General CBS

Oh, I've done the exact same thing three years ago.

Cool! Thanks for sharing! So yours actually searches in a specific card list and also has autocompletion, that's nice! I didn't refine mine so much. I just wanted something that allowed me to input part of names in Spanish or whatever the card is printed on so I don't have to remember or search for the English name and can just type a few letters. It assumes what card it is or shows an error message if the input is ambiguous. It's this shell script here: https://git.taamas.xyz/Taamas/scripts/src/branch/master/games/mtg/deckLister.sh

It depends on another script on the same folder, getScryfallJSON.sh, to get the card data from Scryfall.
 
Cool! Thanks for sharing! So yours actually searches in a specific card list and also has autocompletion, that's nice! I didn't refine mine so much. I just wanted something that allowed me to input part of names in Spanish or whatever the card is printed on so I don't have to remember or search for the English name and can just type a few letters. It assumes what card it is or shows an error message if the input is ambiguous. It's this shell script here: https://git.taamas.xyz/Taamas/scripts/src/branch/master/games/mtg/deckLister.sh

It depends on another script on the same folder, getScryfallJSON.sh, to get the card data from Scryfall.
You could probably stitch them together and get autocompletion + automatic translation from Spanish to English :D

I chose to do based on a list because I always have my cube list updated, and there are so many existing cards that the autocomplete gives a ton of results with only 2-3 letters, so it was much more usable for me searching only a couple hundred cards.
 
What does it mean that you converted to Python 3?

I understand it is a programming language. What else does it mean? Maybe I missed something. Are you talking about a replacement for CubeCobra, Scryfall, Riptidelab?
From what I get from the code,
You dl your cube export from cubecobra, and if you have python3 installed on your PC you do
python3 cubedeck.py MyCubeList.txt (replace the bold with the name of the txt you dl-ed from cubecobra)

It opens a prompt where you can type the decklist you want to save.
It will already be at cubecobra format for uploading.
It as autocompletion for cardname, based on what's in your cube.
It has a bunch of command that will look familiar to any IT guy : :ls to list, :wq to save and quit, :q to quit without saving.
It could benefit from an help menu rather than having the commands explained in the code, but it looks pretty clean :)
 

Chris Taylor

Contributor
What does it mean that you converted to Python 3?

I understand it is a programming language. What else does it mean? Maybe I missed something. Are you talking about a replacement for CubeCobra, Scryfall, Riptidelab?
Python 3 and Python 2.X are both "current" versions of python and do not overwrite each other, so this is to double check you have (and are using) the right version of the compiler before you run it.

Though this may be out of date, it's been a while since I've written any, maybe people have mostly switched over to py3
 
Anyone else get annoyed when they're going through a list and there's a sudden massive power outlier?

I'm looking at some artifact based cubes to see if I've missed any key inclusions. I found a cute list that's kinda low-mid powered and then BOOM MANA DRAIN like what!??!
 
Why would you do that? Omega Myr's "last to charge, last to fall" ability is so much more powerful than some mediocre planeswalker.

More seriously, though, it's honestly pretty frustrating because it usually makes me question my card evaluation abilities.
 
I started to see A LOT of Urza, Lord High Artificer in low-mid power lists. A lot of the "artifact theme cubes" are just powermax artifacts, too. Which I found entirely uninspiring.
 
What does it mean that you converted to Python 3?

I understand it is a programming language. What else does it mean? Maybe I missed something. Are you talking about a replacement for CubeCobra, Scryfall, Riptidelab?

Ok, I realized it's unlikely many people will be able to run the script, so I tried bundling it into an executable.

https://github.com/henriquenakashima/cubescripts/releases/tag/v1.0

You should put your cube list .txt beside cubedeck.exe and name the file "cube.txt" for it to work.

----------------

It's just a simple tool to input decklists, not a replacement for any of those sites.
 
Anyone else get annoyed when they're going through a list and there's a sudden massive power outlier?

I'm looking at some artifact based cubes to see if I've missed any key inclusions. I found a cute list that's kinda low-mid powered and then BOOM MANA DRAIN like what!??!
Why would you do that? Omega Myr's "last to charge, last to fall" ability is so much more powerful than some mediocre planeswalker.

More seriously, though, it's honestly pretty frustrating because it usually makes me question my card evaluation abilities.
Do not worry and do not question your evaluation abilities. It all depends on the environment whether a card is good or not. It is entirely possible to have a low powered environment with very high powered cards. It is harder, but not impossible to have seemingly weak cards in a high powered environment.

My cube has weak creatures, (almost) no fast mana, but still has several high powered cards:

vs


It works since almost all of these strong cards do not win the game on their own, or are as strong as the other cards in your environment. You will win with the weak creatures.
 
That's why I question my card eval skills. :p

I started to see A LOT of Urza, Lord High Artificer in low-mid power lists. A lot of the "artifact theme cubes" are just powermax artifacts, too. Which I found entirely uninspiring.

I think part of the issue is that the "artifact theme" is such a vague concept — it's like going "my cube is themed around instants!" or whatever.

In my opinion, the best way to tackle this kind of thing is to throw away the label and focus on your cube's structure. Do you just want a ton of incidental artifacts and artifact synergies (AKA powermax artifacts)? Do you want decks to be centered on a core of artifacts with the different colors offering different kinds of support? Do you want to focus on a particular subset of artifacts (maybe you break singleton on Chromatic Star instead of offering fixing lands)? Do you just want to shove Myr Servitor in the basic land box and see what happens from there?
 
I started to see A LOT of Urza, Lord High Artificer in low-mid power lists. A lot of the "artifact theme cubes" are just powermax artifacts, too. Which I found entirely uninspiring.
I think part of the problem is that most people don't necessarily have experience building and balancing Cubes that aren't derivative of MTGO Cubes. If your entire perception of what a "Cube" constitutes is derived from seeing gameplay from one Cube and maybe examining some random Cube lists designed by major content creators, you're unlikely to have the skills necessary to build a cool Cube that has a balanced power band. It takes a while to learn how to get this stuff right, and most random lists you'll see on CubeCobra were designed by people who are still in the process of figuring it all out.
 
Do not worry and do not question your evaluation abilities. It all depends on the environment whether a card is good or not. It is entirely possible to have a low powered environment with very high powered cards. It is harder, but not impossible to have seemingly weak cards in a high powered environment.

My cube has weak creatures, (almost) no fast mana, but still has several high powered cards:

vs


It works since almost all of these strong cards do not win the game on their own, or are as strong as the other cards in your environment. You will win with the weak creatures.
This is kind of crazy to look at, but the high power cards do need some support to truly be busted. That kind of support is probably lacking, given the rest of the environment. Still, there's a few of those cards that I personally wouldn't touch in any circumstance. Can't you just make the 10,000th INN or RAV cube? SMH my head...

Have you ever considered a structure where you run 3-4x commons, 2x uncommons, 1x rare? Optionally, then you can seed packs like retail or shuffle and let the ratios kinda do their thing.



I think part of the issue is that the "artifact theme" is such a vague concept — it's like going "my cube is themed around instants!" or whatever.

In my opinion, the best way to tackle this kind of thing is to throw away the label and focus on your cube's structure.
The idea started from a desire to run Eldrazi (replaced by big artifacts) combined with the recent depth of artifact toys. From there, I followed a DMU-like design philosophy.
 
This is kind of crazy to look at, but the high power cards do need some support to truly be busted. That kind of support is probably lacking, given the rest of the environment. Still, there's a few of those cards that I personally wouldn't touch in any circumstance. Can't you just make the 10,000th INN or RAV cube? SMH my head...

Have you ever considered a structure where you run 3-4x commons, 2x uncommons, 1x rare? Optionally, then you can seed packs like retail or shuffle and let the ratios kinda do their thing.
Well, let’s split it into some parts:
Inni/rav cube: Nope, my playgroup is used to old cards and the playstyle that comes with it, e.g, weak creatures and no must answer cards.

rarity ratio: almost equal between rare, uncommon, and common. In those days rarity often did not imply power, but more (reading) complexity. Besides that, there are many commons which are on par with rares. There is chaff in each rarity. I considered it, played with many pre-constructed decks, drafted a bit and discarded a typical set/block structure after serious thought.
Please do not adhere to the (flawed ? Well, maybe it was beter then than now, e.g, madness) rarity of those times.

That leaves the SMH part. It is all about the environment. Yes, you are right that some of them need support. Others, like

Do not need an environment to shine, however they do need an environment to prevent them to become powerhouses. Well, echo is a bitch. It hurts to pay the echo of the hermit and then get shocked. Similarly, stealing an echo creature implies you have to pay the echo (even when that cost has been paid by its owner already). So it often turns into a destroy. As an extreme example of comparing a card to the rest of the environment: molting harpy is a good card when there are no other flying creatures. Similar points hold for plummet disenchant
 
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Well, let’s split it into some parts:
Inni/rav cube: Nope, my playgroup is used to old cards and the playstyle that comes with it, e.g, weak creatures and no must answer cards.
In brad's defense I think the "SMH my head" was sarcastic, especially since that unpacks to "Shake my head my head" :p
Correct. The INN and RAV thing is so overdone. I'm sure there's other Urza's people out there, but yours is the only one I've seen.

I keep wanting to bring my playgroup back to Onslaught, but most of us starting in a tribal environment doesn't translate well to cube or even to jumpstart. Our next set, of course, was Mirrodin, which is a disaster in terms of power balance. That said, my current main project (that's likely to get a thread soonish) is an artifact design. Nostalgia is hard to beat.
rarity ratio: almost equal between rare, uncommon, and common. In those days rarity often did not imply power, but more (reading) complexity. Besides that, there are many commons which are on par with rares. There is chaff in each rarity. I considered it, played with many pre-constructed decks, drafted a bit and discarded a typical set/block structure after serious thought.
Please do not adhere to the (flawed ? Well, maybe it was beter then than now, e.g, madness) rarity of those times.
This is kinda true. There's definitely a bit of a power difference, but it's not nearly like it is today. I think some of that can be credited to WotC's poor card evaluation at the time. That's how the Academy land cycle ended up so lopsided. Mythics of today are primarily printed to sell packs, as well. They have to be pushed well above the rest, although a reject mythic draft would be a lot of fun lol.

Do not need an environment to shine, however they do need an environment to prevent them to become powerhouses. Well, echo is a bitch. It hurts to pay the echo of the hermit and then get shocked. Similarly, stealing an echo creature implies you have to pay the echo (even when that cost has been paid by its owner already). So it often turns into a destroy. As an extreme example of comparing a card to the rest of the environment: molting harpy is a good card when there are no other flying creatures. Similar points hold for plummet disenchant
Echo's so weird.
 
I put together a Kamigawa/Ravnica/Time Spiral Cube to capture the era where I started playing and one of my favourite eras of design (you ever wonder if those two things are linked? probably not), worth revisiting when I have some time
I've done the same. I found that the decks of that time weren't supported for a draft environment as well as I'd hoped and I ended up scrapping the project. So many of the decks then were named after a card, so you'd have to break singleton in order to force those decks to exist.
 
If we treat cards like Vraska, Golgari Queen and Ob Nixilis, Reignited like bad removal, imo I feel that it should be okay. But you're absolutely right that there is definitely not a variety lol. Link for those curious. (There are some slight outliers cuz some call bounce removal and whatnot.) Remove is:firstprint if you are okay with From The Vaults, World Championship Decks, and Amonkhet Invocations. Remove (game: paper) if you are okay with arena cards.

Also what would qualify as a reject for mythic? Anything around $3 or less that has not seen tournament play?
 
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