So to summarize my own thoughts on the matter. Yes, library is worse than the other power. No, it isn't a "do nothing card" unless you get in at the start of the game.
Fair. I was using "do nothing" as short hand for "low impact."
Edit - Oh, and I forgot to mention how much more mulligans hurt library compared to every other piece of power.
Also, on an unrelated point, every time I see your icon I see a white duck with an orange bill and have to double-take to realize it's the portal robot.
So to summarize my own thoughts on the matter. Yes, library is worse than the other power. No, it isn't a "do nothing card" unless you get in at the start of the game.
Fair. I was using "do nothing" as short hand for "low impact."
Edit - Oh, and I forgot to mention how much more mulligans hurt library compared to every other piece of power.
Also, on an unrelated point, every time I see your icon I see a white duck with an orange bill and have to double-take to realize it's the portal robot.
I would rather have a library in a mulliganed hand than a mox or a time walk, which are also hurt significantly by mulligans. Mox are only better than a basic for each turn where you spend 100% mana and until you miss a land drop, and then they equalize. In a 6 card hand (especially a keepable 6 card hand) it’s much more likely than a 7 card hand that you will net only 1 or 2 total mana out of it vs a basic for the full course of the game. Moxen are also far more likely to be off color (effectively colorless) than lands.
Time walk is also hurt a lot by mulligans, as you’re much more likely to have to fire it off in street wraith mode.
A library on the draw with one mulligan is still absolute disgusting. A library on the play with one mulligan will lead to the correct line being “take 0 game action on t2, draw with library t3, crush them” in plenty of matchups. Even on a double mulligan I’d rather have library than mox or walk. On the play it’s really brutal and probably a wastes barring draw 7s, but on the draw you still only have to skip one turn which is more than worth it on many matchups.
My cube experiences are very heavily slanted toward the mtgo vintage cube, where I’d say library is the best card, followed by crypt and pearl.
It was very interesting to read this thread with 8 years of comments. People seem almost unanimous that it’s great in control and worse in aggro, but I think it’s actually best in white weenie. Library wants a lot of cheap proactive cards so that you can curve draw+land+1 drop turn 2, draw+land+2 drop t3, etc. And it plays poorly with expensive cards or draw spells by rendering them largely unnecessary. Furthermore the WCS of a colorless land is dramatically more impactful the more colors you have, and aggro decks often tend toward mono whereas slower decks often (not always of course) dip into 3+ colors. Finally, most people correctly diagnose the main weakness of the card as the opponent going under you, which is greatly ameliorated by being aggro yourself — in an aggro mirror you out card them without falling behind too much in tempo, and vs control it let’s you keep up in cards while generally getting ahead with cheaper threats and interaction.
Library is absolutely unreal spectacular paired with cards like StP, Mom, Relic-Warder, and Knight errant —— not as much (though still great and usually right to first pick) paired with durdly or mana intensive stuff like JTMS or leovold.
Library of Alexandria in Midrange and control is just nuts. Paired with card draw, this thing lets you get an overwhelming gas advantage over your opponents.
Fair. I was using "do nothing" as short hand for "low impact."
Edit - Oh, and I forgot to mention how much more mulligans hurt library compared to every other piece of power.
Also, on an unrelated point, every time I see your icon I see a white duck with an orange bill and have to double-take to realize it's the portal robot.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
I would rather have a library in a mulliganed hand than a mox or a time walk, which are also hurt significantly by mulligans. Mox are only better than a basic for each turn where you spend 100% mana and until you miss a land drop, and then they equalize. In a 6 card hand (especially a keepable 6 card hand) it’s much more likely than a 7 card hand that you will net only 1 or 2 total mana out of it vs a basic for the full course of the game. Moxen are also far more likely to be off color (effectively colorless) than lands.
Time walk is also hurt a lot by mulligans, as you’re much more likely to have to fire it off in street wraith mode.
A library on the draw with one mulligan is still absolute disgusting. A library on the play with one mulligan will lead to the correct line being “take 0 game action on t2, draw with library t3, crush them” in plenty of matchups. Even on a double mulligan I’d rather have library than mox or walk. On the play it’s really brutal and probably a wastes barring draw 7s, but on the draw you still only have to skip one turn which is more than worth it on many matchups.
My cube experiences are very heavily slanted toward the mtgo vintage cube, where I’d say library is the best card, followed by crypt and pearl.
It was very interesting to read this thread with 8 years of comments. People seem almost unanimous that it’s great in control and worse in aggro, but I think it’s actually best in white weenie. Library wants a lot of cheap proactive cards so that you can curve draw+land+1 drop turn 2, draw+land+2 drop t3, etc. And it plays poorly with expensive cards or draw spells by rendering them largely unnecessary. Furthermore the WCS of a colorless land is dramatically more impactful the more colors you have, and aggro decks often tend toward mono whereas slower decks often (not always of course) dip into 3+ colors. Finally, most people correctly diagnose the main weakness of the card as the opponent going under you, which is greatly ameliorated by being aggro yourself — in an aggro mirror you out card them without falling behind too much in tempo, and vs control it let’s you keep up in cards while generally getting ahead with cheaper threats and interaction.
Library is absolutely unreal spectacular paired with cards like StP, Mom, Relic-Warder, and Knight errant —— not as much (though still great and usually right to first pick) paired with durdly or mana intensive stuff like JTMS or leovold.
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