Here are some rules that I tried to follow:
- all cards must be old = they must have the old frame
- the cube should be 360 cards only
- the cards should be rares, preferably (once rare, always rare)
- all the cards should cost less than 100 Czech Koruna, which is 4-5USD.
- it shouldn't have super broken cards, even when they pass all the requirements above (e.g. Parallax Haze, Sol Ring)
- no explicit colour hate (with some small and reasonable exceptions)
I decided to have 50 cards per colour, 4 cards per guild, 10 painlands and 60 artifacts. I quickly realised that most of the colours don't have iconic spell in the R slot and allowed to add a couple of C and U cards like Counterspell, Terror, Disenchant, Fireball or Llanowar Elves). I tried to keep the number of such cards the same for all the colours.
After several plays, I have a couple of open questions and probable changes I'd like to discuss here:
1. Is 4 cards per Ravnica Guild colour too much? Some of the slots are now U as there aren't that many R cards for the colour combination that would be good enough. I was thinking about cutting the number to 3 per guild.
2. Some of the artifacts might be a little bit too weak (e.g. Mindless Automaton), what would you change / cut?
3. What cards would you cut / change in general and why?
4. I was going to replace the dual lands with pain lands (e.g. Llanowar Wastes), but now I'm thinking about just adding the pain lands as another cycle of lands. I'd either cut 10 guild cards or 5 artifacts + 1 card per colour.
4.1. Maybe, I can continue even further with adding mana fixing lands and add 5 slow fetch lands (e.g. Skyshroud Forest and 5 IceAge lands (e.g. Land Cap. That would then mean 30 lands in 360 cards.
What are your thoughts? Is there anything obviously wrong with the cube?
Also, a couple of notes how I picked the cards:
- I always checked card's score in cubetutor.com top cards - how often is the card picked
- I checked whether there is some answer to the card in the cube
- When in doubt, I checked card's score at mtgassist.com
- I aimed for CMC close to 3, current value is 3.5 (but X cards are counted as 7+)
Artifacts: Triskelion and Juggernaut are two auto includes in your artifact section. Cathodion, Bottle Gnomes, Suchi (out of your price range). Not sure about it's price but Manticore was an absolute house for years. could help bolster that section.I would also add Serrated Arrows.
White. Savannah Lions is missing. Suntail Hawk would be another decent 1 drop. In a 360 card cube you probably want 5-6 white one drop creatures. Soltari Trooper, Soltari Priest, and Soltari Monk would make some unblockable creatures in your white aggressive strategies. I would play Exile and Pacifism for two more creature removal spells. I always liked youthful knight. It's cheap and a quality baseline creature.
Blue: Brainstorm and Mana Leak are auto includes even in modern cubes. Zuran Spellcaster is a strictly better Capricious Sorcerer. This is a format slow enough where Capsize would be good. So you should get all up in that capsize. Man, I forgot how good Future Sight was in older cubes. Fog Bank has been the stone cold nuts in my bohemian cube. Waterfront Bouncer and Tradewind Rider are probably worth playing too. Morphling is about double what you want to spend on a card but it's one of the best creatures printed until well into the modern era of cards. Faerie Conclave would be at home in blue.
Black: I like Pesilence more than Hecatomb. Much easier to cast. Hypnotic Specter is too good to pass. You should also be playing Dark Ritual. I have never seen Do or Die before. That card is cool. Phyrexian Rager and Phyrexian Arena are good draw spells for this era. Arena is still played.
Red: Squee, Goblin Naboo has game in your cube. You should be playing more Red 1 drops. Jackal Pup and Goblin Patrol are immediate cards I would look at. Mogg Flunkies would probably be worth it too. If you can get one a Chain LIghtning would be great. Volcanic Hammer is better than it looks. I'd probably play Shivan Dragon too.
Green: Wall of Blossoms is the best friend of Wall of Roots. Utopia Tree would probably be decent if you need another mana dork. Yavimaya Elder is verry good. I like Thorn Elemental and Verdant force more than your other super fatties. Untamed Kavu in Dominiria has really proved to me how good Kavu Titan use to be. Wild Mongrel is good. Deranged Hermit is an expensive card by your standards. But if you ever wanted to splurge it would never leave your list. Treetop Village is traditionaly slotted as a green card during cube construction.
Multicolor: I would probably go down to three cards per alied multicolor section and 2 per enemy color section. It would probably look something like this.
Lands
I'd play 10 revised duals (since you already have them) 10 pain lands, 5 Mirage Fetchlands (Upgrade to onslaught if you ever can), and 5 other duals.
I'd also include City of Brass, Grand Coliseum, Gemstone Mine, Ancient Tomb, Strip Mine, Mishra's Factory,
You're right, in general, the cube misses some staples, I didn't include some of them because they were not rares, but it would be better to add them to reduce the overall CMC and to support some archetypes more (e.g. white weenie).
Blue: Brainstorm is auto-add, I agree. Mana Leak as well. Capsize as well, too good and iconic to miss Waterfront Bouncer is a nice common, I have Barrin, Master Wizard who is also a wizard, but yep, it the bounce theme could be stronger. Tradewind Rider is cool, haven't seen him before. Morphling is great, but too expensive and the power level is higher higher. I have him, but left him out. Zuran Spellcaster is already there as Prodigal Sorcerer. I went for Capricious Sorcerer as it's a little bit different.
What to remove?
I have several cards with Mill theme there, not sure whether to keep it, but I've already seen several games won by drawing the opponent out, so I'd rather keep it. Balance of Power? What else?
Black: Pestilence is better, not a rare, but I'll probably change the rarity rule as it doesn't really make that much sense.. Hypnotic Specter is on the way to the cube. Dark Ritual, I'm not sure about this yet. I hate the first turn Hypnotic Specter and then discarding either answers or lands.. But let's try it, as I already considered it before. Phyrexian Rager is nice, but was cut. Phyrexian Arena is too strong (and expensive). I'll keep it as an option if I feel that black is not good enough.
What cards should be removed? Hecatomb for Pestilence, not sure about the rest - the power level of the cards sees quite balanced to me. Maybe Braids, Cabal Minion?
Red: Squee, Goblin Naboo - you're right, it fits there for discard, sacrifice, spellshapers.
Regarding Jackal Pup and Goblin Patrol, both of them are perfect. I agree that red needs to be much cheaper.
[chain]Chain LIghtning[/card] would fit as the reprints are cheap, but the original Legends edition is quite hard to get. If I see it, i'll get it. Volcanic Hammer - I was thinking about Blazing Salvo as I already have such cards there. Hammer is better. Shivan Dragon was there as an iconic card, but was cut and Rorix Bladewing took it's place.
What to cut? Skullscorch? What else would you cut?
Multicolour
Why would you keep 3 friendly and just 2 enemy colours? It would have statistically a little bit worse distribution? Is it because of the card quality?
Blue
I think that these changes were quite easy to make: Balance of Power > Brainstorm - this was easy Scalpelexis > Mana Leak - this weakens the mill archetype, but there are probably still enough cards to go that way
Not sure what to change next, I'd like to add Capsize
Black
This is the hardest colour to make changes - all the cards seem to be already very good to me Hecatomb > Pestilence - it's easier to cast Dregs of Sorrow > Dark Ritual - lowers CC Junun Efreet > Hypnotic Specter - A flier replaced with another flier with benefits Lethal Vapors > Sorceress Queen - Lethal Vapors is fun, helps control and partially mill archetypes, but can extend the games a lot.
The cube went through a huge update. I dropped the "rare only" rule as the games felt a little bit awkward - some cards were just too strange and some cards were clearly missing.
360 cards - each colour has 51 cards, each guild has 3 cards, the rests is artifact and lands.
CMC is between 3.2 and 3.5 for each colour.
White
- White Knight might go, but I just like him a lot.
- Zhalfirin Crusader seems strange, but he can be surprisingly good. I'm still not sure.
- Master Healer not sure whether the prevention theme is relevant at 5 mana, maybe another flyer would be better here. Or maybe something from the maybeboard.
- I'd like to add Kjeldoran Home Guard as soon as I get him, not sure what to replace, but he looks good with the crusade theme that's there.
- Divine Sacrament seems conditional and weak, needs testing.
- Shaman en-Kor - haven't play with him yet, but he stops haste (which is not that present here) and also can possibly lure creatures into attacking before summoning a fatty. Maybe win-more as it doesn't help when I'm loosing?
Blue
The creatures seem strange in general. Need more testing, but the themes are: bouncing, drawing, tapping.
- Mahamoti Djinn doesn't know any tricks, but I remember how good it can be, Silver Wyvern would probably be better.
- Mana Short needs testing, again, I remember how cruel it can be, but it doesn't help when I'm loosing.
Black
The resurrection theme probably needs more cards. Unearth, maybe even a simple Zombify would work here. Diabolic Servitude can also help. Not sure what to replace.
- Is Undead Gladiator good enough? It can cycle, but then there is no card advantage, maybe with resurrection theme.
- Bone Dancer can be good, but there are almost no ways to give him some evasion.
- Black Knight is there to balance White Knight. Either both of them stay or go.
Red
Some 2 drops would be nice here. Not sure whether this should be more goblin themed, I'd prefer it to be "universal".
Green
Druids, Elves adding mana, some fatties to finish the game
- Deathcoil Wurm stayed just because of the art as I love art from Rebecca Guay.
- Tribal Forcemage needs testing, but it's a morph + there are mainly elves and druids.
- Tracker maybe needs some support to be good, but I like the design.
- Hystrodon is quite unique, but it's a morph, so it's staying for now.
- Probably needs some Fog, I have Moment's Peace ready, but don't know what to cut.
- Verdal Bloom is maybe too situational..
Multicolour
is simply hard Also, I need to review uncommon and common cards a little bit as I was focused mostly on rares.
- Teferi's Moat might make the games too long, not sure what to use instead.
- I'd like to add Terminate, but it's yet another removal.
- Not sure about Goblin Legionnaire, Desolation Giant might be better.
- Desolation Angel is another Armageddon. One is probably enough. Not sure. Selenia, Dark Angel might be better.
Artifact
Mostly mana, maybe too many slots here, could be moved to lands.
- Jester's Cap, Citanul Flute and Amulet of Unmaking are candidates for change.
- I'm not sure whether I need more mana sources, I have Diamonds ready, but the current state seems ok.
- Snow fortress - I'm still not sure. Nice defender, but maybe too slow. Keep / replace?
