You may be right about Magus of the Abyss. I got a bunch of the Magi in a bulk rare lot not long ago - Magus of the Scroll, Magus of the Library, etc., and it's kinda tempting to just jam them all because it might be the closest to power I'm ever going to get in this cube, but most of them are just too fragile and clunky as creatures. This one is tempting though because the body's surprisingly efficiently costed and I think it can actually be abused. Worst comes to worst and it turns out to be a slow motion Slum Reaper, I'll just replace it with Braids in about a month.
About Seismic Assault, I actually like the idea of having one spell in each color that rewards a heavy commitment to that color - Pox in black, Future Sight in Blue, and some of the better green fatties (I might be going overboard in green, but it should be more manageable there), Spectral Procession in white, and now Seismic Assault. This is the only triple red spell I'll be adding, that's for sure.
Noshadowkick, love the story about the World Championship Wasteland, what did you manage to "milk" him for?. I don't even bother hiding what they are, these are way cooler looking than a proxy and I can't imagine anyone I play with ever getting bent out of shape about it. I really wish WoTC would print another series like this for casual formats!
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Some tweaks based on this weekend's acquisitions and feedback:
OUT > IN
Lifebane Zombie > Ophiomancer LBZ never seemed to hit a green or white creature, it's fragile, and its evasion is conditional. I've been itching to try this token generator for a while. Liliana of the Dark Realms > Bloodline Keeper The Lilianas that cost under $50 just aren't worth playing. Not many black decks want to keep tutoring for swamps, black has way better removal options, and the ultimate just isn't worth going for. It's out, and getting replaced with this funky flying token maker, and hey, it even has an "ultimate." Until I can somehow acquire Liliana of the Veil or WotC prints another decent black planeswalker, the black section is going to have to do without. Viridian Claw > Adaptive Automaton I'm honestly not sure how well this will work, but it seems like it has a lot of synergies with token generators and there are a lot of incidental tribal synergies that this can exploit. I find the card intriguing, and Viridian Claw probably wasn't adding that much anyway. Marshal's Anthem > Ajani Goldmane Better anthem for the same cost, and gives so much more in exchange for the pricey reanimation option. Athreos, God of Passage > Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Athreos was a bust, its usefulness was too situational. I don't mind cutting it at for this very versatile looking planeswalker. Mistral Charger > Sublime Archangel I never felt quite right about having Restoration angel as the only angel in the entire cube. Ray of Command > Mind Control I wish this were Treachery or Bribery, but I think this is still an upgrade. Ohran Viper > Viridian Shaman Viper is the least aggressive 3-drop, and there are too many double green 3 drops.
I've also added photos to my original post if you'd like to see my cube case and funky sleeves in their full glory plus my homemade tokens!
I'm adding a bit more support to reanimator in white, and the Karmic Guide should play well with Reveillark, which is coming in a shipment I've recently ordered.
Archon of Justice > Karmic Guide Archon of Justice wasn't bad, it was a fairly reliable 2-for-1, but there's only room for so many 5-drops. This one seems more interesting.
Frontline Medic > Eternal Dragon Reanimator target plus enabler in one package that also helps fix mana. Medic has been in since nearly the beginning, and as far as I know the battalion ability never triggered.
Vapor Snag > Serum Visions No one is picking Vapor Snag, it gets cut for this spiffy cantrip.
Wall of Frost > Calcite Snapper Wall of Frost was really handy in control matchups, but nowhere else. Snapper seems more versatile, since it will work on offense and defense. Most people seem to be replacing it with True-Name Nemesis, but the price is right here.
Black has been very much underdrafted by the other drafters in my cube, so I've been scooping it up and building black-heavy aggro decks... and getting my butt kicked. Since I've already added Pox and Magus of the Abyss, and Braids is on the way in an upcoming shipment, I've decided to add a bit more support to the Pox archetype.
Mogis's Warhound > Kruin Striker Warhound was a bit of a bust. It wasn't bad while bestowed, but once it falls off it usually just killed itself. Devil's Play > Stonewright With only 6 one drops in red, plus Greater Gargadon and 3 hybrids, I think I need to add more to help make red aggro a bit more viable.
Chameleon Colossus > Plow Under So many people on this board have raved about Plow Under that I'm really curious to see it in action. CC gets the cut because although the power level is fine, I've been uncomfortable with having such a powerful color hoser.
Loxodon Warhammer > Basilisk Collar Warhammer has been too slow to be effective. Basilisk Collar is no Sword of anything, but it's a lot faster than what's coming out. Mind Stone > Chrome Mox This World Championship edition was a gift, and it's something I never thought I'd be able to include. Razormane Masticore > Rishadan Port How can I add this $120 card to my budget cube? Another fine bargain brought to you by World Championship Editions for a mere $3.50. No aggro deck has won a draft yet, so I'm putting a high priority on adding mana denial options against midrange.
I like almost all of this. I don't think Kruin Striker is going to be that good and I actually think I prefer the Warhound. Have you thought about adding Fire Imp, Fireslinger, or Ashmouth Hound?
Mind Stone should be run in every cube. Cut Trading Post, Crystal Ball, Thran Dynamo, or Epochrasite instead.
I ran both Warhammer and Collar for a while. I didn't like either very much. Without access to Swords of X and Y, I'd probably go with the Warhammer because it packs such a bigger punch. Mostly, equipment that doesn't increase power is not worth it. However, I like Collar more than the artifacts I listed about (except Dynamo) so if you want to add it, cut two of those to bring in Collar and Mind Stone. Or just cut the aggro color pair signets.
Fire Imp is in the mail to replace Ghitu Slinger, I cut Fireslinger a while back because I think it's outclassed by Grim Lavamancer and even Spikeshot Elder as red pingers go. I'm looking for an aggro two drop to replace it, I hadn't considered Ashmouth Hound before, has that been good for you?
Point taken on Mind Stone, I'll cut Trading Post instead. Trading Post a cool card, but it's never seemed to find a home in any cube decks from my cube. I'm actually in a bit of an awkward spot when it comes to mana rocks. I'm hesitant to break up the Signet cycle as even the traditionally aggro pairs seem to want the red based ones for Wildfire, ramp decks, and things like America control. Even Boros Signet gets its share of play. I'm hoping to get to a point where I can cut the entire cycle and replace them with 5 color and colorless mana rocks.
Speaking of mana rocks, I'm surprised you'd recommend cutting Thran Dynamo. It might outclassed in many powered cubes, but do you think that it's outclassed in mine?
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I'm also borrowing an idea from wtwlf and adding an extra pack of 15 Conspiracy cards - draft altering constructs, and the command zone Conspiracy and Hidden Agenda cards. Most of these cards will probably only be in for a few weeks while Conspiracy is new and hot, and if I have 10 drafters this week we'll need an extra pack anyway because of Lore Seeker. Once the dust settles and I see which cards add the most to the cube draft experience, I'll probably cut most of them and bring the cube back down to 450 cards. In the meantime, I expect this to be a fun experiment:
This is just a quick update to note that now that I have updated my cube for Conspiracy on Cube Tutor, the list in the first post has also been updated. Also:
So far I have not been able to draft the full cube since the Conspiracy, but I did Winston with 4 people twice. Winstoning was a bit problematic because all of the constructs that involved an actual pack had to be removed and replaced as they came up, so Cogwork Librarian and friends wound up being meaningless. Since I Winston at least as much as I draft the full cube this is a real problem.
The other Conspiracy cards that came up, however, were great. Using Deal Broker, I traded a Karmic Guide for a Char that actually fit my Gruul deck. It was great to get some value from an early pick that I couldn't use. Power Play and Double Stroke (attached to Hero's Downfall) were also pretty impressive. I wasn't planning on expanding beyond 450 before, but so far it looks like the Conspiracy supplement could well be here to stay.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I asked for advice from the forum on how I could best improve my blue section for $50 or less, and the consensus was to add more creature theft effects, a Tinker package, and OG Jace. Here's the beginning of that update, and more of it is on the way in a pending order.
Liliana's Reaver > Desecration Demon Reaver was too fragile, and never seemed to get through. I'm hoping that DD will work well as a blaggro curve topper and also work well with Pox, Magus of the Abyss and the Braids, Cabal Minion that should be arriving any day now. It won't be good against every deck, particularly those with token generators, but when it's good it packs a wallop.
Fyndhorn Elves > Utopia Sprawl Adding a bit of variety to the ramp package. I like that this adds fixing and is effectively free after turn one. Fyndhorn has worse art than Llanowar or Mystic.
I'm cheating here a bit by cutting a hybrid for a gold card, but I just can't bring myself to cut Detention Sphere (tempting, though, now that there are 3 very similar cards in mono-white) or Venser, the Sojourner for Revelation. I haven't decided yet whether or not this change will be permanent.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I like everything you did in the last three posts, although I'm not a big fan of Desecration Demon. Liliana's Reaver isn't that great either, so I consider that a sideways change.
I'm actually running Gnarled Scarhide and Master of the Feast, you probably didn't see them because they're listed under a mini-section of "Enchantment Creatures", and Tombstalker was a recent addition - at the bottom of the list as 8CMC.
Braids is in an incoming shipment, so I could cut DD for it when it arrives. Thanks for the advice!
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
While I've got your attention, I just pulled a Reflecting Pool. Anything you'd cut in colorless to make room for it? Not including Conspiracy cards or constructs, they're all very much in the testing phase right now.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I've been pretty happy with Hall of Triumph so far, I have a lot of token generators so the extra anthem effect in colorless has been pretty solid. I think you're right about Elixir of Immortality, the effect is pretty narrow and way too slow for cube, so that will be the cut. Thanks again, Ranti, and congrats on finishing your first year of acupuncture school. I hope you can get in plenty of cube drafting in this summer.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
A shipment I've been waiting for has finally arrived.
OUT > IN
Geist-Honored Monk > Reveillark Nothing against the Monk, but I've been trying for months to get a hold of a Reveillark - so many ridiculous combos and synergy in the cube with this card.
Raven's Crime > Funeral Charm Probably not the most powerful card, but I'm hoping its versatility makes up for that. Black Sun's Zenith > Profane Command BSZ was painfully slow, so I'm trying a card that does something completely different. Many completely different things, actually.
