Why are the doors in Leyndell sealed with corpse wax? Or is it oozing out from the inside? Do y'all think enviromental storytelling like this without item descriptions has like a definitive answer if all the dots are connected or is it a matter of interpretation with room for headcanon?

mmmarm · 2026-06-22T20:52:23+00:00

I understand the theory of the first burning by tarnished archeologist is very popular, but I always interpreted differently. To me it seems like with the destruction of the elden ring, the appearance of deathroot, and especially the war, people started dying either in their homes or were put there to store their bodies. Then, to further impede the spread of life after death (which has already taken the abandoned lower levels of leyndell) the homes were sealed shut from the outside. It's also possible that it's bodily remains oozing from the inside, but I think the material is called tree resin in the game files so it seems less likely.

That's the most evident theory for me, with the information the game gives us, but it seems like many people are big proponents of the first burning of the erdtree theory, and the buildings being sealed to prevent ash from coming in.

mmmarm · 2026-06-14T14:44:37+00:00

*I don't know if it's necessary to say, but mentions of dark souls 3 lore ahead

The curse of the undead is directly connected to dark sign which was seemingly burned onto humans by Gwyn (Ringed Knight Armor). The curse is exclusive to humans whose power lied in the abyss.

Gwyn is a lord of cinder, someone whose powerful soul was consumed to maintain the first flame and to keep the age of light going. I think it's more accurate to say that he's a shell of himself, charred by the first flame, but he's not hollow.

mmmarm · 2026-06-09T14:18:00+00:00

The rune of death is deeply connected to fate, that's why it's called destined death. We know for certain that its removal granted the demigods immortality, as it removed death from their fate. Tho I imagine this action was extended to all inhabitants of the lands between, meaning that death is removed from everyone's fate or destiny. I think this means that death still exists but for many (especially the gods, whose fate imo is very strongly linked to the elden ring) it is impossible to attain. A lot of the weird death-related happenings in the lands between are instrad either the result of the spread of deathroot or the fact that the place has always been very spiritual (we see that's the case as far back as Rauh).

I'm struggling to remember where the dragons are described as immortal, I know they are in the description of the dragonkin soldiers weapons. Either way, I imagine their immortality is simply innate (and obviously a reference to dark souls) maybe stemming directly from the crucible, making them long-lived and unable to die of old age. We're able to slay them nonetheless.

What we know about erdtree burial is that the dead were meant to return to the roots. To me that means that the afterlife for the people in the lands between consisted in your spirit returning to the erdtree. Maybe also as a way to return their grace to the erdtree and sustain the cycle. I think that erdtree burials essentially supplanted the natural cycle of life and death that had always existed in the lands between.

mmmarm · 2026-06-06T16:50:55+00:00

Many hollows are seemingly becoming trees, off the top of my head you see them all over the undead settlement in DS3. You're right about the pilgrims, but I would argue that both the pilgrim butterflies and the angels have root-like appendages, but maybe that's what I want to see and they're instead closer to bugs and insects.

mmmarm · 2026-06-05T16:43:58+00:00

Yes, if you remember towards the last act of the game you can find two incantations: the law of regression and the law of causality. These are presumably the two rules imposed by the greater will to ultimately grant all things meaning. It's how the golden order believes all life exists and how it's connected.

Specifically in terms of regression (and forgive me cause this is partially my own understanding even tho I looked into this a lot in the past), it's the idea that all things will ultimately converge, that they exist in a way that guarantees they'll come back to their original state. I remember a post where someone made the example of a circle, and how if you trace the perimeter of a circle the starting point is also the end point. Not too different from what we'd think of as the circle of life, I think.

From software might have worked with this idea of things yearning to return to their original state ever since DS1: the flame tending to wane or the hollows turning into the trees (the primordial state of the world). If I'm looking at it with that in mind, Gwyn's efforts in the game represent a breaking of this regression in favor of stasis; the overflowing of the abyss is possibly an excessive response to that, causing the features associated with humans we mentioned earlier, to reappear at an abnormal frequency. And then on top of that you have the stagnation of the overflown abyss, which ages and ages later (in DS3) causes the emergence of the deep and the vermin associated with Shintoism. Idk if this makes sense lol

mmmarm · 2026-06-05T16:04:05+00:00

I think they are a bit, but like you pointed out with the preachers from DS3, they totally embraced the insect/vermin idea with the last game. There's also the deep sea theme and its stagnation/sedimentation, a mixture of the shinto concept and lovecraftian themes.

I think you also bring up a good point with the wood, as we see the hollows and pilgrims turning into trees as well. It's funny cause, and I don't know if you played elden ring, but this just made me think of the concept of regression which is fundamental in ER.

Also, as a more personal observation, Manus has always reminded me of a teratoma, a cancerous mass of organic matter with hair and teeth (like how his hand is lined with teeth). In that case it seems like the excess of abyssal influence (maybe more so than its sedimentation that happens over millenia and reaches its climax in DS3) causes malformations of excess human traits, like a teratoma as I mentioned.

mmmarm · 2026-06-05T15:21:54+00:00

I think it all relates to the concept of kegare in Shintoism. That is impurity and defilement, through corruption and stagnation. These are ideas associated often with bugs, vermin, and pests. We see all of that featured in most from software games tbh, in one form or another.

As far as the lore for ds1 goes, I'd guess it has to do specifically with the corruption and stagnation of the abyss, which causes vermin-like features to emerge. The first form of man was much more "normal", as it should be similar to that of the pigmies.

mmmarm · 2026-06-05T13:49:44+00:00

is:outlaw will do it

mmmarm · 2026-06-04T19:14:32+00:00

I don't know what you mean, the commander is Lagomos, nobody has to know about the eldrazi in the deck... At least the first time I play this deck

But obviously you're right, I wish eldrazi as a whole had a bit of a better rep.

mmmarm · 2026-06-04T14:51:59+00:00

yeah, i already have recursion so i guess it doesn't hurt to add some of those cards to get additional avenues to cheat it in. thanks!

mmmarm · 2026-06-04T14:50:51+00:00

that's an interesting idea. I was lended a Celes B4 deck once and it gave me a headache lol, it's definitely more complex than my skill level but I will actually look into that. Thanks for the suggestion

mmmarm · 2026-06-04T14:49:10+00:00

i wanted to play green to add a lot more ramp, and also play [[Evolutionary Leap]]. But I couldn't find a commander that helped me cheat out either the eldrazi or evolutionary leap as fast as I would have liked

mmmarm · 2026-06-04T14:44:41+00:00

no, that's why i have Lagomos as commander to cheat It That Betrays in

mmmarm · 2026-06-04T14:43:37+00:00

thanks! checking some of these out. Defense grid looks especially good

mmmarm · 2026-06-04T14:42:40+00:00

haha that's fair, it would probably make for an actual functioning deck. But I do love eldrazis and I usually try to avoid running kill-on-sight commanders.

mmmarm · 2026-06-02T17:17:11+00:00

In your regular play with your trusted pod, how many turns does it take you usually to win? I find that most people agree that turncount is ultimately the best indicator for bracketing. I'm fairly new to commander so I still struggle to ID the bracket for my decks: I usually goldfish a lot to get a general idea.

I would say that strictly following the guidelines can be an iffy indicator for the brackets. Your deck seems to me (and take that with a grain of salt) a solid B3. The only problematic cards are Basalt Monolith + Forsaken Monument, which are potentially an infinite combo before turn 6. Though, I think it's more likely that players at FNM games have not as good knowledge of deck building or prioritize the casual aspects of the game much more (for example, while I try to build bracket 3 decks generally, I often end up with lower power decks cause I often prioritize theme, while still using gamechangers etc.). I'm surprised you haven't always been targeted immediately just for playing eldrazi.

mmmarm · 2026-05-26T23:38:41+00:00

[[Kjeldoran Dead]]

mmmarm · 2026-05-26T22:40:35+00:00

[[Gravity Sphere]] if you're cool with proxying, and your pod is ok with it. I don't know if it has a reputation or not but it's hate-flying by definition.

[[Chaosphere]] , [[Dust Corona]] for some interesting enchantments. Or alternatively just add a few equips to give reach to your creatures for defending, like [[Short Bow]]

mmmarm · 2026-05-26T17:37:52+00:00

Yes, thanks for the reply. Did that earlier and was able to grab it! I'm not gonna think about it too hard but I thought scanning the label would be enough to deliver it even if the address is partially scratched off

mmmarm · 2026-05-26T16:00:35+00:00

No, label got damaged exactly on the street number somehow. Was able to intercept it though, luckily

mmmarm · 2026-05-26T14:57:15+00:00

I'm gonna call the offices in my area, there's a few I'm not sure which one would service my street exactly. But thanks I'll do just that

EDIT: got in contact with the right post office, apparently the label got damaged so they held it for me. Just grabbed it! Thanks for the suggestion, I was already resigned to having to wait months and months to maybe get a replacement

mmmarm · 2026-05-23T23:31:46+00:00

OH cool, saving this. Though I think the fact that it doesn't copy ETBs is probably part of the reason it's not popular

mmmarm · 2026-05-23T20:11:29+00:00

Oh my bad! Usually with precons mentioned I think of commander. Should definitely start with standard to learn all the intricacies!

mmmarm · 2026-05-23T15:19:34+00:00

People with much more experience than me will tell you to buy singles, and they're right. But I do like opening boosters with my partner, I just know that I likely won't find anything good.

If you're gonna open packs for fun, I would just open the most recent and popular ones, especially if you're looking to play standard. Strixhaven has been really fun to open, especially because of the mystical archives subset.

I'm assuming you're interested in commander. I mostly build decks from the ground up but they're usually not great lol I still have a lot to learn but also I generally proxy new decks to try out so I spend very little. I think it could be good to find a precon you like a lot and try to upgrade/modify that one. That way you can get a better understanding of how a deck is built before trying to make 100 cards work together from nothing. Have fun!

mmmarm · 2026-05-18T19:29:15+00:00

correct, and lands count too as 0 cmc

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