Thank you for stopping by.

I first became acquainted with Magic: The Gathering during Alpha set. After that initial foray where I was introduced by a neighbor to the game, I didn’t play again until the Tempest block. Then I took a long, 20 year hiatus until 2019 when another neighbor reinvigorated my desire to play by urging me to buy some Dominaria and Core 19 packs for a friendly draft. Since then I’ve found myself addicted to deck building.

I prefer traditional formats like Vintage/Legacy/Modern/Standard/Pauper as opposed to this zany, newfangled “Commander” format all the kids are raving about.

I lean toward the / end of the color spectrum; preferred hubs are Reanimator and any type of build that uses uncommon or otherwise off the wall strategies or win-cons.

God I miss the old artwork and flavor text from the older expansions; some of the new stuff is half decent but it doesn’t hold a candle to the gorgeous art of cards like those found in the Arabian Nights expansion or Mirage block. And then there’s the classical literary quotes on cards like Repentant Blacksmith, Juzam Djinn, Hammerheim, Karakas, Pendelhaven, Revelation...the list goes on! I weep softly when I realize just how lackluster today’s MtG sets are in this respect, by comparison. But, I digress.

Feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have on any of my decks; all upvotes are much appreciated as well.

clayperce says... #1

Thank you for the upvote on Elektra; cheers!

December 26, 2025 5:03 p.m.

Andramalech says... #2

Balaam__ I know the feeling of wishing a ruling was in your favor all too well. And of course I'd respond as soon as I can! You're my favorite person to see questions from because you've always got some zany build that is in the works, and I'm always so curious to see it come to fruition. Make sure you tag me in the comments of this build once you're ready. Cheers!

December 24, 2025 11:41 a.m.

Balaam__ says... #3

@Andramalech thanks for replying so soon. That’s what I figured, but I’ve been wrong before and wanted to be sure. Sometimes this game has rather illogical or counterintuitive ideas about how otherwise simple-to-understand rules actually function. Better to check beforehand than build something out only to have it not work the way I thought it would.

December 24, 2025 9:56 a.m.

Andramalech says... #4

Balaam__ is an instant speed available activated ability, which means yes instant speed even though it's at sorcery speed for the mainspell, and it's an activated ability so yes it can be hit by things like Disallow, or Stifle, or Trickbind. Cheers!

December 24, 2025 6:47 a.m.

Balaam__ says... #5

@Andramalech I’m still tinkering away at that deck I mentioned last we spoke, and I have another question I’d like your input on.

Does cycling always play at Instant speed? Specifically, the card Step Through is a sorcery but it provides the option for Wizardcycling—does that secondary function operate at instant speed like every other cycling or is it restricted to playing at sorcery speed because it’s printed on a sorcery card? I’m not interested in the bounce effect of the card, I know that’s sorcery speed. I’m uncertain of the Wizardcycling portion.

December 23, 2025 11:44 p.m.

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Very good point about fixed mana vs fast mana, I hadn’t considered things from that perspective. Thinking about it I’d side against the rituals in favor of what you already have here.

I’d like to see further branches of this deck, absolutely. I think a iteration has great potential.

December 31, 2025 2:37 p.m.

Thanks capwner. This one came together really well, I’m happy with how it turned out. And I can imagine how frustrating it was to have the rug pulled out from under you, rendering your EDH version obsolete. I’ve had similar things happen with other hobbies/interests, it’s not fun.

December 30, 2025 5:40 p.m.

I wish I had known Pioneer mono devotion was this close to the Modern version, it would have made my first few Pioneer games a lot simpler.

December 30, 2025 4:23 p.m.

Said on Abiding Combo...

#4

@Andramalech I’ve not seen Winter Moon before, that’s a new card to me. Hearkens back to some real old school design, fitting nicely in among Winter Orb, Blood Moon and Alpine Moon. Very much my type of card.

December 30, 2025 12:54 p.m.

Said on UWr Blink...

#5

That Guide of Souls + Ocelot Pride combo, chef’s kiss. Great to see Flagstones here too for mana fixing.

I thought of suggesting Lofty Denial since Guide of Souls churns out flyers, but without playtesting I can’t gauge how often you’ll have a spare blue mana available. Probably not a good fit, and you already have more countermagic options than I expected.

December 29, 2025 9:50 a.m.

Said on Hecatomb...

#6

I figured. Sticking with the Ice Age era-ish sets makes that more difficult; Will-o'-the-Wisp might be the best you’re going to get. Newer sets would have a lot more pertinent options, but you lose all the old school flavor.

December 28, 2025 7:03 p.m.

Said on Hecatomb...

#7

I like this one alot, a callback to old school mtg in the best possible way.

Question regarding a card choice: Will-o'-the-Wisp isn’t really part of the Hecatomb ‘engine’ in the same way as Nether Shadow is self-recursive, so I’m guessing it’s here to soak up damage while the combo comes online. Am I missing something, or is that correct?

December 28, 2025 6:25 p.m.

Said on Yer a Wizard, …...

#8

@Bookrook Naban, Dean of Iteration won’t trigger Dour Port-Mage. He’s here to double the effectiveness of Venser and Aether Channeler. As for Wizard's Retort, I get tired of seeing the same spells over and over again. Retort will always be a Counterspell in this deck since everything’s a Wizard. It’s just for variety.

December 28, 2025 2:12 p.m.

Said on points???...

