MTG Salvation

Link to CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/_

I've been doing some iterating, which is available in the log, but the big things are:

-Removing Sol Ring. After some feedback and reading about the power of Sol Ring in unpowered cubes, I removed it. This is especially relevant since I also didn't include the Signets for power reasons.
-Removing most of the Conspiracy stuff above. There are some non-conspiracy, non-draft cards that I'm looking to include, but in terms of the above items, I'm only keeping Lore Seeker, Cogwork Librarian, Agent of Acquisitions, and Deal Broker. I may reconsider Canal Dredger.
-Testing out Wishes.
-Slightly imbalancing the guilds, since Ancient Grudge and Unburial Rites were moved to Gruul and Orzhov, respectively.

The other CNS cards I'll be including or am considering:
-IN: Brago, King Eternal in for Augury Adept.
-IN: Coercive Portal in for Runechanter's Pike. The Pike seems like the least exciting of the Equipment options available, and I want to test out the Portal.
-MAYBE: Council's Judgment. It seems like a strong answer to things like True-Name Nemesis, but I'm not sure it's needed here. I would probably take out Dawn Charm for it.
-MAYBE: Treasonous Ogre. I like it as a combo piece, but I'm not sure what it supports and what it would replace.
-MAYBE: Muzzio, Visionary Architect. My cube doesn't currently have a high enough artifact density for him to be that relevant, but I'll be keeping him in mind moving forward.
-MAYBE: Dack Fayden. I already am putting Ral Zarek in the cube, and I'm not sure I want two Izzet planeswalkers. Also, see above regarding Muzzio.
-MAYBE: Extract from Darkness. It seems potentially interesting as a reanimation variant, but I'm not sure it's good enough. It's pretty expensive.

And now that Conspiracy is up on cubetutor, I've finally finished the (tentative) list.

Updated to include some more morphs in preparation for KTK (as well as a slew of other changes since the initial list).

List has been recently updated. I've been working to try to lower the power level of the cube enough to make morph reasonable, but not cause the power level to become low enough that the cube becomes boring. The list now has 25 morph cards (for a total of 5.37% morph card density). They are:

• Akroma, Angel of Fury
  
• Ashcloud Phoenix
  
• Bane of the Living
  
• Blistering Firecat
  
• Dwarven Blastminer
  
• Exalted Angel
  
• Frontline Strategist
  
• Grim Haruspex
  
• Grinning Demon
  
• Hooded Hydra
  
• Hystrodon
  
• Jeering Instigator
  
• Nantuko Vigilante
  
• Rattleclaw Mystic
  
• Ruthless Ripper
  
• Sagu Mauler
  
• Silent Specter
  
• Skirk Marauder
  
• Thelonite Hermit
  
• Vesuvan Shapeshifter
  
• Voidmage Prodigy
  
• Whipcorder
  
• Willbender
  
• Zoetic Cavern
  
• Zombie Cutthroat

I've been pretty remiss about updating things here, but I'm at a point where my cube is pretty stable (barring a couple upcoming swaps: Garruk Relentless instead of Garruk, Primal Hunter and maybe Jace Beleren instead of Tamiyo, the Moon Sage).

I'm also finally getting around to adding the contents of the cube into the OP rather than just being lazy and including a link to Cubetutor.

I'm at the point where I'd like to start supporting Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. One of the things I'd like to add to support them is Eureka, but I have no idea what I should be cutting to make room for them.

Since I recently added Splinter Twin to the cube, I'm replacing the pretty middling Tower Geist with Pestermite. I'm not sure Pestermite is actually exciting enough, but hopefully I'll be able to give it a spin soon to test.

I would rather have a cheaper flying creature with flash. Pestermite isn't that exciting but it is essential if you want to support Splinter Twin, in my opinion. I really wouldn't add Twin without adding the whole package to support it.

Of the "package", I currently have:

• Splinter Twin
  
• Zealous Conscripts
  
• Pestermite (now)

I also have the archetype cards of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Restoration Angel, since they're strong enough to stand alone (as is Conscripts). I'm trying to see what I can cut for Deceiver Exarch. Beyond that, I can't see myself adding Midnight Guard or Village Bell-Ringer. The only other thing I could consider is Battered Golem, but that seems extremely horrid.

As long as you have Kiki, Resto, and the three listed above those I think you have all the essentials. Exarch is the next one on the list you would need to add but it is definitely tougher to squeeze in there. It is a decent blocker though so it isn't absolute garbage. I wouldn't add Guard or Bell-Ringer ever.

After picking up a LRW foil Jace Beleren last night in trades, I bit the bullet and cut Tamiyo, the Moon Sage for him.

After reading about others' experiences with it, I have finally gotten around to adding Collected Company to my cube. Unfortunate timing on acquiring it, given the spike after the GP, but it is what it is.

Definitely haven't been keeping this as up-to-date as I would like, but the cube has just been updated through OGW. Below were my OGW swaps. I opted not to support colorless:

Black:
Bane of the Living -> Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Red:
Chandra, Pyromaster -> Chandra, Flamecaller

Green:
Rattleclaw Mystic -> Sylvan Advocate
Curse of Predation -> Oath of Nissa

Multicolor:
Detention Sphere -> Reflector Mage
Woodland Cemetery -> Hissing Quagmire
Sulfur Falls -> Wandering Fumarole
Clifftop Retreat -> Needle Spires

-------------------

And here are my planned SOI includes:

White:
Wingmate Roc -> Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier

Blue:
Trinket Mage -> Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror

Black:
Blood-Chin Rager -> Heir of Falkenrath
Pain Seer -> Asylum Visitor

Red:
Reckless Waif // Merciless Predator -> Village Messenger // Moonrise Intruder
Keldon Marauders -> Falkenrath Gorger
Ire Shaman -> Sin Prodder
Hammer of Purphoros -> Skin Invasion // Skin Shedder

Green:
Wall of Blossoms -> Duskwatch Recruiter // Krallenhorde Howler
Ainok Survivalist -> Tireless Tracker

Multicolor:
Murderous Redcap -> Olivia, Mobilized for War
Domri Rade -> Arlinn Kord // Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon
Unburial Rites -> Anguished Unmaking

I've been...very bad about updating this list, but figured I'd bump the thread since I finally brought it up to date with what the cube actually looks like as of Rivals of Ixalan!

Hard to comment in detail because there's no record of what the changes were.

I'd probably cut a card from each guild to add a land to each guild. It looks like you aren't running enough fixing to me. Also, Library in an unpowered cube looks nuts.

I'd find room for Walking Ballista. The card is pretty great. Better than Steel Hellkite. FWIW, if you want a big fatty in that spot, I like Scuttling Doom Engine more.

I much prefer Yavimaya Elder to Jadelight Ranger.

Cheers,
rant

Oh yeah, sorry!

There were a lot of changes since the last update since I'd been slowly iterating on my cubetutor list, but here's a recap by color of the recent changes from Ixalan/Unstable/Rivals of Ixalan, which includes adding an extra pack to support Summon the Pack. I've also swapped a few other things around due to availability for my upcoming draft which I'll put at the bottom:


Additionally, here are the temporary swaps due to having some cards lent out/missing:

I can definitely find room for Walking Ballista, I just need to wait for it to rotate. I did run Scuttling Doom Engine for a while - Steel Hellkite is there due to Watermarket, which, if I'm being honest, is probably hamstringing me more than it's worth. I'd probably just swap Hellkite for it.

I also like Yavimaya Elder, but it seemed like the best cut to test the Ranger.

EDIT: Library is definitely very strong, but it hasn't warped drafting as much as I expected. I've been doing my best to pay attention to decks it ends up in so that I can track its performance. I added it at the same time as Sol Ring, which lasted exactly the one draft before it got cut.

Re: fixing - I get where you're coming from. I'd need to figure out what to cut for each guild, which definitely won't be in effect for the next couple cube sessions. It's worth looking into to improve guilds/fixing overall. I'm also not sure which land cycle is the best 5th. To the This or That thread!

I'd rather see you not add Search than see you cut Condescend or Crystal Shard. You have a number of cards in blue I'd cut before those two, including Misdirection, Gitaxian Probe, Nimble Obstructionist, and Champion of Wits.

Buried Alive and Ruin Raider are better cuts than Nekrataal.

I'd keep Yavimaya Elder over Eldritch Evolution, Birthing Pod, Primal Command, or Evolutionary Leap.

Hanweir Garrison is better than everything you are adding in red except Daredevil. If you want to add those cards, you could cut Sin Prodder, Grenzo, or Stoke the Flames.

I'm still a huge fan of Psychatog.

Cheers,
rant

I'm open to cutting Probe, but I'd like to keep the others for now. I'd probably prioritize adding Crystal Shard back in.

Open to removing Buried Alive, but I'm concerned that's too many 4-mana 187 creatures - maybe this cube is big enough that it isn't a concern?

I'm open to cutting Evolutionary Leap, so that swap works for me. I just added Pod so I'd like to see how it plays first.

Hanweir Garrison is in an awkward spot where it's strong but I don't like having cards that indicate to drafters that they should be on the lookout for something else. I can't see myself adding Hanweir Battlements back in as well, so I'll probably keep that out for now. I'll see how things look after we draft this weekend.

I like Psychatog too, but the other cards excite me more, especially if I'm going to be cutting a slot from each guild for a land.

Thanks for all the feedback!

With a 450 card cube, neither Condescend nor Nekrataal is close to being cut. If I had to cut a black 4-drop, I'd still run the three ETB guys. Buried Alive is so narrow. I love reanimator decks and I'm still not interested in that card.

Psychatog is very exciting. You play it and you win.

Cheers,
rant

I added Nekrataal back in (cutting Buried Alive). My issue with Condescend is mostly that I'm trying to provide more creatures for blue, and also I don't want to cut my MMQ foil Misdirection. I'll compare the two newer creatures and probably add Condescend back in after the draft this weekend once I've had another chance to see them side by side.

After last weekend's cube draft, I'm undoing some of these cuts (most were due to availability, though):

-Rekindling Phoenix -> Sulfuric Vortex This wasn't the original swap, but I jammed Glorybringer into the cube when I couldn't find my Vortex, and I liked it much more than Phoenix. I also didn't really miss Hero of Oxid Ridge, so Glorybringer's staying in for now.
-Steel Hellkite -> Watermarket: I really want to run Watermarket with the density I've created in my cube, and Steel Hellkite was added specifically for it. I cut Watermarket for Thaumatic Compass last weekend, but I kinda like how Compass played out.
-Regal Behemoth -> Deranged Hermit: I brought Regal Behemoth and Ripjaw Raptor in for my missing Deranged Hermit and Hornet Queen. Didn't like Behemoth as much, and I want Hermit back in. Not sure what I'll do about Hornet Queen yet.
-Kokusho, the Evening Star -> Massacre Wurm: Also an availability swap. I like Massacre Wurm more.

Mostly good changes. I prefer Behemoth to Raptor by a lot. Monarch + mana doubling on a big body is great. That said, Hornet Queen is better than both.

Not a huge fan of Compass, but I'm not a fan of Watermarket either, so that switch is fine.

Cheers,
rant

Regal Behemoth is better than Ripjaw Raptor, but I like the 5th 4-drop more than the third 6-drop. I'm still trying to figure out whether to cut Champion of Wits or Nimble Obstructionist for Condescend. At this point, I'll probably wait to see what's in Masters 25 before I figure it out, though.

Yeah, you don't really need a third green 6 drop. But, I'd rather see Oracle of Mul Daya in there than Ripjaw. Or Wickerbough Elder.

I think I like Obstructionist marginally more than Champion. I like Condescend more than either of them. If you'd really rather not cut a creature, I'd run Condescend over a lot of blue spells you include, such as Deep Analysis, Shelldock Isle, Serum Visions, Impulse, Thirst for Knowledge, Cyclonic Rift, and Gifts Ungiven. Impulse or Rift would probably be my first cuts.

Cheers,
rant