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.

Thanks for the upvotes on my vampire decks!

April 17, 2024 2:57 p.m.

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Said on Curaga...

#1

@zapyourtumor For sure. This is one I trot out occasionally when I know what I’m up against. Definitely not a good idea to play against randoms or Unknown builds. When it works it’s fun, when it doesn’t…things turn south quickly.

May 9, 2024 4:18 p.m.

Said on Sprite Dragon...

#2

I like what you’re going for, but I’m not sure Street Wraith belongs. You clearly don’t intend to hard cast it, but I can’t see any other potential interactions with anything else in the deck. Cycling Street Wraith won’t apply any counters to either Sprite Dragon or Stormchaser Mage, temporary or otherwise. I think this slot would be better served by a free-to-cast card that would buff your creatures or by a cheap utility spell.

May 6, 2024 2:54 p.m.

Said on 000CBomb000...

#3

I’ve had a similar experience to what you mentioned in your profile. I haven’t played Swedish Old School but I prefer the more traditional formats all the same. I couldn’t agree more regarding the artwork of the older cards as opposed to the “artwork” of the newer cards (note my use of quotes…)

May 5, 2024 10:41 p.m.

Said on Lightning Cajones...

#4

@BadRandolph I think if I were to replace Expressive Iteration I’d revert back to Cathartic Reunion over Consider. It’s not as simple to cast, but by the time we would want to use it, the utility is marginally better I think.

Consider isn’t bad, per se, so maybe I will end up using it after all. It’s been awhile since I played this particular build. Thanks for the suggestions, as always.

May 2, 2024 3:03 p.m.

Said on Lightning Cajones...

#5

Thanks for posting, BadRandolph. Hm, that’s an interesting proposition. To be fair I’ve fallen out of the game as of late and haven’t seen this land cycle (I’m completely unfamiliar with whatever expansion that card is from, I don’t even recognize the icon). At a glance, there’s potential just as you’ve highlighted. I’d have to weigh the advantages of a dual land and dumping a necessary card where I want it against the possibility of it being ‘just a tapland’ with no upside on any given turn. I’ll go ahead and add it to the maybeboard for now while I think about it.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

May 2, 2024 9:17 a.m.

Said on Pauper Burn...

#6

Pretty well put together. Much better than my first attempt.

April 29, 2024 12:01 p.m.

Reanimator is in the hubs sub menu, I’d tag this so it will be visible to those specifically searching for something like it. Well put together, +1

April 26, 2024 3:38 p.m.

Said on Say hello to …...

#8

Ah, ok I see where you’re going now. This might be an interesting build for pauper; normally pinning all hopes to a single card isn’t a wise idea, as most other formats have Surgical Extraction type spells to nuke the whole strategy, but as far as I know nothing like that exists in Pauper.

April 23, 2024 2:40 p.m.

Said on Say hello to …...

#9

Maybe I’m missing something here, but I’m not seeing a wincon of any kind—no creatures in the mainboard, no direct damage spells, no alternate wincon as far as I can tell.

April 23, 2024 12:03 p.m.

Said on Why is my …...

#10

Either what Gidgetimer said, or perhaps because of the word “bigoted” just above it. I don’t think anyone could object to how you used it in your description, but the word itself may be flagged.

April 20, 2024 8:27 p.m.

Said on Totally Easy & …...

#11

Seeing so many Tempest and Mirage block cards with all their fantastic artwork together in one place is a delight

April 20, 2024 8:08 p.m.

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MTG Decks

Trouble at the Old Mill!

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 46 | 31 COMMENTS | 1635 VIEWS | IN 10 FOLDERS

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 62 | 10 COMMENTS | 2458 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Ferngully (Help Wanted!)

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 58 | 57 COMMENTS | 2240 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

Altar of Despair

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 50 | 28 COMMENTS | 1899 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 38 | 18 COMMENTS | 1684 VIEWS | IN 4 FOLDERS

Exham Priory

Pauper Balaam__

SCORE: 46 | 16 COMMENTS | 2844 VIEWS | IN 10 FOLDERS

Geralf’s Walk-In Clinic

Legacy Balaam__

SCORE: 41 | 6 COMMENTS | 1122 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Darwin’s Dirty Onus

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 31 | 15 COMMENTS | 1383 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

Finished Decks 117
Prototype Decks 7
Drafts 0
Playing since Tempest
Points 900
Avg. deck rating 22.74
T/O Rank 17
Helper Rank 16
Favorite formats Modern, Pauper, Legacy, Vintage
Suppressed formats 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 150 / 106
Venues Tales of Adventure
Joined 4 years