MTG Salvation

Hey folks,
I finally got around to getting my cube list cobbled together. There's probably a reasonable amount of questionable decisions here, but I've had a good bit of fun with it so far. I had a couple constraints when I made the cube:
1) I wanted some Conspiracies. A few of them are neat build-arounds and don't impact the game a ton, so I picked 5 of them. I explicitly ignored the 'Hidden/Double Agenda' ones as I didn't much like the bookkeeping.
2) I wanted at least 1 un-card in each color. I tried to pick neat cards that didn't completely break the game in half or something like that. (The Knight of the Kitchen Sink is the two-word names version, there doesn't seem to be a way to express it that I know of)

Here's the list:
The list is also on CubeTutor!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Frankly, cutting down to this size is extremely hard nowadays...

Looks good overall.

I can't comment on the Un-cards because I loathe them.

I think Steppe Lynx is pretty weak these days. Kytheon, Hero of Akros should be there instead.
Monastery Mentor, Flickerwisp, and/or Brimaz, King of Oreskos should replace Soltari Champion and probably Baneslayer Angel. I think you could also add Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Journey to Nowhere would be another good cut.

Perilous Voyage and Daze are too weak for a 380. I'd cut them for something like True-Name Nemesis, Bribery, Consecrated Sphinx, and/or Mystic Confluence.

If you want to support aggro in black, you need more 1-drops. Two is definitely not enough. I'd suggest 2-3 more. Probably Gutterbones, Bloodsoaked Champion and the zombie of your choice. I'd also add Ravenous Chupacabra, Hero's Downfall and Thoughtseize. My cuts would be some mix of Hypnotic Specter, Fatal Push, Cast Down, Vampire Hexmage, Grey Merchant of Asphodel, Never//Return, Yawgmoth's Bargain, and Profane Command.

Red looks good. I'd cut Manic Vandal and Hero of Oxid Ridge for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Sulfuric Vortex. I'd also consider cutting Zealous Conscripts because I don't think they are very good unless you are also running the Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker combo. You are missing the superb Magma Jet.

Green also good. I like Yavimaya Elder over Cultivate/Kodama's Reach and I'd miss both Tooth and Nail and Thrun, the Last Troll.

In multicolor, I don't like the guilds have unequal access to lands/fixing so I would change that.

I no longer run Ratchet Bomb, Scroll Rack, Molten-Tail, Erratic Portal, or Triskelion at 450, so I wouldn't consider them for a 380. I think you'd be better served by Coldsteel Heart, Lodestone Golem, Coalition Relic, Karn Liberated, and maybe Dust Bowl. Alternatively, find room for Coalition Relic and add one to each of the mono colors. I think you've got a lot of colorless here, but that's down to personal preference.

Hope this was helpful!

Cheers,
rant

Quote from rantipole »

Looks good overall.

I can't comment on the Un-cards because I loathe them.

I think Steppe Lynx is pretty weak these days. Kytheon, Hero of Akros should be there instead.
Monastery Mentor, Flickerwisp, and/or Brimaz, King of Oreskos should replace Soltari Champion and probably Baneslayer Angel. I think you could also add Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Journey to Nowhere would be another good cut.

Perilous Voyage and Daze are too weak for a 380. I'd cut them for something like True-Name Nemesis, Bribery, Consecrated Sphinx, and/or Mystic Confluence.

If you want to support aggro in black, you need more 1-drops. Two is definitely not enough. I'd suggest 2-3 more. Probably Gutterbones, Bloodsoaked Champion and the zombie of your choice. I'd also add Ravenous Chupacabra, Hero's Downfall and Thoughtseize. My cuts would be some mix of Hypnotic Specter, Fatal Push, Cast Down, Vampire Hexmage, Grey Merchant of Asphodel, Never//Return, Yawgmoth's Bargain, and Profane Command.

Red looks good. I'd cut Manic Vandal and Hero of Oxid Ridge for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Sulfuric Vortex. I'd also consider cutting Zealous Conscripts because I don't think they are very good unless you are also running the Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker combo. You are missing the superb Magma Jet.

Green also good. I like Yavimaya Elder over Cultivate/Kodama's Reach and I'd miss both Tooth and Nail and Thrun, the Last Troll.

In multicolor, I don't like the guilds have unequal access to lands/fixing so I would change that.

I no longer run Ratchet Bomb, Scroll Rack, Molten-Tail, Erratic Portal, or Triskelion at 450, so I wouldn't consider them for a 380. I think you'd be better served by Coldsteel Heart, Lodestone Golem, Coalition Relic, Karn Liberated, and maybe Dust Bowl. Alternatively, find room for Coalition Relic and add one to each of the mono colors. I think you've got a lot of colorless here, but that's down to personal preference.

Hope this was helpful!

Cheers,
rant

Hey, rant, thanks for taking the time to write these out! I'll summarize my thoughts on some of the cuts:

Steppe Lynx -- I...actually really like this card. No, it's really not that good anymore, but it seems to be a favorite of the folks I cube with...We'll see how long that lasts

Journey to Nowhere -- I tried to include a few of these effects because I was rather worried about my cube having too little removal when I first started designing it; I'll probably cut it for Flickerwisp when I can dig it out of my box.

Soltari Champion -- Brimasz is likely a straight upgrade, I have no problem making this exchange when I get my hands on one.

Baneslayer Angel -- I understand this isn't the most optimal card, but I really love this card. The art is gorgeous and it's a bit of a favorite. I really do want to find space for Elesh Norn, though. I don't think I could stomach putting Monastery Mentor in though; I despise the card.

Perilous Voyage/Daze -- I much like your suggestions over these cards here. I'll probably slip in Mystic Confluence and Consecrated Sphinx or something. TNN is another one of those cards I dislike very much; I couldn't bring myself to put a copy in my cube. However, I do agree in most cases it should certainly be in, just like Mentor.

re: black -- I'll add some of these. I was kind of trying to drift away from black aggro and go into a more of a 'big black/control' kind of route, but everyone tries drafting aggro in black/red anyway. Frankly my card selections here are a little half-assed in that regard and it just hasn't been working out. I'll bring back more of the aggro cards and play it that way instead. Thanks for the suggestions here.

I simply like all your suggestions in red; I meant to find a spot for Kiki-Jiki and never got around to it...I do agree, I think having Zealous Conscripts is much better with Kiki-Jiki in.

I also like your green suggestions. I'll stick Yavimaya Elder in over Cultivate.

Triskelion -- I've actually been really happy with this card so far. Maybe it's just coincidence, but he's been maindecked and had a chance to shine a few times in the last few drafts I've done. I'll keep him in mind when making changes, but I have the feeling he may not go anywhere for me.

The rest of the artifact cards I will certainly consider cutting. Scroll Rack and Erratic Portal have just been too clunky for me so far, I haven't really been terribly happy with them. I do want to give Molten-Tail a little more of a chance to shine, but I do think he'll end up on the chopping block too, much to my dismay.

I agree on the color balance -- I'm going to shave 5 off the colorless and distribute them out to each of the mono colors. It feels like just a little too many artifacts floating around when drafting.

Thanks a ton, again. This info helps a bunch.

Also, as an addendum, I'll just post some of my thoughts on the Un-cards I'm playing.

I've actually had a good bit of fun with these. The protection from two-word-names knight actually feels pretty balanced, and is fun to play with. Staying power is...not good, it will almost certainly get cut. What really surprised me is how good Who // What // When // Where // Why can be...The amount of flexibility it brings is silly, even if most of the modes are rather overcosted. I've had a good amount of fun with most of them so far, I don't see them going anywhere for me.

I've made some changes. I've put them in the first post but I'll make some comments here.

I made a lot of general cuts based on rant's comments. Thanks!
I also took some more looks at some other cubes of similar size, and thought about how the draft felt...I decided to cut down on 1 card per guild, and distribute the cards back into monocolors. I feel like this will help the draft balance a lot. I really like the manlands but I think there's just not room at this cube size.
Lastly, I'm really sad to cut Retrofitter Foundry...I think the card has huge potential but I really wanna see if I can keep in Molten-Tail Masticore. I can almost guarantee it's going to end up cut, but we'll see where it goes. I was thinking of cutting Paliano as well, but I want to give it a little more time as well.

No surprise that I like most of these changes.

I like Gorger more than Swiftspear. Swiftspear has a greater potential, but I prefer having a better baseline.

If you are supporting reanimator/Sneak Attack/Show & Tell, you should keep Emrakul. I'd cut Triskelion, Lodestone, or Undiscovered Paradise instead. Masticore would be the best cut, but I know you want to keep it. I like Trik the least of the cards I suggested.

I'd keep the manlands so that each guild has 4 mana fixers. If you don't want to do that, keep at least Tar Pit and Colonnade (and maybe Ravine) cutting the weakest card for each of those guilds. Wear//Tear is pretty weak. I'd much prefer to see Ajani Vengeant or Tajic, Legion's Edge in that spot.

Sorin is better than either of the two fatties you have in Orzhov. I'd cut Ashen Rider, but I'm known for having too much love for Desolation Angel. Clearly, one of them should be Sorin.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,
rant

Quote from rantipole »

No surprise that I like most of these changes.

I like Gorger more than Swiftspear. Swiftspear has a greater potential, but I prefer having a better baseline.

If you are supporting reanimator/Sneak Attack/Show & Tell, you should keep Emrakul. I'd cut Triskelion, Lodestone, or Undiscovered Paradise instead. Masticore would be the best cut, but I know you want to keep it. I like Trik the least of the cards I suggested.

I'd keep the manlands so that each guild has 4 mana fixers. If you don't want to do that, keep at least Tar Pit and Colonnade (and maybe Ravine) cutting the weakest card for each of those guilds. Wear//Tear is pretty weak. I'd much prefer to see Ajani Vengeant or Tajic, Legion's Edge in that spot.

Sorin is better than either of the two fatties you have in Orzhov. I'd cut Ashen Rider, but I'm known for having too much love for Desolation Angel. Clearly, one of them should be Sorin.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,
rant

Thanks again, Rant! I made the following changes (rip molten-tail masticore it was worth a shot...):
-5 total cards to bring the total to 375:
-Wild Nacatl
-Warden of the First Tree
-Perilous Voyage (Who//What//Where//When//Why is blue now
-Backup Plan (dear lord this card is busted)
-Weight Advantage (just not very good in this environment, really needs a lot of cards to build around to be worth picking)
the 2 green cards i pulled just to not trick people into playing green aggro. Warden may come in again later as a green card because I think it's good in ramp/midrange strats.
Then,
Skinrender > Liliana of the Veil (I really want LotV and I think Nekrataal and Chupacabra are enough for now)
Ashen Rider > Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Molten-Tail Masticore > Emrakul, the Promised End (At least I can say i tried)
Wear//Tear > Tajic, Legions Edge
Azorius Signet > Celestial Colonnade
Dimir Signet > Creeping Tar Pit
Staying Power > Brimaz, King of Oreskos (Staying power sucks, it would be very good if it was 2 mana I think)
Dance of the Dead > Mind Twist (I think I have enough reanimation/cheat effects for this size and Mind Twist is very strong)