Yup. I think the 1-drop elf might also be almost playable simply because it is a 2/2 for 1. But really, the mana costs kill most of these, and the few decent cards happen to be situated in guilds which are quite crowded. The azorius card is also almost there but Azorius Guildmage is simply so much better despite its lesser power.
I thought of the same thing at some point but do remember that green's enchantment and artifact destruction has always been about nature reclaiming what is rightfully its (at some level). Thus, the flavor fits.
The thing with Tortured Existence is that at least in theory, it should provide you with a decent way to ditch reanimation targets as well (as long as you have something in the bin). It also works with dredgers although those do not see all that much play, I suppose. And I mean discarding them although they also help turn Tortured Existence into a pseudo-Survival of the Fittest.
Ironically, I removed most of my sacrifice enablers earlier so it might be weaker than it could be. But we will see. I am open to recommendations for black curve toppers (particularly decent finishers) to replace it although I will try how it does, of course.
I think Anger might be a decent card for the 4-drop slot in red (although it is effectively no 4-drop). I have considered it, yesterday for example. But the fact that red has little decent discard besides Faithless Looting does hurt it. For example, compared to Wonder, few play red's looters compared to blue's. Haste is also problematic because it may mean nothing on board when you cannot attack due to an opponent having established their board. Unless you drop Anger to the bin on the same turn, your hasted creatures will not come as a surprise either. Once again, compared to Wonder, flying is relevant even when you must defend yourself from the hypothetical army of fliers which would nullify your own aggression in a similar fashion.
And of course, there were general small changes all around. I would really like to add Wall of Roots back but Devoted Druid took that slot for because of its synergy with Gravetiller Wurm (and Morkrut Banshee). And of course, it is also more explosive in general.
Hahahah, but the problem my players have claimed is that aggro is too good and not vice versa. I did attempt playing other lands in the most aggressive color pairs but eventually they simply felt too weak, and I am staunchly opposed to adding rares (I count Old Man of the Sea as an uncommon).
But what do you know - I did actually manage to drop one multi-color card from each color combination. Although it did feel quite painful in some cases. Thus, I added two cards to each color. I feel that they should enhance the experience although I am beginning to fear that there might also be too much removal. Once again, this could cause control to be too strong but it might also contribute to my problem with aggressive decks. Hmmm, we'll see.
Oh, was the consensus not that being heavy on multi-color favors control? Well, I do understand where you are coming from, although I had actually not considered that aspect of my large multi-color section. Too bad that is the absolute lowest I can bring myself.
Just out of curiosity, would you consider my cube too aggro-oriented? Some of my players have been commenting on this (although at least one of them has an extremely peculiar definition of aggro since he called my Orzhov Tokens aggro when the list was heavy on 3-drops and beyond, including Feudkiller's Verdict). Especially red is heavy on efficient burn, I suppose, so it might turn out to be a real problem in the long run. At the moment, I lack data to testify either way.
I would actually probably play Ingot Chewer over Oxidda Scrapmelter simply for its versatility. When you absolutely must get rid of the artifact NOW, you may play the Chewer for 1. (I am probably adding it next because I also run Flamekin Harbinger in any case.)
Reclamation Sage will indeed be really good in comparison to the ones which only destroy artifacts, and it will most definitely go in my cube.
We did a 6 man draft yesterday. While not all the cards were used, I got a few decent pointers. I did not see all the decks being used but at least there was an UB reanimator/control of sorts, Gruul aggro, Naya aggro, Selesnya Midrange with blue splash (both the elves, Skullclamp, Loxodon Warhammer, Pelakka Wurm, etc.) and Orzhov tokens with red splash (me). The last deck, I think, was azorius and probably quite control~ish. The winner was the Gruul aggro. Although the Selesnya deck actually had the crazies cards, I won it in the semi-finals (although the player durdled badly on the last turn, not blocking my creatures because he did not calculate in the boost provided by my Thunderstaff).
So...
1. Most of the players agreed that aggressive decks are the way to go although I have attempted to increase the amount of control cards. Does aggro look too well supported, or is this problem only caused by the drafting habits of my players? If they feel that aggro is always the best choice, I think it is a problem.
2. Bullwhip was amazing. I happened to draft it so I speak of first-hand experience although the sample is still quite small. When I was playing against the Selesnya deck, its player felt obliged to destroy Bullwhip whenever he head a chance because otherwise it would have demolished his deck. Thunderstaff was also something of an all-star in my deck as was Manriki-Gusari. In one game, it destroyed both Loxodon Warhammer and Skullclamp on the same turn.
3. Some cards might be a bit too cute, though. For example, Homicidal Seclusion should probably be swapped for a decent big creature in black. However, I really cannot decide what finisher would serve the cube best.
4. Oh, the moaning of my players... It seems like the power level is set just high enough because all the cries of "but I don't want to pass this" and "this pack is CRAZY" were music to my ears. And the decks seemed decent although I might still want to up the amount of non-creature removal a bit. Or at least non-creature removal - does anyone think that there is too little creature removal in colors other than red?
Edit:
Medium-sized update. Still need to replace a few cards, like Brindle Shoat, because I removed the sacrifices archetype to give black some more focus. Grotesque Hybrid is being tested as a finisher because it protects itself from quite a few things and can also gain evasion. I also removed Tinker and many of its bigger targets.
Personally I have never found my EDH experiences to be equatable to cube at all. Cube feels much more like the power level of a standard constructed environment at their heights of brokenness. 100 card decks, 40 life, and multiplayer make combo take on a very different form. Additionally it is much harder to break synergy.
Most naturally. However, in this case what I was saying that a card which is at most mediocre in an environment which supports it better (=EDH) should not really even be a consideration in one which does not (=Cube).
And when it comes to Miracle's worth or lack thereof, no one is probably claiming that it is utterly worthless. Indeed, the wording 'effectively worthless' means that while it is not absolutely worthless, the scenarios in which it is useful either provide too little (all things considered) or are too rare and far between. Thus, the gained benefit is worthless in effect.
Well, just to chime in, I play this card heavily in EDH, in a relatively competitive meta at that, and this card is a lot weaker than Wheel of Fortune. The exact reasons are those stated by people above me. Thus, there exists (anecdotal) data which supports this card being mediocre at most in a format which is much more inclusive than Cube. If this may be generalized to Cube, the card is really not worth playing. However, it depends on the Cube in question, of course, but this is most definitely not comparable to Wheel of Fortune and should thus not be forced simply because Wheel is such a powerful card.
I thought of the same thing at some point but do remember that green's enchantment and artifact destruction has always been about nature reclaiming what is rightfully its (at some level). Thus, the flavor fits.
1. I reduced the size of each guild by one card (oh, that hurt me so badly in the case of Rakdos and Selesnya in particular).
2. Replaced some of the cuter cards such as Chamber of Manipulation, Groundskeeper and Strands of Night.
3. Added quite a few curve toppers such as Council Guardian, Jodah's Avenger, Walker of the Grove, and Gravetiller Wurm.
And of course, there were general small changes all around. I would really like to add Wall of Roots back but Devoted Druid took that slot for because of its synergy with Gravetiller Wurm (and Morkrut Banshee). And of course, it is also more explosive in general.
But what do you know - I did actually manage to drop one multi-color card from each color combination. Although it did feel quite painful in some cases. Thus, I added two cards to each color. I feel that they should enhance the experience although I am beginning to fear that there might also be too much removal. Once again, this could cause control to be too strong but it might also contribute to my problem with aggressive decks. Hmmm, we'll see.
Reclamation Sage will indeed be really good in comparison to the ones which only destroy artifacts, and it will most definitely go in my cube.
At the moment, I run (only creatures; not counting other answers):
Kor Sanctifiers
Nevermaker
Riftwing Cloudskate
Æthersnipe
Wickerbough Elder
Acidic Slime
Dinrova Horror
Qasali Pridemage
Trygon Predator
Duergar Hedge-Mage
So...
1. Most of the players agreed that aggressive decks are the way to go although I have attempted to increase the amount of control cards. Does aggro look too well supported, or is this problem only caused by the drafting habits of my players? If they feel that aggro is always the best choice, I think it is a problem.
2. Bullwhip was amazing. I happened to draft it so I speak of first-hand experience although the sample is still quite small. When I was playing against the Selesnya deck, its player felt obliged to destroy Bullwhip whenever he head a chance because otherwise it would have demolished his deck. Thunderstaff was also something of an all-star in my deck as was Manriki-Gusari. In one game, it destroyed both Loxodon Warhammer and Skullclamp on the same turn.
3. Some cards might be a bit too cute, though. For example, Homicidal Seclusion should probably be swapped for a decent big creature in black. However, I really cannot decide what finisher would serve the cube best.
4. Oh, the moaning of my players... It seems like the power level is set just high enough because all the cries of "but I don't want to pass this" and "this pack is CRAZY" were music to my ears. And the decks seemed decent although I might still want to up the amount of non-creature removal a bit. Or at least non-creature removal - does anyone think that there is too little creature removal in colors other than red?
Edit:
Medium-sized update. Still need to replace a few cards, like Brindle Shoat, because I removed the sacrifices archetype to give black some more focus. Grotesque Hybrid is being tested as a finisher because it protects itself from quite a few things and can also gain evasion. I also removed Tinker and many of its bigger targets.
Most naturally. However, in this case what I was saying that a card which is at most mediocre in an environment which supports it better (=EDH) should not really even be a consideration in one which does not (=Cube).
And when it comes to Miracle's worth or lack thereof, no one is probably claiming that it is utterly worthless. Indeed, the wording 'effectively worthless' means that while it is not absolutely worthless, the scenarios in which it is useful either provide too little (all things considered) or are too rare and far between. Thus, the gained benefit is worthless in effect.