We haven't actually drafted since I added Chronomaton (a week ago), so I don't know how good it is. If it turns out to be as good as I'm hoping, I'll certainly consider adding Cenn's Tactician.
Cutting down on lifegain and getting rid of the Propagandas are just the latest stratagem in my ongoing campaign to make aggro more playable. The Disenchants were never maindecked and their off-color kicker costs means they should be considered gold cards (where they fail to make the cut). Keening Apparition has better art than Ronom Unicorn.
Flood was disappointing. The 3/1 fliers felt out of place in most blue decks. Thieving Magpie always seemed great on paper, but it's been quite some time since it did anything special.
Green decks rarely have trouble splashing, so Prey Upon was pretty unnecessary. The removal of two of the most offensive artifacts in the cube has lessened the need for things like Viridian Shaman. I'm not sure if it's a better cut than Crushing Vines.
Guild update: Two-color lands are now considered guild cards. There are two per guild. The enemy pair guild sections have been expanded and now match the allied pairs in size (I cut cards from the land and artifact sections to accommodate the change).
It's not that I'm opposed to having cards as powerful as Loxodon Warhammer in my cube; it's the fact that, as an artifact, it's really hard to remove. Sun Droplet isn't actually that powerful, it's just annoying as hell.
Plaxmanta is sweet. Lorescale Coatl is fine, but he's just a lot less interesting than any of the other GU cards. If Shardless Agent fails to perform, then he might come back in.
I ran War Priest of Thune for quite some time. Nobody wanted to cast him on turn two because you might get blown out by Control Magic later on. Aggressive decks (at least our aggressive decks) are much more concerned with playing a two drop on turn two than they are with getting value on turn six. Yes, War Priest is probably the better card in a vacuum, but I like Keening Apparition a lot more in practice.
Thoughtflare is very good.
Being just better than the virtually uncubeable think twice is not a very good look for desperate ravings.
War Priest of thune/manic vandal < Torch fiend/keening apparition. Play your cards now.
Blue isn't often the main color in a deck that wants to attack, so the double blue on Horizon drake is a turnoff compared to cloud spirit.
I don't like plaxmanta. Ashcoat bear isn't very good and keeping 2 mana up for some shroud is no fun if you ask me. Lorescale coatl on the other hand wins games from time to time,
Hypnotist is too narrow. Return further supports reanimator, which is something I really want to do. I do want to include more discard spells, though. Is Bog Down playable? Unburden?
I intend to add Traitorous Instinct once I acquire one, but I don't know what to cut from red. Probably something expensive.
Blue is actually starting to have a decent suite of removal, at least relatively speaking. I'd run Agoraphobia over Inaction Injunction for sure. The ability to neutralize one threat permanently, and possibly even "upgrade" which threat its on is great and better than just a temporary halt on a cantrip. The drawback of the target still being able to block doesn't matter so much to blue due to all its evasion.
Azure Mage has been a disappointment. I'm going to try out a bunch of different cards in this and Inaction Injunction's slot over the course of the next few drafts to figure out what I like best.
Blue is actually starting to have a decent suite of removal, at least relatively speaking. I'd run Agoraphobia over Inaction Injunction for sure. The ability to neutralize one threat permanently, and possibly even "upgrade" which threat its on is great and better than just a temporary halt on a cantrip. The drawback of the target still being able to block doesn't matter so much to blue due to all its evasion.
This is going under the incorrect premises that blue creatures will be the majority of your creatures AND that you won't be targeting a flier.
We're drafting for the first time in about a month tonight. I decided to do a pre-draft update. This is not everything I wanted to change, but I don't have all of the necessary cards on hand, so this will have to do for now.
A lot of this is inspired by discussions in other threads, so popular trends are being reflected here.
-Garruk's Packleader (This is the end of an era. This is one of my favorite cards, but it's been really disappointing lately. I also considered cutting Bellowing Tanglewurm.)
+Avacyn's Pilgrim (After talking it over with a friend, it was decided that I should just count this as a green card for the sake of more mana dorks.)
+Abundant Growth
The three colorless lands weren't played very often. The Rupture Spires were always okay, but I want the four/five color decks to be more green based, so some of the colorless fixers need to go.
And again, this isn't everything I wanted to change, just what was conveniently available.
Perhaps my love of pingers is coloring my judgment, but I like this card a lot. It's pretty sturdy compared to the other pingers and can occasionally go on the warpath if need be. Admittedly, it doesn't seem incredible, but I'm willing to give it a shot. It was pretty sweet in RGD.
