Cube Tutor: Monsieur-Beefy³
Cube Size: 540
Breakdown: ~70 per color, 112 multicolor, 50 colorless, and 27 lands
Peasant (only cards with an actual common or uncommon symbol on them are included, regardless of previous rarities)
Here is my long chat. Probably a good idea to read it.
Firstly, my cube contains several oddities. Black and Red are the control colors. Blue, Green, and White are the aggro colors. My multicolor section is ~100 cards large.
I will adress these in order. Black and Red have been chosen as control colors due to their excellent removal. I have seen people run decks that are like 5 pingers, 2 finishers, 16 removal spells. These decks don't dominate the format though so I'm O.k with letting them be. They are really fun to play, and they're not easy to win with. Games can get really grindy with these two colors, and I like that. I like to think that this cube emphasizes play skill (in addition to drafting skill and deck-building skill). I have played many, many games where the match lasts forever and has a ton of decision points. I love that kind of game. I strive to play that kind of game every game. In my humble opinion, you have never enjoyed pauper cube to the fullest until you've Mind Controlled an Artisan of Kozilek or beaten the thirdPelakka Wurmof the game. I have witnessed both these things happen in this cube, and they were fun. When I first built this cube, I looked closely at the way blue (mainly) played and decided I wasn't a fan. That's pretty much just a personal preference, but I like blue much better as an aggro color built on aggressively costed fliers. U/G aggro and U/W fliers are both awesome archtypes for me and I love playing them. Blue does a really good job at being an aggro color, so it's going to stay that way. Finally, my humungous multicolor section warrants discussion. The reason I don't cut the multicolor for other cards is that they only cost about ~4 picks per player and no one is ever hurting for playables anyways. I love that cube lets you play with more powerful cards, but I want my experience to be closer to a real draft. Scrambling for playables is part of that and having large multicolor sections is an easy way to have that happen. It also places a greater importance on signaling, and the majority of the multicolor cards are very powerful and unique (like Izzet Guildmage). They pretty much always get played when people are in their colors. My cube probably has the worst mana ever (ever) but I find that it helps promote skillful drafting and deckbuilding more than good mana does. I like it that Grixis control decks can't always (correctly at least) play their Victim of Night or their Rolling Thunder. So, those are the three major oddities of this cube.
Now I will discuss some of the philosophy behind my choices. As I previously mentioned, I make an effort to promote play skill, drafting skill, deckbuilding skill, and, of course, fun.
I'm going to start off by talking about something people commonly have different opinions on: Loxodon Warhammer. This card might seem the epitome of unfun and play skill killing. Yeah, sometimes. Personally, I find the games where Loxodon Warhammer gets beaten to be incredibly fun. My cube has the tools to let that happen, and it is cool for both players when it does. In order to promote the four things I stated earlier I actually encourage variance to a degree because it means players have a responsibility to fix it (both through their play and through their deck). Bad mana means making deckbuilding choices that would otherwise be too easy. Huge gold sections means signaling is important and playables are harder to come by. Ridiculously grindy matches and matches that stabilize on both sides of the board before breaking mean more decision points. For me, playing magic gets more fun the harder I have to work to win. I don't even mind losing when the games are really sick. Anyways, that was a rant, and I will refer to it on occasion when I try to justify my card choices. Thanks.
Other Info:
- Built for 6 and 8 person team drafts
- Preference for modern card borders
- Aiming for interactive games, not power level
- Symmetry is really not an issue
- Ashes to Ashes and Volcanic Hammer are the only white bordered cards
- I don't like Library or Sol Ring
- I might cut the tri-colored cards
- Omitted: Transform, Infect, Morph (mostly)
- I dislike hard counters
Archetypes:
- U/G Midrange
- B/R Answers Control
- W/U Skies Aggro
- W/R Aggro Burn
- U/R Burn Tempo
- U/B Legit Control
- W/B Value Control
- B/G Goodstuff Rock
- G/R Midrange Aggro
- G/W Midrange Aggro
Thanks for your response
Yeah, there are a lot. Roughly ~25 of them go undrafted/last picks each draft but it is worth it because they are so fun (and immensely skillful in regards to signaling).
Your suggestions have been marked down, and I agree with them. I didn't think the Otherworldly Journey / Test of Faith pick was that close either, so that is resolved for me. I'll also definitely go for Seal of Cleansing and Revoke Existence as soon as I can pick up a promo seal.
Hedron Crab seems really out of place with no other mill cards in the cube.
You have very few counterspells; is that intentional?
Your black section is not pretty. There is way too much removal, in my opinion. Black decks in your cube must be incredibly grindy. I'd suggest cutting a bunch of the removal and replacing them with aggressive creatures.
It seems like you might want more aggressive creatures (i.e. one drops) in your red section.
You don't have as much ramp in your green section as I'd want. Mana elves are really good.
If that many multicolor cards are going undrafted, then why not cut them for things that people might actually play? I think you could cut three cards from each multicolor section, replace them with monocolor cards, and that your drafting experience would improve (and your multicolor section would still be bigger than anyone else's on this forum).
Yay, thanks for such an awesome post! So many good things to consider here
About WW: This is a really good point, and something I am looking to rectify. I'm already trying to get an Air Horse or two in there and Knight of Glory and Skyfisher are probably coming in too. Fencing Ace will also be coming in. The problem I've had with cutting some of them is that the soldier creature type really matters for me.
I'm probably going to do something like Stormfront Pegasus > Knight of Cliffhaven Mistral Charger > Soltari Priest (cutting shadow from white) Knight of Glory > Hand of Honor Fencing Ace > Blade of the Sixth Pride
I know that only helps a little bit, but it's a start. Also, I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but I don't allow Transform cards in the cube right now.
Hedron Crab is really awesome against the Red or Black control decks when you are playing aggro. Turn 1 hedron crab can mill like 15+ cards and they can't always afford to remove it in case they die to damage. That being said, it is more of a sideboard card and will probably be cut as soon as I find something better.
The lack of counterspells is intentional. I don't like how the play out generally. The problem with them is that they are not very interactive and they are often more powerful than removal because of all the ETB triggers. Because U is an aggro color more than a control color, they tend to shut out games that could otherwise stabilize into grueling battles (I would rather have grueling wars of attrition).
In regards to my Black and Red sections: These are my cube's two main control colors. Blue is an aggro / midrange color in my cube. U/G midrange is actually the strongest archtype right now. Yes, the black and red decks are super grindy. I have seen people run decks that are like 5 pingers, 2 finishers, 16 removal spells. These decks don't dominate the format though so I'm O.k with letting them be. They are really fun to play, and they're not easy to win with. Black is going to lose some of it's removal and Red is going to get more aggro support (so it is closer to 50/50 aggro/control) as soon as they print the cards that I want Do you have any suggestions for good Red aggro creatures?
The reason I don't cut the multicolor for other cards is that they only cost about ~4 picks per player and no one was hurting for playables anyways. I love that cube lets you play with more powerful cards, but I want my experience to be closer to a real draft. Scrambling for playables is part of that and having large multicolor sections is an easy way to have that happen. It also places a greater importance on signaling, and the majority of the multicolor cards are very powerful and unique (like Izzet Guildmage). They pretty much always get played when people are in their colors. All that being said, the tri colored cards haven't been making it into decks nearly as often, so those are on the chopping block if the continue to underperform. My cube probably has the worst mana ever (ever) but I find that it helps promote skillful drafting and deckbuilding more than good mana does. I like it that Grixis control decks can't always (correctly at least) play their Victim of Night or their Rolling Thunder. This is also one of the reasons why my WW cards are so abundant. Besides, with RTR on the way I'm going to have a much easier time of updating this cube than all of you guys will
To make myself more clear, there will certainly be some cuts in the multicolor section (aiming for around 100 cards for the section) but that's all. I'm pretty adamant on this one.
Yeah, it's really good. It hasn't been unfun for us yet, although I only recently added a lot of the token generators. It is only really broken in Wx and sometimes in Gx I think. It's certainly on my cut-list though, and I can see it going real soon.
So anyways, thanks immensely for your post. You have given me lots of things to think about, and I'm certain the cube will improve as a result.
So you include non-commons/uncomms that 'feel' common or uncommon? Rares don't feel uncommon to me so I don't get how you can justify 1 card but not another.
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I write about cube and run cube drafts on magic online.
You'll be happy to see I have started using the guild system for the Arctic Aven and friends cycle and flashback costs.
I have some questions about some things though. First, l I have to cut 2 UW cards. Second, Auger Spree or Wrecking Ball?
Also, feel free to point out cards that you think are awful so we can argue about them
@ Leelue : Thanks for the feedback. The rakdos cards you mentioned aren't better necessarily, they just fill a different role. R/B is very much a control archetype in this cube so aggro cards like those you mentioned aren't ideal. I haven't tried Fire Covenant, so I will. I'm still on the fence about the keyrunes. I don't think any of the cards you mentioned are bad, just unusual because of the archetype they go in. Deepfire Elemental is actually an all-star though. He nerfs tokens so hard, and does a great job of locking down games. Harbor Bandit doesn't do what I want it to, and I already play Ribbons of Night (classifies as black, because it goes into all the black decks). I'll definitely try the others you mentioned. Any opinion on cuts for U/W?
Merfolk Looter < Thought Courier is a creature type thing. Not relevant yet anyways.
Overgrown Battlement isn't usually better than vine trellis here, but I'll put both of them in when I find room.
I think Homicidal Seclusion is going to be awesome, but a lot of that has to do with the way my black is set up for control instead of aggro. Demonic Taskmaster is already very good here, and Homicidal Seclusion works well in very similar decks.
I've got a foil Vine Trellis, but not Overgrown Battlement. G (including the G multicolors) only have one other defender. I'm going to find room for both of them anyways, in the long run.
I've got a foil Vine Trellis, but not Overgrown Battlement. G (including the G multicolors) only have one other defender. I'm going to find room for both of them anyways, in the long run.
That shiny addiction!
I just see the possible extra G off battlement as random upside, not really a main feature of the card. I think I've had it tap for GG in one game. Random upside is still awesome though.
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I write about cube and run cube drafts on magic online.
And I'm seriously thinking about adding thought courier anyway. I love looters in blue more than I love mana elves in green.
I can't imagine playing less than 3 of the ones I listed above, as I have a hard time imagining my cube making decks that arent ok with the time investment.
Haha, I can't believe you had Exclusion Ritual in there. Any reason why you wouldn't run Saltblast instead if you wanted another general purpose removal spell?
Monsieur-Beefy³
Cube Tutor: Monsieur-Beefy³
Cube Size: 540
Breakdown: ~70 per color, 112 multicolor, 50 colorless, and 27 lands
Peasant (only cards with an actual common or uncommon symbol on them are included, regardless of previous rarities)
Firstly, my cube contains several oddities. Black and Red are the control colors. Blue, Green, and White are the aggro colors. My multicolor section is ~100 cards large.
I will adress these in order. Black and Red have been chosen as control colors due to their excellent removal. I have seen people run decks that are like 5 pingers, 2 finishers, 16 removal spells. These decks don't dominate the format though so I'm O.k with letting them be. They are really fun to play, and they're not easy to win with. Games can get really grindy with these two colors, and I like that. I like to think that this cube emphasizes play skill (in addition to drafting skill and deck-building skill). I have played many, many games where the match lasts forever and has a ton of decision points. I love that kind of game. I strive to play that kind of game every game. In my humble opinion, you have never enjoyed pauper cube to the fullest until you've Mind Controlled an Artisan of Kozilek or beaten the third Pelakka Wurm of the game. I have witnessed both these things happen in this cube, and they were fun. When I first built this cube, I looked closely at the way blue (mainly) played and decided I wasn't a fan. That's pretty much just a personal preference, but I like blue much better as an aggro color built on aggressively costed fliers. U/G aggro and U/W fliers are both awesome archtypes for me and I love playing them. Blue does a really good job at being an aggro color, so it's going to stay that way. Finally, my humungous multicolor section warrants discussion. The reason I don't cut the multicolor for other cards is that they only cost about ~4 picks per player and no one is ever hurting for playables anyways. I love that cube lets you play with more powerful cards, but I want my experience to be closer to a real draft. Scrambling for playables is part of that and having large multicolor sections is an easy way to have that happen. It also places a greater importance on signaling, and the majority of the multicolor cards are very powerful and unique (like Izzet Guildmage). They pretty much always get played when people are in their colors. My cube probably has the worst mana ever (ever) but I find that it helps promote skillful drafting and deckbuilding more than good mana does. I like it that Grixis control decks can't always (correctly at least) play their Victim of Night or their Rolling Thunder. So, those are the three major oddities of this cube.
Now I will discuss some of the philosophy behind my choices. As I previously mentioned, I make an effort to promote play skill, drafting skill, deckbuilding skill, and, of course, fun.
