Armageddon was discussed here in the Random Cube Card of the Day Thread. Unfortunately their didn't seem to be a discussion thread for it, yet further evidence that you are missing out of your not checking the thread.
Anyway, what to say about Armageddon? It has earned itself a spot as a staple in the cube world and is one of those card that leaves new players scratching their head; "Ppppfffttt why would I want to destroy all the lands? I can't cast my spells" they think as they pass it to me, cut to a half hour later when I blow up all the lands and they sob as my army of 2/1s beat down for the win.
The only real reason not to include it in your cube is if your playgroup feels that it is unfun. Some people hate this card with a passion because if it is played poorly it can just lead long games (a bit like Upheaval) and other hate it because it can feel really oppressive if it regularly hits on turn 4.
Armageddon is a great example of breaking symmetrical effects in a way that wins you games, If you are ahead on board it becomes incredibly difficult for an opponent to dig themselves out of it. It is backbreaking when cast at the right time and forces a lot of opponents to concede if it resolves.
I'm with you folks. In fact, I like Geddon so much I would say the same of Ravages, too, that they're both staples all the way down to 360. Old school white aggro being good in cube is good for the format, I think.
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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
Used to be able to let Ravages/Armageddon wheel all day on xmage, but then steveman/thunderwang/vizzerdrix/steve_ice had to go and ruin that well, maybe in steve_ice's case only when he's playing azorius but still.
As a modern/ legaxy player, I crave for the opportunity to cast spells like this. Armageddon supports both the aggro/ mana denial stax archetypes while providing people who usually play "fair" magic something to crave for.
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I'm actively maintaining a comprehensive article to help explain to new cube players how some complex vintage level cards work in a cube environment. Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Armageddon is borderline broken card in unpowered cubes , but from my experience it's merely a "good" card in powered cubes that thoroughly support artifact ramp and aggressive strategies.
White agro generally doesn't have super efficient ways of dealing with mana rocks or mana elves and in agro mirrors there's a 50%+ chance you will be behind when you cast it.
An additional mana source or two the opponent still has can mean all the difference between winning and losing.
Armageddon gets sideboarded out a lot, and there are a few higher cmc builds of white agro that I encourage people to cut it from their main deck.
That being said, there are many situations where you play the card, you are ahead and you win. While it does get stuck in your hand sometimes as a "I wish this was an interactive spell", that's offset by the instant wins it pulls off where other cards would give your opponent a chance to untap.
I actually prefer it the most in GW, with mana elves, ramunap excavator and manglehorn type cards. The goal is to take them off as many alternative mana sources as you can, while having as many of your own as you can. Being green allows you to snatch up the mana elves so you won't face as many yourself.
Armageddon was discussed here in the Random Cube Card of the Day Thread. Unfortunately their didn't seem to be a discussion thread for it, yet further evidence that you are missing out of your not checking the thread.
Anyway, what to say about Armageddon? It has earned itself a spot as a staple in the cube world and is one of those card that leaves new players scratching their head; "Ppppfffttt why would I want to destroy all the lands? I can't cast my spells" they think as they pass it to me, cut to a half hour later when I blow up all the lands and they sob as my army of 2/1s beat down for the win.
The only real reason not to include it in your cube is if your playgroup feels that it is unfun. Some people hate this card with a passion because if it is played poorly it can just lead long games (a bit like Upheaval) and other hate it because it can feel really oppressive if it regularly hits on turn 4.
Armageddon is a great example of breaking symmetrical effects in a way that wins you games, If you are ahead on board it becomes incredibly difficult for an opponent to dig themselves out of it. It is backbreaking when cast at the right time and forces a lot of opponents to concede if it resolves.
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I used to write for MTGS, including Cranial Insertion and cube articles. Good on you if you can find those after the upgrade.
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Vintage Cube Cards Explained
Here are some other articles I've written about fine tuning your cube:
1. Minimum Archetype Support
2. Improving Green Archetypes
3. Improving White Archetypes
4. Matchup Analysis
5. Cube Combos (Work in Progress)
Draft my Cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/d8i
White agro generally doesn't have super efficient ways of dealing with mana rocks or mana elves and in agro mirrors there's a 50%+ chance you will be behind when you cast it.
An additional mana source or two the opponent still has can mean all the difference between winning and losing.
Armageddon gets sideboarded out a lot, and there are a few higher cmc builds of white agro that I encourage people to cut it from their main deck.
That being said, there are many situations where you play the card, you are ahead and you win. While it does get stuck in your hand sometimes as a "I wish this was an interactive spell", that's offset by the instant wins it pulls off where other cards would give your opponent a chance to untap.
I actually prefer it the most in GW, with mana elves, ramunap excavator and manglehorn type cards. The goal is to take them off as many alternative mana sources as you can, while having as many of your own as you can. Being green allows you to snatch up the mana elves so you won't face as many yourself.
Last Updated 02/07/24
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