General Info
- This is a 405 card, unpowered cube, designed primarily for drafting
- Designed to encourage 2+ color decks (usually 2-3)
- Mainly a 'Spike' cardpool, (playing only the best cards ends up this way)
- Enough for 9 players to draft 45 cards (3 packs of 15) each
- Perfect Balance between colors
- 'Mana Curve' maintained for each color
- No fixed ratio of spells to creatures
- No cards that require graveyard order to be tracked
- No strange Un-cards, ante, or manual dexterity cards
Breakdown
- 55 black/blue/green/red/white cards
- 45 Multicolor and Hybrid
- 42 Lands
- 43 Artifacts
- 405 Total
Not a lot of time at the moment for critique, but I wanted to make a quick comment on your proxies. Those are really well done. That Recurring Nightmare is sick! Are those the only proxies you include in your list or do you have more? If you have more, you should totally post them up over in the proxy thread.
Not a lot of time at the moment for critique, but I wanted to make a quick comment on your proxies. Those are really well done. That Recurring Nightmare is sick! Are those the only proxies you include in your list or do you have more? If you have more, you should totally post them up over in the proxy thread.
I second this. Very nice indeed.
I think your list is very interesting, and I'm quite surprised at some of your choices. I don't have the time to go over most of them atm but I'll come back later.
Not a lot of time at the moment for critique, but I wanted to make a quick comment on your proxies. Those are really well done. That Recurring Nightmare is sick! Are those the only proxies you include in your list or do you have more? If you have more, you should totally post them up over in the proxy thread.
I have a few more, I'll have to take some pictures. I just snapped that one real quick to have an interesting image at the top of the thread.
I'm very proud of this, since I made the art myself in PS and GIMP.
I was inspired by this piece a little bit
I consider this very question every time I look through the blue cards. I have two players that swear by it, and it does perform. But I suspect that it is succeeding on the coattails of far superior supporting cast of blue cards. Its pseudo-shroud has made it rather unkillable in most situations, and it has the added versatility of being able to morph.
I'm fairly sure that if I spend enough time looking at the blue list, it will come out for something. For the time being, though, its playing pretty well.
I think your list is very interesting, and I'm quite surprised at some of your choices. I don't have the time to go over most of them atm but I'll come back later.
Condescend (is it really a 2cc spell?)
Counterspell
Impulse
Remand
Mana Drain
Mana Leak
Memory Lapse
Miscalculation
Into the Roil
Gilded Drake (The moment I realized that it didn't work with Crystal Shard and the like I cut it, there are simply better options)
Looter il-Kor
Waterfront Bouncer
Merfolk Looter
Riftwing Cloudskate (I had in the cube a while ago, it was just mediocre at best most of the time)
Jushi Apprentice
Exclude
Capsize
Repulse
Jace Beleren
Forbid
Compulsive Research (you could try Windfall which is both a cheep card to find and a powerful spell. Also very good in reanimator )
Thirst for Knowledge
Frantic Search
Willbender
Vendilion Clique
Serendib Efreet
Mulldrifter
Pestermite (extremely weak for its cost and effect)
Man-o'-War
Quicksilver Dragon
Control Magic (I cut mine for Right of Replication and have not been sorry about it, Something to think about.)
Dismiss (Complicate is better most of the time)
Rewind
Fact or Fiction
Deep Analysis
Cryptic Command
Gifts Ungiven
Sower of Temptation
Lu Xun, Scholar General
Glen Elendra Archmage
Venser, Shaper Savant
Treachery
Force of Will
Bribery
Future Sight
Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Morphling
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer (Not too bad for sure, but still, I think you could find better)
Stroke of Genius (how often is this card good?)
Confiscate (Should be Vedalken Shackles imo)
Keiga, the Tide Star
I like the Vesuvan Shapeshifter and Palinchron suggestion, also Pestermite and Confiscate can easily be cut. However I feel I must defend Gilded Drake. Absurd with bounce spells and even without them swapping him with a Kokusho or something is a perfectly reasonable play. Also, Control Magic is awesome. It is almost always a Terminate for their best guy and then you get a copy of it.
Gilded Drake is really good, combined with any bounce-spell and he's a house. And yes... you can target him with Crystal Shard, if they can't pay the 1, it goes back to your hand. And exchanging it for a Kokusho or Yosei is a fine play, who cares if they get a 3/3?
Condescend isn't a 2CC spell, but it sure is a great spell.
Dismiss is one of the better counterspells printed. It's really good.
I agree that Confiscate should be Vedalken Shackles, and I'd replace Sun Ce for Palinchron, but the rest of those cards are fine.
