Lower powered 390 card peasant cube designed to hopefully create interesting choices in draft and gameplay. The lower power level also lets me play with cards and themes that wouldn't make the cut in a traditional cube. I've taken some design inspiration from the folks over at Riptide Lab, so if you've not been there before, I recommend checking it out to see some alternative takes on cube building.
Supported Themes
W: Anthem-based aggro, blink, and enchantment-based control U : Flyers/tempo and spells matter control B: Sacrifice, death matters, and life drain R: Dash-centered aggro, plus cards that support the other colors' themes G: Landfall, ramp, and midrange beats
Other things to note:
Singleton - I'm certainly willing to experiment, but much of my love of cube comes from the variety of cards in the pool, so for now everything is a one-of (technically there are a few functional reprints of a few mana utility cards)
390 card pool to hopefully create a sweet spot between consistency and variety; my most common playgroup size tends to be six players, but I want to support up to ten (with thirteen card packs) if the stars align
Designed to be relatively newbie friendly; no "free" instant speed spells like Force of Will or Mutagenic Growth, exclusion of cards that favor veteran players (morph)
Exclusion of the best ETB midrange value creatures (Cloudgoat Ranger, Mulldrifter, Shriekmaw, Flametongue Kavu) in order to separate beatdown and control decks a bit as well as give synergistic decks a bigger chance to shine
Other common/uncommon power cards (Sol Ring, Skullclamp, Loxodon Warhammer, etc) have been excluded as well
Onslaught cycling lands and mana trinkets included to smooth out mana and color; the trinkets should hopefully help make Quiet Contemplation/Skywise Teachings a viable deck, but that will be seen with playtesting
Rather than worry about dumb 2/1s for 1, aggro in this cube will generally lead off with a utility 1-drop or a beatdown 2-drop
A few pieces of premium removal in each color, the rest should be limited in some way (speed, cost, target restrictions, etc)
Artifacts can ramp or fix mana, but not both at the same time
-- This is my old Modern-only list. I'm keeping it here for people who want to try something similar. --
(Technically it's 363 cards at the moment, but I want a round number in my thread title cube size tag.)
I decided to make a Modern Peasant cube for a couple of reasons. First of all, it has been cheap to build. I don't have to worry about playing it with strangers or out in public. I'm not expecting any cards to "disappear" but even if one got accidentally lost or damaged I wouldn't get stressed about it.
Using the Modern-legal card pool lets me play cards that I never got a chance to play with due to taking a long break from magic. I only just returned to Magic with Innistrad last fall, so I didn't get to play with most of these cards when they were first released.
Another factor is that I plan on playing with lots of people who are new to cubing and limited in general. The clear and consistent rules templating on Modern cards makes things easier for these players.
Cube Summary
360-375 cards: A little variance keeps things exciting, but I want to keep the card pool tight in order to ensure aggro stays viable even in smaller drafts. I'm trying to keep it as close to 360 as possible for the moment since I know that it'll be harder to make cuts with each new set.
Modern legal commons and uncommons: refer to card's highest rarity when necessary, so no Clone or Loxodon Warhammer
Timeshifted cards only allowed if reprinted with a modern card frame
The following mechanics are excluded from the cube for ease of play: Infect, Echo, Protection from Colors, Morph, Suspend, Shadow, Miracles, Flip/Split/Dual Sided Cards
Other explicitly excluded cards for power level/time constraints: Skullclamp, Sensei's Divining Top, Ghostly Prison, Signet
AFAIK, Loxodon Warhammer is the only C/U cube worthy card that has been both uncommon and rare in Modern-legal sets, so the rule is mostly just a way to rationalize banning it (I'd probably exclude it anyway, but it's nice to know that WotC felt it was too good at uncommon). You could maybe also count Clone under this rule, although it's only been at rare in Modern sets.
I'd run Jodah's Avenger, but I've purposefully excluded shadow and protection from specific color abilities from the cube for the moment. I may decide to change this stance in the future, but that's why he's not in there. I'd like to keep hate cards aimed at archtypes or permanent types than explicitly hosing colors.
I'd forgotten about the Megaliths, that's definitely a cube-worth land! I'll try out the green Genju sometime too. Thanks for the suggestions!
One of my players wants me to test out a mill package. I'm doubtful it will play well, since it's such a narrow strategy, but I told him I'd humor him and test it out if he supplies all the cards.
After a quick search on Magiccards.info, it looks like this is the set of playable mill cards for Modern Peasant:
how has blasting station worked? i assume you draft it in a black based sacrifice deck hoping to utilize reassembling skeleton as an engine, but i can think of a few other ways to make that card tick.
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My Peasant Cube -420 The Combo Cube
"If there are 2 things in this world I love, They are both Jace, The Mind Sculptor." - Patrick Chapin
I actually don't have Blasting Station in there yet because I haven't gotten a copy of it, so unfortunately, I can't say how it plays for sure. I'm getting close to actually having my full 360 and I'll update the list here when I do. I just don't want to make a bunch of edits while I'm still acquiring cards.
well please let me know how it goes when you do in here or in the other discussion forum i've been looking into adding a slightly more focused sacrifice package for black to draft around if it wants. including
blood artist
falkenrath noble
carrion feeder
reassembling skeleton
pawn of ulamog
I can't think of anything else thats going in right now but there are quite a few things that already support it. (its really late where i am haha) blasting station seems like it would be a backup mortarpod in this deck
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"If there are 2 things in this world I love, They are both Jace, The Mind Sculptor." - Patrick Chapin
Pretty big update now that I have all my sleeves and am actually playing with 375 actual cards. I didn't do a change log since my previous list was partially theoretical, but I plan on marking changes from here on out.
I kept Rackdos Cackler and Dryad Militant out of the guild system since A) they are much more flexible to cast than even most other hybrid cards, and B) aggro decks don't need the non-guild fixing lands as much as midrange and control do, so this gives them a few more slots in the cube. Also, I'm proxying the Gatecrash duals until it comes out in case that wasn't obvious.
I'm waiting to put in Shrieking Affliction until I get a DotP The Rack so I have two different discard deck damage enablers, but otherwise my list here reflects real life.
Soon I'll post some "on deck" lists to get opinions on possible additions and cuts, but feel free to comment on what's here. Thanks!
I'm looking to cut a card from each color and probably 1-2 from my colorless section in order to keep things tight. Here's my short list:
White: I'm leaning toward either Mistral Charger or Stormfront Pegasus (I'd like to eventually eliminate all functional reprints and white is pretty stacked at the 2-drop slot), but I could also do one of Totem-guide Hartebeest, Angelic Benediction, or Swift Justice. They are all are pet cards to a degree, but I think they're playable and bring unique effects to the cube.
Red: Probably one of the 3-drop creatures. Blood Ogre or Pyreheart Wolf maybe? I could be talked into removing a 2-drop or a burn spell (am I running too many of them?) too if you have something in mind.
Green:Leeching Bite (Good as far as green removal goes, but would be cut in any other color), Wickerbough Elder (obviously a good card, but I feel like it might be overkill with Acidic Slime and Indrik Stomphowler), or Borderland Ranger (again just to remove a functional reprint)
Artifacts/Colorless: I'm not sure what to cut, if anything. I'm open to suggestions.
White: Angelic Benediction, do-nothing 4mana enchantment
Blue: Encrust, meh removal even for blue
Black: Shrieking Affliction, unplayable
Red: Fury Charm, shatter/bad pump spell/do nothing mode isn't really awesome
Green: Leeching Bite, I tried it back in the day wasn't really ever doing anything
Colorless: The Rack, like Shrieking Affliction just unplayable
Infiltration Lens, ok but not amazing can sometimes be a literal do nothing
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I write about cube and run cube drafts on magic online.
I will admit that rack effects are somewhat narrow, but they're not unplayable due to raw power level. I would be running all of the current discard effects anyway, so I don't see a problem with taking two slots to support a unique archetype.
I will admit that rack effects are somewhat narrow, but they're not unplayable due to raw power level. I would be running all of the current discard effects anyway, so I don't see a problem with taking two slots to support a unique archetype.
I like shatter on a body (Torch Fiend, Hearth Kami, Manic Vandal).
Rack effects aren't somewhat narrow, they are very narrow. And the raw power level is low, it isn't high. If my opponent ever played a shrieking affliction against me in any format I would laugh in their face and then mock them. Discard is good because it is X-for-1 or pin-point disruption not because you can build decks around it.
I've been absolutely decimated by T1-Inquisition, T2-Hymn, T3-3 Drop, T4-Fall (of Rise // Fall). He didn't need some wonky 1 mana do-nothing to stomp my face in with discard, in fact some generic 2/3 power beater was much better.
I am also pretty opposed to the 'well it is only 1/2/3/whatever spots in my cube to support a neat archetype!' Some absurdly small % of your cube being dedicated to 1 niche deck isn't supporting it. You want to support discard? Ok, Liliana's Caress, Megrim, every decent Mind Rot variant, ect. now that is supporting a deck. You have ~10 discard effects or 2.7% of your cube. 9-10 will show up in an average 8 man draft. How often do you get the full 8? How often will 1 of those 8 get all the/most of the discard spells? If you want to support an archetype, SUPPORT IT, don't half ass it.
Also another big problem with discard is, as a friend of mine put it, ''Discard doesn't protect you from bull**** like Force does.'' Discard does jack**** against topdecks and opponents can (and good ones will) easily play around the rack/shrieking affliction.
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I write about cube and run cube drafts on magic online.
Having played through the first wave of constructed Rack+discard decks (before Caress or Megrim existed), I think you're wrong about their power level - unblockable and hard-to-kill damage sources are very strong, and making your opponent play around them is usually just as good as getting damage in if you're a control deck. You might be right that I need a few more discard effects and maybe Liliana's Caress to support the deck, so that's something I'll look into.
I obviously disagree with you about supporting offbeat archetypes. Even assuming you use 3-4 draft slots on playable land and get 1-2 off-color cards per pack, you're still left with about 10 or so on-color sideboard cards from your 45 card pool each draft. I'd rather cards get sideboarded for being too narrow 3/4 of the time and rock out the other 1/4 than just play the next best generic critter that fills up the right slot. Obviously you can go too far and water down your cube to where vanilla aggro/midrange/control/ramp strategies become harder to put together, but I don't think I'm close to that point.
I appreciate your feedback, but I think we just have different philosophies on cube building. It's good to hear from people who see things differently, even if I don't follow your advice, so thanks!
Ive gotta aggree with citynoise here. Rack is not very powerful in cube and can most of the time be a do nothing card. As citynoise pointed out most drafts you wont get enough discard to make the rack worth it. You would have to dillute your cube so much that it affects other archetypes. I love the rack and have built many constructed decks with it but constructed does NOT play the same as cube.
Undying and unleash have added 10 cards that play nicely with proliferate, so now over 10% of the cube has synergy to some degree. That seems like enough to make it worth testing. If nothing else, I want to live the dream of Clasp + Serrated Arrows just once to decimate my opponent's creatures.
Out -> In
Kor Skyfisher -> Mammoth Umbra
Wickerbough Elder -> Naturalize
Qasali Pridemage -> Enlisted Wurm
Skyfisher and the Elder might come back in the future, but I wanted to test these other cards. Pridemage is solid, but I feel like the Wurm is a more exciting card.
I am curious about the Skyfisher cut. Well really more about how the Umbra does cause I really like Skyfisher and don't plan on cutting her soon. Also I have a promo, I have a problem.
Cutting a 2-for-1 for a 1-for-1 in a similar vein makes me sad but I can understand it if you already have a bunch of 4-6cmc 2-for-1 Disenchanters in green.
Wurm is awesome and is exciting for sure. I dunno if it is better than Pridemage really but it certainly is sweet. I am pretty sure Wurm into Bit Blast into BBE into Agent into Strix/Library/Searing Blaze/whatever is the absolute nut high.
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I write about cube and run cube drafts on magic online.
Like I said, I might end up bringing Skyfisher or Elder back very soon. I haven't gotten Skyfisher in my pool or played against it yet, which is probably a large portion of why it got targeted. I could probably take out the Benalish Cavalry or Azorius Arrester instead, both are just solid roleplayers that could take a bench if you think I should stick with Skyfisher for a bit longer. Alternatively, I could pull Flickerwisp or Glimmerstag, but I like their ability to murder enemy tokens or remove blockers in addition to ETB abuse.
Mammoth Umbra is getting tested to give white a little more help at the top end of things for X/w control decks and another target for the Totem-Guide. It could easilly get the axe after a few weeks of testing. I'm open to other suggestions for Modern-legal CMC 5+ cards that I'm missing. Arrow Volley Trap seemed a bit slow and conditional, but I could try it again.
Also, I probably should cut Leeching Bite as you suggested before, which would make room for both Naturalize and the Elder, but I'll admit that it's a bit of a pet card and I want to give it a chance. Maybe a longer chance than it deserves, but hey that's why I build the cube.
Kor Skyfisher is awesome. Better than Cavalry and Arrester easily.
Archangel, Shattered Angel, Shepherd of the Lost, Goldnight Redeemer, Stormfront Riders, and Ursine Fylgja all seem like fine finishers for WX control decks.
I like Leeching Bite too and still have my foil one somewhere. I just found it isn't really the type of removal green wants. I think all the green removal I run or would consider is modern legal.
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I write about cube and run cube drafts on magic online.
I would leave in Kor Skyfisher and replace Steppe Lynx as the lynx has been fairly underwhelming in my C/U cube, there is a lack of fetches and is a horrible topdeck.
I would not put Naturalize in a cube, it is far to narrow. You can look at it this way; naturalize can be considered a sideboard card, whereas you will maindeck Wickerbough Elder every time.
Draft it here (please use 14 card packs for best experience): http://www.cubetutor.com/draft/251
Lower powered 390 card peasant cube designed to hopefully create interesting choices in draft and gameplay. The lower power level also lets me play with cards and themes that wouldn't make the cut in a traditional cube. I've taken some design inspiration from the folks over at Riptide Lab, so if you've not been there before, I recommend checking it out to see some alternative takes on cube building.
Supported Themes
W: Anthem-based aggro, blink, and enchantment-based control
U : Flyers/tempo and spells matter control
B: Sacrifice, death matters, and life drain
R: Dash-centered aggro, plus cards that support the other colors' themes
G: Landfall, ramp, and midrange beats
Other things to note:
I'm mostly going to use this thread just to post list updates. I post design thoughts in my Riptide thread, which you can find here if you're interested in more detail about the cube. http://riptidelab.com/forum/threads/whydirts-peasant-cube.1080/
(Technically it's 363 cards at the moment, but I want a round number in my thread title cube size tag.)
I decided to make a Modern Peasant cube for a couple of reasons. First of all, it has been cheap to build. I don't have to worry about playing it with strangers or out in public. I'm not expecting any cards to "disappear" but even if one got accidentally lost or damaged I wouldn't get stressed about it.
Using the Modern-legal card pool lets me play cards that I never got a chance to play with due to taking a long break from magic. I only just returned to Magic with Innistrad last fall, so I didn't get to play with most of these cards when they were first released.
Another factor is that I plan on playing with lots of people who are new to cubing and limited in general. The clear and consistent rules templating on Modern cards makes things easier for these players.
Cube Summary
360-375 cards: A little variance keeps things exciting, but I want to keep the card pool tight in order to ensure aggro stays viable even in smaller drafts. I'm trying to keep it as close to 360 as possible for the moment since I know that it'll be harder to make cuts with each new set.
Modern legal commons and uncommons: refer to card's highest rarity when necessary, so no Clone or Loxodon Warhammer
Timeshifted cards only allowed if reprinted with a modern card frame
The following mechanics are excluded from the cube for ease of play: Infect, Echo, Protection from Colors, Morph, Suspend, Shadow, Miracles, Flip/Split/Dual Sided Cards
Other explicitly excluded cards for power level/time constraints: Skullclamp, Sensei's Divining Top, Ghostly Prison, Signet
White = 53
1 Steppe Lynx
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Gideon's Lawkeeper
1 Akrasan Squire
1 Doomed Traveler
1 Wall of Omens
1 Lone Missionary
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Knight of Meadowgrain
1 Accorder Paladin
1 Mistral Charger
1 Ronom Unicorn
1 Benalish Cavalry
1 Youthful Knight
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Kor Hookmaster
1 Ballynock Cohort
1 Flickerwisp
1 Jotun Owl Keeper
1 Stonecloaker
1 Veteran Swordsmith
1 Attended Knight
1 Crusader of Odric
1 Porcelain Legionnaire
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Glimmerpoint Stag
1 Seraph of Dawn
1 Rhox Pikemaster
1 Totem-Guide Hartebeest
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Serra Angel
1 Condemn
1 Path to Exile
1 Swift Justice
1 Raise the Alarm
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Pacifism
1 Intangible Virtue
1 Dawn Charm
1 Test of Faith
1 Lingering Souls
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Griffin Guide
1 Cenn's Enlistment
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Angelic Benediction
1 Honden of Cleansing Fire
Blue = 53
1 Wingcrafter
1 Merfolk Looter
1 Azure Mage
1 Augury Owl
1 Halimar Wavewatch
1 Welkin Tern
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Pestermite
1 Æther Adept
1 Niblis of the Breath
1 Fettergeist
1 Spiketail Drakeling
1 Stormbound Geist
1 Calcite Snapper
1 Wing Splicer
1 Tower Geist
1 Mist Raven
1 Darkslick Drake
1 Nevermaker
1 Air Servant
1 Mulldrifter
1 Murder of Crows
1 Relentless Skaabs
1 Benthicore
1 Ponder
1 Vapor Snag
1 Condescend
1 Repeal
1 Narcolepsy
1 Essence Scatter
1 Remove Soul
1 Negate
1 Mana Leak
1 Into the Roil
1 Favorable Winds
1 Frost Breath
1 Forbidden Alchemy
1 Talrand's Invocation
1 Domestication
1 Sleep
1 Into the Void
1 Foresee
1 Honden of Seeing Winds
1 Faerie Conclave
1 Halimar Depths
Black = 53
1 Pulse Tracker
1 Festering Goblin
1 Fume Spitter
1 Guul Draz Vampire
1 Diregraf Ghoul
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Child of Night
1 Ruthless Cullblade
1 Augur of Skulls
1 Blind Creeper
1 Vampire Interloper
1 Vault Skirge
1 Thrill-Kill Assassin
1 Sickle Ripper
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Liliana's Specter
1 Chittering Rats
1 Dead Reveler
1 Nirkana Cutthroat
1 Demonic Taskmaster
1 Ogre Marauder
1 Necrogen Scudder
1 Nekrataal
1 Skinrender
1 Entomber Exarch
1 Marsh Flitter
1 Razorjaw Oni
1 Shriekmaw
1 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Raven's Crime
1 Disfigure
1 Tragic Slip
1 Shrieking Affliction
1 Night's Whisper
1 Go for the Throat
1 Grasp of Darkness
1 Ultimate Price
1 Infest
1 Mind Rot
1 Moan of the Unhallowed
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Barter in Blood
1 Honden of Night's Reach
1 Unburial Rites
1 Ribbons of Night
1 Enslave
Red = 53
1 Frenzied Goblin
1 Stonewright
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Goblin Shortcutter
1 Plated Geopede
1 Hellspark Elemental
1 Ember Hauler
1 Keldon Marauders
1 Ashmouth Hound
1 Lightning Mauler
1 Kruin Striker
1 Torch Fiend
1 Stormblood Berserker
1 Gore-House Chainwalker
