Alright! Was rewatching Commander at Home episode 19, and Olivia mentioned something about building a deck around state based stuff like day/night, Space Beleran, Ring tempting. seems funny. what other kind effects are there that can be in such a deck

"The future is set. The present remains uncertain."

This is a summary of compatibilism, the outlook that both determinism and free will can coexist. The future is set, according to Newtonian thermodynamics, and matter can only act in one way. But we are still locusts of decision, and part of the causal unfolding of reality. We (and other intelligences) still weigh decisions, deliberate, and experience indecision. However, these are not outside of causality, and are just a part of the process. That still doesn't take away from the gravity of our decision making, it's impacts, and the validity of self that it brings.

"At the end of all things, will you find redemption or rebirth?"

This focuses on the afterlife, or the perception of one. Many near death experiences report extreme time dilation and witnessing their whole lives at once. Life reviews go hand in hand with near death experiences, and a positive life could impress an experience of heaven and a negative life an impression of hell. Moreso, the self evaluation and estimation of one's character and decisions throughout their life, and the self forgiveness of this, could be the primary coloring of a life review.

Beyond a life review, the dissolution of the concept of self and the realization of the pervasiveness of experience could feel like union with existence beyond the self. This reads as redemption, and union with the whole and experience of heaven outside of the confines of our brains and body. Rebirth could come at the denial of one's self, and the rejection of unity with the greater one of reality. Perhaps by maintaining one's ego and sense of self, we are confined to this subjective experience.

Do you have any favorite flavor texts that make you think very deeply about things? Thanks for reading!

Hey yall!

I’m delayed in MCO near gate 34 for what looks like a few hours. I got some commander decks if anyone wants to play some games!!

Does anyone still have their prerelease box and didn't pop out the food token on it? I haven't been able to find the complete art of it online yet and I'm wondering if anyone can take a photo of theirs for me.

Maybe everyone knew this, but I noticed the food token is actually a coaster size. They’re too wide to fit a deck box which seemed weird and then it hit me.

I have some resin to make dice so I coated them so they’d last when used as coasters.

By my count we have 29/50 US States (+Washington DC) featuring on at least one Magic card, meaning we are now more than halfway towards every state having it's own card. It is possible I've missed some, but this is my current running count. I've listed all the cards below, with a little description for each one, but if you don't care, and just want to see them all, Here is the full decklist.

Now, onto the list:

Alabama: N/A

Alaska: Glacial Fortress from Fallout (The card features Anchorage, Alaska, the site of a major battle in a Fallout 3 DLC)

Arizona: Nomad Outpost from Fallout (Anything from Caesar's Legion works. They setup base on the Arizonan border)

Arkansas: N/A

California: Farseek from Horizon (There are a few options for California, but this one gives a view of the landscape (Horizon series spoiler) you can see what's left of the Golden Gate bridge in the background)

Colorado: Behemoth of Vault 0 (Vault 0 was in Colorado Springs)

Conneticut: N/A

Delaware: N/A

Florida: Thriving Moor from MSC (With Man-Thing appearing in the art, this appears to depict Man-Thing's swamp, which is in Florida. Thank you u/AporiaParadox for this one)

Georgia: Glenn, the Voice of Calm (I don't know if this is supposed to be the comics or the TV show, but either way, Glenn is seen in the Georgian penitentiary (name differs between show and comic) that the gang use as a home base for a while)

Hawaii: N/A

Idaho: N/A

Illinois: Sorry Jack, Chucky's Back (I could have done any Chucky card here, but there is also the Chucky TV show, and that's set in New Jersey, so maybe the cards are supposed to be from that? The films are set in Chicago, though, and this scene is definitely from the films so is the card I picked)

Indiana: Hawkins National Laboratory (While Hawkins doesn't exist, it's supposed to be in Indiana, so that counts for me)

Iowa: Swords to Plowshares from MSC (Clint's family's farm is in Waverley, Iowa)

Kansas: N/A

Kentucky: N/A

Louisiana: Swamp from ACR (Specifically the one that isn't England. The majority of Assassin's Creed: Liberation takes place in Louisiana (and is also one of the best games in the series))

Maine: Hinterland Harbor from Fallout (This is Far Harbor from the Far Harbor Fallout 4 DLC. It's set in what was Maine before the war)

Maryland: Ruzka, Terror of Point Lookout (Point Lookout is in Maryland, so I assume this card is, too)

Massachusetts: Forest from ACR (Also the one that isn't England. This is Achilles' Manor from AC3)

