iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 26/09/2026

Also some studies show that you can reduce the duration / intensity of a viral cold by up to a third by taking Zinc lozenges as soon as symptoms appear. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cTF...

youtube.com

The BEST medications for the Flu and Common Cold 2024-2025

YouTube video by Grant Harting

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 26/09/2026

Ok maybe my September article wasn't about #MTG / #EDH: witchphd.substack.com/p/internet-s... This is not a sponsored post / ad. Just someone who writes EDH articles on #substack giving unsolicited life advice.

witchphd.substack.com

Internet Security Hygiene

Why YOU Should Use a Password Manager

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 24/09/2026

How to avoid getting sick, in order of importance: • Get good sleep • Wash hands + Avoid direct exposure (viral load has direct correlation with illness severity) • Stay up to date on vaccines • Get a lot of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) • Exercise Regularly • Daily Multivitamin

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 23/09/2026

Want to save more? Companies try to get you to buy stuff you don't need by abusing your psychology. Companies don't care about you. Colourful advertisements and "dark design" should trigger a fighting instinct to hold onto your money instead of surrendering it to feed their profit. Et cetera.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 23/09/2026

If you want to change your behaviour, you have to change how you feel — it can help to turn it into an act of rebellion! Addicts oft describe "rock bottom" as the turning point where they see the drug as ruining their life and they feel righteous indignation to fight back at every turn.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 09/09/2026

@defcat.bsky.social Great new video! And also demons are a great kindred (my demon deck is dimir tho)

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 06/09/2026

Might be a hot take but... beverages taste better out of metal cans. Even water tastes better out of a metal can than a plastic or glass cup / bottle.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 05/09/2026

@defcat.bsky.social Can't agree more with latest VOD IMHO media makes tradeoffs between depth & width — appeal to a niche audience OR broaden the appeal — doing one more means sacrifice the other I write articles "for the love of the game" (you can tell; I keep writing them when no one reads them)

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 03/09/2026

Thanks for the like and share!

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 31/08/2026

Feel like you’ve built a strong #EDH #commander deck, but you’re not winning your fair share of games? Well my latest #substack article has tips for exactly that. All advice is my opinion of course! witchphd.substack.com/p/the-witchp...

witchphd.substack.com

Winning More Games

The WitchPHD guide

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Reposted by WitchPHD

YANCY GAME @yancygame.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

THE TRAILER IS FINALLY DONE !!! Sound ON. @deadi.bsky.social wrote a custom medley for this and it sounds KILLER, it's not nearly as good without it. Do not deny your ears this music.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 17/08/2026

Parable — After her son died, a woman asks the Buddha for help. He tells her to bring a mustard seed from a house that’s not known death. She looks, but… What she wanted: a magic cure What she got: the power of knowing she’s not alone Remember, no matter what you’re dealing with… you’re not alone

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 14/08/2026

Another revamp of one of my older #MTG #EDH #Commander articles: This is one where I recount all of the currently banned cards I've played with or against! I updated it to add the bans that ultimately dissolved the RC. witchphd.substack.com/p/cards-ive-seen-banned

witchphd.substack.com

Cards I’ve Seen Banned

And Signpost Bans

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 10/08/2026

Did you know I originally joined Bluesky to advertise my #edh #commander #mtg articles that I write on #substack ? Apparently I forgot. This one posted last month but I forgot to share it here: witchphd.substack.com/p/total-mana...

witchphd.substack.com

Total Mana Value

The Crude Oil of Deckbuilding

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 28/07/2026

I came to bluesky to advertise my #MTG #EDH #Commander deckbuilding articles. Got a new one coming out thursday, and revamped an old one today: witchphd.substack.com/p/the-three-...

witchphd.substack.com

The Three Pillars of EDH

Mana, Draw, and Interaction

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 16/07/2026

I wish #bsky let you edit posts. I’m always finding typos and then deleting / reposting. Also today I had a situation where using an ellipses counted as a . and created an unintentional link to a “connection insecure” page. I don’t want to link people to some random site.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 16/07/2026

You don’t make a good cEDH deck by throwing a random deck together & asking “is this cEDH?” You don’t make a pleasant Bracket 2 experience by throwing a random deck together & asking “is this B2?” No matter the bracket — you have to read the guidelines and build towards them! #edh #mtg #commander

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 10/07/2026

As a Linux user this makes me cry, but feels so obviously true. Like “wow how did I not think about that.”

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 09/07/2026

IMHO liking physical disks is weird: the future is NOW™ and mediums that produce less waste/pollution are HERE™ I think there's an argument for mourning the loss of "ownership" of a game (of course I'm referring to the prevalent "you will own nothing" subscription economy) and that is oft conflated

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 09/07/2026

I don't usually post #EDH card recommendations, but Unearth is my (phyrexian) sleeper pick. IMHO 90% of "3MV or under, black+" commanders want this... and yet it has <4% inclusion on #EDHREC (<20% on many relevant decks). Wake up, (phyrexian) sleepers! #mtg #mtgcommander #commander #mtgedh

The MTG card called "Unearth", which only costs only 1 mana to return any creature with Mana Value 3 or less from the graveyard to the battlefield. It also as cycling, which allows you discard it away to draw a replacement card for only 2 mana, in case you are in a game where it's not useful.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 03/07/2026

It irks me when people think about anime/game/etc characters like real people and worry about "are they good people are not?" Characters are plot devices, and only the writer has real agency. The best characters are NOT "well adjusted people you'd want to be roomies with" (but, the best PEOPLE are)

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 26/06/2026

My newest #mtg #edh #commander article is here: witchphd.substack.com/p/the-myth-o... This time it's vaguely about the Bracket system and playing in #bracket2 / #b2 (my preferred bracket, btw!) — and more broadly it's about any lower power bracket and life itself.

witchphd.substack.com

The Myth of "De-optimization"

A Crash Course in Multi-objective Optimization

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 23/06/2026

Yeah I just gotta play some norms to get used to all the updates that happened over the past three years (and shake off some rust) before jumping into ranked.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 23/06/2026

I played 2 games and no one talked to me in voice chat. I don’t really mind if my teammates are bad. But I hate when no one talks to me. And I cry.

static.klipy.com

He-Man I Said Hey Sparkle Meme

ALT: He-Man I Said Hey Sparkle Meme

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 23/06/2026

I really miss playing random ranked games and meeting new people in voice chat. I've had lots of friendly chats.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 23/06/2026

My last #leagueoflegends game was 01/07/25 (1 year 5 months ago). My last #dota / #dota2 game was 11/10/23 (2 years y months ago). I've been really tempted to play dota2 again, though, so I downloaded it. Might play a game soon.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 22/06/2026

Cool vid: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgHv... I like games that focus mostly on macro + meso. I view micro like salt: a little can be nice seasoning, but a lot is overpowering. Similar, but distinct, is my 4-axis theory: substack.com/home/post/p-... (here I lean towards strategy-tactics games)

youtube.com

Once you see this, You’ll see Competitive Games Differently

YouTube video by Surnex

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 19/06/2026

One thing that makes me excited is when socialist systems of collective ownership and responsibility function well inside of capitalism: - credit unions - worker co-ops - vanguard funds - etc All else being equal, people should use / support services like these more.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 18/06/2026

The arch to nix pipeline is real.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 18/06/2026

Every once in a while I dream about moving to an immutable #linux distro like #silverblue or #bluefin If I could get any of them to work with displayport, and get #flatpak support for one small-time app I use... I might finally make the jump from #archlinux Or maybe I should just switch to #nixos

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 18/06/2026

After being self-assured that my finance article was a success, I wanna write about more life-topics on my #MTG #EDH substack. I want to write one about #linux & #foss but I oft run out of words: "linux good" @diinki.me did a good job so I'll just share their video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4iS...

youtube.com

The Art of using Linux, and why YOU should too.

