After some discussion, this is how Power Ranking voting is going to work:
* THIS VOTING WILL BE OPEN FOR 7 DAYS.
* Votings opened on Monday will be closed on Thursday (pending participation).
* Votings opened on Thursday will be closed on Monday (pending participation).
* The VOTING thread will be for posting your votes only.
* Results will be posted, in their own thread after voting is closed.
* Discussion regarding the results will take place in the RESULTS thread only.
* Voters are to rank the Top 20 cards for each group according to what they would take at Pack 1, Pick 1 (P1P1).
* Please rank your cards from #1 through #20, with #1 being the card you would take over all the others.
* Votes will be tallied with each card getting a composite score to determine its ranking in the group.
* Please rank all 20 cards. Partial lists will not be accepted.
Here's how the Power Rankings have been explained in the past:
Quote from Silent Edge »
February 8, 2010
This is a resource to be used in as many ways as possible. I originally had the idea on my drive into work to help myself and my friends who were new to the Cube determine which cards are the best to be picked early (read: have decks build around them). There are the cards that we've all used in other formats that were absolute houses that are probably complete rubbish in the Cube (Anyone actually run Arcbound Ravager in their Cube?). The concept here is that the experienced and inexperienced alike share their thoughts and ideas on what cards are most worthy of being taken first. Power level, castability, splashability and core strength (when I say "core strength", I refer to "cards that decks can be built around").
Last year, we learned that there are cards that are better than others. We also learned of cards that we should have in our Cubes that may not even be there. Personally, I don't care WHAT we learn, as long as we all learn something.
ANY AND ALL CARDS ARE OPEN TO BE VOTED ON.
This includes Unglued, Portal sets, etc. If you truly believe it to be one of the Top 20 cards you would take at Pack 1, Pick 1 -- then place it accordingly.
Here's a couple of cool quotes I found that will help all the voters in understanding what to/what not to vote for:
CARDS WITH THE DIFFERENT NAMES BUT SIMILAR EFFECTS:
Some are keeping it the same card and some are keeping them separate, any consensus on what we should do?
Quote from wtwlf123 »
Geddon and Ravages of War are the same. Wrath and DoJ aren't.
Players can assume that the power-level of Geddon and RoW are the same, so you don't need to vote for 'em twice. If you want Both Wrath and DoJ to make the top 20, you need to vote for both of 'em.
For the record, people listed "Armageddon/Ravages of War" as a single entry. Wrath and Day of Judgment are separate entries. It's convenient that these are White cards, but this will hold true for any cards, in any group that have the same exact effect but may have different names (Wildfire and Burning of Xinye immediately come to mind).
CARDS YOU MAY NOT HAVE IN YOUR CUBE, BUT HAVE PLAYED WITH/AGAINST:
Quote from Konfusious »
This is quite hard to do. I did not include cards I do not play in my cube, namely Moat that would probably make my list but I have no idea where I would put it, not having played with it and all.
Quote from Silent Edge »
Perfect. If you don't run the card, haven't never played against it or just don't know about it -- do NOT vote for it. Well done.
"Taking a stab" at what you think a card is ranked at based on what you see other people rank it, or whatever you think it may be can skew the numbers. If you're not sure, it is PERFECTLY acceptable to not vote for it. I doubt very much that anyone in the group will call you out on it, but "I've never played with or against the card" is a great answer for not ranking it.
Quote from rantipole »
Well I don't have Moat in my cube, but I've played with and against Moat often enough that I feel comfortable with how high I would pick it in cube. That said, I mostly agree with you. It's going to be very difficult for me to rate Power 9 as I have rarely come in contact with those cards and have never personally played them.
Cheers,
rant
I'll be throwing all the above information into EACH voting group, so as we may add voters who missed a group or 2 or 5, they can jump in and have all that info available to them.
Alright, enough with the pleasantries. Here's the 2009 and 2010 Power Rankings for the Overall...
PLEASE NOTE:
Since the Overall's last Power Ranking, the following sets/blocks have been released:
Magic 2011 - Magic 2014
Rise of the Eldrazi
Scars of Mirrodin Block
Innistrad Block
Return to Ravnica Block
Theros Block
Commander
Commander's Arsenal
Commander 2013 Conspiracy is NOT to be included in this year's Power Rankings
NOTE FOR OVERALL VOTING
The eligible cards are found only the Top 20's from White, Blue, Black, Red, Green, Artifact and Land as well as the Top 100 for Guild.
That's just a reminder that while 2009 and 2010 can be used as a reference, that's ALL it should be used for. Be sure to compile as complete of a ballot as you can.
With ALL OF THAT said...2014's Power Rankings have now begun.
Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom: The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray). The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it. The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
NOTE FOR OVERALL VOTING
The eligible cards are found only the Top 20's from White, Blue, Black, Red, Green, Artifact and Land as well as the Top 100 for Guild.
EDIT: Easy access top 20/100 lists for people that want them:
We had 34 voters!! A new MTGS record! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
KBH, willdice, rantipole, cuttups, preppypoof, Lampcat, DerBK, Fires, Ectazon, Colby Cube, pillar15, Goodking, kingneb, hopefulhawkeye, SpikeRogue, Ennex, Cipz, Braid of Fire, wtwlf123, toomaxz, 1idgofr, Phantizle, Truesight, MrConfusion, trogdoor, Star Slayer, ThatOneNinja, Metamind, TheRift88, Magic-Jiffen, Hicham, Fredo, Torggo, pablosleepy
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Baneslayer Angel (3.8), Thalia, Guardian of Thraben & Sun Titan (both 3.7)
*Repeat Champ: Balance retains his stranglehold as White's #1 ranked card.
*New #2: Elspeth, Knight-Errant grabs a hold of #2 from Armageddon (She was #7 in 2009 and #5 in 2010).
*Big Hitter: Balance was the ONLY card to receive a vote from everyone. It had a low of 6. Every other vote was 15 or higher.
*Anomaly: Elsepth, Sun's Champion ranked #16 despite receiving TWENTY no-votes.
*Bi-Polar Award: Land Tax. Despite it's lofty ranking of #7, it received sixteen votes of 16 or higher; but also received fourteen votes of 6 or less, with seven of those being no-votes.
*Rookies: #4 Stoneforge Mystic, #5 Gideon Jura, #9 Hero of Bladehold, #14 Restoration Angel, #16 Elspeth, Sun's Champion, #18 Banishing Light and #19 Brimaz, King of Oreskos are all newcomers to White's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Day of Judgment (#7 to #13), Catastrophe (#9 to #15) and Reveillark (#14 to #20) each fell 6 slots; Moat (#12 to #17) dropped 5 slots; Land Tax (#3 to #7) and Wrath of God (#4 to #8) each fell 4 slots.
*Consistency Award: Swords to Plowshares (#6) and Path to Exile (#10) each remained at their previous slot.
*Big Mover: Obviously, Stoneforge Mystic. Unranked/unreleased all the way to a #4 debut.
*61 different cards received votes
We had 32 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
willdice, wtwlf123, preppypoof, Phantizle, cuttups, trogdoor, DerBK, KBH, Colby Cube, TheRift88, Ectazon, hoodwink, hopefulhawkeye, SpikeRogue, Ennex, pillar15, sandino, Fredo, Goodking, A. Smith, Metamind, rantipole, Star Slayer, MrConfusion, kingneb, Champman, Agest, toomaxz, Torggo, calibretto, Hicham, pablosleepy
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Consecrated Sphinx (3.1), Cryptic Command (2.6) & Sower of Temptation (2.4)
*Repeat Champ: After a 19.9 in 2009 and a perfect 20.0 in 2010, Ancestral Recall three-peats as the #1, but this time with a fight.
*Repeat #2: After a 18.2 in 2009 and an 18.1 in 2010, Time Walk gave Ancestral Recall a run in 2014, stealing five #1 votes.
*Big Hitter: ZERO CARDS received a vote from everyone. Jace the Mind Sculptor was the closest, only missing 1 vote. Snapcaster Mage and Treachery each missed two votes.
*Anomaly: True-Name Nemesis cracks the Top 10 despite receiving 16 votes (half) of 9 or less, including 9 no-votes.
*Bi-Polar Award: Mana Drain had thirteen votes of 18, but also had 5 no-votes.
*Rookies: Snapcaster Mage (#8), True-Name Nemesis (#9), Vendilion Clique (#11), Phyrexian Metamorph (#12), Venser, Shaper Savant (#16), Glen Elendra Archamge (#17) and Opposition (#18) are all newcomers to Blue's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Interesting: 6 of the 7 Rookies are newly-printed creatures. The 7th is an enchantment that's been in print since 1999.
*Fall From Grace: Bribery (#6 in 2010) fell the most while maintaining a Top 20 spot. Gifts Ungiven (#11) and Force of Will (#13) fell completely out of the rankings.
*Consistency Award: Treachery, Tinker and Upheaval are always grouped together. In 2009, they ranked #4, #6, #7, in 2010 that changed to #4, #5, #9 and in 2014 they ran #5, #6, #7.
*Big Mover: Obviously, Snapcaster Mage moving from unranked to #8. But also, Jace the Mind Sculptor moving from
*72 different cards received votes
We had 29 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
preppypoof, wtwlf123, willdice, cuttups, Ectazon, CodaPDX, Goodking, Star Slayer, toomaxz, Phantizle, Cipz, TheRift88, dschumm, Magic-Jiffen, Truesight, hopefulhawkeye, calibretto, Ennex, hoodwink, MrConfusion, trogdoor, DerBK, Fredo, sandino, pillar15, Hicham, rantipole, KBH, calintares
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Animate Dead (2.3), Dismember (2.0) & Dark Ritual (1.7)
*Repeat Champ: After a 20.0 in 2009 and gaudy 19.6 in 2010, Mind Twist three-peats as the #1, but this time with a fight.
*Repeat #2: Recurring Nightmare shortened the gap. In 2009, they had a 1.5-point separation. In 2010, that shortened to 1.3. In 2014, Nightmare is making a claim for #1 by shortening the gap to 0.5. Is this because of the amount of ETB creatures??
*Big Hitter: Recurring Nightmare, Demonic Tutor, Bitterblossom, Liliana of the Veil, Dark Confidant, Vampiric Tutor all received votes from all voters! (Mind Twist and Grave Titan each had one no-vote)
*Bi-Polar Award: Imperial Seal. 15 out of 29 votes (obviously leaving it with 14 no-votes), with the lowest vote at 9. Yet lands at #13.
*Rookies: Liliana of the Veil (#5), Grave Titan (#8), Pack Rat (#11), Toxic Deluge (#12) and Ophiomancer (#20) are all newcomers to Black's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Phyrexian Arena fell 10 slots (#8 to #18), Damnation fell 7 slots (#6 to #14) -- but the true "Fall From Grace" goes to Kokusho, the Evening Star. Kokusho was #10 in 2010 and not only dropped to Unranked in 2014, but also did not receive a single vote in 2014. Other cards to fall from the rankings: Yawgmoth's Bargain (#11 in 2010), Profane Command (#14 in 2010), Yawgmoth's Will (#15 in 2010), Sorin Markov (#16 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2014), Graveborn Muse (#17 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2010), Barter in Blood (#19 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2014) and Liliana Vess (#20 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2014)
*Consistency Award: Mind Twist, Recurring Nightmare, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor and Bitterblossom were Black's Top 5 in 2009 and 2010. They're all Top 6 this year.
*Big Mover: Liliana of the Veil cracks a VERY tough Top 5, from Unranked (and unprinted) in 2010.
*61 different cards received votes
We had 30 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
dschumm, preppypoof, wtwlf123, cuttups, Metamind, Truesight, Star Slayer, TheRift88, Calintares, hopefulhawkeye, NathanZimmerer, Cipz, Fredo, Colby Cube, Goodking, Phantizle, Ennez, hoodwink, Monkey D Luffy, calibretto, trogdoor, Spike Rogue, rantipole, pillar15, KBH, willdice, CorporateNoun, Ectazon, Hicham, kingneb
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Chain Lightning (2.8), Imperial Recruiter (2.6) & Young Pyromancer (2.3)
*NEW Champ: Sulfuric Vortex (handily) takes over the #1 spot for Red!
*Big Hitter: Sulfuric Vortex was the ONLY card to receive votes from all participants. Goblin Guide and Lightning Bolt each missed out on a single vote.
*Bi-Polar Award: Lightning Bolt was all over the place. Fifteen votes of 10 or higher (including four 19-votes and three 18-votes) and 15 votes of 9 or less, including one no-vote.
*Rookies: Koth of the Hammer (#3), Inferno Titan (#10), Thundermaw Hellkite (#13), Hellrider (#15), Purphoros, God of the Forge (#16), Arc Trail (#16), Chandra, Pyromaster (#19) and Hero of Oxid Ridge (#20) are all newcomers to Red's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Chandra Nalaar fell from #10 to Unranked (Received only 4 votes). Starstorm fell from #12 to Unranked, but did not receive any votes this year.
*Consistency Award: Wheel of Fortune (#5 and 11.3 in 2009; #4 and 13.0) returns at #4 and 12.4. Definitely Red's most solid card.
*Big Mover: Koth of the Hammer gets this award from Unranked to #3. Honorable mentions to: Goblin Guide jumped 12 spots (#14 to #2); Sulfuric Vortex jumped 5 spots, but they were 5 important ones (#6 to #1)
*76 different cards received votes
We had 17 (Where did everyone go?!?!) voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
Colby Cube, cuttups, wtwlf123, Truesight, dschumm, Ennex, preppypoof, Stoelveter, calibretto, hopefulhawkeye, CorporateNoun, Calintares, TheRift88, Fredo, flutterguy, willdice, hoodwink
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Fauna Shaman (3.6), Courser of Kruphix (3.2) & Green Sun's Zenith (3.0)
*NEW Champ: Survival of the Fittest retakes it's #1 spot (Eternal Witness was Green's 2010 #1)
*Big Hitter: Survival of the Fittest was the ONLY Unanimous card for Green. Eternal Witness, Sylvan Library, Garruk Wildspeaker, Natural Order and Noble Hierarch each received one no-vote.
*Bi-Polar Award: Plow Under. It received votes of 19, 16, 16 and 13. Then nothing above 6, including 8 no-votes.
*Rookies: Natural Order (#5), Garruk Relentless (#6), Rofellos (#7), Lotus Cobra (#9), Primeval Titan (#10), Channel (#12), Joraga Treespeaker (#16), Eureka (#17), Thragtusk (#18) and Thrun (#20) are all newcomers to Green's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*ROOKIE CLASS: Half of Green's Top 10, as well as half of the Top 20 are all newcomers. Of those new comers, 4 were printed last CENTURY. Natural Order (1997), Rofellos (1999), Channel (1993) and Eureka (1994). Add in Lotus Cobra (2009), and half of the newcomers were eligible for the Top 20 in 2010.
*Fall From Grace: Genesis. With a lofty #4 ranking with a 14.0 composite in 2010, Genesis received ONE vote of 14 in 2014.
*Consistency Award: Survival of the Fittest and Eternal Witness have maintained their strength: #1 and #3 in 2009; #2 and #1 in 2010; #1 and #3 in 2014, respectively.
*Big Movers: Natural Order (original print: 1997) went from Unranked to #5. Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary (original print: 1999) went from Unranked to #7.
*60 different cards received votes
We had 24 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
preppypoof, scourge of the kitchen table, Bomo, hopefulhawkeye, cuttups, Truesight, rantipole, wtwlf123, Monkey D Luffy, calibretto, TheRift88, Ennex, Metamind, willdice, pillar15, Star Slayer, Fredo, Hicham, Colby Cube, trogdoor, msipes, DerBK, Goodking
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Solemn Simulacrum (1.8), Myr Battlesphere (1.5) & Smokestack/Mimic Vat (1.3)
*Repeat Champ: Sol Ring once again, repeats as Artifact's #1 card.
*Big Hitters: Sol Ring, Skullclamp and Umezawa's Jitte were the only cards to receive votes from all participants.
*Bi-Polar Award: Sword of Body & Mind. It received 9 votes of 10 or more and 12 votes between 5 and 9 as well as 2 no-votes.
*Rookies: Wurmcoil Engine (#9), Sword of Body & Mind (#11), Batterskull (#13), Karn Liberated (#14), Sword of Feast & Famine (#16) and Sword of War & Peace (#18) are all newcomers to Artifacts's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!) Basically, amazing creatures, strong equipment and a Planeswalker were all added.
*Fall From Grace: Sensei's Divining Top was #9 in 2010! It received 5 votes (10, 4, 4, 3 and 1) in 2014. It's obviously not the card that we all thought it once was.
*Consistency Award: Sol Ring, obviously. The last 3 PR's have resulted in composites of 20.0, 19.9 and 19.9. Amazing.
*Big Mover: Grim Monolith. Surprisingly, Monolith was on the "Just Missed" list in 2010 with a composite of 1.6 (essentially ranking #22). It leaped up to #8 in 2014.
*51 different cards received votes
We had 15 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
cuttups, ColbyCube, wtwlf123, Ennex, preppypoof, TheRift88, willdice, pillar15, CorporateNoun, trogdoor, scourge of the kitchen table, Bomo, Star Slayer, hopefulhawkeye, rantipole
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Undiscovered Paradise (2.5), Reflecting Pool & ICE/APC Pain Lands (2.1 both)
*Repeat Champ: Library of Alexandira once again, repeats as Land's #1 card. It received ALL 20's and one no-vote, which is what got Strip Mine so close!
*Big Hitters: Strip Mine, Maze of Ith, City of Brass and the RAV Shock Lands were the only cards to receive votes from all participants.
*Bi-Polar Award: Grand Coliseum. 6 votes of 10 or more, 5 votes of either 6 or 8, one vote of 2 and two no-votes. All over the place!
*Rookies: Mana Confluence (#5), Ancient Tomb (#14), Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse (#15), Horizon Canopy (#16), City of Ass and Dust Bowl (#18) and the IND/M10 Check Lands (#20) are all newcomers to Land's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Cannot name one. 8 cards from 2010's Top 20 Land were moved into their appropriate color/guild, and there are 7 newcomers to fill those spots. All of the cards eligible for 2014's Top 20 were in 2010's Top 20.
*Consistency Award: Library of Alexandria, obviously. The last 3 PR's have resulted in composites of 20.0, 20.0 and 18.7 (all 20's and one no-vote). Amazing.
*Big Mover: Mana Confluence. Unranked (unprinted) in 2010, recently released in May 2014 and immediately jumps to the #5 ranked land. That's impressive.
*34 different cards received votes
We had 16 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
wtwlf123, hopefulhawkeye, preppypoof, scourge of the kitchen table, pillar15, Goodking, Firebrad, willdice, Ennez, rantipole, TheRift88, CorporateNoun, LucidVision, calibretto, cuttups, ColbyCube
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Wall of Denial (1.2, Azorius); Disciple of Deceit (1.1, Dimir); Fulminator Mage (0.9, Rakdos); Kessig Wolf Run (1.4, Gruul); Gavony Township (1.1, Selesnya); Atheros, God of Passage (1.4, Orzhov); Cadaverous Bloom (0.6, Golgari); Snakeform & Kiora's Follower (0.7, Simic); Desolate Lighthouse (1.3, Izzet); Brion Stoutarm & Aurelia, the Warleader (0.8, Boros)
*Repeat Champs: Bloodbraid Elf, Vindicate Pernicious Deed and Ajani Vengeant are the only 3x #1 cards for their Guilds. Kitchen Finks (2010, 2014) is a 2x #1 card.
*Big Hitters: Ral Zarek was the ONLY card to be a Unanimous 10. Ajani Vengeant received all 10's and one 9-vote.
*Rookies: There we 60 (SIXTY!!) newcomers to their Guild's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Giant Solifuge (#2, 7.5 composite, Gruul); Void (#4, 7.3 composite, Rakdos) didn't receive votes. Oona, Queen of the Fae (#1, 9.1 composite in 2010; Unranked, 0.7 composite in 2014, Dimir) and Wall of Denial (#2, 8.5 composite in 2010; Unranked, 1.2 composite in 2014, Azorius) fell out of the Top 10.
*193 different cards received votes
I think fast mana is extremely underrated so far. The hardest section for me to rank was #3-#5 (including Double Stroke).
I think some of these change from day to day. For instance, if I want to draft combo, I may want to draft Demonic Tutor a little higher, if I want to draft red aggro, Sulfuric Vortex may be higher, etc. I think this is a pretty good average of where I rank cards.
Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom: The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray). The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it. The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Black Lotus
3 Sol Ring
4 Time Walk
5 Ancestral Recall
6 ABU Mox
7 Umezawa's Jitte
8 Strip Mine
9 Wasteland
10 Tinker
11 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
12 Recurring Nightmare
13 Land Tax
14 Sword of Fire and Ice
15 Mana Crypt
16 Sword of Light and Shadow
17 Survival of the Fittest
18 Mind Twist
19 Sulfuric Vortex
20 Demonic Tutor
1. Sol Ring
2. Black Lotus
3. Ancestral Recall
4. Time walk
5. Mana crypt
6. Moxen
7. Library of Alexandria
8. Mind Twist
9. Umezawa's Jitte
10. Balance
11. Mana Drain
12. Skullclamp
13. Jace, the mind sculptor
14. Mox Diamond
15. Tinker
16. Mana Vault
17. Recurring Nightmare
18. Demonic Tutor
19. Sulfuric Vortex
20. Strip mine
1) Sol Ring
2) Library of Alexandria
3) Ancestral Recall
4) Time Walk
5) Black Lotus
6) Jace, the Mind Sculptor
7) Mox Jewelry
8) Umezawas Jitte
9) Wurmcoil Engine
10) Batterskull
11) Mana Crypt
12) Elspeth, Knight-Errant
13) Mana Drain
14) Mana Vault
15) Skullclamp
16) Mind Twist
17) Liliana of the Veil
18) Demonic Tutor
19) Gideon Jura
20) Grave Titan
I can't wait until next year when I can add Double Stroke, Backup Plan & Advantageous Proclamation to the list!
1. Sol Ring
2. Library of Alexandria
3. Umezawa's Jitte
4. Black Lotus
5. Time Walk
6. Ancestral Recall
7. ABU Moxen
8. Mind Twist
9. Balance
10. Strip Mine
11. Sword of Fire and Ice
12. Karn Liberated
13. Skullclamp
14. Recurring Nightmare
15. Tinker
16. Demonic Tutor
17. Symbol Status
18. Elspeth, Knight-Errant
19. Upheaval
20. Sulfuric Vortex
I feel like the bottom half of this list could change depending on my mood.
1st turn Library wins games. You basically need to draw dead for a few turns and your opponent needs the perfect hand in order for you to lose.
The tempo advantage of Sol Ring over Lotus is insane. I haven't made a Top 20 at all this year (I normally do), but I would definitely put LoA and Sol Ring over Lotus.
Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom: The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray). The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it. The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
I think fast mana is extremely underrated so far. The hardest section for me to rank was #3-#5 (including Double Stroke).
I think some of these change from day to day. For instance, if I want to draft combo, I may want to draft Demonic Tutor a little higher, if I want to draft red aggro, Sulfuric Vortex may be higher, etc. I think this is a pretty good average of where I rank cards.
1. I used only cards from my personal top 20 lists from previous votes (almost exclusively cards that I have actually cubed with).
2. I kept the order in which I ranked the cards in those previous votes (within each category).
3. There are no red, green or multicolor cards on this list.
I am really surprised so many people are still taking Library of Alexandria over Black Lotus and Sol Ring.
I'm surprised people can see a Library P1P1 and take something else.
I'm also surprised at the really small number of votes in this category so far...
I'm taking something else if it's Sol Ring etc. The deciding factor there is that both of those cards obviously crush so many other decks, but when faced against each other the Library opening is often playing catch-up and not doing it well versus the Sol Ring opening.
I like Lotus and Sol Ring over Library because those two cards just create such ridiculous tempo advantages that are so incredibly hard to come back from. All three of them you really want in your opening hand, and out of those three in my opener, I would rather have Lotus, Sol Ring, and then Library in that order, which somewhat unsurprisingly is how I've ranked them.
I think Sol Ring is better than Lotus in most cubes, but in most cubes I'm still taking Black Lotus over Library.
It's sometimes easy to handle the tempo advantage of a Lotus (StP, Diabolic Edict, Disenchant, etc), but it's nearly impossible to handle someone drawing an extra card a turn off a land. I think Library puts more games away than Sol Ring or Lotus, but it is really close. I mean, we are talking of the cream of the cream of the crop of cube cards here.
1. Sol Ring
2. Black Lotus
3. ABU Moxen
4. Library of Alexandria
5. Ancestral Recall
6. Time Walk
7. Mana Drain
8. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
9. Recurring Nightmare
10. Umezawa's Jitte
11. Mana Crypt
12. Tinker
13. Mind Twist
14. Balance
15. Mana Vault
16. Armageddon
17. Skullclamp
18. Strip Mine
19. Sword of Fire and Ice
20. Sulfuric Vortex
Unsurprisingly fast mana, blue cards and equipment are well represented.
It's sometimes easy to handle the tempo advantage of a Lotus (StP, Diabolic Edict, Disenchant, etc), but it's nearly impossible to handle someone drawing an extra card a turn off a land. I think Library puts more games away than Sol Ring or Lotus, but it is really close. I mean, we are talking of the cream of the cream of the crop of cube cards here.
Cheers,
rant
Totally true. Finding faults with the best cards possible is tough.
I keep trying to vote in these and then find myself paralyzed trying to argue with myself the power level of two drastically different cards. Oh well, hopefully I make it to "post reply" this time...
1. Sol Ring
2. Black Lotus
3. Time Walk
4. Ancestral Recall
5. ABU Moxen
6. Mind Twist
7. Umezawa's Jitte
8. Library of Alexandria
9. Mana Drain
10. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
11. Sword of Fire and Ice
12. Sulfuric Vortex
13. Recurring Nightmare
14. Liliana of the Veil
15. Treachery
16. Sword of Feast and Famine
17. Sword of War and Peace
18. Bitterblossom
19. Sword of Body and Mind
20. Wurmcoil Engine
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* THIS VOTING WILL BE OPEN FOR 7 DAYS.
* Votings opened on Monday will be closed on Thursday (pending participation).
* Votings opened on Thursday will be closed on Monday (pending participation).
* The VOTING thread will be for posting your votes only.
* Results will be posted, in their own thread after voting is closed.
* Discussion regarding the results will take place in the RESULTS thread only.
* Voters are to rank the Top 20 cards for each group according to what they would take at Pack 1, Pick 1 (P1P1).
* Please rank your cards from #1 through #20, with #1 being the card you would take over all the others.
* Votes will be tallied with each card getting a composite score to determine its ranking in the group.
* Please rank all 20 cards. Partial lists will not be accepted.
Here's how the Power Rankings have been explained in the past:
Here's a couple of cool quotes I found that will help all the voters in understanding what to/what not to vote for:
CARDS WITH THE DIFFERENT NAMES BUT SIMILAR EFFECTS:
For the record, people listed "Armageddon/Ravages of War" as a single entry. Wrath and Day of Judgment are separate entries. It's convenient that these are White cards, but this will hold true for any cards, in any group that have the same exact effect but may have different names (Wildfire and Burning of Xinye immediately come to mind).
CARDS YOU MAY NOT HAVE IN YOUR CUBE, BUT HAVE PLAYED WITH/AGAINST:
"Taking a stab" at what you think a card is ranked at based on what you see other people rank it, or whatever you think it may be can skew the numbers. If you're not sure, it is PERFECTLY acceptable to not vote for it. I doubt very much that anyone in the group will call you out on it, but "I've never played with or against the card" is a great answer for not ranking it.
I'll be throwing all the above information into EACH voting group, so as we may add voters who missed a group or 2 or 5, they can jump in and have all that info available to them.
Alright, enough with the pleasantries. Here's the 2009 and 2010 Power Rankings for the Overall...
2 Sol Ring - 19.3
3 Ancestral Recall - 16.6
4 Mind Twist - 16.3
5 Umezawa's Jitte - 14.9
6 Balance - 11.7
7 Sword of Fire & Ice - 11.6
8 Time Walk - 11.0
9 Recurring Nightmare - 10.7
10 Armageddon - 8.4
11 Skullclamp - 7.6
11 Black Lotus - 7.6
13 Survival of the Fittest - 7.5
14 ABU Mox Jewelry - 6.8
15 Sensei's Divining Top - 6.7
16 Mana Drain - 5.7
17 Treachery - 4.2
18 City of Brass - 2.5
19 Pernicious Deed - 2.3
19 Demonic Tutor - 2.3
20 Rude Awakening - 1.8
2 Sol Ring - 19.2
3 Ancestral Recall - 17.7
4 Mind Twist - 15.4
5 Umezawa's Jitte - 13.9
6 Balance - 13.6
7 Recurring Nightmare - 12.6
8 Time Walk - 12.1
9 Black Lotus - 10.7
10 Armageddon - 10.0 (Ravages of War)
11 Sword of Fire & Ice - 9.2
12 ABU Moxen - 8.7
13 Mox Diamond - 6.4
14 Mana Drain - 4.8
15 Skullclamp - 3.9
16 Demonic Tutor - 3.8
17 Survival of the Fittest - 3.3
18 Strip Mine - 2.7
19 Treachery - 2.6
20 Mana Crypt - 1.9
PLEASE NOTE:
Since the Overall's last Power Ranking, the following sets/blocks have been released:
Magic 2011 - Magic 2014
Rise of the Eldrazi
Scars of Mirrodin Block
Innistrad Block
Return to Ravnica Block
Theros Block
Commander
Commander's Arsenal
Commander 2013
Conspiracy is NOT to be included in this year's Power Rankings
NOTE FOR OVERALL VOTING
The eligible cards are found only the Top 20's from White, Blue, Black, Red, Green, Artifact and Land as well as the Top 100 for Guild.
That's just a reminder that while 2009 and 2010 can be used as a reference, that's ALL it should be used for. Be sure to compile as complete of a ballot as you can.
With ALL OF THAT said...2014's Power Rankings have now begun.
OVERALL VOTING IS NOW OPEN!!
NorCal Crew Collective Cube on Cube Tutor
My 2009 Cube Draft Article - "With The First Pick..."
2009 Official Cube Power Rankings
2010 Official Cube Power Rankings
2014 Official Cube Power Rankings
Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom:
The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray).
The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it.
The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
Twitter: @archplus3
EDIT: Easy access top 20/100 lists for people that want them:
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant - 17.6
3 Armageddon (Ravages of War) - 16.4
4 Stoneforge Mystic - 13.5
5 Gideon Jura - 12.6
6 Swords to Plowshares - 11.0
7 Land Tax - 10.1
8 Wrath of God - 9.9
9 Hero of Bladehold - 9.2
10 Path to Exile - 8.8
11 Oblivion Ring - 7.7
12 Mother of Runes - 6.2
13 Day of Judgment - 6.0
14 Restoration Angel - 5.6
15 Catastrophe - 5.0
16 Elspeth, Sun's Champion - 4.7
17 Moat - 4.6
18 Banishing Light - 4.4
19 Brimaz, King of Oreskos - 4.2
20 Reveillark - 3.9
We had 34 voters!! A new MTGS record! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
KBH, willdice, rantipole, cuttups, preppypoof, Lampcat, DerBK, Fires, Ectazon, Colby Cube, pillar15, Goodking, kingneb, hopefulhawkeye, SpikeRogue, Ennex, Cipz, Braid of Fire, wtwlf123, toomaxz, 1idgofr, Phantizle, Truesight, MrConfusion, trogdoor, Star Slayer, ThatOneNinja, Metamind, TheRift88, Magic-Jiffen, Hicham, Fredo, Torggo, pablosleepy
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Baneslayer Angel (3.8), Thalia, Guardian of Thraben & Sun Titan (both 3.7)
*Repeat Champ: Balance retains his stranglehold as White's #1 ranked card.
*New #2: Elspeth, Knight-Errant grabs a hold of #2 from Armageddon (She was #7 in 2009 and #5 in 2010).
*Big Hitter: Balance was the ONLY card to receive a vote from everyone. It had a low of 6. Every other vote was 15 or higher.
*Anomaly: Elsepth, Sun's Champion ranked #16 despite receiving TWENTY no-votes.
*Bi-Polar Award: Land Tax. Despite it's lofty ranking of #7, it received sixteen votes of 16 or higher; but also received fourteen votes of 6 or less, with seven of those being no-votes.
*Rookies: #4 Stoneforge Mystic, #5 Gideon Jura, #9 Hero of Bladehold, #14 Restoration Angel, #16 Elspeth, Sun's Champion, #18 Banishing Light and #19 Brimaz, King of Oreskos are all newcomers to White's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Day of Judgment (#7 to #13), Catastrophe (#9 to #15) and Reveillark (#14 to #20) each fell 6 slots; Moat (#12 to #17) dropped 5 slots; Land Tax (#3 to #7) and Wrath of God (#4 to #8) each fell 4 slots.
*Consistency Award: Swords to Plowshares (#6) and Path to Exile (#10) each remained at their previous slot.
*Big Mover: Obviously, Stoneforge Mystic. Unranked/unreleased all the way to a #4 debut.
*61 different cards received votes
2 Time Walk - 16.6
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor - 16.3
4 Mana Drain - 13.8
5 Tinker - 13.5
6 Treachery - 12.8
7 Upheaval - 12.3
8 Snapcaster Mage - 10.7
9 True-Name Nemesis - 8.5
10 Vedalken Shackles - 8.2
11 Vendilion Clique - 8.0
12 Phyrexian Metamorph - 6.4
13 Control Magic - 4.9
14 Fact or Fiction - 4.7
15 Meloku, the Clouded Mirror - 4.2
16 Venser, Shaper Savant - 4.0
17 Glen Elendra Archmage - 3.9
18 Opposition - 3.6
19 Time Spiral - 3.3
20 Bribery - 3.2
We had 32 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
willdice, wtwlf123, preppypoof, Phantizle, cuttups, trogdoor, DerBK, KBH, Colby Cube, TheRift88, Ectazon, hoodwink, hopefulhawkeye, SpikeRogue, Ennex, pillar15, sandino, Fredo, Goodking, A. Smith, Metamind, rantipole, Star Slayer, MrConfusion, kingneb, Champman, Agest, toomaxz, Torggo, calibretto, Hicham, pablosleepy
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Consecrated Sphinx (3.1), Cryptic Command (2.6) & Sower of Temptation (2.4)
*Repeat Champ: After a 19.9 in 2009 and a perfect 20.0 in 2010, Ancestral Recall three-peats as the #1, but this time with a fight.
*Repeat #2: After a 18.2 in 2009 and an 18.1 in 2010, Time Walk gave Ancestral Recall a run in 2014, stealing five #1 votes.
*Big Hitter: ZERO CARDS received a vote from everyone. Jace the Mind Sculptor was the closest, only missing 1 vote. Snapcaster Mage and Treachery each missed two votes.
*Anomaly: True-Name Nemesis cracks the Top 10 despite receiving 16 votes (half) of 9 or less, including 9 no-votes.
*Bi-Polar Award: Mana Drain had thirteen votes of 18, but also had 5 no-votes.
*Rookies: Snapcaster Mage (#8), True-Name Nemesis (#9), Vendilion Clique (#11), Phyrexian Metamorph (#12), Venser, Shaper Savant (#16), Glen Elendra Archamge (#17) and Opposition (#18) are all newcomers to Blue's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Interesting: 6 of the 7 Rookies are newly-printed creatures. The 7th is an enchantment that's been in print since 1999.
*Fall From Grace: Bribery (#6 in 2010) fell the most while maintaining a Top 20 spot. Gifts Ungiven (#11) and Force of Will (#13) fell completely out of the rankings.
*Consistency Award: Treachery, Tinker and Upheaval are always grouped together. In 2009, they ranked #4, #6, #7, in 2010 that changed to #4, #5, #9 and in 2014 they ran #5, #6, #7.
*Big Mover: Obviously, Snapcaster Mage moving from unranked to #8. But also, Jace the Mind Sculptor moving from
*72 different cards received votes
2 Recurring Nightmare - 18.1
3 Demonic Tutor - 17.6
4 Bitterblossom - 15.6
5 Liliana of the Veil - 14.7
6 Vampiric Tutor - 13.2
7 Dark Confidant - 12.6
8 Grave Titan - 10.9
9 Braids, Cabal Minion - 7.6
10 Thoughtseize - 7.2
11 Pack Rat - 6.8
12 Toxic Deluge - 6.6
13 Imperial Seal - 6.3
14 Hymn to Tourach - 6.2
14 Damnation - 6.2
16 Shriekmaw - 4.4
17 Volrath's Stronghold - 3.8
18 Phyrexian Arena - 3.4
19 Reanimate - 2.6
20 Ophiomancer - 2.5
We had 29 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
preppypoof, wtwlf123, willdice, cuttups, Ectazon, CodaPDX, Goodking, Star Slayer, toomaxz, Phantizle, Cipz, TheRift88, dschumm, Magic-Jiffen, Truesight, hopefulhawkeye, calibretto, Ennex, hoodwink, MrConfusion, trogdoor, DerBK, Fredo, sandino, pillar15, Hicham, rantipole, KBH, calintares
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Animate Dead (2.3), Dismember (2.0) & Dark Ritual (1.7)
*Repeat Champ: After a 20.0 in 2009 and gaudy 19.6 in 2010, Mind Twist three-peats as the #1, but this time with a fight.
*Repeat #2: Recurring Nightmare shortened the gap. In 2009, they had a 1.5-point separation. In 2010, that shortened to 1.3. In 2014, Nightmare is making a claim for #1 by shortening the gap to 0.5. Is this because of the amount of ETB creatures??
*Big Hitter: Recurring Nightmare, Demonic Tutor, Bitterblossom, Liliana of the Veil, Dark Confidant, Vampiric Tutor all received votes from all voters! (Mind Twist and Grave Titan each had one no-vote)
*Bi-Polar Award: Imperial Seal. 15 out of 29 votes (obviously leaving it with 14 no-votes), with the lowest vote at 9. Yet lands at #13.
*Rookies: Liliana of the Veil (#5), Grave Titan (#8), Pack Rat (#11), Toxic Deluge (#12) and Ophiomancer (#20) are all newcomers to Black's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Phyrexian Arena fell 10 slots (#8 to #18), Damnation fell 7 slots (#6 to #14) -- but the true "Fall From Grace" goes to Kokusho, the Evening Star. Kokusho was #10 in 2010 and not only dropped to Unranked in 2014, but also did not receive a single vote in 2014. Other cards to fall from the rankings: Yawgmoth's Bargain (#11 in 2010), Profane Command (#14 in 2010), Yawgmoth's Will (#15 in 2010), Sorin Markov (#16 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2014), Graveborn Muse (#17 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2010), Barter in Blood (#19 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2014) and Liliana Vess (#20 in 2010 -- ZERO votes in 2014)
*Consistency Award: Mind Twist, Recurring Nightmare, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor and Bitterblossom were Black's Top 5 in 2009 and 2010. They're all Top 6 this year.
*Big Mover: Liliana of the Veil cracks a VERY tough Top 5, from Unranked (and unprinted) in 2010.
*61 different cards received votes
2 Goblin Guide - 16.5
3 Koth of the Hammer - 13.4
4 Wheel of Fortune - 12.4
5 Flametongue Kavu - 11.9
6 Lightning Bolt - 11.0
7 Wildifre - 10.7
8 Sneak Attack - 9.4
9 Burning of Xinye - 9.2
10 Inferno Titan - 8.6
11 Rolling Earthquake - 8.1
12 Siege-Gang Commander - 6.6
13 Thundermaw Hellkite - 6.3
14 Grim Lavamancer - 6.0
15 Hellrider - 5.6
16 Purphoros, God of the Forge - 4.6
16 Arc Trail - 4.6
18 Earthquake - 4.1
19 Chandra, Pyromaster - 3.3
20 Hero of Oxid Ridge - 2.9
We had 30 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
dschumm, preppypoof, wtwlf123, cuttups, Metamind, Truesight, Star Slayer, TheRift88, Calintares, hopefulhawkeye, NathanZimmerer, Cipz, Fredo, Colby Cube, Goodking, Phantizle, Ennez, hoodwink, Monkey D Luffy, calibretto, trogdoor, Spike Rogue, rantipole, pillar15, KBH, willdice, CorporateNoun, Ectazon, Hicham, kingneb
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Chain Lightning (2.8), Imperial Recruiter (2.6) & Young Pyromancer (2.3)
*NEW Champ: Sulfuric Vortex (handily) takes over the #1 spot for Red!
*Big Hitter: Sulfuric Vortex was the ONLY card to receive votes from all participants. Goblin Guide and Lightning Bolt each missed out on a single vote.
*Bi-Polar Award: Lightning Bolt was all over the place. Fifteen votes of 10 or higher (including four 19-votes and three 18-votes) and 15 votes of 9 or less, including one no-vote.
*Rookies: Koth of the Hammer (#3), Inferno Titan (#10), Thundermaw Hellkite (#13), Hellrider (#15), Purphoros, God of the Forge (#16), Arc Trail (#16), Chandra, Pyromaster (#19) and Hero of Oxid Ridge (#20) are all newcomers to Red's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Chandra Nalaar fell from #10 to Unranked (Received only 4 votes). Starstorm fell from #12 to Unranked, but did not receive any votes this year.
*Consistency Award: Wheel of Fortune (#5 and 11.3 in 2009; #4 and 13.0) returns at #4 and 12.4. Definitely Red's most solid card.
*Big Mover: Koth of the Hammer gets this award from Unranked to #3. Honorable mentions to: Goblin Guide jumped 12 spots (#14 to #2); Sulfuric Vortex jumped 5 spots, but they were 5 important ones (#6 to #1)
*76 different cards received votes
2 Sylvan Library - 15.0
3 Eternal Witness - 14.8
4 Garruk Wildspeaker - 12.6
5 Natural Order - 12.5
6 Garruk Relentless - 12.3
7 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary - 9.6
8 Noble Hierarch - 8.0
9 Lotus Cobra - 7.4
10 Primeval Titan - 6.9
11 Birds of Paradise - 6.4
12 Channel - 5.7
13 Tarmogoyf - 5.3
14 Deranged Hermit - 5.1
15 Plow Under - 4.9
16 Joraga Treespeaker - 4.6
17 Eureka - 4.5
18 Thragtusk - 4.2
19 Regrowth - 3.9
20 Thrun, the Last Troll - 3.8
We had 17 (Where did everyone go?!?!) voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
Colby Cube, cuttups, wtwlf123, Truesight, dschumm, Ennex, preppypoof, Stoelveter, calibretto, hopefulhawkeye, CorporateNoun, Calintares, TheRift88, Fredo, flutterguy, willdice, hoodwink
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Fauna Shaman (3.6), Courser of Kruphix (3.2) & Green Sun's Zenith (3.0)
*NEW Champ: Survival of the Fittest retakes it's #1 spot (Eternal Witness was Green's 2010 #1)
*Big Hitter: Survival of the Fittest was the ONLY Unanimous card for Green. Eternal Witness, Sylvan Library, Garruk Wildspeaker, Natural Order and Noble Hierarch each received one no-vote.
*Bi-Polar Award: Plow Under. It received votes of 19, 16, 16 and 13. Then nothing above 6, including 8 no-votes.
*Rookies: Natural Order (#5), Garruk Relentless (#6), Rofellos (#7), Lotus Cobra (#9), Primeval Titan (#10), Channel (#12), Joraga Treespeaker (#16), Eureka (#17), Thragtusk (#18) and Thrun (#20) are all newcomers to Green's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*ROOKIE CLASS: Half of Green's Top 10, as well as half of the Top 20 are all newcomers. Of those new comers, 4 were printed last CENTURY. Natural Order (1997), Rofellos (1999), Channel (1993) and Eureka (1994). Add in Lotus Cobra (2009), and half of the newcomers were eligible for the Top 20 in 2010.
*Fall From Grace: Genesis. With a lofty #4 ranking with a 14.0 composite in 2010, Genesis received ONE vote of 14 in 2014.
*Consistency Award: Survival of the Fittest and Eternal Witness have maintained their strength: #1 and #3 in 2009; #2 and #1 in 2010; #1 and #3 in 2014, respectively.
*Big Movers: Natural Order (original print: 1997) went from Unranked to #5. Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary (original print: 1999) went from Unranked to #7.
*60 different cards received votes
2 Umezawa's Jitte - 17.9
3 ABU Mox Jewelry - 15.0
3 Black Lotus - 15.0
5 Skullclamp - 13.1
6 Sword of Fire and Ice - 12.7
7 Mana Crypt - 11.6
8 Mana Vault - 10.6
9 Wurmcoil Engine - 9.3
10 Mox Diamond - 8.8
11 Sword of Body and Mind - 8.4
12 Grim Monolith - 8.3
13 Batterskull - 7.4
14 Karn Liberated - 6.8
15 Sword of Light and Shadow - 5.8
16 Sword of Feast and Famine - 5.4
17 Tangle Wire - 5.2
18 Sword of War and Peace - 4.6
19 Winter Orb - 3.9
20 Coalition Relic - 3.1
We had 24 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
preppypoof, scourge of the kitchen table, Bomo, hopefulhawkeye, cuttups, Truesight, rantipole, wtwlf123, Monkey D Luffy, calibretto, TheRift88, Ennex, Metamind, willdice, pillar15, Star Slayer, Fredo, Hicham, Colby Cube, trogdoor, msipes, DerBK, Goodking
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Solemn Simulacrum (1.8), Myr Battlesphere (1.5) & Smokestack/Mimic Vat (1.3)
*Repeat Champ: Sol Ring once again, repeats as Artifact's #1 card.
*Big Hitters: Sol Ring, Skullclamp and Umezawa's Jitte were the only cards to receive votes from all participants.
*Bi-Polar Award: Sword of Body & Mind. It received 9 votes of 10 or more and 12 votes between 5 and 9 as well as 2 no-votes.
*Rookies: Wurmcoil Engine (#9), Sword of Body & Mind (#11), Batterskull (#13), Karn Liberated (#14), Sword of Feast & Famine (#16) and Sword of War & Peace (#18) are all newcomers to Artifacts's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!) Basically, amazing creatures, strong equipment and a Planeswalker were all added.
*Fall From Grace: Sensei's Divining Top was #9 in 2010! It received 5 votes (10, 4, 4, 3 and 1) in 2014. It's obviously not the card that we all thought it once was.
*Consistency Award: Sol Ring, obviously. The last 3 PR's have resulted in composites of 20.0, 19.9 and 19.9. Amazing.
*Big Mover: Grim Monolith. Surprisingly, Monolith was on the "Just Missed" list in 2010 with a composite of 1.6 (essentially ranking #22). It leaped up to #8 in 2014.
*51 different cards received votes
2 Strip Mine - 18.6
3 Maze of Ith - 14.5
4 City of Brass - 14.3
5 Mana Confluence - 13.4
6 ABU Dual Lands - 12.8
6 Wasteland - 12.8
8 ONS/ZEN Fetch Lands - 12.7
9 RAV Shock Lands - 10.5
10 Mishra's Factory - 9.9
11 Mutavault - 9.6
12 Rishadan Port - 8.3
13 Grand Coliseum - 8.2
14 Ancient Tomb - 7.1
15 Evolving Wilds (Terramorphic Expanse) - 4.8
16 Horizon Canopy - 4.6
17 Gemstone Mine - 4.5
18 City of Ass - 3.3
18 Dust Bowl - 3.3
20 IND/M10 Check Lands - 3.0
We had 15 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
cuttups, ColbyCube, wtwlf123, Ennex, preppypoof, TheRift88, willdice, pillar15, CorporateNoun, trogdoor, scourge of the kitchen table, Bomo, Star Slayer, hopefulhawkeye, rantipole
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Undiscovered Paradise (2.5), Reflecting Pool & ICE/APC Pain Lands (2.1 both)
*Repeat Champ: Library of Alexandira once again, repeats as Land's #1 card. It received ALL 20's and one no-vote, which is what got Strip Mine so close!
*Big Hitters: Strip Mine, Maze of Ith, City of Brass and the RAV Shock Lands were the only cards to receive votes from all participants.
*Bi-Polar Award: Grand Coliseum. 6 votes of 10 or more, 5 votes of either 6 or 8, one vote of 2 and two no-votes. All over the place!
*Rookies: Mana Confluence (#5), Ancient Tomb (#14), Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse (#15), Horizon Canopy (#16), City of Ass and Dust Bowl (#18) and the IND/M10 Check Lands (#20) are all newcomers to Land's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Cannot name one. 8 cards from 2010's Top 20 Land were moved into their appropriate color/guild, and there are 7 newcomers to fill those spots. All of the cards eligible for 2014's Top 20 were in 2010's Top 20.
*Consistency Award: Library of Alexandria, obviously. The last 3 PR's have resulted in composites of 20.0, 20.0 and 18.7 (all 20's and one no-vote). Amazing.
*Big Mover: Mana Confluence. Unranked (unprinted) in 2010, recently released in May 2014 and immediately jumps to the #5 ranked land. That's impressive.
*34 different cards received votes
1 Geist of Saint Traft - 9.3
2 Celestial Colonnade - 8.1
3 Supreme Verdict - 7.4
4 Detention Sphere - 6.9
5 Venser, the Soujourner - 6.3
6 Sphinx's Revelation - 5.3
7 Azorius Signet - 2.7
8 Talisman of Progress - 1.9
9 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV - 1.5
10 Lavinia of the Tenth - 1.4
DIMIR
1 Creeping Tar Pit - 9.1
2 Baleful Strix - 7.8
3 Psychatog - 7.1
4 Shadowmage Infiltrator - 6.5
5 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas - 5.4
6 Duskmantle Seer - 4.8
7 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver - 2.6
8 Dimir Signet - 2.4
9 Far // Away - 2.2
10 Talisman of Dominance - 1.9
RAKDOS
1 Rakdos Cackler - 9.3
2 Murderous Redcap - 7.8
3 Dreadbore - 7.7
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat - 6.1
5 Lavaclaw Reaches - 5.0
6 Spike Jester - 3.6
7 Terminate - 3.3
7 Olivia Voldaren - 3.3
7 Blightning - 3.3
10 Bituminous Blast - 1.2
GRUUL
1 Bloodbraid Elf - 9.7
2 Xenagos, the Reveler - 7.1
3 Huntmaster of the Fells - 6.6
4 Sarkhan Vol - 6.5
5 Raging Ravine - 5.8
6 Kird Ape - 4.7
7 Ghor-Clan Rampager - 4.0
8 Tattermunge Maniac - 2.7
9 Domri Rade - 2.4
10 Flinthoof Boar - 1.6
1 Kitchen Finks - 9.6
2 Qasali Pridemage - 7.8
3 Dryad Militant - 7.3
4 Voice of Resurgence - 7.1
5 Mirari's Wake - 5.3
6 Knight of the Reliquary - 4.4
7 Stirring Wildwood - 3.7
8 Loam Lion - 3.7
9 Armada Wurm - 1.9
10 Sigarda, Host of Herons - 1.4
ORZHOV
1 Vindicate - 9.8
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad - 8.7
3 Lingering Souls - 8.4
4 Unburial Rites - 4.9
5 Tidehollow Sculler - 3.8
6 Gerrard's Verdict - 3.6
7 Desolation Angel - 3.1
7 Obzedat, Ghost Coulcil - 3.1
7 Stillmoon Cavalier - 3.1
10 Mortify - 1.8
GOLGARI
1 Pernicious Deed - 9.9
2 Maelstrom Pulse - 8.8
3 Abrupt Decay - 6.8
4 Deathrite Shaman - 6.6
5 Lotleth Troll - 6.4
6 Vraska the Unseen - 4.2
7 Life // Death - 3.9
8 Putrefy - 3.4
9 Putrid Leech - 1.8
10 Spiritmonger - 1.7
SIMIC
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest - 8.6
2 Mystic Snake - 8.4
3 Kiora, the Crashing Wave - 7.7
4 Trygon Predator - 7.6
5 Simic Sky Swallower - 5.8
6 Shardless Agent - 3.7
7 Simic Signet - 3.2
8 Prime Speaker Zegana - 3.1
8 Simic Charm - 3.1
10 Progenitor Mimic
1 Ral Zarek - 10.0
2 Izzet Charm - 7.8
3 Fire // Ice - 6.7
4 Electrolyze - 6.6
5 Steam Augury - 5.7
6 Prophetic Bolt - 4.7
7 Izzet Signet - 3.8
8 Turn // Burn - 2.9
9 Keranos, God of Storms - 2.3
10 Jilt - 1.8
BOROS
1 Ajani Vengeant - 9.9
2 Figure of Destiny - 9.0
3 Boros Charm - 7.7
4 Lightning Helix - 6.9
5 Boros Reckoner - 5.9
6 Slayers' Stronghold - 4.3
7 Aurelia's Fury - 2.5
8 Assemble the Legion - 2.4
9 Duergar Hedge-Mage - 0.9
9 Chained to the Rocks - 0.9
We had 16 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
wtwlf123, hopefulhawkeye, preppypoof, scourge of the kitchen table, pillar15, Goodking, Firebrad, willdice, Ennez, rantipole, TheRift88, CorporateNoun, LucidVision, calibretto, cuttups, ColbyCube
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Wall of Denial (1.2, Azorius); Disciple of Deceit (1.1, Dimir); Fulminator Mage (0.9, Rakdos); Kessig Wolf Run (1.4, Gruul); Gavony Township (1.1, Selesnya); Atheros, God of Passage (1.4, Orzhov); Cadaverous Bloom (0.6, Golgari); Snakeform & Kiora's Follower (0.7, Simic); Desolate Lighthouse (1.3, Izzet); Brion Stoutarm & Aurelia, the Warleader (0.8, Boros)
*Repeat Champs: Bloodbraid Elf, Vindicate Pernicious Deed and Ajani Vengeant are the only 3x #1 cards for their Guilds. Kitchen Finks (2010, 2014) is a 2x #1 card.
*Big Hitters: Ral Zarek was the ONLY card to be a Unanimous 10. Ajani Vengeant received all 10's and one 9-vote.
*Rookies: There we 60 (SIXTY!!) newcomers to their Guild's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Giant Solifuge (#2, 7.5 composite, Gruul); Void (#4, 7.3 composite, Rakdos) didn't receive votes. Oona, Queen of the Fae (#1, 9.1 composite in 2010; Unranked, 0.7 composite in 2014, Dimir) and Wall of Denial (#2, 8.5 composite in 2010; Unranked, 1.2 composite in 2014, Azorius) fell out of the Top 10.
*193 different cards received votes
1 Black Lotus
2 Sol Ring
3 Library of Alexandria
4 Ancestral Recall
------- Double Stroke (this is where it would go if I could vote for it, this surprised me that I'd take it this high)
5 Umezawa’s Jitte
6 ABU Moxen (Mox Sapphire and crew)
7 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
8 Mana Drain
9 Time Walk
------- Backup Plan (this is where it would go if I could vote for it)
10 Mana Crypt
11 Demonic Tutor
12 Mana Vault
13 Balance
14 Grim Monolith
15 Skullclamp
16 Recurring Nightmare
17 Survival of the Fittest
18 Sulfuric Vortex
19 Mind Twist
20 Stoneforge Mystic
I think fast mana is extremely underrated so far. The hardest section for me to rank was #3-#5 (including Double Stroke).
I think some of these change from day to day. For instance, if I want to draft combo, I may want to draft Demonic Tutor a little higher, if I want to draft red aggro, Sulfuric Vortex may be higher, etc. I think this is a pretty good average of where I rank cards.
CUBE TOP 10 - Help us vote for the best cards in cube
I was going to copy/paste those from the Power Rankings thread and got pulled away at work and forgot. Thanks for the pick me up.
NorCal Crew Collective Cube on Cube Tutor
My 2009 Cube Draft Article - "With The First Pick..."
2009 Official Cube Power Rankings
2010 Official Cube Power Rankings
2014 Official Cube Power Rankings
Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom:
The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray).
The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it.
The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
Twitter: @archplus3
2 Black Lotus
3 Sol Ring
4 Time Walk
5 Ancestral Recall
6 ABU Mox
7 Umezawa's Jitte
8 Strip Mine
9 Wasteland
10 Tinker
11 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
12 Recurring Nightmare
13 Land Tax
14 Sword of Fire and Ice
15 Mana Crypt
16 Sword of Light and Shadow
17 Survival of the Fittest
18 Mind Twist
19 Sulfuric Vortex
20 Demonic Tutor
02 Sol Ring
03 Umezawa's Jitte
04 Ancestral Recall
05 Black Lotus
06 Time Walk
07 Balance
08 Mind Twist
09 Recurring Nightmare
10 ABU Moxen
11 Mana Drain
12 Armageddon (Ravages of War)
13 Mox Diamond
14 Sword of Fire and Ice
15 Skullclamp
16 Sulfuric Vortex
17 Strip Mine
18 Tinker
19 Mana Crypt
20 Upheaval
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
2. Black Lotus
3. Mana Crypt
4. Library of Alexandria
5. Ancestral Recall
6. Time Walk
7. Moxen
8. Jitte
9. Mana Vault
10. Upheaval
11. Mind Twist
12. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
13. Grim Monolith
14. Coalition Relic
15. Recurring Nightmare
16. Tinker
17. Skullclamp
18. Strip Mine
19. Demonic Tutor
20. Vampiric Tutor
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
1. Sol Ring
2. Black Lotus
3. Ancestral Recall
4. Time walk
5. Mana crypt
6. Moxen
7. Library of Alexandria
8. Mind Twist
9. Umezawa's Jitte
10. Balance
11. Mana Drain
12. Skullclamp
13. Jace, the mind sculptor
14. Mox Diamond
15. Tinker
16. Mana Vault
17. Recurring Nightmare
18. Demonic Tutor
19. Sulfuric Vortex
20. Strip mine
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
1) Sol Ring
2) Library of Alexandria
3) Ancestral Recall
4) Time Walk
5) Black Lotus
6) Jace, the Mind Sculptor
7) Mox Jewelry
8) Umezawas Jitte
9) Wurmcoil Engine
10) Batterskull
11) Mana Crypt
12) Elspeth, Knight-Errant
13) Mana Drain
14) Mana Vault
15) Skullclamp
16) Mind Twist
17) Liliana of the Veil
18) Demonic Tutor
19) Gideon Jura
20) Grave Titan
I can't wait until next year when I can add Double Stroke, Backup Plan & Advantageous Proclamation to the list!
My 540 card Powered Cube last updated March 2022
Etali, Primal Storm EDH
2) Sol Ring
3) Ancestral Recall
4) Mana Crypt
5) Time Walk
6) ABU Moxen
7) Black Lotus
8) Umezawa's Jitte
9) Balance
10) Mind Twist
11) Skullclamp
12) Armageddon/Ravages of War
13) Mana Drain
14) Recurring Nightmare
15) Jace, the Mind Sculptor
16) Mana Vault
17) Sword of Fire and Ice
18) Strip Mine
19) Survival of the Fittest
20) Sulfuric Vortex
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
1. Sol Ring
2. Library of Alexandria
3. Umezawa's Jitte
4. Black Lotus
5. Time Walk
6. Ancestral Recall
7. ABU Moxen
8. Mind Twist
9. Balance
10. Strip Mine
11. Sword of Fire and Ice
12. Karn Liberated
13. Skullclamp
14. Recurring Nightmare
15. Tinker
16. Demonic Tutor
17. Symbol Status
18. Elspeth, Knight-Errant
19. Upheaval
20. Sulfuric Vortex
I feel like the bottom half of this list could change depending on my mood.
Draft my cube!
Watch me stream!
CUBE TOP 10 - Help us vote for the best cards in cube
The tempo advantage of Sol Ring over Lotus is insane. I haven't made a Top 20 at all this year (I normally do), but I would definitely put LoA and Sol Ring over Lotus.
NorCal Crew Collective Cube on Cube Tutor
My 2009 Cube Draft Article - "With The First Pick..."
2009 Official Cube Power Rankings
2010 Official Cube Power Rankings
2014 Official Cube Power Rankings
Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom:
The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray).
The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it.
The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
Twitter: @archplus3
I'm surprised people can see a Library P1P1 and take something else.
I'm also surprised at the really small number of votes in this category so far...
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
2 Sol Ring
3 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Black Lotus
5 Ancestral Recall
6 Time Walk
7 ABU Moxen
8 Mox Diamond
9 Sword of Fire and Ice
10 Balance
11 Mind Twist
12 Recurring Nightmare
13 Mana Drain
14 Skullclamp
15 Mana Crypt
16 Armageddon
17 Tinker
18 Mana Vault
19 Grim Monolith
20 Sword of Light and Shadow
Leaving out Strip Mine and Demonic Tutor was painful, but I think I really would P1P1 all of the cards in my list over them.
Edit: Ugh! Upheaval too. This was so hard!
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
02 Sol Ring
03 Umezawa's Jitte
04 Black Lotus
05 Ancestral Recall
06 Time Walk
07 ABU Moxen
08 Recurring Nightmare
09 Mind Twist
10 Balance
11 Sword of Fire and Ice
12 Mana Drain
13 Mox Diamond
14 Skullclamp
15 Mana Crypt
16 Armageddon /Ravages of War
17 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
18 Mana Vault
19 Demonic Tutor
20 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Edit: Made a minor change.
02 Sol Ring
03 Umezawa's Jitte
04 Black Lotus
05 Ancestral Recall
06 Time Walk
07 ABU Moxen
08 Mind Twist
09 Recurring Nightmare
10 Balance
11 Sword of Fire and Ice
12 Mana Drain
13 Skullclamp
14 Armageddon
15 Sulfuric Vortex
16 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
17 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
18 Upheaval
19 Mox Diamond
20 Demonic Tutor
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
1 Black Lotus
2 Sol Ring
3 Library of Alexandria
4 Ancestral Recall
------- Double Stroke (this is where it would go if I could vote for it, this surprised me that I'd take it this high)
5 Umezawa’s Jitte
6 ABU Moxen (Mox Sapphire and crew)
7 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
8 Mana Drain
9 Time Walk
------- Backup Plan (this is where it would go if I could vote for it)
10 Mana Crypt
11 Demonic Tutor
12 Mana Vault
13 Balance
14 Grim Monolith
15 Skullclamp
16 Recurring Nightmare
17 Survival of the Fittest
18 Sulfuric Vortex
19 Mind Twist
20 Stoneforge Mystic
I think fast mana is extremely underrated so far. The hardest section for me to rank was #3-#5 (including Double Stroke).
I think some of these change from day to day. For instance, if I want to draft combo, I may want to draft Demonic Tutor a little higher, if I want to draft red aggro, Sulfuric Vortex may be higher, etc. I think this is a pretty good average of where I rank cards.
CUBE TOP 10 - Help us vote for the best cards in cube
02 Library of Alexandria
03 Black Lotus
04 ABU Moxen
05 Umezawa's Jitte
06 Ancestral Recall
07 Mind Twist
08 Recurring Nightmare
09 Time Walk
10 Mana Drain
11 Sword of Fire and Ice
12 Treachery
13 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
14 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
15 Balance
16 Upheaval
17 Batterskull
18 Gideon Jura
19 Shriekmaw
20 Skullclamp
1. I used only cards from my personal top 20 lists from previous votes (almost exclusively cards that I have actually cubed with).
2. I kept the order in which I ranked the cards in those previous votes (within each category).
3. There are no red, green or multicolor cards on this list.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
I'm taking something else if it's Sol Ring etc. The deciding factor there is that both of those cards obviously crush so many other decks, but when faced against each other the Library opening is often playing catch-up and not doing it well versus the Sol Ring opening.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I think Sol Ring is better than Lotus in most cubes, but in most cubes I'm still taking Black Lotus over Library.
CUBE TOP 10 - Help us vote for the best cards in cube
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
1. Sol Ring
2. Black Lotus
3. ABU Moxen
4. Library of Alexandria
5. Ancestral Recall
6. Time Walk
7. Mana Drain
8. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
9. Recurring Nightmare
10. Umezawa's Jitte
11. Mana Crypt
12. Tinker
13. Mind Twist
14. Balance
15. Mana Vault
16. Armageddon
17. Skullclamp
18. Strip Mine
19. Sword of Fire and Ice
20. Sulfuric Vortex
Unsurprisingly fast mana, blue cards and equipment are well represented.
Totally true. Finding faults with the best cards possible is tough.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
1. Sol Ring
2. Black Lotus
3. Time Walk
4. Ancestral Recall
5. ABU Moxen
6. Mind Twist
7. Umezawa's Jitte
8. Library of Alexandria
9. Mana Drain
10. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
11. Sword of Fire and Ice
12. Sulfuric Vortex
13. Recurring Nightmare
14. Liliana of the Veil
15. Treachery
16. Sword of Feast and Famine
17. Sword of War and Peace
18. Bitterblossom
19. Sword of Body and Mind
20. Wurmcoil Engine