The only archetypes that actively want Bone Shards in our cube are reanimator and black aggro (Gravecrawlers, Gutterbones etc. that dont mind to be sacrificed too much) and it pretty much stops there. People never draft it for any other decks. Do you think it is utterly unplayable in UB control deck or in a BG value, planeswalker deck with mana elves? I'm basically trying to figure out how narrow the card really is.
You'll be surprised at how different this answer is depending on the composition of your cube - density of must answer planeswalkers, prevalence of cards to recoup card disadvantage and the density of removal.
The second thing is Doom Blade is probably at its all time worst and a lot of cube curators are cutting it. Its slowly becoming a 24th card in a lot of drafts - decent everywhere, but never great. I cannot really answer this either - I've cubed with 2-3 of the best Doom Blade variants for the last 4 years without question. I never really considered cutting them.
The last thing has to do with functionality - For example I play Springleaf Drum in my legacy affinity deck. In a vacuum, it is terrible - it interferes with your Chalice of the Void, its miles behind Ancient Tomb, Mox Opal, but at the end of the day, its necessary to provide fast/ colored mana 9-13 for consistency.
What I'm getting at is Aristocrats is a somewhat weak archetype that has a decent midgame to late game, but is slower at getting to the board than the other archetype. Bone Shards might be a necessity at helping the Aristocrats deck get onto the board/ remove 3-4 drops/ planewalkers/ fatties to win on the board.
This also depends on the prevalence of combo decks - There are cases where you might have drafted a subpar combo deck like Reanimator/ Welder for example that really lacks enablers. This is when cards like Pack Rat / Crypt Breaker really shines because they can help setup for reanimator but also throw away your subpar hand.
I personally still have Roast in my cube + legacy deck. Yes its absolutely terrible, but it is also a necessity
I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Has anyone managed to test this little nugget?? Our playgroup's experiences with the card have been varied to say the least: it has been either unbelievably good and synergistic or the worst discard outlet/removal spell in our cube. On the fence about swapping this for a good ol' doom blade effect.
This really depends on your cube's composition - If you have Reanimator, Aristocrats in your cube, then I could see the value of this card going up - but what I dislike is this really pushes a drafting on rails experience.
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I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
I'm a bit more interested now with the "sacrifice or discard". This is very decision heavy - I find cube decks to be very cluncky and I like the general direction of pitch creatures + 4 drops that can 3 for 1 to recoup the card loss.
Whats interesting is cards like Experimental Frenzy might make a comeback in my cube given the number of pitch/ cheap cards.
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
You'll be surprised at how different this answer is depending on the composition of your cube - density of must answer planeswalkers, prevalence of cards to recoup card disadvantage and the density of removal.
- If your cube is filled with cards like Bedlam Reveler/ Deep Analysis, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, Tasigur, the Golden Fang and your combo/ tempo decks could easily recoup the card loss/ benefit from the graveyard, then a 2 for 1 isn't a big deal
- If you have cards like Soul Shatter, Magmatic Sinkhole like I do, then this goes slightly down in value
The second thing is Doom Blade is probably at its all time worst and a lot of cube curators are cutting it. Its slowly becoming a 24th card in a lot of drafts - decent everywhere, but never great. I cannot really answer this either - I've cubed with 2-3 of the best Doom Blade variants for the last 4 years without question. I never really considered cutting them.
The last thing has to do with functionality - For example I play Springleaf Drum in my legacy affinity deck. In a vacuum, it is terrible - it interferes with your Chalice of the Void, its miles behind Ancient Tomb, Mox Opal, but at the end of the day, its necessary to provide fast/ colored mana 9-13 for consistency.
What I'm getting at is Aristocrats is a somewhat weak archetype that has a decent midgame to late game, but is slower at getting to the board than the other archetype. Bone Shards might be a necessity at helping the Aristocrats deck get onto the board/ remove 3-4 drops/ planewalkers/ fatties to win on the board.
This also depends on the prevalence of combo decks - There are cases where you might have drafted a subpar combo deck like Reanimator/ Welder for example that really lacks enablers. This is when cards like Pack Rat / Crypt Breaker really shines because they can help setup for reanimator but also throw away your subpar hand.
I personally still have Roast in my cube + legacy deck. Yes its absolutely terrible, but it is also a necessity
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
This really depends on your cube's composition - If you have Reanimator, Aristocrats in your cube, then I could see the value of this card going up - but what I dislike is this really pushes a drafting on rails experience.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
Whats interesting is cards like Experimental Frenzy might make a comeback in my cube given the number of pitch/ cheap cards.
Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i