As a modular Cube owner, the smaller the Cube, the more polarizing matchups can become. There is less critical mass across every archetype unless you start going with rather generic blanket archetypes. So going for small specifics, means that things are going to start to skew. You generally offset this by including more cards to help weaker decks achieve more consistency where other decks that spike in power, may lack.
In short, you have to pick your battle here and I feel like you are wanting to have your cake and eat it too.
If small, quick drafts are your goal, you are going to have to let some archetypes skew. If you want more of an even playing field, you are going to need to broaden your selection size and slow down your drafts.
If you think it is disproportionate, then you must have glossed over all the condescending comments thrown my way, or the vehement remarks about the cut, essentially derailing the entire thread.
Ironically enough, posting your list here or especially on CubeTutor might better allow the commenters here to understand how cutting Thoughtseize fits into your particular cube's design. Instead, we have to assess that cut in a vacuum, purely on power level, because you've deliberately chosen not to give us any other information.
This is probably the only part of this section I ever partake in, because it is less about what is in my Cube and more about what I am including and testing for whatever reason. But even that isn't something I really partake in. I avoid this section like the plague more often than not. Which is a shame, Cube is my favorite format and I am pushing 9 years of managing a Cube.
Posting my list isn't going to change how people discuss my card choices (or lack of). One person in my group also has posted his Cube list in here once upon a time and shares my sentiments regarding this Cube Community. He pulled his Cube list and never looked back. That doesn't encourage me to take your bait and post my list in hopes of anything better. Sorry.
Since the idea of thoughtseize not being main deck worthy is so bazaar to me, especially from apparent pro tour caliber players, I'd love to understand "why". The explanations aren't lining up to me. If you could ask your playgroup why they aren't main decking it, and some sample decks it would satisfy my curiosity. Obviously do what you want, but mentioning this in case it interests you.
Also want to apologize for the condescending tone in my posts... I go full robot when analyzing magic cards. It's not personal!
I will gladly ask them why they don't seem to be mainboarding Thoughtseize, because I honestly could not tell you outside of what I see on my spreadsheets and how my players respond to new Cube additions. We don't really discuss cuts other than me just saying what I cut and why I cut it and then I ask if anyone is okay with the cuts. I do this after we have a few testing sessions, because I like to see if anyone notices the cuts before I tell them what I cut. After a handful of sessions, I ask them what they think of the new cards and then go over what I cut. I don't really ever get any pushback on what I cut from the players, only pushback on new cards, in order to determine if I keep it in the Cube or not.
That being said, Super is not perfect either, as you could have provide us informations on why this card is not played and which stratedy are prevalent in your Cube. If Combo is prevalent, I think that selective discard can help fair decks to compete, more so than early beaters. But maybe it's already midrange decks on the head of the pack and discard is of no use because of the grindyness of the games.
With more information, we can understand your cut, but here, it's like coming on a Thanksgiving Dinner and refuse to eat anything without saying that you're veggie. It can be perceived offensive by some, while it'll be perfectly ok if you explain the context.
As stated above, I don't have a reason why it is not being played anymore. Just data showing that it isn't. I don't generally ask people why they stop playing certain cards, I only observe and adjust. Thoughtseize is not the first staple I have cut because people started gravitating away from it, and I am certain it will not be the last. I have played high powered draft formats, and I have played low powered draft formats, and a real gem of information gleaned, is that power is subjective and not contingent on every card being a powerhouse. Removing staple power cards gives room for other things to evolve and grow, and sometimes be much more powerful because of the lack of other power cards. That is the limited format dynamic that applies to any card game: Ascension, Hearthstone, MTG, Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh!.
I do not have a lot of Combo in my Cube. My Cube is modular, so some cards at 360 may seem pretty useless until the 450 add-on is there and all of the sudden you have Splinter Twin Combo enabled. or from 360 to 540 or 360 to 540. My Cube plays out very differently sometimes, but I keep my Combo spread out overall. 360 is most commonly drafted and it is a slug fest more than anything. Is that why people stopped playing Thoughtseize? Maybe. I don't know.
One thing this thread has brought to my attention, is my desire to now know why people stopped playing it. But usually I am really not interested in the why, only that it has stopped seeing play, in which case I cut it and move on.
Overall, I always do cuts during set releases, because they are testing periods for new cards and if new cards don't seem to take, I can roll back my changes guilt free. Just because I cut Thoughtseize now, doesn't mean it is going to stay that way or that it won't come back at some point. In fact, that is why I like the modular Cube. I get to move things from 360 to 450 or 540 as popularity of any card decreases.
Finally, Cube is not a static thing, you can change it whenever you want. I made countless mistakes by trying cards or trying to implement archetypes and ultimately I removed them. I've failed and I'll fail again. But I can go back, so just try it out.
I think this is often forgotten. The more top picks you include, the more static your Cube becomes. The beauty of Cube is the ease in which someone can create their own unique draft format, and I think this community has sincerely lost sight of this, and only remembers it as an afterthought of a series of asinine comments. I have never been interested in having a cookie cutter Cube, and that is why I have never adhered to the ideology that any card is safe in Cube, from a cut. My spreadsheets will tell me what people like and I can experiment with new things based on what people start shying away from as the Cube evolves.
I am not sorry that I am cutting Thoughtseize. Not in the slightest. The card is almost never maindecked anymore and those are the cards I generally look to cut when it starts looking like people just don't want to play it anymore. No point in having dead space in my Cube. Kind of insane that that needs to be justified to people.
You are free to build your cube however you like. You should probably disregard the criticism around here because it's gone a bit too far. Please remember though that this is the internet, so if you post the unpopular opinion on any site, you will get some backlash. Keep your chin up because myself and others will encourage cube diversity.
Side note: I do however agree that thoughtseize is an auto include with a cube the size of 1 card(s). I do recommend watching a few legacy matches that use the card to persuade you. Bug cascade (I forgot the real name) and junk stoneblade. Best of luck!
I played Shardless BUG in Legacy as well as Esper Stoneblade. I also play BUG Midrange in Modern. I main the card in Constructed formats fairly often. The removal has nothing to do with that, and everything to do with what my Cube logs say. I don't like having cards in my Cube that people don't frequently try to work into their main deck. Despise and Thoughtseize have been falling to the SB since 2016 in our drafts. In fact, I am willing to bet that the majority of MB instances in the log are me. But My Cube isn't just for me, if it was - I wouldn't have any includes from this set.
The card isn't worthy of main deck use in my Cube, and there is literally sheets of data on it. It didn't just happen over night, and it didn't just occur at random. That is the beauty of tracking your Cubes drafts over time. My player trends show the card is not worthy of main deck play. In order for it to be worthy of main deck play, people have to play it in the main and my players don't. If they keep pushing it to the board, it is a sideboard Cube by definition. I never implied that that was standard for every Cube.
I never changed anything. You merely perceived additional information as a change in my argument.
You all seem to simply operate on a cookie cutter idea of what Cube is and because of that, you seem to take cuts, and statements that have nothing to do with your cube, personally. So don't charge me with changing my argument simply because you misconstrued what I said.
*EDIT*
I will add, that conversations like this are exactly WHY I don't post my Cube list here for contribution, and why I largely avoid even lurking in this section. It often times is just a large echo chamber with inbred discussion birthed from this so called "Design Thesis". As a Designer by trade, I find it laughable how stagnant and uniform the thought process is here.
But in the end, some of you guys have absolutely brilliant evaluations that I do find quite interesting. So I sometimes just take the good with the bad.
There is an implicit design thesis on this forum. We are designing our own limited format with the most iconic and powerful magic cards of all time. You can stray from that thesis, as it's your format, and that's fine... But thoughtseize is one of the most powerful, iconic , cheap cmc black card of all time. The use of the word mistake, is under the assumption you are trying to stick to that thesis.
Thoughtseize is on my short list of cards I'd NEVER cut from cube, and I bet many people here feel the same.
The most likely truth is your playgroup is a group of casual players that aren't well versed in card valuation, if they aren't putting it in the main deck. It literally should never miss a main deck that plays swamps, if they are trying to win.
It's important to cater to your playgroups preference, but maybe if people started realizing how good the card actually is, they would appreciate it more.
I have people in my play group that are multiple PT players. The short of it is, that not everyone is out to spike a Cube format and while this section may have dedicated Cube players, there is a larger majority that has an understanding that Cubes are subjective and that no Cube is equal and the necessity of certain cards is non existent.
Just because a card is good, doesn't mean it is invulnerable to a cut in order to hedge archetypes or nudge the draft procedure.
Thoughtseize is a fantastic card, I never said it wasn't.
I simply said nobody is drafting it for the main anymore. I prefer to keep cards above an abysmal SB rate on my spreadsheet, whenever possible. ANY card in Cube is only as powerful as it can be, when it is played. TS isn't played in my Cube anymore because it just so happens that my players don't seem to be drafting it based on my spreadsheet.
I will also add that peculiar Cube options create problem solving scenarios for drafters.
Can you make this work?
How can you improve upon it?
What went wrong?
What went right?
My players seem to enjoy building around problems seeking solutions, and just because they do so, doesn't mean they are casual players. Coincidentally, most of them are combo players in Constructed formats. I cannot tell you why TS is seeing less play, only that it is and only that my players like wonky decks in Cube that in no way reflect their Constructive play. It is probably why they even play Cube in the first place.
I think "mistake" is absolutely the incorrect word when talking about someone making a cut to their own cube. Cuts are subjective, and what cut is right for you isn't right for everyone.
The reality is, that at one point, cutting Sensei's Divinig Top was a "mistake". Now look at how far that card has fallen in Cube. Cards like Oath of Druids being included was once considered a "mistake" now look how far it has come... I think you get the point here.
My Cube is modular, and TS was once in the 360 brick, then it was pushed to the 450 brick and then the 540 brick. My play group has stopped playing it in the main for quite some time. We played last night and not a single person disagreed with the removal of it in favor of something more up their alley.
I am actually pretty pleased with this set at a 540 list. While nothing really stands out as an auto include to me, there are plenty of options I want to play with just to spice up the Cube play a little bit without throwing a whole lot of wrenches into the gears.
+ Gutterbones
Just swapping it in over Tormented Hero. The lifeloss has seemed largely inconsequential when I think about how much work it does vs how much work a recursion ability could do instead.
+ Spawn of Mayhem
Efficient black beater, has room to top end aggro. 'Nuff said. Just cutting Thoughtseize. While I like pinpoint hand removal, I like cards that are worthy of mainboard play more, and for this reason a lot of my discard options have been moving towards the back burner for a couple of years now.
+ Biogenic Ooze
Always a fan of cards like Deranged Hermit. While quite different, still similar. Unsure what my cut is for this, probably the copy of Ishkanah, Grafwidow, a card I actually quite love, but I happen to like Ooze playing better for offensive material.
+ Dovin, Grand Arbiter
Bant Swords is often times a thing for us, and Dovin seems quite strong here. I like that he can skyrocket in loyalty and also create additional wielders for equipment. I suspect he will play rather well here. Completely unsure of what to cut though, debating on Venser, the Sojourner, a card with a diminishing home.
+ Bedevil
I run a cube that is pretty heavy in Planeswalkers, so I am willing to try this over Terminate and see how it does. The extra cost in mana seems great for the flexibility you are adding.
HM Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Face value does not seem to be all that wonderful, but the subversive quality to her is something I think is rather underrated. She seems to play well in Cube, where many decks are trying to play a very unfair game. I think she is another great step in a UW Tax style archetype and I am curious if the critical mass is there for my 540 Cube or not. As I work on fleshing out this concept more, I am eager to find time to see if it works with her as an addition.
HM Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
Not an inherently powerful Planeswalker, but I am a huge fan of multicolor cards that do wonky things, and while I have been wanting to scale back on SB worthy cards... I like the idea of also cutting back the power of my BW decks as well. Kaya is a pretty niche choice for me and I actually like that. I feel like the primary reason Cubes have had so many consecutively lackluster sets is that the options are so vast that the real value is going to come from teching out your archetypes and their inherent counter options within the Cube space.
I think it is time we talk about Bant Nexus. Ravnica Allegiance brings forth some pretty sweet tech for this deck, and I have always had a soft spot for Turbo Fog decks. With Allegiance, we now get to move away from the slow Karn, Scion of Urza game plan ans stick in more meaty options. So let's talk.
