Thank you for stopping by.

I first became acquainted with Magic: The Gathering during Alpha set. After that initial foray where I was introduced by a neighbor to the game, I didn’t play again until the Tempest block. Then I took a long, 20 year hiatus until 2019 when another neighbor reinvigorated my desire to play by urging me to buy some Dominaria and Core 19 packs for a friendly draft. Since then I’ve found myself addicted to deck building.

I prefer traditional formats like Vintage/Legacy/Modern/Standard/Pauper as opposed to this zany, newfangled “Commander” format all the kids are raving about.

I lean toward the / end of the color spectrum; preferred hubs are Reanimator and any type of build that uses uncommon or otherwise off the wall strategies or win-cons.

God I miss the old artwork and flavor text from the older expansions; some of the new stuff is half decent but it doesn’t hold a candle to the gorgeous art of cards like those found in the Arabian Nights expansion or Mirage block. And then there’s the classical literary quotes on cards like Repentant Blacksmith, Juzam Djinn, Hammerheim, Karakas, Pendelhaven, Revelation...the list goes on! I weep softly when I realize just how lackluster today’s MtG sets are in this respect, by comparison. But, I digress.

Feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have on any of my decks; all upvotes are much appreciated as well.

Balaam__ says... #1

Thanks legendofa I really liked reviewing the older sets (even got a few new ideas for my own deckbuilding), but I’m pretty much past all my favorite expansions now. I may take another look after awhile.

January 17, 2025 6:29 p.m.

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Said on New to Pioneer. …...

#1

Always appreciate the input, BioProfDude. I’m still tinkering with this one and weighing various suggestions people have made, testing different combinations. I’m a big proponent of flexibility so I probably will end up adding Hengegate Pathway  Flip, it’s just I don’t have any on hand at the moment.

January 20, 2025 1:12 p.m.

Said on New to Pioneer. …...

#2

Thanks for the suggestions Bookrook. I think I’ll pass on Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines due to price, casting cost and since she isn’t a spirit (or ’spirit adjacent’).

Delney, Streetwise Lookout is easier to cast and might hold promise, but again that price is steep (and I utterly despise the artwork). Also, non-spirit. That last bit isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, but if at all possible I’d like to stay within that creature type, so the card would have to be a perfect fit to break that self-imposed rule.

As always, thanks for posting!

January 19, 2025 11:20 p.m. Edited.

Said on "HELP" - All …...

#3

Seems a little light on Storm Crow. I mean, it’s ok I guess, but I’d really like to feel secure in knowing I’d draw at least one per game.

January 18, 2025 11:40 a.m.

Welcome to the fun of deckbuilding! This looks fairly cohesive, much better than my first deck. A recommendation: Double down on what works, then trim the fat. Instead of many 1-of’s, aim to run 3-4 copies of your best, most effective cards. You’ll find consistency skyrockets and your enjoyment should go up along with it.

January 17, 2025 10:21 p.m.

Said on Here, have an …...

#5

Thanks for posting Cloudy2024. Yeah it looks like Fading Hope is a nice upgrade over Unsummon, it does the same thing but with an added potential benefit. Heh, Cloudy2024 with a chance of scry

January 17, 2025 7:45 p.m.

Said on Balaam__...

#6

Thanks legendofa I really liked reviewing the older sets (even got a few new ideas for my own deckbuilding), but I’m pretty much past all my favorite expansions now. I may take another look after awhile.

January 17, 2025 6:29 p.m.

How about capitalizing on those spineless cowards’ inability to block with some guaranteed card draw in the form of Curious Obsession?

January 16, 2025 10:51 p.m.

Said on Unearth Surprises...

#9

This is sort of deviating from what’s already here, but what about Unearth/Call a Surprise Witness -> Behemoth's Herald -> Figure of Destiny -> Godsire? It’s inefficient, convoluted, ill advised and no one will see it coming XD

January 15, 2025 1:43 p.m.

Said on Second Rites Burn...

#10

This may sound counterproductive, but it might be wise to invest in a ‘target player gains life’ type card, in the sideboard at least.

There are oodles of ways an opponent could self damage (as part of paying a cost, for instance) and if they dip below 10 it might be an awkward fight to finish them off as they cling and fight on. Being able to quickly throw them a point or two to get them at the ideal 10 for Second Rite is a nice option to have. You could always use it on yourself in an emergency too.

January 15, 2025 11:11 a.m.

@Profet93 I just saw this thread. I got a DM from you a short while ago, but I think it was meant for someone else. I replied to you in private chat, idk if u received it or not.

January 14, 2025 3:25 p.m.

The sheer amount of stuff going on here is impressive, and it’s all constrained within the ‘ally’ subtype. I have a deck or two based around some of the old, basic Intruder Alarm combos, but this is next level deckbuilding.

January 12, 2025 1:50 p.m.

@kamarupa ah that’s probably my fault for not specifying the budget range.

To be honest I’m not entirely sure what constitutes the mean “budget” range in Pioneer, since it’s different format to format. In my experience a typical, heavily competitive Modern deck can run in the area of $1000 or more, whereas that’s borderline entry level for Vintage. I’m still getting a feel for Pioneer, but it doesn’t seem too terribly far from Modern as far as cost of entry is concerned, so I suppose my idea of ‘budget’ here is $100-$300 range.

January 12, 2025 1:47 p.m.

@Icbrgr It made me think of these guys

IMG-4169

January 11, 2025 10:46 p.m.

Thanks Icbrgr. Witness Protection is new to me— “legitimate businessperson” made me laugh

January 11, 2025 5:06 p.m.

Said on BioProfDude...

#17

Thanks again for helping out on my first Pioneer deck. I wanted to ask a follow up question:

You had mentioned scrapping Lunarch Veteran  Flip in favor of maxing out Spell Queller and a couple other cards I already had. Looking things over, that makes sense to me but I have a concern. If I cut Lunarch I’ll only have Mausoleum Wanderer and Spell Pierce as one drops—do you think that’s alright? If this was Modern I’d feel leery about so few T1 plays, but I don’t know if that should/would carry over into Pioneer.

January 11, 2025 12:30 p.m.

Ah, many thanks BioProfDude, I’ll take all the help I can get.

I’m glad you suggested Cavern of Souls—I originally intended to include it, but (long story short) when I added it to the deck it got flagged as illegal so I took it out. Idk the cardpool yet and I was reading mixed things, but it’s good to have confirmation.

Thanks for the sideboard suggestions too—I’ll roll with them until I get a feel for what I’m up against, and what works/doesn’t.

I will say Curious Obsession has been holding up well. I was running out of steam too soon and a set of those more or less put an end to that problem. I feel like I want to continue running them until something better comes along.

Get Lost and Sheltered by Ghosts are both new to me; I can see value in both, but between all the countermagic and faux removal (Skyclave Apparition etc) do you think they’re still necessary?

January 10, 2025 11:20 p.m.

Said on harvest land...

#19

Looks like your deck wants to overwhelm your opponent as quickly as it can, with a late game comeback wincon in the form of Hare Apparent + Raise the Past .

January 10, 2025 7:13 p.m.

Geistlight Snare might be good too, I’ll maybeboard that for now. Not sure I can fully capitalize on it with just the 4 enchantments, but we’ll see. And I’ll be sure to playtest with both No More Lies and Lofty Denial to see which yields the more consistent results, but for now I threw in Lofty Denial simply because I already have some on hand. Thanks again, this has been really helpful!

January 10, 2025 6:44 p.m.

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MTG Decks

Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 41 | 21 COMMENTS | 2020 VIEWS | IN 4 FOLDERS

Trouble at the Old Mill!

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 54 | 32 COMMENTS | 1803 VIEWS | IN 11 FOLDERS

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 64 | 11 COMMENTS | 2725 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Ferngully (Help Wanted!)

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 59 | 57 COMMENTS | 2295 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

Altar of Despair

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 52 | 28 COMMENTS | 2174 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Exham Priory

Pauper Balaam__

SCORE: 49 | 16 COMMENTS | 3230 VIEWS | IN 12 FOLDERS

Geralf’s Walk-In Clinic

Legacy Balaam__

SCORE: 44 | 6 COMMENTS | 1168 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Darwin’s Dirty Onus

Modern Balaam__

SCORE: 32 | 15 COMMENTS | 1491 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

Finished Decks 119
Prototype Decks 7
Drafts 0
Playing since Tempest
Points 1375
Avg. deck rating 24.85
T/O Rank 10
Helper Rank 6
Favorite formats Modern, Pauper, Legacy, Vintage
Suppressed formats Standard Brawl, Historic, Commander / EDH, Pauper EDH, Commander: Rule 0, Canadian Highlander, Highlander, Duel Commander, Leviathan, 1v1 Commander, Pre-release, Penny Dreadful, Heirloom, Hero, Noble, Tiny Leaders, Oathbreaker, Block Constructed, Arena, MTGO, Magic Duels, Unformat
Cards suggested / good suggestions 167 / 119
Venues Tales of Adventure
Joined 5 years