This cube is a bit weird, because it tries to reconcile my gold card fetish with my desire to make players have deep color commitments. I especially wanted it feel tough to accomplish pulling off more than two colors. For example, are no Signets. I think this disparity in cards per color is ultimately acceptable since the overwhelming majority of games with this cube will either be: a) two/three player sealed deck, b) two player Winston draft, or c) extremely infrequent 4 player booster draft.
Format: 70 of each colored cards, 55 artifacts, 50 gold/hybrid/split, 75 lands. Currently, black needs to cut six cards, and there is room for four more cards in red and white.
My gold distribution is all over the place because I have too many nostalgic memories of Invasion block limited to cut any of them. I'm more than open to hearing any thoughts on what to ADD to the gold section to help balance it out though. As it stands, all the fairly obvious archetypes look pretty viable: white weenie, black weenie, UW control, UB control, WR aggro, BR disruption, UG tempo (something I really wanted to push hence some of the Skies people), BG midrange/rock, UR counterburn, RG land destruction/ramp, with smatterings of reanimator and even some prison. Any other themes I might try to incorporate/reinforce with the few slots I have left to play with?
One of my primary goals was to try to follow the 3:2:1 ratio of aggro to midrange to control for creatures.
1 drops: 31, 2 drops: 51, aggro creature total: 82
3 drops: 42, 4 drops: 44, midrange creature total: 86
5 drops: 23, 6 drops: 10, 7+: 12, control creature total: 45 Analysis: It would seem that I need way more aggro creatures, but it feels like I already put all of the good ones in. What gives?
Overall CMC: 3.00 Analysis: This seems pretty much on par with most cubes.
A small side goal was to buff green by making it basically the only way to support a three color deck. Is there enough mana fixing within green? I'm not sure I'm convinced, even with stretches like Far Wanderings. Furthermore, is there enough of a LACK of mana fixing elsewhere to the point that green's fixing is exponentially more valuable? Besides not having Signets, there are also no Shocklands. There are the dual Karoos, but there is a crapload of land destruction in here too to keep 3+ color control from abusing them too much.
On a side note, I did try to put in a few things to reward going mono colored, such as Cabal Coffers. Also, there is almost one of every keyword mechanic, border/template, and expansion symbol included. Did I miss any iconic/high powered cards? Even ones that aren't as great in cube (like Mishra's Workshop) are worth mentioning. I'm pretty sure I got all the cube bombs too, as every card from the top 30 picks list is in here.
Current list of tasks: Cut 6 from black (without sacrificing Bad Moon subtheme), add 4 to red, add 4 to white, review subthemes and test if they are viable.
And yes the OP of the old thread/incorrect formatting/replies about the formatting were enough that I wanted to start a new thread. Is that a problem for you?
have you thought of running any of the 4 power 4 mana fliers in blue? also i think aether adept is a must. i think flying men could be cut for some more expensive beaters.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Some thoughts after discussing a few fan favorites with the two other people I'll mainly be playing with:
-Artifacts bumping up to 60, so far adding: Wurmcoil Engine and the new Masticore
-Adding Arc Lightning, Ghitu Fireslinger, Kargan Dragonlord, and the 2/1 for R with echo to red to bring it to a complete 70
-Moving Figure of Destiny and Desolation Angel to gold, cutting 2 TBD gold cards
-Cutting Enclave Cryptologist (how has she worked out for you?) and Flying Men for Sage of Epityr and Aether Adept
I can't cut Promise of Power since it's my friends favorite card. Similarly, while clearing out Bad Moon and some of the Black 2 drops would be nice, I think I still want old school Black Weenie to be viable. I think the Cube is becoming too big for something that will max out at 4 players though...
Edit: We also tried to figure out some configuration of Planeswalkers so that each color could have access to 2...
W: Ajani Vengeant, Venser
B: Lilana, Sorin
G: Garruk, _____?
