#I don't know why but I've been seeing an uptick of far right content

[cobwebbed-crow]

I'll think the bigotry on here is bad then I go to literally any other website (where I haven't perfectly curated what I want to see) and people are literally spouting the great replacement theory. Maybe tumblr isn't so bad.

[bonesandthebees]

I heard your asks were open for this kind of thing, so why not (I don't mind a late reply, anyone can take a break. Trust me, I've taken a few days off myself. No need to apologise if that is the case)? Things have been pretty damn hard for the community, and I admire you for what you've done with the character. Your work has always been amazing to read, and I'm glad you're going to continue your ongoing work at the very least. I've seen you speak about how the community is gone... Which I'm not so sure of. So many people came together to support the victims in this situation, and so many people have taken c!Wilbur in as their own. There was very little involvement of that man in the Minecraft community in the first place... At least toward the end of everything. Sure, he was still referenced and included, but most work was not his (work from the QSMP admins or the fans of the Dream SMP). It's certainly sad to see people move on, but I can fully understand why they're doing that. All of this has sucked for me personally, given that I'm an Introject. My head mates have taken to calling me the "better one" because I'm actually fucking normal. I often see the Dream SMP as my work, and I've been working on perhaps putting a rewrite out there someday. This community is beautiful, and I don't think it will ever truly die out. If it's a group of people in the future, drawing c!Wilbur or fan art of a fan fiction... Or if it's only one person, just having a good time. You all are far more powerful than you think, and you all are beautiful. I respect everyone so deeply for the work that they've put in to everything. Remember, you didn't know and you couldn't have known. It wasn't your fault. There were no signs... There was nothing. Sincerely, the better Will (Good God, it's like that fucking meme).

aw thank you, yeah I didn't want to lose out on a story I'd been so excited to write for so long because That Guy turned out to be a shithead. I refuse to let him ruin that for me.

I'm definitely exaggerating a bit when I say the community is gone. you're right, there are plenty of people who are reclaiming the character and I think that's fantastic. but from what I've seen, it's a minority. the majority of the community has decided to move on, whether that be by focusing on other characters (like the uptick I've seen in bedrock bros content lately, or those of us shifting to qsmp) or by leaving for other fandoms entirely. and the community is never going to be what it was, or even a fraction of it. I'm mourning what it used to be, I suppose.

also, I can't imagine how tough this must be for introjects like you (and I'm sure any fictives based off c!wilbur are also struggling, though I'd imagine not to the extent of introjects). I hope you've been holding up alright!

I also have so much respect for this community and I'm just so glad I got to be a part of it at its peak. I definitely think it's always going to exist in some form, it's just going to be much quieter than it used to be.

[butwhatifidothis]

I did a quick look around the other day and noticed edelstans have been digging through blogs pulling up old buried discourse

Ofc r/axis jumps on that bandwagon cuz he openly admits he loves toxic behavior arguing . His behavior has so many red flags and to top it off it screams stalker. (Btw your username appears under his 2022 most reblogged from list)

Then he acts like it's not his creepy behavior that's wrong its everyone else who is wrong. Like boy, are you even self aware?

No means no. Block means stop interacting with the person who blocked you. It does NOT mean "oh I've been blocked so let me stalk them and use every other means to reach them!!"

But what can I expect from edelstans who are so obsessed with their imperialist waifu and can't let her go while the rest of fandom moves on. Its like they're so mad people have lost interest that they're resorting to digging up buried discourse to get attention.

Most users who have criticized their fav imperalist warmonger have blocked the edelstans and moved on to other things. (even r/axis openly admits he's been blocked by like... everyone) But the edelstans are on their knees begging yall not to leave and screeching for attention.

I've noticed that too. I had a post from almost two years ago get a random reply on it, and I heard that others had something similar happen to them too. Given how relatively silent it's been for a while, most assume it has something to do with Engage's upcoming release and how these folks don't want attention from 3H to fade, so they decided to... annoy the shit out of everyone. As per usual of Edelstans lmao.