Worldly Tutor > Survival of the Fittest Thank God for World Championship editions. I'm not sure if this is the best cut for Survival, but I'm really looking forward to seeing the #1 green card in the Power Rankings in action. Kalonian Tusker > Fauna Shaman Wild Nacatl > Terastodon I've really been trying to boost the strategy of cheating fatties into play as best I can through ramp, reanimation, and Tinker because a lot of my regular expat players are big on these strategies in EDH, so I think they'll enjoy having this available in cube, too. Wild Nacatl has been my least-drafted green card for a really long time, probably because I haven't pushed the Naya zoo in my gold sections.
I'm going to stick to my guns on cutting Wild Nacatl for the moment, though. It's been in the cube for quite a while and I see it going very late. Green aggro cards are narrow enough, and being a vanilla 1/1 in a Simic or Golgari deck makes it that much narrower, so I'm not surprised. I'm also missing the tools I need for a proper green aggro package, like Wild Dogs and Jungle Lion (it's always sold out at my online shop, and older commons are impossible to buy locally) so it's a card that doesn't seem to have a home in my cube right now. It may come back later as part of a green aggro package.
Briarhorn and Wolfir Silverheart have both played really well in my cube so far. Briarhorn gets its share of 2-for-1s as a 4 drop and has been a great combat trick for 1G, and it interacts amazingly well with Diabolic Servitude and Restoration Angel. It's been even better than the dumb combat trick I was expecting it to be. Wolfir Silverheart has been pulling its weight. Twelve power and toughness is a great deal for 5 mana, and even when it eats removal the next turn, it's still usually forced a chump block or gotten an extra 4 through first. If I can get a Kalonian Hydra, I'd probably cut it for that or if a better green 5-drop comes out in the next few sets. I'll be keeping my eye on Wolfir Avenger, though. It seems good enough on paper, but I'll admit that I haven't had the chance to play it or see it in action since I added it to the cube. Everyone keeps passing me all the black!
Shrine of Burning Rage > Sonic Burst Shrine as a wincon was like a ticking time bomb - slow and with many ways to defuse it. I know this is unorthodox, but Sonic Burst played well for me when I played Sligh during Tempest/Urza's standard, I want to see if it's any good in cube.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Changes based on recent trades and acquisitions. Most of these changes don't require much comment. All of the inclusions are widely considered cube staples, most of the cuts are cards that were not being drafted online or did not stand out as being particularly popular during in-person drafts.
In three of these changes I've replaced color-intensive (HHH) or under-performing hybrids with gold cards. Eventually, I will probably go back to having four gold cards per guild. The power level is just too high on the best gold cards for me to resist, and I think I now have enough mana fixing in the cube for them to be drafted and played proportionately to their power level.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
In some of these changes I'm cutting hybrids that were under-drafted (based on Cubetutor data) for mono-colored cards. These changes will not only get rid of underdrafted cards, but also bring each mono-colored section back to exactly 60 cards.
OUT > IN
Partial M15 update
Silkbind Faerie > Ajani Steadfast Faerie was just a bit too low impact and clunky for a 3-drop. This does leave me with 5 planeswalkers in white, the highest of any color by far. I really wish I could get even one decent black walker.
Burning-Tree Emissary > Borderland Marauder BTE was never in any particular demand by green decks anyway, Marauder is an obvious include. Generator Servant > Eidolon of the Great Revel Generator Servant really impressed me during pre-release, the possible ramp targets in cube are even juicier, so I think this has a lot of potential. Altac Bloodseeker > Keldon Marauders I'm less confident about Bloodseeker than the other two M15 red 2-drops, but I do think it's worth a test.
Reclamation Sage > Viridian Shaman Not a hard choice here.
I had two shipments of cards come in at the same time, and M15 just came out, so there are a lot of changes.
Artifacts
The biggest change in this section is that I have decided to get rid of the signets. I like having a lot of mana rocks in my cube, and as good as an on-color signet is, the chances of getting just the right signet in Winston outweighed their value just a bit too often. Half of them were languishing as bottom picks pretty much since I added them to my cube. I didn't feel right about just removing those for color balance reasons, so instead I'm replacing 9 of them with 5c or colorless mana rocks that look interesting. I don't expect all of them to stay, but it will be a lot easier to cut just one of these in the future than a single signet.
Agent of Acquisitions > Ankh of Mishra Agent wasn't much more than a novelty card, it has to be removed for every Winston draft, and the body was useless. Not worth it, IMHO. Adaptive Automaton > Loxodon Warhammer AA was a bit of a bust, there just aren't enough tribal synergies in my cube for this to exploit right now. Lurking Automaton > Steel Hellkite Lurking Automaton has to be removed for Winston and is just a big vanilla critter. Lodestone Golem > Nevinyrral's Disk Lodestone Golem had its moments, especially as a curve topper in aggro decks, but just hasn't been popular. I think there are just too many other good options at 4CMC for this to be a high pick even though it's colorless. Immediate Action > Wasteland Immediate Action was also a bottom pick. Other Hidden Agenda cards are getting plenty of play, but this one is at least perceived to be too low impact.
White
Condemn > Sunlance This might be less powerful than Condemn, but it Condemn is only really useful in control decks. I wish Sunlance were an instant, but I think it just might see more play. Mortify > Gleancrawler Because I counted off-color flashbacks as hybrids - mostly because Orzhov has no playable hybrids I wanted - I've had 5 Orzhov gold cards for way too long. Mortify seems to be the weakest link - there is plenty of spot creature removal. Since I don't have Vindicate maybe this is the wrong cut? It may seem odd that I'm replacing an Orzhov card with a Golgari card, but with some of my hybrid changes I count green and black each as down half a card if I replace Mortify with a white card - this actually balance things out. Gleancrawler is the best Golgari Hybrid I know of, and it's been pretty popular so I'm happy to bring it back.
