## Tuesday, 19 November 2013

### Vanilla Value Equation (VVE)

So, if you remember waaaaay back in my Vanillas review, I brought up the idea of using a formula to determine the value of a vanilla creature. Tonight, I thought about it a little more and refined that formula a little more:

$\frac{\left ( \left ( Power + \left ( \frac{Toughness}{2} \right ) \right ) -0.5 \right )}{Converted Mana Cost} = X$

If X is equal to 1 or more, it is a passable card for Limited formats. For example, Border Guard scores a 1, meaning that it is a baseline passable vanilla creature. Leatherback Baloth scores a little higher, at 2 and Axebane Stag scores lower with a 0.86. Cards with a 0 CMC (such as Crookshank Kobolds) don't have a value and should be considered combo pieces instead of just creatures (at least, I consider them combo pieces).

Now, when I say "passable", I don't mean "good". I came up with this to help me determine the value of vanilla cards in a draft or sealed format and that's what the formula is intended for. It is also based purely on combat ability and not on interactions with other cards. Maybe in the future I'll add values to different keywords and abilities and come up with a comprehensive algorithm for more advanced cards...