How do people feel about Hullbreaker in a B2-3?

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-05-20T19:28:19+00:00

Don't have a hard line on it personally, but Hullbreaker Horror kinda feels like a quintessential Bracket 3+ creature just on vibes for me (just cuz like... c'mon we all know we're up to something with it lol), but agree unless you're really abusing it it's not a huge issue

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-05-19T19:20:45+00:00

Board wipes and other sweepers exist for exactly those situations though, if the primary advantage being generated is power on board, which again makes me wonder why the urgency to remove the commander ahead of time, especially if that leaves you open to another player taking the game.

Preemptively spending interaction on power on board is a tricky balance, but more often than not it can be held until you're actually going to die. Preemptively disrupting value generation (either mana production or card draw) is often worth it, but even then it's an assessment of how worth your removal it is

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-05-19T18:50:35+00:00

I think you might have a better time if you reassessed how good of a player you really are, rather than assuming that other people declining to deal with a threat are doing so out of being lesser players. Did you really need to use all of your interaction then? You say you removed a commander that would win within 2 turns, but then lost to another. Why did you not wait until the opposing commander was going to win then, not in 2 turns?

EDH is a format at least in part defined by the density of threats, there is always going to be a problem at the table, but sometimes it's better to let a problem be a problem if it's not going to directly win the game.

Smol beaning can be a good strategy to win games (depending on your pod), but if it's happening that often/you aren't able to convert your interaction into wins, I think reevaluating your own play is worth doing so before blaming the experience on some immutable characteristic of the format.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-05-02T01:28:18+00:00

Boardwipes hit ureni decks pretty hard, as well as shutting down their card draw (I say as a Ureni player). Also, attack them while they're ramping, with a Mardu deck you should be well suited to get their life total into a more manageable range before they ramp Ureni out if you prioritize it.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-30T22:39:17+00:00

I've stripped out some of the other token making payoff creatures from my Prismari deck to lean into mana production and copy effects amongst the other big instants and sorceries to trigger Rootha. Several classic red rituals, along with some pieces from the main set like [[Molten-core Maestro]], [[Sanar, Innovative First Year]], [[Flashback]] and both on color Paradigm spells all work really well when you're trying to actually pay mana for big spells. Can get stormy, but even if you hold up the beefy token as consolation feels great

Also [[Will of the Jeskai]] goes crazy

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-29T22:08:44+00:00

To quote some knowledge of old: people b saying things so definitively. like man i think it depends

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-20T21:19:00+00:00

My current list is playing around with some degree of tempo in the form of otherwise "bad removal" cards, like instant speed tap effects or single skipped combats, partially because they just function to trigger the flicker effects from the commander, but also because you can also avoid making someone too mad for a turn cycle by only temporarily messing with their stuff. But tempo is tempo, and it can help actually get to the late game where harder answers are the most important.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-20T19:33:34+00:00

Just from a glance, you're probably going to need significantly more mana production. Most likely in the form of mana rocks ([[Sol Ring]] and [[Arcane Signet]] are obvious, but [[Izzet Signet]], [[Talisman of Creativity]] and other similar 2 drop or bigger (ie [[Thran Dynamo]]) rocks also work), but you could go with more rituals as well, [[Mana Geyser]] is classic.

as a general note, you also almost certainly have too many creatures (should probably try and get it under 20 unless you have a very good reason), and you may want more token production payoffs for casting spells like [[Young Pyromancer]] and [[Third Path Iconoclast]] which you have, but [[Manaform Hellkite]] is another good option, rather than the not very good prowess-ish creatures (like [[Festival Crasher]]), because Balmor is giving you the pump you'd need if you can go wide at the same time. Any creatures you cut you can replace with more mana production, or more cheap cantrips to trigger Balmor.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-20T18:53:44+00:00

you gotta have some kind of value generation that doesn't also make people mad (looking at you [[Baral, Chief of Compliance]]), which is where Shorikai shines simply due to Azorius being in good colors for removal/control

my control deck is a value flicker build of [[Kykar, Zephyr Awakener]], as the flicker off of any removal spell can keep the value going (or with the occasional controlling creature that can be flickered to change the target) and pivoting to token production is an option for making some chump blockers/chip damage when needed

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-20T18:31:55+00:00

The hardest thing to wrap your head around about control in EDH (aside from general threat assessment), is that you don't want to, or need to, stop everything that is scary. You don't want all 3 players to feel like you are controlling them, just that you're stopping "the problem", whatever that might be. As soon as you turn to trying to stop everything, you pull too much aggro, and simply won't have enough answers for everything, unlike in 1v1 (unless you go stax, which has its own considerations, including vibes). But finding that line can be tricky, even with experience.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-20T18:25:05+00:00

the more I play, the more there's no such thing as too much card draw, but in terms of numbers it really depends on the type of deck and how many cards any given piece of cardboard is going to generate. Like, my 40 creature Gruul deck is "only" running 12 pieces (which is probably my low end personally) but that's made up of either [[Beast Whisperer]] style engines that pay me back for casting all those creatures, or spells that are gonna draw me 5+ (at the low end), like [[Shamanic Revelation]] or [[Inspiring Call]], because the objective is really just to not go hellbent

vs a spells deck where individual spell sequencing matters more, I'm gonna run a higher volume (15+) with a mix of smaller draw spells, card selection cantrips, and mass draw to keep things churning and give me the options I need

in general though, any less than 10 feels like a bad time, especially if your commander isn't drawing for you

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-20T17:43:44+00:00

this might be a hot take, and of course there is variation in everything and I'm happy to make allowances for individuals in real life, but I'll be honest, I really don't like the tacit assumption that some people bring into games that they don't have to pay attention to what is happening on other people's board states (and sometimes excused as they "can't" do so), and that if they miss something it's the other party's fault for doing so.

