It's been a good year and a half to two years since I've posted here, glad to see the Pauper Cube community is still going strong
I found my old Cube and decided it's time to update the guy. Are there any insane staples that have come out in the past 8 sets or so that I should be auto-including?
Elephant Guide has a new artwork and most cards that got new art were printed soon after, be it in a PW duel deck or some other special set. I think we will see it soon.
Man, I dunno how I feel about putting MODO Commons in my cube - I'm with Metalevolence on this too, I don't like having the little Silver set symbol amongst all my Commons
Honestly though, this set is going to be insane for Pauper online too I think, if any of those cards are going to be Pauper legal.
I agree I don't like having the set symbol disparity but I got over it for the sake of having foils of Pyrotechnics and Crypt Rats that don't exist in black symbol foils... I'll probably get past it for the sake of casting Battle Screech which seems so so good. And hey, no one is going to know Nightstalker was uncommon in Portal!
(I'm talking myself into it)
Crypt Rats has a common printing, it was in Visions - that's what I use.
I wont add any Modo-only commons to my cube, at least not before modo-pauper allows paper-only commons like hymn. As is, those are two different systems for me.
Agreed. If you're playing both Hymn and Phantom Monster in your cube, your cube is simply not Pauper.
I will always stick to paper commons.
I'm not running Phantom, but Hymn WAS printed as a common in Fallen Empires. So, it is Pauper.
Man, I dunno how I feel about putting MODO Commons in my cube - I'm with Metalevolence on this too, I don't like having the little Silver set symbol amongst all my Commons
Honestly though, this set is going to be insane for Pauper online too I think, if any of those cards are going to be Pauper legal.
I find Cenn's Enlistment actually shines in Aggro decks as the top of the curve. Those decks have little use for extra lands past a certain point and can benefit from either going wider than another Aggro opponent or stretching the answers of a Midrange/Control opponent. It's a nice source of inevitability to back up an initial rush of creatures that may not quite finish the job (a common feature of non-Red aggressive decks).
I think it goes great with Veteran Armorer and Suture Priest
+:It's a less expensive cenn's enlistment, that can also discard dead draws, doesn't have to be land.
-: It's a creature => more 'counters'.
Any other comments/thoughts?
I've cut Cenn's Enlistment already and don't play Suture Priest. It seems ok but has no immediate impact on the board and only a minor impact after that. I like that it's instant speed and two mana though. I don't think I'd play it but it seems fine.
How on earth could you cut Cenn's Enlistment? Hnnnghh so good.
Loxodon Partisan is definitly too weak and I don't know how Antler Skulkin performes. Is it not too restricted, with only beeing able to safe other white creatures?
In addition to that I see Swift Justice, Disenchant and Empyrial Armor as too weak. Im not a fan of white combat tricks anyway, because white has soo much good hard removal, a sideboard-only card like Disenchant, steals a white slot for a mainboard card and of course there are many people who love Empyrial Armor, but I don't see why. On average it's a white Oakenform and no one plays Oakenform.
The Skullkin hasn't been too great to be honest. The Partisan has been pretty solid on the other hand, being able to stay on the board longer with that T4. He'll still probably come out though.
I'm thinking of throwing in Cage of Hands - a pseduo ever lasting Pacifism is pretty legit.
For the past few months I've really felt that my White section has been somewhat underpowered. I understand White is very weeneyish in Pauper, but it just seems to lack a lot even the early game. What changes would you guys recommend for me? I'm really looking for cards now that you've had repetitive success with.
Plover Knights I know will probably be up there. I'm also looking into dropping Veteran Armorer for Benalish Cavalry, since I've been unimpressed with him since I've ever added him. Suture Priest so far has been a pretty solid 2 drop, but I know a majority of you don't like it.
Lava Zombie and Rakdos Shred-Freak continue to be unimpressive. Has anyone tried Kathari Bomber before? It seems acceptable but probably still pretty marginal... is value with recursion enough to push this guy to playable?
I agree about the Freak for now (even though it still has a spot in suicide Black), but Lava Zombie has actually been pretty decent in my group so far - regardless I'm still always looking for alternatives. Rakdos Ickspitter continuously comes to mind.
I don't do pre-releases either. I'll draft though at FNM's when I get an open Friday. I just enjoy drafting and don't play enough to invest in a constructed deck, so instead I have a cube and draft FNM's occasionally.
I'll also play super casual multiplayer EDH borrowing other people's decks.
EDH also sounds super fun, but the deck Id want to play costs more than my 450 cube :/
Shifting gears, how many of you guys actually do drafts of new sets/prereleases etc etc? I havent drafted a new set since Innistrad.
I have to say, Pauper cube definetely is the only format im interested in anymore, and its dirt cheap as an added bonus. I just dont really see the point in spending 25$ to draf a set and cards I will never use again.
No particular card is strictly cubeable to me. The closest cards to cubeable are Supply-Line Cranes (improvement on Castle Raptors), Flurry of Horns (2/3 haste creatures are nothing to scoff at, even if 2 small creatures is generally less impactful than 1 giant creature in the lategame) or Cloaked Siren (I can't tell if I like it better or worse than Crookclaw Transmuter. But 1 extra toughness is probably worth the narrow applications of the Transmuter's ability.)