And it does seem like ol' Raxxy-poo has hopped on along, cuz like I said far as I was under the impression of he was mostly doing nothing, until recently. If nothing else the worst thing he was doing was clogging up the Dimitri tag with hate, because he's just a swell guy like that, but I thought he was at least movin' away from fuckin' around with other people outright.

But, nope. Took a peek over on his blog to see if maybe, for once, he took something out of this, but, nuh-uh. He's still the same asshole as ever, goin' on about how "no one has the right to silence me!!!" in response to people telling him to respect other people's boundaries. How he was totally right to harass n*lsh off of tumblr because n*lsh was being mean (and how it totally wasn't harassment, he swears, it was n*lsh who just folded under the pressure... that r/axis forced him under... for an extended period of time... long after n*lsh made it clear he wants nothing to do with him... but it's not harassment he promises). How he totally had nothing to do with moonlitboar's harassment since he was "at work" at the time of moonlitboar's extended period of getting harassed - guess r/axis is just a hard little worker bee who is given no breaks for multiple days, cuz moonlitboar's situation was not over the course of one day like he makes it sound like it was. And how if people just ignored him he leave them alone, totally (aka "it's their fault I decided to keep bothering them")! Which is why he still evidently kept looking at my blog to look for more people to fuck with, despite me almost never talking to or about him ever.

The guy acts like it would literally, actually kill him in real life if he stopped talking to/about people who don't want anything to do with him. Or that his "right to speak his mind" would be irrevocably snatched from him forever if he left the people who blocked him alone - you know, showing a basic respect for other people's boundaries? Really doesn't seem to like doing that, looks like.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, that does seem to be at least a plausible reason - if only because nothing else is really going on that would suddenly cause the uptick. And on one hand I do get the want to stay on 3H - I love the game to bits and would love to keep seeing others make content for it. But if that really is the motivation as to why their doin' this shit then I'd be... theoretically baffled, though not really surprised given everything that's happened in this fandom. I cannot think of a more self-defeating method of getting people to stay on 3H like "Maybe if we bother and annoy and poke and prod at everyone who doesn't like/critiques Edelgard, they'll ignore the new game coming out and keep talking about 3H!" Like my brother in Christ that ain't it

[pauperpedia]

Tuesday Brewsday 26: Eyeing Bully with Deluxeicoff

For over a month now I’ve been playing Boros Bully a lot, and have been fairly successful. I’ve topped 16 a challenge, came in third place in the Facebook league, Won a PCT event while coming in 2nd and top 8 in two others. The whole time I was thinking if there was any room for improvements and implemented some ideas. Whenever you want to make changes to a deck however, you need to go back and see what works and the reasoning behind why certain cards are in the deck. Since I wanted to write about the deck regarding this, I thought there was no better person to consult than the original deck designer himself, Deluxeicoff. I asked him four questions about the deck, but first, here is the mainboard decklist I’ve fallen in love with.

1 Sentinel's Eyes

4 Faithless Looting

4 Thraben Inspector

4 Seeker of the Way

4 Squadron Hawk

1 Guardian of the Guildpact

2 Palace Sentinels

4 Battle Screech

2 Rally the Peasants

4 Prismatic Strands

1 Firebolt

1 Electrickery

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Journey to Nowhere

1 Oblivion Ring

1 Secluded Steppe

4 Boros Garrison

6 Mountain

6 Plains

4 Wind-Scarred Crag

So what did the original creator of Bully have to say about his beloved Delver killer?

Q1: Originally you didn’t run Palace Sentinels. What was your reasoning and do you still stand by this?  

A1: Bully was an aggro deck at its start and the metagame at the time didn't have too much Tron, so using Raise the Alarm EOT had A LOT of play options/surprises and game wins...from the obvious fueling battle screech out of the blue, to blocking, to having a double answer to fling with opponents countermagic - its combination with prismatic strands was paramount and I still feel this build is the right call given the metagame and/or shifts in it.  Remember, I placed 3rd in a challenge on its debut, and was a shoe-in for the win if I had one more second.  My last round in the top 8 was vs. familiars and I timed out with lethal on the stack - MEGA frustrating... Palace Sentinels slows the deck down, but is necessary vs. Tron... but I'm still not sure since the addition of it didn't make the match THAT much better, just a bit - moreover the ability to protect monarch via strands is usually the angle.  More importantly was my lack of using Thraben Inspectors - that was a design miss on my end, I leaned heavily on sacred cats for their brutal efficiency and re-use-ability. I've liked Guaridan of the Guildpact mix with Monarch, but I'd never play more than two Palace Sentinels personally.  Just a few weeks later, I placed 2nd in the Rags to Riches tournament in Seattle using 2 Palace main. It has been awesome to see the variations of the list over the last year or so - no right answers, just cool tweaks for the given state of the game. 

Q2: Are there any new cards that would improve the deck?  

A2: From my original design, there is now an instant that does the same thing - but I feel your recent addition of one Sentinel's Eyes is very 'on-brand.'  The DNA of the deck is Faithless Looting - pitching stuff in your yard that can come back makes faithless looting feel like a cheap Treasure Cruise.  Future expansions continue to come, pay attention to abilities like retrace and embalm, escape etc..,  I feel the lack of "Seal of Fire" is a bad call in most lists - this card isn't "NEW" but it is often overlooked...once out, it is an un-counterable option to about 90% of the critters in Pauper.

Q3: What decks typically give this one a hard time? What is the strategy you find best to beat those decks?  

A3: Tron was and is always an issue...decks with recursion locks.  A combination of Monarch, Flaring Pain, graveyard hate, sheer aggro pumps and/or land destruction are all decent ways to attack, but it is usually a hard matchup...which is why I like the surprise value in Raise the Alarm/more aggro approach.  As much as I like to have a 'GOTCHA!" card - Tron is too resilient, and in the end, it is often best to be the problem.  Also, at Pauper's first ProTour LA - I went undefeated -(after a first round scoop due to my lands mysteriously vanishing and taking a loss to start.)  In that list, I ran COP Black - because Nasty's build of Gurmag/Dimir build was very popular, but I had success vs. it with that simple addition...Guardian's of the Guild don't hurt much either there :)

Q4: If WOTC let you design a card for Bully, what would it be and what would it replace?

A4:  Hmm...it would need to be a sideboard card vs. Tron...flexible and have some interaction with the graveyard.

I really enjoyed getting Deluxeicoff’s take on Boros Bully. I still remember the Rags to Riches event held by Card Kingdom in Seattle where I got to share a drink and hang out with him to play some pauper before the event started. If you ever find yourself with some free time on Saturday, Deluxeicoff broadcasts his Pauperganda show via Twitch at 9 am pst. He also has a YouTube channel, a Facebook page, and if you want to support him go donate through buymeacoffee.

So what are my hot takes on the deck and what have I tried to implement? I’ve been loving the fact that Bully can beat practically any aggro strategy out there. With the uncommonly strong (pun intended) Seeker of the Way combined with Prismatic Strands, it’s easy to recover and then take the game away through the air with Battle Screech and Rally the Peasants. Whenever I see a turn 1 island, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I have the upper hand in the match. Considering Delver decks are on the uptick and Tron is seldom seen in leagues or community run events, I’d say Bully is in a good spot right now.

Recently I’ve tried out some new cards in the deck to see if they improved upon the ole Bully on the block. I started out by moving towards a more artifact centered deck so I could run Galvanic Blast alongside Lightning Bolt. I did this by removing Journey to Nowhere, Oblivion Ring, and one Guardian of the Guildpact. My reasoning behind this was that it could give the deck more reach and have a shot a taking out Tron once they have a fog lock. In the end I didn’t really like the mashup between Monarch and Bully the deck resembled. Stumbling on mana or constantly having an underpowered blast in the face of artifact removal was harsh. I also felt like the change made some matchups worse like Affinity or UB Delver where I wish I still had Journey to Nowhere. Maybe I just cut the wrong cards to make room for Galvanic Blast, but in my opinion it just made the deck awkward.

Next I tried playing with two copies of Underworld Rage-Hound. I remembered way back when the deck played with Sanctuary Cat, it was such a great feeling to have access to a creature that not only spat in the face of removal, but pitching it to Faithless Looting never felt like a feel bad moment. The problem I ran into though was the same one that plagued the cat, there was no evasion to push through damage. Worse, having to attack every turn really took away its potential as a road block. The only positive I saw when playing Underworld Rage-Hound was when I faced a Tron deck, and even then it eventually got stonehorned. Too many creatures can block it and kill it, and Gurmag Angler just plain eats it.

After that I wanted to explore the escape mechanic further. I had see the success Sentinel’s eyes was having in decks like Hexproof and Heroic and wondered if a deck like this could embrace it al well. So far I’ve really like the inclusion of one copy of Sentinel’s Eyes. Being able to cast it from the graveyard by exiling a mere two cards and paying one white mana has been amazing. It instantly turns any of your birds into a threat, or gives your Seeker of the Way some added oomph. Another feature of Sentinel’s Eyes is that it gives the creature vigilance which Prismatic Strands loves. I really think Sentinel’s Eyes has a home here, but you might want to play around with the card you take out. The deck usually runs 2 Guardian of the Guildpact, but I’ve cut one to make room for it. I could see the deck maybe cutting a Firebolt or Lightning Bolt, possibly even Oblivion Ring instead. Only time and more “eyes” on the deck will tell.

1 Electrickery

1 Flaring Pain

1 Leave No Trace

3 Pyroblast

1 Ramosian Rally

2 Red Elemental Blast

2 Shenanigans

1 Standard Bearer

1 Oblivion Ring

1 Aura Fracture

1 Tormod's Crypt

My sideboard is a bit different than you might see. When it comes to my artifact removal, as much as I love Gorilla Shaman, I think Shenanigans plays really well with the deck’s plan. That’s why I run two, so I can increase the odds of a backbreaking turn two play against affinity.

I’ve always loved Aura Fracture in my white decks. A lot of the time this deck will have excess mana to pitch to Aura Fracture. Being able to continually destroys an enchantment can keep opposing Journey to Nowheres at bay and Hexproof from turning their Bogle into something even Ulamog would be scared of.

On that note I also love Standard Bearer. One of the decks that I hate losing to constantly is Elves. Standard Bearer can shut down their game plan of making huge elves with Timberwatch Elf. It also helps in the burn matchup by eating a bolt. Tireless Tribe has a hard time getting through it without Gut Shot as well. There are a plethora of reasons to run Standard Bearer, which is why I can’t not include.

The last oddball I run is a lone copy of Tormod’s Crypt. I like this over Relic of Progenitus for the reason that it doesn’t hit my graveyard when sacrificed. Being able to cast it for free is another boon when I absolutely need to find it and burn through two faithless lootings leaving me tapped out. It’s happened before and I was sure glad I was running that over Nihil Spellbomb.

That about sums it up. Get out there and bully your opponent in the best way, by swinging for lethal with a rally of birds. I hope you have enjoyed these blogs/articles. I’m always open to feedback and simply want to provide the best content I can. I’m always open to collaborate on a deck as well. Please visit and like/follow my Facebook page pauperpedia, a fan page dedicated to bringing you links to daily articles, videos, and podcast covering Pauper. You can also email me at Pauperpedia@gmail.com if any of you have submissions as well. Till next time folks, have a happy Brewsday!