Another set, another spoiler season. This thread is a place to list your planned inclusions and cards you might test for your cube. Be sure to list your cube size and other relevant info (powered/unpowered, modern only, etc.).
I have a 450 unpowered that I am expanding into a 500 unpowered. For that reason several of these cards will just be includes without a cut.
Overall this is a great set for cube. There are anywhere from 6-12 includes for me and a few other cards worth watching. Also, every color got some love except mono-blue (which is fine since blue is very strong already).
Edit: This is now an insanely good set for cube. With the spoiling of Brazen Borrower every color got a card for cubes all the way down to 360. Multicolor got a couple strong PW's for guilds lacking them. Most of the land cycle is playable in larger lists. Colorless is the only area that hasn't gotten a great option (Stonecoil Serpent is very medium).
At 360 Unpowered, I'll be including Charming Prince, Bonecrusher Giant and Grumgully, the Generous. There's a handful of other cards I'll be watching as well, but probably won't include them unless I am impressed by how they perform in the MTGO cubes or if they get high praise from others.
e: add Brazen Borrower, as well
e2: found room for murderous rider. Also testing So Tiny
I'm not sure what to do with The Royal Scions, as I definitely don't want to go up to four PWs in Izzet and I'm not convinced it's better than Dack, Saheeli SA, or Saheeli the Gifted. If I had to cut one for it, it would probably be Sublime Artificer. I could see either Robber of the Rich or Wicked Wolf getting in eventually.
Cards I'm surest about sticking around for a long time: Charming Prince, Murderous Rider, Bonecrusher Giant, Once Upon a Time.
This seems like a great set. The flavor, art, and the mechanics are all a 10/10 to me. I only know of a few for-sure includes, but there are a ton of cards that just strike my curiosity.
As always, my list is a lot different from others. My adds are predominantly selected by fortune, since I don't just order every card I want. Sometimes I end up with them much later, but generally I add the best cards that I open. Most of them come from drafting. Unlike most people, cuts from my cube are generally easy to find, as there are still a lot of old holdovers. I have a lot of my weakest cards already marked to await replacement.
This set has ended up being one of the best of all time for my cube, at least in terms of initial inclusions. MH1 was higher, but a lot of that stuff didn't stick around (sorry, Urza!). My inclusions are as follows:
WHITE Ardenvale Tactician - going deep on adventure cards to see if the mechanic makes combat tricks playable. Charming Prince - Not super high on this guy, but he does so many goofy little things I have to try him out. Faerie Guidemother - reach in white is Giant Killer - been very impressed with the 1 mana tappers in white. I'll try stapling a conditional removal spell to one in exchange for an extra mana to activate. Realm-Cloaked Giant - I think this guy is being sorely underrated. Sweeper + finisher is a dream for control decks. Silverflame Squire - see my note on Ardenvale Tactician Venerable Knight - At 18 one drops in white, I have room
BLUE Brazen Borrower - likely the strongest card of the set. Fae of Wishes - pushed defensive stats, sweet adventure mode, ability to grind. This is a great control creature. Gadwick, the Wizened - Mulldrifter-esque creature with plenty of upside. Hypnotic Sprite - Another adventure card I feel is being criminally underrated. This is going to play out like a 3 mana Dismiss in a lot of games. Witching Well - Dig for lands early, refill late. This little artifact is a house.
BLACK Blacklance Paragon - Flexible aggro beater than can see play in other archetypes. Foulmire Knight - ^^^^^ Murderous Rider - Another candidate for best card in the set. Order of Midnight - Aggro beater, late game utility, flying Gravedigger. However you slice it this creature delivers. Rankle, Master of Pranks - Who cares about black 5 drops when we get creatures this pushed!
RED Bonecrusher Giant - The best burn spell we've seen in a while. Embereth Shieldbreaker - He may not make it into my cube, which finds itself with less artifacts every update, but this is my favorite Shatter variant. Fervent Champion - Red 1 drop #16 for me. Will likely be the first to go when we get something better, but he's in for now. Robber of the Rich - Hasty bear is a fine floor, the upside is gravy. I like this critter.
EDIT: Rimrock Knight - Combat trick + aggro beater. Sick.
GREEN Gilded Goose - Even the worst 1 mana dork is worth playing. Once Upon a Time - Seems fun. I like free spells. Questing Beast - Green 4's are officially no longer a weak spot in cube. Wicked Wolf - See note on Questing Beast. Mono green removal that doesn't break the color pie makes me happy. Wildborn Preserver - My new favorite green 2 drop beater. I'm playing this guy over Scooze and Goyf.
