You literally just used 'dies to doomblade' as your argument.
Since no one is actually reading what I'm saying...
To reiterate, it's a control deck. A value driven control deck. You draft the majority of the countermagic, removal and card advantage you can find. You play good controlling value creatures. It isn't a combo deck, it just plays vial and shard both of which are recurring sources of advantage and combine to let you loop your creatures for one mana each turn at instant speed.
I didn't say you "need 12+ mana" I said you are a control deck, where you often end up with 12+ mana.
You build your deck to beat the aggressive creature decks and go over the top, winning from a card advantage engine.
Vial does a lot in the deck. It lets you get around other control players countermagic. Gives you flash speed threats and frees up your mana to spend on your card draw, removal and counterspells.
It doesn't lose to a counterspell, no one is maindecking artifact destruction, or pithing needle (a one of? If it's included in your cube, you know, the one of format...) As for doom blade, have you ever used doom blade on a mulldrifter, you aren't winning on the exchange. The creatures are already 2-1's or at least provide some advantage on entry.
Like, I'm saying I love vial, the deck you can build with it is good, fun and I've personally won an 8 person draft 4-0, beating storm, mono red, GW equipment beatdown (Thrun/hexproof green creatures, stoneforge etc) and then UW hard control in the final.
This was a response to 'what's the last pick?' In which someone said vial is unplayable. I'm giving a personal account that it isn't.
What is it with this sub and people just uninformedly, throwing shit at each other about how the format is full of unfair and broken stuff whilst gushing over how great their pauper cube is. It's a singleton draft format you can build your deck around strategies that make your cards shine. But apparently in your cube everyone has maindeck pithing needle, smash to smithereens, kills you on turn three and you can't possibly win because they doom blade your value creature?
Like. Have you actually played magic or do you only experience it through cliche memes and shitposts?