I don't play with free spells because they lean the stack more towards Control. Control and Combo are in a slight dominance in the stack, which is why I try to balance Aggro with Infinite Power creatures. Aggro with just plain old creatures didn't do it, especially with players who could through a variety of means go to a million life.
This means while Morphs would remain more lackluster, the Control elements would not gain a substantial strength. The only change to 'free spells' I'm willing to negotiate is Spells that say you can play another spell without paying its mana cost. If I open up the floodgates, I would need to completely overhaul my Cube. I currently don't want to do even the small change because it violates the strict "One Spell Per Turn".
My play group got into a discussion about the Pestilence Demon. One of my players suggested putting in Thrasing Wumpus in conjunction with Pestilence Demon. I couldn't really articulate why I thought that was too good, but your argument is part of the reason why. The Pestilence effect very rarely wins outright, especially when someone can always gain life or Redirect, usually it involves some arrangement of beatdown. Its not very much an "auto I win" but I think two might be the case, making it far easier to maneuver to highest life and Pestilence everyone to death. I currently don't mind Combat Medic or Glarecaster as part of the combo, but I'd like my players to work for it a bit better.
Dread Cacodemon is an interesting pick. It is something that I am interested in. I usually want creatures that have "Comes into Play" not "When Cast" unless the effect is amazing, such as Hypnox. I don't have a creature that Wraths when it 'comes into play' so the Dread Cacodemon may be a great addition.
Glen Elendra Archmage is really solid. Even if it is just Countering the kill spell aimed at her. Hell, she makes for more "Wrath Push" but letting you cast a Wrath and be able to push the spell through. And if it resolves without anyone batting an eye, you still have a solid Counterspell.
Phyrexian Ingester is really cool! I don't think I would replace Duplicant but compliment him. The Ingester must be better than some other Kill Creature I have. Though if Duplicant has to go, I won't be sad.
Sphinx of Magosi is way too good! I currently don't have a maximum hand size, which I may need to change. But drawing Infinite Cards and making a big, flying guy is too much in one Card. It is nice that it immediately can draw you cards but I would prefer Consecrated Sphinx purely because drawing cards would be limited. Sphinx of Lost Truths may be too weak. If you put it directly into play, you'll need to draw and discard. 3/5 isn't that impressive maybe draw cards when I already have Sphinx of Uthuun - 5/6 Flying Fact or Fiction on 187.
Terastodon would not necessarily replace Necrotic Sliver. Activated abilities can be mised from a variety of effects, Riptide Replicator can pump out Slivers. Also, Necrotic Sliver hits a permanent while Terastodon is firmly non-creature. It sounds like it would be way better than Acidic Slime. Bigger to kill, making Deathtouch a little irrelevant but more importantly bigger to smash face. If I blow up three permanents, they're most likely not going to be the same player - making the triple 3/3 irrelevant. But if they are angry, just keep the 9/9 back who can chump the 3/3s with ease.
I am not sold on Grixis Sojourners. I feel like the amount of Graveyard hate I currently have is the correct amount. I have a some creatures, some permanents and a little bit of spell removal. On top of that, I have a lot of exile effects with kill, countermagic or something else. So, I don't want to tip the scales any particular way but if I feel like I need slightly more, these guys will be on my mind.
I am not quite sure if you are condemning or appraising Spine of Ish Sah. It seems to be an OK card. Weak on the side of kill but seems to be a better Desert Twister in so many ways.
Thran Tome seems like a lot of fun. My problem is two-fold. I just cut Phyrexian Grimoire - while Thran Tome is drawing cards I am having doubts. If a 'cute utility' artifact like the Grimoire gets cut, how can the Tome stand a chance? The second is a little more mundane. Its going to be a pain in the ass to track down!
Rite of Replication and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker violate my rule of requiring another card (specifically a creature). Some cards do break that rule, but they're "good enough". I think the only card I have that breaks that rule is Nim Deathmantle - which helps keep your creatures alive. Kiki-Jiki and those effects are basically asking your opponent to destroy whatever you've targetted - that's why I had to remove Soul Foundry. When you create a 2-for-1 situation in Type 4, its basically begging your opponent to axe something.
Hmm... I never thought that Creeping Renaissance would be too weak. I'll keep an eye on it.
With Army of the Damned I am having trouble swallowing the "Comes into Play Tapped". It is better on offense and defense than Crush of Wurms but part of the appeal is lost because I don't play the same way as you - with Flashback being free. Same deal with Spell Crumple - while you can tutor it back or redraw after a shuffle, the same could be the same as your target. If that's the case, why even cast this particular Counterspell?
My issue with Vanish into Memory is that you need to discard cards. Sure, drawing a lot of cards is cool but you need to discard. That is a huge no-no. Especially if I institute a hand limit. Furthermore, it doesn't kill anything but puts it away for a bit. I can see the awesomeness with your own creature or killing tokens, but that seems like a very niche effect.
I'll still bring your list forward to my play group. These are some very interesting picks! Thank you so much for your help.
The changes didn't quite go the way I predicted. One of my players made a very convincing argument against Eladamri's Call. Blatant Thievery and Increasing Ambition made the swap, but that was all that happened.
My player's argument was that Firemane Angel is a control creature, while Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is an aggressive kill card. If I was going to take out anything it would need to be an aggressive creature. The axe fell on Skinthinner because I was obviously not pushing the Morph agenda - I had previously cut Quicksilver Dragon and I wasn't pushing it with other Morphs that may be OK or funny like Krosan Cloudscraper. Skinthinner is a one-time murder something card, Drana can do it repeatedly and while she is a weak Firebreather she is still a Firebreather pushing the aggro agenda.
Speaking of other agendas, I am getting pretty jelly of 'free effects'. With my hard One Spell Per Turn rule, I am unable to throw in any 'free spells' - such as Counterlast or using creatures that cause spells to happen. I don't want to start including the entire Free Rule. That would be too much to hunt down 'staples' like Fist of Suns or more importantly expensive cards like Force of Will.
Any idea of neat creatures or spells with that sort of thing? I know there was an entire mechanic based on free stuff(tm). Anything else comes to mind? Keep the stack the same? Make the change? Thoughts?
Fun side-effect of Increasing Ambition without cutting Intuition: C-c-c-combo! Intuition for Increasing Ambition EOT, something they'd want to put in your hand and another card. You can then Flashback and search for two cards. If they still put Increasing Ambition into your hand, I guess you just search and re-search the turn after that.
I don't use the ACC as free spells, I want as little errata as possible so that anyone who plays Magic can just pick up and play. I am recently regretting that decision, as it stops a lot of really fun effects - but that's something I'm just going to have to acknowledge.
It sounds like you're in tune with recent sets, please peruse my Type 4 stack and make some suggestions.
Hey, I found this thread while looking for other Type 4 picks. I got some really interesting ones. I like how you have a strict limit with colours, its something I foregone in response for pure power. I'll admit I stole some of your picks.
After doing a search for "Limited Infinity" I find that perhaps I am a bit too serious about my collection. Most of the Type 4 stuff is in the Casual Section, yet here I am with a list including Spoilers. I just browsed other player's threads to get ideas.
In this thread, I found a few interesting picks. I don't play real Magic anymore. Other hobbies or don't have time/money/patience/location to play anymore. Shows my unfamiliarity with the cards. Sure, I browse through the spoilers but how often do I notice a solid Type 4 pick.
Sheoldred, Whispering One seemed interesting. A way better Reya, but Reya was cut because she was a bit too weak. Could the Edict effect be worth it? I'd have to give her a whirl to see.
One of the cards I noticed, which I would only use half of its effect is Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur. Unlimited Hand size would do nothing when your hand shrinks by a mere seven, but the temptation to include a 'Draw 7' is so compelling. The only other 'Draw 7' is Sway of the Stars which is pretty interesting on its own. Perhaps this guy could finally replace Arcanis for a card that does something. He actually gets his draw effect off! 'Draw 7' is such a signature broken ability I feel like I need to include it.
Felidar Sovereign is a way to actually win the game, instead of the "tedious" act of knocking people dead. It would also give the guy who gained Infinite Life a way to end the game quickly, instead of have the whole table turn against him in an attempt to find a combo piece that will kill him (and possibly the rest of the table), or have the Infinite Life player slowly whittle his opponents down. Pretty vulnerable, though...
Don't you hate it when everybody's at low life, but you're going to waste a few turns bashing your opponents and hope your men don't get killed? Hydra Omnivore is an answer to this situation, but as an 8/8 that has a huge target on its head... I don't imagine it connecting with anyone and whoever it does, well the entire table is going to hate you now.
As for removal, I found Nemesis Trap to be very interesting. I think I've gotten rid of all the vanilla RFG Attacker spells (as silly as that statement is...), but Nemesis Trap certainly has a nice combination there. Chill to the Bone might be the best, most vanilla kill spell - I don't think I have a single Snow creature.
Lurking Predators seems really interesting. I find that my opponents could bait me into overextending before killing everything, but its a way for a beatdown deck to quickly cycle through its deck. More intriguing but less powerful than "Ach, Hans Run!".
The Cthulu guys seem really popular. The problem I am having is deciding which ones might be too powerful or lacklustre. They all rely on "Cast" instead of 187, which means they're not as abusiveness with recursion; however, they're big, they annihilate and the effects they're attached to are solid. It That Betrays is in my want list because he does not rely on 187s and seems so abusive with Annihilate. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Artisan of Kozilek and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn seem larger than life - maybe that's what aggro needs (as Control-Combo would try to cheat these guys into play, which may still be worth doing).
One of the things I am slightly regretting is not using errata'd cards. Being able to use free stuff would make for some interesting cards. Furthermore, the unlimited hand size has detracted from otherwise really interesting cards, such as Jin-Gitaxias. I'm not changing now, as that would require a complete re-vamp of the Cube and I'd have to start hunting down real rares like Force of Will.
Mimic Vat is another interesting card. I initially removed Soul Foundry because it was such a juicy 2-for-1 that it would almost always get nailed. Mimic Vat doesn't seem to have that weakness, it offers more flexibility by copying opponent's creatures and its possible to lock out some creatures from the game that tend to self-recur. I would gladly ensure my opponent cannot get his Darksteel Colossus back if my Vat dies, but until then I'm pumping out Darksteel Colossuses.
