"So what's in your deck?" "Black cards and swamps."

I think people don't disclose powerful or salty cards because they will get targeted out of the gate and become the archenemy for a card that is in their deck they might not even draw.

I'm from a remote village and for a long time I had only 1 friend who played MTG with any kind of dedication. We both played legacy - I played white weenie and he played U/W control with Moat and Standstill. We couldn't really afford other decks (all though we did proxy up stuff occasionally). We must have pitted those decks against each others hundreds of times and some of those games were frustrating as hell. Having your entire board blanked by a Moat or getting every spell countered after having to trigger Standstill was not what I would describe as a fun experience. But that was the only MTG that was available for me - the other option was to go home and be bored. So I toughed it out. Those games with my friend made me basically immune to any kind of frustration related to counterspells or lock pieces. When I look at some reactions that newer players have to getting their spells countered, I am absolutely baffled, as in my mind, counterspelling is just a very normal axis of interction within the game. I am thankful for the character building experience I had with my friend's U/W control as I feel like it has made me a much more chill person around the table😀

My first thought after hearing about Matt’s Chiropractor was “Man, the nerve of that guy…”

"Are we going to get sweaty with each other?" is the worst thing I've heard today.

I disagree with having to disclose cyclonic rift, because knowing it’s available doesn’t change how you play the game. If a deck passes with 7 mana up, you know something is coming, and cyclonic rift is probably the least variable option in terms of “not playing around it” ; whether you know it’s coming or not, you end up in the same situation. This is different than something like ruination/Armageddon, where you might hold some extra lands or fetch differently, or infinite combos, where you’ll prioritize removing the individual pieces. If you are going to disclose cyc rift, or fast mana for that matter, its probably part of a power discussion like “This is a casual Dimir skeleton deck, but with some fast mana like crypt, and powerful interaction like cyc rift. It’s a seven 😅 “

Nice try Feds. I'm not telling you anything, and I'm still not paying taxes.

This is some dang good advice. I especially like the part about just letting folks know what kind of game they're getting into, as I agree it's much more easily digestible if knowing up front. It's like how you wouldn't just dump Planechase or the secret role variant in the middle of the game. Heck, even stuff like silver border 99% of folks are okay with, but just want a heads up first, as it rubs the wrong way otherwise, like you're taking advantage of folks or making the decision for them.

I am surprised to realise, that I don't care for most of these to be disclosed. Fast mana, expensive cards, infinite combos even with tutors. Have them, idc. But pls let me know whether I get to play magic or not. Do you run mass discard / narset wheel? Or MLD? Karn great creator, 3feri, extra turns loop without instant win con? Bcs then I want to make sure to leave the table in time. I do like the idea of disclosing 3 emblematic cards for everyone though!

33:33 Making yourself the archenemy before even shuffling up is kinda detrimental to a EDH game, if you want to play Archenemy, play Archenemy. If it's such a big deal, you'll just make yourself the archenemy once you play it, and that rush to cooperate to take down the strongest player with the resources that you collectively have is way more fun than just everyone holding back interaction from turn 1 on for when you try to do the thing. If it was that impactful and you won that game with it great but now its time for game two. Disclosing it right away is just depriving the former experience from happening at all and the "ticking time bomb" still exists every other game that you play with that deck. 45:40 You can always just not play that Armageddon, or tutor for not the other piece of your combo if their experience is more important than playing to win the game, but also like I expect everyone to play to win the game and others to expect the same so when someone plays a cards that furthers their gameplan then others can't rightfully be upset if you do play that Armageddon.

Is 9 counters really that bad, how many pieces of removal do most decks run? Like 15... So a mono blue deck using counters as their only protection spells and only removal spells then it is actually a lot less than most decks run - but still feels more salty somehow

I dont think people need to disclose every card in their deck but should give people an idea of how it plays / power level. I play a 800$ strefan deck after cutting my Badlands. Has the one ring and jeweled lotus but its strictly combat focused, pure vampire tribal, not etb / death triggers/ pinging like crazy with blood tokens entering.

Ok cool but you all got it wrong about Crim! He is not the villain he is the hero. He is the guy who stops people from ramping to oblivion, drawing a million cards, casting game breaking spells. 100% the hero!

I sidestep all complaints about power level questions by just handing my deck to any other players and giving them permission to examine the whole thing. Since what is objectionablr is highly dependant on who objects, I cut out all middlemen

Everything in this video, taken on its own, seems reasonable enough. And there are so many conditionals and caveats sprinkled throughout that I could scarcely find fault in it. Fair enough. I worry that casual EDH, or at least a growing subset of casual EDH, is afflicted with a kind of etiquette creep. Etiquette bloat? Whichever. I was drawn to this format because it presented an open field where I might actually get to play with fun and quirky cards I remember from my youth, especially ones that could never make the cut in Legacy or other formats. That's not to say it's ALL about nostalgia for me. I enjoy new stuff too, especially if I can find a way to put a unique twist on something. But I played a lot of multiplayer Magic in the late 90's and early 00's, and I can't shake the sense that if someone like me had fallen out of the hobby and was only coming back to it now, there'd be layers of social expectations, proscriptions, and norms that would seem bizarre. Pregame discussions? Taboo cards that aren't actually banned? Salt scores? Expectations that should only concede during certain windows of time? Cards you should disclose? I'm not trying to be a curmudgeon here. I'm not saying don't do any of these things. It's just, man, that's a lot. We can see that it's a lot, right? And it seems like the list is only growing. For a fun, casual format, how many things that aren't even part of the game itself do you want to add as meta-gameplay? Because if it's just a couple of things, I'd think reasonable folks would probably try to accommodate those things. But it sure seems like we're approaching, um, something. Etiquette overload? I don't know...

I like watching spike feeders cedh games because they state how all their decks go for the win. Because if you want it to be a surprise thats great but what about the second game? Do people just never play those decks with the same people?

We are slowly getting more and more dad jokes until eventually the whole show will just be dad jokes 😂

Personally it feels like it can warp the game in a bad way. I understand trying to avoid salt but when you're able to shortcut threat assessment and saving your removal for win cons that get explained in rule 0, that feels wrong. If you're disclosing just themes, that's very different. You aren't making players focus on specific cards. I guess if everyone gains the advantage it's okay; but, I feel it really changes how people interact and will only try to interact with the combo/winning lines of play. It really hurts how to assess threats properly. I've seen it also cause a ton of salt and aggravation when you win in a different way than stated in the rule 0. Like I say I win with craterhoof but then end up killing people with a bunch of Angels from Divine Visitation it produces some really wierd amounts of salt. I think it's better to get a general power level and don't bring in other expectations that can warp the game in a way that ends up promoting bad game play and poor expectations. We also need to destigmatize $$=Power. It's simply not true. Dual Lands especially, the money put into them versus the payoff is not worthwhile.

I like the way CovertGoBlue's Worst Possible show does their rule 0 convo. They show the scariest thing their decks can do. Never hurts the game. Makes it more dramatic when a combo piece hits the table.

TIL Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood alone doesn't turn a lifegain deck into a combo deck.

Yes! I'm building Kellan the Kid deck atm and Diary is already on the list - awesome card and especially in this deck

When you mentioned chaos decks on spelltable it reminded me - In the past 6 months, I've played something like 3 games in person, and everything else has been on spelltable, and that has impacted the way that I build. I have a Tasha deck that I was in the middle of assembling, and I don't know if I'm going to finish getting the cards together because it's the kind of deck that I only would want to play in person.

