This thread details in part the evolution of my cube. I have adapted it to my own preferences as well as tailored it to the playgroups I draft it with. You are welcome to look through the list, though I often keep the most up-to-date list on my CubeTutor.com page. Feel free to comment below!
FiveFingers Powered Cube
Est. Mar 2014
Size: 540 Cards Purpose: 2 person rotisserie/winston/grid/point drafting, 6 to 12 person booster draft. Link to my CubeTutor:FiveFingers 540 Card Powered Cube Notable Inclusions: Unhinged, Unglued, Conspiracies, Proxies. Revised: May 15, 2015 -- MOST UP TO DATE AT CUBETUTOR!!
April 2, 2014 I established this thread. I have drawn upon the resources present at this forum to construct a baseline cube to begin development on. Listed within is further explanation of my first critiques of the cube.
This list is more or less finalized for the time being. I've made a bunch of changes prior to now that I don't really care to reflect here because the cube was more in its formative stages. I have an idea of a few cards to watch and test to see if people find homes for them often enough to solidify a place.
Berserk seems in principle to be a huge enabler in a lot of ways. I envision it puts the nail in the coffin for aggro based decks, that it really makes sneak attack pack a bigger punch and also makes reanimation better as well. At its roots it is a card to make your creature do more damage and thus I am watching it for the consideration of Curse of Predation instead which helps a whole suite of creatures versus just one.
Nether Void is sort of a unique stax effect in that it's in black where Pox is the traditional way of limiting resources. I envision those drafting a Pox deck would absolutely shy away from Nether Void for the fact that Pox decks rarely go beyond 3-4 lands, though would I surely accept my being wrong in this assumption. I think Nether Void best finds its place in a big mana control deck where it can float a Tinker into Sundering Titan or Myr Battlesphere, or some reanimated fatty to then drop Nether Void to seal in the lock. I just don't have anywhere the drafts under my belt to make a decision on it either way.
When I was designing the cube I went back and fourth on Thassa and Master of Waves. Thassa won out for her Scry and ability to make dudes unblockable. Master synergizes with Mutavault and blue aggro which is somewhat possible but often in need of a complimentary color. I just didn't know if I wanted to go whole hog with Coralhelm Commander and the merfolk package. Blue aggro aside, Thassa seems to help simic substantially and beyond that, I just don't know. So I'm watching her with more discriminatory eyes than I otherwise would.
April 5, 2014 Some cuts from Watch List and added replacements.
I was for so long trying to rationalize Berserk and Nether Void when instead I should have been focusing my intention to make the cube well-rounded and consistent. I'd rather have more drafts with people taking Curse of Predation, Curse of Shallow Graves more often than there being fewer drafts with people taking the cut cards less often. Bye-bye!
I really like Gifts Ungiven and I wasn't sure where it would fit in, in my list. It took some time to find out what I would cut in blue given the power level of the cards. Ultimately I decided I didn't like the suspend on Ancestral Vision which made an easy swap. Trinket Mage is absolutely superb to grab a Moxen, Sol Ring, Pithing Needle or Sensei's Divining Top. However, I think I needed a little more 'fat' in my cube for Tinker and reanimation spells to grab. Leviathan achieves 'testing' status.
I think that with Kira, Great Glass Spinner, my re-implementation of AEther Adept and the suite of UU drop creatures, Thassa going live will happen more often. I'm hoping that the heavy cost of 'UU' in some creatures will entice the blue aggro deck as an option and possibly make the draft more balanced.
I should have weighted higher value on Lotleth Troll. I'm trying to increase practical avenues to dump creatures into the 'yard and this guy does it all. Abrupt Decay is far more conditional than this guy is, as he at the very least has a body.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride can't protect himself which is one of my leading reasons to replace him with Spear of Heliod. Additionally, white was lacking an anthem which I believe is a very solid addition to the archetype. White control benefits from the card as well with the activated ability. Solid improvement overall.
Blue aggro is cute, but it's better in principle than in practice. Usually more than several people take little bit of blue in cube and I'd rather make the individual bits better than try to force an archetype (blue aggro) that requires a sum of cards to function. And, anyway, it's still possible to build a deck with a heavy blue focus that plays aggressively and has a lot of tempo when the color is open. In Dimir, Ashiok ended up being cut for Psychatog. Truly great sources to dump cards into the graveyard are few and far between and with the exact same costing of Ashiok and Pyschatog, the comparison is really rather obvious.
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is just a fun card. There's no other justification for his inclusion. He's a bit greedy to include in that he's 3 colors and 8 mana in a 450 card count cube however, I think that people will pick him for the fact that he's just damn fun. I know I will. For him, Duskmantle Seer comes out who has been conditionally good. I'm fine with two conditionally good cards swapping places.
