One Pack One Pick (p1p1 thread)
- Thread starter safra
- Start date
Oh man, I wanna say Necromancer Punishing Fire but... Aether Adept!
This cube looks awesome. I think I'd take Three Dreams and see what happens.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I'ld start with the Cage of Hands and wheel the Three Dreams
James, because as an anxious cube designer I want to make you happy: what do you hope to get off Three Dreams? (This sent me off into an "it's okay, I run some pretty sweet auras.... but these auras are pretty sweet, what if someone else takes them?")
Spoiler of auras you could actually get from Three Dreams in my cube:
Spoiler of auras you could actually get from Three Dreams in my cube:
Bunch of removal: Pacifism, Cage of Hands, Faith's Fetters, Curse of Chains, Narcolepsy, One Thousand Lashes.
Also Mind Control (used to run Persuasion too, maybe should put it back, maybe not).
Power-ups: Gift of Orzhova, Armadillo Cloak.
Curses: Curse of Shallow Graves. Curse of Death's Hold.
Ramp (but you'll never search for this): Utopia Sprawl, Fertile Ground.
Draw engine: Underworld Connections.
Trolling: Lust for War.
When I first put Three Dreams in I also ran double Gigantiform but no-one drafting seemed to like it so I slipped it back out.
Also Mind Control (used to run Persuasion too, maybe should put it back, maybe not).
Power-ups: Gift of Orzhova, Armadillo Cloak.
Curses: Curse of Shallow Graves. Curse of Death's Hold.
Ramp (but you'll never search for this): Utopia Sprawl, Fertile Ground.
Draw engine: Underworld Connections.
Trolling: Lust for War.
When I first put Three Dreams in I also ran double Gigantiform but no-one drafting seemed to like it so I slipped it back out.
I guess I was mostly looking for removal. With a bunch of pacifism type stuff it would cool in some kind of control deck. Maybe it just sucks? I dunno, I'm a bad player.
I think if you get to untap with stuff like Mind Control and Underworld Dreams in hand plus removal, and a board that's not a total mess, it's probably hard for your opponent to make up the difference. I haven't got to play with it much, it's obviously terrible to draw on turn 20, but the best case feels like it could be pretty back-breaking.
Laz
Developer
It is things like this from inexperienced cube designers that are why I have trust issues (well, there was also this one Canadian girl). You really have to trust the designer knows what they are doing to treat this as a signal. Maybe it is worth discussing cards that send mixed signals about the nature of the environment at some stage, because I am sure we all probably have some offenders, whether minor or major. My minor one that I will own up to is Grim Haruspex, though why that card has Morph I will never know. Presumably there was some sort of rare Morph quota in Khans that we will never be told about because of how infallible Wizards is.
Also Tinker... 'What do you mean the best target is Scuttling Doom Engine? How am I supposed to win with that?'
It's difficult, though! If you see a card like this, how strong do you expect it to be? It's hard to evaluate any card without knowing the format. If you're used to formats in which you can summon GRBS with Natural Order, you're going to be mildly disappointed when your green fatty selection is fairer than expected - even if the games are better as a result. Similarly if you're used to Pestermite as a fair card in Pauper cubes, pass it and get given Splinter Twin, you're maybe going to feel a bit sick. Brainstorm's value varies greatly if you don't have fetchlands. The list goes on.
I do kind of expect cards like this and Conjurer's Closet to more usually go later and be picked up by decks that are already capable of making good use of them, and I think there's enough density of the effects they're looking for to make them both decent, even great in the right circumstances, but I think it's hard to communicate how strong a card that relies on some kind of synergy will be in a format and your best hope is you get something in the same pack that gives you an idea of what your synergistic options are. If you have any ideas on how to communicate this more clearly, I'd be more than interested in hearing them.
This kind of feels like something that might make an interesting thread outside Forum Games.
Same! Assuming this is a lower powered list, Mind Control probably punches above its weight.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I first picked Control Magic last weekend, but Mind Control will do as well, yes.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I don't know what kind of decks most of those cards are for, so I pick Tarmogoyf, hoping that other big butts, planeswalkers, and Languish find their way to me.
Dom Harvey
Contributor
Sphinx's Tutelage let's go
I thought everyone might coalesce around the boring, safe pick of Mana Leak, and I'm thrilled no one has!
I want to see packs from all five of you now, not kidding. (I'll concede that reddit is actually a better format for threads like this - there's an advantage to those nested threads, after all!)
I want to see packs from all five of you now, not kidding. (I'll concede that reddit is actually a better format for threads like this - there's an advantage to those nested threads, after all!)