We have a thread to talk about what cards to run and which are good.
We have a thread talking about the top artwork in cube.
But I think there is a need for a thread about which card is better to run on looks. This thread fills that gap. We all develop preferences the more we work on our cubes, but I'm sure others here have come to a crossroads where you're unsure which one to run because they both look good. Typically I expect this to be a comparison of editions (ie. which version of counterspell?) or functional reprints (ie Viridian Shaman vs Sex Monkeys), but i could see it extending past that on rare occasions.
To get things started:
I run reclaim in my cube. I am torn between an original exodus printing and a foil 7th edition printing (both of which I own in good condition). Which one would you run? I'm torn here because I typically gear for old-border first, followed by any of pic/foil/original printing as the next criteria. Here i'm torn by foil vs original printing.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
For Reclaim, I'd go with Exodus for a few reasons. First, the flavor text makes no sense with the picture, though the title does. Second and most importantly, I'm a fan of black borders over white borders, and exodus has black borders.
1. Are you trying to foil your cube. If yes go to 2, if no go to a.
a. Use the Exodus one.
2. Do you prefer the old or new border. If old go to b. If new go to c.
b. Use a foil 7th.
c. Use your foil 7th until you get a foil 9th one.
Now onto the specific card questions.
Keep in mind I like foil english new border cards with text.
Wrath of god - Foil 9th (wish they would make an original art, new border foil promo)
Counterspell - FNM Foil (Like masque art best, but still I don't really like any counterspell art)
Dark Ritual - Want judge, using altered Masque
Strip Mine - FTV Exiled
Black Vise - FTV Relics
Viridian Shaman vs Sex Monkeys : Foil Xth Viridian Shaman
I have always liked the Tempest Counterspell, but the old judge promo is what i'll switch mine out for if i ever track one down
Wrath of God: foil 7th if you can find one. Remember that all foils are printed with black borders in white-bordered sets (reason #1 why 7th ed foils can become so crazy expensive). Otherwise, I like the textless player rewards one (and that is what i run currently). Alpha-6th are decent, just avoid portal.
Black vise: I like 4th because of the crisp print and affordable cost. Alpha/Beta (but not Unlimited) at reasonable price still trump it tho.
Antiquities #72 (as listed on .info) is my pick for strip mine.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
I think you may be mistaken: Odyssey Mountain 346. bam.
In that vein. Opinions on Land?
Forests i'm considering:
Unglued is my favourite by far, but it like the portal 1 lands are omitted from contest due to low availability. Any other good old border suggestions are welcome. Black border preferred.
Plains I'm looking at:
I'm leaning towards:
Islands:
Saga took the win here for me,
but here are the two runner-ups
Tempest had some good showings, but these three rose above all the others.
Swamps
Swamps were pretty diverse, but it boiled down to 3 sets: Mirage, Odyssey, and Onslaught.
Urza's Saga has one random contestant who is currently currying my favour. Still really unsure tho.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
I think way too many of magic's lands look really awesome - but really struggle to represent the land itself.
Take that Zendikar plains: with only the art in front of me, I promise "Plains" is not the word I would use to describe it. Visually stimulating and very pretty. Islands being represented by rivers grates at me quite a bit as well. Here is another example of a really good piece of artwork that is misleading:
Maybe it is because when I started playing magic, an island meant very distinctly a piece of land surrounded by water, and these days it means a bit of land with water somewhere in or nearby it. And probably blue tint.
I do see the appeal of having full-art lands in the cube though. Speaking of that; WotC should really release a box set with 24 lands of each type, full-art, 4 different arts, plus one foil of each type, for a total of 75 cards. It bet it would sell oodles of copies, especially if the art was good.
My favorite swamp is Yoda's Lair! Just imagine a sunken X-Wing in the background drawn in.... Since I have 10 of each art from each Zendikar land foiled, to further pimp them I wanted to get them all altered. This is the only one I have the perfect Idea for. Any help on the others would be appreciated!
I was thinking for this one to have the Swamp Thing painted on it emerging from the middle:
New shiny foils can't compete with the classic look of the early BB sets.
Word man. Nothing as classy as beta and the color schemes of the earliest sets (Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark). It's a damn shame there are no cubable gold cards from Legends, they look so badass - Sol'Kanar anyone?
the original counterspell art is so ridiculous, and i don't mean in a good way. it's a pretty embarrassing piece of work. it's sad that such an iconic spell has such goofy terrible art. i like the masques version best, but it's not amazing by any means.
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.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
the original counterspell art is so ridiculous, and i don't mean in a good way. it's a pretty embarrassing piece of work. it's sad that such an iconic spell has such goofy terrible art. i like the masques version best, but it's not amazing by any means.
I think the original one is great. I think the 7th edition one is the one that's terrible.
Reclaim- Exodus
Counterspell-Duel Decks: Jace vs. Chandra
Wrath of God-7-10th edition
Black Vise-From the Vault: Relics
Strip Mine-From the Vault: Exiled
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.
Just got to say, you've definitely earned distinction as an MTGS hero
Quote from Stardust »
Because he's the hero MTGS deserves, and the one it needs right now. So we'll global him. Because he can take it. Because he's not just our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. An expired rascal.
Quote from LuckNorris »
ExpiredRascals you sir are a god-like hero.
Quote from Lanxal »
ER is a masterful god who cannot be beaten in any endeavour.
My favorite art for Counterspell is the Tempest one. However, because i want a somewhat good looking, new bordered version, i use the Duel Deck one in my Cube.
As for the Swamps, i would go for the John Avon one over any of those others, hands down.
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"The Ancients teach us that if we can but last, we shall prevail."
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order
We have a thread talking about the top artwork in cube.
But I think there is a need for a thread about which card is better to run on looks. This thread fills that gap. We all develop preferences the more we work on our cubes, but I'm sure others here have come to a crossroads where you're unsure which one to run because they both look good. Typically I expect this to be a comparison of editions (ie. which version of counterspell?) or functional reprints (ie Viridian Shaman vs Sex Monkeys), but i could see it extending past that on rare occasions.
To get things started:
I run reclaim in my cube. I am torn between an original exodus printing and a foil 7th edition printing (both of which I own in good condition). Which one would you run? I'm torn here because I typically gear for old-border first, followed by any of pic/foil/original printing as the next criteria. Here i'm torn by foil vs original printing.
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
إن سرقت إسرق جمل
Level 1 Judge
My Cube for use with 6th ed. Rules
For Reclaim, I'd go with Exodus for a few reasons. First, the flavor text makes no sense with the picture, though the title does. Second and most importantly, I'm a fan of black borders over white borders, and exodus has black borders.
To add a few more into the mix, opinions on
Counterspell
Wrath of God
Black Vise
Strip Mine
1. Are you trying to foil your cube. If yes go to 2, if no go to a.
a. Use the Exodus one.
2. Do you prefer the old or new border. If old go to b. If new go to c.
b. Use a foil 7th.
c. Use your foil 7th until you get a foil 9th one.
Now onto the specific card questions.
Keep in mind I like foil english new border cards with text.
Wrath of god - Foil 9th (wish they would make an original art, new border foil promo)
Counterspell - FNM Foil (Like masque art best, but still I don't really like any counterspell art)
Dark Ritual - Want judge, using altered Masque
Strip Mine - FTV Exiled
Black Vise - FTV Relics
Viridian Shaman vs Sex Monkeys : Foil Xth Viridian Shaman
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
I have always liked the Tempest Counterspell, but the old judge promo is what i'll switch mine out for if i ever track one down
Wrath of God: foil 7th if you can find one. Remember that all foils are printed with black borders in white-bordered sets (reason #1 why 7th ed foils can become so crazy expensive). Otherwise, I like the textless player rewards one (and that is what i run currently). Alpha-6th are decent, just avoid portal.
Black vise: I like 4th because of the crisp print and affordable cost. Alpha/Beta (but not Unlimited) at reasonable price still trump it tho.
Antiquities #72 (as listed on .info) is my pick for strip mine.
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
إن سرقت إسرق جمل
Level 1 Judge
My Cube for use with 6th ed. Rules
I prefer the 7th ed. Reclaim. The artwork is more detailed.
My card appearance preferences in order of importance:
I don't strictly like black boarders over white boarders. For example my City of Brass has a white boarder which makes it look more golden.
The art for Wrath of God changed in 7th ed. but I prefer the old art because even I could draw a white circle!
My Cube.
Casual Decks
UG Madness GU
W Stonehewer Equipment W
WU Millfolk UW
B Necroskitter (FFA) B
WU Multi-Kicker (FFA) UW
BW Near-Death Experience (FFA) WB
with the best art, ever
Magic Work Station Winston-180 http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=315755
Could almost be a Mountain. Not enough surrounding water to be called an island if you ask me.
I feel compelled to repeat everything I hear
I think you may be mistaken: Odyssey Mountain 346. bam.
In that vein. Opinions on Land?
Forests i'm considering:
Unglued is my favourite by far, but it like the portal 1 lands are omitted from contest due to low availability. Any other good old border suggestions are welcome. Black border preferred.
Plains I'm looking at:
I'm leaning towards:
Islands:
Saga took the win here for me,
but here are the two runner-ups
Tempest had some good showings, but these three rose above all the others.
Swamps
Swamps were pretty diverse, but it boiled down to 3 sets: Mirage, Odyssey, and Onslaught.
Urza's Saga has one random contestant who is currently currying my favour. Still really unsure tho.
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
إن سرقت إسرق جمل
Level 1 Judge
My Cube for use with 6th ed. Rules
My favorite Icy Manipulator:
My Favorite Incinerate:
My Favorite Counterspell
This one is partially wins because of awesome flavor text.
My Favorite Phyrexian Processor:
I love that art, even without Phillip J. Fry drawn in.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
uhuh, it does look quite like a mountain
all the Zendikar lands are awesome, IMHO,
my favourite for the five basics would be
Magic Work Station Winston-180 http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=315755
Take that Zendikar plains: with only the art in front of me, I promise "Plains" is not the word I would use to describe it. Visually stimulating and very pretty. Islands being represented by rivers grates at me quite a bit as well. Here is another example of a really good piece of artwork that is misleading:
Maybe it is because when I started playing magic, an island meant very distinctly a piece of land surrounded by water, and these days it means a bit of land with water somewhere in or nearby it. And probably blue tint.
I do see the appeal of having full-art lands in the cube though. Speaking of that; WotC should really release a box set with 24 lands of each type, full-art, 4 different arts, plus one foil of each type, for a total of 75 cards. It bet it would sell oodles of copies, especially if the art was good.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
I was thinking for this one to have the Swamp Thing painted on it emerging from the middle:
(CubeTutor & MTGS)
360 Peasant Cube!
Custom Cube
RWU Miracles RWU
Word man. Nothing as classy as beta and the color schemes of the earliest sets (Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark). It's a damn shame there are no cubable gold cards from Legends, they look so badass - Sol'Kanar anyone?
wrath of god: 10th
black vise: beta
strip mine: antiquities tower version (#73)
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
إن سرقت إسرق جمل
Level 1 Judge
My Cube for use with 6th ed. Rules
All of those are fantastic but if I had to pick just one, I would go with the last one.
Draft my cube!
Watch me stream!
The Odyssey Rob Alexander swamp... or any of the Mirage swamps.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I think the original one is great. I think the 7th edition one is the one that's terrible.
Counterspell-Duel Decks: Jace vs. Chandra
Wrath of God-7-10th edition
Black Vise-From the Vault: Relics
Strip Mine-From the Vault: Exiled
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.
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
إن سرقت إسرق جمل
Level 1 Judge
My Cube for use with 6th ed. Rules
As for the Swamps, i would go for the John Avon one over any of those others, hands down.
—Kaysa, Elder Druid of the Juniper Order