That's the beauty of storm cards, not much "support" is needed. Brain freeze is by far the superior win condition. Most cubes run fast mana so simply chaining moxen and some free spells like snap can get you there. The fact that you are facing 40 card decks makes it strong enough on its own. It seems like a more open ended entomb in that more decks would rather have a brain freeze then entomb. It's another card for reanimator, and any deck can play it to remove possible threats.
Empty the Warrens isn't necessarily a game winning combo, but simply playing any spell before it makes it more then worth playing in any deck. And that is an added plus to it. Its mana cost allows it to be played in any deck.
I will agree, no single red card can hit all of those permanents 1 for 1, unless you want to count cards like jokulhaups. Red can kill creatures, lands, and artifacts with simply better and cheaper costed spells with no drawbacks.
Just as examples:
Lightning bolt/char can kill creatures or players.
Pillage/plunder can get an artifact or land.
ingot chewer/keldon vandals are creatures with a relevant CIP ability.
Those all seem like cards more decks want to play then aftershock ( I am pushing it with plunder as I wouldn't play that either).
A 4mana, double red sorcery with a draw back that just doesn't seem to match the power level inherit in a cube seems an obvious cut/not include. Fissure seems better to aftershock, and i wish i could be joking about that.
I would play any spell over aftershock. I seriously need someone to convince me of it's worth as i couldn't even justify it a focused land destruction deck....
In the end though, all I was suggesting is that by replacing one card in a cube you can allow a combo deck to exist. Brain freeze, empty the warrens, etc, are cards that are not bad on their own in the format and only add another archetype to a cube with zero cost to anything else in the cube.
This is why it seems good for a cube to have an artifact deck (this can simply be fast mana and fatties like sundering titan, magister spinx, etc, or tezzert). In general, all the cards for it will be good in most decks and allows something like a brain freeze deck to exist while sacrificing nothing. Empty the warrens > aftershock seems like a no brainer (still can't believe people play that card)
This is not correct ... one player's life total becomes 10 (each player has half of the team's life total) ... there is a bit more math to it than team life = 10.
Example: Team has 30 life ... Magister Sphinx takes one player to 10 (instead of 15 ... 1/2 of total) so the result is the team now has 25 life ... not 10 in this example.
notice how i will inform you in your error.
As stated not 2HG. When a card says a player it affects the teams single life total. As a result, when it is played a teams life total will become 10. There is no halving of life, math, etc. It's just life total = 10
The simple way to explain how we play is 2v2, especially since 2HG puts people in a mindset. Teams are randomly determined before drafting starts. The drafting occurs basically on a "square table" where you sit across from your team mate with opponents to either side. After the draft you make your deck individually, your partner does not help you here.
As stated the game starts with each team having a shared life total of 25. Play goes in a circle alternating between team mates and opponents. Any discussion occurs openly, so knowing the card pool and being able to discuss with your partner subversively are good skills.
And this is where it's not 2HG; each player is an individual still. Examples include:
1) I play wall of denial, my team mate has no blockers.... my partner gets attacked until one of us stops it while we lose life off of our shared life total.
2)My opponent plays flame rift. Both teams take 8 damage each (4damage for each player). 2 mana for 16 total damage. This is why hurricane, earthquake, rolling thunder, etc are good.
3)Someone plays Magister Sphinx. One teams life total becomes 10.
4)Firestorm. Generally kills opposing team for one mana or at least most of their field.
The game is over when a team wins best the of three.
I'm not really sure what else to explain here, but that should make how we play clear enough. Feel free to ask questions if anything isn't clear.
Well, one of the more obvious ways is the simple beatdown plan. Akroma, irridescent, etc beat down , evade, and are hard to kill. Putting an empiryal armour or ancestral mask obviously speeds up this plan. Those same encnatments on phelddagriff make general damage a very vuable win consition as well.
Words of wind + enchantress effects. This one also happens a lot. The ability to remove every opponents board position while maintaining yours is very powerful.
Sacred mesa/sigil. Make a lot of guys that fly ans turn them sidfeways.
squirrelcraft. I swear i win games with this randomly more then a direct plan to win. Two cards to attack for the win in one turn.
Decking. Though this has happened once so far, it is feasable that i can lock the board down and deck everyone.
Scroll rack/land tax/zuran orb. Again, not a win condition in itself, but the ability to basically contract from below with no drawback helps to win games especially when it finds you answers.
Phelddagrif is a win cosition of sorts too in that playing him gives you diplomatic power. If someone is a threat you can give someone cards to find an answer.... life to someone who may die... creatures to fog an attack.... ideally the favours are returned. As an example of sorts, I only play replenish. I don't want to help everyone with open the vaults... but i play with people who DO play it. If i can help that opponent to play that card it usually helps me more then it does them and let's me win in some way.
Playing replenish multiple times.
I think that covers the bulk of it. Hope that sheds some light on it for you.
So this is my deck. It is an enchantress deck that uses phelddagrif as a bargaining chip or to help aid in abusing oath. It plays like any enchantess deck really. This build is very anti creature by design but has game against everything. Drawing cards equals win the game. Looking mostly for some suggestions or even discussion about some cards like open the gates which i have yet to justify for inclusion.
pristine angel
akroma angel of wrath
iridescent angel
academy rector
land tax
seal of cleansing
rising waters
sylvan library
mystical tutor
opalesence
sterling grove
propaganda
fact or fiction
sacred mesa
faith's fetters
martial coup
austere command
seal of removal
scroll rack
crop rotation
idyllic tutor
ancestral mask
path to exile
exploration
oath of druids
brainstorm
return to dust
privledged position
life from the loam
words of wind
ivory mask
collective retraint
sigil of the empty throne
aura of silence
pariah
wrath of god
dueling ground
ghostly prision
swords to plowshares
replenish
wild growth
elephant grass
enlightened tutor
earthcraft
squirrel nest
empiyrial armor
aura shards
hallowed burial
rout
greater auramancy
sylvan scrying
karmic justice
zuran orb
humility
regrowth
mirari's wake
oblivion ring
condem
gaea's blessing
moat
seal of primordium
tundra
tropical island
hallowed fountain
breeding pool
serra's sanctum
strip mine
windsweapt heath
flooded strand
nantuko monestary
forbidden orchard
4 island
10 plains
10 forest
Empty the Warrens isn't necessarily a game winning combo, but simply playing any spell before it makes it more then worth playing in any deck. And that is an added plus to it. Its mana cost allows it to be played in any deck.
Just as examples:
Lightning bolt/char can kill creatures or players.
Pillage/plunder can get an artifact or land.
ingot chewer/keldon vandals are creatures with a relevant CIP ability.
Those all seem like cards more decks want to play then aftershock ( I am pushing it with plunder as I wouldn't play that either).
A 4mana, double red sorcery with a draw back that just doesn't seem to match the power level inherit in a cube seems an obvious cut/not include. Fissure seems better to aftershock, and i wish i could be joking about that.
In the end though, all I was suggesting is that by replacing one card in a cube you can allow a combo deck to exist. Brain freeze, empty the warrens, etc, are cards that are not bad on their own in the format and only add another archetype to a cube with zero cost to anything else in the cube.
notice how i will inform you in your error.
As stated not 2HG. When a card says a player it affects the teams single life total. As a result, when it is played a teams life total will become 10. There is no halving of life, math, etc. It's just life total = 10
As stated the game starts with each team having a shared life total of 25. Play goes in a circle alternating between team mates and opponents. Any discussion occurs openly, so knowing the card pool and being able to discuss with your partner subversively are good skills.
And this is where it's not 2HG; each player is an individual still. Examples include:
1) I play wall of denial, my team mate has no blockers.... my partner gets attacked until one of us stops it while we lose life off of our shared life total.
2)My opponent plays flame rift. Both teams take 8 damage each (4damage for each player). 2 mana for 16 total damage. This is why hurricane, earthquake, rolling thunder, etc are good.
3)Someone plays Magister Sphinx. One teams life total becomes 10.
4)Firestorm. Generally kills opposing team for one mana or at least most of their field.
The game is over when a team wins best the of three.
I'm not really sure what else to explain here, but that should make how we play clear enough. Feel free to ask questions if anything isn't clear.
Well, one of the more obvious ways is the simple beatdown plan. Akroma, irridescent, etc beat down , evade, and are hard to kill. Putting an empiryal armour or ancestral mask obviously speeds up this plan. Those same encnatments on phelddagriff make general damage a very vuable win consition as well.
Words of wind + enchantress effects. This one also happens a lot. The ability to remove every opponents board position while maintaining yours is very powerful.
Sacred mesa/sigil. Make a lot of guys that fly ans turn them sidfeways.
squirrelcraft. I swear i win games with this randomly more then a direct plan to win. Two cards to attack for the win in one turn.
Decking. Though this has happened once so far, it is feasable that i can lock the board down and deck everyone.
Scroll rack/land tax/zuran orb. Again, not a win condition in itself, but the ability to basically contract from below with no drawback helps to win games especially when it finds you answers.
Phelddagrif is a win cosition of sorts too in that playing him gives you diplomatic power. If someone is a threat you can give someone cards to find an answer.... life to someone who may die... creatures to fog an attack.... ideally the favours are returned. As an example of sorts, I only play replenish. I don't want to help everyone with open the vaults... but i play with people who DO play it. If i can help that opponent to play that card it usually helps me more then it does them and let's me win in some way.
Playing replenish multiple times.
I think that covers the bulk of it. Hope that sheds some light on it for you.
Questions and comments always appreciated.
01 enchantresses prescence
02 mesa enchantress
03 argothian enchantress
04 verduran enchantress
05 pristine angel
06 akroma angel of wrath
07 iridescent angel
08 academy rector
09 land tax
10 seal of cleansing
11 rising waters
12 sylvan library
13 mystical tutor
14 opalesence
15 sterling grove
16 propaganda
17 fact or fiction
18 sacred mesa
19 faith's fetters
20 martial coup
21 austere command
22 seal of removal
23 scroll rack
24 crop rotation
25 idyllic tutor
26 ancestral mask
27 path to exile
28 exploration
29 oath of druids
30 brainstorm
31 return to dust
32 priviledged position
33 life from the loam
34 words of wind
35 ivory mask
36 collective restraint
37 sigil of the empty throne
38 aura of silence
39 pariah
40 wrath of god
41 dueling ground
42 ghostly prision
43 swords to plowshares
44 replenish
45 wild growth
46 elephant grass
47 enlightened tutor
48 earthcraft
49 squirrel nest
50 empiyrial armor
51 aura shards
52 hallowed burial
53 rout
54 greater auramancy
55 sylvan scrying
56 karmic justice
57 zuran orb
58 humility
59 regrowth
60 mirari's wake
61 oblivion ring
62 condemn
63 gaea's blessing
64 moat
65 seal of primordium
67 tropical island
68 hallowed fountain
69 breeding pool
70 serra's sanctum
71 strip mine
72 windswept heath
73 flooded strand
74 nantuko monestary
75 forbidden orchard
76 island (4)
77 plains (10)
78 forest (10)
enchantresses presence
mesa enchantress
argothian enchantress
pristine angel
akroma angel of wrath
iridescent angel
academy rector
land tax
seal of cleansing
rising waters
sylvan library
mystical tutor
opalesence
sterling grove
propaganda
fact or fiction
sacred mesa
faith's fetters
martial coup
austere command
seal of removal
scroll rack
crop rotation
idyllic tutor
ancestral mask
path to exile
exploration
oath of druids
brainstorm
return to dust
privledged position
life from the loam
words of wind
ivory mask
collective retraint
sigil of the empty throne
aura of silence
pariah
wrath of god
dueling ground
ghostly prision
swords to plowshares
replenish
wild growth
elephant grass
enlightened tutor
earthcraft
squirrel nest
empiyrial armor
aura shards
hallowed burial
rout
greater auramancy
sylvan scrying
karmic justice
zuran orb
humility
regrowth
mirari's wake
oblivion ring
condem
gaea's blessing
moat
seal of primordium
tundra
tropical island
hallowed fountain
breeding pool
serra's sanctum
strip mine
windsweapt heath
flooded strand
nantuko monestary
forbidden orchard
4 island
10 plains
10 forest