Balaam__
Deckling -
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.
@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.
@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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Said on
Dimir... uh.. Ramp …...
#1
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.
Said on
Spaghetti and Beatdowns...
#2
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.
Said on
Mono Black Devotion/// …...
#3
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.
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.
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.
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.
:D
I haven’t thought about a sticky hand for 20+ years
December 27, 2025 3:30 p.m.
@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.
@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 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.
Said on
Dimir... uh.. Ramp …...
#16
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 Ritual
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.
Said on
Sultai Dredge/// Modern...
#18
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.
Said on
Sultai Dredge/// Modern...
#19
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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| Joined | 6 years |
clayperce says... #1
Thank you for the upvote on Elektra; cheers!
December 26, 2025 5:03 p.m.