My main cube is a 540 (mostly) powered, archetype driven Peasant Cube. I've been thinking about making a Pauper Cube for a while now, and I finally got around to it. But, I wanted something that felt a little different from my main cube. So I set the following rules for myself:
- Only cards with modern borders allowed
- Only cards that have been physically printed with a common symbol on it
- No foils
This should make it enough different from my main cube that it doesn't feel like a powered down version of it. Plus, with my main cube being closer to a rare cube in draft experience (you draft semi-constructed decks), I wanted this one to feel more like a regular draft.
The vitals:
Type: Pauper, modern border, only physically printed commons Size: 360 Breakdown: 60 each color, 30 multi-color, 30 colorless Portal: Yes Proxies: No "Un" Cards: No Banned: None
I'd love some feedback on this first pass. I spent a lot of time reading threads and articles and browsing other pauper lists, but I'm likely to have missed some gems and/or included the worst card ever.
ran compare cubes, recommend these (afaik all have a modern border printing:)
Thanks! Btw, your list was one of the ones I looked at before deciding on my preliminary list. Most of these cards are in my sideboard on cube tutor, I think.
infantry veteran - I was not sure if it would be good enough, but I do like the effect. I think I'll make room for it. youthful knight - Was not aware this had a modern border printing, this is definitely going in. fledgling griffin - Not sure if I like this better than my other 2-drops topan freeblade - Same as the Griffin, although I think I like this one better. Maybe I need to cut a 3-drop to lower the curve slightly. burrenton bombardier - Not too hot on this, but the utility might be better than I give it credit for. wingcrafter - This will probably go in. I wasn't able to find myself a Delver, and this is next in line. omenspeaker - See Sea Gate sea gate oracle - I'll tackle these 2 together, because they fill more or less the same function. I like both of these a lot, but there were some other cards I wanted to try in the 2- and 3-drop slots that I wasn't able to find the room. If anything turns out to not work like I want it to, either of these are easy includes. foresee - I included Deep Analysis and Compulsive Research over this, although I might want all three. I think I'll go ahead and take out Distortion Strike for this, because it seems too powerful to not include. singing bell strike - Would you recommend this over Claustrophobia and/or Narcolepsy? I don't think I want all three. chittering rats - Was never really a fan of the card. It's good, but for a slightly hard-to-cast 3-drop, I think it does too little. corrupted zendikon - Wasn't on my radar. Looks decent enough. I guess it depends on how good a 3/3 is in the format. If it is, then the (essentially) upkeep cost of B would be worth it. faceless butcher - Ah, it is, but it's only in foil. Maybe I should've mentioned that foils are out too. (will update in OP) recover - I like it, but the other recursion effects look a little better (Gravedigger, Driver, Pilferers, Death Denied, Grim Harvest) and I don't want to go overboard on it. I might cut Driver of the Dead for it if it turns out to be too narrow. mark of the vampire - Wasn't on my radar. How good is this? ashmouth hound - I think I like my other 2-drops better and I feel I have (more than) enough. Anything you'd swap this for? blood ogre - If I find I don't have enough 3-drops, I'll definitely make room. For now, I'm happy enough. mire boa - Conscious exclusion. I'm not a fan of protection/landwalk in low powered draft formats. If Wandering Wolf turns out to be less good than I hope, this will come in for the Pants archetype. river boa - Same as above, plus this only comes with a modern border as uncommon. trusted forcemage - While searching for my cards today, I came across this one and wondered why I didn't put it in. Maybe for a Courser. wickerbough elder - I left this out for now because I thought there wouldn't be too many artifacts/enchantments I really want to destroy. I'll re-evaluate that position after a few drafts. giant growth - Do you like this better than Titanic Growth? I wanted to try Titanic Growth out (never played with it), but maybe it's too expensive. groundswell - See Giant Growth curse of chains - I chose to leave out hybrids for now. First hybrid (along Snakeform, I think) to go in if I do include them. branching bolt - I wanted to focus G/R on creature pump as identity. scuzzback marauders - See Curse of Chains. That said, how good is this? qasali pridemage - I wanted to focus W/G on the Pants archetype and chose Grizzled Leotau for that reason. travel preparations - See Pridemage putrid leech - I wanted to focus G/B on Morbid. shambleshark - Might want to put this in. I'm actually not sure which of the Simic cards I like best. A lot of cards look decent, but nothing super interesting. gathan raiders - I run this in my Peasant cube as a colorless discard outlet. Not sure if this cube wants the outlets. Would you say this is good enough regardless? vault skirge - Actually bricked on this one as a colorless cards to put Pants on. Interesting. cathodion - Good, but a little boring. If I find I'm in need for 3-drops to smooth out curves, I'll add it. slash panther - Probably should include this. Maybe I'll cut Will-Forged Golem, as that actually doesn't look too great. copper carapace - I don't like the high-ish equip cost opaline bracers - Could be good, but I want to focus on 2-color decks first.
ran compare cubes, recommend these (afaik all have a modern border printing:)
leonin skyhunter - Cutting this for Youthful Knight stalwart aven - This seemed pretty decent, but I have no experience with it. After looking at my list, I think I need one more 2-drop, so I'll swap this for Topaz Freeblade. glaring aegis - Not sure where I found this card, but I thought it would be a fun overlap card between Pants and the Boros "can't block" deck. Will try this for a while to see if I like it, but I expect it to be cut before long. delver of secrets - Wasn't able to find one anyway, so will cut this for Wingcrafter. I do like blue to have some more small fries. headless skaab - Want to try this as part of the U/B delve deck, but it's definitely the worst one of its kind. Watchlist for now. nirkana assassin - I wanted to focus B/W on life(g/dr)ain, so I put this in to broadcast that. We'll see. goblin bushwhacker - I keep wanting to play this card in my Peasant cube, but it always falls just short. I was hoping it would be better in this with red and white as token colors. Might be better as just another aggressive creature though. Watchlist. raid bombardment - See Bushwhacker. titanic growth - See Giant Growth (above) ethercaste knight - Someone suggested putting this in my Peasant cube, but I have no room for it there. Wanted to try if it was any good. If not, this will probably become something like a Lyev Skyknight. kathari bomber - Totally not sure if this is any good. Part of a B/R sacrifice package for now. grizzled leotau - Part of the G/W Pants archetype. shambling shell - Part of both the Morbid archetype as an easy enabler. ethereal ambush - See Shambleshark (above). Simic is one of the guilds I can't decide the direction on. will-forged golem - Cutting for Slash Panther.
I like to heavily support fast, efficient aggro with a low curve so that may explain some of my picks
fledgling - solid aggro 2 drop
burrenton - 3 mana is the most i'm willing to pay for a combat trick, but permanently turning the recipient into a fatty is really good, basically 2 for 1
singing bell - definitely would use this over claustrophobia's mana cost
chittering - good card for a grindy deck, basically phyrexian rager 2, but the BB problem is valid
corrupted zendikon - 3/3 haste for 3 is good; fast deck shouldn't be hurt too much by the upkeep
recover - personally I prefer draw a card to gravedigger's vanilla 2/2. Also these card advantage spells are necessary for black control to work IMO so I have a lot of them. Also font of return
mark of the vampire - high risk high reward; if you don't get 2 for 1'd you have a 4/4 or bigger with lifelink and possibly other abilities, probably impossible to beat. Also enchantment-voltron decks sometimes splash this to put on a hexproof guy.
That reminds me, abundant growth is a nice card and cute with aura gnarlid, ethereal armor, kruphix's insight
Ashmouth - I'd run this over most of your 2 drops but I see you have chosen them with specific strategies in mind. One of few red 2 drops that can block decently.
Blood ogre is like the 2nd best red 3 drop after splatter thug. Better than valakut predator and boggart brute
wickerbough - people have had success with maindecked manic vandal in my cube. This guy is good
growths - +4/+4 is almost never better than +3/+3 and 2 mana is eons worse than 1 mana
scuzzback - one of the best creatures at 5 mana
shambleshark - great if UG aggro/tempo is a deck. 3/2 for 2 that sometimes becomes 4/3
gathan raiders - aggro 3 drop any color can use
vault skirge - aggro 1 drop any color can use, in a format starving for decent 1 drops.
copper carapace - very nearly as good as vulshok morningstar, possibly better in aggro
From running compare cubes, a lot of your exclusions are based on your modern border restriction, which is fine, and metalevolence addressed a number of others, but I still have a few thoughts:
Ampryn Tactician has been unexciting but fine for me, and you're supporting tokens, so it seems like it'll be better here. Razor Golem/Spire Golem/Dross Golem are all on curve or better with 1-2 of the requisite basics. They've been great for me. Kor Chant is a very powerful trick that you might not know existed in a modern frame. Benthic Giant is an awesome control guy, it stabilizes boards pretty well and is generally just huge. Sigiled Starfish works overtime. Infiltrator il-Kor is a great beater if you're supporting a blue tempo strategy. Also wears auras well allowing for cross-archetype stuff with the pants deck. Mortis Dogs same deal, very strong aggressive creature and plays really well with pump effects from R/G or auras from W/G.
I'd like to second a recommendation for Mark of the Vampire, it plays a lot better than it looks and can easily run away with a game. Inner-Flame Acolyte is kind of a pet card but it seems like it would fit your R/G archetype Teetering Peaks see above
I was not impressed by Tithe Drinker but your mileage may vary. Beetleform Mage is a much better card than Frilled Oculus imo. Izzet Chronarch overlaps well with UR spells and UW blink as another tool to create Ghostly Flicker loops and just a solid value guy for a URx control deck.
Golems - Thought about these, but decided against them for now. I'm not really excited by the on-curve versions, but maybe that's my Peasant mind speaking. They're obviously they're insane when you have 3 of the requisite basics, but that's not something I plan to count on.
Kor Chant - I was indeed not aware of the modern border on this one. Will add to my sideboard.
Benthic Giant - For some reason I thought this was 3/4.. I'll think about it (for this AND my peasant cube)
Sigiled Starfish - I think the 3 looters are enough for now, but this will come in when I need another similar effect.
Infiltrator il-Kor - Oh my, how could I forget about this guy. It's been in my main cube for ages and love it.
Mortis Dogs - Interesting. I like the combo-like quality about this one.
Mark of the Vampire - Allright, I'll see if I can pick one up (don't think I actually own one, lol)
Inner-Flame and Teetering Peaks - True. Like them both, just ran out of space.
Tithe Drinker - This is a nod towards the drain deck. Never really impressed me in Peasant, either, but I want to start by pushing the first class of archetypes as much as I can (at least in the guilds).
Beetleform - Good call.
Izzet Chronarch - See Tithe Drinker. The spells-to-pump guys are something I wanted to try for a while in my Peasant cube but never got around to it (for expected power level reasons). I'm hoping they're better in Pauper. I have to say though, while Izzet Chronarch is a very good card, I think I have enough of the effect in Mnemonic Wall and Archaeomancer, but I might be wrong.
W/G pants beat U/R spells. Turn 2 Silhana Ledgewalker in game 1, suited up with 4 enchantments by turn 5 (amongst which a Hopeful Eidolon) was too much, even though the U/R deck had a Wee Dragonauts with Whispersilk Cloak equipped to race. Game 2 was a bit longer and more interactive. The U/R deck was able to keep the opponent at bay by bouncing guys when they were suited up, but Grizzled Leotau was too hard to remove with burn and was finally able to go the distance.
Mono Red beat B/G Midrange. Game 1, the red deck was way too fast, while the B/G drew too many lands. Second game went to the midrange deck on the back of Grazing Gladehart. The third game was somewhat closer, but all the 'can't block' effects trumped all the death touch guys.
I wish we would be able to play the finals, but alas.
You pretty much had me at "Modern frame cube," though I'll admit I did wince once I realized how hard it'd be to build an aggro deck in this format. I ended up in a tempo build that seems looser than I'd like.
Good Questions:
- The pivotal turn for this cube is hard to pin down, mainly because I haven't drafted the cube too much yet. My uneducated guess would be somewhere between turn 4.5 and 6. The format is somewhat grindy.
- Because this is my secondary cube, I set out to build a format that feels different enough from my main cube that we would actually draft it. I did not want a cube that was essentially a pauper version of my Peasant Cube. As my main cube is very archetype driven and fast, and feels more like powered down constructed, I wanted a cube that felt more like a powered up core set draft. To further prevent too much overlap as well as give it a visual feel of the cards belonging together, I went with the modern frame restriction. I did put draftable archetypes in the cube, because I don't want every to deck to be good-stuff, but I went a lot less deep than in my Peasant Cube.
I didn't have a lot of experience with Pauper, so I started by looking at a whole slew of other cubes and mixing and matching cards that I liked and would draft sort of well together. I think the format could use some refining, but it doesn't really have a high priority at the moment.
- I don't hate aggro, actually I love playing aggro. The thing is that having the double restriction of Pauper AND modern border only really cuts down on the options. Aggro should be perfectly draftable though, but the aggro decks should feel more like draft format aggro decks than usual cube aggro decks in that they're a bit slower and less overbearing.
- I'd love to add more robust one-drops, but haven't done as much research lately. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to consider and run them.
- Apart from the fact that I have too little experience with this cube to have a good feel about balance of certain effects, I liked the singers so far but can see cutting down if they become too numerous.
- I did consider more of the Denizen cycle, mainly the white and black ones because they're the most aggressive (in cost and effect). I don't really like the blue Denizen, but the green one is fine (albeit a bit durdly).
- Cloudshift is a good trick without help and depending on how your format is constructed it can range from decent to great. I like it better in my peasant cube, because there are more high value targets, but it's fine here.
- I haven't updated the pauper cube since before the first drafts with it (which was early November). We usually draft my peasant cube, so I don't feel like I have enough experience drafting it to make decisions based on that, and haven't done enough research and theorizing to make decisions based on that. I was planning to update in the coming weeks (if I can find the time). If you have any good suggestions, I'd be all up for it. Maybe we should take this to my
- Prowess seems like a very good addition to the cube. I really like how it plays out. I'll look into it. Another thought I had is that the cube might have too much non-creature spells. Thoughts?
- Control decks are existent in the same way they exist in regular draft formats. Often more creature-based than not and grindy value decks. Pauper doesn't have too many pure control bombs (that I found at least) that traditional control decks are very hard to make work. In my peasant cube I can get away with very good almost creature-less control decks that stall the game with Wall of Denial and such and finishes with a resilient creature like Jetting Glasskite, or non-creature win conditions like Isochron Scepter or Psychic Spiral. I don't think this is possible in pauper.
- Delver is not a card I found too good in traditional limited and already hard enough to support in my peasant cube. I can't really remember if I excluded double cards on purpose or not, but if I did I will reconsider it because of SOI. I do know that I excluded future shifted cards as much as possible because I didn't like how they distorted the otherwise super clean aesthetics of the cube. DFC's do not have that problem though.
My main cube is a 540 (mostly) powered, archetype driven Peasant Cube. I've been thinking about making a Pauper Cube for a while now, and I finally got around to it. But, I wanted something that felt a little different from my main cube. So I set the following rules for myself:
- Only cards with modern borders allowed
- Only cards that have been physically printed with a common symbol on it
- No foils
This should make it enough different from my main cube that it doesn't feel like a powered down version of it. Plus, with my main cube being closer to a rare cube in draft experience (you draft semi-constructed decks), I wanted this one to feel more like a regular draft.