I'm going to start off by talking about something people commonly have different opinions on: Loxodon Warhammer. This card might seem the epitome of unfun and play skill killing. Yeah, sometimes. Personally, I find the games where Loxodon Warhammer gets beaten to be incredibly fun. My cube has the tools to let that happen, and it is cool for both players when it does. In order to promote the four things I stated earlier I actually encourage variance to a degree because it means players have a responsibility to fix it (both through their play and through their deck). Bad mana means making deckbuilding choices that would otherwise be too easy. Huge gold sections means signaling is important and playables are harder to come by. Ridiculously grindy matches and matches that stabilize on both sides of the board before breaking mean more decision points. For me, playing magic gets more fun the harder I have to work to win. I don't even mind losing when the games are really sick. Anyways, that was a rant, and I will refer to it on occasion when I try to justify my card choices. Thanks.
- Built for 6 and 8 person team drafts
- Preference for modern card borders
- Aiming for interactive games, not power level
- Symmetry is really not an issue
- Ashes to Ashes and Volcanic Hammer are the only white bordered cards
- I don't like Library or Sol Ring
- I might cut the tri-colored cards
- Omitted: Transform, Infect, Morph (mostly)
- I dislike hard counters
Archetypes:
- U/G Midrange
- B/R Answers Control
- W/U Skies Aggro
- W/R Aggro Burn
- U/R Burn Tempo
- U/B Legit Control
- W/B Value Control
- B/G Goodstuff Rock
- G/R Midrange Aggro
- G/W Midrange Aggro
- Chronomaton
- Signal Pest
- Steel Wall
- Epochrasite
- Perilous Myr
- Palladium Myr
- Pilgrim's Eye
- Galvanic Juggernaut
- Juggernaut
- Ulamog's Crusher
- Artisan of Kozilek
- Azorius Signet
- Boros Signet
- Dimir Signet
- Golgari Signet
- Gruul Signet
- Izzet Signet
- Orzhov Signet
- Rakdos Signet
- Selesnya Signet
- Simic Signet
- Bonesplitter
- Skullclamp
- Trusty Machete
- Armillary Sphere
- Lightning Greaves
- Mask of Memory
- Mind Stone
- Mortarpod
- Prismatic Lens
- Prophetic Prism
- Swiftfoot Boots
- Vulshok Morningstar
- Crystal Ball
- Grafted Wargear
- Loxodon Warhammer
- Whispersilk Cloak
- Worn Powerstone
UR- Goblin Electromancer
- Izzet Guildmage
- Nivix Guildmage
- Gelectrode
- Izzet Staticaster
- Nivix Cyclops
- Izzet Chronarch
- Desperate Ravings
- Izzet Charm
- Electrolyze
WR- Boros Guildmage
- Boros Swiftblade
- Stun Sniper
- Sunhome Guildmage
- Wojek Halberdiers
- Skyknight Legionnaire
- Highspire Mantis
- Boros Charm
- Lightning Helix
- Intimidation Bolt
RG- Flinthoof Boar
- Gruul Guildmage
- Boggart Ram-Gang
- Fanatic of Xenagos
- Bloodbraid Elf
- Ghor-Clan Rampager
- Zhur-Taa Swine
- Branching Bolt
- Vengeful Rebirth
- Savage Twister
WU- Azorius Guildmage
- Sejiri Merfolk
- Arctic Aven
- Azorius Herald
- Lyev Skyknight
- Plumeveil
- Wall of Denial
- Sky Hussar
- Ethercaste Knight
- Ardent Plea
BG- Golgari Guildmage
- Korozda Guildmage
- Putrid Leech
- Dreg Mangler
- Stalker Hag
- Consume Strength
- Putrefy
- Treasured Find
- Death Mutation
- Necrogenesis
GW- Qasali Pridemage
- Selesnya Guildmage
- Steward of Valeron
- Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
- Watchwolf
- Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
- Enlisted Wurm
- Behemoth Sledge
- Call of the Conclave
