I'm gonna make a cube with digital alters that I'll be making myself. I'm wondering how could I balance the cards with the current ones so I could include some cards that I like for example Akroma, Angel of Wrath. If I were to include Elder Gargaroth, or some of this cards that wins you the game if the enemy has no immediate answer, then Akroma's level of power would be laughable.
So I've thought of adjusting the power level of the cards by modifying the mana cost. For example if I were to include Akroma and Elder Gargaroth I could make both of them six drops. But would that make them as playable as each other?
So then I wonder how would you modify a specific card so that each card is as playable as every other card in the cube. How would you compare the power of a card to know how much it needs to be modified to make it more or less powerful so they all meet at a point where you feel they have the power that you enjoy the most?
I think you will never be able to make all cards equally powerful, and I think you do not have to.
Counterspell is more powerful than Mana Leak, both are playable though. And some cards are situationally good. Sure, some cards will fall of, but I think you will recognize that by your experience and by just playing with the cube and adjusting it from time to time. If you are open to modify the cards later on, you will be able to balance your cube over time. That is how WotC is balancing their cards. Just by playing with them.
Part of managing a cube and balancing it, is letting go of your personal feeling about cards and try and be objective rather than subjective. When you want to fit in some cards you enjoy playing, look for cards on the opposite end of the spectrum and cut them. I think getting into messing with what is actually written on the card, is a pretty slippery slope and more work than it needs to be.
Some design advice in general, regardless of what you are designing (be it a Cube, or software interface) look for common problems that occur in multitudes, and work on solving those. Don't focus on smaller and more niche problems.
For example, if you want to make Akroma, Angel of Wrath more powerful and Elder Gargaroth weaker - slow down the overall pace of the Cube. If you want to make Elder more powerful and Akroma weaker, speed up the cube.
The posters at MTGSalvation tend to be a hidebound, traditionalist lot, so don't expect a lot of support for your heretical proposals here. I recall seeing similar suggestions in the past decried as "not real Magic"; I find such arguments wholly unconvincing. Seeing as no one has made them in this thread, though, I will not refute them here.
I've implemented your idea in my own cube by modifying the mana cost of a handful of cards to make their power level more in line with the rest of the cube. I put a tiny shiny sticker next to the card's name, so the players know to take a closer look at the mana cost during the draft. I've found that tweaking the mana cost (as opposed to altering the card's ability itself) tends to be least obtrusive way to adjust a card's power level. Once the card hits the table, its mana cost is rarely significant, so it won't matter if the players forget its new cost.
The biggest advantage of your proposal is that you can enable entirely new archetypes that don't have quite enough support in the current configuration of cards. There are some themes (particularly in older sets) that have been power-crept into obsolescence, but could provide for rich and interesting play experiences if they only had a couple more support cards at a higher power level.
As for your question about how to know how much to adjust the cost by, there's really no precise algorithm - you just have to go with your gut. Ask yourself if the card at its native cost would be either a) a crazy bomb or b) relegated to side boards for being too weak. Then adjust the mana cost up or down by 1 generic mana appropriately. I tend to be more willing to increase the cost of a card then decrease it. Lowering a card's cost improperly can result in blow-out games that leave players feeling bad; raising a card's cost will merely send it to the sideboard. After a few drafts, you can adjust the cost further (or undo the change). For example, I run The Abyss and Jace, the Mind Sculptor at 5 CMC. I run a handful of cards at lower CMC's too - e.g., Trail of Evidence. So far my players have appreciated the chance to play with cards like Trail that they wouldn't normally have because they were too weak.
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So I've thought of adjusting the power level of the cards by modifying the mana cost. For example if I were to include Akroma and Elder Gargaroth I could make both of them six drops. But would that make them as playable as each other?
So then I wonder how would you modify a specific card so that each card is as playable as every other card in the cube. How would you compare the power of a card to know how much it needs to be modified to make it more or less powerful so they all meet at a point where you feel they have the power that you enjoy the most?
Counterspell is more powerful than Mana Leak, both are playable though. And some cards are situationally good. Sure, some cards will fall of, but I think you will recognize that by your experience and by just playing with the cube and adjusting it from time to time. If you are open to modify the cards later on, you will be able to balance your cube over time. That is how WotC is balancing their cards. Just by playing with them.
Some design advice in general, regardless of what you are designing (be it a Cube, or software interface) look for common problems that occur in multitudes, and work on solving those. Don't focus on smaller and more niche problems.
For example, if you want to make Akroma, Angel of Wrath more powerful and Elder Gargaroth weaker - slow down the overall pace of the Cube. If you want to make Elder more powerful and Akroma weaker, speed up the cube.
THE JUICE[BOX]³ CUBE
I've implemented your idea in my own cube by modifying the mana cost of a handful of cards to make their power level more in line with the rest of the cube. I put a tiny shiny sticker next to the card's name, so the players know to take a closer look at the mana cost during the draft. I've found that tweaking the mana cost (as opposed to altering the card's ability itself) tends to be least obtrusive way to adjust a card's power level. Once the card hits the table, its mana cost is rarely significant, so it won't matter if the players forget its new cost.
The biggest advantage of your proposal is that you can enable entirely new archetypes that don't have quite enough support in the current configuration of cards. There are some themes (particularly in older sets) that have been power-crept into obsolescence, but could provide for rich and interesting play experiences if they only had a couple more support cards at a higher power level.
As for your question about how to know how much to adjust the cost by, there's really no precise algorithm - you just have to go with your gut. Ask yourself if the card at its native cost would be either a) a crazy bomb or b) relegated to side boards for being too weak. Then adjust the mana cost up or down by 1 generic mana appropriately. I tend to be more willing to increase the cost of a card then decrease it. Lowering a card's cost improperly can result in blow-out games that leave players feeling bad; raising a card's cost will merely send it to the sideboard. After a few drafts, you can adjust the cost further (or undo the change). For example, I run The Abyss and Jace, the Mind Sculptor at 5 CMC. I run a handful of cards at lower CMC's too - e.g., Trail of Evidence. So far my players have appreciated the chance to play with cards like Trail that they wouldn't normally have because they were too weak.