Before making some hard choices wait for all the cards to be spoiled so you can have a full list of the goodies you want to add in before starting cuts.
Also, I've played for a while with Morphling and it never was nearly as good as the Sphinx. And the ability to check your top card does come in handy from time to time.
Spoiler season is when I get over-exited sometimes (but then again, many people do). I'll try hard to find room for Preordain, though, and probably remove a more expensive counterspell for Memory Lapse because of blues mana curve.
The recent Ink-Eyes vs. Drana discussion made me think of Thrashing Wumpus, and I think I should give it a spot in the cube.
Ya, it's black card advantage that has a guaranteed trigger. I've been wanting a mono-color 2-power Ravenous Rats for some time. Strap flying to it and it's totally worth the extra B, IMO. With any way to repeat this trigger, or with proper timing, this can be a really good creature. Hell, even Chittering Rats can be solid at the right moment, and this dude has evasion and removes the threat permanently for the same cost.
Aura Week... oh, I am too late, it is Archenemy Week already. Anyway, I want to see how auras can do in todays cut-throat cube-environment. Conqueror's Pledge and Harm's Way have to (temporarily) step aside for:
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
I taken almost all of the creature pump auras out of my cube. The only ones that I have left is Rancor because unless they remove the creature in response, you don't get 2-for-1'ed and Armadillo Cloak which is so powerful that it's worth the 2-for-1 risk. A couple of swings with a creature wearing that thing either turns the game into your favor or secures your path to victory. The rest that are slightly worthy (Green and White Guides and Umbras), I'd only run in a larger cube.
I don't think they'll be bad, but your cube list is so tight, that if you're gonna cut Coup and Way... there are probably stronger non-aura cards that could go in instead.
I guess there is something stronger that I don't run. Question is, is there for the given slot?
So Harm's Way becomes Hyena Umbra now which probably is not good enough, it could be Pacifism as well or Arrest or a new twist on StP if they print one that is aggro friendly.
Conqueror's Pledge was not really that good, especially the triple-white cost hurts. I want something that is playable in aggro here, costs less than six mana and helps rebuild after a wrath. Pledge is too dependent on various factors to be that card and what else is there? I restrict myself of course by not allowing Calciderm and Karmic Guide (though I might change my mind on Karmic Guide, it's not as if I am really strict with white reanimation seeing that I run Reveillark), but with the options that are left for that slot I actually quite like Griffin Guide.
Now Yosei and Decree of Justice and the like are really really strong, but I like what I have in the 6+ slot more and also feel that I have enough creatures/spells in that slot.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Well, it is one of the things I like about being a cube designer. Colorshifted cards feel out of place to me (they are supposed to, so small wonder, but still).
Calciderm would actually not be so bad, I have no objections to Wall of Omens after all, and if I run green haste creatures I guess there should be no problem with white shroud. But I think black has no right getting ***, green has no right getting Concentrate and red has no right getting Black Knight. Also, blue has no right getting Char, even though Psionic Blast is the original card there.
i actually think most of the colorshifted cards barely bend the color pie if at all. black has plenty of sweepers, including the wrath-like decree of pain, and it's perfectly in flavor to kill dudes and prevent regen for black. i honestly think it makes as much or more sense in black than in white, it's just been in white so long it feels normal there.
but yes, limits and design are part of the joy of the cube. your list is so good i can't very well argue against the decisions you made when making it, since it all seems to have worked out nicely.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
I agree. Some of the color shifted cards did feel slightly out of place, but I think Damnation is especially right at home in black. The same for Blood Knight in red.
i actually think most of the colorshifted cards barely bend the color pie if at all. black has plenty of sweepers, including the wrath-like decree of pain, and it's perfectly in flavor to kill dudes and prevent regen for black. i honestly think it makes as much or more sense in black than in white, it's just been in white so long it feels normal there.
but yes, limits and design are part of the joy of the cube. your list is so good i can't very well argue against the decisions you made when making it, since it all seems to have worked out nicely.
Glad to hear that you like my list.
I agree with you and calibretto that Damnation makes sense in black, and one can argue in favor of Blood Knight as well. But I want my black to play differently from white, so I say no to white reanimation (Miraculous Recovery) and no to black Wraths. Decree of Pain really is an uncounterable, cantripping Infest most of the time. It can be a Wrath, but even then you draw a lot of cards which makes it completely "unfair" compared to the "perfectly fair" Wrath of God. I recently cut Decree anyway and now I only have a variety of targeted spot-removal and untargeted sac-effects in black. That way, UW and UB control don't play the same.
Blood Knight is an efficient creature in a way that only white should get. Now of course that means Black Knight is out of place, but Black Knight is a classic and so I'm fine with it. But so is Psionic Blast, and I exclude that one.
