Vampiric Tutor is really good and absolutely a top cube card, at least in black. I think it's a card that's pretty underrated, along with most tutors. While it does lose some gusto sometimes if you aren't getting a back-breaking play--like, there are times where if you're grabbing removal you absolutely need it feels kinda meh--but that still speaks to the power of the card that it's the best version of whatever you could grab from your deck when you need to grab that card. At the end of the day, having 2 copies of the absolute best card you could need in any situation as long as you have the life and mana for it is really amazing.
The tutors shine especially in singleton in which they can make your deck stupidly consistent.
I once drafted Survival/Recurring/Vampiric/ Enlightened and the combo pretty much comes up every single game.
Vampiric tutor and Demonic Tutor are onviously the best ones as they can get anything.
During college I did a little tutoring and used the extra money to, well, buy Magic cards.
This is a great card in any cube, but it's especially important to have in any cube that supports combo shenanigans. Since the single most popular cube combo is typically reanimator, it's especially great to have access to this effect in black. I'm happy to have this in a lot of decks, and if you love to play combo it's a solid 1st pick, although it's certainly also great in control to help with top-decking answers and wraths. However, I tend to prefer drafting beatdown decks that rely on redundancy to close out games quickly, so I don't pick this as highly as some here. Although if I already have Survival of the Fittest or Recurring Nightmare, VT and DT shoot way up in my pick order.
I'm running the original Visions version, and I do prefer the art on it to the new EMA art, so unless I get lucky enough to somehow trade for a judge foil that's about as pimp as my VT's likely to get.
I spent 6 weeks in Nicaragua studying Spanish with private tutors. If you want to learn (or improve at) Spanish fast, it's a surprisingly cheap and quick way to do it.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Lodestone Golem is a powerful beater. Giving you 5 power and taxing the opponent's answers is a good deal for 4 mana, and you can put it into decks that make the taxing effect largely asymmetrical, which makes it even better.
It's not the best creature anymore, but the original Masticore might be my favorite artifact creature of all time.
I really like Lodestone Golem a lot. It's the best Juggernaut variant printed so far. That said, I don't have room for it at 450. It's not far outside the bubble though, and could come back.
Outside of cube, my favorite artifact creature is Sharuum, the Hegemon. In cube, it's probably Solemn Simulacrum. I have to give a shoutout to Masticore. Urza's Destiny was the new set when I came back from my Magic hiatus (Weatherlight to Urza's Legacy).
I like Lodestone golem, but at 360 there is not room for him. If I were to expand to 540 I would probably include him along with other taxing effects if I could.
I love tutors in cube. Without them, many archetypes that rely on 1 or 2 cards don't work well enough due to consistancy reasons. They allow for the build around me cards to truly shine. I have vampire and demonic tutor. I don't run imperial seal right now for $ reasons, but have wondered what other's think of it.
Lodestone Golem can be a decent aggro curve-topper, disrupting opponents' plans and delaying a Wrath for a turn, but I don't really have room in my artifact section for what's ultimately a 4-drop that fails the Bolt test - even if it does make that Bolt cost 1 more.
It's definitely not good enough for cube, but I have a real soft spot for Phyrexian War Beast, which I ran as a 4-of in the aggressive casual 60s I used to play in the 90s.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I like Force Spike, it's not the craziest cards but it can nail quite a bit. It's probably the card I side out the most since it's a decent amount worse on the draw and it can still be effective in your SB if your opponent has seen it and you happen to have U open. It's kind of like having a free Chancellor of the Annex up until they figure out you don't have it. For as *****ty as it is to watch your opponent play around the Force Spike you *do* have, it's that much sweeter to watch them play around the one you *don't*.
I'm a Spike, but definitely with Timmy mixed in there. Like I want to win every game I play, but I'm OK running a less-good deck if it does something cool. I'll happily and often will play Sulfuric Vortex, but I'd choose Sneak Attack out of the same pack more often than not.
I like Force Spike. The decks that beat Force Spike decks have tight early development, and Spike is reliable cheap defense against powerful opening curves.
Like Salmo, I play to win, but I'm not a win-at-all-costs kind of player in cube. I like to see powerful explosive plays, even if they're on the other side of the table from me. Cube is a casual and fun format, and that's how we like to approach it. Even though we play by the rules and use powerful cards.
I love Force Spike. I like the Ux tempo decks that it goes into, especially ones with True-Name Nemesis in them. I especially love when people play around counterspells not currently in my hand.
Actually my greatest moments for this was in EDH. I play this Kami of the Crescent Moon deck. Make everyone draw a bunch of cards, counter important stuff, then Sunder their lands away with an Iron Maiden / Black Vise effect in play. Fun deck. Anyway, I guess I asked if something my pal was about to do was a an activated or a triggered ability once, and he played around Stifle for months. I finally put a Stifle in the deck, told him about it, and he was shocked it wasn't in there before. He played around a card that not only wasn't in my hand, it wasn't in my collection. So that was the best counterspell I never cast.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Single mana answers of any kind are so strong in terms of gaining tempo and allowing you to use your mana efficiently, that I'm really happy to have Force Spike and Mana Tithe in any deck that can cast them. Obviously, Force Spike is nowhere near a first pick, but I'm happy to snap one up mid-pack or an the wheel. Sure, it won't always counter the spell you're worried about most, and you usually have to fire it off the first chance you get because the value decreases the longer it's in your hand, but you'll almost always be able to get a full card's worth of mana out of it for just U.
I'm running the FNM promo of Force Spike, but I'd really like to get a hold of a 7th Edition foil because old frame blue foils are a thing of beauty.
In cube, I'm more concerned with making sure everyone's having a good time than whether or not I'm winning any particular match. Against newer cube drafters who seem to be struggling, I'll even encourage take-backs. It's always fun to cut loose against anyone who has a a good grasp on how to draft and build a good cube deck, though. In retail limited, I'm much more competitive, and always looking for an edge. The local shops where I live have some pretty decent competition, too.
I like the Legends version because I like having 1 card for each expansion in Cube. Guess which expansions are unrepresented?
Bane of the Living and Graveborn Muse are pretty solid options from Legions, especially if you have any support for Morphs or Goblins. If you really wanted to shoehorn a Prophecy card in there, you might give Keldon Firebombers or Withdraw a shot, but yeah, that set's chock full of stinkers.
dang was hoping the second question was going to be about volleyball!
I'm saving the volleyball questions for when Bump in the Night or Set Adrift comes up in my cube card randomizer.
Bane of the Living and Graveborn Muse are pretty solid options from Legions...
He said Legends, not Legions.
Quote from JinxedIdol »
Guess which expansions are unrepresented?
I believe Prophecy is the only unrepresented set in my cube too. Withdraw, Rhystic Lightning and maybe Chimeric Idol are the fringe playables from that set I guess. Maybe some of the Avatars or Rhystic Study if you play multiplayer?
I've always liked Bloodgift Demon. For a long time, he fit the role of 2nd 5CMC Black creature in my cube and I was never disappointed to draft him. However, he has since been replaced by Custodi Lich and that card has done work.
My cube is currently without demons, though I suppose Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath is an honorary one. Griselbrand is on the list to acquire and hopefully should find a home in there soon.
Bloodgift Demon is pretty good and is probably the fourth best black 5-drop (after Shriekmaw, Custodi Lich, and Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath). When your cube is large enought to want four black 5-drops, he's your man...er...demon.
I think Griselbrand is the only demon I'm running right now. I like having my cube represent as many classic fantasy creatures as possible, so I'm happy to have a least one demon. I'd love it if we got cubeworthy unicorns, centaurs, and minotaurs.
I like Bloodgift Demon, it's pretty close in competition to all the other good / not great black 5-drops. I'll admit that I like Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath a bit more since it pairs better with Wildfire / Languish.
I believe Griselbrand is the only demon I'm currently running. There's plenty of strong, cubable angels and dragons, but demons can always use more love.
Bloodgift Demon is the only demon I'm currently running, though I have thought to move a recently acquired Griselbrand in. Most of the time it's ability is just for card advantage, but can also push opponents over the edge, which is nice. Also a 5/4 flier on 5 mana is pretty good.
No tootin' here.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I wish the EMA Tutors had kept the Mirage/Visions flavour texts.
I have both been a tutor and been tutored in the past.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I once drafted Survival/Recurring/Vampiric/ Enlightened and the combo pretty much comes up every single game.
Vampiric tutor and Demonic Tutor are onviously the best ones as they can get anything.
During college I did a little tutoring and used the extra money to, well, buy Magic cards.
I'm running the original Visions version, and I do prefer the art on it to the new EMA art, so unless I get lucky enough to somehow trade for a judge foil that's about as pimp as my VT's likely to get.
I spent 6 weeks in Nicaragua studying Spanish with private tutors. If you want to learn (or improve at) Spanish fast, it's a surprisingly cheap and quick way to do it.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I'm studying how to play alto saxophone with a privet tutor. It's a lot of fun!
Lodestone Golem
What's your favorite artifact creature in the history of MTG?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
It's not the best creature anymore, but the original Masticore might be my favorite artifact creature of all time.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Outside of cube, my favorite artifact creature is Sharuum, the Hegemon. In cube, it's probably Solemn Simulacrum. I have to give a shoutout to Masticore. Urza's Destiny was the new set when I came back from my Magic hiatus (Weatherlight to Urza's Legacy).
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
I love tutors in cube. Without them, many archetypes that rely on 1 or 2 cards don't work well enough due to consistancy reasons. They allow for the build around me cards to truly shine. I have vampire and demonic tutor. I don't run imperial seal right now for $ reasons, but have wondered what other's think of it.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
It's definitely not good enough for cube, but I have a real soft spot for Phyrexian War Beast, which I ran as a 4-of in the aggressive casual 60s I used to play in the 90s.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Force Spike
BONUS QUESTION
How much of a Spike are you?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I'm a Spike, but definitely with Timmy mixed in there. Like I want to win every game I play, but I'm OK running a less-good deck if it does something cool. I'll happily and often will play Sulfuric Vortex, but I'd choose Sneak Attack out of the same pack more often than not.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Like Salmo, I play to win, but I'm not a win-at-all-costs kind of player in cube. I like to see powerful explosive plays, even if they're on the other side of the table from me. Cube is a casual and fun format, and that's how we like to approach it. Even though we play by the rules and use powerful cards.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I like the Legends version because I like having 1 card for each expansion in Cube. Guess which expansions are unrepresented?
I'm probably 10% spike. I'm much more of a deck/cube speculative builder than actually playing the game.
i havent run force spike before in my cube. seems like a fun card but i am pretty happy with my counterspell section.
Actually my greatest moments for this was in EDH. I play this Kami of the Crescent Moon deck. Make everyone draw a bunch of cards, counter important stuff, then Sunder their lands away with an Iron Maiden / Black Vise effect in play. Fun deck. Anyway, I guess I asked if something my pal was about to do was a an activated or a triggered ability once, and he played around Stifle for months. I finally put a Stifle in the deck, told him about it, and he was shocked it wasn't in there before. He played around a card that not only wasn't in my hand, it wasn't in my collection. So that was the best counterspell I never cast.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I'm running the FNM promo of Force Spike, but I'd really like to get a hold of a 7th Edition foil because old frame blue foils are a thing of beauty.
In cube, I'm more concerned with making sure everyone's having a good time than whether or not I'm winning any particular match. Against newer cube drafters who seem to be struggling, I'll even encourage take-backs. It's always fun to cut loose against anyone who has a a good grasp on how to draft and build a good cube deck, though. In retail limited, I'm much more competitive, and always looking for an edge. The local shops where I live have some pretty decent competition, too.
Bane of the Living and Graveborn Muse are pretty solid options from Legions, especially if you have any support for Morphs or Goblins. If you really wanted to shoehorn a Prophecy card in there, you might give Keldon Firebombers or Withdraw a shot, but yeah, that set's chock full of stinkers.
I'm saving the volleyball questions for when Bump in the Night or Set Adrift comes up in my cube card randomizer.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
He said Legends, not Legions.
I believe Prophecy is the only unrepresented set in my cube too. Withdraw, Rhystic Lightning and maybe Chimeric Idol are the fringe playables from that set I guess. Maybe some of the Avatars or Rhystic Study if you play multiplayer?
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Bloodgift Demon
BONUS QUESTION
What demons are you currently running in your cube?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
My cube is currently without demons, though I suppose Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath is an honorary one. Griselbrand is on the list to acquire and hopefully should find a home in there soon.
Modern:
Dredge | Restore Balance | Titanshift
My [360][Unpowered][Modern-Frame] Cube
I think Griselbrand is the only demon I'm running right now. I like having my cube represent as many classic fantasy creatures as possible, so I'm happy to have a least one demon. I'd love it if we got cubeworthy unicorns, centaurs, and minotaurs.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
I believe Griselbrand is the only demon I'm currently running. There's plenty of strong, cubable angels and dragons, but demons can always use more love.
Courser of Kruphix and Gnarled Scarhide!
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra