I actually really like the idea of the drafting component but I'm really not interested in playing a card that in my cube that isn't actually playable in a deck. I don't think colorless Hill Giants are going to be breaking into my cube. I think you'd be better off making a house rule to alter your drafting procedure than actually playing this card.
I'm really not a fan of Hexproof as a mechanic because it is so unfun/fair to play against even though it does make creature enchantments playable. However, I don't think Heroic is really the best answer to not playing Hexproof. While heroic makes targeting creatures with enchantments even better, it doesn't offset the problem of getting 2 for 1'd by any removal/bounce spell.
I repeat myself, but I played Armor in 3 drafts now, and it was never all-in and always fantastic. Really dunno how you play or draft. Its a card you kind of build your deck around and not blindly slam into every deck.
That would be fine in a normal deck construction scenario but we're talking about singleton cube. It's a lot harder to build your deck around 1/40 cards in your deck that you might not even draw during game play. Hell, you might not even have the opportunity to draft it until pack3/pick4. There are some people around here that support certain niche archetypes but for the most part people try to play cards that are at least playable even outside of their specific role.
Voltron is when you attempt to put lots of enchantments or similar effects onto one creature. That's more all in than what usually happens in my Cube.
Since you draft Winston, yeah, you can't really afford to have cards requiring synergy floating around. Have you tried Grid Drafting? It's another two player draft format that allows for a bit more cohesion in the decks you draft as compared to Winston.
I've actually never heard of that. I'll have to check it out.
In my cube, I started to push for more of a "Protect the Queen" style aggro deck, exemplified most by Kiln Fiend decks with counterspells, but appearing in White with various enchantments like Empyrial Armor and Ethereal Armor backed by protection spells.
The Magic term for that deck type is "Voltron" : ). That strategy is just a bit all in for me. I try to make my cube as consistent as possible, especially since we end up doing winston quite a bit which is already a pretty dodgey draft format in terms of deck construction.
Edit: I also refuse to play hexproof creatures which definitely affects the value of creature enchantments in the cube.
So they have virtual card advantage through their inherent mana advantage, at the cost of tempo. Still not seeing a Staple here.
At the end of the day, it's all about what you feel right is for your group's cubing experience. If you players want to see more cards and aren't worried about land based fixing, that is up to your group on what they think should be in your card pool. Al's evaluations are just his thoughts on what cards should be CONSIDERED for cubes. He is by no means telling you that those lands have to be in your cube. But if you are going to include land based fixing, these are some of the best ones pauper cube has access to and are best for you to consider
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see card advantage on the Rav Karoos. They are good because if you are running 16 lands and one is a karoo, you have access to 17 mana in your land base, but they do not accelerate. I agree they are very playable, but I don't see them as a necessity for every cube.
I think Runner is the one that called them the Divination of lands. They're a 2 for 1 land. Having a land and a karoo in your opening hand is basically like having 8 cards in your opening hand. Say your opponent has 3 lands and 4 cards in his opening hand. You have a land, a karoo, and 5 cards in your hand. You both have access to the same number of mana sources from land but you have an extra card that he doesn't have. Accelerating doesn't have anything to do with card advantage. Rampant Growth isn't card advantage.
On a related topic, is including 29 lands as Staples seem a bit much? Particularly when 25 of them only fix specific color pairs? Wouldn't it be better to put these as Cubable with only the Fetches, Desert, and Quicksand as Staples?
I've been cutting the number of lands my cube runs as a way to increase actual fun cards. Fixing has never been an issue, particularly if you run Signets. In cubes larger than 360 I could see maybe needing them, but someone just getting into pauper cubing would have difficulty running all the Staples in a smaller cube when a good portion are lands.
I would say that the Ravnica Karoo's are definitely staples. They're both fixing and card advantage on a land. If you want to cut some of the other land fixing, I don't think anyone would fault you for cutting the Guildgates.
I still have them in my Tier2 Synergy list. You looked at the wrong one
It doesnt matter how much enchantments are in your cube, as long as you have enough in your deck in the end. And Digger is a CC4 2/2 which is way worse than CC3. Id just play Unearth
But it does matter because those two numbers (in deck and in cube) are both directly related. The number of enchantments in your entire cube vs. the amount of other cards in your cube determines how many you will have access to during the draft. You will obviously have way more opportunities to grab creatures, instants, sorceries than you will to grab enchantments because of the % that they make up in your cube.
Yes I think Auramancer is better than Gravedigger and of course I do not run Gauntlets. I cut them a while ago, because they never worked for me.
Theyre to slow for control, and usually you only have 1 creature.
The numbers just don't add up man. You should have ~60% of your cube as creatures. Your cube, which runs more enchantments than almost any other pauper cube, only runs 35 enchantments. That's only ~9-10% of your cube. Gravedigger is always going to have a target while Auramancer might not. Even when Auramancer does have a target, you probably only have 1-2 options where as Gravedigger can get back probably 5-6 different choices.
Also, you still have Vulshok Gauntlets listed in your cubetutor list.
Also the enchantments are much stronger than just another "vanilla" creature. Gravedigger And you cant just play another enchantment, because there is only one of each in the cube. I addition it gives you flexibilty later, when the graveyard has 2 or 3 enchants.
Quirion Ranger and Vulshok Gauntlets for me is a good example of too narrow cardsynergy. While Ranger is very strong, Gauntlets are not. Theyre horrible slow on their own and unplayable without vigilance or ranger. Reequip 3 every turn is way to much, and you need 2 creatures in play to do so. CC5 to play and equip doesnt allow for early pressure either.
As said, might work in your slower environment, but clearly not in mine.
I recommend Strider Harness
What does that first section even mean? Are you saying that Auramancer is better than Gravedigger? The sentences are very unclear.
You run exactly 2 creatures with vigilance in your entire cube and 2 cards that provides vigilance (Quirion Ranger included). Are you telling me you run Vulshock Gauntlets, which you say is WORTHLESS without vigilance or Quirion Ranger, because there are 4 other cards in the entire cube that make it playable?
But, dont fall to that "cubecount matters". Even with overall only 20 artifacts, its possible to give 2-3 to each player and the drawback is huge. If it would be sacrifice Id run it.
Cube count definitely matters. It should always be considered when adding/removing cards from your cube.
Simply nuts seems a bit generous but I definitely think its playable.
PS. Best Heroic enabler. Hidden Strings
That would be fine in a normal deck construction scenario but we're talking about singleton cube. It's a lot harder to build your deck around 1/40 cards in your deck that you might not even draw during game play. Hell, you might not even have the opportunity to draft it until pack3/pick4. There are some people around here that support certain niche archetypes but for the most part people try to play cards that are at least playable even outside of their specific role.
I've actually never heard of that. I'll have to check it out.
The Magic term for that deck type is "Voltron" : ). That strategy is just a bit all in for me. I try to make my cube as consistent as possible, especially since we end up doing winston quite a bit which is already a pretty dodgey draft format in terms of deck construction.
Edit: I also refuse to play hexproof creatures which definitely affects the value of creature enchantments in the cube.
At the end of the day, it's all about what you feel right is for your group's cubing experience. If you players want to see more cards and aren't worried about land based fixing, that is up to your group on what they think should be in your card pool. Al's evaluations are just his thoughts on what cards should be CONSIDERED for cubes. He is by no means telling you that those lands have to be in your cube. But if you are going to include land based fixing, these are some of the best ones pauper cube has access to and are best for you to consider
I think Runner is the one that called them the Divination of lands. They're a 2 for 1 land. Having a land and a karoo in your opening hand is basically like having 8 cards in your opening hand. Say your opponent has 3 lands and 4 cards in his opening hand. You have a land, a karoo, and 5 cards in your hand. You both have access to the same number of mana sources from land but you have an extra card that he doesn't have. Accelerating doesn't have anything to do with card advantage. Rampant Growth isn't card advantage.
I would say that the Ravnica Karoo's are definitely staples. They're both fixing and card advantage on a land. If you want to cut some of the other land fixing, I don't think anyone would fault you for cutting the Guildgates.
But it does matter because those two numbers (in deck and in cube) are both directly related. The number of enchantments in your entire cube vs. the amount of other cards in your cube determines how many you will have access to during the draft. You will obviously have way more opportunities to grab creatures, instants, sorceries than you will to grab enchantments because of the % that they make up in your cube.
The numbers just don't add up man. You should have ~60% of your cube as creatures. Your cube, which runs more enchantments than almost any other pauper cube, only runs 35 enchantments. That's only ~9-10% of your cube. Gravedigger is always going to have a target while Auramancer might not. Even when Auramancer does have a target, you probably only have 1-2 options where as Gravedigger can get back probably 5-6 different choices.
Also, you still have Vulshok Gauntlets listed in your cubetutor list.
What does that first section even mean? Are you saying that Auramancer is better than Gravedigger? The sentences are very unclear.
You run exactly 2 creatures with vigilance in your entire cube and 2 cards that provides vigilance (Quirion Ranger included). Are you telling me you run Vulshock Gauntlets, which you say is WORTHLESS without vigilance or Quirion Ranger, because there are 4 other cards in the entire cube that make it playable?
Cube count definitely matters. It should always be considered when adding/removing cards from your cube.