As combo isn't really a thing in C/Ube Force of Will and Demonic Tutor aren't very good in my experience. I cut FoW some time ago as nothing is really worth the 2 for 1. Tutor is still fine. Never tried Tinker but I think the same applies.
I had Ancient Tomb in my cube for quite some time but there wasn't really a deck that wanted it. Ramp has better things for ramping, aggro usually only plays two 4 drops and midrange can't really afford the life loss agianst many decks.
No real experience with the other ones. I do have experience with Skullclamp in other Limited formats and it always turns out to be overpowered. I just added Land Tax to my cube as I really enjoyed playing it in Vintage White Weenie decks but not sure yet how it will turn out. I can't imagine Wasteland being extremly powerful as Strip Mine isn't either. Of course, sometimes these cards win you the game against greedy 4-color control decks.
I just discovered Tempting Licid and I never saw it mentioned here. What do you guys think?
It seems pretty interesting. It is a 2/2 for 3 with pseudo regenerate and it can function as a multiple turn Lure. It is like "Sacrifice a creature: creatures can't block this turn." with the added benefit that you're probably taking a creature of your opponent down with it. In a ramp deck, if you're creatures lack evasion, you can sacrifice a mana elf per turn to get the damage through, same with token strategies. Moreover, it is never a dead card being a 2/2 guy by itself.
I thought as much. Lava Hounds just looks really explosive and I really like explosive cards in aggro. Maybe when I find some other red card nobody really plays I might give the Hounds a try.
As to Slaughter, this may sound silly, but I think I didn't truly realize that you could just play Slaughter once if you wanted to. It looks so bad if you don't buyback it, that I just skipped that idea entirely but nevertheless the option to not lose life is there. Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite don't have that option at all. Might give it a try by replacing Terror (although I would really miss Terror's art).
Lava Hounds: It plays in the decks that want keldon champion. 4 haste damage is no joke and I am very happy with this choice over purphoros's emissary.
How would you say this card compares to Bloodfray Giant? I am think of making that swap.
Slaughter: Besides being very good when you buy it back (a Reckless spite that's spread out over 2 turns, both an upside and a downside), this card was extremely interesting to play. Paying 8 life for it was often a toss-up between being a right and wrong decision, and I think it's going to be cubed for a long time since it is both fun and good.
I always saw Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite as cards which are good in aggro for removing two blockers at a very low cost as the life lose was usually too much for control decks to handle against aggro decks. However, Slaughter seems more of a control card to me. In what kind of decks would you consider this card?
I got a lot of inspiration for changing my cube after I looked at yours.
And for some cards (like the double strike dudes or Illusory Angel) it doesn't really makes sense only adding those cards without the support.
As soon as Journey to Nyx is released Fleetfeather Cockatrice is going in so I am not too sad about seeing Horizon Chimera go. If at one point I decided to really support golgari selfmill then Admirers is going straight back in.
Large changes. I decided to cut on the multicolored section by making each guild 1 card smaller and removing all shards cards except for nacatl. Moreover, some card that just didn't see play that often I changed as well.
Jelenn Sphinx > Viashino Slaughtermaster
Sphinx was often too expensive and I heard a lot of good things about the double strikers. Qasali Pridemage > Snap
Hard to cut pridemage but I can't see me cutting any of the other selesnya cards. Snap is another "free" spell and I am probably going to cut Vapor Snag for a Journey into Nyx card. Kingpin's Pet > Cumber Stone
Pet is weak and Stone looks promising. Horizon Chimera > Azorius Justiciar
Chimera never really did it and Justiciar seems like it can be good in a range of decks. Fire // Ice > Wildsize
Wasn't even a real Izzet card and I have enough damage dividing spells. Wildsize is pump for double strike dudes and gives trample to big dudes as well. Ashenmoor Gouger > Ostracize
Gouger is the weakest Rakdos card and black needs a bit more disruption. Psychatog > Reckless Charge
Psychatog was never the bomb I wanted it to be. Reckless Charge is pump for double strike dudes and works in aggro. Tattermunge Maniac > Butcher Ghoul
Maniac is a two power one-drop but a really bad one. Ghoul looks like it can fit in a range of decks. Korozda Guildmage > Fencing Ace
The other double strike dude. Guildmage is the weakest golgari card. Boros Charm > Tower Above
Another pump spell. Not sure about this one though. Hit // Run > Mutagenic Growth
Another pump spell and another "free" spell. Esper Charm > Gitaxian Probe
Another "free" spell. Rise // Fall > Myr Sire
Seems like a decent colorless card. Supply // Demand > Serrated Arrows
Colorless removal.
Thanks for bringing this card to my attention. Going to give it a try in my C/Ube.
It can hit over 20% of the creatures in my cube so it doesn't seems too swingy to me.
So I finally decided to change multicolored by giving some guilds more spells/creatures and less mana fixing. Moreover, I wanted to give aggro a bit more of a push and I added some cards from Born of the Gods.
Never really liked the elf lord as most of the time it was a Squirrel Nest which could be more easily removed. I still like the fact that it could pump the mana elfs but this is just to narrow. I am trying to push green aggro (mainly gruul and naya) so Jungle Lion seems like a good addition. Still looking for something to cut for Twinblade Slasher and Wild Dogs.
Mogg fanatic has all of the benefits of being a creature, but merely the benefits of being a 1/1 grounded creature. Yeah, it can be unearthed, or block a 4 drop, or deal up to 2 points of attacking damage if dropped on turn one.
But seal of fire kills, by my count, more than 65 extra things in your cube. Over 1/4 of the creatures in your cube have exactly 2 toughness in normal game-states. It's a trade of some small utility for a massive uptick in the number of creatures you can kill.
I also suppose that this is very much a fringe upside, but seal of fire is almost never going to be removed to clear the way for something like a jade mage, just because it is an enchantment.
You convinced me that I should drop the goblin, he does seem pretty bad. I am just wondering, why would you replace it with Seal of Fire and not with a card like Lightning Strike or maybe an aggro two drop? Both seems beter options imho even considering the fact that the Seal would almost never be removed (with which I agree btw).
Speaking of red two drops, I see you play a lot I don't. I am mainly interested in your experience with Ashmouth Hound, Plated Geopede and Viashino Slaughtermaster as I have been thinking of adding these but they either seems to swingy or just not good enough.
Anyone care to refute this claim? I agree that the mine is perfect for aggro decks.
In my experience, the Mine is almost always a very solid inclusion in a aggro deck.
On another note, since the lastest big update of my cube Izzet seems to be very strong. The last three draft were all won by izzet tempo (lots of burn and bounce (especially cards like Arc Lightning, Electrolyze, Jilt etc.), going in for the kill with something like Looter il-Kor carrying an equipment or a random four drop like one of the Juggernauts or Fluxcharger.
Not all color pairs value mana fixing the same way. The dead-horse to beat here is that Boros garrison is almost always a bad card while Simic growth chamber is pretty good often.
That's the main reason why I only play 3 signets (Azorius, Izzet and Dimir) and they're in the colorless section. I'm just reluctant to remove even more fixing from the remaining guilds. If I would remove them, would you replace them with other cards in their respective guilds or move all lands to the colorless section (as I did with the signets)?
I will always have no love for mogg fanatic and will always say that seal of fire is vastly superior.
I don't consider Seal of Fire as the same type of card as Mogg Fanatic. If I were to cut the goblin for a burn spell I would rather play Lightning Strike or am I misevaluating Seal of Fire? I do agree that the goblin is my weakest red one drop and he will be the first to leave the cube if an new option presents itself, but as for now he's seems stronger than all the other one drops I considered (those being Forge Devil, Foundry Street Denizen, Goblin Patrol and Jackal Familiar).
I just recently added it. So far it showed up once in a WG ramp/token deck which splashed blue for Jelenn Sphinx and Compulsive Research and was quite powerful. I don't like domain cards in general but since Tromp the Domains is green you can easily add a random basic land of a third color in a two color deck (and maybe splash one or two cards of that color as well).
Oh, the card that stood out to me as the one that just never works out is ancient ziggurat
It had its moments in some Boros aggro decks fixing in the first couple of turns (in which you usually play only creatures) however you're probably right. There just isn't enough aggro fixing in C/Ubes and I find it hard to replace him.
Hello, I am ArBor4817 and welcome to my cube thread! My cube is a peasant cube in the broadest definition of the word. All cards ever printed as (un)common including U2 from Arabian Nights and cards release online as (un)common are fair game. Moreover, I use rare land fixing since fixing for aggro decks just isn't very good in peasant otherwise. Currently I run a full set of painlands to stay somewhat true to the spirit of peasant, but I have run a full set of duals, shockduals and fetch in the past and I might return to that setup at some point. I am always open to suggestions and always like some feedback.
Basic Information Cube Size: 360 Breakdown: 56 of each color, 30 multicolor (2 cards and per guild/10 hybrid cards), 22 colorless (artifact/eldrazi, phyrexian), 28 land Standard or Theme: Peasant with rare land fixing Average Number of Players: mostly 2 or 3, sometimes 4 Type of play: Sealed, Grid Draft, Draft
Cube Design Multiplayer: Sideboard is multiplayer expansion Color Balance: Yes Gold Balance: Yes Hybrid/Split/Kicker/Flashback as Gold: As played, "Hybrid"-system Phyrexian as Colorless: Yes Perfectly Balanced CMC: No
White
Aggro, Tokens, Ramp Support, +1/+1 counters, spot removal
I had Ancient Tomb in my cube for quite some time but there wasn't really a deck that wanted it. Ramp has better things for ramping, aggro usually only plays two 4 drops and midrange can't really afford the life loss agianst many decks.
No real experience with the other ones. I do have experience with Skullclamp in other Limited formats and it always turns out to be overpowered. I just added Land Tax to my cube as I really enjoyed playing it in Vintage White Weenie decks but not sure yet how it will turn out. I can't imagine Wasteland being extremly powerful as Strip Mine isn't either. Of course, sometimes these cards win you the game against greedy 4-color control decks.
It seems pretty interesting. It is a 2/2 for 3 with pseudo regenerate and it can function as a multiple turn Lure. It is like "Sacrifice a creature: creatures can't block this turn." with the added benefit that you're probably taking a creature of your opponent down with it. In a ramp deck, if you're creatures lack evasion, you can sacrifice a mana elf per turn to get the damage through, same with token strategies. Moreover, it is never a dead card being a 2/2 guy by itself.
As to Slaughter, this may sound silly, but I think I didn't truly realize that you could just play Slaughter once if you wanted to. It looks so bad if you don't buyback it, that I just skipped that idea entirely but nevertheless the option to not lose life is there. Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite don't have that option at all. Might give it a try by replacing Terror (although I would really miss Terror's art).
How would you say this card compares to Bloodfray Giant? I am think of making that swap.
I always saw Ashes to Ashes and Reckless Spite as cards which are good in aggro for removing two blockers at a very low cost as the life lose was usually too much for control decks to handle against aggro decks. However, Slaughter seems more of a control card to me. In what kind of decks would you consider this card?
And for some cards (like the double strike dudes or Illusory Angel) it doesn't really makes sense only adding those cards without the support.
As soon as Journey to Nyx is released Fleetfeather Cockatrice is going in so I am not too sad about seeing Horizon Chimera go. If at one point I decided to really support golgari selfmill then Admirers is going straight back in.
Cloudshift > Leonin Snarecaster
Cloudshift is too often just a "counter target removal spell" and there are cards in my cube that do that better. I like Azorius Arrester and want to give white aggro a bit more of a push.
Doomed Traveler > Belfry Spirit
The traveler didn't really do anything so I switch it for a bigger version.
Midnight Haunting > Basilica Guards
Too little value. Saw guards in some other lists and decided to try it.
Pacifism > Temporal Isolation
Isolation is just way more interesting and has flash.
Soltari Priest > Niblis of the Urn
WW is hard and Master of Diversion does pretty well.
Augur of Bolas > Omenspeaker
Fits in more decks.
Careful Consideration > Frantic Search
Needed some "free" cards and consideration is just another draw spell.
Force Spike > Daze
Spike is easier too avoid.
Horizon Scholar > Thassa's Emissary
Scholar wasn't the finisher I hoped it to be. I love Thieving Magpie and Tandem Lookout.
Merfolk Looter > Infiltrator il-Kor
Pushing blue aggro.
Mind Control > Binding Grasp
Saw this change a lot so decided to try it.
Mistblade Shinobi > Ghostly Flicker
I like the shinobi but it often felt like a very bad Unsummon.
Nephalia Smuggler > Spiketail Drakeling
Saw the Drakeling on some lists and it looks pretty good. Smuggler sometimes won games but was more than often pretty mediocre.
Pestermite > Skywinder Drake
I like Pestermite but maybe the drake packs more of a punch.
Remove Soul > Complicate
Complicate seems more versatile.
Standstill > Peregrine Drake
Heard some very positive thing about the drake and although I still think Standstill is a very good card, nobody ever played it...
Stitched Drake > Illusory Angel
The reason why I needed some more "free" spells.
Dead Reveler > Mogis's Marauder
Marauder seems like the better card.
Plagued Rusalka > Reassembling Skeleton
Rusalka was never really a bad card but skeleton is coming back in.
Knight of Infamy > Phyrexian Rager
Want to remove some of the protection dudes. Rager is always good.
Night's Whisper > Read the Bones
Read the Bones gives more than just +1 card, but maybe I should just play them both.
Grixis Slavedriver > Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Slavedriver seemed like the weakest finisher in black and Merchant was awesome in Theros limited.
Firemaw Kavu > Pyrohemia
Kavu is just too expensive. Pestilence is a great card.
Centaur Glade > Gravetiller Wurm
The glade never was good as I though it would be. The wurm is one of the few green finisher with trample I don't already play. He might be replace later by Havenwood Wurm.
Masked Admirers > Trophy Hunter
Admirers always was the 24th card and never made the cut. After this topic I decided to give Hunter a try.
Mire Boa > Beastbreaker of Bala Ged
Dropping some of the "protection" dudes. Beastbreaker was onces dropped in favor of Darkthicket Wolf but I see no reason not to play them both.
Tromp the Domains > Hungry Spriggan
Tromp the Domains was often just a overcosted Overrun and in most cases even gave a smaller bonus. Spriggan seems like a nice addition to X/g agrro.
Village Survivors > Beast Attack
I think I made this opposite switch once, and although Survivors is much easier to cast, it is the weakest of my 5-drops and Beast Attack has much more raw power.
Trygon Predator > Jhessian Infiltrator
Always liked Infiltrator in Alara limited, but I might reverse this change.
Guardian Idol > Chronomaton
Idol never got played. Chronomaton seems strong in the right deck.
Jelenn Sphinx > Viashino Slaughtermaster
Sphinx was often too expensive and I heard a lot of good things about the double strikers.
Qasali Pridemage > Snap
Hard to cut pridemage but I can't see me cutting any of the other selesnya cards. Snap is another "free" spell and I am probably going to cut Vapor Snag for a Journey into Nyx card.
Kingpin's Pet > Cumber Stone
Pet is weak and Stone looks promising.
Horizon Chimera > Azorius Justiciar
Chimera never really did it and Justiciar seems like it can be good in a range of decks.
Fire // Ice > Wildsize
Wasn't even a real Izzet card and I have enough damage dividing spells. Wildsize is pump for double strike dudes and gives trample to big dudes as well.
Ashenmoor Gouger > Ostracize
Gouger is the weakest Rakdos card and black needs a bit more disruption.
Psychatog > Reckless Charge
Psychatog was never the bomb I wanted it to be. Reckless Charge is pump for double strike dudes and works in aggro.
Tattermunge Maniac > Butcher Ghoul
Maniac is a two power one-drop but a really bad one. Ghoul looks like it can fit in a range of decks.
Korozda Guildmage > Fencing Ace
The other double strike dude. Guildmage is the weakest golgari card.
Boros Charm > Tower Above
Another pump spell. Not sure about this one though.
Hit // Run > Mutagenic Growth
Another pump spell and another "free" spell.
Esper Charm > Gitaxian Probe
Another "free" spell.
Rise // Fall > Myr Sire
Seems like a decent colorless card.
Supply // Demand > Serrated Arrows
Colorless removal.
It can hit over 20% of the creatures in my cube so it doesn't seems too swingy to me.
Guild mana fixing Changes:
Gruul Turf > Fanatic of Xenagos
Boros Garrison > Boros Charm
Selesnya Sanctuary > Qasali Pridemage
Rakdos Carnarium > Crimson Muckwader
Aggro Changes:
Reassembling Skeleton > Knight of Infamy
Avalanche Riders > Ashmouth Hound
Blind with Anger > Madcap Skills
Mogg Fanatic > Plated Geopede
Mogg War Marshal > Kruin Striker
Bituminous Blast > Ashenmoor Gouger
Born to the Gods Changes:
Stab Wound > Drown in Sorrow
Hearth Kami > Reckless Reveler
Other Changes:
Crypt Rats > Marsh Flitter
Still looking for a spot to test Archetype of Courage, maybe Midnight Haunting? Also Kiora's Follower looks interesting and I'm thinking of removing Horizon Chimera or Elusive Krasis for it, but i'm not sure which one if any.
Imperious Perfect > Jungle Lion
Never really liked the elf lord as most of the time it was a Squirrel Nest which could be more easily removed. I still like the fact that it could pump the mana elfs but this is just to narrow. I am trying to push green aggro (mainly gruul and naya) so Jungle Lion seems like a good addition. Still looking for something to cut for Twinblade Slasher and Wild Dogs.
I have also been thinking about the Karoo lands and I am not sure which ones to keep and which ones to remove. Rakdos Carnarium and Boros Garrison are definitely going out and Azorius Chancery, Dimir Aqueduct, Simic Growth Chamber and Izzet Boilerworks are definitely staying, but what about Gruul Turf, Selesnya Sanctuary, Orzhov Basilica and Golgari Rot Farm?
Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam.
You convinced me that I should drop the goblin, he does seem pretty bad. I am just wondering, why would you replace it with Seal of Fire and not with a card like Lightning Strike or maybe an aggro two drop? Both seems beter options imho even considering the fact that the Seal would almost never be removed (with which I agree btw).
Speaking of red two drops, I see you play a lot I don't. I am mainly interested in your experience with Ashmouth Hound, Plated Geopede and Viashino Slaughtermaster as I have been thinking of adding these but they either seems to swingy or just not good enough.
In my experience, the Mine is almost always a very solid inclusion in a aggro deck.
On another note, since the lastest big update of my cube Izzet seems to be very strong. The last three draft were all won by izzet tempo (lots of burn and bounce (especially cards like Arc Lightning, Electrolyze, Jilt etc.), going in for the kill with something like Looter il-Kor carrying an equipment or a random four drop like one of the Juggernauts or Fluxcharger.
That's the main reason why I only play 3 signets (Azorius, Izzet and Dimir) and they're in the colorless section. I'm just reluctant to remove even more fixing from the remaining guilds. If I would remove them, would you replace them with other cards in their respective guilds or move all lands to the colorless section (as I did with the signets)?
I don't consider Seal of Fire as the same type of card as Mogg Fanatic. If I were to cut the goblin for a burn spell I would rather play Lightning Strike or am I misevaluating Seal of Fire? I do agree that the goblin is my weakest red one drop and he will be the first to leave the cube if an new option presents itself, but as for now he's seems stronger than all the other one drops I considered (those being Forge Devil, Foundry Street Denizen, Goblin Patrol and Jackal Familiar).
I just recently added it. So far it showed up once in a WG ramp/token deck which splashed blue for Jelenn Sphinx and Compulsive Research and was quite powerful. I don't like domain cards in general but since Tromp the Domains is green you can easily add a random basic land of a third color in a two color deck (and maybe splash one or two cards of that color as well).
It had its moments in some Boros aggro decks fixing in the first couple of turns (in which you usually play only creatures) however you're probably right. There just isn't enough aggro fixing in C/Ubes and I find it hard to replace him.
Cube Tutor List: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/2083
Cube Tutor Visual: http://www.cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/2083
Cube Size: 360
Breakdown: 56 of each color, 30 multicolor (2 cards and per guild/10 hybrid cards), 22 colorless (artifact/eldrazi, phyrexian), 28 land
Standard or Theme: Peasant with rare land fixing
Average Number of Players: mostly 2 or 3, sometimes 4
Type of play: Sealed, Grid Draft, Draft
Card Selection
Proxies: Yes, a few.
Portal: Yes
"Un" Cards: Currently not, but I have no objection against cards like Booster Tutor
Functional Reprints: Yes
Banned Cards: Library of Alexandria, Skullclamp, Sol Ring, Loxodon Warhammer, Behemoth Sledge, Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, Timely Reinforcements, Hymn to Tourach, Grafted Wargear, Curse of Predation
Cube Design
Multiplayer: Sideboard is multiplayer expansion
Color Balance: Yes
Gold Balance: Yes
Hybrid/Split/Kicker/Flashback as Gold: As played, "Hybrid"-system
Phyrexian as Colorless: Yes
Perfectly Balanced CMC: No
Aggro, Tokens, Ramp Support, +1/+1 counters, spot removal
Blue
Bounce, Aggro, Tempo, Control
Black
Aggro, Sacrifice, Reanimation, Spot removal
Red
Aggro, Burn, Tokens
Green
Ramp, Midrange, Aggro support
--
Azorius
Control, UW Skies
Dimir
Control, Evasion aggro
Rakdos
Aggro, Sacrifice
Gruul
Midrange, Aggro
Selesnya
Ramp, Midrange, Tokens
Orzhov
Sacrifice, Tokens
Golgari
Graveyard, Sacrifice, Midrange
Simic
Ramp, Tempo
Izzet
Control, Agrro, Tempo
Boros
Aggro, tokens, +1/+1 counters