Thanks to all 14 voters!
Salmo, wtwlf123, LucidVision, Ennex, Spike Rogue, cuttups, metamind, calibretto, bondafong, pillar15, Star Slayer, rantipole, Mike Pemulis, Hicham
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings, and Facts (TURF)
Returning Champion: Sol Ring remains at the top of the list, although its lead over Library of Alexandria widened considerably since last year (29.64 to 28.43 this year, vs. 29.1 to 28.8 last year)
Greatest Risers: Grim Monolith climbed from #20 to #28 since last year, and Mox Diamond rose from #22 to #16.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Sol Ring (#1), Library of Alexandria (#2), Black Lotus (#3), Ancestral Recall (#4), and Sulfuric Vortex (#18) all retain the same spots they held last year. This is surprisingly few cards in the same slots considering....
Rookie of the Year: No newly printed cards cracked the Top 30 this year. In fact, the only newly printed card to receive any votes at all was Chandra, Torch of Defiance (#37).
Better Late Than Never: Wildfire/Burning of Xinye (#29) and Natural Order (#30) have been around since the '90s, but they're making the Overall list for the first time this year.
Colors Ranked by Power: Based on their inclusion in this year's Overall Top 30, the here's how the colors of the traditional cube environment measure up:
Cards: 12, Total Power Rankings Score: 224.56 (Note that this also includes two Lands: Library of Alexandria and Strip Mine) U Cards: 7, Total Power Rankings Score: 111.93 B Cards: 4, Total Power Rankings Score: 50.28 W Cards: 3, Total Power Rankings Score: 32.49 R Cards: 2, Total Power Rankings Score: 14.00 G Cards: 2, Total Power Rankings Score: 6.93
Interesting results.
For my play group at least, in our un-powered cube, cards 1 through 9 we have chosen to cut for power reasons, we run balance (10), but not mana drain ( ) and mana vault (14) since we think they are to good.
So maybe I am just surprised that mana drain and vault are not ranked higher.
I guess it's time to decide if we are just evaluating the cards incorrectly, or if we are evaluating them correctly, but since we are un-powered, then the cards play differently.
Thanks Spike Rogue for your work this year on the Power Rankings!
Interesting results.
For my play group at least, in our un-powered cube, cards 1 through 9 we have chosen to cut for power reasons, we run balance (10), but not mana drain ( ) and mana vault (14) since we think they are to good.
So maybe I am just surprised that mana drain and vault are not ranked higher.
I guess it's time to decide if we are just evaluating the cards incorrectly, or if we are evaluating them correctly, but since we are un-powered, then the cards play differently.
Thanks Spike Rogue for your work this year on the Power Rankings!
Balance is a weird card to evaluate relative to it's peers. It's not nearly as versatile as a lot of the best spells in cube, but when the deck is built to really break the symmetry, it is a messed up magic card.
It is better in powered cube than unpowered because artifact mana is one of the better ways to break the symmetry.
For my play group at least, in our un-powered cube, cards 1 through 9 we have chosen to cut for power reasons, we run balance (10), but not mana drain ( ) and mana vault (14) since we think they are to good.
For unpowered cubers, I think it's absolutely wise to look at what's near the top of this list for cards that might be too strong for your cube, but just because you're playing some cards that are ranked higher here than other cards you've banned doesn't mean they're automatically worth banning. Mana Vault would be extremely powerful in my cube because there is nothing else that provides a jump in mana anywhere near that fast for a single colorless mana, but someone running a fully powered cube would probably rank it much lower.
since we are un-powered, then the cards play differently.
This is absolutely true of Balance as already mentioned. It's also very true of Mind Twist and Tinker. A 2nd turn Tinker is way easier to pull off with Moxen than in a cube full of Signets, and being a full turn slower makes a big difference, and getting Mind Twisted for 3+ hurts a lot worse on turn 2 than it does on turn 3-4.
Thanks Spike Rogue for your work this year on the Power Rankings!
Thank you, allred! Your help has made a big difference for me, and made this possible.
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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.
2 Library of Alexandria - 28.43
3 Black Lotus - 28.07
4 Ancestral Recall - 26.86
5 ABU Mox - 25.36
6 Time Walk - 25.21
7 Mana Crypt - 23.21
8 Umezawa's Jitte - 20.64
9 Mind Twist - 20.21
10 Balance - 19.21
11 Mana Drain - 17.29
12 Tinker - 16.43
13 Mana Vault - 16.29
14 Recurring Nightmare - 15.57
15 Skullclamp - 14.14
16 Mox Diamond - 12.64
17 Jace, the Mind Sculptor - 12.50
18 Sulfuric Vortex - 10.79
19 Demonic Tutor - 9.86
20 Grim Monolith - 9.64
21 Armageddon (Ravages of War) - 9.14
21 Strip Mine - 9.14
23 Upheaval - 8.21
24 Sword of Fire and Ice - 7.36
25 Treachery - 5.43
26 Vampiric Tutor - 4.64
27 Elspeth, Knight-Errant - 4.14
28 Survival of the Fittest - 3.93
29 Wildfire (Burning of Xinye) - 3.21
30 Natural Order - 3.00
Thanks to all 14 voters!
Salmo, wtwlf123, LucidVision, Ennex, Spike Rogue, cuttups, metamind, calibretto, bondafong, pillar15, Star Slayer, rantipole, Mike Pemulis, Hicham
Tendencies, Useless Ramblings, and Facts (TURF)
Returning Champion: Sol Ring remains at the top of the list, although its lead over Library of Alexandria widened considerably since last year (29.64 to 28.43 this year, vs. 29.1 to 28.8 last year)
Greatest Risers: Grim Monolith climbed from #20 to #28 since last year, and Mox Diamond rose from #22 to #16.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Sol Ring (#1), Library of Alexandria (#2), Black Lotus (#3), Ancestral Recall (#4), and Sulfuric Vortex (#18) all retain the same spots they held last year. This is surprisingly few cards in the same slots considering....
Rookie of the Year: No newly printed cards cracked the Top 30 this year. In fact, the only newly printed card to receive any votes at all was Chandra, Torch of Defiance (#37).
Better Late Than Never: Wildfire/Burning of Xinye (#29) and Natural Order (#30) have been around since the '90s, but they're making the Overall list for the first time this year.
Just Missed: Batterskull and Wurmcoil Engine tied for #31 this year, with 2.29 points.
Colors Ranked by Power: Based on their inclusion in this year's Overall Top 30, the here's how the colors of the traditional cube environment measure up:
Cards: 12, Total Power Rankings Score: 224.56 (Note that this also includes two Lands: Library of Alexandria and Strip Mine)
U Cards: 7, Total Power Rankings Score: 111.93
B Cards: 4, Total Power Rankings Score: 50.28
W Cards: 3, Total Power Rankings Score: 32.49
R Cards: 2, Total Power Rankings Score: 14.00
G Cards: 2, Total Power Rankings Score: 6.93
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
For my play group at least, in our un-powered cube, cards 1 through 9 we have chosen to cut for power reasons, we run balance (10), but not mana drain ( ) and mana vault (14) since we think they are to good.
So maybe I am just surprised that mana drain and vault are not ranked higher.
I guess it's time to decide if we are just evaluating the cards incorrectly, or if we are evaluating them correctly, but since we are un-powered, then the cards play differently.
Thanks Spike Rogue for your work this year on the Power Rankings!
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
Balance is a weird card to evaluate relative to it's peers. It's not nearly as versatile as a lot of the best spells in cube, but when the deck is built to really break the symmetry, it is a messed up magic card.
It is better in powered cube than unpowered because artifact mana is one of the better ways to break the symmetry.
Last Updated 02/07/24
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For unpowered cubers, I think it's absolutely wise to look at what's near the top of this list for cards that might be too strong for your cube, but just because you're playing some cards that are ranked higher here than other cards you've banned doesn't mean they're automatically worth banning. Mana Vault would be extremely powerful in my cube because there is nothing else that provides a jump in mana anywhere near that fast for a single colorless mana, but someone running a fully powered cube would probably rank it much lower.
This is absolutely true of Balance as already mentioned. It's also very true of Mind Twist and Tinker. A 2nd turn Tinker is way easier to pull off with Moxen than in a cube full of Signets, and being a full turn slower makes a big difference, and getting Mind Twisted for 3+ hurts a lot worse on turn 2 than it does on turn 3-4.
Thank you, allred! Your help has made a big difference for me, and made this possible.
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!
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