I've built a rogue tribal mill deck around Anowon the Ruin Thief, but I haven't gotten to play it at full power yet. I haven't found a table that's willing to have it as arch enemy thus far. 🤷‍♂️

>i would like you to tell me that youre running this amount of boardwipes so i can target you first Didnt you *just* say that telling people about your deck shouldnt influence how often you win with it

as one who just finnished building a chaos deck, I try and make the pregame convo pretty clear and i give the option for players to leave if they dont want to participate in at at any point in the game and when i can cast effects like warp world and theives auction i ask before i cast those effects. but, playing a chaos deck over spelltable, that is a huge level of Chaotic EVIL lol

If I have to disclose my blood moon, the landfall player has to dis-close his deck and put it away

The only things I want to know about is chaining extra turns, mld, $$$ fast mana, two card combos, and free counterspells. Huh... I guess that is a lot lol

I have a challenge the stats pick that absolutely blows my mind: Saw in Half only appears in 5% of Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager decks, when it is an abolute all-star in mine whenever i play it.

Disclosure of mana rocks is weird to me given that it's almost implied every commander deck is already playing fast mana (sol ring)

I run a Smothering Tithe in Kwain card draw group hug, its the only deck I run it in, and it is absolutely cracked in that list. I disclose it for that reason, not because it's merely a salty card but because it pulls a lot of extra duty in that list as well.

If I run Thassa's oracle for the soul purpose of making my opponents pop there graveyard hate too early, should i still disclose it?

@EDHREcast Not sure the best way to let y'all know but the recording on Spotify is missing some of the recording. It cuts out before the fast mana section and jumps to challenging the stats.

I started keeping a sideboard of cards that can power up the deck or allow it to keep up with what others are playing if I feel that conversation before a game is leaning on the higher power level end of the scale or if I feel people are playing casually like I normally like to play I don’t side in those cards

I have a deck that's designed to surprise kill out of nowhere, but generally can only kill one player and can't usually put up much of a defense once I pop off, so I'll almost always die on the crackback. I don't disclose that my wincon is infect, but I do disclose that it can surprise kill out of nowhere, but generally doesn't win, despite popping off. I really like having a deck that is so surprising, but I also struggle to balance that line of surprising my pod but not making them salty. I'm convinced that you can't balance that on a first play with a group. After I've played with a people a few times, it's fun to pull out, but I've decided I like to get comfortable with a group before playing anything that intentionally surprises anyone.

I find it better if players can tell me the theme of their deck, if they take long turns(or similar) and by what turn they can consistently win

Zur's Weirding holds games hostage. A guy in our pod has a grixis chaos deck and he dropped a Zur's Warding on us turn 3. One player never got above 3 lands since every land he drew got discarded by it. Eventually only the lifegian player was able to draw cards but it really warped the game. We banned it in our pod after that

In the theme of chaos/hand disruption I would like to shout out Head Games as a card that might need a mention. This is my favourite pet card that starts in almost every black deck I build before inevitably being cut for being over costed and a little narrow.

So I've lately been proxying a lot of abu duals for my decks and I feel the reaction seems to change more to it just being a regular land...when people know it didn't cost me a bunch to put it in my deck, they seem to value it more accurately as just an untapped dual...while not everyone is open to using proxy's, I think it's interesting to note how players evaluate cards when the expensive price tag is removed...

In my Pride of the Hull Clade deck "I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie", i run Thoracle, Jace Wielder of Mysteries, and Lab Man Ian Malcom edition because the point of the deck is to deck myself. So yeah i disclose that information. But the thing that really makes that deck hum are the Nyxbloom Ancient and Virtue of Strength that allows me to play the 30+ cards i just drew. Ive yet to smash someone in the face for 30 commander because of Zopandrel, but its definitely possible

I have a Tatyova, benethic druid deck and while the total of cost of cards excluding basic lands is $20 the deck takes massively long turns and probably is my most powerful deck. I always mention to people I'm going to be taking slow turns as the game goes on and I think it is really important to say even though it is full of theoretically low power cards.

As the newer releases have more and more bonkers legends I struggle to keep up with the value engines and power houses. As such I turn to obscure mass removal spells, stealing and stax to even the playing field. So I find this highly relevant.