Lands
I added several proxies that are way over the budget - Maze of Ith & Wasteland. I like Wasteland better than Strip Mine, I find it a little bit more fair.
- Adding Lairs would probably be another easy way to improve colour fixing. I'll add them if I find enough artifacts to cut.
Reviewing archetypes, I made some small changes to support token a little bit better.
I'd like to add several more archetypes or strengthen the current, but I don't know which cards should I replace.
White:
- Weenie
- Tokens
- Clerics (as type)
- Pestilence (White Knight, Wall of Hope, damage prevention)
[I'd like to add birds]
Blue:
- blink
- control in general
[I'd like to add mill, and some birds]
Black:
- discard
- reanimator (some cards are still missing)
- pestilence
- card draw theme
- control
[I'd like to add more reanimation, tortured existence]
Green:
- ramp
- partially elves, druids
- midrange maybe
[I'd like to add more elves]
Red:
- burn
- aggro
- sneak with Elvish Piper
[I'm thinking about Wildfire]
I'm a little bit overwhelmed with all the options, so I'm thinking about moving to 400 cards with the next additions
+5 black cards
+ Dark Suplicant - needs more clerics, but there already is such theme in white, especially with the added birds (one is a cleric). More clerics would be needed to support this
+ Diabolic Servitude - Reanimation
+ Mind Twist - obvious discard option, strengthens the discard theme
+ Necromancy - reanimation
+ Withered Wretch - missing graveyard hate + zombie + cleric
+/- Rotlung Reanimator instead of Bone Dancer - both are zombies, this one is also a cleric and the effect is good. Adds Zombies for Graveborn Muse and combos with Suplicant
+/? Tortured Existence - enables whole archetype, dredge is not there, but milling would be
I did a lot of changes:
- moved the cube to cubecobra
- abbandoned the 'rare' theme, it didn't work and led to many bad cards that weren't fun to draft
- removed mill cards
- made sure the curve is right for all the colours
- reduced average CMC for the whole cube, the target is below 3.0
- removed several birds cards
- added many staples and efficient cards.
my first post here. After playing cubes like www.thePauperCube.com or peasant-cube.blogspot.com, I decided to build my first cube that wouldn't just follow someone else's cube.
Here are some rules that I tried to follow:
- all cards must be old = they must have the old frame
- the cube should be 360 cards only
- the cards should be rares, preferably (once rare, always rare)
- all the cards should cost less than 100 Czech Koruna, which is 4-5USD.
- it shouldn't have super broken cards, even when they pass all the requirements above (e.g. Parallax Haze, Sol Ring)
- no explicit colour hate (with some small and reasonable exceptions)
I decided to have 50 cards per colour, 4 cards per guild, 10 painlands and 60 artifacts. I quickly realised that most of the colours don't have iconic spell in the R slot and allowed to add a couple of C and U cards like Counterspell, Terror, Disenchant, Fireball or Llanowar Elves). I tried to keep the number of such cards the same for all the colours.
My cube can be found here:
http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/110710
After several plays, I have a couple of open questions and probable changes I'd like to discuss here:
1. Is 4 cards per Ravnica Guild colour too much? Some of the slots are now U as there aren't that many R cards for the colour combination that would be good enough. I was thinking about cutting the number to 3 per guild.
2. Some of the artifacts might be a little bit too weak (e.g. Mindless Automaton), what would you change / cut?
3. What cards would you cut / change in general and why?
4. I was going to replace the dual lands with pain lands (e.g. Llanowar Wastes), but now I'm thinking about just adding the pain lands as another cycle of lands. I'd either cut 10 guild cards or 5 artifacts + 1 card per colour.
4.1. Maybe, I can continue even further with adding mana fixing lands and add 5 slow fetch lands (e.g. Skyshroud Forest and 5 IceAge lands (e.g. Land Cap. That would then mean 30 lands in 360 cards.
What are your thoughts? Is there anything obviously wrong with the cube?
Also, a couple of notes how I picked the cards:
- I always checked card's score in cubetutor.com top cards - how often is the card picked
- I checked whether there is some answer to the card in the cube
- When in doubt, I checked card's score at mtgassist.com
- I aimed for CMC close to 3, current value is 3.5 (but X cards are counted as 7+)
Artifacts: Triskelion and Juggernaut are two auto includes in your artifact section. Cathodion, Bottle Gnomes, Suchi (out of your price range). Not sure about it's price but Manticore was an absolute house for years. could help bolster that section.I would also add Serrated Arrows.
White. Savannah Lions is missing. Suntail Hawk would be another decent 1 drop. In a 360 card cube you probably want 5-6 white one drop creatures. Soltari Trooper, Soltari Priest, and Soltari Monk would make some unblockable creatures in your white aggressive strategies. I would play Exile and Pacifism for two more creature removal spells. I always liked youthful knight. It's cheap and a quality baseline creature.
Blue: Brainstorm and Mana Leak are auto includes even in modern cubes. Zuran Spellcaster is a strictly better Capricious Sorcerer. This is a format slow enough where Capsize would be good. So you should get all up in that capsize. Man, I forgot how good Future Sight was in older cubes. Fog Bank has been the stone cold nuts in my bohemian cube. Waterfront Bouncer and Tradewind Rider are probably worth playing too. Morphling is about double what you want to spend on a card but it's one of the best creatures printed until well into the modern era of cards. Faerie Conclave would be at home in blue.
Black: I like Pesilence more than Hecatomb. Much easier to cast. Hypnotic Specter is too good to pass. You should also be playing Dark Ritual. I have never seen Do or Die before. That card is cool. Phyrexian Rager and Phyrexian Arena are good draw spells for this era. Arena is still played.
Red: Squee, Goblin Naboo has game in your cube. You should be playing more Red 1 drops. Jackal Pup and Goblin Patrol are immediate cards I would look at. Mogg Flunkies would probably be worth it too. If you can get one a Chain LIghtning would be great. Volcanic Hammer is better than it looks. I'd probably play Shivan Dragon too.
Green: Wall of Blossoms is the best friend of Wall of Roots. Utopia Tree would probably be decent if you need another mana dork. Yavimaya Elder is verry good. I like Thorn Elemental and Verdant force more than your other super fatties. Untamed Kavu in Dominiria has really proved to me how good Kavu Titan use to be. Wild Mongrel is good. Deranged Hermit is an expensive card by your standards. But if you ever wanted to splurge it would never leave your list. Treetop Village is traditionaly slotted as a green card during cube construction.
Multicolor: I would probably go down to three cards per alied multicolor section and 2 per enemy color section. It would probably look something like this.
Teferi's Moat, Iridescent Angel, Absorb
Psychatog, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Recoil
Terminate, Pyre Zombies, Void
Kird Ape, Hull Breach, Raging Kavu
Armadillo Cloak, Mystic Enforcer, something else
Vindicate, Desolation Angel
Spiritmonger, Pernicious Deed
Mystic Snake, Temporal Spring
Fire//Ice, Prophetic Bolt
Goblin Legionaire, Goblin Trenches
Lands
I'd play 10 revised duals (since you already have them) 10 pain lands, 5 Mirage Fetchlands (Upgrade to onslaught if you ever can), and 5 other duals.
I'd also include City of Brass, Grand Coliseum, Gemstone Mine, Ancient Tomb, Strip Mine, Mishra's Factory,
Calvin and Hobbes
Cube Tutor
You're right, in general, the cube misses some staples, I didn't include some of them because they were not rares, but it would be better to add them to reduce the overall CMC and to support some archetypes more (e.g. white weenie).
Artifacts:
Triskelion is on the list, I just didn't have a chance to get the old frame card.
Juggernaut should be there, I'll try to get Revised edition.
Bottle Gnomes and
Cathodion look cool, not rares, but worth adding.
Masticore - the price is alright, I'll try to get it.
What cards would you remove?
My candidates are: Star Compass or Sol Grail, Flying Carpet, Mindless Automaton, Primal Clay, Chimeric Staff
White:
It's already cheaper than the other colours, but yes, it should be even faster.
Savannah Lions should be there, I don't have the 4th edition card yet.
The same probably applies to Abu Jafar, Volunteer Militia (C), Devoted Caretaker.
Suntail Hawk is a nice common to add.
The shadow creatures, yes, I agree, I wanted to avoid them as I have them in my other cubes. What outer 2mana creatures would you add?
Benalish Trapper, Sunhawk Tail, Beloved Chaplain?
Again, what to remove?
Candidates: Cho-Manno, Revolutionary, Elite Archers, Oracle en-Vec
Blue:
Brainstorm is auto-add, I agree.
Mana Leak as well.
Capsize as well, too good and iconic to miss
Waterfront Bouncer is a nice common, I have Barrin, Master Wizard who is also a wizard, but yep, it the bounce theme could be stronger.
Tradewind Rider is cool, haven't seen him before.
Morphling is great, but too expensive and the power level is higher higher. I have him, but left him out.
Zuran Spellcaster is already there as Prodigal Sorcerer. I went for Capricious Sorcerer as it's a little bit different.
What to remove?
I have several cards with Mill theme there, not sure whether to keep it, but I've already seen several games won by drawing the opponent out, so I'd rather keep it.
Balance of Power? What else?
Black:
Pestilence is better, not a rare, but I'll probably change the rarity rule as it doesn't really make that much sense..
Hypnotic Specter is on the way to the cube.
Dark Ritual, I'm not sure about this yet. I hate the first turn Hypnotic Specter and then discarding either answers or lands.. But let's try it, as I already considered it before.
Phyrexian Rager is nice, but was cut.
Phyrexian Arena is too strong (and expensive). I'll keep it as an option if I feel that black is not good enough.
What cards should be removed?
Hecatomb for Pestilence, not sure about the rest - the power level of the cards sees quite balanced to me. Maybe Braids, Cabal Minion?
Red:
Squee, Goblin Naboo - you're right, it fits there for discard, sacrifice, spellshapers.
Regarding Jackal Pup and Goblin Patrol, both of them are perfect. I agree that red needs to be much cheaper.
[chain]Chain LIghtning[/card] would fit as the reprints are cheap, but the original Legends edition is quite hard to get. If I see it, i'll get it.
Volcanic Hammer - I was thinking about Blazing Salvo as I already have such cards there. Hammer is better.
Shivan Dragon was there as an iconic card, but was cut and Rorix Bladewing took it's place.
What to cut?
Skullscorch? What else would you cut?
Green:
Wall of Blossoms will go in, I skipped it as an uncommon.
Thorn Elemental or Verdant force will replace Deathcoil Wurm. Not sure about Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, it looks quite good (for land destruction and a surprise attacks with Overrun). Would you replace it?
Kavu Titan - I think that there is enough trample in the deck already.
Wild Mongrel is in the other cubes and it performs nicely. Will consider it.
Deranged Hermit is the same category as Phyrexian Arena and Morphling. Actually, if I can find similar Red & White cards, I can add a cycle
Multicolour
Why would you keep 3 friendly and just 2 enemy colours? It would have statistically a little bit worse distribution? Is it because of the card quality?
Teferi's Moat, Iridescent Angel, Absorb - why Iridescent Angel and not Hanna, Ship's Navigator. I find the Angel quite costy, but it plays a nice fatty role in WU.
Psychatog, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Recoil - Stalking Assassin is weak, I like Undermine, but I'll consider Recoil.
Terminate, Pyre Zombie, Void - yep, you're right
Kird Ape, Hull Breach, Raging Kavu - I'll probably keep decimate and Artifact Mutation. From the rest it will either be Kird Ape or Raging Kavu.
Armadillo Cloak, Mystic Enforcer, something else - I find Armadillo Cloak risky to play, it's usually 2 for 1, but there are not that many similarly good auras.
Vindicate, Desolation Angel - yes
Spiritmonger, Pernicious Deed - yes
Mystic Snake, Temporal Spring - absolutely
Fire//Ice, Prophetic Bolt - yes
Goblin Legionaire, Goblin Trenches - yes, agree
Lands
Gemstone Mine, Ancient Tomb, Strip Mine are over the limit, but LD is included, so Strip Mine might get in.
Multicoloured
replaced with the pain lands
Hanna, Ship's Navigator > Adarkar Wastes
Stalking Assassin > Underground River
Blazing Specter > Sulfurous Springs
Voracious Cobra > Karplusan Forest
Ancient Spider > Brushland
Soul Link > Caves of Koilos
Death Mutation > Llanowar Wastes
Jungle Barrier > Yavimaya Coast
Firestorm Hellkite > Shivan Reef
Soltari Guerrillas > Battlefield Forge
with several improvements
Backlash > Fire Covenant
Vhati il-Dal > Pernicious Deed
Energy Bolt > Goblin Legionnaire
Purgatory > Desolation Angel
White
Elite Archers > Devoted Caretaker - lowers manacost, White needs to win at the time you can cast the archers
Sunstrike Legionnaire > Wall of Essence (maybe that Beloved Chaplain would be better change here)
Still waiting on Savannah Lions and considering: Abu Jafar, Sunhawk Tail, Beloved Chaplain.
Blue
I think that these changes were quite easy to make:
Balance of Power > Brainstorm - this was easy
Scalpelexis > Mana Leak - this weakens the mill archetype, but there are probably still enough cards to go that way
Not sure what to change next, I'd like to add Capsize
Black
This is the hardest colour to make changes - all the cards seem to be already very good to me
Hecatomb > Pestilence - it's easier to cast
Dregs of Sorrow > Dark Ritual - lowers CC
Junun Efreet > Hypnotic Specter - A flier replaced with another flier with benefits
Lethal Vapors > Sorceress Queen - Lethal Vapors is fun, helps control and partially mill archetypes, but can extend the games a lot.
Red
Aladdin > Jackal Pup - just to reduce mana cost
Skullscorch > Goblin Patrol - Both options for Skullscorch aren't that impressive and you always get the worse option.
Five 1-drop seems alright for now. I'd like to add Volcanic Hammer and Squee, Goblin Naboo. Grim Lavamancer is amazing, but expensive.
Green
Thelonite Druid > Summer Bloom - The druid seems very good, but it wasn't drafted as I expected.
Deathcoil Wurm > Thicket Elemental - Wurm is nice, but slow and usually just eats Terror
Greater Good > Wall of Blossoms - GG doesn't have that many cards to be useful.
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa > Kavu Titan - Kamahl can suprise, everyone suddenly starts reconsidering Wrath effects to keep theirs lands, but I have just new art frame and Kavu looks faster and better.
I also identified 5 artifacts that I'd like to remove:
Mindless Automaton, Chimeric Sphere, Chimeric Staff, Flying Carpet, Book of Rass. That's five slots that I can use somewhere; the possibilities are:
* Add 1 extra card to each colour - maybe the expensive ones like: Land Tax, Morphling, Phyrexian Arena, Deranged Hermit and Grim Lavamancer
* Remove 1 card from either enemy pair or each colour and add 10 lands
* Replace with other artifacts (Triskelion, Meekstone, etc)
First of all, I removed the mill theme - not sure whether Millstone & Howling Mine are worth keeping, but I left them there.
Removed the five underperforming artifacts and replaced them with the expensive cards: Land Tax, Morphling, Phyrexian Arena, Deranged Hermit and Grim Lavamancer
In general, the cube should be a little bit faster now, still evaluating several cards that might be removed.
I'd be very grateful for any feedback.
What I'd like to somehow add:
W: Icatian Javelineers
U: Faerie Conclave, Time Elemental
B: Necropotence
R: Some nice bolt instead of Pardic Miner, maybe Goblin Bombardment, Pyrokinesis, Pyroclasm
G: Treetop Village
A: Triskelion (probably instead of Snow Fortress
360 cards - each colour has 51 cards, each guild has 3 cards, the rests is artifact and lands.
CMC is between 3.2 and 3.5 for each colour.
Link to CubeTutor
1x Devoted Caretaker
1x Loyal Sentry
1x Mother of Runes
1x Savannah Lions
1x Oracle en-Vec
1x Shaman en-Kor
1x Wall of Essence
1x White Knight
1x Intrepid Hero
1x Knight Of Dawn
1x Lieutenant Kirtar
1x Orim, Samite Healer
1x Soul Sculptor
1x Zhalfirin Crusader
1x Ageless Sentinels
1x Cho-Manno, Revolutionary
1x Commander Eesha
1x False Prophet
1x Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon"
1x Voice of All
1x Witch Hunter
1x Blinding Angel
1x Gerrard Capashen
1x Karmic Guide
1x Master Healer
1x Serra Angel
1x Exalted Angel
1x Jareth, Leonine Titan
1x Eternal Dragon
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Disenchant
1x Reprisal
1x Vengeful Dreams
1x Exile
1x Just Fate
1x Oblation
1x Prismatic Strands
White Sorcery
1x Balance
1x Repentance
1x Armageddon
1x Path of Peace
1x Resurrection
1x Wrath of God
1x Rout
1x Akroma's Vengeance
White Enchantment
1x Land Tax
1x Divine Sacrament
1x Glorious Anthem
1x Mobilization
1x Sacred Mesa
1x Field of Souls
1x Magus of the Unseen
1x Merfolk Looter
1x Saprazzan Heir
1x Voidmage Prodigy
1x Waterfront Bouncer
1x Barrin, Master Wizard
1x Daring Apprentice
1x Prodigal Sorcerer
1x Teferi's Imp
1x Temporal Adept
1x Archivist
1x Clone
1x Coastal Wizard
1x Riptide Director
1x Somnophore
1x Tradewind Rider
1x Mischievous Quanar
1x Morphling
1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
1x Mahamoti Djinn
1x Brainstorm
1x Divert
1x Force Spike
1x Counterspell
1x Impulse
1x Mana Leak
1x Memory Lapse
1x Miscalculation
1x Capsize
1x Circular Logic
1x Dissipate
1x Forbid
1x Mana Short
1x Psionic Blast
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Desertion
1x Evacuation
1x Misdirection
1x Syncopate
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Merchant Scroll
1x Tinker
1x Windfall
1x Deep Analysis
Blue Enchantment
1x Propaganda
1x Abduction
1x Coastal Piracy
1x Control Magic
1x Opposition
1x Future Sight
1x Recantation
1x Will-o'-the-Wisp
1x Black Knight
1x Carrionette
1x Consumptive Goo
1x Plaguebearer
1x Bone Dancer
1x Doomed Necromancer
1x Hypnotic Specter
1x Royal Assassin
1x Skeleton Scavengers
1x Sorceress Queen
1x Stronghold Assassin
1x Undead Gladiator
1x Abyssal Hunter
1x Bane of the Living
1x Bounty Hunter
1x Graveborn Muse
1x Sengir Autocrat
1x Tainted Specter
1x Chainer, Dementia Master
1x Fallen Angel
1x Phyrexian Plaguelord
1x Sengir Vampire
1x Soul Collector
1x Stalking Bloodsucker
1x Visara the Dreadful
1x Dark Ritual
1x Assassin's Blade
1x Terror
1x Dark Banishing
1x Death Pulse
1x Broken Visage
Black Sorcery
1x Cruel Edict
1x Do or Die
1x Hymn to Tourach
1x Soul Exchange
1x Rhystic Tutor
1x Victimize
1x Wicked Pact
1x Ancient Craving
1x Ashen Powder
1x Mutilate
1x Ritual of the Machine
1x Living Death
1x Rain of Daggers
1x Animate Dead
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Death Pit Offering
1x Greed
1x Pestilence
1x Subversion
1x Goblin Patrol
1x Goblin Welder
1x Grim Lavamancer
1x Jackal Pup
1x Mogg Fanatic
1x Warbreak Trumpeter
1x Molten Hydra
1x Ball Lightning
1x Burning Shield Askari
1x Goblin Sharpshooter
1x Hell-Bent Raider
1x Viashino Heretic
1x Blistering Firecat
1x Crimson Manticore
1x Dragon Whelp
1x Flametongue Kavu
1x Fledgling Dragon
1x Jeska, Warrior Adept
1x Keldon Champion
1x Skizzik
1x Siege-Gang Commander
1x Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
1x Kamahl, Pit Fighter
1x Rorix Bladewing
1x Lightning Bolt
1x Shock
1x Final Fortune
1x Incinerate
1x Molten Influence
1x Urza's Rage
1x Lightning Blast
1x Fissure
1x Pyrokinesis
Red Sorcery
1x Firebolt
1x Pyroclasm
1x Volcanic Hammer
1x Hammer of Bogardan
1x Threaten
1x Aftershock
1x Deadshot
1x Relentless Assault
1x Seize the Day
1x Lightning Surge
1x Pyrotechnics
1x Disintegrate
1x Earthquake
1x Ghitu Fire
1x Rolling Thunder
1x Mana Flare
1x Sulfuric Vortex
1x Pyromancy
1x Birds of Paradise
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Taunting Elf
1x Elvish Archers
1x Kavu Titan
1x Quirion Dryad
1x Tribal Forcemage
1x Urborg Elf
1x Utopia Tree
1x Wall of Blossoms
1x Wall of Roots
1x Werebear
1x Mirri, Cat Warrior
1x Nantuko Elder
1x Phantom Nantuko
1x Tracker
1x Wood Elves
1x Yavimaya Elder
1x Citanul Hierophants
1x Elven Warhounds
1x Elvish Piper
1x Forgotten Ancient
1x Mongrel Pack
1x Spike Breeder
1x Cockatrice
1x Deranged Hermit
1x Gurzigost
1x Hystrodon
1x Kaysa
1x Seedborn Muse
1x Silklash Spider
1x Thicket Elemental
1x Child of Gaea
1x Silvos, Rogue Elemental
1x Deathcoil Wurm
1x Naturalize
Green Sorcery
1x Channel
1x Rampant Growth
1x Regrowth
1x Call of the Herd
1x Deep Reconnaissance
1x Explosive Vegetation
1x Restock
1x Winter Blast
Green Enchantment
1x Rancor
1x Forbidden Lore
1x Squirrel Nest
1x Abundance
1x Rowen
1x Vernal Bloom
1x Iridescent Angel
1x Absorb
1x Teferi's Moat
Dimir
1x Shadowmage Infiltrator
1x Undermine
1x Barrin's Spite
Rakdos
1x Pyre Zombie
1x Fire Covenant
1x Void
Gruul
1x Raging Kavu
1x Artifact Mutation
1x Decimate
1x Asmira, Holy Avenger
1x Mystic Enforcer
1x Aura Mutation
Orzhov
1x Desolation Angel
1x Vindicate
1x Death Grasp
Golgari
1x Spiritmonger
1x Life // Death
1x Pernicious Deed
Simic
1x Mystic Snake
1x Temporal Spring
1x Aether Mutation
1x Fire // Ice
1x Suffocating Blast
1x Prophetic Bolt
Boros
1x Goblin Legionnaire
1x Order // Chaos
1x Goblin Trenches
1x Junk Diver
1x Dancing Scimitar
1x Primal Clay
1x Snow Fortress
Colourless Artifact
1x Jeweled Amulet
1x Black Vise
1x Ivory Tower
1x Meekstone
1x Voltaic Key
1x Aeolipile
1x Ankh of Mishra
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Howling Mine
1x Mind Stone
1x Star Compass
1x Wand of Denial
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Disrupting Scepter
1x Eye of Ramos
1x Heart of Ramos
1x Horn of Ramos
1x Jalum Tome
1x Mana Prism
1x Phyrexian Lens
1x Puppet Strings
1x Skull of Ramos
1x Sol Grail
1x Tooth of Ramos
1x Amber Prison
1x Diamond Kaleidoscope
1x Erratic Portal
1x Grafted Skullcap
1x Horn of Deafening
1x Icy Manipulator
1x Jayemdae Tome
1x Jester's Cap
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Phyrexian Processor
1x Power Matrix
1x Rocket Launcher
1x Sisay's Ring
1x Slate of Ancestry
1x Snake Basket
1x Time Bomb
1x Amulet of Unmaking
1x Citanul Flute
1x Mishra's Helix
1x Monkey Cage
1x Predator, Flagship
1x The Hive
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Badlands
1x Battlefield Forge
1x Bayou
1x Brushland
1x Caves of Koilos
1x Desert
1x Grand Coliseum
1x Karplusan Forest
1x Llanowar Wastes
1x Maze of Ith
1x Mishra's Factory
1x Plateau
1x Savannah
1x Scrubland
1x Shivan Reef
1x Sulfurous Springs
1x Taiga
1x Tropical Island
1x Tundra
1x Underground River
1x Underground Sea
1x Volcanic Island
1x Wasteland
1x Yavimaya Coast
Here are several thoughts:
White
- White Knight might go, but I just like him a lot.
- Zhalfirin Crusader seems strange, but he can be surprisingly good. I'm still not sure.
- Master Healer not sure whether the prevention theme is relevant at 5 mana, maybe another flyer would be better here. Or maybe something from the maybeboard.
- I'd like to add Kjeldoran Home Guard as soon as I get him, not sure what to replace, but he looks good with the crusade theme that's there.
- Divine Sacrament seems conditional and weak, needs testing.
- Shaman en-Kor - haven't play with him yet, but he stops haste (which is not that present here) and also can possibly lure creatures into attacking before summoning a fatty. Maybe win-more as it doesn't help when I'm loosing?
Blue
The creatures seem strange in general. Need more testing, but the themes are: bouncing, drawing, tapping.
- Mahamoti Djinn doesn't know any tricks, but I remember how good it can be, Silver Wyvern would probably be better.
- Mana Short needs testing, again, I remember how cruel it can be, but it doesn't help when I'm loosing.
Black
The resurrection theme probably needs more cards. Unearth, maybe even a simple Zombify would work here. Diabolic Servitude can also help. Not sure what to replace.
- Is Undead Gladiator good enough? It can cycle, but then there is no card advantage, maybe with resurrection theme.
- Bone Dancer can be good, but there are almost no ways to give him some evasion.
- Black Knight is there to balance White Knight. Either both of them stay or go.
Red
Some 2 drops would be nice here. Not sure whether this should be more goblin themed, I'd prefer it to be "universal".
Green
Druids, Elves adding mana, some fatties to finish the game
- Deathcoil Wurm stayed just because of the art as I love art from Rebecca Guay.
- Tribal Forcemage needs testing, but it's a morph + there are mainly elves and druids.
- Tracker maybe needs some support to be good, but I like the design.
- Hystrodon is quite unique, but it's a morph, so it's staying for now.
- Probably needs some Fog, I have Moment's Peace ready, but don't know what to cut.
- Verdal Bloom is maybe too situational..
Multicolour
is simply hard
- Teferi's Moat might make the games too long, not sure what to use instead.
- I'd like to add Terminate, but it's yet another removal.
- Not sure about Goblin Legionnaire, Desolation Giant might be better.
- Desolation Angel is another Armageddon. One is probably enough. Not sure. Selenia, Dark Angel might be better.
Artifact
Mostly mana, maybe too many slots here, could be moved to lands.
- Jester's Cap, Citanul Flute and Amulet of Unmaking are candidates for change.
- I'm not sure whether I need more mana sources, I have Diamonds ready, but the current state seems ok.
- Snow fortress - I'm still not sure. Nice defender, but maybe too slow. Keep / replace?
Lands
I added several proxies that are way over the budget - Maze of Ith & Wasteland. I like Wasteland better than Strip Mine, I find it a little bit more fair.
- Adding Lairs would probably be another easy way to improve colour fixing. I'll add them if I find enough artifacts to cut.
I'd be happy for your feedback.
I'd like to add several more archetypes or strengthen the current, but I don't know which cards should I replace.
White:
- Weenie
- Tokens
- Clerics (as type)
- Pestilence (White Knight, Wall of Hope, damage prevention)
[I'd like to add birds]
Blue:
- blink
- control in general
[I'd like to add mill, and some birds]
Black:
- discard
- reanimator (some cards are still missing)
- pestilence
- card draw theme
- control
[I'd like to add more reanimation, tortured existence]
Green:
- ramp
- partially elves, druids
- midrange maybe
[I'd like to add more elves]
Red:
- burn
- aggro
- sneak with Elvish Piper
[I'm thinking about Wildfire]
I'm a little bit overwhelmed with all the options, so I'm thinking about moving to 400 cards with the next additions
+5 White cards
+ Soul Catcher - bird theme
+ Aven Redeemer - bird theme, prevention, evasion
+ Celestial Gatekeeper - bird, cleric theme
+ Harsh Mercy - tribal
+ Pacifism or Shared Triumph
+5 Blue cards
+ Traumatize - mill
+ Ambassador Laquatus - mill
+ Dreamborn muse - mill
+ Raven Guild Master - mill
? Scalpelexis - mill - should I add both RGM and Scalpelexis?
+/- Uphaveal as the other pieces are already there. Probably instead of Mischievous Quanar
+/- Sage Owl. Probably instead of Saprazzan Heir to support birds
+/- Frantic Search for reanimator, but not sure whether it's needed as there are other discards as Merfolk Looter. Probably instead Mana Short
+5 black cards
+ Dark Suplicant - needs more clerics, but there already is such theme in white, especially with the added birds (one is a cleric). More clerics would be needed to support this
+ Diabolic Servitude - Reanimation
+ Mind Twist - obvious discard option, strengthens the discard theme
+ Necromancy - reanimation
+ Withered Wretch - missing graveyard hate + zombie + cleric
+/- Rotlung Reanimator instead of Bone Dancer - both are zombies, this one is also a cleric and the effect is good. Adds Zombies for Graveborn Muse and combos with Suplicant
+/? Tortured Existence - enables whole archetype, dredge is not there, but milling would be
+5 green cards
+ Priest of Titania - elf, ramp, mana,
+ Caller of the Claw - anti-wrath, token, elf
+ Moment's Peace - needed, missing
+ Grizzly Fate - token
+ One free slot for an elf. Or Treetop Village or Verdant force
+5 red cards - Is it a good idea to include wildfire? What other late game is available for red?
+ Wildfire - ld, archetype enabler
+ Avalanche Riders - ld
+ Price of Glory - ld
+ Flame Rift - burn
+ Barbarian Ring - burn
Multicolour changes
+/- Kangee, Aerie Keeper for another Azorius card, probably Iridescent Angel
+5 artifacts
+ Zuran Orb - a nice card
+ Thran Dynamo - ramp
+ Millstone - mill
+ Telim'Tor's Darts - a nice card
+ Urza's Incubator - tribal (cleric, bird, zombie, elf, druid, maybe even elemental, angel, dragon or vampire)
+10 lands
I'd like add a full cycle, all 10 combinations. Not sure what would be the best combination here.
At the end, it the size would be 400 cards. I think that the changes would be beneficial, what do you think? What would you do differently?
- moved the cube to cubecobra
- abbandoned the 'rare' theme, it didn't work and led to many bad cards that weren't fun to draft
- removed mill cards
- made sure the curve is right for all the colours
- reduced average CMC for the whole cube, the target is below 3.0
- removed several birds cards
- added many staples and efficient cards.
The current list is here: Classic Frame Cube at CubeCobra
I'm currently planning to:
- replace Sisay's Ring with Thran dynamo
- replace Cruel edict with Diabolic edict
- replace some blue card with Upheaval
I'd by happy for your feedback.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963