Sphinx of the Steel Wind comes in for Desolation Angel. I wanted another Tinker target as well as a bomb around the 6-7 CC range to replace Desolation Angel. I absolutely adore Desolation Angel but she isn't picked as aggressively as I'd like. Sphinx is the big beat I'd like to replace her with.
Oracle of Mul Daya dies too easily. Courser stays in for now. Vinelasher Kudzu takes Oracle's place for similar function.
Witchstalker is good; Life from the Loam is better. I'm content with dropping a creature to support a singular card that supports an entire deck to build around.
I want to test Xenagos, the Reveler over Burning-Tree Emissary. The Emissary is clearly the better of the two in an opening hand with an aggressive deck. Xenagos is a far better top-deck and mid-range card. We'll see how he does!
Kor Haven rides the bench to give Unexpectedly Absent more of a chance. Kor Haven is a bit more conditional than Un. Absent.
Exalted Angel is a bit too slow for white weenie and a bit underwhelming for white control. Entreat the Angels brings a bigger late game punch and has a bigger early game potential.
Sublime Archangel becomes better with more creatures on the board. Mirror Entity becomes way, way better with the same amount of creatures. Both die to burn, though Entity has the potential to survive more easily at the cost of no evasion.
Champion of the Parish has been underwhelming. Steppe Lynx should fit the slot more consistently.
Frantic Search digs. Thassa digs and also makes dudes unblockable. Playgroup is also a big fan of Thassa so she comes back in.
Eureka has been underwhelming. The big green fatties deck often prefers Natural Order or virtually any other way to cheat creatures into play rather than Eureka for fear of any sort of answer from opponents hands. Oracle of Mul Daya replaces the slot.
The Abyss is just too good. Certain decks can't answer it. Chainer's Edict takes the slot as a more accessible removal spell.
Massacre Wurm is probably better in an unpowered cube. Bone Shredder of Nekrataal are better options, and cheaper ones, so Nekrataal comes in.
Goblin Bombardment is hard to set up. Hammer of Purphoros is a bit better for the red deck.
April 27, 2014 Last Bit of Tidying Up and Changing My Mind
I'm going to opt for consistency and even out the guilds at 8 cards each. Nicol Bolas and Sphinx will sit on the bench for me to mull over whether I really did want their inclusion or was just allured by their glamour.
Triskelion takes a seat for Chromatic Lantern for better mana fixing.
New set is here!
Mana Confluence QUICKLY replaces Precursor Golem who has lost power over time.
Master of the Feast replaces Geralf's Messenger for big beats.
Gnarled Scarhide replaces the durdling Pain Seer.
Banishing Light 'removes from the cube' Eternal Dragon.
Prophetic Flamespeaker exiles Blistering Firecat, and is glad to see this awkwardness will never occur in a game.
Nether Void is a weird card. I ran it for a while and thought that it might help black aggro, similar to how Armageddon helps white aggro. It turned out that the two cards play quite differently though. It often seemed that Void hurt the aggressive, land-light deck more than the slower deck with many mana sources. If the slower deck could survive the initial onslaught, it usually operated better under the Void. Plus, it could be destroyed with the appropriate type of removal.
I am not sure how it would play in Pox-style mana denial deck. As you said yourself, those decks usually don't have that many mana out, so it might run into the same problem as my black aggro decks did. On the other hand, some additional mana denial might help. I am a bit skeptical though. Currently, I am of the opinion that The Abyss is probably the better card for Pox/Stax-style decks (and it is also a nice gift for artifact decks). How did that card play in your cube? I am a bit worried that it might become too oppressive in certain decks and match-ups.
I've never played with it in any cubes prior to mine. Maybe it's because people haven't wanted to proxy it, or couldn't afford it and in the power cubes I have drafted I've never seen it. Maybe I should take it as an omen that it doesn't really fit in a cube. It just seemed to me like a particularly backbreaking spell in the right denial deck which aren't often drafted unless the right cards show up - Braids, Pox, Sinkhole, Mind Twist, Bitterblossom, etc... I like Curse of Shallow Graves and it is going to immediately replace Nether Void if it makes the cut however, I felt like it was alright to give it a try for now. I've only ever considered Nether Void in theory and have yet to see it in practice. On a side note, I see Nether Void being an absolute pill in BU Opposition. BU has so many 2 drop creatures that, in unison, make an incredible lock that Nether Void would be an absolute win condition.
The Abyss seems just fine. I think that it's a slow enough card that mono red can still out pace the sacrifice which I envision gets hit the hardest with its limited removal. I'll probably let the people decide on this one once it's seen play enough.
They're cards that basically I said to myself, 'well these could be neat' and put in the cube. Beyond that I don't have substance to back up their slots and they could stay in or go at a whim.