- Travel Preparations
- Armadillo Cloak
WB- Orzhov Guildmage
- Blind Hunter
- Darklit Gargoyle
- Tidehollow Sculler
- Zealous Persecution
- Mortify
- Unmake
- Gerrard's Verdict
- Lingering Souls
- Pillory of the Sleepless
UG- Coiling Oracle
- Jhessian Infiltrator
- Shambleshark
- Simic Guildmage
- Drakewing Krasis
- Elusive Krasis
- Lorescale Coatl
- Trygon Predator
- Assault Zeppelid
- Shardless Agent
UB- Dimir Guildmage
- Bane Alley Broker
- Kathari Remnant
- Moroii
- Dinrova Horror
- Baleful Strix
- Agony Warp
- Dimir Charm
- Warped Physique
- Recoil
RB- Crimson Muckwader
- Rakdos Guildmage
- Blood Cultist
- Rakdos Ickspitter
- Deepfire Elemental
- Swift Warkite
- Terminate
- Bituminous Blast
- Blightning
- Torrent of Souls
WUBRG- Spitemare
- Frostburn Weird
- Rendclaw Trow
- Dryad Militant
- Kitchen Finks
- Burning-Tree Emissary
- Murderous Redcap
- Inkfathom Infiltrator
- Gift of Orzhova
WW- Brave the Elements
- Condemn
- Harm's Way
- Path to Exile
- Swords to Plowshares
- Moment of Heroism
- Shelter
- Devouring Light
- Guardians' Pledge
- Oust
- Sunlance
- Revoke Existence
- Journey to Nowhere
- Pacifism
- Seal of Cleansing
- Temporal Isolation
- Banishing Light
- Cage of Hands
- Griffin Guide
- Oblivion Ring
- Prison Term
- Armored Ascension
- Faith's Fetters
- Mammoth Umbra
UU- Shrine of Piercing Vision
- Crystal Shard
- Brainstorm
- Boomerang
- Counterspell
- Mana Leak
- Remand
- Withdraw
- Ray of Command
- Jace's Ingenuity
- Traumatic Visions
- Ponder
- Preordain
- Silent Departure
- Compulsive Research
- Undo
- Concentrate
- Tidings
- Treasure Cruise
- Mark of Eviction
- Agoraphobia
- Favorable Winds
- Narcolepsy
- Control Magic
- Mind Control
- Confiscate
- Volition Reins
- Take Possession
BB- Darkblast
- Disfigure
- Undying Evil
- Vendetta
- Bile Blight
- Doom Blade
- Go for the Throat
- Grasp of Darkness
- Nameless Inversion
- Smother
- Terror
- Ultimate Price
- Victim of Night
- Dismember
- Reckless Spite
- Sudden Death
- Tendrils of Corruption
- Annihilate
- Murderous Cut
- Inquisition of Kozilek
- Wretched Banquet
- Hymn to Tourach
- Night's Whisper
- Sign in Blood
- Soul Reap
- Ashes to Ashes
- Assassinate
- Infest
- Morbid Plunder
- Barter in Blood
- Dread Return
- Corpsehatch
- Incremental Blight
- Ribbons of Night
- Unburial Rites
- Corrupt
- Absorb Vis
- Consume Spirit
- Swallowing Plague
- Curse of Shallow Graves
- Homicidal Seclusion
- Enslave
RR- Shrine of Burning Rage
- Lightning Bolt
- Incinerate
- Magma Jet
- Searing Blaze
- Searing Blood
- Searing Spear
- Brimstone Volley
- Puncture Blast
- Staggershock
- Volt Charge
- Blind with Anger
- Grab the Reins
- Stoke the Flames
- Violent Eruption
- Act of Aggression
- Fiery Fall
- Pyrokinesis
- Flame Jab
- Flame Slash
- Arc Trail
- Breath of Darigaaz
- Pyroclasm
- Recoup
- Volcanic Hammer
- Arc Lightning
- Flames of the Firebrand
- Mark of Mutiny
- Aftershock
- Surreal Memoir
- Cone of Flame
- Shower of Coals
- Rolling Thunder
- Goblin War Paint
- Lust for War
GG- Inquisitor's Flail vs. Fireshrieker
- Leonin Scimitar vs. Adventuring Gear
- Kami of Ancient Law vs. War Priest of Thune vs. Leonin Relic Warder
- Kor Sanctifiers vs. Devout Chaplain
- Seal of Cleansing vs. Return to Dust vs. Revoke Existence (pick 2)
- White Knight vs. Hand of Honor vs. Knight of Glory (pick 2)
- Incremental Growth vs. Blessings of Nature
- Wild Mongrel vs. Darkthicket Wolf
- Good Red aggro creaures?
- Tumble Magnet
+ Prismatic Lens
- Viridian Claw
- Fireshrieker
+ Worn Powerstone
+ Palladium Myr
- Swerve
+ Fire/Ice
- Hearthfire Hobgoblin
- Burning Oil
+ Boros Charm
+ Wojek Halberdier
- Colossal Might
- Skarrgan Skybreaker
+ Ghor-Clan Rampager
+ Zhur-Taa Swine
- Golgari Germination
+ Korozda Guildmage
- Selesnya Charm
+ Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
- Aether Mutation
- Tracker's Instincts
+ Shambleshark
+ Drakewing Krasis
- Leafdrake Roost
+ Elusive Krasis
- Blizzard Specter
+ Bane-Alley Broker
- Knight of the Holy Nimbus
+ Daring Skyjek
- Emerge Unscathed
+ Shelter
- Nevermaker
+ Water Servant
- Spire Monitor
+ Favorable Winds
- Foresee
+ Concentrate
- Drake Umbra
+ Agoraphobia
- Goblin Bushwhacker
+ Kruin Striker
- Gorehorn Minotaurs
+ Bloodfray Giant
- Goblin Shortcutter
+ Firefist Striker
- Brute Force
+ Flame Jab
- Basalt Gargoyle
+ Splatter Thug
+ Wall of Blossoms
- Maul Splicer
+ Utopia Sprawl
12.02.12
Blind With Anger > Flames of the Blood Hand
Dross Golem > Smallpox
Wingcrafter > Trinket Mage
Beetleback Chief > Browbeat
Overgrown Battlement > Hunting Triad
Welkin Tern > Ninja of the Deep Hours
11.29.12
Utopia Sprawl > Baloth Woodcrasher
Arrest > Exclusion Ritual
Merfolk Looter > Hedron Crab
Vedalken Mastermind > Scroll Thief
11.20.12
adds>>
+ Viridian Claw
+ Nivix Guildmage
+ Frostburn Weird
+ Izzet Charm
+ Goblin Electromancer
+ Izzet Staticaster
+ Rally the Peasants
+ Flinthoof Boar
+ Lyev Skyknight
+ Skymark Roc
+ Treasured Find
+ Dreg Mangler
+ Dryad Militant
+ Travel Preparations
+ Call of the Conclave
+ Selesnya Charm
+ Unburial Rites
+ Darklit Gargoyle
+ Aether Mutation
+ Tracker's Instincts
+ Crimson Muckwader
+ War Falcon
+ Fencing Ace
+ Azorius Arrester
+ Shrine of Loyal Legions
+ Aven Riftwatcher
+ Razor Golem
+ Seal of Cleansing
+ Thought Courier
+ Scroll Thief
+ Stinkweed Imp
+ Wall of Bone
+ Darkblast
+ Ultimate Price
+ Hymn to Tourach
+ Homicidal Seclusion
+ Viashino Slaughtermaster
+ Magma Jet
+ Vine Trellis
+ Darkthicket Wolf
+ Wolfir Avenger
+ Druid's Familiar
+ Grizzly Fate
+ Prey Upon
cuts>>
- Adventuring Gear
- Crag Puca
- Quicksilver Dagger
- Razorfin Hunter
- Belligerent Hatchling
- Giantbaiting
- Deft Duelist
- Vedalken Outlander
- Mistmeadow Witch
- Cankerous Thirst
- Charging Troll
- Valeron Outlander
- Voracious Hatchling
- Mourning Thrull
- Wistful Selkie
- Zombie Outlander
- Goblin Outlander
- Kulrath Knight
- Wrecking Ball
- Woolly Thoctar
- Marisi's Twinclaws
- Silver Knight
- Kor Firewalker
- White Knight
- Hand of Honor
- Blade of the Sixth Pride
- Return to Dust
- Merfolk Looter
- Welkin Tern
- Knight of Infamy
- Black Knight
- Urge to Feed
- Last Gasp
- Stupor
- Vigor Mortis
- Blood Knight
- Combust
- Wolf-Skull Shaman
- Overgrown Battlement
- Wren's Run Vanquisher
- Wild Leotau
- Arctic Nishoba
- Irresistible Prey
09.06.12
Stormfront Pegasus > Knight of Cliffhaven
Mistral Charger > Soltari Priest
Moment of Heroism > Momentary Blink
Avacyn's Pilgrim > Llanowar Augur
Blessings of Nature > Primal Bellow
As for the questions:
Fireshrieker, not close.
Neither of these are great. Sai of the Shinobi would be my suggestion.
Kami of Ancient Law just because you don't have to feel bad about playing it on turn two, whereas you don't really want to play War Priest of Thune on turn two. Leonin Relic-Warder is bad.
Kor Sanctifiers.
Seal of Cleansing and Disenchant are pretty much the only ones I'd be willing to play (and the Seal isn't that appealing).
Knight of Glory and White Knight, though I don't like having that many double-white two drops.
Blessings of Nature, though that's pretty close.
Test of Faith.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
Yeah, there are a lot. Roughly ~25 of them go undrafted/last picks each draft but it is worth it because they are so fun (and immensely skillful in regards to signaling).
Your suggestions have been marked down, and I agree with them. I didn't think the Otherworldly Journey / Test of Faith pick was that close either, so that is resolved for me. I'll also definitely go for Seal of Cleansing and Revoke Existence as soon as I can pick up a promo seal.
Hedron Crab seems really out of place with no other mill cards in the cube.
You have very few counterspells; is that intentional?
Your black section is not pretty. There is way too much removal, in my opinion. Black decks in your cube must be incredibly grindy. I'd suggest cutting a bunch of the removal and replacing them with aggressive creatures.
It seems like you might want more aggressive creatures (i.e. one drops) in your red section.
You don't have as much ramp in your green section as I'd want. Mana elves are really good.
Call of the Herd is a rare.
If that many multicolor cards are going undrafted, then why not cut them for things that people might actually play? I think you could cut three cards from each multicolor section, replace them with monocolor cards, and that your drafting experience would improve (and your multicolor section would still be bigger than anyone else's on this forum).
Oh, and Skullclamp is broken and unfun.
My Type 4 stack (Cube Tutor link)
About WW: This is a really good point, and something I am looking to rectify. I'm already trying to get an Air Horse or two in there and Knight of Glory and Skyfisher are probably coming in too. Fencing Ace will also be coming in. The problem I've had with cutting some of them is that the soldier creature type really matters for me.
I'm probably going to do something like
Stormfront Pegasus > Knight of Cliffhaven
Mistral Charger > Soltari Priest (cutting shadow from white)
Knight of Glory > Hand of Honor
Fencing Ace > Blade of the Sixth Pride
I know that only helps a little bit, but it's a start. Also, I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but I don't allow Transform cards in the cube right now.
Hedron Crab is really awesome against the Red or Black control decks when you are playing aggro. Turn 1 hedron crab can mill like 15+ cards and they can't always afford to remove it in case they die to damage. That being said, it is more of a sideboard card and will probably be cut as soon as I find something better.
The lack of counterspells is intentional. I don't like how the play out generally. The problem with them is that they are not very interactive and they are often more powerful than removal because of all the ETB triggers. Because U is an aggro color more than a control color, they tend to shut out games that could otherwise stabilize into grueling battles (I would rather have grueling wars of attrition).
In regards to my Black and Red sections: These are my cube's two main control colors. Blue is an aggro / midrange color in my cube. U/G midrange is actually the strongest archtype right now. Yes, the black and red decks are super grindy. I have seen people run decks that are like 5 pingers, 2 finishers, 16 removal spells. These decks don't dominate the format though so I'm O.k with letting them be. They are really fun to play, and they're not easy to win with. Black is going to lose some of it's removal and Red is going to get more aggro support (so it is closer to 50/50 aggro/control) as soon as they print the cards that I want
I reeeaaaallly want MTGO cube-art Fyndhorn Elves. Until then, Avacyn's Pilgrim is coming in. To the best of my knowledge, that only leaves Elves of Deep Shadow unaccounted for.
Call of the Herd is timeshifted
The reason I don't cut the multicolor for other cards is that they only cost about ~4 picks per player and no one was hurting for playables anyways. I love that cube lets you play with more powerful cards, but I want my experience to be closer to a real draft. Scrambling for playables is part of that and having large multicolor sections is an easy way to have that happen. It also places a greater importance on signaling, and the majority of the multicolor cards are very powerful and unique (like Izzet Guildmage). They pretty much always get played when people are in their colors. All that being said, the tri colored cards haven't been making it into decks nearly as often, so those are on the chopping block if the continue to underperform. My cube probably has the worst mana ever (ever) but I find that it helps promote skillful drafting and deckbuilding more than good mana does. I like it that Grixis control decks can't always (correctly at least) play their Victim of Night or their Rolling Thunder. This is also one of the reasons why my WW cards are so abundant. Besides, with RTR on the way I'm going to have a much easier time of updating this cube than all of you guys will
To make myself more clear, there will certainly be some cuts in the multicolor section (aiming for around 100 cards for the section) but that's all. I'm pretty adamant on this one.
Yeah, it's really good. It hasn't been unfun for us yet, although I only recently added a lot of the token generators. It is only really broken in Wx and sometimes in Gx I think. It's certainly on my cut-list though, and I can see it going real soon.
So anyways, thanks immensely for your post. You have given me lots of things to think about, and I'm certain the cube will improve as a result.
Your cube is strange beyond reason
peasantcube.blogspot.com
Yeah, it is a little strange, although it is a fun format.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
I feel ya. I was complaining that I wanted a call reprint/functional reprint in RTR at uncommon the other day. I love me some value cards.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
:symru::symru:
Frostburn Weird
WR
:symwr::symwr:
Spitemare
RG
WU
BG
:symbg::symbg:
Rendclaw Trow
GW
:symwg::symwg:
WB
:symwb::symwb:
Mourning Thrull
UG
UB
RB
:symrb::symrb:
Murderous Redcap
WUBRG
I have some questions about some things though. First, l I have to cut 2 UW cards. Second, Auger Spree or Wrecking Ball?
Also, feel free to point out cards that you think are awful so we can argue about them
Bad
deepfire elemental
augur spree
rakdos ickspitter (not bad, just whack for a gold card.
better
Some of those are poor, but they are all better than the aforementioned cards when it comes to getting you wins.
Other cards that are better than cards you are running are
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
peasantcube.blogspot.com
Huge Update:
adds>>
+ Viridian Claw
+ Nivix Guildmage
+ Frostburn Weird
+ Izzet Charm
+ Goblin Electromancer
+ Izzet Staticaster
+ Rally the Peasants
+ Flinthoof Boar
+ Lyev Skyknight
+ Skymark Roc
+ Treasured Find
+ Dreg Mangler
+ Dryad Militant
+ Travel Preparations
+ Call of the Conclave
+ Selesnya Charm
+ Unburial Rites
+ Darklit Gargoyle
+ Aether Mutation
+ Tracker's Instincts
+ Crimson Muckwader
+ War Falcon
+ Fencing Ace
+ Azorius Arrester
+ Shrine of Loyal Legions
+ Aven Riftwatcher
+ Razor Golem
+ Seal of Cleansing
+ Thought Courier
+ Scroll Thief
+ Stinkweed Imp
+ Wall of Bone
+ Darkblast
+ Ultimate Price
+ Hymn to Tourach
+ Homicidal Seclusion
+ Viashino Slaughtermaster
+ Magma Jet
+ Vine Trellis
+ Darkthicket Wolf
+ Wolfir Avenger
+ Druid's Familiar
+ Grizzly Fate
+ Prey Upon
cuts>>
- Adventuring Gear
- Crag Puca
- Quicksilver Dagger
- Razorfin Hunter
- Belligerent Hatchling
- Giantbaiting
- Deft Duelist
- Vedalken Outlander
- Mistmeadow Witch
- Cankerous Thirst
- Charging Troll
- Valeron Outlander
- Voracious Hatchling
- Mourning Thrull
- Wistful Selkie
- Zombie Outlander
- Goblin Outlander
- Kulrath Knight
- Wrecking Ball
- Woolly Thoctar
- Marisi's Twinclaws
- Silver Knight
- Kor Firewalker
- White Knight
- Hand of Honor
- Blade of the Sixth Pride
- Return to Dust
- Merfolk Looter
- Welkin Tern
- Knight of Infamy
- Black Knight
- Urge to Feed
- Last Gasp
- Stupor
- Vigor Mortis
- Blood Knight
- Combust
- Wolf-Skull Shaman
- Overgrown Battlement
- Wren's Run Vanquisher
- Wild Leotau
- Arctic Nishoba
- Irresistible Prey
I never understood why people liked the keyrunes
2 color totems with significantly worse bodies
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Overgrown Battlement isn't usually better than vine trellis here, but I'll put both of them in when I find room.
I think Homicidal Seclusion is going to be awesome, but a lot of that has to do with the way my black is set up for control instead of aggro. Demonic Taskmaster is already very good here, and Homicidal Seclusion works well in very similar decks.
Cutting Battlement for Trelis is insane. Why cut a strictly better card for a worse one?
I dislike the basic looters, they just aren't aggressive enough for my taste.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
G (including the G multicolors) only have one other defender. I'm going to find room for both of them anyways, in the long run.
That shiny addiction!
I just see the possible extra G off battlement as random upside, not really a main feature of the card. I think I've had it tap for GG in one game. Random upside is still awesome though.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
And I'm seriously thinking about adding thought courier anyway. I love looters in blue more than I love mana elves in green.
I can't imagine playing less than 3 of the ones I listed above, as I have a hard time imagining my cube making decks that arent ok with the time investment.
My CubeCobra (draft 20 card packs, 2 packs.)
430, Peasant, Very Unpowered
Why you should take your hybrids out of your gold section
Manamath Article
Utopia Sprawl > Baloth Woodcrasher
Arrest > Exclusion Ritual
Merfolk Looter > Hedron Crab
Vedalken Mastermind > Scroll Thief
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