After talking with friends, I am thinking of getting rid of Intuition in exchange for Eladamri's Call. Intuition does not give you complete control while Eladamri gets you exactly what you want and considering the diversity of creatures - it's an answer or threat.
The other suggestion was instead of looking at Draw/Tutor effects, look for other cards that are "meh" to remove for Increasing Ambition. Well, I found that in Blatant Thievery. I am a little saddened to admit it, but Blatant Stealery has gone the way of the dinosaur. If you resolve it, you may not get the maximum effect by virtue of not enough permanents, can't get the permanents you want due to Hexproofed (or something else) and will get the table to hate you. It is very key to win the game when the table hates you. If Stealery resolved, very rarely will you be able to immediately win (and bypassed those Counters, somehow). Increasing Ambition can get you the cards to win and Flashback can help you get some gas back when you're running low.
Finally, Firemane Angel is the one to go in favour of Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief. Firemane is annoying to deal with, gains you very little life and is a nuisance. Drana isn't as good as a pure kill creature, but she certainly is threatening enough to join the ranks of Aggro creatures.
Thanks for the input. I don't think Increasing Ambition is such an utter bomb, compared to other search effects in the stack; such as, Gifts Ungiven, Conflux, All Suns' Dawn, Aladin's Lamp, Planar Portal, etc. While Intuition and Promise of Power are listed as my weakest Draw/Search, they're powerful in their own right. Intuition gets you two things in the 'yard, one thing in your hand - and they're going to be broken. Promise of Power is never Countered, displaying a nice "under the radar" effect and netting you at least a 5/5 Flier (which seems to be the bar for beat down).
I've had a few runs before the last Changes, so haven't seen those Cards in action but I would make a note about the Necrotic Ooze: its very powerful but not overly so. It single handedly got the entire table against me and I did manage to fend off their attempts to kill me or the Ooze, but did not win me the game. I like the tension. Its not a Mischievous Quanar or Nezumi Graverobber that causes an auto-win, but is very powerful.
It has the same vulnerabilities as the Graverobber of its just a creature and requires a 'yard to get to work, but because the Ooze isn't putting everything into play I don't need to worry as much. Some creatures with their 187s can cause some serious headaches or wins when combined with other creatures, which the Ooze has to work a bit harder to get. Though it will be nice to be able to set off a Glasticore win with this guy.
Deathless Angel hasn't really had much play time, so no comment on her; however, the Blightsteel Colossus has me less concerned. The Colossus can kill a player with one hit and is Indestructible, but doesn't seem that over the top. Not going to remove him from the list quite yet, but I think he's not that broken. Perhaps Progenitus should replace him as the Aggro-Card on the list. Nothing deals with him: Wraths or Get Out, and if you manage to kill him you better pray that he isn't re-drawn (or Tutored).
There were some funny plays, especially when a Kaervek the Merciless was put directly into play opposing a Stuffy Doll in play choosing Kaervek's player. Heat Ray targeting the Stuffy Doll for 20, with a Captain's Maneuver made for a lot of dead players. Compulsion was drafted with Knollspine Invocation, ensuring maximum damage each time we were unable to counter the combo.
Played quite a few games with the Type 4 Stack, with Combo tending to edge out Control and Aggro. This means that I need to up the ante for Control and Aggro, which I believe the changes I've made have certainly done. What happened since the last time? I decided to not get Kessig Wolf Run. Too easy a way to kill a player and decided Lost in the Mist is another good card, in theory. Picked up a few more cards from random things.
Resounding Wave holds a lot more utility than Wrecking Ball. While does not destroy, sometimes can get rid of a now problem. Wave is free, allowing a quick follow up or defending your cards when you find yourself vulnerable and tapped out.
Cruel Revival is a not very impressive kill spell. I also want to cut back on the ease in which players can kill things. Forbidden Alchemy reduces the overall amount but does not hamper the ability to search for an answer. Twice.
Pestilence Demon is strictly superior to Thrashing Wumpus and was indicated as an auto-changeover as soon as I got my hands on the Demon.
Phyrexian Grimoire had neat effects and cute interactions. It was definitely a low pick. Something that players like enjoy instants and screwing with people's minds. It was never actively targetted, it was just a card that sat around and provided decent card advantage. There were more broken ways to Phyrexian Grimoire than Phyrexian Grimoire. I like the Grimoire but doesn't mean that it was good. Marshal's Anthem will change the game when it comes into play, it is a high pick, must counter or RFG the 'yard. Something that will shake things up sounds more like Type 4 than something that will give decent advantage over the course of the game.
Greater Good has been lacklustre over the last few games. Creeping Renaissance will "draw" you more cards: cards that were good enough to play; card's that were good enough to be destroyed; and lastly, cards you don't need to discard. The biggest complaint of Greater Good. Dropping a permanent does change things, but I think the Flashback and targetted "draw" make for a much more interesting game.
Quicksilver Dragon was a bad aggressive card. He could barely protect himself and was just Morph bait at best. I looked at the rest of the subpar creatures and found him to be the most lacking. Progenitus seems like a natural inclination, definitely another "deal with me!" creature. Dropping the Dragon also means one less flying blocker. Considering Combo has been winning a lot of the last matches, giving Timmy and his Large Men a plus is good in my book.
Now comes my problem: I have stumbled onto Eladamri's Call, which some consider to be a Type 4 staple; Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief a killing firebreather; and lastly, Increasing Ambition a tutor with Flashback. I don't know if I should add them or ignore them and I need your advice.
Eladamri's Call is an instant tutor, which I seem to have a few less than stellar options like Forbidden Alchemy and Intuition; however, Call is limited by searching for a creature. The other Instant tutors don't have this limitations. That's why I'm on the fence. Perhaps a weak kill spell? Something else? I don't know what to trade it with.
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief has an interesting tension. When I first got her, I thought of her as a stronger Smokespew Invoker but I realized that Smokespew can reduce Power to 0 when facing against an Infinite Attacker or something strange. Drana and her own would just roll over. She also requires another target to Firebreathe. Every other Firebreather looks at an open board as an invitation to party, but this 'lil vamp takes caution. Possible a bad card for the Aggro/Control nature of her. I don't know what I should take out, if anything for this little lady.
Removing Praetor's Grasp in favour of Increasing Ambition sounds like a quick trade, but Grasp is such a unique effect. I am not too fond of it, but I know some players absolutely love smacking another player upside the head with their own toy. The fact that it is RFGed means random "Get Rid of Hands" effects are untouched by the Grasp. Triple Demonic Tutor sounds so juicy, but is it possible that the speed is now too breakneck? I'm not sure, as everybody loves Tutoring for either their Combo piece, the Control piece or their next BAMF.
They're rough cuts. Some are easier to understand the parallel, such as Chaos Warp for Reweave or Slice in Twain for Mystic Melting.
I removed Devastation as it was something that people were trading for. Masticore left as well as part of my decision to remove some Wraths in favour for more pin-point solutions to stop unintended stall outs.
Phyrexian Metamorph was interesting to getting put into play as a creature but Clone an Artifact.
Nim Deathmantle was solid, something I was hoping for as I had found Equipment (besides Tatsumasa) to be notoriously poor. Good equipment would find that all its potential targets would be destroyed before being able to wield the armament, Deathmantle counters this. It could also lead to some serious silliness with creatures that can kill themselves. Super solid addition. Nim Deathmantle with Golgari Guildmage was dirty!
Reviving Vapors has always been kind of mediocre. Praetor's Council has some bite.
I put back the Plated Slagwurm because of the disappointing run with Suncrusher. It does not kill well enough, it does not stall well enough, it does not block well enough. Snip. I put in something aggressive to compare.
A card I came across from a left over draft was Lost in the Mist which one of my players suggested trying. The reason I am hesitant is that it requires a target for the bounce effect. I've cut Counters in the past because they relied on excess non-sense, like deal damage to creatures which is useless if there are no creatures. Permanents might be an easier deal; however, I don't want to have a card sitting around doing nothing.
Opinions?
Another card that was suggested and I'm thinking more and more as an interesting card is Lighthouse Chronologist. It may belong in my 'Underwhelming Broken' section, as being too easy to kill but I am beginning to think that the effect is good enough. 3/5 through Sorcery-speed isn't that great, but the extra turns is going well. I used to have Beacon of Tomorrows, but I found that the effect wasn't good enough because you'd spend one of your resources without increasing the threat, which is why the only 'take an extra turn' effect is doubled in Time Stretch. The Time Walk on legs at the end of opponent's turns is interested. The question is how much? Thoughts?
Deathless Angel showed up and was killed by a Exile Wrath, so that pretty much left me with the impression that it isn't as Deathless as she's trying to sell. Still going to keep her on the watch list.
Usually 3-4 players, occasionally more. Trying to get it going more regularly. Draft, or if we're really lazy, grab random parts of the stack.
Never ran Treasure Trove, it is obviously too powerful. I ran Oath of Lim-Dul as a "balanced" Treasure Trove, but that proved to be too powerful and it was cut. Also never ran Geth, as he violates my "Rule of Two". One Turn, Two Cards; Two Turns, One Card. He can cause people to die quite easily. Nezumi, while weaker, can do the same. The only exception I'm kosher with is Tooth and Nail.
The Orrery is part of the collection of what I like to think of as the Underwhelming Broken. They're broken, people know this and then move to neuter the card (or you) or always counter/destroy it. Ertai, Arcanis, Sedris, Debtor's Knell, etc. are other examples. Other kinds of broken are not as easily stopped. It also requires you to have other cards, rather than something that comes down and does its broken business (Tower of Fortunes, Kamahl, etc.)
Masticore because I want to add Olivia Valdaren, and I don't want to increase the amount of Wraths due to random stall. Masticore is the weakest "Masticore" and while I would be sad to see him go, I've made cuts to other previously beloved cards: Serra Avatar, Night Dealings, Mischevious Quanar, Nezumi Graverobber, Phage, Twilight's Call, Yawgmoth's Bargain, etc.
