My combo list supports a few infinite combos I think. Palinchron + High Tide / Mirari's Wake (or a lot of land). Zuran Orb + Crucible of Worlds + Fastbond. There are probably others. I try to limit these sorts of things to where you have to assemble them and then have a separate win condition. So storm or infinite mana for an X spell or something. Infinite life doesn't really win you the game and neither does infinite mana if you have nothing to spend it on. My guess is there are more degenerate combos than that in my current list and if my cube were played more often some of them would be exposed and I might end up cutting a few if they were too easy to assemble.
Blasting Station seems fun, but kinda hard to make work in cube. As a colorless enabler for a tokens/ aristocrats strategy, it's not bad, but it's kinda narrow.
Infinite combos are not so much of a thing in my cube, due to the size. I did recently add Deadeye Navigator, which is capable of many two and three card combos. None have been built yet, but I'm sure it'll happen.
I ran Blasting Station for a while as a second Goblin Bombardment to support Reveillark/Karmic Guide combo as well as Muzzio's Preparations/Persist creature combo. When I pulled all of my Conspiracy cards, it seemed logical to also pull Blasting Station as one of the 15 cards that had to go (from the extra pack for Lore Seeker). Goblin Bombardment sees some play in token/aggro decks as well as combo decks, but Blasting Station is a turn slower, and can't always be used for multiple activations in the same turn, so you really need multiple combos requiring a sac outlet to make BS worthwhile.
Do you support infinite combos in your cube, that ARE NOT Kiki/Twin-Combos?
Don't. They go in different decks, and shouldn't be competing against one another for slots.
Comparing our two lists, which are pretty much the same size, you're running Thraben Inspector in the slot that I'm currently running Elite Vanguard.
That doesn't mean the cards are competing against one another. I have the 2-power 1-drop saturation I need in white without Vanguard. So if I were to cut Inspector, it wouldn't be for an aggro-exclusive 1-drop. If you need Vanguard, I wouldn't recommend it as a cut for Inspector. I'd cut something entirely different instead.
Yeah, I know. I just thought it was funny that our 1-drop sections differed by one card and that was the difference. Obviously it's not that simple and needs some context. Just a fun fact.
Mill may not be a famously powerful archetype, but this crab can kill by itself pretty quickly. Fetchlands mill for six, making it feasible to have over half of their deck drawn or milled by turn three or four off two fetches. It's also a sweet win-con for control and prison decks.
Bonus question: What blue one drop creatures do you play? Are there any that are on your radar other than Enclave Cryptologist and maybe Delver of Secrets?
If you support Mill as a dedicated draftable archetype, Crab is a solid dude. In anything else, it's unacceptably poor.
Besides Cryptologist and Delver, the only one I've ever really tested extensively is hapless Researcher. It wasn't a bad discard outlet when damage still used the stack and reanimator enablers were scarce.
The only mill card I run is Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, because it gets the job done on its own. I wouldn't expect Hedron Crab to be able to do that, and mill is generally too parasitic a strategy to be worth supporting in cube.
The only blue 1-drop creature I currently run is Enclave Cryptologist, but I've really been impressed by Cloudfin Raptor in my Peasant cube, and if I ever decide to make my blue section in my unpowered more aggressive, it's one of the first cards I'll add.
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Hedron Crab is decent in self mill strategies. I wasn't in love with it when I ran it but it isn't awful. In my experience, relying on it to mill your opponent was always a losing strategy though. It really was only useful in UB graveyard/delve decks.
I think the better card is Dakra Mystic. It's mana intensive but it also creates really interesting lines of play and can do a number on your opponent's draws. This is not a card for high powered lists since it's a bit slow, but if you run a low powered list with a lot of graveyard synergies, Dakra is sweet. With no mana cost on the ability, Dakra would be cube-of-all-sizes in my mind FWIW.
Hedron Crab does not require any kind of a mill archetype. It is a powerful clock on its own. I'll admit, I chose the crab out of my cube because I was curious if anyone else had tried it. I highly recommend testing it if your cube supports slow control decks. It's extremely common for the crab to mill 9-15 cards before dying, eventually causing the opponent to draw out ages later. It's a very solid card in my cube, and I don't even run fetchlands.
I think most people prefer an extremely fast environment, which isn't ideal for the crab. Still, I bet it's closer than you think. To me, it seems like crucial support for draw-go/ prison strategies.
It's not really a powerful clock on its own when it dies to literally everything.
I played a cube with a number of duplicate fetches, and in that cube Cosi's Trickster was pretty solid. I think I saw it at it's full potential as the player that drafted him had the perfect deck for it, but it's a card I keep an eye on. (Also I bought like 50 of them at one point because I saw it used in a deck once and I thought I'd speculate, so I have plenty to test with lol)
I actually still run Hapless Researcher and think it's decent, although it suffered big time from damage no longer using the stack. It'll be an easy cut at some point (especially since my cube isn't fully up-to-date) but I wouldn't fault large cubes (700+?) for including it.
Other than that, we played Cloudfin Raptor for a while and I'd agree that he's playable but fringe. Also tested Wingcrafter around when AVR came out but was unimpressed.
Never tested Hedron Crab really, but seems to me like the ACS in a cube game would be too low to justify its slot.
I thought about using my favorite crab in the cube, but I don't really support the mill archetype strongly enough. I think the only mill type card that I still run is Nemesis of Reason because swinging for 10 mill is craycray. Ixalan will have Traumatize on a 4/6 swing stick, but I'm not convinced it's better, considering that a hard 10 is better against a 40 card deck. I used to run Jace, Memory Adept, but cut it recently.
Blue 1s are hard to justify a lot of the time. There aren't a ton that really put their worth out there. Enclave Cryptologist is alright. Delver is great, but I think he's too inconsistent in a singleton cube format.
Sidisi's Faithful has been in and out forever. Neither Kraken Hatchling or Unsummon mode is especially splashy, but one or the other is usually relevant, plus it plays well with various graveyard synergies.
In peasant, mono-U aggro was often really good as a deck, which pushed some weird 1-drops like Cloudfin Raptor and Wingcrafter into early picks, and made some weak cards like Gudul Lurker and Judge's Familiar playable.
Strong card and I'll play DiTerlizzi art wherever I can, but I hate when card text actually does something different from Gatherer text. For something minor like a modified creature type, I don't usually worry much about it, but with all the flickering and graveyard effects in my cube, I'm not comfortable running Fire Imp because the card lies about how it works in common interactions.
I avoid foils because they cost more and I think they're generally worse products due to curling, but I like the game day previews ans usually base the actual edition selection on card art.
Fire Imp is a fine dude, but I feel he's fallen out of favor recently. When he's good, he's great. Three mana, get a 2/1, kill your dude is a sweet deal. However three mana for a 2/1 that doesn't kill anything is actively bad. I've also had him stranded in my hand because it's not a may ability. All in all he's a solid cube addition, but the competition in the red 3 section has gotten steeper over the last few years so he's not the staple he once was.
I think the pimp priority really depends on the card. Take Nekrataal, for instance. For me, I'm running a foil Xth Edition because the art is passable, I can't get an old border foil with the original art, and I think the old art looks terrible surrounded by the new border. I think each card needs to be evaluated based on options available and personal preference rather than just a general choice of always going with the pack foil or the promo.
Fire Imp is ok. Mini flame tongue has its uses. I don't think red really needs it though.
I'm not a huge fan of foils though some do look great. I have a foil promo necro and it's gorgeous. I like old frame va new as a general rule. Black border over white. Non-foil except in rare cases. If a version has easier to read or more accurate text, I'll often prioritize based on that over other considerations. So I guess its case by case.
Fire Imp is solid but I've noticed its use diminish over time as more things have 3 toughness these days. I recently replaced it with Pia Nalaar, which I have been liking quite a bit.
I never noticed that Fire Imp says "from hand," haha.
I tend to use non-foil original art for cube cards, typically I want the most recognizable art for nostalgia reasons (not just for me, old timers love it). I don't run alters because it makes it hard to recognize the card.
Original art / old borders >>>> everything else. Typically I make an exception if the original art is super bad and a newer version is much better. I play a few promos that fall into this category: Bloodbraid Elf, Maelstrom Pulse, Polukranos, Noose Constrictor. I don't care for inaccurate errata / creature types. If they miss it, it's not the end of the world.
I had Fire Imp in my cube until fairly recently, but I don't see it making its way back in. Two damage doesn't kill enough, and being a 2/1 doesn't do enough. It feels like impressive new three drops are coming out with every set.
I started foiling my cube last year, primarily because of two factors. First, the continued production of the Masters sets showed a commitment by WotC to get old cards without foils, or somewhat old cards with expensive foils, back into circulation in foil at a cheaper price point. Second, I think the Kaladesh Inventions look amazing, and since they're also among the most powerful cards in the cube, I wanted to include them. The Invocations were a big letdown on that score, but hopefully the next Masterpiece series will look better.
As for which version of a card I include, it depends. I'll usually pick whichever artwork I happen to like best, unless there's a huge difference in price between the two options (e.g. Thoughtseize). I'll also get the original printing if possible, but if they're the same art and the price difference is substantial, I'll go for a later printing like the Masters sets. I'll try for an Expedition or Invention if it's available in most cases, though I won't prioritize it if I think a card might be in more danger of being cut soon. I've opted for non-foil full-art game day promos of cards when available, like Stormblood Berserker or Electrolyze. I try my best to avoid textless foils entirely because I want my players to always know what a card does. I also try to avoid stamped cards. If it's a choice between an alternate art promo and a regular foil, the alternate art is usually the one I go after unless I dislike its artwork. I'm in the process of creating custom foil proxies for cards that don't have foils; my goal is 100% completion, though I'm not sure how long it'll be before I get all the way there.
I don't have any custom alters, though I have considered it.
Fire Imp is a good card, but is currently outclassed.
If wizards did a functional reprint though with a "may" clause and you can split the damage I think it would be a 100% auto include
In terms of card order I think it all comes down the card and price point of cards. As much as I like black boarder, I am 100 % ok with white boarder dual lands. Plus it makes them easier to find when fetching.
Comparing our two lists, which are pretty much the same size, you're running Thraben Inspector in the slot that I'm currently running Elite Vanguard.
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I have never tried Blasting Station and don't really intend to. It's not a very powerful sac outlet as just a pinger, regardless of the untap ability.
I don't purposely support any infinite combos. I'm not a fan of how those games play out.
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My combo list supports a few infinite combos I think. Palinchron + High Tide / Mirari's Wake (or a lot of land). Zuran Orb + Crucible of Worlds + Fastbond. There are probably others. I try to limit these sorts of things to where you have to assemble them and then have a separate win condition. So storm or infinite mana for an X spell or something. Infinite life doesn't really win you the game and neither does infinite mana if you have nothing to spend it on. My guess is there are more degenerate combos than that in my current list and if my cube were played more often some of them would be exposed and I might end up cutting a few if they were too easy to assemble.
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
Retro combo cube thread
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/retro-combo-cube.1454/
Infinite combos are not so much of a thing in my cube, due to the size. I did recently add Deadeye Navigator, which is capable of many two and three card combos. None have been built yet, but I'm sure it'll happen.
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I support Reveillark combo, and probably always will. In the earlier days of my cube, I also supported the Boros Reckoner/Boros Charm infinite life combo, with Azorius Charm, Whip of Erebos, and Loxodon Warhammer to give Reckoner lifelink. I never saw that combo go off, though.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
That doesn't mean the cards are competing against one another. I have the 2-power 1-drop saturation I need in white without Vanguard. So if I were to cut Inspector, it wouldn't be for an aggro-exclusive 1-drop. If you need Vanguard, I wouldn't recommend it as a cut for Inspector. I'd cut something entirely different instead.
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Mill may not be a famously powerful archetype, but this crab can kill by itself pretty quickly. Fetchlands mill for six, making it feasible to have over half of their deck drawn or milled by turn three or four off two fetches. It's also a sweet win-con for control and prison decks.
Bonus question: What blue one drop creatures do you play? Are there any that are on your radar other than Enclave Cryptologist and maybe Delver of Secrets?
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Besides Cryptologist and Delver, the only one I've ever really tested extensively is hapless Researcher. It wasn't a bad discard outlet when damage still used the stack and reanimator enablers were scarce.
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The only blue 1-drop creature I currently run is Enclave Cryptologist, but I've really been impressed by Cloudfin Raptor in my Peasant cube, and if I ever decide to make my blue section in my unpowered more aggressive, it's one of the first cards I'll add.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I think the better card is Dakra Mystic. It's mana intensive but it also creates really interesting lines of play and can do a number on your opponent's draws. This is not a card for high powered lists since it's a bit slow, but if you run a low powered list with a lot of graveyard synergies, Dakra is sweet. With no mana cost on the ability, Dakra would be cube-of-all-sizes in my mind FWIW.
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
Retro combo cube thread
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/retro-combo-cube.1454/
I think most people prefer an extremely fast environment, which isn't ideal for the crab. Still, I bet it's closer than you think. To me, it seems like crucial support for draw-go/ prison strategies.
In order of highest to lowest pick for me, my blue one drops are Enclave Cryptologist, Hedron Crab, Delver of Secrets, Realmwright, Cloudfin Raptor, Stormscape Apprentice. Testing Slither Blade and Vortex Elemental. Dakra Mystic definitely went under my radar, and I like the idea of it.
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I played a cube with a number of duplicate fetches, and in that cube Cosi's Trickster was pretty solid. I think I saw it at it's full potential as the player that drafted him had the perfect deck for it, but it's a card I keep an eye on. (Also I bought like 50 of them at one point because I saw it used in a deck once and I thought I'd speculate, so I have plenty to test with lol)
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Other than that, we played Cloudfin Raptor for a while and I'd agree that he's playable but fringe. Also tested Wingcrafter around when AVR came out but was unimpressed.
Never tested Hedron Crab really, but seems to me like the ACS in a cube game would be too low to justify its slot.
Blue 1s are hard to justify a lot of the time. There aren't a ton that really put their worth out there. Enclave Cryptologist is alright. Delver is great, but I think he's too inconsistent in a singleton cube format.
In peasant, mono-U aggro was often really good as a deck, which pushed some weird 1-drops like Cloudfin Raptor and Wingcrafter into early picks, and made some weak cards like Gudul Lurker and Judge's Familiar playable.
Bonus Question: How do you prioritize pack foils vs. promos vs. original printings vs. alters?
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My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
I avoid foils because they cost more and I think they're generally worse products due to curling, but I like the game day previews ans usually base the actual edition selection on card art.
I think the pimp priority really depends on the card. Take Nekrataal, for instance. For me, I'm running a foil Xth Edition because the art is passable, I can't get an old border foil with the original art, and I think the old art looks terrible surrounded by the new border. I think each card needs to be evaluated based on options available and personal preference rather than just a general choice of always going with the pack foil or the promo.
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Usually for me it's:
Classic > Alter > OG Foil > Promo Foil > Regular Printing.
And Signed > Non-Signed in each instance.
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I'm not a huge fan of foils though some do look great. I have a foil promo necro and it's gorgeous. I like old frame va new as a general rule. Black border over white. Non-foil except in rare cases. If a version has easier to read or more accurate text, I'll often prioritize based on that over other considerations. So I guess its case by case.
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/modular-cube-5-colors.800/
Retro combo cube thread
http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/retro-combo-cube.1454/
I never noticed that Fire Imp says "from hand," haha.
I tend to use non-foil original art for cube cards, typically I want the most recognizable art for nostalgia reasons (not just for me, old timers love it). I don't run alters because it makes it hard to recognize the card.
Original art / old borders >>>> everything else. Typically I make an exception if the original art is super bad and a newer version is much better. I play a few promos that fall into this category: Bloodbraid Elf, Maelstrom Pulse, Polukranos, Noose Constrictor. I don't care for inaccurate errata / creature types. If they miss it, it's not the end of the world.
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
Ya, that's just the original Portal templating. It's Oracle text is a regular ETB trigger.
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 started foiling my cube last year, primarily because of two factors. First, the continued production of the Masters sets showed a commitment by WotC to get old cards without foils, or somewhat old cards with expensive foils, back into circulation in foil at a cheaper price point. Second, I think the Kaladesh Inventions look amazing, and since they're also among the most powerful cards in the cube, I wanted to include them. The Invocations were a big letdown on that score, but hopefully the next Masterpiece series will look better.
As for which version of a card I include, it depends. I'll usually pick whichever artwork I happen to like best, unless there's a huge difference in price between the two options (e.g. Thoughtseize). I'll also get the original printing if possible, but if they're the same art and the price difference is substantial, I'll go for a later printing like the Masters sets. I'll try for an Expedition or Invention if it's available in most cases, though I won't prioritize it if I think a card might be in more danger of being cut soon. I've opted for non-foil full-art game day promos of cards when available, like Stormblood Berserker or Electrolyze. I try my best to avoid textless foils entirely because I want my players to always know what a card does. I also try to avoid stamped cards. If it's a choice between an alternate art promo and a regular foil, the alternate art is usually the one I go after unless I dislike its artwork. I'm in the process of creating custom foil proxies for cards that don't have foils; my goal is 100% completion, though I'm not sure how long it'll be before I get all the way there.
I don't have any custom alters, though I have considered it.
If wizards did a functional reprint though with a "may" clause and you can split the damage I think it would be a 100% auto include
In terms of card order I think it all comes down the card and price point of cards. As much as I like black boarder, I am 100 % ok with white boarder dual lands. Plus it makes them easier to find when fetching.
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569