I thought I'd throw a little post to share the christening of my cube. Last Thursday myself and 7 other guys from a local comic shop drafted my cube for the very first time. I have felt like my cube has been an incredible labor of love over the last few months, and I am sure many who have made cubes and developed them over the years may attest to this, but there was a huge sense of pride in that everyone had a fantastic time and that I got to see it shine! Half of the people there had never cube drafted before and really drafted some great decks for knowing nothing about the format and what there was to pick from. I had a bit of bias in drafting in that I knew all 450 cards that could come, so I had a pretty monstrous Dimir Artifact/Control/Tempo deck with Bitterblossom, Ancestral Recall, Opposition, Timetwister, Mana Drain, Pack Rat, Tinker, Crucible, Fetches, Sundering Titan, etc... But of the guys who had never done cube, one had a fairly solid Naya deck, one had a bonkers Grixis Reanimator deck with 3 moxen, several reanimation targets, Entomb, Wheel of Fortune and Snapcaster Mage (yes, he Entombed Wheel of Fortune to Snapcaster It!), one had a Golgari Survival of the Fittest deck and the last had an Azorious Control deck. What it revealed to me was that (not to boast) a well-balanced cube will encourage decks to basically build themselves once you've, as a drafter, established colors and make reasonable picks. I found a solid playgroup of people who want to make it a weekly thing to cube draft, which I'm stoked about. After all, I built it with the intention of bringing friends together to play some cards and have a good time.
I know that I've made considerable changes in a very short amount of time to the contents of my cube. I spend an extensive amount of time tweaking my cube; I weigh my choices over the most popular cards in cubes try to pick the cards to best-suit the archetypes in mine. I think that my decision making process has been effective thus-far and, the way I see it is, I will always have the cards in reserve should I desire to re-add them!
I'm trying not to be 'that one self-indulgent poster' whom is the only person interested in his/her cube list but, for those who scour through others lists (like I do) I have a few points to note in my recent experiences as a cube designer:
The first: I am (finally!!) pretty settled in on my list. This is probably the result of having fabricated my cube two short months ago and, then, meticulously poured over each card choice, made card cuts, made cuts from those cuts, and after that still cut those cards to put in previous cut cards to only make more cuts! As a cube is a living and evolving list, I am sure this will be a continuing process as Magic continues to progress. For the first time I have had this feeling of contentment that things are about where they should be and so I think I'll dwell on that satisfaction for now.
The second: Shards (Esper, Grixis, etc) ultimately felt like a no-no at 450 cards. This may be entirely obvious for many of you but I had to see for myself to be sure. I tested Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Sphinx of the Steel Wind. I let them circulate my cube for a few drafts. They were absolutely playable and yet, I worried they forced their colors to the dismay of others in guilds aligned in those colors (if that makes sense?). Essentially I felt that, especially in the case of Grixis and Esper (which has blue and black - two of the most powerful colors in the cube), there didn't need to be powerful cards in those colors pushing yet a third color on a player to try to find fixing or other card choices for. I want to encourage more mono colored decks with second color splashes rather than guild decks with third color splashes.
The third: There can be cripplingly good cards that otherwise durdle or imbalance cube. The Abyss and Eureka, I'm looking at you. The Abyss was back-breakingly good in the right decks and still provided use in others which couldn't fully abuse it. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Eureka just did not quite get there. It too often sat in players hands to their chagrin, facing down opponents with a grip of cards in their hands as well. I maybe have not yet fully learned this lesson as I really, really want Gifts Ungiven to be A Thing in my cube.
The fourth: With midrange being such an attractive (and ubiquitous) option, and control as the second in cube it is a never-ending battle to find ways to push aggro decks that aren't The Red Deck. I can see why WtfWtf123 so aggressively hunts down 1-drops for this reason. I really want players to be able to build a deck in most-any color that can secure the game by turn 4 or 5. I think that it is also in the best interest to have more fast decks to force shorter games as well. No one wants to be up against control decks the entire night. I also like players being able to play everyone else and this just wouldn't be possible if every game took 15+ minutes.
The fifth: Cuts are hard, man! I still want cards that are in 540 lists. 450 really disciplines you into making the best possible choices that others will still appreciate. I just cannot imagine going down to 360. No thanks to that!
Mostly good changes. I like Blistering Firecat more than several red cards you are keeping, especially Ogre Battldriver and Dragon Fodder. I like Precursor, but the only possible cut I see to keep it is Ancient Tomb. I like Golem more, but I think that's group dependent.
Made some big changes over the last few months. If anyone has ever wanted to consider a different approach to guild composition and the standard aggro composition in each color, give my list a look through. It has been running pretty well and my group likes all of the changes. My biggest want, now, is to up the count to 555 for some card inclusions (mostly an addition of 1 additional card for each guild, and 1 for each wedge).
Recently I decided to include 10 premiere conspiracies as well as re-distributed cards in various guilds to the colors they almost-always align with to free up space in guild sections and to allow for more inclusions. For example: Lingering Souls, Figure of Destiny and Dryad Militant are now categorized as 'White'. Additionally, I decided to cut black and green aggro from my cube to make them more toolboxy and rampy, respectively. Now, most recently, I added 15 more cards to the cube to support Booster Tutor. If both that and Lore Seeker get drafted (which almost certainly happens in a 10-person draft) there need to be 30 additional cards past 450 for both 15-card pack inclusions. The only awkward occurrence is that Booster Tutor will get the same 15-card pack throughout matches if the entire cube is utilized. Last notable mention is that there are now Unhinged and Unglued cards in the cube. Many are errata'd on perfect fits; Jack-in-the-Mox doesn't blow up and just produces (1) on a die roll of 1, Blacker Lotus makes 4 of any color and is removed from the game, Lotus Vale (not an Un-, but similar power-level) sac ability triggers after it enters the battlefield and Super Secret Tech is a major watchlist card as it may be way too good (my entire cube is foil).
Oh, and it's just coincidence I added Un- cards at the same time as WhiteWolf!
1) I included the Theros block temples package for each guild. I took out a lot of the rainbow lands/fetches/etc that has no guild association. The mirage block fetches might be better. I want to test the both of them spread out over time. I wanted to influence drafters to stay within a guild or very lightly splash 3 colors. That's why vivid lands were in so, so shortly.
2) Morph was added in greater density. Cards with morph that had a similar functionality as another card were swapped (ex: Nantuko Vigilante replaced Wickerbough Elder).
3) Some staples are gone. Sinkhole, Eureka, Life From the Loam to name a few. Realistically, the decks in those colors weren't really using them anymore except for Sinkhole which may make an appearance once more. We'll see - I'm not entirely sold on it being in or out. But I swapped it out for Attrition which is just so nutso-bonkers with all of the changes I've made.
FiveFingers Powered Cube
Est. Mar 2014
Size: 540 Cards
Purpose: 2 person rotisserie/winston/grid/point drafting, 6 to 12 person booster draft.
Link to my CubeTutor: FiveFingers 540 Card Powered Cube
Notable Inclusions: Unhinged, Unglued, Conspiracies, Proxies.
Revised: May 15, 2015 -- MOST UP TO DATE AT CUBETUTOR!!
My Cube
1 Dryad Militant
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Figure of Destiny
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Mother of Runes
1 Savannah Lions
1 Soldier of the Pantheon
1 Student of Warfare
- 2 CMC -
1 Accorder Paladin
1 Imposing Sovereign
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Lone Missionary
1 Seeker of the Way
1 Soltari Trooper
1 Squadron Hawk (+3 Sideboard)
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Wall of Omens
1 Blade Splicer
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1 Flickerwisp
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Mirror Entity
1 Silverblade Paladin
1 Soltari Champion
- 4 CMC -
1 Exalted Angel
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Restoration Angel
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Master of Pearls
1 Reveillark
- 6 CMC -
1 Sun Titan
- 7 CMC -
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Gideon Jura
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Instant
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Mana Tithe
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Disenchant
1 Momentary Blink
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Balance
1 Council's Judgement
1 Lingering Souls
1 Spectral Procession
1 Armageddon
1 Day of Judgment
1 Ravages of War
1 Wrath of God
1 Land Tax
1 Banishing Light
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Spear of Heliod
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Parallax Wave
Land
1 Windbrisk Heights
1 Enclave Cryptologist
1 Hypnotic Siren
- 2 CMC -
1 Looter il-Kor
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Snapcaster Mage
- 3 CMC -
1 AEther Adept
1 Cheatyface
1 Man-o'-War
1 True-Name Nemesis
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Willbender
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Dungeon Geists
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Master of Waves
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
- 5 CMC -
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Mulldrifter
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Jace Beleren
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Instant
1 Daze
1 Force of Will
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Force Spike
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Impulse
1 Mana Drain
1 Mana Leak
1 Memory Lapse
1 Miscalculation
1 Remand
1 Snap
1 Forbid
1 Cryptic Command
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Condescend
1 Syncopate
1 Dig Through Time
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Time Walk
1 Show and Tell
1 Tinker
1 Deep Analysis
1 Bribery
1 Upheaval
Enchantment
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Control Magic
1 Opposition
1 Treachery
Artifact
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Shelldock Isle
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Bloodsoaked Champion
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Gravecrawler
- 2 CMC -
1 Bloodghast
1 Dark Confidant
1 Nether Traitor
1 Pack Rat
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Bane of the Living
1 Bone Shredder
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Grim Haruspex
1 Ophiomancer
1 Pawn of Ulamog
1 Vampire Nighthawk
- 4 CMC -
1 Bloodline Keeper
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Nekrataal
1 Skinrender
1 Sadistic Hypnotist
1 Shriekmaw
1 Silent Specter
- 6 CMC -
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Grave Titan
- 8 CMC -
1 Griselbrand
1 Tombstalker
1 Liliana of the Veil
Instant
1 Snuff Out
1 Booster Tutor
1 Entomb
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Doom Blade
1 Go for the Throat
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Makeshift Mannequin
Sorcery
1 Duress
1 Imperial Seal
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Reanimate
1 Thoughtseize
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Exhume
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Smallpox
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Damnation
1 Unburial Rites
1 Mind Twist
1 Profane Command
1 Animate Dead
1 Bitterblossom
1 Dance of the Dead
1 Attrition
1 Curse of Shallow Graves
1 Necromancy
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Recurring Nightmare
Land
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Firedrinker Satyr
1 Goblin Guide
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Jackal Pup
1 Monastery Swiftspear
1 Rakdos Cackler
1 Stromkirk Noble
- 2 CMC -
1 Ash Zealot
1 Generator Savant
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Lightning Mauler
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Stormblood Berserker
1 Torch Fiend
1 Young Pyromancer
1 Blistering Firecat
1 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Jeering Instigator
1 Manic Vandal
1 Skirk Marauder
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
- 4 CMC -
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Hellrider
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
- 6 CMC -
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Inferno Titan
- 10 CMC -
1 Greater Gargadon
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Instant
1 Burst Lightning
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Incinerate
1 Lightning Strike
1 Magma Jet
1 Searing Spear
1 Smash to Smithereens
1 Char
1 Staggershock
1 Through the Breach
1 Chain Lightning
1 Faithless Looting
1 Firebolt
1 Molten Rain
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Burning of Xinye
1 Rolling Earthquake
1 Wildfire
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Sneak Attack
1 Splinter Twin
Artifact
1 Shrine of Burning Rage
1 Arbor Elf
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Noble Hierarch
- 2 CMC -
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Hermit Druid
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Wall of Roots
1 Wild Mongrel
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Eternal Witness
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Nantuko Vigilante
1 Rattleclaw Mystic
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Yavimaya Elder
- 4 CMC -
1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
- 5 CMC -
1 Acidic Slime
1 Deranged Hermit
1 Genesis
1 Thelonite Hermit
1 Thragtusk
1 Primeval Titan
- 7 CMC -
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Hornet Queen
- 8 CMC -
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Terastodon
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Garruk Relentless
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
Instant
1 Worldly Tutor
Sorcery
1 Mulch
1 Regrowth
1 Tracker's Instincts
1 Cultivate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Natural Order
1 Plow Under
1 Primal Command
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Fastbond
1 Rancor
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
Land
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Treetop Village
1 Geist of Saint Traft
Enchantment
1 Detention Sphere
Sorcery
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Venser, the Sojourner
Land
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Flooded Strand
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Tundra
1 Baleful Strix
1 Nightveil Specter
Instant
1 Far // Away
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
Land
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Polluted Delta
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Underground Sea
1 Watery Grave
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Sorcery
1 Dreadbore
1 Blightning
1 Badlands
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Temple of Malice
1 Bloodbraid Elf
Planeswalker
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Raging Ravine
1 Stomping Ground
1 Taiga
1 Temple of Abandon
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Voice of Resurgence
Enchantment
1 Glare of Subdual
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
Land
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Savannah
1 Temple Garden
1 Temlple of Plenty
1 Windswept Heath
1 Magister of Worth
Sorcery
1 Ass Whuppin'
1 Vindicate
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Land
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Godless Shrine
1 Marsh Flats
1 Scrubland
1 Temple of Silence
1 Abrupt Decay
Sorcery
1 Maelstrom Pulse
Enchantment
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
Land
1 Bayou
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple of Malady
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Trygon Predator
1 Mystic Snake
1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
Land
1 Breeding Pool
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Tropical Island
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Fire // Ice
Planeswalker
1 Dack Fayden
1 Ral Zarek
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Shivan Reef
1 Steam Vents
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Volcanic Island
1 Boros Charm
1 Lightning Helix
Enchantment
1 Assemble the Legion
1 Ajani Vengeant
Land
1 Arid Mesa
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Plateau
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Temple of Triumph
1 Who // What // When // Where // Why
1 Agent of Aquisitions
1 Loreseeker
1 Phyrexian Revoker
- 3 CMC -
1 Deal Broker
1 Porcelain Legionnaire
1 Canal Dredger
1 Cogwork Librarian
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Precursor Golem
- 6 CMC -
1 Wurmcoil Engine
- 7 CMC -
1 Myr Battlesphere
- 8 CMC -
1 Sundering Titan
1 Black Lotus
1 Blacker Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
- 1 CMC -
1 Bonesplitter
1 Cursed Scroll
1 Mana Vault
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
- 2 CMC -
1 Ankh of Mishra
1 Azorius Signet
1 Chaos Orb
1 Dimir Signet
1 Grim Monolith
1 Izzet Signet
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mind Stone
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Scroll Rack
1 Simic Signet
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Winter Orb
1 Coalition Relic
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Grafted Wargear
1 Mimic Vat
1 Super Secret Tech
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Tangle Wire
1 Worn Powerstone
- 4 CMC -
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Smokestack
1 Thran Dynamo
- 5 CMC -
1 Batterskull
1 Memory Jar
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Everflowing Chalice
- Instant -
1 Dismember
-Sorcery
1 Gitaxian Probe
- Planeswalker -
1 Karn Liberated
1 City of Brass
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Lotus Vale
1 Mana Confluence
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Mutavault
1 Paliano, the High City
1 Rishadan Port
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Backup Plan
1 Double Stroke
1 Immediate Action
1 Power Play
1 Unexpected Potential
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Changelist
April 2, 2014 I established this thread. I have drawn upon the resources present at this forum to construct a baseline cube to begin development on. Listed within is further explanation of my first critiques of the cube.
This list is more or less finalized for the time being. I've made a bunch of changes prior to now that I don't really care to reflect here because the cube was more in its formative stages. I have an idea of a few cards to watch and test to see if people find homes for them often enough to solidify a place.
The 'Big 3' that I am watching right now are:
Berserk
Nether Void
Thassa, God of the Sea
Berserk seems in principle to be a huge enabler in a lot of ways. I envision it puts the nail in the coffin for aggro based decks, that it really makes sneak attack pack a bigger punch and also makes reanimation better as well. At its roots it is a card to make your creature do more damage and thus I am watching it for the consideration of Curse of Predation instead which helps a whole suite of creatures versus just one.
Nether Void is sort of a unique stax effect in that it's in black where Pox is the traditional way of limiting resources. I envision those drafting a Pox deck would absolutely shy away from Nether Void for the fact that Pox decks rarely go beyond 3-4 lands, though would I surely accept my being wrong in this assumption. I think Nether Void best finds its place in a big mana control deck where it can float a Tinker into Sundering Titan or Myr Battlesphere, or some reanimated fatty to then drop Nether Void to seal in the lock. I just don't have anywhere the drafts under my belt to make a decision on it either way.
When I was designing the cube I went back and fourth on Thassa and Master of Waves. Thassa won out for her Scry and ability to make dudes unblockable. Master synergizes with Mutavault and blue aggro which is somewhat possible but often in need of a complimentary color. I just didn't know if I wanted to go whole hog with Coralhelm Commander and the merfolk package. Blue aggro aside, Thassa seems to help simic substantially and beyond that, I just don't know. So I'm watching her with more discriminatory eyes than I otherwise would.
April 5, 2014 Some cuts from Watch List and added replacements.
I was for so long trying to rationalize Berserk and Nether Void when instead I should have been focusing my intention to make the cube well-rounded and consistent. I'd rather have more drafts with people taking Curse of Predation, Curse of Shallow Graves more often than there being fewer drafts with people taking the cut cards less often. Bye-bye!
I really like Gifts Ungiven and I wasn't sure where it would fit in, in my list. It took some time to find out what I would cut in blue given the power level of the cards. Ultimately I decided I didn't like the suspend on Ancestral Vision which made an easy swap. Trinket Mage is absolutely superb to grab a Moxen, Sol Ring, Pithing Needle or Sensei's Divining Top. However, I think I needed a little more 'fat' in my cube for Tinker and reanimation spells to grab. Leviathan achieves 'testing' status.
I think that with Kira, Great Glass Spinner, my re-implementation of AEther Adept and the suite of UU drop creatures, Thassa going live will happen more often. I'm hoping that the heavy cost of 'UU' in some creatures will entice the blue aggro deck as an option and possibly make the draft more balanced.
I should have weighted higher value on Lotleth Troll. I'm trying to increase practical avenues to dump creatures into the 'yard and this guy does it all. Abrupt Decay is far more conditional than this guy is, as he at the very least has a body.
- Berserk
- Nether Void
- Ancestral Vision
- Trinket Mage
- Gilded Drake
- Abrupt Decay
+ Curse of Predation
+ Curse of Shallow Graves
+ AEther Adept
+ Gifts Ungiven
+ Inkwell Leviathan
+ Lotleth Troll
April 9, 2014 A Better Switch.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride can't protect himself which is one of my leading reasons to replace him with Spear of Heliod. Additionally, white was lacking an anthem which I believe is a very solid addition to the archetype. White control benefits from the card as well with the activated ability. Solid improvement overall.
- Ajani, Caller of the Pride
+ Spear of Heliod
April 12, 2014 Accepting Reality.
Blue aggro is cute, but it's better in principle than in practice. Usually more than several people take little bit of blue in cube and I'd rather make the individual bits better than try to force an archetype (blue aggro) that requires a sum of cards to function. And, anyway, it's still possible to build a deck with a heavy blue focus that plays aggressively and has a lot of tempo when the color is open. In Dimir, Ashiok ended up being cut for Psychatog. Truly great sources to dump cards into the graveyard are few and far between and with the exact same costing of Ashiok and Pyschatog, the comparison is really rather obvious.
- Thassa, God of the Sea
- Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
- Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
+ Into the Roil
+ Repeal
+ Psychatog
April 16, 2014 Trades for Green and Guild
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is just a fun card. There's no other justification for his inclusion. He's a bit greedy to include in that he's 3 colors and 8 mana in a 450 card count cube however, I think that people will pick him for the fact that he's just damn fun. I know I will. For him, Duskmantle Seer comes out who has been conditionally good. I'm fine with two conditionally good cards swapping places.
Sphinx of the Steel Wind comes in for Desolation Angel. I wanted another Tinker target as well as a bomb around the 6-7 CC range to replace Desolation Angel. I absolutely adore Desolation Angel but she isn't picked as aggressively as I'd like. Sphinx is the big beat I'd like to replace her with.
Oracle of Mul Daya dies too easily. Courser stays in for now. Vinelasher Kudzu takes Oracle's place for similar function.
Witchstalker is good; Life from the Loam is better. I'm content with dropping a creature to support a singular card that supports an entire deck to build around.
I want to test Xenagos, the Reveler over Burning-Tree Emissary. The Emissary is clearly the better of the two in an opening hand with an aggressive deck. Xenagos is a far better top-deck and mid-range card. We'll see how he does!
- Duskmantle Seer
- Desolation Angel
- Oracle of Mul Daya
- Witchstalker
- Burning-Tree Emissary
+ Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
+ Sphinx of the Steel Wind
+ Life from the Loam
+ Vinelasher Kudzu
+ Xenagos, the Reveler
April 26, 2014 Tidying Things Up
Lots of changes. Let's tackle this rapid fire:
Kor Haven rides the bench to give Unexpectedly Absent more of a chance. Kor Haven is a bit more conditional than Un. Absent.
Exalted Angel is a bit too slow for white weenie and a bit underwhelming for white control. Entreat the Angels brings a bigger late game punch and has a bigger early game potential.
Sublime Archangel becomes better with more creatures on the board. Mirror Entity becomes way, way better with the same amount of creatures. Both die to burn, though Entity has the potential to survive more easily at the cost of no evasion.
Champion of the Parish has been underwhelming. Steppe Lynx should fit the slot more consistently.
Frantic Search digs. Thassa digs and also makes dudes unblockable. Playgroup is also a big fan of Thassa so she comes back in.
Eureka has been underwhelming. The big green fatties deck often prefers Natural Order or virtually any other way to cheat creatures into play rather than Eureka for fear of any sort of answer from opponents hands. Oracle of Mul Daya replaces the slot.
The Abyss is just too good. Certain decks can't answer it. Chainer's Edict takes the slot as a more accessible removal spell.
Massacre Wurm is probably better in an unpowered cube. Bone Shredder of Nekrataal are better options, and cheaper ones, so Nekrataal comes in.
Goblin Bombardment is hard to set up. Hammer of Purphoros is a bit better for the red deck.
- Kor Haven
- Exalted Angel
- Sublime Archangel
- Champion of the Parish
- Frantic Search
- Eureka
- The Abyss
- Massacre Wurm
- Goblin Bombardment
+ Entreat the Angels
+ Mirror Entity
+ Oracle of Mul Daya
+ Steppe Lynx
+ Unexpectedly Absent
+ Thassa, God of the Sea
+ Chainer's Edict
+ Nekrataal
+ Hammer of Purphoros
April 27, 2014 Last Bit of Tidying Up and Changing My Mind
I'm going to opt for consistency and even out the guilds at 8 cards each. Nicol Bolas and Sphinx will sit on the bench for me to mull over whether I really did want their inclusion or was just allured by their glamour.
Triskelion takes a seat for Chromatic Lantern for better mana fixing.
- Triskelion
- Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
- Sphinx of the Steel Wind
+ Unburial Rites
+ Duskmantle Seer
+ Chromatic Lantern
May 3, 2014 New Set is Here! (Journey Into Nyx)
New set is here!
Mana Confluence QUICKLY replaces Precursor Golem who has lost power over time.
Master of the Feast replaces Geralf's Messenger for big beats.
Gnarled Scarhide replaces the durdling Pain Seer.
Banishing Light 'removes from the cube' Eternal Dragon.
Prophetic Flamespeaker exiles Blistering Firecat, and is glad to see this awkwardness will never occur in a game.
- Pain Seer
- Geralf's Messenger
- Precursor Golem
- Blistering Firecat
- Eternal Dragon
+ Banishing Light
+ Mana Confluence
+ Master of the Feast
+ Prophetic Flamespeaker
+ Gnarled Scarhide
Set Additions
+ Banishing Light
+ Gnarled Scarhide
+ Mana Confluence
+ Master of the Feast (testing)
+ Prophetic Flamespeaker
- Eternal Dragon
- Pain Seer
- Precursor Golem
- Geralf's Messenger
- Blistering Firecat
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I am not sure how it would play in Pox-style mana denial deck. As you said yourself, those decks usually don't have that many mana out, so it might run into the same problem as my black aggro decks did. On the other hand, some additional mana denial might help. I am a bit skeptical though. Currently, I am of the opinion that The Abyss is probably the better card for Pox/Stax-style decks (and it is also a nice gift for artifact decks). How did that card play in your cube? I am a bit worried that it might become too oppressive in certain decks and match-ups.
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
The Abyss seems just fine. I think that it's a slow enough card that mono red can still out pace the sacrifice which I envision gets hit the hardest with its limited removal. I'll probably let the people decide on this one once it's seen play enough.
They're cards that basically I said to myself, 'well these could be neat' and put in the cube. Beyond that I don't have substance to back up their slots and they could stay in or go at a whim.
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I know that I've made considerable changes in a very short amount of time to the contents of my cube. I spend an extensive amount of time tweaking my cube; I weigh my choices over the most popular cards in cubes try to pick the cards to best-suit the archetypes in mine. I think that my decision making process has been effective thus-far and, the way I see it is, I will always have the cards in reserve should I desire to re-add them!
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The first: I am (finally!!) pretty settled in on my list. This is probably the result of having fabricated my cube two short months ago and, then, meticulously poured over each card choice, made card cuts, made cuts from those cuts, and after that still cut those cards to put in previous cut cards to only make more cuts! As a cube is a living and evolving list, I am sure this will be a continuing process as Magic continues to progress. For the first time I have had this feeling of contentment that things are about where they should be and so I think I'll dwell on that satisfaction for now.
The second: Shards (Esper, Grixis, etc) ultimately felt like a no-no at 450 cards. This may be entirely obvious for many of you but I had to see for myself to be sure. I tested Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker and Sphinx of the Steel Wind. I let them circulate my cube for a few drafts. They were absolutely playable and yet, I worried they forced their colors to the dismay of others in guilds aligned in those colors (if that makes sense?). Essentially I felt that, especially in the case of Grixis and Esper (which has blue and black - two of the most powerful colors in the cube), there didn't need to be powerful cards in those colors pushing yet a third color on a player to try to find fixing or other card choices for. I want to encourage more mono colored decks with second color splashes rather than guild decks with third color splashes.
The third: There can be cripplingly good cards that otherwise durdle or imbalance cube. The Abyss and Eureka, I'm looking at you. The Abyss was back-breakingly good in the right decks and still provided use in others which couldn't fully abuse it. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Eureka just did not quite get there. It too often sat in players hands to their chagrin, facing down opponents with a grip of cards in their hands as well. I maybe have not yet fully learned this lesson as I really, really want Gifts Ungiven to be A Thing in my cube.
The fourth: With midrange being such an attractive (and ubiquitous) option, and control as the second in cube it is a never-ending battle to find ways to push aggro decks that aren't The Red Deck. I can see why WtfWtf123 so aggressively hunts down 1-drops for this reason. I really want players to be able to build a deck in most-any color that can secure the game by turn 4 or 5. I think that it is also in the best interest to have more fast decks to force shorter games as well. No one wants to be up against control decks the entire night. I also like players being able to play everyone else and this just wouldn't be possible if every game took 15+ minutes.
The fifth: Cuts are hard, man! I still want cards that are in 540 lists. 450 really disciplines you into making the best possible choices that others will still appreciate. I just cannot imagine going down to 360. No thanks to that!
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Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
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Oh, and it's just coincidence I added Un- cards at the same time as WhiteWolf!
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1) I included the Theros block temples package for each guild. I took out a lot of the rainbow lands/fetches/etc that has no guild association. The mirage block fetches might be better. I want to test the both of them spread out over time. I wanted to influence drafters to stay within a guild or very lightly splash 3 colors. That's why vivid lands were in so, so shortly.
2) Morph was added in greater density. Cards with morph that had a similar functionality as another card were swapped (ex: Nantuko Vigilante replaced Wickerbough Elder).
3) Green got ramp-ier with inclusions like Craterhoof Behemoth and Avenger of Zendikar. Natural Order just got better.
3) Some staples are gone. Sinkhole, Eureka, Life From the Loam to name a few. Realistically, the decks in those colors weren't really using them anymore except for Sinkhole which may make an appearance once more. We'll see - I'm not entirely sold on it being in or out. But I swapped it out for Attrition which is just so nutso-bonkers with all of the changes I've made.
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