I don't think Maze of Ith is necessarily too powerful, but it makes games take a long time and become much more stale. I think having a defensive card like Maze of Ith is fine, however I think control already has a lot of options in that department in the Cube. Flood, Icy Manipulator, various walls, Singing Tree, Drop of Honey and others. Lands are also a lot harder to get rid of, even with every piece of land destruction available.
Arena gives decks/colors without much removal a removal option and that's always appreciated.
It really did slow games down.
In the 5 games (I believe) Maze of Ith came out, I think only once was it destroyed (by Demonic Hordes). The deck was also running Drop of Honey and Singing Tree which was plenty of control for Red/Green.
But the cube already leans heavily toward aggro. Maybe instead of Arena, Island of Wak-Wak?
If you owned everything, what would you take out for the power cards for example, or anything else? I have a combined alpha/beta set and I run a 540 cube occasionally, but it would be fun to play this once or twice.
If you owned everything, what would you take out for the power cards for example, or anything else? I have a combined alpha/beta set and I run a 540 cube occasionally, but it would be fun to play this once or twice.
I usually try to rotate out cards that equal the same kind/cost as a piece of power. For example, if I wanted to put in Time Walk, i'd try to remove a blue sorcery or instant of CC 2 to fit it in. For stuff like the moxes, I'd probably start with mana sources like Fellwar Stone or even Sol Ring, then maybe other non-creature artifacts. I've only done that a few times as whenever we brought in the power, everyone agreed it was very unbalancing for the players who ended up with the cards.
I feel the cube already has plenty of powerful cards, thus I consider it "powered" in it's non-power-nine state.
It finally happened. Leviathan is just unplayable. It get's passed every time.
The question is, what blue creature to replace it with? Well, I see 3 reasonable options at this point:
1. Electric Eel - This card was in the cube briefly and this is probably the best choice. It's pump-able and at the very least a 1/1 for 1 mana.
2. Devouring Deep - A 1/2 for 3 mana is pretty bad, but it does have Islandwalk which is interesting. 2 toughness is actually kinda good. It can survive a decent amount of smaller things and there are often people splashing some blue so it can walk over to hit them. The cost helps him be splashable as well.
3. Elder Spawn - This is probably the best direct replacement for a huge creature in blue like Leviathan. Still, difficult to play and a pretty nasty upkeep. Not splashable, pretty dubious "evasion" on red blockers. Also 6/6 isn't very inspiring for it's 7 mana cost. I think this would get passed often also, but it's more playable.
I'm deciding on Devouring Deep for now. I may change my mind later.
I briefly considered Apprentice Wizard. He does help accelerate out bigger threats like obsianus golem or moti, but he's just so bad by himself, he has no power.
I guess he goes in the 2nd tier of replacement options. Dandan, homarid shaman and vodalian war machine might be in that 2nd tier also.
The most-often-passed cards of the '94 cube as the list stands today are the legends. They are hard to play, they aren't very good for their costs and their abilities are generally unimpressive. The few that are "useful" or playable are pretty hard to get onto the table. The Elder Dragons in particular are the biggest offenders. That being said, I think the Elder Dragons belong in the cube. They are flavorful and iconic. I can't bring myself to take them out.
There are only 15 total legends in the cube. Leaving the 5 Eldar Dragons in means that there are only 10 other Legends to consider. The change I am making here is to include one of each "allied" color legend. The other 5 also just happen to match the colors of the Elder Dragons besides being the big, iconic legends who do cool things like Sol'Kanar. I feel that two color legends are much more likely to get picked and played than the 3 color ones, however, if you're going to play 3 colors, you might as well go all-in with not only the Elder Dragon but the big matching legend too.
Angus Mackenzie > Sunastian Falconer
Angus Mackenzie is not very good. His ability is powerful but defensive. I've been trying to promote more aggro in the cube and this is an easy pick to replace. Sunastian Falconer is a decently big body for the cost and he has a mana ability. While I'm not sure how much acceleration he provides, it's something you might use for an X spell or a big artifact. If you don't tap him for mana, you can smash face with his 4/4 body. Also this gives Red/Green a Legend where they had nothing before.
Tetsuo Umezawa > Nebuchadnezzar
Tetsuo looks powerful and has some cool abilities but they require 4 mana of 3 different colors to use. He just wasn't getting picked. With Nebuchadnezzar, you might swing with his 3/3 body and you also might use his X and tap ability. He's just more playable. He also represents Blue/Black as a legend pretty well.
Boris Devilboon > Tor Wauki
I actually really like Boris Devilboon, but he gets passed all the time. His ability is pretty expensive for making a token and his body is weak. Tor Wauki has a potentially useful ability and also has a 3/3 body you might swing with. This gives Red/Black a legend that's more in line with what Red and Black as colors are trying to do.
Vodalian Mage is awful and probably never should have been in the cube in the first place. Eel is more playable and can make for an interesting play with Red/Blue.
Ydwen Efreet is a personal favorite, but he's really hard to play at RRR in cost. We removed Ball Lightning for a couple of reasons and that was one of them so he's out. Rukh Egg has some interesting combo potential with cards like Earthquake and Nevinyrrals Disk.
Morale is bad for 1WW. Blessing is only marginally better, but better is better.
It really did slow games down.
In the 5 games (I believe) Maze of Ith came out, I think only once was it destroyed (by Demonic Hordes). The deck was also running Drop of Honey and Singing Tree which was plenty of control for Red/Green.
But the cube already leans heavily toward aggro. Maybe instead of Arena, Island of Wak-Wak?
Not a bad option. I'd like to try Arena out for a bit. I think Island of Wak-Wak is a decent alternative to Maze of Ith.
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
I usually try to rotate out cards that equal the same kind/cost as a piece of power. For example, if I wanted to put in Time Walk, i'd try to remove a blue sorcery or instant of CC 2 to fit it in. For stuff like the moxes, I'd probably start with mana sources like Fellwar Stone or even Sol Ring, then maybe other non-creature artifacts. I've only done that a few times as whenever we brought in the power, everyone agreed it was very unbalancing for the players who ended up with the cards.
I feel the cube already has plenty of powerful cards, thus I consider it "powered" in it's non-power-nine state.
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
Falling Star out and Manabarbs in
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
The question is, what blue creature to replace it with? Well, I see 3 reasonable options at this point:
1. Electric Eel - This card was in the cube briefly and this is probably the best choice. It's pump-able and at the very least a 1/1 for 1 mana.
2. Devouring Deep - A 1/2 for 3 mana is pretty bad, but it does have Islandwalk which is interesting. 2 toughness is actually kinda good. It can survive a decent amount of smaller things and there are often people splashing some blue so it can walk over to hit them. The cost helps him be splashable as well.
3. Elder Spawn - This is probably the best direct replacement for a huge creature in blue like Leviathan. Still, difficult to play and a pretty nasty upkeep. Not splashable, pretty dubious "evasion" on red blockers. Also 6/6 isn't very inspiring for it's 7 mana cost. I think this would get passed often also, but it's more playable.
I'm deciding on Devouring Deep for now. I may change my mind later.
Leviathan out and Devouring Deep in.
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
[180 classic cube]
I briefly considered Apprentice Wizard. He does help accelerate out bigger threats like obsianus golem or moti, but he's just so bad by himself, he has no power.
I guess he goes in the 2nd tier of replacement options. Dandan, homarid shaman and vodalian war machine might be in that 2nd tier also.
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
Two of my favourite things, classic nostalgic cards and cube combined!
Looks heaps of fun.
Following on Cube Tutor now as I am definitely interested in doing something similar.
Web out and Untamed Wilds in
Untamed Wilds also helps fix mana and that's absolutely something the cube needs more of. It has some synergy with Sylvan Library also.
Other cards I considered were:
Aspect of Wolf
Storm Seeker
Fastbond
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
The most-often-passed cards of the '94 cube as the list stands today are the legends. They are hard to play, they aren't very good for their costs and their abilities are generally unimpressive. The few that are "useful" or playable are pretty hard to get onto the table. The Elder Dragons in particular are the biggest offenders. That being said, I think the Elder Dragons belong in the cube. They are flavorful and iconic. I can't bring myself to take them out.
There are only 15 total legends in the cube. Leaving the 5 Eldar Dragons in means that there are only 10 other Legends to consider. The change I am making here is to include one of each "allied" color legend. The other 5 also just happen to match the colors of the Elder Dragons besides being the big, iconic legends who do cool things like Sol'Kanar. I feel that two color legends are much more likely to get picked and played than the 3 color ones, however, if you're going to play 3 colors, you might as well go all-in with not only the Elder Dragon but the big matching legend too.
Angus Mackenzie > Sunastian Falconer
Angus Mackenzie is not very good. His ability is powerful but defensive. I've been trying to promote more aggro in the cube and this is an easy pick to replace. Sunastian Falconer is a decently big body for the cost and he has a mana ability. While I'm not sure how much acceleration he provides, it's something you might use for an X spell or a big artifact. If you don't tap him for mana, you can smash face with his 4/4 body. Also this gives Red/Green a Legend where they had nothing before.
Tetsuo Umezawa > Nebuchadnezzar
Tetsuo looks powerful and has some cool abilities but they require 4 mana of 3 different colors to use. He just wasn't getting picked. With Nebuchadnezzar, you might swing with his 3/3 body and you also might use his X and tap ability. He's just more playable. He also represents Blue/Black as a legend pretty well.
Boris Devilboon > Tor Wauki
I actually really like Boris Devilboon, but he gets passed all the time. His ability is pretty expensive for making a token and his body is weak. Tor Wauki has a potentially useful ability and also has a 3/3 body you might swing with. This gives Red/Black a legend that's more in line with what Red and Black as colors are trying to do.
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
A few more tweaks to the artifact count and some more aggressive cards.
Dragon Engine > City of Shadows
Barl's Cage > Pendelhaven
Regeneration > Storm Seeker
Feldon's Cane > Sword of the Ages
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube
Ydwen Efreet > Rukh Egg
Vodalian Mage > Electric Eel
Morale > Blessing
Vodalian Mage is awful and probably never should have been in the cube in the first place. Eel is more playable and can make for an interesting play with Red/Blue.
Ydwen Efreet is a personal favorite, but he's really hard to play at RRR in cost. We removed Ball Lightning for a couple of reasons and that was one of them so he's out. Rukh Egg has some interesting combo potential with cards like Earthquake and Nevinyrrals Disk.
Morale is bad for 1WW. Blessing is only marginally better, but better is better.
My Kamigawa cube.
My Mirage Cube