I have a lot of sayings that all my friends seems to disagree with, but here are my two most well known ones:
- If you're blocking, you're losing.
- Always first pick Strip Mine.
While Strip Mine deserves to be banned / restricted in every format, it's perfect for a (traditionally) singleton format. Takes out problematic lands like Gaea's Cradle or any manlands, can be re-used via Crucible / Life from the Loam / Regrowth effects, is great in aggro / stax shells, etc.
My favorite banned card in one or more format (not including EDH because they just ban all the fun ones) would probably be Skullclamp, Strip Mine, and Survival of the Fittest. Speaking of bans, this week has been some of the most dramatic weeks in magic I've ever seen.
Strip Mine is a strong card, and it deals with a lot of problematic lands in the cube. Plus, it's just a great card for pretty much any deck that's applying pressure.
My favorite banned card might be Balance? I'm not sure.
Quote from steve_man »
If you're blocking, you're losing.
Um, this isn't accurate. There are an enormous number of situations where the player actively blocking is favored to win the game. In a lot of cases, the player currently losing is priced into attacking because they have no other chance of winning the game. That doesn't mean that the attacking player is actually favored to win the game from that point.
Love Strip Mine. Assembled Strip Mine / Crucible / Braids / Smokestack in a deck a few weeks ago and it felt amazing.
Favorite banned card might be Green Sun's Zenith, which is banned in Modern. I love everything about it in cube and EDH.
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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
You're looking at my favorite banned card. If it weren't for Crucible of Worlds, it wouldn't be as loathsome, but it's still pushed. I love Strip Mine, though. One of the best examples of "symmetrical effects aren't symmetrical" that you can find. You're swapping one land for one land, and almost always guaranteed to get the better of it. I don't run Life from the Loam or Crucible in my cube, so Strip Mine acts closer to it's original strength, and doesn't get broken.
Um, this isn't accurate. There are an enormous number of situations where the player actively blocking is favored to win the game. In a lot of cases, the player currently losing is priced into attacking because they have no other chance of winning the game. That doesn't mean that the attacking player is actually favored to win the game from that point.
As if I'd let facts and anecdotes get in the way of my outrageous statements...
Strip Mine is great. An interesting case of an easy card to take P1P1, but is much harder to justify taking as highly in the next two boosters. A good card that always sees play and for a good reason. One of the best maindeckable, universally playable answers to problematic lands.
A great card, makes main decks pretty much 100% of the time. Being able to take out any land on a whim really messes with how your opponent plays in the early game or when it comes to holding up mana for instants. I've often been stuck sequencing lands drops differently or having to keep up extra mana for counters because of a stripmine in play.
In an average pack with no slam dunks I'm never against taking a strip mine and staying open.
I'm also a big fan of Strip Mine, I'm generally pretty quick to take it P1P1, and it'll put me in aggro if I get it early. I'll take it very highly later if I'm already drafting aggro, but I see it as more of a sideboard card if I'm not.
Assembled Strip Mine / Crucible / Braids / Smokestack in a deck a few weeks ago and it felt amazing.
Can't say I've ever done this, and for better or worse I'm in the habit of seeing it primarily as an aggro card. In fact, I ran Strip Mine in my cube for a long time without Crucible of Worlds, and I had players upset with me thinking it was a false signal. I've since traded for and added Crucible, but it still puzzles me that some people see it as a combo piece first and foremost. I'm curious as to how many other people see it that way over a card that's strong in its own right.
I'm running the "Small Tower" version of Strip Mine in my cube, and it took me months to actually find a copy of it in stock to replace my white-bordered version.
My favorite banned card is probably banned-in-Modern Stoneforge Mystic. So many of the best cards in (unpowered) cube are equipment, so a card that lets you search for the best one for your situation, cast it for free, and provide a body to equip it to always feels great.
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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 think Strip Mine is a great card all around. I had it way before I had a Crucible. But when I played modern, I played a deck with Life from the Loam and Smallpox, and more than once when playing against a deck with few basics, went way long and Ghost Quarted all the basics out of their deck. I have an unnatural love for moving lands from one zone to the other, and Crucible plus Strip Mine is probably the best way to do that in my cube. I'm perfectly happy playing Strip Mine in aggro, and do that often. I just love the card in general.
