This thread is for the discussion of ElMikkino's latest article, Close to the Edge: Mono-Blue Cube Overview. Due to technical issues the thread that is normally created when an article is published didn't occur, so I have created this thread to allow you to talk about it. As always, please keep your comments on topic.
This seems like a great idea! Much as I like ordinary Cube I've always felt there's an unnecessary level of uniformity between different Cubes. This is a really elegant variation.
My main concern - although presumably you've already discovered this not to be a problem - would have been all the low cost cards being consistently high picks. Counterspells, bounce and early drops seem like they could leave the other decks feeling very slow and clumsy. At least in regular Cube (and every other draft format) you know that if you've read the signals correctly your curve should work out OK.
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(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
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<Limited Clan>
Interesting! I can definitely see the appeal -- I actually just cut white from my uncommons cube (link points to my blog).
I'm especially impressed at you getting mill in there. At first I thought, "Mill in cube? Rookie mistake." Then I read the rest of your paragraph; using mill as a foil to card-draw shenanigans is clever.
That said, there are a few things that concern me, and I wonder if they've been issues:
It seems like there aren't that many decks to build -- like a lot of cards just fit into one deck. Aggro seems to be either Merfolk or Faeries/skies, for example, with little wiggle room.
A lot of the decks look like they require specific cards. There's no reanimator deck, for example, that needs one of ten fatties and one of ten ways to reanimate said fatty; instead there is a Tolarian Academy deck, a High Tide deck, some random two-card combos that are unplayable apart, etc.
It looks from some angles like the control and combo decks will basically just be the sorts of things you might see in a powered cube, but that the aggro decks will be much weaker (no self-respecting aggro deck in a cube plays Elvish Warrior). Have you considered dropping the average power level a bit, or powering it down?
Interesting! I can definitely see the appeal -- I actually just cut white from my uncommons cube (link points to my blog).
I'm especially impressed at you getting mill in there. At first I thought, "Mill in cube? Rookie mistake." Then I read the rest of your paragraph; using mill as a foil to card-draw shenanigans is clever.
That said, there are a few things that concern me, and I wonder if they've been issues:
It seems like there aren't that many decks to build -- like a lot of cards just fit into one deck. Aggro seems to be either Merfolk or Faeries/skies, for example, with little wiggle room.
A lot of the decks look like they require specific cards. There's no reanimator deck, for example, that needs one of ten fatties and one of ten ways to reanimate said fatty; instead there is a Tolarian Academy deck, a High Tide deck, some random two-card combos that are unplayable apart, etc.
It looks from some angles like the control and combo decks will basically just be the sorts of things you might see in a powered cube, but that the aggro decks will be much weaker (no self-respecting aggro deck in a cube plays Elvish Warrior). Have you considered dropping the average power level a bit, or powering it down?
Aggro can actually hold its own quite well in the cube, even when playing Elvish Warrior. The lack of good sweepers means that control decks have to rely on counterspells, and enough cards always seem to slip through them. Yes, the decks sometimes just die to combo, but where those decks have nutdraws and slow draws, aggro's draws are much more consistent. The fact that they only need to get any random dudes on the battlefield to kill means that they have more room for permission and answers. The Faeries/skies deck having the option of holding up countermagic and then flashing in something at end of turn makes a lot of combo decks rage. And let's not forget that if the aggro decks get the unfair cards, things can still quickly get stupid. Black Lotus into Serendib Effreet sounds silly, but it actually works quite well. Also, if they get one of the Swords, it just gets plain stupid. In at least 2 of the 4 or 5 drafts we've done so far, an aggro deck's been undefeated.
I'll admit to never trying either, but both fall prey to being five mana things that you have to play at sorcery speed and don't immediately threaten to win. Due to the lack of removal, they're arguably easier to kill than a creature, and while Tamiyo has a way to mitigate that, Tezzeret can only really fetch some dorky blocker out of your deck.
I'd see trying out Tamiyo before Tezzeret, but her main strength is being able to continually tap down a gigantic thing before activating her nigh-unbeatable ultimate. In this cube, unless a combo opponent stumbles and doesn't TinkerBlightsteel until late in the game, you won't get many opportunities to tap down one giant thing. Her other ability is fine, but even if your opponent's playing aggro, they won't have a million creatures on board, and you can do better than a spell that basically equates to "Draw three cards and gain 2 life." The ultimate is super-awesome, but I don't see it happening all that much unless you would be able to win with anything.
The only deck I'd really be happy to put her in is the mana rock ramp/midrange deck, but she's just worse than something like Tangle Wire, Smokestack or Mishra's Helix there. She'd still be a card I'd include, but that's only one archetype, so I'm still fairly skeptical of her abilities.
As for Tezzeret, he'd only really work in some sort of two-card combo deck, where he'd be a pretty good tutor, but he'd still cost 5, and he'd still only be good if you got those two cards. You could try playing him as a ramp spell in the mana rock deck, but he's no Gilded Lotus, and five-mana ramp spells aren't really a commodity people are aching for, anyways. If I could put the other Tezzeret in the cube, though, I most certainly would, but that's meaningless in this world where he has B in his mana cost.
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My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
My main concern - although presumably you've already discovered this not to be a problem - would have been all the low cost cards being consistently high picks. Counterspells, bounce and early drops seem like they could leave the other decks feeling very slow and clumsy. At least in regular Cube (and every other draft format) you know that if you've read the signals correctly your curve should work out OK.
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
I'm especially impressed at you getting mill in there. At first I thought, "Mill in cube? Rookie mistake." Then I read the rest of your paragraph; using mill as a foil to card-draw shenanigans is clever.
That said, there are a few things that concern me, and I wonder if they've been issues:
It seems like there aren't that many decks to build -- like a lot of cards just fit into one deck. Aggro seems to be either Merfolk or Faeries/skies, for example, with little wiggle room.
A lot of the decks look like they require specific cards. There's no reanimator deck, for example, that needs one of ten fatties and one of ten ways to reanimate said fatty; instead there is a Tolarian Academy deck, a High Tide deck, some random two-card combos that are unplayable apart, etc.
It looks from some angles like the control and combo decks will basically just be the sorts of things you might see in a powered cube, but that the aggro decks will be much weaker (no self-respecting aggro deck in a cube plays Elvish Warrior). Have you considered dropping the average power level a bit, or powering it down?
Aggro can actually hold its own quite well in the cube, even when playing Elvish Warrior. The lack of good sweepers means that control decks have to rely on counterspells, and enough cards always seem to slip through them. Yes, the decks sometimes just die to combo, but where those decks have nutdraws and slow draws, aggro's draws are much more consistent. The fact that they only need to get any random dudes on the battlefield to kill means that they have more room for permission and answers. The Faeries/skies deck having the option of holding up countermagic and then flashing in something at end of turn makes a lot of combo decks rage. And let's not forget that if the aggro decks get the unfair cards, things can still quickly get stupid. Black Lotus into Serendib Effreet sounds silly, but it actually works quite well. Also, if they get one of the Swords, it just gets plain stupid. In at least 2 of the 4 or 5 drafts we've done so far, an aggro deck's been undefeated.
I'll admit to never trying either, but both fall prey to being five mana things that you have to play at sorcery speed and don't immediately threaten to win. Due to the lack of removal, they're arguably easier to kill than a creature, and while Tamiyo has a way to mitigate that, Tezzeret can only really fetch some dorky blocker out of your deck.
I'd see trying out Tamiyo before Tezzeret, but her main strength is being able to continually tap down a gigantic thing before activating her nigh-unbeatable ultimate. In this cube, unless a combo opponent stumbles and doesn't Tinker Blightsteel until late in the game, you won't get many opportunities to tap down one giant thing. Her other ability is fine, but even if your opponent's playing aggro, they won't have a million creatures on board, and you can do better than a spell that basically equates to "Draw three cards and gain 2 life." The ultimate is super-awesome, but I don't see it happening all that much unless you would be able to win with anything.
The only deck I'd really be happy to put her in is the mana rock ramp/midrange deck, but she's just worse than something like Tangle Wire, Smokestack or Mishra's Helix there. She'd still be a card I'd include, but that's only one archetype, so I'm still fairly skeptical of her abilities.
As for Tezzeret, he'd only really work in some sort of two-card combo deck, where he'd be a pretty good tutor, but he'd still cost 5, and he'd still only be good if you got those two cards. You could try playing him as a ramp spell in the mana rock deck, but he's no Gilded Lotus, and five-mana ramp spells aren't really a commodity people are aching for, anyways. If I could put the other Tezzeret in the cube, though, I most certainly would, but that's meaningless in this world where he has B in his mana cost.