Thread by @BWheelerMTG

For every like this tweet gets, I will provide an honest Canadian Highlander hot take.

Oh yeah this was a stupid idea

1. Storm (either Breach or Will) is the perfect combination of incredibly easy/straightforward to pilot and "its 2022 and people still don't know how to play against it". If you've ever thought that Storm is too hard a deck to learn, you're selling yourself short

2. Moxen at 3 are likely too strong, but they should never have their points increased because they make deck building much more customizable and are a net benefit to the format

3. Flash Hulk is still a powerhouse deck and isn't that far off from Thoracle, but (Flash) should likely be 4 points instead of 5.

4. Grafted Wargear is stone unplayable. Swords of X & Y are mostly unplayable. Your equipment package should always start at Jitte, Shadowspear & Skullclamp.

5. There are like 5 players actually good at building manabases in this format.

6. Faerie Conclave is ready for a comeback. Great at killing off planeswalkers, stealing the initiative and sneaking in Spring-Leaf Avenger/Fallen Shinobi

7. Mind Twist and Balance should be 0 points. Twist at 0 is potentially iffy, but the main reason I'm okay with it at 1 is because it makes people feel good about customizing their points spread.

8. Americans need to get better at Canadian Highlander.

9. Eggs is one of the Top 5 decks in the format, and by far the best Tolarian Academy deck.

10. (I'm going to regret this one) Play Collector Ouphe in your green decks, even (some) control archetypes. Moxen are everywhere, DNT is a Top 3 archetype and most Academy players aren't good enough to know how to beat it

11. Time Vault should be 6 points

12. Dryad Arbor is only playable in CradleHoof. Get that shit out of your green decks

13. Simic Sorensen Tempo is dead; deck is unplayable right now and likely has been for at least a year. Just play RUG or BUG

14. Don't cut Path to Exile from your decks. Genuinely baffled that this is a thing I have to tweet

15. More 2 colour decks need to be playing Arcum's Astrolabe

16. Mana Crypt should have stayed at 4 points

17. This one will get me in trouble, but I'd reckon most cEDH players would abandon the format if they gave Canlander a shot

18. Re: #17, that said, I think Canlander players should draw more inspiration from cEDH decks, especially in regards to (creature) combo archetypes.

19. While the Initiative and Thassa's Oracle can both be pretty groan inducing, I think the most egregious addition to the format in the past 5 years has been Spellseeker.

20. Now I did lose in the finals this past Monday to a deck playing rampant growths but uh, Rampant Growths (including Nature's Lore) are mostly unplayable. Sakura-Tribe Elder and Wood Elves are a different story.

21. It would likely negatively impact the format if it went down to 1 point, but playing Mystical Tutor at 2 points feels so bad.

22. 4C no black might be the hottest thing in town right now, but good ol' fashioned Jeskai Midrange is positioned as the best anti-meta deck out there. You're great at getting + keeping the initiative, demolish creature combo + DNT and you get to play Lightning Angel

23. Flametongue Kavu kills every Initiative creature (at least before Forge triggers) and hits like a truck. Best card you're not playing

24. People play too many counterspells. If your deck is running more than 10 counterspells (not counting cards like Cryptic or Archmage's Charm), my condolences on not winning any events in 2023

25. Naya is such an embarrassing colour combination in Canlander. Like how do you have W6, Minsc & Boo, the 4 best initiative cards, Bolt, Swords, mana dorks, lands package, etc AND STILL manage to be the most dogshit colour combination in the format

26. I might be biased, but outside of maybe Cube (which is basically cheating) Canadian Highlander is the best format in Magic. The only downside is there isn't much $ to be made, but I'll settle for glory

27. By the end of 2023, Aristocrats will be a top 10 archetype

28. One of the best things you can do in Canadian Highlander right now is make as many Karnstruct tokens as possible. This might be a side effect of Moxen being so strong rn, but both Urzas, his Saga and Karn are all pretty phenomenal cards to play ahead of curve

29. I think Canadian Highlander would be a better format if we played with 15 card sideboards. No wishboards, or anything corny like that, just actual factual 15 card sideboards. It'll never happen, and that's okay, but it would make for a much more competitive setting

30. If the Battle of Wits guy actually flew over to fight me I would've laid his ass out

31. Up until this year, Price of Progress should have been either 0 or 3 points.

32. Likely too far gone to change it now, but Canadian Highlander would have benefited greatly from having a different name

33. Stax decks are both viable and incredibly strong, but people keep shitting up their lists with the most boomer inclusions you can imagine. You don't need Smokestack & Mishra's Helix, just Crop Rotation for Tabernacle and play Tangle Wire like a responsible human being

34. People need to get over themselves and play more blue

35. Your Mishra's Workshop + "Ancient Tomb Mana" deck can AND should run cards w/ coloured pips; including double pipped cards. I would rather play a powerful double pipped/multicoloured card than something as weak as Hovermyr

36. We should never and likely will never have a Planeswalker on the points list.

37. Play Natural Order in decks without Craterhoof Behemoth. Hitting Primeval Titan or Titania is pretty strong, but also, you know, tutoring up that Reclamation Sage, Endurance or Scavenging Ooze still feels like cheating

38. Your average Canlander player isn't good enough at evaluating threats to be playing Spell Snare in every blue deck

39. The best "blitz" deck in the format isn't even a blitz deck; its Jund Infect

40. Your mono-black/black-based aggro deck doesn't need to play every Carnophage, you're allowed to play good cards instead

41. There's a fairly strong 4C/Jund Scapeshift deck in the format (that unfortunately has to run at least Three Vists/Nature's Lore) but finding the right build isn't worth going 3-1 every week

42. This is more of a personal gripe but my sleeves are only slippery because I change them more than once per decade. If you can afford P9 & duals you can afford a pack of Dragon Shields

43. Crop Rotation is the best one point card. Tolarian Academy is a close second, but its power level is boosted by a certain 1 mana green card.

44. Even without Thoracle existing Tainted Pact should be a 1 point card, and more players should build their deck to take advantage of it

45. Recall + 3 is one of the best spreads in the format, but honestly the only decks that REALLY needs to stick to that are Blue Moon & Jeskai Green. UW has a sick wide spread w/ Library of Alexandria and Strip Mine that is criminally underexplored.

46. We're either nearing or likely have already arrived at a time where Death & Taxes should cut their Armageddons. If I'm the deck that can answer everything, why am I dedicating two slots to expensive spells I can't (reasonably) play into open mana or while behind on board.

47. I was wrong when I said FTK was the best card you're not playing. Pyrokinesis is the best card you're not playing

48. When I was regularly piloting combo decks with 28-30 lands, I wasn't getting greedy, I was just building my deck properly.

49. For all the "this card bad, get good" vibes these types of tweets emanate the last 5 cards of your deck don't really matter. Play your pet cards, as long as they're proactive. No such thing as a wrong threat, but getting stuck w/ a cheeky removal spell sure feels bad

50. Not every deck needs to play Wasteland. #1 mistake I see (newer) players make

51. Team Canlander events should always be team unified constructed. That right there is some of the most fun you can have at a magic tournament

52. Whether or not you play Mox Diamond in your deck doesn’t revolve around your land count, it only depends on whether or not you’re a deck that wants Mox Diamond

53. You should only play Necropotence in your list if you feel like you’re winning too much. Just so incredibly unplayable

54. Play around Blood Moon less, play around Price of Progress more

55. 9 Land Charbelcher is a better deck than any Mardu list will ever be

56. If you cut Sphinx’s Revelation from your UW deck you’re a coward

57. Players that started playing Canlander before 2018 can’t build Gruul Monsters properly

58. Mulling to 5 won’t kill ya

59. Price of Progress is just the 1 point Flash

60. Lingering Souls is back baby. Takes the initiative, keeps the initiative, plays well of Moxen and decks are cutting sweepers like crazy

61. Some of the strategies that have the best game vs decks looking to turbo initiative or land lock are boomer A + B combo decks that look like shit, and play like shit up until the point they put their combo together

62. Superfriends decks are (competitively) dead. Certain Tolarian Academy decks can get away with a heavy Planeswalker package (Palcatraz & Time Walk Academy) but even those will max out at 10.

63. I love it with all my heart but until the Initiative gave it a MASSIVE boost Pattern Rector/Sandy B was competitively unviable

64. Too many players overvalue flexibility.

65. The initiative is powerful for sure, but it appears stronger than it is because the archetypes that match up favourably aren’t often brought to lower stakes events. Thoracle, Storm, Reanimator, etc

66. Tattermunge Maniac is stone unplayable and has been for half a decade.

67. Reanimator decks should not be playing any counterspells beyond FoW, FoN and Daze. Keep your foot on the pedal the entire time, your deck isn’t consistent enough to pick your spots

68. More creature decks (midrange or combo) should play Aether Vial.

69. Special guest hot take from Robin Sorensen: “More decks should run off-colour Gaea’s Cradle.”

70. I've ranched on them previously, but all Mardu & Naya really need to boost their viability is a Baleful Strix/Ice-Fang Coatl variant.

71. (Cont. from 70) What I mean by this is a 2 drop cantrip creature that comes with more than just the card. Strix & Coatl are miles ahead of any of the other Wall of Blossoms. Mardu at least gets one of the sleeper 2 drops of the past year: Deadbeat Attendant. Attractions baby

72. The best reanimator deck is also a storm deck. Not quite garbage plate, not quite tin fins but a third much cooler archetype

73. More players need to incorporate the YGO lingo of hand advantage into their gameplay. Its not some catch all, but breaking a lot of decisions to simpler terms (-1, +2, card neutral, etc) eases up the process. Pair that with + Tempo & - Tempo and you're golden

74. Green based creature-combo decks (Kiki-Pod, Seeker Walk etc) should be playing both Quirion Ranger & Priest of Titania. All these decks want is mana, and the ability to untap utility creatures or get tricky with your lands is a huge bonus. They also let you race in the mirror

75. Play Punishing Fire + Grove of the Burnwillows.

76. There are undiscovered and underdeveloped 2C & 3C Blood Moon decks. RUG Moon & Rakdos Moon being the big ones

77. Leonin Arbiter be damned, DNT lists should play fetchlands

78. More 3x Mox decks should be playing Chrome Mox & Mox Diamond.

79. Too many of you are still treating Young Pyromancer like an auto-include

80. You're not playing enough free spells. Gut Shot, Misdirection, Shining/Sickening Shoal, etc. Never been better given the recovery tools available in the format.

81. Quit worrying about having too many delve spells. Unless you’re on something like BUG Tempo, this’ll rarely be an issue. You’re also likely not casting enough 3 mana cruises or 5 mana Murktides

82. More decks should be built off the GW shell. Thalia + BoP decks are real strong, and the mana can easily flex to whichever supporting colour you want. Don’t go too ham, but finding room for Oko/Teferi or W6/M&B/Comet is gas