Even if it fetches a low-priority target, E. Tutor will always grab something. Steelshaper's Gift trades that ability for a narrower choice and the potential to be a dead card. And it's worth the card-disadvantage if the tutor fetches exactly the card you need to save you in a sticky situation, since the alternative would be losing the game. It's worth noting that the Gift has the same problem of card and tempo disadvantage as the tutor. If you're not using it to grab a sword or a jitte, then the disadvantage hardly seems worth it.
Enlightened Tutor is an answer. Steelshaper's Gift wants to be a threat. Given a choice between a Gift or a second equipment in draft, I'd rather pick the equipment. At least I know it's guaranteed not to be a dead card (or card disadvantage, whichever) if I draw the other first.
Then I think you may be heavily overvaluing Enlightened Tutor. There aren't too many artifacts/enchantments which are worth both card AND tempo disadvantage. I'll try to list the non-equipment ones I notice from your cube:
I'll concede that being able to tutor at instant speed is nice for denying your opponent the chance to respond, but I'm guessing that at least half the time I'd be happier with Steelshaper's Gift than an Enlightened Tutor. Maybe in your own personal evaluation style, since you seem to value flexibility/consistency much higher than potential power, 50% of the time is not enough to make Steelshifter's Gift worth including alongside or in place of the Tutor. But personal preference aside, I strongly disagree that the Tutor is leagues above Steelshaper's Gift.
He has more than just those which are worth tutoring for;
Granted, the situation where you tutor for Mox Emerald is pretty narrow, but the flexibility to tutor up exactly what you need to win the game is pretty enormous, and it also includes the ability to do everything that SS's gift does, minus it costing you a card. Costing a card is worth it when I can get Sulfuric Vortex or Wurmcoil Engine on demand. Being an instant also allows you to choose at the end of your opponent's turn acting on more information than SS's Gift lets you and providing them no chance to react, rather than giving them an entire turn to figure out how to answer the equipment you just showed them. And this is cube, so you can bet that every card you can tutor is a good card in the right situation.
If we're going to go by pure numbers, then Mystical Tutor should be better than Enlightened Tutor, and Worldly Tutor should be the best out of all of them. Flexibility is but one factor.
As I acknowledged, if you are stuck at 2 mana, then Enlightened Tutoring at an instant at the end of turn denies your opponent that information. If you are at 3 or 4 mana, then playing the Gift + Jitte/Sword at sorcery speed doesn't cost any information advantage.
Another thing that Tutor cannot do: it cannot get you the equipment that you need on the turn that you draw it. It's fine when you can wait until the next turn to get your sword into play, but if you need your sword or jitte in play a turn earlier then the Gift clearly has an edge.
The "dead card" talk is also a bit misleading. Steelshaper's Gift is sometimes a dead card. Enlightened Tutor is always physical card disadvantage, and can often be virtual card disadvantage if you've already drawn the card you need or there is simply nothing to tutor for in the current state of the board. I understand that in cube, every single card could be good to tutor for, but that doesn't mean that they are always going to be worth tutoring for. I've been stuck with a dead Enlightened Tutor in hand many a time. I can't count the number of times I would have gladly traded the flexibility of the tutor away in order to have my Sword in hand that turn.
I'm not saying that everyone should yank out the Tutor and toss in the Gift. But what I'm saying is that the disparity in power level is probably much less than what people are postulating. I'm saying it's probably worth a test in many cubes, especially ones with high equipment density, and that it may even be better than E tutor in some cubes. I don't think it's that far-fetched of a statement.
Of all the times I play the Tutor, it's only used to grab equipment a small part of the time. There are a ton of valuable targets for the Tutor (with a lot of different uses), and without that flexibility, it loses all of its value to me.
Saying Gift is better is like saying Demonic Tutor would still be better than Vampiric Tutor even if it could only fetch Sorceries. Being able to grab a multitude of targets (and high profile cards alike) are both equally important.
That's just the thing though. I need to have 2+ pieces of equipment for me to consider it. I only have 10 pieces of equipment in the entire cube, and they're all highly competed over. In any situation where I don't have 2 or more, I can't use the card. That's too narrow for me.
What if you have one and it's Jitte? A 3 mana Jitte is still a great deal. (Though you do risk drawing both)
The main problem has already been mentioned: It's not quite powerful enough for a small cube because there are just better cards, and the larger the cube gets the worse it gets.
What if you have one and it's Jitte? A 3 mana Jitte is still a great deal. (Though you do risk drawing both)
Unless you draw the Jitte first, and then it's dead. Stoneforge doesn't even share the same problem, because it's at least a body to strap the Jitte to if it's draw afterward.
And justifying the inclusion of the card because it's worth using on it's own when it interacts with 1-3 cards in the entire cube? No thanks. It's just too narrow. There are far too few decks that I would want it in.
Enlightened Tutor is an answer. Steelshaper's Gift wants to be a threat. Given a choice between a Gift or a second equipment in draft, I'd rather pick the equipment. At least I know it's guaranteed not to be a dead card (or card disadvantage, whichever) if I draw the other first.
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He has more than just those which are worth tutoring for;
Granted, the situation where you tutor for Mox Emerald is pretty narrow, but the flexibility to tutor up exactly what you need to win the game is pretty enormous, and it also includes the ability to do everything that SS's gift does, minus it costing you a card. Costing a card is worth it when I can get Sulfuric Vortex or Wurmcoil Engine on demand. Being an instant also allows you to choose at the end of your opponent's turn acting on more information than SS's Gift lets you and providing them no chance to react, rather than giving them an entire turn to figure out how to answer the equipment you just showed them. And this is cube, so you can bet that every card you can tutor is a good card in the right situation.
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As I acknowledged, if you are stuck at 2 mana, then Enlightened Tutoring at an instant at the end of turn denies your opponent that information. If you are at 3 or 4 mana, then playing the Gift + Jitte/Sword at sorcery speed doesn't cost any information advantage.
Another thing that Tutor cannot do: it cannot get you the equipment that you need on the turn that you draw it. It's fine when you can wait until the next turn to get your sword into play, but if you need your sword or jitte in play a turn earlier then the Gift clearly has an edge.
The "dead card" talk is also a bit misleading. Steelshaper's Gift is sometimes a dead card. Enlightened Tutor is always physical card disadvantage, and can often be virtual card disadvantage if you've already drawn the card you need or there is simply nothing to tutor for in the current state of the board. I understand that in cube, every single card could be good to tutor for, but that doesn't mean that they are always going to be worth tutoring for. I've been stuck with a dead Enlightened Tutor in hand many a time. I can't count the number of times I would have gladly traded the flexibility of the tutor away in order to have my Sword in hand that turn.
I'm not saying that everyone should yank out the Tutor and toss in the Gift. But what I'm saying is that the disparity in power level is probably much less than what people are postulating. I'm saying it's probably worth a test in many cubes, especially ones with high equipment density, and that it may even be better than E tutor in some cubes. I don't think it's that far-fetched of a statement.
Saying Gift is better is like saying Demonic Tutor would still be better than Vampiric Tutor even if it could only fetch Sorceries. Being able to grab a multitude of targets (and high profile cards alike) are both equally important.
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What if you have one and it's Jitte? A 3 mana Jitte is still a great deal. (Though you do risk drawing both)
The main problem has already been mentioned: It's not quite powerful enough for a small cube because there are just better cards, and the larger the cube gets the worse it gets.
Draft it on Cubetutor!
Unless you draw the Jitte first, and then it's dead. Stoneforge doesn't even share the same problem, because it's at least a body to strap the Jitte to if it's draw afterward.
And justifying the inclusion of the card because it's worth using on it's own when it interacts with 1-3 cards in the entire cube? No thanks. It's just too narrow. There are far too few decks that I would want it in.
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