Cube Size: 450 cards Breakdown: 60 of each color, 54 artifacts, 39 multicolor, and 57 lands. Standard or Theme: 8th Edition card face only; no old frames or Future Sight frames. Planar Chaos frames are fine, and I'm fine with using FNM promos and other reprints as long as they have the new frame. Snow Lands: No. Proxies: I'm not opposed to the idea, but for now I have none. If I do go the proxy route, I may decide to sparingly proxy a few "old" cards using the new frame. (Though I'm ambivalent- this may defeat the purpose of it being a "modern" cube.) "Un" Cards: No. Standard or Multiplayer: Standard. Sideboards?: Sometimes.
First of all, welcome to the cube forum. A while back I made a FAQ for starting your thread. Found here
Take a look at it.
I want to make sure I'm getting your requirments.
Only cards with the Modern "8th eddition" border. Promos and the like with this border are ok.
Planar Chaos is Ok, what about Future Sight?
No Tribal, No Arcane, No Honden
Just going to point out a few cards you forgot.
Swords to Plowshares was reprinted in the Blue White coldsnap preconstruct.
Are you ok with functional reprints? If so you need Savannah Lions.
Calciderm had a promo with the normal border if you want to go fro Planar Chaos to normal border.
Mirror Entity and Paladin en vec are two good 3-drops you are missing.
Battlegrace angel is a good replacment for Baneslayer Angel.
Exalted Angel was printed as a (gorgeous) judge promo.
I would hold off on getting elspeth until the Elspeth vs Tezzeret.
Shelldock Isle and Faerie Conclave are two good blue lands you could be playing.
You need more red 1-drops. Mogg Fanatic Magus of the Scroll, Grim Lavamancer(Printed a sa Judge Promo) are all cards you are missing.
I would probably play Ghitu Encampment as a red land.
Regrowth was printed as a Judge Promo, you can get it for like 6-8 IIRC.
You are missing Treetop Viliage.
I would include both teramorphic expanse and the functional reprit of it.
First of all, welcome to the cube forum. A while back I made a FAQ for starting your thread. Found here
Take a look at it.
I took a look at it and it really helped me out. I didn't use the .txt exactly, but either way I wanted to formally thank you for making something like that. It's part of what inspired me to post in the first place.
I want to make sure I'm getting your requirments.
Only cards with the Modern "8th eddition" border. Promos and the like with this border are ok.
Planar Chaos is Ok, what about Future Sight?
No Tribal, No Arcane, No Honden
Yes, pretty much. I'd like to avoid white borders too if possible, which makes some stragglers from 8E/9E difficult, but I already have many good foils from those sets, like Plow Under, Bribery, City of Brass, Wildfire, etc.
I actually think the Hondens are a pretty cool idea. For some reason "Shrine" doesn't bug me since in my view it makes the design of the cards more elegant rather than less elegant. However... I'm not sure that any of them are really Cubable, so it's somewhat moot.
Just going to point out a few cards you forgot.
Swords to Plowshares was reprinted in the Blue White coldsnap preconstruct.
I've been looking for a CST Swords to Plowshares, but it's a tough one to find. I will replace Condemn with it when I get one, though. (I own copies of some of the other interesting cards from that precon, though, like Zuran Spellcaster, Portent, and Brainstorm.)
Are you ok with functional reprints? If so you need Savannah Lions.
Lions is another classic I will definitely include one day. But I bought/traded for white one-drops a lot lately (I just got foil Mom, Isamaru, Lynx and Student within the past month or so!), so I feel I'll wait a bit before making it my top priority.
Calciderm had a promo with the normal border if you want to go fro Planar Chaos to normal border.
Calciderm's promo has pretty cool artwork, but I already have a Planar Chaos foil, which I like a little better. I think I'd actually prefer the use of the PLC border wherever possible for color-shifted cards. (Like if I wanted to use Tom, I'd prefer a PLC one to a 10E one).
In fact... sometimes I think it'd be really cool if they had continued the use of that border. A Manic Vandal with that border would be neat.
Mirror Entity and Paladin en vec are two good 3-drops you are missing.
I dislike Changelings (another one of those random silly things I dislike aesthetically), but I've heard only good things about the Entity and Chameleon Colossus, so one day I might just have to put them in.
I've always been a fan of the Paladin, and when I pick one up he will go in. Which reminds me... should I also pick up promo Silver Knight?
Battlegrace angel is a good replacment for Baneslayer Angel.
Exalted Angel was printed as a (gorgeous) judge promo.
I believe I have the precon that Battlegraceis in... I just need to find where I misplaced it.
Agreed on the gorgeous art for Exalted Angel. Sadly, it's hard-to-find and way out of my price range for now. If I was going to spend $30+ on a judge card it would be Armageddon or Vindicate or something.
Assuming I proxied it, I still might be a little weirded-out by the Morph. I know it's just a way to get it out on turn 4 instead of casting it for its full cost, but then I'd want a bunch of other Morph creatures to make it a "surprise," would end up playing Red Akroma and half of Jace's Duel Deck, and things would spiral completely out of control!
I would hold off on getting elspeth until the Elspeth vs Tezzeret.
You're right. I forgot about that.
Shelldock Isle and Faerie Conclave are two good blue lands you could be playing.
You need more red 1-drops. Mogg Fanatic Magus of the Scroll, Grim Lavamancer(Printed a sa Judge Promo) are all cards you are missing.
I would probably play Ghitu Encampment as a red land.
Regrowth was printed as a Judge Promo, you can get it for like 6-8 IIRC.
You are missing Treetop Viliage.
I'll pick up an Islethe next time I buy some cards- it seems like a lot of fun and it's inexpensive.
I have all three of those manlands, and will include them too the next time I expand my Land section. My only problem is that I'd need to give White and Black a nonbasic land too to complete the "cycle." (In quotes because I don't mean the literal cycle with Spawning Pool. )
I'll pick up a Mogg Fanatic and Magus. I've always been a Fanatic fan, and sought mine out when I built this Cube... but I think I traded them all away to a friend.Grim Lavamancer looks great, but suffers from being too expensive unless I proxy.
Regrowth will probably be the first judge foil I buy for the Cube.
I would include both teramorphic expanse and the functional reprit of it.
I updated my original post to make it more readable and less of a textwall. No updates on the Cube itself yet, though one is just around the corner.
I ordered a bunch of cards the other day, so hopefully I'll get them in the mail tomorrow. All of these are foil except the Swords to Plowshares, but not all of them are going in the Cube.
I'm not sure about all these cards, nor am I sure exactly how to make changes yet. Should I drop cards to add these? Or should I just expand for now, given my Cube's small size?
Cards I ordered
White Swords to Plowshares- I'm glad I finally picked up a Coldsnap theme deck copy. Stormfront Pegasus (foil upgrade) White Knight (foil upgrade) Oust- With Swords going in, is there any room for this? Is it better than Condemn? Aven Riftwatcher- White lacks 3-drop creatures, and this guy seems interesting. Weathered Wayfarer- I have a lot of white 1-drops for such a small Cube. Does he fit? Loam Lion- Without Ravnica duals, is this guy worth it? Elite Vanguard (foil upgrade)
Blue Negate- I like the mirror of this and Remove Soul, but I know they're more "OK" than "fantastic." Scroll Thief (foil upgrade) Voyager Drake- Maybe I'm just intrigued by the fact that we haven't had a 3/3 flyer for 4 since Phantom Monster, but this guy doesn't seem altogether terrible. See Beyond- Is this any good for my Cube? Wind Zendikon- This seems OK. Mahamoti Djinn- He's not going in, don't worry. Tideforce Elemental- An upgrade to Puppeteer, but still not awesome or anything. Does Blue even eed a creature in this niche? Clone (foil upgrade)
Black Ambition's Cost- I have Phyrexian Arena and Sign in Blood, but I don't have Night's Whisper. Is this worth it, given that? Ravenous Rats- Cool 8E art, but doesn't seem good enough to me. Tendrils of Corruption- I like the idea of enabling monoblack, but ultimately it just gives Black fewer general-use cards. Arrogant Bloodlord- Weird card. Does it deliver? I wish Black had more good creatures that cost 2B. Should I pick up a Dusk Urchins? Befoul- Not going in unless I need filler. I like most of the Black cards that are already in the Cube, but I really have trouble finding cards to expand Black. Viscera Dragger- I actually like this guy a lot.
Red Hammer of Bogardan- While I love the Hammer, I feel like I already have way too much burn for such a small Cube. Should I reserve some of it for a Cube expansion, or should I just leave it in to begin with? Kird Ape- Again, is he still good without Ravnica duals? Bogardan Hellkite- Even though I love Flameblast Dragon, I may have to drop him. Goblin Arsonist- Not Mogg Fanatic, but he's something, right? Word of Seizing- Even though several Cubes seem to run this card, I've never seen it discussed. Thoughts? Staggershock- While this will go in, I still have the "too much burn" fear overall. Magus of the Scroll- Another Red one-drop I needed. Boom//Bust The only mass land destruction I can get without purchasing Judge foil Armageddon, but this is a neat card nevertheless.
Green Biorhythm- This card is so silly I had to have a copy. But it's not going in the Cube. Acidic Slime (foil upgrade) Garruk's Companion- Very few people seem to run this. Is it the White first-strikers who give it trouble? Giant Growth- This really doesn't seem all that awful since I don't have Berserk. Momentous Fall- This is a really unique card. I'd like to hear people's thoughts. Harrow- For some reason I didn't have a copy of this. Pelakka Wurm- Surely this is better than Thorn Elemental or one of my other fatties?
Artifact Fellwar Stone- I like this card, but probably should've opted for a Stone of the Mind variety instead. Razormane Masticore- I lacked good artifact creatures. Triskelion- This guy will help in that department too. Runed Servitor- I sort of like this, though I'm wary. Prismatic Lens (foil upgrade) Prophetic Prism- I don't know if this is worth it. When I already have the Signets, the Lens, and Fellwar Stone, this seems like too much.
STP is one of the top 5 white cards (even higher without all the older cards) in my opinion. You will never replace this.
Stormfront pegasus is a good creature. Normally I recomend Soltari Trooper before it, but you obviously can't play it.
I just got a foil m10 White Knight also.
I'm not a fan of Oust. YOu ahve much better removal options with STP, PTE, O-ring, Journey, Arrest, Faith's Fetters, Temporal Isolation, Pacifism, etc.
White does have a problem with it's three drops. But I would play Paladin-en-Vec and Mirror Entity before Aven Riftwatcher.
I never liked Weathered Wayfarer.
Loam Lion is awesome even without rav and revised duals.
I was amazed at how cheap foil Elite Vanguards were when I bought mine.
Blue
I've played Negate before. It wasn't particularly bad or particularly good. I'm not sure how many good 2 mana counters blue has in the new borders.
Scroll thief is an OK card. I just think blue has better in the three drop area. Man-o-War, Bad-o-War, Vendilion Clique, Seredib Efreet. And if I wanted card draw attached to a creature I rather play Thieving Magpie.
I don't like Voyager Drake. I'm not sure what kind of deck you expect him to see play in? Blue Agro?
See Beyond looks ok but un-impressive. I would expect it to be a card you would replace soon after putting in.
Wind Zendikon would be good with lands with built in sacrifice effects to get to use them twice. I can't see this being all that great unless you wanted to support blue agro.
Tideforce Elemental is an upgrade. But it's still not particularly good.
Nice foil clone. I need to get one still.
Black
I rather play sign in blood and Night's Whisper than Ambition's Cost.
I'm not sure which art I prefer for Ravenous Rats. I really like the rats. But I would play Liliana's Specter before it.
I would probably shy away from Tendrils unless you strongly wanted to support mono black. If so you need Cabal Coffers (FNM Promo), Urborg TOY, Nantuko Shade, and probably Consume Spirit.
I was always interested by Arrogant Boodlord. It looks interesting.
Befoul seems too expesive for both Creature distruction and land distruction.
I can't imagine a post 8th cube is so different where Viscera Dagger would be good.
Red
Hammer of BOgardan's recuriosn ability rarely happened when I played it.
Play Kird Ape.
I like Hellkite, but I'm getting close to cutting him because it cost 8.
Goblin Arsonist is better than not running Mogg Fanatic also. But why not just get a mogg fanatic. I can't imagine a GOblin vs Elves/Xth/DCI promo being more than a buck.
It wasn't good enough when I played it in a 720 card cube 2 years ago. It's not good enough in a 310 card cube now.
I use to have a fear of running too much burn. I found it was unfounded.
I play Magus of the Scroll in my cube with tougher requirements than you. You should play it.
YOu could always play obliterate to get another Geddon... I would rather save my money for a Foil Geddon than buy this.
Green
Biorythum is a fun card that isn't cubable.
I just got a foil Acidic Slime also.
I haven't gotten a chance to cube since I got my Garruk's Companion. I can't say if it's good or not.
Giant's Growth probably shouldn't make the cut in a cube your size. Play Vines of the Vastwood, Berserk(if you can get a FTV one), Stonewood Invocation before this.
Harrow is good. I had the odd not owning thing happen with me and Kodama's Reach.
Not Thorn Elemental! My first deck had a foil one in it. But yeah it's an upgrade.
Artifact
You are playing 10 signets. That should be enough 2-mana artifacts. I don't think you need Mindstone, Fellwar Stone, or Prismatic Lens, prophetic prism, etc..
I love the masticore.
Trisk is amazing.
Ruined Servitor looks like a good standin until you get a solemn simulacrum.
Multicolor
Drop the blightning.
Lands
Seems good since you can't afford real fetchlands right now.
On cube size.
Honestly I would figure out how big of a cube you want and go up to that size. Some archetypes are good in small cubes and horrible in large cubes. For instance I wouldn't play Tinker or Steppe Lynx in a 720 card cube. But they are awesome in 450 card cubes. I always say play the size of a cube that you want and to always play a minimum of 360 cards.
STP is one of the top 5 white cards (even higher without all the older cards) in my opinion. You will never replace this.
Yeah, the STP was $6 (the most expensive card out of any of these), but since I'm sure I'll never drop it, I figured it was worth it.
White does have a problem with it's three drops. But I would play Paladin-en-Vec and Mirror Entity before Aven Riftwatcher.
That's right. I still need to pick up the Paladin sometime...
I never liked Weathered Wayfarer.
Loam Lion is awesome even without rav and revised duals.
I was amazed at how cheap foil Elite Vanguards were when I bought mine.
I got my Vanguard for $0.18!
What don't you like about Wayfarer?
I don't like Voyager Drake. I'm not sure what kind of deck you expect him to see play in? Blue Agro?
See Beyond looks ok but un-impressive. I would expect it to be a card you would replace soon after putting in.
Wind Zendikon would be good with lands with built in sacrifice effects to get to use them twice. I can't see this being all that great unless you wanted to support blue agro.
For some reason I like the idea of Blue aggro, but I doubt I can pull it off (especially in a Cube like this).
I would probably shy away from Tendrils unless you strongly wanted to support mono black. If so you need Cabal Coffers (FNM Promo), Urborg TOY, Nantuko Shade, and probably Consume Spirit.
I was always interested by Arrogant Boodlord. It looks interesting.
Befoul seems too expesive for both Creature distruction and land distruction.
I have the Shade and Consume Spirit, but the only reason I have "monoblack" in the Cube is because I seem to run into droughts when it comes to expanding Black more than any other color.
Goblin Arsonist is better than not running Mogg Fanatic also. But why not just get a mogg fanatic. I can't imagine a GOblin vs Elves/Xth/DCI promo being more than a buck.
I'm honestly not sure why I don't have one. The reason I didn't buy one in this batch is because I simply forgot. I remember giving 3-4 Mogg Fanatics to a friend at one point, so those must have been the only ones I had.
I use to have a fear of running too much burn. I found it was unfounded.
I suppose it doesn't really hurt the Cube any to include a bunch of good burn spells that I would have included in an expansion anyway.
YOu could always play obliterate to get another Geddon... I would rather save my money for a Foil Geddon than buy this.
I already run Obliterate (it's not fantastic, but it's fun.) And the Boom//Bust was only $1, so it's not too big a deal. I actually like it a lot, though.
Giant's Growth probably shouldn't make the cut in a cube your size. Play Vines of the Vastwood, Berserk(if you can get a FTV one), Stonewood Invocation before this.
I have Vines and Stonewood in already. But yeah, I see your point.
You are playing 10 signets. That should be enough 2-mana artifacts. I don't think you need Mindstone, Fellwar Stone, or Prismatic Lens, prophetic prism, etc..
Considering my artifact section is so small, you may have a point, but ultimately I will certainly want cards like Mind Stone.
I decided to add one creature and one noncreature to each color. Some of the adds are subpar, like Drake, but at this point I'm mostly just trying to expand it slightly. With these additions, the Cube is now 325 cards.
Some of the cards that are "must adds" from the post earlier simply haven't arrived yet. But you can bet that Staggershock, etc., will have guaranteed slots.
As a side note, I used to be really quirky with cards that bugged me as well, so I know exactly how you feel!
In time though, I've grown to appreciate the differences throughout Magic and actually strive to make it as diverse as possible. Old Borders, new borders, Foils, non-foils, Promos, Portal, etc. The only thing that still really bugs me that I haven't gotten over is white borders, so I removed or replaced all of them. =\ My cube is like a Magic history lesson lol.
But yeah, in time you might find that it doesn't bother you as much. I had forgotten that Bitterblossum was Tribal until you just pointed it out again. =p
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My apologies, children, for I am afraid I cannot save you all.
As a side note, I used to be really quirky with cards that bugged me as well, so I know exactly how you feel!
In time though, I've grown to appreciate the differences throughout Magic and actually strive to make it as diverse as possible. Old Borders, new borders, Foils, non-foils, Promos, Portal, etc. The only thing that still really bugs me that I haven't gotten over is white borders, so I removed or replaced all of them. =\ My cube is like a Magic history lesson lol.
But yeah, in time you might find that it doesn't bother you as much. I had forgotten that Bitterblossum was Tribal until you just pointed it out again. =p
Thankfully the only real excluded "victim" thanks to white borders is Savannah Lions right now (or is there something else I'm not thinking of?).
One day (when I actually get a Bitterblossom, perhaps! :p) I have a feeling Tribal, etc. won't bother me as much.
The preference of new borders is mostly due to aesthetics. I love the "feel" of the new cards- both in the artistic look of the frames and in the cleaned-up card text. Also, I like that it makes the cards look the same since they all have the same border.
But I prefer them because of some other factors, too.
First, I simply like the idea of a modern Cube mechanically- I was really inspired by BennyDJazz and wtwlf123 and their Modern Cubes. I like how certain cards that aren't quite good enough for standard cubes get to see play, I like how it's much less expensive, and I like how it is fewer cards to sift through.
A long time ago, my first idea was to make a Cube that "felt like a core set" (had no block mechanics, had simple cards, etc)- many of the people I knew who wanted to draft with me were very new to Magic at the time, and I've always loved Core sets for some reason. (I even love drafting them!)
But then I decided that it just wouldn't be as fun without cards like Mulldrifter, Blastoderm, etc. I still adore Core sets- particularly the direction they've taken with M10/M11. I do think making a custom Cube that has the resonant feel of M10/M11 with the powerlevel of Cube would be a lot of fun, though.
Anyway... Second, I own very few cards that even have the old frame; I started collecting cards around 8th Edition. I "got into" Magic around the time Invasion came out, though- I even had a few issues of TopDeck magazine, and was always fascinated with Magic strategy even before I owned any cards or knew how to play! I remember rereading them again and again, hehe. I've played all sorts of old sets with friends on Magic Workstation, though (I'm fond of draft, sealed, and Preconstructed decks) and I'm familiar with nearly every set at least a little bit.
With those things said, though... One thing I've been wrestling with is whether or not to include proxies of "old" cards in the new frame with errata, etc. I really like the idea of it- it would be fun to try out lots of new (old ) cards, and it's common in Cubes to proxy expensive cards like the Power anyway. On the other hand, I fear that it would just make the boundaries of this being a "Modern Cube" collapse. I'd have to adjust so many things and make so many proxies. One possibility is limiting the slots "old" cards are allowed and rotating them. Another possibility is adding them in slowly. I dunno. For now I won't worry about it.
+ Albino Troll
+ Momentous Fall (I didn't expect this card to be good at all, but so far it has been fantastic for me. I haven't yet got caught with it in my hand and no fatty to "protect," though, and I'll me mad at it when I am.)
+ Pelakka Wurm
+ Ravenous Baloth
+ Rude Awakening (One game, this card did exactly enough damage to kill my opponent, and that time it was awesome. But other times it didn't quite do enough and it frustrated me. I'll give it more time, though.)
+ Treetop Village
+ Wild Nacatl
- Ancient Silverback (I figured he was more important to cut than Thorn Elemental since the ape lacks evasion and the dream scenario "DoJ, regenerate Ancient Silverback!" is farfetched.)
- Arbor Elf (Without Ravnica duals, he's just a bad Llanowar Elves. But I will give him another chance someday.)
- Cudgel Troll
- Deadly Recluse
- Grazing Gladehart
not everything you're putting in is good, but nothing you're taking out needs to be in the cube. and you're adding a lot of excellent cards. overall good update.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Yeah, there was certainly some filler added, especially in Black. Most of it was simply to expand the Cube and test stuff. But I'm happy that my cuts were good.
What cards should be my top priorities to track down at this point?
Yeah, there was certainly some filler added, especially in Black. Most of it was simply to expand the Cube and test stuff. But I'm happy that my cuts were good.
What cards should be my top priorities to track down at this point?
that sounds like a job for cube comparison results.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
I'm going to pick up an Elspeth in the duel deck pretty easily- I'm excited about that, hehe.
For the Shadow creatures like Soltari Priest and Looter il-Kor in Blue below, as well as the Shadow-themed enchantment Temporal Isolation, do situations involving Shadow creatures being blocked ever arise at all, or is it basically just "unblockable"? I feel like Shadow would be more interesting if there was enough of it for it to function as something different than "unblockable"... but regardless, the three should make the cut and will be included ASAP.
I love Savannah Lions and he will definitely go in one day, but he might have to wait a while. I have basically every white one-drop I want except him, first of all, which is plenty (given the small size of my Cube). Second, because foils (so he'll be black-bordered. :p) of him go for about $10 or more, I feel like I could spend that money on other needed cards.
And all of these white cards are great suggestions. White is the color I've thought about and planned out the most, and those are all cards I plan to add as soon as possible. Austere Command seems like a really interesting Wrath, and on paper I prefer it to Akroma's Vengeance.
I have an Inkwell Leviathan, and while he's not in yet, I plan to include him soon- probably in place of Isleback Spawn. Is he a better choice over the Spawn if I don't have things like Tinker yet?
Interesting fact about Psionic Blast- it's the only card that is only available in the new frame if you get the textless version. For this reason, I probably won't include it, unfortunately, even though I think I have a copy.
Before I posted my Cube, I used to run textless copies of cards like Harmonize, Remove Soul, and Tidings, and people would always ask what they did in the middle of the draft. That got really annoying. It was also a bit irritating to hear friends arguing over whether Tidings was an instant or a sorcery, whether it drew 3 cards or 4, etc.
Something like Blast would be even more of a headache (no pun intended) as it's kind of weird and obscure. Ditto for Cryptic- as omnipresent as that card was, what a weird choice for a textless foil with all its modes!
I'm certainly tempted to play the Player Rewards Lightning Bolt, though. Surely everyone knows what that does?!
I would replace Mind Rot with the strictly-better Stupor, but Stupor is unavailable in the new frame. I'm being pretty strict with the new frame, so the future-bordered Tombstalker is out too unless they reprint it.
The rest of the cards are ones I will ideally collect one day.
These are good suggestions, and I plan to include most of these. I won a draft the other day and my foil prize was Anathemancer, blech. I was hoping for Grip, but I guess it wasn't out yet.
I used to have Angel of Despair in the Cube, but I was unimpressed and replaced her with Debtors' Knell. Her WWBB really bugged me and I wanted to try out the Knell (so far it's been great). If I expand multicolor, she might have a slot.
Some of those cards are unavailable in the new frame as they were Timeshifted cards, but I do love Mystic Snake, Void, and friends.
I currently have no three-color gold cards (unless you count Wild Nacatl, as most people do), but as the Cube grows I might fit some of those suggestions in.
I used to have Angel of Despair in the Cube, but I was unimpressed and replaced her with Debtors' Knell. Her WWBB really bugged me and I wanted to try out the Knell (so far it's been great). If I expand multicolor, she might have a slot.
she's best in stuff like 5 color control, black/white control, and reanimator, where the cost isn't a huge issue. i think those archetypes are enough to justify her but she's not a must have in black/white. i'd drop knell for her, but not something like mortify or stillmoon cavalier.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
the only time a shadow creature has been blocked in my cube was with a vesuvan shapeshifter. i'm sure it happens in other cubes, but not very often i'm sure.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
Well, I looked through a few boxes of my cards to find some stuff to improve the Cube. I'm pleased with what I found; I'd been meaning to add most of these cards.
+ Inkwell Leviathan (I plan to pick up a FTV Tinker as soon as possible.)
+ Ancestral Vision (I've seen a lot of people drop this lately, but I'm thinking it might be better in a Cube like mine.)
- Isleback Spawn
+ Trygon Predator (This was the #1 card I wanted to find in those boxes.)
+ Gelectrode (This card is cool, but I need to pick up a Fire//Ice promo.)
- Jhessian Infiltrator
- Noggle Bandit (I knew this card was bad, hehe, it's just a personal favorite. My friend drafted some sort of weird aggro deck and he did well enough, but that was the Noggle's last hurrah and he's going out.)
Here are some other cards I found, but I don't know if any of these should replace anything. Most of them aren't typical Cube-caliber cards, but for the purposes of expansion I'd like to add at least something.
If nothing in this list is really good enough to make any sort of symmetrical update, fear not; soon I'll purchase some singles as well.
I preordered EvT, so Elspeth and Mishra's Factory will be nice. I'm not sure if Tezzeret will be good enough or not for me (or rather, if my Cube is good enough for him).
I like Dugar Hedge-Mage and Rolling Thunder alot. Tidehollow Sculler is good too, although I'm on the fence as to whether he's better than Gerrad's Verdict.
The fetchlands and Ravnica lands are pretty expensive, but I'll definitely collect them all one day. It might be a while, though.
Just wanted to add a note of encouragement. Slowly building the cube can be very rewarding. It's an awesome feeling to do a big swap of suboptimal cards out for some of the game's greats. I don't know what your budget is like but mine is fairly modest when it comes to Magic and over the past 2 years I've traded/bought my way into Ravnica duals, fetches and even ABU duals.
It's taken some time but the cube has really become the centerpiece of my Magic collection. You will get there eventually. The most important thing is to enjoy every draft and every new addition, don't feel like you are getting an inferior experience just because you don't have a finished, foiled out cube.
I like Dugar Hedge-Mage and Rolling Thunder alot. Tidehollow Sculler is good too, although I'm on the fence as to whether he's better than Gerrad's Verdict.
I'm not very excited about the other cards.
This.
Except for the Rolling Thunder bit. I don't like that card. Especially not now that Comet Storm is out, and it's strictly better, and I don't even run that card.
+ Æther Adept
+ Frost Titan (I felt as though Blue was lacking finishers and I'd like to try him out.)
+ Jace's Ingenuity
+ Redirect (I also picked up a Deprive, which in a Cube like mine might be playable. Tezzeret's deck has a Foil, for what it's worth. I dunno about that one.)
- Magus of the Future (I really love the Magus, and maybe one day he'll come back. His namesake Future Sight is a card I would love to see in the 8th frame more than any other (reasonably plausible) Blue card.)
Just wanted to add a note of encouragement. Slowly building the cube can be very rewarding. It's an awesome feeling to do a big swap of suboptimal cards out for some of the game's greats. I don't know what your budget is like but mine is fairly modest when it comes to Magic and over the past 2 years I've traded/bought my way into Ravnica duals, fetches and even ABU duals.
It's taken some time but the cube has really become the centerpiece of my Magic collection. You will get there eventually. The most important thing is to enjoy every draft and every new addition, don't feel like you are getting an inferior experience just because you don't have a finished, foiled out cube.
I don't play Constructed at all (I am still interested in formats like Standard from the outside looking in- I like asking people at my LGS questions about their decks, the metagame, etc. I just don't have the time/money/desire to pursue it myself), so the Cube is certainly the centerpiece of my Magic collection as well. Literally all the cards I procure are with improving the Cube in mind. While I can't often make sweeping changes that dramatically improve its quality, it certainly is fun when I "fix" something about it.
I love drafting and sealed, though, and I've always preferred them to Constructed. I am even interested in old, stale Limited formats that nobody cares about.
For example... for some reason I've always had a fascination with 8th Edition Limited, even though it's a terrible format. Most colors have a glut of 4-drops and mostly-unplayable low drops. Uncommon slots are wasted (from a Limited perspective) on Urza's lands. Nearly every game effectively ends its interaction in some sort of 6-8 creature stalemate until someone draws Fodder Cannon or runs out of cards because they played first. It achieves a goofy sort of fun in spite of its stupidity, and I like the fact that it featured at least one card from every set and changed the card face, hehe. I think the reason everybody hates Core set drafts so much is because of the "8th Edition Problem", which is shared by a handful of other Core Sets as well.
I drafted M11 last night and didn't do too well, but I still had a great time. I actually think it's a really well-designed set despite its alleged simplicity. They really were on the right track with M10, which already cut a lot of the crappy cards that formerly clogged up packs, and M11 improved on it further (despite dropping some cool Limited cards like Tendrils of Corruption). There are some annoyances, like losing to Baneslayer Angel, but even she is no longer the "lose the game" problem she was in M10 due to Plummet and Combust. I've always preferred Core Set drafts because of their neutral sort of flavor, and some of the designs in M10/M11 are really great even though the cards aren't always the best. What they did is fix the "8th Edition problem"- and I appreciate the intricacies that went about to make that happen!
But getting back on subject... I guess I'm intrigued by Core Sets because of the "greatest hits" feel, and that's what Cube effectively is on a grander, more complex scale. I feel like I can do that myself, and I like the set-building thinking and feeling that provides.
Cube is the best Magic format of all. It combines all the best aspects of Limited (drafting skill, deck variety, colors being represented "purely"), with all the best aspects of Constructed (using the best cards, figuring out complex interactions, knowing what to add/drop). But in doing so, it suffers from hardly any of the weaknesses of either (in Limited's case, crappy cards clogging up the tail-end of the pack and "losing to random bombs"; in Constructed's case, having to buy 4 of every Constructed staple and worrying about stagnancy).
Thank you for your encouragement, SimTiki, and thanks to everyone for their advice!
I know Dismal Failure isn't the best counter in the world, but I feel bad cutting a counter for card draw. I haven't seen Jace's Ingenuity appear in a draft yet, however, and perhaps it should stay a little longer.
Force is not as good as Wildfire and not as silly/fun as Obliterate. It seems like whoever drafts this also drafts Wildfire and then doesn't play this. Shortcutter is a Goblin Piker a lot of the time, but at least he sort of helps aggro.
+ Krosan Tusker
+ Twinblade Slasher
- Explore? (It seems like this simply cycles too often, but it's cool when it works. I prefer it to say, Rampant Growth)
- Momentous Fall? (This has been amazing, but I'm still skeptical. I've only had one situation where this has been dead in its player's hand, but I know it will happen more frequently, statistically.)
It might be better to drop a fat Green creature for Tusker.
+ Masticore (probably won't drop anything for this, I'll just expand the Cube by 1 card)
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
I talked about this a bit with a friend who often drafts the Cube online with me.
I think the Viscera Dragger cut is the easiest one, though I'm still wary of all the kill spells in Black. Which kill spell, if any, should be on the chopping block?
For Red, as much as I love Obliterate, I think I'm going to give it a rest and try out Destructive Force a bit since it hasn't seen any play yet. Your reasoning is really good on the matter, eidolon. (I do have 8 planeswalkers now, but regardless it seems pretty similar to Destructive Force for more mana). My Obliterate is foil and I'm attached to it, hehe, but it can always come back.
For Green, my friend has suggested I cut Explore and Ant Queen (his reasoning is that he'd rather play Mitotic Slime than the Queen). For what it's worth, he really likes Momentous Fall- he wants to see it in action more. I don't mind giving Queen a break for a bit (I haven't played her in a while, though), but I'll humor him for now. I'm thinking something like Terra Stomper or Thorn Elemental or Rude Awakening might be a better cut in the long run.
Blue is the toughest. Tideforce Elemental is the easiest cut (even though I have one friend who always drafts it and always plays it, hehe). But I'm not sure about the others. I really don't want to cut Sleep. That card always seems to do interesting things when it's played and I'd really miss it if it was gone.
Dismal Failure is interesting. It's not Dismiss, but with the "Modern" restriction, it's the closest thing (Well, except maybe Cryptic Command, which I don't own). It's kind of an odd card, but like I said before, I'd feel bad cutting a counter.
My friend suggested cutting Mind Spring if I want to keep Jace's Ingenuity. While Jace's spell seems underwhelming to me compared to Gifts Ungiven and Fact or Fiction, I've also never seen it in action in the Cube, so for now it takes Mind Spring's slot.
On Friday I'm going to draft M11, I think, and on Saturday I'll pick up some SoM cards at the prerelease. My Cube will likely be slightly expanded at that point unless I run out of sleeves.
Cube Size: 450 cards
Breakdown: 60 of each color, 54 artifacts, 39 multicolor, and 57 lands.
Standard or Theme: 8th Edition card face only; no old frames or Future Sight frames. Planar Chaos frames are fine, and I'm fine with using FNM promos and other reprints as long as they have the new frame.
Snow Lands: No.
Proxies: I'm not opposed to the idea, but for now I have none. If I do go the proxy route, I may decide to sparingly proxy a few "old" cards using the new frame. (Though I'm ambivalent- this may defeat the purpose of it being a "modern" cube.)
"Un" Cards: No.
Standard or Multiplayer: Standard.
Sideboards?: Sometimes.
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
<2>
1 Accorder Paladin
1 Knight of Glory
1 Knight of Meadowgrain
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Lone Missionary
1 Mistral Charger
1 Precinct Captain
1 Ronom Unicorn
1 Silver Knight
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Wall of Omens
1 White Knight
1 Blade Splicer
1 Flickerwisp
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Midnight Haunting
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Paladin en-Vec
1 Porcelain Legionnaire
<4>
1 Calciderm
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Restoration Angel
<5>
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Geist-Honored Monk
1 Reveillark
1 Sun Titan
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
<8>
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Harm's Way
1 Mana Tithe
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
<2>
1 Balance
1 Disenchant
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Glorious Anthem
1 Oblivion Ring
<4>
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Armageddon
1 Day of Judgment
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Wrath of God
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Gideon Jura
1 Hallowed Burial
<X>
1 Entreat the Angels
1 Martial Coup
1 Enclave Cryptologist
<2>
1 Looter il-Kor
1 Merfolk Looter
1 Mindshrieker
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Spellskite
1 Welkin Tern
1 Æther Adept
1 Fettergeist
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1 Man-o'-War
1 Serendib Efreet
1 Spined Thopter
1 Stormbound Geist
<4>
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Mulldrifter
<6>
1 Frost Titan
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
<9>
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Faerie Conclave
1 Shelldock Isle
<1>
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Brainstorm
1 Force Spike
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
<2>
1 Boomerang
1 Counterspell
1 Essence Scatter
1 Into the Roil
1 Mana Leak
1 Negate
1 Ovinize
1 Remand
1 Compulsive Research
1 Crystal Shard
1 Dissipate
1 Hinder
1 Jace Beleren
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Tinker
<4>
1 Cryptic Command
1 Deep Analysis
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Bribery
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Mind Control
<6>
1 Confiscate
<7>
1 Temporal Mastery
<X>
1 Broken Ambitions
1 Condescend
1 Syncopate
1 Diregraf Ghoul
1 Fume Spitter
1 Gravecrawler
1 Vampire Lacerator
<2>
1 Black Knight
1 Bloodghast
1 Knight of Infamy
1 Nantuko Shade
1 Nezumi Cutthroat
1 Oona's Prowler
1 Pack Rat
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Vampire Interloper
1 Cemetery Reaper
1 Dusk Urchins
1 Hypnotic Specter
1 Liliana's Specter
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Vampire Nighthawk
<4>
1 Disciple of Bolas
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Nekrataal
1 Sewer Nemesis
1 Skinrender
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1 Shriekmaw
<6>
1 Grave Titan
<7>
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Dark Ritual
1 Despise
1 Disfigure
1 Duress
1 Innocent Blood
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Reanimate
1 Tragic Slip
<2>
1 Animate Dead
1 Bitterblossom
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Doom Blade
1 Exhume
1 Go for the Throat
1 Night's Whisper
1 Ultimate Price
1 Dismember
1 Necropotence
1 Phyrexian Arena
<4>
1 Barter in Blood
1 Consuming Vapors
1 Damnation
1 Diabolic Servitude
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
1 Snuff Out
<5>
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin Markov
<X>
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Profane Command
1 Goblin Guide
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Jackal Pup
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Spikeshot Elder
1 Vexing Devil
<2>
1 Ash Zealot
1 Blood Knight
1 Ember Hauler
1 Fireslinger
1 Gore-House Chainwalker
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Lightning Mauler
1 Kargan Dragonlord
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Plated Geopede
1 Stormblood Berserker
1 Torch Fiend
1 Viashino Slaughtermaster
1 Chandra's Phoenix
1 Manic Vandal
1 Goblin Ruinblaster
1 Hell's Thunder
<4>
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Hellrider
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
<5>
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Inferno Titan
1 Moltensteel Dragon
<8>
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Burst Lightning
1 Chain Lightning
1 Faithless Looting
1 Firebolt
1 Forked Bolt
1 Lightning Bolt
<2>
1 Arc Trail
1 Incinerate
1 Magma Jet
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Pyroclasm
1 Searing Spear
1 Smash to Smithereens
1 Chaos Warp
1 Char
1 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Molten Rain
1 Pillage
1 Staggershock
1 Wheel of Fortune
<4>
1 Chandra the Firebrand
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra Nalaar
<6>
1 Fireblast
1 Wildfire
<X>
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Devil's Play
1 Earthquake
1 Arbor Elf
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Twinblade Slasher
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
<2>
1 Ambush Viper
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Jade Mage
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Mire Boa
1 River Boa
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Skinshifter
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Wall of Roots
1 Wild Mongrel
1 Call of the Herd
1 Eternal Witness
1 Great Sable Stag
1 Troll Ascetic
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Yavimaya Elder
<4>
1 Blastoderm
1 Briarhorn
1 Deadbridge Goliath
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Wickerbough Elder
<5>
1 Acidic Slime
1 Deranged Hermit
1 Kessig Cagebreakers
1 Thornling
1 Thragtusk
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Primeval Titan
1 Rampaging Baloths
<7>
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Pelakka Wurm
<8>
1 Terastodon
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Treetop Village
<1>
1 Rancor
1 Vines of Vastwood
<2>
1 Farseek
1 Life from the Loam
1 Naturalize
1 Cultivate
1 Gaea's Anthem
1 Harrow
<4>
1 Birthing Pod
1 Bramblecrush
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Harmonize
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Plow Under
<X>
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Hurricane
1 Perilous Myr
1 Phyrexian Revoker
<4>
1 Bonehoard
1 Lodestone Golem
1 Molten-Tail Masticore
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Razormane Masticore
<6>
1 Wurmcoil Engine
<8>
1 Sundering Titan
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Bonesplitter
1 Skullclamp
<2>
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Grafted Wargear
1 Loxodon Warhammer
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 War and Peace
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Lotus Bloom
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Diamond
<2>
1 Azorius Signet
1 Dimir Signet
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Gruul Signet
1 Selesnya Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Golgari Signet
1 Simic Signet
1 Izzet Signet
1 Boros Signet
<3>
1 Coalition Relic
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Zuran Orb
<1>
1 Black Vise
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sensei's Divining Top
<2>
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Powder Keg
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Crystal Ball
1 Mimic Vat
<4>
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
<5>
1 Memory Jar
1 Mindslaver
1 Obelisk of Alara
<7>
1 Karn Liberated
<X>
1 Chimeric Mass
1 Detention Sphere
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Venser, the Sojourner
<UB>
1 Nemesis of Reason
1 Psychatog
1 Undermine
1 Bituminous Blast
1 Dreadbore
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Rakdos Cackler
1 Rakdos Shred-Freak
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Burning-Tree Shaman
1 Kird Ape
<GW>
1 Dryad Militant
1 Loam Lion
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Qasali Pridemage
<WB>
1 Lingering Souls
1 Mortify
1 Stillmoon Cavalier
<BG>
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Putrefy
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Simic Sky Swallower
1 Trygon Predator
<UR>
1 Electrolyze
1 Fire//Ice
1 Izzet Charm
1 Prophetic Bolt
<RW>
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Figure of Destiny
1 Lightning Helix
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
<UB>
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Watery Grave
1 Blood Crypt
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Sulfurous Springs
<RG>
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Raging Ravine
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Stomping Ground
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Temple Garden
<WB>
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Godless Shrine
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Marsh Flats
<BG>
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Woodland Cemetery
<GU>
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Shivan Reef
1 Steam Vents
<RW>
1 Arid Mesa
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Savage Lands
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Rupture Spire
1 Strip Mine
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Transguild Promenade
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
+ Aven Riftwatcher
+ Swords to Plowshares
+ Negate
+ Voyager Drake
+ Arrogant Bloodlord
+ Ambition's Cost
+ Bogardan Hellkite
+ Hammer of Bogardan
+ Garruk's Companion
+ Harrow
+ Razormane Masticore
+ Runed Servitor
+ Triskelion
+ Fellwar Stone
+ Evolving Wilds
+ Akroma's Vengeance
+ Honor of the Pure
+ War Priest of Thune
+ Weathered Wayfarer
- Condemn
- Planar Cleansing
+ Conundrum Sphinx
+ Tideforce Elemental
+ Faerie Conclave
- Voyager Drake
+ Liliana's Specter
+ Ravenous Rats
+ Tendrils of Corruption
+ Viscera Dragger
- Consume Spirit
- Phyrexian Plaguelord
+ Boom//Bust
+ Ghitu Encampment
+ Goblin Arsonist
+ Magus of the Scroll
+ Staggershock
+ Word of Seizing
- Dragon Whelp
- Form of the Dragon
- Flameblast Dragon
- Kumano, Master Yamabushi
+ Albino Troll
+ Momentous Fall
+ Pelakka Wurm
+ Ravenous Baloth
+ Rude Awakening
+ Treetop Village
+ Wild Nacatl
- Ancient Silverback
- Arbor Elf
- Cudgel Troll
- Deadly Recluse
- Grazing Gladehart
+ Prophetic Prism
+ Dread Statuary
+ Stalking Stones
+ Bituminous Blast
- Blightning
+ Celestial Colonnade
- Azorius Guildmage
+ Kird Ape
- Colossal Might
+ Loam Lion
- Armadillo Cloak
+ Celestial Crusader
+ Inkwell Leviathan
+ Ancestral Vision
- Isleback Spawn
+ Last Gasp
+ Fleshbag Marauder
- Tendrils of Corruption
+ Plated Geopede
+ Keldon Marauders
- Beacon of Destruction
+ Wickerbough Elder
+ Trygon Predator
+ Gelectrode
- Jhessian Infiltrator
- Noggle Bandit
+ Blinding Mage
+ Condemn
+ Elspeth, Knight-Errant
+ Kor Firewalker
- Kor Aeronaut
+ Æther Adept
+ Frost Titan
+ Jace's Ingenuity
+ Redirect
- Magus of the Future
+ Chainer's Edict
+ Dark Banishing
+ Dusk Urchins
+ Sorin Markov
- Ravenous Rats
+ Destructive Force
+ Goblin Assault
+ Inferno Titan
+ Krosan Grip
+ Mitotic Slime
+ Woodfall Primus
+ Brittle Effigy
+ Solemn Simulacrum
+ Sword of Vengeance
- Prophetic Prism
+ Voidslime
- Snakeform
+ Mishra's Factory
+ Crystal Shard
+ Gifts Ungiven
- Mind Spring
- Tideforce Elemental
+ Twisted Abomination
- Viscera Dragger
+ Mogg Fanatic
- Obliterate
+ Krosan Tusker
+ Twinblade Slasher
- Ant Queen
- Explore
+ Masticore
+ Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
+ Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
+ Fume Spitter
+ Spikeshot Elder
+ Fauna Shaman
+ Karn, Silver Golem
+ Perilous Myr
+ Pithing Needle
+ Wurmcoil Engine
+ Barbarian Ring
+ Chain Lightning
+ Grim Lavamancer
+ Jackal Pup
+ Pillage
+ Reverberate
- Destructive Force
- Flame Slash
- Goblin Arsonist
- Goblin Assault
- Goblin Shortcutter
- Urza's Rage
+ Armageddon
+ Baneslayer Angel
+ Paladin en-Vec
+ Silver Knight
- Aven Riftwatcher
- Guardian Seraph
- Honor of the Pure
- Kor Firewalker
+ Figure of Destiny
- Brion Stoutarm
+ Raging Ravine
- Fires of Yavimaya
+ Tinker
- Jace's Ingenuity
+ Skinrender
- Gravedigger
+ Deranged Hermit
- Momentous Fall
+ Wheel of Fortune
+ Avalanche Riders
- Boom//Bust
- Magus of the Scroll
+ Strip Mine
+ Reveillark
- Archon of Justice
- Blinding Mage
- Celestial Crusader
+ Enclave Cryptologist
+ Meloku the Clouded Mirror
+ Serendib Efreet
+ Venser, Shaper Savant
- Djinn of Wishes
- Frost Titan
- Rewind
- Scroll Thief
- Sleep
- Thought Courier
+ Damnation
+ Necrogen Scudder
+ Plague Sliver
+ Profane Command
- Dark Banishing
- Death Cloud
- Hideous End
- Howling Banshee
- Mind Rot
- Wrench Mind
- Cunning Sparkmage
- Slith Firewalker
+ Call of the Herd
+ Farseek
- Garruk's Companion
- Overrun
- Rude Awakening
- Thorn Elemental
+ Black Vise
+ Memory Jar
+ Nevinyrral's Disk
+ Sundering Titan
+ Zuran Orb
- Serrated Arrows
- Steel Wall
+ Azorius Guildmage
+ Fires of Yavimaya
+ Psychatog
- Wydwen, the Biting Gale
+ Blood Crypt
+ Breeding Pool
+ Copperline Gorge
+ Creeping Tar Pit
+ Godless Shrine
+ Hallowed Fountain
+ Overgrown Tomb
+ Sacred Foundry
+ Steam Vents
+ Stirring Wildwood
+ Stomping Ground
- Glacial Fortress
- Gruul Turf
- Rootbound Crag
+ Deprive
+ Tezzeret the Seeker
- Dismal Failure
- Redirect
+ Arc Trail
+ Urza's Rage
- Puncture Blast
- Reverberate
+ Lavaclaw Reaches
+ Temple Garden
- Rakdos Carnarium
- Selesnya Sanctuary
+ Yosei, the Morning Star
- Condemn
+ Keiga, the Tide Star
- Spiketail Drakeling
+ Night's Whisper
- Ambition's Cost
+ Searing Blaze
- Urza's Rage
+ All Suns' Dawn
+ Joraga Treespeaker
- Civic Wayfinder
- Stonewood Invocation
+ Crystal Ball
- Whispersilk Cloak
+ Bloodbraid Elf
+ Fire//Ice
+ Life//Death
- Fires of Yavimaya
- Gelectrode
- Lord of Extinction
+ Essence Scatter
- Convolute
+ Enslave
+ Nezumi Graverobber
+ Pulse Tracker
- Blind Creeper
- Rise from the Grave
- Smallpox
+ Banefire
- Searing Blaze
+ Basking Rootwalla
+ Thornling
- Indrik Stomphowler
- Terra Stomper
+ Everflowing Chalice
+ Grafted Wargear
+ Mind Stone
+ Powder Keg
- Brittle Effigy
- Runed Servitor
- Trusty Machete
- Worn Powerstone
+ Accorder Paladin
+ Hero of Bladehold
- Marshal's Anthem
- War Priest of Thune
+ Sower of Temptation
- Repulse
+ Goblin Wardriver
+ Hero of Oxid Ridge
- Demonfire
- Word of Seizing
+ Beastbreaker of Bala Ged
+ Green Sun's Zenith
- Albino Troll
- Briarhorn
+ Chimeric Mass
+ Myr Battlesphere
+ Ratchet Bomb
- Karn, Silver Golem
- Sigil of Distinction
- Stalking Stones
+ Glissa, the Traitor
- Life//Death
+ Blade Splicer
+ Elspeth Tirel
+ Porcelain Legionnaire
- Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
- Akroma's Vengeance
- Galepowder Mage
+ Spined Thopter
+ Phyrexian Metamorph
- Clone
- Deprive
+ Dismember
- Last Gasp
+ Life from the Loam
+ Noxious Revival
- Beastbreaker of Bala Ged
- Mitotic Slime
+ Lotus Bloom
- Dread Statuary
+ Verdant Catacombs
- Golgari Rot Farm
+ Mirran Crusader
+ Phyrexian Rebirth
- Pacifism
+ Riftwing Cloudskate
+ Shelldock Isle
- Body Double
+ Black Sun's Zenith
+ Consuming Vapors
+ Despise
+ Go for the Throat
- Arrogant Bloodlord
- Infest
- Sign in Blood
+ Hell's Thunder
+ Magus of the Scroll
+ Moltensteel Dragon
+ Sudden Shock
+ Urabrask the Hidden
- Flame Javelin
- Goblin Wardriver
- Hammer of Bogardan
- Keldon Champion
+ Beast Within
+ Brutalizer Exarch
+ Obstinate Baloth
+ Oracle of Mul Daya
- Kodama of the North Tree
- Noxious Revival
- Ravenous Baloth
+ Bonehoard
+ Molten-Tail Masticore
+ Phyrexian Processor
+ Phyrexian Revoker
- Everflowing Chalice
- Juggernaut
- Sundering Titan
- Triskelion
+ Repulse
- Tezzeret the Seeker
+ Goblin Wardriver
+ Keldon Champion
- Sudden Shock
- Urabrask the Hidden
+ Thrun, the Last Troll
- Krosan Grip
+ Karn Liberated
+ Sundering Titan
- Myr Battlesphere
- Prismatic Lens
+ Life//Death
- Glissa, the Traitor
+ Marsh Flats
+ Sunken Ruins
+ Razorverge Thicket
- Drowned Catacomb
- Orzhov Basilica
- Sunpetal Grove
+ Savannah Lions
+ Wall of Omens
- Goldmeadow Harrier
- Phyrexian Rebirth
+ Frost Titan
+ Looter il-Kor
+ Phantasmal Image
+ Spellskite
- Conundrum Sphinx
- Daze
- Ninja of the Deep Hours
- Spined Thopter
+ Child of Night
+ Grave Titan
+ Onyx Mage
+ Rune-Scarred Demon
- Disfigure
- Doomed Necromancer
- Liliana's Specter
- Skeletal Vampire
+ Koth of the Hammer
- Keldon Champion
+ Nim Deathmantle
- Lodestone Golem
+ Gelectrode
+ Venser, the Sojurner
- Azorius Guildmage
- Spellbound Dragon
+ Chaos Warp
+ Stormblood Berserker
- Barbarian Ring
- Stone Rain
+ Scalding Tarn
- Izzet Boilerworks
+ Arid Mesa
- Boros Garrison
+ Lodestone Golem
- Nim Deathmantle
+ Cryptic Command
+ Glen Elendra Archmage
+ Jace, Memory Adept
+ Ray of Command
- Evacuation
- Frost Titan
- Remove Soul
- Riftwing Cloudskate
+ Lotus Petal
- Powder Keg
+ Stoneforge Mystic
- Story Circle
+ Spell Crumple
- Ray of Command
+ Sewer Nemesis
- Mind Shatter
+ Chandra's Phoenix
- Hellkite Charger
+ Scavenging Ooze
+ Skinshifter
- Basking Rootwalla
- Master of the Wild Hunt
+ Prophetic Bolt
- Gelectrode
+ Mindslaver
- Gargoyle Castle
+ Midnight Haunting
- Scepter of Dominance
+ Mindshrieker
+ Dissipate
+ Snapcaster Mage
- Essence Scatter
- Negate
- Spell Crumple
+ Bloodgift Demon
+ Diregraf Ghoul
+ Gravecrawler
+ Undying Evil
+ Vampire Interloper
- Child of Night
- Enslave
- Onyx Mage
- Pulse Tracker
- Twisted Abomination
+ Brimstone Volley
+ Devil's Play
+ Faithless Looting
+ Hellrider
+ Torch Fiend
- Banefire
- Comet Storm
- Forked Bolt
- Goblin Wardriver
- Magus of the Scroll
+ Ambush Viper
+ Bramblecrush
+ Kessig Cagebreakers
+ Strangleroot Geist
- All Suns' Dawn
- Creeping Mold
- Naturalize
- Oracle of Mul Daya
+ Karplusan Forest
- Copperline Gorge
+ Animate Dead
+ Bloodghast
+ Diabolic Servitude
+ Exhume
- Innocent Blood
- Makeshift Mannequin
- Nezumi Graverobber
- Plague Sliver
+ Avacyn's Pilgrim
- Mold Shambler
- Exotic Orchard
+ Burning-Tree Shaman
+ Stillmoon Cavalier
+ Undermine
- Agony Warp
- Gerrard's Verdict
- Giant Solifuge
+ Mimic Vat
+ Sensei's Divining Top
- Phyrexian Processor
+ Ajani, Caller of the Pride
+ Geist-Honored Monk
+ Gideon Jura
+ Goldmeadow Harrier
+ Griffin Guide
+ Knight of Glory
+ Restoration Angel
+ Sunblast Angel
+ Wrath of God
- Stonecloaker
+ Broken Ambitions
+ Essence Scatter
+ Fettergeist
+ Frost Titan
+ Ovinize
+ Mind Control
+ Negate
+ Spined Thopter
+ Stormbound Geist
+ Welkin Tern
- Calcite Snapper
- Repulse
+ Bitterblossom
+ Disfigure
+ Knight of Infamy
+ Innocent Blood
+ Inquisition of Kozilek
+ Liliana of the Dark Realms
+ Liliana's Specter
+ Reassembling Skeleton
+ Tragic Slip
+ Twisted Abomination
- Necrogen Scudder
- Undying Evil
+ Ashmouth Hound
+ Bonfire of the Damned
+ Chandra the Firebrand
+ Flames of the Firebrand
+ Forked Bolt
+ Goblin Arsonist
+ Kargan Dragonlord
+ Lightning Mauler
+ Searing Spear
+ Stone Rain
+ Thundermaw Hellkite
+ Viashino Slaughtermaster
- Arc Lightning
- Brimstone Volley
- Ghitu Encampment
- Volcanic Hammer
+ Arbor Elf
+ Briarhorn
+ Garruk, Primal Hunter
+ Jade Mage
+ Thragtusk
+ Naturalize
+ Noxious Revival
+ Primeval Titan
+ Ulvenwald Tracker
+ Wall of Blossoms
+ Wolfir Silverheart
+ Yeva, Nature's Herald
- Beast Within
- Brutalizer Exarch
- Obstinate Baloth
- Wild Nacatl (moved to multicolor)
+ Coalition Relic
+ Everflowing Chalice
+ Mox Diamond
+ Powder Keg
+ Sigil of Distinction
+ Sword of Body and Mind
+ Sword of Feast and Famine
+ Sword of Fire and Ice
+ Sword of Light and Shadow
+ Sword of War and Peace
+ Triskelion
- Bottle Gnomes
+ Edric, Spymaster of Trest
+ Geist of Saint Traft
+ Lingering Souls
+ Maelstrom Pulse
- Debtors' Knell
- Life//Death
- Voidslime
- Wall of Denial
+ Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
+ Wild Nacatl (moved from green)
+ Arid Mesa
+ Watery Grave
- Boros Garrison
- Sunken Ruins
+ Glacial Fortress
+ Drowned Catacomb
+ Rootbound Crag
+ Sulfurous Springs
+ Sunpetal Grove
+ Vivid Crag
+ Vivid Creek
+ Vivid Grove
+ Vivid Marsh
+ Vivid Meadow
+ Barren Moor
+ Forgotten Cave
+ Lonely Sandbar
+ Secluded Steppe
+ Tranquil Thicket
+ Cathedral of War
+ Exotic Orchard
+ Gargoyle Castle
+ Entreat the Angels
+ Precinct Captain
- Griffin Guide
- Sunblast Angel
+ Jace, Architect of Thought
+ Syncopate
+ Temporal Mastery
- Draining Whelk
- Persuasion
- Thieving Magpie
+ Disciple of Bolas
+ Pack Rat
+ Ultimate Price
- Fleshbag Marauder
- Terror
- Twisted Abomination
+ Ash Zealot
+ Gore-House Chainwalker
+ Mizzium Mortars
+ Vexing Devil
- Ashmouth Hound
- Fireball
- Goblin Arsonist
- Stone Rain
+ Birthing Pod
+ Deadbridge Goliath
- Noxious Revival
- Yeva, Nature's Herald
- Fellwar Stone
- Masticore
- Sigil of Distinction
- Sword of Vengeance
- Triskelion
+ Abrupt Decay
+ Detention Sphere
+ Dreadbore
+ Dryad Militant
+ Izzet Charm
+ Knight of the Reliquary
+ Lotleth Troll
+ Rakdos Cackler
+ Rakdos Shred-Freak
+ Supreme Verdict
- Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
- Putrid Leech
- Terminate
+ Clifftop Retreat
+ Hinterland Harbor
+ Isolated Chapel
+ Izzet Boilerworks
+ Transguild Promenade
+ Woodland Cemetery
- Barren Moor
- Cathedral of War
- Exotic Orchard
- Forgotten Cave
- Gargoyle Castle
- Lonely Sandbar
- Secluded Steppe
- Tranquil Thicket
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
Take a look at it.
I want to make sure I'm getting your requirments.
Only cards with the Modern "8th eddition" border. Promos and the like with this border are ok.
Planar Chaos is Ok, what about Future Sight?
No Tribal, No Arcane, No Honden
Just going to point out a few cards you forgot.
Swords to Plowshares was reprinted in the Blue White coldsnap preconstruct.
Are you ok with functional reprints? If so you need Savannah Lions.
Calciderm had a promo with the normal border if you want to go fro Planar Chaos to normal border.
Mirror Entity and Paladin en vec are two good 3-drops you are missing.
Battlegrace angel is a good replacment for Baneslayer Angel.
Exalted Angel was printed as a (gorgeous) judge promo.
I would hold off on getting elspeth until the Elspeth vs Tezzeret.
Shelldock Isle and Faerie Conclave are two good blue lands you could be playing.
You need more red 1-drops. Mogg Fanatic Magus of the Scroll, Grim Lavamancer(Printed a sa Judge Promo) are all cards you are missing.
I would probably play Ghitu Encampment as a red land.
Regrowth was printed as a Judge Promo, you can get it for like 6-8 IIRC.
You are missing Treetop Viliage.
I would include both teramorphic expanse and the functional reprit of it.
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
Thanks again, Pringlesman.
EDIT: is there a more readable way to quote and respond to posts, or does this look OK?
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
I ordered a bunch of cards the other day, so hopefully I'll get them in the mail tomorrow. All of these are foil except the Swords to Plowshares, but not all of them are going in the Cube.
I'm not sure about all these cards, nor am I sure exactly how to make changes yet. Should I drop cards to add these? Or should I just expand for now, given my Cube's small size?
Cards I ordered
White
Swords to Plowshares- I'm glad I finally picked up a Coldsnap theme deck copy.
Stormfront Pegasus (foil upgrade)
White Knight (foil upgrade)
Oust- With Swords going in, is there any room for this? Is it better than Condemn?
Aven Riftwatcher- White lacks 3-drop creatures, and this guy seems interesting.
Weathered Wayfarer- I have a lot of white 1-drops for such a small Cube. Does he fit?
Loam Lion- Without Ravnica duals, is this guy worth it?
Elite Vanguard (foil upgrade)
Blue
Negate- I like the mirror of this and Remove Soul, but I know they're more "OK" than "fantastic."
Scroll Thief (foil upgrade)
Voyager Drake- Maybe I'm just intrigued by the fact that we haven't had a 3/3 flyer for 4 since Phantom Monster, but this guy doesn't seem altogether terrible.
See Beyond- Is this any good for my Cube?
Wind Zendikon- This seems OK.
Mahamoti Djinn- He's not going in, don't worry.
Tideforce Elemental- An upgrade to Puppeteer, but still not awesome or anything. Does Blue even eed a creature in this niche?
Clone (foil upgrade)
Black
Ambition's Cost- I have Phyrexian Arena and Sign in Blood, but I don't have Night's Whisper. Is this worth it, given that?
Ravenous Rats- Cool 8E art, but doesn't seem good enough to me.
Tendrils of Corruption- I like the idea of enabling monoblack, but ultimately it just gives Black fewer general-use cards.
Arrogant Bloodlord- Weird card. Does it deliver? I wish Black had more good creatures that cost 2B. Should I pick up a Dusk Urchins?
Befoul- Not going in unless I need filler. I like most of the Black cards that are already in the Cube, but I really have trouble finding cards to expand Black.
Viscera Dragger- I actually like this guy a lot.
Red
Hammer of Bogardan- While I love the Hammer, I feel like I already have way too much burn for such a small Cube. Should I reserve some of it for a Cube expansion, or should I just leave it in to begin with?
Kird Ape- Again, is he still good without Ravnica duals?
Bogardan Hellkite- Even though I love Flameblast Dragon, I may have to drop him.
Goblin Arsonist- Not Mogg Fanatic, but he's something, right?
Word of Seizing- Even though several Cubes seem to run this card, I've never seen it discussed. Thoughts?
Staggershock- While this will go in, I still have the "too much burn" fear overall.
Magus of the Scroll- Another Red one-drop I needed.
Boom//Bust The only mass land destruction I can get without purchasing Judge foil Armageddon, but this is a neat card nevertheless.
Green
Biorhythm- This card is so silly I had to have a copy. But it's not going in the Cube.
Acidic Slime (foil upgrade)
Garruk's Companion- Very few people seem to run this. Is it the White first-strikers who give it trouble?
Giant Growth- This really doesn't seem all that awful since I don't have Berserk.
Momentous Fall- This is a really unique card. I'd like to hear people's thoughts.
Harrow- For some reason I didn't have a copy of this.
Pelakka Wurm- Surely this is better than Thorn Elemental or one of my other fatties?
Artifact
Fellwar Stone- I like this card, but probably should've opted for a Stone of the Mind variety instead.
Razormane Masticore- I lacked good artifact creatures.
Triskelion- This guy will help in that department too.
Runed Servitor- I sort of like this, though I'm wary.
Prismatic Lens (foil upgrade)
Prophetic Prism- I don't know if this is worth it. When I already have the Signets, the Lens, and Fellwar Stone, this seems like too much.
Multicolor
Bituminous Blast- Should I drop Blightning, Terminate, or Redcap for this? I'm attached to all three.
Land
Evolving Wilds- Needed a copy of this.
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
STP is one of the top 5 white cards (even higher without all the older cards) in my opinion. You will never replace this.
Stormfront pegasus is a good creature. Normally I recomend Soltari Trooper before it, but you obviously can't play it.
I just got a foil m10 White Knight also.
I'm not a fan of Oust. YOu ahve much better removal options with STP, PTE, O-ring, Journey, Arrest, Faith's Fetters, Temporal Isolation, Pacifism, etc.
White does have a problem with it's three drops. But I would play Paladin-en-Vec and Mirror Entity before Aven Riftwatcher.
I never liked Weathered Wayfarer.
Loam Lion is awesome even without rav and revised duals.
I was amazed at how cheap foil Elite Vanguards were when I bought mine.
Blue
I've played Negate before. It wasn't particularly bad or particularly good. I'm not sure how many good 2 mana counters blue has in the new borders.
Scroll thief is an OK card. I just think blue has better in the three drop area. Man-o-War, Bad-o-War, Vendilion Clique, Seredib Efreet. And if I wanted card draw attached to a creature I rather play Thieving Magpie.
I don't like Voyager Drake. I'm not sure what kind of deck you expect him to see play in? Blue Agro?
See Beyond looks ok but un-impressive. I would expect it to be a card you would replace soon after putting in.
Wind Zendikon would be good with lands with built in sacrifice effects to get to use them twice. I can't see this being all that great unless you wanted to support blue agro.
Tideforce Elemental is an upgrade. But it's still not particularly good.
Nice foil clone. I need to get one still.
Black
I rather play sign in blood and Night's Whisper than Ambition's Cost.
I'm not sure which art I prefer for Ravenous Rats. I really like the rats. But I would play Liliana's Specter before it.
I would probably shy away from Tendrils unless you strongly wanted to support mono black. If so you need Cabal Coffers (FNM Promo), Urborg TOY, Nantuko Shade, and probably Consume Spirit.
I was always interested by Arrogant Boodlord. It looks interesting.
Befoul seems too expesive for both Creature distruction and land distruction.
I can't imagine a post 8th cube is so different where Viscera Dagger would be good.
Red
Hammer of BOgardan's recuriosn ability rarely happened when I played it.
Play Kird Ape.
I like Hellkite, but I'm getting close to cutting him because it cost 8.
Goblin Arsonist is better than not running Mogg Fanatic also. But why not just get a mogg fanatic. I can't imagine a GOblin vs Elves/Xth/DCI promo being more than a buck.
It wasn't good enough when I played it in a 720 card cube 2 years ago. It's not good enough in a 310 card cube now.
I use to have a fear of running too much burn. I found it was unfounded.
I play Magus of the Scroll in my cube with tougher requirements than you. You should play it.
YOu could always play obliterate to get another Geddon... I would rather save my money for a Foil Geddon than buy this.
Green
Biorythum is a fun card that isn't cubable.
I just got a foil Acidic Slime also.
I haven't gotten a chance to cube since I got my Garruk's Companion. I can't say if it's good or not.
Giant's Growth probably shouldn't make the cut in a cube your size. Play Vines of the Vastwood, Berserk(if you can get a FTV one), Stonewood Invocation before this.
Harrow is good. I had the odd not owning thing happen with me and Kodama's Reach.
Not Thorn Elemental! My first deck had a foil one in it. But yeah it's an upgrade.
Artifact
You are playing 10 signets. That should be enough 2-mana artifacts. I don't think you need Mindstone, Fellwar Stone, or Prismatic Lens, prophetic prism, etc..
I love the masticore.
Trisk is amazing.
Ruined Servitor looks like a good standin until you get a solemn simulacrum.
Multicolor
Drop the blightning.
Lands
Seems good since you can't afford real fetchlands right now.
On cube size.
Honestly I would figure out how big of a cube you want and go up to that size. Some archetypes are good in small cubes and horrible in large cubes. For instance I wouldn't play Tinker or Steppe Lynx in a 720 card cube. But they are awesome in 450 card cubes. I always say play the size of a cube that you want and to always play a minimum of 360 cards.
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
Yeah, the STP was $6 (the most expensive card out of any of these), but since I'm sure I'll never drop it, I figured it was worth it.
That's right. I still need to pick up the Paladin sometime...
I got my Vanguard for $0.18!
What don't you like about Wayfarer?
For some reason I like the idea of Blue aggro, but I doubt I can pull it off (especially in a Cube like this).
I have the Shade and Consume Spirit, but the only reason I have "monoblack" in the Cube is because I seem to run into droughts when it comes to expanding Black more than any other color.
I'm honestly not sure why I don't have one. The reason I didn't buy one in this batch is because I simply forgot. I remember giving 3-4 Mogg Fanatics to a friend at one point, so those must have been the only ones I had.
I suppose it doesn't really hurt the Cube any to include a bunch of good burn spells that I would have included in an expansion anyway.
I already run Obliterate (it's not fantastic, but it's fun.) And the Boom//Bust was only $1, so it's not too big a deal. I actually like it a lot, though.
I have Vines and Stonewood in already. But yeah, I see your point.
Considering my artifact section is so small, you may have a point, but ultimately I will certainly want cards like Mind Stone.
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
I decided to add one creature and one noncreature to each color. Some of the adds are subpar, like Drake, but at this point I'm mostly just trying to expand it slightly. With these additions, the Cube is now 325 cards.
Some of the cards that are "must adds" from the post earlier simply haven't arrived yet. But you can bet that Staggershock, etc., will have guaranteed slots.