Games tend to end with some sort of combo or dudes smashing face, with various players dying from other things. If I remember the last few games, Thunderheads killed Swift Silence, Bosh flung Gleemax, another Gleemax died to Induce Paranoia, someone got Glasticore combo, another was Thrashing Wumpus+Combat Medic and the rest was "simple" beat down, including a Firebreather or two.
Kessig Wolf Run would definitely be a watch list item, but seems easy enough to stop by killing the recipient of the land.
There's two philosophies. Take the best cards and beat your opponents like a red headed step child, or take solid cards so you don't get ganged up on if you're making big flashy plays. Then again, there are so many exceptions to so many rules. I'm personally the latter, as I also tend to know what cards combo together (Thunderheads is one of my favourite kill cards, think about it).
I'm a fan of any of the exceptions. Azorius Guildmage beats the rule of 'Infinity', Decree of Silence beats 'One Spell Per Turn' and is uncounterable (from normal means), Resounding Thunder, etc.
I'm a Timmy-Spike, so I just like to hit hard without pretense. Burn, threatening cards, etc. are my favourite.
But I have to make sure that Johnny gets some love.
I like Type 4 just for the Casual game but Type 1 Power Level.
This is mostly for my own reference. I can check cards and my list and updates for my Type 4 Stack. Feel free to leave comments.
What's Type 4 (aka Limited Infinity)? There's a Wizard's article, here. A second article popped up here.
One Spell Per Turn
The key to winning is learning how to break this rule. A lot of cards in my stack break this rule, such as Ghost-Lit Stalker.
Hands
Players start with cards equal to the amount of players to a maximum of six to not detract from Sway of the Stars. Hand-size limit remains at seven.
No Errata
Some Type 4 stacks use errata, such as Alternative Costs make the spell free from the Arcane Laboratory effect or you have an infinite amount of lands to power the Incarnations, such as Anger or Wonder. This also includes the Arcane Laboratory state that Type 4 is in, which means no spells that cast other spells (Counterlash) and creatures that let you cast spells tend to be too weak (Guile).
Out of my stack, this is the only errata: Common Courtesy requires you to ask yourself for permission if you are the controller. Azozius Guildmage - Counters the effect instead of allowing resolution, changing the "Handling Infinity", see below.
Handling Infinity
I didn't want an expert stack manipulator beat out a newbie because they declared they passed priority inappropriately, so I am also following the 'Defender Wins' philosophy. That is, if two forces can enact infinite attack and defence, the defender always wins. The exception to this rule is Azorius Guildmage, as she counters the effect instead of attempting to resolve damage against prevention, for example.
Pick Selection
If I add a card into the Stack, it must be more powerful than another card. Ideally, everyone's "first pick" would be different with each pack. When I make a change, I hope to remove a similar equivalent in exchange for more power. I would be willing to cut a non-creature permanent for a creature, but very rarely for vice versa due to the inherent power of men on the board.
Balancing Combo-Aggro-Control
Victory and Defeat comes quickly in Type 4. To balance the three play styles I had to determine the upper limit for kills. After all, Fireball has been deemed to be against the spirit of the game and therefore too powerful. The rule of thumb for fastest victory should be: Two Cards, One Turn or One Card, Two Turns.
To compensate, Aggro had to be able to win within a single attack phase, necessitating Infinite Power or Infinite Creatures, such as: Skeletal Vampire, Kamahl, Fist of Krosa or Blightsteel Colossus. Haste on such creatures would be too powerful; however, cheating them into play at the end of an opponent's turn as the two card combo limit.
Control is about incremental advantage and inevitability. Unfortunately, the bombastic nature of Type 4 meant that Control couldn't slowly drain their opponents, drown them in Card Advantage or lock them in a Prison. Control required the safety of Infinite Life. Shield of the Ages could be destroyed or circumvented, but Infinite Life meant that unless Aggro/Combo entered its archetype maxim they wouldn't be able to win.
To make sure those outs worked, I developed a new way to measure what is too ridiculous. I made sure to eliminate any 'Double Infinite' cards. A single Infinity is possible to defeat but two often left the threat unanswerable. For example, Selesnya Guildmage created Infinite Power and Infinite tokens, which meant that a lot of answers wouldn't work, such as Starstorm, Silence the Believers and so on. A card couldn't go Infinite again for a win.
Finally, as with experimentation with different archetypes, there were cards that were simply too good.
Banned
The following cards have been tried in the Type 4 stack but were deemed too powerful. As the power of the stack goes up, these cards may return. Blast from the Past used to be on this 'ban list' but has returned to the stack due to its incremental advantage no longer being overwhelming.
Mischievous Quanar - Too easily won out of nowhere. If your opponent or you cast a good spell, you could easily create infinite copies. What exacerbated the problem was that if an opponent had an answer, the Quanar could in response repeat ad nausea. The Quanar violated the design rule of Double Infinite and 2-1 due to being able to combo off of your opponent's cards instead of your own.
Spell Burst - Too easily shut out the entire board, especially if held in reserve until opponents were depleted. Essentially, once you got ahead you won. The problem was who knew how long it would take for you to win. This was simply too good of a Control Card, it was too far oppressive.
Nezumi Graverobber - The biggest issue with the Graverobber was that it could simply reanimate in response to whatever answer your opponent had. Other reanimation could be checked, such as per turn from Debtor's Knell, one-time Rise of the Dark Realms or life cost from Chainer, Dementia Master. Those cards allowed for answers, Graverobber did not which is why it violated the Double Infinite maxim.
Oath of Lim-Dûl - I originally thought this would be a balanced Treasure Trove; however, the disadvantage of discard or permanent sacrifice was too little. Players would simply draw more to compensate and that's if you managed to score a hit. This was too oppressive if it landed with no one being able to get an upper hand.
Mistmeadow Witch - Made your creatures unanswerable, ignored your opponent's answers, board state and offence. If she resolved, she won you the game no matter how sloppy or stupid you played. The Mistmeadow Witch violated the Double Infinite.
Selesnya Guildmage - Infinite Creatures could be dealt with, Infinite Power can also be answered. The problem is when you have Infinite Power and Infinite Creatures on the same card. Very, very few cards handily deal with both and defense usually operates to stop Infinite Creatures or Power but not both.
Call of the Wild - Tooth and Nail allows a circumvention of the normal speed of the game, placing two game winners into play with one spell. I figured this would be fine but the issue was that Call of the Wild was that it required no skill to draft and was completely mindless. Furthermore, as a permanent, it was far easier to recur and abuse. With the possibility of just activating Call of the Wild again on the stack, this card violated the Double Infinite as well as the 2-1 rules.
Possibility Storm - With one spell per turn, and this causing you to cast a second spell, means it would fizzile. This is a very hard lock and was tried to improve the Control supertype; unfortunately, it is too good at it's job and isn't a fun answer. The gentleman who drafted this last said that he didn't even have fun winning with it.
Kessig Wolf Run - Turned anything and everything into a threat. Simply too dangerous with my stack at this point. If I get rid of my 2-for-1/1-for-2 design rule, then I could see Kessig Wolf Run returning.
Here are some alternative Cubes that have popped up on MTG Salvation. Type 4 Cubes are moreso customizable than other Cubes due to rules changes. Here's a list if you want different Cubes.
I want these cards. They may be suboptimal, but its something I think that could add to the Stack. You never know until you try. The problem is hunting them down in the small city I live in. The old cards are a hassle to get unless I resign myself to ordering online. The new crazy is probably too expensive, unless its a jank rare. I don't have trade bait as I've sold the rest of my collection, so I either trade from the stack (if only for a replacement) or use my Type 4 rejects.
I am not certain I could even remove this due to how unique Rise will be. I think there are a lot of outs, such as counterspells, graveyard management/hate and sometimes you won't have the infinite combo. That's what I think without any play experience with Rise, actual play may tell a completely different story but as far as I'm concerned this is Tooth and Nail 2.0.
Soulfire Grand Master Spellburst was Banned for being too oppressive as a Buyback Counterspell. The Soulfire Grand Master can possibly be more abusive with Buying Back all sorts of good Counterspells, winning with inevitable burn or actually being able to take Infinite turns until the win with Time Stretch.
Nullstone Gargoyle
I previously had this in the stack but it was far too oppressive. Now with Wizards printing a lot more big, beefy ETB creatures that blow up Artifacts, I think it's not that bad. As a previously Banned card, this is being placed back on the Watchlist.
Flamekin Village/Slayers' Stronghold
Both of these, even ignoring their combo potential with Cinder Elemental (outright combo with the Elemental requirement), violate the 2-1/1-2 rule of thumb. Is that a big enough of a violation? After all, it's possible now to T1 Firebreathe someone to death who may have had all the answers in the world as long as they were Sorcery speed. It's something I'm going to keep my mind on.
Mind's Dilation
I might chalk this up to 'you deserve to lose' like Tooth and Nail if it resolves. Part of the game becomes a stamina contest of knowing when there's no counterwall and slam Dilation down. Completely awesome, with savage plays like Dilating a Counter to whatever they played. Overall, great card.
This means while Morphs would remain more lackluster, the Control elements would not gain a substantial strength. The only change to 'free spells' I'm willing to negotiate is Spells that say you can play another spell without paying its mana cost. If I open up the floodgates, I would need to completely overhaul my Cube. I currently don't want to do even the small change because it violates the strict "One Spell Per Turn".
My play group got into a discussion about the Pestilence Demon. One of my players suggested putting in Thrasing Wumpus in conjunction with Pestilence Demon. I couldn't really articulate why I thought that was too good, but your argument is part of the reason why. The Pestilence effect very rarely wins outright, especially when someone can always gain life or Redirect, usually it involves some arrangement of beatdown. Its not very much an "auto I win" but I think two might be the case, making it far easier to maneuver to highest life and Pestilence everyone to death. I currently don't mind Combat Medic or Glarecaster as part of the combo, but I'd like my players to work for it a bit better.
Dread Cacodemon is an interesting pick. It is something that I am interested in. I usually want creatures that have "Comes into Play" not "When Cast" unless the effect is amazing, such as Hypnox. I don't have a creature that Wraths when it 'comes into play' so the Dread Cacodemon may be a great addition.
