At least that's what she should be actually singing!
Cube: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcurve/71439
ULD: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewsideboard/71439
The cube itself contains 384 cards so each pack consists of 16 cards. I wanted to test this size, as having the chance to wheel a card twice seems pretty cool, while artificially decreasing the amount of fixing lands.
The ULD, being 32 cards big, has some very strong cards as you people might think, and that's actually the case. It is to support some niche strategies and make lands viable in every draft.
First off,I want the powerlevel to be as balanced as possible while not being too low.
For example, I play Condemn and Vendetta as one-mana spot removal, the former not having a drawback as painful as the latter but being restricted to attacking creatures. The same goes for 2-mana spot removal: Suspension Field and Soul Reap both hit a lot of creatures, the latter even more, but the former is able to get rid of death-triggers and recursive beaters, while enchantment removal can bring those creatures back. In the 3-mana slot I have Ruinous Path and Mortify for you while Utter End represents the top end for removal, being the most versatile.
I don't like hexproof and shroud if it's unconditionally put on a creature. AEtherling is a super cool finisher, but too hard to handle for my cube, even Sphinx of Jwar Isle is too strong. Advanced Stitchwing seems about rightly powered, Prognostic is able to dodge removal, but only at the cost of resources. That's good in my eyes, please keep that in mind.
Generally, I want to encourage some archetypes. Those are:
Rx aggro
White Weenies
Ux control
WBx humans
BRx sacrifice
UBgrw reanimator
UB control
UW tempo/control
UR tempo
URw spells matter
GWb tokens/midrange
RG landfall
RGbu lands
tri-coloured midrange/control decks of nearly any kind, although I want them to be not so easily achievable.
Now I will tell you about cards that I find to be too strong. Most of them have been tested, but maybe you can find an argument for some of those:
Planeswalkers - Liliana of the Veil, Ajani Vengeant, Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, Elspeth, Sun's Champion and the likes. I see it as most riptide users: those are able to push the game hard in favour of the caster, especially when they're ahead. They encourage playing those goodstuff-midrange decks only douchebags want to draft.
I've got to admit that I never tested Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Elspeth, Knight-Errant because I found those to be overwhelmingly good in constructed. Maybe someone could sell me on those?
Removal - Go for the Throat, Doom Blade and Shriekmaw all were too good, the latter even without Pod. Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile are laughably strong, and even I once had to admit that even Journey to Nowhere is way too good for my cube. Ring of Oblivion is too versatile for being in one colour, so I put Detention Sphere in instead. I don't like the overpowered Lightning Bolt, even Chain Lightning seems too strong. Immolating Glare and Puncturing Light seem to be a tad too weak to me.
Suspension Field, Silkwrap, Smother - those are all great cards for their cost. I like Declaration in Stone as it gives the opposing player another card while coming for two and hitting everything. Chained to the Rocks is the other quite unconditional white removal, although it's more of a Boros one.
Sweepers - I want people to be encouraged drafting aggro, so I'm not playing too many of these. Turn 4 Wrath of God or Damnation sucks, I like Fumigate and Consume the Meek a lot better. Even Languish is too strong for my taste. My red sweepers are Radiant Flames, Chandra, Flamecaller, overloaded Mizzium Mortars and, to a certain degree, Pyrokinesis. Wildfire is an option, Pyroclasm is stupidly strong compared to Radiant Flames, which at least needs some commitment to be put into deckbuilding. Blasphemous Act is the last one, I'm not sure if this is too strong as I can see it costing four mana a lot of the time. I also play overloaded Cyclonic Rift as a bounce sweeper.
Disruption - I love Counterspell, Dissolve is just a tad too weak. Mana Leak is stupidly strong in cube, I like Miscalculation a lot more. Condescend would be the next controllish counter on the list.
Remand and Memory Lapse are cool tempo counters. Spell Snare hits ALOT for one mana.
Discard is very important to me, too. Thoughtseize is too strong, Despise and Appetite for Brains too weak. I love Duress, the idea of adding Blackmail was stolen by me from some riptidelab user I can't give credit for because I do not remember who it was, sorry. Love that one, too.
Inquisition of Kozilek is amazing, and I like playing with Cabal Therapy, too.
Augur of Skulls is cool as it fills two roles uniquely in one card, and is recursive. I thought about adding Unmask (card disadvantage sucks) and Distress (double b sucks). What do you think?
Cantrips - I would have loved to add Brainstorm or Ponder, but those are stupid with fetchlands and clunky without. Magmatic Insight and Serum Visions seem perfect, doubled up on these, as well as on Opt and Nissa's Oath. I guess I found the right power level here.
Thank you for reading, every input given will be appreciated.
I'll close this out with a few choices I'm overthinking right now:
Fauna Shaman - does it do enough for the mana? I like it somehow, but Evolutionary Leap seems to be stronger, although not as tutor-esque.
Wolfir Silverheart - too strong? I wanted a card that is able to make mana dorks lategame-relevant, or making combo-esque plays with double strike. I like it more than Verdurous Gearhulk and the weaker version, Druid's Familiar, is just not very playable.
Kiora's Follower - does it actually do enough for a multicolour card? UG is a very interesting colour-pair, you just can't say the same about the cards. I already have two Mobile Garrisons in the list for untapping shenanigans and doubled up on Arbor Elf for mana.
token producers - I want some more for the RBw sacrifice deck. White has some but black is lacking those. also, would you say I should add Jinxed Idol?
Cube: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcurve/71439
ULD: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewsideboard/71439
The cube itself contains 384 cards so each pack consists of 16 cards. I wanted to test this size, as having the chance to wheel a card twice seems pretty cool, while artificially decreasing the amount of fixing lands.
The ULD, being 32 cards big, has some very strong cards as you people might think, and that's actually the case. It is to support some niche strategies and make lands viable in every draft.
First off,I want the powerlevel to be as balanced as possible while not being too low.
For example, I play Condemn and Vendetta as one-mana spot removal, the former not having a drawback as painful as the latter but being restricted to attacking creatures. The same goes for 2-mana spot removal: Suspension Field and Soul Reap both hit a lot of creatures, the latter even more, but the former is able to get rid of death-triggers and recursive beaters, while enchantment removal can bring those creatures back. In the 3-mana slot I have Ruinous Path and Mortify for you while Utter End represents the top end for removal, being the most versatile.
I don't like hexproof and shroud if it's unconditionally put on a creature. AEtherling is a super cool finisher, but too hard to handle for my cube, even Sphinx of Jwar Isle is too strong. Advanced Stitchwing seems about rightly powered, Prognostic is able to dodge removal, but only at the cost of resources. That's good in my eyes, please keep that in mind.
Generally, I want to encourage some archetypes. Those are:
Rx aggro
White Weenies
Ux control
WBx humans
BRx sacrifice
UBgrw reanimator
UB control
UW tempo/control
UR tempo
URw spells matter
GWb tokens/midrange
RG landfall
RGbu lands
tri-coloured midrange/control decks of nearly any kind, although I want them to be not so easily achievable.
Now I will tell you about cards that I find to be too strong. Most of them have been tested, but maybe you can find an argument for some of those:
Planeswalkers - Liliana of the Veil, Ajani Vengeant, Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, Elspeth, Sun's Champion and the likes. I see it as most riptide users: those are able to push the game hard in favour of the caster, especially when they're ahead. They encourage playing those goodstuff-midrange decks only douchebags want to draft.
I've got to admit that I never tested Jace, the Mind Sculptor or Elspeth, Knight-Errant because I found those to be overwhelmingly good in constructed. Maybe someone could sell me on those?
Removal - Go for the Throat, Doom Blade and Shriekmaw all were too good, the latter even without Pod. Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile are laughably strong, and even I once had to admit that even Journey to Nowhere is way too good for my cube. Ring of Oblivion is too versatile for being in one colour, so I put Detention Sphere in instead. I don't like the overpowered Lightning Bolt, even Chain Lightning seems too strong. Immolating Glare and Puncturing Light seem to be a tad too weak to me.
Suspension Field, Silkwrap, Smother - those are all great cards for their cost. I like Declaration in Stone as it gives the opposing player another card while coming for two and hitting everything. Chained to the Rocks is the other quite unconditional white removal, although it's more of a Boros one.
Sweepers - I want people to be encouraged drafting aggro, so I'm not playing too many of these. Turn 4 Wrath of God or Damnation sucks, I like Fumigate and Consume the Meek a lot better. Even Languish is too strong for my taste. My red sweepers are Radiant Flames, Chandra, Flamecaller, overloaded Mizzium Mortars and, to a certain degree, Pyrokinesis. Wildfire is an option, Pyroclasm is stupidly strong compared to Radiant Flames, which at least needs some commitment to be put into deckbuilding. Blasphemous Act is the last one, I'm not sure if this is too strong as I can see it costing four mana a lot of the time. I also play overloaded Cyclonic Rift as a bounce sweeper.
Disruption - I love Counterspell, Dissolve is just a tad too weak. Mana Leak is stupidly strong in cube, I like Miscalculation a lot more. Condescend would be the next controllish counter on the list.
Remand and Memory Lapse are cool tempo counters. Spell Snare hits ALOT for one mana.
Discard is very important to me, too. Thoughtseize is too strong, Despise and Appetite for Brains too weak. I love Duress, the idea of adding Blackmail was stolen by me from some riptidelab user I can't give credit for because I do not remember who it was, sorry. Love that one, too.
Inquisition of Kozilek is amazing, and I like playing with Cabal Therapy, too.
Augur of Skulls is cool as it fills two roles uniquely in one card, and is recursive. I thought about adding Unmask (card disadvantage sucks) and Distress (double b sucks). What do you think?
Cantrips - I would have loved to add Brainstorm or Ponder, but those are stupid with fetchlands and clunky without. Magmatic Insight and Serum Visions seem perfect, doubled up on these, as well as on Opt and Nissa's Oath. I guess I found the right power level here.
Thank you for reading, every input given will be appreciated.
I'll close this out with a few choices I'm overthinking right now:
Fauna Shaman - does it do enough for the mana? I like it somehow, but Evolutionary Leap seems to be stronger, although not as tutor-esque.
Wolfir Silverheart - too strong? I wanted a card that is able to make mana dorks lategame-relevant, or making combo-esque plays with double strike. I like it more than Verdurous Gearhulk and the weaker version, Druid's Familiar, is just not very playable.
Kiora's Follower - does it actually do enough for a multicolour card? UG is a very interesting colour-pair, you just can't say the same about the cards. I already have two Mobile Garrisons in the list for untapping shenanigans and doubled up on Arbor Elf for mana.
token producers - I want some more for the RBw sacrifice deck. White has some but black is lacking those. also, would you say I should add Jinxed Idol?
I might give Ayli a try, as well.