R: Ajani Vengeant, Koth
U: Jace, Venser
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Ok, you all convinced me about the Cryptologist. Preordain will take Sleight of Hands slot as well. Also I like that Planeswalker distribution, but perhaps Tezz better than small Jace?
Now here's something a little crazy. I got one other guy to play a bunch of games of 6 pack sealed deck with me last night, even though I'm missing a fair amount of stuff for the cube still. It was very fun, but I noticed even with some cards giving incentive to go mono, it just wasn't feasible. For example, one time I had Coffers and Shade and I still didn't want to play mono black. Because of this we tried implementing a rule (just jokingly at first) saying "if every spell in your deck only requires mana of the same color to cast, your deck minimum is reduced to 35." Now I don't know if 35 is the optimal number, but the idea of getting some kind of boost for going mono color was working out pretty well. Not only did it let you actually reach the deck minimum with one color which was somewhat rare before, but it also obviously increased the likelihood of drawing your bombs faster.
Is there some merit to this idea? Does it get too far away from the intent of the game and cheapen the feel of authenticity? On the other hand I don't know how high and mighty I should get about lessening the feel of authenticity while playing a casual format with a few proxy cards...
Ok, you all convinced me about the Cryptologist. Preordain will take Sleight of Hands slot as well. Also I like that Planeswalker distribution, but perhaps Tezz better than small Jace?
i like jace 1.0 better than tezzeret.
Does it get too far away from the intent of the game and cheapen the feel of authenticity? On the other hand I don't know how high and mighty I should get about lessening the feel of authenticity while playing a casual format with a few proxy cards...
it would cheapen it for me. it's your cube and you can do what you want, but if pushing mono color decks isn't working i'd try and make it work within the rules or give up on it. you might have to change your cube substantially to support monocolor but there's no question that it's doable. whether it's worth it or not is up to you as well.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Format: 70 of each colored cards, 55 artifacts, 50 gold/hybrid/split, 75 lands. Currently, black needs to cut six cards, and there is room for four more cards in red and white.
My gold distribution is all over the place because I have too many nostalgic memories of Invasion block limited to cut any of them. I'm more than open to hearing any thoughts on what to ADD to the gold section to help balance it out though. As it stands, all the fairly obvious archetypes look pretty viable: white weenie, black weenie, UW control, UB control, WR aggro, BR disruption, UG tempo (something I really wanted to push hence some of the Skies people), BG midrange/rock, UR counterburn, RG land destruction/ramp, with smatterings of reanimator and even some prison. Any other themes I might try to incorporate/reinforce with the few slots I have left to play with?
One of my primary goals was to try to follow the 3:2:1 ratio of aggro to midrange to control for creatures.
1 drops: 31, 2 drops: 51, aggro creature total: 82
3 drops: 42, 4 drops: 44, midrange creature total: 86
5 drops: 23, 6 drops: 10, 7+: 12, control creature total: 45
Analysis: It would seem that I need way more aggro creatures, but it feels like I already put all of the good ones in. What gives?
Overall CMC: 3.00
Analysis: This seems pretty much on par with most cubes.
A small side goal was to buff green by making it basically the only way to support a three color deck. Is there enough mana fixing within green? I'm not sure I'm convinced, even with stretches like Far Wanderings. Furthermore, is there enough of a LACK of mana fixing elsewhere to the point that green's fixing is exponentially more valuable? Besides not having Signets, there are also no Shocklands. There are the dual Karoos, but there is a crapload of land destruction in here too to keep 3+ color control from abusing them too much.
On a side note, I did try to put in a few things to reward going mono colored, such as Cabal Coffers. Also, there is almost one of every keyword mechanic, border/template, and expansion symbol included. Did I miss any iconic/high powered cards? Even ones that aren't as great in cube (like Mishra's Workshop) are worth mentioning. I'm pretty sure I got all the cube bombs too, as every card from the top 30 picks list is in here.
Current list of tasks: Cut 6 from black (without sacrificing Bad Moon subtheme), add 4 to red, add 4 to white, review subthemes and test if they are viable.
