Many of them likely were. Lots of dynasties in Egypt since it was a powerful empire for a long time. We are closer in history to Kleopatra than Kleopatra was to the pyramids.

But Kleopatra was absolutely not black. It's not even historically ambiguous. She was ethnically Greek. She was a member of the Ptolmaic dynasty founded after the conquests of Alexander thr Great. Her native language was Greek. Both her parents were Greek.

This is also how you can "power down" a deck when the table is clearly not on your level. Tutors are really flexible and you don't need to use them to blow someone out just because you can.

I play [[Tameshi]] as both a cedh deck and a casual deck. The casual list omits most of the cleanest and most efficient combo lines, although it does run versions of some of them. It also runs lots of combos that are really janky but really fun to pull off.

If I'm at a table where it's clear to me that I'm overtuned, I won't intentionally play poorly but will go for a fun combo line over an efficient one. Or I will go for a synergy/value piece that will give me a big advantage over the piece that will just straight up win me the game on the spot.

Yea this exactly. I have a [[riku]] combo list that is most effectively stopped by just absolutely hating me out of the game. If you let me untap with riku out then you're probably going to lose.

If the deck was only sometimes like this and the rest of the time was a grindy midrange deck, then it's going to create an unfun play experience bc nobody can gague the power level. Either I'll be archenemy and hated off the table despite having nothing in my hand, or I'll be allowed to build up unchecked and then suddenly win.

I know that as a dedicated combo deck I won't be able to play it at lots of tables (it usually can present a win between t4 and t6 if nobody has any interaction). But it's better to be a well-tuned high power deck than a poorly turned mid-power deck that can still win on t4 but is just as likely to durdle around doing nothing.

Exactly. Until the next time the stack is empty during a main phase. Let all combat triggers resolve, let the stack clear, etc.

Yea I also play it in CEDH. That deck just really leans into copy artifact, mind over matter, and hullbreaker horror loops. Wants to outlet via blind obedience.

The casual list omits copy artifact (I use the 3cmc ones so I need another piece for infinite mana), doesn't play hullbreaker or blind obedience. I don't have fast mana besides sol ring, and don't run an optimal suite of countermagic (I have pet cards like [[sudden substitution]] in the deck because it's just so fun).

But it's still mostly a combo deck that wants to use [[hedron crab]] or [[Altar of the Brood]] to outlet infinite landfall triggers to mill the table. But i cut all the combos that didn't feel thematically appropriate and am playing a slower, grindy value based list. E.g., I play [[Emeria Shepherd]] for its combo potential with [[copy land]] and for its general synergy with the moonfolk (bc you can make sure that you always have a plains to play]. And can play on the board thanks to [[felidar retreat]], [[kappa cannoneer]], and Genku.

But yea if you're not all about the Bloom/MoM plays then Tameshi is less exciting. And G/B is much better at utilizing moonfolk like [[Meloku]] or [[Uyo]].

Training Grounds is also really good with Tameshi because it lets you recur 2>=cmc artifacts/enchantments for just {W}. Esper Sentinal and Mystic Remora are great targets.

But yea. Absolutely cracked with Soratami Savant. Pretty much a hard counterspell lock with [[Walking Atlas]] + [[Retreat to Coralhelm]].

Genku is honestly surprisingly good in a casual pod because he makes blockers whenever you sacrifice a bauble or bounce a land and works as a mana sink in a pinch. Also anything that's a moonfolk is an enabler for Patron of the Moon.

One of my favorite things about tameshi is that I get to play [[Lotus bloom]] and [[Mind over Matter]] for some really unique combo lines.

The deck also feels so thematic to me. It really feels like you're playing a moonfolk futurist "reality architect" with all the weird combo lines involving lands. It also plays [[Shorikai]], which feels very flavorful to neo-kamigawa and works sort of like The One Ring lite with Mind Over Matter.

Scoop should always be sorcery speed. So no scooping in response to combat, etc. A player can pack up at any time and can announce their concession, but the game will treat them as if they were still there until the stack during a main phase.

Archelos is mostly just an [[Amulet of Vigor]] to help with Patron Combos. Although Green does seem really nice to help with the land combos. You get access to [[Kodama of the East Tree]] which is great (and a two card infinite with [[meloku]]) as well as redundancy for [[Walking atlas]] in the form of stuff like [[Sakura-Tribe Scout]]. I honestly like the idea if landfall without green since it prevents me from running the standard simic value piles.

I agree that Tameshi doesn't need the other moonfolk, but when I'm building around a land-bounce/landfall strategy it's nice to have something in the cz that does that.

In the casual list, I play [[Patron of the Moon]], [[Uyo]], [[Genku]] [[Replication Specialist]], and [[Soratami Savant]] in addition to Tameshi.

[[Tameshi]] is the way to go for moonfolk in edh. I built a deck around the land bounce theme and unsurprisingly it has a lot of moonfolk.

I play an edh deck with a heavy moonfolk theme based around [[tameshi]]. Lots of weird ways to put lands into play.

But yea... a few more good classic moonfolk would really help, as would a few more synergy pieces. (Like [[Genku]] in MH3).

I'm not seeing why storn-kiln Arist and blasphemous act are in your maybeboard. Storm-kiln is the best ramp card in red for any deck that will consistently get magecraft triggers. It's just stupid good. Runaway Steam Kin is also really solid. Blasphemous act is the best board wipe in the color hands down. Control tools will be your friend.

I also am wondering about the absence of multiplier effects. I understand that they have non-synergy with your commander because they are dead when he's out, but with manabarbs/zozu type of effects it's also good to have a backup plan to break parity on some of those/ just give you a backup plan in general incase Ojer Axonil gets hit with exile removal a few times/trapped in the Moon or the like.

Also [[guttersnipe]] is one more generix pricier than your other pingers, but that extra damage does a long way, especially if you end up with another multiplier.

I'm also a fan of the new [[Ashling Flame Dancer]] in these decks. Goes infinite with fork-loops, but is just generally huge value for a deck like this. She's a rummage, a board wipe, player damage, and a ritual all in one. Her 2nd magecraft trigger especially is great with your commander out. It can very easily be a one-sided blasphemous act. Also I see you're already playing [[grapeshot]] and storm is busted with ashling bc it copies on the stack. So if you have storm count = 2 and cast grapeshot with Ashling out, you pay 1R to loot 3 times, do 2 damage to your opppnents/their board, and get back RRRR. Seems pretty good for you.

Also, maybe this is just a personal playstyle thing, but if you're in mono red I would be playing [[blood moon] 100% of the time. Also, for similar reasons [[burning earth]] is likely better for you than manabarbs.

Also, if you like the red stax type of effects (manabarbs, zozu, etc): [[Repercussion]] is interesting bc you can hit creatures with burn spells and then get ajer to still change the damage done to the player. Also this + blasphemous act is a two card win-con.

"Comments on papers made revisions a bit difficult. 10/10 though. I'm in love. Deserves a bonus for sure"

Is maybe my favorite. I know that I sometimes am a bit messy on course admin stuff (like sometimes my feedback is a bit delayed), and to hear that acknowledged while also be told that they loved being in my the class nonetheless feels good. It's more honest than the varieties of "best prof ever."

I also particularly like one that included the line: "It was like watching philosophical art" to describe my lecturing style (which is energetic and a bit performative. I was trained in rhetoric...)

This is also low key such a humble, sportsmanly thing to say. He's obviously an incredible player and doesn't need to prove that to himself or anyone else (unlike certain other great players that still cheat), and so just calls his own deck out for being busted.

He literally decided to use tge platform of winning the mh3 pt to point out the issue with the deck that let him win, rather than to boost his own ego by taking all the credit for himself.

If you're on chain of smog lines why no [[professor onyx]]? She does the same as sedgemoor and witherbloom.

Also [[phial of galadriel]] seems strictly better than archive in the deck.

[[Comet storm]] is strictly better than [[crackle with power]] as well because instant speed.

You should absolutely be on [[fiery temper]] it's just too good in the deck to pass up.

I am on recruiter mostly to find storm-kiln. It's just so efficient.

I also think you run too many lands. 29 is high in general. Ashling is a low to the ground monocolored storm deck that's full of rituals. I just don't think we're concerned about land drops.

My list is full of silly. Not totally refined. I have stuff like [[burning inquiry]] because it fuels off breach, but I'm not sold on this being primarily a breach deck. Breach feels like plan B to me. Helps us recover off a stopped win and try again on our next turn. Same with past in flames.

Here is my version of the list:

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/so6qKl-BvUKNYalTsphanA

Have you considered [[shenanigans]]? It lets you play only 1 titan but still have your loop be deterministic since you dredge the draw trigger if he's the last card and get the shuffle trigger that way.

I would also cut back your sorcery speed cantrips. They are great, but one of the best parts of the deck imo is it's ability to win at instant speed. You can literally win right on top of someone else's win if Ashling is out.

Fork loops, draw your deck again and again only playing rituals until you have infinite mana. Cast a comet storm for a huge X and win with the thoracle trigger still on the stack.

I mean, sure. But it's a much better data point than anything that you have provided to the contrary. But your only argument is based on your anecdotal opinion.

The fact that it's the #1 most played card in the entire color means that either that black has no staple cards that it is normal to see, or that tutors are staples of black decks (especially since the #3 card is also vampiric tutor).

Also if high power decks are responsible for that skew we'd expect similar numbers for the tutors in other colors. But we dont. The next most played tutor is enlightened tutor at 18%. Then it drops to 14% for the other 1cmc tutors.

In other words: it is more likely for a black deck to play demonic and vampiric tutor than it is for any other deck to play any other tutor.

36 to 42?!? Holy batman. That's so many lands. I would only play that in some sort of big mana ramp deck and maybe not even then. I tend to play 33-35 and make sure I have 10 or so pieces of "ramp" (including rocks) as well as plenty of draw. I very rarely get screwed on mana.

I know this depends on average cmc and stuff like fetches to a certain degree. But playing 42 lands just seems absolutely nuts outside of landfall decks.

Also in competitive decks you tend to run even fewer lands bc you're on all the best rocks. cedh tends to play 26-28 lands.

If you do the math, with 33-34 lands you are going to, on average, always hit your first three turns of land drops. If you can draw an extra 2 cards by turn 4, then you're likely to also hit your 4th. Throw in signet, sol ring, talismans, etc and you're fine.

This is also why people double-sleeve. Inner sleeves are designed to wrap the cards. A double-sleeved deck is more or less water resistant. Just don't submerge the cards and you're good.

Yea cedh is honestly the best in terms of low salt players. My favorite tables are 4 powered down cedh players who just want to do some weird spicy shit (so high power casual, but where everyone is super cutthroat and runs lots of interaction)

Yea idk what this guy is on about. I've absolutely played precon magic at an lgs. I don't actually have a non-upgraded precon, but people are always cool about letting me borrow one. And it can be a fun way to throw down

Oh no. I also will proxy full decks, but I make sure to find a good color printer. It costs like a dollar a page, and a full deck is about 9 pages if you're proxying all 100 cards.

The card art and all that is part of the mtg experience. I would not love black and white proxies

There are more black decks that play demonic tutor (24%) than green decks that play llanowar elves (22%).

Only 38 cards in the entire game are played with more frequency than demonic tutor. I would say that's about as normal as you get get (especially considering that 2 of the 3 top played black cards are tutors).

There are only 3 cards that are played in more than 50% of eligible decks (sol ring, arcane signet, swords to plowshares). So I wouldn't take majority as the measure here.

To be clear, I think it's fine if they want to stop it. I am saying that I might not if I don't want to reset the game. And thus that the choice to stop it makes me responsible for the consequences of doing so

That is literally not my argument. My argument is that if I play mld with a clearly dominant board state and another person decides to wipe, it is not my fault that the game gets reset. It is a result of multiple choices made by multiple players.

The upshot of my argument is that land destruction is a valid way of trying to protect a win because its aim to to deny the table resources to stop it. I also think that preventing that win with a wipe is a similarly valid strategy. Both players made equally valid choices.

Your argument is premised on the idea that they are not both equally valid.

Nowhere do i say that mld = a win.