Over the years, I've come to realize that it is helpful for learning and discussion to provide a brief explanation of what can sometimes appear to be an obtuse approach to design. I have therefore decided to expound on the roles and goals that each section of my cube strives for. Even at this cumbersome size, it dawned upon me that I would not be able to fit every single card I wished to include in a cube where even the best eventually fall by the wayside. It has become much more fruitful to focus instead on boosting each color's natural strengths, shoring up potential weaknesses, and finding complementary goals between colors.
[Color summaries TBA]
Archetypes
Control, midrange and aggro are all well-represented.
Some of the many unique archetypes:
Reanimator: Generally Dimir or Rakdos to discard fatties (Thirst for Knowledge, Faithless Looting) or Golgari for more midrange abilities (Survival of the Fittest, Life // Death). Uses various Reanimate spells to cast said fatties. Artifacts Matter: Grixis; traditionally a Dimir archetype (Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas), it has branched out into red recently with Daretti, Scrap Savant. Uses artifacts and spells that get stronger when you play them (Thirst for Knowledge, Tolarian Academy) Wildfire/Big Red: Some overlap with the artifact deck. Uses artifact ramp to fuel an early board clear + land destruction. Can also Upheaval as a backup win condition. Stax: A generally black archetype that plays symmetrical disruption spells (Braids, Cabal Minion, Smokestack) with many ways to break the symmetry like recursive creatures (Bloodghast)and token makers (Bitterblossom) while slowing down the opponent. Blink/Bounce: Usually an Azorius archetype, but is a part of every color. Get oodles of value from your ETB effects by rebuying them over and over (usually with things like Restoration Angel or Erratic Portal). Tokens and Anthems: Can be drafted in any color, although white has the highest density of anthems + token generators. Get token generators (Cloudgoat Ranger, Elspeth, Knight-Errant) alongside effects that pump them up (Hero of Bladehold, Glorious Anthem). Lands Matter: A primarily green package, combines recursive effects (Life from the Loam, Crucible of Worlds) with manlands (Raging Ravine) and other utility lands (Maze of Ith) and a way to get lands into the graveyard (Armageddon, Dust Bowl, Smokestack) so it has a bit of overlap with sacrificial effects from the Stax archetype. Spells Matter: A minor archetype found mostly in Izzet, playing to that guild's natural strengths. Generally centralized around Young Pyromancer, Snapcaster Mage and a ton of flashback spells to get value.
Archetypes by Guild:
Azorius: Equally good in all three archetypes. Cheap evasive creatures backed up by quality removal and countermagic makes aggro playable. Some of the most powerful planeswalkers and sweeper spells inhabit this guild, making it an ideal control choice too.
Dimir: Very good at disrupting the opponent with countermagic, creature removal and discard. Lends itself well to the aggro archetype thanks to black's strong suite of aggressive creatures combined with blue/black disruption, with midrange and control decks also proving playable.
Rakdos: A very suicidal guild, making it ideal for all-out aggro. Very rarely finds the staying power required to field a proper control or midrange deck, but the stax archetype can make a strong showing here.
Gruul: Another highly aggressive pairing, it excels at attacking or ramping into big threats.
Selesnya: A powerful and flexible pairing that allows the player freedom to go down any archetype path. Provides efficient creatures with tons of value, and can find answers to any problem.
Orzhov: A complementary pairing that strengthens black's suicidal tendencies with white's lifegain and protection. Can provide disruption and efficient beats in aggro, or recursion and staying power in midrange. A high density of wraths in this guild allows it to play control relatively well too.
Golgari: A guild well suited to aggro or midrange. Its creatures have staying power and it plays a long game through the graveyard.
Simic: Another strong yet flexible pairing. Can play an aggressive game by combining blue's bounce and green's efficient creatures, or it can play midrange by ramping into back-breaking blue spells. Difficult to play control.
Izzet: Similar to Simic, uses efficient creatures backed up by red and blue's set of spells (burn, countermagic, bounce). Can also play a slower control game in the Wildfire or Artifacts Matter archetypes.
Boros: Another all-out aggressive guild like Rakdos, but with the staying power of white's creatures. Can occasionally play host to the Wildfire archetype.
-Zombie Cutthroat
-Pathrazer of Ulamog
-It That Betrays
-Fieldmist Borderpost -Firewild Borderpost
-Mistvein Borderpost
-Veinfire Borderpost -Wildfield Borderpost Lurebound Scarecrow; Sword of Vengeance
Sulfur Elemental; Ember Hauler
Magma Phoenix; Inferno Titan
Jaya Ballard, Task Mage; Manic Vandal
Roil Elemental; Conundrum Sphinx
Kor Firewalker; Lone Missionary
-Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
Moldervine Cloak; Cultivate Sprout Swarm; Fauna Shaman
Isao, Enlightened Bushi; Garruk’s Companion
Summoning Trap; Primeval Titan
Momentous Fall; Gaea’s Revenge
Iwamori of the Open Fist; Obstinate Baloth
Opportunity; Jace’s Ingenuity
Serum Visions; Preordain
Skeletal Vampire; Grave Titan
Marshal’s Anthem; Sun Titan
+ War Priest of Thune
+ Reverberate
+ Redirect
+ Crystal Ball
+ Sword of Vengeance
+ Ring of Gix
Scars of Mirrodin
Red: Lava Hounds; Koth of the Hammer Black: Skinrender; Faceless Butcher
Grip of Darkness; Devour in Shadow White: Elspeth Tirel; Preacher
Sunblast Angel; Cho-Manno’s Blessing Artifact: Wurmcoil Engine; Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Molten-Tail Masticore; Bosium Strip
Soul Foundry; Mimic Vat
Precursor Golem; Aether Vial
Myr Battlesphere; Scarecrone
Steel Hellkite; Sigil of Distinction
Contagion Engine; Serrated Arrows
+ Chimeric Mass
Ratchet Bomb; Draco
Mirrodin Besieged
White: Accorder Paladin; Serra Avenger
Hero of Bladehold; Celestial Crusader
Leonin Relic-Warder; Revoke Existence
Mirran Crusader; Galepowder Mage
+Phyrexian Rebirth Black: Black Sun’s Zenith; Booster Tutor
Go for the Throat; Slaughter Pact
+Plague Sliver
+Sangromancer Red: Hero of Oxid Ridge; Stone Idol Trap
Red Sun’s Zenith; Disintegrate
Slagstorm; Flamebreak
+Spikeshot Elder
+Ghitu Slinger Green: +Green Sun’s Zenith
Thrun, the Last Troll; Symbol Status
+Uktabi Orangutan Blue: +Gilded Drake
+Arcane Denial Artifact: Bonehoard; Mox Crystal
Phyrexian Revoker; Epochrasite
Sword of Feast and Famine; Kozilek, Butcher of Truth Gold: Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas; Soul Manipulation
New Phyrexia
Artifact: Batterskull; Tatsumasa, the Dragon’s Fang
Hex Parasite; Lotus Bloom
Karn, the Released; Triskelavus
Porcelain Legionnaire (p-mana); Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Sword of War and Peace; Su-Chi White: +Blade Splicer
+Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite Black: +Dismember (p-mana)
+Geth’s Verdict
Life’s Finale; Undead Gladiator
Lashwrithe; Sangromancer
Sheoldred, Whispering One; Laquatus’ Champion Red: +Moltensteel Dragon (p-mana) Blue: +Phyrexian Metamorph Green: Beast Within; Verdant Force
+Brutalizer Exarch
Mutagenic Growth; Giant Growth (p-mana)
+Noxious Revival (p-mana) Multicolor: +Etched Monstrosity
Commander
White: +Soul Snare Black: +Sewer Nemesis; Crypt Champion Blue: +Consecrated Sphinx; Arcanis the Omnipotent Red: +Chaos Warp; Punishing Fire Green: +Hornet Queen
+Scavenging Ooze; Centaur Glade Wedge: +Animar, Soul of Elements; Cruel Ultimatum
+Damia, Sage of Stone; Sharuum, the Hegemon
+Tariel, Reckoner of Souls; Meglonoth
+Edric, Spymaster of Trest; Cold-Eyed Selkie
Black: No changes. Rune-Scarred Demon was considered, and getting the best cube card in your deck is a pretty strong play, but I feel that Sheoldred, Whispering One's board presence is just so much stronger.
White: No changes. Gideon's Avenger is a possibility, but I think I like my current three-drops more. Might replace Cloudchaser Kestrel if I decide to adjust the number of 187 effects. Or maybe for Reya Dawnbringer, which is on the chopping block now that Sheoldred can do her job better.
Blue: Phantasmal Image comes in and Jace's Ingenuity gets replaced by Jace, Memory Adept. The cheapest Clone ever takes an open slot, while a bad Ancestral Recall gets replaced by a fairly good win condition, I must admit.
Red: Ball Lightning gets replaced by Chandra's Phoenix. I was a fan of the Lightning, but I had to reconsider its value - its color-restrictive and aggro-only nature confines it to a very narrow subset of Cube decks. By contrast, the Phoenix plays a much more flexible role, providing a persistent threat in aggro or control. Crimson Mage kicked out Worldheart Phoenix. This Phoenix was really a five-color card in disguise, and I want to keep the number of 5C cards at three for now (currently Child of Alara, Etched Monstrosity and Who//What//Where//When//Why)). I have high hopes for the Mage after it got hyped on the forums, and I'm always interested in providing aggro with some good fuel.
Chandra replaced Lord of Shatterskull Pass. Bit of a no-brainer, I think. When the minotaur's good, he's great, but most of the time he was just too slow and clunky to get any use out of.
Green:Skinshifter comes in for Groundbreaker. Same rationale as Ball Lightning/Chandra's Phoenix. I'm trading a decent but restrictive aggro creature for a creature that's great at playing offense and defense. Garruk, Primal Hunter --> Beast Attack : A nice upgrade in threat engines. What Garruk loses in surprise factor, he should more than make up for in versatility as a walker.
Artifact:Swiftfoot Boots - yeah, it's an easy include at this size. After all the hacking and cutting of artifacts in Scars block, it's a relief to be able to just sleeve up and slide in. Yeah, baby.
This is just some shuffling around of my list. Loam Lion was previously in mono-white, but after looking harder at my multicolor section I've decided I can afford to move it there. Wilt-Leaf Liege should be a nice boost for token and weenie strategies while being a solid beater. The loss of Oversoul shouldn't be a huge deal since white and green both have some insane stuff at that cost, but he was the last survivor of the Shadowmoor cycle. That has to count for something, no?
Innistrad
Black: Bloodgift Demon; Living Death
Dauthi Marauder;Phyrexian Rager
Oona’s Prowler; Consume Spirit
Diregraf Ghoul; Lashwrithe
Liliana of the Veil; Vigor Mortis
Vampire Interloper; Cabal Interrogator
Victim of Night; Smallpox
Tribute to Hunger; Infest
Sever the Bloodline; Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
+Bloodline Keeper
+Fledgling Djinn
Green: Garruk Relentless; Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Bramblecrush; Cloudthresher
Moldgraf Monstrosity; Primeval Titan
+Ambush Viper
White: +Spectral Rider
+Fiend Hunter
+Geist-Honored Monk
Stoneforge Mystic; Soul Warden
Cloistered Youth; Pristine Angel
Elite Inquisitor; Reya Dawnbringer
Red: Stormblood Berserker; Akroma, Angel of Fury
Devil’s Play; Kaervek’s Torch
Ashmouth Hound; Tin-Street Hooligan
+Instigator Gang // Wildblood Pack
+Kruin Outlaw // Terror of Kruin Pass
Blue: Snapcaster Mage; Trinket Mage
Spined Thopter; Merfolk Looter
Ludevic’s Test Subject; Jushi Apprentice
Forbidden Alchemy; Braingeyser
Memory Lapse; Sejiri Merfolk
Remand; Sleep
+Faerie Conclave
Colorless: Evolving Wilds; Thran Quarry
Multicolor: Olivia Voldaren; Void
Castigate; Gerrard’s Verdict
- Dimir Guildmage
- Ashenmoor Gouger
- Firespout
- Glare of Subdual
- Pride of the Clouds
- Swerve + Nucklavee
- Boros Swiftblade
- Tidehollow Sculler
- Lord of Extinction
- (no Simic cut)
- Child of Alara
pre-Dark Ascension
Red: -Shunt; Faithless Looting
-Chandra Ablaze
-Incendiary Command
-Rack and Ruin
-Goblin Tinkerer White: -Crovax, Ascendant Hero
-Iona, Shield of Emeria
-Harm’s Way
-Spectral Rider
-Momentary Blink
-Flickering Ward Blue: -Spiketail Hatchling; Shelldock Isle
-Redirect
-Whispers of the Muse
-Cursecatcher
+Miscalculation Black: -Dread Return
-Victimize
-Mutilate Green: -Garruk’s Companion
-Wolfbriar Elemental
-Briarhorn -Oath of Druids Artifact: -Mirari, +Spellskite
-Etched Oracle
-Howling Mine Multicolor: -Etched Monstrosity
-Undermine
-Shambling Remains
-Fires of Yavimaya
-Armadillo Cloak//Loxodon Hierarch
-Swans of Bryn Argoll, -Windreaver (+Venser, the Sojourner?)
-Spellbound Dragon
-Firemane Angel
-(no Orzhov cut)
-Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
-Snakeform
-Bant Charm
-Tariel, Reckoner of Souls Land: -Boros Garrison; Clifftop Retreat
-Vivid Lands
Sure, eidolon! The only reason I maintained the old thread was to keep the deckstats link up to date for my own use. Cleaning up the actual list on the forum here was a nightmare (I ran into about four unique glitches that slowed me down considerably) so I decided to scrap it and start from scratch. That discussion died over a year ago so I wouldn't really call it active, I didn't want to necro a dead thread, and the cube has changed enough over time that a fresh start and new discussion was called for.
Plus, I can compare my fully updated cube to others in the comparison thread! It's always been a valuable tool that I wanted to take advantage of. Now I can actually provide a usable list for you (I'm not sure what format you'd want it in though).
It was a dark and stormy night. The moon, like a baleful eye, glared down upon my work. As I put the finishing touches upon my piece, a flash of lightning illuminated the dancing shadows in the chamber. A moment later, the rumble of thunder provided a deep and ominous drum for the mad peal of laughter dancing across the walls. The sound died on my lips as my fingers flickered over the masterpiece like a pianist across the keys of his favorite baby grand.
The brief moment of light burned the magnificent sight into my eyes. Limbs of sinewy strength grown massive and knotted in death, more limbs than I remembered, for it had started stitching more of its own. It stuttered and twitched with a spark of energy. Yet it needed the kiss of life, and until tonight, it had been denied. Tonight, the very elements had come together to witness its birth. As my hand fell on the switch, I allowed myself one last glimpse of my darling child, who would soon join us on this glorious unhallowed night.
The switch came down. Somewhere above us, thunder roared and diabolical machinery screamed in unison as my grand creation rose from its rest.
If I'm going to necro my thread, might as well do it in style.
Innistrad Update: Attack of the Wolves Bears In which some choices are explained, while others are left to the reader to puzzle over
Do you dare face the dreaded Wall of Text? If not, skip down to the spoiler for the card choices and explanation behind them. Skip alllll the way down for the shortlist. I put a lot of time into this and I might cry if you do that, though. Here I discuss how I went into the Innistrad update with two issues to try and resolve:
1. The weakness of aggro decks. Using wtwlf's tool to measure the ratio of aggro to control, and taking the idea of the fundamental turn in cubing as explained by TakeABow, I consciously tried to lower the curve by substituting cheaper cards for more expensive ones, and specifically including pure aggro cards. Hence the name of the update. I stopped short of what I consider cube dilution, which reduces the quality of the cube in favor of pushing a specific archetype (e.g. including cards that are either untested, hard-to-evaluate, or bad at first glance like Reckless Waif and Stromkirk Noble).
2. The prevalence of multicolor. Multicolor was still proving somewhat detrimental to drafts, as a lot of gold cards ended up sitting in sideboards, while adding very little to the drafting process. My objective was to cut 1 card from each guild section and 1 card from the 5-color section. This would allow 2 extra cards for each color and 1 extra card for artifacts, providing me with wriggle room for Innistrad and its follow-up.
Without further ado, here be cards:
IN --> OUT
Black
1. Bloodgift Demon --> Living Death
Living Death hasn't been good in a long time. It's an expensive Wrath that takes too much time and effort to get any advantage from, while simultaneously providing your opponent with those same advantages for free. Bloodgift Demon is flat-out fantastic as a better Phyrexian Arena (1BB) and 5/4 flyer (which costs you2 when combined with Arena on this card).
2. Dauthi Marauder --> Phyrexian Rager
A midrange creature makes way for a much more aggressive critter. While the Rager is an old favorite, he doesn't provide significant board presence for his cost. I could have made the Marauder a Daggerclaw Imp, but if I'm not going to be blocking with my aggro guy I'd rather get the extra evasion of shadow.
3. Oona's Prowler --> Consume Spirit
This one I'm kind of embarassed about. As a fan of reanimator, going for this long without the Prowler is almost criminal. And by removing a black-heavy card, I can hopefully open up deck construction a bit more.
4. Diregraf Ghoul --> Lashwrithe
Not much to say here. Diregraf Ghoul is a staple for every cube. Lashwrithe was another black-heavy card which rewarded you for going the monocolor route in theory, but proved lackluster in play. It was regularly a Hill Giant that turned into a slightly better Vulshok Battlegear upon dying. It wasn't the stuff dreams are made of.
5. Liliana of the Veil --> Rigor Mortis
A straight trade-up for reanimator decks and black in general. A gold card masquerading as a black card gets removed for a discard outlet, repeatable creature removal and sweeper all on one card.
6. Vampire Interloper --> Cabal Interrogator
The bear attack continues - the Interloper serves a valuable role in aggro, while the Cabal Interrogator is either a roleplayer in those decks, or gets snatched up by midrange and control, which are more interested in winning the long-term war of attrition.
7. Victim of Night --> Smallpox
Another upgrade in the same vein (pun intended) as Bloodgift Demon and Living Death. Smallpox is a card that can easily backfire on its caster unless its built around, or planned ahead. Victim of Night is straight, no-nonsense removal.
Aside: pre-Innistrad, I have 52 Humans and 19 Werewolf+Vampire+Zombie creatures.
Post-Innistrad: 60 Humans, 25 Werewolf+Vampire+Zombie creatures.
It's feasible that these numbers will continue to increase slightly over time, which may become relevant as more cards that care about those types are printed in the block . In a cube my size this is not a real drawback, but in cubes of sub-500 sizes the monster type (Werewolf+Zombie+Vampire) may prove to be a very real drawback if more cube-caliber creatures of that kind are printed.
8. Tribute to Hunger --> Infest
A debatable change. I could see an argument for Mutilate over Infest, if it weren't for the former providing a solid benefit in its potential growth. Regardless, I consider Tribute to Hunger a necessity in the cube, while a more expensive Pyroclasm with rare corner cases of benefit (goodbye, River Boa!) is not required.
9. Sever the Bloodline --> Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
The slow obsolescence of Magic's older creatures is visible in cubes, as Ink-Eyes, once a magnificent finisher in my eyes, is unable to compete with the creatures of today. Having to rely on your opponent's graveyard, a resource (mostly) beyond your control, and the general lowering of average mana costs in the cube over time, have led to unimpressive results even when it connects. In its spot, I get to test a double removal spell that would be comparable to Firebolt and Chainer's Edict, were it not for an expensive initial cost.
10. +Bloodline Keeper // Lord of Lineage
Thanks to the free slots afforded by the trimming of multicolor, I can test the transform cards. I think comparisons between this guy and Emeria Angel are slightly misplaced, since it cannot function as an attacker and token-creator. I find it a bit more helpful to treat it as a beefed-up Bitterblossom, providing tokens twice the size at twice the casting cost. It trades the blossom's enchantment nature for the vulnerability of a creature form, but in return, provides an Overrun of sorts if you ever get a critical mass of tokens.
11. +Fledgling Djinn
Another Stormfront Pegasus variant, its inclusion stems from the fact that many cubers have reported success using him. As a fan of the Pegasus, I'm expecting big things from this little flyer.
Green
1. Garruk Relentless --> Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Kamahl is another finisher that has fallen out of favor, being too mana-intensive and vulnerable to removal (a six-drop that dies to Lightning Bolt?). While Garruk provides unique and powerful abilities for green - whether it's free token production as another Bitterblossom effect, removal, or switching to his dark side to provide an even more powerful stream of tokens and tutoring. I don't think he'll transform much, but he'll be just fine without it.
3. Moldgraf Monstrosity --> Primeval Titan
The only change in this update where the new card is more expensive than the old one. And there's a good reason too - for one more mana, Moldgraf Monstrosity completely trounces the titan, exchanging an ETB ability for a death trigger that more than makes up for it (even though I'm not a fan of random graveyard returns).
4. +Ambush Viper
A free slot for an aggro dude. Doubles as green removal, essentially what Winged Coatl should have been.
White
1. Cloistered Youth --> Pristine Angel
Pristine Angel is another fallen giant, as its ability was too difficult to exploit properly, making it a giant unkillable wall. Cloistered Youth, meanwhile, puts Wretched Anurid and Blind Creeper to shame, and will be a crucial part of any cube wanting to boost aggro. 3/3s for 2 with negligible drawbacks are quite fantastic.
2. Elite Inquisitor--> Reya Dawnbringer
Reya was scheduled to be cut with M12 after Sheoldred took her place as reanimation queen, but other cuts were found instead. Now she gets a drastic downsize into the Elite Inquisitor, which basically functions as a second copy of Kazandu Blademaster, a card I am happy to have.
3. +Spectral Rider
A free slot goes to an aggro card. A hard-to-cast bear with an evasive ability and not much else.
4. +Fiend Hunter
Another free slot for the upgraded Faceless Butcher. It's a midrange card, as I believe even aggro decks will be happy to run this to clear out early blockers, and I am happy running cards that are usable by any deck.
5. +Geist-Honored Monk
The most dubious of my inclusions. She may only be around for another set or two, but I like the idea of an army in a can and she can take advantage of many token creators.
Red:
1. Stormblood Berserker --> Akroma, Angel of Fury
Wow, another big beater gets thrown from its seat by an aggro beater - it's a recurring theme here. Akroma was the worst of my red finishers, and it's long been outclassed by almost everything else at that mana cost and higher. The evasiveness and beefiness of the Berserker makes him a late addition to my party.
2 Devil's Play --> Kaervek's Torch
What will probably be one of the best Blaze variants delivers a knockout blow to one of the worst. Devil's Play has a significant upside that Kaervek's Torch just can't match. Damn-near strict upgrade.
3. Ashmouth Hound --> Tin Street Hooligan
My directives were to reduce the presence of multicolor and boost the presence of aggro. This is one of the few times I get to do both with one change! Ashmouth Hound's super-flanking (works on offense and defense) destroys any X/1 with ease and makes him deadly against 3-toughness. That's a good deal for a bear.
4. +Instigator Gang // Wildblood Pack
+Kruin Outlaw // Terror of Kruin Pass
The two best werewolves get the open slots in my red section. Time to test! I'm more partial to the Outlaw, but the Instigator seems like the better card.
Blue
1. Snapcaster Mage --> Trinket Mage
Quite possibly the best blue creature of all time. Trinket Mage is filler at 900. This isn't particularly close.
2. Spined Thopter --> Merfolk Looter
Another belated update on my part. Spined Thopter is an excellent Pegasus variant in any color, but I'm including it in blue because I felt like I could make a better cut there than trying to fit it into a crowded artifact section. The Looter, while filling a valuable role, felt like the best cut in my 2cc blue section. And I don't feel too bad since there's still Looter il-Kor and Enclave Cryptologist which I consider much better.
3. Memory Lapse --> Sejiri Merfolk
Another cube classic finally enters the fray. I'm a bit sheepish about this one, since I'm including it after the mention of Time Walk as a concept came up and I reread some of Flores' work on the subject. Memory Lapse does some of the best Time Walk impressions in the game, bar none, and we're all big fans of that stuff in cube too, I hope
Also, another crappy multicolor card hiding in my monocolor bites the dust. My initial goal was to limit these pseudo-multicolor cards to 1 or 0 in each colored section, and by and large, the move succeeded. At 900 cards, the cube won't be too unbalanced if these relics hide out in monocolored a while longer. They are: Wild Nacatl in green, Kird Ape in red, Momentary Blink in white, Ethersworn Adjudicator in blue, and none in black.
4. Remand --> Sleep
Memory Lapse's brother grabs a permanent spot in my cube too. With Memory Lapse as the aggro counterspell, Remand complements it perfectly as a counter that control decks will love due to its recycling nature. Sleep was a weird mixture of Overrun and Turnabout and Exhaustion that clashed with a lot of the decks that got drafted.
5. +Faerie Conclave
I'm taking a page out of other cubers' books and mixing/matching a little bit to include the conclave. Rather than try to fit this into my overcrowded land section, I'm classifying it as a blue creature card. I don't think this will unbalance the cube either, and it lets me play with Faerie Conclave again!
Land
Evolving Wilds --> Thran Quarry
A landfall enabler, which at this size is a valuable commodity. Thran Quarry was just another enabler for 5CC decks.
Multicolor
Olivia Voldaren --> Void
After seeing kcolloran's defense of this vampire, I'm convinced she's a better card in RB decks than Void. She's an evasive Masticore with no drawback and a potentially faster clock, not including a bonus ability that steals opponents' creatures.
Gerrard's Verdict --> Castigate
I'm a fan of the targeted discard + exile clause, but Gerrard's Verdict makes up for the lack of targeting with the lifegain. Forcing opponents to think about the discard can lead to their mistakes, and it mitigates the drawback of non-targeted discard by turning discarded lands into a nice bump in life.
Phew! The multicolor section goes from 110 cards to 99 cards. I think this represents the final form of my multicolor, unless the wedge cards perform spectacularly poorly. Most of these were relatively easy cuts, as would be expected from a larger multicolor section, but I found cutting from the stacked guild sections quite painful. Some highlights:
I disliked cutting an aggro card from Boros (the shortlist was Boros Swiftblade, Firemane Angel and Spitemare) but Boros Swiftblade had the same problem as Kor Duelist: He was awful without equipment or pump. I never enjoyed paying RW for a bear. And although I had a control card and midrange card among the potential cuts, in the end I went with my original intent: I don't want to run subpar cards for the sake of helping out archetypes, and Swiftblade was quite clearly underperforming.
I cut two cards from Izzet because I liked all my potential Simic cuts so much (Temporal Spring, Snakeform and Lorescale Coatl, which has been a monster around these parts). Swerveshould be self-explanatory and Nucklavee was inconsistent at returning red sorceries, which made it half a card.
Shortlist:
Black: Bloodgift Demon --> Living Death
Dauthi Marauder -->Phyrexian Rager
Oona’s Prowler --> Consume Spirit
Diregraf Ghoul --> Lashwrithe
Liliana of the Veil --> Vigor Mortis
Vampire Interloper --> Cabal Interrogator
Victim of Night --> Smallpox
Tribute to Hunger --> Infest
Sever the Bloodline --> Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
+ Bloodline Keeper
+ Fledgling Djinn
Multicolor: Olivia Voldaren --> Void
Castigate --> Gerrard’s Verdict
- Dimir Guildmage
- Ashenmoor Gouger
- Firespout
- Glare of Subdual
- Pride of the Clouds
- Swerve + Nucklavee
- Boros Swiftblade
- Tidehollow Sculler
- Lord of Extinction
- (no Simic cut)
- Child of Alara
Conclusion:
I'm fairly happy with Innistrad. I think I did almost everything I set out to do - reduced multicolor, provided aggro support and pushed the average mana cost just a teeny bit further down. Thoughts and responses are welcome, as long as they include naked girl pics discussion related to the above.
You might know this already, but Nether Void plays like a black Armageddon. It works great in aggressive decks that want to lay down early beats and then clear the board of lands to stop the opponent from matching or reducing your board presence. I had a draft with B/W aggro where I picked up Nether Void and Ravages of War. The games where I was able to cast Nether Void after a couple bears were auto-wins. But after turn four, its value tended to diminish since the opponent would start dropping bigger threats than my aggro dudes, making Nether Void a weaker play.
Other examples of it performing fantastic was when it got paired up with land destruction, particularly in red. Stuff like Sinkhole, Molten Rain and Avalanche Riders made the Void's value go way up.
It's also decent to great in some midrange decks. I'm thinking of GB Rock-style decks where you want to slowly accrue an incremental advantage with 2-for-1 spells. Of course, one of these decks already had Wasteland-Loam recursion for the win, so the Void was mostly a formality, but again - mana denial combined with Nether Void makes for very strong plays if you have threats online - or at least, the ability to play threats through a Nether Void.
I'd like to explore the value of Nether Void combined with planeswalkers. Black only had two walkers until recently (and expensive ones too) which made it really hard to do the ideal play of casting a threat and following it up with Nether Void. Liliana of the Veil might change that since she has the ideal cost of three mana.
One way NOT to use it is as a Propaganda-style effect in control decks. It's easy to only look at the good side (slowing down your opponent's play), overlooking the symmetry and how it can seriously slow down your strategy. This can expose your deck to faster decks or aggro strategies if you don't have a line of play that can deal with them while Nether Void is running interference. It also makes control's finishers a lot more expensive, drastically lengthening the amount of time you have to go without them.
The Abyss - well, I've played with it and against it, and it's similar to Moat, being a little less effective and a little more splashable. It won't kill artifact creatures or shrouded dudes, which when combined is probably roughly equal to the number of flyers that Moat won't stop. It's still such a huge swing in the Abyss caster's favor. Like the Moat though, it's rare that a deck is stuck without outs to it. I had to fight through an Abyss recently with a GR aggro deck. In the first game I had Squee, Goblin Nabob + Skullclamp on board and had to go digging for my Nantuko Vigilante, since my board position was miserable after several removal spells got slung my way. In game two I faced it again, but had a Spined Thopter to punch through the last few points of damage. In game two and three I opted to change up my strategy and go midrange, since I had access to anti-Abyss tech in my sideboard with Bramblecrush and Hornet Queen.
Overall, I'd say the Abyss is one of those cards that forces the player across the table to either answer it or adapt to its effect. It can occasionally just lock your opponent out of the game. In certain corner cases a Wrath can be better, like when you're about to get hit by an alpha strike. When it's in your deck, it's usually one of your biggest bombs, being fairly easy to build around, with manlands, token-generators and walkers everywhere.
@PyreDream:
Thanks for the insight. I added Nether Void to my 720 unpowered Cube this week, and I look forward to testing it on Friday. I really love what it does for the black aggro archtypes.
I would like to play The Abyss, but there isn't much I would want to cut for it. Barter in Blood is probably the slot it would take, but I don't know if I'm willing to make that kind of change for a prominent Cube staple like Barter in Blood. Also, Barter seems playable in more decks, but it doesn't quite have the pick volatility of The Abyss. It seems like The Abyss has the potential of going as a VERY high pick for certain archtypes. I notice you play both of these cards, but I just don't think I can pull that off in mine (mine is a tad smaller I suppose).
So I guess another question: Which plays a more prominent role: Barter in Blood or The Abyss?
Bah I would really love to play The Abyss. I need to find room for it. Seems like a great card for the U/B artifact control deck.
Barter in Blood is an excellent sweeper, and it should be a staple at any size. I love Smokestack effects, so I don't think I could ever cut The Abyss. I would rather cube both. If you had a cube list available somewhere I could look at it and discuss if there was a better cut and if The Abyss would be better or worse in your cube (dependent on lots of factors like the number of wraths you run, whether you support token strategies, the density of artifact/enchantment removal).
Barter in Blood is an excellent sweeper, and it should be a staple at any size.
I disagree. BiB was mediocre. There were many times when it sat in my hand because I would be in a worse position if I cast, or I cast it and it didn't make any difference. Sometimes it was Damnation 2.0; once in a great while it was better than Damnation; sometimes it was actively bad. I mostly don't like cards that are that variable in my cube. I cut it and don't miss it at all.
I was never much of a fan of it either. But at 900 cards? It's probably good enough.
True. I wasn't thinking about the size of the cube so much as I was responding to the comment that BiB belongs in a cube of any size. I think my 500 is too tight for it, but I'd probably run at 600 and certainly would run it at 900.
That's really surprising. It hasn't shown up often. When it does it's always played like a Damnation that was occasionally a blowout and sometimes mediocre. But actively bad? I'm not sure how that's possible. I haven't really seen any situations where that happens, unless it's something corner-case like having one finisher on the board versus your opponent's three or four creatures. Maybe if you have token strategies enabled and/or facing down something like Deranged Hermit. But that kind of card or strategy tends to diminish the value of edict effects anyway. Might as well consider Innocent Blood actively bad too. I don't think it's difficult to affect the game state to make it an advantageous play.
That's really surprising. It hasn't shown up often. When it does it's always played like a Damnation that was occasionally a blowout and sometimes mediocre. But actively bad? I'm not sure how that's possible. I haven't really seen any situations where that happens, unless it's something corner-case like having one finisher on the board versus your opponent's three or four creatures. Maybe if you have token strategies enabled and/or facing down something like Deranged Hermit. But that kind of card or strategy tends to diminish the value of edict effects anyway. Might as well consider Innocent Blood actively bad too. I don't think it's difficult to affect the game state to make it an advantageous play.
In my experience, I'd say about a quarter of the time I had BiB in hand I'd either get no advantage out of it (opponent had more creautres than me before and would have more after, or because the opponent had enough creatures that I wouldn't be able to get rid of the creature I really needed to get rid of) or it would've been actively bad (it would take out my blocker or blockers while leaving my opponent with a threat). It was really too inconsistent for my liking.
Innocent Blood is a totally different card. First, I don't expect as much for 1 mana as I do for 4 (4cc may be the tightest spot in the entire cube). Innocent Blood also isn't meant to be a sweeper. It's meant to deal with a Tinkered/reanimated threat during the first 1-3 turns. And, I don't think Innocent Blood will be in my cube much longer, again because it is too inconsistent (and because Liliana 2.0 is badass!).
Fair enough! I concede the four mana club is insanely hard for cards to break into. But in the same way that Innocent Blood is ideal turn 1-3, Barter in Blood is ideal turn 4-5. There's that window where your opponent doesn't have enough creatures to reduce BiB's effectiveness. And, since Eidolon mentioned it, I don't see how something like Bane of the Living can be much better; Bane usually takes an extra turn, the morph cost can be prohibitive, and it is easily removed. That seems like a lot of drawbacks in return for the flexibility of the morph cost and a body which isn't likely to survive its morphing. I love both, but I'm not sure why the Bane should be favored.
If some of you are complaining about casting the card against a token deck, just try to play it in a token deck - trading 2 Cloundgoat / Elspeth / Bitterblossom Tokens in exchange of your opponent's army then swing for a bunch is pretty insane.
Awesome. Also pretty ridiculous in a GB deck with stuff like Hermit, Genesis and any Garruk
Bane is a win condition in addition to functioning as a sweeper. And the fact that you control the value of creatures he kills lends him to being more asymmetrical in your favor than Barter. But mostly, it's the effect + creature thing that makes it better.
Here's a question for y'all: What would you consider cuttable in my cube? I'm trimming the bottom tier of cards for a pre-Dark Ascension update, and I'm very interested to hear thoughts from fellow cubers. Everything is fair game (except multicolor, which I have solved for now).
P.S. I'm hoping to pull enough players together for an actual, physical Rotisserie draft tomorrow, so watch this space for a potential draft + tourney report!
No hate for Redirect? I'm a fan of Deflection effects but I admit it's usually better to have another actual spell. Or am I confusing the reasoning with Fork effects?
As for the Rotisserie draft: we had an unfortunate turnout, as two of the eight players backed out at the 11th hour. Bah! I thought. Surely a six-man Rotisserie is even more exciting! So we went ahead with that thing where you choose cards and stuff.
As expected, blue seemed like the most desirable color at the table, but there were some very unusual developments. I must preface by apologizing for not taking any notes during the draft - I was already tasked with monitoring the pick order and timing the picks to ensure a timely draft (in addition to participating myself), and I didn't have anyone else who could step up and be the scribe. The decklists also went unrecorded, so while I have every player's cardpool, the numbers are a wee bit wonky around the edges since I have to reconstruct five cube decks from memory. We'll have to make do with the highlights!
Black Lotus was the first seat's pick, but then somewhere along the way there were a couple very unusual first picks. One player first-picked Stoneforge Mystic, and another first-picked Crucible of Worlds. I was lucky enough to be on the wheel. In classic fashion, this meant I got Survival of the Fittest and Recurring Nightmare as my first picks. Only one Mox was drafted in the first round! Planeswalkers were similarly undervalued, which meant I was able to snag them two at a time and almost hurt my deck by picking too many walkers and not enough critters. The Ancestral Recall went to the 5th seat. In the second round I got to snag both Mox Jet and Mox Emerald. I felt like I was off to a pretty durned amazing start. And when you can pick from the best cards in Magic, two-card combos are amazing. It seemed everyone took my pre-draft advice to heart, what with the Crucible and Stoneforge Mystic going very early so the players could build around those cards.
Once players had settled into a groove, the rest of the picks came fairly quickly. There were a couple snags as the two blue players clashed for picks, and I was surprised to see the first-pick Black Lotus going into GB after my picks would bring us into conflict, but overall we prioritized different cards. We ended with:
1. A Junk deck with Crucible/Loam recursion and a red splash for Greater Gargadon;
2. A Boros aggro deck with an unfortunately high curve and some awkward draft choices (Maze of Ith and Duplicant stood out as particularly strange);
3. A BW Deadguy aggro deck with excellent pick choices (Hymn to Tourach, Demonic Tutor, Dark Confidant, Stoneforge Mystic + Batterskull + Jitte) but a weak manabase;
4. A dedicated UW control deck with three walkers, Bribery, Moat, Recall, Mana Drain and Isochron Scepter with some decent targets (Mystical Tutor, Counterspell, Enlightened Tutor, Recall, Drain)
5. The artifact deck; both Tezzerets, Sensei's Divining Top, Tinker, Inkwell Leviathan + Darksteel Colossus (but no Myr Battlesphere or Sundering Titan! I believe this was a mistake), Academy, Mana Crypt, Metalworker, Sol Ring...
6. A RecSur deck, courtesy of yours truly - Survival, Nightmare, Squee, Genesis, Library of Alexandria, a couple Swords, a couple Moxes, four walkers (three were Garruks) and hilarious amounts of ETB creatures meant I was more than ready to grind my opponents out.
I've posted the decklists below so you guys can dissect the card choices in detail. I've already mentioned what I thought about the other decks, but my own concoction had a glaring weakness that I didn't notice even though it had been staring me right in the face during draft - I didn't have a way around shroud/hexproof. I had simply stared in blissful ignorance while the 1st seat took Troll Ascetic and Thrun, the Last Troll on the wheel. My deck really wanted a Fleshbag Marauder or Gatekeeper of Malakir. But I didn't cube with the former and the latter had been snapped up early by Deadguy. This cost me a game against the Junk player. I also had no artifact creatures, which became relevant against protection colors or Swords.
The highlights:
My first round against the Junk player had me fearing the Strip Mine + Crucible play when he dropped the artifact on the third turn before I could set up my own recursion. A snap Sex Monkey put a damper on that line of play, but then my own Survival gets answered by Krosan Grip. I manage to end the game with Genesis recursion.
My second game goes poorly. I can't do anything relevant before he drops a Troll Ascetic, followed by a Thrun. I get trolled hard while I stare at the Nekrataal and Bone Shredder sitting in my hand.
The third game goes down to the wire, with some impressive plays from both ends of the table. I land a first turn Library of Alexandria and get about three activations out of it before it gets Slimed. I'm staring down a turn two Bitterblossom, but I have a turn two Fauna Shaman. I get to untap with the Shaman in play, and it's like Magical Christmas Land. I start a Survival chain with Squee and Genesis and get my Indrik Stomphowler before the fairies eat up too many life points. I try to stick a Survival to go nuts, but he has insane removal and I only get one activation out of it. I go for the plan B and manage to stick Garruk Relentless, who takes out a fairy token to transform into his cursed version. At some point, Greater Gargadon gets suspended and I have to puzzle over his inclusion of four colors. It's revealed a couple turns later. We fight over board position, but his Damnation sweeps my superior army into the dustbin. I start rebuilding with Genesis and Eternal Witness, recasting Garruk Relentless and landing a Liliana Vess to force him down to his last card. On his turn he floats two mana, sacrifices all his lands to leave one counter on the Gargadon, then uses the two mana to play his last card, the almighty Balance.
That right there should have been game. But I still have a Garruk Relentless and a Liliana Vess, and best of all, I was holding an Obstinate Baloth when Balance wiped my hand out. Now I can hold off the Gargadon long enough to create a stream of never-ending wolves. My opponent concedes after what should have been his game-winning play, staring down a Liliana about to go ultimate and a Garruk full of wolves.
My next opponent is Boros aggro. I'm fearing the first-turn Goblin Guide, but his deck is way slower than I expected. I still get surprised by his hastey creatures. My first Garruk gets burned out. A Hero of Oxid Ridge sneaks past my Sakura-Tribe Elder and takes out a second Garruk, and things go downhill from there. The Hero picks up a Loxodon Warhammer and gets a swing in before I can take out the Hammer. To my credit, I manage to take out his Mother of Runes with a Nekrataal before it goes online, making his Hero look a bit worse. Baneslayer Angel shows up, and it also gets a hit in before I can take it out. I start to build up a ground army after being on the defensive, but Inferno Titan drops and I can't recover from losing my creatures.
Game two was an uphill battle for me all the way. An early Fauna Shaman eats burn. A misplay on my part loses me Garruk Wildspeaker to another burn spell. A Mirran Crusader shows up late to the party - protection from my entire deck, you say? Well then. From then on I'm desperately trying to keep my opponent from overwhelming me with creatures, while simultaneously trying to manage my graveyard with Survival and Genesis tricks. A misplay on his part (he plays it safe by not attacking with Crusader, wanting to attach to a Warhammer first) buys me a turn and I remove the equipment. The game ends with me one mana away from going nuts with Recurring Nightmare. He has Hero of Bladehold and Baneslayer Angel, and I have Bone Shredder and Recurring Nightmare with only enough mana to cast one of them.
My third opponent is Deadguy. Unfortunately, neither of these games are close. The first game sees a second-turn Stoneforge, but I can kill it and snap Sex Monkey his equipment, a very relevant Sword of Feast and Famine. He manages to Vindicate a Survival or a Garruk, I forget which, but I just drop another similar card and ride it to victory.
The second game sees him mull to six. This was where the lack of manafixing cost him heavily. He ends up drawing all swamps with a hand full of white cards. I, on the other hand, open with Library of Alexandria, as all real Magic players are wont to do. With no real pressure on me, I can take my time coming up with Survival and Squee. He Wastelands the Library much later. His Winter Orb slows the game down heavily, but I have a Mox to mitigate the effect, and it appears to hurt him more than me, so I leave it alone and work on his other artifacts, a Jitte and a Cursed Scroll. To add insult to injury, his Hymn to Tourach takes my Obstinate Baloth, and he folds under a landslide of card advantage.
With the artifact-deck player forced to leave early, I agree to a last informal match against the UW player. This looks like one of the most tightly-drafted decks at the table, with the main weakness being a lack of spot removal (both Swords and Path were taken by Deadguy). To be fair, the deck had various ways of generating card advantage against creatures, whether it was through a Vedalken Shackles, a Moat, Wrath or planeswalkers.
This is why I'm surprised when my RecSur deck handily wins in two. I ended up generating so much card advantage from my ETB creatures that his Wraths were actually putting me ahead for the long game, thanks to all my graveyard shenanigans. He has no grave hate for that, and importantly, he doesn't have any exile removal aside from a Brittle Effigy which he (correctly? incorrectly?) points at my Indrik Stomphowler. Without planeswalkers on his side, our games are characterized by him trying to delay the inevitable graveyard onslaught. Moat comes down on his side. Genesis ends up in the yard, and Moat is eventually taken out by Woodfall Primus. Sower of Temptation takes my Woodfall Primus, but I Bone Shredder my own Primus to get a persist trigger and take out a Shackles. Sower of Temptation gets taken down by Garruk Relentless. Bribery takes my Grave Titan, but I have deathtouching Wolf tokens to deal with it. The game ends in a flurry of Survival triggers.
In game two I open with Library of Alexandria, as all real Magic players are wont to do. I get one activation out of it before Pithing Needle comes down. Early attempts at Sex Monkeying the needle are denied, so I go with the usual Survival plan. A Mindslaver + Academy Ruins discards all my creatures to Survival and threatens to unceremoniously boot me out of the game, but the UW player doesn't have thirteen lands and I have Woodfall Primus. The second game goes much like the first, with a long war of attrition that slowly ends up favoring me.
After two stunning back-to-back wins, I'm ashamed to admit I let overconfidence gain a hold of me. I suggest a grudge match to let the UW player regain some dignity. Karma being a female dog, I am trounced as the UW deck subsequently goes into beast mode. A Scepter imprints Counterspell, and a draw-stepping Vendilion Clique steals a Survival right out of my hand. I throw away a Putrefy in a breathtaking display of arrogance. I am soon stuck with a crucial decision: which of the three Garruks in my hand do I want to resolve? I decide that the mighty Garruk 3.0 is absolutely the only one who can get me out of my current faerie-infested predicament.
Accordingly, I throw out Garruk Relentless as Scepter bait, and it works. My Sex Monkey resolves as the UW player does not have the mana for another counter. Garruk 3.0 comes out next turn, but I am getting dangerously low on life. I start making Beasts in an attempt to race. I try to follow up with another bomb, but it eats a Cryptic Command. I am now in dire straits. I draw three cards with Garruk and I have the removal for his lethal Clique. He has a Snapcaster Mage with a flashbacked Cryptic Command.
1. WGBr Junk
I can understand Balance in GB, but the Greater Gargadon splash without nonbasics seems too greedy imo.
I have to agree at this point that it might have been too cute for a Rotisserie draft, but it didn't seem too greedy with all the green manafixing. The three land-fetch spells maindeck meant he had access to red or white at almost any point in the game.
I call it an aggro deck because it mostly just wants to lay down some beats and kill you as fast as it can - admittedly, not too fast. Including high-end creatures like Baneslayer or Inferno Titan meant it gave up some early-game advantage in exchange for just being able to brute-force through the opponent with giants.
The BW deck looks awesome as long as you don't get problems with your mana base.
I discussed this with the Deadguy player and he also agreed that Fetid Heath needed to be in there at the very least. It's a deck that wants a 2nd turn BB for Hymn or WW for a creature. There was generally a scramble for manafixing as most players neglected to draft it until practically the last five picks (you can see that from the low amounts of fixing in each deck). The colorless lands were a huge drawback in this deck too.
The Ub Artifacts.dec has a lot of synergies (The Abyss!), but it could be so much better if the player would not have added 9 extra cards.
You'll have to take the UW and UB decklists with a grain of salt, as I'm afraid I just wasn't able to accurately reconstruct them without contacting the players themselves. As I recall, UW decided on a 45-card deck. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that the land issue was probably justified on the strength of the deck's low-cost cards, allowing it to survive until the late game.
I really don't like that the GB player kept the Birdies in the board in a deck with such a high mana curve (a total of 4 cards with cmc 1/2)m especially when there are 5 cards that give you some value out of your Bird if you draw it in the late game.
Oh dear. Here I thought I was going to catch flak for excluding the Library and Scroll Rack
But the decision to exclude Birds was probably the hardest one I had to make in construction. For me, the choice was between Sakura-Tribe Elder and Birds. When I had my deck's mana curve arranged in front of me, I felt like I needed a two-drop. I also wanted that two-drop to be a mana dork that could chump AND accelerate me to four mana on turn three, so I could either drop a walker, a midrange creature, or a Survival with two activations. The Elder also got the nod for being abusable with Genesis or Nightmare, although it never really came up.
Post-games, I'm still pretty much on the fence about it though. Birds would have been good in some matchups and terrible in others, while Elder was always generally decent. BoP would have eaten burn against Boros, denying me that crucial mana, but it would have been highly relevant against Vendilion Clique and Moat (especially since I actually have seven cards that give me value if I include my two Swords :P)
I've had some time to digest Eidolon's list of cuts. I was highly amused to discover that it was almost card-for-card the same as the list from the cube comparison thread. Eidolon, you ran the comparison before I even thought to ask, you sly rascal you!
So the first order of business: I've cut down to 870 cards. The details are in the changelog. Basically, I was getting tired of seeing 24th picks everywhere in the drafts. At this time, and at this size, it is impossible to run a successful cube and still maintain the power level I want. Now drafts are more enjoyable since there is way less chaff to deal with.
The long-term challenge is to reduce the cube's size as much as possible, thereby bringing it to a more appropriate power-level. I'm going to be slicing cards in periodic increments of 15; by the time Dark Ascension rolls around, I'm hoping for an 855-card cube.
Let me preface the next point with a statement: I think about bad cards a lot. I think about how to get rid of them all the time. But trying to exclude cards based on the idea of "strictly worse" is a bit of a challenge for me. So the new order of business: discuss, in detail, what possible cuts I should be making. I'll be paying close attention and trying to elucidate meanings from the suggestions received. I'm hoping it'll spark some debate around the seldom-seen, dark and dingy bottom sections of the cube.
So, the question that currently occupies my time, and hopefully yours: What are my three worst white cards?
Thanks! I wouldn't feel any compunction about dropping the Whipcorder - he's mostly there to give each color the appearance of hidden information with morphs, and the WW cost sucks too. But I'd like to explore the issues with the other two.
Revoke Existence, I feel, is a good to great card in most cubes considering the targets it hits. Do you or your players find that sorcery speed is often a problem when contrasted with the exile clause?
As for the War Priest, does the 2CC cost harm the card's value compared to the 3CC cost of stuff like Uktabi Orangutan? Unlike the Kami and Unicorn, you can't drop the War Priest for damage and use it up later to get rid of something - you have to hold it back, which is potentially a bad line of play for the aggressive decks it usually finds its way into. So I can see this guy getting the axe too.
While we're on the subject, what's up with people being down on Cloudchaser Kestrel? I've been told by multiple players that it's a bad card. It's an Uktabi Orangutan for enchantments that trades splashability for evasion (and a bonus ability that is occasionally relevant). A 3CC card with WW in its casting cost should be an order of magnitude easier to cast than a 2CC card with WW in its cost, right? The destroy trigger is mandatory, which is potentially a drawback - but that mandatory trigger appears on every similar ETB creature, whether it's a Keldon Vandal or the aforementioned Sex Monkeys. Is there some fundamental difference between artifacts and enchantments that makes this card worse?
Hmm. A 5x difference could be a reason to cut it, but in my cube I see approximately 44 targets versus the 116 or so artifacts. That's only about 2.5x difference. Does that affect its value?
- Bruce Lee
Cube Information
Cube size: 720
Breakdown: 94 colored, 76 multicolor, 76 artifact, 98 land.
Powered: Yes.
Portal: Yes. (5)
Proxies: Yes.
(84)(76)Un-cards: No.
Snow: No.
Functional reprints: Yes.
Average CMC: 3.05.
Draft this cube online!
Cube Summary:
[Color summaries TBA]
Archetypes
Control, midrange and aggro are all well-represented.
Some of the many unique archetypes:
Reanimator: Generally Dimir or Rakdos to discard fatties (Thirst for Knowledge, Faithless Looting) or Golgari for more midrange abilities (Survival of the Fittest, Life // Death). Uses various Reanimate spells to cast said fatties.
Artifacts Matter: Grixis; traditionally a Dimir archetype (Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas), it has branched out into red recently with Daretti, Scrap Savant. Uses artifacts and spells that get stronger when you play them (Thirst for Knowledge, Tolarian Academy)
Wildfire/Big Red: Some overlap with the artifact deck. Uses artifact ramp to fuel an early board clear + land destruction. Can also Upheaval as a backup win condition.
Stax: A generally black archetype that plays symmetrical disruption spells (Braids, Cabal Minion, Smokestack) with many ways to break the symmetry like recursive creatures (Bloodghast)and token makers (Bitterblossom) while slowing down the opponent.
Blink/Bounce: Usually an Azorius archetype, but is a part of every color. Get oodles of value from your ETB effects by rebuying them over and over (usually with things like Restoration Angel or Erratic Portal).
Tokens and Anthems: Can be drafted in any color, although white has the highest density of anthems + token generators. Get token generators (Cloudgoat Ranger, Elspeth, Knight-Errant) alongside effects that pump them up (Hero of Bladehold, Glorious Anthem).
Lands Matter: A primarily green package, combines recursive effects (Life from the Loam, Crucible of Worlds) with manlands (Raging Ravine) and other utility lands (Maze of Ith) and a way to get lands into the graveyard (Armageddon, Dust Bowl, Smokestack) so it has a bit of overlap with sacrificial effects from the Stax archetype.
Spells Matter: A minor archetype found mostly in Izzet, playing to that guild's natural strengths. Generally centralized around Young Pyromancer, Snapcaster Mage and a ton of flashback spells to get value.
Archetypes by Guild:
Azorius: Equally good in all three archetypes. Cheap evasive creatures backed up by quality removal and countermagic makes aggro playable. Some of the most powerful planeswalkers and sweeper spells inhabit this guild, making it an ideal control choice too.
Dimir: Very good at disrupting the opponent with countermagic, creature removal and discard. Lends itself well to the aggro archetype thanks to black's strong suite of aggressive creatures combined with blue/black disruption, with midrange and control decks also proving playable.
Rakdos: A very suicidal guild, making it ideal for all-out aggro. Very rarely finds the staying power required to field a proper control or midrange deck, but the stax archetype can make a strong showing here.
Gruul: Another highly aggressive pairing, it excels at attacking or ramping into big threats.
Selesnya: A powerful and flexible pairing that allows the player freedom to go down any archetype path. Provides efficient creatures with tons of value, and can find answers to any problem.
Orzhov: A complementary pairing that strengthens black's suicidal tendencies with white's lifegain and protection. Can provide disruption and efficient beats in aggro, or recursion and staying power in midrange. A high density of wraths in this guild allows it to play control relatively well too.
Golgari: A guild well suited to aggro or midrange. Its creatures have staying power and it plays a long game through the graveyard.
Simic: Another strong yet flexible pairing. Can play an aggressive game by combining blue's bounce and green's efficient creatures, or it can play midrange by ramping into back-breaking blue spells. Difficult to play control.
Izzet: Similar to Simic, uses efficient creatures backed up by red and blue's set of spells (burn, countermagic, bounce). Can also play a slower control game in the Wildfire or Artifacts Matter archetypes.
Boros: Another all-out aggressive guild like Rakdos, but with the staying power of white's creatures. Can occasionally play host to the Wildfire archetype.
Cube Comparison Results
White:
Unusual cards
Reprisal !
Hyena Umbra !
Cloudchaser Kestrel !
Warrior en-Kor !
Kor Aeronaut !
Kazandu Blademaster !
Akrasan Squire !
Tithe !
Soul Snare !
Story Circle !
White Shield Crusader !
Phyrexian Rebirth !
Excluded cards
Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Ranger of Eos
Blue:
Unusual cards
Spell Burst !
Take Possession !
Thoughtcast !
Divert !
Ethersworn Adjudicator !
Rainbow Efreet !
Esperzoa !
Rushing River !
Copy Artifact !
Spell Snare !
Broken Ambitions !
Wipe Away !
Excluded cards
Miscalculation
Frost Titan
Merfolk Looter
Compulsive Research
Calcite Snapper
Daze
Black:
Unusual cards
Rend Flesh !
Scepter of Fugue !
Sever the Bloodline !
Raven's Crime !
Putrid Imp !
Buried Alive !
Stromgald Crusader !
Knight of Stromgald !
Eyeblight's Ending !
Excluded cards
Fume Spitter
Living Death
Slaughter Pact
Red:
Unusual cards
Brute Force !
Hostility !
Violent Eruption !
Excluded cards
Hell's Thunder
Brimstone Volley
Volcanic Hammer
Stone Rain
Reckless Waif
Searing Blaze
Cunning Sparkmage
Urabrask the Hidden
Ravenous Baboons
Ball Lightning
Goblin Wardriver
Words of War
Green:
Unusual cards
Gigapede !
Scryb Ranger !
Nettle Sentinel !
Mtenda Lion !
Omnath, Locus of Mana !
Leatherback Baloth !
Excluded cards
Basking Rootwalla
Primeval Titan
Master of the Wild Hunt
Primal Command
Creeping Mold
Caller of the Claw
Natural Order
Gold:
Unusual cards
Frenetic Efreet !
Windreaver !
Excluded cards
Venser, the Sojourner
Tidehollow Sculler
Sarkhan the Mad
Knight of the Reliquary
Tricolor:
Unusual cards
Naya Charm !
Thraximundar !
Artifacts:
Unusual cards
Sculpting Steel !
Journeyer's Kite !
Empyrial Plate !
Bosh, Iron Golem !
Gorgon Flail !
Excluded cards
Chrome Mox
Everflowing Chalice
AEther Vial
Perilous Myr
Lands:
Excluded cards
Rishadan Port
Horizon Canopy
Dust Bowl
Kor Haven
Tectonic Edge
White:
Unusual cards
Phyrexian Rebirth !
Story Circle !
Reprisal !
Hyena Umbra !
Cloudchaser Kestrel !
Warrior en-Kor !
Kor Aeronaut !
Kazandu Blademaster !
Elite Inquisitor !
Perimeter Captain !
Akrasan Squire !
Tithe !
Soul Snare !
Crusade !
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite !
White Shield Crusader !
Miraculous Recovery !
Captain of the Watch !
Whipcorder !
Blue:
Unusual cards
Spell Burst !
Broken Ambitions !
Take Possession !
Rushing River !
Snap !
Thoughtcast !
Divert !
Ethersworn Adjudicator !
Rainbow Efreet !
Sea Drake !
Esperzoa !
Copy Artifact !
Twincast !
Spell Snare !
Rewind !
Forbidden Alchemy !
Boomerang !
Wipe Away !
Vesuvan Doppelganger !
Ludevic's Test Subject !
Excluded cards
Clone
Frost Titan
Compulsive Research
Miscalculation
Calcite Snapper
Black:
Unusual cards
Sever the Bloodline !
Rend Flesh !
Eyeblight's Ending !
Scepter of Fugue !
Raven's Crime !
Putrid Imp !
Silent Specter !
Buried Alive !
Tribute to Hunger !
Stromgald Crusader !
Knight of Stromgald !
Nameless Inversion !
Beacon of Unrest !
Bloodline Keeper !
Unearth !
Life's Finale !
Geth's Verdict !
Visara the Dreadful !
Grinning Demon !
Excluded cards
Living Death
Red:
Unusual cards
Rolling Thunder !
Violent Eruption !
Brute Force !
Threaten !
Hostility !
Dead // Gone !
Stigma Lasher !
Beacon of Destruction !
Crimson Mage !
Reverberate !
Flameblast Dragon !
Ashmouth Hound !
Pyrokinesis !
Fork !
Wild Ricochet !
Skred !
Kruin Outlaw !
Gathan Raiders !
Excluded cards
Hell's Thunder
Volcanic Hammer
Searing Blaze
Green:
Unusual cards
Gigapede !
Scryb Ranger !
Nettle Sentinel !
Mtenda Lion !
Mutagenic Growth !
Weatherseed Treefolk !
Wood Elves !
Thelonite Hermit !
Fertile Ground !
Omnath, Locus of Mana !
Restock !
Utopia Sprawl !
Moment's Peace !
Leatherback Baloth !
Seal of Primordium !
Gaea's Revenge !
Beastbreaker of Bala Ged !
Excluded cards
Primeval Titan
Primal Command
Master of the Wild Hunt
Gold:
Unusual cards
Crime // Punishment !
Frenetic Efreet !
Windreaver !
Life // Death !
Temporal Spring !
Rakdos Guildmage !
Fires of Yavimaya !
Armadillo Cloak !
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf !
Debtors' Knell !
Hull Breach !
Excluded cards
Tidehollow Sculler
Venser, the Sojourner
Tricolor:
Unusual cards
Naya Charm !
Dromar's Charm !
Empyrial Archangel !
Uril, the Miststalker !
Teneb, the Harvester !
Damia, Sage of Stone !
Hellkite Overlord !
Thraximundar !
Animar, Soul of Elements !
Weird Gold Cards:
Unusual cards
Who/What/When/Where/Why !
Artifacts:
Unusual cards
Sculpting Steel !
Journeyer's Kite !
Gorgon Flail !
Empyrial Plate !
Puppet Strings !
Voltaic Key !
Bosh, Iron Golem !
Coldsteel Heart !
Pentad Prism !
Contagion Engine !
Staff of Domination !
Phyrexian Ironfoot !
Relic of Progenitus !
Artisan of Kozilek !
Metalworker !
Excluded cards
Chrome Mox
Lands:
Unusual cards
Windbrisk Heights !
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth !
Rupture Spire !
Cube List
W White W
Creatures (66)
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Mother of Runes
1 Savannah Lions
1 Steppe Lynx
1 Student of Warfare
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Accorder Paladin
1 Cloistered Youth
1 Eight-and-a-Half Tails
1 Kami of Ancient Law
1 Knight of Meadowgrain
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Lone Missionary
1 Loyal Cathar
1 Mistral Charger
1 Porcelain Legionnaire
1 Ronom Unicorn
1 Silver Knight
1 Soltari Monk
1 Soltari Priest
1 Soltari Trooper
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Wall of Omens
1 White Knight
1 Exalted Angel
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Flickerwisp
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Mirror Entity
1 Paladin en-Vec
1 Pianna, Nomad Captain
1 Silverblade Paladin
1 Soltari Champion
1 Spectral Procession
1 Stonecloaker
1 Calciderm
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Restoration Angel
1 Sublime Archangel
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Battlegrace Angel
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Eternal Dragon
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
Noncreature (39)
1 Condemn
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Land Tax
1 Mana Tithe
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Balance
1 Disenchant
1 Honor of the Pure
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Revoke Existence
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Temporal Isolation
1 Glorious Anthem
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Prison Term
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Armageddon
1 Day of Judgment
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Faith’s Fetters
1 Moat
1 Parallax Wave
1 Ravages of War
1 Wrath of God
1 Gideon Jura
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Rout
1 Austere Command
1 Catastrophe
1 Decree of Justice
1 Martial Coup
U Blue U
Creature (39)
1 Enclave Cryptologist
1 Gilded Drake
1 Looter il-Kor
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Spined Thopter
1 Riftwing Cloudskate
1 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Aether Adept
1 Kira, Great-Glass Spinner
1 Man-o'-War
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Serendib Efreet
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Willbender
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Lu Xun, Scholar General
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Thieving Magpie
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Morphling
1 Mulldrifter
1 Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Draining Whelk
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 Inkwell Leviathan
Noncreature (67)
1 Shelldock Isle
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Brainstorm
1 Force Spike
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
1 Arcane Denial
1 Copy Artifact
1 Counterspell
1 Impulse
1 Mana Drain
1 Mana Leak
1 Memory Lapse
1 Miscalculation
1 Remand
1 Remove Soul
1 Time Walk
1 Complicate
1 Dissipate
1 Exclude
1 Forbid
1 Forbidden Alchemy
1 Frantic Search
1 Hinder
1 Jace Beleren
1 Psionic Blast
1 Rushing River
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Control Magic
1 Cryptic Command
1 Deep Analysis
1 Dismiss
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Into the Roil
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Rite of Replication
1 Future Sight
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Treachery
1 Confiscate
1 Time Spiral
1 Upheaval
1 Condescend
1 Repeal
1 Stroke of Genius
B Black B
Creature (49)
1 Diregraf Ghoul
1 Gravecrawler
1 Sarcomancy
1 Vampire Lacerator
1 Black Knight
1 Bloodghast
1 Dark Confidant
1 Dauthi Horror
1 Dauthi Slayer
1 Fledgling Djinn
1 Knight of Infamy
1 Nantuko Shade
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Oona's Prowler
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Vampire Interloper
1 Bone Shredder
1 Dauthi Marauder
1 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Hypnotic Specter
1 Liliana's Specter
1 Tombstalker
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Bloodline Keeper
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Juzam Djinn
1 Nekrataal
1 Plague Sliver
1 Sewer Nemesis
1 Skinrender
1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1 Shriekmaw
1 Thrashing Wumpus
1 Grave Titan
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
Noncreature (57)
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Snuff Out
1 Dark Ritual
1 Disfigure
1 Dismember
1 Duress
1 Entomb
1 Innocent Blood
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Reanimate
1 Thoughtseize
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Animate Dead
1 Bitterblossom
1 Chainer’s Edict
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Doom Blade
1 Go for the Throat
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Last Gasp
1 Nameless Inversion
1 Night’s Whisper
1 Sign in Blood
1 Sinkhole
1 Smother
1 Terror
1 Necromancy
1 Necropotence
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Rend Flesh
1 Stupor
1 Sudden Death
1 Tribute to Hunger
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Barter in Blood
1 Consuming Vapors
1 Damnation
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Nether Void
1 The Abyss
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin Markov
1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Mind Twist
1 Profane Command
R Red R
Creature (56)
1 Goblin Guide
1 Goblin Patrol
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Greater Gargadon
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Jackal Pup
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Spikeshot Elder
1 Blood Knight
1 Fireslinger
1 Hearth Kami
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Kargan Dragonlord
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Lightning Mauler
1 Plated Geopede
1 Stormblood Berserker
1 Torch Fiend
1 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Countryside Crusher
1 Fire Imp
1 Gathan Raiders
1 Ghitu Slinger
1 Keldon Vandals
1 Manic Vandal
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Goblin Ruinblaster
1 Hellrider
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
1 Moltensteel Dragon
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Thunderblust
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Crater Hellion
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Inferno Titan
1 Rorix Bladewing
Noncreature (50)
1 Fireblast
1 Burst Lightning
1 Chain Lightning
1 Faithless Looting
1 Firebolt
1 Flame Slash
1 Forked Bolt
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Rift Bolt
1 Arc Trail
1 Incinerate
1 Magma Jet
1 Pyroclasm
1 Searing Spear
1 Smash to Smithereens
1 Sudden Shock
1 Brimstone Volley
1 Char
1 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Molten Rain
1 Pillage
1 Slagstorm
1 Staggershock
1 Stone Rain
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Threaten
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Aftershock
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Wildfire
1 Comet Storm
1 Fireball
1 Devil's Play
1 Earthquake
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Rolling Earthquake
1 Starstorm
G Green G
Creature (71)
1 Arbor Elf
1 Basking Rootwalla
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Jungle Lion
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Pouncing Jaguar
1 Twinblade Slasher
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Wild Dogs
1 Wolfbitten Captive
1 Albino Troll
1 Beastbreaker of Bala Ged
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Mayor of Avabruck
1 Mire Boa
1 River Boa
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Skinshifter
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Wall of Roots
1 Wild Mongrel
1 Eternal Witness
1 Great Sable Stag
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Nantuko Vigilante
1 Ohran Viper
1 Troll Ascetic
1 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Wolfir Avenger
1 Wood Elves
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Blastoderm
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Phantom Centaur
1 Spike Weaver
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Vengevine
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Acidic Slime
1 Deranged Hermit
1 Genesis
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Thragtusk
1 Thornling
1 Vorapede
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Primeval Titan
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Hornet Queen
1 Pelakka Wurm
1 Terastodon
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Green Sun's Zenith
Noncreature (35)
1 Rancor
1 Vines of Vastwood
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Farseek
1 Fertile Ground
1 Life from the Loam
1 Moment’s Peace
1 Naturalize
1 Rampant Growth
1 Regrowth
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Cultivate
1 Harrow
1 Ice Storm
1 Kodama’s Reach
1 Krosan Grip
1 Bramblecrush
1 Creeping Mold
1 Garruk Relentless
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Harmonize
1 Natural Order
1 Overrun
1 Plow Under
1 Restock
1 Rude Awakening
X Colorless (81) X
Creature (20)
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Spellskite
1 Metalworker
1 Bonehoard
1 Juggernaut
1 Lodestone Golem
1 Masticore
1 Molten-Tail Masticore
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Precursor Golem
1 Razormane Masticore
1 Duplicant
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Triskelion
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Sundering Titan
1 Chimeric Mass
Noncreature (61)
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Zuran Orb
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Black Vise
1 Bonesplitter
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Cursed Scroll
1 Mana Vault
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Grim Monolith
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mind Stone
1 Powder Keg
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Scroll Rack
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Winter Orb
1 Coalition Relic
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Crystal Ball
1 Crystal Shard
1 Grafted Wargear
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Mimic Vat
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Ring of Gix
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Vengeance
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Tangle Wire
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Smokestack
1 Memory Jar
1 All is Dust
1 Karn Liberated
1 Engineered Explosives
WRGBUMulticolor (72) WRGBU
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae
1 Psychatog
1 Shadowmage Infiltrator
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Bituminous Blast
1 Blightning
1 Dreadbore
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Rakdos Cackler
1 Terminate
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Flinthoof Boar
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Kird Ape
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Stormbind
1 Armada Wurm
1 Dryad Militant
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Loam Lion
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Detention Sphere
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Wall of Denial
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Electrolyze
1 Fire//Ice
1 Hypersonic Dragon
1 Izzet Charm
1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
1 Prophetic Bolt
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Duergar Hedge-Mage
1 Figure of Destiny
1 Lightning Helix
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Desolation Angel
1 Lingering Souls
1 Mortify
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Stillmoon Cavalier
1 Vindicate
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Putrefy
1 Putrid Leech
1 Spiritmonger
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Mystic Snake
1 Simic Sky Swallower
1 Trygon Predator
1 Voidslime
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 Rafiq of the Many
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Murmuring Bosk
1 Lightning Angel
1 Obelisk of Alara
Land + Mana-fixing (97)
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Flooded Strand
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Azorius Signet
1 Underground Sea
1 Watery Grave
1 Polluted Delta
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Dimir Signet
1 Badlands
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Sulfurous Springs
1 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Talisman of Indulgence
1 Rakdos Keyrune
1 Savannah
1 Temple Garden
1 Windswept Heath
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Talisman of Unity
1 Selesnya Signet
1 Stomping Ground
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Copperline Gorge
1 Raging Ravine
1 Talisman of Impulse
1 Gruul Signet
1 Tropical Island
1 Breeding Pool
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Flooded Grove
1 Simic Signet
1 Bayou
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Twilight Mire
1 Golgari Signet
1 Scrubland
1 Godless Shrine
1 Marsh Flats
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Fetid Heath
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Steam Vents
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Shivan Reef
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Izzet Signet
1 Plateau
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Arid Mesa
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Boros Signet
1 City of Brass
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Grand Coliseum
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rupture Spire
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Cathedral of War
1 Dust Bowl
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Mutavault
1 Rishadan Port
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
M11
-Pathrazer of Ulamog
-It That Betrays
-Fieldmist Borderpost
-Firewild Borderpost
-Mistvein Borderpost
-Veinfire Borderpost
-Wildfield Borderpost
Lurebound Scarecrow; Sword of Vengeance
Sulfur Elemental; Ember Hauler
Magma Phoenix; Inferno Titan
Jaya Ballard, Task Mage; Manic Vandal
Roil Elemental; Conundrum Sphinx
Kor Firewalker; Lone Missionary
-Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
Moldervine Cloak; Cultivate
Sprout Swarm; Fauna Shaman
Isao, Enlightened Bushi; Garruk’s Companion
Summoning Trap; Primeval Titan
Momentous Fall; Gaea’s Revenge
Iwamori of the Open Fist; Obstinate Baloth
Opportunity; Jace’s Ingenuity
Serum Visions; Preordain
Skeletal Vampire; Grave Titan
Marshal’s Anthem; Sun Titan
+ War Priest of Thune
+ Reverberate
+ Redirect
+ Crystal Ball
+ Sword of Vengeance
+ Ring of Gix
Scars of Mirrodin
Black: Skinrender; Faceless Butcher
Grip of Darkness; Devour in Shadow
White: Elspeth Tirel; Preacher
Sunblast Angel; Cho-Manno’s Blessing
Artifact: Wurmcoil Engine; Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Molten-Tail Masticore; Bosium Strip
Soul Foundry; Mimic Vat
Precursor Golem; Aether Vial
Myr Battlesphere; Scarecrone
Steel Hellkite; Sigil of Distinction
Contagion Engine; Serrated Arrows
+ Chimeric Mass
Ratchet Bomb; Draco
Mirrodin Besieged
Hero of Bladehold; Celestial Crusader
Leonin Relic-Warder; Revoke Existence
Mirran Crusader; Galepowder Mage
+Phyrexian Rebirth
Black: Black Sun’s Zenith; Booster Tutor
Go for the Throat; Slaughter Pact
+Plague Sliver
+Sangromancer
Red: Hero of Oxid Ridge; Stone Idol Trap
Red Sun’s Zenith; Disintegrate
Slagstorm; Flamebreak
+Spikeshot Elder
+Ghitu Slinger
Green: +Green Sun’s Zenith
Thrun, the Last Troll; Symbol Status
+Uktabi Orangutan
Blue: +Gilded Drake
+Arcane Denial
Artifact: Bonehoard; Mox Crystal
Phyrexian Revoker; Epochrasite
Sword of Feast and Famine; Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Gold: Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas; Soul Manipulation
New Phyrexia
Hex Parasite; Lotus Bloom
Karn, the Released; Triskelavus
Porcelain Legionnaire (p-mana); Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Sword of War and Peace; Su-Chi
White: +Blade Splicer
+Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Black: +Dismember (p-mana)
+Geth’s Verdict
Life’s Finale; Undead Gladiator
Lashwrithe; Sangromancer
Sheoldred, Whispering One; Laquatus’ Champion
Red: +Moltensteel Dragon (p-mana)
Blue: +Phyrexian Metamorph
Green: Beast Within; Verdant Force
+Brutalizer Exarch
Mutagenic Growth; Giant Growth (p-mana)
+Noxious Revival (p-mana)
Multicolor: +Etched Monstrosity
Commander
Black: +Sewer Nemesis; Crypt Champion
Blue: +Consecrated Sphinx; Arcanis the Omnipotent
Red: +Chaos Warp; Punishing Fire
Green: +Hornet Queen
+Scavenging Ooze; Centaur Glade
Wedge: +Animar, Soul of Elements; Cruel Ultimatum
+Damia, Sage of Stone; Sharuum, the Hegemon
+Tariel, Reckoner of Souls; Meglonoth
+Edric, Spymaster of Trest; Cold-Eyed Selkie
M12 changes, July 2011
IN --> OUT
Jace, Memory Adept --> Jace’s Ingenuity
Red: Chandra’s Phoenix --> Ball Lightning
Crimson Mage --> Worldheart Phoenix
Chandra, the Firebrand --> Lord of Shatterskull Pass
Green: Skinshifter --> Groundbreaker
Garruk, Primal Hunter --> Beast Attack
Artifact: +Swiftfoot Boots
Multicolor: Wilt-Leaf Liege --> Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
Loam Lion --> Oversoul of Dusk
Discussion of changes
White: No changes. Gideon's Avenger is a possibility, but I think I like my current three-drops more. Might replace Cloudchaser Kestrel if I decide to adjust the number of 187 effects. Or maybe for Reya Dawnbringer, which is on the chopping block now that Sheoldred can do her job better.
Blue: Phantasmal Image comes in and Jace's Ingenuity gets replaced by Jace, Memory Adept. The cheapest Clone ever takes an open slot, while a bad Ancestral Recall gets replaced by a fairly good win condition, I must admit.
Red: Ball Lightning gets replaced by Chandra's Phoenix. I was a fan of the Lightning, but I had to reconsider its value - its color-restrictive and aggro-only nature confines it to a very narrow subset of Cube decks. By contrast, the Phoenix plays a much more flexible role, providing a persistent threat in aggro or control.
Crimson Mage kicked out Worldheart Phoenix. This Phoenix was really a five-color card in disguise, and I want to keep the number of 5C cards at three for now (currently Child of Alara, Etched Monstrosity and Who//What//Where//When//Why)). I have high hopes for the Mage after it got hyped on the forums, and I'm always interested in providing aggro with some good fuel.
Chandra replaced Lord of Shatterskull Pass. Bit of a no-brainer, I think. When the minotaur's good, he's great, but most of the time he was just too slow and clunky to get any use out of.
Green: Skinshifter comes in for Groundbreaker. Same rationale as Ball Lightning/Chandra's Phoenix. I'm trading a decent but restrictive aggro creature for a creature that's great at playing offense and defense.
Garruk, Primal Hunter --> Beast Attack : A nice upgrade in threat engines. What Garruk loses in surprise factor, he should more than make up for in versatility as a walker.
Artifact: Swiftfoot Boots - yeah, it's an easy include at this size. After all the hacking and cutting of artifacts in Scars block, it's a relief to be able to just sleeve up and slide in. Yeah, baby.
Multicolor:
Wilt-Leaf Liege -> Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
Loam Lion -> Oversoul of Dusk
This is just some shuffling around of my list. Loam Lion was previously in mono-white, but after looking harder at my multicolor section I've decided I can afford to move it there. Wilt-Leaf Liege should be a nice boost for token and weenie strategies while being a solid beater. The loss of Oversoul shouldn't be a huge deal since white and green both have some insane stuff at that cost, but he was the last survivor of the Shadowmoor cycle. That has to count for something, no?
Innistrad
Dauthi Marauder;Phyrexian Rager
Oona’s Prowler; Consume Spirit
Diregraf Ghoul; Lashwrithe
Liliana of the Veil; Vigor Mortis
Vampire Interloper; Cabal Interrogator
Victim of Night; Smallpox
Tribute to Hunger; Infest
Sever the Bloodline; Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
+Bloodline Keeper
+Fledgling Djinn
Green: Garruk Relentless; Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Bramblecrush; Cloudthresher
Moldgraf Monstrosity; Primeval Titan
+Ambush Viper
White: +Spectral Rider
+Fiend Hunter
+Geist-Honored Monk
Stoneforge Mystic; Soul Warden
Cloistered Youth; Pristine Angel
Elite Inquisitor; Reya Dawnbringer
Red: Stormblood Berserker; Akroma, Angel of Fury
Devil’s Play; Kaervek’s Torch
Ashmouth Hound; Tin-Street Hooligan
+Instigator Gang // Wildblood Pack
+Kruin Outlaw // Terror of Kruin Pass
Blue: Snapcaster Mage; Trinket Mage
Spined Thopter; Merfolk Looter
Ludevic’s Test Subject; Jushi Apprentice
Forbidden Alchemy; Braingeyser
Memory Lapse; Sejiri Merfolk
Remand; Sleep
+Faerie Conclave
Colorless: Evolving Wilds; Thran Quarry
Multicolor: Olivia Voldaren; Void
Castigate; Gerrard’s Verdict
- Dimir Guildmage
- Ashenmoor Gouger
- Firespout
- Glare of Subdual
- Pride of the Clouds
- Swerve + Nucklavee
- Boros Swiftblade
- Tidehollow Sculler
- Lord of Extinction
- (no Simic cut)
- Child of Alara
pre-Dark Ascension
-Chandra Ablaze
-Incendiary Command
-Rack and Ruin
-Goblin Tinkerer
White: -Crovax, Ascendant Hero
-Iona, Shield of Emeria
-Harm’s Way
-Spectral Rider
-Momentary Blink
-Flickering Ward
Blue: -Spiketail Hatchling; Shelldock Isle
-Redirect
-Whispers of the Muse
-Cursecatcher
+Miscalculation
Black: -Dread Return
-Victimize
-Mutilate
Green: -Garruk’s Companion
-Wolfbriar Elemental
-Briarhorn
-Oath of Druids
Artifact: -Mirari, +Spellskite
-Etched Oracle
-Howling Mine
Multicolor: -Etched Monstrosity
-Undermine
-Shambling Remains
-Fires of Yavimaya
-Armadillo Cloak//Loxodon Hierarch
-Swans of Bryn Argoll, -Windreaver (+Venser, the Sojourner?)
-Spellbound Dragon
-Firemane Angel
-(no Orzhov cut)
-Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
-Snakeform
-Bant Charm
-Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
Land: -Boros Garrison; Clifftop Retreat
-Vivid Lands
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Plus, I can compare my fully updated cube to others in the comparison thread! It's always been a valuable tool that I wanted to take advantage of. Now I can actually provide a usable list for you (I'm not sure what format you'd want it in though).
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The brief moment of light burned the magnificent sight into my eyes. Limbs of sinewy strength grown massive and knotted in death, more limbs than I remembered, for it had started stitching more of its own. It stuttered and twitched with a spark of energy. Yet it needed the kiss of life, and until tonight, it had been denied. Tonight, the very elements had come together to witness its birth. As my hand fell on the switch, I allowed myself one last glimpse of my darling child, who would soon join us on this glorious unhallowed night.
The switch came down. Somewhere above us, thunder roared and diabolical machinery screamed in unison as my grand creation rose from its rest.
"IT LIVES!"
If I'm going to necro my thread, might as well do it in style.
Innistrad Update: Attack of the
WolvesBearsIn which some choices are explained, while others are left to the reader to puzzle over
Do you dare face the dreaded Wall of Text? If not, skip down to the spoiler for the card choices and explanation behind them. Skip alllll the way down for the shortlist. I put a lot of time into this and I might cry if you do that, though. Here I discuss how I went into the Innistrad update with two issues to try and resolve:
1. The weakness of aggro decks. Using wtwlf's tool to measure the ratio of aggro to control, and taking the idea of the fundamental turn in cubing as explained by TakeABow, I consciously tried to lower the curve by substituting cheaper cards for more expensive ones, and specifically including pure aggro cards. Hence the name of the update. I stopped short of what I consider cube dilution, which reduces the quality of the cube in favor of pushing a specific archetype (e.g. including cards that are either untested, hard-to-evaluate, or bad at first glance like Reckless Waif and Stromkirk Noble).
2. The prevalence of multicolor. Multicolor was still proving somewhat detrimental to drafts, as a lot of gold cards ended up sitting in sideboards, while adding very little to the drafting process. My objective was to cut 1 card from each guild section and 1 card from the 5-color section. This would allow 2 extra cards for each color and 1 extra card for artifacts, providing me with wriggle room for Innistrad and its follow-up.
Without further ado, here be cards:
IN --> OUT
Black
Living Death hasn't been good in a long time. It's an expensive Wrath that takes too much time and effort to get any advantage from, while simultaneously providing your opponent with those same advantages for free. Bloodgift Demon is flat-out fantastic as a better Phyrexian Arena (1BB) and 5/4 flyer (which costs you2 when combined with Arena on this card).
2. Dauthi Marauder --> Phyrexian Rager
A midrange creature makes way for a much more aggressive critter. While the Rager is an old favorite, he doesn't provide significant board presence for his cost. I could have made the Marauder a Daggerclaw Imp, but if I'm not going to be blocking with my aggro guy I'd rather get the extra evasion of shadow.
3. Oona's Prowler --> Consume Spirit
This one I'm kind of embarassed about. As a fan of reanimator, going for this long without the Prowler is almost criminal. And by removing a black-heavy card, I can hopefully open up deck construction a bit more.
4. Diregraf Ghoul --> Lashwrithe
Not much to say here. Diregraf Ghoul is a staple for every cube. Lashwrithe was another black-heavy card which rewarded you for going the monocolor route in theory, but proved lackluster in play. It was regularly a Hill Giant that turned into a slightly better Vulshok Battlegear upon dying. It wasn't the stuff dreams are made of.
5. Liliana of the Veil --> Rigor Mortis
A straight trade-up for reanimator decks and black in general. A gold card masquerading as a black card gets removed for a discard outlet, repeatable creature removal and sweeper all on one card.
6. Vampire Interloper --> Cabal Interrogator
The bear attack continues - the Interloper serves a valuable role in aggro, while the Cabal Interrogator is either a roleplayer in those decks, or gets snatched up by midrange and control, which are more interested in winning the long-term war of attrition.
7. Victim of Night --> Smallpox
Another upgrade in the same vein (pun intended) as Bloodgift Demon and Living Death. Smallpox is a card that can easily backfire on its caster unless its built around, or planned ahead. Victim of Night is straight, no-nonsense removal.
Aside: pre-Innistrad, I have 52 Humans and 19 Werewolf+Vampire+Zombie creatures.
Post-Innistrad: 60 Humans, 25 Werewolf+Vampire+Zombie creatures.
It's feasible that these numbers will continue to increase slightly over time, which may become relevant as more cards that care about those types are printed in the block . In a cube my size this is not a real drawback, but in cubes of sub-500 sizes the monster type (Werewolf+Zombie+Vampire) may prove to be a very real drawback if more cube-caliber creatures of that kind are printed.
8. Tribute to Hunger --> Infest
A debatable change. I could see an argument for Mutilate over Infest, if it weren't for the former providing a solid benefit in its potential growth. Regardless, I consider Tribute to Hunger a necessity in the cube, while a more expensive Pyroclasm with rare corner cases of benefit (goodbye, River Boa!) is not required.
9. Sever the Bloodline --> Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
The slow obsolescence of Magic's older creatures is visible in cubes, as Ink-Eyes, once a magnificent finisher in my eyes, is unable to compete with the creatures of today. Having to rely on your opponent's graveyard, a resource (mostly) beyond your control, and the general lowering of average mana costs in the cube over time, have led to unimpressive results even when it connects. In its spot, I get to test a double removal spell that would be comparable to Firebolt and Chainer's Edict, were it not for an expensive initial cost.
10. +Bloodline Keeper // Lord of Lineage
Thanks to the free slots afforded by the trimming of multicolor, I can test the transform cards. I think comparisons between this guy and Emeria Angel are slightly misplaced, since it cannot function as an attacker and token-creator. I find it a bit more helpful to treat it as a beefed-up Bitterblossom, providing tokens twice the size at twice the casting cost. It trades the blossom's enchantment nature for the vulnerability of a creature form, but in return, provides an Overrun of sorts if you ever get a critical mass of tokens.
11. +Fledgling Djinn
Another Stormfront Pegasus variant, its inclusion stems from the fact that many cubers have reported success using him. As a fan of the Pegasus, I'm expecting big things from this little flyer.
Green
Kamahl is another finisher that has fallen out of favor, being too mana-intensive and vulnerable to removal (a six-drop that dies to Lightning Bolt?). While Garruk provides unique and powerful abilities for green - whether it's free token production as another Bitterblossom effect, removal, or switching to his dark side to provide an even more powerful stream of tokens and tutoring. I don't think he'll transform much, but he'll be just fine without it.
2. Bramblecrush --> Cloudthresher
It was a toss-up between Ant Queen, Weatherseed Treefolk, Cloudthresher and Omnath, Locus of Mana. I like Ant Queen and the Treefolk a fair bit, and I'd rather wait for a cheaper spell to oust Omnath, so Cloudthresher gets to exit, stage left. Bramblecrush is going to be a staple for a long time.
3. Moldgraf Monstrosity --> Primeval Titan
The only change in this update where the new card is more expensive than the old one. And there's a good reason too - for one more mana, Moldgraf Monstrosity completely trounces the titan, exchanging an ETB ability for a death trigger that more than makes up for it (even though I'm not a fan of random graveyard returns).
4. +Ambush Viper
A free slot for an aggro dude. Doubles as green removal, essentially what Winged Coatl should have been.
White
Pristine Angel is another fallen giant, as its ability was too difficult to exploit properly, making it a giant unkillable wall. Cloistered Youth, meanwhile, puts Wretched Anurid and Blind Creeper to shame, and will be a crucial part of any cube wanting to boost aggro. 3/3s for 2 with negligible drawbacks are quite fantastic.
2. Elite Inquisitor--> Reya Dawnbringer
Reya was scheduled to be cut with M12 after Sheoldred took her place as reanimation queen, but other cuts were found instead. Now she gets a drastic downsize into the Elite Inquisitor, which basically functions as a second copy of Kazandu Blademaster, a card I am happy to have.
3. +Spectral Rider
A free slot goes to an aggro card. A hard-to-cast bear with an evasive ability and not much else.
4. +Fiend Hunter
Another free slot for the upgraded Faceless Butcher. It's a midrange card, as I believe even aggro decks will be happy to run this to clear out early blockers, and I am happy running cards that are usable by any deck.
5. +Geist-Honored Monk
The most dubious of my inclusions. She may only be around for another set or two, but I like the idea of an army in a can and she can take advantage of many token creators.
Red:
Wow, another big beater gets thrown from its seat by an aggro beater - it's a recurring theme here. Akroma was the worst of my red finishers, and it's long been outclassed by almost everything else at that mana cost and higher. The evasiveness and beefiness of the Berserker makes him a late addition to my party.
2 Devil's Play --> Kaervek's Torch
What will probably be one of the best Blaze variants delivers a knockout blow to one of the worst. Devil's Play has a significant upside that Kaervek's Torch just can't match. Damn-near strict upgrade.
3. Ashmouth Hound --> Tin Street Hooligan
My directives were to reduce the presence of multicolor and boost the presence of aggro. This is one of the few times I get to do both with one change! Ashmouth Hound's super-flanking (works on offense and defense) destroys any X/1 with ease and makes him deadly against 3-toughness. That's a good deal for a bear.
4. +Instigator Gang // Wildblood Pack
+Kruin Outlaw // Terror of Kruin Pass
The two best werewolves get the open slots in my red section. Time to test! I'm more partial to the Outlaw, but the Instigator seems like the better card.
Blue
Quite possibly the best blue creature of all time. Trinket Mage is filler at 900. This isn't particularly close.
2. Spined Thopter --> Merfolk Looter
Another belated update on my part. Spined Thopter is an excellent Pegasus variant in any color, but I'm including it in blue because I felt like I could make a better cut there than trying to fit it into a crowded artifact section. The Looter, while filling a valuable role, felt like the best cut in my 2cc blue section. And I don't feel too bad since there's still Looter il-Kor and Enclave Cryptologist which I consider much better.
3. Memory Lapse --> Sejiri Merfolk
Another cube classic finally enters the fray. I'm a bit sheepish about this one, since I'm including it after the mention of Time Walk as a concept came up and I reread some of Flores' work on the subject. Memory Lapse does some of the best Time Walk impressions in the game, bar none, and we're all big fans of that stuff in cube too, I hope
Also, another crappy multicolor card hiding in my monocolor bites the dust. My initial goal was to limit these pseudo-multicolor cards to 1 or 0 in each colored section, and by and large, the move succeeded. At 900 cards, the cube won't be too unbalanced if these relics hide out in monocolored a while longer. They are: Wild Nacatl in green, Kird Ape in red, Momentary Blink in white, Ethersworn Adjudicator in blue, and none in black.
4. Remand --> Sleep
Memory Lapse's brother grabs a permanent spot in my cube too. With Memory Lapse as the aggro counterspell, Remand complements it perfectly as a counter that control decks will love due to its recycling nature. Sleep was a weird mixture of Overrun and Turnabout and Exhaustion that clashed with a lot of the decks that got drafted.
5. +Faerie Conclave
I'm taking a page out of other cubers' books and mixing/matching a little bit to include the conclave. Rather than try to fit this into my overcrowded land section, I'm classifying it as a blue creature card. I don't think this will unbalance the cube either, and it lets me play with Faerie Conclave again!
Land
A landfall enabler, which at this size is a valuable commodity. Thran Quarry was just another enabler for 5CC decks.
Multicolor
After seeing kcolloran's defense of this vampire, I'm convinced she's a better card in RB decks than Void. She's an evasive Masticore with no drawback and a potentially faster clock, not including a bonus ability that steals opponents' creatures.
Gerrard's Verdict --> Castigate
I'm a fan of the targeted discard + exile clause, but Gerrard's Verdict makes up for the lack of targeting with the lifegain. Forcing opponents to think about the discard can lead to their mistakes, and it mitigates the drawback of non-targeted discard by turning discarded lands into a nice bump in life.
Removed:
Dimir Guildmage
Ashenmoor Gouger
Firespout
Glare of Subdual
Pride of the Clouds
Swerve + Nucklavee
Boros Swiftblade
Tidehollow Sculler
Lord of Extinction
(no Simic cut)
Child of Alara
Phew! The multicolor section goes from 110 cards to 99 cards. I think this represents the final form of my multicolor, unless the wedge cards perform spectacularly poorly. Most of these were relatively easy cuts, as would be expected from a larger multicolor section, but I found cutting from the stacked guild sections quite painful. Some highlights:
I disliked cutting an aggro card from Boros (the shortlist was Boros Swiftblade, Firemane Angel and Spitemare) but Boros Swiftblade had the same problem as Kor Duelist: He was awful without equipment or pump. I never enjoyed paying RW for a bear. And although I had a control card and midrange card among the potential cuts, in the end I went with my original intent: I don't want to run subpar cards for the sake of helping out archetypes, and Swiftblade was quite clearly underperforming.
I cut two cards from Izzet because I liked all my potential Simic cuts so much (Temporal Spring, Snakeform and Lorescale Coatl, which has been a monster around these parts). Swerveshould be self-explanatory and Nucklavee was inconsistent at returning red sorceries, which made it half a card.
Shortlist:
Black: Bloodgift Demon --> Living Death
Dauthi Marauder --> Phyrexian Rager
Oona’s Prowler --> Consume Spirit
Diregraf Ghoul --> Lashwrithe
Liliana of the Veil --> Vigor Mortis
Vampire Interloper --> Cabal Interrogator
Victim of Night --> Smallpox
Tribute to Hunger --> Infest
Sever the Bloodline --> Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
+ Bloodline Keeper
+ Fledgling Djinn
Green: Garruk Relentless --> Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Bramblecrush --> Cloudthresher
Moldgraf Monstrosity --> Primeval Titan
+ Ambush Viper
White:
+ Fiend Hunter
+ Geist-Honored Monk
+ Spectral Rider
Cloistered Youth --> Pristine Angel
Elite Inquisitor --> Reya Dawnbringer
Red: Stormblood Berserker --> Akroma, Angel of Fury
Devil’s Play --> Kaervek’s Torch
Ashmouth Hound --> Tin-Street Hooligan
+ Instigator Gang // Wildblood Pack
+ Kruin Outlaw // Terror of Kruin Pass
Blue: Snapcaster Mage --> Trinket Mage
Spined Thopter --> Merfolk Looter
Memory Lapse --> Sejiri Merfolk
Remand --> Sleep
+Faerie Conclave
Colorless: Evolving Wilds --> Thran Quarry
Multicolor: Olivia Voldaren --> Void
Castigate --> Gerrard’s Verdict
- Dimir Guildmage
- Ashenmoor Gouger
- Firespout
- Glare of Subdual
- Pride of the Clouds
- Swerve + Nucklavee
- Boros Swiftblade
- Tidehollow Sculler
- Lord of Extinction
- (no Simic cut)
- Child of Alara
Conclusion:
I'm fairly happy with Innistrad. I think I did almost everything I set out to do - reduced multicolor, provided aggro support and pushed the average mana cost just a teeny bit further down. Thoughts and responses are welcome, as long as they include
naked girl picsdiscussion related to the above.My Cube (DeckStats)
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You might know this already, but Nether Void plays like a black Armageddon. It works great in aggressive decks that want to lay down early beats and then clear the board of lands to stop the opponent from matching or reducing your board presence. I had a draft with B/W aggro where I picked up Nether Void and Ravages of War. The games where I was able to cast Nether Void after a couple bears were auto-wins. But after turn four, its value tended to diminish since the opponent would start dropping bigger threats than my aggro dudes, making Nether Void a weaker play.
Other examples of it performing fantastic was when it got paired up with land destruction, particularly in red. Stuff like Sinkhole, Molten Rain and Avalanche Riders made the Void's value go way up.
It's also decent to great in some midrange decks. I'm thinking of GB Rock-style decks where you want to slowly accrue an incremental advantage with 2-for-1 spells. Of course, one of these decks already had Wasteland-Loam recursion for the win, so the Void was mostly a formality, but again - mana denial combined with Nether Void makes for very strong plays if you have threats online - or at least, the ability to play threats through a Nether Void.
I'd like to explore the value of Nether Void combined with planeswalkers. Black only had two walkers until recently (and expensive ones too) which made it really hard to do the ideal play of casting a threat and following it up with Nether Void. Liliana of the Veil might change that since she has the ideal cost of three mana.
One way NOT to use it is as a Propaganda-style effect in control decks. It's easy to only look at the good side (slowing down your opponent's play), overlooking the symmetry and how it can seriously slow down your strategy. This can expose your deck to faster decks or aggro strategies if you don't have a line of play that can deal with them while Nether Void is running interference. It also makes control's finishers a lot more expensive, drastically lengthening the amount of time you have to go without them.
The Abyss - well, I've played with it and against it, and it's similar to Moat, being a little less effective and a little more splashable. It won't kill artifact creatures or shrouded dudes, which when combined is probably roughly equal to the number of flyers that Moat won't stop. It's still such a huge swing in the Abyss caster's favor. Like the Moat though, it's rare that a deck is stuck without outs to it. I had to fight through an Abyss recently with a GR aggro deck. In the first game I had Squee, Goblin Nabob + Skullclamp on board and had to go digging for my Nantuko Vigilante, since my board position was miserable after several removal spells got slung my way. In game two I faced it again, but had a Spined Thopter to punch through the last few points of damage. In game two and three I opted to change up my strategy and go midrange, since I had access to anti-Abyss tech in my sideboard with Bramblecrush and Hornet Queen.
Overall, I'd say the Abyss is one of those cards that forces the player across the table to either answer it or adapt to its effect. It can occasionally just lock your opponent out of the game. In certain corner cases a Wrath can be better, like when you're about to get hit by an alpha strike. When it's in your deck, it's usually one of your biggest bombs, being fairly easy to build around, with manlands, token-generators and walkers everywhere.
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Thanks for the insight. I added Nether Void to my 720 unpowered Cube this week, and I look forward to testing it on Friday. I really love what it does for the black aggro archtypes.
I would like to play The Abyss, but there isn't much I would want to cut for it. Barter in Blood is probably the slot it would take, but I don't know if I'm willing to make that kind of change for a prominent Cube staple like Barter in Blood. Also, Barter seems playable in more decks, but it doesn't quite have the pick volatility of The Abyss. It seems like The Abyss has the potential of going as a VERY high pick for certain archtypes. I notice you play both of these cards, but I just don't think I can pull that off in mine (mine is a tad smaller I suppose).
So I guess another question: Which plays a more prominent role: Barter in Blood or The Abyss?
Bah I would really love to play The Abyss. I need to find room for it. Seems like a great card for the U/B artifact control deck.
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I disagree. BiB was mediocre. There were many times when it sat in my hand because I would be in a worse position if I cast, or I cast it and it didn't make any difference. Sometimes it was Damnation 2.0; once in a great while it was better than Damnation; sometimes it was actively bad. I mostly don't like cards that are that variable in my cube. I cut it and don't miss it at all.
Cheers,
rant
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True. I wasn't thinking about the size of the cube so much as I was responding to the comment that BiB belongs in a cube of any size. I think my 500 is too tight for it, but I'd probably run at 600 and certainly would run it at 900.
Cheers,
rant
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In my experience, I'd say about a quarter of the time I had BiB in hand I'd either get no advantage out of it (opponent had more creautres than me before and would have more after, or because the opponent had enough creatures that I wouldn't be able to get rid of the creature I really needed to get rid of) or it would've been actively bad (it would take out my blocker or blockers while leaving my opponent with a threat). It was really too inconsistent for my liking.
Innocent Blood is a totally different card. First, I don't expect as much for 1 mana as I do for 4 (4cc may be the tightest spot in the entire cube). Innocent Blood also isn't meant to be a sweeper. It's meant to deal with a Tinkered/reanimated threat during the first 1-3 turns. And, I don't think Innocent Blood will be in my cube much longer, again because it is too inconsistent (and because Liliana 2.0 is badass!).
Cheers,
rant
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Awesome. Also pretty ridiculous in a GB deck with stuff like Hermit, Genesis and any Garruk
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Cheers,
rant
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P.S. I'm hoping to pull enough players together for an actual, physical Rotisserie draft tomorrow, so watch this space for a potential draft + tourney report!
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
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My 630 Card Powered Cube
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My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
As for the Rotisserie draft: we had an unfortunate turnout, as two of the eight players backed out at the 11th hour. Bah! I thought. Surely a six-man Rotisserie is even more exciting! So we went ahead with that thing where you choose cards and stuff.
As expected, blue seemed like the most desirable color at the table, but there were some very unusual developments. I must preface by apologizing for not taking any notes during the draft - I was already tasked with monitoring the pick order and timing the picks to ensure a timely draft (in addition to participating myself), and I didn't have anyone else who could step up and be the scribe. The decklists also went unrecorded, so while I have every player's cardpool, the numbers are a wee bit wonky around the edges since I have to reconstruct five cube decks from memory. We'll have to make do with the highlights!
Black Lotus was the first seat's pick, but then somewhere along the way there were a couple very unusual first picks. One player first-picked Stoneforge Mystic, and another first-picked Crucible of Worlds. I was lucky enough to be on the wheel. In classic fashion, this meant I got Survival of the Fittest and Recurring Nightmare as my first picks. Only one Mox was drafted in the first round! Planeswalkers were similarly undervalued, which meant I was able to snag them two at a time and almost hurt my deck by picking too many walkers and not enough critters. The Ancestral Recall went to the 5th seat. In the second round I got to snag both Mox Jet and Mox Emerald. I felt like I was off to a pretty durned amazing start. And when you can pick from the best cards in Magic, two-card combos are amazing. It seemed everyone took my pre-draft advice to heart, what with the Crucible and Stoneforge Mystic going very early so the players could build around those cards.
Once players had settled into a groove, the rest of the picks came fairly quickly. There were a couple snags as the two blue players clashed for picks, and I was surprised to see the first-pick Black Lotus going into GB after my picks would bring us into conflict, but overall we prioritized different cards. We ended with:
1. A Junk deck with Crucible/Loam recursion and a red splash for Greater Gargadon;
2. A Boros aggro deck with an unfortunately high curve and some awkward draft choices (Maze of Ith and Duplicant stood out as particularly strange);
3. A BW Deadguy aggro deck with excellent pick choices (Hymn to Tourach, Demonic Tutor, Dark Confidant, Stoneforge Mystic + Batterskull + Jitte) but a weak manabase;
4. A dedicated UW control deck with three walkers, Bribery, Moat, Recall, Mana Drain and Isochron Scepter with some decent targets (Mystical Tutor, Counterspell, Enlightened Tutor, Recall, Drain)
5. The artifact deck; both Tezzerets, Sensei's Divining Top, Tinker, Inkwell Leviathan + Darksteel Colossus (but no Myr Battlesphere or Sundering Titan! I believe this was a mistake), Academy, Mana Crypt, Metalworker, Sol Ring...
6. A RecSur deck, courtesy of yours truly - Survival, Nightmare, Squee, Genesis, Library of Alexandria, a couple Swords, a couple Moxes, four walkers (three were Garruks) and hilarious amounts of ETB creatures meant I was more than ready to grind my opponents out.
I've posted the decklists below so you guys can dissect the card choices in detail. I've already mentioned what I thought about the other decks, but my own concoction had a glaring weakness that I didn't notice even though it had been staring me right in the face during draft - I didn't have a way around shroud/hexproof. I had simply stared in blissful ignorance while the 1st seat took Troll Ascetic and Thrun, the Last Troll on the wheel. My deck really wanted a Fleshbag Marauder or Gatekeeper of Malakir. But I didn't cube with the former and the latter had been snapped up early by Deadguy. This cost me a game against the Junk player. I also had no artifact creatures, which became relevant against protection colors or Swords.
The highlights:
My first round against the Junk player had me fearing the Strip Mine + Crucible play when he dropped the artifact on the third turn before I could set up my own recursion. A snap Sex Monkey put a damper on that line of play, but then my own Survival gets answered by Krosan Grip. I manage to end the game with Genesis recursion.
My second game goes poorly. I can't do anything relevant before he drops a Troll Ascetic, followed by a Thrun. I get trolled hard while I stare at the Nekrataal and Bone Shredder sitting in my hand.
The third game goes down to the wire, with some impressive plays from both ends of the table. I land a first turn Library of Alexandria and get about three activations out of it before it gets Slimed. I'm staring down a turn two Bitterblossom, but I have a turn two Fauna Shaman. I get to untap with the Shaman in play, and it's like Magical Christmas Land. I start a Survival chain with Squee and Genesis and get my Indrik Stomphowler before the fairies eat up too many life points. I try to stick a Survival to go nuts, but he has insane removal and I only get one activation out of it. I go for the plan B and manage to stick Garruk Relentless, who takes out a fairy token to transform into his cursed version. At some point, Greater Gargadon gets suspended and I have to puzzle over his inclusion of four colors. It's revealed a couple turns later. We fight over board position, but his Damnation sweeps my superior army into the dustbin. I start rebuilding with Genesis and Eternal Witness, recasting Garruk Relentless and landing a Liliana Vess to force him down to his last card. On his turn he floats two mana, sacrifices all his lands to leave one counter on the Gargadon, then uses the two mana to play his last card, the almighty Balance.
That right there should have been game. But I still have a Garruk Relentless and a Liliana Vess, and best of all, I was holding an Obstinate Baloth when Balance wiped my hand out. Now I can hold off the Gargadon long enough to create a stream of never-ending wolves. My opponent concedes after what should have been his game-winning play, staring down a Liliana about to go ultimate and a Garruk full of wolves.
My next opponent is Boros aggro. I'm fearing the first-turn Goblin Guide, but his deck is way slower than I expected. I still get surprised by his hastey creatures. My first Garruk gets burned out. A Hero of Oxid Ridge sneaks past my Sakura-Tribe Elder and takes out a second Garruk, and things go downhill from there. The Hero picks up a Loxodon Warhammer and gets a swing in before I can take out the Hammer. To my credit, I manage to take out his Mother of Runes with a Nekrataal before it goes online, making his Hero look a bit worse. Baneslayer Angel shows up, and it also gets a hit in before I can take it out. I start to build up a ground army after being on the defensive, but Inferno Titan drops and I can't recover from losing my creatures.
Game two was an uphill battle for me all the way. An early Fauna Shaman eats burn. A misplay on my part loses me Garruk Wildspeaker to another burn spell. A Mirran Crusader shows up late to the party - protection from my entire deck, you say? Well then. From then on I'm desperately trying to keep my opponent from overwhelming me with creatures, while simultaneously trying to manage my graveyard with Survival and Genesis tricks. A misplay on his part (he plays it safe by not attacking with Crusader, wanting to attach to a Warhammer first) buys me a turn and I remove the equipment. The game ends with me one mana away from going nuts with Recurring Nightmare. He has Hero of Bladehold and Baneslayer Angel, and I have Bone Shredder and Recurring Nightmare with only enough mana to cast one of them.
My third opponent is Deadguy. Unfortunately, neither of these games are close. The first game sees a second-turn Stoneforge, but I can kill it and snap Sex Monkey his equipment, a very relevant Sword of Feast and Famine. He manages to Vindicate a Survival or a Garruk, I forget which, but I just drop another similar card and ride it to victory.
The second game sees him mull to six. This was where the lack of manafixing cost him heavily. He ends up drawing all swamps with a hand full of white cards. I, on the other hand, open with Library of Alexandria, as all real Magic players are wont to do. With no real pressure on me, I can take my time coming up with Survival and Squee. He Wastelands the Library much later. His Winter Orb slows the game down heavily, but I have a Mox to mitigate the effect, and it appears to hurt him more than me, so I leave it alone and work on his other artifacts, a Jitte and a Cursed Scroll. To add insult to injury, his Hymn to Tourach takes my Obstinate Baloth, and he folds under a landslide of card advantage.
With the artifact-deck player forced to leave early, I agree to a last informal match against the UW player. This looks like one of the most tightly-drafted decks at the table, with the main weakness being a lack of spot removal (both Swords and Path were taken by Deadguy). To be fair, the deck had various ways of generating card advantage against creatures, whether it was through a Vedalken Shackles, a Moat, Wrath or planeswalkers.
This is why I'm surprised when my RecSur deck handily wins in two. I ended up generating so much card advantage from my ETB creatures that his Wraths were actually putting me ahead for the long game, thanks to all my graveyard shenanigans. He has no grave hate for that, and importantly, he doesn't have any exile removal aside from a Brittle Effigy which he (correctly? incorrectly?) points at my Indrik Stomphowler. Without planeswalkers on his side, our games are characterized by him trying to delay the inevitable graveyard onslaught. Moat comes down on his side. Genesis ends up in the yard, and Moat is eventually taken out by Woodfall Primus. Sower of Temptation takes my Woodfall Primus, but I Bone Shredder my own Primus to get a persist trigger and take out a Shackles. Sower of Temptation gets taken down by Garruk Relentless. Bribery takes my Grave Titan, but I have deathtouching Wolf tokens to deal with it. The game ends in a flurry of Survival triggers.
In game two I open with Library of Alexandria, as all real Magic players are wont to do. I get one activation out of it before Pithing Needle comes down. Early attempts at Sex Monkeying the needle are denied, so I go with the usual Survival plan. A Mindslaver + Academy Ruins discards all my creatures to Survival and threatens to unceremoniously boot me out of the game, but the UW player doesn't have thirteen lands and I have Woodfall Primus. The second game goes much like the first, with a long war of attrition that slowly ends up favoring me.
After two stunning back-to-back wins, I'm ashamed to admit I let overconfidence gain a hold of me. I suggest a grudge match to let the UW player regain some dignity. Karma being a female dog, I am trounced as the UW deck subsequently goes into beast mode. A Scepter imprints Counterspell, and a draw-stepping Vendilion Clique steals a Survival right out of my hand. I throw away a Putrefy in a breathtaking display of arrogance. I am soon stuck with a crucial decision: which of the three Garruks in my hand do I want to resolve? I decide that the mighty Garruk 3.0 is absolutely the only one who can get me out of my current faerie-infested predicament.
Accordingly, I throw out Garruk Relentless as Scepter bait, and it works. My Sex Monkey resolves as the UW player does not have the mana for another counter. Garruk 3.0 comes out next turn, but I am getting dangerously low on life. I start making Beasts in an attempt to race. I try to follow up with another bomb, but it eats a Cryptic Command. I am now in dire straits. I draw three cards with Garruk and I have the removal for his lethal Clique. He has a Snapcaster Mage with a flashbacked Cryptic Command.
1. WGBr Junk
1 Life from the Loam
1Verdant Catacombs
1Treetop Village
1Bayou
1 Mountain
1 Plains
6 Forest
5 Swamp
2. RW Boros aggro
1 Mother of Runes
1 Hearth Kami
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Exalted Angel
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Reveillark
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Inferno Titan
1 Mox Ruby
1 Land Tax
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Chain Lightning
1 Lightning Helix
1 Devil's Play
1 Fireball
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Maze of Ith
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Plateau
1 Arid Mesa
1 Rugged Prairie
5 Mountain
5 Plains
3. BW Deadguy aggro
1 Dark Confidant
1 Spectral Lynx
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Blade Splicer
1 Hypnotic Specter
1 Spectral Procession
1 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Batterskull
1 Dark Ritual
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Thoughtseize
1 Sinkhole
1 Gerrard's Verdict
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Disenchant
1 Winter Orb
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Vindicate
1 Armageddon
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1Scrubland
1 Marsh Flats
1 Wasteland
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Volrath's Stronghold
5 Plains
7 Swamp
4. UW control
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Sun Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Pithing Needle
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Time Walk
1 Mana Drain
1 Mana Leak
1 Counterspell
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Absorb
1 Cryptic Command
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Moat
1 Bribery
1 Mindslaver
1 Gideon Jura
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Academy Ruins
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Tundra
7 Island
6 Plains
5. UB artifact
1 Grim Monolith
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 All is Dust
1 Mimic Vat
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Tangle Wire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Metalworker
1 Contagion Engine
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Sol Ring
1 Memory Jar
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 The Abyss
1 Treachery
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Thoughtcast
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Future Sight
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Tinker
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Karn Liberated
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Underground Sea
9 Island
5 Swamp
6. GB RecSur
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Genesis
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Grave Titan
1 Nekrataal
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Shriekmaw
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Putrefy
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Twilight Mire
7 Forest
5 Swamp
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Scroll Rack
1 Sylvan Library
1 Moldgraf Monstrosity
1 Vengevine
1 Mox Diamond
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
I have to agree at this point that it might have been too cute for a Rotisserie draft, but it didn't seem too greedy with all the green manafixing. The three land-fetch spells maindeck meant he had access to red or white at almost any point in the game.
I call it an aggro deck because it mostly just wants to lay down some beats and kill you as fast as it can - admittedly, not too fast. Including high-end creatures like Baneslayer or Inferno Titan meant it gave up some early-game advantage in exchange for just being able to brute-force through the opponent with giants.
I discussed this with the Deadguy player and he also agreed that Fetid Heath needed to be in there at the very least. It's a deck that wants a 2nd turn BB for Hymn or WW for a creature. There was generally a scramble for manafixing as most players neglected to draft it until practically the last five picks (you can see that from the low amounts of fixing in each deck). The colorless lands were a huge drawback in this deck too.
You'll have to take the UW and UB decklists with a grain of salt, as I'm afraid I just wasn't able to accurately reconstruct them without contacting the players themselves. As I recall, UW decided on a 45-card deck. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that the land issue was probably justified on the strength of the deck's low-cost cards, allowing it to survive until the late game.
Oh dear. Here I thought I was going to catch flak for excluding the Library and Scroll Rack
But the decision to exclude Birds was probably the hardest one I had to make in construction. For me, the choice was between Sakura-Tribe Elder and Birds. When I had my deck's mana curve arranged in front of me, I felt like I needed a two-drop. I also wanted that two-drop to be a mana dork that could chump AND accelerate me to four mana on turn three, so I could either drop a walker, a midrange creature, or a Survival with two activations. The Elder also got the nod for being abusable with Genesis or Nightmare, although it never really came up.
Post-games, I'm still pretty much on the fence about it though. Birds would have been good in some matchups and terrible in others, while Elder was always generally decent. BoP would have eaten burn against Boros, denying me that crucial mana, but it would have been highly relevant against Vendilion Clique and Moat (especially since I actually have seven cards that give me value if I include my two Swords :P)
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
I've had some time to digest Eidolon's list of cuts. I was highly amused to discover that it was almost card-for-card the same as the list from the cube comparison thread. Eidolon, you ran the comparison before I even thought to ask, you sly rascal you!
So the first order of business: I've cut down to 870 cards. The details are in the changelog. Basically, I was getting tired of seeing 24th picks everywhere in the drafts. At this time, and at this size, it is impossible to run a successful cube and still maintain the power level I want. Now drafts are more enjoyable since there is way less chaff to deal with.
The long-term challenge is to reduce the cube's size as much as possible, thereby bringing it to a more appropriate power-level. I'm going to be slicing cards in periodic increments of 15; by the time Dark Ascension rolls around, I'm hoping for an 855-card cube.
Let me preface the next point with a statement: I think about bad cards a lot. I think about how to get rid of them all the time. But trying to exclude cards based on the idea of "strictly worse" is a bit of a challenge for me. So the new order of business: discuss, in detail, what possible cuts I should be making. I'll be paying close attention and trying to elucidate meanings from the suggestions received. I'm hoping it'll spark some debate around the seldom-seen, dark and dingy bottom sections of the cube.
So, the question that currently occupies my time, and hopefully yours: What are my three worst white cards?
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Revoke Existence, I feel, is a good to great card in most cubes considering the targets it hits. Do you or your players find that sorcery speed is often a problem when contrasted with the exile clause?
As for the War Priest, does the 2CC cost harm the card's value compared to the 3CC cost of stuff like Uktabi Orangutan? Unlike the Kami and Unicorn, you can't drop the War Priest for damage and use it up later to get rid of something - you have to hold it back, which is potentially a bad line of play for the aggressive decks it usually finds its way into. So I can see this guy getting the axe too.
While we're on the subject, what's up with people being down on Cloudchaser Kestrel? I've been told by multiple players that it's a bad card. It's an Uktabi Orangutan for enchantments that trades splashability for evasion (and a bonus ability that is occasionally relevant). A 3CC card with WW in its casting cost should be an order of magnitude easier to cast than a 2CC card with WW in its cost, right? The destroy trigger is mandatory, which is potentially a drawback - but that mandatory trigger appears on every similar ETB creature, whether it's a Keldon Vandal or the aforementioned Sex Monkeys. Is there some fundamental difference between artifacts and enchantments that makes this card worse?
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Ya. There's about 5 times as many artifacts as there are enchantments. Making it about 5 times worse.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge