I will let MrEng1neer handle the compilation. But I strongly disagree with the glut at Blue's Cubeable level. If it doesn't Fly AND Handle drawing, it is not able to compete with those that do.
I would never take the Mage of Chillbringer over the Watcher or Sphinx
As an aside: Blue 2cmc- Quench is a much worse Miscalculation. Which makes it Borderlin; imo. 1U counters are probably the only really playable 2cmc ones. But Mana Leak and Miscalc set the bar high with Mem Lapse and Arcan being able to work somewhere between
What we do not know is the Menace + Evolve combo, let alone in a X/b or B/x Aggro/Tempo build. But I almost feel it is just beneath a necessity. Menace and out of Bolt range quickly, coupled with easy of play... I REALLY like it
While I am attempting to make a Catch-up Update, is anyone able to make/work on a Downgrade Update? All the cards that have been taken from BORDERLINE-> BAD, etc. I do not think any really have won over a higher grade, but some have been outdated and should be lampooned; or Harpooned.
Covering the major players, or ones worth noting. Slivers, Snow, and Changelings go into appropriate cubes
WHITE Answered Prayers - Borderline - 3cc is a sweet spot. Turning into a Sorcery-proof 3/3 Flyer, awesome. Gaining incrimental life always, cool. But a 3/3 that cannot block means this is an aggro-favored card. But it only is a sometimes attacker, and does not really affect the board unless you have a more swarm-heavy design. Still a card that will usually find a home. WW slows the enthusiasm
Ephemerate - Cubeable - Mono Momentary Blink, or close enough. While not as opportune as flashback, rebound gets a second use for no extra mana. Any deck with 3+ EtB creatures starts to see this gain value. If Blink Archtype is in your cube, this will be an auto-include
Knight of Old Benalia - Borderline - Ampryn Tactician but with a 'Mail Order' option. If you like Swarm, this is better. But there are a host of bodies like this with their own quirks. Either you like EtB anthem bodies, or you don't; this is just a difference in timing.
Martyr's Soul - Cubeable - Swarm, and Aggro really like this body. It also works with mana rocks. Not likely to be a Turn 3 5/4, but poses a threat at that size before the late game.
Recruit the Worthy - Borderline - Obviously it raises in desireablity if a Swarm style deck that just nees to always have bodies arriving. But it is not Sprout Swarm, this cannot self-propetuate. 3w for a flash 1/1 is fine if you have nothing better to do; but then you have other problems. As for control, a slow stream of blockers is not moving the game forward and these tokens without pump are outclassed very fast.
Rhox Veteran - Staple - Combing Swarm needs with Aggro needs. Usually its tap ability is good on 3cc, but the body on 4cc is not enough. Here, the group pump combined with nullifying a blocker means damage in increasingly sinking in. And as a 2/4, it will take 2 bodies to kill in combat (1 will be tapped).
Settle Beyond Reality - Borderline - Almost always useful. And the ability to 2-for-1 make this solid. Sorcery drops the trick factor. But this is in the top Blink-style cards.
Stirring Address - Borderline - Compare to Borrowed Grace, and this helps more as a single pump that can anthem, as opposed to being used mostly for anthem.
Black Azra Smokeshaper - Borderline - Unlike other ninjas, this is a once and done ability. Great combat ability, but this has a few hoops to make it a 2-for-1, and even then it is just a 3/3 afterwards.
Defile - Cubeable - 1cc Removal that gets better the longer the game goes on. Unless you play heavy nonbasics, this will be better than Disfigure.
First-Sphere Gargantua- Staple - This is the true Pauper Phyrexian Gargantua. Having built-in value via Unearth means this fits decks that may have a self-discard theme, or just needing an extra push on a given post-death turn.
Gluttonous Slug - Cubeable - Early curve, evasive, and can potentially hit 3+ power. This is dangerous in arguably all but the slower decks.
Headless Specter - Cubeable - Pauper Hypnotic Specter. The ability is limited to being an aggressive candidate. But B/x aggro just got even more toys recently. Support for that, means this is an auto-include. Otherwise it is just a harder to cast Wind Drake
Ninja of the New Moon - Cubeable - While it is a vanilla Lava Axe ninja, it is a Lava Axe Ninja with only a single black in the Ninjitsu. Whether a curve-topper, or another step in a midrange stompy plan, this will hit hard once, reuse a smaller body, and then likely kill a blocker next turn. Ignoring a 6/3 is not a winning strategy. And the "haste" option really gives this a nice punch above what we'd expect for 3B mid-combat.
Rank Officer - Borderline - Good for aggro decks what need a late game outlet/finisher for their smaller bodies. The EtB is deceptive. But getting 5 power on the board for 3b is decent. Shame this things rear is so fragile it cannot block successfully.
Silumgar Scavenger - Cubeable - Likely going to be the largest black flying body to exist. Eating an outclassed body to get haste and soar over is much less expected in non-Red decks. This fits in non-Sacrifice decks too as it rewards alpha strike attacks by giving a threat that must be dealt with. Only the fastest, or most creature-lite, black decks do not want this.
Red Bogardan Dragonheart - Borderline - Definition of a Roleplayer. Some decks will love this aggro combo with a sac outlet. However, you generally are sacrificing a body to gain the flying BEFORE blockers, so this does open you up more than the "Rootwalla" abilities. Its best turn, no surprise is the turn it comes down and the Haste matters
Fists of Flame - Borderline - Somewhat unique in red cards, it draws a replacement, and can be boosted by other cards further. Most at home in R/U Spells-matter, but just fine in other midrange or aggro decks. Never dead is good in a combat trick.
Goblin Champion - Borderline - It fits the Aggro Red design, it is never really dead for the first few turns. However, once you look at swarm and decks that want multiple attackers, this loses some potency; as all aggressive 1cc do.
Goblin War Party - Borderline - Both options cost more than what already exist. And at 7cc Entwined, 3x 2/2 's will seldom swing the battle over an X-Spell.
Orcish Hellraiser - Borderline - Red's 3/2s are much more plentiful. Viashino Pyromancer with more reach, and more needs. It costing the next turns red source makes it a hard card to "curve out" with unless you have multiple 1-2cc cards ready.
Quakefoot Cyclops - Borderline - Lots of competition in Red for what a 5+ cost body should do. This is modal, and therefore never dead. But paying 5 for a 4/4 that doesn't attack now feels out of place for what we've come to expect. This is a fine curve-topper for X/r midrange-aggro as it does offer a hole.
Viashino Sandsprinter - Borderline - Never dead is an awesome trait. But in aggro red, the RR in the cost, you usually commit to a higher body count and expect your 3cc bodies to keep punching. Compare to Goblin Heelcutter.
GREEN Excavating Annurid - Cubeable - 5cc Green has a lot of solid options. This is closely compared to Tajuru Pathwarden meets Rhox Oracle. The abilites will trigger often enough, and the card draw and extra toughness may offset the loss of trample.
Mother Bear - Borderline - All the "exile from graveyard to make tokens" bodies are 'fine'. This gives more bodies. However, this only shines in Swarm and Sacrifice decks. And they seem to be excluding Green more and more.
Springbloom Druid - Borderline - Fixing and Ramp on a body is powerful. Being only a single green makes this useful in about any green deck. This has uses outside of just Ramp-style decks as it gives a body to block and recur while thinning/fixing.
Treefolk Umbra - Borderline - Only desirable if you want more Umbras. But aggressive decks want Moldervine Cloak and the Elephant Guide(if you allow), while Midrange probably needs more bodies or removal. It is really for Hexproof decks
Treetop Ambusher - Borderline - Green Dash. This is an aggressive modal body. It can be played on curve for its body, or as a topdeck to fiddle with combat math.
Trumpeting Herd - Borderline - Great value, but a pair of Hill Giants will only really swing games in Swarm decks, and there a GG mana cost may hinder its appeal.
Twin-Silk Spider - Borderline - Swarm usage. Not enough otherwise, it works for the Swarm Mirror Match, or Anti-Aggro. Sacrifice decks are ok with this, but it seems overcosted there.
Winding Way - Borderline - Better than Mulch or most other "reveal X, get all creatures". Directly competing with Grisly Salvage by upping raw power but slowing to Sorcery. Roleplayer in Graveyard cubes, and still good in any cube that likes Green Impulse effects.
BLUE Faerie Seer - Borderline - 1cc Flying and a pseudo-Cantrip (Scry 2 = Draw 1). It has many decks that would be ok playing it, but it does not define any if it is added.
Moonblade Shinobi - Borderline - The ability is cool. Repeating it takes some doing, but if you can get the extra value it will prove troublesome. Works better with auras or equipment to push it through. The ability cost, and the body size do not yield enough initially to make it an auto-include. Works great for recurring EtB bodies though.
Pondering Mage - Borderline - Lots of stiff competition at 5cc in Blue, and most of its competitors have flying. It is a fine card to use, but only if all the other Flying Draw/Scry have been exhausted. It is better in pure control as it holds the ground better.
Windcaller Aven - Borderline - Competes with Shimmerscale Drake and Shoreline Ranger All have their places. This is the strongest body, and has a cheaper cycling cost. But you will only have 0-2 of these high cost bodies in your 360 on average
LAND + ARTIFACT Cave of Temptation - Borderline - Replaces any Shimmering Grotto and has upsides in the later stages. Valid in higher land-count decks that likely play 3+ colors. Better in Sealed than Draft.
Fountain of Ichor - Bad - Seldom in pauper is there a "true" control deck with a need of a finisher. 3cc, and only giving back colorless should give more options than a mana sink 3/3. It can find a home, but Pristine Talisman would fit all those builds better first.
They are fans of the blog, and many are not as ancient or battle-hardened as this forum became. The big thing with that group is Cult-of-the-New, if a card is Bordeline and up, they want testing and discussions on how to fit it. Ob average, each set shakes up the Cube by 10-15 cards. We here keep it to about 3-8 on average
I also think Soul manipulation is a strong card for the cube. It might be conditional but the cube decks are usually full of creatures so it is not really difficult to find a target. Moreover, selecting a creature from the grave is good too, specially in control decks where creatures tend to have value on their own...
I too like it... BUT.. #MagicChristmasLand.
-Holding it open, they won't walk into it till late
-Holding open doesn't fix/improve boardstate
-Having a body worth turning means either Sac-able or Deathtouch, or it is very far gone.
-In a watered down cube, like mine, it is playable. But also cutable in your average 40.
-It doesn't push you into UB, and only really helps UB control. Tempo will SB it often
I wanna say thanks for the attempt at helping out. If I may, I like to put out some constructive points:
-If a set shows 4+ new Staples it will likely be one of the greatest sets for Pauper in years
-Beware the allure of new "tech". Most cubes have been tuned for years and new shoe-horned cards will disrupt the balance easily
-Testing takes lots of time. So proving subtle increases in power is hard
-There is a once- or twice-per-year discussion on what 'Cubable' means. We've hammered it out to mean basically Top 15% of cards for Cube. A mechanic heavy set will likely synergize with itself. That is not great for Pauper, as it will do less well with 20+ years of broken and anomaly cards.
-Honestly, deep down, we all WANT 20+ new great cards per set. We live for major overhauls. But history has proven that is impossible.
-Curve is the vast majority of arguments. If you want new cards to overthrow older ones, they gotta do more than Cubables currently, not just tie or pale by a shade. Case-in-point: 1W 3/1's.
-Uprooting gold cards is the hardest uphill battle ever seen. Find 2-3 good talking points or it won't stick.
**Big Picture**
Humphrey is an aggressive, somewhat abrasive personality. His T1 cube is... Aggressive and somewhat abrasive. While I would love to sit down and play in an 8-man with him and his cube, that will never happen. But, I would like to point out the necessity of taking a design to both the extreme (Aggro efficiency) and maintaining it. It is actually a healthy extreme to see and judge against.
Styborski has this open input, ever changing, cult-of-the-new cube that is of use for promotion of the format, but also constantly playing more new cards then many of us think viable. He essentially has an ultra-hip liberal cube. Always saying "hi" to new cards and re-supporting the returning mechanics, and constantly making odd choices, but doing so to support the "budget" or n00b-friendly angle. It is another healthy extreme.
Our group is mostly a more narrow-minded conservation of the "better" cards because efficiency, and balance are very big to us as a whole here. It is needed disheartening that we mostly only get together to jab at the new sets. But finding "new" and experienced drafters in our very-narrow universe is hard. Especially with MtG somewhat moving away from what we held dear.
If something is a Staple of Aggro and only Aggro. Maybe we note that. Stitched Drake is backbreaking on turn 3/4 in decks of attrition but "meh" in low body count control
Did we already review Dominaria? It seems to be showing up already? Oh well.
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I would never take the Mage of Chillbringer over the Watcher or Sphinx
As an aside: Blue 2cmc- Quench is a much worse Miscalculation. Which makes it Borderlin; imo. 1U counters are probably the only really playable 2cmc ones. But Mana Leak and Miscalc set the bar high with Mem Lapse and Arcan being able to work somewhere between
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Syndicate Messenger is 4cmc not 2
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WHITE
Answered Prayers - Borderline - 3cc is a sweet spot. Turning into a Sorcery-proof 3/3 Flyer, awesome. Gaining incrimental life always, cool. But a 3/3 that cannot block means this is an aggro-favored card. But it only is a sometimes attacker, and does not really affect the board unless you have a more swarm-heavy design. Still a card that will usually find a home. WW slows the enthusiasm
Ephemerate - Cubeable - Mono Momentary Blink, or close enough. While not as opportune as flashback, rebound gets a second use for no extra mana. Any deck with 3+ EtB creatures starts to see this gain value. If Blink Archtype is in your cube, this will be an auto-include
Knight of Old Benalia - Borderline - Ampryn Tactician but with a 'Mail Order' option. If you like Swarm, this is better. But there are a host of bodies like this with their own quirks. Either you like EtB anthem bodies, or you don't; this is just a difference in timing.
Martyr's Soul - Cubeable - Swarm, and Aggro really like this body. It also works with mana rocks. Not likely to be a Turn 3 5/4, but poses a threat at that size before the late game.
Recruit the Worthy - Borderline - Obviously it raises in desireablity if a Swarm style deck that just nees to always have bodies arriving. But it is not Sprout Swarm, this cannot self-propetuate. 3w for a flash 1/1 is fine if you have nothing better to do; but then you have other problems. As for control, a slow stream of blockers is not moving the game forward and these tokens without pump are outclassed very fast.
Rhox Veteran - Staple - Combing Swarm needs with Aggro needs. Usually its tap ability is good on 3cc, but the body on 4cc is not enough. Here, the group pump combined with nullifying a blocker means damage in increasingly sinking in. And as a 2/4, it will take 2 bodies to kill in combat (1 will be tapped).
Settle Beyond Reality - Borderline - Almost always useful. And the ability to 2-for-1 make this solid. Sorcery drops the trick factor. But this is in the top Blink-style cards.
Stirring Address - Borderline - Compare to Borrowed Grace, and this helps more as a single pump that can anthem, as opposed to being used mostly for anthem.
Black
Azra Smokeshaper - Borderline - Unlike other ninjas, this is a once and done ability. Great combat ability, but this has a few hoops to make it a 2-for-1, and even then it is just a 3/3 afterwards.
Defile - Cubeable - 1cc Removal that gets better the longer the game goes on. Unless you play heavy nonbasics, this will be better than Disfigure.
First-Sphere Gargantua- Staple - This is the true Pauper Phyrexian Gargantua. Having built-in value via Unearth means this fits decks that may have a self-discard theme, or just needing an extra push on a given post-death turn.
Gluttonous Slug - Cubeable - Early curve, evasive, and can potentially hit 3+ power. This is dangerous in arguably all but the slower decks.
Headless Specter - Cubeable - Pauper Hypnotic Specter. The ability is limited to being an aggressive candidate. But B/x aggro just got even more toys recently. Support for that, means this is an auto-include. Otherwise it is just a harder to cast Wind Drake
Ninja of the New Moon - Cubeable - While it is a vanilla Lava Axe ninja, it is a Lava Axe Ninja with only a single black in the Ninjitsu. Whether a curve-topper, or another step in a midrange stompy plan, this will hit hard once, reuse a smaller body, and then likely kill a blocker next turn. Ignoring a 6/3 is not a winning strategy. And the "haste" option really gives this a nice punch above what we'd expect for 3B mid-combat.
Rank Officer - Borderline - Good for aggro decks what need a late game outlet/finisher for their smaller bodies. The EtB is deceptive. But getting 5 power on the board for 3b is decent. Shame this things rear is so fragile it cannot block successfully.
Silumgar Scavenger - Cubeable - Likely going to be the largest black flying body to exist. Eating an outclassed body to get haste and soar over is much less expected in non-Red decks. This fits in non-Sacrifice decks too as it rewards alpha strike attacks by giving a threat that must be dealt with. Only the fastest, or most creature-lite, black decks do not want this.
Red
Bogardan Dragonheart - Borderline - Definition of a Roleplayer. Some decks will love this aggro combo with a sac outlet. However, you generally are sacrificing a body to gain the flying BEFORE blockers, so this does open you up more than the "Rootwalla" abilities. Its best turn, no surprise is the turn it comes down and the Haste matters
Fists of Flame - Borderline - Somewhat unique in red cards, it draws a replacement, and can be boosted by other cards further. Most at home in R/U Spells-matter, but just fine in other midrange or aggro decks. Never dead is good in a combat trick.
Goblin Champion - Borderline - It fits the Aggro Red design, it is never really dead for the first few turns. However, once you look at swarm and decks that want multiple attackers, this loses some potency; as all aggressive 1cc do.
Goblin War Party - Borderline - Both options cost more than what already exist. And at 7cc Entwined, 3x 2/2 's will seldom swing the battle over an X-Spell.
Orcish Hellraiser - Borderline - Red's 3/2s are much more plentiful. Viashino Pyromancer with more reach, and more needs. It costing the next turns red source makes it a hard card to "curve out" with unless you have multiple 1-2cc cards ready.
Quakefoot Cyclops - Borderline - Lots of competition in Red for what a 5+ cost body should do. This is modal, and therefore never dead. But paying 5 for a 4/4 that doesn't attack now feels out of place for what we've come to expect. This is a fine curve-topper for X/r midrange-aggro as it does offer a hole.
Viashino Sandsprinter - Borderline - Never dead is an awesome trait. But in aggro red, the RR in the cost, you usually commit to a higher body count and expect your 3cc bodies to keep punching. Compare to Goblin Heelcutter.
GREEN
Excavating Annurid - Cubeable - 5cc Green has a lot of solid options. This is closely compared to Tajuru Pathwarden meets Rhox Oracle. The abilites will trigger often enough, and the card draw and extra toughness may offset the loss of trample.
Mother Bear - Borderline - All the "exile from graveyard to make tokens" bodies are 'fine'. This gives more bodies. However, this only shines in Swarm and Sacrifice decks. And they seem to be excluding Green more and more.
Springbloom Druid - Borderline - Fixing and Ramp on a body is powerful. Being only a single green makes this useful in about any green deck. This has uses outside of just Ramp-style decks as it gives a body to block and recur while thinning/fixing.
Treefolk Umbra - Borderline - Only desirable if you want more Umbras. But aggressive decks want Moldervine Cloak and the Elephant Guide(if you allow), while Midrange probably needs more bodies or removal. It is really for Hexproof decks
Treetop Ambusher - Borderline - Green Dash. This is an aggressive modal body. It can be played on curve for its body, or as a topdeck to fiddle with combat math.
Trumpeting Herd - Borderline - Great value, but a pair of Hill Giants will only really swing games in Swarm decks, and there a GG mana cost may hinder its appeal.
Twin-Silk Spider - Borderline - Swarm usage. Not enough otherwise, it works for the Swarm Mirror Match, or Anti-Aggro. Sacrifice decks are ok with this, but it seems overcosted there.
Winding Way - Borderline - Better than Mulch or most other "reveal X, get all creatures". Directly competing with Grisly Salvage by upping raw power but slowing to Sorcery. Roleplayer in Graveyard cubes, and still good in any cube that likes Green Impulse effects.
BLUE
Faerie Seer - Borderline - 1cc Flying and a pseudo-Cantrip (Scry 2 = Draw 1). It has many decks that would be ok playing it, but it does not define any if it is added.
Moonblade Shinobi - Borderline - The ability is cool. Repeating it takes some doing, but if you can get the extra value it will prove troublesome. Works better with auras or equipment to push it through. The ability cost, and the body size do not yield enough initially to make it an auto-include. Works great for recurring EtB bodies though.
Pondering Mage - Borderline - Lots of stiff competition at 5cc in Blue, and most of its competitors have flying. It is a fine card to use, but only if all the other Flying Draw/Scry have been exhausted. It is better in pure control as it holds the ground better.
Rain of Revelation - Cubeable - Invalidates Sift, and Enhanced Awareness. Opens up trickiness and deep digging for any deck splashing blue.
Scour All Possibilities - Bad - Deep Analysis and Think Twice exist. Sorcery speed and a drastic cost on the flashback nullify the advantage of double use.
Windcaller Aven - Borderline - Competes with Shimmerscale Drake and Shoreline Ranger All have their places. This is the strongest body, and has a cheaper cycling cost. But you will only have 0-2 of these high cost bodies in your 360 on average
LAND + ARTIFACT
Cave of Temptation - Borderline - Replaces any Shimmering Grotto and has upsides in the later stages. Valid in higher land-count decks that likely play 3+ colors. Better in Sealed than Draft.
Fountain of Ichor - Bad - Seldom in pauper is there a "true" control deck with a need of a finisher. 3cc, and only giving back colorless should give more options than a mana sink 3/3. It can find a home, but Pristine Talisman would fit all those builds better first.
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
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Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
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I too like it... BUT.. #MagicChristmasLand.
-Holding it open, they won't walk into it till late
-Holding open doesn't fix/improve boardstate
-Having a body worth turning means either Sac-able or Deathtouch, or it is very far gone.
-In a watered down cube, like mine, it is playable. But also cutable in your average 40.
-It doesn't push you into UB, and only really helps UB control. Tempo will SB it often
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
I wanna say thanks for the attempt at helping out. If I may, I like to put out some constructive points:
-If a set shows 4+ new Staples it will likely be one of the greatest sets for Pauper in years
-Beware the allure of new "tech". Most cubes have been tuned for years and new shoe-horned cards will disrupt the balance easily
-Testing takes lots of time. So proving subtle increases in power is hard
-There is a once- or twice-per-year discussion on what 'Cubable' means. We've hammered it out to mean basically Top 15% of cards for Cube. A mechanic heavy set will likely synergize with itself. That is not great for Pauper, as it will do less well with 20+ years of broken and anomaly cards.
-Honestly, deep down, we all WANT 20+ new great cards per set. We live for major overhauls. But history has proven that is impossible.
-Curve is the vast majority of arguments. If you want new cards to overthrow older ones, they gotta do more than Cubables currently, not just tie or pale by a shade. Case-in-point: 1W 3/1's.
-Uprooting gold cards is the hardest uphill battle ever seen. Find 2-3 good talking points or it won't stick.
Hope you keep up the fight!
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
Humphrey is an aggressive, somewhat abrasive personality. His T1 cube is... Aggressive and somewhat abrasive. While I would love to sit down and play in an 8-man with him and his cube, that will never happen. But, I would like to point out the necessity of taking a design to both the extreme (Aggro efficiency) and maintaining it. It is actually a healthy extreme to see and judge against.
Styborski has this open input, ever changing, cult-of-the-new cube that is of use for promotion of the format, but also constantly playing more new cards then many of us think viable. He essentially has an ultra-hip liberal cube. Always saying "hi" to new cards and re-supporting the returning mechanics, and constantly making odd choices, but doing so to support the "budget" or n00b-friendly angle. It is another healthy extreme.
Our group is mostly a more narrow-minded conservation of the "better" cards because efficiency, and balance are very big to us as a whole here. It is needed disheartening that we mostly only get together to jab at the new sets. But finding "new" and experienced drafters in our very-narrow universe is hard. Especially with MtG somewhat moving away from what we held dear.
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
Personal Enjoyment Cube
If something is a Staple of Aggro and only Aggro. Maybe we note that. Stitched Drake is backbreaking on turn 3/4 in decks of attrition but "meh" in low body count control
Loose Change Pauper Cube-cast
Pauper Cube Article #1
Pauper Cube Article #2
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