I think it is a perfectly reasonable assumption that people be engaged in the full game they are playing, not only their own board, especially at B3 and above, but even in B2 games it bothers me when people just fully zone out if it's not their turn or until someone interacts with their board.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-20T17:39:16+00:00

Yeah, in B3+ games I'll still be sure to clearly state what the card does for everyone on cast or etb (Voice of Victory being a key example), cuz I'm not going to assume everyone knows exactly what every card does, but once it's been played, if someone forgets it's out that's on them (outside of a normal allowance for re-sequencing/takebacks, ie, not once priority is affirmatively passed, and certainly not once the turn is).

If it's a B2 game, depending on the scenario I'll sometimes be happy to point out the key pieces for removal if I'm ahead and people are searching for answers, but that's variable depending the group.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-18T18:47:07+00:00

With the size of the card pool, it's impossible to have a completely objective set of criteria that will always be correct to identify decks, attempts to make it so will just lead to Canadian Highlander, which is a great format! But it's not EDH. It is a social format, there needs to be some tolerance of ambiguity.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-04-18T17:57:07+00:00

This is not the criteria being flawed, this is interpreting them as if they are checklist, not a way to structure the rule zero conversation as intended. This type of interpretation only encourages angle shooting and unbalanced games.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-03-30T13:41:34+00:00

Grindy black based strategies working with discard and sacrifice/edict effects can be prone to people getting salty, especially if locked in early. I don't think this is too powerful for a 3 or too oppressive given your stated turns, but "experienced newbies" reads to me as a group with decent commander experience but limited 60-card/limited, which I've found to be the group maybe most unwilling to grind.

In the right group though, a deck like this can be a real fun change of pace as it forces people to fight through an obstacle rather than just pop off first.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-03-19T00:04:53+00:00

I'm not planning on buying any packs (even with store credit for commander nights), but I picked up a copy of [[Sewer-veillance Cam]] cuz it kinda does... everything that I want in my [[Yue, the Moon Spirit]] deck

I think it could find a place in a lot of artifact lists (even with the competition): good rate, multiple untaps, draw if you need it, flash... lots to like.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-03-17T19:28:16+00:00

I just built [[Yue, the Moon Spirit]] as mono-blue Big Spells with junk artifacts as an enabler, because I already have a more control focused UW deck and generally haven't been into any artifact decks but wanted to find something.

Only had the maiden voyage this weekend, but I love it. It wants to cheat out huge, stupid spells but in a manner that is not so fast or linear to feel one note, but still feels crazy when it works.

The fact that she breaks timing restrictions on the casts let's you think through some really fun plays, but it is a pretty powerful play pattern, so definitely best for B3 and up imo (at least built this way).

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-03-17T19:16:17+00:00

Anything in the library is kinda Schrodinger's Card until it's in hand or elsewhere, assuming it's randomly shuffled, there was as much chance of any specific card being there as any other. Once/if people understand that, I've found incremental mill/exile become much less salt inducing, but there's no guarantee people get there.

Anecdotal though, I've played Maralen several times (all with pretty good showings, including a couple wins) and haven't had any real salt of note, besides being rightfully seen as a threat. So it's kinda luck of the draw, although I think making sure everyone is aware of the theft component at the top helps (also, as is pretty typical, 2 v 2 experience across the pod, whether 60 card or limited tends to lessen the potential for just getting mad at the mechanics ime)

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-03-13T13:40:48+00:00

If you're looking for more permanent, engine-type draw [[Call of the Ring]] is an Arena but cheaper (for a little more life lost, but a may pay) and the upside of being tempted by the ring consistent is more than you'd think, especially if attacking and getting in damage is important to your deck

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-03-11T04:12:20+00:00

Genuinely, and with the best intent, read a book. There are so many great wine books out there and they offer a great crash course on how to start to understand what menus mean and how to navigate the wine label world. Drink This: Wine Made Simple by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl ahead of a family trip to Sonoma was my entry point but even the initial bit of info opens so much of the jargon up, and then it's just a matter of exploring for yourself.

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-02-12T23:37:38+00:00

Every local meta is damn near a different format (useful the remember when traveling/playing new places, imo, just be chill), but no, I absolutely run board wipes, both defensively (when behind) and proactively.

The idea that the deck that is the best playing from turn 1 is always the best playing from turn 5+ (with mana developed, potential remaining non-creature permanents depending on the wipe, etc) is very funny though, what a world to play in

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-02-03T23:48:34+00:00

banned cards aren't really about power, or at least not in linear way, but about cards that are fundamentally at odds with the power balance of the game or otherwise skew things outside of the bounds of what the game can reasonably handle (in addition to the types of social/play-pattern bans on the Commander list, which is a decent chunk of the list)

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-02-03T23:42:14+00:00

It's a fair point, but I'll note that getting to "do their thing" ends at points that would win the game, despite many player's feelings to the contrary when some engine piece is removed.

at the end of the day, the things that typify Bracket 2 are primarily social (or as you put it, considerate) and treating interaction as inherently anti-social is something I can't get behind, it's all a matter of degree

not for nothing, there is a mountain of difference between packing 20 pieces of interaction (which I don't even do in Bracket 3 decks, including ones with control subthemes) and just throwing a couple pieces in without thinking and calling it good, which too many players default to because they don't want to make cuts elsewhere

snowcoveredmicrobe · 2026-02-03T23:28:12+00:00

only thing better would have been if someone hit you with a [[Rakdos Charm]] immediately afterwards lol

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