Zanam Djinn has been pretty solid in control decks. His drawback does come up from time to time (especially when your opponent is playing blue), but not enough for me to want to cut him. Even when he does get -2/-2, he still has 4 toughness, which can be tough for red decks to deal with.
I recommend him if you're looking for a big control finisher.
I literally just cut Skeletal Scrying in the last update. So, yes, I guess you could say I have considered it versus Ambition's Cost.
Scrying doesn't play well with black's tendency to rebuy cards from the graveyard, and I honestly can't remember the last time someone cast it for more than three. Death Denied is pretty similar in effect and gets played way more often. That said, your argument certainly has merit and I will consider it the next time I play Cost or DD.
I cut scrying like 2 months ago. It never got cast for more than 4 (and those times were veryrare) and the downside mattered too often for me to appreciate "tension". The card was a night's whisper waay too often.
Torrent is technically a hybrid card, but I doubt that anyone is going to play without access to black mana. Cavaliers is technically a hybrid card, but triple hybrid cost is as good as gold in my book.
It can be really good when playing against control decks.
But it's usually kind of terrible when playing against aggro decks.
I'm not cutting because it's bad. Our grindy black decks don't need more help with the control deck matchup, so I'm cutting it for something more interesting.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
-Lone Missionary
-Ronom Unicorn
-Aven Riftwatcher
-Ghostly Prison
-Orim's Thunder
-Dismantling Blow
+Azorius Arrester
+Daring Skyjek
+Keening Apparition
+Syndic of Tithes
+Court Street Denizen
+Embolden
Cutting down on lifegain and getting rid of the Propagandas are just the latest stratagem in my ongoing campaign to make aggro more playable. The Disenchants were never maindecked and their off-color kicker costs means they should be considered gold cards (where they fail to make the cut). Keening Apparition has better art than Ronom Unicorn.
-Flood
-Waterfront Bouncer
-Cloud Spirit
-Rishadan Airship
-Propaganda
-Thieving Magpie
+Thought Courier
+Vedalken Mastermind
+Favorable Winds
+Spiketail Drakeling
+Darkslick Drake
+Archaeomancer
Flood was disappointing. The 3/1 fliers felt out of place in most blue decks. Thieving Magpie always seemed great on paper, but it's been quite some time since it did anything special.
-Disfigure
-Tortured Existence
-Blood Artist
-Chainer's Edict
-Hidden Horror
+Phyrexian Reclamation
+Tragic Slip
+Thrill-Kill Assassin
+Dead Reveler
+Daggerclaw Imp
After the success of Falkenrath Noble, I was hoping Blood Artist would be pretty good, but nobody wants to play a 0/1 in an aggro deck.
-Goblin Arsonist
-Viashino Slaughtermaster
-Mogg War Marshal
-Vithian Stinger
-Crossway Vampire
-Lava Hounds
-Tormentor Exarch
-Firemaw Kavu
+Intimidator Initiate
+Flame Jab
+Firefist Striker
+Gore-House Chainwalker
+Guttersnipe
+Splatter Thug
+Beetleback Chief
+Bloodfray Giant
I hate echo.
-Avacyn's Pilgrim
-Prey Upon
-Viridian Shaman
-Stingerfling Spider
-Maul Splicer
+Experiment One
+Utopia Sprawl
+Gloomwidow
+Sentinel Spider
+Jungle Weaver
Green decks rarely have trouble splashing, so Prey Upon was pretty unnecessary. The removal of two of the most offensive artifacts in the cube has lessened the need for things like Viridian Shaman. I'm not sure if it's a better cut than Crushing Vines.
Guild update: Two-color lands are now considered guild cards. There are two per guild. The enemy pair guild sections have been expanded and now match the allied pairs in size (I cut cards from the land and artifact sections to accommodate the change).
-Plumeveil
-Sky Hussar
+Sejiri Refuge
+Azorius Chancery
+Arctic Aven
+Skymark Roc
As it turns out, I don't own a Lyev Skyknight.
-Soul Manipulation
-Recoil
+Jwar Isle Refuge
+Dimir Aqueduct
+Baleful Strix
+Dinrova Horror
I don't know if Recoil was the right cut for Dinrova Horror. Is Recoil better than Probe?
-Rakdos Guildmage
-Crimson Muckwader
-Ashenmoor Gouger
+Akoum Refuge
+Rakdos Guildgate
+Rakdos Cackler
+Rix Maadi Guildmage
+Hellhole Flailer
-Tattermunge Maniac
+Kazandu Refuge
+Gruul Guildgate
+Ghor-Clan Rampager
-Behemoth Sledge
+Graypelt Refuge
+Selesnya Guildgate
+Dryad Militant
I think that Behemoth Sledge was less of a problem than Loxodon Warhammer, but it was still pretty nuts. Also, I was considering cutting Loam Lion in favor of Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, but how many durdly token producers do I really need?
+Orzhov Guildgate
+Orzhov Basilica
+Kingpin's Pet
-Desperate Ravings
+Izzet Guildgate
+Izzet Boilerworks
+Izzet Charm
+Thoughtflare
I tried to find room for Frostburn Weird, but I could not. It might be better than Thoughtflare.
-Rendclaw Trow
-Cankerous Thirst
+Golgari Guildgate
+Golgari Rotfarm
+Korozda Guildmage
+Dreg Mangler
+Ebony Treefolk
-Hearthfire Hobgoblin
-Duergar Hedge-Mage
+Boros Guildgate
+Sunhome Guildmage
+Truefire Paladin
+Wojek Halberdiers
+Boros Charm
Boros is the only section to not get two mana-fixing lands. It gets an extra spell. This bothers me, but I refuse to use Boros Garrison any longer.
-Lorescale Coatl
-Temporal Spring
-Aether Mutation
+Simic Guildgate
+Simic Growth Chamber
+Plaxmanta
+Simic Charm
+Elusive Krasis
+Shardless Agent
-Infiltration Lens
-Sylvok Lifestaff
-Sensei's Divining Top
-Armillary Sphere
-Sun Droplet
-Loxodon Warhammer
-Tumble Magnet
+Prophetic Prism
+Chimeric Idol
It's not that I'm opposed to having cards as powerful as Loxodon Warhammer in my cube; it's the fact that, as an artifact, it's really hard to remove. Sun Droplet isn't actually that powerful, it's just annoying as hell.
-Ancient Ziggurat
-Quicksand
+Transguild Promenade
+Rogue's Passage
-Secluded Steppe
-Lonely Sandbar
-Barren Moor
-Forgotten Cave
-Tranquil Thicket
I love the cycling lands, but all they did was make the durdle decks slightly more consistent.
And these will no longer be counted in the land section:
-10 Bouncelands
-5 Refuges
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
Lorescale Coatl ---> Plaxmanta seems crazy to me.
Frostburn Weird and Desperate Ravings are both better than Thoughtflare I think.
I like Recoil better than Probe, but Probe is sooo much value.
Cutting Avacyn's Pilgrim? Isn't running less than 5 mana elves pretty painful at 540? I like having the fifth in order to ensure that the green players get at least one.
Was Tormentor Exarch bad, or is it getting cut for being one too many 4 drops? I've always liked it.
Have you tried Horizon Drake? He's a lot less awkward than Cloud Spirit and Airship because he can block.
Since you already have Kami of Ancient Law, why not try War Priest of Thune over Keening Apparition?
Desperate Ravings was pretty bad. Frostburn Weird will almost certainly come in at some point, but I'd like to see how Thoughtflare does.
Avacyn's Pilgrim counts as a gold card now and I don't think it makes the cut in my GW section.
Tormentor Exarch was the worst 2-for-1 in red, and I wanted to cut down on them. He's fine, just boring. Nobody ever used +2/+0.
Horizon Drake seems like a worse Latch Seeker. I think I'll pass.
I ran War Priest of Thune for quite some time. Nobody wanted to cast him on turn two because you might get blown out by Control Magic later on. Aggressive decks (at least our aggressive decks) are much more concerned with playing a two drop on turn two than they are with getting value on turn six. Yes, War Priest is probably the better card in a vacuum, but I like Keening Apparition a lot more in practice.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
Being just better than the virtually uncubeable think twice is not a very good look for desperate ravings.
War Priest of thune/manic vandal < Torch fiend/keening apparition. Play your cards now.
Blue isn't often the main color in a deck that wants to attack, so the double blue on Horizon drake is a turnoff compared to cloud spirit.
I don't like plaxmanta. Ashcoat bear isn't very good and keeping 2 mana up for some shroud is no fun if you ask me. Lorescale coatl on the other hand wins games from time to time,
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
+Tidings
I can't remember the last time that this effect being an instant was relevant.
-Enslave
+Darkblast
-Viridian Emissary
+Boreal Druid
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
+Aethersnipe
-Ghitu Slinger
-Manic Vandal
+Reckless Charge
+Vithian Stinger
-Albino Troll
-Crushing Vines
+Slaughterhorn
+Howlgeist
-Hellhole Flailer
+Shambling Remains
I believe the only echo card left in my cube is Bone Shredder, which likely isn't going anywhere.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
-Diversionary Tactics
+Brave the Elements
+Cloudshift
White is quickly becoming King of the Combat Tricks.
-Dismiss
+Inaction Injunction
As aggro gets better, counterspells get worse, especially expensive ones. Is Inaction Injunction better than Crippling Chill? Or Rushing River? Or Silent Departure?
-Sadistic Hypnotist
+Dread Return
Hypnotist is too narrow. Return further supports reanimator, which is something I really want to do. I do want to include more discard spells, though. Is Bog Down playable? Unburden?
I intend to add Traitorous Instinct once I acquire one, but I don't know what to cut from red. Probably something expensive.
As soon as I find a Lyev Skyknight, I'm probably going to remove Momentary Blink.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
+Rushing River
Azure Mage has been a disappointment. I'm going to try out a bunch of different cards in this and Inaction Injunction's slot over the course of the next few drafts to figure out what I like best.
-Onyx Mage
+Basilica Screecher
Extort is pretty sweet, I hear.
-Ambush Viper
+Nest Invader
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
This is going under the incorrect premises that blue creatures will be the majority of your creatures AND that you won't be targeting a flier.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
A lot of this is inspired by discussions in other threads, so popular trends are being reflected here.
-Court Street Denizen
-Soltari Visionary
-Arrest
+Cenn's Tactician
+Sunlance
+Burrenton Bombardier
+Cage of Hands (Discussion in the main thread showed a preference for this over Arrest.)
-Wayward Soul
-Wash Out (The inconsistency is starting to bug me.)
-Air Servant
+Gitaxian Probe (I really don't know if this will get played.)
+Crippling Chill
+Gryff Vanguard
+Relentless Skaabs
-Pulse Tracker
-Necrogen Scudder
-Skeletal Scrying
+Plagued Rusalka (I can't find a Thoughtpicker Witch, but it will be included soon as well.)
+Raven's Crime
+Blood Artist (I didn't like this guy initially, but everyone else seems to think he's great, so I'll give him another shot.)
+Warren Pilferers
+Viashino Fangtail
-Garruk's Packleader (This is the end of an era. This is one of my favorite cards, but it's been really disappointing lately. I also considered cutting Bellowing Tanglewurm.)
+Avacyn's Pilgrim (After talking it over with a friend, it was decided that I should just count this as a green card for the sake of more mana dorks.)
+Abundant Growth
-Juniper Order Ranger
+Enlisted Wurm
-Viridian Longbow
-Mask of Memory
+Silver-Inlaid Dagger
+Sylvok Lifestaff
-Rupture Spire
-Transguild Promenade
-Rogue's Passage
-Dread Statuary
-Stalking Stones
The three colorless lands weren't played very often. The Rupture Spires were always okay, but I want the four/five color decks to be more green based, so some of the colorless fixers need to go.
And again, this isn't everything I wanted to change, just what was conveniently available.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
Not on my radar at all
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Perhaps my love of pingers is coloring my judgment, but I like this card a lot. It's pretty sturdy compared to the other pingers and can occasionally go on the warpath if need be. Admittedly, it doesn't seem incredible, but I'm willing to give it a shot. It was pretty sweet in RGD.
A few more post-draft changes:
-Vapor Snag
+Cloudfin Raptor
-Momentary Blink
+Lyev Skyknight
Incidentally, Raven's Crime was NUTS.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
Of course raven's crime is insane. The card is perfect.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
I recommend him if you're looking for a big control finisher.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Scrying doesn't play well with black's tendency to rebuy cards from the graveyard, and I honestly can't remember the last time someone cast it for more than three. Death Denied is pretty similar in effect and gets played way more often. That said, your argument certainly has merit and I will consider it the next time I play Cost or DD.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
-Phyrexian Reclamation
-Ashmouth Hound
+Crimson Muckwader
+Torrent of Souls
Rakdos Cackler and Murderous Redcap are now in a hybrid section.
-Burrenton Bombardier
-Hurricane
+Centaur Healer
+Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
Dryad Militant and Kitchen Finks are now in a hybrid section.
Torrent is technically a hybrid card, but I doubt that anyone is going to play without access to black mana. Cavaliers is technically a hybrid card, but triple hybrid cost is as good as gold in my book.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
But it's usually kind of terrible when playing against aggro decks.
I'm not cutting because it's bad. Our grindy black decks don't need more help with the control deck matchup, so I'm cutting it for something more interesting.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)