+ Aven Riftwatcher
+ Swords to Plowshares
+ Negate
+ Voyager Drake
+ Arrogant Bloodlord
+ Ambition's Cost
+ Bogardan Hellkite
+ Hammer of Bogardan
+ Garruk's Companion
+ Harrow
+ Razormane Masticore
+ Runed Servitor
+ Triskelion
+ Fellwar Stone
+ Evolving Wilds
Next update, I will start cutting cards. I'm out of sleeves, so that should stop me from recklessly adding too much.
Hopefully I'll be able to draft it tonight! It's been a while.
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
In time though, I've grown to appreciate the differences throughout Magic and actually strive to make it as diverse as possible. Old Borders, new borders, Foils, non-foils, Promos, Portal, etc. The only thing that still really bugs me that I haven't gotten over is white borders, so I removed or replaced all of them. =\ My cube is like a Magic history lesson lol.
But yeah, in time you might find that it doesn't bother you as much. I had forgotten that Bitterblossum was Tribal until you just pointed it out again. =p
Thankfully the only real excluded "victim" thanks to white borders is Savannah Lions right now (or is there something else I'm not thinking of?).
One day (when I actually get a Bitterblossom, perhaps! :p) I have a feeling Tribal, etc. won't bother me as much.
The preference of new borders is mostly due to aesthetics. I love the "feel" of the new cards- both in the artistic look of the frames and in the cleaned-up card text. Also, I like that it makes the cards look the same since they all have the same border.
But I prefer them because of some other factors, too.
First, I simply like the idea of a modern Cube mechanically- I was really inspired by BennyDJazz and wtwlf123 and their Modern Cubes. I like how certain cards that aren't quite good enough for standard cubes get to see play, I like how it's much less expensive, and I like how it is fewer cards to sift through.
A long time ago, my first idea was to make a Cube that "felt like a core set" (had no block mechanics, had simple cards, etc)- many of the people I knew who wanted to draft with me were very new to Magic at the time, and I've always loved Core sets for some reason. (I even love drafting them!)
But then I decided that it just wouldn't be as fun without cards like Mulldrifter, Blastoderm, etc. I still adore Core sets- particularly the direction they've taken with M10/M11. I do think making a custom Cube that has the resonant feel of M10/M11 with the powerlevel of Cube would be a lot of fun, though.
Anyway... Second, I own very few cards that even have the old frame; I started collecting cards around 8th Edition. I "got into" Magic around the time Invasion came out, though- I even had a few issues of TopDeck magazine, and was always fascinated with Magic strategy even before I owned any cards or knew how to play! I remember rereading them again and again, hehe. I've played all sorts of old sets with friends on Magic Workstation, though (I'm fond of draft, sealed, and Preconstructed decks) and I'm familiar with nearly every set at least a little bit.
With those things said, though... One thing I've been wrestling with is whether or not to include proxies of "old" cards in the new frame with errata, etc. I really like the idea of it- it would be fun to try out lots of new (old ) cards, and it's common in Cubes to proxy expensive cards like the Power anyway. On the other hand, I fear that it would just make the boundaries of this being a "Modern Cube" collapse. I'd have to adjust so many things and make so many proxies. One possibility is limiting the slots "old" cards are allowed and rotating them. Another possibility is adding them in slowly. I dunno. For now I won't worry about it.
Anyway, here's another update.
+ Akroma's Vengeance
+ Honor of the Pure (This won't last forever, but it has been fine so far.)
+ War Priest of Thune
+ Weathered Wayfarer
- Condemn
- Planar Cleansing
+ Conundrum Sphinx (I have a funny story about this card- remind me to tell it!)
+ Tideforce Elemental
+ Faerie Conclave
- Voyager Drake (Yeah... I don't know what I was thinking. )
+ Liliana's Specter
+ Ravenous Rats (I don't think he'll be great, but I thought I'd give him a try.)
+ Tendrils of Corruption (This has already disappointed me. I plan to replace it with Last Gasp as soon as I find/buy my copy.)
+ Viscera Dragger
- Consume Spirit
- Phyrexian Plaguelord (Drana does what he wants to do much better, there are rarely enough things to sacrifice to him, and he is even worse under the M10 rules.)
+ Boom//Bust
+ Ghitu Encampment
+ Goblin Arsonist
+ Magus of the Scroll
+ Staggershock
+ Word of Seizing (This card exceeded my expectations. So far it's been a lot of fun.)
- Dragon Whelp ( )
- Form of the Dragon (Fun, but totally ineffective. If only they printed something along the lines of Academy Rector.)
- Flameblast Dragon
- Kumano, Master Yamabushi (He might return one day.)
+ Albino Troll
+ Momentous Fall (I didn't expect this card to be good at all, but so far it has been fantastic for me. I haven't yet got caught with it in my hand and no fatty to "protect," though, and I'll me mad at it when I am.)
+ Pelakka Wurm
+ Ravenous Baloth
+ Rude Awakening (One game, this card did exactly enough damage to kill my opponent, and that time it was awesome. But other times it didn't quite do enough and it frustrated me. I'll give it more time, though.)
+ Treetop Village
+ Wild Nacatl
- Ancient Silverback (I figured he was more important to cut than Thorn Elemental since the ape lacks evasion and the dream scenario "DoJ, regenerate Ancient Silverback!" is farfetched.)
- Arbor Elf (Without Ravnica duals, he's just a bad Llanowar Elves. But I will give him another chance someday.)
- Cudgel Troll
- Deadly Recluse
- Grazing Gladehart
+ Prophetic Prism
+ Dread Statuary
+ Stalking Stones
+ Bituminous Blast
- Blightning
+ Celestial Colonnade
- Azorius Guildmage (I love Guildmage and I hate to see her go.)
+ Kird Ape
- Colossal Might
+ Loam Lion
- Armadillo Cloak
The Cube is now 338 cards, which is enough for 8 players to draft with 14-card packs.
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
What cards should be my top priorities to track down at this point?
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
that sounds like a job for cube comparison results.
using that list, this is what i'd recommend as the most important cards missing, sorted by section:
Misty Rainforest
Verdant Catacombs
Scalding Tarn
Arid Mesa
Marsh Flats
Hallowed Fountain
Watery Grave
Blood Crypt
Stomping Ground
Temple Garden
Godless Shrine
Steam Vents
Overgrown Tomb
Sacred Foundry
Breeding Pool
Azorius Chancery
Dimir Aqueduct
Rakdos Carnarium
Gruul Turf
Selesnya Sanctuary
Orzhov Basilica
Izzet Boilerworks
Golgari Rot Farm
Boros Garrison
Simic Growth Chamber
Mutavault
Reflecting Pool
City of Brass
Gemstone Mine
Savannah Lions
Soltari Priest
Wall of Omens
Paladin en-Vec
Mirror Entity
Reveillark
Baneslayer Angel
Yosei, the Morning Star
Temporal Isolation
Spectral Procession
Wrath of God
Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Gideon Jura
Austere Command
Enclave Cryptologist
Looter il-Kor
Vendilion Clique
Sower of Temptation
Venser, Shaper Savant
Glen Elendra Archmage
Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Academy Ruins
Keiga, the Tide Star
Inkwell Leviathan
Repeal
Cryptic Command
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Psionic Blast
Crystal Shard
Vedalken Shackles
Nezumi Graverobber
Bloodghast
Dark Confidant
Nezumi Shortfang
Vampire Hexmage
Plague Sliver
Tombstalker
Thoughtseize
Bitterblossom
Night's Whisper
Sudden Death
Damnation
Consuming Vapors
Sorin Markov
Stupor
Keldon Marauders
Plated Geopede
Hearth Kami
Kargan Dragonlord
Hell's Thunder
Squee, Goblin Nabob
Greater Gargadon
Avalanche Riders
Banefire
Rift Bolt
Noble Hierarch
Twinblade Slasher
Joraga Treespeaker
Tarmogoyf
Viridian Zealot
Chameleon Colossus
Wickerbough Elder
Vengevine
Thornling
Woodfall Primus
Ohran Viper
Call of the Herd
Life from the Loam
Kodama's Reach
Krosan Grip
Figure of Destiny
Trygon Predator
Stillmoon Cavalier
Shadowmage Infiltrator
Mystic Snake
Gelectrode
Bloodbraid Elf
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Angel of Despair
Stormbind
Void
Maelstrom Pulse
Voidslime
Sarkhan Vol
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Rafiq of the Many
Broodmate Dragon
Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Solemn Simulacrum
Sundering Titan
Pithing Needle
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sword of Light and Shadow
Grafted Wargear
Oblivion Stone
Crucible of Worlds
the stuff i left out isn't bad or not worth putting in, i just think these should be your priority.
I have City of Brass and the bounceland cycle already.
The fetchlands and Ravnica lands are pretty expensive, but I'll definitely collect them all one day. It might be a while, though.
I'm going to pick up an Elspeth in the duel deck pretty easily- I'm excited about that, hehe.
For the Shadow creatures like Soltari Priest and Looter il-Kor in Blue below, as well as the Shadow-themed enchantment Temporal Isolation, do situations involving Shadow creatures being blocked ever arise at all, or is it basically just "unblockable"? I feel like Shadow would be more interesting if there was enough of it for it to function as something different than "unblockable"... but regardless, the three should make the cut and will be included ASAP.
I love Savannah Lions and he will definitely go in one day, but he might have to wait a while. I have basically every white one-drop I want except him, first of all, which is plenty (given the small size of my Cube). Second, because foils (so he'll be black-bordered. :p) of him go for about $10 or more, I feel like I could spend that money on other needed cards.
And all of these white cards are great suggestions. White is the color I've thought about and planned out the most, and those are all cards I plan to add as soon as possible. Austere Command seems like a really interesting Wrath, and on paper I prefer it to Akroma's Vengeance.
I have an Inkwell Leviathan, and while he's not in yet, I plan to include him soon- probably in place of Isleback Spawn. Is he a better choice over the Spawn if I don't have things like Tinker yet?
Interesting fact about Psionic Blast- it's the only card that is only available in the new frame if you get the textless version. For this reason, I probably won't include it, unfortunately, even though I think I have a copy.
Before I posted my Cube, I used to run textless copies of cards like Harmonize, Remove Soul, and Tidings, and people would always ask what they did in the middle of the draft. That got really annoying. It was also a bit irritating to hear friends arguing over whether Tidings was an instant or a sorcery, whether it drew 3 cards or 4, etc.
Something like Blast would be even more of a headache (no pun intended) as it's kind of weird and obscure. Ditto for Cryptic- as omnipresent as that card was, what a weird choice for a textless foil with all its modes!
I'm certainly tempted to play the Player Rewards Lightning Bolt, though. Surely everyone knows what that does?!
Black is the color I feel I need to improve the most, so these suggestions are especially appreciated.
As soon as possible, I will replace Ravenous Rats with one of the "flip rats" from Kamigawa and Sign in Blood with Night's Whisper.
I would replace Mind Rot with the strictly-better Stupor, but Stupor is unavailable in the new frame. I'm being pretty strict with the new frame, so the future-bordered Tombstalker is out too unless they reprint it.
The rest of the cards are ones I will ideally collect one day.
The fact that the Red suggestion list is fairly short implies I'm on the right track, which is good.
I used to have a foil 10E Squee but I traded it to a friend who wanted it for EDH.
I believe I own copies of some of these other cards, like Keldon Marauders, Plated Geopede, and Rift Bolt- I just need to find them.
These are good suggestions, and I plan to include most of these. I won a draft the other day and my foil prize was Anathemancer, blech. I was hoping for Grip, but I guess it wasn't out yet.
I have a Trygon Predator- it should take the place of Jhessian Infiltrator. Gelectrode could take the place of Noggle Bandit (even though I like him a lot for some reason).
I used to have Angel of Despair in the Cube, but I was unimpressed and replaced her with Debtors' Knell. Her WWBB really bugged me and I wanted to try out the Knell (so far it's been great). If I expand multicolor, she might have a slot.
Some of those cards are unavailable in the new frame as they were Timeshifted cards, but I do love Mystic Snake, Void, and friends.
I currently have no three-color gold cards (unless you count Wild Nacatl, as most people do), but as the Cube grows I might fit some of those suggestions in.
All of these cards are great, and while most of them are expensive, ideally I would include them all.
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
she's best in stuff like 5 color control, black/white control, and reanimator, where the cost isn't a huge issue. i think those archetypes are enough to justify her but she's not a must have in black/white. i'd drop knell for her, but not something like mortify or stillmoon cavalier.
+ Celestial Crusader
+ Inkwell Leviathan (I plan to pick up a FTV Tinker as soon as possible.)
+ Ancestral Vision (I've seen a lot of people drop this lately, but I'm thinking it might be better in a Cube like mine.)
- Isleback Spawn
+ Last Gasp
+ Fleshbag Marauder
- Tendrils of Corruption
+ Plated Geopede
+ Keldon Marauders
- Beacon of Destruction (I really like this card, but it seems like it doesn't make the final 40 of decks enough.)
+ Wickerbough Elder
+ Trygon Predator (This was the #1 card I wanted to find in those boxes.)
+ Gelectrode (This card is cool, but I need to pick up a Fire//Ice promo.)
- Jhessian Infiltrator
- Noggle Bandit (I knew this card was bad, hehe, it's just a personal favorite. My friend drafted some sort of weird aggro deck and he did well enough, but that was the Noggle's last hurrah and he's going out.)
Here are some other cards I found, but I don't know if any of these should replace anything. Most of them aren't typical Cube-caliber cards, but for the purposes of expansion I'd like to add at least something.
If nothing in this list is really good enough to make any sort of symmetrical update, fear not; soon I'll purchase some singles as well.
Blinding Mage
Condemn (Was previously cut for the basically strictly-better Swords to Plowshares, but it could possibly come in as filler.)
Excommunicate
Lapse of Certainty
Oust
Æther Adept
Ovinize (I've never seen this card in a Cube list and doubt it's good enough, but it's a pet card of mine. I love it! :))
Riftwing Cloudskate
Zuran Spellcaster
Befoul
Dark Banishing
Royal Assassin
Ball Lightning
Destructive Force
Dragonmaster Outcast
Goblin Bushwhacker
Goblin Razerunners
Manabarbs (Seems like win-more, but it is pretty unique and Red has no 4-drops.)
Pyrohemia
Rolling Thunder
Seal of Fire
Volcanic Fallout
Giant Growth
Recollect (Is it worth using this as a placeholder for Judge Regrowth, or should I just wait until the real thing?)
Rootwalla
Seal of Primordium
Scute Mob
Sylvan Ranger
Duergar Hedge-Mage (I don't think this beats Ajani, Lightning Helix, or Brion.)
Tidehollow Sculler (Is this better than Gerard's Verdict?)
I preordered EvT, so Elspeth and Mishra's Factory will be nice. I'm not sure if Tezzeret will be good enough or not for me (or rather, if my Cube is good enough for him).
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
I'm not very excited about the other cards.
Just wanted to add a note of encouragement. Slowly building the cube can be very rewarding. It's an awesome feeling to do a big swap of suboptimal cards out for some of the game's greats. I don't know what your budget is like but mine is fairly modest when it comes to Magic and over the past 2 years I've traded/bought my way into Ravnica duals, fetches and even ABU duals.
It's taken some time but the cube has really become the centerpiece of my Magic collection. You will get there eventually. The most important thing is to enjoy every draft and every new addition, don't feel like you are getting an inferior experience just because you don't have a finished, foiled out cube.
This.
Except for the Rolling Thunder bit. I don't like that card. Especially not now that Comet Storm is out, and it's strictly better, and I don't even run that card.
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!
+ Blinding Mage (Elspeth's deck has a Temple Acolyte, but I don't think that's better than this.)
+ Condemn (I just took it out, but I figured it was better than Oust and I didn't have many other cards to add.)
+ Elspeth, Knight-Errant
+ Kor Firewalker (I don't have Silver Knight yet, and oftentimes this guy is even better against Red.)
- Kor Aeronaut (Was this the correct card to drop?)
+ Æther Adept
+ Frost Titan (I felt as though Blue was lacking finishers and I'd like to try him out.)
+ Jace's Ingenuity
+ Redirect (I also picked up a Deprive, which in a Cube like mine might be playable. Tezzeret's deck has a Foil, for what it's worth. I dunno about that one.)
- Magus of the Future (I really love the Magus, and maybe one day he'll come back. His namesake Future Sight is a card I would love to see in the 8th frame more than any other (reasonably plausible) Blue card.)
+ Chainer's Edict
+ Dark Banishing (I'm afraid that at this point Black, proportionally, might have too many targeted kill spells.)
+ Dusk Urchins
+ Sorin Markov
- Ravenous Rats
+ Destructive Force (I also have an Obsidian Fireheart, who seems fun to try but might not be worth it.)
+ Goblin Assault
+ Inferno Titan (Glad I picked this guy up.)
+ Krosan Grip
+ Mitotic Slime
+ Woodfall Primus
+ Brittle Effigy
+ Solemn Simulacrum
+ Sword of Vengeance
- Prophetic Prism
+ Voidslime
- Snakeform
+ Mishra's Factory
I don't play Constructed at all (I am still interested in formats like Standard from the outside looking in- I like asking people at my LGS questions about their decks, the metagame, etc. I just don't have the time/money/desire to pursue it myself), so the Cube is certainly the centerpiece of my Magic collection as well. Literally all the cards I procure are with improving the Cube in mind. While I can't often make sweeping changes that dramatically improve its quality, it certainly is fun when I "fix" something about it.
I love drafting and sealed, though, and I've always preferred them to Constructed. I am even interested in old, stale Limited formats that nobody cares about.
For example... for some reason I've always had a fascination with 8th Edition Limited, even though it's a terrible format. Most colors have a glut of 4-drops and mostly-unplayable low drops. Uncommon slots are wasted (from a Limited perspective) on Urza's lands. Nearly every game effectively ends its interaction in some sort of 6-8 creature stalemate until someone draws Fodder Cannon or runs out of cards because they played first. It achieves a goofy sort of fun in spite of its stupidity, and I like the fact that it featured at least one card from every set and changed the card face, hehe. I think the reason everybody hates Core set drafts so much is because of the "8th Edition Problem", which is shared by a handful of other Core Sets as well.
I drafted M11 last night and didn't do too well, but I still had a great time. I actually think it's a really well-designed set despite its alleged simplicity. They really were on the right track with M10, which already cut a lot of the crappy cards that formerly clogged up packs, and M11 improved on it further (despite dropping some cool Limited cards like Tendrils of Corruption). There are some annoyances, like losing to Baneslayer Angel, but even she is no longer the "lose the game" problem she was in M10 due to Plummet and Combust. I've always preferred Core Set drafts because of their neutral sort of flavor, and some of the designs in M10/M11 are really great even though the cards aren't always the best. What they did is fix the "8th Edition problem"- and I appreciate the intricacies that went about to make that happen!
But getting back on subject... I guess I'm intrigued by Core Sets because of the "greatest hits" feel, and that's what Cube effectively is on a grander, more complex scale. I feel like I can do that myself, and I like the set-building thinking and feeling that provides.
Cube is the best Magic format of all. It combines all the best aspects of Limited (drafting skill, deck variety, colors being represented "purely"), with all the best aspects of Constructed (using the best cards, figuring out complex interactions, knowing what to add/drop). But in doing so, it suffers from hardly any of the weaknesses of either (in Limited's case, crappy cards clogging up the tail-end of the pack and "losing to random bombs"; in Constructed's case, having to buy 4 of every Constructed staple and worrying about stagnancy).
Thank you for your encouragement, SimTiki, and thanks to everyone for their advice!
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
I need some help with what to drop, though.
+ Crystal Shard
+ Gifts Ungiven
- two of Jace's Ingenuity, Tideforce Elemental, Dismal Failure
I know Dismal Failure isn't the best counter in the world, but I feel bad cutting a counter for card draw. I haven't seen Jace's Ingenuity appear in a draft yet, however, and perhaps it should stay a little longer.
+ Twisted Abomination
- Viscera Dragger (I feel like Black might have too many "destroy target creature" effects with Doom Blade, Terror, Dark Banishing, Hideous End, and the two creatures; however, I think that Dragger is worse than those even though he's sort of unique.)
+ Mogg Fanatic
- Destructive Force OR Goblin Shortcutter
Force is not as good as Wildfire and not as silly/fun as Obliterate. It seems like whoever drafts this also drafts Wildfire and then doesn't play this. Shortcutter is a Goblin Piker a lot of the time, but at least he sort of helps aggro.
+ Krosan Tusker
+ Twinblade Slasher
- Explore? (It seems like this simply cycles too often, but it's cool when it works. I prefer it to say, Rampant Growth)
- Momentous Fall? (This has been amazing, but I'm still skeptical. I've only had one situation where this has been dead in its player's hand, but I know it will happen more frequently, statistically.)
It might be better to drop a fat Green creature for Tusker.
+ Masticore (probably won't drop anything for this, I'll just expand the Cube by 1 card)
If you can think of better cuts, let me know.
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
I think the Viscera Dragger cut is the easiest one, though I'm still wary of all the kill spells in Black. Which kill spell, if any, should be on the chopping block?
For Red, as much as I love Obliterate, I think I'm going to give it a rest and try out Destructive Force a bit since it hasn't seen any play yet. Your reasoning is really good on the matter, eidolon. (I do have 8 planeswalkers now, but regardless it seems pretty similar to Destructive Force for more mana). My Obliterate is foil and I'm attached to it, hehe, but it can always come back.
For Green, my friend has suggested I cut Explore and Ant Queen (his reasoning is that he'd rather play Mitotic Slime than the Queen). For what it's worth, he really likes Momentous Fall- he wants to see it in action more. I don't mind giving Queen a break for a bit (I haven't played her in a while, though), but I'll humor him for now. I'm thinking something like Terra Stomper or Thorn Elemental or Rude Awakening might be a better cut in the long run.
Blue is the toughest. Tideforce Elemental is the easiest cut (even though I have one friend who always drafts it and always plays it, hehe). But I'm not sure about the others. I really don't want to cut Sleep. That card always seems to do interesting things when it's played and I'd really miss it if it was gone.
Dismal Failure is interesting. It's not Dismiss, but with the "Modern" restriction, it's the closest thing (Well, except maybe Cryptic Command, which I don't own). It's kind of an odd card, but like I said before, I'd feel bad cutting a counter.
My friend suggested cutting Mind Spring if I want to keep Jace's Ingenuity. While Jace's spell seems underwhelming to me compared to Gifts Ungiven and Fact or Fiction, I've also never seen it in action in the Cube, so for now it takes Mind Spring's slot.
On Friday I'm going to draft M11, I think, and on Saturday I'll pick up some SoM cards at the prerelease. My Cube will likely be slightly expanded at that point unless I run out of sleeves.
So for now, here are the changes:
+ Crystal Shard
+ Gifts Ungiven
- Mind Spring
- Tideforce Elemental
+ Twisted Abomination
- Viscera Dragger
+ Mogg Fanatic
- Obliterate
+ Krosan Tusker
+ Twinblade Slasher
- Ant Queen
- Explore
+ Masticore
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set