UPDATE (6/5/13): I've made updates and changes to the cube, but I've decided to only post them over at this thread on RiptideLab.
Toad's Mono-White Cube
You read that correctly. I started thinking about doing something more radical for my 2nd cube, and I had a lot of crazy ideas. I had heard stories about a mono-blue cube (source unknown) that was pretty sweet, so that sparked an idea: what color would be the best for a mono-colored cube? I came up with white, mostly because of all the colors, it seemed like it could support the most meaningful interactions.
White + Artifacts provides access to:
Strong removal for every permanent type
Aggro creatures
Late-game trumps
Graveyard interactions
Strong defensive cards
Equipment
The only cube staples that are missing are counter magic and discard; powerful but controversial methods of interaction.
The result is a very interactive, skill-intensive format that is really fun. You still get a lot of "only could happen in a cube draft" plays, and even though every deck is just white, you rarely get the feel of a "mirror match." Games are usually back and forth, people rarely lose to color screw, and the format is surprisingly deep.
Mono-White means I've only sleeved up Plains for this cube. It does not mean the cube is like having a mono-white commander. Hybrid cards are in. Phyrexian Mana is in. Just one rule: The only Basic Land allowed is Plains. So if you get Coalition Relic and want to play Gut Shot without paying life, you can.
Non-white mana can be used for more than just phyrexian or hybrid cards. Currently, the goal is that all cards are "playable" with just white mana, but some cards get better with access to non-white mana: Off color kickers and flashback are the easiest examples, but Sky Hussar can be a great card draw add to a token deck even if you can't cast him.
All of the mana-fixing in the cube is 5-color, so there doesn't need to be any balancing between the non-white colors. It plays like a simple threshold mechanic: non-white mana.
True "Gold" cards: These are under consideration, but currently not included. The idea would be that a few "Premier" white multicolor cards would make it into the cube, with the caveat that they are completely unplayable unless you draft and draw the mana-fixing to cast them. If I were to go down this road, it would likely be for unique spells that add something significant to the cube, like the W/X planeswalkers.
Major Theme: Artifacts and Enchantments Matter: White has oodles of good enchantments, and plays well with artifacts. I made the extra effort to include high-powered cards in these types, and put in many Disenchant effects to match. As beneficial auras are still a liability to get 2-for-1'd, I did not include many of them.
Major Theme: Sweepers: If there is another thing White is really good at doing, it is hitting the reset button. The Wrath of God family could fill a baseball roster, and still send some under-performers to the minors. Many are included here. No board state is ever insurmountable, and caution must always be used when committing more permanents to the board. Of course, as sweepers become ubiquitous, cards that prevent or help rebound from their effects become more valuable. Furthermore, almost all sweepers are Destroy effects: most "anti-wraths" play around destruction and are useless against exile and/or tuck effects. Therefore, Hallowed Burial, Final Judgment and similar cards are intentional exclusions.
Minor Themes:
Tribal: White has various creature types that have gotten support, so Humans, Soldiers, Knights, and Rebels are just some of the creature types to show off their synergy.
Reanimator: White lacks the under-costed Reanimation tools of black, so the suite here is primarily to re-buy threats. Still, some discard outlets are provided to allow shaving a couple of turns off of playing bombs, if desired.
Equipment: There's a lot of it, and the power level is juiced. Works well both primary themes as it helps protect against creature sweepers, but artifact destruction is also readily available.
Lands: Because a draft could end with 45 castable spells, utility lands allow you to play with more cards that you've drafted. Therefore, any land which taps for 1 or W is automatically under consideration for inclusion. Lands are the hardest type for White to interact with, so care must be taken to ensure that no land is too powerful if left on board.
White Matters: Not so much a theme, but the power level of several cards are skewed due to mono-white, some enough to warrant inclusion (or exclusion) - Brave the Elements can be a blowout, Sunlance is left out. Strata Scythe gets alarmingly big.
Intentional Exclusions: Shadow, Powered Fast Mana, 1 Sided White Hosers.
