I'm interested in any methods you all have for evaluating cards when you reach the point where your trying to cut those last 3-5 cards to get your deck down to 60. Do you have any decision making tricks when those last 5 cards all seem equally awesome on a gut level? When I'm putting a deck together I always have a core concept of how I want it to feel to play (or how I want my opponent to feel playing against it) and obviously I try to pick the cards most conducive to that play experience, but it can be hard to measure them against something that abstract. Usually, when I can't decide any other way, I take the cards that are on the chopping block, count up how many other cards in the deck each of them interacts with, and keep the ones with the highest totals (e.g. more crest characters, keep Distinct Mastery, more creatures, keep At Night they Howl).

Does anyone have any cool formulas, like a ratio of gold cost/how much power you expect the card to net you?

The question spills over into in-game tactics a bit. How do you weigh when it's worth it to use a card right away vs. waiting for the ideal moment. Do you save Distinct Mastery to stand Fat Bob and sneak through an unexpected, unopposed power challenge, or use it right now just to win dominance? In terms of a card's impact, is denying your opponent 1 power equivalent to claiming one for yourself, or is one preferable?

I suspect that these decisions will come easier with more experience, but I just thought it would be interesting to hear how you all judge the value/efficiency of a card as it relates to a specific deck.

I usually build with a utilitarian focus, preferring cards with easier and immediate payoff versus cards that require too much synergy or are situational. I stay away from vanilla cards; if a character has no keywords or proactive ability, I probably won't run any copies of the card. Sometimes I might run them if the deck is so heavily themed that I won't end up with cards I can't use because I don't have the right conditions or traits, but most of the time I bump those for similar cost cards with better function. Usually I think to myself, what would I rather see my opponent play against me, and then choose a different card.

I realize that sometimes you need to include meta for problematic builds or cards, but really, that's just part of measuring utility and deciding what you can afford to risk not teching against and what you really need. The best thing to do is playtest. Try different cards you're considering and you'll find a lot of the time, a card that works well in theory just doesn't work in practice, and can be cut for something else you find yourself wishing you had in those situations.

Generally it is easier to help with a decklist. Each deck is different so there is no magic formula to tell you what to cut. Playtesting the deck is your best bet to make the hard decisions.