MTG Salvation

Quote from Leelue »

Hellspark elemental isn't even really a 2 drop, and keldon marauders is sometimes not best on 2 either if you have another play.

Are you saying that they are bad cards to add in general or that I should take out different cards for them?

I'm saying that swapping them for 2 drops just because those are 2 drops is a bad idea, partly because hellspark isn't a 2 optimally and partly because, as a new cube owner, you can't trust that you have the ratios of cmcs optimized. so you should give more weight to cutting worse cards, instead of the worse cards specifically in those roles.

it's definitely improved from the last time I remember seeing it, but there are still some relatively weak cards I saw in the drafting process.

Hey all! I might link my peasant cube here too. It's not necessarily new, but I haven't been able to draft it in a long time (even though the only time's I've drafted it so far were 1v1 quilts, which have been fun). And after looking at and re-evaluating my list, I feel it could do with a bit of a change-up of sorts, including repairs of archetypes, parts of the cube and the addition of new BFZ cards.

The cube plans to support tokens, reanimator/graveyard tech, aggro strategies, u/w flyers and some ramp (I think).

Any kinds of critique and suggestions for changes/adds/cuts are more than welcome. I've been meaning to change quite a few things in this cube.

http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/13037

Please disregard, forgot this was pauper peasant.

Wut aaz huppanneng.

Hi guys. I've spent the past couple of days throwing together this peasant cube. It's meant to be drafted by 2 people, and has 270 cards. As it's so small, I'd like it to be more focused than it is, but I'm just not familiar enough with the cards. Some outside perspective would be great and also much appreciated. Thanks!
http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/42556

A couple of things to consider, for you

1) Watch out for color hosers. This is a serious concern for 2-man drafts, since you can pluck phantom centaur knowing it's almost broken in a matchup.

2) I don't like a few cards, but I think the only ones that don't have a place in a cube this small are:
Loyal cathar
Telling time
Delver of secrets (even though you are running cards like telling time that make it unusually good.)
Wing Shards (even though I am being speculative)
Mana tithe (Much worse in 2 man drafts and much worse in smaller lists)
Chainer's edict (even though it's better here since you have the hard to kill green guys that I don't usually like, a la river boa)
Alloy myr
Rise from the grave (get a necromancy)
Gather the townsfolk (I think this is one too many of this effect, making drafts samey)

3) I don't like gold cards, but man they are killer in 2 man drafts. In a bad way. You are at most really only able to expect 4/10 combinations of the cards (one 2-color pair and 1 tri color deck) to be playable not even counting for archetype. You definitely need to cut a lot of these, and that's not an indictment on your choices. You just don't want to have that large a swatch of cards (30 cards counting the bouncelands which I'd replace with vivids), + the wishy washy signets, that aren't able to be played in every draft.

4) Look for a lashknife barrier and a lust for war. These are the cards I always check for in a list.

5) Consider reclassifying cards like porcelain legionnaire as colorless cards, since that's how they play and how they play is pretty much all that matters.

Alright, I've made some removals and additions. How many signets (if any) do you think I should have?

Depends on the environment. They do change things, making 3+color decks pretty sensible and giving control decks a leg up

I'm an advocate of running either just the blue signets or at least something along those lines. (blue only minus simic, control/midrange color combos only, blue only)

Boros Signet isn't really a boros card, it is an azorius/izzet/3+cc card that you have taking up a boros slot. You're basically stealing a card from aggro and giving it to midrange/control. You wouldn't cut Pelakka Wurm for Rakdos Cackler so don't do this.

Went through and made a list of cards I'd cut. Also I think you should play more aggro 1drops in white and more 2mana counters in blue. Gathan Raiders isn't a red card. Playing a decent amount of bounce really hurts the reanimater strategy, might want to cut your discard outlets and just run the reanimate spells to rebuy value guys like Skinrender or Mulldrifter.

• Aven Riftwatcher
  
• Glimmerpoint Stag
  
• Condemn
  
• Gods Willing
  
• Feat of Resistance
  
• Frost Walker
  
• Deceiver Exarch
  
• Peregrine Drake
  
• Brainstorm
  
• Snap
  
• Voyage's End
  
• Dissolve
  
• Carnophage
  
• Diregraf Ghoul
  
• Ruthless Ripper
  
• Thrull Parasite
  
• Tormented Hero
  
• Vampire Lacerator
  
• Blood-Chain Rager
  
• Dauthi Horror
  
• Gnarled Scarhide
  
• Hellspark Elemental
  
• Keldon Marauders
  
• Rift Bolt
  
• Experiment One
  
• Tider Wall
  
• Wild Nacatl
  
• Sylvan Ranger
  
• Werebear
  
• Cytoplast Root-Kin
  
• Naturalize
  
• Harrow
  
• Become Immense
  
• Moldervine Cloak
  
• Kird Ape
  
• Pillory of the Sleepless

Pretty sure I'd run the dauthi, either diregraf ghoul or gnarled scarhide (if not both) and snap at 180

Ok, I've changed some things up, and I feel like I'm getting close to finalizing this thing. I just need to cut 10 more cards to even out the colors. Also, I don't know if my colorless section is good enough.

Quote from Leelue »

Pretty sure I'd run the dauthi, either diregraf ghoul or gnarled scarhide (if not both) and snap at 180

I don't consider black aggro to be playable.

Snap seems so underwhelming to me. Unsummon even for 0 mana just isn't exciting. Where is it good? What should I be expecting from it if I added it?

How would you consider black aggro to be unplayable? This doesn't make sense to me.
I see black aggro as the second best aggro color, not even close. They have the first or second best overall group of one drops, the largest batch of evasive 2s and 3s, and the disruption to keep your opponent from stabilizing too early. And some cards that are flat out broken in curse of shallow graves or hymn to tourach (which I even have banned).

--

Snap is good when you're trying to develop a board faster than your opponent to kill them. I.e. when you're playing aggressively (even though you don't necessarily need to be).

The main idea is this: You want to get far enough ahead that being down a card doesn't matter.

This paragraph here may be reciting things you already know, but Say he just played card A, and he would play card B the next turn, and then cards C and D the turn after that. By snapping card A, they may have to start the whole sequence all over again. Or forgo playing card B until after cards C and D, or even forgo playing card A until after C and D. Or maybe they play card A with C and then D comes down the turn after that.

In the scenario where they play card A all the way at the end, you could have have them dead on board by then and in that case it's as though you played a 0 mana murder. In the case where they play card B first, then play card A with card C (forgoing card D for another turn), you effectively "discarded" card D, pushed for damage the turn you played snap, and didn't have to deal with card A for another two turns.

The fact that it costs 0 instead of 1 is critically important because you are playing a card that will set you back longterm, meaning you have to eke out the most efficient path to victory in the next 2 to 4 turns. If you are instead using another unsummon variant, you might have to wait for some window where you both have the mana and the window for setting them back a turn to push for damage. With snap, you only need one of those conditions to be met.