Newest update. Includes AVR and M13 changes. With the increase in popularity in my cube, I've increased the count to 405 to accommodate 9 players. A general philosophy that I'm trying to adhere to when evaluating cards for the cube is a higher priority for ETB effects. With the generally lower power level of cards at common, having a higher number of creatures that have effects when entering the battlefield adds to their value and, in my opinion, makes for more fun and interesting games. That's not to say that every creature will have an ETB effect, but I'm trying to increase that number when I can.
I've decided to give white a bit of a token theme (as much of a token theme as it can have at pauper level.) I think this will give it a little more identity compared to the other aggro colors and make its global pump effects such as Fortify, Marshaling Cry, and Guardians' Pledge more valuable. I've also tried pushing more life gain (and good damage prevention) to keep red in check.
The Transmuter, Oracle, and Mist Raven all add to the ETB theme (and I'm not sure why I didn't have SGO in here to begin with.) Narcolepsy returns and Encrust is added for functionality with Totem-Guide Hartebeest and to have more blue board control. Rewind will probably return at some point simply because I think hard counters are nice, but right now the control decks aren't using a lot of counter magic, making Rewind less appealing. I've wanted to try Daze out for a while in tempo builds, so we'll see how it works out. And Amass is there for more card draw (which I just can't get enough of. :))
Black has consistently been the color that needs the least amount of change, which is good. I like where black is at. The Skittering creatures return because black-centric control has become a favorite archetype among players, myself included, and they fit very will within the color much better than they did the last time they were in the cube. Zombie Cutthroat is added because I wanted more morphs, especially those that could be played in any color. I've been trying to find a way to fit in Rend Flesh forever, and Mark of the Vampire is another copy of Armadillo Cloak for decks that aren't in green and/or white.
More ETB effects, as you can see. Red has also adopted a lot of "can't block" effects, which I like and feel that it gives some identity to the color. The Neonate has been awful and I've been eagerly waiting to remove it. Searing Spear is an auto include, and with the recent increase of x/1s in the cube, Lava Dart has returned and is likely to be more effective than it was last time.
Despite it having an ETB effect, I have hated Kozilek's Predator for quite some time, and finally found a reason to remove it. Gladeheart has been put in for its life gain. I'm not sure how much I will like Primal Huntbeast, as he doesn't seem to do much, but I figure the aura/equipment heavy decks will like him. Sentinel Spider is an auto include. I wanted another Naturalize effect and Natural End adds some life gain to boot.
This was the only change in the multi color section, but I feel it's an important one, and one that I'm very excited about. I've always wanted Deft Duelist to be good, especially in some WU tempo deck. But even when I draft that deck, I never want to play the Duelist, and neither does anyone else. So I finally cut it. Silver Drake provides a very nice flying body, but more importantly helps to further the ETB theme with its gating ability, and white and blue have the highest concentration of ETB effects along with ways to abuse them with cards like Whitemane Lion and Momentary Blink. Silver Drake is another card adding to that functionality.
I've decided to remove the MTGO commons, which is why Phantom Monster left and why Aeolipile is leaving. I'm adding in the Bracers because a) I like equipment and there hasn't been any good common equipment lately and b) there are enough humans in the cube to make it useful, especially in white and red, the two colors that seem to use equipment the most.
I'm really hoping RTR has a good cycle of common mana fixing lands to include in the cube, as I really hate having lands make up less than 10% of the cube. It makes cutting cards for decks much more difficult.
I thought this was a very interesting variant. I'm curious of others opinions concerning this build. While the mana seems like it would be a lot better and you can simply win out of nowhere with a Pike on a Stalker or Inkmoth Nexus, you're also giving up very powerful cards such as Geist and Restoration Angel, not to mention the ability to interact with cards such as Curse of Death's Hold or Oblivion Ring.
So what are the merits of cutting white all together for a more focused Pike plan?
The single Forest has by far been the best way to splash green that I've found, after trying some combination of Rootbound Crags and Hinterland Harbors. Also, I think 3 Tamiyos is are necessary for the WRR matchup. At least that's what I've discovered so far. Haven't really had any bad match ups.
Ideally, I'd like to get into programming apps for Android, but since the extent of my programming knowledge involves my old TI-83 from 10 years ago, I might want to start out smaller on Java or something. The thing is, I have no clue where to even begin or what programs I need or whatever. I just need a reference point to start from and I can probably figure the rest out from there. Any suggestions?
Like most long-running shows, it used to be funny, but now it's not.
Agreed. Seasons 1 and 2 are by far funnier than the most recent seasons. If all you have seen are new episodes, I recommend getting a hold of the first two seasons and watching them.
I think Pauper is the only format where signets don't warp the format. It's pretty much impossible to draft a dedicated control deck as the tools just aren't there at common, so signets don't affect that. Aggro is still very prevalent. Most decks are either true aggro decks, or tempo decks that still have to win with creatures.
I've noticed that quite often I draft so many playables that I have to make 7-10 cuts. I'm assuming its due to the fact that there are very few lands in a Pauper cube vs. a normal/powered cube, so you have more picks fighting over the 23/24ish nonland slots in your deck. As such, I tend to actually cut signets for another threat a lot of the time unless I feel I really need the fixing. And since there aren't nearly as many lands in this format, I think keeping the signets around for fixing is quite justifiable.
Rafiq is clearly better than any of the other options. If you run Natural Order or enough reanimation support, the Angel would be interesting. But the Charm is probably the more useful of the two on its own.
+ Temple Acolyte
+ Attended Knight
+ Captain's Call
+ Seraph of Dawn
+ Embolden
I've decided to give white a bit of a token theme (as much of a token theme as it can have at pauper level.) I think this will give it a little more identity compared to the other aggro colors and make its global pump effects such as Fortify, Marshaling Cry, and Guardians' Pledge more valuable. I've also tried pushing more life gain (and good damage prevention) to keep red in check.
Rewind => Daze
+ Sea Gate Oracle
+ Mist Raven
+ Narcolepsy
+ Encrust
+ Amass the Components
The Transmuter, Oracle, and Mist Raven all add to the ETB theme (and I'm not sure why I didn't have SGO in here to begin with.) Narcolepsy returns and Encrust is added for functionality with Totem-Guide Hartebeest and to have more blue board control. Rewind will probably return at some point simply because I think hard counters are nice, but right now the control decks aren't using a lot of counter magic, making Rewind less appealing. I've wanted to try Daze out for a while in tempo builds, so we'll see how it works out. And Amass is there for more card draw (which I just can't get enough of. :))
+ Skittering Horror
+ Zombie Cutthroat
+ Rend Flesh
+ Mark of the Vampire
Black has consistently been the color that needs the least amount of change, which is good. I like where black is at. The Skittering creatures return because black-centric control has become a favorite archetype among players, myself included, and they fit very will within the color much better than they did the last time they were in the cube. Zombie Cutthroat is added because I wanted more morphs, especially those that could be played in any color. I've been trying to find a way to fit in Rend Flesh forever, and Mark of the Vampire is another copy of Armadillo Cloak for decks that aren't in green and/or white.
+ Fault Riders
+ Fervent Cathar
+ Hanweir Lancer
+ Lava Dart
+ Searing Spear
More ETB effects, as you can see. Red has also adopted a lot of "can't block" effects, which I like and feel that it gives some identity to the color. The Neonate has been awful and I've been eagerly waiting to remove it. Searing Spear is an auto include, and with the recent increase of x/1s in the cube, Lava Dart has returned and is likely to be more effective than it was last time.
+ Wandering Wolf
+ Primal Huntbeast
+ Sentinel Spider
+ Tangle Hulk
+ Natural End
Despite it having an ETB effect, I have hated Kozilek's Predator for quite some time, and finally found a reason to remove it. Gladeheart has been put in for its life gain. I'm not sure how much I will like Primal Huntbeast, as he doesn't seem to do much, but I figure the aura/equipment heavy decks will like him. Sentinel Spider is an auto include. I wanted another Naturalize effect and Natural End adds some life gain to boot.
This was the only change in the multi color section, but I feel it's an important one, and one that I'm very excited about. I've always wanted Deft Duelist to be good, especially in some WU tempo deck. But even when I draft that deck, I never want to play the Duelist, and neither does anyone else. So I finally cut it. Silver Drake provides a very nice flying body, but more importantly helps to further the ETB theme with its gating ability, and white and blue have the highest concentration of ETB effects along with ways to abuse them with cards like Whitemane Lion and Momentary Blink. Silver Drake is another card adding to that functionality.
I've decided to remove the MTGO commons, which is why Phantom Monster left and why Aeolipile is leaving. I'm adding in the Bracers because a) I like equipment and there hasn't been any good common equipment lately and b) there are enough humans in the cube to make it useful, especially in white and red, the two colors that seem to use equipment the most.
16 Island
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Invisible Stalker
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Gitaxian Probe
2 Gut Shot
4 Mana Leak
2 Mutagenic Growth
4 Ponder
4 Runechanter's Pike
4 Thought Scour
4 Vapor Snag
4 Dungeon Geist
2 Frost Titan
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Phantasmal Image
3 Spellskite
I thought this was a very interesting variant. I'm curious of others opinions concerning this build. While the mana seems like it would be a lot better and you can simply win out of nowhere with a Pike on a Stalker or Inkmoth Nexus, you're also giving up very powerful cards such as Geist and Restoration Angel, not to mention the ability to interact with cards such as Curse of Death's Hold or Oblivion Ring.
So what are the merits of cutting white all together for a more focused Pike plan?
6 Mountain
1 Forest
4 Sulfur Falls
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Desolate Lighthouse
4 Solemn Simulacrum
3 Frost Titan
3 Inferno Titan
4 Pillar of Flame
3 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
3 Pristine Talisman
3 Mana Leak
3 Slagstorm
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Galvanic Blast
2 Whipflare
1 Slagstorm
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Consecrated Sphinx
2 Volition Reins
2 Dissipate
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Ratchet Bomb
The single Forest has by far been the best way to splash green that I've found, after trying some combination of Rootbound Crags and Hinterland Harbors. Also, I think 3 Tamiyos is are necessary for the WRR matchup. At least that's what I've discovered so far. Haven't really had any bad match ups.
Agreed. Seasons 1 and 2 are by far funnier than the most recent seasons. If all you have seen are new episodes, I recommend getting a hold of the first two seasons and watching them.
I've noticed that quite often I draft so many playables that I have to make 7-10 cuts. I'm assuming its due to the fact that there are very few lands in a Pauper cube vs. a normal/powered cube, so you have more picks fighting over the 23/24ish nonland slots in your deck. As such, I tend to actually cut signets for another threat a lot of the time unless I feel I really need the fixing. And since there aren't nearly as many lands in this format, I think keeping the signets around for fixing is quite justifiable.
1 Acidic Slime
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Primeval Titan
3 Frost Titan
3 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Ponder
3 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Rampant Growth
3 Sphere of the Suns
3 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
3 Ghostly Flicker
2 Devastation Tide
2 Ratchet Bomb
7 Island
4 Hinterland Harbor
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Rootbound Crag
3 Dungeon Geists
2 Phantasmal Image
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
3 Negate
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Naturalize