Really? My experience is that everyone loves FoF and the pile mini game. Do or Die and Death or Glory have been similarly popular among my drafters.
General Cultic Cube video series
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The main reason I don't run Fact or Fiction is to allow for value Gifts Ungiven.
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My wife actively hates resolving it and will call me up to her computer to help her with it in cockatrice matches. If your playgroups like it that's all well and good, but it's not universally loved.
FoF and Gifts are "compatible" except that often a deck would rather just run FoF and not deal with the relatively higher headache of Gifts. It's lower effort and often higher reward for a deck that might've very well taken less effort to draft.
FoF and Gifts are "compatible" except that often a deck would rather just run FoF and not deal with the relatively higher headache of Gifts. It's lower effort and often higher reward for a deck that might've very well taken less effort to draft.
I like FoF in multiplayer. I remember the first time I cast it, another player pointed out to the person making the piles, “you do realise Humpty picked you because he thinks you’re the stupidest person at the table?” Classic.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
It occurs to me some here may not have heard the best FoF story, back from it's time in standard.
To set the scene, we're in a post board game between two of the main decks at the time: UB control (Basically FoF and a pile of counterspells, including the original), and RG Fires (A midrangey aggro deck centered around the titular enchantment giving things that should not have haste, haste.)
Later on in the game, our control player taps out for an end of turn fact or fiction.
"Five Oh the piles" Says our aggro opponent. As eager to pick up free cards as you are now, our control player chooses the five, assuming this to be some tilt out on their part.
"One thing before I pass the turn though: cast Blood Oath"
"I'll choose instant. Take 28?"
To set the scene, we're in a post board game between two of the main decks at the time: UB control (Basically FoF and a pile of counterspells, including the original), and RG Fires (A midrangey aggro deck centered around the titular enchantment giving things that should not have haste, haste.)
Later on in the game, our control player taps out for an end of turn fact or fiction.
"Five Oh the piles" Says our aggro opponent. As eager to pick up free cards as you are now, our control player chooses the five, assuming this to be some tilt out on their part.
"One thing before I pass the turn though: cast Blood Oath"
"I'll choose instant. Take 28?"
Hmm. A while ago I asked the people here about Gifts, and the general tenor was to rather leave it out of a lower powered cube. Now people seem to say FoF is the generally better card, which I run, which is also called worse than Scattered Thoughts by some. That one is not even great in retail. I am confused.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Gifts offers build around opportunities that FoF doesn't. In terms of raw card advantage FoF is usually better, but it doesn't off the shenanigans lines Gifts does. Putting an Eternal Witness or an Unburial Rites in your pile of four cards is one of the best feelings in the world 
Gifts can be a comparable value draw like FoF, but gifts guarantees 2 of the best 4 cards in your deck.
If you run a heavy graveyard theme with flashback, escape, etc gifts often feels like a draw 4. You can pick 4 cards that are all great in hand or in the graveyard.
Gifts can be a tutor or set up an engine with recursion spells in the pile. (Loam + Academy Ruins + sweet artifacts or Snapcaster + Regrowth + two spells that you need)
Gifts has the double Entomb mode. (Unburial Rites + Fatty is the classic)
That all adds up to a lot more upside and versatility than FoF….
The more graveyard themes you support the greater the desparity there is between the two cards, but I generally consider Gifts the more powerful card.
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It's not that Gifts isn't good, it's that most decks take a lot less effort to utilize FoF well than Gifts, and not every format can maximize Gifts period. My statement isn't about how "good" they are, but about deckbuilding and how FoF (and other "generic" draw cards) is just so low effort for a deckbuilder and drafter compared to Gifts that many drafters won't bother with trying to utilize Gifts if they have ample other options like FoF available. So I was saying to your supposition that they "compliment" each other that they in fact compete with each other in deckbuilding; draw-discard spells are probably a better "compliment" because they are better at molding the library-hand-graveyard relationship that sets up a killer Gifts no-bad-piles play.
If you NEED a removal, you need three of them/recursion for them in a gifts pile to guarantee success, while in a FoF pile you only need one. In my mind FoF has a much higher floor than Gifts, which is why a drafter with a "generic" deckplan will lean towards it over taking Gifts. Gifts can have a floor of "I literally can't get out of this situation with this card because the opponent can just bin what I need." FoF still lets you potentially get that piece with a 1/4 split pickup. If you don't have a power play like Rites-Fatty to utilize as a high-high ceiling, that's just not a great floor at all.
If you NEED a removal, you need three of them/recursion for them in a gifts pile to guarantee success, while in a FoF pile you only need one. In my mind FoF has a much higher floor than Gifts, which is why a drafter with a "generic" deckplan will lean towards it over taking Gifts. Gifts can have a floor of "I literally can't get out of this situation with this card because the opponent can just bin what I need." FoF still lets you potentially get that piece with a 1/4 split pickup. If you don't have a power play like Rites-Fatty to utilize as a high-high ceiling, that's just not a great floor at all.
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I guess I'll just give it a run over Rain of Revelation but alongside FoF which I would never ever cut. I have a lot of graveyard stuff going on but it won't be a draw four, more like draw two good cards. But also a card that's skilltesting and rewards good deck building. What could go wrong?
Neon Dynasty review for my high power environment! Part two will treat my lower power cube.
one of us
one of us
one of us
one of us
one of us
sorry!Oh no.. you’ve made want more cards from Neon Dynasty
as has been true lately, there are a lot of commons that I'm interested in cubing. I'm happy it's not exclusively mythics that I'm looking at.It's been a long time coming, but I at last wrapped part two of my Neon Dynasty review. This video treats the NEO cards that I'm adding to my lower-power environment.
I am so excited that CubeCon is back on the menu! Planning is coming along really well, and we just opened up submissions for cubes that people would like to be considered for the main event! CubeCon will be held Oct. 20-23, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
https://www.mtgcubecon.com/
https://www.mtgcubecon.com/
A little announcement video for my YouTube folks to make sure that they know about CubeCon!
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I'm stoked for you (and everybody who gets to go)!
It's a shame there's an ocean between us and that both of my active cubes rely on custom cards
I'm stoked for you (and everybody who gets to go)!
It's a shame there's an ocean between us and that both of my active cubes rely on custom cards
Yes, it's shame that we can't easily make it a more international affair. We do have some people from outside the U.S. for whom the stars have aligned who will be able to make it -- including the Cubevitational organizer, who is from The Netherlands! I totally recognize what an impediment travel is, though. It's a thing even for me, as I live in Texas, which is way down south in the U.S., and CubeCon is being held way up north.
The stipulation about no proxies or customs in the main event is a drag, I know. It is a requirement of WotC involvement in the convention that no "official" cubes have such cards. I am reconfiguring cubes I'll submit for the main event in order to account for that. For instance, in Eleusis, I run proxied ABUR duals. I'll swap those out for a second set of Shocks. I think WotC involvement will benefit everyone attending the event and will help highlight for WotC how important cube is to a segment of their players.
Besides the main event, there will be lots of space for side play, and many, many people have already expressed interest in bringing their environments for free play there. And free play cubes have no restrictions.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I totally get it! I also think the sponsoring’s worth it! It would be super cool if WotC would grab this opportunity to showcase some cubes that don’t conform to what I feel still is the norm for cubing in the public eye (that is, singleton good stuff). I know that image has been shifting, but the largest Cube event showcasing some different avenues would be great (assuming that that’s on the table for the event)
i am absolutely planning to come with my gonzo custom/proxy cube and give some side tables a walk on the wild side