I'd cut Go for the Throat before I'd cut Profane Command. I've seen the Command win too many games to cut it.
Is this a serious recommendation, or are you exaggerating to make a point about how much you like Profane Command? I've found Profane Command to be kind of hit or miss. It can win games, it can also be too slow to kill what you need to get rid of/reanimate something relevant until it's too late. Go for the Throat and Ultimate Price may not provide the same kind of value, but I think it's very important to have at least 2 Terror variants and these are the least conditional ones. They're efficient, they're splashable, and they kill the overwhelming majority of threats in cube at instant speed which is especially important as a counterweight to all of the busted equipment I'm also running. I'd sooner not run a narrow and color intensive card like Sinkhole at all than cut either of those spot removal spells.
Glad you're including Declaration in Stone. Definitely worth a slot at this size.
The only reason I never added it sooner was that it took me this long to pull one in a draft!
How has Icy Manipulator been working out?
Sorry, I've only gotten in a few drafts since I've added it, so I haven't really seen it in action yet.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I consider Go for the Throat and Ultimate Price cuttable. I don't run either at 450 but I do run Profane and Sinkhole. I've thought about bringing one of the two Terror variants in, but I can't find a cut a like.
Our black sections are quite similar, but I'd consider cutting Ruinous Path over Go for the Throat since you value Profane Command as highly as you do. It doesn't hit planeswalkers, but I think shaving off a full black mana and getting instant speed makes GFTT the better cube card even if it isn't as splashy as PC or RP.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Here's my long overdue update for both Eldritch Moon, as well as some other cards I've acquired over the past month and a half:
OUT > IN
Catastrophe > Archangel Avacyn - This was not an easy cut, but I'm not willing to cut any white 5. Catastrophe might have cracked the white top 20 in the Power Rankings, but I can't remember the last time I've actually seen it cast. Six mana is just too much for a Wrath effect in today's cube.
Psionic Blast > Imprisoned in the Moon - This seems like a pretty clear upgrade. Thing in the Ice > Wharf Infiltrator - TitI proved a bit too narrow to see much play. The control decks that might want this kind of early drop won't necessarily have enough instants and sorceries to flip this if they're relying on planeswalkers and ETB creatures. I'm concerned about the reliability of Skulk, but I'm happy to try out this take on Looter il-Kor.
Avalanche Riders > Chandra, Flamecaller - Avalanche Riders is now just a bit too slow for most aggro decks, and there are plenty of red 4s that get drafted over it, so it's the cut for this new walker to shore up Wildfire/Big Red decks. Wild Mongrel > Noose Constrictor - I don't think I have room to run both, but I do see this as an improvement.
Reflector Mage > Spell Queller - Again, not an easy cut because Reflector Mage is a great creature. However, with 3 mono-blue Man-o'-War variants, the more unique effect gets the nod. Spell Queller already impressed me in EMN limited, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it in action in cube. Xenagos, the Reveler > Arlinn Kord - I'm not sure if this is actually an upgrade, but I pulled Arlinn Kord during GP Montreal, so I might as well test her out. Kiora, Master of the Depths > Shardless Agent - Shardless Agent has really impressed me in watching the CFB pros draft it in the MTGO cubes, so I'm curious to give it a try. If it doesn't work out here, I can always demote it to the Peasant cube where I'm sure it'll be a hit.
The release of Conspiracy 2 coincides with my decision to remove all Conspiracy cards and mechanics from the main cube and turn it into a separate module. I typically play this cube with two different groups, one in Suwon and one in Seoul. The Suwon players generally love what Conspiracy brings to cube, while the guys I play with in Seoul see it as a janky set that's on par with Un- cards. Their feelings about it haven't changed since the original Conspiracy was released, so rather than risk turning them off to cube entirely I'm respecting their wishes and separating these cards from the main cube and will only draft them when I play in Suwon. Since Lore Seeker requires an additional 15 cards, the Conspiracy Module will be exactly 15 cards, and I've color coded them on my CT page.
Meloku the Clouded Mirror > Arcane Savant Ultimate Price > Regicide Magus of the Wheel > Volatile Chimera - Sin Prodder might be the better cut here, I haven't seen the devil in enough drafts to be sure. If it underperforms, I may bring back Magus. Advantageous Proclamation > Hymn of the Wilds - AP was solid in combo builds and mono-colored aggro decks stretched for playables, but outside of that it typically sat in the sideboard because many players just had too hard of a time making the additional cuts for a 35-card deck. If nothing else, Hymn should be more exciting. Muzzio's Preparations > Emissary's Ploy - Muzzio's Prep is solid if unexciting in most builds, and the infinite combo only came up a few times. It was cool when it did, though! The next two cuts are because this combo is no longer supported. Murderous Redcap > Summoner's Bond Blasting Station > Sovereign's Realm - I am not sure if Sovereign's Realm is good enough for cube. I was lucky enough to pull it P1P1 so I could build around it during a release weekend draft only to get completely wrecked when it was time to play. Even with perfect mana, starting with a mull to 5 is a pretty steep drawback. We'll see if it plays out differently in cube.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Very sad to see Advantageous Proclamation go. I was always super happy with it.
I don't personally have a problem with cutting cards but I can see your point. Last time we played Dani's cube 2 out of 3 of my opponents were playing at least 50 cards! Cube is too much of a candy shop for most people
The Conspiracy cards will still be shuffled into the rest of the cube, and the bonus pack during the actual draft will just be 15 random cards from the cube so a 15 card expansion will be just fine.
Hermit,I have a hunch Hymn of the Wilds and Soverign's Realm could both be hot garbage, so if either of them doesn't pan out AP could come right back. Unless you'd prefer Power Play.....
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Soltari Champion > Thalia, Heretic Cathar I never thought I'd see the Champ go, but white 3s are stacked and it has a lower ceiling than Mirror Entity or Hallowed Spiritkeeper. A 2nd Imposing Sovereign with a better body that also disrupts mana will do at least as much for all white based aggro decks as Soltari Champion ever did for white weenie.
Icy Manipulator > Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast When I cut Murderous Redcap in the last update I didn't realize that I was leaving Rakdos with only 3 non-hybrids so I "owed" Rakdos a card. I wasn't originally planning on testing new Daretti, but I was lucky enough to pull it in my 2nd Conspiracy 2 draft, so it gets a shot after all. If it doesn't work out, I'll try Falkenrath Aristocrat again.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I'm mostly updating this cube list on Cubetutor now, but it hasn't been updated for Amonkhet yet, so I'm posting this partial update here primarily as a reminder to myself, but feel free to post any feedback you might have.
Again, this is a partial update based solely on what I acquired during prerelease, there are more cards I'm planning to add once I get a hold of a copy. Specifically:
I like the changes. If this was a powered cube, I'd argue to keep Disenchant but I think that switch is fine in unpowered. In powered, sometimes you just need to nuke a Sol Ring or cheated Battlesphere on t1/t2.
I wouldn't cut anything for Rhonas, Censor, Celebrant, or Samut. I don't think there's room for them until you get up to 540+ cards.
Thanks for the feedback, Ranti! Forsake the Worldly might be too slow for my environment as well, as I still have things like Skullclamp, card-disadvantage moxen, and the Signets that come down early. However, Disenchant doesn't get main-decked a lot of the time, so I'm willing to give it a shot. I think its odds of long-term success are somewhere in the neighborhood of 50/50.
I think you're right about Censor, as much as I'd like to have another 2CMC counterspell, I can't find a cut I like for it. It's definitely worse than all existing 2CMC counters. Celebrant is a higher priority for my cube than yours because I'm running Kiki-Twin combo, so anything new that combos with it in red deserves a shot, and I think I can live with cutting Pia Nalaar for it. You could well be right about Rhonas (could be too unreliable) and Samut (could be unnecessary), but I do have some relatively underwhelming options to cut in Call of the Herd and Flinthoof Boar, and it's always fun to try new stuff.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I'm giving Forsake the Worldly a go over Disenchant as well. I'm pretty optimistic about it. For your Out -> In section, you might want to reverse the order of Harsh Mentor and War-name Aspirant if you're a stickler for details. Speaking of Harsh Mentor, how confident are you about this card? There might not be enough activations in an average game for this card to be worth it and its inability to punish walkers really hurts it. I don't have high hopes for this card in cube, but I'd love to be proven wrong. I'm still running Eidolon and Shrine of the Burning rage so if it does well, it'll probably slot in for one of those cards for me if it tests well for you guys.
Oops, I guess I'm a stickler for detail, because I just changed it. Thanks for the heads up.
I'm really not sure how well Harsh Mentor is going to perform, but I really don't think there's much opportunity cost involved in testing it because I also don't feel like I'm losing much by cutting War-Name Aspirant to try it. I actually like the idea of having it alongside Eidolon of the Great Revel as obnoxious 2-drops that make the opponent's choices more difficult.
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465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Didn't look at your full list, so I didn't realize you are running Kiki. Yeah, if you are running that, Kiki has to come in. Pia seems a fine cut for it.
The potential cuts for Rhonas and Samut look fine. Call and Boar are totally replaceable so not harm testing.
I never don't maindeck Disenchant (well, maybe if I lucked out an got 2-3 other broad-spectrum removal). I've won and lost too many games to unanswered artifacts. Cube, even unpowered, just has too many good targets for it. It's rare that I see a deck not running at least one must-kill artifact.
OUT > IN
Scuttling Doom Engine > Icy Manipulator
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Grasp of Fate > Declaration in Stone
Profane Command > Sinkhole
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Is this a serious recommendation, or are you exaggerating to make a point about how much you like Profane Command? I've found Profane Command to be kind of hit or miss. It can win games, it can also be too slow to kill what you need to get rid of/reanimate something relevant until it's too late. Go for the Throat and Ultimate Price may not provide the same kind of value, but I think it's very important to have at least 2 Terror variants and these are the least conditional ones. They're efficient, they're splashable, and they kill the overwhelming majority of threats in cube at instant speed which is especially important as a counterweight to all of the busted equipment I'm also running. I'd sooner not run a narrow and color intensive card like Sinkhole at all than cut either of those spot removal spells.
The only reason I never added it sooner was that it took me this long to pull one in a draft!
Sorry, I've only gotten in a few drafts since I've added it, so I haven't really seen it in action yet.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
OUT > IN
Catastrophe > Archangel Avacyn - This was not an easy cut, but I'm not willing to cut any white 5. Catastrophe might have cracked the white top 20 in the Power Rankings, but I can't remember the last time I've actually seen it cast. Six mana is just too much for a Wrath effect in today's cube.
Psionic Blast > Imprisoned in the Moon - This seems like a pretty clear upgrade.
Thing in the Ice > Wharf Infiltrator - TitI proved a bit too narrow to see much play. The control decks that might want this kind of early drop won't necessarily have enough instants and sorceries to flip this if they're relying on planeswalkers and ETB creatures. I'm concerned about the reliability of Skulk, but I'm happy to try out this take on Looter il-Kor.
Avalanche Riders > Chandra, Flamecaller - Avalanche Riders is now just a bit too slow for most aggro decks, and there are plenty of red 4s that get drafted over it, so it's the cut for this new walker to shore up Wildfire/Big Red decks.
Wild Mongrel > Noose Constrictor - I don't think I have room to run both, but I do see this as an improvement.
Reflector Mage > Spell Queller - Again, not an easy cut because Reflector Mage is a great creature. However, with 3 mono-blue Man-o'-War variants, the more unique effect gets the nod. Spell Queller already impressed me in EMN limited, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it in action in cube.
Xenagos, the Reveler > Arlinn Kord - I'm not sure if this is actually an upgrade, but I pulled Arlinn Kord during GP Montreal, so I might as well test her out.
Kiora, Master of the Depths > Shardless Agent - Shardless Agent has really impressed me in watching the CFB pros draft it in the MTGO cubes, so I'm curious to give it a try. If it doesn't work out here, I can always demote it to the Peasant cube where I'm sure it'll be a hit.
The release of Conspiracy 2 coincides with my decision to remove all Conspiracy cards and mechanics from the main cube and turn it into a separate module. I typically play this cube with two different groups, one in Suwon and one in Seoul. The Suwon players generally love what Conspiracy brings to cube, while the guys I play with in Seoul see it as a janky set that's on par with Un- cards. Their feelings about it haven't changed since the original Conspiracy was released, so rather than risk turning them off to cube entirely I'm respecting their wishes and separating these cards from the main cube and will only draft them when I play in Suwon. Since Lore Seeker requires an additional 15 cards, the Conspiracy Module will be exactly 15 cards, and I've color coded them on my CT page.
Moved to Conspiracy Module:
- Council's Judgment
- Lore Seeker
- Deal Broker
- Cogwork Librarian
- Paliano, the High City
- Double Stroke
- Unexpected Potential
- Greenwarden of Murasa
- This is a placeholder until I get a copy of Selvala's StampedeCN2 changes for Conspiracy Module:
OUT > IN
Meloku the Clouded Mirror > Arcane Savant
Ultimate Price > Regicide
Magus of the Wheel > Volatile Chimera - Sin Prodder might be the better cut here, I haven't seen the devil in enough drafts to be sure. If it underperforms, I may bring back Magus.
Advantageous Proclamation > Hymn of the Wilds - AP was solid in combo builds and mono-colored aggro decks stretched for playables, but outside of that it typically sat in the sideboard because many players just had too hard of a time making the additional cuts for a 35-card deck. If nothing else, Hymn should be more exciting.
Muzzio's Preparations > Emissary's Ploy - Muzzio's Prep is solid if unexciting in most builds, and the infinite combo only came up a few times. It was cool when it did, though! The next two cuts are because this combo is no longer supported.
Murderous Redcap > Summoner's Bond
Blasting Station > Sovereign's Realm - I am not sure if Sovereign's Realm is good enough for cube. I was lucky enough to pull it P1P1 so I could build around it during a release weekend draft only to get completely wrecked when it was time to play. Even with perfect mana, starting with a mull to 5 is a pretty steep drawback. We'll see if it plays out differently in cube.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I don't personally have a problem with cutting cards but I can see your point. Last time we played Dani's cube 2 out of 3 of my opponents were playing at least 50 cards! Cube is too much of a candy shop for most people
Hermit,I have a hunch Hymn of the Wilds and Soverign's Realm could both be hot garbage, so if either of them doesn't pan out AP could come right back. Unless you'd prefer Power Play.....
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Soltari Champion > Thalia, Heretic Cathar I never thought I'd see the Champ go, but white 3s are stacked and it has a lower ceiling than Mirror Entity or Hallowed Spiritkeeper. A 2nd Imposing Sovereign with a better body that also disrupts mana will do at least as much for all white based aggro decks as Soltari Champion ever did for white weenie.
Icy Manipulator > Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast When I cut Murderous Redcap in the last update I didn't realize that I was leaving Rakdos with only 3 non-hybrids so I "owed" Rakdos a card. I wasn't originally planning on testing new Daretti, but I was lucky enough to pull it in my 2nd Conspiracy 2 draft, so it gets a shot after all. If it doesn't work out, I'll try Falkenrath Aristocrat again.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT > IN
Soltari Trooper > Selfless Spirit
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
OUT --> IN
Disenchant --> Forsake the Worldly
Seeker of the Way --> Trueheart Duelist
Dungeon Geists --> Vizier of Many Faces
Tormented Hero --> Dread Wanderer
Goblin Bombardment --> Soul-Scar Mage
War-Name Aspirant --> Harsh Mentor
Hero of Oxid Ridge --> Hazoret the Fervent
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker --> Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Uktabi Orangutan --> Manglehorn
Again, this is a partial update based solely on what I acquired during prerelease, there are more cards I'm planning to add once I get a hold of a copy. Specifically:
Cuts for these TBD.
I'm also planning on jamming as many of the new full-art basics into my basics box as I can get my hands on.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I wouldn't cut anything for Rhonas, Censor, Celebrant, or Samut. I don't think there's room for them until you get up to 540+ cards.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
I think you're right about Censor, as much as I'd like to have another 2CMC counterspell, I can't find a cut I like for it. It's definitely worse than all existing 2CMC counters. Celebrant is a higher priority for my cube than yours because I'm running Kiki-Twin combo, so anything new that combos with it in red deserves a shot, and I think I can live with cutting Pia Nalaar for it. You could well be right about Rhonas (could be too unreliable) and Samut (could be unnecessary), but I do have some relatively underwhelming options to cut in Call of the Herd and Flinthoof Boar, and it's always fun to try new stuff.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
450 Unpowered Cube Cobra
I'm really not sure how well Harsh Mentor is going to perform, but I really don't think there's much opportunity cost involved in testing it because I also don't feel like I'm losing much by cutting War-Name Aspirant to try it. I actually like the idea of having it alongside Eidolon of the Great Revel as obnoxious 2-drops that make the opponent's choices more difficult.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
The potential cuts for Rhonas and Samut look fine. Call and Boar are totally replaceable so not harm testing.
I never don't maindeck Disenchant (well, maybe if I lucked out an got 2-3 other broad-spectrum removal). I've won and lost too many games to unanswered artifacts. Cube, even unpowered, just has too many good targets for it. It's rare that I see a deck not running at least one must-kill artifact.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963