Korlash is good at what he does...be awesome in a mono-black deck. We recently 'added' a mono black deck to the cube (with cards like Drain Life, Corrupt, Korlash, Nantuko Shade, Cabal Coffers, Urborg Tomb of Yawgmoth, Mind Sludge, Tendrils of Corruption, Consume Spirit), so he fits in there pretty well and does a good job. Usually he is a 5/5 or 6/6 regenerator for 4 mana when you play him. I actually think his grandeur ability isn't that big of a deal to lose (then again, I never played with him in constructed!)
Prereleases are fun! I wish I could have stayed longer than a few hours, but I did some good trading while I was there. Here are my new Cube additions:
I will post the tutorial here about the inner sleeves when I get back this afternoon. They work great, and I'm excited to finally protect my cards better.
@Scientist: PM me so we can trade
EDIT: Here is the tutorial!
A number of months back, I asked if anyone knew any better ways to protect their expensive cards, as the cards in my Cube were taking a beating due to play. I heard of 'inner sleeves', but I was having a hard time finding them. I promised that when I found them, I would post about them so you can all see that they do exist and how they work.
Well, the mail came yesterday and I have some pics for you!
Here are the package of sleeves; they come from Japan, are made by KMC, and are entitled 'Perfect Size':
These sleeves are the same thickness as penny sleeves (thin) and fit snugly around the card. First, I slide the sleeve over the top of the card instead of the bottom:
Here is the card in the sleeve all the way (it is the perfect size):
Then, I place the card right side up inside a colored KMC sleeve (I haven't tried other sleeve types yet, but I imagine the other Japanese brands would work too) so that there is no direct opening between the card and the 'elements':
And here is the final result!:
It does add a little to the thickness of a deck, but once the air is pressed out of the sleeves the difference isn't really all that bad. Here are 2 15-card sideboards, one with inner sleeves and one without.
Hope you enjoyed this presentation, and if you have any questions at all please let me know!
Gavin: It was good seeing you at the Q. What kind of a deck did you wind up drafting in that last cube draft? You were the only one I did not get to play. I should be going to GP Philly (my hometown), as long as I can find a flight that fits my work schedule from Phoenix to Philly. I think we are going to travel to some ptqs, but I'm sure once you are back in the NW you won't be going to any more in our neck of the woods (LA, SD, LV). What do you think about the carrying-over of tally marks?
TheScientist: That list is great. We have gone thru a lot of the possible UG cards, but too many of them don't do anything relevant. Sure, Jungle Barrier draws a card and Gaea's Skyfolk flies, but other cards fill those roles better. We are just biding our time to find something better rather than just putting 'bad' cards (relatively) for the sake of numbers.
We have put thought into SST, but the problem is finding one for trade. I pride myself on building my collection while spending as little $ as possible, and that is just one card I have not been able to pin down in a trade.
Oh, and I have never had a winning record in a deck where I have Skullclamp. It's like my own personal curse. What sucks is being a blue deck with a low number of creatures and shipping a pack with Treachery/Future Sight/Bribery/Upheaval because you have to pick Jitte! Oh, and check your PMs
OK, for your viewing and informational enjoyment, here is the cube that I built and maintain along with the help of Cube Curator Adam Prosak. I am working towards getting the entire thing foiled (or BB/Foreign BB, in case there is no foil copy); some cards are just really difficult, but I am making good progress. The AZ Cube is now over 80% pimp (foil, signed, foreign, etc.) and counting!
Our rules for the cube:
- For <8 people, 4 packs of 10 are used. For 8, 3 packs of 15 are used. Format is always team draft of some sort.
- Promo foil > Foreign foil > Regular Foil > Foreign > Regular BB > Regular WB. Signed cards trump non-signed, but will not jump a > sign. Good alterations trump all.
- Alterations changing game text are binding. E.G., Umezawa's Jitte is taken as a first pick. No exceptions. Cube rules.
- Mostly equal cards of each color and artifact are represented, as we are slowly expanding. Gold cards are as balanced number-wise as possible, with a couple color combinations a card shorter because there just aren't enough good cards (U/G, e.g.)
- Dice rolled off of the table are treated as '0'. Doubles mean you roll again and add the totals together, but 3 doubles in a row mean you lose. (Monopoly rules)
- No sideboards. Cards drafted and not played are returned to the box.
- Card pool is Legacy based, with some exceptions. Power is owned, but not used in the cube.
Cube Hints:
- Theme decks are very encouraged. Awesome is a theme. Successful draft themes have included: tribal decks, no creatures, no rares, Academy decks, 'slamming the door',
- Draft your non-basics high!
- Don't tilt! The cube is fun, not serious (Haha, we all need to learn this one)
Without further ado, the pics. Keep an eye open for alterations and non-foils you would like to trade your foil copy to help me!
The AZ cube!
Artifacts (and a straggler, but minus the Mox Diamond)
Multicolored cards
Blue cards
Red cards
Green cards
White cards
Black cards
Nonbasic lands
The basics.
Alterations
Let's do the Time Warp again:
And a Sad Robot:
Where bear?
Therebear! And some adult humor that almost stopped Cube Curator Adam Prosak from getting this card signed at Worlds.
Must be nice to draw cards...oh it is. And an ode to forgetfulness (no reminders allowed!)
'Must' and 'Is' are common Magic lingo abbreviations around these parts, at least. When we cube, it is strictly forbidden to use any sort of reminder to remind you to pay for Pacts. All those who die to a Pact (including getting Mindslavered, Armageddoned, etc. and being unable to pay) must pay the penalty and sign their own tally mark in Sharpie! (FYI, none are mine :evillol:)
A brand new tally on a brand new card, and it really is Dark.
Our old Japanese Slaughter Pact has 8 tally marks on it...do you think we should transfer them?
The slow roll, and you can't touch this.
Playing Sudden Shock requires you to attempt to kill your opponent with it at the last possible moment, and sandbagging it the entire time. Often the question of 'So you're at 2?' is followed by an eyeroll by the opponent. And everyone likes an MC Hammer reference.
An easy pick, a Pro Tour mistake, and who am I?
Cube Rules indicate that you must pick Jitte first, no exceptions...those who drafted Kamigawa remember that rule well. Ervin Tormos, who did the alteration, once morphed his Prismatic Lens instead of his morph creature at a Pro Tour and had to get some assistance from a judge to solve it. And haste is only granted to Big Jugs if you have seen this.
The cube has been some of the most fun I've ever had playing Magic. It is well worth the investment and time to build one. Yours doesn't have to be foil, it just has to be fun!
Hi all! Upon request (and the desire to share) I have decided to post the alterations to some cards in my Cube. OK, so these are less 'artistic' alterations and more functional alterations. Keep in mind all of these were done with a Sharpie in <5 minutes, and I am by no means a visual artist Enjoy!
Let's do the Time Warp again, for people who missed it:
And a Sad Robot:
Where bear?
Therebear! And some adult humor that almost stopped Cube Curator Adam Prosak from getting this card signed at Worlds.
Must be nice to draw cards...oh it is. And an ode to forgetfulness (no reminders allowed!)
'Must' and 'Is' are common Magic lingo abbreviations around these parts, at least. When we cube, it is strictly forbidden to use any sort of reminder to remind you to pay for Pacts. All those who die to a Pact (including getting Mindslavered, Armageddoned, etc. and being unable to pay) must pay the penalty and sign their own tally mark in Sharpie! (FYI, none are mine :evillol:)
A brand new tally on a brand new card, and it really is Dark.
Our old Japanese Slaughter Pact has 8 tally marks on it...do you think we should transfer them?
The slow roll, and you can't touch this.
Playing Sudden Shock requires you to attempt to kill your opponent with it at the last possible moment, and sandbagging it the entire time. Often the question of 'So you're at 2?' is followed by an eyeroll by the opponent. And everyone likes an MC Hammer reference.
An easy pick, a Pro Tour mistake, and who am I?
Cube Rules indicate that you must pick Jitte first, no exceptions...those who drafted Kamigawa remember that rule well. Ervin Tormos, who did the alteration, once morphed his Prismatic Lens instead of his morph creature at a Pro Tour and had to get some assistance from a judge to solve it. And haste is only granted to Big Jugs if you have seen this.
It's a funny idea, but looking at the card doesn't scream Dr. Frank the way it should. I think you're on to something, but no offense I could draw that much. I think that with some more work it could be brilliant, but without your explanation nobody would have gotten the joke from that.
Ya know why? Because I SUCK as a visual artist I'm a musician. That's about the best I can do with sharpies and 2-3 minutes, and if people don't get it because of my lack of artistic talent, oh well. Saying no one would get the joke from seeing the alteration is obviously an exaggeration, as PLENTY of people have gotten the joke (Conway, e.g.) and liked it. Most people who don't get it are either people who have not seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show memorably, or people who aren't clever enough to put it together.
I am amused by the 'I can draw that much' comment though, as I'm sure you can draw better than I can!
Quote from Conway »
Hey, I posted that about your time warp forever ago. Thanks for putting it on the boards. Ive been full-arting cards for my cube and putting them up on this forum. I have done 5 I think. You should check out my Ohran Viper on page 43. BTW im going up to phoenix for the ptq tommorow, r u going to be there? also, yeah post ur alterations.
I saw some of those alterations when I found your post...very nice! The Viper looks great! And yes, I will be there Saturday
One of the best card alterations I have ever seen is on a Time Warp out of Adam Prosak's cube in Phoenix. Its not an awesome full art mod. Anthony Avitollo just took some sharpies and added a fro and red lipstick to make the dude in the picture look even more like Dr. Frankenfurter (Tim Curry) from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you haven't seen the movie check this link from a certain internet video site.
Alot of Prosak's cube cards are altered like that. Not actually artistically, but still cool and/or funny. for instance, they have a running tally in sharpie on the pact of negation and sluaghter pact for each the pacts have killed a player.
After doing an egotistical search, I found this post talking about my alterations and my cube (Adam is like the GM and I am the owner, to put it in sports terminology).
Here is the card in question Enjoy!
If you guys want to see more of our alterations, let me know!
-AA
I wish prereleases were more often!!!
Hope you like!
-AA
@Scientist: PM me so we can trade
EDIT: Here is the tutorial!
A number of months back, I asked if anyone knew any better ways to protect their expensive cards, as the cards in my Cube were taking a beating due to play. I heard of 'inner sleeves', but I was having a hard time finding them. I promised that when I found them, I would post about them so you can all see that they do exist and how they work.
Well, the mail came yesterday and I have some pics for you!
Here are the package of sleeves; they come from Japan, are made by KMC, and are entitled 'Perfect Size':
These sleeves are the same thickness as penny sleeves (thin) and fit snugly around the card. First, I slide the sleeve over the top of the card instead of the bottom:
Here is the card in the sleeve all the way (it is the perfect size):
Then, I place the card right side up inside a colored KMC sleeve (I haven't tried other sleeve types yet, but I imagine the other Japanese brands would work too) so that there is no direct opening between the card and the 'elements':
And here is the final result!:
It does add a little to the thickness of a deck, but once the air is pressed out of the sleeves the difference isn't really all that bad. Here are 2 15-card sideboards, one with inner sleeves and one without.
Hope you enjoyed this presentation, and if you have any questions at all please let me know!
-AA
I'm happy
-AA
TheScientist: That list is great. We have gone thru a lot of the possible UG cards, but too many of them don't do anything relevant. Sure, Jungle Barrier draws a card and Gaea's Skyfolk flies, but other cards fill those roles better. We are just biding our time to find something better rather than just putting 'bad' cards (relatively) for the sake of numbers.
We have put thought into SST, but the problem is finding one for trade. I pride myself on building my collection while spending as little $ as possible, and that is just one card I have not been able to pin down in a trade.
Oh, and I have never had a winning record in a deck where I have Skullclamp. It's like my own personal curse. What sucks is being a blue deck with a low number of creatures and shipping a pack with Treachery/Future Sight/Bribery/Upheaval because you have to pick Jitte! Oh, and check your PMs
-AA
Our rules for the cube:
- For <8 people, 4 packs of 10 are used. For 8, 3 packs of 15 are used. Format is always team draft of some sort.
- Promo foil > Foreign foil > Regular Foil > Foreign > Regular BB > Regular WB. Signed cards trump non-signed, but will not jump a > sign. Good alterations trump all.
- Alterations changing game text are binding. E.G., Umezawa's Jitte is taken as a first pick. No exceptions. Cube rules.
- Mostly equal cards of each color and artifact are represented, as we are slowly expanding. Gold cards are as balanced number-wise as possible, with a couple color combinations a card shorter because there just aren't enough good cards (U/G, e.g.)
- Dice rolled off of the table are treated as '0'. Doubles mean you roll again and add the totals together, but 3 doubles in a row mean you lose. (Monopoly rules)
- No sideboards. Cards drafted and not played are returned to the box.
- Card pool is Legacy based, with some exceptions. Power is owned, but not used in the cube.
Cube Hints:
- Theme decks are very encouraged. Awesome is a theme. Successful draft themes have included: tribal decks, no creatures, no rares, Academy decks, 'slamming the door',
- Draft your non-basics high!
- Don't tilt! The cube is fun, not serious
Without further ado, the pics. Keep an eye open for alterations and non-foils you would like to trade your foil copy to help me!
The AZ cube!
Artifacts (and a straggler, but minus the Mox Diamond)
And a Sad Robot:
Where bear?
Therebear! And some adult humor that almost stopped Cube Curator Adam Prosak from getting this card signed at Worlds.
Must be nice to draw cards...oh it is. And an ode to forgetfulness (no reminders allowed!)
'Must' and 'Is' are common Magic lingo abbreviations around these parts, at least. When we cube, it is strictly forbidden to use any sort of reminder to remind you to pay for Pacts. All those who die to a Pact (including getting Mindslavered, Armageddoned, etc. and being unable to pay) must pay the penalty and sign their own tally mark in Sharpie! (FYI, none are mine :evillol:)
A brand new tally on a brand new card, and it really is Dark.
Our old Japanese Slaughter Pact has 8 tally marks on it...do you think we should transfer them?
The slow roll, and you can't touch this.
Playing Sudden Shock requires you to attempt to kill your opponent with it at the last possible moment, and sandbagging it the entire time. Often the question of 'So you're at 2?' is followed by an eyeroll by the opponent. And everyone likes an MC Hammer reference.
An easy pick, a Pro Tour mistake, and who am I?
Cube Rules indicate that you must pick Jitte first, no exceptions...those who drafted Kamigawa remember that rule well. Ervin Tormos, who did the alteration, once morphed his Prismatic Lens instead of his morph creature at a Pro Tour and had to get some assistance from a judge to solve it. And haste is only granted to Big Jugs if you have seen this.
-AA (Anthony Avitollo)
Let's do the Time Warp again, for people who missed it:
And a Sad Robot:
Where bear?
Therebear! And some adult humor that almost stopped Cube Curator Adam Prosak from getting this card signed at Worlds.
Must be nice to draw cards...oh it is. And an ode to forgetfulness (no reminders allowed!)
'Must' and 'Is' are common Magic lingo abbreviations around these parts, at least. When we cube, it is strictly forbidden to use any sort of reminder to remind you to pay for Pacts. All those who die to a Pact (including getting Mindslavered, Armageddoned, etc. and being unable to pay) must pay the penalty and sign their own tally mark in Sharpie! (FYI, none are mine :evillol:)
A brand new tally on a brand new card, and it really is Dark.
Our old Japanese Slaughter Pact has 8 tally marks on it...do you think we should transfer them?
The slow roll, and you can't touch this.
Playing Sudden Shock requires you to attempt to kill your opponent with it at the last possible moment, and sandbagging it the entire time. Often the question of 'So you're at 2?' is followed by an eyeroll by the opponent. And everyone likes an MC Hammer reference.
An easy pick, a Pro Tour mistake, and who am I?
Cube Rules indicate that you must pick Jitte first, no exceptions...those who drafted Kamigawa remember that rule well. Ervin Tormos, who did the alteration, once morphed his Prismatic Lens instead of his morph creature at a Pro Tour and had to get some assistance from a judge to solve it. And haste is only granted to Big Jugs if you have seen this.
-AA
Ya know why? Because I SUCK as a visual artist
I am amused by the 'I can draw that much' comment though, as I'm sure you can draw better than I can!
I saw some of those alterations when I found your post...very nice! The Viper looks great! And yes, I will be there Saturday
-AA
After doing an egotistical search, I found this post talking about my alterations and my cube (Adam is like the GM and I am the owner, to put it in sports terminology).
Here is the card in question
-AA