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.

capwner says... #1

Flashback does work with kicker, the former is an alternate cost and the latter additional so they play nicely :) I had never seen the card either before a couple weeks ago searching for changeling tech. If ur gonna try to brew it I will keep my eyes peeled! And thanks for the very nice words, I much enjoy your contributions here as well :)

October 2, 2026 9:59 p.m. Edited.

Balaam__ says... #2

@capwner No I haven’t, that’s what really caught my eye. I never even saw the card before. I love the older sets and vastly prefer them to the newer stuff WotC has been printing, but even so there are some gaps in my knowledge and cards I’m unfamiliar with. This was one of them, but I like what you’ve done with it.

Part of me wants to throw it in a Legacy deck with some sort of recursion, maybe a build abusing Snapcaster Mage for repeat castings. Might have to go , but then again there’s plenty of artifacts and creatures that can cough up some to pay the kicker. Anyway, great stuff you put together.

Edit-recursion not revision. Typo

Double Edit—oh no! Flashback might not let me pay the kicker, I’m not sure. I’d have to double check that. In any case there’s other ways to return the card to hand to abuse it, Snapcaster might not be the ideal solution.

October 2, 2026 9:39 p.m. Edited.

capwner says... #3

Thanks for the vote big B. Have you ever played with that Strength of Night card before? I just stumbled on it, seems like a rather balaamy card and also the best overrun in pauper?

October 2, 2026 12:09 p.m.

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Said on Balaam__...

#1

@capwner No I haven’t, that’s what really caught my eye. I never even saw the card before. I love the older sets and vastly prefer them to the newer stuff WotC has been printing, but even so there are some gaps in my knowledge and cards I’m unfamiliar with. This was one of them, but I like what you’ve done with it.

Part of me wants to throw it in a Legacy deck with some sort of recursion, maybe a build abusing Snapcaster Mage for repeat castings. Might have to go , but then again there’s plenty of artifacts and creatures that can cough up some to pay the kicker. Anyway, great stuff you put together.

Edit-recursion not revision. Typo

Double Edit—oh no! Flashback might not let me pay the kicker, I’m not sure. I’d have to double check that. In any case there’s other ways to return the card to hand to abuse it, Snapcaster might not be the ideal solution.

October 2, 2026 9:39 p.m. Edited.

Said on Bite of the …...

#2

Looks solid. Think it’s worth running a Witch's Cottage or two?

October 2, 2026 6:21 p.m.

Said on Ballistic Damage...

#3

It’s pricey, but Inventors' Fair would work wonders here.

September 26, 2026 4:36 p.m.

Said on None...

#4

It appears I have a secret admirer lol. Thank you, dear sir or madam, whoever you are. I suppose I should return the favor and recommend some decks I found interesting.

•Metroid_Hybrid has a nifty Mono Burn deck Everything Burns... I really liked

•Squee_Spirit_Guide made an Azor's Elocutors deck called Filibuster I liked so much I made a worse version of it

•legendofa built a bunch of my personal favorites, but I really liked the idea behind Technically still blockable and want more people to give it a look

September 23, 2026 3:29 p.m.

If it were me, I’d drop one Nosepicker Witch for the fish. You’ll have 3 natural draws plus 2 from Vedalken Aethermage, and multiples don’t really stack or anything like that. While it could always be exiled, you shouldn’t need more than one angler as you can easily retrieve it from the graveyard if necessary. I also wouldn’t cut down your harassment/removal suite of cards, I think that’s well balanced.

September 21, 2026 6:30 p.m.

I like this. I’ve tried to build around Thoughtpicker Witch myself but could only get a very janky infinite combo Legacy build with tissue paper defenses up and running. You’ve got a good base here, but what you really need is a bomb. How about Gurmag Angler? You’ll have plenty of non-creature spells and such in the graveyard to reduce his cost even if you’re returning creatures to hand to fuel the main engine.

September 21, 2026 5:49 p.m.

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MTG Decks

Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 51 | 24 COMMENTS | 2675 VIEWS | IN 4 FOLDERS

Altar of Despair

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 58 | 29 COMMENTS | 2487 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Trouble at the Old Mill!

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 67 | 34 COMMENTS | 2212 VIEWS | IN 13 FOLDERS

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 70 | 11 COMMENTS | 3117 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Ferngully (Help Wanted!)

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 62 | 59 COMMENTS | 2419 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

Exham Priory

Pauper Balaam__

SCORE: 59 | 16 COMMENTS | 4368 VIEWS | IN 13 FOLDERS

Geralf’s Walk-In Clinic

Legacy Balaam__

SCORE: 48 | 7 COMMENTS | 1285 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

Darwin’s Dirty Onus

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 38 | 16 COMMENTS | 1865 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

Finished Decks 141
Prototype Decks 10
Drafts 0
Playing since Tempest
Points 545
Avg. deck rating 28.07
T/O Rank 8
Helper Rank 7
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 197 / 142
Venues Tales of Adventure
Joined 7 years