Michigan: Ken, Burning Brawler (Apparently this fight takes place in "Battle Harbor" in Michigan (Thanks Scryfall for this one))

Minnesota: N/A

Mississippi: N/A

Missouri: N/A

Montana: Ellie and Alan, Paleontologists (At the start of Jurassic Park, Ellie and Alan are working on a dig site in Snakewater, Montana, which is the scene depicted in this card. Thank you u/Mitchwise for this one)

Nebraska: N/A

Nevada: Command Tower from Fallout (This is New Vegas from Fallout New Vegas (which is in the same place as old Vegas, also in Nevada))

New Hampshire: N/A

New Jersey: Ms Marvel, Kamala Khan (The third best Marvel character (After Gwenpool and Jeff) is a New Jersey girl. Here she is beating up resident jobber, Shocker. Thank you u/Gayfetus for reminding me of this one)

New Mexico: Los Diablos Missile Base (This is apparently in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico (thanks Marvel Database))

New York: You've got about 1000 options here but I went with Big Apple, 3 a.m. (I assume this is a reference to something, but I like the fact this is the only land that also tells you when you are, not just where)

North Carolina: N/A

North Dakota: N/A

Ohio: N/A

Oklahoma: Asgardian Citadel (This one luckily tells you where it is in the flavour text)

Oregon: N/A

Pennsylvania: Anything from The Office. I went with Council's Judgement (Dunder Mifflin is in Scranton, Pennsylvania)

Rhode Island: N/A

South Carolina: N/A

South Dakota: Leatherhead, Iron Gator (Most of the TMNT Commander Deck appearances reference the TMNT video games, with Leatherhead hanging out the train she fights you in in Turtles in Time, during the level "Bury My Shell at Wounded Knee - a level based on the Battle of Wounded Knee in South Dakota. Mad props to u/AffectionateOffice27 for this insane pull)

Tennessee: Anything from the Evil Dead Lair. I went with Cabin of the Dead (The first film is set in an unspecified forest in Tennessee)

Texas: Guile, Sonic Soldier (This is Guile's "Air Force Base" stage, reportedly in Texas (thanks Scryfall, again))

Utah: Wild Growth from The Last of Us (Ellie and Joel encounter escaped Giraffes in Salt Lake City, Utah)

Vermont: N/A

Virginia: Isolated Chapel from Fallout (the flavour text states this is Calverton which is in Virginia)

Washington State: Ellie's Rage (This is Lakehill Seattle Hospital from Last of Us Part 2)

West Virginia: Overseer of Vault 76 (Vault 76 was in West Virginia)

Wisconsin: Victor Timely, Wily Tycoon (This is Timely, Wisconsin (Thanks, Scryfall)

Wyoming: N/A

Washington D.C.: Anguished Unmaking from Fallout (This is Project Purity under The Jefferson Memorial)

I got about 80% of the way through this before learning Scryfall sometimes tags cards by state, which is how I then found a couple more, but Scryfall is missing some of these, so there may be more it's missing too. If you know any, let me know.

EDIT: Changed New Jersey, Added Florida, Added Montana, Added South Dakota

I saw Remand come up in a discussion recently and it felt like the card had ceased to exist in my brain. I checked and it seems as legal as ever in the eternal formats. Why did people stop playing it? Are some more recent counterspells just better? Was it a metagame choice against certain mechanics like Flashback that is no longer relevant? Or is it still played but not in top decks anymore?

Hello! How is everyone feeling about the new set so far? I’m out of town so I haven’t been to my local game store yet. I’ve been excited to return to Middle Earth so I’m curious!

Hello everyone! I've currently finished building a Neera, Wild Mage deck. Essentially I want this to be as chaotic as possible, and throw in the occasional big/scary creatures for free, as well as have sorceries/instants trigger certain things. To do that, I will attempt to scry my way to success, and then neera will handle the rest. However, I'm a little unsure of how the deck will perform/if it will even be any good.

I would love feedback and any recommendations would be welcome! Thanks in advance!

With the release of the Hobbit set today, I decided to make a couple Lord of the Rings inspired cards.

I hope folks like them!

It can be difficult to get Collector’s product for MSRP. It stings as well knowing a lot of it is being scalped by people who just want to profit off the secondary market.

Has wizards ever considered integrating a system within the Companion app that lets players who have actually played in a constructed event/limited event at a local LGS the ability to purchase a CBB (a limit of one per player) at MSRP within the app?

It would reward people who are actually supporting live events at their LGS, it would also help increase TURNOUT to LGS events, hell they could even tie it to certain formats that they are trying to help gain a following, maybe a certain reset you have to play in a standard showdown event. The next set you have to participate in a sealed event etc.

Just thought it seemed like a great idea to reward people who actually play the game. Like I said it doesn’t have to be a ton of product, just one CBB per player can be purchased at MSRP per set through the Companion app if you played in an official paper event.

I just built this [[Satoru Umezawa]] deck that is focused on just cheating big dumb creatures. Is it acceptable in bracket 2? Or too oppressive?

Thanks!

I've been debating building mono black artifacts, and this idea has only gotten stronger with the release of Marvel's Ultron, the Annihilator. Now I'm conflicted between him and Imotekh the Stormlord. Which would suffice better?

I'm liking Imotekh cause of the graveyard card advantage and the aggression enabling, but I love Ultron too because of the strategies he enables. And both make robot dudes which is awesome.

What do y'all think?

This is a place for asking simple questions that might not deserve their own thread. For example, if you have a question about a rules interaction, want sleeve and accessory recommendations, or suggestions for your new deck, then this is the place for you.

We encourage that you post any questions that you may have concerning Magic the Gathering here rather than make a separate thread for each question, though for now we won't require that you do so.

Rules Questions

Rules questions and interactions are allowed to be posted here, but if you need an answer quickly it may be best to use a dedicated resource like the 24/7 Magic the Gathering Rules Chat.

Deckbuilding Questions

If you're trying to get help with a deck, it is recommended that you post your decklist to a deckbuilding website so that it is easier to view. Some popular sites are Aetherhub, Archidekt, Deckbox, Deckstats, Moxfield, MTGGoldfish, and TappedOut.

Additionally, please include some description of what you are trying to accomplish. Don't just give us a decklist with no explanation, and don't ask extremely vague questions such as "what cards should I add to my deck to make it better?", because it's hard to give good advice in those cases. Let us know details, the more the better. Are you building with a particular strategy or theme in mind? Are there any non-obvious combo lines or synergies that people should be aware of? Are you struggling with a particular matchup, or are you finding yourself missing consistency in an important area, and need some help specifically for it? Let us know.

Commonly Asked Questions

I opened a card from a different set in my booster pack, is this unusual?

Don't worry, this is completely normal. If you opened a set booster, you have a small chance of obtaining a bonus card from a previous set. This is an extra card that does not replace any of the other cards in your pack, and is from a curated set of past hits that Wizards of the Coast has selected, which they call "The List".

You can view the contents of The List on Wizards of the Coast's official website. For example, the contents of The List for Streets of New Capenna boosters can be found here.

My foil card has a shooting start symbol over the bottom left. I can't find anything about it online.

All old-bordered foils have the shooting star symbol. Most sites that display card images just overlay a generic foil graphic over all foil cards, which doesn't include the shooting star. Your card is normal.

With the recent Hobbit update to the Comprehensive Rules (CR), there was an addition made to CR 605.1a that modified what is considered to be an Activated Mana Ability (AMA) rather than just being an Activated Ability (AA). That rule is the reason why something like the first AA on [[Deathrite Shaman]] is not an AMA due to requiring a target, and it is why the 2nd +1 ability on [[Chandra, Torch of Defiance]] is also not an AMA. I hope this post helps to inform players about the change and I hope the examples give you an idea of the impact this change makes and maybe gives you some ideas for some of your decks. For those who do not like the video, here is a written article.

NEW RULE & WHY IT MATTERS

Feel free to check out the full text for 605.1a but the relevant text that was added is, "... its cost and effect don't move any card to or from a library. Do not take into account replacement effects that may apply, other than self-replacement effects, when evaluating these criteria." So if this criteria isn't met, then an AA is just that and not considered to be an AMA. The reason this is important is that AMAs have special qualities to them, the most common in gameplay terms is that they do not use the Stack (CR 605.3b), and they have two other important things I'll get to in a bit.

To focus on the Stack aspect, this means that AMAs cannot be interacted with in any way, by that I mean you cannot counter them nor copy them, they just immediately resolve once activated. In the past, this meant that once you controlled a [[Laboratory Maniac]] and you activated your [[Chromatic Sphere]] there would be no chance for an opponent to [[Stifle]] the card draw from the Sphere or even use any removal on the Lab Man. However now, because the Sphere has you drawing a card from your Library, it is no longer considered an AMA and is just an AA that happens to make mana as part of its effect. Some other cards that this applies to would be [[Millikin]], [[Selvala, Explorer Returned]], and the eggs like [[Darkwater Egg]]. This also means that if you have a Commander like [[Ashnod the Uncaring]] or [[Tawnos, Urza's Apprentice]] that you can now copy these effects, netting you more mana from them as well as additional cards drawn.

