maybe we have to re-establish what the categories meant, because im under the impression al changed their definitions.
staple=best in slot card in their group (cmc/creature/spell) you will not find something similiar
cubable=above curve and overall very solid card, but has a lot of cards of the same powerlevel in its slot, so its interchangable.
borderline=on curve at best in a vaccuum, but in the right combination/meta, can become even staple.
bad= absolutely unplayable trash in any given scenario.
Staples to me are cards that should be the framework of your cube. There are cards marked as Staple I would personally put as Cubeable, as while they may be the strongest in class, they aren't necessarily universal. For example, Green stables to me are cards that make the best of what Green does well:
1. Break the "Play one land per turn" rule.
2. Creatures always being above curve in power and toughness to CMC ratio.
For Borderline I would say something along the lines of "Powerful effects that need or provide support for strategies, but not necessarily powerful on their own." There are a lot of cards in the Bad section I would personally rank Borderline in accordance to my personal definition, but I think overall this guide gives a great look at what to look for in a card to add to your cube.
For the most part these two definitions seem to be the most debatable, but again this guide is extremely useful for helping players new and old shape their cubes.
In regards to two card combos, I think it is necessary to include them if you want to keep your cube exciting for the J personality players.
mancer + capsule are 2 cards. if you run both capsules thats 3 cards in the cube either monocolored or UB. considering you draft the whole cube its not tough to collect either combination. once you drafted them its only a 40 card deck. the capsules are perfectly playable on their own.
mancer is also a piece in the uw artifact deck.
with your logic, any 2 card synergy is unplayable.
but whatevs, i will play the card and dont really care about your evaluations anyway. there are already tons of playables in the bad category.
its just sad for new builder coming here and ignoring all those cool interactions.
I'd throw perilous myr and possibly serrated arrows in with the synergies too, however I wouldn't put archaeomender above borderline, as I'd only pick it after I had the other cards.
For UR Spells (which I call Prowess now) I focus on cheap spells that make creatures unblockable and boost power. For Storm-type Spells, I use Green (for all the mana) and Temporal Fissure, Capsize, Sprout Swarm, and if I can splash it, Empty the Warrens. I like using Empty in an RG Stormish type deck to combo with Giantbaiting or Burn Trail. I tried and tried to make Storm work in UR but it was often a deck split between Prowess-esque abilities and Storm type spells. With Khans, Prowess becomes a real thing.
I disagree with Abzan Guide and Abomination of Gudul being staples. While they have decent stats and are in good colors, I don't think they have high enough impact on the game when they come out since we have so much inexpensive removal. Consider that most cubes don't run more versatile creatures over 5 mana in ONE color, I doubt these will see play.
The thing is, that I don't rank cards over all, but compared to other cards in the same slot and I think compared to all the other 3-colored cards, these are staples.
In other words, if you run these wedge slots, these are what you run? I misunderstood, I thought when something was ranked a Staple or Bomb it should be in every cube, which is why multicolor is so thin.
I disagree with Abzan Guide and Abomination of Gudul being staples. While they have decent stats and are in good colors, I don't think they have high enough impact on the game when they come out since we have so much inexpensive removal. Consider that most cubes don't run more versatile creatures over 5 mana in ONE color, I doubt these will see play.
I agree on Shrieking Grotesque; the only thing I dislike is that it doesn't trigger if it enters play outside of being cast (blinking, coming back from Journey, etc.)
After playing with Harvest Gwyllion for a while I have been impressed enough I think it deserves consideration for Staple status. I have been underwhelmed with Tithe Drinker being so fragile. However, it is entirely likely that BW has 5 Staple worthy cards.
Staples to me are cards that should be the framework of your cube. There are cards marked as Staple I would personally put as Cubeable, as while they may be the strongest in class, they aren't necessarily universal. For example, Green stables to me are cards that make the best of what Green does well:
1. Break the "Play one land per turn" rule.
2. Creatures always being above curve in power and toughness to CMC ratio.
For Borderline I would say something along the lines of "Powerful effects that need or provide support for strategies, but not necessarily powerful on their own." There are a lot of cards in the Bad section I would personally rank Borderline in accordance to my personal definition, but I think overall this guide gives a great look at what to look for in a card to add to your cube.
For the most part these two definitions seem to be the most debatable, but again this guide is extremely useful for helping players new and old shape their cubes.
In regards to two card combos, I think it is necessary to include them if you want to keep your cube exciting for the J personality players.
I'd throw perilous myr and possibly serrated arrows in with the synergies too, however I wouldn't put archaeomender above borderline, as I'd only pick it after I had the other cards.
In other words, if you run these wedge slots, these are what you run? I misunderstood, I thought when something was ranked a Staple or Bomb it should be in every cube, which is why multicolor is so thin.
This is the main reason Reveler has stayed in my cube. I probably wouldn't play him otherwise, but I like including cards with themes and archetypes.
I agree on Shrieking Grotesque; the only thing I dislike is that it doesn't trigger if it enters play outside of being cast (blinking, coming back from Journey, etc.)