b]Tendencies, Useless Rantings, and Facts (TURF)[/b]
* [b]Just Missed[/b] - Sword of Light and Shadow 2.3, Mimic Vat (1.5) didn't quite make the cut this year.
* [b]Returning Champion[/b] - Sol Ring.
* [b]Big Hitters[/b] - Moxen, Batterskull, Black lotus, Sol Ring, Sword of Fire and Ice, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Umezawa's Jitte, Wurmcoil Engine all got votes.
Never expected Ugin to be there. I know it is powerful, but is 8 mana easily attainable in ramp? In cheat strategies (Show and Tell / Channel) is it better than Tinker-able, Natural Order-able, Reanimate-able creatures?
I am not questioning the results, I am just considering Ugin if he fits my 450 unpowered.
It only fits in ramp decks, but it's fantastic there. It can wipe out most threats while leaving behind a very dangerous planeswalker that ticks up fast while removing threats or killing your opponent. I can't speak to whether it's actually better than Karn because I don't have a copy of Karn, but I'm not surprised to see it on this list.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Speaking of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: A dedicated ramp deck should have no trouble reaching 8 mana in time. It is not the only type of deck that can run Ugin though. He is also reasonable in control decks. Sure, 8 mana is a little bit much, but if you take control of the game, you will reach that much mana eventually. And Ugin is great at helping you stay in control and at helping you win the game.
Most decks have a hard time winning against a resolved Ugin. He is really hard to kill with creatures, often making direct planeswalker removal the only option. And those effects are still a bit scarce. So, Ugin is hard to remove, stabilizes you and helps you win the game. That's why he is in this top 20.
...
I am surprised that Sword of Light and Shadow didn't make the list, while Sword of Body and Mind made it rather handily. When I looked at other people's votes after the first day or so, most of them ranked SoLaS well above SoBaM. Seems like most of the later voters preferred the newer sword.
I am surprised that Sword of Light and Shadow didn't make the list, while Sword of Body and Mind made it rather handily. When I looked at other people's votes after the first day or so, most of them ranked SoLaS well above SoBaM. Seems like most of the later voters preferred the newer sword.
I still think SoLaS is the second best sword and that it's not particularly close. Those protections are the absolute best ones and the Raise Dead effect is great. The lifegain is often relevant. SoBaM has the worst protections and the milling is only great if that's how you win. I find the damage from a SoBaM equipped creature is often enough to get there and therefore the milling is pointless. I'm not going to lie and saying making a 2/2 isn't killer.
Finally mana crypt is getting less absurd with it's ranking slot. Previous years it was hilariously underranked, now it's only underranked
I'm convinced it's on the black lotus/sol ring tier in power level. Hopefully it's a matter of time before that's commonly accepted that is true.
Only reason I rank the card clearly below them is it's more narrow. You want it in a deck with either a lot of life gain, or has the goal of closing out the game quickly. It's playable in basically every deck, but it's not meant for every deck.
2 Black Lotus -AVG: 19.1 STD: 0.5 MODE: 19 Median: 19
3 ABU Mox -AVG: 17.8 STD: 0.6 MODE: 18 Median: 18
4 Umezawa's Jitte -AVG: 16.1 STD: 1.3 MODE: 16 Median: 16
5 Mana Crypt -AVG: 14.7 STD: 5.7 MODE: 17 Median: 17
6 Mana Vault -AVG: 13.8 STD: 3.2 MODE: 14 Median: 14
7 Skullclamp -AVG: 12.7 STD: 3.3 MODE: 15 Median: 14
8 Grim Monolith -AVG: 10.8 STD: 3.6 MODE: 13 Median: 12
8 Sword of Fire and Ice - AVG: 10.8 STD: 2.9 Mode: 11
10 Mox Diamond -AVG: 10 STD: 5.1 MODE: 15 Median: 12
11 Wurmcoil Engine -AVG: 9.6 STD: 3.6 MODE: 11 Median: 10
12 Batterskull -AVG: 7.8 STD: 4.1 MODE: 10 Median: 9
13 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon -AVG: 6 STD: 3.8 MODE: 1 Median: 6
14 Sword of Body and Mind -AVG: 5 STD: 4.5 MODE: 0 Median: 5
15 Tangle Wire -AVG: 4.2 STD: 4.5 MODE: 0 Median: 3
16 Coalition Relic -AVG: 4.2 STD: 3.6 MODE: 0 Median: 5
17 Karn Liberated -AVG: 4.1 STD: 4.1 MODE: 0 Median: 3
18 Smokestack -AVG: 3.8 STD: 3.8 MODE: 0 Median: 2
19 Winter Orb -AVG: 3.7 STD: 4.1 MODE: 0 Median: 3
20 Crucible of Worlds -AVG: 2.5 STD: 3.1 MODE: 0 Median: 0
b]Tendencies, Useless Rantings, and Facts (TURF)[/b]
* [b]Just Missed[/b] - Sword of Light and Shadow 2.3, Mimic Vat (1.5) didn't quite make the cut this year.
* [b]Returning Champion[/b] - Sol Ring.
* [b]Big Hitters[/b] - Moxen, Batterskull, Black lotus, Sol Ring, Sword of Fire and Ice, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Umezawa's Jitte, Wurmcoil Engine all got votes.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
23. Metalworker (1.39)
24. Emrakul, the Promised End (1.09)
25. Myr Battlesphere (0.87)
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
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!
I am not questioning the results, I am just considering Ugin if he fits my 450 unpowered.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Most decks have a hard time winning against a resolved Ugin. He is really hard to kill with creatures, often making direct planeswalker removal the only option. And those effects are still a bit scarce. So, Ugin is hard to remove, stabilizes you and helps you win the game. That's why he is in this top 20.
...
I am surprised that Sword of Light and Shadow didn't make the list, while Sword of Body and Mind made it rather handily. When I looked at other people's votes after the first day or so, most of them ranked SoLaS well above SoBaM. Seems like most of the later voters preferred the newer sword.
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 still think SoLaS is the second best sword and that it's not particularly close. Those protections are the absolute best ones and the Raise Dead effect is great. The lifegain is often relevant. SoBaM has the worst protections and the milling is only great if that's how you win. I find the damage from a SoBaM equipped creature is often enough to get there and therefore the milling is pointless. I'm not going to lie and saying making a 2/2 isn't killer.
Cheers,
rant
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I'm convinced it's on the black lotus/sol ring tier in power level. Hopefully it's a matter of time before that's commonly accepted that is true.
Only reason I rank the card clearly below them is it's more narrow. You want it in a deck with either a lot of life gain, or has the goal of closing out the game quickly. It's playable in basically every deck, but it's not meant for every deck.
Last Updated 02/07/24
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