Glen Elendra Archmage is really solid. Even if it is just Countering the kill spell aimed at her. Hell, she makes for more "Wrath Push" but letting you cast a Wrath and be able to push the spell through. And if it resolves without anyone batting an eye, you still have a solid Counterspell.
Phyrexian Ingester is really cool! I don't think I would replace Duplicant but compliment him. The Ingester must be better than some other Kill Creature I have. Though if Duplicant has to go, I won't be sad.
Sphinx of Magosi is way too good! I currently don't have a maximum hand size, which I may need to change. But drawing Infinite Cards and making a big, flying guy is too much in one Card. It is nice that it immediately can draw you cards but I would prefer Consecrated Sphinx purely because drawing cards would be limited. Sphinx of Lost Truths may be too weak. If you put it directly into play, you'll need to draw and discard. 3/5 isn't that impressive maybe draw cards when I already have Sphinx of Uthuun - 5/6 Flying Fact or Fiction on 187.
Terastodon would not necessarily replace Necrotic Sliver. Activated abilities can be mised from a variety of effects, Riptide Replicator can pump out Slivers. Also, Necrotic Sliver hits a permanent while Terastodon is firmly non-creature. It sounds like it would be way better than Acidic Slime. Bigger to kill, making Deathtouch a little irrelevant but more importantly bigger to smash face. If I blow up three permanents, they're most likely not going to be the same player - making the triple 3/3 irrelevant. But if they are angry, just keep the 9/9 back who can chump the 3/3s with ease.
I am not sold on Grixis Sojourners. I feel like the amount of Graveyard hate I currently have is the correct amount. I have a some creatures, some permanents and a little bit of spell removal. On top of that, I have a lot of exile effects with kill, countermagic or something else. So, I don't want to tip the scales any particular way but if I feel like I need slightly more, these guys will be on my mind.
I am not quite sure if you are condemning or appraising Spine of Ish Sah. It seems to be an OK card. Weak on the side of kill but seems to be a better Desert Twister in so many ways.
Thran Tome seems like a lot of fun. My problem is two-fold. I just cut Phyrexian Grimoire - while Thran Tome is drawing cards I am having doubts. If a 'cute utility' artifact like the Grimoire gets cut, how can the Tome stand a chance? The second is a little more mundane. Its going to be a pain in the ass to track down!
Rite of Replication and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker violate my rule of requiring another card (specifically a creature). Some cards do break that rule, but they're "good enough". I think the only card I have that breaks that rule is Nim Deathmantle - which helps keep your creatures alive. Kiki-Jiki and those effects are basically asking your opponent to destroy whatever you've targetted - that's why I had to remove Soul Foundry. When you create a 2-for-1 situation in Type 4, its basically begging your opponent to axe something.
Hmm... I never thought that Creeping Renaissance would be too weak. I'll keep an eye on it.
With Army of the Damned I am having trouble swallowing the "Comes into Play Tapped". It is better on offense and defense than Crush of Wurms but part of the appeal is lost because I don't play the same way as you - with Flashback being free. Same deal with Spell Crumple - while you can tutor it back or redraw after a shuffle, the same could be the same as your target. If that's the case, why even cast this particular Counterspell?
My issue with Vanish into Memory is that you need to discard cards. Sure, drawing a lot of cards is cool but you need to discard. That is a huge no-no. Especially if I institute a hand limit. Furthermore, it doesn't kill anything but puts it away for a bit. I can see the awesomeness with your own creature or killing tokens, but that seems like a very niche effect.
I'll still bring your list forward to my play group. These are some very interesting picks! Thank you so much for your help.
My player's argument was that Firemane Angel is a control creature, while Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is an aggressive kill card. If I was going to take out anything it would need to be an aggressive creature. The axe fell on Skinthinner because I was obviously not pushing the Morph agenda - I had previously cut Quicksilver Dragon and I wasn't pushing it with other Morphs that may be OK or funny like Krosan Cloudscraper. Skinthinner is a one-time murder something card, Drana can do it repeatedly and while she is a weak Firebreather she is still a Firebreather pushing the aggro agenda.
Speaking of other agendas, I am getting pretty jelly of 'free effects'. With my hard One Spell Per Turn rule, I am unable to throw in any 'free spells' - such as Counterlast or using creatures that cause spells to happen. I don't want to start including the entire Free Rule. That would be too much to hunt down 'staples' like Fist of Suns or more importantly expensive cards like Force of Will.
Any idea of neat creatures or spells with that sort of thing? I know there was an entire mechanic based on free stuff(tm). Anything else comes to mind? Keep the stack the same? Make the change? Thoughts?
Fun side-effect of Increasing Ambition without cutting Intuition: C-c-c-combo! Intuition for Increasing Ambition EOT, something they'd want to put in your hand and another card. You can then Flashback and search for two cards. If they still put Increasing Ambition into your hand, I guess you just search and re-search the turn after that.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=366773
I don't use the ACC as free spells, I want as little errata as possible so that anyone who plays Magic can just pick up and play. I am recently regretting that decision, as it stops a lot of really fun effects - but that's something I'm just going to have to acknowledge.
It sounds like you're in tune with recent sets, please peruse my Type 4 stack and make some suggestions.
I have my Type 4 Cube linked here:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=366773
In this thread, I found a few interesting picks. I don't play real Magic anymore. Other hobbies or don't have time/money/patience/location to play anymore. Shows my unfamiliarity with the cards. Sure, I browse through the spoilers but how often do I notice a solid Type 4 pick.
Sheoldred, Whispering One seemed interesting. A way better Reya, but Reya was cut because she was a bit too weak. Could the Edict effect be worth it? I'd have to give her a whirl to see.
One of the cards I noticed, which I would only use half of its effect is Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur. Unlimited Hand size would do nothing when your hand shrinks by a mere seven, but the temptation to include a 'Draw 7' is so compelling. The only other 'Draw 7' is Sway of the Stars which is pretty interesting on its own. Perhaps this guy could finally replace Arcanis for a card that does something. He actually gets his draw effect off! 'Draw 7' is such a signature broken ability I feel like I need to include it.
Felidar Sovereign is a way to actually win the game, instead of the "tedious" act of knocking people dead. It would also give the guy who gained Infinite Life a way to end the game quickly, instead of have the whole table turn against him in an attempt to find a combo piece that will kill him (and possibly the rest of the table), or have the Infinite Life player slowly whittle his opponents down. Pretty vulnerable, though...
Don't you hate it when everybody's at low life, but you're going to waste a few turns bashing your opponents and hope your men don't get killed? Hydra Omnivore is an answer to this situation, but as an 8/8 that has a huge target on its head... I don't imagine it connecting with anyone and whoever it does, well the entire table is going to hate you now.
At the very worst, Dominus of Fealty is superior to Bringer of the Red Dawn, especially with my No Errata rule.
As for removal, I found Nemesis Trap to be very interesting. I think I've gotten rid of all the vanilla RFG Attacker spells (as silly as that statement is...), but Nemesis Trap certainly has a nice combination there. Chill to the Bone might be the best, most vanilla kill spell - I don't think I have a single Snow creature.
Lurking Predators seems really interesting. I find that my opponents could bait me into overextending before killing everything, but its a way for a beatdown deck to quickly cycle through its deck. More intriguing but less powerful than "Ach, Hans Run!".
The Cthulu guys seem really popular. The problem I am having is deciding which ones might be too powerful or lacklustre. They all rely on "Cast" instead of 187, which means they're not as abusiveness with recursion; however, they're big, they annihilate and the effects they're attached to are solid. It That Betrays is in my want list because he does not rely on 187s and seems so abusive with Annihilate. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Artisan of Kozilek and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn seem larger than life - maybe that's what aggro needs (as Control-Combo would try to cheat these guys into play, which may still be worth doing).
One of the things I am slightly regretting is not using errata'd cards. Being able to use free stuff would make for some interesting cards. Furthermore, the unlimited hand size has detracted from otherwise really interesting cards, such as Jin-Gitaxias. I'm not changing now, as that would require a complete re-vamp of the Cube and I'd have to start hunting down real rares like Force of Will.
Mimic Vat is another interesting card. I initially removed Soul Foundry because it was such a juicy 2-for-1 that it would almost always get nailed. Mimic Vat doesn't seem to have that weakness, it offers more flexibility by copying opponent's creatures and its possible to lock out some creatures from the game that tend to self-recur. I would gladly ensure my opponent cannot get his Darksteel Colossus back if my Vat dies, but until then I'm pumping out Darksteel Colossuses.
After talking with friends, I am thinking of getting rid of Intuition in exchange for Eladamri's Call. Intuition does not give you complete control while Eladamri gets you exactly what you want and considering the diversity of creatures - it's an answer or threat.
The other suggestion was instead of looking at Draw/Tutor effects, look for other cards that are "meh" to remove for Increasing Ambition. Well, I found that in Blatant Thievery. I am a little saddened to admit it, but Blatant Stealery has gone the way of the dinosaur. If you resolve it, you may not get the maximum effect by virtue of not enough permanents, can't get the permanents you want due to Hexproofed (or something else) and will get the table to hate you. It is very key to win the game when the table hates you. If Stealery resolved, very rarely will you be able to immediately win (and bypassed those Counters, somehow). Increasing Ambition can get you the cards to win and Flashback can help you get some gas back when you're running low.
Finally, Firemane Angel is the one to go in favour of Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief. Firemane is annoying to deal with, gains you very little life and is a nuisance. Drana isn't as good as a pure kill creature, but she certainly is threatening enough to join the ranks of Aggro creatures.
I've had a few runs before the last Changes, so haven't seen those Cards in action but I would make a note about the Necrotic Ooze: its very powerful but not overly so. It single handedly got the entire table against me and I did manage to fend off their attempts to kill me or the Ooze, but did not win me the game. I like the tension. Its not a Mischievous Quanar or Nezumi Graverobber that causes an auto-win, but is very powerful.
It has the same vulnerabilities as the Graverobber of its just a creature and requires a 'yard to get to work, but because the Ooze isn't putting everything into play I don't need to worry as much. Some creatures with their 187s can cause some serious headaches or wins when combined with other creatures, which the Ooze has to work a bit harder to get. Though it will be nice to be able to set off a Glasticore win with this guy.
Deathless Angel hasn't really had much play time, so no comment on her; however, the Blightsteel Colossus has me less concerned. The Colossus can kill a player with one hit and is Indestructible, but doesn't seem that over the top. Not going to remove him from the list quite yet, but I think he's not that broken. Perhaps Progenitus should replace him as the Aggro-Card on the list. Nothing deals with him: Wraths or Get Out, and if you manage to kill him you better pray that he isn't re-drawn (or Tutored).
There were some funny plays, especially when a Kaervek the Merciless was put directly into play opposing a Stuffy Doll in play choosing Kaervek's player. Heat Ray targeting the Stuffy Doll for 20, with a Captain's Maneuver made for a lot of dead players. Compulsion was drafted with Knollspine Invocation, ensuring maximum damage each time we were unable to counter the combo.
Any thoughts to Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief or Eladamri's Call? Or Increasing Ambition, for that matter?
Made some changes to the stack:
Wrecking Ball -> Resounding Wave
Cruel Revival -> Forbidden Alchemy
Thrasing Wumpus -> Pestilence Demon
Phyrexian Grimoire -> Marshal's Anthem
Greater Good -> Creeping Renaissance
Quicksilver Dragon -> Progenitus
Resounding Wave holds a lot more utility than Wrecking Ball. While does not destroy, sometimes can get rid of a now problem. Wave is free, allowing a quick follow up or defending your cards when you find yourself vulnerable and tapped out.
Cruel Revival is a not very impressive kill spell. I also want to cut back on the ease in which players can kill things. Forbidden Alchemy reduces the overall amount but does not hamper the ability to search for an answer. Twice.
Pestilence Demon is strictly superior to Thrashing Wumpus and was indicated as an auto-changeover as soon as I got my hands on the Demon.
Phyrexian Grimoire had neat effects and cute interactions. It was definitely a low pick. Something that players like enjoy instants and screwing with people's minds. It was never actively targetted, it was just a card that sat around and provided decent card advantage. There were more broken ways to Phyrexian Grimoire than Phyrexian Grimoire. I like the Grimoire but doesn't mean that it was good. Marshal's Anthem will change the game when it comes into play, it is a high pick, must counter or RFG the 'yard. Something that will shake things up sounds more like Type 4 than something that will give decent advantage over the course of the game.
Greater Good has been lacklustre over the last few games. Creeping Renaissance will "draw" you more cards: cards that were good enough to play; card's that were good enough to be destroyed; and lastly, cards you don't need to discard. The biggest complaint of Greater Good. Dropping a permanent does change things, but I think the Flashback and targetted "draw" make for a much more interesting game.
Quicksilver Dragon was a bad aggressive card. He could barely protect himself and was just Morph bait at best. I looked at the rest of the subpar creatures and found him to be the most lacking. Progenitus seems like a natural inclination, definitely another "deal with me!" creature. Dropping the Dragon also means one less flying blocker. Considering Combo has been winning a lot of the last matches, giving Timmy and his Large Men a plus is good in my book.
Now comes my problem: I have stumbled onto Eladamri's Call, which some consider to be a Type 4 staple; Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief a killing firebreather; and lastly, Increasing Ambition a tutor with Flashback. I don't know if I should add them or ignore them and I need your advice.
Eladamri's Call is an instant tutor, which I seem to have a few less than stellar options like Forbidden Alchemy and Intuition; however, Call is limited by searching for a creature. The other Instant tutors don't have this limitations. That's why I'm on the fence. Perhaps a weak kill spell? Something else? I don't know what to trade it with.
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief has an interesting tension. When I first got her, I thought of her as a stronger Smokespew Invoker but I realized that Smokespew can reduce Power to 0 when facing against an Infinite Attacker or something strange. Drana and her own would just roll over. She also requires another target to Firebreathe. Every other Firebreather looks at an open board as an invitation to party, but this 'lil vamp takes caution. Possible a bad card for the Aggro/Control nature of her. I don't know what I should take out, if anything for this little lady.
Removing Praetor's Grasp in favour of Increasing Ambition sounds like a quick trade, but Grasp is such a unique effect. I am not too fond of it, but I know some players absolutely love smacking another player upside the head with their own toy. The fact that it is RFGed means random "Get Rid of Hands" effects are untouched by the Grasp. Triple Demonic Tutor sounds so juicy, but is it possible that the speed is now too breakneck? I'm not sure, as everybody loves Tutoring for either their Combo piece, the Control piece or their next BAMF.
Mystic Melting -> Slice in Twain
Reweave -> Chaos Warp
Mizzium Transreliquat -> Phyrexian Metamorph
Masticore -> Moldgraf Monstrosity
Storm Herd -> Nim Deathmantle
Reviving Vapors -> Praetor's Counsel
Sisters of Stone Death -> Rune-Scarred Demon
Evangelize -> Mystifying Maze
Cinder Cloud -> Tribute to the Wild
Suncrusher -> Plated Slagwurm
They're rough cuts. Some are easier to understand the parallel, such as Chaos Warp for Reweave or Slice in Twain for Mystic Melting.
I removed Devastation as it was something that people were trading for. Masticore left as well as part of my decision to remove some Wraths in favour for more pin-point solutions to stop unintended stall outs.
Phyrexian Metamorph was interesting to getting put into play as a creature but Clone an Artifact.
Nim Deathmantle was solid, something I was hoping for as I had found Equipment (besides Tatsumasa) to be notoriously poor. Good equipment would find that all its potential targets would be destroyed before being able to wield the armament, Deathmantle counters this. It could also lead to some serious silliness with creatures that can kill themselves. Super solid addition. Nim Deathmantle with Golgari Guildmage was dirty!
Reviving Vapors has always been kind of mediocre. Praetor's Council has some bite.
I put back the Plated Slagwurm because of the disappointing run with Suncrusher. It does not kill well enough, it does not stall well enough, it does not block well enough. Snip. I put in something aggressive to compare.
A card I came across from a left over draft was Lost in the Mist which one of my players suggested trying. The reason I am hesitant is that it requires a target for the bounce effect. I've cut Counters in the past because they relied on excess non-sense, like deal damage to creatures which is useless if there are no creatures. Permanents might be an easier deal; however, I don't want to have a card sitting around doing nothing.
Opinions?
Another card that was suggested and I'm thinking more and more as an interesting card is Lighthouse Chronologist. It may belong in my 'Underwhelming Broken' section, as being too easy to kill but I am beginning to think that the effect is good enough. 3/5 through Sorcery-speed isn't that great, but the extra turns is going well. I used to have Beacon of Tomorrows, but I found that the effect wasn't good enough because you'd spend one of your resources without increasing the threat, which is why the only 'take an extra turn' effect is doubled in Time Stretch. The Time Walk on legs at the end of opponent's turns is interested. The question is how much? Thoughts?
Deathless Angel showed up and was killed by a Exile Wrath, so that pretty much left me with the impression that it isn't as Deathless as she's trying to sell. Still going to keep her on the watch list.
Cool combos from the evening:
Vedalkin Orrery with Aerial Caravan - some serious shenanigans there
Jiwari, the Earth Aflame with Captain's Maneuver for a kill off of a Beast created by Beast Within
Mindslaver a Miren, the Moaning Well on his last creature and then have that player cast Biorhythm
Door to Nothingness chalks up one more kill
Tatsumasa and Nim Deathmantle were equipped to a Chimeric Staff - I find this image really funny, as a staff is running around with a Sword and Helmet
Never ran Treasure Trove, it is obviously too powerful. I ran Oath of Lim-Dul as a "balanced" Treasure Trove, but that proved to be too powerful and it was cut. Also never ran Geth, as he violates my "Rule of Two". One Turn, Two Cards; Two Turns, One Card. He can cause people to die quite easily. Nezumi, while weaker, can do the same. The only exception I'm kosher with is Tooth and Nail.
The Orrery is part of the collection of what I like to think of as the Underwhelming Broken. They're broken, people know this and then move to neuter the card (or you) or always counter/destroy it. Ertai, Arcanis, Sedris, Debtor's Knell, etc. are other examples. Other kinds of broken are not as easily stopped. It also requires you to have other cards, rather than something that comes down and does its broken business (Tower of Fortunes, Kamahl, etc.)
Masticore because I want to add Olivia Valdaren, and I don't want to increase the amount of Wraths due to random stall. Masticore is the weakest "Masticore" and while I would be sad to see him go, I've made cuts to other previously beloved cards: Serra Avatar, Night Dealings, Mischevious Quanar, Nezumi Graverobber, Phage, Twilight's Call, Yawgmoth's Bargain, etc.
Games tend to end with some sort of combo or dudes smashing face, with various players dying from other things. If I remember the last few games, Thunderheads killed Swift Silence, Bosh flung Gleemax, another Gleemax died to Induce Paranoia, someone got Glasticore combo, another was Thrashing Wumpus+Combat Medic and the rest was "simple" beat down, including a Firebreather or two.
Kessig Wolf Run would definitely be a watch list item, but seems easy enough to stop by killing the recipient of the land.
Bosh with Memnarch is also very interesting.
I'm a fan of any of the exceptions. Azorius Guildmage beats the rule of 'Infinity', Decree of Silence beats 'One Spell Per Turn' and is uncounterable (from normal means), Resounding Thunder, etc.
I'm a Timmy-Spike, so I just like to hit hard without pretense. Burn, threatening cards, etc. are my favourite.
But I have to make sure that Johnny gets some love.
I like Type 4 just for the Casual game but Type 1 Power Level.
What's Type 4 (aka Limited Infinity)? There's a Wizard's article, here. A second article popped up here.
One Spell Per Turn
The key to winning is learning how to break this rule. A lot of cards in my stack break this rule, such as Ghost-Lit Stalker.
Hands
Players start with cards equal to the amount of players to a maximum of six to not detract from Sway of the Stars. Hand-size limit remains at seven.
