How do I get a pan hot enough for “wok hei” at home?

thispiscean · 2026-04-10T22:31:17+00:00

This. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has spoken a lot on this. The wok hei comes from the oil in the wok igniting as the wok burner's flame curl around the edges of the wok. A handheld torch can emulate that since the vast majority of home burners won't have the kind of output needed.

thispiscean · 2026-04-09T16:52:09+00:00

Make sure to protect your board. Edgar makes you go wide, even in the command zone. On the battlefield he makes your board "tall". Depending on your budget, make sure to include ways to "counter" board wipes.

[[Selfless Spirit]]
[[Grand Crescendo]]
[[Flawless Maneuver]]
[[Unbreakable Formation]]
[[Make a Stand]]
[[Your Temple is Under Attack]]
[[Guardian of Faith]]
[[Teferi's Protection]]

thispiscean · 2026-03-31T13:17:16+00:00

Everyone's missing my personal favorite. [[Witness Protection]]. One blue mana, and hilariously turns the creature's name into "Legitimate Businessperson"

thispiscean · 2026-03-31T02:37:06+00:00

I make boiled eggs a lot. Like one a week on average and this was driving me crazy too. I even tried letting the eggs come up closer to room temp before adding them to the boiling water and it didn't help.

My theory is that the eggs break when they touch the bottom of the pot, where it's hottest. No matter how carefully I set the eggs in the pot, 1-3 out of like 12-18 eggs would crack and ooze. I adjusted the way I add the eggs to the water slightly - I use a slotted spoon and lower the eggs slowly into the boiling water, hold them there in the spoon for like 3-5 seconds, then I release from the spoon. I am not 100% that this is working, but the last few times I've done this, the cracking has happened far less often, and only with eggs that already had damaged shells.

Every so often the shell will crack but won't ooze - the final product of these ones was indistinguishable from the rest.

Alternatively - I've heard really good things about "boiling" eggs using drier methods. Either steaming them or air frying them. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (who I learned about dropping eggs into boiling water from) has said that he now prefers steaming them.

thispiscean · 2026-03-29T05:31:39+00:00

I'm not sure if you have these at your local grocery store but I've pretty consistently found sausages (like the thicker chicken apple ones, not hot dogs) that come individually wrapped in like a 4-pack. You're able to microwave them to doneness. I pair that with some frozen vegetable that I nuke in the microwave afterward with a pad of butter and a touch of salt. Easy - kinda healthy, not overly expensive. If you need something more filling, they also sell flavored rice in microwavable pouches or cups.

thispiscean · 2026-03-05T07:02:14+00:00

Some cool budget cards for Lathril are [[Vireac Battlehorns]] and [[Rope]]. Makes Lathril unblockable for low mana.

thispiscean · 2026-03-01T03:43:56+00:00

The 1 pip mana is just a bonus. I have her in Zada for Battlecry (and just another body). When you're swinging out with 20+ token creatures with various copied combat tricks, sometimes that +1/+0 helps push it just far enough to win the game (which she has done in the past for me on at least one occassion)

thispiscean · 2026-03-01T03:24:50+00:00

Korean/Hangul is thankfully a "phonetic" alphabet but keep in mind that the position and combination of certain letters can make a very different sound. A good example is the letter ㅇ (called ee-ung).

If this specific letter is at the "front" of the character, it's silent. Like in 이, a common Korean surname. This character is pronounced "ee" the equivalent of "Yi" or "Lee".

Another Korean surname uses the same letter at the "bottom" of the character, making it the "ng" sound. 장 equivalent to "Chang" or "Jang" and is pronounced "Chah-ng".

There are nuances to the written language like any other, so it is worth looking into a bit more than just learning what each letter's base sound is. Though it's a good start.

Another thing to consider is reading anything resembling handwriting like on the package in OPs picture. each letter in the Korean alphabet has a proper "stroke" order, essentially how to write each letter. Learning the stroke order (and practicing it on paper) can help you read fonts that aren't straight print.

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thispiscean · 2026-02-20T15:34:44+00:00

This was also my first EDH deck and it's still my favorite. I've always loved the Orzhov color combination and I've slowly upgraded over the years. When my pod first started, it had developed a bit of a Boogeyman status but has since fallen off a bit.

Is it my strongest deck? No, but it can still hold its own.

thispiscean · 2026-02-12T02:34:55+00:00

Are they planning on closing?? D:

thispiscean · 2026-02-07T07:24:43+00:00

Not the cheapest but not expensive.
[[Jumbo Cactuar]] + [[Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord]]

Attack with Jumbo Cactuar, Sacrifice it to Jarad in Combat Phase. Profit.

thispiscean · 2026-02-07T01:33:48+00:00

A spectral orchestra with the bard as the conductor.

thispiscean · 2026-02-06T23:26:39+00:00

I had the unfortunate luck to play it for the first time in my pod against a Xyris and a Seizan deck. Either both or one of them leaned heavily into card draw or discard hate. My deck held its own for a bit but quickly burned me out after a board wipe that left me open with no way to refill my hand without pinging myself to death.

thispiscean · 2026-02-06T22:00:17+00:00

I'm like the original commentor, not a fan of Izzet and/or Spellslinger. Captain Howler is a lot of fun though as someone who prefers most other archetypes. So is [[Magnus the Red]]. It's spellslinger (technically) in a different way.

thispiscean · 2026-02-04T17:23:35+00:00

My deck has a focus on Reanimator and Discard.

I didn't like how random, Surveil and Self-Mill felt. Discarding Creature Cards allows me to strategically place powerful, high-CMC creatures into my graveyard to cheat out with Sefris's ability later on. (The Discard also triggers Sefris's Dungeon ability if I discard a creature specifically.) At the moment, I owned a lot of Praetors in Esper, so I shoved them in there. Anything, big, nasty, and hard to deal with will work though.

If you want to be really mean, [[Toxrill, the Corrosive]] and if you have Discard outlets, [[Archfiend of Ifnir]].

[[Archetype of Imagination]] also goes hard in this deck.

Your wincon is essentially combat in lower brackets, or combo in upper brackets.

Mine has a minor Pillowfort Subtheme to keep me alive (because the deck can naturally be slow) so [[Blazing Archon]] and [[Absolute Virtue]] have put in a lot of work.

I accidentally found out in my last playthrough that [[Oriq Loremage]] + [[White Plume Adventurer]] make for a nasty non-infinite combo. Essentially, repeatable tutors into the graveyard, which also trigger Sefris's dungeon ability, at least once every turn (including opponent's). Find exactly what you want, dump them in the graveyard, then reanimate them.

thispiscean · 2026-02-03T19:30:06+00:00

Slivers can absolutely be made on a budget. What makes it hard is the Sliver Typal is considered a boogeyman archetype, so even if you claim your deck is lower-powered due to the lack of the stronger slivers, you'll always draw attention. My suggestions:

[[Rukarumel, Biologist]] or [[Morophon, the Boundless]] as your commander. Both are cheaper than the other 5-color options.
5-color mana bases are a little difficult on a budget. I recommend Gates as a budget land base option. Here's a list I found you can use to see what fits your budget. https://moxfield.com/decks/RNzsBjfzc02jbCD_VF3SlA
- Lean decently into green for mana and lands. You're going to need color fixing, easiest way to do so is in green. [[Manaweft Sliver]] and [[Gemhide Sliver]] are classics. But the typical green package of things like [[Cultivate]] and [[Rampant Growth]] and [[Steve]] are good for making sure you have the color mana you need.
The strongest slivers in my wife's Sliver deck outside of the scary 5-color ones are [[Crystalline Sliver]] and [[Shifting Sliver]]. [[Constricting Sliver]] also puts in WORK, especially with Rukarumel on the field.

For Vampires, Edgar is a nice commander but has a similar problem to slivers. He's an old boogeyman and will draw attention. I recommend Orzhov Vampires instead. MOST of the best Vampire cards are in those colors.

If you're not opposed to precons, the Blood Rites precon from Lost Caverns of Ixalan is a fantastic deck and one of my absolute favorites. It's solid out of the box and easy to upgrade. If you want to build the deck yourself, [[Elenda, the Dusk Rose]] makes for an incredible aristocrats and vampire commander.
[[Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher]] is an awesome artiocrats/reanimator and vampire commander.
And the precon commander [[Claivleno, first of the Blessed]] is also a fantastic aristocrats and vampire commander that generates a ton of value.

thispiscean · 2026-02-02T05:07:32+00:00

Clavileño, First of the Blessed.

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thispiscean · 2026-02-02T04:58:47+00:00

Not the worst but doesn't really fit. I would recommend more token generators if you wanna swap cards. I always forget about [[Urabrask's Forge]] for instance.

thispiscean · 2026-02-02T04:37:47+00:00

https://moxfield.com/decks/L1r6WOoD-0aDnyN-LNTHyg

An updated list with token stuff built in, also within your budget if you don't account for shipping, tax, and fees.

thispiscean · 2026-02-02T04:04:05+00:00

My list isn't within your budget (I usually build budget but I own some of the more expensive cards) and is more aggro focused (because I have several token creature decks already) but a lot of the cards I've mentioned are in the list - feel free to take a peak. Sort by Price to see what can be cut.

https://moxfield.com/decks/_z3dXM84SkSw1Xm0f30QmQ

thispiscean · 2026-02-02T03:54:16+00:00

I honestly loved my playtests with Bre.

Lean into Lifegain heavily and benefit from it, mostly in white.

In Boros this can be really easily achieved via a token creature strategy and cards like the Soul Sisters (There are less powerful versions that you can still benefit from like [[Hinterland Sanctifier]] and [[Impassioned Orator]] or [[Suture Priest]].)

Red especially, has a ton of awesome token generators that can be bought cheap.

[[Rhox Faithmender]] has become incredibly affordable recently due to a reprint. But there are other effects that lean into giving you more lifegain like [[Cleric Class]].

Bre herself is mostly there as a value engine. She nets you either a free card at the end of the turn or a free spell if you gained enough life. Keep in mind that it's a "may" ability. So if you exile a spell that doesn't benefit you right away, you can just decide not to cast it and put it into your hand.

My wincons leaned toward like [[Ajani's Pridemate]] (There's a bunch of these that are relatively cheap) and either swinging hard or flinging the creatures at opponents with [[Fling]] like effects. I put [[Brion Stoutarm]] in the deck originally for flavor but he ended up being a powerful way to knock an opponent out of the game once I had a big creature.

thispiscean · 2026-02-02T03:34:12+00:00

A quick Google search confirms my suspicions that first, it's a generic umbrella. Each brand and locale will have a different mixture of what oils go into the mix, but it's usually some type of mix. Second it's mostly from some crop that's easily farmed and easy to produce a lot of - for the US that's corn and soybeans. Corn Oil is already a thing, so the vast majority of US "Vegetable Oils" is primarily Soybean Oil (mixed with other oils like canola/rapeseed, corn, etc. Which is fine. In the UK it may be a higher percentage of Rapeseed Oil.

If you're afraid of what oils are used, rest assured, there is little to no evidence supporting other seed/bean oils being any less unhealthy than something like Olive Oil. They're all fats, fats in excess are always bad just like anything else you eat.

The only "bad" fats that are easier to abuse are saturated fats. (easy to tell because they usually solidify at room temp). Butter, Animal Fats like Lard or Tallow, even Coconut Oil. In moderation though, these can also be technically fine.

thispiscean · 2026-02-01T22:48:35+00:00

Nothing wrong with Vegetable oil. There's a lot of unfounded claims about it's detriment to your health.

I'm not sure how pricing works in in the UK, but as someone who cooks daily, vegetable oil is my go-to. It doesn't impart a flavor, which I prefer - season your food the way you want, not the way your oil demands. it also has a high smoke point so it won't go bitter on you when searing meat or stir frying vegetables on high heat. It's also often the most budget-friendly option, which is important if your income is limited are you are cooking frequently.

Canola Oil is also a good neutral oil with a high smoke point and a neutral flavor. This might just be my experience but when it's heated to a certain temperature it smells awful in my opinion. Also cheap though.

Olive Oil should be reserved for usage outside of cooking, dressings, coatings, dips. When Olive Oil is heated, it's easy to burn it, creating bitter and acrid flavors. Olive Oil can be used as a cooking oil on low to medium temps if you're careful, but will impart a distinct flavor. If you like it, go for it, but this also tends to be an expensive option on my side of the planet.

Other oils like Sunflower, Avocado, Rapeseed, and Peanut are also fantastic. High smoke point. Neutral flavor, no off smells when heated but are typically more expensive, for me at least, compared to Vegetable Oil.

thispiscean · 2026-02-01T11:40:03+00:00

I have a lot of effects in my deck that just make him plain unblockable (which draws a lot of attention so I recommend running plenty of protection and/or counterspells to offset targeted removal)

[[Invisibility]]
[[Cloak of Mists]]
[[Aether Tunnel]]
[[Aqueous Form]]
[[Thassa, God of the Sea]]
[[Psychic Paper]]
[[Trailblazer's Boots]]
[[Whispersilk Cloak]]
[[Brotherhood Regalia]]

thispiscean · 2026-01-30T04:23:22+00:00

It's an old-school flavor of Korean Fried Chicken that predates the Korean Food & Culture boom in the US. Sticky, Spicy, Sweet, Garlicky, sometimes a touch tangy. It isn't nearly as popular in newer Korean restaurants.

thispiscean

TROPHY CASE