1 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Ronin Houndmaster
1 Blood Ogre
1 Fervent Cathar
1 Hanweir Lancer
1 Manic Vandal
1 Pyreheart Wolf
1 Splatter Thug
1 Guttersnipe
1 Dragon Whelp
1 Bloodfray Giant
1 Faithless Looting
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Seal of Fire
1 Burst Lightning
1 Flame Slash
1 Forked Bolt
1 Fireball
1 Searing Blaze
1 Arc Trail
1 Incinerate
1 Searing Spear
1 Act of Treason
1 Lust for War
1 Brimstone Volley
1 Staggershock
1 Flames of the Firebrand
1 Flame Javelin
1 Honden of Infinite Rage
1 Chandra's Outrage
1 Cone of Flame
1 Ghitu Encampment
1 Keldon Megaliths
Green = 53
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Young Wolf
1 Twinblade Slasher
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Wall of Roots
1 Nest Invader
1 Beastbreaker of Bala Ged
1 Jade Mage
1 Darkthicket Wolf
1 Ambush Viper
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Viridian Emissary
1 River Boa
1 Mire Boa
1 Borderland Ranger
1 Civic Wayfinder
1 Trusted Forcemage
1 Wolfir Avenger
1 Eternal Witness
1 Hungry Spriggan
1 Briarhorn
1 Penumbra Spider
1 Cudgel Troll
1 Vital Splicer
1 Briarpack Alpha
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Acidic Slime
1 Sentinel Spider
1 Deadwood Treefolk
1 Howlgeist
1 Pelakka Wurm
1 Maul Splicer
1 Mutagenic Growth
1 Prey Upon
1 Rancor
1 Utopia Sprawl
1 Rampant Growth
1 Evolution Charm
1 Cultivate
1 Boar Umbra
1 Wildsize
1 Overrun
1 Bestial Menace
1 Honden of Life's Web
1 Treetop Village
Multicolor = 60
1 Lyev Skyknight
1 Skymark Roc
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Brainbite
1 Agony Warp
1 Soul Manipulation
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Rix Maadi Guildmage
1 Blightning
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Rakdos Guildgate
1 Boggart Ram-Gang
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Tattermunge Witch
1 Gruul Guildgate
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Behemoth Sledge
1 Enlisted Wurm
1 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Mortify
1 Orzhov Guildgate
1 Electrolyze
1 Gelectrode
1 Izzet Charm
1 Izzet Guildgate
1 Putrid Leech
1 Dreg Mangler
1 Putrefy
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Boros Guildmage
1 Lightning Helix
1 Spitemare
1 Boros Guildgate
1 Lorescale Coatl
1 Trygon Predator
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Dryad Militant
1 Judge's Familiar
1 Tattermunge Maniac
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Mirrodin's Core
1 Rupture Spire
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Savage Lands
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
Colorless = 38
1 Perilous Myr
1 Wall of Tanglecord
1 Bottle Gnomes
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Cathodion
1 Pierce Strider
1 Juggernaut
1 Galvanic Juggernaut
1 Darksteel Sentinel
1 Ulamog's Crusher
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Trusty Machete
1 Mortarpod
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Vulshok Morningstar
1 Viridian Claw
1 Grafted Wargear
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Guardian Idol
1 Mind Stone
1 Sphere of the Suns
1 Contagion Clasp
1 Shrine of Burning Rage
1 Shrine of Loyal Legions
1 Crystal Shard
1 Tumble Magnet
1 Thunderstaff
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Serrated Arrows
1 Haunted Fengraf
1 Quicksand
1 Urza's Factory
1 Stalking Stones
1 Dread Statuary
Change Log
11-19-12
Out:
In:
11-08-12
Out:
In:
10-29-12
Out:
Infiltration Lens
Sylvok Lifestaff
In:
Contagion Clasp
Also the green genju is pretty solid and Keldon megoliths is a pretty sick card.
[CARD][jodahs avenger/CARD] has outperformed volition reins for me
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
I'd run Jodah's Avenger, but I've purposefully excluded shadow and protection from specific color abilities from the cube for the moment. I may decide to change this stance in the future, but that's why he's not in there. I'd like to keep hate cards aimed at archtypes or permanent types than explicitly hosing colors.
I'd forgotten about the Megaliths, that's definitely a cube-worth land! I'll try out the green Genju sometime too. Thanks for the suggestions!
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
After a quick search on Magiccards.info, it looks like this is the set of playable mill cards for Modern Peasant:
For the test, I'll probably throw in Elixir of Immortality as a support card for this and control in general.
Are there any cards I've overlooked? Has anyone had a good experience with mill in cube they can share?
I toyed around with mill for a bit. It is awful. Just support blue aggro instead of a 1-color parasitic linear.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
Lolcity
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
The Combo Cube
"If there are 2 things in this world I love, They are both Jace, The Mind Sculptor." - Patrick Chapin
blood artist
falkenrath noble
carrion feeder
reassembling skeleton
pawn of ulamog
I can't think of anything else thats going in right now but there are quite a few things that already support it. (its really late where i am haha) blasting station seems like it would be a backup mortarpod in this deck
The Combo Cube
"If there are 2 things in this world I love, They are both Jace, The Mind Sculptor." - Patrick Chapin
I kept Rackdos Cackler and Dryad Militant out of the guild system since A) they are much more flexible to cast than even most other hybrid cards, and B) aggro decks don't need the non-guild fixing lands as much as midrange and control do, so this gives them a few more slots in the cube. Also, I'm proxying the Gatecrash duals until it comes out in case that wasn't obvious.
I'm waiting to put in Shrieking Affliction until I get a DotP The Rack so I have two different discard deck damage enablers, but otherwise my list here reflects real life.
Soon I'll post some "on deck" lists to get opinions on possible additions and cuts, but feel free to comment on what's here. Thanks!
White: I'm leaning toward either Mistral Charger or Stormfront Pegasus (I'd like to eventually eliminate all functional reprints and white is pretty stacked at the 2-drop slot), but I could also do one of Totem-guide Hartebeest, Angelic Benediction, or Swift Justice. They are all are pet cards to a degree, but I think they're playable and bring unique effects to the cube.
Blue: One of the Remove Soul effects, Spiketail Drakeling, or Encrust.
Black: Festering Goblin, Child of Night, Vault Skirge, Sickle Ripper, or Demonic Taskmaster.
Red: Probably one of the 3-drop creatures. Blood Ogre or Pyreheart Wolf maybe? I could be talked into removing a 2-drop or a burn spell (am I running too many of them?) too if you have something in mind.
Green: Leeching Bite (Good as far as green removal goes, but would be cut in any other color), Wickerbough Elder (obviously a good card, but I feel like it might be overkill with Acidic Slime and Indrik Stomphowler), or Borderland Ranger (again just to remove a functional reprint)
Artifacts/Colorless: I'm not sure what to cut, if anything. I'm open to suggestions.
Thoughts?
Blue: Encrust, meh removal even for blue
Black: Shrieking Affliction, unplayable
Red: Fury Charm, shatter/bad pump spell/do nothing mode isn't really awesome
Green: Leeching Bite, I tried it back in the day wasn't really ever doing anything
Colorless: The Rack, like Shrieking Affliction just unplayable
Infiltration Lens, ok but not amazing can sometimes be a literal do nothing
peasantcube.blogspot.com
I will admit that rack effects are somewhat narrow, but they're not unplayable due to raw power level. I would be running all of the current discard effects anyway, so I don't see a problem with taking two slots to support a unique archetype.
I like shatter on a body (Torch Fiend, Hearth Kami, Manic Vandal).
Rack effects aren't somewhat narrow, they are very narrow. And the raw power level is low, it isn't high. If my opponent ever played a shrieking affliction against me in any format I would laugh in their face and then mock them. Discard is good because it is X-for-1 or pin-point disruption not because you can build decks around it.
I've been absolutely decimated by T1-Inquisition, T2-Hymn, T3-3 Drop, T4-Fall (of Rise // Fall). He didn't need some wonky 1 mana do-nothing to stomp my face in with discard, in fact some generic 2/3 power beater was much better.
I am also pretty opposed to the 'well it is only 1/2/3/whatever spots in my cube to support a neat archetype!' Some absurdly small % of your cube being dedicated to 1 niche deck isn't supporting it. You want to support discard? Ok, Liliana's Caress, Megrim, every decent Mind Rot variant, ect. now that is supporting a deck. You have ~10 discard effects or 2.7% of your cube. 9-10 will show up in an average 8 man draft. How often do you get the full 8? How often will 1 of those 8 get all the/most of the discard spells? If you want to support an archetype, SUPPORT IT, don't half ass it.
Also another big problem with discard is, as a friend of mine put it, ''Discard doesn't protect you from bull**** like Force does.'' Discard does jack**** against topdecks and opponents can (and good ones will) easily play around the rack/shrieking affliction.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
I obviously disagree with you about supporting offbeat archetypes. Even assuming you use 3-4 draft slots on playable land and get 1-2 off-color cards per pack, you're still left with about 10 or so on-color sideboard cards from your 45 card pool each draft. I'd rather cards get sideboarded for being too narrow 3/4 of the time and rock out the other 1/4 than just play the next best generic critter that fills up the right slot. Obviously you can go too far and water down your cube to where vanilla aggro/midrange/control/ramp strategies become harder to put together, but I don't think I'm close to that point.
I appreciate your feedback, but I think we just have different philosophies on cube building. It's good to hear from people who see things differently, even if I don't follow your advice, so thanks!
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Out:
Infiltration Lens
Sylvok Lifestaff
Both of these are just a bit too durdly. Almost any deck would just rather run pure buffing equipment or another creature.
In:
Contagion Clasp
Undying and unleash have added 10 cards that play nicely with proliferate, so now over 10% of the cube has synergy to some degree. That seems like enough to make it worth testing. If nothing else, I want to live the dream of Clasp + Serrated Arrows just once to decimate my opponent's creatures.
Out -> In
Kor Skyfisher -> Mammoth Umbra
Wickerbough Elder -> Naturalize
Qasali Pridemage -> Enlisted Wurm
Skyfisher and the Elder might come back in the future, but I wanted to test these other cards. Pridemage is solid, but I feel like the Wurm is a more exciting card.
Cutting a 2-for-1 for a 1-for-1 in a similar vein makes me sad but I can understand it if you already have a bunch of 4-6cmc 2-for-1 Disenchanters in green.
Wurm is awesome and is exciting for sure. I dunno if it is better than Pridemage really but it certainly is sweet. I am pretty sure Wurm into Bit Blast into BBE into Agent into Strix/Library/Searing Blaze/whatever is the absolute nut high.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
Mammoth Umbra is getting tested to give white a little more help at the top end of things for X/w control decks and another target for the Totem-Guide. It could easilly get the axe after a few weeks of testing. I'm open to other suggestions for Modern-legal CMC 5+ cards that I'm missing. Arrow Volley Trap seemed a bit slow and conditional, but I could try it again.
Also, I probably should cut Leeching Bite as you suggested before, which would make room for both Naturalize and the Elder, but I'll admit that it's a bit of a pet card and I want to give it a chance. Maybe a longer chance than it deserves, but hey that's why I build the cube.
Archangel, Shattered Angel, Shepherd of the Lost, Goldnight Redeemer, Stormfront Riders, and Ursine Fylgja all seem like fine finishers for WX control decks.
I like Leeching Bite too and still have my foil one somewhere. I just found it isn't really the type of removal green wants. I think all the green removal I run or would consider is modern legal.
peasantcube.blogspot.com
I would not put Naturalize in a cube, it is far to narrow. You can look at it this way; naturalize can be considered a sideboard card, whereas you will maindeck Wickerbough Elder every time.
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