Hm, okay, taking all these takes in, I think I'll leave Brainstorm where it is right now: in the occasionals. It feels a bit weird there as it's not a super splashy card, just another 1-mana cantrip, but it does have the constructed legacy to maybe actually deserve that spot. And it will probably not break my format, even when some decks play four or five Prismatic Vistas alongside it.
Card/Deck Broken cards for lower power
- Thread starter ravnic
- Start date
I just realized that Channel is like 1€
I think it's another one that could work as an occasional in my cube.
Battleball is probably the only card where you'd be doing something really broken from my core cards? Winning with X burn or Mystic Forge takes some serious setup and luck. And stuff like Roar of the Wurm on turn three is nothing you couldn't achieve with Llanowar Mentor.
I think it's another one that could work as an occasional in my cube.
Battleball is probably the only card where you'd be doing something really broken from my core cards? Winning with X burn or Mystic Forge takes some serious setup and luck. And stuff like Roar of the Wurm on turn three is nothing you couldn't achieve with Llanowar Mentor.
it depends, let's just say that it's arguably stronger than
but not as strong as stuff like
if you want that kind of flexibility for blue, yeah go for it. Force of Negation is in my occasionals and I enjoy it but don't want blue to be able to make a big swing and then counter the opponent's response for zero mana. And Force of Will would be able to do that.
but not as strong as stuff like
if you want that kind of flexibility for blue, yeah go for it. Force of Negation is in my occasionals and I enjoy it but don't want blue to be able to make a big swing and then counter the opponent's response for zero mana. And Force of Will would be able to do that.
I'd say that the issue with putting Force of Will in a lower power cube is less that it's too strong (I think it's actually pretty bad in fair magic, since you're 1-for-2-ing yourself and there aren't the kind of threats that actually merit doing that) and more that it signals that there's going to be some degenerate combo nonsense going on in the environment that needs to be policed by Force.
I think one-of Force with no other free interaction just feels kind of bullshit. I want to either know that my opponent has shields down when they're tapped out or know that free interaction is part of the terms of engagement. Playing around a single Force just feels like nonsense gambling.
it depends, let's just say that it's arguably stronger than
but not as strong as stuff like
if you want that kind of flexibility for blue, yeah go for it. Force of Negation is in my occasionals and I enjoy it but don't want blue to be able to make a big swing and then counter the opponent's response for zero mana. And Force of Will would be able to do that.
Hmm, pyrokinesis is an effect that is worth 4 or 5 mana in fair magic. Force of Will is an effect that is worth 2 or 3 mana in fair magic. I don't think Pyrokinesis is weaker than FoW, is it really?
Signaling would not really be an issue because, and that's important, I'm proposing force of will as an occasional for my cube so it would even only be in the pool once in 10 drafts.
I really respect you as a cube designer and as a podcast guest, for that matter, but I think this tag is either very spikey or you have to put down your designer hat for a minute. Let me explain.
I think the best kind of magic is the traditional kitchen table magic where you and your friends just discovered the game. You all have some cards and occasionally get a few more but none of you are netdecking and none of you have the knowledge to really optimize all your decks. Yet you start brewing and come up with creative and cool synergistic builds.
I always strived to emulate that kind of gameplay with my cube – but only when I implemented occasionals, I really could. Because one critical part is that in this kind of "meta", you could never really know what was coming. On one hand, because you didn't know what cards anyone had access to and, on the other hand, because you didn't know all the magic cards that existed. And I want that for my cube as well.
A huge occasional module is probably the best way to come close to this feeling of never really knowing what's coming in cube, which is, by definition, a closed environment.
Sure it can be fun to play around with counter spells and tricks that you know about in something like a standard environment. But what I want to make happen is people saying after the draft, "Oh my god, this match was crazy. My opponent had ... !"
And I think Force of Will might be perfect for that because it is rarely going to be a blowout.
It's pretty arguable, but the fact that Force of Will can "kill" Griselbrand and Pyrokinesis cannot, is where I think the main difference is. Of course, if most decks are running krenko's command and Awakening Zone and you want to clean up with Pyro then that's obviously better. But generally people die to bombs, not weenies, but YMMV.