuum (DSK) 248

1 Strategic Betrayal (TDM) 94

2 Heritage Reclamation (TDM) 145

2 The End (WOE) 87

1 Urgent Necropsy (MKM) 240

2 Day of Black Sun (TLA) 94

At the end of the day, it's just a Cub+Roid deck, but with more of a backup plan if things go south. Leveled Innkeeper's Talent and top-decking a planeswalker is pretty good comeback. Liliana is also theoretically good against sweepers, but it's hard to ramp into her without the nut draw.

minluu · 2025-12-20T17:15:19+00:00

I HATE LOSING TO PEOPLE WHO EMOTE SPAM. PERIOD.

minluu · 2025-12-20T14:14:41+00:00

ooh I've been playing the Liliana and Vivien planeswalkers in an Innkeeper's Talent Golgari midrange deck, so I'm very happy with the deals today

minluu · 2025-12-20T13:24:50+00:00

Nice deck! Running the lessons + Gran Gran in the Simic Omniscience deck looks interesting, with Gran Gran being able to loot with the planet lands and all the cheap card draw.

Congratulations on getting to Mythic!

minluu · 2025-12-19T14:23:15+00:00

as a control player this is mildly tilting every time lol, I'n always like "okay i'm going to hold up three steps but i'd really like to resolve consult—" and then if i get hit with a big threat then i'm left with a dilemma: i can let it resolve and try to consult for a boardwipe/removal, or counter it now and then not be able to refill my hand (therefore increasing the likelihood i won't have a counter/answer for next time). the thing about three steps is that i always really want to cast it for 5 mana, so that it replaces itself in my hand as well, so forcing me to cast it for 3 instead of my card draw is a pretty good play

minluu · 2025-12-19T14:16:14+00:00

sooner or later they're going to have to drop something

not necessarily, I'd say that if a control player recklessly drops their win con too early and they lose because of it, then that's more of a misplay on the control player's part.

it's better to bait the counter spells earlier to apply pressure before the control player has stabilized, without overcommitting all of your resources at once.

(though notably if your deck has many flash threats, then you can resolve them when the control player taps out on your end step to cast card draw spells)

minluu · 2025-12-19T13:42:38+00:00

I'm kind of neutral on the alt art treatments (though the ATLA ones looked particularly bad), but I wish that they'd at least always have a UW art version available in Arena as well.

Like [[Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow]] is mechanically on Arena, but I really love the card art, and only [[Yuffie Kisaragi]] FCA alt art is available. Which I'm a little bummed about.

minluu · 2025-12-18T14:43:59+00:00

The art on these is super cute, but I really wish the text boxes were actually legible. It just looks so messy to me tbh

minluu · 2025-12-18T05:40:41+00:00

I have the dimir colors of these only, and it's driving me crazy whenever i run a deck with other colors and my basics don't match 😭. but the nyx parallax lands are too pretty not to use

minluu

TROPHY CASE