I don't disagree, but at the same time, what else is there to do in boros? At least with cards like Wojek Halberdiers, Flame-Kin Zealot, and Resolute Blademaster I can incentivize players to draft creature cards that produce multiple bodies, so they can make better use of these guild cards' ETB/attack triggers.
The thought of cutting Nyx Weaver is completely alien to me. I actively support BG self-mill/reanimator in my cube, so there's very little that could convince me to cut the Weaver. Catacomb Sifter is a great card, and if I wasn't already locked into a particular theme then I'd be testing it for sure. As it is, I think the only card from today's spoilers that I'll be testing is Drana's Emissary. As majikian mentioned, that's a pretty easy replacement for Kingpin's Pet.
Resolute Blademaster has me curious; is it better or worse than the Flame-Kin Zealot I'm currently running?
The Time Ebb effect probably is slightly underrated, especially since we got a strict upgrade with scry 1 from Origins.
This is off topic, but since the card has been brought up... I never really considered Anchor to the AEther to be a cubable spell before triple-Origins draft, but having seen it in action it performs a lot better than I expected it would. Does anybody run Anchor and can provide feedback on it?
The new UB uncommon is too parasitic and the WG one is too slow. RG is... fine, I guess? Pretty unexciting, though. Trample is definitely what makes it playable. I might test it out. Roil Spout seems really good, though. It looks highly playable, and is in line with the flicker/bounce theme that most folks support to some degree. Superbounce an opponent's creature, or save one of your own. Sorcery speed makes it sad, but it'd be imbalanced as an instant so I guess it'll have to do. This is probably the only Awaken card I'll be cubing.
I like Breaker of Armies. I don't know that there's a good cut for it, but I do know I want to test it if I can find room for it. That's a neat effect that we don't get to play around with much at common/uncommon.
Well done! I've been doing mono-black warriors but have been thinking about splashing white for more versatility. I love how you have no EBT lands.
Thank you! And yeah I prefer the flexibility of being able to play anything I want to on-curve, so no comes-in-tapped lands was definitely a conscious decision.
Nope. At least as far as game day went, the only time I didn't hit my colors or got mana screwed was game 2 of my matchup vs UW Heroic, when I kept a sketchy 1-lander and paid the (ultimate) price. I think it was something like Champion/Champion/Woe-Reaper/Woe-Reaper/Chief of the Edge/Foremost/Plains/removal. So of course I didn't draw a second mana source for 4 or 5 turns and by that point it was way too late to come back. As for the life loss from my land base, I do typically take 2 to 5 damage off my own lands in a lot of games, but the speed of the deck lets me ignore that to a certain extent, and in addition to that the incremental lifegain off of Woe Reaper, Hordechief, Sorin, Fanatic, and Harsh Sustenance is usually enough to more than offset the life loss.
I took 3rd in a 28-player Game Day this afternoon with my WB Warriors, defeating Abzan Constellation (2-0), UR Ensoul (2-0), UW Heroic (2-1), Mono-Red Aggro (2-0), and UB Control (2-0), before finally losing to my 4th round opponent (mono-red) in a rematch during the semifinals/top 4. I don't have the brain to do a full write-up, but here's the list I ran today as well as a few thoughts on how it all went.
- Athreos didn't perform as well as I'd hoped. For future events I'll probably cut him. He doesn't impact the board enough when you're behind, and when you're already ahead you don't need him. Not sure yet what I'll be replacing him with.
- It's nearly impossible to lose after resolving Sorin. Use his +1 and cackle gleefully as he brings you back up to (or over) 20 life.
- Arashin Foremost remains the second biggest bomb we have. If you're not running the full playset maindeck then I don't even know what you're doing in this thread.
- I'm pretty happy with the maindeck removal suite. The 3/3/1 split of Stance/Price/Cut worked beautifully. I only ever drew Harsh Sustenance once, but I always wanted to draw it so it'll stay in unless I'm facing control or another removal-heavy deck.
- People continue to under-value Woe-Reapers. I had multiple games where I gained 2-5 life off of Woe-Reaper triggers which put me out of burn range or combat lethal. You can even exile your own guys from the graveyard if need be.
- The singleton Fanatic was fantastic. I won two games off of it that I can remember. One game in particular I had 5 mana, Bloodsoaked Champ, and Fanatic on the board. Swing with the Champ, after damage sac him to the Fanatic for a 4-point life swing and then bring him back out with the raid trigger. Welcome to the circus of value.
- Shadowspear was.... okay, I guess. Decent. The guaranteed life loss is nice, and while I was never sad to draw one I never felt super enthusiastic about them either. I might drop down to 2 Shadowspears going forward, and replace it with a 4th Woe-Reaper.
- Mono-Red Aggro is a really tough matchup. I'm not sure I can effectively comment on it, other than to suggest trading aggressively early on. You need to be totally on board with trading your Woe-Reaper for a Zurgo, for example. Don't try to hold your guys back, always chump block if you think you can guarantee the trade. Blow your removal on things like Swiftspears, which make combat math difficult due to prowess triggers.
- Probably going to drop to 1 Bile Blight from the sideboard and add a 2nd Murderous Cut in its place.
- The deck is not Tier 1 material. It is, however, extremely fun to play. Go forth, beat face, be merry.
you should be using the Kor regardless of what else you support
I don't like the Shadow mechanic, and in fact have been trying to move my cube away from creatures that are effectively unblockable 100% of the time. Triggered unblockable effects like on Intimidator Initiate or one-time abilities like on Fervent Cathar are fine, but anything that is perma-unblockable tends to be "feel-bad" for newer players. Looter Il-Kor is undoubtedly a strong card, but I try to keep all my unblockable effects strictly in red as those tend to invite more interesting plays than just "resolve dude, turn it sideways every turn."
I actually considered that, haha. Someone in my playgroup suggested it over the weekend, except with 7 different arts for Evolving Wilds since we're getting yet another new one in BFZ. Honestly though, if anything I'm leaninig towards making them all the regular DTK art since I love that one so much.
Edit: How many are there? I'm actually kinda curious now.
- Rise of the Eldrazi, etc
- Dark Ascension
- FNM Promo
- DTK Prerelease Promo
- Pack/Regular
- Battle for Zendikar
I guess that's it?
Edit #2: No Blood Artist, beefy? I don't know if I've ever seen someone lose a cube game after resolving him.
@Beefy: Cube descriptors like "peasant," "singleton," and "rarity-lockedness" are not exclusive to one another. Something that defines your cube may not be something that defines mine, and just because we don't share the same distaste of breaking the singleton "rule" or my choice to run painlands doesn't mean that my cube doesn't fall under the peasant umbrella while yours does. In fact, if you look at my sig below, you'll note that I describe my cube as "Peasant+" due to the inclusion of painlands.
Cube is a personalized format; it follows the whims of its users. That people often can't agree on what defines cubing in general is one of the qualities I like most about it. My choices might not always seem consistent (for example, I choose to run painlands, but at the same time I choose not to accept online rarity-shifts - I only factor in paper rarity, not digital), but they're still my choices, and I stand by them.
And lastly, regarding your comment that there's already a ton of mana fixing at peasant rarity: you're not wrong. But I disagree that it's all playable. In a booster draft environment, sure, Vivids and Guildgates and Refuges and Ravnica Bouncelands are all fine. And they're not necessarily bad in cube, either, but I find that giving players a better selection of mana fixing makes my own cube draft environment a bit healthier. RG aggro, for example, doesn't have to skip their turn 1 play because they drew Gruul Guildgate instead of Karplusan Forest. Things like that.
The decision to go with 7 Evolving Wilds, on the other hand, replacing admittedly good cards like Mirrodin's Core and Gemstone Mine, was purely a personal decision. It's just something I've wanted to try for a while after Leelue talked about breaking singleton for mana fixing a year or two back. I don't really have concrete reasons for that change other than I just felt like it.
Same here, I wasn't initially sold on Rhox Maulers either. But having gone up against it multiple times at FNM booster drafts, it's really scary. Trample makes it really easy to turn on renown, at which point the 6/6 body + trample effectively means you have to answer it that turn or lose, moreso if your opponent is holding a pump spell.
I've got some feedback on some Origins cards; I hosted a 5-person draft over the weekend and a bunch of the new cards made appearances.
Citadel Castellan was drafted in a really sweet WG +1/+1 counters deck. It was only ever drawn once, at a point when the guy playing it was too far behind to come back, but he's very enthusiastic about the card and told me that if he hadn't been on the ropes then Castellan would have been great.
I drafted Bounding Krasis myself in a UG deck splashing black for Murderous Cut and Possessed Skaab, and then never drew Krasis. But if I had, it would have been very good on the defense, because my opponent had:
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch, which is just as insane in cube as it is in ORIx3 booster draft. This lady is no joke. I had (more than) lethal on the board, and tapping down my biggest attacker every turn not only saved my opponent from dying, but actually turned around an otherwise unwinnable game and sealed the deal for my opponent.
Goblin Glory Chaser is a predictably great turn 1 play. The menace clause actually did come into play at one point, interestingly. The blocking mind games can actually lead to some blowouts - when you look at a 1-drop and go "wait, I have to double block it? It's just 2 damage. Whatever, I'll swing with everything since there's no point in holding back 2 of my big creatures to put in front of a 1-drop." and then when you're tapped out: pump, pump, pump.
I managed to land Jhessian Thief several times, but never got to attack with her or trigger prowess. Everyone knew how powerful she is, and killed/bounced/exiled her accordingly.
Patron of the Valiant made an appearance in the first place deck, which was WB. I don't think the guy who drafted it had anything beyond just a couple of cards that synergized with Patron's ETB trigger, so he was probably just running it (at worst) as a 4/4 flier for 3WW. I expect the card will perform even better in its home deck.
Possessed Skaab is very nice. I used it to bring back and recast Murderous Cut. He's definitely Eternal Witness #2, and in more appropriate colors, too.
Rhox Maulers are exceptional. I cast and resolved the card only once, and won the game as a result. The trample is relevant
Whirler Rogue was great. I don't have any specific thoughts on this one that you haven't already heard before. The card is very strong: 3 bodies for 4 mana - 2 of which fly - plus the ability to make something unblockable. No surprises here; I think this'll be a c/ube staple for a long time.
Shambling Ghoul is boring but viable. The winning WB deck, which was more midrange-y than aggressive, used it to gum up the ground in early turns while he waited for mana to cast his big dudes.
Undercity Troll is another strong card which holds no surprises. Renown is easy to turn on here, and the Troll is hard to get rid of. Cast it turn 2, and leave mana open on turn 3 when you attack with it. If they try to use removal, regenerate it. If they don't then your 2/2 becomes a 3/3 and you get to cast something else during post-combat main.
I think those are all the Origins cards that showed up. The +1/+1 counters theme in WG went off swimmingly as well. I watched a turn 2 Ainok Bond-Kin get followed up with a turn 3 Prey Upon targetting the opponent's 3/3, and then while Prey Upon was on the stack, Test of Faith on the Bond-Kin. It was deliciously brutal.
Edit: Something new that also went into effect for this draft was my cube going from 1 up to 7 Evolving Wilds. All of my drafters seemed happy with this. Singleton has always been a soft rule for my cube. Deciding to break that was tough, but I think it'll be good in the long run. Leelue's suggestion from a year or two back was the inspiration for this change.
Resolute Blademaster has me curious; is it better or worse than the Flame-Kin Zealot I'm currently running?
Nope. At least as far as game day went, the only time I didn't hit my colors or got mana screwed was game 2 of my matchup vs UW Heroic, when I kept a sketchy 1-lander and paid the (ultimate) price. I think it was something like Champion/Champion/Woe-Reaper/Woe-Reaper/Chief of the Edge/Foremost/Plains/removal. So of course I didn't draw a second mana source for 4 or 5 turns and by that point it was way too late to come back. As for the life loss from my land base, I do typically take 2 to 5 damage off my own lands in a lot of games, but the speed of the deck lets me ignore that to a certain extent, and in addition to that the incremental lifegain off of Woe Reaper, Hordechief, Sorin, Fanatic, and Harsh Sustenance is usually enough to more than offset the life loss.
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
3 Mardu Shadowspear
3 Mardu Woe-Reaper
4 Blood-Chin Rager
4 Chief of the Edge
1 Chief of the Scale
4 Arashin Foremost
1 Athreos, God of Passage
1 Blood-Chin Fanatic
2 Brutal Hordechief
1 Murderous Cut
3 Ultimate Price
3 Valorous Stance
1 Harsh Sustenance
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Land:
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Mana Confluence
8 Plains
6 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Bile Blight
4 Revoke Existence
3 Self-Inflicted Wound
2 Surge of Righteousness
2 Virulent Plague
- It's nearly impossible to lose after resolving Sorin. Use his +1 and cackle gleefully as he brings you back up to (or over) 20 life.
- Arashin Foremost remains the second biggest bomb we have. If you're not running the full playset maindeck then I don't even know what you're doing in this thread.
- I'm pretty happy with the maindeck removal suite. The 3/3/1 split of Stance/Price/Cut worked beautifully. I only ever drew Harsh Sustenance once, but I always wanted to draw it so it'll stay in unless I'm facing control or another removal-heavy deck.
- People continue to under-value Woe-Reapers. I had multiple games where I gained 2-5 life off of Woe-Reaper triggers which put me out of burn range or combat lethal. You can even exile your own guys from the graveyard if need be.
- The singleton Fanatic was fantastic. I won two games off of it that I can remember. One game in particular I had 5 mana, Bloodsoaked Champ, and Fanatic on the board. Swing with the Champ, after damage sac him to the Fanatic for a 4-point life swing and then bring him back out with the raid trigger. Welcome to the circus of value.
- Shadowspear was.... okay, I guess. Decent. The guaranteed life loss is nice, and while I was never sad to draw one I never felt super enthusiastic about them either. I might drop down to 2 Shadowspears going forward, and replace it with a 4th Woe-Reaper.
- Mono-Red Aggro is a really tough matchup. I'm not sure I can effectively comment on it, other than to suggest trading aggressively early on. You need to be totally on board with trading your Woe-Reaper for a Zurgo, for example. Don't try to hold your guys back, always chump block if you think you can guarantee the trade. Blow your removal on things like Swiftspears, which make combat math difficult due to prowess triggers.
- Probably going to drop to 1 Bile Blight from the sideboard and add a 2nd Murderous Cut in its place.
- The deck is not Tier 1 material. It is, however, extremely fun to play. Go forth, beat face, be merry.
Edit: Thirst for Knowledge and Compulsive Research are two good discard outlets in blue, in addition to the usual Merfolk Looter and Enclave Cryptologist.
I actually considered that, haha. Someone in my playgroup suggested it over the weekend, except with 7 different arts for Evolving Wilds since we're getting yet another new one in BFZ. Honestly though, if anything I'm leaninig towards making them all the regular DTK art since I love that one so much.
Edit: How many are there? I'm actually kinda curious now.
- Rise of the Eldrazi, etc
- Dark Ascension
- FNM Promo
- DTK Prerelease Promo
- Pack/Regular
- Battle for Zendikar
I guess that's it?
Edit #2: No Blood Artist, beefy? I don't know if I've ever seen someone lose a cube game after resolving him.
Cube is a personalized format; it follows the whims of its users. That people often can't agree on what defines cubing in general is one of the qualities I like most about it. My choices might not always seem consistent (for example, I choose to run painlands, but at the same time I choose not to accept online rarity-shifts - I only factor in paper rarity, not digital), but they're still my choices, and I stand by them.
And lastly, regarding your comment that there's already a ton of mana fixing at peasant rarity: you're not wrong. But I disagree that it's all playable. In a booster draft environment, sure, Vivids and Guildgates and Refuges and Ravnica Bouncelands are all fine. And they're not necessarily bad in cube, either, but I find that giving players a better selection of mana fixing makes my own cube draft environment a bit healthier. RG aggro, for example, doesn't have to skip their turn 1 play because they drew Gruul Guildgate instead of Karplusan Forest. Things like that.
The decision to go with 7 Evolving Wilds, on the other hand, replacing admittedly good cards like Mirrodin's Core and Gemstone Mine, was purely a personal decision. It's just something I've wanted to try for a while after Leelue talked about breaking singleton for mana fixing a year or two back. I don't really have concrete reasons for that change other than I just felt like it.
- Citadel Castellan was drafted in a really sweet WG +1/+1 counters deck. It was only ever drawn once, at a point when the guy playing it was too far behind to come back, but he's very enthusiastic about the card and told me that if he hadn't been on the ropes then Castellan would have been great.
- I drafted Bounding Krasis myself in a UG deck splashing black for Murderous Cut and Possessed Skaab, and then never drew Krasis. But if I had, it would have been very good on the defense, because my opponent had:
- Sentinel of the Eternal Watch, which is just as insane in cube as it is in ORIx3 booster draft. This lady is no joke. I had (more than) lethal on the board, and tapping down my biggest attacker every turn not only saved my opponent from dying, but actually turned around an otherwise unwinnable game and sealed the deal for my opponent.
- Goblin Glory Chaser is a predictably great turn 1 play. The menace clause actually did come into play at one point, interestingly. The blocking mind games can actually lead to some blowouts - when you look at a 1-drop and go "wait, I have to double block it? It's just 2 damage. Whatever, I'll swing with everything since there's no point in holding back 2 of my big creatures to put in front of a 1-drop." and then when you're tapped out: pump, pump, pump.
- I managed to land Jhessian Thief several times, but never got to attack with her or trigger prowess. Everyone knew how powerful she is, and killed/bounced/exiled her accordingly.
- Patron of the Valiant made an appearance in the first place deck, which was WB. I don't think the guy who drafted it had anything beyond just a couple of cards that synergized with Patron's ETB trigger, so he was probably just running it (at worst) as a 4/4 flier for 3WW. I expect the card will perform even better in its home deck.
- Possessed Skaab is very nice. I used it to bring back and recast Murderous Cut. He's definitely Eternal Witness #2, and in more appropriate colors, too.
- Rhox Maulers are exceptional. I cast and resolved the card only once, and won the game as a result. The trample is relevant
- Whirler Rogue was great. I don't have any specific thoughts on this one that you haven't already heard before. The card is very strong: 3 bodies for 4 mana - 2 of which fly - plus the ability to make something unblockable. No surprises here; I think this'll be a c/ube staple for a long time.
- Shambling Ghoul is boring but viable. The winning WB deck, which was more midrange-y than aggressive, used it to gum up the ground in early turns while he waited for mana to cast his big dudes.
- Undercity Troll is another strong card which holds no surprises. Renown is easy to turn on here, and the Troll is hard to get rid of. Cast it turn 2, and leave mana open on turn 3 when you attack with it. If they try to use removal, regenerate it. If they don't then your 2/2 becomes a 3/3 and you get to cast something else during post-combat main.
I think those are all the Origins cards that showed up. The +1/+1 counters theme in WG went off swimmingly as well. I watched a turn 2 Ainok Bond-Kin get followed up with a turn 3 Prey Upon targetting the opponent's 3/3, and then while Prey Upon was on the stack, Test of Faith on the Bond-Kin. It was deliciously brutal.Edit: Something new that also went into effect for this draft was my cube going from 1 up to 7 Evolving Wilds. All of my drafters seemed happy with this. Singleton has always been a soft rule for my cube. Deciding to break that was tough, but I think it'll be good in the long run. Leelue's suggestion from a year or two back was the inspiration for this change.