If power level is the Dark Side, then theme would be the Light side. While fun and card interactions would be the Mandalorian (if someone catches this reference hopefully). Where the Light and Dark side are two sides of the same sword, then the Mandalorians are the side of the blade as the blade itself fusing both sides together.
So how do you approach balance as a designer and setting your cube theme?
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Life is a beautiful engineer, yet a brutal scientist.
Hopefully I'm interpreting the OP correctly it's a little cryptic, in a good way haha
Definitely something I'm struggling with. While I know there are a wide range of opinions on the matter, I have recently begun to start cutting cards that I deem "too good"/unfun. Currently these include Mind Twist and Jitte, but where do I draw the line. Do I cut Armageddon? Balance? Even cards like TNN, Tangle Wire and Treachery might be over the line of cards I want to support. I'm not saying these cards are too broken but they just feel kinda bad for me. Oh and Council's Judgment.. I feel super gross every time I cast that card. That janky wording and getting around hexproof just doesn't feel right. But for some reason Magister of Worth is cool with me.
Color pie infractions also kinda bug me. It kinda sucks that Hornet Queen is one of green's best fatties. And Song of the Dryads really shouldn't be green's only other way of dealing with flyers, given its debatable "greenness". Should I be running Mana Tithe in white? When players play my cube, I sort of want it to represent an (my) ideal version of Magic. What that version is is difficult to define and the line is blurry for cuts and inclusions, but I feel that color pie issues take away from that in my mind. Might be making a few big cuts soon.
I like to start big and then break it down from there. I design around archetypes / themes: aggro, middrange, control, combo (mostly some sort of reanimator), and subthemes of those main theaters such as tokens, burn / counterburn, prison, superfriends, Wildfire, Upheaval, etc. In order to support these archetypes, I first define the cube staples that can fit in most theaters, such as Baneslayer Angel, Pack Rat, and Jace, the Mindsculptor. After that, find out what specific cards can help define whatever archetype I'm trying to support, such as Smokestack and Recurring Nightmare.
Your playgroup's judgment should define what's too good / unfun, always ask them about their cube experience, what they liked / don't like and take their feedback into consideration. Remember, a happy cube stays together!
So how do you approach balance as a designer and setting your cube theme?
Modern
Commander
Cube
<a href="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/cube-lists/588020-unpowered-themed-enchantment-an-enchanted-evening">An Enchanted Evening Cube </a>
Definitely something I'm struggling with. While I know there are a wide range of opinions on the matter, I have recently begun to start cutting cards that I deem "too good"/unfun. Currently these include Mind Twist and Jitte, but where do I draw the line. Do I cut Armageddon? Balance? Even cards like TNN, Tangle Wire and Treachery might be over the line of cards I want to support. I'm not saying these cards are too broken but they just feel kinda bad for me. Oh and Council's Judgment.. I feel super gross every time I cast that card. That janky wording and getting around hexproof just doesn't feel right. But for some reason Magister of Worth is cool with me.
Color pie infractions also kinda bug me. It kinda sucks that Hornet Queen is one of green's best fatties. And Song of the Dryads really shouldn't be green's only other way of dealing with flyers, given its debatable "greenness". Should I be running Mana Tithe in white? When players play my cube, I sort of want it to represent an (my) ideal version of Magic. What that version is is difficult to define and the line is blurry for cuts and inclusions, but I feel that color pie issues take away from that in my mind. Might be making a few big cuts soon.
Your playgroup's judgment should define what's too good / unfun, always ask them about their cube experience, what they liked / don't like and take their feedback into consideration. Remember, a happy cube stays together!
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra