I wouldn't have done everything in exactly the same way, but overall I like your recent massive changes. Your cube must be a more interesting experience now!
Cutting Icy Manipulator and Shadowmage Infiltrator was courageous. I would miss Bone Shredder and would play Polukranos over Vengevine.
I don't play the cards you cut, and I play the ones you add, so update looks good to me! Edric has always been great here, I hope he'll work out for you too - our blue section is probably more tempo-minded than yours though, so mileage may vary. Everflowing Chalice has been pulling its weight since we added it. Paladin either died or kicked major booty (in about equal measure), which is pretty much what I expected from it.
I don't agree with this. I think there's a solid critical mass of disruption available from other cards, there are very few armageddons strapped to big fliers, and that Cavalier is better than Verdict.
I didn't think you would, really.
Desolation Angel is a fantastic finisher. I just don't need 7-cost multi-color finishers in my cube, even one as great as Deso Angel.
Cavalier was... just meh for us. It kept dying all over the place and pumping it costs a ton of mana. Being hybrid helps a lot, so I wouldn't actually fault anyone for running it, but it just wasn't great for us.
On the other hand, Gerrard's Verdict worked out really well, and I think it complements the black discard suite nicely.
But the bottom line is, Sorin absolutely needs to come in.
Out -> In (is there a consensus on which way it goes? I was doing In -> Out but it seems like more folks do it the other way. Does anyone care?)
I don't care much, but I must admit that I find 'Out -> In' much more logical, seeing how an arrow means 'from - to'. I've taken the habit of not using arrows at all and using 'added card (cut card)' instead. But really, it doesn't matter much unless you don't mention what your annotation means.
Your changes look like upgrades all round, so that's some great work right there, but I do think that Gerrard's Verdict plays a much more important role in cube than Desolation Angel, and is flatout a better card than Stillmoon Cavalier.
Yeah, with both Inferno Titan and Crater Hellion in the cube, Bogardan Hellkite is not necessary any more. It seems wrong not to have a red dragon in cube, but there really isn't one good enough right now. I long for a Baneslayer level dragon.
Moltensteel Dragon is our red dragon of the cube. It's been quite beastly, although I can understand not running it if there's only room for four 4-drops. In the case of your cube, I'd ditch Ravenous Baboons for Moltensteel in a heartbeat.
Last night Chaos Warp was so awesome for me. It got rid of Jace 2.0, Koth, Celestial Colonnade, and Black Vise and only put two basics into play (other time revealing instants). I realize this is a small sample size, but it's made me reconsider cutting it. What are your opinions on this?
Totally Tangle Wire. I consider it and Recurring Nightmare to be of a similar power level, but Wire is colorless and fits the rest of the pile better. Passing Nightmare is tough, but in this case I'll do it and feel good about it.
My order of cutting would be Akroma, then White Knight, then Wayfarer. I wouldn't cut Harrier, it's performed really well for us both in aggro and in control.
Akroma is a pretty easy cut, though. 8 mana is a lot, and she can't even be reliably reanimated because of her pro black.
p1p1: Jace, the Mind Sculptor - it's the strongest card in the pack. Elspeth comes close, but this is a great excuse for going blue.
p1p2: Swords to Plowshares: very strong removal, I considered Bitterblossom but the plowshares work better in a control build and I'm hoping the dual might wheel.
p1p3: Preordain. The Tutor is a signal black is open, but I'd like to focus on not passing too many blue cards. I prefer Preordain over Bribery, it makes my deck better and I'll probably be able to pick up finishers later.
p1p4: What's Ajani still doing there? Regardless, I'll not make life any harder on myself than necessary and pick Lone Missionary. It's a decent 2-drop in control and there are no blue cards I want for my deck here.
p1p5: Hard to pass up Yosei. I'd like the Arbiter, I can always hope it'll wheel, being multi-color.
p1p6: Sea Gate Oracle, a solid card for the deck I have in mind out of a relatively lackluster pack.
p1p8: Awesome pack, I'm starting to regret not going black. I mean, Phyrexian Arena 8th pick?... Bit late to shift gears that drastically though, I didn't pass many great blue and white cards (Elspeth excepted) so pack 2 could be good for me. As for the pick, Aether Adept is a great card, but I'm reeeally tempted by the City of Brass... Yes, I think City of Brass is the right pick here.
Cutting Icy Manipulator and Shadowmage Infiltrator was courageous. I would miss Bone Shredder and would play Polukranos over Vengevine.
Have fun cubing!
If you're looking for a cut, I'd certainly ditch Thirst for Knowledge before looking at Repeal.
I didn't think you would, really.
Desolation Angel is a fantastic finisher. I just don't need 7-cost multi-color finishers in my cube, even one as great as Deso Angel.
Cavalier was... just meh for us. It kept dying all over the place and pumping it costs a ton of mana. Being hybrid helps a lot, so I wouldn't actually fault anyone for running it, but it just wasn't great for us.
On the other hand, Gerrard's Verdict worked out really well, and I think it complements the black discard suite nicely.
But the bottom line is, Sorin absolutely needs to come in.
I don't care much, but I must admit that I find 'Out -> In' much more logical, seeing how an arrow means 'from - to'. I've taken the habit of not using arrows at all and using 'added card (cut card)' instead. But really, it doesn't matter much unless you don't mention what your annotation means.
Your changes look like upgrades all round, so that's some great work right there, but I do think that Gerrard's Verdict plays a much more important role in cube than Desolation Angel, and is flatout a better card than Stillmoon Cavalier.
Moltensteel Dragon is our red dragon of the cube. It's been quite beastly, although I can understand not running it if there's only room for four 4-drops. In the case of your cube, I'd ditch Ravenous Baboons for Moltensteel in a heartbeat.
You were lucky. Cut it.
Akroma is a pretty easy cut, though. 8 mana is a lot, and she can't even be reliably reanimated because of her pro black.
My picks:
p1p2: Swords to Plowshares: very strong removal, I considered Bitterblossom but the plowshares work better in a control build and I'm hoping the dual might wheel.
p1p3: Preordain. The Tutor is a signal black is open, but I'd like to focus on not passing too many blue cards. I prefer Preordain over Bribery, it makes my deck better and I'll probably be able to pick up finishers later.
p1p4: What's Ajani still doing there? Regardless, I'll not make life any harder on myself than necessary and pick Lone Missionary. It's a decent 2-drop in control and there are no blue cards I want for my deck here.
p1p5: Hard to pass up Yosei. I'd like the Arbiter, I can always hope it'll wheel, being multi-color.
p1p6: Sea Gate Oracle, a solid card for the deck I have in mind out of a relatively lackluster pack.
p1p7: Enclave Cryptologist, another cheap blue card that makes my deck better.
p1p8: Awesome pack, I'm starting to regret not going black. I mean, Phyrexian Arena 8th pick?... Bit late to shift gears that drastically though, I didn't pass many great blue and white cards (Elspeth excepted) so pack 2 could be good for me. As for the pick, Aether Adept is a great card, but I'm reeeally tempted by the City of Brass... Yes, I think City of Brass is the right pick here.