MULTICOLOR Garruk, Cursed Huntsman - What a beast. My new favorite Golgari walker. Oko, Thief of Crowns - I've heard some extremely positive testing results from Oko so far. I think he's going to be unexpectedly good. The Royal Scions - Kind of a funky walker, but I love tempo decks and 6 loyalty for 3 mana is tough for me to ignore.
COLORLESS Gingerbrute - Colorless Raging Goblin with evasion and upside just gets there for me. Stonecoil Serpent - I was already playing (and loving) Endless One. This is a no brainer for me. Fabled Passage - Closer to Evolving Wilds than Prismatic Vista, but a slam dunk nonetheless. I want 4 more please.
Thats.... 32 33 cards. Woah, I knew I was going deep on this set but that number surprises me.
My brother and our fluctuating little group normally play Cube for wacky stuff or alternative game styles. But I have to admit I am curious as to what is considered 360 Cubeable these days. All of the Unserious cards and Conspiracies warp things so much that I don't really have a touchstone to judge by. It seems like many staples from a few years are probably relegated out while I'd guess there is a parity where you could choose a bunch of different paths that are all about equally compelling.
My brother and our fluctuating little group normally play Cube for wacky stuff or alternative game styles. But I have to admit I am curious as to what is considered 360 Cubeable these days. All of the Unserious cards and Conspiracies warp things so much that I don't really have a touchstone to judge by. It seems like many staples from a few years are probably relegated out while I'd guess there is a parity where you could choose a bunch of different paths that are all about equally compelling.
Cubetutor Average 360 cube is a decent reference, but it's missing some obvious cards that are not common enough or because they are power e.g. some moxes and Treachery are missing. It also doesn't have color balance which is annoying.
The 2019 Top 20 ranking project generally results in cards that are all pretty much 360 Staples, and I'd like to think the cubetutor rankings I did in 2018 (see signature) also map pretty well to the cards you should expect if you just pick say the top 45 cards in each color and then top 4 guild cards and fill the rest with colorless and lands.
Most people don't play the conspiracies because the best ones are utterly broken and might be picked even over Sol Ring and Black Lotus. The uncards can be jarring but from a power level perspective typically aren't as problematic as the top conspiracies
Most people don't play the conspiracies because the best ones are utterly broken and might be picked even over Sol Ring and Black Lotus. The uncards can be jarring but from a power level perspective typically aren't as problematic as the top conspiracies
It depends on how deep you go. Nerf War is a one card Storm deck. Contract from Below obviously. Necro-Impotence draws you 32 cards (ie your deck after your starting hand) for 16 life. And there are a number of others that are unbalanced without being virtual insta-wins.
Most people don't play the conspiracies because the best ones are utterly broken and might be picked even over Sol Ring and Black Lotus. The uncards can be jarring but from a power level perspective typically aren't as problematic as the top conspiracies
It depends on how deep you go. Nerf War is a one card Storm deck. Contract from Below obviously. Necro-Impotence draws you 32 cards (ie your deck after your starting hand) for 16 life. And there are a number of others that are unbalanced without being virtual insta-wins.
Clocknapper is an almost-black border card and is S I C K
Most people don't play the conspiracies because the best ones are utterly broken and might be picked even over Sol Ring and Black Lotus. The uncards can be jarring but from a power level perspective typically aren't as problematic as the top conspiracies
It depends on how deep you go. Nerf War is a one card Storm deck. Contract from Below obviously. Necro-Impotence draws you 32 cards (ie your deck after your starting hand) for 16 life. And there are a number of others that are unbalanced without being virtual insta-wins.
Clocknapper is an almost-black border card and is S I C K
Not to get too off-topic, but my 360powered cube linked above does run Clocknapper, City of Brass and Caller of the Untamed as slightly off-kilter inclusions, but I do like to think that it's roughly representative of an ideal 360-powered cube.
I have a 450 unpowered that I am expanding into a 500 unpowered. For that reason several of these cards will just be includes without a cut.
Inclusions
Charming Prince
Bonecrusher Giant
Questing Beast
Murderous Rider
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Rankle, Master of Pranks
Gilded Goose
Brazen Borrower
Fabled Passage
Testing
Stonecoil Serpent
The Royal Scions
Once Upon a Time
Embercleave
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman
Castle Embereth
Watching
Vantress Gargoyle
Wicked Wolf
Harmonious Archon
Robber of the Rich
The Great Henge
Overall this is a great set for cube. There are anywhere from 6-12 includes for me and a few other cards worth watching. Also, every color got some love except mono-blue (which is fine since blue is very strong already).
Edit: This is now an insanely good set for cube. With the spoiling of Brazen Borrower every color got a card for cubes all the way down to 360. Multicolor got a couple strong PW's for guilds lacking them. Most of the land cycle is playable in larger lists. Colorless is the only area that hasn't gotten a great option (Stonecoil Serpent is very medium).
e: add Brazen Borrower, as well
e2: found room for murderous rider. Also testing So Tiny
[180 classic cube]
Giant Killer (over Angel of Sanctions)
Charming Prince (over Precinct Captain)
Murderous Rider (over Midnight Reaper)
Rankle, Master of Pranks (over Bloodline Keeper)
Embereth Shieldbreaker (over Smash to Smithereens)
Bonecrusher Giant (over Earthquake)
Once Upon a Time (over Vivien's Arkbow)
Questing Beast (over Rhonas the Indomitable)
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman (over Vraska, Relic Seeker)
Oko, Thief of Crowns (over Coiling Oracle)
Watchlist:
Robber of the Rich
Wicked Wolf
The Royal Scions
I'm not sure what to do with The Royal Scions, as I definitely don't want to go up to four PWs in Izzet and I'm not convinced it's better than Dack, Saheeli SA, or Saheeli the Gifted. If I had to cut one for it, it would probably be Sublime Artificer. I could see either Robber of the Rich or Wicked Wolf getting in eventually.
Cards I'm surest about sticking around for a long time: Charming Prince, Murderous Rider, Bonecrusher Giant, Once Upon a Time.
Definitely in:
Bonecrusher Giant
Murderous Rider
Questing Beast
Embereth Shieldbreaker
Watch list:
Once Upon a Time
Rankle, Master of Pranks
Not a bad set at all!
WHITE
- Venerable Knight
- Charming Prince
BLUE
*crickets*
BLACK
- Murderous Knight
- Order of Midnight (maybe)
- Rankle, Master of Pranks
RED
- Embreath Shieldbreaker
- Robber of the Rich
- Bonecrusher Giant
GREEN
- Gilded Goose
- Once Upon a Time (maybe)
- Questing Beast
- Wicked Wolf (maybe)
OTHER
- Oko, Thief of Crowns (maybe)
- Garruk, Cursed Hunter
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
* are cards I feel pretty good about and are definite cuts
WHITE
Charming Prince >> Imposing Sovereign
Black
Rankle, Master of Pranks >> Skinrender, or Custodi Lich
* Murderous Rider >> Never // Return
Green
Questing Beast >> Oath of Druids
Gilded Goose >> Kodama's Reach
* Wildborn Preserver >> Yavimaya Elder
Once Upon a Time >> Channel
Red
* Embereth Shieldbreaker >> Manic Vandal
* Bonecrusher Giant >> Magma Jet
Colorless
Stonecoil Serpent
http://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/63569
Includes at 540 Unpowered:
Charming Prince
Murderous Rider
Rankle, Master of Pranks
Bonecrusher Giant
Embereth Shieldbreaker
Questing Beast
Big Bunch of Cards I'll Daydream About:
Giant Killer
Kenrith, the Returned King
Venerable Knight
Animating Faerie
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Gadwick, the Wizened
Hypnotic Sprite
Midnight Clock
Mirrormade
Shimmer Dragon
Vantress Gargoyle
Witching Well
Foulmire Knight
Order of Midnight
Syr Konrad, the Grim
Robber of the Rich
Merchant of the Vale
Wildborn Preserver
Oko, Thief of Crowns
The Royal Scions
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman
Lochmere Serpent
Stonecoil Serpent
Including 100%: Murderous Rider
Including 70%: Bonecrusher Giant, Gilded Goose, Charming Prince
Including 50%: Oko, Thief of Crowns
Once Upon a Time!
Faeburrow Elder!
Harmonious Archon
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Gadwick, the Wizened
Stolen by the Fae!
Murderous Rider
Piper of the Swarm
Rankle, Master of Pranks
Opportunistic Dragon!
Robber of the Rich
Gilded Goose
Wicked Wolf
Wildborn Preserver
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Outlaws' Merriment
Kenrith, the Returned King*!
Alela, Artful Provocateur*
Chulane, Teller of Tales*!
Hypnotic Sprite!
Foulmire Knight
Order of Midnight
Syr Konrad, the Grim!
Keeper of Fables
Grumgully, the Generous
Arcanist's Owl
Heraldic Banner!
Once and Future
Rosethorn Acolyte
Wildwood Tracker
Covetous Urge
Embercleave
Lovestruck Beast
Questing Beast
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman
The Royal Scions
Stonecoil Serpent
!: Cards I'm particularly excited about
Low-power cube enthusiast!
My 1570 card cube (no longer updated)
My 415 Peasant+ Artifact and Enchantment Cube
Ever-Expanding "Just throw it in" cube.
Charming Prince
Murderous Rider
Questing Beast
Rankle, Master of Pranks
maybe
The Royal Scions
Artifact Cube
Glass Casket (over Declaration in Stone)
Embercleave (test)
Emry, Lurker of the Loch (over Riddlesmith)
Mirrormade (over Master Thief)
Stonecoil serpent (over Chimeric Mass)
Wishclaw Talisman (over Demonic Tutor)
Oko, Thief of Crowns (over Vorel)
Golden Goose
Feasting Troll King
And a few more Food Cards - will remove some +1/+1 matters cards
Charming Prince for Remorseful Cleric
Blue:
Nothing
Black:
Murderous Rider for Vraska's Contempt
Oathsworn Knight for Plague Belcher
Rankle, Master of Pranks for Skinrender
Red:
Bonecrusher Giant for Feldon of the Third Path
Robber of the Rich for Dire fleet Daredevil
Green:
Once Upon a Time for Vivien's Arkbow
Wildborn Preserver for ripjaw raptor
Questing Beast for Nightpack Ambusher
Gold:
None
Colourless:
Stonecoil Serpent for Duplicant
Embereth Shieldbreaker
Bonecrusher Giant
Murderous Rider
Still deciding:
Once Upon a Time
Rankle, Master of Pranks
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Charming Prince
Questing Beast
White:
Accorder Paladin -> Charming Prince
Kjeldoran Outpost -> Castle Ardenvale
Black:
Drana, Liberator of Malakir -> Murderous Rider (not sure if this is the cut)
Skinrender -> Rankle, Master of Pranks
Red:
Stormblood Berserker -> Embereth Shieldbreaker
Magma Jet -> Bonecrusher Giant
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker -> Castle Embereth
Green:
Polukranos, World Eater -> Questing Beast
Vivien's Arkbow -> Once Upon a Time (test)
Multicolor:
Sarkhan Vol -> Grumgully, the Generous (and also testing out Good-Fortune Unicorn over Dryad Militant)
Vraska, Relic Seeker -> Garruk, Cursed Huntsman
No planned changes to blue or colorless.
EDIT: No longer planning to add Robber of the Rich, so I'm leaving Hanweir Garrison in, and also added Castle Embereth to the planned swaps. And now also Castle Ardenvale!
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
Very close to what I am planning.
Charming Prince
Brazen Borrower
Murderous Rider
Rankle, Master of Pranks (? still debating)
Robber of the Rich (also debating)
Bonecrusher Giant
Gilded Goose
Questing Beast
Once Upon a Time
The Royal Scions
Fabled Passage
Great set!
WHITE
Ardenvale Tactician - going deep on adventure cards to see if the mechanic makes combat tricks playable.
Charming Prince - Not super high on this guy, but he does so many goofy little things I have to try him out.
Faerie Guidemother - reach in white is
Giant Killer - been very impressed with the 1 mana tappers in white. I'll try stapling a conditional removal spell to one in exchange for an extra mana to activate.
Realm-Cloaked Giant - I think this guy is being sorely underrated. Sweeper + finisher is a dream for control decks.
Silverflame Squire - see my note on Ardenvale Tactician
Venerable Knight - At 18 one drops in white, I have room
BLUE
Brazen Borrower - likely the strongest card of the set.
Fae of Wishes - pushed defensive stats, sweet adventure mode, ability to grind. This is a great control creature.
Gadwick, the Wizened - Mulldrifter-esque creature with plenty of upside.
Hypnotic Sprite - Another adventure card I feel is being criminally underrated. This is going to play out like a 3 mana Dismiss in a lot of games.
Witching Well - Dig for lands early, refill late. This little artifact is a house.
BLACK
Blacklance Paragon - Flexible aggro beater than can see play in other archetypes.
Foulmire Knight - ^^^^^
Murderous Rider - Another candidate for best card in the set.
Order of Midnight - Aggro beater, late game utility, flying Gravedigger. However you slice it this creature delivers.
Rankle, Master of Pranks - Who cares about black 5 drops when we get creatures this pushed!
RED
Bonecrusher Giant - The best burn spell we've seen in a while.
Embereth Shieldbreaker - He may not make it into my cube, which finds itself with less artifacts every update, but this is my favorite Shatter variant.
Fervent Champion - Red 1 drop #16 for me. Will likely be the first to go when we get something better, but he's in for now.
Robber of the Rich - Hasty bear is a fine floor, the upside is gravy. I like this critter.
EDIT: Rimrock Knight - Combat trick + aggro beater. Sick.
GREEN
Gilded Goose - Even the worst 1 mana dork is worth playing.
Once Upon a Time - Seems fun. I like free spells.
Questing Beast - Green 4's are officially no longer a weak spot in cube.
Wicked Wolf - See note on Questing Beast. Mono green removal that doesn't break the color pie makes me happy.
Wildborn Preserver - My new favorite green 2 drop beater. I'm playing this guy over Scooze and Goyf.
MULTICOLOR
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman - What a beast. My new favorite Golgari walker.
Oko, Thief of Crowns - I've heard some extremely positive testing results from Oko so far. I think he's going to be unexpectedly good.
The Royal Scions - Kind of a funky walker, but I love tempo decks and 6 loyalty for 3 mana is tough for me to ignore.
COLORLESS
Gingerbrute - Colorless Raging Goblin with evasion and upside just gets there for me.
Stonecoil Serpent - I was already playing (and loving) Endless One. This is a no brainer for me.
Fabled Passage - Closer to Evolving Wilds than Prismatic Vista, but a slam dunk nonetheless. I want 4 more please.
Thats....
3233 cards. Woah, I knew I was going deep on this set but that number surprises me.This is probably the one thing I completely agree about -- Preserver is generally going to be a superior beater to Ooze or 'goyf.
At conclusion of spoilers:
Definitely in:
Hero's Downfall > Murderous Rider
Lightning Strike > Bonecrusher Giant
Earthquake > Embereth Shieldbreaker
Oracle of Mul Daya > Questing Beast
Terramorphic Expanse > Fabled Passage
Watch list:
Brazen Borrower
Rankle, Master of Pranks
Robber of the Rich
Once Upon a Time
List: https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/opterown
Pretty good overall. Most sets I only get 1-2 cards for a 360-powered cube, but 5 is nothing to sneeze at!
My brother and our fluctuating little group normally play Cube for wacky stuff or alternative game styles. But I have to admit I am curious as to what is considered 360 Cubeable these days. All of the Unserious cards and Conspiracies warp things so much that I don't really have a touchstone to judge by. It seems like many staples from a few years are probably relegated out while I'd guess there is a parity where you could choose a bunch of different paths that are all about equally compelling.
Cubetutor Average 360 cube is a decent reference, but it's missing some obvious cards that are not common enough or because they are power e.g. some moxes and Treachery are missing. It also doesn't have color balance which is annoying.
The 2019 Top 20 ranking project generally results in cards that are all pretty much 360 Staples, and I'd like to think the cubetutor rankings I did in 2018 (see signature) also map pretty well to the cards you should expect if you just pick say the top 45 cards in each color and then top 4 guild cards and fill the rest with colorless and lands.
Most people don't play the conspiracies because the best ones are utterly broken and might be picked even over Sol Ring and Black Lotus. The uncards can be jarring but from a power level perspective typically aren't as problematic as the top conspiracies
360 card powered Chicago cube:
https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/e7r
2020 Numerical Power Rankings:
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/cube-card-and-archetype/817969-2020-numerical-cube-power-rankings
2018 CubeTutor Power Rankings:
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/cube-card-and-archetype/803301-cubetutor-power-rankings-2018-by-color-and-cmc
It depends on how deep you go. Nerf War is a one card Storm deck. Contract from Below obviously. Necro-Impotence draws you 32 cards (ie your deck after your starting hand) for 16 life. And there are a number of others that are unbalanced without being virtual insta-wins.
Clocknapper is an almost-black border card and is S I C K
Not to get too off-topic, but my 360powered cube linked above does run Clocknapper, City of Brass and Caller of the Untamed as slightly off-kilter inclusions, but I do like to think that it's roughly representative of an ideal 360-powered cube.