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"Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:04 pm
by OCPunisher
Hello friends,
Since cutting cards is arguably the hardest part of deck construction, I wanted to start a thread where people could ask for help cutting that one last card from their list, or fitting that one new card into their existing list. This was inspired by a similar thread for cubes, which you can find
here.
Simple ground rules that should probably go without saying:
- Try to respond to a previous post before making a new one
- Try to link a deck list or at least provide some context to your question
- Try not to list too many options to choose from
Hopefully this helps all of you out at some point in the future.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:05 pm
by OCPunisher
I'll start:
- I want to add the hot new land
Field of the Dead into
Lord Windgrace.
- My current list has the following colorless lands:
Which one, if any, should I cut for
Field of the Dead?
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:07 pm
by xeroxedfool
I would go with Ghost Quarter. Its hard to pick in a vacuum.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:16 pm
by OCPunisher
xeroxedfool wrote: ↑4 years ago
I would go with Ghost Quarter. Its hard to pick in a vacuum.
Off to a good start! My full list is available in my signature.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:21 pm
by pokken
Depths and it's not close.
..ok I missed quarter. yeah I don't play quarter in a 3c deck but since you don't have wasteland I would keep it.
Cabal Stronghold would be my second choice. That card seems really bad in 3c even with the urborg+basics interaction.
Then
dust bowl after that.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:14 am
by WizardMN
My first thought was Cabal Stronghold. I think Ghost Quarter can be good in Windgrace and if you are not running any of the other Strip Mine variants (or, just Strip Mine) I would keep it.
Stronghold, without seeing the rest of your mana base (ie, how many basics you have and whether you play Urborg) seems like the outlier. And even with enough basics, plus Urborg, it probably still isn't good enough. Nykthos might honestly be better and I don't think most 3 color decks should that either.
Depths is another I thought of but you seem to be using the Stage-Depths combo so if that works for you, you might as well keep it. If you do cut Depths, I might go as far as to say to cut Stage too. I think it is a land that too often doesn't do much. But, your experience with it may vary of course; I just don't run it much anymore.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 1:31 pm
by OCPunisher
Thanks for all the feedback. I ended up going with Stronghold because it really needs Urborg to be effective, and I can make enough mana without it.
More to the point, hopefully others will be able to use this thread for similar questions.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 1:58 pm
by pokken
I'll go next. I want to go no context cos I'd rather not prejudice anyone:
My Gitrog list:
https://deckbox.org/sets/1368747
What would you cut for
Scheming Symmetry?
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 2:42 pm
by xeroxedfool
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:04 pm
by OCPunisher
Normally, I'd say
Carpet of Flowers, but based on the power level of some of these cards, I'd wager there's a fair amount of blue in your meta, so I'll say
Underrealm Lich as well.
Bolas's Citadel seems like it could do the kind of broken vintage-y things you would want in a powered-up deck like this one.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:15 pm
by pokken
I think this thread is going to be a great thing.
Underrealm is always on the bubble for me. I am gonna actually draw it before I cut it but I think you might be right.
Citadel -- with all the extra land drops, it's absolutely insane. I was pretty cold on that card until I realized you could play lands with it.
OCPunisher wrote: ↑4 years ago
Normally, I'd say
Carpet of Flowers, but based on the power level of some of these cards, I'd wager there's a fair amount of blue in your meta, so I'll say
Underrealm Lich as well.
Bolas's Citadel seems like it could do the kind of broken vintage-y things you would want in a powered-up deck like this one.
Yea I'd guess 2/3rds of the decks I run into are blue even though it's not *that* powerful of a meta.
My gut instinct overall is either Lich like you guys say, or to start cutting into the
Cultivate stuff. Really, cultivate and Kodama's are fluff in this deck--would most likely be better as almost anything else. But I resist cutting them because 1) they help hit land drops so I can keep more crappy hands, 2) they give me emergency cuts in case they ever print a new version of
Exploration "fixed" for standard
I think almost anything other than Lich becomes transformative -- I could cut stuff like the Eldrazi package entirely and go into combo or just planning to win with a huge Torment or Finale, or stuff like that.
Thanks fellas
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:45 pm
by Rumpy5897
Yeah, I think the eldrazos are debatable. Also, what's the
LED doing in there? Also also, are you sure you want to give someone else a free
Vampiric Tutor?
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:40 pm
by xeroxedfool
I thought you couldn't play lands with Citadel, thats pretty awesome.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:48 pm
by pokken
Rumpy5897 wrote: ↑4 years ago
Yeah, I think the eldrazos are debatable. Also, what's the
LED doing in there? Also also, are you sure you want to give someone else a free
Vampiric Tutor?
LED I have yet to try, I just wanted to see if it worked. still haven't drawn it. My thought was cast Gitrog with it then start dredging or playing lands from the yard or whatever. Pretty explosive turns of like...exploration, land, land, untap land land LED Gitrog.
So the thing about Gitrog with imperial seal effects is he allows drawing the card very easily so the odds of it just being demonic tutor for B are pretty high. Also I have so many ways to play lands off the top too that I could say, seal for salvage, play salvage off the top, wasteland it, then start comboing.
But no I'm not 100% sure I want it, just feels like it'd be worth trying
xeroxedfool wrote: ↑4 years ago
I thought you couldn't play lands with Citadel, thats pretty awesome.
yep...I was pretty blown away by that too.
Oracle of Mul Daya is one of the few cards I would play like 15 of if they had the relentless rats text, so any way to play lands off the top is big in my book.
My record lands off the top plays was 6 in one turn with azusa, oracle, exploration and gitrog and a scroll rack
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:23 pm
by OCPunisher
Kykar deck
here!
Looking to add in both
Frantic Search and
Faithless Looting. One cut will be
Serum Visions, not sure what the other one should be. This deck is basically trying to mimic
Talrand or the UB Faeries deck from way back in Lorwyn standard: lots of cheap fast spells, which make lots of small flyers, which can either fuel more cheap spells or attack for value.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:28 am
by pokken
OCPunisher wrote: ↑4 years ago
Kykar deck
here!
Looking to add in both
Frantic Search and
Faithless Looting. One cut will be
Serum Visions, not sure what the other one should be. This deck is basically trying to mimic
Talrand or the UB Faeries deck from way back in Lorwyn standard: lots of cheap fast spells, which make lots of small flyers, which can either fuel more cheap spells or attack for value.
Do you think this deck really needs
chromatic lantern? The mana seems great and frantic search and looting will help you fix mana. So does Serum Visions for that matter (which I am a pretty big fan of).
My second cut would be
long term plans as it just doesn't seem all that fun or interesting despite being strong.
Molten Disaster seems kinda iffy to me too.
I would consider
Summary Dismissal over counterflux as a sidenote. I've found that card to be pure gold. Get wrecked Ulamog.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:17 pm
by xeroxedfool
OCPunisher wrote: ↑4 years ago
Kykar deck
here!
Looking to add in both
Frantic Search and
Faithless Looting. One cut will be
Serum Visions, not sure what the other one should be. This deck is basically trying to mimic
Talrand or the UB Faeries deck from way back in Lorwyn standard: lots of cheap fast spells, which make lots of small flyers, which can either fuel more cheap spells or attack for value.
I dont like Ral or Insidious Will
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:59 pm
by OCPunisher
pokken wrote: ↑4 years ago
OCPunisher wrote: ↑4 years ago
Kykar deck
here!
Looking to add in both
Frantic Search and
Faithless Looting. One cut will be
Serum Visions, not sure what the other one should be. This deck is basically trying to mimic
Talrand or the UB Faeries deck from way back in Lorwyn standard: lots of cheap fast spells, which make lots of small flyers, which can either fuel more cheap spells or attack for value.
Do you think this deck really needs
chromatic lantern? The mana seems great and frantic search and looting will help you fix mana. So does Serum Visions for that matter (which I am a pretty big fan of).
My second cut would be
long term plans as it just doesn't seem all that fun or interesting despite being strong.
Molten Disaster seems kinda iffy to me too.
This is exactly the kind of outside perspective I was looking for!
- Hadn't considered the Lantern as unnecessary, but now that you mention it, I can probably get away without it.
-
Long-Term Plans was a concession to not having access to many tutors, but it can probably be replaced.
-
Molten Disaster fits with other
Earthquake-type effects that clear most of the board but leave all my flyers intact. Haven't actually tried these out yet, but on paper they seem like they would give me a specific advantage. More will be revealed.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:08 pm
by PrimevalCommander
xeroxedfool wrote: ↑4 years ago
I dont like Ral or Insidious Will
I am not the OP, but I personally love
Insidious Will for a 75% list. Its a 2 for 1 against removal spells and can hard counter many game winning plays. 4 cmc is steep for a counter, but I like the card.
I also like
Mystic Confluence for its ability to scale with the game and answer many situations.
Mana Leak plus Draw 2 is not even a rare occurrence with this card.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:40 pm
by xeroxedfool
Meh, I like Mystic Confluence but I dont like Insidious Will. I think its mostly fine and versatile. But I don't see why I would really want to do any of its options for 4 mana. Maybe I'm thinking too "100% optimized" but I would rather have a more unique card or cheaper card.
In the context of that Kykar deck, I would rather have
Lightning Greaves than
Insidious Will. It still triggers the commander but protects it more permanently. Its also a different form of protection.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2019 7:57 pm
by OCPunisher
I was really hoping that this might become a more popular thread for others to utilize as well, but oh well.
I love
Mystic Confluence...
Mana Leak plus draw 2 is very common as mentioned above, and any combination of the three modes is usually worth the mana.
Insidious Will might get cut because only one mode can happen at a time.
Ended up cutting
Chromatic Lantern and
Long-Term Plans for
Faithless Looting and
Frantic Search, and I picked up
Kindred Discovery, so
Molten Disaster went out for it.
Also, I just picked up a copy of
Ajani, Strength of the Pride for my Trostani deck
here. It has a pretty heavy emphasis on lands, and it's pretty resilient to removal.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:13 pm
by Rumpy5897
Regna, the Redeemer? Six mana to poop out 2-4 1/1s in a typical turn cycle seems relatively low impact given the CMC. Compare to
Tendershoot Dryad to further put this into perspective.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2019 3:28 pm
by xeroxedfool
[mention]OCPunisher[/mention]
Maybe you could cut
Dawn of Hope for mana efficiency?
I like Regna as a cut as well.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2019 10:41 am
by xeroxedfool
I picked up a
Contamination in a trade last night and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me.
Here is the
list.
Re: "Help me cut a card" thread
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2019 10:58 am
by Dragonlover
Err... I've just looked at the list, and I've got nothing. On a different note that you've probably already thought of, you'll probably want to swap that
Star Compass for
Arcane Signet when the Brawl decks drop.
Dragonlover