Hm, I think you have me convinced to keep the artifacts and lands. One of those lands has to be cut for the new five color fixer from Journey into Nyx anyway.
These are the cuts that I would make if I am going with the „cut one card from each color for more dual lands“ option:
I like redundancy in my cube, so I ran Wayfarer to compliment Land Tax. However, it is just not that good. I think his activated ability costing mana instead of just having him to tap makes him too fair for cube. Gifts Ungiven is an interesting card, but probably one of my weakest blue spells. It is also a bit too slow for the reanimator deck. I could see cutting one of my weaker fatties instead, but I don't want to cut a cheaper blue creature. Graveborn Muse is an easy cut, now that I have dropped the „at least one card from every set“ gimmick. I am not that glad about cutting Starstorm, but it has seen so little play lately. The alternatives are all good in aggro decks, which would be a reason to keep them. Cutting Mold instead of Command, because the latter is a recent addition that I want to see in actual play first. This might change if Command turns out to be lackluster.
Other upcoming changes (OUT >> IN):
Ghitu Slinger >> Countryside Crusher
I have always found the echo to be annoying and since Wizards just don't want to print the perfect replacement (Fire Imp as an actual Magic card instead of a horrible eyesore card), I'm going ahead and cut him for the Crusher.
Chimeric Idol >> Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
I have wanted to cut this card for years and only kept it around as the only card from Prophecy. No more! A friend really wants big Eldrazi in the cube and since green and artifacts can provide some really good ramp (and since I also have Sneak Attack), the two cheaper Eldrazi gods might actually work.
Jinxed Choker OR Oblivion Stone >> Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
wtwlf said that at 600 cards, it would be probably best to run either both castable Eldrazi gods or none. And he might be right. I also couldn't decide which one of the two I wanted to run more, so this solves that issue, too. The potential cuts are Choker (actually waaay worse than Sulfuric Vortex most of the time) or Stone (too slow and clunky). Actually, Black Vise (see my opinion on this card above) could be a cut, too, but I think I give it another chance. So, what to cut: Clunky and unreliable aggro support or slooow mass removal?
I like those cuts better. I'd keep Gifts over Keiga and I'd keep Stone over Choker. Cutting Wayfarer is fine but I would cut one of these instead: Daring Skyjek, Ronom Unicorn, Stonecloaker, or Calciderm.
I guess I let my friends decide which blue card to cut. Though I strongly suspect that if I name all the three cards mentioned above, they will almost unanimously vote for Morphling. Most think he is hands down the worst blue fatty (as in 5+ mana creature) in my current list.
I really wanted Jinxed Choker to work as another colorless aggro support card, but it has just been too unreliable. This card showed me how relevant the "no lifegain" clause on Sulfuric Vortex truly is. A single opposing lifelinker can turn the race around with Choker on the board. So, I will cut it and keep Oblivion Stone.
I actually thought about cutting Ronom Unicorn a few days ago, when I was double-sleeving my cube, but then I realized that I had added half a dozen enchantments recently - including three enchantment creatures. Daring Skyjek and Calciderm see way more play than Weathered Wayfarer and Stonecloaker is a recent re-addition for blink and anti-reanimation shenanigans. I am actually pretty confident about this cut.
Thank you for your constant feedback and advice. My cube thread had so many discussions once, but recently, you are the only regular commentator here.
Hm, I think you have me convinced to keep the artifacts and lands. One of those lands has to be cut for the new five color fixer from Journey into Nyx anyway.
These are the cuts that I would make if I am going with the „cut one card from each color for more dual lands“ option:
I like redundancy in my cube, so I ran Wayfarer to compliment Land Tax. However, it is just not that good. I think his activated ability costing mana instead of just having him to tap makes him too fair for cube. Gifts Ungiven is an interesting card, but probably one of my weakest blue spells. It is also a bit too slow for the reanimator deck. I could see cutting one of my weaker fatties instead, but I don't want to cut a cheaper blue creature. Graveborn Muse is an easy cut, now that I have dropped the „at least one card from every set“ gimmick. I am not that glad about cutting Starstorm, but it has seen so little play lately. The alternatives are all good in aggro decks, which would be a reason to keep them. Cutting Mold instead of Command, because the latter is a recent addition that I want to see in actual play first. This might change if Command turns out to be lackluster.
Other upcoming changes (OUT >> IN):
Ghitu Slinger >> Countryside Crusher
I have always found the echo to be annoying and since Wizards just don't want to print the perfect replacement (Fire Imp as an actual Magic card instead of a horrible eyesore card), I'm going ahead and cut him for the Crusher.
Chimeric Idol >> Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
I have wanted to cut this card for years and only kept it around as the only card from Prophecy. No more! A friend really wants big Eldrazi in the cube and since green and artifacts can provide some really good ramp (and since I also have Sneak Attack), the two cheaper Eldrazi gods might actually work.
Jinxed Choker OR Oblivion Stone >> Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
wtwlf said that at 600 cards, it would be probably best to run either both castable Eldrazi gods or none. And he might be right. I also couldn't decide which one of the two I wanted to run more, so this solves that issue, too. The potential cuts are Choker (actually waaay worse than Sulfuric Vortex most of the time) or Stone (too slow and clunky). Actually, Black Vise (see my opinion on this card above) could be a cut, too, but I think I give it another chance. So, what to cut: Clunky and unreliable aggro support or slooow mass removal?
I like the five monocolored cuts. I'd cut all of them already from my cube as well.
I was skeptical about adding the two eldrazis, but they caught on immediately and actually were hardcast. They create bizarre game states and fun stories, and they do provide a reward for the players that are dedicated to play them.
In my experience Ghitu Slinger is better than Countryside Crusher. In aggro decks I usually really want to curve out my four drop (as an example Hero of Oxid Ridge), and Crusher not only prevents that, it makes the card dead altogether! His growth is hard to control (usually in red aggro decks just plain uncontrollable), it is unsplashable and worst of all if everyhthing goes right all you are getting is a medium sized fat creature with no evasion. Slinger provides burn to the face, is a 2-for-1 in the mirror and immediately deals with many problematic creatures. I prefer to cast it on turn three three to deal with a Dark Condifant than to waste a burn spell like Searing Spear, as I still have the option to bash for two more the following turn.
I like the five monocolored cuts. I'd cut all of them already from my cube as well.
Hm, actually, I am going to cut Morphling instead of Gifts Ungiven, since everybody in my draft group whom I asked liked him the least out of the three cards. While I have fond memories of him and the cube is basically the only remaing place to play him, he almost never gets played, even here.
I was skeptical about adding the two eldrazis, but they caught on immediately and actually were hardcast. They create bizarre game states and fun stories, and they do provide a reward for the players that are dedicated to play them.
Glad to hear that you had a good experience with them. Some decks actually can reach 10 or 11 mana in a reasonable time. It's nice to have some truly awe-inspiring finishers for those decks. Plus, they have some neat interactions with a few other cards.
In my experience Ghitu Slinger is better than Countryside Crusher. In aggro decks I usually really want to curve out my four drop (as an example Hero of Oxid Ridge), and Crusher not only prevents that, it makes the card dead altogether! His growth is hard to control (usually in red aggro decks just plain uncontrollable), it is unsplashable and worst of all if everyhthing goes right all you are getting is a medium sized fat creature with no evasion. Slinger provides burn to the face, is a 2-for-1 in the mirror and immediately deals with many problematic creatures. I prefer to cast it on turn three three to deal with a Dark Condifant than to waste a burn spell like Searing Spear, as I still have the option to bash for two more the following turn.
I was never a huge fan of cheap echo cards in the cube. They force you to pay the echo during a turn where you actually would want to play another card. And even though Ghitu Slinger was decent, he compares less and less favorable to other creatures. I am a bit sceptical of Countryside Crusher, too, but I can see him being good and eidolon really praises him. He is a great topdeck, since you will never draw a land again for as long as he lives, thus improving your lategame draws. And you don't have to play him on turn three if you don't have a fourth land in hand.
And you don't have to play him on turn three if you don't have a fourth land in hand.
You often do, since you have to keep the pressure up/you suspect a removal. Slinger is often a better topdeck; burning for two to the face right now won many games. But there is no harm in trying him yourself.
Mikaeus, the Lunarch >> Dictate of Heliod
Dictate has a higher and less flexible cost, but is a lot faster and both itself and its bonus survive mass removal.
Despise OR ?? >> Gnarled Scarhide
I really like Despise, but it is one of the few black cards that is not important for any archetype and that is not so good as to be uncuttable. I'd like to keep the density of cheap discard spells high though...
Rivalry >> Prophetic Flamespeaker
Since I couldn't find a 3-drop creature to cut, I am cutting this mostly disappointing enchantment.
Necropotence OR ?? >> Pox
The final piece for the Pox/Stax archetype: Pox itself! The problem is that I see no cut for it that isn't a staple or used for one archetype or another. The best cut that I can come up with is Necropotence, even though that is meant to entice drafters to go heavy black. Still, in a cube full of aggressive creatures like mine, it is constantly under-achieving.
Ember Hauler >> Ashmouth Hound
I somehow missed the Hauler when I cut all the mediocre CC creatures. Hound is also mediocre, but at least it is easier to cast. This is one of those moments were I get really angry at Wizards for not printing Viashino Racketeer or Academy Raider with a cost of 1R.
Etched Champion >> Empyrial Plate
While decks with 12+ artifacts do happen from time to time, they are too rare to give a permanent slot to a metalcraft card. Time to try an unusual but potentially decent equipment.
My black cuts would be Gatekeeper of Malakir, Nether Traitor, and Despise or Dauthi Slayer.
I'd cut Ajani. I still run Seal and haven't run Ajani in a long time. That said, I'd keep Ajani over Ronom Unicorn, Azorius Arrester, and Calciderm.
I like Pool more than Tomb but they're both tough cuts. I'd be more likely to cut an artifact like Duplicant or Tumble Magnet. Or get rid of the weaker members of the land color cycle and run the remaining ones in their mono sections.
My black cuts would be Gatekeeper of Malakir, Nether Traitor, and Despise or Dauthi Slayer.
I'd cut Ajani. I still run Seal and haven't run Ajani in a long time. That said, I'd keep Ajani over Ronom Unicorn, Azorius Arrester, and Calciderm.
I am always very reluctant to cut a 2-drop from my cube. Especially those that work in aggro decks. However, if you think that I have enough, I could cut the weakest one. Nether Traitor came recently in as part of the Pox/Stax package. Haste and recursion mean that it is also not that much worse than Dauthi Slayer in an aggro deck, though power 1 still sucks. I could see cutting Slayer instead of Necropotence, then swap it back in if the Traitor doesn't work out. As mediocre aggro dudes for BB, they kinda fill the same slot and I would be fine with running one or the other, but not both at the same time.
White has so many 1- and 2-drops that I might actually cut Azorius Arrester. I would have cut Ronom Unicorn three months ago, but I recently put multiple enchantments in (including some that are also creatures), so that its capabilities as a removal have gone up enough to keep it. Or do you think it is worse than Arrester? Gatekeeper of Malakir is pretty good in heavy black decks. With some other strong cards that push drafters into that direction, the amount of decks that are 70-90% black (and in one case even completely mono-black) has gone up and those can often cast Gatekeeper for full value on turn three. I still like Calciderm (and Blastoderm) enough to keep them.
I like Pool more than Tomb but they're both tough cuts. I'd be more likely to cut an artifact like Duplicant or Tumble Magnet. Or get rid of the weaker members of the land color cycle and run the remaining ones in their mono sections.
Most friends also think that I should cut Ancient Tomb and keep Reflecting Pool. I am currently testing the inclusion of another 10 dual lands and it seems that those are going to stay (I'll update my list in the opening post once that is definite, but my cubetutor list already includes them). I don't want to increase my land count even more. As for cutting one of the "color" lands, wouldn't that imbalance the five colors, even if I would count the remaining lands as part of their respective color sections? I also like running them as a full cycle.
I think I like Nether Traitor slightly more than Slayer because he can play a role outside of straight aggro. Honestly, I don't think you'd miss anything by cutting the black cards I suggested.
Gatekeeper goes in one deck, mono-black. If you support mono-black, you should run him. But, if you support mono-black you shouldn't cut the best mono-black card, Necropotence. I ran Necro at 500 cards and didn't run Gatekeeper, so at 600 I'd certainly still be running Necro but I'm not sure I'd run Gatekeeper.
I could also see Gray Merchant as a cut.
Unicorn is likely worse than Arrester. I've never tried Arrester and Unicorn was cut from my cube a long time ago. You'll have to decide what's better for your cube or cut something else entirely.
I like Calci and Blasti but they are far outclassed by what those two colors get for 4 mana now.
With the color allied lands (and artifacts), I run them in their color sections because no one is running them outside of those colors. If the lands and artifacts can compete with the other cards in those sections they get run. If not, they don't. Right now, I don't run any red lands because none are good enough. I run three in blue because those are good enough (and because two of them, Tolarian Academy and Academy Ruins, support the artifact deck). I don't think it's unbalancing because each color has access to the same number of cards. I don't pay much attention to the fact that green has lots more creatures than blue does, so I don't pay much attention to the fact that blue has more lands than red either. Same number of cards so it's all balanced. I don't think it serves a useful purpose to 1) stick a subpar land in for balance when that land isn't as attractive as a good spell/creature/artifact for that color would be, and 2) limit the number of lands in colors that have several good ones just because another color only has one good choice. If I was at 600 cards, I think I would likely have 4 lands in blue, 2 in green and white, and 1 in black; with red, I'd need to test it out as I could see running 0, 1, or 2 lands.
That got longer than I expected. Forgive the wall of text.
I settled on cutting Dauthi Slayer instead of Necropotence. Though I don't think Necro is that strong in cube. Against aggressive decks, it is often too risky. Gatekeeper of Malakir on the other hand has a much worse best case scenerio, but is always decent, no matter against which deck you play (ok, maybe not ones full of cheap token makers). Gray Merchant of Asphodel is one of the best cards that you can have in the same deck as Necro, btw. Those cards work amazingly well together. In general, Merchant has been solid. Nobody would cube with Lava Axe, but this one comes attached to a sizeable lifegain and a 2/4 body. And I think his average lifedrain so far has even been higher than 5.
Btw, I wouldn't call those cards "mono"-black, since the decks for those cards don't have to be 100% black. Even Gatekeeper is perfectly fine in a deck that is only like 75% black.
Hm, I still haven't decided on Unicorn and Arrester. Arrester both helps push some damage through and helps avoiding some damage. Unicorn is just a dorky body, but can double as narrow removal.
Regarding the lands: What I meant is that cutting a colored land for 5-color or colorless land (in this cards Mana Confluence) unbalances the color sections. I can substitue a colored land with a normal colored card (or vice versa), but that wouldn't help with finding room for the new and improved City of Brass.
And there is nothing to forgive: That wasn't even that much of a wall. You should see some of my posts.
Thoughts on some cards:
-Loam Lion/Kird Ape: Sure these cards are awesome, but they are definitly Selesnya/Gruul. I think, that you should treat them as what they are. Tattermunge Maniac seems like an easy cut candidate for me and maybe Dryad Militant.
-Shrine of Burning Rage/Crystal Shard/Lashwrithe: Great cards, but just like Loam Lion/Kird Ape are Multicolor, these cards are monocolored and not colorless.
-Mind Twist: This card is super broken and one of the most boring, game stealing cards, IMO. I think Lashwrithe could take this spot in black.
-Mogg Fanatic: I think this card is a card, that a lot of people tend to keep only because they are nostalgic about the time, when damage went over the stack. Nowadays I think it's overrated. I don't think it's good enough, especially since it doesn't really fit into many decks, but beeing a Onedrop, but none, that can really be called aggressive. I think, that Shrine of Burning Rage could be exchanged for it.
-Omenspeaker: I'm not sure if I like Omenspeaker. I think Scry 2 is good, but not amazing and this would be my cut for Crystal Shard in blue. If you like this card too much, Arcane Denial would be my next candidate. I'm not a fan of card disadvantage.
-Disenchant/Revoke Existence/Seal of Cleansing: I'm not a fan of disenchants, that are not attached to another useful effect and I think all of these are maybe too many. I would try to have an as equal as possible amount of artifact/enchantment hate in every color.
- I just sort the cards like this for aesthetic reasons and because it is easier this way. At 600 cards, slight differences between guilds and colors don't matter. I keep an eye out for these "hidden multicolor cards" and "secretely colored artifacts" and there really aren't that many. Tattermunge Maniac is an attempt to increase the number of aggro 1-drops in two colors at once. He is not that good and often the first 1-drop to cut, but sometimes he is necessary to reach the right amount of 1-drops for your deck. Dryad Militant is great and absolutely uncuttable.
- Technically, you forgot Vedalken Shackles.
- After the recent feedback, I have decided to cut Mind Twist. No reason to keep a card that almost everyone despises. Speaking of despising: Despise and Stupor are possible replacements. Not sure which to use.
- Mogg Fanatic sure lost a lot of bite with the M10 rules change, but he is still good enough right now. I'll cut him when we get two or three more good red 1-drops. (Boy, do I wish that Forge Devil could also shoot at players...) Another thing to remember is that there are a lot of 1 toughness guys in cube. One third of all the creatures or so.
- Omenspeaker is a good defensive option. Almost like a blue Wall of Blossoms/Omens. I played both with and against her on Sunday and she always pulled her weight.
- I always try to maindeck at least three cards that deal with artifacts and/or enchantments. Sure, I prefer the ones that come with a body or that can also kill a creature (or even a planeswalker), but sometimes I just run a straight Disenchant to bring up the numbers.
Cards I would consider: Guardian of the Guildpact remains highly underrated, IMO. It's maybe not worth it, since you have too less equipments, but put any Sword of X and Y or Jitte on it and see what happens. It's also the 2/∞ wall with super Shroud. Temporal Isolation can be so good. There are situations, where Pacifism-like effects can be better than Journey to Nowhere and instant speed is a huge advantage. Coalition Honor Guard is pretty much a white Spellskite without constantly paying life or mana. Serrated Arrows isn't much different from Arc Lightning for cc4, with the difference, that it's colorless and the counters remain. This is a card, that I think a lot of deck without the typicial removal colors, would love to have.
It really shows that you own and maintain a Pauper cube.
I ran Serrated Arrows a long time ago and cut Temporal Isolation quite recently. Sure, Arrows have advantages over cards like Arc Lightning, but they also need three turns instead of just one to do their thing. I think they cost 1 too much to compete with the general power level of my cube. I might bring Temporal Isolation back, since Champion of the Parish just hasn't been well received.
Guardian of the Guildpact and Coalition Honor Guard may be great Pauper cards, but they just don't make the cut in a traditional full rare cube.
Sorry for the lack of updates. While I kept the list in the OP updated, I didn't post about some of the recent changes. Here are the changes that I just made though (OUT >> IN):
Three main things are going on here:
- This list obviously contains my Khans of Tarkir update. 12 cards from that set, even without including any additional tricolor cards.
- I finally integrated the conspiracies that I am using into the list. For this, I cut one card from each color and increased the colorless section by five.
- The Kiki/Twin combo pieces got cut. That combo was just too unreliable to draft at 600 cards. This freed up two blue and two red slots.
...
Lastly, I am just dumping an old version of my cube here that was previously part of the OP, but no longer fit in there, due to the forum's character limit.
With all the cards spoiled, here is my list of Commander 2014 swaps (OUT >> IN):
Definite swaps
Jace, Architect of Thought >> Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Teferi looks great in ramp and decent in big midrange or control. Once you reach 6 mana, you only pay 2 or less for a planeswalker with 4 loyalty that becomes a card advantage (and selection) engine in subsequent turns. That is, if you don't use him to hard cast an Eldrazi on the next turn. I like the Architect, but he is my weakest blue planeswalker (not counting Tezzeret the Seeker, since he is important archetype support).
Geralf's Messenger >> Flesh Carver
Carver is great. Could be called "a monoblack Voice of Resurgence". While it is not a 2-drop and doesn't hose instants, it comes with evasion and as a sac outlet can be an important engine piece. With all the neat black cards in this set, I am cutting the support cards for the heavy-black archetype from my cube. Black has already enough going on otherwise.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel >> Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
I was a bit down on Ob at first, but once I started looking at him as a fairly costed big flyer with an upside, he actually started looking quite good. Merchant was great in heavy black decks, but is probably too narrow once most of the support cards for this archetype are gone. His best buddy Necropotence has already left my cube.
Pox OR The Abyss OR Gatekeeper of Malakir >> Malicious Affliction
While I cut Doom Blade a while ago, the upside of kiling two creatures for only two mana is enough of an upside to try this card. Since you will almost never cast this on the first three turns, the double black isn't a huge drawback. Not sure what to cut though. All those cards have proven to be kinda narrow. Cutting one of the two triple black cards would probably make the most sense
Chandra Nalaar OR Chandra Pyromaster >> Daretti, Scrap Savant
Red gets more looting! And maybe some cards for a reanimator artifact hybrid deck. I am going to cut the weaker of the two Chandras, to keep my planeswalker count stable. Not sure which one though.
Deglamer OR Bramblecrush >> Song of the Dryads
Green removal that can hit not only planeswalkers, but also creatures? Wow! It has a few drabacks, like ramping the opponent and reversability, but it is cheap enough and versatile enough to make up for this. Again, not sure what to cut.
Potential swaps
Silverblade Paladin >> Hallowed Spiritkeeper
Not a huge fan of the exact body and ability of Spiritkeeper. I also want to keep an eye on the number of cheap cards that make multiple tokens, since those are very mean against aggro. If I decide to inlcude it anyway, I think Paladin is the best cut from among my white 3-drops.
Fireblast >> Scrap Mastery
Together with Daretti and Goblin Welder, this would be another cards for the artifact reanimator archetype. It is a lot less game changing than Living Death, but bringing two or three relevant artifacts (including creatures) back while destroying all my opponent's artifacts is still strong. I like it more than Trash for Treasure, even though it is less splashable. Fireblast is a really boring card that has almost exclusively just a single use in a single archetype.
Gatekeeper of Malakir is probably the best cut from among those black cards. Pox decks rarely happen, but it is an interesting archetype to draft and it feels really rewarding when it all works out.
Big Chandra is certainly better for control/midrange/Wildfire decks, but I still like Pyromaster. Then again, cutting a 4 mana walker for another 4 mana walker seems like a perfect swap. Hm, have to think about this one a bit more.
It is funny/sad how the cube community wanted a Creeping Mold that could also destroy planeswalkers for years, but now that we finally got one, it gets cut from more and more cubes due to better alternatives.
These are the cuts that I would make if I am going with the „cut one card from each color for more dual lands“ option:
W Weathered Wayfarer
U Gifts Ungiven (alternative cuts are Morphling or Keiga, the Tide Star)
B Graveborn Muse
R Starstorm (alternative cuts are Rivalry, Searing Spear or Reckless Waif)
G Creeping Mold (an alternative cut would be Primal Command)
I like redundancy in my cube, so I ran Wayfarer to compliment Land Tax. However, it is just not that good. I think his activated ability costing mana instead of just having him to tap makes him too fair for cube. Gifts Ungiven is an interesting card, but probably one of my weakest blue spells. It is also a bit too slow for the reanimator deck. I could see cutting one of my weaker fatties instead, but I don't want to cut a cheaper blue creature. Graveborn Muse is an easy cut, now that I have dropped the „at least one card from every set“ gimmick. I am not that glad about cutting Starstorm, but it has seen so little play lately. The alternatives are all good in aggro decks, which would be a reason to keep them. Cutting Mold instead of Command, because the latter is a recent addition that I want to see in actual play first. This might change if Command turns out to be lackluster.
Other upcoming changes (OUT >> IN):
Ghitu Slinger >> Countryside Crusher
I have always found the echo to be annoying and since Wizards just don't want to print the perfect replacement (Fire Imp as an actual Magic card instead of a horrible eyesore card), I'm going ahead and cut him for the Crusher.
Chimeric Idol >> Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
I have wanted to cut this card for years and only kept it around as the only card from Prophecy. No more! A friend really wants big Eldrazi in the cube and since green and artifacts can provide some really good ramp (and since I also have Sneak Attack), the two cheaper Eldrazi gods might actually work.
Jinxed Choker OR Oblivion Stone >> Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
wtwlf said that at 600 cards, it would be probably best to run either both castable Eldrazi gods or none. And he might be right. I also couldn't decide which one of the two I wanted to run more, so this solves that issue, too. The potential cuts are Choker (actually waaay worse than Sulfuric Vortex most of the time) or Stone (too slow and clunky). Actually, Black Vise (see my opinion on this card above) could be a cut, too, but I think I give it another chance. So, what to cut: Clunky and unreliable aggro support or slooow mass removal?
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
I really wanted Jinxed Choker to work as another colorless aggro support card, but it has just been too unreliable. This card showed me how relevant the "no lifegain" clause on Sulfuric Vortex truly is. A single opposing lifelinker can turn the race around with Choker on the board. So, I will cut it and keep Oblivion Stone.
I actually thought about cutting Ronom Unicorn a few days ago, when I was double-sleeving my cube, but then I realized that I had added half a dozen enchantments recently - including three enchantment creatures. Daring Skyjek and Calciderm see way more play than Weathered Wayfarer and Stonecloaker is a recent re-addition for blink and anti-reanimation shenanigans. I am actually pretty confident about this cut.
Thank you for your constant feedback and advice. My cube thread had so many discussions once, but recently, you are the only regular commentator here.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
I like the five monocolored cuts. I'd cut all of them already from my cube as well.
I was skeptical about adding the two eldrazis, but they caught on immediately and actually were hardcast. They create bizarre game states and fun stories, and they do provide a reward for the players that are dedicated to play them.
In my experience Ghitu Slinger is better than Countryside Crusher. In aggro decks I usually really want to curve out my four drop (as an example Hero of Oxid Ridge), and Crusher not only prevents that, it makes the card dead altogether! His growth is hard to control (usually in red aggro decks just plain uncontrollable), it is unsplashable and worst of all if everyhthing goes right all you are getting is a medium sized fat creature with no evasion. Slinger provides burn to the face, is a 2-for-1 in the mirror and immediately deals with many problematic creatures. I prefer to cast it on turn three three to deal with a Dark Condifant than to waste a burn spell like Searing Spear, as I still have the option to bash for two more the following turn.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Glad to hear that you had a good experience with them. Some decks actually can reach 10 or 11 mana in a reasonable time. It's nice to have some truly awe-inspiring finishers for those decks. Plus, they have some neat interactions with a few other cards.
I was never a huge fan of cheap echo cards in the cube. They force you to pay the echo during a turn where you actually would want to play another card. And even though Ghitu Slinger was decent, he compares less and less favorable to other creatures. I am a bit sceptical of Countryside Crusher, too, but I can see him being good and eidolon really praises him. He is a great topdeck, since you will never draw a land again for as long as he lives, thus improving your lategame draws. And you don't have to play him on turn three if you don't have a fourth land in hand.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
You often do, since you have to keep the pressure up/you suspect a removal. Slinger is often a better topdeck; burning for two to the face right now won many games. But there is no harm in trying him yourself.
The list on cube cobra
Read my blog on cube - Latest post June 2nd 2022
Mikaeus, the Lunarch >> Dictate of Heliod
Dictate has a higher and less flexible cost, but is a lot faster and both itself and its bonus survive mass removal.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride OR Seal of Cleansing >> Banishing Light
Oblivion Ring 2.0 is a must-have, but what to cut? Increase the amount of artifact/enchantment removal by cutting my weakest white planeswalker? Or just let go of the Seal?
Despise OR ?? >> Gnarled Scarhide
I really like Despise, but it is one of the few black cards that is not important for any archetype and that is not so good as to be uncuttable. I'd like to keep the density of cheap discard spells high though...
Rivalry >> Prophetic Flamespeaker
Since I couldn't find a 3-drop creature to cut, I am cutting this mostly disappointing enchantment.
Reflecting Pool OR Ancient Tomb >> Mana Confluence
I am leaning towards cutting the Tomb here, but Pool would be another option.
Other upcoming changes (OUT >> IN):
Blood Scrivener >> Reassembling Skeleton
Skeleton looks like another interesting recursive creature. Nobody really liked Scrivener.
Necropotence OR ?? >> Pox
The final piece for the Pox/Stax archetype: Pox itself! The problem is that I see no cut for it that isn't a staple or used for one archetype or another. The best cut that I can come up with is Necropotence, even though that is meant to entice drafters to go heavy black. Still, in a cube full of aggressive creatures like mine, it is constantly under-achieving.
Ember Hauler >> Ashmouth Hound
I somehow missed the Hauler when I cut all the mediocre CC creatures. Hound is also mediocre, but at least it is easier to cast. This is one of those moments were I get really angry at Wizards for not printing Viashino Racketeer or Academy Raider with a cost of 1R.
Etched Champion >> Empyrial Plate
While decks with 12+ artifacts do happen from time to time, they are too rare to give a permanent slot to a metalcraft card. Time to try an unusual but potentially decent equipment.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
I'd cut Ajani. I still run Seal and haven't run Ajani in a long time. That said, I'd keep Ajani over Ronom Unicorn, Azorius Arrester, and Calciderm.
I like Pool more than Tomb but they're both tough cuts. I'd be more likely to cut an artifact like Duplicant or Tumble Magnet. Or get rid of the weaker members of the land color cycle and run the remaining ones in their mono sections.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
White has so many 1- and 2-drops that I might actually cut Azorius Arrester. I would have cut Ronom Unicorn three months ago, but I recently put multiple enchantments in (including some that are also creatures), so that its capabilities as a removal have gone up enough to keep it. Or do you think it is worse than Arrester?
Gatekeeper of Malakir is pretty good in heavy black decks. With some other strong cards that push drafters into that direction, the amount of decks that are 70-90% black (and in one case even completely mono-black) has gone up and those can often cast Gatekeeper for full value on turn three. I still like Calciderm (and Blastoderm) enough to keep them.
Most friends also think that I should cut Ancient Tomb and keep Reflecting Pool. I am currently testing the inclusion of another 10 dual lands and it seems that those are going to stay (I'll update my list in the opening post once that is definite, but my cubetutor list already includes them). I don't want to increase my land count even more. As for cutting one of the "color" lands, wouldn't that imbalance the five colors, even if I would count the remaining lands as part of their respective color sections? I also like running them as a full cycle.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Gatekeeper goes in one deck, mono-black. If you support mono-black, you should run him. But, if you support mono-black you shouldn't cut the best mono-black card, Necropotence. I ran Necro at 500 cards and didn't run Gatekeeper, so at 600 I'd certainly still be running Necro but I'm not sure I'd run Gatekeeper.
I could also see Gray Merchant as a cut.
Unicorn is likely worse than Arrester. I've never tried Arrester and Unicorn was cut from my cube a long time ago. You'll have to decide what's better for your cube or cut something else entirely.
I like Calci and Blasti but they are far outclassed by what those two colors get for 4 mana now.
With the color allied lands (and artifacts), I run them in their color sections because no one is running them outside of those colors. If the lands and artifacts can compete with the other cards in those sections they get run. If not, they don't. Right now, I don't run any red lands because none are good enough. I run three in blue because those are good enough (and because two of them, Tolarian Academy and Academy Ruins, support the artifact deck). I don't think it's unbalancing because each color has access to the same number of cards. I don't pay much attention to the fact that green has lots more creatures than blue does, so I don't pay much attention to the fact that blue has more lands than red either. Same number of cards so it's all balanced. I don't think it serves a useful purpose to 1) stick a subpar land in for balance when that land isn't as attractive as a good spell/creature/artifact for that color would be, and 2) limit the number of lands in colors that have several good ones just because another color only has one good choice. If I was at 600 cards, I think I would likely have 4 lands in blue, 2 in green and white, and 1 in black; with red, I'd need to test it out as I could see running 0, 1, or 2 lands.
That got longer than I expected. Forgive the wall of text.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Btw, I wouldn't call those cards "mono"-black, since the decks for those cards don't have to be 100% black. Even Gatekeeper is perfectly fine in a deck that is only like 75% black.
Hm, I still haven't decided on Unicorn and Arrester. Arrester both helps push some damage through and helps avoiding some damage. Unicorn is just a dorky body, but can double as narrow removal.
Regarding the lands: What I meant is that cutting a colored land for 5-color or colorless land (in this cards Mana Confluence) unbalances the color sections. I can substitue a colored land with a normal colored card (or vice versa), but that wouldn't help with finding room for the new and improved City of Brass.
And there is nothing to forgive: That wasn't even that much of a wall. You should see some of my posts.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
- Technically, you forgot Vedalken Shackles.
- After the recent feedback, I have decided to cut Mind Twist. No reason to keep a card that almost everyone despises. Speaking of despising: Despise and Stupor are possible replacements. Not sure which to use.
- Mogg Fanatic sure lost a lot of bite with the M10 rules change, but he is still good enough right now. I'll cut him when we get two or three more good red 1-drops. (Boy, do I wish that Forge Devil could also shoot at players...) Another thing to remember is that there are a lot of 1 toughness guys in cube. One third of all the creatures or so.
- Omenspeaker is a good defensive option. Almost like a blue Wall of Blossoms/Omens. I played both with and against her on Sunday and she always pulled her weight.
- I always try to maindeck at least three cards that deal with artifacts and/or enchantments. Sure, I prefer the ones that come with a body or that can also kill a creature (or even a planeswalker), but sometimes I just run a straight Disenchant to bring up the numbers.
It really shows that you own and maintain a Pauper cube.
I ran Serrated Arrows a long time ago and cut Temporal Isolation quite recently. Sure, Arrows have advantages over cards like Arc Lightning, but they also need three turns instead of just one to do their thing. I think they cost 1 too much to compete with the general power level of my cube. I might bring Temporal Isolation back, since Champion of the Parish just hasn't been well received.
Guardian of the Guildpact and Coalition Honor Guard may be great Pauper cards, but they just don't make the cut in a traditional full rare cube.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Knight of Meadowgrain >> Seeker of the Way - New guy is easier to cast and more interesting.
Emeria Angel >> Wingmate Roc
Chief Engineer >> Clever Impersonator
Compulsive Research >> Dig Through Time
Deceiver Exarch >> Equilibrium - An enchantment for blue tempo and devotion decks. Already a crowd favorite.
Necropotence >> Grim Haruspex - A toy for the Pox/Stax deck that might also work in black aggro decks.
Desecration Demon >> Bloodsoaked Champion
Spikeshot Elder >> Monastery Swiftspear - Red really needs a few more playable aggressive 1-drops.
Goblin Welder >> War-Name Aspirant
Hell's Thunder >> Tormenting Voice - Discard effect for non-blue reanimation decks.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker >> Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Tidehollow Sculler >> Utter End
Simic Sky Swallower >> Sagu Mauler - The lack of flying makes this beast easier to kill, but it is cheaper and faster.
Undiscovered Paradise >> Paliano, the High City - New land is less reliable to draft, but drawbackless during play.
Stonecloaker >> Advantageous Proclamation
Pestermite >> Backup Plan
Mind Twist >> Power Play
Splinter Twin >> Sentinel Dispatch
Quirion Dryad >> Æther Searcher
Three main things are going on here:
- This list obviously contains my Khans of Tarkir update. 12 cards from that set, even without including any additional tricolor cards.
- I finally integrated the conspiracies that I am using into the list. For this, I cut one card from each color and increased the colorless section by five.
- The Kiki/Twin combo pieces got cut. That combo was just too unreliable to draft at 600 cards. This freed up two blue and two red slots.
...
Lastly, I am just dumping an old version of my cube here that was previously part of the OP, but no longer fit in there, due to the forum's character limit.
Creatures: 286 + 16
Reanimation: 14 + 7
Equipment: 15
Counters: 16 + 5
Planeswalkers: 28
Artifact destruction: 41 + 3
Enchantment destruction: 32 + 12
Planeswalker destruction: 16 + 3
WWWWW White
2 CMC (16+1)
3 CMC (9+2)
4 CMC (5+1)
5 CMC (4)
6 CMC (4)
7 CMC (1)
Eternal Dragon
8 CMC (1)
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
X CMC (1)
Decree of Justice
White spells (25)
2 CMC (4)
3 CMC (3)
4 CMC (8)
5 CMC (3)
6 CMC (3)
UUUUU Blue
Enclave Cryptologist
2 CMC (8+3)
3 CMC (7+3)
4 CMC (5)
5 CMC (7)
6 CMC (4)
7 CMC (1+1)
Palinchron
9 CMC (1)
Inkwell Leviathan
Blue spells (41)
2 CMC (10)
3 CMC (9+1)
4 CMC (7+1)
5 CMC (5)
6 CMC (3)
X CMC (2)
BBBBB Black
Black creatures (40)
2 CMC (13)
3 CMC (7+2)
4 CMC (6)
5 CMC (4)
6 CMC (4)
7 CMC (1)
Sheoldred, Whispering One
8 CMC (1)
Tombstalker
Black spells (35)
2 CMC (11+2)
3 CMC (5)
4 CMC (8)
5 CMC (3)
6 CMC (2)
X CMC (3)
RRRRR Red
2 CMC (12)
3 CMC (7+4)
4 CMC (6+1)
5 CMC (4+1)
6 CMC (4)
8 CMC (1)
Bogardan Hellkite
10 CMC (1)
Greater Gargadon
Red spells (33)
2 CMC (6)
3 CMC (10)
4 CMC (2)
5 CMC (1)
Chandra Nalaar
6 CMC (3)
7 CMC (1)
Destructive Force
X CMC (5)
GGGGG Green
2 CMC (15)
3 CMC (10+2)
4 CMC (7+1)
5 CMC (6+1)
6 CMC (4)
7 CMC (2)
8 CMC (2)
Green spells (19)
2 CMC (6)
3 CMC (5+1)
4 CMC (4+1)
5 CMC (1)
Plow Under
WUBRG Multicolor
UB (4)
BR (3)
RG (5)
GW (5)
WB (3)
BG (3)
GU (4)
UR (3)
RW (4)
Tricolor (7)
Multicolor spells (30)
UB (2)
BR (4)
RG (2)
GW (2)
WB (4)
BG (3)
GU (3)
UR (3)
RW (2)
Tricolor (3)
XXXXX Artifacts and Colorless
3 CMC (2)
4 CMC (7)
5 CMC (2)
6 CMC (3)
7 CMC (1)
Myr Battlesphere
8 CMC (1)
Sundering Titan
9 CMC (1)
Artisan of Kozilek
X CMC (1)
Chimeric Mass
Artifacts and colorless spells (55)
1 CMC (4)
2 CMC (6)
3 CMC (9)
4 CMC (6)
5 CMC (1)
Memory Jar
7 CMC (2)
X CMC (2)
Equipment (13)
Signets (10)
TTTTT Lands
Ravnica Duals (10)
Fetchlands (10)
Ravnica Bouncelands (10)
Dual Manlands (5)
M10 Duals (5)
Enemy Painlands (5)
Multicolor (5)
Color Cycle (5)
Colorless (10)
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Definite swaps
Jace, Architect of Thought >> Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Teferi looks great in ramp and decent in big midrange or control. Once you reach 6 mana, you only pay 2 or less for a planeswalker with 4 loyalty that becomes a card advantage (and selection) engine in subsequent turns. That is, if you don't use him to hard cast an Eldrazi on the next turn. I like the Architect, but he is my weakest blue planeswalker (not counting Tezzeret the Seeker, since he is important archetype support).
Geralf's Messenger >> Flesh Carver
Carver is great. Could be called "a monoblack Voice of Resurgence". While it is not a 2-drop and doesn't hose instants, it comes with evasion and as a sac outlet can be an important engine piece. With all the neat black cards in this set, I am cutting the support cards for the heavy-black archetype from my cube. Black has already enough going on otherwise.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel >> Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
I was a bit down on Ob at first, but once I started looking at him as a fairly costed big flyer with an upside, he actually started looking quite good. Merchant was great in heavy black decks, but is probably too narrow once most of the support cards for this archetype are gone. His best buddy Necropotence has already left my cube.
Pox OR The Abyss OR Gatekeeper of Malakir >> Malicious Affliction
While I cut Doom Blade a while ago, the upside of kiling two creatures for only two mana is enough of an upside to try this card. Since you will almost never cast this on the first three turns, the double black isn't a huge drawback. Not sure what to cut though. All those cards have proven to be kinda narrow. Cutting one of the two triple black cards would probably make the most sense
Chandra Nalaar OR Chandra Pyromaster >> Daretti, Scrap Savant
Red gets more looting! And maybe some cards for a reanimator artifact hybrid deck. I am going to cut the weaker of the two Chandras, to keep my planeswalker count stable. Not sure which one though.
Deglamer OR Bramblecrush >> Song of the Dryads
Green removal that can hit not only planeswalkers, but also creatures? Wow! It has a few drabacks, like ramping the opponent and reversability, but it is cheap enough and versatile enough to make up for this. Again, not sure what to cut.
Potential swaps
Silverblade Paladin >> Hallowed Spiritkeeper
Not a huge fan of the exact body and ability of Spiritkeeper. I also want to keep an eye on the number of cheap cards that make multiple tokens, since those are very mean against aggro. If I decide to inlcude it anyway, I think Paladin is the best cut from among my white 3-drops.
Fireblast >> Scrap Mastery
Together with Daretti and Goblin Welder, this would be another cards for the artifact reanimator archetype. It is a lot less game changing than Living Death, but bringing two or three relevant artifacts (including creatures) back while destroying all my opponent's artifacts is still strong. I like it more than Trash for Treasure, even though it is less splashable. Fireblast is a really boring card that has almost exclusively just a single use in a single archetype.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Big Chandra is certainly better for control/midrange/Wildfire decks, but I still like Pyromaster. Then again, cutting a 4 mana walker for another 4 mana walker seems like a perfect swap. Hm, have to think about this one a bit more.
It is funny/sad how the cube community wanted a Creeping Mold that could also destroy planeswalkers for years, but now that we finally got one, it gets cut from more and more cubes due to better alternatives.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG