MTG Salvation

It's taken awhile, but I've finally taken the time to put together the list for my 360 card Peasant Cube. I've been fascinated with Cubing ever since I first read an article on it way back when.

However, since a fully powered Cube would be a bit out of my budget as a college student, I decided to run a Peasant Cube consisting of all the awesome commons and uncommons I could find.

I've recently been working on cutting down to 360 to streamline the overall powerlevel, so here's the result...

Sweet! It's good to see your cube back up and running!

Here's my comments/suggestions from my first pass:

Have you considered Recoil or Sleeper's Robe for your UB section in place of Agony Warp?

I would run Armadillo Cloak over behemoth sledge. Even though you're liable to get 2-for-1'd, I think that possibility is worth losing the huge tempo hit that the sledge imposes.

I'm not sure what your goals for GW decks are. If you want them to be more aggressive, I'd run Watchwolf over Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers, otherwise WLC is fine.

Why no skullclamp or sol ring? Mind Stone is also a conspicuous omission.

I'd probably cut a pegasus or guardian of the guildpact for whipcorder.

Quote from ExpiredRascals

Sweet! It's good to see your cube back up and running!

Thanks! It would've been insanely difficult without all of the help from the forum =)

Here's my comments/suggestions from my first pass:

Have you considered Recoil or Sleeper's Robe for your UB section in place of Agony Warp?

This format is very much about grinding out incremental advantage and 2-for-1s over your opponent. Because of that, most auras (Anything besides Pacifism effects and Rancor) just don't have a place. Removal is so good and so abundant that taking the time to drop an aura is just asking to be blown out.

Recoil is something I forgot about though! I think it fits in the tempo style of the UB section much better than Agony Warp, so I think I'll make that swap.

I would run Armadillo Cloak over behemoth sledge. Even though you're liable to get 2-for-1'd, I think that possibility is worth losing the huge tempo hit that the sledge imposes.

Armadillo Cloak is excluded because of the same reasons I stated with Sleeper's Robe. Behemoth Sledge does take awhile to get going, but it's devastating when it does and worth the turns spent playing and equipping it.

I'm not sure what your goals for GW decks are. If you want them to be more aggressive, I'd run Watchwolf over Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers, otherwise WLC is fine.

The GW section is there to support GW Midrange, which is by far the color combination's best deck. I also like the versatility of Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers, since both Mono-W and Mono-G can run it.

Why no skullclamp or sol ring? Mind Stone is also a conspicuous omission.

I should've mentioned that both Sol Ring and Clamp were excluded for power reasons, since they would be far and away better than any other cards in the Cube. Granted, I still include some powerful uncommons, but none are near the level of those two.

I tried to make room for Mind Stone at one point. It's a fine card, for sure. I think I ended up testing out Sylvok Lifestaff though, which has more than proven to be worth it's slot. Anything you think would make a good cut for the mana rock?

I'd probably cut a pegasus or guardian of the guildpact for whipcorder.

Whipcorder was in a previous version of my Cube, but got cut when I was trying to trim down my WW casting cost section. Goldmeadow Harrier works just fine and if I wanted another tapper, I'd probably go for Gideon's Lawkeeper.

Guardian of the Guildpact is up there as one of the best creatures in this cube, as it's ridiculously hard to kill. I've won plenty of games by suiting that guy up with some piece of equipment and just running through my opponents.

Thanks for the reply! I hope I can get some more feedback, I'm really enjoying playing my Cube again and I'd like to make it as good as possible.

Looking forward to seeing your cut down to 360, and an AVR update!

Maybe you should trim down the BR aggro support

Quote from MrDumpkins

Looking forward to seeing your cut down to 360, and an AVR update!

Maybe you should trim down the BR aggro support

Thanks for helping me test it out! I'm gonna be working on my changes over the next few weeks so hopefully it should be all sorted out by next month.

I'm currently looking to cut down my Gold section to 30 cards, so any recommendations for cuts there would be appreciated.

And if anything, I'd add more B/R Aggro support =P I definitely plan on keeping Aggro as a focus in every color besides Blue when I cut down to 360.