THIS CUBE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. All cubes usually change with time, but the first draft with it was January - it's still an infant. I'm very open to suggestions, and although I've laid out my goals, my only hard and fast rule for this cube is "Plains are the only Basic Land." I'll consider any argument to cut or add cards to the cube, and I'm sure there are some gems I've missed, and some cards I have that are cruft and/or too good.
Mouth of Ronom: No snow mana required, instead activates for 5,T,Sac.
Squadron Hawks: After the draft, if you have 2 Squadron Hawks, ask the other players how many Squadron Hawks they have. If there is at least one Squadron Hawk that was undrafted, you may search the undrafted cards and add a Squadron Hawk to your draft pool.
Mother of Runes seems conspicuously absent from your 1cc section. I'm sure she'd be an all star, considering the mostly mono-colored nature of the cube.
Maybe a couple of the whitehybridspiritavatars, for your 5cc slot. Alternatively, some of the demigod auras like steel of the godhead could spice up your quasi-multicolored picks.
In your cube, a simple card like desert might pull a lot of weight against beaters like porcelain legionnaire.
I'll be interested in seeing your testing on skullclamp. With the abundance of tokens, it might be too good a card, unless artifact removal is used enough to deal with the huge amount of card advantage it will generate.
Mother of Runes seems conspicuously absent from your 1cc section. I'm sure she'd be an all star, considering the mostly mono-colored nature of the cube.
Maybe a couple of the whitehybridspiritavatars, for your 5cc slot. Alternatively, some of the demigod auras like steel of the godhead could spice up your quasi-multicolored picks.
In your cube, a simple card like desert might pull a lot of weight against beaters like porcelain legionnaire.
I'll be interested in seeing your testing on skullclamp. With the abundance of tokens, it might be too good a card, unless artifact removal is used enough to deal with the huge amount of card advantage it will generate.
Thanks for your input Dolono!
Honestly don't know how I forgot Mother of Runes. I'm going to keep an eye on it and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, those two obviously are very powerful; unsure if they'll be too much.
I think I'll pass on Oversoul of Dusk as its protections will rarely be relevant. Nobilis of War is a shoe-in for the next update, and the other two look like they will be worth testing. My main concern is that the WWWWW cost will feel more like 6-7 cmc because most decks would otherwise expect to run 3-4 colorless non-basics and/or mana rocks with virtually no penalty.
Desert, another card I overlooked that can help hold the ground.
I'm already thinking of taking a sharpie to Skullclamp to draw one and seeing where that goes.
Eight-and-a-half-tails seems WAY too good for this. I didn't want to put it in my medium-power cube because late game it basically says "all creatures you control have protection from everything" and it just fills one too many roles. It chumps the turn it comes down and lives, and could turn a field unblockable as well. I would not recommend it unless you like that sort of power.
Mom is awesome because she has a turn of vulnerability and only ever protects one thing at a time.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The GameCube, a 500 cube with a medium power level and a focus on fun and fringe playables rather than immediately shutting your opponent down with the best cards ever printed.
Modem Masters, a 500 cube that tries to capture the essence of a Modern Masters set draft. 3 of each common, 2 of each uncommon, 1 of each rare, few mythics. Includes minor changes for balance reasons to give certain archetypes the tools they need to succeed.
Eight-and-a-half-tails seems WAY too good for this. I didn't want to put it in my medium-power cube because late game it basically says "all creatures you control have protection from everything" and it just fills one too many roles. It chumps the turn it comes down and lives, and could turn a field unblockable as well. I would not recommend it unless you like that sort of power.
Mom is awesome because she has a turn of vulnerability and only ever protects one thing at a time.
8.5 Got cut because he was indeed absurd, it only took one draft where he showed up and used properly to figure that out. Mom is getting the axe as well because she's fair to good as an aggro support card, but still too powerful as a control tool: plunk her down alongside a decent bodied creature, and it would be excruciatingly hard to break through. When you did get her, you were likely getting Wrathed next turn.
I've been making a lot of smaller changes that are going to get posted in a single large update (ideally later this week). The cube has been quite a hit with everyone who has played it, and the major kinks have been worked out; it's just a balancing act from this point forward.
Big update: after several drafts, many cuts/adds became obvious. Probably the biggest revelation was cutting the Exile/Tuck sweepers - I want cards like Rootbound Defenses to be hard counters to sweepers. I'm also considering bumping up to 450, as I think the card pool is deep enough.
To answer your question Dolono, the most basic archetypes of agrro, midrange, and control all exist. What's refreshing is there are many flavors of each, and you can mix and match different components. For example, one draft I did well with a Weenie Aggro deck that used mostly Soliders and had a Stoneforge Mystic plus some value equipment for reach. I've played a big mana deck that used Karoo and Kjeldoran Outpost to ensure Tithe and Gift of Estates could be fully utilized, with an endgame of Emeria, the Sky Ruin and White Sun's Zenith.
Drafting your deck is tricky: you've got to make sure you have a couple disenchants, and you'll want to get powerful lands. But you can't "cut" people out of white, so card evaluation is key; Knowing which cards are okay to float and which are desired is a fun skill to master.
Drafting your deck is tricky: you've got to make sure you have a couple disenchants, and you'll want to get powerful lands. But you can't "cut" people out of white, so card evaluation is key; Knowing which cards are okay to float and which are desired is a fun skill to master.
Seems like a good candidate for a grid draft, especially when your # of players is low. I've really become a big fan of open information drafting for atypically designed cubes.
Seems like a good candidate for a grid draft, especially when your # of players is low. I've really become a big fan of open information drafting for atypically designed cubes.
Actually, Grid Drafting didn't work out nearly as well as I thought it would. Heads up, 3x3, you could always get 3 playables. I might give it another shake, but there usually wasn't much tension in the choices, you just looked for the best 3 cards.
Solomon drafting though, was a blast (we did packs of 6). The begining few packs are usually ho-hum splits, but as decks start to come together towards the end, you can get some pretty tough splits: if you know they are missing a key component (a disenchant, sweeper, etc), you can really wrench some good value out of them.
A note on both formats: to keep it interesting, you got to cut down on total number of packs, I think approximately 70 cards total for the draft is a good target.
I'm also going to experiment with having some hidden information in these drafts - I'm thinking for Solomon, I'll again try a pack of 6 cards, but 1 card per pack is dealt out face down, and the splitting player has to put this "unkown" card into one of the piles.
Also, another change to the cube:
Steam Catapult was cut. I'm not sure why I thought it would work, but with all the sweepers available, it was a big do-nothing. Unburial Rites has taken its place.
Surprised that Battle Screech isn't in here! Seems like it would be rather good in a mono-white cube.
It's a card that I had forgotten about in original cube construction. I'm contemplating an expansion to 450, so that seems like a perfect time to test it out. Token makers have some nice play with the wrath effects, and I'm interested to see how the flashback on this plays.
Battle Screech and a bunch of other cards are in the mail, in the process of expanding to 450. Cube has been playing well still. The biggest issue so far has been Planeswalkers are hard to interact with, particularly when backed up with sweepers. Because there are limited options for spells that deal with them, we are going to experiment with house rules that allow them to be dealt with: our best idea (that we still need to test) is that all Planeswalkers are also creatures that can't attack or block. The spirit of the rule is that they can be destroyed as easily as creatures, but the spells that protect or reanimate creatures will also apply to them. For the most part, I think that the technical rules of Magic can handle most situations that would arise in my cube with only 2 additional caveats: Damage dealt to a planeswalker only ever results in removing loyalty, and their P/T is equal to current loyalty (or starting loyalty when not in play). Our intent would be to make rulings in line with the stated spirit in mind.
Hopefully this will work out as well as I think it will; if so, Elspeth, Knight Errant can be unbanned. I hope after next week I can post a full update at 450, with finalized rules.