YouTube video by diinki

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 02/06/2026

I have an #edh #mtg #commander article scheduled for every month until the end of the year, and have been using the downtime to remaster some of my older ones — This one I am proud of the pithiness of (usually I’m way too verbose): witchphd.substack.com/p/understand...

witchphd.substack.com

Understanding Chance

A Simple Solution

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 25/05/2026

Since I've got a few #MTG #EDH #Commander articles in the chamber, I’m revamping some older articles. Today, I updated the two that started it all, which were originally written for #Reddit (and moved to #Substack later): witchphd.substack.com/p/so-i-want-... witchphd.substack.com/p/so-i-want-...

witchphd.substack.com

So I want to brew a deck, now what?

(A WitchPHD guide to introductory-level deck building)

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 22/05/2026

#rant I hate the trend of dropping overnight email/secure-messaging customer support for live chats/calls I work during “office hours” and am customer-facing. I can find a window to send a message, but oft can’t commit to live chat/call I’ve never had an issue overnight support couldn’t fix

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 22/05/2026

I've actually got new #MTG #Commander articles scheduled every month the rest of the year (and unlike what my investment and balatro articles would have you believe, these ones are actually about #EDH ) This month I updated an old article, as a softball: witchphd.substack.com/p/how-i-mana...

witchphd.substack.com

How I Manage Tokens

Battlefield Aesthetics

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 20/05/2026

If it wasn’t clear from my article where I try to make investing simple to get into… Jack Bogle is like… totally my hero or w/e… If you like history, this podcast episode detailing how his company came to be is great: www.acquired.fm/episodes/van... #personalfinance #investing #vanguard #boglehead

acquired.fm

Vanguard | Acquired

Jack Bogle invented the index fund, gave the company away to its customers, and built Vanguard into the world's largest fund manager — saving everyday investors over $1 trillion in fees.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 20/05/2026

Ah man. I missed the chance to put the #investing hashtag on this one. I wish I was more up to date on hashtag trends.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 12/05/2026

It all floats down here. 🎈

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 06/05/2026

Consider the following: - The Buddhist idea of Śūnyatā - The Boltzmann Brain - The Simulation Hypothesis These ideas aren’t synonymous but they do have overlap.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 04/05/2026

"Evil" is what happens when you choose yourself every time, no matter the cost to anyone else. youtu.be/pCRt9q4PUJo

youtu.be

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Problem of Complicit Evil

YouTube video by ScriblyScribe

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 17/04/2026

This week, instead of talking about #EDH like normal, I try my hand at being a #personalfinance educator. A crash course in #boglehead style investing. The places I normally advertise are all #MTG focused though, so spare a like and share if you dare! witchphd.substack.com/p/whyhow-you...

witchphd.substack.com

Why/how you should Invest

Tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 04/04/2026

Came here to mention the Dar man.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 26/03/2026

Most oft? Efficiency: like Wayland or MacOS removing x86 support cut bloat and opened doors; Wayland is even more secure than X11 Niche: renaming files while they’re open isn’t allowed in windows because the name is part of the pointer (kept for backwards compatibility when other OSs let you do it)

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 26/03/2026

(in the context of software) I understand why backwards compatibility is important for many applications, but I often feel like it’s “ why we can’t have nice things”. If you need it, you NEED it. If you don’t, it’s just holding back progress.

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 16/03/2026

I remember distinctly thinking “if the RC is saying we should ALWAYS have access to our commander, there’s no reason NOT to go all-in on all-or-nothing game-warping commanders anymore” And coincidentally I feel like there’s way more all-or-nothing, kill-on-sight, game-warping commanders than ever

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 16/03/2026

Anyway apparently I have a lot of hot takes, so enjoy some free engagement numbers lol

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 16/03/2026

My biggest “old man yells at cloud” take is that I liked tuck & clones killing commanders I remember reading the announcement article; a lot of the what the RC said was basically “you should ALWAYS have your commander.” I also felt like it was serious mixed signals to leave cards like Oubliette in

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WitchPHD @witchphd.com · 16/03/2026

On older games: One of the reasons I like B2 is because it’s more like “what I would have predicted commander would look like in 2026 if you asked me in 2009” Like I knew power creep would happen but the second order derivative on it has been way more than I ever would have thought

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