One of my favorite builds to draft of all time is an Eidolon of Blossoms Enchantress build. I've been thinking about making a 540 card unpowered cube. Since I don't know too much about building an equal cube, will trying to make an Enchantress subtheme work cost too many slots in my cube? Also will too few Enchantress enablers like Eidolon of Blossoms be too easy for 1-2 people to easily corner these cards? So far I'm planning to use most of the Bestow creatures from Theros block including the entire Emissary cycle (Thassa's Emissary). There will be other random staple enchantments that help the build like Rancor and Oblivion Ring, but will other nonEnchantress players draft these Bestow Enchantment Creatures or are they late easy pickings for that one Enchantress player?
I'm not too sure about an enchantress theme in cube, but these enchantress creatures must at least pass the vanilla test. 4cmc for a 2/2 is certainly underwhelming.
That said, I have quite a bit of bestow creatures in my cube. I think many of them are really strong and underrated.
I say go for it. Add in redundant cards that benefit from casting/having enchantments (lots of enchantress effects, not just Eidolon of Blossoms) and play lots of enchantment creatures and utility enchantments in white and green. Make small changes like replacing utility spells with enchantments that do something similar (Naturalize for Seal of Primordium, for example), and play every remotely playable bestow creature and enchantment creature you can find. Maybe even a few others like DoJ -> Parallax Wave and stuff like that. That way, you're not using anything (besides the Enchantresses) that are only playable in that one archetype, and there should be plenty of targets floating around to trigger those creatures. Other options, like cutting the lesser mana dorks and ramp effects for Wild Growth and Fertile Ground will benefit this archetype will help to further the archetype into viability. The auras that "replace themselves" are definitely worth a second look, like Griffin Guide and Elephant Guide. Some of the Totem Armors might be worthwhile too.
Best of luck man! It can definitely be done, if you want an enchantment/enchantress archetype. But I'd focus on making it playable as Selesnya's archetype rather than forcing it into every color.
I would probably also not include things like Thassa's Emissary that are pretty awful on their own and would never be played outside the deck. I think there are enough solid cubable enchantments in White and Green to build this archetype at 360 with ~3-4 of the Enchantress effects and make it work. Spreading into more colors or having a much larger cube and trying to support this will probably start diluting your cube fast.
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That said, I have quite a bit of bestow creatures in my cube. I think many of them are really strong and underrated.
Not to derail the thread too far, but I'm really curious which Bestow creatures you're running since you don't have a list in your sig. I had a lot in my original build since a lot of it came from Theros draft leftovers, but I've since cut all of them except Gnarled Scarhide, Herald of Torment, and Boon Satyr which have proven pretty solid for me. The rest all seemed outclassed pretty quickly as I added more traditional cube staples, but I'm curious if there are any others that have been working for you as I do really like the Bestow mechanic.
Not a problem. I try to explain it in as few words as possible. The reason I don't put it in my sig is coz my cube's a little different from everyone's. My cube is approximately 1000 cards big. It's big enough to support 2 8-men pods and spare for Winston. There's a special formula to random them together but still maintain a high level of cube play.
Do note that like mtgo, I tend to put in "seasonal cards". So Theros is the flavor of the season, but that doesn't take away the fun/suprise factor that goyf becomes bigger often, disenchant effects get mainboarded, weird never been seen before interactions, etc.
Some of them will eventually be cut, but I'm quite sold on bestow. It's more powerful than people can imagine.
I'm sure by the time Khans come, the list of bestow will be down by half. Vanilla creatures and small (3cmc and below) seem to get better all the time.
The solid ones are Nimbus Naid, the rares and the two drops. The flexibility of 2cmc bestow is so awesomely great.
I'm not sure if I have enough Constellation for Green, Black, and White. I've tried to at least give red and blue 1-2 Bestow creatures though. I'll test and see which ones pull their weight or not. I'm still missing the big ones like Herald of Torment, Boon Satyr, and even Doomwake Giant. If you have any general suggestions on what I should take out or add in, feel free to let me know.
Haha, these are actually all the cards I have on hand for my cube. Red is my least favorite color so naturally it is the weakest and least represented color in my cube right now. Needless to say, red needs a lot of work and the cube as a whole is not finished.
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That said, I have quite a bit of bestow creatures in my cube. I think many of them are really strong and underrated.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
Best of luck man! It can definitely be done, if you want an enchantment/enchantress archetype. But I'd focus on making it playable as Selesnya's archetype rather than forcing it into every color.
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Rather than running traditional mana ramp cards like Llanowar Elves, Farseek, Cultivate, etc, consider cards like Wild Growth, Utopia Sprawl, Fertile Ground, Overgrowth, Mana Bloom, Exploration, etc.
Mirri's Guile gains some strength, maybe enough to be worth including.
Look for some enchantment creatures that are decent enough to consider on their own merits, or close, like Master of the Feast, Gnarled Scarhide, Herald of Torment, Courser of Kruphix, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Aegis of the Gods, etc.
Enchantment-based removal gains value. Stuff like Narcolepsy might get the nod where normally it wouldn't.
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Not to derail the thread too far, but I'm really curious which Bestow creatures you're running since you don't have a list in your sig. I had a lot in my original build since a lot of it came from Theros draft leftovers, but I've since cut all of them except Gnarled Scarhide, Herald of Torment, and Boon Satyr which have proven pretty solid for me. The rest all seemed outclassed pretty quickly as I added more traditional cube staples, but I'm curious if there are any others that have been working for you as I do really like the Bestow mechanic.
Back on topic, there are quite a few non-Bestow enchantment creatures from Theros block which pull their weight just fine even without an enchantress theme. Archetype of Aggression, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Purphoros, God of the Forge, Thassa, God of the Sea, and Master of the Feast could all pull their weight even if you're not specifically trying to push the enchantress theme outside of Selesnya.
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The bestow cards I've currently are: baleful eidolon, boon satyr, celestial archon, chromanticore, crystaline nautilus, eidolon of countless battles, everflame eidolon, gnarled scarhide, heliod's emissary, herald of torment, hypnotic siren, leafcrown dryad, mogis's warhound, nighthowler, nimbus naid, nylea's emissary, Observant Alseid, Purphoros's Emissary, Sightless Brawler, Spirespine, Spiteful Returned, and Thassa's Emissary.
Do note that like mtgo, I tend to put in "seasonal cards". So Theros is the flavor of the season, but that doesn't take away the fun/suprise factor that goyf becomes bigger often, disenchant effects get mainboarded, weird never been seen before interactions, etc.
Some of them will eventually be cut, but I'm quite sold on bestow. It's more powerful than people can imagine.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
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The solid ones are Nimbus Naid, the rares and the two drops. The flexibility of 2cmc bestow is so awesomely great.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
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I'm not sure if I have enough Constellation for Green, Black, and White. I've tried to at least give red and blue 1-2 Bestow creatures though. I'll test and see which ones pull their weight or not. I'm still missing the big ones like Herald of Torment, Boon Satyr, and even Doomwake Giant. If you have any general suggestions on what I should take out or add in, feel free to let me know.
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Haha, these are actually all the cards I have on hand for my cube. Red is my least favorite color so naturally it is the weakest and least represented color in my cube right now. Needless to say, red needs a lot of work and the cube as a whole is not finished.
Credit to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the Avatar & Miraculous Recovery for the Banner.
My 540 Card Cube (WIP)