You read that correctly. I started thinking about doing something more radical for my 2nd cube, and I had a lot of crazy ideas. I had heard stories about a mono-blue cube (source unknown) that was pretty sweet, so that sparked an idea: what color would be the best for a mono-colored cube? I came up with white, mostly because of all the colors, it seemed like it could support the most meaningful interactions.
White + Artifacts provides access to:
The only cube staples that are missing are counter magic and discard; powerful but controversial methods of interaction.
The result is a very interactive, skill-intensive format that is really fun. You still get a lot of "only could happen in a cube draft" plays, and even though every deck is just white, you rarely get the feel of a "mirror match." Games are usually back and forth, people rarely lose to color screw, and the format is surprisingly deep.
Non-white mana can be used for more than just phyrexian or hybrid cards. Currently, the goal is that all cards are "playable" with just white mana, but some cards get better with access to non-white mana: Off color kickers and flashback are the easiest examples, but Sky Hussar can be a great card draw add to a token deck even if you can't cast him.
All of the mana-fixing in the cube is 5-color, so there doesn't need to be any balancing between the non-white colors. It plays like a simple threshold mechanic: non-white mana.
True "Gold" cards: These are under consideration, but currently not included. The idea would be that a few "Premier" white multicolor cards would make it into the cube, with the caveat that they are completely unplayable unless you draft and draw the mana-fixing to cast them. If I were to go down this road, it would likely be for unique spells that add something significant to the cube, like the W/X planeswalkers.
Major Theme: Sweepers: If there is another thing White is really good at doing, it is hitting the reset button. The Wrath of God family could fill a baseball roster, and still send some under-performers to the minors. Many are included here. No board state is ever insurmountable, and caution must always be used when committing more permanents to the board. Of course, as sweepers become ubiquitous, cards that prevent or help rebound from their effects become more valuable. Furthermore, almost all sweepers are Destroy effects: most "anti-wraths" play around destruction and are useless against exile and/or tuck effects. Therefore, Hallowed Burial, Final Judgment and similar cards are intentional exclusions.
Minor Themes:
Tribal: White has various creature types that have gotten support, so Humans, Soldiers, Knights, and Rebels are just some of the creature types to show off their synergy.
Reanimator: White lacks the under-costed Reanimation tools of black, so the suite here is primarily to re-buy threats. Still, some discard outlets are provided to allow shaving a couple of turns off of playing bombs, if desired.
Equipment: There's a lot of it, and the power level is juiced. Works well both primary themes as it helps protect against creature sweepers, but artifact destruction is also readily available.
Lands: Because a draft could end with 45 castable spells, utility lands allow you to play with more cards that you've drafted. Therefore, any land which taps for 1 or W is automatically under consideration for inclusion. Lands are the hardest type for White to interact with, so care must be taken to ensure that no land is too powerful if left on board.
White Matters: Not so much a theme, but the power level of several cards are skewed due to mono-white, some enough to warrant inclusion (or exclusion) - Brave the Elements can be a blowout, Sunlance is left out. Strata Scythe gets alarmingly big.
Intentional Exclusions: Shadow, Powered Fast Mana, 1 Sided White Hosers.
THIS CUBE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. All cubes usually change with time, but the first draft with it was January - it's still an infant. I'm very open to suggestions, and although I've laid out my goals, my only hard and fast rule for this cube is "Plains are the only Basic Land." I'll consider any argument to cut or add cards to the cube, and I'm sure there are some gems I've missed, and some cards I have that are cruft and/or too good.
3/6/13 Update: Over 30 changes: Cut many underperforming cards, made changes to improve health of the format. Notable banned cards: Exile/Tuck Sweepers (Final Judgment, Terminus), Mother of Runes, Eight-and-a-half-Tails, Elspeth, Knight Errant, and Austere Command. Added more spot removal, disenchant effects, and various overlooked cards. Added section for cards with errata.
3/7/13 Update: One last change I forgot to make yesterday: Steam Catapult is cut, Unburial Rites is in.
Skullclamp: Only draw 1 card. Now a fair card.
Mouth of Ronom: No snow mana required, instead activates for 5,T,Sac.
Squadron Hawks: After the draft, if you have 2 Squadron Hawks, ask the other players how many Squadron Hawks they have. If there is at least one Squadron Hawk that was undrafted, you may search the undrafted cards and add a Squadron Hawk to your draft pool.
1 Boros Elite
1 Cenn's Tactician
1 Champion of the Parish
1 Doomed Traveler
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Figure of Destiny
1 Gideon's Lawkeeper
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Icatian Javelineers
1 Infantry Veteran
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Loyal Sentry
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
1 Ramosian Sergeant
1 Rhys the Redeemed
1 Salvage Scout
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Student of Warfare
1 Tireless Tribe
1 War Falcon
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Ajani's Pridemate
1 Amrou Scout
1 Auriok Steelshaper
1 Blade of the Sixth Pride
1 Catapult Squad
1 Defiant Falcon
1 Elite Inquisitor
1 Epochrasite
1 Faith Healer
1 Fencing Ace
1 Kami of Ancient Law
1 Keening Apparition
1 Knight of Meadowgrain
1 Knight of the Holy Nimbus
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Kor Aeronaut
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Leonin Shikari
1 Lone Missionary
1 Loyal Cathar
1 Nearheath Pilgrim
1 Patrol Hound
1 Patrol Signaler
1 Perilous Myr
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Porcelain Legionnaire
1 Precinct Captain
1 Puresteel Paladin
1 Ramosian Lieutenant
1 Serra Avenger
1 Spellskite
4 Squadron Hawk
1 Steadfast Guard
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Syndic of Tithes
1 Veteran Armorsmith
1 Wall of Omens
1 War Priest of Thune
1 Whipcorder
1 Whitemane Lion
1 Auramancer
1 Avian Changeling
1 Blade Splicer
1 Boros Reckoner
1 Burrenton Bombardier
1 Cloudchaser Kestrel
1 Court Street Denizen
1 Defiant Vanguard
1 Devout Witness
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Frontline Medic
1 Hedron-Field Purists
1 Icatian Crier
1 Kemba, Kha Regent
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
1 Masako the Humorless
1 Mentor of the Meek
1 Mesa Enchantress
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Order of Whiteclay
1 Orim, Samite Healer
1 Outrider en-Kor
1 Peacekeeper
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Pianna, Nomad Captain
1 Plumeveil
1 Preeminent Captain
1 Ramosian Captain
1 Silverblade Paladin
1 Skyhunter Skirmisher
1 Thraben Doomsayer
1 Treasure Hunter
1 Twilight Drover
1 Veteran Swordsmith
1 Angel of Jubilation
1 Ballista Squad
1 Cho-Manno, Revolutionary
1 Daru Warchief
1 Emeria Angel
1 Enlistment Officer
1 False Prophet
1 Galepowder Mage
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Kinsbaile Cavalier
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Lodestone Golem
1 Odric, Master Tactician
1 Ramosian Commander
1 Ramosian Revivalist
1 Restoration Angel
1 Sublime Archangel
1 Angelic Overseer
1 Archon of Justice
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Geist-Honored Monk
1 Karmic Guide
1 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Precursor Golem
1 Ramosian Sky Marshal
1 Razor Hippogriff
1 Reveillark
1 Sky Hussar
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Stuffy Doll
1 World Queller
1 Angel of Glory's Rise
1 Angel of Salvation
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Angelic Skirmisher
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Captain of the Watch
1 Chancellor of the Annex
1 Dearly Departed
1 Duplicant
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Eternal Dragon
1 Exalted Angel
1 Felidar Sovereign
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Razor Golem
1 Sun Titan
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Twilight Shepherd
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Forbidding Watchtower
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Karoo
1 Kjeldoran Outpost
1 New Benalia
1 Rustic Clachan
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Serra's Sanctum
1 Windbrisk Heights
1 Blasted Landscape
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Buried Ruin
1 Cathedral of War
1 City of Brass
1 Contested War Zone
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Desert
1 Dread Statuary
1 Gargoyle Castle
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Mouth of Ronom
1 Mutavault
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Quicksand
1 Rishadan Port
1 Stalking Stones
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terrain Generator
1 Wasteland
1 Zoetic Cavern
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Gideon Jura
1 Gideon, Champion of Justice
1 Karn Liberated
1 Cataclysm
1 Catastrophe
1 Day of Judgement
1 Hour of Reckoning
1 Martial Coup
1 Martyr's Cry
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Phyrexian Rebirth
1 Planar Cleansing
1 Planar Collapse
1 Righteous Fury
1 Scourglass
1 Vengeful Dreams
1 Winds of Rath
1 Wrath of God
1 Afterlife
1 Condemn
1 Crib Swap
1 Dismember
1 Divine Deflection
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Flame Javelin
1 Gut Shot
1 Harm's Way
1 Jabari's Influence
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Moonglove Extract
1 Oblation
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Oust
1 Path to Exile
1 Reprisal
1 Righteous Blow
1 Soul Snare
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Unmake
1 Wing Shards
1 Aura Blast
1 Disenchant
1 Dismantling Blow
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Divine Offering
1 Dust to Dust
1 Erase (Not the Urza's Legacy One)
1 Orim's Thunder
1 Ray of Distortion
1 Return to Dust
1 Revoke Existence
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Serenity
1 Sundering Growth
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Mind Stone
1 Mox Opal
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Sphere of the Suns
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Armageddon
1 Brave the Elements
1 Breath of Life
1 Cauldron Haze
1 Defy Death
1 Emerge Unscathed
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Faith's Reward
1 Faith's Shield
1 Gift of Estates
1 Guardian's Pledge
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Immortal Servitude
1 Mana Tithe
1 Mental Mistep
1 Mine Excavation
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Mutagenic Growth
1 Open the Vaults
1 Ravages of War
1 Reknit
1 Remember the Fallen
1 Replenish
1 Resurrection
1 Rootborn Defenses
1 Scout's Warning
1 Second Sunrise
1 Tezzeret's Gambit
1 Tithe
1 Unburial Rites
1 Who/What/When/Where/Why
1 Avacyn's Collar
1 Batterskull
1 Bonehoard
1 Bonesplitter
1 Cranial Plating
1 Mask of Memory
1 Moonsilver Spear
1 Mortarpod
1 Skullclamp
1 Strata Scythe
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Vulshok Morningstar
1 Decree of Justice
1 Gather the Townsfolk
1 Increasing Devotion
1 Lingering Souls
1 Midnight Haunting
1 Sacred Mesa
1 Shrine of Loyal Legions
1 Spectral Procession
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 White Sun's Zenith
1 Angel's Feather
1 Culling Scales
1 Glint Hawk Idol
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Mimic Vat
1 Pithing Needle
1 Urza's Blueprints
1 Well of Lost Dreams
1 Cessation
1 Endless Horizons
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Honor of the Pure
1 Hypochondria
1 Intangible Virtue
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Opalescence
1 Parallax Wave
1 Peace of Mind
1 Porphyry Nodes
1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
1 Solitary Confinement
1 Sphere of Safety
1 Worship
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
Just a couple random card suggestions:
Mother of Runes seems conspicuously absent from your 1cc section. I'm sure she'd be an all star, considering the mostly mono-colored nature of the cube.
Maybe a couple of the white hybrid spirit avatars, for your 5cc slot. Alternatively, some of the demigod auras like steel of the godhead could spice up your quasi-multicolored picks.
In your cube, a simple card like desert might pull a lot of weight against beaters like porcelain legionnaire.
I'll be interested in seeing your testing on skullclamp. With the abundance of tokens, it might be too good a card, unless artifact removal is used enough to deal with the huge amount of card advantage it will generate.
"Personally I love high-riak, low-reqars gambles. Life's best with a decent amount of riak. And f*** reqars."
Thanks for your input Dolono!
Honestly don't know how I forgot Mother of Runes. I'm going to keep an eye on it and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, those two obviously are very powerful; unsure if they'll be too much.
I think I'll pass on Oversoul of Dusk as its protections will rarely be relevant. Nobilis of War is a shoe-in for the next update, and the other two look like they will be worth testing. My main concern is that the WWWWW cost will feel more like 6-7 cmc because most decks would otherwise expect to run 3-4 colorless non-basics and/or mana rocks with virtually no penalty.
Desert, another card I overlooked that can help hold the ground.
I'm already thinking of taking a sharpie to Skullclamp to draw one and seeing where that goes.
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
Mom is awesome because she has a turn of vulnerability and only ever protects one thing at a time.
Modem Masters, a 500 cube that tries to capture the essence of a Modern Masters set draft. 3 of each common, 2 of each uncommon, 1 of each rare, few mythics. Includes minor changes for balance reasons to give certain archetypes the tools they need to succeed.
8.5 Got cut because he was indeed absurd, it only took one draft where he showed up and used properly to figure that out. Mom is getting the axe as well because she's fair to good as an aggro support card, but still too powerful as a control tool: plunk her down alongside a decent bodied creature, and it would be excruciatingly hard to break through. When you did get her, you were likely getting Wrathed next turn.
I've been making a lot of smaller changes that are going to get posted in a single large update (ideally later this week). The cube has been quite a hit with everyone who has played it, and the major kinks have been worked out; it's just a balancing act from this point forward.
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
"Personally I love high-riak, low-reqars gambles. Life's best with a decent amount of riak. And f*** reqars."
To answer your question Dolono, the most basic archetypes of agrro, midrange, and control all exist. What's refreshing is there are many flavors of each, and you can mix and match different components. For example, one draft I did well with a Weenie Aggro deck that used mostly Soliders and had a Stoneforge Mystic plus some value equipment for reach. I've played a big mana deck that used Karoo and Kjeldoran Outpost to ensure Tithe and Gift of Estates could be fully utilized, with an endgame of Emeria, the Sky Ruin and White Sun's Zenith.
Drafting your deck is tricky: you've got to make sure you have a couple disenchants, and you'll want to get powerful lands. But you can't "cut" people out of white, so card evaluation is key; Knowing which cards are okay to float and which are desired is a fun skill to master.
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
Seems like a good candidate for a grid draft, especially when your # of players is low. I've really become a big fan of open information drafting for atypically designed cubes.
"Personally I love high-riak, low-reqars gambles. Life's best with a decent amount of riak. And f*** reqars."
Actually, Grid Drafting didn't work out nearly as well as I thought it would. Heads up, 3x3, you could always get 3 playables. I might give it another shake, but there usually wasn't much tension in the choices, you just looked for the best 3 cards.
Solomon drafting though, was a blast (we did packs of 6). The begining few packs are usually ho-hum splits, but as decks start to come together towards the end, you can get some pretty tough splits: if you know they are missing a key component (a disenchant, sweeper, etc), you can really wrench some good value out of them.
A note on both formats: to keep it interesting, you got to cut down on total number of packs, I think approximately 70 cards total for the draft is a good target.
I'm also going to experiment with having some hidden information in these drafts - I'm thinking for Solomon, I'll again try a pack of 6 cards, but 1 card per pack is dealt out face down, and the splitting player has to put this "unkown" card into one of the piles.
Also, another change to the cube:
Steam Catapult was cut. I'm not sure why I thought it would work, but with all the sweepers available, it was a big do-nothing. Unburial Rites has taken its place.
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
It's a card that I had forgotten about in original cube construction. I'm contemplating an expansion to 450, so that seems like a perfect time to test it out. Token makers have some nice play with the wrath effects, and I'm interested to see how the flashback on this plays.
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
My Peasant Cube thread !!! (380 cards)
Draft my Peasant Cube on Cube Cobra !!!
Hopefully this will work out as well as I think it will; if so, Elspeth, Knight Errant can be unbanned. I hope after next week I can post a full update at 450, with finalized rules.
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64
"I'm the Best!"
Toad, Mario Kart 64