Long story short, from an argumentative point of view I cannot defend my choices of cards I allow/don't allow in my cube. It is a flavor thing, and it is difficult to argue about flavor.
Long story short, from an argumentative point of view I cannot defend my choices of cards I allow/don't allow in my cube. It is a flavor thing, and it is difficult to argue about flavor.
yeah, i totally get that. part of the fun of designing your cube is deciding what colors are going to do and then make them do it as best as they can. and when a cube list is as tight as yours, a way to make it a bit easier to make cuts and additions is to strongly define a color's identity by excluding certain types of cards. i don't think you need to defend decisions like that at all.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Some impressions on the auras: they have been good, but not really good enough. I might give them some more time. Griffin Guide providing flying and Hyena Umbra protecting a creature was good, interactions with bounce and exile (and for the Umbra, sacrifice effects) have been bad. So, well, the result of aura week is that most auras just are not good enough. Not really a surprise.
Also, I've played for a while with Morphling and it never was nearly as good as the Sphinx. And the ability to check your top card does come in handy from time to time.
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The recent Ink-Eyes vs. Drana discussion made me think of Thrashing Wumpus, and I think I should give it a spot in the cube.
+ Thrashing Wumpus
- Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
And as already discussed:
+ Nantuko Vigilante
- Skyshroud Elite
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Ya, it's black card advantage that has a guaranteed trigger. I've been wanting a mono-color 2-power Ravenous Rats for some time. Strap flying to it and it's totally worth the extra B, IMO. With any way to repeat this trigger, or with proper timing, this can be a really good creature. Hell, even Chittering Rats can be solid at the right moment, and this dude has evasion and removes the threat permanently for the same cost.
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Hyena Umbra
Griffin Guide
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But, what he said /\ /\ /\... to give this post some content.
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So Harm's Way becomes Hyena Umbra now which probably is not good enough, it could be Pacifism as well or Arrest or a new twist on StP if they print one that is aggro friendly.
Conqueror's Pledge was not really that good, especially the triple-white cost hurts. I want something that is playable in aggro here, costs less than six mana and helps rebuild after a wrath. Pledge is too dependent on various factors to be that card and what else is there? I restrict myself of course by not allowing Calciderm and Karmic Guide (though I might change my mind on Karmic Guide, it's not as if I am really strict with white reanimation seeing that I run Reveillark), but with the options that are left for that slot I actually quite like Griffin Guide.
Now Yosei and Decree of Justice and the like are really really strong, but I like what I have in the 6+ slot more and also feel that I have enough creatures/spells in that slot.
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edit: nevermind i just read why. but then the question is, why not run colorshifted cards?
Calciderm would actually not be so bad, I have no objections to Wall of Omens after all, and if I run green haste creatures I guess there should be no problem with white shroud. But I think black has no right getting ***, green has no right getting Concentrate and red has no right getting Black Knight. Also, blue has no right getting Char, even though Psionic Blast is the original card there.
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
but yes, limits and design are part of the joy of the cube. your list is so good i can't very well argue against the decisions you made when making it, since it all seems to have worked out nicely.
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Glad to hear that you like my list.
I agree with you and calibretto that Damnation makes sense in black, and one can argue in favor of Blood Knight as well. But I want my black to play differently from white, so I say no to white reanimation (Miraculous Recovery) and no to black Wraths. Decree of Pain really is an uncounterable, cantripping Infest most of the time. It can be a Wrath, but even then you draw a lot of cards which makes it completely "unfair" compared to the "perfectly fair" Wrath of God. I recently cut Decree anyway and now I only have a variety of targeted spot-removal and untargeted sac-effects in black. That way, UW and UB control don't play the same.
Blood Knight is an efficient creature in a way that only white should get. Now of course that means Black Knight is out of place, but Black Knight is a classic and so I'm fine with it. But so is Psionic Blast, and I exclude that one.
Long story short, from an argumentative point of view I cannot defend my choices of cards I allow/don't allow in my cube. It is a flavor thing, and it is difficult to argue about flavor.
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
No need to be modest. As I've said many times before, you have one of the best lists on the forum, IMO.
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yeah, i totally get that. part of the fun of designing your cube is deciding what colors are going to do and then make them do it as best as they can. and when a cube list is as tight as yours, a way to make it a bit easier to make cuts and additions is to strongly define a color's identity by excluding certain types of cards. i don't think you need to defend decisions like that at all.
Also, I think I can cut Draining Whelk and add Memory Lapse.
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
Well, now you know for sure. I had to test them too, to ultimately discover the exact same thing. Not good enough.
Yes, I think you can.
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