General Thoughts on Pushing Shard Cards into your 2

[InfinityBlack14]

Edit: Got bumped while typing the thread title.

Thoughts on pushing 3 color cards into your decks.

I've read many times over that shard (3 color) cards aren't worth it because:

1: The color investment isn't worth it (Ex: Splashing G in a WB Deck for a single card, making the deck inconsistant.)

2: The cards are too narrow

Has anyone tried making custom cards that are multipurpose or inserting a shard card, that allows you to choose a card from a selection of 3 color cards.

Do you have another take on this? Let me know. Also, let me know how to rename threads and/or delete them.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I've built my cube around it.

1. It's much more doable if you limit the number of two-color pairs (and thus three-color pairs) supported.
2. The three-color cards have also seen increased play ever since I introduced the house rule that you get a triland with your three-color card.
3. Three-color cards are also more likely to see play if they're actually better than the mono-colored cards. In a world of Hero of Bladeholds, Siege Rhino is a harder sell than in a world where the best white four drop is Ojutai Exemplars (or worse).

 

[InfinityBlack14]

I've built my cube around it.

1. It's much more doable if you limit the number of two-color pairs (and thus three-color pairs) supported.
2. The three-color cards have also seen increased play ever since I introduced the house rule that you get a triland with your three-color card.
3. Three-color cards are also more likely to see play if they're actually better than the mono-colored cards. In a world of Hero of Bladeholds, Siege Rhino is a harder sell than in a world where the best white four drop is Ojutai Exemplars (or worse).

1. I like it
2. I've done something quite similar. It was a card that counted as any available tri color card of your choice, with the matching land.
3. I have a powered cube. This is where it gets tricky. I'm creating some really strong custom cards to make the pick worthwhile. It's hard to make a card in mardu aggro when you can play hero of bladehold or hellrider, especially with a etb tapped tri land.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Yeah, I think WotC absolutely nailed the limited format of Khans of Tarkir. Not only was the morph mechanic an insurance to color screw, because you could at least play a gray ogre on turn 3, but the morph mechanic inherently meant a downward shift in power level, allowing the three color cards to outshine the monocolored cards. A very neat solution to the shard format. If you're running a powered cube, there is much less incentive to run a three color cards, and there aren't many options that are actually worth I think. Even something like Leovold, Emissary of Trest, which is super efficient and powerful enough (I think) in a vacuum, is hard to justify because it's so hard to cast. Higher up the curve, something like Cruel Ultimatum certainly offers enough power for the mana invested, but seven (colored) mana is a much higher ask in a powered format than in my cube, for example. In a powered cube, I might go so far as to try out giving two or three mana fixing lands with a tri color card. If picking Leovold also gives you three different fastlands of its colors, for example, that's a lot more enticing. Because you're handing out three different fastlands, it's not a must pick for a deck that wants to stay two colors, and you do set up the splash in a reliable way.

 

[safra]

3c cards I'd play in power cube:



Three grixis ones, and not all the guilds, either. It's a high bar

 

[Velrun]

Grixis > All other shards/khans

I think Ondezeeboot got it exactly right; either tailor your cube to solve this specific problem by cutting some colors/Guilds or give players some lands. The last option is to power down your cube and let the tri-color cards stay strong to tempt players and reward them if they go more colors.