Ok, Big Predicament here. I am currently in the process of trading for an Arabian nights city of brass. That will leave my cube with only 1 white boarder card left. Imperial Recruiter P3 edition. I am torn because I think the P3 and Judge artwork > A25. P3 edition the card text is cool since it's the only card that has the Sword and Shield and overall look. However, it does have an ugly white border. Not sure what to do... What is everyone's thoughts on here?
Ok, Big Predicament here. I am currently in the process of trading for an Arabian nights city of brass. That will leave my cube with only 1 white boarder card left. Imperial Recruiter P3 edition. I am torn because I think the P3 and Judge artwork > A25. P3 edition the card text is cool since it's the only card that has the Sword and Shield and overall look. However, it does have an ugly white border. Not sure what to do... What is everyone's thoughts on here?
I have the judge foil, though I wish there was an old border version that wasn't white bordered. You could always get an alterer you trust to black border it for you. I wouldn't trust just anyone, but as long as it was someone you knew did great work it could end up looking pretty sweet. My Imperial Seal is altered this way.
Planning to add (at least) one of the UMA Box Toppers to my cube, to continue the theme of "museum of Magic history" as I saw wtwlf once put it (or at least something like that). Options plus current versions in parentheses are:
Realistically, if I open any of the above other than the alters in the 2 topper packs I'm getting, I'll consider them if the other version isn't altered, but assuming I can pick, which one (or multiple) of the above would you replace?
That's fair. I was trying to weigh that alongside "is this the version of the card I want the most", but I like this Ancient Tomb about as much as the Expedition anyways.
I love the new Reanimate and Through the Breach. Both those cards needed new art and they're both awesome. I do like the new Ancient Tomb but I have a soft spot for the ol' haunted house vibe of the tempest version (I play the FTV). Playing with that art as a kid also makes it more nostalgic for me.
I currently run all 5 Swords (6 including Sword of Dungeons and Dragons :)) with the Chris Rahn art, which is very symmetrical. However, I'm a big sucker for nostalgia and original art, and am considering acquiring foil Darksteel versions of SoFaI and SoLaS (the art of my childhood). thoughts on keep the Chris Rahn set together, or breaking out the OGs?
I almost always default to using the OG art when I can, but my Sword cycle uses the Rahn set for all 5 to keep them symmetrical. Plus, they're all signed by him, but that's besides the point.
I currently run the judge promos for the two OG swords and I'd love to swap them out for Chris Rahn foil versions. The promos are sweet, but I'd prefer the symmetry of the the Rahn artwork.
What do people think of the full art cards from ravnica? I have yet to hold one in my hands, but the foiling to me looks ugly form pictures I have seen. I don't mind the Ultimate masters Box toppers though.
Surprisingly, I really like the way the Mythic Edition planeswalkers look. I expected to hate them (like I do most of the other masterpieces) but the card quality is really nice, and the full-art presentation looks good. They looked much worse in photos than they did when I held them in person. They're the only "masterpieces" that I think look better than their respective pack foils aesthetically.
The ultimate masters box toppers are also pretty cool.
I already went through each of the cards in my cube and picked which arts and printings I wanted. But there are still some bad looking cards in my cube.
Is there a functional reprint or similar enough card to Triplicate Spirits that isn't soulless PhotoShop garbage? Something that was created before 2007?
Is there a functional reprint or similar enough card to Triplicate Spirits that isn't soulless PhotoShop garbage? Something that was created before 2007?
At the risk of starting a hot-button topic, I've started the process of removing Terese Nielsen arts from my cube, of which there were 9. Some don't really have multiple other options, but I figured I'd check for others' opinions on choices (even if they may not align with my preferences/what I've already purchased).
I don't personally think an artist's political or personal views should have any bearing what so ever on how I feel about their artistic skills. I love Terese's work and generally prefer those options to others. Obviously you're free to add/remove whatever versions of cards you personally prefer from your own cube, but I think several of the replacements in that list are leagues behind the Terese versions.
I'm glad I have the ability to separate art from the artist. I love Harold McNeil's art too, FWIW. And I can still enjoy Mel Gibson films and appreciate a good Kevin Spacey performance. Even though I disagree with/dislike the individuals themselves. I can still look at a piece of her artwork and enjoy it as a standalone piece for what it is.
That's fair. I don't fault anyone from separating the art from the artist, and it doesn't have any bearing on how I feel about her artistic skills, just on how I feel about her being a part of my "museum of Magic". I tend not to hold deceased artists to a specific standard (given the whole of history, that would be difficult), but have more trouble doing so for a living artist that's still working and contributing to the game. I can still appreciate that she does good work, and think that her pieces look amazing, but don't want her art represented in my cube. This would extend to Harold McNeil as well if I was still running any of his arts, but I axed Sylvan Library for updated Oracle text when CMA came out (although he isn't "contributing to the game").
I would not draw the line at not including a card if they only had Nielsen arts, because I wouldn't want to give my cubers an inferior cube experience from a cube design stance, but I don't run any of those cards.
EDIT: That being said, the original goal of the post was more "assuming I can't run Terese Nielsen arts (albeit, for self-imposed reasons), what do you think is the next best option for each of these?"
EDIT: That being said, the original goal of the post was more "assuming I can't run Terese Nielsen arts (albeit, for self-imposed reasons), what do you think is the next best option for each of these?"
Unfortunately for most of these there's just the one other art option. I think you're on point for your choices here, but I'd personally go with something other than the SDCC 2017 promo for Gideon/Chandra. I'd prefer the pack foils there. I'm just not a fan of the flat look of the hieroglyphic promos.
Fair enough - I also didn't initially mean to dig into the debacle too deeply. It is unfortunate that there aren't really multiple other versions for most of these cards, but it is what it is, and it probably wasn't really worth posting about those here, since there wasn't much of an opinion to ask for on them other than to open up can-of-worms discussion.
Neilsen is my favourite Magic artist. I wasn't aware of any controversy behind her until googling it just now. I'm happy to separate the art from the artist as someone put it above.
On the UMA box-toppers: I use the Tasigur one since it was very cheap to come by and looks good. Ancient Tomb is a solid choice and the UMA pack foil is great too.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
I have the judge foil, though I wish there was an old border version that wasn't white bordered. You could always get an alterer you trust to black border it for you. I wouldn't trust just anyone, but as long as it was someone you knew did great work it could end up looking pretty sweet. My Imperial Seal is altered this way.
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-Ancient Tomb (FTV)
-Demonic Tutor (signed Revised)
-Engineered Explosives (signed MMA foil)
-Kitchen Finks (FNM promo)
-Reanimate (TMP)
-Tarmogoyf (nonfoil FUT)
-Tasigur, the Golden Fang (foil FRF)
-Through the Breach (foil CHK)
Technically these are options also, but are less likely:
-Bitterblossom (Judge promo)
-Celestial Colonnade et al (Colonnade is the BaB promo, the rest are WWK nonfoil)
-Eternal Witness (FNM promo)
-Karn Liberated (a sweet alter I'm not interested in replacing)
-Liliana of the Veil (also an alter)
-Noble Hierarch (Judge promo)
-Snapcaster Mage (altered)
Realistically, if I open any of the above other than the alters in the 2 topper packs I'm getting, I'll consider them if the other version isn't altered, but assuming I can pick, which one (or multiple) of the above would you replace?
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I currently run all 5 Swords (6 including Sword of Dungeons and Dragons :)) with the Chris Rahn art, which is very symmetrical. However, I'm a big sucker for nostalgia and original art, and am considering acquiring foil Darksteel versions of SoFaI and SoLaS (the art of my childhood). thoughts on keep the Chris Rahn set together, or breaking out the OGs?
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!
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
The ultimate masters box toppers are also pretty cool.
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!
My cube
My cube on Cube tutor
I'm OP_Forever. I'll be putting this in my signature for a while so everyone know I change my nickname.
I already went through each of the cards in my cube and picked which arts and printings I wanted. But there are still some bad looking cards in my cube.
Is there a functional reprint or similar enough card to Triplicate Spirits that isn't soulless PhotoShop garbage? Something that was created before 2007?
http://www.cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/129072;jsessionid=B48CF30FCA62A054C27EF26734618F95
Here is my cube in case anyone is interested in looking through it.
Dom! Counterspell is the best Counterspell by the way.
Ignoring what Magic players say isn't the answer, it's listening to what they have to say and doing the exact opposite that's correct.
-Gideon of the Trials: Switching from SDCC2018 to SDCC2017
-Fact or Fiction: Switching from FNM promo to foil CNS
-Control Magic: Upgrading from EMA foil to Alpha/Beta
-Chandra, Torch of Defiance: Switching from SDCC2018 to SDCC2017
-Lotus Cobra: Switching from GP promo to foil ZEN
-Eternal Witness: Switching from FNM promo to PUMA (box topper)
-Life from the Loam: Switching from RAV to UMA - don't like the box topper here, as it doesn't have dredge reminder text
-Natural Order: Switching from Judge foil to Portal
-Dryad Militant: Switching from foil RTR to MGDC promo
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
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I would not draw the line at not including a card if they only had Nielsen arts, because I wouldn't want to give my cubers an inferior cube experience from a cube design stance, but I don't run any of those cards.
EDIT: That being said, the original goal of the post was more "assuming I can't run Terese Nielsen arts (albeit, for self-imposed reasons), what do you think is the next best option for each of these?"
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Unfortunately for most of these there's just the one other art option. I think you're on point for your choices here, but I'd personally go with something other than the SDCC 2017 promo for Gideon/Chandra. I'd prefer the pack foils there. I'm just not a fan of the flat look of the hieroglyphic promos.
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On the UMA box-toppers: I use the Tasigur one since it was very cheap to come by and looks good. Ancient Tomb is a solid choice and the UMA pack foil is great too.
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms: