Camille Saint-Cyëns
@cyclopscaveman.bsky.social
i play magic and make dumb posts on the internet
having them ignore you until its too late and you can spring your combo on them is building on sand!
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
having them ignore you until its too late and you can spring your combo on them is building on sand!
a lot of magic pros have written about playing to win being better than playing not to lose. these tricks fall squarely into the latter camp. rather than building your game plan around winning, your foundation is instead precedented on making your opponents look elsewhere
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
a lot of magic pros have written about playing to win being better than playing not to lose. these tricks fall squarely into the latter camp. rather than building your game plan around winning, your foundation is instead precedented on making your opponents look elsewhere
these commander tricks end up the same way. in addition to average win rate hovering around 25%, you're just infinitely more likely to run into a pug with a much better player thats seen your game before and wipes the floor with your "invisible" threat that can be seen from a mile away
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
these commander tricks end up the same way. in addition to average win rate hovering around 25%, you're just infinitely more likely to run into a pug with a much better player thats seen your game before and wipes the floor with your "invisible" threat that can be seen from a mile away
but these decks, with their slow, grindy, post-lock play patterns get players to the point where they have the lead but can't reach the finish line, so all you have are games that end with everyone frustratedly scooping to the lock.
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
but these decks, with their slow, grindy, post-lock play patterns get players to the point where they have the lead but can't reach the finish line, so all you have are games that end with everyone frustratedly scooping to the lock.
part of the reason genuine pillowfort, stax, or draw-go strategies don't make it up to high level commander play is that most players do not know how to close the game out. our idea of the end of a game as commander players is people scooping to combos or dying to a craterhoof.
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
part of the reason genuine pillowfort, stax, or draw-go strategies don't make it up to high level commander play is that most players do not know how to close the game out. our idea of the end of a game as commander players is people scooping to combos or dying to a craterhoof.
i find it funny and depressing how people think the ultimate secret to winning at multiplayer magic is to gaslight your friends into playing poorly. please stop trying to trick your bros into blowing up someone else's commander! i guarantee you there's a counterplay that you won't see coming
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
i find it funny and depressing how people think the ultimate secret to winning at multiplayer magic is to gaslight your friends into playing poorly. please stop trying to trick your bros into blowing up someone else's commander! i guarantee you there's a counterplay that you won't see coming
those subtle early game pushes against parity can decide a longer game before the late game is even reached. you get a decent amount of advantage from just putting your commander on the board in the way she's written to be played!
forget calling it fairness, call it the necropotence effect!
forget calling it fairness, call it the necropotence effect!
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
those subtle early game pushes against parity can decide a longer game before the late game is even reached. you get a decent amount of advantage from just putting your commander on the board in the way she's written to be played!
forget calling it fairness, call it the necropotence effect!
forget calling it fairness, call it the necropotence effect!
against an opponent doing the same thing as you, whoever gets their yuriko out first is the first to gain advantage, and the other player is now The Control
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
against an opponent doing the same thing as you, whoever gets their yuriko out first is the first to gain advantage, and the other player is now The Control
another two or three mana legend in the command zone isn't drawing you cards and dealing bonus damage as soon as she hits the board. yuriko is! and that's how she breaks parity against other peoples turn 2 or 3 plays, she's cheap and gets you cards and extra damage.
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
another two or three mana legend in the command zone isn't drawing you cards and dealing bonus damage as soon as she hits the board. yuriko is! and that's how she breaks parity against other peoples turn 2 or 3 plays, she's cheap and gets you cards and extra damage.
these cards are strong because they give the owner an advantage on cast, in the cases discussed in the video by being cheaper than other cards at their rate
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
these cards are strong because they give the owner an advantage on cast, in the cases discussed in the video by being cheaper than other cards at their rate
some of these cards are designed around this breaking of parity in order to reign in the shenanigans, while ones like yuriko and her predecessor derevi were experiments with the design space commander offers that don't necessarily pan out in as balanced a way as originally expected.
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
some of these cards are designed around this breaking of parity in order to reign in the shenanigans, while ones like yuriko and her predecessor derevi were experiments with the design space commander offers that don't necessarily pan out in as balanced a way as originally expected.
this is, in my opinion, a fundamental design choice related to making cards more powerful
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
this is, in my opinion, a fundamental design choice related to making cards more powerful
i think this expression of power level isn't so much fairness as it is various degrees of breaking parity. most of the commanders mentioned in the video break parity in the command zone one way or another, usually thru breaking parity by way of mana cost.
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
i think this expression of power level isn't so much fairness as it is various degrees of breaking parity. most of the commanders mentioned in the video break parity in the command zone one way or another, usually thru breaking parity by way of mana cost.
snail coins the term "The Gesture" to describe this difference in practice, certain commanders make The Gesture by having their cost reduction still be tied to their status as a commander, like how Liesa costs more life every time you cast her. others do not, like how Yuriko always costs 2 mana
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
snail coins the term "The Gesture" to describe this difference in practice, certain commanders make The Gesture by having their cost reduction still be tied to their status as a commander, like how Liesa costs more life every time you cast her. others do not, like how Yuriko always costs 2 mana
in "A Tale of Two Commander Tax Evaders" youtube.com/watch?v=rk3o-DWPVrI snail describes a concept of "fairness" about how certain legends' power, especially in relation to avoiding commander tax, makes the commanders feel more or less unfair across the table, giving the examples of yuriko and liesa
A Tale of Two Commander Tax Evaders
YouTube video by Salubrious Snail
youtube.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
in "A Tale of Two Commander Tax Evaders" youtube.com/watch?v=rk3o-DWPVrI snail describes a concept of "fairness" about how certain legends' power, especially in relation to avoiding commander tax, makes the commanders feel more or less unfair across the table, giving the examples of yuriko and liesa
cards that break parity are powerful like this because to answer them in most ways is to put yourself behind just to deal with it. dies to disenchant is not relevant here because if you can't pay the 1, now you're behind just for trying to answer rhystic study!
October 22, 2025 at 12:56 PM
cards that break parity are powerful like this because to answer them in most ways is to put yourself behind just to deal with it. dies to disenchant is not relevant here because if you can't pay the 1, now you're behind just for trying to answer rhystic study!
- someone who knows what's up always pays the 1, giving study's owner a huge leg up in tempo on them, because they're slowed down by about 1 turn
- someone who doesn't care never pays the 1, giving study's owner a huge leg up on card advantage
- someone who doesn't care never pays the 1, giving study's owner a huge leg up on card advantage
October 22, 2025 at 12:56 PM
- someone who knows what's up always pays the 1, giving study's owner a huge leg up in tempo on them, because they're slowed down by about 1 turn
- someone who doesn't care never pays the 1, giving study's owner a huge leg up on card advantage
- someone who doesn't care never pays the 1, giving study's owner a huge leg up on card advantage
rhystic study is a great example of this because as soon as it hits the stack it's breaking parity. either:
- someone uses a single target removal spell on it, using up a potential resource they could have for later in the game
- someone uses a single target removal spell on it, using up a potential resource they could have for later in the game
October 22, 2025 at 12:56 PM
rhystic study is a great example of this because as soon as it hits the stack it's breaking parity. either:
- someone uses a single target removal spell on it, using up a potential resource they could have for later in the game
- someone uses a single target removal spell on it, using up a potential resource they could have for later in the game
i feel like parity is such a sorely overlooked lens thru which to view magic cards' power level, because a good amount of powerful cards (not all of them, but definitely in commander) break parity in ways that are damaging to multiplayer environments
October 22, 2025 at 12:56 PM
i feel like parity is such a sorely overlooked lens thru which to view magic cards' power level, because a good amount of powerful cards (not all of them, but definitely in commander) break parity in ways that are damaging to multiplayer environments
give me a break, please!
October 22, 2025 at 12:56 PM
give me a break, please!
abzan is the colors the old deck was in, and i can imagine a lower power variant taking the gy combo angle alongside interaction to stall the table out until it can secure the win. lots of options really
June 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
abzan is the colors the old deck was in, and i can imagine a lower power variant taking the gy combo angle alongside interaction to stall the table out until it can secure the win. lots of options really
another thing is to shift into mardu and just go for more interaction while keeping bomberman or worldgorger as a centerpiece for huge mana. i hear celes is particularly interesting for cedh at this moment in time
June 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
another thing is to shift into mardu and just go for more interaction while keeping bomberman or worldgorger as a centerpiece for huge mana. i hear celes is particularly interesting for cedh at this moment in time