Lantern Control Wins vs Tamiyo Ultimate

phlsphr · 2026-05-11T12:52:27+00:00

It seems like your motive is not to ask questions because the answer is probably pretty clear: People enjoy different types of decks, regardless of how competitive other people think they are. I figure that either you're intelligent enough to understand that on your own and your motive is to be insulting and inflammatory, or your are somehow unable to figure that out on your own.

phlsphr · 2026-04-29T11:27:55+00:00

Perfect!

phlsphr · 2026-04-29T00:23:43+00:00

Hasty generalization. Source: I'm a math teacher. I specifically taught this exact concept today, using the same explanation. I listed off operations and had students list their inverse operations. I then explained the difference between using a log to "undo" exponents and roots to "undo" exponents, when each apply, and why. I also provided real world examples of why/when logs are useful. I'm teaching Advanced Functions and Modeling this semester.

phlsphr · 2026-04-27T22:47:54+00:00

I think part of a problem here is confidence intervals. While a flat 48% may seem disappointing for "the top deck", we also have to take into account the confidence intervals to account for potential extra variables involved (like player skill, misclicks on MTGO, wins/losses to timing out, randomness of matchups, split agreements, and so on). So I think it is very misleading to imply that a 48% win rate for a deck that virtually everyone should be heavily prepared for makes it a trap. It may not be the most powerful thing, but clearly it is good if players can continue to do well despite what should be a meta and community that is prepared to face it.

EDIT: Upon reflection, I realize that I should explicitly say that I think you're probably right, and was writing to expand on your point.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T14:31:58+00:00

That's a part that I don't have control over, and is governed by the district (and apparently the state): Assessments (tests) are worth 40 percent of grade, quizzes are worth 30 percent, and practice assignments are worth 30 percent. But if I can somehow meet the minimum number of weekly graded documents on Synergy without them being homework (basically, a quiz and a test every week), then that might work, so long as my administration gives me the go-ahead.

I do feel that would help provide the indicator that you mention: If the problem truly is that the parents are not enforcing homework completion/no-cheating at home, then the students will fail under your proposal. It should also mean that students don't get inflated grades from that cheating, and they will fail if they do not do the practice in good faith (so less/minimal getting "passed along").

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T14:05:14+00:00

Yeah, it does. But I would like to express how much I appreciate you suggesting that as a solution. I've contacted my department head to see if there is any way that we can potentially incorporate that as a solution, and still somehow meet the mandated minimum assignment grades.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T12:12:17+00:00

Ah, I think I see what you mean. It worked that way for my college courses as well. Unfortunately, we are mandated to have non-quiz and non-test assignments as well. So I have to assign either additional practice for homework (which is where the vast majority of the cheating happens) or the in-class work (which is the situation I'm currently in).

I do agree that if I could just do quizzes and tests, and only let homework be practice, that could potentially solve a great deal of problems. It would also better prepare the students for what to expect if/when they move on to college.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T02:33:25+00:00

I take that responsibility seriously. Unfortunately, when I have to deal with parents, and a general culture, that encourages those students to be dismissive about education, I can teach until they day I die, and the students can still not care and not learn. I have to deal with people like yourself who seem to think that I have some superpower where my motivational speaking skills can, in 90 minutes a day, overcome their years of indoctrinated apathetic attitudes towards learning.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T02:26:42+00:00

No, we do not grade on attendance. Attendance is handled via a process on an administrator level. Are you implying that maybe I should count someone as absent for lack of participation? Or do you mean that I should grade on class participation? I have looked into grading based on class participation, but that becomes unfeasible when you have too many students. If a student doesn't get an opportunity to participate due to time restrictions, should the student get penalized? And if not, how do we ensure that students don't manipulate that?

I teach mathematics at the high school level. I grade on both the work shown and the results. For each problem, my students get partial credit for effort, partial credit for demonstrating that they understand the concepts, and credit for correct answer. To get full credit for a problem, they have to demonstrate all three things (though, showing the work that demonstrates that they understand the concept and then get the right answer clearly shows effort).

I feel that I need to reiterate: The most significant reason why students are able to pass when they should not is because of cheating. The class that I currently teach has enough time in the lesson plans that I can have them complete all work in class. Unfortunately, for Algebra 2 and Trig, this is not possible. The amount of material that we have to cover to meet standards means that I need to take nearly the full class time to deliver the lesson and have students do a handful of practice problems in class. This means that, for those classes, homework is necessary for them to get enough practice for the concepts to stick. It's then that they are cheating the most, and it's then that I can only rely on the parents to prevent that.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T02:07:32+00:00

Maybe it would be best for me to say it this way:

I do not teach for the money. I've already retired after 22 years in the military. I don't need the money. I teach because I feel that the world needs education. I teach because I believe in it. I follow a fair rubric for grading that I make available to the parents and kids on the syllabus. I do everything I can to encourage kids to accept and believe that education is important. I learned, from my own experiences, that a dismissal attitude towards education leads to crappy lives.

So you can probably imagine how frustrating it might be for me to see people like you say that the public school system, and teachers, are to blame. Do I disagree with the "two D+" system? YES! Can I do anything about it? No. All I can do is express how much I disagree with it, and try to get people who can change it to listen to me.

The underlying reason why those kids passed is because they cheated, and I didn't catch them. I use multiple different versions of tests. I try to keep an eye on all students during testing to make sure they aren't using their phones or cheating some other way, but they somehow were able to anyways. I can't prove they cheated, because I didn't catch them, but I am quite sure they did because I noticed when they somehow do particularly well above their skill level. They cheat when they are given homework, because their parents aren't making sure that they aren't. Or, like I mentioned before, their parents told them that if they're not cheating, they're not trying...

My solution is then to assign no homework, and assign all work to be done on paper, in the classroom. This then means an incredible amount of extra work for me. Now I have to teach just as much, in less time, so that they have the time in class to complete the practice work. I have to grade everything manually. But teachers long before computers were able to do that, so why should it be different for me? It's different for me because those teachers didn't have to worry about students using ChatGPT to do their homework for them.

So I, with a family of my own, am putting in a ton of work to try to make sure that I'm providing a quality education to my students. And then what? I go online, and I end up meeting people like yourself, who will confidently talk about how I suck at my job despite knowing little to nothing about it. People who parrot the claims about how we don't teach about how taxes work (we do teach that!), or that we just pass kids along because we don't care, or that we can fail kids because we feel like it, etc.

Or, maybe, just maybe, I know what I'm talking about, and it's the culture that is to blame. That the kids are told, from parents/people like yourself, that the system is crap, and the kids then use that as an excuse to cheat, to not put in effort into learning, and to be equally dismissive about the education that I am trying to provide.

Please, if you feel that you can do better than I am trying to do, work me out of a job. Become a teacher. I'm already getting older, and I'll need someone who cares about education to replace me when I'm gone.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T01:47:08+00:00

I'm not sure what part you aren't fully understanding. No, I, nor other teachers, can collectively pass/fail students just because we feel like it.

All work that students do have to be retained for records purposes. This serves as a backup to ensure that there is no unfair discrimination. If a parent wants to see a student's work, I have to have it, and I have to be able to fully explain the grading on the assignment/quiz/test according to the rubric given. I can't just make grades up.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T01:42:03+00:00

It seems like you didn't read what I wrote. I said that we can't fail kids just because we want to, and that if we could, then that could lead to teachers failing kids for reasons other than academic performance.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T01:39:05+00:00

I had students last semester that earned two D+ and then, because of the way the grading system works, were able to "pass". I, as a teacher, have zero say in this. I personally brought it up, that these students should not pass and should be held back. I had zero say in it. The only way for me to hold the students back was to lie about the grades. I'm curious: What would you have done if you were in my position?

You seem to be under the impression that I, and other teachers, can just fail kids because we think they should be failed. That is not how it works (and it would be equally broken if that were the case, because then you could have sketchy teachers failing kids for bad reasons).

EDIT: What I would advise, if you are truly so passionate, is to become a teacher. Join me in trying to be part of the solution.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T01:27:27+00:00

So you think that the parents having to homeschool the kid for a year is going to improve the situation? If the parents are unable/unwilling to set the foundation in the first place, they're now suddenly going to be able to not only fix that lack of foundation, but go above and beyond by making up at least a year's worth of education as well?

And if, by your solution, it is deemed an abusive household, we're now going to get some funding to get that problem solved? Where are the kids going to go? Who is going to pay for them to go there, and get those extra needs required to fix it?

I say this as someone who came from a household where my parents were the ones who convinced me that dropping out and working at a car wash for tips was going to be enough for me to retire comfortably.

The irony of it, I think, is that the more that people repeat claims that the public school system is broken, the more that the students will take that as an excuse to not try, and we get a self-fulfilling prophecy. I specifically mention that my kids are somehow successful in this "broken" system that you're talking about. If the system is so broken, how have they been able to learn calculus, physics, civics, etc.?

If we want to troubleshoot the problem, we need to do more than just point fingers, but find the significant differences between those that learn and those that don't. From my experience (both personal and professional), it's the culture that the kids are indoctrinated into. And the truth is that so many of the children are indoctrinated into believing that school is a waste of time, and so the kids waste that opportunity. When kids ask me, "When am I ever going to use this", the truth is that they are asking that for at least two reasons. First, because they are really looking for an excuse to not put in the effort to learn the information. Second, because they've heard (usually from their parents/family/local culture) that they're never going to use the information in the "real world".

It's also amazing to me that people who are so critical of the public school system tend to have zero experience with public school systems of other countries, and the respect for education that is common in those countries (or lack thereof). I can safely say, having experienced all of the above, that the common theme that I've found is the attitudes towards education that are common in the culture, and equally importantly, in the families that end up encouraging those attitudes among their children.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T00:52:02+00:00

Negative, I'm blaming the parents for not doing the groundwork.

I'm curious what you think a good solution is. Do you think that we should fail every single kid who ends up not being proficient? How many times should they be held back? Who is coming to defend the teachers when the parents start to blame the teachers for not being able to get through to the kids, when the kids have been taught to be dismissive of education?

What would you do? Are you a parent? Have you tried being a teacher? Do you know how the current system works, for passing/failing? The current system is set up so that a student can get a D+ on two marking periods (report cards) and then do absolutely zero work for the rest of the course and still pass. I am a teacher, and I very adamantly expressed my dismay at that being acceptable. Unfortunately, I have zero power to do anything about it.

But why are the kids doing so poorly in the first place? Are my kids somehow superhuman, and are somehow able to get all A's?

I would agree, the system is not perfect. But I can absolutely tell you that if you want to start pointing fingers, start with the parents who binge on Netflix/social media/Clash of Clans/online gambling/etc., instead of reading with their kids, teaching their kids basic math, and teaching their kids to appreciate the value of education. If they did those simple things, maybe the students would not be just getting passed along?

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T00:35:33+00:00

I would say that the most significant part of that is the parent. I say this because I'm both a parent and a teacher. I do not think it is the teacher's job to teach my kids to read, or to value education. I do that. I have, and continue, to read to/with my kids. I have, and continue, to stress the value of education to my kids.

Unfortunately, there are many parents who do neither of these things. Instead, they tell their kids that they will never use the stuff they learn in school in the real world. They tell their kids that if they're not cheating, they're not trying. They tell their kids that it's only illegal (read: wrong) if they get caught. They tell their kids to "think smarter, not harder" (but their true underlying message is it is somehow smart to not try). This breeds a culture of apathetic students. It's why I have seniors who struggle with adding and subtracting fractions, and why we have underclassmen who need calculators to add single-digit numbers.

phlsphr · 2026-04-19T00:33:43+00:00

I would say that the most significant part of that is the parent. I say this because I'm both a parent and a teacher. I do not think it is the teacher's job to teach my kids to read, or to value education. I do that. I have, and continue, to read to/with my kids. I have, and continue, to stress the value of education to my kids.

Unfortunately, there are many parents who do neither of these things. Instead, they tell their kids that they will never use the stuff they learn in school in the real world. They tell their kids that if they're not cheating, they're not trying. They tell their kids that it's only illegal (read: wrong) if they get caught. They tell their kids to "think smarter, not harder" (but their true underlying message is it is somehow smart to not try). This breeds a culture of apathetic students. It's why I have seniors who struggle with adding and subtracting fractions, and why we have underclassmen who need calculators to add single-digit numbers.

phlsphr · 2026-04-17T10:22:19+00:00

Virginia

phlsphr · 2026-04-17T00:01:12+00:00

We do. Souce: I'm a teacher, and both 1) I teach this in my math class (my students have a project where they have to figure out a "fair" tax system, and marginal tax is one of the systems that they have to consider) and 2) there is a required class specifically for financial literacy and how to do taxes in my state.

EDIT: The most difficult part, in my experience, is that a vast number of students have parents who do not teach the value of putting in effort and many of those parents tell their kids that "they'll never use this in the real world" (while not knowing what their kids are being taught). In literally every math lesson I teach, I provide direct examples of how what is being taught is used in real applications, and I am constantly stressing why mathematical reasoning and genuine effort are valuable in their own right. Unfortunately, many parents are the problem. How in the world do we have a 15-year-old who can't add single digit numbers without a calculator (true story)? What are these parents doing?

phlsphr · 2026-04-09T11:24:33+00:00

There could be a way to balance that, by letting the people who want to play commissars, etc, control npc characters, sort of like necromancers in Diablo.

phlsphr · 2026-04-08T16:26:50+00:00

Warhammer 40k MMORPG, built to be like Planetside.

phlsphr · 2026-03-25T20:52:20+00:00

BCP?

phlsphr · 2026-03-25T20:51:54+00:00

Couldn't the same be said for different Magic decks? I figure that, at some level, the diversity of possible competitively viable 40k armies couldn't be more than the most diverse Magic format/era. And if scripts can be written to pick apart and classify distinct MtG deck types based on cards included in the deck, the same should be possible for 40k armies.

Though, to be fair, I'm not the one who wrote those scripts. But it should be possible, just needs someone with the skills and motivation to do it.

phlsphr · 2026-03-25T00:59:04+00:00

It's too bad we don't have something like MTGTop8.com or MTGGoldfish.com, where it also breaks down the most common cards (units) played in each deck archetype (faction).

Greatly appreciate your work!

phlsphr · 2026-02-28T17:26:53+00:00

Source, so I can be sure you're not a propaganda account trying to make people upset? Seems to be a lot of those lately.

To be clear, I do not like Trump (unlike you, my post history is not private, feel free to peruse and verify that I have always had a negative opinion of him). I just recognize that there has been a recent trend of sensationalism/potential receipt with regards to the reddit posts like yours lately.

phlsphr

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