We had 16 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
ColbyCube, willdice, wtwlf123, Salmo, LucidVision, kingneb, scourge of the kitchen table, metamind, cuttups, rantipole, TheRift88, calibretto, Star Slayer, pillar15, guyincorporated, Magic-Jiffen
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Upheaval (2.0), Demonic Tutor (1.7) & Grim Monolith & Treachery (1.1)
*NEW Champ: After getting consecutive 2nd places, Sol Ring finally takes down Library of Alexandria for the #1 overall Cube card.
*Big Hitters: Sol Ring, Library of Alexandria, Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Umezawa's Jitte, ABU Mox Jewelry and Mind Twist all received votes from all participants.
*Bi-Polar Award: Balance had FOUR no-votes (?!?!?!)
*Rookies: Jace, the Mind Sculptor (#12), Mana Vault (#16), Tinker (#17), Sulfuric Vortex (#18) and Elspeth, Knight-Errant (#20) are all newcomers to Overall's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Armageddon (#10 in 2010) dropped to #20 in 2014.
*Consistency Award: 8 of the Top 10 from 2010 and 7 of the Top 10 from 2009 repeated in the Top 10 in 2014. Ironically, the ABU Mox Jewelry is making their Top 10 debut this year.
*Big Mover: Mana Crypt jumped from #20 (1.9 composite) in 2010 up to #9 (8.2 composite) in 2014.
*45 different cards received votes
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.
Balance and Armageddon seem low to me, but the overall list isn't particularly surprising.
Both those cards lose position probably because they do require some set up to be truly broken, and it's real easy to misplay with those cards too, hurting their image. The cards above balance are easier to use without fault, and the same can be said for armageddon.
I'm shocked that the moxen weren't top ten before this year.
I was also shocked at how low Balance and Armageddon ranked. Balance is a ridiculous card in any white deck. While I do agree with Salmo that Armageddon does require some building to be around it as well as some setup, but the sheer power of the card in THAT type of deck (plus it's slashability) is why I would think it gets ranked higher.
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.
Pack 2 or 3 I'll take on-color Jewelry over a Jitte a lot of the time (especially in a creature-light deck), but P1P1 when I don't have a color direction yet, I'll pull down the Jitte instead. I've won and lost more games to a Jitte than I have to an off-color ABU Mox over the life of the cube.
Jitte works in every deck. It's never NOT a good card. It's amazing, it wins games. It's Aggro and Control. Early game, mid-game, late game. Jitte. I'll never draw a Mox in the late game and give that smirk and nod as if it has just swung the game.
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.
Jitte works in every deck. It's never NOT a good card. It's amazing, it wins games. It's Aggro and Control. Early game, mid-game, late game. Jitte. I'll never draw a Mox in the late game and give that smirk and nod as if it has just swung the game.
Magical Hacker is a good foil to Jitte, but that's largely getting too specific; it's pretty incredible.
I am surprised that Mana Drain is so high on this list. Maybe I am just under-valuing that card.
Magical Hacker is a ridiculous card. Especially with Planeswalkers. Sure, I will +13 my Jace and watch as your library disappears. Or +8 my Tamiyo for unlimited buyback. Hmmm....
The only card on this list that is pretty suspect is Mox Diamond. I don't think that card is remotely in the top 20 best cards in Cube. Do most people feel this card is amazing?
Mox Diamond is sweet. You're getting a mox that can produce any color of mana (which is sweet), while it ramps you for pitching a land. We play it as a spell (kind of really weird to cut a land for this thing), and when you look at it like a ramp spell, it looks super awesome. It fixes, ramps, and allows you to make two mana on turn 1. Yes, you're losing a card in hand to play it, but you're gaining a ton of tempo compared to something like Farseek. It goes in both control and aggro decks (although IMO it's best in mid-range), and is great in fringe archetypes like storm, or the artifact deck if you're interested in them.
I stumbled onto a thread a little bit ago where people were saying they would pick Mox Diamond over an ABU Moxen. I think people have largely eschewed that preference, and rightly so, but the arguments they made for that line of thinking are reasonable. Mox Diamond is awesome.
Also, as an aside, a lot of people run cube cards that make lands in your graveyard not horrible. The best one in my cube is Cabal Ritual, but other people play Life From the Loam, Crucible of Worlds, etc. Tarmogoyf gets bigger too as a result.
I definitely play Mox Diamond in my Cube for the reasons you listed, just surprised it's in the top 20 best cards in Cube. I would take so many cards not listed over it first pick.
I am surprised that Mana Drain is so high on this list. Maybe I am just under-valuing that card.
I once undervalued it, too. A few years ago, I put it into my cube because I wanted another 2-mana counter spell. My cube is unpowered and I don't run any super fast mana like Moxen or Sol Ring, but I thought that Mana Drain would be fine, since it only gives a single mana boost and not before turn three. After a year, I cut it because it was easily one of the top ten most broken cards in my cube. Getting 2 or 3 basically for free on turn three or four is a significant boost. If you go second and your opponent casts a 3-drop on his third turn, you can cast a Titan-sized threat on your own third turn... in addition to countering your opponent's 3-drop! That is a game-changing, no, game-breaking tempo boost. Countering your opponent's important spell is like slapping him in the face, but consequently casting a Titan is like kicking him in the nuts for free. Mana Drain definitely deserves its high placement in the Top 20 list.
The only card on this list that is pretty suspect is Mox Diamond. I don't think that card is remotely in the top 20 best cards in Cube. Do most people feel this card is amazing?
Kinda surprised Upheaval just missed the cut is it really that amazing of a card in cube? Also I didn't realize elspeth was that good to make the top 20 either.
Upheaval is much worse in our cube than it is in wtwlf123's if he's ranking it in the top 5, but it's definitely a super powerful card. I ranked it #10 I believe.
These are final and now open for group discussion.
2 Library of Alexandria - 18.4
3 Black Lotus - 17.6
4 Ancestral Recall - 16.6
5 Time Walk - 15.3
6 Umezawa's Jitte - 15.1
7 ABU Mox Jewelry - 14.6
8 Mind Twist - 10.4
9 Mana Crypt - 8.2
10 Mana Drain - 8.1
10 Recurring Nightmare - 8.1
12 Jace, the Mind Sculptor - 7.4
13 Balance - 6.9
14 Skullclamp - 5.9
15 Sword of Fire and Ice - 5.6
16 Mana Vault - 3.8
17 Tinker - 3.2
18 Sulfuric Vortex - 2.7
19 Strip Mine - 2.4
19 Mox Diamond - 2.4
20 Armageddon / Ravages of War - 2.1
20 Elspeth, Knight-Errant - 2.1
We had 16 voters! Thank you to everyone for taking time to vote!
ColbyCube, willdice, wtwlf123, Salmo, LucidVision, kingneb, scourge of the kitchen table, metamind, cuttups, rantipole, TheRift88, calibretto, Star Slayer, pillar15, guyincorporated, Magic-Jiffen
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings & Facts
*Just Missed: Upheaval (2.0), Demonic Tutor (1.7) & Grim Monolith & Treachery (1.1)
*NEW Champ: After getting consecutive 2nd places, Sol Ring finally takes down Library of Alexandria for the #1 overall Cube card.
*Big Hitters: Sol Ring, Library of Alexandria, Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Umezawa's Jitte, ABU Mox Jewelry and Mind Twist all received votes from all participants.
*Bi-Polar Award: Balance had FOUR no-votes (?!?!?!)
*Rookies: Jace, the Mind Sculptor (#12), Mana Vault (#16), Tinker (#17), Sulfuric Vortex (#18) and Elspeth, Knight-Errant (#20) are all newcomers to Overall's Top 20 (A 4-year layoff will do that!)
*Fall From Grace: Armageddon (#10 in 2010) dropped to #20 in 2014.
*Consistency Award: 8 of the Top 10 from 2010 and 7 of the Top 10 from 2009 repeated in the Top 10 in 2014. Ironically, the ABU Mox Jewelry is making their Top 10 debut this year.
*Big Mover: Mana Crypt jumped from #20 (1.9 composite) in 2010 up to #9 (8.2 composite) in 2014.
*45 different cards received votes
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
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!
Both those cards lose position probably because they do require some set up to be truly broken, and it's real easy to misplay with those cards too, hurting their image. The cards above balance are easier to use without fault, and the same can be said for armageddon.
I'm shocked that the moxen weren't top ten before this year.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
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
I was also shocked at how low Balance and Armageddon ranked. Balance is a ridiculous card in any white deck. While I do agree with Salmo that Armageddon does require some building to be around it as well as some setup, but the sheer power of the card in THAT type of deck (plus it's slashability) is why I would think it gets ranked higher.
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
JtMS is, IMO, totally overrateed. I didn't vote for him in the top 20.
Mostly this is a great list. Thanks again Silent for running this!
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
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!
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
Magical Hacker is a good foil to Jitte, but that's largely getting too specific; it's pretty incredible.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Draft my cube!
Watch me stream!
Magical Hacker is a ridiculous card. Especially with Planeswalkers. Sure, I will +13 my Jace and watch as your library disappears. Or +8 my Tamiyo for unlimited buyback. Hmmm....
I stumbled onto a thread a little bit ago where people were saying they would pick Mox Diamond over an ABU Moxen. I think people have largely eschewed that preference, and rightly so, but the arguments they made for that line of thinking are reasonable. Mox Diamond is awesome.
Also, as an aside, a lot of people run cube cards that make lands in your graveyard not horrible. The best one in my cube is Cabal Ritual, but other people play Life From the Loam, Crucible of Worlds, etc. Tarmogoyf gets bigger too as a result.
CUBE TOP 10 - Help us vote for the best cards in cube
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
Yes. Well, the people that voted, anyways.
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!
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!
CUBE TOP 10 - Help us vote for the best cards in cube
Mox Diamond is totally at Top20 cube card to me--actually, more like a top 10 one.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963