While not what you would consider your average fog effect, Angel of Glory has a lot of potential here. Aside from being able to save you from lethal, she is a decently stated body for a more than fair cost. The ability to not only save you from lethal, but also pull you back up out of burn range later, seems ridiculous. She alternatively offers you a faster clock than Karn, Scion of Urza at the opportunity cost of finding you additional cards. For what she has to offer, I definitely think she has a home in the main 60, but at what count I am uncertain.
I don't think I have ever been a fan of Radical Idea. Far too often I find that it only cycles into lands and when it is all said and done, I would rather just keep the land. Sometimes it can draw you into other things, but with the ability to become a bit more proactive or ramp into turn 4 Teferi, Hero of Dominarai more often, the appeal of ditching Radical Idea is quite high for me. Whether this is actually the right move over other cuts, I am not entirely sure. But I always appreciate Chemister's Insight.
How the deck finishes the game is really up for debate. The beauty of Karn, Scion of Urza is his ability to find you things while you are actively on the fog train, but he is incredibly slow. Hydroid Krasis has a heavily evasive body, can gain you back life, and draw you cards to boot. For even 6 mana, that seems like a bargain. What is most efficient between Karn, Scion of Urza, Hydroid Krasis, and Angel of Grace is an interesting thought. They all seem quite great and I do not doubt that all 3 have room in the 75 somewhere.
Alternatively, Wilderness Reclamation can offer crazy amounts of mana with multiple EOT triggers, and it is possible that pairing it with Expansion // Explosion could be an alternative finishing option while having added flexibility in copying value spells cast in slower matches like Drakes. I am not convinced this combination is worth leaving behind white for a Temur shell, as Settle the Wreckage and Cleansing Nova are incredibly strong spells and I suspect that Settle the Wreckage + Angel of Grace has rather strong response value when your opponent has to declare attackers. But it is an interesting notion to play with.
Gonna be honest, I skimmed over Wilderness Reclamation entirely. That card seems potentially insane.
I recall a while back, there was a Nexus "Red" list going around. It was basically Bant Nexus with a singleton Ral, Izzet Viceroy to loop yourself into infinite damage with Nexus of Fate. I tried the list for a bit, but the problem is you would mill yourself out with the Emblem if your Karn ended up exiling any Nexus cards and you were unable to recall any of them. What excites me about Wilderness Reclamation is what you get to do with Expansion // Explosion. It does have a lot of overlap with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria + Gift of Paradise.
I think it is time we talk about Bant Nexus. Ravnica Allegiance brings forth some pretty sweet tech for this deck, and I have always had a soft spot for Turbo Fog decks. With Allegiance, we now get to move away from the slow Karn, Scion of Urza game plan ans stick in more meaty options. So let's talk.
While not what you would consider your average fog effect, Angel of Glory has a lot of potential here. Aside from being able to save you from lethal, she is a decently stated body for a more than fair cost. The ability to not only save you from lethal, but also pull you back up out of burn range later, seems ridiculous. She alternatively offers you a faster clock than Karn, Scion of Urza at the opportunity cost of finding you additional cards. For what she has to offer, I definitely think she has a home in the main 60, but at what count I am uncertain.
I don't think I have ever been a fan of Radical Idea. Far too often I find that it only cycles into lands and when it is all said and done, I would rather just keep the land. Sometimes it can draw you into other things, but with the ability to become a bit more proactive or ramp into turn 4 Teferi, Hero of Dominarai more often, the appeal of ditching Radical Idea is quite high for me. Whether this is actually the right move over other cuts, I am not entirely sure. But I always appreciate Chemister's Insight.
How the deck finishes the game is really up for debate. The beauty of Karn, Scion of Urza is his ability to find you things while you are actively on the fog train, but he is incredibly slow. Hydroid Krasis has a heavily evasive body, can gain you back life, and draw you cards to boot. For even 6 mana, that seems like a bargain. What is most efficient between Karn, Scion of Urza, Hydroid Krasis, and Angel of Grace is an interesting thought. They all seem quite great and I do not doubt that all 3 have room in the 75 somewhere.
A lot of cards in Ravnica Allegiance are really drawing me to Mardu midrange.
Orzhov is bringing plenty of interesting control cards to the table, from Kaya, Orzhov Usurper to Revival // Revenge. The classic card Mortify makes an exciting return, and the new Kaya's Wrath, while mana intensive, can put in a lot of work. The new keyword Afterlife offers a lot of residual value and could prove to be quite effective in grinding out games.
Rakdos brings some power with crazy cards like Captive Audience and Rakdos, the Showstopper. While I am not overly enthusiastic about Spectacle, the ability to chain into discounted cards has potential. Spawn of Mayhem, as and example, can offer you a body with fair stats an simultaneously act as an enabler. Rakdos also offers some interesting removal options, from Bedevil to Electrodominance.
We still have a fair number of cards left to see, and only time will tell if Mardu is playable. But there are definitely some exciting cards that have me brewing. Anyone else?
About what I expected from a Masters Set these days. Meh.
What excites me:
1. I originally speculated I would be blown away and willing to spend $350 on a box. Turns out I was less excited and can spend $350 on pimp AF single cards.
2. Lots of nice reprints to encourage me to pick up secondary singles for Commander decks where I would rotate high dollar cards between them.
3. A fair amount of options to me to consider picking up a playset finally.
But all these are situations where my money is going to the secondary market and not WOTC.
What bums me out:
1. I want to give WOTC my money, but they continually make it so damn difficult for me to actually give them my money.
2. Box Toppers were largely unnecessary, and while I enjoy the pimpness, I would have appreciated a bomb-ass set as a whole - much more.
Overall, I like these sets where I am content just picking up a handful of dope singles. But I like sets where I feel encouraged to buy a case worth of sealed product, because I feel that is a different kind of enjoyment I get from MTG and it seems to be harder and harder to come by these days.
Honestly, UMA is about what I expected from another Masters Set. Once I saw Box Toppers, it had to be a given that the set was going to fall upon average, why would they front load the set and then add Box Toppers to boot?
I appreciate this set as I appreciate every Masters set - a few nice reprints for picking up singles of, awesome new art, and prices dipping enough to encourage me to maybe buy a set of cards if I feel the need.
But I have been moving away from competitive MTG and into casual commander domain, which is really the draw to these sets. As a competitive player, they never really appealed to me outside of maybe picking up some new art for some cards in my deck.
Fortunately the Box Toppers are really my only draw to UMA and that is where my money will go - not to packs or even normal singles.
As someone who has played a lot of the Rainbow Lich Deck, I will note that paying 7 mana to take another turn and paying 3 mana to take another turn, is really where the value is at. I run a single copy of Nexus if Fate in that deck and it has been due to be cut.
If you are in an Esper Control Shell, Idk why you would even run Lich’s Mastery if you want to go infinite.
In short, you have to pick your battle here and I feel like you are wanting to have your cake and eat it too.
If small, quick drafts are your goal, you are going to have to let some archetypes skew. If you want more of an even playing field, you are going to need to broaden your selection size and slow down your drafts.
This is probably the only part of this section I ever partake in, because it is less about what is in my Cube and more about what I am including and testing for whatever reason. But even that isn't something I really partake in. I avoid this section like the plague more often than not. Which is a shame, Cube is my favorite format and I am pushing 9 years of managing a Cube.
Posting my list isn't going to change how people discuss my card choices (or lack of). One person in my group also has posted his Cube list in here once upon a time and shares my sentiments regarding this Cube Community. He pulled his Cube list and never looked back. That doesn't encourage me to take your bait and post my list in hopes of anything better. Sorry.
I will gladly ask them why they don't seem to be mainboarding Thoughtseize, because I honestly could not tell you outside of what I see on my spreadsheets and how my players respond to new Cube additions. We don't really discuss cuts other than me just saying what I cut and why I cut it and then I ask if anyone is okay with the cuts. I do this after we have a few testing sessions, because I like to see if anyone notices the cuts before I tell them what I cut. After a handful of sessions, I ask them what they think of the new cards and then go over what I cut. I don't really ever get any pushback on what I cut from the players, only pushback on new cards, in order to determine if I keep it in the Cube or not.
As stated above, I don't have a reason why it is not being played anymore. Just data showing that it isn't. I don't generally ask people why they stop playing certain cards, I only observe and adjust. Thoughtseize is not the first staple I have cut because people started gravitating away from it, and I am certain it will not be the last. I have played high powered draft formats, and I have played low powered draft formats, and a real gem of information gleaned, is that power is subjective and not contingent on every card being a powerhouse. Removing staple power cards gives room for other things to evolve and grow, and sometimes be much more powerful because of the lack of other power cards. That is the limited format dynamic that applies to any card game: Ascension, Hearthstone, MTG, Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh!.
I do not have a lot of Combo in my Cube. My Cube is modular, so some cards at 360 may seem pretty useless until the 450 add-on is there and all of the sudden you have Splinter Twin Combo enabled. or from 360 to 540 or 360 to 540. My Cube plays out very differently sometimes, but I keep my Combo spread out overall. 360 is most commonly drafted and it is a slug fest more than anything. Is that why people stopped playing Thoughtseize? Maybe. I don't know.
One thing this thread has brought to my attention, is my desire to now know why people stopped playing it. But usually I am really not interested in the why, only that it has stopped seeing play, in which case I cut it and move on.
Overall, I always do cuts during set releases, because they are testing periods for new cards and if new cards don't seem to take, I can roll back my changes guilt free. Just because I cut Thoughtseize now, doesn't mean it is going to stay that way or that it won't come back at some point. In fact, that is why I like the modular Cube. I get to move things from 360 to 450 or 540 as popularity of any card decreases.
I think this is often forgotten. The more top picks you include, the more static your Cube becomes. The beauty of Cube is the ease in which someone can create their own unique draft format, and I think this community has sincerely lost sight of this, and only remembers it as an afterthought of a series of asinine comments. I have never been interested in having a cookie cutter Cube, and that is why I have never adhered to the ideology that any card is safe in Cube, from a cut. My spreadsheets will tell me what people like and I can experiment with new things based on what people start shying away from as the Cube evolves.
I am not sorry that I am cutting Thoughtseize. Not in the slightest. The card is almost never maindecked anymore and those are the cards I generally look to cut when it starts looking like people just don't want to play it anymore. No point in having dead space in my Cube. Kind of insane that that needs to be justified to people.
I played Shardless BUG in Legacy as well as Esper Stoneblade. I also play BUG Midrange in Modern. I main the card in Constructed formats fairly often. The removal has nothing to do with that, and everything to do with what my Cube logs say. I don't like having cards in my Cube that people don't frequently try to work into their main deck. Despise and Thoughtseize have been falling to the SB since 2016 in our drafts. In fact, I am willing to bet that the majority of MB instances in the log are me. But My Cube isn't just for me, if it was - I wouldn't have any includes from this set.
The card isn't worthy of main deck use in my Cube, and there is literally sheets of data on it. It didn't just happen over night, and it didn't just occur at random. That is the beauty of tracking your Cubes drafts over time. My player trends show the card is not worthy of main deck play. In order for it to be worthy of main deck play, people have to play it in the main and my players don't. If they keep pushing it to the board, it is a sideboard Cube by definition. I never implied that that was standard for every Cube.
I never changed anything. You merely perceived additional information as a change in my argument.
You all seem to simply operate on a cookie cutter idea of what Cube is and because of that, you seem to take cuts, and statements that have nothing to do with your cube, personally. So don't charge me with changing my argument simply because you misconstrued what I said.
*EDIT*
I will add, that conversations like this are exactly WHY I don't post my Cube list here for contribution, and why I largely avoid even lurking in this section. It often times is just a large echo chamber with inbred discussion birthed from this so called "Design Thesis". As a Designer by trade, I find it laughable how stagnant and uniform the thought process is here.
But in the end, some of you guys have absolutely brilliant evaluations that I do find quite interesting. So I sometimes just take the good with the bad.
I have people in my play group that are multiple PT players. The short of it is, that not everyone is out to spike a Cube format and while this section may have dedicated Cube players, there is a larger majority that has an understanding that Cubes are subjective and that no Cube is equal and the necessity of certain cards is non existent.
Just because a card is good, doesn't mean it is invulnerable to a cut in order to hedge archetypes or nudge the draft procedure.
Thoughtseize is a fantastic card, I never said it wasn't.
I simply said nobody is drafting it for the main anymore. I prefer to keep cards above an abysmal SB rate on my spreadsheet, whenever possible. ANY card in Cube is only as powerful as it can be, when it is played. TS isn't played in my Cube anymore because it just so happens that my players don't seem to be drafting it based on my spreadsheet.
I will also add that peculiar Cube options create problem solving scenarios for drafters.
My players seem to enjoy building around problems seeking solutions, and just because they do so, doesn't mean they are casual players. Coincidentally, most of them are combo players in Constructed formats. I cannot tell you why TS is seeing less play, only that it is and only that my players like wonky decks in Cube that in no way reflect their Constructive play. It is probably why they even play Cube in the first place.
We digress.
The reality is, that at one point, cutting Sensei's Divinig Top was a "mistake". Now look at how far that card has fallen in Cube. Cards like Oath of Druids being included was once considered a "mistake" now look how far it has come... I think you get the point here.
My Cube is modular, and TS was once in the 360 brick, then it was pushed to the 450 brick and then the 540 brick. My play group has stopped playing it in the main for quite some time. We played last night and not a single person disagreed with the removal of it in favor of something more up their alley.
Mistake isn't the word you are looking for.
+ Gutterbones
Just swapping it in over Tormented Hero. The lifeloss has seemed largely inconsequential when I think about how much work it does vs how much work a recursion ability could do instead.
+ Spawn of Mayhem
Efficient black beater, has room to top end aggro. 'Nuff said. Just cutting Thoughtseize. While I like pinpoint hand removal, I like cards that are worthy of mainboard play more, and for this reason a lot of my discard options have been moving towards the back burner for a couple of years now.
+ Biogenic Ooze
Always a fan of cards like Deranged Hermit. While quite different, still similar. Unsure what my cut is for this, probably the copy of Ishkanah, Grafwidow, a card I actually quite love, but I happen to like Ooze playing better for offensive material.
+ Dovin, Grand Arbiter
Bant Swords is often times a thing for us, and Dovin seems quite strong here. I like that he can skyrocket in loyalty and also create additional wielders for equipment. I suspect he will play rather well here. Completely unsure of what to cut though, debating on Venser, the Sojourner, a card with a diminishing home.
+ Judith, the Scourge Diva
Always looking to push more BR aggro. Cutting Murderous Redcap for her.
+ Bedevil
I run a cube that is pretty heavy in Planeswalkers, so I am willing to try this over Terminate and see how it does. The extra cost in mana seems great for the flexibility you are adding.
HM Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Face value does not seem to be all that wonderful, but the subversive quality to her is something I think is rather underrated. She seems to play well in Cube, where many decks are trying to play a very unfair game. I think she is another great step in a UW Tax style archetype and I am curious if the critical mass is there for my 540 Cube or not. As I work on fleshing out this concept more, I am eager to find time to see if it works with her as an addition.
HM Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
Not an inherently powerful Planeswalker, but I am a huge fan of multicolor cards that do wonky things, and while I have been wanting to scale back on SB worthy cards... I like the idea of also cutting back the power of my BW decks as well. Kaya is a pretty niche choice for me and I actually like that. I feel like the primary reason Cubes have had so many consecutively lackluster sets is that the options are so vast that the real value is going to come from teching out your archetypes and their inherent counter options within the Cube space.
I recall a while back, there was a Nexus "Red" list going around. It was basically Bant Nexus with a singleton Ral, Izzet Viceroy to loop yourself into infinite damage with Nexus of Fate. I tried the list for a bit, but the problem is you would mill yourself out with the Emblem if your Karn ended up exiling any Nexus cards and you were unable to recall any of them. What excites me about Wilderness Reclamation is what you get to do with Expansion // Explosion. It does have a lot of overlap with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria + Gift of Paradise.
I think it is time we talk about Bant Nexus. Ravnica Allegiance brings forth some pretty sweet tech for this deck, and I have always had a soft spot for Turbo Fog decks. With Allegiance, we now get to move away from the slow Karn, Scion of Urza game plan ans stick in more meaty options. So let's talk.
2x Angel of Grace
1x Hydroid Krasis
Planeswalker
4 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Fog
4x Root Snare
2x Pause for Reflection
Draw
4x Growth Spiral
2x Chemister's Insight
3x Search for Azcanta
2x Settle the Wreckage
2x Cleansing Nova
Other
4x Nexus of Fate
4x Gift of Paradise
Land
3x Plains
2x Island
3x Forest
3x Glacial Fortress
3x Hinterland Harbor
4x Sunpetal Grove
3x Temple Garden
3x Breeding Pool
1x Memorial to Genius
1x Field of Ruin
While not what you would consider your average fog effect, Angel of Glory has a lot of potential here. Aside from being able to save you from lethal, she is a decently stated body for a more than fair cost. The ability to not only save you from lethal, but also pull you back up out of burn range later, seems ridiculous. She alternatively offers you a faster clock than Karn, Scion of Urza at the opportunity cost of finding you additional cards. For what she has to offer, I definitely think she has a home in the main 60, but at what count I am uncertain.
I don't think I have ever been a fan of Radical Idea. Far too often I find that it only cycles into lands and when it is all said and done, I would rather just keep the land. Sometimes it can draw you into other things, but with the ability to become a bit more proactive or ramp into turn 4 Teferi, Hero of Dominarai more often, the appeal of ditching Radical Idea is quite high for me. Whether this is actually the right move over other cuts, I am not entirely sure. But I always appreciate Chemister's Insight.
How the deck finishes the game is really up for debate. The beauty of Karn, Scion of Urza is his ability to find you things while you are actively on the fog train, but he is incredibly slow. Hydroid Krasis has a heavily evasive body, can gain you back life, and draw you cards to boot. For even 6 mana, that seems like a bargain. What is most efficient between Karn, Scion of Urza, Hydroid Krasis, and Angel of Grace is an interesting thought. They all seem quite great and I do not doubt that all 3 have room in the 75 somewhere.
Orzhov is bringing plenty of interesting control cards to the table, from Kaya, Orzhov Usurper to Revival // Revenge. The classic card Mortify makes an exciting return, and the new Kaya's Wrath, while mana intensive, can put in a lot of work. The new keyword Afterlife offers a lot of residual value and could prove to be quite effective in grinding out games.
Rakdos brings some power with crazy cards like Captive Audience and Rakdos, the Showstopper. While I am not overly enthusiastic about Spectacle, the ability to chain into discounted cards has potential. Spawn of Mayhem, as and example, can offer you a body with fair stats an simultaneously act as an enabler. Rakdos also offers some interesting removal options, from Bedevil to Electrodominance.
We still have a fair number of cards left to see, and only time will tell if Mardu is playable. But there are definitely some exciting cards that have me brewing. Anyone else?
Afterlife + Divine Visitation
Font of Agonies + Doom Whisperer
What excites me:
1. I originally speculated I would be blown away and willing to spend $350 on a box. Turns out I was less excited and can spend $350 on pimp AF single cards.
2. Lots of nice reprints to encourage me to pick up secondary singles for Commander decks where I would rotate high dollar cards between them.
3. A fair amount of options to me to consider picking up a playset finally.
But all these are situations where my money is going to the secondary market and not WOTC.
What bums me out:
1. I want to give WOTC my money, but they continually make it so damn difficult for me to actually give them my money.
2. Box Toppers were largely unnecessary, and while I enjoy the pimpness, I would have appreciated a bomb-ass set as a whole - much more.
Overall, I like these sets where I am content just picking up a handful of dope singles. But I like sets where I feel encouraged to buy a case worth of sealed product, because I feel that is a different kind of enjoyment I get from MTG and it seems to be harder and harder to come by these days.
I appreciate this set as I appreciate every Masters set - a few nice reprints for picking up singles of, awesome new art, and prices dipping enough to encourage me to maybe buy a set of cards if I feel the need.
But I have been moving away from competitive MTG and into casual commander domain, which is really the draw to these sets. As a competitive player, they never really appealed to me outside of maybe picking up some new art for some cards in my deck.
Fortunately the Box Toppers are really my only draw to UMA and that is where my money will go - not to packs or even normal singles.
If you are in an Esper Control Shell, Idk why you would even run Lich’s Mastery if you want to go infinite.