If I'm ever worried about power level, power creep, or if someone is playing proxies, I'll ask a player to disclose a few cards of interest. Depends on the deck and deck strategy what I'll ask about, but for the most part I'm not too worried about it. I've only ever asked those questions of newcomers to our pod who didn't give us honest vibes when talking about their deck.

I don't ask for power scale arbitrary numbers or if people feel like their decks are focused optimized competitive etc. Lately I just ask what your win condition is/are and what the generally viewed most powerful cards or salt inducing cards in their deck are to see if it's a game everyone wants to play. I recently built Mycotyrant and it's a very aggressively combo-y deck and playing it in general playgroups in the LGS has been rough. Nobody really has a problem with any individual cards but the pace of the deck and resilience makes finding fair matches hard sometimes so I always try to be super thorough in rule zero pregame talk

Even with the fblthp nonbo you will still likely run it since I expect it’s a heavy plot theme deck with visions still greatly benefits from

a card liek thoracle in one context is very different than in another like a turn 2 combo win is very different than playing it in inalla becuase you pulled it from a pack and liked the art and it happened to be a wizard. (like my friend did, 6 months into his magic career, before he knew what cedh was, and got bullied for it. becuase it was a cool card that was a wizard in a wizard deck. that he had 0 clue about the combo implications)

I do have a deck that is a combo deck which has multiple types of infinite combos and is built around drawing and finding those pieces through non instant/sorcery means. Generally I will advise people that are unfamiliar with the deck that I have these infinite turn, combats and damage combos in the deck but will not disclose the specific cards I am using. After the game if I do run away with it I will retire the deck for a different one in my collection for additional games. After the game I will discuss some of the combos if they didn’t come up. And show off how the deck can win on turn 3 with a mostly specific draw (no tutors or non permanent courses of mana and no fast mana rocks)

Quickest way to avoid salty players is simply to play less often. People are far less whiny when you stay home and play video games.

What's the consensus on rituals? I used to think they were fine, esp in mono-color decks, but I've seen arguments as being similar to fast mana rocks. What about Jeska's Will & Mana Geyser -- okay in casual or pushing OP?

Disclose enough about your deck and cards in the pre-game convo that your farewell does not become a farebad. A rule of thumb I use is what I would like to know before starting a game.

I rarely play with new people and my opponents know my decks.. price i dont mention but i would mention if theres 3 to 4 card combos.. transparency is key though

People are usually way more afraid of the unknown, rather of a deck that is completely revealed beforehand. Most of us just picture the worst case scenario when can't prove otherwise. So I would argue being so upfront on the pregame discussion is actually a tactical advantage.

Something like Blood Moon doesn't need to be disclosed as long as it isn't being played in a non-trolly manner. If I want to run it in my mono-red burn deck then I likely won't disclose it. If it was in some kind of stax or control deck then yeah.

Out of the top 100 saltiest cards I play is Teferis protection, Cyclonic Rift and Craterhoof. Some of those can just end games. Are those cards you think you should mention in rule zero? In the same vein should you mention Inkshield?

I don't feel that Cyclonic Rift needs to be forewarned. It's a piece of interaction, albeit a very good one. If someone is in blue, I assume they're playing Rift. That said, I should share it anyways because not everyone shares my views.

This sort of thing is why I like CGB’s approach to the Rule 0 conversation. Jumping straight to the “worst possible” will often cover a lot of these things without anyone feeling like they’re being forced to mention cards in their deck ahead of time purely to avoid negativity from other players. It makes the conversation a dare to your opponents to stop you, and if they don’t think they can, this might be a poor matchup.

The only time I care about sharing my deck list with someone ahead of time is if there is a low number of face-down cards. One of my decks has Boltbender as the only face-down card, and if everyone knows exactly what it is ahead of time, it ruins my whole trick. I have all my deck lists on Archidekt, and I would have no problem letting anyone look through them before we played.

Man, I never wanted children before. But I have 4 x EDH decks, and 2 x Modern decks I really need to resleeve soon. I guess my partner and I better have another discussion about it!

i've played several card games throughout my life and i've never, in any other tcg, had to tell who i'm playing against what's in my deck, and most of those games you would have ZERO idea what the other person is playing until they start playing cards. At least with commander you see what commander they are playing so you know what colors they are playing and, depending on your knowledge of the game, have a rough idea what cards might be in their deck. If anything I think its better you dont know whats in your opponents deck because it teaches you about potentially powerful cards that they play that way you remember what they are and know what to look out for in the future. Salt levels don't change just because you tell someone in advance you have some strong bomb of a card in your deck before you play it. I just had a game where two people Cyclonic Rift'ed me and I ended up scooping cause I didn't wanna rebuild a third time. They never told me they had that card in their decks but I assumed they did cause they were both in blue and I wouldn't have been any happier being hit by it twice if I knew about it first.

Only deck I really run Approach in is Elminster. It's literally the perfect thematic wincon for the deck, high cost reduced by Elminster, scry to the card and costreduce it again to cast for the win. I'm not mystical tutoring for it or anything, but it is one of the few solid wincons in the deck, and if I did disclose it I'd probably win a lot fewer games. That said, it fits so well with the deck thematically that I've never had a problem with it, even at lower power levels.

I disclose how fast my deck works. It encompasses a lot of those pregame disclosures. "Average i could win by turn X, magical christmas land i could win by turn Y"

I have trouble understanding why people think rule 0 conversations take too long. Its simple whose the commander combos or no combos and fast mana is all that really matters. If you dont want to have those conversations play with people that dont and vice versa. Not playing with people you dont like playing with is always an option too

Gosh literally this past week at my LGS, I asked the group I was playing with what general power level everyone was going for and everyone was saying just mid power level. Then one of the guys there proceeded to pull out some infinite combos, fast mana, and sweep the rest of the table. Definitely wouldve chosen a different deck had they disclosed that was the lind of deck they were going for.

I don't run fast mana outside of Sol Ring, Mox Opal is in my Syr Gwyn voltron deck, but that's not even that important to the deck, it's just another land that I have laying around that I wanted in a deck, likewise, it doesn't do anything until at least turn 4. That being said, my Zangief deck has a few "problematic" cards, Jokulhops, Devastattion and Worldslayer, I do disclose it, and it usually ends the game when I play it. Zangief being indestructible makes it end quick, but those are 8+ mana and needs a lot of set up. No (intentional) infinite combos in my decks. Just so many cards syndergize and become infinite by accident.

Sol ring is the second best fast mana piece, so it seems weird to disclose other fast mana when it's already assumed that everyone will have one of the most efficient pieces of it already.

I also want to know if everyone is playing a deck that durdles and cannot find a way to win dooming the table to a three hour game

I disclose any cards in my deck that are within the EDHREC Top #100 most salty cards listing as well as # of fast mana and tutors or the presence of infinite combos. That said, I feel there's no such thing as preventing 100% of feelsbad for your opponent, a large part of that is up to your opponent though, I can only babyproof things so much.

I love Warp World. It doesn’t take as long as you think to resolve. It’s way better than extra turns or staxx. I hate Vorinclex keeping mana tapped or blood moon effects. Warp world is a great strategy if you are in tokens like treasures or food

I have a few decks that I consider it polite to warn people about at least the rough outline of what my deck is doing, not because the decks are especially good, it's because they often do things that are considered anti-social. The decks might feature stax, significant land destruction elements, or tons of wipes (or if you're really unlucky it's a deck with all of them!), if a deck's strategy involves making it hard for opponents to 'do their thing' it's probably going to be mentioned, though the first step is 'do you want any heads up about potential 'anti-social' elements?', I don't think you should just volunteer your deck's plan without prompting! I also have decks that don't run such cards, including decks that skimp (or skip) wipes and interactions (and use no stax), I think if you've got more than 2 or 3 decks some of them should be 'specialized' in some way, either so you can play with such like stax in a respectful manner, but also so you're prepared for groups where people don't want such things. Heck, sometimes I don't want to play a tedious stax/rack build and would rather play a straightforward deck that's all in on what it's on. I don't think you need to warn people about things that are 'power level' based concerns, IMHO you don't need to tell people about Mana Crypt or Sol Ring because you just don't run them in decks that aren't at least 7s. At 7 I think you could mention Crypt or Vault (or any Moxen that aren't Tantalites), but I wouldn't run those in a 7 personally, but if I have a Sol Ring in a 7 I probably won't mention it. If I snuck a Sol Ring into a 6 I think it should be mentioned, unless it's a precon (all precons have Sol Rings). For stuff like Cyclonic Rift, I wouldn't play it in anything less than an 8 (same with Rhystic Study), those cards are obnoxiously powerful and aren't enough mana for what they do (Rhystic Study is a MUCH better card than Smothering Tithe, but Tithe is 4 mana and forces you to play White, Study >>>>> Tithe), so if someone snuck them into a 7 I'd expect them to mention it (so I can bring my own more obnoxious deck). The Great Henge is probably in the 'you should mention this' if you've got it in a 7, but in an 8 I think that's expected. I don't think Dual Lands are problematic in the least, as long as you're not fetching them out somehow (and inevitably doing it preferentially). Fetches and OG duals are a HUGE power buff in Grixis and Esper. If you're running a Savanah in your Selesnya deck I'm probably not going to bat an eyelash, but if you've got 9 Fetches and the 3 OG duals in your Grixis deck I'm going to raise an eyebrow if you call your deck a 7.

riversongs diary is esp cool on the new obeka... gosh so many upkeeps, so many spells!

River Song's diary would also be a great card in the new Obeka. Crash in with Obeka and get multiple attempts to cast the big spell you want to hit.

I only let people know whether my deck is capable of some infinite combo, or if I'm running especially punishing cards like Obliterate or Apocalypse, cards I already only play sparingly these days. Armageddon's rough but nonlands have gotten crazy powerful and it's easier to rebuild from MLD than people think. Losing basically, or literally, everything though? Since it's a social format I think that's courteous. Not required, but better sportsmanship.

Me at casual FNM: "I might mulligan a bunch my mana base is a nightmare, I have so few basics that I basically scoop to blood moon" Opponent turn 3: "I play blood moon" I performatively got up and walked off, but returned, I happened to have one of my rare basics in play. Eventually solving the problem with a Birthing Pod that didn't need coloured mana, I had a two drop that lived long enough. My main enchantment removal is double white :/ I tend to tell people about my Krak Klan Ironworks deck, and make sure you have grave hate and always exile Nim deathmantle because its my combo enabler.

I don't really consider something fast mana unless it can get you more mana than it costs the turn you cast it.

We choose our decks in secret before we start so no one can pick one that just beats another one

I love Prime Speaker Vannifar, but i have to disclose that i DONT have Protean Hulk or any combos to not get targeted.

This is what Rule 0 should be. Trying to quantify power on a scale is completely subjective and useless, as is saying what your deck costs (for the most part). Rule 0 should be identifying key cards in your deck to give people the closest idea to what their subjective view of your decks power is. If you call your deck a 6 but you say you have mana crypt in it, people will automatically bump that to an 8. TLDR; let's change Rule 0 convos to "here's some of the good cards im playing in this deck and here's my strategy"

I don't know how to play creatures, without board wipes I'd just die. Creatures never seem to live an entire turn for me. Farewell rarely works since like most board wipes do nothing to planes walkers, and i would lose all my stuff too. Huge diff between counter spell where you can pay 2 to avoid it or universal i win button. You can defend against anything except counterspells

on this topic, i really hate people who think they dont have to disclose their commander until a certain point (I should be seeing it before I make my mulligan decisions)

Aw man, I emailed you guys about the Fblthp thing that same day the tweet went out :(

The trio should make a video with sample disclosures for a few of their more interesting decks.

I would disclose concepts that are particularly salty (not that I run much of them) Eg: back when I had my Satsuki saga deck, I would always made it a point to let my pod know that I have MLD, with both Fall of Thran and The Mending of Dominaria as a means to secure my win

I think the biggest thing with the question about Tutors is whether you're running the infinite combos. Do I think I need to say that I have Eladamri's Call to go get Boromir to protect my table? No. Do I think I need to say that I have Idyllic and Enlightened Tutors to assemble my artifact or enchantment game-winning combo? I probably should.

Whenever you plot a car, do you have to pay the colors Properly?

Ok, can we just say that Joey won the long game.for this episode? "But maybe the rain..."

Me listening to y'all talk about Curious Niv combo after I tested draft 2 of that against my friend n my fiancé last night :3. Tho I did beat my friend before even playing Niv n only used the combo to finish my fiancé the next turn since he had been gaining tons of life all game n killing him without the combo would've meant my friend just sitting there for a long time while we finished. Then u guys mention board wipes n I'm thinking about my Rhys, the Redeemed deck that is themed on evolution n extinction n runs several board wipes n most of my creatures gave upside when they die, usually making tokens :/ I'm defs the archenemy in most games.

In high power commander like power level 8+ I say MAYYYYBE give a heads up if you have a K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth in your mono black deck apart of the 99 and not as the commander. Like the moment he comes out you have a Pseudo storm deck even if just using him for the pure value of cutting the black mana symbols by paying with life that you then play life gain spells to regain the paid life. Also careful with K'rrik it is easy to turn a deck into a competitive level 10 deck even without storm as literally you can pay life for any black mana pip in a cards cost instead of that mana, it's a cheap card to buy as well about $24 USD at the time of this comment Also i don't think you need to disclose expensive cards as price of a card does not necessarily mean you win more. Also i wouldn't really disclose infinite combos as they are just game closers as all games needs to end some times and at times they are the only ways to win, however if there are more than 1 infinite combo in the deck then sure disclose it OR if it takes very few cards to do like 3 or 2. Though infinite mana combos i don't think needs to be disclosed. From what i noticed is that people don't really mind infinate combos as long as it is like a Rube Goldberg machine with a good number of pieces that way it does not feel like there was no way to stop it A Example of a acceptable infinite combo that no one would be mad if you don't disclose is a 6 card combo 5 if Phage is not the commander however the way the stack works you do not need Witchbane Orb to give ya hexproof so the combo is really 5 or 4 cards but if Phage is the commander you do need something to get her into your hand such as a Netherborn Alter or a Command Beacon which i recommend the land as they can't counter spell it, sure they could stifle it's cracking but the odds of you running into a stifle are low. Anyways the combo goes like this Pithing Needle name Lethal Vapors then play Lethal Vapors and play Endless Whispers then finally play Phage she dies you go to your end step and pretty much her ETB kills an opponent AFTER they pick who she goes to next and if they pick you then you could push her killing you trigger down the stack since it is still your turn and you can arranger your triggers anyways you like so you pick someone else they then pick someone else and die and the last person just dies Now it is a really simple 4 card combo which costs 16 mana overall that ends the game and really could result in a draw if you and another player had a you can't lose the game card out as it is a literal infinite combo that keeps going back and forth with no way to stop unless you had instant speed artifact destruction to get rid of Pithing Needle to then use Lethal Vapors 0 cost ability which says "Destroy Lethal Vapors. You skip your next turn. Any player may play this ability" which is why you need the Pithing Needle in the first place it kills any and all non mana activated ability of a named card. Now both Pithing Needle and Lethal Vapors are great stax pieces and since they are more on the stax side you might be more inclined to disclose them or at least disclose Pithing Needle as it literally can shut down entire commanders such as Najeela who then can't use her activated ability to win the game off of infinite combat. Now you can play any part of the combo itself but you have to play Pithing Needle before Lethal Vapors and if you don't play Phage last you need to somehow kill her to get Endless Whispers to send her to a opponent's field so her ETB kills them since they did not cast her from their hand. Now since it is a Phage deck with Phage the Untouchable as the commander people will naturally assume you have some stax like Torpor orb that turns off ETB's so you can actually play her from the command zone meaning they won't be salty if they see stax like that since it makes your commander playable and everyone knows Torpor Orb Phage, with maybe a few you can't lose the game cards or a sundial of the infinite to end the turn and exile the stack making her ETB not kill ya but skipping the rest of ya turn. BUT know that if you are using Torpor Orb there are only 3 MONO BLACK cards that can destroy a artifact with a major downside of SORCERY speed for two of them and the other is a mana ability that only targets your artifacts so very limited in removal which is why people don't really like mono black. But the 3 cards are Gate to Phyrexia, Phyrexian Tribute, and Priest of Yowgmoth which one is a Enchantment a Sorcery and a Creature respectively, so good luck Torpor Orbing then removing the Orb to do the "I win" combo with Phage if not playing High power magic with a lot of tutors. And goodluck with counter spells in black they are usually creatures with a counter spell active that targets a specific color, so unless you are playing Painter's Servant people are going to assume you are playing Thrull Wizard which by the way only counters black spells to counter Phage to get her into the grave so you can Gravepurge her into your hand till they see you dropping a Painter's Servant declaring everything is now black and suddenly they rush to kill your counter spell on a stick

