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But not magic

"I will teach you everything I know." "Including magic." "Yes. Pick a card, any card!" "…" "This counts."

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But not magic

"I will teach you everything I know." "Including magic." "Yes. Pick a card, any card!" "…" "This counts."

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Everyone doing the best they can while touching different parts of an elephant.

😳

No, see, I’m referencing a parable in which blind men who don’t know what elephants are reach wrong conclusions based on partial information from touching, and… THIS ISN’T WEIRD IT’S ABOUT LIMITED PERSPECTIVES

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A perfectly balance evening with no complications

Would an unbalanced evening be daytime?

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A perfectly balance evening with no complications

Would an unbalanced evening be daytime?

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I like explaining, and listening to, convoluted game strategies. They make perfect sense in context, and sound like complete rambling nonsense out of context. It's wonderful.

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This deck is evil. Not because it always wins or anything, but because once it pulls off what it wants to do, it goes infinite / solitaire.

Firstly, there's the most wildcard-costly aspect of the deck: 8 lands with station. Using the station mechanic, you can tap any creature as a sorcery for free.

The activated station effects are secondary, but can occasionally be useful. What REALLY matters, though, is simply the free tapping via lands that are free to play, and less vulnerable than vehicles / mounts.

Magda, Brazen Outlaw (MBO) can sacrifice five treasures to put an artifact or dragon from the deck in play. She also creates treasure any time a dwarf is tapped.

Maskwood Nexus makes all creatures on your side every creature type (they all count as dragons and dwarves). For each Xorn, an additional treasure is made.

So MBO can search for the Nexus if need be, and for Xorns. With all Xorns and the Nexus in play, any tapped creature makes at least 5 treasures.

Now enters Magda, the Hoardmaster (MtH). MtH creates treasure any time you do a crime (target something of an opponents). This doesn't matter much in this deck unless you have Axgard Cavalry in play, because GIVING HASTE IS A CRIME! (if it's to opponent's creatures). So potential 1-10 treasures.

But the really important thing about MtH is that you can sacrifice 3 treasures to make a 4/4 flying dragon with haste, and tapping anything to make 5 treasures is doable. With 4 Xorn in play (or even 3), MBO, the nexus, and any station land, you can go MOOING INFINITE.

I mean, dragons infinite. Which is a lot of cards for one combo, but MBO lets you search for them. There's still luck of the draw, but there's also doing mulligans down to five and still winning somehow.

There's satisfaction to pulling it off, but ye gods that's a lot of mythic lands with niche use, and it really can feel like playing solitaire. I played a game in which I completely ignored attacks, was gradually damaged down to three, and won via the combo, which took at least a couple of minutes to do with all the stationing and Magda activating.

Additional notes: Snakeskin Veil is there because I'm splashing green anyway via the Evendo land, and every creature is pretty vulnerable. Evendo can also be useful for generating extra mana but that's secondary. I've yet to use Kavaron's ability, I just use it for tapping, but it actually could be useful if the Nexus is in play and you need one more body to tap to get enough treasure.

Hanger Scrounger is good for card draw and making things less vulnerable. Also, dwarf.

There's 3 Maskwood Nexus because playing one instead of searching can make the combo easier to do, but drawing multiple early can be bad, and the option for MBO to just search for one is there. The Nexus can also provide another body each turn to tap for treasure.

The Nexus odd number is why there's 5 Seven Dwarves. They were chosen mostly because they're 2 mana, and any dwarf early can be good with MBO. They can also bulk up if you happen to get multiple in play, so sure, Seven Dwarves.

Deck 5 Seven Dwarves (ELD) 141 3 Maskwood Nexus (KHM) 240 12 Mountain (M21) 312 4 Xorn (AFR) 167 4 Magda, Brazen Outlaw (KHM) 142 4 Goldspan Dragon (KHM) 139 4 Evendo, Waking Haven (EOE) 253 4 Hangar Scrounger (MOM) 142 4 Axgard Cavalry (FDN) 189 4 Kavaron, Memorial World (EOE) 255 4 Magda, the Hoardmaster (OTJ) 133 4 Thornspire Verge (DSK) 270 4 Snakeskin Veil (STA) 57

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Nanase studying

Note to self: Replace "Nanase studying" with something way more clever before the actual new page announcement.

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A mysterious mystery that is mysterious

As opposed to all those mysteries that are completely lacking in mysteriousness.

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A mysterious mystery that is mysterious

As opposed to all those mysteries that are completely lacking in mysteriousness.

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😣🫸 Scorpion and the Frog parable

☝️😌 Blind Men and the Elephant Parable

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Let's close this door for now

Technically, it's up against the wall, and is already closed. Or perpetually open? See, these are the questions that make me wonder if a door is a door if it's not on hinges.

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Let's close this door for now

Technically, it's up against the wall, and is already closed. Or perpetually open? See, these are the questions that make me wonder if a door is a door if it's not on hinges.

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Fleeing and stealth

This is the part where I'd paraphrase the "Brave Brave Sir Robin" song from Monty Python and The Holy Grail, but "Sir Robin" and "Cinderella" have a different number of syllables.

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Y'know, I wrote a whole thing about "telekinesis for moving the door would be unsafe", and here's Noriko totally using magic telekinesis to move the magic door around.

I'm going to say this is less a counterpoint to myself and more masterful characterization.

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What's so fascinating about this magical door of wonderment?

First, a philosophical question: Is a door a door when it does not function as a door? Is it instead a door in potentia, a thing that might become a door?

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Me on Bluesky, talking about a new Magic The Gathering mechanic: "Stations? I don't see the potential."

Someone else: "What about with Magda, Brazen Outlaw?"

🤔

Okay, I see SOME potential.