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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
I like Ugin a lot, and I will generally take it over Karn now. I think it does a better job of completely turning the tides, and it can pull you out of situations that are far more unfavorable than Karn can rescue you from. But on boards that are closer to parity, Karn can be better, especially if the 1 matters a lot in that particular situation (which it certainly can). Karn is probably better as a midrange curve-topper in a permanent-heavy deck; Ugin is better if it's going to be one of the few threats in your deck.
Ugin seems really good, I'm a fan on the big walkers even though I've never got to play with them. If they wen't so expensive they would both be a slam dunk into my cube.
I think I would taken Ugin over Karn Liberated for most situations. Ugin seems to have a lot more impact on the board, and in the super ramp decks your often under pressure by the time you can cast him. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker would be my best comparison, I want my 7+ spell to get me more than a 1-for-1 (In his case, stealing a creature), probably not a great comparison but Karn feels worse on a lot of boards than Ugin.
Karn will take out the permanent you need to but will drop to 3, or exile a card from their hand; Ugin can clear the board pretty well for the same rate, or tick up to kill a creature or put you ahead in a damage race. Ultimates both seem like like they can win the game. Ugin takes it for me on paper.
If Karn hits $100, I'm going to sell it and rebuy at reprint time. Ugin is so good that Karn now seems . . . not weak, and not exactly redundant, but superfluous. At 360 I'd only play Ugin, and at 450 I'm pretty comfortable with both.
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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
I love me some actually playable Nicol Bolas Ugin. He's a nice payoff for big artifact / land ramp (not so much creature-based ramp since he blows them up). Ugin can easily take over the game all by himself, but he's pretty weak against big colorless creature. There's been a good number of times where Ugin's day has been ruined by a Wurmcoil Engine / Myr Battlesphere.
If I"m heavy on the artifact / land ramp plan, I'll take Ugin. If I'm playing creature based ramp or a control deck without much ramp, I'll take Karn. I typically don't P1P1 either of these cards anymore, but sometimes I'll go in on either if I'm in the mood.
I love Ugin in the storyline, especially how he always dumps on Jace and Sorin (and basically everyone else not named Nahiri).
I have a special relationship with Karn, as I have a knack for just randomly pulling him out of the cube on a call for it. Done it like 5 times just randomly, and there's no trick, just dumb luck in a 450 cube. I think Ugin is stronger with his -X ability, and definitely hits the table harder immediately, though in a long attrition game Karn will perform better. I don't have an Ugin, but I'd make space if I did acquire one.
Ugin's great. Cube revolves around some powerful 6-drops, so Ugin being able to come in and -6 and still stick around is great. I also love Ugin against Token strategies, being able to -0 away the opponent's board. Both Ugin and Karn's Ultimates are very fun. Both planeswalkers tend to lead to a win before their ultimates come online, but both ultimates feel great when they're resolved. I think Ugin has a more relevant + ability, but Karn gets so much loyalty from his +, which makes him very difficult to take down. Ugin's not easy to take down either, but +4 loyalty should not be understated. Both Planeswalkers are fantastic, and can lead to wins. I only want to run one of the two in my 360, and right now that's Karn, but I could see one day replacing Karn with Ugin.
FWIW I would play Ugin over Karn in a 360 if I had to choose one. The wrath is so insane. Karn is great but it feels like less of a blow out way more, which is saying something. The difference between 7 and 8 mana is real, but there aren't many decks that want Karn but would never want Ugin. If my deck is casting a 7, it probably can deal with an 8 too.
This Garruk is perfect. Threatening ultimate the turn after he comes into play, creating tokens to protect himself, guaranteeing a ramp from 4 to 6, he does it all.
Tokens in my cube are Pokemon cards. Charmanders for 1/1 golbins, Charizards for 4/4 dragons, Pidgeot for Geist of Saint Traft angels, Rattata for Pack rats, Ghastly for 1/1 Spirit tokens, Golem for Golems.
Wildspeaker is awesome. Great in big green, great in midrange, and pretty decent as an aggro/'aggro' curve topper. Probably the best Garruk, though I've had a long-tenured soft spot for Garruk Relentless. The overrun is so sweet, when Suspend 1 - Overrun is good it's game-ending.
Tokens are usually just dice, though sometimes we use chips. Never the actual token-cards though, we don't have them and don't care enough to get them. The only time it really matters is when there are a million tokens of different types (plants, myrs, symbols, etc) but even then the dice are typically better in practice since the full cards clog the board up quick.
It doesn't really matter what green deck I'm playing, Garruk is always a solid fit. Ramping, creating midrange bodies and threatening an Overrun are never things I don't want in green.
I use matching classic art tokens for my cube. Every card that produces a token, emblem or reminder card of some kind has a sleeved-up copy of one available for use. There are enough cards that create reminder cards now that coins and die don't really do the trick anymore. And it's nice to have full-sized cards available to help survey and analyze the board state (especially with tokens of different types/sizes, and a mixture of tapped/untapped ones). Plus, with +1/+1 counters abound, using die for counters and die for tokens is just a mess.
Garruk Wildspeaker has been in my cube from day 1 and he would be very hard to push out. His ramp is great and also lets you fix double costs, his 3/3 tokens block agro well as well as being a reasonable beater and his ultimate (though situational) wins games.
His ultimate hitting the turn after he is cast is pretty big game, in a lot of close races he gives you the mana toadd a body to the board the turn he comes down and they have to deal with him on their turn or lose to his overrun.
It's always cool that (IMO) they got Garruk right the first time round; he isn't overpowered, he feels very green, he plays well and because of this he has stood the test of time in cube.
Tokens are great, they are a fun way to add a bit of style to your cube and tend to be fairly easy to come by. I wish Wizards would make some more foil ones... Masterpiece Tokens?
I try to have a couple of each token my cube (multiple arts if possible) can make and for the ones I don't I use the blank World Championship token cards. PROTIP: If you use whiteboard markers you can draw your own (...terrible...) art onto the sleeve, wipe it off and then re-use it for the next token you don't have.
Recently I started using Plague Rats as my tokens for Pack Rat token, it's fun, can't remember where I got the idea so props to whoever I stole it from (someone on here possibly).
I keep my tokens in a slightly different of sleeve so its easy to pick them out if you shuffle them in
Garruk is an awesome planeswalker. The only thing lacking in his ultimate is giving creatures haste as well :).
As far as tokens, I try to use the real token whenever I can. Some are really hard to come by (I am thinking of you Odyssey tokens). I also sleave them up, but in a separate color so they don't get too mixed up with actual cards.
Using Plague Rats is a fun Idea for pack rat, I might give that a try myself
Strip Mine
BONUS QUESTION
What's your favorite card that's been banned in one or more formats?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
- If you're blocking, you're losing.
- Always first pick Strip Mine.
While Strip Mine deserves to be banned / restricted in every format, it's perfect for a (traditionally) singleton format. Takes out problematic lands like Gaea's Cradle or any manlands, can be re-used via Crucible / Life from the Loam / Regrowth effects, is great in aggro / stax shells, etc.
My favorite banned card in one or more format (not including EDH because they just ban all the fun ones) would probably be Skullclamp, Strip Mine, and Survival of the Fittest. Speaking of bans, this week has been some of the most dramatic weeks in magic I've ever seen.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
My favorite banned card might be Balance? I'm not sure.
Um, this isn't accurate. There are an enormous number of situations where the player actively blocking is favored to win the game. In a lot of cases, the player currently losing is priced into attacking because they have no other chance of winning the game. That doesn't mean that the attacking player is actually favored to win the game from that point.
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!
Favorite banned card might be Green Sun's Zenith, which is banned in Modern. I love everything about it in cube and EDH.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Other banned cards I love are Recurring Nightmare and Skullclamp. I love graveyard shenanigans. Also Demonic Attorney because lolwut did I just read.
As if I'd let facts and anecdotes get in the way of my outrageous statements...
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
My favorite banned card, as you may infer from my avatar, is Contract From Below.
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In an average pack with no slam dunks I'm never against taking a strip mine and staying open.
Favorite banned card? Probably Wheel of Fortune.
Can't say I've ever done this, and for better or worse I'm in the habit of seeing it primarily as an aggro card. In fact, I ran Strip Mine in my cube for a long time without Crucible of Worlds, and I had players upset with me thinking it was a false signal. I've since traded for and added Crucible, but it still puzzles me that some people see it as a combo piece first and foremost. I'm curious as to how many other people see it that way over a card that's strong in its own right.
I'm running the "Small Tower" version of Strip Mine in my cube, and it took me months to actually find a copy of it in stock to replace my white-bordered version.
My favorite banned card is probably banned-in-Modern Stoneforge Mystic. So many of the best cards in (unpowered) cube are equipment, so a card that lets you search for the best one for your situation, cast it for free, and provide a body to equip it to always feels great.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
BONUS QUESTION
If you open this card in the same pack as Karn Liberated, which card do you pick?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
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 think I would taken Ugin over Karn Liberated for most situations. Ugin seems to have a lot more impact on the board, and in the super ramp decks your often under pressure by the time you can cast him. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker would be my best comparison, I want my 7+ spell to get me more than a 1-for-1 (In his case, stealing a creature), probably not a great comparison but Karn feels worse on a lot of boards than Ugin.
Karn will take out the permanent you need to but will drop to 3, or exile a card from their hand; Ugin can clear the board pretty well for the same rate, or tick up to kill a creature or put you ahead in a damage race. Ultimates both seem like like they can win the game. Ugin takes it for me on paper.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
actually playable Nicol BolasUgin. He's a nice payoff for big artifact / land ramp (not so much creature-based ramp since he blows them up). Ugin can easily take over the game all by himself, but he's pretty weak against big colorless creature. There's been a good number of times where Ugin's day has been ruined by a Wurmcoil Engine / Myr Battlesphere.If I"m heavy on the artifact / land ramp plan, I'll take Ugin. If I'm playing creature based ramp or a control deck without much ramp, I'll take Karn. I typically don't P1P1 either of these cards anymore, but sometimes I'll go in on either if I'm in the mood.
I love Ugin in the storyline, especially how he always dumps on Jace and Sorin (and basically everyone else not named Nahiri).
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I didn't even realize that Karn continued to creep up in price. Wow.
[180 classic cube]
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Garruk Wildspeaker
BONUS QUESTION
How do you handle tokens for your cube drafts?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Tokens in my cube are Pokemon cards. Charmanders for 1/1 golbins, Charizards for 4/4 dragons, Pidgeot for Geist of Saint Traft angels, Rattata for Pack rats, Ghastly for 1/1 Spirit tokens, Golem for Golems.
[180 classic cube]
Tokens are usually just dice, though sometimes we use chips. Never the actual token-cards though, we don't have them and don't care enough to get them. The only time it really matters is when there are a million tokens of different types (plants, myrs, symbols, etc) but even then the dice are typically better in practice since the full cards clog the board up quick.
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
I use matching classic art tokens for my cube. Every card that produces a token, emblem or reminder card of some kind has a sleeved-up copy of one available for use. There are enough cards that create reminder cards now that coins and die don't really do the trick anymore. And it's nice to have full-sized cards available to help survey and analyze the board state (especially with tokens of different types/sizes, and a mixture of tapped/untapped ones). Plus, with +1/+1 counters abound, using die for counters and die for tokens is just a mess.
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!
His ultimate hitting the turn after he is cast is pretty big game, in a lot of close races he gives you the mana toadd a body to the board the turn he comes down and they have to deal with him on their turn or lose to his overrun.
It's always cool that (IMO) they got Garruk right the first time round; he isn't overpowered, he feels very green, he plays well and because of this he has stood the test of time in cube.
Tokens are great, they are a fun way to add a bit of style to your cube and tend to be fairly easy to come by. I wish Wizards would make some more foil ones... Masterpiece Tokens?
I try to have a couple of each token my cube (multiple arts if possible) can make and for the ones I don't I use the blank World Championship token cards. PROTIP: If you use whiteboard markers you can draw your own (...terrible...) art onto the sleeve, wipe it off and then re-use it for the next token you don't have.
Recently I started using Plague Rats as my tokens for Pack Rat token, it's fun, can't remember where I got the idea so props to whoever I stole it from (someone on here possibly).
I keep my tokens in a slightly different of sleeve so its easy to pick them out if you shuffle them in
As far as tokens, I try to use the real token whenever I can. Some are really hard to come by (I am thinking of you Odyssey tokens). I also sleave them up, but in a separate color so they don't get too mixed up with actual cards.
Using Plague Rats is a fun Idea for pack rat, I might give that a try myself
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569