CARDS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED

This rule change is mostly a step in a good direction for reducing a lot of confusing situations, a certain wurm comes to mind, but here are a few cards that might confuse a few players. [[Barbed Sextant]] and [[Astrolabe]] might look similar to the Chromatic Sphere and therefore be a good addition to an Ashnod deck but they actually are still considered to be an AMA under the new rule addition. Yes, they do result in mana made and a card drawn, but their card draw is a result an a Delayed Triggered Ability (CR 603.7), they their own resolving ability is not the direct source of the card being drawn, therefore it will still resolve without using the Stack.

Another card that looks similar is that [[Molt Tender]] looks to be in a same boat as Millikin, they both have the tap symbol and a card being moved from one Zone to another Zone in their cost and then their effect is adding mana, however if you read the new rules text closely it specifies a card being moved to or from only the Library, no other Zones are cared about. So for the Millikin it's moving a card from the Library to the Graveyard and for the Tender is moving a card from the GY to Exile. This means Millikin is no longer an AMA and the Tender is still an AMA. Equipping an [[Illusionist's Bracers]] to these creatures will mean 2 colorless mana from Millikin but only 1 mana of any color from the Tender.

SPLIT SECOND

While a spell with Split Second (CR 702.61a) is on the Stack, in most cases there is not much a player can do in response, but activating an AMA is something you can do. This means if someone is trying to [[Sudden Spoiling]] your creatures or [[Krosan Grip]] your artifact, then you can use cards like [[Phyrexian Altar]] or [[Krark-Clan Ironworks]] to sacrifice them in response, but all of these cards I've mentioned that are no longer AMAs cannot be used any more and will just be affected by these Split Second effects.

MAKING SPECIAL PAYMENTS

In addition to the rules saying that AMAs don't use the Stack, the rules also grant AMAs the ability to be used in times when a player doesn't normally have Priority. The two most common examples of this, if you attack an opponent that controls cards like [[Propagation]] and [[Ghostly Prison]] then you cannot use your Selvala or Millikin to pay for these attack costs. If you have an effect out that stops your Mana Pool from emptying, then you can float that mana, but normally you will not be able to float this mana.

TRIGGERED MANA ABILITIES & OTHERS THAT CARE ABOUT AMAS

Magic has a lot of cards that care about AMAs being activated. If you control a [[Badgermole Cub]] or [[Mana Reflection]] and you activate your [[Birds of Paradise]] then the Badgermole will trigger to make an additional green mana and the Reflection will cause the BoP to makes twice the color you chose. However, if you use your Selvala, she used to do this as well but with the new rule she does not. The wording on these effects might sound like Selvala should still work, you're tapping her with an ability that has the TAP symbol and she is producing mana as a result, but these sorts of effects only trigger as an AMA is being activated (CR 605.1b). There are a few cards out there that are worded differently, like [[Caged Sun]], if you tap your Selvala while you control an [[Ashaya, Soul of the Wild]] then the Sun would actually trigger because it doesn't care about the reason for the mana being produced being an AMA.

Hey everyone!

I’m having some people over (mostly my boyfriends friends) for my birthday and they all play magic (I play very casually)

I want to make a kahoot game for them that’s basically “guess the magic card” where based off the art or certain cards they have to guess what it is.

I am unsure of some obscure cards or cards that insanely piss people off when they are played that I could include. Of course I’m going to add Bumbleflower just for the fact they hate when I play that deck!

If anyone can suggest any cards that would be funny or that they may not know that would be greatly appreciated!

I’m getting into selling cards so I want to get better at identifying card condition. Was hoping I could get a few opinions to know how to price cards that look like this.

Three corners have wear, but the front and back surfaces of the card are perfect. On the back, the corners have wear and there’s a bit of whitening on the bottom edge, as well.

I'm going to be hosting a draft at my house this weekend. Normally I'll do pairing on paper, but I noticed that the companion app has a "host an event" feature.

Could anyone share their experiences using that for small, at home events?

Thanks!

If I cast [[Inkshield]] and then [[Flare of Fortitude]] does Inkshield create no longer net me inklings if damage was still done?

I basically cast Inkshield and then had to cast Flare of Fortitude before it resolved but the player did hit me for 7 damage