My suggestions for one cut per multicolor section:

Plumeveil/Wall of Denial. One of these is probably fine.
Moroii is not what your average UB deck wants.
Ashenmoor Gouger because it's exchangeable; then cut Terminate for Blightning.*
Firespout because again, it's not typical for the color combination. RG doesn't want to clear the board.
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers is good, but definitely worse than KiFies, Pridemage and Kiddie Hammer.
Bull Cerodon (maybe?) because it's too expensive for RW. By the way, what's your opinion on Boros Swiftblade vs. Hearthfire Hobgoblin?
Unmake, Tidehollow Sculler, and Gerrard's Verdict out, Lingering Souls (insane!) and Unburial Rites in. I guess Verdict > Rites would be justifiable as well.
Canker Abomination/Necrogenesis, probably Abomination because green and black already have pretty good four-drops.
Lorescale Coatl/Jungle Barrier. Not sure on this one, slightly in favor of cutting Coatl.
Izzet Chronarch is maybe a little expensive, but if you like him, cut Electrolyze instead. Or is Gelectrode too quirky?

*There's been a lot of discussion about Terminate. My opinion is that while it's a good card by any standards, it is so interchangeable with any other red or black removal. You don't really care if you have Terminate if you have an abundance of other removal spells. Blightning is a little more unique, which is exactly what I want my multicolor cards to be.

So I'm finally done cutting my Cube down to the 360 level. It was a lot of work, but overall I'm happy with it and I think it'll play much smoother.

Here's a summary of my changes:

As always, I'd be happy to hear comments and feedback.

I'm planning on putting up another section soon to list some of the cards I'd like to try and find spots for, but in the meantime, I'll keep posting up in the Peasant and This or That threads for advice.

Why do you feel the need to run the entire signet cycle?

Quote from Leelue

Why do you feel the need to run the entire signet cycle?

Partially for balance reasons and partially because it just feels right. They're more powerful than the Borderposts and are available to the Enemy color combinations as well.

I know they aren't optimal for every color combination (Like Rakdos and Boros) but it isn't impossible for those colors to come together in a control deck, so I'm happy knowing that extra piece is there.

My Cube is sorted aesthetically for simplicity's sake. I like being able to put cards in their own colors and sections. I can definitely understand the concept of using the Guild System, but for me personally, it would feel messy to use.

This may not be 100% optimal, but I enjoy the fact that my Cube is tailored to my tastes and represents my own take on Magic =)

EDIT: Added a Changelog to the main post as well as a list of potential inclusions.

How often do you draft this cube, and with how many people? Do you ever find that with the 360 cards, the variety of cards becomes boring? If you draft with 8 people, the entire cube is being used, and I would assume after a while it may become stale, which is a problem that is avoidable with say a 400-500 card cube. I am only asking this question out of curiosity, because I am currently making my own cube and I am still deciding how many cards to make it.

Quote from Gday811

How often do you draft this cube, and with how many people? Do you ever find that with the 360 cards, the variety of cards becomes boring? If you draft with 8 people, the entire cube is being used, and I would assume after a while it may become stale, which is a problem that is avoidable with say a 400-500 card cube. I am only asking this question out of curiosity, because I am currently making my own cube and I am still deciding how many cards to make it.

I've typically had a max of 4, so that's still only about half of the Cube. I actually used to be at 410, but I cut down to try and even out the powerlevel as I feel some colors struggle a lot less at the 360 level (Red mostly).

We also like to play sealed a lot, so 360 is just enough to do four 90 card pools.

I'd say if you want a bit more variance in your Cube, to start off with 450 cards. You can still find enough playables to fill that up and be able to add in some pet/unusual picks along with the staples.

Thanks a ton eidolon, I have no idea what this forum would do without you!

EDIT: Visual Spoiler and M13 changes added to the OP.

Added a couple more small changes today:

OUT:
Pulse Tracker
Howling Banshee
Overrun

IN:
Knight of Infamy
Reanimate
Edge of Autumn

Pulse Tracker and the Banshee just weren't that great. Reanimate should've been in the Cube from the start and the Knight is hopefully gonna turn out to be a decent 2 drop.

I'm sad to cut Overrun, but it sees very little play and requires a heavy commitment to Green. Edge of Autumn can fit into more decklists and should never sit dead in your hand.

I've had these done for awhile, but I finally updated the list for RtR:

Red
-Lava Hounds

+Fervent Cathar

Gold
-Plumeveil
-Bituminous Blast
-Behemoth Sledge
-Gelectrode

+Judge's Familiar
+Rakdos Cackler
+Dryad Militant
+Izzet Charm

Land
-Desert

+Mirrodin's Core

Lava Hounds was alright but didn't get played much. I think the Haste/Evasion + Bear at a lower mana cost will be able to fit into more decks.

Judge's Familiar is just something I wanted to try out and Plumeveil just costs way too much colored mana. The other cards have what I'm almost positive are guaranteed spots for a long time.

Mirrodin's Core is a nice fixer I somehow missed out on including. Desert was a pet card of mine (Especially since I had an AN version) and seemed a reasonable cut for now, but may come back since it did a decent job of slowly picking off attackers.

I'll be putting in the Enemy Guildgates all at once with the next set. Not sure if I'm cutting anything or if I'll just end up including them as-is.

RTR didn't have much for peasant this time around I guess :\, I've been meaning to get some cubing done, and perhaps sunday you'd want to get down and do a little peasant/power cubing done :), I've found a sweet new 1v1 draft style in case we can't get anyone else. Killian can join as well!

Quote from MrDumpkins

RTR didn't have much for peasant this time around I guess :\, I've been meaning to get some cubing done, and perhaps sunday you'd want to get down and do a little peasant/power cubing done :), I've found a sweet new 1v1 draft style in case we can't get anyone else. Killian can join as well!

I'm more than happy with getting 2 great aggro creatures. I'm hoping that with Gatecrash and a little bit of luck from that Modern-centric set I might be able to tighten up my land section.

I work on Sunday but I'll see about finding some time to Cube soon!

Rtr was chock full of goodies. It may be the most represented set in my cube. At least top 3

Quote from Leelue

Rtr was chock full of goodies. It may be the most represented set in my cube. At least top 3

It definitely had a lot more things than what I added. I'm keeping a lot of it in mind.

Azorius Arrester, Gore-House Chainwalker and Lyev Skyknight are some other cards that didn't quite make it yet but I haven't dismissed.

I'm super happy with chainwalker

Maybe Ember Hauler could go but I'm fond of the Bear + reach that he brings. I'll keep looking.

Also updated the OP with some Guild precons if you're looking for a quick way to play.

I snap included arrester and chain-walker. Both have been awesome.

Arrester has been very middling for me. Goblin shortcutter with a mild upside is playable but unspectacular. It didn't even make my initial RTR edit (but is in now)

Arrester is a fine card, but I don't think it's better than any of the 2 drops I'm currently running. It'd have a spot if I ever decide to move up to a 450 Cube but for right now I'm fine with Goldmeadow Harrier and Kor Hooker serving as tempo critters in White.

I also made a few changes to the Guild precons in the OP with some good help from Leelue. Thanks!

Now that I've gotten in my nice shipment for the month, it's time for this round of changes:

I'm starting off a bit minimal and after testing I'll see if there are any other changes worth making for my Cube.

Since I do my best to support Green Aggro as an archtype, I'm swapping in Experiment One for Centaur Glade. E1 is a perfect 1 drop and part of supporting aggro means getting rid of some of the more 'grindy' cards in the Cube.

Efficient Enchantment removal is sparse so Centaur Glade was very resilient and non-interactive once it came online. G/x control decks still have several options in Sprout Swarm, Grizzly Fate and Bestial Menace.

The Gold cards are simple utility swaps and they also give Isochron Scepter some sweet targets.

Sadly, I believe the time for Signets in my Cube has come to an end. I'd tried to be fair, but it was only U/x decks that were picking them up and using them well.

I'm starting off with the enemy aligned Guildgates in order to even out some of the fixing. It's not perfect, but I'm hoping for Modern Masters to finally smooth out my land section.

Instead, I'll add in a few more mana rocks and a great aggro topper in Su-Chi. Skullclamp is finally making an appearance and time will tell if I decide to keep it in or not, but I have high hopes.

Along with the Gatecrash additions, I'm currently looking at these cards to add in:

Seal of Cleansing
Spiketail Drakeling
Keldon Vandals

The Seal and Vandals would be there to provide more outs to powerful cards like Loxodon Warhammer and the newly added Skullclamp.

The Drakeling has recently been buzzing around the forum and looks like a great card for U/x tempo, which I've said time and again is one of my favorite archtypes to run and support.

I'm still unsure of what exactly to cut but I'll be scrutinizing my colored sections and coming up with ideas soon. I'm also welcome to suggestions so I'd appreciate any input you guys could give me, thanks!

I always feel bad to see signets go, instead of having them sit in gold sections to be judged on individual (read: blue) merits.