#9

:D

I haven’t thought about a sticky hand for 20+ years

December 27, 2025 3:30 p.m.

Said on points???...

#10

@Crow_Umbra I’m saving up my points to get the giant stuffed panda bear from the tappedout giftshop

December 27, 2025 3:20 p.m.

Said on Yer a Wizard, …...

#11

@Andramalech Glad you enjoyed it, although most of this was a legitimate attempt at fitting what little I know of HP into a larger framework. I thought I’d be not far off, or at least in the ballpark, but I’m guessing not? Just out of curiosity, what platform are you playing Hogwarts Legacy on and is it any good (purely as a game, not necessarily as an extension of the HP mythos)?

December 26, 2025 9:02 p.m.

Said on Balaam__...

#12

@Andramalech thanks for replying so soon. That’s what I figured, but I’ve been wrong before and wanted to be sure. Sometimes this game has rather illogical or counterintuitive ideas about how otherwise simple-to-understand rules actually function. Better to check beforehand than build something out only to have it not work the way I thought it would.

December 24, 2025 9:56 a.m.

Said on Balaam__...

#13

@Andramalech I’m still tinkering away at that deck I mentioned last we spoke, and I have another question I’d like your input on.

Does cycling always play at Instant speed? Specifically, the card Step Through is a sorcery but it provides the option for Wizardcycling—does that secondary function operate at instant speed like every other cycling or is it restricted to playing at sorcery speed because it’s printed on a sorcery card? I’m not interested in the bounce effect of the card, I know that’s sorcery speed. I’m uncertain of the Wizardcycling portion.

December 23, 2025 11:44 p.m.

Said on Simic Deck Wins...

#14

This is the ultimate version of this deck. I have one in Modern, but it’s much slower and less consistent without Moxes (Moxen? Moxii?) and some of the Power Nine. Well built!

December 22, 2025 6:50 p.m.

Said on Mono-Blue Control...

#15

Brilliant, +1. I wasn’t aware of Deem Inferior, this is the first I’m seeing it and I have a deck it would perform well in. Thanks for posting this and bringing it to my attention!

December 22, 2025 12:17 p.m.

In the beginning you discuss the need to ramp out quickly to make good use of an early Balustrade Spy. I notice there’s no Dark Ritualfoil here, even though you’re in the right color(s) for it. I can’t decide if it’s for price reasons (the cheapest version costs less than Darkness but it isn’t as intrinsic to the gameplan as that card is) or you just don’t need to run it that badly, that what you have here works well enough already. Thoughts?

December 21, 2025 6:31 p.m.

Said on Poor Man's Burn...

#17

I like to run at least one or two Dwarven Mine in lists like this. It doesn’t do anything to directly contribute to the Burn motif, but it’ll enter play untapped 99% of the time and give you a free 1/1 token to help absorb potential combat damage or allow you to push that last little bit of extra damage through with essentially no drawbacks. Pity it’s a dwarf token and not a goblin token, that would have been far more useful.

December 19, 2025 12:22 p.m.

No problem. Dredge is one of my favorite deck types. It’s in all my favorite colors, with many of my favorite cards, and it never gets old. I find it good practice to run a dredge deck now and again because it differs from many archetypes in that you need to be as mindful of your own choices as well as the opponent’s. No sitting back on autopilot simply waiting to react, ha

December 18, 2025 5:52 p.m.

You’ve got most of the Dredge staples here, so all looks to be in order on that front. Speaking for myself I tend to avoid building tri color Dredge, I find the consistency is a little easier to work with when you only run 2 colors. If you aren’t getting hung up with mana fixing issues, then you’re probably golden.

December 18, 2025 5:31 p.m.

Said on MonoW Battalion...

#20

I suggest this for every mono white deck I come across, but if you own them consider running 4x Flagstones of Trokair. They’ll thin your deck for better subsequent draws without any tangible downside.

December 18, 2025 9:48 a.m.

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MTG Decks

Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 44 | 21 COMMENTS | 2367 VIEWS | IN 4 FOLDERS

Altar of Despair

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 57 | 29 COMMENTS | 2328 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Trouble at the Old Mill!

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 60 | 34 COMMENTS | 2039 VIEWS | IN 12 FOLDERS

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 68 | 11 COMMENTS | 2918 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Ferngully (Help Wanted!)

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 61 | 59 COMMENTS | 2347 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

Exham Priory

Pauper Balaam__

SCORE: 53 | 16 COMMENTS | 3824 VIEWS | IN 13 FOLDERS

Geralf’s Walk-In Clinic

Legacy Balaam__

SCORE: 45 | 7 COMMENTS | 1232 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Darwin’s Dirty Onus

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 35 | 16 COMMENTS | 1702 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

Finished Decks 139
Prototype Decks 10
Drafts 0
Playing since Tempest
Points 1795
Avg. deck rating 26.01
T/O Rank 5
Helper Rank 10
Favorite formats Modern, Pauper, Legacy, Vintage
Suppressed formats Standard Brawl, Historic, Commander / EDH, Pauper EDH, Commander: Rule 0, Canadian Highlander, Highlander, Duel Commander, Leviathan, 1v1 Commander, Pre-release, Penny Dreadful, Heirloom, Hero, Noble, Tiny Leaders, Oathbreaker, Block Constructed, Arena, MTGO, Magic Duels, Unformat
Cards suggested / good suggestions 186 / 136
Venues Tales of Adventure
Joined 6 years