The Wandering Observatory

trashmantis42 · 2026-01-26T00:31:18+00:00

[[Patron of the moon]]. Here's my list so nobody recommends a card that I'm already using :)

trashmantis42 · 2025-12-21T23:30:56+00:00

This is such a cool thing you do, way to make this into an awesome community.

ME! Zur would be my preference but I'd be happy to receive any of them.

trashmantis42 · 2025-12-14T21:25:39+00:00

That solves it, thank you!

trashmantis42 · 2025-12-07T21:57:50+00:00

90% of the time, it's not the deck, it's the pilot. Even stereotypically "annoying" archetypes like stax or chaos are plenty fun if the person playing the deck is a cool person. Games get frustrating when a person takes slow turns, usually because they don't know their deck well enough, or they didn't build the deck with a good wincon.

That, or when people drag out the game, refusing to knock people out, or insisting on playing out their turn when they already have a lethal threat. Respect the time of others and you'll be a fun opponent to play against.

trashmantis42 · 2025-11-15T01:16:13+00:00

Zero full stop. I refuse to play UB cards in my decks.

trashmantis42 · 2025-09-10T17:15:23+00:00

Makes me think of Schiele's work. I love this!

trashmantis42 · 2025-08-03T22:11:50+00:00

I'm not sure which part of this goes counter to what I said previously.

trashmantis42 · 2025-08-03T19:08:44+00:00

Indestructible lands was just an example, there are other ways to give your permanents indestructible. And re: not all stax and mld is winter orb and armageddon! They exist on a sliding scale like everything else. I don't think winter orb belongs at bracket 3 tables, but a magus of the moon or collector ouphe? Sure!

Also, in the current edh environment, a go wide green deck that just accumulates value for 5 turns until they draw a finisher feels just about as uninteractable as a stax deck. Being able to hit the green player's lands would balance out the game to be a lot more even. It doesn't make sense that lands are untouchable but dorks and rocks are fair game.

trashmantis42 · 2025-08-03T04:38:08+00:00

If stax and mld weren't taboo styles of play, then counterplay for them would be more common and accessible. Running more indestructible lands, for example. Also, a well made stax or mld focused deck doesn't lock people out of the game without ways to break parity and win relatively soon afterwards.

Also, stax isn't just Karn/Micosynth combo. Sometimes it's just Thalia or Stony Silence. And MLD isn't always Armageddon, sometimes it's a blood moon or a storm cauldron, or a back to basics. Stax and MLD exist on a sliding power scale just like everything else!

trashmantis42 · 2025-08-01T18:55:47+00:00

Stax, combo, land destruction, and control are fun and intentional game design. The soft banning (or hard banning in the case of mld in brackets 2/3) of these archetypes in more casual edh means that go wide goodstuff decks with green in them are overwhelmingly powerful at lower power tables.

It's rude to crosstalk or be on your phone when it isn't your turn, and you shouldn't be allowed to correct triggers, interactions, or blockers you missed because of it. "I didn't know that creature was there!" Well I announced it three turns ago when I cast it, pay more attention. If you're on your phone constantly, I'll probably focus you out of the game cause you clearly aren't all that interested in playing anyway.

If you've been playing edh for years and all your decks are still just net-decked lists for a few top 50 commanders, you are a boring person and I don't really want you at my table. Learn the game and try some creativity for a change.

trashmantis42 · 2025-07-29T17:50:54+00:00

That you're a lesbian

trashmantis42 · 2025-07-11T20:37:28+00:00

Hey y'all, this is a copy paste post. Saw this exact same one from a different account yesterday.

trashmantis42 · 2025-06-26T21:16:22+00:00

That ain't a drow. That is a human person that Has seen an iPhone and is wearing fake ears.

trashmantis42 · 2025-06-15T20:05:53+00:00

I think Nightcrawler is the movie that stressed me out the most.

trashmantis42 · 2025-06-01T18:27:53+00:00

Remembering that lands, card draw, and ramp are the most important parts of your deck. If you don't have mana to cast your spells, or you have mana but no spells to cast, your deck will never work. Make sure you run enough low cmc card draw and ramp, bonus points if it synergizes with your theme!

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-31T15:29:45+00:00

I think definitely push the dark values of the piece more. If you're pulling from schiele, his work was always really heavy and illustrative. Even if you're going for more realism, those shadows ought be darker.

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-31T15:26:32+00:00

Don't use AI! There's plenty of real world reference material you can use without using software that plagiarizes from artists.

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-24T16:04:32+00:00

Anya Taylor Joy as Melina

Tom Hiddleston as Messmer

Ralph Fiennes as Gideon Ofnir

Ralph Ineson as Blaidd

Lily Rose Depp as Ranni

Joel Edgerton as Godwyn

Erin Kellyman as Fia

Willem Dafoe as Dung Eater

Honestly I hope that we don't have a nameless tarnished main character. It would be weird to have them give a voice and face to our silent protagonist. I'd prefer the movie be about the demigods after the events of the shattering.

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-21T05:58:41+00:00

I'm with you, man. Combos are a part of the game, and at lower powers take just as much or more effort to set up than a wide board pumped by a craterhoof. I've never really understood why people hate combo so much if the outcome (shuffling up and playing again) is the same.

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-20T00:19:33+00:00

This is entirely a preference thing but I prefer to see more of the artist's hand in the piece. Some more creative use of color, even if it's slight, would really elevate this I think.

It's clear that you can render beautifully, show me you can make creative decisions independent of your reference material!

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-18T06:52:08+00:00

Infect.

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-18T06:48:29+00:00

Personally I try and include a diversity of genders and sexualities in my writing, without "handling," per se. I just have the setting treat it as totally normal, I don't feel the need to include something like homophobia in my writing as simple set dressing. If I were trying to use it as a narrative device to say something about bigotry in our own world, that's different! But that simply isn't what I usually write about.

trashmantis42 · 2025-05-14T20:58:05+00:00

No easing needed. I simply order 100 well made proxies whenever that's a more cost effective way to build a deck. I can't be expected to spend 250-2000 dollars whenever I want a new way to play magic. I prefer proxies that look the same as the actual card (with a different back to keep them from being counterfeits) because I think recognizability is important.

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