No Errata
Some Type 4 stacks use errata, such as Alternative Costs make the spell free from the Arcane Laboratory effect or you have an infinite amount of lands to power the Incarnations, such as Anger or Wonder. This also includes the Arcane Laboratory state that Type 4 is in, which means no spells that cast other spells (Counterlash) and creatures that let you cast spells tend to be too weak (Guile).
Out of my stack, this is the only errata:
Common Courtesy requires you to ask yourself for permission if you are the controller.
Azozius Guildmage - Counters the effect instead of allowing resolution, changing the "Handling Infinity", see below.
Handling Infinity
I didn't want an expert stack manipulator beat out a newbie because they declared they passed priority inappropriately, so I am also following the 'Defender Wins' philosophy. That is, if two forces can enact infinite attack and defence, the defender always wins. The exception to this rule is Azorius Guildmage, as she counters the effect instead of attempting to resolve damage against prevention, for example.
Pick Selection
If I add a card into the Stack, it must be more powerful than another card. Ideally, everyone's "first pick" would be different with each pack. When I make a change, I hope to remove a similar equivalent in exchange for more power. I would be willing to cut a non-creature permanent for a creature, but very rarely for vice versa due to the inherent power of men on the board.
Victory and Defeat comes quickly in Type 4. To balance the three play styles I had to determine the upper limit for kills. After all, Fireball has been deemed to be against the spirit of the game and therefore too powerful. The rule of thumb for fastest victory should be: Two Cards, One Turn or One Card, Two Turns.
This philosophy become a necessity, as Combo-oriented drafts can easily combine two cards for an infinite win, such as: Glarecaster/Olivia Voldaren, Pyromancy/Eternal Dragon or Deadeye Navigator/Bogarden Hellkite.
To compensate, Aggro had to be able to win within a single attack phase, necessitating Infinite Power or Infinite Creatures, such as: Skeletal Vampire, Kamahl, Fist of Krosa or Blightsteel Colossus. Haste on such creatures would be too powerful; however, cheating them into play at the end of an opponent's turn as the two card combo limit.
Control is about incremental advantage and inevitability. Unfortunately, the bombastic nature of Type 4 meant that Control couldn't slowly drain their opponents, drown them in Card Advantage or lock them in a Prison. Control required the safety of Infinite Life. Shield of the Ages could be destroyed or circumvented, but Infinite Life meant that unless Aggro/Combo entered its archetype maxim they wouldn't be able to win.
Furthermore, I always ensured that there were outs. Perhaps only a single card might solve this particular problem but they existed in the stack and it was your responsibility to draft them. Azorius Guildmage/Glarecaster stops aggro and combo dead, Teferi, Mage of ZhalfirMyojin of Night's Reach stops combo and control dead and Lighthouse Chronologist/Consumptive Goo stops aggro and control dead.
To make sure those outs worked, I developed a new way to measure what is too ridiculous. I made sure to eliminate any 'Double Infinite' cards. A single Infinity is possible to defeat but two often left the threat unanswerable. For example, Selesnya Guildmage created Infinite Power and Infinite tokens, which meant that a lot of answers wouldn't work, such as Starstorm, Silence the Believers and so on. A card couldn't go Infinite again for a win.
Finally, as with experimentation with different archetypes, there were cards that were simply too good.
The following cards have been tried in the Type 4 stack but were deemed too powerful. As the power of the stack goes up, these cards may return. Blast from the Past used to be on this 'ban list' but has returned to the stack due to its incremental advantage no longer being overwhelming.
Mischievous Quanar - Too easily won out of nowhere. If your opponent or you cast a good spell, you could easily create infinite copies. What exacerbated the problem was that if an opponent had an answer, the Quanar could in response repeat ad nausea. The Quanar violated the design rule of Double Infinite and 2-1 due to being able to combo off of your opponent's cards instead of your own.
Spell Burst - Too easily shut out the entire board, especially if held in reserve until opponents were depleted. Essentially, once you got ahead you won. The problem was who knew how long it would take for you to win. This was simply too good of a Control Card, it was too far oppressive.
Nezumi Graverobber - The biggest issue with the Graverobber was that it could simply reanimate in response to whatever answer your opponent had. Other reanimation could be checked, such as per turn from Debtor's Knell, one-time Rise of the Dark Realms or life cost from Chainer, Dementia Master. Those cards allowed for answers, Graverobber did not which is why it violated the Double Infinite maxim.
Oath of Lim-Dûl - I originally thought this would be a balanced Treasure Trove; however, the disadvantage of discard or permanent sacrifice was too little. Players would simply draw more to compensate and that's if you managed to score a hit. This was too oppressive if it landed with no one being able to get an upper hand.
Mistmeadow Witch - Made your creatures unanswerable, ignored your opponent's answers, board state and offence. If she resolved, she won you the game no matter how sloppy or stupid you played. The Mistmeadow Witch violated the Double Infinite.
Selesnya Guildmage - Infinite Creatures could be dealt with, Infinite Power can also be answered. The problem is when you have Infinite Power and Infinite Creatures on the same card. Very, very few cards handily deal with both and defense usually operates to stop Infinite Creatures or Power but not both.
Call of the Wild - Tooth and Nail allows a circumvention of the normal speed of the game, placing two game winners into play with one spell. I figured this would be fine but the issue was that Call of the Wild was that it required no skill to draft and was completely mindless. Furthermore, as a permanent, it was far easier to recur and abuse. With the possibility of just activating Call of the Wild again on the stack, this card violated the Double Infinite as well as the 2-1 rules.
Possibility Storm - With one spell per turn, and this causing you to cast a second spell, means it would fizzile. This is a very hard lock and was tried to improve the Control supertype; unfortunately, it is too good at it's job and isn't a fun answer. The gentleman who drafted this last said that he didn't even have fun winning with it.
Kessig Wolf Run - Turned anything and everything into a threat. Simply too dangerous with my stack at this point. If I get rid of my 2-for-1/1-for-2 design rule, then I could see Kessig Wolf Run returning.
Here are some alternative Cubes that have popped up on MTG Salvation. Type 4 Cubes are moreso customizable than other Cubes due to rules changes. Here's a list if you want different Cubes.
DerBK's:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=425498
Alt:
- Handsize 3
- No Tutors
- No Alt CC
- Stacks
LimDul945's:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=478103
Alt:
- Handsize 7
- Morph Theme
- No Tutors
- Free Chaining (Counterlash lets you play a spell, so this bypasses 'No Alt CC')
- Rochester
Kirblinx's:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=521053
Alt:
- Handsize 5
- No Alt CC
- No Tutors
- Communal Stack
1 Angel of the Dire Hour
1 Angel of Despair
1 Arashi, the Sky Asunder
1 Ashen Rider
1 Bane of the Living
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Bosh, Iron Golem
1 Bloodfire Colossus
1 Cinder Elemental
1 Consumptive Goo
1 Dark Impostor
1 Deepfire Elemental
1 Dread Cacodemon
1 Duplicant
1 Flowstone Overseer
1 Harbinger of the Hunt
1 Hythonia the Cruel
1 Jiwari, the Earth Aflame
1 Kalemne's Captain
1 Luminate Primordial
1 Magister of Worth
1 Myojin of Cleansing Fire
1 Myojin of Infinite Rage
1 Olivia Voldaren
1 Pestilence Demon
1 Phyrexian Ingester
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Sylvan Primordial
1 Terastodon
1 Thrashing Wumpus
1 Tyrant of Discord
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Vampiric Dragon
1 Woodfall Primus
Control - 33
1 Alhammarret, High Arbiter
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel
1 Azorius Guildmage
1 Blazing Archon
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Celestial Force
1 Combat Medic
1 Crowd Favorites
1 Deathless Angel
1 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
1 Endbringer
1 Felidar Sovereign
1 Ghost-Lit Stalker
1 Glarecaster
1 Hypnox
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Kaervek the Merciless
1 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
1 Memnarch
1 Medomai the Ageless
1 Myojin of Night's Reach
1 New Prahv Guildmage
1 Nullstone Gargoyle
1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
1 Pontiff of Blight
1 Prince of Thralls
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Vengeful Archon
1 Void Winnower
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Chainer, Dementia Master
1 Creakwood Ghoul
1 Eternal Witness
1 Greenwarden of Murasa
1 Karmic Guide
1 Necrotic Ooze
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sedris, the Traitor King
1 Sepulchral Primordial
1 Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
1 Vulturous Zombie
Counter - 9
1 Draining Whelk
1 Ertai, Wizard Adept
1 Kheru Spellsnatcher
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Mystic Snake
1 Perplexing Chimera
1 Stratus Dancer
1 Voidmage Apprentice
1 Voidmage Prodigy
Combo - 24
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Aerial Caravan
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
1 Baleful Force
1 Bringer of the Black Dawn
1 Bringer of the Blue Dawn
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Djinn Illuminatus
1 Eternal Dragon
1 Genesis Hydra
1 Griselbrand
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Lifeblood Hydra
1 Lighthouse Chronologist
1 Metathran Aerostat
1 Myojin of Life's Web
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Root Elemental
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Soulfire Grand Master
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Thicket Elemental
Clones - 7
1 Altered Ego
1 Body Double
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Dimir Doppelganger
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Stunt Double
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
Aggro - 55
1 Ætherling
1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Atarka, World Render
1 Avatar of Fury
1 Avatar of Slaughter
1 Bladewing the Risen
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Caller of the Pack
1 Colossus of Akros
1 Conquering Manticore
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Deepfathom Skulker
1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1 Etched Monstrosity
1 Fleetfeather Cockatrice
1 Garza Zol, Plague Queen
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Golgari Guildemage
1 Hydra Broodmaster
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 It That Betrays
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1 Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Lord of the Void
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Magmatic Force
1 Moldgraf Monstrosity
1 Molten Primordial
1 Morphling
1 Nicol Bolas
1 Progenitus
1 Protean Hulk
1 Razia, Boros Archangel
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Silent Specter
1 Simic Sky Swallower
1 Sisters of Stone Death
1 Skeletal Vampire
1 Soul of Zendikar
1 Spirit of the Night
1 Sphinx Ambassador
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Stronghold Overseer
1 Sunscorch Regent
1 Surrak Dragonclaw
1 Thornling
1 Utvara Hellkite
1 Windreaver
1 Worldspine Wurm
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Blighted Fen
1 Door to Nothingness
1 Fevered Convulsions
1 Legacy Weapon
1 Lethal Vapors
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Perilous Vault
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Plague Boiler
1 Vraska the Unseen
Control - 25
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Confiscate
1 Grave Betrayal
1 Hedonist's Trove
1 Kor Haven
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mind's Dilation
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Necrogenesis
1 Painful Quandary
1 Panacea
1 Prahv, Spires of Order
1 Quicksilver Amulet
1 Shield of the Ages
1 Solitary Confinement
1 Soul Conduit
1 Take Possession
1 Tower of Eons
1 Vedalken Orrery
1 Winding Canyons
1 Yavimaya's Embrace
1 Yawgmoth's Agenda
1 Common Courtesy
1 Decree of Silence
Draw/Tutor - 12
1 Aladdin's Lamp
1 Blighted Cataract
1 Browse
1 Citanul Flute
1 Compulsion
1 Loreseeker's Stone
1 Mind's Eye
1 Planar Portal
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Thought Reflection
1 Tower of Fortunes
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
Graveyard - 5
1 Deadbridge Chant
1 Debtors' Knell
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Liliana Vess
Psuedo-Creature - 11
1 "Ach! Hans, Run!"
1 Chimeric Staff
1 Dark Depths
1 Deathrender
1 Helm of Obedience
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Mimic Vat
1 Mirrorpool
1 Riptide Replicator
1 Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang
1 Thought Dissector
1 Aladdin's Ring
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Baneful Omen
1 Flamekin Village
1 Knollspine Invocation
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Lurking Predators
1 Mindslaver
1 Pyromancy
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Stensia Bloodhall
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Warstorm Surge
1 Wound Reflection
1 Absorb
1 Assert Authority
1 Confirm Suspicions
1 Contradict
1 Controvert
1 Counterflux
1 Cryptic Command
1 Desertion
1 Discombobulate
1 Dismal Failure
1 Dismiss
1 Dissipate
1 Dissolve
1 Double Negative
1 Ertai's Meddling
1 Failed Inspection
1 Fall of the Gavel
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Fervent Denial
1 Forbid
1 Hinder
1 Induce Paranoia
1 Insidious Will
1 Last Word
1 Lay Bare
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Mystic Genesis
1 Overwhelming Denial
1 Punish Ignorance
1 Spell Crumple
1 Spelljack
1 Summary Dismissal
1 Swift Silence
1 Time Stop
1 Undermine
1 Void Shatter
1 Voidslime
Conditional Counters - 7
1 Æthersnatch
1 Commandeer
1 Essence Backlash
1 Gather Specimens
1 Overwhelming Intellect
1 Trickbind
1 Wild Ricochet
Spot Removal - 38
1 Agonizing Demise
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Annihilate
1 Banishing Stroke
1 Bant Charm
1 Beast Within
1 Betrayal of Flesh
1 Capsize
1 Chaos Warp
1 Chastise
1 Council's Judgment
1 Crackling Doom
1 Crib Swap
1 Crosis's Charm
1 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Dismantling Blow
1 Foul Renewal
1 Hit // Run
1 Krosan Grip
1 Mortify
1 Putrefy
1 Ray of Distortion
1 Resounding Silence
1 Return to Dust
1 Reweave
1 Scour from Existence
1 Sickening Shoal
1 Slice in Twain
1 Spinal Embrace
1 Sudden Death
1 Tribute to Hunger
1 Tribute to the Wild
1 Trostani's Judgment
1 Tsabo's Decree
1 Twisted Justice
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Unmake
1 Utter End
1 Acquire
1 Blast from the Past
1 Bribery
1 Chord of Calling
1 Conflux
1 Dig Through Time
1 Dragonlord's Prerogative
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Fortune's Favor
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Interpret the Signs
1 Jace's Ingenuity
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Nissa's Revelation
1 Opportunity
1 Praetor's Counsel
1 Praetor's Grasp
1 Promise of Power
1 See the Unwritten
1 Sphinx's Revealation
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Steam Augury
1 Summoning Trap
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Wargate
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Whispers of the Muse
Wraths - 35
1 Ætherspouts
1 Akroma's Vengeance
1 All is Dust
1 Austere Command
1 Balancing Act
1 Barter in Blood
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Capital Punishment
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Deadly Tempest
1 Decree of Pain
1 Descend upon the Sinful
1 Fated Retribution
1 Final Judgment
1 Fumigate
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Hail of Arrows
1 In Garruk's Wake
1 Jokulhaups
1 Martial Coup
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Necromantic Selection
1 Obliterate
1 Phyrexian Rebirth
1 Plague Wind
1 Planar Cleansing
1 Reign of the Pit
1 Rout
1 Silence the Believers
1 Soulscour
1 Starstorm
1 Street Spasm
1 Subterranean Tremors
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Terminus
Burn - 17
1 Breath of Malfegor
1 Brightflame
1 Captain's Maneuver
1 Deflecting Palm
1 Divine Deflection
1 Grab the Reins
1 Inferno
1 Needlebite Trap
1 Parallectric Feedback
1 Searing Wind
1 Sorin's Vengeance
1 Suffer the Past
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Riddle of Lightning
1 Shining Shoal
1 Storm Seeker
1 Urza's Rage
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Corpse Dance
1 Extract from Darkness
1 Fated Return
1 Ghastly Conscription
1 Honor the Fallen
1 Identity Crisis
1 Immortal Servitude
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Rise of the Dark Realms
Psuedo-Creatures - 9
1 Army of the Damned
1 Blatant Thievery
1 Cackling Counterpart
1 Clone Legion
1 Crush of Wurms
1 Ethereal Ambush
1 Rite of Replication
1 Saheeli's Artistry
1 Wurmcalling
Theft - 5
1 Dominate
1 Expropriate
1 Supplant Form
1 Time Stretch
1 Word of Seizing
Utility - 6
1 Beacon of Immortality
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Reiterate
1 Sadistic Sacrament
1 Spite // Malice
1 Who/What/When/Where/Why
http://cubetutor.com/visualspoiler/2635
Weakest Creatures:
Razia, Boros Archangel
Metathran Aerostat
Aerial Caravan
Sedris, the Traitor King
Eternal Dragon
Spirit of the Night
Jiwari, the Earth Aflame
Arashi, the Sky Asunder
Kalonian Behemoth
Deathless Angel
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
Sphinx Ambassador
Bloodfire Colossus
Weakest Non-Creature Permanents:
Riptide Replicator
Baneful Omen
Quicksilver Amulet
"Ach! Hans, Run!"
Weakest Counters:
Discombobulate
Weakest Wraths:
Terminus
Weakest Burn:
Riddle of Lightning
Weakest Manipulation:
Beacon of Unrest
Praetor's Council
Immortal Servitude
Vraska the Unseen
Marshall's Anthem
Weakest Draw/Tutors:
-
Weakest Removals:
Trostani's Judgment
Ray of Removal
Sickening Shoal
Crib Swap
Reweave
Annihilate
Suggestions welcome.
1 Ensnaring Bridge
Onslaught
1 Sigil of the New Dawn
Shards of Alara
1 Empyrial Archangel
1 Lich's Mirror
New Phyrexia
1 Batterskull
1 Karn Liberated
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
Dark Ascension
1 Drogskol Reaver
Gatecrash
1 Skarrg Goliath
Dragon's Maze
1 Sire of Insanity
1 Price of Knowledge
Commander 2014
1 Siege Behemoth
Fate Reforged
1 Warden of the First Tree
Dragons of Tarkir
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
1 Dragonlord Kolaghan
Battle for Zendikar
1 Quarantine Field
Magic Origins
1 Hangarback Walker
1 Kothophed, Soul Hoarder
Commander 2015
1 Gigantoplasm
1 Mystic Confluence
1 Soul of Theros
Shadows Over Innistrad
1 Behold the Beyond
Kaladesh
1 Metallurgic Summonings
1 Wildest Dreams
1 Noxious Gearhulk
1 Combustible Gearhulk
Commander 2016
1 Grave Upheaval
1 Sylvan Reclamation
1 Vial Smasher the Fierce
1 Stonehoof Chieftain
1 Selfless Squire
1 Entrapment Maneuver
I am not certain I could even remove this due to how unique Rise will be. I think there are a lot of outs, such as counterspells, graveyard management/hate and sometimes you won't have the infinite combo. That's what I think without any play experience with Rise, actual play may tell a completely different story but as far as I'm concerned this is Tooth and Nail 2.0.
Soulfire Grand Master
Spellburst was Banned for being too oppressive as a Buyback Counterspell. The Soulfire Grand Master can possibly be more abusive with Buying Back all sorts of good Counterspells, winning with inevitable burn or actually being able to take Infinite turns until the win with Time Stretch.
Cinder Elemental
Every other Infinite Damage possibility creature has some sort of limit, either another card to go off like Deadeye Navigator/Siege-Gang Commander or get into the red zone if you're a Firebreathers. Cinder Elemental does not and even combos with Flamekin Village/Slayers' Stronghold. I'm not too concerned but I'll keep an eye on somebody who can do X to the dome at will.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Just like Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, it's just on this list because of its notoritiy. I think it's fine, as it is just a big guy with Annihilator and Tidings slapped on.
Nullstone Gargoyle
I previously had this in the stack but it was far too oppressive. Now with Wizards printing a lot more big, beefy ETB creatures that blow up Artifacts, I think it's not that bad. As a previously Banned card, this is being placed back on the Watchlist.
Flamekin Village/Slayers' Stronghold
Both of these, even ignoring their combo potential with Cinder Elemental (outright combo with the Elemental requirement), violate the 2-1/1-2 rule of thumb. Is that a big enough of a violation? After all, it's possible now to T1 Firebreathe someone to death who may have had all the answers in the world as long as they were Sorcery speed. It's something I'm going to keep my mind on.
Ætherling
Unlike Mist Dragon, I believe that the Ætherling is capable of soloing an entire table, dodging all removal. There is quite a difference of Mist Dragon's 4 Power and Ætherling's 9 - with the potential for infinite toughness combos also at your disposals, such as Miren, the Moaning Wel and Flowstone Overseer. It's ability is in the same classification as Mistmeadow Witch's ability that got her banned.
Mind's Dilation
I might chalk this up to 'you deserve to lose' like Tooth and Nail if it resolves. Part of the game becomes a stamina contest of knowing when there's no counterwall and slam Dilation down. Completely awesome, with savage plays like Dilating a Counter to whatever they played. Overall, great card.
1 Mimic Vat
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Felidar Sovereign
1 Deadly Tempest
1 Subterranean Tremors
1 Sneak Attack
1 Tidings
1 Mist Dragon
1 Duneblast
1 Consign to Dust
1 Overwhelming Denial
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Atarka, World Render
1 Fumigate
1 Summary Dismissal
1 Extract from Darkness
1 Sunscorch Regent
1 Deepfathom Skulker
1 Celestial Force
1 Prince of Thralls
1 Ethereal Ambush
1 Saheeli's Artistry
1 Soul Manipulation
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Plated Slagwurm
1 Decree of Annihilation
1 Dromar's Charm
1 Crime // Punishment
1 Rorix Bladewing
1 Gaea's Revenge
1 Pentavus
1 Greel, Mind Raker
1 Rally the Ancestors
1 All Suns' Dawn
1 In Garruk's Wake
1 Pontiff of Blight
1 Rare-B-Gone
1 Dominus of Fealty
Scatter Arc -> Failed Inspection
Back from the Brink -> Mind's Dilation
Flowstone Slide -> Anguished Unmaking
Overwhelming Forces -> Reign of the Pit
Sway of the Stars -> Capital Punishment
Hamletback Goliath -> Magmatic Force
Blood Tyrant -> Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
Sakashima the Impostor -> Stunt Double
Firemind's Foresight -> Fortune's Favor
Realm Seekers -> Caller of the Pack
Guild Feud -> Council's Judgment
Phantom Nishoba -> Lifeblood Hydra
Biomass Mutation -> Expropriate
Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind -> Altered Ego
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Harbinger of the Hunt
1 Endbringer
1 Avatar of Fury
1 Hydra Broodmaster
1 Utvara Hellkite
1 Vampiric Dragon
1 Kalemne's Captain
1 Greenwarden of Murasa
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Blood Tyrant
1 Hythonia the Cruel
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Silent Specter
1 Alhammarret, High Arbiter
1 Fleetfeather Cockatrice
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Sphinx of the Final Word
1 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
1 Greel, Mind Raker
1 Stormbreath Dragon
1 Angel of the Dire Hour
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Blazing Archon
1 Hamletback Goliath
1 Ashen Rider
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Stratus Dancer
1 Vulturous Zombie
1 Void Winnower
1 Baleful Force
1 Conquering Manticore
1 Storm Seeker
1 Corpse Dance
1 Needlebite Trap
1 Dragonlord's Prerogative
1 Contradict
1 Honor the Fallen
1 Spinal Embrace
1 Confirm Suspicions
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Chastise
1 Induce Paranoia
1 Consign to Dust
1 Breath of Malfegor
1 Scatter Arc
1 Foul Renewal
1 Æthersnatch
1 Scour from Existence
1 Thwart
1 Tribute to the Wild
1 Hail of Arrows
1 Spite//Malice
1 Dissolve
1 Spell Crumple
1 Lay Bare
1 Shining Shoal
1 Parallectric Feedback
Sorcery - 13
1 Soulscour
1 Descend upon the Sinful
1 Interpret the Signs
1 Nissa's Revelation
1 Phyrexian Rebirth
1 Barter in Blood
1 Wurmcalling
1 Necromantic Selection
1 Identity Crisis
1 Sadistic Sacrament
1 Clone Legion
1 Promise of Power
1 Ghastly Conscription
1 Blighted Fen
1 Blighted Cataract
1 Mirrorpool
1 Stensia Bloodhall
Artifacts - 3
1 Loreseeker's Stone
1 Chimeric Staff
1 Panacea
Enchantments - 11
1 Hedonist's Trove
1 Warstorm Surge
1 Confiscate
1 Lethal Vapors
1 Deadbridge Chant
1 Painful Quandary
1 Necrogenesis
1 Yavimaya's Embrace
1 Wound Reflection
1 Yawgmoth's Agenda
1 Sneak Attack
Planeswalkers - 1
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Karn Liberated
1 Council's Judgment
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Ætherling
1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel
1 Avatar of Slaughter
1 Bladewing the Risen
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Cinder Elemental
1 Djinn Illuminatus
1 Genesis Hydra
1 Kheru Spellsnatcher
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Magister of Worth
1 Medomai the Ageless
1 Myojin of Infinite Rage
1 Nullstone Gargoyle
1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
1 Perplexing Chimera
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Realm Seekers
1 Sisters of Stone Death
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
1 Soul of Zendikar
1 Soulfire Grand Master
1 Surrak Dragonclaw
1 Vengeful Archon
1 Ætherspouts
1 Biomass Mutation
1 Crackling Doom
1 Deflecting Palm
1 Dig Through Time
1 Fated Retribution
1 Fated Return
1 Increasing Vengeance
1 Rally the Ancestors
1 Silence the Believers
1 Street Spasm
1 Supplant Form
1 Utter End
Sorcery
1 Blatant Thievery
1 Brightflame
1 Council's Judgment
1 Duneblast
1 Flowstone Slide
1 Jokulhaups
1 See the Unwritten
Lands
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Flamekin Village
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Deathrender
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Perilous Vault
1 Soul Conduit
1 Swiftfoot Boots
Enchantments
1 Grave Betrayal
1 Solitary Confinement
1 Possibility Storm
1 Thought Reflection
Planeswalkers
1 Karn Liberated
1 Liliana Vess
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Vraska the Unseen
Stuffy Doll -> Colossus of Akros
Meddling Kids -> Lord of the Void
Flowstone Slide -> Curse of the Swine
Izzet Chronarch -> Molten Primordial
Intuition -> Steam Augury
Dwarven Catapult -> Gaze of Granite
Jokulhaups -> Terminus
Firewing Phoenix -> Sepulchral Primordial
Killing Wave -> Merciless Eviction
Lim-Dul's Vault -> Firemind's Foresight
Shining Shoal -> Divine Deflection
Induce Paranoia -> Mystic Genesis
Chromeshell Crab -> Angel of Serenity
Creeping Renaissance -> Immortal Servitude
Acidic Slime -> Sylvan Primordial
Hoverguard Sweepers -> Luminate Primordial
Child of Alara -> Consecrated Sphinx
Silvos, Rogue Elemental -> Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
Time Reversal -> Jace's Ingenuity
Withered Wretch -> New Prahv Guildmage
Panacea -> "Ach! Hans, Run!"
Wurmcalling -> Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rewind -> Fall of the Gavel
Parallectric Feedback -> Essence Backlash
Suffer the Past -> Rakdos Charm
Swords to Plowshares -> Trostani's Judgement
Dream Fracture -> Counterflux
Primal Surge -> Guild Feud
Symbiotic Wurm -> Worldspine Wurm
Splintering Wind -> Dark Impostor
Corpse Dance -> Firewing Pheonix
Sharuum the Hegemon -> Summoning Trap
Dark Impostor -> Rite of Replication
Promise of Power -> Griselbrand
Smokespew Invoker -> Consumptive Goo
Kodama of the North Tree -> Artisan of Kozilek
Willbender -> Meddling Kids
Heat Ray -> Soul Manipulation
Myojin of Infinite Rage -> Avatar of Slaughter
Dregs of Sorrow -> Killing Wave
Evil Twin -> Cackling Counterpart
Checks and Balances -> Primal Surge
Spiritmonger -> Sheoldred, Whispering One
Vampiric Dragon -> Olivia Voldaren
Forbidden Alchemy -> Time Reversal
Uktabi Kong -> Army of the Damned
Spinal Embrace -> Sorin's Vengeance
Resounding Wave -> Evil Twin
Soulscour -> Nevinyrral's Disk
Kederekt Leviathan -> Dark Impostor
Greel, Mind Raker -> Skeletal Vampire
Altar's Light -> Tidings
Indrik Stomphowler -> Tyrant of Discord
Infernal Spawn of Infernal Spawn of Evil -> Deadeye Navigator
Terminate -> Lim-Dul's Vault
Chastise -> Riddle of Lightning
Honor the Fallen -> Wheel of Fortune
Spine of Ish Sah -> Splintering Wind
Sneak Attack -> Checks and Balances
Necrogenesis -> Debtors' Knell
Holistic Wisdom -> Browse
Glory -> Skeletal Scrying
Volrath's Shapeshifter -> Selesnya Guildmage
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer -> Myojin of Infinite Rage
Silklash Spider -> Thrashing Wumpus
Nantuko Vigilante -> Acidic Slime
Acidic Slime -> Terastodon
Debtors' Knell -> Baneful Omen
Storm Seeker -> Suffer the Past
Phyrexian Rebirth -> Dread Cacodemon
Bringer of the Red Dawn -> Dominus of Fealty
Palichron -> Glen Elendra Archmage
Myojin of Infinte Rage -> Phyrexian Ingester
Predator, Flagship -> Lurking Predators
Jareth, Leonine Titan -> Gaea's Revenge
Firemane Angel -> It That Betrays
Flash Conscription -> Mystical Teachings
Tidespout Tyrant -> Lighthouse Chronologist
Blatant Thievery -> Increasing Ambition
Cruel Revival -> Forbidden Alchemy
Thrasing Wumpus -> Pestilence Demon
Phyrexian Grimoire -> Marshal's Anthem
Greater Good -> Creeping Renaissance
Quicksilver Dragon -> Progenitus
Mystic Melting -> Slice in Twain
Reweave -> Chaos Warp
Mizzium Transreliquat -> Phyrexian Metamorph
Masticore -> Moldgraf Monstrosity
Storm Herd -> Nim Deathmantle
Reviving Vapors -> Praetor's Counsel
Sisters of Stone Death -> Rune-Scarred Demon
Evangelize -> Mystifying Maze
Cinder Cloud -> Tribute to the Wild
Suncrusher -> Plated Slagwurm