Blue
Mind Control > Treachery Strict upgrade I've been wanting to make for months. Mist Raven > Sower of Temptation Similar function, but it seems like nearly a strict upgrade. Calcite Snapper > Tradewind Rider Snapper seemed like it could be a good early roadblock for control decks, but it wasn't getting picked. I remember when Tradewind Rider dominated Standard, and since I'm lacking some of the better options in blue anyway, I'd like to see if this has-been can do some work in the meantime. Latch Seeker > Kira, Great Glass-Spinner Latch Seeker, Vaporkin, and Welkin Tern just were not getting drafted or played by anyone, which tells me that dedicated blue aggro/skies is just not going to cut it in this cube the way it might in a Peasant cube. I think I was clinging to it largely out of habit because blue evasive heavy tempo/aggro decks are an archetype I tend to favor in retail limited. Vaporkin > Upheaval Welkin Tern > Opposition Dismiss > Daze I'm not sure if Dismiss is the best cut for Daze but as the only 4 mana counter it seems like the most expendable. Frostburn Weird > Misdirection Weird was never popular even in the earliest days of this cube, which defeated the purpose of holding this hybrid spot open.
Black
Carrion Feeder > Sarcomancy I never got the chance to see the Carrion Feeder/Gravecrawler combo in action, but I think that's a small price to pay for finally having seven 2-power one drops in my black section (8 if you count Rakdos Cackler). I feel a little silly for not having gotten a Sarcomancy sooner, to be honest. I was playing during Tempest/Urza block and remembered Sarco as a $10+ card, so just assumed it was too pricey for just another 1 drop - it's gone down quite a bit since the late 90s, though. Mutilate > Black Sun's Zenith The Swamps requirement is a bit unwieldy for Mutilate to work, unfortunately. Without fetches or ABU duals, even my 2 color black decks have a hard time making Mutilate effective on time if I have more than a few nonbasics. Wretched Anurid > Braids, Cabal Minion I'm really looking forward to trying Braids, and Anurid has not been a popular card. I'm still wondering if I'm making a mistake by cutting a 2 drop, though. Stupor > Chainer's Edict Stupor hasn't been popular - 3 mana just seems to be a bit high for a discard spell.
Red
Sonic Burst > Goblin Bombardment I'm making this swap before trying Sonic Burst in a single draft. I'm taking guyincorporated's word for it that this will be awful, and replacing it with one of the best sac outlets of all time. Mono-red players who need to kill Brimaz or Meloku will just have to draft Char a bit higher. Aftershock > Arc Lightning Aftershock was pretty much only my pet card, it seems. Mono-red seems to be able to kill without needing it, and other red decks seem to be content to dip into other colors to deal with things with a higher toughness than 3. Stormbreath Dragon > Thundermaw Hellkite Clear upgrade, plus I was never comfortable with random protection against a single color. Mirran Crusader is my last protection creature, and I will cut it once I find a powerful enough replacement. Spikeshot Elder > Reckless Waif 3 power 1 drop. w00t! Ghitu Slinger > Fire Imp Echo on a 3-drop is such an awful drawback, I really don't think I'll be looking back from this swap.
Gold
Unmake > Tidehollow Sculler White and black seem to have much better options for removal, I'm happy to make this switch. Unburial Rites > Magister of Worth Rites has been languishing as a bottom pick for a long time, probably because I have so many cheaper reanimation cards available that the potential card advantage here never really appealed. Magister of Worth looks like it has a lot of potential, plus I have a gorgeous Buy-a-box promo that's been burning a hole in my binder. Spined Thopter > Kiora, the Crashing Wave Thopter seemed like a shoe-in for aggro decks, but my drafters didn't seem to see it that way. It stayed at the bottom for a lot longer than I'm willing to accept for a colorless card. Since red and black decks wanted this card more than blue anyway, I don't feel too bad about cutting this "blue" card for a gold card. Selesnya Charm > Mirari's Wake No mode was quite powerful enough on this Charm, and I've been supporting ramp heavily in green lately. I hope this works out.
I'm not feeling great about that cut either. There are 3 two-drops from M15 I really want to try out. I'm sure Borderland Marauder will stay, I'm not so sure about Generator Servant or Altac Bloodseeker. Any ideas for a better cut, preferably a two-drop?
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I'd probably not add Bloodseeker or I'd cut Chainwalker (since Marauder is pretty close to a strict upgrade). Cutting Stormbreath Dragon would also be acceptable.
About Seismic Assault, I actually like the idea of having one spell in each color that rewards a heavy commitment to that color - Pox in black, Future Sight in Blue, and some of the better green fatties (I might be going overboard in green, but it should be more manageable there), Spectral Procession in white, and now Seismic Assault. This is the only triple red spell I'll be adding, that's for sure.
Noshadowkick, love the story about the World Championship Wasteland, what did you manage to "milk" him for?. I don't even bother hiding what they are, these are way cooler looking than a proxy and I can't imagine anyone I play with ever getting bent out of shape about it. I really wish WoTC would print another series like this for casual formats!
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Lifebane Zombie > Ophiomancer LBZ never seemed to hit a green or white creature, it's fragile, and its evasion is conditional. I've been itching to try this token generator for a while.
Liliana of the Dark Realms > Bloodline Keeper The Lilianas that cost under $50 just aren't worth playing. Not many black decks want to keep tutoring for swamps, black has way better removal options, and the ultimate just isn't worth going for. It's out, and getting replaced with this funky flying token maker, and hey, it even has an "ultimate." Until I can somehow acquire Liliana of the Veil or WotC prints another decent black planeswalker, the black section is going to have to do without.
Viridian Claw > Adaptive Automaton I'm honestly not sure how well this will work, but it seems like it has a lot of synergies with token generators and there are a lot of incidental tribal synergies that this can exploit. I find the card intriguing, and Viridian Claw probably wasn't adding that much anyway.
Marshal's Anthem > Ajani Goldmane Better anthem for the same cost, and gives so much more in exchange for the pricey reanimation option.
Athreos, God of Passage > Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Athreos was a bust, its usefulness was too situational. I don't mind cutting it at for this very versatile looking planeswalker.
Mistral Charger > Sublime Archangel I never felt quite right about having Restoration angel as the only angel in the entire cube.
Ray of Command > Mind Control I wish this were Treachery or Bribery, but I think this is still an upgrade.
Ohran Viper > Viridian Shaman Viper is the least aggressive 3-drop, and there are too many double green 3 drops.
I've also added photos to my original post if you'd like to see my cube case and funky sleeves in their full glory plus my homemade tokens!
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I'm adding a bit more support to reanimator in white, and the Karmic Guide should play well with Reveillark, which is coming in a shipment I've recently ordered.
Archon of Justice > Karmic Guide Archon of Justice wasn't bad, it was a fairly reliable 2-for-1, but there's only room for so many 5-drops. This one seems more interesting.
Frontline Medic > Eternal Dragon Reanimator target plus enabler in one package that also helps fix mana. Medic has been in since nearly the beginning, and as far as I know the battalion ability never triggered.
Vapor Snag > Serum Visions No one is picking Vapor Snag, it gets cut for this spiffy cantrip.
Wall of Frost > Calcite Snapper Wall of Frost was really handy in control matchups, but nowhere else. Snapper seems more versatile, since it will work on offense and defense. Most people seem to be replacing it with True-Name Nemesis, but the price is right here.
Black has been very much underdrafted by the other drafters in my cube, so I've been scooping it up and building black-heavy aggro decks... and getting my butt kicked. Since I've already added Pox and Magus of the Abyss, and Braids is on the way in an upcoming shipment, I've decided to add a bit more support to the Pox archetype.
Vampire Interloper > Reassembling Skeleton
Liliana's Specter > Geralf's Messenger
Ebon Drake > Smallpox
Desecration Demon > Tombstalker I had to learn the hard way that there are enough token generators in the cube to make DD really, really bad in many matchups. Time to replace it with a more consistent finisher.
Mogis's Warhound > Kruin Striker Warhound was a bit of a bust. It wasn't bad while bestowed, but once it falls off it usually just killed itself.
Devil's Play > Stonewright With only 6 one drops in red, plus Greater Gargadon and 3 hybrids, I think I need to add more to help make red aggro a bit more viable.
Chameleon Colossus > Plow Under So many people on this board have raved about Plow Under that I'm really curious to see it in action. CC gets the cut because although the power level is fine, I've been uncomfortable with having such a powerful color hoser.
Loxodon Warhammer > Basilisk Collar Warhammer has been too slow to be effective. Basilisk Collar is no Sword of anything, but it's a lot faster than what's coming out.
Mind Stone > Chrome Mox This World Championship edition was a gift, and it's something I never thought I'd be able to include.
Razormane Masticore > Rishadan Port How can I add this $120 card to my budget cube? Another fine bargain brought to you by World Championship Editions for a mere $3.50. No aggro deck has won a draft yet, so I'm putting a high priority on adding mana denial options against midrange.
Golgari Rot Farm > Temple of Malady The last bounce land is finally gone, and I seriously doubt that anyone will miss it.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Mind Stone should be run in every cube. Cut Trading Post, Crystal Ball, Thran Dynamo, or Epochrasite instead.
I ran both Warhammer and Collar for a while. I didn't like either very much. Without access to Swords of X and Y, I'd probably go with the Warhammer because it packs such a bigger punch. Mostly, equipment that doesn't increase power is not worth it. However, I like Collar more than the artifacts I listed about (except Dynamo) so if you want to add it, cut two of those to bring in Collar and Mind Stone. Or just cut the aggro color pair signets.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Point taken on Mind Stone, I'll cut Trading Post instead. Trading Post a cool card, but it's never seemed to find a home in any cube decks from my cube. I'm actually in a bit of an awkward spot when it comes to mana rocks. I'm hesitant to break up the Signet cycle as even the traditionally aggro pairs seem to want the red based ones for Wildfire, ramp decks, and things like America control. Even Boros Signet gets its share of play. I'm hoping to get to a point where I can cut the entire cycle and replace them with 5 color and colorless mana rocks.
Speaking of mana rocks, I'm surprised you'd recommend cutting Thran Dynamo. It might outclassed in many powered cubes, but do you think that it's outclassed in mine?
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Prison Term > Council's Judgment
Steam Augury > Dack Fayden
Izzet Charm > Dack's Duplicate TESTING
Underworld Cerberus > Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Also, thanks to Conspiracy reprints, I can now make the following changes:
Whispers of the Muse > Fact or Fiction Whispers just isn't fast enough for cube.
Serum Visions > Stifle There's definitely no shortage of targets for Stifle in my cube, so I'm curious to try this unique counterspell since I was lucky enough to pull it.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave > Edric, Spymaster of Trest
I'm also borrowing an idea from wtwlf and adding an extra pack of 15 Conspiracy cards - draft altering constructs, and the command zone Conspiracy and Hidden Agenda cards. Most of these cards will probably only be in for a few weeks while Conspiracy is new and hot, and if I have 10 drafters this week we'll need an extra pack anyway because of Lore Seeker. Once the dust settles and I see which cards add the most to the cube draft experience, I'll probably cut most of them and bring the cube back down to 450 cards. In the meantime, I expect this to be a fun experiment:
Conspiracies
Advantageous Proclamation
Brago's Favor
Immediate Action
Iterative Analysis
Muzzio's Preparations
Power Play
Sentinel Dispatch
Unexpected Potential
Draft Altering Constructs
Agent of Acquisitions
Cogwork Grinder
Cogwork Spy
Deal Broker
Lore Seeker
Lurking Automaton
Whispergear Sneak
I was not lucky enough to pull an Aether Searcher, Canal Dredger, or Cogwork Librarian from any packs, but if I get any of them, they will replace Whispergear Sneak, Cogwork Spy and Cogwork Grinder.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Whispergear Sneak > Aether Searcher
Cogwork Spy > Canal Dredger
Cogwork Grinder > Cogwork Librarian
Sentinel Dispatch > Double Stroke
So far I have not been able to draft the full cube since the Conspiracy, but I did Winston with 4 people twice. Winstoning was a bit problematic because all of the constructs that involved an actual pack had to be removed and replaced as they came up, so Cogwork Librarian and friends wound up being meaningless. Since I Winston at least as much as I draft the full cube this is a real problem.
The other Conspiracy cards that came up, however, were great. Using Deal Broker, I traded a Karmic Guide for a Char that actually fit my Gruul deck. It was great to get some value from an early pick that I couldn't use. Power Play and Double Stroke (attached to Hero's Downfall) were also pretty impressive. I wasn't planning on expanding beyond 450 before, but so far it looks like the Conspiracy supplement could well be here to stay.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Future Sight > Jace Beleren
Bident of Thassa > Vedalken Shackles
Talrand's Invocation > Tinker
Sphinx of Uthuun > Inkwell Leviathan
Basilisk Collar > Steel Hellkite
Sundering Titan is also on the way as well as Opposition, Treachery, Sower of Temptation, and Upheaval.
Gideon's Lawkeeper > Student of Warfare
Liliana's Reaver > Desecration Demon Reaver was too fragile, and never seemed to get through. I'm hoping that DD will work well as a blaggro curve topper and also work well with Pox, Magus of the Abyss and the Braids, Cabal Minion that should be arriving any day now. It won't be good against every deck, particularly those with token generators, but when it's good it packs a wallop.
Kruin Striker > Keldon Marauders
Fyndhorn Elves > Utopia Sprawl Adding a bit of variety to the ramp package. I like that this adds fixing and is effectively free after turn one. Fyndhorn has worse art than Llanowar or Mystic.
Advent of the Wurm > Armada Wurm Advent didn't seem to be popular so I'm replacing it with a target for ramp, reanimation, and Birthing Pod.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Mask of Memory > Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Dismantling a U/W standard deck left me with a couple of cards to help beef up my Azorius section:
Turn to Mist > Sphinx's Revelation
Lyev Skyknight > Supreme Verdict
I'm cheating here a bit by cutting a hybrid for a gold card, but I just can't bring myself to cut Detention Sphere (tempting, though, now that there are 3 very similar cards in mono-white) or Venser, the Sojourner for Revelation. I haven't decided yet whether or not this change will be permanent.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Braids is in an incoming shipment, so I could cut DD for it when it arrives. Thanks for the advice!
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Geist-Honored Monk > Reveillark Nothing against the Monk, but I've been trying for months to get a hold of a Reveillark - so many ridiculous combos and synergy in the cube with this card.
Raven's Crime > Funeral Charm Probably not the most powerful card, but I'm hoping its versatility makes up for that.
Black Sun's Zenith > Profane Command BSZ was painfully slow, so I'm trying a card that does something completely different. Many completely different things, actually.
Worldly Tutor > Survival of the Fittest Thank God for World Championship editions. I'm not sure if this is the best cut for Survival, but I'm really looking forward to seeing the #1 green card in the Power Rankings in action.
Kalonian Tusker > Fauna Shaman
Wild Nacatl > Terastodon I've really been trying to boost the strategy of cheating fatties into play as best I can through ramp, reanimation, and Tinker because a lot of my regular expat players are big on these strategies in EDH, so I think they'll enjoy having this available in cube, too. Wild Nacatl has been my least-drafted green card for a really long time, probably because I haven't pushed the Naya zoo in my gold sections.
Steel Hellkite > Sundering Titan Better Tinker target.
Elixir of Immortality > Reflecting Pool Elixir hasn't been getting drafted online or in person for a long time, so I guess this effect just isn't really needed.
Oona, Queen of the Fae > Baleful Strix
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Masked Admirers > Worldly Tutor
I'm going to stick to my guns on cutting Wild Nacatl for the moment, though. It's been in the cube for quite a while and I see it going very late. Green aggro cards are narrow enough, and being a vanilla 1/1 in a Simic or Golgari deck makes it that much narrower, so I'm not surprised. I'm also missing the tools I need for a proper green aggro package, like Wild Dogs and Jungle Lion (it's always sold out at my online shop, and older commons are impossible to buy locally) so it's a card that doesn't seem to have a home in my cube right now. It may come back later as part of a green aggro package.
Briarhorn and Wolfir Silverheart have both played really well in my cube so far. Briarhorn gets its share of 2-for-1s as a 4 drop and has been a great combat trick for 1G, and it interacts amazingly well with Diabolic Servitude and Restoration Angel. It's been even better than the dumb combat trick I was expecting it to be. Wolfir Silverheart has been pulling its weight. Twelve power and toughness is a great deal for 5 mana, and even when it eats removal the next turn, it's still usually forced a chump block or gotten an extra 4 through first. If I can get a Kalonian Hydra, I'd probably cut it for that or if a better green 5-drop comes out in the next few sets. I'll be keeping my eye on Wolfir Avenger, though. It seems good enough on paper, but I'll admit that I haven't had the chance to play it or see it in action since I added it to the cube. Everyone keeps passing me all the black!
Two more changes to help reinforce red aggro:
Seismic Assault > Zo-zu the Punisher Ankh of Mishra on legs to replace a grindy card that is just too hard to cast outside of mono-red aggro decks that don't really seem to want it anyway.
Shrine of Burning Rage > Sonic Burst Shrine as a wincon was like a ticking time bomb - slow and with many ways to defuse it. I know this is unorthodox, but Sonic Burst played well for me when I played Sligh during Tempest/Urza's standard, I want to see if it's any good in cube.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Fettergeist > Glen Elendra Archmage
Boggart Ram-Gang > Xenagos, the Reveler
Duergar Hedge-Mage > Ajani Vengeant Hedge-mage didn't play as well as I'd hoped as a hybrid. The basic land requirement made it very difficult to get full value out of this card or even splash for it.
Gleancrawler > Pernicious Deed
Kjeldoran Outpost > Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Hall of Triumph > Mutavault
In three of these changes I've replaced color-intensive (HHH) or under-performing hybrids with gold cards. Eventually, I will probably go back to having four gold cards per guild. The power level is just too high on the best gold cards for me to resist, and I think I now have enough mana fixing in the cube for them to be drafted and played proportionately to their power level.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Partial M15 update
Silkbind Faerie > Ajani Steadfast Faerie was just a bit too low impact and clunky for a 3-drop. This does leave me with 5 planeswalkers in white, the highest of any color by far. I really wish I could get even one decent black walker.
Burning-Tree Emissary > Borderland Marauder BTE was never in any particular demand by green decks anyway, Marauder is an obvious include.
Generator Servant > Eidolon of the Great Revel Generator Servant really impressed me during pre-release, the possible ramp targets in cube are even juicier, so I think this has a lot of potential.
Altac Bloodseeker > Keldon Marauders I'm less confident about Bloodseeker than the other two M15 red 2-drops, but I do think it's worth a test.
Reclamation Sage > Viridian Shaman Not a hard choice here.
I'm also very interested in trying the new Nissa, Garruk, Apex Predator, Scuttling Engine of Doom, and Soul of New Phyrexia as soon as I can get my hands on copies.
I had two shipments of cards come in at the same time, and M15 just came out, so there are a lot of changes.
Artifacts
The biggest change in this section is that I have decided to get rid of the signets. I like having a lot of mana rocks in my cube, and as good as an on-color signet is, the chances of getting just the right signet in Winston outweighed their value just a bit too often. Half of them were languishing as bottom picks pretty much since I added them to my cube. I didn't feel right about just removing those for color balance reasons, so instead I'm replacing 9 of them with 5c or colorless mana rocks that look interesting. I don't expect all of them to stay, but it will be a lot easier to cut just one of these in the future than a single signet.
Azorius Signet > Coalition Relic
Boros Signet > Prismatic Lens
Dimir Signet > Everflowing Chalice
Golgari Signet > Coldsteel Heart
Gruul Signet > Pristine Talisman
Izzet Signet > City of Traitors honorary mana rock
Orzhov Signet > Sphere of the Suns
Rakdos Signet > Guardian Idol
Selesnya Signet > Palladium Myr
Simic Signet > Helm of Possession I know Helm isn't particularly popular in cube these days, but I like the idea of a colorless Vedalken Shackles, plus it can pair quite nicely with token generators. I'm looking forward to giving this a try.
Agent of Acquisitions > Ankh of Mishra Agent wasn't much more than a novelty card, it has to be removed for every Winston draft, and the body was useless. Not worth it, IMHO.
Adaptive Automaton > Loxodon Warhammer AA was a bit of a bust, there just aren't enough tribal synergies in my cube for this to exploit right now.
Lurking Automaton > Steel Hellkite Lurking Automaton has to be removed for Winston and is just a big vanilla critter.
Lodestone Golem > Nevinyrral's Disk Lodestone Golem had its moments, especially as a curve topper in aggro decks, but just hasn't been popular. I think there are just too many other good options at 4CMC for this to be a high pick even though it's colorless.
Immediate Action > Wasteland Immediate Action was also a bottom pick. Other Hidden Agenda cards are getting plenty of play, but this one is at least perceived to be too low impact.
White
Condemn > Sunlance This might be less powerful than Condemn, but it Condemn is only really useful in control decks. I wish Sunlance were an instant, but I think it just might see more play.
Mortify > Gleancrawler Because I counted off-color flashbacks as hybrids - mostly because Orzhov has no playable hybrids I wanted - I've had 5 Orzhov gold cards for way too long. Mortify seems to be the weakest link - there is plenty of spot creature removal. Since I don't have Vindicate maybe this is the wrong cut? It may seem odd that I'm replacing an Orzhov card with a Golgari card, but with some of my hybrid changes I count green and black each as down half a card if I replace Mortify with a white card - this actually balance things out. Gleancrawler is the best Golgari Hybrid I know of, and it's been pretty popular so I'm happy to bring it back.
Blue
Mind Control > Treachery Strict upgrade I've been wanting to make for months.
Mist Raven > Sower of Temptation Similar function, but it seems like nearly a strict upgrade.
Calcite Snapper > Tradewind Rider Snapper seemed like it could be a good early roadblock for control decks, but it wasn't getting picked. I remember when Tradewind Rider dominated Standard, and since I'm lacking some of the better options in blue anyway, I'd like to see if this has-been can do some work in the meantime.
Latch Seeker > Kira, Great Glass-Spinner Latch Seeker, Vaporkin, and Welkin Tern just were not getting drafted or played by anyone, which tells me that dedicated blue aggro/skies is just not going to cut it in this cube the way it might in a Peasant cube. I think I was clinging to it largely out of habit because blue evasive heavy tempo/aggro decks are an archetype I tend to favor in retail limited.
Vaporkin > Upheaval
Welkin Tern > Opposition
Dismiss > Daze I'm not sure if Dismiss is the best cut for Daze but as the only 4 mana counter it seems like the most expendable.
Frostburn Weird > Misdirection Weird was never popular even in the earliest days of this cube, which defeated the purpose of holding this hybrid spot open.
Black
Carrion Feeder > Sarcomancy I never got the chance to see the Carrion Feeder/Gravecrawler combo in action, but I think that's a small price to pay for finally having seven 2-power one drops in my black section (8 if you count Rakdos Cackler). I feel a little silly for not having gotten a Sarcomancy sooner, to be honest. I was playing during Tempest/Urza block and remembered Sarco as a $10+ card, so just assumed it was too pricey for just another 1 drop - it's gone down quite a bit since the late 90s, though.
Mutilate > Black Sun's Zenith The Swamps requirement is a bit unwieldy for Mutilate to work, unfortunately. Without fetches or ABU duals, even my 2 color black decks have a hard time making Mutilate effective on time if I have more than a few nonbasics.
Wretched Anurid > Braids, Cabal Minion I'm really looking forward to trying Braids, and Anurid has not been a popular card. I'm still wondering if I'm making a mistake by cutting a 2 drop, though.
Stupor > Chainer's Edict Stupor hasn't been popular - 3 mana just seems to be a bit high for a discard spell.
Red
Sonic Burst > Goblin Bombardment I'm making this swap before trying Sonic Burst in a single draft. I'm taking guyincorporated's word for it that this will be awful, and replacing it with one of the best sac outlets of all time. Mono-red players who need to kill Brimaz or Meloku will just have to draft Char a bit higher.
Aftershock > Arc Lightning Aftershock was pretty much only my pet card, it seems. Mono-red seems to be able to kill without needing it, and other red decks seem to be content to dip into other colors to deal with things with a higher toughness than 3.
Stormbreath Dragon > Thundermaw Hellkite Clear upgrade, plus I was never comfortable with random protection against a single color. Mirran Crusader is my last protection creature, and I will cut it once I find a powerful enough replacement.
Spikeshot Elder > Reckless Waif 3 power 1 drop. w00t!
Ghitu Slinger > Fire Imp Echo on a 3-drop is such an awful drawback, I really don't think I'll be looking back from this swap.
Gold
Unmake > Tidehollow Sculler White and black seem to have much better options for removal, I'm happy to make this switch.
Unburial Rites > Magister of Worth Rites has been languishing as a bottom pick for a long time, probably because I have so many cheaper reanimation cards available that the potential card advantage here never really appealed. Magister of Worth looks like it has a lot of potential, plus I have a gorgeous Buy-a-box promo that's been burning a hole in my binder.
Spined Thopter > Kiora, the Crashing Wave Thopter seemed like a shoe-in for aggro decks, but my drafters didn't seem to see it that way. It stayed at the bottom for a lot longer than I'm willing to accept for a colorless card. Since red and black decks wanted this card more than blue anyway, I don't feel too bad about cutting this "blue" card for a gold card.
Selesnya Charm > Mirari's Wake No mode was quite powerful enough on this Charm, and I've been supporting ramp heavily in green lately. I hope this works out.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963