Hey IMorphling89, this is really fun data to go through. Could you expand each section to include the top 75-100 perhaps? So that we can get a more complete overview of the hierarchies in each color. You yourself mentioned Armageddon missing from the top 30 white list (just), and where are things like Fractured Identity? lol
Hey wtwlf123, would you happen to have an updated 360-size cube list available? If not, what would be the main things to cut from your current cube to make it 360 or so, or if there's another 360-sized powered cube to look at? Cheers!
If you are looking for a basic framework to get you started, I would recommend a 360 list that steve_man made a few months ago. His tastes and evaluations are really solid and similar to wtwlf123's, and you could just tweak and update it how you like: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/100126.
Is she only going to come in a warped and poorly foiled version that’s hard to read because it’s too dark and kinda blurry? Hard pass if so... :-(
So I took a flyer on this card due to its under $5 price tag, and I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised by the foiling. I was so down on it when it spoiled because I thought it was gonna be hella warped and very dark like my Vial Smasher, but it is beautiful, easy to read, and my copy is perfectly flat!
How have people liked this card so far? Does it see any play in non-artifact archetypes?
Obviously this card is a powerhouse in the modern humans deck atm, but has anyone had any resounding success with this in cube? I guess this query could be about the humans archetype in general. Is it worth supporting yet?
Q&A time my friend...I have been cubicly dormant as of late, but now I come back to see that you have come around to that 450 life!
I spent 2-3 months last winter working my cube to 450, so a comparison of differences has elicited some questions/comments:
WHITE:
We’re similar, but you tend to indulge in 4’s and 5’s more than I do. 1 Card whose absence is notable to me... Eldrazi Displacer! This has been very powerful and popular in my circle and is totally doable, especially with some allied Talismans instead of Signets. No love here?
BLACK:
No Nether Void? Does the “Black Armageddon” no longer deserve a spot in Black’s top 20?
Sinkhole missing? I thought you were a strong advocate of this as a draw to move into Black aggro. Space is tight, and it’s narrow, so I get that...
RED:
The absence of Fireblast, Char, and Smash to Smithereens is kinda shocking! Nerfing Red aggro or just ultra tight on space? Red seems like it’s getting squeezed...
GOLD:
Bring back Sphinx of the Steel Wind!
BALANCE & GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS:
I’ve been super happy with having 60 pieces of mana fixing (duals, rocks, rainbows, etc) and I see you have done similarly (61). I actually read an old post of eidolon’s which had a formula and this inspired me to go 60 (# of drafters possible/2 for each guild’s fixing + [cube size * 2.22])
Our only major difference is your adherence to the full set of creature lands. As awesome as they are, I just really want my aggro colors curving out, and I feel at 450 you need 4 untapped fixers in a guild to enable this in an 8-man draft. Currently I’ve got Blackcleave Cliffs, Caves of Koilos, and Battlefield Forge going. The latter two also help enable Displacer decks.
(I have a small green aggro subtheme I’m toying with that includes Nacatl, Warden, Rancor, Tattermunge, and Militant, mostly to enable Naya, Jund, and Abzan aggro. To support this I’m running Horizon Canopy over Wildwood and Blooming Marsh over Hissing Quagmire, although I could see being convinced to going back to the ‘Quag at some point!)
I’ve felt that 13 2-mana rocks at this size is too much! I feel like 10 to 11 is the sweet spot, and thus I cut the Everflowing Chalice and Coldsteel Heart (which is your 61st fixer). Mind Stone has been in and out as the 11th but I think I’m too fond of it to permanently part with it...
How has your experience been with the density of rocks? I know they’re super good in the artifact deck and with things like the new Karn, but an overabundance can make drafters not value them highly and just try to wheel ‘em. Thoughts?
One concern for me at this size has been cards that deal with Planeswalkers. The saturation seems to keep creeping up (Karn, Teferi, Will, etc) and I’m starting to look at cards like Commit // Memory, Never // Return, Song of the Dryads, and Dreadbore with a more favorable eye, even though at first blush they don’t quite seem like 450 material. Has this been your experience at all here?
That’s kind of what I figured. I think I’ve hit a good number to support this card in my 465~ list. My playgroup likes and drafts this pretty highly, so I figured it was worth the effort to support it.
Can you talk a little bit about Squee, Goblin Nabob in a 2018 (year, not cube size!) powered setting? I imagine you have a good amount of experience with the card and could thus help newer players evaluate it properly.
This is a sweet value card that needs a certain saturation of discard effects in a deck to be worth it. What is the baseline number of such effects in a deck for Squee to shine in your experience?
Has the population of cards containing discard effects not been able to keep up with the power level of cards from newer sets, thus thinning out the saturation and making Squee less viable? Of course I'm not talking about powerhouse effects like Survival or Vryn's Prodigy, but more like Cryptologist, Mongrel/Noose, Masticore, Firestorm, etc...
If you are looking for a basic framework to get you started, I would recommend a 360 list that steve_man made a few months ago. His tastes and evaluations are really solid and similar to wtwlf123's, and you could just tweak and update it how you like: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/100126.
Good luck!
So I took a flyer on this card due to its under $5 price tag, and I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised by the foiling. I was so down on it when it spoiled because I thought it was gonna be hella warped and very dark like my Vial Smasher, but it is beautiful, easy to read, and my copy is perfectly flat!
How have people liked this card so far? Does it see any play in non-artifact archetypes?
I spent 2-3 months last winter working my cube to 450, so a comparison of differences has elicited some questions/comments:
WHITE:
We’re similar, but you tend to indulge in 4’s and 5’s more than I do. 1 Card whose absence is notable to me... Eldrazi Displacer! This has been very powerful and popular in my circle and is totally doable, especially with some allied Talismans instead of Signets. No love here?
BLACK:
No Nether Void? Does the “Black Armageddon” no longer deserve a spot in Black’s top 20?
Sinkhole missing? I thought you were a strong advocate of this as a draw to move into Black aggro. Space is tight, and it’s narrow, so I get that...
RED:
The absence of Fireblast, Char, and Smash to Smithereens is kinda shocking! Nerfing Red aggro or just ultra tight on space? Red seems like it’s getting squeezed...
GOLD:
Bring back Sphinx of the Steel Wind!
BALANCE & GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS:
I’ve been super happy with having 60 pieces of mana fixing (duals, rocks, rainbows, etc) and I see you have done similarly (61). I actually read an old post of eidolon’s which had a formula and this inspired me to go 60 (# of drafters possible/2 for each guild’s fixing + [cube size * 2.22])
Our only major difference is your adherence to the full set of creature lands. As awesome as they are, I just really want my aggro colors curving out, and I feel at 450 you need 4 untapped fixers in a guild to enable this in an 8-man draft. Currently I’ve got Blackcleave Cliffs, Caves of Koilos, and Battlefield Forge going. The latter two also help enable Displacer decks.
(I have a small green aggro subtheme I’m toying with that includes Nacatl, Warden, Rancor, Tattermunge, and Militant, mostly to enable Naya, Jund, and Abzan aggro. To support this I’m running Horizon Canopy over Wildwood and Blooming Marsh over Hissing Quagmire, although I could see being convinced to going back to the ‘Quag at some point!)
I’ve felt that 13 2-mana rocks at this size is too much! I feel like 10 to 11 is the sweet spot, and thus I cut the Everflowing Chalice and Coldsteel Heart (which is your 61st fixer). Mind Stone has been in and out as the 11th but I think I’m too fond of it to permanently part with it...
How has your experience been with the density of rocks? I know they’re super good in the artifact deck and with things like the new Karn, but an overabundance can make drafters not value them highly and just try to wheel ‘em. Thoughts?
One concern for me at this size has been cards that deal with Planeswalkers. The saturation seems to keep creeping up (Karn, Teferi, Will, etc) and I’m starting to look at cards like Commit // Memory, Never // Return, Song of the Dryads, and Dreadbore with a more favorable eye, even though at first blush they don’t quite seem like 450 material. Has this been your experience at all here?
Cheers mate...
Lodestone Golem
Masticore
Precursor Golem
Which would you choose?
1.Dominance
2.Progress
3.Indulgence
4.Idol
5.Lens
6.Fellwar
Agreed. I like all those cards. I just wanna make sure all the strategies are supported properly.
This is a sweet value card that needs a certain saturation of discard effects in a deck to be worth it. What is the baseline number of such effects in a deck for Squee to shine in your experience?
Has the population of cards containing discard effects not been able to keep up with the power level of cards from newer sets, thus thinning out the saturation and making Squee less viable? Of course I'm not talking about powerhouse effects like Survival or Vryn's Prodigy, but more like Cryptologist, Mongrel/Noose, Masticore, Firestorm, etc...
I usually end up paying life more often than mana, but I'm liberal with my life total usually.