The vitals:
Type: Pauper, modern border, only physically printed commons
Size: 360
Breakdown: 60 each color, 30 multi-color, 30 colorless
Portal: Yes
Proxies: No
"Un" Cards: No
Banned: None
Basic supported archetypes per guild:
WU - Blink
UB - Delve
BR - ?
RG - Bloodrush/pump
GW - Enchantments
WB - Life(g/dr)ain
BG - Morbid
GU - ?
UR - Spells matter
RW - Tokens
LINK TO CUBETUTOR
I'd love some feedback on this first pass. I spent a lot of time reading threads and articles and browsing other pauper lists, but I'm likely to have missed some gems and/or included the worst card ever.
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
Thanks! Btw, your list was one of the ones I looked at before deciding on my preliminary list. Most of these cards are in my sideboard on cube tutor, I think.
infantry veteran - I was not sure if it would be good enough, but I do like the effect. I think I'll make room for it.
youthful knight - Was not aware this had a modern border printing, this is definitely going in.
fledgling griffin - Not sure if I like this better than my other 2-drops
topan freeblade - Same as the Griffin, although I think I like this one better. Maybe I need to cut a 3-drop to lower the curve slightly.
burrenton bombardier - Not too hot on this, but the utility might be better than I give it credit for.
wingcrafter - This will probably go in. I wasn't able to find myself a Delver, and this is next in line.
omenspeaker - See Sea Gate
sea gate oracle - I'll tackle these 2 together, because they fill more or less the same function. I like both of these a lot, but there were some other cards I wanted to try in the 2- and 3-drop slots that I wasn't able to find the room. If anything turns out to not work like I want it to, either of these are easy includes.
foresee - I included Deep Analysis and Compulsive Research over this, although I might want all three. I think I'll go ahead and take out Distortion Strike for this, because it seems too powerful to not include.
singing bell strike - Would you recommend this over Claustrophobia and/or Narcolepsy? I don't think I want all three.
chittering rats - Was never really a fan of the card. It's good, but for a slightly hard-to-cast 3-drop, I think it does too little.
corrupted zendikon - Wasn't on my radar. Looks decent enough. I guess it depends on how good a 3/3 is in the format. If it is, then the (essentially) upkeep cost of B would be worth it.
faceless butcher - Ah, it is, but it's only in foil. Maybe I should've mentioned that foils are out too. (will update in OP)
recover - I like it, but the other recursion effects look a little better (Gravedigger, Driver, Pilferers, Death Denied, Grim Harvest) and I don't want to go overboard on it. I might cut Driver of the Dead for it if it turns out to be too narrow.
mark of the vampire - Wasn't on my radar. How good is this?
ashmouth hound - I think I like my other 2-drops better and I feel I have (more than) enough. Anything you'd swap this for?
blood ogre - If I find I don't have enough 3-drops, I'll definitely make room. For now, I'm happy enough.
mire boa - Conscious exclusion. I'm not a fan of protection/landwalk in low powered draft formats. If Wandering Wolf turns out to be less good than I hope, this will come in for the Pants archetype.
river boa - Same as above, plus this only comes with a modern border as uncommon.
trusted forcemage - While searching for my cards today, I came across this one and wondered why I didn't put it in. Maybe for a Courser.
wickerbough elder - I left this out for now because I thought there wouldn't be too many artifacts/enchantments I really want to destroy. I'll re-evaluate that position after a few drafts.
giant growth - Do you like this better than Titanic Growth? I wanted to try Titanic Growth out (never played with it), but maybe it's too expensive.
groundswell - See Giant Growth
curse of chains - I chose to leave out hybrids for now. First hybrid (along Snakeform, I think) to go in if I do include them.
branching bolt - I wanted to focus G/R on creature pump as identity.
scuzzback marauders - See Curse of Chains. That said, how good is this?
qasali pridemage - I wanted to focus W/G on the Pants archetype and chose Grizzled Leotau for that reason.
travel preparations - See Pridemage
putrid leech - I wanted to focus G/B on Morbid.
shambleshark - Might want to put this in. I'm actually not sure which of the Simic cards I like best. A lot of cards look decent, but nothing super interesting.
gathan raiders - I run this in my Peasant cube as a colorless discard outlet. Not sure if this cube wants the outlets. Would you say this is good enough regardless?
vault skirge - Actually bricked on this one as a colorless cards to put Pants on. Interesting.
cathodion - Good, but a little boring. If I find I'm in need for 3-drops to smooth out curves, I'll add it.
slash panther - Probably should include this. Maybe I'll cut Will-Forged Golem, as that actually doesn't look too great.
copper carapace - I don't like the high-ish equip cost
opaline bracers - Could be good, but I want to focus on 2-color decks first.
leonin skyhunter - Cutting this for Youthful Knight
stalwart aven - This seemed pretty decent, but I have no experience with it. After looking at my list, I think I need one more 2-drop, so I'll swap this for Topaz Freeblade.
glaring aegis - Not sure where I found this card, but I thought it would be a fun overlap card between Pants and the Boros "can't block" deck. Will try this for a while to see if I like it, but I expect it to be cut before long.
delver of secrets - Wasn't able to find one anyway, so will cut this for Wingcrafter. I do like blue to have some more small fries.
headless skaab - Want to try this as part of the U/B delve deck, but it's definitely the worst one of its kind. Watchlist for now.
nirkana assassin - I wanted to focus B/W on life(g/dr)ain, so I put this in to broadcast that. We'll see.
goblin bushwhacker - I keep wanting to play this card in my Peasant cube, but it always falls just short. I was hoping it would be better in this with red and white as token colors. Might be better as just another aggressive creature though. Watchlist.
raid bombardment - See Bushwhacker.
titanic growth - See Giant Growth (above)
ethercaste knight - Someone suggested putting this in my Peasant cube, but I have no room for it there. Wanted to try if it was any good. If not, this will probably become something like a Lyev Skyknight.
kathari bomber - Totally not sure if this is any good. Part of a B/R sacrifice package for now.
grizzled leotau - Part of the G/W Pants archetype.
shambling shell - Part of both the Morbid archetype as an easy enabler.
ethereal ambush - See Shambleshark (above). Simic is one of the guilds I can't decide the direction on.
will-forged golem - Cutting for Slash Panther.
-
First (small) batch of swaps here
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
fledgling - solid aggro 2 drop
burrenton - 3 mana is the most i'm willing to pay for a combat trick, but permanently turning the recipient into a fatty is really good, basically 2 for 1
singing bell - definitely would use this over claustrophobia's mana cost
chittering - good card for a grindy deck, basically phyrexian rager 2, but the BB problem is valid
corrupted zendikon - 3/3 haste for 3 is good; fast deck shouldn't be hurt too much by the upkeep
recover - personally I prefer draw a card to gravedigger's vanilla 2/2. Also these card advantage spells are necessary for black control to work IMO so I have a lot of them. Also font of return
mark of the vampire - high risk high reward; if you don't get 2 for 1'd you have a 4/4 or bigger with lifelink and possibly other abilities, probably impossible to beat. Also enchantment-voltron decks sometimes splash this to put on a hexproof guy.
That reminds me, abundant growth is a nice card and cute with aura gnarlid, ethereal armor, kruphix's insight
Ashmouth - I'd run this over most of your 2 drops but I see you have chosen them with specific strategies in mind. One of few red 2 drops that can block decently.
Blood ogre is like the 2nd best red 3 drop after splatter thug. Better than valakut predator and boggart brute
wickerbough - people have had success with maindecked manic vandal in my cube. This guy is good
growths - +4/+4 is almost never better than +3/+3 and 2 mana is eons worse than 1 mana
scuzzback - one of the best creatures at 5 mana
shambleshark - great if UG aggro/tempo is a deck. 3/2 for 2 that sometimes becomes 4/3
gathan raiders - aggro 3 drop any color can use
vault skirge - aggro 1 drop any color can use, in a format starving for decent 1 drops.
copper carapace - very nearly as good as vulshok morningstar, possibly better in aggro
I used to run headless skaab. Even alongside stuff that explicitly supports it, like architects of will, looters, deranged assistant, thought scour etc, it almost never got used.
edit: oh man, I forgot basking rootwalla was in a duel deck, I love that guy.
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Headless Skaab is a card I want to see for myself, but I think you're right in that's very likely not good enough.
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
From running compare cubes, a lot of your exclusions are based on your modern border restriction, which is fine, and metalevolence addressed a number of others, but I still have a few thoughts:
Ampryn Tactician has been unexciting but fine for me, and you're supporting tokens, so it seems like it'll be better here.
Razor Golem/Spire Golem/Dross Golem are all on curve or better with 1-2 of the requisite basics. They've been great for me.
Kor Chant is a very powerful trick that you might not know existed in a modern frame.
Benthic Giant is an awesome control guy, it stabilizes boards pretty well and is generally just huge.
Sigiled Starfish works overtime.
Infiltrator il-Kor is a great beater if you're supporting a blue tempo strategy. Also wears auras well allowing for cross-archetype stuff with the pants deck.
Mortis Dogs same deal, very strong aggressive creature and plays really well with pump effects from R/G or auras from W/G.
I'd like to second a recommendation for Mark of the Vampire, it plays a lot better than it looks and can easily run away with a game.
Inner-Flame Acolyte is kind of a pet card but it seems like it would fit your R/G archetype
Teetering Peaks see above
I was not impressed by Tithe Drinker but your mileage may vary.
Beetleform Mage is a much better card than Frilled Oculus imo.
Izzet Chronarch overlaps well with UR spells and UW blink as another tool to create Ghostly Flicker loops and just a solid value guy for a URx control deck.
Level 1 Judge
Ampryn Tactician - On my radar and might come in.
Golems - Thought about these, but decided against them for now. I'm not really excited by the on-curve versions, but maybe that's my Peasant mind speaking. They're obviously they're insane when you have 3 of the requisite basics, but that's not something I plan to count on.
Kor Chant - I was indeed not aware of the modern border on this one. Will add to my sideboard.
Benthic Giant - For some reason I thought this was 3/4.. I'll think about it (for this AND my peasant cube)
Sigiled Starfish - I think the 3 looters are enough for now, but this will come in when I need another similar effect.
Infiltrator il-Kor - Oh my, how could I forget about this guy. It's been in my main cube for ages and love it.
Mortis Dogs - Interesting. I like the combo-like quality about this one.
Mark of the Vampire - Allright, I'll see if I can pick one up (don't think I actually own one, lol)
Inner-Flame and Teetering Peaks - True. Like them both, just ran out of space.
Tithe Drinker - This is a nod towards the drain deck. Never really impressed me in Peasant, either, but I want to start by pushing the first class of archetypes as much as I can (at least in the guilds).
Beetleform - Good call.
Izzet Chronarch - See Tithe Drinker. The spells-to-pump guys are something I wanted to try for a while in my Peasant cube but never got around to it (for expected power level reasons). I'm hoping they're better in Pauper. I have to say though, while Izzet Chronarch is a very good card, I think I have enough of the effect in Mnemonic Wall and Archaeomancer, but I might be wrong.
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
The Undying Evil cut is because I couldn't find one..
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
The decks were:
seat 1 - W/G pants
seat 2 - mono red aggro
seat 3 - U/R spells
seat 4 - B/G midrange/value
We only had time for 1 match, sadly.
W/G pants beat U/R spells. Turn 2 Silhana Ledgewalker in game 1, suited up with 4 enchantments by turn 5 (amongst which a Hopeful Eidolon) was too much, even though the U/R deck had a Wee Dragonauts with Whispersilk Cloak equipped to race. Game 2 was a bit longer and more interactive. The U/R deck was able to keep the opponent at bay by bouncing guys when they were suited up, but Grizzled Leotau was too hard to remove with burn and was finally able to go the distance.
Mono Red beat B/G Midrange. Game 1, the red deck was way too fast, while the B/G drew too many lands. Second game went to the midrange deck on the back of Grazing Gladehart. The third game was somewhat closer, but all the 'can't block' effects trumped all the death touch guys.
I wish we would be able to play the finals, but alas.
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
- The pivotal turn for this cube is hard to pin down, mainly because I haven't drafted the cube too much yet. My uneducated guess would be somewhere between turn 4.5 and 6. The format is somewhat grindy.
- Because this is my secondary cube, I set out to build a format that feels different enough from my main cube that we would actually draft it. I did not want a cube that was essentially a pauper version of my Peasant Cube. As my main cube is very archetype driven and fast, and feels more like powered down constructed, I wanted a cube that felt more like a powered up core set draft. To further prevent too much overlap as well as give it a visual feel of the cards belonging together, I went with the modern frame restriction. I did put draftable archetypes in the cube, because I don't want every to deck to be good-stuff, but I went a lot less deep than in my Peasant Cube.
I didn't have a lot of experience with Pauper, so I started by looking at a whole slew of other cubes and mixing and matching cards that I liked and would draft sort of well together. I think the format could use some refining, but it doesn't really have a high priority at the moment.
- I don't hate aggro, actually I love playing aggro. The thing is that having the double restriction of Pauper AND modern border only really cuts down on the options. Aggro should be perfectly draftable though, but the aggro decks should feel more like draft format aggro decks than usual cube aggro decks in that they're a bit slower and less overbearing.
- I'd love to add more robust one-drops, but haven't done as much research lately. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to consider and run them.
- Apart from the fact that I have too little experience with this cube to have a good feel about balance of certain effects, I liked the singers so far but can see cutting down if they become too numerous.
- I did consider more of the Denizen cycle, mainly the white and black ones because they're the most aggressive (in cost and effect). I don't really like the blue Denizen, but the green one is fine (albeit a bit durdly).
- Cloudshift is a good trick without help and depending on how your format is constructed it can range from decent to great. I like it better in my peasant cube, because there are more high value targets, but it's fine here.
- I haven't updated the pauper cube since before the first drafts with it (which was early November). We usually draft my peasant cube, so I don't feel like I have enough experience drafting it to make decisions based on that, and haven't done enough research and theorizing to make decisions based on that. I was planning to update in the coming weeks (if I can find the time). If you have any good suggestions, I'd be all up for it. Maybe we should take this to my
- Prowess seems like a very good addition to the cube. I really like how it plays out. I'll look into it. Another thought I had is that the cube might have too much non-creature spells. Thoughts?
- Control decks are existent in the same way they exist in regular draft formats. Often more creature-based than not and grindy value decks. Pauper doesn't have too many pure control bombs (that I found at least) that traditional control decks are very hard to make work. In my peasant cube I can get away with very good almost creature-less control decks that stall the game with Wall of Denial and such and finishes with a resilient creature like Jetting Glasskite, or non-creature win conditions like Isochron Scepter or Psychic Spiral. I don't think this is possible in pauper.
- Delver is not a card I found too good in traditional limited and already hard enough to support in my peasant cube. I can't really remember if I excluded double cards on purpose or not, but if I did I will reconsider it because of SOI. I do know that I excluded future shifted cards as much as possible because I didn't like how they distorted the otherwise super clean aesthetics of the cube. DFC's do not have that problem though.
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol