Gambler Cube Archetype
Limited forum
Posted on May 9, 2015, 12:30 p.m. by Egann
So I am designing my first cube, and one of the archetypes I was looking to use is luck. Specifically, I was thinking of having a bunch of cards which involve flipping coins like Ral Zarek or Tavern Swindler, combined with Krark's Thumb.
The problem is that to make this work, I really need several cards like Krark's Thumb in the cube, and while I'm willing to disregard the singleton format in this particular instance, I would prefer not to. Are there any good substitutes for the thumb? How about good gambling cards involving a coin flip?
BlueEyesRedMage says... #3
Well if you're looking for cards to fulfill the same role as the thumb, you're out of luck as it's the only card that does anything like it.
But there are heaps of cards that fit into that "archetype" like:
Fiery Gambit This can be insane!
Goblin Bomb hehehe good fun this one
Karplusan Minotaur oh god so many coin flips D:
Mana Crypt just casually a $170 card...
Molten Birth nice and simple and perfectly playable
Planar Chaos talk about infuriating D:
Skyclaw Thrash hehe I love the flavour on this one
and the grand daddy of them all, the reason we flip coins at all Chance Encounter!!
And there's HEAPS more :)
May 9, 2015 1:24 p.m.
AwesomeName says... #4
Goblin Game is kind of like a luck card, and would fit in with the theme of fun cards.
May 9, 2015 1:47 p.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #5
You could have a random element in cards with, say, random discard. Such as Goblin Lore, Gamble, Wild Swing, Capricious Efreet, etc.
May 9, 2015 3:18 p.m.
Thank you so much for the cards. I definitely want to explore this after seeing just the few cards you guys have listed.
CharonSquared mentioned possibly using emblems. I really like this idea. The only problem is that the officially printed conspiracies are kinda underwhelming. The only ones that are any good are Backup Plan and Worldknit. The hidden agenda cards are practically useless in a singleton cube, at least compared to a homebrew one which copies Krark's Thumb.
How do you think having a separate draft step for custom conspiracies would be? Say, after the first booster, everyone drafts three or four conspiracies and as a house rule, can only play with one.
May 9, 2015 7:53 p.m.
BlueEyesRedMage says... #7
Why not to put conspiracies in the packs as an allocted slot? In Conspiracy, each pack had at least 1 Conspircy/Draft matters card as the last card. That way, you still need to draft them as a part of your plan. You can try and additional step if you want bu if you do that, i'd suggest just letting people pick what emblem they want instead.
May 10, 2015 2:39 a.m.
That's actually another good idea. I could just have the emblems/ conspiracies out on the table, and let players pick one at any time during the draft. I imagine that would make the group hold off on pulling their conspiracies for most of the first booster, then everyone would abruptly switch to pulling them in the space of a few picks, either at the end of the first booster or at the beginning of the second.
I'll probably make another thread in Custom Cards, but the conspiracy cards I've designed at the moment are a cross between morph and hidden agenda cards. The idea is that you pay a mana cost to flip the card over and over again, but you only get an effect when it's turned face-up. Here's an example.
Foresight:
Begin the game with Foresight face down in your command zone.
Whenever Foresight is flipped face up, scry 2.
2: Flip this card.
CharonSquared says... #2
Effects that make luck-based cards better are pretty rare. You could consider having each player start the game with an emblem mimicking Krark's Thumb, or come up with a few other similar abilities and allow players to choose one after drafting their decks.
As far as cards involving luck, there's Kaboom!, Explosive Revelation, Menacing Ogre, Scrying Glass, Skyship Weatherlight, Stitch in Time, Squee's Revenge, Bottle of Suleiman, Chaotic Goo, Crazed Firecat, Creepy Doll ... Honestly, you're probably best off doing a Gatherer search on "flip a coin" and "at random" and picking the ones you like best.
Mindblaze could be interesting. Obviously if the cube is singleton you'll always guess 1, but you try and figure out what your opponent might have drafted based on what you passed. Games 2 and 3 it would be easier.
May 9, 2015 1:19 p.m.