There are some other noteworthy cards (Font of Return, Sigiled Skink) but they are below those three. I may have missed some cards (???).
Rise of Eagles is way too expensive.
So all in all, maybe one swap (Transmuter for Siren) and that's about it.
I think the real strength of Flurry of Horns is the fact that its essentially a two for one, which is something Red struggles for in the late game. Otherwise, I pretty much agree...nothing really stands out to me in this set.
I wouldnt take out the transmuter though, that ability is almost pseudo removal and has tons of oppurtunities/uses. Personally I consider it staple status or at least, close to it.
Both 360 and 450 work. Never seen a 540 Pauper and I don't think you could do it with an archetype-focused cube. There's a few tough cuts at 360 but I'm not leaving anything on the bench I really miss. If you go heavy archetype, you will have a lot more hard cuts.
It's also worth keeping in mind that archetype support really only pans out if 1) people like to draft the archetypes and 2) people have fun playing the archetypes. Keep that in mind going in and be ready to tweak things as the drafts and games play out in order to increase the fun aspects and diminish the unfun aspects.
I like to think of it like this with my 450; I almost always go with Power over card synergies, but they definitely help fill the gaps at 450 in differences of power level. Honestly when I added in my 90 additional cards from 360 there was no way I was going to find anything to compete with cards like Hymn to Tourach, Capsize, etc etc...BUT you can definitely fit in some cards that not only perform well in Limited decks, but synergize well with certain deck strategies and archetypes. It really leaves for some interesting drafts.
A card like Curfew for example. It's not the most powerful of cards you could be adding to a cube, but holy ***** in the right deck is this thing bonkers. If you're building any type of Tempo based deck it is just a bomb on it's own. On 3rd pack if you're drafting mostly blue and you get this and say, something like Ponder, it makes it that much harder to make those kind of decisions.
It's been a good year and a half to two years since I've posted here, glad to see the Pauper Cube community is still going strong
I found my old Cube and decided it's time to update the guy. Are there any insane staples that have come out in the past 8 sets or so that I should be auto-including?
Cheers
Thoughts on Pride Guardian? He looks like a solid White Control contender, and a 1 Drop at that.
Cogwork Spy - http://i.imgur.com/nkVCaFR.png
Lurking Automaton - http://i.imgur.com/6If7DUA.png
Rousing of Souls - http://i.imgur.com/mS21qoa.png
Whispergear Sneak - http://i.imgur.com/gPfWUKD.png
-----------------------------------------
If anyone has any tips on formatting, please let me know
Here's hoping for the non Modo players
Crypt Rats has a common printing, it was in Visions - that's what I use.
http://magiccards.info/scans/en/vi/5.jpg
Pyrotechnics I use the Legends print since the symbol is black, even though the art leaves something to be desired.
http://magiccards.info/scans/en/lg/158.jpg
I'm not running Phantom, but Hymn WAS printed as a common in Fallen Empires. So, it is Pauper.
Honestly though, this set is going to be insane for Pauper online too I think, if any of those cards are going to be Pauper legal.
Agreed.
How on earth could you cut Cenn's Enlistment? Hnnnghh so good.
The Skullkin hasn't been too great to be honest. The Partisan has been pretty solid on the other hand, being able to stay on the board longer with that T4. He'll still probably come out though.
I'm thinking of throwing in Cage of Hands - a pseduo ever lasting Pacifism is pretty legit.
Plover Knights I know will probably be up there. I'm also looking into dropping Veteran Armorer for Benalish Cavalry, since I've been unimpressed with him since I've ever added him. Suture Priest so far has been a pretty solid 2 drop, but I know a majority of you don't like it.
I'm also looking into adding Benevolent Bodyguard.
I agree about the Freak for now (even though it still has a spot in suicide Black), but Lava Zombie has actually been pretty decent in my group so far - regardless I'm still always looking for alternatives. Rakdos Ickspitter continuously comes to mind.
EDH also sounds super fun, but the deck Id want to play costs more than my 450 cube :/
I have to say, Pauper cube definetely is the only format im interested in anymore, and its dirt cheap as an added bonus. I just dont really see the point in spending 25$ to draf a set and cards I will never use again.
I think the real strength of Flurry of Horns is the fact that its essentially a two for one, which is something Red struggles for in the late game. Otherwise, I pretty much agree...nothing really stands out to me in this set.
I wouldnt take out the transmuter though, that ability is almost pseudo removal and has tons of oppurtunities/uses. Personally I consider it staple status or at least, close to it.
I like to think of it like this with my 450; I almost always go with Power over card synergies, but they definitely help fill the gaps at 450 in differences of power level. Honestly when I added in my 90 additional cards from 360 there was no way I was going to find anything to compete with cards like Hymn to Tourach, Capsize, etc etc...BUT you can definitely fit in some cards that not only perform well in Limited decks, but synergize well with certain deck strategies and archetypes. It really leaves for some interesting drafts.
A card like Curfew for example. It's not the most powerful of cards you could be adding to a cube, but holy ***** in the right deck is this thing bonkers. If you're building any type of Tempo based deck it is just a bomb on it's own. On 3rd pack if you're drafting mostly blue and you get this and say, something like Ponder, it makes it that much harder to make those kind of decisions.