Obviously the 1 Gush has to go, and quite likely the Foil. Not entirely sure about Deep Analysis, as part of it's strength was combo'ing well with Foil, but it can be a good haymaker if it's the last turn and you have 1-3 Erasure's on the board. The 1 MD Dispel might also be worth taking out if Delver really does fall back in the meta.
I've had a bit of success with this deck in local tournaments. Right now I'm testing a new version with more Grisly Salvage (this card has always seemed good), 1-2 Stinkweed Imp for some more aggressive graveyard dumping, and 1x Morgue Theft for extra Crypt Rats retrieval. Was Grim Harvest, but thinking of cutting Fume Spitters...it seems they'll be less needed post-Gush ban, since Faerie Delver will fall in the meta, and Tireless Tribe isn't really a deck anymore...and that makes it a bit harder for this deck to reliably trigger Recover.
BTW I think Architects of Will are strictly better than Monstrous Carabid in this deck. Both are uncastable, but the Architects are better since they can be pitched as an artifact to Wrench Mind.
I think Savage Swipe is the real interesting card from today. Plenty of potential in Mono-G Stompy. And a real unique effect...I've heard of being rewarded for high power, rewarded for low power, but not being rewarded for having a very specific power (besides 1 ala Pendelhaven/Aegis of the Meek, which is basically still "rewarding for low power").
Stream of Thought could be good in Ux Creatureless Control. You don't even have to replicate it to win. Just cast it for 1 while holding up countermagic, shuffling back in a 2nd copy of it or Devious Cover-Up. It's like the Devious Cover-Up wincon, except you can actually replicate it massively if you're in danger of going to time and need to win faster.
So a lot of older cards with very obscure creature types had their Oracle text changed to make it a more standardized creature type, but still with the original name. For example, see the oracle text of Tombstone Stairwell, which makes a 2/2 Zombie name "Tombspawn," or Wall of Kelp, which makes 0/1 Plant Wall named "Kelp."
One omission, though, is the Homelands card Broken Visage. Not on a lot of people's radars, but I like to use it in Commander because it's a cool card. On the original printed text, it creates a Shadow token. In the Oracle text, this is changed to a Spirit token, but no "named Shadow" like those other cards. Why, I wonder, the discrepancy? There are two printed versions, both referencing the Shadow name (Homelands and 5th Edition), so I don't see why this card is lacking the name while other older token makers keep it.
So for a while I've been wanting to create a cube. The thing is, I'll probably only be able to get 4 people together to draft it, instead of the 6-8 usually preferred for draft pods.
With that in mind, I've been thinking about what can make a 4-person cube better. It seems the usual issue with a 4-person draft pod is that the pool of available cards is much smaller, so you can't get as much synergy. Also, the split of colors can be awkward, with one player possibly getting a vastly more open color.
Just adding more packs to the draft is the usual solution, but I'm wondering if I can solve it in other ways (since that adds time and cards/sleeves needed).
More hybrid cards, to give each player a higher proportion of playables.
More split cards
More cards that can fulfull multiple roles in archetypes. For example, Dreampod Druid could work in an Auras deck or a Go-Wide/Aristocrats deck. I'm also planning on creating custom cards for the cube, so I could really hit multiple archetypes in a targetted way.
Making one color much more heavily represented, ala Black in Torment. This way the 4 players can fight over the remaining 4 colors instead of over 5. And it gives an opportunity for a very unique experience and vibe.
A focus on multi-color decks, with 3-4 colors being quite possible. To avoid the opposite end where every player is just playing 5 color goodstuff, maybe I could have one or two cycles of "reject a color" cards. For example:
Embodiment of Grace 4W
Creature - Angel
Flying, lifelink
Whenever you cast a black spell, sacrifice Embodiment of Grace.
4/4
Embodiment of Law 3W
Creature - Angel
Flying, vigilance
Whenever you cast a red spell, sacrifice Embodiment of Law.
3/4
Any thoughts and strategies on how to make a 4-person draft work well, with card choice?
This is my current list:
4 Tangle
4 Moment's Peace
4 Brainstorm
4 Portent
4 Accumulated Knowledge
1 Deep Analysis
1 Gush
4 Muddle the Mixture
1 Dispel
1 Foil
4 Jace's Erasure
5 Forest
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Ash Barrens
9 Island
2 Dispel
2 Lignify
1 Seal of Primordium
1 Plains
2 Exclude
2 Aerial Volley
1 Rofellos's Gift
2 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Circle of Protection: Black
1 Circle of Protection: Blue
Obviously the 1 Gush has to go, and quite likely the Foil. Not entirely sure about Deep Analysis, as part of it's strength was combo'ing well with Foil, but it can be a good haymaker if it's the last turn and you have 1-3 Erasure's on the board. The 1 MD Dispel might also be worth taking out if Delver really does fall back in the meta.
For replacing these 4 flex slots, quite a few things I'm thinking of. Probably need at least 1 hard counter, to deal with troublesome stuff like Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Cuombajj Witches, Thermo-Alchemist, etc. Counterspell is most likely, thought I'm also kinda interested in other options: Countervailing Winds, Negate, Scatter Arc, Memory Lapse, Thought Collapse.
The new Stream of Thought is a real interesting possibility. Might go back to Words of Wisdom, or try Thought Scour.
BTW I think Architects of Will are strictly better than Monstrous Carabid in this deck. Both are uncastable, but the Architects are better since they can be pitched as an artifact to Wrench Mind.
Stream of Thought could be good in Ux Creatureless Control. You don't even have to replicate it to win. Just cast it for 1 while holding up countermagic, shuffling back in a 2nd copy of it or Devious Cover-Up. It's like the Devious Cover-Up wincon, except you can actually replicate it massively if you're in danger of going to time and need to win faster.
Venomous Changeling has potential application in Mono-B Zombies as "removal" against Gurmag Angler which can be recurred with Ghoulcaller's Chant and such.
Imposter of the Sixth Pride will be a boon to janky tribal decks forever, like Soldiers or Griffins with Griffin Rider.
Headless Specter is a crazy card. Don't know how or where, but it has potential.
One omission, though, is the Homelands card Broken Visage. Not on a lot of people's radars, but I like to use it in Commander because it's a cool card. On the original printed text, it creates a Shadow token. In the Oracle text, this is changed to a Spirit token, but no "named Shadow" like those other cards. Why, I wonder, the discrepancy? There are two printed versions, both referencing the Shadow name (Homelands and 5th Edition), so I don't see why this card is lacking the name while other older token makers keep it.
With that in mind, I've been thinking about what can make a 4-person cube better. It seems the usual issue with a 4-person draft pod is that the pool of available cards is much smaller, so you can't get as much synergy. Also, the split of colors can be awkward, with one player possibly getting a vastly more open color.
Just adding more packs to the draft is the usual solution, but I'm wondering if I can solve it in other ways (since that adds time and cards/sleeves needed).
Creature - Angel
Flying, lifelink
Whenever you cast a black spell, sacrifice Embodiment of Grace.
4/4
Embodiment of Law 3W
Creature - Angel
Flying, vigilance
Whenever you cast a red spell, sacrifice Embodiment of Law.
3/4
Any thoughts and strategies on how to make a 4-person draft work well, with card choice?