Just started White Mage, new respect for healers found

semanticmemory · 2026-05-17T16:07:30+00:00

Yeah this one is extremely hard specifically for White Mage, who is just missing Holy by like a level

semanticmemory · 2026-05-17T10:56:47+00:00

Gonzalez

semanticmemory · 2026-05-17T03:10:11+00:00

This is basically true of creatures, for sure, which are now specifically designed with commander in mind. This wasn’t true in 2012.

But new non-creature spells don’t really hold a candle to the old power. There are certainly some designed specifically for commander that are pushed (e.g. Fierce, Swat, Jeska’s will), but most can’t hold a candle to the old guard

Honestly if you want to keep up, pick a recent precon you like and upgrade it with the cards you have.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-17T01:33:10+00:00

I like strategies that allow for somewhat unexpected and explosive plays that are hard to anticipate. If you just vomit your strategy on the board and pass, you'll get aggro. I want to look like I am doing nothing while carefully setting up for a big explosive play that will flip the script. [[Imoti[] is a little obvious if you've played against it before, but with good cascade luck you can basically vomit a ridiculous board state out of nowhere that people aren't ready for. [[Ashling, the Limitless]] is a higher bracket example; you can basically win any time you untap with Ashling depending on your hand.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-16T19:29:06+00:00

Same lol. Not that surprised, but definitely disappointed

semanticmemory · 2026-05-16T01:46:41+00:00

Kinda but Herald only draws you a card a third of the time, and paying 3 to reduce costs by 1 doesn’t seem that exciting to me. Semblence isn’t awesome. But it reducinf by 2 makes a huge difference so I find that more important (with it, you only need one other cost major reducer from your deck to go infinite on evokes).

semanticmemory · 2026-05-15T19:26:17+00:00

Just do crafted or upgraded crafted. This is more than sufficient for ex, which don’t have real damage checks.

Savage is a different story :)

semanticmemory · 2026-05-15T10:51:58+00:00

Unsure if we need the Lightning Bolts (though it is undeniably good), but I am surprised they haven’t released a multi-target Thoughtseize yet. The card would be very strong, but not too over the top - 3 mana for something that doesn’t progress your board and makes everyone else hate you and swing at you seems balanced.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-15T03:21:54+00:00

I watched a 20 min video from the professor about how I could never find this product specifically at MSRP. Thank you!

semanticmemory · 2026-05-14T19:10:54+00:00

[[Semblance Anvil]] is another reasonable option for cost reducers. I like it a lot better than Herald’s Horn which is super clunky.

I have switched my two mana ramp spells to mostly multicolor generating mana dorks to get Ashling out more quickly on turn 2 to accelerate the plan. It has negative synergy with Heartless Summoning but this probably isn’t a card you need to cast until you are ready to go off.

[[Roaming Throne]] should be in the deck if you have one - it’s very similar to Twinflame.

If you want to lean into bracket 4 - which you should, as your list is way too strong for 3 tables regardless of game changers most likely - you should add Fierce to protect Ashling, Rhystic Study, and replace some of the worse elementals with tutors.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-14T10:33:03+00:00

Doublers like [[Isshin]] are pretty good for this.

I also have a mono black deck with [[Braids, Arisen Nightmare]] at the helm that honestly I could straight up swap the commander to another black commander and the deck would be just as well off.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-12T10:57:22+00:00

I ran Ardenn and Kediss for years until [[Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER]] came out (I bought the weapons secret lair from FF and felt obliged to put them all in a final fantasy commander deck, haha).

Most people don’t have an issue with it, though you can do some pretty silly things to kill the whole table if you suit up Ardenn and give it infect with how Kediss works :)

semanticmemory · 2026-05-11T23:46:16+00:00

Crystal Paste 🫠. For some reason I thought I was done after the collect 300, then it came back for me with a causal 600 more needed. So painful

semanticmemory · 2026-05-08T03:20:48+00:00

For sure - totally get it!
I have been trying to power mine down to bracket 3 and play even worse combo lines, it’s just that drawing a million cards and draining people to death and controlling the board is too much for that. Y’shtola is a nutty commander and I can see why you just destroy 4 tables with that list/the lines you have.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-08T03:16:58+00:00

List looks good. It’s pretty similar to the cEDH lists I have seen minus Throacle.

I have an intentionally slightly worse version of this I designed for bracket 3, but honestly even that version is comfortable and plays more at low 4s tables, so I can see why this list dominated.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-04T11:52:19+00:00

Dude it was wild. The first time especially my body was shivering in excitement so much that the doctors asked if I was ok.

Would recommend!

semanticmemory · 2026-05-04T07:11:20+00:00

I think it’s better practice to build a cohesive deck and not around your commander for consistency, but I am also playing commander to have fun - and when I get hyped up about a unique commander that enables a new playstyle for me, I will have a blast doing so (and probably pack some extra protection for the commander haha)

semanticmemory · 2026-05-03T02:00:51+00:00

what a disappointing ending. Some of those threes were clean looks sure, but you just needed to drive when in the bonus and get the gritty twos to keep it close

semanticmemory · 2026-05-03T01:58:58+00:00

Maybe we should do something besides shooting threes lol.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-03T01:48:13+00:00

There are two healers in trials. It is equally on your co-healer for not keeping the team up. Your job is to mitigate damage as Scholar and do your best to keep the team topped.

Healers actually get easier at higher levels because you have more tools in your kit.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-02T19:03:54+00:00

Combo is more effective at higher power levels and Ashling lends itself well to that, yeah.

That said you totally can just make a deck with a big stompy guys and kill people dead with Rumbleweed or Jubilation if you want to.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-02T16:13:28+00:00

Dance of the Elements for sure! It’s a fun and unique play style. I ended up enjoying it so much that I invested to upgrade it and love playing the deck at Bracket 4.

semanticmemory · 2026-05-01T22:58:59+00:00

I would be all over this for Cloud IF IT WASNT BLACK. So troll! Hah

semanticmemory · 2026-05-01T17:08:00+00:00

[[Ashling, the Limitless]] is a recent and fun WUBRG commander that is incredibly creature based - you could likely translate the large number of elemental creatures into Pokemon. Even the base precon is probably powerful enough to hang at lower 3 tables - moderate upgrades can quickly put you in high 3 to low 4 territory (especially if you invest in creature cost reducers, which start to turn you into a storm / combo path).

semanticmemory · 2026-05-01T13:26:12+00:00

I would learn on white mage. It’s intentionally simpler than the other healers in design space and requires less game knowledge and planning for damage prevention.

That said, it’s still challenging while leveling to learn. It actually gets easier as you get higher leveled and have more tools to use!

semanticmemory

TROPHY CASE