Oops, I mean it wouldn't be. Those kind of effects would be negligible. And, if I want, I can always replace color with test color; like, in the sealed example, take 350 from the normal cube randomly, and then replace 4 of the blue cards with blue test cards, and put the other three in with the other three test cards.
Reasoning: Blinding Mage is an amazing creature that locks boards down. Shade is either overcosted at four, or a mere 1/2 before he gets pumped (which you wait around for). The mana investment to pump him is colour-heavy and therefore a little prohibitive in many limited decks.
I don't like that swap. I 've played with Blinding Mage when my cube was Extended-only, and it was mediocre at best. Shade of Trokair, though, has been outstanding; most decks that will play it like to suspend it T1, get it out T4 and then swing with a fully-pumped 5/6 or greater, depending on the type of deck you're playing. Even if you play it normally, it's usually a fattie, and the later the game gets, the bigger it can get without impairing your own mana uses. All in all, I don't think I'll make the swap.
I don't like that swap. I 've played with Blinding Mage when my cube was Extended-only, and it was mediocre at best. Shade of Trokair, though, has been outstanding; most decks that will play it like to suspend it T1, get it out T4 and then swing with a fully-pumped 5/6 or greater, depending on the type of deck you're playing. Even if you play it normally, it's usually a fattie, and the later the game gets, the bigger it can get without impairing your own mana uses. All in all, I don't think I'll make the swap.
I'm pretty sure Blinding Mage is at least as good as Goldmeadow Harrier which is in your list as it should be. It does the same thing as Harrier and for one additional mana it doesn't die to pingers. At the very least, I think it's 100X better than Saltfield Recluse.
Also, I'm not even against Shade, but how many mono W decks do you see on average in a few drafts? Mono W isn't the only deck that would play Shade, but for it to get to 5/6 or greater, you're talking WWWW, which is pretty steep in anything but mono W. Shade is worth keeping either way, I'm just curious.
As far as my own suggestions go, I really think you'd do well to add Cloud Elemental and Shimmering Glasskite. CE seems much better than Rishadan Airship, imo. CE survives a lot more combat situations and a lot more removal(including pingers) all for one less of power.
I know my second suggestion will pretty much fall on deaf ears(not to be a dick :D), but I'll give it a shot anyway. I think Shimmering Glasskite will serve many blue decks better than Illusionary Forces. SG is really good when you need to block your opponent's smaller creatures for some breathing room or when you want a reliable clock to swing back. I suppose the idea behind IF is that you want to be able to kill your opponent before the Cumulative upkeep would hamstring you, but I wonder how often everything goes by the book with that card. I can only assume it's really great on defense, but only for a couple of turns before you reach the "Keep my creature vs. play my spells" debate. SG is obviously less impressive in straight up combat, but it really gives you an edge since limited is so dominated by removal. SG is hilariously better against tappers. It's also funny to note that Illusionary Forces isn't really even any better than SG at surviving red removal, because any 2 red removal spells(the first countered by SG's ability) are probably going to deal 4 damage.
Food for thought anyway.
I'm very pleased to see Sea Gate Oracle in your list. It's a card I had missed in my building and I will be adding soon.
My apologies, bad example on my part. But I stand by what I say, and that's Shade of Trokair is a beast that will stay in my cube for a while.
Yeah, Shimmering Glasskite is in my notes. I just don't have anything to cut for it, and I don't think I'd cut Illusionary Forces for it. Say what you will, a 4/4 Flying for 4 is solid.
At least you didn't tell me to cut Tidewater Minion. I would've probably exploded if another person said it wasn't cubeworthy.
Thank you. It's always good to debate about things like this.
My apologies, bad example on my part. But I stand by what I say, and that's Shade of Trokair is a beast that will stay in my cube for a while.
I agree, Blinding Mage is great in regular limited because many limited matches are wars of attrition where removal is scarce. Not only is common cube not an environment where walls of dudes stare at each other (at least, I don't think it should be) but removal also isn't all that scarce. There are also other plenty of other good tapper creatures (Harrier, Trapper, arguably hookmaster) and Blinding Mage is pretty low on that totem pole.
If I were to suggest a cut for Shimmering Glasskite (and I definitely do, because I think that guy's a monster) I'd suggest Treasure Hunt. It's way too inconsistent and I don't think it (on average) competes with other draw spells very well (even in commons.) False Demise, the blue tims and Aether Tradewinds are some other cards that I'd suggest cutting for Glasskite.
Just a 'journal' of expected changes to be made with Scars. I'll repost this at each new page (haha, popular me), and keep the latest one updated. Let's do this.
I've been dreading your list. Mostly because I know verry little of common land. I'm use to rare world. So cards that might look horrible, might be great in common land. That being said Sokenzan Spellblade looks horrible. 4R for a 2/3 body. I know you can activate his ability multiple times, but by the time a red deck gets to five mana shouldn't there hand be pretty spent?
-Sokenzan Spellblade +Gathan Raiders
For the reason of red dumping it's hand easily.
Also you run Rock Lobster, Paper Tiger, and Scissors Lizzard? THat is awesome! Internet High Five!
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Calvin and Hobbes Cube Tutor
First of all, I would add all the moxen. These are such a slam dunk that I can't believe you haven't proxied them up already.....
kidding.
I would run Phyrexian Ghoul to your cube. You already run Nantuko Husk, which is probably all of the justification needed for the Ghoul.
The card I would remove is Ashes to Ashes. While strong, more than 1/3 of your black cards act as creature removal and I think that this might be 'too much' black removal. Black self-harm cards also go down in value the more of them there are, and with Crypt Rats, Pestilence and Evincar's Justice, all of the black bombs hurt you, making less powerful black self-harm cards less desirable than they would be in a vacuum.
I've been dreading your list. Mostly because I know verry little of common land. I'm use to rare world. So cards that might look horrible, might be great in common land. That being said Sokenzan Spellblade looks horrible. 4R for a 2/3 body. I know you can activate his ability multiple times, but by the time a red deck gets to five mana shouldn't there hand be pretty spent?
-Sokenzan Spellblade +Gathan Raiders
For the reason of red dumping it's hand easily.
Also you run Rock Lobster, Paper Tiger, and Scissors Lizzard? THat is awesome! Internet High Five!
I actually already have Gathan Raiders in the 3CMC section.
On the Spellblade, I added it in place of a inferior 7-drop, so it's staying until a better card arrives. ^^
First of all, I would add all the moxen. These are such a slam dunk that I can't believe you haven't proxied them up already.....
kidding.
I would run Phyrexian Ghoul to your cube. You already run Nantuko Husk, which is probably all of the justification needed for the Ghoul.
The card I would remove is Ashes to Ashes. While strong, more than 1/3 of your black cards act as creature removal and I think that this might be 'too much' black removal. Black self-harm cards also go down in value the more of them there are, and with Crypt Rats, Pestilence and Evincar's Justice, all of the black bombs hurt you, making less powerful black self-harm cards less desirable than they would be in a vacuum.
I had Vampire Aristocrat in my cube a while ago, but decided to cut it for Liliana's Specter because I decided that having too many sac-engines would be bad. So, thanks, but I'll have to see.
On Ashes to Ashes, that's a very good point. I'll keep that in mind when I'm looking for something to cut.
Just a 'journal' of expected changes to be made with Scars. I'll repost this at each new page (haha, popular me), and keep the latest one updated. Let's do this.
Comment: As much as I like the possible card advantage of the Fertilid, it's effect is unnecessary at that kind of mana cost. Let's try out the Sylvok Replica.
Comment: Take my words with a grain of salt, I have never played a pauper cube in my whole life. However, I think your cube is big enough for three blue looters. Tidewater Minion just seems really meh.
Tidewater Minion is a card that, I will admit, is a pet card of mine. I've gone from "This is the greatest card ever" to "Okay, fine, but I still like it". I might cut it some time in the future, but not now.
On Thought Courier, I think I abo☺☺☺☺ely agree. I had a Looter in my deck the other day, and it was a beast. Now, what to cut...
havenwood wurm --> armor of thorns
the wurm just seems so expensive. armor is either a trick or it is an aura that beats down quickly
(granted I have never played a pauper cube so take my suggestion with a grain of salt)
I've got Havenwood Wurm included because, well, Pauper really lacks high-costing finishers to ramp into. On Armor of Thorns, I think I have enough tricks already. Thanks, though, for the suggestion.
is sorcery speed shock good enough in pauper? i have no idea. i like stone rain a lot but i can see how its value would be lower in pauper (a lot less dangerous utlilty lands and duals to target) but it's still good in aggro.
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 know Seal of Fire is a weak card, so it's probably going to get cut soon. On Stone Rain, though, I don't think my playgroup likes LD very much. I'll run it by them, though.
On the second swap, that's actually not bad. Done.
We actually ran Seal of Fire in our rare cube for quite some time and I thought it was a fine card. I would think it's better in pauper, but then again, most good burns spells are common anyway. Maybe I just have a soft spot for Seal of Fire. If my rare cube were bigger, I'd probably still be running it.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Another thought:
Shade of Trokair -> Blinding Mage?
Reasoning: Blinding Mage is an amazing creature that locks boards down. Shade is either overcosted at four, or a mere 1/2 before he gets pumped (which you wait around for). The mana investment to pump him is colour-heavy and therefore a little prohibitive in many limited decks.
=Cameron=
G Omnath, Locus of Mana G
=CUBE=
Pauper {360} 2013 REVIVAL UPDATE
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Also, I'm not even against Shade, but how many mono W decks do you see on average in a few drafts? Mono W isn't the only deck that would play Shade, but for it to get to 5/6 or greater, you're talking WWWW, which is pretty steep in anything but mono W. Shade is worth keeping either way, I'm just curious.
As far as my own suggestions go, I really think you'd do well to add Cloud Elemental and Shimmering Glasskite. CE seems much better than Rishadan Airship, imo. CE survives a lot more combat situations and a lot more removal(including pingers) all for one less of power.
I know my second suggestion will pretty much fall on deaf ears(not to be a dick :D), but I'll give it a shot anyway. I think Shimmering Glasskite will serve many blue decks better than Illusionary Forces. SG is really good when you need to block your opponent's smaller creatures for some breathing room or when you want a reliable clock to swing back. I suppose the idea behind IF is that you want to be able to kill your opponent before the Cumulative upkeep would hamstring you, but I wonder how often everything goes by the book with that card. I can only assume it's really great on defense, but only for a couple of turns before you reach the "Keep my creature vs. play my spells" debate. SG is obviously less impressive in straight up combat, but it really gives you an edge since limited is so dominated by removal. SG is hilariously better against tappers. It's also funny to note that Illusionary Forces isn't really even any better than SG at surviving red removal, because any 2 red removal spells(the first countered by SG's ability) are probably going to deal 4 damage.
Food for thought anyway.
I'm very pleased to see Sea Gate Oracle in your list. It's a card I had missed in my building and I will be adding soon.
Pauper Cube
I cube, I play EDH, and I can't afford Legacy. The other formats can suck it.
This almost made me stop reading. Comparing Blinding Mage to Goldmeadow Harrier is like comparing Shock to Lightning Bolt.
My apologies, bad example on my part. But I stand by what I say, and that's Shade of Trokair is a beast that will stay in my cube for a while.
Yeah, Shimmering Glasskite is in my notes. I just don't have anything to cut for it, and I don't think I'd cut Illusionary Forces for it. Say what you will, a 4/4 Flying for 4 is solid.
At least you didn't tell me to cut Tidewater Minion. I would've probably exploded if another person said it wasn't cubeworthy.
Thank you. It's always good to debate about things like this.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
I'm glad I read this far at least.
Edit: Not suggesting you drop Shade anyway. Suggesting you drop Saltfield Recluse for it and apparently Blinding Mage is already in your list...?
Pauper Cube
I cube, I play EDH, and I can't afford Legacy. The other formats can suck it.
...Yeah... (I'm terrible at knowing my own list) It's probably going to get cut soon. (talking about B.Mage)
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
I agree, Blinding Mage is great in regular limited because many limited matches are wars of attrition where removal is scarce. Not only is common cube not an environment where walls of dudes stare at each other (at least, I don't think it should be) but removal also isn't all that scarce. There are also other plenty of other good tapper creatures (Harrier, Trapper, arguably hookmaster) and Blinding Mage is pretty low on that totem pole.
If I were to suggest a cut for Shimmering Glasskite (and I definitely do, because I think that guy's a monster) I'd suggest Treasure Hunt. It's way too inconsistent and I don't think it (on average) competes with other draw spells very well (even in commons.) False Demise, the blue tims and Aether Tradewinds are some other cards that I'd suggest cutting for Glasskite.
I used to write cube articles on StarCityGames, now for GatheringMagic and podcast about cube (w/Antknee42.)
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
This be happening right now, people.
Just a 'journal' of expected changes to be made with Scars. I'll repost this at each new page (haha, popular me), and keep the latest one updated. Let's do this.
Saltfield Recluse → Kemba's Skyguard
Comment: I've always like the Recluse, but it's time to go for the sweet need flyer. Life gain on evasive body is tech.
Bogardan Rager → Goblin Gaveleer
Comment: This is why the Testing Zone is here! Let's see if even one lone equipment can make the difference.
Razorgrass Screen → Memnite
Comment: Out with the terrible Mirrodin artifact creature, in with the maybe-OK (but definitely better) Mirrodin creature.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
-Sokenzan Spellblade +Gathan Raiders
For the reason of red dumping it's hand easily.
Also you run Rock Lobster, Paper Tiger, and Scissors Lizzard? THat is awesome! Internet High Five!
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
kidding.
I would run Phyrexian Ghoul to your cube. You already run Nantuko Husk, which is probably all of the justification needed for the Ghoul.
The card I would remove is Ashes to Ashes. While strong, more than 1/3 of your black cards act as creature removal and I think that this might be 'too much' black removal. Black self-harm cards also go down in value the more of them there are, and with Crypt Rats, Pestilence and Evincar's Justice, all of the black bombs hurt you, making less powerful black self-harm cards less desirable than they would be in a vacuum.
I actually already have Gathan Raiders in the 3CMC section.
On the Spellblade, I added it in place of a inferior 7-drop, so it's staying until a better card arrives. ^^
/high five
I had Vampire Aristocrat in my cube a while ago, but decided to cut it for Liliana's Specter because I decided that having too many sac-engines would be bad. So, thanks, but I'll have to see.
On Ashes to Ashes, that's a very good point. I'll keep that in mind when I'm looking for something to cut.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
This be happening right now, people.
Just a 'journal' of expected changes to be made with Scars. I'll repost this at each new page (haha, popular me), and keep the latest one updated. Let's do this.
Saltfield Recluse → Kemba's Skyguard
Comment: I've always like the Recluse, but it's time to go for the sweet need flyer. Life gain on evasive body is tech.
Bogardan Rager → Goblin Gaveleer
Comment: This is why the Testing Zone is here! Let's see if even one lone equipment can make the difference.
Razorgrass Screen → Memnite
Comment: Out with the terrible Mirrodin artifact creature, in with the maybe-OK (but definitely better) Mirrodin creature.
Myr Moonvessel → Tumble Magnet
Comment: On the fence about Tumble Magnet, but I'll add it in place of a bad artifact.
Fertilid → Sylvok Replica
Comment: As much as I like the possible card advantage of the Fertilid, it's effect is unnecessary at that kind of mana cost. Let's try out the Sylvok Replica.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Comment: Take my words with a grain of salt, I have never played a pauper cube in my whole life. However, I think your cube is big enough for three blue looters. Tidewater Minion just seems really meh.
On Thought Courier, I think I abo☺☺☺☺ely agree. I had a Looter in my deck the other day, and it was a beast. Now, what to cut...
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
the wurm just seems so expensive. armor is either a trick or it is an aura that beats down quickly
(granted I have never played a pauper cube so take my suggestion with a grain of salt)
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
OUT --> IN
seal of fire --> stone rain
is sorcery speed shock good enough in pauper? i have no idea. i like stone rain a lot but i can see how its value would be lower in pauper (a lot less dangerous utlilty lands and duals to target) but it's still good in aggro.
edit: i thought of something!
kjeldoran outrider --> deftblade elite
outrider looks fine, but nothing special. i've heard the elite is quite good.
On the second swap, that's actually not bad. Done.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2