EDH/COMMANDER GENERAL

Good, Mikaeus is cancer

>a non blue commander is cancer

>This is the worst set since Born of the Gods
Really? For my part I was far less inspired by AER, where I kind of liked Baral (who's better in someone else's 99), Kari Zev (Who's just plain trash in commander even if she's cool), and Mechanized Production. At least this one has a couple gods that feel like they belong in the 99 and a command zone home run in the form of Haptra, plus a few generically OK cards, and there would probably be more if I was willing to run the eye cancer that is Aftermath (to recap: DFCs are OK, OG Split cards are OK, Motherfucking kamigawa Flip cards are OK, but Aftermath? This is bad enough that I will find something else to run over it).

For that matter, SOI seems kind of similar: Gitrog was a big hit but how much else do I use out of that? Not a whole lot. BFZ block had a lot of staples for Monobrown so it gets a pass (but there wasn't a lot else), and Tarkir block was solid for supporting wedge so then we're back to Theros. We had some high notes, but Amonkhet doesn't seem especially bad to me, just kind of generically filterable down to a small number of playables, which is every Magic set ever.

>commander that can consistently instant-speed infinite everyone to death on turn 6 minus ramp isn't cancer

For Rashmi. Having the ability to cast something, especially something big, while keep my land open for responses can be pretty nice.

post deck pls

>combo fizzles to instant speed spot removal or any grave hate at all
>and doesn't protect itself with countermagic
>cancer

Just drop a couple reanimate effects and cavern of souls in there
Plus Mikaeus himself aside, a third of your deck is interchangeable combo pieces.
>combo fizzles to instant speed spot removal
Except it doesn't, unless they hit Mike, and he's in the most difficult to kill color.
>grave hate
90% of all grave hate everybody runs is one-time use, which Mike doesn't give two shits about.

I wasn't a huge fan of AER, but I felt like there was still a bunch of interesting EDH goodies in, such as Planar Bridge, Paradox Engine, the cycle of legendaries were mostly pretty good, Aid from the Cowl, Mechanized Production, and Scrap Trawler.

Plus, the masterpieces actually looked good in AER.

that card is going into literally every deck i have with blue in it

>Plus, the masterpieces actually looked good in AER.
You did remind me of a couple AER cards I'd forgotten (Bridge and Engine, at least) but we're going to have to agree to disagree on the Masterpieces. The Kaladesh block ones weren't bad like the BFZ and to a lesser extent OGW ones, but I actually like the heavy thematic elements of the Invocations even if the name and type lines have some readability issues, in part because I feel that they'll be easier to decipher holding the card in person rather than squinting at a screen.

Normal cards > Expeditions > Inventions > literal garbage > Invocations

Fight me

>like
>Invocations

Maybe they'll look better in real life? Like, actually readable and not like Ancient Mew?

They don't, we've seen videos.

OG Frame > Futureshifted > Planeshifted > Invocations > Inventions > Various alterations like Miracle and DFC backs > M15 > That aborted 6e design > Expeditions > 8e > Splits & Fuses > Flips > "Force of Will" written in sharpie on a bicycle playing card > Literal Garbage > Aftermath

Bring it.

Of the commanders that I personally have, Jhoira is pretty rough for most people to play against. It's super tuned, though, and a bad player version of it wouldn't be all that hard to beat.
Decks in my group: kaalia, breya, and leovold are degenerates. Oloro storm is fast but just dies to most kinds of interaction.

Expeditions would be good, if the art for most of them weren't ugly as hell. Instead majority of them are LMAO DUDE HEDRONS and even those who aren't like that are dogshit

Ah, well that's a bummer. It'll be funny when the Invocation Force of Will ends up the cheapest one.

Yeah that's why the OGW ones are a little better. I can kind of get behind the Dust Bowl and Strip Mine. But the colored ones? I know you could probably do this with the colorless expeditions too, but try to look up just the art and guess what's what? It's like reading tea leaves or entrails: you might be able to make some sense out of it and discern a pattern, but you're basically just pointing at things and guessing.

Damaged OG border cards > player made alters > professional alters > masterpieces > expeditions > foils > normie cards > printed proxies > invocations
I am an old player and I like cards that have earned their scars

It is the most expensive one by a ridiculous margin.

tappedout.net/mtg-decks/triad-of-fates-bounce-house-1/

that just seems like such a shitty commander, like why does he have to tap to do all that

This here's the first draft of a Mardu-colored lifegain deck with Queen Marchesa. You know all the payoffs like Karlov, Aetherflux Reservoir, and some stuff to abuse lifelink, deathtouch etc and some funky monarch play. Anyone who knows some stuff about lifegain decks wanna give it a look?
tappedout.net/mtg-decks/queen-lifegain-yeh/

I think the bad ones are actuall in the minority for Expeditions. Sacred Foundry is pretty bad, both Bloodstained Mire and Wooded Foothills are just awful, and Forbidden Orchard is wonky, but I'd definitely play with the rest. The filter lands all look pretty good.

imgur.com/a/lY5Fx
Visual list if you're into that kind of thing.

...

I had both Mire and Crypt.

I traded the heck out of them for Azusa, Crucible, Kozilek 1.0, some copies of All Is Dust and a fistfull of value-filler and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Yeah, I'd make that trade from your end.

>Custom card that isn't 110% Cancer
>Either features one small but important typo or is worded mostly but not totally correctly (should be either "attacks and isn't blocked" or "Becomes blocked") rather than being impossible to discern the intent of
>Would actually be fairly balanced and potentially interesting.

You win the special olympics that is Custom Card Creation. You still get no prize, but you can feel good about it.

So last thread I showed my girlfriend (and fellow commander player) the what i played/expected/got comics, and she wanted to make her own.

behold!

No one cares.

I hope she gets cervical cancer you sycophantic ledditor piece of shit

Here's your (you)

I chuckled, user. I chuckled.

what mechanic is parasitic in Amonkhet?

Embalm isnt
Exerted isnt
Cycle isnt
Aftermath isnt

Do you know what parasitic means?

Ouch! someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Thanks user

Brick counters, -1/-1 counters, Gift of the God-Pharaoh, retroactively Dark Intimations, Cat tribal, Minotaur tribal, Zombie tribal, creature tokens matter, any card that cares about embalm, all of the cycling matters cards.

Do you know what parasitic means?

>New Set Stuff
The green moat is going into my timmy Borboygmos Enraged deck and I plan on buying sever copies of that blue mythic that cast stuff for free

>My Question
Just bought some packs of khans of tarkir and pulled a clever impersonator and a Surrak DragonClaw
How Do I Build around Surrack is it just gruul plus blue or what?

parasitic is a mechanic that will only ever interact with something in its set. Splice is a great example as it requires a specific card type from a specific set that most likely wont be see again due to mechanic/flavor reasons, and wont interact with anything else.
Basically all of the stuff you listed isn't parasitic

i care

wish my gf played magic but all she does is watch makeup videos all day

stupid bitch

Only like... Brick counters counts there. And even that isn't parasitic since they're all self referencing.
Specific synergies with other cards in standard aren't parasitic.
Examples of parasitic design are divinity counters, arcane/spirits matter, spells and abilities that talk about vehicles

>Brick counters
Are self-contained.

>-1/-1 counters
Are not parasitic in the least. You can have one -1/-1 counter card in a deck otherwise devoid of them and unless you're referring to a couple enhancers like Nest of Scarabs or Haptra it will function fine. And if you are referring to those, can you name a NON parasitic mechanic?

>Gift of the God-Pharaoh, retroactively Dark Intimations
Do you know what a mechanic is? Because it's not a card.

>Cat tribal, Minotaur tribal, Zombie tribal
Got me there, tribal lords are kind or parasitic. Good thing that unlike real parasites like Slivers and Allies, most of the generic cats, minotaurs, and zombies work entirely fine on their own.

>creature tokens matter
Can you really call it parasitic when it's such a broad theme? And for that matter, I still think you're unclear on "mechanic". Closer this time though.

The mechanics of Amonkhet are Cycling, Embalm, Exert, and ocular bleeding. A few of those have "Lord" effects that want them, but none of them want, by default, to run with more of their own.

brick counters, aren't even a real mechanic. Just another counter type, even then it does interact with proliferate.

The last time they printed -1/-1 counters as a theme was 2011, cycling was 2009, in particilar minotaur tribal has only ever existed in one other spot in MTG history, while shit like Temmet and Anointer Priest are by definition parasitic.

If you think it's not parasitic because it interacts with a ridiculously small number of cards that care only about its creature type then you're retarded.

>Anointer Priest

You think this is parasitic? A card that interacts with creature tokens?

man theres a lot of replies for such obvious bait

>divinity counters
Are also self-referencing.
>spells and abilities that talk about vehicles
But not the five or so creatures that reference exerting a creature, cards that talk about zombies, cats, minotaurs, cards that reference other cards specifically by name (literally parasitic, not sure how anyone could argue against that one), or cards that mention embalm or cycling?

I think you're mistaking mechanic with keyword. Virtually any interaction or theme can be a mechanic.

It interacts solely with cards that create tokens. Yes I believe it's parasitic, built for parasitic blocks where token-producing is a theme.

But yeah, go ahead and tell me this isn't parasitic when it does nothing on its own and references an ability that has only been printed thrice.

>divinity counters
Mostly self contained, you're right. I was specifically thinking of That Which was Taken, and also thinking that Oblivion stone used divinity counters instead of fate. Divinity counter comment redacted.

>Small tribe tribal
That's where the idea of parasitic gets a little weird for me. I don't want to dislike tribal cards, but it's about as textbook parasitic as they come. I usually just brush cards like the cat lord off as a standard played Timmy card, but I think you're essentially correct that it isn't a hot mechanic.

>But yeah, go ahead and tell me this isn't parasitic

You will find cards in many different sets from all over magic that produce creature tokens and interact with this card.

That is basically the exact opposite of parasitic.

Also
>Cycling
I overlooked that, hoping that it might be one day evergreen or at least desiduous(?)
>Embalm
I haven't seen cards that reference embalm except cards that do it themselves. That falls under self contained.

You do bring up some great points, though

>You will find cards in many different sets from all over magic that produce creature tokens and interact with this card.
That's how far you've moved the goalposts? Because cards interact with this one it's no longer parasitic?

Are you aware that there are cards that care when you cast spells or play a land, so nothing in the game is parasitic because it can interact with something?

Nevermind that this card triggers when you cycle, that's unimportant because it interacts with Constellation from Theros, and thus isn't parasitic.

I really hope cycling becomes evergreen as it sets the value of a type of mana like Lightning Bolt and Llanowar Elves and can be put on shit cards to produce new value.

I'm pretty sure there were two cards that mention something being embalmed.

I think tokens are about as much a part of the game as creatures and enchantments at this point. I can't think of a set since... Before apocalypse that doesnt have some sort of token generation.

What goalpost? I already listed what parasitic mechanics are, nothing has moved.

Once again, a parasitic mechanic is a mechanic that interacts only with cards from its set.

Splice is parasitic, it only works with arcane cards, and you probably will never see new arcane cards printed due to mechanic/flavor reasons.

You know what you will see printed more of? Cards that produce creature tokens.

>references an ability that has only been printed thrice.

Tokens are literally in every fucking set. There are north of a thousand cards that speak of 'token'.

If 'parasitic' is really as broad as you seem to think, I doubt it's a problem.

Parasitic mechanics are mechanics -- entire mechanics -- that want to be played with more of the same mechanic. "Splice onto Arcane", Slivers, and Allies are the most notable examples. Playing a single Splice/Arcane card basically blanks it. Playing a single Embalm card has, for the most part, no interest in you playing other Embalms. Same goes with cycling cards, exert cards, Creature - Minotaur Cat Zombie cards, or so on. There are some examples of each of those that help or receive help from other _____ cards, but that doesn't make the overarching mechanic parasitic.

Of course you'll continue to ignore all of the parasitic mechanics I've already listed because you can latch onto Anointer Priest, an embalm card that cares flavorfully and mechanically about other embalm cards. But it's not parasitic, because you can cast Giant Growth targeting it.

>too fucking stupid to realize I was talking about Drake Haven in that example
Interesting.

Doesn't care about embalm any more than other soul sisters.

>Drake Haven makes cycling parasitic

Fascinating.

Except that it cares about embalmed creatures more than it cares about any other creature?

And yet it cares exactly as much about Tukatongue Thallid as it does Embalm.

>the card does nothing if you don't run specific cards that it interacts with
>not parasitic
So then Slivers aren't parasitic, right?

Fungus are also parasitic.

I think we might be talking about parasitism as a binary yes/no thing.
It's kind of a spectrum, and it's impossible to completely eliminate parasitic effects without every card becoming vindicate or counterspell.

Also, don't forget that this is /edhg/. Let standard babbies wade through bullshit mechanics and overcosted bears. We'll take the best and most interesting and have real fun with them.

IDK. It's fun, though. There's lots of options, but it works best with a go-wide & ETB effects strategy.

>bounce a token maker, get more tokens
>exile a token, draw 2 cards
>bounce your opponents' stuff for political plays / to fog their biggest guy / to remove +1/+1 counters / to activate an effect you want to activate
>exile your opponents' stuff because it's gross.

It will never be top-tier competitive, but I'm okay with that.

Go ahead and tell me the last time a set was printed that didn't have token producing effects, go ahead. I'll wait.

Not saying that this set doesn't have parasitic mechanics though, cartouche bullshit eats up like 10 cards, and it's at least as parasitic as splice.

Beyond that there are desert matters cards and stupid fucking shit like gift of the god emperor.

This set IS parasitic, you just suck at coming up with examples.

>Any new tech from this ridiculously low power set filled with parasitic mechanics for your decks?

He draws cards like Oracle, but doesn't ramp me.

I want to take the bait as well.

>cards that mention embalm or cycling
1 card in total, Sacred Excavation? The embalm "lords" reward all tokens, and the cycling "lords" just mention it for clarity, they trigger off all cards you discard. Creating tokens and discarding cards are both basic keyword actions, _every_ set has _multiple_ cards that do it. Maybe you're retarded enough to think that Forests are parasitic because you can't spend Green mana on White mana costs, but nobody else uses your autistic definition. There's a few parasitic cards, but coming after the set with fucking energy counters it's basically non-existent.

mtg.gamepedia.com/Mechanic#Parasitic

Clearly you aren't playing it in the right deck, then.

>elves

>Tukatongue Thallid
>Fungus are also parasitic.

>Behold! Look at how much I care about running with others of my kind! Clearly I shouldn't be run just as a 1/1 that gets a second life, that could never happen. All my abilities scream to be used for the benefit of other fungi and benefit from other fungi themselves!

lets look at the other mechanics then

>Exerted
self contained freeze on creatures and requires nothing else. Interacts with vigilance and untap effects

Cards that care about "when you exert" are indeed parasitic, but the 2? cards that have that, also can exert themselves, making it self contained.

>Cycle
once again self contained effect. Interacts with basically anything that interacts with drawing and discarding effects.

>embalm
self contained on creatures, very similar to unearth. interacts with anything that involves tokens, or ETB.

Once again, anything that says "when you embalm" would be parasitic, but as far as I can tell there is nothing like that.

...

Parasitic means it isn't backwards compatible at all. Energy in KLD/AER is parasitic because nothing, for the most part, is compatible. You can do proliferate things but still parasitic.

Caring about tokens is not parasitic. Caring about when something is embalmed would be. Even Embalmer's Tools or whatever isn't because it reduces stuff like Haunted Dead and Scrapheap Scrounger.

I'm not even sorry for liking different things.

That's what I'm gonna do with it too.

Not him but as I said The set does have parasitic mechanics.
I think the embalm/discard/cycle theme is well done though.

jesus fucking christ, that formatting and flavor text are awful.

I didn't make it, I just shitpost with it.

I think that was a joke at the expense of fungi in general, user.

desert matter cards and the other stuff listed arent mechanics.

They are cards, cards arent mechanics.

>They are cards, cards arent mechanics.
Alright, what's your definition of mechanic then?

>desert matters isn't a mechanic

Not him, but a mechanic is repeated over at least a few cards. Keywords and ability words are absolutely mechanics. the "Pay for benefit when you cycle or discard" effects? A little dubious because they hook into a more prominent mechanic, but Wizards has keyworded things for less (See: Epic, Sweep) and they have a very strong mechanical tie. Discard matters? That's even more dubious, since cards that care about you discarding or having few-ish cards in hand are difficult to talk about as a unit since they approach it from different angles (discard outlets, madness, etc.) and the overarching label can contain several other mechanics or parts of them. It's more of a theme. Gift of the God Pharaoh/Gates of the afterlife isn't a mechanic: It's literally one directly referenced card. And you can talk about the mechanical effects of the card, for which you may use the term "card mechanic" but it's kind of pointless to talk about something like that as though it were a more broadly extant mechanic. It's like the Urzatron or Kaldra: Parasitic by definition but hardly worth discussing in the same light as -1/-1 counters, Exert. or even Cartouches/Trials for which there's at least a cycle.

Does anybody else fucking hate ETBs and how they've basically become Wizards' pet mechanic with only 2 seldom seen, sorcery speed cards able to prevent it repeatedly?

basically keywords/abilities

Otherwise the definition would be too broad. If someone asked me "what are the mechanics of amonkhet"

I would say exert, cycle, embalm, and aftermath.

I wouldnt include specific card interactions like the deserts or gift of the god emperor especially if we are discussing "parasitism" in the set as those make up a tiny minority of the cards

My little brother has a roon deck that has swapped into brago at times, i have felt the force of ETB abuse face-first

ETB's are fine until abused, and they can be abused indefinitely. the issue is when you create something like deadeye navigator and break every etb into insane levels

Fellow Oldfag detected. Yeah, things are looking a little Legions-y aren't they? ETB and Morph had to cover for spells in a set with only one card type. Back then it was... Still tediously obnoxious, but at least it wasn't just like what they did every set. I'm not sure if the Theros-and-on babies would even notice if non-creatures took a break, they're used to getting all their spell effects with a pair of feet to go with.

Do we what, hate when a spell resolves and it has an effect on the game? Can't say that I do.
Not everything should be able to be prevented with creature kill spells.

I just want a normal answer against it all. All nonwhite decks have is Torpor Orb, which is a 1-of in EDH, plus it only affects creatures and stuff like Spine of Ish Sah remains unchecked.

Think of them as sorceries allow you to respond before degeneracy happens.