Become the Ultimate Deck Helper! | Magic Mirror Podcast Episode 13 #mtg

Question Zone:
How do you select a commander to lead a deck, and how do you prevent yourself from getting selection paralysis when you have so many you want to build?

I found that every time i Join a commander play group and people ask me for advice i just say "more lands, more interaction and lower your curve so you can do things"

Question Zone: I'm coming back to Magic after a long hiatus and have always had a problem with "brewer's perfectionism" (start building a deck but end up scrapping it partway through because I feel the original identity I envisioned has been lost). Is there perhaps a deck building strategy or technique to alleviate that worry?

I give advice when someone asks for it by giving them suggestions to add, never to remove. If it's not specifically asked for I ask if they run such and such in their deck.

This is a cool topic to talk about. Good video.

Deck advice is indeed a tricky topic from what I've seen and experienced first hand. Everyone has an opinion and usually that opinion is rooted in personal preferences. Aside from generic advice meant for helping a new player to the game, I don't think anyone can just look at a deck in 2 minutes and come up with meaningful advice for changes.

A friend wanted to see my Indominus Rex Alpha deck list. He immediately suggests that I run Baleful Strix. I told him I didn't want to run that card because it doesn't do enough to justify a 2-mana slot. I'd rather be ramping on turn 2. And for mid and late game, Rex herself offers far more card draw than this.
He counters back saying that on curve, Strix is still worth it regardless.

Is he right? Is he wrong? Are we both right AND wrong?

Something I learned in therapy is to offer advice in "I" statements. I love X card in X commander." Makes me feel less preachy lol.

Always love how snail's png moves slowly throughout the course of the podcast

Question Zone: Is there a point I should stop powering up my deck? I’ve got a control/value Bumbleflower deck I’ve been working on with lot of draw built in because I like everyone seeing more of their deck but I also want to win. My pod plays cEDH a lot and told me I was putting too many cEDH level stax pieces and tutors (2) in for a casual deck, but I don’t think so since I’m giving every player an opportunity to draw into their interactions. Have I truly gone too far with this bunny?

You have two play groups - sol ring in every deck gang, we call em kindergarten cause they got the training wheels for when your to dumb to build a mana base.

Most adult groups properly use real magic cards

This episode is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the average EDH player. Most players, sure there's always that guy (stop looking at me!), are not offering advice to "flex," especially in regard to synergy pieces. They just see a possible interaction that looks fun to them and want to share the joy it brings them with others including and especially if they like a content creator. The appropriate response is, "Thank you. I'll look into it."

You cowards😂 the original title was so much better

I need next podcasts to be an in depth discussion on the best Carls Jr menu items to eat while playing commander.

Oh y'all are talking about Commander. Not actual Magic. My bad, moving along.

This discussion really touched on something I've been noticing and thinking about a lot which is just that EDH players are VERY synergy-focused, which is fine and understandable but I think often goes so far as to be detrimental to their actual deckbuilding and gameplay. I think a lot of players would benefit from fewer, more focused or efficient synergy pieces and simply playing more lands or veggies or cards that address weaknesses. Not a total revelation, but an interesting thing about what casual edh metagames look like. I think you guys bring a lot of fun outside the box insights into deckbuilding. Oh and trans rights 💯🤘

Question Zone: I really like the card Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield and would like to build around it as a sort of "secret commander". Do you guys have any comanders or strategies you think would make this card more than just a vague value piece?

lol I just got my Christmas present deck for my friend and it was the most dangerous gamer lol also I’m looking at it and I feel outside of dice manipulation you don’t want to lean into the dice rolling part

Turn 3? If you aren't playing Phyrexian Arena on turn 1 after a Dark Ritual then you are doing it wrong.

Research and apply quadrant theory when cutting cards.
Alternatively, consider cutting cards that have a similar effect but cost more and adding cards that cost the same but have a more significant impact on the game.
This assumes that you already have a good card balance in the deck, but if that's the case, then your deck will only get stronger for doing so.

Respect to Trinketmage for not shying away from the high-powered casual perspective and actually giving really solid advice, just run tutors.
They let you do the thing and as long as that thing isn't a legit cEDH combo (not "eveything that beats my deck is cEDH" bs) then it just means that you get to participate more often. That's a good thing, including and especially at casual tables.
It should be encouraged, not vilified.

Lol, you guys clearly forgot what it was like to be a small content creator. Any interaction is good, even if it’s bad advise.

this might be just my problem , but maybe is a good idea to say something , ususally i can follow the podcast no problem , but in this chapter i had a hard time understanding the synergies your talking about , i think that just the first card you mention on screen an then 5 minutes of mentions to other cards its a little confusing if you dont show them on screen , but i understan this is a podcast so de visuals shoudnt matter , also english is not my first lenguage so it myght be just my problem

I probably should use Tyvar in my Sisay list, Golgari is more useful than the Gruul alternative, but the ability can't be johnnied the same way since you can't use Emiel to flicker Tyvar like you can Samut (this comes up probably 1/1000 games though so why do I worry??).

I used to find it hard to change decks up, but one of the biggest helpers with this problem was realizing first and foremost if you're JUST upgrading your deck you don't want to play much with your ratios anymore, so you just take out the worst version of the effect and move on with life. Or, you keep the bad cards in because they're more fun. I've gotten to the point now where now if I struggle to fit a card in I just set it in the 'stuff I'm thinking about adding' pile and forget about it for a bit, because it probably isn't as good a fit as I first thought for a variety of reasons. Some stuff seems really good when you haven't tested it, but testing can reveal flaws you failed to recognize.

Great podcast but I am one of those who don't use or like tutors at all. Not just in commander, I don't think they belong in the game of magic

Question Zone - Have you considered colossal dreadmaw for your Mina and Denn list?

I think the most common advice ive received is people recommending generic staple cards. Like man, i know smothering tithe exists. Thats why I'm not running it

I am very guilty of giving unsolicited deckbuilding advice, oof

Card for your Mardu Slide deck: Sundial of the Infinite. This allows you to exile your opponents creatures and keep them there.

For your cycling deck: change of fortune into shadow of the grave with fluctuator in play, payed for with mana from bone miser

Just a small comment for the editor. I was listening to this podcast in my car and elk's audio was a decent bit louder than the other two's so i had to keep adjusting my volume. Other than that, great episode.

Do people really get offended when they receive unsolicited deck advice? Don’t like what someone says? Don’t listen to it? It’s obviously a different thing if someone is being a jerk about it, but if it’s a genuine suggestion or thought, then i don’t see the problem with it.

Mardu Astral Slide suggestions: Cut to Ribbons is a great way to close out a game from an empty board.
Weirder suggestion: If Cursed Mirror is a creature like Rummaging Goblin, it can be activated during an end step and exiled by Astral Slide until the next end step.

Also this gives me a cool idea for an Abdel Adrian deck.

Haven’t watched/listened to the video yet but my form of advice giving lately has just been screaming at my friends “PLAY MORE LANDS! YOU ONLY 33 LANDS IN YOUR 3 COLOR DECK!”

I know you don't want unsolicited advice, but I see you went to Carl's Jr.- have you considered a Wendy's synergy for the show?

Mardu slide ideas:
Shadowgrange Archfiend - efficient removal that is good fuel for discard effects. Likely to hit a few high-value creatures at once. Easy to flicker for insane value.
Chivalric Alliance - if you need card draw or bodies that can defend & attack in the same turn cycle.
Cryptbreaker - less efficient than chivalric alliance, but the card draw is less dependent on attacking.
Chainer, Nightmare Adept - a way to discard cards, including on your opponents’ turns. Gives you a way to cast already-cycled creatures from the grave.
Phyrexian Reclamation - recursion in case you need a previously discarded creature back in your hand.
Seasoned Pyromancer - self wheel that generates creature tokens. Only useful if you need creature tokens.
Leave // Chance - returns multiple permanents to your hand in case of a boardwipe or individual permanents (like Astral Slide) to dodge spot removal, while also giving you the Chance half to wheel later. If in a given game you think that you won’t need the Leave half, you can discard it to another effect and still have the Chance half to cast from the grave.
Lethal Scheme - removal that lets you also discard cards. Has convoke so your creatures can help to cast it for cheaper.

I build in mardu a lot and love etb playstyles and graveyards. If you’re looking for particular effects or categories of cards, let me know I can probably give more focused recommendations.

didn't even do an outro. holy based

EDHDeckbuilding had a color matters Selesnya deck that he showed off on his channel.

Not sure if the Rafiq guy was inspired, but shout outs anyway

With regards to your mardu slide deck, Containment construct and conspiracy theorist seem good to include if you want to cast your cycled cards. Unpredictable Cyclone also seems like a fun auto include

Elk staring in a different direction freaks me out.

I run tutors and I still found Mage's advice unhelpful.

QUESTION ZONE: how do you evaluate the power level of a deck? I got into mtg over the summer and I find it very difficult to evaluate the power level of decks I make (or that other people make/play). I play at some high power tables and proxy everything so budget is not a super relevant factor. Even when I make expensive decks, I usually get blown out of the water.

Enough about trans rights. There ought to be more discussion of trans wrongs.

Question Zone: I enjoy being a bit of a EDH hipster, I try to avoid any legendaries in the Top 100 and I like to do archetypes outside of what may be expected in the color combination. So for someone looking to make a Gruul burn deck what suggestions would you have? My first thought was Borborygmus Enraged but his incredibly high mana value feels like he may be better suited in the 99 as an additional win con. There’s also The Howling Abomination but it feels like it wants to go in a Voltron or Storm direction.

You can’t fool me, Trinket Mage, I know you’re building Extus as your Mardu cycling commander and using him to recur the creature cards you cycled

Anothet great outro

Great episode guys! I've certainly been one to offer the wrong kind of advice in the past, and will a hundred percent do so again. Because, here are some unsolicited suggestions for Snail, as well as some asked for suggestion for Khan.

For both Khan and Snail:
- "Shadow of the Grave" for some massive card advantage and anti-discard tech.
- "Bitter Ordeal" can be absolutely backbreaking, either as a silver bullet sniper, a flat out win-condition, or somewhere inbetween!
- "Abandoned Sacophagus" could be an interesting recursion engine top plop down once you have the engine going. You'd want to be careful with this one however, as the downside can be pretty brutal.

Somewhat pricier cards both can run:
- "Bone Miser" is waste not, but for your own stuff that might allow you to go off just that tiny bit harder.
- "Crucible of Worlds" lets you play those sweet sweet lands you cycled away earlier! (This also scales really well into higher budget decks that run fetches, shocks and duals!)
- "Enlightened Tutor" can serve as another copy of the slide-effects, or a way to find another utility enchantment or artifact.
- "Vampiric Tutor" same as Enlightened, but even more flexible.

For Khan:
- "Archfiend of Ifnir" is a persistent boardwipe on a reasonably sized beater.
- "Tectonic reformation" a way to turn excess lands into value.
- "Change of Fortune" for a really synergistic hand refueling spell.
- "The Raven Man" triggers on ANY discard, making you a 1/1 flier, while also having in-built insurance.

As for the commander of the deck, I think either of these would serve you the best:

- "Queen Marchesa" to have a light payoff in the command zone
- "Ghen, Arcanum Weaver" to have recursion for your theme.

If you go with "Ghen, Arcanum Weaver":
- "Land Tax" to grab more basic lands than you'll ever need, or trade it for a slide if you no longer need it!
- "Scroll rack" to synergize with "land tax", effectively drawing you 3 extra card, per turn!

For Snail:
- "Pilgrim's Eye" to possibly replace "Burnished Hart". While it doesn't actively ramp, it will ensure you at least get to play lands reliably while playing better into the slide portion of the deck.
- "Skittering Surveyor" a second copy of "Pilgrim's Eye". Ish...

Remember, while these are cards I'd recommend considering or even trying, they aren't necessarily what either deck needs. Hopefully this has been of at least some help. Happy brewing!

A grown ass man got mad at me for saying "I know how to play my own deck, thank you". And I think that's wild

People always try to give suggestions for my ur dragon saying I should run the cost reduction for dragons and while I appreciate it I wish I could get it through their head that I only want dragons in the deck

thanks magic mirror for making this trans girl feel like a human being! It makes such a difference hearing trans rights in totally unrelated things.

Have you tried Sol Ring? It’s a 1 CMC colorless mana rock that taps for 2 colorless mana, insane value…