I have been praying for rain for days now, for just that reason. I want to drink good drinks, and as soon as the temperature drops I'm making some Chili...
I hope we all get rain, but no more hurricanes...
Did you hear about the meteorologist that quit, citing that Japan had secretely iinvented a machine to alter weather patterns and was using it to punish us for WWII? How insane is that?

I don't know what I'd do with a 60 card sealed, b/c I usually run fewer small drops, but about the same number of high drops in a 30 card sealed...in sealed its usually a 20/10 split, guys/effects.

Note that when using Curve Sentinels as your curve base that Boliver and Mark V make things iffy. Boliver isn't really a one drop so much as a restrictive tutor and Mark V obviously spans the 4-5 slot.

You might consider looking at something like Fantastic Four Beats for a curve, but there you have Signal Flare.

Approximate F4 Beats Curve:

2 drop - 4
3 drop - 7
4 drop - 6
5 drop - 5
6 drop - 3
7 drop - 3
8 drop - 1

This curve is further complicated by the fact that the 3rd 7 drop is only wanted in some match-ups.

Maybe you can look at an old Big Brotherhood list if you're trying to find a curve without tutors. But even there things are complicated by Lost City making use of redundant characters.

In the end, I think the problem is that no Curve based deck has done well without either a character tutor or Lost City. To support my claim a history of curve decks that I remember:

Common Enemy - Signal Flare and Faces of Doom
F4 Beats - Signal Flare
Curve Sentinels - Boliver
Titans (which is pushing it, but sort of curve) - Optitron
Spider Friends - Costume Change
Various MK based decks - Wild Ride
League of Assassins - Mountain Stronghold
Avengers Reservists - Avengers Assemble!
Curve GLEE - The Ring Has Chosen
Mutant Nation - Lost City
Big Brotherhood - Lost City

So if you're looking for a basic blueprint for a Curve deck, I think you're going to have to include a character tutor as one of the cards.

Wow, that was longer then I meant it to be.

I hadn't heard that, but it is a theory... hmmm.

Nah, I still think it's being caused by a Weather Witch.

:back to serious tech mode:

60 card Sealed would be alot different than Constructed, now that I think about it. The article is gonna be some kind of bastard hybrid, so both should be contemplated in this thread.

Wow, that was better than I dreamed of when I started this. Will you please PM me your name so I can use some of that post in the article? Thanks. Twice.

There are 3 types of curve:

Low Curve: Tops out at either 5 or 6 so it runs a lot of the lower drops to consistently hit them.
Off Curve: Similar to Low Curve but usually drops multiple characters each drop
Full Curve: Curve to 7 or 8 which is what most people are talking about on this thread and usually requires a tutor.

What type of curve build are you referring to?

And the more important question for stu... why don't you already know this?

Erick, you have to remember that Stu teaches art, not geometry. His curve spikes at 1 and 4....

Even the Low Curve decks that have done well (Modern GLEE, MK Concealed and Titans come to mind) use characters tutors.

I don't think of Off Curve decks (i.e. Honor Among Thieves, Wild Vomit and TNB) as having a "Curve", even though they usually do to some extent. The reason is that these decks often swarm if they miss their optimal drop and have no way of ensuring they hit their Curve (if they even want to). In fact, these decks are most often characterized by a lack of a character tutor.

There's also another category of deck that just tries to play combo or control and isn't necessarily worried about hitting the curve at all. Rama-Light and Witching Hour fit into this category. New School, Fantastic Fun and Gamma Doom span this category and others.

Darling, you remember what Dave said about teaching me to be good at this game, it's true.

Actually, I hadn't started a decent thread in a while and I am putting together this Halloween format article and I needed some input. Also, there is such a flux of new members in the Realms that it never hurts to re-hash good basic theory like this.

As to what "kind" of curve I am looking for... I'll know when I see it. Prolly Full Curve, with Low Curve as a legal option, using your definitons.

Thanks!

And, his spike curves toward 12. Daily.

I consider TNB, MKKO and most rush decks Low Curve. As I stated previously, there is an overlap between Low and Off. Low Curve can turn-drop 1-5/6 with the occasional under or multiple drop on a turn. Off-Curve's primary strategy is to drop multiples on each turn or even under-drop.
Most combo decks fit into my Off Curve category.

This is not by all means the "definitive curve reference guide", just my opinion on how I break down the different builds. Your actual mileage may vary.

Okay... I couldn't resist:
The little blue pill that could.

Alright... I'm just kidding.

This is a serious question though... why do your posts always somehow gravitate towards your main non-VS activity? It's just a bit TMI in my opinion. I'm always afraid to read stu-started threads with titles like "How do you build yours?" because I know somewhere in there is going to be one of your posts that will bring imagery my mind is unwilling to cope with.

I honestly haven't tried the pills, I scare myself enough already.

Why? I guess a guy's gotta flaunt his best feature. (Almost said "toot his own horn".) Thanks for pointing it out, I will try to tone it down in the future.

If I really need a character on the first turn. and If the deck have characters tutors.
8x Drop 1
5x-6x Drop 2
5x-6x Drop 3
4x Drop 4
4x Drop 5
2x Drop 6
3-4x Drop 7 & 8


if the deck really needs a character on the 1st turn and the deck dont have characters tutors.. well... u should play with like 36-40 characters...
8x D1
6-7x D2
6-7x D3
5-7x D4
4-5x D5
3x D6
3X D7
1X D8


If the deck dont have characters tutors and if dont need drop1 ( as usual)

7-8x Drop 2
6-7x Drop 3
6-7x Drop 4
5-6x Drop 5
2-3x Drop 6
2-3x Drop 7,8

But there are decks like GK and Doom that usually ONLY have 4 drop1
4x Drop1
6x Drop2
6x Drop3
5x Drop4
5x Drop5
2x Drop6
2x Drop7
1x Drop8

Excellent work, thanks.