i have to do this with my best deck, but its usually having to say "There are no eldrazi creatures or blightsteels in my deck."

On the subject of chaos decks, I'm hoping to finish a grixis one at some point called "The Wrong Answer." The entire gimmick is that I don't just do chaos things, but I wait until someone is a problem, and I use my chaos stuff to solve that problem in only stupid ways. Oh, these two players have problematic creatures that are only a problem on their respective boards? Let's swap them! That kind of thing. The playstyle matters a lot too!

Totally vibing with the intro this episode. Cracked me up properly!

Hey, CHALLANGE THE STATS for the new Dogmeat commander. Oswald Fiddlebender!! 14/1,800+ He sacs your junks to tutor for Shadowspear, Lost Jitte, and sol ring. Or staying in the precon... basilisk collar, pip-boy 3000, Explorer scope just to name a couple. He's so good, and only about $2. Please try him out.

Disclose one-spell sudden/surprise wins! Finale of devastation Craterhoof Crackle with power Torment of hailfire ~Cyclonic rift Moonshaker cavalry

The only things I disclose that is in my deck is the presence of absense of infinite combo, and tutor density.

Every time I play boros at a high powered table, I almost feel forced to use Armageddon, static orb or blood moon to break power parity and lock in my win. Unlike cyclonic rift which is strong, but blue already has plenty of ways to control and win at a high powered table. Does that make Armageddon feel any better? No. But maybe wizards can figure out how to allow boros to break parity without land control, like a price of glory but which costs less or has a more immediate effect. Sadly, price of glory still allows their cards to get through for a win and destroys lands.

There I thought Dana was being deliberately clever with the segue - dual lands -> ‘duel’ lands -> ‘challenge’ the stats

J- "am I wrong on that?" D- "yeah basically" 😂😂

39:39 I feel personally attacked 😂

I’d agree with Matt that with so many 2-color land options, seeing the original LUR dual lands is pretty meh nowadays. Yea, it’s some combination of U’v been in the game really long &/or U can spare som cash. But I’m not interestd to kno befor game nor bat an eye in-game. I actually prefer the fantastic arts fer many of our new options too

If a Warp World resolves? Cool, I would like to reload my side of the field with new stuff. If a Scrambleverse successfully resolves, I'm scooping.

I'm never surprised when I see a format staple

The main thing I disclose is how to beat me. If I'm playing my Lier deck I just say "exile my graveyard if you can or I will storm off"