Peasant Friends - It's hard to believe, but it's that time of year again. We're past the last release of the year and most of us have gotten our cubes updated with Avatar. This year, because Spider-Man was so lackluster, the cubes chosen were all updated through Edge of Eternities.
I won't ramble on with fun facts or trivia about the cards individually. Here's what you all clicked for:
I decided to compare the card counts here with the stats from the end of 2024 to see some trends.
Cards that dropped the most % points of cubes from 2024: Usher of the Fallen - 2024: 79.7%, 2025: 43.5% - Probably was swapped for Descendant of Storms Archfiend of Sorrows - 2024: 65%, 2024: 29.6% - Was there a new expensive black creature that people found? Maybe Shefet Archfiend Village Rites - 2024: 44.7%, 2025: 23.1% - Deadly Dispute rose 13 percentage points, so I'm guessing people want to take advantage of all the artifact tokens around Resolute Reinforcements - 2024: 66.7%, 2025: 45.4% - I didn't see any new cards that would be a direct swap for this, but there were a couple of new powerful white 2 drops that could have pushed this out for many cubes. Khenra Spellspear - 2024: 68.3%, 2025: 47.2% - No clue why this one dropped so much, was this under-performing for people?
Cards that rose the most % points: Mischievous Mystic - 2024: 43.9%, 2025: 74.1% - Came out late in 2024 and had good word of mouth. Ivora, Insatiable Heir - 2024: 10.6%, 2025: 38.9% - Came out late in 2024. This one surprised me, I don't remember seeing this one talked about much. This Town Ain't Big Enough - 2024: 6.5%, 2025: 34.3% - It's continued standard relevance, and eventual banning in June this year, must have brought more attention to this. Sun-Blessed Healer - 2024: 35%, 2025: 56.5% - Came out late in 2024. Mishra's Bauble - 2024: 22%, 2025: 42.6% - This continues to get better with more artifact synergy cards printed every year.
Thank you calibretto for putting this together year after year. I always have it as a bookmark to check how much certain cards are played on average. Much appreciated.
I'm a bit surprised to see that only 17 people are running Beckoning Will-o'-Wisp. If you've cut this from your cube, I'd love to hear why.
It's tough for a card to be purely aggressive, require multiple friends, and cost 3. It has some high highs but the inconsistency is what does it in. I also finally dialed back on my token support just a smidge.
A belated thank you because I only just found the thread - MTGSalvation neglected to notify me when it was created.
I love going through this every year and find it incredibly useful every time.
Cards I missed and now have to consider:
- Urdnan, Dromoka Warrior - Good signpost as both an enabler and payoff for +1/+1 counters. Has an ETB for blink decks, too. I know it only made it into 18 cubes, but once I find a copy, it'll be in 19.
Cards I run and am surprised didn't get more love:
- Keen-Eyed Raven - This only made it into 2 cubes?! Mine and one other. It's flying, +1/+1 counters, blinkable. I was super excited when this came out, but it does not appear to be loved.
Cards I run and am surprised didn't get more love:
- Keen-Eyed Raven - This only made it into 2 cubes?! Mine and one other. It's flying, +1/+1 counters, blinkable. I was super excited when this came out, but it does not appear to be loved.
It looks like most people run Aerie Auxiliary instead. I didn't even remember that a 3 mana version existed though.
Thank you once again Calibretto for the Average Peasant 2025 Cube! I will say Cube has been plenty busy in 2025 and I am very excited to use this information to inform my first big update of 2026 (probably combined with the upcoming Lorwyn Eclipsed set).
I usually put together three lists with the help of this thread: a list of frequently played cards NOT in my cube, a list of infrequently played cards IN my cube, and a list of cards with questions. Here are a few cards from each list and my thoughts/questions.
Popular cards I do not play:
Dragon’s Rage Channeler - I just never see the Delirium “work” in the way it really needs to in order to keep its spot. The appeal is still there though, as I tell myself “You just added more focus on landfall and artifacts and rummaging in Red, so why not try DRC for the 3rd time?” And maybe I still will.
All-Fates Stalker - This feels like another of those classic cards where it does two things not well enough to justify its spot. I also think removal that is this fragile (2/3 creature for four mana) and narrow (only hitting creatures, ideally without enter abilities) is harder to cube these days.
Mentor of the Meek and Tatvoya, Benthic Druid - Two cards that I think require too much additional time/resources to make them worth cubing in 2026. I feel like each of these probably needs to draw 3+ cards to be worth it. And while each of them play in theme, you can probably find better payoffs for go-wide and landfall.
Unpopular cards I think you should play (not Snow or Conspiracies or “Power”):
Chimney Rabble - I had to triple check that I am the only person playing this card. I added this to replace Beetleback Chief with the upsides of getting a larger base creature with haste and a slightly easier casting cost in exchange for losing a 1/1 token.
Lyla, Holographic Assistant - Lyla has been really solid as another draw payoff along with the more popular two-mana blue fliers. Grabbing multiple +1/+1 counters in a turn is excellent, whereas the token payoffs will only create a single token.
Shoot the Sheriff - What if I told Shoot the Sheriff misses fewer targets (35) than Go for the Throat (40) in the 2025 Average Peasant Cube? Of course, the artifact creatures are inherently more vulnerable than Outlaws, but it is not enough to explain how under-cubed Shoot the Sheriff is.
Lodestone Needle - I think this compares really well as a stand-alone card to Cryogen Relic, although Relic has a lot more upside if you are heavy on the self-bounce. Without that, I prefer Needle over Relic.
Questions on cards I have never played:
Oliphaunt / Eagles of the North - I think of a lot of the appeal of these landcyclers is lost in Peasant with the lack of pitch spells and without a wide range of dual (and tri-) lands with basic land types. So, how do they play for most people?
Fell - When Fell was spoiled, I believed that sorcery speed was a more substantial drawback than the restrictions on the two-mana instants. Is the sorcery speed a substantial drawback? Is part of the appeal to Fell just how clean the spell is?
Territory Culler - I have generally started low on 4+ mana creatures that do not generate some immediate value. Culler stands out for offering a lot of value later on and being just pretty BIG. Do people get good value from Culler, especially compared to other green 5s with entering abilities?
I won't ramble on with fun facts or trivia about the cards individually. Here's what you all clicked for:
The CubeCobra list: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/mtgs2025
The Google doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10h0VUDrpk6SJMRnhjHQ6NHqdfAMazbw8wekVWE42pUs/edit?usp=sharing
I hope you've all had a great year and this list is in someway helpful to you and your cube!
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
It is so over.
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.
My Cubes:
Peasant Travel Cube on CubeCobra (180 cards, modern frames) (mtgsalvation thread can be found here)
I had a blog for a while @ peasant-cube.blogspot.com where I may or may not post again, lol
End of an era.
I'm a bit surprised to see that only 17 people are running Beckoning Will-o'-Wisp. If you've cut this from your cube, I'd love to hear why.
Cards that dropped the most % points of cubes from 2024:
Usher of the Fallen - 2024: 79.7%, 2025: 43.5% - Probably was swapped for Descendant of Storms
Archfiend of Sorrows - 2024: 65%, 2024: 29.6% - Was there a new expensive black creature that people found? Maybe Shefet Archfiend
Village Rites - 2024: 44.7%, 2025: 23.1% - Deadly Dispute rose 13 percentage points, so I'm guessing people want to take advantage of all the artifact tokens around
Resolute Reinforcements - 2024: 66.7%, 2025: 45.4% - I didn't see any new cards that would be a direct swap for this, but there were a couple of new powerful white 2 drops that could have pushed this out for many cubes.
Khenra Spellspear - 2024: 68.3%, 2025: 47.2% - No clue why this one dropped so much, was this under-performing for people?
Cards that rose the most % points:
Mischievous Mystic - 2024: 43.9%, 2025: 74.1% - Came out late in 2024 and had good word of mouth.
Ivora, Insatiable Heir - 2024: 10.6%, 2025: 38.9% - Came out late in 2024. This one surprised me, I don't remember seeing this one talked about much.
This Town Ain't Big Enough - 2024: 6.5%, 2025: 34.3% - It's continued standard relevance, and eventual banning in June this year, must have brought more attention to this.
Sun-Blessed Healer - 2024: 35%, 2025: 56.5% - Came out late in 2024.
Mishra's Bauble - 2024: 22%, 2025: 42.6% - This continues to get better with more artifact synergy cards printed every year.
Biggest Card Debuts of 2025:
Umbral Collar Zealot - 70.4%
Greasewrench Goblin - 66.7%
Descendant of Storms - 63.9%
Stock Up - 63%
Sunpearl Kirin - 59.3%
Most played 2024 card that disappeared completely in 2025:
Pianna, Nomad Captain - Went from 8 cubes to 0.
I removed Young Pyro from mine so all triggered effects would proc on "noncreature spells" rather than "instant or sorcery". It pained me to do so.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
Legacy Cube(I stopped updating this one)It's tough for a card to be purely aggressive, require multiple friends, and cost 3. It has some high highs but the inconsistency is what does it in. I also finally dialed back on my token support just a smidge.
The OFFICIAL peasant cube (suggested draft: Two 20 card packs.)
~450, Peasant
Please take your hybrids out of your gold section
Mana-math Article
My Peasant Cube
My Pauper Cube
The Graveyard Shift
The Exile Files
Sammich's Naya Cube
I love going through this every year and find it incredibly useful every time.
Cards I missed and now have to consider:
- Urdnan, Dromoka Warrior - Good signpost as both an enabler and payoff for +1/+1 counters. Has an ETB for blink decks, too. I know it only made it into 18 cubes, but once I find a copy, it'll be in 19.
Cards I've considered and still want to find room for:
- Wriggling Grub
- Galewind Moose
- Oji, the Exquisite Blade
Cards I run and am surprised didn't get more love:
- Keen-Eyed Raven - This only made it into 2 cubes?! Mine and one other. It's flying, +1/+1 counters, blinkable. I was super excited when this came out, but it does not appear to be loved.
2024 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
Useful Resources:
MTGSalvation tags
EDHREC
ManabaseCrafter
Thank you very much, calibretto.
My Casual (Shared) Graveyard Matters Battlebox
It looks like most people run Aerie Auxiliary instead. I didn't even remember that a 3 mana version existed though.
I usually put together three lists with the help of this thread: a list of frequently played cards NOT in my cube, a list of infrequently played cards IN my cube, and a list of cards with questions. Here are a few cards from each list and my thoughts/questions.
Popular cards I do not play:
Dragon’s Rage Channeler - I just never see the Delirium “work” in the way it really needs to in order to keep its spot. The appeal is still there though, as I tell myself “You just added more focus on landfall and artifacts and rummaging in Red, so why not try DRC for the 3rd time?” And maybe I still will.
All-Fates Stalker - This feels like another of those classic cards where it does two things not well enough to justify its spot. I also think removal that is this fragile (2/3 creature for four mana) and narrow (only hitting creatures, ideally without enter abilities) is harder to cube these days.
Mentor of the Meek and Tatvoya, Benthic Druid - Two cards that I think require too much additional time/resources to make them worth cubing in 2026. I feel like each of these probably needs to draw 3+ cards to be worth it. And while each of them play in theme, you can probably find better payoffs for go-wide and landfall.
Unpopular cards I think you should play (not Snow or Conspiracies or “Power”):
Chimney Rabble - I had to triple check that I am the only person playing this card. I added this to replace Beetleback Chief with the upsides of getting a larger base creature with haste and a slightly easier casting cost in exchange for losing a 1/1 token.
Lyla, Holographic Assistant - Lyla has been really solid as another draw payoff along with the more popular two-mana blue fliers. Grabbing multiple +1/+1 counters in a turn is excellent, whereas the token payoffs will only create a single token.
Shoot the Sheriff - What if I told Shoot the Sheriff misses fewer targets (35) than Go for the Throat (40) in the 2025 Average Peasant Cube? Of course, the artifact creatures are inherently more vulnerable than Outlaws, but it is not enough to explain how under-cubed Shoot the Sheriff is.
Lodestone Needle - I think this compares really well as a stand-alone card to Cryogen Relic, although Relic has a lot more upside if you are heavy on the self-bounce. Without that, I prefer Needle over Relic.
Questions on cards I have never played:
Oliphaunt / Eagles of the North - I think of a lot of the appeal of these landcyclers is lost in Peasant with the lack of pitch spells and without a wide range of dual (and tri-) lands with basic land types. So, how do they play for most people?
Fell - When Fell was spoiled, I believed that sorcery speed was a more substantial drawback than the restrictions on the two-mana instants. Is the sorcery speed a substantial drawback? Is part of the appeal to Fell just how clean the spell is?
Territory Culler - I have generally started low on 4+ mana creatures that do not generate some immediate value. Culler stands out for offering a lot of value later on and being just pretty BIG. Do people get good value from Culler, especially compared to other green 5s with entering abilities?
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/Peasantsnowcube
-- Updated with Edge of Eternities
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/5cf59a15-6577-456d-a065-6e6c93105026
Draft it on Cubetutor here, and CubeCobra here.
Treasure Cruise did nothing wrong.