It's not just the t3 4 drop, but the t4 5 drop, the turn 5 two 3 drops, and etc. etc. etc. So yes, while Sol Ring gives you a bigger advantage, the moxen are also doing the same thing by giving you a mana advantage turn after turn after turn, and while they are definitely less oppressive, it's still only an incomplete set of these types of advantages if you choose to run moxen but not the other. Sol Ring in an environment with minimal other power is bad, but Sol Ring in a sea of moxen and time walks and etc. is not enjoying as big of a gap to be unbeatable.
Honestly, I would just jam them in there and deal with the groans for a bit. I think you're thinking about this too much if you have justifications for running some but not others, when in reality the gap between the worst and best power isn't really THAT huge, but the included power's gap between the power and the rest of the pool is that much more exacerbated once you include some but not others. If your players are really so against it then it's as easy as removing them, but I know from my own experience I'd rather have the chance to crack the Recall to fight the moxen than only be able to get the moxen.
I would say overall Time Walk is (much) better than Balance. Balance takes some work to be busted, whereas an extra turn for 1U is often going to be back breaking. It may not be the best on t2, but even then it's like a blue explore, so the floor is already much higher. You can also combo off with the Time Walk, so the ceiling is also higher. There will be single turns where the Balance is more back breaking than Time Walk, but Time Walk is overall a much more busted card.
Also, how does Time Walk typically play out? Is it better than Balance? I'd love to cube with it but it's another one my group isn't thrilled about.
Time Walk is better than Balance, most definitely. Time Walk can fit into essentially any deck, where Balance is a build-around-me. But from the sound of it, it may be a good card to test for your group (emphasis on may and test). Getting an extra card draw, an extra land drop, an extra Planeswalker activation, an extra attack step - these are all strong and can easily set a player up to win from the extra turn, however its not denying the opponent from playing Magic, like Mind Twist and Plow Under do. So while its stronger, it may be a little less feel bad. Still, if your players are expressing disinterest in playing Time Walk, their worries are justified due to just how undercosted it is.
Thanks for the thoughts everyone! Very helpful. Despite the apparent absurdity I'm going to stick with my original plan and try out the five moxen and Time twister before adding the remaining power and Library/Sol Ring.
For what its worth I've ran timetwister in my unpowered as a proxy for a long time and it was fine and, while strong in certain decks, was not warping by any means. It's very much a build-around card, which has enough varying degrees of difficulty to make it's inclusion pretty safe.
Timetwister is fine, but I think the Moxen need to be balanced with all the other broken cards. At least the guy that doesn't get a Mox can draft a Sol Ring or Library or something. With fewer of the top-tier cards floating around, there's easier competition for them to dominate games. Just my $0.02.
Powered vs unpowered really comes down the the drafters. We had apparently three moxes in one pack and four of the seven newer players just passed them up. when they got to myself and the other very experienced person, they got snagged. Their value is only as good as though who understand how to use them.
In a level playing field, I don't find them that game breaking, because in an 8 man draft or larger you really shouldn't see people with multiple of them, and if they do get more than one, the cube is powerful enough to overcome this. -IF- you can draft a good deck.
Power usually doesn't get undervalued for too long if you're consistently playing. I remember when we first introduced Mana Crypt that a couple players really underrated it because of the 3 damage clause, but if you get beat by free Sol Ring enough you'll realize that relying on coin flips to win is an overall losing endeavor.
Honestly, I would just jam them in there and deal with the groans for a bit. I think you're thinking about this too much if you have justifications for running some but not others, when in reality the gap between the worst and best power isn't really THAT huge, but the included power's gap between the power and the rest of the pool is that much more exacerbated once you include some but not others. If your players are really so against it then it's as easy as removing them, but I know from my own experience I'd rather have the chance to crack the Recall to fight the moxen than only be able to get the moxen.
I would say overall Time Walk is (much) better than Balance. Balance takes some work to be busted, whereas an extra turn for 1U is often going to be back breaking. It may not be the best on t2, but even then it's like a blue explore, so the floor is already much higher. You can also combo off with the Time Walk, so the ceiling is also higher. There will be single turns where the Balance is more back breaking than Time Walk, but Time Walk is overall a much more busted card.
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Time Walk is better than Balance, most definitely. Time Walk can fit into essentially any deck, where Balance is a build-around-me. But from the sound of it, it may be a good card to test for your group (emphasis on may and test). Getting an extra card draw, an extra land drop, an extra Planeswalker activation, an extra attack step - these are all strong and can easily set a player up to win from the extra turn, however its not denying the opponent from playing Magic, like Mind Twist and Plow Under do. So while its stronger, it may be a little less feel bad. Still, if your players are expressing disinterest in playing Time Walk, their worries are justified due to just how undercosted it is.
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My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
In a level playing field, I don't find them that game breaking, because in an 8 man draft or larger you really shouldn't see people with multiple of them, and if they do get more than one, the cube is powerful enough to overcome this. -IF- you can draft a good deck.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic