Card/Deck Single Card Spotlight
- Thread starter Dom Harvey
- Start date
Aoret
Developer
The emphasis on getting them in hand was actually because I suspect the numbers will be pretty damning even before we take into account the amount of work it takes to get them into the yard. (I've got a pretty strong bias against the archetype just on the basis of my gut telling me it's really really hard to turn on). Excellent points raised though about hand->yard being a potentially better route to delirium.
Question about multi-cardtype cards is a valid one, I didn't take that into account when I pulled the numbers. Best bet I guess is to peek at a representative sample cube(s)? Who runs the riptidest cubes on riptide nowadays? Mine is about two sets out of date.
31% of spells being IoK targets means 18% of their deck. If you cast it right before their T4, they've seen 10-11 cards, so they have like 1.78-1.96 targets in hand, so you probably take the only target, maybe pick between 2. That's abysmal unless the powerful cards in your cube are like all 4-5 mana and you'll be grabbing the best card but in my environment, that's usually going to be one of the lesser cards in their hand.
(I can work out the exact probabilities of different cases when I'm not about to fall into bed but you get the idea.)
(I can work out the exact probabilities of different cases when I'm not about to fall into bed but you get the idea.)
I really think its very hard to tell how delirium plays without actually playtesting. Deck construction, play style, and decisions made are all influenced by the usage of delirium in a deck (or can be, at least). My play in prerelease sealed didn't find delirium all that hard to turn on by mid game. If it needs to be on T3 or something, maybe that's tough, but does it actually? A lot of delirium cards work, and then benefit later in the game because its on.
Some more cool options I've thought of for bending the environment a little bit to help this cool mechanic out:
Some more cool options I've thought of for bending the environment a little bit to help this cool mechanic out:
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
Double red sucks though.
The journey of discovery continues for my new favorite mechanic. I've always had a sideways glance aimed at this Lil guy, but now that he has (even more) incidental value???
The double red really makes him a bit of a tough sell, but if you read him as "
: deal 2 damage", I guess you could do worse, and there's potential for recursive shenanigans with the body. If it was I'd probably consider running the little dude myself already, so if your drafters don't mind the commitment (they probably won't if they're red players hahah - am I right, ladies?!), then by all means, give it a whirl!What bothers me about the concept though is that cube-worthy Delirium seems to be looking like a
> / strategy for me, whereas some of the better enablers are and . Considering this, I'd suggest you be mindful of:a) what kind of "delirium deck" you're offering,
b) how fast those decks want delirium enablers, and
c) what enablers fit the deck in question
Seeing as red isn't much of a delirium colour, and how this is kind of a slow way to help it along, I'd be wary of just jamming Ember Hauler under the mantle of "incidental value" if his odds of being in a delirium deck are rather low. However, if you're packing red with discard-style filtering, then maybe looking to plant a
fast delirium stompy deck or delirium/reanimator thingie. tl;dr - Be sure the tools you provide are going into the hands that want them.
That's a lot of good stuff to keep in mind! Right now I'm just pondering, planning, probing. I expect delirium to return in Eldritch Moon, so if the mechanic fleshs out more we have a head start on the environment design, pieces available etc.
I do see that delirium is mostly Abzan, so some more exploration there is prudent. One that I just thought of:
war priest of thune -> ronom unicorn
Right now I'm just pondering, planning, probing. I expect delirium to return in Eldritch Moon, so if the mechanic fleshs out more we have a head start on the environment design, pieces available etc. I do see that delirium is mostly Abzan, so some more exploration there is prudent. One that I just thought of:
war priest of thune -> ronom unicorn
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
It's a pile alright
Both sides would have to cost less for me to try it.
less for me to try it. 
So
Twinshock R
Instant
"Shocks"
1U, exile this from your GY: "Self Twincast"
Yeah, that seems prettttttty good lol. I'd honestly cube it as printed outside a high power environ.
Twinshock R
Instant
"Shocks"
1U, exile this from your GY: "Self Twincast"
Yeah, that seems prettttttty good lol. I'd honestly cube it as printed outside a high power environ.
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
While that would undoubtedly be a better card, I think 2R, 2U is perfectly playable in all but the most cutthroat of cubes.
2R for a shock is wretchedly bad. So IMO the playability of that card is tied to the flashback. Being a multi-colored self-fork, I really don't think this card is good enough even in lower powered cubes. But if someone tests it and says I'm full of shit, I will definitely listen. I like the artwork.
I think that card should be played in some deck that can get it in the graveyard directly. If you don't have to use the front side of it to get access to the fork, probably the value of it goes up a lot. I'm thinking stuff like faithless looting and frantic search. I'd imagine it really adding value to some topdeck you draw in topdeck mode with a million mana accessible.
I ran this in a draft and it performed pretty well. Makes creatures stupid huge, and a token with evasion helps keeping the beats in. Could it be worth a shot in cube?
What are your thoughts on To the Slaughter? I think this can be a pretty neat card for my 450 cube, which runs 16 planeswalkers which will likely be played if drafted. I also added Mindwrack Demonand Heir of Falkenrath to trigger delirium, but I don't actually run that many other cards. Hopefully Eldritch Farm has some more, really like that mechanic.
I might try it. Does make things trade with... almost everything, and the cool human tribe stuff is actually something that can be capitalized on. Pretty expensive equip cost, tho....
I ran this in a draft and it performed pretty well. Makes creatures stupid huge, and a token with evasion helps keeping the beats in. Could it be worth a shot in cube?
Also trying this one out. Edicts already aren't that bad, and giving cubes another way to interact with PW's can't hurt. I could see just using Ruinous Path instead, but I'm trying it out.
My experience has been that edicts that cost 3 are kinda tricky to play with, because they cost enough that your opponent will probably have built up a board when you get a chance to fire it off (unless you get it as early as t3). If you can get the delirium and you have enough planeswalkers that you want to kill then probably it'll be really sweet, but be mindful that tokens and similar wants-to-die bodies will make that card very awkward.
Slayer's Plate does look pretty tempting, but compared to Grafted Wargear, I'm not sure if it has legs. is a lot of mana to be throwing into an equip cost, and though I'm all for "on-board mana sinks", it's hard to justify that much mana for a stat bump, especially if the creature can get removed in response. I've been considering it for my environ, because I'd really like more artifacts in general, but I'm just not sure it gets there; you really need to consider your removal power level to determine if it's worth an include.
To the Slaughter seems great to me. Again, it's a power level question. If your base rate is Swords to Plowshares and Doom Blade, you might not be as happy with an edict, but if your base rate is more Chainer's Edict and Angelic Purge, the card looks a lot better. I'm running it over Ruinous Path, which never really was "a thing" here. Personally, I really love giving each colour a unique, flavourful angle to how removal works, and edicts are a really cool angle for that in black. It's important to note that your players will likely suck it up and play just about any removal you allow in the environ, so if it seems like a card you want to try out, give it a go. The delirium trigger is by no means necessary to make it a good card; it's more like an extra-spicy bonus.
is a lot of mana to be throwing into an equip cost, and though I'm all for "on-board mana sinks", it's hard to justify that much mana for a stat bump, especially if the creature can get removed in response. I've been considering it for my environ, because I'd really like more artifacts in general, but I'm just not sure it gets there; you really need to consider your removal power level to determine if it's worth an include.To the Slaughter seems great to me. Again, it's a power level question. If your base rate is Swords to Plowshares and Doom Blade, you might not be as happy with an edict, but if your base rate is more Chainer's Edict and Angelic Purge, the card looks a lot better. I'm running it over Ruinous Path, which never really was "a thing" here. Personally, I really love giving each colour a unique, flavourful angle to how removal works, and edicts are a really cool angle for that in black. It's important to note that your players will likely suck it up and play just about any removal you allow in the environ, so if it seems like a card you want to try out, give it a go. The delirium trigger is by no means necessary to make it a good card; it's more like an extra-spicy bonus.