I wish there was more sweet spot reanimator spells. Something less disgusting than Reanimate or Animate Dead, but not as slow as Breath of Life or the like. I think 3cc is a really great spot for quality reanimation spells that are powerful but balanced in a cube envirionment.
Something like: Blood Necromancy2B
Sorcery (R)
Return target creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. You lose life equal to half of its converted mana cost rounded up.
I posted my cube list at the end of my last post. I'm still making some changes (mainly to the cards highlighted in red).
Needing creatures isn't a high bar to clear. I think Purphoros is an easy build around that can range from decent to insane. 2 damage per creature is disgusting and occasionally the pump ability is relevant too. I have won too many games off of this card to concede the point on this one.
The Mox I was referring too is Mox Diamond. I also don't run power.
Reanimator, Tinker, and to a lesser extent Natural Order can be particularly oppressive depending on what targets you allow for them. There are a couple fatties in particular I have chosen not to include due to how oppressive they are with these archetypes. One is Inkwell Leviathan and the other is Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. There are still plenty of disgusting targets Creature quality and the diversity of large threats is immensely better then it was when these spells were first printed. Still, I think your lack of removal problem goes hand in hand with this issue. Many of the top reanimator targets still just die to good removal. My advice here is to try to minimize the large threats that can't be responded to with removal and these archetypes will still win quite a bit, but not so much so that a great aggro/midrange deck doesn't have a chance.
Maybe this is just a personal experience but I only sometimes see the Upheaval.dec come together (but it has been very strong when it does) and it is even more rare that the Wildfire.dec comes together (and it's much less strong when it does) and there are certain other archetypes that are strongly hyped here but were completely useless in my cube - Lands Matter is a big one. Life from the Loam, Crucible of Worlds, Ramunap Excavator, and even the new Wrenn and Six = Durdle.dec. Also think Yavimaya Elder is durdly, but Oracle of Mul Daya has been a strong ramp card/ way to get through my library (my only peeve with it is I don't like revealing my library top card, I think that is a bigger drawback than people give it credit for).
I don't agree on Purphoros. If you're in a red deck that generates creatures (as so many of the red three drops in particular do, but also many other cards). This card is still wonderful. You don't need a mass token generating spell to run Purphoros (though it will certainly help). I am also trying to increase the amount of wraths available. In particular I'd like to see some better non-White/Black "Wrath" like effects in the vein of Hour of Devastation...might actually consider adding that one now that I think about it. I agree with all of your other niche-archetype swaps (Squee, Reveillark, Bombardment, Loam). I run none of those.
Of the Sacred Cows listed I can only really concur with Spectral Procession and Ratchet Bomb. Master of the Wild Hunt is great incremental advantage and removal in one card. Already discussed Oracle, Primeval Titan being able to get any land is important-without that caveat it probably wouldn't get there. Cultivate and Kodama's Reach aren't exciting, but they do provide the ramp/fixing at a key time since a lot of green's strength is in its 5 drop creatures. Aetherling is borderline, but not a problematic cut in my eyes. Mulldrifter, Pack Rat, and Lyra Dawnbringer (slight upgrade over BSA) all continue to do some pretty strong work in games I have played.
Think it is important to consider that Talismans don't take green's identity away when green can run the same talismans and put you at 5 mana on turn 2. Mox, Land, Talisman, Elf. Turn 2 land, 5 drop. In other words it might provide a similar function, but Green still does ramp/fixing better. I'm not sure I like any of the green inclusions all that much. Tireless Tracker and Jadelight Ranger are among my favorite beefy green 3cc threats. They give a nice combination of size and value. I also love Night's Whisper. I don't think I'm too keen on any of the other options though.
PW's make midrange better and I think my previous caps were too limiting, but I'm pretty happy with 3-4 PW tops per color/colorless and 1-2 per guild. More than that and I find myself drafting packs with 5+ PW's and while I appreciate increased choices and more diverse gameplay that PW's present, I still think they shouldn't appear more than 1-2 per pack on average. Personal preference.
Something like:
Blood Necromancy 2B
Sorcery (R)
Return target creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. You lose life equal to half of its converted mana cost rounded up.
I posted my cube list at the end of my last post. I'm still making some changes (mainly to the cards highlighted in red).
Needing creatures isn't a high bar to clear. I think Purphoros is an easy build around that can range from decent to insane. 2 damage per creature is disgusting and occasionally the pump ability is relevant too. I have won too many games off of this card to concede the point on this one.
The Mox I was referring too is Mox Diamond. I also don't run power.
Maybe this is just a personal experience but I only sometimes see the Upheaval.dec come together (but it has been very strong when it does) and it is even more rare that the Wildfire.dec comes together (and it's much less strong when it does) and there are certain other archetypes that are strongly hyped here but were completely useless in my cube - Lands Matter is a big one. Life from the Loam, Crucible of Worlds, Ramunap Excavator, and even the new Wrenn and Six = Durdle.dec. Also think Yavimaya Elder is durdly, but Oracle of Mul Daya has been a strong ramp card/ way to get through my library (my only peeve with it is I don't like revealing my library top card, I think that is a bigger drawback than people give it credit for).
I don't agree on Purphoros. If you're in a red deck that generates creatures (as so many of the red three drops in particular do, but also many other cards). This card is still wonderful. You don't need a mass token generating spell to run Purphoros (though it will certainly help). I am also trying to increase the amount of wraths available. In particular I'd like to see some better non-White/Black "Wrath" like effects in the vein of Hour of Devastation...might actually consider adding that one now that I think about it. I agree with all of your other niche-archetype swaps (Squee, Reveillark, Bombardment, Loam). I run none of those.
Of the Sacred Cows listed I can only really concur with Spectral Procession and Ratchet Bomb. Master of the Wild Hunt is great incremental advantage and removal in one card. Already discussed Oracle, Primeval Titan being able to get any land is important-without that caveat it probably wouldn't get there. Cultivate and Kodama's Reach aren't exciting, but they do provide the ramp/fixing at a key time since a lot of green's strength is in its 5 drop creatures. Aetherling is borderline, but not a problematic cut in my eyes. Mulldrifter, Pack Rat, and Lyra Dawnbringer (slight upgrade over BSA) all continue to do some pretty strong work in games I have played.
Think it is important to consider that Talismans don't take green's identity away when green can run the same talismans and put you at 5 mana on turn 2. Mox, Land, Talisman, Elf. Turn 2 land, 5 drop. In other words it might provide a similar function, but Green still does ramp/fixing better. I'm not sure I like any of the green inclusions all that much. Tireless Tracker and Jadelight Ranger are among my favorite beefy green 3cc threats. They give a nice combination of size and value. I also love Night's Whisper. I don't think I'm too keen on any of the other options though.
PW's make midrange better and I think my previous caps were too limiting, but I'm pretty happy with 3-4 PW tops per color/colorless and 1-2 per guild. More than that and I find myself drafting packs with 5+ PW's and while I appreciate increased choices and more diverse gameplay that PW's present, I still think they shouldn't appear more than 1-2 per pack on average. Personal preference.
Thanks for sharing your changes! I am finishing up a sizable overhaul myself. Here is where I am right now.
http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/34371