I don't think that this is going to work out too well, since you are not really drafting a limited format, but more like a list of good cards. Some cards are going to show up that only are good in very specific constructed decks (especially combo cards), which won't work well in cube. The equal section size rule is likely not going to reflect the power of the sections at that point in time properly.
Is the format even going to be singleton?
While the list is going to be interesting, I would not want to draft with it.
I suppose what I am thinking of is more of an odd draft environment than a cube, but this seemed the closest place to put it.
I actually am putting more thought into this and making some changes - I will use the top 40 from each group and expanding the revisions from 3 months to 6 months.
I do anticipate a very odd drafting format, and it will likely be of the best cards without the context; that is part of the appeal to me. I want to see how the cards would stack up in a radically different environment than the decks they were in. Also, under the system I am using, coming up with how limited and draft decks were done added a level of complexity that I am simply not eager to try.
I have an idea that I can't play myself, but maybe if I set you up, you could try it. Here it is:
The PTC will consist of the 40 most used cards in each group (the 5 colors, lands, multicolored, and colorless) in Pro Tour constructed events. Starting with September 2000, and being updated every month, or couple weeks, or so, with tournament top-8's 6 months at a time, using my "patented" counting system. It will be a running total, so eventually, the oldest power cards, like Necropotence, will be phased out as they are used less and less at the big events.
For example, the pool starts with the top cards from July 2000 to the end of that year. In a month, when we go to the next list, we add the points from the constructed events from January to June of 2001. The next time, adding in from the rest of 2001, etc.
I can add the points, keep the tables, even make virtual packs for it (everything is common in the packs.) What I can't do is play with it.
That's where you come in.
If you are interested, I will get this going. I will give the cube lists, and you guys can run limited or booster drafts; I can even send packlists. But I want to see if there is interest in this before I waste too much time on this.
Don't know if this will work for you, but it worked for my father who was a pack-a-day smoker.
Choose a time in the evening, about 8pm works best. At 8pm, do not smoke until 7pm the next day. Then, you have to smoke for the entire hour until 8pm. Repeat for 5 days.
At your first 7pm, you will love it. By the third 7pm, you will hate it. Smoke the entire hour anyway. At your fifth 7pm, smoke one cigarette. If you want to continue, do so, but by then, your body should be hating the nicotine.
Thank you, Mr. Argyle, for coming on here and explaining the situation. It shows a degree of professionalism that is sorely lacking in gaming industries these days.
Pain-Filled WordsRR (common)
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Creature
When the enchanted creature dies, Pain-Filled Words deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Manifest R(R, exile this card from your hand: Put a 0/0 colorless Elemental creature token onto the battlefield, then put this card onto the battlefield attached to that token. Manifest only as a sorcery.)
The idea here is a cycle of cards. Black has Hate-Filled Words, white has Hope-Filled Words, green has Venom-Filled words, and blue has Thought-Filled Words.
As a parent, I am firmly on the side of WotC on this one because it is logical. If I have to screen a game for sexual content, my children aren't going to play it. Argyle showed extremely bad judgment by using M:tG branding characters in this way.
I am also concerned about how people are thinking this gets a pass BECAUSE it is a homosexual depiction; ignoring the question about whether or not it is OK, but are there seriously people that believe that it is MORE OK than heterosexual sensual depictions, especially on a product marketed to minors?
Let’s get to the critiquing. Most of my critiques will be about the Round 1 card (the creature), but the sign-up cards will matter. I will also be critiquing the sign-up cards, but the Top 3 will be about the first round.
Sign-up card:
Creativity: Tribal is always amusing to me, but as Rosewater pointed out, the danger is that once you start making cards Tribal, it is hard to not make everything Tribal. This card seems to feel in the right place for a block using the preprinted Aura Swap ability.
Balance: While creative, I see some rules that would need to be made and changed if this card saw print. The obvious one to me is what happens when you swap it out for a non-aura card? By the rules of Aura Swap (502.62) as they are now, you would have to swap it out with a Vampire that is also an Aura.
Round 1 card:
Creativity: The fluff of the card (title, creature types) is creative, but a little too creative; my mind is having trouble grasping the idea of having a plant as a planewalker’s familiar. A familiar is mentally bonded to its controller, and I can’t envision much conversation between a plant and a wizard.
Balance: I love the Aura recursion this card does, and one reason I love it is how it’s not as power as it looks at first glance. The mana cost has to be equal to the paid life to work, and it is a payment, not just losing life. So it doesn’t work with Lich.
The second ability works with the first one, except that it turns the card into a different archetype card. The Aura recursion, drastically needed for Auras in general, is for control, while the +1/+1 counters is more of an aggro style.
Relation to your theme: As I noted before, this would not work at all with Sanguine Sigil without significant rules changes. It’s a shame, too, as I see where you’re trying to take this.
Sign-up card
Creativity: It’s a creative use of Multikicker, and a good use of counters (making something that’s not a creature), and it’s nice to see Hurricane make a comeback, but why is it called Vigorweb?
Balance: Late game, this card would be scary, but it’s also vulnerable; easy to counter, and sweepers eliminate the advantage. Still, it’s what a late-game card should be: something you need to deal with NOW. But it’s also a good early-game card: somewhat cheap and a mild power boost.
And your Round 1 submission:
Creativity: I looked up the word hexandra and I love this card’s name now! Combined with your flavor text, it feels like … well, what a hexandra mage would be.
Balance: Good ability, good cost, but my only change I would make would be to change the ability to either W or U; giving both options makes it a little too powerful. Personally, I would go with W, as it fits your theme better.
Relation to your theme: It fits great with the theme of Multikicker, making Vigorweb even more dangerous earlier. I could see a deck built around this making an unusual situation of green being the primary color and splashing white and blue.
Your sign-up card:
Creativity: I don’t see the link between lux and being both untouchable and shifting damage. Sorry.
Balance: Welcome to the Banned List, Lux Armor. Make yourself comfortable; you won’t be leaving. Making the creature hexproof AND virtually indestructible? And for only W? This would cause Spikegasms, but only until DCI discovered it.
Now for your Round 1 card:
Creativity: Flavorwise, I’m not getting the name and color; if it’s water, it should be blue. If it’s light, it should be white. Flavor text would have helped here, but I’m at a loss as to what it is and why it’s green.
Balance: Could use some cleaning up of the rules text, but other than that, a fair card; 4 for a 2/2 that gets bigger as the game goes (or if you smack it yourself) is a slow but steady winner.
Relation to your theme: The cards work together, and it seems that it’s going for a death avoidance theme. Now if only the flavor worked together…
Your sign-up card:
Creativity: It’s OK. Nothing special. I would think something like this would be a little more “pizazzy” with its name and text.
Balance: Not one bit. This comes out second turn, that means every turn you can make at least 2 more. If the idea is to make Paraselene worthwhile, you did that. Otherwise, too powerful an effect for its cost.
Now, your Round 1 entry:
Creativity: I am curious about the speech that made the squirrel follow you in the text; may have made it stand out a little more.
Balance: THIS is what Aura need to gain respect! It is very powerful, a threat that will need to be dealt with soon, but is vulnerable when people try to put all the eggs in one basket.
Relation to your theme: Assuming your idea is making creature big and bad through Auras, it fits well. These cards do work together well (a little too well for DCI).
Here’s your sign-up card:
Creativity: Just how many meanings are there to “a hot blade?” It is an interesting idea, one that I could definitely see more of; an Aura that changes how Equipment affects creatures. Nice touch on using Wither and not Infect.
Balance: Nice idea, makes Equipment more dangerous, while also making a “secondary enchantment”.
And your entry:
Creativity: I HATE the name! It’s generic enough that it can be used in other sets, but it is a bland name. Also, how is he a druid? He is white, and he searches libraries for altering equipment.
Balance: 2/2 for 2 that is powerful, and that power is not as obvious as it first appears, especially in the Eternal formats. (Thinking of cards like Power Artifact.) You can also run a mono-white 5 color deck.
Relation to your theme: A narrow card, but not as narrow as it seems, yet it really wants your Scarring Flameblade.
Here’s your sign-up card:
Creativity: Tribal cards are a problem, as Rosewater pointed out: once you start making cards Tribal, it’s hard to not make all of them Tribal. But Tribal works here, as it’s going to affect its target by virtue of being a Goblin.
Balance: It’s powerful, but only in a Goblin deck; in any other deck, it is garbage. If you’re playing Limited and you’re desperate, it might be OK, but it is too restrictive.
And your Round 1 card:
Creativity: What makes him a hellraiser? I get him being a leader of some sort, but it seems that a different name would have fit better.
Balance: Weak enough to kill, but its ability makes sure you’re gonna regret it. I like it; it is what Goblins are all about. And it’s turn 3, so some direct effects will be in play when this goblin is.
Relation to your theme: While I’m not a fan of Strength of the Horde, that card fits beautifully with the Hellraiser. It makes another creature, and the Hellraiser will be a 6/4 by itself.
1: MirrorEntity
2: Jimmy Groove
3: Koopa
It was a tough call (especially between 2nd and 3rd), but ultimately, what got that little tiny nudge was the name. That’s how close it was.
Solid Mana R (uncommon)
World Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Enchantment
Enchanted Enchantment is a non-enchantment creature with power and toughness equal to its converted mana cost. This does not affect Solid Mana.
Notes on the card can be on the sign-up thread
Now for my creature: Sifting Guardian4 (rare)
Artifact Creature - Sand Wall
Defender (this creature can't attack) 1, T: Search your library for an Aura card, reveal it, and put it in your hand. If the card is a World card, you may cast it instead without paying its mana cost.
0/7 When the pillar of sand suddenly shifted toward the apprentice, they both knew they found something special.
Solid Mana1R
World Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Enchantment
Enchanted Enchantment is a non-enchantment creature with power and toughness equal to its converted mana cost. This does not affect Solid Mana.
Ruling:
Referring back to the old rules about World Enchantments, there can be only one World Enchantment on the battlefield at a time. When a new World Enchantment enters the battlefield, all others are sacrificed. The fact that this is an Aura does not change this.
If an Aura is enchanted by Solid Mana, it is no longer attached to whatever it was enchanting. If Solid Mana is enchanting an Aura and then is destroyed, then that Aura gets sacrificed as a state-based effect; it is not enchanting anything and it did not just enter the battlefield.
Because the enchanted card is no longer an enchantment, cards (including Auras) that would affect only enchantments cannot affect it. While this normally affect Solid Mana (causing the target to be illegal), it does not in this case because the card explicitly says so.
What was I thinking?
World enchantments are not used anymore, but they have a lot of room for growth and interest if done correctly. I had an idea for using an aura world enchantment, as the flavor would be making magic of a type that cannot be sustained when other magic of that type were to steal resources from it. So, in this case, a Solid Mana spell would suck the magic from another Solid Mana spell. (Or for that matter, a Serra's Aviary or a Concordant Crossroads).
This was a round that I won in spite of the fact that I played badly, but it shows that you need to be a good sport even when the judge isn't around.
Game 2, I lost game 1, and was losing this one. My opponent was a trash talking 15 year old who was convinced he was better than everyone else, especially me. He was irritating me, and I was pondering how much it would cost to pay one of the other teenagers to beat him down in the parking lot. Judge leaves the room (small tournament), then he (kid, not judge) goes into a bad Chris Rock act; all the profanity and none of the humor. He moves all his creatures to the red zone and it would have killed me, then he launches into some ... (edited for appropriateness) unlikely theories about my sexual practices and what animals pleasure my mother.
That's when his dad walked in the door.
Dad came right over, red-hot face, and tells the kid, "Pick up your cards, you're leaving now." Kid argues, "I'm about to win." dad says, "Next time, watch your mouth."
Judge comes back in, I call him over because there's no way I'm getting involved in this. Because the father told the judge, "He's leaving right now," the judge called it a concession and I won the match.
This happened back in 1997,but it's still one of my favorite wins.
The old rule about losing was that you could be at 0 life and still not be losing; you had until the end of the phase or combat to get back above 0. That is important, and I would not have won without it.
I was playing a R/U Counterburn deck against an opponent who was going for the Lich/Mirror Universe combo. (Basically, Lich puts you down to 0 but keeps you alive, Mirror Universe has you and your opponent trade life totals.)
He got the Lich out, and I smiled; I knew what was coming. He played the Mirror Universe, and then he popped it, saying, "I win." This would have been devastating, as I had gone from 35 life to 0 in a second. All I did was smile and say, "Draw." When you're playing Lich, whenever you would gain life, you draw a card instead.
"What? I won. You're at 0."
"I have until the end of the phase to get my life total up. You need to draw 35 cards right now."
I've been keeping it WW, becauseI pulled out the Squadron Hawks for Ardent Recruit, and have been happy with that decision. When this deck does what it should, you have Metalcraft, it costs only W, and it doesn't thin the deck, increasing the odds of drawing an Argentum Armor or two.
Now, I'm experimenting with using Silence in the SB against Vampires or Elves, perhaps even Caw-Blade. Thoughts?
If your conduct off the clock interferes with your conduct on the clock, as it clearly does here, your boss has the right to consider that conduct. How complicated is that?
I think there is one more detail to consider: WotC does not like the Eternal formats. They would be happy if the older cards were all destroyed by aliens. They tolerate it because it is popular and support it because they can have some control over it, but they certainly will not do anything that would make the formats more accessible simply because they would prefer the formats be gone.
I suppose what I am thinking of is more of an odd draft environment than a cube, but this seemed the closest place to put it.
I actually am putting more thought into this and making some changes - I will use the top 40 from each group and expanding the revisions from 3 months to 6 months.
I do anticipate a very odd drafting format, and it will likely be of the best cards without the context; that is part of the appeal to me. I want to see how the cards would stack up in a radically different environment than the decks they were in. Also, under the system I am using, coming up with how limited and draft decks were done added a level of complexity that I am simply not eager to try.
The PTC will consist of the 40 most used cards in each group (the 5 colors, lands, multicolored, and colorless) in Pro Tour constructed events. Starting with September 2000, and being updated every month, or couple weeks, or so, with tournament top-8's 6 months at a time, using my "patented" counting system. It will be a running total, so eventually, the oldest power cards, like Necropotence, will be phased out as they are used less and less at the big events.
For example, the pool starts with the top cards from July 2000 to the end of that year. In a month, when we go to the next list, we add the points from the constructed events from January to June of 2001. The next time, adding in from the rest of 2001, etc.
I can add the points, keep the tables, even make virtual packs for it (everything is common in the packs.) What I can't do is play with it.
That's where you come in.
If you are interested, I will get this going. I will give the cube lists, and you guys can run limited or booster drafts; I can even send packlists. But I want to see if there is interest in this before I waste too much time on this.
Choose a time in the evening, about 8pm works best. At 8pm, do not smoke until 7pm the next day. Then, you have to smoke for the entire hour until 8pm. Repeat for 5 days.
At your first 7pm, you will love it. By the third 7pm, you will hate it. Smoke the entire hour anyway. At your fifth 7pm, smoke one cigarette. If you want to continue, do so, but by then, your body should be hating the nicotine.
Using Manifest, Prophylaxis's abilityhttp://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=7728720&postcount=4
Pain-Filled Words RR (common)
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Creature
When the enchanted creature dies, Pain-Filled Words deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Manifest R (R, exile this card from your hand: Put a 0/0 colorless Elemental creature token onto the battlefield, then put this card onto the battlefield attached to that token. Manifest only as a sorcery.)
The idea here is a cycle of cards. Black has Hate-Filled Words, white has Hope-Filled Words, green has Venom-Filled words, and blue has Thought-Filled Words.
I am also concerned about how people are thinking this gets a pass BECAUSE it is a homosexual depiction; ignoring the question about whether or not it is OK, but are there seriously people that believe that it is MORE OK than heterosexual sensual depictions, especially on a product marketed to minors?
Sign-up card:
Creativity: Tribal is always amusing to me, but as Rosewater pointed out, the danger is that once you start making cards Tribal, it is hard to not make everything Tribal. This card seems to feel in the right place for a block using the preprinted Aura Swap ability.
Balance: While creative, I see some rules that would need to be made and changed if this card saw print. The obvious one to me is what happens when you swap it out for a non-aura card? By the rules of Aura Swap (502.62) as they are now, you would have to swap it out with a Vampire that is also an Aura.
Round 1 card:
Creativity: The fluff of the card (title, creature types) is creative, but a little too creative; my mind is having trouble grasping the idea of having a plant as a planewalker’s familiar. A familiar is mentally bonded to its controller, and I can’t envision much conversation between a plant and a wizard.
Balance: I love the Aura recursion this card does, and one reason I love it is how it’s not as power as it looks at first glance. The mana cost has to be equal to the paid life to work, and it is a payment, not just losing life. So it doesn’t work with Lich.
The second ability works with the first one, except that it turns the card into a different archetype card. The Aura recursion, drastically needed for Auras in general, is for control, while the +1/+1 counters is more of an aggro style.
Relation to your theme: As I noted before, this would not work at all with Sanguine Sigil without significant rules changes. It’s a shame, too, as I see where you’re trying to take this.
Sign-up card
Creativity: It’s a creative use of Multikicker, and a good use of counters (making something that’s not a creature), and it’s nice to see Hurricane make a comeback, but why is it called Vigorweb?
Balance: Late game, this card would be scary, but it’s also vulnerable; easy to counter, and sweepers eliminate the advantage. Still, it’s what a late-game card should be: something you need to deal with NOW. But it’s also a good early-game card: somewhat cheap and a mild power boost.
And your Round 1 submission:
Creativity: I looked up the word hexandra and I love this card’s name now! Combined with your flavor text, it feels like … well, what a hexandra mage would be.
Balance: Good ability, good cost, but my only change I would make would be to change the ability to either W or U; giving both options makes it a little too powerful. Personally, I would go with W, as it fits your theme better.
Relation to your theme: It fits great with the theme of Multikicker, making Vigorweb even more dangerous earlier. I could see a deck built around this making an unusual situation of green being the primary color and splashing white and blue.
Your sign-up card:
Creativity: I don’t see the link between lux and being both untouchable and shifting damage. Sorry.
Balance: Welcome to the Banned List, Lux Armor. Make yourself comfortable; you won’t be leaving. Making the creature hexproof AND virtually indestructible? And for only W? This would cause Spikegasms, but only until DCI discovered it.
Now for your Round 1 card:
Creativity: Flavorwise, I’m not getting the name and color; if it’s water, it should be blue. If it’s light, it should be white. Flavor text would have helped here, but I’m at a loss as to what it is and why it’s green.
Balance: Could use some cleaning up of the rules text, but other than that, a fair card; 4 for a 2/2 that gets bigger as the game goes (or if you smack it yourself) is a slow but steady winner.
Relation to your theme: The cards work together, and it seems that it’s going for a death avoidance theme. Now if only the flavor worked together…
Your sign-up card:
Creativity: It’s OK. Nothing special. I would think something like this would be a little more “pizazzy” with its name and text.
Balance: Not one bit. This comes out second turn, that means every turn you can make at least 2 more. If the idea is to make Paraselene worthwhile, you did that. Otherwise, too powerful an effect for its cost.
Now, your Round 1 entry:
Creativity: I am curious about the speech that made the squirrel follow you in the text; may have made it stand out a little more.
Balance: THIS is what Aura need to gain respect! It is very powerful, a threat that will need to be dealt with soon, but is vulnerable when people try to put all the eggs in one basket.
Relation to your theme: Assuming your idea is making creature big and bad through Auras, it fits well. These cards do work together well (a little too well for DCI).
Here’s your sign-up card:
Creativity: Just how many meanings are there to “a hot blade?” It is an interesting idea, one that I could definitely see more of; an Aura that changes how Equipment affects creatures. Nice touch on using Wither and not Infect.
Balance: Nice idea, makes Equipment more dangerous, while also making a “secondary enchantment”.
And your entry:
Creativity: I HATE the name! It’s generic enough that it can be used in other sets, but it is a bland name. Also, how is he a druid? He is white, and he searches libraries for altering equipment.
Balance: 2/2 for 2 that is powerful, and that power is not as obvious as it first appears, especially in the Eternal formats. (Thinking of cards like Power Artifact.) You can also run a mono-white 5 color deck.
Relation to your theme: A narrow card, but not as narrow as it seems, yet it really wants your Scarring Flameblade.
Here’s your sign-up card:
Creativity: Tribal cards are a problem, as Rosewater pointed out: once you start making cards Tribal, it’s hard to not make all of them Tribal. But Tribal works here, as it’s going to affect its target by virtue of being a Goblin.
Balance: It’s powerful, but only in a Goblin deck; in any other deck, it is garbage. If you’re playing Limited and you’re desperate, it might be OK, but it is too restrictive.
And your Round 1 card:
Creativity: What makes him a hellraiser? I get him being a leader of some sort, but it seems that a different name would have fit better.
Balance: Weak enough to kill, but its ability makes sure you’re gonna regret it. I like it; it is what Goblins are all about. And it’s turn 3, so some direct effects will be in play when this goblin is.
Relation to your theme: While I’m not a fan of Strength of the Horde, that card fits beautifully with the Hellraiser. It makes another creature, and the Hellraiser will be a 6/4 by itself.
1: MirrorEntity
2: Jimmy Groove
3: Koopa
It was a tough call (especially between 2nd and 3rd), but ultimately, what got that little tiny nudge was the name. That’s how close it was.
My sign-up
World Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Enchantment
Enchanted Enchantment is a non-enchantment creature with power and toughness equal to its converted mana cost. This does not affect Solid Mana.
Notes on the card can be on the sign-up thread
Now for my creature:
Sifting Guardian 4 (rare)
Artifact Creature - Sand Wall
Defender (this creature can't attack)
1, T: Search your library for an Aura card, reveal it, and put it in your hand. If the card is a World card, you may cast it instead without paying its mana cost.
0/7
When the pillar of sand suddenly shifted toward the apprentice, they both knew they found something special.
Solid Mana 1R
World Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Enchantment
Enchanted Enchantment is a non-enchantment creature with power and toughness equal to its converted mana cost. This does not affect Solid Mana.
Ruling:
If an Aura is enchanted by Solid Mana, it is no longer attached to whatever it was enchanting. If Solid Mana is enchanting an Aura and then is destroyed, then that Aura gets sacrificed as a state-based effect; it is not enchanting anything and it did not just enter the battlefield.
Because the enchanted card is no longer an enchantment, cards (including Auras) that would affect only enchantments cannot affect it. While this normally affect Solid Mana (causing the target to be illegal), it does not in this case because the card explicitly says so.
What was I thinking?
Game 2, I lost game 1, and was losing this one. My opponent was a trash talking 15 year old who was convinced he was better than everyone else, especially me. He was irritating me, and I was pondering how much it would cost to pay one of the other teenagers to beat him down in the parking lot. Judge leaves the room (small tournament), then he (kid, not judge) goes into a bad Chris Rock act; all the profanity and none of the humor. He moves all his creatures to the red zone and it would have killed me, then he launches into some ... (edited for appropriateness) unlikely theories about my sexual practices and what animals pleasure my mother.
That's when his dad walked in the door.
Dad came right over, red-hot face, and tells the kid, "Pick up your cards, you're leaving now." Kid argues, "I'm about to win." dad says, "Next time, watch your mouth."
Judge comes back in, I call him over because there's no way I'm getting involved in this. Because the father told the judge, "He's leaving right now," the judge called it a concession and I won the match.
The old rule about losing was that you could be at 0 life and still not be losing; you had until the end of the phase or combat to get back above 0. That is important, and I would not have won without it.
I was playing a R/U Counterburn deck against an opponent who was going for the Lich/Mirror Universe combo. (Basically, Lich puts you down to 0 but keeps you alive, Mirror Universe has you and your opponent trade life totals.)
He got the Lich out, and I smiled; I knew what was coming. He played the Mirror Universe, and then he popped it, saying, "I win." This would have been devastating, as I had gone from 35 life to 0 in a second. All I did was smile and say, "Draw." When you're playing Lich, whenever you would gain life, you draw a card instead.
"What? I won. You're at 0."
"I have until the end of the phase to get my life total up. You need to draw 35 cards right now."
Too bad he only had 28 cards in his library.
Now, I'm experimenting with using Silence in the SB against Vampires or Elves, perhaps even Caw-Blade. Thoughts?