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Savannah Lions
1 Mother of Runes
1 Student of Warfare
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Loam Lion
1 Figure of Destiny
1 Steppe Lynx
//2
1 White Knight
1 Silver Knight
1 Knight of the Holy Nimbus
1 Spectral Lynx
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Soltari Priest
1 Soltari Trooper
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Mistral Charger
1 Kor Skyfisher
//3
1 Paladin en-Vec
1 Stonecloaker
1 Pianna, Nomad Captain
1 Preacher
1 Exalted Angel
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Calciderm
1 Galepowder Mage
1 False Prophet
//5
1 Serra Angel
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
1 Baneslayer Angel
//6
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Pristine Angel
1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
//7
1 Eternal Dragon
//8
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
//1
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Land Tax
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Mana Tithe
//2
1 Balance
1 Disenchant
1 Crusade
1 Honor of the Pure
1 Glorious Anthem
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Spectral Procession
1 Sacred Mesa
//4
1 Armageddon
1 Battle Screech
1 Cataclysm
1 Momentary Blink
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Ravages of War
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Parallax Wave
//5
1 Rout
//6
1 Akroma's Vengeance
1 Catastrophe
//X
1 Decree of Justice
1 Martial Coup
1 Flying Men
1 Enclave Cryptologist
//2
1 Merfolk Looter
1 Looter il-Kor
1 Gilded Drake
1 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
//3
1 Serendib Efreet
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Rishadan Airship
1 Willbender
1 Trinket Mage
1 Man-o'-War
//4
1 Thieving Magpie
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Lu Xun, Scholar General
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
//5
1 Vesuvan Doppelganger
1 Mulldrifter
1 Morphling
1 Richard Garfield, Ph.D.
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Palinchron
//9
1 Inkwell Leviathan
//0
1 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Gush
//1
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Force Spike
1 Opt
1 Sleight of Hand
1 Mystical Tutor
//2
1 Counterspell
1 Mana Drain
1 Mana Leak
1 Miscalculation
1 Arcane Denial
1 Impulse
1 Remand
1 Memory Lapse
1 Prohibit
1 Into the Roil
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Capsize
1 Forbid
1 Psionic Blast
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Frantic Search
1 Timetwister
//4
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Cryptic Command
1 Dismiss
1 Deep Analysis
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Gifts Given
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Rewind
1 Opposition
//5
1 Desertion
1 Future Sight
1 Treachery
1 Bribery
//6
1 Upheaval
1 Time Spiral
//X
1 Repeal
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Vampire Lacerator
1 Carnophage
1 Sarcomancy
//2
1 Bloodghast
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Hand of Cruelty
1 Black Knight
1 Nantuko Shade
1 Dark Confidant
1 Oona's Prowler
1 Skittering Skirge
1 Order of the Ebon Hand
1 Nightscape Familiar
//3
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Undead Gladiator
1 Hypnotic Specter
1 Royal Assassin
1 Zombie Cutthroat
1 Bone Shredder
1 Bane of the Living
1 Liliana's Specter
//4
1 Juzam Djinn
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Nekrataal
1 Shriekmaw
1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1 Desolation Angel
//6
1 Visara the Dreadful
1 Laquatus's Champion
//8
1 Spirit of the Night
1 Tombstalker
1 Avatar of Woe
//0
1 Contagion
1 Snuff Out
1 Unmask
//1
1 Duress
1 Thoughtseize
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Dark Ritual
1 Vendetta
1 Entomb
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Booster Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Innocent Blood
1 Reanimate
//2
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Sinkhole
1 Bad Moon
1 Bitterblossom
1 Sign in Blood
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Smallpox
1 Terror
1 Animate Dead
1 Rancid Earth
1 Necropotence
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Stupor
1 Ashes to Ashes
//4
1 Nether Void
1 Damnation
1 Persecute
1 Makeshift Mannequin
//5
1 Promise of Power
1 Liliana Vess
1 Decree of Pain
//6
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
//X
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Mind Twist
1 Profane Command
1 Goblin Welder
1 Jackal Pup
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Kird Ape
1 Greater Gargadon
1 Goblin Guide
1 Mogg Fanatic
//2
1 Blood Knight
1 Plated Geopede
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Hearth Kami
1 Dwarven Blastminer
//3
1 Ball Lightning
1 Zo-Zu the Punisher
1 Blistering Firecat
1 Gathan Raiders
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Keldon Vandals
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Skirk Marauder
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Ravenous Baboons
1 Goblin Ruinblaster
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Skizzik
1 Anger
1 Lightning Dragon
1 Keldon Champion
//5
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Siege-Gang Commander
//6
1 Crater Hellion
1 Inferno Titan
//8
1 Bogardan Hellkite
//1
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Rift Bolt
1 Firebolt
1 Firestorm
1 Chain Lightning
1 Reckless Charge
1 Burst Lightning
1 Goblin Tutor
//2
1 Incinerate
1 Forked Bolt
1 Fork
1 Magma Jet
1 Staggershock
1 Molten Rain
1 Pillage
1 Hammer of Bogardan
1 Blast from the Past
1 Urza's Rage
1 Sulfuric Vortex
//4
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Aftershock
1 Empty the Warrens
//6
1 Jokulhaups
1 Wildfire
//X
1 Fireball
1 Banefire
1 Fireblast
1 Starstorm
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Pouncing Jaguar
1 Basking Rootwalla
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Wild Dogs
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
//2
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Sylvan Ranger
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Werebear
1 Vinelasher Kudzu
1 Quirion Dryad
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Mire Boa
1 River Boa
1 Wild Mongrel
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Eternal Witness
1 Troll Ascetic
1 Borderland Ranger
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Great Sable Stag
1 Ohran Viper
1 Uktabi Orangutan
//4
1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Arrogant Wurm
1 Erhnam Djinn
1 Blastoderm
1 Phantom Centaur
1 Spike Weaver
1 Nantuko Vigilante
1 Vengevine
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Chameleon Colossus
//5
1 Acidic Slime
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Deranged Hermit
1 Genesis
//6
1 Mold Shambler
1 Woodfall Primus
//1
1 Giant Growth
1 Rancor
1 Berserk
//2
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Regrowth
1 Sylvan Library
1 Life from the Loam
1 Edge of Autumn
1 Farseek
//3
1 Cultivate
1 Harrow
1 Far Wanderings
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Krosan Grip
1 Call of the Herd
//4
1 Creeping Mold
1 Stonewood Invocation
1 Harmonize
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
//5
1 All Suns' Dawn
1 Plow Under
//9
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Hurricane
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Gerrard's Verdict
1 Life // Death
1 Fire // Ice
1 Terminate
1 Putrid Leech
1 Pride of the Clouds
1 Lightning Helix
1 Qasali Pridemage
//3
1 Vindicate
1 Snakeform
1 Boggart Ram-Gang
1 Mortify
1 Putrefy
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Blightning
1 Psychatog
1 Shadowmage Infiltrator
1 Recoil
1 Undermine
1 Wall of Denial
1 Goblin Trenches
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Ashenmoor Gouger
1 Electrolyze
1 Gelectrode
1 Fires of Yavimaya
1 Stormbind
1 Trygon Predator
1 Lorescale Coatl
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Stillmoon Cavalier
1 Voidslime
1 Who/What/When/Where/Why
1 Blazing Specter
1 Loxodon Hierarch
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Suffocating Blast
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Mystic Snake
1 Vhati il-Dal
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Giant Solifuge
//5
1 Crime
1 Bituminous Blast
1 Void
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Prophetic Bolt
//6
1 Spiritmonger
//7
1 Debtors' Knell
1 Arcbound Ravager
//3
1 Bottle Gnomes
1 Chimeric Idol
//4
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Masticore
1 Juggernaut
1 Lodestone Golem
//5
1 Razormane Masticore
//6
1 Duplicant
1 Triskelion
1 Sundering Titan
//0
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Zuran Orb
1 Mox Diamond
1 Chrome Mox
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Scrabbling Claws
1 Pithing Needle
1 Cursed Scroll
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Bonesplitter
//2
1 Powder Keg
1 Ankh of Mishra
1 Winter Orb
1 Scroll Rack
1 Mind Stone
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Chaos Orb
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Grim Monolith
1 Crystal Ball
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Tangle Wire
1 Coalition Relic
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
//4
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Smokestack
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Icy Manipulator
//5
1 Memory Jar
//6
1 Mindslaver
//7
1 All Is Dust
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Brushland
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Shivan Reef
1 Sulfurous Springs
1 Underground River
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Badlands
1 Bayou
1 Plateau
1 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Taiga
1 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Flooded Strand
1 Windswept Heath
1 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Marsh Flats
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Arid Mesa
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Boros Garrison
1 Gruul Turf
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
1 City of Brass
1 Grand Coliseum
1 Undiscovered Paradise
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Thawing Glaciers
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Rishadan Port
1 Dust Bowl
1 Maze of Ith
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Mutavault
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Mishra's Workshop
//W
1 Kjeldoran Outpost
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Secluded Steppe
//U
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Faerie Conclave
1 Shelldock Isle
1 Lonely Sandbar
//B
1 Barren Moor
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Cabal Coffers
//R
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Ghitu Encampment
1 Forgotten Cave
//G
1 Pendelhaven
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Treetop Village
Old poorly formatted/messy thread found here
Link to Deckstats found here
And yes the OP of the old thread/incorrect formatting/replies about the formatting were enough that I wanted to start a new thread. Is that a problem for you?
-Artifacts bumping up to 60, so far adding: Wurmcoil Engine and the new Masticore
-Adding Arc Lightning, Ghitu Fireslinger, Kargan Dragonlord, and the 2/1 for R with echo to red to bring it to a complete 70
-Moving Figure of Destiny and Desolation Angel to gold, cutting 2 TBD gold cards
-Cutting Enclave Cryptologist (how has she worked out for you?) and Flying Men for Sage of Epityr and Aether Adept
I can't cut Promise of Power since it's my friends favorite card. Similarly, while clearing out Bad Moon and some of the Black 2 drops would be nice, I think I still want old school Black Weenie to be viable. I think the Cube is becoming too big for something that will max out at 4 players though...
Edit: We also tried to figure out some configuration of Planeswalkers so that each color could have access to 2...
W: Ajani Vengeant, Venser
B: Lilana, Sorin
G: Garruk, _____?
R: Ajani Vengeant, Koth
U: Jace, Venser
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!
Now here's something a little crazy. I got one other guy to play a bunch of games of 6 pack sealed deck with me last night, even though I'm missing a fair amount of stuff for the cube still. It was very fun, but I noticed even with some cards giving incentive to go mono, it just wasn't feasible. For example, one time I had Coffers and Shade and I still didn't want to play mono black. Because of this we tried implementing a rule (just jokingly at first) saying "if every spell in your deck only requires mana of the same color to cast, your deck minimum is reduced to 35." Now I don't know if 35 is the optimal number, but the idea of getting some kind of boost for going mono color was working out pretty well. Not only did it let you actually reach the deck minimum with one color which was somewhat rare before, but it also obviously increased the likelihood of drawing your bombs faster.
Is there some merit to this idea? Does it get too far away from the intent of the game and cheapen the feel of authenticity? On the other hand I don't know how high and mighty I should get about lessening the feel of authenticity while playing a casual format with a few proxy cards...
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 like jace 1.0 better than tezzeret.
it would cheapen it for me. it's your cube and you can do what you want, but if pushing mono color decks isn't working i'd try and make it work within the rules or give up on it. you might have to change your cube substantially to support monocolor but there's no question that it's doable. whether it's worth it or not is up to you as well.
On the topic of Un-cards, I keep picking Gifts Given higher and higher, it is usually auto win vs Control and still pretty good vs. mid-range.