If I end up cutting Quicksilver, Jar Jar will have to go in to 'replace' it.
I'd cut all 3 cards from the ones you listed. Definitely add in Shackles, probably add in Palinchron and maybe something like Draining Whelk or Desertion for the last one.
You can bounce Gilded drake with its trigger on the stack and permanently steal their guy while giving them nothing in return. That sacrificing clause in oracle is only there to make sure you cant play him on an empty board. Im pretty sure you can trigger bounce him though, which is totally unfair with CShard or Portal. Also, control magic is nuts. Run both that and Rite of replication. I dont see a need to cut either of them from blue. Both of them are much stronger than cards like Jushi Apprentice (ass terrible), willbender, exclude, repulse, mystical tutor(really not good enough in non-combo), ponder(weak for the same reasons it is in standard), and Sun Ce seems way too overpriced.
...Both of them are much stronger than cards like Jushi Apprentice (ass terrible), willbender, exclude, repulse, mystical tutor(really not good enough in non-combo), ponder(weak for the same reasons it is in standard)...
Hm... I would absolutely use all of those cards over Rite of Replication. They're all good.
You can bounce Gilded drake with its trigger on the stack and permanently steal their guy while giving them nothing in return.
Wrong.
If Gilded Drake is in your hand, the 'exchange' fails, since you don't have it in play to give to your opponent.
Of course if you have normal bounce, you can just bounce Gilded Drake after you give it to them, and keep their creature. Waterfront Bouncer makes Gilded Drake look pretty pro.
Went through multicolor and would recommend the following changes:
-Deathgrasp
+Stillmoon Cavalier
Double protection is very strong and I never was very impressed with Death Grasp.
-Hull Breach
+Sarkhan Vol
One of the better plainswalkers vs. a card that is usually just a harder to cast Naturalize.
-Sky Hussar
+Teferi's Moat
-Anurid Brushhopper
+Mirari's Wake
Wake is one of the best cards in this color combination whereas Brushhopper is just an efficient creature.
I'd also prefer Prophetic Bolt over Electrolyze. Desolation Angel should definitely be in the list somewhere, if you want it in black then cut Laquatus' Champion. Otherwise add it in B/W instead of the Cavalier.
Well Gilded drake is bad then, and im pissed that i bought one for $3. Jushi just isnt good in my experience. The deck that wants to play it has no other removal targets early on so it just dies immediately or they let it sit there and dont care about it while they beat you down. It is NOT blocking because it is a 1/2 so i cant imagine a relevant creature it can block repeatedly. Also you dont want to be tapping out to play this guy in the blue control decks, the worst part is that he is like 1000 to activate. Id rather just play an efficient draw spell and get to the goods immediately rather than invest all my mana into a slow and easily disposed CA engine, there is way too much good card draw in blue to be playing this guy imo. Anyways i guess ill make some suggestions for your multicolor.
I think burning tree shaman, firespout, and hull breach all have to go. Shaman is symmetirical and sometimes worse and the other two just dont do what R/G wants to do. I would add Stormbind, Fires of Yavimaya, and Ram-Gang/or Sarkhan. Sarkhan is pretty garb though and ive thought about cutting him many times because he has been proven to be pretty weak and cant defend himself.
I would cut Niv-Mizzet or Gelectrode for Prophetic Bolt, that card is just insane.
Anurid Brushopped, as said before, is weak. Would add Enlisted Wurm or Mystic Enforcer.
I would cut Fulminator from R/B. Hes usually a bad stone rain but occasion goes into Scathe Zombie mode and beats down -___-. I think many people on this forum underestimate Blightning but it's totally insane. The possiblity of a 3 for 1 if they have a planewalker is sick, but the two cards and keeping pressure on them is still good.
I would cut Duergar hedge mage for goblin trenches.
Probably can cut debtors knell for desolation angel, stillmoon, or angel of despair. Knell is slow and color intensive, desolation wins the game, stillmoon is increadibly annoying, and despair is a good reanimation target or hardcast.
I also dont really like Sky Hussar or Grand arbitor. As mentioned earlier, Teferi's moat is good and im a huge fan of Iridescent Angel.
No, Gilded Drake isn't bad... it's really good, actually. You can trade up for 1U, and then bounce it back to your hand so your opponent gets nothing and you steal their best creature? Sign me up. Even without bounce tricks, the creature upgrade is always worth the 2 mana.
Jushi Apprentice is really good. Repeatable draw effects are great (and rare) and he's no exception. He activates at instant speed, which is desirable for that effect.
Blightning isn't nearly as good in the cube as it is in standard. BR aggro already has all the support it needs, and there are much better BR cards for the cube (although I agree that Fulminator Mage isn't one of 'em).
I've come around on Blightning and actually like it quite a bit. However your gold section isn't quite big enough for it. It is however big enough for Bituminous Blast which is much better than Fulminator. 100% agree with everything else wtwlf said.
I actually cut Sarkhan Vol to put in Hull Breach, and haven't missed him. Hull Breach has hit multiple things almost as often as not, which is odd since there aren't that many enchantments. Yesterday it hit Platinum Angel AND Future Sight and turned a blowout into a come-from-behind victory.
Debtor's Knell isn't going anywhere. It gets picked high and wins games when it lands. Vindicate and Mortify aren't up for discussion either. So it comes down to Death Grasp vs. Desolation Angel vs. Stilmoon Cavalier. Desolation Angel has been in the cube before, and never impressed anyone, despite its obvious power. After 15 drafts of it not making a splash, we decided that somehow it 'just didn't fit'. (On the other hand, Debtors Knell has led to more victories than we can count). Stilmoon Cavalier we haven't given a go yet, but Death Grasp is an off-color burn spell that has won more than its share of games.
I know Desolation Angel is good, and I'm sure we'll give it another go at some point, but for now its sitting on the sidelines.
If you aren't letting Knell go or giving the Angel another go, the choice is Cavalier by a mile. It is a monster in any deck. For aggro decks, it's a mana sink that can fly, but often doesn't need to due to double protection. For control decks, it can be an early wall, playing a similar role to Kitchen Finks, and can finish an opponent off in a hurry.
(Sry, if this list doesn't fit to recent changes, I have created it this morning local time and haven't submitted it until now)
I have also done a little diff with my list:
W posible cuts
Parallax Wave
Windborn Muse
Pristine Angel possible additions
Land Tax - I should probably find room for this.
Temporal Isolation - Seems like just an inferior Journey to Nowhere now.
Ajani Goldmane - avoiding the headache with multiple same-name planeswalkers so far.
Miraculous Recovery - 5 drop is really crowded
Catastrophe - Better than Pristine Angel or Windborn Muse?
Reveillark - 5 drop is really crowded
Akroma, Angel of Wrath - Too expensive
Silver Knight - Avoiding 2CMC double costed cards if at all possible
Soltari Monk - above
Flickerwisp - I didn't think this was all that great when I cubed with it before, maybe I'm missing something.
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails - above
Knight of the White Orchid - Above
Celestial Crusader - Seems solid, maybe should replace Windborn Muse?
Glorious Anthem - I have never been a fan of anthem/crusade effects
U possible cuts
Pestermite
Quicksilver Dragon
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer possible additions
Inkwell Leviathan - Too expensive.
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner - Seems like a great card for the X/U aggro deck, but that pretty much never happens
Vesuvan Shapeshifter - I think blue can do better than this guy
Thieving Magpie - Have the horsemanship version already.
Tinker - I think it forces you to draft artifacts too heavily. Would be much better if I ran moxen and a few big artifact creatures.
Desertion - Too expensive for what you get, in my opinion.
Time Spiral - Worth considering, I suppose. I never though to try it out.
Upheaval - Interestingly, we never got it to really shine. I have a foil one sitting on the 'sideline' in case we change our mind
Wake Thrasher - I'm not really sold on this guy.
Draining Whelk - My playgroup tends to not play into a blue mage holding back 4UU, and while we had this in, it rarely was bigger than a 3/3
Sphinx of Jwar Isle - Likely to get in with the next update
Psionic Blast - Probably should be reconsidered.
Repeal - Interesting, but perhaps a little too expensive
B possible cuts
Undead Gladiator
Infest
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Laquatus's Champion possible additions
Carnophage - If I decide to push the black aggro package (which might coincide with adding Stilmoon Cavalier), then this, Lacerator, and Sarcomancy all would get in.
Vampire Lacerator - Above
Plague Sliver - Slightly worse due to changeling interaction than Juzam, and blacks 4 drops are really tight.
Skeletal Vampire - I don't think this is as good as people seem to think in cube.
Dark Ritual - Is this good enough for the cube? I feel like ritual shines in a more consistent format (e.g. when you have 4).
Animate Dead - Sidelined for the present
Hymn to Tourach - Should probably get squeezed in somewhere
Makeshift Mannequin - Sidelined for now, but blacks 4 drops are really tight
Yawgmoth's Bargain - We found that often enough it was played late enough that it was a sorcery speed Opportunity for 4 life. Got replaced by Sorin Markov, who somehow manages to be a powerhouse, and we haven't really looked back.
Reanimate - Cheap and efficient, and if I pushed Reanimation more as an archtype, it would get in.
Living Death - Really expensive, situational.
Beacon of Unrest - Expensive effect
Sudden Death - I wish this card was slightly better somehow
R possible cuts
Dead // Gone
Stingscourger possible additions
Magus of the Scroll - Scroll on a stick is good. Probably should get in.
Hellspark Elemental - This or Plated Geopede for Stingscourger?
Keldon Marauders - Not a huge fan of this guy.
Plated Geopede - Above.
Rorix Bladewing - Replaced by Hellkite Charger
Bogardan Hellkite - Too Expensive.
Wildfire - Nobody played it while it was in our cube, so it got cut.
Squee, Goblin Nabob - Never thought he would have that big of an impact in cube.
Jaya Ballard, Task Mage - Got cut after not performing
Ravenous Baboons - Better than ruinblaster?
Thunderblust - I haven't considered this card before.
Urza's Rage - If I felt like I needed more x Spells, maybe.
Words of War - I am torn about this card. Interacts wonderfully with cursed scroll too.
Chandra Ablaze - Multiple Planeswalker thing, as above.
Demonfire - If I felt like I needed more x Spells, probably.
Fireball - If I felt like I needed more x Spells, probably.
G possible cuts
Moment's Peace
Nantuko Vigilante possible additions
Rude Awakening - Don't like this card, and has caused more people to lose by having their lands swept then times it has won the game.
Llanowar Elves - Good, but boring compared to Noble Hierarch or Birds.
Wall of Roots - Possibly instead of Moment's Peace
Phantom Centaur - Didn't think it was better than Cliffrunner Behemoth.
Acidic Slime - 5 drop is really crowded
Fyndhorn Elves - Same as Llanawar
Jungle Lion - not a fan of the 2 power 1 mana green guys
Pouncing Jaguar - not a fan of the 2 power 1 mana green guys
Twinblade Slasher - Has been in and out a few times, always considered when we update things.
Wild Dogs - not a fan of the 2 power 1 mana green guys
Viridian Shaman - Perhaps instead of Vigilante
Oracle of Mul Daya - How good is this guy? He has almost gotten in a few times, but we are never sure if he is worth it.
Primal Command - Recently Cut, wondering if it was a good decision
Restock - Not good enough, IMO.
X possible cuts
Bottle Gnomes
Platinum Angel possible additions
Sundering Titan - Really expensive
Scroll Rack - Cool with Land Tax, pretty good without it. Not sure if it belongs.
Erratic Portal - Expensive, has been in and out.
Mindslaver - Effect seems geared toward a cube that plays more fast mana and tinker, etc.
Juggernaut - Creatures tend to be easy to cast in this cube (splashable), so as a colorless beater, he doesn't help as much
Bonesplitter - Just not as good as the other equipments
Lightning Greaves - Had it in, and it didn't get much play, so got cut.
Black Vise - Too situational
Phyrexian Processor - Never been a fan of this card. Too often got destroyed after coming into play without making anything
T possible changes Gemstone Mine->Grand Coliseum / Thawing Glaciers - I like having Gemstone Mine in to support the 'zoo' style aggro that happens fairly often. Grand Coliseum would be solid though.
Yeah, Flickwisp is a great card. I've used it to remove blockers ftw, get rid of pesky enchantments and reset an Icatian Javlineers. Plus, it carries Bone Splitter like a champ. At the very worst you can target one of your tapped lands so that you can do more things on their turn. I love it.
I'm a big fan of Stonecloaker as I've used all his effects to great success, just a thought. Its a very efficient card that answers both reanimator and removal while having a large evasive body.
General Info
- This is a 405 card, unpowered cube, designed primarily for drafting
- Designed to encourage 2+ color decks (usually 2-3)
- Mainly a 'Spike' cardpool, (playing only the best cards ends up this way)
- Enough for 9 players to draft 45 cards (3 packs of 15) each
- Perfect Balance between colors
- 'Mana Curve' maintained for each color
- No fixed ratio of spells to creatures
- No cards that require graveyard order to be tracked
- No strange Un-cards, ante, or manual dexterity cards
Breakdown
- 55 black/blue/green/red/white cards
- 45 Multicolor and Hybrid
- 42 Lands
- 43 Artifacts
- 405 Total
Chaos Orb*
Comments/Criticism are welcome.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
These cards are under observation, for one reason or another, and may be replaced.
Quality cards that may be included.
Keeping track of what has changed with each update.
No Changes
Blue:
Out:
Pestermite
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer
Rewind
Quicksilver Dragon
In:
Vedalken Shackles
Palinchron
[CARD]Jace, The Mindsculptor[CARD]
Sphinx of Jwar Isle
Green:
Out:
Cliffrunner Behemoth
In:
Phantom Centaur
Red:
Out:
Volcanic Fallout
In:
Blast from the Past
White:
Out:
Pristine Angel
In:
Catastrophe
Multicolored:
Out:
Duergar Hedge Mage
Death Grasp
Fulminator Mage
Gelectrode
In:
Prophetic Bolt
Bituminous Blast
Stilmoon Cavalier
Goblin Trenches
Lands
No Changes
Artifacts
Out:
Platinum Angel
Sol Ring
In:
Crucible of Worlds
Smokestack
Out:
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Dusk Urchins
Slaughter Pact
Yawgmoth's Will
Infest
Laquatus's Champion
Undead Gladiator
Hand of Cruelty
In:
Thrashing Wumpus
Hymn to Tourach
Imperial Seal
Sarcomancy
Carmophage
Vampire Lacerator
Black Knight
Bloodghast
Blue:
No Changes
Green:
Out:
Silvos, Rogue Elemental
In:
Wall of Roots
Red:
Out:
Stingscourger
Rolling Thunder
Grab the Reins
In:
Hellspark Elemental
Comet Storm
Fireball
White:
No Changes
Multicolored:
No Changes
Lands
No Changes
Artifacts
No Changes
No Changes
Blue:
No Changes
Green:
Out:
Nantuko Vigilante
In:
Nature's Claim
Red:
No Changes
White:
Out:
Knight of Meadowgrain
In:
Loam Lion
Multicolored:
Out:
Soul Manipulation
In:
Creeping Tar Pit
Lands
No Changes
Artifacts
Out:
Oblivion Stone
In:
Lodestone Golem
Out:
Imperial Seal
In:
Volrath's Stronghold (moved from Lands)
Blue:
Out:
Palinchron
In:
Shelldock Isle (moved from Lands)
Green:
Out:
Imperious Perfect
Plow Under
In:
Treetop Village (moved from Lands)
Life from the Loam
Red:
No Changes
White:
Out:
Otherworldly Journey
Hand of Honor
Parallax Wave
In:
Gideon Jura
Soltari Monk
White Knight
Multicolored:
Out:
Sky Hussar
In:
Celestial Colonnade
Lands
Out:
Volrath's Stronghold (moved to Black)
Shelldock Isle (moved to Blue)
Treetop Village (moved to Green)
Barbarian Ring
Kjeldoran Outpost
In:
Library of Alexandria
Grand Coliseum
Artifacts
In:
All is Dust
Chimeric Idol
Grim Monolith
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
I second this. Very nice indeed.
I think your list is very interesting, and I'm quite surprised at some of your choices. I don't have the time to go over most of them atm but I'll come back later.
Quicksilver Dragon? Is it good?
http://hgcube.blogspot.com/ (help me Make my Custom CUBE!)
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=382498
The "Make a Proxy Thread
Redit Proxy Article "current gallery"
MY LEGACY ALTERS
I have a few more, I'll have to take some pictures. I just snapped that one real quick to have an interesting image at the top of the thread.
I'm very proud of this, since I made the art myself in PS and GIMP.
I was inspired by this piece a little bit
I consider this very question every time I look through the blue cards. I have two players that swear by it, and it does perform. But I suspect that it is succeeding on the coattails of far superior supporting cast of blue cards. Its pseudo-shroud has made it rather unkillable in most situations, and it has the added versatility of being able to morph.
I'm fairly sure that if I spend enough time looking at the blue list, it will come out for something. For the time being, though, its playing pretty well.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
Morphling or Sphinx of Jwar Isle seem infinitely better.
Ancestral Vision
Mystical Tutor
Brainstorm
Ponder
Condescend (is it really a 2cc spell?)
Counterspell
Impulse
Remand
Mana Drain
Mana Leak
Memory Lapse
Miscalculation
Into the Roil
Gilded Drake (The moment I realized that it didn't work with Crystal Shard and the like I cut it, there are simply better options)
Looter il-Kor
Waterfront Bouncer
Merfolk Looter
Riftwing Cloudskate (I had in the cube a while ago, it was just mediocre at best most of the time)
Jushi Apprentice
Exclude
Capsize
Repulse
Jace Beleren
Forbid
Compulsive Research (you could try Windfall which is both a cheep card to find and a powerful spell. Also very good in reanimator )
Thirst for Knowledge
Frantic Search
Willbender
Vendilion Clique
Serendib Efreet
Mulldrifter
Pestermite (extremely weak for its cost and effect)
Man-o'-War
Quicksilver Dragon
Control Magic (I cut mine for Right of Replication and have not been sorry about it, Something to think about.)
Dismiss (Complicate is better most of the time)
Rewind
Fact or Fiction
Deep Analysis
Cryptic Command
Gifts Ungiven
Sower of Temptation
Lu Xun, Scholar General
Glen Elendra Archmage
Venser, Shaper Savant
Treachery
Force of Will
Bribery
Future Sight
Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Morphling
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer (Not too bad for sure, but still, I think you could find better)
Stroke of Genius (how often is this card good?)
Confiscate (Should be Vedalken Shackles imo)
Keiga, the Tide Star
Some creatures in Blue worth looking into:
http://hgcube.blogspot.com/ (help me Make my Custom CUBE!)
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=382498
The "Make a Proxy Thread
Redit Proxy Article "current gallery"
MY LEGACY ALTERS
Gilded Drake is really good, combined with any bounce-spell and he's a house. And yes... you can target him with Crystal Shard, if they can't pay the 1, it goes back to your hand. And exchanging it for a Kokusho or Yosei is a fine play, who cares if they get a 3/3?
Condescend isn't a 2CC spell, but it sure is a great spell.
Dismiss is one of the better counterspells printed. It's really good.
I agree that Confiscate should be Vedalken Shackles, and I'd replace Sun Ce for Palinchron, but the rest of those cards are fine.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I'm debating this change:
OUT:
Pestermite -or- Quicksilver Dragon
Sun Ce
IN:
Shackles
Palinchron -or- Jar Jar Sphinx
If I end up cutting Quicksilver, Jar Jar will have to go in to 'replace' it.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
I'd cut all 3 cards from the ones you listed. Definitely add in Shackles, probably add in Palinchron and maybe something like Draining Whelk or Desertion for the last one.
Hm... I would absolutely use all of those cards over Rite of Replication. They're all good.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Wrong.
If Gilded Drake is in your hand, the 'exchange' fails, since you don't have it in play to give to your opponent.
Of course if you have normal bounce, you can just bounce Gilded Drake after you give it to them, and keep their creature. Waterfront Bouncer makes Gilded Drake look pretty pro.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
-Deathgrasp
+Stillmoon Cavalier
Double protection is very strong and I never was very impressed with Death Grasp.
-Hull Breach
+Sarkhan Vol
One of the better plainswalkers vs. a card that is usually just a harder to cast Naturalize.
-Sky Hussar
+Teferi's Moat
-Anurid Brushhopper
+Mirari's Wake
Wake is one of the best cards in this color combination whereas Brushhopper is just an efficient creature.
I'd also prefer Prophetic Bolt over Electrolyze. Desolation Angel should definitely be in the list somewhere, if you want it in black then cut Laquatus' Champion. Otherwise add it in B/W instead of the Cavalier.
I think burning tree shaman, firespout, and hull breach all have to go. Shaman is symmetirical and sometimes worse and the other two just dont do what R/G wants to do. I would add Stormbind, Fires of Yavimaya, and Ram-Gang/or Sarkhan. Sarkhan is pretty garb though and ive thought about cutting him many times because he has been proven to be pretty weak and cant defend himself.
I would cut Niv-Mizzet or Gelectrode for Prophetic Bolt, that card is just insane.
Anurid Brushopped, as said before, is weak. Would add Enlisted Wurm or Mystic Enforcer.
I would cut Fulminator from R/B. Hes usually a bad stone rain but occasion goes into Scathe Zombie mode and beats down -___-. I think many people on this forum underestimate Blightning but it's totally insane. The possiblity of a 3 for 1 if they have a planewalker is sick, but the two cards and keeping pressure on them is still good.
I would cut Duergar hedge mage for goblin trenches.
Probably can cut debtors knell for desolation angel, stillmoon, or angel of despair. Knell is slow and color intensive, desolation wins the game, stillmoon is increadibly annoying, and despair is a good reanimation target or hardcast.
I also dont really like Sky Hussar or Grand arbitor. As mentioned earlier, Teferi's moat is good and im a huge fan of Iridescent Angel.
Jushi Apprentice is really good. Repeatable draw effects are great (and rare) and he's no exception. He activates at instant speed, which is desirable for that effect.
I'm not a fan of Enlisted Wurm or Iridescent Angel. And Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is a great WU card.
Blightning isn't nearly as good in the cube as it is in standard. BR aggro already has all the support it needs, and there are much better BR cards for the cube (although I agree that Fulminator Mage isn't one of 'em).
..........
You're right about a few things for sure HotShot: Prophetic Bolt... it's really good, and I think it's easily the 2nd best RU card. Desolation Angel and Stillmoon Cavalier are both better than Debtor's Kneel in my experience, and Goblin Trenches is a good card too. Stormbind is auto-include, IMO.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
Great suggestions guys:
Bituminous Blast is a great replacement for Fulminator Mage
Prophetic Bolt in for Gelectrode
Goblin Trenches in for Duergar Hedge Mage? Other options would be Soltari Guerrillas or Brion Stoutarm.
I actually cut Sarkhan Vol to put in Hull Breach, and haven't missed him. Hull Breach has hit multiple things almost as often as not, which is odd since there aren't that many enchantments. Yesterday it hit Platinum Angel AND Future Sight and turned a blowout into a come-from-behind victory.
Debtor's Knell isn't going anywhere. It gets picked high and wins games when it lands. Vindicate and Mortify aren't up for discussion either. So it comes down to Death Grasp vs. Desolation Angel vs. Stilmoon Cavalier. Desolation Angel has been in the cube before, and never impressed anyone, despite its obvious power. After 15 drafts of it not making a splash, we decided that somehow it 'just didn't fit'. (On the other hand, Debtors Knell has led to more victories than we can count). Stilmoon Cavalier we haven't given a go yet, but Death Grasp is an off-color burn spell that has won more than its share of games.
I know Desolation Angel is good, and I'm sure we'll give it another go at some point, but for now its sitting on the sidelines.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
Pauper Cube
I cube, I play EDH, and I can't afford Legacy. The other formats can suck it.
Thanks for that! I fixed those up.
W
posible cuts
Parallax Wave
Windborn Muse
Pristine Angel
possible additions
Land Tax - I should probably find room for this.
Temporal Isolation - Seems like just an inferior Journey to Nowhere now.
Ajani Goldmane - avoiding the headache with multiple same-name planeswalkers so far.
Miraculous Recovery - 5 drop is really crowded
Catastrophe - Better than Pristine Angel or Windborn Muse?
Reveillark - 5 drop is really crowded
Akroma, Angel of Wrath - Too expensive
Silver Knight - Avoiding 2CMC double costed cards if at all possible
Soltari Monk - above
Flickerwisp - I didn't think this was all that great when I cubed with it before, maybe I'm missing something.
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails - above
Knight of the White Orchid - Above
Celestial Crusader - Seems solid, maybe should replace Windborn Muse?
Glorious Anthem - I have never been a fan of anthem/crusade effects
U
possible cuts
Pestermite
Quicksilver Dragon
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer
possible additions
Inkwell Leviathan - Too expensive.
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner - Seems like a great card for the X/U aggro deck, but that pretty much never happens
Vesuvan Shapeshifter - I think blue can do better than this guy
Thieving Magpie - Have the horsemanship version already.
Tinker - I think it forces you to draft artifacts too heavily. Would be much better if I ran moxen and a few big artifact creatures.
Desertion - Too expensive for what you get, in my opinion.
Time Spiral - Worth considering, I suppose. I never though to try it out.
Upheaval - Interestingly, we never got it to really shine. I have a foil one sitting on the 'sideline' in case we change our mind
Wake Thrasher - I'm not really sold on this guy.
Draining Whelk - My playgroup tends to not play into a blue mage holding back 4UU, and while we had this in, it rarely was bigger than a 3/3
Sphinx of Jwar Isle - Likely to get in with the next update
Psionic Blast - Probably should be reconsidered.
Repeal - Interesting, but perhaps a little too expensive
B
possible cuts
Undead Gladiator
Infest
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Laquatus's Champion
possible additions
Carnophage - If I decide to push the black aggro package (which might coincide with adding Stilmoon Cavalier), then this, Lacerator, and Sarcomancy all would get in.
Vampire Lacerator - Above
Plague Sliver - Slightly worse due to changeling interaction than Juzam, and blacks 4 drops are really tight.
Skeletal Vampire - I don't think this is as good as people seem to think in cube.
Dark Ritual - Is this good enough for the cube? I feel like ritual shines in a more consistent format (e.g. when you have 4).
Animate Dead - Sidelined for the present
Hymn to Tourach - Should probably get squeezed in somewhere
Makeshift Mannequin - Sidelined for now, but blacks 4 drops are really tight
Yawgmoth's Bargain - We found that often enough it was played late enough that it was a sorcery speed Opportunity for 4 life. Got replaced by Sorin Markov, who somehow manages to be a powerhouse, and we haven't really looked back.
Reanimate - Cheap and efficient, and if I pushed Reanimation more as an archtype, it would get in.
Living Death - Really expensive, situational.
Beacon of Unrest - Expensive effect
Sudden Death - I wish this card was slightly better somehow
R
possible cuts
Dead // Gone
Stingscourger
possible additions
Magus of the Scroll - Scroll on a stick is good. Probably should get in.
Hellspark Elemental - This or Plated Geopede for Stingscourger?
Keldon Marauders - Not a huge fan of this guy.
Plated Geopede - Above.
Rorix Bladewing - Replaced by Hellkite Charger
Bogardan Hellkite - Too Expensive.
Wildfire - Nobody played it while it was in our cube, so it got cut.
Squee, Goblin Nabob - Never thought he would have that big of an impact in cube.
Jaya Ballard, Task Mage - Got cut after not performing
Ravenous Baboons - Better than ruinblaster?
Thunderblust - I haven't considered this card before.
Urza's Rage - If I felt like I needed more x Spells, maybe.
Words of War - I am torn about this card. Interacts wonderfully with cursed scroll too.
Chandra Ablaze - Multiple Planeswalker thing, as above.
Demonfire - If I felt like I needed more x Spells, probably.
Fireball - If I felt like I needed more x Spells, probably.
G
possible cuts
Moment's Peace
Nantuko Vigilante
possible additions
Rude Awakening - Don't like this card, and has caused more people to lose by having their lands swept then times it has won the game.
Llanowar Elves - Good, but boring compared to Noble Hierarch or Birds.
Wall of Roots - Possibly instead of Moment's Peace
Phantom Centaur - Didn't think it was better than Cliffrunner Behemoth.
Acidic Slime - 5 drop is really crowded
Fyndhorn Elves - Same as Llanawar
Jungle Lion - not a fan of the 2 power 1 mana green guys
Pouncing Jaguar - not a fan of the 2 power 1 mana green guys
Twinblade Slasher - Has been in and out a few times, always considered when we update things.
Wild Dogs - not a fan of the 2 power 1 mana green guys
Viridian Shaman - Perhaps instead of Vigilante
Oracle of Mul Daya - How good is this guy? He has almost gotten in a few times, but we are never sure if he is worth it.
Primal Command - Recently Cut, wondering if it was a good decision
Restock - Not good enough, IMO.
X
possible cuts
Bottle Gnomes
Platinum Angel
possible additions
Sundering Titan - Really expensive
Scroll Rack - Cool with Land Tax, pretty good without it. Not sure if it belongs.
Erratic Portal - Expensive, has been in and out.
Mindslaver - Effect seems geared toward a cube that plays more fast mana and tinker, etc.
Juggernaut - Creatures tend to be easy to cast in this cube (splashable), so as a colorless beater, he doesn't help as much
Bonesplitter - Just not as good as the other equipments
Lightning Greaves - Had it in, and it didn't get much play, so got cut.
Black Vise - Too situational
Phyrexian Processor - Never been a fan of this card. Too often got destroyed after coming into play without making anything
(U/R)
possible changesSoul Manipulation -> Nemesis of Reason - Soul Manipulation is too awesome to take out
Fulminator Mage -> Bituminous Blast - Probably happening with the next update
Anurid Brushhopper / Behemoth Sledge -> Mirari's Wake - I don't know what to say here. Mirari's wake was in the cube for a while, and got cut because it never seemed to directly cause anyone to win. Usually the player who had it felt like they would have won without it just as well. I know how good the card is, but it somehow never performed for us.
Sky Hussar /Azorius Guildmage -> Tefferi's Moat - Guildmage is staying in for sure. Sky Hussar could go, I will have to think about this one.
Death Grasp->Desolation Angel - Probably going to be Stilmoon Cavalier.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind -> Prophetic Bolt - Cutting Gelectrode for P. Bolt
T
possible changes
Gemstone Mine->Grand Coliseum / Thawing Glaciers - I like having Gemstone Mine in to support the 'zoo' style aggro that happens fairly often. Grand Coliseum would be solid though.
[Remixes] - [The Brutal Cube - 360 Powered] - [My Cube Article] - ['Print-This' Wishlist]
Heh, never thought of that. T3 Flickerwisp, reset a plains, Mana Tithe on your turn is pretty funny.
http://hgcube.blogspot.com/ (help me Make my Custom CUBE!)
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=382498
The "Make a Proxy Thread
Redit Proxy Article "current gallery"
MY LEGACY ALTERS