Gilded Goose gets better the more a cube can take advantage of its other synergies, such as:
- It can create artifacts for cards like urza, cranial plating, tolarian academy
- It creates repeatable lifegain triggers
- It creates repeatable sacrifice triggers (great with mayhem devil)
- It creates any color of mana, supports 3-5 color decks better
I'm experimenting with the persist combo in my artifact cube. Because I heavily support +1/+1 counters and aristocrats themes, most of the combo pieces aren't that parasitic. I've also culled all of the pieces to be playable within jund colors, which should make it far more achievable.
It looks like we share a lot in common, however I'll highlight some of the differences:
- My philosophy is for the cube to be as powerful as possible, while still supporting artifact synergies. For this reason I sometimes include "off theme" cards like Isumaru, Goblin Guide, Lightning Bolt, and Cryptic Command to help round out decks. Yours looks like it might be okay with being a bit slower to allow for the viability of some more expensive less powerful cards. The density of 1 drops in your cubed is pretty low.
- You're missing all the blue artifact tutor mages! (i.e. Trinket Mage) I've found these to be really fun to use and think they're quite powerful.
- Your creature density in Green is pretty low, and you are missing many of the great +1/+1 synergy cards. Green +1/+1 counters decks want to be running a lot of creatures, with a couple support spells and removal (maybe 75% creatures). Those decks want to curve out and beat face with proliferated creatures.
- Bane of Progress was in my cube for a long time, but we finally determined that it's just too busted. It's such a game winning card and makes artifact decks so vulnerable. I don't think Shatterstorm effects are good for the cube, they're too punishing of proactive artifact strategies (which make the cube fun). The only one I'm experimenting with right now is Rampage of the Centaurs since that card also can be used as a combo piece to give yourself a ton of centaurs.
- Along those same lines, you have way too much artifact hate in the cube. You don't want too many "destroy target artifact" type cards, since they make the artifact decks a bit too weak, and the G/x creature decks strong. I've slowly increased the amount of creature removal and cut artifact removal for this reason.
- I recently cut all the energy cards from the cube. They're just a little too awkward and there just aren't enough powerful ones. I'm sort of bummed that that removes a proliferate interaction, but I think it's for the best.
- You've classified some stuff a little differently than I would. The "Affinity for Islands/Forests/Mountains" creatures should be blue/green/red respectively. Cranial Plating should be colorless, since it's completely fine if you aren't black. I also classify Tezzeret's Gambit as colorless, since that card is most often cast as 3/pay 2 life.
Hope that's helpful. It was really awesome to check out your cube.
- It can create artifacts for cards like urza, cranial plating, tolarian academy
- It creates repeatable lifegain triggers
- It creates repeatable sacrifice triggers (great with mayhem devil)
- It creates any color of mana, supports 3-5 color decks better
Sac Outlets
Carrion Feeder
Woe strider
Spawning pit
Blasting Station
Greater Gargadon
goblin bombardment
Enablers
metalic mimic
grumgully
The great henge
rhythm of the wild
Bloodspore Thrinax
Persist Creatures
Lesser Masticore
putrid goblin
Safehold elite
Kitchen Finks
murderous redcap
Here's the list: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/106695
It looks like we share a lot in common, however I'll highlight some of the differences:
- My philosophy is for the cube to be as powerful as possible, while still supporting artifact synergies. For this reason I sometimes include "off theme" cards like Isumaru, Goblin Guide, Lightning Bolt, and Cryptic Command to help round out decks. Yours looks like it might be okay with being a bit slower to allow for the viability of some more expensive less powerful cards. The density of 1 drops in your cubed is pretty low.
- You're missing all the blue artifact tutor mages! (i.e. Trinket Mage) I've found these to be really fun to use and think they're quite powerful.
- Your creature density in Green is pretty low, and you are missing many of the great +1/+1 synergy cards. Green +1/+1 counters decks want to be running a lot of creatures, with a couple support spells and removal (maybe 75% creatures). Those decks want to curve out and beat face with proliferated creatures.
- Bane of Progress was in my cube for a long time, but we finally determined that it's just too busted. It's such a game winning card and makes artifact decks so vulnerable. I don't think Shatterstorm effects are good for the cube, they're too punishing of proactive artifact strategies (which make the cube fun). The only one I'm experimenting with right now is Rampage of the Centaurs since that card also can be used as a combo piece to give yourself a ton of centaurs.
- Along those same lines, you have way too much artifact hate in the cube. You don't want too many "destroy target artifact" type cards, since they make the artifact decks a bit too weak, and the G/x creature decks strong. I've slowly increased the amount of creature removal and cut artifact removal for this reason.
- I recently cut all the energy cards from the cube. They're just a little too awkward and there just aren't enough powerful ones. I'm sort of bummed that that removes a proliferate interaction, but I think it's for the best.
- You've classified some stuff a little differently than I would. The "Affinity for Islands/Forests/Mountains" creatures should be blue/green/red respectively. Cranial Plating should be colorless, since it's completely fine if you aren't black. I also classify Tezzeret's Gambit as colorless, since that card is most often cast as 3/pay 2 life.
Hope that's helpful. It was really awesome to check out your cube.