I think Vexing Devil is less powerful than Lava Spike in RDW builds. It will either do 4 damage or it will eat a removal spell, which seems worse than a spell that consistently deals 3 damage. And the later you draw it, the worse it gets.
In Modern it will get played for sure, because there aren't as many good RDW options as in Legacy, but I don't consider it one of the archetype's best 1 drops (Lightning Bolt, Lava Spike, Rift Bolt and Goblin Guide are all better IMO)
Timely Reinforcement, Jace TMS, Lingering Souls, and Miracle would all like to discuss their place on your "worst card design list," and I hear Snapcaster, the Swords, and the Titans are all considering legal action.
I've played a lot of Modern, and red is by far the strongest single color out there. It still loses to lifegain, but the last thing it needed was another powerful creature that automatically deals 4 damage, since most opponents just aren't going to leave it in play. Red deck has always been a mulligan until turn 1 Goblin Guide is found, but if the Devil is out there, mulligans aren't quite as necessary. Vexing Devil is also extremely strong in any deck that runs Dark Confidant and has a ton of removal. He'll only ping you for one life and he can be a cascade target for Bloodbraid Elf. Unlike Delver, which is strong but a conditional in that it doesn't always transform, the Devil is always going to be powerful, disproportionately so. As a rare in a big set (and not a mythic), he'll be easier to come acquire over time which should keep his price down.
All in all, this is the worst card design I've seen in some time.
-Goblin Welder can do crazy things for a one drop. He can bounce Solemns in and out of play, reanimate a big artifact creature,even on a rare occassion swapping an opponents artifact. He doesn't deserve to be anywhere close to a worst in cube list.
-Eldrazi Monument: I will give you that this card is narrow, but not horrible. It goes great in the GW tokens deck.
-Show and Tell: This was probably the most surprising card for me to see on the list. Sure it can backfire on occassion, but so many times it is completely overpowered. Turn 3 Ulamaog or Iona is nothing to sneeze at. I feel like a good percentage of the drafts I was in were won by someone playing a deck with Show and Tell in it.
-Bloodghast: This card is amazing in cube. Survival of the Fittest, Fauna Shaman, Birthing Pod, Recurring nightmare, Liliana of the Veil, Sarkhan the Mad... so much value to be had with Bloodghast.
-Sarkhan the Mad: This guy can do quite a lot too. Making 5/5 Dragons and refilling an Empty Board with his card draw is great.
-Wooly Thoctar: I am going to disagree with most of your 3 color choices, because when going those three colors most of these are very good. Wooly Thoctar is great near the top of the curve as I think Naya is very playable (although I think this is very dependent on prize structure and what people are trying to force.)
-Ruhan: Like Thoctar this guy is great in the UWR Delverless Delver deck (how was Delver not in the cube?)
-Sprouting Thrinax: In Jund Colors this guy is very good. He does big things with Recurring Nightmare or Birthing Pod and can leave bodies to chump some of the more aggressive decks in the format.
One of the cards not mentioned that I felt is very out of place in the cube is Skithyrix. He can end games fast enough that he is not terrible, but he is not the most fun card to me and I wish he had a little bit more to synergize with to stay in the cube.
Another good show, it has officially become my laundry folding tune. I think the show got cut off early, it stopped during the talk about nightstalkers. I play MTGO almost daily even if for only a couple of ISD block matches in the tourn practice room. Which brings me to the increasing savagery card. It does go good on all the cards you mentioned of course, but i've been trying to get it on the Tree of Redemption, It works so good! esp if fashed back the counters work in your favor so you can actually gain life and have a blocker that will live threw a blastphemus act. Anyway thanks for the stuff and hope to see you in the Avr drafts. Oh and one more thing, anyone know when the the novel comes out? I can't find this info anywhere.
I just wanted to say I kinda like you featuring some 1v1 commander. It is something I had never really considered before, but you piqued my interest. I have tweakd a few decks now and started trying it out. It is fun, and great when you can't commit the time for a full multiplayer game. It also opens up some new deck building space, and allows you to try some different strategies. A deck like this might be pretty marginal against three others, but against one it seems like it has a better chance of doing its thing.
I'm not saying it's easy, I just have been lucky with Goyf. But I was very happy to sell them immediately and put them into my -
Avacyn Restored Pre-Release/Lingering Souls/Noxious Revival Modo fund.
Also it's funny. My friend opened one and immediately dropped. So if you see a drop after the Future Sight pack, Pick 1, it's a Goyf... or a 56k connection.
See, the thing is they're even BAD IN THEIR NICHE. Bolt was just a suggestion if you wanted to keep a RW card in when you took out Goblin Trenchs as a way to add a fairly low-power card that would fit the archetype much better than a card like Trenches.
Again, having archetypes is cool. Having cards for a specific archetype that are still bad EVEN IN THAT ARCHETYPE isn't cool.
I can't imagine Intimidation Bolt would fit into more (or better) archetypes than a pretty fair number of your "bottom 30" ... for example, Wildfire variants fit into an existing quality archetype (artifact ramp), while Rw aggro is just worse than other red-based aggro or white aggro/control.
Honestly, I agree with about a third of your picks wholeheartedly - Cloak, Obliterate, Skybreaker, etc. The rest, though, are archetype-specific or fill a niche - that's important to a good cube.
That's actually a really good idea. Mono-white does have a ton of board nukes- Planar Cleansing is a card I thought about adding, but I never seemed to need it in playtesting.
That would work to some extent, but many of the cards (not all, and I did mention that some are archetypes that need more support to stick around) are just bad. I mean, Goblin Trenches can be bomby in the right limited environment, but this just isn't that environment.
Many of these cards are simply poor for this cube. I picked on a few of the Mostly Black cards, a few of the worst Wildfires cards, but these are just kind-of awful cards that aren't occasional 23rd cards, they're basically never played.
Compare these cards to more 2ish cards like Intimidation Bolt; not the best card, but it would be played! There are plenty of cards that are just bad that could be fine low-power roleplayers.
I have no problem with some weaker cards in the a cube. There has to be a 15th pick somewhere and shifting the curve from 3.5-5.0 cards to 4.5-5.0 cards doesn't necessarily make the cube format better. If anything it would frustrate drafters with more and more agonizing choices.
You've pointed out most of the weaker cards in the cube except for the Storm cards which you mention, but I think the bigger problem is that many of the cards in the cube are "very good in X decktype, but bad in everything else." There are very few ways to keep your options open. (Yes, swords and equipment are one way) It seems to me that you pick a decktype, cut it off heavily and pray that the person feeding you isn't in the same decktype. This makes the format less like draft and more like a classic singleton guessing game.
One of the reasons that multi-color cards are weak and difficult to use is that a significant portion of the artifact mana is colorless. I would replace the colorless "ramp" mana with more generally usable color fixing artifact mana. Then I would change some of the really large reanimator fatties to ones that can be used in multiple decktypes. I think these changes would add some variety to the cube and therefore add some more fun to the format.
And like I said (I think!) the Stick can stay if it's supported more but right now you generally end a draft with 2-3 cards for it, which just isn't enough, especially if you consider how bad a blowout your flickerwisp was for it.
Those cards would have given you value with almost any two-drop. Yes, you can get a little extra with "discard + land" or recurring it with braids, but most of the time he's so so awful. You actually need to occasionally block, not have 1 toughness, or have 2 power on an aggressive 2-drop quite a lot.
I also don't think people would like it if isochron scepter got cut. It's super popular and I think there's plenty of stuff to stick on it (plus I randomly blew a guy out by using flickerwisp on his scepter, which was sweeeeeet!).
I think Vexing Devil is less powerful than Lava Spike in RDW builds. It will either do 4 damage or it will eat a removal spell, which seems worse than a spell that consistently deals 3 damage. And the later you draw it, the worse it gets.
In Modern it will get played for sure, because there aren't as many good RDW options as in Legacy, but I don't consider it one of the archetype's best 1 drops (Lightning Bolt, Lava Spike, Rift Bolt and Goblin Guide are all better IMO)
Timely Reinforcement, Jace TMS, Lingering Souls, and Miracle would all like to discuss their place on your "worst card design list," and I hear Snapcaster, the Swords, and the Titans are all considering legal action.
I've played a lot of Modern, and red is by far the strongest single color out there. It still loses to lifegain, but the last thing it needed was another powerful creature that automatically deals 4 damage, since most opponents just aren't going to leave it in play. Red deck has always been a mulligan until turn 1 Goblin Guide is found, but if the Devil is out there, mulligans aren't quite as necessary. Vexing Devil is also extremely strong in any deck that runs Dark Confidant and has a ton of removal. He'll only ping you for one life and he can be a cascade target for Bloodbraid Elf. Unlike Delver, which is strong but a conditional in that it doesn't always transform, the Devil is always going to be powerful, disproportionately so. As a rare in a big set (and not a mythic), he'll be easier to come acquire over time which should keep his price down.
All in all, this is the worst card design I've seen in some time.
SO glad you put in treetop bracers - such an undervalued card
I really wish instead of just hauling them away they could come up with some new idea for increasing play
I don't see Vexing Devil getting banned if a PTQ season with Delver just happened. Devil gives the opponent the choice at least!
I already hate Vexing Devil. I hope this doesn't start showing up everywhere in Modern, though I have a feeling it will. Seems like ban bait to me.
Yea, I do like Karakus a lot more now. Great answer to some of the Ramp/Reanimator nonsense.
Quite an effort! Cube is a great format, too bad you didn't see a Karakus land - I'll play those even without white :)
Woo hoo! Kaleidoscope, Extended, and SIngletons are being hauled away!
"We will no longer be providing Daily Events for Extended, 100-Card Singleton, Standard Singleton, and Kaleidoscope. "
http://community.wizards.com/magiconline/blog/2012/05/15/announcements_-...
I disagree with so many of those as bad.
-Goblin Welder can do crazy things for a one drop. He can bounce Solemns in and out of play, reanimate a big artifact creature,even on a rare occassion swapping an opponents artifact. He doesn't deserve to be anywhere close to a worst in cube list.
-Eldrazi Monument: I will give you that this card is narrow, but not horrible. It goes great in the GW tokens deck.
-Show and Tell: This was probably the most surprising card for me to see on the list. Sure it can backfire on occassion, but so many times it is completely overpowered. Turn 3 Ulamaog or Iona is nothing to sneeze at. I feel like a good percentage of the drafts I was in were won by someone playing a deck with Show and Tell in it.
-Bloodghast: This card is amazing in cube. Survival of the Fittest, Fauna Shaman, Birthing Pod, Recurring nightmare, Liliana of the Veil, Sarkhan the Mad... so much value to be had with Bloodghast.
-Sarkhan the Mad: This guy can do quite a lot too. Making 5/5 Dragons and refilling an Empty Board with his card draw is great.
-Wooly Thoctar: I am going to disagree with most of your 3 color choices, because when going those three colors most of these are very good. Wooly Thoctar is great near the top of the curve as I think Naya is very playable (although I think this is very dependent on prize structure and what people are trying to force.)
-Ruhan: Like Thoctar this guy is great in the UWR Delverless Delver deck (how was Delver not in the cube?)
-Sprouting Thrinax: In Jund Colors this guy is very good. He does big things with Recurring Nightmare or Birthing Pod and can leave bodies to chump some of the more aggressive decks in the format.
One of the cards not mentioned that I felt is very out of place in the cube is Skithyrix. He can end games fast enough that he is not terrible, but he is not the most fun card to me and I wish he had a little bit more to synergize with to stay in the cube.
Another good show, it has officially become my laundry folding tune. I think the show got cut off early, it stopped during the talk about nightstalkers. I play MTGO almost daily even if for only a couple of ISD block matches in the tourn practice room. Which brings me to the increasing savagery card. It does go good on all the cards you mentioned of course, but i've been trying to get it on the Tree of Redemption, It works so good! esp if fashed back the counters work in your favor so you can actually gain life and have a blocker that will live threw a blastphemus act. Anyway thanks for the stuff and hope to see you in the Avr drafts. Oh and one more thing, anyone know when the the novel comes out? I can't find this info anywhere.
Bloodghast isn't great, but it does have some good uses, particularly Recurring Nightmare which can be a real engine if you can get it started.
I just wanted to say I kinda like you featuring some 1v1 commander. It is something I had never really considered before, but you piqued my interest. I have tweakd a few decks now and started trying it out. It is fun, and great when you can't commit the time for a full multiplayer game. It also opens up some new deck building space, and allows you to try some different strategies. A deck like this might be pretty marginal against three others, but against one it seems like it has a better chance of doing its thing.
*<3 the trenches* though perhaps not in a draft context.
I'm not saying it's easy, I just have been lucky with Goyf. But I was very happy to sell them immediately and put them into my -
Avacyn Restored Pre-Release/Lingering Souls/Noxious Revival Modo fund.
Also it's funny. My friend opened one and immediately dropped. So if you see a drop after the Future Sight pack, Pick 1, it's a Goyf... or a 56k connection.
See, the thing is they're even BAD IN THEIR NICHE. Bolt was just a suggestion if you wanted to keep a RW card in when you took out Goblin Trenchs as a way to add a fairly low-power card that would fit the archetype much better than a card like Trenches.
Again, having archetypes is cool. Having cards for a specific archetype that are still bad EVEN IN THAT ARCHETYPE isn't cool.
I can't imagine Intimidation Bolt would fit into more (or better) archetypes than a pretty fair number of your "bottom 30" ... for example, Wildfire variants fit into an existing quality archetype (artifact ramp), while Rw aggro is just worse than other red-based aggro or white aggro/control.
Honestly, I agree with about a third of your picks wholeheartedly - Cloak, Obliterate, Skybreaker, etc. The rest, though, are archetype-specific or fill a niche - that's important to a good cube.
That's actually a really good idea. Mono-white does have a ton of board nukes- Planar Cleansing is a card I thought about adding, but I never seemed to need it in playtesting.
Needs more evangelize. And more Geddon effects
http://www.mtgotraders.com/store/TSP_Evangelize.html
That would work to some extent, but many of the cards (not all, and I did mention that some are archetypes that need more support to stick around) are just bad. I mean, Goblin Trenches can be bomby in the right limited environment, but this just isn't that environment.
Many of these cards are simply poor for this cube. I picked on a few of the Mostly Black cards, a few of the worst Wildfires cards, but these are just kind-of awful cards that aren't occasional 23rd cards, they're basically never played.
Compare these cards to more 2ish cards like Intimidation Bolt; not the best card, but it would be played! There are plenty of cards that are just bad that could be fine low-power roleplayers.
I have no problem with some weaker cards in the a cube. There has to be a 15th pick somewhere and shifting the curve from 3.5-5.0 cards to 4.5-5.0 cards doesn't necessarily make the cube format better. If anything it would frustrate drafters with more and more agonizing choices.
You've pointed out most of the weaker cards in the cube except for the Storm cards which you mention, but I think the bigger problem is that many of the cards in the cube are "very good in X decktype, but bad in everything else." There are very few ways to keep your options open. (Yes, swords and equipment are one way) It seems to me that you pick a decktype, cut it off heavily and pray that the person feeding you isn't in the same decktype. This makes the format less like draft and more like a classic singleton guessing game.
One of the reasons that multi-color cards are weak and difficult to use is that a significant portion of the artifact mana is colorless. I would replace the colorless "ramp" mana with more generally usable color fixing artifact mana. Then I would change some of the really large reanimator fatties to ones that can be used in multiple decktypes. I think these changes would add some variety to the cube and therefore add some more fun to the format.
And like I said (I think!) the Stick can stay if it's supported more but right now you generally end a draft with 2-3 cards for it, which just isn't enough, especially if you consider how bad a blowout your flickerwisp was for it.
Those cards would have given you value with almost any two-drop. Yes, you can get a little extra with "discard + land" or recurring it with braids, but most of the time he's so so awful. You actually need to occasionally block, not have 1 toughness, or have 2 power on an aggressive 2-drop quite a lot.
I also don't think people would like it if isochron scepter got cut. It's super popular and I think there's plenty of stuff to stick on it (plus I randomly blew a guy out by using flickerwisp on his scepter, which was sweeeeeet!).